Download - Valentia RPG

2002-2014 Ronald A. Higgins

Chapter OneCharacter Creation

2 VALENTIA CORE RULEBOOK

The first step to playing Valentia is to build a char-acter. There is nearly an infinite number of ways that the attributes, races, skills, perks and limitations can be combined to create characters with interesting abilities and intricate personalities. A character will come to life as you discover how his or her abilities interact with each other and the campaign world.

Once a gaming group gains experience using the system, each player will likely develop his or her own approach to character creation. Often this process becomes elevated to the point where hours can be spent tweaking and tuning a character to eke the maximum amount of effectiveness out of every char-acter point spent.

Because the options are so varied, the process of cre-ating a character is generally not a linear one. It often involved going back and forth between the perks, skills and attributes to make sure that the character points (CP) are spent efficiently and that the char-acter can develop effectively as more CP are gained. Here is an example of how a player might start the process of character design:

1. Browse the Perks and Skills: Perks and skills are what create the fun in playing a character, and combing them together in synergistic ways can pro-duce a character that is a real powerhouse. When you find a perk or skill that interests you, look around for other perks and skills that can work with it. Be sure

to think of tactics that can make those perks and skills even more effective.

2. Choose Your Disciplines and Skills: The next step is to distribute your character points amongst your disciplines and skills. Remember to make the most of skills that are

shared across multiple disciplines. Spending points in shared skills provides the character with double benefit. Efficient use of shared skills can influence a character to choose one discipline over another. Also, try to shoot for the exact number of points to gain an even level in each discipline. This will provide you with the maximum number of perks.

3. Consider Limitations: This is an optional step that most players will only use if they need more character points. It is often best to wait until you spend all of your standard points before you decide whether or not to choose limitations.

4. Analyze Your Attributes: As you are choosing skills, begin looking at the attributes that are associ-ated with each skill. Since each of the characters attributes can provide bonuses to his or her skills, you will want to carefully consider which attributes you raise and what skills those attributes will affect. In some cases, you may want to invest more CP in a skill that you know will not gain bonuses from an attribute. Also, look at the basic attribute bonus perks in your disciplines. The attributes in those perks are the ones that will increase easiest, so you can plan on future bonuses from them.

5. Choose Your Race: Now that you know how the characters attributes will develop, choose a race that helps them with attribute modifiers. You may also want to consider a race that provides bonus character

The Basics of Building a Character

CHARACTER CREATION 3

points or disciplines, such as Humans. When choos-ing a race, one of the most important factors is size. Remember that the smaller races will have reduced health points and movement. Larger characters will have slower attacks and will be heavier when car-ried either by a horse or when passed out and when walking on unstable bridges or floors.

6. Determine Your Attributes: Determining attributes may seem like the first step, but it is often more efficient to determine your attributes last. Now that you know how your skills and perks will be in-fluenced by your attributes, you can choose to focus your scores where they are most effective.

7. Pick Your Perks: Now choose perks from all of your disciplines that have an even number of levels. Generally, beginning characters do well to spend most perks on attribute increases and action dice. You will also want to plan which disciplines that you will be raising in the future. This will give you a rough idea of your future perks.

8. Tune, Tune, Tune: Spend some time with your character before playing it. You will often find ways to tune the CP to make it even more efficient. It is not uncommon to switch out entire disciplines for others during the tuning process. Double-check that you are using your shared skills as effectively as pos-sible. Make sure your perks and disciplines provide bonuses that bolster your other skills and attributes.

This is just one approach to building a character, and you will likely develop your own specialized method. You will probably find that your second character will be better designed than your first, and your third more so than your second. The key is to play a char-acter and see what works and what doesnt, and then discover unique combination of abilities that best fit your play style.

Rounding Values

As you build your character, it is important to keep in mind that all partial values are always rounded down. This includes values that would normally be rounded up in traditional math. In order for an abil-ity to attain a certain value, it must meet 100% of all requirements for that value.

Example: The average of your invested ranks in the Athlete discipline equals 3.8, therefore, you are a level 3 Athlete, not level 4.

Example: You succeed in your Roll With It skill against an attack that would normally cause 9 damage. Roll With It prevents half of that damage. So, 4.5 HP of prevented damage is rounded down to 4 HP. You take 5 HP of damage from the attack.

Note that some movement is measured in half-squares. Movement can maintain fractions since they can be spent while moving diagonally.

Likewise, some HP multipliers are given as frac-tions. These fractions should be maintained until the characters final HP has been calculated. Once this occurs, then any fractions in the HP total are rounded down.


Creating and expanding a character is accomplished through spending Character Points (CP) to buy skills and disciplines. A character has 50 CP at creation to purchase initial skills and, if desired, more disciplines beyond the five free ones. The Using Disciplines, Skills & Perks chapter provides instructions for spending CP to gain skills and disciplines.

Gaining CP During a Campaign

Character Points are awarded to a character on an on-going basis throughout a campaign, usually at the end of the each gaming session. These can be used to purchase new skills and disciplines or increase the characters experience with their current skills.

CP awards should reflect the successes of both the player and the character. GMs are reminded that all good ideas, whether in or out of combat, are worthy of acknowledgment. Valentia Role-playing System is based on skills. When a characters make creative use of skills, they should be recognized for doing so. The GM may also wish to award those who have done an especially good job of role-playing their character, or in the opposite case, penalize those who fail to do so.

The CP Sheet

At the beginning of each gaming session, the GM hands out small sheets of paper to each player. A full sheet of paper cut into quarters or index cards work well for this purpose. Each player writes their characters name and the date at the top of the paper. Throughout the gaming session, the players use the CP sheet to note accomplishments and ideas that their characters contribute to the game.

At the end of the game, the GM collects the players CP sheets and reads them. After considering the

players thoughts about their actions and his or her own impressions of the events, the GM determines an appropriate CP award for each character. The CP awards are written on the CP sheet and secretly shared with each player. It is generally best not to announce one characters awards to all of the players.The GM can keep these CP sheets as an easy way to have a history of what happened in the campaign.

How Many CP Each Session?

The number of points awarded each session can vary to meet the GMs desired pacing. Normal progres-sion is 3 to 7 character points each gaming session. In this case, players most often receive 5 CP per ses-sion. Ideas and actions that are especially remarkable could receive 6 CP. Accomplishing a goal against all odds by using a particularly unique plan could war-rant the extremely rare 7 CP award.

Extended Time Off

In some cases, a GM may decide that the charac-ters are taking an extended amount of time off of adventuring. During this time, the character may be spending time with a favorite hobby, doing some reading, or simply spending time with friends and family. It is suggested that the GM give the charac-ters CPs to represent the fact that they are probably learning at least a little along the way.

For each year of game time that the character spends in a non-adventuring status (no in-game actions are taken), he or she gains a CP award equal to 5% of their current CP total.

CharacterPoints


CP Total Title50 CP Novice75 CP Apprentice125 CP Adventurer250 CP Master500 CP Grand Master

1,000 CP Legend

Character Advancement


Initial Disciplines

The character receives five disciplines at no cost dur-ing character creation. Additional disciplines can be purchased for 5 points each. See Using Disciplines, Skills & Perks for more details on this process.

Influencing the Campaign With Disciplines

The initial disciplines are a good way for a GM to influence the tone of the campaign. GMs are encour-aged to create a list of disciplines that most people in the area surrounding the starting point of the campaign would have. The GM can rule that newly created characters must pick at least one discipline from the list. For example, if the campaign is starting in the outlands, far from any city, the GM may pick wilderness disciplines to put on the campaign list. This is an optional rule, but can provide the GM with a tool to set the stage for a richer play experience.

Purchasing Initial Skills

The characters can use their starting CP to purchase any skills within disciplines that they have selected. The character is considered to have learned these skills prior to the start of the campaign. Skills can be purchased in any order, but cannot start the game with an Invested Rank (IR) of greater than 10.

Action Dice

Action Dice (AD) represent how much a character can do in one round of combat. The more action dice a character has, the more effort he or she can put forth, allowing

more actions to be taken or increase the chances of succeeding in actions.

Initial Free Action Dice

Characters begin the game with three Generic AD. These can be used to perform any action in com-bat. Other specialized action dice can only be used for specific actions. Additional action dice may be gained through perks. See Combat Rules for more information on the use of action dice.

How Many AD Do I Really Need?

If you do not have enough action dice, you will find yourself doing a lot of waiting in combat. You can make the most of the combat round by making sure that you have enough action dice to do something every phase. But what is the right number of AD?

Characters will lower skills and attributes will need to overload rolls more to boost their success. This will cost them more AD. Characters with fast at-tacks will generally need more AD than slower ones. Characters that attack with two weapons can easily go through many AD in a round.

