Character Creation

Roll d6 to determine HP and Mana

d6 HP Mana
1 1 3
2 2 3
3 3 2
4 4 1
5 5 0
6 6 0

Start with 3d6 coins. Purchase your equipment:

Item Notes Cost
Dagger d4, can be thrown 1 coins
Club d6 2 coins
Sword d8 10 coins
Polearm d10, 2H 4 coins
Bow d6 4 coins
Shield +1 AP 4 coins
Maille +1 AP 20 coins
Plate +2 AP 100 coins
Wand +1 Mana 1 coins
Staff +3 Mana, 2H 4 coins
Spellbook One random spell 6 coins
Poison Apply to a blade to automatically hit for 2 damage. Three doses. 6 coins
Cross Turn undead with HP equal to or less than Favor spent 4 coins
Holy water Heal one HP per Favor spent. Three doses. 4 coins
Tithe +1 Favor. Can buy once per week on Sunday. Max 6 Favor 10% of coins, minimum 3 coins

I should probably rework this price list.

Skills

For everything except fighting and casting spells.

Roll 3d6 four times, assign the scores to four skills.

When using a skill, roll under your skill on a d20 to succeed. If you fail, suffer a consequence, but increase your skill by 1.

Prole Artisan Bourgeois Academic Linguistic
Cooking Blacksmith Dance History Gnomish
Hunt & Forage Carpenter Equestrianism Surgery Black Speech
Stealth Scribe Appraisal Alchemy Pirate
Animal Husbandry Locksmith Musician Engineering Liturgical
Seamanship Stonemason Accounting Barrister Ogham

A note on languages

  • Gnomish - The language of gnomes, cats, small mammals, and songbirds.
  • Black Speech - The language of the ~ e n e m y ~
  • Pirate - The language of criminals, sailors, street musicians, Vikings, clowns, and other disreputable types.
  • Liturgical - The language of the Church, their Demons, and the Undead.
  • Ogham - A language found scarred into old birch trees. No known speakers.

Combat

Reaction Rolls: When encountering a wandering monster or other entity, and their disposition is unknown, test the appropriate language skill to see if you can negotiate with them. On a failure, they are offended by your accent, and attack.

Initiative: Roll for initiative. Each side rolls d6, highest goes first.

Attacking:

  1. Choose opponent.
  2. Roll weapon dice. Hit on 4+.
  3. Hits are applied. Remove AP first, then HP
  4. When out of HP, dead or dying (or Critical Damage effect if using Cairn monsters)

Morale: Check morale when a side takes their first casualty, and again when they lose half their number. Roll 2d6; a result equal to or greater than the morale score means that the side routs and flees the field. Morale is usually based on the combatants experience level, per the table below.

Experience Morale Roll to Rout Examples
Green 6+ Conscripts, levy
Trained 7+ Militia, town guards
Veteran 8+ Experienced fighters
Elite 9+ Knights, house guards

Undead are always hostile, never check morale, and normally cannot be reasoned with (intelligent undead such as liches or vampires are an exception).

Healing

Restore all AP at end of combat. Restore one HP or all Mana per night’s rest. Restore all HP and Mana with a week’s rest in town.

Spellcasting

  1. Animate Dead: Animate a number of undead equal to Mana spent. Roll d6 when spell ends: (1-3) undead become hostile, (4-5) undead collapse into dust, (6) undead serve the caster permanently.
  2. Augury: Perform a divination to determine whether a given course of action will result in “weal” or “woe”. The caster may ask one question per level. DM rolls a d6 secretly: on a 4+, the answer is truthful. Sacrifice one HP in blood to guarantee a truthful answer.
  3. Charm: Hostile creatures become neutral, neutral become friendly, and friendly creatures become infatuated. Affects a number of creatures equal to Mana spent.
  4. Circle of Protection: Draw a circle on the ground with chalk, salt, or blood. Undead, fey, demons, or other unnatural creatures cannot cross the boundary. Protects one creature per Mana spent.
  5. Control Weather: Control the weather, causing clear skies, storms, winds, etc as desired. Effects last for 1 day per Mana spent.
  6. Dominate: Release control of your own body and domineer that of a nearby creature. Subject saves to prevent.
  7. Fireball: Deals 1 damage per Mana spent to all targets in a small area (such as a melee or a room). Targets save for half damage.
  8. Fly: Fly at walking speed. Affects one creature per level. Spell is reliable for 10 minutes per Mana spent, then has a chance to end on each subsequent turn on a roll of 5+ on a d6.
  9. Hold Person: Paralyzes a number of creatures equal to Mana spent. Subjects save to avoid.
  10. Invisibility: Turn one creature per Mana spent invisible.
  11. Knock: Open one stuck or locked door within arm’s reach.
  12. Lightning Bolt: Deals 1 damage per Mana spent to all targets in a line. Targets save for half damage.
  13. Scry: Requires a mirror, crystal ball, still water, or similarly reflective surface. Remotely see and hear events that are up to 10 miles away per Mana spent.
  14. Sleep: Puts all within a small area (such as a melee, or a room) into a deep slumber. Subjects save to avoid.

  15. Speak with Dead: Ask 1d6 questions of the corpse of a deceased intelligent creature. Reaction rolls apply and negotiation may be required. Corpse may be dead for a period of time based on Mana spent…

    Mana spent Deceased for…
    1 1 week
    2 1 month
    3 1 year
    4 10 years
    5 100 years
    6 1000 years
  16. Third Eye: You can see all invisible, ethereal, and shapechanged creatures in their true form. You also see the auras of spells (both cast and prepared) and enchanted objects.
  17. Tongues: You can comprehend all written and spoken languages.
  18. Water Breathing: Can breathe under water for 10 minutes per Mana spent. Affects one creature per Mana spent.
  19. Wind Barrier: Buffeting winds prevent missile attacks from harming those within. Protects one creature per Mana spent.
  20. Wizard Lock: Locks one door, chest, window, or similar portal. Requires a knock spell or similar magic to open.

Conversion from B/X

Give monster one HP per HD. Monsters do not have AP. If moderately armored (chain), give +1 HP. If heavily armored (plate), give +2 HP instead.

Attacks as damage die.

Dragon’s breath, etc: Treat as spells. Give monster 1 Mana if slightly magical (gnome), 3 Mana if moderate (shaman), 6 Mana if majorly (lich, dragon).

Morale as B/X.

Conversion from Cairn

HP = HP

Armor of 1 or 2 gives +1 HP

Armor of 3 gives +2 HP

Attacks as damage die.