WLB GM Handbook

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What Lies Below: Game Masters Handbook

By: Troy M. Costisick

Copyright 2012

Chapter 1: Introduction

As the Game Master, you have the responsibility for making the players earn their stripes. You provide the

opposition and obstacles they must overcome in order to achieve their goals. This doesnt mean its your job toprevent them from ever doing that, nor does it mean its your job to just rollover and allow the characters to

succeed at every turn. Opposition is no fun if it is easily beaten.

The GM is charged with many different responsibilities. You will portray all the characters the players will

encounter during the campaign. You have to design the lairs the player-characters will explore. You have toadjudicate differences and rules questions among the players if necessary, and vividly describe all the setting

elements. The GMs role is a mainly a reactive one. The players are the ones that will drive the action forward.

They decide where they want to go and when they want to go. Your duty is to riff off their submissions thendescribe what happens as a result. Never lead the players toward any particular goal nor covertly manipulate

them into pursuing your agenda. The GM is the facilitator of the action, not the drive.

There are numerous situations that come up during play that you will address with the players. Some of them

will be contests that require rolls and others will be resolved just by talking. Knowing when to roll and when to

just say yes is part of learning how to be a good Game Master. The following sections cover the most common

conflicts that will arise during play. No book can cover them all, so when you encounter something that is notdetailed in the WLB rulebooks, you are empowered to use your best judgment to resolve the conundrum.

Chapter 2: When to Call for a Roll and When to Say Yes.

While playing What Lies Below, you are going to have to make judgment calls on what is important and what

isnt nearly every moment of play. This can be a tough skill to learn, but with practice you will develop into an

expert. There are two types of rolls in WLB: Ability Stat Checks and Reactions. Knowing when to use each isvery important.

Rolling Your Dice

Whenever the GM has to roll dice, it should be done out in the open. Even rolling for wandering monsters (see

Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Information, and Chapter X: Rewards) should be done where the players can see.The only time you should roll behind the GMs screen is if you are using the random lair generation tables

included in this book. You dont want to give away tactical information to the players when it isnt necessary.

But for all other rolls you should roll out in the open just like the players.

Ability Stat Checks

Whenever a character wants to do something that is dangerous, difficult, laborious, or important, you should

call for a Stat Check (also sometimes called an Ability Check). The dice are an indicator to the players that

something important and interesting is going on. Using them signifies that what the PCs are doing is not

routine, but is impacting the setting in some way.

Stat Checks should also be called for when there is a clash of agendas. For instance, if a PC wants to charm a

guard at the Keep to get information about the Master-of-Arms, then you should call for a roll. The guardsnatural inclination will be to keep information to himself, to stay loyal to his commander. What the PC wants

and what the NPC wants are different, so a roll is needed to see whose desires win out.


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It is best not to call for too many Stat checks. If you overuse this mechanic, then rolling the dice will lose its

novelty and significance. When a player picks up the dice, there should be a flutter in his or her stomach- a

little bit of anxiety and a lot of excitement. Of course, never going to the dice is just as detrimental. Theplayers need to feel like what they are doing is important. They need to know that their characters are having an

impact on the world. So use your best judgment, feel it out as you play, and learn as you go.

Just Saying Yes

Sometimes a situation may arise that would normally require the player to make a roll; however, the GM views

the situation as either trivial or critical to the storys advancement. In these cases, the GM has the power to justsay, You succeed without any roll being necessary. Opposing everything the players try to do is no way to

roleplay. GMs need to be able to pick out the moments when conflicts should escalate, when obstacles should

be remembered. Routine activities, trivial feats of skill and knowledge, or in-the-moment reactions shouldnot require rolls. Say yes and move on.

Also, when you are nearing the end of a session, it is often wise not to call for too many Stat Checks and justsay yes. If he PCs are heading back to the Keep to split treasure, accumulate EXP, and share their adventures

with the rest of the troupe, we suggest that you not waste too much time with rolls for climbing, balancing, or

jumping past the obstacles in the lair unless, for some reason, that is critical for play. Be mindful of theimportance of what is happening. If overcoming those obstacles on the way up to Keep will not impact the

setting or story in a significant way, then just say yes and move on.

Fudging Rolls and Character Death

There may come a time when the player-characters have bit off more than they can chew. They may have

bumbled into a myconid colony, ticked off one too many trolls, or snuck passed all the upper tier content toencounter the boss way too early. If this happens, do not pull your punches. Do not roll your dice behind the

GMs screen and then make up results to let the PCs out of it. The players chose the path they trod, and

consequences should play out naturally.

Similarly, dont roll behind the GMs screen and inflate the results to make the NPCs seem more dangerous

than they are. Trust the system and trust your players enough to be honest about what is happening during the

session and let the dice fall where they may.

Characters are going to die frequently in WLB. Sometimes the entire party might be wiped out. Thats why the

players created a Troupe. There should always be extra characters on hand to step in for those who have fallen.If a player seems unusually upset that his or her character has died, take a minute to talk it out. But be sure to

explain that character death is an expected part of adventuring in the lairs of the Underearth. All a characters

death means is that the other PCs now have a great motivation to get back down there and recover the deadcharacters gear.

Chapter 3: Playing NPCs During a Contest

The Core Rules explained how to resolve a contest using dice, but it didnt give any advice about strategy.

Thats what the GMs Handbook is for. It can be tempting as a Game Master to pull your punches and allow

the players to win fight after fight against the NPCs. You may think youre doing the players a favor by lettingthem win. This could not be further from the truth. Play in WLB is brutal and gritty. Player-characters are

going to die often. Thats not a defect in the design, its a feature. When you are portraying the monsters that

live in the Underearth, do not portray them as mindless nulls that wander aimlessly about the corridors. Portraythem as intelligent beings who are determined to protect their realm against the invading surface dwellers.


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All of the combat options that are listed in Chapter 4 of the Core Rules are open to the NPCs. They willstrategize and coordinate their attacks just like the PCs. They will plan ambushes and set traps in anticipation of

interloping adventurers. They will also adapt their strategies depending on the PCs tactics. Dont play out

combat the same way, over and over. Vary your strategies to keep things fresh for the players.

