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A D V E N T U R E S I N G L O R A N T H A

ADVENTURES IN GLORANTHA

AUTHORSOliver Jovanovic, Michael McGloin, Carl Fink

SPECIAL GLORANTHAN SECTIONS

Greg Stafford

PRODUCTIONMichael McGloin, Oliver Jovanovic

EDITINGOliver Jovanovic

GRAPHIC DESIGNIrene Gallo, Oliver Jovanovic

LAYOUTOliver Jovanovic

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CONTRIBUTING DESIGNBob Monaghan

Based on the universe created by Greg Stafford

SPECIAL THANKSMaurice Beyeke, Nick Brooke, Martin Crim, Phil Davis, Mike Dawson, David Dunham, Steve Marsh, Steven Martin,

Steve Maurer, Loren Miller, Sandy Peterson, Paul Reilly, Ken Rolston, Scott Schneider, Ray Turney

PLAYTESTINGSteve Barnes, Scott Baron, Eric Bauge, Larry Billings, Rebecca Bisbee, Robert Bisbee, Bob Boyette, Brandon Bryslawski,

Mark Buckely, David Cake, David Cheng, Bob Detter, Andrew Diamanduros, Oliver Dickinson, Thackery Douglas, Jeff Freymuller,Ray Fulcher, David Gadbois, Steve Gilham, David Gilliam, John Gulick, David Hall, George Harris, John Holmes, Tom Holsinger,

Lewis Jardine, Nigel Johnston, Hannu Kokko, Doug Kontak, Henk Langeveld, Tim Leask, Greame Lindsell, Stan Lucek,Bryan Maloney, Peter Marciani, John Medway, Charles Morehouse, Michael O'Brien, Jeff Okamoto, Curtis Peer, Jeremi Przadka,

Daniel Quirk, Kevin Rose, Mark Sabalauskas, Eric Schmidt, Robert Schuette, David Scott, Wayne Shaw, Robert Smith,Tony Sprenger, Andrew Stephenson, Mark Swanson, Bill Swearingen, Susan Swearingen, Steve Thomas, Peter Wake,

Mark Wallace, Ed Wallman, Terry Whisenant, Michael Wong, Tom Zunder

Copyright © 1993 Oliver Jovanovic, Michael McGloin and Carl FinkThis should in no way be construed as a challenge to prior copyrights held by The Avalon Hill Game Company or Chaosium Inc.

C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTIONChapter One, Page 1

CREATING AN ADVENTURERChapter Two, Page 16

GAME MECHANICSChapter Three, Page 47

SKILLSChapter Four, Page 52

TIME AND LEARNINGChapter Five, Page 68

COMBAT .Chapter Six, Page 74

THE NATURAL WORLDChapter Seven, Page 92

ECONOMICSChapter Eight, Page 99

THE WORLD OF MAGICChapter Nine, Page 106

DIVINE MAGICChapter Ten, Page 124

SPIRIT MAGICChapter Eleven, Page 153

SORCERYChapter Twelve, Page 165

GAMEMASTERINGChapter Thirteen, Page 181

CREATURES OF GLORANTHAChapter Fourteen, Page 182

THE WORLD OF GLORANTHAChapter Fifteen, Page 201

CHARACTER SHEETAppendix A

CONVERTING CHARACTERSAppendix B

INDEXAppendix C

I N T R O D U C T I O N

WHAT is RUNEQUEST?RuneQuest is a game of fantasy roleplaying. In it, you par-ticipate with a group of people in the creation andelaboration of a story set in a unique magical world. Onemember of the group acts as gamemaster, who moderatesthe game. He or she creates and directs the world in whichplay occurs, often with the assistance of published scenar-ios or background material, and plays the role ofcharacters or creatures the other players encounter in thecourse of play. The other players take on the role of one ormore adventurers who live in the world.

The game is the interaction of the gamemaster and theother players. Together, they create a story. The events ofthe game serve to shape and form the story being told. TheRuneQuest rules are the common thread that bring theplayers and gamemaster together. They provide mecha-nisms for resolving the situations that arise in the courseof the game and add a random element to the game, whichbrings an element of risk to the most well thought outaction or a chance for success in the most hopeless situation.

The world of Glorantha has been associated withRuneQuest since the game's inception. The world, itsmagic, religions, mythology, people, and places aredescribed in detail within these rules. The world has pro-vided the inspiration, mystery, magic and background forthousands of campaigns. Whether the world throughwhich your adventurers roam is Glorantha, or one of thegamemaster's own creation, the background material pro-vided here should provide a wealth of ideas and examplesto draw upon.

WHAT is GLORANTHA?Glorantha is the most thoroughly explored game world inprint available today. Its exploration was begun in 1966by Greg Stafford, who has continued to compile informa-tion about the world. In 1976, the boardgame, White Bear& Red Moon, first appeared. That game, considerablyrevised, is still available from Avalon Hill under the titleDragon Pass. In 1978, RuneQuest appeared, and from1978 until the present, dozens of adventures and sourcebooks set in or concerning Glorantha have been pub-lished, much to the delight of thousands of fans.

Glorantha is a complete universe. It is self-contained,and from its myths to its molecules it must be taken on its

own terms. None of the cultures of Earth exist onGlorantha, though there certainly are analogs of Earthlycultures and peoples. Many creatures rightfully rooted inother worlds have no representatives here. The informa-tion that follows should provide you with the informationyou need to run or play in a Gloranthan campaign,although any campaign will almost certainly vary at leastin small ways from the published materials. Sheer creativityalters details, if nothing else.

THE WORLD OF GLORANTHAThe world of Glorantha is a magical one. The lands ofGlorantha float upon Sramak's River, which flows into thePrimal Sea of mythology. The Sky Dome, tilted off its cen-ter since before time began, rotates above the earth and sea.

The theists of the northern continent call their landGenertela, the body of the dead earth god Genert. Thecenter of the night sky is Pole Star, the god who is the onlystable point in the Sky Dome. Between the earth and skylies the turbulent realm of the storm gods, who, led byOrlanth, King of the Storm Gods, struggle with the RedMoon, which floats serenely above the lands of the LunarEmpire, for control of the Middle Air.

The sun god, Yelm, rises from the east each morning,then passes across the sky to set each evening in the west.While he is in the sky, the Sky Dome shines bright blue. Ofthe other heavenly bodies, only the Red Moon is clearlyvisible during the day. Through the night, Yelm travelsbeneath the seas and earth through the underworld, andfinally again up to the eastern lands of the dawn. The god-dess of night, Xentha, rules over the surface world inYelm's absence. At night, the slow revolution of the SkyDome can be seen, as the darkness is broken by thousandsof stars, which mark the points that the magical denizensof the sky world peer through to guard their followersbelow. The Red Moon can be clearly seen at night, its facebright red, black, or both, depending on the location ofthe viewer and the day of the week. A blood red planet,Tolat, which crosses the night sky every two weeks, and aslower pale planet, Wagon, can almost always be seen. Abright constellation of nine stars, Lorian, is almost alwaysvisible, as is Orlanth's Ring, a constellation of sevenorange stars and one bright green star, the Dragon's Head,which spirals across the Sky Dome.

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2 • I N T R O D U C T I O N

THE RUNESRunes are the building blocks ofGlorantha. They are symbols, archetypes,embodiments, and actual matter orenergy of the mundane world. Runesoriginated with the very creation ofGlorantha. Their precise origin isunknown, and believers in particularrunes always insist that theirs was first-made. Tales link the gods of the CelestialCourt with the runes, each god embody-ing a rune. Their interactions led to thebirths of the Young Gods; these newerdeities are often associated with one ormore parental runes as a result.

Each rune has myths associated with it.Some have elaborate cycles wovenaround their stories. All begin with amember of the Celestial Court who ownedthe rune, and end with the current GreaterGod who owns it. In these stories the runesare sometimes treated as things, or beings,or abstract powers, or even all three.

The powers of the Great Runes areuniversally acknowledged. The deitieswho own those runes cannot be changedwithout altering the very fabric of theuniverse. Such alteration is against theCosmic Compromise which begot Time,and cannot occur. There are lesser runes,not shown here, and many signs andsymbols as well.

One of the goals of many Gloranthanadventurers is to acquire mastery of arune, the first step along the path tobecoming a hero. Becoming a master of aform of magic, that is, becoming ashaman, priest or magus, helps one gainmastery of the Magic Rune. Becoming amaster of skills or men helps one gainmastery of the Mastery Rune. Along theshaman's path lies mastery of the SpiritRune, among others. Along the sorcerer'spath lies mastery of the Law Rune, andthrough the manipulations of sorcery, themastery of other runes. Along the myriadpaths of the cults lies the mastery of therunes belonging to their gods.

AIR

Original Owner—UmathCurrent Owner—OrlanthAssociation—air, storm, violence

BEASTOriginal Owner—HykimCurrent Owner—HykimAssociation—animal life

CHAOSOriginal Owner—Primal ChaosCurrent Owner—Primal ChaosAssociation—entropy, evil, corruption

DARKNESSOriginal Owner—NakalaCurrent Owner—SubereAssociation—darkness, cold, secrets

DEATHOriginal Owner—Kargan TorCurrent Owner—HumaktAssociation—separation, conflict, death

DISORDEROriginal Owner—RatslafCurrent Owner—BolongoAssociation—disunity, trouble, trickery

DRAGONEWTOriginal Owner—dragonewtsCurrent Owner—dragonewtsAssociation—dragonewts

EARTHOriginal Owner—GaCurrent Owner—ErnaldaAssociation—earth, solids

FATEOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—Arachne SolaraAssociation—interconnectedness

FERTILITYOriginal Owner—UleriaCurrent Owner—UleriaAssociation—love, life, growth, fertility

FIREOriginal Owner—AetherCurrent Owner—YelmAssociation—fire, heat, sky

HARMONYOriginal Owner—Harana IlorCurrent Owner—Chalana ArroyAssociation—unity, cooperation, healing

ILLUSIONOriginal Owner—TyleneaCurrent Owner—EurmalAssociation—tricks, falsehood, deception

INFINITYOriginal Owner—ItCurrent Owner—Arachne SolaraAssociation—unendingness

LAWOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—Invisible GodAssociation—unchanging, reliable

LUCKOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—unknownAssociation—luck, fortune

MAGICOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—Arachne SolaraAssociation—contact between worlds

MANOriginal Owner—GrandfatherCurrent Owner—Daka FalAssociation—humanoid life

MASTERYOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—Arachne SolaraAssociation—self-knowledge and unity

MOONOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—Red GoddessAssociation—illusion, time, balance

MOVEMENTOriginal Owner—LarnsteCurrent Owner—MastakosAssociation—motion, change, instability

PLANTOriginal Owner—FlamalCurrent Owner—FlamalAssociation—vegetable life

SPIRITOriginal Owner—Horned ManCurrent Owner—Horned ManAssociation—discorporate beings

STASISOriginal Owner—AcosCurrent Owner—MostalAssociation—stability, law

TRADEOriginal Owner—unknownCurrent Owner—IssariesAssociation—trade, communication

TRUTHOriginal Owner—OrenoarCurrent Owner DayzatarAssociation—truth, knowledge

WATEROriginal Owner—ZaramakaCurrent Owner—MagastaAssociation—water, liquids

I N T R O D U C T I O N • 3

THE INNER WORLDThe Inner World of Glorantha is the world of men. It isshaped like a huge lozenge floating upon an unlimited sea.Waters wash parts of the lands. Most humans live near thecenter of this lozenge, and are content to live only in themundane world, leaving it to their priests, sorcerers orshamans to protect them from the magical world. But theinfluence of the magical world is always there. The under-world is populated by immortal creatures, as well as byevil dreams and by the souls of the dead and unborn. Theworld is filled with magical entities who are personifica-tions of things, who represent life essences, or who arespiritual truths. Many of these beings are alive in everysense, but many are not. Some live primarily in the spiritplane, the world of the spirits, others primarily on the godplane, the land of myth and the home of the gods.Shamans regularly contact and enter the spirit plane andpriests regularly contact the god plane, bringing the mun-dane and magical worlds together.

GENERTELAThe northern continent of Glorantha, called Genertela,land of the dead earth god Genert, is the land most heavilyinhabi ted by humans . Here the elder races—thedragonewts, elves, dwarfs, and trolls have been reduced topowerful pockets of resistance surrounding ancient holyplaces. A variety of human cultures dominate the betterlands. The land was badly damaged in the GreaterDarkness, when chaos swept the land and its ruling god,Genert, was destroyed by it. The Wastes astride thecontinent and the land's loss of fertility testify to thephysical losses su f fe red . The magical damage wascomparable. Genert embodied some powers of unity andharmony never yet recovered by the residents of the land.

MYTHOLOGYThe CreationThis tale agrees in most particulars with the diverse reli-gious sources of the world, and of all possible mythologiesit is the most comprehensive know to scholars, thoughmany would disagree with particular portions of it.

The egg of the world was formed in a way which evengods cannot understand. It was suspended in the Void ofChaos, an emptiness pregnant with potential. The eggopened. From within emerged It, the primal androgyne, aninfinite dragon. The entire cosmos and two other beingscame from It. They were Maker and Grower. Maker andGrower were each a creative energy, and each sought toimprove the place where they resided. They used theirpowers so that the world grew and was built greater.Maker and Grower, often called The Two, rose from TheOne, and from them rose The Third. Born was the GreatGoddess, Glorantha, mother of the world which bears hername, mother of the Council of Pairs and the ElementalDeities, and the source of all mystery and compassion.

The Celestial CourtThe first known gods formed the Celestial Court. Theywere perfect creatures, each the essence of a power or anelement.

The Council of Pairs were the members of theCelestial Court associated with one of the ancient opposedrunes of power. They were Acos, god of Law ( ) andLarnste, god of Change ( ); Uleria, goddess of Love ( )and Kargan Tor, god of War ( ); Orenoar, goddess ofTruth ( ) and Tylenea, goddess of Illusion ( ); andHarana Ilor, goddess of Harmony ( ) and Ratslaf, god ofDisorder ( ).

The Elemental Deities were the members of theCelestial Court associated with one of the ancient elemen-tal runes. They were Nakala, Dame Darkness, the FirstBorn, goddess of all Dark and Cold ( ); Zaramaka, SirSea, son of Darkness, god of all Waters ( ); Ga, EmpressEarth, daughter of the Sea, goddess of all Earths ( ); andAether, Lord Light, son of the Earth, god of Sky, Light andFire ( ). Later came Umath, King Storm, son of Earth andSky, god of Air and Storm ( ).

The Elder Gods were the members of the CelestialCourt associated with attributes and attitudes, such asMaker and Grower, the Great Mother, Glorantha, and theEternal Witness.

All of the members of the Celestial Court began asabstractions, but sought inner secrets, thereby quickeningtheir inner parts to divinity. For example, the One Earth ofthe Celestial Court became many, and the One Truthbecame many, populating the inner worlds.

At first the members of the Celestial Court dancedalone, exploring only themselves. The members of theCourt then combined their powers and joined together inthe center of the world to create the Perfect Palace. Fromthe outside it appeared to be a cosmic mountain, uponwhich rested the Sky Dome, and was called the Spike. Itbecame the home of the Celestial Court. There, some-times, parts of separate devolutions found themselves inclose harmony, and moved together as one. Where twocreatures touched and moved in that timeless grace, wasformed a third, unlike either parent. These new-born enti-ties were the Young Gods.

The Green AgeFrom the Spike issued the children and other creations ofthe Celestial Court, to fill the rest the world with theirsecrets. The form runes came into existence then, first theDragonewt rune ( ), then the Plant rune ( ), then theBeast rune ( ), and finally the Man rune ( ). These formsreproduced and populated the world, and it was called theGreen Age.

The Golden AgeIn this era the children of the Celestial Court, the YoungGods, spread throughout existence. Many of them are stillworshiped. This era was known as the Golden Age, and itsinhabitants lived in peaceful harmony, ruled by Yelm, theSun God, King of the Young Gods.

4• I N T R O D U C T I O N

The Lesser DarknessThe end of the Golden Age was brought about by the mat-ing of two of the greatest of the Celestial Court. The SkyGod stretched forth and covered the earth goddess—theimmortal Aether commingled with the infinite Earth. Atthe moment of their coupling, it is said, Harana Ilor, thegoddess of Harmony stumbled and fell on her face. Fromthat moment the perfection of the world failed. But worsewould happen. Umath, King Storm, god of Air and Storm,was the child of the Sky and Earth. His first action was tosunder his parents, making a place for himself by creatingmisery for others. The children he devolved into, theStorm Gods, were violent and quarrelsome, and theiractions helped transform the era from the Golden Age tothe strife of the era called the God's War. One of Umath'schildren, Humakt, was the first to use the new power,Death, testing it on the god now known as GrandfatherMortal. Humakt's brother, Orlanth, contesting with Yelmfor primacy amongst the gods, stole Death from Humaktand used it to strike down the Sun God, plunging theworld into the era known as the Lesser Darkness. As hadthe father Umath, so did the sons seize places for them-selves, and freely used their new power of Violence tochange the world. The violent struggles of the children ofUmath gave this era its other name, the Storm Age.

The Greater DarknessThe wars of the Lesser Darkness may have weakened thecosmos, allowing for the entry of the other things. At firstthese were minor incursions, but the damage they did tothe world was hardly greater than that caused by the warsof the gods. The end of the Lesser Darkness was broughtabout by three of the Young Gods now known as theUnholy Trio. Driven by hatred, jealousy, greed and selfish-ness, they performed a magical ritual of chaos birth,drawing upon its power to be reborn with powers fargreater then any they had held before. Their leader wasRagnaglar, now known as the Mad God, and the othertwo were Thed, once a goddess of love, now goddess ofrape and the broos, and Malia, once a goddess of birthand fertility, now goddess of disease and age.

The ritual of the Unholy Trio allowed the full force ofchaos to enter into the world, led by Wakboth, the Lord ofChaos and Kajabor, the Great Fear. With them came otherentities, including creatures spawned outside of Gloranthaand thus immune to many of its laws, all inimical to thevery existence of the world. Resistance seemed futile, asthese creatures had come to end the existence of the uni-verse, which had danced its dance and was running downto a predestined end. When Genert, the Earth Lord, led amighty army of gods and mortals against the invaders, thegods were utterly destroyed by the unknown forcesreleased by the invaders. The Fields of Plenty, where thearmies met, became the forever polluted Krjalki Bog. Thefew survivors managed to escape when Genert turnedmany of his forces into a stinging cloud of copper to covertheir retreat. Their sacrifice is still visible in the Wastes ofGenert, as the desolate region of the Copper Sands. Genert

himself, and many of the greatest of the Young Gods didnot survive the battle.

The forces of chaos converged on the Spike, whosedefenders prepared a desperate but doomed defense. Theinvaders forced their way past the defenders and fell uponthe Celestial Court, tearing them to pieces. The CelestialCourt did not struggle, and most were destroyed when theCosmic Mountain exploded under the attack of Wakboth,leaving a howling void of chaos in the center of the world.

I Fought, We WonThroughout the Greater Darkness, other gods fought onindependently. Yelm, deep in hell, exercised the strength ofhis pure will to bring justice to himself, and therebyovercame his own death. Magasta led his watery minionsto close the breach caused by the explosion of the spike.Kyger Litor brought her grim kin under the starless skies,ever seeking to destroy chaos. Orlanth, with doughtyfollowers, defied the old laws and came alive to Hell toliberate the life forces.

The final battle between the forces of chaos and theworld's defenders centered around Dragon Pass, where theForces of Survival met with and defeated chaos in thebattle known to all as the I Fought We Won battle. TheStorm Bull, on the verge of death, called one last time forhelp against Wakboth, and was rewarded when a piece ofthe exploded Spike fell from the heavens onto the Devil,smashing him under untold tons of fossilized law anddriving his unclean soul to the Underworld, into the handsof the gods waiting there.

The Great CompromiseArachne Solara is a deity of unknown origin, who wascritical to the rebirth of the world. She forged a compact,called the Great Compromise, between all the gods, deadand living, and as one they fought that which would endcreation. When Wakboth arrived in hell they acted as oneto bind and destroy him. They won, and from the strugglewas born the new age. Time, sometimes called the lastgod, leapt from the womb of Arachne Solara and cast itsmystical web of reality across the remains of the old world.Yelm led the dead gods back to life with the first sunrise,and at that moment of Dawning the new age was born.

HISTORYThe First Age (The Dawning)Modern Genertelan history begins with the first Dawn.The Theyalans of Dragon Pass instituted a near-universaldating system, Solar Time (S.T.), beginning with TheDawning. Every species knows stories and songs whichtheir ancestors made about the miraculous moment whenLife began again.

During the earliest historical periods, the elder raceswere still dominant, though humans multiplied quickly.Man gradually but steadily widened the settled lands andencroached upon the wilderness fastness of the elder races.During those times it seemed that the world was not quite


reformed from the Gods Wars. There was less separationbetween mortals and gods, though the gap widened asyears passed and more and more people died. Many pow-ers sought to mold s t i l l -pl iant energies, and manyexperiments were made. Results of those archaic experi-ments have sometimes survived to the current day.

The SunstopThe events set in motion by these experiments cumulatedin the year 374 S.T. to cause the impossible to occur.

In central Genertela, in the land of Dorastor, a ritualfocused around a pseudocosmic egg, its purpose the gene-sis of the Perfect One, reached its climax. In westernGenertela, the wizards of Fronela engaged in a thaumatur-gical contest with a powerful heathen god that hadinvaded their land. In eastern Genertela, in the land ofKralorela, the latest of the Dragon Emperors meditatedupon a potent symbol, whose consequence and innerworking were unknown, and without realizing it, calledupon the Dragon's Eye to shine upon him.

The sun stopped in the sky. No one knows how long itstood there, for that act halted Time. The strands of agreat net enfolded it, and strained to pull the sun back toits path. Strands snapped and unearthly shadows werecast upon the world. A great shadow fell upon the sun,blotting it out and making the world cold for an endlessmoment. Then the sun crept past the shadow, and theshadow disappeared. Everyone thought the sun nowlooked paler than before, and some said it now moved dif-ferently, too.

In Kralorela, the Dragon Emperor realized the secretsof the symbol, and was liberated from another stage ofconsciousness. In Fronela, the invading god was struckwith weakness, and the magic of the wizards destroyed hisarmy, the survivors fleeing in panic, never to be a greatforce again.

The Bright EmpireIn Dorastor, there was a birth. Born was Osentalka, thePerfect One. He was a wonder and a miracle to behold,and the people that helped to create him accepted him as agod. Most came to call him Nysalor, the White Light, andworshiped him by that name.

Nysalor began a Golden Age reign for his followers.Those who did not follow were enslaved or driven out.Missionaries carried word of his powers far and wide, andhis worship spread across Genertela. Only trolls and drag-onewts objected in large numbers, and they were defeatedin battle. It was at this time that the trolls were cursed byNysalor, so that they bore mutant trollkin instead ofhealthy trolls. Nysalor's Bright Empire blossomed inDorastor and Peloria, and those living there believed thatthe Golden Age had once again returned to the world.

The Gbaji WarsArkat was a knight, originally from the land of Brithos,who became the sworn foe of Nysalor. He found that themissionaries of Nysalor, who had recently gained accep-

tance and followers in the West after curing a mysteriousplague, had actually introduced the plague in the firstplace. Arkat revealed the missionaries of Nysalor as agentsof chaos, whose machinations would soon doom theworld by destroying the ancient Gods Compromise. Dueto the actions of his followers, Nysalor came to be knownin the West as Gbaji, The Deceiver.

Arkat's life was 75 years of struggle, and his waragainst Gbaji changed the face of the continent. To helpdestroy his foe, Arkat built upon the work of previousexplorers of the God Plane, known as heroquesters, todevelop heroquesting into an art. He used it to uncovernew magics to combat his foe with, and to transform him-self into an unstoppable force. When approached by agroup of Lightbringers, who brought him news of themagical sword he now carried, and of a way to attack theBright Empire from the south, he broke with his knightlyposition to join the cult of Humakt. People said that thegod was Arkat's father, and that the sword he bore wasHumakt's sword, God Cleaver, the Unbreakable Sword.Arkat Humaktson and an army from the West landed inthe Shadowlands, blazing a trail of destruction north-wards towards the Bright Empire.

In the end, Arkat betrayed his Lightbringer allies bybecoming Arkat Kingtroll, joining the cults of Kyger Litorand Zorak Zoran, to draw from darknesses powersagainst chaos, and devastating land, city and forest as hisforces inched forwards against the forces of the BrightEmpire. Arkat and Nysalor met in the heart of Dorastor,amid the City of Miracles, and all existence seemed toshatter around them. Only one of them emerged from theruins, and the downfall of Nysalor was complete, as hewas now known only as Gbaji, the Deceiver. The defeatedgod was dismembered, and his parts scattered about theworld, buried beneath rocks and magic. The ancient cen-ter of the Bright Empire, Dorastor, was left a stinkingcesspool of chaos monsters. After the battle, it was saidthat Arkat was no longer a troll. He retired to Ralios,where he lived for another 75 years. When he departedthis plane, he left behind an empire of human and troll fol-lowers that was known as Arkat's Empire of Peace by itsinhabitants and as Arkat's Dark Empire by its foes.

These early times are also called the Dawn Ages, andare considered to end in 450 S.T., when Arkat destroyedthe land of Dorastor.

The Second Age (The Time of Empire)Once in motion, the magical effects of the Dawn Agereverberated through the world. One of those deep vibra-tions rekindled ancient sorrows of the elder races, who fellupon each other as if the Gods War had returned. Theirnumbers, decimated from the Gbaji Wars, dwindled further.At the same time, nations of men expanded their lands,often warring against and defeating the Elder Powers.

The vibrations of the new magic carried most deeplyamong the humans of Glorantha. Their natural curiosityfound new channels to explore in Arkat's discoveries. Thediscoveries were exploited by bands of people who some-


times became quite powerful, and helped found govern-ments which conquered the world.

EWFIn Dragon Pass, where the people had enjoyed a close rela-tionship with Dragonkind since before the Dawning, anew empire arose. The humans of the Empire of theWyrm's Friends, as is was later called, drew upon thesecrets of the dragons for their strength, and theirWaltzing and Hunting Bands spread the ways of the EWFacross the land. The empire first conquered the lands adja-cent to Dragon Pass, then began a slow and inexorablespread across the continent. Even the great sun worship-ping Dara Happan Empire of Peloria, which lay to thenorth of the EWF, eventually fell to them. An uneasy trucewith the Middle Sea Empire of the Jrusteli held through-out most of the Second Age, with the Jrusteli holding thecoasts of Genertela, and the EWF much of the interior.

The EWF lasted for nearly 500 years, establishingtrade with the islands and southern lands, and ruling theirlands in relative peace. The end was sudden. The fringes ofthe EWF collapsed first, torn by rebellion and internal dis-satisfaction among the people of the empire at its leader'sexcesses. In 1042 S.T., as the leaders of the EWFattempted to rally their forces, the empire's former allies,the dragonewts, rose and crushed the rotten heart of theonce mighty empire. The leaders of the EWF vanishedovernight, and the empire collapsed. Only a few corruptremnants remain to this day, such as Delecti, the beast-men, the Tusk Riders, and the ruins of Pavis.

The Dragonkill WarThe enemies of the EWF, unsatisfied by the collapse of itshuman leadership, began to wage a campaign of destruc-tion against the empire's former allies, the dragonewts.Without their human allies, the dragonewts appearedhelpless before the might of their allied foes. Dragonewtnests were scoured with wildfire, planted with the seeds ofchaotic parasites, and infested with terrible diseases. Anythat would mourn them were cursed. In 1100 S.T., thecream of Peloria's manhood, led by the nobles of the nowrecovered Dara Happan Empire, assembled as the TrueGolden Horde to march upon the dragonewt's home citiesin Dragon Pass, and destroy them once and for all. TheDragonkill War of 1120 S.T. was the result, named for thedragon's actions. None of the humans of the True GoldenHorde imagined what the dragon's response to the nesteggs of Dragon Pass being threatened. At first dream drag-ons flew in, individually, then in packs. The true dragonsthen fell from the stars, like screaming meteors, theirscreams alone killing those below. Ancient mountains andranges of hills rose, revealing themselves to be dragons,and they were not the largest of the true dragons. Therewere less than a hundred survivors of the original TrueGolden Horde, which had numbered in the hundreds ofthousands.

Dragon Pass was shunned by humans for centuriesafterwards. A generation of children that grew up without

fathers passed their fear of dragons and Dragon Pass on totheir descendants, and the power of the dragons has notbeen contested since.

The God LearnersThe Jrusteli were the most learned and least wise of theEmpires. Originally a powerful trade empire, called theFree Men of the Sea, based on the island of Jrustela, theybegan to rapidly expand in 675 S.T.

Their scholars were called the God Learners, whomastered a magic allowing them to do the impossible.Thus when confronted by the Waertagi and their mermenallies, the ancient masters of trade and the sea, the GodLearners created Tanian, god of water fire, and in 718S.T., in the Battle of Tanian's Victory, set the very oceansafire, destroying the Waertagi and their merman allies aswell. Their magic fleets soon controlled the oceans and allsurface shipping, where they came to be known as theMiddle Sea Empire. Within a short period of time, theycame to control all the coastal regions of Glorantha aswell, where they came to be known as the Jrusteli Empire.

The confidence and arrogance of the Jrusteli GodLearners grew, and they soon considered themselves moresuccessful than the gods at controlling nature. They couldtwist and turn it, and change it at will. Sorcery made greatadvances, people turned from the gods, and the spiritworld was treated as an energy source. Yet they could notremain successful in the face of an outraged world. Thethings they twisted sprang back, and the things theydestroyed were sought in vain afterwards for comfort andaid. The elder races, smaller kingdoms, cults and religionsboth new and old, and concerned individuals of all races,sought to restore balance to the surface world. They wereaided by the Old Gods, whose priests had been workingspells which take centuries to complete, but never failwhen released. The Jrusteli's sea-foes returned with powerand hordes of the dead at their backs. Tidal wavesdestroyed the coastal strongholds, and huge tracts of landsank forever beneath the waves. Much of Seshnela, a cen-ter of Jrusteli power, was covered by the oceans in 1049S.T. Terrifying doom guardians, called Gift Carriers of theSending Gods, sought out the frantic God Learners wher-ever they hid, in any world, and took vengeance forancient wrongs. Friends of the Jrusteli magnates were slainmerely for their friendship. Families were annihilated.Survivors came to fear every thought, thing, and ideawhich might be associated with the God Learners or theJrusteli. These fears linger still.

The ClosingIn 920 S.T, a spell swept across the seas, radiating slowlyoutwards from the island of Brithos, causing all the vesselswhich sailed the surface of the ocean to be destroyed, con-fused, or lost forever. This was called the Closing, andmade sailing impossible on every sea not enclosed by land.It was said to have been the work of Zzabur of Brithos,grown tired of mortal misuse of the powers of sorcery. Theisland of Brithos disappeared from the mundane world at


the same time. The Closing swept across the island ofJrustela with devastating effects from 930 S.T. to 940 S.T.,destroying much of what remained of civilization there.

The Second Age is usually considered to end around1120 S.T., when the Dragonkill War occurred, but otherdates are used as well, including 940 S.T., when the islandof Jrustela was shattered by the forces of nature, 970 S.T.,when the Closing finally covered all the oceans, 1042 S.T.,when the EWF fell, and 1049 S.T., when Seshnela sank.

The Third Age (Recent Centuries)For centuries after the disasters which befell the greatempires, exploratory magics were shunned and forgotten,and sometimes held to be evil. Conservatism overwhelmedcreativity. The world entered a new phase of developmentin which most people feared change. Such withdrawalinfluenced the world, as terrible dooms overcame it.

The Lunar EmpireNot everyone withdrew from challenges. The recreation ofthe Red Goddess was a spectacular success. This being hadbeen born in Godtime, but was destroyed. Powerful mor-tals reunited the fragments, and the goddess was reborn asa mortal woman in 1220 S.T. She had great potential, andwith training she walked upon the pathways of the godsand became immortal. When deified in 1247 S.T., she tooka portion of the earth with her into the sky, and therebyformed a new, unique planet, the Red Moon. Of all thewanderers of the sky only she does not move from herplace, although her face changes in a regular cycle. Eachstage of growth by the Red Goddess was contested byother deities. They feared her, for sometime she invokedNysalor and chaos, or portions of the God Learner andDragon powers, and she expressed an openness which sur-passed even the mystical cults of the east. Despite troublesin all worlds, the Goddess persevered, as did her Empire.It grew for centuries until it seemed the entire worldwould fall sway to the Lunar legions. Missionaries of theRed Moon, and of more secretive cults, spread like a webacross the world.

The Syndic's BanAnother such manifestation was the mysterious eventcalled the Syndic's Ban, which occurred in the land ofFronela in 1499 S.T. In this event the God of the SilverFeet was murdered by a conspiracy of mortal leaders. Thisstopped all travel and communication in the land. Fronela,which encompassed most of Western Genertela, was cutoff from the world, and its peoples were isolated evenfrom each other.

The Opening of the SeasIn 1580 ST., Dormal, a sailor from the Holy Country, per-formed a ritual he had developed to sidestep the effects ofthe Closing, and set out to sea. Within three years he hadpassed his r i tua l on to nearly everyone in westernGenertela, then sailed further westward into immortalityand godhood. Within twenty years time, the curse of the

Closing was effectively overcome, and now ships of manynations once more sail the seas with the assistance ofDormal's rituals.

The Present DayNow the old powers are moving again. There are beingsand creatures which protest the great change which theRed Goddess has wrought, and who are massing theirpowers to halt the spread of the Lunar Empire and its off-shoots. Sensing the end of the world, they are preparingthemselves. New powers are appearing, and old gods areagain corning to the fore. Mysterious forces move throughthe world. The elder races have mustered new armies,unknown peoples have appeared with new powers, andthere are creatures abroad which have never been seenbefore. Old foes gain renewed strength for new troubles.Crisis is at hand—it is the time of the Hero Wars! InGenertela the Lunar Empire, which openly embraceschaos and other atrocities, sits like a coiled serpent withthree heads (one invisible), waiting to strike again. HighPriests across the continent call for war against theEmpire, but with all the trouble in the world there are fewto heed the call.

The Hero WarsMost Gloranthan adventuring takes place during the HeroWars, an era which provided unique opportunities forindividuals to achieve greatness by their deeds, against abackground of dark strife and tragedy.

Many of the published Gloranthan scenarios are set atthe beginning of the Hero Wars period, the years 1616-1625 S.T.

TIMEMost dating systems in Genertela begin with the Dawn,when Yelm rose into the sky and inaugurated the age ofhistory. Created by the Theyalans of Dragon Pass, this sys-tem is called Solar Time (S.T.) and is the most commontime-measurement system used in Genertela.

A day is the time needed for the sun to traverse the skyfrom east to west. A night is the time needed for the sun totraverse the underworld from west to east. Twenty fourhours make up one day and night. Seven days and nightsmake up one week. Eight weeks (56 days and nights)make up one Season. Five Seasons (plus a 14 day andnight interim called Sacred Time) make up one year. Thusa year is 294 days and nights long.

The Lunar Empire uses a similar system, but mea-sures time from the moment their Red Goddess was born(during Sacred Time, 1220 S.T.). They also use a largermeasure of time, 54 years long, called the Wane.

WEATHERThe following seasons are based on the weather patternsof Peloria and Dragon Pass, but they have been generallyadopted in most of Genertela.


Sea Season—comparable to spring, this season opens thenew year and is a rime of planting, new births for beasts,and gentle rains. The winds generally blow from west toeast this rime of year. The Storm Bull Winds occasionallyblow northward from the Wastes. Yelm, the sun, travelsroughly through the middle of the sky.

Fire Season—a hot, dry summer period, this is the rime ofwarming, ripening and growing. It is also the time of warwhen men are free from the toils of the soil. The windsblow east to west, bringing rain to the western areas. TheStorm Bull Winds blow outwards from the Wastes, gener-ally north or south, on occasion to the east, bringingsandstorms with them. Yelm's path is to the north of thePole Star, and he is brighter and hotter than usual.

Earth Season—harvest time, when animals are slaughteredto prepare for the oncoming cold. The winds are at theirweakest this time of year. The sun's path returns to themiddle of the sky.

Dark Season—night and ice demons wander about theland bringing snow and storms upon hapless humans.Trolls are most active during this time, while Brown elvessleep. Cold winds, called the Valind Winds blow from thenorth. Chill storms, called Ygg's Winds, blow southwardsalong the western coasts of Genertela, and typhoons andhurricanes strike the eastern parts of the continent. Astrong wind from the east, the Vithela Wind, sometimescounters these storms. The sun's path moves south of thePole Star, and he becomes noticeably paler and weaker.

Storm Season—the last season of the year when life anddarkness spirits wage battle. Sometimes the darkness spir-its win and the ice and cold drag on for weeks. Sometimesthe spirits of life win, with springlike weather and newshoots and buds. Usually neither is entirely victorious, andthis is a time of violent weather changes. Most winds blowfrom north to south this time of year. The western por-tions of Genertela are blasted by snow storms and snowhurricanes. The Vithela Wind weakens, increasing the riskof typhoons in the east. Throughout this season, theGagarth Winds, also known as Wild Hunt Storms, canappear almost anywhere, blowing from any direction withterrible strength, wreaking great harm wherever theyappear. Towards the end of the season, Yelm's path beginsto return to the middle of the sky, and he begins to brighten.

Sacred Time—a period of rebirth during which great cere-monies are held while many nations put away all strife tocelebrate the coming spring. Oracles are sought and spellsare cast to protect the land. All religions participate in re-enactments of their creation myths. The massive release ofenergy during this season is a major factor in rejuvenatingthe cosmos. Failure to complete these acts will probablyresult in chaos seeping again into the world.

GEOGRAPHYGenertela is a temperate land, broken by great chains of

mountains and the Wastes, where Genert died. Humansand Elder Races inhabit the coasts and the interior. Thenorthern reaches are too cold for the humans and ElderRaces of Genertela, and lie barren, inhabited only by IceDemons and Snow Trolls. The White Sea separates thepopulated regions of the land from the barren north.Beyond the White Sea lie the uninhabitable Winter Wastesof Valind, and the frozen land of Altinela and the Palace ofthe Gods of Winter. Further to the north, it is said, lie theMountains of the Sky, which border the endless void. Thechildren of the gods live there, and daily combat theinroads of chaos.

To the east lies the Sea of Kahar, which is covered byunending fog, the source of its other name, Kahar's Sea ofFog. It empties into the limitless Eastern Ocean, whichflows into Sramak's River. The magical East Isles are here,and beyond them the lands of Vithela and the Gates ofDawn, guarded by the immortal Vithelans.

To the west lies the freezing Neleomi Sea, and beyondthat the limitless Western Ocean, which flows intoSramak's River. The land of Luathela and the blood redgates of Dusk lies here, guarded by the Luatha demigods.

To the south lie the waters of the Homeward Ocean,in the center of which is Magasta's Pool, a giganticwhirlpool into which all the waters of the world flow, tobe carried to the Underworld, below. Many islands exist inthe sea, among them the cursed home of the God Learners,Jrustela. It is said, that beyond the islands lies anotherland of men, and beyond that land lies the Sea of Fire, partof Sramak's River.

Below lies the Underworld, the realm of darkness anddeath, inhabited by inhuman monstrosities. The waters ofthe world flow into the primal sea of darkness here aswell, and this is where the River Styx lies.

Above lies the Sky Dome, beyond which is the SkyWorld, where the Sky People live. Their forts encircle theholes in the Sky Dome, appearing as stars to those below.

LEVEL OF CIVILIZATIONFor the most part, the humans of Genertela have a level oftechnology that resembles that of Bronze Age earth. Metalworking is more advanced, as Gloranthan metals can beunearthed in pure forms without great effort andGloranthan bronze has the strength of terrestrial iron.Most trade is performed at the local level, and most buy-ing and selling is made on a barter, rather than coin basis.Communication and trade between distant regions is rare.

A few nations, notably the Lunar Empire in Peloria,the Kingdom of Loskalm in western Genertela, GodForgot and Esrolia in the Holy Country, and the KraloriEmpire in eastern Genertela are exceptions to the above.Their technology has progressed into the Iron Age orbeyond, with coin based economies and financial institu-tions such as banks, money lending and bookkeeping.They readily engage in long distance trade and communi-cation, and have higher standards of living than mostother nations. However, most of Genertela functions at a


lower level of civilization.Of the Elder Races of Glorantha, most humans place

trolls and mermen below the level of human civilization,and dragonewts and dwarfs above the level of humancivilization. Of course, from a troll point of view, humansappear relatively unsophisticated, their tools, weaponsand buildings lacking the intriguing tastes and pleasinginner patterns any such troll built item would have.

THE LANDS OF GENERTELAThe western reaches of Genertela are inhabited by theworshippers of the Invisible God—serfs, knights andwizards who practice sorcery. Due to the Closing of theSeas and the Syndic's Ban there has been little contact withthe West for centuries.

The eastern reaches of Genertela are the home of theKralori Empire and the Dragon Emperors. It is said to be aland of mystics, ruled by Exarchs that can call upondragon powers. The Kralori want little to do with the out-side world. The deserts of Pent and the Wastes, and theShan Shan Mountains, which separate them from the restof Genertela allow them to maintain their isolation andtranquillity.

The central reaches of Genertela are the home of thetheists, and the focus of this work. Its inhabitants are pri-marily human, but civilizations of Elder Races exist thereas well. The central lands of Genertela include DragonPass, the Holy Country, the Lunar Empire and Prax.

Dragon PassDragon Pass is a strategic crossroads in Genertela, a widegap in the Rockwood Mountains which offers the onlypassage through the mountains for a thousand kilometerssuitable for armies or caravans. It is also one of the mostmagical lands in Genertela, the ancient nesting grounds ofdragonkind, home to dragonewts, wyrms and dragons.The true dragons are miles long, and some lie sleepingbeneath the hills and mountains of the Pass. Magical crea-tures, ancient magics, and the ruins of former empires dotthe Pass. The human and Elder Race inhabitants of thePass are many and varied

The Skyreach Mountains, part of the vast chain thatbranches into the Mislari mountains and the WesternRockwood mountains, lie to the east of Dragon Pass. Tothe northeast lie the Eastern Rockwood mountains.

SartarThe Kingdom of Sartar, which lies in the heart of DragonPass, was conquered by the Lunar Empire in 1602 S.T.They have been pacifying it ever since. The kingdom wasfounded in 1492 S.T. by the magician Sartar. The people ofSartar are members of 24 warrior tribes, unified into a sin-gle nation by King Sartar.

Sartar is a hilly, mountainous land. The Storm Hillsrun through most of Sartar. From them rise a number ofmountains, including the Storm Mountains to the south,

of which Stormwalk Mountain is part, and the QuivinMountains to the north, among which lies Boldhome, thecapital of Sartar. Northeast of Boldhome lies Wintertop,an incredible peak that towers 12 kilometers into the air.The Creekstream River flows between Wintertop and theStorm Hills. Between Sartar and barren Prax to the east liethe Guardian Hills.

TarshThe Kingdom of Tarsh, which lies on the northern bordersof Dragon Pass, is one of the wealthiest Provinces of theLunar Empire. The King of Tarsh reports to AppiusLuxius, the Lunar Provincial Overseer in Saird. Originallyfounded in 1230 S.T. by Pelorian Orlanthi fleeing the con-quests of the Lunar Empire to the north, the Kingdom ofTarsh was brought into the Lunar fold in 1490 S.T. byHon-eel the Dancer, the Third Inspiration of theMoonson. The current line of kings is descended from her.In 1611 S.T., the city of Aldachur and the Far Pointregion, formerly part of the Kingdom of Sartar, were takenover by Harvar Ironfist, a noble loyal to the King of Tarsh.

Tarsh is a fertile land of plains and rolling hills,through which the mighty Oslir River flows. The capitalof Tarsh, Furthest, lies at the southernmost point to whichthe river can be sailed by regular river barges. Portage andsmaller craft are required to travel any further upstream.

Black Horse CountyThe holding of Sir Ethilrist, a legendary mercenary. Itspeople are peaceful farmers, its rulers are the demon horseriders of Sir Ethilrist's Black Horse Troop. A fortified city,Muse Roost, is Sir Ethilrist's home, said to contain trea-sures garnered by him over the years. Temples to Arkatand the Invisible God lie within the city.

Black Horse County is isolated by the western moun-tains of Dragon Pass, fitting Ethilrist's desire for privacy.

GrazelandsThe Grazelands are one of the few regions of Dragon Passcurrently not under Lunar occupation or control. TheGrazers are a nomadic horse riding people who rule over asedentary farmer population called vendref, descendantsof the least successful of the outsiders that came to settle inDragon Pass during the 1300s. The magical dynasty of theFeathered Horse Queens rules the Grazers. The Grazershave had an unstable relationship with the Lunar occu-piers of Sartar, on some occasions paying tribute to theLunar tax men, on others refusing to pay tribute or raid-ing Lunar territory, trusting to their isolation and mobilityto keep free of reprisals.

The Grazelands are a hilly, broken region. Smalltowns, homes to the vendref, have sprung up around thetradespots, inns, warehouses and temples where foreignerscome to trade. The roads connecting the towns and leadingto the outside world are poor, slowing those unfamiliar withthe terrain. The Grazers charge to guide and escort foreign-ers through their lands, collecting additional tolls along theway. They ambush those that try to evade their tolls.


Sun Dome CountyThe homelands of the Sartar Sun Dome Temple and itsYelmalio worshipping farmers and mercenaries. Althoughostensibly part of the Kingdom of Sartar, Sun DomeCounty maintains good relations with the Lunar con-querors of Sartar, regularly paying taxes and tribute, butfiercely guarding its traditional isolation and indepen-dence. The lands are highly cultivated farmlands.

Beast ValleyThe sacred valley of the beastmen, who themselves areancient relics of the EWE The Wild Temple is their centerof worship. Normally content to live peacefully in theirvalley, the beastmen can fight ferociously in its defense.Their warriors include centaurs, minotaurs, satyrs andmanticores. Their leader is Ironhoof, an ancient centaurhero, who returns to guide his people in times of crises.The Lunar occupiers of Dragon Pass have so far left thebeastmen in peace.

Dagori InkarthThe ancient homeland of the trolls lies to the north andnortheast of Dragon Pass. It is one of the places the trollsfirst found refuge in when the light of the dead sun godforced them to leave their ancient home in theUnderworld. One of the famous Castles of Lead, fromwhich the trolls held off the forces of chaos in the GreaterDarkness, lies in Dagori Inkarth, and is still visited onoccasion by Kyger Litor, goddess of the trolls.

The lands are a rugged wasteland, broken by hills andmountains, among which the trolls make their home. TheIndigo Mountains rise in the south of Dagori Inkarth, theNine Good Giant Mountains lie to the east, and to thenorth lies the vast chain of the Eastern Rockwood moun-tains. Other creatures live there as well, such as the vastsentient shadows of Shadows Dance, the dark elves of theSporewood, the dwarfs of Greatway and the elves of theRedwood Forest. Humans venture into these lands only totrade or raid. The trolls venture out of their homeland formuch the same reasons.

The Stinking ForestThis densely forested region of hills and valleys in north-ern Dragon Pass gains its name from the incessant warfareof its inhuman inhabitants, which include the half-trolltusk riders of the Ivory Plinth and the elves of the StinkingForest and the Vale of Flowers. The tusker's monstrousboar mounts give them a mobility in the woods matchedonly by that of the elves. Trolls from Dagori Inkarth,dwarfs from Greatway and chaos creatures from nearbySnakepipe Hollow can all be found here, lurking inambush or stalking each other.

Upland MarshJust north of Beast Valley lies Upland Marsh, home ofDelecti the Necromancer. A former leader of the EWF,Delecti was ignored by the dragonewts and dragons at thetime of the EWF's collapse, for by that time he was neither

dead nor alive. When the True Golden Horde swept downupon Dragon Pass, Delecti changed the earth around hislands into something that was neither earth nor water. Thearea, now known as Upland Marsh, is filled with treacher-ous bogs, streams of sand, tiny islands, and Delecti'sundead creatures. Delecti's Ruins, acres of sprawling fallenbuildings are inhabited by Delecti's bizarre undead con-structs. In the substance of the marsh swims an undeadhybrid of squid and killer whale.

The Holy CountryTo the south of Dragon Pass lies the magical land knownas the Holy Country. For countless aeons, the land wasknown as the Shadowlands, ruled by the Only Old One, ason of the darkness god Argan Argar. In 1313 S.T. Belnitarthe Stranger swam ashore in what is now calledCaladraland, and after a five year long struggle in whichthe very face of the land was changed, deposed the OnlyOld One, establishing himself as Pharaoh of the HolyCountry, his name for the former Shadowlands. ThePharaoh established the six nations of the Holy Country—Heortland, Esrolia, the Shadowlands, Caladraland, theIslands, and God Forgot, each previously a region with itsown distinct culture. He agreed to protect each, even thetroll realm of the Shadowlands, and encouraged themwork together in harmony but maintain their ancient indi-viduality, thus retaining their unique capabilities for theHoly Country to draw upon. The Pharaoh established hiscapital at the very center of his land, on an island in theMirrorsea Bay. There he built a magical city called theCity of Wonders, with magical bridges that could reachout to any of the surrounding six nations of the HolyCountry. Since the Pharaoh's disappearance in 1616 S.T,the Holy Country has suffered disunity, confusion, raidsby Wolf Pirates and the barbarian Ditali and Solanthi, andis now threatened from the north by the forces of theLunar Empire.

HeortlandUpon a plateau lies the rich farming land known asHeortland, overrun by the hills and woods that surroundit. Five rivers cut across the plateau and flow into the seato the south. Four tribes of Orlanthi, cousins to theOrlanthi of Sartar, inhabit the farmland, hills and north-ern valleys of Heortland. Since the death of the King ofHeortland in 1617 S.T. the main portion of Heortland,called Hendrikiland, has been ruled by Malkioni adven-turers, while the northern valleys of Heortland, theVolsaxi tribal lands, are ruled by King Broyan of theVolsaxi. The southern tribes of Hendrikiland have beenparticularly influenced by the Western Traders Princes andtheir Malkioni overlords, and have adopted some of theirmilitary customs, including the use of the term "knight"instead of "thane". The Lunar Empire invades Heortlandin 1619 S.T, conquers most of it by 1620 S.T, and takesthe last point of resistance, the city of Whitewall,Orlanth's last stronghold, in 1621 S.T.


EsroliaA heavily cultivated and densely populated land, Esrolia ishome to one of the most advanced human civilizations inGlorantha. Numerous towns and cities dot the rich valleysand rolling lands of Esrolia, including Notchet, one of thelargest cities in all Glorantha. Esrolia is ruled by severalpowerful female-led families and a matriarchal council, inline with the ancient earth cults that dominate the reli-gions of Esrolia. Ernalda's husband gods, many heads ofpantheons in their own right, are subservient to Ernaldahere. The Lunar invasion of Heortland triggers a civil warin Esrolia in 1622 S.T. that lasts nearly three years, withforces of the pro-Lunar Red Earth Alliance fighting theforces of the Old Earth and Warm Earth Alliances.

ShadowlandsAn ancient troll land, the Shadowlands are dominated bythe Shadow Plateau, a vast plateau made for Argan Argarby Lodril, the volcano god. It rises a full kilometer abovethe land all around it. Trees and brushes grow on theblack earth of its surface, which is said to be haunted.Both the surface and interior of the Shadow Plateau areinhabited by trolls. Deep within it lies the City of Lead,one of the rare troll cities. The small city of Blackwell is atroll fort. Humans live on the fringes of the Shadowlands.Not far to the east of the Shadowlands lie the Troll Woods,where a tribe with both human and troll members dwells.

CaladralandAn ancient culture of volcano worshippers farm the richslopes of Caladraland's volcanic ranges of mountains andhills, which are covered with rain forests and cultivatedfields. The inhabitant's fire and earth magic has allowedthem to maintain the traditions and independence theycherish. A number of the inhabitants join the Warm EarthAlliance to assist the forces of the Old Earth Alliance intrying to keep the Lunars out of Esrolia in the civil warthat begins in 1622 S.T.

The IslandsSea-going fishermen and other coastal dwellers inhabit theislands around the Mirrorsea Bay. The area also known asthe Greater Archipelago, or the Rightarm Islands. TheIslands are actually governed by the merfolk of MirrorseaBay, who appoint a human High Admiral to oversee theirrule of the humans. The relationship of the island dwellersand the mermen has been very good for a long time. Themajor surface settlement of the Islands is Seapolis.

God ForgotThe archipelago of God Forgot, is also known as the LeftArm or Lesser Archipelago. Its name comes from theinhabitants of the islands, who were left without their godat the Dawning. They developed an atheistic culture,which blossomed when it encountered the Jrusteli GodLearners. Their scientists, centered in what came to beknow as the Clanking City, developed machines anddevices never seen before in Glorantha. Their inventions

had already earned them the enmity of the dwarves, buttheir discovery of a method, now lost, which allowed tothem to reproduce the treasures of the gods brought thecombined wrath of the gods and the dwarfs upon them.The siege of Clanking City lasted years, and when the citywas finally destroyed, the Machine Ruins (as they havecome to be called) were sealed by potent curses, andseeded with guardian spirits, dwarf traps, and exotic dis-eases, which lie dormant, awaiting the over-curious.

The natives of God Forgot are ruled by ancients thatfollow Brithini customs. They still retain their individualnatures and are considered oddly different by others in theworld. A popular attraction for visitors is the fortified cityof Casino Town, which draws gamblers from across theHoly Country and beyond.

The Lunar EmpireThe Lunar Empire is a new power in the world. It followsthe Red Goddess, a goddess born since Time, who took aportion of the earth into the sky with her upon her apoth-eosis. It now hangs above the Lunar Empire as the planetof the Red Moon. The ruler of the Lunar Empire is theRed Emperor, the immortal son of the Red Goddess, whocares for the temporal affairs of the Goddess. He rules oneof the greatest human civilizations of Genertela. TheEmpire offers its citizens unprecedented freedom andopportunity for social and personal advancement, regard-less of class or birth. This freedom is ironically one of thethings that makes its foes so deeply fear and hate theEmpire, for their religion includes and allows the worshipof chaos, elsewhere considered a force utterly inimical tothe existence of life. The Lunar religion believes that evenchaos has its place in the world, and that with properknowledge even chaos can be controlled.

The HeartlandsThe Heartlands of the Lunar Empire include nine adminis-trative regions called Satrapies whose residents are citizensof the Empire, with all the attendant privileges of Lunarcitizenship. The Satrapies include First Blessed, SilverShadow, Kostaddi, Oronin, Doblian, Darjiin, Karasal,Oraya and Sylila. Most of these lay within the PelorianHeartland. Peloria is a land of hot summers and cold win-ters. The countryside is mostly rolling hills, farms, andgrasslands, with an occasional patch of forest. It is guardedby the elite Heartland Corp.

Portions of the Satrapies of Darjiin, Silver Shadowand First Blessed, and the cities of Alkoth, Raibanth andYuthuppa were once the former center of the DaraHappan Empire. These lands are heavily cultivated andirrigated, with many rice crops grown in the river valleys,and the people there are members of a culture distinctfrom that of Peloria, worshipping the Dara Happan godsof sun and sky as well as the lunar deities popular inPeloria and the rest of the Empire.

Within the Satrapy of Silver Shadow lies Glamour,capital of the Lunar Empire, perched upon the edge of the


Crater, where the Red Moon rose from the earth to hoverabove. Entry into Glamour itself is a sacred privilege, andentry into the Crater itself is only granted to those of thepurest Lunar blood. The city of Halfway lies a few kilo-meters outside Glamour, and is where the Lunararistocracy of Glamour meet with outsiders or those thatotherwise lack the privilege to enter Glamour itself.

The Western ReachesThe Western Reaches of the Lunar Empire were once thelands of the Carmanian Empire, conquered by the forcesof the Red Goddess in 1313 S.T. It is a land of cold wintersand bleak hills. Its inhabitants were originally settlersfrom Loskalm, to the far West, and still follow some of theways of the Carmanian School of Malkionism, their socialclasses organized as serfs, knights and wizards, thoughheavily influenced by the Lunar way of life and religion.Their wizards are the source of much of the Empire's sorcery.

The ProvincesThe Lunar Provinces are regions in the south of theEmpire, primarily southern Peloria, that had not yet beenfully brought into the Lunar fold. The Provinces includeVanch, Imther, Aggar, Holay and Tarsh. For the most partthey are temperate, hilly regions inhabited by the stormworshipping Orlanthi. Many of their inhabitants lack fullLunar citizenship, and their government is overseen by theoffices of the Provincial Overseer, headquartered atMirin's Cross in Saird, within the Province of Holay. TheProvincial Army, composed of forces drawn from all fiveprovinces is responsible for the internal security of theProvinces, and is also involved in external conquest,though there it is supported by units of the elite HeartlandCorp and the Lunar Colleges of Magic.

The Allied CountriesThe allied countries are lands not under the direct ruler-ship of the Lunar Empire, but within the total trust andconfidence of the Red Emperor. They include the land ofThrice Blessed and the mysterious Duchy of the BlueMoon. Within the Duchy of the Blue Moon lies the BlueMoon Plateau, the source of the Lunar Empire's BlueMoon troll allies.

PentPent is an endless expanse of taiga and steppe, over whichthe horse nomads of Pent wander endlessly. The summersare short, though warm, but the winters are very cold. ThePraxian Nomads call Pent the Land of False Plenty. Thehorse nomads of Pent worship gods of sun and storm, andare traditional enemies of the Pelorians and Dara Happansof the Lunar Empire to the west. One Pentan tribe, theChar-Un, are Lunar allies.

On the western borders of Pent, Lunar settlers, manyformer legionaries, eke out an uncertain existence in theRedlands.

Prax and the WastesPrax and the Wastes are an arid expanse of desert and drygrasslands, intermingled with stagnant swamps and dryriver beds, and scarred by Godtime curses. The lands areinhabited by tribes of animal nomads that each ride andherd a different variety of beast, including bison riders,sable riders, and rhino riders, and a bastard tribe, the PolJoni, who ride horses.

PraxThe plains and river valley around the River of Cradlesand the Paps are the most fertile part of the Wastes, andare called Prax, after the ancient paradise of the animalnomads. The animal nomads that make their home hereconsider themselves the most fortunate of the animalnomads. The Paps are the ancient holy ground of the ani-mal nomads, and deep within them lie the ancient earthtemples of Prax. Other inhabitants of Prax include settlersfrom Sartar and the Lunar Empire, the Agimori, the inhu-man Morokanth, newtlings and baboons, the Pol Joni, theindigenous Oasis People, the river people of the River ofCradles, and the Yelmalio farmers and templars of SunCounty, home of the Prax Sun Dome Temple. The Pentannomads call even the most fertile parts of Prax the Wastes.

PavisAn ancient ruined city lies on the Plains of Prax, namedafter its founder, Pavis, who founded the city in the year850 S.T., building upon the work of previous builders.Much of the city is now a troll haunted ruin called theRubble. Its ancient history, magic and former wealth serveto attract a steady stream of explorers, fortune hunters,adventurers and scholars. The frontier town of New Pavis,which lies adjacent to the Rubble, was founded byDorasar of Sartar in 1550 S.T. and is currently a thrivingtrade town. The forces of the Lunar Empire occupiedPavis in 1610 S.T., and have established a major garrisonin the city of New Pavis to keep an eye on the animalnomads of Prax.

The WastesThe Wastes are the most desolate region of Genertela, asthey are where Genert died at the hands of chaos. Withinthem lie the Copper Sands, where Genert sacrificed muchof his army, transforming them into a stinging coppersand, to allow a portion of his army to escape the forces ofchaos, and the chaos infested Krjalki Bog, where Genert'sGarden once grew, and where, it is said, Genert's bodynow lies. The haunted Plateau of Statues lies somewherewithin the Wastes as well. The animal nomads of theWastes live a harsh life, but one that their particularnomadic lifestyle is well suited to.


Timeline of Recent EventsThis timeline of recent events in the Dragon Pass region may pro-vide players with inspiration and ideas for their adventurer'sbackgrounds. The events that occurred in your adventurer's youthand past may shape his or her dreams, hopes and ambitions.

YearS.T. Event

1565 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Jarolar of Sartar is killed at the Battle ofDwarf Ford, while aiding the Aldachuri against a combined Lunar andTarshite invasion. The Lunar Iron Maidens regiment is shattered, but atgreat cost to the Sartarites. Prince Jarosar becomes King of Sartar.

1569 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Jarosar of Sartar is killed by Lunar spirits,Tarkalor becomes King of Sartar.

1575 Dragon Pass/Sartar and the Grazelands—Tarkalor marries theFeathered Horse Queen and becomes King of Sartar and Dragon Pass.

1579 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—King Phargentes dies. His son Moriades becomesKing of Tarsh.

1580 Holy Country—Dormal the Sailor sets sail from the City of Wonders,beginning the Opening of the Seas.

1582 Dragon Pass—Lunar forces march against the last city of of the TarshExiles', Bagnot. They are met by Sartarite and Grazelander forces cometo the Tarsh Exiles aid at the Battle of Grizzly Peak. Both King Tarkalorand the Feathered Horse Queen are killed as the Lunar magicians andarmies sweep the field. Kostajor Wolf Champion bears Prince Terasinto safety. Bagnot falls to the Lunar forces a month later and its inhabi-tants are put to the sword. Prince Terasin becomes King of Sartar.

1582 Holy Country—Alatan fleet destroys Holy Country fleet1586 Holy Country—exploration fleet sets off for Teshnos.1588 Holy Country—maimed survivors of Holy Country exploration fleet

return from Kralorela.1600 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Terasin is killed by Lunar magic, Prince

Salinarg becomes King of Sartar.1602 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Runegate, Boldhome and the Kingdom of Sartar

fall to the Lunar Empire. King Salinarg of Sartar is killed. Eugtyptus theFat becomes Lunar Governor of Sartar. The heirs of Sartar are killed orflee, hunted by Lunar agents and spirits.

1605 Holy Country/Shadowlands—the Holy Country destroys invadingforces of the Lunar Empire at the Battle of Building Wall. A smallbranch of the invading forces lay siege to Karse, but are driven off.

1606 Holy Country/Islands—major Wolf Pirate raid.1606 Dragon Pass/Sartar—priests of Orlanth agitate for violent expulsion of

the Lunar missionaries amongst the tribes.1606 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Telmori annihilate the core of the Maboder tribe.1607 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Jomes Hostralos leads Lunar forces to victory

over the Telmori. He is known as General Jomes Wulf afterwards.1608 Prax—the Lunar Army invades Prax, but their forces are driven from

oasis to oasis by the nomads before they make peace and retreat.1609 Holy Country/Esrolia—Ditali tribesmen, encouraged by Lunar agents,

invade Esrolia, looting and pillaging before they withdraw.1609 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Lunars and Sartarites raid the Stinking Forest,

seeking to mete out reprisals for recent Tusk Rider raids.1610 Ditali—Holy Country army attempting reprisals is driven off.1610 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Euglyptus imposes harsher laws and taxes on the

Sartarites. Only friendly tribes are exempted.1610 Prax—the Lunar Army, seeking a route to the sea, re-enters Prax and

defeats the nomads at the battle of Moonbroth. then moves on to con-quer the ancient city of Pavis, which surrenders to them.

1610 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—King Moriades of Tarsh dies. His son Pharandrosbecomes King of Tarsh.

1611 Ditali—the second Holy Country army raid on the Ditali lands succeeds.1611 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Righteous Wind rebellion rises among the tribes,

but is destroyed that winter by Harvar Ironfist, who becomes prince ofAldachur.

1612 Prax—the port of Corflu is established by the Lunar Empire at thesouth of Prax.

1613 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Starbrow's rebellion occurs. A Lunar army isdestroyed by the rebels. Euglyptus the Fat meets with an accident, anda new Lunar Governor-General of Sartar, Fazzur Wideread, isinstalled. The rebel forces are defeated at the Battle of Orlanth theLoser. Peace is made, and the ducks are made the scapegoats. A distantheir to the throne, Temertain, is installed as King of Sartar. Hebecomes known as the Pretender.

1614 Holy Country/Esrolia—Graymane's first raid on the Holy Country.Forces led by the Solanthi warlord plunder the Holy Country.

1615 Dragon Pass/Sartar—a squabble between the Lunars and the Grazersleads to Grazer raids on Lunar occupied Sartar.

1615 Dragon Pass/Grazelands—a massive Lunar invasion force fails to cometo grips with the Grazers, who harass, evade and frustrate their foeswith Ironhoof's aid.

1616 Holy Country—the Pharaoh vanishes.1616 Mournful Sea and Holy Country Islands—Holy Country fleet defeated

by a Wolf Pirate fleet, which goes on to loot the Islands.1616 Ditali—a large Holy Country army is ambushed and defeated by a com-

bined Ditali/Solandii army. The disaster is called the Lion King's Feast1618 Holy Country/Esrolia—Graymane's second 'Great' raid pushes deep

into the Holy Country before retreating.1619 Holy Country/Heortland—Heortland is invaded by the Lunar Empire.

Whitewall is besieged, and Smithstone and Karse are seized by theLunars, as is much of north Heortland. In the winter Hendrikilandraiders skirmish with the Lunars.

1620 Holy Country/Heortland—an assault on Whitewall by the CrimsonBat is repelled. The commander of the siege, Jorkandros Blinder, isreplaced by Tadus the Bright, who defeats the main Hendrikiland armyand accepts their surrender, taking Heortland for the Lunars.Whitewall and a few other pockets of resistance continue to hold out.

1621 Holy Country/Esrolia—Fazzur Wideread's invasion of Esrolia is dis-rupted by political maneuvering and diversion of his troops by theEmperor to Whitewall. He sends some specialists to aid QueenHendira of the Red Earth Alliance, who wishes to establish a Lunartemple in Nochet. The specialists assist her, and construction of aLunar temple begins in Nochet, despite the protests of many locals.

1621 Prax—a giant's cradle comes down river. A conspiracy of allies preventthe Lunars from getting hold of it

1621 Holy Country/Heortland—Whitewall falls to the Lunar Empire,1621 Lunar Empire—Extra Full Moon Year begins in the Lunar Empire on

Day 39 of Dark Season, celebrating the fall of Whitewall and Orlanth.1621 Dragon Pass and the Holy Country—King Broyan and others that

escaped from Whitewall unscathed appear at Bullflood and otherplaces. Lunar assassins sent after them fail.

1621 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Fazzur is relieved of his governorship.1622 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Tatius the Bright becomes Governor of Sartar.

PLAY AIDSDiceRuneQuest uses a variety of polyhedral dice to generaterandom numbers with different ranges of probability. At aminimum, each player will want to have a twenty-sideddie, an eight-sided die, and a six-sided die. Owning anextra twenty-sided die or a pair of ten-sided dice and afour-sided die can be helpful . The use of dice inRuneQuest is described in the chapter on GameMechanics.

A wide variety of dice can be purchased at most hobbyshops.

FiguresRuneQuest can be played with only paper, pencils anddice. But many players and gamemasters go further thanthat, and use cardboard markers, miniature figures, props,and a battlemat to focus attention during play, to easilysolve problems like line-of-sight, create tactical possibili-ties, and to generally increase the fun of the experience.

Markers greatly aid rules interpretation. When they'reon the table, it's possible to see that your adventurer'sfriends block the field of fire of his bow, or show whichadventurers are first assailed by Wasp Riders striking fromthe left flank, or help show how long it will take for oneadventurer to aid another. A glance at the markers quickly


answers questions such as "How far away is it?", "Wheream I?" and "Where is the Great Troll?" Setting up amarching order for a group of pilgrims shows which pil-grims will be in a position to speak to each other or noticesomething happening in another part of the group. Thismay be significant if a particular adventurer is trying tokeep an eye on a particular pilgrim, or must choose to aidone pilgrim out of many.

Many people use lead, plastic or cardboard figuresrather than cardboard markers. Figures are inch-high orlarger representations of adventurers, monsters, andgamemaster characters. Lead or plastic figures can bepainted and modified to show how each person looks, andcan add greatly to the aesthetics of roleplaying. Predrawncardboard figures are available at some game stores, oryou can draw your own (or get an artistic friend to drawone for your). Figures to represent various creatures canbe found in toy or hobby shops. Preference and pricealways influence choice. No one is likely to have the rightquantity or kind of monster or character for every situa-tion. Substitutions are common.

Additional props provide extra drama when you useminiature figures. Large ruins can be constructed usingplastic or wood blocks, or chunks of foam rubber.Scrounging among railroad accessories, toy bins or hard-ware bins can supply some wonderfully weird things.Foam rubber can be carved to make vaults, bridges, andchasms. A few miniature trees, a "giant" vine, a toy fence,and a large rock add intriguing possibilities for characterdeployment and use of special skills in routine melees.

A wide variety of lead and plastic figures are available atmost toy, hobby and game stores. Chessex, Inc., at 2990San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, CA, 94702, or (510) 843-1194,distributes a line of RuneQuest specific lead figures ofexcellent quality.

BattlematsIf you use figures, you may want some way to define theirpositions during play. A battlemat is the easiest way to dothis. A battlemat can be made of almost anything, butmost commonly it is a large sheet of paper which can bedrawn on and disposed of afterward. Also popular aretransparent and erasable plastic sheets which can be writ-ten on with china markers or grease pencils, or vinylcoated cloth sheets, which can be written on with watersoluble markers. These reusable sheets may have grid linesor hex grids permanently printed on them.

Sometimes a gamemaster will draw beforehand alocation or floor plan on the battlemat; at other times thebattlemat may record new terrain as the adventure develops.The term battlemat is a carryover from the days when fan-tasy roleplaying was mainly fighting. There are manyother situations in which you'll want to know adventurerposition and movement, such as determining who is sittingwhere at a feast, or describing the positions of the partici-pants in a magical ritual.

Gamemasters may find it convenient to draw large-

scale area maps on ordinary graph or xerox paper, locat-ing the adventurers and showing surrounding terrain.When the action shifts to individual encounters, thegamemaster turns to the battlemats.

Battlemats can be found a number of game and hobbystores. Chessex, Inc., at 2990 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley,CA, 94702, or (510) 843-1194, carries battlemats as well.

Background MaterialThere are a number of sources of Gloranthan backgroundmaterial available. These can serve as campaign back-ground, or as a source of ideas for both players andgamemasters. The following supplements are of use toboth gamemasters and players:

Gods of Glorantha: 60 Religions for RuneQuest—thissupplement examines the religions of Glorantha. It con-tains rules for running adventurers from 60 different cults,descriptions of cult specialty skills, cult holy and high holydays and over a hundred unique cult magic and divinemagic spells. A Prospaedia contains information on otherGloranthan religions, and a booklet called What thePriests Say provides valuable information for playingmembers of a number of the major religions of Glorantha.

King of Sartar—this Gloranthan supplement provides awealth of information on the people and history ofDragon Pass, and the mystery of Prince Argrath.Recommended reading for gamemasters and players inter-ested in a campaign set in the area of Dragon Pass.

The following supplements are of use to both gamemas-ters and players playing particularly learned, well-traveledor non-human adventurers:

Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars—thissupplement presents an overview of Glorantha and offersan in depth look at the largest, most populous area ofGlorantha, the continent of Genertela.

Troll Pak—this supplement describes the trolls ofGlorantha in extraordinary detail, including their history,mythology, customs, biology, traditional enemies andhomelands.

Troll Gods—this supplement provides detailed informa-tion on the Gods of Hell and Darkness worshiped by thetrolls and the cults and magic of the trolls.

Elder Secrets of Glorantha—this supplement sheds lighton some of the most mysterious beings, places and thingsof Glorantha, the subjects of aeons of scholarly specula-tion. It also gives a great deal of detail on the mysteriousElder Races of Glorantha, including their homelands, cul-ture and religions.

The Gloranthan Bestiary—this supplement providesdetailed statistics and information on the unique creaturesof Glorantha.


Dragon Pass—a boardgame depicting some of the majorbattles of the Hero Wars period, this wargame containsbackground information on Glorantha and the Hero Warsthat might be of interest to gamemasters and players play-ing particularly well learned or well traveled adventurers.

All the background material described above is availablefrom the Avalon Hill Game Company, at 4517 HarfordRoad, Baltimore, MD, 21214, or 800-638-9292, with theexception of King of Sartar, which is available fromChaosium, Inc. at 950-A 56th St., Oakland, CA, 94608 or510-547-7681.

Campaign SupplementsA number of RuneQuest campaign supplements set in theworld of Glorantha exist. These contain a number ofready to play scenarios for gamemasters to use and includebackground material specific to the setting, which can beof use to both gamemasters and players:

Sun County—this campaign supplement describes themarket town of Garhound in Pavis County and details thelands, peoples and religion of the Sun Dome temple of SunCounty, both lying on the Plains of Prax. It includes fourready to play scenarios suitable for trained through masterlevel characters as well as additional material for settingup an ongoing campaign in the area.

River of Cradles—this supplement describes the city ofPavis, the adjoining ancient, haunted ruin of the BigRubble, and the insect infested harbor port of Corflu. Itprovides details on the people and lands of the River ofCradles, the great river of Prax, named for the giant cra-dles that once traveled down the river. The supplementincludes a lengthy ready to play scenario set on andaround the River of Cradles and enough material to set upan ongoing campaign in the city of Pavis or the area of theRiver of Cradles.

Dorastor—this supplement provides details on the great-est chaos nest in Genertela, the land of Dorastor, includingits history, legends, peoples and monstrosities. It includes aready to play campaign, the Riskland campaign, with anumber of ready to play scenarios suitable for trainedthrough master level characters.

A number of RuneQuest scenario packs set in the world ofGlorantha exist. They contain ready to play scenarios forgamemasters to run:

Apple Lane—this introductory scenario pack, suitable fornovice, trained and competent characters, describes thevillage of Apple Lane in Sartar. It contains two ready toplay scenarios set in the area of Apple Lane, one set in thevillage itself, the other in the nearby Rainbow Mounds.

Snakepipe Hollow—this scenario pack, suitable fortrained through master level characters, describes thechaos nest of Snakepipe Hollow, which festers at thenorthern end of Dragon Pass. It contains a number of

ready to play scenarios set in and around the chaosinfested caverns that riddle the Hollow.

Troll Realms—this scenario pack, suitable for trainedthrough master level characters, describes the home of theSazdorf troll tribe of Sartar, and contains a number ofready to play scenarios set in and around Dagori Inkarth,the realm of the trolls.

Shadows on the Borderlands—this scenario pack, suitablefor trained through master level characters, includes threeready to play scenarios set in the hidden frontiers of Prax.

All the campaign supplements described above are avail-able from the Avalon Hill Game Company, at 4517Harford Road, Baltimore, MD, 21214, or 800-638-9292.

Magazines

Tales of the Reaching Moon — a magazine of consistentlyhigh quality devoted to RuneQuest and the world ofGlorantha.

Subscriptions to Tales of the Reaching Moon are availablein the United States through David Gadbois, PO Box49475, Austin, TX, 78765.

RuneQuest Adventures Fanzine — a new RuneQuest maga-zine featuring RuneQuest articles and scenarios.

Subscriptions to RuneQuest Adventures Fanzine arc avail-able in the United States through John Castellucci, 200622nd Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94116.

The Wild Hunt — one of the oldest and most distinguishedof the amateur fanzines, it often features articles dis-cussing RuneQuest or describing RuneQuest campaigns.

Subscriptions to the Wild Hunt are available in the UnitedStates through Mark Swanson, 40 Bow Street, Arlington.MA, 02174.

Online Services

America Online—this graphically oriented online servicehas a Game Company Support area (keyword "GCS")which has an Avalon Hill message board for RuneQuestsupport and information, and a library with numerousRuneQuest uploads, including back issues of theRuneQuest Digest.

America Online can be contacted at 800-827-6364.

Internet—the RuneQuest Digest and the RuneQuest Dailyare Internet based mailing lists devoted to RuneQuest andthe world of Glorantha.

Subscription requests and questions should be directed to:"[email protected]".

C R E A T I N G • AN • A D V E N T U R E R

RuneQuest is a game where players create one or more adventurers. The players and the gamemasterexplore a magical world together, developing the adventurer's story as they travel the world, seeking power,wealth, fame or knowledge. As players come to see Glorantha through the eyes of their characters, they

will begin to react as their adventurers would. A Gloranthan adventurer explores the world of Glorantha and themysteries of the runes, seeking to master their magic. In time he or she may come to master one or more runes,becoming a sorcerer, shaman, priest or Rune Lord. Those that master the runes will become one of the heroesor heroines that will participate in the Hero Wars.

CHARACTERISTICSRuneQuest uses seven characteristics to represent anadventurer's physical and mental capabilities in a generalfashion. A higher characteristic represents particular apti-tude and prowess in the domain it covers. Characteristicscan be increased through training or magic, and decreasedthrough aging, disease, injury, or magic. If a characteristicchanges, always use its current value, but never change orerase the original characteristic, because it still has signifi-cance.

Strength (STR)This characteristic measures an adventurer's musclepower. It affects the damage he does, the kind of encum-brance he can carry, and what weapons he can wield. Italso indicates how much he can lift and move about. Anadventurer can comfortably lift as much SIZ as his STR,more with effort. STR can be increased through trainingor magic.

Constitution (CON)This characteristic measures an adventurer's health andvitality. It is a major determinant of the amount of damagehe or she can take before death occurs. The CON of anadventurer is also used to resist disease, poisons, and otherspecial attacks. CON can be increased through training ormagic.

Size (SIZ)This characteristic primarily measures an adventurer'smass and secondarily his or her height. It affects an adven-turer's ability to inflict and to absorb damage. The SIZTable, below, can serve as a guide to an adventurer's mass(MAS). Both large and small SIZs have certain advan-tages—large persons can take and do more damage and

have a greater reach and stride; small persons are moreagile, can sneak about with less chance of discovery andhave less bulk to protect in combat. Sometimes SIZ will beused to determine whether an adventurer can squeezethrough a particular cranny, hide behind a smallish bush,or fit into a particular suit of armor. SIZ can be increasedthrough magic, but mass can be gained or lost throughovereating or starvation.

SIZSIZ12345678910

TableMAS

5 kg10 kg15 kg20 kg25 kg30 kg35 kg40 kg45 kg50 kg

SIZ

11121314151617181920

MAS


SIZ

21222324252627282930

MAS


SIZ

31323334353637383940

MAS


Intelligence (INT)This characteristic measures an adventurer's ability tothink abstractly, to memorize, and to coordinate such gen-eral capabilities as fighting, magic, thieving, crafting, andso on. INT is a major influence on skills and thereforeaffects the ability to increase skills through experience.This characteristic normally does not change, except todecrease from disease, though (very rarely) magic mayaffect it.

Power (POW)This characteristic measures an adventurer's magicalpower. It is a direct measure of his resistance to spells andability to cast certain types of spells, and also reflects the

•16•

C R E A T I N G • A N • A D V E N T U R E R • 17

adventurer's offensive magical capabilities and capacity topower magical spells. POW is a measure of an adven-turer 's soul, and represents the integration of anadventurer with his universe. High POW can reflect greatluck or great harmony with Life. This characteristic nor-mally varies a great deal, as spell-casting or other magicalactivity can cause it to increase, and learning or castingcertain kinds of magics cost POW.

Dexterity (DEX)This characteristic measures an adventurer's coordination,speed, and the extent to which their mind and body act asa unified whole. It influences how quickly and compe-tently your adventurer performs certain actions (fighting,magic, sleight of hand, jumping, etc.). DEX may beincreased through training or magic.

Appeal (APP)This characteristic measures an adventurer's charisma.This may reflect leadership ability, magnetism, graceful-ness, agreeableness, a distinctive voice or appearance,physical attractiveness, or some combination thereof. Anadventurer with average APP may actually be physicallyvery handsome, but possessed of a cold, disagreeable orquirky personality which counteracts the effects of theirphysical appearance. Likewise, an adventurer with a highAPP might appear to be very plain at first glance, but havesuch an agreeable personality that people feel attracted tohim or her. You should decide whether your adventurer'sAPP is based on appearance or character or a combinationof the two, and note this on the character's sheet. Notethat in general, APP based on appearance is less helpfulthan APP based on character with members of otherspecies, but more helpful with members of your species,pa r t i cu la r ly those of the opposite sex. APP may beincreased through training or magic.

CREATING AN ADVENTURERAdventurers are created through a simple seven stepprocess. The gamemaster first sets an overall level of expe-rience for adventurers generated by players, such asTrained, Skilled or Expert. This level determines the baselevels of skills, magic, wealth and renown an adventurerwill start with. In addition, depending on the setting thegamemaster decides to run, he or she may limit the playerschoice of cultures to those available in the area, or ask thatplayers generate adventurers from the same culture. Thisbook describes the region of Dragon Pass and four majorcultures found in that area in some detail: Sartar, theLunar Empire, Pavis and Prax.

One first generates the adventurer's characteristics,which will determine his or her general abilities and apti-tudes for certain kinds of skills and forms of magic. Onethen selects a cultural background (which may be limitedby the gamemaster as described above). An adventurer'smagical background (divine, spirit or sorcery) is deter-mined by his or her culture, as is his or her choice of

profession. The profession one selects will have a numberof base skills, base levels of Magic, Wealth and Renown,and a number of additional background choices. Thenumber of extra background choices available to a profes-sion vary—the more benefits a profession provides, theless background choices available to spend. Backgroundchoices can be used to purchase optional skills from one'sprofession, increase one's starting levels of Magic, Wealthor Renown, or even purchase skills from another profes-sion. The final steps are to select starting spells (based onMagic) and possessions (based on Wealth), and developyour adventurer's background and personality (and deter-mining how this reflects their Renown).

The gamemaster should select one of the followingoverall levels of experience for adventurers to be createdfor his or her game. Initially, it is simplest to start play atthe Trained level.

Novice—such adventurers are typically 14-16 (13+1D3)years old. Their initial Magic, Wealth and Renown startone point lower than those of a Trained member of theirprofession. Novice adventurers do not even start with thebasic skills of their profession. They start with only halfthe normal number of background choices, and may pur-chase basic skill of their profession at half the listed cost(the value in italic next to each basic skill), and can pur-chase the optional skills of their profession at the listedcost. This is the level of skill held by a new apprentice.

Trained—such adventurers are typically 16-21 (15+1D6)years old. They start with the listed number of back-ground choices and the basic skills and initial Magic,Wealth and Renown of a Trained member of their profes-sion. This is the level of skill held by a typical apprentice,age 16-25.

Skilled—such adventurers are typically 18-24 (16+2D4)years old. They start with the listed number of back-ground choices and the basic skills and initial Magic,Wealth and Renown of a Skilled member of their profes-sion. This is the level of skil l held by an advancedapprentice, journeyman, or average member of a profes-sion, age 18 and up.

Expert—such adventurers are typically 23-33 (21+2D6)years old. They start with the listed number of back-ground choices and the basic skills and initial Magic,Wealth and Renown of an Expert member of their profes-sion. This represents the level of skill held by an advancedjourneyman or an exceptional member of a profession,age 25 and up.

Master—such adventurers are typically 25-39 (23+2D8)years old. They start with the listed number of back-ground choices and the basic skills and initial Magic,Wealth and Renown of a Master member of their profes-sion. A master adventurer represents the level of skill heldby a master of a profession, age 25 and up.

18 • C R E A T I N G • A N • A D V E N T U R E R

Summary1. Determine Characteristics

Roll or generate characteristics.Calculate Attributes.Calculate Skill Category Modifiers.

2. Select CultureSelect cultural background.

3. Select Profession and MagicSelect a cultural profession.Select magical background.

4. Make Background ChoicesPurchase additional levels of skills,Wealth, Magic or Renown, then addSkill Category Modifiers to final skills.

5. Select SpellsSelect spells determined by Magic.

6. Select PossessionsSelect possessions determined by Wealth.

7. Develop BackgroundDevelop your adventurer's Renown,background, personality and history.

1. DETERMINE CHARACTERISTICSTo generate an average human, roll 3D6 for STR, CON,POW, DEX and APP; roll 2D6+6 for INT and SIZ. Fornonhumans, use the number of dice listed in the Creatureschapter. To generate slightly above average adventurers,use one of the three following methods:

Random MethodFor humans, roll 4D6 and discard the result of one dierolls (typically the lowest) for all characteristics exceptINT and SIZ. For INT and SIZ, roll 3D6, discard theresult of one die roll and add 6. For nonhumans, for eachcharacteristic roll one more die than normal, then discardthe result of one of the dice.

Deliberate MethodFor humans, use 80 points to buy the adventurer's charac-teristics. Each point of SIZ or INT up to 13 costs 1 point.Each point of SIZ or INT above 13 costs 2 points. Eachpoint of APP costs 1/2 point. Each point of STR, CON,POW and DEX costs 1 point. An adventurer created thisway must have a INT and SIZ of at least 8 each, and a 6 orhigher in all other characteristics. No characteristic can bebought above 18. For nonhumans, use either 80 points orthe sum of the average value of all characteristics,whichever is higher. No characteristic can be boughtabove the highest number that one could normally roll inthat characteristic.

Combined MethodRoll 3D6 for STR, CON, POW and DEX, and roll 2D6+6for INT and SIZ. Then use 8 points to buy higher statisticsas with the deliberate method (1 point per characteristicpoint, 2 points per point of INT or SIZ above 13, 1/2 pointper point of APP). No human characteristic can total more

than 18 after purchasing additional points by this method.For nonhumans, roll the listed number of dice, than add 8points or 1/10 of the sum of the average value of all charac-teristics, whichever is higher. No characteristic can totalmore than the highest number that one could normallyroll in that characteristic.

CHARACTERISTIC MAXIMAPhysical characteristics, such as STR, CON, SIZ, DEXand APP can be permanently increased by training ormagic. Two factors, species maximum and the originalcharacteristic value generated, set the limit on increases incharacteristics. A physical characteristic cannot beincreased by magic or training to higher than the speciesmaximum for that characteristic or 1-1/2 times the originalrolled value for that characteristic, whichever is lower.

The species maximum is calculated by adding togetherthe lowest and highest possible rolls for the characteristicof a normal member of the species. For a characteristicgenerated on 3D6, such as normal human STR, CON,POW, DEX and APP, the species maximum would be3+18, or 21. If the original rolled value for the characteris-tic was 14 or above, its maximum value would be 21. Ifthe originally rolled value was below 14, the maximumvalue would be 1-1/2 times the original rolled value. For acharacteristic generated on 2D6+6, such as human SIZ,the species maximum would be 8+18, or 26. The maxi-mum value for SIZ would thus typically be 1-1/2 times theoriginal rolled value, unless it was an 18, in which case themaximum would be 26 (though SIZ cannot be trained).

The mental characteristics, INT and POW, can onlybe increased by magic. Magical activity can increase POW,though not INT. There is no theoretical limit as to how farthey can be raised, but magic that increases INT or POWis rare and POW increase due to magical activity is veryslow beyond its species maximum, 21 for humans.

Some magics may temporarily increase a characteris-tic beyond the above limits. Other very powerful andexotic magics may permanently increase a characteristicbeyond even the above limits, but they are very rare.

ATTRIBUTESAttributes are abilities that are based on the values ofcharacteristics. They include damage bonus, hit points,magic points, movement, DEX strike rank, and meleestrike rank.

Calculate the Attributes that follow and record them onyour adventurer's character sheet.

As described in the Game Mechanics chapter, alwaysround any fractions to the nearest whole number (alwaysround up from 0.5 and round down from below 0.5).

Damage Bonus (DB)Physical beings have a damage bonus, which acts as amodifier to any damage they roll when using a meleeweapon. STR and SIZ both play a role, as the stronger oneis and the greater the mass and leverage one has, theharder one can hit, and the more damage one can do.


Half the normal damage bonus is used with a thrownweapon, or when the character is fighting while lying onthe ground. An adventurer throwing a weapon while lyingon the ground uses one quarter the normal damage bonus.Missile weapons do not have a damage bonus added.

Damage Bonus TableAverage

STR + SIZ Damage Bonus STR + SIZ

Humanoid Hit Points Per Location Table

Hit Points (HP)Location 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

01-05 -4 1-206-10 -3 3-511-25 -2 6-716-20 -I 8-1021-25 0 11 -1226-30 +1 13-1531-35 +2 16-1736-40 +3 18-2041-45 +4 21-2246-50 +5 23-2551-55 +6 26-2756-60 +7 28-3061-65 +8 31-3266-70 +9 33-3571-75 +10 36-37

Each +5 add I add 2 or 3

One con calculate damage bonus by dividing the sum of STR andSIZ by 5, rounding up, and subtracting 5.

Hit Points (HP)Hit points measure how much damage one can take beforeunconsciousness or death result, and equal the average ofan adventurer's SIZ and CON (rounding up).

An adventurer falls unconscious upon taking damageequal to or greater than his or her HP, and dies upon tak-ing damage equal to or greater than twice his or her HP.

HP = (CON + SIZ)/2

Hit Points Per Location (HL)The separate parts of the body have their own hit pointvalues. An adventurer may take damage to separate partsof his or her body from combat other physical contact, ormagic. The amount of damage that an adventurer canwithstand per hit location can be determined from theinformation in the Hit Points Per Location Table. It dis-tributes hit points by hit location for all humanoids.Varying amounts of damage have different effects on a hitlocation, as described in Combat.

For any individual the sum of the hit points from allthe hit point locations (HL) is greater than their total hitpoints (HP). This relation is correct. An adventurer mayaccumulate wounds in different locations—although indi-vidually inconsequential, their sum may be enough torender him or her unconscious.

Right Leg 1 1 1 1 1Left Leg 1 1 1 1 1 Abdomen 1 1 1 1 1Chest 1 1 1 1Right Arm 1 1 1 1 1Left Arm 1 1 1 1 1Head 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 62 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 62 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6

2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 71 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 51 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 52 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6

Hit Points Per Location (HL)

For a humanoid, HL in legs, abdomen, and head equal 1/3 (or .33)HP, HL in chest equals 2/5 (or .40) HP, and HL in arms equal 1/4 (or.25) HP.

Magic Points (MP)An adventurer's base magic points equal his or her currentPOW. Situations may allow magic points in excess of orless than that number.

Magic points are a measure of one's offensive magicalstrength. They are also used to fight spirits and to powerspells.

All characters regain magic points at the rate of 1/24thof their current Power per hour. A character will com-pletely regenerate his or her magic points in 24 hours.

MP = POW

Move (MV)An adventurer's move attribute is based on his or her SIZand DEX. SIZ reflects the length of one's stride and DEXreflects one's quickness. In combat, one can move up toone's MV in meters and still attack and defend.

MV = (SIZ + DEX)/5

The above calculation is for humanoids. For most quadrupeds, use(SIZ + DEX)/3 instead. Round up in both cases.

DEX Strike Rank (DEX SR)DEX SR is a measure of an adventurer's speed and reac-tion time, and is used to determine which figure, incombat, can act before other figures.

DEX SR Table

DEX

01-0809-1516-1920+

DEX SR

4321

Melee Strike Rank (Melee SR)Melee SR is a measure of an adventurer's reach, speed andreaction time, and is used to determine when in combatthey land a blow.


Melee SR TableDEX + SIZ Melee SR

02-1011-2021-2526-3031-3536-3940

7654321

Use only the first 20 points of DEX or SIZ(if DEX or SIZ are greater than 20, use 20 instead).

SKILLS CATEGORIESSkills categories are made up of skills which are influencedby the same characteristic or set of characteristics. Thereare seven categories of skills in RuneQuest.

Agility—these are physical skills which require generalbodily effort and coordination—Acrobatics, Boat, Climb,Dance, Dodge, Hide, Jump, Maneuver, all Parries, Ride,Sneak, Swim. They can be increased by experience.

Communication—such skills facilitate the transfer ofinformation between people—Act, Bargain, Instruct,Orate, Persuade, Sing, Speak Own Language, Speak OtherLanguages. They can be increased by experience.

Knowledge—these mental skills require formal knowledgeand learning. They cannot be increased through experi-ence, only training, practice or research—all Lores,Martial Arts, Read/Write Languages.

Reasoning—these mental skills require both knowledgeand individual judgment—Craft, all Customs, Evaluate,First Aid, Physician, all Sorcery spells. They can beincreased by experience.

Magic—with these skills users manipulate magical ener-gies to change the world. They cannot be increasedthrough experience, only training, practice or research—Ceremony, Enchant , Intensity, Summon, Sorcerymanipulations (Duration, Range, Ease, Speed etc.), Spiritskills (Spirit Combat, Spirit Dance, Spirit Sense, SpiritSpeech, Spirit Travel, etc.).

Manipulation—these skills require good hand-eye coordi-nation—Conceal, Devise, Drive, Pass, Play Instrument,Sleight, Trap, all Weapon Attacks. They can be increasedby experience.

Perception—with these skills characters receive andunderstand information from outside themselves—Listen,Scan, Search, Track. They can be increased by experience.

SKILL CATEGORY MODIFIERSIn addition to the base chances common to every human,a new adventurer's skills may be increased or decreased byskill category modifiers, which simulate his or her naturalability with kinds of skills. It is possible for skill modifiersto add or subtract percentiles from skills or to leave them

unchanged. Skill modifiers may change if the characteris-tics from which they were derived also change. Skillcategory modifiers also affect experience rolls, simulatingthe benefits of natural ability when trying to improve a skill.

Calculate the modifiers that follow and record them onyour adventurer's character sheet. As always, round anyfractions to the nearest whole number.

Once the base chances for an adventurer's skills havebeen established through character generation, the appro-priate skill modifier is added to the base chances for thoseskills within that category which have base chances abovezero. It is not added to skills with a base chance of zero. Ifa skill with a zero base chance is later raised to 01 or bet-ter, add the value of the category modifier to the skill atthat time. The resulting percentage is the character'schance to succeed in that skill unless training, experience,or other factors affect the skill.

Agility Skills Category Modifier

Agility Skills Modifier = STR + DEX - SIZ - IO

The Reasons WhySTR—strength is essential to skills requiring general bodily effortDEX—riding, jumping, acrobatics etc., all require coordination.SIZ—bulk impedes rapid coordinated movement.

Communication Skills Category Modifier

Communication Skills Modifier = APP + INT - 20

The Reasons WhyAPP—charisma, handsome looks, bearing, or a good voice make it easierto get and hold the attention of others.INT—intelligence helps convey or comprehend speech and gestures.

Knowledge Skills Category Modifier

Knowledge Skills Modifier = INT + INT - 20

The Reasons WhyINT—the ability to reason abstractly and to memorize is essential to learning.

Magic Skills Category Modifier

Magic Skills Modifier = INT + DEX - 20

The Reasons WhyINT—reasoning, will, and mental ability are vital in working wonders.DEX—gesture, posture and coordination is integral to the casting of spells.

Manipulation Skills Category Modifier

Manipulation Skills Modifier = DEX + STR/2 + INT/2 - 20

The Reasons WhyDEX—coordination and nimbleness are the most important factors inmanipulating an objectSTR—having the strength to firmly hold manipulated items is an assetINT—it helps to know what you are doing.


Perception Skills Category Modifier

Perception Skills Modifier = INT + CON - 20

The Reasons WhyINT—if you aren't smart enough to look or listen in the right places, you'llmiss what you seek.CON—those with the greatest vitality and resistance to fatigue are themost alert

Reasoning Skills Category Modifier

Reasoning Skills Modifier = INT + INT - 20

The Reasons WhyINT—the ability to reason abstractly is essential to making judgments.

2. SELECT CULTUREAn adventurer's culture will affect their magical back-ground and their choice of profession, which in turndetermine their choice of religion and skills.

When selecting your adventurer's culture, it is best toconsult with the gamemaster, as he may wish players torun adventurers from a specific culture or a limited set ofcultures.

A number of cultures in the region of Dragon Pass aredescribed in detail in the section and tables that follow.These include the Kingdom of Sartar, a magical landinhabited by proud barbarians; the Lunar Empire, a civi-lized empire that has conquered most of central Genertela;the City of Pavis, an ancient ruined city on the Plains ofPrax; and Prax and the Wastes, a once fertile land, now abarren waste inhabited by the animal nomads.

A set of notes on other cultures follows the fourdeta i led cu l tu res . These should allow players andgamemasters to generate adventurers from other areas ofGlorantha, should they desire to do so.

3. SELECT PROFESSION AND MAGICFirst, select a profession for your adventurer from thoseavailable to your culture. A profession reflects what anadventurer has done, learned and earned prior to play. Anadventurer may well dabble in more than one profession—one's chosen profession simply represents an adventurer'smost significant or most recent choice of profession. Anadventurer's profession will determine the basic skills,level of magic, possessions and renown an adventurerstarts the game with. The type of magic an adventurer usesis influenced by his or her culture and profession.

Select ProfessionSelect one of the recommended cultural professions fromthe four cultures detailed later in this chapter, or select oneof the general professions. Add the appropriate skill cate-gory modifier values to the basic skills granted by theprofession, and write down the final values in the appro-priate place on the adventurer's character sheet.

Select Magical BackgroundOnce you have selected a profession for your adventurer,determine your adventurer's magical background—divinemagic, spirit magic or sorcery. Your adventurer's culturewill likely limit your adventurer's magical background, asmost cultures use only one or two forms of magic. Yourprofession and interest in certain spells may further influ-ence your choice of magical background (see the World ofMagic, Divine Magic, Spirit Magic or Sorcery chapters).The gamemaster may further choose to limit the availabil-ity of certain magical backgrounds—spirit magic anddivine magic backgrounds are simpler than sorcery, andmay be better suited for a new game, for example.

If you decide your adventurer's magical background isdivine magic, he or she will know some of the battle magicspells called cult magic spells and may also learn the morepowerful spells of divine magic. Select the deity that youradventurer worships. Each of the culture specific profes-sions lists the names of deities commonly worshiped bymembers of the profession, and the notes on other culturesincludes information as to the deities commonly wor-shiped in that culture. It is possible to worship more thanone god, particularly if they are closely associated orfriendly. See Religions, in the Divine Magic chapter formore details.

If you decide your adventurer's magical background isspirit magic, he or she will know some of the battle magicspells called spirit magic spells. It is helpful to have an ideaas to the kind of shaman your adventurer studied under,and what that shaman's tradition was like. This may influ-ence your adventurer's choice of spirit magic, and if youradventurer becomes a shaman's assistant or shaman youwill know what tradition he or she will most likely join.

If you decide your adventurer's magical background issorcery, your adventurer will know some sorcery spellsand the basic sorcery manipulation of Intensity. Select theschool of sorcery your adventurer belongs to, or whetherhe or she studied under an independent sorcerer. Manyschools are restricted to certain areas of the world. Anadventurer may only belong to a single school of sorcery.See Sorcery for more information. A sorcerer from theLunar Empire will most likely belong to the Carmanianschool of sorcery, one of the Lunar Colleges of magic, butmay have studied under an independent sorcerer as well.

4. MAKE BACKGROUND CHOICESThe overall level of experience of the game as set by thegamemaster determines the initial skill, Magic, Wealth andRenown of an adventurer. There are five basic levels ofexperience—Novice, Trained, Skilled, Expert, and Master.

Adventurers may add additional skills, or increasetheir starting levels of Magic, Wealth or Renown throughthe expenditure of background choices. The starting num-ber of background choices is listed in bold beneath thestarting skills, Magic, Wealth and Renown for each pro-fession, and varies with the advantages or disadvantagesinherent in each profession.


SkillsSkill levels represent an adventurer's relative level of com-petence with a specific skill.

Background choices may be used to purchase addi-tional optional skills from a profession. The cost topurchase each optional skill at the level appropriate to theadventurer's relative level of experience is listed in a pro-fession next to each optional skill.

Skills in professions are grouped by sub-profession—these have no significance other than to suggest whatgroup of skills an adventurer interested in a particular sub-profession might wish to purchase.

Some skill costs are marked with a v, for variable (e.g.1v). This means that this is a skill that potentially has avariable cost, as it has variable difficulty. A medium diffi-culty skill of this type has the listed cost, an easy one costshalf as much, and a hard skill costs twice the listed cost.

Some skill costs are marked with a s, for subskills (e.g.1s). This means that the skill has optional subskills, eachmore limited than the parental skill (see Skills), but costingonly half as much. Players and gamemasters interested inmore carefully defining skills should feel free to use these.

Weapon skills should be selected from those listed inthe Possessions table for that culture, as these representthe cultural weapons an adventurer would have learned touse. The fighting skills of Brawl and Grapple can be pur-chased by any adventurer instead of a Weapon skill.

Initiates of a religion may also purchase any of thecult skills special to that religion (see Religions in DivineMagic). Simply find the skill or its closest equivalent onthe skill table that follows professions to determine itscost—it is otherwise treated as an optional skill.

As skills are purchased, the adventurer's player shouldadd the appropriate skill category modifier value to thebase level of the purchased skill, and write down the finalvalue in the appropriate place on their adventurer's char-acter sheet.

Skills from Other Professions or CulturesAn adventurer may purchase a skill from any other profes-sion in his or her cul ture by f i rs t spending a singlebackground choice to develop a basic familiarity with thatprofession. After the initial choice is spent, the adventurermay freely purchase basic or optional skills from that pro-fession as well. None of the basic skills of the professionare automatically gained in this manner, unlike those ofthe adventurer's primary profession. Any number of addi-tional professions can be entered, each at the cost of anadditional background choice.

Skills from another culture's professions may be pur-chased in a similar manner if the adventurer's backgroundis such that learning such skills would make sense, and thegamemaster permits. In this case, the initial cost to enterthe other culture's profession is equal to two backgroundchoices. Further professions from that culture can beentered at the cost of a single background choice.

Varying SkillsThe following options allow players to fine tune theiradventurers skill levels to fit their conception of the char-acter. The calculations involved take a little extra time andeffort, but allow you to add color to and flesh out characters.Novice players, or those interested in generating charac-ters as quickly as possible may not wish to use these rules.

With the gamemaster's permission, additional back-ground choices may be spent to increase an adventurer'slevel of skill beyond the normal level of skill an adventurerstarts with. Increasing a skill by one level (i.e. fromTrained to Skilled) costs twice the amount listed by a basicor optional skill. Thus, an Expert adventurer wishing toincrease the level of a skill from Expert to Master wouldpay twice the listed cost. Increasing skills beyond a singlelevel (or beyond 90%) should be carefully considered bythe gamemaster, as such adventurers tend to be very onedimensional. The costs keeps doubling until a skill isincreased beyond 90%. Skill levels beyond 90% increaseby 10% a level (i.e. 90%, 100%, 110%, etc.), and eachadditional level of skill costs twice as much as learning askill to 90% (but no longer keeps doubling).

Adventurers may gain additional background choicesby electing to start with lower skill levels.

With the gamemaster's permission, an adventurer canreduce a basic skill by one level, gaining in return half theamount of background choices listed by the skill in italic.Thus, an Expert adventurer that wished one of his basicskill to start at the Skilled level would gain additionalbackground choices equal to half the amount listed by theskill (typically 1/2 a choice).

Likewise, an optional skill may be purchased at alower level by spending half as many choices for each levelbelow that of the adventurer's overall level of experience.Gamemasters should allow any player that wishes to pur-chase optional skills at reduced levels to do so, as thisallows one to add skills that an adventurer might havepicked up prior to play at reasonable levels. Thus, anExpert adventurer wishing to purchase an optional skill ata Skilled level would pay half the listed cost, while pur-chasing an optional skill at a Trained level would cost aquarter the listed cost. Another way to think of this is thatthe Expert adventurer can start with 2 optional skills atthe Skilled level or 4 optional skills at the Trained level forthe cost of a single optional Expert skill (this assumes theskills are of equal difficulty, otherwise adjust costs accord-ingly). A skill may not be reduced by this method belowits base chance, or below 15% (the level below 30%) inany case.

MagicMagic represents an adventurer's relative level of powerwith a form of magic. An adventurer starts with a level ofMagic appropriate to his or her profession and relativelevel of experience. Magic provides magical benefits in theform of spell knowledge, POW, or enchantments (seeselecting starting possessions, below). Some of the advan-tages and limitations of the various forms of magic are


discussed in the World of Magic, Divine Magic, SpiritMagic and Sorcery chapters.

An adventurer with Magic 0 knows no magic, Magic1 knows a few spells, Magic 2 knows enough magic topotentially qualify as an initiate, shaman's assistant or sor-cerer's apprentice, Magic 3 is magically competent, Magic4 has mastered basic magic, Magic 5 qualifies as anacolyte, priest, magus or powerful shaman, and Magic 6 iseven more powerful.

Varying MagicA single additional level of Magic may be purchased withthe expenditure of 2 background choices.

Conversely, a single additional background choicemay be purchased by decreasing an adventurer's startinglevel of Magic by one.

WealthWealth represents an adventurer's relative wealth. Anadventurer starts with a level of Wealth appropriate to hisor her profession and relative level of experience. Wealthprovides material benefits in the form of possessions (seeselecting starting magic, below), and determines theadventurer's standard of living and social class (see theEconomics chapter for more details).

An adventurer with Wealth 0 is poor (a destitute peas-ant, common criminal, or thrall, living on 200 L/year),Wealth 1 is struggling (a common citizen, living on 400L/year), Wealth 2 is comfortable (a respected citizen ormember of society, living on 400 L/year), Wealth 3 is welloff (a well established citizen or member of society, livingon 1,600 L/year), Wealth 4 is very well off (a leading citi-zen or poor noble, living on 3,200 L/year), Wealth 5 iswealthy (a magnate or noble, living on 6,400 L/year), andWealth 6 is rich (a wealthy noble, living on 12,800 L/year).

Varying WealthA single additional level of Wealth may be purchased withthe expenditure of 2 background choices.

Conversely, a single additional background choicemay be purchased by decreasing an adventurer's startinglevel of Wealth by one.

RenownRenown represents an adventurer's relative level of fameand social power. An adventurer starts with a level ofRenown appropriate to his or her culture, profession andrelative level of experience. This score reflects the adven-turer's reputation among those who would have cause toknow him or her. It influences the reactions of others andcan aid the adventurer in social situations.

An adventurer with Renown 0 is unknown (immedi-ate family only), Renown 1 is known among a small groupof people (extended family or hearth), Renown 2 is knownamong a good sized group of people (clan, sept, village orcity block), Renown 3 is known among a large group ofpeople (tribe, town or city neighborhood), Renown 4 isknown among a small region (part of a country or a city),

Renown 5 is known among a good sized region (a smallcountry or a province) and Renown 6 is known among alarge region (an empire). See Determine Background formore details.

Varying RenownA single additional level of Renown may be purchasedwith the expenditure of 2 background choices.

Conversely, a single additional background choicemay be purchased by decreasing an adventurer's startinglevel of Renown by one.

5. SELECT SPELLSAn adventurer's starting level of Magic determines thenumber of spells and magical power he or she starts with.Cross-index the adventurer's level of Magic on the tableappropriate for their magical background (divine, spirit orsorcery) to find the number of starting spells an adven-turer begins with. Those with Magic 0 start with none.

The exact spells available to the adventurer willdepend on their cult or religion for divine magicians, theshaman or shamanic tradition they learned spells from forspirit magicians, or the school of sorcery or master onestudied under for sorcery.

Some divine cults, notably Waha, Aldrya and KygerLitor, have shaman and use spirit magic instead of cultmagic. Use the Spirit Magic Table for these cults, butmembers can choose to become initiates at Magic 2 andabove, which costs them a point of Spirit Magic Power,but allows them to use Spirit Magic Power to purchasecult divine magic spells.

With the gamemaster's permission, adventurers maysplit their total levels of Magic among more than one formof magic, selecting spells from each form as appropriatefor their level in each form.

Divine Magic TableDivine PointsMagic of CultLevel Title Magic

123456

Lay MemberLow InitiateInitiateHigh InitiateAcolyte/PriestChief Priest

6912151821

CultMagic Points ofLimits Divine Magic

1 to 4 (L/I/P)2 to 6 (L/I/P)2 to 6 (L/I/P)2 to 6 (L/I/P)2 to 8 (L/I/P)2 to 8 (L/I/P)

00251015

A divine magician selects his or her cult magic spells from those avail-able to the cult (from either the cult itself or from associated cults).A divine magician is limited in the maximum size of the cult magicspells he or she can learn by the depth of their initiation into the cultand whether the cult magic spell is a speciality of the cult. Cult magicspells are listed for a number of cults in the Religions section of theDivine Magic chapter in the format Lay Member/Initiate/Priest (L/I/P)as to the exact availability of the spells. If no listing is available, assumethat the limits are 2/4/6. Thus, a lay member could typically learn onlyup to 2 point cult magic spells, though he or she could learn up tothree of them (6 total points available). An initiate of a cult can learncult magic spells from associated cults as if a lay member, and an


acolyte, priest or Rune Lord of a cult can learn cult magic spells fromassociated cults as if an initiate.

At Magic 2 and above, divine magicians typically become initiatesof a cult. Unless they do so, they cannot learn cult magic spells largerthan those available to lay members, cannot select cult skills asoptional skills in character generation, and cannot learn divine magic.At Magic 3 and above, initiates can select a number of divine magicspells from among those available to the cult. Some cults may allowcertain spells to be learned by only high ranking members, such asAcolytes, Priests, Rune Lords or Chief Priest There is no limit to thesize of a divine magic spell that can be learned, other than pointsavailable. Any initiate can sacrifice points of their own POW to learnadditional divine magic spells. See Divine Magic for more details.

At Magic level 5 and above, with the gamemasters permission,divine magicians can become acolytes or priests of a cult. Playersshould be aware that being a priest is a full time occupation.

With the gamemaster's permission, an adventurer can becomean initiate of more than one cult, particularly if the cults are associ-ated or friendly. Each cult joined beyond the first costs theadventurer one point of POW.

Points of Divine Magic can instead be used to increase POW orcreate enchantments (see Increasing POW and Enchanting).

Spirit Magic TableSpirit Points SpiritMagic of Spirit MagicLevel Magic Limits

123456

6912151821

456789

Points ofSpirit MagicPower

01351015

A spirit magician may select from any spirit magic spells that hisshaman or tradition teach (generally, almost any battle magic spell isavailable). More adept spirit magicians have access to larger spells.

Spirit Magic Power represents the POW of the fetch of ashaman has awakened, or the magical power a non-shaman has devel-oped. A shaman starts with a fetch of POW equal to Spirit MagicPower. The shaman can further increase the POW of his or her fetchby sacrificing further points of POW to it (see Spirit Magic). With thegamemasters permission, a spirit magician that starts with the basicskills of a Trained shaman and has awakened a fetch can start with one.

If the spirit magician has not awakened a fetch (true for mostspirit magic users), or wishes to start with a smaller fetch, SpiritMagic Power can instead be used to increase POW or createenchantments (see below).

Sorcery TableSorceryMagicLevel Title

123456

StudentAcothylistApprenticeAdeptMagusHigh Magus

Intensity Spellskill skill(s)

30%45%60%75%90%100%

45%60%75%90%100%110%

Points ofEnchantmentPOW

00251015

Magic spell. Add Magic bonus to Intensity and Reasoning bonus tospell skill(s) to determine the final skill levels. Other sorcery spells orskills may be available in their professions as well.

Enchantment POW can be used to create enchantments(including creating a familiar) or increase POW (see below).

Increasing POWAn adventurer with POW 1-10 can use 1 point of Divine Magic, SpiritMagic Power or Enchantment POW to increase their POW by 1. Anadventurer with POW 11-15 can use 2 points to increase their POWby 1. An adventurer with POW 16-20 can use 4 points to increasetheir POW by 1. An adventurer with a POW of 21 or above can use8 points to increase their POW by 1. Increasing POW may thus raisethe cost of further increasing it.

EnchantingDivine Magic, Power or Enchantment POW can be used to createpersonal enchantments. Each point can be used as a point of POW inenchanting. The adventurer must know the correct spell and theenchantments must be rolled for to succeed. An adventurer can alsouse their own POW to create enchantments. See Divine Magic,Spirit Magic and Sorcery for more details.

6. SELECT POSSESSIONSAn adventurer's starting level of Wealth determines thepossessions he or she starts the game with. An adventurerstarts with the basic possessions appropriate to his or herculture, then simply spends wealth choices to purchasepossessions from the appropriate culture's table. Cross-index the adventurer's Wealth on the Wealth Table. Thiswill yield a number of A, B and C wealth choices. Thesewealth choices may be used to purchase possessions fromthe culture specific possessions tables at the end of eachculture's section, or the general possessions table if theadventurer comes from another culture. A single A choiceis roughly equal to 75 Lunars (L, see Economics), a singleB choice is roughly equal to 300 L and a single C choice isroughly equal to 1,200 L (see Economics), but the posses-sions that can be purchased vary from culture to culture.

One can always trade down wealth choices, that is tosay, convert a C choice to 4B or 16A choices, or convert aB choice to 4A choices, but normally wealth choices can-not be traded up. Wealth has its benefits.

With the gamemaster's permission, adventurers maypurchase possessions from another culture's tables at twicethe listed cost.

A student of sorcery begins by studying the basic sorcery manipula-tions of Intensity and Low Magic spells. He or she may select fromany two Low Magic spells available to his or her school (see Sorcery).A sorcerer, scholar, official or noble may instead choose a single High

Wealth TableWealth ChoicesLevel A B0

23456

448881616

012261228

C

0001248

1


7. DEVELOP BACKGROUNDBy now you will know a lot about your adventurer—hisor her skills, social rank, wealth, possessions, which deityor deities he or she worships, if any, and what kind ofmagic he or she uses.

Take a little time to form a picture of your adventurer.When was he or she born? How old does that make himor her? What were the formative events in his or her life?The background in format ion and t imel ine in theIntroduction chapter can help with background ideas.

RenownOnce you have formed a picture of your adventurer, use itto come up with an explanation for how they acquiredtheir renown. Being known as a great warrior, wise, trust-worthy, or dangerous all serve to differentiate adventurersfrom each other, and gives the gamemaster's characterssomething to react to in social situations. Renown due to afamous ancestor, lineage, or birthplace, or some wellknown deed the adventurer performed all add color anddetail to characters. The more detailed the explanation,the better.

Renown is specific to a single area. Most adventurerswill simply apply their Renown to their own homeland.An Expert Sartarite warrior with Renown 3 would typi-cally specify Renown/Sartar 3 on his character sheet. Anadventurer that begins the game residing in another landmay choose to apply their renown to that area instead.Examples of such areas would include Sartar, Pavis, Prax,or a province or satrapy of the Lunar Empire, such asTarsh. At the gamemaster's option, some overlap canoccur between nearby areas, such as Pavis and Sartar,Pavis and Prax, or neighboring provinces or satrapies inthe Lunar Empire.

It is possible to further differentiate Renown oracquire Renown in more than one area by limiting ordecreasing one's level of Renown. Limiting one's Renownto a single species, sub-population, religion, or type of reac-tion (Positive Renown—only to befriend or make a goodimpression; Negative Renown—only to intimidate orfrighten) allows one to increase their Renown by one level,or use the same level of Renown, but at a lower cost. Onecan add areas of Renown by decreasing one's Renown.Renown 3 in one area is equal to Renown 2 or limitedRenown 3 in two areas, or Renown 1 or limited Renown 2in four areas.

Thus, the Sartarite warrior with Renown 3 coulddecide to actually have Renown/Sartar 2 (freedom fighter)and Renown/Pavis 2 (adventurer) , or NegativeRenown/Sartar 4 (Cold Wind fanatic), or might go so faras to have Renown/Sartar 2 (freedom fighter), NegativeRenown/Tarsh 2 (Sartar i te rebel ) , and SmugglerRenown/Pavis 2 (arms dealer). Other interesting applica-tions for Renown include elf friend (Positive Renown, ElfRenown or Renown of 4 or greater in an elf area, such asthe Stinking Forest), troll friend (Positive Renown, TrollRenown or Renown of 2 or greater in a troll area, such asDagori Inkarth or the Shadowlands), or to create alternate

or secret identities.Renown has three major benefits in play. The first is

that people may recognize your adventurer and his or herreputation when they hear your adventurer's name. As arough guideline, recognition is automatic near the originof the adventurer's reputation (see Background Choicesfor more information), and occurs on a Luck Roll (seeGame Mechanics) outside that area, the difficulty of theroll varying with the distance. Unless the people involvedwould automatically be hostile to the adventurer, this gen-erally improves people's reactions to the adventurer—afriendly reaction becomes very friendly, a neutral reactionbecomes friendly, and a hostile reaction becomes neutral.the exact nature of the adventurer's Renown will furtheraffect how people react to him or her. The second benefitof Renown occurs in situations where social skills arebeing used. The character with the highest applicableRenown gains a free hint when using any communicationskill (Positive or Negative Renown would limit the skillsaffected). The effect is as if the character's level of successwith a communications skill was one greater (see Skills formore details). The final benefit of Renown is that it canserve as a source of roleplaying suggestions. Gamemastershould feel free to hand out a number of relevant roleplay-ing suggestions in a session equal to an adventurer'sRenown. Of course, should the situation have nothing todo with the adventurer's particular form of Renown, nosuggestions need be made. However, an adventurer withElf Renown/Stinking Forest 3 should be given a few sug-gestions for how best to speak to a party of elves she hasjust encountered, even if they come from another elf forest.

Final PointsConsider a few final points in creating your adventurer.What does your adventurer look like? Sound like? Anydistinctive traits or distinguishing characteristics? Howdoes your adventurer spend his or her time? What kind offriends, acquaintances or contacts does your adventurerhave? Finally, what are some of the beliefs and values mostfirmly cherished by your adventurer, and how does he orshe express them to the world at large? The cultural back-grounds that follow and the Time and Learning chaptercan help with some of these questions.

You're now done creating an adventurer with whichto venture into the world of Glorantha, or any of the myr-iad worlds of fantasy that await you. Enjoy!

PROFESSION TABLESThe profession tables and the descriptions of Dragon Passcultures that follow should allow for the convenient gener-ation of adventurers. They are also meant to serve as aquick source of characters for the gamemaster, and to giveplayers an idea as to how their adventurers compare toother characters in the world. Gamemasters should feel freeto modify the tables to suit their needs or create their own.

The example that follows takes you through the use ofthe profession tables and the process of character creation.


Arlia: An Example ofCreating An Adventurer

A group of players get together with theirgamemaster to generate adventurers. Thegamemaster announces that he will be running agame whose initial setting is the Lunar Empire.Players are to create Skilled adventurers, prefer-ably Lunar natives.

One of the players decides to generate a formerlegionnaire. She decides that the adventurer will bea female Lunar of Pelorian descent called Arlia.

1. Determine CharacteristicsArlia's player uses the random method to generateArlia's characteristics. She ends up with STR 13,CON 16. SIZ 13, INT 15, POW 10, DEX 12 andAPP 15.

Arlia's attributes are therefore DB 1, HP 15. MP10, MV 5, DEX SR 3, and Melee SR 5.

Arlia's Skill Category Modifiers are Agility 2,Communication IO, Knowledge IO, Magic 7,Manipulation 7, Perception 11 and Reasoning 10.

2. Select CultureArlia is a native of the Lunar Empire. She is ofPelorian descent. Her player decides that she wasborn into a poor family in Mirin's Cross, the Lunarprovincial capital in Sylila.

3. Select Profession and MagicArlia's player wants her to be a former legionnaire,so she turns to the Lunar Soldier table (repro-duced to the right). After a little thought, shedecides that she would like Arlia to be a memberof the cult of the Seven Mothers and use cult magicand divine magic, so she selects a divine magicbackground. Her other choice in the Lunar Empirewould be sorcery.

Arlia's player examines the Lunar PossessionsTable to determine which would be appropriatecultural weapons for Arlia to use, then adds theappropriate skill category modifier values to thebasic skills granted by the profession and writesdown the final values on Arlia's character sheet.As Arlia is a Skilled adventurer, her basic skills endup being Scimitar Attack 67, Large Shield Parry 62,Javelin Attack 52, Scimitar Parry 47, Sickle Attack52, First Aid 70 and Scan 71.

4. Make Background ChoicesAs Arlia is a skilled Lunar soldier, she has 7 back-ground choices to spend, and starts with Magic 2,Wealth 2 and Renown 2.

As Arlia's player wishes her to be an experi-enced magician, she spends 2 background choicesto bring her to Magic 3. She will spend the rest ofher background choices on skills. She spends 4background choices on optional skills, purchasingthe skills of Read/Write New Pelorian, Stealth,Maneuver, Intimidate and Custom/Pelorian Military.These are purchased at the listed cost, and willthus have the bases listed in the Skilled column.Arlia's player has four more skills she would like topurchase. Unfortunately, she can't afford to do thisat the Skilled level, as each of the four skills costhalf a choice, for a total of two choices, when Arlia'splayer has but a single choice left. She thinks about

LUNAR SOLDIER Trained Skilled Expert Master

<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry<Weapon> AttackFirst AidScan

MagicWealthRenown

1v 45%1v 45%1/2v 30%1/2v 30%1/2v 30%1/2 45%1 45%

111

60%60%45%45%45%60%60%

222

75%75%60%60%60%75%75%

333

90%90%75%75%75%90%90%

444

Uses either Divine Magic (common) or Sorcery (veryrare), If uses Divine Magic, typically worships one ofthe following deities—Seven Mothers, Yanafal Tamils,Hwarin Dalthippa, or the Reaching Moon. DaraHappans would favor Yelm, Pole Star, Yelmalio andCity Gods.

7 choices

Optional Skills Cost Trained Skilled

DragoonRide <Beast><Beast> Lore

GuardSearchListen

OfficerCraft/AdministrateOrateR/W New Pelorian

ScoutConcealHide<Terrain> LoreStealthTrack

SergeantInstructIntimidate

Soldier

Craft/BattleCraft/FortificationCustom/Pel. MilitaryManeuver

OtherCustom <Any>DodgeSpeak <Language>Speak Tradetalk<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

If an initiate:Cult Skills

If uses sorcery:Spell <Low Sorcery>

1/21/2

11

11s

1

1/21/2

1/21s

1/2

11/2

11/2

1/21

1/2vs

21/2v

1/21V

1v

1v

1/2

30%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%

30%30%45%30%30%

30%45%

45%45%45%30%

30%45%30%45%45%45%

45%

45%

45%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

45%45%60%45%45%

45%60%

60%60%60%45%

45%60%45%60%60%60%

60%

60%

Expert Master

60%

75%

75%75%

75%75%75%

60%60%75%60%60%

60%75%

75%75%75%60%

60%75%60%75%75%75%

75%

75%

75%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%

75%75%90%75%75%

75%90%

90%90%90%75%

75%90%75%90%90%90%

90%

90%

purchasing a subskill, such as Custom/LowSartarite, but decides instead to purchase all of theskills at the Trained level instead, where they wouldcost half as much. She thus adds the skills SpeakTradetalk, Speak Sartarite, Custom/Sartarite andTrack.

Her purchases done, Arlia ends up with Magic 3,Wealth 2 and Renown 2. After adding the appro-priate skills category modifier values, she writesdown her final skill levels for the optional skills shepurchased—Read/Write New Pelorian 70, Stealth47, Intimidate 70, Maneuver 47, Custom/PelorianMilitary 70, Speak Tradetalk 55, Speak Sartarite 40,Custom/Sartarite 40 and Track 41.

5. Select SpellsWith a divine magic background and Magic 3, Arliastarts with 12 points of cult magic and 2 points ofdivine magic. She qualifies as an initiate of the SevenMothers, the cult her player decided she joined.

Turning to the Divine Magic chapter, Arlia'splayer examines the Seven Mothers writeup, andthe cult and divine spells provided by associatedcults. She checks a few cult spell definitions andpoint costs in the Battle Magic section of theWorld of Magic chapter and then selects the SevenMothers cult magic spells Befuddle and Glamour 6,and the Yanafal Tamils (an associated cult) cultmagic spells Heal 1, Detect Enemies and Protection2. She uses her two points of divine magic to pur-chase the Seven Mothers divine Madness spell andincrease her POW by 1, to POW 11. She notes thespells and the change in POW on Arlia's charactersheet.

6. Select PossessionsWith a Wealth of 2. Arlia has 8A and 2B wealthchoices. Examining the Lunar Possessions Table,her player decides to purchase a Legionnaire's out-fit, which costs all her 8A choices. She uses a 1Bchoice to purchase 300L in coin and her last 1Bchoice to purchase a useful contact—a high rank-ing military friend. She records these possessionsand the Lunar basic gear on her character sheet.

7. Develop BackgroundLooking at Arlia's skills and thinking about herbackground, her player decides that Arlia camefrom a poor family and entered the Lunar militaryto move up in the world. Her legion was posted toSartar in 1616 S.T, where her quick wits and liter-acy drew the notice of Fazzur Wideread's militaryintelligence staff. She worked with military intelli-gence, primarily doing counter-insurgency workand tracking the activities of the Sartarite ColdWind movement until 1622 S.T, when she resignedin disgust at Fazzur Wideread's replacement, andreturned to Sylila. As the gamemaster is startingthe game in 1623 S.T, this works out fairly well.Arlia is 23 years old. so she was born in 1600 S.T.

With her Renown 2, Arlia could simply startwith Renown/Sylila 2. Instead, given her background,she decides to start with Military Renown/Sylila 2(known to the provincial army forces, but few oth-ers) and Negative Renown/Sartar 2 (the militaryintelligence agent responsible for closing downthree Cold Wind cells).


SARTAR

MythologyWhen the world was made, the dragons chose a place tobuild their nest. When Larnste the Soul Arranger came toplant the mountain seeds that grew into the RockwoodMountains, he stopped to rest at the Dragon's Nest, andso no seeds were sown there. When he left, he planted onlyhis best seed, which became Kero Fin, the Mother ofMountains. In this, way, the great pass in the RockwoodMountains was formed. Eventually, other races came tosettle there, and the area became known as Dragon Pass,even after most of the dragons flew away, leaving thedragonewts behind.

The humans and other races of Dragon Pass survivedthe Greater Darkness better than most, due to the aid ofthe dragonewts, who battled chaos with great skill, andbore the brunt of the fighting. The forces of chaos gath-ered against the resistance in Dragon Pass, but all the racesof Dragon Pass stood together as one, and the Forces ofthe Living defeated the Forces of Chaos. The sunken hol-low in which the chaos monstrosities were destroyed isnow known as Snake Pipe Hollow, and is still haunted bythe things that on occasion unearth themselves fromwhere they were buried.

