The ABDE Role Playing System
Copyright 1996-2002 IronFortRealityConstruction?
Character Description System
Action Resolution System
Character Creation System
Character Advancement system
THE ABDE SYSTEM
Designer: David Allan Finch with help from Pete Nash
Contents
Basic Rules
Warhammer Rules
Bushido Rules
Explora Rules
The Rules
Preface
- The ABDE system owes a lot to the systems Aftermath, Bushido and DareDevils designed by Paul Hume and Bob Charrette in the early 1980 and published by Fantasy Games Unlimited. There original rules have been modified over the last few years by Pete Nash and myself as most rule systems are, to create our house rules. This was to allow for us to uses them with other genres; make them more realistic; and use modern gaming concepts. It has become increasingly apparent that this system is no longer just our interpretation or house rules of there system but a new system of rules in there own right, hence this system.
- The name ABDE was chosen to show that the system comes from Aftermath, Bushido, DareDevils plus Explora and can be pronounced in anyway that you can get your tongue round it. The Explora RPG was my own fantasy background and system that I designed many years ago and I might one day continue with it, some of the original Explora system ideas and goals has made it into ABDE but not a lot, after all that was a long time ago now.
- One of the objects of this write up of these rules is an attempt to format them so other can understand them, this is unlike the original Hume & Charrette rules that required a certain level of determination and anal-retentiveness, to get over the War Game feel that was the style back in the 1980's. They not so much as hide there gems under a bush, as burred them on a dark and stormy night somewhere up the Amazon in the early 16th century and then lost the map. This was a shame as the Hume & Charrette system was really quite good and I hope we have not thrown out the baby with the bath water with this new version of there rules.
Introduction
- ABDE is a generic set of rule which can be used to play a role-playing game set in a specific genre. It does not attempt to be a completely general genre-free set of rule which will work under all conditions and scales because this is probably impossible to write.
Basic Terms
- All role-playing games uses a lot of terms which to a new player can seam difficult to understand, it is unlikely that I will be able to explain these any better that your referee so I will only put a basic outline and hope that you can find someone to fill in the gaps for you.
- Like any game, a role-playing game has Players. These Players work in a cooperative fashion to interacted in the world of the Referee. It is a bit like being the character in a play but unlike a normal play, you write the lines and actions for your character, as do the other players and the referee like a writer/director does the lines and actions for everyone else.
- It is the job of the Referee to create an interesting and challenging world for the character to interact with, after all a drama about the normal day of an office worker might be a worthy dramatic endeavor it is not normally the stuff of great passion or excitement and hence there are not that many action films about it.
Example of Play
- Several friends have gathered around at Harett's house for an evening game. The following is an artificial attempt to show what might happen. Harriet is the host for the evening but one of the group, Carol, is the referee. The other people there are Bill and Tom they are also Players like Harriet.
- Carol: (showing the map of the area) You are currently at (points to) Mainbridge just south of Turnhouse. It late afternoon and it is overcast and looking like it will rain soon. Mainbridge is a small hamlet of 5 or 6 houses by the remains of an ancient bridge across the river. The river is normally crossed via the ferry.
- (insert Map?)
- Bill: Agothan, gets out his raincoat and puts it on, is the ferry there.
- Carol: It will take you a minute or so to get out your raincoat, the ferry is on the other side of the river. There is a post with a bell on the jetty where the ferry normally moors ...... (the continuing and exciting adventure) .....
Basic Rules
Character Description
- To simplify things a character is described with a series of Values.
- These values come in several types:
- Attributes
- Skills
- Scores
- Stats.
- Attributes are unlearnt or innate abilities of the character. They normally have a value between 1 and 20. Low values show a deficit in that area and high vales show an aptitude. There are 14 number of standard Attributes: Strength, Speed, Health, Wit, Willpower, Charisma, Combative, Communicative, Aesthetic, Mechanical, Natural, Scientific, Magical. They will be described in detail latter in the character generation section. If your character, fot example, has a Strength of 17 this would mean it would exceptionally strong.
- Skills are learn abilities they also normally have a value between 1 and 20. A low value means the character is unskilled in the area covered by the skill and high means that the character is well trained and probably good at.
If your character had Climbing skill of 16 he would be reasonably good at it.
- Scores represent a pool a resources the character has in the area covered.
- Stat are
Dice Rolls
- ABDE uses three types of dices and uses them in specific and consistent:
Tests
- All success and fail rolls are called Tests and you must roll under or equal to your value on a twenty sided dice.
- A Test is required by the Referee for the Character to jump across a ravine, this would require the Player to roll a twenty sided dice and get a number less than or equal to the Character skill plus any modifiers for a running start say.
Effects
- All situation that require a value to be created are called Effect rolls. Values are generated by roll a number of six sides dice equal to the Effect Level.
- To determine how much damage a Character receives when it has been hit would require a Effect roll. Say the weapon has a Effect Level of 7 then 7 six sided dice would be rolled and added. This would be a numeric value that represent the damage inflicted.
Checks
- There are times when there are a limited number of option which could happen with simple probability, some of these rolls are so standard that there a tables of result already worked out. These are called Checks (don't like this). When these are required then a hundred side dice is rolled and the value is checked against the table or compared to the probability.
- The referee thinks that there is a 25% chance that the guard will walk into the room whilst the character is climbing down the air vent. A hundred sided dice is thrown and if it less than or equal then the guard walks in. Another example would be a check against the Hit Location table to see where a blow landed.
Challenges
- All Test which are against another character are called Challenges. In such Tests both the Attacking and Defending character rolls a Test.
Tasks
- Test which are not instancantious are called Tasks.
Character Creation
Introduction
- There are two methods of creating a character. The first is for General genre non-specific characters and allows characters to be created of almost infinite variety. The second is decided for specific sorts of characters that are appropriate for a specific genre. The method used will either be specified by the Referee or can specified by the Player.
General Method
- To create a character you should follow this sort of procedure.
- Describe what sort of character you want, Name it and create it's background.
- Allocate Attribute points.
- Select the skills appropriate with your character, and allocate Skill points.
- Calculate it Scores.
- Calculate it Stats.
- Genre Specific Method
......... stuff ...............
Attributes
All character have a set of Attributes which represent the characters basic abilities these describe the character range in game world values: Strength, Speed, Health, Wit, Willpower, Charisma, Combative, Communicative, Aesthetic, Mechanical, Natural, Scientific, Magical.
Attribute Descriptions
- Strength (STR): Strength is a measure of the character's relative raw strength. A strength of 2 is about equal to a 4 year old child and value of 18 is a world class weight lifter.
- Deftness (DFT):
- Speed (SPD): This value shows how quickly a character can react to an event and how long they take to do the action.
- Health (HLH): The general health of the character and its ability to recover from wounds.
A health of 2 is a sickly individual that is always ill and catches every bug around. A character of 18 is the pinnacle of fitness and health, this sort of individual would put doctors out of business.
- Wit (WIT): This is a value which represents the character ability to comprehend the information it is getting from its senses. A Wit of 2 is about equal to the (relative) IQ of a 4 year old child. It finds the concept of lies difficult to understand) and 18 is a University Professor (I.E. The world is just an concrete implementation of the abstract model of the inaction of diverse variable elements on an orthogonal vector representation of the possible worlds in the set of all worlds.
