TEXT: DRAGON WARRIORS
  BOOK ONE: DRAGON WARRIORS by Dave Morris
  BOOK TWO: THE WAY OF WIZARDRY by Dave morris
  BOOK THREE: THE ELVEN CRYSTALS by Oliver Johnson
  BOOK FOUR: OUT OF THE SHADOWS by Dave Morris
  BOOK FIVE: THE POWER OF DARKNESS by Oliver Johnson
  BOOK SIX: THE LANDS OF LEGEND by Dave Morris
  All published by Corgi Books
  THE ULTIMATE ROLE-PLAYING GAME
  by Dave Morris
  Illustrated by Leo Hartas and
  Bob Harvey
  CORGI BOOKS
  A DIVISION OF TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS LTD.
  Scanned and compiled by Underdogs
  Home of the Underdogs
  http://www.the-underdogs.org/
  
  DRAGON WARRIORS BOOK ONE: DRAGON
  WARRIORS
  A CORGI BOOK 0 552 52287 2
  First published in Great Britain by Corgi Books
  PRINTING HISTORY
  Corgi edition published 1985
  Corgi edition reprinted 1985
  Corgi edition reprinted 1987
  Text copyright © Dave Morris 1985
  Illustrations copyright © Transworld Publishers Ltd.
  1985
  All fights reserved.
  Conditions of sale
  1: This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall
  not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out
  or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent
  in any form of binding or cover other than that in which
  it is published and without a similar condition including this
  condition being imposed on the 'subsequent purchaser.
  2: This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions of
  Sale of Net Books and may not be re-sold in the U.K.
  below the net price fixed by the publishers for the book.
  Corgi Books are published by Transworld Publishers
  Ltd., 61-63 Uxbridge Road, Baling, London W5 5SA, in
  Australia by Transworld Publishers (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.,
  15-23 Helles Avenue, Moorebank, NSW 2170, and in New
  Zealand by Transworld Publishers (N.Z.) Ltd., Cnr. Moselle
  and Waipareira Avenues, Henderson, Auckland.
  Printed and bound in Great Britain by
  Cox & Wyman Ltd., Reading, Berks.
  CONTENTS
  Chapter One: FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING
  The Games Master
  Getting started
  The object of the game
  The dice
  Chapter Two: CREATING A CHARACTER
  The characteristics
  Choosing a Profession
  Health Points
  The Combat Factors
  Magical Combat Factors
  Dodging
  Initial equipment
  Rank
  Character Creation Summaries
  Chapter Three: THE RULES OF COMBAT
  The Hit Roll
  The Armour Bypass Roll
  Weapons
  Wounds and recovery
  Missile combat
  Moving into combat
  Getting out of combat
  Shields
  Fighting more than one opponent
  Going berserk
  Combat penalties for wearing armour
  The Combat Round
  
  Chapter Four: EVASION AND MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  Dodging an attack
  Typical attack SPEEDs
  Resisting spells
  Chapter Five: INCREASING IN RANK
  How a character increases in rank
  Experience points
  Chapter Six: ADVENTURING
  Illumination
  Encounters in an underworld
  Fighting in the dark
  Battle order
  Escaping from a fight
  Locked doors
  Encumbrance
  Equipment (costs & availability)
  Livestock
  Food and lodging
  Climbing
  Falling
  Poison
  Special cases
  Extra-special cases
  Chapter Seven: CREATURES
  45
  49
  53
  Forest
  Hills
  Swamp
  Arctic
  Desert
  Underworld
  Chapter Nine: GAMESMASTERING
  Non-player characters
  Hired help
  Fellow adventurers
  Stats for average Knights (1st to 12th ranks)
  Stats for average Barbarians (1st to 12th
  ranks)
  Stats for average Sorcerers (1st to 12th
  ranks)
  Stats for average Mystics (1st to 12th ranks)
  The campaign setting
  Death
  Game-time
  During an adventure
  Scenario: "The King Under The Forest"
  Chapter Ten: PLAYING THE GAME
  Role-playing
  Strategy
  Adventuring tactics
  NPC adventurers
  Gaming accessories
  14
  73
  Chapter Eight: TRAVEL AND ENCOUNTERS
  Outdoor travel
  Open country
  129
  1
  6
  7
  
  To the old crowd —
  Chris, Steve, Richard, Nick, Andy M, Diana,
  Paul S, Paul D, Anne, Rida, Ros, Helen,
  Chris M, Andy B and John
  DRAGON WARRIORS is a fantasy role-playing game
  But what does that actually mean?
  Fantasy role-playing, or FRP, is a way for a group of
  friends to share adventures in a magical world — the
  world of the imagination. Suppose you decided to read
  the famous Mines of Moria sequence from Tolkien's
  Lord of the Rings to some friends. However, instead of
  sticking slavishly to the original plot, you involve your
  friends by assigning each of them a character in the
  story. One person is thus playing the part (or role) of
  Gandalf, another is Frodo, and so on. They are decid-
  ing for themselves what to do. All you are doing is
  giving them the descriptions — what the Mines look
  like, the monsters they meet, the treasures they find.
  All you need to do then is add a set of adventure rules,
  (and that is exactly what this book is) and you would be
  playing an FRP game!
  9
  
  The GamesMaster
  The GamesMaster, or GM, is the narrator/director of a
  Dragon Warriors game. Each of the other players has
  a single character, but the GM controls a host of
  villagers, hirelings, monsters and other non-player
  characters. He also controls every event in the game,
  for he knows in advance every detail of each adven-
  ture. The GM is 'god' of the game's fantasy world.
  Most people are familiar with gamebooks, a form of
  solo adventure which developed from the FRP hobby.
  In a gamebook, you must do one of only two or three
  things at every decision. This is because the gamebook,
  for reasons of space, cannot be written to take every
  option into account. Computer adventures allow a
  slightly wider range of choice, but it can be frustrating
  to struggle with the software's limited vocabulary.
  FRP games are much closer to reality than game-
  books or computer adventures can be. Traps and
  dangers are more fiendish, players must be more alert
  and inventive to survive. Anything that could happen
  in a 'real' fantasy world can happen in a Dragon War-
  riors game. All this is possible because of the Games-
  Master, for he judges what will happen in any situation
  that crops up.
  In the example at the start of the chapter, you were
  GamesMastering your friends as they explored the
  underworld of Moria. The rest of this book is
  addressed entirely on the assumption that you, the
  reader, are to be the GM of your Dragon Warriors gam-
  ing group. (If this is not the case, if you will actually be
  participating as a player, then you may certainly read
  most of the book — knowing the rules never hurt a
  player! — but you must take care not to look at The
  King Under The Forest. This is an adventure scenario
  which must only be seen by the GamesMaster himself.)
  10
  11
  
  You're in a 10m by 5m chamber with a stone
  sarcophagus in the middle. Tunnels lead from the
  centre of the east and west walls, and you've just
  come through the door to the south. As you are
  noting this down on your map, You - Carl - see
  a skeletal hand emerging from the
  sarcophagus. . . .
  13
  12
  
  Getting started
  If you have already played or even GamesMastered an
  FRP game before, you can now skip straight to Chapter
  Two and start finding out about the rules.
  If not, you may find it helpful to see how a typical
  game is played. You have gathered together a few
  friends as players. (Four to six players is perhaps the
  ideal, though I have in my time played games with only
  the GM and one player — right up to, at the other
  extreme, gargantuan expeditions involving fifteen
  players or more.)
  More often than not, your players will have already
  skimmed through this book (though they should defi-
  nitely not have looked at the adventure scenario at the
  back). Any players who don't already know the combat
  rules should have them briefly explained. After this,
  you get the players to each fill in a Character Sheet
  using the rules of Chapter Two.
  You are sitting a little way apart from the players.
  This is so they cannot peek at the maps and notes
  which are laid out in front of you. These notes are the
  scenario for the evening's adventure. You begin by set-
  ting the scene. The players' characters, who are des-
  tined to be adventuring companions, must meet one
  another. You decide to use the convenient plot device
  of having them all arrive at a quiet woodland chapel
  one crisp morning. The players, now role-playing the
  part of their characters, describe themselves and
  quickly become acquainted:
  Jack: 
  'Greetings, strangers. I am Sir Gareth. I flatter
  myself to think you might have heard of me, for
  I bested three valiant Knights at the Fay Bridge
  tourney.' I'm good-looking and wear the finest
  armour, you notice.
  Phil: 
  Not a scratch on you, in other words. I step for-
  ward and say with a smile, 'Ah, sirrah, I have
  not heard of your exploits before, and thank
  you for bringing them to my notice. I, Sir Hugo
  14
  of Malfosse, must truly be a dullard, for I took
  part in the tourney, yet somehow I missed
  you...' I'm short and thickset, with a bushy
  black beard.
  Bob: 
  'Tourneys! Bah, games for children. God
  deliver me from such foolery. I returned but
  lately from the Crusade to find my lands stolen
  by a treacherous cousin. With God's grace I
  plan a short and eventful future for him, the
  cur.' I glower as I look east, thoughts full of
  vengeance.
  Jack: 
  'A sorry tale, good sir Knight. But pray, by
  what name are you called?'
  Bob: 
  Didn't I say? (grins)' Sir Balin,' I mutter darkly.
  You: 
  As you're all standing around outside the
  chapel, you suddenly notice the priest standing
  a short distance away. He is a tall man in plain
  grey robes and wears a large cross on his
  breast.
  Jack: 
  We bow -
  Phil: 
  I don't. 'These newfangled gods, they're no
  better than the old ones.'
  Bob: 
  'I pray you will learn the error of that'ere long,
  Sir Hugo. I have learned to baptize heathens in
  their own tainted blood.'
  You: 
  The priest says, 'Quell this anger! Remember
  you stand before God's house!' He walks over
  and, smiling, says, 'But even the most pious
  Knight has need of worldly wealth, is that not
  so? I will tell you how you can fill those haver-
  sacks you wear with bright silver - and may-
  hap rid these woods of evil into the bargain.. .'
  The players are about to begin their adventure. It will
  be the first of many.
  15
  
  The object of the game
  Very often, a Dragon Warriors game will consist of a
  foray into an underworld - a series of chambers and
  passageways (often below the ground) inhabited by a
  variety of hostile monsters. More elaborate plots will
  also occur when you have been playing for some time.
  Town-based adventures are very popular. But an
  underworld adventure is best to start with, because its
  structured format makes it easy for the GM to handle.
  The adventure will usually have a single objective.
  Perhaps the player-characters are exploring a ruined
  castle in search of a magic sword which they believe
  lies hidden there. The adventure ends successfully if
  they manage to defeat the monsters and puzzle out the
  traps in their way, reach the sword, and get out of the
  castle in one piece.
  In a gamebook that would be the end of the story. But
  Dragon Warriors is a continuing adventure. With each
  success, the player-characters increase their combat
  skills, amass more treasure, buy better armour and
  enchanted weapons with the fortunes they have
  acquired. As they rise in power, their adventures pit
  them against ever more fearsome adversaries. The
  continuing series of adventures involving a group of
  player-characters is called a campaign. After several
  months of regular gaming, the player-characters in
  your campaign will be seasoned adventurers. They
  will talk about the early games as though they were
  exploits that really happened. As of course they did, in
  the realm of the imagination which you will have
  created!
  16
  The dice
  To most people, dice are cubes with spots on, for rolling
  random numbers from 1 to 6.
  Not if you are talking to an FRP gamer, though. If you
  ask him to roll a die (singular of 'dice') he will most
  likely reply by asking you which sort of die you mean.
  FRP games like DRAGON WARRIORS use several sorts
  of die besides the ordinary six-sided variety.
  Gaming-talk has an abbreviation for these different
  dice. If you want a player to roll an eight-sided die you
  need only say, 'Roll 1d8.' In the same gaming-talk, '3d6'
  means 'roll three six-sided dice', or '2d10 + 1' means
  'roll two ten-sided dice and add 1 to the total', and so
  on.
  d4
  This is the only die which doesn't land with one
  face uppermost when you throw it. The num-
  ber rolled is the one that comes up at the
  bottom of each side (a '3' in this picture).
  d6
  This is the common six-sided die.
  17
  
  d8 
  The eight-sided die.
  d10
  Some manufacturers produce ten-sided dice
  (but you do not actually need one of these if you
  have a twenty-sided die, because it is easy to
  discount the 'tens' - ie, read '13' as '3', '17' as
  '7', etc).
  d12 
  The twelve-sided die.
  18
  d20 
  The twenty sides of this die are marked with
  the numerals 0 to 9, with each numeral
  appearing twice. One set of the numerals is
  distinguished from the other by a small mark
  or a dot of paint, so that in fact the sides are
  marked: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,*1, *2,*3,*4,*5,*6,
  *7,*8,*9,*0.
  By ignoring the marks, it can be used as a
  d10. (A roll of '0' is counted as 10.) When the
  marks are taken into account, it becomes a d20
  (a roll of '*3' counts as 13, '*0' is 20, etc).
  d100 
  No illustration for this one - a die that really
  had one hundred sides would be a mind-
  boggling object! In fact, when d100 is needed
  you actually use the d10. First you throw it and
  count the number rolled as the 'tens' (counting
  0 now as 'no tens'). Then you throw it again and
  count this roll as the 'ones'. Thus, a roll of '3'
  followed by a roll of '5' gives the number 35.
  ('01','U2','03', etc, count as 1,2,3,.. .but '00'
  counts as 100.)
  The particularly useful thing about d100 is
  that it gives you a way to check a percentage
  chance of something happening. Suppose
  there is a point in the game where a player-
  character wants to leap across a wide chasm,
  and the GamesMaster decides to give him a
  30% chance of making the jump safely. A d100
  roll is made. If the roll is anything from 01 to 30
  19
  
  he is okay, but a roll of 31-100 indicates
  failure (splat!).
  Another name for d100 is percentile dice.
  Polyhedral dice can be obtained from numerous hobby
  shops, or mail order from Games Workshop (27-29
  Sunbeam Road, London NW10 6JP) or from Gomes
  (85-87 Victoria Street, Liverpool L1 6DG). These
  places also stock figurines, underworld floor plans,
  and other useful FRP accessories - send a stamped
  self-addressed envelope for their catalogue.
  Even if you don't have a set of polyhedral dice, you
  can still play DRAGON WARRIORS. At the back of this
  book you will find instructions for making spinnerets
  that will generate random numbers.
  20
  