HistoryThe lands now occupied by Sartar were once the home ofa several great nations, including the Theyalan Council ofFriends in the First Age and the EWF in the Second Age.After the fall of the EWF and the devastation wrought inDragon Pass by the dragons during the Dragonkill Warthe land remained free of human inhabitants for centuries.Eventually human refugees, seeking refuge from theexpanding Lunar Empire in the north and from a war inthe Shadowlands to the south braved the lands once again,and found a peaceful land in which to settle.

The Kingdom of Sartar was founded by the magicianSartar in the midst of Dragon Pass in the year 1492 S.T,centered around the capital, Boldhome, a city built bySartar's magic high amongst the crags of the Quivinmountains. His kingdom, initially composed of settlersand refugees from Heortland, continued to grow andflourish after his apotheosis in 1520 S.T.

For much of the next century, the forces of Sartar skir-mished with those of the expanding Lunar Empire to thenorth, and a number of Sartar's kings died at the hands ofLunar magic, spirits or assassins. In 1580 S.T. one ofSartar's kings was killed assisting Tarshite rebels fightingagainst their Lunar overlords. The forces of the LunarEmpire swept over Sartar in 1602 S.T., stormingBoldhome and killing nearly all the heirs to the throne ofSartar.

A distant relative of Sartar, Temertain, was installedby the Lunars as King of Sartar in 1614 S.T., but this hasdone little for the unity of the land. After several years inoffice, Temertain is still commonly known as "ThePretender" among the natives of Sartar.

Sartar is currently a military province of the LunarEmpire, and Lunar officials now collect tax and tributefrom the Sartarite people, while the forces of the LunarEmpire maintain an uneasy occupation. There is little lovelost between the Sartarites and their Lunar overlords.

The fa i lure of several uprisings, most notablyStarbrow's ill fated rebellion in 1613 S.T. and the subse-quent Lunar reprisals resulted in most of the Sartariterebels retreating deeper into the mountains and hills, orshifting their base of operations to the Holy Country inthe south or to lands even more distant.

PeopleThe clannish warrior-farmers of Sartar reflect the isolatedland they inhabit. They are competitive and boastful peo-ple, with one being only as good as the story of one'sdeeds. Though they live a rather spartan life, they pay spe-cial attention to items of comfort and decoration.

Sartarites live by herding and farming. The most com-mon livestock are cattle and sheep, which provide bothmeat and clothing. As they live in small communities sepa-rated from their neighbors by mountains, their familystructures are very close knit. The Sartarites have devel-oped a strong tradition of hospitality and entertainment inresponse to their isolation. Their entertainment takes theform of storytelling, singing, clap dancing, music, and themartial forms of sword dancing. Another way Sartaritespass cold nights is with drink. Fermentation is a task theSartarites have raised to an art. A clan's hospitality is oftenjudged by the quality of beverage they provide theirguests. Wars have been fought over slights as to the qual-ity of a clan's brew.

Often thought of as vain, it is said that Sartaritesspend as much time tending themselves as their sheep.Common adornments include bracelets, necklaces,torques, elaborate buckles, dyed linens, and mirrors.Warriors are almost as concerned with appearance asprowess. Sartarite warriors favor swords of all kinds, anda particular favorite is the hand and a half sword. Giventhe choice of armor or a finer blade, a Sartarite warriorwould choose the blade without hesitating.

Although the culture is patriarchal, women play astrong role, and often take up traditionally male pursuits,such as that of a weaponthane, a professional warrior.

The people of Sartar are organized into 24 tribes, eachcomposed of a number of clans. The clan is the focus ofSartarite life, and communally owns the farms and pas-tures its members occupy. Decisions affecting clans aremade by the tribe's council, which has the final say in aclan's activities. Sartarite tribes (with some of their clans inparentheses) include the Colymar (Anmangarn, Hiording,Narri, Orlmarth, Varmandi), the Lismelder (Greydog),the Locaem (Zethnorin) and the Malani (Lysan, Orveling,Namoldin).

The closest terrestrial analog to Sartarite culture isthat of the Celts.


Adventurers from SartarRecommended adventurer professions include

Orlanthi. Humakti or Urox (Storm Bull) warriors;

and entertainers, who may worship Donandar,

Eurmal or Orlanth. Other likely adventurer pro-

fessions include Lhankor Mhy scholars or

lawspeakers (officials). Chalana Arroy healers and

Issaries speakers (officials) or traders (merchants).

Common Traits—boastful, brave, honorable,

hospitable, independent, just, keeping one's word,

obedient, rebellious, violent, vengeful.

Male Names—Argalant, Ashart, Brandgor,

Dorthander, Hendrik, Jarang. Karallan, Naid,

Ortossi, Rostakos, Venharl

Female Names—Ernaldesta, Inganna, Jessa,

Kallyr, Leika, Rina, Tula, Viri

Other Adventurers in SartarOther good choices for adventurers in Sartar

might include the Lunar occupiers of Sartar, typi-

cally Lunar soldiers, missionaries and officials, one

of the Sun Dome Templars of Sartar (generated as

a Lunar hoplite or noble, but substituting Sartarite

for New Pelorian), or a visiting noble or trader.

Adventurers from HeortlandThe culture of Heortland in the Holy Country is

closely related to that of Sartar, and an adventurer

from Heortland would resemble a Sartarite adven-

turer. Their native language and customs would be

Heortlander, closely related to Sartarite, but with

Western influences, such as calling a weaponthane

a knight, and tribal positions such as steward and

marshal). The Western influences are the result of

the Heortlander's interactions with the Western

Trader Princes, God Forgot and the Malkioni

overlords that rule some of the Heortland tribes.

Adventurers from the Barbarian BeltOne can use generate adventurers from nearly any

of the Orlanthi barbarian belt cultures with the

Sartarite professions. In many cases, only the

native language and customs skill will differ (such

as Aggar or Talastar).

Others (such as Tarsh or Ralios), may require a

few minor changes to other skills and possessions.

For example, adventurers from Tarsh, or any of

the Theyalan hill tribes in the Lunar Empire will

differ in their native language and customs, be able

to learn at least Speak New Pelorian and possibly

Read/Write New Pelorian, and have bronze scimi-

tars (1A) and iron scimitars (1C) added to their

possible possessions, and would be able to pur-

chase items from the Lunar Empire possessions

lists at half again cost instead of double normal

SARTARITE

ENTERTAINER

Custom/Sartarite

Human Lore

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Magic

Wealth

Renown

Trained Skilled

1s

1

1/2v

1/2v

60%45%30%30%

111

75%60%45%45%

222

Expert Master

90%75%60%60%

333

100%

90%75%75%

444

Uses Divine Magic. Typically worships Donandar,

Eurmal or Orlanth.

9 choices

Optional Skils

Magician

Conceal

Sleight

Musician

Play <Instrument>

Player

Act

Poet

Sartar Lore

Sing/Sartarite

Rogue

Climb

Persuade

Stealth

Storyteller

Orate

Speak Sartarite

Swordancer

Dance/Sartarite

Dodge

<Sword> Attack

<Sword> Parry

TumblerAcrobatics

Jump

Other

Custom <Any>

Speak <Language>

Speak Tradetalk

Thrown Knife

If an initiate:

Cult Skills

Cost

1

Is

Iv

1

1/2

1/2v

1s

2s

1s

1

1/2

211

Is

1/2

1vs

1v

1/2

1

1v

Trained Skilled

45%

45%

45%

45%

45%

45%

45%45%45%

60%60%

45%45%45%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%45%

45%

60%60%

60%

60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%75%

60%60%60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%60%

60%

Expert Master

75%75%

75%

75%

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%90%

75%75%75%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%75%

75%

90%90%

90%

90%

90%90%

90%90%90%

90%100%

90%90%90%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%90%

90%

SARTARITE

WARRIOR Trained Skilled Expert Master

Dodge 2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Maneuver 1 30% 45% 60% 75%

Scan 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Attack 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Parry 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Attack 1/2v 30% 45% 60% 75%

Magic 1 2 3 4Wealth 1 2 3 4

Renown 1 2 3 4

Uses Divine Magic. Typically worships Orlanth.

Humakt, or Storm Bull. Female warriors may worship

Babeester Gor or Vinga as well

5-1/2 choices

Optional Skills Cost Trained Skilled Expert Master

Bodyguard

Search 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

Listen 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Parry 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

Farmer

Animal Lore 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Craft/Farming 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Craft/Herding 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Leader

Custom/Sartarite 1s 60% 75% 90% 100%

Orate 1s 45% 60% 75% 90%

Persuade 1/2s 30% 45% 60% 75%

Speak Sartarite 1 60% 75% 90% 100%

Scout

Conceal 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Hide 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

Mountain Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Sneak 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Track 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

Weaponmaster

<Weapon> Attack 2V 60% 75% 90% 100%

Other

Climb 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

first Aid 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Jump 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Ride/Horse 1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

Sing/Sartarite 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Speak <Language> 1/2v 30% 45% 60% 75%

Speak Tradetalk Mt 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Attack 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

<Weapon> Parry 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

If an initiate:

Cult Skills 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%


Sartarite Possessions

Basic GearLinen tunic, wool kilt, sandals or boots, cloak, furs, headgear, ornaments, belt knife, fire making gear, torches, wineskin

Additional Possessions

Weapons Choices Armor Choices Magic Choices Miscellaneous Choices

BroadswordBastard SwordGreatswordWar Spear2 spearsStaff and daggerBattleaxeThrowing axe3 javelinsSelf Bowand 20 arrows

1A2AIB1A1A1A1A1A1A

1A

Heavy LeatherHeavy leather withlinen hauberk

Cuirbouilli with opencomposite helm

Chain hauberk, cuirbouillilimbs, open bronze helm

RingmailChainmailPlateSmall shieldMedium shieldLarge shield

1A Iron broadsword 2CIron bastard sword 2C

1A Iron open helm 2CIron small shield 2C

2A Iron medium shield 4C2 point Thunderstone 1C

1B 2 point Woad 1C1B 4 point Thunderstone 2C2B 4 point Woad 2C2C 4 point dead1A (MP storage) crystal 1C1A Ceremonial gear 2A1

2A Shrine 1C2

Temple 2C/4C/8C2

60 Sovereigns240 Sovereigns960 SovereignsShadowcatMuleRiding HorseWar HorseBreweryFarmHerdInnTrade GoodsContactFriendAllyFirst Aid KitPhysician's Bag

1A3

1B3

1C3

6A3A1B1C4

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

1A/2A/1B/2B6

2A/1B/2B/1C6

1B/2B/1C/2C1

2A1

1B1

Notes1These represent fine or exceptional tools that add 5% to the relevant skill. The bonus can be improved—each time you double the cost, it adds 5% more to amaximum of +20% (at eight times cost). A Physician's Bag and Ceremonial Gear have 4 ENC, a First Aid Kit has 1 ENC.

2A shrine (1C) will support an acolyte and has a congregation of 50. A minor temple (2C) will support a priest and has a congregation of 100. A temple (4C) willsupport a priest and an acolyte, and has a congregation of 200. A major temple (8C) will support a chief priest and a priest and either an additional priest ortwo acolytes, and has a congregation of 400. An acolyte must contribute 3 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep, while a priest or chief priest must con-tribute 5 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep.

3 These funds can be used to purchase other pieces of starting equipment as well (see Economics).

' A war horse has superior characteristics (see Economics for details).5These are examples of businesses. Running a business requires a minimum ability in an appropriate skill: Craft/Brewing for a brewery, Craft/Farming for a farm,Craft/Herding for a herd, Bargain for an inn, and Evaluate for trade goods. The business yields a certain amount of cash or barter equivalents each season. Themore work put into the business, the greater the yield (measured in days of duties spent attending to the business). One can collect a small amount even with-out putting any work into the business, representing an investment or share in a business run by others. Once a season, make the relevant skill roll. On acritical success, the business doubles in value (a 1C business becomes a 2C business). On a fumble, the business value is halved (a 1C business becomes a 2Bbusiness). Depending on one's skill, one can choose to purchase a 2A, 1B, 2B, 1C, 2C, 4C or a 8C business. See the Business Table below for more information.

' This represents a useful contact, friend or ally from Sartar. The costs represent a Trained/Skilled/Expert/Master level contact, friend or ally, who requires notime to maintain (above and beyond those one acquires through socializing). In general, one can call on a contact for assistance with an APP x1 roll, a friendwith an APP x3 roll, and an ally with an APPx5 roll. See Socializing in Time and Learning for more details.

Business Table

MinimumValue skill to own

2AIB2B1C2C4C8C

15%30%45%60%75%90%100%

Amount made in cash or barter each season working0 days a week 1 day a week 3 days a week 5 days a week

15 L30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L

30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L

45 L90L180 L360 L720 L1,440 L2,880 L

60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L3.840 L

The only exception to the above is a farm (Craft/Farming) which either functions as an investment(0 days of work a week as above) or requires 5 days a week of work during Water, Earth and FireSeason. At the end of Fire Season the owner receives 225 L (2A), 450 L (1B), 900 L (2B), etc. in cashor barter equivalents.


THE LUNAR EMPIREMythologyThe Red Moon rose above Peloria within recorded history,but the priests and priestesses of the Red Goddess claimthat she has always been and will always be. The true ori-gins of the goddess are shrouded in mystery.

Historians tell us that the Red Goddess was born inthe town of Torang in Peloria in the year 1220 S.T. (0/1Lunar dating). Her birth was the culmination of a conspir-acy that culminated in magical ritual of the Goddess'birth, despite the interference of the Carmanian Empire.The ritual was performed by the Seven Mothers, who laterbecame immortals. The Red Goddess proved herself againand again, and in the end, at the war at Castle Blue, provedher right to existence and her place among the gods bydefeating not only against the forces arrayed against her,but the gods themselves, earning her place amongst them.

In 1247 S.T. (0/27) the Red Goddess danced her lastdream upon the face of the earth, revealing her plans forher heavenly and temporal domains, and the secrets of herinner soul to the High Initiates of the Lunar Way. Then shetook the ground she had danced upon, and wrapping itabout herself like a cloak, rose into the Middle Air as theRed Moon, where she sits and turns over her domains.

HistoryIn the Third Age, a new power arose in Peloria. At first aminor movement in the north of Peloria, the Red Goddessand her followers quickly proved her might in a series ofvictories against local warlords. The first of the satrapiesof the Lunar Empire, First Blessed, was established in thelands of the former warlords, around Torang, the birth-place of the Red Goddess. The Red Goddess led herfollowers to victory against the forces around them,including the Carmanian Empire to the west; the Yelm-worshipping horsemen of Pent to the east; and the DaraHappan Sun Empire to the south. When the Red Goddessrose from the lands of the Pelorian bowl upon her apothe-osis in 1247 S.T (0/27), the proud and warlike dynasty sheleft behind quickly established control over the PelorianHeartlands and began to spread into adjacent lands.

The Red Emperor is the head of the dynasty foundedby the Red Goddess, and is the temporal leader of theLunar Empire, the immortal incarnation of the RedGoddess in the mundane world. He rules the empire fromits capital, Glamour, the First Inspiration of the Moonson.The satraps that rule the Heartland satrapies reportdirectly to the Red Emperor. The outer regions of theLunar Empire, the Provinces are still in the process of fullyadopting the Lunar Way. They also answer to the RedEmperor, and can call on the inner resources of theempire, such as the elite legions of the Heartland Corps.

The Lunar Empire's greatest setbacks were suffered atthe hands of the Pentan horse nomads, who, led by thegreat shaman Sheng Seleris, ravaged the Empire time andagain, until the final defeat of Sheng Seleris at the hands of

the Red Emperor and the Second Inspiration of theMoonson, Yara Aranis, the goddess of the Reaching Moon.

Since then, the Glowline, the magical boundary mark-ing the borders of the empire has continued its inexorablespread over the lands of central Genertela, preceded by themissionaries of the Lunar Empire's, who bear its offers ofpeace and friendship, and the legions of the Empire, whichbear its might and wrath. The most recent conquests ofthe empire are Sartar, whose capital, Boldhome, fell to theforces of Lunar Empire in 1602 S.T. (7/31), and the city ofPavis in Prax, which surrendered to the forces of theempire in 1610 S.T (7/39). The focus of the empire is nowon pacifying these regions and their neighbors.

PeopleThe Lunar Empire is a study in contradictions.

Although the Red Goddess and the Lunar Way offer afreedom unknown nearly anywhere else in the world, andthe Lunar Empire allows even those from the lowest ranksof society to rise to positions of great power and responsi-bility, the Lunar Empire is one of the largest slave owningnations in Glorantha, and is home to countless oppressedpeasants. Those that dare to protest or rebel against theirlot in life are imprisoned or executed.

While they embrace individualism, they demand thatthe individual subordinate his or her interests to those ofsociety. Although every Lunar citizen is seen in their reli-gion's eyes as a potential god, and Lunar religions activelyencourage heroquesting as the ultimate search for free-dom, true heroes appear only rarely, and those that do areexpected to devote themselves solely to their cults.

The Lunar Way embraces religious freedom, to thepoint that the worship of chaotic entities banned almostanywhere else in the world is allowed in the Empire.However, cults that dare to attempt to undermine theauthority of the government are banned and suppressed.Although the Lunar Empire allows the nations they con-quer to retain their freedom of worship, it unmercifullypersecutes those that refuse to join their pantheon, such asthe worshippers of Orlanth.

The center of the Lunar Empire is one of the greatestcivilizations in Glorantha. The heart of the empire hasbeen at peace for centuries, and is one of the finest placesin the world to live. On its borders, the empire is always atwar, and there atrocities are committed in its name thatwould horrify its Heartland residents, who know little ofwhat actually occurs beyond the empire's borders.

Even the various cultures that are part of the empireare a study in contrasts. The greatest heroes of thePelorians are all women, and they treasure equalitybetween the sexes, while Dara Happa is a rigid, authori-tarian, patriarchal society. The Carmanians in the Westernreaches of the empire are dualists, and the gods they wor-ship have both light and dark aspects.

A Lunar citizen, from whichever of the empire's manycultures, will reflect these contradictions to some degree.The attitudes, prejudices and ideals of its citizens are asvaried and contradictory as those of the empire.


Adventurers from PeloriaPeloria is the current center of the Lunar Empire.It is a warm and fertile land, broken by hills to itssouth. The worship of the Lunar religions isstrongest in Peloria, the birthplace of the RedGoddess. Peloria is the source of much of theLunar Empire's armies, and many legionnaires andpeltasts, both male and female, are drawn from itslands. Its closest terrestrial analogs are ancientRome and Greece.

Recommended adventurers from Peloriainclude Lunar soldiers, officials, nobles and sorcer-ers. Adventurers may have a military background,such as mercenaries, soldiers, the military magi-cians known as monitors, who are often sorcerers,military officials, or poor nobles that joined themilitary in hopes of gaining advancement. Officialssuch as diplomats or missionaries can make goodadventurers, as might a young noble, either aremittance man, or a poor noble seeking his orher fortune in the world.

Other good choices for Pelorian adventurersinclude Etyries traders, Irrippi Ontor scholars,Deezola healers, or thieves (who often flee whatthey consider the boredom of their homelands).

Common traits—flexible, clever, adaptable

Male names—Arteste, Cassidor, Ineldus,Iphigios, Jarel, Jananin, Lorean, Myran, Phargentes,Philigos, Saval, Seralos, Sor, Targos

Female names—Anacola, Antonia, Enia, Hwarin,Jais, Lara, Lyris, Sarila, Serena, Sorana, Teela

Adventurers from Dara HappaThese wealthy lands are the former center of theDara Happan Empire. It is the source of the LunarEmpire's hoplites. The culture is extremely patri-archal and is dominated by the worship of Yelmthe sun god and the other gods of light and fire.Though the forces of the Dara Happan Empire fellto the Red Goddess, the cult of Yelm has remainedan important religion in the former lands of theempire. Its people are often thought of as distantand aloof, but implacable when they set theirminds to a task. Dara Happan hoplites are essen-tially landed knights, and consider themselvesnobles. More common soldiers function as home-guards, support troops, or skirmishers. Its closestterrestrial analogs are ancient Egypt and Greece.

Recommended adventurers from Dara Happainclude former hoplites seeking adventure, formersoldiers trying to make their way in the world, ornobles out to see the world.

Other good choices for Dara Happan adventurersinclude Lokarnos traders or Chalana Arroy healers.

When generating a Dara Happan adventurer,substitute Dara Happan for New Pelorian. ManyDara Happans learn New Pelorian as well. DaraHappan warriors favor the use of the spear, withits ancient association with the gods of sky and fire.

Common traits—inflexible, traditional, distant,stubborn, implacable

Male names—Anateus, Anal, Jannisor, Larius, Luxius, Ulvarius, Vemiat

Adventurers from CarmaniaThis cold land is the former center of theCarmanian Empire, now the Western Reaches ofthe Lunar Empire. The culture is a caste basedfeudal culture, dominated by a bizarre mixture of adualistic form of Malkionism and the Lunar cults.Carmanian travellers can be found nearly any-where in central Genertela, and a number ofCarmanian exiles and settlers have recently arrivedin Prax Its closest terrestrial analogs are ancientPersia and Byzantium.

Recommended adventurers from Carmaniainclude members of the Knight and Noble castes,such as soldiers, mercenaries, nobles and sorcerers.

Other good choices include Etyries traders,Irrippi Ontor scholars and Chalana Arroy orDeezola healers.

When generating a Carmanian adventurer, sub-stitute Western for New Pelorian, but manyCarmanians learn some New Pelorian as well.Their knights favor mounted combat, and they canpurchase a warhorse as a possession (1C). Theyworship a form of the Invisible God alongside theLunar cults, as well a few older cults, such asHumakt or Zorak Zoran, the worship of whichhas mostly fallen out of favor. More informationon Carmania is provided in the Sorcery chapter.

Common traits—volatile, extreme, dependable,honorable, truthful

Male names—Aronius, Domoran. Dolmedes,Jeha, Kaufir, Mahedres, Syranthir

Female names—Jain, Lanela, Yelena

Other Adventurers fromthe Lunar EmpireThe Pelorian highlands and the outer provinces ofthe empire are still dominated by worship of theOrlanth pantheon, and are a frequent source ofadventurers. These should be generated asSartarites.

The Lunar Sable Riders of the Hungry Plateauoriginally came from Prax, and often venture toraid, trade or serve with Lunar forces in distantlands. They should be generated as Praxians.

LUNAR SOLDIER Trained Skilled Expert Master


MagicWealthRenown

1v 45%1v 45%

1/2v 30%1/2v 30%

1/2v 30%1/2 45%1 45%

111

60%60%

45%45%45%60%60%

222

75%75%60%60%60%75%75%

333

90%90%75%75%75%90%90%

444

Uses either Divine Magic (common) or Sorcery (veryrare). If uses Divine Magic, typically worships one ofthe following deities — Seven Mothers, Yanafal Tamils,Hwarin Dalthippa, or the Reaching Moon. DaraHappans would favor Yelm, Pole Star, Yelmalio andCity Gods.

7 choices


DragoonRide <Beast><Beast> Lore

GuardSearch 1Listen 1

OfficerCraft/Administrate 1Orate 1sR/W New Pelorian 1

ScoutConcealHide<Terrain> LoreStealthTrack

SergeantInstructIntimidate

OtherCustom <Any>DodgeSpeak <Language>Speak Tradetalk<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry



1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

45% 60% 75% 90%45% 60% 75% 90%

45% 60% 75% 90%45% 60% 75% 90%45% 60% 75% 90%

1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%1s 30% 45% 60% 75%

1/2 30% 45% 60% 75%

1 30% 45% 60% 75%1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Soldier

Craft/Battle 1Craft/Fortification 1/2Custom/Pel. Military 1/2Maneuver 1

45% 60% 75% 90%45% 60% 75% 90%45% 60% 75% 90%

30% 45% 60% 75%

1/2vs 30% 45% 60% 75%2 45% 60% 75% 90%1/2v 30% 45% 60% 75%1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%1v 45% 60% 75% 90%1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Female names—Anstana, Lanora, Oria, Oslira

Intensity 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

LUNAR NOBLE Trained Skiled Expert Master LUNAR OFFICIAL Trained Skilled Expert Master LUNAR SORCERER Trained Skilled Expert Master

<Weapon> Attack 1/2v

<Weapon> Parry 1/2v

Custom/High Pelor. 1/2Persuade 1/2s

R/W New Pelorian 1Speak New Pelorian 1

MagicWealthRenown

30%30%45%45%45%60%

122

45%45%60%60%60%75%

233

60%60%75%75%75%90%

344

75%75%90%

90%90%100%

455

Craft/Administrate 1Custom/Pelorian 1s

Persuade 1s

R/W New Pelorian 1Speak New Pelorian 1

MagicWealthRenown

45%60%45%

45%60%

111

60%75%60%60%75%

222

75%90%75%75%90%

333

90%100%

90%90%100%

444

CeremonyR/W New PelorianR/W WesternSorcery Lore

MagicWealthRenown

1 45%1 45%

1/2 30%

1 45%

211

60%60%45%60%

322

75%75%60%75%

433

90%90%75%90%

544

Uses either Divine Magic (common) or Sorcery (rare).If uses Divine Magic, typically worships one of the fol-lowing deities—City God (Various), Deezola, SevenMothers, Yanafal Tamils, or Yelm. Dara Happanswould favor Yelm or a City God.

4 choices

Optional Skills

ArtisteCraft/ArtDance/PelorianPlay <Instrument>Sing/Pelorian

Dart CompetitorDodgeManeuver<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

Investor

Craft/AdministrateEvaluate

PoliticianActCraft/IntrigueListenOrate

Savant<Any> LoreR/W <Language>

OtherCustom <Any>Ride <Beast>Speak <Language>


If uses sorcery:Spell <Low Sorcery>Spell <High Sorcery>

Cost Trained Skilled

1 45%

1/2 45%1v 45%1/2 45%

1 30%1 30%1v 45%1v 45%

1 45%1 45%

1 45%1 45%1 45%1s 45%

1v 45%1v 45%

1vs 45%

1/2 30%1v 45%

1v 45%

1/2 45%

1v 45%

60%60%60%60%

45%45%60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%60%

60%60%

60%45%60%

60%

60%60%

Expert Master

75%75%75%75%

60%60%75%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%75%

75%75%

75%60%75%

75%

75%75%

90%

90%90%90%

75%75%90%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%90%

90%90%

90%75%90%

90%

90%90%

Uses either Divine Magic (common) or sorcery (veryrare). If uses Divine Magic, typically worships one ofthe following deities—City God (Various), SevenMothers, Irrippi Ontor, or Danfive Xaron. DaraHappans would favor Yelm or Lokarnos.

7 choices

Optional Skills

BureaucratBribeCraft/Intrigue

MissionaryCustom <Any>Human LoreOrateRide <Beast>Speak <Language>

SpyActCraft/Disguise

Tax CollectorIntimidate<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

OtherBargainCraft/TortureListenR/W <Language>Speak Tradetalk



1/2 45%1 45%

1vs 45%1 45%1s 45%1/2 30%1v 45%

1 45%1 45%

1/2 45%1/2v 30%1/2v 30%

1s 45%1 45%1 45%1y 45%1/2 45%

1v 45%

60%60%

60%60%60%45%60%

60%60%

60%45%45%

60%60%60%60%60%

60%

Expert

75%75%

75%75%75%60%75%

75%75%

75%60%60%

75%75%75%75%75%

75%

Master

90%90%

90%90%90%75%90%

90%90%

90%75%75%

90%90%90%90%90%

90%

If uses sorcery:Spell <Low Sorcery> 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

Typically trained in the Western tradition, using pri-marily sorcery. At a cost of I POW he or she can alsobecome on initiate of a Lunar religion, typically a CityGod or the Seven Mothers. A sorcerer-initiate gains nofree cult or divine magic, but can spend starting POWand/or money to purchase or such spells.

6-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

DemonologistSing/PelorianSummon

EnchanterCraft <Substance>DeviseEnchant

MagicianDurationRangeMultispellSpell <Low Sorcery>Spell <High Sorcery>

Seer<Any> LoreR/W <Language>

OtherCustom <Any>Custom/PelorianInstructSpeak New PelorianSpeak <Language><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry


Cast

1/22

1

2s

2

2221/2

1v

1v

1v

1/2v

1s

111v

1/2v

1/2v

1v

Trained Skilled

45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%45%45%45%

45%45%

30%60%30%60%45%30%30%

45%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%60%60%60%

60%60%

45%75%45%75%60%45%45%

60%

Expert

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%75%75%75%

75%75%

60%90%60%90%75%60%60%

75%

Master

90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%90%90%90%

90%90%

75%100%

75%100%

90%75%

75%

90%



Lunar Possessions

Basic GearTunic, trews, robe, sandals or boots, underwear, cloak or coat, headgear, belt knife, lamp, flask



ScimitarSickleShortswordParrying daggerGreatswordWar SpearStaff and daggerFlailRhompia3 javelins6 dartsSelf Bowand 20 arrows

1A1A1A1A1B1A1A1A1A1A1A

1A

Heavy LeatherCuirbouilliLight scaleChain hauberkHeavy scaleChainmailPlateSmall shieldMedium shieldLarge shieldSmall bronze shieldMedium bronze shield

1A2A3A3A6A2B1C1A1A2A2A3A

Iron sickleIron scimitarIron shortswordIron broadswordIron war spearIron closed helmIron chain hauberkSmall iron shieldMedium iron shieldLarge iron shield1 point powered crystal4 point dead

(MP storage) crystalCeremonial GearEnchanting GearSummoner's CircleShrine

2B1C1C2C1C2C4C1C2C4C1C

1C2A1

1B1

1A1

1C2

Temple 2C/4C/8C2

Peltast's outfit 1B3

Legionnaire's outfit 2B4

Hoplite's outfit75 Lunars300 Lunars1,200 LunarsFalconRiding horseBusinessFarmlandInvestmentsTrade goodsAllowanceSlaveContactFriendAllyFirst Aid KitPhysician's KitLore Scroll

1C5

1A6

1B6

1C6

1AIB

Varies7

Varies7

Varies7

Varies7

1A/1B/1C8

1B/1C/2C9

1A/2A/1B/2B10

2A/1B/2B/1C10

1B/2B/1C/2C10

2A1

1B1

2A1

Notes1 These represent fine or exceptional tools that add 5% to the relevant skill. The bonus can be improved—each time you double the cost, it adds 5% more, to amaximum of +20% (at eight times cost). Ceremonial Gear has 4 ENC, civilized Enchanting Gear has 16 ENC, a Summoner's Circle is immobile, a First Aid Kithas I ENC. a Physician's Kit has 4 ENC, and a Lore Scroll has I ENC for an easy Lore, 4 ENC for a medium Lore and 16 ENC (a set of scrolls) for a hard Lore.

2 A shrine (1C) will support an acolyte and has a congregation of 50. A minor temple (2C) will support a priest and has a congregation of 100. A temple (4C)will support a priest and an acolyte, and has a congregation of 200. A major temple (8C) will support a chief priest and a priest and either an additional priestor two acolytes, and has a congregation of 400. An acolyte must contribute 3 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep, while a priest or chief priest mustcontribute 5 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep.

3 A Peltast's outfit consists of an open composite helm, cuirbouilli cuirass, heavy leather skirts and limbs, a peltast (medium) shield, a scimitar, and 3 javelins or 6 darts.4 A Legionnaire's outfit consists of an open bronze helm, a light scale hauberk, cuirbouilli limbs, a legionnaire (large) shield, a scimitar, a war spear, 2 javelins and

an Adventurer's Pack.5 A Hoplite's outfit consists of a full bronze helm, a heavy scale hauberk, bronze plate limbs, a hoplite (large) shield, a war spear and a shortsword or sickle.6 These funds can be used to purchase other pieces of starting equipment as well (see Economics).7 These are examples of businesses. Running a business requires a minimum ability in an appropriate skill: Craft/Appropriate or Bargain for a business,

Craft/Farming or Craft/Administrate for farmland, Craft/Administrate for investments, and Evaluate for trade goods. The business yields a certain amount ofcash or barter equivalents each season. The more work put into the business, the greater the yield (measured in days of duties spent attending to the busi-ness). One can collect a small amount even without putting any work into the business, representing an investment or share in a business run by others. Oncea season, make the relevant skill roll. On a critical success, the business doubles in value (a 1C business becomes a 2C business). On a fumble the business'value is halved (a 1C business becomes a 2B business). Depending on one's skill, one can choose to purchase a 2A. 1B, 2B, 1C, 2C, 4C or a 8C business. Seethe Business Table below for more information.

8 An allowance yields 40 L (1A), 160 L (1B) or 640 L (1C) a year, with no investment of time or any rolls required.9 A slave is unskilled (1B), trained (1C) or skilled (2B). and will generally obey the letter, though not always the spirit, of their master's orders.10This represents a useful contact, friend or ally from the Lunar Empire. The costs represent a Trained/Skilled/Expert/Master level contact, friend or ally, who

requires no time to maintain (above and beyond those one acquires through socializing). In general, one can call on a contact for assistance with an APPx1 roll,a friend with an APP x3 roll, and an ally with an APP x5 roll. See Socializing in Time and Learning for more details.

Business Table


Amount made in cash or barter each season working0 days a week I day a week 3 days a week 5 days a week

2AIB2B1C2C4C8C

15%30%45%60%75%90%100%

I5L30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L

30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L

45 L90L180 L360 L720 L1,440 L2,880 L

60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L3,840 L


PAVIS

MythologyThe founding of the city of Pavis took place within Time,but there are those that claim that there has always been acity on the Plains of Prax. It is known that the city of Paviswas built on the foundations of an earlier city calledRobcradle, established by the Jrusteli to loot the giant cra-dles that came floating down the River of Cradles. TheJrusteli are said to have chosen the site not only for itsstrategic location, but as they had uncovered ruins andartifacts at the site as well. The exact nature of their dis-coveries was lost in the giant's destruction of Robcradle.

HistoryThe city of Pavis was founded in Prax in 850 S.T by thehero Pavis, a native of the nearby town of Adari. He hadstudied under the tutelary dragons of the EWF, andlearned the secrets of stone from the dwarf Flintnail. Withthe knowledge he had acquired, Pavis animated theFaceless Statue of Shadows Dance, and brought it withhim to the ruins of Robcradle. With its aid Pavis defeatedthe nomads and the giant that tried to stop him. He laterbefriended the nomads by healing their god, Waha.

With Flintnail's aid, Pavis created an immense cityfrom the body of the Faceless Statue, then withdrew intohis temple. His daughters took over the day to day man-agement of the city, and the city grew and prospered. Itretained some of the former glory of the EWF even afterthe collapse of the EWF. The prosperity did not last, as thesubsequent resurgence in the power of the animal nomadsresulted in repeated nomad raids on the city, whichreduced much of the city to ruins.

The city's fate was sealed when an army of trolls fromShadows Dance, led by the troll hero Gerak Kag, foughttheir way across the plains and magically sealed them-selves inside the walls of the city. Four hundred years oftroll occupation followed, during which the rest of the citywas reduced to to rubble. Many of the city's residents weretrapped inside, and those that survived the troll occupa-tion did so with the assistance of the city's ancient magics.The period was one of continual struggle between thetrolls and the last remnants of the humans, elves anddwarfs. The Pavis cult kept to its rituals, and their inti-mate knowledge of the city's magics allowed its membersto survive in the ruins.

The mysterious event known as the Dragonewt'sDream ended the troll occupation of the Rubble. A phan-tom procession of dragonewts destroyed the ancient spellsthe trolls had used to seal off the city. A crude shanty towncalled the City of Thieves sprang up around a trade post onthe nearby Zola Fel River, servicing the fortune seekers andtreasure hunters drawn to the newly accessible Rubble.

Intrigued by the rumors of the treasures of theRubble, Dorasar of Sartar came to the city, first toexplore, then to settle. In 1550 S.T. he established thesmall city outside the walls of the Rubble that became

known as New Pavis, or Pavis Outside the Walls. ThePavis cult emerged from the basements and cellars of theRubble and negotiated a settlement with the Sartarites,effectively giving Orlanth dominance over the air, whilePavis retained control of the city and earth. Many of thecult's leaders themselves moved to the new city, thoughsome remained in the Rubble. The zebra riding PavisSurvivors, remnants of the ancient wardens of Pavis,returned to the ruins. The new city continued to expand,and rapidly became a major center for trade.

In 1610 S.T, the forces of the Lunar Empire defeateda massed army of animal nomads and lay New Pavis tosiege, which surrendered within a day. The Lunars gar-risoned a large number of troops within the walls andbegan to collect tax and tribute from the citizens and visit-ing traders, as well as a portion of any treasure recoveredby the scholars and adventurers plundering the Rubble. Inreturn they maintain order and provide protection fromthe raids of the animal nomads.

PeopleAgainst the backdrop of the ruins of the magical city ofPavis, now known as the Rubble, has sprung up the all tooreal city of New Pavis, a frontier town crowded withimmigrants pursuing their dreams. Many Sartarites havesince followed Dorasar to the walls of the Rubble at theedge of the Wastes. At first they came in search of wealth,later in search of a reprieve from Lunar domination. As acenter of trade, it attracts merchants from as far away asthe Holy Country and Kralorela. The legendary treasuresof the Rubble attract their share of adventures as well.Even the Praxian animal nomads visit Pavis, as out ofplace there as a Pavis townsman would be in the Wastes.The Lunars are the most recent arrivals in Pavis, and itscurrent overlords. They are doing their best to keep therevolutionary elements in the city pacified.

Pavis is a microcosm of Dragon Pass, a melting pot ofdiverse cultures. Out of this, the residents of Pavis and theRubble have developed a society of their own. A city ofsurvivors, the traits most respected by them are those ofresourcefulness and pragmatism. Those who arrive inPavis, whether by choice or exile, soon realize that theirswill be a grim and dangerous existence. However, to most,the chance for great reward seems worth the risks, andadventurers continue to be drawn to the city like flies.

The city of New Pavis was constructed with debrisfrom the ancient remains of the Rubble. The new city wasbuilt against the ancient walls of the Rubble, and itselfprotected by a defensive wall. Inside the wall, stone andadobe buildings make up the city proper. Spacious templesand rich manors overlook overcrowded markets andshabby tenements. Outside the wall, a collection of shacksand tents form the shanty town called Thieves Town.

Within the ancient walls of Pavis lies the ruins mostoutsiders call the Rubble. The ruins are haunted by ghostsand creatures of chaos, and inhabited by mutually hostilefactions of humans and Elder Races, making the Rubble avery dangerous place.


Adventurers from PavisAdventurers from Pavis may be of Pavic orSartarite descent. Recommended adventurers ofSartarite descent include Sartarite warriors,

crafters, thieves and entertainers, either natives ofNew Pavis or long term residents (use Paviccrafter or thief to generate one of Sartaritedescent as well, substituting Sartarite for OldPavic. though Sartarite residents often learn OldPavic as well). Recommended adventurers of Pavicdescent include Pavic crafters and thieves, nativesof New Pavis or the Rubble who often dabble inadventuring. Crafter adventurers may include

alchemists, mechanicians, engineers, masons,armorers or the Rubble Trackers of the Flintnailcult. Pavis was a crafter, and many Pavis crafters

seek to emulate his example by trying to restorethe cities former glories. The skills taught by thethieves rings of Pavis are among those most usefulto adventurers.

Other recommended adventurers include theSun Dome Templars, who have a small temple in

Pavis, and are a ready source of adventurers (gen-erated as Lunar hoplite or noble, but substitutingOld Pavic for New Pelorian).

Other good choices include natives or longterm residents such as Lhankor Mhy scholars,Issaries traders or Chalana Arroy healers, whomay be natives of Pavic or Sartarite stock, or longterm residents from Sartar or the Holy Country.

Common traits—cautious, cunning, pragmatic,resourceful

Male names—Alebard, Dolan, Dorasor, Jorasor,Kirth, Robasart

Female names—Carrowin, Dora, Erril, Rivkin

Other Adventurers in PavisThe Rubble is famous, and attracts adventurers ofmany persuasions. Lunar adventurers may bedrawn from the Lunar military units stationed inSartar, or from the recent influx of Lunar officials,Carmanian settlers, or the occasional visiting orexiled noble. Praxian adventurers may include the

Lunar Sable Riders who arrived with the occupy-ing forces, or Praxian nomads exiled from theirtribe for breaking a taboo, who are forced to livein Pavis if they wish to remain on the plains ofPrax and not join an outlaw band, as no othertribe will accept them and the inhospitability ofthe Wastes will not allow a lone individual to sur-vive for long.

Other good choices for adventurers include theLhankor Mhy or Irrippi Ontor scholars drawn toPavis to study the mysteries of the Rubble, visitingnobles or entertainers, Issaries or Etyries traders,Sartarite refugees, and Deezola or Chalana Arroyhealers. The Rubble has nonhuman inhabitants aswell, such as the trolls of the Troll Stronglands andthe elves of the Garden, and many human or trollArgan Argar merchants visit Pavis and nearbyAdari to trade.

PAVIC CRAFTER

Craft <Substance>Craft <Substance>Evaluate<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

MagicWealthRenown

Trained Skilled

11/21

1/2v

1/2v

45%30%45%30%30%

111

60%45%60%45%45%

222

Expert

75%60%75%60%60%

333

Master

90%75%90%75%75%

444

Uses Divine Magic. Typically worships Pavis or Flintnail.

8-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

ArtisanCraft/Art<Substance> Lore

GuildsmanCustom/Pavis GuildInstruct

ShopkeeperBargainCraft/AdministrateR/W Old Pavic

Mechanician

ConcealDeviseTrap

Other

City LoreCustom/PavicNew Pavis Lore

Sing/PavicSpeak <Language>Speak Old PavicSpeak Tradetalk


Cost

1

1/2

1/21

1s

11

1

2s

1s

1/21s

1/2

1/21/2v

11/2

1v

Trained Skilled

45%45%

45%30%

45%45%45%

45%45%45%

45%60%45%45%30%60%45%

45%

60%60%

60%45%

60%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%75%60%60%45%75%60%

60%

Expert

75%75%

75%60%

75%75%75%

75%75%75%

75%90%75%75%60%90%75%

75%

Master

90%90%

90%75%

90%90%90%

90%90%90%

90%100%

90%90%75%100%

90%

90%

PAVIC THIEF

City LoreCustom/Low PavicScanSearch<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

MagicWealthRenown

Trained Skilled

1/21/211

1/2v

1/2v

45%45%45%45%30%30%

101

60%60%60%60%45%45%

212

Expert

75%75%75%75%60%60%

323

Master

90%90%90%90%75%75%

4

34

Uses Divine Magic. Typically worships Black Fang,Lanbril or Pavis.

9 choices

Optional Skills

AdventurerFirst AidRubble Lore

AssassinDodgePoison Lore<Weapon> Attack

BeggarBeg

Con ManActPersuade

Cut-purse

ConcealPickpocket

FenceBargainEvaluateR/W <Language>

Mechanic

DeviseTrap

Second Story ManClimbJump

OtherAcrobaticsCustom <Any>Listen<Appropriate> LoreStealthSpeak <Language>Speak Thieves ArgotSpeak Tradetalk


Cost

1/21/2

11/21

1/2

11s

1

1/2

1s

11/2v

2s

1s

1/21/2

1s

1vs

11v

2s

1/2v

1/21/2

1v

Trained Skilled

45%45%

30%45%45%

45%

45%45%

45%45%

45%45%30%

45%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%45%45%30%45%45%

45%

60%60%

45%60%60%

60%

60%60%

60%60%

60%60%45%

60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%60%60%

45%60%60%

60%

Expert Master

75%75%

60%75%75%

75%

75%75%

75%75%

75%75%60%

75%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%75%75%60%75%75%

75%

90%90%

75%90%90%

90%

90%90%

90%90%

90%90%75%

90%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%90%90%75%90%90%

90%


Pavic Possessions

Basic GearTunic, pants, kilt, sandals, cloak, headgear, money belt, belt knife, tinderbox, lamp, flask, torches



ShortswordParrying dagger2 daggersBroadswordBastard SwordGreatswordWar SpearStaff and daggerWarhammerGreathammerBattleaxeGreataxeMaulThrowing knifeMed. crossbowHeavy crossbow

1A1A1A1A3AIB1A1A1A2A1A2A1A1A2AIB

Heavy LeatherStudded LeatherCuirbouilliLight scaleChain hauberkHeavy scaleChainmailPlateSmall shieldMedium shieldSmall bronze shield

1A1A1

2A3A3A6A2B1C1A1A2A

Iron daggerIron broadswordIron bastard swordIron open helmIron light scale hauberkIron heavy scale hauberkSmall iron shieldMedium iron shield1 point powered crystal4 point dead

(MP storage) crystal1 point battle magicspell matrix

Shrine

1C2C3C2C2C4C1C2C1C

1C

1C1C2

Temple 2C/4C/8C2

75 Guilders300 Guilders1,200 Guilders

1A3

1B1

1C3

Adventurer's Pack 1A4

Fighting DogMuleRiding zebraBusinessInvestmentsTrade goodsTreasure mapContactFriendAllyFirst Aid KitPhysician's KitLockpicksLore Scroll

1AIBIB

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

1A/1B/1C1A/2A/1B/2B7

2A/1B/2B/1C7

1B/2B/1C/2C7

1A8

1B8

2A8

2A8

Notes1 Studded leather is the equivalent of heavy leather, but appears identical to a form of light and heavy scale armor popular in Pavis.2 A shrine (1C) will support an acolyte and has a congregation of 50. A minor temple (2C) will support a priest and has a congregation of 100. A temple (4C)will support a priest and an acolyte, and has a congregation of 200. A major temple (8C) will support a chief priest and a priest and either an additional priestor two acolytes, and has a congregation of 400. An acolyte must contribute 3 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep, while a priest or chief priest mustcontribute 5 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep.

3 These funds can be used to purchase other pieces of starting equipment as well (see Economics).4 A Pavic adventurer's pack contains twice the gear of a regular adventurer's pack, and includes 30 m of rope and a grapple.5 These are examples of businesses. Running a business requires a minimum ability in an appropriate skill: Craft/Appropriate or Bargain for a business,

Craft/Administrate for investments, and Evaluate for trade goods. The business yields a certain amount of cash or barter equivalents each season. The morework put into the business, the greater the yield (measured in days of duties spent attending to the business). One can collect a small amount even withoutputting any work into the business, representing an investment or share in a business run by others. Once a season, make the relevant skill roll. On a criticalsuccess, the business doubles in value (a 1C business becomes a 2C business). On a fumble, the business' value is halved (a 1C business becomes a 2B busi-ness). Depending on one's skill, one can choose to purchase a 2A, 1B, 2B, 1C, 2C, 4C or a 8C business. See the Business Table below for more information.

6 A treasure map can be used once. If its owner succeeds in a POW x1 roll, it yields 375 L (1A), 1,500 L (1B), or 6,000 L (1C). If the roll fails, the map turns outto be worthless. The gamemaster may wish to instead run this as an adventure.

7 This represents a useful contact, friend or ally from Pavis. The costs represent a Trained/Skilled/Expert/Master level contact, friend or ally, who requires notime to maintain (above and beyond those one acquires through socializing). In general, one can call on a contact for assistance with an APP xl roll, a friendwith an APP x3 roll, and an ally with an APP x5 roll. See Socializing in Time and Learning for more details.

8 These represent fine or exceptional tools that add 5% to the relevant skill. The bonus can be improved—each time you double the cost, it adds 5% more, to amaximum of +20% (at eight times cost). A First Aid Kit has I ENC. a Physician's Kit has 4 ENC, Lockpicks have 0 ENC, and a Lore Scroll has I ENC for aneasy Lore, 4 ENC for a medium Lore and 16 ENC (a set of scrolls) for a hard Lore.

Business Table



2AIB2B1C2C4C8C

15%30%45%60%75%90%100%

I5L30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L

30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 LI,920L

45 L90L180 L360 L720 L1,440 L2,880 L

60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,92013,840 L


PRAXMythologyBefore the Chaos Wars this place was different. It was alush and wonderful land where no one was hungry, no onefeared to lose their possessions, no slavers or carnivoresroamed, and not even children had nightmares. Genertruled the land in peace. He was a kind god who had neverlearned the arts of war, for his way was not that of con-flict. He gave to others whatever they asked for. Chaoschanged everything, and what it did not change itdestroyed. Genert was slain by chaos, and the Gardens ofGenert turned into the Wastes and the Krjalki Bog. Nearlyall of Genert's followers were destroyed or crippled bychaos. Only those who fled in shame survived.

Everything would have died then, or become some-thing worse than death, except for the might and courageof Storm Bull, Savior of the Universe. He alone stood tofight against the evil surrounding him on all sides. Thenomad's ancestors cowered within his cloak and saw whathappened then. Storm Bull reached into his heart tookfrom it the Great Rock, and with it crushed the head of theDevil, and smashed its bones, and pulped its flesh andorgans. From its remains crawled the Thirteen GreatMonsters, then the ten thousand broos, and finally theEight Human Races which fled in fear from this land, andinhabit the regions around the edges of our world. Whenhe saw these new evils Storm Bull leapt into the sky, andset the sun and stars back into their places, and drew LittleBrother and his six companions from the Dark Place to setthem to their work. Storm Bull continues his battle againstchaos to this very day.

Waha the Butcher, son of Storm Bull the Chaos Killerand Eiritha, Mother of Herds is the Founder of the animalnomads. In the Greater Darkness, Waha went into theDark Place and freed the Herd Mothers from their placeof imprisonment. He held the Contest of Food which sep-arated men from beasts, and allowed the starving peopleof the Plains to survive.

HistoryThe history of Prax is a repeated story of wild plundererswho raid, then vanish back into the Wastes, and of unsuc-cessful colonization attempts by border nations.

The nomads have an instinctive love for their bleakhome that is difficult for an outsider to comprehend.Wherever they raid, they always seem called back again tothe harsh life of Prax and the Wastelands. This passion fortheir homeland cannot be verbalized by the animalnomads, who do not even have a word for it. But it runsthrough their veins like fire. Thus, the Sable people thatsettled in Peloria chose the grim Hungry Plateau to dwellin—the closest facsimile of the Wastelands they could find.

Some of the attempts by outsiders to colonize Praxhave met with more success than others. The city of Paviswas founded in 850 S.T, upon older ruins by the heroPavis, and flourished for a time before it too was reducedto rubble. The Sun Dome Templars of Sun Country in

Prax have managed to keep their lands intact, despite thehostility of the Wastes. The frontier town of New Pavis,originally build outside the walls of the Pavis Rubble bySartarites seeking refuge from the expanding LunarEmpire to the north has since become a center of trade,and an informal meeting place for all the peoples of theland. The most recent outsiders in Prax are the forces ofthe Lunar Empire, who were savagely defeated after aninitial incursion in 1608 S.T., but then defeated massednomad forces at the Battle of Moonbroth in 1610 S.T. andoccupied Pavis. They have since brought in settlers,notably Carmanians from the Western Reaches of theLunar Empire, and founded the port of Corflu to the south.

PeopleThe nomads are fiercely conservative, and since most ofthem were born and raised in the Wastes, even the bleakvegetation of Prax, such as the Paps' scraggly orchard andfew dozen acres of holygrain, seem decadent luxuries andtemptations. The world outside is seen as a land of deca-dence, only good for robbing.

All the Five Great Tribes, and most of the lesser ones,follow the way of Waha, god of chieftains. Tribesmenworship Waha himself, while women worship Eiritha, theHerd Mother. Another popular god is the Storm Bull, andnowhere else is he as important. Shamans are widespreadfor there are many homeless spirits roaming the plains,remnants of Godtime and vestiges of other days. Theshamans have learned to contact these spirits and harnesstheir waning power.

The nomads believe Prax to be their holy land, andmost clans make periodic pilgrimages to the Paps, the holyof holies of Prax, or the Block, where Storm Bull slew theDevil. In general, the nomads follow the migrations oftheir tribal animal, which they both ride and eat. Thoughall the nomads eat their own herd animals, their owntribe's animals represent wealth as well as food, and theyprefer to eat animals stolen from other tribes. Raiding isso common that a young warrior cannot marry unless hepresents a bride-price in the form of a captured beast. Aman cannot stand among his clan's Elders until he has cap-tured a herd beast from each other Great Tribe. The markof a great warrior is the possession of many foreign beasts.The women of the tribes own most of the tribes wealth, asthey do not raid, rather tend the herds of their own tribe'sanimals with great skill, so that they grow and prosper.

Each tribe is divided into many clans, which are fur-ther divided into septs. These clans often meet and trade,and intermarriage is the norm. The Five Great Tribes ofPrax include the Bison, High Llama, Sable, and theImpala. The other Great Tribe of Prax is that of theMorokanth, inhuman tapir like creatures that herd men.They are uniformly despised by the human inhabitants ofPrax. The lesser tribes of Prax are the Rhino, Unicorn andZebra tribes. A number of minor tribes exist as well, someof which hunt animals instead of herding.

Praxian culture resembles that of the American PlainsIndians in some ways, though not in others.

Adventurers from PraxRecommended adventurer professions among theanimal nomads of Prax include warrior, tender,and shaman (see General Professions).

The Bison tribe, whose clans have thousandsof members, is a good source of adventurers.Some well known Bison clans include theAntharan, Flower Bison and Skullbat clans. TheSable and High Llama tribes often yield adventur-ers as well.

The Pol Joni tribe are a nation of horse ridersthat herd cows. They are despised by the animalnomads for their horses and worship of outsidegods, but have proven their place upon the Plainsof Prax through their skill in warfare. They arenow grudgingly accepted, and as they uniqueamong the tribes in having an adoption ritual thatallow anyone that passes their test to join, thetribe allows animal nomads that have been out-lawed from their own tribe one last chance at anormal life on the plains of Prax. Should they failthe test, they have few choices—death throughslow starvation, a miserable existence in thecrowded warrens of the city of Pavis, or joiningan outlaw band of Gagarth worshippers, who sur-vive by raiding others on the Plains.

The Zebra tribe, though a minor tribe, is agood source of adventurers. Its members haveclose ties with the city of Pavis, and are more civi-lized than most of the other tribes, with membersoften worshipping more civilized gods, such asPavis. Issaries. Humakt and Orlanth. Zebra traders(see Merchant in General Professions) are almostas well known as their warriors.

Common traits—Proud, honest, traditional,conservative, vengeful

Male names—Kost, Makasta, Morwaha, Roneer,Varkan. Wahagrim, Yazurkial

Female names—Deratha, Erajia, Neyliss

Other Adventurers from PraxThere are other residents of Prax and the Wastes,though the animal nomads are by far dominant.Some of these, such as the Oasis Peoples, starvingdirt farmers, are less likely to produce adventur-ers. Others are more likely to do so. Theseinclude the Sartarite settlers in the area of Pavis(such as those in Garhound), for which the Sartarprofessions can be used; the residents of Pavis,Adan, and the surrounding cultivated regions,including the Sun Dome Templars of Sun Countyin Prax (generated as a Lunar soldier or noble,substituting Old Pavic for New Pelorian). A num-ber of independent shamans exist as well, eachfollowing their own tradition or spirit cult.

Other Adventurers in PraxThe forces of the Lunar Empire are recent arrivalsin Prax. The Lunar occupiers of Pavis and Corflu.Lunar soldier or officials, can serve as a source ofadventurers, as can the Carmanian and otherLunar settlers recently arrived in Prax


PRAXIANWARRIOR Trained Skilled Expert Master

Craft/Butchery 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Desert Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Ride<Beast> 1 45% 60% 75% 90%<Beast>Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Scan 1 45% 60% 75% 90%<Weapon> Attack 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%<Weapon> Parry 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%<Weapon> Attack 1/2v 30% 45% 60% 75%

Magic 1 2 3 4Wealth 1 2 3 4Renown 1 2 3 4

Use Divine Magic (common) or Spirit Magic (rare). Ifuses Divine Magic worships Waha or Storm Bull. PolJoni and Zebra tribesmen worship Orlanth andHumakt as well. Outlaws tend to worship Gagarth.Only men become warriors.

6 choices


Berserk<Weapon> Attack 2V 60% 75% 90% 100%

ChieftainCustom/Praxian 1s 60% 75% 90% 100%Orate 1s 45% 60% 75% 90%R/W Praxian 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Speak Praxian 1 60% 75% 90% 100%

HerderAnimal Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Listen 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Search 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

RaiderConceal 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Stealth 1s 30% 45% 60% 75%Track 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

OtherCraft/Battle 1 30% 45% 60% 75%Dodge 2 45% 60% 75% 90%Jump 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Maneuver 1 30% 45% 60% 75%Prax Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

If Pol Joni or Zebra tribesmen:Speak <Language> 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%Speak Tradetalk 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

If an initiate:Cult Skills 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

PRAXIANTENDER Trained Skilled Expert Master

Animal Lore 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Craft/Cooking 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Desert Lore 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Ride<Beast> 1 45% 60% 75% 90%first Aid 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Plant Lore 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Scan 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

Magic 1 2 3 4Wealth 1 2 3 4Renown 1 2 3 4

Use Divine Magic (common) or Spirit Magic (rare). Ifuses Divine Magic worships Eiritha or Ernalda. Onlywomen become tenders.

6-1/2 choices


Animal tenderListen 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Search 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Track 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

CrafterCraft <Substance> 1 45% 60% 75% 90%

HealerCraft/Midwife 1 45% 60% 75% 90%first Aid 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Physician 2s 45% 60% 75% 90%

HerdmotherHuman Lore 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Orate Is 45% 60% 75% 90%Persuade Is 45% 60% 75% 90%R/W Praxian 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Speak Praxian 1 60% 75% 90% 100%Speak Tradetalk 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

SingerCeremony 1 45% 60% 75% 90%Dance/Praxian 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%Sing/Praxian 1/2 45% 60% 75% 90%

TeacherCustom/Praxian 1s 60% 75% 90% 100%Instruct 2 45% 60% 75% 90%<Any> Lore 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

If Pol Joni or Zebra tribesmen:Speak <Language> 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%

If an initiate:Cult Skills 1v 45% 60% 75% 90%


Praxian Possessions

Basic GearLeather jerkin, leather trews, loincloth, headgear, moccasins, skin poncho, belt knife, fire making gear, saddle pad, waterskinMen also start with a skinning knife and a man's tent, women with cooking and camping gear.



LanceWar Spear2 DaggersShortswordBroadswordBastard SwordScimitarHandaxeBattleaxeMace6 Darts3 javelinsNomad bow

1A1A1A1A2AIB2A1A2A1A1A1A2A

Heavy LeatherCuirbouilliCuirbouilli with bone

breastplate and helmetRhino hide armorChain hauberk, cuirbouilli

limbs, open helmSmall hide shieldMedium hide shieldLarge hide shield

1A2A

3A1

1B2

2B1A1A1A

Rhino Fat4/8/12 point dead

(MP storage) crystal1/2/4 point battle magicspell matrix

1/2/4 point Spirit Trap1 point fixed TruestoneIron daggerIron broadswordIron bastard swordIron light scale hauberkIron open helmCeremonial GearEnchanting GearSummoning Gear

1A

1C/2C/4C

2B/1C/2C2B/1C/2C

2C2C3C4C4C3C2A3

1B3

1B3

Nomad SaddleButchering GearWoman's TentFirst Aid KitPhysician's BagBisonWar BisonHigh LlamaWar LlamaSableWar SableZebraWar ZebraImpalaWar ImpalaRhinoWar RhinoHerdContactFriendAlly

2A3

1A3

1A3

2A3

1B3

2A2B4

3A3B4

2A2B4

IB1C4

1A1B4

2C4C

Varies5

1A/2A/1B/2B6

2A/1B/2B/1C6

1B/2B/1C/2C6

Notes1 A bone breastplate is the equivalent of a light scale cuirass, a bone helmet the equivalent of an open composite helm. Both have 4 AP and an ENC of 2.5. Withcuirbouilli limbs and skirts, the outfit has an ENC of 11.

2 Rhino hide armor is a from of cuirbouilli made of rhino hide, and has 4 AP and an ENC of 16 for the full suit3 These represent fine or exceptional tools or gear that add 5% to the relevant skill. The bonus can be improved—each time you double the cost, it adds 5%

more, to a maximum of +20% (at eight times cost). Ceremonial, Enchanting and Summoning Gear each have 4 ENC, a Nomad Saddle has 4 ENC, ButcheringGear has I ENC, a Woman's Tent (generally influences Craft/Cooking) has 16 ENC, a first Aid Kit has I ENC, and a Physician's Kit his 4 ENC.

A nomad saddle is a symbol of prestige among the male animal nomads of Prax The more expensive the saddle, the more elaborate and decorative it is,and the higher its owner's apparent status. A chieftain would have the most expensive kind (4C).

A woman's tent is a symbol of prestige among the female animal nomads of Prax. The more expensive the tent, the larger it is, the more elaborate itsinterior and contents, and the higher its owner's apparent status.

4 A war beast has superior characteristics (see Economics for details).5 A herd yields a certain amount of barter equivalents each season. The more work put into caring for the herd, the greater the yield (measured in days of duties

spent attending to the herd). Once a season, make a Craft/Herding roll. On a critical success, the herd doubles in value (a 1C herd becomes a 2C herd). On afumble, the herd's value is halved (a 1C herd becomes a 2B herd). Depending on one's Craft/Herding skill, one can choose to purchase a 2A, 1B, 2B, 1C, 2C,4C or a 8C herd. See the Herd Table below for more information.

6 This represents a useful contact, friend or ally from Prax. The costs represent a Trained/Skilled/Expert/Master level contact, friend or ally, who requires no timeto maintain (above and beyond those one acquires through socializing). In general, one can call on a contact for assistance with an APP x I roll, a friend with anAPP x3 roll, and an ally with an APP x5 roll. See Socializing in Time and Learning for more details.

Herd Table


Amount made in barter each season working1 day a week 3 days a week 5 days a week

2AIB2B1C2C4C8C

15%30%45%60%75%90%100%

30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L

45 L90L180 L360 L720 L1,440 L2,880 L

60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L3,840 L


GENERAL PROFESSIONSThe following professions are provided for use by thegamemaster as non-player characters, or for players thatwish to generate Gloranthan adventurers of professionsother than those recommended and described in fullerdetail in the region of Dragon Pass (Sartar, Lunar Empire,Pavis, Prax). Other common adventurer professionsinclude healer, scholar, and merchant.

In addition, they can be used to generate adventurersor non-player characters from other cultures entirely.

Genertelan Cultures and Magic

Civilized CulturesArolanit (Sorcery/Atheists)Black Horse County (Sorcery/Atheists & Arkat) Malkioni)Sog City (Sorcery/Atheists & Malkioni, Divine Magic/Orlanth & Merman)Carmania (Sorcery/Malkioni, Divine Magic/Lunar & Orlanth)Dara Happa (Divine Magic/Yelm, Lunar & Orlanth)Esrolia (Divine Magic/earth dominated Orlanth)God Forgot (Sorcery/Atheists)Janube (Divine Magic/Lunar, Orlanth, Uleria, & Yelm, Sorcery/Malkioni)Kingdom of War (Divine Magic/all war and death gods)Kralorela (Sorcery/Kralori, Divine magic/Kralori & Yelm, Dragon Magic)Loskalm (Sorcery/Hrestoli Malkioni)Pavis (Divine Magic/Pavis, Orlanth, Lunar, Elf & Troll, Spirit Magic)Peloria (Divine Magic/Lunar, Yelm & Orlanth, Lunar Magic, Sorcery)Safelster (Sorcery/Malkioni, Divine Magic/Orlanth)Seshnela (Sorcery/Rokari Malkioni)Teshnos (Divine Magic/variant Yelm)

Barbarian CulturesBarbarian Belt (Divine Magic (Orlanth))Caladraland (Divine Magic/earth dominated Orlanth and Yelm)Dagori Inkarth (Divine Magic/Troll, Spirit Magic)The Islands (Divine Magic/Merman)Heortland (Divine Magic/Orlanth)Jonatela (Divine Magic/Orlanth, Sorcery/Malkioni, Spirit Magic)Kingdom of Ignorance (Divine Magic/Troll, Yelm. & Kralori, Sorcery/Kralori,Spirit Magic, Dragon Magic)Ramalia (Divine Magic/Hsunchen, Spirit Magic, Sorcery)Sartar (Divine Magic/Orlanth, Spirit Magic)Shadowlands (Divine Magic/Troll, Spirit Magic)Shadows Dance (Divine Magic/Troll & Elf. Spirit Magic)Stinking Forest (Divine Magic/Elf & Tusker)Sun Dome County (Divine Magic/Yelm)Tarsh (Divine Magic/Lunar & Orlanth)

Nomad CulturesChar-Un (Divine Magic/Lunar & Yelm, Spirit Magic)Grazelands (Divine Magic/variant Yelm & Orlanth)Pent (Divine Magic/Yelm & Orlanth, Spirit Magic)Prax (Divine Magic/Praxian, Spirit Magic)Tastolar (Divine Magic/Hsunchen, Spirit Magic)The Wastes (Divine Magic/Praxian, Spirit Magic)

Primitive CulturesEol (Spirit Magic)Rathorela (Divine Magic/Hsunchen, Spirit Magic)Shan Shan (Spirit Magic. Divine Magic/Hsunchen)

Cultures in bold type are those recommended for play in the DragonPass region. Some of these are briefly described in the Introduction.The cultures of the Barbarian Belt, Carmania, Dara Happa,Heortland, Pavis, Peloria, Prax, Sartar, Tarsh, and the Wastes, orcloser analogs, are described in detail in the preceding sections ofthis chapter.

The information in parentheses describes the forms of magic

used in the culture, in relative order of dominance. The pantheonsworshiped by users of Divine Magic are listed, as are the schools ofsorcery studied by users of Sorcery.

Pantheons or forms of magic not described in this book are ital-icized. The Hsunchen, Kralori, and Merman pantheons are describedin Gods of Glorantha, the Tusker pantheon is described in Elder Secretsof Glorantha, the variant Yelm pantheon of the Grazers is described inKing of Sartar, and the variant Yelm pantheon of Teshnos in describedin Genertela: Crucible of the Hero Wars.

Professions

Civilized ProfessionsCrafter (Alchemist, Armorer, Baker, Brewer. Blacksmith. Butcher. Carpenter,Cook, Cooper, Goldsmith, Herbalist, Jeweler, Joiner, Leatherworker, Mason,Potter, Redsmith, Silversmith, Tailor, Weaver)Entertainer (Acrobat, Actor, Animal Trainer. Dancer, Fool, Juggler, Magician,Minstrel, Musician, Poet, Singer)Farmer (Wheatgrower, Ricegrower, Corngrower, Herbgrower, Spicegrower)Fisher (Boatfisher, Seafisher. Linefisher, Netfisher. Penfisher)Healer (Herbalist, Healer, Midwife, Nurse, Doctor)Herder (Animal Tamer, Herder, Butcher)Merchant (Merchant, Trader)Missionary (Priest, Seven Mothers Missionary, Teelo Norri Missionary)Noble (Knight, Baron, Chieftain, Count, Duke, King, Satrap)Official (Accountant, Bureaucrat, Clerk, Functionary, Judge, Priest)Sailor (Marine, Merchant Marine, Pirate, Sailor)Scholar (Alchemist, Engineer. Free Sage, Priest, Researcher, Scribe, Teacher)Sorcerer (Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept, Magus, Priest)Thief (Assassin, Bandit, Burglar, Cut-purse, Forger, Gambler, Henchman,Mugger, Pimp, Pitchman. Second Story Man)Warrior (Assassin. Bodyguard, Dart Competitor, Dragoon, Foot Warrior,Guard, Knight, Mercenary, Mounted Warrior, Soldier)

Barbarian ProfessionsCrafter (Armorer, Baker, Brewer. Blacksmith, Butcher, Carpenter, Cooper,Herbalist, Joiner, Leatherworker, Mason, Potter, Tailor, Weaver)Entertainer (Bard. Dancer. Fool, Skald, Tumbler)Farmer (Wheatgrower. Ricegrower, Corn grower)Fisher (Boatfisher, Linefisher, Netfisher, Penfisher)Healer (Herbalist, Healer, Midwife, Nurse, Doctor)Herder (Animal Tamer. Shepherd, Goatherd. Herder, Butcher)Hunter (Hunter, Scout, Trapper)Merchant (Innkeeper, Merchant, Trader)Noble (Chieftain, King. Lawspeaker, Priest)Scholar (Free Sage, Speaker. Wise One, Priest)Shaman (Assistant Shaman, Healer, Shaman, Spirit Chaser, Spirit Talker)Thief (Bandit, Trickster)Warrior (Berserk. Champion, Foot Warrior, Guard, Mercenary, MountedWarrior, Thane)

Nomad Professions

Crafter (Woodcarver, Basketweaver, Bonecarver, Leatherworker,Stonecarver, Weaver)Herder (Beastherder, Horseherder, Cattleherder, Tender, Butcher)Hunter (Hunter, Scout)Merchant (Barterer, Trader, Grazer Trader, Zebra Trader)Noble (Chieftain. Khan. Leader)Shaman (Assistant Shaman, Healer, Shaman, Spirit Chaser, Spirit Talker)Warrior (Foot Warrior, Guard, Mounted Warrior, Warleader)

Primitive ProfessionsCrafter (Woodworker. Basketweaver, Boneworker, Leatherworker,Stoneworker)Fisher/Gatherer (Gatherer, Clamdigger, Netfisher, Spearfisher)Hunter (Hunter, Stalker, Trapper)Shaman (Assistant Shaman, Healer, Shaman)

Professions in bold type are recommended adventurer professions.

Entertainers make their living by entertaining othersfor pay, whether by playing instruments, singing, act-ing, storytelling, or another form of entertainment

Thieves moke their living by preying on others,using deception, speed, stealth or violence.


CRAFTER

Craft <Substance>Craft <Substance>Evaluate

MagicWealthRenown

9-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

AlchemistCraft <Potion>Alchemy Lore

Armorer<Metal> Lore

GuildmemberCustom <Guild>Instruct

MechanicianDeviseTrap

ShopkeeperBargainConcealHuman Lore

OtherCraft <Substance>Custom <Own><Substance> LoreSing <Own><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry



Trained Skilled

1

1/21

Cast

21

1/2

1/22

2s

1s

1s

11

11s

11/21/2V

1/2V

1V

1/2

45%30%45%

111

Trained

45%45%

45%

45%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%

45%60%45%45%30%30%

45%

45%

60%45%60%

222

Skilled

60%60%

60%

60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%75%60%60%45%45%

60%

60%

Expert

75%60%75%

333

Expert

75%75%

75%

75%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%90%75%75%60%60%

75%

75%

Master

90%75%90%

444

Master

90%90%

90%

90%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%

90%100%

90%90%75%75%

90%

90%

DEVOTEE

Ceremony/Divine<Cult> LoreSpeak <Own Lang.>

MagicWealthRenown

6-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

EnchanterCraft <Substance>Enchant/Divine

MissionaryCustom <Any>PersuadeSpeak <Language>

SpeakerCustom <0wn>Orate

SummonerMagic LoreSummon/Divine

TeacherInstruct<Any> LoreR/W <Language>

OtherCult SkillsSing <Own><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

1

1/21

Cost

1/22

1/2VS

1s

1V

1s

1s

22

21v

1v

1V

1/21/2V

1/2V

Trained

45%45%60%

211

Skilled

60%60%75%

322

Trained Skilled

30%45%

30%45%45%

45%45%

45%

45%

45%45%45%

45%45%30%30%

45%60%

45%60%60%

60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%45%45%

Expert

75%75%90%

433

Expert

60%75%

60%75%75%

75%75%

75%

75%

75%75%75%

75%75%60%60%

Master

90%90%100%

544

Master

75%90%

75%90%

90%

90%90%

90%

90%

90%90%90%

90%90%75%75%

ENTERTAINER/THIEF Trained

Custom <Own>Human Lore

MagicWealthRenown

10 choices

Optional Skills

AcrobatAcrobaticsDodgeClimbJump

ActorActOratePersuade

CourtesanCraft/CourtesanCustom <Any>

Cut-purse/MagicianConcealSleight

Dancer

Dance <Any>

FenceBargainEvaluate

MechanicCraft <Substance>DeviseTrap

MinstrelPlay <Instrument>Sing <Any>

TeacherInstruct<Appropriate> Lore

ThiefListenSearchStealth

ThugManeuver<Weapon> AttackScan

OtherSpeak <Language>



1s

1

Cost

11

1/2

1/2

11s

1s

I1VS

11

1/2

1s

1

1

2s

1s

1V

1/2

11V

11

2s

11v

1/2

1V

1v

1/2

45%45%

111

Trained

45%30%45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%

45%45%

45%

45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%

30%45%

45%45%45%

30%45%30%

45%

45%

45%

Skilled

60%60%

222

Skilled

60%45%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%

60%

60%60%

60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%

45%60%

60%60%60%

45%60%45%

60%

60%

60%

Expert

75%75%

333

Expert

75%60%

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%

75%75%

75%

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%

60%75%

75%75%75%

60%75%60%

75%

75%

75%

Master

90%90%

444

Master

90%75%90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%

90%90%

90%

90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%

75%90%

90%90%90%

75%90%75%

90%

90%

90%

Crafters make items or offer services for barter andsate. Primitive and nomad crafters typically workleather, bone, wood, stone or weave, white barbarianor civilized crafters have a wider range of crafts.

Devotees devote themselves to the service of a god orpantheon of gods. They perform tasks for their cult orcults, such as caring for temples, teaching, collectingtithes, praying and performing rituals and ceremonies.

Fishers catch fresh or salt water creatures for a living,while gatherers collect plants and berries or other nat-ural resources.

Healers tend to the minds, spirits and bodies of the illor needy.


FARMER

Craft/FarmingMineral LorePlant Lore<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

MagicWealthRenown

8 choices

Optional Skills

BartererBargainCustom <Own>

Drive <Vehicle>

HandymanCraft <Appropriate>Devise

HerdkeeperAnimal LoreRide <Beast>SearchTrack

Other<Area> LoreConcealFirst AidScanSing<Weapon> Attack



Trained

1 45%1 45%1 45%

1/2V 30%1/2V 30%

111

Cast Trained

1/2 30%1 45%

1/2 45%

1v 45%1/2 15%

1 45%1/2 45%1 45%

1/2 30%

1/2 45%1/2 30%1/2 45%1 45%1/2 45%

1/2 30%

1V 45%

1/2 45%

Skilled

60%60%60%45%45%

222

Skilled

45%60%

60%

60%30%

60%60%60%

45%

60%45%60%60%60%45%

60%

60%

Expert

75%75%75%60%60%

333

Expert

60%75%

75%

75%45%

75%75%75%60%

75%60%75%75%75%60%

75%

75%

Master

90%90%90%

75%75%

444

Master

75%90%90%

90%60%

90%75%90%

75%

90%75%90%90%90%75%

90%

90%

Farmers make their living by raising or tending crops.Common crops include wheat, corn, rice and fodder.

FISHER/GATHERER

Search

MagicWealthRenown

11 choices

Optional Skills

Boatfisher

BalanceBoatCraft/WoodjumpSwim

NetfisherCraft/RopeNet Attack

FisherCraft/Fishing<Area> Lore

GathererCraft <Substance>Listen<Terrain> LoreMineral LorePlant LoreScanStealth

TrapperDeviseTrap

OtherClimbCustom <Own>Sing <Own><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry



1

Cost

1/21s

1

1/21/2

1

1/2

11

11

1/21/2111s

1s

1s

1/21s

1/21/2V

1/2V

1v

1/2

Trained

45%

111

Skilled

60%

222

Trained Skilled

45%45%45%45%45%

45%30%

45%45%

45%45%45%30%45%45%30%

30%45%

45%60%45%30%30%

45%

45%

60%60%60%

60%60%

60%45%

60%60%

60%60%60%45%60%60%45%

45%60%

60%75%60%45%45%

60%

60%

Expert Master

75%

333

Expert

75%75%75%75%75%

75%60%

75%

75%

75%75%75%60%75%75%60%

60%75%

75%90%75%60%60%

75%

75%

90%

444

Master

90%90%90%

90%90%

90%75%

90%

90%

90%90%90%75%90%90%75%

75%90%

90%100%

90%75%75%

90%

90%

HEALER

Craft/MedicineFirst AidPhysicianPlant Lore

MagicWealthRenown

7-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

DoctorInstruct<Appropriate> LoreHuman LoreOratePersuadeR/W <Language>

MidwifeCraft/Midwifery

PharmacistAlchemy LoreCraft <Potion>Mineral Lore

SurgeonCraft/Surgery

VetAnimal Lore<Beast> Lore

Other<Area> LoreCustom <Own>DodgeSing <Any>Speak <Language>Speak <Own Lang><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry



112s

1

Cost

21V

11s

1s

1/2V

1

221

2

1

1/2

1/21s

1

1/21/2V

11/2V

1/2V

1v

1/2

1V

Trained

45%60%45%45%

111

Trained

45%45%45%45%45%30%

45%

45%45%45%

45%

45%45%

45%60%30%45%

30%60%30%30%

45%

45%

45%

Skilled

60%75%60%

60%

222

Skilled

60%60%60%

60%60%45%

60%

60%60%60%

60%

60%60%

60%

75%45%60%45%75%45%45%

60%

60%60%

Expert

75%90%75%75%

333

Expert

75%75%75%75%75%60%

75%

75%75%75%

75%

75%75%

75%90%60%75%60%90%60%60%

75%

75%75%

Master

90%100%

90%90%

444

Master

90%90%90%

90%90%75%

90%

90%90%90%

90%

90%90%

90%100%

75%90%75%100%

75%75%

90%

90%90%

Hunters hunt or trap game for a living. Some hunt

dangerous predators. Bounty hunters hunt sentient

creatures to collect rewards.

Herders raise or herd animals for a living. These

may include chickens, pigs, cattle, horses, sheep,

goats, or more exotic creatures.

Nobles rule, lead, intrigue and otherwise serve as

society's exemplars.


HUNTER/HERDER

Animal Lore

Craft/Butchery

<Terrain> Lore

Track

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Magic

Wealth

Renown

7 choices

Optional Skills

Animal Trainer

<Beast> Lore

Herder

First Aid

Plant Lore

Ride <Beast>

Search

Hunter

Listen

Maneuver

Scan

Stealth

Throw

<Missile> Attack

Trapper

ConcealSet Trap

Other

Custom <Own>

Dodge

Jump

<Area> Lore

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

If an initiate:

Cult Skills

If uses sorcery:

Spell <Low Sorcery>

1

1/21/21

1/2V

1/2V

Cost

1/2

1/2

2s

1/21V

1s

1/2

1s

11/21/21/2v

1/2V

1V

1/2

Trained

45%

45%45%45%30%30%

111

Trained

45%

45%45%45%45%

45%30%45%45%45%30%

45%45%

45%30%45%45%30%30%

45%

45%

Skilled

60%60%60%60%45%45%

222

Skilled

60%

60%60%60%60%

60%45%60%60%60%45%

60%60%

60%45%60%60%45%45%

60%

60%

Expert

75%75%75%75%60%60%

333

Expert

75%

75%75%75%75%

75%60%75%75%75%60%

75%75%

75%60%75%75%60%60%

75%

75%

Master

90%90%90%90%75%75%

44

4

Master

90%

90%90%90%90%

90%75%90%90%90%75%

90%90%

90%75%90%90%75%75%

90%

90%

MERCHANT

Bargain

Custom <Own>

Evaluate

Speak Tradetalk

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Magic

Wealth

Renown

5-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

Caravan Guard

Dodge

Maneuver

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Merchant

Human Lore

Instruct

Orate

Persuade

Speak <Own Lang.>

Lore <Appropriate>

Shopkeeper

Conceal

R/W <Language>

Trader

<Beast> Lore

Custom <Any>

Ride <Beast>

Scan

Speak <Language>

If an initiate:

Cult Skills

If uses sorcery:

Spell <Low Sorcery>

Trained Skilled

1s

1s

1

1/2

1/2V

1/2V

Cost

111v

1v

111s

1s

11V

1

1v

1/21vs

111V

1V

1/2

45%60%45%45%30%30%

121

Trained

30%30%45%45%

45%30%45%45%60%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%45%45%

45%

45%

60%

75%60%60%45%45%

232

Skilled

45%45%60%60%

60%45%60%60%75%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%60%60%

60%

60%

Expert

75%90%75%75%60%60%

34

3

Expert

60%60%75%75%

75%60%75%75%90%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%75%75%

75%

75%

Master

90%100%

90%90%75%75%

454

Master

75%75%90%90%

90%75%90%90%100%

90%

90%90%

90%90%90%90%90%

90%

90%

NOBLE

Custom <Own High>

Orate

Read <Own Lang.>

Speak <Own Lang.>

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Magic

Wealth

Renown

4-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

Artiste

Craft <Art>

Dance <Any>

Play <Instrument>

Sing <Any>

Duelist

Dodge

Maneuver

<Weapon> Attack

<Weapon> Parry

Intriguer

Craft/Intrigue

Persuade

Investor

Craft/Administrate

Evaluate

Savant

<Any> Lore

R/W <Language>

Speak <Language>

Other

Custom <Any>

Ride <Mount>

If an initiate:

Cult Skills

If uses sorcery:

Spell <Low Sorcery>

Spell <High Sorcery>

Trained Skilled

1/2

1s

1/21/21/2V

1/2V

Cost

1V

1/21V

1/2

111V

1V

21s

11

1V

1V

1vs

1

1V

1/21V

45%

45%30%60%30%30%

122

Trained

45%45%45%45%

30%30%45%45%

45%45%

45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%

45%

45%45%

60%60%45%75%45%45%

233

Skilled

60%60%60%60%

45%45%60%60%

60%60%

60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%

60%

60%60%

Expert

75%

75%60%90%60%60%

344

Expert

75%75%75%75%

60%60%75%75%

75%75%

75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%

75%

75%75%

Master

90%90%75%100%

75%75%

455

Master

90%90%90%90%

75%75%90%90%

90%90%

90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%

90%

90%90%


SAILOR

Boat<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

MagicWealthRenown

10 choices

Optional Skills

LookoutScan

Officer

Craft/ShiphandlingOrate

Pirate/MarineDodgeManeuver<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

RitualistCeremony<Any> LoreOpen Seas Ritual

Seaman

AcrobaticsClimbCraft/RopePass

ShipwrightCraft/ShipbuildingCraft/WoodDevise

OtherCustom <Any>Jump

Play <Instrument>Sing <Any>Speak <Language>Swim



1s

1/2V

1/2v

Cost

1

11s

111V

1/2V

11V

1/2

1s

1/211S

21

2s

1vs

1/21/2V

1/21V

1/2

1v

1/2

Trained

45%30%30%

111

Trained

45%

45%45%

30%30%45%30%

45%45%45%

45%45%45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%30%45%45%45%

45%

45%

Skilled

60%45%45%

222

Skilled

60%

60%60%

45%45%60%45%

60%60%60%

60%60%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%45%60%60%60%

60%

60%

Expert

75%60%60%

333

Expert

75%

75%75%

60%60%75%60%

75%75%75%

75%75%75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%60%75%75%75%

75%

75%

Master

90%75%75%

444

Master

90%

90%90%

75%75%90%75%

90%90%90%

90%90%90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%75%90%90%90%

90%

90%

SCHOLAR/OFFICIAL Trained Skilled

Read <Own Lang>Speak <Own Lang>

MagicWealthRenown

10 choices

Optional Skills

AdministratorBargainCraft/Administrate

Craft/IntrigueHuman Lore

Researcher

Craft <Any>Devise<Any> Lore

Scholar

Instruct<Any> Lore

R/W <Language>

SpeakerCustom <Own>OratePersuadeSpeak <Language>

Tax CollectorCraft/TortureSearch<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

Other

EvaluateCustom <Any>



1 45%1 60%

111

Cost Trained

1/2s 30%

1 45%1 45%1 45%

1V 45%2s 45%1v 45%

2 45%2V 60%1v 45%

1s 60%1s 45%1s 45%1y 45%

1 45%1 45%1/2V 30%1/2V 30%

1 45%1vs 45%

1v 45%

1/2 45%1v 45%

60%75%

2

22

Skilled

45%60%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%75%60%

75%60%60%60%

60%60%45%45%

60%60%

60%

60%60%

Expert

75%90%

333

Expert

60%75%75%75%

75%75%75%

75%90%75%

90%

75%75%75%

75%75%60%60%

75%75%

75%

75%75%

Master

90%100%

444

Master

75%90%90%90%

90%90%90%

90%100%

90%

100%

90%90%90%

90%90%75%75%

90%90%

90%

90%90%

SHAMAN

Ceremony/SpiritSpirit CombatSpirit Lore

Spirit SenseSummon/Spirit

RenownWealth

Magic

4 choices

Optional Skills

Enchanter

Craft <Substance>Enchant/Spirit

Healerfirst AidPhysician

Plant Lore

Spirit DancerDance <Own>Play <Instrument>Spirit Dance

Spirit SpeakerSing <Own>

Speak <Language>Spirit Speech

Spirit Walker

Spirit Travel

Wise OneCustom <Own>Instruct<Any> LoreOrate

OtherRide <Beast><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry


Trained Skilled

11112

Cost

1/22

1/22s

1

1/21/2V

1

1/21/2V

1

1

1s

21V

1s

1/21/2V

1/2V

1v

45%45%45%45%45%

11

2

60%60%60%60%60%

223

Trained Skilled

30%45%

45%45%45%

45%30%45%

45%30%45%

45%

45%45%45%45%

30%30%30%

45%

45%60%

60%60%60%

60%45%60%

60%45%60%

60%

60%60%60%60%

45%

45%45%

60%

Expert

75%75%75%75%75%

334

Expert

60%75%

75%75%75%

75%60%75%

75%60%75%

75%

75%75%75%75%

60%60%60%

75%

Master

90%90%90%90%90%

44

5

Master

75%90%

90%90%90%

90%75%90%

90%75%90%

90%

90%90%

90%90%

75%75%75%

90%


SORCERER

Ceremony/Sorcery

Read <Own Lang.>Sorcery Lore

MagicWealthRenown

7 choices

Optional Skills

EnchanterCraft <Substance>DeviseEnchant/Sorcery

DemonologistSummon/Sorcery

Magician

Spell <Low Sorcery>Spell <High Sorcery>Manipulation <Any>

Savant<Any> LoreR/W <Language>Speak <Language>

TeacherInstructOrate

OtherCustom <Any>Sing <Any><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

Trained Skilled

111

Cost

1/22s

2

2

1/21V

2V

1V

1V

1V

2

1s

1/2VS

1/21/2v

1/2V

45%45%45%

21

1

60%60%60%

322

Trained Skilled

30%45%45%

45%

45%45%45%

45%45%45%

45%45%

30%45%30%30%

45%60%

60%

60%

60%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%

45%60%45%45%

Expert

75%75%75%

43

3

Expert

60%75%75%

75%

75%75%75%

75%

75%75%

75%75%

60%75%60%60%

Master

90%90%90%

54

4

Master

75%90%90%

90%

90%90%

90%

90%90%90%

90%90%

75%90%75%75%

WARRIOR Trained Skilled Expert Master Skills List

Sorcerers are professional practitioners of the arts ofsorcery.


MagicWealthRenown

7 choices

Optional Skills

Foot WarriorDodgeManeuver

GuardListenSearch

InstructorInstruct

Mounted Warrior<Mount> LoreRide <Mount>

OfficerCraft/AdministrateOrate

ScoutConcealStealth<Terrain> LoreTrack

SoldierCraft/BattleCraft/FortificationCustom <Military>

Other<Area> LoreCustom <Any>Speak <Language><Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry



1V

1V

1/2V

1/2V

1/2V

1/21

Cast

11

11

1

1/2.

1

11s

1/21s

1/2

1/2

1/21/21/2

1/21/2VS

1/2V

1v

1V

1V

1/2

45%45%30%30%30%45%45%

111

60%60%45%45%45%60%60%

222

Trained Skilled

45%30%

45%45%

30%

45%45%

45%45%

30%30%45%30%

30%30%45%

45%30%30%45%45%

45%

45%

60%45%

60%60%

45%

60%60%

60%60%

45%45%60%45%

45%45%60%

60%45%45%60%60%

60%

60%

75%75%60%60%60%75%75%

333

Expert

75%60%

75%75%

60%

75%75%

75%75%

60%60%75%60%

60%60%75%

75%60%60%75%75%

75%

75%

90%90%75%75%75%90%90%

444

Master

90%75%

90%

90%

75%

90%90%

90%90%

75%75%90%75%

75%75%90%

90%75%75%90%90%

90%

90%

This comprehensive list of skills and their costs ismeant to serve as a reference source. It shouldassist gamemasters in creating their own profes-sion templates. Subskills follow parental skills.

Skill Cost Trained Skilled Expert Master

AcrobaticsBalanceTumble

ActBargain

BegBribe

BoatRowSail

BrawlBrawl AttackBrawl Parry

Ceremony <Type>ClimbConcealCraft<Any>Custom <Culture>Dance <Culture>Devise

LockpickMechanician

DodgeDrive <Vehicle>Enchant <Type>EvaluateFirst AidGrapple

Grapple AttackGrapple Parry

InstructJumpListenLore <Any>ManeuverMartial ArtsOrate

IntimidateSeduce

PassCatchThrow

PersuadeDebateFast Talk

PhysicianTreat Disease 1Treat Poison 1

Play <Instrument> 1vR/W <Language> 1vRide <Beast> 1Scan 1Search 1Shield ParrySing <Culture>Sleight

JugglePickpocket

Sorcery ManipulationsLow Sorcery SpellsHigh Sorcery SpellsSpeak <Language>Spirit <Skill>Stealth

HideSneak

Summon <Type>SwimTrackTrap

Disarm TrapSet Trap

<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

1s

1/21/211s

1/21/21s

1/21/21s

1/21/211/211V

1V

1/22s

1121/2211/21s

1/21/221/211v

221s

1/21/21s

1/21/21s

1/21/22s

1/21/21s

1/21/221/21v

1V

12s

1121/211s

1/21/21v

1V

45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%

60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%

75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%75%

90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%


General Possessions

Basic GearPrimitive—loin cloth, sandals, cloak or coat, fire making gear, snares, camping gearNomad—breeches, loin cloth, sandals or boots, headgear, belt knife, fire making gear, torch, cooking gear, camping gear, travelling gearBarbarian—tunic, kilt, sandals or boots, headgear, cloak or furs, belt knife, fire making gear, torch, snares, cooking gear, camping gearCivilized—tunic, trews, robe, sandals or boots, underwear, cloak, headgear, tinder-box, belt knife, lamp, flask, tools



2 daggersShortswordShortswordBroadswordGreatsword2 spearsWar SpearStaff and daggerFlailBattleaxeHeavy mace3 javelinsSelf Bow1H Weapon2H Weapon

1A1A1A1AIB1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A2A

Heavy LeatherCuirbouilliLight scaleChain hauberkHeavy scaleChainmailPlateSmall shieldMedium shieldLarge shieldSmall bronze shieldMedium bronze shieldLarge hide shield

1A2A3A3A6A2B1C1A1A2A2A3A1A

Iron daggerIron shortswordIron broadswordIron War SpearIron closed helmIron chain hauberkSmall iron shieldMedium iron shieldLarge iron shield1 point powered crystal4 point dead

(MP storage) crystal2 point battle magic

spell matrix2 point Spirit TrapCeremonial GearShrine

2B1C2C1C2C4C1C2C4C1C

1C

1C1C2A1

1C2

75 L300 L1,200 LRiding horseWar horseBusinessFarmlandHerdInvestmentsTrade goodsAllowanceSlaveContactFriendAllyFirst Aid KitPhysician's Kit

1A3

1B3

1C3

IB1C4

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

Varies5

1A/1B/1C6

1B/1C/2C7

1A/2A/1B/2B8

2A/1B/2B/1C8

1B/2B/1C/2C8

2A1

1B1

Temple 2C/4C/8C2

NotesThis table must be adjusted for the culture it is meant to represent For example, primitive and nomadic cultures rarely use metal weapons or wear metalarmor, while only civilized cultures have investments or allowances. Depending on the culture, one of the other possessions tables (Sartar, Lunar Empire,Pavis or Prax) may well be more applicable, or a combination of this table and one or more of those may work best Common sense should rule.1 These represent fine or exceptional tools that add 5% to the relevant skill. The bonus can be improved—each time you double the cost, it adds 5% more, to amaximum of +20% (at eight times cost). Ceremonial Gear has 4 ENC, a First Aid Kit has I ENC, and a Physician's Kit has 4 ENC.

2 A shrine (1C) will support an acolyte and has a congregation of 50. A minor temple (2C) will support a priest and has a congregation of 100. A temple (4C)will support a priest and an acolyte, and has a congregation of 200. A major temple (8C) will support a chief priest and a priest and either an additional priestor two acolytes, and has a congregation of 400. An acolyte must contribute 3 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep, while a priest or chief priest mustcontribute 5 days a week of duties to a temple's upkeep.

3 These funds can be used to purchase other pieces of starting equipment as well (see Economics).4 A war horse has superior characteristics (see Economics for details).5 These are examples of businesses. Running a business requires a minimum ability in an appropriate skill: Craft/Appropriate or Bargain for a business,Craft/Farming or Craft/Administrate for farmland, Craft/Herding for a herd, Craft/Administrate for investments, and Evaluate for trade goods. The businessyields a certain amount of cash or barter equivalents each season. The more work put into the business, the greater the yield (measured in days of duties spentattending to the business). One can collect a small amount even without putting any work into the business, representing an investment or share in a businessrun by others. Once a season, make the relevant skill roll. On a critical success, the business doubles in value (a 1C business becomes a 2C business). On afumble, the business' value is halved (a 1C business becomes a 2B business). Depending on one's skill, one can choose to purchase a 2A, 1B, 2B. 1C, 2C, 4C ora 8C business. See the Business Table below for more information.

6 An allowance yields 40 L (1A), 160 L (1B) or 640 L (1C) a year, with no investment of time or any rolls required.7 A slave is unskilled (1B), trained (1C) or skilled (2B), and will generally obey the letter, though not always the spirit, of their master's orders.8 This represents a useful contact, friend or ally from the area. The costs represent a Trained/Skilled/Expert/Master level contact, friend or ally, who requires notime to maintain (above and beyond those one acquires through socializing). In general, one can call on a contact for assistance with an APP x1 roll, a friendwith an APP x3 roll, and an ally with an APP x5 roll. See Socializing in Time and Learning for more details.

Business Table



2AIB2B1C2C4C8C

15%30%45%60%75%90%100%

15 L30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L

30 L60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920 L

45 L90 L180 L360 L720 L1,440 L2.880 L

60 L120 L240 L480 L960 L1,920L3,840 L

G A M E • M E C H A N I C S

An adventurer will face many challenges and tasks in the course of his or her career. The RuneQuest gamemechanics provide rules with which to resolve most situations likely to arise in the course of a game. Therules provide a means by which to determine the success or failure of an adventurer in a given situation with-

out the need to resort to argument or hasty decisions. The adventurer's chance to succeed or fail at a task depends on anumber of factors, including the adventurer's attributes, skill and luck, and the difficulty of the task at hand. If a situa-tion arises that is not directly addressed by the rules, the gamemaster must arbitrate, using common sense and theexamples set by the existing rules as a guide.

ROUNDINGNumbers in RuneQuest are always rounded up to thenearest whole number. Always round up from 0.5 andround down from below 0.5.

DICERuneQuest uses a number of different dice, including atwenty-sided die (D20), an eight-sided die (D8), and a six-sided die (D6). Certain combinations of dice or divisionsof results rolled on a die create the other die rolls called forin the game, such as D10, D3, or D2. The various diceallow different ranges of probability.

In the standard abbreviations used above, the letter Dalways stands for the word "die" or "dice." The numberfollowing the letter D denotes the number of sides on thedie being used. Thus, D20 indicates a twenty-sided die, D6indicates a six-sided die, and D100 indicates percentiledice (as explained below).

Rolling DiceIn general, dice are read by rolling them, and once the dicehave come to rest, reading the topmost number on the die,or on each die, if more than one are rolled. Specific typesof dice are discussed below.

D100 (Percentile dice)A percentile dice roll requires one or two D20s, each num-bered from 1-10 twice. If you have one D20, roll it twice.The number that comes up on the first roll is the "tens"roll, and the number on the second roll is the "ones." Ifyou roll a 4 the first time and an 3 the second time, you'verolled 43. A roll of two zeros always equals 100. If usingtwo D20s, roll them at the same time, but make sure theyare of different colors, and always read one color as tensand the other as ones. Ten-sided dice may be used as well.

D20 (Twenty-sided die)A twenty-sided die is also used for D20 rolls. There arethree ways to make a D20 yield 20 different numbers. Thefirst is to use a twenty-sided die that is actually numberedfrom 1 to 20. The number that comes up is used.

Most twenty-sided dice are simply numbered from 1to 10 twice, in which case you can take a marking pen orcrayon and mark one set of the numbers 0-9 to distinguishthem from the second, identical set of ten numbers, andthen decide whether the marked or the unmarked numbersrepresent the single digits. The others will be the numbers11-20. The single digit zero will be 10, and the high zerowill be 20.

Finally, one can use a method that does not requiremarking the die. Roll the D20 and a D6 (or other die) atthe same time. The other die result determines whether theD20 is a single digit or a double digit number: low (1, 2 or3 on a D6) equals 1-10, high (4, 5, or 6) equals 11-20.This last method can be used to generate a numberbetween 1 and 20 with a ten-sided die as well.

D10 (Ten-sided die)Typically, a twenty-sided die is rolled, and the number thatcomes up is used, regardless of any marking. If the die isactually marked from 1-20, drop the first digit from anytwo digit number that comes up, treating any result ofzero as a 10. An actual ten-sided die may be used as well.

D8 (Eight-sided die)An eight-sided die is rolled, and the number that comes upis used.

D6 (Six-sided die)A six-sided die is rolled, and the number that comes up isused.

• 47 •

48 • G A M E • M E C H A N I C S

D4 (Four-sided die)Typically, an eight-sided die is rolled, and half the numberthat comes up is used, rounding up to the nearest wholenumber. Thus a roll of 1 or 2 is a 1, a roll of 3 or 4 is a 2,etc. Alternatively, an actual four-sided die may be used.

D3 (Three-sided die)Typically, a six-sided die is rolled, and half the numberthat comes up is used, rounding up to the nearest wholenumber. Thus a roll of 1 or 2 is a 1, a roll of 3 or 4 is a 2,and a roll of 5 or 6 is a 3.

If a dice designation is preceded by a number, the preced-ing number is the specific quantity of that kind of dice tobe rolled. For instance, 2D6 means that two 6-sided diceshould be rolled. If you don't have the right quantity of atype of die, roll one (or more) the number of times indi-cated. Whenever the result of more than one die is calledfor, add the results together to form a single total.

Sometimes additions are made to specified die rolls.You might see "1D8+2," for instance. Always add thenumber following the plus sign to the result of the 1D8roll. The final result in this case must be between 3 and 9,though the actual total depends on the result of the D8 roll.

Meta RollsIn RuneQuest, percentile dice are always used to deter-mine whether or not an adventurer succeed in a particulartask or action. Rolling low on a D100 roll is always good.Generally, the lower you roll, the better.

Other kinds of die rolls are generally used to furtherelaborate upon the results of success or failure in a givensituation. Some examples are die rolls to determine dam-age done, the specific hit location struck after a successfulweapon attack, or die rolls to determine damage from afall. On a non-percentile die roll, generally the higher theroll, the greater the effect.

AUTOMATIC SUCCESSA number of tasks are simple enough that anyone can per-form them successfully in a normal situation. Running,walking across a room, or opening a door can be said tobe skills, but RuneQuest assumes that an adventurer iscompetent enough to automatically succeed in theseactions in most situations. Actions which should not nor-mally require a skill roll include breathing, digging,grasping an inanimate object, running, talking or walking.

A routine action or application of a skill are examplesof actions that normally succeed automatically. A skilledcarpenter need not roll for simple tasks, nor should ashepherd that scrambles up the same steep slope every dayhave to make a Climb skill roll to succeed.

THE SIMPLE SUCCESS ROLLThe simplest success roll in RuneQuest uses percentile dice(D100). This roll is used with characteristic rolls, rolls onthe resistance table, skill rolls for which the exact degreeof success is unimportant, or any other situation to which

a simple percentage chance of success can be assigned.The D100 is rolled, and if the result is less than or

equal to the percentage chance for success, the adventurerhas succeeded. If the result is greater than the percentagechance for success, the adventurer has failed.

On a simple success roll, a roll of 01 to 05 is always asuccess and a roll of 96 to 00 is always a failure. Thisserves to add an element of randomness to the even themost unlikely or certain of situations.

CHARACTERISTIC ROLLSIn situations where a particular characteristic is impor-tant, or an adventurer lacks an appropriate skill, a rollagainst the appropriate characteristic can be used toresolve the situation. Another common use is to give anadventurer one last chance to recover in a critical situa-tion, for example after missing or fumbling an importantskill roll or missing a critical characteristic roll. Thegamemaster picks the characteristic he or she feels mostappropriate to the situation and calls out a multiplierranging from x5 (a relatively easy roll to make) to x1 (ahard roll to make). The characteristic times the multipliergive the adventurer's percentage chance of success, forwhich a simple success roll should be made. Some fre-quently used characteristic rolls:

The Appeal Roll (APP Roll)Used to determine whether the adventurer presents them-selves well. An APP x5 roll might be used to determinewhether the adventurer made a good first impression, anAPP x3 roll might be used to determine whether theadventurer was able to catch the cute one's eye, and anAPP x1 roll might be used to determine whether theBabeester Gor priestess started laughing instead of cuttingthe adventurer down after he fumbled a Seduce roll.

The Dexterity Roll (DEX Roll)Used to determine whether an adventurer succeeds in afeat of speed, dexterity, or balance. A DEX x5 roll mightbe used to see if an adventurer was able to snatch up hispack as the boat overturned, a DEX x3 roll might be usedto see if the adventurer was able to grab hold of a pro-truding root after fumbling a Climb roll and starting tofall, and a DEX x1 roll might be used to see if an adven-turer lacking Acrobatics skill was able to land on his feetafter falling from his horse.

The Fatigue Roll (CON Roll)Used to determine whether an adventurer succumbs tofatigue. A set of guidelines for the multiplier to be used,based on the adventurer's encumbrance, can be found inthe Fatigue rules. A CON x5 roll might also be used todetermine whether an adventurer stays awake at nightafter a long day's march, a CON x3 roll might be used todetermine whether an adventurer pushes on after a longday's march, and a CON x1 roll might determine whetheran armored adventurer continues to march through theWastes when the sun god is directly overhead.

G A M E • M E C H A N I C S • 49

The Heroic Effort Roll (CON Roll)Used to determine whether an adventurer succumbs toinjuries, poison, or illness. A CON x5 roll might berequired to shrug off the effect of a fever, where a CON x4roll might be required to withstand the effect of a potentmagical venom. The gamemaster may wish to allowwounded adventurers a Heroic Effort roll to see if theycan shrug off the effects of an injury. A CON x3 roll mightallow an adventurer to use an injured location normally, aCON x2 roll might allow an adventurer that was incapac-itated by a blow to function normally, and a CON x1 rollmight be required to shrug off the effects of a blow thatwould have otherwise rendered the adventurer uncon-scious. Such a roll should not be granted every time anadventurer is wounded, but is appropriate for a desperatesituation or struggle against a hated foe, or for a warriorthat has gone berserk.

The Idea Roll (INT Roll)Used to determine whether an adventurer was able to puz-zle something out, deduce something, or otherwise cometo the correct conclusion. An INT x5 roll might be used bya newly arrived adventurer to avoid getting lost in streetsof the city of Pavis, an INT x3 roll might make an adven-turer realize that he is being ripped off even though helacks a Bargain skill or missed a Bargain skill roll, and anINT x1 roll might be used to decipher the coded messagethat the intercepted courier was carrying.

The Memory Roll (INT Roll)Used to determine whether the adventurer was able toremember something, or recall a related fact. An INT x5roll might be used to remember what the trader the adven-turer briefly spoke to last week looked like, an INT x3 roll

might be used to recall the name of the speaker you heardat the Grand Hospital five years ago, and an INT x1 rollmight recall the exact text of the document the adventurerskimmed at the Lhankor Mhy temple a few weeks ago.

The Luck Roll (POW Roll)Used to determine whether an adventurer's luck holds in acrucial situation. A POW x5 roll provides an elegant wayto deal with any situation where a roughly 50/50 chanceof success seems appropriate. A POW x5 roll might beused to determine whether the adventurer was exhalinginstead of inhaling when that walktapus suddenly spewedpoison gas, a POW x3 roll an adventurer being sweptdownstream by a river's swift current comes across a lowhanging branch she can grab, and a POW x1 roll might beused to determine whether a tree broke the adventurersfall from a cliff.

THE RESISTANCE TABLEThe resistance table is used when pitting one force againstanother, such as matching an adventurer's STR vs. the SIZof an object to be lifted. Some other common uses of theresistance table include matching STR vs. STR to resolve acontest of strength, such as arm-wrestling, MP vs. POW todetermine if an offensive spell overcame a target thatresisted, MP vs. MP in spirit combat, and HP vs. thepotency of a poison to determine the poison's effect.

The resistance table can be used to determine the suc-cess of any opposed action, whether the opposition befrom a living foe, such as matching INT vs. INT in a rid-dling contest, or a difficult situation, such as matching theadventurer's STR vs. the STR of a current, to see if theadventurer can make any headway. If a particular skill cov-ers the situation, use the skill vs. skill rules (below) instead.

The Resistance TableActive

12345678910

Passive 1112131415161718192021

1

504540353025201510555555555555

2

5550454035302520151055555555555

3

60555045403530252015105555555555

4

656055504540353025201510555555555

5

7065605550454035302520151055555555

6

75706560555045403530252015105555555

7

807570656055504540353025201510555555

8

8580757065605550454035302520151055555

9

90858075706560555045403530252015105555

10

959085807570656055504540353025201510555

11

9595908580757065605550454035302520151055

12

95959590858075706560555045403530252015105

13

959595959085807570656055504540353025201510

14

959595959590858075706560555045403530252015

15

959595959595908580757065605550454035302520

16

959595959595959085807570656055504540353025

17

959595959595959590858075706560555045403530

18

959595959595959595908580757065605550454035

19

959595959595959595959085807570656055504540

20

959595959595959595959590858075706560555045

21

959595959595959595959595908580757065605550

50 • G A M E • M E C H A N I C S

To use the resistance table, find the number of theactive, or attacking force along the top, then find the num-ber of the passive, or defending force along the left side.The number at the point where the column of the activeforce intersects the row of the passive force represents theactive force's chance for success. A single simple successroll using this number should be used to resolve the situa-tion, rolling for the active force. Thus, if the D100 roll isless than or equal to the number, the active force wins. Ifthe D100 roll is greater than the number, the passive forcewins. This D100 roll is also called a resistance roll.

Note that the formula used by the resistance table canalso be stated as:

Active Force's Chance of Success -50% + (Active Value - Passive Value) x 5%

THE SKILL ROLLSkill rolls use a mechanism which allows one to measurethe degree of success or failure achieved with five possibleresults—critical success, special success, normal success,failure and the fumble.

The exact effects of these results depend on the type ofskill being used (combat, social, informational, etc.) andare described in further detail in the Skills and Combatchapters.

Skills represent one's percentile chance to succeed atany given task under average conditions, and therefore askill roll, like a simple success roll, is a D100 roll. Theresult of the die roll falls into one of the five possibleresults. If the die roll qualifies for more than one possiblelevel of success (for example, a roll of 02 that qualifies fora critical success, a special success, or a normal success),the highest level of success is used (in this case, a criticalsuccess). Likewise, if the die roll qualifies for more thanone possible level of failure (for example, a roll of 99 thatqualifies for both a fumble and a failure), the highest levelof failure is used (in this case, a fumble).

Critical SuccessA critical success represents the best performance possible,and is the highest level of success possible. A critical suc-cess is a roll less than or equal to 1/20 of the chance ofsuccess. The critical success number for a skill can be pre-figured by dividing the skill percentiles by twenty (asalways, rounding up).

A natural roll of 01 on percentile dice is always acritical success.

Special SuccessA special success represents a better than usual perfor-mance, and is the next highest level of success possible. Aspecial success is a roll less than or equal to 1/5 of thechance of success.

Normal SuccessA normal success represents an ordinary level of success. Anormal success is a roll less than or equal to the chance forsuccess.

A roll of 02-05 is always at least a normal success,unless the gamemaster rules that the task is impossible.

FailureA failed attempt. A failure is a roll greater than the chancefor success.

A roll of 96-99 automatically fails if the adventurer'sskill is below 200%. For every 200% of skill, reduce theautomatic failure chance by 1.

Note that the gamemaster can rule that a simple taskautomatically succeeded.

FumbleA spectacular failure. If the chance for success is below90%, a fumble occurs on a roll of 99 or 00. If the chancefor success is greater than or equal to 90%, a fumbleoccurs on a roll of 00.

A natural roll of 00 is always a fumble.

SKILL vs. SKILLSome skills may be used by different adventurers in oppo-sition to each other. The skills may be different, such as anattempt to Sneak vs. another's attempt to Listen, or thesame, such as using Track skill to find a trail vs. anotherusing Track skill not to leave one.

The adventurer that achieves a higher level of successautomatically wins a contest of skills. A critical ties a crit-ical, but beats anything else. A special loses to a critical,ties a special, and beats anything else. A normal successloses to a critical or special, ties a normal success, andbeats anything else. A failure beats a fumble, ties a failure,and loses to anything else. A fumble ties a fumble, butloses to anything else.

A tied result is resolved by a single additional roll onthe resistance table. Divide each adventurer's skill by 10(rounding up), and compare the resulting values againsteach other on the resistance table, making a single roll tosee who won—it makes no difference which adventurer'sskill is active or passive. If one adventurer is an NPC, andthe other a player, a simple convention is to always makethe player take the active role.

ExampleArlia tries to sneak past a sentry. She has a 65% Stealthskill, and the sentry has a 44% Listen skill. Both roll. IfArlia can achieve a higher level of success than the sentry(i.e., special where the sentry only succeeds), she can suc-cessfully sneak past him. If the sentry achieves a higherlevel of success, he spots her. If both fail, they would tie,and roll on the resistance table to resolve the tie. If Arliafumbled, she would make so much noise that the sentrywould not fail to notice her unless he fumbled as well.

Both roll. Arlia's player rolls a 58, the gamemasterrolls a 37 for the sentry. Both have achieved a normal levelof success. To resolve the tie, they match a 65/10 = 7(Arlia) vs. a 44/10 = 4 (the sentry) on the resistance table.This gives Arlia a 65% chance of sneaking past success-fully, and a 35% chance of being noticed. It makes no

G A M E • M E C H A N I C S • 51

difference who rolls—if rolled by the sentry, he wouldhave a 35% chance of noticing Arlia, and a 65% chanceof not noticing her. Using the simple convention, of play-ers taking the active role, Arlia's player rolls, and gets a61—close, but good enough for Arlia to win, and sneakpast the sentry.

Active Skills vs. Passive SkillsEnvironment being equal, skills used actively have anadvantage over skills used passively. Passive skills are athalf the normal chance of success. Active means "concen-trated on" (taking a "Miscellaneous Action" in combat).A maximum of two skill can be Active at a time, and noskill can be active for long periods unless there is some-thing to hold the adventurer's interest. A bored guard useshis Listen passively, a suspicious guard uses Listen actively.

ExampleIf the sentry in the example above was bored and sleepy,his Listen skill would be effectively reduced to 44/2 =22%, so he would have lost the skill contest with his ini-tial roll of 37.

Multiple Contestants on a SideSituations will occasionally arise where one or both sidesmaking a resistance roll or engaging in a contest of skillshave more than one member. In this case, the fastest wayto resolve the situation is to make a single die roll for eachside, adjusting for the type of roll as follows:

For resistance rolls, simply add up the total values oneach side and resolve the situation with a single simple rollfor each side.

For contests of skill vs. skill, make a single die roll foreach side, and apply the result to all members of that side.If the members of one side achieve a greater overall levelof success, that side wins. If the result is a tie, resolve thesituation on the resistance table, averaging the skills of themembers of each side to determine their overall level ofskill for the resistance table roll (see Skill vs. Skill, above).

ExampleFour broo, with Hide skills of 88, 66, 44 and 41, respec-tively, are attempting to ambush a band of three Sartariterebels, with Scan skills of 85, 77 and 46, respectively.

If the broo roll a 24 and the rebels roll a 16, the rebelswin, and spot the broo (one of the rebels achieved a spe-cial success, the other two achieved a normal success—thebroos only achieved normal successes).

If the broo roll a 24 and the rebels roll a 32, the resultis a tie (all members of both parties achieved normal suc-cesses). The contest is resolved with a single resistancetable roll, with the rebels matching a value of 69/10=7(average of 85, 77 and 46 divided by 10) vs. the broo'svalue of 60/10 = 6 (average of 88, 66, 44 and 41 dividedby ten) on the resistance table.

The gamemaster may wish to precalculate such aver-age values or simply estimate them.

ABBREVIATIONSSTR, CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP—various characteris-tics, describing an adventurers aptitudes in certain areas. SeeCharacteristics, in Creating an Adventurer, for details.

HL—Hit Points per Location, a measure of the damage an adven-turer or creature can take in a specific location. On the average, thisis equal to 1/3 HP, but varies from location to location. See Damage, inCombat, for details.

HP—Hit Points, a measure of the total damage an adventurer cantake. See Damage, in Combat, for details.

HT—Hit Location Table, the type of hit location table (based onbody form) used to determine where a blow landed. See Creaturesfor details.

MP—Magic Points, a measure of a character's offensive capability inmagic, ability to fuel spells, and fight in spirit combat. See Magic, andSpirit Combat, in Combat, for details.

MR—Melee Round, a flexible period of time typically lasting three totwelve seconds. An average Melee Round is considered to last sixseconds. See Combat for details.

MV—Move, a measure of a character's movement rate. In combatsituations, this corresponds to how far a character can move inmeters in the course of a single melee round.

SR—Strike Rank, a measure of when an adventurer acts in combat.DEX SR is used for missiles, spells, or miscellaneous actions, whileMelee SR is used for melee weapon attacks. See Combat for details.

A%—an adventurers skill with a particular weapon Attack. SeeCombat for details.

P%—an adventurers skill with a particular weapon Parry. SeeCombat for details.

AP—Armor Points, a measure of the ability of armor or a parryingweapon to block damage, also a measure of an item's resistance todamage. See Combat for details.

DB—Damage Bonus, a measure of the ability of an adventurer to putstrength and weight behind a blow. This number is added to meleeweapon damage rolls. See Combat for details.

ENC—Encumbrance, a measure of the weight and bulk of the itemscarried or worn by an adventurer. It affects how quickly an adven-turer tires, and hinders the use of certain skills.

m—meter, a measure of distance equal to approximately 3.3 feet, orI.I yards.

km—kilometer, a thousand meters, a distance equal to 3,280.8 feet,or 0.6 miles.

kg—kilogram, a measure of weight equal to approximately 2.2pounds.

NPC—Non-Player Character, a character run by the gamemasterinstead of a player.

• S K I L L S •

Skills are one of the means by which an adventurer interacts with the world around him or her. Manyactions require knowledge of a particular skill to accomplish. RuneQuest defines a number of skills that areused in physical, mental and magical endeavors. Skills serve to flesh out the abilities and increase the diver-

sity of the characters that populate the world of Glorantha. They allow players to further differentiate themselves fromthe adventurers whose roles they adopt. This chapter describes both common and uncommon skills, and their use in avariety of situations. Expertise with a particular set of skills is the hallmark of a successful adventurer.

SKILLSRuneQuest defines a wide variety of skills. Many skillsexist to add flavor and to help describe both adventurersand the people they encounter in greater detail, but not tomake it impossible to do something if a character lacks theskill. A character does not need to know Intimidate to puta sword to someone's throat and threaten effectively. Insuch cases, the gamemaster has to decide what the charac-ter's chances are, which will often depend on the situation,what the character does, how the player roleplays the situ-ation, the character's background, and so on.

S k i l l s normally fa l l into three categories—Easy,Medium or Hard. A skills difficulty governs how long ittakes to learn and eventually master a skill (see Time andLearning).

Some skills overlap. When bargaining, a characterwho does not know Bargain but is very skilled at Persuadecan get some use out of that skill instead.

SKILL USEComplementary SkillsIn a task where one skill is obviously the most appropri-ate, and yet there is another skill that could help, add 1/5(the special chance) of the less relevant skill to the firstskill to determine success. Note that specific complemen-tary skills are listed in the skill definitions that appear laterin this chapter.

ExampleAchmed the Armorer is a master armorer withCraft/Armory 95% and Bargain 41%. When sellingarmor in his shop (using Bargain), his Bargain skill wouldhave 1/5 his Craft/Armory skill added to it, or 41 + 95/5 =60% Bargain. If however, he was asked to take over a

friend's fruit stand for a little while, Achmed would useonly his 41 % skill Bargain (Achmed knows next to noth-ing about fruit). If Achmed knew Evaluate, it could act asa complementary skill in either situations.

Situational ModifiersGamemasters should use skill modifiers based on the spe-cific situation a character is in and the player's roleplayingin the situation. The gamemaster should strive for a realis-tic level of success. If a character has a 30% skill, and dueto the situation and player's actions the gamemaster thinksthat a 75% chance of success is more realistic, thegamemaster should assign a 45% bonus.

Likewise, should the gamemaster decide that a task isso simple or routine that there is no chance of failure, theskill user should automatically succeed.

SKILL SUCCESS AND FAILURESkill success rolls are called for when the task is difficult,the situation is unusual, danger threatens, urgency isrequired, or the routine becomes dramatic or extraordinary.

The following guidelines are meant to add color to theuse of skills in such situations:

A critical success, that is, rolling 1/20 of your skill orless, is a spectacular success. In general, it should achievethe best possible effect for that skill.

A special success, that is, rolling 1/5 of your skill orless, is an extremely good success. In general, it shouldhave twice the effect of a normal success.

A normal success, that is, rolling your skill or less, isan average success. In general it should achieve the normaleffect for the skill.

A failure, that is, rolling above your skill, is an aver-age failure. In general, the skill attempt should fail, butnot disastrously.

•52•

S K I L L S • 53

An automatic failure occurs on a roll of 96-00. Anadventurer with a skill of 128% will still fail on a roll of96-00. Reduce the chance for automatic failure by 1 forevery full 200% of skill. Thus, an adventurer with a skillof 213% will automatically fail only on a roll of 97-00.

A fumble, that is, rolling 99 or 00 when your skill isbelow 90%, or rolling 00 when your skill is 90% orgreater is a catastrophic failure.

In general, a skil l roll that was just made shouldbarely succeed, and a skill roll that was just missed shouldbarely fail. At the gamemaster's option, a skill roll thatrolls 1/2 the skill or less (but is not a special) could have aslightly enhanced effect. Likewise, a skill roll that fails bymore than 1/2 the chance to fail could be a more seriousfailure.

Gamemasters that wish to go to the trouble can alsouse a 'Botch' result, the inverse of a special success. Thespecial failure chance is calculated by taking 1/5 of theadventurer's chance of missing the roll and subtractingfrom 101. If the character rolls equal to or higher to thatnumber, the results are very poor, just short of a fumble(which is even more catastrophic).

ExampleA character with a 71% Craft/Battle skill normally criti-cals on a roll of 4 or less, specials on a roll of 14 or less,succeeds on a roll of 71 or less, fails on a roll of 72 orabove, and fumbles on a roll of 99 or 00.

If using the more detailed success and failure rules, asuccess roll of 36 or less will be an above average success(not as good as a special), a roll of 86 or above is a moreserious failure, and a roll of 95 or above is a botch, a veryserious failure just short of a fumble.

In game terms, the gamemaster might decide that acritical success means the adventurer ended up in a perfectposition to significantly affect the course of the battle(such as happening upon the wounded enemy commandertrying to find his mount). A special success might meanthe adventurer ended up in a position of advantage wherehe would have a significant advantage in any combat(such as on top of a hill with a group of fellow soldiers fac-ing a smaller enemy unit charging uphill at them). Asuccess might mean that the adventurer had a slightadvantage in any combat that ensued, the better the suc-cess the better the advantage (such as ending up withfellow soldiers in good tactical position). A failure mightput him at a slight disadvantage, the higher the failed roll,the worse the result (such as with his fellow soldiers, butfacing a larger body of foes, and no positional advantage).A botch would put the adventurer at a serious disadvan-tage (such as alone behind enemy lines or outnumberedand outmanoeuvred). A fumble would put the adventurerin a situation where he was likely to be killed or captured,such as alone behind enemy lines and discovered by a unitof enemy lancers

Gamemasters should feel to be creative with theresults of skill success and failure, as such interpretationscan make almost any situation a more interesting one.

TIME DEPENDENT SKILLSSome task skills work better the longer you spend onthem, success being essentially guaranteed if you spendlong enough time. With these skills the gamemaster shouldconsult only the initial roll, and from that judge how longit will take. Task skills such as Crafts; Bargain, Orate andPersuade skills used over long periods of time; researchLores and Search all fall into this category.

With these skills, the gamemaster should set a basetime to accomplish the task. A normal success accom-plishes the task in the set time, a failure would take twiceas long or produce an item (or effect) of half the quality. Aspecial success would take half as long or produce an item(or effect) of twice the quality. A critical success wouldtake half as long and produce an item (or effect) of twicethe quality or produce an item (or effect) of four times thenormal quality or produce an item (or effect) of normalquality in one quarter the normal time. A fumble wouldtake twice as long and produce an item of half the normalquality or produce a seriously flawed item (or effect).

ExampleThe gamemaster decides that an otherwise bare chambercontains a concealed document. The document is con-cealed behind a loose brick, and the gamemaster decidesthat it would normally take a single searcher 1 hour tofind the document. A failed Search roll would take 2 hoursto find the document, a special would take 30 minutes,and a critical 15 minutes. A fumble would miss the docu-ment entirely. Whether there is anything to find or not, thegamemaster should state: "You find nothing after 5 min-utes", "10 minutes", etc.

SKILL SUCCESS BY CATEGORYCertain skills have specifically defined success or failureeffects in their descriptions or in other sections of therules. In these cases, follow the specific skill's guidelinesrather than the general guidelines for criticals, specials,successes, failures and fumbles above. In addition, certaincategories of skills have other special effects or limitations.

Agility SkillsThe skills of Dodge, Maneuver and all Parries are combatskills which have specific effects detailed in the Combatchapter.

The skills of Acrobatics, Boat, Climb, Hide, Ride andSneak all have specific effects or limitations described intheir skill definitions. They otherwise follow the generalguidelines.

The skill of Dance follows the general guidelines.

Communication SkillsThe skills of Act, Bargain, Orate and Persuade are used toachieve a specific effect described under the skill descrip-tion. In roleplaying situations successes can generate hintsfor how best to approach the situation (see the individualskill definitions for details.

Realistically, the communication skill of Speak

54 • S K I L L S

<Language> and the reasoning skill of Custom <Culture>additionally limit the use of these communication skills.These skills (Act, Bargain, Orate and Persuade) cannoteffectively be used above the level of the sum of user'sSpeak <Language> and Custom <Culture> skills. Forexample, an Etyries trader has Bargain 94%, SpeakSartarite 36% and Sartarite Custom 45%. Her Bargainskill when bargaining with a Sartarite in the Sartarite lan-guage would be limited to 80% (36 + 44).

The skills of Instruct, Speak <Own Language> andSpeak <Language> all have specific effects or limitationsdescribed in their skill definitions. They may otherwisefollow the general guidelines.

The skill of Sing follows the general guidelines.

Knowledge SkillsThe skill of Martial Arts has specific effects in combatwhich are described in the skill's definition.

The skill of Read/Write <Language> has specificeffects and limitations described in its definitions.The Lore skills follow the general guidelines, but addi-tional specific effects are described in the skill definitions.Successes may generate clues or hints.

Reasoning SkillsWhen used for tasks, Craft skills follow the time depen-dent skill use rules above. Otherwise, the use the generalguidelines.

The skills of Custom <Culture>, Evaluate, First Aidand Physician all have specific effects or limitationsdescribed in their definitions, but otherwise follow thegeneral guidelines.

The skills of <Low Sorcery> Spell and <High Sorcery>Spell have specific effects described in the Sorcery chapter.

Magic SkillsThe sk i l l of Ceremony <Type> has specific effectsdescribed in its skill definition.

The skills of Summon and Enchant have specificeffects described in the various magic chapters.

The skills of Duration, Intensity, Multispell, andRange, as well as other sorcery manipulation skills havespecific effects described in the Sorcery chapter.

The skills of Spirit Combat, Spirit Dance, Spirit Sense,Spirit Speech, and Spirit Travel, have specific effectsdescribed in the Spirit Magic chapter.

Manipulation SkillsThe skills Brawl, Grapple and <Weapon> Attack are com-bat skills whose effects are described in detail in theCombat chapter.

The skills of Conceal, Devise, Pass and Sleight all havespecific effects or limitations described in their definitions,but otherwise follow the general guidelines.

The skills of Drive, Play <Instrument>, and Trap fol-low the general guidelines.

Perception SkillsThe skills of Listen, Scan, Search, Track all have specificeffects or limitations described in their definitions, butotherwise follow the general guideline.

DISADVANTAGEOUS SITUATIONSIn special situations, the gamemaster may decide that acharacter is at a major disadvantage, in which case a spe-cial is only a success, and a critical only a special (a normalsuccess and a failure are both treated as failures). Someexamples might be trying to Hide in a nearly empty room(or anywhere there is really no place to hide), trying toSneak through dry brush, trying to spot someone hiding ina dense jungle, or hearing someone sneaking up on youwhen you're asleep.

EFFECTS OF ENCUMBRANCE ON SKILLSFor normal SIZ creatures (SIZ 1-20), each point of ENCsubtracts 1 percentile from Climb, Dodge, Jump,Maneuver and Stealth and 5 percentiles from Swim. Forevery 10 points of SIZ or fraction thereof above 20, addone point to the amount of ENC required to cause a sub-traction. For example, a SIZ 22 creature would suffer asubtraction for every 2 points of ENC, a SIZ 35 creaturewould suffer a subtraction for every 3 points of ENC.

NEW SKILLSIf gamemasters and players want additional skills, theyshould by all means define them, though they should keepin mind that additional skills can add unnecessary com-plexity to the game. Use the current skill list, as well assome common sense and consideration of how this skillworks in real life to create new skills, both in terms of cat-egory and level of difficulty.