- Willpower (WIL): Willpower is the intrinsic mental strength of mind of the character. A character with a willpower of 2 does not have the self control to sit still let alone listen to the teaching of the a master tutor. Mean while a character with a 18 can quite happy sit and watch paint and concrete dry and probably enjoy it.
- Charisma (CHR):
- Combative (CMB):
- Communicative (COM):
- Aesthetic (AST): This attribute represents the character's ability to manipulate the abstract concept of art and design. A character with a score of 2 can not perceive art or beauty at all and a character with a 18 sees the whole world as part of a continuous design in which it art can only enhance it.
- Mechanical (MEC): Mechanical ......
- Natural (NAT): This attribute measures the characters oneness with the physical world.
- Scientific (SCI): This attribute shows the character's ability to understand the rational view of the universe.
- Magical (MAG): This attribute determines the ability of the character to understand the mystical view of the universe.
Attributes Value
Each character has attribute values between 1 and 20. A normal human has most of their attributes between the range 6 and 14 for a random human this is produced by rolling 2d6+3. For a normally Player's Character a point allocation system is used. Each PC has 170 point to split amongst the 14 Attributes but only 5 Attributes may have a Value outside the 6 to 14 range and none may be outside the range of 2 to 18.
Attribute
Value
2
6
10
14
18
Strength
4 year old
Weakling
Average
Strong
Weight lifter
Deftness
Clumsy
Non-dexterous
Speed
Slow
Quick
Lighting-fast
Health
Sickly
Robust
Paragon
Wit
4 year old
Slow
Mundane
Smart
Genius
Willpower
Unstable
Weak willed
Balanced
Strong willed
Like a Rock
Charisma
Combative
Introverted
Passive
Balanced
Aggressive
Psychotic
Communicative
Aesthetic
Mechanical
Finds cutlery hard
Uses but have no idea how to make it
Greasy Thumb
Natural
Scientific
Magical
Scores
Base Action Phase (BAP)
- This is the highest phase in a Detail Turn that the character can react at. It is equal to the characters Speed.
BAP = DFT
Base Number of Actions (BNA)
- This is the unmodified number of actions a character can do in a Detailed Action Round. The NNA is equal to the current Deftness divided by seven and rounded up.
BNA= Up( SPD )
Base Damage Level
This is the unmodified number of damage die (d6) that a character will do when hitting a target. The DBL is equal to current STR divided by seven rounded up.
BDL = Up( STR/7 )
Base Movement Allowance (BMA)
BMA=aver(STR+SPD)
Stats
Max Damage Potential (MDP)
Max Psychic Energy (MPE)
Base Healing Rate (BHR)
Standard Test
Spotting Hidden
aver(WIT,NAT)
Reacting to a surprising event
aver(WIT,SPD)
System Shock
aver(HLH,WIL)
Spotting a magical event
aver(WIT,MAG)
Dodging
aver(DFT,SPD)
Skills
Skill Learning Rules
- Each skill has a Base Learning Rate (BLR), a set of three Attributes it is based on, a Learning Difficultly, a Score and a Base Chance of Success (BCS). The BCS is the score divided by 5 and rolled against on a d20 to deturm success or failure in the action. The BLR of a skill is calculated from the Sum of the three Attributes divided by it Learning Difficulty Value (LDV). The LDV is derived from the following table:
Learning Difficultly
LDV
Simple (S)
5
Easy (E)
10
Average (A)
15
Hard (H)
20
Impossible (I)
25
IE the following skill from below.
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equastion
Charisma (Seduction)
Average
CHA+COM+WIT
the BLR for Seduction is the Sum of Charisma, Communication and Wit divided by 15.
If a character has CHA=10,COM=8,WIT=7 then then it would have a BLR in seduction is 1.67.
The Score is increase by the BLR divided by the sum of (Learning Rate Modifiers + 1) for each Effective Training Week (ETW).
Reason
Learning Rate Modifiers
Score>60
+1
Score>80
+1
Score>90
+1
Score>95
+1
So our example character will take 36 ETWs to get a Score of 60 (or BCS of 12) and additional 24 ETWs to get a Score of 80 (or BCS of 16).
Each Campaign week only counts as an ETW if there is a Teacher in the skill which has a higher BCS in the skill after the training is over. (IE your teacher must still be better than you after the training has finished). Two Campaign weeks of training without a teacher counts as one ETW.
Five Hero points and a nights rest counts as one ETW (see Experience).
Each Teacher can train a number of students upto there BCS divided by 2 and for each week of training they would be expect to receive:
Learning Difficultly
Charge per week of training
Simple (S)
8ss
Easy (E)
16ss
Average (A)
32ss
Hard (H)
3gc
Impossible (I)
7gc
Each training day with a teacher only takes up about 1/3 of the day and hence a character can learn 3 skills a day (If they can afford it). Due to the hardship of physical skills only one can be learn in one week. No skill can be trained in more than once per week.
So a good teacher with a BCS of 16 in a Hard skill can teach 8 students, three times a day and would expect to receive 72GC per week.
If a teacher is willing and the character can pay for it they can get private tuition. This will cost the normal change multiplied by his max no of students. The ETW is multiplied by the teachers BCS / 5. So private tuition with our example teacher would cost 72GC per Week and the ETW would become 3. Hence the example student in Seduction above would take 12 campaign weeks to get to 12 BCS not 36.
If the character could not find a teacher (very likely with seduction) it will take 72 campaign weeks to get to 12 BCS.
New Characters Stating Skills
Base Skills
Each race startes with a small set of standard skills.
Starting Skills
Each character starts out with 200 ETW to spend on skills.
Combat Resolution
General Procedure
- Each combat round is made up of indefinite number of phases.
- Phases are grouped into Actions.
- Each Participant in a Round could have a different number of actions and each action could take a different number of Phases. This is governed by the Participants Base Action Phase (BAP) and Max Number of Actions (MNA) (see Actions)
On each Participants' Action Phase one of several types of action can be attempted. Movement, Attack and Parry, Full Defense, Cast a Spell, or a attempt a complex multi-round action.
Actions
- Each round is 15 seconds and is made up of a number of phases equal to the higest Base Action Phase (BAP) of all involved in the encounter.
The Phase count starts at the higest BAP value and works down to zero when the next round starts.
- Each character has a BAP and a Max Number of Actions (MNA). Each action happens evenly distrubuted in the round. IE if a characters BAP is 12 and MNA is 3 then the character's actions are 12,8,4.
Some actions like loading a gun, crossbow, normal bow or puting on armour take multiple phases, but most only take one.
All actions are assumed to have been taking place before the action phase but are resolved at the action phase.
Changing from Running to Walking is one action. Changing from Walking or Standing to kneeing or Prone is one action.
A character can move 2 meters each of there action phases whilst fighting or 5 meters not engaged.
Any character using a weapon which they do not have the strength to use loses one action from there MNA.
Overall Combat Defence (OCD)
The OCD of a character is made up of the sum of three parts Combat Dodge Ability (CDA), Combat Parry Skill (CPS) and Passive Defence Bonus (PDB).