You will probably want to start out with a total of at least 5 to 6 AD, including your free generic ones. As a character progresses, their AD total could increase to 8 to 10 or even more. If you find your character is standing around doing nothing a lot, then it is prob-ably time to pick up another AD.

InitialCharacterAbilities


Generic Weapons

Most characters that plan on fighting with weapons will want to invest in the Weapon or Unarmed Attack skill. There are some characters, such as spellcasters or scholars, that may not need to have honed weapon skills. Generic weapons give characters a chance to have a little access to weapons, even if they have no intent on becoming a full-fledged warrior.

Generic weapons are the simplest weapons available. They include club, knife, and walking staff. Impro-vised weapons and unarmed attacks can also be used as generic weapons.

Everyone can use generic weapons at an IR of 5. This IR cannot be increased, does not provide discipline access, and does not provide a rating to the char-acters Weapon and Unarmed Attack skills. If the character acquires the Weapon and Unarmed Attack skills, generic weapons can be used at an IR of 5 until the skill surpasses that rating. Once that happens, generic weapons can be used at the same IR as the rest of the weapons.

Special maneuvers, such as combos and trumps, can-not be performed with these attacks when they are used as generic weapons.

Generic Reaction: Cower

Reactions give the characters a chance to defend themselves against attacks. For a character that is un-trained in one of the more effective reactions, there is still a chance to partially reduce the damage from an attack by using the Cower generic reaction.

All characters are considered to have an IR of 5 in Cower, plus modifiers for high BAL. This IR cannot be increased and does not provide discipline access. Successfully Cowering provides a 25% reduction in the damage. However, attempting to Cower, whether successful or not, always unreadies the character.

Initial Languages

At the beginning of the game, characters can speak one or two languages. These languages are chosen by the GM based upon the chances that the character could have learned the languages. These languages do not provide access to the Languages skill, so the character cannot read or write. The characters speech will be at the level of any commoner, com-plete with grammar problems. If the character wishes to read and write, or speak at a scholarly level, then he or she will need to take the Languages skill.


Attributes are the basic building blocks of a character. They represent the most fundamental way to describe a character: how strong is she? How smart is he? How easily can she influence others?

At the beginning of the game, a character will have somewhat average attributes, usually starting in the range of 9 to 13. The character will have a chance to raise these attributes during the game using perks.

Attribute Descriptions

Strength: Strength represents the characters brawn. It provides a measure of how much the character can lift, how hard he can hit, and how muscular he is. Strength is used in any checks or skills that require a burst of physical power.

Constitution: This is the characters overall fitness and long-term healthiness. A character with a high Constitution is able to ward off disease more easily, take more abuse in combat, run longer distances, and live longer in harsh environments.

Precision: This attribute affects a characters aim when striking, as well as a characters more fine accu-racy in movement. Generally, Precision is a reflection of a characters exactness when taking an action with or towards another creature or thing.

Balance: Balance is what keeps the character stable and upright when battered by an outside force. It is also a measure of how nimble the character is, al-lowing her to perform feats of acrobatics and move gracefully across a room.

Perception: A perceptive char-acter is keenly aware of all that is going on around him. Perception represents a characters ability to use

sight, hearing, smell, and even slight vibrations to gain a precise grasp of his physical environment. A high Perception score means a character knows what is going on around him.

Presence: Presence represents the impression that the character makes on others. A high Presence can be gained from good looks, social class, carrying yourself in a strong manner, or simply by know-ing how to stand out in a crowd. A hulking brute can make as much of an impression on an enemy in battle as the beautiful princess does at the winter festival.

Reason: Reason represents the characters ability to think logically, work with mathematical calcula-tions, solve puzzles, and perform other mental skills that require rational thought. Scientists, wizards, and philosophers all rely heavily on Reason.

Knowledge: A character who is very well read will tend to have a high Knowledge. Knowledge repre-sents the characters ability to remember facts, trivia, and researched information. The character draws upon past education or discovered lore to perform Knowledge based skills.

Insight: Insight is the power to discern the true nature of a person or situation. It represents the char-acters instinct, intuitiveness, and common sense. A character with a high Insight will be good at the soft skills that require her to be empathic to feelings of others, be an effective leader, form hunches, and find peace within oneself.

Willpower: A character with a high Willpower has

CharacterAttributes


formed an unwavering firmness of mind, action, and decision. He has great determination and purpose, and will be steadfast in resisting mental aggression from others. Willpower can be the force that drives both a devoted priest and a dying thug.

Determining Attributes

Attributes are determined in one of three ways, each with its own level of control and randomness. Gener-ally, the more control that the character has over attribute scores, the lower the overall total number of points. At character creation, the player chooses one of the following methods to determine the characters attribute scores:

1. All attributes start at 10: Up to four points can be transferred between the scores. This is ac-complished by subtracting one point from a score and adding it to a different score. Note that only four total points are transferred with this method, not four points per score.

2. All attributes start at 9: The player rolls 5d4. The resulting dice rolls can be distributed as the player wishes, with one restriction: only one d4 result can be applied to an attribute.

3. All attributes start at 8: One by one, the player rolls a d4 for each attribute and adds the result it.

Character Attributes

Attribute AbbreviationStrength STR

Constitution CONPrecision PRECBalance BAL

Perception PERPresence PRESReason REAS

Knowledge KNOWInsight INS

Willpower WILL


Standard Modifiers from Attributes

Skills and many other dice rolls in the game are adjusted by an attribute modifier. These standardized bonuses and penalties are based on the value of each of the characters attributes.

Increasing Attributes With Perks

As a character gains discipline levels, perks can be taken to boost attributes. At the lower levels, these perks can only increase the attributes to 15. At the higher levels, some perks will allow the character to increase attributes up to 20.

In both cases, these maximums are adjusted for racial attribute bonuses and penalties. If a race gains +1 to an attribute, its low level maximum is 16 rather than 15, and its high level maximum is 21 instead of 20. The same is true for attribute penalties, reducing maximums to 14 and 19.

StandardAttribute Modifiers

Attribute Modifier1 -202 -163 -124 -85 -46 -27 -1

8-12 013 +114 +215 +316 +417 +518 +619 +720 +821 +922 +1023 +1124 +12


Maximum Strength by Weight

Strength is an attribute that is directly related to the weight of the character. As a character grows stronger, she will gain muscle mass, and therefore will gain weight. Naturally bigger characters, like half-giants and humans, will have the possibility of greater strength scores than smaller races, like Fey and Gnomes.

The following chart shows the minimum weight re-quirement for each point of Strength. When making a character, the player is free to choose any weight within the ranges presented for that race. If the race cannot attain a particular weight, then the Strength will be limited to the highest value that is attain-able with her current weight. As the character gains Strength, her weight can increase to accommodate the new Strength score, but can never go above the maximum for her race.

There is one exception to this rule: restricting a strength score due to weight will not cause the character to have damage penalties. If a characters strength is reduced to 7 or less due to weight restric-tions, then the standard attribute penalty applies to everything except damage.

Example: Bublar is a gnomish fighter. The most a gnome can weigh is 45 lbs. Even if Bublar is bulky compared to other gnomes, the most his strength score can be is 6. He will receive a -2 to skills based on strength, but the damage of his attacks will not be affected.

Note that weighing more does not provide the strength, it only provides the potential for the char-acter to be stronger. Like all other attribute scores, strength must be gained through normal means.

Minimum WeightRequirements

by Strength Score

StrengthMinimumWeight

1 0 lbs.2 1 lb.3 5 lbs.4 10 lbs.5 20 lbs.6 40 lbs.7 60 lbs.8 80 lbs.9 90 lbs.10 100 lbs.11 105 lbs.12 110 lbs.13 120 lbs.14 140 lbs.15 160 lbs.16 180 lbs.17 200 lbs.18 220 lbs.19 250 lbs.20 300 lbs.21 350 lbs.22 400 lbs.23 450 lbs.24 500 lbs.


The difference between good and evil is one that is often in the eye of the beholder, especially when there are only two options: good and evil. That is where morality comes into play.

Morality is made of six virtues: Compassion, Gener-osity, Honesty, Loyalty, Modesty, and Stability. Char-acters choose their rating for each virtue on a scale from +5 to -5, with zero being neutral. In practice, a character may slide slightly above or below their chosen value when making decisions.

Many characters will hover towards the center of this chart, allowing for the most wiggle room when faced with challenging situations. It is quite normal for complex characters to have a mixture of both posi-tive and negative virtues. A thief that doesnt like to kill, for example, is easily imaginable.

To calculate overall good or evil for the character, the ratings of all virtues are averaged. A character whose average falls on the positive side of the scale is considered good. Higher positive averages are more wholesome. A character whose virtues average to the negative side is considered evil. The deeper into the negative they go, the more wicked they are.