Composite SkillsSome new skills might best be described as compositeskills, skills that subsume one or more other skills. Usecommon sense in creating and categorizing these skills. Asa rule of thumb, a composite skill that lets a character dowhat two Easy skills do is a Medium skill, one thatencompasses four Easy or two Medium skills is a Hardskill, and so on. If the skill also has other benefits, the ben-efits should count as one or more Easy skills. Sleight andHide are examples of such skills.

ExampleA Donandar cultist wishes to study a skill that lets himjump and dance while swordfighting. After some discus-sion between the gamemaster and the player, they decidethat this skill would basically consist of Jump, Dance, andBroadsword Attack, with no significant additional bene-fits. The skill could be called Swordancing, and would bea Hard skill (it is a composite of two Easy skills and aMedium skill), starting at a percentage equal to the lowestof the skills known by the adventurer. The gamemasterwould have to determine the availability of training.Entertainers and weaponmasters might know such a skill.

S K I L L S • 55

SKILL DECAYSkills that are not used and practiced will decay. Normally,one can assume that an adventurer will spend a little timepracticing his or her skills so that they do not decay.However, in very unusual circumstances, such as impris-onment, restrictive duties, constant training in other skills,and so on, a gamemaster may want to assess some skilldecay penalties.

SKILL LIST BY CATEGORYAgility SkillsAcrobatics, Boat, Climb, Dance, Dodge, Jump, Maneuver,all Parries, Ride, Stealth

Communication SkillsAct, Bargain, Instruct, Orate, Persuade, Sing, Speak<Own Language>, Speak <Language>

Knowledge SkillsAll Lores, Martial Arts, Read/Write <Language>

Reasoning SkillsAll Crafts, all Customs, Evaluate, First Aid, Physician, allSorcery spells

Magic SkillsCeremony <Type>, Duration, Enchant, Intensity,Multispell, Range, Spirit Combat, Spirit Dance, SpiritSense, Spirit Speech, Spirit Travel, Summon

Manipulation SkillsBrawl, Conceal, Devise, Drive, Grapple, Pass, Play<Instrument>, Sleight, Trap, all Weapon Attacks

Perception SkillsListen, Scan, Search, Track

SKILL LISTIndented skills are subskills of the skill above. Subskills areeasier but more limited versions of the parental skill, andare more fully described under Skill Definitions.

The base chance is the starting percentage in that skill(if 0%, do not add a skills category bonus). Categorydescribes the skills category the skill belongs to. Difficultydescribes the difficulty of the skill (see Time and Learningfor details).

Pay careful attention to the "Availability" column (seeTime and Learning for details). Uncommon skills areunusual skills, often only taught only in specific culturesor certain areas of the world, or only to certain people.Most characters have no opportunity to learn rare skills.Availability may vary from culture to culture.

Skills Table

Skill

AcrobaticsBalanceTumble

ActBargain

BegBribe

BoatRowSail

BrawlCeremony <Type>ClimbConcealCraft<Any>Custom <Culture>Dance <Culture>Devise

LockpickMechanician

DodgeDrive <Vehicle>Enchant <Type>Evaluatefirst AidGrappleInstructJumpListenLore <Any>ManeuverMartial ArtsOrate

IntimidateSeduce

PassCatchThrow

PersuadeDebateFast Talk

PhysicianTreat DiseaseTreat Poison

Play <Instrument>R/W <Language>Ride <Beast>ScanSearchShield ParrySing <Culture>Sleight

JugglePickpocket

Sorcery Manip.Sorcery SpellsSpeak <Language>Spirit <Skill>Stealth

HideSneak

Summon <Type>SwimTrackTrap

Disarm TrapSet Trap


Base

0%0%0%5%5%5%5%5%5%5%30%5%30%5%5%Varies5%5%5%5%15%15%0%5%15%15%5%30%30%0%15%0%5%5%5%15%15%15%5%5%5%5%5%5%0%0%5%30%30%Varies5%5%5%5%0%0%Varies0%15%15%15%0%15%5%15%15%15%VariesVaries

Category

AgilityAgilityAgilityCommunicationCommunicationCommunicationCommunicationAgilityAgilityAgilityManipulationMagicAgilityManipulationReasoningReasoningAgilityManipulationManipulationManipulationAgilityManipulationMagicReasoningReasoningManipulationCommunicationAgilityPerceptionKnowledgeAgilityKnowledgeCommunicationCommunicationCommunicationManipulationManipulationManipulationCommunicationCommunicationCommunicationReasoningReasoningReasoningManipulationKnowledgeAgilityPerceptionPerceptionAgilityCommunicationManipulationManipulationManipulationMagicReasoningCommunicationMagicAgilityAgilityAgilityMagicAgilityPerceptionManipulationManipulationManipulationManipulationAgility

Difficulty

MediumEasyEasyMediumMediumEasyEasyMediumEasyEasyMediumMediumEasyMediumVariesVariesEasyHardMediumMediumHardEasyHardMediumEasyMediumHardEasyMediumVariesHardHardMediumEasyEasyMediumEasyEasyMediumEasyEasyHardMediumMediumVariesVariesMediumMediumMediumEasyEasyMediumEasyEasyHardVariesVariesMediumHardMediumMediumHardEasyMediumMediumEasyEasyVariesVaries

Availability

RareRareRareRareUncommonRareRareUncommonUncommonUncommonCommonCommonCommonRareVariesVariesCommonRareRareRareRareUncommonRareUncommonUncommonCommonRareCommonUncommonVariesRareRareCommonUncommonUncommonUncommonUncommonUncommonCommonUncommonUncommonRareRareRareVariesNoCommon

CommonRareCommonCommonRareRareRareRareRareVariesRareUncommonUncommonUncommonRareUncommonUncommonUncommonUncommonCommonVariesVaries

56 • S K I L L S

SKILL DEFINITIONSAngle brackets <> show that many formsof this skill with similar names exist.Each is a separate skill, one instance ofthe group to which they belong. Suchskills may be distantly or closely related.For example, Dance <Culture> meansthat every culture—Praxian, Theyalan,Pelorian, and so on—has its own danceskill. If a character is Praxian, he hasDance/Praxian skill.

Square brackets [ ] show that this skillmay be divided into optional subskills.These subskills are easier than theparental skill (and are also known as acomposite skill), but encompass only aportion of what the parental skill covers.For example, a cutpurse may only knowhow to pick pockets, and know nothingabout juggling, both covered by theMedium difficulty Sleight skill. She mightknow only Pickpocket, an Easy skill.With the gamemaster's permission, play-ers may learn a subskill instead of thefuller parental skill.

Agility SkillsThis category includes all skills depen-dent on gross motor coordination. Mostof these skills are trained into the reflexesof the user; an adventurer does notrequire profound intelligence or contin-ual cogitation to be agile. Agility skillscall for high STR and DEX but smallSIZ, allowing for good coordination andrapid response.

ACROBATICS (0%) Medium

[Balance, Tumble]

The skill of tumbling, rope-walking andgymnastics. A character can use it toentertain, or in combat to flip or move toanother position in an unexpected manner.

The skill allows one to maintain one'sbalance and equilibrium under adverseconditions, such as a narrow ledge,sloped roof, storm tossed ship's deck or aswaying rope. As a rule of thumb, anacrobat can routinely cross a distance ofunstable surface equal to 1/5 theirAcrobatics skill in meters (the specialchance). No skill roll would be requiredunless a greater distance had to be cov-ered, or conditions were particularlyadverse.

The tumbling aspects of the skill allowone to absorb and redirect the force of afall. A successful Acrobatics roll reducesfalling damage by 1D6, a special successreduces falling damage by 2D6, and acritical success reduces damage by 2D6and halves the amount of any excessdamage inflicted. Additionally, a success-ful Acrobatics roll after a fall allows anadventurer to either specify which hitlocation(s) take damage or regain a

standing or kneeling position from thefall without having to spend any addi-tional time to do so. A fumbled rollincreases falling damage by 1D6.

An optional Easy subskill, Balance,subsumes the balancing aspects ofAcrobatics, another Easy subskill,Tumble, subsumes the tumbling aspectsof Acrobatics.

BOAT (5%) Medium

[Row, Sail]

The ability to handle a small oar, paddle,or wind propelled craft. An adventurerwith a Boat skill of at least 30 can handlea craft under normal conditions. A Boatskill roll might be required to get a craftmoving in a hurried situation or at afaster than normal speed. In adverse con-ditions, such as bad weather, strongwinds, whirlpools, rapids, or shoals, aBoat skill roll would be required to keepthe boat on course. Penalties for particu-larly adverse conditions such as a stormor gale force winds might be assigned bythe gamemaster. If the roll is unsuccess-ful, the boat either goes off course ordoesn't move, depending on the situa-tion. If the roll is a fumble, disasterstrikes. An oar might be lost, the mastmight break, or the boat might runaground or overturn, as the gamemastersees fit.

An optional Easy subskill, Row, sub-sumes the oar and paddle craft aspects ofBoat, another Easy subskill, Sail, subsumesthe wind powered craft aspects of Boat.

CLIMB (30%) Easy

The skill of climbing. An adventurer witha Climb skill of at least 30 can climb wellenough to scale a slope with handholds,climb a tree with low branches, climb arope ladder, etc. As a rule of thumb, aclimber can routinely ascend a distance inmeters on a slope of 75° or less lackingsignificant handholds equal to 1/5 theirClimb skill (the special chance). No skillroll would be required unless a greaterdistance had to be covered, the slope wassteeper, or conditions were particularlyadverse.

At the gamemaster's discretion, obsta-cles like overhangs, smooth sides, an oilyclimbing surface, or adhesive powder onthe climbing surface can increase ordecrease the percentage roll needed tosuccessfully climb. Particularly longclimbs would require more than one suc-cessful roll to complete. The difficulty ofthe climb should govern the distance cov-ered by a single roll. A difficult verticalclimb might require one roll every 10meters, a 70° slope with occasional hand-holds might require one roll every 1000meters.

If the player misses the Climb roll, hisadventurer stays in one place, unable tofind appropriate hand and foot holds. Ifthe player fumbles, the adventurer falls.The consequences of a fall from a verticalor near vertical climb can be lethal (seeFalling in the Natural World), those froma less steep slope less so.

A typical climbing rate for humanoidsis 1/10 their MV score. One can increasethis rate by subtracting 10 percentilesfrom the adventurer's success chance forevery extra 10% of speed desired, not toexceed 1/5 their MV.

DANCE <Culture> (5%) Easy

The ability to move gracefully and makethe right gestures, with or without noiseor music, according to the accepted stan-dards of the culture. The greater thedancer's level of skill and degree of suc-cess, the better the dance performed. Seethe Custom skill for cultural divisionsand how the skill would default acrosscultures.

DODGE (15%) Hard

The art of getting out of the way. It is theability to be where a blow is not. Dodgingis a combat skill used to evade blows andmissiles. For more details, see Combat.

JUMP (25%) Easy

The ability to leap for height or distance,or over obstacles such as fallen bodies.Generally speaking, a successful skill rollallows the adventurer to jump his MV inmeters horizontally or up to half his MVin meters vertically with a running start.A standing start reduces this distance byhalf. A special or critical success increasesthe distance traveled slightly or results ina better landing. An unsuccessful rollmeans that the distance desired was nottraveled. A fumbled roll means that theadventurer not only did not travel thedesired distance, but landed badly, fallingwith the force equivalent to a 3-meterfall, and took that damage.

If an adventurer is falling, a normalsuccess on a Jump roll allows the playerto select the hit location on which thefalling character lands. A special successwould also reduce any falling damage by1D6, and a critical success would alsoreduce the falling damage by 2D6. Afumbled roll increases falling damage by1D6. If the fall was the result of a fum-bled Jump roll, no such roll can be made.

MANEUVER (15%) Hard

This skill covers the art of combat move-ment, engaging, disengaging and closing.Warriors, martial artists or duelists studyit. For more details, see Combat.

S K I L L S • 57

RIDE <Beast> (5%) Medium

This skill applies to riding a particulartype of mount or pack animal. It includesknowledge of handling the animal at anygait, handling the animal in combat, rid-ing gear, using it as a pack animal, andthe rudiments of caring for the animal.

Riding a horse or other riding animaltakes no skill as long as the animal goesno faster than a walk and is trained toaccept a rider. To compel the animal togo faster than a congenial amble, andstay mounted under normal circum-stances an adventurer must have a Rideskill of at least 30.

Ride skill rolls are required if a mountdoes something unexpected (bolts, shys,etc.), the adventurer wishes to make it dosomething it hasn't done before (jump abarrier, swim a river with the adventurermounted on it), or at the beginning ofeach round of combat on a mount nottrained for combat.

If the player fails the Ride skill roll, theadventurer has lost control. His playermust attempt a Ride skill roll (whichrequires using an action in melee) at theend of each melee round until the rollsucceeds at which time the adventurerregains control of the horse. A fumbleroll while the animal is out of controlmeans that the adventurer falls off, tak-ing no damage. For an adventurer ridingbareback without saddle or stirrups, anunsuccessful roll means that he falls off,taking no damage, but a fumble meansthat he was thrown off, taking fallingdamage.

A mounted adventurer's attacks andparries cannot exceed his or her Rideskill, and their Dodge skill cannot exceedhalf his or her Ride skill. Thus, an adven-turer with 94% Broadsword Attack,72% Broadsword Parry, 81% Dodge and71% Ride skill attacks and parries withhis broadsword at 71% and dodges at36% while mounted.

In general, an adventurers Ride skill ishalved when dealing with a different typeof beast. Of the common Gloranthanmounts, only horses and zebra are closeenough for the skills to be used inter-changeably. An adventurer with Ride/Horse 71% would have Ride/Zebra71 %, but a starting Ride/Sable skill ofonly 36%.

STEALTH (15%) Hard

[Hide, Sneak]

The sk i l l of r emain ing unnoticed. Itincludes the ability to use any availablecover, including shadows, vegetation,pedestrians, etc. to hide oneself from oth-ers and includes the ability to freeze inplace or move in silence to avoid alertinga foe.

If the user of the skill wishes to remainunnoticed and move at the same time,halve his or her Stealth skill.

If this skill is used in the vicinity ofothers who are not actively searching forsomeone, a simple success roll will keepthe user from being discovered. A failedroll might result in discovery. If thepotential observers are at all alert and ina position to notice, a roll of under halftheir Scan or Listen skill (whichever ismore appropriate) means they did. Afumbled roll will automatically attractthe attention of anyone in the vicinity. Ifthe others are on alert or actively search-ing for someone, use the skill vs. skillrules instead.

The gamemaster may wish to assignmodifiers for the environment and whatthe skill user is wearing or doing.Moving across a creaky floor, trying tohide in an area with insufficient cover foryour SIZ or bright lighting, running, orwearing bright or noisy armor mighthalve the user's Stealth skill, while plenti-ful cover, a distraction or a solid stonefloor might add half again skill. Thesemodifiers would be cumulative.

When setting an ambush or concealingoneself when time is not of the essence,Conceal is complementary.

An optional Medium subskill, Hide,covers only the aspects of the skill thatinvolve using cover or motionlessness toconceal oneself. Another optionalMedium subskill, Sneak, covers only theaspects of the skill that involve moving insilence.

SWIM (15%) Easy

The ability to swim. As a rule of thumb,a swimmer can routinely cross a distanceof calm water equal to his or her Swimskill in meters. No skill roll would berequired unless a greater distance had tobe covered, or conditions were particu-larly adverse. Under calm conditions, aSwim roll is necessary every time anadventurer completes a distance in metersequal to the number of percentiles of hisSwim skill. Gamemasters can assess addi-tional penalties for rough water, stormyweather, obstacles, currents, bad visibil-ity, and so on.

A failed Swim roll means that theadventurer fails to progress through thewater, in the next melee round the playermust make a successful Swim roll or hischaracter will begin to drown. If the sec-ond Swim roll is made, the adventurerrecovers and proceeds normally. A fum-bled Swim roll automatically means thatthe adventurer begins to drown.

A typical swimming rate for humanoidsis 1/4 their MV score. One can increasethis rate by subtracting 10 percentilesfrom the adventurer's success chance for

every extra 10% of speed desired, not toexceed 1/2 their MV.

<Weapon> PARRY (Varies) Varies

The skill of parrying with a particularweapon. Weapon skills are divided intocategories and groups. For example, thecategory of 1H Impaling and Slashingweapons includes the groups of 1HDagger and 1H Sword. The 1H Swordgroup includes the weapons Shortsword,Scimitar and Broadsword. An adventurerwith skill in a weapon can use all otherweapons in that group at 3/4 skill, and allother weapons in that category at 1/2 skill.

Most Parry skills are Medium skills,with the following exceptions—Shieldparries are Easy skills; any 1H Axe, 1HFlail, 1H Hammer, or 1H Mace Parry isa Hard skill; and any Parry except Shieldor Main Gauche Parry studied in an offhand (left hand if right handed and viceversa) is a Hard skill.

Communication SkillsAn adventurer uses such skills to transmitby word or gesture his thoughts anddesires to others and understand theirresponses. Good communication skillsusually leave a good impression.Communication skills are enhanced byhigh Intelligence and Appeal.

ACT (5%) Hard Hard

The ability to convincingly portrayanother. It can be used to entertain or todeceive, and it includes both verbal andnon-verbal mimicry.

If the situation is being role-played, ona success the gamemaster should give theplayer a hint as to how best to go abouthis or her impersonation, on a specialsuccess, two hints, and on a critical suc-cess exactly how best to go about theimpersonation.

BARGAIN (5%) Medium

[Beg, Bribe]

This is the skill of negotiation and trade.It can be used to trade and barter, negoti-ate with someone, ask for somethingpolitely, or offer a bribe or gift withoutblatantly offending the person.

The adventurer can use the skill to buysomething for a lower price than isasked. To use it, one must be in a posi-tion where bargaining is reasonable;bargaining for the sacred axe of aBabeester Gor temple guard is not rea-sonable. The bargainer must state theprice at which he or she wishes to pur-chase an item, and for each 10%difference in between that price and theasking price, subtracts 5% from his or

58 • S K I L L S

her Bargain skill. The success of the offeris resolved by a contest of skill vs. skill.

In any case, the person selling the itemwill almost never take a loss, no matterhow well someone bargains with him orher. As a result, the best bargain one canachieve is typically the price at which theseller bought the item. If a bargainingattempt fails, the user can increase theoffer and try again. Absurdly low offersor trivial increases to rejected offers mayoffend the party being bargained with,bringing the bargaining session to an end.

If the situation is being role-played, theskill user should make a single Bargainroll before the bargaining begins. On asuccess the gamemaster should give theplayer a hint as to how best to go abouthis or her bargaining, on a special suc-cess, two hints, and on a critical successexactly what would be his or her bestapproach to this transaction.

Evaluate skill, or a Craft skill pertain-ing to the object(s) being bargained overcan act as complementary skills.

An optional Easy subskill, Beg, coversonly the aspects of asking without givingin return, another Easy subskill, Bribe,covers only the aspects of offering moneyor other gifts to others.

INSTRUCT (5%) Hard

The skill of teaching others. See Timeand Learning for complete details.

ORATE (5%) Medium

[Intimidate, Seduce]

The skill of appealing to other's emotions.A successful orator can emotionally con-vince those he speaks to that what hesays is true. Imagine an orator as aspeaker standing before the tribal councilconvincing the tribe to go to war over animagined slight, or a captive adventurerwho appeals to the pity of his nomadcaptors to not to slaughter their captives,or an official who sways the populaceinto uniting to rebuild their devastatedcity. The skill can convince only thoseactually witnessing the oration, althoughthose convinced by it may try to convinceothers in turn, employing their own skillsof persuasion.

If the basis behind the oratory is falseor unreasonable, its effects will be mutedor temporary, as reason asserts its holdon those swayed by the oratory. If thenomads have been ordered by their chief-tain to slaughter their captives, they willprobably do so in any case, though theywill now feel pity for them. It is certainlypossible that their pity might lead themto check with their chieftain once again,ask their chieftain to spare the captives,or leave the captives to die in such amanner that they have a slight chance to

survive, but this is something thegamemaster would have to determine.

The length of time needed to employOrate might range from a brief speech orexhortation to a speech that lasts hours,depending on the quality of the oratoryand the amount of work required tounify the listeners into full agreementwith the speaker. A gamemaster may callon a player to make one Orate roll foreach point on which the adventurer needsthe agreement of people.

If the situation is being role-played, ona success the gamemaster should give theplayer a hint as to how best to appeal tohis audience with his or her oration, on aspecial success, two hints, and on a criti-cal success exactly what would be his orher best approach to the audience. Anadventurer with a higher local Renown(see Creating an Adventurer) than theaudience the skill is being used on gains afree additional hint, a benefit of his orher reputation.

An optional Easy subskill, Intimidate,covers only the aspect of appealing toother's fear through threats, whether sub-tle or overt. Another Easy subskill,Seduce, covers only the aspects of appeal-ing to other's love and sentiment throughsugared words and flattery.

PERSUADE (5%) Medium

(Debate, Fast Talk]

The skill of appealing to other's intellectand reason. A successful persuader willconvince those he speaks to that the per-suader's point of view is correct.Listeners may still deny the point of viewemotionally, but will admit that the suc-cessful persuader sounds right, and agreewith what he proposes. Typical applica-tions of Persuade would be to sell anidea, plan or concept, temporarilydeceive someone into agreeing with one,convince someone of an error, or to carryout a reasoned debate at a trial. The skillcan convince only those that actuallyhear the speaker, although those con-vinced by it may try to convince others inturn, employing their own skills of per-suasion.

Persuasion can convince someone ofthe truth of something, but the effects ofthis can not go beyond what thegamemaster considers reasonable. If thebasis behind the persuasion attempt isfalse or unreasonable, its effects may bemuted or temporary, as those convincedby the persuader will tend to quicklycome to their senses. If a wrongfullyimprisoned adventurer manages to suc-cessfully persuade a guard as to the errorof the situation the guard will beimpressed with his reasoning, but isunlikely to let the adventurer go. It is

possible that the guard would now checkwith his superior, or agree to convey amessage from the prisoner to a friendthat could help him, but this is somethingthe gamemaster would have to determine.

The length of time needed to employPersuade depends on the effect one islooking for. The skill can be used toquickly convince someone in a brief dis-cussion, but this will have a lesser ortemporary effect. The more time spentthe greater the effect or the more perma-nent it becomes. A gamemaster may callon a player to make one Persuade roll foreach point on which the adventurer needsto convince someone.

If the situation is being role-played, ona success the gamemaster should give theplayer a hint as to what point would bemost effective to make, on a special suc-cess, two hints, and on a critical successexactly what would be his or her bestapproach to convincing his or her audi-ence. An adventurer with a higher localRenown (see Creating an Adventurer)than the audience the skill is being usedon gains a free additional hint, a benefitof his or her reputation.

An optional Easy subskill, Fast Talk,covers only the aspect of temporarilyconvincing others of the fast talker'spoint of view. Another Easy subskill,Debate, can be used to slowly convinceothers through reasoned debate, but can-not be used quickly, generally taking anhour or more to take effect.

SING <Culture> (5%) Easy

The ability to make one's voice carry atune according to their culture's stan-dards of rhythm, rhyme, pitch, andharmony. Success in this skill means thatthe singer pleased the audience. Failureindicates that the singer went off key, for-got the right words, or something similar.The greater the singer's level of skill anddegree of success, the better the song per-formed. See the Custom skill for culturaldivisions and how the skill would defaultacross cultures.

SPEAK <Own Language> (50%) Medium

The ability to speak one's native lan-guage. See the table near the end of thecommunication skills for general effectsof language ability and the special func-tions of conversation, eavesdropping,and similar languages below.

SPEAK <Language> (0%) Varies

The ability to speak another language.Pidgin, trade languages and related lan-guages are easier to learn than languagesof cultures entirely different than that ofthe adventurer. See the table near the endof the communication skills for general

S K I L L S • 59

effects of language ability and the specialfunctions of conversation, eavesdrop-ping, and similar languages below.

Language skills are Medium difficultyskills, unless otherwise stated.

Language Proficiency Table

SkillLevel Result

01-14 May only communicate simple ideaslike "I want food."

15-29 May get across simple requests andlive day-to-day in the native countryof the language speakers. "Howmany moneys for leg of bison?"

30-49 Assured communication. One canspeak as well as a stupid native andget most ideas across. "But that wasonly three clacks yesterday."

50-79 Allows one to tell stories, sagas,songs, etc. Can argue and bargain aswell as any native speaker, althougha foreign speaker would retain anaccent "That bison was rottenbefore it was butchered, and itnever was worth the spit it took tohit the tax collectors eye lastmonth."

80-00 This is the language of poets,philosophers, leaders, diplomats,emissaries and others who aspire toa fluent grasp of the nation's speech."Surely the assessment for thisspecimen of decomposing proven-der could be re-evaluated inconsideration of its advanced stateof putrefaction." A foreign speakerwould speak the language withoutan accent.

SPECIAL FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGES

ConversationConversation at any one moment is anexchange of views and informationbetween two speakers. If both speakershave a skill of 50% or greater with thelanguage, there is no communicationproblem. When one or both members ofa conversation have less than 50% skill,there is a chance of misunderstanding.The chance then of successful communi-cation is the lower percentage oflanguage skill x2. In many cases thegamemaster will want to make this roll,then determine how much informationthe speakers got out of the conversationif the roll is missed. It is likely that mostof the message will get through, but keywords may be garbled.

EavesdroppingWhen an adventurer is trying to listen inon a conversation, his chance of under-standing the conversation is his percentileskill with the language. This may bemodified by distance, surrounding noise,thickness of the door he is listeningthrough, etc. If the conversation is distantor muffled, the gamemaster may call fora successful Listen roll (see perceptionskills) before the adventurer's playermakes a language roll. The gamemastershould roll the language roll if an adven-turer wants to listen in, and then relate tothe eavesdropper the gist of the conversa-tion if the roll is successful. If the rollfailed, it is likely that some portion of theconversation will be understood by theeavesdropper, but key portions may bemissed. If the roll is a fumble, thegamemaster should give the listener a dis-torted rendition of the conversation,which might put the adventurer onentirely the wrong track

Similar LanguagesIt is possible that a character may notknow a language being spoken, but doesknow a similar one which can help himfigure out what is being said.Language skills default depending ontheir degree of relationship as follows:

Similar: 1/2 skillRelated: 1/5 skillDistant: 1/10 skill

Dragon Pass LanguagesLanguages spoken in different regionsin the area of Dragon Pass and theirrelationships:

SartariteThe native language of the Sartarites. It isa Theyalan language, and is similar toother languages spoken in the HolyCountry to the south, including Esrolian,Caladran, Ditali, and Solanthi. It isrelated to Tarshite, spoken in Tarsh tothe north, and is distantly related toStormspeech, Tusk Rider, and otherTheyalan languages.

Tradetalk (Easy)A common second language in Sartar, itis the trade language of the Issaries tradercult, and is the widest known second lan-guage, spoken by humans and nonhumans across the world. It is an easylanguage to learn, but due to its simplic-ity cannot express more abstractconcepts, and thus cannot be effectivelyused beyond 50% skill. Knowing the lan-guage to higher levels can still be ofbenefit, as in distant lands Tradetalk mayvary, penalizing a foreign speaker by avarying amount, in which case higher lev-els become useful.

StormspeechSpoken by wind children, wind spiritsand the storm gods and their worship-pers, it is cult language of the Orlanthcult and a number of other storm and aircults. It is a Theyalan language, and isdistantly related to other Theyalan lan-guages and Praxian.

Swordspeech (Easy)The secret battle-language of theHumakti, primarily spoken by Humaktinitiates, or warriors and mercenariesthat served with a Humakti regiment. Itis primarily a gesture based language,and difficult to use to express conceptsnot dealing with death, swordplay, strategyor tactics. A similar language is used bythe Lunar Empire's Yanafal Tamils cult.

TarshiteThe native language of the Kingdom ofTarsh, which lies to the north of Sartarand part of the Lunar Empire. It is aTheyalan language, related to Sartarite,and distantly related to other Theyalanlanguages.

GrazelanderThe native language of the Grazers,whose lands lie to the west of Sartar.Tradetalk is also known by almost allGrazers as a second language, and com-monly used even among themselves.

EsrolianThe language of the most populous of thesix province of the Holy Country. It is aTheyalan language, with Earthtongueinfluences. It is similar to Sartarite,Caladran, Ditali, and Solanthi, and dis-tantly related to other Theyalanlanguages and Earthtongue.

DarktongueThe language of creatures of darkness,spoken by trolls, darkness spirits, insects,and invertebrates. In the region of Sartar,it is primarily spoken by the trolls ofDagori Inkarth, which lies to the north-east of Sartar, and the trolls and humansof the Troll Woods and Shadowlands,which lie to the south of Sartar. It is veryancient.

FirespeechThe language of creatures of fire, spokenby salamanders, Agimori, horses, birdsand the elusive Nargahiim. It is also thecult language of the Sun Dome templarsof the Sartar Sun Dome Temple.

Aldryami (Hard)The language of elves and their kin. Itvaries little if at all from one group ofelves to another. In the region of Sartar, itis primarily spoken by the elves of theStinking Forest, which lies to the north ofSartar. Aldryami prefer to use Tradetalkto communicate with non-Aldryami, evenwith those that speak Aldryami.

60 • S K I L L S

Beastspeech (Hard)The language of the by the beastmen ofSartar. It is primarily spoken by the cen-taurs, minotaurs and satyrs of BeastValley, which lies to the west of Sartar. Itis difficult for humans to learn. It isrelated to Baboon and distantly related tosome of the Hsunchen languages.

Draconic (Hard)Spoken by dragons, dream dragons,dragonewts and wyrms, many of whichare native to the land of Sartar. Non-dra-conic types can only learn the languagewith difficulty, as it has many non-verbalcomponents, and cannot speak it beyond25%, although their passive understand-ing of it can go beyond that. It is relatedto Old Pavic.

Tusk RiderThe native language of the Tusk Ridersof the Stinking Forest, about whom theless is said, the better. It is a Theyalanlanguage, and is distantly related to otherTheyalan languages.

Pavic LanguagesLanguages spoken in city of Pavis andthe surrounding area, including the townof Adari:

Old PavicSpoken in Pavis and Adari. The old lan-guage of the Empire of the WyrmsFriends. It is popular as a secret languageamong travelers. It is related to AuldWyrmish (Draconic), and distantlyrelated to the Pelorian FarmerLanguages.

BoatspeechThe language of the river people, spokenby fish and river people of the Zola Felriver of Prax, also known as the River ofCradles. Boatspeech is also known asRiverspeech, and is spoken by all theriver people of the world, and also usedas a common tongue by many sailors. Itis distantly related to Seaspeech andCetoi.

MostaliThe language of the Mostali, dwarfs andtheir minor created races. It is used bythe Flintnail cult of Pavis, and also spo-ken by some masons and miners as asecret language, though it sees little otheruse. It is related to no other language onGlorantha.

KraloriThe official language of the KraloriEmpire, as standardized by the mergingof sections of the 15 original languages ofthe region into a single new language byEmperor Vayobi. The Kralori Empire liesfar to the east of Pavis, but on occasionKralori traders and adventurers find theirway across the inhospitable Wastes to the

ruins of Pavis. Kralori is distantly relatedto all other Vithelan family languages,spoken only in the eastern portions ofGenertela.

Earth tongueThe language of the creatures of theearth, spoken by the Copper Peoples,gnomes, reptiles, elves and plants. It isalso spoken in earth temples, includingthe temples of Pavis and Flintnail.Earthtongue is distantly related toAldryami.

Other languages commonly spoken in thearea of Pavis include Tradetalk, Sartarite,New Pelorian, Pelorian FarmerLanguages, Esrolian, Darktongue,Aldryami, Praxian, Swordspeech andAuld Wyrmish (Draconic).

Praxian LanguagesLanguages spoken in Prax and theWastes:

PraxianThe language spoken by the Beast Ridersand Morokanth of Prax and the SableRiders of the Hungry Plateau in theLunar Empire. Various tribal dialectswith minor variations exist in Prax, butall are mutually intelligible. Praxian isdistantly related to Stormspeech and OldMantongue.

Pol JoniThe language spoken by the Pol Jonihorse riders of Prax, the beast rider's tra-ditional foes. Pol Joni is related to Pentan.

Oasis People's TongueThe native language of the oasis peopleof Prax. They often speak Tradetalk as asecond language.

BaboonSpoken by the giant baboons of Prax.They often learn Praxian as a second lan-guage. Baboon is related to Beastspeech.

Other languages spoken in the area ofPrax and the Wastes include Tradetalk(among the Zebra Riders and the PolJoni), Firespeech (among the Sun Domepeople of Sun County and the Agimori ofPrax), Pelorian farmer Languages(among the Lunar settlers in Prax),Boatspeech (along the Zola Fel river peo-ple), Earthtongue (in the Paps) andDarktongue (among the Morokanth).

Lunar Empire LanguagesLanguages spoken in the Lunar Empire:

New PelorianThe official language of the LunarEmpire and the native tongue of the Oslirriver valley people. It is related to DaraHappan and the Pelorian FarmerLanguages, and distantly related toBalazaring and Jarstic.

Pelorian Farmer LanguagesA number of related languages spoken bythe natives of Peloria. Each is similar toother Pelorian Farmer Languages, relatedto New Pelorian and Dara Happan, anddistantly related to Balazaring andJarstic.

Dara HappanSpoken in Dara Happa, and also by solarpriests and pedants. It is related to NewPelorian and the Pelorian FarmerLanguages, and distantly related toBalazaring, Jarstic and Firespeech.

CarmanianA Western language spoken in Carmania.It is similar to Loskalmi, and related tothe other Western languages.

BalazaringSpoken in Balazar and the Elder Wilds. Itis distantly related to New Pelorian, thePelorian Farmer Languages, DaraHappan, Jarstic and Firespeech.

JarsticSpoken by the tribes of Jarst. It is dis-tantly related to New Pelorian, thePelorian Farmer Languages, DaraHappan, and Balazaring.

Other languages spoken in or around theLunar Empire include Tradetalk,Tarshite, Firespeech, Riverspeech,Praxian (spoken by the Sable Riders ofthe Hungry Plateau), Darktongue,Pentan (spoken by the horse nomads ofPent and the Lunar Empire's Char-Unallies), and a number of other Theyalanlanguages of the Pelorian sub-family.

Knowledge SkillsThese skills depend on the ability of theadventurer to memorize a body ofknowledge, whether learned by rotearound a tribal campfire or deduced fromendless pedantic lectures at the GrandHospital in the Holy Country or a templeschool. They cannot be increased throughexperience, but must be trained, prac-ticed or researched. They depend on theadventurer's INT for enhancement,

LORE <Various> (0%) Varies

There are four major branches of loreskills. These are Nature Lore, whichencompasses knowledge of the livingworld, World Lore, which encompassesknowledge of the physical world, MagicLore, which encompasses knowledge ofthe magical world, and Glorantha Lore,which encompasses knowledge of the his-torical world. Hundreds of additionallores exist. In general, a Lore skill cover-ing a broad or difficult topic is a Mediumskill, a Lore skill covering a single subjectis an Easy skill.

S K I L L S • 61

An adventurer's level of skill in a Loremeasures the depth and breadth of theirknowledge regarding the subject. Thebroader the lore, the more difficult it is,and the less in depth the knowledge itencompasses. A successful roll for a par-ticular Lore means that the adventurerhas knowledge of an item or situation, oryields a useful clue or hint. A special suc-cess roll in a Lore yields twice the depthor quality of knowledge of a normal suc-cess roll, and a critical success roll meansthat the adventurer knows about as muchthat can be known about the subject.

Some sample lore skills, and thebranches they fall under:

The Living WorldEasy—<Beast>Lore, Fungus LoreMedium—Animal Lore, Elf Lore, HumanLore, Plant Lore, Troll LoreHard—Nature Lore (Hard)

The Physical WorldEasy—<Terrain> Lore, <Substance>Lore, Lock Lore, Star LoreMedium—Alchemy Lore, Machine Lore,Math Lore, Mineral Lore, Music Lore,Sky Lore, Surface World LoreHard—World Lore

The Magical WorldEasy—<Cult> Lore, <Tradition> Lore,<School> LoreMedium—God Lore, Sorcery Lore,Spirit LoreHard—Magic Lore

The Historical WorldEasy—<Area> LoreMedium—Genertela Lore, Ocean Lore,Pamaltela LoreHard—Glorantha Lore

The specific areas covered by some ofthese lores:

The Living World (Nature Lores)

NATURE LORE (0%) Hard

General knowledge of the living world,including the animals, plants, humans,major elder races, lesser elder races,freshwater life and sea life in the areaswith which the adventurer is familiar.

ANIMAL LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of animal behavior and biol-ogy. A successful Animal Lore roll canidentify an animal, suggest what to feedthe animal, tell if the animal is in goodhealth, or guess at the animal's behavior.

HUMAN LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of human biology, behaviorand psychology. A successful Human

Lore roll can identify someone's national-ity, place an accent, tell if someone is ingood health, or possibly predict how theymight behave or react in a given situation.

PLANT LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of plants and their uses. Asuccessful Plant Lore roll can identify aplant, identify medicinal or magical prop-erties, determine its edibility and tell if itis in good health. The skill is often usedby healers to identify medicinal plants, byshaman to identify magical plants, andby farmers to determine what cropswould best grow in a given region andhow to care for them.

<Beast> LORE (0%) Easy

Detailed knowledge of the biology,behavior, care and feeding of a specifickind of animal. The knowledge is ofgreater depth than that of Animal Loreor Nature Lore. For example, a success-ful Horse Lore roll would almost alwayspredict what a horse would do in a givensituation. The skill also covers closelyrelated animals, though at half skill. Anadventurer with Horse Lore could func-tion at half normal skill with respect to ahippogriff, mule, unicorn or zebra.

The Physical World (World Lores)

WORLD LORE (0%) Hard

General knowledge of the physical world,including climate, weather, geography,geological features, knowledge of the fea-tures of the six worlds and generalunderstanding of the processes of thephysical world.

ALCHEMY LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of alchemy and chemistry. Asuccessful Alchemy Lore skill roll canidentify a potion, detect a poison, suggestan alchemical solution to a problem, oridentify the ingredients required to makea particular type of potion. The skill ofactually making a particular kind ofpotion is a specific Craft <Potion> skill,but Alchemy Lore is complementary toall such skills.

MINERAL LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of geology, minerals andsoils. A successful Mineral Lore skill rollcan identify types of rock formations,determine if what glitters really is gold,check soil for fertility, determine if amine is valuable or not, or discover thebest place for a copper deposit in theregion.

<Terrain> LORE (0%) Easy

Detailed knowledge of where to findfood, water, shelter and safe passage invarying types of terrain. A successful rollsuggests the easiest pathways, keeps theadventurer from getting lost, or suggeststhe best hiding places, sources of wateror sources of food. In a city, a successfulCity Lore roll will tell where the goodand bad parts of town are, where a goodambush point is, how secure a buildingis, and so on. Various terrains includeArctic, City, Broken, Desert/Plains,Marsh, Mountain and Woods/Jungle.

<Substance> LORE (0%) Easy

Detailed knowledge regarding a particu-lar substance. The level of knowledge isof greater depth than that provided byAlchemy Lore or Mineral Lore, and is ofparticular use to a craftsman. A success-ful roll would allow one to determine thepurity of the substance, how best to workit for a given purpose, or whether thesubstance has unusual properties.

The Magical World (Magic Lores)

MAGIC LORE (0%) Hard

General knowledge of the magical world,including magic, the god plane, the spiritplane, magical creatures, and generalunderstanding of magical processes.

GOD LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of theology, mythology,divine magic and the god plane. A suc-cessful God Lore roll can identify divinemagic, identify a common divine magicspell or enchantment, identify the cult orcults to which a particular divine magicspell or enchantment belonged, recallsomething regarding a god or cult, orrecall a particular myth.

SORCERY LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of sorcery, and the naturallaws of magic that pertain to sorcery. Asuccessful Sorcery Lore roll can identifysorcerous magic, identify a common sor-cery spell, enchantment or manipulation,identify the school of sorcery to which aparticular spell, enchantment or manipu-lation belonged, recall somethingconcerning a particular school of sorcery,analyze a long duration sorcery spell orenchantment, or research a new sorceryspell, enchantment or manipulation.

SPIRIT LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of spirits, spirit magic and thespirit plane. A successful Spirit Lore rollcan identify a common spirit magic spell

62 • S K I L L S

or enchantment, identify a spirit, identifya spirit's kindred and runic associations,recall something regarding a well knownshamamic tradition, identify a placewhere the spirit plane touched upon themundane world, or tell how best toavoid, drive away, or appease a particu-lar kind of spirit.

<Cult>LORE (0%) Easy

Detailed knowledge of the theology,mythology, history and divine magic of aparticular cult. The knowledge is ingreater depth than that afforded by GodLore, and is of particular interest tomembers of the cult, as at the higher lev-els it includes information regarding thecult's inner secrets and doctrines. Theskill also covers closely related cults,though at half skill, and with little or noinformation on their inner secrets anddoctrines. An adventurer with LhankorMhy Lore could function at half normalskill with respect to the cults of the otherLightbringers, the cult of the Mistress ofthe Light of Knowledge, the cult ofIrrippi Ontor, and the Lhankor Mhycult's particular enemy, the Thanatar cult.

The Historical World (History Lores)

GLORANTHA LORE (0%) Hard

General knowledge of history, coveringthe history, legends and peoples ofGlorantha.

GENERTELA LORE (0%) Medium

Knowledge of the history, legends andpeoples of Genertela. A successfulGenertela Lore roll can recall a particularhistorical fact, recall a pertinent legend,or tell one something about a particulargroup of Genertelans.

<Area>LORE (0%) Easy

Detailed knowledge of the history, leg-ends and people of a particular area. Theknowledge is in greater depth than thatafforded by Glorantha Lore or GenertelaLore (assuming the area in question ispart of Genertela). In combination withCustom <Culture>, which covers law andcustoms, and Human Lore, which pro-vides general knowledge of humanbehavior, it would give one a thoroughunderstanding of a particular place andits inhabitants.

Many other lore skills exist.Gamemasters should feel free to developthem as they see fit.

MARTIAL ARTS (0%)

This skill makes the best use of naturalweapons. It is a discipline of the mindthat allows a character to double thedamage or effect of a natural weapon.This skill is studied by gladiators, boxers,wrestlers, pitfighters, skilled streetfightersand martial artists alike. It may take dif-ferent forms, ranging from dirtyinfighting, to knowledge of effectiveholds and chokes, to skill at targetingvulnerable areas, to the form of a fullfledged martial art, such as one of themany martial arts forms practiced in theKralori Empire. See Combat for details.

READ/WRITE <Language> (0%) Varies

With this skill, also known as R/W<Language>, an adventurer can read alanguage and write in it. The writerknows how to form written symbols sothat another literate person can readthem. Reading and writing must belearned separately for each languageknown, even if both use the same sym-bols. Unless otherwise specified, these areMedium difficulty skills. The collectionof symbols particular to a given languageis generally referred to as an alphabet orscript. An adventurer can use any collec-tion of symbols he knows to write thelanguages he can read and write, even ifit the language is not normally written inthat alphabet or script. Only someonethat was familiar with both the symbolsand the language could easily read such amessage.

If unsuccessful in reading a writtenpassage from some language, a charactercannot try again until he has been trainedfurther or researched enough to increasehis skill. It is generally a good idea for agamemaster to roll the dice for a charac-ter reading a vital manuscript, as afumbled roll will yield misinformation.

Similar LanguagesIn general, the relationships discussed inSpeak <Language> hold true forRead/Write <Language>, with a fewnotable exceptions. The Western lan-guages not only share an identicalalphabet, but use the same written lan-guage, called Western. In addition,similar languages that do not share thesame native alphabet or script do notgenerally have a default in their writtenform. Thus, although Speak Praxian andSpeak Stormtongue have a distant rela-tionship, since they do not share the samenative alphabet or script, there is no rela-tionship between R/W Praxian and R/WStormtongue. This rule does not hold forlanguages that share similar, though notidentical, alphabets or scripts, such asAuld Wyrmish and Old Pavic.

Hard Gloranthan Alphabets and ScriptsAuld WyrmishA written form of Draconic developed bythe humans of the Empire of the Wyrm'sFriends. It is a heavily modified versionof Old Pavic Script, with a number ofodd glyphs, runes and symbols added torepresent peculiar draconic concepts.Read/Write Auld Wyrmish is related toRead/Write Old Pavic.

Kralori IdeogramsThe official written language of theKralori Empire. It is based on thousandsof different symbols, each standing for aparticular idea or object, and is very diffi-cult to master. Read/Write Kralori is aHard skill.

Old Pavic ScriptThe written form of Old Pavic, the lan-guage of the former Empire of theWyrm's Friends. Read/Write Old Pavic isrelated to Read/Write Auld Wyrmish.

Pelorian CursiveVariations of this cursive script are usedby various Pelorian languages, includingNew Pelorian, some of the PelorianFarmer Languages, and Dara Happan.The original form of this script was acuneiform, and this is particularly notice-able in the variations used by DaraHappan and some of the Pelorian FarmerLanguages.

Pentan Macrame SignsA specialized form of writing used by thePentan and Pol Joni languages. It is par-ticularly well suited for tracing lineages,but cannot be used to express manyabstract concepts. Read/Write Pentanand Read/Write Pol Joni are both Easyskills.

Praxian Knot WritingThe Praxian language uses an ancientmethod of recording ancient wisdomcalled the Waha Ropes. The best-knowntype is used to record pathways by hav-ing, in a very specific order, knots whichdenote distance from chaos, criticalevents, beings, or an event from a tradi-tional myth or legend. It is not unusual tofind one or more ropes hanging at thenatural approach to an area in Prax.

SwordscriptThe written form of Swordspeech. It isparticularly well suited to the recordingof weapon techniques, strategy and tac-tics, and poorly suited to communicatingother concepts. Read/Write Swordspeechis an Easy skill.

Theyalan RunesVariations of this runic alphabet are usedby various Theyalan languages, includingSartarite, Tarshite, Esrolian and Storm-tongue. At their simplest, such as in

S K I L L S • 63

Stormtongue, the runes are primarilyused as ideograms, at their most com-plex, such as in Esrolian, the runes areused primarily as letters in an alphabet.

TradescriptThe written form of Tradetalk developedby Issaries, god of languages and commu-nication. Tradescript is particularly wellsuited to figuring and the recording oftransactions, and poorly suited to com-municating other concepts. Read/WriteTradetalk is an Easy skill.

WesternThe written language of the West, whichnot only shares a common alphabet, buta common written language as well. Aspeaker of Carmanian and a speaker ofSeshnegi, who would speak to each otherat 1/5 skill could read and write each oth-ers language with no skill penalty.

AldryamiThe written form of Aldryami is knownto few but the elves, as it primarily con-sists of growing living plants to act asrepositories for knowledge.

DarkscriptThe written form of Darktongue.Writings in it exist from before theGreater Darkness. It can be read in theabsence of light, as much of it consists ofraised bumps, lumps, indentations, roughand smooth textures, and the specificmaterial it was carved or chewed on, typ-ically stone or lead.

EarthscriptThe written form of Earthtongue. It istypically found carved in stone or clay,often in the form of tablets. Esrolian, aTheyalan language, is occasion written inthis script as well.

FirescriptThe written form of Firespeech. The dis-tinctive characters resemble nothing somuch as marks burned onto paper,though they are often carefully crafted ingold leaf. Dara Happan, a Pelorian lan-guage, is on occasion written in thisscript as well.

Mostali Alphanumeric SystemThe written form of Mostali. Parts ofit are a mystery to human scholars,particularly its numbering system,which appears to be based on onlytwo symbols.

Reasoning SkillsThese skills depend on the adventurer'sability to learn from and comprehend abody of knowledge. They depend on theadventurer's INT for enhancement.Unlike Knowledge skills, they can beincreased through experience.

CRAFT <Various> (VARIES) Varies

Crafts are skills that can be used to createobjects, create pleasing effects or other-wise accomplish a useful task. Nearly anyprofessional skill is a craft. Hundreds ofcraft skills exist.

When using a craft skill to create anobject, the result of a skill roll is sec-ondary to the level of skill, physicalabilities and time invested by the Crafter.

The gamemaster and player using acraft skill should agree on the required,on the average, to accomplish a particu-lar task. The Crafter's roll will determinethe speed at which the task is accom-plished (see Time Dependent Skills,earlier in this chapter). For large scalecraftwork one can assume that on theaverage, a Crafter with 80% skill can pro-duce twice as much, or an item of twicethe quality as a 40% Crafter.

When using a craft skill to create apleasing effect, accomplish a specifictask, or gain information related to thecraft, a regular skill roll is in order.

The base chance for a particular craftskill varies from culture to culture, butmost have a 5% base. More difficult orobscure crafts often have a 0% base.

A sampling of craft skills:

Easy—Baker, Basketweaver, Butchery,Candlemaker, Carpenter, Cobbler,Cooper, Cook, Fletcher, Mapmaking,Prepare Corpse

Medium—Administrate, Armorer,Artificer, Battle, Bowyer, Brewer, Craft<Substance>, Disguise, Farming, Fishing,Herder, Jeweler, Locksmith, Mason,Painter, Potter, Sculptor, Smith, Torture,Weaver

Hard—Artificer), Craft <Potion>,Intrigue, Refine Medicine, Shiphandling,Shipwright

Details of some craft skills:

CRAFT/Administrate (5%) Medium

The ability to coordinate the many differ-ent things needed to run an organizationlarger than a warband in a businesslikemanner. The level of skill reflects the gen-eral efficiency of the leader.

CRAFT/Artificer (0%) Hard

This is the skill of creating mechanicaldevices, such as crossbows, locks,springs, waterclocks, etc. Devise is acomplementary skill.

CRAFT/Battle (5%) Medium

The skill of functioning effectively andaccomplishing tasks in a battlefield situa-

tion. It defines the savvy and behavior ofthe adventurer in mid to large size battlesand in warfare.

CRAFT/Butchery (15%) Easy

The ability to quickly slaughter and skinan animal, identifying and removing themost edible, useful or valuable portionswhile doing the least possible damage.

CRAFT/Disguise (5%) Medium

The ability to disguise oneself by changesin costume and the use of makeup.

To disguise oneself as a specific personis at half normal skill, as this is consider-ably more difficult than a genericdisguise. Act skill governs the ability todisguise oneself by changes of posture,voice and attitude, and is complementaryto Craft/Disguise.

CRAFT/Intrigue (5%) Hard

The ability to gather sensitive informa-tion by indirect means, and apply suchinformation to its best advantage. Theskill is of great use to social climbers orthose that are active in almost any formof politics.

CRAFT <Potion> (0%) Medium

The ability to concoct a specific potion.With time and effort, the skill user carThe Crafter must provide the appropriateingredients, many of which are quiteexpensive. Some typical potions includeacid, healing potion, mineral poison,mineral poison antidote, etc. AlchemyLore is complementary to all Craft<Potion> skills.

CRAFT/Shiphandling (5%) Hard

Shiphandling allows an adventurer tosuccessfully command a ship which needsa crew of more than two. It includesaspects of navigation, sail-setting, arrang-ing watches, and the other knowledgenecessary for the master of a ship,

Many other craft skills exist.Gamemasters should feel free to developthem as they see fit.

CUSTOM <Culture> (50%/0%) Varies

[Custom <Subculture>]

Knowledge of the customs and laws of aspecific culture. This skill measures theamount of knowledge the character hasabout what is going on in a society, andhow to get along in it. This includesmajor things, such as knowing who theking is and who has a feud with whom,and minor things, like how to ask yourbrother-in-law for a favor or whether a

64 • S K I L L S

particular dish is cooked right. It alsoincludes knowledge of the manners andacceptable behavior for a specific culture.

A skill level of at least 15% preventsthe character from making gross socialblunders. A skill level of 30% or greatershows familiarity with that culture'ssocial customs (as per the language profi-ciency table under Speak <Language>).

An adventurer's level of Custom skillcan serve as a guide to the number offriends and acquaintances he or she haswithin a given culture, and can serve asthe adventurer's percentage chance ofgetting them to do a favor for him or her.

Each culture has its own Custom skill.Base skill (50%) applies to one's own cul-ture only (others have a base of 0%, butmay default to higher levels (see below)).

Every culture has subcultures, and theskill can be broken down by subculture.Some typical subcultures include High<Culture>, the culture of the nobility andupper class; Low <Culture>, the cultureof the lower and middle class; Military<Culture>, knowledge of military cus-toms; Guild <Culture>, knowledge ofguild or professional association customs,and Tribal <Culture> or Clan <Culture>,knowledge of a specific tribe or clan'scustoms. In general, Custom <Culture> isa Medium skill, and Custom <Sub-culture> is an Easy skill.

Similar CustomsCustom skills default depending on theirdegree of relationship as follows:

Similar: 1/2 skillRelated: 1/5 skillDistant: 1/10 skillAlien: No default

Dragon Pass CustomsThe relationships of some cultures in theDragon Pass area:

Sartar (Custom/Sartarite)Similar: Sartarite subcultures,

HeortlanderRelated: Tarshite, Esrolian, TheyalanDistant: Grazelander, TelmoriAlien: Dragonewt, et al.

Lunar Empire (Custom/Pelorian)Similar: Pelorian subcultures, Dara

HappanRelated: Carmanian, TarshiteDistant: Balazaring, JarsticAlien: Pentan, et al.

Pavis (Custom/Pavic)Similar: Pavic subcultures, RubbleRelated: SartariteDistant: Elf, Dwarf, Praxian, TrollAlien: Kralori, Pelorian, Pentan, et al.

Prax (Custom/Praxian)Similar: Praxian subculturesRelated: MorokanthDistant: Pol Joni, Praxian Oasis PeopleAlien: Pentan, et al.

EVALUATE (5%) Medium

With this skill you can evaluate theworth of artifacts and goods (cloth, jew-elry, art objects, etc.), and valuablenatural materials (gems, land, exotic ani-mals). If an object or substance isassociated with a Lore, the lore skill iscomplementary. An appropriate Craftskill can be complementary as well.

Failure to Evaluate means that theadventurer doesn't know the worth of anitem. A fumble with the roll means theadventurer has an entirely erroneous ideaof an item's value. This idea will be eithertoo high or too low always the directionmore inconvenient for the adventurer. Acritical success roll means that the adven-turer knows the exact worth of the objectin whatever coinage the adventurer ismost familiar.

Evaluate takes one full turn to per-form. Because the roll may conveyinformation which the adventurer shouldnot know, the gamemaster should alwaysmake this roll for the player.

FIRST AID (15%) Easy

This skill imparts a basic knowledge ofwhat to do to help an injury or shockvictim, and how to use materials at handfor that purpose.

When treating a victim of an injury orshock, a successful First Aid roll after afull melee round of treatment will stabi-lize the victim's condition. The victimwill not lose more hit points from bleed-ing and will not die if at death's door. Ifunsuccessful, the user may try again inone full melee round later, but the patientwill meanwhile suffer any ill effects thatwould normally occur.

A successful roll First Aid roll after tenfull melee rounds of treatment will eitherheal damage taken, bring a victim out ofshock, or rouse an unconscious patient,as the user desires. If healing damage, asuccess at the end of that time heals 1D3hit points of damage to the patient, a spe-cial success heals 2D3 damage points,and a critical success heals 1D3+3 dam-age points.

First Aid can only be used successfullyonce against injury to a specific hit loca-tion, but it may be tried again and againuntil successful. However, a fumble withthe skill will cause 1D3 damage to therecipient, and no further attempts may bemade to fix that injury by that First Aiduser.

If using First Aid on a living creaturewith an unfamiliar anatomy, halve theskill of the user.

PHYSICIAN (5%) Hard[Treat Disease, Treat Poison]

The skill of diagnosing and treating dis-eases and poisons.

When dealing with a disease, successfuluse of this skill doubles a victim's chanceof success at his or her next diseaserecovery CON roll. A critical successtriples the next chance of success, a fum-ble halves the next chance of success.Victims of acute, terminal or serious dis-eases must get constant care to get thisbonus. Victims of mild diseases only needattention one day per week.

When dealing with poisons, successfuluse of this skill purges the victim of 2D6POT of poison, a special roll purges 4D6POT, and a critical success purges all ofthe poison. A fumble halves the victim'schance of resisting the poison. The skillattempt must be begun before damagehas been taken. A skill roll can beattempted only once per poisoning, andtakes 10 melee rounds to complete.

The medium difficulty subskills ofTreat Disease and Treat Poison handleonly the disease or poison treatmentaspects of the skill.

<Low Sorcery> SPELL (0%) Easy

The ability to cast a particular LowSorcery spell. See Sorcery for details.

<High Sorcery> SPELL (0%) Varies

The ability to cast a particular HighSorcery spell. Generally only available tosorcerers. See Sorcery for details.

Magic SkillsThese skills are used either to enhance orto create magical effects. They depend onINT, POW, and DEX. They cannot beincreased through experience or practice,but must be trained or researched.

CEREMONY <Type> (5%) Medium

The skill of ceremonial magic. Used toperform ceremonies, or to rituallyenhance the casting of spells. One type ofskill covers a particular form of magic.Ceremony/Spirit, Ceremony/Divine andCeremony/Sorcery are the three mostcommon forms of the skill. Eachenhances the casting of its form of magiconly. Ceremony/Spirit and Ceremony/Divine default to each other at 1/2 skilland to Ceremony/Sorcery at 1/5 skill (andvice versa).

Some ritual Ceremony spells requirethat the caster roll under his or her

S K I L L S • 65

Ceremony skill to succeed. This is notedin the individual spell descriptions.

The most common use of Ceremony isto enhance the chance of successfullycasting a spell. The more additional timethe spell's caster spends casting the spell,the greater the benefit (see the tablesbelow). Ceremony can be used toenhance the casting of ritual spells aswell, but the time required is greater.

Ceremony TableSpell Casting

Extra Time Add

melee roundturnfull turnhourdayweekseasonyear

7 years49 years

1/10 of Ceremony skill2/10 of Ceremony skill3/10 of Ceremony skill4/10 of Ceremony skill5/10 of Ceremony skill6/10 of Ceremony skill7/10 of Ceremony skill8/10 of Ceremony skill9/10 of Ceremony skillFull Ceremony skill

Ritual Spell Casting

Extra Time Add

RANGE (0%) Hard

A skill known only by sorcerers, used toincrease the range of sorcery spells. SeeSorcery for details.

SPIRIT COMBAT (0%) Medium

A skill known only by shaman or mem-bers of certain cults, typically used tofight spirits. It enhances one's abilities inSpirit Combat. See Spirit Magic fordetails.

SPIRIT DANCE (0%) Medium

A skill known only by shaman, whichallows them to maneuver quickly andeffectively while in the spirit plane. It istypically used to avoid and evade hostilespirits. See Spirit Magic for details.

SPIRIT SENSE (0%) Medium

A skill known only by shaman or mem-bers of certain cults, typically used tosense the presence of spirits.

Normally one cannot sense the pres-ence of a disembodied spirit (nor can thespirit sense an embodied creature). WithSpirit Sense, a special success will sensethat a spirit is in the area. If using theSecond Sight spell or a shamanic SecondSight ability, a normal success will sensethe presence of the spirit. One only sensesthe presence of the spirit—no informa-tion is gained, even using Second Sight,unless the spirit manifests itself or ashaman discorporates to take a look atthe spirit in the spirit plane.

Note that spirits use this skill to sensethe presence of mundane creatures. Ifhostile, curious, or friendly, they mightthen manifest. A neutral spirit probablywill not bother to manifest itself. Notethat no roll is required to notice a mani-fested (visible) spirit, and Second Sightcan tell an embodied user somethingabout a manifested spirit's aura.

SPIRIT SPEECH (0%) Medium

A skill known only by shaman and mem-bers of certain cults, typically used tocommunicate with spirits. One cannotcommunicate with disembodied or mani-fested (visible) spirits unless one uses aspell such as Mindspeech, or has thisskill. When speaking to spirits in thismanner, one's communications skills arelimited to the lower of the communica-tion skill or Spirit Speech skill.

SPIRIT TRAVEL (0%) Medium

A skill known only by shaman, whichthey use to discorporate and travel thespirit plane, where they hunt spirits. SeeSpirit Magic for details.

SUMMON <Type> (0%) Hard

A skill used in conjunction with certainspells to summon beings not of the mun-dane world. Summon/Spirit andSummon/Divine are the most commonforms of the skill. They default to eachother at 1/2 skill. Summon/Sorcery exists,but simply acts as a complementary skillto all sorcery summoning spell skills. SeeMagic for details.

Manipulation SkillsManipulation skills are those requiringfine hand control. Unlike agility skills,they depend as much on INT as DEX,nor is STR as important

BRAWL (30%) Medium

[Brawl Attack, Brawl Parry]

The skill of unarmed striking and block-ing. It is used to punch, kick, gouge, headbutt, or otherwise strike foes, and defendoneself from their blows. It can be usedto both attack and parry. See Combat fordetails.

An Easy subskill, Brawl Attack, coversonly the striking aspects of the skill,while another Easy subskill, Brawl Parry,covers only the blocking and parryingaspects of the skill.

CONCEAL (5%) Medium

With this skill an object can be concealedso that it may be found only with aSearch skill roll. The object may be ofany size, and the act of concealing can beas simple as putting it into a drawer or ascomplex as rigging a false floor for achest. The object may be of any size, evenas large as a war machine or a horse.Gamemasters must be prepared to mod-ify this roll for the SIZ of the concealedobject or any special knowledge thesearcher might have.

The Conceal skill can be used in anyarea, outside or inside, to find a hidingplace (either natural or constructed) foran object. It is assumed that anyonewatching while the object is concealedcan later find the object. While the timeto conceal an object will depend on theobject and facilities for concealment, as aguide the gamemaster may use a timescale of one melee round per SIZ point tobe concealed to determine time spent onconcealment.

DEVISE (5%) Medium

[Lockpick, Mechanician]

This is the skill of repairing, assemblingand disassembling equipment, gear andmachinery, including clocks and mechan-ical traps. Actually crafting the individual

hourdayweekseasonyear

1/10 of Ceremony skill2/10 of Ceremony skill3/10 of Ceremony skill4/10 of Ceremony skill5/10 of Ceremony skill

etc.

DURATION (0%) Hard

A skill known only by sorcerers, used toenhance the duration of sorcery spells.See Sorcery for details.

ENCHANT <Type> (0%) Hard

A skill used in conjunction with certainspells and the sacrifice of POW to createenchanted or magical items. Enchant/Divine and Enchant/Spirit are the mostcommon forms of the skill. They defaultto each other at 1/2 skill. Enchant/Sorceryexists, but simply acts as a complemen-tary skill to all sorcery enchanting spellskills. See Spirit Magic, Divine Magic orSorcery for details.

INTENSITY (0%) Medium

The skill of manipulating the intensity ofsorcery spells. It is studied by those thatuse sorcery. See Sorcery for details.

MULTISPELL (0%) Hard

A skill known only by sorcerers, used tocast multiple sorcery spells. See Sorceryfor details.

66 • S K I L L S

components that make up the item is therealm of Craft skills. Devise includes theability to defeat locks and to open andrestore seals.

A set of appropriate tools (lockpicksfor picking a lock, appropriate tools forassembly and disassembly, appropriatetools and material for repairs) allows fora normal chance of success. If the adven-turer uses crude tools (metal scraps, wire,a piece of a buckle, a dagger, a knife),halve the chances of success. If the adven-turer has inadequate or improvised tools(twigs, or tools of the wrong size), reducechances for success to one-fourth normal.

Devise typically takes at least onemelee round per SIZ point of machine fordisassembly, and one full turn per SIZpoint for assembly. Using Devise to picka lock typically takes from 1 melee roundto one turn, depending on the complexityof the lock. If the initial roll fails, theadventurer can make a second try at halfskill, then a third at one-fourth skill andso on. A fumble jams a lock or mecha-nism, and no further tries can succeed.Simple mechanisms may add to thechance for success, and complex mecha-nisms may subtract from the chance ofsuccess.

Craft/Artificer is complementary toDevise. Lock Lore is complementary toDevise when dealing with locks.

An Easy subskill, Lockpick, coversonly the lockpicking aspects of Devise.Another Easy subskill, Mechanician, cov-ers only the skills of repairing, assemblingand disassembling machinery.

DRIVE <Vehicle> (5%) Easy

This skill covers the handling of anycommon beast of burden or team ofbeast pulling a vehicle, including carts,plows, dogsleds, wagons, and chariots.Driving a chariot or fast wagon underrace or battle conditions requires twohands, and using only one hand reducesthe Drive skill by 20%. If both hands aretaken from the task, then the vehicle isdriverless, and careens wherever thehorses take it. When a person attacksfrom a moving vehicle, his attack per-centage cannot exceed the Drive skill ofthe driver.

Three types of common Drive<Vehicle skills exist—Chariot, Cart(two-wheeled slow vehicle), and Wagon(four-wheeled slow vehicle). Other, moreexotic vehicles also exist, such ascoaches, Lunar Moon Boats or the sail-wagons of central Pamaltela.

The Drive roll need only be madewhen a vehicle is involved in a race orgets stuck somehow. If a vehicle is stuck,a successful Drive skill frees it. Seriousbogging-downs, such as having driven awagon right into the middle of a pond,

will cause penalties to the Drive skill roll.Similar Drive skills default to each otherat 1/2 skill.

GRAPPLE (15%) Medium

[Grapple Attack, Grapple Parry]

The skill of unarmed grappling andwrestling. The skill may be used toattack, with variable effects, or to parry.See Combat for details.

An Easy subskill, Grapple Attack, cov-ers only the attacking aspects of the skill,while another Easy subskill, GrappleParry, covers only the defensive aspectsof the skill.

PASS (15%) Medium

[Catch, Throw]

The ability to catch, drop and throwobjects.

A palm-sized object may be thrownone handed up to five meters for everySTR point which an adventurer exceedsits SIZ. A head-sized object may bethrown two handed up to one meter forevery STR point which an adventurerexceeds its SIZ and one handed up tohalf a meter for every STR point whichan adventurer exceeds its size. A torso-sized object can be thrown two handedup to half a meter for every STR pointwhich an adventurer exceeds its SIZ. Ifthe thrown object is unbalanced or awk-ward, or is thrown upwards, halve theabove distances.

The Pass skill is used to hit a targetwith a casual object. Hitting a target withthe right pan of an object designed to bethrown, such as the blade of a throwingknife or the point of a javelin, calls forthe ability skills of throwing thoseweapons.

A palm sized rock typically has a SIZof 1 or 2, and does 1D3 damage. A headsized rock typically has a SIZ of 3 to 6,and does 1D6 damage. A torso sized rocktypically has a SIZ of 7 to 12, and does2D6 damage.

If the object is dropped or thrownfrom a height, multiply the damage doneby one for every 3 meters of height it fell(1 to 3 m, normal damage; 4 to 6 m dou-ble damage; 7 to 9 m, triple damage,etc.). For a thrown object, subtract 1 per-centile of Pass skill for every meter inexcess of 20 meters it is thrown. For adropped object, subtract 1 percentile ofPass skill for every meter it falls.

An adventurer with this skill mayattempt to catch any object he can throw(using the guidelines above for throwingobjects). In combat, this requires theexpenditure of a miscellaneous action.Regardless of the success or failure of theattack (the attack may hit and do dam-

age), if the catcher is not incapacitated bythe attack, a normal success will catchmost thrown weapons, a special successwill catch an arrow or shuriken, and acritical success will catch a crossbowbolt, sling stone or sling bullet. If theattack fumbled, it is not likely theweapon went anywhere near the catcher,but if the gamemaster decides it did soanyway, use the half the catcher's skill asabove.

An Easy subskill, Catch, covers onlythe catching aspects of Pass. AnotherEasy subskill, Throw, covers only thethrowing and dropping aspects of Pass.

PLAY <Instrument> (0%) Varies

With this skill a specific type of musicalinstrument can be used to give a pleasingperformance. Failure indicates that theperformer used the wrong chords, forgotthe notes to play, dropped the instru-ment, etc. The greater the player's level ofskill and degree of success, the better thepiece performed.

Some instruments are unique to a par-ticular cultures, some are used by morethan one culture. The cultural defaultsfrom Custom <Culture> may apply toinstruments as well, particularly in dis-tant or alien cultures.

Some commonly used instruments inthe Dragon Pass area (Medium difficultyskill unless otherwise stated):

SartarBagpipes (Hard), Bugle (Easy), Bullroarer(Easy), Drum (Easy), Harp, Lur Horn,Pipes, Rattle (Easy), Sticks (Easy),Whistle (Easy), Windharp

Lunar EmpireCymbals (Easy), Flute, Harp, Lute, Lyre,Pipes, Two-sticks (Easy)

PavisDrum (Easy), Harp, Flute, River Pipes,Troll Drum

PraxPraxian Drum (Easy), Rattle (Easy),Bones (Easy)

SLEIGHT (5%) Medium

[Juggle, Pickpocket]

The skill of manipulating small objectsand of misdirection. An adventurer witha high skill in Sleight will do well withshell games, card tricks, and pickingpockets.

The skill allows one to take a smallobject without being noticed while beingwatched, and includes the ability to pickpockets, cut purses, and otherwise relievea victim of small valuables without beingnoticed. A successful simple success rollmeans that the user accomplishes his orher purpose with no complications if no

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one watching him attempts a Scan roll atthe same time. If someone watchingattempts a Scan roll, use the skill vs. skillrules to see if the watcher noticed.

The skill also allows one to manipulatesmall objects, and includes the ability tocatch, throw and juggle small balancedor unbalanced items. It can act as a com-plementary skill when throwing a knifeor other small, unbalanced weapon.

An Easy subskill, Juggle, covers onlythe juggling aspects of Sleight. AnotherEasy subskill, Pickpocket, covers only thepickpocketing aspects of Sleight.

TRAP (15%) Medium

[Disarm Trap, Set Trap]

The skill of setting and disarming traps.This ability encompasses all forms ofpits, snares, tripwires, deadfalls, nets andsimple mechanical traps.

The skill of Devise is more appropriatefor setting complex mechanical traps,although in this case Trap would be com-plementary. Trap could still be used todisarm a complex mechanical trap(though not disassemble it).

Trap is complementary to Search whensearching for traps. Devise is complemen-tary to Trap when dealing withmechanical traps.

An Easy subskill, Disarm Trap, coversonly the trap disarming aspects of Trap.Another Easy subskill, Set Trap, coversonly the trap setting aspects of Trap.

<Weapon> ATTACK (Varies) Varies

The skill of attacking with a particularweapon. Weapon skills are divided intocategories and subcategories. For exam-ple, the category of 1H Impaling andSlashing weapons includes the subcate-gories of 1H Dagger and 1H Sword. Thecategory of 1H Sword includes theweapons Shortsword, Scimitar andBroadsword. An adventurer with skill ina weapon can use all other weapons inthat subcategory at 3/4 skill, and all otherweapons in that category at 1/2 skill. MostAttack skills are Medium skills, with thefollowing exceptions—Crossbow, Knife,Throw, and Tools are Easy skills, Atlatl isa Hard skill, and any Attack studied inan off hand (left hand if right handedand vice versa) is one level more difficult,typically a Hard skill.

Perception SkillsWith a perception skill, an adventurercan extract specific information from oneor more senses and intelligently organizeit. The characteristic modifiers are INTand CON

LISTEN (25%) Medium

This skill is both the ability of listeningintently for sound where one would notnormally hear it and the ability to pickup incidental sounds and interpret themcorrectly, even when not consciouslysearching for them. Trying to hearthrough a door or down a long corridor,or being awakened by the stealthy open-ing of a window are examples of Listensituations. The gamemaster often willnegatively modify this skill roll for spe-cial circumstances or use the skill vs. skillrules to determine if someone Sneakingwas heard. Successful use of this skillmight take any length of time, from a fullturn to no time at all, depending on thecircumstances.

SCAN (30%) Medium

With Scan an adventurer can observe anarea for anomalous movement. Guardsand scouts, for instance, will study ter-rain for approaching enemies. Thechance of a successful Scan roll can bedecreased by intervening terrain. Scancan also be used to determine if some-thing has changed in terrain with whichthe Scanner is already familiar. Scan takesone melee action per 90-degree arcscanned. The Scan skill is reduced by halffor every extra 90-degree arc which theadventurer attempts to scan in the sameaction.

SEARCH (30%) Medium

Using Search, an adventurer can closelyscrutinize an area to find a Concealeditem, a person using Hide, or even asmall object hidden with a Sleight roll.This skill can reveal secret passageways,traps, or hidden drawers in chests. Searchoften involves handling items and riskinglife and limb while tracing the exactparameters of a trap. Search takes at leastone melee round per 4-square-meter areasearched.

TRACK (5%) Medium

With this skill a living being can betrailed through wilderness and ruralfarming areas. A tracker follows traceswhich the quarry leaves behind, such asfootprints, droppings, disturbed vegeta-tion, etc. The skill includes such things asknowledge of how certain animalsbehave when trying to elude pursuers,and the tricks used to cover trails.

When on the trail of something orsomeone, a Track roll must be made *every two full turns (ten minutes) ofgame time. If the trail is lost, the trackermay cast about to see if he can pick it upagain at half his normal Track ability,then at one fourth normal Track skill,

etc. Each attempt to pick up the trailagain takes one full turn, plus any timespent retracing one's step to the placewhere a trail may have diverged. Eachday or fraction thereof that the trail iscold, subtract 20 additional percentilesfrom the tracker's ability. If the personbeing tracked was actively trying to con-ceal their tracks, match Track vs. Trackin a contest of skills.

Unusual senses

FEEL (0%) Hard

The ability to find and identify somethingby touch alone. The skill can be comple-mentary to Search, when using touch aswell as sight. This skill is a Hard skill forhumans. It is a Medium skill for dwarfsand trolls, with a base of 30%.

SCENT (0%) Hard

The ability to notice, discriminatebetween, and identify things using one'ssense of smell. The skill is a Hard one forhumans. It a Medium skill forDragonewts and Wyrms, with a base of30%.

TASTE (0%) Hard

The ability to notice, discriminatebetween, and identify things using one'ssense of taste. It can detect some poisonsin food or drink. The skill is a Hard onefor humans. It is a Medium skill fortrolls, with a base of 30%.

Nonhuman SensesThe nonhuman sense of Darksense(trolls), Earthsense (dwarfs) and Elfsense(elves) are described in further detail inthe creatures section. They funct ioninstead of, or in addition to the humanspecific perception skills described here.

Darksense is a form of sonar,Earthsense is a heat and air current sense,and Elfsense is a touch based emotionalsense.

A troll would know Darksense/Scanand Darksense/Search (medium skills fora troll, impossible for humans to learn),but might learn Visual/Search orVisual/Scan as well (though they are hardskills for a troll).

Other skills may vary in difficulty fora nonhuman as well. Visual/Search andVisual/Scan are also hard skills for dwarfsand other Mostali.

As time passes, adventurers grow and develop. Their skills, physical attributes and magical aptitude willincrease. An adventurer can increase in skills and magical prowess through experience, and also increaseskills or characteristics through training, practice, research, or magic. An adventurer can spend his free time

studying, socializing, or taking on duties. Each option has specific benefits on the adventurers development as a personor as a member of a society.

TIMETime in GloranthaA year is the time it takes the Sky Dome to complete anentire revolution, or 294 days and nights.

A day is the time needed for the sun to traverse the skyfrom east to west.

A night is the time needed for the sun to traverse theunderworld from west to east.

Time in GenertelaTwenty four hours make up one day and night, alsoknown as a full day.

Seven full days make up a week.In most of Genertela eight weeks (56 full days) make

up one season. The first season of the year is Sea Season,followed by Earth Season, then Fire Season, then DarkSeason, and finally Storm Season.

Five seasons and a two week period called SacredTime, which follows Storm Season, or forty two weeks,make up one year.

Game TimeAn hour is a period of 60 minutes equal to 12 full turns, or60 turns.

A full turn is a period of 5 minutes, equal to five turnsor 50 melee rounds. A full turn also equals the time ittakes a temporal battle magic spell to expire.

A turn is a period of 1 minute, equal to 10 meleerounds, and is a commonly used interval of game time (forchecking short term fatigue, using skills, etc.).

A melee round is a flexible period generally rangingfrom 3 to 12 seconds, the time required to plan and exe-cute a single set of actions in combat. For game purposes,an average melee round is assumed to last 6 seconds.

LEARNING BY EXPERIENCEAs time passes, adventurers will have opportunities toincrease their skills and magical aptitude through the useof their skills and magic.

Increasing Skills by ExperienceWe recommend two systems for tracking skill gain byexperience. The first system is requires less effort on thegamemaster's part and allows for a more equitable distrib-ution of experience gains. The second allows for morecontrol on the gamemaster's part, but can easily result inargument or inequitable distributions of experience gains.

End of Adventure ExperienceWith this method, the gamemaster simply issues eachadventurer a number of experience rolls at the end of anadventure session.

We recommend issuing 5 experience rolls for anadventure that lasted a week of game time. Shorter adven-tures should result in fewer rolls, longer adventures, morerolls. Gamemasters that prefer faster or slower rates ofgain can vary this amount, but overly varying the rate willmake either experience or study worthless. Unless anadventurer has for some reason not been able to partici-pate in an adventure, the same number of rolls should begiven to every adventurer in a party.

Note that on occasion a gamemaster may wish tospecify a skill or skills in which an experience roll shouldbe made. This can be in addition to, or instead of one ormore of the regular experience rolls granted. For example,if the adventurers spent a week riding, with an adventureoccurring along the route, the gamemaster might issue allthe adventurers a Ride experience roll and 4 other rolls.

Players can use these experience rolls to attempt toincrease any skills their adventurers used during the course

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of an adventure. Although this generally means a skill thatwas rolled for in a situation that was stressful or otherwiseconducive to learning, some skills, such as Scan, Search, orListen, can be assumed to be in constant use by an alertadventurer, even if no rolls were made for them during thecourse of the adventure. With this method, the responsi-bility for keeping track of what skills were used by anadventurer falls on the adventurer's player. Note thatMagic and Knowledge skills cannot be increased by expe-rience. The mechanics of experience gain are describedbelow.

Skill ChecksWith this method, the gamemaster must keep track ofwhen and how player's adventurers use their skills. If anadventurer uses a skill in a situation that is stressful, orotherwise p a r t i c u l a r l y conducive to learning, thegamemaster instructs the player to place a check next tothe skill. No checks should be issued for Magic or Know-ledge skills, as they cannot be increased by experience.

The gamemaster should consider a number of factorsbefore issuing a check for a skill. In general, skill checksshould be issued only when something occurs that wouldcause the adventurer to learn from using the skill. Thisincludes exceptional conditions, exceptional used of theskill, or use of the skill in stressful situations. Typicalstressful situations include combat, hiding from enemies,operating under time pressure. An average success, even ina situation of stress, is generally not worth a check, unlessthe situation was exceptionally dangerous. A critical suc-cess or a fumble are generally worth a check, unless thesituation or use of the skill was trivial (attacking a helplesstarget, taking an hour to pick a lock, etc.). Finally,gamemaster should take the difficulty of the skill intoaccount. Easy skills should require half the effort ofmedium skills to be rewarded a skill check, and hard skillsshould take twice the effort to be rewarded a skill check.

The gamemaster is the final arbiter of the rate atwhich skill checks are issued, but if checks are issued moreoften than not when skills are used, or for trivial uses of askill the rate of skill gain will become disproportionatelyhigh, reducing the challenge of the game. Likewise, givingout too few checks will deprive player's of the experienceof watching their adventurer's grow and learn. It is thetask of the gamemaster to strike a happy medium betweenthe two extremes.

At the end of the adventure session, the adventurer'splayer makes experience rolls for each checked skill. Themechanics of experience gain are described below.

Mechanism of Experience GainRegardless of which of the systems is used, the basicmechanism of experience gain remains the same. Subtractthe adventurer's current level of skill from 100, add theappropriate skill category modifier, and try to roll lessthan or equal to that number on percentile dice. If the rollsucceeds, the adventurer gains 1D6 percentiles in thatskill. It is possible to increase above 100 percentiles in a

skill in this manner, although adventurers with a negativeskill category modifier will find that they increase little ifat all above 100 percentiles in skills in that category.

The adventurer's chance to succeed in the roll cannever drop below his skill category bonus. Thus an adven-turer with 104% Jump skill and a 11% Agility bonus willhave an 11% chance to succeed, not a 7% chance. Asalways with simple success rolls, a roll of 01-05 is an auto-matic success, and a roll of 96-00 is an automatic failure.

The number of experience gain rolls an adventurermakes is determined by the method of experience gainused (see below). Magic and Knowledge skills cannot beincreased by experience, they must be t rained orresearched (see below).

End of Adventure ExperienceAt the end of an adventure, a single issued experience rollgain roll can be used to try to increase a medium skill ortwo easy skills, half an issued experience roll gain roll canbe used to try to increase a single easy skill, and two issuedexperience gain rolls can used to try to increase a hardskill. Thus, an adventurer that was issued five experiencegain rolls can use them to make experience gain rolls forone hard skill, two medium skills, and two easy skills, orsome other combination of skills. Once an experience gainroll is used, it is gone. A particular skill can only beincreased once at the end of any given adventure.

A single experience gain roll or half an experiencegain roll can be saved for later use (if a player has half aroll left but no easy skills he wished to increase, or has asingle roll left but wishes to increase an easy skill). Thisleftover amount should be noted on the character sheet,and used the next time experience gain rolls are issued bythe gamemaster.

Skill Check ExperienceAt the end of the adventure, a single experience gain roll ismade for each checked skill (the skills difficulty shouldhave already been taken into account by the gamemasterin issuing the skill check). As soon as roll is made for askill, its check is erased, regardless of the success or failureof the experience gain roll.

Increasing Magical Power Through ExperienceThe use of magic and engaging in magical activity canresult in an adventurer's magical power increasing,reflected by a possible increase in the adventurer's POWdetermined by a POW gain roll. The gamemaster shouldissue POW gain rolls to adventurer's players every few ses-sions of play, the exact frequency varying with theadventurer's level of magical activity.

We recommend that adventurers that make significantuse of magic or often engage in magical activities or strug-gles be issued 10 POW gain rolls a year, or in Glorantha,one POW gain roll every four weeks. This level of activityreflects frequent spellcasting, frequently overcoming foe'sdefensive POW, extensive use of ritual magic, frequentsacrifice of POW and use of MP, and engaging in spirit

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combat. A particularly active sorcerer or shaman may fallinto this category.

Adventurers that occasionally cast spells or engage inmagical activities or struggles should be issued 5 POWgain rolls a year, or in Glorantha, one POW gain roll everyseason. The vast majority of adventurers will fall into thiscategory.

Adventurers that almost never cast spells or engage inmagical activities should be issued at most 1 or 2 POWgain rolls a year, typically following a High Holy Day cer-emony or at the conclusion of the Sacred Time ceremonies.

The gamemaster is free to vary the rate of gain, but heshould keep in mind that on average, an adventurer mak-ing 10 POW gain rolls a year will gain 4 POW a year(assuming a starting POW of 13), and the same adventurermaking 5 POW gain rolls a year will gain 2 POW a year,which is a fairly significant rate—at this rate even a mod-erately magically active initiate can sacrifice for enoughdivine magic to qualify for the priesthood in 4 years time.

Mechanism of Power GainA POW gain roll is made by subtracting an adventurer'scurrent POW from his or her species maximum POW (21for humans), multiplying the resulting number by 5, andattempting to roll less than or equal to the number on per-centile dice. A successful roll will increase the adventurer'sPOW by 1 point.

For human adventurers, the POW gain roll can besummarized as:

(21 - Current POW) x 5%.

As always, a roll of 01-05 is an automatic success, and aroll of 96-00 automatically fails. It is possible for a humanto increase their POW beyond 21 with a roll of 01-05.

ALLOCATING TIMEAdventurers can spend their time in a number of ways.Among them are duties, socializing, practice, training andresearch. The way an adventurer decides to allocate his orher time will govern whether they gain in wealth, status,friends and associates, skills, physical attributes or magic.

Adventurers should allocate the time they normallyspend each week among days spent on duties, socializing,training, practice, or research.

ExampleA typical week for a would be adventurer holding down afull time job in Pavis might be: 5 days of duties (a full timejob. He uses 1 day out of 5 to practice a job related skill,Craft/Masonry—see Duties and Practice); 1 day of social-izing (going out with friends, talking to people—seeSocializing) and 1 day of training (weapons work with thelocal blademaster, costing a pretty penny—see Training).

The segmentation into days is just an abstraction—in real-ity, the adventurer would mix various parts of this into theway they spent each day. In the case of the would beadventurer above, it simply means that he spent 4/7 of his

free time on duties, 1/7 of his free time practicing, 1/7 of hisfree time socializing, and 1/7 of his free time training.

An adventurer is assumed to have 10 hours of freetime a day (time not spent eating, sleeping, attending tobodily functions, resting or otherwise wasted). Thus, if anadventurer only spends a few hours of free time doingsomething it counts as 1/10 of a "day" per hour spent.

DutiesDuties represent time spent working for a salary, attendingto cult duties, or otherwise spending one's time not social-izing, training, practicing or doing research.

A full time job occupies at least 5 days a week of anadventurer's time, while a part time job will typicallyrequire 1 to 4 days a week of work.

One out of every five days spent working on a job canbe used to practice a job related skill or characteristic orfor job related socializing.

An adventurer holding down a full time job will drawa salary appropriate for his level of skill and the hazards ofthe job (see Economics). An adventurer holding down apart time job will receive a correspondingly lower salary(1/5 to 4/5 the full time job's salary, depending on the num-ber of days per week worked). Membership in some cults(or other organizations) requires that an adventurerdevote 1 day a week of duties to the organization's inter-ests. Functioning as a tribal shaman, priest or rune lord ofa cult is a full time job. Acting as an acolyte of a cult is apart time job.

Volunteering for additional duties is a way to increaseone's salary or build up one's status within an organiza-tion. If working overtime, 6 days a week of work dutiesincrease one's full time salary by 1/5, and 7 days a week ofwork duties increase one's full salary by 2/5. Gamemastersshould take into account any weekly time an adventurerhas spent engaged in voluntary duties when an adventurerattempts to advance in an organization. An initiate seek-ing acceptance as an acolyte of a cult would have a muchgreater chance of success if he or she had devoted two daysa week of voluntary duties to the cult for the past year.

SocializingTime spent socializing yields friends and contacts. Mostpeople devote at least one day a week to socializing. Anadventurer that does not spend at least one day a weeksocializing will have few or no friends or contacts.

As a guideline, the number of contacts an adventurercan maintain can be calculated by dividing the adven-turer's Custom skill for the area by 20 and multiplying thisnumber by the number of days a week spent socializing.Thus a Sartarite clansman with 63% Custom/Sartariteskill that spends 2 days a week socializing would have 6contacts (63/20 = 3, 3 x 2 = 6). One can choose to main-tain a friend instead of 2 contacts or an ally instead of 4contacts. In general, a contact will be willing to lend assis-tance in a given situation if the adventurer succeeds in anAPP x1 roll, a friend will help on an APP x3 roll, and anally will help on an APP x5 roll.


Contacts, allies and friends should be developed bythe player and the gamemaster. They are NPCs run by thegamemaster, with their own lives and problems to dealwith. Calling upon them without reciprocating in turn is agood way to lose them. Generally the more powerful oruseful the friend, ally or contact, the less influence overthem the adventurer has. An adventurer can exert a fairamount of influence over a friend, ally or contact of lowerWealth or Renown, some influence over a friend, ally orcontact of equal Wealth or Renown, and little influenceover a friend, ally or contact of higher Wealth or Renown.

Having friends and contacts can be very helpful whentrying to find out something, or when a favor is needed.The lone Humakti adventurer who spent his free timetraining his weapon skills will be forced to rely only uponthem if he must suddenly take on a rescue mission. Themore social Orlanthi adventurer could, on the other hand,cal l on the assistance of the Wind Lord and the twoweaponthanes he knows in the same situation.

TrainingThough experience is often the best teacher, it is not theonly way to learn. Magic and Knowledge skills, whichencompass large elements of rote learning, cannot beincreased by experience, only t ra ining, practice orresearch. Characteristics can only be increased by trainingor research. Training involves getting specific instructionin a s k i l l or character is t ic from a qua l i f ied teacher.Training can be expensive, and may be difficult to obtain,particularly at higher skill or characteristic levels.

Skill TrainingIncreasing an easy skill by 1D6 takes skill/20 days of train-ing by a competent teacher.

Increasing a medium skill by 1D6 takes skill/10 daysof training by a competent teacher.

Increasing a hard skill by 1D6 takes skill/5 days oftraining by a competent teacher.

ExampleThus, an adventurer with 72% Scan skill would have tospend 72/10 = 7 days training to increase the skill by 1D6.

Optional rule—subtract skill category bonus from skillbefore calculating time required. This avoids penalizingadventurers with high skill category bonuses.

ExampleThus, if the adventurer in the above example had a 9%Perception bonus, he would only have to spend 63/10 = 6days training (72 - 9 = 63).

TeachersA teacher can normally train someone effectively that hasa skill level equal to or less than theirs. If the student's skilllevel is above the teacher's skill but less than twice theteacher's skill, it counts as practice for the student. If thestudent's skill level is greater than twice that of the teacher,it counts as research for the student.

Instruct SkillInstruct skill enhances the effectiveness of a teacher. Theteacher's Instruct skill is complementary to the skill theyare teaching for the purposes of determining their abilityto teach.

For the sake of simplicity, gamemasters and playerscan assume that a competent teacher (Instruct skill 51%or above) always succeeds in his Instruct rolls, and train-ing proceeds at the above rates. Likewise, any instructionwith a poor teacher (Instruct skill of 50% or below)should only as practice (research if the students skill is alsohigher than the teachers).

In theory, a critical success on an instruct roll wouldimpart 4 times the normal amount of training, a specialsuccess would impart 2 times the normal amount of train-ing, a success would impart the normal amount oftraining, a failure would impart half the normal amount oftraining and a fumble would cost the student 1D6% ofskill if he or she failed an INT x5 roll. This level of detailis generally not worth using, however.

ExampleArlia has a Scimitar attack skill of 68%, but an Instructskill of only 15%. Her effective Scimitar teaching skill is68 (Scimitar skill) + 15/5 (complementary Instruct skill)=71%. She could effectively train someone with a Scimitarskill of 71 % or below, but due to her low Instruct skill,the sessions would count as practice.

Drill Sergeant Carnifex, with a Scimitar attack skill of71% and a Instruct skill of 96% could effectively trainsomeone with a Scimitar skill of 90% or below (71 + 96/5= 90), or could practice with someone of skill from 91 to180%.

Skills with 0% BaseFor a skill with a base of 0%, the teacher must lay a foun-dation before the student can get a positive skill. Thisfoundation takes 3 days for an Easy skill, 5 days for aMedium skill, or 10 days for a Hard skill, and will yield astarting percentage of 1D6% plus the appropriate skillscategory modifier. If the skill percentage is still 0% or less,a further training session (of 3, 5, or 10 days) will addanother 1D6% to the skill, until the skill percentage hasreached at least 1%, at which time the basics of the skillhave finally been imparted. Training, practice or researchthen proceeds at the normal rates, and if the skill is not aMagic or Knowledge skill, it can be increased by experi-ence as well.

Increasing a skill above a 0% base without instruction(i.e. through practice or research) is very difficult. At aminimum, multiply the above times by 4 for practice, andby 16 for research.

Availability Of Skill TrainingSome skills are rarely taught or are socially unacceptablein many cultures. These are skills in which training is diffi-cult or impossible to find. They are listed as having 'Rare'training availabili ty in the skills list. Some potential

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sources for training in rare or unusual skills include enter-tainers, thieves, crafters, guilds, sages, military units,weapon schools, shaman, sorcerers, schools of sorcery,and cults. See the profession tables in Creating anAdventurer for other sources of ski l l t ra ining. Thegamemaster is the final arbiter of training availability.

Cost of Skill TrainingA competent instructor can train even large groups ofunskilled people with ease. For more skilled students,classes must be smaller and instructors must be more skill-f u l . As a ru le of thumb, an instructor can teach 32students in the 0-30% range, 16 students in the 31-45%range, 8 students in the 46-60% range, 4 students in the61-75% range, 2 students in the 76-90% range, and 1 stu-dent with skill 91% or higher.

Thus, assuming they can fill a class, most instructorswill charge 1 L a day to train a skill in the 0-30% range, 2L a day for a skill in the 31-45% range, 4 L a day for askill in the 46-60% range, 8 L for a skill in the 61-75%range, 16 L a day for a skill in the 76-90% range, and 32L a day for a skill in the 91-105% range, and so on.

If the skill is a rare one, or in areas where the desiredskill training is in great demand, prices might be twice ashigh. If the skill is a cult skill and the adventurer is an ini-tiate of the cult, prices are halved. Instructors that cantrain people in skills much above 90% are often rare, andtheir prices may be higher.

Characteristic TrainingAn adventurer can train to increase the characteristics ofSTR, CON, DEX or APR The availability of characteristictraining is often rare, so characters may have to resort toresearch instead. An adventurer that has increased a char-acteristic through t ra in ing or research can act as aninstructor for that characteristic.

Increasing STR typically requires lifting weights,intensive exercise or other hard labor; increasing CONrequires increasing cardiovascular fitness, running longdistances, learning to shrug off blows, or improving one'sdiet; increasing DEX involves speed training, combatt ra ining, or movement t raining; and increasing APPinvolves improving one's grooming, posture and manner.

As described in Creat ing an Adventurer , underCharac te r i s t i c Maxima, a character is t ic cannot beincreased by training or research beyond 1-1/2i times itsoriginal rolled value, or beyond the species maximum forthat characteristic, 21 for humans, whichever is lower.This value is the maximum possible value for the charac-teristic. See Characteristic Maxima for how to calculatespecies maxima for non-human adventurers.

If an instructor can be found, after a variable amountof training time and a successful Instruct roll on the train-ers part, the character 1 point, to the current value of thecharacteristic. A critical Instruct roll adds 2 points to thecurrent value of the characteristic. A failed Instruct rollforces the adventurer to succeed in a characteristic gainroll (see below) to gain a point, and a fumbled Instruct roll

forces results in no gain and forces the adventurer to suc-ceed in a characteristic gain roll to avoid losing a pointfrom the current value of the characteristic.

A characteristic gain roll is required on a missed orfumbled characteristic training roll, and for characteristicpractice or research. To succeed in a characteristic gainroll, the character must roll equal to or less than (maxi-mum possible value for characteristic minus current valueof characteristic) x 5 on percentile dice. If the roll is suc-cessful, add 1 point to the current va lue of thecharacteristic. If the roll fails, make no change to the char-acteristic. On a roll of 01, add 2 points to the currentvalue of the characteristic, on a roll of 00, subtract 1 pointfrom the current value of the characteristic.

There are three levels of difficulty of characteristictraining—Easy, Medium and Hard, each taking longerthan the other. The level of difficulty of characteristictraining depends on how far from the original rolled char-acteristic one has already progressed.

To train STR, CON, DEX or APP by 1 point from theoriginal rolled value to 1/3 the maximum possible amountof increase (see Characteristic Maxima) takes 30 days(Easy).

To train STR, CON, DEX or APP by 1 point from acurrent value that is from 1/3 to 2/3 the maximum possibleamount of increase takes 60 days (Medium).

To train STR, CON, DEX or APP by 1 point from acurrent value that is from 2/3 to the maximum possibleamount of increase take 120 days (Hard).

In cases where the maximum possible amount ofincrease is not neatly divisible by three, the first extrapoint is Easy characteristic training, and the second extrapoint (if any) is Medium characteristic training.

See the Characteristic Increase Training, Practice andResearch table, below, for a summary of human character-istic training and research times.

ExampleArlia has a 13 DEX. Her maximum DEX is 20, so hermaximum possible amount of increase is 7 points. Thiswould give her 2 points in each training category, with theleftover point dropping to the lowest training category,Easy. Each point of DEX training from DEX 14 to DEX16 would take her 30 days. Each point of DEX trainingfrom DEX 17 to DEX 18 would take 60 days. Each pointof DEX training from DEX 19 to DEX 20 would take120 days. For Arlia to train her DEX from DEX 13 toDEX 16 would require that she somehow find the timeand money for 90 days of training.

Cost of Characteristic TrainingAs a rule of thumb, an instructor can train up to 4 peopleat a time in an Easy characteristic gain, 2 people at a timein a Medium characteristic gain, and 1 person at a time ina Hard characteristic gain.

Given this, and given the comparative rarity of teach-ers qualified to train characteristics, most instructors willcharge 8 L a day for an Easy gain, 16 L a day for a


Medium gain, or 32 L a day for a Hard gain. In areaswhere the desired characteristic training is rare or ingreat demand, prices might be twice as high.

Weight Gain and Loss (Optional)An adventurer's SIZ represents both his or her basicbuild and height, and his or her weight. An adventurer'sweight may fluctuate, but height and basic build willnot normally change except through magical means.

At the gamemaster's discretion, excessive weightgain or loss can be represented by the gain or loss ofMass (MAS). If an adventurer's MAS differs from anadventurer's size, it is written in parentheses next to theadventurer's SIZ. Thus an adventurer with a 13 SIZ but16 MAS would appear as SIZ 13 (16).

An adventurer's MAS is used instead of the adven-turer's SIZ for the purpose of calculating damage bonus,HP, Agility skill modifier, and armor cost and ENC.Every point of MAS above an adventurer's SIZ countsas 6 additional ENC, which will affect fatigue and skillrolls normally, except Swim skill, to which it adds 1%per point of ENC (instead of subtracting 3% per pointof ENC). In addition, every two full points of MASabove or below an adventurer's SIZ temporarily reducethe adventurers current CON by 1 point. This lost CONis regained when the adventurer's MAS decreases orincreases to more closely match his or her SIZ.

The maximum rate of MAS loss or gain should bedetermined by the gamemaster, but under normal cir-cumstances losing 1 point of MAS (weight loss) orgaining 1 point of MAS (weight gain) every 2 weeksseems reasonable. Of course, an adventurer must havean ample supply of food available to gain MAS.Starving or dehydrated adventurers can lose MAS at analarming rate. Extra MAS put on by an adventurer maybe lost at the rate of 1 point every 4 weeks, until theadventurer reaches a MAS equal to his or her SIZ.

PracticePractice is studying something on your own with theproper techniques, partners or equipment on hand, andtakes twice as long as training (training time x2), but isgenerally more affordable and easier to arrange thantraining.

If practicing a characteristic, one must also succeedin a cha rac te r i s t i c gain roll to gain a point (seeCharacteristic Training).

With most skills, one must have a partner of equal(within half) or greater skill, or extensive equipment(for weapon skills, practice weapons and armor, pivots,pells, posts, etc.; for lores a library, or set of referenceworks, etc.). These incidental costs will generallyamount to half the cost of the equivalent training.

ResearchResearch is studying something on your own, with littleor no equipment. It takes four times as long as training

(training time x4), but costs little or nothing, and can becarried out with minimal gear and no partners, unlikepractice.

If researching a characteristic, one must also suc-ceed in a characteristic gain roll to gain a point (seeCharacteristic Training).

Skill Training, Practice and Research Table

Skill %

01-1011-2021-3031-4041-5051-6061-7071-8081-9091-100101-110

Days oftraining toincrease byID6

1234567891011

Days ofpractice toincrease byID6

246810121416182022

Days ofresearch toincrease byID6

48121620242832364044

etc.

Double the number of days required for hard skills, halve themfor easy skills.

Optional ruleSubtract skill category bonus from skill before checking timerequired on chart (to avoid penalizing characters with high skillcategory bonuses).

Characteristic Training and Research Table

Original New Characteristic ValueValue1011121314151617181920

11 12 1330 30 60

30 3030

14

60603030

15

12060603030

16

12060303030

17

12012060303030

18

1206060603030

19

1206060603030

20

12012012060606030

21

1201201201201206030

Training Time (days)

For characteristic scores outside these ranges (such as with non-humans), see Characteristic Training.

For characteristic increase through practice, double theabove times.

For characteristic increase through research quadruple theabove times.

With characteristic increase through training, the instructormust succeed in an Instruct roll. With characteristic increasethrough practice or research the adventurer must succeed in acharacteristic gain roll (see Characteristic Training for details).

•COMBAT•

When subtler approaches fail, violence is always an option. The RuneQuest combat rules provide a realisticsimulation of combat which can be correspondingly deadly. Those that live by the sword also die by it. A wiseadventurer fights sparingly, when no other course of action will suffice. If combat is inevitable, expertise in

combat skills and the use of clever tactics often mean the difference between life and death for an adventurer. The levelof realism desired varies from one group of players to another. The combat rules are structured to allow one to strike abalance between playability and realism by using or discarding rules as gamemasters and their players see fit.

THE MELEE ROUNDA melee round has four phases:

1. Move2. Declaration3. Melee4. Post Melee Move

A melee round is a short f lexible period of time, theamount of time required to plan and execute two actions.For keeping track of time, each melee round lasts 6 sec-onds (10 melee rounds to a minute), but in reality a meleeround might range anywhere from 3 to 12 seconds.

Please note that in the discussions of combat that fol-low, the term figure applies to both adventurers run byplayers and creatures and characters run by the gamemas-ter as NPCs.

1. MOVEResolution of initial movement.

Figures move in order of MV score (highest MV first, tiesbroken by DEX—if MV and DEX are identical, move-ment is simultaneous).

Unengaged f igures can move up to their MV inmeters. Figures that move adjacent to an active foe thatwishes to engage the f igure, or vice versa, becomeengaged, and must stop moving. Figures that start theround adjacent to an active foe that wishes to engage them,or vice versa, start the round engaged, and cannot move.Figures moving backwards have 2/3 their normal MV.

After all movement is done, all the combatants canfreely adjust their facing (or take a free one hex facing

shift if using a hex map) or attempt to disengage from afoe (see below). If there is a question as to the order ofchanging facing or attempting to disengage, figures withthe lowest MV go first (ties broken by lowest DEX).

2. DECLARATIONEach player involved in the combat declares what kind ofaction their adventurer will take in combat, as does thegamemaster for each NPC. This determines how the figureattacks, defends and moves in combat.

The only declaration necessary is stating whether the fig-ure will All Out Attack, Attack and Defend, All OutDefend, Attack only, Defend only, or Sprint. If no declara-tion is made, actions default to Attack and Defend.

If attacking, the figure must also state how they areattacking. That is, each figure taking an Attack andDefend, All Out Attack, or Attack only action must addi-tionally specify how they are attacking (casting a specifiedspell, attacking with a specified weapon (and what specialtactics are used, if any), or taking a specified miscellaneousaction). The exact target of the attack need not be declareduntil the SR of the attack in the Melee phase. Defensesoccur in response to attacks, and require no additionalspecification.

All figures choosing to make an All Out Attack mustdeclare first, followed by all other figures, in whateverorder is convenient. If for some reason there is question asto the order of declaration, combatants with lowest INTdeclare first. A simpler convention is for the gamemasterto declare which, if any NPCs are making All Out Attacks,then any player-adventurers making All Out Attacksdeclare, followed by the gamemaster declaring actions forthe remaining NPCs, followed by the declarations of anyremaining player-adventurers.

•74•

COMBAT • 75

3. MELEEAttacks are resolved in order of SR, lowest SR first (tiesbroken by DEX—if SR and DEX are identical, attacks aresimultaneous).

During the course of the melee phase, the gamemastershould set the pace of combat. The gamemaster shouldstate the SR when his fastest NPC will attack (the onewith the lowest SR) and resolve that attack, unless aplayer-adventurer(s) can act earlier, in which case thatattack(s) should be resolved first. The gamemaster shouldthen move on to the next NPC's attack.

AttackThis covers almost any considered action, be it a physicalattack, casting a spell, attacking in spirit combat, or a mis-cellaneous action. Attacks take place in order of SR, fromlowest to highest. Resolve ties by comparing the figuresDEX scores—if these are identical as well, the attacksoccur simultaneously.

Physical AttackIf a f igure has a weapon ready, and attacks with it, orattacks unarmed, roll the attack at Melee SR. If a figuredraws a weapon and attacks with it, roll the attack atMelee SR + 3 SR.

If a f igure has a ready loaded missile weapon or aready thrown weapon, and attacks with it, roll the attackat DEX SR. If a figure must reload a ready missile weaponbefore attacking, or must draw a throwing weapon beforeattacking with it, roll the attack at DEX SR + 3 SR.

Cast SpellDivine magic spells go off on the caster's DEX SR. No rollto cast is necessary, though a MP vs. POW roll may berequired in the case of an offensive spell.

A casting roll for spirit magic, cult magic, or sorceryspells should be made at DEX SR + MP spent in SR. A MPvs. POW roll may also be required in the case of an offen-sive spell . A spell taking more than 10 SR must becontinued next round with at least an Attack (Cast Spell)action. A spell taking 12 SR continued in the next roundwould go off on SR 2 of that round.

Attack in Spirit CombatRoll for the attack at the figure 's DEX SR (see SpiritCombat).

Miscellaneous ActionA miscellaneous action (opening a door, First Aid, etc.)typically take place at DEX SR + 3 SR.

Attack OnlyThis represents taking only a single attack action, sacrific-ing any chance to defend oneself for additional movementin the Post Melee Move phase. The attack action can beselected from any of those described in Attack, above.

DefendThis represents readiness to take a reflexive defensiveaction, such as a dodge, parry, or defending in spirit com-bat. The precise action need not be specified until youchoose to take a defensive action against an opponent'ssuccessful attack. At that time, choose how you defend (ifat all), i.e. against a physical attack, choose whether tododge or parry, against a spiritual attack choose whetherto defend in spirit combat. If the attack missed or fum-bled, no roll need be taken.

ParryOne can attempt to Parry all attacks from a single oppo-nent that do not land on the same SR over the course of amelee round (if two or more attacks land on the same SR,pick one to Parry).

DodgeOne can attempt to Dodge all attacks from a single oppo-nent over the course of a melee round.

Defend in Spirit CombatDefend against an attacking spirit. See Spirit Combat fordetails.

Defend OnlyThis represents taking only a single defense action, sacri-ficing any chance to attack for additional movement in thePost Melee Move phase. The defense action can beselected from any of those described in Defend, above,

All Out AttackThis represents total commitment to a course of consid-ered action. As no defensive actions can be taken oncecommitted to an All Out Attack, it can be a risky maneuver.

Physical All Out AttackMake two physical attacks against the same opponent oragainst two different opponents (a second melee attacktakes place 3 SR after the first), or make a single physicalattack against one opponent that does half again damage.

Cast SpellsCast two spells. A second divine magic spell goes off attwice DEX SR. A second spirit magic, cult magic or sorceryspell can be started right after the first goes off. As normal,a second spell taking more than 10 SR must be continuednext round with at least an Attack (Cast Spell) action.

All Out Spirit Combat AttackTotal offense in spirit combat. Rolled at DEX SR (seeSpirit Combat).

Miscellaneous ActionsTake two miscellaneous actions (two brief actions or onelong action).

76 • COMBAT

All Out DefendThis represents total commitment to reflexive defensiveaction. The specific action need not be declared until onechooses to react against an opponent's successful attack.The available actions include:

Parry and DodgeParry and Dodge against the same opponent, or Parry oneopponent and Dodge against another.

All Out DodgeDodge against two opponents or Dodge all attacks fromany number of opponents that round at half skill.

All Out ParryParry normally against two different opponents or Parryall attacks that round from one opponent at half againParry AP, regardless of the SR they land on.

All Out Spirit Combat DefensePure ly defens ive action in spirit combat (see SpiritCombat).

SprintThis action represents total commitment to movement, atthe cost of any other actions, offensive or defensive. Thefigure gains additional movement in the Post Melee Movephase.

4. POST MELEE MOVEResolution of final movement (there may often be none, inwhich case this phase is skipped).

Figures that chose to Attack Only, Defend Only, or Sprintin the Declaration phase gain the benefit of an additionalmove during the Post Melee phase. Figures that choseother actions may not move during the Post Melee Movephase.

Rules of engagement do not apply in the Post MeleeMove phase to those figures one started the Melee phaseengaged with. Thus, you can move away from someoneyou were engaged with in this round's Melee phase, butmust stop moving if you move adjacent to a foe you werenot engaged with in this round's Melee phase.

Figures that opted to Attack Only or Defend Only cannow move up to their MV in meters.

Figures that opted to Sprint can now move up to twicetheir MV in meters.

MOVEMENTThe movement system provided above allows one toaddress simple questions, such as how far figures canmove during an exchange of blows, how quickly figurescan close with an archer, or how quickly pursuers cancatch a fleeing foe. However, players and gamemastersthat do not feel the need for a system of movement resolu-tion should feel free to ignore the Move and Post MeleeMove phases, simply using the Declaration and Melee

phases instead, and deciding movement questions on acommon sense, case by case basis.

Figure's MV scores and movement skills (Maneuver,Jump, Climb, Acrobatics, etc.) can be a useful adjunct insettling questions of movement in nearly any movementsituation, such as pursuit (higher MV figures will generallycatch lower MV figures), whether the outlaw managed toclimb out of the window before the adventurer got to him(match Climb skill vs. Maneuver skill in a contest of skillvs. skill), whether the adventurer was able to jump on thetable and attack from it (Jump skill), and so on.

The following rules are provided for those that desiremore detailed movement rules, suitable for battlemats.

EngagementFigures adjacent to an active foe are considered to beengaged, and cannot move during the Move phase. If theywish to retreat or flee from combat, they would normallytake less actions in the Melee phase (such as Defend Only)and move away in the Post Melee Move phase. If theywant to move away before the Melee phase starts, theycan attempt to Disengage at the end of the Move phase,but this is potentially riskier.

DisengagingAfter all movement in the Move phase is completed, fig-ures that wish to flee or retreat from combat may attemptto do so by matching their Maneuver skill against theirfoe(s) (see Skill vs. Skill). Each point of MV above that ofall the foes one is engaged with adds 10% to one's effec-tive Maneuver skill.

If a figure wins the contest of skills, they start theMelee phase 2 meters (2 hexes) away from the foe(s) theywon against, out of reach of any melee weapons butspears or pikes (their foe(s) may still cast a spell at them orthrow a weapon at them). If they lose the contest of skillsthey stay where they were, and are at a disadvantage in theupcoming Melee phase, attacking and defending at halfnormal skill. A critical success places the figure out ofreach of any melee weapons. A fumble results in a fall if aDEX x3 roll is failed, otherwise the figure remains stand-ing but can only take a single Defend action in combat athalf skill, and can not move any further that round.

Long WeaponsIn theory, a user of a long weapon, such as a spear or pike,can engage a foe at a distance. If you wish to add this levelof detail, simply allow spears and other long SR 1weapons to engage foes that are 2 meters away (two hexesif using a hex map), and pike wielders to engage foes thatare 3 meters away (three hexes if using a hex map). Ashorter weapon wielder must either attack the longerweapon, hoping to damage it, or attempt to close in thePost Melee Move phase, or by outmanoeuvring the foe(see Closing for more details).

COMBAT • 77

PHYSICAL ATTACKSAn attack with a weapon, natural or otherwise, is a skill,and like any other skill has a varying effect depending onthe degree of success achieved. On a special or critical hit,a special effect will occur.

FumbleA fumbled attack roll misses its target, and additionallyforces the attacker to roll on the fumble table appropriateto the weapon used.

MissA missed attack roll misses its target, but has no other illeffect.

Normal HitA successful attack roll strikes its target in a random hitlocation, doing rolled weapon damage.

Special HitOn a special success, a weapon attack does double rolledweapon damage.

Critical HitA critical success, a weapon has the effect of a special hit,but in addition either ignores any physical and magicalarmor, or allows the attacker to choose the hit locationstruck, in which case armor applies normally.

Thus, at the attacker's option a critical hit does dou-ble weapon damage ignoring armor to a random hitlocation, or double weapon damage to a hit location ofthe attackers choice.

Optional Effects of Special HitsOptionally, the exact nature of the special hit can varywith the weapon used. The weapons tables categorizeweapons by type.

Crushing weapons can optionally Crush, doing a min-imum of 1 point of damage for every 5 points of damagethey did, regardless of the target's armor protection. Thisrepresents the jarring concussive effect of blunt weapons.

Impaling weapons can optionally Impale, lodgingdeep within their targets. An Impaled weapon will causedamage equal to the base weapon damage should the tar-get move (use MV) before the weapon is extracted.Removing a Impaled weapon takes a full melee round(Miscellaneous Actions) and requires a CON x3 roll onthe victim's part if they attempt to remove the weaponthemselves. A failed roll means that they stopped, but cantry again the next round. In any case, a First Aid roll mustsucceed when the weapon is finally removed, otherwisethe extraction causes damage equal to half the weapon'sbase damage. A weapon which Impales a shield can takeup to a turn to remove, and tends to render the shield itImpaled useless—subtract 40% per ENC of the impaledweapon from the user's shield parry skill.

Slashing weapons can optionally Slash, causing exten-sive bleeding. A wound inflicted by a Slash bleeds at 1 HPof general HP damage at the end of each round, includingthe round the Slash was inflicted. A CON x3 roll shouldbe made each time a point of damage is about to be taken.

If the CON roll succeeds, the bleeding stops, and no dam-age (or no further damage) is taken. A successful First Aidroll or most healing spells will also stop the bleeding.

PHYSICAL DEFENSESParryA parry with a weapon, natural or otherwise, is a skill,and like any other skill has a varying effect, depending onthe degree of success achieved. On a special or critical hit,a better effect occurs.

FumbleA fumbled parry blocks no damage, and additionallyforces the defender to roll on the fumble table appropriateto the weapon used.

MissA missed parry blocks no damage, but has no other illeffect.

Normal ParryA successful parry blocks damage from an attack equal tothe parrying weapons AP.

Special ParryOn a special success, a parry blocks damage from anattack equal to twice the parrying weapons AP

Critical ParryOn a critical success, a parry blocks all damage from anattack. Treat the parrying weapon as if it had infinite AP.The defender may still suffer the consequences of knock-back from the attack.

Parrying Missile or Thrown WeaponsA figure can try to parry a thrown or missile weapon if heor she is aware of the attack and is ready to parry. Largethrown weapons (spears, axes) can be parried normallywith weapons or shields.

Small thrown weapons (knives, shuriken, or thunder-stones) or missile weapons at maximum range are parriedby a weapon at 1/2 skill. A shield will parry them normally

Missile weapons at normal ranges are parried by aweapon at 1/5 normal skill, or by a shield at 1/2 normal skill.

At point blank range, missile weapons can only beparried by a critical weapon parry, or by a shield at 1/5 nor-mal skill.

Shield CoverageInstead of parrying, ready shields can be used to cover hitlocations (this takes no actions). A small shield can beused to cover one hit location, a medium shield can beused to cover two adjacent hit locations, and a large shieldcan be used to cover three adjacent hit locations. Half theshield's AP are added to any armor already covering thehit location (or act as armor, if none is present). Such cov-erage applies to melee, missile and thrown weapons.

A small or medium shield slung on one's back auto-matically provides such coverage to one's chest from

78 • COMBAT

behind, and a large shield slung one one's back automati-cally provides such coverage to one's chest and abdomenfrom behind.

DodgeDodge is a skill, and like any other skill has a varyingeffect, depending on the degree of success achieved.

FumbleA fumbled dodge improves an opponents attack by onedegree of success—only a fumbled attack misses. A missedattack hits, a hit specials, a special criticals, and a criticalhit does maximum possible damage.

MissA missed dodge has no effect on an attack, but has noother ill effect.

DodgeA successful dodge causes a normal hit to miss, a specialhit to become a normal hit, and a critical hit to become aspecial hit.

Special DodgeA special dodge causes a special or normal hit to miss, anda critical hit to become a normal hit.

Critical DodgeA critical dodge causes a critical, special or normal hit tomiss. No physical attack will strike a figure that achieves acritical dodge success.

Dodging Missile and Thrown WeaponsA figure can try to Dodge a thrown or missile weapon if heor she is aware of the attack and is ready to Dodge.

At point blank range, Dodge is at 1/5 skill against aprojected missile weapon such as a bow or crossbow(effectively, you need a special Dodge to counter a normalhit, or a critical Dodge to counter a special hit). Against athrown weapon at point blank range, Dodge is at 1/2 skill.

However, if the figure began the melee round directlyadjacent to the missile weapon user, the figure can Dodgethe missile or thrown weapon attack at full skill. Firing amissile weapon at an adjacent opponent is difficult. If afigure with a missile weapon starts the melee round adja-cent to an opponent, missile attacks are at 1/2 skill. Thrownweapon attacks are at full skill.

Although missiles and thrown weapons are harder toDodge at point blank range due to a decrease in the reac-tion time available to the dodger, the penalties to hit amoving target are doubled at point blank range, due to theincreased difficulty of tracking a target at closer range.

Dodging by Large CreaturesVery large creatures, such as giants, will have troubleDodging much smaller opponents. This is especially true ifthe very large creature attacks the smaller creature in sucha way as to expose itself to a counterattack. A large giantkicking or punching a human can not Dodge an attackdirected at the attacking arm or leg. The same rule applies

to humans trying to kick or punch, say, a rubble runner.When using a weapon that lets it stay out of reach, thelarger creature can Dodge normally. In this case, it betterrepresents skillful footwork on the larger creature's partthan weaving and dodging.

Missile or thrown weapons fire directed at a verylarge creature by a much smaller one is also difficult toDodge. If a very large creature tries to Dodge missile orthrown weapons from a smaller creature out to normalweapon range, treat the attack as point blank range (butdo not double the penalty for shooting at a moving targetif the larger creature is moving.)

These rules generally come into play only when acreature has at least four times the SIZ of its opponent.

Consequences of Encumbrance for DodgeFor normal SIZ creatures (SIZ 1-20), each point of ENCsubtracts 1 percentile from Dodge. For every 10 points ofSIZ or fraction thereof above 20, add one point to theamount of ENC required to cause a subtraction. Forexample, a SIZ 25 creature would suffer a subtraction of 1percentile for every 2 points of ENC.

Dodge Table

Foe'sAttack Your Dodge rollroll Critical Special Normal Failure Fumble

CriticalSpecialNormalFailureFumble

MissMissMissMissMiss

NormalMissMissMissMiss

SpecialNormalMissMissMiss

CriticalSpecialNormalMissMiss

Max CriticalCriticalSpecialNormalMiss

Result of Attack

ArmorThe final barrier between figures and the weapons thatstrike them is their armor. Armor subtracts its AP from thevalue of any rolled weapon damage striking a locationprotected by the armor.

The main disadvantage of armor is its weight andencumbrance. Wearing heavy armor for any length of timecan be extremely fatiguing (see The Natural World). Somemagical spells or enchantments act as armor as well. Thesehave less disadvantages compared to physical armor.

A critical hit result has the option of ignoring thedefender's armor.

RESULTS OF DAMAGEBlows struck in combat that penetrate a defender's armoror defenses cause hit points of damage, which can have aserious or lethal effect on the defender.

General HP DamageA figure falls unconscious if they take damage equal to orgreater than their general HP.

COMBAT • 79

A figure dies when they take damage equal to orgreater to twice their general HP. Death occurs at theinstant that damage reaches that point.

For example, Arlia, with 12 general HP, takes 13 HPof damage. She falls unconscious. Arlia would die if shesuffered 24 or more HP of damage.

Hit LocationsA successful attack normally strikes its target in a randomhit location. The exact location struck is normally deter-mined by a 1D20 roll. Hit location tables exist for bothhumanoid creatures (see below) and non-humanoid crea-tures (see Creatures)

Humanoid Hit Location Table

D20Roll Location Description

19-20 Head Neck and Head16-18 Left Arm Entire left arm13-15 Right Arm Entire right arm11-12 Chest Torso from shoulders to floating ribs07-10 Abdomen Torso from floating ribs to groin04-06 Left Leg Entire left leg01 -03 Right Leg Entire right leg

Humanoid Hit Points Per Location Table

Hit Points (HP)

fa l l if legs or abdomen are In jured , drop weapon ifweapon arm is Injured.

Incapacitated—cannot use location (and legs if abdomen).Will fall if legs, abdomen or chest are Incapacitated, dropweapon if weapon arm is Incapacitated. The figure hasone less action than normal (can Attack Only or DefendOnly without moving in the Post Melee Move phase, ortake no actions in combat but move up to their MV in thePost Melee Move phase), and all skills are halved.

Unconscious or Dead—the figure falls and can take nofurther actions.

Specific Effects of Damage to Locations

Damage Less Than Hit Points in a LocationThe location is Wounded, but still functions normally. Adamaged location brought to this point by healing or FirstAid is restored to normal function.

Damage Equals or Exceeds Hit Points in a Location(But is Under Twice the Hit Points of the Location)

Leg—the figure cannot use the Injured leg. He or she fallsand cannot do anything else for the rest of that meleeround. The figure may fight from the ground in subse-quent melee rounds, and can only move by crawling (MV/5)or limping after standing up (MV/2).

Abdomen—the Injured figure cannot use either leg. He orshe falls, and cannot do anything else for the rest of thatmelee round. The figure may fight from the ground in sub-sequent melee rounds, and can only move by crawling(MV/5).

Chest—the figure falls, Incapacitated, and cannot do any-thing else for the rest of that melee round. In subsequentrounds, the figure has one less action than normal in com-bat, and all of the figure's skills are halved. The figure mayfight from the ground or stand in subsequent meleerounds.

Arm—the figure cannot use the Injured arm. He or shedrops any item held in the hand, unless the item isattached to the arm. The figure can try to fight with what-ever limbs are left.

Head—the figure becomes Unconscious and falls down.He or she will naturally regain consciousness upon suc-ceeding in a CON x1 roll, rolled once every full turn.

Damage Equals or Exceeds Twice Hit Points in a Location(But Under Thrice the Hit Points of the Location)

Leg or Arm—the figure cannot use the Injured limb, withidentical results as if the limb had received damage equalto or greater than its hit points. If the damage to the limbcame from a normal hand to hand, missile, or naturalweapon attack, a maximum of twice the hit points of thelimb should be taken to general hit points—damagebeyond that point does not effect general hit points in the

Location

Right LegLeft LegAbdomenChestRight ArmLeft ArmHead

1

1111111

2

1111111

3

1112111

4

2222112

5

2222222

6

2223222

7

3333223

8

3334223

9

3334333

10 11

4 44 44 44 53 33 34 4

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

4 5 5 5 6 6 64 5 5 5 6 6 64 5 5 5 6 6 65 6 6 6 7 7 83 4 4 4 4 5 53 4 4 4 4 5 54 5 5 5 6 6 6

Hit Points Per Location (HL)

For a humanoid, HL in legs, abdomen, and head equal 1/3 (or .33)HP, HL in chest equals 2/5 (or .40) HP, and HL in arms equal 1/4(or .25) HP.

Damage to LocationsA successful attack that is not parried or dodged causes itsrolled damage directly to the hit location struck.

If the location is protected by physical or magicalarmor, the AP value of the armor is subtracted from therolled weapon damage. A critical attack may ignore armorAP.

If the attack is parried, the parry AP of the parry aresubtracted from the rolled weapon damage.

Any remaining damage is suffered by the locationstruck. Any damage suffered by a location (HL) is alsoinflicted on the victim's general HP.

Damage to a location can have the following effects:

Wounded—lightly injured. No other effect.

Injured—cannot use location (and legs if abdomen). Will

80 • C O M B A T

case of a limb injury. This does not apply if the damage tothe limb came from an attack that would likely blowthrough the hit location and affect areas beneath it, suchas an explosion, the impact of a massive boulder, or a fall.

Abdomen—the figure cannot use either leg. He or shefalls, Incapacitated, and cannot do anything else for therest of that melee round. In subsequent rounds, the figurehas one less action than normal in combat (as per the stan-dard fumble result), and all of the figure's skills are halved.The figure may fight from the ground in subsequent meleerounds, and can only move by crawling (MV/5).

Chest—the figure becomes Unconscious and falls down. Ifnot healed, the figure will stay unconscious for at least afull turn. He or she regains consciousness upon succeedingin a CON x1 roll, rolled once every full turn, or when thelocation is healed.

Head—the figure becomes Unconscious and falls down.The f igure stays unconscious until healed, and may diewithout recovering if unaided.

Damage Equals or Exceeds Thrice Hit Points in a Location

Leg or Arm—the figure cannot use the limb, with identicalresults as if the l imb had received damage equal to orgreater than its hit points. The rule of limb damage nor-mal ly not affecting general hit points beyond twice the hitpoints of the l imb st i l l applies. The limb is maimed,Incapacitating the figure. In subsequent rounds, the figurehas one less action than normal in combat (as per the stan-dard fumble result), and all of the figure's skills are halved.

Slashing weapon attacks, or a sufficiently large bite orclaw attack will sever the limb.

Creatures with more than four limbs, or a limb suchas a tail damaged should treat this result as one categoryless serious, that is damage equal to twice HL, but underthrice HL, though the limb is still maimed or severed.

Abdomen—the f igure becomes Unconscious and fallsdown. If not healed, the figure will stay unconscious for atleast a fu l l turn. He or she regains consciousness upon suc-ceeding in a CON xl roll, rolled once every full turn, orwhen the location is healed.

Chest or Head—the figure falls, dead.

Optional Effects of Damage

Heroic EffortGamemasters may wish to allow adventurers struck by ablow that would have Injured, Incapacitated or renderedthem unconscious a CON roll called the Heroic Effort rollto shrug off the effects of the wound. The Heroic Effortroll is described in detail in the Game Mechanics chapter.

FatigueIf using the optional fatigue rolls (see The Natural World),the shock of wounds and injury can be treated a source ofshort term fatigue. A Wounded location might require a

Fatigue Roll, an Injured location might cause the auto-mat ic loss of a level of short term fa t i gue , and anIncapacitating blow might cause the automatic loss of twolevels of short term fatigue.

BleedingSlashing weapons that achieve a special success canoptionally cause bleeding. At the gamemaster's option,any blow that causes more damage than the hit points in alocation in a single strike can cause bleeding.

Bleeding causes 1 HP of general HP damage at the endof each round, including the round the i n ju ry wasinflicted. A CON x3 roll should be made each time a pointof damage is about to be taken. If the CON roll succeeds,the bleeding stops, and no damage (or no further damage)is taken. A successful First Aid roll or most healing spellswill also stop the bleeding, but will not heal any damagealready done to general HP by bleeding (see NaturalHealing in The Natural World).

WEAPONS TABLESThe propert ies of melee weapons, shields, thrownweapons and missile weapons are described in the weapontables.