The CDA is equal to DFT + SPD + CMB / 18 and represents that characters inate dodge ability.
The CPS is equal to the characters Base Chance of Success (BCS) in the skill they are currently using divided by 4 rounded down.
The PSB is derived from having a shield or some other form of defense IE magical.
A target shield has a PSB of 1 and a large shield of 2. Magical forms of defense are specified under the spell or item.
Combat Action
The attacker rolls a 1d20 and if they can get less than or equal to there Combat Skill BCS minus the defenders OCD then the attack hit.
If the miss is equal to or less than the defenders OCD then the attack has been parryed. (some skills allow a free action on parryes, ie foli)
A failed roll by more than 10 is a Daze Special Effect on the attacker.
A success my more than 10 is a Daze Special Effrect on the defender
A daze special effect means that the character then rolls a Health Saving Throw if it fails it misses its next action phase and loses there CPS part of there ODS
Roll
Result
-inf to -10
Attacker Daze Special Effect
-9 to -(OCS+1)
Normal misss
-OCS to -1
Parry
0 to 9
Normal hit
10 to inf
Defender Daze Special Effect
On a Hit next roll for the location hit on the following table.
Combat Damage
Each character has a Base Combat Damage (BCD) this is equal to the characters Strength stat divided by 5 and rounded up.
The BCD is modified by the type of attack vs the defenders armour type.
None
Leather
Ridged
Leather
Chain
Plate
Impale
+4
+0
-1
-1
-4
Slash
+2
+1
+0
-2
-3
Crush
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
Energy
+0
-2
-2
-1
-1
Physical
+0
-1
-2
-1
-2
- Impale Attacks are caused by weapons whoes primary damage penetrates, for example Foils, Spears and Arrows.
- Slash Attacks are caused by weapons whoes primary damage cuts, for example Swords, Axes and
- Crush Attacks are caused by weapons whoes primary damage is potental
- Energy Attacks are caused by spells, or high tech weapons.
- Physical Attacks are caused by body attacks only, for example Fists or Kicks.
- There are also other modifies for special weapons and skills.
Atacker BCS > 16 then +1
Weapon is 2 Handed then +1
Attacker strength less than min to use weapon then -2
Physical attack is from non-matial trained skill -1
The total of BCD and modifiers is called the Modified Combat Damage (MCD).
If an attack sucessfuly hits then the damage done is equal to the roll of MCD number of d6.
If the total damage rolled is equal or greater than half the targets Hit Points, then the target has recieved Critial Damage to that location.
Critical Damage
Environmental Damage
Falling
- <i>Terminal velocity is about 60 m/s (about 135 mph). This velocity is reached
in 6 seconds, making a falling table look like this:
Time: Distance: Velocity:
1 s 5 m 10 m/s
2 s 20 m 20 m/s
3 s 45 m 30 m/s
4 s 80 m 40 m/s
5 s 125 m 50 m/s
6 s 180 m 60 m/s
7 s 240 m 60 m/s
8 s 300 m 60 m/s
Etc. So the maximum difficulty of a roll would be 600 (180 m = 600').
A few things to consider: A heavy character (e.g., a giant or in platemail)
will have a higher terminal velocity, and will impact harder (energy = g *
m * h, so the damage should be proportional to the product of distance and
mass).
US Airborne troops practice the landing technique a great deal. It
is effective for dropping more than 15 feet safely, but I'm not certain how
much more. I learned it from a friend fresh out of Airborne School, and I
saw him drop from more than 15 feet onto asphalt safely. One doesn't need
to be dropping at an angle, either; in fact, he avoided dropping at angles
because it was easier to maintain form when dropping straight down.
"Falls from heights are a safety problem in industry and in homes. At least
three hundred people a year die in simple falls from ladders. Ladders account
for about 100 thousand injuries each year. The distinction between ladder
accidents and elevated fall accidents is blurred in accident statistics. We know
the effect of falls. A person falling from any height will accelerate until he
hits a fixed object. The results will depend on several variables, but,
statistics show that in a fall of eleven feet or more, 50 percent of victims
will die.(2) </i>
Fire
Poisons
Disease
Damage Healing and Recovery
Hero Points
Experience
- The total number of Hero Points a character has ever received is called the character's Experience Points. At each 100 Experience Points if a Character has correctly followed it God the God may give a gift.
Luck
- The current number of unspent Hero Point up to 8 that a character has is called its Luck. These points can be used in a session to change dice rolls one step.
Hero Point Cost
Effect
1
change:
Critical Failure to Failure
Failure to Success
Success to Critical Success
You can only use your luck to change die rolls that effect your character. I am going to be loose on this interpution until I see how it is used in reality. Luck can also be used on a Nd20 role, for good/bad things to happen to your character. Where N is equal to the difficulty.
Improvement
Current unspent Hero Points can be spent to improve a character at the following rates:
Hero Point Cost
Effect
5
1 Week Training in a Skill or study in spells etc
10
remove 1 Chaos Taint or Insanity Point
attribute * 4
+ 1 Attribute Point upto race max
attribute
+ 1 Attribute Point upto race max + 2 (gift from a God etc)
IE normaly it takes 40HPs to go from 10 to 11 but a druid with a gift from a spirit can do it for 10HPs.
Gaining
Hero point are gained for:
Hero Point Gain
For
1
each hour of role-playing the character.
1
each email of worth in the PbEM?.
N
Doing something important from your characters perpective, IE destroying a Chaos plot for good guys or getting a way with one for the bad guys. N is propotional to the difficulty
Classic Medieval Fantasy
Skills
Artistic Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Acrobatics
Hard
DFT+WIL+EST
Acting
Average
CHA+COM+EST
Art
Hard
WIT+DFT+EST
Clown
Average
DFT+CHA+EST
Comedian
Average
CHA+COM+EST
Contortionist
Hard
DFT+HLH+EST
Dance
Average
DFT+HLH+EST
Escapology
Hard
DFT+HLH+EST
Fire Eating
Average
DFT+HLH+EST
Hypnotise
Average
WIT+WIL+CHA
Jest
Average
WIT+CHA+COM
Juggle
Hard
DFT+SPD+EST
Lip Reading
Average
WIT+WIL+NAT
Mime
Average
DFT+CHA+EST
Mimic
Hard
WIL+CHA+EST
Musicianship
Hard
EST+EST+CHA
Palmistry
Average
DFT+SPD+NAT
Poetry
Average
WIT+COM+EST
Public Speaking
Average
WIT+COM+CHA
Sing
Easy
CHA+COM+EST
Story Telling
Average
CHA+COM+EST
Strong Man
Easy
STR+STR+CHA
Trick Riding
Average
DFT+SPD+EST
Ventriloquism
Hard
CHA+COM+NAT
Writing
Average
WIT+COM+EST
Charisma Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Blather
Average
WIL+CHA+COM
Bribery
Average
WIL+CHA+COM
Charm with Animals
Average
WIL+CHA+NAT
Charm with Humans
Average
WIL+CHA+COM
Etiquette
Average
CHA+COM+EST
Influence
Hard
CHA+WIL+WIT
Intimidate
Average
CHA+WIL+CMB
Haggle
Average
WIL+WIT+CHA
Seduction
Average
CHA+COM+WIT
Combat Skills
Artillery Weapon Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Bolt
Average
WIT+MEC+CMB
Stone throwing engine
Average
WIT+MEC+CMB
Special Weapon Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Bomb - Placement
Average
WIT+SCI+CMB
Melee Weapon Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Classic Sword - 1H
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Classic Sword - 2H
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Fencing Sword - Foils
Average
SPD+DFT+CMB
Fencing Sword - Rapiers
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Footman's Axe - 1H
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Footman's Axe - 2H
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Footman's Flail
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Polearm
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Missile Weapon Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Blowpipe
Hard
HLH+WIT+CMB
Crossbow
Easy
DFT+WIT+CMB
Firearm
Easy
DFT+WIT+CMB
Longbow
Hard
DFT+WIT+CMB
Shortbow
Average
DFT+WIT+CMB
Sling
Average
DFT+WIT+CMB
Axe
Hard
STR+DFT+CMB
Dagger
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Thrown Incendiares
Hard
STR+DFT+CMB
Unarmed Combat Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Boxing
Hard
STR+DFT+CMB
Brawling
Average
STR+DFT+CMB
Wrestling
Hard
STR+DFT+CMB
Craft Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Craft (Animal Care/Handing?)
