LexOccultum - Book 01 - Lex Libris [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

Lex Libris

2



Credits 

Concept and Design Theodore Bergqvist and Magnus Malmberg Authors Theodore Bergqvist and Magnus Malmberg Additional Writers and Helpers Max Herngren, Luca Cherstich, Anders Jarve, Richard Nilsson, Dan Slottner and Mattias Berglin. Translation Love Almquist and Wilhelm Hoffstedt Editing John Marron Art Direction Theodore Bergqvist Layout and Typesetting Magnus Malmberg Cover Art Justin Sweet Interior Art Alvaro Tapia, Justin Sweet, Ola Larsson, Per Sjögren, Theodore Bergqvist, Peter Bergting, Trevor Denham and Patrik Hell

Additional Kudos Thanks to all the Kickstarter pledgers and to all the backers who made this project come to life. Our style is to use “they” as a singular gender-neutral pronoun when possible. This usage continues to gain m ­ ainstream acceptance, including among major style guides such as The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style. We believe it is appropriate and practical, not just to reflect common usage but to accommodate a more inclusive view of gender identity. The LexOccultum books also use “he” or “she” when helpful for added clarity. isbn: 978-91-984759-0-6

3

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION

7 IMPRESSIONS

The Game Master ..............................................................................7 The Characters.....................................................................................7 The Play Session ................................................................................8 Adventures and Missions...................................................................8 How Does one Roleplay?...................................................................8 Rolling Dice .........................................................................................9 Skill Rolls .............................................................................................9 Situation Rolls....................................................................................10 To Succeed With a Skill or Situation Roll..................................10 Measuring the Degrees of Success................................................10 Degrees of Difficulty.........................................................................10 Luck Rolls...........................................................................................10 Open Roll............................................................................................ 11

COMBAT 4

Different Kinds of Impression........................................................39 The Impression of Social Status ...................................................39 Using Impression Rolls....................................................................41

LIFE IN THE WILD

ADVENTURE POINTS AND TIPS

51

13 Awarding Adventure Points............................................................ 51 Theory..................................................................................................53 Other Rewards...................................................................................53 Tips for Playing.................................................................................53 Find the Mysteries............................................................................53

25

Five Levels of Damage.....................................................................25 Registering Damage.........................................................................25 Care and Healing...............................................................................26 Damage Complications.....................................................................29 Damage for Monsters and Creatures............................................ 31 Physical Damage................................................................................ 31 Physical Damage Levels..................................................................32 Fear and Mental Damage................................................................34 Damage Effects From Mental Illness. ........................................34

chapter 1. the character

45

Complications in the Wild..............................................................45 Mitigating Circumstances in the Wild........................................46 Requirements for Equipment in the Wild...................................46 Inadequate Food and Water............................................................46 Hunting................................................................................................47

Taking Turns......................................................................................13 Combat Capacity................................................................................ 17 Unarmed Combat..............................................................................18 Combat Actions..................................................................................20

HEALTH AND FEAR

39

4

THE WORLD

59 SUB ROSA

Calendar...............................................................................................62 The Biblical Timeline.......................................................................63 The Heathen Timeline.....................................................................70 The Christian Era.............................................................................72 Judgment Day.....................................................................................78 Society..................................................................................................82 Faith and Confession........................................................................84 Science and Enlightenment.............................................................87 Witchcraft and superstition............................................................89 War.......................................................................................................90 Trade.....................................................................................................91 Crime and Punishment.....................................................................93 Vanity and Decadence......................................................................95 The Shadow World...........................................................................96 Geography.........................................................................................100 England..............................................................................................101 France.................................................................................................102 Holy Roman Empire.......................................................................103 Italy.....................................................................................................104 Russia.................................................................................................106 Cities...................................................................................................107 Amsterdam........................................................................................108 Berlin.................................................................................................. 110 Boston................................................................................................. 111 Copenhagen.......................................................................................112 Gothenburg....................................................................................... 115 London............................................................................................... 116 Paris.................................................................................................... 118 Prague................................................................................................120 Rome...................................................................................................122 Saint Petersburg..............................................................................123 Stockholm..........................................................................................124 Venice.................................................................................................125 Vienna.................................................................................................126 Typical areas.....................................................................................127

139

The Gnosticians...............................................................................140 Pium Sodalicium..............................................................................143 Congregatio Pro Doctrina Fidei..................................................146 Compagnie du Saint Sacrement...................................................148 Hellfire Club..................................................................................... 151 The Witch Cult................................................................................155 Terry Jones’ Mysterious Voodoo Society...................................157 Société En Soie.................................................................................161 The Hashashins................................................................................165 The Illuminati..................................................................................167 Odd Fellows...................................................................................... 173 The Order of Freemasons.............................................................177 Ordre de le Sang Bleu....................................................................184 The Dutch Rum and Sugar Trade Company............................188 De Naturali Scientia........................................................................192 The Rosicrucian Order...................................................................194 The Royal Society...........................................................................197 Short Descriptions of a Handful of Other Societies............... 202 Sub Rosa and the Player Characters...........................................205 Codes and Ciphers ......................................................................... 206 Occult Languages............................................................................212 Beasts and Antagonists..................................................................213 NPC Descriptions............................................................................213 Supernatural Beings........................................................................ 214 Lycanthrope......................................................................................215 Phantoms...........................................................................................216 Spectres and Wraiths.....................................................................218 Vampires............................................................................................219

THE SECRET ARTS

223

The Three Arts................................................................................223 Using the Arts.................................................................................225 Descriptions of the Abilities..........................................................225 The Supernatural Abilities of Esotericism – The Right-hand Path.................................................................227 – The Left-hand Path ...................................................................229 The Supernatural Abilities of Theology....................................233 The Supernatural Abilities of Science....................................... 240

5

chapter 1. the caracter

5

6



Introduction



“Write, therefore, what you have seen: both what is now and what will take place later.” Revelation 1:19

7 The horrid creature threw itself down from the roof and into the darkness. The people shouted at the fiend that was said to bear a curse. However, its followers knew better. The anthromorph was a blautsauger, a type of vampire that hid in the city, and there was no longer any time for thought. The vampire had to die tonight or it would put the entire city at risk. Maybe they could cover their tracks, just maybe. It was “it” against “them”. The roleplaying game LexOccultum has two types of participants: ✦✦

The Game master and the Players.

The Game Master The game master (or GM) in a roleplaying game has no single character of their own, instead, they present the world and the story itself. The mission

of the game master is to move the story along, providing the players with the information that is needed for them to understand their surroundings and make choices and perform actions based on their characters’ personalities and backgrounds. The game master is also the one that decides how rules should be interpreted, used, or modified. It is the game master who should know the rules the best, but to be a game master is not just about knowing the rules. As a starting point, the game master may use published adventure modules before perhaps moving on to creating their own adventures that the characters will be plunged into. When you feel like you have an overarching idea of what the roleplaying game includes and understand what roleplaying really is, start with learning how to create a character. Whether you are a player or a game master, it is best to learn the rules concerning this first.

The Characters The fictional alter egos of the players are called characters. The player uses the character to participate in adventures and complete missions in the game. All players (except for the game master) should have a character. It can take some time to create a character. The characters can be created some time before the adventure begins, either by the players themselves, by following the rules provided, or by the game master. However, it is in our experience more fun if the players get to create their own characters. In the Alter Ego book, you will find all you need to create your very own character, ready to brave haunted Europe and other unholy places.

8

The Play Session An adventure is played out over one or more game sessions. The players do not need to know the rules exactly, but the game master should know them well enough to lead the game without much trouble.

Adventures and Missions The game master presents the characters with missions and adventures. One could say that an adventure is like a film or a book. There are main protagonists (the characters), extras (the game master’s characters), intrigues, climaxes, and some smaller events that take place. Unlike a film or a book there are infinite possibilities for the characters to create their own stories. There is just no present script to rigidly follow! Game masters can create their own adventures or use pre-created modules.

An adventure module describes places, people, and intrigues. There are also descriptions for what happens if the characters act in a certain way in different situations. In case of pre-made adventures only the game master should read an adventure module and preferably know it as best as they can. Should the players read the module, all of its secrets and revelations will be revealed and the play session might be rather dull. Of course, the module cannot describe all possible situations that can arise. The game master should exercise common sense and use their imagination in such situations where the module is of little help. The game master must thoroughly read the adventure at least once and should look through it immediately prior to the play session. The game master should have a clear idea of the most important events in the adventure and

should prepare notes to avoid awkward situations in case they forget important events or people. The game master does not need to know everything before play starts as long as they have access to the written adventure and notes, and can look up important information.

How Does one Roleplay? What follows below is a short example from a play session of LexOccultum in which the game master presents the world and an event for the players, who in turn tell the game master how their characters act. The participants in the game are Erik (playing as the character "Pierre"), Emma (playing "Ann") and Johan (playing "Karl") as well as the game master Julia who has made up her own adventure. The characters have received a mission from an old alchemist which lead them to the following situation:

GM: You find yourselves in a very long and dark corridor. The torch you carry only produces a small sphere of light that illuminates a few meters of adjacent floor and the moist and moss-clad stone walls. The tracks that you have followed through the door continue through your circle of light and on into the darkness of the corridor. What do you do? Erik: I (speaking as his character Pierre) hold up my torch in front of me and take a few steps into the corridor. Emma: I (speaking as her character Ann) ready my flintlock pistol and follow Pierre. Johan: Hmm...I (speaking as his character Karl) don’t know what to do. The beast that ran in here has a great advantage over us. It can see in the dark and we can only see what lies within the reach of our torch. Erik: Oh come now, we must hurry before its advantage over us grows even greater. Emma: I go back and pull on Karl’s coat to get him to follow. Johan: Alright then, have it your way. I will follow, but I’m ready to flee if I need to. I draw my blade. GM: You move along the corridor. Your steps echo off the cold walls and sometimes you can hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling as a great deal of moisture has formed there. Suddenly you hear an angry growl coming from the darkness ahead. Someone, or something, is uncontrollably beating against a door. After a while the pounding ceases and the corridor grows silent again. The only thing you can hear now is the sound of your own breathing and from time to time the sound of a drop of water hitting the stone floor of the corridor. Johan: I whisper to the others that we must turn around at once. The beast might be on its way toward us even as we speak, and if we make haste we can lock it inside this corridor. Erik: Nonsense! Maybe it managed to break open the door and continue on through to the other side. I suggest we keep on looking. I walk towards the sound that we heard. Emma: Agreed! I follow Pierre but keep my flintlock pistol pointed toward the darkness ahead and will fire if anything moves. Johan: I reluctantly follow the others and keep to the shadows as we move.

This is a small example of how a conversation between players and a game master might sound. It is the conversation between the participants that is the core of any roleplaying game, but in certain cases the rules are used to determine if a character succeeds or fails in doing what the player wants to do. This could for instance be a situation where a character must jump across a chasm, persuade someone that they are not a thief but merely an honest merchant, shoot with a flintlock pistol towards something that suddenly leaps from the dark, or perhaps even cast mighty spells. In such

moments it is not enough to merely say what the player wants their character to do. Instead, you need to perform a skill check that determines whether a character succeeds or not.

