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By Tiridates
TRAITS
Each character has three Traits that represent their natural
physical and mental qualities. When you perform a task
with a relevant trait you add its value to your dice roll. Each
Trait starts at 0 but may be raised by your choice of Style
and Role. During the game traits can be improved to a
maximum of +3.
TALENTS
SPOTLIGHT
Each hero is a capable individual with certain unique skills
and abilities. These are his Talents and each hero begins the
game with two. Starting Talents are determined by your
choice of Style and Role. Although each Talent is associated
with one style approach in practice they can be used with
any Trait. Whenever you use your Talent your blue Action
Dice total can never be lower than a 5.
DRIVES
Crom Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to
HELL with you!
You may be a hero but you still harbour the same selfserving ambitions and questionable virtues of lesser men.
These Drives are your characters desires and motivations.
There will be many opportunities to act upon your Drives
but one must be wary for the ambitions of men are often
petty and cruel.
Each hero begins the game with 3 Drives. Choose one each
from your Style and Role. Your third Drive can be something
of your own choosing or determined by the Scribe. During
your adventure anytime you achieve one of your Drives you
earn a Coin. Each Drive can only be completed once in any
given adventure.
DRAMATIC OPENING
Start your sessions so that something exciting happens right
from the start. All that truly matters is that your opening
scene is dramatic enough to get everyone on the edge of
their seat and feeling fully engaged
Its a crimson dusk on the first night of the Festival of
Laments, and the streets are more crowded than usual.
Wine and song dull the dying heat of the day as masked
celebrants dance around you. Suddenly the crowd parts
and Hargun, feared enforcer of the Thieves Clan, locks eyes
with you. He clearly has not forgotten the last time you met
and the debts still owed. At his signal, a dozen cutthroats
swarm out of the crowd and surround you.
THE EXCHANGE
When its your time in the spotlight be bold! Use colourful
narrative to describe your actions. Never just sneak over
and kill the guard. Instead slink through the shadows up
behind the lone guardsman and with an iron grip, wrench
his neck until the snap of bone and tendon can be heard.
Then lower the lifeless body to the cold stone floor and
melt back into the shadows.
Say how you deal with a Threat and choose a Trait. The trait
should be based on your approach and the actions you
described. You cant creep through a dark room using Steel
and you cant smash open a locked door using Guile
Roll your Action Dice and add your Trait for a final
result between 1 and 6 (the result can never be
lower than a 1 or higher than a 6.)
COMPLICATIONS
Complications are used to describe a heros current
condition or situation. A hero takes a Complication by
rolling three Miss Results during his time in the spotlight or
by accumulating six Danger tokens and being Defeated!
Each Complication gives a -1 penalty to a heros Action Dice
whenever it would affect what he is trying to do. A
Complication will typically last until the end of the scene
though more permanent Complications are possible.
Complications can be anything that hinders or impedes a
hero. They also neednt always be physical states!
Distracted, Angry and Scared are just as valid as bruised,
bloody and broken. Complications can also be situational
such as a temple having a sturdy lock or a mountain pass
being blocked by a landslide. No matter what you call them
Complications are always negative.
DEFEATED!
You would rather fall beneath the blades of your enemies
than submit. So be it proud slayer! When a hero is defeated
he has failed at whatever task he was trying to accomplish
and plays no further part in the scene. But never fear your
hero can be revived and back in action soon only with a
lasting Complication to remind him of his defeat.
During your turn in the spotlight if things are going badly
and you have amassed a pile of Danger tokens you have the
option to concede. Your hero surrenders and plays no
further part in the scene. Temporary defeat means that
you'll be back in action soon enough and unlike being
Defeated! you have some say in your fate rather than one
imposed by the scribe
TURN END
Sample Complications
At a Loss for Words
Confused
Scared
Poisoned
Exhausted
Bad First Impression
Humiliated
Mauled
Stunned
Cornered
Restrained
Outnumbered
Lost
Bloodied
Easy Mark
Shaken
Doubted
Tougher Than He Looks
Nothing to lose
Suspicious
Distracted
Spotted
DANGER TOKENS
Red Danger tokens are a heros story immunity. As long as
he has less than six he can play an active part in the Scene.