Average
STR+WIT+NAT
Craft (Animal Training)
Average
WIT+WIL+NAT
Craft (Begging)
Average
WIT+CHA+COM
Craft (Boat Building)
Average
STR+WIT+MEC
Craft (Brewing)
Average
WIT+SCI+EST
Craft (Butler)
Average
WIT+CHA+EST
Craft (Carpentry)
Average
STR+WIT+MEC
Craft (Cook)
Average
HLH+WIT+MEC
Craft (Dowsing)
Average
WIT+CHA+MAG
Craft (Drive Cart)
Average
STR+HLH+MEC
Craft (Engineer)
Average
WIT+MEC+SCI
Craft (Farming)
Average
STR+HLH+NAT
Craft (Gamble)
Average
CHA+COM+EST
Craft (Gem Cutting)
Average
WIT+DFT+EST
Craft (Mining)
Average
STR+HLH+MEC
Craft (Rowing Boat)
Average
STR+WIT+NAT
Craft (Sailing)
Average
STR+WIT+NAT
Craft (Smithing)
Average
STR+HLH+MEC
Craft (Stewardship)
Average
WIT+NAT+CHA
Craft (Stoneworking)
Average
STR+HLH+MEC
Craft (Tailor)
Average
WIT+DFT+EST
Medical Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Cure Disease
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Diagnosis
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
First Aid
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Heal Wounds
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Surgery
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Veterinary
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Language Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Cartography
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Read/Write? - Ancient Dwarf
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Ancient Elf
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Demonic
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? -D ruidic
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Magic
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Old Slann
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Dark Tongue
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Dwarf
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Elven
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Goblin
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Human
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Lizardman
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Ogrish
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Secret Signes
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Ratmen
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Treeman
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Read/Write? - Trollish
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Speak - Dark Tongue
Very Hard
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Dwarf
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Elven
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Goblin
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Human
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Lizardman
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Ogrish
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Secret - Battle
Hard
WIT+CMB+COM
Speak - Secret - Classical
Hard
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Secret - Guilder
Average
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Secret - Ranger
Average
WIT+NAT+COM
Speak - Secret - Thieves
Average
WIT+NAT+COM
Speak - Ratmen
Hard
WIT+EST+COM
Speak - Treeman
Very Hard
WIT+NAT+COM
Speak - Trollish
Very Hard
WIT+EST+COM
Lore Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Lore (Area Knowledge - The Empire)
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Kislev)
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - New World)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Southlands)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Lustria)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Cathay)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Darklands)
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Steppes)
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Araby)
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Area Knowledge - Cathay)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Court Intrigue)
Hard
WIT+WIL+COM
Lore (Demon)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Lore (Dynastic Knowledge)
Average
WIT+WIL+COM
Lore (Heraldry)
Easy
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Herbs)
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (History)
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Law)
Hard
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Plants)
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (River)
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Lore (Runes)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Lore (Scroll)
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Lore (Theology - Druidic)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Lore (Theology - Arianka)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Lore (Undead)
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Magical Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Magical (Awarness of Magical Arua)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Magical (Cast Spells)
Average
WIL+DFT+MAG
Magical (Identify Magical Artifact)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Magical (Make Magical Items)
Very Hard
WIT+DFT+MAG
Magical (Make Magical Scrolls)
Hard
WIT+DFT+MAG
Magical (Runes)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Petty
Very Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Battle - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Battle - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Battle - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Battle - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Demonologist - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Demonologist - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Demonologist - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Demonologist - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Elemental - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Elemental - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Elemental - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Elemental - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Illusionist - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Illusionist - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Illusionist - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Illusionist - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Necromantic - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Necromantic - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Necromantic - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Necromantic - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Druidic - Level One
Easy
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Druidic - Level Two
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Druidic - Level Three
Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Spells - Druidic - Level Four
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+MAG
Merchant Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Administration
Average
WIT+COM+EST
Barter
Average
WIT+COM+EST
Embezzling
Average
WIT+CHA+EST
Numismatics
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Outdoor Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Climb
Easy
STR+DFT+NAT
Hunting
Average
DFT+WIT+NAT
Fishing
Average
DFT+WIT+NAT
Jumping
Easy
SPD+WIL+NAT
Orientation - Rural
Average
WIT+NAT+SCI
Orientation - Woodland
Average
WIT+NAT+SCI
Orientation - Underground
Average
WIT+NAT+SCI
Ride
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Camouflage - Rural
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Camouflage - Woodland
Hard
DFT+WIL+NAT
Stealth - Underground
Hard
DFT+WIL+NAT
Stealth - Woodland
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Stealth - Rural
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Sixth Sence
Very Hard
WIT+WIL+NAT
Swim
Easy
HLH+STR+NAT
Tracking
Average
WIT+NAT+NAT
Survival - Rural
Average
HLH+WIL+NAT
Survival - Woodlands
Hard
HLH+WIL+NAT
Traps - Food
Average
DFT+WIT+MEC
Science Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Astronomy
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Chemistry/Alchemy?
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Cryptography
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Make Bombs
Hard
WIT+WIL+MEC
Make Drugs
Hard
WIT+HLH+SCI
Make Poisons
Hard
WIT+HLH+SCI
Make Potions
Hard
WIT+HLH+MAG
Metallurgy
Average
WIT+WIL+SCI
Thief Skills
Skill Name
Learning Difficultly
Skill Equation
Disguise
Average
DFT+WIT+NAT
Forgery
Average
WIT+WIL+EST
Interrogation
Average
STR+WIT+CHA
Palm Object
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Pick Lock
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Pick Pockets
Average
DFT+WIL+NAT
Shadowing
Average
DFT+WIT+NAT
Stealth - Urban
Average
DFT+WIT+NAT
Traps - Security
Average
DFT+WIT+MEC
Weapons
Weapon Weight Length
Knife 8 oz 10 in
Dagger 12 oz 15 in
Dirk 1 lb 20 in
Shamshir 1 lb 8 oz 36 in
Throwing Axe 2 lb 22 in
Short Sword 2 lb 30 in
Rapier 2 lb 45 in
War Hammer 2 lb 4 oz 25 in
Mace 3 lb 20 in
Falchion 3 lb 28 in
Flail 3 lb 33 in
Broad Sword 3 lb 40 in
Bastard Sword 3 lb 45 in
Throwing Spear 3 lb 4 ft
Staff 3 lb 5 ft
Battle Axe 3 lb 6 oz 38 in
Spear 4 lb 6 ft
Great Sword 5 lb 60 in
Halberd 5 lb 5 ft 7 in
SEARCHERS FOR POWER
- A system for mages, wizards, elementalists, illusionists, sorcerers, demonologists and necromancers for ABDE-Warhammer by Peter Nash & David Allan Finch.