Rolling Dice Different types of dice are used in LexOccultum: six-sided dice (1d6), ten-sided dice (1d10), and twenty-sided dice (1d20). Occasionally a "1d5" will be used, which means using 1d10 while dividing the result by half (rounding up).

Rolling dice determines whether and/ or how well one succeeds. You roll dice for skills, situations, luck and damage. In certain situations, such as combat, one will need to perform different types of die rolls and there are extensive rules for this that are described in the appropriate section of this book.

Skill Rolls It is completely up to the game master to decide when and if a skill roll must be made. It is also up to the game master to determine the details of a situation and a given skill roll. Modifiers are usually applied to the target number or "SV" (to be better explained below) and never to the dice roll. For common actions and simple things characters do not need to perform skill rolls. Examples of such actions are; walking, talking, eating or running.

Combining disciplines and specialities The target number for skill rolls is called SV which stands for "Skill Value". To calculate the SV one should start from the basic skill value and add modifiers from both the relevant discipline (+1 per level) and speciality (+2 per level) to the skill value. For instance, if a character has bought the first level of the Sleight of hand discipline (+1) that falls under the skill Stealth and the first level of the Pickpocketing speciality (+2), the character gets to add a total modifier of +3 to the skill value in Stealth when the character is going to attempt to steal something from someone’s pockets.

Combining different disciplines and specialities For most rolls only one speciality and the related discipline can be used. However it is sometimes possible to combine several disciplines and specialities that are relevant to the situation as a single, greater modifier to the SV. It is totally up to the game master to decide whether this is possible or not.

9

Situation Rolls

SKILL AND SITUATION ROLLS

In some cases, there can be actions or situations that are not covered by skills. It might be an attempt to lift a block of stone, resist the effects of poison, or the like. Instead of performing a skill roll the character should roll what is called a "Situation Roll". The game master simply determines the likelihood of a character succeeding with the action/ situation and the player rolls the die to see if the attempt is successful or not. The likelihood that the game master chooses is called a "Situation value" and should be indicated in a range of 1-20. The higher the value, the easier it is to succeed. Suitable character traits can modify the situation value; positive traits increase the likelihood of success while negative traits lower the likelihood of success. BASIC SITUATION VALUES

10

Difficulty

Situation value

Very easy

15

Normal

10

Very hard

5

To Succeed With a Skill or Situation Roll To determine the outcome of skill and situation rolls a single d20 should be rolled. Depending on the result, the skill or situation roll either succeeds or fails. ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

If the die result is equal to or below the Skill Value (or SV) or the Situation value, the character has been successful. If the result is above the Skill Value (SV) or the Situation value, the attempt has failed. A roll of 1 on the d20 always indicates a success, no matter how great the negative modifiers are. A roll of 20 on the d20 always indicates a failure, no matter how great the positive modifiers are.

1d20

Result

1

Always success

≤ SV or Situation value

Success

> SV or Situation value

Failure

20

Always failure

Measuring of S uccess

the

Degrees

Sometimes, mostly when something is created, it can be interesting to see how well you succeeded with a skill. Should a player succeed with a skill roll they can be allowed to roll a further die to measure how well the character succeeded. The player rolls 1d10 and depending on how high a skill value the character has the chance of an open roll is increased according to the table below. The result of the die roll is then transferred into the result table. It is always up to the game master to interpret the outcome, but the table below can give some valuable pointers. (In combat the results are measured in the form of damage inflicted instead of the method described above). SUCCESS, SKILL VALUE AND CHANCE FOR OPEN ROLL SV

Open roll

1-14

10

15-17

9-10

≤18

8-10

Degrees

of D ifficulty To determine how simple or difficult it is to succeed with a task the game master will determine modifiers on the skill or situation roll (value ± Modifier) that the player needs to roll against to succeed with the task. It is important to remember that these modifiers apply to the SV or to the Situation value, not to the dice. The easier an action is considered to be, the higher positive modifier one is allowed to add to one’s skill value, and the harder the action, the higher the negative modifier one is forced to apply to the skill value. DEGREES OF DIFFICULTY Degree

Modifier

Extremely simple

+10

Very simple

+5

Simple

+3

Normal

±0

Difficult

-3

Very difficult

-5

Extremely difficult

-10

Verging on impossible

-15

Luck Rolls A variant of the situation roll is the luck roll. Sometimes a game master may want chance to determine whether something happens to the characters. The game master then asks all characters to roll a

MEASURING SUCCESS Outcome Result 1-2

Mediocre success. The character barely succeeds with the skill. Objects that are created have the Mediocre quality.

3-8

Normal success. The character does what is needed to succeed. Objects that are created have the Decent quality.

9-16

Adequate success. The character does slightly more than what is required to succeed. Objects created have the Decent+ quality.

17-20

Great success. The character does more than is required. Objects that are created have the quality Excellent.

≤21

Fantastic success. The character succeeds so well that people marvel at the result. Objects that are created have the Excellent+ quality.

luck roll to see who is the most or least lucky at that moment in time. Higher rolls generally indicate that luck is with the character, while low rolls indicate the opposite The one with the most luck might for instance win the lottery or perhaps find something on the ground, while the one with less luck may perhaps be the victim of theft, sickness, or some other events that affects one or several of the characters. The game master of course choose which die to use and which result mean a lucky or unlucky outcome, so that only the ones that, for example, roll 1 or 2 on 1d10 are affected by bad luck or so that those who roll 10 are the only lucky ones.

Open Roll Some die rolls (usually regarding d10) are called Open Rolls. This means that you are allowed to roll again if you roll a high result on the die. An open roll is marked after the die with “OR” and what die results allow you to roll again. 1d10 (OR 9-10) means that one should roll 1d10 and you are allowed to roll again if the outcome is 9 or 10. EXAMPLE: OPEN ROLL

Chris is going to roll 1d10 (OR 9-10). He rolls a 9 and because this 9 indicates an Open roll Chris is allowed to roll again. He rolls 9 again and is thus allowed to roll once more. This time Chris rolls 5. He is not allowed to roll again this time since the open roll only occurs on 9 and 10. Chris adds together all of his die rolls: 9+9+5=23. Chris’ roll resulted in 23.

11

12



Combat



“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red.” Revelation 6:12

13 In many ways the world of LexOccultum is a violent place and there are many dangers. Sometimes it will be necessary for the characters to fight for their lives. Combat is a chaotic flurry of actions that can be hard to keep track of. Now, roleplaying is much more than just combat and weapons, but since combat can determine whether a character lives or dies, the rules for combat are more detailed than those for many other aspects of the game. Combat is split into segments called Action Rounds (AR). An action round is only a few moments long.

turns everyone must roll for initiative. The ones who gets the highest value starts and the one with the lowest initiative acts last in the action round.

Initiative During an action round the characters involved get to perform actions in a set sequence of turns. An action round always starts with the participants rolling for initiative. The initiative roll is made with 1d10 (OR 10) and may be modified by various traits or other factors. ✦✦

Taking Turns Each action round is broken up into Turns. The sequence of turns determines who is allowed to act at any given time during an action round. To determine the sequence of

✦✦

The sum of the die rolls and the modifiers shows when a character is allowed to act in relation to the other participants. The character with the lowest outcome performs their actions last in the action round if none of the faster participants chooses to act later.

If two or more people get the same initiative, the one with the highest Fighting skill value is considered to be first of the participants followed by the one with the next highest skill value and so on. Should two or more people also have the same skill value they roll 1d10 each to determine the order of their turns relative to each other. The one who rolls the highest acts first.

Initiative modifiers (“IM”) An initiative modifier can result from a number of different factors. Some Initiative modifiers always apply, whatever action the character chooses to perform. Examples are: ✦✦

✦✦

Initiative bonuses from the Battle Experience discipline and Combat Reaction specialty Positive and negative Dexterity modifiers

On the other hand, modifiers linked to objects (especially weapons) are applied only when the specific objects are used. This means that if you bear a weapon but do not want to attack or parry with it, its IM will not be counted in your Initiative. Initiative modifiers from armors are always working, as far as the armor is worn. Initiative modifiers can also result from wounds or from mental illness, as explained later on in this book. They tend to remain as far as the harm is not healed.

Action round schedule: GM countdown and player turns Each round the following procedure happens: ✦✦

14

✦✦

✦✦

Every player chooses what to do, keeping the decision for himself, counting the IM which will influence his initiative, according to his own actions. Each player then openly rolls the Initiative dice. The GM then starts a countdown: 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7 etc…calling each number aloud. Each called number corresponds to a Turn and player declare their action when their turn comes.

Remember that a player can change their action if their turn has not come up yet (see below for more on Changing Actions).

Delaying action The character with the highest initiative has the opportunity to act first during the action round. However, they can delay their action if they wish. They cannot act earlier than their initiative, except when reacting to an attack with defensive actions. During their initiative, they can use all of their Combat Points (to be better explained below, under ”Combat Capacity”) If a character chooses to delay their action in a round, they receive a -5 modifier to that action when they finally

take it. This is a strategic move, as there are times when it may be advantageous to hold your action until after someone else acts, or to save Combat Points for defensive actions before spending them on your own attacks. But that hesitation will make your actions slightly more difficult. It doesn’t matter how far you delay into the action round; whether you wait for one character to act first or several, you still receive a -5 modifier on your action. If a character delays their action, the turn is passed to the next initiative in line. If several characters delay their actions and want to act on the same initiative, priority goes to the one with the highest Skill Value in Fighting. If more than one character vying for that spot has the same Skill Value in Fighting, they roll 1d10, with the highest roll going first.

Nonplayer characters The game master rolls the initiative for all of the nonplayer characters (also called GM characters or NPCs). Sometimes, the GM needs to run a large number of NPCs. To simplify this process and prevent everyone from having to sit through many initiative rolls, there is an alternative: the GM may make a single initiative roll for groups of NPCs. Everyone in that group acts at the same time during the initiative order. This can be done all as one large group, or in several smaller groups at the GM’s discretion. (Example: The player characters come into conflict with ten bandits. The GM could roll one initiative for all the bandits, or split them into appropriate groups like skirmishers and sharpshooters, then roll one initiative per group.)

Postponing initiative Instead of taking action, a character can postpone their initiative to the next full action round and skip their turn this round. Those who skip their turn can still take defensive actions against

incoming attacks, but otherwise cannot act at all during the round. In the next action round, they have the opportunity to act faster. They receive a modifier of +5 on their initiative roll.