A particular weapon skill can be used at 3/4 skill withany other weapon in its group, and at 1/2 skill with anyother weapon in its category.

A weapon's Damage is the random amount of damagea blow struck with the weapon will do. To this should beadded the wielders damage bonus (DB). Half of thethrower's damage bonus is added to a thrown weaponattack, and none added to a missile weapon attack.

A weapon's ENC is its encumbrance value and itsPrice is its price in Lunars in the areas it is commonlyavailable (see Economics for more details).

A weapon's SR is added to its wielder's Melee SR(based on DEX and SIZ) to determine the final SR atwhich a weapon will attack. Longer weapons have lowerWeapon SR, shorter weapons have higher Weapon SR, aslength determines reach, which plays a critical factor indetermining who's blows have priority.

A weapon's AP are the weapon's base parry AP, theamount of damage blocked by a normal parry with theweapon. A% is the weapon's base attack chance—thosewithout any training or experience in using the weaponwill start at that level of skill (adding their ManipulationSkills Category Modifier to the base attack chance). P% isthe weapon's base parry chance, similar to the base attackchance, except that the Agility Skills Category Modifierwould be added instead. Missile weapons that have APcan be parried with at a base parry chance of 10%, butthis is a skill that is not trained. Thrown weapons thathave AP can be parried with, either using the skill of theclosest equivalent melee weapon, or a base parry chance of10%, whichever is higher.

Most weapons have a min imum STR and DEXrequirement. For each point of STR or DEX below the

C O M B A T • 81

minimum for a weapon, subtract 10% from all attacksand parries with that weapon. Excess STR can make upfor low DEX, every 2 points of excess STR counting as 1additional point of DEX to meet the DEX minimum.Using a 1H weapon 2H adds half again to the figure'seffective STR for this purpose.

A thrown or missile weapon has different range val-ues. These include point blank range (PB), normal range(Range) and maximum range (Max). Weapons fired atpoint blank range are more difficult to dodge or parry (seePhysical Defenses). Weapons can be fired out to their nor-mal range at normal chance of success, and fired to theirmaximum at half normal chance of success.

ARMOR TABLEThe properties of various kinds of armor are described inthe armor tables.

A piece of armor's AP are its protective value—thisamount is subtracted from any damage inflicted on a loca-tion covered by the armor (with the exception of somecritical hits).

An armor's ENC is its encumbrance value. When cal-culating armor ENC by location, leg armor (covering bothlegs) is % the ENC of a full suit, while abdomen, chest,arm (covering both arms) and head armor are each 1/6 theENC of a full suit. ENC values are listed both by locationand for a full suit.

An armor's Price is its price in Lunars in the areas it iscommonly available (see Economics for more details).When calculating armor price by location leg armor (cov-ering both legs) is % the price of a ful l suit, arm armor(covering both arms) is 2/8 the price of a ful l suit, andabdomen, chest, and head armor are each % the price of afull suit. Prices are listed both by location and for a fullsuit.

The armor ENC values and the prices listed in thetable assume armor to fit a figure with SIZ 11-15. Adjustarmor ENC and price for other figures as follows: SIZ 1-5x1/2, SIZ 6-10 x3/4, SIZ 16-20 x1-1/2, SIZ 21-25 x2, etc.

All of the listed armors have basic padding alreadytaken into account in their AP and ENC values. If twopieces of soft armor or a piece of hard and soft armor areoverlapped, and the lighter of the armors has at least 3 AP,add 1 AP to the value of the heavier armor to calculate theoverall AP of the piece. The fu l l ENC of both piecesapplies. Two pieces of hard armor (greaves, cuirass, vam-braces, open or closed helm) may not be overlapped.Thus, cuirbouilli greaves over chain trews provide 6 AP ofprotection, but have a total of 10.5 ENC.

The armors described here are those common in cen-tral Genertela. As such, they generally do not afford fullcoverage of all locations, which would provide higherarmor values. More advanced forms of armor exist in theadvanced cultures of the West and among the dwarfs.These include bronze ful l heavy scale armor (6 AP, 28ENC and 900 L), bronze full plate armor (7 AP, 28 ENCand 2400L for a full suit) and bronze field plate armor (8

AP, 28 ENC and 7200L for a full suit). They are not nor-mally available in other parts of Genertela, except forbronze full scale armor, which is available in Carmania,the Western Reaches of the Lunar Empire.

FUMBLESIf a physical attack or parry is fumbled, the fumble tableprovides a way of determining what happens. For conve-nience a standard fumble result is provided. This shouldbe used when it would overly interrupt the flow of combatto roll on the fumble table and look up the result, or whenthe gamemaster finds the rolled fumble table result inap-propriate.

Standard FumbleLose an action next round. That is, one can only choose toAttack Only but not move in the Post Melee Move phase,to Defend Only but not move in the Post Melee Movephase, or take no actions in combat but move up to one'sMV in the Post Melee Move phase.

Fumble Table

D100Roll Fumble Result

01-0506-101 1 - 1 516-2021-2324-2627-2930-43

44-4748-50

51-5354-5556-57

58-60

61-6566-7071-7576-8081-8586-9091-9394

95-969798-9900

Luck is with you. No significant fumble occurred.Can't Parry next round.Can't Dodge next round.Can't Attack next round.Can't Parry next 1D3 rounds.Can't Dodge next 1D3 rounds.Can't Attack next 1D3 rounds.Weapon breaks (if enchanted, breaks only on a roll of1 on 1D6).&

Weapon dropped.&

Weapon knocked away (roll 1D6 for distance inmeters and 1D6 or 1D8 for direction).&

Lose one action next round.Drop weapon and lose one action next round.&

Armor strap breaks (roll 1D20 for location) andlose one action next round.&

Shield strap breaks, lose shield immediatelylose one action next round.&

Off balance — all skills halved next round.Lose one action next 1D3 rounds.Off balance — all skills halved next 1D3 rounds.Lose two actions next round.Lose two actions next 1D3 rounds.Hit nearest ally, do normal rolled damage.Hit nearest ally, do special hit damage.Hit nearest ally, do special hit damage ignoring anyarmor.Hit self, do normal rolled damage.Hit self, do special hit damage.Roll twice again, re-rolling if you obtain this result.Roll thrice again, re-rolling if you obtain this result.

& lf unarmed, use the standard fumble.

Melee Weapons

Category

1H Crushing

1H Impaling

1H Slashing

1H Impaling& Slashing

2H Crushing

2H Impaling

2H Slashing

2H Impaling& Slashing

NaturalWeapons

Group

1H Flail

1H Mace

1H Hammer

1H Spear

Lance

1H Axe

1.5H Sword

1H Dagger

1H Sword

2H Flail

2H Mace

2H Hammer

2H Spear

2H Axe

1.5H Sword

2H Sword

Brawl

Grapple

Weapon

Grain FlailWar Flail

SinglestickLight MaceHeavy Mace

Warhammer

JavelinSpearWar Spear

Lance

HandaxeBattleaxe

Bastard Sword

KnifeDaggerParrying DaggerSickle

ShortswordScimitarBroadsword

Military Flail

QuarterstaffHeavy MaceWar MaulTroll Maul

Great Hammer

JavelinSpearWar SpearPike

BattleaxeScytheGreataxePoleaxe

Bastard Sword

SwordstickGreat Sword

BrawlingCestusClaw

Grapple

Damage

1D61D6

1D41D61D8

2D4

1D41D61D8

1D10

1D61D8

1D8

1D31D41D41D4

1D61D81D8

1D10

1D81D102D62D8

1D10

1D61D8

1D101D10

1D101D102D62D8

1D10

1D102D6

1D31D41D4

1D4

AP

46

568

6

468

8

68

9

3465

688

8

88910

8

46810

8688

9

88

355

3

A%

105

151515

15

101010

5

1510

10

15151010

151010

5

10101010

10

15151515

510105

10

55

303015

30

P%

55

1055

5

555

5

105

10

10101510

101010

5

15101010

10

1515155

5101010

10

1510

303015

30

SR

22

222

2

222

0

22

2

3222

222

1

1211

1

2110

2111

2

11

333

3

ENC

12

0.51

2.5

2

1.52

2.5

3.5

0.51

2

0.20.5

11

11.51.5

2.5

1.52.535

2.5

1.52

2.53.5

12.52

2.5

2

23.5

011

0

STR

79

7913

9

579

7

57

13

0007

557

13

9131317

11

591111

791315

13

711

097

0

DEX

911

777

9

777

7

99

7

0099

797

11

7797

9

7777

9999

7

1313

009

0

Cost

5 L75 L

3 L30 L60 L

75 L

30 L30 L60 L

60 L

25 L75 L

I50 L

5 L25 L60 L30 L

50 L60 L75 L

150 L

5 L60 L75 L75 L

I50 L

30 L30 L60 L75 L

75 L30 L90 L

150 L

150 L

100 L300 L

NA30 L60 L

NA

Notes

3/4 parry AP, x2 fmb

3/4 parry AP. x2 fmb

Easily made

War Spear in melee

Easy

Easy

Easy

3/4 parry AP. x2 fmb

Easily made

Not for infighting

Easy

Easy

Easy

•82•

82 • COMBAT

COMBAT • 83

•83•

Shields

Category Group Weapon Damage AP A% P% SR ENC STR DEX Cost Notes

Shields

Legionnaire.

SmallMediumLarge

Small ShieldMedium ShieldLarge Shield

1D41D41D4

8 510 512 5

152025

333

246

4812

777

30 L60 L120 L

Wood. Buckler or Heater.Wood. Kite or Round.

Wood. Hoplite or

Hide shields have half the cost, three quarters the ENC, and 2 AP less than a wood shield of the some size.Metal shields have twice the cost, half again the ENC, and 2 AP more than a wood shield of the same size.The STR minimum for a shield is equal to twice its ENC.Thus, a large bronze shield would have 14 AP, 9 ENC, cost 240 L, and have a STR minimum of 18.Use half the listed AP if used passively to cover locations (1 if small, 2 if medium, 3 if large).

Missile Weapons

Category Group Weapon Damage AP A% PB Range Max ENC STR DEX Cost Notes

Blowgun

Bow

Crossbow

Sling

Blowgun

Self Bow

Composite

Crossbow

Sling

Staff Sling

Blowgun

Short BowElf Bow

Nomad Bow

Light CrossbowMedium CrossbowHeavy Crossbow

Sling

Staff Sling

1D3

1D61D8

1D8

1D81D102D6

1D6

1D8

2

35

4

456

NA

4

5

530

5

303030

5

15

6m

18m20m

24m

20m25m30m

20m

24m

30m

90m100m

120m

40m50m60m

100m

120m

30m

120m300m

240m

225m270m300m

100m

120m

.5 (.05)

.5 (.05)

.5 (.05)

.5 (.05)

3.5 (.05)5 (.05)8 (.05)

.1 (.05)

1.5 (.1)

0

9NA

13

91113

5

7

9

9NA

9

777

11

9

25 L

75 LNA

150 L

75 L150 L300 L

5 L

15 L

Easy

Living. Has 2d6+2 MP

Easy. 2 actions to loadEasy. 4 actions to IoadEasy. 6 actions to load

Craft/Leather to make

Craft/Leather to make

A lead bullet does +1 damage, but has twice the ENC of a stone.Treat all of these as Impaling weapons.

Thrown Weapons

Category Group Weapon Damage AP A% PB Range Max ENC STR DEX Cost Notes

Javelins and knives Impale, rocks Crush, and axes Slash.

Javelin

Lasso

Net

Throw

Axe

Knife

Javelin

Atlatl

Rope

Pole

Net

Throw

Thrown Axe

Thrown Knife

Shuriken

DartJavelin

Atlatl

Rope Lasso

Pole Lasso

Combat Net

Rock

Throwing Axe

Throwing Knife

Throwing Star

1D61D8

+2

Special

Special

1D3

1D3

1D6

1D4

1D3

34

4

NA

4

6

NA

5

4

NA

1515

5

5

15

5

15

15

5

5

4m4m

+2m

NA

NA

3

4m

4m

4m

4m

20m20m

+ I0m

10m

3m

5m

20m

20m

20m

20m

30m50m

+20 m

10m

3m

5m

20m

20m

20m

30m

0.51.5

0.5

1

3

3

0.5

0.5

0.2

0.1

79

7

9

9

12

5

9

5

3

99

9

11

9

10

11

11

11

13

I5 L30 L

I5 L

I5 L

I5 L

60 L

NA

75 L

75 L

10 L

Fires dart or javelin

Craft/Rope to make

Craft/Rope to make

Entangles on a special

Easy

84 • COMBAT

Armor

Type Material AP ENC Cost Type Material AP ENC Cost

Legs (listed cost and ENC covers both legs)Greaves

Trews

AbdomenSkirts

ChestByrnie

Cuirass

Heavy LeatherCuirbouilliBronze Light ScaleBronze Heavy ScaleBronze PlateLeatherBronze RingmailBronze Chainmail

23356145

33

7.5991.56

7.5

20 L50 L50 L

I50 L400 L

10 L100 L200 L

Abdomen and ChestHauberk Leather

Heavy LeatherLinenBronze Light ScaleBronze RingmailBronze Heavy ScaleBronze Chainmail

1234455

1245465

10 L20 L20 L80 L

100 LI50 L200 L

Arms (listed cost and ENC covers both arms)LeatherHeavy LeatherLinenCuirbouilliBronze Light ScaleBronze RingmailBronze Heavy ScaleBronze ChainmailBronze Plate

LeatherBronze RingmailBronze ChainmailHeavy LeatherLinenCuirbouilliBronze Light ScaleBronze Heavy ScaleBronze Plate

123344556

145233456

0.5121

2.523

2.53

0.52

2.5121

2.533

5 L10 L10 L25 L40 L50 L75 L

100 L200 L

5 L50 L

100 L10 L10 L25L40 L75 L

200 L

Sleeves

Vambraces

HeadCap

CowledHelm/Hood

Open Helm

Closed HelmFull Helm

LeatherBronze RingmailBronze ChainmailHeavy LeatherCuirbouilliBronze Light ScaleBronze Heavy ScaleBronze Plate

Heavy LeatherCuirbouilliBronzeLeatherBronze RingmailBronze ChainmailHeavy LeatherCuirbouilliCompositeBronzeBronzeBronze

14523456

123145234567

14522566

0.50.50.50.52

2.511

2.5336

5L50 L

100 L10 L25 L40 L75 L

200 L

5LI5L40 L5L

50 L100 L10 L25 L40 L75 L

200 L400 L

Type Material AP ENC Cost Notes

Full suit LeatherHeavy LeatherCuirbouilliBronze Light ScaleBronze RingmailBronze Heavy ScaleBronze ChainmailBronze Plate

12344556

4882016242024

30 L60 LI50 L225 L300 L450 L600 LI,200 L

Supple soft leather. Also cloth armor.Heavy stiff leather. Also light linen, heavy cloth or padded armor.Heavy leather armor stiffened by boiling in wax and oil.Scales or disks on outside and rivets inside, or vice versa. Also bezainted.Butted metal rings sewn to leather. Also light riveted or butted Chainmail.Also brigandine or splint. Heavy scales on outside and rivets inside, or vice versa.Riveted metal links woven into a mesh.Large metal plates molded to the wearer's body.

SIZ Armor Price and ENC

1-56-101 1 - 1 516-2021-2526-30etc.

x 1/2x 3/4

Listed valuesx1-1/2x 2

X 2-1/2

•84 •

COMBAT • 85

PHYSICAL COMBAT SUMMARIES

Combat Modifiers Table

Situation Effect

Target helplessTarget fully surprisedTarget proneAttacking target from behindTarget kneeling or below youTarget partially surprisedAttacking target from flankPer 10 SIZ target is over SIZ 20Missile attack on moving targetPer 1 SIZ target is below SIZ 4Attacker is riding a moving animalAttacker is riding a moving vehicleAttacking opponent above youAttacking while kneelingAttacking while pronePartial darknessDarkness, or blind, or unseen foe

+40% attack+20% attack+20% attack+ 15% attack+ 10% attack+ 10% attack+ 10% attack+5% attack-10% attack-10% attack-10% attack-10% attack-10% attack-10% attack1/2 attack and dodge1/2 attack, parry and dodge1/5 attack, parry and dodge

Summary of Physical Attacks and Defenses

Fumble

Attack

Parry

Dodge

Misses, roll on fumble table.

Misses, roll on fumble table.

Only a fumbled attack misses. A missed attack becomesa normal hit, a normal hit becomes a special hit, a specialhit becomes a critical hit, and a critical hit doesmaximum possible damage.

Miss

Any Missed, no other effect

Normal Success

Attack Rolled weapon damage.

Parry Parrying weapon or shield blocks its AP in damage.

Dodge Normal hit misses, special hit becomes a normalhit, critical hit becomes a special hit.

Special Success

Attack

Parry

Dodge

Double rolled weapon damage.

Parrying weapon or shield blocks twice its AP in damage.

Normal or special hit misses, critical hit becomesa normal hit.

Critical

Attack Double rolled weapon damage and ignore armor but rollhit location normally or choose location hit, but applyarmor normally.

Parry Weapon or shield blocks all damage(may still take knockback).

Dodge Any attack misses.

Humanoid Hit Location Table

D20 Roll Location

19-2016-1813-1511-1207-1004-0601-03

HeadLeft ArmRight ArmChestAbdomenLeft LegRight Leg

Damage to Locations

Location Damage Effect

Under 1xHL

From 1x to under 2x HL

From 2x to under 3x HL

From 3x HL and up

Wounded. No other effect.

Injured (limbs or abdomen)Incapacitated (chest)Unconscious (head)

Injured (limbs)Incapacitated (abdomen)Unconscious (chest or head)

Incapacitated (limbs may be severed)Unconscious (abdomen)Dead (chest or head)

Effects of Location Damage

Injury Effect

NormalWounded

Injured

Incapacitated

Unconscious

Dead

Location is undamaged, and functions normallyLocation is lightly damaged, but continues tofunction normally.

Cannot use location (and legs if abdomen). Fall Iflegs or abdomen, drop weapon if weapon arm.

Cannot use location (and legs if abdomen). Fall iflegs, chest or abdomen, drop weapon if weaponarm. One less action and half chance of success.

No actions, fall, may bleed to death

Dead.

Effects of General Hit Point Damage

Injury Effect

Under 1x general HP damage No effect

From 1x to under 2x general HP in damage Unconscious

From 2x and up in general HP damage Dead

86 • COMBAT

SPIRIT COMBATSpirit combat is the struggle of two or more wills. Eachseeks to force its will on the other. Each tries to grind theother down to the point where it can no longer resist.Individuals in spirit combat lose MP, sometimes at afrightful rate. More than one spirit can attack the sametarget, but a single individual can only attack one target ata time.

When Attacks OccurSpirit combat attacks take place at the combatant's DEXSR in the melee round. Spirits without a listed DEX attackat DEX 20 (in SR 1). If more than one spirit combat attackoccurs on the same SR, resolve them in order of DEX. Ifthis does not resolve the tie, the attacks are simultaneous.

OptionsThe combat options in spirit combat are—Attack (oneaction), Defend (one action), Attack and Defend (twoactions) All Out Attack (two actions), and All OutDefense (two actions). Most spirits will Attack andDefend, though some may use an All Out Attack or an AllOut Defense.

Spirit Combat ProcedureIf taking an Attack action, the attacker matches his MPagainst the defender's MP (0 if not defending, MP ifdefending, and twice MP if defending all out) and rolls onthe resistance table.

If taking an All Out Attack action, the attackermatches twice his MP against the defender's MP (whichare 0 if not defending, MP if defending, and twice MP ifdefending all out) and rolls on the resistance table. Theattacker cannot defend or perform any other melee actionswhile attacking all out.

The defender defends against all attacking spirits withMP 0 if not taking any defensive spirit combat actions, hisMP if taking a Defend action, and twice his MP if takingan All Out Defense action.

A success on the attacker's part means that theattacker does damage as appropriate to his magic points(see Damage Done).

A critical success on the attacker's part in spirit com-bat occurs only on a roll of 01. The attack does doubledamage in this case.

A fumble on the attacker's part in spirit combat occursonly on a roll of 00. The attacker rolls on the SpiritCombat fumble table.

Damage DoneDamage done in spirit combat after a successful attack orAll Out Attack is 1D3 MP per 20 MP the attacker has. Asuccessful All Out Attack against a victim that is notdefending themselves (i.e., defending with 0 MP) doesmaximum possible damage. Subtract lost MP from thedefender's MP. A combatant that is reduced to 0 MP losesconsciousness, and is open to binding, possession OT otherspecial abilities of certain spirits.

Summary of Spirit Combat

AttackDefendAttack & DefendAll Out AttackAll Out Defense

Numberof meleeactions

11222

Attackswith

MP

MP2 xMP

Defendswith

0 MPMPMP0 MP2 xMP

Damagedone

By MPNoneBy MPBy MP&

None

&Maximum damage if victim not defending (i.e., 0 MP)

Damage Done in Spirit Combat

Current MP Damage Done (in MP)

01-2021-4041-6061-80etc.

1D32D33D34D3

Double damage on a roll of 01

Spirit Combat Fumble TableFumbles occur in spirit combat on a roll of 00.

D100Roll Result

01-25

26-35

36-45

46-50

51-6566-75

76-80

81-85

86-88

89-969798-9900

Stunned. Lose remaining action in this round, or, if noactions remain this round, lose one action nextround.Shocked. Lose remaining action in this round and oneaction next round. If no actions remain this round,lose one action next round and one action the roundafter that.Magic point recovery takes twice as long for the next1D6 days.All spirit skills (Spirit Combat, Spirit Speech, SpiritSense, etc.) are halved for the next 1D6 days (if nospirit skills known, treat as 36-45 above.Next spirit combat attack against fumbler succeeds.Next 1D3 spirit combat attacks against fumbler suc-ceed.Next spirit combat attack that succeeds can try tobind or possess the fumbler (or do whatever it doesto helpless targets). If it has no special effect on help-less targets, it does double normal damage.Knocked unconscious for 1D6 rounds. If individual isa discorporate spirit, he or she is forced back to thespirit plane.Knocked unconscious for 1D6 turns. If individual is adiscorporate spirit, the spirit is forced to return toits source or origin on the spirit or physical plane, asappropriate.Lose 1D6 magic points.Suffer a Soul Wound. Lose 1 POW.Roll two times and apply both results.Roll three times and apply all three results.

COMBAT • 87

SPECIAL RULES FOR COMBATThe following sets of rules are meant togovern the various situations that mightarise in the course of combat, or aremeant to add flavor to combat.Gamemasters should feel free to usethose that appeal to them, and discardthose they feel overly slows the course ofplay.

Unarmed CombatUnarmed combat can involve brawling,grappling, or the use of martial arts.Some of the unusual attacks describedlater in this section can be put to effectiveuse in unarmed combat as well.

BrawlingBrawl skill represents skill in unarmedstriking combat and unarmed blocks.The skill should be treated as a regularweapon skill with respect to the effects ofcriticals, specials, successes, failures andfumbles.

A successful Brawl attack does 1D3damage, representing a fist or elbowstrike, gouge, or kick. An All Out Brawlattack might be a flurry of blows, or amore powerful type of blow, such as akick or haymaker.

A successful Brawl parry acts as a 3 APparry.

Grappling and WrestlingGrapple skill represents skill in unarmedgrappling, wrestling, holds, throws,breaks, evasions and parries. The skillshould be treated as a regular weaponskill with respect to the effects of criti-cals, specials, successes, failures andfumbles.

A successful Grapple parry acts as a 3AP parry.

A successful Grapple attack roll that isnot dodged or parried grabs hold of arandom hit location. A successfulGrapple attack that is parried grabs holdof the parrying weapon or shield. Theattacker will take maximum weapondamage to the grasping limb if he or sheattempts to continue to hold onto abladed weapon. A special Grapple attackthat is parried can grab hold of the parry-ing weapon or shield arm instead.

A successful Grapple attack that hasgrabbed a hit location, shield or haftedweapon continues to hold onto what wasgrabbed, and may immobilize, causedamage, or throw the held victim withsubsequent actions. These subsequentactions require taking an attack action incombat, but take place on the attackersDEX SR (instead of the 3 + Melee SR ofthe initial Grapple attack).

To immobilize an opponent (using thehit location grabbed), the attacker mustsucceed in another Grapple roll (at DEX

SR). If a subsequent Grapple roll fails,the opponent is not immobilized, but thelocation is still held. If a subsequentGrapple roll fumbles, the opponent isreleased. If a subsequent Grapple rollsucceeds, roll STR vs. STR on the resis-tance table to immobilize the opponent.A resistance table roll that fails does notimmobilize the opponent, but the loca-tion remains held. A resistance table rollthat succeeds immobilizes the opponent.An immobilized opponent can be held insubsequent melee rounds without furtherrolls if the attacker spends a single attackaction to do so (the immobilized oppo-nent may try to break free, as describedbelow).

To damage an opponent, the attackermust succeed in another Grapple roll (atDEX SR). If a subsequent Grapple rollsucceeds, roll 1D4 damage plus damagebonus versus the hit location held. Armoronly counts for half its normal value.Protective spells have full value. If a sub-sequent Grapple roll fails, no damage isinflicted, but the location is still held. If asubsequent Grapple roll fumbles, theopponent is released.

If the location held is the head, theattacker can instead attempt to apply achoke with another Grapple roll (at DEXSR). If a subsequent Grapple attack suc-ceeds, the opponent's air supply is cutoff, and he or she begins to asphyxiate(see the rules of asphyxiation in theNatural World chapter). A special successalso does 1D4 damage (plus damagebonus) to the opponent's head, ignoringmost armor but not protective spells. Acritical success also does 2D4 damage(plus damage bonus) to the opponent'shead, ignoring any armor or protectivespells, in addition to asphyxiating theopponent. A successful choke may bemaintained in subsequent melee roundswithout further rolls if the attackerspends a single attack action to do so (thechoked opponent may try to break free,as described below). The attacker canattempt to immobilize the choked oppo-nent in subsequent rounds, using therules for immobilization above. If a sub-sequent Grapple roll fails, no choke isinflicted, but the head is still held. If asubsequent Grapple roll fumbles, theopponent is released.

To throw an opponent, the attackermust succeed in another Grapple roll (atDEX SR). If a subsequent Grapple rollfails, the opponent is not thrown, but thelocation is still held. If a subsequentGrapple roll fumbles, the opponent isreleased. If the second Grapple roll suc-ceeds, roll the STR + DEX of the attackervs. SIZ + DEX of the opponent on theresistance table. On a special success,double the attacker's chance for success

on the resistance table, on a critical suc-cess, quadruple the attacker's chance forsuccess on the resistance table. If attackersucceeds in the resistance roll table, theopponent is thrown, and takes 1D6 dam-age to a random hit location (more if thefall is from a greater height), unless he orshe succeeds in a DEX x1 or Acrobaticsroll. Damage bonus in this case isAttacker's STR + Opponent's SIZ. Armorprotects the thrown character from thefalling damage at half value at best. Theattacker does not have to release the heldlocation after a successful throw. If resis-tance roll fails, the opponent is notthrown, but the location is still held.

Grapple skill may also be used to free adefender's held location. If a location isheld, but the defender is not immobilizedor choked, the defender can break free ofthe hold by making a successful Grappleroll (requiring an attack action), thensucceeding in a STR vs. STR roll on theresistance table. On a special success,double the defender's chance for successon the resistance table, on a critical suc-cess, quadruple the defender's chance forsuccess on the resistance table.

If the defender is immobilized orchoked, the defender can attempt tobreak free by making a successfulGrapple roll at half skill (requiring an allout attack action in this case), then suc-ceeding in a STR vs. STR roll on theresistance roll. On a special success, dou-ble the defender's chance for success onthe resistance table, on a critical success,quadruple the defender's chance for suc-cess on the resistance table. A fumblemeans that the defender is stuck, andcannot break free, no matter how hardhe or she tries.

Martial ArtsUsing Martial Arts, an adventurer'splayer must roll a successful attack orparry with a natural weapon. If the per-centile roll is also equal to or less thanthe adventurer's Martial Arts skill, thenthe adventurer gains an additional bene-fit, generally twice the normal effect ordamage. A special or critical result on theattack or parry roll will add its benefit aswell.

A Brawl attack roll that is also lessthan or equal to the Martial Arts percent-age does 2D3, double the normal rolleddamage. Damage bonus does notincrease.

A Brawl or Grapple parry roll that isalso less than or equal to the Martial Artspercentage blocks 6 points of damageand the defender may choose to takeexcess damage at the parrying location(typically on arm), or at the locationrolled by the attacker, at the defender'soption.

88 • COMBAT

A Grapple attack roll that is also lessthan or equal to the Martial Arts percent-age and is not parried or dodged by theopponent may be immediately followedby an attempt to damage, choke, immo-bilize or throw the opponent, whichtakes place DEX SR later. Essentially, ifthe defender failed to dodge or parry, theattacker gains a free Grapple action.

A Grapple attack roll that is parried byan opponent's weapon or shield maygrasp the opponent's weapon or shieldarm instead of the weapon or shield, butacting on the hold would require anadditional action, as normal—no freeaction is gained by the attacker if thedefender's parry succeeded.

A Grapple choke attempt that rollsequal to or less than the Martial Arts per-centage does double damage (1D4 on anormal success).

A Grapple damage attempt that rollsequal to or less than the Martial Arts per-centage does twice the normal rolleddamage, or 2D4. Damage bonus does notincrease.

A Grapple immobilization attempt thatrolls equal to or less than the MartialArts percentage has a double normalchance of success.

A Grapple throw attempt that rollsequal to or less than the Martial Arts per-centage will have a double normal chanceof success or do 2D6, double the normalrolled damage, at the thrower's option.Damage bonus does not increase.

UNUSUAL ATTACKSA number of different tactics can be usedin a combat situation. Some techniques,including the standard attack, parry anddodge are used by all figures. Other spe-cial effects take place using other modesof attack.

The player of adventurer that wishes touse an unusual attack form must statethat his or her adventurer is doing so andspecify the form of attack being used inthe Declaration phase of the meleeround.

Aimed ShotAn aimed melee or missile attack. On anormal success, the blow does normalrolled weapon damage, but the attackercan roll which location is struck using1D10 (aiming low) or 1D10+10 (aiminghigh). On a special success, the blow doesnormal rolled weapon damage but strikesa location of the attacker's choice, no rollnecessary. On a critical success, the blowdoes twice the rolled weapon damageand strikes a location of the attackerschoice. A critical success with an aimedshot never ignores armor.

BashAttempt to knock an opponent aside ordown by pushing them, sweeping theirfeet out from under them, or strikingthem with a weapon or object. Theattack roll for the weapon being used ismade as normal, but a successful attackcauses knockback damage rather thanregular weapon damage. A normal hitdoes twice the rolled weapon damage inknockback damage (only). A special hitdoes three times the rolled weapon dam-age in knockback damage (only). Acritical success does four times the rolledweapon damage in knockback damage(only). See Knockback for more details.

DisarmAttempt to disarm an opponent byattacking their weapon, using eitherbrute force or finesse. A normal hit doesnormal rolled weapon damage to the foe.A special hit, instead of damaging thefoe, has a chance of disarming the foe.Match the attacker's STR vs. thedefender's STR on the resistance table. Ifeither character's weapon is held withboth hands, multiply that character'sSTR by 1.5 for this roll. If the attackerwins, the defender's weapon is knocked 0to 5 meters (1D6-1) away, in a randomdirection (roll 1D8 for compass direction,or 1D6 on a hex map). A weaponknocked 0 meters away lands at thedefender's feet. Short weapons such asdaggers are not particularly well suitedfor this task, and if used will only allowmatching STR/2 vs. the defender's STR.A critical success with a disarming attackautomatically succeeds in knocking thedefender's weapon away. Only a criticalparry will prevent the defender frombeing disarmed. Dodging has its normaleffect, reducing the attacker's level of suc-cess, so a successful dodger is difficult todisarm.

EntangleA weapon or shield parry has only 3/4 ofits parry AP against a flexible or chainweapon such as a whip or flail. However,flexible or chain weapons have a doublenormal chance of a fumble.

If using a flexible weapon, the attackercan opt to attempt to try to entangle anopponent or an opponent's weapon. Anormal hit does normal rolled weapondamage. A special success entangles thehit location struck or the weaponattacked, doing only the normal weapondamage and with no other special effect.An entangled hit location is immobilizedor an entangled weapon is pulled fromthe defender's grasp on a successful STRvs. STR roll on the resistance table. Ifeither character's weapon is held withboth hands, multiply that character's

STR by 1.5 for this roll. Treat an immo-bilized hit location as if it was Injured,except for a head hit, which temporarilyblinds the defender. A weapon pulledfrom a defender's hands lands 0 to 5meters (1D6-1) away in a random direc-tion (roll 1D8 for compass direction,1D6 on a hex map). If 0 meters, it landsat the wielder's feet. A critical successdoes normal rolled weapon damage butautomatically immobilizes the struck hitlocation or pulls the entangled weaponout of the defender's hands.

SlamAttempt to knock an opponent aside ordown by moving directly through themwith your body. The attack is made as ifmaking an attack with Weapon SR 3,and does not normally do any damageother than what may be incurred fromthe knockback. The Slam attack is atDEX x3 or Grapple skill, whichever ishigher. The attacker does his STR plusSIZ in points of knockback damage (seeKnockback). The amount of knockbackis doubled for a special roll, quadrupledfor a critical roll. The attack can bedodged or parried normally. This form ofattack can also represent an attempt topush or trip an opponent. See Knockbackfor more details.

SPECIAL COMBAT TACTICSSpecial combat tactics reflect that the dif-ferent people have different aptitudes andstyles of fighting. These options makecombat more interesting, allowing aplayer to better describe the fighting stylehis or her adventurer uses. It allows youto add color to opponents from particu-lar cultures by making them fightsimilarly, for example. It encourages dif-ferent behavior from different kinds offighters.

The basic mechanic of by which theseoptions function is the special success. Aspecial combat tactic is a kind of skill. Ifthe adventurer using the special combattactic rolls a special hit with theirweapon that is also equal to or less than1/5 their skill in the special combat tactic,it has a particular effect. That is, theattack roll must be a special success withrespect to both the weapon attack andthe combat tactic for it to go into effect.The adventurer must declare that he orshe is trying to use a specific special com-bat tactic before the attack roll is madeThus, if an adventurer with BroadswordAttack 93 and Flurry/Broadsword 74announces that he will attempt to Flurry,and rolls a 15 or less, the attack is aFlurry. A roll of 16 to 19 would be a spe-cial hit, but not a Flurry, and a roll of 20to 93 would be but a normal hit.

COMBAT • 89

Acquiring Special Combat TacticsSpecial combat tactics are the province ofweaponsmasters, duelists, or advancedinitiates of fighting cults. Thus, noteveryone will know them. The followingrules are suggested as guidelines foradventurer's acquiring these abilities.

Learning a combat tactic is treated as iflearning a skill, even though it is not askill that is ever rolled for. If the adven-turer wishes the tactic to apply to only asingle group of weapons (i.e. 1H Sword),the skill is treated as an Easy skill. If thetactic is to apply to an entire category ofweapons (i.e. 1H Slashing), it is aMedium skill. If the tactic is to apply toall weapons, it is a Hard skill.

Training requires that the teacherknow the special tactic. Such teachers arerare. Some exceptional weaponsmastersand rune lords, such as a Sword ofHumakt, may teach such tactics. Somecults favor certain of these tactics. WindLords of Orlanth may favor Flurry, forinstance. With the gamemasters permis-sion, a adventurer may attempt topractice or research a special tactic ontheir own.

This special tactics are not meant tosuggest that the techniques mentionedhere are the exclusive province of thepeople who choose them as their per-sonal style. Certainly, every competentwarrior knows how to throw multipleblows, to feint, to aim his shots where hewants. The learning of these things ismeasured by the basic weapon skill. As afighter's skills improve, he learns how toinclude these things in his style. However,some people find a particular techniquethat works disproportionately well forthem, others may focus on and refine aparticular tactic to new heights, and thisis what these special tactics are meant toreflect.

Even an adventurer that knows morethan one special tactic should normallybe allowed to use only a single attack tac-tic and a single defense tactic in thecourse of a melee round.

With the gamemaster's permission,combat tactics may be purchased asoptional skills during character genera-tion.

Special Attack Tactics

FEINTAn attack that trades force for evasionand deception. A Feint does normalrolled weapon damage but halves thedefender's parry and dodge skill. A criti-cal Feint does twice normal rolledweapon damage and halves thedefender's parry or dodge skill.

Using Feint requires having a DEX atleast 3 above the minimum DEX for the

weapon.This tactic is favored by the duelists

and weaponsmasters of the LunarEmpire, particularly those of Peloria.

FLURRY

A flurry is a series of quick blows. AFlurry lands two normal blows, eachdoing normal rolled weapon damage,with the second blow landing 1 SR afterthe first. A critical Flurry lands two spe-cial hits, each doing twice normal rolledweapon damage, with the second blowlanding 1 SR after the first.

Using Flurry requires having a STR atleast 3 above the minimum STR for theweapon.

This tactic is particularly favored bythe weaponthanes and weaponmasters ofSartar and the Barbarian Belt. It is a par-ticular specialty of the Orlanthi, andmany Wind Lords know it.

Special Missile Weapon Tactics

STEADY

A Steady shot ignores maximum rangepenalties (if any) for that shot.

This tactic is particularly favored bythe archers of the Yelm and Saggituscults.

Special Parry Tactics

DISARM

A Disarm blocks damage from an attackequal to the parrying weapon's Parry APbut also has a chance of disarming a foe.Match the defender's DEX vs. theattacker's DEX on the resistance table. Ifeither character's weapon is held withboth hands, multiply that character'sDEX by 1.5 for this roll. If the defenderwins, the attacker's weapon is knocked 0to 5 meters (1D6-1) away, in a randomdirection (roll 1D8 for compass direction,1D6 on a hex map). A weapon knocked0 meters away lands at the attacker's feet.

Short weapons such as daggers are notnormally suited for this task, and if usedwill only allow matching DEX/2 vs. theattacker's DEX. Parrying daggers orswordbreakers are an exception to thisrule. A parrying dagger allows thedefender to use his or her DEX, a sword-breaker allows the defender to use his orher DEX x 1.5, even though it is a 1Hweapon.

A critical Disarm blocks damage froman attack equal to twice the parryingweapon's AP and automatically disarmsthe foe.

The combination of using Disarm toattack and a Disarming parry to defend

will leave many a foe bereft of theirweapons.

This tactic is a particular favorite ofHoly Country duelists.

GUARD

A specialty of cautious fighters. A Guardblocks damage from an attack equal tothe parrying weapon's AP but also countsas a normal dodge. A critical Guardblocks damage from an attack equal totwice the parrying weapons AP but alsocounts as a special dodge.

RIPOSTE

An offensive parry. A Riposte blocksdamage from an attack equal to the par-rying weapon's AP but also hits theattacker, doing rolled weapon damage(the attacker defends against it normally).A critical Riposte blocks damage from anattack equal to twice the parryingweapon's AP and also hits the attacker,doing double rolled weapon damage.

Using Riposte requires having a STR atleast 2 above the minimum STR for theweapon.

This tactic is a particular favorite ofthe Humakti, though all sword basedspecial combat tactics are a general spe-cialty of the cult.

STANDFAST

A braced parry. A Standfast parry blocksdamage from an attack equal to the par-rying weapon's AP but the defender isalso braced against knockback (addingSTR to SIZ to resist knockback dam-age—see Knockback). A critical Standfastparry blocks damage from an attackequal to the twice parrying weapon's APbut the defender takes no knockbackfrom any blow, not matter how muchknockback damage was done.

This tactic is a particular favorite ofthe Dara Happan hoplites of the LunarEmpire and the Sun Dome templars.

Special Dodge Tactics

COUNTER

An offensive dodge. A Counter has theeffect of a normal dodge but also hits theattacker, doing rolled weapon damage(the attacker can defend against it nor-mally). A critical Counter has the effectof a special dodge and also hits theattacker, doing double rolled weapondamage.

Using Counter requires having a DEXat least 3 above the minimum DEX forthe weapon.

This is a particular favorite of theYanafal Tarnils cult.

90 • COMBAT

EVADE

A dodge combined with a parry. AnEvade has the effect of a normal dodgebut also blocks damage from an attackequal to the parrying weapon's AP, and acritical Evade has the effect of a specialdodge and also blocks damage from anattack equal to twice the parryingweapon's AP.

CLOSINGAn adventurer that starts the Move phaseengaged with a foe, currently has at leastMV 1, and wishes to close with the foemust defeat the foe in a contest ofManeuver skills to do so (see Skill vs.Skill in Game Mechanics). Likewise, anengaged adventurer that wishes to moveaway from a foe follows the same proce-dure. If the adventurer wins the contestof skills, he or she moves 1 meter (1 hex)closer or further way, as he or she wishes.

Only a single contest of Maneuverskills is made for foes that disagree abouttheir distance in a melee round. It makesno difference who makes the roll. Thewinner can decide to move 1 meter for-ward, 1 meter back, or maintain thesame distance. The loser can not move.

An adventurer that is engaged at a dis-tance by a long weapon during the Movephase and has at least 1 meter of move-ment left may attempt to close by a meterat that point, using the guidelines above.

A pike may engage and attack a foe ata distance of 3 meters (3 hexes). At thatdistance, no other weapon can reach thepike user, though an opponent maychoose to strike at the pike (see Damageto Inanimate Objects).

A spear may engage and attack a foe ata distance of 2 meters (2 hexes). At thatdistance, no shorter weapon can reachthe spear user, though an opponent maychoose to strike at the spear.

All weapons can engage and attackadjacent foes (1 meter away, or 1 hexaway). However, a pike user is at a disad-vantage at this distance. He or she losesone action in combat (see the FumbleTable) and the pike attacks as if it was aSR 3 weapon.

All weapons can engage and attackclosed foes (in the same hex). However, apike user suffers the same disadvantagenoted above. In addition, anyone using aSR 1 or SR 2 weapon against someoneusing a SR 3 weapon while closed suffersthe same disadvantage (losing one actionin combat and attacking as if a SR 3weapon).

DAMAGE TO OBJECTSInanimate objects such as doors, chairs,and walls are likely to get in the way of a

blow or need to be battered down inorder to free an imprisoned adventurer.

Armor Points for ObjectsTreat an inanimate object like a weaponor piece of armor (its armor points arealso hit points). If the damage points hit-ting the object exceed the armor points,then the hit points are reduced by theamount of damage in excess of the armorpoints, which in turn reduces the armorpoints. If an object is reduced to zero hitpoints, it is totally destroyed if it issmaller than human-sized (such as achair) or has a human-sized hole in it if itis larger (such as a wooden wall). Thearmor points of an object may equal itspoints of SIZ, but this is not necessarilythe case—some heavy, but fragile objectsmay withstand less damage than lighterbut more resilient objects.

Damaging WeaponsIt is possible to strike at an opponent'sweapon to attempt to damage it. Aweapon has armor points ranging fromits parry AP to twice its parry AP,depending on its construction, qualityand reinforcement. Normal weaponshave AP equal to their parry AP, fineweapons have AP equal to half againtheir parry AP and excellent weaponshave AP equal to twice their parry AP(see Economics for prices). An attackattempting to damage a weapon that isparried by the weapon's user subtractsthe weapon's parry AP from the damagedone—it is difficult to break or damagethe weapon of a skilled parrier.

Armor Points for Objects Table

Object Armor Points

Acrobatics roll will negate the effects ofthe fall.

A figure who falls in the course of theMelee phase loses any further actions inthat Melee phase. They may not attackor defend for the remainder of that Meleephase. A successful Acrobatics roll allowsthe figure to act at half skill for theremainder of the round, and start thePost Melee Move phase standing.

A figure who falls in the course of aPost Melee Move phase stops where theyfell, and begins the Move phase prone. Asuccessful Acrobatics roll will negate theeffects of the fall.

It costs 5 MV to move from a proneposition to a kneeling position. Movingfrom a kneeling position to a standingposition costs another 3 MV.

Fighting From the GroundA figure fighting while lying on theground cannot force engagement onother figures while he or she remains onthe ground, although they may engagehim or her, if they wish.

When fighting lying on the ground,most weapon attacks are at half skill, asis Dodge. Parry skills are unaffected. Inaddition, the figure will only have halfhis or her normal damage bonus.

Fighting While KneelingStanding foes (that are at least half thefigure's SIZ) gain the benefits of HighGround (see Environment, below). Thekneeling figure subtracts 10% to hitstanding foes, but otherwise fights nor-mally.

KNOCKBACKIf a figure does at least 10 points of dam-age to a foe in a single blow, her or shecan choose to force the foe to roll DEXx5 or fall. Each additional 10 points ofdamage moves the opponent back 1meter and reduces the DEX roll by 1multiple. Armor or parries have no effecton knockback, though armor will reduceincidental damage suffered as a conse-quence of knockback.

Damage taken Knockback

1-910-1920-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

etc.

NoneDEX x5 or fallKnocked back 1 meter,DEX x4 or fallKnocked back 2 meters,DEX x3 or fallKnocked back 3 meters,DEX x2 or fallKnocked back 4 meters,DEX x1 or fall

Light Wooden FurnitureLight Wooden DoorHut WallHeavy Wooden FurnitureHeavy Wooden DoorFence RailFarmhouse Wall (wood & plaster)Postern GateLarge StoneLoose Stone WallAdobeCastle/Town GateWooden PalisadeMortared Stone/Brick Wall

24566101220202025303035

FALLEN FIGURESA figure who falls in the course of aMove phase stops where they fell, andbegins the Melee phase prone. He or shemay fight while lying on the ground(attack skills, Dodge and DB are halved)during the Melee phase. A successful

COMBAT • 91

Large creatures subtract 10 points ofdamage for every 10 full points of SIZabove 10 for the purposes of calculatingtheir knockback. A SIZ 22 dark troll thattakes 19 points of damage or less willsuffer no knockback, and need onlymake a DEX x5 roll if she takes 20-29points of damage.

Knockback in CombatNote that in combat extreme levels ofknockback may well knock a foe out ofengagement range or weapons reach, inwhich case the foes will have to move upto one another during the upcoming PostMelee move phase or next round's Movephase to reengage.

If the attacker is trying to knock a foeback into a specific object or person, andthey are within the total knockback dis-tance, have the attacker make a DEX x3roll to have them hit the desired target. Ifthe attacker succeeds, see below for theeffect.

Knockback into Objects or PeopleIf the distance traveled by a figure due toknockback damage is sufficient that he orshe slams into an obstacle (which may beanother figure), both may take damage.For each meter the figure still has totravel when he encounters the obstacle,both the figure and the obstacle suffer1D6 damage (to a random location forthe figure, and to a random hit locationof the obstacle if it happens to be anotherfigure). If the obstacle is another figure, itcan attempt to Dodge, if this optionwould be available to him or her. Armorprotects against this damage as withfalling damage (see the Natural World).See Damage to Inanimate Objects for theeffects of causing damage to otherobjects.

MOUNTED COMBATThe movement of a mount is unrelated tothe actions of its rider. A horse can takeonly a single action (Defend, unless it is awarhorse) and move in Melee and PostMelee while its rider loads and fires abow twice, taking two combat actions.However, a riding animal moving at aSprint is generally too unstable a plat-form to fight off or fire missiles offeffectively. At best, allow the rider a sin-gle action at half skill in such a case.Mounted figures use Ride skill instead ofManeuver skill when moving in combat.

Mounted vs. FootmenMounted figures fighting footmen get theadvantage of High Ground (seeEnvironment). If the foes have a SIZequal to or greater than the mounts, thisno longer applies.

Lance ChargesA lance charge is a special case. If theattacker and defender have becomeengaged in the Move phase just beforethe lance attack, and the charging animalHas moved at least its MV in meters in astraight line before becoming engaged,the attack is a charge. In a charge thelance attack takes place before anyshorter melee weapon attacks (at the SRof the lance or shorter weapon, whicheveris lower, but with the lance first) and thedamage modifier used in the attack is themount's, not the lance wielder's.

If the enemy has a pike, the pike strikesbefore the lance (at the SR of the pike orlance, whichever is lower, but with thepike first). A pike that is set and bracedagainst a charge uses the charging ani-mal's damage bonus instead of the pikewielder's damage bonus. This rule onlyapplies in an all out charge with a lancewhere the attack uses the riding animal'sdamage bonus instead of the rider's.

If the figure with the lance is maneu-vering and thrusting with the lance as ifusing a spear, charge modifiers do notapply.

SURPRISESurprise can be mild, partial, or com-plete. Mildly surprised figures add 3 SRto any action taken, but otherwise actnormally. Partially surprised figures can-not move other than the free facing shift(one hex side) in the Move phase, loseone action in the Melee phase, and add 3SR to any action taken. Completely sur-prised figures cannot act for an entiremelee round.

ENVIRONMENTDarknessHalve all vision and vision dependentskills (including Scan, Search, Dodge,and all weapon skills for humans) in con-ditions of partial darkness, such astwilight, a starlit night, a poorly lit cave,a moonlit night, or a fog or mist. If verydark, such as an overcast night or a veryheavy fog, all vision and vision depen-dent skills are at 1/2 skill. In utter darkness,or when dealing with a completely invisi-ble opponent, visually targeted spellscannot be cast, and all vision and visiondependent skills are at 1/2 skill.

FlightThe combat modifiers for attacking fromabove (+10% to hit, 1D10+10 for hitlocation rolls) or below (-10% to hit,1D10 for hit location rolls) and fightingfrom the back of an animal (see Rideskill) often apply to aerial combat.

High GroundA figure who is standing at least halfagain higher than his or her target has ahigh ground advantage. This means thatthe figure rolls 1D10+10 for all hit loca-tion rolls for his attacks with one-handedmelee weapons, and can choose to do sowith a two-handed melee weapon aswell. The higher figure also has a 10%bonus to all attacks against that enemy.The lower figure rolls 1D10 for hit loca-tion rolls with one-handed meleeweapons, and can choose to roll 1D10 or1D20 with a two-handed melee weapon.The lower adventurer subtracts 10%from all his or her attacks.

Narrow PassagesA figure with a 1 meter radius cleararound him can fight freely with almostany weapon. Non thrusting weaponswith a Weapon SR of 0 or 1 are used athalf skill in narrow passageways. In anextremely narrow corridor, a non thrust-ing weapon with a Weapon SR of 0 or 1cannot be used, and weapons with aWeapon SR of 2 are used at half skill. Alonger thrusting weapon, such as a spearcan be used if the height and length ofthe corridor are sufficient to allow it tomove through it.

Fighting or engaging in other strenu-ous exertion in a small enclosed areawith insufficient ventilation incurs anextra Fatigue Roll (i.e. a figure fightingwithout helmet or armor would have tomake two Fatigue Rolls instead of one atthe end of the first minute of combat.)

Poor FootingFighting or moving on broken ground,ice or other slippery or treacherous sur-faces can be tricky. Figures that movehalf their full MV or less in a round mustsucceed in a DEX x5 or Maneuver roll tostay on their feet, those that move up totheir full MV must succeed in a DEX x3or Maneuver roll, otherwise they fall.

UnderwaterOnly thrusting weapons such as spearsand knives, or specially constructeddarts, javelins and crossbows can be usedunderwater. Treat all targets as having 3extra AP, which apply to even criticalhits. This represents the slowing effectwater has on even thrusting weapons.Figures not used to fighting underwaterwill have twice the normal chance offumbling (on a roll of 97-00 if under90% skill, 99-00 if 90% or higher skill).

Humans fighting underwater withoutwater breathing spells will suffer fromasphyxiation (see Asphyxiation) and maysuffer from poor visibility (see Darkness)as well.

THE•NATURAL•WORLD

An adventurer's interaction with the world is governed by his surroundings. The barriers, hazards anddifficulties posed by the natural world can pose a greater challenge than combat with an armed foe or fellbeast. The natural forces of the world, such as gravity, disease, poison, exposure, fatigue, or thirst can

damage or kill an adventurer every bit as well as a sword or a deadly spell. In Glorantha, the natural world is often thesupernatural world. Acts of nature, fatigue, disease and poison are often the effects of magic and the gods.Understanding these forces allows an adventurer to invoke the power needed to control them.

NATURAL HEALINGDamage to LocationsAn adventurer recovers from damage to hit locations at arate of 1D3 hit points (HP) per week in each damagedlocation if resting, 1D3-1 HP if not resting. The damage togeneral HP caused by the loss of hit points in a location(HL) recovers accordingly. First Aid skill and healingspells can also heal some or all of this damage.

Damage to General Hit PointsDamage to general hit points alone (from bleeding, poi-son, asphyxiation or magic) recovers at the same rate asdamage to locations. However, First Aid skill and mosthealing spells cannot heal this type of damage. Divinemagic spells such as Heal Wound or Heal Body are effec-tive, as are some powerful spirit magic and High Magicsorcery spells.

Non-Lethal DamageSome forms of non-lethal damage may recover morequickly. The gamemaster may wish to allow half the dam-age incurred by soft or light blunt weapons to recover at amuch faster rate: 1D3 HP per 5 minutes in each location ifresting, 1D3-1 HP if not resting. This would include dam-age from brawling, fists, grappling, kicks, clubs, staffs,padded weapons, attacks meant to subdue (flat of theblade, a carefully wielded mace), and falls on soft earth orsand. Such non-lethal damage can cause incapacitation orunconsciousness, but is less likely to cause death (a sourceof non-lethal damage would have to do at least twice thedamage normally needed to cause death, that is, 4 timesthe adventurer's HP). First Aid skill and healing spells cancure this type of damage as well. Healing spells heal moreserious damage first, non-lethal damage last.

FATIGUEThe following set of optional rules presents a method fordealing with questions of fat igue and exhaustion.Adventurers wearing heavy armor, pushing their limits, orotherwise engaged in other strenuous activity risk the haz-ards of fatigue.

Fatigue RollsA CON roll called the Fatigue Roll is used to resist fatigueand exhaustion. The difficulty of the CON roll required isgenerally determined by an adventurer's STR and ENC. Amissed Fatigue Roll decreases an adventurer's fatigue classby one level (see below).

An adventurer's STR and CON determine how effec-tively he or she can move and fight while encumbered.Adventurers with high STR can carry far more withoutbeing fatigued than those with low STR. An adventurergenerally cannot carry more than his or her STR x5 inENC and expect to function in combat. Greater amountscan be lifted and carried for short distances (use the resis-tance table, STR vs. SIZ) but this will occupy all of anadventurer's attention.

Total ENC

Up to STR x1Up to STR x2Up to STR x3Up to STR x4Up to STR x5

Fatigue Roll

CONx5CONx4CONx3CONx2CONx1

Encumbrance Level

UnencumberedLightly EncumberedModerately EncumberedHeavily EncumberedOver encumbered

With a mounted adventurer, increase the mounted adven-turer's Fatigue Roll by one class, to a maximum of CONx5. For example, an adventurer with a normal Fatigue Rollof CON x3 due to encumbrance should use a Fatigue Rollof CON x4 when mounted.

•92•

93 • T H E • N A T U R A L • W O R L D

Fatigue ClassesEvery adventurer subject to fatigue has a set of fatigueclasses which drop as fatigue increases. Each missedFatigue Roll decreases an adventurer current fatigue statusby one class.

Terrain

Ideal (Good road or plains)Hindering (Rough or overgrown)Difficult (Steep hills or woods)Intractable (Mountains, swamp)

Fatigue Rollrequiredevery (km)

201052.5

MaximumDistance(in km)

80402010

Limiting conditions, such as poor weather, poor visibilityor careful movement may shift a terrain into a more diffi-cult category. The distances for intractable terrain may behalved or it may be rendered impassable. Adventurerstraveling carefully can use their perception skills at theirnormal levels, they are otherwise halved.

It is possible to attempt to exceed the maximum dailydistance, but every interval traveled beyond the maximumdistance causes the automatic loss of one fatigue class, andwill cause the loss of 1D3 general HP and another fatigueclass as well, should the adventurer fail a Fatigue Roll.

Riding is not as exhausting as is walking or marching.Characters riding make Fatigue Rolls at half the normalrate (on ideal terrain, making one Fatigue Roll every 40kilometers traveled). The mount itself checks for fatigueloss normally. It may well end up Exhausted while its rideris unaffected.

Fatigue loss from traveling is recovered by rest orsleep (see below).

Wearing ArmorWearing heavy armor is fatiguing. Adventurers wearingarmor heavier than cuirbouilli for any significant length oftime must make a Fatigue Roll.

Wearing a helmet is particularly tiring. An adventurerwearing any head armor beside a cap or soft leather hoodfor any significant length of time should make a FatigueRoll.

An adventurer wearing heavy armor and a helmetwould make two Fatigue Rolls.

The Fatigue Rolls would generally be made immedi-ately prior to combat or any other situation where loss offatigue would matter. If the armor or helmet was donnedimmediately prior to combat, no Fatigue Rolls are neces-sary.

Fatigue loss from wearing armor is recovered by restor sleep (see below).

Lack of SleepEvery 12 hours without sleep requires a Fatigue Roll. Theadventurer will automatically fall asleep if their fatigueclass drops to Prostrated due to lack of sleep.

Fatigue loss due to lack of sleep can only be restoredby sleep.

ExposureUnprotected exposure to the elements can cause fatigueloss and general HP damage. The most extreme condi-tions, such as a howling blizzard on Valind's Glacier,might require a Fatigue Roll every minute of exposure andcause 1D6 general HP damage every minute regardless ofthe results of the fatigue roll. Most conditions will far lesssevere, requiring perhaps one Fatigue Roll an hour, andcausing 1 general HP of damage if the roll is missed. Thegamemaster must gauge the rate based on the situation.

Fatigue loss from exposure is recovered by rest orsleep (see below).

Fatigue Class

Normal

Winded

Tired

Weary

Exhausted

Prostrated

Description

The adventurer is not fatigued. The fatiguestatus a rested adventurer will normallystart with.

Add 3 to all percentile rolls made by theadventurer.

Add 5 to all percentile rolls made by theadventurer.

Add 10 to all percentile rolls made by theadventurer and subtract 1 from their MV score.

Add 20 to all percentile rolls made by theadventurer. In addition, halve all of theadventurer's skills and his or her MV score.

The adventurer can only act on a CON x1 roll(in which case he or she should be treated as ifExhausted). Otherwise, the adventurer can donothing but rest.

Note that the effects of fatigue penalties are to increase thenumbers rolled on an adventurer's percentile die rolls.This makes it more likely that a fatigued adventurer willmiss or fumble any skill or resistance rolls.

Regardless of any adds to percentile rolls due tofatigue class, a natural roll of 01 will remain an 01 (a crit-ical when using skills). A natural roll of 00 or any rollmodified over 100 will have the same effect as a roll of 00(a fumble when using skills).

Causes of Fatigue LossIn situations where fatigue comes into question, a FatigueRoll provides a way to determine whether an adventurersuccumbed to fatigue. In some situations the gamemastermay rule that the automatic loss of fatigue occurred.

TravelTraveling long distances is fatiguing. Traveling a certaindistance (dependent on the diff iculty of the terrain)requires one or more Fatigue Rolls. Each missed FatigueRoll lowers fatigue by a class. The adventurer can rolleither at the first point he or she would lose a fatigue class(20 km under ideal conditions) or when something occursin which fatigue class would play a role (if an adventurerwas ambushed after traveling 52 km, he or she could thentry to make the two Fatigue Rolls required).

T H E • N A T U R A L • W O R L D • 94

HungerEach full week without food requires that the adventurermake a Fatigue Roll to prevent the loss of one fatigueclass. Each full week without food causes 1D3 general HPdamage, regardless of the results of the roll.

This fatigue loss and damage can only be restored byeating, which restores one fatigue class and 1 HP lost dueto lack of food each day food is available.

ThirstEach full day without sufficient liquid (1 liter a day forhumans under normal conditions) requires that the adven-turer make a Fatigue Roll to prevent the loss of one fatigueclass. Each full day without sufficient liquid causes 1D6general HP damage, regardless of the results of the roll.

This fatigue loss and damage can only be restored bydrinking enough liquid, which restores all levels of fatiguelost due to thirst, and restores 1D6 HP lost due to thirsteach day liquid is available.

BleedingAt the gamemaster's option, bleeding wounds that havenot been tended to with First Aid or healing magic mayrequire one or more Fatigue Rolls.

Fatigue loss from bleeding is recovered by rest or sleep(see below).

CombatA Fatigue Roll should be made after every full minute ofcombat (10 melee rounds), fighting while wearing armoror a helmet , runn ing at top speed, using all of one'sstrength, or other brief but extreme exertion. This fatigueloss is short term fatigue loss, and is recovered far morequickly than other forms of fatigue loss (see below).

Characters engaged in melee would need to make aFatigue Rolls at the end of the tenth melee round, the endof the twentieth melee round, etc. A character fighting inmelee while wearing armor heavier than cuirbouilli or ahelmet would make two Fatigue Rolls at this time, onewearing both heavy armor and a helmet would make threeFatigue Rolls.

Other Sources of FatigueFatigue loss can also come from illness, serious injury, andpoisons, among other things. The gamemaster rules onhow long it takes to recover from these things. Some mayrecover with rest or sleep, others may have special require-ments.

Recovery from FatigueFatigue lost due to exhaustion (travel, wearing armor,exposure, bleeding, brief exertion) is recovered by sleep orrest. As a rule, every two hours of sleep or every fourhours of rest (including light activity, or walking less than1 km/hour in ideal terrain) allows an adventurer to regaina single lost fatigue class. Thus, a Prostrated adventurerwill ful ly recover after 10 hours of sleep or 20 hours ofrest (although staying awake for this period of time would

require making a Fatigue Roll to avoid losing fatigue dueto lack of sleep).

Players and gamemasters that don't mind the addi-tional calculation can use intervals of 20/CON hours ofsleep or 40/CON hours of rest instead.

Fatigue lost due to lack of sleep can only be regainedby sleep. Fatigue lost to hunger or thirst can only beregained by eating or drinking, as appropriate (see above).

Fatigue lost due to brief exertion, such as combat, isshort term fatigue, and is regained far more quickly. Anadventurer can regain a single fatigue class lost to shortterm fatigue by spending an entire melee round doingnothing but resting (no movement, attacking, parrying ordodging) or spending two melee rounds in a row not mov-ing and taking only a single defense action (see Combat).

ExampleArlia's patrol is pursuing some Sartarite bandits along apoor trail in the Storm Hills. This would normally be hin-dering terrain, so she would lose one fatigue class due toexhaustion every 10 km. However, the unfamiliar terrainand an intermittent drizzle make the gamemaster rule thatit is difficult terrain, so Arlia would have to make oneFatigue Roll for every full 5 km she travels.

The bandits spring an ambush on the patrol after theyhave covered 12 km, and the gamemaster calls for FatigueRolls. Arlia is wearing light scale armor, but not her helm,so the gamemaster asks her player to make an additionalFatigue Roll for the armor. Between the distance traveledand the armor she wears, Arlia's player must make 3Fatigue Rolls. Arlia's STR is 13, and her ENC 25, so herFatigue Roll is CON x4. Arlia makes two of the rolls andmisses one, so her fatigue status is reduced by one class, toWinded from Normal.

In combat, Arlia must add 3 to all her percentile dierolls, due to her Winded fatigue status. Arlia has a 77%Scimitar skill, but a roll of 02, normally a critical becomesan 05, just a special. If she rolled a natural 01, it wouldremain unmodified and become a critical. If she rolled a98, normally a miss, it would become a 101, which wouldbe treated as an 00, a fumble.

After 10 melee rounds of combat, the gamemastercalls for Fatigue Rolls from the participants. Arlia wouldhave to make two Fatigue Rolls, one for fighting for 10rounds, the other for fighting in heavy armor. If she hadtime to don her helmet before the combat started, shewould have to make three Fatigue rolls at this time. Shemakes one of the two rolls, but the missed roll reduces herfatigue status by another class, to Weary.

When the battle ends, the fatigue class lost in combatrecovers after but a melee round of rest, restoring Arlia'sfatigue status to Winded. To recover Normal fatigue sta-tus, Arlia would have to sleep for 2 hours or rest for 4hours (if using the more detailed calculation, Arlia, with a13 CON, would have to sleep for 1.5 hours or rest for 3hours to recover the lost fatigue class).


FALLINGIt is the lot of adventurers to fall down cliffs, tumble intopits, be tossed off riding animals, or be dropped into thepockets of giants. A number of cumulative factors deter-mine the final damage done.

Height—an adventurer takes 1D6 damage to a random hitlocation for every three meters he or she falls. Thus, a fallof 1-3 meters does 1D6 damage, a fall of 3.1-6 metersdoes 2D6 damage, a fall of 6.1-9 meters does 3D6 dam-age, etc. The entire damage done by the fall applies bothto the rolled hit location and to the adventurer's total hitpoints. The rule that a limb may take only twice its hitpoints in damage does not apply to falling damage.

Velocity—impetus also counts in determining damage.Falling from a horse is in the 1-3 meter range (doing 1D6damage), but being tossed from a horse converts it into the3.1-6 meter range (i.e., 2D6). Likewise, a 9-meter-tallgiant tossing an adventurer 9 meters gives him the equiva-lent of an 18-meter fall (6D6).

Size—if the SIZ of the adventurer is under SIZ 5, he takes1D6 less damage. Make no modification for adventurers ofSIZ 6-20. For each 20 points of SIZ or fraction thereofover 20, add 1D6 to the damage done by a fall.

Surface—gamemasters may adjust for relative softness ofthe area fallen upon. A soft surface (such as bushes ormarshy ground) might halve falling damage. If the adven-turer falls onto a stake or other pointed object, the fallingdamage is added to the base damage done by the stake.Normal stake damage is 1D6, so a fall onto a stake from 5meters would do 3D6 of damage. The chance of theadventurer falling onto a stake if falling into somethinglike a pit trap is determined by the gamemaster when set-ting up the trap.

Protection—armor may partially protect against fallingdamage in some cases, as the gamemaster decides. In gen-eral, armor will not help more than a point or two (itspadding value) with a vertical fall, but may fully protectagainst a horizontal fall (see velocity, above). Magical pro-tections (see Magic) always protect against fa l l ingdamage.

Skill—a falling adventurer who makes a successful Jumpor Acrobatics skill roll can specify on which hit locationhe or she lands. A successful Acrobatics or special Jumproll reduces falling damage by 1D6, a special Acrobaticsor critical Jump roll reduces falling damage by 2D6, and acritical Acrobatics roll reduces damage by 2D6 and halvesthe amount of any excess damage inflicted. A fumble witheither skill increases falling damage by 1D6.

ASPHYXIATIONSituations in which the adventurer is denied breathable air,such as smoke inhalation, drowning, poisoning by gas,holding one's breath, or choking can cause asphyxiationdamage.

If the situation did not surprise the adventurer, then hecan hold his breath during the first melee round of expo-sure to asphyxiation if his player succeeds in rolling CONx10 or less on D100. (Remember, a roll of 96-00 is still afailure.) For the next nine melee rounds, the CON roll issuccessively reduced by one multiplier each melee round.Thus, in the second round the roll is CON x9, then CONx8 in the third round, etc. On the tenth and followingmelee rounds, the player must try to make successfulD100 rolls equal to or less than his adventurer's CON as apercentage.

If the adventurer is surprised by the situation in whichhe is being asphyxiated, a luck roll (POW x5) determineswhether he had taken a breath. If the roll is successful, fol-low the entire asphyxiation procedure. If the roll does notsucceed, subsequent successful CON rolls can be nohigher than the adventurer's CON as a percentage.

When such a roll is missed, the adventurer takes a cer-tain amount of damage to his total hit points at the end ofeach following melee round, until he dies or escapes thesituation. Damage due to an inhaled substance inhaledvaries depending on the substance: smoke does 1D4, densesmoke does 1D6, water or other liquids do 1D8, and poi-son gas does damage equal to its potency. Damage due todeliberate choking does 1D6 each time a CON roll ismissed.

FIRE AND HEATFire and heat can damage any location they touch. In gen-eral, any significant exposure to a source of flame or heatdoes damage appropriate to the intensity of the flame orsource of heat. If an adventurer is caught inside an area ofintense heat or falls into a fire, he or she will take theappropriate amount of damage at the end of every meleeround (on SR 10) that he or she is within the source ofheat or fire.

The number of hit locations affected depends on thesize of the source of heat or flame and the extent of theadventurer's exposure. A torch would only affect a singlehit location. An adventurer thrown into the midst of alarge bonfire could have all his locations affected.

Armor protects against heat or fire damage for onlyone melee round, after which it no longer has an effect.Magical protections always protect against fire or heatdamage.

Exposure to fire or heat may set an adventurersclothes, hair, armor or other gear on fire, doing damage asa Flame or Small Fire until it burns itself out (generallywithin a few melee rounds) or is extinguished. Thegamemaster should determines what the chance ofexposed items igniting is, basing his estimate on the flam-mability of the exposed items and the duration andintensity of the flame or heat they were exposed to. As aquick rule of thumb, a torch might have a 1 in 6 chance(resulting in Flame damage), a small fire might have a 2 in6 chance (resulting in Flame damage) and a large firemight have a 3 in 6 chance (resulting in Small Fire damage).


Fire and Heat TableType of Fire Damage Heat will melt Notes

FlameSmall FireLarge FireIntense FireFurnaceFurnaceFurnaceFurnaceFurnaceFurnace

1 point1D62D63D67D68D610D611D613D615D6

WaxGlassTinLeadAluminumBronzeSilverCopper orMost glass,Iron

Candle, torchCampfireBonfire, steamFuneral pyre

Goldlava or rock

ACIDSAcids can cause grievous injury to an adventurer. Thepotency (POT) of an acid represents the maximum possi-ble damage it can do. When an adventurer is exposed toan acid, roll 1D10. The result is the percentage of theacid's POT that affects the adventurer (10% to 100%).Thus, if an adventurer is hit by a vial of POT 20 acid, andthe 1D10 roll is a 6, he or she takes 12 points of damage.If the adventurer is immersed in the acid, use its full POT.Acid damages those hit locations exposed to it (generallyone location, but with immersion or a particularly largequantity, more than one location could be damaged).

Armor and shields protect against acid, but are eatenaway by it. In general, every 2 points of acid damage willreduce the AP of a piece or armor or shield by 1. Magicalprotections always protect against acid damage.

POISONPoisons can kill or injure an adventurer. An adventurercan be exposed to poisons in a number of ways. A poi-soned bite, sting, or weapon may damage the adventurer,the adventurer may inhale poison gas, or the adventurermay eat or drink a poisoned substance.

The potency (POT) of a poison is matched against theCON of a poisoned adventurer on the resistance table. Ifthe POT of the poison overcomes the CON of the adven-turer, the adventurer suffers damage to his or her generalHP equal to the POT of the poison. If the POT of the poi-son fai ls to overcome the adventurer's CON, it has alessened effect, typically doing half its normal damage(half its POT) to the adventurer's general HP. Some poi-sons do no damage if resisted. Some poisons may notcause damage even if they are not resisted, instead para-lyzing, incapacitating or putting an adventurer to sleep iftheir POT is not resisted.

In general, there is at least a 10 melee round delayfrom the point of exposure to a poison to the time it takeseffect and does damage. Some exotic poisons, particularlycorrosive gases, may work faster.

Some common poisons include Scorpion Venom(injected by scorpion men, scorpions and manticores),Wyvern Venom (injected by a wyvern's sting), SnakeVenom (injected by a snake's bite), Spider Venom (injectedby a spider bite), Poison Gas (breathed by dream dragonsand serpent guardians), Walktapus Gas (exuded by walk-

tapi), Herbal Poison (made from or secreted by poisonousplants) and Mineral Poison (made from inorganic com-pounds).

The skill of Physician or Treat Poison (see Skills) or apoison antidote (see below) can partially or completelyneutralize the effects of a poison.

Poison AntidotesAlmost all poisons have antidotes. Poison antidotes have aPOT rating, just as do poisons. If an adventurer takes apoison's antidote no more than a half hour before beingpoisoned, the antidote's POT is subtracted from the poi-son's POT before the effect and damage of the poison isfigured. If an adventurer takes a poison's antidote afterbeing exposed to the poison, but before taking damage,half the antidote's POT is subtracted from the poison'sPOT before the effect and damage of the poison is figured.As many varieties of poison antidotes exist as there arepoisons.

An antidote for one type of poison may give a lessenedbenefit when used with a related poison. Mineral Poisonantidote works at half POT against Spider Venom. SpiderVenom antidote works at half POT against ScorpionVenom. Wyvern Venom antidote works at half POTagainst Snake Venom, and vice versa. Poison Gas antidoteworks at half POT against Walktapus Gas, and vice versa.

DISEASEPlague and afflictions are a common scourge. Broos andother foul creatures carry illness, wicked shamans spreadsickness with disease spirits, and followers of Malia, thegoddess of disease, employ divine spells to help their foulcause.

The following diseases all cause their victims to risklosing characteristic points at regular intervals. A point ofthat characteristic is lost when the adventurer initiallycontracts the disease. Whenever an adventurer has beenexposed to a disease, his player must attempt to roll hisadventurer's current CON x5 or less on D100. If he suc-ceeds, the disease was not caught, and no further rolls arerequired. If he fails, he must again attempt a successful rollof the adventurer's CON x5. Counting the number offailed rolls, he must keep trying until finally succeedingwith the roll. Cross-index the number of times that theadventurer's player failed his CON roll on the DiseaseTable.

Disease Table

CON rollfailures

1234 or more

Degree of Illness

Mild — lose 1 characteristic point weeklyAcute — lose 1 characteristic point dailySerious — lose 1 characteristic point hourlyTerminal — lose 1 characteristic point per minute

When the interval of time appropriate to the degree of ill-ness has passed, the adventure loses another point fromthe characteristic. After that occurs, the adventurer's


player can attempt another CON roll to see if the diseasehas run its course. If this CON roll succeeds, the adven-turer is cured of his illness and loses no more characteristicpoints.

The CON roll is typically CON x5, but may be CONx4, CON x3, CON x2, or even CON x1 if the gamemas-ter judges that a particular disease is especially vicious.

An adventurer must rest and be tended while recuper-ating from a disease. If he does not, then the CONmultiplier establishing the recovery roll is lessened. Theextent of this penalty is up to the gamemaster, but as ageneral guide if the recovery roll normally would be CONx5, reduce it to CON x4 if the adventurer was not at homein bed, reduce it to CON x3 if he were hiking in thewilderness, reduce it to CON x2 if he were engaged instrenuous activity such as combat, and reduce it to CONxl if he were injured, wounded, etc.

Serious DiseasesThese disease cause the permanent loss of characteristics,and may cause serious injury or death. Some divine spells,such as the healing spells of the Chalana Arroy cult, canrestore such losses.

Brain Fever—delirium results. Affects INT. When anadventurer's INT reaches 0, he or she becomes a vegetable.

Creeping Chills—chills and fever result. Affects CON.When an adventurer's CON reaches 0, he or she dies.

Shakes—runs and twitching result. Affects DEX. When anadventurer's DEX reaches 0, he or she becomes a quiver-ing mass of ganglia.

Soul Waste—a psychic disease attacking on the spiritplane. Affects POW. When an adventurer's POW reaches0, he or she ceases to exist, even spiritually.

Wasting Disease—muscles atrophy. Affects STR. When aadventurer's STR reaches 0, he or she cannot move.

Milder DiseasesMilder diseases exist, which cause temporary loss of char-acteristics or temporary debilitation. Once the disease hasrun its course, the lost characteristics recover at a rate of1D3 points per week if resting, 1D3-1 points per week ifnot resting.

Blotches or Pox—red marks (Blotches) or pustules (Pox)break out on the victim's face and body, causing tempo-rary loss of APP. An adventurer whose APP reaches 0appears grotesque beyond belief.

Brittleskin—causes a random hit location to becomeencrusted in scales. The hit location gains 1 AP, but if thelocation is damaged, a repair spell must be used beforeany healing spells will work. It spreads to adjacent hitlocations as the course of the disease progresses. Theadventurer temporarily loses 1 point of APP for eachaffected hit location that can be seen by others.

Joint Lock—causes the temporary loss of DEX.

Fever—causes the temporary loss of fatigue classes, whichslowly recover once the disease has run its course. AProstrated adventurer is bedridden.

Weakness—causes temporary loss of STR. An adventurerwhose STR reaches 0 is bedridden.

AGING AND INACTIONOld Age—older people get wiser and more experienced (asmeasured by skills increases in RuneQuest, but their phys-ical abilities may decrease. To simulate this, after anadventurer has reached the age of 40, each year, on theadventurer's birthday (or at the end of the year, at thegamemaster's whim), he must roll 2D6 for STR, CON,DEX and APP. On a roll of 2, 3 points are subtracted fromthe characteristic; on a roll of 3, 2 points are subtractedfrom the characteristic; on a roll of 4,1 point is subtractedfrom the characteristic; and on a roll of 5-12, no pointsare subtracted from the characteristic. At the age of 60,start rolling for INT and SIZ as well.

If an adventurer's SIZ or CON drops to zero, theadventurer dies. See Disease for the effects of STR, DEXor APP reaching zero.

Inaction—adventurers who neither train nor participate inany adventures in a game year may (at the gamemaster'soption) incur the same penalty as that for aging. Inactiveadventurers over 40 may be ruled to doubly risk theircharacteristics. At the gamemaster's discretion, skills thathave not been practiced, trained, researched or otherwiseused in a game year may risk decay as well (use the samedie roll as for characteristics for each such skill, but subtract 10% from the skill per point lost instead).

WEATHERWeather covers all the atmospheric conditions which mayaffect adventurers. This includes wind, cloud cover, tem-perature, and precipitation.

WindWind strength and direction define moving air. Wind canaffect movement, missile fire, and in regions where dust,grit or other wind-borne particles are common, visibility.Measure wind strength using the following table, whichdescribes wind velocity in terms of wind STR.

Wind Strength TableSTR

0-23-67-1213-1819-2425-30

31-3637-4546+

Result

Calm; no air movement.Light air; little movement; will gutter a candleBreeze; easily blows out a candle.Light wind.Moderate wind. Birds often roost in such wind.Strong wind. Average humans must slowly to avoidbeing knocked down.Fresh gale.Whole gale.Hurricane or tornado. Average humans can becarried away.


In general, to determine wind strength roll 1D6 in EarthSeason, 2D6 in Fire Season, 3D6 in Sea or Dark Season,and 4D6 in Storm Season. If a major storm comes in, dou-ble the result of the die roll.

The general direction of the wind varies from seasonto season in Glorantha (see Weather in the Introduction).If a random direction is needed, roll 1D8 to determine thecompass direction the wind is blowing in (1 is N, 2 NE, 3E, 4 SE, 5 S, 6 SW, 7 W and 8 NW).

Wind has three main effects on play, forcing adjust-ments to movement, to missile fire, and to visibility.

Movement—it is difficult to move in a wind with strengthequal to or greater than an adventurer's STR + SIZ. If theadventurer tries a complex maneuver or tries to movequickly, he or she needs to make a DEX x5 roll to staystanding. A wind with strength equal to greater than twicethe characters STR + SIZ can knock characters down andcarry them away, and requires a roll under DEX x3 toavoid being knocked down, and under DEX x5 to avoidbeing carried away each time the adventurer tries to move.Flying creatures use only their STR to find the minimumwind which will affect them.

Missile Fire—these adjustments begin at wind STR 10.Each point of wind STR above 10 reduces the accuracy ofmissile or thrown weapon fire beyond point blank rangeby 5%. Thus, a STR 20 wind would subtract 50% fromthe accuracy of any missile or thrown weapons beyondpoint blank range.

Visibility—vision may be affected by wind-borne materi-als such as dust, snow, leaves, or butterflies. The wind'sSTR determines the maximum size of the particles. In situ-ations where wind may blow something about, a fair ruleof thumb is that the maximum percentage reduction ofvisibility equals the wind's STR as a percentage.

Cloud CoverCloud cover defines the amount of the sky which isobscured by clouds. Some spells require a certain percent-age of the sky to be cloudy or clear. This number alsodetermines the percentage chance of rain, and the amountof water likely to fall. In general, roll percentile dice todetermine the amount of cloud cover.

TemperatureRuneQuest uses cent igrade measurements fortemperature. Water freezes at 0° C and boils at 100° C.Temperatures ranging from 17° C to 27° C are optimal forhumans, and 10° C to 40° C is acceptable. Temperaturesranging from -20° C to -45° C can be survived by humanswithout survival gear. Properly equipped humans cansurvive greater or lesser temperatures for some time, butcan die from exposure to either extreme if unprepared.

• E C O N O M I C S •

The pursuit of wealth is a driving force behind many ventures. Trade, exploration, theft, mercenary service,and tomb robbing are all traditional adventurer occupations that share the common goal of acquiring wealth.This chapter gives information on the coin and barter based economies adventurers will find themselves in,

and the prices within those areas of the items, animals, spells and services adventurers might care to buy, sell or steal.The material presented here is meant as a guideline. Gamemasters should feel free to adjust prices or values to suittheir own worlds.

TRADE AND COMMERCELong distance trade and commerce are rare in Glorantha.Most transactions take place on the local level, and aremade on a barter basis rather than a coin basis. A numberof cults, rulers or governments mint coins, but only theadvanced civilizations of Glorantha operate on a purelycoin based economy. While gold, copper or even lead maybe used as coins, silver is the most commonly used mone-t a r y metal in G lo ran tha . Only the most advancedcivilizations of Glorantha use financial advances such asmoney lending, bookkeeping and banking.

In the region of Dragon Pass, only the Lunar Empireand the Holy Country operate on a purely coin basedeconomy, engage in long distance trade, and make use ofthe more advanced commercial techniques. The Etyriesmerchants and armies of the Lunar Empire have spreadthe use of its silver coins, commonly known as Lunars,over nearly all of the continent of Genertela, and Lunarshave come to be considered a basic unit of coinage bywhich others are measured. The city of Pavis still mintscoins, as do the solar temples.

Far ranging traders from the Kralori Empire visitPavis or and other parts of Dragon Pass on occasion. Inthe Holy Country, the western Trader Princes maintain asteady pipeline of commerce. The Lunar Empire is occa-sionally visited by western traders that risk passagethrough the chaos twisted land of Dorastor in heavilyarmed and guarded caravans. The caravans of Issariestraders can be found traveling throughout most of DragonPass and Genertela, their goods carried by the cults wellguarded mule trains. Rarer are the caravans of ArganArgar merchants, often led by trolls, that occasionallytrade with human lands, their goods carried by giganticmagical insects.

BARTERCultures that base their economies wholly or partially onbarter often have a standard item of barter by which otheritems are valued.

In Sartar, the standard item of barter is the averagecow. Silver coins from the Lunar Empire or Holy Countryare also valued, as are the gold Wheels of the Sun DomeTemple.

In Pavis, no single standard item of barter exists, butprecious metals, magical items and herd beasts are com-monly used. Nearly all forms of coinage are common, andmany transactions take place on a coinage basis.

In Prax, the standard item of barter is an average herdbeast of one of the great tribes, typically a bison, impala,high llama, or sable. Other herd beasts hold value, but areless commonly used. Coins hold little value, but metalweapons or armor are in great demand. The isolated SunDome Templars of Prax use only gold Wheels to trade.

COINAGEThe standard coin used in the region of Dragon Pass is theLunar, a silver coin minted by the Lunar Empire. Withinthe empire, the coin is referred to as an Imperial, and is thestandard unit of commerce, but they are called Lunarsnearly everywhere else. The silver coins minted in the HolyCountry are called Sovereigns. The silver coins still mintedon occasion by the city of Pavis are called Guilders, afterthe various guilds that run the city. All are roughly equiva-lent in value. Fanatic anti-Lunars may deface Lunarcoinage, and will use another name, such as Sovereign,Guilder or Silver for them instead.

Gold was the first coinage, and gold coins are mostcommonly called Wheels, after the enigmatic Sun-WheelDancers that introduced them to the world. Most Wheelsare minted by the solar Lokarnos cult. Other thanamongst the solar religions, such as the Sun Dome Temple,

•99•

E C O N O M I C S • 100

gold is rarely used to settle debts between individuals.Copper coins were introduced by the dwarfs, though

few humans will acknowledge this. They are commonlycalled Clacks or Coppers, regardless of their source.

Lead coins, called Bolgs are used by trolls, but havelittle popularity among other races due to their bulk andlow value.5 Bolgs = 1 Clack (C)10 Clacks = 1 Lunar (L)20 Lunars = 1 Wheel (W)

PRECIOUS METALSGlorantha has precious metals that are analogous to, butdifferent from, Terran metals. There, Quicksilver andAluminum are different forms of the same metal. Whenone mixes Gloranthan Tin and Copper in a 1:4 ratio, onegets Bronze, but one can also mine Bronze directly out ofthe ground (and that is where most Gloranthan Bronzecomes from).

Raw Metal Nominal Value NotesIronGoldSilverQuicksilverAluminumTinBronzeCopperLead

700 L/ENC600 L/ENC50 L/ENC40 L/ENC40 L/ENC15 L/ENC7 L/ENC5 L/ENC1 L/ENC

Raw iron interferes with magic.Twice the density of bronze.

Half again the density of bronze.

Worked metal is typically worth 1 to 10 times its raw ENCvalue, depending on the level of skill and length of timeneeded to work it into its final form. The prices for anumber of worked metal items are described below.

To calculate the value of tool, weapon or piece ofarmor crafted from unenchanted precious metal, find anequivalent bronze item on the price list that follows.Determine the value of the raw bronze used in the item(typically 7 L per ENC), and subtract this from its price.This leaves you with the cost of working the item, whichmay be increased if the precious metal is more difficult towork than bronze (double for silver, copper, or gold;quadruple for aluminum, quicksilver or iron). Add thecost of making the item to the cost of the precious metalused (typically value in Lunars times ENC) to arrive at afinal price.

The above metal prices are for unenchanted metals.Many precious metals must be enchanted to make themsuitable for use as weapons, armor or tools, or to preventtheir interfering with magic (such as in the case of unen-chanted iron, which subtracts 5% per ENC from itsbearers chance to cast any spell). Enchanting metal takesone point of permanent POW per 10 ENC of metal. Thisadds a minimum of 100L per ENC to the value of the rawmetal, often more.

Enchanted iron armor, weapons or tools are thus typ-ically worth at least 20 to 40 times the value of anequivalent bronze item, often considerably more.

INCOME, WEALTH AND SOCIAL CLASSIncome reflects the total amount a worker makes within agiven period of time. One's income reflects one's wealth(see Creating an Adventurer). Workers rarely receivecoins, though. They may get the equivalent in food andshelter, for instance, or receive the use of a specific plot ofland which yields an amount per year equivalent to theiryearly income. Other common forms of recompenseinclude magical training, spell casting, skill training, andtrade in kind. Many people in Glorantha have never seen acoin.

The necessities, comforts, and luxuries enjoyed by oraspired to by a person represent his or her standard of liv-ing. A person's overall standard of living is determined bytheir total expenditure each year on food, drink, lodging,clothes, gifts, etc. Most people will spend nearly all oftheir income maintaining the highest possible standard ofliving. In general, those that spend more will be at the topof their social class and have the highest social rank in theclass. Those that are frugal and pinch pennies can get byon 10 to 25% less than the listed amounts, and will save,but will show a low standard of living for their class, andlikely have the lowest social rank for the class. Very fewchoose to live below the highest standard of living theycan achieve. These figures also show how much one has tospend to live above their normal class for a time. Anadventurer can indeed live like a king for as long as he orshe can afford to spend 4,000 L a day. The income figuresbelow are estimates only, but they can serve as usefulguidelines.

One's social class is determined by one's standard ofliving. Those seeking to recognizably increase their socialrank must increase their living expenditures correspond-ingly. These figures also show how much one has to spendto live above their normal class for a time. An adventurercan indeed live like a king for as long as he or she canafford to spend 4,000 L a day. These are only rough guide-lines. Social rank often does not hinge on comparativelyequal incomes. A Praxian Kahn might well be accordedeven more deference and power than a civilized rich noble,yet have nowhere near the same income in cash and valuein property.

Poor Wealth 0Untrained labor, menials, prisoners, slaves, drafted soldiers, beg-gars, recluses, etc.

1 L/day, 5 L/week, 40 L/season, 200 L/yearFood—scraps or cereal or potatoes or turnips. Drink is water.Housing—likely none, or communal shelter, or a lean-to.Clothing—sackcloth and ashes, loincloth, nudity. Poor winterclothes if appropriate.

Struggling Wealth 1Trained workers, peasants, poor crafters, soldier, servant, poortradesmen, etc.

2 L/day, 10 L/week, 80 L/season, 400 L/yearFood—turnips & sauerkraut, or beet soup, or potatoes &onions, or carrots and acorns, or a cereal (choose one group).

101 • E C O N O M I C S

Little or no meat. Drink is buttermilk or water.Housing—perhaps none; maybe a tiny room or hut for a family;no furniture.Clothing—sackcloth, homespun, rude leathers, nudity. Usablewinter clothes if appropriate.

Common Wealth 2Skilled workers, landed peasants, Crafter, trained mercenaries,peddlers, sergeants, servants to those of moderate wealth, cap-tains of large boats, acolytes, assistant shamans, apprenticesorcerers, etc.

4 L/day, 20 L/week, 160 L/season, 800 L/yearFood—as per previous income tier, plus gruel, barley bread,cheese, and eggs. Meat or fish at least 1-2 times weekly. Beer,ale, and porter available. Nomads may regularly eat meat; theirdrink may be koumiss.Housing—single dwelling per hearth protects animals, too.Furniture includes a chest or two, bench and tables, lamps.Nomads may have a tent and a number of herd beasts.Clothing—shoes, linen, cotton, 1 new suit of clothes a year. Ifappropriate, winter clothes will be warm and protective.

Well Off Wealth 3Expert workers, lieutenants, captains of small ships, skilled mer-cenaries, professionals, servants that command other servants orhave independent responsibilities, minor priests, minor shamans,minor sorcerers, etc.

8 L/day, 40 L/week, 320 L/season, 1,600 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus meat or fish. Beer, ale ormead are always available, on occasion wine may be available.Housing—fully furnished large dwelling. Nomads have a goodtent, comfortable blankets and may have a few metal goods.Clothing—shoes, boots, good linens, good cottons, 1 high-qual-ity suit of clothes. If appropriate, good winter clothes.

Wealthy Wealth 4Master workers, master crafters, merchants, traders, expert mer-cenaries, knights, thanes, poor nobles, priests, shamans,sorcerers.

16 L/day, 80 L/week, 640 L/season, 3,200 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus meat or fish and wineswith most meals.Housing—hall or greathouse. A good bed, several tables andbenches, stools, possibly chairs, perhaps one or more decoratedwalls or a small fountain, or other display items. Nomads mayhave a large tent, good blankets, fine furs, and metal goods.Clothing—high-quality linens and cottons, occasional luxurysuch as imported dyes, fur trim, or jewelry. Styles are importantto such folk.Other—status includes one servant and two mounts, or threeservants.

Noble Wealth 5Elite mercenaries, minor nobility, master merchants, minornobility, secretaries and factotums to nobility, well off priests,powerful shaman, well off sorcerers.

32 L/day, 160 L/week, 1,280 L/season, 6,400 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus plentiful beef or otherherbivores, fowl, shellfish, etc. Homemade pastries and breads.Good wines. Occasional imported fruits and wines.Housing—multi-roomed dwellings housing the noble family and

servants, guards, etc. Furnishings now include thrones, chairs,valuable artworks, tapestries, paneling, and fine rugs.Clothing—imported silks and satins, and decorative trimsincluding gold and silver threads. Such folk frequently set (orfollow) the latest fashion. Gold jewelry with gemstones.Other—Includes several to many servants and mounts, otherstaff, wagons, guards, etc.

Rich Noble Wealth 6Counts, earls, nobility, important priests, powerful shamans withdirect connections to rulers and other powerful personalities,locally important sorcerers.

64 L/day, 320 L/week, 2,560 L/season, 12,800 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus luxury items such asbirdnest soup, stuffed peacock, candied fruits, and rare beasts.Drinks include the finest wines. Large banquets and parties.Housing—several large dwellings including a country mansionor castle, a stronghold, and a townhouse or small palace.Clothing—trend-setting, exquisitely-made garments of the rarestmaterials, fine jewelry and other accoutrements.Other—many servants, guards, and mounts; much land.

Very Rich Noble Wealth 7Dukes, high priests, magi, bishops, great shamans.

250 L/day, 1,250 L/week, 10,000 L/season, 50,000 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus rare luxury items such ashummingbird tongues, extensive and varied dinner platters, rarefruits, and rare beasts. Drinks include brandies and rare wines.Housing—large mansion or small palace as main dwelling, sev-eral other large dwellings.Clothing—beyond style, one-of-a-kind items, accenting largeand beautiful precious gems.Other—many servants, mounts, concubines, staff members,accountants, secretaries, guards and personal soldiers.

Prince Wealth_8Archdukes, princes, arch-priests, archbishops.

1,000 L/day, 5,000 L/week, 40,000 L/season,200,000 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, plus rare or outre luxuryitems, enormous and complex meat pastries, elaborately pre-pared platters, magical herbs, strange fruits, and rare beasts.Drinks include the finest liqueurs and the finest wines, as well asmagical concoctions.Housing—palaces.Clothing—beyond style, one-of-a-kind items, accenting largeand beautiful precious gems.Other—numerous servants, mounts, concubines, staff members,factotums, accountants, secretaries, etc. Many guards and per-sonal soldiers.

King Wealth 9King, queen, pontiff.

4,000 L/day, 20,000 L/week, 160,000 L/season,800,000 L/yearFood—as per previous standard, only more elaborate, larger,and more bizarre presentations. Throws enormous parties; mayinvite the whole kingdom.Housing—large palaces.Clothing—as per previous standard, but designs which accentthe wearer's ritual or political functions. Likely has the largest

E C O N O M I C S • 102

diamond, ruby, amethyst, emerald, sapphire, pearl (choose one)known to exist. Several exquisite crowns, scepters, etc.Other—includes hundreds of servants, riding animals, mounts,estates, herds, castles, and trade/tariff monopolies, armies,navies, etc.

Emperor Wealth 10Emperor, pharaoh, high king

16,000 L/day, 80,000 L/week, 640,000 L/season,3,200,000 L/year

Food—as per previous standards, only better. State dinners areevents talked about for months and years.Housing—palace complexes the size of cities.Clothing—wearable works of art, so costly and so marvelousthat even the sophisticated are blinded by wonder and astonish-ment. Certain styles or garments may be reserved solely for theemperor's use. He never wears any garments twice.Other—includes thousands of servants, mounts, guards, mes-sengers, and so forth. In theory everyone and everything belongsto the emperor, etc.

Income, Class, and Wealth Table

Income/ExpensesSocial Class Wealth Daily YearlyPoorCommonAverageSuperiorWealthyNobleRich NobleVery Rich NoblePrinceKingEmperor

012345678910

1 L2L4 L8L

I6L32 L64L

250 L1,000 L4,000 L

16,000 L

200 L400 L800 L

1,600 L3,200 L6,400 L

12,800 L50,000 L

200,000 L800,000 L

3,200,000 L

PRICESThe base price of an item is the price at which one can buysomething in the areas where it is commonly available. Itmay or may not be possible to always sell something at thelisted price, depending on demand and availability, butone can almost always sell something at half the listedprice.

If an item contains metal, bronze is assumed. See pre-cious metals, above, for details on pricing of items usingother metals.

Some items are noted as being specific to a certainarea. This means that the item is uncommon in otherareas, and may not even be available. In general, an itemspecific to an area will be available in neighboring areas athalf again its normal cost, and hard to find or unavailablein more distant areas, costing at least twice its normalprice when it can be found. Other factors, such as limitedlocal resources, may influence pricing and availability.

Dragon Pass PricingIn the region of Dragon Pass, the following modifiers tocost and availability apply:

Prax is metal poor. Any item containing metal costs atleast twice the normal price, and has limited availability(this includes most weapons and armor). Items specific toPrax cost half again as much in Pavis or the Lunar Empire(which has the Praxians of the Hungry Plateau to drawupon), and twice as much in Sartar or more distant lands.

The city of Pavis is a major crossroads for trade. Itemsspecific to Pavis cost half again as much in Prax, Sartarand the Lunar Empire, and twice as much in more distantlands.

Sartar, located in Dragon Pass, sits in another majorcrossroads for trade. Traders from many Genertelan landshave visited Sartar at one time or another. Items specific toSartar cost half again as much in Pavis or the LunarEmpire, and twice as much in Prax or more distant lands.

Items specific to the Lunar Empire cost half again asmuch in Sartar or Pavis, and twice as much in Prax ormore distant lands.

Price Table

Cost ENC Availability

Tools3 meter pole10 meters ropeAdventurer's PackAwlBack PackCandle (1 hour)Climbing PackFirestarterFish HookFlail, GrainHammerHatchetHoeLanternLantern oil (10 hours)Papyrus (1 sheet)Sack, LargeSack, SmallScytheShovelSpadeTent, Small (1 man)Tent, Medium (2 men)Tent, Large (4 men)Thieves ToolsTinderboxTorch (1 hour)Traveler's PackVellum (1 sheet)Water/WineskinWood AxeWood MalletWood spikes, 10Writing Tools

InstrumentsBagpipesBugleDrumsHarp

5 L10 L50 L

1 L5 L2 C

30 L1 L1 C5 L1 L

10 L3 L

15 L2 L5 C6 C3 C

30 L20 L20 L20 L30 L60 L50 L5 L5 C

30 L1 L1 L

15 L5 C1 L

15 L

30 L20 L10 L50 L

2.51.06.00.10.20.13.00.2-1.00.50.52.02.01.0---2.51.51.53.06.012.0--0.34.0-1.0 (full)0.30.52.51

3.0 Sartar1.0 Sartar3.02.5

103 • ECONOMICS


Lur HornLuteLyrePipesWhistle

WeaponsArrows, 20AtlatlBastard SwordBattleaxeBlowgunBow, NomadBow, SelfBroadswordCestii (pair)Combat NetCrossbow, HeavyCrossbow, LightCrossbow, MediumDaggerDagger, ParryingDartFighting Claws (pair)Flail, WarFlail, MilitaryGreat AxeGreat HammerGreat SwordHand AxeJavelinKnifeLanceLasso, PoleLasso, RopeMace, HeavyMace, LightMaul, WarMaul, TrollPikePoleaxeQuarrels, 20Quarrels, Heavy, 10QuarterstaffRhompiaScimitarSickleSinglestickSlingSling, Staff10 Sling StonesIO Staff Sling Stones20 Sling BulletsIO Staff Sling BulletsSpearSpear, WarSwordstickThrowing AxeThrowing KnifeThrowing RockWarhammer

40 L100 L75 L

5 L3 L

5 L15 L

150 L75 L25 L

150 L75 L75 L30 L60 L

300 L75 L

150 L25 L50 L15 L60 L75 L

150 L90 L

I50 L300 L25 L30 L5 L

60 L15 L15 L60 L30 L75 L75 L75 L

150 L5 L5 L5 L

75 L60 L30 L3 L5 L

15 L--

3 L3 L

30 L60 L

100 L75 L75 L

-75 L

2.01.02.00.2-

1.00.52.01.00.50.50.51.51.03.08.03.55.00.50.50.51.02.02.52.02.53.50.51.50.23.53.01.02.51.02.55.53.52.51.01.01.52.01.50.50.50.11.50.51.02.02.02.02.52.00.50.20.52.0

SartarLunar Empire

Sartar

Sartar

Lunar Empire

PavisPavisPavis

Sartar, Lunar Empire

PavisPavis

Lunar Empire (greataxe)Lunar EmpireLunar Empire

Sartar


ShieldsSmall, Hide (6 AP)Small, Wood (8 AP)Small, Metal (IO AP)Medium, Hide (8 AP)Medium, Wood (IO AP)Medium, Metal (12 AP)Large, Hide (IO AP)Large, Wood (12 AP)

ArmorSoft Leather (1 AP)Hard Leather (2 AP)Studded Leather (2 AP)Cuirbouilli (3 AP)Light Scale (4 AP)Ringmail (4 AP)Heavy Scale (5 AP)Chainmail (5 AP)Plate (6 AP)

15 L30 L60 L30 L60 L

120 L60 L

120 L

30 L60 L90 L

150 L225 L300 L450 L600 L

1200 L

1.52.03.03.04.06.01.06.0

3.06.06.06.016.012.024.020.024.0


Sartar, Lunar EmpireLunar Empire


Pavis1

Lunar Empire

Encumbrance values and prices are for a full suit, SIZ 11-15. For every 5points of SIZ below this range (i.e., 6-10, 1-5) halve the ENC and price ofthe armor. For every 5 points of SIZ above this range (i.e. 16-20, 21-25,etc.), add half again the ENC and price of the armor.

See Armor in the Combat chapter for detailed breakdowns of armorprice and ENC by location.1Studded Leather appears deceptively similar to some styles of light andheavy scale that have rivets on the outside and scales on the inside. Suchstyles of scale armor are common in Pavis.

Barding5x the cost and ENC of the equivalent armor (for horse SIZ barding)

AnimalsBisonCatCow or BullDogFowlGoatHerd ManHigh LlamaHorseHunting DogImpalaMuleOxPigRhinoSableShadowcatSheepWild HawkZebra

150 L5 L

200 L5 L1 L

50 L75 L

225 L300 L25 L40 L

250 L300 L

50 L2,400 L

150 L500 L

50 L100 L300 L

Prax, Pavis

Prax

Prax

PraxPrax, Pavis, Lunar EmpireSartar

Pavis, Prax

Fine weapons cost twice as much but are half again as resistant to break-age, while excellent weapons cost eight times as much but are twice asresistant to breakage, and do + / damage.

The above prices are for an average animal of the species, well suited foruse as a riding, pack, or hunting animal, as appropriate, but untrained.

For an animal suited only as a meat or herd animal (or a nag), halve theabove prices. For a superior quality animal, double the above prices, butadd 1 to each die rolled for all characteristics, not to exceed the normalmaximum (the maximum roll on a D6 is still 6, but this will occur on a rollof 5 or 6). For a superb (war beast) quality animal, quadruple the aboveprices, but odd 2 to each die rolled for all characteristics, not to exceed thenormal maximum (as above).

ECONOMICS • 104


SaddlesSaddle 25 to 250 L 3.0Nomad saddle 100 to

VehiclesCart, Two WheeledCart, Four WheeledWar Chariot

SlavesAverage childAverage youthAverage adultSkilled adultEducated adult

1,000 L 6.0

50 L100 L200 L

250 L500 L

1,000 L2,000 L4,000 L

Prax, Lunar Empire

Not in PraxNot in PraxSartar, Lunar Empire

Lunar Empire, PraxLunar Empire, PraxLunar Empire, PraxLunar Empire, PraxLunar Empire

LaborCost of unskilled labor 1 L/dayCost of trained labor 2 L/dayCost of skilled labor 4 L/dayCost of expert labor 8 L/dayCost of master labor 16 L/day

If the work is dangerous, irregular, or requires rare skills, double the aboveamounts (i.e. cavalry, messengers, mercenaries, part time help, redsmith).

Food and DrinkPoor qualityCommon qualityAverage qualitySuperior qualityExcellent qualityNoble quality

LodgingPoor qualityCommon qualityAverage qualitySuperior qualityExcellent qualityNoble quality

2 C/day5 C/day1 L/day2 L/day4 L/day8 L/day and up

5 C/day1 L/day2 L/day4 L/day8 L/day

16 L/day and up

Ransom and WeregeldWeregeld, or life price, is used by some Gloranthan cultures, partic-ularly the Theyalans, as the price one must pay to satisfy legalrecourse after killing someone. This is typically worth 7x the victim'sannual income. A lesser sum, typically 1x to 4x the victim's annualincome, may be awarded for causing someone harm or injury.

Most cultures in Glorantha recognize ransoms, a price paid to freea captured prisoner. Cults and organizations will often offer ransomsfor captured members. A number of cults, including the Issaries cultand its Herald subcult, specialize in exchanging ransoms for capturedprisoners. Many an adventurer's life has been spared in exchange fora ransom, and the wise adventurer will arrange to establish a one. Aminimal ransom is roughly equal to the victim's annual income.Depending on circumstances and the captor's need for money or dis-like of the captive, more or less might be required.

Yearly income294 L (poor)588 L (struggling)

1,176 L (average)2,352 L (expert)4.704 L (master)9.408 L (poor noble)

etc.

Weregeld Typical minimal ransom2.000 L4.000 L8.000 L

16,000 L32,000 L64,000 L

300 L600 L

1,200 L2,500 L5,000 L

10,000 L

Cost of Skill Training1 L/day2 L/day4 L/day8 L/day

16 L/day32 L/day

etc.

Level of skill to be trained0-30%31-45%46-60%61-75%76-90%91-105%

If the skill is a rare one, or in areas where the desired skill training is ingreat demand, prices might be twice as high. If the skill is a cult skill andthe adventurer is an initiate of the cult, prices are halved. Instructors thatcan train people in skills above 90% are often rare, and their prices may behigher.

See the Time and Learning for how many days of training are requiredto increase a skill. Skill practice costs half the above amount, but takestwice as long, skill research is essentially free but takes four times as long.

Cost of Characteristic Training Training Level4 L/day Easy8 L/day Medium

16 L/day Hardetc.

See Time and Learning for the times and training levels required toincrease characteristics. In areas where the desired characteristic trainingis rare or in great demand, prices might be twice as high.

Cost of Learning Battle Magic100 L/1 point200 L/2 points400 L/3 points800 L/4 points

1,600 L/5 points3,200 L/6 points6,400 L/7 points

12,800 L/8 pointsetc.

Halve the above cost if the character is an initiate learning cult magic fromhis or her own cult, or is a member of a tribe learning spirit magic from thetribe's shaman. A shaman charges double the listed amount when teachingspirit magic to a complete stranger. A cult charges double the listedamount when teaching cult magic to someone that is not a lay member.

Note that most cults cannot teach cult magic beyond 2 points to thosethat are not initiates of the religion. Initiates can typically learn up to 4point spells, more if the spell is a specialty of the cult

Cost of Battle Magic Casting1 L/1 point2 L/2 points4 L/3 points8 L/4 points

16 L/5 points32 L/6 points64 L/7 points

128 L/8 pointsetc.

Halve the listed amount if the caster is using a cult spirit magic spell andcasting it for an initiate of the cult. Divide the cost by four if a shaman castsa spell for a member of his or her tribe. A shaman charges double thelisted amount when casting for a complete stranger. If the shaman mustdiscorporate to hunt for the spell spirit first, the cost is quadrupled (i.e., atlist price for a member of the tribe, eight times list price for a completestranger).

105 • E C O N O M I C S

Cost of Learning Divine Magic16 L/day to cover the priests costs for teaching the spell (I day/pointfor divine spells, 7 days/point for ritual divine spells), and I point ofPOW/point.

Cost of Divine Magic Casting100 L per point of spell for a reusable spell.2,000 L per point of spell for a one-use spell.

These prices are half the listed amount if cast for an initiate of the cult

Cost of Learning SorceryAs per skill training (see above).

Cost of Sorcery CastingHalf the amount of battle magic casting for Low Magic, identical tobattle magic casting for High Magic.

Cost of SummoningNormally twice the square of the magic points expended in the sum-moning. It costs twice the normal amount if the spirit summoned ismoderately dangerous (ghost, magic, passion or disease spirit), andfour times the normal amount if the spirit summoned is exceptionallydangerous (a wraith or demon).

This price is halved if it applies to an initiate of a cult (and only a few cultscan banish possessing spirits) or to a member of a shaman's tribe. Theprice is doubled if it applies to an outsider.

Cost of BanishingThe price of banishing or otherwise driving out a spirit that has pos-sessed a victim is twice the cost of summoning a spirit of the samesize. The same modifiers to the price apply as with summoning aspirit.

A few cults have access to spirits that can drive out a possessingspirit (such as Chalana Arroy cult healing spirits, which can drive outa possessing spirit of disease), and a shaman can discorporate andattack the possessing spirit in spirit combat. A shaman is unlikely toattempt this with a spirit with more MP than the shaman. An excep-tion would be the rare shaman that possessed spells that allow himto expel possessing spirits safely or had more powerful spirit allies ormore powerful spirits under his control that he could use instead.

Cost of 1 point of Permanent POW1,000 L if the person losing the POW need use no skill(such as sacrificing for Divine Magic).1,500 L if the person losing the POW needs to use skill(such as making a normal enchantment).2,000 L if the person losing the POW needs to use great skill(such as making a rare or complex enchantment).

EnchantmentsEnchantments cost 1,500 L to 2,000 L/point of permanent POWexpended, depending on the complexity of the enchantment.

Cost of Magic ItemsBattle magic or sorcery spell matrices are worth 1,500 L/point.Divine spell matrices are worth 3,000 L/point.Spirit trapping enchantments cost 1,500 L/point of POW it took tomake them. A spirit trapped in one is valued as a slave.Dead (magic point storage) crystals are worth 300 L/point.Powered crystals are worth 2,000 L to 4,000 L/point.Woad and thunderstones are worth 1,000 L plus as muchas learning a battle magic spell of equivalent points.Fixed truestone is worth 3,000 L/point.Unfixed truestone is priceless. Wars have been fought over them.

THE• WORLD• OF• MAGIC

Magic pervades RuneQuest, for not only is the world a magical one, but in the game every adventurer canbecome a magician and manipulate invisible powers. A magician can cause changes in the reality of the worldto occur in conformity with his or her will. A number of different approaches to magic exist in RuneQuest,

including divine magic, cult magic, spirit magic and sorcery. Cult magic and spirit magic are often referred to as battlemagic, and comprise the most common form of magic used. Battle magic and sorcery come from within, though skill insorcery is slowly acquired through study in contrast to battle magic, where skill is based on innate ability. Divine magicdraws upon an the energies of the God Plane through the agency of a god.

THE FORMS OF MAGICA variety of different forms of magic exist. Some of themost common ones are described below.

Battle MagicBattle magic allows its users to make short term alter-ations to the fabr ic of reali ty in exchange for thetemporary cost of magic points. In Glorantha, it is themost common form of magic, and its practitioners can befound in nearly all parts of the world. Battle magic is com-monly used in Glorantha by both divine magicians andspirit magicians, but is rarely used by practitioners ofother forms of magic, such as sorcerers. One is limited byone's INT as to the total number and power of battlemagic spells one can know.

Divine magic users generally call the battle magic theyuse "cult magic". Only a limited number of battle magicspells that are sacred to the deity are taught by that deitiescult, though it is possible for divine magicians to learn bat-tle magic from associated cults as well. The more deeplyan adventurer has entered into a cult or religion, the morepowerful the cult magic available to him or her. Cultmagic is taught by divine magic Spellteaching rituals.

Spirit magic users generally call the battle magic theyuse "spirit magic". Spirit magic is most common amongnomad or primitive societies. Shaman are masters of spiritmagic, and teach a wide variety of spirit magic spells totheir followers or members of their tribe. With propergifts, they may teach strangers as well. Shaman mustdiscorporate and enter the spirit world to find spirit magicspell spirits, which they can defeat and consume to learnthe spell, or can return with for another to learn the spellby defeating the spirit. The power of spirit magic spellsdepends on the time and effort spent by the shaman toseek out the spirit. Weaker spell spirits are more common,

powerful ones are rare and hard to find, and may be toopowerful to easily defeat. Ritual spirit magic spells exist,used to create enchantments or other ritual magic effects.

Divine MagicDivine magic, also known as rune magic, is the most pow-erful form of magic available to divine magicians. Thesespells draw upon the power of the god and the god planefor their effects. Only initiates or higher ranking membersof a cult can learn divine magic. Divine magic users arefound wherever gods are worshipped. Learning divinemagic requires the sacrifice of permanent POW at a siteholy to the god. Once used, divine magic spells can only beregained by prayer at a holy site. Initiates may only regainspells through prayer on a high holy day, while higherranking cultists, such as rune lords or priests can pray torecover divine magic at any time. Some powerful divinemagic spells are one use only. These may only be learnedby higher ranking cultists. Both ritual and non-ritualdivine magic spells exist.

Shamanic MagicShamans, by the nature of the unique relationship theyestablish with the magic of the spirit world, and the fetchthey awaken within themselves, gain unique shamanicabilities. These may include the ability to leave their bod-ies to walk in the spirit world, possess others, trap spirits,resist magic or spirits, or an affinity for a certain form ofmagic. Shaman may also know unique spirit magic spells,unlike the commonly available ones.

SorcerySorcery is a system of magic based on the skilled manipu-lation of magical laws and principles. A sorcerer changesreality in accordance to his will at the temporary cost of

•106•

107 • T H E • W O R L D • OF• M A G I C

magic points or permanent cost of POW. More advancedsorcerers study High Magic and manipulation skills thatallow for unusual modifications of their spells. Sorcery isentirely skill based—the greater a sorcerer's sorcery skills,the more powerful the spells he can cast. Sorcery is com-mon only in civilized cultures.

Lunar MagicIn Glorantha, the Lunar Empire, whose members com-monly use batt le magic and divine magic, and lessfrequently sorcery, has a few practitioners of a uniquevariation of sorcery called Lunar Magic, which allowsthem to manipulate battle magic spells, greatly enhancingtheir effect, range or duration. It is a weird combination ofsorcery and battle magic which was created by the RedGoddess and cannot be used by anyone but her initiates. Itis rare, and thus not presented in this book (see Gods ofGlorantha for more details).

Dragon MagicDragon magic is misunderstood by humans. In Glorantha,the main practitioners are the mysterious dragonewts. Theonly other users of this magic are the humans of Kralorelaand a kingdom hidden in the mountains of Pamaltela.Dragonewts and dragon magic-using humans do not wor-ship deities in the same manner as other cults. It is exotic,and thus not presented in this book.

MECHANICSNearly all forms of magic have some qualities in common.These are described below. Additional details are providedin the Divine Magic, Spirit Magic and Sorcery chapters.

Terminology

Spell—most magical effects are carried out by castingspells. A spell combines the use of arcane sounds andphrases, subtle gesture, and the knowledgeable expendi-ture of power or magic points in order to predictablychange the magician's environment by other than mun-dane means. Each form of magic requires slightly differentprocedures for casting spells.

Ritual Spell—a framework of motion, invocation, andpower expenditure created by a magician to establish theconditions necessary for summoning, enchanting, orenhancing the skill with which spells are cast. Rituals canrequire a great deal of time and power to construct.

Magic Points—the energy used to fuel battle magic, sor-cery and ritual spells. Some divine spells are fueled bymagic points as well. All magicians can also use magicpoints to back their spells for the purpose of penetratingmagical defenses. One magic point (MP) is the smallestamount which can be used; there is no particular maxi-mum, but a rested adventurer's MP equal his of her POW.The exact costs are described in the spellcasting proce-dures below. In general, the more MP used, the longer thespell takes to cast. MP can also be lost in spirit combat.

Total Magic Points—a term describing the full number ofmagic points which the caster of a spell must provide tofulfill the caster's intent.

Intensity—a measure of the strength of a spell. Each spelldescription details the minimum effect that a spell canhave and the minimum number of magic points that thecaster must provide to achieve that effect. A minimum-effect spell is also referred to as a minimum-intensity spellBattle and divine magic users can cast spells with amaximum intensity equal to the size of the spell theyknow. Sorcerers are limited in their maximum intensity bytheir skills. The intensity of a divine magic spell is doubledfor the purposes of penetrating defensive magic, as theyare more powerful on a point for point basis than battlemagic or sorcery spells.

Touch—spells that function only at touch range. Thetouch need not penetrate armor or clothing. If the targetof the spell is adjacent to the caster but unwilling or betouched, the caster must also succeed in a roll of DEX x3,Grapple or Brawl skill, whichever is higher, at the time thespell is cast (treat this as a physical attack which can bedefended against), then overcome the target's resistance(see below). The caster is always assumed to be in touchrange with himself.

Ranged—spells with range. A battle magic spell has amaximum range equal to the caster's POW x5 in meters. Adivine magic spell has a maximum range of 100 meters. Asorcery spell has a base range of 25 meters, which may beincreased through manipulation.

Instant—a spell that takes effect instantly, and has no realduration. The effects of an instant spell can not be dis-pelled. The Heal spell is an example of an instant spell.Once cast, it has an instant effect.

Passive—a spell with duration that requires no furtherattention once cast. Most spells are passive. Once such aspell takes effect on a target, the caster need not concen-trate on it further, and may proceed to perform otheractions which include the casting of other spells. Battlemagic spells have a duration of 5 minutes, divine magicspells have a duration of 15 minutes and sorcery spellshave a base durat ion of 10 minutes, which may beincreased through manipulation. It is possible to dispel apassive spell through the use of appropriate spells.

Transient—a passive spell that terminates if a certain con-dition occurs during its duration (which is otherwise likethat of a passive spell), typically activating a spell effect.Examples of transient spells include missile enhancingspells that activate when the missile is fired, or spells thattrigger against a threat. A transient spell may be dispelledif it has not yet triggered.

Active—a spell which require the concentration of thecaster to remain in effect for their ful l duration.Maintaining an active spell requires the caster to spend aMiscellaneous Action each melee round while in combat.A caster cannot maintain more than two active spells (this

T H E • W O R L D • OF• M A G I C • 108

would take all of the caster's actions in combat to do). Ifthe caster does not expend the required number of actions,the effects of the spell cease and the spell must be recastfor the effect to again apply. If the caster takes physical ormagical damage, or has something unexpected happen tohim, then he must make a concentration roll (INT x3 as apercentage) or the effects of the spell cease, as above.When an active spell's duration expires (otherwise equal tothat of a passive spell) the caster has the option of simplyexpending the number of magic points it would normallytake to cast the spell, but with no casting roll required,and the spell is treated as if recast. It is possible to dispelan active spell through the use of appropriate spells.

Variable—a spell that can be learned and cast at severalintensities. If there is a limit to the strength of a spell, thatlimit will be included in the spell description. An adven-turer could learn a low intensity spell (Protection 1, forexample) and later learn more powerful versions of thespell (Protection 2 or 3). An adventurer can know a pow-erful variable spell and cast a weaker version of that spell.Many battle magic spells are variable. A stackable divinemagic spell is essentially variable as well, as are sorceryspells manipulated with the sorcerous Intensity skill.

Nonvariable—a spell that is learned and cast at only onelevel of intensity. A Befuddle spell is always learned andcast as a 2 intensity spell, for instance. Although base sor-cery Low and High Magic spells are nonvariable, it ispossible to manipulate their intensity with the sorcerousmanipulation skill of Intensity. When manipulated byIntensity, sorcery spells essentially become Variable.

Stackable—a divine spell whose castings can be combinedto create greater effects. All divine magic spells have aninitial point cost. Sacrificing this cost in current POWyields one casting of the spell. It is likely that a priest willlearn several castings of a spell. If a spell is stackable, thenthese several uses of the spell can be combined into a morepowerful version of the spell.

Nonstackable—a divine spell whose castings cannot becombined with each other.

Reusable—a divine spell which can be regained throughproper prayer once cast (see Divine Magic).

One-use—a divine spell which cannot be regained after itis cast. These spells are generally the most powerful divinespells. They cannot be learned by initiates, only acolytes,priests or rune lords.

Spell CastingThe chance to cast a spell depends on the form of magicused:

Battle Magic—chance to cast is the caster's POW x5.

Divine Magic—cast automatically, no roll required.

Sorcery—chance to cast is equal to the caster's skill in theparticular spell being cast.

A failed battle magic or sorcery spell does not go off butcosts the caster 1 MP. A critical or fumble with a sorceryspell has additional effects (see below and Sorcery).

The use of the appropriate Ceremony skill (see Skills)can further enhance the casting of spell in exchange foradditional time spent casting the spell.

Cost to Cast SpellsMagic points (MP) represent the quantity of life forcewhich an adventurer can use to cast spells that are pow-ered internally, such as battle magic or sorcery.

Divine magic, which draws upon an external source,does not normally cost magic points to cast. Instead, useof the spell is lost until the caster recovers it throughprayer, or in some cases, the spell is lost permanently.Divine magicians use magic points to back spells (seebelow) or in certain rituals, such as worship ceremonies.One magic point is the smallest amount which can beused; there is no particular maximum, but a rested adven-turer's MP are of the same number as his POW.

A magic point which powers or backs a spell is usedup, and additional or replacement magic points must beused to power or back other spells. As magic points arespent, the player should mark them off from his adven-turer's magic point tally. When an adventurer's magicpoints reach zero, he will fall unconscious. Magic pointscan never be less than zero.

The cost to cast a spell depends on the form of magicused:

Battle Magic—a successfully cast battle magic spell costs anumber of MP equal to its intensity. A failed battle magicspell does not go off, but costs the caster 1 MP.

Divine Magic—normally there is no cost in MP to cast adivine magic spell, though use of the spell is lost (ifreusable, it may be regained through prayer).

Sorcery—a successfully cast sorcery spell costs 1 magicpoint plus one magic point per level of manipulation usedon it. A critically cast sorcery spell costs only 1 magicpoint, a failed sorcery spell does not go off, but costs thecaster 1 magic point, and a fumbled sorcery spell does notgo off, but costs the caster the full number of magic pointsit would have cost if successfully cast. A fumbled HighMagic sorcery spell may have other unfortunate sideeffects (see Sorcery).

Spell Casting TimeWhen a spell is cast in combat depends on the form ofmagic used:

Battle Magic and Sorcery—the caster's DEX SR plus thetotal number MP used to cast (and back) the spell in SR.

Divine Magic—the caster's DEX SR. Add the total num-ber of MP used to back the spell (if any) in SR.

Add 3 SR to the above times if the caster was surprised.

109 • T H E • W O R L D • OF• M A G I C

General MechanicsThe following rules apply to nearly all forms of magic:

Regaining Magic Points—magic points are automaticallyregained at a rate equal to the adventurer's POW everyday, or 1/24th of the adventurer's current POW per hour.The magic points regained can never exceed the adven-turer's POW, though an adventurer may by other meanshave an amount of magic points greater than his POW.

Overcoming Resistance—the spell caster's current magicpoints are used to overcome the resistance of spells cast atan unwilling target. A conscious target will always resist aspell unless that target voluntarily accepts the spell. Tofind out if a spell was successfully cast against a resistingtarget, compare the caster's MP just prior to the castingagainst the target's POW on the resistance table. If the tar-get lacks POW but possesses MP (such as an undead), itresists with its MP instead.

Sleeping targets will resist, though unconscious oneswill not. Inanimate objects do not resist unless they pos-sess POW or MP.

Backing Spells—magic points may also be used to backspells for the purposes of penetrating defensive magic.Each magic point spent to back a spell adds one to thespell's intensity for the purposes of penetrating defensivemagic only. Thus, a Befuddle spell (a 2 intensity spell)backed by 3 magic points is treated as 5 intensity spell forpenetrating defensive magic.

Aborting a Spell—spirit-magic users and sorcerers can vol-untarily halt the casting of a spell at any time prior to theSR the spell would go off on. No magic points are lost,although the action used to start the spell is wasted. A castactive spell can be voluntarily aborted by the caster drop-ping his or her concentration, or involuntarily aborted byloss of concentration. This requires no additional cost inactions or magic points.

Spell Stacking—if two similar spells are cast on the sametarget, only the intensity of the spell with the highestintensity counts towards the overall spell effect.

For example, a character that for some reason hasboth Bladesharp 2 and Bladesharp 4 thrown on theirsword will only benefit from the Bladesharp 4. A characterwith a Bladesharp 4 that has a sorcerous Damage Boosting6 thrown on their sword will still add 20% to hit (fromthe Bladesharp), but do only 6 additional points of dam-age, not 10 (only from the Damage Boosting). The effectsof the spells will not stack. The same holds true for char-acterist ic e n h a n c i n g spells that a f f ec t the samecharacteristic.

A few unusual spells can stack with similar spells.This is always explicitly mentioned in the spell descrip-tion. The divine magic spell Shield is an example of this. Itprovides Protection and Countermagic that can stack withthe battle magic versions of the spells (though not sorcery).

There is no limit to the number of different spells thatmay be cast on a single target or object.

Protective Spells—a critical hit that ignores armor alsoignores spells that provide physical protection, such asProtection or Shield. These spells try to ward damage, butdo not always succeed.

Spells and Memory—battle magic spells require that a cer-tain amount of points of INT be allotted to memorizethem. Only by memorization can such spells be cast with-out aid. Once can have a maximum number of points(intensities) of battle magic spells memorized equal toone's INT. If more room is required (such as to learn a newbattle magic spell), one or more old spells must be forgot-ten. This process takes one hour per point of spell to beforgotten (a portion of a variable spell can be forgotten),and the spells forgotten are permanently lost. Divinemagic and sorcery spells do not require memorization.

Spell Qualifiers—some spells affect only a particular sub-stance, species, sense characteristic or attribute. Suchspell's descriptions include a qualifier in brackets. Thequalifiers specify the particular substance, species, sense,characteristic or attribute that one version of spell willaffect. They allow for a wide variety of spells to be dis-cussed in relatively little space. Each of these spells isessentially a distinct spell. Detect Gold is a different spellfrom Detect Iron, but both spells work in the same man-ner. Both must be separately learned, and if sorcery spells,experience in each must be developed individually.

Substance Qualifiers—these indicate the natural substancethat will be affected by the spell. Common substancesinclude gold, silver, copper, sapphire, iron, coal, tin, emer-ald, fire, diamond, earth, air, wood, leather, stone, fire,cotton, brick, bronze, water, bone, glass, quartz and dark-ness. Of course many other substances exist, and they canbe added if the gamemaster allows those spells into thecampaign and the adventurers can f ind a teacher.Substances do not include living material.

Species Qualifiers—these indicate the particular species orgroup of animals or creatures that is affected by the spell.Common groupings include man, troll, elf, dog, horse,hawk, elemental, nymph, spirit, ghost, and demon.

Characteristic and Attribute qualifiers—these indicate thecharacteristic or attribute the spell works on. Character-istics include STR, CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, or APP.Attributes might include HP, Damage Bonus, or Fatigue.

Sense qualifiers—these indicate the sense that the spellaffects. Senses include sight, hearing, smell, touch, andtaste, as well as nonhuman sense such as Darksense,Earthsense, etc.

MAGICAL PHENOMENAApparent Effects of MagicAt the moment a spell is successfully cast, an effect occursthat ordinary creatures can see or otherwise sense. Theexact nature of the effect varies depending on the source

T H E • W O R L D • OF• M A G I C • 110

and strength of the spell. A typical effect is a stirring in theair around the point where the spell took effect. Anothercommon effect is a flash or sheen of a certain color. Theexact color varies depending on the source of the spell.

