Trollslayers - Religion

From a gamemaster's point of view, religion in Trollslayers is essentially agnostic: the gods may, or may not, exist.  Most believe, of course, but none in this lifetime may know for certain.

Most gods are defined by one or two (usually intertwined) major facets of daily life (i.e. sky/weather, sun/fire, earth, love/desire, death, etc) as well as a few lesser themes that tie thematically to the greater whole.  For example, Aurtan is not only the god of the sun and fire, but also inspiration, madness, creation, destruction, and metalworking.  Most gods that humans worship are not, from an outside perspective, either 'good' or 'evil', but rather are more dualistic in nature - the sky god Gwyntcalon gives both gentle rains and lethal thunderstorms.  Of course, there may be varying approaches to worshiping a god within splinter branches of the same faith.  While many priests of Basla, goddess of death, abhor and fight against the undead, other priests of that goddess study and actively use necromancy, working with and using the undead, perhaps even striving to some day become undead themselves.  As in our own world, some of the most bitter religious feuds are not between different faiths, but instead between different factions of the same faith.

In game terms, most priests are Experts, and being a priest is their Profession.  The gods, if they do exist, do not grant their acolytes any special abilities; priests must learn any spells (assuming they are capable of doing so) as would any Expert.  As with other Experts, any spell that falls within the domain of their faith (a light spell for Aurtan, or a weather spell for Gwyntcalon, for example) can be purchased/learned at the usual cost, otherwise it is doubled.  A priest's area of faith also defines their Profession.  Priests of Eilide, the earth/nature goddess, would gain the usual +1 bonus to any skill rolls involving tracking, herb identification, dealing with animals, etc.  Also, most priesthoods will also gain that bonus when dealing with others, dependent upon that religion's role in society.  Priests of a faith that is the local state religion might also be adept in dealing with bureaucracy and legal matters, while the followers of an outlawed religion might be more skilled at subterfuge and stealth.

Trollslayers - Spellcasting notes

Most spells require the caster speak the necessary incantations in a firm, commanding voice, while making various needed gestures in an obvious manner (when you're trying to override the laws of physics through the power of your will, it generally doesn't pay to half-ass your way through it).  A few spells, when noted, might only require the incantations be spoken softly, or that a few subtle gestures be made.  Even rarer still are those spells that might not require any spoken or physical actions on the caster's part.

Casters of sufficient skill can attempt to get around these limitations, though it is not easy.  A spellcaster casting a spell whose Rank is five levels less than their personal character level can cast a spell that normally requires a loud spoken incantation with but a whisper at a -2 penalty, and with double the normal Essence Cost.  If the caster's character level is ten levels higher than the spell Rank, then a loud incantation may be performed silently with a -2 spellcasting penalty, at x2 the Essence Cost.  Also, a loud incantation may be uttered softly, or an incantation spoken softly may not be spoken at all with a -1 penalty, and at x3/2 the Essence Cost.

Likewise, similar modifications of the required gestures needed for a spell (bold gestures to subtle gestures to no physical motion required) can also be attempted by casters of sufficient skill for simpler spells, with penalties and EC modifiers similar to those for modifying the spoken requirements of a spell.  These modifies are cumulative:  If a 6th level spellcaster is casting a 1st Rank spell which normally requires both loud incantations and sweeping gestures, to cast that spell with a softly spoken whisper and a few wiggles of their fingers would incur a -4 spellcasting penalty, and have a x4 Essence Cost.

(if an Expert is casting a spell, their character level is halved (round up) for these purposes)

Using a wand or a staff that has been properly 'attuned' to the individual caster grants a +1 on any spellcasting rolls.

When casting spells at a target that affect the mind or the spirit (including curses), the caster can increase the odds of success by using certain acts of similarity. These include the following:

Names:  +1 modifier for knowing a common nickname for a target, +2 for using their true name.

Time of Birth:  +1 for casting on the target's birthday, +1 for casting during the hour of their birth.

Imagery:  +1 for using a rough drawing or a crude doll of the target, +2 if using a fine portrait or a detailed doll of the target.

Association:  +1 if the caster has an object that is sometimes used by the target, +2 if the caster has clothing commonly worn, or an object of strong emotional meaning to the target, +3 if the caster has part of the trget's body (a lock of hair, nail clippings, blood, etc).

Trollslayers - Ritual magic (part 2)

Continued from yesterday's post...

Another advantage of Ritual Magic is the ability to draw extra Essence that you can use from certain times and/or locations of spellcasting.  Those attempting Ritual Magic at either midnight or high noon get a half-die (1-3 points) of 'free' Essence that they can draw upon.  Likewise, casting under a full moon also nets an extra half-die of Essence to use.  During a day that is a solstice, equinox, or the beginning of one of the four seasons, the caster can access an addition 2d6 Essence during that 24-hour period.  There are generally few restrictions using said Essence, as long as you don't try something directly counter to the thematic appropriateness of the time in question (attempting a darkness ritual at high noon gains you no extra Essence, and probably nets you a penalty to your spellcasting roll for being stupid).   

Most temples, churches, sacred groves, etc. that have been properly consecrated will have built up a certain amount of ambient Essence over the years.  Those who are attempting a Ritual that is part of the religion's 'canon' can access some of that ambient energy as 'free' Essence, depending on how long the temple has been in use.  A new church that has been around for 1-9 years gives access to a half-dice bonus, 10-99 years or more a full die, 100-999 years 2d6, a 1000+ years 3d6 bonus Essence, and so forth.  This free Essence renews every 24 hours, but is available to the first adherent using it; once someone taps the extra Essence, no one else can use it during that same day.

Battlefields and sites of mass death can also grant extra essence toward necromantic spells, demon summoning, and other dark rituals.  Most such sites will grant an extra full die of Essence; particularly large or historic sites might grant 2d6 extra Essence.

While casting on a ley line grants no extra Essence in and of itself, a site where two or more ley lines cross usually will.  Two ley lines crossing grants an extra 1d6 Essence, three ley lines crossing each other grants 2d6 Essence, four ley lines doing so gives 3d6 Essence, and so forth.  There are generally no restrictions on the use of this Essence.  As with temples and churches, it is available to the first spellcaster using it, so that once someone taps the extra Essence, no one else can use it during that same day.   These ley crossroads are fairly rare (especially the more powerful ones), and most have already been 'claimed'.  Many cities are built upon such crossroads, but the activities of day-to-day city life usually disrupt anyone being able to access the extra Essence.  In more secluded locations, they have already been put to use by a temple or wizard's tower.

Trollslayers - Ritual magic (part 1)

As mentioned here, magic in Trollslayers is divided into two types, Sorcery and Ritual Magic.  Ritual Magic is slower, but usually a bit easier to work with, and requires less energy to enact.

When making a Ritual Magic roll, for every point that the spellcaster's roll exceeds the target number, the Essence cost is reduced by one point.  No matter how well the roll is made, a minimum of one point of Essence must still be expended on any given spell. 

Some rituals allow than one person can work together to combine their efforts.  Not only can different people pool their Essence together, as they are able, to enact a certain ritual, but multiple people working together may also give a bonus to the spellcasting roll (the roll is made by the person leading the ritual, referred to as the 'lead caster').  Note that those assisting in a ritual need not necessarily know the spell in question, or even be aware that they are aiding in the casting of a spell (this is the basis for various temple rites).  The bonus gained by multiple participants is equal to the cube root of the number of people participating in the ritual, round down.  For those who are mathaphobic or just prefer tables, this translates as follows:

Participants     Bonus
2-7                +1
8-26               +2
27-63              +3
64-124             +4
125-215            +5

And so forth.  Note that the bonus for multiple participants in a ritual cannot exceed the lead caster's combined Ritual Magic skill and PRE attribute bonus.