Sensing Morality In Auras

A characters morality is visible in her aura. There are a number of spells and other effects that allow char-acters to read a persons aura. This is the basic way to determine their morality. Likewise, there are spells and effects that allow a character to disguise her aura. This may make her appear as if she has morals that differ from her true self.

Virtue Descriptions

Compassion reflects the ability of the character to sympathize with the feelings of others. A character with high compassion will be more understanding of others, even when they are acting in threatening ways. A character with low compassion will not care about hurting others.

Generosity measures the characters concerns with worldly goods. Coins an valuables are more impor-tant to a character with low generosity than they are for a character that is more generous.

Honesty defines the circumstances under which the character is willing to tell a lie. A character with postive honesty will not lie, while one with negative honesty is willing to lie under certain circumstances.

Loyalty defines how likely the character is to keep his word. When the character promises to do some-thing, he can be counted on if he has a high loyalty.

Modesty measures the characters view of himself. A character with a low modesty will tend to act self-absorbed and superior to others. More modest characters will see the worth in those around them.

Stability reflects the character control of his own emotions and mental facilties. A character with a low stability will behalf in erratic, unpredictable ways, whereas a highly stable character will be more at one with his emotions.

Morality


Compassion

Rating Description+5 Pacifist+3 Will defend self, but not kill+1 Will only kill in self defense0 Neutral-1 Enjoys combat with enemies-3 Bully, picks fights, violent-5 Sadist

Generosity

Rating Description+5 Donates all worldy goods+3 Charity is an important duty+1 Generous with friends0 Neutral-1 Stingy-3 Will steal for profit-5 Kleptomaniac

Honesty

Rating Description+5 Never lies, corrects others

untruths+3 Never lies, does not correct

others untruths+1 Never lies, but will evade

questions0 Neutral-1 Will lie to protect self and

others-3 Will lie to gain profit-5 Compulsive liar

Loyalty

Rating Description+5 Will give life to keep word+3 Will make sacrifices to keep

word+1 Dependable0 Neutral-1 Will give up when facing dif-

ficulty-3 Easily led astray-5 Will sell out his own mother

Modesty

Rating Description+5 Always sees the good in oth-

ers, admits own faults+3 Gives people a second chance+1 Will give others a chance to

prove themselves0 Neutral-1 Skeptical of others until they

prove themselves-3 Vain, others are rarely worthy

of being his equal-5 Never accepts the advice of

others, vastly superior to all

Stability

Rating Description+5 At one with the world+3 Trouble roll off his back+1 Focused in most situations0 Neutral-1 Prone to depression and

bingeing-3 Bipolar, unpredictable, choatic-5 Schizophrentic

Chapter TwoCharacter Races


Unlike our world, most fantasy worlds are inhabited by several races of intelligent creatures. The races presented below are a few examples of common races drawn from ancient myths and popular fiction. Dur-ing character creation, the player chooses his charac-ters race from the list below.

Racial Attributes & Abilities

Each race has own benefits and penalties. Humans are considered the standard by which all of the other races are compared, so they receive neither attribute bonuses nor penalties. Some of the races are stron-ger, smarter, or stronger leaders than humans. Other races are less so. Each non-human race has multiple attribute bonuses from which the character can choose a limited number. The character gains all of the attribute penalties listed under his race.

Normally, most basic perks that provide attribute bonuses cannot raise attributes above 15, and most advanced perks cannot raise attributes above 20. Ra-cial attributes adjust these limits by the same amount that they to the character.

Example: The character is an Elf and has cho-sen to gain a bonus in Knowledge and Pres-ence. The standard basic attribute perks can now raise his Knowledge and Presence as high as 16, and his Constitution and Insight are limited to 14. Likewise, the standard advanced attribute perks can raise his Knowledge and Presence to 21 and limits his Constitution and Insight to 19. Other attributes, including Pre-cision and Leadership, still have the normal limits of 15 and 20.

Other races may also have other abilities, such as resistance to magic or night vision. The character receives all of the bonuses and penalties listed under his selected race.

Racial Perks

Each race has several perks listed below it. Any time a character would gain a perk in one of his disci-plines, he can instead pick one from the list of perks under his race.

Defining the Characters Appearance

The races vary dramatically in size, proportions and appearance. When a player chooses a race, he can define the characters height and weight within the limits listed under each race. The player is also free to choose the characters age, sex, hair and eye color, skin tone and other normal physical characteristics. For the purposes of determining combat statistics, the character is limited to the sizes listed with the description of his or her race.

Note that the descriptions of the races purposely do not define hair and eye color, skin tone and most other physical traits. These features will vary as widely as with the human race and will entirely depend upon where the character is from within the GMs world.

Choosing a Race

CHARACTER RACES 17

Size: Medium Height Range: 5 - 62 Weight Range: 100 - 300 lbs Average Life Expenctancy: 80 years

Bonuses: +5 CP, free access to one discipline Humans are often the most prolific of the races in a fantasy world. While they generally shun under-ground living, they can be found in most any envi-ronment above ground. This can sometimes lead to conflict as groups of humans push into territories that were traditionally held by other races. Of all of the character races, humans can vary the greatest in appearances, from short to tall, from skinny to bulky, and with a wide variety of looks. Humans are quite adaptable to many different profes-sions, even as other races tend to be respected more for their mastery of specific areas of expertise. Humans can be seen by other races as being oppor-tunistic and short-sighted - a reputation that may stem from their short lifespan. There are, however, just as many humans that are thoughtful, honorable and generous.

Human Perks

Adaptability Each time this perk is taken, the character gains access to one discipline at no cost.

Conditioning 1 When this perk is taken, the character spends 2 CP and gains +1 to one attribute of his choice. This cannot raise an attribute above 15.

Endure (voucher) When this voucher is used, the character can chose one d20 roll during combat prior to rolling the die. The die is not rolled and the roll is instead considered a 1. The character does not spend AD on this roll.

Human



Attribute Bonuses (pick one): +1 PREC, +1 BAL, +1 PRES, +1 KNOW Attribute Penalties: -1 CON Other Bonuses: Free access to one discipline, +2 bonus to resisting surprise, +1 bonus to contests versus magic Other Penalties: -2 penalty to CON checks when being brought back to life Half-elves have parents or grandparents that include both humans and elves. They tend to live in human or elven communities where their roles can vary from outcast to diplomat. Half-elves have characteristics of both humans and elves, and their appearance can favor one more great-ly than the other. They will tend to be more slight in build than a human and will have ears that are gently pointed. They carry some of the sharpened senses and affinity to magic of elves, while still possessing the adaptability of humans. The magical nature of the elven spirit makes it resistant to resurrection effects. While not as severe as with an elf, half-elves can still be difficult to raise from the dead. The mixed ancestry of half-elves can impact how others feel about them. In some communities, they may not be trusted, resulting in social and economic challenges for them. However, some humans re-vere the magical talents, fighting prowess and long lifespan of elves. In these communities, a half-elf could rise to become a respected leader.

Half-elf Perks

Cooperation 1 The characters working togeth-er bonus to help others use skills is increased from +2 to +5.

Half-elf Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Precision, Balance, Presence, or Knowledge. The chosen attribute increases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjustments.

Half-elf Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Assassin, Linguist, or Mystic.

Half-elf Paths The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: Metabolic or Telepathy. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Half-elf Weapons +1 AR with Swords and Entangling Weapons

Half-Elf

CHARACTER RACES 19


Attribute Bonuses (pick two): +1 PREC, +1 BAL, +1 PRES, +1 KNOW Attribute Penalties: -1 CON, -1 INS Other Bonuses: +5 bonus to resisting surprise, +2 bonus to contests vs. magic Other Penalties: -5 penalty to CON checks when being brought back to life, -1 Carrying Capacity Elves are a long-lived race. Their ancient, majestic cities stand in the highest mountains, tallest forests and grandest caves, built by the talents of highly skilled artisans. The art and architecture of elves is frequently inspired by nature, with blossoming flow-ers, blowing leaves and twisting branches. Elves can be as tall as humans, but will tend to have a more slender build. Their ears are pointed, their fingers are long, and their facial features can be quite striking with high cheekbones and angular eyes. Elves have a natural affinity for magic, making them masterful spellcasters and resistant to magical at-tacks. The magical nature of their spirit, however, makes them resistant to resurrection effects. Elves are harder to surprise due to their heightened senses. They can also exhibit great talents with archery. Elves are recognized as keepers of great knowledge, but their long-lifespans can make them slow to react or to make decisions that are puzzling to the shorter-lived races. This can cause other races to see elves as arrogant. Despite this perception, nearly every elf has a lighthearted side that shows itself in their joyful music and legendary festivals.

Elf Perks

Elf Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Precision, Balance, Presence, or Knowledge. The chosen attribute increases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjustments.

Elf Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Artist, Ranger, or Sage.