Specific Tactics

The Underearth dwellers have several tactics that they typically like to employ. You should weave these into

your campaign if possible to give the enemies more life and color.

Attacking with Claws

Almost all the monsters that live in the lairs have large, powerful claws. These claws are hard as iron and can

rend flesh with ease. Not even plate armor can fully prevent their damage. Few denizens of the dark havemetal weapons like the player-characters. In fact, weapons are more prized beneath the world than above it.

Monsters can attack with one claw like a weapon or use both as if they were dual wielding weapons. See

Chapter 4 in the Core Rules for how dual wielding works.

Sitting in Ambush

Once the PCs have made an incursion or two into a lair, the residents there are going to be ready for them.

Either the entrance or some other choke point will be guarded by hidden monsters. You should liberally use

ambushes in areas the PCs have explored and are traveling through again. The Accursed might be reluctant to

ambush a single member of a party who is scouting ahead, since if he escapes the ruse will be ruined. However,if the entire group blunders into their ambush, they will be sure to make them pay for it.

Luring a PC into a Trap

When you design your lairs, you should sprinkle in many different traps. These traps didnt spontaneously

appear in the lair, they were engineered and designed by those who live there. Thus, they know the traps

locations, but the PCs do not. When in combat, an Accursed may slowly retreat to a different part of a room orcorridor, carefully avoiding the trigger for a trap. If the PC carelessly follows, then the trap will spring and the

PC will suffer the result.

Feint Attacks

Similar to luring a PC into a trap, the NPCs might at first charge in then quickly retreat to a different roomhoping the PCs will follow. When the PCs enter the room, theyll be vulnerable to an ambush attack. The

Accursed will often use this tactic if they know the PCs are somewhere on their tier but arent sure where. This

method is also very effective if the NPCs have some scouts at their disposal.

Retreat into Reinforcements

Rather than run to an empty room, the Accursed may run to a room full of their allies or to a room that has a

more powerful enemy. For instance, a trio of kobolds might retreat to a room full of orcs then hide in the

corners hoping the PCs will follow. A goblin might lead the PCs into a myconid spore farm. An orc might run

to the undead section. This will turn the tables on the PCs and even the odds in a fight.

Attacking Light Sources

Most surface dwellers cant see in the dark, and the Accursed know this. So they might attack the PCs torches

and lanterns using ranged weapons. See the Called Shot rules in Chapter 4 of the Core Rules for details on


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how to knock objects out of a targets hand. If a called shot on a light source succeeds, it falls to the ground andextinguishes.

Retreat and Morale

Retreat for NPCs works basically the same way it does for the players characters. At any time, during the

NPCs turn, he or she can run away at 5x walk speed. There is one restriction on this. If the player-charactershave the Accursed trapped, cornered, or subdued he or she cannot retreat. At this point, they must fight it out

until its over or surrender.

Monsters are not just mindless automatons that blindly attack any foe regardless of how powerful that foe mightbe. Each monster, with the exception of undead, has a morale score (see GM Handbook). If a number of

monsters are killed equal to or greater than that monsters morale score during a single combat, the monster

retreats. If the monster has to go through the PCs to reach an exit, the GM should roll a Body Reaction for themonster vs. the PC with the highest Body. If the reaction succeeds, the monster dodges all attacks and escapes.

If the reaction fails, any PC within arms reach of the monsters escape route can make one attack before it

leaves the room.

Capturing Player-Characters

Some of the more advanced underdwellers (mainly goblins, orcs, and minotaurs) will take unconscious

adventurers hostage. They will hold them for ransom. Like the races above, the creatures below do have an

economy. Currency is just as important to the Accursed in many cases, so having them occasionally imprison a

PC and engage in negotiation for his release is a fresh tactic you can use as a GM to add a twist to thecampaign. The players are always free to try to break the captured character out of the dungeon as well, so it

will be interesting for you to see how they decide to tackle such an obstacle.

Any player-character returned to the Troupe will not be returned with his or her items. The Accursed will keep

all weapons, armor, rations, containers, and gear for themselves. They regard such things as a just payment for

their troubles.

Learned Strategies

The Accursed arent dumb. If the players pull the same tricks against them over and over, they will catch on.They will adjust their tactics to negate the advantage the PCs enjoy. They might even begin employing those

same tactics if at all possible. For instance, if the player-characters lure goblins into a lamp oil trap over and

over, the goblins will set their own lamp oil traps if they can. If the players drop a pile of rocks on them overand over, the Accursed will rig some trap that will do the same to them. Adventuring in the Underearth is

always a game of cat and mouse. Adjust your tactics as necessary, and keep the players innovating to stay

ahead.

NPC Values

The values associated with NPCs stats, damage, movement, and morale do not follow the same rules as the

players characters. Lets repeat that: the NPCs do not follow the same rules as the PCs. The two groups are

from entirely different cultures with entirely different practices and outlooks on line. Each has its own unique

understanding of the world and unique ways of passing that on to the next generation.

Take for instance an Elite Froglock. An Elite Froglock deals 8 damage regardless if he attacks with his tongue

or with a weapon. That feat cannot be copied by the players. The maximum damage they and do with aweapon is 6 and the only damage they can inflict with their tongues is emotional. The types of spells the NPCs

use, the mana costs, the powers they use, and the damage they deal will all be operating under different


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assumptions than under what the PCs will operate. That is as it should be. You cannot get more opposite thanangels and demons, elves and orcs, dwarves and vampires. So if some of the mechanics in this book seem to

work differently from those in the Players Handbook, that is because they are different.

Henchmen

Sometimes the players may just decide that they want to let someone else tackle a particular mission in theUnderearth rather than their characters. In these instances, they can hire henchmen. Each henchmen guild is

allotted a certain number of henchmen units (one for every 50 members).

When the players hire a unit, they must pay 500 Bronze Pieces up front. The costs may increase or decreasedepending on the results. The PCs must then give them a mission to accomplish. The task must be simple and

narrowly defined. It cant be something like, Kill all the monsters on the fifth tier. That is too large of a task.