Sorcery in the Warhammer world
- The majority of wizards in the empire are viewed with extreme suspicion. Except in a few limited cases a mage does nothing useful. They cannot grow crops, they can't change the weather and they can't make gold out of thin air. All mages seem to be good at is either blowing something up, or destroying a nasty monster created by another mage! To most people a wizard is a waste of space. A dangerous waste of space, but a waste nevertheless.
- A sorcerer will find it difficult to find work in most areas of the empire. The lower classes have no need for magic and could not afford the fees anyway. If a peasant wanted to be healed he would go to the shrine of Shalya, rather than visit the evil old witch down the lane. When the population need help they turn to the gods.
- Most mages will be found in specialised universities in the major towns and cities of the empire. This is where the majority of the libraries are. They tend to shut themselves away from everyone ex pt for nobility. The upper classes view mages as a good source of raw power and being a patron to one ups the noble's status in society. The mage in turn views a noble as a good source of money. In the frequent inter-family rivalry, mages can sometimes be thought of as tactical nuclear weapons. Once one is brought in, everyone else attempts to purchase one for their own 'protection'. An arms race of sorts.
- A few mages of significant power and learning will escape from the sycophantic nobility (once they become independently wealthy) and purchase castles or towers on the fringe of civilization. In general they get tired of the intrigues of court life and just wish to settle down to some serious research. Others use this as a cover to delve into the dark and forbidden arts of necromancy and demonology. Whatever the reason, most sane people do not bother those wizards who live in solitude.
What do people think of Wizards?
- Sorcery has been legalised only in the last 50 years.
- All legal mages are member of one of the major universities (if not currently living there) and must prominantly wear their college colours. Not to do so is illegal and is punishable by the crime of Witchcraft.
- The magic arts of Demonologists and Necromancers are still banned and carry the charge of Witchcraft.
- Any mage that is living off the university (i.e. has a Chair paid for my the local Graf) is duty bound to aid the Grafs army at his request.
What do you call a Wizard?
- Anything he wishes you to! There is no fixed naming scheme amongst magic users, but:
; Apprentice; somebody with the three skills of Lore(Magic), Magic(Identify) and Magic(Cast Spells) skills of 8 or less
Journeyman
somebody with those three skills plus a spell list at 8+ and at least 5 spells researched
Mage
a magic user with the four skills at 12+
Elementalists, Illusionists, Demonologists, Necromancers
is a magic user with the appropriate spell list at a level of 8+
Hence a Journeyman wizard with the spell list of elementalist could term himself
Journeyman Wizard
Journeyman Elementalist
Journeyman Sorcerer
But a Mage with the spell list of elementalist
Wizard
Elementalist
Sorcerer
Mage
Or any other title the Mage thinks appropriate.
Who qualifies to be a Wizard?
To become a Wizard you have to have the right stuff: Just sane enough to not go mad when manipulating the powerful forces of nature, but not so sane that you would never wish to try. Magic is dangerous stuff; 50% of apprentices end up dead, mad or leave in the first year of training. It not a profession for the faint hearted. So who would wish to be a Wizard? Well someone that has the presence of mind to leave town when the local priest declares them as a Witch in the service of Chaos, otherwise they won't last long. But the mage must also have a very large amount of determination or they would never learn a Magic Light petty spell let alone a more difficult Summon Undead Champion!
Anybody who would try to learn magic can do so. But it is difficult for most people to ever master the arts of sorcery. It requires a total devotion of all their time learning, to become any good at casting magic. This is why mages end to be weak, unfit scholarly types.
In general to be taken on as an apprentice to a sorcerer requires the character to have a high score in magic, wit and will. If they lack these then the person must take private tuition or attend a college, during which time they must also support themselves. Unless you are rich this is often unfeasible.
Only priests are forbidden to learn sorcery. The divine link with their deity prevents their own magic from being used.
How do you be come a Wizard?
There is only two ways to become a wizard:
Become an apprentice to a master wizard
Join one of the colleges of magic
Both require you to pass some strict entry requirements (large quantities of money normally nullifies all by the magic aptitude test).
Apprentices are picked at age 12 or 13 from young hopefuls at the monthly fetes and fairs in the normal way. Usually only those of an artisan background have this opportunity as most apprentices require a 'gift' of 50 GC for the master to take the child on (to pay for the food and lodgings until can do useful work for the master).
he master wizard will covertly cast a spell and use the result to determine if any of the candidates are worthy. This test could be anything from requiring a resistance roll to not be effected, or being smart enough to spot what happened. The young apprentice then is taught to read and write to skill level of at least 12 whilst cleaning and doing the chores around the masters house. At this stage the young apprentice has no status in the masters eyes and could be thrown out at anytime. If within a year or so they have reached the appropriate level in reading and writing, they will be gradually introduced to Lore (Magic), Magical (Identify) and Magical (Cast Spells). As the apprentice's skill levels increase then their chores will reduce and be replaced by full time study. During this time the master will use the apprentice to aid in their own research. Only once the apprentice has the required skill levels of journeyman status will the master consider letting them go, and only if they promise to quest for some artefact or knowledge for the wizard.
Most other magic users start off as students at the university in other fields and drift into sorcery once they have a reasonable read/write skill. All students at a university are either there on a scholarship or are rich enough to pay the high fees. If scholarship students are seen to have the 'right stuff' they have no choice and are forcibly switched to the college of magic. Those with money are only allowed to enter the college of magic if they specifically ask, as their rich parents normally take a dim view of their offspring being shown the 'black arts'.
Skill Name
Skill Difficulty
Skill Equation Base
Description
Lore (Magic)
Used to recognize artifacts, remember historical mages, etc
Magical (Identify)
Average
WIT+WIL+MAG
Once magic is detected it allows the user to work out what the spell does.
Magical (Cast Spells)
Average
WIL+DFT+MAG
The actual ability in summoning and focusing magic.
Magical (Spells - Battle)
Very Hard
WIT+CMB+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
Magical (Spells - Demonologist)
Very Hard
WIT+CHA+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
Magical (Spells - Elemental)
Very Hard
WIT+SCI+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
Magical (Spells - Illusionist)
Very Hard
WIT+EST+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
Magical (Spells - Necromantic)
Very Hard
WIT+COM+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
Magical (Spells - Druidic)
Very Hard
WIT+NAT+MAG
Knowledge of what is possible in a specific area of magic
What is a spell?