Trollslayers - Aspects

As mentioned here, all spells in Trollslayers are defined by Eight aspects, with a few examples:

Energy - fireballs and lightning bolts, of course, but also includes healing energy, sonics, hologram style illusions, and many other applications

Gaseous - air-based spells, of course, and many weather effects involve this, but also gases of more harmful natures as well

Liquid - anything to do with oceans, rivers, etc, as well as any other liquid state - not the first choice for many, but essential for potion-making

Matter - from moving the earth beneath you to affecting the human body, a popular choice for young spellcasters, as it has many applications, and is one of the easier Aspects to visualize

Mind - the use of skills, charm spells, illusions (mental as opposed to visual), telepathy

Spirit - the transference and binding of Essence to or from another, curses, communicating with and binding spirits/ghosts - required for the creation of any magic items

Distance - any ranged spells, clairvoyance and clairaudience, any sort of travel, including teleportation

Time - anything with a duration beyond 'instantaneous', precognition and postcognition, time travel

A few examples - a Flight spell would have Aspects of Gaseous and Movement; a Sleep spell would have Distance and either Gaseous (creating a knock-out gas), Energy (draining the target's natural vitality) or Matter (triggering the body's fatigue receptors); a Light spell that lasts for several minutes would be defined by Energy and Time; Pollute Waters would be Liquid (assuming you did so by touch, otherwise throw in Distance as well); Create Zombie would be Matter and Spirit; Summon Demon would be Matter and Distance; Weather Control would include Energy, Gaseous, Liquid and Distance; Shocking Touch would only require Energy, while a Lightning Bolt would require both Energy and Distance.

Magicians start out with KNO/3 bonus Talent points that can only apply to Aspects.  Paragons get KNO/4.

Trollslayers - Magic (the basics)

All spells in Trollslayers are given a Rank, which determines the idea skill (i.e. character level) of the spellcaster required to cast the spell, and an Essence Cost (EC), which shows the base cost in Essence the spellcaster needs to expend.  For example, a spell of the third Rank might have an EC of 8.

For every level the spellcaster is above the Rank of the spell, the EC is reduced by one, though it can be reduced no lower than half the base EC for the spell (round down), and the minimum EC is always one.  Example: a 4th level Magician casting the above mentioned Rank three spell would only have to expend 7 Essence points to do so, while any spellcaster of 7th level or higher would only have to spend 4 Essence points to cast the spell.

If a spellcaster is trying to cast a spell of a Rank higher than their character level, the EC is increased by the Rank number of each increment of Rank beyond the caster's character level.  Example: a second level Magician trying to cast the above 4th Rank spell would have to expend a total of 15 Essence points to do so (base EC of 8, +4 because a 4th Rank spell is above the caster's character level (2nd level), and also +3 because there is the 3rd Rank of spells between the caster's character level and the Spell's actual Rank.

Spellcasting is divided into two forms, Sorcery and Ritual Magic.  Some spells can only be cast by either Sorcery or Ritual Magic, while other spells can be cast in either form.  Spellcasters can buy either, or both, Sorcery and Ritual Magic as talents to aid in their spellcasting ability.  Both are PRE-based talents.

Sorcery is very quick to enact (usually no more than a combat round), and the type of magic most likely used by adventurers.  Sorcery requires an KNO of 13, a PRE of 13, and a DEX of 9 to use.  Ritual Magic is slower (usually requiring 10 + Rank level in minutes to cast), but not without its advantages.  The attribute minimums for Ritual Magic are lower than that of Sorcery, and only require an KNO of 9, a PRE of 9, and a DEX of 7 (which make it a useful option for Experts who could not otherwise cast spells through Sorcery).  Also, the very act of going through the required ritual motions can draw forth extra Essence that can be used to power the spell.  Finally, there are certain times and locations that can grant extra Essence to those attempting Ritual Magic.

The effects of a given spells is defined by one or more of eight Aspects: Energy, Gaseous, Liquid, Matter, Mind, Spirit, Distance and Time.  Spellcasters can take any Aspect as an KNO-based talent to aid in the use of spells defined by said Aspects.

The base difficulty for spellcasting is 8+ for spells cast via Sorcery, and 6+ via Ritual Magic.  Magicians and Paragons add a +1 to all spellcasting.  Any talents in either Sorcery or Ritual Magic are added as appropriate.  Talents corresponding to Aspects that define a spell being cast are also added (if a spell is defined by more than one Aspect, the bonus is equal to the lower number of the relevant talents, or the highest elevant talent divided by two, round down).  If the Magician or Paragon has a specialization that covers the spell in question (i.e. Divination, Weather Wizard, Necromancy), or an Expert's profession is appropriate to the spell (i.e. a woodsman casting nature magic, or a thief casting stealth-based magic), another +1 is added to the roll.  Finally, the attribute bonus for either KNO or PRE, whichever is lower, is also added to the roll.

Magicians start off with KNO/3 spells of the first Rank, while Paragons start off with KNO/4 such spells.  The maximum number of spells that any Magician can know at a given time is equal to the KNO attribute + PRE modifier + character Level.  For Paragons, the number is half compared to a Magician, and Experts can only learn 1/3 the number of spells that a Magician could.

Trollslayers - The Snow Queen

Much is speculated, but little is truly known, about the enigmatic figure known as the Snow Queen.  That she resides in the frozen northern lands, and is a magician of great power, is accepted as fact.  Of the rest of what is said, most of it is contradictory, and all of it may be unreliable.  After all... men lie.

There are three common theories as to the nature of her existence.   Some say that she was once a mortal sorceress who bargained for, and gained, great magical power, but at a terrible cost.  Others say that she was a demon who has been trapped in a mortal guise, bound to the frozen lands by an ancient pact.  Still others whisper that she was once of the Sidhe, but was banished from the faerie lands for crimes so horrible that even the other fae could no longer abide her.  Only the Snow Queen knows for certain what is true, and she prefers not to speak of her past.

Although she prefers her frozen domain and the castle of ice that resides there, she can travel to any land where snow or ice can be found on the ground.  Her home is said to be rich in treasures acquired from ships that sailed too far north into the icy waters, as well as the weapons and armor of those who dared to try to invade her castle.  Some whisper that those who have died in her domain continue on in a half-life, forever under her command.

It is said that she can see and hear anywhere that the winter winds blow, should she so choose.  It is for this reason that some seek her out, not for sake of treasure, but instead to gain knowledge.  It is for this same reason that those who live in the northern lands often do not speak of the Snow Queen by name, for fear that she will hear them and take offense.

It is possible to bargain with the Snow Queen, but the bargainer must be very careful in doing so, for she both wise and unforgiving of error  More than one adventurer has found himself trapped in her domain, a victim of their own hubris. 

Trollslayers - Henchmen (part 2) and Morale

More stuff on the fine art of hiring lackeys meat shields henchmen to assist you in your plunderings noble endeavors.  This post refers heavily to both the previous post regarding henchmen as well as the post regarding reaction rolls.

At any given time, a standard roll of 8+ is needed to find a potential henchman (usually rolled once per week).  This is assuming that the potential employer is currently in a large village/small town of about a 1,000 people or so.  For settlements less than that number, there is a -1 penalty for every 100 or so less that a thousand.  For larger establishments, every doubling of the population past 1,000 nets a +2 bonus.  This same modifier based on population is also applied to the roll that determines the potential henchman's character level (rolled separately).  For every 4 points the roll is exceeded by, there is an extra potential henchman available in the area.