Something like, Kill all the monsters in a specific room and bring back their treasure or bring back fivemyconid caps or Find a key to the secret room on the third tier You can haggle with and reject offers

from the PCs according to how you think the henchmen might react to their request.

Once the henchmen are paid, they will go to the lair and try to accomplish the task given them by the players.

You will then roll a single d6 and use the result to consult the table below:

1: Full Failure- the entire henchman unit is killed and the mission left completely unfinished.

2-3: Partial Failure- up to half of the mission is accomplished, but half of the unit is killed.

4: Partial Success- at least half of the mission is accomplished, but not all of it. None in the unit were killed.

5-6: Complete Success- the mission was completed according to the agreement with no fatalities.

On a result of a 1, all future hirings of a henchman unit will cost 200 more bronze pieces since the player-

characters will have a reputation of giving reckless missions. On a result of a 2 or 3, the PCs will owe thehenchman unit an additional 100 bronze pieces to compensate them for their loss. They will not divulge any

information about the mission until they are paid. On a result of a 4, the unit will refund the PCs 100 bronze

pieces since they did not complete the mission.

The number you roll is also the number of days it takes to complete the mission. So on a roll of a 1, it takes one

day for the PCs to find out the henchman unit was lost. On a roll of a 6, it takes six days for the henchmen to

return to the Keep with whatever the PCs sent them after.

Anything the unit captures on the mission will be given to the PCs including skins, trap components, treasure,

and magic items. So whatever you originally placed in that room will end up with the PCs eventually if thehenchman unit succeeds. However, the players MAY NOT hire henchmen to complete any mission on the boss

tier (See Lair Creation Guide). That is something no henchman is crazy enough to try. The PCs must tackle

that level in the dungeon all on their own.

Chapter 4: Playing NPCs Outside a Contest

Not all interaction between player-characters and NPCs will take place in a contest. The players only need to

pick up the dice when something is really important. As a GM, you can oppose the players agendas by having

the NPCs at the Keep be weak, belligerent, greedy, narcissistic, or needy based on the situation. A lot of the

economy of the guild Keep is based on bronze pieces. Haggling over price is something that can be carried outthrough dialogue between the players and GM. If the situation can be resolved that way, great! If an impasse

arises, though, the players are free to pick up their dice and use a Stat Check (Mind) to try to get what they

want. Haggling and PC to NPC negotiations may take a little while to learn, but in time it will become obviouswhen conflicts can be negotiated person-to-person or when the dice are needed to resolve a problem.


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25. Undead froglock skin makes bandages that increase ones rate of healing.

Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Information During Play

The Game Master needs to be aware of the general status of the player-characters and the lair at all times during

play. To help you keep track, there is a Game Master Record Sheet at the back of this book with several areas

where you can write down pertinent information that will come up during play. Make liberal use of this sheet.It will save you a great amount of time and effort during play. The following sections detail what you should be

keeping track of during play.

PC Levels

In the beginning, this is easy. Every character starts out at level 1. However, characters will advance at

different rates. This will be explained in the Rewards chapter later on. You need to keep track of who is whatlevel. This will matter in your tactics during combat and how NPCs will regard the PCs when they meet.

Movement

Most adventuring will be done at the Creep speed of the Mapper or Backup Mapper- whichever is slowest. As

you design your lairs, take this into account. Also, keep it in mind as you play. Tracking time and how muchof a lair the PCs have explored is important. NPCs will try to heal up from battles with the PCs, so knowing

how much time has passed will help you figure out what condition the Accursed will be in if another fight

ensues.

Fatigue Points

Keeping track of fatigue may be the most arduous task as a GM, but it is very rewarding. Forcing the players tochoose what to take and what to leave behind is fun for them. It means traveling smart and light. It means

planning ahead and thinking tactically. These are the hallmarks of good adventuring.

Within each character box on the GM Record Sheet is a space to track Fatigue Points (FPs) assuming a creeppace. FPs may move up or down depending on the speed at which the characters travel and what loot they

accumulate as they go. You dont have to stop and update that value every time they change speeds or grab a

purse of coins. That would be too much. But you should keep in mind any general changes to the FPs thecharacters are accumulating and then apply them to the Default Difficulty when necessary. Remember, each FP

a character gets beyond his or her Body Stat results in a +1 modifier to the Default Difficulty (see Chapter 2:

Equipment in the Core Rules).

Cleared Rooms

As the PCs explore the lairs, they will clear out various rooms and tunnels of enemies and traps. You should

track which ones have been cleared and which ones havent. This way, when the Accursed return, you knowwhere they might go and also where the PCs might rest unmolested.

Time

Characters always move in 5 second rounds. Keeping track of this is easy, because you can measure how fartheyve gone in the lair and use that to calculate how many rounds, minutes, and hours they have spent down

there. Out of every 24 hour period, the PCs will need to sleep for 8 of them for suffer fatigue penalties (see

Chapter 9: Equipment and Fatigue). If you lose track of time or the PCs arent in the lair or if some other effectcauses time to pass, you can always estimate how much time has gone by. The GM is the final word on time

lapsing.


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Wandering Monsters

At some point, the player-characters will need to rest underground to heal damage, eat, and sleep. This is aperfect opportunity for the Accursed to strike them. For every hour the PCs stay in the same general area, roll a

d6. On a result of a 1, a wander monster enters the PCs location. Consult the Wandering Monster tables at the

end of this book when you roll. The type of monster depends on the tier and does not count towards a tiersEXP value (see Chapter 6: Rewards).

Order of March

Players must set an order of march which is the assumed position of each character relative to each other.

Unless the players stipulate otherwise, this is the formation you will assume the characters are using at all times

You may be represented with miniatures, but it is not necessary.

Order of march may have to be modified from time to time because of the size of the tunnels in a lair. Assume

a character needs a 3 Radius to walk comfortably. So two standing abreast would be 6 across, three would be9, etc. If there is less than the 3 each character needs to be comfortable, they can alter their order of march or

be forced to act under the Cramped Quarters modifiers mentioned in Chapter 3: Resolution in the Core Rules.