A spell is an act of will which affects the real world in a supernatural way. Spells are powered directly from a mage's own magical capability. Whereas a priest can only continue to cast miracles until they fail and then be unable to continue for the rest of a day, a mage can cast as many spells as they have magic points whether each spell succeeded or not. They can be overwhelming if they use their total strength in the short term, but it might take them weeks to recover from such a blaze of glory.
What is the spells difficulty?
Level
Difficulty (2 ^ Level)
Petty
1
1st
2
2nd
4
3rd
8
4th
16
How do you cast a spell?
The Mage must to cast a spell have the ability to move his hands and speak the ritual words. These hand gestures, voical noise and spell components help the Mage get into the correct mental state to draw the power of nature to form the spell effects. It is posable to cast spells without these props but it requires great effort of consitration and skill. Because the casting of magic requires this litral song and dance, it is normal very obverse to all around that a Mage is going to cast a spell.
Spells are cast by rolling against the mages Cast Spells skill. The more powerful the magic called for, the more likely the sorcerer is to fail. If a mage fails to cast a spell they lose a single magic point, and may try again the following action phase. A critical failure will prevent any more spells from being cast until the next round and the full cost of the spell being cast. A critical success will reduce the cost to a single point, no matter how expensive the spell was.
Modifiers to casting can occur if the mage has special concentration focuses A focus can be a material component such as a crows foot, or a specially prepared location such as specially drawn magical circle. The rarer and more magical the focus the better bonus it has to aid concentration.
BCS Modifier
Description
+6
Magical artefact, tuned to spell
+4
Very expensive and rare material component
+2
Bog standard material component
-4
No relevent material components
+2
Special location significant to the spell being cast. (e.g. a graveyard for necromancy)
+1 (per round, max +50% of BCS)
Bonus per extra round a spell is prepared before casting. (becomes 'per hour' for rituals)
-2
Lost 50% of total hit points
-4
Lost 75% of total hit points (or a Critical Wound)
-4 (compulative)
inability to use each hand or month (ie tided or gaged)
+ ( spell list BCS - spell difficulty ) / 4
the more advanced the mages knowledge in an area of magic the easer it is to cast
- spell difficulty
How does a mage learn a spell?
To learn a spell requires at least a weeks worth of study. A roll is made against the mages spell-list skill with a negative modifier equal to the difficulty of the magic. If the amount the roll succeeded by is equal or greater than the spell difficulty then the new spell is learnt. If the sorcerer fails then they can try again the following week and add the next roll to the first weeks task points. And so on.
When the mage successfully learns a new spell, they may from then on cast it with their Cast Spell skill at a penalty of its difficulty.
Example: Artur, a sorcerer decides to learn the 'Flight' spell. He has a 'Spells - Battle' skill of 13 and a 'Cast Spell' skill of 15. The 'Flight' spell has a difficulty rating of 2 as it is quite a basic magic. Artur spends a week researching in his magical library and makes a roll. He gets a 12 which is but a single point under his spell list knowledge (13 skill - 12 roll), and doesn't learn it. So the following week he continues his research and makes another roll. This time he gets 5 under his spell list knowledge, and this added to the previous weeks total give him enough to comprehend the spell.
One day Artur finds that he needs to cross a river chasm and that the bridge has been cut. He decides to cast his flight spell. On his previous adventure he managed to locate a beautiful eagle's feather which he uses to focus on his spell. His chance of casting is a basic 15 (for casting skill) - 2 (difficulty of spell) + 2 (for the focus) which gives a total chance of 15 or less on a d20. Leaving nothing to chance, Artur prepares for 5 action phases before casting to give a total chance of 20 - an automatic success.
General spell guidelines
FOLLOWERS OF FAITH
- A system for clerics, priests and monks for ABDE-Warhammer by Pete Nash.
Who qualifies for priesthood?
- A cleric of a faith is a person who has devoted their life and soul to a particular deity. A priest must act as an intermediary for their god in the god's sanctified holy places, and differs from a hero by the fact that they receive re-usable miracles. A hero on the other hand is granted gifts from a god in return for heroic acts, and can be of any profession, as long as they give lip service to the god. A priest could also be granted gifts too, but this is unusual.
- A priest's task in his god's service can be quite varied. He may be given a specific job, or need to satisfy many tasks simultaneously. An example list of possible jobs could be...
- Collect as many worshippers to the god's faith as possible.
- Gather information about the real world and report it to the god
- Cast miracles to help the god's worshippers.
- Go on expeditions to satisfy the god's objectives in the world.
- Destroy enemy cults.
- Maintain and upkeep the holy place of the god.
- Lead religious services to worship the god.
- With such a workload few priests ever get the chance to actively adventure. A priest takes a long time to train and they are too valuable to be given free reign. If a priest is seen away from his temple it is usually because they are on a specific quest given by their god. Normally the priesthood will either hire people to perform quests for them, or the god will send a favoured hero to complete a task.
How does somebody qualify for priesthood?
- Anybody who has shown the willingness to follow a god may be eligible to become a priest. Once they have joined they have to give up whatever profession they originally held and can only practice the cult acknowledged skills. Membership skills are those most favoured by the cult, but other skills can still be learned as long as they uphold the spirit of the god's worship. I.e. practising juggling may be frowned upon by the priesthood of Solkan. (Some previously experienced initiates may find their unused physical skills atrophying with disuse.)
- The priesthood generally prefers to enlist either the young, who have not yet been moulded, or people who have the skills which embody their god's attributes. Potential initiates must undergo an entrance exam which is can be passed if they have five required membership skills at a BCS level of 8+, or they can try to roll a success against the five skills. Those who fail are either asked to try again on the next holy day, or are killed/eaten/whatever according to the cults views.
- Once accepted the new initiate is given the opportunity to learn new specific skills only available to that priesthood. Remember that the following skills are limited to a single god.
Skill Name Skill Difficulty Skill Equation Base Description
Charisma (Dogma) Hard WIL+CHA+COM
The ability to convince people using the god's teachings.
Lore (Theology) Hard WIT+WIL+MAG
Knowledge of the ceremonies and practices of the god.
Magic (Cast Miracle) Very Hard WIL+CHA+MAG
Calling on the god to cast a miracle.
- The position to which the priest can rise is dependant upon the BCS levels in the main cult skills. The high priest of a temple will generally be the most experienced priest there. In chaos cults promotion may be due to more murderous techniques.
What is a miracle and how does a priest learn one?
- A miracle is an act which appears magical. It is called for by the priest, but is powered by the god themselves. It differs from sorcery because a sorcerer must use his own magic points to power a spell, and eventually they will run out of power, taking weeks to recover. A priest however can cast many miracles each day.
- Miracles are cast by rolling against the priests Cast Miracle skill. The more powerful the miracle called for, the more likely the priest is to fail. Once a priest has failed to summon forth a miracle they cannot cast any more until they sleep and pray for an hour at a shrine dedicated to their god. (Their mystical link has been strained and it requires rest to re-connect to their patron) Modifiers to casting can occur if the priest is inside of a location sanctified to their god, is in a state of sin, or has taken a critical wound etc. A priest can NEVER cast a miracle whilst present in the holy ground of another god.
BCS Modifier Reason
+5 Miracle cast on the god's holy day.
+3 Upon holy ground sanctified to the god, in a large city temple.
