Luca Ccb (order #5823570)

4
For the Players
If you are going to be playing, rather than
Gamesmastering, a game of QUERP, then this
section is for you.
As a player, you will be responsible for cre-
ating and maintaining a player character
(PC for short). From the first time you write
his or her name down a piece of paper and
through all of his or her adventures, you get
to decide how he or she reacts and decide
his or her destiny. You will be responsible for
maintaining the health, equipment and life of
your player character.
But do not despair! Although that sounds in-
timidating, it really isnt; in fact, it is actually
quite fun and rewarding to see your charac-
ter grow as they go on adventures and gain
more and more experience and more and
more treasure.
characteristics
Every PC has what are known as character-
istics. There are six of these, and they are de-
scribed below.
Fighting: This score represents how well
your character fights in hand-to-hand or
ranged combat. The higher the score the
more likely it is your character will hit an op-
ponent in a fight.
Magic: The Magic score represents how well
your character can use spells or magical
items. A low score means you will struggle to
do anything magical, while a high score will
allow you to cast spells with relative ease.
Strength: Your Strength score is a measure
of your physical power. The higher your
Strength is, the more physically strong you
are. Those with high Strength are able to per-
form amazing feats of power.
Charisma: The Charisma score represents
how persuasive and likeable you are. Those
with high Charisma scores are more likely to
make friends and are able to use smooth talk-
ing to get what they want.
Stealth: This score is a representation of how
sneaky a PC is. It is the ability to move with-
out being heard or seen, pick locks, disable
traps and so on. Stealth is also used to mea-
sure a characters general agility and reflexes,
as well as their perception skills.
Knowledge: Your Knowledge score shows
how intelligent your character is. The higher
this score, the more your character knows.
Each of these scores is rated with a numeri-
cal value between 0 and 10. Beginning char-
acters will generally have a score between 1
and 6. These can and will change over time as
your character gets injured or gains experi-
ence, but they can never go below 0 or above
10. How to use your characteristics will be
explained later.
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Character Types
Now that you know what the six characteristics
are and what they represent, it is time to work out
what type of character you want to play as. The six
character types listed below will set what scores
your characteristics are, plus provide you with
some special rules related to that character type.
Pick one of them and write down the information
presented.
warrior
A warrior is a specialist fighter. They are trained
in all manner of hand-to-hand and ranged
combat techniques and styles. As adven-
turers their main role is to stand in
front of the weaker group mem-
bers and do the brunt of the fight-
ing, shielding those behind them.
They have the greatest chance of
slaying the enemies the encoun-
ter and thus should be the first
into any fight.
Characteristics: Fighting 6, Magic
2, Strength 5, Charisma 1, Stealth 4,
Knowledge 3
Special Rules: In hand-to-hand combat,
any damage a warrior inflicts is increased
by 1 point. Warriors can use any weapons
and armour they find.
e six characteristics
t is time to work out
nt to play as. The six
will set what scores
s provide you with
that character type.
own the information
er. They are trained
d and ranged
As adven-
and in
mem-
ht-
m.
of
n-
rst
Magic
ealth 4,
nd combat,
s increased
ny weapons
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sage
Sages are wise folk with a thirst for knowl-
edge. They are usually found somewhere
near a library with a book in hand. Adven-
turing sages often take up the lifestyle after
deciding they have gotten all they can out of
musty old tomes they now want to learn by
experience. They are usually used in an advi-
sory role by adventuring groups where their
intelligence can prove invaluable.
Characteristics: Fighting 2, Magic 5, Strength
3, Charisma 4, Stealth 1, Knowledge 6
Special Rules: Sages may choose any two
spells listed under the magician or priest and
may cast those spells. They require a Magic
roll against the listed Difficulty of the spell.
Every time a sage attempts to cast a spell
(whether it is successful or not) they lose 1
point of Mana.
A sage often trains extensively in one area of
expertise. Therefore they may choose one of
their characteristics to increase by 1 point at
the start of the game.