Humans appear to primarily see visible spell effects.Trolls report Darksensing spell effects, and dwarfs reportEarthsensing them. An elf can Elfsense the effect of a spellon anything it is touching. Thus, when the discussionbelow uses the word "visible," read it as "Darksensable"for trolls, "Earthsensable" for dwarfs, and so on.

Most spells cause visible effects only when the spelldoes something. Every time a sword with a Bladesharp orTruesword spell on it hits a target, a visible dischargeoccurs (such as a flash of colored light, or a spark, orsomething of the sort). Likewise, a protective spell such asProtection, Countermagic, or Shield causes a visible dis-charge every time a weapon (Protection or Shield) or spell(Countermagic or Shield) hits the spell's user. Some spells,such as Light and Fireblade, always have visible effectsbeyond that of the initial casting—a light or flame of a cer-tain color. Darkwall, Firearrow, Lightwall, Lantern, andShimmer also have continuing effects. Most other spellshave a visible effect when cast and when they first hit theirtargets, but not afterwards. Instant spells, attack spellssuch as Demoralize or Befuddle, and Detect spells are allexamples of this.

As a rule of thumb, smaller, less powerful spells haveless obvious effects than larger ones. A successful Sleightskill roll can hide the action of casting a spell, but can dolittle to conceal the visible effects of a large spell, eitherwhen first cast or when it subsequently has an effect.

A Scan roll must succeed to see the visible effects ofspirit magic and sorcery spells of up to 4 points and divinespells of up to 2 points.

A Scan roll at twice the normal chance of success cansee the visible effects of spirit magic and sorcery spells ofup to 8 points and divine spells of up to 4 points.

The visible effects of spirit magic and sorcery spells ofover 8 points and divine spells of over 4 points are alwaysnoticed outside of combat and noticed in combat 95% ofthe time.

Note that in combat a character's Scan skill is halvedunless he or she spends a Miscellaneous Action to Scan.

Apparent Effects of Cult and Divine MagicThe apparent effects of cult and divine magic generallydepend on the runic associations of the cult the cult ordivine magic spell was drawn from. Most cults have morethan one runic association, and their apparent spell effectswill reflect this.

Chaos

Black or red colors, darkness, glows, corruption, oozing, adisturbance.

Darkness

Black or dark colors, shadows, darkness, cold, adisturbance, subsonics.

Death

Gray or dark colors, a disturbance, pain, a feeling ofseverance.

Disorder

Nearly any appearance, may vary from one casting of thespell to the next.

Dragonewt

Green colors, a disturbance.

Earth

Earth, stone, mineral or green colors, gleams and glints, adisturbance in the ground.

Dark Earth

Blood red, earth, stone and mineral colors, gleams andglints, fissures, cracks, disturbances in the ground.

Fertility

Red and white colors, warmth, glow, light.

Fire

Yellow, orange or red colors, flames, heat.

Harmony

White colors, white light, a feeling of peace.

Illusion

Multiple colors, pastel colors, shimmering, shifting,disturbance.

Infinity

Unknown.

Law

White or pale colors or light.

Light

Yellow or white colors, light, flashes, gleams.

Magic

A disturbance, an aura, a presence.

Air

White, blue or orange colors, electrical sparks, turbulence,wind, haze, mist, smell, a disturbance in the air.

Beast

Bestial appearance, rank odor, strength or vigor.

111 • THE•WORLD•OF•MAGIC

Man

An aura of presence, an appearance of strength, health orvigor.

Moon

Red colors, glows, cyclical pulses, sparkles, waxing andwaning.

Movement

Motion, blurring, change.

Plant

Green and brown colors, growth, stirring or disturbancein plants.

Spirit

An aura, faded colors, shimmering, a presence, adisturbance.

Stasis

Muted colors and sound, a feeling of stability orimmobility.

Truth

Gray colors, gray or pale light.

Water

Blue or blue green colors, moisture, fog, a disturbance inthe water.

D100Roll

01-1516-3031-3334-4344-5051-5657-58

Color

BlackBlueBlue-GreenBrownGreenGrayIndigo

D100Roll

59-6566-7071-8081-8889-9091-9596-00

Color

RedOrangeWhiteYellowVioletA disturbanceOther (or roll again)

Apparent Effects Of SorceryThe visible effects of sorcery spells vary greatly, but oftenshare a certain consistency from school to school. In gen-

eral, their effects are less obvious than those of otherforms of magic, often enhancing or altering the target ofthe spell in some way. Sorcerously blessed weapons, armoror tools may gleam or shift unnaturally, or have a peculiarsound or feel. Pale colors or unnatural auras are commonas well.

TwilightAt twil ight in Glorantha, for one t imeless momentbetween light and dark, all active spells and magic brieflybecome visible.

The GlowlineThe Glowline is a magical boundary which surroundsmost of the Lunar Empire. Within the Glowline, the redmoon is always full, despite the phase of the moon, and allspells cast by Lunar priests within the Glowline are thusbeneficially affected, although minor variations due to theactual phase of the moon can occur.

Outside of the Glowline the phases of the moon varydepending on the day of the week and one's relative posi-tion with respect to the moon, as blackness coversportions of it. Two distant areas may see different phasesof the moon.

The Red Moon and Lunar MagicThe changes in the Red Moon's phases affect the magicalpower of the Red Goddess upon the world. Spirit magicand sorcery spells are unaffected by the cycle, for theirpower derives from within men, not within gods, AllLunar cult magic, Lunar divine magic and Lunar Magicfollows this cycle unless specified otherwise.

Lunar Magic TableApparent Effects of Spirit MagicShaman's spells or spells learned from a shaman tend tohave a wide variety of visible effects. Some of the spelleffects resemble those of a divine cult, but others areunique. Shamans are the junk collectors of the spiritworld, and almost any combination of special effectscould conceivably end up in their hands.

The gamemaster should make up an appropriate coloror effect for any spirit magic spell learned by or from ashaman, selecting from the cult and divine magic listabove, or can use the following table:

Phase

Dark/Dying Moon

Crescent Moon

Half Moon

Full Moon

Magical effect

Only 1 or 2 point cult magic spells may becast. Only 1 point divine spells available, andno spells may be stacked. Lunar Magic(manipulation of battle magic) cannot be used.

Only up to 4 points of cult magic spells maycast Up to 2 point divine spells available, butonly two spells may be stacked together.Lunar Magic can only affect one aspect of aspell at a time (Intensity, Range, Duration, etc.).

No limit to cult magic use. All divine spellsavailable and freely stackable. Lunar Magic canbe used normally.

All spells available and freely stackable.Cult and divine spells have double normalduration. Lunar Magic manipulation limitsapply to each skill separately, so far more ofeach manipulation can be used on a spell.

PossessionWhen a spirit, demon, or shaman with the ability to pos-sess inhabits the body of a being, that being is possessed.There are two kinds of possession:

T H E • W O R L D • O F • M A G I C • 112

Dominant Possession—in this form, the identity (the INTand POW) of the original owner is suppressed by the pos-sessor and imprisoned within the body beyond normalreach, communication, or action. The possessed cannotregain magic points or heal the body. The possessor con-trols the body. While it controls the body, it normally hasonly beginning percentage chances in skills. The possess-ing spirit can only be exorcised by another spirit, or somevery rare magical spells. Examples of dominant possessioninclude demonic possession, insanity, the Bad Man of theShamanic initiation, and others. If magically viewed, theaura of a possessed being has the shape of the possessor'snatural aura. The entrapped soul will be visible as an uglysmudge within the aura of the possessor. Dominant pos-session can occur when a creature's magic points arereduced to zero during spirit combat.

Covert Possession—the possessing creature exerts noinfluence upon the actions or consciousness of the naturalowner of the body, but shares the physical form. Examplesinc lude disease spirits, sendings, emotion spirits, andhauntings (including bad memories and dreams). If magi-c a l l y viewed, the aura of a being s u f f e r i n g covertpossession appears cloudy where the two spirits overlap.Requirements for success vary with the type of spirit. Thepossessed person cannot expel the possessing spirit oncemagic points have returned to normal. The possessor canonly be exorcised by another spirit or some very rare mag-ical spells.

CursesIn RuneQuest, a curse is defined as the malicious sendingof an otherworld creature or of a long-duration spell toattack and discomfort a target. Treat curses as variants ofthe two types of possession or as a long term spell with adeleterious effect. Such spells or sendings are typically thedomain of exotic ritual magic.

Death and the Path of the DeadThe theists and the spirit magicians of Glorantha haveaccess to powerful spells that allow them to resurrect thedead. Such spells are very rare, and may have a high costto their caster. They believe that when you die, your soulseparates from your body. It lingers near the body forseven days, drifting apart and developing spirit senses.Once seven days have passed, it is no longer possible toresurrect the body.

The theists believe that after seven days the new spiritflies inwards into the heart space, assisted in finding itsway by the pantheon's psychopomp. There it joins theother dead on the Path of the Dead, and travels to theCourts of Silence, where the dead are judged and sent totheir respective heavens or hells.

The spirit magicians believe that after seven days thesoul has become a spirit, which will henceforth reside inthe world of spirits, returning to the world of men onlywhen summoned or in times of urgent need.

The sorcery using cultures generally do not resurrecttheir dead. The Malkioni believe that those that properly

followed the laws of Malkion in their lives will enterSolace. Those unfortunates that do not enter Solace maybecome ghosts, but such are driven away from Malkionilands by the sorcerous Blessing and Banishment funeralrituals. A number of sorcery spells or rituals exist toextend or prolong life, or otherwise stave off death.

MAGIC ITEMSRune MetalsGloranthan metals are analogous to terrestrial ones, andso are identified by the same names. There are, however,significant differences. The rune metals of Glorantha arethe bones of dead gods. The rune metals include alu-minum ( ), bronze ( ), copper ( ), gold ( ), iron ( ),lead ( ), quicksilver ( ), silver ( ) and tin ( ).

The "standard metal" of Glorantha is called bronze,for it is red-gold in color and can be made by mixing theequivalent of Gloranthan tin and copper. However, bronzeore can also be mined, and is more capable of beingstretched or extended than is terrestrial bronze. This metalis used worldwide, and whenever a Gloranthan item ismade of metal not otherwise characterized, it is made ofthe standard metal, bronze.

Some rune metals, particularly iron and silver, havemagical properties naturally. Iron interferes with the cast-ing of magic, every ENC of unenchanted iron subtracting5% from the caster's chance to cast any spell. Any damagefrom unenchanted iron weapons that penetrates the armorof elves or trolls is doubled. Both unenchanted iron andsilver can be used to damage creatures that are normallyaffected only by magical weapons, such as lycanthropes,although unenchanted silver is too soft to be used for any-thing other than crushing weapons or sling bullets. Anentire piece of pure bronze, dug from the ground as awhole bone is said to have magical properties, but suchpieces are very rare. Other rune metals must be enchantedfor their magical properties to become active (seeEnchanted Rune Metals below).

CrystalsJust as the bones of dead gods provided Glorantha withmetal, the blood of dead and wounded gods has providedmagic crystals.

Dead CrystalsThese came from gods now dead. They come in variousshapes, and sizes and are generally translucent. They canbe used to store magical energy. A typical dead crystal canbe used to store up to 2D6+3 MP. To store MP in a deadcrystal, one simply touches the crystal while expendingMP. A dead crystal may not be filled beyond its capacity.These MP can be drawn upon by anyone touching thecrystal, and used to power the casting or backing of spells.They do not otherwise add to the caster's MP for the pur-poses of attack or in spirit combat, and they cannot beused to replenish lost personal magic points. They are

113 • T H E • W O R L D • O F • M A G I C

commonly known as Quartz Crystals or Star Tips.

Living CrystalsAlso known as powered crystals, these came from godsthat still live. They are much rarer than dead crystals.They can be found in a variety shapes, and sizes and colors(see Apparent Effects of Divine Magic for what colorswould be appropriate to a particular god), and have awide variety of effects.

Living crystals have a POW of their own and must beattuned to be used. To attune a crystal, match the POW ofthe adventurer against the POW of the crystal after aneffort that takes nearly an entire day. If the adventurer isnot an initiate of the god the crystal came from, double itsPOW for resistance purposes. If the adventurer overcomesthe crystal, it glow and becomes attuned to him or her. Ifthe adventurer fai ls to overcome the crystal, it remainsunattuned, and the adventurer loses 1D3 POW perma-nently. An attuned crystal cannot be attuned or used byanyone else until it is unattuned. The individual to whoma crystal is attuned can unattune it at any time simply byconcentrating for a minute and severing the link (if he orshe wished to re-attune the crystal, he or she would have torepeat the normal attuning process). The death of the indi-vidual to whom a crystal is attuned immediately unattunesthe crystal as well. An individual (spirits included) may beattuned to only one living crystal at a time.

A few examples of living crystals follow. More aredescribed in Elder Secrets of Glorantha.

Power Enhancing—these crystals double the effects ofvariable spells (except healing) cast by the user up to theirl imit in POW (typically 1D3). Thus a user with a 2 pointPower Enhancing crystal that cast a Bladesharp 1 wouldget a Bladesharp 2, casting a Bladesharp 2 would get aBladesharp 4, and casting a Bladesharp 4 would get aBladesharp 6. It is believed that these crystals often comefrom the blood of the storm gods. A few of these affectonly the cult spells of a particular god. They are com-monly known as Orlanth's Stones, uncut Esrolian Rubies,or Humakt's Blessings.

Healing Focusing—these crystals double the effects ofHealing spells up to their limit in POW (typically 1D6).Thus a user with 3 point Healing focusing crystal that casta Heal 1 would get a Heal 2, casting a Heal 3 would get aHeal 6, and casting a Heal 4 would get a Heal 7. It isbelieved that these crystals come from the blood of healinggods, Arroin in particular. They are commonly known asArroin's Tears or Chalana's Blessings.

Spell Strengthening—For every MP used in a spell, thecrystal boosts the spell by 1 MP up to their limit in POW(typically 1D4) for the purposes of penetrating defensivemagic. Thus, a user with a 4 point Spell Strengtheningcrystal casting a Befuddle would cast a 4 (2 + 2) point spellfor the purposes of penetrating defensive magic. If heboosted the Befuddle with 4 MP, he would cast a 10 (6 +4) point spell. Yelm and an otherwise unknown deity orset of deities called Barnab, Darnag, or Gargag are

thought to have provided the blood for these, and thecrystals are often called Yelmsblood, Arrow Points,Barnablood (or Darnagblood or Gargagblood) orBarnabshoot (or Darnagshoot or Gargagshoot).

Spirit Supporting—each point of the crystal's POW (typi-cally 1D6) is added to the character's MP in spirit combatfor the purposes of attack, damage done, and defense. It isbelieved that these come from the blood of Flesh Man orGrandfather Mortal, but a curious belief holds that theycome from the fossilized souls of lonely widows. They arecommonly known as Ghost Shields or Grandpa's Helpers.

TruestoneTruestone is part of the original matter of the world. It issaid to have been part of the deity Stone, the first moun-tain, the Cosmic Spike. When it exploded, most of theSpike turned to dust, but pieces of Truestone were scat-tered about the world. The largest of these that remains isthe Block, in Prax.

Truestone can appear in a number of forms, the mostcommon of which are a red marble sphere, an ovoid sand-stone tear, or a jagged chip of flint. None can be chippedor marred in any way. Truestone has a number of magicalproperties, the best known of which is its ability to storedivine magic. The Lhankor Mhy cult is said to have secretrituals which allow them to store secrets and knowledgeinside Truestone, and it is said that others have storedPOW or dei ty gran ted Heroquest powers wi th inTruestones. Once a Truestone has magic stored in it, itbecomes permanently set, and cannot be readjusted to theq u a n t i t y or qua l i t y of thei r content. Thus, b lankTruestones command immense value, as they can be set astheir owners desire. However, touching a blank Truestonefills the holder with a nearly uncontrollable urge to cast alltheir divine magic into it. Any magic cast into a Truestoneis permanently lost to its owner, but becomes available forthe use of anyone touching the Truestone. Once set, aTruestone whose spells are used up can be recharged byanother casting of the same spell—this casting of the spellcan be regained, if it is a reusable divine spell.

As a result, most found Truestones are already setwith a body of divine spells. These spells are almost neverrandom, but belong to a certain cult or group of cults, typ-ically the divine spells of the individual that first stumbledacross it. Larger pieces of Truestone can store more magicthan smaller ones, but many large pieces are set with butthe spells of the person that first discovered it, as few canresist the call of a blank Truestone to return it to a templeunfilled. The few large temple Truestones that exist, filledwith the spells of a dozen or more priests when they werebrought to a temple unfilled, are among the greatest andmost closely guarded treasures of a cult.

Truestones can be used as slingstones. In this case theywill ignore any spirit magic or sorcerous protections theyencounter (though as they are not affected by spirit magicor sorcery their effectiveness as a weapon cannot beboosted by them either). In addition, as Truestone is essen-tially fossilized Law, it will do double normal damage


after penetrating physical armor to any creature of chaos.Creatures of chaos cannot stand to handle Truestone.

As a rule of thumb, most Truestones an adventurermight come across will be small and set with 1D10 divinespells. Even this is a item of great value. Truestones permita gamemaster to grant players one use of any body ofdivine magic, which can be a useful plot device.

Other Magic ItemsMany unique and dist inct ive magical items exist inGlorantha. Some are the products of particular enchant-ments (see Enchantment, below). Others can be found orcreated at a lesser cost. A few examples of such items aredescribed below. Gamemasters should feel free to createmore.

Aldryami Arrows—these arrows are grown by the elvesfrom arrowseeds, and have leafy fletching and a sharpthorny tip. They have twice the normal point blank rangeand function as if at normal range out to maximum range.In the hands of elves they ignore any to hit modifiers orcover provided by obstructing vegetation, firing as if in theopen even in deep woods. On occasion they are tipped incopper, in which case the arrow does 1 additional point ofdamage.

Rhino Fat—a clear jel ly like substance, made from spe-cially treated rhino fat. When smeared on one's bodyRhino Fat provides an additional AP of protection. Ittakes 5 minutes to apply, and wears off after five hours. Itis made by the animal nomads of Prax.

Scarlet Scimitar—a glowing red scimitar with 15 AP. Theyare made by the Scarlet Scimitar subcult of YanafalTamils, and also awarded to Lunar citizen in acknowledg-ment of special services provided to the empire. Theperson for who it was made can call forth a bright redglow from the scimitar which lights an area with a radiusequal to his or her POW at will, and can call a Trueswordforth from the blade once a week (except for Dark/Dyingdays of the moon). They are greatly prized as war trophiesby the Orlanthi.

ENCHANTMENTSThe most commonly found magical items are enchanteditems. Every form of magic has its own enchantments.

Creating EnchantmentsEnchantments are created through the use of variousRitual (Enchant) spells and the expenditure of POW. Someof the features of enchantment common to all forms ofmagic are described below.

Preparation for EnchantmentThe enchanter must inscribe the runes of power that willfocus the energies to be released during the ritual. Ifenchanting an area, then these symbols must be inscribedinto ground, trees, rocks, or other substances within thearea of Enchantment. The symbols need not be visible, but

they must be made of or from substance. Enchantments ofanimals or people must be accomplished through runesscarred or tattooed onto the particular creature to beaffected. The runes are inscribed in as permanent a fashionas possible, since if the symbols are destroyed the enchant-ments are also destroyed.

LimitationsWhen an item is first enchanted, the enchanter may chooseto restrict its use to him or herself only. In this case theenchanted item cannot be used by anyone else, andbecomes useless when the enchanter dies. If the enchanterdoes not choose to restrict the items use, anyone can use it.By expending additional POW, the enchanter can imposemore sophisticated user conditions (see below).

Conditions on EnchantmentsEvery enchantment can be modified by attaching condi-tions during the enchantment. An enchanter learns how toadd conditions as part of his training. The enchanter'splayer states the conditions that he desires and expendsthe appropriate amount of his adventurer's current POWwhen he makes his success roll. Once a condition has beenadded to an enchantment, it can never be removed orexpanded, though later the enchanter can further restrictit.

There are six classes or kinds of conditions. Each classcosts 1 point of permanent POW to include in theenchantment, no matter how complex the stated conditionwithin the class. The gamemaster rules as to the number ofclasses actually within a stated condition.

In general, a condition triggered at a distance from theitem cannot rely upon more information than the castercould gather with his own senses at the same distance(race, but not nationality or cult affiliation, for example).A condition triggered at touch range can be more sensi-tive, distinguishing things such as nationality, identity, cultaffiliation or intent.

Area-Effect Condition—expending an additional point ofPOW causes an enchantment to effect an area rather thana specific object. The size of the area is determined by thenumber of POW points expended on the rest of theenchantment. Each point affects a 1 meter radius sphere.An enchantment using only 1 additional point of POW forarea-effect will affect a 1 meter radius sphere. A 3 POWarea-effect Enchantment will affect a 3 meter radiussphere, and so on.

It is typically used to bind a spirit into an area so toattack anyone passing through the area, create spell matri-ces which anyone standing in the area can use, or create anarmoring enchantment that protects all those standingwithin it.

Trigger Condition—a condition added to a spell matrixwhich causes it to be cast when a condition is met (in com-bat, on the SR the condit ion is met). Unless AreaCondition is used as well, the condition must involvesomeone touching the item with the spell matrix. With


spirit magic or sorcery spells, Link Condition must be usedas well to provide a source of magic points for the spell.An attack spell from a spell matrix attacks with the MP ofits enchanter.

Some examples might include a Fireblade that acti-vates (using a Link Condition) when drawn by its user, aHeal Body spell matrix that triggers when the authorizedcarrier's total hit points reach zero or less, a doorway (areaeffect) that attacks anyone attempting to pass though itwith the intent ion of harming the occupants with aMadness spell, or a Control/Wraith spell that commands abound wraith to emerge and attack anyone nearby for 5minutes (using a Link Condition to the wraith to powerthe spell), then return to the binding matrix.

Merge Condition—this enchantment merges together anumber of d i f fe rent spell matrices to create unusualeffects. Expending 1 point of POW allows the magician totie together any or all spell matrices enchanted in a device.This essentially creates one very complex spell. To cast anyone of the spells that are merged together requires castingthe others as well. If, at a later time, the enchanter wishedto merge more spells he must expend another permanentpoint of POW.

Link Condition—at a cost of 1 POW, this enchantmentlinks the magic point storage capability of a crystal placedin an item, spirit bound into a item, or willing holder of anitem to a spell or set of spells (Merge Condition) so thatwhen the spells are cast the magic points used automati-cally come from that source. Of course, the source musthave magic points left for the spells to draw from it.

Target Condition—at a cost of 1 POW, the enchanter maydefine exactly who will not be affected by the enchant-ments in an item. If target conditions are not specified thenthe item will work against anyone. If target conditions areincluded as part of the enchantment then the spells in theitem will not be triggered by any target who fulfills theconditions. If the spells are cast by someone using theitem, they will automatically fail against protected targets.

User Condition—normally, enchanted items can be usedby anyone or only used by the enchanter, if he chose to solimit the item at the time of its enchantment. User condi-tions make it possible for the enchanter to restrict the useof the item in a more sophisticated manner. At a cost of 1POW, the creator to bar one specific person or group ofpeople from using the item. Any number of people can beincluded in the group as long as the group is clearly identi-fied. It exclude everyone but init iates of a god, forexample.

Once a user condition has been added to an item, thespecified people can never use the item. If the enchanterlater wants to restrict another person or group of persons,he must spend another permanent point of POW in anenchanting ritual. Only people who can use an item canadd to the enchantments or conditions in that item. It ispossible to tie a condi t ion to only part of theEnchantments on an item, for example while anyone

could use the Bladesharp spell matrix of a enchantedsword, only initiates of Humakt could use the Trueswordspell matrix in it.

Some of the most common kinds of enchantments arediscussed below.

Armoring EnchantmentsWeapons, shields, pieces of armor, suits or armor, and lesscommonly tools can be found whose AP have beenenhanced by an armoring enchantment. A typical itemwould have 1D3 extra AP, though more powerful versionsof this enchantment exist.

Enchanted Rune MetalWhen enchanted, many of the rune metals gain magicalproperties. Of these, iron is the most valued. All enchantedrune metal weapons gain the property to cause damage tocreatures that are normally only affected by magic, such aslycanthropes or wraiths.

Aluminum or Quicksilver (Sramak's metal)—these are twodifferent forms of the same metal, and may be convertedfrom one form to the other with a Craft/Quicksilver roll.Enchanted quicks i lver gains the AP of bronze andbecomes buoyant in water. Enchanted quicksilver armoror gear does not subtract from a wearer's Swim skill. Thisenchanted metal is favored by river or sea cults.

Bronze (Umath's metal)—this metal changes little whenenchanted, so it is rarely enchanted.

Copper (Gata's metal)—enchanted copper gains the AP ofbronze, but is even more resistant to breakage (double theAP for the purposes of resisting breakage, but not for par-rying or defense purposes). Enchanted copper armor canbe hammered very thin, halving the armor's ENC, butonly subtracting 1 AP from its defensive value. Thisenchanted metal is favored by earth cults, includingAldrya, the cult of the elves.

Gold (Yelm's metal)—gold has twice the density of bronze,giving weapons or armor made from it twice the normalENC, so it is typically used instead to gild bronze or ironarmor. Enchanted gold gains the AP of bronze, glowssoftly in the dark, glows softly in the dark, and doublesthe effect of any light producing spell cast on it. Thisenchanted metal is favored by solar cults.

Iron (Mostal's metal)—enchanted iron gains half again theAP of bronze. Weapons and armor of enchanted iron aregreatly sought after by warriors. Iron armor can be madethin, halving the armor's ENC, but this gives it only the APof bronze. It retains its ability to cause increased damageto elves or trolls (any weapon damage that penetrates thearmor of elves or trolls is doubled). They are the dwarf'straditional foes, and the dwarfs designed the metal to par-ticularly hurt them. This enchanted metal is favored bywar cults.

Lead (Nakala's metal)—this soft, dull metal has half againthe density of bronze, so weapons or armor made from it


have half again the normal ENC. Enchanted lead gains theAP of bronze, and never clanks or reflects l ight , soenchanted lead armor does not subtract from a wearer'sStealth skill. Crushing weapons made of enchanted leaddo +1 damage. This enchanted metal is favored by troll,darkness and thief cults.

Silver (Uleria's metal)—this soft, pliable metal gains theAP of bronze when enchanted. This enchanted metal isfavored by Lunar cults and certain sky cults.

Tin (Dayzatar's metal)—this soft, silvery blue metal gainsthe AP of bronze when enchanted.

PotionsA number of magical potions exist, the products ofalchemical enchanting. Some of the most common includemagic point restoring potions (restores 1D6 lost MP whendrunk, costs 300 L), healing potions (typically acting as aintensity 1 to 6 Heal spell, worth 50 L for a 1 point spell,100 L for a 2 point spell, 200 L for a 3 point spell, etc.),and disease curing potions (allows an extra CON roll tostop the course of a disease, rolled for as soon as thepotion is drunk, worth 300 L). Other potions mightinclude magical venoms, magical venom antidotes, andmore powerful healing potions, all extremely valuable.

Spell MatricesA wide variety of spell matrices exist. Most are for com-mon spells, but some are for rare or unusual spells.

Battle Magic Spell Matrices—these give anyone that usesthem the ability to cast the spirit or cult magic spell theycontain with a percentage chance equal to their POW x5to a range of POW x5 in meters. A typical battle magicmatrix will contain a single spell, with an intensity of 1D4if the spell is variable. See Battle Magic, Cult Magic orSpirit Magic for more details.

Divine Magic Spell Matrices—these allow anyone thatuses them to automatically cast the divine spell or spellscontained within the matrix. If the spell was reusable thematrix can be refilled by the appropriate prayer by an ini-tiate or higher level member of the cult to which the spellbelongs, using the normal procedures for recovering castdivine magic spells. A typical divine magic matrix willcontain a single spell, of 1D3 points if the spell is stack-able. See Divine Magic for more details.

Sorcery Spell Matrices—these enhance the skill of anyoneusing them with respect to a particular sorcery spell. If theindividual using the matrix does not know the spell at all,it allows him to cast it with a skill equal to the bonus givenby the matrix, and the base spell may be learned from thematrix to 1D6 plus magic bonus after 3 days of study fora Low Magic spell and 5 or 10 days of study with a HighMagic spell. A typical sorcery matrix will add +20% to+ 60% to a particular Low Magic spell and +10% to+30% to a particular High Magic spell. See Sorcery formore details.

Spirit TrapsItems with spirit trapping enchantments. They may ormay not a have spirit bound inside them already (typicallya ghost, wraith or elemental). The crudest simply trap adefeated spirit inside them, and must be broken to releasethe spirit. More elaborate versions allow the user torelease the spirit without breaking the item, draw uponspells in the spirit's INT and the spirit's MP, or allow thespirit to see from the item so that it can target spells otherthan on those touching the item.

A spirit bound into a spirit trap will agree to performa single function if it released. If a Command, Control orDominate spell is used, it automatically succeeds on atrapped spirit, and the spirit will perform any actionsrequired of it by the spell's caster for the duration of thespell, including returning to the item before the spell'sduration expires, assuming the binding item is still intact.Wise enchanters apply User Conditions to their spirit trapsto prevent others from commanding their spirits.

A typical spirit trap will have one of the additionalproperties described above, and has roughly a 50%chance of already containing a spirit.

Other EnchantmentsAdamant—this is refined and enchanted Truestone. Allthe divinities that could enchant or shape Truestone arenow gone, so anything made of adamant will foreverretain its shape. It is unbreakable, and the value of any-thing made of adamant is beyond calculation. Nationshave fought over scraps of adamant. The best knownadamant item is the Unbreakable Sword, once borne byArkat the Liberator.

Slave Bracelets—these are magical restraints, originallydeveloped by the dwarfs. Others have since learned theenchantments to make these, notably the cults of Ikadzthe Torturer and Danfive Xaron. Slave bracelets generallycome in three pieces, a collar and two bracelets. The col-lar prevents the wearer from using his magic points tofuel spells, though they can still be used to worship orparticipate in other rituals. The bracelets prevent the userfrom resisting spells or spirits (treat them as if they had aPOW and MP of 0). The level the bracelets reduce thewearers POW and MP can be adjusted for areas wherethe wearer will have to do some looking out for them-selves. Tunings of 3 POW (and MP) and 6 POW (andMP) are common in such areas. The combination of col-lar and bracelet prevent the user from casting any form ofmagic, including divine magic, or from calling for divineintervention.

Only the person who fastened the collar and braceletscan safely remove it. If anyone else attempts to remove apiece the wearer suffers 1D6 damage directly to general hitpoints each round an attempt is made. It requires a STR of50 to snap a bronze collar or bracelet, and a STR of 75 tosnap an iron collar or bracelet. Slave bracelets are typicallyused on important prisoners and slaves, as they are toovaluable for common use.


Woad—this blue dye, derived from the woad plant, hasmagical properties when properly enchanted, typically bya divine r i tual enchantment spell that Orlanthi WindLords can cast once a year. The spell enchants enoughWoad to cover a single man or woman. When smeared ona naked body, each point of the spell that was used causesthe Woad to act as 1 point of armor and one point of mag-ical protection (spells must have more intensity than thepoints of magical protection to affect the wearer of theWoad). Each day the Woad is worn, it declines in bothphysical and magical protection by a point, until it hasfully worn off. If the wearer ever dons armor or clothing,the Woad immediately loses all of its magical power. Asealed pot of enchanted Woad will not spoil. A typicalWoad might have a potency of 1D6.

Thunderstones—these enchanted flint stones are typicallycreated by Orlanthi Wind Voices (pr iest) , who have adivine ritual enchantment spell that they can cast once ayear to create a Thunderstone. A Thunderstone must beactivated before it is used, a process which requiresexpending a magic point (and an action in combat). Anactivated Thunderstone begins to spark and crackle, andmust be thrown, slung or used to strike a foe. Once aThunderstone strikes a target, or in any case at the end ofthe second melee round following its activation it shattersand becomes useless. For each point of spell invested inthe Thunderstone, it does 1D6 points of damage to thelocation struck and drains 1D6 magic points from its tar-get. Armor and spells which protect against physicaldamage, and Countermagic will protect against the drain-ing effect (treat each point of spell in the Thunderstone ashaving 2 intensity for the purposes of penetrating defen-sive mag ic ) . A t y p i c a l Thunders tone wi l l have beenenchanted with 1D6 points of the spell.

BATTLE MAGICBattle magic is the most common form of magic inGlorantha, with similar battle magic spells used by divinemagicians as cult magic and spirit magicians as spiritmagic.

Learning Battle MagicSpirit magic is taught by shaman (see Spirit Magic), andnear ly any bat t le magic spell can be learned from ashaman. Cult magic is taught by cults, and only a few bat-tle magic spells special to the religion are taught (seeDivine Magic).

The costs of learning battle magic spells are:

100 L/1 point200 L/2 points400 L/3 points800 L/4 points

1,600 L/5 points3,200 L/6 points6,400 L/7 points

12,800 L/8 pointsetc.

These costs have halved if for initiates learning their reli-gions cult magic, or for members of a shaman's tribe. Theyare doubled for complete outsiders for cult magic or forcomplete strangers for spirit magic.

Note that most cults cannot teach cult magic beyond2 points to those that are not initiates of the religion.Initiates can typically learn up to 4 point spells, more ifthe spell is a specialty of the cult, less if it is not. Acolytes,priests and Rune Lords of a cult have a deeper connectionto their deity, and can learn more than initiates (see DivineMagic).

ProcedureTo use battle magic, one calls upon the power of the spell.In melee, this takes one's DEX SR + 1 SR per MP of thespell. Each MP used to back the spell for the purposes ofpenetrating magical defenses adds 1 SR to the castingtime. If the spell's caster lacks a focus (see below), doublethe casting time.

Chance to CastFor a battle magic spell to be successfully cast requires aroll equal to or less than POW x5. If the roll succeeds, thespell is cast successfully and the caster loses the magicpoints spent to cast the spell. A failed roll results in thespell not being cast and the caster expending 1 magicpoint. A fumbled roll results in the spell not being cast andthe caster losing all the magic points that would normallyhave been spent to cast the spell.

If the spell's caster lacks a focus (see below), halve thechance of success.

Note that outside of combat, spells are typically castmore slowly, using Ceremony (see Skills) to enhance thechance of casting the spell.

If players and gamemasters wish to deal with theadded complication, an option is to allow characters toselect commonly and uncommonly used spells. The chanceto cast a commonly used spell is POW x6, the chance orcast a uncommonly used spell is POW x4. A charactermust declare one of the spells he or she knows to beuncommonly used for every spell he or she declares to becommonly used. The casting chance of spells not declaredto be commonly or uncommonly used remains POW x5.

RangeThe range of a Ranged battle magic spell is the caster'sPOW x5 in meters.

DurationThe duration of a battle magic spell is 5 minutes, unless itis an Instant spell, in which case it has no duration.

FociA focus is a carved rune or emblem of some sort that helpsto trigger the release and formation of the magical energiesthat make battle magic spells work. They are typicallycarved on jewelry, wands, weapon blades, weapon hilts,sewn onto clothing, carried as fetishes or trinkets, or tat-


tooed or scarred on the caster's skin.Creating a focus typically requires an hour of a

Crafter's time. The Crafter must know the spell to create afocus for it. Shaman make foci for their students andmembers of their tribe.

Memorization LimitsAs previously discussed, an adventurer may not knowmore total points (intensities) of battle magic than his orher INT. Note that although the player knows exactly howmany points a battle magic spell is, adventurers do not.Adventurers should only have a rough idea of the size andpower of the spell (1-2 points small, 3-4 points medium,5-6 points large, 7 or more points very large).

VarietyA great variety of battle magic spells exist. The most com-mon cult and spirit magic spells have hundreds of subtlevariations, primarily in how they appear when cast, butalso in how people learn and use them. The God Learnersca ta loged over 100 d i f f e r e n t vers ions of the basicDisruption spell, for example.

Under the description of each of the most commonbattle magic spells is a list of the most common names thespell goes by. Adventurers will generally think of two dis-tinct versions of a spell with different names and visibleeffects as two different spells, even though they have iden-tical game effects.

A farmer that learned Slay Pest (Disruption) from alocal shaman and later became a Humakt i mercenarymight well consider learning the Humakt cult magic spellWound (Disruption) as well.

Some players and gamemasters may prefer to refer tospells by one of the common names instead of the primaryname. Keeping both names on the character sheet is prob-ably a good idea in such a case, perhaps with the primaryname in parentheses, as above.

BATTLE MAGIC SPELLSThis section lists and describes in alphabetical order thecommon spells of battle magic. A subset of these spells areava i l ab l e to members of d i v i n e cults as cult magic.Associated cults teach each other their cult magic. Thedepth of a divine magician's involvement with his or hercult and god governs the size of the cult magic spells theycan learn (see Divine Magic). All battle magic spells areavailable to spirit-magic users as spirit magic through theagency of a shaman (see Spirit Magic).

Battle Magic Spell List

Spell Name

BefuddleBladesharpBludgeonControl <Spirit>CoordinationCountermagicDarkwallDemoralizeDetect EnemiesDetect MagicDetect <Species>Detect <Substance>Dispel MagicDisruptionDullbladeEnduranceExtinguishFanaticismFarseeFirearrowFirebladeGlamourGlueHealIgniteIronhandLightLightwallMindspeechMobilityMultimissilePeaceful CutProtectionRepairSecond SightShimmerSilenceSlowSpeedartSpirit ScreenStrengthVigorVisibility

Intensity

1 PointsVariableVariable1 PointVariableVariable2 Points1 Points1 Point1 Point1 Point1 PointVariable1 PointVariableVariableVariable1 PointVariable2 Points4 PointsVariableVariableVariable1 PointVariable1 Point4 PointsVariableVariableVariable1 PointVariableVariable3 pointsVariableVariableVariable1 PointVariableVariableVariable2 Points

In the detailed spell descriptions that follow, each spell ispresented in the following format:

SPELL NAMECommon Names

Variable/Intensity if NonvariableCasting Range, Spell Type

The spell description, including the area of effect, if any.


BEFUDDLEBefuddle, Bemuse, Confuse, Muddle, Stun

2 PointsRanged, Passive

This spell confuses an opponent that suc-cumbs to it. It will cause him or her towonder such things as: Why am I here? Isthat a friend? What is happening? Whoare they? Which ones are my enemies?Why is everybody fighting?

When this spell successfully overcomesthe POW of its victim, he or she can takeonly defensive actions and cast onlydefensive spells. Depending on theBefuddled target's natural inclinations, heor she may freely choose to stay put, seekcover, cast concealing or protective spells,heal themselves if wounded, put theirback to a wall, or run like hell. They canparry, dodge, or take other defensiveactions in melee normally. They willalways resist any spells cast on them.

If attacked, their confusion is resolved,and beginning next melee round they willno longer act as confused (the guy thatattacked me is my enemy, and once he isdead his obvious allies are my enemies).Thus, with some clever management, aBefuddled opponent might actually endup attacking his own party for as long asthe spell remains in effect.

If the target of the spell succeeds in anINT x1 roll when first affected by thespell, he or she realizes that they havebeen Befuddled, and can attempt to dis-pel the Befuddle should they know anappropriate spell, or flee and give thespell a chance to wear off. If attacked,they can choose to attack back, but sincethey realize they are Befuddle, they maybe more careful not to kill opponents incase they made the wrong decision.

BLADESHARPBladesharp, Keenedge, Plowsharp, Runeblade,Sharpen, Swordsharp

VariableTouch, Passive

This spell works on any cutting, stab-bing, or hacking weapon. It increases thechance to hit by +5 percentiles and doesone additional point of damage per pointof spell applied. Each point of the spelltherefore increases the chance to specialby 1 percentile, and every four points ofthe spell increase the chance to critical by1 percentile.

If a Dullblade is also cast on theweapon it will continue to have itsincreased chance to hit, but its additionaldamage will be reduced by the secondspell. Note that the magical points occa-sionally do damage to magical creaturesotherwise invulnerable to weapon dam-

age. Lycanthropes, for instance, will notbe hurt by a bronze weapon, but may behurt by the magical bonus.

BLUDGEONBludgeon, Bash, Drive Post, Hammeright,Pound, Smite


This spell works on any smashing orcrushing weapon. It increases the chanceto hit by +5 percentiles and does oneadditional point of damage per point ofspell. Each point of the spell thereforeincreases the chance to special by 1 per-centile, and every four points of the spellincrease the chance to critical by 1 per-centile.

If a Dullblade is also cast on theweapon it will continue to have itsincreased chance to hit, but its increaseddamage will be reduced by the Dullblade.Note that the magical points occasionallymay do damage to magical creatures oth-erwise invulnerable to weapon damage.Lycanthropes, for instance, will not behurt by a bronze weapon, but may behurt by the magical bonus.

CONTROL <SPIRIT>Control, Bind Spirit, Command, Spirit Binding

1 PointRanged, Active (until the creature isinstructed) then Passive

Each casting of this spell subjects a kindof spirit to the caster's will. A separatespell exists for each rune a spirit may betied to. Thus there is Control Man Spirit,Control Plant Spirit, Control DarknessSpirit, Control Spell Spirit, and so forth.

To use a Control spell the adventurermust first reduce the magic points of histarget to zero (generally through spiritcombat) then cast the Control spell at it,or cast it on a spirit trapped in a bindingenchantment, which resists such spells asif it had zero magic points. If the adven-turer overcomes the spirit's zero magicpoints with his own magic points thespirit must obey all commands issued bythe adventurer. These commands must begiven, acted upon, and completed, beforethe end of the spell's duration. Thus,spirit magicians use their Control spellsprimarily to force spirits into bindingenchantments, or to command a spiritbound in a binding enchantment to per-form a set of actions (and return if theenchantment did not have to be brokento release the spirit).

To instruct a Controlled creature theadventurer must form a mental image ofthe actions that he wishes the creature toperform. Commanding a creature takes

one melee action, and the creature willnot act before the next melee round. Thecontrolled creature is in a special form oftelepathic communication with theadventurer. This mental communicationis limited to line-of-sight. An adventurercan also use a Control spell to force aspirit to give him or her information,such as the creature's name or a piece ofknowledge it knows.

COORDINATIONCoordination, Adroitness, Agility, Balance,Dance, Dexterity


This spell increases the target's DEX. Thetarget must possess the DEX characteris-tic in order for this spell to work. Eachpoint of spell increases DEX by 2 points,thereby increasing skills, DEX rolls, andpossibly increasing MV score or loweringthe number of the DEX strike rank. Eachpoint of the spell therefore adds 2 per-centiles to all Agility, Magic, andManipulation skills. DEX SR and MVmay have to be re-figured as well. A crea-ture's DEX may never be increased bythis spell to be greater than twice its cur-rent, unadjusted DEX.

COUNTERMAGICCountermagic, Spellguard, Spellward,Spellshield

VariableRanged, Passive

This defensive spell will attempt to pro-tect against any other incoming spellincluding detection, protection, and evenHealing spells. Cast on armor orweapons, the Countermagic will protectspells that were previously cast on theobject from being dispelled. Counter-magic will not defend against previouslyenspelled things, such as a sword with aBladesharp spell on it, or spirits.

If the oncoming spell is two or morepoints weaker than the Countermagicthen it is eliminated and the Counter-magic remains. If the incoming spell isequal to or within one point (either moreor less) of the Countermagic, both disap-pear. If the attacking spell is two or morepoints stronger than the Countermagic iteliminates the Countermagic. If it thenovercomes the resistance of the target, ittakes full effect upon its target.


DARKWALL

Darkwall, Darkness, Night's Cloak, Shade,Shadow, Troll Door

2 PointsRanged, Passive (Active to move wall)

This spell can create a wall of darkness10 m square in area and 10 cm thick.The Darkwall can be moved by the casterat a rate of 1 meter per strike rank,though this requires using an additionalaction in combat. Light sources withinthe darkness give no light nor can anysighted being see through. Other senses,such as sonar, are unaffected by this wall.A Darkwall can be moved or shaped intothe height or width desired, so long asthe total area is 10 m square, and thethickness is always 10 cm.

DEMORALIZEDemoralize, Evil Eye, Fear, Frighten, Hex,Panic, Rout


A victim of this spell loses faith in theability of himself and his party to win afight, succeed in their quest, and so on.He can still defend himself fully but canattack only at half normal percentage. He •casts only defensive and heal spells. If thespell takes effect before combat is started,then the victim will try not to attack.Faced with superior odds he will proba-bly run or surrender. The victim's POWmust have been overcome by the caster'sMP for the spell to take effect. AFanaticism spell cancels a Demoralize,and vice versa.

An adventurer can attempt to realizethat he is under the effects of aDemoralize spell, but his player must rollpercentile dice and obtain a result equalto or less than the adventurer's INT x1. Ifthe adventurer realizes his condition,then he may cast Fanaticism or DispelMagic to counter the Demoralize. Thespell's effects still hold until the spell iscountered. A player may roll for hisadventurer's realization only once, whenthe Demoralize first takes effect.

DETECT <ENEMIES, MAGIC,SPECIES, SUBSTANCE>

Detect, Dowse, Find, Seek, Sense

1 PointRanged, Active

The adventurer must have some sort offocus (a wand, knife, sword, skull,feather token, compass, etc.) that canguide him toward the target of the spell.The focus will first point to, and thenguide the adventurer to the closest targetof the spell within range. If the spell is

still in effect, it will then point to andguide him to the next closest target, andthen the third closest, and so on for theduration of the spell. The spell will notguide the caster to a target touching himof her. If the target of the spell is a livingbeing, the caster of the spell does nothave to overcome the magic points of apotential target to find him.

The sensing effect is stopped by one ormore meters of dense substance such asstone, metal, or earth. The spell is alsoblocked by Countermagic or other simi-lar magical defenses. If this occurs thecaster will sense that there is a target pro-tected by Countermagic within range, butbe unable to place the location of the tar-get. The spell can be backed (to penetrateCountermagic) only when it is first cast,not subsequently.

Detect Enemies leads one to the closestperson within range who knowinglyintends to harm the caster.

Detect Magic leads one to the nearestmagical object, enchantment, active spell,or undead in range.

Detect <Species> guides the caster tothe nearest living creature of the targetspecies. An example might be DetectBison.

Detect <Substance> guides the caster tothe nearest supply of the target sub-stance. An example might be DetectGold.

DISPEL MAGIC

Dispel Magic, Dispel, Hexbreaker, RemoveCurse

VariableRanged, Instant

This spell eliminates magic. One point ofthis spell will remove one magic point ofspirit magic or sorcery spells; two pointswill remove one point of divine magicspells. With sorcery spells, only theIntensity of the spell must be eliminatedto destroy the spell. Thus to Dispel aBefuddle spell would require 2 points ofDispel, to dispel a 1-point Truesword (aDivine spell) requires 2 points, and todispel a Boost Damage 4 with Range 2and Duration 2 would require 4 points.You cannot Dispel part of a spell.

When cast against a target withoutspecifying any specific effect or target,the Dispel will always first destroy defen-sive spells, beginning with the mostpowerful spell that it can affect.However, it may be cast against a specificspell if the caster can discern a specificspell.

DISRUPTION

Disruption, Eurmal's Kiss, Get Cow'sAttention, Harm, Kill Rat, Shatter, Slay Pest,Wound

1 PointRanged, Instant

This spell damages the target's body. Ifthe target's POW is overcome, the targettakes 1D3 damage to a random hit loca-tion. This damage is not absorbed byarmor. The spell can affect inanimateobjects as well.

DULLBLADE

Dullblade, Hex Blade, Sword Curse, Padding


Despite the spell's name, this spellreduces the damage done by any meleeweapon or projectile, sharp or blunt. Towork properly it must be cast on theweapon, and will then reduce damage by1 point per point of Dullblade. It is oftenused by warriors to allow them topractice and spar safely. This spell has noeffect on natural weapons (Brawl, etc).

ENDURANCE

Endurance, Restore Wind, Second Wind,Stamina

VariableTouch, Transient

Every point of this spell restores one levelof short term fatigue loss, such as thatlost in combat. For example, a Wearyadventurer that is hit by an Endurance 2spell goes back to Normal fatigue. Thespell has no effect on long term fatigue,such as that caused by travel or wearingarmor for long periods of time.

Its transient nature means that the spellwill automatically go into effect if targetloses fatigue at any point in its duration.A Tired adventurer that has anEndurance 3 spell cast on him is restoredto Normal fatigue, and the spell isreduced to an Endurance 2. The adven-turer can suffer the loss of two morefatigue levels for the remainder of thespell duration without ill effect.

EXTINGUISH

Extinguish, Douse, Quench

VariableRanged, Instant

This spell puts out fires and flames andcools hot materials to the ambient tem-perature. One point of Extinguish willput out a candle, torch, or lantern; 2points will put out a small campfire; 3points will eliminate a bonfire, etc.


FANATICISM

Fanaticism, Bull's Head, Enrage, Fury, Goad

1 PointRanged, Passive

When cast upon a being with normalINT this spell will increase his chance tohit in melee by half again his skill per-centage. Thus, a 33 swordsman becomesa 50 swordsman under the spell ofFanaticism. The fanatic may not parry orcast magic other than attack spells(Disruption, Boost Damage, Mindblast,etc.). The spell halves the target's Dodge.

This spell will only affect a character'schance to attack and dodge in meleecombat. A character using a rangedweapon retains normal attack and dodgeskill percentages, although he or she maystill not parry or cast magic other thanattack spells.

A successful Demoralize spell cancelsthe effects of a Fanaticism spell, leavingthe target with normal morale. If the tar-get does not wish the spell to be castupon them the caster must overcometheir POW with his or her MP.

FARSEE

Parsec, Godseye, Hawk's Eye, Farview,Longsee, Longview


Each point of this spell halves the appar-ent distance as seen by the caster to therest of the universe. The effect includesforeshortening of the field of vision,exactly as if a telephoto lens was beingused. If a particular target is specified,then the spell magnifies only the target,and the viewer's Search ability withrespect to that target is increased by 5percentiles for each magic point spentpowering the spell.

FIREARROW

Firearrow, Flamearrow

2 PointsTouch, Transient

This spell creates a missile of fire whichdoes 3D6 damage if it hits. It must becast on an ordinary arrow, rock, or dartwhich bursts into fire and is consumed asthe missile leaves the hand of the caster.Armor will help protect a target. AFirearrow will ignite flammable material.This damage cannot be resisted (i.e.magic points vs. POW) because it is actu-ally physical damage from the heat of thefire. This spell is incompatible withMultimissile and Speedart.

A Firearrowed weapon that gets a spe-cial hit will do 3D6 plus normal rolledweapon damage, one that gets a critical

hit will do 3D6 plus normal rolledweapon damage, ignoring all armor orpicking the location struck, as always.

The transient nature of this spell meansthat it can be cast onto a missile and thespell will work once only if the missile isused any time within the spell's duration.

FIREBLADE

Fireblade, Flameblade, Firesword

4 PointsTouch, Passive

Cast on any edged weapon or spear, thisspell delivers 3D6 damage when itstrikes. This replaces any normal damagedone by the weapon. The wielder of theweapon still adds his damage bonuswhen he or she strikes. The weapon isunharmed by this magical fire. The spellis incompatible with Bladesharp.

A Firebladed weapon that gets a spe-cial hit will do 3D6 plus normal rolledweapon damage, one that gets a criticalhit will do 3D6 plus normal rolledweapon damage, ignoring all armor orpicking the location struck, as always.

GLAMOURGlamour, Bedazzle, Charm, Disguise, Seduce


Each point of spell adds 2 APP points tothe target for its duration. This increasesall of the target's Communication skillsby 2 percentiles per point of spell. Thetarget must possess APP for it to beaffected. The appearance of the targetdoes not alter, but the quality of appear-ance increases so that soon the perceiversimply is not reminded of the similaritiesto the person of whom he otherwisemight be reminded. Characters will berecognizable as themselves only whenwithin half of their previous total APP.For example, Urrgh the Ugly, APP 4, willbe unrecognizable after raising his APP to8 by applying 2 points of the spell, Arlia,APP 15, still will be recognizable afterincreasing her APP to 21 by applying 3points of the spell. A creature's APP maynever be increased by this spell to begreater than twice its current, unadjustedAPP.

GLUE

Glue, Clamp, Fasten, Hold, Make Fast


For each point of this spell the caster getsthe equivalent of a 10 cm-square patch ofglue to distribute in any shape desired.The STR of the glue equals the intensityof the spell multiplied by 10. Glue may

be resisted by using adventurer STR onthe resistance table. If adventurer STRover comes the STR of the Glue spell,then the spell is broken and the patch isno longer sticky. Glue will never stick toany living tissue or living vegetable mate-rial.

HEAL

Heal, Chalana's Touch, Cure Wounds,Healing, Major Healing (6 points and above),Minor Healing, Treat Wounds

VariableTouch, Instant

This spell repairs damage done to a hitlocation. For creatures of the caster'sspecies, Heal replaces 1 hit point for eachpoint of Heal spell used. The part of thebody being healed must be touched. Theeffect is immediate. Creatures of speciesother than the caster's cost 2 points ofHealing per hit point healed.

A Heal 6 (or greater) spell can insteadbe used to re-attach a severed limb if castwithin 10 melee rounds of the severance.The caster must also succeed in a FirstAid skill roll. This does not heal anydamage, simply re-attaches the severedlimb, which will require further healing.

A Heal 8 (or greater) spell can insteadbe used to heal 1 point of general hitpoint damage (such as damage from poi-son), once the target's location arehealed.

IGNITEIgnite, Firestarter, Flame, Spark

1 PointRanged, Instant

This spell will ignite anything normallyburnable. It creates a small fire. ThusIgnite can set fire to a torch, a cloak, ahouse, or a backpack. Skin cannot beIgnited. If the item ignited is touching abeing (clothes, hair or fur), the being'smagic points then must be overcome onthe resistance table.

IRONHANDIronhand, Bronzehand, Ironbeak, Ironclaw,Ironfist, Ironhoof, Toothsharp, GodsdayPunch


This spell adds damage and increases thechance to hit with any natural weapon.Each point of the spell adds 1 point ofdamage if contact is made and +5 per-centiles to the chance to hit. Each pointof the spell therefore increases the chanceto special by 1 percentile, and every fourpoints of the spell increase the chance to


critical by 1 percentile.Note that the magical points occasion-

ally may do damage to magical creaturesotherwise invulnerable to naturalweapon damage. Lycanthropes, forinstance, will not be hurt by a fist, butmay be hurt by the magical bonus.

LIGHTLight, Effulgence, Glow

1 PointRanged, Passive

This spell must be cast on some physicalthing. A coin, wand, fingertip, or wallwill do. It will then light everythingwithin a 10 meter radius from that pointwith a radiance good enough to read by,though not as full as daylight. This spellis not affected by Extinguish.

LIGHTWALL

Lightwall, Dazzle, Heaven's Face, Wall ofLight

4 PointsRanged, Passive (Active to move wall)

This spell creates a immaterial wall oflight which is 10 meters square by 10centimeters thick. The wall presents abright glare on one side which is visuallyimpenetrable, while from the other side itcan be seen through. Other senses, suchas hearing, are unaffected. Further, theglow illuminates 10 meters on all sideslike a Light spell. It may be moved by thecaster at a rate of one meter per strikerank, and it can be specified to take anyform, provided it is always 10 centime-ters thick and contiguous.

MINDSPEECH

Mindspeech, Farhear, Mindwords, Telepathy,Whisper


This spell allows mind-to-mind commu-nication, like mental telepathy. Eachpoint of the spell allows one more personto be in contact with the caster. It willtransmit only the thoughts intended fortransmission by the caster. The thoughtsto be transmitted must be sub-vocalized(whispered) and the listeners will hear themessage in their minds in the languagesent. Knowledge of spells and magicpoints cannot be transmitted.Mindspeech does not create an open linkbetween the spell caster's communicants.If A casts the spell on B and C, then Band C are not in contact.

MOBILITY PROTECTION

Mobility, Fleetfoot, Mastakos' Feet, Speed


Each point of the spell adds 1 meter tothe target's MV score. If the target actu-ally uses the extra movement, subtract5% per point of Mobility used from theirnext Fatigue Roll.

MULTIMISSILE

Multimissile, Arrowswarm, Twoshot,Threeshot, Volley

VariableTouch, Transient

Each point of the spell cast upon anarrow, rock, throwing knife, javelin, orthrowing axe or crossbow quarrel createsa magical missile the instant that theoriginal is fired. The magical missile doesthe same damage as the original. Each ofthe missile attacks is rolled separately.The first roll is for the original, which isthe only one that can special or criticalnormally. The magical missiles do onlynormal damage on a special hit, and donormal damage ignoring armor or nor-mal damage to a location of the attacker'schoice on a critical hit. This spell isincompatible with Speedart and Firearrow.

Larger missile weapons require severalpoints of this spell to create a single mis-sile. An arbalest, for instance, requires 2points of spell per missile. As a rule ofthumb, each 2D6 or fraction of weapondamage requires 1 point of spell.

The transient nature of this spell meansthat it can be cast onto a missile and thespell will work once only if the missile isused any time within the spell's duration.

PEACEFUL CUT

Peaceful Cut, Hunter's Prayer, Thanksgiving

1 PointTouch, Instant

This is a simple spell which hunters andherders perform to ensure that the soul ofthe slain beast returns to it mother, to bereborn properly. It includes a shortprayer and a ritual of thanksgiving.

The spell is performed in conjunctionwith the skills of Ceremony andCraft/Butchery. After casting the spell,the user says the prayer, and attempts toroll under his Craft/Butchery skill(Ceremony is complementary). Successmeans the spell and ritual worked.

Protection, Armor, fur stiff, Protect, WardDamage


Each point of this spell adds a point ofarmor protection to the whole body orobject. It acts in every way like normalarmor (i.e. a critical hit can bypass it).

REPAIR

Repair, Fix, Restore

VariableTouch, Instant

This spell repairs broken objects. All thepans must be present. Thus a sword canbe fixed, shields renewed, and armorrepaired. Each point of the spell fixes1D10 points of damage. The objectrepaired shows a scar, and permanentlyloses 1 armor point. If used to Repairmagic items, the spell does not restoreany broken enchantments or releasedspirits.

If an appropriate Craft skill roll ismade before casting Repair, the item willshows no visible scar and lose no armorpoints. This will take a variable amountof time and possibly require access to aproper set of tools, depending on theitem to be repaired.

SECOND SIGHT

Second Sight, Magic Sight, Magic Vision, Sight,Witchsight


This spell allows a person to view thePOW aura of living beings and to gaugeits relative strength. This spell does notnormally allow the user to view the spiritplane or an unmanifested spirit. Someshamans naturally have this ability anddo not need to cast a spell or expendmagic points to use it.

The aura of all living beings within thespell's range will glow only to the caster.If there are a large number of livingbeings within range it will be difficult forthe caster to determine the POW of each.Undead things do not glow this way, forthey have no characteristic POW. ThePOW of enchanted items is also visible tousers of this spell, though the magicpoints in spells are not.

The gamemaster should tell the playerwhether the POWs of the viewed crea-tures are much less than the POW of theuser, within 5 points of it, or muchgreater than the user's POW. An adven-turer can use the Second Sight spell totarget spells and blows against enemies inthe dark, as long as they possess POW.


He will not be able to parry or dodge anyblows received from that enemy. Anyheavy opaque surface, such as armor,heavy cloth, a thick woolen blanket, awooden wall, etc. will block SecondSight.

The skill of Spirit Sense, known pri-marily to shaman and spirits can functionwith Second Sight to detectunmanifested spirits (see Spirit Sense).

SHIMMERShimmer, Blur, Cloud, Evade


This spell blurs and distorts the target'svisual image making it easier for them toevade a foe's attacks. Each point adds 10percentiles to the target's Dodge skill and5 percentiles to the target's parry skills.

SILENCESilence, Hush, Sneak, Stalk


Each point of this spell will add 15 per-centiles to the Sneak skill of a personattempting to keep down his noise, andwill muffle incidental noises (the brush ofpants, soft footsteps, etc.) made by thetarget. It will not stop someone fromchanting a spell, issuing commands,clumsily stepping on a large twig causinga loud snap, knocking over a vase andhaving it shatter, or similar loud or sharpsounds caused by fumbled Sneak rolls.

SLOWSlow, Hinder, Hobble, Immobilize, Paralyze


This spell slows down an enemy by sub-tract 1 point of MV per point of spell. Itmay reduce the MV of a creature to 0, inwhich case they must stay in placealthough they can still change facing.Once the spell wears off or is dispelled,they may resume moving normally. Thetarget's POW must be overcome by thecaster's MP for the spell to take effect.

SPEEDARTSpeedart, Arrowboost

Touch, Transient

This spell adds 15 percentiles to theattack chance and 3 points of damage toany missile or thrown weapon.

The transient nature of this spell meansthat it can be cast onto a missile and thespell will work once if the missile is usedany time within the spell's duration.

SPIRIT SCREEN VISIBILITYSpirit Screen, Ghost Shield, Spirit Shield


This spell acts as spiritual armor to pro-tect someone from attack by spirits. Eachpoint of the spell adds 2 points to the tar-get's MP or other relevant characteristicfor defense against all types of spirit com-bat. It does not actually alter thecharacteristic being attacked, but merelybolsters it against the effects of spirits.Use the target's current characteristicvalue for all purposes other than spiritcombat. The target will remain so pro-tected for the spell's duration.

STRENGTHStrength, Lift Cart, Swell Thews


Each casting of this spell adds 3 points ofSTR to the target for the spell's duration.The target must already possess the STRcharacteristic in order for the spell towork. This spell will affect characteristicrolls, skill modifiers, and damage bonusfor the duration of the spell. Each pointof the spell therefore adds 3 percentiles toall Agility skills and 1.5 percentiles to allManipulation skills. Damage bonus mayneed to be re-figured as well. A creature'sSTR may never be increased by the spellto be greater than twice its current, unad-justed STR.

VIGORVigor, Alertness, Health


Each casting of this spell adds 2 points tothe CON of the target. The target mustalready possess CON in order for thespell to work. These extra points willincrease skill modifiers, characteristicrolls and normal hit points for the dura-tion of the spell. Each point of the spelltherefore adds 2 percentiles to allPerception skills and 1/2 point to hitpoints. Hit points per location will prob-ably have to be re-figured. A creature'scurrent CON may never be increased bythe spell to be greater than twice its cur-rent, unadjusted CON. When the spellwears off or is dispelled, any damagetaken remains—a heavily damagedadventurer may well fall unconscious dieunless he or she is healed before the spellwears off.

Visibility, Manifest


This special spell transfers a spirit fromthe spirit plane to the mundane plane,allowing it to manifest. A manifestedspirit typically has a translucent form, theappearance of which will be the shapewhich the invisible being had while alive,if any. The spell can be cast only on spir-its or discorporate shaman. A creaturewith this spell on it may cast spells orotherwise interact with the mundaneplane, and is subject to spells. Weaponswill not affect such creatures whether ornot they have magic cast upon them.Some spirits possess this as a natural abil-ity which does not cost magic points.

This spell is not subject to the normalDispel, Neutralize, or Dismiss rules. Tosend a Visible spirit back to the spiritplane requires that the magician Dispel,Neutralize, or Dismiss that number ofmagic points equal to the current POWof the spirit.

Divine magic is a form of magic wielded by worshippers of a deity or principle. Divine magicians wield theirgod's powers through the use of cult magic spells and divine magic spells. Cult magic spells are a form ofbattle magic sacred to the god. Divine magic spells are very powerful and offer the quickest and most reliable

results of any form of magic, but can only be renewed in special places or at special times, and cost the sacrifice ofpermanent power to learn. An adventurer must be at least an initiate of a cult to gain divine spells. Priests devote them-

selves to the worship of a god and the use of that god's magic.

WHO USES DIVINE MAGIC?Divine magic is used by those that worship gods. InGlorantha, divine magic is used by the theists. Gloranthais a world that is rich in magic and deities, and there aremany deities that are actively worshiped. The worship ofdeities is organized into cults or religions, and closely asso-ciated groups of deities form pantheons, whose cults areassociated.

Divine magic is commonly used wherever gods areworshipped, which in Glo ran tha inc ludes centralGenertela, parts of eastern and western Genertela, theCentral Seas, and much of Pamaltela. In central Genertela,divine magic is the most common form of magic, and sev-eral great pantheons vie for dominance.

Divine magic is more powerful than spirit magic, as itcalls upon the power of a god, not just the power of itsuser, and it has a correspondingly greater effect on thesocieties in which it is common. Priestesses use fertilityspells to enhance the growth of crops. Priests use truthspells at important trials and oath swearings and to inter-rogate prisoners. There are Wardings around markets,shops and important buildings. Divination can convey thegod's wishes to priest. Divine magic can even bring thedead back to life. Among the theists of Genertela, the useof divine fertility magic is essential for the survival of agri-cultural communities, as the death of Genert has left thecontinent with but a fraction of its former fertility.Although divine magic is rarely used without a good rea-son, when it is needed, it can be put to use with greateffect.

LEARNING DIVINE MAGICThe simplest aspects of divine magic, cult spells, can bestudied by any of a god's worshippers. Its more powerfulmagics, divine spells, may only be learned by the initiates,acolytes, priests or Rune Lords of a cult. The gods of

Glorantha are limited by the Great Compromise as to howfar they can extend their influence into the world of mor-tals, but even so the spells and powers they grant theirworshippers are one of the most powerful forms of magicin the world. The first step in learning the magic of thecults is becoming a lay member.

LAY MEMBERSThe simple worshippers of a deity are called lay members.They attend regular ceremonies and say prayers. They areexcluded from certain parts of the worship service, and arenot taught the inner secrets of the religion. Lay membersare casual worshippers who generally belong in a moreserious fashion to other religions or cults, or are children,and include anyone planning to become an initiate. Laymembers may learn cult magic, a form of battle magic,and may study cult skills in preparation for becoming aninitiate of the cult.

There are few requirements to become a lay memberof a religion. A basic understanding of the cult's tenantsand a small gift or donation (typically worth 1 to 10 L) isgenerally all that is required to join a cult as a lay member.

Many become lay members of a locally important cultonly for the duration of one of the cult's festivals or HighHoly Day celebrations, in which case a less valuable gift isexcepted, or the requirement for a gift is waived. The har-vest festivals of the earth goddess, where many outsidersparticipate as lay members, are an example of this.

Members of associated cults (closely related friendlyreligions) that are of initiate or higher status in the associ-ated cult are automatically considered to be lay membersof the cult, without any need to make a gift or donation.

Lay members are expected to attend the cult's yearlyHigh Holy Day ceremonies and give a small gift to the cultat that time. They are also expected to attend some or allof the seasonal Holy Day ceremonies.

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INITIATESTo join the inner membership of a religion, a lay membermust make a commitment to the religion. The commit-ment usually involves substantial investment of time,effort, power, money, and emotion. The religion mustagree to accept this commitment, and frequently acceptsthe lay member as an initiate only after he or she passesone or more tests. In return the new initiate enters into theinner secrets of a religion, learning many secrets of thedeity, and receives special protections and guarantees fromthe religion or cult. An initiate has established a speciallink with his or her deity, which allows them to contact thegod through prayer, learn the divine magic of the god, andhave a chance to gain the deity's attention in time of needby means of divine intervention. In theistic communities, itis a traditional sign of adulthood to become an initiate ofthe appropriate religion or cult, an eagerly sought for andanticipated position.

Requirements for InitiationA candidate for initiation must pass a rigorous test, theobject of which is to discover the candidate's suitability,sincerity, knowledge, reputation, and personality. Tests forinitiation are generally held at the cult's Holy Days and onthe cult's High Holy Day, with a celebration afterwards,such as a feast, to honor any new initiates.

An in i t ia t ion test can abstracted as follows. Theprospective initiate must donate a gift worth at least 50 Lto the temple; understand the requirements and obliga-tions of an initiate; and prove knowledge of the cult'sspecialty skills. Traditionally, five cult skills are tested, oneof which selected by the examining priests, typically<Cult> Lore or Ceremony, the other four selected by theprospective initiate from among the cult skills special tothe religion (see the Religions section). A hard skill countsas two of the five skills to be tested, and two easy skillscount as but one of the five skills to be tested. The playerof the applicant must roll D100 for each skill tested. Inorder that the applicant convince the examiners of hisworthiness, his player must succeed at three of those fiveskill rolls. A particularly handsome gift, diligent perfor-mance of duties for the cult as a lay member, or anapplicant whose parents that were initiates or priests andis known to the temple can all give a bonus to the skillrolls for the purpose of convincing the examiners.

Failure to convince the examiners means that theapplicant is not accepted as an initiate, but may try againafter a year has passed.

If the prospective initiate is accepted, the initiation rit-ual is sealed when the prospective initiate sacrifices 1 pointof POW to the deity in an initiation ritual performed by apriest, thereby establishing a holy link from the initiate tothe deity through which later sacrifices flow. Such sacri-fices are magic points and current POW. This link allowsthe initiate to manipulate a fraction of the god's powersinto divine magic spells. If an initiate commits great sacri-lege against the god, an excommunication ritual will severthis holy link.

Unless otherwise stated (see Religions), a cult will notaccept a shaman (that is, an adventurer that has awakeneda fetch) or a sorcerer (that is, a sorcery using adventurerthat has undergone an apprenticeship) as an initiate. It ispossible for an adventurer to become an initiate of morethan one religion. He must pass the appropriate tests foreach cult, and sacrifice 1 point of POW to the deity ofeach cult he or she joins. This always entails that the reli-gions be compatible . Members of associated cul t sfrequently become initiates of more than one cult.

Duties of InitiatesInitiates must tithe a tenth of their yearly income and atenth of their free time to the temple. In game terms, theyare expected to spend devote one day every other week tocult duties. Donating one day a week to cult duties is con-s idered a sign of devot ion. Tithes are used formaintenance, food, salaries, sacrifices, paraphernalia, andso on. An initiate of more than one religion must tithe toall of his cults and perform duties properly and completelyfor all of them.

Initiates must protect their deity and its reputation.This amounts to verbal, physical, and magical defense ofthe religion. This obligation is open to individual interpre-tation, and varies by religion. Unless otherwise stated,initiates of a religion may never become shamans or sor-cerers.

Initiates are expected to attend the yearly High HolyDay ceremony and seasonal Holy Day Ceremonies, and toattend most of the weekly worship services

Benefits of InitiationInitiates, with their deeper links to the god, can learn morepowerful version of cult magic than can lay member

They may purchase cult magic and training in cultskills at half the normal price.

Initiates can learn reusable divine magic spells, thoughnot one-use divine spells. Learning divine magic requiressacrificing a point of permanent POW per point of spelllearned, and paying for the time of the priest that teachesthe initiate the spell, typically 16 L per day it takes to learnthe spell. It takes one day per point of spell to learn adivine magic spell, and one week per point of spell to learna ritual divine magic spell. An initiate can recover some ofthe divine spells her or she has used in the course of a yearduring the yearly High Holy Day ceremonies.

Initiates may pray to their god through the special linkthey have established. Prayer passes information from theinitiate to the god. Prayer can also be used to call for ablessing or a curse, as per the Spirit Magic Bless or Cursespells, though an initiate need not know the spirit magicspells (see Spirit Magic for details). Some gods may onlyrespond to calls for blessings, others only to calls forcurses. The effects of the blessing or curse, if any, are typi-cally limited to the god's domain. Some gods have specificcurses, which can only be invoked in certain circum-stances, or by members of a certain rank. The FlintSlingers of Orlanth are an example of such a curse.

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Initiates may attempt divine intervention. This specialappeal or prayer of desperation to the deity of the religionis useful only in the most serious conditions. Typically it ismade as an adventurer dies, to prevent his or her death orresurrect him or her. It is also useful for escaping the sceneof sure disaster, or calling upon the god's aid in a desperatesituation.

ACOLYTESSincere worshippers may become acolytes (also known asassociate priests). They have some of the privileges andresponsibilities of priesthood, but not all, and do not leada congregation. Retired priests may be freed from manyof their responsibilities by requesting demotion to acolytestatus. Acolytes are often the only holy folk to tendshrines. They are supervised by priests.

Requirements for AcolytesTo become an acolyte, a vacancy for an acolyte must existwithin the initiates temple. Vacancies for acolytes are morecommon than for priests, and some religions do notrestrict the numbers of their acolytes. If the gamemasterwishes to abstract this, a vacancy is available if theprospective acolyte succeeds in a POW x5 roll (made oncea year). If a vacancy exists, the initiate must pass a test oftheir worthiness for the status.

Tests for acolytes are typically held on the yearly HighHoly Day of a cult, and also on seasonal Holy Days in thecase of some large religions. The test may be abstracted asfollows. The prospective acolyte must have been an initi-ate in good standing for at least two years, must have atleast 10 unused points of his or her cults reusable divinemagic, must know four cult skills at 50% or higher, mustdonate a gift worth at least 1000 L to the cult, and mustconvince the examiners of his or her dedication to the cultand its goals. If he or she meets these conditions, and suc-ceeds in r o l l under h is or her POW x3 in a Test ofHoliness, the applicant is accepted as an acolyte. If theTest of Holiness roll was under the new acolytes POW x1,he or she will be sent an allied spirit by the god (seebelow). If the roll fails, he or she may not apply again fora fu l l year.

Acolytes may be initiates, acolytes, priests or RuneLords of closely-associated gods, and may not be sorcerersor shaman, unless stated otherwise.

Duties of AcolytesAcolytes must spend at least 20% of their time workingfor the cult, and must donate 50% of their income to thecult. In game terms, they are expected to devote at leastone day a week to cult duties. Acolytes may not becomesorcerers or shaman, unless stated otherwise.

Acolytes are expected to attend all of the yearly HighHoly Day ceremony, seasonal Holy Day Ceremonies andweekly worship services. They may be called upon to leadworship when no priest is present, assist priests in services,teach cult magic, perform divinations, or perform othercult rituals. Acolytes may not ordain new initiates into the

faith, collect tithes, or perform functions restricted topriests.

Benefits of AcolytesAcolytes, with their deeper links to the god, can learnmore powerful version of cult magic than can initiates. Anew acolyte is taught a cult magic spell of his or herchoice. An acolyte can purchase cult spells and cult skilltraining at half price.

Acolytes can learn both reusable and one-use divinemagic. This still requires the intervention of a priest, andthe acolyte must pay 16 L per day it takes to learn the spellto cover the costs of priest, as well as sacrifice 1 point ofPOW per point of spell.

Acolytes can regain a point of cast reusable divinemagic by spending a day (10 hours) in prayer. They canalso regain spells at High Holy Day ceremonies.

Acolytes may pray and attempt divine intervention.

PRIESTSA priest is the god's spi r i tual representat ive in themundane world. Priests lead congregations. A priest is anessentially an acolyte with a congregation. Priests spendmost of their time performing duties for the deity, temple,and congregation. Priests are also commonly known asRune Priests.

Requirements for PriestsTo become a priest a vacancy for a priest must exist withinthe initiates temple. If the gamemaster wishes to abstractthis, a vacancy is available if the prospective priest suc-ceeds in a POW x3 roll (made once a year). If a vacancyexists, the initiate must pass a series of tests.

Tests for priests are typically held on the yearly HighHoly Day of a cult. The test may be abstracted as follows.The prospective priest must have been an initiate in goodstanding for at least two years, must have at least 10unused points of his or her cults reusable divine magic,must know Ceremony, <Cult> Lore and two other cultskills at 50% or higher, and must convince the examinersof his or her dedication to the cult and its goals. If he orshe meets these conditions, and succeeds in roll under hisor her POW x3 in a Test of Holiness, the applicant isaccepted as a priest. If the Test of Holiness roll was underthe new priests POW x1, he or she will be sent an alliedspirit by the god (see below). If the roll fails, he or she maynot apply again for a full year.

An acolyte may become a priest if a vacancy for apriest opens within the temple, which can be abstracted asa POW x3 roll (made once a year). If the acolyte otherwisefulfills the criteria for a priest, he or she is accepted on aroll of 01-95 on percentile dice. If the roll fails, he or shemay not apply again for a full year.

Priests may be initiates or acolytes of closely-associ-ated gods, but not Rune Lords or priests of another god.They may not be Rune Lords, sorcerers or shaman, unlessstated otherwise.

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Duties of PriestsSince priests live to serve their temple and their god, theymust give 90% of al l personal income to the temple.Similarly, they must spend 90% of their time at the tem-ple, or on temple business. In game terms, being a priest isa full time job, and a priest must spend five days a weekengaged in cult duties (one of those five days may be spentpracticing a cult skill). Their duties include leading wor-ship ceremonies, performing the sacred rituals of the cult,teaching cult and divine magic, performing divinations,collecting tithes and ordaining new initiates into the faith.Priests may not become Rune Lords, sorcerers, shaman, orRune Lords or priests of another cult, unless stated other-wise.

Priests must always work for their deity, and strive touphold those principles important to the deity. This is ofparticular importance during adverse times.

Benefits of PriestsPriests, with their deeper links to the god, can learn morepowerful version of cult magic than can initiates. A newpriest is taught a cult magic spell of his or her choice, andreceives another cult magic spell of his or her choice eachsubsequent year. A priest can learn additional cult spells athalf price, and can receive training in cult skills for free inhis or her spare time.

Priests can learn both reusable and one-use divinemagic simply by spending the appropriate length of timeand sacrificing 1 point of POW per point of spell.

Priests can regain a point of cast reusable divine magicby spending a day (10 hours) in prayer. They can alsoregain spells at High Holy Day ceremonies.

A priest leads his or her congregation in worship, forwhich he or she receives a free point of divine magic at theend of each year, during the Sacred Time ceremonies.

A priest's station give him or her the support of his orher community and great social status.

A priest may become a chief priest, high priest or evenan arch-priest as he or she progresses in the ranks of thecult and as vacancies allow. These are administrative andsocial positions, they do not confer additional magicalpowers. However, such positions have higher status thanthat of priest, and can convey significant social and mate-rial benefits, including higher social rank, finer clothing,better food, and more servants.

Priests may pray and attempt divine intervention.

RUNE LORDSWhere priests represent a god's spiritual authority, RuneLords represent a god's temporal authority. A Rune Lordis a master of cult skills, and employs his skills in the ser-vice of the cult and his god. Some cults, particularly thosewhich value skills, such as war cults, have only RuneLords, and no acolytes or priests. Conversely, some cults,particularly those that have little use for mundane skillshave no Rune Lords. Rune Lords spend most of their timeperforming duties and quests for the cult and their god.

Requirements for Rune LordsTo become a Rune Lord one must be an initiate or acolyteof a cult that has Rune Lords and need for a Rune Lordmust exist within the temple. If the gamemaster wishes toabstract this, a need exists if the prospective Rune Lordsucceeds in a POW x5 roll (made once a year). If a needexists, the applicant must pass a series of tests.

Tests for Rune Lords are typically held on the yearlyHigh Holy Day of a cult. The test may be abstracted asfollows. The prospective Rune Lord must have been aninitiate in good standing for at least five years, must knowfive cult skills at 90% or higher, and must convince theexaminers of his or her dedication to the cult and its goals.If he or she meets these conditions, and succeeds in rollunder his or her POW x5 in a Test of Holiness, the appli-cant is accepted as a Rune Lord. If the Test of Holiness rollwas under the new Rune Lord's POW x3, he or she will besent an allied spirit by the god (see below). If the roll fails,he or she may not apply again for a full year.

Rune Lords may be initiates or acolytes of closely-associated gods, but not Rune Lords of another god. Theymay not be priests, sorcerers or shaman, unless stated oth-erwise.

Duties of Rune LordsRune Lords dedicate their lives to their cult and their god.They must give 90% of all personal income to the templeand must spend 90% of their time attending to cult duties.In game terms, being a Rune Lord is a full time job, and aRune Lord must spend five days a week engaged in cultduties (one of those five days may be spent practicing acult skill). Their duties include being sent on quests by thecult, seeking sacred items, performing the sacred duties ofthe cult, avenging crimes against the faith, teaching cultskills, or acting as emissaries for the cult. Rune Lords maynot become priests, sorcerers, shaman, or Rune Lords orpriests of another cult, unless stated otherwise.

Benefits of Rune LordsRune Lords, with their deeper links to the god, can learnmore powerful version of cult magic than can initiates. Anew Rune Lord is taught a cult magic spell of his or herchoice, and receives another cult magic spell of his or herchoice each subsequent year. A Rune Lord can learn addi-tional cult spells at half price, and can receive training incult skills for free in his or her spare time.

A new Rune Lord wil l be gifted by his cult withenchanted Rune Metal weapon, typically at least anenchanted weapon, and if the temple is wealthy enchantedarmor as well, made of a Rune Metal sacred to the cult.These items remain the property of the temple, but are onloan to the Rune Lord for as long as he or she retains hisor her status as a Rune Lord.

Rune Lords can learn both reusable and one-usedivine magic. This still requires the intervention of apriest, although the cult covers the priest's costs. It stillrequires the sacrifice of 1 point of POW per point of spellon the Rune Lord's part.

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Rune Lords can regain a point of cast reusable divinemagic by spending a day (10 hours) in prayer. They canalso regain spells at High Holy Day ceremonies.

A Rune Lord's station give him or her the support ofhis or her cult and community and gives him or her greatsocial status.

Rune Lords can pray, and have a greatly enhancedchance of attempting divine intervention.

ALLIED SPIRITSSome cults have a body of spirits who remain loyal to thereligion even after death. They are called cult spirits andvary in type. Many are worshippers returned from thedead, some are incorporeal creatures who worship thesame god, while others are special spirits sent by the godto the cult. One of these spirits may be sent to Rune Lords,priests or acolytes who have been specially chosen. Suchspirits are known as allied spirits. In some cults the allytakes the form of an awakened animal, a creature withnormal rather than fixed INT. For the purposes of learningskills, gaining POW, etc., awakened animals should betreated as embodied spirits, while allied spirits should betreated as spirits (see Creatures). A number of cults useboth allied spirits and awakened animal allies, in whichcase the gamemaster should decide the form it takes (as arule of thumb, if such a cult has both Rune Lords andpriests, Rune Lords will generally receive allied spirits andpriests will generally receive awakened animal allies).

An ally may be sent to a specially chosen new acolyte,priest or Rune Lord when they acquire their new status.However, initiates, acolytes, priests or Rune Lord that lackan all ied spirit but attract the attention of their godthrough remarkable deeds may be rewarded with an allyat a later date.

The allied spirit or awakened animal is friendly andavailable. It will use its powers to benefit its mortal ally.Both spirit and mortal ally are usually played by the sameplayer. Allied spirits usually reside in a special ceremonialobject given to the honored recipient. A Humakt Sword'sallied spirit or a Wind Lord's allied spirit might reside inthe recipient's sword, for instance. An Issaries allied spiritwill occupy a staff or a merchant's shop, while a LhankorMhy scholar-priest's might occupy a scroll or a quill pen.Specific kinds of awakened creatures are associated withspecific religions, where they commonly serve as scoutsand companions for the priesthood. Orlanth, for example,uses shadowcats, Issaries uses mules, while Kyger Litorpriests have giant beetles, and Malia disease masters usevarious parasites. Gods of Glorantha provides additionaldetails on allied spirits and awakened animal allies.

An allied spirit or awakened animal ally is in contin-ual Mindlink with its ally, and its INT can be used to storespells as its magic points are used to cast them. A disad-vantage of the Mindlink is that emotion or mind affectingspells can affect the ally through the link (see Mindlink).The Mindlink will cease to function if the allies move morethan 100 m apart, but will resume when they are once againwithin range. An awakened animal ally can cast spells nor-

mally. An allied spirit can cast spells on itself or its mortalally without trouble, and can attempt to target spells atothers through its mortal ally's eyes with an INT x3 roll(roll each time it attempts to cast a spell on another—if theroll is failed, the action is lost, but no spell is cast). Anallied spirit or awakened animal ally is an initiate of thecult, and can learn and recover divine magic as an initiatecan.

An allied spirit spends its full time watching over itsmortal ally. If a cult spirit's mortal ally shows signs ofheresy or shows less than full devotion to the deity, thespirit will chastise him and attempt to guide him back torighteousness. If the mortal ally persists in error, the spiritwill leave him, and the deity will inform the adventurer'shigh priest of the necessity to excommunicate the offender.

DIVINE INTERVENTIONDivine intervention is an appeal for the god to interveneon the part of an initiate, acolyte, priest or Rune Lord.

ProcedureThe player must state that his adventurer wishes to call fordivine intervention. An appeal for divine intervention willonly work if the situation is desperate or serious situationenough to draw the god's attention through the adven-turer's initiate link. An adventurer can call upon divineintervention even if he or she has just been killed or ren-dered unconscious or helpless. In such a situation, theadventurer's player then rolls D100. If the D100 roll isgreater than the adventurer's POW, then the call for divineintervention is not answered, and there is no other effect.If the D100 roll is equal to or less than the adventurer'sPOW, the god hears the appeal and intercedes. The adven-turer then loses that number of current POW points equalto the player's D100 roll. This is a permanent change inthe adventurer's current POW, and represents the POWtaken from the adventurer by the god to fuel the god'sresponse. If the adventurer must lose an amount of currentPOW points which equals his total current POW charac-teristic, then a response occurs but the god takes up theadventurer's soul in exchange, which will end up with thegod at its appointed place on the god plane. The adven-turer is dead, and cannot be resurrected by normal means.

A Rune Lord has a significant advantage in appealingfor divine intervention. As the temporal extension of thedeity in the mundane world, a Rune Lord rolls 1D10 fordivine intervention. Thus, a Rune Lord's appeal for divineintervention will almost always succeed. In some rarecases, a particularly devout priest may gain the gift of sim-ilar access to divine intervention.

A god will either respond or not respond to a givensituation the first time divine intervention is called for.Thus, there is no point to multiple calls for divine inter-vention if the situation has not significantly changed. If asignificant change has occurred in a situation, in thegamemasters opinion, an adventurer may try once againto call for divine intervention. An example might be awounded adventurer that calls upon divine intervention to

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be healed, and succeeds, but is struck dead shortly after-wards. The gamemaster may wish to allow him or heranother call for divine intervention, as the si tuationchanged for the worse. There is no other limit to the num-ber of times an initiate, acolyte, priest or Rune Lord cancalls for divine intervention

It takes no significant time to call for divine interven-tion. In combat, it takes no actions.

EffectThe most common effect of divine intervention is to tem-porarily strengthen the link between the worshipper andhis or her god. This increases the immanence of the god inthe world, or in other words, allows the god to manifest inthe world. The worshipper can draw upon the magic ofthe god, even to the extent of using magic or spells he orshe does not know. Such a manifestation often has visibleeffects. A worshipper of a death god, such as Humakt,may find his shadow beginning to take on the form of aDeath rune, while a wind may begin to emanate from astorm worshipper, such as an Orlanthi.

The following guidelines are suggested for determin-ing how much power a successful divine interventionmakes available to the worshipper, and how it can be used.

An initiate or acolyte gains access to a number ofpoints of divine magic equal to twice the POW expendedin the call for divine intervention, or twice the number ofpoints of divine magic he or she knows, whichever isgreater. A priest or Rune Lord gains access to a number ofpoints of divine magic equal to thrice the POW expendedor thrice the number of points of divine magic he or sheknows, whichever is greater. In extreme circumstances,such as when fighting traditional cult enemies, answeringthe call of a particularly pious worshipper, or when theworshipper has made a great gesture (such as a Humaktifighting to the death, alone, to support the retreat of his orher friends), the multiplier increases by one (thrice POWor divine spells known for an initiate or acolyte, four timesPOW or divine spells known for a priest or Rune Lord).Likewise, a worshipper that is not particularly devout, orresorts to divine intervention more often than the godcares to respond, will find the effects greatly lessened, withthe multiplier reduced by a factor of one or more.

For the dura t ion of the situation, these points ofdivine magic can be used to cast any of the god's reusabledivine magic on a one for one basis, and on a three for onebasis to cast any of the god's nonreusable magic. The samecosts apply to divine spells provided by associated cults.Such spells can be stacked with any stackable divine spellsthe worshipper already knows.

These points can even be used to create magical effectssimilar to those of another god's divine spells, if they toolie within the god's domain, at three times the above costs(three for one to cast related reusable magic, nine for oneto cast related nonreusable magic). The gamemaster is thejudge of whether or not an effect lies within a god'sdomain. Thus, a Humakti could create effects similar todivine spells of other death cults, such as casting a Living

Blade spell (see Gods of Glorantha) at a cost of 9 points (itis a reusable 3 point spell), or a Strike spell (see Gods ofGlorantha) at a cost of 3 points (it is a reusable 1 pointspell). The gamemaster may wish to estimate a cost foreffects that do not correspond to an spell but falls within agod's domain, but can also simply disallow them.

These points can also be used to cast any of the god'scult magic at a cost of one point for every four points ofcult magic cast, up to a maximum of 8 points of cultmagic. Cult magic of associated cults can be cast at a costof one point for every two points of associated cult magiccast, up to a maximum of 6 points of cult magic. Cultmagic of other cults that falls into the god's domain can becast at a cost of one point for every point of cult magiccast, up to a m a x i m u m of 4 points of cul t magic.Regardless of the size of the spell cast, there is no MP costand the spell cast at the DEX SR of the worshipper.

Finally, these points can be used to provide MP for thepurposes of fueling or backing any divine spells cast, orbacking any cult spells cast, at a cost of one point for every4 MP. The spell is still cast at the worshipper's DEX SR,regardless of the amount of backing used.

Two notable exceptions to the normal spell castingprocedures exists when using points of divine magicgranted by divine intervention.

The first is that the worshipper can choose to stacksuch spells to affect any initiates (or higher ranking wor-shippers) of the god within range with a single casting.Thus, a Humakti could use 5 points of divine interventiongranted divine magic to cast a Truesword not only uponher sword, but also on the swords of the four otherHumakti initiates in her party, all as a single spell.

The second is that if the worshipper is unconscious ordead when he or she calls for divine intervention, he or shecan continue to cast spells granted by divine interventionuntil the points run out. If the worshipper is still uncon-scious or dead at this point, they will remain so. Theycannot cast any other spells while unconscious or dead. Adead worshipper may attempt to resurrect themselves(through the use of the Resurrection spell) after they havehealed the wounds that caused their death (through theuse of Heal, Heal Wound or Heal Body spells). Even godswho do not grant (or have within their domain) the spellsHeal Wound, Heal Body or Resurrection, will grant thesespells for an unconscious or dead worshipper to use onthemselves at triple cost (3 points, plus 1 point per 4 MPfor Heal Wound, and 9 points for Heal Body orResurrection). In this case the Resurrection spell takes noadditional time to cast and automatically succeeds. A fewgods, most notably the death god, Humakt, will not grantResurrection to fallen worshippers.

Once the crisis that precipitated the call for divineintervention is resolved, any remaining points of divinemagic granted by divine intervention dissipate.

The effects detailed above describe the most commonform of divine intervention. It is possible for other effectsto occur. The gamemaster should base such alternateeffects on the situation and what he or she knows about

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the personality, mythology, and powers of the god calledupon by the worshipper. Nearly all gods have the power toheal or resurrect their worshippers, restore used reusabledivine magic spells, and transport their worshippers ortheir belongings from one temple or holy site of the god toanother. To get an idea as to other powers a god mightbring into play, look at the spells the god teaches his wor-shippers. Orlanth, the Storm King, could raise a storm,create high winds, warp a wind, or cause it to rain. GivenOrlanth's mastery of the Four Magic Weapons, he couldprobably shroud a worshipper in mist, cloak them in dark-ness, make their shield invulnerable for a while, or covertheir weapon with live lightning. Based on the other spellsOrlanth provides he could probably teleport worshippersto nearly any location, greatly increase their mobility,cause them to fly, shield them from physical or magicaldamage, and so on. As a rule of thumb, an alternate effect,unless weak, will not affect more than 10 worshippers inresponse to a single worshipper's call for divine intervention.

LimitationsA god cannot do other than what is normal to him or her.An air god cannot make the earth quake, a darkness godcannot create storms, etc. Only an earth deity can openholes through the ground, or transport worshippersthrough the earth, for instance, and only a fire god canraise or lower temperatures (though an air god could cre-ate a cooling breeze and a water god could douse a firewith a gush of cold water).

Due to the Great Compromise, gods will riot directlyattack mortals. Thus a god would not simply strike a foedead, but would grant spells to, shield, heal, magicallyenhance, or conceal his or her followers to give them anadvantage over their foes, or would remove his or her fol-lowers from danger.

Divine intervention cannot be used against worship-pers of the same god, for a god will not act against himselfor herself.

Gods are unlikely to help non-worshippers. It mightbe possible that a worshipper can gain a loyal following ofnon-worshippers, and in such cases a leader may be ableto assist his or her followers.

Divine intervention cannot transport an individualinto an enemy stronghold or temple where the enemy'spower is greatest, but it could be used to escape from sucha site.

There are situations in which divine intervention canbe blocked. Magical slave collars exist that prevent a wor-shipper from calling to his god, and certain cults havedeveloped rituals that can permanently or temporarilysever a worshipper's bond to his god.

LEAVING A RELIGIONIt is possible for members of a religion to leave, resign orretire from the religion, and even remain on good termswith the priests and members of the religion. Reasons forleaving and ways to leave vary.

RetirementA priest or Rune Lord that wishes to retire may request ademotion to acolyte status. They lose the benefits of theirRune Lord or priest status, but gain the benefits of anacolyte, generally gaining considerably more free time inthe process.

This may also happen involuntarily to a priest thatloses his or her congregation (through war or a disaster,for instance). In this case the former priest can regain hisor her former status by once again leading a congregationin a High Holy Day ceremony.

Voluntary DepartureIt is always possible to quit a religion. Such a decisionimmediately changes the status of the member to inactive,even if he or she continues to tithe and attend services. Allrestrictions and obligations will be lifted, and all benefitswill be lost, except for the cult and divine spells currentlyheld. Unless he or she is formally excommunicated, divinespells will be retained, though no longer reusable. Cultmagic is never lost, unless purposefully forgotten.

InactivityAn worshipper may fail to fulfill his or her obligations tothe religion. A backslider might miss the required annualHigh Holy Day ceremony, or withhold payment of tithes.A priest can always tell if a worshipper is inactive by usingSoul Sight. An inactive worshipper may learn no divinenew spells, nor can his or her calls for divine interventionwork. Priests and temple may refuse protection. Divinemagics already learned by the worshipper are still avail-able for his or personal use, but if reusable cannot beregained after casting. At the gamemaster's discretion,some religions, some temples, and some priests may inter-pret inactive initiates as being sacrilegious.

SacrilegeSacrilege is an activity seriously contrary to the laws of thereligion. Specific religious laws vary from religion to reli-gion, but most require absolute respect for the deity andthe priests, for sacred objects, and absolute obedience toprohibitions concerning specific activities.

Whenever a worshipper commits a sacrilegious act heor she immediately becomes inactive. Any priest of his reli-gion who views him with Soul Sight will know that he isinactive, but not sacrilegious. However, such an initiatewill be recognized as an invader and intruder and registeron temple defenses of Find Enemy.

To correct sacrilegious actions and avoid excommuni-cation, a worshipper can attempt to placate his or herpriests, temple, and deity by performing the correctiveactions they deem appropriate, such as demanding thatthe profaner cast away his divine magics, pay great sumsof money, perform penance such as begging forgivenessfrom everyone he meets for the next year, or set out upona difficult quest. The higher the former worshippers previ-ous status in the cult, the more difficult the tasks set forhim or her.

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ExcommunicationAn authorized priest can cast out anyone from the priestsreligion using the ceremony of excommunication (seeExcommunication). Sacrilege is normally the only reasonfor excommunication to be performed. Excommunicationmay be performed at any distance from the victim. Oncecompleted, the target is stripped of all status in the reli-gion, forever forfe i t ing the benefits and the POW hesacrificed to the deity.

Excommunication ends all links between the deity andthe former communicant. All divine spells learned fromthe deity are lost permanently, though cult magic spells areretained. Any other magical benefits which were gained,such as enchanted items, will also lose their potency if theyhave divine magics or spirits, or user limitations limitingtheir use to initiates of the religion.

Priests cannot tell if an adventurer is an excommuni-cant from their religion, even with Soul Sight. They may,of course, recognize the person through sight or reputa-tion.

LEARNING SPELLSCult MagicThe divine magic Spellteaching ri tual summons a cultspirit which can impart knowledge of a cult magic spell toa cultist.

Priests generally explain that their Spellteaching ritu-als summon a cult spirit from which knowledge of thespell is gained. Depending on the cult, the ceremony toobtain the use of the cult spirit's magic varies, as will whatoccurs when the cultist attempts to learn the spell. Withthe divine magic Spellteaching ritual, the cultist fights thecult spirit in spirit combat. The cult spirit is typically com-manded not to resist by the acolyte or priest performingthe r i tual . Once the spirit fal ls to 0 magic points, thecultist appears to absorb the spirit, and he or she gains theuse of the spirit magic spell.

The exact means by which the cult spirit is absorbedvary from cult to cult. Darkness cultists eat the spirit, Aircultists inhale the spirit, Fire/Sky cultists absorb heat, fireor light, Water cultists drink or breathe the spirit in, Mooncultists have a glow seep into them, Humakti feel the spiritcut its way into them, Harmony or Fertility cultists feel thespirit flow into them, Earth cultists absorb it, and so on.

Limits to Cult MagicThe amount of a given cult magic spell that an adventurercan learn is based on the depth of his or her connectionwith the god, and how important the spell is to the god.

Cult magic is rarely taught to complete outsiders, aswithout the basic grasp of the cults tenants and beliefs itwould be a waste of time. Outsiders that wish to purchasespells from a cult are encouraged to join as lay members.They otherwise may not learn more than a 1 point cultmagic spell.

In general, lay members may not learn more than a 2point cult magic spell, initiates may not learn more than a

4 point cult magic spell, and acolytes, priests and RuneLords may not learn more than a 6 point cult magic spell(a 2/4/6 spell limit). If the cult spell is one that is not par-ticularly important to the deity, lay members may notlearn more than 1 point, initiates may not learn more than2 points, and acolytes, priests and Rune Lords may notlearn more than 4 points (a 1/2/4 spell limit). If the cultspell is a particular specialty of the deity, lay members maynot learn more than 4 points, initiates may not learn morethan 6 points, and acolytes, priests and Rune Lords maynot learn more than 8 points (a 4/6/8 spell limit).

Initiates of associated cults should be treated as laymembers for this purpose, and acolytes, priests or RuneLords of associated cults as initiates. If they hold higherrank in the cult itself, that rank of course applies.

Unusual cult teaching spirits, exotic rituals, rewardsfrom the god or heroquests may allow an adventurer tosurpass these limits, but for the most part they describe themaximum limits of cult spell availability.

The precise cult spells available to a number of differ-ent Gloranthan religions and the limitations to learningthem are listed in the Religions section.

Divine MagicTo learn reusable divine magic spells, an adventurer mustbe at least an initiate of a religion, and must learn the spellfrom a priest who knows it (unless the adventurer is him-self a priest of the religion).

Acolytes and Rune Lords can learn one-use divinemagic spells from a priest, and priests can learn one-usedivine magic on their own. Initiates cannot learn one-usedivine magic spells.

Learning divine magic requires sacrificing a point ofpermanent POW per point of spell learned. It takes oneday per point of spell to learn a divine magic spell, and oneweek per point of spell to learn a ritual divine magic spell.

Initiates and acolytes must also pay for the time of thepriest that teaches them the spell, typically 16 L per day ittakes to learn the spell.

Divine magic spells require no INT to memorize,unlike spirit and cult magic spells. A priest or initiate canlearn as many spells as he can sacrifice POW for.

Associated cults often grant a single special divinemagic spell for members of its associate to learn, based ongi f t s exchanged by the two religion's gods du r ingGodtime. Such a spell is treated as if it now belonged tothe god it was given to, except that it can be recovered atonly a great temple of the god, a major temple of the godwith a shrine to the associate present, a minor temple ofthe god with a shrine to the associate present, or at a tem-ple of the associated god.

RECOVERING SPELLSAcolytes, priests and Rune Lords can recover reusabledivine magic through daily prayer or at High Holy Dayceremonies. Initiates can only recover reusable divinemagic at High Holy Day ceremonies.

Limits to recovering divine magic exist, based on the

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size of the temple one prays at or performs the High HolyDay ceremony. They range from shrines, where only a sin-gle divine spell besides Initiation, Worship <Deity> andSanctify can be recovered, to great temples, where alldivine spells, including those granted by associate cults,can be recovered.

PrayerIt takes a full day of prayer (10 hours) for an acolyte, priestor Rune Lord to regain one point of reusable divine magic.

High Holy Day CeremoniesIn the course of a High Holy Day ceremony, all initiates,acolytes, priests or Rune Lords recover one point of usedreusable divine magic. An initiate that cast a 2 or 3 pointreusable spell may have to let more than a year pass tofully recover it. The officiating priest at a High Holy Dayceremony recovers all used reusable divine magic spells.

On occasion, a god may choose to bless a particularlydevout or worthy worshipper by restoring more than onepoint or even all of their used reusable divine magic.

In addition, any reusable divine spells cast by anymembers of the congregation during the course of a HighHoly Day ritual are fully recovered at the end of the ritual.Thus, a great deal of divine magic may be cast during thecourse of such a ritual.

TEMPLESA temple is a holy place, consecrated to and protected by adeity. Temples may be sites where the deity once was, ormay be sites sanctified by the deities worshipper. It is aconjugation of the god plane, where the divinities live, andthe mundane plane, where men live.

The presence of a temple makes it possible for priestsand initiates to learn spells, acts as a nexus for cult spirits,provides special defenses, and transmits mortals' prayersto the deity and divine messages to the priests.

WorshipAt a temple, a congregation regularly meets to worship agod, spirit, or power. The ceremonies are led by a priest orother holy person of the religion. In many religions, a tem-ple spirit, commonly known as a wyter, assists the priestsin channeling worship to the god. Most temples holdminor weekly worship ceremonies, seasonal Holy Day cer-emonies, and a yearly High Holy Day ceremony.

During the Holy Day and High Holy Day ceremonies,the God Plane comes into contact with the mundaneworld, and initiates can witness and participate in thegreat acts their god performed during the God Time.Many unusual events can occur at such times, and visionsor messengers sent by the god may appear.

Sacred objects used in worship are usually kept on thetemple premises.

CeremoniesTemples are the center many ceremonies besides worshipceremonies. These include naming ceremonies, marriage

ceremonies, initiation ceremonies, and other ceremoniesimportant to the god. For example, the priests of Orlanththe Storm King, perform ceremonies throughout the yearto keep the winds blowing and the air strong. Temples area focus for the year-end Sacred Time ceremonies as well,when all worshippers gather to perform great ceremoniesto seek oracles, strengthen the land and ensure the comingof the next year.

Learning and Recovering MagicMagic can be learned and recovered at a temple. Specialdivine and cult magics, limited by the worshiped entity,can be learned here. Priests who have cast their divinespells may also regain use of them at these sites, and initi-ates who have cast their divine spells may regain use ofthem at a High Holy Day ceremony. Although all templesallow the learning of some spells, the spells learnable arelimited by temple size, as detailed below.

Temple DefenseThe deity worshipped defends its ground. A temple candefend itself with magic, even without the presence ofpriests or worshippers.

Temple SizesThe number of lay members and initiates (which includingacolytes, priests and Rune Lords) determines the size of atemple. The sacrifice of POW and magic points at a siteopens links to the deity and then sustains the relationship.The larger the temple, the greater the benefits receivedfrom the god, and the more actively defended the templeby the god. Most sites of active worship are sanctified,either by a Sanctify spell or by being a holy site havingparticular significance to the religion.

Site (0-50 initiates, typically 0)A site is a simple place of worship where members of areligion gather to worship on holy days. A site has nomagical effect in and of itself. A worshipper cannot learnor regain spells there, nor does it have any defenses. Sucha place does not normally support a full time priest, nordoes it detect as magical by itself.

Shrine (1-100 initiates, typically 25)Shrines are the most common form of holy site. Every vil-lage or clan hearth has one or more shrines. There areshrines to an obscure local spirits and to great deities. Thepriest of a shrine may often be indistinguishable from therest of the locals. At a shrine one can learn or renew onlythe divine spells of Initiation, Sanctify, Worship <Deity> anda single divine spell special to the religion and the shrine.

Maintaining an active shrine takes the sacrifice of 10magic points on the seasonal holy day of the religion. Ifthe shrine is not holy to the religion, and the priest has notcast a Sanctify spell; it takes the sacrifice of five times theamount of magic points, or 50 magic points, to keep theshrine active.

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Minor Temple (10-400 initiates, typically 100)A temple size commonly found in towns. There are severalpriests, perhaps not well paid, a few servants, and perhapsan errand boy. At a minor temple, one can learn or renewonly the divine spells of Initiation, Spellteaching, Sanctify,Worship <Deity> and any divine magics special to the reli-gion. Temple defenses only include those spells. One canalso learn cult magic spells.

Maintaining an active minor temple takes the sacrificeof 50 magic points on the seasonal holy day of the reli-gion. If the area is not holy to the religion, and the priesthas not cast a Sanctify spell, it takes the sacrifice of fivetimes the amount of magic points, or 250 magic points, tokeep a minor temple active.

Major Temple (100-1000 initiates, typically 400)A temple size commonly found in cities. There are a num-ber of priests, resident initiates, and servants. Here onecan learn or renew all common divine magics and divinemagics special to the religion. Temple defenses include allthe same spells. One can also learn cult magic spells.

Maintaining an active minor temple takes the sacrificeof 250 magic points on the seasonal holy day of the reli-gion. If the area is not holy to the religion, and the priesthas not cast a Sanctify spell, it takes the sacrifice of fivetimes the amount of magic points, or 1,250 magic points,to keep a major temple active.

Great Temple (500+ initiates, typically 1600)A temple size commonly found in large cities. Dependingon the religion, there will be dozens to hundreds of priestsin a great temple, many initiates occupying various spe-cialized posts, and a plethora of servants rushing in andout of the gates. One can learn and renew all divine spellscommon to the religion, divine magics special to the reli-gion, cult magic spells, and any cult or divine spellsgranted by any associate cult or religion.

Maintaining an active great temple takes the sacrificeof 1,250 magic points on the seasonal holy day of the reli-gion. If the area is not holy to the religion, and the priesthas not cast a Sanctify spell, it takes the sacrifice of fivetimes the amount of magic points, or 5,000 magic points,to keep a great temple active.

MaintenanceOrdinary worshippers sacrifice a single magic point on theseasonal holy day. A small number of particularly devotedor fanatical worshippers can maintain a higher level tem-ple by sacrificing an unusual ly large amount of magicpoints, pa r t i cu l a r ly if the area is a sanc t i f ied one.However, this does not allow the maintenance of a templewith less than the minimum listed number of initiates (forexample, 1 initiate is the minimum for an active shrine, 10initiates for a minor temple, 100 initiates for a major tem-ple, and 500 initiates for a greater temple, even with anunusually high sacrifice of magic points on the worship-per's part).

Lay members also worship, but because they have not

established the close link to the god that initiates have, ittakes ten lay members to do as much as one initiate.

Note that disembodied spirits can and do worship,thus letting some ancestor worship cults have hundreds orthousands of worshippers at what would be a shrine in theabsence of these ghosts.

Temple DefensesTemples defend themselves with a vigor dependent en thenumber of worshippers and the spells available to the reli-gion. Each temple supports a portion of its deity'sconsciousness, which resides within the temple's innersanctum to work the defenses.

As a side effect of worship, every 100 initiates wor-shipping at a temple provides 1 point of Power for thedefense of the temple. This amount depends more on thesacrifice of permanent power to the god for initiation anddivine magic than the sacrifice of magic points duringworship ceremonies, thus, the amount never exceeds 1point of defensive Power for every 50 initiates, even withparticularly active and devoted worshippers.

Temples commonly use the fol lowing spells fordefense: Sanctify, Warding, Find Enemy, Command CultSpirit tied to a cult spirit, and any attack spells available tothe temple. The spells regenerate at the rate of 1 point aday if triggered or dispelled. A standard distribution is50% to the inner sanctum, 25% to the outer sanctum orpriests' quarters, and 25% to the outer defenses.

ExampleA minor temple of Yelm the sun god in Vanch has 360 ini-tiates. This gives the temple 4 points of Divine Magic touse in its defenses (360/100 - 4 (rounding up)). Theychoose a Sunspear, a 3-point spell, to defend the innersanctum. The spell can strike from the sun through thetemple's golden dome should someone defile the innersanctum. A Sanctify spell is used to bless and guard therest of the temple.

SPELL MECHANICSCult MagicCult magic spells use the same mechanics as battle magicspells.

Divine Magic

ProcedureTo use divine magic, one triggers the spell. In melee adivine magic spell goes off at the caster's DEX SR, no mat-ter what its intensity is. Each MP used to power the spell(as is required in some cases) or used to back the spell forthe purposes of penetrating magical defenses adds 1 SR tothe casting time. No words or gestures are required to casta divine magic spell.

Chance to CastDivine magic spells are cast automatically. No casting roll

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 134

is required, though a MP vs. POW roll to overcome resis-tance must still succeed, if appropriate.

RangeThe range of a Ranged divine magic spell is 100 meters.

DurationThe base duration of a divine magic spell is 15 minutes. Itcan be extended with the divine magic spell Extension.

Penetrating Magical DefensesPoint for point, divine magic spells are more powerfulthan battle magic or sorcery spells. Double the points of adivine magic spell to calculate its intensity for the purposeof penetrating defensive magic only.

VarietyDivine Magic, known as Rune Magic, is better codifiedand more standardized than is battle magic. Although dif-ferent names for the same divine spell may exist, mostpeople use common name to describe a divine spells.There are no variations in the effects of divine spells, butvisible effects do differ.

Common and Special SpellsThe main categories of divine magic are called commonspells and special spells. Common spells are available toany religion mustering a sufficient number of initiates toqualify as a major temple (see Temple Sizes). Thus an initi-ate of a religion with a major temple can sacrifice POW togain the use of any common spell.

Special spells are available only to members of specificreligions. Each of the descriptions in the Religions sectionof this chapter lists the special spells available through thatreligion. Additionally, each of the spell descriptions stateswhether the spell is common or special, and indicates thedeities who can grant the use of that spell. Consult theTemples section for the availability of spells by temple size.

RELIGIONSThe fol lowing Gloranthan deities and pantheons aremeant to be guiding and exemplary, not exhaustive.Deities are commonly grouped together in associationscalled pantheons with other more or less friendly deities.They are often opposed by the deities of another (hostile)pantheon. The section contains information on some ofthe most important pantheons and religions in the area ofDragon Pass and central Genertela.

CultsEach deity has a religion, or cult, which provides certainbenefits, including spells, in return for the devotion of theinitiates. The interests of the cult are defined by cult skillsand cult duties, the study and performance of which isessential to becoming an initiate, acolyte, priest or RuneLord of the cult. The benefits are visible in the cult skills,cult and divine spells provided by the cult, its subcults andits associated cults.

Sub-CultsA sub-cult has no existence independent of a larger reli-gion. A sub-cult might worship a local variant of a deity,an ancient hero, family ancestors, or an obscure spirit sur-viving from the Gods Age. Such deities are alwaysworshiped as aspects of, or otherwise in association with agreater deity. Every pantheon includes many sub-cults,which generally provides supplementary skills, spells, orpowers to initiates of the greater religions who also wor-ship through that sub-cult.

Associated CultsAssociated cults are those whose deities closely supporteach other. Their mythologies are intertwined. The cultsare very friendly and often exchange skill training and cultspells, and call upon each other for assistance in time ofneed. Each associated cult provides its associate with aspecial divine spell, whose members can learn and use as ifit was one of their own gods spells. Its uses must be recov-ered at a temple to the associate that provided it, or at agreat temple of their god, which will contain shrines to allof the gods associates. Members of associated cults can betreated as lay members of each others religions for mostpurposes, and can learn the other cult's cult magic spells.Specifically, a cult lay member or initiate will be treated asa lay member of an associated cult, while a cult acolyte,priest or Rune Lord will be treated as an initiate of anassociated cult for the purposes of learning cult magic.Members of associated cults often become full initiates ofboth cults.

The cult information is arranged as follows:

NAME OF DEITY RUNIC AFFILIATIONSCommon Titles of the Deity

Worshippers: Those that commonly join the cult.Skills: Skills of special interest to the cult, alsoknown as cult skills.Duties: Duties specially appropriate to the cult.Cult Magic: Cult magic available to the cult, with limits in theformat "L/I/P" (lay member/initiate/acolyte, priest or RuneLord". Where no cult magic is listed, members are generally freeto learn other cult magic or spirit magic, and possibly even sor-cery if the cult allows sorcerers as initiates or priests.Divine Magic: Divine Magic available to the cult.Associated Cults: Associated cults (divine magic they provide)Miscellaneous: Notes or additional information.

When two of the same runes appear in a deities' runicaffiliations, that deity is the current owner of that rune.

Note that italicized spell names are unique cult or spe-cial divine spells which are not defined in this set of rules.Most of these unique spells are defined in Gods ofGlorantha, and a number of others are defined in TrollGods, Elder Secrets of Glorantha, and River of Cradles.

• T H E • O R L A N T H • P A N T H E O N •

Orlanth, Master of Storms, Wielder of Death, Bringer of Light, is the King of a tumultuous pantheon of gods, whosedemeanors range from that of the sophisticated Lhankor Mhy to the brutal Storm Bull. Their mythology is filled withviolent, reckless deeds and honorable, heroic actions. Orlanth's reckless murder of Yelm, the Sun God, plunged theworld into the Lesser Darkness, and set the stage for the Greater Darkness. His sense of responsibility prevailed in theend, when he saw the terror and hunger his actions had caused, and undertook the Lightbringer's Quest to bring thedead sun back from Hell.

T H E • L I G H T B R I N G E R SThe gods that participated on the Lightbringer's Quest, and succeeding in returning the sun to the world, starting a new age, arenow known as the Lightbringers. They were seven, of which five: Orlanth, Chalana Arroy, Lhankor Mhy, Issaries, and Eurmalare normally worshiped. The other two were Flesh Man, who was driven mad, and Ginna Jar, who remains an enigma.

ORLANTHKing of the Gods, the Storm King,Ernalda's Husband

Worshippers: Adventurers, warriors,farmers, herders, leaders, nobles,lawspeakers, poets, thievesSkills: Ceremony, Dodge, Enchant, Hide,Jump, Orate, Orlanth Lore, Speak <OwnLanguage>, Speak Stormtongue,<Weapon> Attack, <Weapon> ParryDuties: Leadership, defending worship-pers, fighting chaosCult Magic: Bladesharp 2/4/6,Demoralize, Detect Enemies, Glamour2/4/6, Heal 2/4/6, Mindspeech 2/4/6,Mobility 2/4/6, Strength 2/4/6Wind Lord Divine Magic: Bless Woad,Command Sylph, Dark Walk, EnchantIron, Flight, Great Parry, Lightning, MistCloud, Sanctify, Shield, Summon Sylph,Wind Words, Worship OrlanthStorm Voice (Priest) Divine Magic: allcommon, Bless Thunderstone, Cloudcall,Cloudclear, Command Sylph, DecreaseWind, Enchant Silver, Increase Wind,Summon Sylph, Thunderbolt, Wind WarpAssociated Cults: Chalana Arroy(Restore CON), Ernalda (Restore STR),Eurmal (Charisma), Heler (Rain), Issaries(Lock), Lhankor Mhy (Analyze Magic),Mastakos (Guided Teleport, Teleport),Storm Bull (Face Chaos), Valind (Snow),Yinkin (Identify Scent)Miscellaneous: A number of subcultsexist, including Orlanth Rex, worshippedby poet and rulers; Orlanth Thunderous,worshipped by devotees and farmers;Orlanth Lightbringer, worshipped bydevotees and questers; OrlanthAdventurous, worshipped by adventurersand thieves; the Sandals of Darkness,worshipped by adventurers and thieves;the Lightning Spear, worshipped byadventurers and warriors; the Shield ofEarth, worshipped by warriors; the Scarfof Mist, worshipped by devotees andthieves and Vinga the Adventuress, wor-shipped by female adventurers (membersof this subcult dye their hair red).

ISSARIESGod of Trade, Travel & Communication

Worshippers: Traders, merchants,explorers, travellers, linguists,messengers, heralds, grave blessersSkills: Bargain, Ceremony, Evaluate,Issaries Lore, Speak <Own Language,Speak <Language>, Speak Tradetalk,Read/Write TradetalkDuties: The Goldentongue subcult con-sists of explorers and traders, commonlyknown as Trader Princes; the Garzeensubcult consists of merchants, shopkeep-ers and middlemen; the Harst subcultconsists primarily of rural barterers; andthe Herald subcult consists of messengersand heralds. Teaching languages is a duty.Cult Magic: Glamour 2/4/6, Glue 2/4/6,Mindspeech 2/4/6, Mobility 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, CreateMarket, Create Great Market, Lock,Passage, Path Watch, Spell TradingAssociated Cults: Chalana Arroy(Regrow Limb), Eurmal (Clever Tongue),Lhankor Mhy (Analyze Magic), Orlanth(Flight)

LHANKOR MHY

God of Lawspeaking, Lord of Knowledge

Worshippers: Scholars, sages, alchemists,loremasters, scribes, lawspeakers, officialsSkills: Ceremony, Evaluate, First Aid,Lhankor Mhy Lore, Lore <Any>, Orate,Persuade, Read/Write <Language>Duties: Teaching, providing information,seeking knowledgeCult Magic: Detect <Any>, Farsee 2/4/6,Mindspeech 4/6/8Divine Magic: all common, AnalyzeMagic, Clairvoyance, Enchant Iron,Knowledge, Mind-Read, Reconstruction,Translate, TruespeakAssociated Cults: Chalana Arroy(Restore INT), Eurmal (Clever Tongue),Issaries (Create Neutral Ground),Orlanth (Wind Words)Miscellaneous: Initiates must have 90%in a cult skill. Priest must wear beards,false if necessary.

CHALANA ARROY

Goddess of Healing & Comfort

Worshippers: Healers, doctors, surgeons,medics, herbalists, midwivesSkills: Ceremony, Chalana Arroy Lore,Human Lore, First Aid, PhysicianDuties: Healing, caring for the sick,comforting those in distressCult Magic: Befuddle, Dullblade 2/4/6,Endurance 2/4/6, Heal 4/6/8, Light,Shimmer 4/6/8, SleepDivine Magic: all common, ComfortSong, Command Healing Spirit, CureChaos Wound, Heal Body, HealConstitution, Regrow Limb, Restore<Any>, Restore Vision, Resurrect,Summon Healing SpiritAssociated Cults: Aldrya (AccelerateGrowth), Issaries (Create NeutralGround), Lhankor Mhy (AnalyzeMagic), Orlanth (Shield), Storm Bull,Yelm (Fight Disease)Miscellaneous: Initiates must swear anoath of non-violence, and cannot studyweapon skills or use spells that harm oth-ers, including Warding. Initiates and priestsmay be shaman or sorcerers. They areconsidered inviolate, and never attacked.

EURMAL

The Trickster, God of fools & Outlaws

Worshippers: Tricksters, fools, pup-peteers, clowns, thieves, rogues, assassinsSkills: Ceremony, Conceal, Hide, Sneak,Orate, Persuade, Trickster LoreDuties: Joking, lying, fooling others,playing pranks, confusing othersCult Magic: HotfootDivine Magic: Charisma, Clever Tongue,Conceal, Illusory Motion, Illusory Odor,Illusory Sight, Illusory Sound, IllusorySubstance, Illusory Taste, Initiation,Reflection, Worship EurmalAssociated Cults: Issaries (Lock),Lhankor Mhy (Analyze Magic), Orlanth(Wind Words)Miscellaneous: Tricksters are universallydespised and considered outcasts. NoOrlanthi laws apply to or protect them.Trickster magic is aberrant—initiates areacolytes, but temples teach only one spell.

136 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

THE ORLANTH PANTHEON

A number of other important godsbelong to the Orlanth pantheon. In somecultures, they actually may be the domi-nant gods. In Sartar, Ernalda takes asecondary role as Orlanth's wife. InEsrolia, where the culture is matriarchal,Ernalda is the dominant deity, andOrlanth is but one of her six husbands.Humakt is the Sartarite Wargod, and intimes of war his worship may surpasseven that of Orlanth. He was once kin tothe storm gods, but severed his relation-ship with them to maintain his purity ofpurpose.

ERNALDA

The Earth Mother, Orlanth's Wife

Worshippers: Farmers, peasants, herders,healers, homemakersSkills: Animal Lore, Ceremony, Climb,Ernalda Lore, Mineral Lore, Plant LoreDuties: Providing food and shelter, tend-ing to crops, tending to fields, blessingthe earth, blessing cropsCult Magic: Endurance 4/6/8, Heal 2/4/6,Second Sight, Shimmer 1/2/4, Strength2/4/6, Vigor 2/4/6, VisibilityDivine Magic: all common, Bless Crops,Command Gnome, Command <DomesticAnimal>, Command Snake, EnchantCopper, Earthpower, Heal Body, RegrowLimb, Restore CON, Restore STR,Summon GnomeAssociated Cults: Aldrya (AccelerateGrowth), Argan Argar (Create Shadow),Asrelia (Hide Wealth), Babeester Gor(Great Parry), Eiritha (Speak withBeasts), Flamal (Bear Fruit), Magasta(Breathe Air/Water), Maran Gor (BlastEarth), Orlanth (Cloudcall), Storm Bull(Impede Chaos), Ty Kora Tek (BlessGrave), Voria (Invigorate), Yelmalio(Catseye)Miscellaneous: Priests must be womenthat have given birth to a healthy child.

MASTAKOS

God of Mobility, Orlanth's Charioteer

Worshippers: Messengers, dancers, trav-ellers, adventurersSkills: Ceremony, Dodge, Drive<Chariot>, Jump, Mastakos Lore,Maneuver, Ride <Beast>Duties: Travel, bearing messages, drivingchariotsCult Magic: Coordination 2/4/6,Mobility 4/6/8Divine Magic: Guided Teleport,Initiation, Teleport, Worship MastakosAssociated Cults: Orlanth (Flight,Lightning)

ELMAL

God of the Sun & Horses, Orlanth's Thane

Worshippers: Warriors, guards, thanes,bodyguards, horsemastersSkills: <Bow, Javelin or Spear> Attack,Ceremony, Enchant, Horse Archery,Horse Lore, Listen, Ride, Scan, Search,<Shield> ParryDuties: Warfare, guarding steads, raisinghorses, blessing cropsCult Magic: Coordination 2/4/6, DetectEnemies, Farsee 2/4/6, Firearrow,Fireblade, Ignite, Light, Lightwall,Protection 2/4/6, Repair 1/2/4Divine Magic: all common, Bless Crops,Catseye, Enchant Gold, Enchant Iron,Shield, SunbrightAssociated Cults: Hippoi (Bless Horses)

DONANDAR

God of Music & Dance

Worshippers: Entertainers, musicians,minstrels, dancers, puppeteers, singers,illusionists, magiciansSkills: Ceremony, Dance, Donandar Lore,Play <Instrument>, Sing, OrateDuties: Acting, singing, playing, dancing,entertaining and performingCult Magic: None, but may learn battlemagic or sorcery from other sources.Divine Magic: Harmonize, IllusoryMotion, Illusory Sight, Illusory Sound,Initiation, Sanctify, Switch Places,Worship DonandarMiscellaneous: Initiates and priests maybe sorcerers.

BABEESTER GORThe Holy Avenger & Guardian of the Earth

Worshippers: Warriors, mercenaries, tem-ple guards, bounty huntersSkills: <Axe> Attack, Babeester GorLore, Ceremony, Enchant, Listen, Search,<Shield> Parry, TrackDuties: Guarding earth temples, huntingdown rapists, oathbreakers, kinslayersand enemies of the earthCult Magic: Bladesharp 2/4/6,Demoralize, Detect Enemies, Disrupt,Heal 1/2/4, Strength 2/4/6, Vigor 4/6/8Divine Magic: all common, Axe Trance,Berserk, Command Gnome, EnchantCopper, Enchant Iron, Great Parry,Shield, Slash, Summon GnomeAssociated Cults: Asrelia (Hide Wealth),Ernalda (Heal Body), Maran Gor (BlastEarth), Ty Kora Tek (Command Ghost),Voria (Invigorate)Miscellaneous: Only women may join.

HUMAKTGod of Death, War & Endings

Worshippers: Warriors, mercenaries, sol-diers, bodyguards, lawmen, adventurers,executioners, bounty huntersSkills: Ceremony, Craft <Armoring,Battle>, Enchant, First Aid, HumaktLore, Maneuver, Orate, Ride, Scan, SenseAssassin, <Sword> Attack, <Sword> ParryDuties: Soldier, executioner, mercenary,bodyguard, teaching combat skills,destroying undeadCult Magic: Bladesharp 4/6/8,Coordination 2/4/6, Demoralize, DetectEnemies, Detect Undead, Disrupt,Fireblade, Heal 2/4/6, Parry 4/6/8,Protection 2/4/6, Repair 1/2/4, Strength2/4/6, Vigor 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, Berserk,Create Ghost; Detect Truth, EnchantIron, Morale, Oath, Sever Spirit, Shield,Strongblade, Truesword, Turn UndeadMiscellaneous: Initiates are taughtBladesharp 4 for free. Initiates andSwords of the cult may never be broughtback from the dead by any means. Theyare forbidden to use Dullblade, and mustaccept gifts and geases (see Gods ofGlorantha). The cult has no acolytes orpriests, only Rune Lords called Swords.

Some of the other gods worshipped bythe Orlanthi:

Asrelia, Grandmother of Wealth;Barnatar, God of Plowmen; Caladra &Aurelion, the Volcano Twins; City Gods;Daka Fal, Judge of the Dead; Dormal theSailor; Eiritha, the Cow Mother; Eninta,Goddess of Childbirth; Gagarth, God ofthe Wild Hunt; Grain Goddesses;Grandfather Mortal; Gustbran theBonesmith, God of the Forge; Heler, Godof Rain; Horned Man, the GreatShaman; Kero Fin, Mountain Mother,Mother of Orlanth; Kolat, Father ofWinds; Mahome, Goddess of the Hearth;Maran Gor, the Earthshaker; Minlister,God of Ale and Mead; Oakfed, God ofHoly Fire; Odayla the Hunter; RiverGods; Urox the Storm Bull, God ofBerserks; Ty Kora Tek, Goddess of theDead; Uleria, Goddess of Love; Valind,God of Winter; Voria, Goddess ofSpring; Voriof, God of Shepherds;Yelmalio, God of the Winter Sun; Yinkinthe Shadowcat

In this section, and the others like it thatfollow, gods and cults in italic are notfurther described in this book> Many ofthem are described in Gods of Glorantha,Troll Gods, Elder Secrets and River ofCradles.