Elf Paths The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: Air, Ce-lestial, or Nature. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Elf Weapons +1 AR with Bows and Fencing Blades

Harmony 1 When choosing a new spell path for his Theory of Magic or Prayer skill, the character can choose from all of the spell paths.

Elf


Size: Small or Medium (characters choice) Height Range: 3 - 48 Weight Range: 90 - 250 lbs Average Life Expenctancy: 350 years

Attribute Bonuses (pick two): +1 STR, +1 CON, +1 KNOW, +1 WILL Attribute Penalties: -1 BAL, -1 PER Other Bonuses: Night Vision to 10 squares, +1 Carrying Capacity, weight is considered double for the effects of poisons Other Penalties: -1 Base Movement if size M, -1 to surprise checks Dwarves are a hearty race that typically live in un-derground cities or mountainous strongholds. Large human cities may also have dwarven districts filled with merchants and craftsmen. After generations of living underground, dwarves have developed eye-sight that is particularly sensitive in the dark. Players can choose to create dwarven characters as either size small or medium. However, a medium-sized dwarf doesnt move as quickly as a human or elf of similar height. While their bulky stature may reduce their agility, it does give them the ability to carry more and provides some resistance to poison. Dwarves have an affinity for working with earth, stone and metal and are recognized for their sturdy constructions and wares. Hammers and picks, the tools used by many dwarves in their professions, often also become their weapons in combat. Kinship is important to most dwarves, and offending one dwarf can often develop into dishonoring an en-tire clan. This high sense of honor can make dwarves seem stubborn to outsiders, but it is also what makes a dwarf one of the most dependable friends.

Dwarf Perks

Dissipate 1 When the character succeeds in a contest against magic by 5 or more than what is needed, the magic has no effect upon him.

Dwarf Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Strength, Constitution, Knowl-edge, or Willpower. The chosen attribute increases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjust-ments.

Dwarf Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Engineer, Merchant, or Mountaineer.

Dwarf Paths 2 The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: Earth, Electromagnetics, or Protection. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Dwarf Weapons +1 AR with Axes and Ham-mers

Dwarf

CHARACTER RACES 21

Size: Small Height Range: 2 - 3 Weight Range: 20 - 45 lbs Average Life Expenctancy: 500 years

Attribute Bonuses (pick two): +1 PREC, +1 PER +1 REAS, +1 INS Attribute Penalties: -1 PRES, -1 WILL Other Bonuses: Night Vision to 10 squares, +2 bonus to contests versus magic Gnomes are wee folk that originate from the forests and hills. Frequently living in small family clans, gnomish homes are often burrowed into the sides of hills, between the roots of a large tree, or sometimes even within the tree itself. Gnomes are a small race, both in height and stature, with large noses. While many associate a gnomes small size with dwarves, in reality gnomes are likely more closely related to elves and fey. Gnomes are nocturnal by nature. They can often be found work-ing on projects deep into the night and taking cat naps throughout the day. Gnomes are hard working and inquisitive, and have a knack for building, refining and repairing devices of all types. Small details are not lost to a gnome, and the puzzle-solving that comes with everyday work - whether tending to their garden, fashioning a ring, or honing a crossbow - is itself considered a reward. A gnomes size, curiosity and seemingly simple life can often cause others to treat them as children. Un-derestimating the perceptive and calculating mind of a gnome, however, can be a fatal mistake.

Gnome Perks

Gnome Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Precision, Perception, Reason or Insight. The chosen attribute increases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjustments.

Gnome Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Artificer, Craftsman, or Inventor.

Gnome Paths The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: En-chantment, Space-Time, or Telekinesis. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Gnome Weapons +1 AR with Crossbows and Daggers & Knives

Runefoil 1 The character does not trigger runes. This perk does not provide any addition ability to sense runes.

Gnome


Size: Large Height Range: 7 - 9 Weight Range: 300 - 750 lbs Average Life Expenctancy: 80 years

Attribute Bonuses (pick two): +1 STR, +1 CON, +1 WILL, +1 PRES Attribute Penalties: -1 PREC, -1 REAS Other Bonuses: +2 Carrying Capacity Other Penalties: Half-giants require 3 to 4 times the amount of food as a human and their equipment is heavier as defined on the equipment charts. Half-giants are unusually large people that are born and raised in human communities. While a rare few may have a parent that is a giant, most are born to human parents. It is unknown if half-giants are the result of an awakening of dormant giant blood or if they are simply enormous humans. A half-giants size comes with both benefits and chal-lenges. Their hefty proportions make them strong and capable of carrying much more than the smaller races. However, a half-giant will eat significantly more and their larger equipment comes with an increase in weight. On the battlefield, a fallen half-giant may be nearly impossible for a comrade to drag to safety. It is easy for others to confuse the hulking size of a half-giant with oafishness. To the contrary, half-giant skills and abilities vary as widely as others in the human communities that they are raised. Tribes and realms that revere battle prowess will often elevate half-giants to the role of leader, giving them the responsibility of making decisions that affect their entire populace.

Half-giant Perks

Half-giant Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Strength, Constitution, Willpower or Presence. The chosen attribute in-creases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjustments.

Half-giant Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Barbarian, Farmer, or Tactician.

Half-giant Paths The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: Fire or Water. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Half-giant Weapons +1 AR with Clubs and Spears

Tumble (trump, -5) 1 The character can apply the trump penalty to a rolled Weapons or Unarmed Strike skill check that has Knockdown combod with it. If both skills are successful and the Knockdown contest is failed, the target of the attack is thrown directly away from the attacker 2d4 squares. If the target hits another combatant as a result of the tum-ble, the target lands in the adjacent square just prior to the hit combatant. The hit combatant must then successfully contest against the Knockdown or also become prone. If the target does not hit anyone, last two squares of the tumble causes skidding damage.

Half-Giant

CHARACTER RACES 23

Size: Tiny Height Range: 6 - 12 Weight Range: 1 - 10 lbs Average Life Expenctancy: 1000 years

Attribute Bonuses (pick two): +1 BAL, +1 PER, +1 REAS, +1 INS Attribute Penalties: -1 STR, -1 KNOW Other Bonuses: Flight at base movement rate of 5 with a Step of zero, +2 bonus to contests versus magic, +2 bonus with the Dodge skill and Balance contests while flying Other Penalties: Must spend at least one general action per phase on movement when flying in com-bat, even when hovering in place (hovering does not prevent spellcasting). Sometimes called fairies or sprites, fey are tiny hu-maniod creatures with wings. They are often found in small, loosely organized bands in forests, meadows and other wilds. Happy to sleep wherever their path leads them, most fey do not feel compelled to build houses or settlements like other races. The looks and colors of fey can vary wildly. Some fey look like small elves. Others reflect their environ-ment: snowflakes, flowers, twigs, moss, animal char-acteristics and so on. Their wings often mimic those of insects, such as butterflies or dragonflies. Players are free to define the looks of their fey characters, but appearances do not provide special abilities. Fey can quickly fly in any direction or hover in place. Fey are closely connected to the magical energies of the world, making them resistant to magical attacks. Some can even withstand attacks from weapons that are not forged of cold iron. Fey are a fun-loving. They enjoy revelry, new experi-ences, and good pranks. This can make them seem unreliable to the more prudent races.

Fey Perks

Fey Attributes 1 When this perk is taken, the character chooses Balance, Perception, Reason, or Insight. The chosen attribute increases by 1 to a maximum of 15 plus or minus racial adjustments.

Fey Breath 1 When this perk is taken, the char-acter chooses lightning, frost, acid, or life draining. When using the Fire Breathing skill, the breath pro-duced matches the die size and effects of the selected type instead of fire.

Fey Disciplines 3 Gains discipline access to one of the following disciplines of the characters choice: Arcanist, Beastmaster, or Naturalist.

Fey Paths The character chooses one of the following paths each time this perk is taken: Illusion, Lifeforce, or Summoning. The casting level of spells from that path is increased by +1.

Fey Weapons +1 AR with Blowguns and Pole-axes

Weapon Ward 1 The character gains +2 DR against weapons that are not made of iron.

Fey

Chapter ThreeLimitations


Limitations provide the character with a chance to gain more character points to work with at the time of character creation. Limitations restrict the charac-ters abilities and provide character points based on their severity. They can only be taken at the time of character creation and cannot be removed from the character during game play. A character cannot gain more than 25 CP from limitations. Any limitations taken beyond 25 CP provide no additional CP. Each limitation can only be taken once unless otherwise stated in its description. For the purposes of deal-ing with ability conflicts, limitations are applied to a character prior to taking any perks or skills.

It is important to note that there is no built-in bonus-es to taking limitations. A character that is mute, for example, does not automatically switch their verbal spell components to somatic, though they could take perks or other abilities that may allow them to do this. A limitation is just that it limits the character. Any attempt to turn a limitation into even a partial bonus beyond gaining the listed CP amount should be denied by the GM.