Chapter 6: Rewards

There is basically one type of reward in What Lies Below: money. Bronze Pieces (BPs) are the base coin of the

realm and therefore are tied to a characters place in the world. The more cash he or she digs from under thebelly of the world and brings to the economy of the surface, the more important he or she becomes. Experience

Points (EXP) is only awarded for taking BPs. It is not awarded for killing an enemy, bartering with the

moneychangers, or bedding the barmaids. The only way to earn EXP using the standard rules for play is to findways to earn BP.

Acquiring Bronze Pieces

Most of the time, Bronze Pieces will be garnered by the PCs through adventuring in the Underearth. It is

conceivable that a character could earn some extra bronze by performing jobs for artisans or important figures

at the guilds Keep, but for the most part, it takes adventuring to get cash. There are two main sources of BPs inthe lairs: Monsters and Traps.

Bronze from Monsters

Each of the Accursed has a certain EXP value (see Monster Charts in this book). Thats how much bronze

pieces that NPC is worth. Now, how the PCs get that bronze and how the NPC is carrying the bronze can be aswildly varied as your imagination can create. Most of the time, though, there are four main ways PCs can

extract bronze pieces from a defeated foe.

Method #1: Stealing It

Some monsters like to hoard shiny objects. There is no rhyme or reason, they just do. Undead are notorious for

this. They like to pile up discarded weapons, armor, and coins in one of their rooms and guard it from intrudersPresumably, whoever created them in the first place wanted undead to collect such things to be used later by

their masters. Now they do it on their own. Other monsters carry change purses on their belts or around their

necks. Most kobolds, goblins, minotaurs, dark elves, and orcs do this as they have a thriving undergroundeconomy amongst themselves. Halflings are also known to carry coins, and even wear them as ornamentation.


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Regardless of which method the Accursed prefers, if you set the EXP value for the monster to be represented bycoins, then those coins should be nearby or on the person of the monster. In these instances, a crafty PC can try

to steal them. Often, this is left to thieves. Thieves have the Pick Pocket skill. On a successful roll, they swipe

all coins or weapons or other small object held by the target without the targets notice. On a failed roll, thetarget obviously catches them in the act. However, one need not be a thief to steal. Other characters of

different classes can make a series of Body Stat Checks to pilfer coins or items. They should make one check to

sneak to their target, another check to take the item, and a third to sneak away. All of these would be modifiedby the targets Mind stat. If all three checks are successful, then the PC gets what he or she was after.

Method #2: Killing For It

If all that sneaking around is too much of a hassle, theres always the direct approach. The PCs can just attack

and kill their enemy. This is pretty clear cut. You kill something, you search its body and take what you can.

Most Accursed use their claws when attacking, but some carry weapons. Treat weapons, armor, and otherequipment carried by the monsters as having half their BP value thats stated on the Equipment List. Most

artisans and merchants at the Keep will only give the PCs 50% of an items value if the PC wants to sell it to

them.

Method #3: Harvesting the Kill

Some monsters have skin that can be harvested and turned into magical armor. For instance, dire bats, orcs,

trolls, and dragons all have skin that is valuable for protection. The process to turn hide into armor is complex.

It requires the ability to make magic items. Bards, Templars, and Wizards are the only PC classes that can do

this. If there is an alchemist at the Keep or if they befriend one in the Underearth, he or she can make sucharmors as well.

Hides from these specific creatures have a resale value as follows: Dire Bat Hide: 20 BP, Orc Hide: 100 BP,Troll Hide: 500 BP, Dragon Hide: 2,500 BP. For the purposes of calculating EXP values, these costs are halved

since if a PC wanted to sell them, an artisan would only give them half value for them. So, when figuring how

much BP a monster might carry or what weapons he or she might have, take into account the hide values for

these creatures and adjust from there.

Method #4: Talking them Out of It

There are those who say that if violence isnt the answer, youre not asking the right questions. But not

everything has to be resolved in the Underearth by the edge of a sword. PCs can extort Bronze Pieces and other

treasure by agreeing not to attack them in return for payment. This tribute system may be lucrative for theplayers. If an NPC is extorted in this way or stolen from as in method #1, it regenerates one bronze piece per

day. So after receiving payment from a group of kobolds, the PCs can return in a week and get 7BP from each

once again. Each time the PCs do this, they should receive EXP for it.

PCs can also bargain with the Accursed if they so desire. For instance, they might agree to attack a group oforcs that is harassing a clutch of halflings. As payment, the halflings would give them a certain amount oftreasure. If the agreement is honored, the PCs should get EXP for their payment.

Traps

All traps have some kind of mechanism that allows them to work. The skill and expertise it takes to make a

functional trap is considerable. Also, the materials that go into making a trap are valuable. PCs can salvage a

trap mechanism and sell the parts for EXP. The EXP value of the trap (see Trap Creation in the Lair CreationGuide) is equal to the amount of BP an artisan will give the PCs for it.


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Splitting the Loot

The players will decide how to split the loot they get from the Underearth or the Keep. Once they do, you will

then award EXP. EXP is not awarded until the loot is divided. The GM should play no part in the playersdecisions on how to divide treasure. It is entirely up to them.

Non-Bronze Treasure

Weve already mentioned skins, trap components, and weapons as non-bronze treasure, but there are otherthings monsters might hoard that have value. On the Equipment List you might see gemstones and units of

metal and minerals. These are also carried by the Accursed and are valuable to the surface dwellers. Most ofthem are used in making Magic Items. Treat their EXP values as half the sale value listed on the Equipment

List.

Magic Items

Adding magic items to a lair is covered in the Lair Creation Guide. To figure a magic items BP value, look atsale values the component parts (the gems, metals, minerals, and objects that went into making it). Halve the

total value of them and that is how much an artisan will give the PCs for such an item provided it is still fully

functional with all its charges and properties in tact. This is also the EXP value of the item. Any time acharacter is given a magic item when the party is dividing loot, that character then receives the EXP award for

it. If the party chooses not to give the item to a specific character (say they want to keep it for anyone in the

group to use), then no character is awarded EXP for finding it.