  Before you can begin your first DRAGON WARRIORS
  game, each player must create a character, who will
  be his or her fantasy 'alter-ego' in the world of the
  game. Only ordinary six-sided dice are needed for this.
  STEP ONE: The Characteristics
  Each character is initially defined by his scores in five
  characteristics. These characteristics are Strength,
  Reflexes, Intelligence, Psychic Talent and Looks. The
  value of each characteristic is found by rolling three
  six-sided dice (3d6), and therefore ranges from a mini-
  mum of 3 to a maximum of 18.
  Strength is a measure of the character's fitness and
  physical toughness. His Reflexes score indicates his
  dexterity, agility and speed of reactions. Intelligence
  shows how clever the character is (so a player who
  rolls low for this ought to role-play as though he really
  is dimwitted). Psychic Talent represents the charac-
  ter's basic ability to resist (and in some cases use)
  magic. The character's Looks score reflects his
  appearance and personal charm; this has no bearing
  on his adventuring skills, but you should certainly take
  it into account when deciding how non-player charac-
  ters (NPCs) would react to him.
  The player rolls 3d6 for each of these five charac-
  teristics, then, and records the scores in the appro-
  priate boxes on his Character Sheet. These scores will
  never change - except, in rare cases, through illness
  or sorcery.
  Special note: The luck of the dice means that some-
  times a player will create a character with hopelessly
  bad scores, quite unsuited to life as an adventurer. The
  player may discard the character and roll up another.
  It is for you, as GamesMaster, to decide whether a
  character is 'hopeless' or not. As a guideline, we
  suggest you allow a player to discard any character
  with more than two characteristics below the average
  (9 to 12) range.
  22
  CHARACTER SHEET
  Character's Name
  Profession
  Rank
  Strength =
  Reflexes =
  Intelligence =
  Psychic Talent =
  Looks =
  Health Points
  normal score:
  current score:
  ATTACK =
  DEFENCE =
  MAGICAL DEFENCE =
  EVASION =
  Armour
  type worn:
  Armour Factor:
  Equipment
  Weapons
  Cash
  Gold Crowns:
  Silver Florins:
  Copper Pennies:
  Each player will require a blank Character Sheet.
  Permission is granted to make photocopies. A full-size
  character sheet will be found at the back of the book.
  STEP TWO: Choosing a Profession
  In the full DRAGON WARRIORS game there are four
  Professions to which an adventurer may belong:
  Knight, Barbarian, Sorcerer and Mystic. The last two
  are the magic-wielding Professions, and are dealt with
  in Book Two: The Way of Wizardry. Far now we shall
  just concern ourselves with Knights and Barbarians.
  Knights are better all-around fighters. Though
  physically less robust than Barbarians, they are able
  to wear heavy armour without losing any of their com-
  bat skills.
  Barbarians are better in attack, but defensively less
  skilful. Their fighting style is fast and mobile, and plate
  armour hampers them. They are able to go berserk in
  combat - making their attacks still more ferocious.
  23
  
  The player decides now to which of these Profes-
  sions he wants his character to belong. He notes this at
  the top of his Character Sheet.
  STEP THREE: Health Points
  Having chosen his Profession, the player can roll his
  character's Health Points score. A character's Health
  Points (or HP) show how robust he is. Whenever the
  character takes a wound in combat, the wound is
  expressed as a number which comes off his HP score.
  The character falls unconscious when his Health Point
  score reaches 0, and will die if it is ever reduced to - 3
  or less. Lost Health Points can be recuperated by rest-
  ing after the adventure - as long as the character
  survives!
  For a Knight, initial Health Points are found by roll-
  ing 1d6 + 7 (ie, roll one six-sided die and add 7 to the
  number rolled).
  A Barbarian starts with 1d6 + 9 Health Points.
  A character's initial Health Points score increases
  as he advances in rank (of which, more later).
  STEP FOUR: The Combat Factors
  The player is now ready to determine his char-
  acter's ATTACK and DEFENCE scores. No further dice
  rolling is required - he has already made the neces-
  sary rolls. The basic scores are
  for Knights: ATTACK score is 13, DEFENCE
  score is 7
  for Barbarians: ATTACK score is 14, DEFENCE
  score is 6
  Those are, in fact, the scores for an average char-
  acter at the start of his career. If the player rolled
  above or below the average range (9-12) on certain of
  his characteristics at STEP ONE, he may have to
  24
  modify his ATTACK and DEFENCE scores slightly as a
  result:
  Characteristic score
  Strength
  Reflexes
  Intel-
  ligence
  3 4 5
  - 2 ATTACK
  - 1 DEFENCE
  - 1 ATTACK
  - 2 DEFENCE
  - 1 ATTACK
  - 1 DEFENCE
  678 
  9 10 11 12 
  13 14 15
  - 1 ATTACK
  - 1 DEFENCE
  + 1 ATTACK
  + 1 DEFENCE
  16 17 18
  + 2 ATTACK
  + 1 DEFENCE
  + 1 ATTACK
  + 2 DEFENCE
  + 1 ATTACK
  + 1 DEFENCE
  After making any adjustments due to character-
  istics, the player should enter his ATTACK and
  DEFENCE scores on his Character Sheet. (In subse-
  quent adventures, as he rises in rank, the character
  will be able to increase these scores.)
  The way in which ATTACK and DEFENCE are used
  in the game is explained in Chapter Three.
  STEP FIVE: Magical Combat Factors
  ATTACK and DEFENCE, as we shall see, represent the
  character's fighting prowess. In the DRAGON WAR-
  RIORS world, where magic is a reality, it follows that
  these Combat Factors must have a magical analogue:
  MAGICAL ATTACK and MAGICAL DEFENCE. Not
  being able to cast spells, Knights and Barbarians do
  not have any way of attacking with magic, so for the
  time being only MAGICAL DEFENCE is relevant.
  The basic MAGICAL DEFENCE score is 3 for both
  Knights and Barbarians. This base score is modified if
  the character's Intelligence and/or Psychic Talent fall
  outside the average range:
  3
  4
  5 
  6
  7
  Characteristic score
  8 
  9 10 11 12 
  13 14 15 
  16 17 18
  Intel-
  ligence
  Psychic
  Talent
  - 1 MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  - 2 MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  -1 
  MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  + 1 MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  + 1 MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  + 2 MAGICAL
  DEFENCE
  25
  
  The rules for using MAGICAL DEFENCE are in
  Chapter Four.
  STEP SIX: Dodging
  Some attacks are not covered by the normal combat
  rules of Chapter Three. A character who tries to parry
  a dragon's fiery breath with his sword is going to be
  fried! In such cases, the best thing is to dodge out of the
  way. The score that shows how good the character is
  at dodging is his EVASION.
  The basic EVASION score at 1st rank is 4 for a
  knight and 5 for a Barbarian. This is modified if the
  character's Reflexes score is above or below average:
  - 2 from
  EVASION
  - 1 from
  EVASION
  + 1 on
  EVASION
  + 2 on
  EVASION
  The way in which EVASION is applied will be
  explained in Chapter Four.
  STEP SEVEN: Initial Equipment
  Each newly rolled character represents a young
  adventurer who has yet to acquire any practical
  experience. However, the character does not just leap
  into existence at the instant the Character Sheet is
  filled in. He or she has, even at lowly 1st rank, rather
  more fighting skill than the average man or woman -
  the result, we can assume, of gruelling training
  throughout the character's teens. Certain basic items
  of equipment have been acquired by the character in
  those 'blank years' leading up to the first adventure.
  Knights begin with the following:
  a suit of plate armour
  a sword or a morning star
  a shield
  a dagger
  26
  a lantern and flint-&-tinder
  a backpack
  25 silver Florins
  A Barbarian has somewhat different equipment to
  start with:
  a suit of chainmail armour
  a battleaxe or a two-handed sword
  a dagger
  a lantern and flint-&-tinder
  a backpack
  6-36 Florins (roll 6d6)
  Further equipment, including missile weapons such
  as a bow and arrows, may be purchased if the char-
  acter has enough money. The Equipment list in Chapter
  Six shows the availability and cost of a number of
  items.
  STEP EIGHT: Rank
  All characters begin the game at 1st rank. The players
  should not imagine that this makes them total novices,
  however. A 1st rank Knight or Barbarian is a respect-
  ably skilled fighter. While not yet mighty heroes, they
  have been in a few battles and know how to use their
  weapons.
  Each successful adventure gains experience points
  for the character. When sufficient experience points
  have been accumulated, the character goes up to the
  next rank.
  EXAMPLE
  Bob is creating a DRAGON WARRIORS character
  for himself. He begins by rolling 3d6 for each
  characteristic, and comes up with:
  Strength 7 
  - a below average score, but not
  exactly puny
  27
  Reflexes 
  3 4 5 
  6 7 8 
  9 10 11 12 
  13 14 15 
  16 17 18
  
  Reflexes 13 
  - he will be able to react quicker
  than many of his opponents
  Intelligence 18 
  - extremely astute and sharp-
  witted
  Psychic Talent 8 
  - less than average occult
  awareness
  Looks 14 
  - handsome
  Bob decides to make the character a Knight, and
  calls himself Sir Balin the Bloodthirsty. Rolling
  1d6 + 7 for his Health Points, he scores 13 - the
  maximum for a Knight at 1st rank.
  After making the appropriate adjustments
  resulting from his Strength, Reflexes and Intel-
  ligence, Bob/Sir Balin finds that he has an ATTACK
  of 13 (the Strength and Intelligence modifiers cancel
  out) and a DEFENCE of 9 (helped here by his high
  Reflexes and even higher Intelligence).
  Sir Balin's keen Intelligence stands him in good
  stead when he comes to calculate his MAGICAL
  DEFENCE; the bonus due to Intelligence cancels out
  the penalty due to low Psychic Talent, leaving him
  with the basic MAGICAL DEFENCE of 3. Because of
  his Reflexes, he has an EVASION score of 5.
  After taking the initial equipment due him as a
  Knight, Sir Balin spends some of his cash to acquire
  a bow and six arrows. He would happily leave it at
  that, but his GamesMaster points out that he must
  have something to keep the arrows in! Grumbling,
  Sir Balin parts with 4 Florins for a quiver.
  CHARACTER CREATION SUMMARY - Knights
  A. 
  Strength, Reflexes, Intelligence, Psychic Talent
  and Looks: roll 3d6 for each.
  B. 
  Health Points: roll 1d6 + 7.
  C. 
  Basic ATTACK 13, DEFENCE 7
  D. 
  Basic MAGICAL DEFENCE 3
  E. 
  Basic EVASION 4
  28
  F. 
  Initially equipped with plate armour, shield,
  dagger, lantern, flint-&-tinder, backpack, 25
  Florins, sword or morning star.
  CHARACTER CREATION SUMMARY - Barbarians
  A. 
  Strength, Reflexes, Intelligence, Psychic Tal-
  ent, and Looks: roll 3d6 for each.
  B. Health Points: roll 1d6 + 9.
  C. 
  Basic ATTACK 14, DEFENCE 6
  D. 
  Basic MAGICAL DEFENCE 3
  E. Basic EVASION 5
  F. 
  Initially equipped with chainmail, dagger,
  lantern, flint-&-tinder, backpack, 6d6 Florins,
  battleaxe or two-handed sword.
  29
  
  The rules of combat are the most fundamental element
  in any FRP game. A large proportion of any adventure
  is likely to be taken up with battles against monsters
  and hostile non-player characters. Make sure your
  players understand the basic combat procedure
  before starting the first adventure - it will give them a
  framework on which to build their knowledge of the
  rules as a whole, and save you from taking time out for
  explanation during the adventure.
  In its simplest form, combat consists of two charac-
  ters fighting one another. For game purposes, the fight
  is divided up into Combat Rounds; each Combat Round
  represents six seconds of game-time. The procedure
  each Round is the same for both characters, the one
  with the higher Reflexes getting the first blow:
  1. The attacker rolls d20 to determine whether he
  hits (the Hit Roll). If he fails then his go is over for
  the round and his opponent gets to strike back.
  2. When a character scores a hit, he rolls to see
  whether the blow gets past his opponent's
  armour (if any). This is the Armour Bypass Roll.
  If it fails then the opponent's armour does its job
  and he is not hurt by the blow.
  31
  