Changing actions Sometimes you want to change your actions after the GM countdown has started, even if you have already counted the IM according to a different action. When this happens, just apply the new IM to your previous Initiative dice roll and see in which combat turn your new, changed action will happen. Now compare it with the present turn in the GM count. If the combat turn of the changed action has already happened, your action will happen in the present combat turn. If the combat turn of the changed action is yet to come, your action will happen then. You need to pay attention when the GM is counting down the combat turn. If your turn has passed, you cannot change your action Regarding changing actions, parrying and actions of opportunity (see below, among combat actions) are special cases since they happen outside your turn, and only if you have enough Combat Points left. If parrying or the actions of opportunity are happening later than your turn, this means that you have enough Combat Points left, and you have already counted the IM of the Weapon used for parrying or for the action of opportunity. However sometimes you may want to parry or to do an action of opportunity with a weapon whose IM was not counted in the Initiative roll, especially if this happens before your turn comes. In this case, just modify your turn with the IM of the weapon you are using now to parry or to make an action of opportunity. On the other hand, remember that you cannot save Combat Points for parrying and to make actions of opportunity after your own turn, if you have not counted the IM of the relevant weapon in your turn.

15

EXAMPLE: CHANGING ACTIONS

Ferdinando is a Sicilian adventurer and a famous traveller which came to investigate the mysteries of the Cathars in Provence. While he is investigating some ruins he remained isolated from his companion and he is attacked by a man, possibly a cultist trying to protect the ancient secrets. Ferdinando has Dex +2 modifier and wants to use his Excellent Sabre (IM -6). His Initiative roll gets a “5”, therefore his total initiative is “1” (5 +2 for the Dex modifier and -6 for the sabre). The GM starts his countdown 10, 9, 8, 7...but when Turn 6 comes two other cultists arrive, making the combat more deadly for the Sicilian!! Now Ferdinando can leave or he can remain to attack. Three things can happen: Ferdinando wait until Turn 5 to attack his enemies, as per his normal initiative. Ferdinando runs away, therefore his new Initiative will be “7” (5 +2 for the Dex but not counting the Sabre). Since Turn 7 has been already called and it’s now Turn 6, Ferdinando can immediately run away.

16

according to which weapon is used. For example, a character who uses a light one-handed weapon (for example a stiletto) can use up to four weapon actions, while a character using a two-handed heavy weapon (for example a halberd) can only use up to two weapon actions.

Attacking

Combat Capacity

Locked combat points

Combat capacity is a representation of how competent a character is in combat. It is measured in Combat Points. A character’s minimum combat capacity is equal to their Skill Value in the Fighting skill. If the character has a Skill Value of 10 in Fighting, they have at least 10 Combat Points. They can increase their combat capacity through disciplines and specialties. However, Combat Points gained in this way are usually locked to particular situations or weapons, and can be used only during circumstances that involve a specific situation or a certain weapon type. Combat Points are spent in a round on various combat actions, whose Skill values differ according to how many Combat Points are put in each action. It is clear that one can divide his Combat Points among different actions. However, during a round, a character can never take more weapon actions with a specific weapon than the number of weapon actions that a specific weapon has, even if the character has more Combat Points to spend. Remember that weapon actions are mainly attacks and parries. Other combat actions, not performed with the specific weapon or shield, are not limited by the weapons and shields used. Combat capacity is renewed after each action round.

Depending on a character’s disciplines and specialties, some Combat Points are locked to actions that use specific weapons or perform specific maneuvers and tactics. Combat Points locked to a specific weapon cannot be used for combat actions with any other weapon. Combat Points locked to a certain weapon group cannot be used with weapons from any other group.

Weapon actions Weapon actions are the actions linked with a specific weapon. They have a limited number of uses per action round,

An attack is a weapon action where the character acts offensively against someone else to cause damage, such as trying to chop a beast with an axe. Attacks can be performed with a weapon or unarmed. To determine whether a character’s attack is successful, make a Skill roll, as usual. The Skill Value is equal to the number of Combat Points spent on the attack (plus or minus modifiers). The attack Skill roll is 1d20 for each attack. If the roll is below or equal to the SV for the attack, the character succeeds, and if the roll exceeds the SV, the attack fails.

Successful attack If the character/creature succeeds in attacking the opponent, the defender then has the opportunity to parry (if they have enough Combat Points to spend) or evade the attack (Never more than one attempt at parrying or avoiding per attack). Should

EXAMPLE: LOCKED COMBAT POINTS

Jacques has a Skill Value of 6 in the Fighting skill, so when he is involved in combat, he has 6 Combat Points. Later in his career, his Skill Value in the Fighting skill has increased to 9, and he has gained the first level of the Close Combat Weapons discipline and the second level of the One-Handed Weapons (Right hand) specialty. His combat capacity is now calculated as follows. The Fighting Skill Value of 9 grants him 9 Combat Points. The Close Combat Weapons 1 discipline grants him 1 Combat Point for use when fighting with any manner of melee weapon (as opposed to fighting unarmed or with ranged weapons). The One-Handed Light Weapons (Right Hand) 2 specialty grants him 4 Combat Points for combat actions with one-handed weapons used with the right hand. Thus, when Jacques fights with a one-handed weapon in his right hand, he can use 14 total Combat Points (9 + 1 + 4). If Jacques uses a Two-Handed weapon he has only 10 Combat Points at his disposal (9 + 1). If he uses no weapons at all, he has only 9 Combat Points, his minimum from the Fighting skill.

17

the opponent fail to parry successfully, the attack will hit the opponent and the die for damage should be rolled.

Failed attack If a character fails in attacking it simply means that the character missed its target.

Parrying

18

A parry is a weapon action where the character acts defensively against someone else to defend against an oncoming attack. It happens out of the character’s turn and only if the character has enough CP to spend in a parry. The parry Skill roll uses1d20. If the roll is equal to or below the SV, the parry is successful. A parry never needs to be performed until one knows if the attacker has rolled a hit or not. To be able to parry without damaging one’s arm the character/creature must have something to parry with (a shield, a sword, a cane or a parrying dagger). An unarmed character who successfully parries an unarmed attack (in other words, parrying with their hands and arms) avoids the full damage just as if parrying with a weapon. However, an unarmed character who successfully parries an armed attack still takes half damage (rounded up). ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

The victim of a surprise attack is considered surprised and gets a -5 modifier on all combat actions for the duration of that action round, including parries. One cannot use more than one parry attempt per attack. A character can parry only melee attacks (armed or unarmed) but not ranged attacks. A Draw Weapons action cannot be combined with a simultaneous Parrying: your weapon is either already drawn (in a previous turn or action round) or it cannot be used. A defender who fails to parry an attack cannot try to parry the same attack again, even if they have more Combat Points to use.

Successful parrying A successful parry means that the character/creature negates the attack and does not take any damage. If the character parries an attack without using a weapon, see Unarmed Combat, below, for special rules. If one successfully parries with a weapon, roll the damage but apply it to the parrying object and compared the damage with the BP value, as per rules on the damage to object in the equipment descriptions.

Failed parrying A failed parry means that the incoming attack was successful and does damage.

Weapon actions with the off-hand Everyone can use both hands to perform weapon actions, but the following two rules must be used. ✦✦

✦✦

The Free Combat Points (those not locked to specific weapons or tactics) apply twice: once to your main hand, and once to your off hand. Off-hand weapons actions suffer a -15 modifier on the roll. This penalty is reduced by 1 per level in the Body Control discipline and by 2 per level in the Ambidexterity specialty.

These two rules do not apply to creatures that fight with natural weapons like bites and claws.

Weapon specialties Three Fighting specialties must be learned separately for either the right or left hands: One-Handed Weapons, Pistols, Throwing Weapons. The

combat points generated by those specialties (2 CP per level) are therefore locked not only to specific weapons, but also to a specific hand (right or left).

Unarmed Combat Fighting without weapons is called unarmed combat. A character that is unarmed still has the ability to fight with their fists, feet and head. One attack is a series of punches, kicks and other actions that in one way or another cause harm. A character can during an action round perform four unarmed weapon actions, those being attacks and parries/blocks. Just as with normal weapon actions, it is up to the player to divide the combat points from the Fighting Skill plus the locked ones (Unarmed Discipline, Brawling and Wrestlings specialties) among one or more unarmed actions. For monsters and creatures that do battle with claws and bites the rules that are provided for each beast are used. A normal-sized character does 1d3 in damage after a successful unarmed attack. UNARMED COMBAT Unarmed combat

Damage

Without the speciality

1d3

With the Brawling speciality

1d6

Modifiers from the Constitution trait are used for the damage roll

To perform an unarmed parry against an unarmed attack causes no damage to the character parrying. However, an unarmed parry against an armed attack often results in half damage (rounded up) being dealt to the one who is defending him or herself.

EXAMPLE: WEAPON ACTIONS WITH THE OFF-HAND

François (Body Control 2, Ambidexterity 4) has the following CP: Free 9 / Close Combat 2 / Right 1h weapons 4 / Left 1h weapons 2. He decides to attack with two daggers, one per hand, with the following attacks: Right-hand Dagger SV 14 (9 Free + 1 Close Combat + 4 right hand specialty). Left-hand Dagger SV 12 (9 Free +1 Close combat + 2 left hand specialty) – 5 (-15 diminished by 10 points by Body Control and Ambidexterity) = SV 7

✦✦

✦✦

A successful unarmed parrying action halves the damage from an armed attack. A character can perform four unarmed weapon actions per action round.

Grappling and Wrestling Grapple is a combat action where the attacker tries to grab hold of one or both of the opponent’s arms to prevent them from using any combat actions but the one for trying to get free.

Starting a Grapple To perform a grapple, at least one hand must be free and unarmed. The one trying to grapple performs an unarmed attack as usual, deciding how many Combat Points to spend on the attack. To grapple, however, the character spends 2 Combat Points per Skill value to succeed (instead of 1 point per SV, as in a standard attack). Characters may not purchase a Skill value higher than their total SV in Wrestling, including the Unarmed Fighting discipline and Fighting skill. You can attempt a grapple or try to break free from it only once per action round. A grapple is usually performed with both hands. Any character using only one hand suffer a -5 penalty, to be added on top of off-hand penalties, if that's the hand which is used.

Resisting a grapple The victim can try to resist the grapple attempt as long as they have the necessary Combat Points left. A person who fails to resist and which is caught in a grapple is unable to use any other combat action except trying to escape. In order to break free from a grapple, the victim may attempt to do so during their initiative or as a defensive reaction EXAMPLE: GRAPPLE

If a character wants to roll with a SV of 12, it will cost 24 Combat Points, as long as they have at least 12 SV in Wrestling.

to the grapple if their turn occurred earlier in the action round. They may spend as many Combat Points as they want (and are available), but at the cost of 3 Combat Points per Skill Value. Just like performing a grapple, this is limited by the SV of the Fighting skill, Unarmed Fighting discipline, and Wrestling specialty.

Throwing to the ground If a character has an opponent stuck in a grapple, they can try to throw an opponent to the ground. To succeed, the character must do a roll similar to the one he did for starting the grapple

and the victim can resist as he did before. If the throwing attack is successful the opponent is thrown to the ground and takes 1d3 points of physical damage. If the person performing the throwing decides to remain standing, the opponent is no longer grappled and can act again in the following action round. Alternatively, the person performing the throwing can drop to the ground and throw the opponent with extra impact from their own body weight. In this case, the opponent takes 1d6 points of physical damage (instead of 1d3) and remains stuck in the grapple.