Trading and Spending Bronze Pieces

Spending BPs does not subtract EXP from a character. Also, trading one item (say a broadsword) for anotheritem (say a shield) does not give the character any extra EXP. However, if a PC does manage to trade an item

of lesser value for an item of greater value with an NPC, then the character should be awarded the difference in

EXP even if it is just a small amount.

Bonus Bronze Pieces

As mentioned in the Lair Creation guide, Bronze Pieces (and therefore EXP) that comes from wanderingmonsters or other ingenious methods of the players does not count toward a tiers EXP value. So extra loot they

get from these rules is just bonus. The GM should not withhold BPs from the characters just because they come

from unplanned sources. In fact, earning BPs in unexpected ways is a sign of excellent roleplaying.

Optional EXP Awards

The standard rules for awarding EXP are all those presented before this section in chapter 6. The following

rules are optional rules GMs may employ if they so desire. These rules for bonus EXP do not use the 1 BronzePiece = 1 Experience Point formula. They directly award EXP to the characters (i.e. the characters do not earnBPs for EXP awarded in this way).

GMs should think carefully before using any of these rules. Being too free with EXP can be detrimental to the

players sense of accomplishment. If earning rewards comes too easily, if the encounters become facile becausethe PCs are gaining levels too fast, then they could lose interest as the challenge of the game evaporates. EXP

awards are a GMs most precious resource. Use them wisely.

Clearing out an entire level


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If a group kills or neutralizes every monster, trap, and puzzle on a single tier, then you may want to award eachcharacter between 50 and 200 bonus EXP. Thoroughness is not expected in the PCs treks to the Underearth, so

clearing an entire level is quite a feat. GMs may reward such an accomplishment at their pleasure.

Near-perfect Map Drawing of an Entire Tier

It is pretty rare for the map made by the players to exactly match or even closely match the map made by theGM. The vagaries of human communication make exact translation of the setting very difficult. Therefore, if

you want to include bonus points for excellent mapping, you may award 50-100 EXP to any and all charactersplayed by any and all players who worked on that particular tier.

Parley instead of combat

There can be a tendency for some players just to hack and slash their way through a lair. If thats their preferredstyle, then fine. Theres nothing wrong with it. However, players should be made aware that there are more

ways to get the bronze pieces they covet than just slaughtering everything that moves below the surface.

Awarding 20-80 bonus EXP for Parleying with NPCs is a great way to incentivize non-violent interactions withthe Accursed. If you want to encourage that sort of behavior, this optional method of passing out EXP rewards

will go a long way in helping you achieve that goal.

Good Roleplaying and Clever Ideas

Acting in character, strategizing during combat, circumventing the bad guys, and helping a friend are just a few

of the things that make a good roleplayer. GMs may award 10-100 bonus EXP to the character(s) of any playerwho shows exceptional skill and/or acting during play. You, as the GM, can define exceptional skill any way

you wish, just remember to apply that standard evenly across the board to all players.

Retrieving the Lost Relic Held by the Dungeon Boss

As mentioned in the Lair Creation Guide, each lair boss will have some kind of relic or artifact the guild was

charged to recover. Returning this to the guild or other authority is an important part of play. For finishing thisquest, the GM may award 50-500 bonus EXP to each character who participated. This extra EXP is wholly

unnecessary since the PCs had to overcome many EXP-awarding challenges on the way to retrieving the item in

the first place, but rewards for a job well-done are always appreciated. Players may feel their actions were morevalued if the end of the quest means getting an additional reward of some kind.

Followers

After 10th level, characters may begin attracting followers. These followers will be allowed to stay at the Keep

as members of the guild without the PCs having to pay them any extra money. The Followers can be added tothe Troupe and played by the players as if they were player-characters.

At your option, you may have a Follower be one of the NPCs from the guild. If, during play, the PCs havebefriended a character that matches or closely matches the character described on a players Follower Roll (see

Chapter 3: Rewards in the Players Handbook), then you may select that character to join the Troupe.

If/when the players decide to strike out on their own to form a new guild, the PCs must then begin paying thefollowers according to the cost value on the Follower Table. Usually, a guild will ask the PCs to leave once

they have 50 followers or more. Once the PCs new guild is established and parties begin making treks into the

Underearth, the costs of keeping the followers to run and protect their Keep will be mitigated.

Taxes


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Guilds charge their members a small fee to maintain their membership. 10% of all the Bronze Pieces characters

bring in from the lairs must be paid to the Keeps vault. This is used to buy supplies for the guild members and

fund repairs and improvements for the facilities. If the PCs refuse to pay the taxes, they will not be allowed touse guild facilities and will have to buy their own food and drink.

Chapter 7: Describing the Action

A big part of a GMs job is to describe the world and much of what happens in it. The players control whattheir characters do, but you control how the setting reacts to their decisions. What happens when a character

shines his lantern on the cave wall? What happens when a PC flirts with the barkeep? What happens to thelairs dynamics when the players decide to wipe out the trolls but leave the goblins unharmed? These are just a

few examples of the types of information you will be expected to generate off the top of your head during play.

To be a good GM, you need to be flexible, but that doesnt mean you cant prepare a lot of description prior toplay. This section will help you plan ahead or at the very least, help familiarize you with the types of things you

will describe during play.

The Map

Describing room after room can get very tiresome if each one is like the next. That is why it is so important toinclude special features for each room as you design your lair- its as much for your entertainment as it is the

players.

Sometimes, while you are in the midst of describing a room, you may suddenly get a great idea that youd liketo add. By all means, go ahead and change the small details on your map to include your new idea. Inspiration

can strike at any time. A little while later in this book, were going to advise you to stay true to your prep, but

staying true to your prep just means not fudging dice rolls, using covert force to get the players to do what youwant, or scaling up/down encounters because you think the PCs are over or under matched. But adding detail to

your world and increasing your own engagement with it is part of being a good GM.