  3. A blow which gets through armour inflicts a
  wound. The opponent's current Health Points
  are reduced by the damage rating of the weapon
  used (4 Health Points in the case of a sword, 5 HP
  for a battleaxe, etc).
  If the Combat Round ends with both combatants still
  able to fight (ie, their current Health Points have not
  yet been reduced to 0), the next Round begins and the
  procedure is followed through again.
  The Hit Roll
  To see if he hits an opponent, a character simply sub-
  tracts the opponent's DEFENCE score from his own
  ATTACK score. This gives the number that he must roll
  equal to or less than on d20 in order to score a hit.
  A roll of '20' is always a miss, regardless of the com-
  batants' relative Combat Factors. Conversely, a roll of
  '1' is always a hit - and, in fact, always gets past
  armour. (Such a roll is called a critical hit.)
  The Armour Bypass Roll
  Having scored a hit, a character rolls to see if his blow
  can penetrate his opponent's armour. Each type of
  protection has a given Armour Factor (often abbre-
  viated to AF),
  armour type 
  AF
  None 
  0
  Padded Leather 
  1
  Hardened Leather 
  2
  Ring mail 
  3
  Chainmail 
  4
  Plate 
  5
  The attacker must roll higher than his opponent's
  Armour Factor in order to penetrate the armour. The
  type of die used for this Armour Bypass Roll depends
  on the weapon with which the blow was struck.
  32
  Weapons
  Weapons vary in effectiveness in two ways: their
  ability to penetrate armour, and the damage they
  inflict for a successful hit. For convenience, the follow-
  ing notation is used:
  Sword (d8, 4 points)
  This means that a character attacking with a sword
  uses an eight-sided die when making an Armour
  Bypass Roll. If his blow gets past armour, his opponent
  lose 4 Health Points.
  WEAPONS
  Battleaxe* 
  (d8, 6 points)
  Dagger (d4, 3 points)
  Shortsword
  Sword 
  (d8, 4 points)
  (d8, 3 points)
  Morning Star 
  (d6, 5 points
  Mace
  33
  (d6, 4 points)
  
  * These weapons require two hands and thus pre-
  clude the use of a shield.
  Spear*
  (2d4, 4 points)
  Halberd*
  (d10, 5 points)
  Staff
  (d6, 3 points)
  Two-handed Sword*
  (d10, 5 points)
  34
  WEAPONS
  Battleaxe*
  Cudgel
  Dagger
  Flail
  Halberd*
  Mace
  Morning Star
  Shortsword
  (d8, 6 points)
  (d3, 3 points)
  (d4, 3 points)
  (d6, 4 points)
  (d10, 5 points)
  (d6, 4 points)
  (d6, 5 points)
  (d8, 3 points)
  Spear* 
  (2d4, 4 points)
  Staff 
  (d6, 3 points)
  Sword 
  (d8, 4 points)
  Two-handed Sword* 
  (d10, 5 points)
  Unarmed combat 
  (d3, 2 points)
  * These weapons require two hands and thus pre-
  clude the use of a shield.
  Strength
  A character with a Strength score of 16, 17 or 18
  adds + 1 to his Armour Bypass Rolls and to the damage
  he inflicts for a successful hit.
  Occasionally, as a result of magic, a character may
  attain a Strength above 18. His Armour Bypass Rolls
  and weapon damage get a +2 bonus.
  35
  
  36
  37
  
  Wounds and Recovery
  As stated above, when a character is wounded he loses
  Health Points. When the character's current Health
  Points reach 0 he falls unconscious. If they are reduced
  to - 3 he is dead.
  A character who falls unconscious rolls 1d6 at the
  end of every minute (10 Combat Rounds) of game-time.
  When he manages to roll a 1, he wakes up. (His Health
  Point score is restored to 1, the minimum necessary for
  consciousness.)
  There are two ways to recover lost Health Points: by
  magic or by recuperation. Magic is faster, but not
  widely available. The healing spells are detailed in
  Book Two, and we will concern ourselves only with
  natural recuperation here. The character must wait
  four days before the natural healing process begins.
  He will then regain a number of Health Points equal to
  his rank each day, until he is back to his normal
  (unwounded) Health Points score. Neither magical
  nor recuperative healing will ever take a character
  above his normal Health Points score. The only way to
  increase this score is by advancing in rank.
  EXAMPLE
  In his first adventure, Sir Balin the Bloodthirsty has
  several fierce battles. Eventually he is felled by a
  Zombie. He wakes up a short time later (with 1
  Health Point) to find that his companions have
  defeated the Zombie. Since they are all heavily
  wounded by now, they head back to the nearest
  village to rest. After four days, and every day from
  then on, Sir Balin regains 1 Health Point. He is fully
  recovered when his Health Points score is back to
  13; it will not increase beyond that until he advances
  to 2nd rank.
  Missile Combat
  Missile weapons such as bows differ somewhat from
  handheld weaponry. For one thing, a character cannot
  parry an arrow that is shot at him! In order to score a
  hit on his opponent, an archer must simply roll equal to
  or less than his ATTACK score on d20. It is like the Hit
  Roll in normal combat, except that the target charac-
  ter's DEFENCE score makes no difference.
  Circumstances will modify the d20 Hit Roll, making
  the chance of hitting less likely.
  Target is. . .
  at short range
  at medium range
  at long range
  small or crouching
  moving slowly
  moving quickly
  in poor light
  Adjustment to die roll
  no adjustment
  + 3
  + 7
  + 2
  + 2
  + 4
  + 3 or more (GM's discretion)
  MISSILE WEAPONS
  Weapon 
  Short/Medium/Long ranges
  Bow (d6, 4 points)
  Crossbow (d10, 4
  points)
  Dagger, thrown
  (d3, 3 points)
  Javelin (d8, 4
  points)
  Rock, thrown (d3,
  2 points)
  Sling (d6, 3 points)
  EXAMPLE
  0- 50m/51 - 125m/126- 250m
  0-25m/26-75m/76-250m
  0-10m/ll-20m/21-25m
  0-15m/16-25m/26-35m
  0-10m/ll-15m/16-20m
  0-25m/26-75m/76-100m
  38
  Fully recovered after his last adventure, Sir Balin
  sets off with his comrades-at-arms to explore a
  39.
  
  EXAMPLE
  Angus and Fergus, uncompromising Barbarians,
  arrive at a door in a dungeon and kick it open to dis-
  cover two Orcs about to go on guard duty.
  One Orc is only 2m from the doorway. Angus
  closes and strikes at him. The other Orc is standing
  by the weapon rack some 4m from the door, and
  although Fergus charges in he cannot strike him this
  Round.
  (If our two Barbarians had surprised the Orcs -
  by rolling a 1 on d6; see later - they could both have
  closed and attacked.)
  It is very important to have some way of keeping track
  of where everyone is standing during a fight. Figurines
  or labelled counters will be useful.
  Getting out of combat
  The wise adventurer knows when to escape from a
  fight. There are two ways of doing this; the former is
  recommended except for characters in very good
  armour.
  Retreat
  When his turn comes to act, the retreating character,
  still defending normally, backs up one-quarter of his
  normal movement (ie, 2 1/2m in the case of a human). The
  next Round, if his opponent does not follow up, the
  character can turn and run.
  Rout
  This is a more desperate method. The character simply
  turns his back on his opponent. The opponent gets one
  free strike at his back (zero DEFENCE) before he can
  run off.
  Shields
  A character using a shield rolls 1d6 for any blow that is
  struck against him. On a roll of 1, he catches the blow
  on his shield - the blow is negated, even if it was a
  critical hit.
  40
  41
  ruined hill fort. As they approach the ruins, a Goblin
  is spotted some distance off. Doubtless it is slinking
  away to report their presence to others of its kind.
  Balin quickly readies his bow. The Goblin is a
  small target, moving slowly at medium range and in
  poor light (it is dusk). The total modifier is thus + 10.
  Balin rolls the d20 and scores a 4. adjusted by the
  modifier to a 14. Balin has an ATTACK score of 13,
  so the arrow just misses. Sniggering evilly, the
  Goblin disappears among the trees.
  Moving into combat
  Before hitting an opponent, it is (obviously) necessary
  to be adjacent to him. A character may, when it is his
  turn to act, move up to one-quarter of his normal move-
  ment and strike in the same Round. Normal movement
  for a human is 10m per Combat Round, so a character
  who is no more than 2|-m from an enemy is able to close
  and strike as one action.
  There is an exception to this rule. When a character
  has surprised his foe (see Chapter Six) he may move
  half his normal movement and attack in the same
  Combat Round.
  
  Going Berserk
  This option is open only to Barbarians. The character
  is able to make more powerful attacks at the cost of
  neglecting his defence. He may temporarily add 1 point
  to ATTACK for each 3 points he subtracts from
  DEFENCE for that Round.
  Combat Penalties for Wearing Armour
  Knights are trained to fight in any armour. The fighting
  style of other Professions is different, however, and
  may incur penalties to the character's Combat
  Factors:
  Barbarians 
  -2 
  from 
  both 
  ATTACK 
  and
  DEFENCE if wearing plate armour
  Mystics 
  - 2 from ATTACK and DEFENCE for
  wearing chainmail; - 4 for plate
  Sorcerers 
  - 1 from ATTACK and DEFENCE for
  wearing ringmail; - 3 for chainmail;
  - 4 for plate
  42
  The Combat Round
  The rules governing combat have now been covered.
  The six-second Combat Round is the time taken, not
  just to strike a blow or shoot an arrow, but to perform a
  number of other actions as well. Within a Combat
  Round, characters act in descending order of Reflexes.
  When a character's (or monster's) turn comes, he
  performs his action. In detail, the possible actions a
  character may take include:
  - attack with a melee weapon
  (after moving up to 2 1/2m if desired - see above,
  Moving into Combat)
  - prepare and shoot an arrow
  - discharge a loaded crossbow
  - partially load a crossbow
  (the character must spend 3 Rounds doing this
  before he can shoot)
  - draw a weapon
  - cast a spell
  - take out a scroll and unroll it
  - take out a potion and unstopper it
  - read a scroll
  - drink a potion
  - activate a magical device (amulet, etc)
  - make a normal move (10m for a human, 12m for an
  elf, etc)
  - run (20m for a human, 25m for an elf, etc)
  (a character who runs must either run, move nor-
  mally or do nothing in the following Round)
  Characters who have the same Reflexes score act
  simultaneously. When a character's turn to act comes
  he may, if he chooses, defer his action until later in the
  Round. This gives him the chance to see what other
  characters are doing first.
  43
  Fighting more than one opponent
  We said earlier that a one-on-one fight was the sim-
  plest form that combat could take. Since it is quite
  unlikely that a group of adventurers will encounter an
  exactly equal number of monsters, most combats will
  actually involve someone (either character or monster
  fighting more than one opponent.
  A character (or monster) can divide his DEFENCE
  between up to three attacks made against him in a
  Combat Round. He must announce how much of his
  DEFENCE he is putting against each blow before the
  attacker makes his Hit Roll.
  
  The last chapter covered the essentials of combat. The
  meaning of a character's ATTACK, DEFENCE and
  Health Points scores is now clear. The remaining
  scores, EVASION and MAGICAL DEFENCE, will now
  be explained.
  44
  Dodging an attack
  GM: 
  "You're advancing down a musty cor-
  ridor. Your torch gives off a smoky light,
  revealing large spiders that scuttle away
  as you pass. Strange carvings mark the
  walls. Suddenly you hear an ominous
  grating noise - a gigantic stone slab is
  descending to block the corridor behind
  you.'"
  Player: 
  ' 'I whirl and throw myself through the gap
  before it can close."
  GM: 
  "You can try. The slab's descent has a
  SPEED of 10. What's your EVASION?''
  EVASION is used in a wide variety of situations - to
  leap through a closing gap, to sidestep a Dragon's
  breath of fire, to dodge a falling chandelier.. .in any
  45
  EXAMPLE
  Sir Hugo, accompanied by his employer Ulric, a
  Sorcerer, are in the town of Clyster shopping for
  some items. After a busy morning in the market, they
  seek refreshment in a small dockside tavern.
  Without realizing it, they have strayed into one of
  the town's most notorious haunts for ruffians and
  rogues. Three wiry cut-throats begin to insult them,
  and in moments swords are drawn.
  Hugo could act before any of them, but he decides
  to wait and see what Ulric (who has a lower Reflexes
  score) has planned. The Sorcerer casts a Transfix
  spell which only one of the cut-throats manages to
  resist. If Hugo had struck sooner he might have
  wasted his blow in wounding one of the men who
  now stands transfixed. As it is, he makes short work
  of dispatching the last cut-throat.
  