If advertising for someone of a specific skillset, penalties apply to the roll for finding potential henchmen.  Advertising just for warriors is a -1 penalty.  If you want a warrior with a specific skill (i.e. archer), or one of the Expert types (thief, priest, bard), that's a -2 penalty.  Looking for an Expert with a specific skillset (not just a thief, but a cat burglar) gives you a -3 penalty. Trying to hire any type of spellcaster is a -4 penalty.

Relying solely on word of mouth is free, but nets you a -3 penalty.  Hiring a town crier on your behalf costs around 5 SP a week, but there's no penalty on the roll.  Hiring a scribe to put up postings (usually torn down after a week or so) costs around 10 SP, giving you a -1 penalty on the roll (or -2 if the type of henchmen you're looking for tends to skew closer to illiteracy than not).  You can also make a roll at no cost or penalty if you are part of a connected organization of sufficient size (i.e. thieves' guild), but you're limited to prospects of that specific profession.

As noted previously, actually getting the potential henchman to agree to hire on is essentially a PRE Reaction roll, so all the usual modifiers for Reaction rolls (outsider, religion, magic, reputation, authority) apply here as well.  Talents such as Persuasion would also apply.  Other situational factors may also modify the roll, with anywhere from -2 to +2 as appropriate.

Example: after his misadventures in the big city, Drogo is laying low (relatively speaking) in the not-quite-so-big-city of Haresh, which has a population of just over 2,000.  He has heard of an abandoned temple nearby with riches for the taking, but he wants an extra pair of hands with him to deal with any monsters that might be nearby.  Drogo begins putting word out that he is looking for someone to help him on a treasure-hunting expedition.  Drogo gets a +2 modifier due to the size of Heresh, but a -3 penalty because he is relying on word of mouth.  Because he doesn't specify what type of aid he's looking for, there's no penalty there, so his overall modifier is -1.  He rolls a 10, which becomes a modified 9; there is one potential henchman (named Ranulf) available that is willing to consider the offer.  The GM rolls to determine Ranulf's level, adding a +2 modifier; a roll of 7 becomes a 9, indicating Ranulf is 1st level.  A further roll indicates that Ranulf is a Warrior.

Now Drogo must convince Ranulf to join him.  There are no modifiers for reputation or other such factors, so Drogo is mainly relying on the +1 modifier his high PRE score gives him.  He rolls a 6, which becomes a 7 after his PRE mod is added.  Ranulf's reaction is neutral; he's not totally opposed to the idea, but he needs something more to sell him on it.  Drogo modifiers the offer to include giving Ranulf a full share instead of a half-share (not that Drogo intends to keep such a promise, but hey, it sounds good).   This gives him an extra +1 modifier, so the GM rolls again, this time with a total mod of +2.  A roll of 8 becomes a 10, and Ranulf agrees to the job.

Whenever a henchman or henchmen face a grave threat, or begin taking casualties (say, 1/4 of your number dead or incapacitated, and again when 1/2 the party shares that state), a Morale check may be needed.  As with Reaction rolls, a 6 or less is bad (flee!), 7-9 is neutral (hold your ground but not advance, fight defensively), and 10+ is good.  The employer's PRE modifier is included in the roll (something along the lines of a Leadership talent would also be applicable), as well as mods for Religion and Authority.  Penalties for Magic and Outsider status may apply, although these may eventually fade away if the henchman sticks with the employer over an extended period of time.  Modifiers for Reputation will fade very quickly, to be replaced by appropriate mods regarding the employer's actual treatment of the henchman, which may vary from -2 to +2 depending on circumstances.  Other situational modifiers include:

Relative numbers - Being outnumber 3:2 gives you a -1 on Morale, and being outnumbered 2:1 puts you at -2.  For every next step in terms of ration outnumbered (i.e. 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, etc), an extra -2 penalty accrues.  Outnumbering your foes gives you bonuses to your Morale roll equivalent to the penalty for being outnumbered.

(this is, obviously, only appropriate given humanoid foes with roughly similar arms and training - different monsters would be treated as if worth more or less than a human(oid) threat, with a dragon (for example) being worth at least a hundred or more men)

Henchman level - a 1st level character (as opposed to a zero-level 'man-at-arms) gets a +1 to their roll.  Characters 2nd level or higher get +2.

Length of association - having served with an employer on a previous adventure gives the henchman a +1 bonus to Morale.  If that time together is a year or more, the bonus is +2, and five or more years together gives a +3 bonus.

Casualties - having lost half or more of your forces incurs a -1 penalty, and having lost 3/4 of said force is a -2 penalty.  Also, there's an extra -1 penalty if your leader has been knocked unconscious, -2 if they've been killed. 

Magic - encountering a spellcaster, or a creature with magical abilities, incurs a -1 penalty for those not used to dealing with magic.

Example, part deux: Drogo and Ranulf are poking around the abandoned temple when a trio of animated skeletons show up, skulls grinning and swords a-swinging.  The GM decides that this is as good time as any for a morale check for Ranulf.  The unlikely duo are outnumbered three to two, so that's a -1 penalty.  Ranulf is a 1st level character, so that's a +1 bonus.  Ranulf has no real prior experience with magic, so that's another -1 penalty.  Combined with Drogo's +1 PRE modifier, and the previously established +1 mod for Drogo giving Ranulf an equal share of the treasure, this totals out to a +1 mod on the roll.

The GM winds up rolling a natural 8 for Ranulf, which becomes a modified 9, a neutral result.  Ranulf fights defensively, but needs to keep making further Morale checks until he gets either a negative (run! run away!) or a positive result.

Trollslayers - Reaction Rolls

Upon meeting NPCs for the first time, the GM may make the PC's make a Reaction Roll, modified by the PRE modifier, as well as any relevant skills (Persuasion, Seduction, etc).  A modified roll of 6 or less means a negative reaction, a 7-9 is neutral or indifferent, and 10+ is a positive reaction.  A number of things can modify the roll; most such modifiers will range from -2 to +2, with the various modifiers being cumulative:

Outsider - if you are not from the area in question, or are of a different race/species, you usually suffer a -1 penalty.  If the two races/cultures have a history of conflict, the penalty is -2.

Religion - people of different faiths usually react to one another with a -1 penalty.  If the faiths have a history of hostility toward each other, or the reactant's faith is particularly hostile toward non-believers, it's a -2 penalty.  If a religion is dominant in an area, two people of the same faith usually have no modifiers toward each other (as it's pretty much considered the default, after all). However, if the faith's adherents are in the minority of the local area, they have a +1 reaction to each other (the 'we need to stick together' effect).  If a faith has been outlawed or is particularly fringe or obscure, meeting another follower gets you a +2 bonus to the reaction roll.

Magic - most people tend to react negatively to those who practice the arcane arts.  Those who are known to be spellcasters generally suffer a -1 penalty if the area is not totally devoid of the occasional magician or witch.  If in an area where there are no (known) spellcasters, the penalty is -2.

Reputation - If a person is known for being an 'above-and-beyond' kind of person, they will usually get a +1 to their reaction rolls.  Also, recent acts of bravery, generosity, etc (standing up against bad odds, buying a round of drinks, etc) will usually get you a (short-term) +1 bonus.   Those who have a longstanding reputation for great bravery, selflessness, etc usually get a +2 bonus.  Those who are known for being a bit of a jerk, or have recently committed some sort of social faux pas, they suffer a -1 penalty.  Those known for being a complete asshole, miser, sadist, etc suffer a -2 penalty.  Also, most known criminals also suffer a -2 penalty from law-abiding citizens (if in an area where crime is rampant (i.e. Sanctuary from Thieves' World), the penalty may only be a -1). 