• T H E • L U N A R • P A N T H E O N •

The Red Goddess, Goddess of the Red Moon, Mistress of Time, Sister of Chaos, and Lurker Upon the Veil, was rebornin the year 1220 S.T with the assistance of the Seven Mothers, after centuries of secret attempts. Although she was borninside of Time, her powers quickly developed, and her apotheosis took place only 27 years later. The Red Goddessfounded the Lunar religion, with its strange mixture of mysticism and practical magic, barbaric cruelty and dignifiedbeauty, freedom and tyranny. She danced and fought her way to become part of the fabric of the world, and took for herdomain the Middle Air, where she now rests, by doing so invoking the eternal enmity of Orlanth and the Storm Gods.

T H E • S E V E N • M O T H E R SThe Seven Mothers, the recreators of the Red Goddess, were Yanafal Tamils, Queen Deezola, Irrippi Ontor, Jakaleel the Witch,Danfive Xaron, Teelo Norri and She Who Waits. Within 30 years of the apotheosis of the Red Moon, they had left the mundaneworld and joined the Goddess in immortality. They are worshiped both separately, and together as the Seven Mothers. The cult ofTeelo Norri is very simple, lacking priests or initiates, and She Who Waits is not worshiped outside of Glamour, the capital of theLunar Empire.

THE SEVEN MOTHERSRecreators of the Red Goddess

Worshippers: Lunar citizens, missionar-ies, soldiers, officials, scholars, healersSkills: Ceremony, Climb, Conceal,Enchant, Human Lore, Listen,Read/Write New Pelorian, Ride, Scan,Seven Mothers Lore, Sneak, Track,<Weapon> Attack, <Weapon> Parry,World LoreDuties: Missionary work, defending theLunar way, guarding the frontiersCult Magic: Befuddle, Glamour 4/6/8Divine Magic: all common, CommandLune, Madness, Mindblast, Reflection,Regrow Limb, Resurrect, TrueswordAssociated Cults: Danfive Xaron,Deezola, Irrippi Ontor, Jakaleel (EnchantSilver), Red Goddess (Chaos Gift), SheWho Waits, Yanafal Tamils (EnchantIron)Miscellaneous: Initiates may besorcerers.

DANFIVE XARONLunar God of Repentance

Worshippers: Former criminals, soldiers,agents, officialsSkills: Danfive Xaron Lore, Ceremony,Conceal, Craft/Torture, Garrotte Attack,Hide, Human Lore, Persuade, SneakDuties: Rehabilitating criminals, adminis-tering justice, capturing criminals,guarding the Lunar way, hunting traitorsCult Magic: Bladesharp 2/4/6,Coordination 1/2/4, Countermagic 2/4/6,Demoralize, Detect Enemies, Disrupt,Mobility 2/4/6, Slow 2/4/6, SpeedartDivine Magic: all common, Bind Soul,Detect Truth, Enchant Iron, EnchantSlave Bracelets, Excommunicate, Oath,Seal TongueAssociated Cults: Deezola, Irrippi Ontor,Jakaleel, Red Goddess (Chaos Gift),Seven Mothers, She Who Waits, YanafalTamils

YANAFAL TARNILSLunar God of War

Worshippers: Warriors, mercenaries, sol-diers, bodyguards, nobles, adventurersSkills: Ceremony, Conceal, Craft<Armoring or Battle>, Dodge, Enchant,Maneuver, Ride, Scan, <Scimitar orSword> Attack, <Shield> Parry, Track,Yanafal Tamils LoreDuties: Soldier, mercenary, guard, teach-ing combat skillsCult Magic: Bladesharp 2/4/6,Coordination 2/4/6, Demoralize, DetectEnemies, Disrupt, Fireblade, Heal 1/2/4,Parry 2/4/6, Protection 2/4/6, Repair1/2/4, Strength 2/4/6, Vigor 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, CreateGhost, Detect Truth, Enchant Iron,Morale, Oath, Sever Spirit (one use),Shield, Truesword, Turn UndeadAssociated Cults: Danfive Xaron,Deezola, Irrippi Ontor, Jakaleel, RedGoddess (Chaos Gift), She Who WaitsMiscellaneous: Duke Tamils defeated hismaster, Humakt to become the Lunarwargod. His cult is similar to that ofHumakt, but without any restrictions onresurrection. Initiates may accept a giftand geas if they wish (similar to Humakt's).

DEEZOLALunar Goddess of Healing

Worshippers: Healers, nobles, poets, doc-tors, medics, surgeonsSkills: Ceremony, Deezola Lore, FirstAid, Orate, PhysicianDuties: Healing, assisting in childbirth,tending to the ill, caring for the souls andspirits of Lunar worshippersCult Magic: Heal 4/6/8, Protection 2/4/6,Second Sight, Spirit Screen 2/4/6, Vigor2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, PreventDecay, Protect Location, Regrow Limb,Resurrect, Sustain LifeAssociated Cults: Danfive Xaron, IrrippiOntor, Jakaleel, Red Goddess (ChaosGift), Seven Mothers, She Who Waits,Yanafal Tamils

IRRIPPI ONTORLunar God of Knowledge

Worshippers: Scholars, officials, teachers,sages, alchemists, loremasters, scribesSkills: Ceremony, Evaluate, Irrippi OntorLore, Lore <Any>, Read/Write<Language>Duties: Teaching, providing information,seeking knowledgeCult Magic: Detect <Any>, Mindspeech2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, AnalyzeMagic, Clairvoyance, Knowledge,Mindblast, Mind-Read, Translate,TruespeakAssociated Cults: Danfive Xaron,Deezola, Jakaleel, Red Goddess (ChaosGift), Seven Mothers, She Who Waits,Yanafal TamilsMiscellaneous: Irrippi Ontor was an out-lawed priest of Lhankor Mhy, and theircults are very similar. Initiates must have90% in a cult skill, but priests need notwear beards.

JAKALEELLunar Goddess of Witchcraft

Worshippers: Magicians, witches, spies,assassinsSkills: Ceremony, Conceal, Enchant,Hide, Jakaleel Lore, Magic Lore, Sneak,SummonDuties: Enchanting, espionage, witch-craft, assassinationCult Magic: Befuddle, Darkwall,Demoralize, Dispel Magic 2/4/6,Dullblade 2/4/6, Extinguish 1/2/4,Glamour 2/4/6, Fanaticism, Mindspeech2/4/6, Second Sight, Silence 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, BindingEnchantment, Command Lune, EnchantLead, Enchant Silver, Madness, SummonLuneAssociated Cults: Annilla (Conceal),Danfive Xaron, Deezola, Irrippi Ontor,Red Goddess (Chaos Gift), SevenMothers, She Who Waits, Yanafal Tamils

138 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

THE LUNAR PANTHEON

The Lunar Empire has conquered a num-ber of different lands and nations,including the lands formerly held by twogreat empires. The policy of the LunarEmpire has been to allow the inhabitantsof these lands as much freedom of wor-ship as possible, and the worship of theiroriginal gods remains popular in thoseregions.

In the Western Reaches, the formerlands of the Carmanian Empire, worshipof some of the gods of the Orlanth andTroll Pantheons remains popular, alongwith the worship of the Invisible God(see Sorcery for more details).

In the lands of the former DaraHappan Empire, now part of theHeartlands of the Lunar Empire and oneof its richest regions, the worship of theYelm Pantheon dominates. In the hills ofPeloria, worship of the Orlanth pantheonremains popular, although the worship ofOrlanth is discouraged by the Empire.

Throughout most of the empire, theworship of the Lunar Pantheon domi-nates. The cult of the Red Goddess isopen to only a select few, but other moreaccessible Lunar cults are worshiped aswell. The primary cult of the LunarEmpire's traders and bankers is that ofEtyries, a daughter of Issaries that choseto follow the Red Goddess. HwarinDalthippa was the general that con-quered the south of Peloria for the LunarEmpire. Her feats earned her apotheosis,and her cult is popular among both thesoldiers and the crafters of the Empire.

ETYRIES

Lunar Goddess of Trade and Commerce

Worshippers: Traders, merchants,bankers, travellers, messengersSkills: Bargain, Ceremony, Etyries Lore,Evaluate, Speak <Own Language>, Speak<Other Language>Duties: Trading, accounting, teachinglanguages, guiding others, carrying mes-sagesCult Magic: Countermagic 2/4/6,Extinguish 1/2/4, Parsec 1/2/4, Glue2/4/6, Ignite, Mobility 2/4/6, Repair2/4/6Divine Magic: Command Cult Spirit,Divination, Exchange Spells, Initiation,Mindlink, Path Watch, Reflection,Sanctify, Spellteaching, Summon CultSpirit, Warding, Worship EtyriesAssociated Cults: Red GoddessMiscellaneous: Initiates and priests ofEtyries may be sorcerers.

HWARIN DALTHIPPAThe Conquering Daughter

Worshippers: Soldiers, crafters, monitors,engineersSkills: Ceremony, Craft <Armorer, Battle,Fortification or Substance, Devise,Enchant, Hwarin Dalthippa Lore, MagicLore, <Weapon> Attack, <Weapon> ParryDuties: Warfare, guarding, crafting,guarding roads, enchanting, teachingcrafts and weapon skillsCult Magic: Befuddle, Countermagic2/4/6, Demoralize, Disrupt, Dispel Magic2/4/6, Heal 1/2/4, Mobility 2/4/6,Protection 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, Enchant Iron,Enchant Silver, Enchant Stone, FormStone, ShieldAssociated Cults: Red Goddess (ChaosGift)

Some of the other gods of the Lunarpantheon:

Annilla, Goddess of Tides, Secrets andthe Blue Moon; Arachne Solara, Goddessof Nature and Fate; Aronius Jaranthir,God of Citizen-Foreigners; Baxos, Godof Borders; City Gods; Crater Makers;Crimson Bat, Steed of the Red Goddess;Gorgorma, the Keeper of Secrets; GreatSister, the Emperor's Sister; Hell Sisters;Hon-eel the Dancer, Goddess of Maize;Iphigios, God of Crafts; KalikosIcebreaker; Myrandos, God of Roadsand Travel; Nysalor, the Illuminator; RedEmperor, Living God of the Empire; RedGoddess, Goddess of the Red Moon;River Gods; Teelo Norri, Young Life;Time; White Moon, the Moon of Peace;Yara Aranis, Goddess of the ReachingMoon; Young Elementals

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 139

THE PRAXIAN PANTHEON

The gods of Prax are the survivors of theGreat Darkness. Faced by a desolatewaste at the Dawning where once layparadise, the people of Prax turned totheir gods to show them how to live inthis new land. The god Waha was the sonof the Storm Bull, the mightiest of thePraxian gods, and Eiritha, the mother ofthe Praxian animals. Waha taught themen a new way of life, showing themhow to use the secrets of death to safelyreturn the spirits of fellow animals toEiritha's womb, deep beneath the earth,where Eiritha had hidden to survive, andfeed on the bounty provided by theirremains. He rescued the daughters ofEiritha from the forces of darkness whichhad imprisoned them, and through them,the women of the tribes were able toworship Eiritha once again.

The people of Prax are now the animalnomads of Prax, and follow a nomadicherding lifestyle, with men using thepowers of death, and women using thepowers of life to allow them to surviveagain on the Plains of Prax. Many oftheir other gods assist them as well.Foundchild the Hunter aids those thatmust hunt to survive, the Storm Bull aidsthem in the constant struggle againstchaos, and Daka Fal keeps the dead andliving in their proper places, yet allowsthe animal nomads to call upon the wis-dom of their ancestors.

Not all the surviving gods are sofriendly. Were it not for the tribe'sshaman, Malia's plagues would sweepthrough the tribe. The Wastes of Prax arehaunted by Gagarth and the Wild Hunt,worshiped by criminals and outlaws.

WAHA

God of Prax, Kahn of the Praxian Gods

Worshippers: Warriors, kahns, shamanSkills: Ceremony, Craft/Butchery, Ride,Summon, Waha Lore, <Weapon> AttackSpirit Magic: most common areCountermagic, Detect Spirit, Heal 1,Peaceful Cut, Protection, Slow, and VigorDivine Magic: Call Founder, CommandGnome, Command Spirit of Law,Cremate Dead, Extension, FixIntelligence, Initiation, ReleaseIntelligence, Sanctify, Shield, SummonSpirit of Law, Worship WahaAssociated Cults: Eiritha (Speak withBeasts), Storm Bull (Impede Chaos)Miscellaneous: Only men may join. Aworshipper can never learn more thanHeal 1. Shaman may become initiatesand priests are always shaman.

EIRITHAMother of Herds

Worshippers: Tenders, herders, healersSkills: Animal Lore, Ceremony, EirithaLore, Plant Lore, Understand HerdBeasts, World LoreDuties: Healing, tending to the sick, tend-ing to the herds, delivering animals,blessing the herdsCult Magic: Parsec 2/4/6, Heal 2/4/6,Ignite, Slow 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, BlessAnimals, Pathway, Peace, Resurrect (oneuse), Speak With BeastsAssociated Cults: Aldrya (AccelerateGrowth), Dendara (Heal Body), Ernalda(Command Gnome, Summon Gnome),Storm Bull (Shield), WahaMiscellaneous: Only women may join.Ignite is free to initiates.

THE STORM BULLGod of Berserks and the Desert Wind,Lord of the Wastes

Worshippers: Warriors, berserksSkills: Ceremony, Scan, Search, SenseChaos, Storm Bull Lore, Summon, Track,Understand Herd Beasts, <Weapon>Attack, <Weapon> ParryDuties: Seeking & killing chaos, leadingCult Magic: Detect Enemies, DispelMagic 2/4/6, Fanaticism, Heal 2/4/6,Protection 2/4/6, Strength 4/6/8Divine Magic: all common, Berserk,Command Sylph, Enchant Iron, FaceChaos, Impede Chaos, Summon SylphAssociated Cults: Chalana Arroy (CureChaos Wound), Eiritha, Ernalda(Earthpower), Orlanth (Shield), Valind(Cloudcall), Waha (Command Spirit ofLaw), Zorak Zoran (Fear)

FOUNDCHILD THE HUNTER

Provider of food

Worshippers: Hunters, trappersSkills: Ceremony, Craft/Butchery,Foundchild Lore, <Missile> Attack,Listen, Trap, TrackDuties: Hunting, butchering game, bless-ing the departed souls of gameCult Magic: Disrupt, Mobility 2/4/6,Peaceful Cut, Slow 2/4/6, SpeedartDivine Magic: Command Cult Spirit,Command <Game>, Divination, DrawBeast, Excommunication, Heal Wound,Initiation, Sanctify, Sureshot, Soul Sight,Summon Cult Spirit, Spellteaching,Worship FoundchildMiscellaneous: The cult is very similar tothat of other Hunter gods, such asOdayla the Hunter or Zong the Hunter.Foundchild hunters are assisted by dogs(associated with the Brother Dog subcult)while Odayla hunters are assisted byshadowcats (associated with the Yinkincult).

GAGARTH

The Wild Hunter, God of Outlaws

Worshippers: Outlaws, banditsSkills: Ceremony, Dodge, Gagarth Lore,Ride, Summon, Track, <Weapon> AttackCult Magic: Bladesharp 2/4/6,Coordination 2/4/6, Demoralize, DetectEnemies, Disrupt, Fireblade, Heal 1/2/4,Protection 1/2/4, Repair 1/2/4, Strength1/2/4, Vigor 1/2/4Divine Magic: Binding Enchantment,Command Whirlvish, Create Whirlvish,Extension, Initiation, Sanctify, WindWalking, Worship Gagarth

Some of the other cults worshiped inPrax:

Cannibal Cult; Daka Fal, Speaker to theDead; Earth Witch; Helpwoman; HornedMan, the First Shaman; Malia, Mistressof Disease; Oakfed, the Wild Fire;Yelmalio, God of the Sun Dome; ZolaFel, God of the River of Cradles

140 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

THE PAVIS ARRAY

The god Pavis is the founder of the cityof Pavis and the protector of the citizensof Pavis. He built the city with the assis-tance of his friend Flintnail, now the craftgod of Pavis. Pavis established a numberof treaties to ensure the existence of hiscity on the Plains of Prax, including onewith Waha and the animal nomads, andanother with Zola Fel, God of the Riverof Cradles, upon with the city of Pavisrests.

Much of the old city now lies in ruins,but the busy frontier town of New Pavison the outskirts of the ruins is a newfocus of trade and commerce. The origi-nal settlers of New Pavis, Sartarites,imported the worship of their nativegods, and subsequent settlers and visitorshave added their own temples. The LunarEmpire occupied Pavis in 1610 S.T., andhas since established temples to its owngods and goddesses.

PAVIS

Cod of the City of Pavis

Worshippers: Citizens of Pavis, archi-tects, crafters, healersSkills: Ceremony, City Lore, Craft<Any>, First Aid, Pavis Lore, Pavis CultLore, Rubble LoreDuties: Crafting, healing, maintenance,guarding the cityCult Magic: Bladesharp 1/2/4,Demoralize, Detect Enemies, Disruption,Heal 2/4/6, Mindspeech 1/2/4, Mobility1/2/4, Strength 2/4/6Divine Magic: City Harmony, CommandGnome, Command Salamander,Command Shade, Command Sylph,Command Undine, Divination, HealWound, Initiation, Mindlink, Sanctify,Spir i t Block, Summon Gnome, SummonSalamander, Summon Shade, SummonSylph, Summon Undine, Worship PavisAssociated Cults: Aldrya (Heal Body),Flintnail (Support)Miscellaneous: An initiate may be ashaman, sorcerer, or even a priest ofanother cult, as long as he was born inPavis or New Pavis, or has become a citi-zen of Pavis. The cult is typical of that ofa major city go, though details may vary,such as the Pavis cult elementals, whichPavis won for his cult's use.

FLINTNAIL

God of Pavis Crafters

Worshippers: Crafters, dwarfs, adventurersSkills: Ceremony, Craft <Any>, Devise,Flintnail Lore, Rubble Lore, <Weapon>Attack, World LoreDuties: Craft work, construction, main-taining the city, restoring the formerglory of the RubbleCult Sorcery: Bind, Bless <Tool orWeapon>, Call Cold, Call Fire, CallHeat, Restore <Stone or Metal>, Form<Stone or Metal>Divine Magic: Animate Warrior of Stone,Command Gnome, Craft Warrior ofStone, Enchant Copper, Enchant Iron,Enchant Lead, Enchant Quicksilver,Enchant Stone, Extension, Find<Substance>, Initiation, Sanctify, ShapeMetal, Shape Rock, Support, SummonGnome, Worship FlintnailAssociated Cults: PavisMiscellaneous: Initiates and priests maybe sorcerers.

ZOLA FELGod of the River of Cradles

Worshippers: Fishermen, boatmen,traders, river travellers, river dwellersSkills: Boat, Ceremony, Devise, Swim,World Lore, Zola Fel Cult LoreDuties: Boating, protecting the riverCult Magic: Extinguish 2/4/6, Glue 1/2/4,Mobility 2/4/6, River EyesDivine Magic: Breathe Air/Water,Command Undine, Divination, EnchantQuicksilver, Excommunicate, FindEnemy, Float, Initiation, Sanctify, SoulSight, Spellteaching, Summon Naiad,Summon Undine, Worship Zola FelAssociated Cults: Diros, PavisMiscellaneous: The cult is typical of thatof a major river god.

BLACK FANGThe Black Fang Brotherhood ofThieves & Assassins

Worshippers: Assassins, criminals, shamanSkills: Black Fang Lore, Ceremony,Climb, Conceal, Craft <Poison>,Evaluate, Hide, Intimidate, Sneak, Trap,<Concealable Weapon> AttackDuties: Assassination, strong-arm work,smugglingSpirit Magic: anyDivine Magic: Conceal, Divination,Divination Block, Initiation, Mindlink,Sanctify, Shattering, Spirit Block,Worship Black FangAssociated Cults: Krarsht, LanbrilMiscellaneous: Initiates may be shaman,priests are always shaman.

LANBRIL

The Forgotten God, God of Thieves

Worshippers: Thieves, fences, cut-pursesSkills: Act, Bribe, Ceremony, Climb,Conceal, Craft/Disguise, Craft/FeignDeath, Craft/Foil Restraints,Craft/Mimic, Craft <Potion>, Custom<Low>, Devise, Evaluate, Hide, LanbrilLore, Persuade, Pickpocket, R/WThieves' Argot, Sneak, Speak Thieves'Argot, Trap, <Concealable Weapon>AttackDuties: Theft, smuggling, crimeCult Magic: Befuddle, Conceal,Coordination 2/4/6, Countermagic 4/6/8,Face of Lanbril, Forget, Silence 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, DivinationBlockAssociated Cults: Black Fang

Some of the other gods worshiped inNew Pavis (the elves and trolls of theRubble worship the gods of their respec-tive pantheons as well):

Argan Argar, Troll God of Trade;Chalana Arroy, Goddess of Healing;Eiritha, the Herd Mother; Ernalda, theEarth Mother; Etyries, Lunar Goddess ofTrade; Humakt, God of Death & War;Irrippi Ontor, Lunar God of Knowledge;Issaries, God of Trade; Lanbril, God ofThieves; Lhankor Mhy, God ofKnowledge; Lokarnos, God ofCommerce; Orlanth, the Storm King;Seven Mothers; Storm Bull, God ofBerserks; Teelo Norri, Young Life;Uleria, Goddess of Love; Waha theButcher; Yelmalio, Frontier God

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 141

YELM PANTHEON

Yelm, the Sun, Harbinger, Warrior,Healer, and Emperor of the World, is theruler of a elegant and splendid pantheonof gods. In the Golden Age, Yelm, theGod Emperor, ruled the world with per-fect justice for 100,000 years. The RebelGods, led by Orlanth, ended the reign ofsplendor by murdering Yelm's son anddestroying Yelm, plunging the world intodarkness. Yelm's power of divine justicewas such that even from the Land of theDead he was able to draw Orlanth andthe Rebel Gods to him, to atone for theirdeeds and ask his forgiveness. Together,they defeated the forces of chaos that hadtorn the old world apart, and returnedtriumphant, to the surface world.

The worship of Yelm was once farmore widespread. It is now focused inareas such as Dara Happa, Pent andKralorela, but the sun is recognized andworshiped or respected in almost all thecultures of humanity, and even by someof the Elder Races, particularly the elves.

The cult of Yelmalio, a son of the sun,is one of the few sky gods popularamong both the storm worshipping hillbarbarians. His worship is popularamong the elves, as he came to theirdefense in the Greater Darkness.

Pole Star is another god loved andfondly remembered by many of the peo-ple he aided in the Greater Darkness, foreven as he defended the hole in the centerof the sky dome from the horrors nowinfesting the world below, he sent his StarCaptains screaming to earth as greatbolts of fire and magic to defend thosebelow.

Lodril was a sky god that had exiledhimself from the pure heavens by choos-ing to make his home in the world below.He was always a favorite of the people ofthe earth, and fought mightily to defendhis adopted home and people from thechaos that swept over it in the GreaterDarkness. The worship of these gods hassurvived the changes that swept over theworld after the Dawning, and continuesto the present day.

YELM

The Sun God & Emperor

Worshippers: High born, nobles, war-riors, harpers, archers, rulersSkills: Bow Attack, Ceremony,Craft/Falconry, First Aid, Ride, Scan,Search, Yelm LoreDuties: Leadership, dispensing justice,defending worshippers, healing, teachingYelm the Youth Cult Magic: Farsee 2/4/6,Light, LightwallCult Magic: Befuddle, Coordination2/4/6, Detect Enemies, Disruption,Extinguish 1/2/4, Farsee 4/6/8, Firearrow,Fireblade, Glamour 2/4/6, Heal 2/4/6,Ignite, Light, Lightwall, Mindspeech2/4/6, Mobility 1/2/4, Multimissile 2/4/6,Slow 1/2/4, SpeedartDivine Magic: all common, BlessWorshippers, Cloudclear, CommandEagle, Command Hawk, CommandGriffin, Command Salamander, EnchantGold, Enchant Iron, Fight Disease,Restore Vision, Resurrect (one use),Shield, Sunripen, Sunspear, Sureshot,Truespear, TruetuneAssociated Cults: Aldrya (AccelerateGrowth), Chalana Arroy (Restore INT),Dendara (Heal Body), Grain Goddesses(Regrow Limb), Golden Bow (Pureshot),Hyalor Horsebreaker (Command Horse),Lodril (Earthwarm), Lokarnos (HieWagon), Molanni (Decrease Wind), Oslir(Control Flood), Ourania, Yelmalio(Catseye)Miscellaneous: Membership in this cult ishereditary. One must be born into it.Numerous steps in the hierarchy of thecult and its subcults exist.

YELMALIO

Sun God of the Frontier

Worshippers: Templars, soldiers, merce-naries, Sun County citizensSkills: <Bow, Javelin or Spear> Attack,Ceremony, Enchant, Kuschile Archery,Listen, Scan, Search, SneakDuties: Soldiers, mercenaries, guardingthe Sun Dome temple, defending thefaithfulCult Magic: Coordination 2/4/6, DetectGold, Farsee 2/4/6, Lantern 4/6/8, Light,Lightwall, Protection 1/2/4, Repair 1/2/4,Seek Sun Dome TempleDivine Magic: all common, Catseye,Enchant Gold, Enchant Iron, Shield,SunbrightAssociated Cults: Aldrya (Heal Body),Ernalda (Bless Crops), Vrimak (Speak toBirds), Yelm (Sunspear), YelornaMiscellaneous: The spells of Bludgeon,Darkwall, Firearrow and Fireblade areforbidden. Initiates must accept a gift andattendant geas (see Gods of Glorantha).

POLE STARGod of Dance & War

Worshippers: Soldiers, dancers, generalsSkills: Ceremony, Craft/Battle,Craft/Choreography, Dance, Dodge,Maneuver, Pole Star Lore, War Lore,<Weapon> Attack, <Weapon> ParryDuties: Soldier, general, dancer, choreog-rapher, defending the weakCult Magic: Coordination 4/6/8, Farsee2/4/6, Firearrow, Fireblade, Heal 1/2/4,Mindspeech 4/6/8, Mobility 2/4/6, Light,Lightwall, Shimmer 2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, Call StarCaptain, Captain Souls, Enchant Gold,Enchant Iron, Enchant Silver, ShieldAssociated Cults: Dayzatar (CallShanasse)

LODRIL

God of Heat & Volcanoes

Worshippers: Peasants, farmers, smithsSkills: Ceremony, Climb, Craft <Any>,Enchant, Jump, Lodril Lore, <Spear>Attack, SummonDuties: Craft work, farming, smithing,blessing the earth, defending peasants,fighting oppressionCult Magic: Disrupt, Endurance 2/4/6,Extinguish 2/4/6, Heal 1/2/4, Heat Metal4/6/8, IgniteDivine Magic: all common, CommandSalamander, Cremate Dead, Earthwarm,Enchant Copper, Enchant Gold, EnchantIron, Enchant Lead, Enchant Tin,Firespear, Lava Spear, SmoulderingRebellion (one use), Summon Lodril,Summon SalamanderAssociated Cults: Caladra & Aurelion(Firedwell), Dendara (Regrow Limb),Gustbran (Create Bonfire), Mahome(Reduce Flame), Oakfed (CreateWildfire), Yelm (Shield)

Some of the other gods of the Yelm pan-theon (Dendara's cult resembles Ernalda's):

Chalana Arroy, Goddess of Healing; CityGods; Daga, God of Drought; Dayzatar,The Pure Light; Dendara, the GoodEarth, Yelm's Wife; Donandar, God ofMusic & Dance; Golden Bow, God ofArchery; Gorgorma, Keeper of Secrets;Grain Goddesses; Gustbran, God of theForge; Hyalor Horsebreaker; Lokarnos,God of Wheels, Wagons & Commerce;Lux, King of the Light Spirits; Mahome,Goddess of the Hearth; Molanni, theCalm Air; Nysalor, God of White Light;Oakfed, the Holy Fire; Oslir, the RiverGod; Ourania, Queen of Heaven; Uleria,Goddess of Love; Voria, Spring Virgin;Vrimak, God of Hawks; Yelorna, the StarHuntress

142 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

THE TROLL PANTHEON

The gods of Hell and Darkness are alsothe gods of the trolls. The scorching heatand blinding light emanating from thedead sun god drove the trolls out of theirancestral paradise in the Underworld,and onto the surface world, where theyhave now made their home, bringing theworship of their gods with them. KygerLitor is the mother of the trolls, and istheir most important deity.

KYGER LITORMother of Trolls

Worshippers: Trolls, troll shamanSkills: Ceremony, Enchant, Kyger LitorLore, Read/Write Darktongue, SpeakDarktongue, Summon, Troll Lore,<Weapon> Attack, <Weapon> ParryDuties: Leadership, teaching, tracing lin-eages, defending trolls, caring for trolls,blessing trollsSpirit Magic: commonly learn Befuddle,Bludgeon, Countermagic, Darkwall,Demoralize, Disrupt, Dullblade,Extinguish, Heal, Jumping, Mindspeech,Protection, Second Sight, Slow, SpiritScreen, but no light or fire magicDivine Magic: all common, Absorption,Blinding, Command Fear Spirit,Command Shade, Counterchaos,Darksee, Enchant Lead, Summon FearSpirit, Summon ShadeAssociated Cults: Daka Fal, Subere(Attack Soul), Xiola Umbar (HealingTrance), Zorak Zoran (Crush)Miscellaneous: Initiates may be shaman,priests are also shaman.

ARGAN ARGARGod of Surface Darkness, Troll God of Trade

Worshippers: Traders, merchants,civilized trollsSkills: Argan Argar Lore, Ceremony,Evaluate, Lore <any non-troll>,Read/Write Darktongue, Speak<Language>, SummonDuties: Trading, teaching languages,making coinageCult Magic: Detect Magic, Glamour2/4/6, Mindspeech 2/4/6, Protection2/4/6, Vigor 1/2/4Divine Magic: all common, CommandShade, Create Shadow, Cure Iron Burn,Dark Walk, Enchant Lead, Safe, SummonShade, Suppress AetherAssociated Cults: Gorakiki (Speak withInsects), Xentha (Affix Darkness)

XIOLA UMBAR

Troll Goddess of Compassion,Healing & Solace

Worshippers: Troll healers and midwivesSkills: Ceremony, First Aid, Physician,Plant Lore, Summon, Troll Lore, XiolaUmbar LoreDuties: Healing, delivering troll children,caring for the ill, defending the weak,protecting trollsCult Magic: Countermagic 2/4/6,Darkwall, Heal 4/6/8, Protection 2/4/6,Shimmer 2/4/6, Solace, Spirit Screen 1/2/4Divine Magic: all common, AttractAttention, Command Shade, Couvade,Group Defense, Healing Trance, RegrowLimb, Shield of Darkness, SummonShade, Turn BlowAssociated Cults: Kyger Litor (Darksee),Zorak Zoran (Shield)Miscellaneous: Initiates must learn Heal 4.

ZORAK ZORAN

God of Hate & Vengeance, Troll God of War

Worshippers: Troll warriors andberserks, warriors, berserksSkills: Ceremony, Climb, Conceal,Enchant, Hide, Jump, Sneak, Summon,Trap, <Weapon> Attack, Zorak ZoranLoreDuties: Warfare, killing foes, exactingvengeanceCult Magic: Bludgeon 4/6/8, Darkwall,Demoralize, Detect Enemies, Dullblade2/4/6, Extinguish 2/4/6, Fanaticism,Firearrow, Fireblade, Ignite, Protection2/4/6Divine Magic: all common, Berserk,Command Ghost, CommandSalamander, Command Shade, CreateGhost, Create Skeleton, Create Zombie,Crush, Enchant Lead, Fear, Seal Wound,Sever Spirit (one use), Shield, SummonSalamander, Summon ShadeAssociated Cults: Kyger Litor (Darksee),Storm Bull (Face Chaos), Xiola Umbar(Healing Trance)

Some other gods worshiped by trolls:

Annilla, Goddess of the Blue Moon;Aranea, Goddess of Spiders; ArkatKingtroll; Asrelia, Keeper of Wealth;Dehore, God of Darkness Spirits;Gorakiki, Mother of Insects; Himile,God of Cold; Horned Man, the GreatShaman; Jeset the Ferryman; Mee Vorala,Goddess of Fungi; Styx, Goddess ofOaths; Subere, Goddess of the InnerDark; Xentha, Goddess of Night; Zongthe Hunter

THE ELF PANTHEON

The pantheon of the elves is dominatedby Aldrya, the mother of the elves. Allelves are born into this religion, and withthe exception of the rare Rootless Elf,stay in it until they die.

ALDRYAGoddess of the Woods

Worshippers: Elves, runners, dryadsSkills: Aldrya Lore, Ceremony, Elf BowAttack, Enchant, Climb, Hide, PlantLore, Sneak, SummonDuties: Tending plants, guarding forestsSpirit Magic: Befuddle, Countermagic,Dispel Magic, Extinguish, Food Song,Heal, Light, Mindspeech, Mobility,Multimissile, Repair, Second Sight,Shimmer, Silence, Speedart, Spirit Screen,VigorRitual Spirit Magic: ArmoringEnchantment, Binding Enchantment,Spell Matrix Enchantment, StrengtheningEnchantment, Summon (species)Wood Lord Divine Magic: AccelerateGrowth, Arrow Trance, Chameleon,Divination, Enchant Copper, Heal Body,Reflection, Shield, Silence Sphere,Worship AldryaShaman Divine Magic: Absorption,Accelerate Growth, Animate War Tree,Chameleon, Create War Tree, Divination,Heal Body, Plant Spy, Sanctify, SilenceSphere, Tanglethicket, Worship AldryaGardener Divine Magic: all common,Wood Lord, and Shaman spells, andResurrect (one use)Associated Cults: Chalana Arroy(Regrow Limb), Dendara (Restore INT),Eiritha (Speak with Beasts), Ernalda(Command Gnome), Flamal (Bear Fruit),Gata (Gnome-to-Gargoyle), Yelm(Sunripen), Yelmalio (Catseye), Yelorna(Detect Silver)Miscellaneous: Initiates and priests maybe shaman. Gardeners must have been ashaman or Wood Lord for 20 years.

Some of the other gods popular amongstthe elves:

Babeester Gor, Holy Avenger; Flamal,Father of Seeds; Gata, Goddess of theEarth; Grain Goddesses, Homed Man,the Great Shaman; Mee Vorala, Goddessof Fungi; Voria, Goddess of Spring;Yelmalio, Frontier God

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 143

THE ARRAY OF CHAOS

The gods of chaos are either the few sur-vivors of the original invasion that tookplace during the Greater Darkness orgods that were corrupted, voluntarily, orinvoluntarily, by exposure to the forcesof chaos. The Unholy Trio, whose plot-ting allowed the forces of chaos to enterthe world, and plunge it into the GreaterDarkness, were warped by the forces theyhad released. All three, Thed, Mother ofBroos; Malia, Mother of Disease; andRagnaglar, the Mad God are nowcounted amongst the gods of chaos.

The defeat of the Forces of Chaos atthe hands of the Forces of Life, and theGreat Compromise has weakened chaosin the world. Nevertheless, it persists,often festering quietly, unnoticed, in thehidden places of the world, or growing asa hidden cancer deep within human soci-ety. In a few places, chaos nests such asDorastor, or the Foulblood Woods, it fes-ters openly, rebounding withextraordinary resilience from attemptafter attempt to exterminate it once andfor all.

The Lunar Empire is alone among thenations of Genertela in including chaosin its worship, and deeply hated for it.Their position of official acceptance ofchaos is essential to their religion's beliefin freedom, but even they will not toler-ate the excesses to which these cults andtheir members can go.

The three cults detailed below can allexist within the bounds of human society,if need be. Ogres appear human, and pre-fer to live within or on the outskirts ofhuman society, feeding on humans, whothey consider to be their natural prey.The burrowing horrors of Krarsht havetunneled below much of the surface ofGenertela, but the cult's human worship-pers tend to its mysterious affairs on theworld's surface. Vampires pass as human,or send their human worshippers togather prey for them. Those that excel inpleasing their vampire masters gain thereward of a hollow, but potentially eter-nal, existence. An entire kingdom ofvampires is said to exist to the north ofthe Lunar Empire, feeding on its humansubjects, and the Lunar Empire itself isrumored to have a legion of vampirestraining in the mountains.

Two of these cult's gods possess theHunger Rune ( ), a common runeamong chaos cults which tear at and con-sume reality.

CACODEMONGod of Anarchy, Murder, & Ogres

Worshippers: Ogres, anarchists, murder-ers, assassinsSkills: Cacodemon Lore, Ceremony,Enchant, Hide, Track, Trap, <Weapon>AttackDuties: Assassination, spreading disorder,destructionDivine Magic: Create Ghost, DetectionBlank, Extension, False Form, Mindlink,Sanctify, Spirit Block, Vomit Acid,Warding, Worship CacodemonAssociated Cults: Primal Chaos (ChaosFeature), Thed (Chaos Spawn)Miscellaneous: A Fiend appears to initi-ate new members. If they fail a POW x5roll, it eats them. Prospective Talons(priests) fail only on a roll of 96-00.

KRARSHT

Chaos Goddess of Hunger & Intrigue

Worshippers: Criminals, fences, middle-men, conspirators, assassinsSkills: Ceremony, Hide, Krarsht Lore,Net Attack, Net Parry, Sneak,Concealable weapon> AttackDuties: Assassination, espionage, orga-nized crime, smugglingCult Magic: Befuddle, Silence 2/4/6, TrueNet 4/6/8Divine Magic: all common, Chomping,Sweat Acid, Venom BiteAssociated Cults: Black Fang (Conceal),Primal Chaos (Chaos Feature)

VIVAMORT

God of Vampires

Worshippers: Vampires, those that wishto be vampires, necromancers, vampire'sherdsSkills: Ceremony, Conceal, Enchant,Hide, Scan, Sneak, Summon, SwordbiterParry, Vivamort Lore, <Weapon> AttackDuties: Finding victims, recruiting newmembers, providing blood and powerDivine Magic: Create Ghost, CreateGhoul, Create Skeleton, Create Zombie,Command Shade, Divination, EcstaticCommunion, Initiation, Sanctify,Summon Shade, Worship VivamortAssociated Cults: Malia (Cause Chills)Miscellaneous: Rune Lords and Priestsare vampires (see Creatures). Sword-biters are a cult weapon, resembling amace with a swordbreaking appendage.

Some other gods of chaos and terror:

Arrquong, Harbinger and Gate Keeper ofChaos; Atyar, the Knowledge Thief; BadMan, the Shaman's Nemesis; Bagog,Mother of Scorpions; Gark the Calm,Chaos God of Eternal Peace andZombies; Gbaji, the Liberator;Gloomshark, Bluegloom God ofMindless Hunger; Ikadz the Torturer,Krjalk, God of Treason; Malia, Goddessof Disease and Suffering; Nysalor, theTeacher; Pocharngo the Mutator; PrimalChaos, the Chaos Ooze; Ragnaglar, theMad God; Seseine, Goddess ofSubmission; Than, God of Headhunting;Thanatar, the Severed God; Thed,Goddess of Rape and Mother of Broos;Tyram, Chaos God of the Skies

OTHER PANTHEONS ANDARRAYS IN GLORANTHARegional variations exist in nearly allpantheons and arrays. The further onetravels from central Genertela, the morelikely that differences exist in the pan-theons and arrays described above. Somegods may not be worshiped in certainregions, in others, gods belonging towhat are considered other pantheons incentral Genertela, or gods not even men-tioned above are worshiped. Subcultsand associated cults may vary as well,along with the available selection of cultand divine magic.

A number of other pantheons andarrays of gods exist in Glorantha. Theones detailed above are those most popu-lar in central Genertela. Some of theothers include the Dwarf Array, the EastIsles Array, the Hsunchen Array, theKralori Pantheon, the Malkioni Array(described the Sorcery chapter), theMerman Pantheon, the Pamalt Pantheon,and the Vormain Pantheon.

In addition to these major pantheonsand arrays, many other more moderatelysized or small pantheons and religionsexist, particularly in those areas not dom-inated by a major pantheon.Gamemasters should feel free to developthese, as with moderate care these can bemade to fit in even regions dominated byone of the major pantheons. Small cultsand local spirit cults can fit almost any-place, and gamemasters should feel freeto develop these as they see fit.

144 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

CULT MAGIC SPELLSThe majority of cult magic spells are asubset of the common battle magic spells.However, many cults have unique cultmagic spells. Some cults teach theseunique spells only to initiates, othersteach them to lay members and initiates.They are not taught to associated cults —a member of an associated cult wouldhave to become a lay member or initiate(depending on the cult and the cult spell)to learn one. The normal limits to learn-ing cult magic apply. Two sample uniquecult magic spells are presented below,and many others can be found in Gods ofGlorantha. The format they are presentedin is identical to that of battle magicspells, with the addition of a rune show-ing their runic affiliation.

PARRY


The Parry spell is unique to the cults ofHumakt and Yanafal Tarnils. Each cultteaches the spell to its lay members andinitiates. A Humakti hero, Yan Starcere,is said to have first popularized the use ofthis cult spell. When Yanafal Tarnilsbroke with his former master, Humakt,he took the spell with him, and haspassed it on to his cult since his apotheo-sis.

This spell may be applied to anyweapon (or shield). Each point adds +5%to the chances of parrying with thatweapon, and adds 1 to the weapon'sarmor points. After the spell expires, theextra armor points vanish, which couldcause a heavily-damaged weapon to fallapart.

SLEEP


This spell is a unique spell of the ChalanaArroy cult, and is only taught to its initi-ate healers, who are sworn never to harmothers. Anyone slept by a healer is underthe healer's protection, and must not beharmed in any way, though they may bedisarmed and captured. The proscriptionagainst harming those slept by a healerdoes not necessarily apply to chaoticfoes, however.

If the caster overcomes the target'sPOW, the target falls into a deep sleep forthe duration of the spell. The target onlyawakens if injured or if a hostile spell istargeted on him or her.

Spell Cost

Dismiss MagicExtensionFind EnemyFind <Substance>Heal WoundMindlinkSoul SightSpirit Block

1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point

Special Divine Magic Spells

Spell

AbsorptionAnalyze MagicBerserkBless CropsBreath Air/WaterConcealCloudcallCloudclearCommand (Species)Dark walkDetect TruthFearFloatGreat ParryHeal BodyIllusory MotionIllusory OdorIllusory SightIllusory SoundIllusory SubstanceIllusory TasteImpede ChaosLightningMadnessMindblastPath WatchReflectionRegrow LimbRestore <Characteristic>Sever SpiritShieldSunspearSureshotThunderboltTrue <Weapon >

Cost

1 Point1 Point

2 Points1 Point

2 Points3 Points

1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point

3 Points3 Points

1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point1 Point

2 Points2 Points2 Points1 Point2 Points1 Point3 points1 Point3 Points1 Point3 Points1 Point

Each divine magic spell is presented inthe following format:

SPELL NAME RUNES

Whether Common, or Special, and if Special,which cults it belongs to. The runes of a Specialspell reflect the runic associations of the spell.

Intensity (cost in POW to learn)Casting Range, Spell Type, Stackable/Nonstackable, Reusable/One-Use

Definition (including area of effect, ifany)

ABSORPTION

Aldrya, Asrelia, Chalana Arroy [Zotulla sub-cult], Dendara, Gorgorma, Kyger Litor, Natea,Subere

1 PointRanged, Passive, Stackable, Reusable

This spell absorbs enemy spells, convert-ing them into magic points, and makesthose points available to the caster. It alsoscreens out the effects of Absorbedincoming spells.

Each point of Absorption soaks up anyone point of divine magic, or any twopoints of sorcery or spirit spells. TheAbsorption spell will not soak up part ofa spell. If the incoming spell has moretotal magic points than can be Absorbed,then it will take effect normally.

The magic points gained this wayremain suspended within the caster'saura, usable as he wishes. When the spellexpires, or is Dispelled, any magic pointsin excess of his current POW dissipate.

If the caster has more than one defen-sive spell up, Absorption is assumed to bethe last defense an incoming spell wouldencounter.

ANALYZE MAGICChalana Arroy [ from Lhankor Mhy], Eurmal[from Lhankor Mhy], Issaries [from LhankorMhy], Irrippi Ontor, Lhankor Mhy, Orlanth[from Lhankor Mhy]

1 PointTouch, Instant, Stackable, Reusable

This spell gives a true statement about atleast one function of a single magicalitem, entity, or substance. The statementis detailed, and tells how to use the func-tion and what limitations (if any) applyto the use of the function. If more than asingle point is cast simultaneously, morethan one truth is discovered. If the spellsare not cast simultaneously, the sametruths may be repeated.

Though the range is touch, it is possi-ble to cast the spell just above the surfaceof an item, to avoid triggering curses orother magical effects by the caster's touch.

DIVINE MAGIC SPELLSThis section lists and describes in alpha-betical order both the common divinespells and divine spells special to one ormore religions that are available to mem-bers of the religion. Reusable spells areavailable to initiates and higher rankingcult members, One-use spells are avail-able only to acolytes, priests and runelords.

Common Divine Magic Spells

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 145

BERSERK

Babeester Gor, Gorgorma, Humakt (one use),Storm Bull, Zorak Zoran

2 PointsRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell sends the recipient into a mur-derous fury. Personal safety and all butthe strongest loyalties are forgotten in therage to destroy, but the stamina and thecombat skills of the spell's target aregreatly enhanced.

The Berserker's total hit points and hitpoints per location do not change as aresult of this spell, though his player willsucceed when attempting any CON rollunless a 96-00 is the result. A Berserker ispreserved from fatigue loss, incapacita-tion, shock, unconsciousness, or theeffects of exhaustion. He will suffer allother deleterious effects of a location'sloss as described in Damage. All poisonswill do only minimal damage to aBerserker. A Berserker will die from theloss of twice their total hit points.

A Berserker doubles his attack percent-age, but cannot cast magic, parry, orDodge. Adventurers affected by the spellmay not attempt to shake-off its effectsbefore the normal duration of 15 minutesexpires unless extenuating circumstances,as judged by the gamemaster, allow theBerserker to snap out of the battle ragebefore that. If ruled possible this requiresan INT x1 roll by the Berserker's player.

When the spell expires or is dispelled,the Berserker suffers all the effects of anyfatigue loss incurred during the spellsduration. The player or gamemastershould keep track of the fatigue that theBerserker would lose but for the spell, asa Berserker will not pause to rest, andwill thus often fall into the Exhausted orIncapacitated fatigue classes when thespell ends.

If Berserk is cast upon a target underthe effects of Fanaticism, this spell takesprecedence. They do not combine effects.

BLESS CROPS

Dendara, Ernalda, Grain Goddesses

1 PointRanged, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

In the Sea Season this spell is cast uponan area of ground equivalent to thatwhich a farmer can plow in a day. It willguarantee a minimum return of an aver-age year's harvest the following fall,barring natural disaster. In Genertela,even with such spells, crop yields are low,due to the magical infertility of the land.A priestess must assist in the casting ofthe spell, though she need not cast it her-self.

BREATHE AIR/WATER

Magasta, Zola Fel

2 PointsRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

Castable on either air-breathers or water-breathers, for the duration of the spell itallows the target to breathe as if it was inits own element while in the other.

CLOUDCALL

Heler, Orlanth, Valind

1 PointIndeterminate Range, Passive, Stackable,Reusable

This spell brings or makes enough cloudsto cover the area of sky that can be seenfrom the ground by the caster. Such agathering of clouds may rain. Each pointof spell increases the overall cloud den-sity by one percentile.

The effects of Cloudcall vary some-what depending on climate and season.The gamemaster can add 1 to 4 per-centiles to the effect of each point ofCloudcall for optimal climate (such asWintertop, the Storm Mountains, orFethlon) or season (Storm Season, SeaSeason).

CLOUDCLEAR

Orlanth, Yelm, Yelmalio

1 PointIndeterminate range, Passive, Stackable,Reusable

For the spell's duration, each point of thisspell reduces the cloud density by onepercentile. The area of sky that can beseen from the ground by the caster isaffected.

The gamemaster can add 1 to 4 per-centiles to the effect of each point ofCloudclear for optimal climate (such asdoldrums) or season (Fire Season).

COMMAND CULT SPIRIT

Common

1 pointRanged, Instant, Reusable

This spell is used to convey a single com-mand to a cult spirit. If the cult spirit isunwilling, the caster must succeed in aMP vs. POW roll.

Cult spirits vary, but may include thespirits of former cultists, temple spirits,tutelary spirits, wyters, allied spirits,ghosts (Death cults), elementals(Elemental cults), healing spirits (ChalanaArroy and other healing cults), diseasespirits (Malia) and even madness spirits(Lunar cults), depending on the cult inquestion.

It may be stacked with a divineSummon <Species> spell or the divineSpellteaching ritual, where it is generallyused to command the cult spell spirit notto resist.

COMMAND <SPECIES>

Argan Argar, Asrelia, Babeester Gor, ChalanaArroy, Dendara, Ernalda, Gagarth, Gorgorma,Grain Goddesses, Hunter, Jakaleel, KygerLitor, Lodril, Magasta, Malia, Maran Gor,Orlanth, Seven Mothers, Storm Bull, Subere,Ty Kora Tek, Valind, Waha, Xiola Umbar,Yelm, Zorak Zoran

1 PointRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

While it endures, this spell allows thecaster to take over the actions and will ofthe specified target species. The castermust see (or be able to distinctly sense)the target to cast the spell, and its POWmust be overcome by the caster's magicpoints. If successful then the creature willbe in a special form of line-of-sight, tele-pathic communication with the caster.The caster must form a mental image ofthe actions that he wishes the creature toperform. Commanding a creaturerequires concentration of the caster for afull melee action, and the creature willnot begin to act until the next meleeround.

CONCEAL

Annilla, Black Fang, Jakaleel [from Annilla],Krarsht [from Black Fang], Trickster

3 pointsRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell makes the user invisible, whichoffers some definite advantages. If thecharacter attacks with spell, missile ormelee, weapon he becomes visible in thefirst strike rank of the round in which heattacks or acts and disappears again afterthe last strike rank of that round unlessengaged in melee. In any round that thecharacter disengages from melee, he dis-appears again at the end of the round ofdisengagement.

DARK WALK

Argan Argar, Orlanth [Sandals of Darknesssubcult]

\ pointRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell allows the user to be totallyinvisible and soundless in darkness andshadow to anyone within range. Blend-inis total.

If its user attacks from darkness orshadow, the effect is the same as ifattacking from a Conceal spell.

146 • DIVINE•MAGIC

DETECT TRUTH

Danfive Xaron, Humakt, Ourania, YanafalTamils, Yelm

1 pointRanged, Passive, Stackable, Reusable

This spell allows the caster to tell if any-one within 5 meters of the spell's targetsite is consciously lying. If a conscious lieis spoken, and the caster succeeds in aMP vs. POW roll against the speaker, thespeaker emits a dark, smoky glow visibleonly to initiates of the god. The game-master should make any necessary MPvs. POW rolls for a player that has castthe spell, so that the die rolls do not giveanything away.

DISMISS MAGIC

Common

1 PointRanged, Instant, Stackable, Reusable

This spell eliminates magic from the tar-get it is cast at. Each point of DismissMagic eliminates two points of battlemagic or sorcery, or one point of divinemagic. It can partially eliminate a spell.No MP vs. POW roll is required.

When cast against a general target,without specifying any particular targetor effect, Dismiss Magic will always firstdestroy defensive spells, beginning withthe most powerful spell. Excess points ofDismiss Magic will go on to destroyother spells on the target, if any, startingwith other defensive spells. It can alwaysbe cast against a specific spell if the castercan magically discern or otherwise guessthe specific spell.

EXTENSION

Common

1 PointNo Range, Passive, Stackable, Reusable

This spell extends the duration of anytemporal divine magic spell which has anormal duration of 15 minutes. TheExtension spell and the spell to beExtended must be simultaneously cast byone person. This spell and the Illusionspells are the only exceptions to the rulethat a spell-caster can only cast oneDivine spell per action.

The first point extends the spell to 30minutes. Each additional point doublesthe extension an Extension 2 extends aspell to a 60 minute duration, and so on.Reusable spells that are extended and theExtension used to extend them cannot beregained at a temple until the spell'sduration expires.

FEAR

Gorgorma, Magasta, Storm Bull [fromZorak Zoran], Wachaza, Zorak Zoran


This spell causes intense, incapacitatingfear to well up within the target. To beeffective, the caster must overcome thePOW of the victim. This spell is ineffec-tive against unconscious victims oragainst victims lacking INT. The degreeof success in overcoming the victim'sPOW determines the effect of this spell.

Calculate the chance to special, critical,etc. for the caster as if the chance to suc-ceed on the resistance roll was a skill ofthat percentage, and cross-index thedegree of success on the Fear table to findthe spell's effect.

Once cast, the effects of Fear cannot bedispelled.

Fear Spell TableRoll ResultCritical Victim dies of fear.

Special Victim collapses for 15 minutes,and must make a CON x5 rollor die as above.

Success Victim is Demoralized for 15minutes, as per the battlemagic spell.

Failure No effect on normal INT crea-tures. Fixed INT creatures areDemoralized for 15 minutes, asper the battle magic spell.

Fumble Victim is unaffected.

FIND ENEMY

Common


This spell alerts the caster to danger. Thecaster psychically knows of anyonewithin the spell's range who intends toharm him, whether or not the lurker canbe seen. The caster may also designateanother person to receive the spell's pro-tection, in which case both the caster andthe target would detect the target's enemies.

Interposing a meter of any solid sub-stance between the caster and an enemyblocks the effects of this spell.

FIND <Substance>

Common


This spell informs the caster of the pres-ence of the substance sought. The slight,

identifying glow that results can be seenonly by the caster. This spell can detecthidden objects made of the substanceunless they are beyond one meter ofstone, soil, or metal. The caster will beaware of the presence of the object forthe duration of the spell.

FLOAT

Dormal, Magasta, River Gods


Each point of this spell lifts 10 SIZ to justbelow the surface of the water. Heavierobjects will not float, though they willsink more slowly than they would if thespell had not been cast. Lighter objectswill be raised to bob about halfway outof the water.

GREAT PARRY

Babeester Gor, Orlanth[Shield of Earth subcult]

3 pointsTouch, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell must be cast upon a shield. Iteffectively gives the shield an infiniteamount of armor points for the spell'sduration. However, knockback stillaffects the holder of the shield.

HEAL BODY

Aldrya, Babeester Gor [from Ernalda],Dendara, Chalana Arroy, Ernalda, Gorgorma[from Dendara], Pamalt [from ChalanaArroy], Triolinia, Yelm [from Dendara],Yelmalio [from Aldrya]

3 PointsTouch, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell cures the total damage done toa body, regardless of hit location. Theplayer of the affected character simplyerases all damage from total hit pointsand limb hit points. Heal Body will not,however, regrow or heal a maimed orsevered limb.

HEAL WOUND

Common

1 PointTouch, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell repairs damage done to a livingcreature's hit points. It will work equallywell on any living thing, whether com-plete or incomplete, as long as it has hitpoints. This includes such things as peo-ple, animals, plants, intelligent weapons,or certain otherworld creatures.

The spell converts magic points into hitpoints. The caster instantly loses a num-ber of MP equal to the points to be

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 147

healed. This spell cures the damage in thelocation being touched as well as damageto general hit points.

ILLUSIONS

Once an illusion has been magically cre-ated it becomes a part of reality, howevertemporary. Illusions cannot be disbe-lieved. An illusion with substance can dodamage and can be damaged. The sixspells below can be combined in anymanner desired by the caster to createsimple or complex illusions as desired,remembering that all uses of illusion aresubject to the guidance of the gamemaster.

An illusion cast directly upon an targetmoves with the target until its durationexpires. A sound illusion cast upon anoisy target will mask contradictingnoises, and the same is true with contra-dicting tastes, smells, sights, etc. Anillusion with Illusory Motion can bemade to move independently.

Along with the spell Extension, Illusionspells are the only exceptions to the rulethat only one Divine magic spell can becast in a single action. A number of dif-ferent Illusion spells and even Extensioncan cast in a single action to achieve adesired effect.

The following table suggests somestandards for sense-related illusions.Other Illusion spells exist, but tend to bemerely complex combinations of the fol-lowing spells.

Illusion Intensity Table

Intensity Odor Taste Sound

1 rose milk whisper2 smoke banana speech3 perfume lemon shout4 ammonia whiskey thunder

ILLUSORY MOTION

Donandar, Eurmal, Trickster


Within range, this active spell animatesillusions and moves them as desired bythe caster. Their basic MV is 3. Eachadditional point of the spell allows theillusion to move 3 MV faster per meleeround. No roll is necessary for crudemotions. For the purposes of fine manip-ulation, the basic spell provides the casterwith a DEX x3 die roll to accomplish agiven task, each additional point of thespell increases the DEX roll by one multi-ple, making fine manipulation easier.Moving an illusion requires concentra-tion on the caster's part (an Attack actionin melee).

ILLUSORY ODOR

Eurmal, Trickster


This spell reproduces a single scent fromthe caster's memory. Since odor percep-tion is the same for all species, this spellcan fool other creatures. Two points ormore of this spell forces the player of anadventurer encountering the odor tomake a CON x5 roll against the odor.Failure indicates the adventurer is over-come by nausea (treat them asIncapacitated, see Combat) for the dura-tion of the spell (or until it is dispelled).Each additional point of spell reduces theCON roll by one multiple.

ILLUSORY SIGHT


1 pointRanged, Passive, Stackable, Reusable

This spell creates a visual illusion whichregisters upon light sensitive organs. Eachpoint of the spell will cover a volume ofSIZ 3. One casting of the spell can com-pletely cover a small child. If one pointwere used to create the illusion that anadult was covered in armor plate, only aportion of the adult would appear to becovered by armor.

ILLUSORY SOUND



The sound created with this spell must bespecified as to nature, duration, andintent at the time of casting. Two ormore points of the spell will drown outconversations, and may cause temporarydeafness, using the guidelines underIllusory Odor.

ILLUSORY SUBSTANCE

Eurmal, Trickster


This spell adds 1 SIZ of the solid matterto an Illusion per point. For purposes ofcombat each point of SIZ equals 1 hitpoint and 1 armor point.

An illusion with Substance can dodamage. Each point of Substancecan do 1D4 points of damage, two pointsdo 2D4 points of damage, three do 3D4points of damage, etc..

For an illusion with Substance to dodamage the target must either walk intothe illusion (such as walking into an illu-sionary fire, over an illusionary pit, or

into illusionary thorns), or one point ofMotion must be combined with eachpoint of Substance to give the caster thefine manipulation to effectively strike thetarget on a DEX x3 roll. Such a com-bined illusion has a base MV of 3. Eachpoint of Motion above the total points ofSubstance in the illusion adds 3 to itsMV. Moving or attacking with such anillusion requires concentration on thepart of the caster (an Attack action inmelee).

ILLUSORY TASTE

Eurmal, Trickster


This illusion creates a single taste cover-ing about 1 SIZ of material. The tastecreated must be familiar to the caster,though the target will react to the taste asits experience dictates. If the target of theillusion has no sense of taste, then thisspell will have no effect. The illusion canbe used to nauseate a target, using theguidelines under illusory Odor.

IMPEDE CHAOS

Storm Bull, Waha [ from Storm Bull]


This spell adds 5 to any percentile dieattack rolls made by a creature of chaosfighting a target protected by the spell.This includes both weapon and naturalweapon attack rolls and MP vs. POWresistance rolls to overcome the targetwith a spell. This makes it more likely forthe creature of chaos to fumble in melee,and less likely to critical. Any naturalrolls of 01 remain unmodified, (likelyresulting in critical hits).

LIGHTNINGCult of the Spear, Mastakos [from Orlanth],Orlanth [Lightning Boy subcult]

1 PointRanged, Instant, Stackable, Reusable

A blast of crackling energy projects fromeither the hand of or some device of thecaster (a spear, wand, sword, etc.) towardthe target. Each point of Lightning usedwill cause 1D6 points of damage to a sin-gle hit location if the caster overcomesthe targets POW with his own magicpoints. No armor protects against thisdamage, but spells which defend againstphysical attack, such as Protection orShield, will be effective. The Lightningdischarge is very bright and will set afiredry, flammable materials.

148 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

MADNESS

Jakaleel, Red Goddess, Seven Mothers


If the caster of this spell overcomes thePOW of the target with his own MP, thetarget suffers the effects given on thetable below. The severity of the resultdepends on the degree of success of thecaster's attack. Once the spell has beencast its effects cannot be dispelled.

Madness Spell TableRoll Result

Critical Catatonia. Victim collapses for30 - POW days (minimum 1 day)and loses 1D4 INT permanently.

Special Paranoia. Victim attacks nearestperson as if Fanatic (see thebattle magic spell Fanaticism) for15 minutes. If the first targetfells, the victim moves on to thenext closet target. If no targetsare left, the victim becomescatatonic for the remainderof the spell effect, and cannot beawakened.

Success Victim is Befuddled for 15minutes, as per the battle magicspell.

Failure No effect on normal INTcreatures. Fixed INT creaturesare confused for 15 minutes, as ifaffected by Befuddle spell thatcould actually affect a fixed INTcreature.

Fumble Victim is unaffected.

MINDBLAST

Irrippi Ontor, Red Goddess [from IrrippiOntor], Seven Mothers

2 PointsRanged, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell destroys the INT of the targetif the caster overcomes the target's POW.This effect lasts that number of daysequal to half of the caster's POW (roundup any fraction), and cannot be dispelled.If the caster achieves a special success inovercoming the target's POW then healso does 1D8 points of damage to thetarget's head.

MINDLINKCommon


Each point of this spell allows mind-to-mind communication between twopeople. It must be cast upon both people

at once. It allows the transmission ofconscious thoughts, magic points, andspell knowledge.

Mindlink may be stacked so that sev-eral sets of two people are linkedtogether, so that several pairs of peopleare in dependently linked in pairs, or sothat one central person is linked to manypeople who are not otherwise linked.One point of Mindlink will link twocharacters. If person A is linked to personB and person C, B and C are not linked.

Any participant in a Mindlink may usethe spell knowledge and the magic pointsof other participants without their con-sent, though they must willingly consentto being included in the Mindlink in thefirst place. It is not possible to stackdivine spells that have different sources,except in the course of certain exotic ritu-als, typically used in warfare.

This spell may endanger participantsperhaps otherwise safe. INT or moraleaffecting spells (Mindblast, Befuddle,Demoralize, Stupefy) cast against onemember of the Mindlink will attack allthose connected by means of a singleresistance roll. For example, al l MPattacker casts Demoralize at a target with14 POW. The attacker's player needs toroll 40 or less on D100 for a success, andgets a 37. The target is Demoralized. Butthe target's friend, who was in Mindlinkwith the target, with 15 POW, is notDemoralized because his POW was notovercome.

Although the participants in Mindlinkshare magical energies and consciousthought, they maintain separate identitiesand retain their respective INT and POWfor all game purposes. Mindlink does notreveal hidden thoughts, unconsciousurges, or permanent spell knowledge. Itcannot be used to teach a spell.Adventurers in the link defend againstspells with their own POW. Any personcan leave the link at any time. Mindlinkremains in effect as long as the partici-pants are within range of each other.

PATH WATCH

Etyries, Issaries

2 pointsSelf, Variable Duration, Nonstackable,Reusable

This spell is used when traveling throughdangerous or questionable territory. Itmust be laid upon a known path or visi-ble road which will be traveled by thecaster. The spell alerts the user to thedirection and number, though not type,of all enemies and traps within a 100meter radius. The spell lasts as long asthe road lasts and as long as the casterstays awake.

REFLECTION

Aldrya, Etyries, Magasta, Red Goddess, SheWho Waits, Seven Mothers, Trickster


This spell reflects spells which fail toovercome the magic points of the pro-tected being. The next strike rank, thereflected spells attack their caster. Themagic points of the reflected spell attackare equal to caster's at the time the spellwas originally cast. They are comparedto the current magic points of the caster(after the spell was cast) in a resistancecontest. If the spell overcomes the caster'sPOW, he or she suffers the spell's effects.

This spell reflects two points of spiritor sorcerous magic, or one point ofdivine magic per point of Reflectionstacked in a single spell. The effects ofReflection do not work at all if theincoming spell is too powerful.

If the caster has more than one defen-sive spell up, Reflection is assumed to bethe first defense an incoming spell wouldencounter.

REGROW LIMB

Aldrya, Chalana Arroy, Dendara, Deezola,Ernalda, Flamal, Grain Goddess, Issaries[from Chalana Arroy], Lodril, Red Goddess,Seven Mothers, Xiola Umbar

2 PointsTouch, Special Duration, Nonstackable,Reusable

This spell regrows a severed or mangledlimb. The gamemaster should roll D10whenever a limb is lost. The result showshow much (on a scale of 10 to 100%)needs to be regrown at the rate of 10%per game-week if the spell is appliedwithin 10 minutes of damage, lengthen-ing to 10 per game-month thereafter.This spell does not heal damage, so thatthe regrown arm must first naturally healor be healed.

RESTORE HEALTH<CHARACTERISTIC>

Chalana Arroy <All>, Dendara <CON, INT>,Ernalda <STR, CON> Lhankor Mhy <INT>[from Chalana Arroy], Orlanth <CON> [fromChalana Arroy], Triolinia <DEX>

1 PointTouch, Instant, Stackable, One-use

This spell restores characteristic pointsthat have been lost to age, disease, Tap-ping, or some other source. The spell doesnot cure any disease that may be present.

Each point of Restore Health restoresone point of the specified characteristic.Use of this spell can restore characteristicpoints only up to the value they were at

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 149

immediately prior to their loss.There is a specific Restore Health spell

for STR, CON, SIZ, INT, DEX, and APP.There is no spell for POW or for attributes.

SEVER SPIRIT

Humakt, Yanafal Tarnils (One-use), ZorakZoran (One-use)

3 pointsRanged, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell cuts the bond between thebody and spirit of the target. Thecaster makes a MP vs. MP roll. If thecaster succeeds, the target dies. If thecaster fails, the target takes 1D6 damageto his or her general hit points, witheffects similar to poison damage.

Humakt is the only god to offer thisspell reusably, and the cult takes itsresponsibility as honorable dealers ofdeath very seriously. Humakt initiatesmust prove themselves to the cult beforethey are allowed to learn the spell.

SHIELD

Aldrya, Babeester Gor, Gorgorma, Humakt,Hwarin Dalthippa, Lodril, Maran Gor [fromBabeester Gor], Orlanth, Pole Star, Storm Bull,Wachaza, Waha, Xiola Umbar [from ZorakZoran], Yanafal Tarnils, Yelm, Yelmalio, ZorakZoran


This spell protects the target from dam-age and magic. Each point of Shield givesthe target 2 points of magical armor and2 points of Countermagic. The effects ofthis spell are cumulative with eitherProtection or Countermagic. If the spell'starget has a battle magic Countermagicup as well, the battle magicCountermagic must be penetrated beforethe Shield's Countermagic is reached.

To get past a Shield spell, an incomingspell must be at least one point strongerthan the Countermagic of the shield. ThisCountermagic does not dissipate whenbreached. The spell remains in effect forthe full 15 minutes or until it is destroyedwith Dispel, Neutralize, or Dismiss Magic.

SOUL SIGHT

Common

1 pointRanged, Passive, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell allows the recipient to see boththe POW aura of the living and to magi-cally know the actual current magicpoints of other things and creatures,including the amount devoted to currentlyin-effect spells (such as defensive spells).

The recipient can also tell if a personviewed through this spell is an initiate;

and if so, whether the initiate is active ornot. This spell will not reveal if a personis an acolyte, priest or rune lord.

SPIRIT BLOCK

Common


Each point of this spell adds 10 points tothe defensive value of the recipient'smagic points or other relevant character-istic versus an attacking spirit. It does notalter the recipient's attack chances. If themagic points of the attacking spirit fallbelow the defensive value of the SpiritBlock then it becomes unable to interactwith the protected recipient.

This spell was taught by Flesh Man toall those he met in the Greater Darkness.

SUNSPEAR

Yelm, Yelmalio [from Yelm]

3 PointsRanged, Instant, Nonstackable, Reusable

This spell works only in direct sunlight.When cast, a shaft of sunfire blasts onecaster-designated target. The target mustbe visible to the caster. Without needingto overcome POW, a 1 -meter-diametercylinder of fire descends upon the target.Every living thing within the circlereceives 4D6 points of damage to its gen-eral hit points. Only the target's lowestphysical armor value (if armor is unevenon locations) will protect against thisdamage; magical defenses will not.

SURESHOT

Hunter, Yelm [Saggitus subcult]


This spell is cast upon a missile weapon.Unless the adventurer's player rolls a 96-00, the adventurer's missile automaticallyhits regardless of movement, range (aslong as it is within maximum missilerange for the weapon), concealment (aslong as some portion of the target isexposed), etc. Any chance for a critical,special, or fumble result is based on theadventurer's own missile skill. This spellis compatible with Speedart or Firearrow.It can be combined with Multimissile,but only the real (first) missile is affected.

THUNDERBOLT

Orlanth

3 PointsRanged, Instant, Stackable, Reusable

This spell draws a bolt of divine energyfrom the stormclouds and directs it at a

specified target, without needing to over-come the target's POW. The sky musthave a cloud cover of at least 51%. Eachadditional point of spell adds anothertarget that can be affected.

This spell does 3D6 points of damagedirectly to hit points. Neither armor norspells that protect against physical dam-age are effective against this spell, thoughCountermagic will work.

TRUE <Weapon>

Humakt (Truesword), Kyger Litor [Karrg sub-cult] (Truemace), Seven Mothers (Truesword),Yanafal Tarnils (Truesword), Yelm [Hastatussubcult] (Truespear)


Cast on a specified melee weapon, thisspell doubles the normal damage done bythe weapon. Any damage modifieraccorded the wielder of the weapon dueto exceptional SIZ or STR is not affected.The player of the weapon-wieldingadventurer should roll the weapon dam-age dice twice and total the results.

The spell stacks with Bladesharp orBludgeon, as appropriate for the weapon,but if a Fireblade is cast on it, it will dothe Fireblade damage or the Truesworddamage, whichever is greater.

RITUAL DIVINE MAGICRituals and ritual magic play an essentialpart in nearly all forms of magic, includ-ing divine magic. Many common divinerituals exist that do not require the directuse of divine magic, including birthingceremonies, naming ceremonies, andmarriage ceremonies. Ceremony/Divineskill is used instead.

Some important divine rituals, includ-ing worship ceremonies and initiationceremonies, which do require the use ofdivine magic are described in the follow-ing section. The chance to successfullycomplete the ritual is equal to the caster'sdivine Ceremony, Enchant or Summonskill, as appropriate to the ritual. Thechance for success may be enhanced bythe use of ceremonial casting (seeCeremony, in the Skills chapter for moredetails). If a ritual in which POW isexpended is failed, 1 point of POW islost. If the ritual is fumbled, all the POWthat would have been used is lost.

The rituals typically take a number ofhours equal to the points of ritual divinemagic used or points of POW expendedin the ritual, whichever is greater.

150 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

Common Ritual Divine Magic

Spell Points

Armoring EnchantmentBinding EnchantmentCult Magic Spell EnchantmentDivinationDivine Magic Spell EnchantmentExcommunicationInitiationSanctifySpellteachingSummon <Cult Spirit>WardingWorship <Deity>

PointPointPointPointpointpointPointPointPointPointPointPoint

Special Ritual

Spell

Create GhostCreate SkeletonCreate ZombieEnchant <Metal>Resurrect

Divine Magic

Points

1 Point2 Points3 Points1 Point3 Points

ARMORING ENCHANTMENT

Common

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Stackable, Reusable

Each point of the spell allows the casterto sacrifice a point of POW. Each pointof POW sacrificed in the enchantmentincreases the armor points of a singleobject by 1D4. The spell can affect thearmor points of a single weapon, a singleshield, a piece of armor covering a singlehit location, or a single hit location(though the last would involve scarringor tattooing runes on the hit locationitself).

Only the single highest enchantmentwill affect an object. That is to say, if a 1POW enchantment increased an objectsAP by 3, and then a later 2 POWenchantment increased the objects AP by5, the object would have its AP increasedby 5, not by 8.

BINDING ENCHANTMENT

Common

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Nonstackable,Reusable

The binding enchantment ritual allowsthe caster to enchant an object such thata spirit may be bound into it. When thespell is cast, POW is expended. Eachpoint of POW invested in the item allowsone to bind a spirit of 3D6 POW. Thecaster should double this cost if he wishesto be able to release the spirit withoutbreaking the enchantment. This alsoenchants the object so that it establishes a

basic link with any spirit bound into itthat allows anyone in contact with theobject to communicate with the spirit byforming mental images.

An additional point of POW must bespent if the caster wishes the objectenchanted so that it establishes a deeperlink with any spirit bound into the itemthat would allow anyone in contact withthe object to draw upon spells in thespirit's INT (should it possess INT andknow spells) or draw upon the spirit'sMP.

An additional point of POW must bespent if the caster wishes any spiritbound into the item to be able to 'see'outside the object, necessary if you wisha spirit with spells to cast them at any-thing other than touch range.

CREATE GHOST

Cacodemon, Gorgorma, Humakt, YanafalTarnils, Zorak Zoran

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Nonstackable, One-use

The Create Ghost ritual must be per-formed over the body of a recently slainvictim. The ritual tears the soul of theperson from the way that the soul natu-rally follows after death, and causes it toappear at the location of its old body andattack the casting priest in spirit combat.If the spirit's magic points are brought tozero, it is turned into a ghost bound atthat place.

CREATE SKELETON

Vivamort, Zorak Zoran

2 PointsRitual (Enchant), Nonstackable,Reusable

This spell creates an animated skeletons,as described in the Creatures chapter.When the spell is cast, both magic pointsand POW must be expended. Each magicpoint gives the completed skeleton onemagic point, not to exceed the POW ofthe caster. The first point of POW used inthe ritual animates a skeleton of up toSIZ 20, giving it the STR and DEX it hadin its former life. Every additional 20points of SIZ require the expenditure ofanother point of POW.

CREATE ZOMBIE

Vivamort, Zorak Zoran

3 PointsRitual (Enchant), Nonstackable,Reusable

This spell creates an animated zombie, asdescribed in the Creatures chapter. Whenthe spell is cast, both magic points andPOW must be expended. Each magic

point gives the completed zombie onemagic point, not to exceed the POW ofthe caster. The first point of POW used inthe ritual animates a zombie of up to SIZ10, giving it half again the STR andCON it had in its former life, but two-thirds of its former DEX. Everyadditional 10 points of SIZ require theexpenditure of another point of POW

CULT MAGICSPELL ENCHANTMENT

Common

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Stackable, Reusable

Each point of the spell allows the casterto sacrifice a point of POW. Each pointof POW sacrificed in the enchantmentcreates a cult magic matrix of pointsequal to the POW sacrificed, to a limit ofthe number of points of the spell knownby the caster. The knowledge of howevermany points of the cult spell that wasenchanted into the matrix is lost to thecaster.

DIVINATION

Common

1 PointRitual (Ceremony), Stackable, Reusable

This Ceremony ritual spell must be usedin either a temple of the caster's deity orin a Sanctify spell-blessed area which isundisturbed for the duration of theDivination.

This spell is the primary means bywhich a deity communicates with his orher worshippers. For each point of thespell cast during the Ceremony, the com-municant will receive a message of up toseven words or a brief vision or dream ofa message the god wishes to communi-cate with the caster. The content of themessage will generally reflect whatactions the god wishes his worshippers toperform, or give them news the god con-siders important. This information isdrawn from the desires and wishes com-municated to the god through the prayersof the god's initiates, acolytes, priests andRune Lords. Unfortunately, the messagesof the gods are rarely subject to clearinterpretation by even the most skillfuldiviners.

A divination ritual may instead be usedto ask a simple question of the god,receiving in return an answer of up toseven words or a brief vision or dream ofthe answer. If the question is one of littleinterest to the god, he or she will simplyrespond with a message of interest to thegod, which will likely have little or noth-ing to do with the question asked.

The gods are quite limited by Time and

D I V I N E • M A G I C • 151

the Great Compromise in what they cansee or know.

Most consistently, a god understandsthe events with which he or she wasinvolved before time—those things thathappened to him or her in youth and inascension to godhood during the time ofmyth. Such information can be of greatuse to priest performing rituals or toheroquesters, but will be of little use tomost adventurers.

Priests, Rune Lords, and initiates areextensions of the god, and can tell thegod many things through prayer. A godwill know what has happened to hispriests, acolytes and Rune Lords, and, toa much lesser extent, his initiates. He willknow if they are alive or dead, and cantell what killed them (or what theythought killed them). The god does notknow what a worshipper is thinking andcannot deduce motivations. A god knowsfacts. A god cannot invade anyone'smind, though he or she will know whena worshipper has lost faith. Other knowl-edge given to a god by a worshipper mustbe volunteered through prayer.

Finally, gods have general informationabout events within their realm or area ofworship. An air god will know in a gen-eral fashion about events occurring in theair, and an earth goddess likewise willknow some things which happen on or inthe earth. Specifics or details that do notdirectly concern the god are not knownto a him or her. Even when Yelm the Sunis overhead he would not notice or evencare who is in the town square. On theother hand, if one of his temples is undersiege, he will notice.

A god is incapable of revealing what heor she does not know, and most gods areseverely limited outside their sphere ofexperience. A god will know nothing ofevents pertaining to another deity or thatdeity's worshippers, especially eventsoccurring within 'foreign' (i.e., belongingto other gods) sacred or temple grounds.Imprisoning a god's worshipper within aforeign temple will result in the god los-ing track of the worshipper. The god willknow roughly where the imprisonedworshipper went, but not exactly wherehe is.

The gamemaster should privately rollD100 whenever a player uses Divination.If the roll is greater than the caster'sPOW x5, then the caster failed to inter-pret the message or dream properly andthe gamemaster must make up a mislead-ing message. If the roll succeeds themessage is generally puzzling, but looselyinterpretable.

DIVINE MAGICSPELL ENCHANTMENT

Common

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Stackable, One-Use

Each point of the spell allows the casterto sacrifice an additional point of POW.Each point of POW sacrificed in theenchantment creates a divine magic spellmatrix of points equal to the POW sacri-ficed, to a limit of the number of pointsof the spell known by the caster. The useof however many points of the divinespell that was enchanted into the matrixis permanently lost to the caster.

Anyone using the matrix should betreated as if they knew the spell. Anacolyte, priest or Rune Lord mayrecharge a reusable divine spell matrixthrough prayer, and a point of the matrixwill be recharged during a High HolyDay worship ceremony.

ENCHANT <Metal>

Aldrya <Copper>, Argan Argar <Lead>,Asrelia <Copper>, Babeester Gor <Copper,Iron>, Danfive Xaron <Iron>, Ernalda<Copper>, Flintnail <Copper, Iron, Lead,Quicksilver>, Gorgorma <Iron>, Humakt<Iron>, Hwarin Dalthippa <Iron, Silver>,Jakaleel <Lead, Silver>, Kyger Litor <Lead>,Lhankor Mhy <lron>, Lodril <Copper, Gold,Iron, Lead, Tin>, Magasta <Quicksilver>,Orlanth <Iron, Silver>, Pole Star <Gold, Iron,Silver>, Red Goddess <Iron, Silver>, SevenMothers <Iron, S i l ver>, River Gods<Quicksilver>, Storm Bull <Iron>, Subere<Lead>, Tskanth <Iron>, Ty Kora Tek<Copper>, Uleria <Silver>, Wachaza <Iron,Quicksilver>, Yelm <Gold, Iron>, YanafalTarnils <Iron>, Yelmalio <Gold, Iron>,Yelnora <Iron, Silver>, Zorak Zoran <Lead>

1 pointRitual Enchant, Reusable

When this ritual is performed over thespecific Rune metal it is designed for, 10ENC of metal are enchanted for eachpoint of POW sacrificed by the caster.The object should already be forged, asreforging (or breaking) a piece ofenchanted metal destroys the enchant-ment. A broken piece may be enchantedagain once it has been repaired.

Gloranthan metals should not be mis-taken for their earthly equivalents. Theyhave different properties and origins.Bronze can be mined directly from theground, as it originates from the bones ofstorm deities slain in the God War.

Bronze is rarely enchanted, as itchanges little. All enchanted metalweapons can damage creatures normallyonly affected by magic, such as lycan-thropes or wraiths. Unenchanted iron

and silver normally have this property,although only unenchanted iron is suit-able for most weapons use (if notenchanted, it has the AP and strength ofbronze). Unenchanted silver is very soft,and only suitable for use in crushingweapons or sling bullets. Any damagefrom unenchanted iron weapons thatpenetrates the armor of elves or trolls isdoubled. However, unenchanted ironinterferes with the casting of magic. Thewearers chance to cast any spell (even adivine spell, which would start at 100%),is reduced by 5% per ENC of unen-chanted iron worn or carried.

See the World of Magic chapter for thespecific effects of enchanting some com-mon Gloranthan rune metals.

EXCOMMUNICATIONCommon

1 PointRitual (Ceremony), Stackable, Reusable

This spell can sever the mystical link thatan initiate establishes with a god, causingthe target of the Excommunication toimmediately and irrevocably be severedfrom the caster's religion. Only the priestwho initiated the target into the cult, or apriest of the same cult with the authorityto excommunicate, can cast the spell. Theexact details of which priests have thepower to excommunicate vary from reli-gion to religion. The excommunicationceremony requires an hour to complete.

Excommunication may be performedat any distance from the victim. Oncecompleted, the target is stripped of allstatus in the religion, forever forfeitingthe benefits and the POW he sacrificed tothe deity. Excommunication ends all linksbetween the deity and the former com-municant. All divine spells learned fromthe deity are lost permanently, though 1or 2 point battle magic spells areretained. Any other magical benefitswhich were gained, such as enchanteditems, will also lose their potency if theyhave divine magics or spirits.

Priests cannot tell if an adventurer isan excommunicant from their religion,even with Soul Sight. They may, ofcourse, recognize the person throughsight or reputation.

INITIATION

Common

1 pointRitual (Ceremony), Nonstackable,Reusable

This ritual is used to establish the speciallink between an initiate and his deity, orthe deeper link that exists between apriest or rune lord and their deity. It is

152 • D I V I N E • M A G I C

used on worshippers that wish to enterinto a deeper relationship with theirdeity, meet with the approval of the initi-ating priest or temple, and qualify forinitiate, priest or rune lord status. Somecults only perform the ritual on a holyday of the deity, in which case it is fol-lowed or preceded by a Worshipceremony. The ritual can only be per-formed successfully by a priest.

All prospective initiates, priests or runelords that participate in the ceremony areaffected by the spell. Prospective initiatesmust also sacrifice a point of POW toestablish the mystical link with the deity.

Worshippers that have undergone thisceremony gain the corresponding benefitsof their new status, including the abilityto learn divine magic and more powerfulcult magic. There are some disadvantagesas well, as cults expect duties and tithesof their initiates, priests and rune lords.

RESURRECT

Aldrya (one use), Ancestor Worship (one use),Chalana Arroy, Deezola, Seven Mothers, Yelm(one use)

3 pointsRitual Spell (Ceremony), Nonstackable,Reusable

This Ceremony ritual spell allows anadventurer to be restored to life. First thebody must be healed to a level of at least3 positive hit points. If the body is deadfrom disease, the disease must be elimi-nated or the Resurrect will be futile.

This spell summons the deceased spiritto approach its former body. The casterof the spell can then start spirit combatwith the deceased. If the initiate or priestsucceeds in causing the deceased to losemagic points, then he can force the spiritback into the body and to return to fulllife. If the caster fails, the soul is lost todeath.

Each day after the first that the deadadventurer stays dead permanentlyreduces his current STR, CON, DEX,and APP characteristics by 1D3 points.

SANCTIFY

Common

1 PointRitual (Ceremony), Variable Duration,Stackable, Conditionally Reusable

This spell blesses the volume of a 10-meter-radius sphere. Cast on levelground, one hemisphere will roughly bein the air, and the other within the earth.The boundary of the volume slightlyshimmers in bright light. Anyone withinany portion of the sphere is considered tobe completely within it. The Sanctifiedsphere is not detectable by trolls'

Darksense, touch, or heat detection,though it will detect as magic. If non-ini-tiates, spells, or spirits cross theboundary, the caster is immediatelyalerted to their presence.

Ceremonies can be performed within aSanctified area that normally can be per-formed only in a temple.

Additional points of Sanctify increasethe area of protection by half. Thus a 2-point spell protects a 15-meter radiusarea, a 3-point spell protects a 22.5-meter radius, and so on.

A Sanctified area lasts for as long as itscaster does not regain the spell. As soonas the spell is regained, the previouslySanctified area vanishes.

SPELLTEACHING

Common

1 PointRitual (Summon), Nonstackable,Reusable

Through the use of this ritual the priestor initiate can summon a cult spirit fromwhich a cult spell can be learned. Thisritual must be undertaken within a tem-ple or other holy place, and the recipientof the ritual must be present for the rit-ual's entire duration. The process oflearning a cult battle magic spell isdescribed earlier in this chapter.

SUMMON <CuIt Spirit>

Common

1 PointRitual (Summon), Nonstackable,Reusable

This ritual summons a particular type ofcult spirit. Spellteaching is a variation ofthis spell that summons a spirit that onlyteaches a spell. Large cults often have awide variety of cult spirits, and thus manyvarieties of this spell. Small cults tend tohave few available cult spirits, if any.

Some common type of cult spiritsinclude allied spirits (summoned by apriest if the god has seen fit to grant one),elementals (if the cult has an elementalrune), messenger spirits, spirits of retribu-tion (will only answer to a priest inauthority) and temple spirits (summonedto protect a temple).

Some cults have access to other spirits.For example, Chalana Arroy has culthealing spirits, Jakaleel has cult madnessand fear spirits, Kyger Litor has cult fearspirits, Malia has cult disease spirits, theSeven Mothers have cult madness spirits,and Yanafal Tarnils has cult ghosts.

The spell Command Cult Spirit may beused at the end of the summoning ritualto force the spirit to do something it isreluctant to do.

WARDINGCommon

1 PointRitual (Enchant), Stackable,Conditionally Reusable

This ritual spell creates an area of safetyfor those inside. It requires four wandsexactly 15 centimeters long as props. Thewands can be made of any material, andcan be so spaced as to enclose a maxi-mum area of up to 81 square meters. Thespell extends into the air for 3 metersabove the wands, and underground tothe depth of the wands. The wands neednot be visible to work.

The activated wands connect invisiblyto form a barrier detectable only by mag-ical means. The protection afforded bythe Warding is initiated when physical orspirit enemies of the caster cross the bar-rier, or when a spell is cast across thebarrier from the outside. When this hap-pens a loud noise (a keening, whistling,booming, etc.) begins which may be sup-pressed by the casting priest.

Each point of Warding counts as 1point of Countermagic against spells castacross the barrier, 2 points of ProtectiveCircle (see Sorcery) against outside spir-its, and does 1D3 points of damage,ignoring armor, to one hit location of anycorporal enemy that crosses the boundary.

Alternatively, the added points ofWarding can be used to increase the areaprotected: each additional point addsanother 81 square meters of coverage.

The Warding spell will remain in effectuntil the wands are removed. Anyone butthe caster who attempts to touch thewands will touch off and be affected bythe spell. But after suffering theWarding's effect, the sufferer can thenremove the wands, dispelling the Ward.The caster cannot regain use of the spelluntil the stakes are removed (dispellingthe Ward), after which use of the spellcan be regained by the normal procedures.

WORSHIP (DEITY)

Common

1 PointRitual (Ceremony), Nonstackable,Reusable

This Ceremony ritual spell allows a priestto lead a formal worship service to thedeity specified. If this service is held onSanctified ground or in a temple on aHoly Day of the god, it will allow thepresiding priest a POW gain roll. If heldon the High Holy Day, it will allow allpriests and initiates present to attempt aPOW gain roll.

S P I R I T • M A G I C

Spirit magic, also known as battle magic, is the simplest of the approaches to magic in RuneQuest. Itinvolves the forceful alteration of the fabric of reality by a quick mustering of life force to perform a task.Imagine it as a controlled adrenaline rush, directed to the job at hand. For this reason spirit magic spells,

while powerful, are of short duration. Although short lived, spirit magic spells are cast quickly, and are easily andquickly learned. They are thus comparatively inexpensive in time, effort, and price, and popular among many peoplesand cultures. An adventurer's capability at spirit magic directly corresponds to his or her magical aptitude. Shamandevote themselves to spirit magic, awakening extraordinary inner powers as they do so.

WHO USES SPIRIT MAGIC?Primitive people use spirit magic almost exclusively.Shamans are people who concentrate on spirit magic.They are most prevalent where the more organized priest-hoods and the more sophisticated sorcerers are absent.Spiri t magic ians can be found in near ly al l areas ofGlorantha, but are most common in the more primitiveareas, such as those inhabited by Hsunchen or nomads.

Many divine magic using cultures use only divinemagic and cult magic, while others teach divine magic andspirit magic. Priests of the latter kinds of cults are oftenshaman as well. Cults that teach only divine and cultmagic typically discourage the study of spirit magic,though they rarely prohibit it outright, rather prohibitingtheir members from learning certain spirit magic spellsthat are considered unacceptable to the tenets of the reli-gion. A few divine cults actively encourage their membersto study spirit magic as well.

Sorcery using cultures generally look down on spiritmagic as unsophisticated and beneath notice. Someschools of sorcery ban their members from learning orusing spirit magic. In general, spirit magic is held in greatdisdain, and a member of the upper or middle classes willhave nothing to do with it, A peasant, with no time ormoney to spare for the study of sorcery may be tempted tolearn a convenient spirit magic spell or two, but shamanare almost unheard of in sorcerous cultures, so the oppor-tunity is often lacking.

People who know some spirit magic but are notshaman are commonly said to know spirit magic, battlemagic, medicine magic, witchcraft or folk magic.

LEARNING SPIRIT MAGICTo learn spirit magic one must become a student of ashaman. A student is anyone who studies under a shaman

to learn a little of his or her magic. The relationship isinformal, and does not imply any long-term bond. Therequirements to become a student of a shaman vary bywhether or not the applicant is a member of the shaman'stribe or cult.

Tribal ApplicantsA member of the shaman's tribe or cult can learn a spell byapplying to the shaman. A present of suitable generositymust be given, appropriate to the spell desired (seeEconomics). How quickly the spell is received depends ona number of factors, including the size and rarity of thespell, what the shaman thinks of the applicant, whetherthe shaman believes the applicant has behaved accordingto the customs of his community, and how busy theshaman is.

If the gamemaster wishes to abstract this, have theapplicant make a POW x5 roll. Success means that thespell will be taught to the applicant within 1D10 days(longer for a large or rare spell, see Acquiring Spells).Failure means that the spell will be taught to the applicantwithin 1D10 weeks (longer for a large or rare spell). Afumble means that the shaman keeps the gift, but does notteach the applicant the spell. The applicant will have towait for at least a year to try again.

Applicants Who Are StrangersA stranger would first have to befriend the shaman, aprocess that could take weeks, or even seasons, involvingspending time in the area ingratiating oneself to theshaman and the shaman's tribe through acts of friendship,kindness, protection and gift giving. The more valuablethe acts or gifts given, the greater the chance of befriend-ing the shaman. A traditional gift is worth at least 500 L,or what the shaman perceives a season's worth of the

• 153 •

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 154

stranger's income would be, if that is greater.Once the shaman has been befriended, he is willing to

teach spells to the stranger. The stranger must present theshaman with presents of value appropriate to the size andrarity of the spell desired (see Economics), then wait for aperiod of time, generally 1D10 weeks (longer for a largeor rare spell) for the shaman to find time to travel the oth-erworld to find the appropriate spell. Once a stranger hasbefriended a shaman and purchased a spell from him orher, future purchases by the familiar outsider are at halfthe normal rate (see Economics).

ProcedureTo learn a spirit magic spell from a shaman, one mustdefeat in spirit combat the spell spirit that the shaman hassummoned or brought back from the spirit world. A spellspirit has 1D6 POW per point of spell. The spirit resists,though the shaman might cast spells to aid the spell seeker.Outsiders pay extra for the service. If the person reducesthe spell spirit to 0 MP, the spirit vanishes, and the victorgains the use of the spell. Shamans claim that the spellspirit becomes part of the victor, but there are no obvioussigns of the spirit. If the spell spirit wins, it possesses theperson. Because it is incapable of operating a body, thepossessed individual lies comatose until someone exorcisesthe spirit. Most shamans exorcise the spirit when this hap-pens. Outsiders would pay extra for this as well.

RestrictionsAll students are instructed in the proper and responsibleuse of spirit magic spells. Malicious use of magic against amember of the shaman's tribe generally results in midnightvisitations by the angry shaman's spirit or the sending ofmalign spirits.

SPELL SPIRITSShamans call spell spirits the source of spirit magic, themost common form of magic on Glorantha. They arenat ive creatures of the spirit world, part of the naturalflora and fauna of the spirit world, and are the naturalprey and resources of many of the spirit world's otherinhab i t an t s . The exact origins of spell spirits are notknown, but some Lhankor Mhy scholars believe that spellspirits are the byproduct of the use of great power. Eachspell spirit is a vessel for a particular spirit magic spell.The size of the spirit corresponds to the power of the spell.The appearance of spell spirits varies according to the spelland the source of the power that created it.

WHAT IS A SHAMAN?People who commonly use spirit magic are called spiritmagic users. The specialist who deeply commits himself tothe magic is called a shaman. A shaman has special pow-ers which ordinary mortals cannot hope to match. Hisextraordinary abilities are gained because he has awak-ened his fetch, the spirit plane counterpart of himself.

A shaman fully engages himself in spiritual work, sur-viving on the payments which others make to him. With

only himself to rely on, his great responsibility is to tend tothe spiritual protection and knowledge of his kinsmen andtribesmen. He is the keeper of ritual and spirit magics, andacts as the enchanter and summoner as well.

BECOMING A SHAMANThe path of the shaman is not for most adventurers. It isarduous and dangerous, and its rewards are spiritual andcommunal. Great shamans are, however, among the mostpowerful of mortals.

To become a shaman, one must f i r s t become ashaman's assistant.

Acceptance as an Assistant ShamanA shaman will normally accept only a member of his tribeor cult as an assistant, or a stranger that has befriendedthe shaman. Even then, the candidate must meet theshaman's standards, the shaman must be willing to accepta new assistant, and deem that this is a propitious time todo so. If the gamemaster wishes to abstract this, the candi-date must succeed in a POW x1 roll.

Duties of an Assistant ShamanAn assistant will live with, work for, and aid his shaman inevery way. In return he will be taught the way of theshaman. An assistant's time is not his own; most shamanshave only a few assistants and have no room for slug-gards, backsliders, or disloyal followers. An assistant mustspend 90% of his time with his shaman, performing tasksand duties for the shaman.

In game terms, an assistant shaman spends 4 days aweek performing duties for the shaman, 1 day a weekpracticing shamanic skills, and 1 day a week being trainedby the shaman.

Benefits of Becoming an Assistant ShamanIn return for the assistants time, the shaman teaches theassistant the skills of Summon, Ceremony, Enchant, SpiritCombat, Spirit Lore and Spirit Sense. The assistant is alsotaught spirit magic by the shaman.

The skills of Summon, Ceremony and Enchant aredescribed in the skills section. The skills of Spirit Combat,Spirit Lore and Spirit Sense are described below.

SPIRIT COMBAT (0%) Medium

Where POW and magic points represent a character's lifeforce and raw spiritual strength, skill in Spirit Combatrepresents a character's ability to focus his or her will andstrength in the struggle against a spirit. Spirit Combat skillgoverns the minimum MP a character will attack anddefend with in Spirit Combat, regardless of their currentMP. Multiply a character's POW by their Spirit Combatskill to determine what their minimum MP for attack anddefense are. Thus, a shaman's assistant with a 14 POWand a 52% Spirit Combat skill would always attack anddefend with at least 7 MP. A shaman with a 19 POW and122% Spirit Combat skill would always attack and defendwith 23 MP.

155 • S P I R I T • M A G I C

Training in Spirit Combat is available to AssistantShamans, Shamans and members of certain cults (e.g.,Subere). It consists of meditative and focusing exercises, aswell as exposure to spirits. In some shamanic traditions, amundane skill (such as Claw attack for a Basmoli shaman)may be complementary. It is a Magic skill, and cannot beincreased by experience.

SPIRIT LORE (0%) Medium

Spirit Lore collects all kinds of knowledge about spirits. Itsmajor uses are identifying spirits and knowing how toavoid or drive away spirits. Shamans can use it to remem-ber what will appease or drive away a kind of spirit."Kind of spirit" means not only the type of spirit, but alsothe spirit's kindred, runic associations, and background.There are ghosts of trolls and plant rune healing spirits.Nymphs are linked not only to elements, but also to geog-raphy and history. Spirit Lore is a Knowledge skill, andcannot be increased by experience.

SPIRIT SENSE (0%) Medium

The ability to sense discorporate spirits, with or withoutthe use of magic. If used with Second Sight, a successfulSpirit Sense roll will sense the presence of a discorporatespirit within range of the Second Sight spell or ability. Ifused without Second Sight, a special skill roll will sense adiscorporate spirit within POW meters of the skill user.Training in Spirit Sense is available only to AssistantShamans , Shamans and members of cer tain cults.Intelligent spirits often have the skill as well, and can use itto sense the presence of corporate beings (as can a discor-porate shaman) . It is a Magic sk i l l , and cannot beincreased by experience.

AWAKENING THE FETCHThe fetch is a portion of a person's soul which can beawakened. It can be brought to living consciousness(awakened) through certain trials, rituals, and activitieswhich are very dangerous. Though everyone has a fetch,very few wake them. Once awakened it can never be putto sleep, dispelled or separated from the shaman. It pro-vides a shaman with distinct powers and vulnerabilities.

AcceptanceTo become a shaman, the assistant must awaken his fetch.When his master feels the assistant is ready, he shows himhow to awaken his fetch. The assistant must have servedthe shaman for at least a year, often longer. Some shamanmay not teach their assistants the ritual until they feel theyhave at least a reasonable chance of survival, others maynot care. A few shaman may not teach their apprentices toawaken their fetch until they are dying and feel they needa successor. In genera l , the ass is tant should haveCeremony, Summon and Spirit Combat skills of at least50% to have a reasonable chance of survival.

»

The RitualTo awaken his fetch and become a shaman, the assistantmust perform the ritual at a holy place that lets him enterinto a mystical quest, fasting and praying to awaken thepowers within him. He remains on his quest for 1D6+1days. At its conclusion the Horned Man, the First Shaman,will appear: he will tell the assistant that it is time to go,and will escort him along the path to shamanhood. Alongthe path the quester performs a special ceremony whichalways includes three stages. This journey may be playedout by the gamemaster, or abstracted.

The SacrificeA number of points of POW are sacrificed to the futurefetch. These points are permanently taken from the cur-rent POW of the quester, and a corresponding number ofmagic points are also deducted. At least 1 point of POWmust be sacrificed. If the quester safely completes his orher journey then the POW sacrificed will be the beginningPOW of the fetch. If the quester fails, these points are lostfor good.

Waking the FetchA successful spirit Summon skill roll must be made. Thiscan be augmented by Ceremony. If the roll is successful,then the fetch is awakened into consciousness. Its POW isthe POW sacrificed to it. If the roll is a failure, the sacri-ficed POW is lost and no fetch awakens.

The Fight with the Bad ManSpirit combat with the Bad Man occurs at the journey'send. The Bad Man will not attack the Horned Man, norwill the Horned Man defend the new shaman. To survive,the quester must survive the encounter with the Bad Man.Defensive magic has no effect on the Bad Man. Thisencounter may be roleplayed by the gamemaster, orabstracted as a roll of against the average of the quester'sSpirit Combat skill and POW x5. Questers that failed towake their fetch must succeed in a critical roll to survive.Failure means possession and the final death. Otherwise,success means that the quester survives the attack of theBad Man, and the journey ends. If the quester failed towake their fetch, but was fortunate enough to survive theattack of the Bad Man, they may try again, though anyPOW sacrificed to the fetch is lost. A quester that surviveswith a wakened fetch is now a shaman.

The FetchThe fetch serves as a source of power for the shaman. Theshaman can draw upon the fetches magic points to fuel hisor her spells and rituals. A fetch reduced to zero magicpoints does not die or disappear. The fetch also allows ashaman access to abilities that grow in power with thepower of the fetch.

The fetch of shaman that is not discorporate can beseen by Second Sight or other magical means, and is visi-ble from the spirit world. Its form reflects the shaman'strue nature. As such, the viewer's background can influ-

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 156

ence what he or she sees. An observer with Second Sighton the m u n d a n e world examin ing a Praxian snakeshaman, in Prax traditionally a subtle and wise totem, willsee a subtle and wise thing overlaying the human form ofthe shaman. Depending on the observer's own culturalbackground, this might be an owl, a snake, or perhaps andolder and wiser man. A spirit observing the shaman fromthe spirit world will see the true form of the fetch, in thiscase a snake. The true form of a fetch is often an animal ofsome sort, but may be some other mythical representationinfluenced primarily by the shaman's culture and back-ground, and to a lesser extent, his or her personality.

The New ShamanA new shaman will typically stay with his master for aperiod of at least a year, as his old master teaches him theskills and abilities unique to shaman. The new shamanmust still dedicate 90% of his time to his master, but inreturn is taught not only the skills of an assistant shaman,but the special abi l i t ies and skills available only toshaman.

Shamanic SkillsA number of skills exist that are traditionally taught onlyto shaman by shaman. Some spirits can teach them aswell, though they are often the spirits of former shaman. Ashaman wishing to study these skills under a shaman hedid not know would have to befriend that shaman first,using the same procedures as a stranger trying to befrienda shaman to be taught spirit magic, and would have to rec-ompense the teacher for his time, either with his own time,or by appropriately valued presents.

SPIRIT DANCE (0%) Medium

This s k i l l can be l ea rned only by shaman that canDiscorporate (see Shamanic Abilities) or a spirit. It gov-erns one's ability to move as a discorporate spirit, and canbe used to avoid, dodge, evade, or hide from other discor-porate spirits. As a general rule, a successful Spirit Danceroll will allow a shaman to escape from a spirit that can'tmove any faster than the shaman. If the spirit can movetwice as fast as the shaman, the roll is at half skill, if thespirit can move thrice as fast as the shaman, the roll is atone third skill, etc. Only one escape attempt can be madein a given encounter.

If the shaman chooses to hide instead, match thespirit's Spirit Sense skill against the shaman's Spirit Danceskill in a contest of skills. If a spirit has no Spirit Senseability listed, approximate its level of skill as POW x3.

The skill can also be used to successfully pass throughdifficult or turbulent 'terrain' on the spirit plane. It is aMagic skill, and cannot be increased by experience.

SPIRIT SPEECH (0%) Medium

Spirit Speech is the ability to communicate with discorpo-rate spirits. This abil i ty is taught by certain cults (e.g.I ssar ies ) and spi r i t s as well . One can use any

Communication skills on a discorporate spirit at the lesserof Spirit Speech or the Communication ski l l . UsingCommunication skills other than Speak Language requiresthat the spirit and the speaker share a common language.It is a Magic skill, and cannot be increased by experience.

SPIRIT TRAVEL (0%) Medium

This skill can be learned only by a shaman that canDiscorporate (see Shamanic Abilities) or a spirit. It gov-erns a shaman's ability to Discorporate (see ShamanicAbilities), and governs a discorporate shaman or spiritsability to navigate through the spirit world and trackdown spirits (see Finding Spirits). It is a Magic skill, andcannot be increased by experience.

SHAMANIC TRADITIONSA wide variety of shamanic traditions exist. Some aremajor traditions, with thousands of followers, othersminor, with dozens of followers. A few might consist of asingle shaman and his or her assistants. A few examplesfollow, in the format below:

NAME OF TRADITION RUNIC AFFILIATIONSCommon Titles of ShamanFollowers: Those that belong to the tradition.Duties: Duties specially appropriate to the tradition.Favored Spells: Spirit magic favored by the tradition.Forbidden Spells: Forbidden spirit magic.Favored Abilities: Shamanic abilities favored by the tradition.Forbidden Abilities: Forbidden shamanic abilities.Taboos: The taboos of the tradition.

TaboosMany shamanic traditions have specific taboos whichtheir shaman obey. A shaman with an animal totem mighthave to protect that animal, or not allow harm to come toit needlessly. Shaman of many Praxian traditions are for-bidden to engage in physical combat. Aldrya or Flamalshaman must use Food Song before picking a plant. Othertaboos may involve performing a certain action every day,or at certain times in the year.

If a shaman breaks a tradition's taboo, he loses thespecial abilities governed by that taboo (typically, all theabilities he has been taught by that tradition) until he canmake the appropriate restitution. A shaman with an ani-mal totem might have to save the life of one of his totem'sanimals to make restitution, or return to life the animal hehas slain. For a taboo where one has to perform an actionevery day, missing the action might just meant that theability is not available that day, and can be regained thenext day by performing the action again.

If a shaman has learned abilities from more than onetradition, he must follow both tradition's taboos.

When generating a shaman, players and gamemastersare encouraged to come up with a few distinctive taboosthat are practiced by that shaman's tradition. These addcolor and serve to distinguish shaman from each other.

157 • S P I R I T • M A G I C

THE KOLATING

The Wind Shaman

Followers: Wind or breath shaman andtheir assistantsDuties: Dealing with spirits and sylphs,teaching spells, watching over the moun-tainsFavored Spells: Coordination, Disrupt,Dispel Magic, Mindspeech, Mobility,StrengthForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Discorporation, AirAffinity, Mobility Affinity, SpiritTrapping, Second Sight, Magic AttackForbidden Abilities: NoneTaboos: Always challenge other shamanto duels of magic. Live only where thewinds are free (not in cities or towns).Never sleep in the same place twice.

THE DAKA FAL

The Speakers to the Dead

Followers: Ancestor worshipping shamanand their assistantsDuties: Speaking to the ancestors, dealingwith spirits, teaching spells, watchingover their familyFavored Spells: Detect Enemies, DispelMagic, Heal, Spirit ScreenForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Man Affinity,Discorporation, Second Sight, SpiritAffinity, PossessionForbidden Abilities: NoneTaboos: Obey the ancestors. Never dis-honor an ancestor. Never bind or possessa relative without permission.Miscellaneous: Likely to be initiates of anancestor worship cult. This is an exampleof a simple version of ancestor worship,such as can be found in primitive cul-tures, or the disaffected among thenomads of Prax. Many different tradi-tions of ancestor worship exist.

THE PRAXIANS

The Shaman of Prax

Followers: Independent or tribal Praxianshaman and their assistantsDuties: Teaching spells, dealing with spirits,watching over the tribe, teaching wisdomFavored Spells: Countermagic, DetectSpirit, Peaceful Cut, Protection, SpiritScreenForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Discorporation,Second Sight, Mind Expansion, MagicAttack, Spirit Mastery, Spirit AffinityForbidden Abilities: Self ResurrectionTaboos: Cannot fight with weapons,only magic. May not allow one of theirtribe's animals to suffer needlessly.Miscellaneous: Male shaman are likely tobe at least initiates of Waha.

THE BASMOLI

The Lion Shaman

Followers: Basmoli shaman and theirassistants.Duties: Warfare, fighting spirits, teachingspells and skills, watching over the tribeFavored Spells: Demoralize, Disruption,Fanaticism, Ironhand, Protection, SpiritScreenForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Beast Affinity, SpiritMastery, Magic Attack, Discorporation,Second Sight, Self Resurrection, DeathAffinityForbidden Abilities: NoneTaboos: Always fight to the death. Maynot allow a lion or tribe member to sufferneedlessly.Miscellaneous: Assistants are at least ini-tiates, while shaman are also priests ofBasmol, the Lion God. This is an exam-ple of a Hsunchen tradition, which varydepending on the ancestral animal thatfounded the tradition. It exists in Prax.

THE BLACK FANG

The Shaman of the Black Fang Brotherhood

Followers: Black Fang cult shaman andtheir assistantsDuties: Teaching spells, teaching skills,dealing with spirits, assassinationFavored Spells: Bladesharp, Bludgeon,Countermagic, Darkwall, DetectEnemies, Disrupt, Spirit ScreenForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Second Sight,Discorporation, Possession, ConcealFetch, Darkness Affinity, Death Affinity,Spirit AffinityForbidden Abilities: Fire or Truth AffinityTaboos: May not reveal cult membershipto outsiders. Must obey the orders of hisor her superiors.Miscellaneous: A small tradition, cen-tered around the city of Pavis. Membersare also at least initiates of Black Fang.

THE KYGER LITOR

The Shaman of the Trolls

Followers: troll shaman and their assistantsDuties: Dealing with darkness spirits,fighting hostile spirits, speaking to theancestors, teaching spells and skills,watching over the communityFavored Spells: Bludgeon, Countermagic,Darkwall, Demoralize, Dullblade,Extinguish, Protection, Spirit ScreenForbidden Spells: Firearrow, Fireblade,Ignite, LightFavored Abilities: Darkness Affinity,Second Sight, Discorporation, SpiritMastery, Man Affinity, Spirit AffinityForbidden Abilities: Fire AffinityTaboos: Never deal with a non-darkness

spirit. Must defend and protect yourdescendants. Honor the ancestresses.Miscellaneous: At least initiates of KygerLitor.

ALDRYA

The Shaman of the Elves

Followers: Elf shaman and their assistantsDuties: Dealing with plant spirits, fighting hostile spirits, protecting the forests,teaching spells and skills, guiding thecommunityFavored Spells: Befuddle, Extinguish,Food Song, Heal, Mindspeech, Silence,SpeedartForbidden Spells: Bludgeon, Darkwall,Firearrow, Fireblade, Ignite, Peaceful CutFavored Abilities: Plant Affinity, SecondSight, Discorporation, Magic Defense,Spirit Mastery, Mind Expansion, ManAffinityForbidden Abilities: Darkness AffinityTaboos: Never deal with non-plant spir-its. Never kill a plant without castingFood Song first. Never allow harm tocome to plants needlessly. Must defendthe forests.Miscellaneous: Typically at least initiatesof Aldrya.

THE SCHOOL OF RED MASKS

The Shaman of the Red Moon

Followers: Human, ogre, and broo moonor chaos shaman and their assistantsDuties: Dealing with spirits and lunes,teaching spells, spreading the influence ofthe moonFavored Spells: Befuddle, Countermagic,Glamour, ShimmerForbidden Spells: NoneFavored Abilities: Discorporation,Possession, Moon Affinity, ChaosAffinity, Self Resurrection, SpiritTrapping, Magic Defense, Second SightForbidden Abilities: Law AffinityTaboos: Never learn an affinity otherthan Chaos or Moon Affinity withoutlearning the opposed affinity as well.Never know a spirit magic spell that hasan opposite without learning the oppo-site as well (Darkwall/Lightwall,Ignite/Extinguish, etc.).Miscellaneous: Shamanic abilities arecyclical. On Dark/Dying Moon days, allabilities function as if tertiary abilities.On Crescent days, only primary abilitiesfunction as if secondary abilities, otherabilities function as if tertiary abilities.On Half Moon days, abilities functionnormally. On Full Moon days, add 1level to all abilities (Level 1 abilitiesbecome Level 2 abilities, Level 2 abilitiesbecome Level 3 abilities, etc.).

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 158

SHAMANIC ABILITIESOnce a shaman's fetch is awakened, the shaman canacquire special abilities, which are unique to shaman.These abilities include powers such as Discorporation,Second Sense, Spirit Trapping, Spirit Mastery, Possession,Mind Expansion, Magic Attack, Magic Defense, SelfResurrection and Spirit Affinity.

Different cultures and different shamanic traditionswill favor different abilities, and this list is by no meanscomplete. Some abilities are taught only to favored stu-dents, or by only a few powerful shaman. A number ofabilities may have attendant vulnerabilities.

Acquiring Shamanic AbilitiesA teacher, be it another shaman that already has the abil-ity, or a knowledgeable spirit, must first show the shamanhow to use the ability, a process that takes a week. To doso, the shaman or spirit must possess the student for thatperiod of time, and show them what to do from the inside.A shaman that cannot Discorporate and Possess the stu-dent cannot teach their abilities. There are some shamanictraditions that never learn these abilities—each new gener-ation of shaman are taught their other abilities by a spirit,in some cases the spirit of a dead shaman of that tradition.

Learning a shamanic ability from a shaman that one isa stranger to is d i f f icu l t . These are often the greatestsecrets of a shaman's tradition. Some abilities may neverbe taught outside of the shaman's tribe, others may be. Ifthe shaman is befriended (as per the procedure for astranger trying to befriend a shaman to be taught spiritmagic ) , the shaman may agree to teach an ab i l i ty ,although he will have to be convinced that the student isworthy to be taught, and appropriately recompensed. Ifthe gamemaster wishes to abstract this, the aspiring stu-dent must succeed in a POW x1 roll, and offer presentsworth at least 1,000 L to the teacher. Of course, the stu-dent must also trust the teacher sufficiently to allow himto possess the student for a week.

Selecting AbilitiesA shaman will typically learn one ability that he will spe-cialize in, two others he will be good at, and three othershe will not as be good as the others at. As the shaman's fetchgrows, so does his or her competence with these abilities.

It is not normally possible to learn more than those sixabilities: one primary, two secondary, and three tertiary.Some gamemasters may wish to allow an exotic traditionwhich teaches six secondary abilities, or nine tertiary abil-ities, but this should be the exception, not the rule.

In game terms, the shaman should select one primaryability, two secondary abilities, and three tertiary abilities.If the player wishes, he or she can leave one or more abili-ties unlearned, in the hopes of learning something laterthat their master did not know or representing an abilitytheir master was not willing to teach them immediately. Itis also possible, though unusual, to forget an ability andlearn a new on in its place. The shaman's level with eachability is determined by the size of his or her fetch:

Shamanic Abilities Tables

Fetch POWAbility

Primary Secondary Tertiary

01-1011-2021-3031-4041-50

etc.

Abilities

12345

11223

Level of ability

11122

SECOND SENSEWith this ability a shaman can see the auras of livingthings, as if using the Second Sight spell. No expenditureof magic points is required, only concentration. The rangeis 50 meters per level, and each level acts as a 2 intensityspirit magic spell for the purposes of penetrating defensivemagic. Higher levels might be able to see more detail, orgain clues as to the true nature of the spirit the shaman isinspecting.

DISCORPORATIONAllows the shaman to cause a portion of his or her spirit totemporarily leave his or her body and enter the spiritplane. What appears to be a dead body is left behind. Thebody does not breathe, is not susceptible to possession,and comes back to life when the shaman returns to it. Todiscorporate, a shaman must spend at least a magic point,and succeed in a Spirit Travel roll. If successful, theshaman's spirit enters the spirit plane for one hour. Everyaddi t iona l magic point spent dur ing the ceremonyincreases the time that the shaman can remain discorporateby an hour. The shaman will return to his or her body whenthe time is up, or if an earlier return is desired, upon expend-ing a magic point and succeeding in a Spirit Travel roll.

The discorporation process cannot be Dispelled.While discorporate, a fraction of the shaman's powerremains to guard the body from possession. Some shaman,particularly powerful ones, may also leave a friendly orcommanded spirit to guard their body for additionalinsurance, others may hide themselves before discorporat-ing, or have assistants hide them afterwards.

A discorporate shaman can engage a spirit that haspossessed someone in spirit combat. If the shaman wins,he can drive the spirit away, freeing the body of possession.

Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5etc.

50 meter range Second Sight, 2 intensity.100 meter range Second Sight, 4 intensity.150 meter range Second Sight, 6 intensity.200 meter range Second Sight, 8 intensity.250 meter range Second Sight, 10 intensity.

# of Abilities

Primary

1

Ability

Secondary

2

Tertiary

3

159 • S P I R I T • M A G I C

When discorporate, the shaman cannot use any magicpoints stored in items, or draw upon the power or spells ofany spirits bound into items. He or she can only drawupon his or her fetch's magic points to fuel spells, or thepower or spells of any spirits bound into his or her fetch. Ifthe discorporate shaman wishes to interact with creatureson the mundane plane, as shaman often do if they wish toengage in spirit combat, either to attack a mundane crea-ture, or drive out a possessing spirit, he or she must use theVisibility spirit magic spell. A discorporate shaman willhave a distinctive spirit form (see The Fetch). For example,a snake shaman will appear as a snake in the spirit world,and visible as such to mundane creatures when using aVisibility spell.

When a shaman first learns this ability, he gains 1D6 +Magic Bonus percentiles in Spirit Travel skill. The skillmay be trained or researched normally after that point.

The time to discorporate or incorporate, if attemptingto return early, varies depending on the level of the ability.If the Spirit Travel roll fails, the time and MP must bespent again, and another roll made, until the shamanfinally succeeds:

powers or natural intelligence.


1 hour15 minutes1 full turn1 turn1 melee round

POSSESSIONThis ability allows a discorporate shaman to possess acreature that he or she has defeated in spirit combat. If theform of the creature is familiar (say a human possessing ahuman), the shaman can use his or her skills at half theirnormal percentage in the new form. With an unfamiliarform, or in the case of skills unique to that form (say ahuman shaman trying to use a troll's Darksense), theshaman can use the skills of that creature at only the basechance for the creature. Needless to say, this ability is ofno use to a shaman that cannot discorporate. Once insidea body, the shaman is no longer discorporate, and mustdiscorporate to leave the body. If the possessed body dieswhile the shaman is inside it, he is immediately returned tohis own body, and suffers 1D6 general HP damage fromthe shock. The level of the ability governs the variety ofcreatures a shaman can possess:


1 species (e.g. humans)2 species or 1 group (e.g. canines)3 species or 2 groups4 species or 2 groups5 species or 3 groups

MIND EXPANSIONA shaman gains use of increased INT for the purposes ofremembering spirit magic spells. This is an extension ofthe shaman's INT, and does not affect his or her reasoning


INT x2INT x3INT x4INT x5INT x6

SPIRIT TRAPPINGThe shaman can trap spirits within his or her fetch. Thesespirits can act as familiars, allies, and friends who aid theshaman's magical tasks. Each level allows the shaman totrap one spirit. A trapped spirit may not have more magicpoints than the shaman's fetch. If the fetch's magic pointsdrop below that of the trapped spirit (say from use by theshaman to power spells), the spirit(s) will depart. A spiritso trapped should be treated as one bound into a bindingenchantment of the appropriate size. The shaman candraw magic points from such a spirit, cast spells known bythe spirit, or release the spirit at will. The trapped spiritcannot act in any way (including casting spells).


1 spirit2 spirits3 spirits4 spirits5 spirits

MAGIC ATTACKThis ability enhances a shaman's offensive spell casting.The shaman gains a bonus to his or her MP for the purposes of overcoming a foe's POW when casting a spell,


+1 to offensive MP with spells+2 to offensive MP with spells+3 to offensive MP with spells+4 to offensive MP with spells+5 to offensive MP with spells

MAGIC DEFENSEThis ability enhances a shaman's defense against spells.The shaman gains a bonus to his or her POW for me pur-poses of defending against hostile spells.


+2 to defensive POW against spells+4 to defensive POW against spells+6 to defensive POW against spells+8 to defensive POW against spells+10 to defensive POW against spells

SPIRIT MASTERYThe shaman is particularly adept at fighting spirits.Whenever attacking a discorporate spirit in spirit combat(whether or not the shaman is discorporate), add the fol-lowing to the damage done by the shaman in spirit combatand the shaman's defensive MP against spirits in spirit

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 160

combat. The ability does not help a discorporate shamanattacking corporate beings.

etc.

SELF RESURRECTIONThe shaman can heal him or herself and return from thedead by expending his or her life force. The process costs 1POW and takes a variable amount of time, after which theshaman's body is healed to 1 HP, and the shaman's bodyand spirit rejoined, restoring the shaman to life, assumingit was not utterly destroyed.

SPIRIT AFFINITYThis ability reflects a particular affinity for magic and spir-its tied to a certain rune, which influences how easily theshaman can deal with them. A shaman with affinity for arune can learn divine magic of cults tied to that rune if hejoins the cult. There may be other effects as well, bothspiritual and mundane.

The most direct benefit is a reduction in the time ittakes the shaman to summon or find spirits associatedwith those runes when discorporate.

Some runes, and the spirits and magic they are mostclosely associated with:AirSpell spirits (Bladesharp, Dispel Magic, Shimmer, Speedart,Strength), Spirits of Air (Sylphs), Air cult divine magic

Beast

Spell Spirits (Detect Enemies, Fanaticism, Farsee, Ironhand,Strength, Summon <Animal Spirit>), Animal Spirits, Beast cultdivine magic

ChaosSpell Spirits (Warped spirit magic spells), Spirits of Chaos, Chaoscult divine magic

DarknessSpell Spirits (Bludgeon, Countermagic, Darkwall, Demoralize,Dullblade, Extinguish, Protection), Spirits of Darkness (Shades),Darkness cult divine magic

DeathSpell Spirits (Bladesharp, Demoralize, Disrupt), Spirits of Death(Wraiths), Death cult divine magic

DisorderSpell Spirits (Disrupt), Spirits of Disorder, Disorder cult divine magic

EarthSpell Spirits (Heal, Ironhand, Second Sight, Vigor), Spirits ofEarth (Gnomes, Copper Spirits, etc.), Earth cult divine magic

FertilitySpell Spirits (Healing, Light), Spirits of Fertility (Healing Spirits),Fertility cult divine magic

Fire/SkySpell Spirits (Farsee, Fire Arrow, Fireblade, Ignite, Light,Lightwall), Spirits of Fire (Salamanders), Fire/Sky cult divine magic

HarmonySpell Spirits (Glamour, Mindspeech, Shimmer), Spirits ofHarmony, Harmony cult divine magic

IllusionSpell Spirits (Befuddle, Glamour, Light), Spirits of Illusion,Illusion cult divine magic

LawSpell Spirits (Repair), Spirits of Law, Law cult divine magic

MagicSpell Spirits (All), Magic cult divine magic

ManSpell Spirits (Coordination, Glamour, Summon <Man Spirit>),Spirits of Man (Ghosts), Man cult divine magic

MasterySpell Spirits (Control <Species>), Spirits of Mastery, Mastery cultdivine magic

MoonSpell Spirits (Befuddle, Coordination, Countermagic, Glamour),Lunar Spirits (Lunes or Selenes), Lunar cult divine magic

MovementSpell Spirits (Coordination, Mobility), Spirits of Motion,Movement cult divine magic

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

etc.

+1 to damage done in spirit combat and+2 to MP for defending in spirit combat+1 to damage done in spirit combat and+4 to MP for defending in spirit combat+2 to damage done in spirit combat and+6 to MP for defending in spirit combat+2 to damage done in spirit combat and+8 to MP for defending in spirit combat+3 to damage done in spirit combat and+10 to MP for defending in spirit combat


1 season (8 weeks)1 week1 day1 hour1 full turn


1/2 time1/3 time1/4 time1/5 time1/6 time

161 • S P I R I T • M A G I C

Disadvantages of AffinitiesElemental runes are opposed to each other—a shamanthat has affinity for any elemental rune (Air, Darkness,Earth, Fire, Moon or Water) uses the modifier as a multi-plier instead of a divisor (x2 instead of 1/2, x3 instead of 1/3,etc.) when searching for spell spirits or elemental spiritsassociated with any other elemental rune.

Some of the other runes are opposed to each other aswell, notably Law and Chaos, Disorder and Harmony,Illusion and Truth, Fertility and Death, Movement andStasis. A shaman that has affinity for such a rune uses themodifier as a multiplier instead of a divisor (see above)when searching for spell spirits or other spirits associatedwith the opposed rune.

The Spiri t and Magic runes are special cases: Ashaman with affinity for the Magic rune has great affinityfor spell spirits, uses the modifier as a multiplier instead ofa divisor (see above) when searching for any other sort ofspirit. A shaman with affinity for the Spirit rune has theability to worship spirits in the style of the Horned Mancult on his or her own. It normally requires a large numberof worshippers sacrificing 1 MP each to worship in such amanner, but a shaman with affinity for the Spirit rune cansacrifice 1 POW, then a number of magic points. The num-ber of magic points sacrificed is the percent chance of asuccessful worship ceremony. Higher levels of a f f in i tyreduce the number of magic points required appropriately(mult iply magic points sacrificed by level). Additionalworshippers can each donate 1 MP as per the normal pro-cedure. A disadvantage is that affinity for the Spirit rune,particularly at higher levels, makes corporate beings reactbadly to you. As a resul t , many such shamans areshunned, and live the life of solitary hermits.

Other runes may have similar mundane effects, butgenerally at a much lesser level, or the effects are morespecific. A very high level affinity for the Harmony runemight make a shaman seem very easy to get along with.They will generally affect the appearance of the shaman'sfetch as well.

It is possible for a shaman to have more than one

affinity, but a f f in i t i es for opposed runes, or directlyopposed elements (Air and Moon, Darkness and Fire,Earth and Water) are only found among shaman that wor-ship chaos in one form or another, such as shaman ofThed, or shaman of the School of Red Masks.

FINDING SPIRITSWhen discorporate, shaman often hunt spirits. They hunt,trap, and consume spell spirits to gain spirit magic; cap-ture spirits or elementals to bind them; or seek spirits withknowledge to consult with. Shaman use the perceptiongranted them by their fetch and their Spirit Travel skill toinstinctively seek out and find the specific spirits they arelooking for. The rarer the spirit they seek, the longer theirquest.

Spirit World Search Table

Base Time Spell Spirit Elemental Other Spirit

1 day2 days4 days8 days16 days32 days64 days128 days256 days512 daysetc.