  Typical attack SPEEDs
  Description
  easily evaded
  very slow
  slow
  average
  fast
  very fast
  SPEED
  score
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
  Example
  toppling statue
  drifting cloud of gas
  hurled chair or other
  slow-moving object
  rolling boulder
  falling block of masonry
  trapdoor suddenly
  opening underfoot
  a Dragon's flame
  46
  extremely fast
  dazzling
  17
  18
  19
  20
  javelin*
  energy-beam from a Ring
  of Red Ruin
  *It is thus difficult but not impossible to evade a
  javelin - if one sees it coming. Other missile weapons
  travel far too quickly for a character to stand any
  chance of dodging.)
  It is extremely important to visualize the actual situa-
  tion when a character has to evade an attack. Do not
  simply make the roll without considering what it repre-
  sents. A character dangling on the end of a rope is
  treated as having EVASION of zero when a magic Ring
  is fired at him, unless he says that he is prepared to let
  go of the rope. A character trapped at the bottom of a
  deep well will certainly be hit by the fireball that his
  enemy lobs down at him. EVASION scores only apply
  when it is physically possible to evade.
  Resisting spells
  Magic is the subject of Book Two: The Way of
  Wizardry. The full range of spells and theurgic devices
  will be dealt with therein, but we shall explain
  MAGICAL DEFENCE now because the rules procedure
  is very similar to that for EVASION.
  Any spell which may have a direct supernatural
  effect on a character (eg, Fossilize, which turns its vic-
  tim to stone) must overcome his MAGICAL DEFENCE.
  The spell works with the MAGICAL ATTACK of its
  caster, from which the target character's MAGICAL
  DEFENCE is subtracted. The result is the number that
  the caster must roll equal to or under on 2d10 in order
  for the spell to work.
  As before, a 2 means that the spell takes effect
  47
  situation where the character's survival depends on
  getting out of the way.
  The attack that the character is trying to dodge is
  given a SPEED rating. This might be anything from 5
  (for a slowly toppling statue) to 20 (for the lancing
  energy-beam of a magic Ring of Red Ruin). The char-
  acter's EVASION is subtracted from the attack's
  SPEED. If a roll of 2d10 comes up less than or equal to
  the result, the attack has hit. If greater, the character
  dodged.
  Note that this is very like the Hit Roll in combat,
  except that the roll is made on 2d10 instead of d20. A
  roll of 2 always means that the character has failed to
  dodge, while a 20 means the attack has missed.
  In the example above, the character had an
  EVASION score of 4. The GamesMaster rolled two ten-
  sided dice. On a roll of 6 or less, the slab would descend
  too quickly, crushing him before he had scrambled
  beneath it. On a roll of 7 or more, the slab would miss.
  
  48
  A character's rank indicates his level of expertise as
  an adventurer. All characters are 1st rank at the start
  of their first adventure.
  Knights 
  + 1 to both ATTACK and DEFENCE
  each time the character increases in
  rank.
  + 1 to the character's normal Health
  Points score each time he increases
  in rank.
  + 1 to the character's MAGICAL
  DEFENCE each time he increases in
  rank.
  + 1 to the character's EVASION
  upon reaching 5th rank, then another
  + 1 on reaching 9th rank.
  Barbarians 
  + 1 to both ATTACK and DEFENCE
  each time the character increases in
  rank.
  + 1 to the character's normal Health
  Points score each time he increases
  in rank.
  + 1 to the character's MAGICAL
  49
  regardless of the relative MAGICAL ATTACK and
  MAGICAL DEFENCE of caster and victim. Similarly, a
  20 always indicates that the spell has failed to affect
  its victim.
  This procedure also applies to a number of magical
  attacks that are not, strictly speaking, spells.
  Examples include the weakening touch of a Wight, the
  awful gaze of a Basilisk, etc.
  EXAMPLE
  Lady Venetia is a 3rd rank Knight, an adventuress
  who revels in danger. While leading her intrepid
  comrades through the underworld's depths, she
  turns a corner and finds herself confronted by a
  repulsive Gorgon. She has looked straight into its
  dully gleaming eyes. In what could be the last
  instant of her life, she notices a dozen stone forms
  behind the monster - the petrified remains of pre-
  vious victims.
  The Gorgon's gaze has a MAGICAL ATTACK of
  19, and Venetia's MAGICAL DEFENCE is only 5. The
  GM rolls 2d10; on a 14 or less she will be trans-
  formed into a lifeless statue. The roll is a 20! She
  averts her gaze and lunges at the hissing Gorgon...
  
  DEFENCE each time he increases in
  rank.
  + 1 to the character's EVASION
  upon reaching 5th rank, then another
  + 1 on reaching 9th rank.
  Sorcerers 
  + 1 to both ATTACK and DEFENCE
  when the character reaches. 4th
  rank, then +1 at 7th rank, +1 at
  10th rank, etc.
  + 1 to the character's normal Health
  Points score when he reaches 2nd
  rank, 4th rank, 6th rank, etc.
  + 1 to both MAGICAL ATTACK and
  MAGICAL DEFENCE each time the
  character increases in rank, with an
  additional + 1 at 7th and at 12th
  ranks. 
  +1 to EVASION upon
  reaching 5th rank, then another + 1
  on reaching 9th rank.
  Mystics 
  + 1 to both ATTACK and DEFENCE
  when the character reaches 3rd
  rank, then + 1 at 5th rank, + 1 at 7th
  rank, etc.
  + 1 to the character's normal Health
  Points score when he reaches 2nd
  rank, 4th rank, 6th rank, etc.
  + 1 to both MAGICAL ATTACK and
  MAGICAL DEFENCE each time the
  character increases in rank, with
  an additional 
  +1 to MAGICAL
  DEFENCE at 7th and at 12th rank.
  + 1 to EVASION when the character
  reaches 5th rank, then a further + 1
  when he reaches 9th rank.
  50
  How a character increases in rank
  Characters advance to higher ranks by gaining experi-
  ence as a result of their adventures. Experience is
  acquired in the form of experience points, which you
  award to the player-characters. When a character
  has accumulated enough experience points, he
  advances in rank.
  To reach
  2nd rank, a character must have 30 experience points
  3rd rank 
  60
  4th rank 
  90
  5th rank 
  130
  6th rank 
  200
  7th rank 
  300
  8th rank 
  450
  9th rank 
  650
  A further 250 experience points are then needed to
  reach each rank beyond the 9th.
  Experience Points
  Experience points are awarded principally for two
  things: surviving an adventure and defeating an
  opponent.
  Surviving on adventure.
  You should normally award
  5 experience points at the
  end of an adventure to
  each character who sur-
  vived. (You may actually
  decide to award as many
  as 10 if the adventure was
  especially perilous - or as
  few as 1 if the characters
  were not in real danger. 5
  points, however, is a work-
  ing average.)
  51
  
  Defeating an opponent.
  Characters 
  should 
  be
  awarded points for defeat-
  ing their opponents 
  -
  whether directly (by slay-
  ing them in combat) or
  indirectly (by outwitting
  them). The points awarded
  for this will depend on the
  opponent's rank (or, in the
  case of monsters, rank-
  equivalent), at the rate of
  1 experience point/rank.
  Defeating an evil 5th rank
  Knight is thus worth 5
  points. These points are
  distributed at your discre-
  tion among the characters
  involved.
  52
  53
  
  Illumination
  Why do all player-characters have a lantern as part of
  their initial equipment? The reason for this is that
  many of their adventures will take place in under-
  worlds - labyrinths of chambers and passageways,
  usually underground and usually unlit. Adventures
  occur in other settings as well - a fantasy town pro-
  vides scope for intrigue and good role-playing - but
  underworlds are especially popular.
  A lantern will illuminate objects up to 15m away. It
  can be shuttered, and has the advantage that it can be
  placed on the floor to provide light during a combat. A
  single flask of oil will fuel a lantern for two hours of
  game-time.
  A torch is a length of wood which has been dipped in
  pitch so that it will burn at one end. It will give light up
  to 10m - or 15m if two torches are used together. The
  major disadvantage of a torch is that it gives very little
  light if put down on the floor. (It may even go out: 20%
  chance of this.) Thus, unless a convenient torch-
  bracket happens to be on the wall nearby, someone in
  the party must hold up the torch during combat so that
  his companions can see who (or what) they're fighting.
  A torch will burn for one hour.
  Sorcerers and Mystics possess spells that provide
  light - or eliminate the need for it. These are
  explained in Book Two: The Way of Wizardry.
  54
  Encounters in an underworld
  Since the light of their lanterns will penetrate some
  15m into the darkness, this is the distance at which
  characters can expect to encounter most monsters.
  NPC (non-player character) adventurers will have lan-
  terns of their own, and will be sighted at anything up to
  30m.
  These encounter ranges apply in long corridors and
  large chambers, where illumination is the only limit on
  visibility. If the characters step through a door and
  encounter a monster that was on the other side then it
  might, of course, be as close as a few metres away.
  Any encounter may contain the element of surprise.
  A monster (or group of monsters) will surprise the
  player-characters on a roll of 1 on 1d6. This indicates
  that the characters were looking the other way, or the
  monsters emerged unexpectedly through an archway
  or from behind a pillar. In these cases the characters
  are taken unawares, and will notice the monsters at a
  55
  
  distance of only l-6m. The advantage of surprise
  gives the monsters one 'free' Combat Round, during
  which the player-characters may defend themselves
  but take no action, before the normal combat proce-
  dure begins.
  Why should the player-characters not get a chance
  to surprise the monsters? This is because the harsh
  light of their lanterns usually gives the monsters-(who
  are accustomed to the gloom of the underworld) plenty
  of warning that they are approaching. Some sorcerous
  spells give a dim radiance that will not alert monsters.
  Also, when characters pass through a doorway, any
  nearby monsters will not have seen their lantern-light
  until the door was opened. In this instance, the char-
  acters can check to see if they surprise the monsters!
  (Their chance is the same, 1 in 6.)
  If two groups surprise one another, the 'free'
  Combat Round is lost.
  Fighting in the dark
  If all the party's torches, lanterns and Moonglow spells
  go out, they are left in pitch darkness. And in trouble.
  Most monsters - and all Undead - can see in the
  dark. If the characters cannot get their torches relit
  before combat begins, they must take a temporary
  penalty of - 4 ATTACK and - 8 DEFENCE.
  You may like to have a sudden and unexplained gust
  of wind howl down a corridor and put out the char-
  56
  acters' torches. There is no need actually to have a
  monster attack them (unless you are really merciless).
  Just watch them panic getting the lights back on.
  Battle order
  The battle order of a party of characters is the way in
  which they are standing relative to one another. Their
  formation, in other words. It is absolutely vital that the
  players indicate their battle order before any fight
  begins. 1deally, each player will have a labelled
  counter or (better still) a miniature figurine to repre-
  sent his character. Arranged on a tabletop, these
  figurines show the party's deployment in a dungeon
  passage, ruined temple, tavern bar or other potentially
  hazardous situation.
  A character with a sword, mace, or other common
  melee weapon requires a space of about 1 1/2m in which
  to fight, so two characters could normally fight side-
  by-side in a 3m-wide passage. A character wielding a
  battleaxe, halberd or two-handed sword needs more
  space - at least 2m - and must usually stand alone
  in his row of the battle order. Those fighting with
  shortswords and spears do not need so much room to
  manoeuvre, for these are thrusting weapons; three
  such characters are able to fight abreast in a 3m corri-
  dor. This also holds true for archers, crossbowmen
  and spell-casters.
  Escaping from a fight
  'He who fights and runs away...' Sensible players will
  always be prepared to escape when things are going
  badly. No one can expect to win every battle - partic-
  ularly not in the early days of inexperience.
  Monsters may decide to give chase. It is your task as
  GamesMaster to role-play the monsters and make this
  decision. You will probably take a number of factors
  57
  
  into account, such as: how powerful are the monsters?
  how powerful are the fleeing player-characters? (and
  how powerful do the monsters think they are?) what do
  the monsters have to gain from chasing them? The
  characters may discourage pursuit by throwing down
  food {to distract unintelligent creatures) or treasure (in
  the case of more discerning pursuers). Very intelligent
  and powerful monsters will not be fooled by such
  tactics - why should they stop and pick up baubles
  when they can catch the characters and get all their
  treasure?
  Lastly, remember that the monsters also have the
  option of running away. Some (Orcs are a case in point)
  virtually make a habit of it.
  58
  Locked doors
  Doors in ah underworld will sometimes be locked. If
  the characters do not have the necessary key, they can
  try forcing the door. This is usually not too difficult, as
  the timbers of an underworld door tend to become
  weak and rotted with age. A typical locked door can be
  forced open at first attempt by a character with
  Strength of 16 or more. Weaker characters must roll
  under their Strength score on 1d20 in order to get the
  door open. Every attempt, successful or not, costs the
  character 1 Health Point.
  You may assign a minimum necessary Strength,
  below which a character has no chance of breaking
  the door down. Very sturdy doors might have 18 (or
  more) as the minimum Strength.
  59
  