Limitation Descriptions

Advanced Perk Delay (2 CP): Cannot take ad-vanced perks until level 15.

Attribute Scores: -1 (10 CP): Right after the char-acters attribute scores are created, reduce all of them by one.

Bad Luck: picks before/after roll (5/10 CP): Once per gaming session, GM can picks one of the characters d20 rolls to automatically fail. If the GM

has to picks before the die is rolled gain 5 CP. When in com-bat, this version consumes only one AD for the characters failed

action. Gain 10 CP if the GM picks after he sees what is rolled. This consumes all AD rolled, including overload AD.

Blind: 1 eye/2 eyes (2/10 CP): Is blind in one (2 CP) or both (10 CP) eyes. A character that is blind in one eye has no depth perception. They gain -10 to all ranged attacks and cannot be accurate with ranged spells that do target an area (as opposed to a specific creature or object).

Charity: Basic/Severe (5/10 CP): The character donates all but a small amount of his wealth to char-ity. The donated wealth cannot be used to benefit the character or his comrades in any way. If taken at the basic level (5 CP), the character can only have a maximum of two magic objects and must donate everything that he does not carry on his person (extra-dimensional storage is not allowed). If taken at the severe level (10 CP), the character must give away everything he owns, leaving himself with only very simple clothes and only the most meager of equipment. He can carry only enough money to feed himself. The character cannot artificially reduce his income by giving up his portion of his wealth to his comrades.

Contests: -2/-5/-10 (2/5/10 CP): Gain -2 (2 CP), -5 (5 CP), or -10 (10 CP) penalties to all contests.

CPs per Session: -1 (5/10 CP): The character gains one less CP each gaming session. The GM should decide how many character points are gained by this perk based on the predicted running time of the game. For games expected to run 15 or fewer sessions, this limitation provides 5 CP. Long running

Choosing Limitations

LIMITATIONS 27

Limitations

CP Limitation2 CP Advanced Perk Delay

10 CP Attribute Scores: -15/10 CP Bad Luck: picks before/af-

ter roll2/10 CP Blind: 1 eye/2 eyes5/10 CP Charity: Basic/Severe

2/5/10 CP Contests: -2/-5/-105/10 CP CPs per Session: -1

2 CP Critical Failures5 CP Deaf2 CP Deep Sleeper5 CP Generic AD: -1

5/10 CP HP Multiplier: -0.5/-15 CP Magic Use Restriction5 CP Movement: -15 CP Mute5 CP One Arm5 CP One Leg2 CP Pack Rat10 CP Perk Delay2/5 CP Phobias: WILL -2/-102 CP Restless Sleeper5 CP Skill IR Caps

5/10 CP Skill Check Penalties: -2/-52 CP Slow Learner2 CP Spendthrift

2/5 CP Surprise Check Penalties: -5/-10

5 CP Timid2 CP Weight Allowance: -1 step

games expected to be more than 15 sessions allow the character to gain 10 CP from this limitation.

Critical Failures (2 CP): Whenever the character rolls a natural 20 (before modifiers) on a skill check during combat, all of his d20 rolls are at a -5 penalty for the next two phases. This includes natural 20s rolled on dice used for overloading, even those that were not chosen for the check. Multiple simultaneous occurrences from this perk extend the duration of the effect without increasing the -5 penalty.

Deaf (5 CP): The character has no sense of hearing. He gains -5 penalty to skill checks for casting spells with a verbal component, as well as all language-based skills (languages, smooth talking skills, sing-ing, etc.).

Deep Sleeper (2 CP): All checks for the character to wake up are at a -10 penalty. The character cannot use the Light Sleep skill.

Generic AD: -1 (5 CP): Has one less Generic AD at character creation.

HP Multiplier: -0.5/-1 (5/10 CP): Gains -0.5 (5 CP) or -1 (10 CP) to their HP multiplier.

Magic Use Restriction (5 CP): The character refuses to use magic skills, perks, or any other ability that expends EP to produce an effect. He will not knowingly use a magic or enchanted object. He will not allow spells or magic effects to be cast upon him-self, his animal companions, or his belongings.

Movement: -1 (5 CP): The character has a -1 pen-alty to all methods of natural movement (walking, flying, swimming, etc.), to a minimum of one.

Mute (5 CP): The character cannot speak. Skills that require speech cannot be used, including any spell-

casting with a verbal component. The player should not speak during the gaming session.

One Arm (5 CP): The character has only one arm.


He cannot use shields, off-hand attacks, or weapons requiring two hands to use.

One Leg (5 CP): The character has only one leg. Movement may be reduced depending upon the method he uses to get around.

Pack Rat (2 CP): Always travels with enough equip-ment to be at least lightly encumbered. This includes both himself and any mount he rides. Even brief low-ering of encumbrance requires the character to make a WILL check to leave his packs behind. In these cases, he will always return to reclaim his stashed packs as soon as possible, no longer than a day. If he is unable to do so, a pack rat will always be able to find new things to encumber him.

Perk Delay (10 CP): Takes perks every three levels (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18) rather than every two levels.

Phobias: WILL -2/-10 (2/5 CP): When faced with the subject of his phobia, the character must make a WILL check at a -2 (2 CP) or -10 (5 CP) penalty or roll on the fear table. He can check again every 5 minutes to regain composure. Composure is auto-matically gained 5 minutes after the threat is re-moved. This limitation can be taken more than once to gain multiple different phobias. Phobias include the following: Dogs, Fire, Heights, Magic Use, Small Spaces (less than 5 square room), Snakes, Spiders, and Water. Other phobias are possible with the per-mission of the GM.

Restless Sleeper (2 CP): The character requires more sleep each day, especially when in uncomfort-able surroundings. He needs one extra hour when sleeping in a bed, 2 extra hours when in a tent or natural shelter (cave, lean-to, etc.), and 5 extra hours when sleeping outside or in a noisy, moving, or espe-cially uncomfortable place.

Skill IR Caps (5 CP): The characters skills cannot be raised above 10 IR by any means. This perk is not available to characters in games that are not expected to run long enough to gain skill IRs of more than 10.

Skill Check Penalties: -2/-5 (5/10 CP): Gain a -2 (5 CP) or -5 (10 CP) penalty to all skill checks.

Slow Learner (2 CP): The character cannot benefit from the Teaching skill, including perks and abili-ties that use the checks from the Teaching skill. He can never put more than 1 IR into a skill per session, even if affected by beneficial magic or abilities.

Spendthrift (2 CP): The character is horrible at saving money and is always throwing away his wealth on useless things, such as gambling, buying rounds for everyone at the bar, spending too much on din-ner, and so on. The characters monetary wealth is lowered by 10% each week. This wealth reduction does not provide the character with any tangible goods. The character cannot artificially reduce his income by giving up his portion of his wealth to his comrades.

Surprise Check Penalties: -5/-10 (2/5 CP): Gain a -5 (2 CP) or -10 (5 CP) penalty to checks to resist surprise.

Timid (5 CP): Gains a -5 penalty to contests against Fear, as well as the Awe, Intimidate, and Dominate skills. He is considered Stunned, rather than Startled, when surprised and the surprise lasts a full round rather than 5 phases.

Weight Allowance: -1 step (2 CP): The charac-ters carrying capacity is reduced by one.

Chapter FourUsing Disciplines,Skills & Perks


Like in real life, a character is defined by what he knows. In Valentia, what a character learns is repre-sented by skills. Skills can be anything from planting crops to fighting with a sword or casting magic or climbing up a cliff or painting a portrait... basically, most any core occupation or activity that a person can have in the time of the campaign world is repre-sented by one or more skills.

A character will often find it easier to learn skills that are related to ones he already knows. These skills are usually based around similar talents or a base occu-pation. The relationship between skills is represented by disciplines.

Those who become especially good at their occupa-tion or core related skills will often develop com-pletely unique talents. These talents often reflect amazing and heroic effects. As a character increases his level in a discipline, he can select perks that rep-resent these unique abilities.

Gaining Disciplines

Each skill is associated with one or more disciplines. Each discipline represents a related group of skills. Like any person, a character will find it easier to learn skills that are related to ones she already knows.

A character must have access to a discipline to spend character points to increase skills, purchase skill variants, buy spell tiers and select perks in that discipline. Spending 5 character points grants the character access to a discipline of her choice. These

points only grant access and do not other-wise contribute to any skill or level.

Discipline Levels

As skills around a given discipline are gained, they contribute to an overall level for that discipline. This level is the average IR of all skills on that discipline, including the ones without any IR.