Sages can use any weapons and armour. How-
ever, if they use a weapon other than a dag-
ger or sta they suer a -1 penalty to their
Fighting score; and if they wear any medium
or heavy armour they also suer a -1 penalty
to their Fighting score. These penalties are
cumulative.
health
Every PC has another characteristic known
as Health. Your Health score represents your
physical well-being. The lower your Health
score goes, the more unhealthy or wounded
you are.
Roll 1 dice and add your Strength + 10 to the
result (add an additional +3 if you are a bar-
barian). This gives you a number between
12 and 22 (20-25 for a Barbarian). This is
your Maximum Health score. Throughout
the course of your adventuring career your
current Health score will change quite often.
However, at no stage may it go above your
Maximum Health score.
If your current Health score ever reaches 0
or less, you have unfortunately died. Unless
your group has a way to bring you back from
the dead, you will have to create a new char-
acter in order to continue adventuring. Such
are the perils of the profession!
mana
Another characteristic that all PCs have is
Mana. Mana is a measure of how much magi-
cal power the character has; the higher the
score, the more power they can draw upon to
cast spells or use magical items.
A characters Mana score is equal to double
their Magic score. Thus, a magician would
have a Mana score of 12 while a warrior
would only have 4. Each time a character
casts a spell, they must reduce their Mana
score by 1. The same applies when using a
scroll, or any other item that requires Mana
to activate.
If a character has a Mana score of 0, they may
not cast spells or do anything else that re-
quires Mana until their score rises above 0. A
character regains 1 point of Mana every hour
of game time, though they may never have
more Mana than their starting Mana score.
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combat
Quite often you will find yourself fighting for
your life against some enemy or other. When
this occurs you will have to fight in combat.
There are two types of combat: hand-to-
hand and ranged. Hand-to-hand combat is
where you use close quarters weapons such
as swords and axes while you stand toe-to-
toe with your opponent. Ranged combat is
where you use a missile weapon such as a
bow or crossbow and shoot at your opponent
from a distance. Either way, it is handled the
same way.
Combat is divided into turns. Each turn
equates to roughly 5 seconds of game time.
Each participant in the combat gets one ac-
tion during each turn. Each combat turn fol-
lows a set of steps as detailed below.
roll for initiative
Each participant in the combat rolls 2 dice.
The Gamesmaster should note down what
everyone scores, and should also roll for your
opponents. During this turn, each participant
in the combat acts in order of highest initia-
tive roll to the lowest. If one or more people
are tied for initiative, then the person with
the highest Fighting score goes first. If this
too is a tie, then roll dice again until there is a
clear winner, and that person gets to go first.
Actions
As each persons turn comes around they will
get to perform one action. This will usually
be one of the following: fight, cast a spell, use
an item, move or flee. These are explained
below.
fight
When you choose to fight, choose either a
hand-to-hand or ranged attack. If you are
already in hand-to-hand combat they must
choose to do that (or they flee; see later).
Roll 2 dice and add your Fighting score. If you
equal or beat your opponents Defence Rating,
you have hit them. Roll 1 dice, add or subtract
any modifiers for the weapon you are using
(see below). Your opponent loses that many
Health points (down to a minimum of 1).
Weapon Damage Modifier Notes
Battle axe 0
Broad sword +1
Bow 0 Ranged
Club -1 Blunt
Crossbow +1 Ranged
Dagger -2 Can be used
as ranged
Halberd +1 Two-handed
Javelin -1 Ranged
Lance +1
Mace 0 Blunt
Weapon Damage Modifier Notes
Morningstar 0
Short sword -1
Sickle -1
Sling -2 Ranged; blunt
Spear 0 Two-handed; can be
used as ranged
Sword 0
Sta -1 Blunt; two-handed
Two-handed sword +2 Two-handed
Unarmed -3 Blunt
War hammer 0 Blunt
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for the gamesmaster
If you are going to be the Gamesmaster for a
game of QUERP, then this section is for you.
However, it should be noted that you should
at least make yourself familiar with this
whole document; it is one of the key points in
becoming a great Gamesmaster.
Gamesmastering a game of QUERP is both
rewarding and challenging at the same time.
It requires a good imagination, good com-
munication and good storytelling skills. The
following sections should provide you with
some advice in dealing with common situa-
tions that arise during a game.