Intensity 1Intensity 2Intensity 3Intensity 4Intensity 5Intensity 6Intensity 7Intensity 8Intensity 9Intensity 10

1 cu. m2 cu. m3 cu. m4 cu. m5 cu. m6 cu. m7 cu. m

8 cu. m9 cu. m10 cu. m

1D6 POW2D6 POW3D6 POW4D6 POW5D6 POW6D6 POW7D6 POW8D6 POW9D6 POW10D6 POW

Search TimeThe base time listed by the Spirit World Search Tableassumes that the shaman spends 10 hours a day searchingwhile discorporate, and is modified by a shaman's spiritaffinity ability (see above) and two other factors:

Degree of Success on a Spirit Travel Roll

Common

Uncommon

Rare

Base Time

2 x base time

4 x base time

Uncommon spells include ritual spirit magic spells and uncommon Controlor Detect spells.

Rare spells include uncommon spirit magic ritual spells and minorspell variants (e.g. Frostblade).

Critical

Special

Success

Failure

Fumble

1/4 base time, or a rare or unique spirit (particularlya spell spirit) is found after the spending base time(spell spirits may or may not be useful, at thegamemasters option)

1/2 base time

Base time

1 x base time

No spirit found after spending 2 x base time.

Rarity of Spirit

Plant

Spell Spirits (Heal, Food Song, Mindspeech, Summon <PlantSpirit>, Vigor), Plant Spirits, Plant cult divine magic

Spirit

Spell Spirits (Second Sight, Spirit Screen, Summon <Spirit>,Visibility), Horned Man worship, Spirit cult divine magic

Stasis

Spell Spirits (Slow), Spirits of Stasis, Stasis cult divine magic

Truth

Spell Spirits (Detect <Any>), Spirits of Truth, Truth cult divine magic

Water

Spell Spirits (Coordination, Demoralize, Extinguish, Strength),Spirits of Water (Undines), Water cult divine magic

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 162

Resolving the SearchOnce the shaman has found the spirit he or she is seekingfor, there are a number of things he or she can try to do,depending on the type of spirit the shaman has found.

If a spell spirit, the shaman can attempt to consumethe spirit, or if he has the ability of Spirit Trapping, cancapture the spirit within his or her fetch, if it will fit, andreturn with it for another's consumption or to bind into aspirit magic spell matrix. No spirit combat roll is neces-sary if the spirit's MP are equal to or below twice theshaman's MP, as the time to find the spirit includes thetime required to stalk and capture it.

If it is a non-sentient spirit the shaman can attack itand force it to reveal its true name for later summoning, orif he has the ability of Spirit Trapping, can capture itwithin his or her fetch, if it will fit, and return with it forbinding into a matrix. Again, no additional spirit combatroll is required if the spirit's MP are equal to or belowtwice the shaman's MP.

If the spirit is sentient, and the shaman knows SpiritSpeech, he can also try talking to it, or bargaining with it.A sentient spirit is to clever to be automatically trapped orforced to reveal its true name, and if the shaman wishes todo so, he must reduce the spirit to 0 MP in spirit combat.This should be resolved by the normal spirit combat pro-cedures. Skill in Spirit Combat and the Spirit Masteryability will greatly assist a shaman in this. If the currentMP of the shaman are ever 5 greater than the spirit, spiritcombat can be abstracted by a simple percentile die roll.On a roll of 1-95, the spirit was reduced to 0 MP andforced to reveal its true name or captured within the fetch(if the shaman has the ability to Spirit Trap and roomexists). On a roll of 96-00, the spirit got away.

Summoning spiritsSummoning spirits requires that the shaman knows thetrue name of the spirit being summoned (see above).

For more i n f o r m a t i o n on s u m m o n i n g , see theSummon <Species> ritual magic spell in the Ritual SpiritMagic section that follows.

SPIRIT MAGIC SPELLSDescriptions of and mechanics for casting spirit magicspells can be found under battle magic, in the World ofMagic chapter.

A wide variety of spirit magic spells exist. Shaman canfind rare and unusual spirit magic spells. This is one of thedistinguishing features of shaman, as an experiencedshaman is very likely to know at least one rare or uniquespirit magic spell that players may not have previouslyencountered, or even heard of. This is one of the reasonsshamans are often figures of mystery.

On occasion, a shaman may find a spirit magic spellthat is a simple variation on a battle magic spell, such asFrostarrow instead of Firearrow, or Detect Life instead ofDetect Enemies. Such spells are rare, but can be found bya shaman that spends the time to search for them. Manyodd and useless rare and unique spells exist as well.

Far less common are the useful unique spells some-times possessed by shaman. A few of these resemble aunique cult magic spell of a specific cult, such as Jumping,River Eyes or Parry, but are generally weaker (a uniquespirit magic Parry spell might only add 1 AP per intensityto a parrying weapon, while a unique spirit magicJumping spell might allow the target to leap 2 meters perintensity). Others unique spirit magic spells do not corre-spond to any common battle magic or unique cult spells.

As a rule of thumb, a typical tribal shaman comesacross one such useful unique spirit magic spell every 10years. As a result, shamans will almost never part withsuch spells. The most likely way a non-shaman wouldhave it is in a spirit magic spell matrix (which would likelyhave a user restriction, of course).

In game terms, a player shaman that criticals a SpiritTravel roll while searching for a spell spirit has a slight(gamemaster determined) chance to come across a usefulunique spell. In some cases, a magical site or place on thespirit plane may allow a shaman to find a particularunique spell spirit. Such sites, particularly those that yielda useful unique spirit magic spell, are among the greatestsecrets of a shaman or a shamanic tradition.

163 • S P I R I T • M A G I C

RITUAL SPIRIT MAGICRituals and ritual magic play an essentialpart in the traditions of spirit magic.Many common spirit magic rituals existthat do not require the direct use of spiritmagic, including birthing ceremonies,naming ceremonies, and marriage cere-monies. Ceremony/Spirit skill is usedinstead.

Some spirit magic rituals, includingspirit binding enchantments and sum-moning rituals, which do require the useof spirit magic are described below. Thechance to successfully complete the ritualis equal to the caster's spirit Ceremony,Enchant or Summon skill, as appropriateto the ritual. The chance for success maybe enhanced by the use of ceremonialcasting (see Ceremony, in the Skills chap-ter for more details). If a ritual spell inwhich POW is expended fails, 1 point ofPOW is lost. If an 00 is rolled, all thePOW that would have been used is lost.

The rituals typically take a number ofhours equal to the points of ritual spiritmagic spell used or the points of POWexpended in the ritual, whichever isgreater.

Some common ritual spirit magic spellsare described below, in the same formatas were battle magic spells except thatRitual (Ceremony) represents aCeremony ritual, Ritual (Enchant) repre-sents an Enchant ritual and Ritual(Summon) represents a Summon ritual.


Armoring Enchantment, Stoneskin, Strongskin

1 PointRitual (Enchant)

Each point of permanent POW expendedin this ritual adds 1D3 AP to a single hitlocation of the target, who may or maynot be the caster. It may be cast againand again, further armoring the samelocation on the target, or armoringanother location. Most humans startwith 0 AP in all locations.

BLESS

Bless, Charm, Luck Spell

VariableRitual (Ceremony)

A ritual of blessing that is typically usedat birthings, funerals, other importantoccasions. The gamemaster should adju-dicate what effect, if any, the blessinghad. In general, the greater the intensityof the spell cast and the longer the ritualperformed, the more tangible the effect.

CURSE SPIRIT TRAP

Curse, Evil Eye, Hex, Sending

VariableRitual (Ceremony)

A common ritual of cursing used againstfoes or hated enemies. The gamemastershould adjudicate what effect, if any, theblessing had. In general, the greater theintensity of the spell cast and the longerthe ritual performed, the more tangiblethe effect.

DIVINING <VARIOUS>

Divining, Bonecasting, Pathfinding

1 pointRitual (Ceremony)

Various divination spells, of limited effec-tiveness. Some rely on visions, others oncasting bones, dowsing rods, or otherdivination tools. One can expend addi-tional MP or POW in a divination ritual.The gamemaster should adjudicate whateffect, if any, the divination had. In gen-eral, longer rituals, those where more MPspent, or rituals where POW is expendedare more likely to have results. The rollto succeed should be made by thegamemaster. In general, these divinationrituals are unreliable, and should not beoverused.

Some common forms of spirit magicdivination include Augury (divinationthrough natural signs and portents),Bone Casting (divination through thecasting of bones), Dowsing (divinationthrough the use of dowsing rods orpointing sticks), Necromancy (divinationthrough ghosts), Stick Casting (divinationthrough the casting of reeds or sticks)and Visionquesting (divination throughvisions).

SPELL ENCHANTMENT

Spell Enchantment, Spell Spirit TrapEnchantment, Spirit Magic Spell MatrixEnchantment

VariableRitual (Enchant)

Each point of POW expended in this rit-ual, up to a maximum equal to theintensity of the ritual spell, creates aspirit magic spell matrix of intensityequal to the points of POW expended.The spell must be one known to thecaster, and however many points of thespell are placed in to the matrix are lostto the caster. It is not possible to create anon-variable matrix with intensity greaterthan the spell's intensity, nor is it possibleto create a matrix for a variable spellwith an intensity greater than the inten-sity of the spell known by the caster.

Spirit Trap, Spirit Holder, Spirit BindingEnchantment, Slave Spirit Enchantment,Magic Spirit Enchantment

VariableRitual (Enchant)

Each intensity of this spell allows thecaster to spend a point of POW in creat-ing a spirit trapping enchantment.

Each point of POW expended in thisritual creates a spirit trapping enchant-ment that can hold 3D6 POW of spirit.Twice as much POW must be used if thecaster wishes to be able to release thespirit without breaking the enchantment.

If a point of POW is expended usingthis ritual on an item with a spirit boundinto it, or an item meant to bind a spiritinto, it establishes a link allowing anyonetouching the item to draw upon spells inthe INT (if any) of a spirit bound into theitem and draw upon the MP of a spiritbound into the item.

If a point of POW is expended usingthis ritual on an item with a spirit boundinto it, or an item meant to bind a spiritinto, it alters the item to allow any spiritbound into it to 'see' outside the item.This is necessary if you wish a spirit withspells trapped in the enchanted item to beable to cast them at anything other thantouch range.

STRENGTHENINGENCHANTMENT

Strengthening Enchantment, Living Heart

2 pointsRitual (Enchant)

Draws upon the spirits of the caster andthe spell's target to strengthen the target'sbody. Costs the caster and the target 1point of POW each (or 2 points of POWif the caster is also the target), and per-manently adds 1D3 to the target's generalhit points or 1D6 to a specific hit loca-tion of the target. It may be cast againand again, further strengthening its target.

SUMMON<OTHERWORLD SPECIES>

Summon, Call, Invoke

1 pointRitual (Summon)

These ritual spells allow the caster tosummon a member of specific group ofotherworld creatures whose true name isknown to the caster. Many shaman havethe true names of various spirits passedon to them by their masters.

The caster expends a number of MP ina ritual that takes 1 hour per MP spent.If at the end of that time the Summon/Spirit roll is successful, the summoned

S P I R I T • M A G I C • 164

otherworld creature appears at the pointof the summons. A successfully sum-moned creature will be stunned for aminimum of one round (two rounds on aspecial success, three rounds on a criticalsuccess), after which it will recover andbe able to act normally (fleeing or attack-ing as it sees fit) if it succeeds in a MP x3roll, made at the beginning of each sub-sequent round. While stunned it takes noactions, and defends against spells (andspirit combat) as if it had 0 MP. Thus, itmay be forced into a binding enchant-ment while it is stunned if the casterpossesses the appropriate Control<Spirit> spell.

If the roll failed or the creature hadmore MP than were expended in the rit-ual, the creature does not appear, andany MP spent are lost.

On a fumble, 90% of the time a ran-dom otherworld creature appears. Thecreature that appears is not stunned, andwill fight or flee as it per its natural incli-nation (see Creatures). The remaining10% of the time a much more powerfulotherworld creature, related to the onethe caster attempted to summon,appears. It too is not stunned. Just asthere are powerful lords and kings on themundane world, so are there equivalentlymore powerful lords and kings for other-world creatures. Such beings can chooseto pass to the mundane plane when asummoner shows them the way by tryingto summon one of their subjects. The sta-tistics given for discorporate creaturesand elementals in the Creatures chaptercovers roughly 80% of the creatures'population. There are spirits with POWsof 35, 50, and 100, though not many.There are also colossal elementals andsome very unpleasant wraiths anddemons.

The spells of Summon Elemental,Summon Ghost, and Summon Spirit areall common. Others exist, such asSummon Demon, Summon DiseaseSpirit, Summon Healing Spirit, SummonNymph, and Summon Wraith, but areless common.

UNIQUE SPIRIT MAGICA few examples of the usefu l un iquespells some shaman know follow. Theyare in the same format as battle magicspells, except that they lack commonnames, since they are so rare.

BANISH4 pointsRanged, Instant

Works only on discorporate spirits orspirits that have possessed someone. Thespirit must be Visible or the caster mustsense the spirit before he or she canBanish it. If the caster overcomes thespirit's POW with his or her MP, theBanished spirit must leave the area. If itwas Visible, it becomes non-visible. If itwas tied to the area, as a ghost is, it willeventually return, but not for at least 5minutes. Otherwise, it remains on thespirit plane.

A caster on the spirit plane can Banishthe spirit of a mundane plane creature,such as a discorporate shaman. Thissends the shaman back to his or herbody.

Even if the Banishment fails the spiritreact to the caster with hostility. If thespell does fail, the spirit will usuallyattack.

Some things help or hurt aBanishment. If the spirit is in its nativemedium (plant spirit in forest, darknessspirit in darkness), add 5 to its POW toresist Banishment. If the shaman is in aplace of strength (tribal holy place, axismundi), add 5 to his MP for purposes ofBanishing. Commotion bothers somespirits using Visibility or Second Sight,also adding 5 to the shaman's MP.

DRAW

2 pointsRanged, Passive

If the caster overcomes the POW of ahostile spirit, the spirit must first attackthe caster in spirit combat, before attack-ing any others in the area.

The spell does not work on spirits inbinding objects or bound to an area,spirits embodied in creatures, spirits thatare not hostile or do not wish to attackanyone in the area and spirits unable tostart spirit combat.

The spirit must continue to fight thecaster in spirit combat until the shamandefeats it, the spirit defeats the shaman,the spell expires, or someone dispels thespell.

DEFEAT SPIRIT


This spell enhances one's ability to defeatspirits one is fighting. Each point of thespell adds 10 percentiles to the target'sSpirit Combat skill.

PARALYZE

4 pointsRanged, Active

This spell will paralyze its target for amelee round if the caster overcomes thetarget's POW with his or her MP. Thetarget cannot move or act in any waythat requires physical movement (nospells other than divine spells could becast, and no attacks or defenses except inspirit combat). The caster must succeedin a roll of current MP vs. the target'sPOW at the beginning of each subse-quent round (prior to movement) to keepthe target paralyzed. If a roll fails, thespell is broken, and its former victim isfree to act normally.

TORPOR

3 pointsRanged, Passive

This spell makes its target drowsy if itscaster overcomes overcomes the target'sPOW with his or her MP. This will causethe spell's target to lose a combat actionfor the duration of the spell (thus the tar-get could only move up to his MV andtake a single action, or move up to twicehis MV and take no actions). A targetthat is already sleepy or tired (fatigue sta-tus Tired or below) will fall asleep for theduration of the spell, though loud noises,shaking, being hit by a hostile spell(which will be resisted), being attackedby a spirit, or taking damage from ablow will wake them.

•SORCERY•

Sorcery is a complex system of magic based on skill and the manipulation of magical laws. The sorcerereffects changes on the world through the direct application of his or her skill, willpower, and the manipula-tion of sorcery spells. Spell skills, manipulation skills, and lore skills are all parts of sorcery. An adventurer's

capability at sorcery directly corresponds to the amount of time he or she has spent studying its skills. Those who wishto devote themselves to the art become sorcerer's apprentices, devoting themselves to the study of sorcery spells andmanipulations, hoping to garner the skill and reputation needed to become an adept or a magus.

WHO USES SORCERY?Only civilized cultures have the degree of literacy andleisure time needed to study and pass along the skills ofsorcery. In Glorantha, the great civilizations of westernand eastern Genertela practice sorcery, as do the civilizedregions of central Genertela (the Lunar Empire and theHoly Country) and the coastal civilizations of Pamaltela.Sorcerers rarely live among barbarians, nomads or primi-tives. It is often dangerous for them to do so, given the badlight in which most other Gloranthan cultures see sorcer-ers, due to the ancient depredat ions of the Jruste l isorcerers known as the God Learners.

LEARNING SORCERYLow MagicThe most common form of sorcery is Low Magic. Thespells of Low Magic are the simplest and easiest form ofsorcery. These spells are also known as cantrips. In regionswhere sorcery is the dominant form of magic, almosteveryone learns some Low Magic. Most also learn theskills of Intensity and Ceremony. Someone who knowsonly Low Magic is commonly called a student or novice.

If a foreigner or stranger wants to learn low magic, heor she needs to find a sorcerer willing to teach it and makea traditional gift worth at least 100 L. If the gamemasterwishes to quickly abstract finding a willing teacher, a char-acter who spends a season searching in a civilized culturesucceeds on a roll of POW x5 (or a year and a POW x1roll in a primitive, nomadic, or barbarian culture).

High MagicThe study of High Magic is typically restricted to theupper classes of sorcery using cultures, though in theory,anyone can study High Magic spells. They are more pow-erful and harder to master than Low Magic spells.

ManipulationsManipulations are skills used to alter the effects of sorceryspells. Intensity is the most common manipula t ionlearned, and is typically studied by those that known Lowand High Magic. Only those of apprentice rank and abovemay learn manipulation skills other than Intensity. Nearlyall forms and schools of sorcery teach their apprentices themanipulations of Intensity, Range and Duration. Othermanipulations exist, such as Maintain, Multispell, Ease,Speed, and Combine, but they are rarer. Some are uniqueto a single school of sorcery, and some rare even withinsuch a school.

ApprenticesTo become an apprentice, an applicant must have a MagicSkill Category Modifier of at least +10 percent. This is theminimum level of magical aptitude required to learnadvanced manipulation skills. Most schools or mastersrequire Read Own Language at 30% or better. There maybe other requirements as well.

The applicant must find a sorcerer interested in takingon an apprentice, and convince the sorcerer to take him orher on as a student. The gamemaster can abstract this as aPOW x3 roll made once a year if searching in a civilizedculture. Sorcerers in a primitive, nomad or barbarian cul-ture wil l rare ly stay there long enough to take onapprentices. If accepted, the applicant must donate a pointof POW in an apprentice bonding ritual to the master orthe master's familiar to establish the bond that initiateshim or her as a sorcerer. An apprenticeship traditionallylasts at least 7 years.

AdeptsAn apprentice who has completed an apprenticeship is anadept, although some cultures have different terms.

• 165 •

166 • S O R C E R Y

SORCERY MECHANICSThe Basic SpellA basic, unmanipulated sorcery spell has Intensity 1, aduration of 10 minutes, and a 25 meter range. It costs 1MP to cast. Slight variations may exist from spell to spell.

Sorcery SpellsSkill in a sorcery spell determines two things. First, it is thepercentage chance of successfully casting a spell. Second, itsets the maximum limit to which the basic structure of thespel l can be m a n i p u l a t e d . The max imum levels ofIntensity, Duration or Range that can be added to a spellare the sorcery spell ski l l d iv ided by ten. If usingCeremony, the Ceremony bonus is added to the skillbefore dividing by ten.

ExampleSomeone with 4% skill in a spell cannot manipulate thespell, and can only cast the basic spell. With 15% skill in aspell, the sorcerer can add up to two levels of Intensity,Duration or Range to the spell (1.5 rounded to the nearestwhole number, as always). Someone with 92% skill in aspell that uses Ceremony to add 10% to their spell skillcasts the spell at an effective skill of 102%, and can addup to ten levels of Intensity, Duration or Range to thespell.

Cost in Magic Points (MP)A basic (unmanipulated) sorcery spell costs 1 MP. Eachlevel of Intensity, Range or Duration added to the spellcosts an additional MP.

Casting Time In Strike Ranks (SR)A sorcery spell is cast in melee at the sorcerer's DEX SR+1 SR per MP used.

A spell that takes more than 10 SR to cast takes 1melee round for every 10 SR, and goes off in the nextmelee round at the SR remaining.

Chance to CastThe success or failure of a sorcery spell is determined by aroll against the sorcerer's spell skill, rolled at the SR thespell is cast. Ceremony/Sorcery may further enhance thecaster's spell skill, and thus chance to cast the spell. A suc-cessful spell has its normal effect. A spell roll that is aspecial success has a normal effect but costs only half asmany MP as it normally would have. A spell that criticallysucceeds has its normal effect but costs only 1 MP. A failedspell does not take effect, but only costs the caster 1 MP. Afumbled spell normally has no effect, and costs the casterthe MP it would have normally cost to cast successfully.Note that a sorcerer's level of skill in his or her manipula-tions has no effect on the chance to cast a spell. They onlydetermine how what kind of manipulations and howmuch of them a sorcerer can apply to a spell.

In addition, at the gamemaster's option, a fumbledHigh Magic spell may have an minor additional side

effect, or may take actually take effect, but in a skewed orunusual fashion. For example, a fumbled Invoke Fire spellmay leave the caster's hair and robes smoking. A fumbledPalsy spell might affect both caster and target, and so on.Fumbled Low Magic spells simply do not function.

ManipulationsManipulation skills allow a sorcerer to alter the basicqualities of a spell, such as altering its Intensity, range orduration, or to otherwise alter the casting of a spell.

Skill in a sorcery manipulation sets the maximum levelof that manipulation that the sorcerer can use. The manip-ulation skill divided by ten is the maximum level of thatmanipulation which the sorcerer can add to any spell. Ifthe limit due to skill in the spell is lower (see above), thatlimit applies instead.

No additional skill roll is required to manipulate aspell. The chance to cast the spell is based on spell skill,not skill in any manipulations used. Ceremony has noeffect on spell manipulation skills.

INTENSITYThe most basic manipulation skill, studied by almost allusers of sorcery, is Intensity, which allows the caster toincrease the strength of a sorcery spell. The final Intensityof the spell is equal to the total levels of Intensity used.Thus, a spell with 6 levels of Intensity added has aIntensity of 7 (base Intensity of 1). The exact effect ofincreasing a spell's Intensity varies with the spell.

The maximum level of Intensity that can be added to aspell is equal to the caster's Intensity skill divided by ten,or the caster's spell skill divided by ten, whichever is lower.Each level of Intensity added to a spell costs 1 MP.

Intensity is a medium Magic skill with a base of 0%.

Advanced ManipulationsMore advanced manipulations can only be studied andused by sorcerers, that is, adventurers with a minimumMagic Category Skills Modifier of +10 that have enteredor completed an apprenticeship. These manipulations nor-mally have a linear effect, that is, each point adds the sameadditional effect as the previous one. However, if a pointof POW is spent at the same time the manipulation isused, a more dramatic effect occurs, the exact nature ofwhich varies with the manipulation.

Common Advanced ManipulationsThe two common advanced manipulations are Durationand Range. Both are hard Magic skills with a base of 0%.Along with Intensity, they form the basic manipulations ofsorcery, known to nearly all schools of sorcery. The maxi-mum total levels of Intensity, Duration or Range that canbe added to a spell to manipulate it is equal to the caster'sspell skill divided by ten.

DURATIONThis manipulation skill allows the caster to increase theduration of a sorcery spell. Each level of Duration added

S O R C E R Y • 167

to a spell adds 10 minutes to its duration. In the case ofspells with a base duration greater than 10 minutes, thatamount of time is added for each level of Duration addedinstead. Thus, a spell with 3 levels of Duration added hasa duration of 40 minutes (assuming its base duration is 10minutes). The manipulation has no effect on Instant spells.

The maximum level of Duration that can be added toa spell is equal to the caster's Duration skill divided by ten,or the caster's spell skill divided by ten, whichever is lower.Each level of Duration added to a spell costs 1 MP.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, the base durationincreases by a factor of 10, and each level of Durationdoubles the spell's duration (see table below).

Duration Table

Levels ofDurationUsed

None12345678910etc.

Duration(Minutes)

102030405060708090100110

Duration(Minutes)

100200400800160032006400128002560051200102400

if 1 POW(Hours)

1.673.336.6713.3326.6753.33106.67213.33426.67853.331706.67

spent(Days)

0.070.140.280.561 . 1 12.224.448.8917.7835.5671.11

RANGEThis manipulation skill allows the caster to increase therange of a sorcery spell. Each level of Range added to aspell increases its range by 25 meters. Thus, a spell with 2levels of Range added has a range of 75 meters. Themanipulation has no effect on Touch range spells.

The maximum level of Range that can be added to aspell is equal to the caster's Range skill divided by ten, orthe caster's spell skill divided by ten, whichever is lower.Each level of Range added to a spell costs 1 MP.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, the base rangeincreases by a factor of 10, and each level of Range dou-bles the spell's duration (see table below).

Range Table

Levels ofRange Used

None12345678910

Range(Meters)

255075100125150175200225250275

Range if 1(Meters)

2505001000200040008000160003200064000128000256000

POW spent(Kilometers)

0.250.51248163264128256

etc.

Other Advanced ManipulationsSomewhat less common are the advanced manipulationsof Combine, Ease, Hold, Maintain, Multispell and Speed.All are hard Magic skills with a base of 0%. Not allschools teach them. There is no limit to the number andamount of these manipulations can be used to manipulatea spell other than the caster's skill in the manipulationdivided by ten.

COMBINEThis manipulation skill allows the caster to combine twoor more sorcery spells into a single spell. This manipula-tion is an exception to the rule that one does not normallyroll against manipulation skills to cast a spell, as thechance to cast the combined spell is equal to the lowest ofthe spell skills used. Each spell can be manipulated sepa-rately by other manipulation skills, but the Combinedspell cannot have more total levels of Intensity, Range orDuration than the caster's Combine skill divided by 10.The MP cost of the combined spell is simply calculated byadding the MP cost of each spell together. The casting timeis equal to the caster's DEX SR plus the total cost in MP inSR. Manipulations such as Ease or Speed will affect onlyone of the combined spells (the caster chooses which),reducing the overall MP cost or SR of the combined spell.If used to combine attack spells, only a single MP vs. POWroll is made to see if the combined spell overcame its target.

Typical uses are to cast a number of spells at a singlefoe, or to combine two or more spells to achieve anunusual effect, such as multiple illusions, or projectingmore than once sense at once, or shielding a spell againstdetection by casting a Resist Magic as part of the spell.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, each componentspell gains twice the lowest Intensity, Range and Durationof the component spells cast (retaining its own Intensity,Range or Duration if this is greater).

EASEThis manipulation skill allows the caster to cast a sorceryspell for half the MP it would have normally taken byspending twice the time (in SR) he normally would have.The caster cannot manipulate a spell in this manner thathas had more total levels of Intensity, Range and Durationthan the caster's Ease skill divided by ten.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, the spell costs 0MP and is cast at the normal SR for the spell, regardless ofthe amount of manipulation used or the MP it would havenormally cost.

HOLDThis manipulation skill allows the caster to hold a singlesorcery spell ready to cast. The spell cannot have moretotal levels of manipulation added to it than the caster'sHold skill divided by ten. The spell costs the same numberof MP it would have normally, but takes twice as long asnormal to cast (in SR). Instead of triggering at that point,it is held instead, ready to be released. Treat the concen-tration required at this point as if the caster were

168 • S O R C E R Y

concentrating on an active spell. When released, the spellgoes off at the caster's DEX SR, regardless of the amountof manipulation or MP used to cast the spell. A spellremains held only as long as the sorcerer maintains his orher concentration. A held spell is lost if the sorcerer fails aconcentration roll, is knocked unconscious or dies. It maynot be dispelled, however.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, the held spell gainsan independent existence, remaining hung for use indefi-nitely, freeing the caster to hold another spell. Any numberof spells may be hung in this manner, each costing an addi-tional point of POW. A spell hung in this manner is onlylost if the caster dies, and may not be dispelled. However,once the a spell hung in this manner is triggered, it is goneforever.

MAINTAINThis manipulation skill allows the caster to indefinitelymaintain a single spell cast on himself or another with nomore Intensity and Range added to it than the castersMain ta in skill divided by ten. The spell costs the samenumber of MP it would have normally, but takes twice aslong as normal to cast (in SR). In addition, it must be fedthe number of MP it cost every additional full day it ismaintained. If the caster is suddenly knocked unconsciousor dies, any maintained spells cease to exist. The manipu-lation has no effect on Instant spells.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time the maintainedspell is granted a partially independent existence. Suchspells are more diff icult to dispel (double their Intensityfor the purpose of resisting dispelling), and only cease toexist if the caster dies. They no longer need normal main-tenance, freeing the caster to maintain another spell.

Any number of spells may be independently main-tained in this manner, each costing an additional point ofPOW. However, the independently maintained spell musts t i l l draw upon a source of MP to last for more than a day.The spell's caster is normally the source of these MP, butthey are automatically drawn from the caster's personalMP, effectively reducing the caster's daily MP recoveryrate by the MP it took to cast the spell. If this providesinsufficient MP to power the spell (or spells), they begin toreduce the caster's MP. If the caster does not wish for hisMP to drop below his POW, he cannot maintain indepen-dent spells costing more MP than he has POW. In anycase, he cannot maintain independent spells costing MPequal to or greater than twice his POW (as this wouldreduce his MP to 0).

MULTISPELLThis manipulation skill allows the caster to affect multipletargets with a single spell. The spell can be manipulatedseparately by other manipulation skills, and the MP cost issimply calculated by adding the MP cost of each spelltogether. The cast ing t ime is DEX SR plus the MPexpended in SR. One cannot cast more spells than thecaster's Multispell skill divided by ten (thus one mustknow Multispell to at least 15% for it to be useful), nor

can any spell have a higher level of manipulation than thecaster's Multispell skill divided by 10.

It is typically used to cast a number of spells at agroup of foes. If backing to penetrate defenses, the MPused to back must be spread out among the different spellscast.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, each componentspell gains twice the lowest Intensity, Range and Durationof the component spells cast (retaining its own Intensity,Range or Duration if this is greater).

SPEEDThis manipulation skill allows the caster cast a spell inhalf the time (in SR) it would have normally taken byspending twice the MP he normally would have. Thecaster cannot manipulate a spell in this manner that hasmore total levels of Intensity, Range and Duration thanthe caster's Speed skill divided by ten.

If 1 POW is spent at the same time, the spell only coststhe number of MP it would have normally, but goes off onthe caster's DEX SR, regardless of the amount of manipu-lation or number of MP used with the spell.

ExampleA sorcerer with 16 DEX, Neutralize Magic 75%, Intensity64%, Duration 38%, and Range 51% has a 75% chanceto cast Neutralize Magic and can add up to 8 levels ofIntensity, Duration or Range to the spell (7.5 rounded tothe nearest whole number). His manipulation skills limithim to adding up to 6 levels of Intensity (6.4 rounded tothe nearest whole number), 4 levels of Duration (3.8rounded), or 5 levels of Range (5.1 rounded). The chanceto successfully cast the spell is 75%, regardless of theamount or type of manipulation used.

A typical Neutralize Magic spell cast with the fullmanipulation available to the sorcerer might have 6 levelsof Intensity and 2 levels of Range added. The spell wouldhave a 75% chance of being cast, have Intensity 7 and a75 meter range, and cost 9 MP. It would take 11 SR tocast (2 + 9), so it would go off on SR 1 of the followingmelee round. If the sorcerer knew Speed at 85%, he couldopt to expend 18 MP but have the spell go off at SR 6.Conversely, if the sorcerer knew Ease at 85%, he couldopt to expend only 5 MP, but have the spell go off in 22SR (on SR 2 of the third melee round).

S O R C E R Y • 169

SCHOOLS OF SORCERYA common body of Low and High Magicexists, but most sorcerers on Gloranthabelong to a school of sorcery (also knownas colleges). Each school has its own phi-losophy of sorcerous practice, whichgoverns the spells its members may learn.All but the smallest schools teach thecommon Low and High Magic spells.Schools teach the spells from their ownlexicons (the college's spell list) to anyqualified student. Local laws, customs, orprejudices may make for exceptions.

All schools have unique sorcery spellswhich no other school has. Each schoolforbids the teaching of these spells to sor-cerers from other schools. It is consideredtreason and apostasy to teach a uniquesorcery spell from one college to a sorcererof another, or to an unqualified person.Anyone caught doing this suffers the mostpowerful curses available to the offendedcollege, and can never again learn any-thing from that College, even if he or shesurvives. Most schools forbid or restrictcertain spells which they consider anti-thetical to the philosophy of the school.

Unaligned sorcerers exist outside theschools of sorcery, but they are less com-mon. They do not know any of theunique spells specific to the schools, buthave no other restrictions as to what theycan or cannot learn. Thus, many knowu n u s u a l spells as well as common ones.No two unal igned sorcerers are al ike,unless they are master and apprentice orapprentices of the same master.

M e m b e r s or fo rmer members of aschool f i n d the mag ic of most otherschools one level of diff iculty harder tolearn . Thus, a medium spell becomes ahard one. Since one normally cannotlearn spells from another school, this ruleonly applies in rare cases, such as some-one discovering a document with a spellfrom another school—which would takesome time to t rans la te and decipher ina n y case. This increased d i f f i c u l t y isbecause each school uses its own uniqueset of gestures, voice, mindset, and so on.It is very dif f icul t for one trained in theways of a certain school to learn fromanother . S ty le v a r i a t i o n s apply tounaligned sorcerers as well, though theyoften have less difficulty with the styles ofother unaligned sorcerers than with thestyles of schools.

Schools of sorcery typically belong tosects. A sect may well have more than oneschool of sorcery. Some sects have saints(described later), others do not. Some ofthe m a j o r sects of G l o r a n t h a aredescribed below, along with some of theschools of sorcery that can be found incentral Genertela.

Schools are described in the followingformat:

NAME OF SCHOOL AssociationsMembers: Membership.Duties: Duties specially appropriate tothe school.Low Magic: What Low Magic is taught.High Magic: What High Magic is taught.Ritual Magic: What ritual Low and HighMagic is taught.Manipulations: What sorcery manipula-tions are taught.Forbidden Magic: What sorcery is for-bidden, if any.Saints: Saints worshipped, if any.

The AtheistsA few atheistic sorcery using culturesexist, scattered about Glorantha. Theymay acknowledge the existence of gods,but generally see these as anthropomor-phizations of natural forces or powerfulspirits or mortals that have gained greatpowers. The Brithini, Vadeli and theMostali are the best known of these.Their members are immortal, as long asthey stay within their own societies rigidcaste structures. The Brithini were thefirst sorcerers, and their sorcerers areamong the most famous magicians of theworld. The Vadeli are the Brithini'sancient foes. Both use the Tap spell freely.The Mostali are one of the Elder Races ofGlorantha, the dwarfs, and follow thecomplex laws of the World Machine.

Others include the inhabitants of GodForgot (who have Brithini ancestry, butan inventiveness that led them beyond therigidity of Brithini culture) and the inhab-itants of Maslo, in Pamaltela.

Atheistic schools of sorcery typicallyuse no other form of magic, and have nosaints.

GOD FORGOT

Members: God Forgot sorcerers andapprenticesDuties: Performing tasks for and support-ing one's teacher, serving the communityLow Magic: All common except SolaceHigh Magic: All commonRitual Magic: All common exceptWorship Invisible GodManipulations: Intensity, Combine,Duration, Ease, Maintain, Multispell,Range, SpeedForbidden Magic: NoneSaints: None

THIRD EYE BLUE

Members: Third Eye Blue family metalsmithsDuties: Crafting iron and metals, armor-ing, smithingLow Magic: Bind, Bless <Tool>, CallCold, Call Heat, Detect <Metal>,Remove Fire, Restore <Metal>

High Magic: Animate <Metal>, MysticVision, Show <Metal>Ritual Magic: Blessing, Curse, Enchant<Metal>, Fend Blow, Form <Metal>,Stabilize Heat, Stabilize WeaponManipulations: Intensity, Combine,Duration, MaintainForbidden Magic: NoneSaints: NoneMiscellaneous: A sorcerous family cult,members must normally be born into it.A rarely used adoption ritual for out-siders exists. The cult's founder is said bysome to have stolen magic from thedwarfs. They came to central Genertelawith the Carmanians, and remainfriendly with the Carmanian School ofSorcery.

The Eastern SectsThe east of Genertela is home to a num-ber of civilizations, three of which usesorcery. One of these, the Kralori Empire,is among the greatest and most advancedcivilizations on Glorantha. The East Isles,also known as the Ten Thousand Isles ofWonder, are home to countless schools ofsorcery. Finally, a number of schools ofsorcery exist among the Vormain, whoworship a pantheon of elegant thoughdeadly deities that each practice a differ-ent form of color magic.

The eastern magical traditions are dis-tinct from most others in that they useboth sorcery and divine magic, in manycases using sorcery in lieu of cult magic.

A much wider variety of Low Magic isavailable in the Eastern traditions than inmost Western traditions, and some of thespells taught as Low Magic in the Easterntradi t ions would be considered HighMagic in Western traditions.

The MalkioniThe Malkioni follow the Invisible God.To the Malkioni, the Invisible God is thesupreme god, who first revealed himselfas the creator of the universe. Malkion isthe eternal prophet, to whom the secondrevelation of the Invisible God was made.The prophet Malkion taught people touse the resources of the world to obtainliberation from their troubles and achieveSolace, an attitude of inner peace or mys-tical ambiance. The third revelation of theInvisible God was through Saint Hrestol,who received and taught the methodwhereby each individual could seek Joyand attain oneness with the Invisible Godby attaining the eternal paradise calledSolace in Glory.

The Malkioni are born into one of thefour castes established by Malkion:Farmer, Knight, Wizard and Lord. Theylive by the Laws of Malkion, whichinclude a law usually taken to be a pro-scription against Tapping.

170 • SORCERY

Malkioni magic is sorcery, and theirpriests are called "wizards". Malkionicall magicians that do not follow theLaws of Malkion "sorcerers", and con-sider them misguided or evil. Malkioniwizards traditionally wear white robes orrobes with white emblems to indicate thatthey follow the Laws of Malkion.Traditional Malkioni may not worshipany god besides the Invisible God, andmay never become shamans. A fewMalkioni sects acknowledge and acceptthe worship of other gods, but Malkionand the Invisible God are acclaimed aspreeminent. The Malkioni have manysaints, although their patronage is oftenrestricted to members of certain castes.

The Malkioni are restricted to the west-ern half of Genertela as well as Enklosoand Vralos in Pamaltela. The Hrestolicontrol Loskalm while the Rokari ruleTanisor and Sentanos. Other sects areminor in extent, and include the Borists,the Galvosti and the Sedalpists . TheCarmanians and the Arkati are consideredto be fallen Malkioni by the other sects.

The ArkatiThe Arkati, also known as the Stygians,do not believe that Arkat fell. They saythat after leaving Malkionism, he climbedto higher secrets which he taught his fol-lowers. The Arkati combine the worshipof ordinary deities with the Invisible God.The exact importance of the Invisible Godand saints besides Arkat and Paslac, whoare preeminent, varies greatly from localeto locale, each claiming to alone retainArkat's true faith. In some places, Arkatiworship Orlanth, Kyger Litor, or othergods as saints. In other places, Stygianssee the Invisible God as first among equalgods. In a few areas, they treat theInvisible God as inferior to the region'sdominant deity.

The Arkati exist primarily in Ralios,but can be found in other places as well,including the Holy Country and BlackHorse County in central Genertela. Anumber of troll sorcerers belong to thissect. A large number of different schoolsof sorcery exist among the Stygians, eachtypically limited to a specific locale. Allare very secretive, but rumor states thateach has many unique spells.

THE TRADER PRINCES

Members: Western Trader PrincesDuties: Trade, commerce, gatheringinformationLow Magic: Bind, Bless <Tool>, Bless<Weapon>, Blessing, Detect <Magic,Malice, Substance, Increase <DEX,MV>, Restore <Substance>, TreatWoundsHigh Magic: Castback, Cast Confusion,Cast Desire, Mystic Vision, Neutralize

Magic, Protective Circle, Regenerate,Regain Life, Resist Spell, See RuneMagic, Show <Magic, Malice,Substance, Telekinesis, Telepathy,Teleport, Travel Through AirRitual Magic: All commonManipulations: Intensity, Combine,Duration, Multispell, Range, SpeedForbidden Magic: TapSaints: Arkat, Issaries, PaslacMiscellaneous: Secretly an Arkati school.It's members worship Issaries as well asthe Invisible God and Arkat, and maybecome initiates and priests of theIssaries cult, but use sorcery instead ofcult magic.

BLACK ARKAT

Members: ArkatiDuties: Working for the school, spyingLow Magic: Bless <Weapon>, Call Cold,Call Shadow, Damage Resistance, DetectMalice, Increase <STR, CON, Vigor>,Treat WoundsHigh Magic: Animate Darkness, BoostShade, Boost Damage, Cast Courage,Cast Fear, Conceal <Any>, Decrease<Any>, Dominate Shade, Illusion of<Darksense, Sight, Sound>, Invoke Dark,Palsy, Project <Darksense, Hearing,Sight>, Mystic Vision, Neutralize Magic,Protective Circle, Resist <Bleeding,Death, Spell>, See Rune Magic, Smother,TelepathyRitual Magic: Curse, all common exceptHoming Circle, Open Seas, and SolaceManipulations: Intensity, Combine,Duration, Maintain, Range, SpeedForbidden Magic: TapSaints: Black ArkatMiscellaneous: One of the many differentsecret Arkati schools. A similar school,that of Dark Arkat, exists among thetrolls (who have a number of Arkatischools as well).

Lunar SorceryThe Lunar schools of sorcery are thedescendants of the Carmanian School,once ancient foes of the Lunar empire,now Lunar allies. Other influences can betraced to the Lunar Magic of the RedGoddess and the powerful sorcerers ofthe City of 10,000 Magicians.

The Carmanian School of sorcery wasfounded by the descendants of the armyof Syranthir Forefront, a Loskalmi gen-eral that led his forces in an epic journeyacross Genertela, to their new lands innorthwestern Peloria. Syranthir Forefrontwas an ally of Arkat's Dark Empire whowas driven out of Loskalm in the earlyeight century S.T. by the forces of theJrusteli led Silver Alliance. The empire hefounded, which came to be known as theCarmanian Empire, survived until 1241S.T., when it fell to the forces of the

Lunar Empire.The Carmanians have a Malkioni feu-

dal culture, but a different religiousemphasis. Worship is directed to dualisticgods of light and darkness, over whichthe Invisible God presides. These wereoriginally gods native to the Carmaniansor the region they settled in, such asHumakt, Zorak Zoran, Orlanth andErnalda. Their worship has mostly beenreplaced by the worship of state spon-sored Lunar gods such as Yanafal Tarnils,Irrippi Ontor and Etyries, who encom-pass both light and dark aspects.

The best known of the Lunar schoolsof sorcery are the Lunar Colleges ofMagic. These include the Full MoonSchool, the Full Half School, the EmptyHalf School, the Crescent Come School,the Crescent Go School, the Dark MoonSchool and the Dying Moon School.They are closely associated with some ofthe Lunar cults, particularly that of theRed Goddess. Many of the Initiates of theRed Goddess are drawn from the LunarColleges of Magic. Unusually, the phaseof the moon affects their manipulations.

The Carmanian School is based in theWestern Reaches of the Lunar Empire,the former lands of the CarmanianEmpire, but members of the school andits descendants can be found throughoutthe Lunar Empire, particularly in the ser-vice of the empire's legions and nobility.

THE CARMANIAN SCHOOLMembers: Carmanian middle and upperclass, Carmanian sorcerersDuties: Performing tasks for and support-ing one's magus (teacher)Low Magic: All common except Bless<any tool but Plow, Hammer andWhetstone>, Detect <Species>,Enhance <Hearing, Touch, Taste>,Restore <any but Bronze, Iron or Stone>High Magic: Weapon of <Element>, allcommon except Cast Desire, Project<Sense>, Shapechange, Show <Species>,Travel and TapRitual Magic: All common except OpenSeasManipulations: Intensity, Duration,Maintain, Multispell, Range, SpeedForbidden Magic: TapSaints: Arkat, TalorMiscellaneous: Members are allowed toworship gods as well, and many are alsolay members or initiates of the SevenMothers or Etyries as well. Many nolonger learn Solace, trusting to Lunarresurrection instead.

S O R C E R Y • 171

DARK MOONMembers: Lunar magiciansDuties: Warfare, espionageBattle Magic: Darkwall, Demoralize,Dullblade, Extinguish, Second Sight,SilenceLow Magic: Call Cold, Call Shadow,Damage Resistance, Increase <CON,Vigor>, Treat WoundsHigh Magic: Animate Darkness, CastFear, Conceal <Any>, Decrease <CON,Vigor, MV>, Dominate Shade, Illusionof <Sight, Sound>, Invoke Dark, Palsy,Project <Hearing, Sight>, Mystic Vision,Neutralize Magic, Protective Circle,Smother, TelepathyRitual Magic: Apprentice Bonding,Binding Enchantment, Curse, Enchant<Lead, Silver>, Enchant <Low Magic,High Magic, Form <Lead, Silver>,Summon <Otherworld Being>Manipulations: Intensity, Duration,Maintain, Multispell, RangeForbidden Magic: NoneSaints: NoneMiscellaneous: One of the Lunar schoolsof sorcery. Members learn battle magicfrom the associated Lunar cult ofJakaleel the Witch. Advanced membersjoin the cult of the Red Goddess. OnDark/Dying Moon days, none of theirmanipulations other than Intensity func-tion. On Crescent days, only a singlemanipulation besides Intensity can beused on a spell. On Half Moon days,their abilities function normally. On FullMoon days, all manipulations used add1 level to their effect (this can exceed thenormal limits imposed by skill levels).

DYING MOON

Members: Lunar magicians, necromancersDuties: Warfare, espionageBattle Magic: Demoralize, DetectEnemies, Disrupt, SlowLow Magic: Call Cold, DamageResistance, Increase <STR, CON>, TreatWoundsHigh Magic: Animate Dead, BoostDamage, Cast Fear, Decrease <Any>,Mystic Vision, Neutralize Magic, Palsy,Remove Life, Resist <Any>, Smother,TelepathyRitual Magic: Apprentice Bonding,Curse, Armoring Enchantment, BindingEnchantment, Enchant Iron, Form IronManipulations: Intensity, Duration,Multispell, Range, SpeedForbidden Magic: NoneSaints: NoneMiscellaneous: One of the Lunar schoolsof sorcery. Members learn battle magicfrom the associated Lunar cult ofDanfive Xaron. Advanced members jointhe cult of the Red Goddess. Sorcery iscyclical, as with the Dark Moon school.

SAINTSNearly all of the sects of Malkioni andtheir descendant sects acknowledgesaints. Saints are mortal men and womenthat attained spiritual perfection, andcan now grant those that pray to themspecial gifts.

A saint's follower can learn to estab-lish a special relationship with the saint,gaining the saint as a patron, whichallows him or her to call upon the powerof the saint in a certain way, commonlyknown as a Saint's Blessing. In manyMalkioni cultures only members of cer-tain castes may acquire a particular saintas a patron, though members of anycaste can become followers of the saint. Itis possible to follow more than one saint,or have more than one patron saint.

The secret prayers for acquiring a saintas a patron are only taught to devout fol-lowers of the saint, in a process whichtakes a full week and requires the sacri-fice of at least one point of POW. Avariable amount of total POW must besacrificed to each saint to acquire him orher as a patron, but the POW may besacrificed over a period of time afterlearning the secret prayers. When the fullamount of POW required has been sacri-ficed to the saint, the supplicant hasacquired the saint as a patron, and maycall upon his or her patron to invoketheir particular blessing.

Invoking a Saint's BlessingAt will, a supplicant can call on a patronsaint and receive their blessing. Eachtime this is done, the supplicant loses apoint of POW. A supplicant with morethan one patron saint may call upon anyor all of them at the same time.

In game terms, calling upon a saint'sblessing requires taking a MiscellaneousAction in combat, and the blessing auto-matically takes effect on SR 1 of theround it is called upon. A saint's blessingcannot be dispelled in any way, nor is itaffected by unenchanted iron.

SAINT ARKATArkat was once the most perfect knightin the world. Before his coming, Gbajithe Deceiver covered the world with amagical pall, befogging the lives, minds,and souls of all that lived. Arkat theLiberator freed those under the sway ofthe evil Deceiver's falsehoods.

Everybody knows Arkat l e f t theMalkioni way. In his fanaticism to over-come the Deceiver, he forgot the ways ofthe Creator and fell into alliances withfalse gods. The story of Arkat is the greatmoral legend of the West. If Arkat, oncethe most perfect knight of the world,could fall, lesser men must strive vigi-lantly to maintain their virtue. Despite

his tragic fall, Arkat still saved the world,and many of his devotees worship himfor this. Others think that Arkat neverfell, but ascended to higher truths.

In most Malkioni cul tures onlyKnights and Lords can acquire Arkat as apatron, but anyone that joins one of themany Arkati secret societies can acquireArkat as a patron.

ARKAT'S BLESSING—when Arkat isinvoked, the clothing and skin of allIlluminated beings (see Dorastor) within100 meters of the devotee turns translu-cent white. This effect lasts until the nextsunrise, and includes the devotee himself,if he is Illuminated. It costs 8 POW togain Arkat as a patron saint.

SAINT PASLACHe was one of the last emperors ofArkat's Dark Empire. He held off theGod Learners and their allies for a gener-ation until martyred by treachery.

PASLAC'S BLESSING—when Paslac isinvoked, the armor points of a chosenpiece of metal, which can be a tool, aweapon, or a piece of armor, are doubledwhen the item is touched by the devotee.Paslac can be called upon again to trans-fer the blessing to another piece of metal,but only one piece at a time can beaffected. Paslac's Blessing costs 5 POW.

In most Malkioni cu l tu res onlyFarmers, Knights and Lords can acquireSaint Paslac as a patron.

SAINT TALOR

When Arkat turned to the forces of darkness in his lust for vengeance, hisLightbringer rescuers felt betrayed andre-entered their quest to seek a hero todefeat evil Gbaji. They returned withTalor, the Laughing Warrior, who broughtlight where Arkat brought darkness.

Talor cleaned northern Peloria of itscurses and marched into Dorastor at thesame time as Arkat's horde of trolls.Arkat's and Talor's armies met, wit-nessed Gbaji 's destruction, and madegreat celebration.

In most Malk ion i cu l tu res onlyKnights and Lords can acquire SaintTalor as a patron.

TALOR'S BLESSING—Talor may onlybe invoked just before or during a battle.His invocation causes his devotee toexperience great joy while fighting. Forthe duration of the battle, the devotee isimmune to fatigue loss, incapacitation,shock, unconsciousness, or the effects ofexhaustion. He fails any other CON rollsonly on a roll of 96-00. In addition, allthe devotee's attack skills are increasedto half again their normal levels. It takes6 POW to gain Talor as one's patron saint.

172 • S O R C E R Y

SORCERY SPELLSAn Active, Temporal or Transient sorceryspell has a base duration of 10 minutes,unless otherwise stated. An Instant sor-cery spell has no duration.

A Ranged sorcery spell has a baserange of 25 meters, unless otherwisestated. A Touch sorcery spell has norange.

The spells are presented in the follow-ing format:

SPELL NAME

Range, Duration, whether Active, anddifficulty (if other than Easy for LowMagic and Medium for High Magic).

Definition.

Common Low Magic SpellsAll Low Magic spells are easy Reasoningskills with a base of 0%.

Low Magic Spell Difficulty

BindBless <Tool>Bless <Weapon >Call ColdCall FlameCall HeatCall LightCall ShadowDetect <Various >Enhance <Sense>Increase <Various>Remove FireResist DamageTreat Wounds

EasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasyEasy

BINDRanged, Temporal

Joins two objects already in contacttogether with a STR of 5. Each addi-tional Intensity adds another 5 STR tothe spell. Once someone or somethingovercomes the spell's STR, it is broken.The spell cannot affect living tissue or liv-ing vegetable matter.

BLESS <Tool>

Touch, Temporal

Makes a specific tool (or set of tools)more effective for the duration of thespell. Each level of Intensity adds 5% toa craft skill that uses the blessed tool ortools. Long jobs take many castings ofthe spell or long duration. The spell hasno effect on a different tool or set oftools. Thus, Bless Plow has no effect on ascythe.

The spell does not increase the knowl-edge of the tool user in any way, it simplymakes the tool's use more effective. BlessQuill lets you write better in the sense of

better-formed letters, not in the sense ofbetter choice of words.

The spell affects a tool or set of toolswith an ENC of 6 or less. It takes twiceas many Intensities to affect a tool or setof tools with an ENC from 6 to 12, threetimes as many to affect a tool or set of toolswith an ENC from 12 to 18, and so on.

BLESS <Weapon>

Touch, Temporal

Makes a specific weapon 5% more effec-tive for the duration of the spell. Eachadditional Intensity adds another 5%.The spell adds to both the wielder'sattack and parry percentage with thatweapon. The spell has no effect on a dif-ferent weapon. Thus, Bless Spear has noeffect on a broadsword.

The spell affects a weapon with anENC of 6 or less. It takes twice as manyIntensities to affect a weapon with anENC from 6 to 12, three times as manyto affect a weapon with an ENC from 12to 18, and so on.

CALL COLD

Ranged, Instant

If cast on up to 1 ENC (1 liter) of mater-ial, the spell causes it to become cold.This works particularly well on water ormetal objects, but cannot effectively coolmost other materials. It takes about fiveminutes for the substance to reach itsfinal temperature. The temperature ofwater or metal drops by 10° C perIntensity. Thus, 3 Intensities will cause 1liter of water at room temperature toturn into ice. A chilled metal object wornor held for a full round will do 1 point ofdamage per 10° below 0° C (at SR 10).Twice the Intensity will affect up to 2ENC of material, thrice the Intensity willaffect up to 3 ENC of material, and so on.

CALL FLAME

Ranged, Instant

Ignites material that is flammable. Thebase spell lights a candle, clothing, hair,fur, a torch or a lantern, a 2 Intensityspell lights charcoal or a wet torch, a 3Intensity spell lights heavy cloth, a 4Intensity spell lights wet cloth or greenwood, a 5 Intensity spell lights wet heavycloth, and so on. The ignition occurs at asingle small point. Higher intensities simplyincrease the ability to light less flamma-ble material, not the size of the point.

The caster needs to overcome thetarget's MP to ignite something that ispart of a living creature or closelytouching it (the gamemaster makes thecall here; but, for example, ignitingclothing would take a MP v. POW roll).

CALL HEAT

Touch, Temporal

Causes one ENC of substance to heat up.Metal will become more malleable. Ittakes about five minutes for the sub-stance to become red hot. Each Intensityof the spell creates 1D6 intensity of heatat its hottest. Use the Fire and Heat tablein the Natural World chapter to deter-mine how much heat is needed for aparticular substance. Thus, a 7 IntensityCall Heat cast on bronze would bring itto its very softest for hammering andsmithing, while an 8 Intensity spell wouldsimply melt it. If a spirit is in the object,the caster must overcome its MP.Twice the Intensity will affect up to 2ENC of material, thrice the Intensity willaffect up to 3 ENC of material, and so on.

CALL LIGHTTouch, Temporal

When cast on a physical object, this spelllights everything within a 10 meterradius of it with a radiance good enoughto read by. Each additional Intensity addsto the brightness of the light. FiveIntensities are equal to a bright day and10 Intensities are equal to the brightesttime of a clear day in midsummer in thedesert. If cast directly on a target's eyes (aMP vs. POW roll must succeed) eachIntensity reduces all of the target's visualskills (including attack, parry and dodge)by 5%.

CALL SHADOW

Touch, Temporal

When cast on a physical object, this spellcasts a faint shadow on everything withina 10 meter radius of it. Each additionalIntensity deepens the darkness of theshadow. Five Intensities create a shadoweven in full sunlight and 10 Intensitiesmake a shadow equal to a moonlessnight. Each Intensity adds 5% to theHide skill of anyone within the shadow(though the shadow itself may appear outof place unless carefully placed). It alsosubtracts 5% from the visual perceptionskills of anyone trying to look into orthrough the shadow (whether from theinside or outside). If cast directly on atarget's eyes (a MP vs. POW roll mustsucceed), each Intensity reduces all of thetarget's visual skills (including attack,parry and dodge) by 5%.

DETECT <Life, Magic,Malice, Species, Substance>

Ranged, Active

If the caster concentrates, he or she sees aglow around each target specific to the

S O R C E R Y • 173

spell that is within spell range.Detect Malice shows a slight glow

around any being which means to harmthe caster. No one else can see this glow.

The spell penetrates 1/2 meter of densesubstance (such as earth, wood, or metal)per point of Intensity.

ENHANCE <Sense>

Ranged, Active

If the target of the spell concentrates, thespecific sense that the spell affects, suchas sight, hearing, or smell, becomes moreeffective.

Each level of Intensity adds 5% to aspecific skill associated with that sense.Enhance Sight enhances Search skill, eachof the other spells increases a specificskill associated with that sense (such asListen, Scent, Feel, and Taste). In addi-tion, multiply the effective range at whichthe sense functions by the Intensity plusone. For example, a character with anIntensity 3 Enhance Sight can see 3 + 1 =4 times as far as normal. The spells forzero-range senses such as touch or tasteincrease the effective sensitivity of thesense instead.

INCREASE <STR, CON,DEX, APP, MV, Vigor>

Touch, Temporal or Transient

This spell adds 2 points per Intensity tothe appropriate characteristic (STR,CON, DEX, APP), to a limit of doublethe current characteristic. Such increasesdo not affect experience or research rolls.

Increase Move adds 1 per point ofIntensity to MV.

Increase Vigor restores one level ofshort term fatigue for every Intensity ofthe spell. Increase Vigor is Transient — ifcast before the exertion takes place, ittriggers as the target loses short termfatigue levels. The spell loses a point ofIntensity as it restores one level of shortterm fatigue.

REMOVE FIRE

Ranged, Instant

This spell puts out fires and flames. Thebase spell puts out a candle, torch orlantern, a 2 Intensity spell puts out asmall campfire, a 3 Intensity spell a bon-fire, and so on (see the Fire and Heattable in the Natural World).

RESIST DAMAGE

Ranged, Temporal

This spell will protect only the body ofthe target (not possessions on his or herperson). The total damage done to a pro-tected creature or object must overcome

the Intensity of the spell using the resis-tance table. If the damage overcomes theresistance of the spell then the full forceof the damage will affect the target. If thetarget is wearing armor, the damage isfirst absorbed by the armor (unless, ofcourse, a critical blow that ignored armorwas struck). The remaining damage (ifany) is then matched against the ResistDamage spell. If the damage does notovercome the Resist Damage spell thenthe blow will do no damage to the targetbut may knock him or her down (seeKnockback in Combat).

The Resist Damage spell will protectthe target for its full duration. If it iscombined with protective spells such asdivine spell Shield or the battle magicspell Protection, the damage is firstabsorbed by the other protective spellsand any armor worn by the target. Theremaining damage (if any) is thenmatched against the Resist Damage spell.

RESTORE <Substance>

Touch, Instant

Repairs 1 point of damage per Intensity.A shattered or severely damaged itemalso needs a successful Craft<appropriate Substance> roll to make itfunctional again. If the caster fails theCraft roll, the amount by which the rollis missed shows how badly put togetherthe object is.

TREAT WOUNDS

Touch, Transient

Each level of Intensity adds 5% to thetarget's First Aid skill, and adds 1 pointper Intensity to the damage healed by thefirst successful attempt to treat damageusing First Aid, after which the spell dis-sipates. Simply using First Aid to stopwounds from bleeding (but not treatdamage), will not make the spell dissi-pate. The spell does not allow one to dothings that cannot normally be done withFirst Aid, such as restore severed limbs orrestore general HP damage.

Thus, with a 4 Intensity Treat Woundsspell, the target adds 20% to his or herFirst Aid skill, and after successfullytreating a wound for damage (eachattempt requires 10 rounds of treatment),will add 4 to the damage healed, healing1D3 + 4 points of damage on a normalFirst Aid success.

COMMON HIGH MAGIC SPELLSHigh Magic spells are medium Reasoningskills, unless otherwise stated (a few arehard Reasoning skills).

High Magic Spell

Animate <Various>Boost DamageBoost RangeCastbackCast <Various >Conceal <Spell>Conceal <Various>Conceal SoulDecrease <Various>Dominate <Species>FlyIllusion of <Sense>Invoke <Element>PalsyProject <Sense>Mystic VisionNeutralize MagicProtective CircleRegenerateRegain LifeRemove LifeResist <Various>ShapechangeShow <Various>Skin of LifeSmotherTap <Characteristic>TeleportTelekinesis

Difficulty

HardMediumMediumMediumMediumHardMediumHardMediumHardHardHardHardMediumHardMediumMediumHardHardHardHardMediumHardHardHardHardHardHardHard

ANIMATE<Dead, Element, Substance>

Ranged, ActiveHard

While the caster concentrates, he can ani-mate 3 SIZ per Intensity of a solidsubstance, or 1 cubic meter per Intensityof a non-solid element (fire, water, dark-ness, air). A sufficient quantity of thematerial must be present for the spell tohave its full effect. The animated thinghas a base MV of 1. This can beincreased when the spell is first cast, witheach level of Intensity used for this pur-pose adding 1 to its MV. The animatedobject has a chance to do any actionequal to the caster's DEX x 3 or appro-priate skill (such as Weapon Attack,Weapon Parry, Climb, Dodge or Jump),whichever is greater.

An animated corpse or skeleton gains 3STR per Intensity of Animate Dead andhas a damage bonus appropriate to itsSTR and SIZ. It can use a weapon, orfight unarmed. A unarmed animatedskeleton or corpse does 1D3 base damage.

An animated solid substance (such asearth or stone) does damage equal to1D2 per 3 SIZ if it lands a blow. Unlessthe object was previously crafted with

174 • S O R C E R Y

sufficient detail to allow for it (i.e. astatue), it cannot wield a weapon or per-form tasks that require fine manipulation.

Animated air, water or darkness causes1D4 points of knockback only damageper cubic meter (see Knockback in theCombat chapter).

Animated fire causes 1 point of firedamage (general HP damage) per cubicmeter if it lands a blow.

The animated substance returns to itsoriginal form when the spell expires, or ifit takes enough physical damage to dis-rupt it. As a rule of thumb, an animatedsolid substance or skeleton has HP equalto the Intensity of the spell and AP equalto half the Intensity of the spell for thepurposes of disrupting it, while an ani-mated non-solid substance or corpse hasHP equal to twice the Intensity of thespell for the purpose of disrupting it.

BOOST DAMAGE

Ranged, Temporal

Affects any tool or anything that can beused as a weapon (such as a fist orsword). Each level of Intensity adds 1point to the damage that weapon doeswhen it strikes. Simply touching someoneor something with the object does notcause damage.

The base spell affects a weapon of upto 6 ENC. The caster can use additionallevels of Intensity to affect bulkierweapons at the rate of one level ofIntensity per 6 additional ENC.

BOOST RANGE

Ranged, Temporal

Increases the normal and maximumrange of a missile or thrown weapon it iscast upon by 10% per point of Intensity.With a missile weapon or atlatl, therange of any missiles fired from theweapon is affected for the duration of thespell. The spell has no effect on a missileor thrown weapon's point blank range.

The base spell affects a weapon of upto 6 ENC. The caster can use additionallevels of Intensity to affect bulkierweapons at the rate of one level ofIntensity per 6 additional ENC.

CASTBACK

Ranged, Temporal

This spell affects any offensive spellwhich has an Intensity equal to or fewerthan the Castback spell (double theIntensity of divine spells for this pur-pose). If affected, the attacking spell willboomerang back at its caster if it fails toovercome the POW of the person pro-tected by Castback. The caster must thentry to overcome his own POW with his

current MP in a resistance roll. If boththe caster and the target are protected byCastback or Reflection, then the spellmay bounce back and forth several timesbefore affecting either the caster or thetarget. If the incoming spell has anIntensity greater than that of the Cast-back, it eliminates the Castback spell.

CAST CONFUSION

Ranged, Temporal

When cast upon a target with normalINT, every time they attempt to use askill or cast a spell there is a 10% chanceper Intensity of spell that they forgetwhat they know of the skill or spell. If askill has a base chance of greater than0%, it can be used at its base chance ofsuccess (base plus bonus) only.

If the target of the spell succeeds in anINT x1 roll when he or she is firstaffected by the spell, he or she realizesthat they have been affected by the spell,and can attempt to dispel or otherwisemagically counter the effects of the spell.

CAST COURAGE

Ranged, Temporal

If a target with normal INT is overcomeby the the spell, any defensive actions thetarget attempts in combat cost twice asmany actions. Thus, All Out Defense isnot possible, and a Defend Only actionwill not allow the target to take anyother actions (or move in the Post MeleeMove phase). In addition, each point ofIntensity reduces the target's MV by 1 forthe purpose of attempting to move awayfrom a foe (it has no effect should theystand their ground or move towards a foe).

If the target of the spell succeeds in anINT x 1 roll when first affected by thespell, he or she realizes that the spell is ineffect, and can attempt to dispel or other-wise magically counter the effects of thespell.

Each Intensity of Cast Fear cancels oneIntensity of Cast Courage.

CAST DESIRE

Ranged, Temporal

This spell must overcome the POW of itsvictim. It causes its victim to either seeanother creature of the caster's choice assexually attractive, or makes an object ofthe caster's choice appear more attractiveto the victim. Both victim and creaturemust be within range of the spell. EachIntensity of the spell adds 1 to the crea-ture or object's effective APP for theduration of the spell (the gamemastermust determine a value for an objectsAPP in this case).

If the victim subsequently fails a roll of

his or her POW vs. the effective APP ofthe creature, the creature can seduce himor her. Of course, a victim is seducedmore easily by someone he or she wouldbe attracted to without the spell, and it isvery hard to make the victim go to bedwith someone who would ordinarily berepulsive to that person.

If the victim subsequently fails a roll ofhis or her POW vs. the effective APP ofan object, the victim will wish to desper-ately possess the item. Gamemastersshould feel free to tell the player's what-ever they think will make their characterdesire the object (that it appears to be alost family heirloom, is grossly underval-ued, is secretly magical, etc.)

If the victim of the spell succeeds in anINT xl roll when first affected by thespell, he or she realizes that a spell is ineffect, and can attempt to dispel or other-wise magically counter the effects of thespell.

CAST FEARRanged, Temporal

If a target with normal INT is overcomeby the the spell, any attack actions thetarget attempts in combat cost twice asmany actions. Thus, All Out Attack isnot possible, and an Attack Only actionwill not allow the target to take anyother actions (or move in the Post MeleeMove phase). In addition, each point ofIntensity reduces the target's MV by 1 forthe purpose of attempting to movetowards a foe (it has no effect shouldthey stand their ground or move awayfrom all foes).

If the target of the spell succeeds in anINT x 1 roll when first affected by thespell, he or she realizes that the spell is ineffect, and can attempt to dispel or other-wise magically counter the effects of thespell.

Each Intensity of Cast Courage cancelsone Intensity of Cast Fear.

CONCEAL <Life, Magic,Malice, Species, Substance>

Touch, TemporalHard

Each level of Intensity of this spell blocksone Intensity of the Detect or Show spellit is specific for, without alerting thecaster of the detection spell that his spellhas been blocked. In other words, anIntensity 3 Detect Malice spell (or a spiritmagic Detect Enemies or Divine FindEnemies) will not detect an enemy who isshielded by an Intensity 3 Conceal Malicespell.

S O R C E R Y • 175

CONCEAL <Object, Self, Sound>

Touch, Temporal

Each level of Intensity of these spells adds15% to the appropriate skill they are spe-cific for. Conceal Object adds to Concealskill for hiding the object or person it iscast on, Conceal Self adds to the target'sHide skill, and Conceal Sound adds tothe target's Sneak skill.

CONCEAL SOUL

Touch, TemporalHard

This spell decreases its target's apparentPOW and MP by 2 points per level ofIntensity (to a minimum of 0). If the tar-get appears to have 0 MP, spirits willgenerally ignore him or her. If the targetappears to have 0 POW, spells such asSecond Sight will ignore the target.

DECREASE <STR, CON,DEX, APP, MV, Vigor>

Ranged, Temporal(Instant for Decrease Vigor)

This spell temporarily subtracts 2 pointsper Intensity from the appropriate char-acteristic (STR, CON, DEX, APP).Decrease MV subtracts 1 MV perIntensity from the target. A target with aMV of 0 or less cannot move (thoughthey can freely spin or turn in place).Decrease Vigor is Instant, and causes thetarget to lose 1 level of fatigue for everytwo Intensities of the spell used (for every10 points or fraction thereof over 20 SIZ,reduce the effective Intensity of DecreaseVigor by one).

DOMINATE <Species>

Ranged, Temporal(Active if using mental link to command)Hard

This spell is used to gain command overa specific species of creature. The crea-ture may have fixed, normal or no INT.The spell must overcome the POW of itstarget and have an Intensity equal to atleast half the target's POW (round up) tobe effective.

A successful Dominate spell forces thecreature to obey the commands of thecaster for the duration of the spell. Thesemay be spoken, or the caster may takeadvantage of the mental link formed bythe spell to communicate a mental imageof the actions he or she wishes the crea-ture to perform. A full melee round (2actions) is required to mentally form andcommunicate the desired image. Themental link has line of sight range. Adominated creature will continue to per-form commanded actions once out of

range of hearing or the mental link, butnew commands may not be issued.

A Dominate <Species> spell that is suc-cessfully cast on a possessed creature orshaman has no effect on the possessingspirit or the shaman's fetch. A shaman'sfetch will take over for the shaman (thegamemaster may wish to run the shamanas a non-player character for the dura-tion of the spell). Likewise, a Dominate<Species> spell that is successfully cast onany creature with multiple personalitieswill dominate but one of the personali-ties, leaving other free to act.A Dominate <Spirit> spell successfullycast on a possessing spirit (assumingsome unusual form of magic is used toperceive it) will dominate the possessingspirit, leaving the creature free to actnormally.

The spells of Dominate Elemental,Dominate Ghost, Dominate <MundaneAnimal>, Dominate Spirit and DominateWraith are common. Others dominatespells exist, such as Dominate Basilisk orDominate Human, but are uncommon.

FLY

Touch, Active (for target)Hard

While the target concentrates this spellmoves 3 SIZ of the target per Intensitythrough the air (or water) with a baseMV of 2. Additional levels of Intensitycan be used to increase the movementrate, adding 2 MV per point of Intensityused for this purpose.

ILLUSION OF <Sense>

Ranged, Temporal(Active to move or attack)Hard

This is are the spells of casting illusions.Each of these spells affects a specificsense. These may be human (sight, touch,taste, hearing, and smell) or nonhumansenses (Darksense, Earthsense, andElfsense).

When a sorcerer creates an illusion heis fabricating a temporary bit of reality.Even if the illusion is detected for what itis or is disbelieved, the illusion remains ineffect nonetheless. If it is a touch illusionit can be deadly, regardless of whetheryou know it is an illusion or not.

An illusion cast directly upon a targetmoves with the target until its durationexpires, and cannot be move indepen-dently of its target. An illusion not castupon a specific target cannot move unlessadditional Intensity was spent to allow itto move. Causing an illusion to move orattack requires concentration (an Attackaction in combat).

The intensity of an illusion will deter-

mine the strength of the illusion. A listingof some sample illusory tastes, odors, etc.has been included with notes on eachtype of illusion.

Odor IllusionsOdor illusions will reproduce a singleodor from the caster's memory. Odor isthe same for all species and it can be usedto fool any creature.

An offensive odor illusion with 4 ormore Intensity can be used to force any-one it is directly cast upon to make aCON x5 roll. Failure indicates the victimis overcome by nausea (treat them asIncapacitated, see Combat) until the roll,made at the beginning of each subsequentround, finally succeeds. Every two pointsof Intensity beyond 4 decreases the CONroll by one multiple. Once the CON rollis made, the victim no longer suffers theeffects of that particular odor, though theoffensive odor will linger on until thespell expires or it is dismissed.

Additional Intensities can be used tomake an Illusory Odor not directly castat a specific target move when the casterconcentrates. Each Intensity used for thepurpose gives the illusion a MV of 2.

Sample Odor Intensities1346810etc.

water after a rainfalla rosefrying onions (CON x5)ammonia (CON x4)fresh skunk oil (CON x3)putrescence (CON x2)

Taste IllusionsTaste illusions cause an area of 1 SIZ toassume a taste familiar to the caster.

An offensive taste illusion with 4 ormore Intensity can be used to force itstarget to make a CON x5 roll, using thesame guidelines as odor illusions.

Additional Intensities can be used tomake an Illusory Taste not directly castat a specific target move when the casterconcentrates. Each Intensity used for thepurpose gives the illusion a MV of 2.

Sample Taste Intensities

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clean river waterbland gruelorange peel (CON x5)lemon concentrate (CON x4)coffee bitters (CON x3)acid (CON x2)

Sight IllusionsSight illusions register upon light-sensi-tive organs. Each level of intensity coversan area of 2 SIZ.

A sight illusion can be used to obscurethe vision of its target, as per the rules forfighting in darkness (see Combat).

176 • S O R C E R Y

Additional Intensities can be used tomake an Illusory Sight not directly cast ata specific target move when the casterconcentrates. Each Intensity used for thepurpose gives the illusion a MV of 2.

Sound IllusionsSound illusions must be specified as tonature and the intent of the caster. A sin-gle intensity Sound illusion creates a softnoise as loud as the rustle of a leaf onpaper.

A sound illusion with 4 or moreIntensity can be used to force a target tomake a CON x5 roll or be deafened for anumber of minutes equal to the Intensityof the spell. Every two points of Intensitybeyond 4 decreases the CON roll by onemultiple. Each such attempt requires con-centration (an Attack action in melee) onthe part of the caster.

Additional Intensities can be used tomake an Illusory Sound not directly castat a specific target move when the casterconcentrates. Each Intensity used for thepurpose gives the illusion a MV of 2.

Sample Sound Intensities

INVOKE <Element>

Ranged, Instant/TemporalHard

Creates a magical blast of the specific ele-ment. If the spell's caster overcomes thetarget's POW with his or her MP, thiscauses 1 HP of damage per Intensity to arandom hit location of the target.The common forms of this spell includeFire, Air, Water, Earth, Dark, and Light.Less common forms, such as lightning ora moonbeam, exist as well.

PALSY

Ranged, Temporal

Strikes at a random hit location. If thecaster succeeds in a MP vs. POW roll,and the spell has an Intensity of at leasthalf the current HP in the location(round up), the target cannot use thelocation, suffering the same result as ifthe location had taken damage equal toits HP, even though no actual damageoccurs.

PROJECT <Sense>

Ranged, Temporal(Active if moving or sensing)Hard

Lets the caster project the specified senseout to the maximum range of the spell. Ifthe caster moves out of the maximumrange, the spell ends. The caster canmove the viewpoint with a MV of 1.Each additional level of Intensity adds 1MV. The spell cannot penetrate morethan 1 meter of dense substance (not nec-essarily contiguous) per Intensity(movement slows by 1 MV for everymeter of dense substance, until it reaches0). The viewpoint is immaterial — one candetect it magically and dispel it, but othermagical spells or physical attacks have noeffect on it. When focusing on the pro-jected sense, the caster cannot makenormal use of the sense. For example, asorcerer using Project Sight cannot seewhat is in front of his body, only what isin front of the projected viewpoint.Project Touch only causes the caster tolose the sense of touch from his or herhands.

MYSTIC VISION

Ranged, Temporal(Active if moving or sensing)

This spell augments the target's visualability. The target can see magic, withgreater detail at higher levels of Intensity.The basic spell gives only a rough idea asto the strength of the magic, or whetherthe target is looking at a magical creatureor an undead. At 5 intensities, the target

begins to see something of the basic pur-pose of the magic, and at 10 Intensities,the target sees something of the truenature of the magic. Lore skills, such asMagic Lore, or Sorcery Lore, can greatlyenhance one's ability to understand themagic (see skills).

Each meter of dense substance blocks 1Intensity of Mystic Vision.

NEUTRALIZE MAGIC

Ranged, Instant

The sorcerer must pit the intensity of thisspell vs. the Intensity of the spell to beneutralized on the resistance table. If theattack of the Neutralize spell is successfulthen the magic spell that was attacked iseliminated. If the resistance roll wasfailed, then the Neutralize Magic spellhas no effect.

When cast against a target withoutspecifying any particular effect or target,the Neutralize Magic will always firstdestroy defensive spells, beginning withthe most powerful spell that it can affect.However, it may be successfully castagainst a specific spell if the caster canmagically discern or can otherwise guessthe spell.

PROTECTIVE CIRCLE

Touch, TemporalHard

This spell creates a magically protectedarea which covers an area equal to thesquare of the spell's Intensity in cubicmeters. If the spell is cast upon theground it cannot be moved. If cast on awagon bed, it will move as the wagonbed moves, etc.

All physical creatures must overcomethe Intensity of the spell with their STR(on the resistance table) to enter the areaprotected by the spell. Each attempt toenter the protected area requires aMiscellaneous Action in combat on thepart of the creature.

Missiles passing through the bound-aries of the circle must match theirmaximum possible damage against theIntensity of spell to enter. If the missile isaimed at a target with a Resist Damagespell up, add the Intensity of the ResistDamage spell to the Intensity of theProtective Circle to determine if the mis-sile can penetrate to affect the target.Those within the area of the spell can firemissiles out of the area or pass out of thearea without resistance.

All spells passing into the circle mustovercome the Intensity of the ProtectiveCircle before they can strike at thosewithin. If the spell is aimed at a targetwith a Resist Magic spell up, add theIntensity of the Resist Magic spell to the

12345

a slap in the face (1D2 damage)a fist in the jaw (2D2 damage)a sharp knife (3D2 damage)a jab in the belly (4D2 damage)a kick in the groin (5D2 damage)

1246810

a leaf on paperwhisperconversation (CON x5)close shout (CON x4)a screaming crowd (CON x3)volcanic eruption (CON x2)

Touch IllusionsTouch illusions manifest as invisible solidforce with a SIZ of 1. A touch illusioncan do 1D2 damage per Intensity ifdirectly cast upon a target or if the targetwalks into it. Armor will protect the tar-get from this damage. A particular touchillusion will only cause damage to thesame target once.

Additional Intensities can be used tomake an Illusory Motion not directly castat a specific target move when the casterconcentrates. Each Intensity used for thepurpose gives the illusion a MV of 2. If asorcerer wishes to attack with a mobiletouch illusion, he has his DEX x1 chanceof succeeding. If the spell's caster can seethe illusion (with Mystic Vision or byMultispelling it with a sight illusion), thechance of success increases to DEX x3.Moving such an illusion or using it toattack requires concentration (1 Attackaction in melee) on the part of the caster.

Sample Touch Intensities

S O R C E R Y • 177

Intensity of the Protective Circle to deter-mine if the spell can penetrate to affectthe target. Those within the circle can castspells within or out of the circle freely.

All disembodied spirits must overcometwice the Intensity of the spell with theirPOW to enter the area protected by thespell. In general, only extremely hostilespirits will attempt to enter an area soprotected, and only the most obsessedspirits will attempt to do so more thanonce. Spirits can leave the area protectedby the spell without hindrance.

REGENERATE

Touch, Temporal (base duration 1 hour)Hard

The base spell allows the caster to re-at-tach a newly severed organ (if cast within10 melee rounds of the severance). Thespell will otherwise cause a maimed orsevered organ to regrow at 1 % per weekper Intensity (if this was not done soalready, roll 1D100 to determine the per-centage of the limb that was maimed orsevered). In addition, the target's naturalhealing rate (see the Natural World) willincrease by 1 point per Intensity. Notethat the spell needs to be recast oftenunless the duration is greatly extended.

REGAIN LIFE

Touch, InstantHard

Each Intensity heals 1 of location hitpoint damage or 1/10 HP of general HPdamage (rounding up, as always).

An Intensity 5 Regain Life spell caninstead be used to re-attach a severed limbif cast within 10 melee rounds of the sev-erance. The caster must also succeed in aFirst Aid roll. This does not heal anydamage, simply re-attaches the severedorgan, which will require further healing.

REMOVE LIFE

Ranged, InstantHard

Each Intensity of the spell does 1 point ofgeneral hit point damage to a target thatis overcome by the spell.

RESIST BLEEDING

Touch, Transient

Each Intensity keeps a single wound frombleeding. Wounds treated with First Aidor a healing magic do not resume bleed-ing once the spell duration expires. Onecan cast the spell before or after thewounds occur. Every wound the spellkeeps from bleeding reduces the spell'sIntensity by one.

RESIST DEATH

Touch, Temporal

The target of the spell does not die aftertaking twice his or her total HP. EachIntensity lets the target go 2 HP beyondtwice his or her HP before dying (thoughthe target is still unconscious if havingtaken their HP or greater in damage. Forexample, a character with 11 HP, whonormally dies after taking 22 HP of dam-age, only dies after taking 28 or more HPof damage if he or she has a 3 IntensityResist Death spell cast on him or her.

In addition, the spell adds its Intensityto the target's MP for the purposes ofresisting death magic (Remove Life,Disruption, and Sever Spirit are all exam-ples of death magic).

RESIST DISEASE

Touch, Transient

Each Intensity gives +5% to the charac-ter's next roll to resist the effects of adisease, after which the spell dissipates.

RESIST MAGIC

Ranged, Passive

This spell will protect a target (not pos-sessions on his or her person). Any spellscast upon a person or thing protected byResist Magic must overcome the spell'sIntensity using the resistance table. UseIntensity of the attacking spell (doublefor divine spells) as the active force. If theattacking spell overcomes the ResistMagic spell then it will penetrate andmay affect the target. If the attackingspell fails to overcome the Resist Magicspell then it will have no effect. TheResist Magic spell will remain in effectuntil its duration expires.

RESIST POISON

Touch, Temporal

Each Intensity of the spell negates 3 HPof poison damage. The spell decreases byone Intensity for every 3 HP of poisondamage so negated. The spell has noeffect on poison damage suffered beforecasting the spell. One can cast it beforeexposure to the poison, or after exposurebut before the damage has occurred.

SHAPECHANGE<Species> TO <Species>

Ranged, TemporalHard

The spell must have a an Intensity of atleast 1 for every 3 points of SIZ of thetarget, and must succeed in a Intensity vs.MP roll if the target is unwilling. Forexample, to affect an unwilling SIZ 13

target takes a minimum 5 Intensity spell(that overcomes the target's MP with itsIntensity). If it succeeds, the spell causesthe target to take on the form of the newspecies. The target's SIZ remains con-stant, regardless of the new form.The exact appearance of the new formcan be varied slightly by the caster, soShapechange Human to Human could beused to disguise a human.

SHOW <Life, Magic,Malice, Species, Substance>

Ranged, ActiveHard

These spells act like their equivalentDetects, except that when the caster con-centrates targets within range of the spellvisibly glow with a soft light visible to all(including the targets), and that eachpoint of Intensity allows the spell to pen-etrate 1 meter of a hard substance andtake effect.

SKIN OF LIFE

Touch, TemporalHard

For its duration, this spell protects thetarget from the effects of asphyxiationdue to air deprivation, whether fromdrowning, smoke inhalation, or theresults of the Smother spell. The target ofthe spell must try to breath normally forthe spell merely provides oxygen, thelungs must still receive it. A target withup to 3 SIZ per level of Intensity will beprotected. This spell has no effect onchoking due to a strong arm about theneck, a garrotte, or food stuck in thethroat, etc.

SMOTHER

Ranged, TransientHard

This spell causes a victim it overcomes tosuffer asphyxiation damage. The spelllasts a number of melee rounds equal toits Intensity (losing 1 Intensity a round),and causes 1D3 points of general HPdamage each round it is in effect.

If the spell's victim takes some timeduring the course of a melee round tofight for their breath (spends aMiscellaneous Action to breathe), theysuffer only 1D3-1 points of general HPdamage that round. If the spell's victimdoes nothing but fight for their breath ina round (spending two MiscellaneousActions to breathe), they suffer only 1D3-2points of general HP damage that round.

The spell may be dispelled before it hasrun its course. One Intensity of Skin ofLife destroys one Intensity of Smother,and vice versa.

178 • S O R C E R Y

TAP <STR, CON,SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP>

Touch, TemporalHard

Each Intensity permanently drains apoint of the specified attribute and addsit to the caster's attribute for the durationof the spell. Since temporary POW is MP,each point of POW drained adds 1 MPto the caster for the duration of the spell.As per the normal stacking rules, only thehighest Intensity spell will have effect — aTap STR 7 and a Tap STR 5 add only 7STR to the caster, while destroying 12STR of its victim. Tap <Characteristic>has no other limits and will continue toadd to a characteristic that Increase<Characteristic> has increased, evenbeyond the normal limits of Increase<Characteristic>.

TELEPORT

Ranged, InstantHard

Each level of Intensity teleports 3 SIZthat the caster touches (or him or herself)to a point that the caster can see withinrange of the spell or to a specific previ-ously enchanted area anywhere withinrange of the spell (see the ritual spellHoming Circle). If the caster has severalareas within range, he or she can choosethe one to which to teleport.

TELEPATHY

Ranged, Temporal

This spell allows mind-to-mind commu-nication between the caster and a target,or between two targets chosen by thecaster. Each additional point of Intensityallows the caster to include an additionalperson to be communicated with. It doesnot create an open link between all com-municants.

TELEKINESIS

Ranged, ActiveHard

While the caster concentrates, this spellwill move 2 SIZ of a target per Intensitywith a base MV of 1. Every 6 ENC countas 1 SIZ for this purpose. Additional lev-els of Intensity can be used to increasethe movement rate, adding 1 MV perpoint of Intensity used for this purpose. Ifused to grab an item out of someone'sresisting grasp, each Intensity beyond thatrequired to lift and move the object pro-vides 3 STR to use in a STR vs. STR roll.

RITUAL SORCERYThe chance to successfully complete asorcerous ritual is equal to the caster'sskill in a particular ritual. The skills ofsorcerous Ceremony, Enchant, andSummon are complementary to sorcerousrituals of that particular type, enhancingthe chance for success. The chance forsuccess may be further enhanced by theuse of ceremonial casting (see Ceremony,in the Skills chapter for more details). If aritual in which POW is expended isfailed, 1 point of POW is lost. If the rit-ual is fumbled, all the POW that wouldhave been used is lost.

The rituals typically take a minimumof 10 minutes if only MP were expended,or if POW is expended, a number ofhours equal to points of POW expended.

COMMON RITUAL LOW MAGICThese sorcerous rituals are easyReasoning skills with a base of 0%,unless otherwise stated. All areCeremonies, for which Ceremony/Sorceryis a complementary skill.

Low Ritual Difficulty Type

BLESSING

BanishmentBlessingCursingOpen SeasSolace

EasyEasyEasyEasyEasy

CeremonyCeremonyCeremonyCeremonyCeremony

BANISHMENT (FUNERAL RITUAL)

Ritual (Ceremony)

A funeral ritual common to nearly allsorcerous cultures, it ensures that thesoul of the departed finds its proper rest,and does not return to haunt its burialsite or those that buried it. It takes a min-imum of 10 minutes and the expenditureof 1 MP from each of the ritual's partici-pants to perform.

Among the Malkioni, it ensures thatthe ghost of a Malkioni that did not enterthe Malkioni paradise of Solace in Gloryis banished from the lands it once lived in

BLESSING

Ritual (Ceremony)

A common ritual of blessing that is typi-cally used at weddings, funerals,tournaments, or other important occa-sions. The spell can take anywhere from10 minutes to several days, or longer, tocast, depending on the occasion. A vari-able number of MP are expended by theritual's participants at the time. Thegamemaster should adjudicate whateffect, if any, the blessing had. In general,longer rituals, with more participants andmore MP spent, may have a more tangi-ble effect.

Ritual (Ceremony)

A ritual similar to Blessing, but less com-mon. It is used to send curses againstone's foes. It otherwise functions thesame way.

OPEN SEAS

Ritual (Ceremony)

This spell takes 10 minutes and 1 MP toperform. It must be cast each time theship weighs anchor or casts off. If thespell fails, then the instant the ship leavessight of land, the Closing reaffirms itselfand brings catastrophe to the vessel.. This ritual was developed and spreadamong the sea-faring people ofGlorantha by Dormal the Sailor. Allopen-seas sailors everywhere inGlorantha know this ritual, or a variantof it, or have an expert on their ship whoknows it. Otherwise, sea travel would beimpossible.

SOLACE

Ritual (Ceremony)

This ritual spell is common to nearly allsects of the Malkioni, part of the NewRites introduced by Prince Hrestol in theyear 2 S.T. The Galvosti are one of thefew Malkioni sects that do not use it. Inthose Malkioni cultures where it is com-mon, it has a base of 30%, with furthertraining readily available from the sect'sschools of sorcery. It cannot be learnedby non-Malkioni.

The spell can be automatically cast asthe caster dies. If successfully cast, thecaster enters the paradise of Solace inGlory, becoming one with the InvisibleGod. The caster cannot be resurrected,reincarnated, turned into a ghost, orsummoned from the dead by a shaman,nor does his spirit linger by the deadbody. If the spell fails, none of the aboveeffects apply, though the Banishment rit-ual performed at Malkioni funerals willgenerally prevent a ghost from lingering.

Common Ritual High MagicThese sorcerous rituals are mediumReasoning skills, with a base of 0%,unless otherwise stated.

High Ritual Difficulty Type

ApprenticeArmoringBindingFamiliarDivinationEnchantForm/SetWorship

MediumMediumMediumMediumMediumMediumMediumMedium

EnchantmentEnchantmentEnchantmentEnchantmentCeremonyEnchantmentEnchantmentCeremony

S O R C E R Y • 179

APPRENTICE BONDING

Ritual (Ceremony)

Through this ritual the master establishesa special link with each of his or herapprentices. This bond is necessary sothat the master can instruct the appren-tice in the deeper secrets of sorcery.

Establishing this bond requires theapprentice to expend 1 point of currentPOW during an hour long ceremonyoverseen by the master. When completed,the master will always know the approxi-mate distance and direction of theapprentice, and can issue a gentle call forthe apprentice to return to him. The mas-ter will not be able to read the student'smind, use his magic points, or influencehis actions in any way. This spell is notlike Mindlink.

Failing to roll under the caster's skill inApprentice Bonding simply means thatthe ritual failed, and must be repeatedagain. No POW is lost by the prospectiveapprentice if the ritual failed. A sorcerercan have as many apprentices as he orshe can handle.


Ritual (Enchant)

Each point of POW expended in this rit-ual increases the armor points of a singleobject by 1D4. The chance to succeed isbased on the caster's ArmoringEnchantment skill, but the effects of theritual are otherwise identical to theRitual Divine Magic spell of the samename.

BINDING ENCHANTMENT

Ritual (Enchant)

This ritual allows its caster to expendPOW to create an object capable of bind-ing a spirit. The chance to succeed isbased on the caster's BindingEnchantment skill, but the effects of theritual are otherwise identical to theRitual Divine Magic spell of the samename.

<Create, Awaken> FAMILIAR

Ritual (Enchant)

These rituals are used by their casters toawaken or create a familiar. Not allschools of sorcery create or awakenfamiliars, and even within a school ofsorcery that does, may sorcerers maychoose not to do so. Still, they are notuncommon, particularly among sorcerersat the adept or magus levels.

Awakening a familiar involves findingan incomplete creature, typically a mun-dane animal, and performing an AwakenFamiliar ritual. In the course of the ritual,

the sorcerer expends 1 POW, plus 1 pointof POW for each incomplete or missingcharacteristic the creature has. The crea-ture gains a roll for that characteristicequal to that of the species the casterbelongs to. Thus, if a human sorcererwished to make a cat into a familiar, hewould have to expend 2 points of POW(the cat lacks only normal INT). The catgains a normal INT of 2D6+6, and thesorcerer gains a familiar. A golem, whichwould start as a statue with only onecharacteristic, SIZ, would require theexpenditure of 7 POW. An awakenedfamiliar retains much of its original per-sonality. A familiar cat would have afeline personality, a golem would havelittle, if any, personality. Among the vari-ous schools of sorcery, awakenedfamiliars are popular in the East Isles,among some Kralori schools, amongsome Stygian schools, among someDormal sorcerers, and among many inde-pendent sorcerers.

Creating a familiar involves awakeningonly INT and POW within an object oritem with the Create Familiar ritual. Theexact object used generally depends onthe sorcerer's school. Many Westernschools of sorcery favor wands, staffs,pentacles, cups and swords. ManyKralori schools of sorcery favor mandala.Some Dormal sorcerers use their ships asfamiliars. Independent sorcerers may usea wide variety of objects. This form ofthe spell requires an expenditure of 3POW, after which the object gains a rollfor INT and POW equal to that of thespecies the caster belongs to. A humansorcerer creating a familiar out of a wandwould end up with a wand with a INT of2D6+6 and a POW of 3D6.

The sorcerer and familiar are in a per-manent mental link, with a 10 kilometerrange. The sorcerer can thus draw uponthe familiar's MP as long as it is within10 kilometers. He can also be affected bymind or emotion affecting spells thatstrike the familiar, and vice versa (seeMindlink). The sorcerer has a perpetualawareness of his familiar's approximatedistance and direction beyond the 10kilometer range, and can issue a mentalcommand for the familiar to return tohim (assuming it is capable of doing so).

A familiar confers two other benefitswhen it is within 10 kilometers of thesorcerer. Both are the result of theincreased emotional control and powerof concentration a familiar grants.

The first, and primary, benefit is that afamiliar enhances the sorcerer's ability tocast and manipulate sorcery spells. Thefamiliar's POW is added to all the sorceryspell and manipulation skills the sorcererknows (not those at 0% base).

The second benefit is an increase in the

sorcerer's powers of concentration. Thefamiliar's INT as a percentage is added toany concentration rolls the sorcerer mustmake.

A common side effect of the sorcerer'smental link with the familiar is that theactions of an awakened familiar mayreflect something of the sorcerer's truemental state, while a sorcerer with a cre-ated familiar may take on some of itsaspects at all times. Thus, in a tense situ-ation, a sorcerer with a monkey familiarmay stay calm and focused, while themonkey screams and jumps. An irritatedsorcerer with a cat familiar may appearunperturbed, while the cat arches its backand hisses. A sorcerer with a createdfamiliar sword may appear sharper andmore focused than before, one with awand or staff more austere, and one witha mandala more complex.

It is possible, though unusual, to teachan awakened familiar sorcery spells. Thiswill only work if the familiars form isclose enough to that of the sorcerer, andcan make the same gestures and speakthe intonations the sorcerer normallyuses. In this case, it is simply treated asany student of sorcery would be, includ-ing the requirement of having a MagicSkill Category Modifier of +10 or greaterto learn advanced manipulations (in thiscase it is already considered to be in anapprentice bond with the sorcerer).

A sorcerer may normally have only onefamiliar at a time. He can create orawaken another if it dies or is destroyed(though a familiar's death or destructionmay well cause the sorcerer some tempo-rary trauma). If the sorcerer wishes, hecan release a familiar from his service,and then create or awaken another. Themental link between them is broken, butthe old familiar retains its enhanced sta-tistics. If the sorcerer dies, his currentfamiliar and any familiars he may havereleased from his service begin to losetheir added characteristics at a rate of 1point per week from each added charac-teristic. If the sorcerer is resurrectedsomehow, the loss ceases, and his familiaris once again his, unless it degenerated tothe point that it is no longer a completecreature.

DIVINATION <Various>

Ritual (Ceremony)

Various divination ceremonies, of limitedeffectiveness. Some rely on saints, othersrely on natural laws or divination tools.One can expend either MP or POW in adivination ritual. The gamemaster shouldadjudicate what effect, if any, the divina-tion had. In general, longer rituals, thosewhere more MP spent, or rituals wherePOW is expended are more likely to have

180 • S O R C E R Y

results. The roll to succeed should bemade by the gamemaster. If appealing toa saint, a vision may provide the divinerwith clues, otherwise whatever mecha-nism the diviner employs may providethe diviner with clues. In general, thesedivination rituals are unreliable, andshould not be overused.

Some common forms of sorcerous div-ination include Astrology (divinationthrough the stars and heavenly bodies),Augury (divination through natural signsand portents), Chartamancy (divinationthrough cards), Geomancy (divinationthrough the earth), Hagiomancy (divina-tion through the saints), Necromancy(divination through the bodies or spiritsof the dead), Nephomancy (divinationthrough air and clouds), Oneiromancy(divination through dreams), andPyromancy (divination through fire).

ENCHANT HIGH MAGICRitual (Enchant)

This ritual is used to create a sorcerymatrix that enhances a specific HighMagic spell that the caster knows. Eachpoint of POW expended in the ritual cre-ates a sorcery matrix that adds 10% to aspecific High Magic spell skill (5% if thespell is Hard). One cannot create a matrixthat adds more to a High Magic spellskill than the skill one has in that spell.

If the individual using the matrix doesnot know the spell at all, it allows him tocast it at a percentage equal to the bonusgiven by the matrix, and the base spellmay be learned from the matrix to 1D6plus reasoning skill category bonus after50 hours of study (100 hours if a Hardspell).

ENCHANT HOMING CIRCLE

Ritual (Enchant)

This ritual creates an area to which onecan teleport to using the Teleport spell,even if the area is out of the caster's sight.The area must still be within the caster'sspell range. Each point of POW expendedin the ritual creates a 1 meter diametercircle, large enough for 21 SIZ. Eachadditional point of POW used increasesthe capacity of the circle by 21 SIZ.

ENCHANT LOW MAGICRitual (Enchant)

This ritual is used to create a sorcerymatrix that enhances a specific LowMagic spell that the caster knows. Eachpoint of POW expended in the ritual cre-ates a sorcery matrix that adds 20% to aspecific Low Magic spell skill. One can-not create a matrix that adds more to aLow Magic spell skill than the skill one

has in that spell. Thus, a sorcerer withCall Light 73% cannot create more thana +60% Call Light Matrix (costing himor her 3 POW).

If the individual using the matrix doesnot know the spell at all, it allows him tocast it at a percentage equal to the bonusgiven by the matrix, and the base spellmay be learned from the matrix to 1D6plus reasoning skill category bonus after25 hours of study.

ENCHANT <Metal>

Ritual (Enchant)

Each point of POW expended in this rit-ual allows a sorcerer to enchant up to 10ENC of the metal the ritual is specific for.The chance to succeed is based on thecaster's Enchant <Metal> skill, but theeffects of the ritual are otherwise identi-cal to the Ritual Divine Magic spell ofthe same name. Enchant Iron, EnchantLead and Enchant Quicksilver are com-mon amongst sorcerers, other Enchant<Metal> spells are uncommon orunknown.

FORM/SET <Substance>

Ritual (Enchant)

This ritual allows magically enhances thecrafting of any one object of the appro-priate substance.

In its simplest form, the ritual requiresthe expenditure of 1 MP per hour theCrafter works. If the ritual is successful,the crafting of the object is blessed. Theitem produced is one of the better exam-ples of the Crafter's work. Any fumblesrolled by the Crafter become simple failures.

If the caster also expends a point ofPOW, the crafting of the item is at least anormal success. A normal successbecomes a special success, a special suc-cess becomes a critical success, and acritical success is even further enhanced,producing a one of a kind masterpiece.

SUMMON<Otherworld Species>

Ritual (Summon)

These ritual summoning spells allow thecaster to summon a member of specificgroup of otherworld creatures whose truename is known to the caster. The varioussorcery schools often keep records con-taining the true names of otherworldcreatures. Summon/Sorcery is a comple-mentary skill.

The mechanics of the spell are other-wise identical to those of Summon<Otherworld Creature (see SpiritMagic). Sorcerers of course will useDominate <Species> to control a stunnedspirit (or attempt to control an

unstunned one).The spells of Summon Elemental,

Summon Ghost, Summon Spirit andSummon Wraith are all commonamongst sorcerers. Others exist, such asSummon Demon, but are uncommon.

WORSHIP INVISIBLE GOD

Ritual (Ceremony)

This spell allows the user to lead a formalworship service to the Invisible God orany of his saints. All participants in theritual receive spiritual assurance that themagic points donated to their deity wereacceptable to him.

• G A M E M A S T E R I N G •

The role of the gamemaster is that of storyteller, arbiter and guide. The material presented in this chapter is,in turn, a guide for the gamemaster. It covers creating adventures, running a campaign, developing plots andstorylines, running non-player characters, and how to ensure that a game becomes an enjoyable experience for

all of its participants. Gamemasters should find the information in this chapter and the two that follow particularlyuseful, but above all, they will develop their own style of gamemastering with experience. The main point of the gameis for players and gamemasters to have fun, so above all, relax and enjoy.

This chapter will include tips on gamemastering, creating Gloranthan adventures,creating realistic settings, plots, running non-player characters, and developing acampaign.

This will the final part completed, as it will draw upon all the other chapters to serveas a guideline and introduction to gamemaster ing, and incorporate comments and sug-gestions from the final playtest of the product. Much of this section is written already,but we want to use the final playtest comments to serve as a guide to produce a chap-ter which clearly outlines the rules and process of running a game for a prospectivegamemaster.

• 181 •

•CREATURES•

The world of Glorantha is home to many races and creatures, some magical, some mundane. The sentientraces range from the ancient greater Elder Races of dragonewts, dwarves, elves and trolls, to the lesser ElderRaces, such as broos, wind children and morokanth, to the relative newcomers, humans. Its creatures range

from the mundane to the magical, from the beasts of the wild to the horrors of chaos. This chapter details some of theElder Races and creatures found on the northern continent of Glorantha, Genertela. It is primarily meant as referencematerial for the gamemaster, although players running scholarly, well traveled or nonhuman adventurers may wish toread sections of this chapter.

COMPLETE AND INCOMPLETE CREATURESHumans and other intelligent beings are called complete.Complete creatures have all seven of the characteristics(STR, CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, and APP). If a beinglacks one or more of these characteristics, it is calledincomplete. For example, a ghost has only INT and POW,and is incomplete. The spirit plane is completely inhabitedby incomplete creatures.

Some spirits, like elementals or nymphs, can createtemporary bodies when manifesting in the Inner World.These temporary bodies have all the physical characteris-tics. Nevertheless, these spirits are incomplete creatures.Only beings with permanent physical characteristics arecomplete.

FIXED INT AND NORMAL INTIntel l igent , sentient beings are said to have normal INT.This inc ludes humans, elves, trolls, centaurs and otherintell igent races. Animals and other non-sentient creatureshave fixed INT. Generally, when creating a creature withfixed INT, no die roll is involved.

For instance, all dogs have an INT of 5 and all cowshave an INT of 4. All dogs do not have exactly equal intel-ligence, but for the purposes of RuneQuest, all dogs areconsidered smarter than all cows. Creatures with fixedINT are considered to be incomplete creatures, lackingfree will.

A ghoul, with an INT of 2D6, is sentient, even if it hasan INT of 3 and is less "intelligent" than a dog. Only sen-tient creatures (possessing free INT) can learn Knowledge,Reasoning, Magic, and Communication skills, or mostforms of magic.

LACKING AND GAINING CHARACTERISTICSMany beings lack one or more of the characteristics. Thissection describes the effect of lacking a characteristic, orthe effects of gaining a characteristic on a creature thatnormally lacks it.

In general, if a creature lacks a characteristic it isinvulnerable to attacks directed against that characteristic.For instance, a ghost, lacking CON, is invulnerable to thefearshock attack of a shade.

If a creature lacking a characteristic gains it, it gener-ally loses its invulnerabilities, but gains the abilitiesgoverned by that characteristic, including the appropriateAttributes and the ability to learn skills dependent on thatcharacteristic.

Lacking STRCreatures lacking STR neither affect nor are affected byphysical objects or forces. They cannot move or lift anycorporeal thing. They never tire and ignore Fatigue rolls.

Lacking CONCreatures lacking CON are immune to disease and poi-son. Its Hit Points are based only on its SIZ. It is immuneto Fatigue and never makes a Fatigue Roll.

Lacking SIZCreatures lacking SIZ are bodiless or discorporate. Theycannot touch or move physical objects. Some such crea-tures can initiate spirit combat. If it has CON, its HitPoints are equal to its CON. Otherwise it has no HitPoints and is unaffected by physical damage.

Such an entity, by gaining SIZ, becomes corporate. Itcan no longer initiate spirit combat. If it has CON, its hitpoints become the average of its SIZ and CON.

• 182 •

C R E A T U R E S • 183

Lacking INTFixed INT is explained above. Creatures with no INT atall are not truly alive. Creatures with a fixed or no INTcannot learn Communication, Knowledge, Magic, orReasoning skills.

Lacking POWA creature lacking POW will always have a Magic Pointscore provided. Such creatures defend against spells andmagical attacks using their MP instead of their POW.Creatures lacking POW do not regenerate expended magicpoints. Many such creatures have special abilities thatallow them to gain additional magic points, like the drain-ing touch of the vampire. Others do not have this ability,and must hoard their magic points. Creatures lackingPOW are soulless.

Lacking DEXCreatures which lack DEX have a strike rank on whichthey always attack. For instance, wraiths always attack onSR 1. Treat them as having a DEX of 20 for tie-breaks.Such creatures may only use their natural attacks and maynot learn Agility or Manipulation skills.

Lacking APPAll beings have APP, although it may not be listed. APP isnot listed for most incomplete creatures (nymphs are oneexception). If the gamemaster wishes, he or she can assignor roll an APP for such creatures.

Non-human races have a method for generating APPlisted. Races with APP less than 3D6 are considered uglyto most other races, and those with APP higher than 3D6are thought to be striking, beautiful, or fascinating. As arule of thumb, subtract 10 from APP when a characterinteracts with a member of another species, unless the twospecies have the same standard of beauty (i.e. mermen andhumans find each other attractive).

CREATURES AS ADVENTURERSPlayer characters (PCs) are not always human beings. Ifthe gamemaster agrees, any creature in Glorantha can be aPC. An important point to remember is that it's easier toplay a human character, simply because the player ish u m a n , and knows a tremendous amount about howhumans act, and what humans can do. Playing the role ofan elf or giant requires much more effort and study fromthe player.

Incomplete creatures are not suitable for PCs. Lackingfreewill and acting solely on instinct, they would becomeboring to play very quickly. In general, it's a bad idea toplay a creature with an INT below that of humans.

The gamemaster may not allow the playing of charac-ters that are too powerful for his or her game. Forinstance, a Ruler dragonewt is so potent that its presencewould make normal humans seem (and be) superfluous.Also, the gamemaster may forbid playing a member of arace which doesn't fit the campaign. A troll would be apoor choice for a game which has a lot to do with elves.

Information has been given for roleplaying membersof three nonhuman species: dark trolls (including theGreat Troll subspecies), brown elves, and morokanth.Information on many other races can be found in ElderSecrets of Glorantha, Creatures of Glorantha, andTrollpak.

CREATURE DESCRIPTIONSTwo formats are used for creature descriptions. Beasts arerelatively ordinary animals very much like their Earthcounterparts. We have assumed that the reader alreadyknows what a "bear" or "horse" looks like and somethingabout their habits, so their descriptions are very brief. Ifyou want more information, any library can provide youwith many sources. Some of the Beasts are larger thanthose found on Earth, but a Giant Beetle still looks andacts like a beetle. The numerical information on all Beastshas been combined into tables for convenience in refer-ence, and to save space.

Creatures not found on Earth are described in greaterdetail. First we list its common name and the Brithini tax-onomic designation of that species. After that is a briefdescription of the creature's appearance and habits. Thenwe supply the information needed to generate one: the dierolls for its characteristics, and average figures for thecharacteristics and attributes.

Most of these are explained in Creating an Adventurerand in Abbreviations in Game Mechanics. HL is 1/3 HP,and is provided for use by gamemasters that do not wantto trouble with looking up the exact HL value for a givenlocation. AP is typically natural armor, tough skin like thatof a rhinoceros, or the magical toughness of the basilisk.Many of the listed creatures might also wear actual armor,which would add to the number shown. HT informs youwhich hit location table to use for this creature. Hit loca-tion tables are the last section of this chapter.

The next section is a table, describing the creature'sattacks. Each attack description begins with the weaponused (which can be a natural weapon such as a bite), thenthe strike rank that attack will take place in for an averagecreature (this will vary depending on DEX and SIZ of theindividual attacker). Next, the attack skill percentage forthat weapon, then the damage done. The attack skill givenis the base chance, and experienced creatures will be muchmore skillful. Again, the damage is calculated for an aver-age creature and will vary depending on SIZ and STR. Thelast two numbers for each attack are the parry percentageskill, and parry armor points, if any.

In some cases typical skill levels for important skillsare listed. These are minimum skill levels—an experiencedcreature will have much higher skill levels.

After the attack summary are notes on any specialattacks or abilities the creature might have.

184 • C R E A T U R E S

ELDER RACESGlorantha is far, far older than humancultures. Many other peoples rememberwell the day the newcomer race, the peo-ple who called themselves "men" firstarose. Humans call these folk the ElderRaces. The best known of the elder racesare the elves, trolls, dwarfs, and drag-onewts. There are many, many others,including morokanth, griffins, mermen,goblins, jelmre, and slarges. More infor-mation on the Elder races is available inElder Secrets of Glorantha and Trollpak.

One reason that the major Elder Raceshave been losing territory to humans isthat they detest each other, and are con-stantly at war. Trolls, elves, and dwarfshave grudges against each other whichbegan before Time, and have troubled allthree races throughout history.

Broos are Elder Races, but because oftheir corruption they are discussed in the"Chaos" section of this chapter.

This section gives enough informationto use Dark Trolls, Morokanth andBrown Elves as player characters.

TrollsTrolls claim to be the oldest intelligentrace. Their natural dwelling is in Hell,but when Yelm, the Sun God was slainand entered Hell, his light and heat drovethem to the surface world, where theystill live. They prefer to live in caves, andif forced to live elsewhere make ram-shackle huts out of whatever garbage anddebris happens to be available. In mod-ern Glorantha trolls have largely beenforced into the parts of the world thathumans don't want — wastelands, ter-rain too rocky to graze sheep, swamps,and so on.

They are famous for their appetites —it is said that trolls will eat anything.They certainly eat things that humanscannot or will not, such as weeks-old rot-ting carrion, wood, and leather. It is saidthat trolls can eat rocks, dirt, and air.Trolls are also infamous for eating thebodies of other trolls, elves, and dwarfs.

Trolls have a sense that humans lack,useful for creatures native to theDarkness. They have a sonar-like sensesimilar to that of bats, letting them detectobjects without using their eyes, knownas Darksense.

The troll species has been warped by agreat curse. When Osentalka was createdby the Broken Council, this light godcursed the darkness-men, making theirwomen infertile. Over half of troll birthsnow bring forth, not healthy dark trollsbut hideous deformed trollkin. Trollkinare inferior to true trolls in every way,and are almost always slaves from theday of their birth to their early death.However, because trollkin are born in

litters, sometimes over half the populationof a troll community will be trollkin.

A Troll Hero of the Second Age,Cragspider the Fire Witch, tried andfailed to break the Curse of Kin. Her par-tial success allowed some Dark Trollwomen to give birth to Great Trolls, whoare larger, stronger, and less intelligentthan Dark Trolls. Trolls are almostalways warriors.

TROLL, DARKStyganthropus uzko

Dark trolls are larger than humans,standing over 2 meters tall and weighing130 kg or more. They have snouted faceswith prominent tusks. Troll's posture isnot what humans expect: their naturalpose is semi-crouching. Their skin is darkgray, sometimes mottled.

Statistics below are for a male DarkTroll. Females have SIZ of 3D6+12, butare rarely seen outside the caves. Malescome forth frequently to hunt.

Weapon SRHvy. Mace 5Lg. Shield 62H Maul 4

A%352030

Damage1D8 + DB1D6 + DB2D8 + DB

P%252520

AP4

NA

10

Armor—Great Troll skin is equivalent to 3point armor. Since only rich tribes can afford toraise Great Trolls, they usually wear at leastChainmail armor.

Skills—as Dark Trolls

Magic—Great Trolls ore usually taught at leastone Battle Magic spell by their owners.

TROLLKINS. uzko var enlo

Trollkin are disdained by Dark Trolls,both because of their weakness andbecause they are a constant reminder ofthe defeat of the trolls by Nysalor. Theyare used as laborers, servants, sword fod-der, and also food by their healthybrothers and sisters. Trollkin areDemoralized (as if by the battle magicspell) if in full sunlight.

Characteristics AverageSTR 3D6+6 17CON 3D6 11SIZ 3D6+8 19INT 2D6+6 13POW 3D6 11DEX 3D6 11

Attributes AverageDB 2HP 15HL 5MV 6Melee SR 4DEX SR 3

Characteristics AverageSTR 2D6+3 10CON 3D6 11SIZ 1D6+6 10INT 2D6+3 10POW 2D6 7DEX 3D6+3 13-14

Attributes AverageDB -1HP 10HL 3MV 5Melee SR 5DEX SR 3

1 AP Dodge 14 HT I1 AP Dodge 19 HT I

WeaponMaceSling2H Maul

SR635

A%303025

Damage1D6 + DB1D62D8 + DB

P%25NA20

AP8

NA10

WeaponClub1H SpearSm. ShieldSling

SR7773

A%30251530

Damage1D4 + DB1D6 + DB1D4 + DB1D6

P%252530NA

AP468

NAArmor—Dark troll skin is equivalent to 1 pointarmor. Trolls will wear any armor they can get ifexpecting trouble.

Skills—see professions table. Trolls haveDarksense Scan and Darksense Search at abase chance of 30, and Visual Scan and VisualSearch at a base chance of 15. DarksenseScan and Search are Medium skills for trolls.

Magic—dark trolls are capable of using anymagic. Almost every living full troll (not thedespised trollkin) is an initiate of Kyger Litor.

GREAT TROLLS. uzko var uzdo

Great Trolls are all male, generally sterile.

Skills—as Dark Trolls, except that theirDarksense skills have a base chance of 15 andtheir visual Scan and Search have base chancesof 30.

Magic—specially favored or trained trollkinmay know a Battle Magic spell or two, selectedby their master. Heal and Speedart are common.

Characteristics AverageSTRCONSIZINTPOWDEX

3 AP

4D6+122D6+124D6+122D6+23D63D6

26192691111

Dodge

Attributes AverageDBHPHLMVMelee SRDEX SR

16

+6238733

HT I

185 • C R E A T U R E S

TROLL WARRIOR Trained Skilled

ManeuverScan/Darksense<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry<Weapon> Attack

RankWealthMagic

7-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

Berserk<Weapon> Attack

GuardConcealDodgeFirst AidSearch/DarksenseListen<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

HunterAnimal LoreCraft/ButcheryHideScan/VisualSneakThrowTrackTrap

MerchantBargainCustom <Any>Craft/BolgEvaluateHuman LoreOrateRide <Insect>R/W DarktongueSpeak <Language>Speak Tradetalk

NobleCustom/TrollOrateSpeak DarktongueTroll Lore

OtherClimbCustom/TrolljumpSing/TrollTaste



1 30%1 45%1 45%1 45%

1/2 30%

111

45%60%60%60%45%

222


2 60%

1 45%1 30%1/2 45%1 45%1 45%1 45%1 45%

1/2 30%1/2 45%1 45%1 30%1 45%1/2 45%1 45%1/2 45%

1 45%1v 45%1/2 45%1 45%1/2 30%1 45%1/2 30%1 45%1v 45%1/2 45%

1 60%

1 45%1 60%1 45%

1/2 45%1 60%1/2 45%1/2 45%1 45%

1v 45%

1/2 45%

75%

60%45%60%60%60%60%60%

45%60%60%45%60%60%60%60%

60%60%60%60%45%60%45%60%

60%60%

75%60%75%60%

60%75%60%60%60%

60%

60%

Expert

60%75%75%75%60%

333

Expert

90%

75%60%75%75%75%75%75%

60%75%75%60%75%75%75%75%

75%75%75%75%60%75%60%75%75%75%

90%

75%90%75%

75%90%75%75%75%

75%

75%

Master

75%90%90%90%75%

444

Master

100%

90%75%90%90%90%90%90%

75%90%90%75%90%90%90%90%

90%90%90%90%75%90%75%90%90%90%

100%

90%100%

90%

90%100%

90%90%90%

90%

90%

TROLL TENDER


RankWealthMagic

10 choices

Optional Skills

CrafterCraft <Substance>Craft <Potion>DeviseEvaluateR/W Darktongue<Substance> LoreTouch

FarmerCraft/FarmingFungus LoreMineral Lore

FisherBoatCraft/FishingFishing LoreSwim

InsectherdCraft/ButcheryCraft/Insect CareFirst AidFungus LoreInsect LoreRide <Insect>Scan/DarksenseSearch/Darksense

NurseCraft/MedicineCraft/MidwifeFirst AidOratePersuadePhysicianScan/DarksenseSpeak DarktongueTouchTroll Lore

OtherClimbCustom/TrollJumpSing/TrollTaste


If uses sorcery:

Spell <Low Sorcery>

Trained Skilled

1 45%1 45%

111

60%60%

222


1 45%1 45%1 30%

1/2 30%1/2 30%1/2 45%2 45%

1 45%1 45%1 45%

1 45%1 45%

1/2 45%1 45%

1/2 45%1 45%1/2 45%1/2 30%1 45%1 45%1/2 30%1/2 30%

1 45%1 45%1 60%

1 45%1/2 30%2 45%1 45%1 60%2 45%1 45%

1/2 45%1 60%

1/2 45%1/2 45%1 45%

1v 45%

1/2 45%

60%60%45%45%45%60%60%

60%60%60%

60%60%60%60%

60%60%60%45%

60%60%45%45%

60%60%75%60%45%60%60%75%60%60%

60%75%60%60%60%

60%

60%

Expert Master

75% 90%75% 90%

3 43 43 4

Expert Master

75% 90%75% 90%60% 75%60% 75%60% 75%75% 90%75% 90%

75% 90%75% 90%75% 90%

75% 90%75% 90%75% 90%75% 90%

75% 90%75% 90%75% 90%60% 75%75% 90%75% 90%60% 75%60% 75%

75% 90%75% 90%90% 100%

75% 90%60% 75%75% 90%75% 90%90% 100%

75% 90%75% 90%

75% 90%90% 100%

75% 90%75% 90%75% 90%

75% 90%

75% 90%

TROLL MAGICIAN

CeremonyTroll Lore<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

RankWealthMagic

7 choices

Optional Skills

MusicianDance/TrollPlay <Instrument>

Priestess

<Cult> LoreCustom/TrollLore <Any>OrateR/W DarktongueSpeak DarktongueSpeak <Language>Summon

ShamanEnchantFirst AidPhysician Spirit CombatSpirit DanceSpirit LoreSpirit SenseSpirit TravelSummon

SmithCraft <Metal>Enchant<Metal> Lore

SorcererCraft <Substance>EnchantLore <Any>Manipulation <Any>R/W DarktongueR/W <Language>Spell <Low Sorcery>Spell <High Sorcery>Sorcery Lore

OtherSing/TrollTaste


11

1/21/2

Cost

1

1v

1/211v

1111v

2

21/2

Trained

45%45%30%30%

112

Trained

45%45%

45%60%45%45%45%60%45%45%

45%45%30%45%45%45%45%45%

Skilled

60%60%45%45%

223

Skilled

60%60%

60%75%60%60%60%75%60%60%

60%60%45%60%60%60%60%60%

Expert

75%75%60%60%

334

Expert

75%75%

75%90%75%75%75%90%75%75%

75%75%60%75%75%75%75%75%

Master

90%90%75%75%

44

5

Master

90%90%

90%100%

90%90%90%100%

90%90%

90%90%75%90%90%90%90%90%

111111

2

1

21/2

1/221v

1v

11v

1/21v

1

1/21

1v

45%

45%45%45%

30%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%45%

45%45%

45%

60%

60%60%60%

45%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%60%

60%60%

60%

75%

75%75%75%

60%75%75%75%75%75%

75%75%75%

75%75%

75%

90%

90%90%90%

75%90%90%90%90%90%

90%90%90%

90%90%

90%

C R E A T U R E S • 186

ELF

Dendro sapiens

Elves are the children of the tree-goddessAldrya and Old Man, the people of theforest. They resemble humans, but areshorter and slighter, in general resemblinglocal trees. Some even have leaves insteadof hair. Their skin is greenish, and theireyes have no pupils or whites, and varyextensively in color, including strikingviolets and pale greens. Elves exist toguard their forests from intrusion. Thetypes of elf are each related to a type offorest. Green elves live in and tend ever-green woods, yellow elves in jungles, andso on. The elves described here are brownelves, who dwell in the temperate forestsof central Genertela and are associatedwith such trees as oaks, rowans, andalders.

Elves have an ability called Elfsense (orLifesense), which lets them know thehealth and vitality of any living creatureby touching it. For this reason, elf healersare in great demand.

The statistics given are for both maleand female elves.

Characteristics AverageSTRCONSIZINTPOWDEXAPP

2D6+23D62D4+4

3D6+62D6+63D6+33D6

911917131511


-1103553

0 AP Dodge 36 HT I

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APElf Bow 3 30 1D8 31 81H Spear 7 30 1D6 + DB 26 8

Armor—may wear natural armors of leaves,bark, or leather or copper armor, generally rang-ing from I to 4 AP of protection.

Skills—see professions table.

Magic—almost all elves are initiates of the theAldrya cult Some of them also belong to friendlyreligions such as Flamal, Yelmalio, or Yelm. Some

elves become shamans. Elf sorcerers areunknown.

ELF

ClimbDodgeHideSneakBow Attack

RankWealth

Magic

8-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

NobleCustom/ElfElf LoreOratePersuadeSpeak AldryamiSpeak <Language>Speak Tradetalk

ShamanCeremony

EnchantLore <Any>Spirit CombatSpirit DanceSpirit LoreSpirit SenseSpirit TravelSummon

TenderConceal

Craft/Plant CareCraft <Substance>First AidPhysicianPlant LoreMineral Lore

<Substance> Lore

WarriorConcealListenScanSearch<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

OtherCult SkillsCustom/AldryamiElfsenseR/W Aldryami

1/211/21/21

Cost

1

1

1

1

Trained

60%30%45%45%45%

111

Skilled

75%45%60%60%60%

222

Trained Skilled

60%45%45%45%60%

75%60%60%60%75%

Expert

90%60%75%75%75%

333

Expert

90%75%75%75%90%

Master

100%

75%90%90%90%

444

Master

100%

90%90%90%100%

DWARF

Lithanthropus mostali

In the time before the world was broken,many wonders were made by Mostal, theMaker. He made many wonders, includ-ing the Cosmic Mountain. To help him athis work, he made several races to be hisservants, and these races were calledMostali. After the elves killed Mostal, thesurviving Mostali made another race tohelp them fix the world. In order to makethe new race quickly, they made themsmall. These were the dwarfs. Humansbelieve that the other races of Mostali areextinct, or nearly so, and only the dwarfsremain.

Dwarfs look much like humans, exceptfor their size. They are both stronger andtougher than humans, though. They havea special sense known as Earthsense,

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which lets them move and work in totaldarkness underground. They are unusu-ally sensitive to other creatures' bodyheat, and can sense air currents madewhen another moves. Earthsense letsthem fight at close (10 meters or less)range without penalties in darkness, butcannot be used for normal Scan andSearch outside that range. EarthsenseScan and Search are Medium skills fordwarfs.

Dwarfs are the great inventors ofGlorantha. Like Mostal, they have madeservant races to help them repair theWorld Machine. These range from giantcreatures of living stone (the Jolanti) totimid, fragile tiny creatures calledNilmergs. They also make weapons andtools better than anything humans havemade since the God Learners weredestroyed. Most feared are their terribleThundersticks and Disorder Kegs. Forinformation on special dwarven weaponsand creatures, see Elder Secrets and theGloranthan Bestiary.

Dwarfs are immortal, unless theybetray the Way of Mostal. Therefore,many dwarfs will have skills over 200%.Experienced dwarfs may have skills in thethousands, but such rarely interact withhumans.

Characteristics Average Attributes AverageSTR 4D6 14 DB 0CON 1D6+12 16 HP 11SIZ 2D6 7 HL 4INT 2D6+6 13 MV 4POW 3D6 11 Melee SR 6DEX 3D6 11 DEX SR 3

0 AP Dodge 20 HT I

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APHammer 8 30 1D8 + DB 30 8Crossbow 3* 30 1D10 31 8Md. Shield 8 20 1D4 35 10

11111

187• C R E A T U R E S

Armor—dwarfs encountered in the outsideworld ore typically heavily armored, wearingscale, Chainmail or plate armor. Their warriorclass, the Iron Dwarfs are rarely encountered,but are deadly opponents, with superlative com-bat skills, iron armor and weapons, oftenequipped with exotic dwarf technology such asthundersticks or Disorder kegs.

Skills—as humans, but add Earthsense/Scanand Earthsense/Search with a base chance forsuccess of 30, and Visual/Scan andVisual/Search at a base chance of 5. Dwarfsare restricted to one profession only.

Magic—dwarfs use sorcery appropriate totheir tasks.

DRAGONEWT

Draco sapiens

Dragonewts say that they are the oldestliving creatures, existing before even ani-mals. They hatch from the eggs laid byimmature dragons, and over ages ofdevelopment can become true dragons.

A dragonewt is born from an egg, andlives out its life. If it does not stray fromthe Dragon Path, when it dies it is rebornfrom its egg, to live out another life. Itsphysical form changes with each birth,reflecting its spiritual progress. When itfinally achieves true mastery, a dragonewtis born from its egg as a True Dragon andflies off to wherever dragons go.

The mind of the dragonewt is notunderstandable to humans. Their actionsand philosophies defy logic. Sometimesthey act like humans, sometimes like stat-ues or clockwork machines, andsometimes like characters in an odd,repetitive play. It is impossible for eventhe greatest scholar of their ways to pre-dict their actions.

In a group of dragonewts, there willusually be one who is assigned to humancontact. This individual will learn humanlanguages and customs and try (oftenfailing) to act as humans expect. Somehave been surgically altered to speakhuman words.

Dragonewts advance through stages intheir long lives. As they do, the brightcolors and patterns of their scales maychange, and they change in size and inthe thickness of their natural scale armor.They are first born as Scout or Cresteddragonewts. After long progression theyare reborn as Warrior dragonewts. Whena Warrior has progressed sufficiently, it isreborn as a Noble or Tailed Priest. In thefullness of time a Noble is reborn as aRuler Dragonewt, which spends most of itstime in deep meditation, preparing for theday when it will become a True Dragon.Ruler Dragonewts, also known as"Inhuman Kings", are too powerful forordinary gaming and are not discussed

here. For human purposes, dragonewtsare sexless, as even a Ruler dragonewt isonly a very immature dragon.