Calculating Discipline Level:(Sum of IR in disciplines 5 skills) / 5= Discipline Level (round down)

Example: A character has 5 IR in one skill and 2 IR each in two other skills, for a total of 9 IR. Divide by 5 to get 1.8 and round that down to 1. This is the Discipline Level.

Gaining Skills & Invested Rank

When a character spends CP to gain ranks in a skill, the resulting number is referred to as Invested Rank (IR). Invested Rank represents the time and effort that the character has put forth to learn and refine his skill. The character point cost of each IR varies according to the desired target value to be

IR Costs

Desired IR CP Cost

1-5 1

6-10 2

11-15 5

16-20 10

21+ 20

You Are What You Know

MaximumStarting IR

Starting CP Max IR

50 10

75 10

125 12

250 15

500 20

1,000+ No max

USING DISCIPLINES, SKILLS & PERKS 31

gained. See the chart above.

During the initial creation of a character, there is a maximum IR that can be purchased. See the chart below.

After the game begins, there is not a maximum IR, but each skill can only be increased by 1 IR per gaming session by spending CP. The Teaching skill and some perks can allow skills to gain additional IR beyond this limit.

A character cannot spend CPs to increase the IR for skills in disciplines that he does not have access. If the character uses a perk or other means to obtains access to a skill that is in a discipline that he can-not access, then he cannot raise the IR for that skill through spending CP on it.

Adjusted Rank

Adjusted Rank (AR) takes into account the char-acters attributes and other sources of bonuses, such as those from perks, skills and carried magic items. If a skill, perk or other source gives a bonus to a skill, it provides AR unless it specifically states that it is rais-ing the skills IR.

Calculating AR: IR + Attribute Modifier + Other Bonuses- Other Penalties = AR

Skill Variants

Many skills represent an entire range of knowledge that could not possibly be learned with a single investment of effort. When a character takes the Lan-guages skill, for example, she does not gain access to all languages. Rather, she chooses a single language to learn. If she wants to learn another language, she

does so through gaining a skill variant.

Each skill has its own CP cost for skill variants. Vari-ants can only be purchased with CP if the character has access to the skills discipline. Skill checks with the variant are rolled against the characters original value for that skill.

Example: The character spends 15 points to gain an IR of 10 in the Survival skill for temperate forests. Later, she travels south to a region with tropical jungles and wants to ex-pand her survival to include that region. She learns the variant and then spends 2 CP, as defined in the Survival skill. She can now use both her temperate forest and tropical jungle survival skills at an IR of 10.


To use a skill, a character will often be required to roll against his Adjusted Rank (AR). This is rolled on a d20 with the goal of rolling under the AR. The further under the AR the rolled number is, the more successful the attempt is considered to be. A roll of a 1 is always a success. A roll of 20 is always a failure.

The GM can apply bonuses or penalties to the AR de-pending upon the difficulty of the action which will be attempted. See the chart for standard difficulty modifiers.

Skill Difficulty Modifiers

Difficulty Modifier

Nearly Impossible -10

Very Hard -5

Hard -2

Normal 0

Easy +2

Very Easy +5

Almost Guaranteed +10

Related Skills

Having knowledge in some skills can help a char-acter be more successful when attempting to use other skills. For example, a character that is skilled in Mathematics will find it easier to design buildings with the Architecture skill. If a skill has others that are related, then they will be listed near the end of its description.

To benefit from a related skill, the character rolls its skill check just prior to rolling the skill that is being used to perform the action. If the check for the re-

lated skill is successful, then the primary skill check gains

a +2 AR bonus for that roll. Rolling a related skill check does not cost AD and cannot be overloaded. Failing a related skill check does not negatively affect the primary skill check.

Example: The character has just been attacked and wants to use the Dodge skill as a reac-tion. Tumbling is a related skill for Dodge. Just beforing rolling his Dodge skill check, the character rolls a free Tumbling check. If the Tumbling check is successful, that Dodge skill check will gain a +2 AR bonus. If it fails, the character rolls Dodge normally.

Everyman Skill Use

Generally, characters cannot successfully perform ac-tions that are covered by a skill unless they have that skill. While they can certainly give it their best shot, in the end, they need the skill in order to produce beneficial effects.

Some skills, however, have certain abilities that can be performed by anyone. When a skill has an every-man use, the exact abilities of it will be defined in the skills description. Characters do not need to have a skill in order to use its everyman abilities.

Taking Your Time

When using skills in the trade pinwheels outside of combat, there are many times when a character can work more slowly in order to increase their chances of success. Every skill will require a different amount of time to perform. Some may only require a few moments, while others may take hours or days. If the required time to perform a skill is not listed, then the GM will need to define a reasonable amount of time

Using Skills


to complete it. There are some skills, such as Cultiva-tion, that happen over a set period (the growing sea-son), but the character could still spend more hours during the day working on a garden.

If a character is not restricted by time constraints, then she can spend twice or more time on the skill to gain a +2 bonus to the skill check.

Note that this cannot be used for a bonus to casting spells, including those performed outside of combat. It also cannot be used when performing an action that would trigger combat.

Working Together

When using skills outside of combat, a number of characters with the same skill can work together to perform the skill. For example, two characters with the Orienteering skill could work to make sure the party stays on the right path. Working together al-lows each of the characters to review the work.

To work together, the character with the best AR will be the one rolling the check. Each of the others with the same skill then contribute a +2 bonus to that characters AR, to a maximum of a +5 bonus.

Success & Failure Rates

Many skills and abilities have effects based on the success rate or failure rate of a skill roll. The success rate of a roll is equal to the amount by which it was successfully made. The failure rate of a roll is equal to the amount by which it was failed.

[Overview of timing and AD in combat]

[Perks that provide new abilities for skills]


As disciplines level increase, a character has a chance to gain additional special abilities, called Perks. Perks are gained on every even level (2, 4, 6, etc.). When a character reaches an even discipline level, he can choose one perk from the list in that discipline. Perks must be taken at the time that the appropriate level is gained. They cannot be saved until later.

Perks can only be selected from disciplines that the character can access. If the character gains discipline access after its skills were already increased in IR, then he can retroactively gain perks for missed levels.

Basic & Advanced Perks

Perks come in two forms: basic and advanced. Basic perks can be chosen at any even level. Advanced perks, however, represent abilities that are more pow-erful or rare. They can only be chosen on even levels of 10 or higher.

Limits on Duplicate Perks

Each perk can be chosen more than once, whether from the same discipline or a different one, up to its limit. Two perks with the exact same name are con-sidered the same perk, even if they are listed in two different disciplines. Perks with duplicate names are restricted by the same limit.

Each perk provides instructions explaining how pur-chasing it multiple times increases its potency. If a perk has a statement declaring the results of purchas-ing it multiple times, these are the only additional effects that are gained.

Racial Perks

Each race has a list of unique perks that can bring racial characteristics to a PC. When the character reaches an even level in any discipline, racial perks from that characters race can be selected instead of choosing one from the discipline.

Special Kinds of Perks

Attribute Perks

Every discipline has a number of perks that can raise the characters attribute scores. These perks come in two flavors: max 15 and max 20. Max 15 perks can raise an attribute to a maximum of 15, plus or minus racial bonuses and penalties. Max 20 attribute perks can raise an attribute to a maximum of 20, plus or minus racial bonuses and penalties.

Example: your character is an elf, and you have selected to gain a +1 to Precision and to Knowledge from the racial bonuses. An elf always has a -1 adjustment to Constitution and Insight. A max 15 attribute perk can be used to increase your characters Precision and Knowledge to a maximum of 16, but your Constitution and Insight can only be raised to 14 with max 15 perks. All of your other attributes can be raised to 15 with max 15 at-tribute perks. While you could have chosen to raise your Presence and [Leadership] as an elf, you chose Precision and Knowledge instead, so your Presence and [Leadership] can only be raised to 15 with max 15 attribute perks.

Trumps

Trumps are special maneuvers that can occur when the character is exceptionally successful on a skill

Gaining Perks


check. Only one trump can be applied to a skill check. Each trump has a skill check penalty associ-ated with it. These penalties are represented by a negative number following the word trump in the perks name.

To use a trump, the character rolls a normal skill check. After seeing the result, she may then choose to apply the trump penalty to the roll. If she does, the trump occurs. Note that using a trump will lower the success rate of the skill check, making reactions and contests against it easier.

Example: Your character has the Rattle perk, which is a trump with a penalty of -5 that can startle your opponent. Your Weapons skill AR is 15. You roll a 4 and now have a choice: you can perform the normal attack with a success rate of 11 or you can apply the trump penalty for Rattle to the skill check. If you do, the suc-cess rate will be lowered to 1, making it easier for your opponent to react and contest the Rattle, but adding the trumps effects.