19

Combat Actions Basic combat actions are all types of actions that a character can use during an action round, such as attacking, parrying an attack, or moving. Remember that “weapon actions” are combat actions but not all the combat actions are weapon actions. Combat actions include the following actions. When an action is a “weapon action” it is explicitly mentioned in the table below with the “WA” tag. COMBAT ACTIONS Action Actions of opportunity Communicate orders Combat movement Draw weapons Evade attack Feint Hasty attack Hit the weapon

20

Mounted combat Mounted ranged combat Ride-by attack

Actions of opportunity ✦✦

Combat Points: depending on the action

When a combatant flees, steps out of melee battle, or retreats, their opponent has an opportunity to take one action of opportunity, also called a free action. This occurs regardless of initiative, even if the attacker would not ordinarily be able to act yet due to the opponent’s higher initiative. To use a free action, the character may spend any number of Combat Points but is still limited by the total number of Combat Points remaining in the current action round. An Action of Opportunity action is usually an attack, and it is therefore usually counted as a weapon action. If other combat actions are performed they may or may not be weapon actions. A Draw Weapons action cannot be combined with a simultaneous Action of Opportunity: your weapon is either already drawn (in a previous turn or action round) or it cannot be used.

Overcome/Avoid object Pick something up

Communicate orders

Ranged attacks Targets in melee combat Targets at long distance Moving target Retreat Stand up Surprise attack Other combat situations Slippery surface Blind fighting

The following sections detail the costs in Combat Points for these actions, as well as modifiers or further effects that may result. Ultimately, it is always up to the game master to determine any modifiers (positive or negative) that should be used in a given situation and what can or cannot be attempted.

✦✦

Combat Points: –

Any character capable of speaking can do so freely during a action round. Characters can communicate by whispering to others in the immediate area, calling out to those nearby, or screaming across the battlefield. This can be a single powerful word or several sentences, as long as it fits within the timing of the round. No Combat Points are needed to do so, and this can be performed at the same time as other maneuvers and weapon actions.

Combat movement ✦✦

Combat Points: 2 per meter

Characters who want to move during combat while maintaining control of their surroundings can do so at a general cost of 2 Combat Points per 1 meter of movement. It is impossible to move farther than the character’s total movement capacity per action round (as described under Maximum movement on page 52 in Alter Ego).

Draw weapons ✦✦ ✦✦

Combat Points: 5 SV: -5 to -10

By spending 5 Combat Points a character can draw a weapon and be ready for battle. If this weapon is used in this round the attack receives a -5 SV modifier in the case of sheathed weapons. This penalty can be raised up to -10 SV if weapons are drawn from less accessible locations (e.g. hidden places, etc.). If a character does not have 5 Combat Points, it takes the full action round to draw a weapon. The character cannot do anything else, not even parry attacks. If the character has been disarmed and their weapon has been knocked away,they must first do a combat movement to the location of the weapon and then pick it up from the ground (using the ”Pick Something Up” combat action instead of the ”Draw Weapon” action ). On the other hand a disarmed character who still has the weapon attached in a loop around the wrist can use this combat action to get a new grip on the weapon. ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

A character does not need to draw a weapon to fight unarmed. A Draw Weapons action is a weapon action. A Draw Weapons action cannot be combined with a simultaneous Parrying or with a simultaneous Action of Opportunity: your weapon is either already drawn (in a previous turn or action round) or it cannot be used.

Evade attack ✦✦

SV: According to the Evade specialty

The character has learned how to avoid an attack without parrying or blocking. It takes an action to attempt to dodge, and Evade cannot be combined with any other actions. The character can during a turn dodge: ✦✦ ✦✦ ✦✦

1 attack at level 1-2 2 attacks at level 3-4 3 attacks at level 5

Just as for the Fighting skill, the player allocates SV for the different dodge attempts. A character who has, for instance, 15 SV and can thus dodge up to two attacks per turn can attempt to dodge one attack with 9 SV and another with 6 SV. A character cannot attempt to dodge the same attack more than once.

Feint ✦✦

Combat Points: up to 5 (- opponent’s Perception modifier)

There are fighters which prefer to trick the opponent during a melee combat, instead of defeating him relying just on their strength. To make a feint during an attack a character must spend a number of additional Combat Points up to a maximum of 5 minus the opponent’s perception modifier. If the opponent tries to parry he will suffer a penalty equal to the Combat Points spent for feinting. Feint is not a separate Weapon Action but it is considered part of a Weapon Action.

Hasty attack ✦✦

Combat Points: 1 per lowered (-1) initiative

A character that wants to perform a hasty attack and thus be first in the initiative order can do so by spending a number of Combat Points equal to the modifiers they want to apply to their Initiative score. Lowering their skill value by -1 per initiative slot they want to move up. A character can spend up to 10 CP to lower their initiative by -10. This expense is usually made at the beginning of a round but the GM is the final arbiter about accepting or not such an expense.

Hit the weapon ✦✦

Combat Points: –

Skillful fighters sometimes prefer to neutralize the opponent’s weapon in order to defeat them. With this combat action the character attacks a weapon held by their opponent. To hit a Weapon is considered a Weapon Action. This combat action can only be performed against a weapon which is equal or smaller in size than the one which the character uses. The opponent can “parry” although, even if it is mechanically a parry, its effect will just be to neutralize the “Hit the weapon” action. If the Hit the Weapon action is successful there are two effects. ✦✦

✦✦

used, disciplines and specialties linked with the target weapon can be applied. If the victim fails the roll, they loses grip on the weapon which is thrown 1d6 meter away.

The first effect is that the target weapon receives damage from the attack. Compare the damage with the BP of the weapon, as per normal rules on damaging objects, in the equipment descriptions. The second effect is that the victim of the action must make a Skill Roll with a SV equal to their Agility or Fighting Skill (whatever is higher), applying the Costitution modifier. If Fighting is

Mounted combat ✦✦ ✦✦

Combat Points: 15 SV: +2/-2

Fighting on horseback is not always easy, but the benefits for skilled riders are great. To be able to take any actions other than defensive ones from horseback during an action round, the rider must spend 15 Combat Points at the beginning of each round. This cost is reduced by 3 per level in the Riding specialty. For the sake of simplicity the mounts usually acts at the same Initiative count of their riders. Furthermore the rider do not spend CP to move, but the mounts do. The great advantage to fighting on horseback is that the rider receives a +2 bonus on all weapon actions against opponents who are not on horseback (ranged weapons not included). Those opponents also receive a -2 penalty on all weapon actions against the rider. Combat-trained mounts also give additional modifiers of +1 for the rider and -1 for any opponent (mounted or not) per degree of competence, unless the mounts attack (see Trained Animals in Alter Ego). Mounted combat allow the use of Ride-by Attack and Mounted Ranged Attack actions. Against mounted opponents SV bonuses and penalties are stacked against each other and therefore neutralized, unless the mounts have different combat training levels (see Trained Animals in Alter Ego). The effect on damage from a Ride-by Attack remains. Mounted Combat is not a separate weapon action from the weapon actions used (attacks or parries). It is just a mechanic influencing weapon actions while mounted.

21

Mounted ranged combat ✦✦

Combat Points: 15

In terms of mechanics, this action is similar to a Ride-by Attack, but it is used with ranged weapons. It requires the target to be in range of the ranged attack rather than being passed by in melee. Mounted Ranged Attacks are weapon actions.

Ride-by attack ✦✦ ✦✦

22

Combat Points: 10 (25) Damage: increases open roll by 1

During an action round, a character on horseback can make a Ride-by Attack. To do so, the rider must ride past their opponent at some point during the horse’s movement. The Ride-by Attack costs 10 Combat Points on top of the Combat Points already spent at the beginning of the round for Mounted Combat (a total of 25 Combat Points if you have no levels in the Riding specialty). This cost covers the high difficulty of this maneuver, but the character still needs to spend Combat Points on the attack as usual. When this attack is used, the force from the animal drives the assault and increases the chance of an open roll by 1 (for example, an attack with an OR 9-10 will instead be OR 8-10, and a weapon that normally doesn’t have an open roll now has OR 10). The Ride-by Attack counts as a weapon action.

Overcome/Avoid object ✦✦

Combat Points: 6 per meter

Every battle and combat environment is unique, and several objects may need to be avoided or overcome. For example, a character may have to leap over a table to attack an opponent, roll under a fence

to get away from a pursuer, or drop to the ground to hide or gain cover from ranged attacks. Such combat actions are considered Overcome/Avoid Object maneuvers and normally cost 6 Combat Points each. A character can complete an Overcome/Avoid Object maneuver during 1 action round even if they don’t have enough Combat Points to cover the full distance. However, they must have at least 1 Combat Point left, and completing the maneuver will use all available Combat Points for that round. Ranged attacks against a character who uses an Overcome/Avoid Object maneuver are handled as if they are performed against a moving target.

Pick something up ✦✦

how many combat points it costs to pick something up, but as a rule of thumb, the easier it is the lower the combat points it should cost. If you want to use the object in the same round you will suffer a penalty equal to the amount of combat points spent for picking up the object, from -5 to -10.

Ranged attacks It is not always easy to hit a target with a ranged weapon. Below are examples of modifiers that can be used in common situations. Ultimately, the GM decides which modifiers the attacker receives in a given situation. All ranged attacks are weapon actions.

Targets in melee combat

Combat Points: 5-10 ✦✦

With this combat maneuver the character can pick up an object from the surrounding area. If the GM decides so, the character must spend combat points for moving nearby the object, before trying to picking it up (see the Combat Movement action). Picking up an object is usually an automatic action. The character only needs to perform a situation roll to succeed in picking up the object if someone else is trying to take the object at the same time or if the object is hard to pick up (for example a slippery brick of soap). Should the character fail the situation roll to pick up the object they can try again during the next action round. Whether you roll it or not, picking up things costs combat points. How many combat points it costs to pick something up will depend on the object itself and where it is located. The cost will vary between 5 and 10 combat points according to how difficult is to pick up the object. It is easier to pick something up from a table than from the ground. It is easier to pick up a goblet than, for example, a needle or a great iron cauldron. The game master decides

SV: -5

A character with a ranged weapon who attacks a foe engaged in melee with others attacks normally, but because the target is involved in a tumultuous battle, it is harder to hit. To represent this challenge, the attacker takes a -5 modifier to Skill Value on all attacks against a target in melee combat. If a ranged attack aimed at a foe in a crowd of combatants misses its target, there is a chance that it hits someone or something else. The GM makes this choice.

Targets at long distance ✦✦

SV: -10

A character with a ranged weapon who wants to attack a foe at the limits of the weapon’s range (long distance) attacks normally, but because the target is so far away, it is harder to hit. To represent this challenge, the attacker takes a -10 modifier to Skill Value on all attacks against a long distance target. All ranged weapons have an indicated short and long distance.