Difficulty rolls
As the Gamesmaster it is your job to assign
the number needed for a Difficulty roll. This
can sound like a daunting task, but it is really
very easy.
The average score in a characteristic is 3. The
average roll on 2 dice is 7. Therefore, an aver-
age task that could be completed 50% of the
time by an average person has a Difficulty of
10. By using this as a base Difficulty, you can
begin to work out how easy or hard some-
thing is to accomplish and assign an appro-
priate Difficulty score.
The easiest way to do this is to look at each
situation in question. Start with a score of 10.
If the task should be harder than normal for
whatever reason, add 1 or 2 to the Difficulty
for each circumstance that makes the task
harder. Similarly, if there is some circum-
stance that makes the task easier, subtract 1
or 2 from the Difficulty for each situation that
makes it easier.
Lets look at an example. A PC wants to climb
a cli face to escape a horde of goblins. It is
currently raining, making the rock face slip-
pery; the Gamesmaster decides to add 1 to
the Difficulty to accommodate this. In addi-
tion, the PC is in a hurry, adding a further 1
to the Difficulty. Not only that, but the gob-
lins have bows and are shooting at him! The
Gamesmaster decides to add another 2 points
to the Difficulty, making the total 14.
Looking at his notes, the Gamesmaster sees
that there are a lot of dead tree roots jutting
out from the side of the cli. This will make
climbing a lot easier, so the Gamesmaster de-
ducts 2 from the Difficulty. This is the only
thing making the climb easier, so the final
Difficulty the player needs to beat is 12.
By using this method you should be able to
quickly and easily work out the Difficulty
score in any given situation.
Impossible Rolls: Occasionally a player will
have to make a roll that is impossible for
them to pass, due to either a high Difficulty or
a low characteristic score. To make things a
bit more interesting, they should always have
a chance to succeed. If a player (or you) rolls
double 6 when making a characteristic roll,
then you automatically pass the roll.
On the opposite end if this, if a player or your-
self rolls a double 1, then you automatically
fail.
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treasure
The main reason PCs go adventures is to find
treasure, so you, as the Gamesmaster, need a
way of finding out what monsters have it and
how much they have!
Firstly, to see whether an enemy has treasure
or not, roll 1 die. If you roll 1-4, then the crea-
ture does have treasure. This assumes the
creature is in its lair or home; if encountered
outside of these areas, the chance is much
less; only a roll of 1 indicates that the crea-
ture has treasure.
If the dice roll indicates there is treasure
present, you will need to roll on the following
tables.
treasure type
If the initial dice roll indicates that a creature
has treasure you now must roll on the trea-
sure type chart below. Roll 2 dice and consult
the following table:
2 - Miscellaneous
3 - Gem
4 - Money
5 - Weapon
6 - Potion
7 - Money
8 - Scroll
9 - Armour
10 - Money
11 - Wand
12 - Miscellaneous
Once you have determined the treasure type,
proceed to the corresponding section, be-
low.
29
Once you have determined the treasure type,
proceed to the corresponding section, be-
low.
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money
If the treasure found is money, roll 1 dice. On
a 1-3, the money is copper coins. On 4-5, the
money is silver coins. On 6, the money is gold
coins.
To find out how much money there actually
is, roll 2 dice. If you are rolling for silver coins,
multiply the result by 10; if you are rolling for
copper coins, multiply the result by 50. If you
are rolling for gold coins, leave the result as
is.
potion
Potions are magical liquids that can be drunk
to provide a bonus to the drinker. If the trea-
sure found is a potion, roll 2 dice and consult
the following table to determine what kind of
potion has been found.