During their time in the spotlight for each Miss result the
hero takes a red Danger token. The more Danger tokens
you have the greater the risk to your hero. Accumulate six
tokens and you are Defeated!
Your turn ends when you overcome the threat, pass or you
are Defeated! The spotlight then moves to another hero.
Once everyone has had their time in the spotlight the
Scribe can escalate any threats that still remain. Turns
continue until all the threats have been dealt with and the
scene ends
SCRIBE
DRIVES
Its your job to paint a picture of the world. The better your
descriptions, the more creative your players will be. More
than this, a vivid description brings the game to life, Ask
questions constantly, and build on the answers. Have any
of you faced a Witch before? Where? What happened?
Keep them guessing. Build a sense of danger and
excitement into every scene and keep the players on the
edge of their seat as to what might transpire next. When
everyone looks to you to see what happens make a move
that demands a response. When you escalate a situation
always end with What do you do?
Fail forward - It is possible the characters will fail but this
should never simply lead the characters into a dead end.
Instead it should make their lives more complicated by
forcing them to pursue a second, more dangerous route
towards getting what they want.
COIN
Push hard, but be fair Killing your heroes means the end of
the game When the characters do not stop them in time,
let events unfold describe the consequences of their
successes or failures Let Nameless NPCs die Push people off
cliffs, cut ropes, kill hostages, carry people away.
Keep the adventure moving at a brisk pace. If a scene does
not drive the story forward, just narrate it and move on Try
to make sure that every scene advances the story in some
meaningful way, and when the time comes start looking for
a way to tie the remaining plot threads together into some
kind of big finale
SCENE TYPES
Each adventure is made up of a number of linked scenes.
Action scenes are for fighting, Interludes are for recovering,
and Suspense scenes are for figuring out (and inventing)
what is going on. While combat and action are a big part of
a Sword and Sorcery adventure, dont make every scene a
physical encounter. Allow room for investigation,
interaction, and exploration. Challenge your players with
opportunities for roleplaying and narration.
With every new scene establish its purpose as clearly as you
can. A good scene revolves around resolving a specific
conflict or achieving a specific goal. Keep the scene moving
let things continue so long as the players are all invested
and enjoying themselves. As soon as the momentum starts
to flag, move on. Its always better for scenes to end quickly
rather than drag on for too long.
ACTION SCENES
Whether frantic rooftop chases, daring rescues or brutal
duels to the death Action scenes make up a large part of
every sword and sorcery adventure. Action is the key in any
adventure and it is the Scribes job to set up interesting
conflicts and dangerous situations with real consequences
for failing. Imagine your hero trying to reach the heroine
before the rope breaks and she falls to her doom.
By their very nature Action scenes should be fast and
dangerous. During fast paced Action Scenes the Scribe can
flip the spotlight between heroes at suitably dramatic
moments, cutting to another exciting time within the scene.
Whenever possible, try to make one player's turn flow into
the next, by shifting a threat onto them or offering an
opportunity.
CREATING ADVANTAGES
If a hero has time to prepare before confronting a Threat he
can gain an Advantage. Preparing an ambush or escape
route, fortifying a position, revealing an adversarys
weakness or arming yourself with garlic and crucifix before
confronting a vampire are all situations where a short term
benefit may be rewarded. This can be an automatic bonus
given by the Scribe or a Threat representing the planning
and provision required before gaining an Advantage.
Advantage grants a +1 bonus to a heros Action Dice where
his previous preparation would help. Such short term
advantages will usually only last against a single threat.
Longer term advantages require an Investigation scene
CHARACTER SCENES
Between action scenes our heroes need a chance to rest
and regroup. These interludes allow the Scribe to
summarize what has happened so far and for the heroes to
ask questions and introduce new characters, locations or
plot points to the adventure. The Scribe can use these
elements to form the basis of the next scene and any future
threats. Character scenes are also the time for heroes to
ask questions of each other.