The center of dragonewt culture inGlorantha is the Dragon's Eye in DragonPass. They are also found in Kralorela,the city of Old Pavis in Prax, and inRalios, as well as the island of Teleos.

Dragonewts use a form of magic differ-ent from any known to most people,Dragon Magic. This is different, philo-sophically and culturally, from Battle,Divine, or Sorcery magic. When a drag-onewt chooses to use a dragon magiceffect, it simply happens on SR 1 of thatround. No die roll or expenditure ofmagic points is required. However, usingDragon Magic slows the spiritual devel-opment of a dragonewt, so most arereluctant to use it, even preferring to dierather than work Dragon Magic. Theyare more likely to use magic when theyare on an important mission. It is saidthat the humans of Kralorela can alsowork Dragon Magic.

Dragonewt WeaponsDragonewts use weapons different fromthose of any other Gloranthan race. Treatthe Samarin and Chokin as throwingknives, the Klanth as a bastard sword,the Garni as a Main Gauche, and theUtuma as a shortsword, except for varia-tions as given here.

SCOUT DRAGONEWT

Crested dragonewt

Scout dragonewts are small and short-tailed. They are vegetarians, eating leavesand fruit. Older dragonewts train it as aslinger, hunting small animals for its bet-ters. They serves as skirmishers, scouts,and slaves for their elders.

With spiritual development, the taillengthens and the body enlarges. Mostdramatically, more advanced Scouts havelonger heads with larger crests and awell-developed beak with strong teeth.After enough time as a Scout, the drag-onewt emerges from its egg as a Warrior.

Magic—scout dragonewts are the only (non-outcast) dragonewts to use ordinary magic.However, they cannot become warriors untilthey forget all of their non-dragon magic, soolder and more developed ones are less likely toknow any magic.

WARRIOR DRAGONEWT

Beaked dragonewt

Warrior dragonewts have a maximumPOW of 21. They take up the klanth andreplace the sling with an enormous bowof bone, and often ride a giant birdlikecreature known as a demi-bird.

CharacteristicsSTR 2D6+12CON 3D6+12SIZ 2D6+12INT 4D6POW 12-14DEX 2D6+3

6 AP

Weapon SRKlanth 6Longbow 3Samarin 3Chokin 3RH Utuma 7Utuma 7

Skills— Hide 75,Demi-bird 75

Average191719141310

Attributes AverageDB 3HPHLMV

Melee SRDEX SR

Dodge 70

A%606090903090

Damage1D8 + DB1D101D4 + DB/21D61D61D6

Sneak 75,

+ DB/2+ DB+ DB

P%5010

NANA5080

Conceal 75,

186643

HT I

AP126

NANA88

Ridel

Magic—-common dragon magic effects forWarrior dragonewts include Dragon Strength,which increases the dragonewt's STR by 50%,firebreath, letting it breathe fire up to a rangeequal to its POW in meters, and doing 1D10damage, or Sprout Wings, in which the thedragonewt grows large dragon wings letting it flywith a speed equal three times its MV. If adragonewt grows wings, use HT III.

NOBLE DRAGONEWTTailed priest

Noble dragonewts usually do not ridedemi-birds. Their weapons are almostalways of enchanted dragonbone, andthey may wear dragonbone armor.

Characteristics AverageSTR 2D6 7CON 3D6 11SIZ 2D6 7INT 4D6 14POW 2D6 7DEX 2D6+9 16

Attributes AverageDB -2HP 9HL 3MV 9Melee SR 5DEX SR 2

Skills—Hide 25, Sneak 25, Conceal 25

1 AP

WeaponSamarinChokinSlingUtuma

Dodge 36

SR2227

A%30303030

Damage1D4 + DB/21D6 + DB/21D61D6 + DB

HT I

P%NANANA35

APNANANA8

6 AP

WeaponKlanthKlanthLongbowSamarinChokin

Dodge 90

SR78333

A%905090100100

DamageID8 +ID8 +1D10ID4 +ID6 +

DBDB

DB/2DB/2

HT II

P%906020NANA

AP12126

NANA

Characteristics AverageSTR 2D6+6 13CON 3D6+6 17SIZ 2D6+6 13INT 4D6 14POW 18-20 19DEX 2D6+6 10


Skills—Hide 90, Sneak 90, Conceal 90

Magic—common dragon magic effects forNobles include all the effects used by warriorsand Soul Blast, in which the dragonewt engagesin a MP vs. POW contest with the target on theResistance Table. If the attacker wins, the victimloses 2D6 MP. If the victim drops to zero MP, itbecomes unconscious.

MOROCANTHMorocanthus anthropophagus

In the Great Darkness, Waha, son of theStorm Bull, came to save the people ofGenert's Garden, changed by chaos intothe Wastes. Because there was not enoughfood for all, he transformed some of thepeoples into mindless animals capable ofeating the meager plants of the Wastes.The remaining intelligent race would theneat these animals to survive. To decidewhich peoples would become plant-eaters, Waha's Contest was held. Humanscontested against each other type of ani-mal, and in each contest won. Thushumans now herd llamas, bison, sables,and the other herd beasts of Prax.However, in the contest with the moro-canth, the humans lost. Humans claim themorocanth cheated in their contest.Morocanth claim that the humanscheated in all the other contests.However, it is indisputable that the moro-canth today drive herds of humans acrossthe plains. Though grudgingly, the moro-canth are accepted as one of the fiveGreat Tribes of Prax.

Morocanth are physically similar totapirs. They are naturally nocturnal andhave better night vision than humans,although they do not have special sensesfor darkness. They have an excellent senseof smell. The God Learners wrote thatmorocanth are tied to the Darkness Rune.

The other tribes of Prax mostly ridetheir herd beasts, but morocanth aremuch too large for the strength of theherd men. Instead, they train herd men toperform simple tasks, perform manipula-tions morocanth claws are poorly suitedfor, and to fight alongside (or in front of)the morocanth with crude weapons.Morokanth traders are fairly common inthe area of Prax and Pavis. Their slavers,who hunt and capture humans, are fearedand despised by the nomads of Prax, inpart for their willingness to reduceintractable slaves to a herd man with theirWaha spells, but do good business withthe Lunar conquerors of Prax.

A herd man resembles a normal human(see Creating an Adventurer), except thatthey have a fixed INT of 8, and can easilydigest the sparse vegetation of the Wastes.They use crude weapons, such as clubs,maces or thrown rocks. They learn only theskills they are trained in by their masters.

MOROCANTH

HideSneak<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry<Weapon> Attack

RankWealthMagic

8-1/2 choices

Optional Skills

HerderCraft/ButcheryCraft/HerdingFirst AidHerd Man LoreSearchTrack

SlaverConcealCraft/RestraintsEvaluateListenTrapTrack

TraderBargainCustom <Any>EvaluateHuman LoreOratePersuadeR/W <Language>Speak <Language>Speak PraxianSpeak Tradetalk

WarriorConcealDodgefirst AidMartial ArtsScanTrack<Weapon> Attack<Weapon> Parry

OtherCustom/PraxianjumpSwim


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Trainee

30%30%45%

45%30%

111

Skilled

45%45%60%60%45%

222

Trained Skilled

45%45%45%45%45%60%

45%45%45%45%45%60%

45%45%45%30%45%45%45%45%60%45%

45%45%45%45%45%60%45%45%

60%45%45%

45%

60%60%60%60%60%75%

60%60%60%60%60%

75%

60%60%60%45%60%60%60%60%75%60%

60%60%60%60%60%75%60%60%

75%60%60%

60%

Expert Master

60%60%75%75%60%

333

Expert

75%75%75%

75%75%90%

75%75%75%75%75%90%

75%75%75%60%75%75%75%75%90%75%

75%75%75%75%75%90%75%75%

90%75%75%

75%

75%75%90%90%75%

444

Master

90%90%90%90%90%100%

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90%90%90%75%90%90%90%90%100%

90%

90%90%90%90%90%100%

90%90%

100%

90%90%

90%

Morokanth priests often awaken a herdman to serve as an ally.

Morocanth do not have hands as usefulas those of humans, and do not handletools well. They are limited in certainskills. Their Manipulation skills maynever rise higher than their DEX x5%,plus their Manipulation category modi-fier. This limit also applies to all weaponsskills except natural weapons. Mostweapons must be specially adapted to beused by morocanth. To compensate, theyhave developed a skill like the MartialArts of Kralorela and Peloria. MorocanthiMartial Arts is useless to humans, andhuman Martial Arts is useless for moro-canth. Like human Martial Arts,morocanth martial arts doubles the dam-age of its natural weapon attack (claw).Morocanth are incapable of using thrownor missile weapons, including thrownrocks — their shoulders and arms are notcapable of the proper motions.

Morocanth normally move on three orfour legs (MV = SIZ+DEX/6). They can bal-ance on their hind legs to use both hands,but if they do their MV is reduced to 1/3normal. For this reason morocanth rarelyuse shields or two-handed weapons.

Characteristics AverageSTR 3D6+6 17CON 3D6 11SIZ 3D6+6 17INT 2D6+6 13POW 3D6 11DEX 2D4+3 8


3 AP Dodge 15 HT II

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APClaw 7 35 1D4 + DB 25 31H Spear 6 20 1D6 + DB 10 81HMace 6 30 1D8 + DB 15 8

Skills—base Jump 30, Swim 40, Track 50,Hide 25, Sneak 25. See Professions for develop-ing more experienced Morokanth

Magic—morocanth worship the same Praxiangods as the human tribes. May belong to thecults of Waha, Foundchild (hunter), or StormBull. Women worship Eiritha the Herd Mother.A sizeable minority follow the Horned Man andbecome shamans.

C R E A T U R E S • 188

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189 • C R E A T U R E S

MAGICAL CREATURESBASILISK

Viperigallo necatrix

Basilisks are terrifying artificial reptiles,the creations of magicians. Small andcovered with grey or green scales, theyhave four legs and the red "crown" of arooster. Two bat's wings and twistedblack feathers complete its bizarreappearance. Its head is also like a cock's,with the forked tongue of a serpent.

The mere glare of a basilisk is deadly.In combat, it glances at one being eachround. If the basilisk overcomes the tar-get in a MP vs. POW struggle, itsopponent dies. This costs the basilisk noMP, and it may also attack and defendphysically in the same round. The glancepenetrates defenses against magic as if itwere a divine spell with a variable num-ber of points. On the average, this isequal to the basilisk's POW divided by 3.

CharacteristicsSTR 2D3CON 3D6SIZ 1D4INT 4POW 1D6+6DEX 2D6+6

2 AP

Weapon SR

Glance 1Peck 9

Average411I4141013

Dodge 30

AttributesDBHPHLMVMelee SRDEX SR

Average-372363

A% Damage P%Auto Death NA100 1D4 + ven. NA

HT IV

APNANA

If the peck penetrates any armor and damagesthe foe, venom is injected with POT equal to thebasilisk's CON. The venom is very fast-acting,and takes effect one melee round after the vic-tim is bitten. Thus, if an adventurer is bitten onstrike rank 9, he would be affected on strikerank 9 of the next melee round. Pit the venom'sPOT against the victim's CON on the resistancetable. If the venom wins, the victim dies. If itfails to overcome the victim's CON, the victimstill takes general hit point damage equal to thevenom's POT.

DRAGON, DREAM

Draco pyrifer

Dragons may be the oldest creatures inGlorantha. Some legends speak of thegods, on first coming into existence, meet-ing dragons already old and wise. Manymyths exist of gods combatting dragons,or learning from them. These powerfulcreatures of fabled age and power arecalled "True Dragons". Most people arevery glad that the True Dragons sleep forcenturies at a time and are rarely active.In te rac t ion with True Dragons is farbeyond the abilities and desires of mereadventurers.

Just as humans do, Dragons dream in

their long sleep. The power of the dragonsis so great that even their dreams areimmensely powerful by human standards,and can greatly warp and change theworld. Scholars know these manifesta-tions as "Dream Dragons", but to mosthumans they're simply "dragons".

Some Lhankor Mhy scholars speculatethat dragons use their dreams as humansdo, to play out and contemplate theirrepressed desires and fantasies. CertainlyDream Dragons vary as much as a man'sdreams do, from night to night. DreamDragons are very diverse. Some are legless("Serpent ine Dragons"). Some havehands much like human hands. Their col-ors span the rainbow.

The numbers given here are only repre-sentative—some Dream Dragons are farbeyond these limits.

Characteristics AverageSTR 4-20D6 41CON STR/2SIZ 4-20D6INT 4D6POW 4D6DEX 3D6

1D6+3 AP

2041141411

AttributesDBHPHLMVMelee SRDEX SR

Average123010

5/15F

43

HT II, IV or VII

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APBite 4 100 1D8 + DB NA NAClaw 4 100 1D10 + DB NA NABreath 4 100 Varies NA NA

To randomly determine SIZ and STR, roll 2D8,add two to the total, then roll that number ofD6.

Magic—Dream Dragons can know any formof magic humans use, plus others that appar-ently exist only in the dreams of True Dragons.Or, they might not know any magic at all. Ifthey know any human form of magic, they willtypically be masters of it In addition, dreamdragons can have special ability, such as inject-ing venom of POT equal to their POW with abite, or breathing flame doing damage equal totheir DB, or breathing a cloud of poisonous gasthat causes those within it to suffocate as if insmoke. They have also shown such strange abil-ities as immunity to all spirit attacks or theability to pass through walls.

GARGOYLEGargolus laputicus cornutum

Gargoyles are strange creatures, lookingmuch like animated stone statues. Whenresting, in fact, they are very hard to tellfrom a statue. When active they are bothfast and deadly. Different varieties live indifferent terrain types (forest, hills, etc.).The variety described here, the LesserHorned Gargoyle, is a common variety.

Gargoyles are hideously ugly to humaneyes.

Characteristics Average AttributesSTR 1-6D6+12 24 DBCON 3D6 11 HPSIZ 1-6D6 12 HLINT 1D6 4 MVPOW 3D6 10 Melee SRDEX 3D6 13 DEX SR

6 AP

Weapon SRClaw 9Javelin 3

Dodge 30

Average5124

7/15F

63

HT III

A% Damage P% AP45 1D4 + DB 30 330 1D8 + DB/2 30 6

To generate a random gargoyle, roll 1D6, thenroll that number of D6 for the gargoyle's STRand SIZ

Gargoyles often use All Out Attacks, espe-cially against lightly-armed opponents, and trustto their rocky skin for protection.

GRIFFIN

Gryphus gryphus

Griffins are sentient f lying carnivoreswith the body of a lion and the head, fore-claws, and wings of a giant eagle. Theylive in dry areas, deserts and mountain-sides, and love horseflesh.

Griffins are found in family groups ofup to a dozen members. Their nests areusually in caves or dug into the sides ofmountains. They hunt by stooping fromthe sky, grabbing an animal, and flyingaway with it while tearing at it with theirclaws and beak.

CharacteristicsSTR 10D6CON 3D6+12SIZ 10D6INT 2D6+6POW 3D6

Average3523351311

DEX 3D6+12 23

Attributes AverageDB 2HP 29HL 10MV 10/20F

Melee SR 1DEX SR 1

5 AP

Weapon SRBeak 4Claw 4

Dodge 45

A%7075

Damage P%1D6 + DB NA1D4 + DB NA

HT IV

APNANA

Magic—a griffin typically knows its INT in battlemagic spells. Many are sun worshippers, initi-ates of one or more cults of the Yelm pantheon.

SKELETON

Animated skeletons are not true Undead.They are the creations of powerful magi-cians, either worshippers of death godslike Zorak Zoran or sorcerers. Skeletonsare incomplete creatures, lacking CON,INT, and POW.

Each hit location of a skeleton has 1AP (or AP equal to the skeleton's damagebonus, whichever is greater), but no hitpoints. If a blow penetrates the armorprotection for a location, that location isshattered. It can be repaired, either withspells like Repair or by using Devise (andsome glue and splints). Breaking a skele-

C R E A T U R E S • 190

ton does not remove the enchantment—ifrepaired it becomes animated again.Many magicians put their skeletons insuits of armor to improve their durability.

A skeleton cannot be Incapacitated,rendered Unconscious, or killed. It con-tinues to fight until hacked to bits. It isimmune to fatigue. If the abdomen isdestroyed, both legs become useless.Destroying the chest causes the skeletonto fragment. Destroying the head of askeleton removes its function—it nolonger "knows" its orders and becomesmotionless.

Thrusting or stabbing weapons cannotdamage a skeleton, unless they score animpale or critical hit. A skeleton movesas fast as it did in life, but cannot swimor fly (even if it could while alive).

A skeleton's chance to hit or parrywith any weapon, and its dodge, arealways its DEX x5. Skeletons have noskill category modifiers.

The skeleton below is that of a human.Legend speaks of an Allosaurus skeletoncommanded by trolls . . . .

1 AP (special) Dodge 55

Attributes AverageDB 0Melee SR 6DEX SR 3MV 5

WeaponSword

SR7

A%55

Damage1D8 + DB

P%55

HT I

AP

8

Skeletons may wield any weapon and wear anyarmor supplied by the owner.

VAMPIRE

Vampires are the nobility of the undead.They are usually human in origin, thoughany carnivorous or omnivorous speciescan give rise to a vampire. A vampireappears pale and clammy, and casts noshadow or reflection.

A vampire has twice its former STRand CON, and is no longer susceptible toage or disease. It can see in the dark. Itmust feed on the blood of sentient beingsto sustain itself. It loses one level offatigue for each night it does not feed. Avampire also loses 1D6 MP a night, justto keep its body running. It must drainMP from others with its touch to regainlost MP, as it has no POW. If it is everreduced to 0 MP, it lapses into a coma,from which it will not recover withoutassistance.

A vampire can change at will into mist.In combat, this occurs on the vampire'sDEX SR + 3. The items and clothing (andarmor) a vampire was buried in will turninto mist along with it, other items will beleft behind. While in mist form, a vam-pire regenerates 1 HP of damage a round,and is immune to most physical and mag-

ical attacks. Damage that would nor-mally kill or cause a vampire to becomeunconscious simply causes it to assumemist form, where it regenerates. A vam-pire that is knocked unconscious by ahead or chest blow collapses on theground and cannot turn into mist. It canthen be killed (by having a stake driventhrough its heart and having its head cutoff). Most vampires can take on the formof a wolf or bat as well.

Vivamort was the first vampire, andbetrayed his trust to release Death intothe world. He was cursed for this byYelm and many of the other gods. As aresult, most of the elements can injurevampires.

A vampire cannot regenerate from firedamage, or from damage taken in thedaylight. A vampire cannot use its gaze,drain magic points or change into mist orany other form during daylight as well.

Immersion in running water willdestroy a vampire. A vampire cannotcross holy water, and contact with holywater will do 1D6 damage to a vampire,from which it cannot regenerate.

A vampire loses 3D6 MP for each dayit does not sleep on its grave dirt.

Finally, the Death rune, whichVivamort revealed, has special powersagainst vampires. A Death rune of anysort can be used (an Attack action inmelee) to cause 1D3 points of non regen-erable damage to the vampire if theDeath rune wielder concentrates andovercomes the vampire's MP with hisown. An initiate of a Death rune cult willautomatically overcome the vampire,regardless of the vampire's MP.

Characteristics AverageSTR 3D6x2 22CONSIZINTMPDEXAPP

3D6x22D6+62D6+62D6+63D63D6

221313131111


0 AP Dodge 75 HT I

Weapon SR A% Damage P% AP

Touch 7 75 1D3 + DB1 35 3Bite 6 50 1D3 + DB/22 NA NAGaze 1 Auto Enthrall3 NA NA

1 A vampire's touch can drain MP. If the touchattack hits, match the vamp/re's MP againstthe victim's POW If the vampire wins, the vic-tim loses 1D4 MP (these are added to thevampire's MP). The touch need not penetratearmor for the effect to occur.

2 A vampire's bite also drains blood. If the bitepenetrates armor, the vamp/re will stayattached, reducing the victim's Fatigue Classby one per round. Once the victim's FatigueLevel reaches Incapacitate, the vampire per-manently drains a point of STR instead.

3 A vampire's gaze can be used as an attack toEnthrall a victim. An alert victim that attemptsto avoid the vampire's gaze succeeds on aPOW x5 roll. If the vampire's gaze is met, andthe vampire overcome's the victim's POW withhis MP, the victim stands or slouches help-lessly, unable to react to the outside world.This effect wears off after a full turn.Countermagic or other protective spells haveno effect on a vampire's gaze.

Skills—nearly any, often at high levels of com-petency, particularly with older vampires.Vampires can and do use weapons as well asattack unarmed.

Magic—since vampire's lack POW, the cannotuse battle magic, or sacrifice for divine magic inthe normal manner. They can and do use sor-cery. Vivamort vampires can steal divine magicfrom others, and may thus have a variety ofone use divine magic spells at their command.

ZOMBIE

Zombies are corpses animated by magic.They cannot speak, but can labor, fightor guard an area for their master.

Their attack skills and DEX basedskills are equal to their DEX x5, whiletheir chance to parry is half that.Zombies never dodge.

Zombies cannot die, become uncon-scious, or be incapacitated, only hackedapart. Hacking a location apart requiresdoing damage to it equal to 3 times thehit points in that location. Destroying theabdomen in this manner renders bothlegs useless, destroying the chest para-lyzes all the limbs, leaving the zombie tothrash helplessly, and destroying the headdeactivates a zombie. Damage locationsmust be repaired, as with a skeleton.

Impaling weapons do only half damageto zombies. Arrows and quarrels do amaximum of 1 point of damage, unlessthey impale (special), in which case theydo a maximum of 2 points of damage.

The zombie below is that of a human.Troll zombies are common as well, as thecult of Zorak Zoran raises them.Characteristics Average Attributes AverageSTR 3D6x1.5 16 DB 2STR 3D6x1.5 16 HP 15SIZ 2D6+6 13 HL 5DEX 3D6x2/3 7 DEX SR 4MP 3D6 11 Melee SR 7

MV 4

0 AP

WeaponMaul

SR9

A% Damage55 1D8 + DB

P%55

HT I

AP8

Zombies may wield any weapon and wear anyarmor supplied by the owner.

Characteristics AverageSTR 3D6 11SIZDEXMP

2D6+63D63D6

131111

191 • C R E A T U R E S

SPIRITSSpirits are the mental and spiritual com-ponents of living creatures. Physicalcreatures are generally thought to be aspirit which inhabits a physical body,although the Brithini of the West dis-agree. Shamans and shamanistic religionsoften claim that all things have somekind of spirit, even rocks and streamsand forest groves. This section discussesthose spirits which do not have a perma-nent body. Such spirits may or may notbe able to become Visible and initiatespirit contact.

The natural home of spirits is the SpiritPlane, or some part of the God Plane.Described here are spirits which areeither normally found in the Inner World,or which are often summoned there.Shamans can encounter such beings onthe Spirit Plane. Spirits vary enormously,and the statistics given here are only aguide.

Spirits can be roughly divided bywhich characteristics they possess. Somespirits, such as madness spirits, have onlyPOW. Others, such as animal and plantspirits, have POW and fixed INT. Finally,spirits of humans and other intelligentraces (including ghosts) and such horrorsas wraiths have POW and free INT.

DemonPeople call any fearful being from theOther Worlds a "demon". Humans callDarkness spirits "Demon", although theyare holy beings to trolls. Usually a demonis something called or summoned fromanother plane. Some magicians specializein calling and binding demons. The RedEmperor of the Lunar Empire is famousfor being able to both summon at will,and dismiss, demons of the Three-Hornfamily.

Some beings that might be calleddemons would be wraiths controlled by amagician, elemental powers with INTand spells, and many others. Almost allsane Gloranthans agree that it is greatlyevil to summon Chaos spirits, but somemagicians do this.

Demon summoning is not a subjectcovered in this rulebook.

ElementalsElementals are spirits descended from theprimal elements, or created by a god ofan element. They are a type of spirit,which can manifest when in the InnerWorld by creating a body from the ele-ment it is kin to. The five most commontypes of elemental in Glorantha aregnomes, salamanders, shades, sylphs, andundines, which embody earth, fire, dark-ness, air, and water.

Elementals are incomplete creatures—even embodied, they lack CON, INT and

DEX. Their SIZ is given in cubic meters,rather than points. If a point value isneeded, use the elemental's hit points.Without INT, elementals are incapable ofindependent action. Unless commandedmagically, they will simply do what isnatural for their element: salamanderswill burn flammable objects, undines willflow to the lowest possible spot, gnomesslump into a formless pile, shades fleefrom light, and sylphs move around incircular or spiral patterns.

To summon an elemental, the magicianneeds enough of the proper element tocreate the creature's body. For example,to summon a 1 cubic meter undine wouldrequire at least a large tub of water,whereas to summon a 10 cubic metersalamander would require a huge bon-fire. Extra quantities of the element donot make the elemental bigger, and ifthere is not enough of the element pre-sent, the summoning fails.

All elementals can be damaged by ordi-nary physical weapons. Even somethingas featureless-looking as a flame has adeep, complex structure within it whichcan be disrupted and destroyed by ablade or club. They have only one hitlocation, and no armor. When the ele-mental is reduced to zero hit points, itsbody reverts to a nonliving state and itsspirit returns to the other world, fromwhich it can be summoned again.

Even if an elemental is holding, orcompletely surrounding, a character, anattack roll must still succeed to damage it.

GNOME

Gnomes are earth-spirits, children ofGata. They must be summoned into dirtor soil, rather than solid rock, and can-not travel through unbroken stone orconcrete, although they are at home inrocky soils. A gnome appears to be a dis-turbance in the soil like the waves madeby an earthquake. A moving gnomeleaves a trail of turned and disturbedearth behind it. They cannot leave theground.

Gnomes can open pits in the earth, digtunnels, and search for buried objects.They can hold the soil in a shape, thussupporting tunnel roofs or resisting dig-ging. Gnomes are perhaps the mostuseful of the elementals in ordinary life,being especially good at turning the soilfor agriculture, uprooting tree trunks,and other such tasks. In war a gnomecould undermine fortifications, or digthem.

A gnome can carry an object of SIZequal to the elemental's STR through theground at a speed equal to its MV of 1.There is no air underground — a personor animal being carried must suffocateunless some air-supplying magic is used.

A gnome can attack up to 10 SIZ percubic meter of its volume. It can attack asmany foes per round as it wishes, as longas their total SIZ is under the limit (andthey are within range).

A gnome attacks by opening a pitbeneath the foe or foes. If it engulfs SIZequal to 10 times its own SIZ in cubicmeters, it engulfs the foes legs. If the foestotal only 3 times its SIZ, it engulfs theirchest and abdomen locations as well. Ifthe foes total only twice the elemental'sSIZ, their heads are within the pit aswell. In this case, they begin to suffocatein addition to the damage discussedbelow.

As soon as the victim or victims fall in,the gnome closes up the pit. If the soil isrocky or contains pebbles, the elementalcan harm the foe by closing the pit force-fully — this attack doesn't work in softloam or sand. The gnome does damageequal to its STR/10 in dice, plus its damagebonus to each engulfed location of thevictim (use STR x 2 to calculate its DB,rather than STR + SIZ) . Roll once andapply that damage to all locations.Armor protects against this attack. Thisattack can only be made once perengulfed victim—once the pit is closed,the gnome cannot reopen and reclose it.

The gnome's attack pit opens at DEX20 on SR 1, and closes at DEX 20 on SR10 of the same round. STR vs. STR fightsoccur in the DEX SR of the character try-ing to escape.

The engulfed victim is held in place bythe gnome in any case, and can onlyescape by defeating the elemental in aSTR vs. STR contest on the ResistanceTable. Note that if the victim's arms arepinned, it cannot attack the gnome physi-cally, or cast battle magic or sorcery.

Gnomes hove the following statistics per meterof SIZ: 1D6+6 of STR, 1D6 of POW, and2D6+6 HP. All gnomes have a MV of 1, regard-less of SIZ.

Three Cubic Meter GnomeStatistics AverageSTR 3D6+18 29SIZ 3 cu. m 3 m3

POW 3D6 11HP 6D6+18 39

Attributes Average

DB 7MV 1

HT 0

Its attack does 1D6 + 7 damage.

SALAMANDER

Salamanders are fragments of the primalFire, children of Aether. They must besummoned into an existing fire, but oncesummoned can move freely through theAir without fuel. However, Water orEarth can douse them, just as it can ordi-nary flame. A salamander appears as ablazing lizardlike creature made of flame.

A salamander's touch will ignite any

C R E A T U R E S • 192

flammable material. Salamanders can,given time, melt metals. They can con-sume ordinary fires (but not magicalones). The living flame appears to suckup the lesser one, taking 1D6 damage foreach cubic meter of ordinary fire con-sumed.

Salamanders all have a Move score of6. They move at the same speed along theground, or in the Air.

In combat against material foes, a sala-mander engulfs them in its fiery body. Asalamander can attack foes with a totalSIZ equal to or less than 10 times thesalamander's SIZ in cubic meters. Thus athree cubic meter salamander can attackone 30 SIZ great troll, or three SIZ 10elves.

In SR 10 (DEX 20) of each round inwhich a creature is engulfed in flame roll3D6 and match it against the creature'sbest armor (that is, the AP of the bestarmored location on the creature) on theresistance table. If the damage from the3D6 overcomes the armor, the victimtakes all the rolled damage to his generalhit points immediately. If the armor wins,the victim takes half of the rolled dam-age. If the victim is too big too engulf,use only 1D6. Damage bonus does notmodify this attack.

Salamanders have the following statistics percubic meter of SIZ: 1D6 STR, 1D6 POW, and2D6 hit points. All salamanders have a MV of6, regardless of SIZ..

Three Cubic Meter SalamanderStatistics AverageSTR 3D6 11SIZ 3 cu. m 3 m3

POW 3D6 11HP 6D6 21

Attributes AverageDB 0MV 6

HT 0

Its attack does 3D6 damage.

SHADE

Shades are spirits of darkness, the off-spring of Subere and Dehore. They mustbe summoned into unrelieved darkness,in which not even the glimmer of a faintstar can be seen. Once formed, theyappear as formless blobs of darknesswhich can move about, even in daylight.Only light stronger than that of the Suncan even be seen through a shade. Theyare freezing cold as well.

Shades can put out fires and dousesmall lights, such as lanterns and candles.Anyone wholly within a shade is bothblind and deaf, and the icy temperaturesof a shade blunt the sense of smell.Shades block not only vision, but trollDarksense and dwarf Earthsense as well.This is the nature of a shade, and theshade cannot refuse to block senses.

Shades can attack anyone they par-tially engulf with Fearshock once per full

turn (see the Shade Fearshock Table).Match the shade's magic points againstthe victim's CON on the resistance table.Unconscious beings, or those with noINT score, are immune to Fearshock.

Fearshock attacks happen on SR 1 (atDEX 20) of the round that the shadetouches the victim. If the victim is alreadyengulfed, the attack also occurs in SR 1.

Also, shades are intensely cold. Foreach cubic meter of its volume, a shadecan completely swallow up 10 SIZ of vic-tims. Each round a being is engulfed by ashade, it takes 1 point of freezing damageto a random location. Neither armor, norprotective winter clothing, nor magicalprotections against weapons damage pro-tect against this supernatural cold. Spellsthat protect against cold or darknessspecifically, or natural armor which is fatunder the skin, may protect against it atthe gamemaster's discretion.

Cold damage occurs in SR 10 (DEX20) of each round the creature isengulfed.

Shades may combine both Fearshockand cold attacks in the same round, andmay attack as many victims as their SIZlets them engulf.

For each cubic meter of SIZ, a shade has 1D6STR, 1D6 POW, and 1D6 hit points. ShadesMV is always 12. They can either move alongthe ground or fly.

Three Cubic Meter ShadeStatistics AverageSTR 3D6 11SIZ 3 cu. m 3 m3

POW 3D6 11HP 3D6 11


HT 0

It attacks with Fearshock and I point ofcold damage.

Shade Fearshock Table

Critical Success—victim instantly diesSpecial Success—victim must roll CON x 5%or less, or die. Surviving victims collapse and areIncapacitated for 20-CON melee rounds, mini-mum one round. The victim is not entitled to rollvs. his CON to fight on heroically.Normal Success—victim is demoralized (as ifby the Battle Magic spell). The effect lasts for 20-CON melee rounds, minimum one round.Failure—no effect on beings with normal INT.Fixed INT creatures are demoralized as above.Fumble—victim is unaffected.

SYLPH

Sylphs are the active forces of the Air,also known as the children of Kolat, oneof Orlanth's family. They are the littlebrothers of the Winds. A sylph looks likea small whirlwind, storm cloud, or dustdevil. Their volume is not fixed, and theirSIZ score mainly is used to determinetheir damage.

Sylphs can carry objects or people withtotal SIZ up to the sylph's STR. It can

cause a breeze or gust of wind, but onlyin a very small area. This is a very usefulability for the motivation of sailing ships.

Sylphs attack physical beings by pick-ing them up and dropping them. Asabove, they can lift total SIZ equal to orless than their STR. The victims are liftedand dropped 2 meters for every cubicmeter of the sylph's SIZ. Falling damageis usually 1D6 per 3 meters fallen. See"The Natural World" for more informa-tion on falling damage. Damage bonusdoes not add to this attack.

It is normally impossible to dodge orparry a sylph's lifting attack. A victimcan attempt to resist being lifted, pittinghis STR against the sylph's on the resis-tance table. Instead, he may try to attackthe sylph and destroy it. Sylph's liftingand dropping attacks take place on SR10 of a round.

for each cubic meter of their SIZ, sylphs have2D6 STR, 1D6 POW, and 1D6 hit points.Sylphs always have a MV of 20.

Three Cubic Meter SylphStatistics AverageSTR 6D6 21SIZ 3 cu. m 3 m3

POW 3D6 11HP 3D6 11


HT 0

It drops its foes 6 m, doing 2D6 of fallingdamage (see the Natural World).

UNDINE

Undines are shreds of Zaramaka, tinypieces of the water's vitality. In water,they are nearly undetectable to a landcreature's senses, looking like a ripple orcurrent. If ordered onto land, they flowover it like blobs of quicksilver.

An undine can be summoned into saltor fresh water, or into any liquid that islargely water, such as wine, beer, milk, orurine. They can purify the water they ani-mate, removing particles or liquids thatdo not merge with water, such as oil.They cannot remove substances that dis-solve, like salt, or liquids that mix withwater, such as vinegar or alcohol.

Undines can carry objects (includingpeople) through the water. It can carrySIZ points up to its own STR. If directedto, it will hold part of the object out ofthe water (allowing living creatures tobreathe air). Undines can also push boatsand ships through the water.

An undine attacks on land by engulf-ing foes and forcing itself into their lungs.Use the normal drowning rules, but startthe victim at CON x3 rolls. Undinedrowning causes 1D8 damage.

Underwater, an undine can smash foesagainst the bottom. The damage taken(for a rocky but smooth bottom) is 1D6per cubic meter of undine. This should be

193 • CREATURES

modified by the gamemaster to reflect thenature of the bottom, i.e. sand would doless damage, sharp coral more. Victimscan resist being smashed by rolling theirSTR vs. the undine's on the ResistanceTable. If the undine attacks multiple vic-tims, it must divide its STR among them.

Undines can suffocate water-breathingcreatures, by preventing the normal cir-culation of water past their gills. Thisworks as above for air breathers, but theCON rolls start at CON x 10.

Undines must always engulf their foesbefore attacking them. An undine canengulf 10 SIZ points of foe per 1 cubicmeter of its SIZ. All undine attack formstake place on SR 10 of the melee round.An undine cannot suffocate and smash inthe same round.

For each cubic meter of SIZ, an undine has2D6 STR, 1D6 POW, and 1D6+6 hit points.An undine's MV is 12 in water, and 4 whenflowing across the ground.

Three Cubic Meter UndineStatistics Average

STR 6D6 21SIZ 3 cu. m 3 m3

POW 3D6 11HP 3D6+18 29

Attributes AverageDB 4MV 4/12W

HT 0

Its attack causes asphyxiation.

GHOSTS

Ghosts are the spirits of the dead,trapped in the world of the living. Theycan be created either when an evil magi-cian binds the soul of a victim usingenchantment, or if their death was sotraumatic that they are trapped in its areaand cannot move on to their properafterlife. They are always either boundinto enchantments, or trapped in a par-ticular place. Ghosts have only INT andPOW.

Ghosts can become visible at will andattack in spirit combat. If they reducetheir foe to zero magic points they willpossess its body. Ghosts created by tragicdeaths often cause the new body to com-mit suicide or attack their friends. Ghostspossessing a body often retain the skillsthey had in life—see Possession in "SpiritMagic". Even possessing a body, ghostscannot leave an area if they are trappedin it.

Characteristics AverageINT 2D6+6 13POW 4D6 14

Attributes AverageMV 14(equal to POW)

This is a human ghost. Elf ghosts would haveINT 3D6+6, and ghosts of other creatureswould match what they had in life.

Skills—ghosts retain most of theCommunication, Knowledge, Reasoning andMagic skills they had in life. They gain SpiritSense and Spirit Speech (at POW x3 or better).

Magic—ghosts have whatever magic they hadin life. The most terrifying of such spirits wouldbe shamans who have refused to move on tothe Other Side, and would have a fetch.

MADNESS SPIRITS

The God Learners thought that madnessspirits were created from the energiesreleased by intelligent beings feeling greatpassions. The most powerful may comefrom the passions of the gods. Madnessspirits attack without becoming visible,and the victim must roll INT x1 or less tonotice the spirit's attack. He may rollonce per madness attack. If the victimnotices the attack, he may fight back inspirit combat and attempt to reduce themagic points of the madness spirit.

The madness spirit does not attack innormal spirit combat. Instead, it uses itsmagic points to attack against the vic-tim's POW on the Resistance Table. If itscores a special success, it immediatelypossesses the victim covertly. Possessedvictims are dominated by the passion thatthe spirit incarnates, until the possessingspirit is exorcised.

A typical madness spirit has a POW of3D6. Two common madness spirits aredescribed below.

Fear—those possessed by fear spirits areDemoralized (see the Battle Magic spell) until itis exorcised.

Rage—if possessed by a rage spirit, a personis always Fanatical (see the Battle Magic spell)until it is exorcised. In stress situations, anda/ways at least once per day, the spirit matchesits magic points against the victim's POW onthe Resistance Table. If the spirit wins, the vic-tim becomes Berserk (see the Divine Magicspell). Worshippers of Zorak Zoran and StormBull find this attractive, and often deliberatelyinvite rage spirits to possess them.

NymphNymphs are the spirits of places, or nat-ural features. They can create and inhabitfemale bodies at will. They are incapableof initiating spirit combat, and can onlycast magic when embodied. If a nymph isreduced to zero hit points while embod-ied, it is forced to the spirit plane.However, unless the place or thing it per-sonifies is destroyed, it will eventuallygenerate a new body.

There are as many types of nymph asthere are types of natural feature. Threeof the commonest will be described here:dryads, who personify forests; naiads,who personify streams and ponds, andoreads, who personify hills.

Nymphs vary tremendously in powerand personality. Some are friendly tohumans, others malignant. Most nymphsignore humans. Very powerful nymphsare sometimes worshipped as goddesses.

DRYAD

Dryads are the spirits of the forest,daughters of the goddess Aldrya. In away not understood by humans, dryadsare the spirits of certain trees. The dryadseems to step out of "her" tree when sheforms her body, and when the tree dies,the dryad moves on to the Other Side.

Dryads and elves work together incooperation for the defense and prosper-ity of their forest. Many elf males matewith dryads. Dryads often distrust anddislike humans, who they think of as log-gers ("tree murderers") and burners. Likeelves, they fear and hate trolls and dwarfs.

Dryads cannot leave their grove oftrees. If forced to, their body will dissolveand the spirit will reenter its tree.


2D63D62D6+33D6+32D6+164D62D6+12

7111014231419

Attributes Average

DBHPHLMVMelee SRDEX SR

-1114553

0 AP Dodge 30 HT I

Dryads do not fight with weapons, if forced intocombat, they use magic.

Magic—all dryads are automatically membersof the Aldrya cult They generally know their fullINT worth of Battle Magic, including Heal andSecond Sight They may also know DivineMagic.

NAIAD

Naiads are water spirits, descended fromZaramaka the First Ocean. Naiadsinhabit almost any kind of natural water,from tiny ponds to great rivers. Theirpower is usually related to the size of thewater they inhabit. The spirit of a tinyrivulet is likely to be much weaker thanthe spirit of a large lake.

Naiads forming their body seem tocondense from a mist over the surface oftheir water. For every 10 meters a naiadtravels from her water, she loses 1 magicpoint. They only regain magic pointswhen immersed in their water.

Some naiads are friendly to humans,others hostile. Often flowing stream andopen water nymphs will be friendlierthan stagnant water or swamp nymphs.

Characteristics Average Attributes AverageSTR 4D6 14 DB -1CON 3D6 11 HP 10SIZ 2D6+2 9 HL 3INT 3D6+6 17 MV 5POW 2D6+18 25 Melee SR 5DEX 4D6 14 DEX SR 3APP 2D6+12 19

0 AP Dodge 90 HT I

C R E A T U R E S • 194

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APWhip 3 40 1D4 + DB/2 30 8

A naiad's whip is actually a jet of water, andcannot entangle.

Magic—usually have full INT worth of spiritmagic, often including Healing, Extinguish,Shimmer. They may have water powers equiva-lent to Divine Magic from water-relatedreligions, especially if they are associated with ariver cult.

Naiads may transform themselves intoundines at will. Their SIZ would then be 1 cubicmeter per magic point expended. There mustbe enough water available for this transforma-tion. If the undine is destroyed, the naiad isdispersed as if her normal body had beenreduced to zero hit points.

OREADS

Oreads are mountain spirits, related tothe Earth gods. A nymph may be coupledto a particular valley, meadow, or hill.They lose one magic point for each 20meters they travel away from their site,and can only regenerate magic pointswithin it.


0 AP

2D63D62D6+23D6+32D6+163D6+62D6+10

711914231717

Dodge 45


-1103542

HT I

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APBrawl 7 40 1D3 + DB 30 3

Skills—Climb 90, Jump 90, Conceal 90, Hide90

Magic—Oreads have spirit magic equal totheir INT. They may have powers similar toEarth or mountain related Divine Magic.

SPELL SPIRIT

Spell Spirits have only INT and POW.Their INT is fixed, and is always justenough to know one Battle Magic spell.The Jrusteli believed that spell spiritswere created when the powerful beings ofthe God Time used magic.

Spell spirits cannot initiate spirit com-bat unless Commanded or Controlledand ordered to. If a spell spirit is reducedto zero magic points in spirit combat, theknowledge of its spell is passed from it tothe one who defeated it (subject to INTlimitation). Shaman's claim that the vic-tor consumes the spell spirit. If the spellspirit defeats another in spirit combat, itpossesses the opponent. Since spell spiritsare incapable of action, the body thenbecomes comatose, remaining immobileuntil the spirit is exorcised.

Shaman hunt the spell spirits thatreside on the Spirit Plane. The larger ormore unusual the spell spirit, the longer ittakes to find it (see Spirit Magic fordetails).

Divine religions have ritualized thespell-learning process, making it less dan-gerous to learn cult spells (seeSpellteaching in Divine Magic).

Legend speaks of spell spirits thatknow unusual spells, or divine magic orsorcery spells, but reliable reports ofthem are rare.

A spell spirit's INT is fixed, and equal to the sizeof the spell it knows. It has 1D6 POW per pointof spell, and a MV equal to its POW.

WRAITH

A wraith is a type of undead ghost.Wraiths form when someone's emotionsat death are overwhelming hatred andfrustration, and are created by certainevil magicians. They hate all livingthings. They look like rotted, skeletalspirits, and those in their presence oftenfeel chilled or smell putrid odors. Theyare found in the Spirit Plane, and also inruins, abandoned buildings, and similarspots. Like ghosts, they are often boundto the site of their deaths.

Wraiths can only be damaged bymagic. If a sword with Damage Boosting4 or Bladesharp 4 strikes a wraith, it willsuffer 4 points of damage. Firebladeswould do 3D6 to wraiths. Trues Weaponspells damage wraiths normally. If awraith is reduced to zero hit points ormagic points, it destroyed forever.

Wraiths are completely immune toemotion-affecting magic such asDemoralize, Cast Confusion, and Fear.

There are three types of wraith. Oneattacks against STR, one against CON,and the last against INT. A wraithmatches its current magic points againstthe target's characteristic by touchinghim with its spectral hand. If it over-comes the foes STR, CON, or INT withits magic points, the target takes 1D6 hitpoints of damage to the location struck,ignoring armor or magical damage resis-tance. Spirit Block or Spirit Screen add tothe affected characteristic to help resistthis attack.

If the wraith is attacking a helpless target(sleeping, unconscious, or incapacitated)then the wraith can choose to reduce thevictim's STR, INT, or CON by 1D6points instead of doing hit point damage.Each characteristic point lost by the vic-tim raises the wraith's magic points by 1.

A wraith's attacks always take place atDEX 20 on SR 1.

Characteristics AverageINT 2D6+6 13MP 4D6 14CON 6D10 33

Attributes AverageMV 14(equal to MP)HP 33(equal to CON)

HL 0

195 • C R E A T U R E S

CREATURESMost animals will not attack outright unless attack trained or provoked. Some are territorial, and will attack to defend their territory.In combat, animals with Dodge skill will typically Attack and Defend, while those lacking Dodge skill will All Out Attack or Attack Only.

Riding Beasts

Creature

BisonBos praxus

STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX

3D6+30 3D6+9 3D6+30 4 3D6 2D641 20 41 4 11 7

MV

16

AP

4

HP

30

HL

10

These resemble the North American bison, and travel in great herds numbering up to 10,000 animals.

HT

11

DB

12

Attack

ButtCharge

SR

77

A%

5050

Damage

2D4 + DB/22D4 + DB

They are found in Prax, the Wastes, and Pent. A bison can only trample a fallen target.

Demi-bird 4D6+18 2D6+6 4D6+12 3 3D6 3D6+6 15 3 20 7 1Aepyornts draconis 32 13 26 3 11 17Feathered, beaked bird like creatures with solid bones and vestigial arms. They are the mounts of the dragonewts.

7 PeckKick

55

4545

1D8 + DB/21D6 + DB

High Llama 3D6+24 2D6+9 3D6+30 4 3D6 3D6 16 3 27 9 11 11 Kick 6

Alticomelus llama 35 16 41 4 11 11 Rear & Plunge 6

The alticamelus looks much like across between a giraffe and a camel. They travel the Wastes and Prax in small herds. High llamas are so tall that their riders roll

ing at other kinds of mounted foes. They can only use melee weapons of SR 0 or 1 (or missiles) when attacking footmen (and vice versa).

60 1D6 + DB

30 2D6 + DB

1D10+10 when strik-

Horse 4D6+18 3D6

Equus caballus 32 11

This represents a typical horse or zebra. A

A horse can only trample a fallen target.

4D6+I8 4 3D6 2D6+6 15 1 21 7 11 832 4 11 13

wide variety exist. Warhorses are attack trained, and have higher levels of attack skills.

Bite 6Kick 6Rear& Plunge 6Trample 6

45301575

1D61D6 + DB2D4 + DB4D4 + DB

ImpalaAepyceros gigans

1D6+1216

3D611

1D6+I216

44

3D611

2D6+613

10 0 13 4 11 2 ButtKick

77

3030

1D6 + DB1D4 + DB

Impala are small antelopes, mounts of a tribe of pygmies in Prax. They travel in herds of 20-100. They can leap up to their MV score in a single bound, and kick while running away.

They typically have skills of Dodge 50, Jump 90, and Smell 50.

MuleHybridus issaries

3D6+1829

3D611

2D6+1825

44

3D611

2D6+613

10 1 18 6 11 6 BiteKick

66

4030

1D41D6 + DB

Mules are the pack animals of the Issaries trader cult. The Lunar Etyries cult uses burros, which are similar, but have SIZ 3D6+12 and CON 2D6+6

RhinocerosRhino praxus

5D6+18 3D6+16 5D6+2436 27 42

44

3D611

2D6+I8

11 6 34 11 11 11 ButtCharge

66

6060

2D6 + DB/22D6 + DB

Rhinos are solitary creatures that wander Prax and the Wastes. They are the mounts of the Rhino Riders of Prax. Rhinos are very nearsighted, but have a keen sense of smell. They

are very irritable and likely to charge anything unusual that comes near them.

Sable Antelope 3D6+12 2D6+6 4D6+12 4Hippotragus niger 23 13 26The Sable wander the plains of Prax, the Wastes and

43D611

3D6 12 2 2011

Hungry Plateau of Peloria in herds of 100-500.

7 11

Kick

3

6

ButtCharge45

661D4

4545+DB

1D61D6

+ DB/2+ DB

Domestic Beasts

Creature STR CON

Beetle. Ham 1D6 2D6Carabus 4 7

SIZ

1D64

INT

22

POW DEX

1D6+2 3D66 11

MV AP HP HL

3 / 6 F 2 6 6

HT

0

DB

-2

Attack

Bite

SR

9

A%

25

Damage

1D3

Large flying herbivorous beetles the size of a ham. They are raised in flocks by trolls. Some are trained as watch beetles or awakened as allies.

Cattle 4D6+24 2D6+9Bostourus 38 16

4D6+2438

44

2D6 2D67 7

15 3 27 9 11 11 ChargeTrample

77

3575

2D4 +4D4 +

DBDB

A typical bull. Cows have 1D6 less STR and SIZ. Bulls are more prone to attack They can only trample a fallen foe.

Dog, Hunting 2D6 3D6Conis familiaris 7 11

2D45

55

1D6+6 2D6+610 13

6 0 8 3 11 -2 Bite 9 35 1D6 + DB

A typical domestic or wild dog. Wild dogs hunt in packs. A wide variety exist Skills include Dodge 35% and Track 75%.

Dog, Fighting 3D6 2D6+6Canis 11 13

2D67

55

3D6 2D6+611 13

7 1 10 3 11 -1 Bite 9 50 1D8 + DB

A typical fighting dog or small war dog. A typical one has Dodge 50%. For a large war dog, use the statistics for a wolf.

Hawk 1D3 2D4Vrimakus 2 5

1D22

33

2D6 3D6+187 29

1/15F 0 4 4

Predacious birds, often trained for hunting or used as Fire/Sky cult allies. They can typically Dodge at 100% and Scan at 90%

0 -4 ClawBite

66

5035

1D21D3

. Also eagles, falcons, etc.

Trample 7 75 4D4 + DB

C R E A T U R E S • 196

Wild Beasts

Creature

AllosaurAllosaurus

STR

6D6+3253

CON

4D6+2I35

SIZ

4D6+3246

INT

33

POW DEX

2D6+6 2D6+913 16

MV AP HP

21 8 41

HL HT

14 V

DB

15

Attack

BiteKick

SR A%

5 505 60

Damage

2D6 + DB1D6 + DB

Vicious predators, they are not averse to hunting and eating creatures as small as humans. If prey is abundant, they may hunt in pairs or packs.

Ant, GiantFormicdae

4D614

3D6+617

2D67

22

1D6+4 2D6+68 13

7 4 12 4 VI 0 BiteSpray Acid

93

4040

1D10 + DB2D6 acid

A wide variety exist. Some species have specialized warriors. A species will generally either spray acid or sting, not both.They live in colonies, guarding one or more (depending on the species) queen ants. Some species possess a group mind—individuallyunintelligent, the colony as a whole is intelligent—generally the larger the colony, the more intelligent the group mind.

or Sting 9 40 1D6 + DB +1D6 poison

Bear 3D6+15 2D6+6 3D6+15 5 3D6 3D6 12 3 19 6 11 6 Bite 6Ursus arctos 26 13 26 5 11 11 Claw 6Bears are solitary creatures. They typically prey on deer, cattle or sheep. Males are more aggressive than females, except for females defending their young.

3045

1D81D6

+ DB/2+ DB

Beetle, GiantCarabus

2D6+1219

3D6+617

3D6+617

22

1D6+6 2D6+610 13

10 6 17 6 VI 3 Bite 7 50 1D10 + DB

Typical of a large predatory beetle, or of one of the guard beetles trained by trolls to act as guards. A typical giant beetle has Scan 50 and Track 30.

Brontosaur 4D10+40 2D10+30 4D10+50 3 1D6+8 1D6 15 12 56 19 V 22Apotosourus 62 41 72 3 12 4Unaggressive giant herbivores. They graze on forests, and often wallow in lakes and rivers. They can trample anything with SIZ less than

Tail Lash 8Trample 8

1/3 the brontosaur's SIZ

6075

ID64D6

+ DB/2+ DB

Cliff Toad 12D6Megabufo hippovorax 42

6D621

12D642

22

3D611

3D611

9 6 32 11 11 12 TongueSwallow

33

4580

1D6 + DB/21 acid

Gigantic amphibious predators that will just as happily swallow a horse as its rider. They are grey and rough looking, blending in well Kick 6 30 1D6 + DBwith rocks and cliffs (Hide in Rocks 90). The specimen described is a large one (STR and SIZ varies from 2 to 12 D6, with AP equal to half the toad's DB. Their tongues have a range of1 m per D6 of SIZ, and are sticky. It will attempt to swallow anything hit by its tongue (it can swallow up to its SIZ). If it fails to swallow a victim it keeps trying (while out. the tonguecan be attacked, with HP as a limb). Swallowed victims are immobilized, and can only use divine magic, divine intervention, or hope for rescue as they dissolved. Cliff toads kick oppo-nents too large or too dangerous to swallow.

Crocodile 4D6+12Crocodylus porosus 26

3D6+819

4D6+1226

33

3D611

2D67

6/115 5 22 7 11 6 BiteTail Lash

77

5030

1D8 + DB1D6 + DB

Swamp and river dwelling predators. A number inhabit the River of Cradles in Prax. Much larger ones exist, with up to twice the STR, SIZ, CON and AP.

Insect Swarm Swarm IO Auto. StingsAn insect swarm will deliver I to IO dice (D6s) of stings every round to each victim it envelops. The number of dice depends on the swarm's ferocity and size. Armor or mediumclothing subtracts 1 from each die rolled, heavy clothing subtracts 2 from each die rolled, improvised muffling subtracts 3 from each die rolled, beekeeping gear subtracts 4 from eachdie rolled, and protective spells subtract I from each die rolled for every 3 AP they grant (this adds to clothing/armor protection). Keep track of the total number of stings received byeach victim, and 1D6 hours after the last sting was received, divide the total number of stings received by a number ranging from 20 (bees or yellowjackets) to 5 (bulldog ants). Thisfinal number yields the POT of the poison attack that is then matched against the victim's CON (see Poisons in the Natural World for more details).

Rat Pack 6/3s 01 1 0 NA Pack Attack 10 30 1D3This represents a pack of 2D6 rats. In general, killing I or 2 members of a pack (each with I HP) will drive the pack away. A single rat pack poses little hazard to an adventurer.However, a number of packs attacking at once can pose a serious hazard.

Rock Lizard 2D6+6Megosourus vanium 13

2D6+613

4D614

22

2D67

2D6+3IO

8 3 14 5 V 1 ClawBite

88

4040

1D6 + DB1D8 + DB

Slow, stupid predators and scavengers, found in hills, caves and ruins. They bask in groups each morning. It attacks with claws until one hits, then bites as well.

Rubble RunnerPavicursor rudi

1D64

3D611

1D43

44

1D6+6 2D6+610 13

5 2 7 2 11 -3 BiteAfterbite

93

30 1D6Auto 1D6

An armored hybrid of rat, shark and armadillo. Rubble Runners are always hungry, and run in packs. They inhabit caves and ruins. If they bite successfully, they continue to hold on,doing damage each round on their DEX SR. Roll for each new attack, but only a critical or fumble will affect damage done. Dodge 30.

ShadowcatAlynx

2D67

2D6+613

1D64

55

2D6+12 3D6+1219 23

9 0 9 3 11 -2 ClawBite

88

5040

1D6 + DB1D6 + DB/2

Dark colored felines native to the mountains of Dragon Pass. They are sacred to the Orlanthi, who often use them as Rip 8 80 2D6 + DBawakened allies. They rip only after landing two claw hits. Typical skills include Dodge 75 and Stealth 100.

Snake. Constrictor 3D6+24 3D6+18 3D6+18Python Gor 35 29 29

33

2D6+613

2D6+613

5/65 2 29 10 VII 8 BiteConstrict

66

6045

1D3 + DB/21D6 + DB

Typical of the snakes sacred to the Earth cults. Even larger ones exists. The one described here is 7 meters long. Constriction 3 Auto 1D6 + DBA constriction attack will automatically do damage to the victim's chest. Once a constriction attack lands, it will do damage each subsequent round at the snake's DEX SR. Only chestarmor protects, and the victim beings to asphyxiate (see the Natural World). The victim can try to match STR vs. STR (an Attack action) to remove the snake. A typical constrictor'sskills include Climb 90, Dodge 60. and Stealth 75. Some Earth cult snakes may be sentient with INT 2D6+6. Such snakes may know cult and divine magic and other skills as well,including language skills (at least Earthtongue).

Wolf 2D6+6 3D6 2D6+3 5 3D6Canis lupus 13 11 10 5 11Wolves inhabit forests and mountains, typically hunting in packs ranging from

2D6+10 9 2 11 4 11 0 Bite17

10 to 40 members. They do not attack humans unless starving or provoked.

7 30 1D8 + DB/2

Dodge 45 and Track 75.

197 • C R E A T U R E S

CHAOSWhen the Unholy Trio performed theirmad ritual, they broke the nature ofGlorantha, admitting seeping chaoswhich corrupts both the objects and thestructure of the cosmos. Chaos threatsinclude obvious oozing, destroying mon-sters like gorp, and more subtle beingswhich corrupt society, like Krarsht.Hardest for humans to understand arethose which corrupt the philosophies,laws, and principles that make up theuniverse — beings like Wakboth andGbaji. This section describes creatureswhose nature is obviously chaotic, butchaos is both more subtle and more all-embracing than they might indicate.

Chaos-linked creatures are, as onemight expect, very diverse and differentfrom each other. Some, such as broos, areso imbued with the chaos taint that theirvery existence violates the Law, and theymay have abilities that are not only oddfor broos, but impossible or ludicrous. Itis the nature of chaos to break down thebarriers between opposites, including"possible" and "impossible". If a crea-ture's description says that it has "chaosfeatures", roll on the "Chaotic Featuresfor Chaotic Creatures" table, or inventyour own. Some creatures, althoughlinked to chaos, do not ordinarily havechaos features.

Chaos represents the destruction of theworld. Almost every race and civilizationthat is not chaotic agrees that chaos is theultimate evil.

BROO

Capricephalus chaos

Broos resemble satyrs, having humanlikebodies with the heads of animals.However, their heads are those of manydifferent animals, including deer, ante-lope, and goats. They are usually horned.Broos are foul chaos hybrids, universallydestructive and rapacious. They worshipdisease and rape gods, build nothing butruin much, and are perhaps the mosthated race in Glorantha.

At least 90% of broos are male, butthey can father children on almost anyanimal. Broos are a mongrel race. Broosare immune to all diseases and poisons,and there is a 50% chance that a broo iscarrying an infectious disease on its per-son and possessions. Their greatestpleasures are torture and rape. A com-mon broo trick is to foul money orjewelry with their secretions, then leave itwhere others will find it and becomeinfected.

There are two broo "cultures". Brooswhich are born and develop in isolationfrom other broos are called "feral"broos. These creatures may not speak

any language, and will know no magic.They will have only the crudest of toolsand weapons. Broos which are raised in aband of other broos will have languageskills and will likely know some magic.More detail is available in Elder Secrets.

GHOUL

CharacteristicsSTR 2D6+6CON 1D6+12SIZ 1D6+12INT 2D6+6POW 3D6DEX 3D6APP 2D6

0/3 (Head) AP

Weapon SRHeadbutt 71H Spear 6Club 6Md. Shield 7

Average Attributes Average13161613

DBHPHLMV

11 Melee SR117

A%45304015

DEX SR

Dodge 20

Damage1D4 + DB1D6 + DB1D8 + DB1D4 + DB

P%NA252530

1165643

HT I

APNA68IO

Magic—wild broos know no magic. Feralbroos may be shamans, and/or worship chaosgods such as Malia and Thed.

A broo has a chaos feature on a roll of POWx 3% or less.

DRAGONSNAIL

Ampullaria polyceps

Descendants of ordinary pond snails,these mutated animals are now enormousin size and can eat almost anything,although they prefer animal flesh. Theyare found in marshes, swamps, andwatery areas. They were created whenthe Devil was pinned beneath the Blockin Prax, and the area was flooded. Theyare sometimes called parts of the Devilfor this reason, and are still commonestin and around Prax. Dragonsnails mayhave more than one head.

Characteristics Average Attributes Average

4/8 (Head/Shell) AP HT VIII

WeaponBite

SR7

A%40

Damage1D6 + DB

P%NA

APNA

If a dragonsnail has more than one head, allbite simultaneously. If it encounters somethingthat scores it (such as large fires) the dragon-snail can pull itself completely within its shelland protect its whole body.

Magic—a random dragonsnail has 1D3 chaosfeatures.

Ghouls are undead creatures resemblingrotting corpses. They are usually naked,although if enslaved by sorcerers theymay have armor taken from their victims'remains, or even weapons.

Ghouls are incomplete creatures.Soulless, they lack POW. They are cre-ated when a type of deformed spiritpossesses a fresh corpse.

The Sun exerts a purifying force,opposing the very existence of theUndead. Each dawning, a ghoul must useone magic point to resist the Sun's influ-ence or be destroyed. Also, for each hourspent exposed to sunlight, a ghoul mustuse a magic point or be destroyed.

Ghouls regain magic points by con-suming corpses—each 3 SIZ of deadbody they eat gives them one magicpoint. Only the corpses of complete crea-tures (having normal INT) can satisfy theperverted hunger of the ghoul.

The howl of a ghoul is that of a soultormented in Hell. When a ghoul howls,match its magic points against the INT ofeach foe that hears. If a victim is over-come, he becomes Demoralized (see theBattle Magic spell) until the howlingends. If he is not overcome, and thehowling continues, he must resist againon the next round. Any creature resistingfive successive howls becomes immunefor one week. If several ghouls howl, useonly the magic points of the ghoul withthe highest number. Ghoul howling takeseffect at the beginning of SR 1 on anymelee round in which they howl.Countermagic, Shield, and similar magicdo not protect against a ghoul's howl.

A ghoul's fangs inject a venom withPOT equal to the ghoul's CON. If thebite attack penetrates armor and dam-ages the foe, roll the POT of the venomagainst the victim's CON. If the POTovercomes the CON, the full POT isinjected, otherwise only 1D3 points areinjected. When the POT of the venomequals or exceeds the victim's CON, thevictim is paralyzed and will remain para-lyzed until cured by an antidote. Thevictim may live for several days this way,but each full day of paralysis he loses onepoint of current CON. When CONreaches zero he dies.

If not paralyzed, the victim purges 1point of ghoul venom from his systemper day.

Characteristics AverageSTR 4D6 14CON 3D6 11SIZ 2D6+6 13INT 2D6+6 13MP 2D6+6 13DEX 3D6 11


STR 4D6+12 26CON 4D6 14SIZ 4D6+12 26INT 2 2POW 3D6 11DEX 2D6 7

DB 6HP 20HL 7MV 2Melee SR 4DEX SR 4

0 AP Dodge 30 HT I

CREATURES • 198

WeaponClawBite

Howl

SR78

1

A%3030

Auto

Damage1D6 + DB1D6 + DB/2

+ venomDemoralize

P%25NA

NA

AP3

NA

NA

Magic—howling costs a ghoul one magic pointper round. Ghouls are capable of learning sor-cery. Ghouls have a POW x 1 chance ofpossessing a chaos feature.

GORPChaos amorphous

Gorp are shapeless blobs of corrosiveooze, foul smelling and vile. They looklike spreading puddles of rotted tissue,but they remain somewhat cohesive andcan move upward. They live either inwater or on land. Some philosophershave described gorp as "chaos elementals".

Gorp can only be damaged by fire ormagic. Weapons pass through the gorp,taking damage from the acid but notharming the creature. Acid and poisonhave no effect on gorp. Non-fieryweapons enhancing magic likeTruesword or Bladesharp do not harmgorp. Disrupt, Lightning, and similarspells are effective. Salamanders candestroy gorp. If a Fireblade is used, theweapon will do its full damage to thegorp, but will itself be dissolved by theacid unless protected.

Gorp attack by moving beside a targetduring the Move phase. In SR 1, unlessthe victim makes a Dodge or Jump roll,he or she is enveloped in the acidic massof the gorp. If the victim remains able tomove, he may try a second Dodge orJump roll to escape the gorp next time heor she has a chance to move.

Typical gorp have 8 point acid. Armorprotects against this damage, but is itselfeaten away at 8 points/melee round.Magical protections against damage gen-erally work against gorp acid.

Characteristics

STR 0CON 3D6SIZ 6D6INT 1POW 3D6DEX 0

Average01121

1130

Attributes AverageDB NAHP 16HL 16MV 1Melee SR NADEX SR NA

0 AP HT 0

Weapon SR A% Damage P% APEnvelop 1 Auto 8 point acid NA NA

Magic—there is a POW x 1 chance that arandom gorp has a chaos feature.

JACK O'BEAR

bloated orange pumpkins for heads. Theyare most commonly found in mountain-ous, rocky environments. Althoughodd-looking, they are deadly carnivores.

Each melee round, at SR 1, the jacko'bear can match its MP against thePOW of a foe on the Resistance Table.This is a free action on the jack o' bear'spart, so it can make other attacks as well.If the target is overcome, it is harmo-nized—frozen motionless in place untilthe jack o'bear is killed, or the magicaleffect is dispelled. The harmonizing abil-ity acts like a 1 point Divine Magic spellwhen penetrating defensive magic, orbeing dispelled. Using this power doesnot cost the jack o'bear any magic points,although it can be boosted with magicpoints to penetrate defensive spells. Asingle jack o'bear can harmonize a num-ber of live victims up to half its POW. Itcannot voluntarily release them.

Thankfully, jack o'bears usually aresolitary hunters. Like bears, they onlycome together to breed.

Characteristics

STR 3D6+6CON 2D6+6STR 3D6+6INT 2D6POW 4D6DEX 3D6

3 AP

Average

17131771411

Dodge


15 HT I

Weapon SRClaw 7

Harmonize 1

A%30

Auto

Damage1D4 + DBParalysis

P%25NA

AP

3NA

Magic—chaos harmonizing ability as above. Ifsomeone were to teach it, a jack o'bear couldlearn other magic.

There is a 5% chance that a jack o'bear hasa chaos feature in addition to its harmonizingpower.

WALKTAPUS

Malapsyche hybridus

This exceedingly chaotic race havehumanlike bodies, but in the place of ahead have what appear to be a large,entire octopus. They can attack with alleight tentacles simultaneously, using thehuman arms for balance. They can attackup to four foes simultaneously, in addi-tion to emitting a cloud of poisonous gas.

Walktapi also have the chaotic abilityto regenerate damage. Their woundsclose, and parts severed from their bodieseventually creep back together and fuse.Not even burning the creature will per-manently destroy it, although thiswill slow its regeneration by a factor of10. Only powerful magic, or completedestruction such as being dissolved inacid, can permanently kill a walktapus.

The walktapus regenerates at only one

Characteristics Average

STR 2D6+18 25CON 2D6+9 16SIZ 2D6+18 25INT 2 2POW 3D6 11DEX 3D6 11

4 AP Dodge


30 HT see below

Weapon SR A%

Tentacle (8) 6 45Constrict 1 AutoGas Cloud 1 Auto

Damage1D6 + DB1D6 + DBPoison

P%NANANA

APNANANA

Each round, the walktapus attacks with up tofour tentacles per target simultaneously, doingdamage equal to 1D6 plus the creature's dam-age bonus. If two or more tentacles strike thesame victim, they will hang on and squeeze iteach round, doing constriction damage. Armorprotection only works until it is penetrated once,at which point it is broken through or ripped off

The gas cloud has a POT equal to the walk-tapus' CON. All those within its 3 meter radiusmust hold their breaths (see "Suffocation" in"The Natural World"). If the gas is inhaled,immediately match the POT of the gas againstthe victim's CON. If the poison succeeds, thevictim takes damage equal to the full POT ofthe poison. If it is resisted, only half damage istaken. Each round that more gas is breathed,the victim must resist again.

Magic—regeneration and poison gas. It is rarefor walktapi to have other chaos features.

Walktapus Hit Location Table

Area

R LegL LegAbdomenChestR ArmL ArmTentacle 1Tentacle 2Tentacle 3Tentacle 4Tentacle 5Tentacle 6Tentacle 7Tentacle 8Head

D20 roll

1-23-4567-89-10II1213141516171819-20

HL

.33

.33

.33.4

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.40

joannursus paralysis

These bizarre, twisted creatures are theresult of chaos melding plant and animalforms. They look like huge bears with

hit point per full turn. If a walktapus is"killed" in combat and hacked to pieces,it will not be able to move again for hours.

Walktapi are amphibious, and do notlike dry climates. They are solitary carni-vores.

199 • C R E A T U R E S

Chaotic Features forChaotic CreaturesFor each chaos feature that a creature has, rollpercentile dice and select one from this table.This reflects only a sample of the infinite varietyof chaos—change the table, substitute yourown, or make up new features whenever youare inspired.

75-76

77-8687-88

89-90

91-92

93-94

95

96-100

Automatically Befuddles one opponentper round (as if by Battle Magic) at SR 1,in addition to its other attacks. It stillmust overcome the POW of the oppo-nentFunctional extra limb or body partDouble the power of the creature's"normal" chaos ability. A gorp wouldhave sixteen point acid, a ghoul's howllast two rounds, etc.Missiles aimed at the creature return andattack the one who fired them, with thesame attack chance that it hasCapable of leaping up to its DEX inmetersHypnotic appearance: roll INT x 5% orstand spellbound until dead, or it is nolonger in your field of viewAppears to be a harmless terrain featureuntil engaged in meleeGamemaster's choice, or roll twice

HIT LOCATIONSThe section that follows gives hit locationtables for the most commonly used bodyshapes. Each consists of three columns.The first column names the distinct hitlocations of the creature. The second col-umn gives a series of numbers. Whenevera creature is hit, roll a D20 and compareto this column to see which part of thecreature's body was hit. The last column(HL) shows what fraction of the crea-ture's total hit points that hit locationhas. If the location is damaged, removethat number of hit points from the loca-tion's hit points, and from its general hitpoints. See Combat for the effects ofdamage.

These tables, because they are so gen-eral, are not perfect. For instance, a clifftoad and a horse use the same table, butclearly it is easier to hit a cliff toad's headand not its forelimbs, compared to ahorse. If the gamemaster feels that thislevel of realism is required, he or sheshould feel free to adjust these tables toreflect the actual shapes of the creatures.

Each table is identified by a Romannumeral.

0. One Location Only

Corp, small animals

Treat the entire animal as one hit locationwith hit points equal to the animal's generalhit points.

I. Humanoids

Men, trolls, elves, dwarfs, broos

Area D20 roll HL

R. LegL. LegAbdomenChestR. ArmL. ArmHead

1-34-67-1011-1213-1516-1819-20

.3333

.33

.40

.25

.25

.33

II. Four legged animals

Dogs, cattle, horses, lions

Area

RH LegLH LegHind QuarterFore QuarterRF LegLF LegHead

D20 roll

1-23-45-78-1011-1314-1617-20

HL

.25

.25

.40

.40

.25

.25

.33

01-0304-050607-0809

10-111213-141516-171819-20

23-24

25-27

28-29

30

31-32

33-3536-3738-3940-42

43-44

45

46-48

49-50

51

52-54

55-5657-58

59-65

66-6768-69

70

71-72

73-74

+1D6 POW+2D6 POW+3D6 POW+2D6 DEX+4D6 DEX+2D6 STR+4D6 STR+2D6 CON+4D6 CON+2D6 SIZ+4D6 SIZSpits acid of 2D10 POT 1D6 times perday with 6 meter rangeHighly flammable: if ignited, burns allwithin 3 meter radiusAppearance confusing — subtract 20%from all foes' attack chancesAppearance very confusing — subtract30% from all foes' attack chancesAppearance extremely confusing — sub-tract 40% from all foes' attack chancesPoison touch: 2D10 potency, must pene-trate armor to work+6 point skin armor+9 point skin armor+12 point skin armorabsorbs spells up to 2 magic points,adding magic points absorbed to its ownabsorbs spells up to 4 magic points.adding magic points absorbed to its ownabsorbs spells up to 2D6 magic points,adding magic points absorbed to its ownReflects spells up to 2 magic points backat caster, without harm to selfReflects spells up to 4 magic points backat caster, without harm to selfReflects spells up to 2D6 magic pointsback at caster, without harm to selfWhen killed, its spirit attacks the onewho killed it in spirit combat. If it wins, itwill possess him.+2D10 MV.Explodes on death, doing CON/3 in D6of damage to all within 3 meters —armor protectsRegenerates 2D6-5 hit points per round(minimum 1) in each hit location, untildeadScreams in agony whenever it movesValuable gem (worth 1D6 x 1000Lunars) visible on body. Could also beteeth or horns of a preciousmetal, or golden fleece, or the equivalentValuable gem (or equivalent as above)hidden within its body. Could be aninternal organ of gold, for instanceOverpowering stench: make CON x 5%roll or lose consciousnessHideous: make POW x 5% roll or beDemoralized as if by the spell

Remember, chaos features are not usually aninvisible power. If a creature has 9 point skinarmor, it's skin will look like an armadillo's, orhave bronze spikes passing through it, or be likea turtle's shell. Chaos features are usually notpleasant to have.

CREATURES • 200

III. Winged humanoids

Dragonewt or human using Grow Wings spell,angel, demon

Area D20 roll HL

IV. Four legged winged animals

Griffins, dream dragons

Area D20 roll HL

RH LegLH LegHind QuarterFore QuarterR WingL WingRF LegLF LegHead

1-23-45-78-1011-1213-1415-1617-1819-20

.25

.25

.40

.40

.25

.25

.25

.25

.33

VII. Giant Serpents

Python, snakes

Area D20 roll

R. LegL LegAbdomenChestR. WingL. WingR. ArmL. ArmHead

1-34-67-91011-1213-1415-1617-1819-20

.33

.33

.33

.40

.25

.25

.25

.25

.33

TailBodyHead

1-67-1415-20

.33

.40

.33

ShellBodyHead

1-89-1415-20

.5

.4

.4

HL

VII. Giant Snails

Snails, dragonsnails

One headed dragonsnail

Area D20 roll HL

Two Headed Dragonsnail

Area D20 roll HL

ShellBodyR HeadL Head

1-78-1213-1617-20

.5

.4

.4

.4

V. Four legged animals with large tails

Brontosaur, crocodile

Area D20 roll HL

TailRH LegLH LegHind QuarterFore QuarterRF LegLF LegHead

1-23-45-65-78-1011-1314-1617-20

.33

.33

.33

.40

.40

.33

.33

.33

VI. Six legged animals

Giant beetle, giant ant

Area D20 roll HL

RH LegLH LegRC LegLC LegAbdomenThoraxRF LegLF LegHead

1-23-45-67-85-910-13141516-20

.16

.16

.16

.16

.40

.40

.16

.16

.40

THE•WORLD•OF•GLORANTHA

This chapter further details the world and mysteries of Glorantha. The information contained within thischapter is not information most Genertelan adventurers would be aware of. It is included as referencematerial for gamemasters. Players that wish to run particularly well learned or far traveled Genertelan

adventurers or are running adventurers from another part of Glorantha should read the appropriate sections of thischapter. Glorantha provides gamemasters with a fully realized setting to tell their stories. It frees gamemasters toconcentrate on their story and interaction with their players, and provide players with a world in which to becomea person from another place and time. Enjoy.

THE SIX WORLDSThe world of Glorantha contains many planes. A plane isa level, portion, or dimension of the total reality. Eachplane is discreet, with well-defined borders. Creatures liveon the various planes, but rarely travel from one plane toanother. Mythologies speak of many planes, but six arerecognized by nearly all myths. Planes other than the mun-dane are collectively called the otherworld or the invisibleworld. A creature on one plane ordinarily cannot interactwith a creature on another, however spirits, ghosts ordemons occasionally enter the Inner World from the SpiritWorld, shamans enter the Spirit World, and priests canenter the God Plane in the course of their rituals. TheOuter World, the Upper World and the Underworld arecollectively known as the Hero Plane, and only the great-est of heroes can hope to survive their dangers.

The God PlaneThis is the home of the gods, an unchanging land of mythand legend. It resembles the Mundane plane, but it is inevery way more dangerous and extraordinary, whether inbeauty, in horror, or in love, and it is ruled by differentlaws. On this plane can be found every god and goddesswho performed immortal deeds, doing the deeds thatmade them famous. Within this world of extremes lie theheavens and hells of the cults, where priests and initiatesgo after death. Here too lie the great pools of creativematerial from which were made the primal oceans, ancientmountain and first skies of the mundane world. TheElementals were spawned by these pools as well.

The God Plane cannot be reached physically. Mortalworshippers reach it temporarily during Holy Day andSacred Time ceremonies, and permanently upon death.Secret cult rituals and heroquesting can be used by themost skilled of mortals to enter the God Plane.

The Outer WorldThe Outer World consists of those places a brave and fool-hardy mortal explorer might reach, but which are nothome to mankind. Little is known about these lands, asfew have the power to dare venture into these lands, andmost of those do not return.

Around the lands of men flows Sramak's River, a vastcurrent which circles the worlds of men in a counterclock-wise direction. Islands and other lands lie upon it, andwithin it live the gods of the sea.

To the north lie the frozen lands of Valind's WinterWastes, within which lies the Palace of the Winter Gods,and beyond which are said to lie the Mountains of the Sky,the final barrier beyond which the world ends.

To the east lies Vithela and the Land of Dawn, wherelies the Gate of Dawn, which springs open every dawn torelease Yelm's fiery chariot. Around the gate are said tolive the immortal Vithelans, whose skins are gold andwhose voices are pure song.

To the west lies Luathela, the Land of Dusk, where liesthe Gate of Dusk, which Yelm enters every nightfall. Thedreams that plague poets and madmen are said to comefrom here. Around the gate dwell the immortal Luatha,violet skinned demigods who destroy mortals foolishenough to dare enter their lands.

To the south lies the Sea of Fire, where the waterburns. Its heat has turned the south of Pamaltela, whosesouthern shores the Sea of Fire laps on, into a fiery desertuninhabitable by humans.

The Upper WorldAbove the sky dome lies a vast land of music, light andpurity where the Sky People live. It is a land that onlyheroes dare to enter. Many wondrous creatures live hereamong the villages of the Sky People, and many magical

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202 • T H E • W O R L D • O F • G L O R A N T H A

places exist, such as the Burning Prison, or the Forest of AHundred Lights.

The entrances to the sky world are the holes in the skyground known as stars to mortals. They are well defendedby the Sky People, who detest the pollution strangersunwittingly bring into their world.

The UnderworldBeneath the surface of the world lies the Underworld, orthe Lower World . I n h u m a n denizens inhab i t theUnderworld, many hostile to mortals. Other than trolls,only the most power fu l morta ls dare to enter theUnderworld. It is the realm of darkness and the creaturesof darkness. Various races make their home here, manyplotting the downfall of the creatures of light and life.

The spirits of the dead are drawn to the Underworldthrough the Spirit Plane within a week of their deaths,traveling along the Path of Silence through the Land ofBurnt Blood until they reach Judgment Hall on the GodPlane, and from there are sent to their respective heavensor hells in the God Plane.

The Underworld can be reached by the living by trav-eling to the edge of the earth and following the hiddentrails downwards, or by descending through any of severaldeep holes, such as the Hell Crack, or Magasta's Pool,which drains into the River Styx in the underworld. Somecults have ri tuals which send their members to secretplaces of power within the underworld.

The Spirit WorldThe Spirit World touches upon every point of the InnerWorld, but the two planes are normally invisible to eachother. At its frontiers, it appears as an additional layer onreality, a dreamlike place where forms come and go.Further in is a shapeless, dreamlike place where threaten-ing things seem to materialize out of the ether and mist.This is the place of disembodied spirits, where the spiritsof the dead go and where nature's spirits sleep in winter. Inits depths are said to lie primeval domains which borderthe God Plane.

The Spirit World is contiguous with (but invisible to)every point of the Inner World, and those that have theability to discorporate, such as most shaman, can freelyenter the spirit world and move through its dreamlikereaches.

The Inner WorldThe Inner World, or the Mundane Plane, is the realminhabited by mortals. It is diverse in its inhabitants andlands, home to thousands of peoples, lands, cultures andreligions. It includes the northern continent of Genertela,the southern continent of Pamaltela, and the myriadislands and oceans in between.

RuneQuest adventurers live and adventure in theInner World and normally have little or no contact withother planes. A priest's, shaman's, or sorcerer's life borderson the invisible world. The rest of this chapter deals withthe Inner World, where most play will take place.

GEOGRAPHY AND WEATHERGenertela, the northern continentThis continent is temperate in climate; its winds generallyblow west to east, and often from the north during DarkSeason (winter). The continent is 5000 km long and 1700km wide. It is described in greater deta i l in theIntroduction chapter.

Pamaltela, the southern continentThis continent is about 6700km long and 3300km wide.Winds blow east to west, and occasionally from the hotsouth. Pamaltela is tropical in climate.

North lie the central seas. East lies the hot Togaro Sea,eldest of the great waters. South past the Nargan Desertlies a land and a sea of unending fire impossible for mor-tals to approach. West past the lands of men rolls the chillWestern Sea, which has no bounds.

This continent also was ravaged by chaos, but recov-ered better than the northlands because Pamalt, the rulinggod of the continent, survived. Relative peace and plentycontinue in the land, so that even humans live a lush pas-toral l i fe . Many Elder Races are s t i l l power fu lhere—dwarfs, innumerable elves, and a variety of isolatedand obscure creatures. Human cities dot the northerncoasts.

The Central SeasSramak's River, the elder ocean, swirls endlessly aroundthe world. Its branches are the oceans and seas ofGlorantha . The oceans of Glorantha center on theHomeward Ocean. At its center is the t remendouswhirlpool called Magasta's Pool, whose bottom is in theunderworld. Down this place rush all the waters of theworld.

Most of the oceans and seas have great DoomCurrents. These currents move in from Sramak's Rivertowards and around Magasta's Pool in a counter-clock-wise direction, the same direction Sramak's River flows.The Doom Currents normally run deep, but when theyrise to the surface they sweep anything caught in themalong, to eventually flow down Magasta's Pool, thus theirname.

From the northwest comes the Banthe Sea, which isfrigid. A current continues southward, to become theBrown Sea, which splits into other lesser seas. TheNeliomi current rips great icebergs from Valind's Glacierand sends them south. The main Banthe current enters thehomeward swirl of Magasta's Pool.

From the southeast comes the warm-watered TogaroSea, also called the Sea of Terror. Its main current entersinto the whirlpool of the Homeward Ocean. The easternSshorg current runs northward, warming the lands itwashes, and runs into the Eastern Ocean.

The islands of the Central Seas are pleasant places tolive. Most are temperate, often tropical in nature. The seasand oceans are inhabited by mermen, sea trolls, and seacreatures of all types.

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MAJOR LAND REGIONSGenertela, the northern continent

Dragon Pass (Central Genertela)—a strategic land, thecrossroads of the continent. It is the prehistoric matingand nesting ground for dragons, and the sacred homelandof the dragonewts. Many acts of the gods occurred here,making this region very powerful and special.

Fronela (West Genertela)—a cold temperate land, Fronelais dominated by the great Janube river, which cuts it fromthe Sweet Sea in the east to the Neliomi sea in the west. Inthe north are pine forests shared by barbarians and elves.The western lowlands are ruled by the kingdom ofLoskalm. The southern highlands, and most of the valleyof the Janube, hold many different people.

Valind's Glacier (North Genertela)—endless ice coveringsea and land. Only ice demons live here.

Kralorela (East Genertela)—here live the Dragon Kings,and here ancient, forbidden magic is used. Kralorela isrich, fertile, and boasts many great cities. In the hills hud-dle p r i m i t i v e sub jec t peoples. To the north lies theautonomous and peculiar Kingdom of Ignorance.

Maniria (South Genertela)—the southern coasts arewarmed by sea currents, and are subtropical. Inland rollrich forest lands where humans war with elves. Eastwardglimmers the enchanted Holy Country, where many differ-ent folk live in harmony.

North Pent (North Genertela)—this bleak tundra iswracked by violent storms, buried by snow from thenorth, or flooded by warm rain from the south. Ice trolls,desperate horse and cattle nomads, and refugees from theKingdom of Ignorance live here.

Peloria (Central Genertela)—this wide grassland is ruledby the Lunar Empire. The land is temperate, and since theascension of the Red Goddess has had increasingly mildwinters. It is drained by the mighty Oslir river, whose headis in Dragon Pass and whose mouth is in the White Sea.

Pent (Central Genertela)—the wild Pent nomads, who ridehorses and who herd cattle, sheep, and goats, live on thisfair plateau. Winters are severe; their summers usually arerich and peaceful.

Prax (Central Genertela)—the animal nomads of Prax,who ride the beasts they herd, live on the Plains of Prax,which was once their ancestral paradise. It is now anuninviting expanse of barren plains, unbearably hot in thesummer, and unpleasantly cold in the winter.

Ralios (Genertela)—the twin kingdoms of Tanisor andSentanos rule the lowlands, but the highlands have beenwild since the Dawning. This is a fine temperate area withfew severe winters and many pleasant summers.

Seshnela (West Genertela)—this wild land is full of exoticcreatures like centaurs, satyrs, and dragonewts. Here alsolive the immortal Luatha, who destroyed ancient Seshnela,and whose tall raiders still sally forth from their strong-hold.

Trowjang (East Genertela)—the southeast corner of thecontinent is subtropic throughout, warmed by southernsea currents. It is quite wild, even in Teshnos whose riversare well populated by Yelm-worshiping tribes. Primitivenatives inhabit the interior, warring with the elder races.Fishers and pirates populate the coasts.

Wastes (South Genertela)—these are the deadlands of thegod, Genert, who was killed by chaos in the Gods Age.Ferocious storms rage over it, leaving only the hardiest oflife. There, protected by those terrible storms, live the ani-mal nomads, who worship Waha the Butcher and believePrax to be their Holy Land.

Pamaltela, the southern continent

Dinal (East Pamaltela)—called the Peaceful Woods byelves. The Council of Seventeen rules it, and many Yellowelves consider it to be their heaven on earth.

Elamle (North Pamalte la)—a region ru led by theNovarooplia tribe of Yellow elves. They tax and take trib-ute from the human cities which dot their coast, and arefriendly with those humans whom they know.

Enkloso (West Pamaltela)—a temperate land, where snow-sometimes comes creeping from down the mountains andfrost rasps inland with the Brown Sea fogs. The peoplehere are Green elves, with a long and proud history. Themany humans in the lowlands and along the shore haveGenertelan cultures.

Fonrit (North Pamaltela)—a region semitropical in cli-mate and life. Its poor are all blue-skinned; as slaves, theyare among the worst-treated in the world. The overlords,the Confederates of Fonrit, rule a hodgepodge of con-quered duchies, satraps, principalities, and theocracies,and make common cause only against invading elves. Thenorthern state of Kareeshtu is a great naval power.

Hornilio (West Pamaltela)—here are only marshes andswamps, so low and level that tides wash far inland andthe rivers flood far to sea. Huge monsters from earlier agesinhabit this place. All is dominated by the Red elves ofcruel Queen Karan Ilargor, legendary ruler who led in theGods War.

204• T H E • W O R L D • O F • G L O R A N T H A

Jolar (Central Pamaltela)—nomadic Agimori and otherpeoples roam these wide grasslands, herding cattle andhunting. The Kresh invasion from the east prompted theorganization of the Arbennan kingdom, a confederationof tribes.

Kimos (North Pamaltela)—humans live on this peninsula,maintaining an ancient war so old that no one recalls itsorigins. Their foes are called Gorgers, and both sides wor-ship the volcano god. "War-torn Kimos, ragged land offire."

Kothar (East Pamaltela)—the Kresh nomads, who rideupon wagons of colossal size, originally came from here.With cities on wheels, they rumble about exacting food astribute and granting access to their temples and otherfacilities.

Laskal (North Pamaltela)—tropical forests cover thisland. Yellow elves of many tribes, with no central rule, livehere. Many tribes of humans wander among the woods,paying token tribute to the elves as fellow creatures of thewild.

Mari (Central Pamaltela)—these lands are broken by hot,harsh mountains. The northern side is humid, tangledwith encroaching jungle; the southern side is dry and rut-ted with canyons. Only violent raiders, savages, andmonsters live here.

Mirelos (North Pamaltela)—the Gaskallian empire, ruledby ancients of the Yellow elves, holds sway here. Fewother intelligent creatures, including humans, lead freelives in Mirelos. The land is dense rain forest, with riversfamous for their richness.

Nargan Desert (South Pamaltela)—a dry and lifeless place,a playground for fire spirits and their great lord, FatherPamalt, and his chosen immortals called the Agitorani. Nomortals tread this realm. To the south, live flames danceupon sand and stone.

Onlaks (North Pamaltela)—rain forests cover Onlaks,ruled by the Gargualia tribe of Yellow elves. Human citiesline the coasts; their peoples hate the elves and war withthem.

Palarkri (East Pamaltela)—a highland pierced by five greatstands of jagged mountains. Among the peaks live theexotic in human Jelmre, who trade with the elves in thenorth, and the Empire of Kresh in the south.

Porlaso (West Pamaltela)—also called the Island ofSwamps. Some people claim Porlaso soon will sinkbeneath the tides, though it has survived for centuries.This island is fu l l of terrible dinosaurs and angry RedElves.

Slon (West Pamaltela)—a race of dwarfs inhabit this tem-perate land. They also rule many human cities, whoseinhabitants pretend to be dwarfs. The dwarfs treat theback country aboriginal peoples of Slon as animals.

Sozganjio (East Pamaltela)—also known as the EndlessMarsh. This is a steaming marsh inhabited by dinosaursand Red Elves. So vast is this area that here three savagekings, each a descendant of the same hero, claim hugeempires, yet none ever has heard of the other two.

Tarien (West Pamaltela)—a wide grassland with relativelyfew humans, but sometimes thick with lizard men andtheir great beasts.

Tarmo (West Pamaltela)—a high and rugged wilderness,with a spine of mountains whose great peaks are icy allyear. Mostly nightriders, frights, and gigantic man-eatingtrolls inhabit this land.

Vralos (West Pamaltela)—several city-states thrive here,dominated by the merchant king, the Patr iarch ofNikodros. The poor speak a Genertelan dialect and arenotably paler than the rulers, but there is much mixedblood here.

Zamokil (East Pamaltela)—a wide grassland inhabited byAgimori in the north, and by blue-skinned folk who arefamous for their endurance and songs. Many now areruled by the Kresh, who entered from the north many gen-erations ago.

The Islands of the Central Seas

East Isles (Sshorg Sea)—often referred to by their ancientname, the Ten Thousand Islands of Wonder. Many nationsand tribes inhabit this region; all claim to be subjects ofthe Emperor of Vithela, who is otherwise unknown. Thenatives also claim to know all the islands, but outsidershave never seen more than the westernmost (which arefabulous enough). Famous among them are GoldenMokato, once capital of a sea empire; and Haragala, amodern naval power.

Jrustela (West Homeward Ocean)—once a single land,partially-sunken Jrustela is now a smaller archipelago. Itsresidents are mostly elder-races, grown strong withoutmen. Dawn Age natives, the Timinit insect-people, arenumerous. There are some cities with recent human immi-grants. Several haunted ruins of the dead and accursedGod Learners linger here.

Kareeshtu Isles (Dashomo Sea)—a chain of islands just offthe coast of Fonrit. They are part of the Empire of GoldenKareeshtu, the most powerful and oldest surviving of thenations of Fonrit.


Kumanku Islands (Dashomo Sea)—an island cluster offthe coast of Fonrit which had lost contact with the main-land due to the Closing. Since the Opening, its peoplehave been struggling to maintain the traditions that havedeveloped there the island's centuries of isolation. Themajor island, which holds most of the population, isTenenku. The next largest island, M'gokokchun has alarge timinit (insect-man) population, as well as a fewhumans.

Last Chance (Magasta's Pool)—a tiny, triangular islandjust off the rim of Magasta's pool, the last chance for aship caught by a Doom Current to land before beingswept down Magasta's Pool. The wrecks of ships dot itscoasts, it is inhabited by generations of shipwreckedmariners.

Loral (Loral Sea)—a large, tropical island in the LoralSea, inhabited by strange creatures and bizarre mon-sters.

Old Trade (Sea of Brithos)—a fragment of the wondrouslost isle of Brithos, left behind when Brithos vanished atthe time of the Closing. It lies hidden in the shifting fogsof the Sea of Brithos. Some think there may be a way totravel from Old Trade to where Brithos is now, but nosuch method has yet been found.

Teleos (East Homeward Ocean)—southerners who usedsmall boats to follow the Barankoom current settled thisis land. For centur ies Teleos was called the PirateKingdom, until destroyed by the God Learners.

Three Step Isles (Mournsea)—a barren chain of islandswith a substantial human population. The inhabitantsare the Wolf Pirates, their dependents, and the settlersthat have arrived there since.

Vadeli Isles (Sea of Brithos)—the homeland of theVadeli. Ancient enemies of the Brithini, they were nearlyexterminated by the Brithini before the Closing. Sincethe disappearance of the Isle of Brithos and the Openingof the seas, the Vadeli have once again began to expandthrough the world. They are atheistic sorcerers, as arethe Bri thini . The Vadeli are a sea faring race, with abrown-skinned merchant and sailor caste, and a red-skinned warrior caste.

Vormain (Kahar's Sea of Fog)—an ancient seat of empireand naval powers, this is a complex land of intricate cus-toms, ferocious warriors, and exotic magics.

Ygg's Isles (Neolimi Sea)—a cold and desolate chain ofsmall islands inhabited by humans and a small popula-tion of elves. The humans, called Yggites, worship Ygg,God of the Winter Storm and Nelarrina, a goddess ofthe Neleomi Sea.

TIME IN GLORANTHAThere are a few constants to almost all time measure-ment schemes used in Glorantha. A day is the timeneeded for the sun to cross the sky from east to west. Anight is the time needed for the sun to cross the under-world from west to east. A year is 294 days and nightslong.

The Theyalan system of Dragon Pass is the mostcommon time-measurement system used in the world. Itis called Solar Time (ST) and measures time in yearsfrom the Dawning. In the Theyalan system, seven daysand nights make up one week, eight weeks (56 days)make up one Season. Five Seasons, Water, Earth, Fire,Dark, and Storm, plus a 14-day and night interval calledSacred Time, or 42 weeks, make up one year. ATheyalan day and night are split into 24 hours.

The Lunar Empire (Genertela) measures time fromthe moment their Red Goddess was born (during SacredTime, 1220 ST). They also use a larger measure of timecalled the Wane, which is 54 years long, but otherwiseuse Theyalan Seasons, weeks and hours.

The Western culture (Genertela, many coastal citiesin Pamaltela) use Theyalan Seasons and weeks, butdivide the day into 16 hours and the night into 16 hours.Water clocks and time candles are typically used to keeptrack of the hour of day. A day and night thus lasts 32Western hours or 24 Theyalan hours.

The Kralori culture (Genertela) persists in using sixmonths of 7 weeks each. Each week is seven days long.The months are The month of Silence, The month ofSecrets, The month of Being, The month of Experience,The month of Thought, and the Month of Spirit. Eachweek of each month has it own unique title. The weeksof the Month of Secrets, for example, are The week ofErudite Obfuscation, The week of Concealed Truths,The week of Privy Trust, The week of Inner Knowledge,The week of Constrained Discretion, The week ofEsoteric Reality, and The week of Lurking Ambuscade.The days of the week are simply numbered 1 to 7. Theparts of the day are divided into task times, whosenames and intervals vary by profession. Five to sevenparts are typical. Night is feared, and nights are dividedinto seven parts: theft time, murder time, curse time,cannibal time, monster time, torture time, and spark-in-the-sky time. Thieves, assassins, witches and torturersgenerally work only during their part of the night. Thismethod is widely popular throughout the eastern landsof Kralorela and the Eastern Isles, including Vormain.

Most Pamaltelans (with the exception of manycoastal cities, which use the Western system) divide eachyear into four seasons and Holy Week. Each season con-sists of 72 days (12 weeks with 6 days each). Theseasons are called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.The twelve weeks of each season are simply numbered 1to 12. Each names of the six days of the week are Ga,Gata, Empress, Pamalt, Witch, and Six. The extra sixdays of the year, called Holy Week, resembles the SacredTime of the Theyalan calendar.


TimelineThe following timeline summarizes and expands upon the infor-mation provided in the various history sections of this book,assigning dates to specific events.

S.T. Event0 Universal—the Dawning.

0 Dragon Pass—the Theyalan World Council of Friends sends forthmissionaries

0 Seshnela—as Brithini colonies are beset by hostile Hsunchen,Prince Hrestol discovers new revelations of the Invisible God,

2 Seshnela—Prince Hrestol establishes New Malkionism.

80 Peloria—the sun worshipping horse nomads reject the overtures ofthe World Council of Friends.

150 Seshnela—end of the Serpent Kings dynasty.

180 Dragon Pass—World Council of Friends is dissolved and replacedby the Second Council.

200 Dorastor—Second Council moves from Dragon Pass to Dorastor.

200 Seshnela—the True Hrestol Way, Hrestoli revisionists, take overthe Malkioni church and outlaw all Tapping and pagan worship ofthe Serpent Kings.

230 Peloria—the sun worshipping horse nomads are crushed by theforces of the Second Council at the Battle of Argentium Thri'ile.Praxian nomads fighting for the Second Council receive Pelorianland grants.

245 Peloria—Dara Happan Tripolis declares its independence from theSecond Council.

365 Dorastor—soon after the Second Council begins its project to cre-ate a perfect god, troll, dragonewt and human members fromDragon Pass resign in protest. The Second Council become theBroken Council.

370 Dorastor—Dara Happan Tripolis joins the Broken Council.

374 Universal—the Sunstop.

374 Dorastor—Osentalka, The Perfect One is born. He is soon calledNysalor, the Bright One.

380 Dragon Pass—forces of Nysalor's Bright Empire conquer DragonPass. The dragonewts are enslaved, and the trolls are cursed byNysalor with the Curse of Kin.

400 Seshnela—Arkat begins preaching against Gbaji, The Deceiver.

410 Tanisor—an army from Seshnela led by Arkat defeats the VampireKing of Tanisor.

440 Slontos—an army led by Arkat liberates Slontos from the rule ofthe Bright Empire.

440 Dragon Pass—Arkats forces liberate Dragon Pass from the rule ofthe Bright Empire.

450 Peloria—an army from Dragon Pass, aided by Pentan nomads,invades Dara Happa.

450 Dorastor—final battle between Arkat and Nysalor in Dorastor.Nysalor is destroyed and Dorastor is left a sleeping ruin.

475 Enkloso—the last of the Lascerdans are exterminated by elves.

500 Jrustela—the Seven Explorers found the first God Learner studygroup.

500 Fonrit—Garamgordos the Cruel enters Fonrit from Laskal and dis-covers the native blue skinned Veldang.

525 Ralios—Arkat apotheosized, leaving behind the Stygian Alliance andwhat becomes called Arkat's Dark Empire by its foes.

573 Dragon Pass—opening of the dragon way.

575 Dragon Pass—Vistikos Left-Eye establishes the first Waltzing andHunting Bands.

578 Dragon Pass—EWF established.

580 Vralos—Western colonization of the coast of Pamaltela begins.

600 Vralos—Jrusteli colonists and God Learners arrive in Pamaltela.

610 Errinoru jungle—Lynelsian Council of Elders gives birth to the elfErrinoru.

632 Seshnela—Nralar the Old dies after 114 years of rule, civil Warbreaks out in Seshnela. Barbarians eventually take over Seshnela andSlontos.

650 Jrustela—Jrusteli Confederation formed by the thirteen freecolonies of the island.

654 Vralos—the forests of Vralos are extensively burned by GodLearners to suppress an elf revolt.

662 Errinoru Jungle—Errinoru's rule supersedes the Council of Elders,

690 Errinoru Jungle—Errinoru completes the pacification of all Aldryamiin Pamaltela except for Dinal.

700 Errinoru jungle—Errinoru elves seize Ironseed from dwarfs.

710 Jolar—Errinoru overcomes Doraddi chieftains. Jungle spreadsacross the plains.

718 Central Seas—Waertagi domination of the seas destroyed by theJrusteli and their God Learners at the Battle of Tanian's Victory.

725 Loskalm—Loskalm conquered by the Jrusteli after the defeat ofSyranthir Forefront, who migrates to Peloria.

732 Dragon Pass—Great Trolls first seen near Cliffhome.

734 Seshnela—Jrusteli retake Seshnela and Slontos.

734 Errinoru Jungle—Errinoru's Fleet sets forth.

737 Magasta's Pool—Errinoru sails his personal ship down Magasta'sPool.

740 Seshnela—Jrusteli Confederation and the Return to Rightnessmovement defeat the Stygian Alliance and destroy the Cult ofArkat

751 Universal—Errinoru's Star appears.

751 Central Seas—Errinoru's ship lands in the Maslo Sea.

760 Errinoru Jungle—Errinoru departs for the jungles of Dinal, leavingbehind the House of Errinoru. He is not seen again.

768 Kralorela—God Learner adventurers seize the throne of Kralorela.

789 Jrustela—the Middle Sea Empire, also known as the Jrusteli Empire,is created. King Svagad of Seshnela is named emperor.

813 Jrustela—warnings concerning the ecology of the spirit plane pub-lished by the God Learner Valastos With Seven Pens. They areignored.

818 Slontos—the Seven Hurricane Years begin.

823 Brithos—the Jrusteli, led by Emperor Miglos, attempt to invade theIsle of Brithos. The Brithini kill the emperor and destroy his navy.

842 Shadowlands—war between the EWF and the Jrusteli breaks outwhen the Jrusteli invade the Shadowlands, by then part of the EWF.

849 Shadowlands—God Learners affect the Goddess Switch.

850 Prax—Pavis completes the city of Pavis.

860 Prax/Pavis—Pavis' apotheosis occurs.

875 Dragon Pass—EWF at its peak, controlling territory in Pent,Peloria, Ralios, Fronela and Prax.

901 Vralos—False God's Revolt destroys the God Learner University ofYoranday.

917 Seshnela—Windless Typhoon strikes.

920 Brithos—the Closing begins to radiate outward from Brithos.

922 Fronela—the Closing reaches Fronela.

925 Ralios—Ice Summer occurs.

930 Jrustela—the Closing begins to sweep over Jrustela, causing greatdestruction.

930 Slontos—the Closing reaches Slontos.

932 Vralos—Great Shipwreck occurs.

935 Shadowlands—the Closing reaches Mirrorsea Bay.

940 Jrustela—the Closing finishes sweeping over Jrustela, leaving muchof Jrustela covered by the sea.

942 Kareeshtu—the Closing reaches Kareeshtu.

943 Kareeshtu—Pillars of Water appear in Kareeshtu Straits.

944 Kareeshtu—invasion of water foes onto the land.

950 Enkloso—God Learner scholars 'prove' that the Enkloso elves areextinct

954 Kralorela—the Closing reaches Kralorela.

954 Vralos—Waertagi ships destroy the last of the Jrusteli coastal cities.

955 Vralos—the Closing reaches Vralos.

955 Teleos—the Closing reaches Teleos.

956 Central Seas—the Closing reaches the Marthio Sea.

960 Vormain—the Closing reaches Vormain, much to their delight


975 Errinoru Jungle—a mysterious plague of insects destroy the Houseof Errinoru.

1020 Enkloso—Lord of the World's Knowledge, leader of the GodLearners of Enkloso and Vralos, is defeated by a combined elf andhuman army.

1042 Dragon Pass—leadership of the EWF is exterminated overnightThe empire is thrown down by its former dragonewt allies.

1049 Seshnela—Old Seshnela is sunk by the Luatha, leaving behind theSeshnelan Isles.

1050 Jrustela—the rest of Jrustela sinks beneath the waves as the Closingfinishes washing over it. Jrustela becomes the Jrusteli Isles.

1050 Slontos—Slontos sinks beneath the waves.

1051 Kralorela—Kralorela struck by the Dragon's Awakening Shudder,which begins to sink the Suam Chow. Kralori citizens rebel againsttheir God Learner overlords.

1120 Dragon Pass—the Dragonkill War exterminates the True GoldenHorde. No humans remain in Dragon Pass. Ironhoof the centaurbecomes King of Dragon Pass.

1120 Kralorela—War in Heaven raises dragons to honor the recognitionof Godunya, the True Emperor.

1124 Kralorela—Emperor Godunya takes the throne.

1129 Vralos—Wordless Prophet establishes the Cult of Silence.

1200 Kothar—the first Kresh wagon trains appear in Worofey.

1202 Fonrit—Pure Doctrine Freedomists return and found Ketele.

1207 Kareeshtu—Women's Revolt.

1218 Dragon Pass—Ironhoof's apotheosis occurs.

1220 Peloria—the ritual of the Seven Mothers is completed and the RedGoddess is born in Rinliddi, Peloria.

1228 Peloria—the Red Goddess sets off on her GoddessQuest.

1230 Dragon Pass—Dragonewts and elves unite to destroy warring trollfactions.

1232 Peloria—the Red Goddess returns from her GoddessQuest, beginsher final conquests.

1237 Prax/Pavis—a troll army invades Pavis, sealing the walls behind themafter they enter.

1237 Vralos—Elassi the Stifler begins the Wars of Silence.

1240 Fonrit—Fonrit is conquered by the forces of Silence, and becomesthe Land of Silence.

1242 Carmania—the Carmanian Empire is conquered by the RedGoddess.

1247 Peloria—the Red Goddess is apotheosized and the Red Moonascends into the sky.

1250 Dragon Pass—the Grazer tribe is established.

1250 Prax—the Pure Horse People are exterminated at the battle ofAlavan Argay.

1288 Peloria—the Lunar Empire conquers the last stronghold of theDara Happan Empire.

1290 Fonrit—Sarro City becomes dominant in Afadjann and seizes theLand of Silence.

1291 Fonrit—the Clamorers rise to resist both the Cult of Silence andthe Afadjanni.

1300 Fonrit—rise of the Renewed (tsanyano) movement in Afadjann.

1313 Shadowlands—Belnitar the Stranger swims ashore, begins his waragainst the Only Old One for control of the Shadowlands.

1313 Vralos—the Clamorer prophet Little Morishdo destroys the laststronghold of the Cult of Silence, in Emanus.

1315 Dragon Pass—the first settlers from Heortland brave the cursedland of Dragon Pass, founding the Colymar tribe.

1318 Holy Country—Belnitar becomes the Pharaoh, and renames theShadowlands as the Holy Country.

1319 Fonrit—Yranian Leapers from Faladje conquer Afadjann.

1320 Fonrit—Yranian Leapers fight Kareeshtu for the next five years.

1321 Vralos—Yranian Leapers begin to invade, fighting continues overthe next ten years.

1325 Dragon Pass—the First Wave of settlers from the Heortland enterDragon Pass. The habitability of the Pass and presence of Ironhoofand the Grazers becomes widely known in the Holy Country.

1330 Dragon Pass—refugees fleeing the conquests of the Lunar Empireto the north led by Arim the Pauper enter Dragon Pass and settlethere. The Kingdom of Tarsh is founded by Arim.

1331 Fonrit and Vralos—Yranian Leapers disappear as a significant force.The Afadjanii take their place.

1340 Fonrit—the first of the Season Wars between the humans of Vralosand Afadjanni occupiers of Vralos begins, sponsored by the elves.

1340 Dragon Pass—the Second Wave of settlers from the Holy Countryenters Dragon Pass.

1347 Peloria—Hwarin Dalthippa, the Conquering Daughter, conquersthe remaining south Pelorian tribes. Their lands are added to theLunar Empire as Provinces.

1362 Peloria—Lunar forces in Holay suffer defeat at the hands of theKingdom of Tarsh and the Twins, at the Battle of Falling Hills. Theremaining free clans of Holay join the Kingdom of Tarsh.

1375 Peloria—Pent nomads, led by Sheng Seleris, devastate and overrunmost of the Lunar Empire, now in a wane. Sheng Seleris begins hisepic campaign against the Red Emperor.

1380 Dragon Pass—fighting between human settlers and beastmen.

1388 Fronela—Lunar settlers begin to colonize what later becomeknown as the Arrolian Properties.

1397 Peloria—Yara Aranis, a nomad killing demon, the SecondInspiration of the Moonson, is released. The nomads no longergrow in strength.

1411 Kothar—the Mother of the Wheel founds the Kresh Empire.

1412 Seshnela—Bailifes made King of Seshnela.

1420 Prax—the Poljoni, led by Derik, enter Prax. They defeat the animalnomads in battle after battle, finally winning a grudging acceptanceas a bastard or outlaw tribe, the Pol Joni.

1443 Fronela—barbarians invade Loskalm. Prince Snodal flees to therealm of the Altinae.

1448 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—Tarsh King Orios dies without heir, and civilwar breaks out in the Kingdom of Tarsh.

1450 Fronela—Arrolian Properties of the Lunar Empire fall to the barbar-ians.

1455 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—the Illaro dynasty is founded by IllaroBlacktooth in Tarsh, restoring order to the Kingdom of Tarsh.

1455 Ralios—King Ulianus III of Seshnela conquers most of Safelster.

1460 Dragon Pass—the Telmori enter Dragon Pass, start skirmishingwith the tribes there.

1460 Peloria—Red Emperor overcomes Sheng Seleris. The survivingnomads flee to Pent

1470 Dragon Pass—Sartar comes to Dragon Pass.

1476 Dragon Pass—Sartar founds Wilm's Church (Wilmskirk).

1477 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—The Telmori kill Tarsh King Tastanim.

1478 Vralos—Tortica throws out the Afadjanni occupiers. End ofAfadjanni domination of Vralos.

1480 Dragon Pass—Sartar makes peace with the Telmori, and they settlenear Prax.

1483 Fronela—Prince Snodal returns to Loskalm and defeats the barbar-ian invaders.

1486 Dragon Pass—Sartar founds Swenston.

1490 Dragon Pass—Sartar makes peace with the Pol Joni.

1490 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—Hon-eel the Artess comes to Tarsh and woosthe king. After he disappears, Tarsh falls to the Lunar Empire, andher son by him becomes the first of the Lunar Kings of Tarsh,founding the Governor King dynasty.

1492 Dragon Pass—Sartar erects the walls of Boldhome on Day 88 andfounds the Kingdom of Sartar.

1494 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Sartar marries the Feathered Horse Queenand becomes King of Sartar and Dragon Pass.

1499 Fronela—the Syndic's Ban begins, isolating the West. Prince Snodaland his companions vanish. His son Sight becomes king of the nowisolated Kingdom of Loskalm.

1506 Peloria—a new nomad invasion ends in the Night of Horrors,where Lunar and nomad forces slaughter each other and Hon-eel iskilled. Disastrous for both sides. The surviving nomads retreat intoPent.


1 5 1 1 Seshnela—the Most Grand Tournament of History is given by KingVikard, marking the height of knightly ceremony and the end ofSeshnela's occupation of Ralios.

1518 Fonrit—the ruler of Hombori Tondo becomes First Jann ofAfadjann by mastering the power of the god Darleester the Noose.

1520 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Sartar's apotheosis occurs.

1520 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Saronil becomes King of Sartar.

1538 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—Palashee Longaxe leads a confederation ofTarsh rebels against the Governor Kings and drives the Lunars outof Tarsh

1550 Genertela—Dragonewt's Dream begins, lasting 5 years. No humanhas any idea what these mysterious events mean.

1550 Prax/Pavis—Duke Dorasar of Sartar founds the town of New Pavison the outskirts of the old city, now called the Rubble.

1550 Jolar—Kresh wagons reach Jolar.

1555 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—Palashee Longaxe is killed in battle, and theLunar Governor Kings retake Tarsh. The surviving rebels flee southto settle around Wintertop, becoming the Tarsh Exiles.

1559 Fronela—King Siglat the Good, son of Snodal, dies.

1565 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Jarolar of Sartar is killed at the Battle ofDwarf Ford, while aiding the Aldachuri against a combined Lunarand Tarshite invasion. The Lunar Iron Maidens regiment is shat-tered, but at great cost to the Sartarites. Prince Jarosar becomesKing of Sartar.

1569 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Jarosar of Sartar is killed by Lunar spirits,Tarkalor becomes King of Sartar.

1575 Dragon Pass/Sartar and the Grazelands—Tarkalor marries theFeathered Horse Queen and becomes King of Sartar and DragonPass.

1579 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—King Phargentes dies. His son Moriadesbecomes King of Tarsh.

1580 Holy Country—Dormal the Sailor sets sail from the City ofWonders, beginning the Opening of the Seas. He visits Handra andthe Three Step Isles before returning, then sets off again, putting inat Handra before setting out again.

1580 Central Seas/Alatan—bad weather forces Dormal to put in atAlatan. Jobar, king of Alatan, tries to kill Dormal, but is killedinstead.

1581 Pasos and Nolos—Dormal puts in.

1581 Seshnela—Dormal sails through the Seshnelan Isles.

1581 Red Vadeli Islands—Dormal visits.

1582 Dragon Pass—Lunar forces march against the last city of of theTarsh Exiles', Bagnot. They are met by Sartarite and Grazelanderforces come to the Tarsh Exiles aid at the Battle of Grizzly Peak.Both King Tarkalor and the Feathered Horse Queen are killed asthe Lunar magicians and armies sweep the field. Kostajor WolfChampion bears Prince Terasin to safety. Bagnot falls to the Lunarforces a month later and its inhabitants are put to the sword. PrinceTerasin becomes King of Sartar.

1582 Seshnela—Dormal travels through the Seshnelan Isles, wizards failto detain him at Laufol

1582 Holy Country—Alatan fleet destroys Holy Country fleet

1582 Fronela—Dormal visits, possibly shattering the Syndic's Ban, defeatsthe Loskalmi fleet (sheltered in a bay during the Closing) andbefriends the King of Loskalm.

1583 Central Seas/Ygg's Isle—Dormal visits, sets off for Luathela.

1584 Central Seas/Jrusteli Isles—Vadeli fleet puts in, claiming to be mes-sengers of the god Dormal sent to rule the inhabitants and savethem from the sins of their ancestors.

1584 Central Seas—Vadeli ships start suppressing all ships trying to reachthe Jrusteli Isles.

1585 Central Seas/Alatan—Pasos fleet attacks and sacks the island,Alatan fleet flees to the West. A Holy Country fleet destroys theremnants of the Alatan fleet with merman help.

1585 Vralos—Vadeli fleet puts in and establishes stranglehold on shippingand commerce.

1586 Holy Country—exploration fleet sets off for Teshnos.

1586 Teshnos—Holy Country exploration fleet establishes the port ofDosakayo in Teshnos, explores Fethlon.

1587 Kralorela—Holy Country exploration fleet sails into Kraloriwaters, is destroyed by the inland Kralori fleet.

1588 Enkloso—Garzanz established as a Vadeli stronghold.

1588 Holy Country—maimed survivors of Holy Country explorationfleet return from Kralorela.

1588 Central Seas/East Isles—Kralori trading ships arrive.

1588 Maslo—Vadeli fleet encounters Maslo fleet, naval war between theVadeli and the Maslans begins.

1588 Teshnos—Kralori trading ships arrive.

1589 Kralorela—East Isles trading ships arrive.

1589 Central Seas/Vormain—Kralori trading ships arrive.

1592 Central Seas/Jrusteli Isles—other foreigners foment rebellionagainst the Vadeli and drive them out

1594 Fonrit—Maslo fleet defeats Vadeli fleet at the Battle of Oenriko,suffering great losses in the process, ending Vadeli domination ofthe Pamaltelan coast

1594 Fronela—First Rathori awake, liberated from the Syndic's Ban,through which they slept.

1595 Central Seas/Teleos—Haralgan (East Isles) trading ships arrive -they use their own prayers, not Dormal's.

1595 Central Seas/Teleos—Kralori trading ship arrive.

1598 Central Seas/Teleos—Maslo trading ships arrive. The Opening iscomplete.

1600 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Terasin is killed by Lunar magic. PrinceSalinarg becomes King of Sartar.

1602 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Runegate, Boldhome and the Kingdom ofSartar fall to the Lunar Empire. King Salinarg of Sartar is killed.Euglyptus the Fat becomes Lunar Governor of Sartar. The heirs ofSartar are killed or flee, hunted by Lunar agents and spirits.

1605 Holy Country/Shadowlands—the Holy Country destroys invadingforces of the Lunar Empire at the Battle of Building Wall. A smallbranch of the invading forces lay siege to Karse, but are driven off,

1605 Central Seas/Three Step Island—the Wolf Pirates land and establisha major base of operations.

1606 Holy Country/Islands—major Wolf Pirate raid.

1606 Dragon Pass/Sartar—priests of Orlanth agitate for violent expulsionof the Lunar missionaries amongst the tribes.

1606 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Telmori annihilate the core of the Mabodertribe.

1607 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Jomes Hostralos leads Lunar forces to victoryover Telmori, killing the companion wolf of Kostajor WolfChampion, King of the Telmori. He is known as General JomesWulf afterwards.

1608 Prax—the Lunar Army invades Prax, but their forces are drivenfrom oasis to oasis by the nomads before they make peace andretreat.

1609 Holy Country/Esrolia—Ditali tribesmen, encouraged by Lunaragents, invade Esrolia, looting and pillaging before they retreat.

1609 Dragon Pass/Sartar—both Lunars and Sartarites raid the StinkingForest, seeking to mete out reprisals for recent Tusk Rider raids.

1610 Ditali—Holy Country army attempting reprisals is driven off.

1610 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Euglyptus imposes harsher laws and taxes onthe Sartarites. Only friendly tribes are exempted.

1610 Prax—the Lunar Army, seeking a route to the sea, renters Prax anadefeats the nomads at the battle of Moonbroth, then moves on toconquer the ancient city of Pavis, which surrenders to them.

1610 Dragon Pass/Tarsh—King Moriades of Tarsh dies, his sonPharandros becomes King of Tarsh.

1611 Ditali—Second Holy Country army raid on the Ditali lands suc-ceeds.

1611 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Righteous Wind rebellion rises among thetribes, but is destroyed that winter by Harvar Ironfist, whobecomes prince of Aldachur.

1612 Fronela—the Kingdom of War is revealed, and begins its conquests.

1612 Prax—the port of Corflu is established by the Lunar Empire at thesouth of Prax

1613 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Starbrow's rebellion occurs. A Lunar army isdestroyed by the rebels. Euglyptus the Fat is terminated, and a newLunar Governor-General of Sartar, Fazzur Wideread, is installed.The rebel forces are defeated at the Battle of Orlanth the Loser.Peace is made, and the ducks are scapegoated. A distant heir to thethrone, Temertain, is installed as King of Sartar. He becomes knownas the Pretender.


1613 Fonrit—a new Jann comes to power in Hombori Tondo.

1613 Kothar—first mass burning of Kresh wagons in Zamokil.

1614 Holy Country/Esrolia—Graymane's first raid on the Holy Country.Forces led by the Solanthi warlord plunder the border cities of theHoly Country.

1615 Dragon Pass/Sartar—a squabble between the Lunars and theGrazers leads to Grazer raids on Lunar occupied Sartar.

1615 Dragon Pass/Grazelands—a massive Lunar invasion force fails tocome to grips with the Grazers, who harass, evade and frustratetheir foes with Ironhoof's aid.

1615 Jolar—Ivi Kange founds the Arbennan Confederation to combat theKresh wagon-people.

1616 Holy Country—the Pharaoh vanishes.

1616 Mournful Sea and Holy Country Islands—Holy Country fleetdefeated by a Wolf Pirate fleet, which goes on to loot the Islands.

1616 Ditali—a large Holy Country army is ambushed and defeated by acombined Ditali/Solanthi army. The disaster is called the Lion King'sFeast.

1618 Holy Country/Esrolia—Graymane's second 'Great' raid pushesdeep into the Holy Country, the raiders gathering much plunderbefore retreating.

1618 Central Seas—Terthinus, the merman Voice of the Deep declareshimself ruler of everything in and on the Dashomo Sea, affectingtravel and trade between Jrustela, Enkloso, Vralos and Fonrit

1618 Enkloso, Orik, Vralos, Fonrit—Terthinus demands tribute from thecoastal cities. The first to resist, Flaurine, is destroyed by the sea.The others, including the cities of Fonrit, quickly agree.

1619 Holy Country/Heortland—Heortland is invaded by the LunarEmpire. Whitewall is besieged, and Smithstone and Karse are seizedby the Lunars, as is much of north Heortland. In the winterHendrikiland raiders skirmish with the Lunars.

1620 Holy Country/Heortland—an assault on Whitewall by the CrimsonBat is repelled. The commander of the siege, Jorkandros Blinder, isreplaced by Tatius the Bright, who defeats the main Hendrikilandarmy and accepts their surrender, taking Heortland for the Lunars.Whitewall and a few other pockets of resistance continue to holdout.

1621 Holy Country/Esrolia—Fazzur Wideread's invasion of Esrolia is dis-rupted by political maneuvering and diversion of his troops by theEmperor to Whitewall. He sends some specialists to aid QueenHendira of the Red Earth Alliance, who wishes to establish a Lunartemple in Nochet. The specialists assist her, and construction of aLunar temple begins in Nochet, despite the protests of many locals.

1621 Prax—a giant's cradle comes down river. Argrath and allies preventthe Lunars getting hold of it.

1621 Holy Country/Heortland—Whitewall falls to the Lunar Empire.

1621 Lunar Empire—Extra Full Moon Year begins in the Lunar Empire onDay 39 of Dark Season, celebrating the fall of Whitewall andOrlanth.

1621 Dragon Pass and the Holy Country—King Broyan and others thatescaped from Whitewall unscathed appear at Bullflood and otherplaces. Lunar assassins sent after them fail.

1621 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Fazzur is relieved of his command and gover-norship in Sacred Time.

1622 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Tatius becomes Governor-General of Sartar.

1622 Teshnos—Wolf Pirates raid Teshnos.

1622 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Tatius starts building the Temple of theReaching Moon.

1622 Holy Country/Heortland—Tatius sends Lunar troops to troubleBroyan in Hendrikiland and releases chaos monsters from theChaos Woods. King Broyan ambushes and destroys the Lunartroops sent to bother him, Hendrikiland rises in rebellion, which iseventually quelled by the Lunar army.

1622 Holy Country/Islands—Wolf Pirates raid from Three Step Isles.

1622 Holy Country/Esrolia—the Red Earth Alliance is thrown out ofNochet and a number of other Esrolian cities. The not yet com-pleted Lunar temple in Nochet is destroyed.

1622 Holy Country/Esrolia—the lands of the Red Earth Alliance areraided, and a number of Lunar temples there destroyed. The RedEarth Alliance raises an army and burns a Old Earth Alliance city inretaliation but is driven off. Tatius sends the Grazeland Horse Armyto help the Red Earth Alliance.

1623 Holy Country/Esrolia—King Broyan's outlaw army drives theGrazeland Horse Army out of Esrolia.

1623 Holy Country/Esrolia—Red Earth Alliance cities besieged, with itsleaders trapped at Necropolis. Tatius sends Lunar troops to aid theRed Earth Alliance - when they are refused landing at Nochet, theybesiege Nochet, trapping much of the Old Earth Alliance inside.

1624 Three Step Isles—Harrek returns with Argrath and his Wolf Pirateships.

1624 Holy Country/Esrolia—Argrath and his companions ally with KingBroyan. Broyan asks Harrek for help as well. The Warm EarthAlliance, supported by the Wolf Pirates, Harrek, Argrath, KingBroyan and western barbarians march to meet the Lunars besiegingNochet - the armies meet instead at the Battle of Pennel, and evenwith the desertion of the western barbarians, the Lunar forces aredefeated. Orlanth is freed.

1624 Holy Country/Esrolia—Victorious Warm Earth and Old EarthAlliance troops invade the Red Earth Alliance lands, destroying theRed Earth Alliance.

1624 Holy Country/Esrolia—Harrek and the Wolf Pirates spend theirloot from the battles in Nochet, then sack the City of Wondersthat winter—it disappears from the world forever.

1624 Holy Country/Heortland—King Broyan returns to Hendrikiland,remaining Lunar sympathizers flee.

1624 Prax/Corflu—Argrath returns, and with the White Bull Brothersand some others, takes Corflu.

1624 Dragon Pass/Sartar—That winter, Humakti kill King Temertain, thePretender.

1625 Prax/Pavis—Lunar sorcerers perform ritual against the nomads.

1625 Prax—Argrath makes peace among the nomad tribes, raises a hugenomad army and Jaldon Toothmaker and marches on Lunar occu-pied Pavis. Pavis falls, with the nomads killing all Lunars they find,then sacking New Pavis. The residents of New Pavis flee to theRubble. The nomad army eventually leaves Pavis to ride againstSartar, but is met by a Lunar demon and destroyed.

1625 Holy Country/Heortland—As King Broyan and an army marchagainst Sartar, they are met by a demon that kills Broyan anddestroys his army.

1625 Dragon Pass/Grazelands—Grazers rebel against the Lunars, sendingtax collectors back with dirt and raiding Tarsh.

1625 Dragon Pass/Sartar—Temple of the Reaching Moon dedication pro-ceedings are interrupted by Orlanthi and a dragon—Tatius, ScarletEnerian, Blackmoor, and many Lunar troops and friends die. Sartarrebels, with the Lunars in Boldhome killed and Lunar plantationsburned.

1625 Dragon Pass/Sartar—King Pharandros of Tarsh sends an army ledby Fazzur Wideread into Sartar, to deal with the Grazeland andSartar rebels. The army takes Aldachur, then moves towardBoldhome, but is met by a Sartarite army led by Kallyr Starbrow.The two armies clash, but the Tarsh army withdraws whenPharandros attempts to assassinate Fazzur's supporters at homeand Fazzur rushes back to help them.

1625 Prax—Argrath consolidates forces in Prax, and restores order toPavis once the nomads have left

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