Alter what youve drawn as much as you like until its been said aloud during that game. Once your descriptionof a room has been given to the players, that description needs to be accurate for the rest of the campaign.

So how should one describe a room? There are several different methods people commonly use to describe anew section of a lair to the players.

Top to Bottom/Bottom to Top: Start with the ceiling (or floor). What is it made out of? How high is it?Is there anything hanging from it? Then go to the walls- left, right, front, back. What, if anything, is

hanging on the walls? Then describe the floor. What objects are potential obstacles? Which are

potential resources?

Left to Right: Describe the left side of the room, from floor to ceiling. Then the middle. Then the right

hand side. What is the stonework like? Is this room seldom traveled or frequently used? How can thePCs tell?

Front to Back/Back to Front: Begin by describing the point at which the PCs enter the room. What isthe entrance like? What do they see first, second, third, etc?

Choose a Focal Point, then Radiate Out: Choose the most unique and/or identifying feature of the room.Then radiate out with your description. What is around the focal point. What is closest to it? What is

furthest away?

Bare Bones: Describe only the most relevant information: monsters, obstacles, and anything that mightgive a PC a modifier to the DD. Some groups dont care a lot about fancy description. They just wantto know where they have to go and what they have to kill.


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No one method is right every time. All of them have their merits. We suggest mixing up which method you

use frequently during the session to keep both yourself and your players engaged.

Directions

As the characters move throughout the lair, you should-for the most part-describe their movements according tothe cardinal directions (North, South, East West). For simplicitys sake, assume the top of the map is always

North, the bottom South, the left West, and the right East. Youre not required to describe things that way, butnot doing so could cause confusion for both you and the players.

The one exception to describing movement in terms of NSEW is if the PCs get lost. If they are lost, describe

their movements in terms of left, right, backwards, and forwards until they reestablish their bearings. Using

these directions will add to the players sense of disorientation, and when the players can feel what theircharacters are feeling, you know you have a good campaign going.

The Cause and Not the Effect

Always describe the cause of something to the players, but hold off on describing the effect till you hear from

them. For instance, if they pull a lever and open a pit trap, describe the sounds and the trap door swinging openand then find out what they do in response. Dont say, Your character falls into a pit! Depending upon the

fiction, you may designate one or more characters who cannot react. They might be too slow, too far way, or

too engaged elsewhere. However, there will be some characters who can react. In these instances, do what

comes logically based on whats happened in the game. Can they make a Body Reaction to save the other PC?Can they call out to someone else for help?

The role of the GM in What Lies Below is not about being mean or punishing the players for bad rolls/stupidityIts about following the fiction the group creates to its logical ends. This is important: Do what flows naturally

from the fiction youve created! If that means a character dies, then the character dies. But if it means the

players are given opportunities to save their characters, then all the better.

Spell Effects

Spells, songs, powers, etc. all have a magical effect on the world. When a player successfully rolls to use one ofthese and defers to you to describe its effects (which may happen often), take the opportunity to say something

unique and wondrous. Powers and spells are not used frequently, so when they are, it needs to memorable for

the players. You should add in extra effects such as sounds, flashes of light, gusts of wind, rumbles in the wallsand scents in the air that go beyond what is just described in the players hand book. Magic is magical. It

shouldnt be confined to what is codified within these tomes.

Combat

There will be a lot of action during combat. You will be in charge of describing most of it. Generally, you canget by with brief descriptions like, He swings at your head, but misses wildly! or You connect with a solid

shot to his torso. Dont spend too much time describing hits and misses. However, at critical moments in

combat, like when a character is dying or has performed some astounding stunt, describe it in full detail. For

example, You bring down your warhammer on his skull, denting his helmet. His body crumples to the floorwith a sickening thud, and blood oozes from his nostrils onto the cold, damp floor. Theres a brief twitch in his

legs, then nothing. What do you do next?


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It is very important to always ask what a player does after downing a foe. Remember, a character that takesmore damage than his or her Body Stat isnt killed, just knocked unconscious. Someone has to come by with a

finishing blow to end the victims life.

NPCs

The people the player-characters interact with in the world need personality. If everyone is the same oldcynical, grizzled veteran of the old wars and treats the PCs with disdain, the players will get bored. Likewise, if

every character they meet treats them like a thrice-honored guest, the players will grow tired of this treatment aswell. Vary your approach to each NPC. These are your characters. Invest a little of yourself in them, even the

monsters. If you care, then the players will care too. Here is just a simple and very generic list of personalitytypes you can portray. If youre stuck for an idea, choose one from this table:

Animal LoverApathetic Youth

Arrogant Bully

Bitter LoverBloodlusting Brute

Carefree Soul

Compassionate FriendCountry Bumpkin

Delightful Companion

Disillusioned Middle-Aged Person

Dutiful SoldierElitist Snob

Eternal Optimist

Good ListenerGrizzled Old Veteran

Hate-Filled Drunk

Hen-pecked Husband

High-strung Stress AddictHopeless Lover

Learned Scholar

Nave Young PersonOverbearing Administrator

Paranoid Worry-monger

Proud HeroReligious Zealot

The Prankster

The RomanticThe Scarred Adventurer

Wacky DoomsayerWise Old Counselor

Props

Using physical items and illustrations as visual aids is a wonderful thing. Players love having something theirimaginations can latch onto and project into their imagined version of your world. Costumes, printouts, fake

weapons, and miniatures can all be used to ground the players imaginations into what you are describing. They

can also be useful as an objective frame of reference. We sometimes take for granted what other peopleimagine our characters, settings, and items to look like. It would be surprising to learn how different they often


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are. Using props puts everyone on the same page and can add some color and life to your descriptions theywould not have otherwise had.

Chapter 8: Handling Difficult Situations

As your campaign ages, you will come across situations that arent handled by the standard character creation or

contest resolution rules. Some of these will be inter-personal, meaning a conflict amongst the people at thetable. Others might be conflicts with the rules where what the people at the table want and what the rules

prescribe seem to disagree. This section tries to advise GMs on how to handle such situations.