Authority - those in a position of local authority (town sheriff, local priest, etc), if they are not known for abusing said authority, usually get a +1 reaction.  If their authority extends over a greater area (a prince or high bishop), the bonus is +2.

Trollslayers - Henchmen

Player characters may not wish to adventure without employing a bit of aid to help them out.  Henchmen are those NPC's who are under the employ of the PC's and help them out as best they can, as long as too much is not expected of them.  Payment can vary wildly, bur for jobs where treasure is being sought out, giving a henchman a half-share of the loot taken is not unreasonable (or, for the mathaphobic who dislike working with fractions, a henchman gets one full share while a PC gets two shares).

Generally, a PC can have up to (PRE+Level)/4 (rounded down) henchmen at any given time.  If they try to have more than that number, they spread themselves a bit too thin, and all of the various henchmen start taking penalties to their morale as a result.  The means of contacting a potential henchman are numerous, and can range from hiring a town crier to bumping into the right person at a bar and buying them a drink.  Getting the potential henchman to agree to follow the PC requires a 10+ on a PRE attribute check.  A modified roll of 7-9 means that the potential henchman is uncertain, and that the PC can try again if they offer an extra incentive to help sweeten the deal.  A result of 4-6 is a flat-out 'no', and a natural 3 or less means that the PC will suffer a -1 penalty on any potential future hires in the area, due to the potential employee trash-talking the PC behind his or her back.

The level of the henchmen can be determined randomly, if desired, by rolling 2d and adding the PC's level, then comparing to the following chart:

8-        Zero-level 'man-at-arms'
9-12      1st level
13-16     2nd level
17-20     3rd level
every +4  +1 level 

(this can and probably should be modifed by the size of the village/town/city that the hiring is being attempted at, but that's a post for another day)

Usually, a henchman won't follow someone who is of lesser level than their own, although there may be exceptions to this.

If the henchmen is 1st level or higher, then he or she is (roll a d6) on a 1-3 a Warrior, on a 4-5 some sort of Expert, and on a 6 a Magician (Paragons are almost never found as henchmen).

Henchmen usually start out with only 1d x the PRE in SP (if that) - the employer may need to pay for some of the henchman's basic equipment to get them to agree to hire on.

When following a PC/leader, the initiative rolls for henchmen cannot exceed that of their employer (they're looking to their leader to take the lead, after all).  This goes for NPC leader-types as well - a goblin horde will not exceed the initiative score of their chieftain on any given round, for example.

Henchmen get full EP for facing threats and spending money on tithing/studying/carousing, half EP for exploration while in the service of an employer, and no EP for time spent playing at the gaming table (after all, they're NPC's).

Besides all the other benefits having henchman can provide, once per gaming session a PC may opt to deflect a threat/hazard/attack towards one of their henchmen instead, if such a thing can be explained in a reasonable manner (if the PC Drogo fails to disarm the poison needle trap on a treasure chest, it's not too likely that one of his henchmen is just going to happen to suffer the effects instead - however, if Drogo triggers a wire trap that causes a crossbow bolt to be fired from down the hallway, a nearby henchmen could instead be made to suffer for Drogo's lack of alertness).

GM Merit Badges

Stuart over at the Strange Magic blog has posted something that I find interesting, as he has designed several GM merit badges. The name may not be the best descriptive term, as 'merit' implies accomplishment or worth, and what Stuart is doing is detailing a way for gamemasters to let prospective players know what style of game they run, and what their preferences are.  Which I think is a fine idea, as much of the problems that occur during role-playing sessions is clashing game styles and unspoken assumptions.

I haven't run anything in a while grumble grumble but when I am eventually able to do so (either with the Trollslayers rules or with something else), I will use the merit badges to let the players know just what sort of game I plan on running.  In the past, different badges would have been picked, but this is what I have in mind for the eventual Trollslayers game:

Tactics are an important part of my games

My games focuses on Exploration & Mystery

I will Mirror back player ideas I think are interesting in the game

My games use a pre-made Map and pre scripted content (moreso the map than the content being pre-scripted, although rough outlines will be pre-developed)

The GM is In Charge in my games and "rule-zero" is in effect

My games rely on a lot of Improvisation rather than pre scripted content (within the already mentioned rough outlines)

I roll Dice in the open and don't fudge the results in my games

Players characters Death is a likely event in my games

My games are more of the Social, Fun and "Beer & Pretzels" style

Players in my game should be prepared to Run when the odds are against them

I frequently Tinker with the rules of the game

My game focuses on Player Skill rather than character abilities



Besides the aforementioned map/improv schism, some might also say that beer & pretzels is contradictory with tactics, death, and running.  Well, in my mind they fit together, at least.  And if not... very well, I contradict myself.

Trollslayers - Changelings

There is much that mortal men do not know about the Sidhe and the other dark fey who inhabit the realms beyond the human lands.  There is even more that mortals think that they know about the fey, but are mistaken.  Much of this is because they rarely, if ever, actually encounter any of the fey folk. 

It is for this reason that of all the various branches of the fey, the ones that humanity does have at least some practical knowledge of are the changelings.

Changelings target the newborn, usually within the first six weeks of their birth.  It is customary for a newborn to always be watched over, and perhaps have a small piece of iron lain on or above their body, to protect them from being taken away by a changeling.

Should the proper precautions not be taken, it is possible that one of the Sidhe (or one of the other lesser branches of the fey) will show up with a changeling, and quickly make a switch, leaving the changeling behind to be raised unknowingly by the humans, while the fey steal away with the human newborn.  The more beautiful the child, the more likely it is to be targeted.

Should the changeling's true nature not be detected, it will grow up among the humans, doing its best not to give its true nature away.  Whatever the original human child might have grown up to be, the changeling will be thin, graceful, and beautiful as it grows up.  They are intelligent and perceptive, but their insight is invariably drawn toward deception and mischief.  A few might develop a genuine fondness for its adoptive family, but most secretly take a cruel delight at their continued deception.

Unlike most of the fey, changelings can abide the touch of iron for short periods of time, although they do not like it, and as they grow older they will make excuses not to handle such items (rare is the changeling that attempts to infiltrate the household of a blacksmith).  Injuries caused by items made of iron are especially harmful to changelings, although not as much so as it is to the other fey.

Should the changeling fall prey to mortal accident or violence, in its death its body will become withered, hideous, and charred.  Depending on the changeling's personal temperament, most will eventually flee back toward the faerie lands, usually during childhood or early adolescence (certainly before they enter adulthood, although there may be rare exceptions to this).

And what of the mortal children stolen away?  If the human parents eventually discover the deception that has been inflicted upon them, most will assume that their true child is forever lost to them.

They are correct, but not entirely in the manner they believe.

Once they have been taken into the faerie lands, the human child is aged quickly (the flow of time can differ in the faerie lands, in some areas moving faster than normal, in others slower - of course, the fey know where these temporal anomalies are, but the unwary human traveler can easily fall prey to such traps), and when they are old enough, they are forced to do the menial labor that the Sidhe and other fey would never demean themselves to perform.  As they grow, what natural beauty they might have had is drawn away from them, and leeched into the lands and its fey inhabitants; in this the fey help to maintain their unnatural beauty.

Some of these once-humans eventually escape from their captors (this is easier than one might suspect, given that they fey easily grow bored and distracted over time).  Some of them have made their way back into human lands, where they find themselves shunned by humanity for their terrible appearance.  These once-humans can breed true among themselves, and so they live among the dark forests and hidden ruins, just outside the lands of man.