  Characters with an axe can try hacking the door to
  splinters. No roll is needed, but this will usually take
  several minutes to accomplish.
  Encumbrance
  How much can a character carry? To some extent it
  depends on his Strength, but the bulkiness of objects
  also matters. Rather than devise a complex chart of
  weights and 'hindrance factors', the simple rule in
  DRAGON WARRIORS is that an average character
  can carry ten items roughly equivalent to a weapon in
  size and weight.
  Such items include:
  a weapon
  a quiver of arrows
  a case of quarrels
  a scroll
  a bottle
  a lantern or torch
  a sack of coins (about 150}
  Small items such as rings and amulets are not
  counted. Armour is also excluded from this - the
  encumbering effect of heavy armour on a character
  not trained to use it is already allowed for in the com-
  bat rules.
  Weaker and slighter characters cannot carry as
  many items as this. A character of Strength 3, 4 or 5 is
  allowed only six items. A character of Strength 6-8 is
  allowed eight.
  Powerful characters can carry more. A character
  whose Strength score is 13 -15 can carry up to twelve
  items. A character with a Strength of 16 or more can
  carry fourteen items.
  There are some occasions when you will have to
  make an on-the-spot ruling. For example, the player-
  characters find a locked chest containing between one
  and two thousand silver pieces. They can't break it
  open and decide to take it along with them. This man
  coins would normally count as 'ten items' for encum
  brance purposes - but there is also the weight of th
  chest to take into account. A character of above
  average Strength could carry it on his back, as long a
  someone else took care of his weapons and regular
  equipment in the meantime.
  Equipment
  Most people in the medieval world of DRAGON
  WARRIORS live in villages. For them, an exciting bar
  gain on market day would be an exchange of a cow for
  three pigs and a chicken. But when player-characters
  emerge treasure-laden from the depths of an under-
  world, they will be looking for purchases of quite a
  different kind.
  To buy or sell most sorts of adventuring equipment,
  the best place to go is a castle - or a large town that
  has grown up around a castle. A good bargain may also
  be found in some of the smaller market towns and
  ports. It is only very rarely that an adventurer will find
  a choice item on sale at a village market. Thus the
  tables below show a different availability percentage
  for each of these locales. (Plate armour has an avail-
  ability of 95%/35%/05%, meaning that it is available
  in a castle on a roll of 01 - 95 on d100, in a town on a roll
  of 01 - 35, and in a village only on a roll of 01-05.)
  If the dice roll indicates that the desired item is
  unavailable, a second check is made after one week if
  at a castle, two weeks in a town, and one month in a
  village.
  60
  61
  
  ARMOUR
  Item
  Padded leather
  Hardened leather
  Ring mail
  Chainmail
  Plate
  Barding (horse
  armour)
  Availability (Castle/
  Price 
  Town/Village)
  15F 
  100%/100%/35%
  25F 
  100%/95%/25%
  120F 
  100%/70%/10%
  500F 
  100%/45%/05%
  800F 
  95%/35%/05%
  500F 
  95%/15%/01%
  Availability (Castle/
  Town/Village)
  85%/50%/70%
  95%/50%/90%
  always available
  20%/45%/01%
  100%/100%/50%
  85%/50%/70%
  80%/40%/05%
  80%/40%/10%
  100%/55%/45%
  100%/40%/05%
  100%/70%/15%
  80%/80%/10%
  100%/100%/85%
  100%/55%/20%
  100%/100%/100%
  100%/80%/10%
  80%/20%/05%
  100%/60%/90%
  25%/50%/05%
  100%/100%/90%
  100%/50%/95%
  62
  ADVENTURING GEAR
  Item 
  Price
  Backpack 
  5F
  Lantern 
  20F
  Flask of oil 
  4F
  Torch 
  1F
  Flint & tinder 
  2F
  Rope (10m) 
  6F
  Bedroll 
  10F
  Rations (1 week) 
  7F
  Waterskin 
  1F
  Rowing boat 
  150F
  LIVESTOCK
  Item 
  Price
  Horse 
  250F
  Warhorse* 
  2500F
  Dog 
  25F
  Mule 
  50F
  Availability (Castle/
  Town/Village)
  100%/90%/80%
  100%/95%/20%
  100%/95%/25%
  100%/100%/90%
  100%/100%/100%
  100%/100%/100%
  100%/90%/90%
  100%/100%/100%
  100%/90%/100%
  near port or river
  Availability (Castle/
  Town/Village)
  40%/35 %/30%
  95%/95%/90%
  10%/50°/o/40%
  (*Only available to Knights and Barbarians.)
  All the prices above are given in silver Florins. One
  Florin is worth ten copper Pennies. Ten Florins make
  up the value of one gold Crown.
  Food & Lodging
  Most people travel only when they have to, and ensure
  their accommodation before setting out. The abbot
  who rides to a remote monastery can be sure of broth
  and a pallet at his destination; a Knight who goes
  visiting distant parts may carry letters of introduction.
  Only pedlars, adventurers and beggars indulge in aim-
  less wandering.
  63
  WEAPONS
  Item 
  Price
  Battleaxe 
  30F
  Bow 
  15F
  Cudgel 
  nothing
  Crossbow 
  100F
  Dagger 
  7F
  Flail 
  10F
  Halberd 
  50F
  Javelin 
  12F
  Mace 
  12F
  Morning Star 
  20F
  Shield 
  30F
  Shortsword 
  25F
  Sling 
  2F
  Spear 
  15F
  Staff 
  2F
  Sword 
  30F
  Two-handed
  Sword 
  60F
  Arrows (six) 
  3F
  Quarrels (ten) 
  5F
  Slingshot (ten) 
  1F
  Quiver 
  4F
  
  Finding a place to sleep in rural areas is not difficult.
  A meagre bed in a barn or stable may usually be had
  for a few Pennies. For a Florin, a villager might relin-
  quish his own bed for the night.
  Roadside inns are to be found on long journeys, and
  there are also lodging-houses in most towns. A night's
  lodging costs one Florin for a space on the common-
  room floor, or four Florins for a bed in a (more-or-Less)
  private room. In large towns, the luxurious inns will
  charge more than twice as much. These inns also pro-
  vide food, charging a Florin or two for supper and five
  Pennies for a jug of wine.
  It is also possible to find lodging at a monastery. The
  monks will not ask for money, though some small dona-
  tion is considered gracious. Visitors to a monastery are
  expected to attend services with the monks (often at
  odd-hours) and, if staying for some time, help with
  various chores. Sorcerers, if they make their Profes-
  sion known, will rarely be taken in by the monks;
  rightly or wrongly, they are deemed pagans.
  Climbing
  Characters often wish to scale some obstacle. The
  valiant prince of folk tales, who climbs the ivy-covered
  wall to rescue the damsel in the tower, is more often
  replaced in DRAGON WARRIORS by the disreputable
  adventurer clambering up to loot the Ogre's lair. But
  the principle is the same.
  A character's Reflexes are a measure of his dex-
  terity and agility. A character with high Reflexes
  climbs better than a character with low Reflexes. For
  every climb, assign a difficulty factor. This should be a
  number between 3 (for an easy climb) and 18 (repre-
  senting a sheer climb with few handholds). Any
  character whose Reflexes score is at least equal to the
  difficulty factor can make the climb with no problems.
  A character with a lower Reflexes score may attempt
  64
  
  the climb, but he must roll under his Reflexes score on
  1d20 to succeed. If he fails this roll, he will fall at a
  random point in the climb. If he survives the fall, he can
  try again.
  Typical difficulty factors are:
  Climb
  ladder
  dangling rope
  tree
  ivy-covered wall
  cliff
  rough stone wall
  smooth stone wall
  Difficulty factor
  3
  6
  9
  12
  13
  16
  18
  Falling
  Monsters are not the only hazard adventurers must
  face in the deserted ruins they frequent. Pit traps
  abound, and sometimes a crumbling floor or stairway
  may collapse. Characters can fall 1m without suffering
  injury, but greater distances will usually result in some
  damage:
  drop
  1m to 2m
  2m to 4m
  4m to 6m
  6m to 8m
  8m to 10m
  10m to 12m
  12m to 14m
  14m to 16m
  more than 16m
  Health Points lost
  1d2 (ie, halve the roll of a d4,
  rounding up)
  1d4
  1d6
  1d8
  1d10
  1dl2
  1d20
  2d20
  5d20
  A character wearing armour has his fall broken to
  some extent. The type of armour makes no difference
  here. He takes 2 HP less damage than is indicated by
  the die roll (eg, 1d8- 2 for an 8m drop).
  66
  67
  
  Poison
  Poison is not likely to be used much by characters. It is
  a little difficult to get an enemy to stand quietly and
  drink a frothing brew in the middle of a combat. But
  many monsters have poisonous bites or stings. Often,
  the virulence of its venom transforms an otherwise
  minor creature (such as a Giant Spider) into a partic-
  ularly terrible foe.
  A normal poison requires the victim to roll less than
  or equal to his Strength score on three six-sided dice. If
  he makes this roll, he will take some Health Points
  damage for a few Rounds but he should survive. If he
  fails the roll, he dies.
  Weaker poisons require a roll on 2d6. Stronger ones
  require the roll to be made on 4d6.
  Not all poisons cause instant fatality. Some merely
  induce sleep, hallucinations or paralysis if the charac-
  ter fails the dice roll. If he succeeds in the dice roll, the
  character takes no HP damage from poisons of this
  sort.
  Type of 
  Roll Strength 
  Damage taken even if roll is
  poison 
  or under on... successful*
  weak
  2d6
  normal 
  3d6
  strong 
  4d6
  first Combat Round: ld3 HP
  subsequent Rounds: none
  first Combat Round: 1d4 HP
  second Combat Round: 1d3 HP
  subsequent Rounds: none
  first Combat Round: 1d6 HP
  second Combat Round: 1d4 HP
  third Combat Round: 1d3 HP
  subsequent Rounds: none
  * This only applies in the case of a potentially deadly poison.
  68
  Special cases
  DRAGON WARRIORS is a game of fantasy reality (as
  distinct from 'real' reality!). Combat and magic take up
  the bulk of the rules because they are the main ele-
  ments in any fantasy adventure. But this is a role-
  playing game, and characters are supposed to be able
  to try anything they might actually attempt in reality.
  How do you GamesMaster a situation that the rules do
  not specifically cover?
  The first step is to consider what the character is
  doing and decide which of his five characteristics has
  most bearing on the situation. (If you cannot definitely
  isolate a single characteristic, you may decide to
  average two or more. Picking someone's pocket
  requires dexterity, so Reflexes is the relevant charac-
  teristic; but cheating in a game of chance involves cun-
  ning and sleight-of-hand - Reflexes are averaged with
  Intelligence in this case.)
  Having ruled which characteristic is being used, you
  assign a difficulty factor, a number from 3 to 18, to
  whatever it is that the character is doing. If his appro-
  priate characteristic is equal to or greater than the
  difficulty factor, he succeeds in his task. If less, he
  must roll d20 and score under his characteristic to
  succeed.
  You can see straight away that this is just another
  way of stating generally a rule that we have already
  met in two specific cases: Climbing and Opening Doors.
  Let's consider how it might be applied in a few other
  cases. . .
  EXAMPLE
  As we rejoin Sir Balin, he has entered the hill fort
  and is advancing warily along a gloomy dungeon
  passage with his comrades at his heels. He sees a
  crumbling grim-visaged statue and moves towards
  69
  
  it. Suddenly the floor gives way beneath his feet!
  Balin wants to grab the lip of the pit into which
  he's falling. The GM rules that this is something
  requiring above-average Reflexes: a difficulty
  factor of 13. This is no problem for Balin - his
  desperately clutching fingers seize the edge of the
  pit and hang on.
  Balin now tries to pull himself up. This involves a
  difficulty factor of 11 - the GM decides that a
  person of average Strength could do it. Balm's
  Strength, unfortunately, is only 7. He needs to roll 6
  or less on d20. He fails. His grip loosens and he plum-
  mets down into darkness. . .
  Bracing himself for a bone-splintering impact,
  Balin is surprised and almost relieved when he hits
  the icy-cold water of an underground well. Can he
  draw breath before going under? The GM gives this
  a difficulty factor of 13. Once again, Balin's fast
  Reflexes serve him in good stead.
  Even though he has a lungful of air, Balin is
  sinking like a stone in his heavy armour. The GM
  tells him he can survive for as many Combat Rounds
  as he has Strength points, then he'll drown. Luckily
  his friends are close at hand. Balin feels a weighted
  rope beside him, grabs hold of it, and is slowly
  hauled up to safety.
  Extra-Special Cases
  Inevitably, there are going to be some cases that won't
  fit any rule - even the all-purpose rule given above.
  The player-characters are tiptoeing past the sleeping
  Orc sentry. What's the chance he'll wake up? There is
  no characteristic or ability you can really apply here.
  You just have to assign a percentage chance and roll
  the dice.
  If this seems arbitrary - even unfair - it shouldn't
  be. The reason why FRP games have to have a Games-
  70
  Master is so that there's someone to adjudicate the
  chance of things like that. All you need to do is give the
  situation a little thought first. If that Orc is a decent
  sentry, you'd allow maybe a 75% chance of him wak-
  ing up. If you decide he's snoring in a drunken stupor,
  that might be nearer 5%. The outcome of the roll could
  surprise you as much as it does the players - but
  that's the fun of role-playing!
  71
  
  No fantasy game would be complete without a selec-
  tion of bizarre and dangerous creatures for the
  players to fight. These are the most common, but you
  may also wish to devise others of your own. Many
  GamesMasters develop a particular theme for their
  fantasy world. Medieval Europe is the usual one, but
  you may prefer to use elements of Ancient Greek myth
  - or a still more exotic setting such as the Aztec hege-
  mony or feudal Japan. In the folklore of these lands you
  will find a rich variety of monsters with which to vex
  your players!
  Important combat statistics - ATTACK, DEFENCE,
  and so forth; sometimes abbreviated to 'stats' -
  are given for every creature. Two points must be
  clarified —
  Movement 
  The first number listed is the
  normal distance the creature will
  cover when walking (or loping, lum-
  bering, oozing or slithering along).
  The second number, in brackets, is
  the maximum move distance - ie,
  when running, galloping, etc.
  Move distances in the air or under-
  water are given where applicable.
  All move distances are in metres
  per Combat Round.
  73
  