Player Conflicts

Sometimes personalities clash. Even the best of friends can get on each others nerves. During play, its

possible that some players begin irritating or antagonizing each other. Once it becomes disruptive to the game,it needs to be dealt with. Often, players can work things out by expressing why they are upset and being honest

with each other. As GM, your role in this situation is just to facilitate conversation. Youre the good listener,

the good friend, the mediator.

If talking it out doesnt work, propose a solution that will allow the campaign to continue on. Then, after the

session, see if you can encourage the players at conflict to work out their differences. If the players cannotagree to your solution, it may be time to suspend the campaign until the group can proceed without the

conflicting parties or until whatever issue caused the disruption is resolved.

Rule Questions

Reading the rule books for What Lies Below is an exercise in interpretation. Weve done our best to

communicate how to play, when to use the rules, and when to just talk. But sometimes, different people willunderstand these rules in different ways. If anyone at the table calls a rule into question, hear them out. It may

be that their understanding is more correct. Ask for the input of everyone at the table. Getting a lot of

viewpoints is usually helpful. You, as the GM, have final say over how the rules will work, but it is best to

listen to the other players and accommodate them if at all possible. Remember, the campaign is about them andtheir characters. Adjusting the way a rule or mechanic has been working to promote good play is always

acceptable.

The Players Wasting Paper when Mapping

The players have no idea what your map looks like. Perhaps theyve created underground maps before for othergames, so they have some experience with them. But again, they have no clue what your map looks like. As a

result, they often dont know where to start drawing. They might choose the top center, the upper left-hand

corner, the bottom right corner, or something else. This can result in a lot of wasted paper and extra bookkeeping if the lair makes a sudden turn off the sheet and they have to start a new one.

If this seems to be happening, it is not a bad idea to tell the Mapper and Back-up Mapper where to start drawingon their graph paper. Youre not really giving any information away when you do this. Letting them know

where to begin merely saves time, resources, and frustration. It also helps to build a little trust between the

players and the GM since they know that you want them to be successful during play.

Overpowered Characters

Player-characters will accumulate levels and magic items as the game goes on. Sometimes, especially fornewer GMs, the PCs may accumulate enough resources where each encounter seems to get more and more


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trivial. The characters dont get hit very often, and when they do it doesnt have any lasting effect on theplayers tactics. If this happens, there are several things you can do.

First, is to change your tactics as GM. The players use a lot of strategy, but you can do the same. Start hidingNPCs in rooms where there are NPCs out in the open. If the players dont scout ahead and try to locate hidden

enemies, you can use them to ambush the PCs when they show up. Also, mix up your NPC batches to have

enough fighters to protect spell casters as they lob bombs on the players, one right after the other. You can alsotry swarming the PCs with lots of smaller creatures like kobolds and dire bats. Often, if there are just too many

enemies for the PCs to handle at once they will have to attack, retreat, heal, and re-attack several times to clear aroom. That will be a much more fun and interesting challenge for them and for you. Finally, if you havent

been making much use of traps, parley, and riddles in your game, its probably time to start. Not everyencounter needs to be about combat. Mixing up the dangers and how the PCs have to approach them keeps the

game fresh and interesting.

Second, you can steal things from the players or destroy them outright. Supposed allies at the Keep could turn

on them. Wander monsters can just grab the first shiny thing they see at the PCs camp and run off with it.

Corrosion Creepers can destroy their weapons and armor. You also might require that a character sacrifice amagic item to an idol or energy field to gain entrance to the next level of a lair. This will take a lot of power

away from the players but at the same time, give them opportunities to earn more in return.

Third, use vampires. Vampires are great bosses because they drain Stats. If the players finish your first lair and

have accumulated a troupe of very powerful PCs, make your next lair smaller with a vampire as its boss. You

will still have to think very tactically, as the vampire might not last too long in a fight against high-powered

characters, but if you play your cards right, a single vampire can humble a mighty foe for the next lair.

Finally, vary the design of your lairs. The lairs themselves can be an obstacle for players where stats are less

important. Use narrow passages to isolate characters. Use intersections where six or seven tunnels cometogether. This will cause a party to stop and scout before going on. Splitting up a party always puts certain

members in peril, but they have to do it or risk ambush. Create huge pits or trenches that the party has to cross.

This will require several Body Reactions to avoid falling. Remember to use your terrain modifiers in these

instances (see Core Rules and Lair Creation Guide). And dont be afraid to create very confusing lair designsfor high powered characters. No matter how powerful they get, no player wants his or her character lost in a

lair. That is always a dangerous place to be.

Total Party Kills (TPKs)

Exploration in WLB is deadly. Thats why the players have a Troupe instead of just a single character apiece.Typically, if an encounter turns deadly, only one or two characters will perish at a time. However, on occasion,

things will go really wrong and the entire exploration party will be wiped out. It can be tempting to lay blame

on the players or the GM or even the game, but if this happens, you and your group need to look at the situation.

First, try to find out if there was there some kind of miscommunications. Did the players misunderstand youwhen you said there were three orcs and a golem in the next room? Did you misunderstand them when theysaid they turned south and walked down the tunnel? If this is your first time playing What Lies Below, then

errors in communication can be expected. It will take time to develop a mutual vocabulary that avoids

misinterpretation. In these instances, be patient and understanding. Its not just the characters who gain

experience through play.

Second, examine your set-up for the room. How was the encounter designed? Did you have too many

monsters in one room? Were the monsters not appropriate for the capabilities of the player-characters? Wasthere something about the form and function of the room that limited the players ability to understand the

nature of the encounter? These questions are not meant to suggest that you design easy or repetitive encounters.


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Not at all! You must exercise your creativity and deviousness as you design the lair; however, you must alsonot make the encounters so cryptic and confusing that the players cannot comprehend what is happening.

Remember, NPC motivations and tactics need to be simple enough for the players to quickly comprehend.

They dont have the advantage of seeing the entire map like your nor knowing why the NPCs do what they do.