2 - Poison (drinker loses 2-12 Health)
3 - Sleep (drinker falls into a deep sleep
for an hour; only attacking them will
wake them)
4 - Skill (drinker gains a +1 bonus to all
characteristic scores for 5 minutes of
game time)
5 - Cure All (restores all Health)
6 - Curing (restores 2-12 Health)
7 - Healing (restores 1-6 Health)
8 - Enhancement (roll a dice to find out
what it enhances 1 = Fighting; 2 =
Magic; 3 = Strength; 4 = Charisma; 5 =
Stealth; 6 = Knowledge. The appropri-
ate characteristic gets a +2 bonus for
the next 5 minutes of game time)
9 - Luck (adds +2 to the next characteris-
tic check)
10 - Invisibility (turns the drinker invisible
for 5 minutes of game time)
11 - Resistance (drinker takes 1 less dam-
age for any source for the next 5 min-
utes of game time)
12 - Dragons Breath (drinker can breathe
fire like a dragon for 1 minute of game
time)
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group adventure:
TOMB OF THE
WARLORD
Tomb of the Warlord is a short adventure for
three to six characters and one Gamesmas-
ter. If you are playing in the adventure, you
should stop reading now! It will lessen
your enjoyment of the adventure if you
know what is going to happen.
If you are the Gamesmaster, make sure you
have your players, some dice, some paper
and pens handy and of course a copy of this
book.
Boxed text (which is also written in italics
like this) is designed for you to read aloud to
your players; all other text is for your eyes
only.
When all is in readiness, read the following
to your players:
For months you had been hearing rumours
of long-lost treasure. Apparently the trea-
sure is located in the forgotten tomb of a
warlord from ages past. Being new and
keen adventurers, you had investigated
these tales but had turned up very little
evidence until one day in the city of Port
Bannon.
You had agreed to meet a merchant who
claimed to have a map leading to the trea-
sure. The map looked genuine even if
the merchant didnt so you agreed to
purchase it from him in the hope that you
would finally find something.
To your great relief, the map turned out to
be real. It led you into the forests north of
the village of Pinebridge, where you have
found the entrance to the tomb. Peering in,
you can see it is awfully dark
This should be a hint to the players that they
need a light source of some kind. If they
dont have any torches or lanterns, encour-
age them to return to Pinebridge and buy
some. You should note if they light a lantern
or torch; if they dont they will not be able to
see inside the tomb.
You should also ask for a marching order; in
eect, the order that the party will travel in
while in the tomb.
Some monsters have found the tomb be-
fore the characters and are, at this moment,
searching around inside for treasure. They
have left some tracks in the ground outside
the entrance, which may be noticed by the
party. Have everyone make a Stealth roll
(Difficulty 10); if they succeed, tell them they
notice some tracks leading into the tomb.
When you are ready, proceed to area 1.
Notes on doors, secret doors,
and wandering monsters.
All doors in the tomb are unlocked, unless
otherwise noted in the individual room de-
scriptions. However, due to the age of the
tomb, many of them have rusted hinges and
are hard to open; when the adventurers try
to open a door, roll 1 dice. On a roll of 1-4,
the door is stuck and requires a Strength roll
to open (Difficulty 10).
All of the secret doors are well hidden, and
require a Stealth roll to find (Difficulty 13).
Some monsters have found their way into the
tomb and have begun looting it and, in some
cases, settling in to live here. Whenever
the characters enter a new section of corri-
dor (with the exception of the corridor that
leads to area 16 and beyond, as the monsters
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60
havent found this yet) roll 1 dice. On a 1, a
group of monsters are encountered.
Roll 1D6 and consult the following table to
determine the group of wandering monsters
encountered:
1-6 Goblins 1.
1-3 Orcs 2.
1 Giant Spider 3.
1-3 Dwarfs 4.
1 Ogre 5.
1 Troll 6.
Only have each group on the table encoun-
tered once; if you roll a result you have al-
ready used, simply ignore it or roll on the
table again.
Area 1 Entrance Chamber
When the group enters this chamber, read
them the following:
You enter a large chamber, with doors
in each of the four walls. In the centre of
the chamber is a stone statue of a man in
ancient armour, with a great sword held
high above his head. A plaque at the base
of the statue is engraved with writing in a
strange script.
The engraving is written in an ancient and
lost language. A Knowledge roll (Difficulty
13) can be used to read it; the engraving
reads Warlord Almeka, Conqueror of Men.
If anyone touches the statue, a huge boom
reverberates around the chamber, sounding
like the place is about to cave in. This is just
an illusion, however, and poses no real threat
to the players or their characters.