And so it is that the once-humans, who now call themselves goblins, hate both fey and man... and not without reason.

Trollslayers - Combat Example

Been busy with other things, but it's time to get back to working on Trollslayers.  Let's detail a sample character or two, and see what sort of mayhem we can put them through...

Drogo is a human Expert whose profession happens to be that of a Thief.  He likes to think of himself as a charming rogue, but at this point he's pretty much just a thug with ambitions.  He recently reached 2nd level (improving his END from 7 to 8 in the process), after being the sole survivor of a dungeon expedition, and at the moment is pretty much broke.  His relevant stats are as follows:

STR 12 (-)      DEX 14 (+1)     END 8 (-1)       KNO 12 (-)      OBS 11 (-)       PRE 16 (+1)

HEALTH 15     ENC 7              MOVE 16         DEF +3           INITIATIVE +2

His combat talents are Sword +1, Dagger +1, and the recently acquired Dual Attacks +1.  His other talents include Stealth +1, Lockpicking +1, Climbing +1, Seduction +1 (also recently acquired), and Ambidexterity.

He carries a sword (DV 7, +1 to DEF) and a dagger (DV 3, no DEF bonus); he often uses both to fight two-handed style (no penalty for attacking with his left hand due to ambidexterity, and he only suffers a -1 penalty to attacking with two weapons due to his Dual Attacks +1 talent).  He also has a spare dagger.  He wears leather armor, effectively reducing his DEX to 13 (which doesn't change his attribute bonus), adds +1 to his DEF score, and gives him an AR or 2 vs Cutting and Blunt attacks (AR 1 vs Piercing attacks).  His total DEF score is +3 (+1 for using his sword vs melee attacks, +1 for the leather armor, and +1 for his DEX attribute bonus - the bonus from the sword would not count against missile attacks, and the bonus from the leather would not count against piercing attacks).  As a Player Character, he has 2 Hero Points he can use during any given gaming session.  One of the few benefits of his recent poverty is that he is Unencumbered (2 ENC for his sword, 1 ENC each for the two daggers, 2 ENC for the leather armor, and 1 ENC for the thieves' tools he carries equals 7, which is equal to his base ENC score).  He has a Serious Wound Threshold of 5 (2/3 of his END).

Drogo's player tells the GM that he wants to prowl the city in hopes of finding an easy target for robbery, so that he can acquire some quick money, and hopefully won't have to sleep under the open stars tonight.  After several hours of searching the streets, he finally finds a suitable target: a fat merchant with a belt pouch full of coin, and too much alcohol in his belly.  As it turns out, a very negative reaction roll means the drunken merchant actually attacks the thief.  Drogo's blades make quick work of the foolish man, leaving the merchant a bloody corpse in the back-alleyway.  Drogo would have preferred to take the man's money without resorting to violence, but what's done is done.  He takes the merchant's hefty coin purse and ties it to his own belt, preparing to leave the alleyway and find an inn where he can acquire a room, some food and drink, and perhaps a prostitute.

Unfortunately for Drogo, a random encounter check means a town guard just happens to be passing by.  Pulling out a random member of the guard from a stack of 3x5 index cards with various NPCs listed on them, the GM determines that the guardsman is none other than a man named Kedrick, a 1st level human Warrior:

STR 13 (+1)     DEX 15 (+1)     END 14 (+1)      KNO 8 (-1)      OBS 13 (+1)     PRE 11 (-)

HEALTH 21      ENC 8              MOVE 14           DEF +6           INITIATIVE +1

His combat talents are Spear +1 and Shield +1, and he has Sharp Eyes +1 as well.

He carries a spear (DV 6, +1 to DEF), which he usually uses one-handed, so that he may also use a Medium Shield (DV 4 if used as a weapon, +3 to DEF, with an additional +1 because of his Shield talent).  He also has a dagger as a back-up weapon, but he rarely uses it.  He wears chain mail (his prized possession) for his armor, effectively reducing his DEX to 12 (dropping his attribute bonus to nil), giving him AR 5 and +2 DEF vs Cutting attacks, and AR 2 and +1 DEF vs Piercing and Blunt attacks.  His total DEF score is +7 vs Cutting attacks, and +6 vs other attacks.  As a NPC, he has no Hero Points.  His total ENC score from his spear, medium shield, dagger, and chain mail is 12, which makes him lightly encumbered, reducing both his MOVE and his DEX down to 11.  He has a Serious Wound Threshold of 11 (half of his Health score).

The alleyway is about 10 feet wide, and perhaps 50 feet long.  The moon is clear and bright overhead, so there are no darkness-related penalties for this combat.  The walls at the end of the alleyway (where Drogo and the corpse are) are about 25 feet high, as they are all part of two-story buildings.  Drogo could try to climb up the walls to escape, but he knows it would probably take him at least one round, maybe two, to get up over the walls, and he would either have to take a round to sheath his now-bloody weapons, or drop them and leave them behind before he starts climbing.  Not relishing the idea of the guardsman getting a few chances to poke him in the back with that spear while he would be climbing up the wall (possibly causing him to fall), Drogo sighs and instead prepares himself for a fight with the guardsman, hoping to end it as quickly as possible.

At this time, the GM reminds Krogo's player that the coin purse is fairly heavy, and counts as ENC 1.  This is enough to give Drogo a total ENC rating of 8, making him lightly encumbered; this reduces his MOVE to 12, and more importantly lowers his DEX to 12 as well, which means his attribute bonus would drop from +1 to nil.  Drogo's players mutters several obscenities regarding the GM's ancestry.

Round one:  Drogo rolls a total of 5 for initiative, and the GM roll a total of 3 for Kedrick.  The GM declares that Kedrick will advance forward slowly, yelling out for his fellow guardsmen, standing in the middle of the alleyway to best block Drogo from running past him.  Drogo's player declares that he will be throwing his spare dagger at the guard (this will reduce his encumbrance score, so that if nothing else he will be unencumbered again), while also advancing forward slowly.

Both characters move; Drogo winds up being just a few feet outside of Kedrick's spear range, so the guardsman gets no attack this round.

Drogo throws his dagger.  His target number to hit is 8, plus Kedrick's DEF score of 7, is 15, which is what he needs to roll on two dice (including any doubles) to hit.  Drogo doesn't get any DEX bonus this round, and gets a +1 to hit because of his skill with daggers.  That means he needs a total of 14 or better to hit, which means he has to roll doubles to succeed.  He rolls a 9; the dagger bounces harmlessly off Kedrick's shield, landing off to the side of the alleyway. 

Round two:  Drogo rolls a 6 for initiative, while Kedrock rolls a 4.  Kedrick stands his ground (he knows that time is on his side; the longer things goes on, the better chance another guardsman will show up).  Drogo will step forward and attack.

Because of the length advantage Kedrick has with his spear, he gets a free attack as Drogo closes in.  Even though Drogo has the initiative, Kedrick gets his free attack before Drogo can act.  Kedrick gets a +1 to hit because he is a Warrior, and another +1 because of his spear talent, giving him +2 to hit.  Drogo (whose effective DEX is back up to 13) has a DEF score of +2 (remember his leather armor doesn't give a DEF bonus vs Piercing attacks).  This means that Kedrick needs a 8 + 2 -2 = 8 to hit.  He rolls a 6 and misses.  Drogo draws his spare dagger, and attacks with both his sword and dagger.  He has a -1 penalty for attacking with two weapons in one round, and suffers a -1 penalty with the dagger because he is attacking with it the same round he unsheathed it (there's also a -1 penalty on initiative for this, which means his dagger attack goes at 5 instead of 6).  He needs a 14+ to his with his sword, and a 15+ with his dagger (climbing up that wall now sounds like it may have been the better option).  He lucks out and rolls a 17 on his sword attack.