Finally, replay the scene together. Were the rolls for the players unusually bad? Or unusually good for the

GM? Did someone forget to use a spell, power, or magic item they had at their disposal? Was the players plantactically sound? If you see where things went wrong for the players, you dont have to keep it a secret. You

are free to provide your insights any time you feel they are welcome and appropriate. Often, discussing whathappened in a scene will show where errors in tactics or judgment were made.

Assigning fault or blame is counterproductive. Instead, learn from the situation. Figure out why the total party

kill happened, and if it was a mistake on someones part, consider ways to avoid making the same error in the

future. If the TPK was a natural progression of logical choices by all members, then the deaths must beaccepted as just a feature of play. Thats why there are back-up characters in the first place.

One way to sidestep TPKs or mitigate the hurt from them is to always practice full disclosure of the details asmuch as possible. If the PCs ask a question, give a full answer. Dont give away all your secrets, obviously,

but dont hold back if the PCs do enough investigation to learn them. When in doubt, err or the side of

generosity: reveal in the PCs favor. If you follow this model, then you will be justified in a TPK because yougave the players all the info they needed to avoid it.

Staying True to Your Prep and the Dice

There will be times when, as the campaign evolves, you will realize that either your encounters are too tough,

too easy, or too boring for the players. It will be tempting to begin changing things around to make them easier,

harder, or more engaging. Resist this temptation during play.

This game is built on trust. The players trust you not to railroad them into following a storyline youve created

in the lair if they dont find it interesting. They trust you not to block them from advancing in the dungeon if

they want to proceed. They trust you not to fudge the die rolls to keep their characters alive or to harm theircharacters unfairly.

Once youve created the lair, thats the way it should be played for the entire session. Dont ease up. Dontreroll the dice to get a more satisfactory result (you should be rolling in the open anyway). Dont add in

monsters that werent there in your original design.

After the session, though, you can certainly go back and change things for the next one! If the encounters have

been too easy, try using some different monsters will similar EXP values. If the encounters have been too hard,

try throwing in some magic items to help the players out. If the players arent interested in the storylines youhave going, conceive of how these storylines would play out anyway. Then show the players the consequences

for not getting involved. If they still dont care, thats fine. They dont have to. After all, the campaign isabout the PCs, not the NPCs. But if you do want the players to get interested, the way you make them excitedabout something is to show that you are excited about it. You wont get their cooperation by forcing them into

it at every turn.

Similarly, dont reroll results on the dice you dont like. If a roll kills a character, then the character dies. If theplayers roll three triples in a row against your dragon boss and kill it before it has a chance to strike back, then

so be it. The dice are an objective arbiter. The randomness they provide will often give the campaign its most

memorable moments. Trust in them and trust in your players to deliver a satisfying story that you can all lookback on with fondness.


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The following equipment table is placed here for you to use as you moderate a roleplaying session. Mechanicsfrom the Core Rules and Players Handbook are duplicated here for ease of reference.

Fatigue Points

Every heavy object that a character wears or carries has the potential to wear the character down or get in the

way during challenging maneuvers. These items are rated with Fatigue Points (see Equipment Table above).Fatigue Points (FPs) represent the physical toll carrying equipment and doing work takes on a character.

Characters accumulate FPs by carrying gear, moving, and fighting. As long as the number of FPs a characterhas is less than his or her Body Stat, the character does not suffer any penalties.

However, if the number of FPs a character has accumulated is ever greater than the Body Stat, the character is

considered encumbered. For each FP over the characters Body Stat, the Default Difficulty for any action is

increased by 1 for the next round (rounds are 5 second increments of time in which characters take action). Soif Ryan the Paladin has a Body Stat value of 6 and is carrying eight items with a total FP value of 10, he the

target value (called the Default Difficulty) he must roll against to swing his sword, Parley with an adversary,

disarm a trap, use a cleric power, or anything else that requires a roll is increased by 4 the next round. For now,just remember that having more FPs than your Body Stat means your character will have some penalties as he

or she tries to act.

Fatigue Points are not cumulative from round to round. So if Johnny the Thief has 4 FPs in round 1, he will

only have 4 FPs in round 2, round 3, and so on. The next few sections in this chapter talk about how various

objects and actions can add or subtract Fatigue Points from your character.

Containers

Containers use the bodys natural carrying capacity to offset the tiresome drudgery of having to lug gearthrough the uneven caverns in the Underearth. Each container has a certain capacity. The characters can fill the

container to capacity without adding any additional Fatigue points to what the container ordinarily has. So for

instance, a Backpack can contain six items. It can be any six items you want regardless of their size and weight

However, once you go one item over the containers limit, that item then counts against the total amountcharacters Body Stat can handle. A characters Body Stat is what his or her carrying capacity is. So if the

number of containers plus items outside containers is greater than the characters Body Stat, you add a number

of Fatigue Points to the characters total equal to that objects FP value.

Characters may have only one of each container on their person. So they could wear one backpack, one quiver,

one left belt pouch, one right belt pouch, one satchel, etc. Containers may be loaded up beyond their capacitywithin reason. The GM will decide whether or not something can fit inside a container. Also, just because a

container can hold one item, doesnt mean it can hold any item. You cant stuff a claymore into a scroll case for

instance! When in doubt, defer to the GM on this matter.

Items

Items are any objects that cant contain another object unless it is very small. Each item has a Fatigue Point

value. Consult the Equipment List on Page XX. If the characters come across some item that is not listed on

that table, the GM should use the Equipment Table as a reference for assigning the new object an FP value.

Once an FP value is established for an object, that will thence forth be the FP value for all objects of the sametype and size. Small objects such as coins and gems do not count as items for the purposes of Fatigue. They

are explained in the next section.

Coins, Gems, and Pellets


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Chapter 13: Powers and Spells for Monsters

Still Working On This Idea

Chapter 14: Creating a Random Lair

(Dont know how to do this yet)

Chapter 15: Spells/Songs that must be Researched or Bought

(Dont know how to do this yet)

WLB GM Handbook

Documents

Transcript of WLB GM Handbook