Moving target ✦✦

SV: -10

Using ranged weapons to attack a foe who is running, using a move maneuver, or riding a mount is rolled just like a normal attack, but because the target is moving, it is much harder to hit. To represent this challenge, the attacker takes a -10 modifier to Skill Value on all attacks against a target who is moving quickly.

Retreat ✦✦

Combat Points: -

A character who wishes to get away from combat can retreat. A retreat means that the character is moving rapidly away from their opponent(s) but retains the ability to take defensive actions. The retreating character gives everyone who is in combat with them a free action (described above under Actions of Opportunity). However, the character can still attempt to parry these free actions with any Combat Points that remain. A character who retreats must do so at the beginning of their turn in an action round. It is impossible to attack first and then retreat in the same round. The retreating character, once free from melee, can then move as usual at a cost of 2 Combat Points per meter. While retreating, it is impossible to move farther than the character’s total movement capacity per action round.

Stand up ✦✦

Combat Points: 10

A character who is lying down or has been beaten to the ground can stand up as a combat action. However, it is time consuming and costs Combat Points. There is also a risk that the character will be attacked during the time it takes to stand up (this action may provoke an Action of Opportunity, if the GM decides so).

If a character does not have the 10 Combat Points needed to stand up, it takes the whole action round to stand up again. The character cannot do anything else during this time, not even parry attacks.

Other combat situations

Surprise Attack

Slippery surface

✦✦ ✦✦

Combat Points: +10 Victim SV: -5

Any attack where the opponent is caught unaware is considered a surprise attack. A surprise attack can be used only once against an opponent. After that initial attack, successful or not, the attacker is detected. When attacking with surprise, a character attacks normally but receives +10 Combat Points to use for the attack. The victim of a surprise attack is considered surprised and gets a -5 modifier on all combat actions for the duration of that action round. A surprise attack is a weapon action.

The characters may face all sorts of interesting and challenging situations in combat. How much they are affected is up to the game master to decide. Below is a bit of guidance for specific combat situations.

✦✦

SV: -3 modifier

Slippery surfaces impose a -3 modifier on the SV of all actions that require Agility.

Blind fighting ✦✦

SV: -15 modifier

A character who is fighting blind, only able to use sound to locate a target, receives a -15 modifier to the SV of all combat actions.

23

24



Health and Fear



“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:18

25 In LexOccultum there are two states of health, the physical and the mental, both of which can be harmed and worsened. On the character sheet there are two fields that describe the physical and mental status of the character. Both the physical and the mental states of health are described by a number of health boxes. Each box represents one point of health. The more boxes that are unmarked the better the character is feeling, and as more boxes get filled in the character feels worse and worse. The health of game master characters and creatures is also described with these states of health. Lv. 1 12 points*

Healthy – Sane

The chapter Health and Fear describes how damage in these two states of health arises, how the damage is recorded, and how one heals and cares for such damage.

✦✦

✦✦

Five Levels

of D amage Both the physical and the mental health status tracks are split into 5 levels of damage. Each level contains a number of health points. ✦✦

A character normally has a total of 32 physical health points and 32 mental health points. Lv. 2 8 points

Lv. 3 6 points

The Constitution and Health traits modify the physical health points of a character by up to plus/minus 8 points to be added or subtracted as boxes to the first physical damage level. The Intelligence and Psyche traits modify the mental health points of a character by up to plus/minus 8 points to be added as boxes to the first mental damage level.

Registering Damage Each time a character or creature is exposed to physical or mental harm the effects are recorded by marking off Lv. 4 4 points

Lv. 5 2 points

Damaged Seriously Damaged Mortally Wounded Dying – – – – Delusional Lunatic Insane Beyond Recovery *4–20. Depending on character traits Constitution and Health for the physical health points and Intelligence and Psyche for the mental health points.

a number of health boxes in the field for mental or physical damage on the player’s character sheet, or in the game master notes for non-player characters or for creatures. If the character/creature suffers 4 health points then four boxes should be crossed off. When suffering damage the first boxes to be marked are always those at the lowest available level with still unmarked boxes. Don’t move on to the next level of damage until all boxes in the current level have been marked off. ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

26

If a creature is exposed to physical violence or is in any way damaged physically, physical health boxes are marked off. If a creature is exposed to mental violence, damage, fear or other horrible experiences then mental health boxes are marked off. During character creation permanently mark off enough boxes of the first damage level so that the total matches the health points modified by the character´s trait modifiers.

Care

and H ealing A creature may heal their wounds through natural healing and care. However, when the wounds are severe only professional medical care can help. Only the first levels of damage (“Salvus” for physical health and “Sanus” for mental health) can be naturally healed without professional treatment. ✦✦

✦✦

Natural healing works at damage levels 2 to 5 only after activation due to professional medical care. To heal damage through care, certain specialities are required, which are specified below, according to whether a Basic or an Advanced level of medical treatment is applied.

Natural healing Through the natural healing process, most persons (with Health or Psyche

traits at level 0) usually regain 1 point of physical or mental damage per day. People with different levels in the Health/Psyche traits regain physical/ mental damage at different rates, as shown in the table below. NATURAL HEALING Health/Psyche

Natural healing

+4

4 points per day

+2

3 points per day

+1

2 points per day

-1

1 point every other day

-2

1 point every third day

-4

1 point every fourth day

For the healing process to work the person must get at least eight hours of sleep. Otherwise, it is up to the game master to determine how much a character’s natural healing drops. The natural process of healing automatically starts when resting for the Level 1 of damage (Salvus or Sanus). For wounds belonging to higher levels of damage, levels 2-5, the natural healing must be activated by professional treatment. ✦✦

✦✦

The natural healing process starts automatically when resting for the first level of mental or physical damage. For the natural healing process to work at levels 2-5, it should have been first activated by professional medical care (Basic or Advanced).

For example, a character suffering only the first level of physical damage sleeps during the night and because of his Health +1 trait he heals 2 health points in level 1. But if the character suffers damage more severe than level 1 they must first activate the natural healing for it to heal.

Basic medical care Basic medical treatment does not heal any damage but only activates the natural healing process when the patient is suffering damage at levels 2-5.

The healer must succeed in a skill roll with one of the healing skills mentioned below (but without the modifiers which advanced medical care suffer, as described below). To perform Basic Medical Care the healer is required to have not just the skills but also certain disciplines, as specified below. ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

To perform Basic Medical Care for physical wounds the healer uses the Science skill and must have the Healthcare discipline. To perform Basic Medical Care for mental wounds the healer must use the following skills and have the following disciplines: - The Theology skill and the Divine arts discipline - The Science skill and the Healthcare discipline - The Esotericism skill and The Right-hand Path or The Left-hand Path disciplines. The SV bonuses from related specialties are applied, although having a specialty is not a requirement for performing Basic Medical Care.

This type of care works as a precursor and will not heal any actual damage boxes, instead the patient will simply begin their natural process of healing.

Advanced medical care Advanced Medical Care can be attempted in addition to Basic Medical Care. The purpose of Advanced Medical Care is to activate the natural healing process and, at the same time, to heal damage. To perform Advanced Medical Care the healer must succeed specific skill rolls (with the modifiers specified below) and must also have specific disciplines and specialties, as described below. To perform Advanced Medical Care for physical damage the healer needs the following. ✦✦

The Science skill, the Healthcare discipline and the Healing speciality.

27

To perform Advanced Medical Care on mental damage the healer needs to have one of the following combinations: ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

The Esotericism skill, the The Righthand Path discipline and the Medicina Mentis Dextera speciality The Esotericism skill, the The Left-hand Path discipline and the Medicina Mentis Sinistra speciality The Theology skill, the Divine Arts discipline and the Pastoral Care speciality.

Advanced Medical Care is difficult to perform and therefore the SV of the skill roll is modified according to the severity of the damage to heal. MODIFIERS FROM DAMAGE Damage Level

28

±0

2

-1

3

-3

4

-5

5

-7

The healer performs a skill roll for the actual damage level with the negative modifier applied to the roll according to the table above. A successful roll will:

✦✦

Skill

Basic Medical Care

Advanced Medical Care

Esotericism

The Right-hand Path

Medicina Mentis Dextera

Esotericism

The Left-hand Path

Medicina Mentis Sinistra

Theology

Divine Arts

Pastoral Care

Science

Healthcare

Mental Care

CARING FOR PHYSICAL WOUNDS: REQUIREMENTS Skill Science

Basic Medical Care

Advanced Medical Care

Healthcare

Healing

TIME FOR HEALING Damage Level

Basic Medical Care

Advanced Medical Care

1

1 action round

10 minutes

2

2 action rounds

20 minutes

3

3 action rounds

1 hour

4

4 action rounds

2 hours

5

5 action rounds

4 hours

Modifier

1

✦✦

CARING FOR MENTAL WOUNDS: REQUIREMENTS

Activate the natural healing process, (heart symbol on character sheet under level 2-5 is filled in to show that natural healing is activated). Heal 1d3+1/(healers specialty level) damage points (except for the 5th level of wounds were it heals only 1 damage point). The remaining damage in all the other levels will be healed through natural healing

Time for healing The healer must spend different amounts of time healing their patient depending on what form of healing they are providing. Check the table in this page to see how much time it takes to perform the medical care, according to which type of care is dealt.

Failed healing Should a healing roll for a given level fail, another attempt can be made after 1d3 hours.

Cheating death When a character is dying (has marked the final box of either physical or mental health points that symbolises death), they always linger a few moments before life completely leaves the individual and the character dies. To see how many action rounds it takes before life fades completely one rolls 1d6 +/- possible modifiers from the Health or Psyche traits (depending on what type of damage caused the death). ✦✦

Life fades after 1d6 action rounds +/possible modifiers from the Health or Psyche traits (depending on what type of damage caused the death).

If there is time, someone can start attempting to revive the victim and possibly save the dying character. Attempts to revive someone at Death’s door are done by making a successful roll of the relevant skill and speciality. The skill roll is, however, negatively modified by -7 due to the fifth level of damage being filled.

The dying character is revived after a successful roll, but remains unconscious until the character has healed one physical or mental health point on the fifth level of damage through healing.

Being wounded during natural healing When a character is damaged again the natural process of healing is stopped. The damage is recorded in the first available boxes and the heart symbolising natural healing is unmarked. ✦✦

✦✦

Newly suffered damage is always marked in the first unmarked box. The marking for the natural healing process is always removed when new damage is suffered and, if damage is still in the 2-5 levels, healing need to be activated again.

Other healing There are always a number of different ways to heal the mental and physical damage a character suffers beyond healing and the natural healing process. The Esotericism, Theology and Science skills have their own special ways of healing damage. Some creatures even have regenerating abilities.