Because he exceeded the needed attack roll by 3, the DV for his sword attack is increased by +1 to 8.  Kedrick's armor absorbs 5 points of damage, so 3 points of Cutting damage gets through, leaving Kedrick currently with a Health of 18.

Drogo rolls a 6 on his second attack with his dagger, missing badly.  Kedrick then gets his normal attack for this round.  He needs a 8+ to hit, and rolls a 8 exactly, which is a graze.  His base damage with the spear is a DV of 7 (base 6, +1 for STR mod).  This is halved to 4 because it's a graze.  Drogo's armor reduces 1 pt of damage against Piercing attacks, so Drogo also suffers a 3-pt wound this round, leaving him with a Health score of 12. 

Round three:  Kedrick rolls a 6, Drogo rolls a 4 for initiative.  Knowing that the odds of winning a straight-up fight is pretty slim, he will attempt a feint this round, with the description of trying to draw Kedrick over to one side of the alleyway.  Kedrick will continue to fight normally.  Kedrick rolls a 6 on his attack roll, and misses this round.  Drogo's 'attack' roll for his feint has the same +2 modifier to the roll, but his chances of success are much better, as Kedrick only has a +1 DEF against this maneuver (+1 for OBS attribute modifier, no mods for armor or shield).  He needs a 7+ to succeed, and rolls an 11, giving him a +2 to his next attack roll.       

Round four:  Kedrick and Drogo both roll a 6 for initiative, so their actions are simultaneous.  Drogo wants to use All-Out Defense (foregoing any attacks, giving him a +2 to DEF this round), and add the +2 bonus from last round's feint to his DEF instead of his attack score (the GM rules that this is acceptable, but notes that if Drogo tries to break free while engaged in combat with Kedrick, the latter will get a free attack), while darting past on the opposite side of the alleyway that he maneuvered Kedrick to last round.  Drogo's total DEF score this round is +6.  Kedrick needs an 8 -2 + 6 =12 to hit this round; he rolls an 8 and fails.  Drogo sidesteps the guardsman and begins to sprint down the alleyway.

However, Kedrick gets a free attack before Drogo can completely escape out of range.  Not only does Keedrick lose his +1 DEF bonus from his sword (since he's facing the other way), but Kedrick gets a +2 attack bonus for attacking from the rear.  Drogo's total DEF bonus is +5, Kedrick's attack roll is at +4; Kedrick needs a 9+ to hit.

Rolling doubles, Kedrick rolls a total of 16 to hit.  Becasue he made his attack roll by 7, not only does he add +3 to the damage (for a total of 10), but he can also target a limb as well; the GM declares that Drogo's right leg was hit.  Drogo's armor stops one point of the Piercing attack, but he still suffers 9 points of damage (reducing his Health to 3); this is a Serious Wound.  Not only is Drogo stunned, but he must make an END roll of 11+ (base 10+ because the damage exceeded his END score, -1 for END attribute mod) to avoid getting his leg impaled.  He rolls a 9, failing the roll by two.  Drogo then spends his 2 Hero Points to make the roll a success.

Because he was running, got stunned, and had his leg injured, the GM makes Drogo roll against his DEX to avoid falling down.  He needs a base roll of 8+, and gets a +1 for his DEX.  He rolls a 7 and barely succeeds; he stumbles, but does not fall. 

Round five: The GM declares that if Drogo wins initiative he can make his way out of the alleyway before Kedrick can attack, but if the guardsman wins initiative then Kedrick can get another attack at the fleeing thief.  Kedrick rolls a 6, and Drogo rolls a 7.  Drogo turns the corner and runs for all he's worth,  Kedrick follows, but more slowly.

     *     *     *

A couple of minutes later, Drogo crawls into an abandoned house, in hopes of escaping the town watch.  Because of the serious wound he suffered, he's been losing one Health point per minute from the bleeding.  Knowing he is about to pass out, he rips off a piece of his shirt and tries to bandage the wound to his leg (i.e. an unskilled First Aid roll).  He roll well and manages to succeed.  He then passes out, confident that his Health score won't drop any further while he is unconscious.

     *     *     *

Several hours later, Drogo wakes up, not in abandoned house, but instead in the town gaol.  It seems that blood trail wasn't that hard to follow...
 

Trollslayers - Revised Weapon Charts

The main difference is that weapon damage is now a set number, instead of a multiple based on STR. While I like the idea of damage being based on STR, the scale didn't jibe with the damage for the different sizes/pulls of various bows and crossbows. Now, a character just adds his or her's STR modifier to the base damage for the weapon (but not for bows and crossbows).

Let's see if I can format this a little better...

Weapon         Type  Hand   STR   DEX   DV   DEF   ENC   Cost  Notes

Battle Axe       C     1     14    11    7    +1    3     12   A
                       2     12    10    8    +2               A
Club             B     1      8     8    6    +1    1      -
Bastard Sword    C     1     14    11    8    +1    3     35
                       2     11    10    9    +2
Dagger           C     1      5     8    3     -    1      3
Flail, hand      B     1     13    12    7    +1    2      9   A B
Flail, war             2     12    12    8    +2    4     12   A C
Great Axe        C     2     14    12    8    +2    4     22   A
Greatsword       C     2     14    11   10    +2    4     55   A
Hand Axe         C     1     11     9    5    +1    2      3
Lance            P     1     13    11   10     -    5     25   A D
Mace             B     1     13    10    7    +1    2      6   A
Mace, spiked     B     1     13    11    8    +1    3     10   A E
Maul             B     2     15    12    8    +2    5     12   A
Pole Arm         P     2     11    10   10    +2    5     15   A F
Quarterstaff     B     2     10    12    8    +2    2      2
Short Sword      C     1      7     9    6    +1    1     15
Spear            P     1     12    12    6    +1    2      2   F
                       2      9     8    7    +2  
Spear, long      P     2     11     9    8    +2    3      4   A F
Sword            C     1     12    10    7    +1    2     25
Warhammer        B     1     15    12    6    +1    3      8   A
                       2     12    11    7    +2
Whip (20')       C     1      7    13    3     -    1      4   G H

And now missile weapons...

Weapon         Type  Hand   STR   DEX   DV  Range  ENC   Cost  Notes

Bow, short       P     2      9    10    4   360    2     12   H I J
Bow, medium      P     2     12    11    6   540    3     20   H J
Bow, long        P     2     14    12    9   720    3     35   H J
Bow, great       P     2     17    13   12   900    4     60   H J 
Crossbow, light  P     2   7/8/13   8    7   600    3     40   I K
Crossbow, medium P     2  8/12/17   9   11   750    4     50   K
Crossbow, heavy  P     2  9/14/22  10   16   900    5     75   K
Dagger, thrown   C     1      5     8    3    x3    1      3   I
Hand Axe, thrown C     1     11     9    5    x5    2      3   I    
Rock, thrown     B     1      5     8    2    x6    1      -   I
Sling            B     1      5    10    4   x20    1      1   H I J
Spear, thrown    P     1     12    12    6    x4    2      2   I 

Type indicates the basic damage type the weapon inflicts, which includes Blunt, Cutting, and Piercing.

Hand indicates whether the weapon is used one-handed or two-handed (for human-sized users).  If a weapon can be used either way, different values will be shown for STR, DEX, DV, and DEF.

STR indicates the minimum Strength required to use the weapon without penalty.  The number listed is for Experts and for Commoners with some combat training (i.e. "zero-level men-at-arms").  For Warriors and Paragons, the number required is reduced by one.  For Magicians and Commoners without combat training, the number required is increased by one.