  Rank-equivalent 
  Most creatures are of fixed ability,
  and cannot develop their fighting
  skills as an adventurer can. Thus,
  they do not have a rank. Rank-
  equivalent is given so that the GM
  can award experience for defeat-
  ing the creature. Characters who
  defeat a creature gain experience
  points equal to its rank-equivalent.
  (These 
  experience 
  points 
  are
  divided between all the charac-
  ters who actually took part in fight-
  ing the creature. Fractions are
  rounded to the nearest whole num-
  ber, so nothing is gained if seven
  player-characters gang up to slay a
  single giant rat!)
  ADVENTURERS
  Adventurers are not actually monsters, but they cer-
  tainly fit our description of 'bizarre and dangerous'
  adversaries. Adventurers do not form a large percen-
  tage of the population, of course. Most people prefer a
  simple life, and stick to the comfort of their humble
  hearths. But, as the player-characters wander the
  land in search of riches and excitement, it follows that
  they will frequently encounter parties of NPCs ('Non-
  Player' characters) with similar intent.
  Adventurers encountered will most often be Human,
  but Elves and Dwarves also quest. The various adven-
  turing Professions are represented in different propor-
  tions according to race - Elves make better spell-
  casters; Dwarves cannot use magic at all. Roll d10 for
  each NPC adventurer encountered:
  Knight Barbarian 
  Sorcerer 
  Mystic
  Human: 
  1-6 
  7 
  8-9 
  0
  Elf: 
  1-5 
  — 
  6-8 
  9-0
  Dwarf: 
  1-8 
  9-0 
  — 
  —
  74
  (Tables for working out the abilities and equipment of
  NPC adventurers are given in the Treasure section in
  Book Two.)
  Adventurers will usually be accompanied by a few
  serfs or hired peasants. These will be acting as guides,
  or carrying torches and treasure for their masters. If
  there is any fighting, they will go and cower in the
  bushes or whatever. If their masters are defeated, they
  will surrender or run off.
  Meeting another group of adventurers is not neces-
  sarily bad news. Adventurers are rough types, but
  they have their own code of honour (more often
  respected by Knights than by the other Professions, it
  must be said). They rarely set traps or ambushes and
  will never shoot another adventurer in the back. At
  least, not without yelling a warning first. They prefer
  to save their strength for the monsters rather than
  fighting one another, and will sometimes suggest a tem-
  porary alliance (with appropriate division of spoils) to
  this end.
  It is impossible to give precise 'stats' for NPC adven-
  turers. They vary so much in power - from 1st rank up
  to 10th and beyond. A die roll on the following table can
  be used to find the rank of NPCs in a party. Apply your
  own judgement to this, however. If you bring your
  novice players against a group of belligerent 8th rank
  Barbarians, you can hardly expect them to want to
  play in any of your games again!
  d100 Average rank of adventuring group
  01-25 1st
  26-45 2nd
  46-65 
  3rd
  66-77 
  4th
  78-87 5th
  88-92 
  6th
  93-95 
  7th-8th
  96-98 
  9th-10th
  99-00 llth and up
  75
  
  APEMEN
  These savage gorilla-like carnivores are a grotesque
  evolutionary quirk, an offshoot from mankind's own
  distant ancestry. They are dull-witted but enormously
  strong. The strength of the Apeman transforms even a
  simple stone club into a deadly weapon. These crea-
  tures live in small tribes or extended family-groups,
  usually in mountain caves.
  ATTACK 12 Club (d6 + 1, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 8m(20m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 9 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  BASILISKS
  These magical beasts resemble giant cockerels but
  have a long sinuous tail, metallic feathers and four legs
  like those of a lizard. The plumage of a Basilisk shades
  from the coppery hue of the head and crest to a
  greenish-black on the underbody. Its eyes swim with
  unnatural colours, and anyone meeting its terrible
  gaze may be turned to stone (MAGICAL ATTACK 20 vs
  the victim's MAGICAL DEFENCE to determine this). To
  view a Basilisk in safety a mirror must be used;
  Basilisks are not affected by their own reflected gaze.
  Basilisks are nocturnal and will always return to
  their lairs before the night is through because they
  fear the dawn. If a Basilisk hears a cock crow then
  there is a 30% chance it will die of fright.
  The claws and beak of the Basilisk carry a weak
  poison. Any character wounded by one must roll equal
  to or less than his Strength on two six-sided dice (2d6).
  If this roll fails, the character loses an additional 1d6
  Health Points.
  If a Basilisk surprises a party there is an 80%
  chance that the nearest 1-4 characters will look into
  76
  its eyes. If surprise is not achieved, the chance of this is
  only 40%. For each Combat Round a character is fight-
  ing a Basilisk there is a 40% chance of meeting its
  gaze. (This chance can be reduced if the character
  deliberately stares at the ground, but this also means
  he will be fighting less effectively: for every 10% he
  reduces the basic chance of meeting the creature's
  gaze, he incurs a penalty of - 1 from ATTACK and - 2
  from DEFENCE.)
  ATTACK 16 Beak/Claw (d8, 3 points and
  poison)
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 2
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 10 
  Movement: 8m(16m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 13 
  Rank-equivalent: 6th
  BATS
  Bats come in many sizes, but the sort that may pose a
  problem to adventurers are about the size of a hawk.
  They lair in caverns and ruined buildings, and will
  usually only fly out to attack a party which they out-
  number by at least two-to-one.
  A character bitten by a Bat has a 5% chance of con-
  tracting a wasting disease which will permanently
  reduce his Reflexes by 1d4 points within a month,
  unless cured by sorcery.
  Adventurers - particularly Knights and Bar-
  barians, encased in their good armour - will often
  discount Bats as a mere nuisance. You could surprise
  them: a flock of Bats might include a metamorphosed
  Vampire!
  ATTACK 11 
  Bite (d3, 1 point)
  DEFENCE 9 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 1m
  EVASION 6 
  flying 
  - 20m
  Health Points 1 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  77
  
  BEARS
  Bears are encountered most often in forested areas. If
  attacked or disturbed they will respond with the pro-
  verbial ill temper, but they have the sense to flee from a
  large and well-armed party.
  There is a special rule for Bears in combat. A critical
  hit (ie, a score of 1 on the d20 Hit Roll) counts as a hug.
  The Bear's opponent takes 10 Health Points damage,
  armour not withstanding.
  ATTACK 17 Claws (d8, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 7 Armour Factor 1 (for thick fur)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 10m(25m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 2d6 + 20 
  Rank-equivalent: 6th
  BULLS
  The term 'bull' is used here to include any large male
  deer or bovine. The Stag and Elk are those most often
  encountered in the wild. Bulls are found close to a herd
  of females, and will deal ferociously with anyone
  encroaching on their territory.
  In combat, the Bull's initial attack will usually be a
  charge. There is no possibility of parrying this! The
  78
  only defence is to hurl oneself aside (the Bull matches
  its charging- SPEED of 14 vs the target character's
  EVASION score). If struck, the character takes 1d4 + 5
  Health Points damage (if armoured, he subtracts his
  Armour Factor from this), is hurled back 5m, and lies
  winded for the next 1-3 Combat Rounds. The Bull will
  make only one such charge; in subsequent Rounds it
  fights with hooves and antlers/horns.
  ATTACK 16 
  Horns (d8, 4 points)
  DEFENCE 4 
  Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 10m(25m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 2d6 + 16 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  CROCODILES
  These lazy and inscrutable reptiles dwell in rivers and
  swampland, where they hide in the rushes by the
  water's edge and attack anyone who should be so
  79
  
  unlucky as to fall from a passing boat or raft. If hungry,
  a Crocodile may also attack a party on dry land.
  ATTACK 15 Bite (d6, 4 points)
  DEFENCE 2 Armour Factor 2
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 5m(l2m)
  EVASION 2 
  swimming - 20m
  Health Points 2d6 + 11 
  Rank-equivalent: 3rd
  DEATH'S HEADS
  These vile supernatural creatures have the appear-
  ance of a human head with a long horn sprouting from
  the forehead and black bat-like wings behind the ears.
  They flap swiftly about their opponents, presenting a
  very difficult target (hence the high DEFENCE) and
  attacking with stabs of their sharp horn.
  However, during the hours of daylight, the wings
  and horn of a Death's Head become invisible and intan-
  gible, rendering it unable to fly. The monster gets
  around this problem by acquiring a 'host' body for
  itself. It devours the head of a victim and binds itself
  magically to the severed neck, using its dire sorcery to
  animate the body as a Zombie. The Death's Head then
  uses this host body to move around by day, passing
  itself off as human. It will always be on the lookout for a
  new host, however, as the decomposition of the body
  becomes obvious after a few days. A Death's Head's
  disguise is thus 90% perfect on the first day after
  taking a new host, then 80% on the next day, and so on.
  Note that if attacked before sunset, the Death's
  Head is bound to its stolen body and is thus less
  dangerous. It will use its host body to fight, using any
  weapon to hand, but the host body will have only the
  fighting skill of a normal Zombie instead of the Death's
  Head's own abilities given below. The fight is resolved
  just as though it were a combat with a normal Zombie,
  except that any successful blow struck against the
  monster has a 10% chance of hitting the head and
  inflicting a wound on the Death's Head itself. Other-
  wise the blow strikes the Zombie body and reduces its
  Health Points.
  The moment the sun sinks below the horizon, the
  Death's Head regains its wings and horn and takes to
  the air. It will then scour the forests and lonely hill
  roads seeking a new host. It has a special spell, Spell-
  bind, to help it overcome a foe without damaging
  his/her body. This spell is usable once per night, and
  cast with a MAGICAL ATTACK of 13. It has a range of
  10m and, if successful, will cause the victim to stand in
  place while the Death's Head kills him.
  Note that a Hold Off the Dead spell will keep the
  stolen body of a Death's Head at bay but will not affect
  the Death's Head itself.
  ATTACK 16 Horn (d10, 4 points)
  DEFENCE 18 Armour Factor 3
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7 
  Movement: (6m as
  EVASION 7 
  Zombie)
  flying - 30m
  Health Points 1d6 + 2 
  Rank-equivalent: 6th
  81
  
  DRAGONS
  These awesome reptilian creatures, Kings of the Earth
  in an earlier era, are now very rare. Some 15m in
  length, and with a wingspan twice that, a fully grown
  Dragon in flight with the sunlight limning the azure
  blue or gold of its scales is an eerie and breathtaking
  sight.
  Few would dare to challenge a Dragon to single
  combat. The scaly hide of these great beasts is proof
  against any nonmagical weapon and is as effective as
  plate armour against even enchanted blades. Every
  fifth Combat Round, a Dragon can breathe a sheet of
  flame to a distance of 30m. This will strike up to 2 -12
  victims who, if they fail to dodge (match the flame's
  SPEED of 16 against each victim's EVASION), will each
  take 2d6 + 12 damage. (A victim may subtract his
  Armour Factor from this damage - so a character in
  plate, for example, would take only 2d6 + 7 damage.)
  While rekindling its fire between breaths, the Dragon
  is hardly helpless; its talons strike for fearsome
  damage in combat, as shown below.
  As if this were not enough, 75 % of all Dragons are
  adept in the use of magic and will have the abilities of a
  10th rank Sorcerer or Mystic. All Dragons can speak,
  and although they are somewhat lacking in com-
  passion or patience, they are not always hostile.
  Dragons are proud and crafty beasts, and will respect
  a character who displays either of these traits. One
  incident which illustrates typically dragonish men-
  tality is the tale of Cantos the priest. Cantos, lost in the
  mountains and caught in a terrible blizzard, had the
  questionable good fortune to stumble into a Dragon's
  lair. Driven beyond fear by his cold and hunger, he
  boldly asked it to fly him down out of the mountains.
  Considering this request, the Dragon demanded the
  magical ring on the priest's finger as payment for its
  assistance. But Cantos protested, replying that the
  ring was a gift from his father and he had sworn never
  82
  83
  
  to remove it. Then do not remove it,' said the Dragon
  with a cold-blooded smile, whereupon it severed his
  hand at the wrist with a snap of its massive jaws.
  While Cantos stood by half-faulting from shock, the
  Dragon added his ring to its treasure hoard and then,
  much pleased, it scooped him up and flew him to within
  a few miles of the nearest city. At least, that is the story
  Cantos tells, when asked why he wears a hook in place
  of his left hand!
  ATTACK 30 Talons (d12, 8 points)
  DEFENCE 25 Armour Factor 5 (immune to non-
  magical weapons)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 15 
  Movement: 15m(25m)
  EVASION 6 
  flying -150m
  Health Points 6d6 + 50 
  Rank-equivalent: 20th
  DWARVES
  Dwarves are short, stocky and bearded - quite
  similar to men in general appearance, but rather
  broader and with proportionately short limbs.
  84
  Dwarves rarely grow taller than about 1.4m (the
  average for humans is 1.8m), and perhaps this is one
  reason why they can be short-tempered - particularly
  when they have had too much to drink (which is often).
  Dwarves are singleminded and pedantic. If they
  have a sense of humour it is one which other races can-
  not comprehend. They are famed for their greed and
  love to hoard vast quantities of gold and gems. They
  are accomplished weaponsmiths and craftsmen,
  though the artifacts they make excel in a functional
  rather than an aesthetic sense.
  Dwarves live in sprawling cavern complexes under
  lofty mountains. These tunnels, where the Dwarves
  mine gems and metals, are rarely lit; Dwarves see well
  in darkness.
  The average Dwarf has much the same fighting
  ability as an average Human. Dwarven adventurers
  will be Knights or Barbarians, for this race cannot
  use magic (although Dwarves who reach 7th rank are
  able to forge magical arms and armour just as a Mystic
  can).
  You may choose to allow one or more of your players
  to be Dwarves. To qualify for this, a player must roll a
  character with a Strength of at least 12 and neither
  Psychic Talent nor Looks greater than 11.
  These stats are for a normal Dwarf with no special
  combat training:
  ATTACK 11 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 5 Armour Factor depends on type
  worn
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 10m(15m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 3 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  ELEMENTALS
  Elementals are of four types: Earth, Fire, Air and
  Water. All varieties have a total immunity to non-
  magical weapons.
  85
  