+2 As above, but in a small town temple.
+1 As above, but at a shrine.
-2 Lost 50% of total hit points.
-3 Minor Sin. E.g. A priest of Solkan lying.
-4 Lost 75% of total hit points
-6 Major Sin. E.g. A priest of Solkan bargaining with chaos instead of destroying it.
- To learn a miracle requires a weeks worth of study. A roll is made against the priests theology skill with a negative modifier equal to the difficulty of the miracle. If the priest fails then they can try again the following week. Once the research is successful the priest will know how to petition their god for the ability to cast the miracle.
- At this point some cults may require a task or quest to be performed to complete the granting of knowledge on how to call the miracle. The task will be something appropriate to the miracle being learnt. The harder the miracle, the harder the task. For example a follower of Arianka might need to find a sanctified key hidden within the temple in order to gain the 'Find Object' miracle.
- If the priest successfully completes their task, they may from then on cast the miracle with their Cast Miracle skill at a penalty of its difficulty.
- Example:
- Anthraxous, an evil follower of the chaos god Nurgle decides to learn the 'Burst Heart' miracle. He has a theology skill of 12 and a cast miracle skill of 15. The 'Burst Heart' miracle has a difficulty rating of 9 as it is such a powerful effect. Anthraxous spends a week researching in the cult's diabolical scrolls and makes a roll. He needs a 3 (12 skill - 9 difficulty) or less on a d20 to succeed, and somehow manages to figure out how to summon the power from Nurgle. He learns that he must squash the still beating heart of a sentient creature on Nurgle's alter with the sacred hammer. Soon enough he completes the ritual and is granted 'Burst Heart'. The next day he ambushes some goody, goody heroes and tries his new miracle on their leader. To succeed in calling for the power he needs a 6 (15 skill - 9 difficulty) or less on a d20. He fails and soon dies under the swing of a two handed sword...
General miracle guidelines
- Any miracle which directly affects a sentient being either mentally or physically must have to overcome that being's magical resistance. There should be no miracle which can automatically affect anyone without a chance of resisting it.
- A person can consciously allow a miracle to be cast on them, for example a healing spell. But when the subject of a miracle is unconscious they still resist. So casting a healing miracle on a comatose warrior would fail if the warrior made his resistance roll. All faiths will have the following two basic miracles.
Sanctify - Difficulty 0 - Duration special
- This miracle allows the creation of an area of holy ground dedicated to the god. This miracle requires a ritual ceremony of at least 24 hours duration and a physical artefact sacred to the god's cult. The artefact is generally held within the alter or its equivalent. The sanctified ground will last as long as a worship is held on each holy day. Once created the sanctified ground will allow the recovery of miracles when a priest prays within it.
Worship - Difficulty 0 - Duration 1 hour
- The caster creates a special link between the god and the worshippers present in the temple. Those worshippers who are not priests will feel spiritually closer to their god. The larger the congregation, the stronger the feeling of belonging and that the god is looking after you. As a rule of thumb, popular temples with large followings get a bigger bonus to casting miracles. The god themselves can also use this miracle to manifest an appearance in times of need, or send a message to their worshippers in response to prayers.
Why do some gods not have established priesthood's?
- Some cults do not actually have active temples or shines per say. Arianka and Solkan are two examples of gods who have so few worshippers that only a few of their number can be supported as full time priests. If no money is given as donations to a temple, then it will have problems supporting full time staff. The priests eventually have to resort to outside work in order to live.
- A priests ability to cast miracles depends on being near a location of a holy site to their god. So once a priest has to leave to find work, they find their miracles becoming weaker and cannot renew their holy power until they can worship at a shrine again. For this reason most of the followers of Arianka and Solkan, being wanderers, display little or no ability to cast miracles.
- Chaos cultists show little skill in the roll of priesthood for another reason. The skills required to master miracles take a considerable time to learn. Most chaos creatures are either killed by their companions, or warped by chaos before they have time to learn. Some species such as skaven are too short lived to be bothered to learn. Instead the chaos gods grant hideous powers to those they choose as their champions, and warp them.
Why don't priests change their gods?
- A priest may only gain power from a single god at a time. Once dedicated to a god it prevents a new spiritual link from being formed to the priest. If a priest starts to stray from the path set by their deity they become tainted with sin and could find that their miracles become harder to cast. For this reason some lawful priests will not even visit the temples of other lawful, but competitive gods in case of divine jealousy.
- When a priest enters a cult they must learn the three special priestly skills specifically for that god. If a priest ever left to join a different faith then they'd have to learn the 'Dogma', 'Theology' and 'Cast Miracles' afresh for the new god. If the priest then decided to give up and return to his original god they would find that their 'Cast Miracle' skill had been reduced to zero. This is because the god has been severed from his follower by the new god.
- A cult may not appreciate one of their priests leaving the cult. More vengeance orientated faiths will actively send out followers to find and destroy the traitor. Some deities can even manifest punishment miracles (curses) if the priest is ever found by his original master.
- Whereas a priest can only be bound to a single god, heroes can be gifted by many. It is not unusual for strong hero's to be bribed with gifts from other gods, as they try to tempt the hero into following their own faith. Usually once the hero is very powerful the gods who contend for his favours do not dare remove their gifts in fear that they will alienate their tool...
- Example cults.
The Cult Of Solkan
Cult Membership Skills
- Artistic (Execution), Charisma (Intimidate), Combat (any weapon attack), Craft (Torture), Language (Read/Write? Human), Lore (Law), Lore (Chaos), Outdoor (Tracking), Thief (Interrogation), Thief (Shadowing).
Miracles
Witch Hunters In Black - Difficulty 0 - Duration instant
- Every piece of leather and clothing worn by the caster turns immediately and irrevocably black. Metal is not affected.
Intensify Flames - Difficulty 0 - Duration 1 minute
- Usually used to burn witches at the stake, this miracle will cause a fire started by the caster to consume whatever is burning within a single minute. The visual effect is of the flames taking a life of their own and travelling the around the burning object in a most unnatural way. They also change colour if the burning object was tainted with chaos. When the duration finishes all that is left is a pile of fine grey ash. The spell works just as well on buildings.
Amplify Speech - Difficulty 0 - Duration 5 minutes
- The caster must place this miracle on a single person. It allows the smallest whisper to be amplified loud enough for a crowd to hear it. Most priests use it to enable the feeble confessions of those broken by torture to be heard. Although some more educational (sadistic) priests will cast it on the witches they burn so that their screams will be heard across entire towns.
Solkan's Voice - Difficulty 0 - Duration 5 minutes
- Gives the users voice a tone of menace and command. The amount made on the Cast Miracle roll is added to the casters Dogma and Intimidate skills. The casters tongue will turn black during the miracle and they will have a tendency to spray saliva as they bark out their words.
Solkan's Nose - Difficulty 3 - Duration 24 hours
- Allows the caster to track the scent of a chaos creature for a full day. The caster must know that the creature being tracked is chaotic before this spell can work, and must have a item or a location which has been tainted by them to initially identify the scent (i.e. site of a chaos ritual). The casters nose will exhale steam during the duration of the miracle.