INVESTIGATION SCENES
After the action and interludes, there will be questions
unanswered. Stuff like, Who was the mysterious figure?
and What was stolen during the attack? and What does
the captive warrior reveal about the plans of her master?
These questions become the focus of an Investigation
scene. The scribe will frame each question with a brief
description before the scene starts and each question is
treated as a threat that needs to be overcome. When a
question is defeated, its answered definitively by the
Scribe or the hero who defeated it. Each threat that is
Defeated brings them one step closer to their goal.
THREATS
A threat is anything that presents a challenge to the heroes.
The most obvious Threats are those that can be defeated
by beating them to a bloody pulp but Threats dont have to
be all about hacking and slashing your way through hordes
of minions. Solving a puzzle, seducing an enemy, fleeing a
collapsing temple and other non-combat situations all work
great as threats
Indeed any objective, situation, or conflict can be written
up as a Threat. From disabling a complex trap to
negotiating peace between warring kingdoms, the nature
of the challenge is irrelevant. What is important is that the
outcome is important enough to focus on.
When it comes to adding Threats to a scene think about
what the character is trying to accomplish. If our heros
need to escape the crumbling temple before it collapses
then this is the Threat the fact that they are being
pursued by its ghoulish denizens is irrelevant though they
may be incorporated into the ongoing narrative or utilised
by the Scribe
No matter the Threat they all follow the same rules. Score
three Hits to gain an advantage against a Threat and score
six Hits to Defeat it.
THREAT EXAMPLES
THREAT ESCALATION
The threats you face won't just stand around and wait for
you they will fight back! Threats take action as a result of
what the players do (or fail to do) Once each hero has had
his time in the spotlight the turn ends and any remaining
threat will take action - flames will grow higher, ships will
sink farther and plans will unfold. /more
TIMED THREATS
Can the characters make it out of the temple before the
whole ziggurat collapses? Assign a countdown timer to a
threat to give the scene a sense of drama. At the end of
each turn, reduce the countdown. When it reaches 0, the
threat achieves its goal and everyone who has not defeated
the threat is Taken Out! This should give the players an
incentive to resolve the scene quickly.
ADVERSARIES
Adversaries are the human (and inhuman) threats that our
heros will meet in their adventures. They come in two
varieties; minions and named characters. As with any
threat, score six hits and they are defeated
Guards, cut throats, ghouls, thugs in a tavern; these are the
nameless characters with little or no impact on the course
of events. Groups of minions are dealt with as a single
threat and once defeated are either all dead or running in
abject terror.
Named characters are unique important enough to have
names, talents and their own distinct persona. Many
adversaries possess skills and abilities that make them
particularly dangerous in certain situations. Each will have a
list of moves the Scribe can use based on their talents.
These adversaries will drive many of your plots and
adventures. If our heroes want to thwart them or beat
them to some goal, they have to act, and act decisively.
Hulking Brute
The leader of a gang of violent thugs looking for easy prey
Drive: To be feared and respected
> Inflict Brutality
> Demand tribute
> Sheer Brute Strength
Revenant Slayer
Highly trained in the murderous arts
Drive: Fulfil the Contract
> Trained Killer
> Hunt you down
> Strike without warning
Sorcerer Priest
A powerful practitioner of black magic and leader of a
diabolical cult
Action: The heroes have the map but must now translate it,
puzzling out the Ancient glyphs and markings. Do they
translate the map?
Fierce Beast
Highly aggressive and capable of ripping a man to shreds
Drive: To stalk and kill its prey
> Ambush the unwary
> Tear through flesh
> Predatory Cunning
Choose a Style
This is how your hero gets things done. The Savage style relies on force and tenacity, the Daring on bold
actions and those who favour Cunning on stealth and subtlety
Each Style gives a Trait bonus. Mark this on your character sheet
Choose a Role
This is what your hero is good at. The Slayer excels in combat, the Rogue in dealing with people and the
Thief in stealing anything thats not nailed down.
Each Role gives a Trait bonus. Mark this on your character sheet.