  Earth Elementals are very strong and are useful for
  digging purposes if brought under command, as they
  can tunnel through the earth at 2m per hour.
  Fire Elementals are invulnerable to damage from
  flame of any sort, including a Dragon's breath. They
  are able to glide through the air at the same speed as
  they walk, but cannot carry anything without igniting
  it.
  Air Elementals appear as a shifting manlike outline
  containing wisps of cloud and wind-tossed leaves and
  dust. They are quite difficult to see with any clarity,
  and those fighting them do so at - 1 off both ATTACK
  and DEFENCE. They can also deflect arrows and other
  light missiles with their control of the wind, rendering
  such attacks useless against them. They can fly at top
  speed only when out-of-doors, and can carry loads of
  up to 100kg while doing so.
  Water Elementals travel freely on or through their
  element, and can create water currents to propel or
  capsize a small boat.
  ATTACK 19 Attack fd10, 6 points)
  DEFENCE 14 Armour Factor 0, but immune to
  nonmagical weapons
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8
  EVASION 4 (Earth and Water) or 8 {Fire and Air)
  Health Points 3d6 + 10 
  Movement: Earth 10m
  Rank-equivalent: 8th 
  Fire 20m
  Air 20m
  (200m)
  Water 15m
  ELVES
  Elves are elegant manlike beings who dwell in wood-
  land. They are no shorter than men, but very much
  more slender. This, coupled with their pallid delicate
  features, may make them appear frail to human eyes
  - an unwise assessment, for they are often hardy
  86
  87
  
  fighters. Additionally, Elves tend to make good Sor-
  cerers and all Elves have the extra senses of a Mystic.
  Elves prefer to wear green. This assists them in
  merging with the foliage of their woodland home when
  they do not wish to be seen. An Elf camouflaging him-
  self in this way will not be seen by any non-Elf of below
  5th rank. Elves are invariably skilled archers and add
  2 points to ATTACK when using a bow.
  Elves have a very long natural lifespan - three
  centuries or so - but lack souls. This means that they
  cannot be brought back from the dead by magic. Con-
  versely, they are not subject to possession from an
  Amulet of Soul Storing. Over their long lives, Elves may
  gather great treasure. The palaces of the Elven Kings
  are famed in legend for their riches and magic items.
  Of course, such riches are always guarded by
  powerful magic.
  As GamesMaster, you may allow your players to be
  Elves. The player must roll a character with a Strength
  of no greater than 13 and with Reflexes, Psychic Talent
  and Looks all at least 12. An Elf character cannot be a
  Barbarian.
  These stats are for a normal Elf with no special
  combat training:
  ATTACK 11 Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor depends on type-
  worn
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4 
  Movement: 12m{25m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 2 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  FROST GIANTS
  Frost Giants are seldom encountered, as they dwell far
  from civilized lands, out on the icy tundra or in sub-
  arctic forests. They live in villages consisting of a few
  stone or wooden huts. Sometimes a solitary Frost
  Giant, cast out from his community for some trans-
  gression, will make his home in a mountain cave.
  88
  Frost Giants grow to a little over 2. 5m in height, wit
  stature proportionately more muscular than a norma
  man's. They are fair of skin and their hair is red
  blonde or white. They prefer to fight with axe or war
  hammer, and disdain the use of bows as cowardly
  Under their thick fur cloaks they may have no better
  than leather armour - but this is thicker and mor
  effective than a man could wear.
  Frost Giants have a strong if erratic sense of honour
  Obvious disregard for danger secures a Frost Giant hi
  status in the community. A Bear or Snow Tiger hunt
  will end with one of the hunters facing the animal in
  single combat. It is possible for adventurers to turn this
  sense of honour to their advantage: if the Frost Giant
  leader is challenged to personal combat, he is bound to
  accept. If the adventurer wins, the Frost Giants will
  probably (80% chance) allow him and his fellows to go
  in peace.
  ATTACK 19 Battleaxe (d8 + 2, 8 points)
  DEFENCE 11 Armour Factor 4
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7 
  Movement: 12m(20m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 3d6 + 16 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  GARGOYLES
  These grotesque beings come in a wide variety of
  shapes and sizes. Most are winged, and all have the
  ability to remain motionless for very long periods. A
  Gargoyle clinging to the wall of a ruined cloister may
  remain still for so long that moss and creepers cover its
  body. This creature's dusky grey body, often flecked
  with rusty brown, is readily mistaken for stone.
  Characters will be surprised (see Chapter Six) on a roll
  of 1 - 3 on d6 when the mossy 'statue' they were pass-
  ing suddenly comes to life and attacks!
  When these monsters acquire a master, they can be
  fiercely loyal. If a wounded Gargoyle is spared and
  89
  
  healed by magic, there is a 30% chance it will serve its
  healer from then on. (But, of course, a 70% chance it
  will merely accept the healing spell and then attack
  again!)
  ATTACK 16 Talons (d10, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 8 Armour Factor 7 (but only 2 vs
  magic weapons)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6 
  Movement: 8m(15m)
  EVASION 4 
  flying 
  -50m
  Health Points 3d6 + 4 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  90
  GHOSTS
  Ghosts are spirits of the dead that have chosen to
  linger on the earthly plane for some reason. Often the
  reason is to give guidance to the living or to exact
  revenge on an enemy (often the Ghost's murderer).
  Ghosts exude an aura of terror, and when they encoun-
  ter living beings there is an automatic fright attack.
  The fright attack is resolved as follows: roll 1dl2,
  subtract the victim's rank, and the result is the number
  that the Ghost must roll equal to or less than on 2d10 in
  order to scare its victim to death. An example: Truk, a
  5th rank Barbarian, is walking along a gloomy dungeon
  corridor and comes face-to-face with a leering Ghost.
  The Ghost rolls a 9 for the strength of its fright attack.
  Since Truk is 5th rank, this means that it needs to roll a
  4 or less on 2d10 in order to frighten him to death. It
  rolls a 17, and Truk runs yelling in terror back along
  the corridor.
  Having once survived a fright attack by a Ghost, a
  character becomes inured to that Ghost and is in no
  danger from it in future (though he may still be scared
  to death by other Ghosts). For this reason, a Ghost will
  usually depart after encountering a party of adven-
  turers, unless it has some message for them. Some-
  times (20% chance) a Ghost will decide to haunt a
  party; its presence will swamp out the danger sense of
  any Mystics in the party, cause a clammy unease that
  will double the chance of the party being surprised in
  encounters, and bring bad luck in the form of a tem-
  porary 1 point penalty to ATTACK and DEFENCE for
  each character in the party. Apart from Exorcism,
  there is no way to harm or drive off a Ghost.
  GIANT RATS
  These are the size of a dog and are to be found lurking
  in sewers or subterranean burrows. They see well in
  darkness and will scurry into hiding if they notice a
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  large group of adventurers approaching. Only if they
  outnumber a group by at least two-to-one will they
  attack, surging forward en masse out of the darkness
  to engulf their opponents.
  Rats are well known to be carriers of plague, and
  after any encounter with them there is a 2% chance
  for each character of contracting the Black Death
  (fatal within 1-4 weeks unless cured by magic). For
  characters with open wounds, the chance of infection
  is 5%.
  ATTACK 9 
  Bite (d3, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 2 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 12m(25m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 +1 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  GIANT SCORPIONS
  These monsters can be up to three or four metres long,
  and present a frightening menace to travellers in the
  deserts or steaming jungles of the south.
  Usually, a Giant Scorpion will conceal itself in a
  sand dune or rocky crevice with only its pincers pro-
  truding. It can sense the approach of beings when they
  are still some distance off, by 'listening' to the vibra-
  tions in the ground. It can also estimate the size of a
  party in this way, and will not show itself if there are
  more than five or six.
  The Scorpion's colouring matches the terrain of its
  habitat, ensuring that it will surprise prey on a roll of
  1-3 on d6. In combat, the Scorpion gets a separate
  strike with each pincer every Combat Round until it
  hits. A successful hit indicates that the pincer has
  seized its victim. After taking hold of the victim with
  both pincers, the Scorpion attempts to rip him apart.
  This inflicts 1d6 Health Points damage per Round, with
  armour affording no protection.
  92
  Only if the Giant Scorpion fails to seize its prey
  within three Combat Rounds will it use its barbed sting.
  The sting flicks forward over the monster's head with
  lightning speed and accuracy. It has an ATTACK of 27
  with its sting, but cannot use its pincers in the same
  Round.
  ATTACK 22 
  each Pincer (d6, 4 points) or Sting
  DEFENCE 3 (d4 + 1, 2 points and strong
  poison)
  Armour Factor 2
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4 
  Movement: l0m(15m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 3d6 + 9 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  GIANT SPIDERS
  Giant Spiders tend to make their lairs in lonely places
  - in caverns, forests and haunted underworlds. They
  will hang up in the shadows and drop onto the backs of
  93
  
  those unfortunate enough to stumble into their web.
  These webs are very sticky, and struggling will serve
  only to enmesh the victim more tightly. Each Round
  that a character is trapped in the web lowers his
  ATTACK by 2 points and his DEFENCE by 1 point, until
  finally he cannot move or fight at all. Those trapped in
  this way may try to free themselves, though in this case
  they cannot concentrate on fighting the Spider and will
  have a DEFENCE of 0 against its attacks. The chance of
  a victim freeing himself is 30% on the first Combat
  Round, 20% on the second and 10% on the third; the
  victim gets a bonus of + 15% to these chances if he has
  a firebrand or edged weapon (such as a sword) with
  which to part the strands. (Once free of the web, of
  course, the character's ATTACK and DEFENCE will
  return to what they were before he was trapped.)
  The bite of a Giant Spider carries a powerful venom.
  Anyone wounded by the Spider must attempt to roll
  less than or equal to his Strength on 3d6. If he fails, he
  will be paralyzed within 2-12 Combat Rounds and
  dead within ten minutes.
  ATTACK 15 Bite (d6, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 2 Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 5 
  Rank-equivalent: 2nd
  Movement: 15m(20m)
  GNOMES
  These supernatural woodland entities are apt to react
  violently against any they consider to be intruding in
  their domain. A Gnome will usually tolerate a party of
  Elves passing through its neck of the woods, but is less
  lenient towards other races.
  Gnomes are creatures of the countryside. Their
  bodies are like the gnarled boles of old trees, their eyes
  glimmer like dewdrops, they have tangled roots for fin-
  gers and their mouths resemble a dank hole in a bank
  of earth. They can easily conceal themselves in the
  94
  forest depths, and when motionless will go unnoticed
  by characters below 8th rank (or below 3rd rank, in the
  case of Elven characters).
  There is a special spell that Gnomes are able to use:
  Embog. This spell will turn a tract of woodland or
  meadow roughly 15m x 15m into a boggy mire.
  Characters caught in such mud have their movement
  rates reduced to one-tenth normal (ie, to 1m per
  Combat Round in the case of a Human), but the Gnome
  itself can move through the mud as normal. Each
  Gnome is able to use the Embog spell once a day; this
  spell has a duration of 1 -6 hours.
  ATTACK 15 Claws (d8, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 9 
  Armour Factor 3
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8 
  Movement: 10m(15m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 2d6 + 8 
  Rank-equivalent: 3rd
  GOBLINS
  Goblins are malicious sprites renowned for their evil
  ways. They relish cruelty, and their magical mischief
  95
  
  is blamed for many mishaps experienced by travellers
  along desolate country lanes. Their favourite time to
  attack is at dusk, and they will customarily begin with
  a sorcerous prank such as causing a horse to go lame,
  or making a bat fly in a character's face so that he falls
  from the saddle. Once the party is in disarray, the
  Goblins will leap from the bushes to attack - hurling
  sharp flint flakes from their slings or closing to stab
  with their swords made of icicles.
  Goblins are small, never more than a metre tall, with
  disproportionately large heads. Their faces are warty,
  sallow and hollow-cheeked, with large hooked noses
  and sunken eyes. They go about in hooded jerkins
  which help them to blend into the shadowy corners
  where they prefer to lurk. Although nimble and crafty
  in battle, they are essentially of a craven nature.
  An individual Goblin, captured and threatened,
  abandoned when its fellows have fled, will resort to all
  manner of whingeing promises in return for its free-
  dom. A promise wrung from a Goblin will be followed to
  the letter once the creature is indeed free, but it will
  always seek to twist the wording of a promise for its
  own foul purposes.
  ATTACK 13 Shortsword (d8, 3 points) or Sling
  (d6, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 7 
  Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5 
  Movement: 12m(25m)
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 1d6 + 4 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  GORGONS
  These creatures have the bodies of beautiful women,
  but the face is that of a hideous crone and the head is a
  writhing mass of long serpentine tresses. Gorgons fight
  with swords, but rarely use shields or armour. In
  combat, the 'hair' can also attack. 1-3 tresses will
  strike at the Gorgon's opponent, each with its own
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  97
  