Solkan's Ear - Difficulty 3 - Duration 5 minutes
- Grants the ability to discern when a lie is being told in his presence. Duration is five minutes and will work on any voice he can hear. A liar can make a resistance roll at the start of the miracle to prevent it from working on them. The casters ears will twitch violently during the miracle.
Solkan's Touch - Difficulty 3 - Duration 5 minutes
- Used during interrogation, the touch of the caster will cause agonising pain to a person being questioned. Each time a question is asked the victim must make a WIL saving throw to prevent themselves from screaming out the truth. If the victim does not try to resist and willingly tells the truth then no pain is experienced. The casters hands will burn with black flames during the miracle.
Solkan's Eye - Difficulty 6 - Duration instant
- Allows the caster to see any trace of a chaos taint upon whoever he is looking at when the miracle is summoned. The object of the gaze is allowed a resistance roll to prevent the miracle from revealing anything. The casters eyes will briefly glow red during the miracle.
Wrath of Solkan - Difficulty 6 - Duration 5 minutes
- The casters face becomes hidden with shadows, their physical size appears to swell and they become immensely angry. This automatically intimidates any person they confront. It also gives a plus five strength bonus to the user for the purposes of smashing doors and breaking other innocent objects. The caster must be wearing a black hat for this to work.
Flame of Purging - Difficulty 9 - Duration 5 minutes
- The miracle produces a magical fire which only burns chaos. When first called the black flame will rest in the casters hand ready to be touched to a chaotic target. If used in combat this will require a brawling or similar skill. If the target is not chaotic the flame will extinguish. The flame will burn for six rounds on the target object, starting with 1d6 damage on the first round and increasing by one dice for each subsequent round. Armour does not protect. The target is allowed a resistance roll to avoid ignition. If, whilst burning, the target travels within a metre of another eligible chaotic target then a burst of flame will jump to this new victim. The target does not have to be a living being, it can be an inanimate object too. If the Flame of Purging comes into contact with a piece of warpstone then there'll be an immediate explosion of 21d6 damage, which is reduced by one dice per metre away from the source.
The Cult Of Ulric
Cult Membership Skills
- Charisma (Charm with Animals), Combat (any one handed weapon attack), Combat (any two handed weapon attack), Combat (any unarmed attack), Combat (any thrown weapon attack), Craft (Armoury), Craft (Weapon Smith), Doctor (First Aid), Lore (Battles), Outdoor (Survival)
Miracles
- Note - Any beneficial miracle which indicates it can be cast on another person who is not the priest themselves, must be a follower of Ulric.
Befriend Wolves - Difficulty 0 - Duration 24 hours
- The recipient of the miracle will be automatically accepted by any wolf they meet. The recipient will develop a strong wolf odour during the miracle.
Summon Wolves - Difficulty 0 - Duration special
- The caster will let out a wailing howl which will summon any wolves within a 10 mile radius. It will take up to an hour for the wolves to find the caster. The reaction of any arriving wolves will be hostile unless the caster can make a charm animal roll, or uses the Befriend Wolves miracle.
Ulric's Bravery - Difficulty 0 - Duration 1 hour
- For the duration of the miracle the recipient will be immune to fear, whether magical or otherwise.
Long March - Difficulty 0 - Duration 24 hours
- Any follower of Ulric who participates in this ritual gains the ability to force march for the duration of the miracle. Once it has expired, the recipients must rest for at least 6 hours or suffer a 50% reduction in skills for the next day.
Resist Cold - Difficulty 3 - Duration 24 hours
- The recipient will take no harm from the effects of natural winter weather. Even in the most severe of blizzards no damage will be taken from the cold, in fact the recipient will not even feel cold! They can also breath normally in sub zero air and take no frostbite from touching cold items (including swimming). The beneficiary's body will be covered with fine silver hairs for the duration of the miracle.
Battle Frenzy - Difficulty 3 - Duration special
- The recipient will be invigorated with Ulric's love of battle. They will receive a bonus dice of damage to their weapon skill, and they will take one dice less damage from any blows which hit them. Once fighting the subject of the miracle never needs to make a fear saving throw. To stop the frenzy the recipient is allowed to make a WIL saving throw once per round. If the roll fails they will continue, no matter what odds they face. The recipient's hair will stand on end (as if charged with static electricity) for the duration of the miracle. This miracle will stay inert for up to 24 hours. Once triggered the effects will last for a single battle.
Ulric's Breath - Difficulty 3 - Duration instant
- The caster summons a icy cold wind filled with ice and snow, which blasts a single target. A resistance roll must be made or receive a number of dice damage equal to the level of success made under the casting BCS. The miracle suffers modifiers depending on the natural environment. The target is also rendered blind for one round after the damage is taken.
BCS Modifier Environment
+5 Wind is gale force.
+3 Temperature is below -10 degrees centigrade
+1 It is precipitating
+0 Temperature is below 0 degrees centigrade.
+0 Wind is strong
-1 No precipitation.
-3 No wind.
-5 Temperature above 10 degrees centigrade.
-10 Temperature above 20 degrees centigrade.
Skin of Wolf - Difficulty 6 - Duration 24 hours
- The caster can assume the form of a giant wolf. They will gain the movement, endurance and strength of a warg of maximum statistics. The priest may attack in his wolf shape and use their best unarmed combat skill to represent the knockdown chance of success, and their best weapon skill to represent the bite. Damage is based on the wolf form. The caster must be wearing the skin of a wolf killed in Ulric's holy way to be able to cast this miracle. Please not that this is shape-shifting and not lycanthropy. The caster will not be immune to normal weapons in this form.
Beserkergang - Difficulty 6 - Duration special
- As if the Battle Frenzy spell wasn't bad enough... The recipient will be go mad with anger and bloodlust. They will receive a bonus two dice of damage to their weapon skill, and they will take two dice less damage from any blows which hit them. They are immune to the debilitating effects of criticals and will fight to the end of a round, even if they technically died at the start of it. The warrior will also convert his defence score and add it to his attacking skill(they fight as an all out attack not deigning to protect themselves) Once fighting the subject of the miracle is immune to any mental spells, including illusions, domination, fear etc. The recipient is unable to stop fighting until all potential targets are dead or lying prone. They will continue, no matter what odds they face and unaware of friend or foe. The recipient's hair will stand on end (as if charged with static electricity) and they will scream for the duration of the miracle. This miracle will last for a single battle and at its conclusion the warrior will collapse from exhaustion.
Ulric's Doom - Difficulty 9 - Duration special
- This miracle is unwelcome to most, but the followers of Ulric consider it a valid tool in fighting chaos. The miracle will summon winter in an area 100 miles across. The physical effects are temperatures of -10 degrees or worse, strong winds and continual snow. Anyone in the area who has no permanent shelter will die from exposure after a single day. Any relevant survival skill will offset this. All travel will be quartered due to snow drifts (unless they know how to ski) and anyone who attempts to remain outside of cover will accumulate frostbite damage at a rate of one dice per hour. For those who do not have the correct winter clothing double this. The miracle will last for a week, but this will be shortened during spring and autumn. It cannot be cast in summer.
HOLDERS OF THE BALLENCE
- A system for shamans and druids for ABDE-Warhammer by David Allan Finch.
The Nature of Nature
Whom walks the lonely path?
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