Damage Complications As long as a character has not suffered more damage than the number of health boxes in the first level of damage, “Sanus” for mental health and “Salvus” for physical health, their abilities are not affected by the damage. However, the trouble comes as soon as the damage has reached the second level or beyond, “Rabidus” for mental health and “Corpus Laesus” for physical health. Once these levels are reached, the effects of damage come into play in terms of negative modifiers (which are immediately applied) and complications (which happen if damage is not treated), as better explained below in the descriptions of the specific health levels.. The first effect of a damage is a negative modifier to the SV of all skill rolls. Only the modifiers from the highest damage level that has been reached are applied. If the damage that has been marked within a certain level of damage is not treated and cared for correctly with the prescribed specialities within a certain period of time, there is a risk that the damage will lead to further complications. Complications can come in the form of amputations of infected and damaged body parts for physical damage and long-term madness or obsession for mental damage. ✦✦

✦✦

Complications from physical damage can be, for example, infections, bleeding, and so on. Complications from mental damage can be, for example, delusions, irrational behaviour, and in the worst cases, a character may be rendered completely insane.

To stop this a doctor must treat the wound with surgery. The healer does this by succeeding with a Science skill roll with the Healing speciality, as better explained in the descriptions of damage levels.

To avoid this the a doctor must treat the mental damage by succeeding with one of the following skill rolls:

Amputations

✦✦

If a wound is not properly treated with medical care within an expected time period (indicated below, in the descriptions of damage levels) it develops a severe infection. Consequently a body part or at least a part of it must be amputated. A Science skill roll is needed and the healer must have the Healing speciality. If the amputation is not performed, or if the roll fails, this causes 1d3 in damage each day until the character enters the “Moribundus” level (see below) or someone succeeds with a new amputation attempt (maximum of three attempts per body part). If a body part is amputated, the character is unable to function and will be bedridden for a minimum of 5 days (4 +1d10 (OR 9-10)). Each of these days the doctor must succeed with a Science skill roll with the Healing speciality. A failed skill roll means that the patient must stay one more day under the doctor’s care. It is always up to the game master to decide how much needs to be amputated from a body part and what body part needs to be removed. One way to determine which body part must be removed is to roll 1d10 and multiply it by 10%, where the result is what proportion of a body part needs to be removed.

✦✦

Inflamation/sever infection (Physical levels 2-5)

Mental strain/collapse (Mental levels 2-5)

If the levels 2-5 of physical damage are not treated within a certain period of time (indicated below in the description of damage levels) and in the correct way there is a great risk that the wound will become infected, which in turn can lead to the body part or a part of it having to be amputated.

If the levels 2-5 of mental damage are not treated within a certain period of time (indicated below in the description of damage levels) and in the correct way there is a great risk that the character get a mental strain or collapse which in turn can lead to insanity and the Insanabilis mental state.

✦✦

Esotericism with one of the specialities Medicina Mentis Dextera or Medicina Mentis Sinistra. Theology with the Pastoral Care speciality Science with the Mental Care speciality.

Insanity (Mental level 5 Insanabilis) When a character has been through great mental stress that is not treated correctly in a timely fashion, the character has reached the mental state “Insanabilis”, which means that he or she has become permanently insane, obsessed, or delusional. The only ways to recover from this is to be treated in a sanatorium or through exorcism. The character has become closed off within their own mind, and does nothing on their own volition any more and must simply be lead around.

Treatment at a sanatorium The character is admitted to a mental institution and must have his or her mental state cared for to avoid ending up as an empty husk for the rest of their lives. To care for a patient’s mental state the healer must succeed with a number of skill rolls equal to 4 +1d10 (OR 9-10). Each skill roll requires one day. These rolls can be made with the following skills: ✦✦

✦✦

Esotericism with one of the specialities Medicina Mentis Dextera or Medicina Mentis Sinistra. Science with the Mental care speciality.

If the healer fails 3 days in a row, all hope is lost and the character never recover. The character is now out of control of the player and the game

29

30

master decides whether he will die or just become an insane non-player character. When all the skill rolls are successful, the character is considered healthy but loses one level from their Psyche trait.

Exorcism The patient must be a believer or be sworn to a faith. The character is considered to be possessed by a demon or to carry the devil himself within their body, which must be driven out. Exorcism requires the use of the Theology skill with the Pastoral Care speciality. To remove a demon the exorcist must succeed with a number of skill rolls equal to 4 +1d10 (OR 9-10). Each skill roll requires one day. If the exorcist should fail 3 days in a row, all hope is lost and the character remains possessed and can never recover. The character is now out of control of the player and the game master decides whether he will die or just become an insane non-player character. When all the skill rolls are successful, the character is considered to be healthy but loses one level from their Psyche trait.

Unconsciousness and death A character will fall into unconsciousness when they have taken enough damage in their physical or mental health points that all the health boxes on the fifth level are marked off. If this happens, they will not return to consciousness again until they have healed one physical or mental health point on the fifth level of damage through healing. The character will die when they have suffered more damage in either physical or mental health points than their fifth health level contains and they must mark the final box, which symbolises death. If one dies from physical damage, the body has simply been put through such violence that it cannot function anymore.

If one dies from mental damage, the psyche, the soul and the character’s mental health is in such a state that the character has stopped functioning and the character is permanently out of the player’s control. It’s up to the game master to decide whether the character will die or become an insane non-player character A fate worse than physical death, some would say.

Damage for Monsters and C reatures Many monsters and creatures do not follow the same laws of nature as the characters. Some cannot feel pain, others are controlled by supernatural circumstances, rituals, diseases or other things that the characters don’t have. It is completely up to the game master to determine if, and how, the different degrees of damage for physical and mental health should be used for monster and creatures. Sometimes it can be important for the balance of the game that a creature that is heavily wounded suffers a penalty for this, whereas in other cases it may be of little importance. A simple rule of thumb, if you don’t want to use the levels of damage, and the associated complications, used by player characters for monsters or human game master characters, is to use the following principle: when half of a monster’s health points are lost they suffer a modifier of -5 on everything that they attempt to do.

Physical Damage To determine how much damage a character has taken, a damage die is rolled. In most cases the damage die is 1d10, but sometimes it is 1d6, 1d5 or 1d3. Sometimes, rather than relying on a die roll, the damage is determined by the game master or the ruleset. When one rolls 1d10 as a damage die there is sometimes a risk that the damage is so dire that a new die must be rolled, this is called an Open roll. Large creatures can also have several damage dice. An open roll is given after

the damage die and is indicated by the letters OR and a range of numbers Open damage rolls are primarily provided by weapons, but there are other situations that can provide them. For example, unarmed combat with large creatures, being trapped in a fire, or falling from a great height can all cause open damage rolls. It is not only when someone suffers violence that he or she can be physically damaged. Below are described some examples for situations in which physical damage might occur.

Fire damage It is completely up to the game master to determine how much physical damage a character takes from fire and burning. Depending on how much of the character is covered in fire, how strong the fire is and how long the character has been exposed to the fire the damages can be very different. One way to determine this is that the creature or character suffers one damage die per burned body part and action round that passes. Should the fire cover the legs of a character, he or she then suffers two damage dice per action round and should the fire spread to the stomach the character then suffers three damage dice per action round. Depending on how fierce the fire is the game master can modify the value for an open roll, a smaller fire dealing 1d5 in damage, a slightly larger one dealing 1d10, and a very fierce one dealing 1d10 (OR 8-10).

Falling damage Depending on the situation, falling can result in different severities of damage. It is up to the game master to decide how much damage a fall should cause. A simple rule of thumb is that one suffers 1d10 (OR 10) in damage for every three meters that one falls. A fall from 3 meters thus deals 1d10 (OR 10) points of damage while a fall of 9 meters deals 3d10 (OR 10) points of damage.

31

LEVELS OF PHYSICAL DAMAGE Damage level

Name

1

Salvus (healthy)

Modifier -

2

Corpus Laesus (damaged)

-1

3

Vulnus Grave (seriously damaged)

-3

4

Vulnus Letale (mortally wounded)

-5

5

Moribundus (dying)

-7

Diseases and poison damage It is up to the game master to decide how many points a given source of damage such as a disease or poison should cause. A weak poison might for example deal 1d3 points of damage while a very potent poison might deal 1d10 (OR 6-10) points of damage.

Physical Damage Levels

32

Depending on how high or low the value for a character’s physical health is at the moment, he or she will act in different ways. A low value means that the character barely notices their damage. As the character’s physical health worsens, they will have an increasingly difficult time moving due to their pain and will act accordingly. It is always the modifier from the highest level of damage suffered that is in effect. Modifiers from lower levels are not added together. However, the modifier from the highest level of mental damage suffered is added to the modifier from the physical damage level.

The first level: Salvus (Healthy) ✦✦

Modifier: None

The character is healthy or just lightly damaged. This level represents superficial scrapes and bruises and sore body parts. The damage will naturally heal and no healing rolls are required for the natural healing process to start.

The second level: Corpus laesus (Damaged) ✦✦

Modifier: -1

The character is more than superficially wounded. A wound or crushing damage affects the character’s ability to move. The damage requires active healing and rest to cure the damage. Not caring for the damage within 5 days can lead to infections or other lasting effects: Roll 1d10 (OR 10). UNTREATED CORPUS LAESUS 1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1-8

No lasting effects

9-14

Inflammation. Add an additional +1 point of damage.

>14

Severe infection. Add 1d3 points of damage. The damage requires surgical attention (successful roll with the Healing speciality) within 5 days on top of the already passed 5 days to avoid amputation of the body part, see Amputation above.

The third level: Vulnus grave (Seriously damaged) ✦✦

Modifier: -3

The fourth level: Vulnus letale (Mortally damaged) ✦✦

Modifier: -5

The fifth level: Moribundus (Dying) ✦✦

The character is seriously wounded. Deep flesh wounds or internal damage to important organs makes the character severely limited in his or her ability to move. The pain makes it hard to concentrate. Not caring for the damage within 3 days can lead to even greater negative effects: Roll 1d10 (OR 10).

The character is mortally wounded. Deep flesh wounds or internal damage to important organs such as the heart, lungs, stomach, and the like. The pain is indescribable and the character must summon all their strength to be able to stand at all. Not caring for the damage within 2 day can lead to even greater negative effects: Roll 1d10 (OR 10).

UNTREATED VULNUS GRAVE

UNTREATED VULNUS LETALE

1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1-8

No lasting effects

1-8

No lasting effects

9-14

Inflammation. Add an additional +1 point of damage.

9-14

Inflammation. Add an additional +1 points of damage.

>14

Severe infection. Add 1d3 points of damage. The damage requires surgical attention (successful roll with the Healing speciality) within 3 days on top of the already passed 3 days to avoid amputation of the body part, see Amputation above.

>14

Severe infection. Add 1d3 points of damage. The damage requires surgical attention (successful roll with the Healing speciality) within 2 days on top of the already passed 2 days to avoid amputation of the body part, see Amputation above.