If the user's STR is less than the listed minimum, the user suffers a -1 penalty on their attack roll.  If their STR is half or less of the listed number, the penalty is increased to -2.

DEX indicates the minimum Dexterity required to use the without without penalty.  This otherwise functions as per the notes above on STR.

DV is the base Damage Value of the weapon, which is modified by the user's STR attribute modifier (except for bows and crossbows).

Range is listed in feet.  If a multiplier is give, that number is multiplied by STR to determine the weapon's range.  Point Blank range is 1/10 the maximum range, and gives a +1 to hit. Short Range is from 1/10 to 1/4 the maximum range, and gives no modifier.  Medium Range is from 1/4 to 1/2 the maximum range, and is -1 to hit.  Long Range is from 1/2 to 3/4 maximum range, and gives a -2 penalty to hit.  Extra Long Range is from 3/4 maximum range to the maximum range, and is -3 to hit.

DEF is the bonus to the user's Defense score when using the weapon, indicating the user's ability to parry incoming attacks with the weapon.  The DEF bonus for melee weapons does not protect against missile attacks.  Missile weapons provide no DEF bonus. 

ENC is the Encumbrance score of the weapon.

Cost is the standard cost for the weapon in Silver Pieces.

Notes

A - whenever this weapon is used to attack, it suffers a -1 penalty for Initiative on the following round.

B - this weapon negates up to 2 points of DEF from a defender's weapons and/or shield.

C - this weapon negates up to 4 points of DEF from a defender's weapons and/or shield.

D - this weapon is usually only used when mounted; if on foot, it requires two hands to use and is treated as a long spear.  When mounted and the mount is charging an enemy, 2/3 of the mount's current MOVE score can be added to the user's STR for determining damage, up to double the user's current STR.

E - treated as Cutting vs Leather armor, and Piercing vs Chainmail.

F - this weapon may be braced against a charging attack; 2/3 of the charger's MOVE score is added to the user's STR for determing damage, up to double the user's current STR score.

G - may be used to try to 'grab' small objects within its range.

H - if the user does not have a talent with this weapon, an extra -1 penalty to hit is incurred.

I - may be used from horseback.

J - normally takes one round to reload; someone with a talent with this weapon can attack the same round the arrow is nocked at a -1 penalty.

K - the first STR required score is simply the minimum STR needed to use the weapon without penalty. The second score is the STR needed to reload the weapon using mechanical aids; this normally takes four rounds. The final number is the STR needed to reload the weapon manually, which takes one round.

     *     *     *

This is also as good as time as any to mention that a character's base Initiative Modifier has been changed.  Instead of merely being reflected by the character's DEX attribute modifier, it is now the combination of both the DEX and PRE attribute modifiers, as well as getting an additional +1 for every four levels in their character class (round down).

Trollslayers - Hero Points

Each PC gets one Hero Point per character level that they can use per gaming session.  A HP can be used to increase a PC's roll by 1 point per HP spent, or can increase the damage done by an already successful attack by 1 point per HP spent.  Alternatively, a PC can spend HPs to reduce the attack roll and/or damage of an opponent, as long as the attempted attack or action directly affects them.

HPs are generally the domain of Player Characters, but the GM may choose to occasionally give an NPC some HPs as well, to perhaps stretch out any fights that might occur, and to give the NPC in question a chance to avoid getting dropped by one lucky shot.  That said, encountering an NPC with HP should be a fairly rare occurrence; a 'standard' dungeon setting should probably only have one NPC with HP (and perhaps a favored henchman who has HP equal to half their level).  In a 'megadungeon', one NPC with HP might be a good rule of thumb.

The use of Hero Points isn't terribly 'old school' in feel, and not allow PCs to have HP would not be too out of place.  That said, as the combat system for Trollslayers is pretty damned harsh and unforgiving, and the use of any given HP has only a minor effect, allowing the PCs a chance to affect their chances in small ways shouldn't alter the style of play overly much.  

Trollslayers - Broken Swords & Shattered Shields

Note: the following is essentially a lift of an idea that Trollsmyth puts forth here, which I've swiped for my own purposes, with some tweaks and modifications.

During combat, a participant can forgo taking damage from a successful attack by sacrificing either a shield or a weapon, under the assumption that is was shattered while parrying/ deflecting an incoming attack. 

The only caveat is that it must make a certain amount of sense for the defender's shield or weapon to be able to absorb the damage of the incoming attack.  In practice, this generally means that the incoming attack must either be a blunt or cutting weapon (not counting daggers), as piercing attacks usually would not break an opposing weapon or shield.  The defending item to be sacrificed can be either a shield, or pretty much any weapon except a dagger (not counting main-gauches, daggers just usually aren't used much as parrying weapons).

If being attacked by a big monster (one that has enough mass and STR to break a defending weapon) that is attacking with its natural limbs and/or claws, if a cutting weapon is sacrificed to deflect the incoming attack, said cutting weapon in this case also does half the weapon's base damage to the monster.

Trollslayers - Death, Unconsciousness, and Recovery

Once a character is reduced to zero Health or below, they must make an END check to stay conscious (8+ if the injuries were caused by cutting or piercing weapons, 10+ if from blunt weapons).  If they manage to stay conscious, they act as if stunned (-1 DEF penalty, -3 to hit, and a -1 to their Initiative rolls) until their Health score becomes a positive number again.  If they manage to remain conscious, and further injuries suffered will require another such END check to avoid succumbing to unconsciousness.

Also, once their Health score becomes a negative number, an END check (10+, or 12+ if caused by a serious wound) must be made to continue avoid losing Health (1 pt per 10 minutes) if the negative Health state was caused by cutting or piercing weapons (unless indicated by the results of a serious wound, blunt weapons generally don't cause continued bleeding at this point).  If the roll is failed, then the characters gets to make another roll every 10 minutes; if they succeed, the Health loss is stopped, and if they fail the character continues to lose another Health point.

If a character's Health is reduced to a negative number equal to their END score, they are dead.

Unconscious characters can make a roll once an hour to regain consciousness (8+, or 10+ if they are losing Health points due to continued bleeding).

Characters at rest and partaking in minimum activity heal a number of Health points per day equal to END/10.  Health points being healed from a negative score are recovered at END/20 per day.  If the character suffered an impairment from a serious wound, the overall healing rate is halved until their Health score equals their END, at which point the impairment (impalement, broken limb) is healed.  Also, if the character does not rest and stays active, the healing rate is again halved.

If a healing character has the benefit of being tended to by a skilled healer (i.e. someone with some sort of medical/healing skill), the healer's skill level, plus their KNO attribute modifier, is added to the character's END score for determining their healing rate.

Trollslayers - Class-based level improvements

This probably should have been included in the earlier Levels & Improvements post...


Warriors gain +1 to the Health score at 1st level, and gain an additional +1 to Health per level acquired. The maximum amount of Health that a Warrior may gain by leveling up is equal to his or her END score.

Magicians start off with an Essence score at 1st level equal to (KNO+PRE)/2.  Every level gained after that, they add 5 to their Essence score.

Experts gain an extra Talent at 2nd level, and at each even level afterwards (i.e. 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc).

Paragons add +1 to the Health score at 1st level, and add another +1 to Health at each odd level acquired (i.e. 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc).  The maximum amount of Health that a Paragon may gain by leveling up is equal to half his or her END score.  Also, they start off with an Essence score at 1st level equal to (KNO+PRE)/4, and every level gained after that, they add 3 to their Essence score.