Tradesmen Perks

Every discipline that is not primarily used in combat has a perk that rewards those characters who dedi-cate themselves to learning trade skills. The effects of a characters tradesmen perk only applies if that disciplines level is higher than all of her others. If any other discipline becomes greater than or equal to that disciplines level, then the perks effects do not apply until that discipline level is once again the greatest.

One skill in the discipline, selected when the trades-men perk is taken, gains +5 AR to its skill checks. All other skills in that discipline gain +2 AR to their skill checks.

Additionally, the characters favored weapons in her

tradesmen discipline are treated as if they are generic as long as her tradesmen perk is active.

The character is recognized by others with the same Tradesman perk as if her Fame is 10 greater than it normally is.

If the character has a domain that is somehow associ-ated to his trade, then it gains +1 domain level, plus an addition +1 domain level per 10 levels that the character has in his tradesman discipline.

Voucher Perks

Vouchers are perks that can only be used once. Whenever the character takes a voucher perk, she writes it on her character sheet. That perk can then be used later to produce some effect. Once it is used, the voucher is removed from the character.

Note that a character can accumulate multiple vouchers, including those that are duplicates of other vouchers that she already has. Each voucher is good for one use and is then removed from the character.

Spell Path CP Vouchers

Each spell path has two vouchers related to it: a basic one that provides 5 CP and an advanced one that provides 15 CP. When these vouchers are used, the character points that they provide can be used to purchase access to that path through skill variants. These can also be used to purchase additional spell tiers in that path.

Alternate Spellcasting Perks

Some perks allow the character to cast spells us-ing skills other than the standard ones (Theory of Magic, Prayer, and Psionics). These perks define how the character gains the castable spell(s), what skill


is used to cast them, and what discipline is used to determine the casting level. Casting these spells uses the characters EP. The spells type (Wizard, Priest, or Mentalist) is based on the path from which it origi-nally came, regardless of what skill is used to cast it.

Essence Perks

Some perks allow the character to expend EP to pro-duce an effect. These perks draw from the characters EP. If the character does not have one of the three standard casting skills, then his EP will normally be equal to his Knowledge. EP-powered perks are considered magical effects, but cannot be interrupted like spells.

Celebrity Perks

Celebrity perks allow the character to gain bonuses by showing off her skill in front of a crowd. For these perks to function, the character must be in combat with a threatening foe while in front of at least 10 members of the general public. This combat must occur in an area that falls within her Fame radius, and the character must be in real danger. Allies and followers for either side do not count as part of the general public for the use of this perk.


Fame defines how widely the character is known. It is created and spread simply by spending time using skills in an area. As a characters skills increase, so does his fame. Some characters have the ability to promote themselves and others, allowing certain perks to spread their fame faster.

A characters fame is based on the disciplines for which he is considered most accomplished. The two disciplines with his highest levels are added together to determine the characters base fame. Perks and bonuses for great deeds can also increase the charac-ters fame.

Calculating Fame:Highest Discipline Level+ Second Highest Discipline Level+1 for each Virtue that is at +4 or -4+2 for each Virtue that is at +5 or -5+ Other Bonuses = Fame

Note that it is possible for different disciplines to be increased above those that are currently defining the characters fame. In those cases, the characters fame increases with the newly raised discipline.

Fame Bonuses From Extreme Virtues

Characters with extreme moralities tend to have a higher fame since they are more identifiable and tend to be the subjects of many conversations. The maxi-mum fame benefit that a character can gain from very high or low virtues is +5.

Fame Radius

The characters fame rating defines the radius in which she is known. As the characters fame increas-es, the radius expands. In addition to reflecting a true

physical distance, those with a closer relationship to the character tend to know more details about her. Those at the outer reaches of her radius tend to know less about her.

The fame radius is only a guideline to what others know about the character. It is left up to the GM to determine the specifics. It can be assumed that the character will generally be recognizable within her fame radius. If a person is looking for information about the character, it would not be too difficult for them to find someone that can tell them the basics. If the person is looking for more details, he would need to find someone that is closer to the character, and thus at a lower ring of her fame radius. Using the Investigation skill can also help dig up additional details about a person. The Heraldry skill provides knowledge about famous member of the upperclass in other locations.

Effects of Fame

The effects of fame are focused on others reactions to the character based on his skills and deeds. Dif-ferent people will have different perspectives on the character, so the effects can vary wildly from person to person. One merchant may want the character to marry his daughter, while another may jack up the prices because hes heard that the character is just back from a profitable adventure.

Fame Radius

Value Radius of Recognition0 Friends, family & neighborhood20 City & nearby area35 Countrywide50 Nearby countries100 Known World

Fame


Some CommonEffects of Fame

Romantic offersA free drink, meal, or nights stayPrices decreased or increasedApproached for autographsLending of useful equipmentTargetted for theftRequests by those in needInvitations for appearancesTurning a blind eyeFalse accusationsApprentices seeking trainingTraining by more famous NPCsChallenges from rivalsItems named after the character

Being famous does not always make the character a hero. Some extreme personalities, especially those based on very high or low virtues, may cause others to avoid or dislike the character. Certain unpopular deeds by the character could put him in danger from the general citizenry. However, even an infamous character will find that a certain element of the popu-lation will be drawn to him seeking profit, romance, and power.

Intensity of Fame

In addition to defining the radius of the characters fame, her rating also determines how extreme the reactions of others are. When a character has a fame rating that is significantly greater than what is need-ed for a certain location, the intensity of her fames effects increase. When a local hero gains national noteriety, those in her hometown will become more passionate about her.

Having 20 more fame than what is needed for a loca-tion provides the benefits of being a local celebrity. It

is easy to find a free meal, she may be asked to stand and be recognized at a public gathering, and she will likely be approached with many opportunities.

Having 50 or more fame than what is needed for a location will make the character into a phenomonon. People will flock to see her. Establishments may offer to pay her to make an appearance. The town leader may give her the key to the city.

Increasing Fame

A characters fame will naturally increase as the skills in his top two disciplines increase. There are also perks that can increase a characters fame. Tradesman perks make the character more popular with others that practice his trade.

There are times when the characters may accomplish a great deed that makes them the talk of the town, region, or realm. In these cases, the GM may wish to reward them with Fame. The amount of fame gained by successfully performing great deeds varies based on the size of the area that benefited from the charac-ters actions. See the chart above.

Spreading Fame To New Areas

When a character moves to a new area where she isnt as well known for her skills and deeds, it will

Fame Rewardsfor Great Deeds

Fame Area affected by the deed+1 Small town+2 City+5 Country+10 Worldwide


take time for her fame to catch up with what it was elsewhere. When acting normally, her fame in the new area will recover one point per week until she reaches her total amount of fame.

On any day in which the character is actively show-ing off her skills or spreading word of her deeds in a new location, the rate of fame recovery becomes one point per day.

Example: A great thespian that has moved to a new location can recover her fame at a rate of one per day simply by performing in front of a crowd.

Performing a great deed that the GM rewards with a fame bonus will automatically boost the character to her full amount of fame in any location where the deed was performed.

[Celebrity Perks and having celebrity]

Gaining Followers From Fame

Once the character reaches 20 Fame, some people in the general public may begin seeing him as a leader. Followers fall into two different categories: skilled and unskilled. Note that a character is always capable of hiring people at a standard fee to work for him regardless of his fame.

Skilled Followers

Skilled followers are those with useful combat, man-agement, or income-producing skills. Apprentices, personal bodyguards, lieutenents, butlers, and store managers are examples of these. Skilled followers can help the character earn income, manage his castle, or protect him from danger. They are dedicated to the character and will honorably act on his behalf.

Skilled followers are generally self-sufficant and do not require constant instructions from the characer. They will work for the cost of a basic livelihood for them and their family. The character can have one 75 CP follower at 20 Fame, and one additional 75 CP follower per 10 Fame thereafter. The followers do not earn CP, but the character may choose to share his CP with them.

Unskilled Followers

Unskilled followers are people who revere the char-acter but can only provide low-skilled labor. These include a churchs congregation, a castles servants, and the common soldiers of a militia. Unskilled fol-lowers can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, they are fanatical and will go to great lengths to serve the character. On the other hand, their weakness of mind can make them susceptible to threats from outside forces that mean harm to the character.


Unskilled followers will work for the cost of the bare neccessities and will often be willing to live in poverty conditions. At 20 Fame, the character gains 20 unskilled followers, plus 1 additional unskilled follower per fame thereafter (i.e., one per total fame).