Modifier: -7

The character is staring down the jaws of death herself. Hope is lost, the gates of heaven are thrust open and the reaper beckons. Only a most skilled doctor can now save the character, who is in dire need of care. One or several wounds have damaged the body so badly that it is now only a matter of hours before the character dies from blood loss or organ failure. The character suffers 1 point of damage each 12 hours that passes due to loss of blood. A successful roll with the Science skill and Healthcare discipline stops the flow of blood temporarily for 24 hours (-1 physical health point every 24 hours). The character’s wounds need extensive care within 24 hours after the damage has occurred with the Healing speciality. A successful roll for the Healing speciality heals only 1 physical health point in the fifth level of damage and activates the natural healing process for this level. Each failed attempt at saving the character can deal +1 points of damage: Roll 1d10. FAILED ATTEMPT 1d10

Effects

1-8

No lasting effects

9-10

+1 point of damage

The stench was almost as unbearable as the screams. The nurse walked between the beds in the hospital, filled to the brim with soldiers who had suffered grievous injuries. It had been six days since the great battle, and most of the people that were bedridden here had received such severe infections that the doctor didn’t have enough time to amputate all the legs and arms of the infected. They had called in the butcher, who had reluctantly agreed to help.

33

Fear and Mental Damage Excitement, terror, worry, anxiety and fear are all feelings that play a special part in LexOccultum. Many times the characters will wind up in situations where they come face to face with something dangerous and horrifying. There are many different situations that can arise in which a character faces something that he or she is frightened by. It can be due to anticipation of something that is about to happen or for something that has just occurred. A die roll will determine how great the mental ordeal will be in the form of fear, anxiety or psychotic illness. For each new mental ordeal that occurs, the character suffers an amount of mental damage points. . The mental strain that a situation causes is determined by a damage die being rolled, where the result shows how great the mental strain suffered is.

The creature or situation that inflicts the mental strain causes 1d6 or 1d10 as a base to determine how many mental points the character suffers. Smaller or less frightening creatures, and situations that are only slightly frightening cause 1d6 in mental strain while larger creatures and more horrible situations cause 1d10 in mental strain. Some creatures or situations may even cause an open roll. A fear factor of 1d6 can never have an open roll. The table below works well as a framework. FEAR FACTOR Creature or situation

Damage

Moderately frightening

1d6

Frightening Really frightening

1d10 1d10 (OR 10)

Terribly frightening

1d10 (OR 8-10)

Extremely frightening

1d10 (OR 6-10)

Damage Effects From Mental Illness.

Depending on how high or low the value of a character’s mental health is at the moment, he or she will act in different ways. A low value means that the character is only slightly worried by what they have just witnessed. As the character’s mental health worsens, the anxiety and worry will increase, eventually leading to complete fear and panic. It is always the modifier from the highest level of mental damage that is in effect. Modifiers from lower levels of mental damage are not added together. However, the modifier from the highest level of physical damage suffered is added.

34 Let me tell you about madness. You think it’s a state of mind, but it’s not. Madness is difficult to understand since there are so many aspects of it, but one thing is certain, some people are more likely to go mad than others. However, it’s not like you think, it’s not because they are lesser beings, or week-minded, but simply because they dare to travel the dark and twisted roads behind the curtain and are simply not prepared. Some gain strength doing so, some simply can’t connect with what’s hidden there, so they become mad and insane. Others are touched by madness by getting too close to the source, or even enter into the shadows. Madness is a beast more than anything else. It eats you from within, just like a plague or sickness and to be honest it is very difficult to get rid of it. I’ve seen it a few times, and it all ends with death or salvation.

35

LEVELS OF MENTAL DAMAGE Damage level

Name

1

Sanus (sane)

-

2

Rabidus (delusional)

-1

3

Mens Amissa (lunatic)

-3

4

Demens (insane)

-5

5

Insanabilis (beyond recovery)

-7

The first level: Sanus (Sane) ✦✦ ✦✦

Modifier: Usual symptoms: Sweating, light shaking, rapid pulse.

The character feels a gnawing and uncomfortable feeling that something horrible has happened or is going to happen at any time. As soon as the source of the character’s fear disappears the character starts to recover. The mental strain heals naturally and no healing roll is required to activate it.

36

Modifier

The second degree: Rabidus (Delusional) ✦✦ ✦✦

Modifier: -1 Usual symptoms: Sweating, trembling or shaking, palpitation.

The character is scared and nervous. Their heart pounds rapidly. A slight headache is coming on as the nervousness and fear spreads throughout the body. The character is always on alert and sees dangers and threats everywhere. Sudden movements or sounds makes the character react defensively. Not caring for the damage within five days can lead to even greater delusions: Roll 1d10 (OR 10). UNTREATED RABIDUS 1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1-8

No lasting effects

9-14

Mental strain. Additional +1 point of damage.

>14

Mental collapse. Additional 1d3 points of damage. The mental collapse demands extra guidance (two successful rolls with one of the Medicina Mentis Dextera, Medicina Mentis Sinistra, Pastoral Care or Mental Care specialities) within 5 days on top of the already passed 5 days for the character to avoid the Insanabilis mental condition.

The third level: Mens amissa (Lunatic) ✦✦ ✦✦

Modifier: -3 Usual symptoms: Pressure in the chest, chest pains, dizziness.

The character is very scared and terrified. A pressure settles over the breast as if something invisible was hugging it hard and the character has a hard time breathing. Sometimes a sudden chest pain occurs, as if the character was suffering a heart attack. However, the pain disappears as soon as it appeared. Not caring for the damage within 3 days can lead to the effects below: Roll 1d10 (OR 10). UNTREATED MENS AMISSA 1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1-6

No lasting effects

7-12

Mental strain. Additional +1 point of damage.

>12

Mental collapse. Additional 1d3 points of damage. The mental collapse demands extra guidance (two successful rolls with one of the Medicina Mentis Dextera, Medicina Mentis Sinistra, Pastoral Care or Mental Care specialities) within 3 days on top of the already passed 3 days for the character to avoid the Insanabilis mental condition.

The fourth level: Demens (Insane) ✦✦ ✦✦

Modifier: -5 Usual symptoms: Difficulty breathing, stomach aches, chest pains and severe trembling.

The stomach turns inside out and the character is sweating. The terror that the character was feeling is exchanged for a terrible fear and panic that makes the character’s entire body tremble. The character feels out of their mind and fears that he or she is about to break down completely and become insane. It is hard to communicate with the character, who is completely focused on trying and failing to control their terror. Not caring for the damage within 2 days can lead to the effects below: Roll 1d10 (OR 10). UNTREATED DEMENS 1d10 (OR 10)

Effects

1-5

No lasting effects

6-10

Mental strain. Additional +1 point of damage.

>10

Mental collapse. Additional 1d3 points of damage.. The mental collapse demands extra guidance (two successful rolls with one of the Medicina Mentis Dextera, Medicina Mentis Sinistra, Pastoral Care or Mental Care specialities) within 2 days on top of the already passed 2 days for the character to avoid the Insanabilis mental condition.

The fifth level: Insanabilis (Beyond recovery) ✦✦ ✦✦

Modifier: -7 Usual symptoms: Difficulty breathing, stomach aches, chest pains and severe trembling.

Like a stab to the chest, a horrible pain spreads from the stomach. The thought of going insane no longer exists, now one can only hope to survive. The character can no longer think straight. If it is possible to flee without risking one’s life the character will do so without caring for the consequences. The character has been inflicted with panic and would kill to escape. If there is no escape, then the character will try to hide or simply fall to the ground in pure despair. The character suffers 1 points of damage each 12 hours that passes due to the immense mental strain. A successful roll with the one of the below listed skills and disciplines will mend the strain temporarily for 24 hours (-1 mental health point every 24 hours).

✦✦

✦✦ ✦✦

Esotericism and one of the Righthand Path or The Left-hand Path disciplines. Theology and the Divine Arts discipline. Science and the Health Care discipline

The mental damage requires extensive care within 24 hours after the damage has occurred with one of the Medicina Mentis Dextera, Medicina Mentis Sinistra, Pastoral Care or Mental Care specialities. A successful roll with one of the above named specialities heals only 1 mental health point in the fifth level of damage and activates the natural healing process for this level. Each failed attempt at saving the character can deal +1 points of damage: Roll 1d10. FAILED ATTEMPT 1d10

Effects

1-8

No lasting effects

9-10

+1 point of damage

37

38



Impressions



“Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4

39 During the 18th century, much attention was given to making the correct impression, which was done through well thought out posture, gestures, and the choice of clothing. Each time the characters meet a meaningful character, the game master should consider how the impression that the player characters make affects the game master characters they encounter. It is, however, not only the player characters that make an impression, but also the game master characters. An impression roll is performed with 1d20 where a result of 10 gives a neutral impression, meaning neither positive or negative. The lower the result of the die is the less is the character affected by the impression that is made, while the greater the result on the die the easier it is for the character to react favourably to an impression. The power sphere of the character should of course be used as a modifier in situations when the character is in surroundings where the power sphere

can impact the impression. A small power sphere rating in a place where people have larger power sphere ratings should be a disadvantage for the player character, and the opposite should of course be a benefit.

Different Kinds Impression

of

There are a number of factors that affect the impression roll such as traits, skills, clothing, and social status and power sphere. It is always up to the game master to decide what factors should impact the roll at any given time in a specific situation. To get a good overview of what impression modifiers a character may bring into play, there is a certain field, called “source of impression”, on the character sheet that describes the different impressions the character may make, any modifiers, and the context in which the modifiers can be used. Some of these sources (social status, power sphere) can give either

positive or negative modifiers according in different situations. This is reflected in the tables below and it is totally up the game master’s judgement to establish where a certain level of social status or of power sphere gives a positive or a negative modifier. SOURCES OF IMPRESSION Sources Social status Traits (usually Charisma) Power spheres Skills/specialities Vogue value

The Impression Social Status

of

Depending on what social class a character belongs to and among which social class the situation is taking place, the character’s social standing can have a positive or negative impact.

For example it can be good to be part of the upper class when dealing with members of the lower-class in a situation where the lower born are obedient to the upper classes, but it can be horribly bad to be part of the upper class if, for example, a noble happens to be among oppressed, poor farmers in revolt. It is up to the game master to decide what modifiers are in play during any given situation. The table below can be used to suggest what modifier should be in use for a given situation. The players’ status can be read in the vertical or the horizontal axis, according to the game master’s evaluation of the social context.

The impression of traits

40

Modifiers from the Charisma trait determine how a character’s natural personality and posture come into play in certain situations. A character with a high modifier knows how to move in the best way in a certain context, while a character with a negative modifier has a hard time blending in where he or she finds themselves. In certain contexts, other traits can be beneficial or harmful for a character

but their application is totally up to the game master’s judgement.

The impression of power spheres

The table below can be used to determine a modifier for the power sphere.

The impression of skills

Depending on what surroundings the character finds themselves in, their level in the relevant power spheres can affect the impression they make. A character with a high level in the current power sphere naturally makes a greater impression on those around them than a small one. However, in certain contexts, well-known members of a certain power sphere can make bad impressions on certain audiences and, therefore, positive modifiers turn to negative ones. For example a famous criminal mastermid (with a high level in the Lawless power sphere) will certainly benefit from a positive modifier when dealing with members of the Lawless sphere, but the modifier will be negative when dealing with other spheres, if his role in the Lawless power sphere is known. The players’ level in a certain power sphere can be read in the vertical or the horizontal axis, according to the game master’s evaluation of the social context.