Trollslayers - damage and injuries

(if there is any question that  would need an editor on the off chance this was to be published, this post should remove all doubts - I know what the rules are in my head, but communicating those rules clearly and effectively seems to be beyond me) 

Damage inflicted by a successful attack roll is modified by how well the roll is made.  If the attack roll is made exactly (i.e. you needed a 9+ to hit, and you roll a 9), this is considered a Graze, meaning you only inflict half your normal listed damage for that weapon.

For every two points above the needed roll an attack roll is made by, the damage is increased by +1 (i.e.if you need a 5+ to hit, and you roll a 10, you add +2 to the damage inflicted).

Damage inflicted is generally assumed to be to the chest/torso area, unless the head, or a limb is specifically targeted before the dice are rolled (-1 attack penalty to target a limb, -2 to target the head).  However, if the attack roll exceeds the target number by 4 or more, one of the target's limbs suffer the effects of the wounds, even if it wasn't declared before the roll.  If the attack roll exceeds the target number by 8 or more, the attack can be considered a 'head shot'.

Any single attack that does damage equal to or greater either half the target's Health score, or 2/3 their END score (whichever is less), is a Serious Wound. Anyone suffering such a wound is momentarily stunned, suffering a -1 DEF penalty for the rest of the round, -3 to hit for their next action, and a -1 penalty to their Initiative roll for the following round.

Moreso, any serious wound has a chance to inflict extra injuries, depending on the type of weapon used.  Blunt weapons have a chance of breaking bones, cutting weapons of causing continual bleeding, and impaling weapons of getting stuck in their target.  In these instances, the victim must make an END roll to avoid these further effects. The base roll is 8+, unless the amount of damage done is equal to or greater than the victim's END score; then the base roll is 10+. The results of failed END rolls are listed below:

Blunt attacks: chest/torso – broken ribs, MOVE score is halved, -4 to Initiative, -2 to attack, -1 DEF, 2^nd roll must be made to avoid internal bleeding (lose 1 pt of Health per hour)

Blunt attacks: arms/legs – broken bones, limb is useless, ½ MOVE for legs

Blunt attacks: head – skull broken, doing double damage; if still alive, 2^nd roll must be made to avoid internal bleeding (lose 1 pt of Health every 10 minutes)

Cutting attacks: chest/torso – serious bleeding, lose 1 pt of Health every minute, -2 to Initiative, -1 to attack

Cutting attacks: arms/legs – limb is severed, continued bleeding causes loss of 1 pt of Health per combat round, severed legs halves movement, and victim falls down

Cutting attacks: head – head is severed from body; get ready to create a new character (barring access to some serious magic)

Piercing attacks: chest/torso – weapon is impaled in chest; attacker must make STR roll (8+) to remove the weapon, and doing so does the base weapon damage again to the victim, as well as resulting in serious bleeding, lose 1 pt of Health every minute, -2 to Initiative, -1 to attack

Piercing attacks: arms/legs – weapon impaled as per chest/torso (including penalties and serious bleeding, but only a 6+ is required to remove weapon), any actions with impaled arms are at -2, impaled legs reduced MOVE by ¼

Piercing attacks: head – brain is punctured, character killed

Also, any Serious Wounds to the head, assuming he victim is still alive, requires yet another END roll to stay conscious (8+ for cutting and impaling attacks, 10+ for blunt attacks)

Trollslayers - Experience Points

Experience Points can be gained in Trollslayers in four different ways:

Exploration

Exploring new and unknown lands, or areas unknown in an otherwise civilized area, will grant a character 50 EP x the difficulty level of the area. For a classic 'dungeon', this corresponds to the level of danger, which ofter increases the further down the dungeon one goes. For example, entering a 4th level dungeon and poking around nets you 200 EP. Going from the 1st level to the 4th progressively would gain you 50+100+150+200=500 EP (but you would need to explore something new at each level). For wilderness lands, the difficulty level should be based on the types of monsters and other threats that might be encountered; the outer edge of the Dreadwood might count as 3rd level for this purpose, with the level increasing depending on how far one goes into dark forest, facing greater foes and dangers.

Threats

Foes fought (not necessarily defeated, as one can learn from loss as well as gain), as well as other hazards encountered, or other dangers faced (or perhaps even bypassed, if handled well enough), grants EP based on the difficulty of the threat, multiplied by the Average Party Level (APL):

Minor Threat: the PCs are expected to win easily enough, although they may suffer a few injuries, or deplete a few resources along the way - base 25 EP

Serious Threat: the PCs should win, although it is not quite a sure thing, and injuries and lost resources are probably a given - base 50 EP

Major Threat: a fairly even fight, could easily go either way, and the winning side is sure to have serious injuries (if not fatalities) and a serious loss of resources - base 75 EP

Grave Threat: the PCs will almost certainly lose this fight, no doubt suffering serious injuries, fatalities, and much loss - base 100 EP, and they should probably pick their foes more carefully in the future, should any of them survive

Example - Two 4th level characters, a 3rd level character, and a 1st level character (APL=3) encounter three lightly armed goblins. For most of the group, the goblins represent a Minor Threat, and they get 75 EP each for dealing with them. However, the GM might rule that the level of danger is greater for the 1st level character; for him, the fight is a Serious Threat, and assuming he survives he gets 150 EP.

Example - The same party encounter a small swarm of bat-like creatures that also create a hypnotic field, one which is easily resisted by those with magical training. The 1st level character and one of the 4th level characters are spellcasters, the other 4th level character and the 3rd level character are not. For the two spellcasters, the threat is Minor, and they get 75 EP each for the encounter. For the two non-spellcasters, the encounter is more Serious, and they get 150 EP each, assuming they can manage to break free of the hypnotic effect.

Time

A PC gets 10 EP per hour of actual gaming time spent. For example, if a gaming session last six hours (not counting rest breaks, pauses to eat, etc), everyone involved gets 60 EP.

Money Spent

Characters can gain EP based on monetary funds spent in ways that do not directly compensate them (i.e. no EP for spending money on equipment, as that is its own reward). The most common means of doing this are tithing, studying, and carousing:

Tithing - Representing money donated to the church/temple of your choice. This doesn't include any tithings you are obligated to make (for whatever reason). It also doesn't count if you run the temple in question, since you can still access the funds if needed. If a temple of your faith is not nearby, you can also possibly sacrifice the wealth in a manner appropriate to your god, in a manner that means the wealth is no longer usable (i.e. tossing a golden statuette into a lake of lava to appease the fire god). You can gain 1 EP per SP tithed/sacrificed in this manner, with a maximum of (10 x character level x PRE) in EP per week.

Studying - Whether bribing an elder wizard to let you rummage through his various magical tomes, or paying a retired swordsman to show you a few moves, you're exchanging money (and time) for knowledge and skill. Assuming you can find an appropriate teacher, of course. You can gain 1 EP per SP spent on such training/studies, with a maximum of (10 x character level x KNO) in EP per week.

Carousing - What good is money if you don't spend it? Preferably on the fun stuff? This is the advanced art of partying, spending money on booze and whores, and picking up some hard-earned experience along the way via the school of hard knocks. Of course, you need to be in or near some sort of civilization to use this option, preferably a place that doesn't mind getting a little rowdy at times. You can gain 1 EP per SP spent on such debaucheries, with a maximum of (10 x character level x END) in EP per week.

A character can choose either Studying or Carousing in a given week, but not both. They can make Tithings separately during that same week.

Also, because TS is designed to support an 'endgame' of characters building their own keeps, temples, etc., they can also gain 1 EP per GP spent on building/renovating/maintaining such buildings (2 EP per GP if said building is in otherwise uncivilized lands, away from safe, civilized areas.