Area 2 Trapped Chamber
If the characters open the secret door, they
will set o an arrow trap. This will do 1-6
damage to the character opening the door.
If they survive the trap, read the following:
The room you have entered is very small
and cramped. It appears no one has been
in here for quite some time judging by the
dust on the floor. The only object in the
room is a battered chest sitting in the cor-
ner.
The chest is locked and requires a Stealth
roll (Difficulty 11) to open. Alternatively, the
characters can attempt to break the chest
open, in which case it requires a Strength
roll (Difficulty 12). Inside the chest is a small
blue key, which is needed to open the doors
in area 18. There is nothing else of interest
in the room.
Area 3 Orcs!
When the characters enter the room, read the
following to them:
This room contains various urns and vas-
es, most of them smashed into bits and ly-
ing scattered on the floor. However, some
are still intact, standing on low wooden
benches.
If this is the first time the characters have
been in this room, read the following as well:
Three, brown-skinned creatures are stand-
ing over the remains of the urns and vases,
laughing as they smash them with their
swords.
The three creatures are Orcs. If they spot the
characters, they will raise their swords and
advance.
Orcs (x3): Fighting 3, Defence 11, Health 7,
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26
Dragon
Powerful, mighty and terrifying;
these three words and more can be
used to describe the ancient race of
dragons. They have four legs that
end in powerful talons, and huge
fang-lled mouths. Their scales are
tougher than magical armour and
most species can employ their huge
wings in ight. These creatures are
highly intelligent and most spe-
cies are able to converse in many
languages.
There are
ve distinct
species of
dragon:
Dark Dragon: Dungeon
adventurers beware, for
the dark dragon could
be lurking in any cavern.
Their jet black scales and su-
perb night vision make them
the deadliest underground
predator. Dark dragons are
the smallest of the dragon
kin growing to only 8 me-
tres in length. They use
their powerful claws to
climb around dungeons
and cavern ceilings waiting
to atack.
Fire Dragon: The most com-
mon, and by far the largest, of
the dragons is the re dragon.
This beast is easily recognised by its
ember red scales. Its primary weap-
on is its ability to breathe a mighty
gout of ame from its mouth. They
live in mountainous areas or near
volcanoes, in immense caves often
dug by the dragon itself. These caves
often contain a massive treasure
horde gathered by the dragon over
its thousand year life. Of course this
leads many adventurers to atempt
to slay the dragon in order to claim
the treasure for themselves; sadly,
but not surprisingly, most of these
souls do not return.
26
Dungeon
ware, for
n could
ny cavern.
cales and su-
on make them
nderground
dragons are
the dragon
only 8 me-
hey use
claws to
ungeons
ngs waiting
he most com-
r the largest, of
he re dragon.
souls do not return.
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27
Forest Dragon: The forest dragon is
one of the smaller dragon types. An
adult will normally grow to about
15 metres in length, just half the
size of its re breathing kin. These
relatively good natured beasts dwell
deep within the heart of large for-
ests and woods. Their scales range
in colour from dark green to rustic
brown depending on the climate of
their surroundings. As you expect
from a creature like this, the forest
dragon is equipped with huge talons
and teeth. These instruments, how-
ever, are mainly used for scaling tall
trees. These dragons live in caves
that have been dug into the roots of
the largest trees in the forest.
Ice Dragon: Far in the distant north
where glaciers and rag-
ing snow storms are
common place
you will nd
the dreaded ice
dragon. These
dragons do not
have wings
like their
other kin,
but they
do have
huge
oversized
front talons
to help them
traverse the
ice and snow.
Despite their
large bodies (adults grow to 20m in
length) these creatures are cunning
predators. They hide amongst snow
dunes waiting for a tasty meal (nor-
mally polar bears or large walrus).
They strike with lightning speed
and accuracy using their talons to
rend their prey. Ice Dragons can
only communicate in their own lan-
guage and cannot cast spells.