Skills and especially specialities can be of great help when a character is trying to make an impression upon their surroundings. Impression modifiers can be similar to the SV bonus given by the speciality but it is always up to the game master to decide whether such modifiers can be applied or not, depending on the situation.

Vogue, the impression of clothes It is completely up to the game master to interpret how the Fashion value of a character affects a certain situation. Depending on what clothes a character is wearing and what their quality is, an outfit can strongly impact the initial impression made by the character who is wearing them. Sometimes clothes of a higher quality have a great Fashion value and thus help a character to give the right impression, while the same set of clothes can have another effect in

IMPRESSION MODIFIERS BETWEEN SOCIAL STATUSES Drifters

Pauper

Lower Class

Middle Class

Low Nobility

Nobility

High Nobility

Drifters

Social Status

+0

+1

+2

+4

+6

+10

+20

Pauper

-1

±0

+1

+2

+4

+6

+10

Lower Class

2

-1

±0

+2

+2

+4

+6

Middle Class

-4

-2

-1

±0

+1

+2

+4

Low Nobility

-6

-4

-2

-1

±0

+1

+2

Nobility

-10

-6

-4

-2

-1

±0

+1

Higher noble

-20

-10

-6

-4

-2

-1

±0

IMPRESSION MODIFIERS BETWEEN POWER SPHERES Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 1

Power sphere

±0

+2

+5

+10

+20

Level 2

-2

±0

+2

+5

+10

Level 3

-5

-2

±0

+2

+5

Level 4

-10

-5

-2

±0

+2

Level 5

-20

-10

-5

-2

±0

VOGUE VALUE OF CLOTHES (-10 ↔ 10) Old Quality Worthless

-5

FASHION -4

-3

-2

-1

Latest

0

1

2

3

4

5 Vogue 0

-5

-10

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

-4

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

-3

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

-2

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

-1

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

Decent

Excellent +

0

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

1

-4

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2

-3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

3

-2

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

4

-1

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

5

Vogue 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

SOCIAL CLASS AND VOGUE VALUES Social Class

Vogue Value

Median Vogue

High nobility

7 ↔ 10

Nobility

4↔7

FASHION, QUALITY AND PRICE Quality or Fashion

Price

Quality or Fashion

Price

8,5

-1

x0.8

1

x1,5

5,5

-2

x0.6

2

x2

Low nobility

2↔4

3

-3

x0.4

3

x3

Middle class

-2 ↔ 2

±0

-4

x0.2

4

x4

-5

x0.1

5

x5

Lower class

-4 ↔ -2

-3

The poor

-7 ↔ -4

-5,5

Quality, Fashion or Vogue 0: Price x1

Drifters

-10 ↔ -7

-8,5

Price= (price Vogue 0) x Quality x Fashion

another situation. For instance to walk straight into the duke’s ball in a set of clothes that are three years old and of mediocre quality can make onlookers feel both insulted and amused. The same set of clothes can, however, make people think that you are very wealthy among a gathering of the less fortunate. Other times to wear clothes that are too nice can be bad in rich communities as well. To, for instance, be better dressed than one’s host is not very polite, and to wander into a strange tavern dressed in the highest fashion can result in robbery. There are primarily two factors that come into play when one is deciding the Vogue for a set of clothes. One is “fashion” (how old and what fashion the clothes are following) and the other is the quality of the clothes. The table below shows what Vogue value a set of

clothes provides after taking fashion and quality into consideration. Quality tells what quality the fabric is, but it also represents the manufacturing itself. The table also shows which Vogue values are considered to belong to certain social classes. Even if a complete set of clothes is in reality made up of several components, we are simplifying it here and saying that a set includes clothes for the upper body, the lower body, and accessories such as a wig, a box of matches, shoes, gloves, fan and hat. By taking the middle value from the Vogue value of these three parts (total Vogue value is equal to the total of Vogue for the upper body + Vogue for the lower body + Vogue, all divided by three) one gets the Vogue value for the entire ensemble. The Vogue value is used to modify impression rolls.

The impression of objects and items A character can gain either positive or negative impression modifiers from objects depending on what the object is and in which context it is showed. A very well-made rapier can, in one context, give a positive modifier while in another context it can do the opposite. It is always up to the game master to decide what effect on the impression the object or item has.

The impression of the company A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. So it is also when it comes to the impression provided by one’s companions. When a company enter a place it is the member with the lowest impression modifier that determines what the people in the room think of the company as a whole. It is, however, up to the game master to decide how people view a company. In certain contexts, it can be positive to have a wild man in the party, in other cases it can be negative.

Using Impression Rolls There are a number of situations where first impressions matter. People will not care for a character that trips and falls when they enter an elegant parlour, while a character that makes a gracious

41

42

entry into the same room will be both admired and envied. A character that gives a bestial impression will have the upper hand when entering the ring of a boxing match while a character that gives a mysterious impression will draw much attention from those of a scholarly or mystical bent, while at the same time the mysterious one can push away those who fear the mystical. It is ultimately up to the game master to decide when a character’s first impression is of great importance and

an impression roll should be performed. The players should think about the impression that their characters make and constantly try to convey how the character is acting and what clothes and accessories that they are wearing in order to gain social benefits. Women and men give different impressions: in most European societies the two genders are expected to have different roles in the society and respecting or not such roles can be appreciated or despised in different

contexts. For the players and the game master, it is important to remember that this a game that is supposed to be fun, first and foremost. The gender norms of the 18th century were rather cast in stone, and if a group of players wants to play it that way because it is historically “correct”, one should do so. On the other hand, if another group wants to pay no mind to traditional roles and prefer to have women with the same status and power as a man, that group should then definitely play it in that way.

François made the entrance that he had practised for so long. With a nonchalant gesture of his right hand and a curt nod, he showed respect to his host. Around him in the salon was the flower of society, observing the newcomer, watching for any small mistake. François knew that all it took was one misstep in order to ruin everything. The clothes he had bought had cost him a fortune, and yet they were already out of fashion. The chalk-white wig was perfectly placed on his head, and his powdered face smelled richly of the precious perfume that was the latest fashion from Paris. For almost a year, François had tried to gain access to this room full of aristocrats and nobility. Today, he would finally witness the ritual that, according to his employer, would spell the end of the whole elite of the city once the Church’s men got wind of what had happened. It was rumored that Satan himself was in league with the society. With nervous steps, François proceeded into the salon to find someone to converse with. It wasn’t long before a woman wearing the largest wig he had ever seen and with a powdered face and bosom stepped forward to meet him. The fan she used to spread her scent excelled at this, and François couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable as the odors of various perfumes mixed in the stuffy room. The woman introduced herself with a few standard lines about the weather before she asked the question that completely baffled François. The offer that the woman had made to him was far from any that he would have expected in this environment. Of course, he had been asked this before, but in those cases it had been in a tavern in a completely different part of the city, the customers of which would have had to work for years in order to afford the set of clothes that he now wore. And when he failed to give the response she wanted, the woman pouted, and left him standing with a shameful stare. When François went with uneasy steps later that night to his employer, it wasn’t to report about Satan and secret rituals. François had experienced something he didn’t want to forget, and thus he spoke of nothing that had happened during the evening. For soon it would be a new full moon, and everyone would gather in the salon again.

43

44



Life in the Wild



“Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.” Revelation 13:11

45 Spending longer periods of time out in the wild is something that is not done easily. No soft spot to lie down on, rain, wind, cold, and snow are only a few of the natural factors that affect a character’s time in the wilderness areas of the world. The list of conditions that can make one’s time hard also includes such factors as a low supply of food, incorrect clothing, poor comfort, faulty hygiene, wet clothes and not a very varied diet. With the skill Well-travelled, the character has learned to live more comfortably in the wilderness, or at least deal with the hardships better.

Complications Wild

in the

During favourable conditions with the right equipment, a character can stay out in the wild without issue for ten days. The number of days can, however, be increased by the character

learning the Survival discipline and the Travelling speciality that fall under the Well-travelled skill. For each level that the character has in the Survival discipline, the number of days that can be comfortably spent in the wilderness is extended by +1, and for each level with the Traveling speciality, the number of days is increased by +2. ✦✦

During favourable conditions with the right equipment a character can stay in the wild for ten days.

When the number of days that a character can comfortably be in the wild has passed, the character must succeed with a situation roll with the situational value of 10 (the Psyche trait modifies the roll) in order not to suffer any negative modifiers to all skill and situation rolls for the coming days. Should the situation roll fail, the character suffers -1 on everything

that they do until the character has had such rest and comfort that the negative modifiers have been removed. Depending on the weather conditions that existed on the day before the situation roll, the negative modifier for that day’s weather factor is applied. See the table for complications in the wild below. For each day that passes without the character having proper rest and comfort, the character runs the risk of suffering another negative modifier. Each morning they roll a new situation roll with a situation value of 10 (the Psyche trait modifies the roll), and this roll is also affected by the negative modifiers. Should the roll succeed, the character suffers no more negative modifiers that day. Should the roll fail, the character suffers another cumulative -1 to their already obtained modifiers. Should the weather conditions change, the modifier of the new weather conditions is applied too.

Mitigating Circumstances in the Wild Certain circumstances can lower negative modifiers if one fails with the roll for Well-travelled skill (Survival discipline). In total, a failed roll for the skill can never be better than ±0 due to mitigating circumstances.

Requirements for Equipment in the Wild Should a character not be dressed according to what the weather demands, the negative modifier is doubled and the character suffers as many points of physical health in freezing damage during the day as the total negative modifier.

Inadequate Food Water

46

and

No one survives for long without food or water. A character that has not had anything to eat for an entire day suffers a negative modifier of -2 for all skill and situation rolls the following day. Should they get the opportunity to eat the coming morning, they get rid of the modifier. For each day that passes without food, the character suffers an additional cumulative -2. A character that has had nothing to drink for a whole day suffers a negative modifier of -2 on all skill and situation rolls the following day. If the character has something to drink the following morning, they no longer suffer the negative modifier. ✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

✦✦

Each day that passes without drink the character suffers another -2 in cumulative negative modifiers. After 14 days with only drink and no food, the character dies from starvation After seven days without drink the character dies from dehydration. The following modifiers are inflicted upon a character that does not eat or drink: With ¾ daily rations of food and drink the character suffers -2 every third new day without a normal amount of food or water.

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE WILD. Factors

Modifier

Requirements

Incredibly beautiful weather

+1

-

Cooked food (one day’s ration)

+1

Fresh food and cooking equipment

A new set of clothes

+1

Clean and dry clothes

The goal is within reach

+1

The characters must know that they only have one day or less before they reach their goal

Good comfort

+1

Rest with good comfort for over 8 hours without interruption

Good sleep

+2

Sleep well for over 8 hours without interruption

COMPLICATIONS IN THE WILD Traveling On foot On horseback Temperature (Celsius)

Modifier -1 -2 Modifier

Requirements

0-10°

-1

Warm clothes

–1-–10°

-1

Winter clothes

–11- –20°

-2

Thick winter clothes

–21- –40°

-3

Thick winter clothes