Chapter FiveDisciplines & Perks


CombatDisciplines

WeaponmasterFast Draw to DefenderForce to ChampionKnockdown to Martial ArtistWeapon AttackWeapon Upkeep to Tactician

Martial ArtistDodge to DefenderFeint to SwashbucklerGrappling to AthleteKnockdown to WeaponmasterUnarmed Attack

DefenderBlockFast Draw to WeaponmasterDisarm to SwashbucklerDodge to Martial ArtistRoll With It

SwashbucklerBaitDaze to ChampionDisarm to DefenderFeint to Martial ArtistFlank to Acrobat

SpellcastingDisciplines

WizardConcentration to MentalistCounterspellCraft Relics to ArtificerSpell Recognition to ArcanistTheory of Magic

PriestExorcise to MysticHealing to NaturalistMeditation to MentalistPrayerTheology & Philosophy to Professor

MentalistConcentration to WizardHypnotismMeditation to PriestPrecognition to MysticPsionics

DISCIPLINES & PERKS 45

AcrobatDancing to ThespianEscape to EntertainerFlank to SwashbucklerStabilityTumbling to Athlete

ArcanistDetect CasterSense Curses to MysticSense Magic to ArtificerSpell Recognition to WizardUnweave Spell

AristocratBureaucracy to PoliticianCustoms to ProfessorEtiquetteMusic to ThespianRomance to Charmer

ArtificerCraft Potions to ScientistCraft Relics to WizardCraft Scrolls to WriterScrollcasting to LinguistSense Magic to Arcanist

ArtistBody Art to BarbarianCosmetology to ThespianDrawing & PaintingSculpting & PotteryTextiles & Sewing to Craftsman

AssassinActing to ThespianDeceit to CharmerPick Pockets to ThiefStealthTrailing to Detective

AthleteClimbing to MountaineerGrappling to Martial ArtistJumpingSwimming to SailorTumbling to Acrobat

BarbarianAnimal Mimicry to BeastmasterBody Art to ArtistCamouflageLeather Working to CraftsmanTracking to Ranger

ChampionCommand to TacticianDaze to SwashbucklerForce to WeaponmasterIntimidation to ScoundrelRally to Charmer

BeastmasterAnimal Care to FarmerAnimal Empathy to RangerAnimal Mimicry to BarbarianAnimal TrainingRiding & Driving to Merchant

CharmerDeceit to AssassinDiplomacy to PoliticianOratory to LinguistRally to ChampionRomance to Aristocrat

CraftsmanAppraising to MerchantCarpentry to EngineerJewelry & GlassworkingLeather Working to BarbarianTextiles & Sewing to Artist

DetectiveDetect LieInvestigationLight Sleep to ScoundrelRead Lips to LinguistTrailing to Assassin

EngineerArchitectureCarpentry to CraftsmanMasonry & Mining to MountaineerMechanics to InventorSmithing

EntertainerEscape to AcrobatFire BreathingJuggling to ThiefMind Over Matter to MysticVentriloquy to Thespian

Trade Disciplines


FarmerAnimal Care to BeastmasterBotany & Cultivation to NaturalistLocal Folklore to MerchantRendingWeather Sense

InventorChemistry to ScientistLock Picking to ThiefMechanics to EngineerResearch to SageSiege Weapons to Tactician

LinguistDecipherLanguages to WriterOratory to CharmerRead Lips to DetectiveScrollcasting to Artificer

MerchantAppraising to CraftsmanGambling to ScoundrelHagglingLocal Folklore to Farmer Riding & Driving to Beastmaster

MountaineerClimbing to AthleteGeologyMasonry & Mining to EngineerRope Use to SailorSurvival to Ranger

MysticExorcise to PriestMind Over Matter to EntertainerOmen ReadingPrecognition to MentalistSense Curses to Arcanist

NaturalistBotany & Cultivation to FarmerCooking & Brewing to ScientistCreature Lore to RangerHealing to PriestMedicine

PoliticianBattlefield Tactics to TacticianBureaucracy to AristocratDiplomacy to CharmerHeraldry to SageLaw to Professor

ProfessorCustoms to AristocratHistory to SageLaw to PoliticianTeaching to WriterTheology & Philosophy to Priest

RangerAnimal Empathy to BeastmasterCreature Lore to NaturalistOrienteering to SailorSurvival to Mountaineer Tracking to Barbarian

Trade Disciplines

SageAstronomy to ScientistHeraldry to PoliticianHistory to ProfessorPoetry & Storytelling to WriterResearch to Inventor

SailorDrinking to ScoundrelOrienteering to RangerRope Use to MountaineerSeamanship to TacticianSwimming to Athlete

ScientistAstronomy to SageChemistry to InventorCooking & Brewing to NaturalistCraft Potions to ArtificerMathematics

ScoundrelDrinking to SailorGambling to MerchantIntimidation to ChampionLight Sleep to DetectiveStreet Code to Thief

TacticianBattlefield Tactics to PoliticianCommand to ChampionSeamanship to SailorSiege Weapons to InventorWeapon Upkeep to Weaponmaster


ThespianActing to AssassinCosmetology to ArtistDancing to AcrobatMusic to AristocratVentriloquy to Entertainer

ThiefJuggling to EntertainerLock Picking to InventorPick Pockets to AssassinStreet Code to ScoundrelTraps

WriterCalligraphy & BookmakingCraft Scrolls to ArtificerLanguages to LinguistPoetry & Storytelling to SageTeaching to Professor

Disarm

Daze Force

Aristo

cratThief

Mystic

Sailor

DefenderWeaponmaster

Champion

Assassin

Bait

Mount

aineer

Artist

Defender Weaponmaster


Acrobat

AthleteSwash-

buckler

ThespianEnter-tainer

FlankBAL

TumblingBAL

DancingBAL

EscapePREC

StabilityBAL

Acrobat

Swimming

Climbing

Jumping

Grappling

Cosme-tology

Fire Breathing

Ventrilo-quy Acting

Music

Ventrilo-quy

Juggling

Mind Over

Matter

Martial Artist

Dodge

Unarmed Attack

Knock-down

Grappling


+1 Balance (max 15)

Acrobat Tradesman 1

Air 5CP (voucher)

Ambidexterity 2 The first time this perk is taken, the stan-dard -5 penalties for use of sec-ondary attack sources is reduced to -2. The second time this perk is taken, the character has no penal-ties when fighting with secondary attack sources.

Cats Grace 1 When the char-acter becomes prone or stands up from a prone position, a Tum-bling skill check can be rolled as a free action. If successful, the change of body position does not affect attack readiness.

Cut & Run (trump, -5) 1 The

+1 Balance & Strength (max 20)

Air 15CP (voucher)

Air Walk 1 The character can use his Light Step skill to walk across short distances of air (maximum of 1 phase of move-ment). Light Step can be com-bined with Stability to walk across thin strings and threads of any length that would not normally support he character. The char-acter must keep moving in one

character may apply the trump penalty to a rolled weapon or unarmed attack skill check. If the check is successful, then the char-acter can take a step or perform a skill-based movement (Jumping, Flank, Dancing, Tumbling) after the attack exchange. This is a free action that cannot be overloaded. If using a skill-based movement, the move does not happen if the check is failed. The step does not count towards the one step per phase limit. Cannot be used for a normal unskilled move.

Deft Defense (trump, -5) 1 The trump penalty may be ap-plied to a rolled check for Block, defensive Disarm, Dodge or Roll With It that has not been over-loaded. If the reaction is success-ful, the AD chosen for the result is automatically refreshed.

Acrobat Basic Perks

Acrobat Advanced Perks

direction to take advantage of this perk. Skill rolls related to use of this perk are rolled at -10. All other surfaces normally covered by Light Step are considered one level of difficulty easier. [build in old light step skill using stability, make EP perk?]

Mystic Move 1 When spend-ing an AD to move or use a skill that replaces movement, like jumping or climbing, the char-acter can spend any amount of EP. Add 1 square to the distance

Follow-through (trump, -5) 1 The character may apply the trump penalty to a rolled Dodge skill check. If the dodge is suc-cessful, he may choose to have the attack hit someone else of his choice in one of the attackers front squares. The new target of the attack must be within the at-tackers reach plus one.

Galeweaver 2 Values in the characters Air spells that are based on weight are doubled. If the character has Tier 5 Air spells, then the affected weight of the characters Air spells is instead doubled for each time taken.

Side Strike 1 The character can use Unarmed and Weapon Attack skills towards side squares as if they were front squares.

traveled by that mode of move-ment per 2 EP spent. This perk is activated separately with each movement.

Reflex 1 The character can use Roll With It and Dodge to react to any effects that call for a BAL con-test. Dodge allows the character to avoid the effects entirely. Roll With It reduces any damaging effects by the characters normal percentage. If the reaction fails, the BAL contest can be rolled.

Acrobat Favored Weapons

Entangling Weapons, Staves, Tossed Weapons

Mentalist

Scien

tist

Linguist

Mentalist Entertainer

Writer

Priest


Arcanist

Artificer

Mystic

Sense MagicPER

Sense Curses

INS

Detect Caster

PER

Spell Recognition

PER

Unweave Spell

KNOW

Wizard

Arcanist