Lightning Dragon: Lightning drag-
ons live up to their name in every
sense of the word: their brilliant
blue scales shine like an electric
storm; they can y faster than any
other dragon and they can launch a
devastating lightning bolt from their
Dragon: Far in the distant north
re glaciers and rag-
now storms are
mon place
will nd
dreaded ice
on. These
ons do not
wings
heir
r kin,
hey
ave

sized
talons
lp them
erse the
nd snow.
pite their
Luca Ccb (order #5823570)
28
mouth. Unlike their fellow dragon
kin the lightning dragon prefers to
move about and ght on its hind
legs. The lightning dragon will grow
to over 20m in length and can com-
municate in a variety of languages
including the human tongue.
Stats: Fighting 16, Defence 20,
Health 100, Damage 3-18 (3 dice)
Special Rules: All dragons have a
breath weapon that they may use in
combat. The eects of this weapon
vary depending on the dragon spe-
cies, as listed below. Each dragon
may have additional special rules,
which are also listed below.
Dark Dragon: Once every three
turns a dark Dragon can breathe a
cloud of paralysing gas; they can do
this even if they atack. The dragon
makes a Fighting roll and, if it hits,
the victim must make a Strength roll
(Di culty 11). If he fails the roll he
cannot move for 5 game minutes.
Fire Dragon: Once every three turns
a re dragon can breathe re at an
opponent; they can do this even if
they atack. The dragon makes a
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29
Fighting roll and, if it hits, inicts
2-12 damage upon the victim (roll 2
dice).
Fire dragons are immune to any
damage inicted by re.
Fire dragons are also accomplished
spell casters and may cast any spell
available to characters. They have an
eective Magic score of 9.
Forest Dragon: Once every three
turns a forest dragon can breathe
a toxic gas at an opponent; they
can do this even if they atack. The
dragon makes a Fighting roll and, if
it hits, inicts 1-6 damage upon the
victim.
Forest dragons hate re and will
avoid it wherever possible.
Forest dragons have limited magic
ability (eective Magic score of 4)
and can cast the following spell
only.
Tangle roots (Di culty 11): Weeds,
roots and branches wrap themselves
around a single target. The target
must make a Strength roll (Di culty
10) or suer a -2 penalty to Defence
for 5 minutes of game time.
Ice Dragon: Once every three turns
an ice dragon can breathe a blast of
cold air at an opponent; they can do
this even if they atack. The dragon
makes a Fighting roll and, if it hits,
inicts 1-6 damage upon the victim.
Ice dragons are immune to any dam-
age inicted by cold/ice.
Lightning Dragon: Once every three
turns a lightning dragon can omit a
devastating lightning bolt at an op-
ponent; they can do this even if they
atack. The dragon makes a Fighting
roll and, if it hits, inicts 2-12 dam-
age upon the victim.
Lightning dragons are immune to
any damage inicted by electricity.
Lightning dragons, like the re
dragon, are also accomplished spell
casters and may cast any spell avail-
able to characters. They have an ef-
fective Magic score of 8.
Typical Native Climate: Dungeons
(dark dragons); mountains or volca-
noes (re dragon); forest or jungle
(forest dragon); tundra (ice dragon);
or any (lightning dragon).
Encounter Numbers: 1
Treasure: Lair 1-3
Creature Type: Monster
Threat Level: Extreme
Luca Ccb (order #5823570)
Character Sheet
Characters Name
Characters Class
Fighting
Magic
Strength
Charisma
Stealth
Knowledge
Health
Defence
Mana
Equipment
Notes
ATOR BATTLEBLADE
WARRIOR
6
2
5
4
3
1
19
4
13
Broad sword
light armour
shield
backpack
2 days worth of rations
waterskin
bedroll
int and steel
17 silver coins
Ator Baleblade had been a soldier in the kings army
all his life until recently. After a night of drinking in the
taverns and inns of Port Bannon, he got into a ght and
accidently killed another man. He was thrown out of
the army in disgrace and now wanders the world as a
hired mercenary.
Ator is 25 years old and is as tough as nails. He sports
scars on his face from the many bales he has fought in,
and these give him a rough and unfriendly appearance.
He is in excellent physical condition and is ready to take
on whatever adventures might come his way.
Luca Ccb (order #5823570)