  ATTACK of 10. These snakey tresses are, of course,
  venomous and a character wounded by one must roll
  less than or equal to his Strength on 3d6 or die.
  Merely catching the glance of a Gorgon is perilous,
  as this will subject the character to a hex with a
  MAGICAL ATTACK of 19. If the attack is successful,
  the character is turned to stone. Thus, it is best to avert
  one's eyes (cf Basilisks) or use a mirror when fighting a
  Gorgon. If a Gorgon sees its own visage in a mirror, it is
  itself subject to the petrifying attack.
  In addition to their other abilities, Gorgons are 5th
  rank Sorceresses (see Dragon Warriors 2: The Way of
  Wizardry).
  ATTACK 16 
  Sword (d8, 4 points) and Snakebite
  (d4, 1 point)
  DEFENCE 10 Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL ATTACK 19 
  Movement: 10m(15m)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 8 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  HALFLINGS
  At first glance Halflings might be mistaken tor
  children, as they seldom grow taller than 1m. They are
  reclusive and shy, and prefer to hide in their sub-
  terranean burrows or cottages when they see men
  coming.
  Halflings are skilled in wood10re and can track a
  quarry through forest or wood with 60% efficiency.
  Also, they surprise enemies on a roll of 1 - 2 on d6 when
  in woods, and cannot themselves be surprised.
  Although stubborn and opposed to evil in all its
  forms, Halflings are not physically brave. If they must
  fight - and they will do so to protect others as well as
  themselves - they try to keep out of melee. The favour-
  ite weapon of a Halfling is his sling.
  A very few Halflings may choose an adventuring life.
  98
  They are treated as Knights, but with -1 from
  ATTACK owing to their small stature. No Halfling can
  ever rise above 3rd rank, and for this reason they are
  not considered as potential player-character material.
  ATTACK 9 
  Sling (d6, 3 points) or Staff (d6, 3
  points)
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 0 (may be 1 for
  leather jerkin)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 8m(20m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 1
  HOBGOBLINS
  Physically, Hobgoblins differ very little from their sub-
  servient Goblin brethren. They are, however, charac-
  terized by still greater guile, malice and uncanny
  power. Hobgoblins are encountered singly or as the
  leaders of a group of Goblins. Such are their powers of
  stealth and enchantment that they can always keep
  themselves hidden from normal mortals (that is, those
  who do not belong to one of the adventuring Profes-
  sions), and will surprise a party of adventurers on 1 - 4
  on d6. Hobgoblins can ride wolves cross-country, and
  they will sometimes lead a wolfpack to attack a party
  rather than risk a confrontation themselves.
  Hobgoblins are excellent fighters, employing not
  only the swords and slings favoured by normal Goblins
  but also nets of spider-silk and poisonous puffballs. A
  Hobgoblin can fling his cobweb net up to 5m and if it
  hits (determined as per regular Missile Combat rules,
  see Chapter Three) the victim will be unable to attack
  or cast a spell until he has struggled free of the
  entangling strands. A victim thus netted rolls d20 at
  the start of each subsequent Combat Round; he must
  roll under his Strength score to get free.
  A Hobgoblin will carry 1-4 poisonous puffballs, and
  can hurl these up to 10m. If the puffball hits, it bursts
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  open to release a cloud of choking spores. The victim
  must roll under his Reflexes score on d20 to avoid
  breathing these in. If he does breathe them in, he must
  get a Cure Disease or Purification spell within 1-8
  Rounds or die as the spores spread fungus throughout
  his body.
  Hobgoblins have a number of curious magical abili-
  ties. They can weave a spell to rot all food in a charac-
  ter's backpack, and turn the water in his hipflask to
  stagnant muck. Another spell which they can cast as
  often as they wish causes disfiguring warts to appear
  on the victim's face (the Hobgoblin must make the
  usual magical attack roll, of course). The same spell
  can be used in reverse, to rid a character of warts.
  A Hobgoblin also has the following special spells,
  each usable once per day:
  Bats 
  This causes seven Bats (qv) to appear
  from nowhere out of shadows and moon-
  light and attack a character at whom
  the Hobgoblin points. After one Combat
  Round, the Bats vanish as though they
  had never been - though the wounds
  they inflicted will remain.
  Glissade 
  This makes the ground icy or slippery
  within a 3m radius of where the
  Hobgoblin is standing. Any character
  moving across this patch of ground has
  a 40% chance of slipping. He must roll
  under his Reflexes on d20 or fall over
  (and then must take a Round getting up).
  The Glissade will last until the Hob-
  goblin himself moves.
  Chill 
  This spell creates a waft of gelid air that
  affects any characters meleeing the
  Hobgoblin when it is cast. Each charac-
  ter loses 1d4 + 2 Health Points (but only
  -. 1d4 HP if wearing armour of any type).
  Cure 
  By casting this spell, the Hobgoblin
  restores up to 5 lost Health Points when
  wounded.
  As if all this were not bad enough, a very few
  Hobgoblins (about one in twenty) display the spell-
  casting powers of a 3rd rank Sorcerer!
  Hobgoblins, like Goblins, see perfectly in near-total
  darkness.
  ATTACK 16 Shortsword (d8, 3 points) or Sling
  (d6, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 10 Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL ATTACK 17 
  Movement: 12m(25m)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 9 
  Rank-equivalent: 4th
  HORSES
  A good Horse is a necessity for the habitual adven-
  turer. Not only is it useful for getting easily from one
  place to another, but it gives its rider a tremendous
  advantage when he decides to turn tail and flee from a
  battle.
  These are the stats for a normal riding Horse:
  ATTACK 11 
  Bite (d8, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 2 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 2d6 + 9 
  Rank-equivalent: 2nd
  Warhorses are larger and more intelligent than
  standard riding Horses. They are trained to respond to
  whistles and hand signals, and will come to their
  master's side when called. Warhorses can wear bard-
  ing, giving them an Armour Factor of 3.
  These are the stats for a Warhorse:
  ATTACK 17 Bite (d8, 4 points) or Kick (d10, 6
  points)
  Movement: 15m(30m)
  100
  101
  
  DEFENCE 4 
  Armour Factor 0 (3 if wearing
  barding)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4 
  Movement: 15m(30m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 16 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  A character must be a Knight or Barbarian to ride a
  Warhorse.
  HUMANS
  Humans who belong to one of the adventuring Profes-
  sions (Knight, Mystic, Sorcerer or Barbarian) are able
  to rise in rank and become very powerful. This is
  obviously not true of the vast majority of Non-Player
  Characters (NPCs). The common peasants and towns-
  people who populate your fantasy world will usually
  have scant fighting skill. On the few occasions when
  such characters might enter combat (eg in a tavern
  brawl), they will usually do so with fists or at best
  improvised cudgels.
  These are the stats for a normal Human with no
  special combat training:
  ATTACK 11 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor depends on type
  worn (usually 0)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 10m(20m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 3 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  MANTICORES
  Manticores are bloodthirsty hybrids, having the tail of
  a scorpion, the body of a lion and the head of a man -
  though with serried ranks of pointed teeth and glowing
  red eyes. Manticores dwell in deserts, on wind-swept
  moors, and in other lonely places.
  102
  In combat, a Manticore will either strike with its
  claws or sting with its segmented tail. The latter is
  envenomed, and any character who is stung must
  immediately roll equal to or less than his Strength on
  3d6; if this roll fails, the character collapses at once
  and will die within a minute.
  ATTACK 20 
  Claws (d10, 6 points) or Sting (d6, 3
  points, & venom)
  DEFENCE 12 Armour Factor 4
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11 
  Movement: 12m(30m)
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 3d6 + 18 
  Rank-equivalent: 8th
  OGRES
  Brutish and surly, Ogres are tall, thickset and
  extremely strong creatures of basically humanoid
  appearance. They fight with axes or terrible iron war-
  hammers. An Ogre will often make his lair in a
  deserted citadel, and from this base will roam forth to
  waylay travellers or terrorize peasants.
  103
  
  Ogres are dull-witted and frequently drunk. An Ogre
  will rarely try to take people prisoner - if a defeated
  opponent looks wealthy the Ogre may hold him to ran-
  som, but a more likely fate is to wind up in the
  monster's larder!
  ATTACK 20 Warhammer (d8 + 2, 8 points)
  DEFENCE 12 Armour Factor depends on type
  worn, + 1 for tough skin
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8 
  Movement: 10m(15m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 2d6 + 18 
  Rank-equivalent: 7th
  OBSIDIAKS
  The Obsidiak is one of the most uncanny of all
  legendary beasts. In appearance, it resembles a float-
  ing partly-human head that seems to have been cut out
  of harsh granite, from which trail three serpentine ten-
  tacles. It moves through the air quite slowly, with a
  horrible undulating motion of its tentacles, rolling its
  bloated eyes about as if trying to peer through the tur-
  gid depths of an ocean.
  In combat, the Obsidiak will either bite (70% chance
  on any given Combat Round) or swoop to envelop its
  victim. This latter attack comes quite slowly, as the
  creature swings its tentacles around, and may be
  dodged (match the Obsidiak's descent SPEED of 12 vs
  its opponent's EVASION). As with a victim of a
  Python's coils, a trapped opponent must roll Reflexes
  or less on d20 to have his weapon arm free - but he
  must make this roll three times (once for each tentacle).
  Failure on any of the three means his arm is trapped
  and he can no longer strike at the monster. As the
  Obsidiak gradually tightens its grip on the sorry victim,
  it inflicts steadily greater damage; 1d4 on the first
  Combat Round, 1d6 on the second, 1d8 on the third, etc.
  Armour gives no protection from this.
  Of course, while constricting a foe, an Obsidiak is no
  104
  105
  
  longer mobile and thus cannot attack or defend against
  the victim's companions. Such companions must exer-
  cise caution while trying to free their friend from this
  fiendish predator - any blow that misses the monster
  will strike the character enveloped, unless the
  attacker rolls Reflexes or under on d20!
  A slain Obsidiak will quickly decompose into a damp
  and evil-smelling ash.
  ATTACK 14 Bite (d8, 3 points)
  DEFENCE 6 
  Armour Factor 3
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6 
  Movement: flying - 8m
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 8 
  Rank-equivalent: 2nd
  ORCS
  Orcs are the archetypal henchthings of Evil, and have
  been found in service to many masters: Sorcerers mad
  and mighty, undead Knights, dark Demons, Priests of
  Chaos. . . Orcs care not what or who they fight, so long
  as they are given ample opportunity to indulge their
  violent ways. The harsh brutality of Orcs gives them a
  slight edge over the average Human fighter, but they
  are too ill-disciplined to properly hone their combat
  skills. Some Orc warriors and chieftains may have the
  combat abilities of a Barbarian, but they never rise
  beyond 4th rank.
  Orcs see well in darkness, but they hate and fear
  bright light. If forced to fight in sunlight, an Orc must
  subtract 1 from his ATTACK and DEFENCE scores.
  Orcs often live below ground, so Dwarves are partic-
  ularly hated enemies.
  The stats for a typical Orc-at-arms are as follows:
  ATTACK 12 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor depends on type
  worn
  106
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 3
  PYTHONS
  Movement: 10m(20m)
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  Slithering down from the boughs of jungle trees, a
  Python surprises its prey on a roll of 1 - 3 on d6. The
  snake's first attack will be to wind its muscular coils
  around the victim. It will then try to squeeze him to
  107
  
  death, continuing to attack by biting while doing so. On
  the first 'hit' scored by the Python, the victim rolls to
  see if he manages to keep his sword arm free of the
  enfolding coils; this roll requires a score of less than or
  equal to the victim's Reflexes on 1d20, and if he fails
  then he is unable to attack or defend. A trapped victim
  loses 1d3 Health Points (armour, if any, makes no
  difference) and will survive for 2d6 Combat Rounds. If
  not freed by then, he dies of asphixiation - the snake
  constricts his chest so that he cannot draw breath.
  ATTACK 14 
  Bite (d3, 2 points)
  DEFENCE 2 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 0 
  Movement: 15m
  EVASION 2
  Health Points 1d6 + 8 
  Rank-equivalent: 2nd
  PAZUZUS
  These are spiteful monsters of unnatural origin. They
  are better known in warmer, southern climes, but
  some few have found their way north in the bilges of
  ships returning from the Crusade. In their own lands
  they amuse themselves by hovering above the hot
  desert sands and swooping down to drive thirsty
  travellers away from oases. Those that have ranged
  abroad quickly adapt to their new home: they will lope
  on the sparsely populated fringes of civilization, near
  fells or wild forests, and scurry down upon any
  straggling wayfarer who passes by.
  A Pazuzu is fundamentally of humanoid . form,
  though tall and wiry to a most unhuman extent. The
  creature's hands and feet are much like the padded
  claws of a lion, and with them it is capable of rending
  an unarmoured man limb from limb. Its face is also
  somewhat leonine, with a long, dusty grey mane, and
  its taut, glistening skin is ruddy bronze in colour.
  Across its back it has black plumed wings which
  enable it to sweep at great speed across the desert
  108
  skies; in colder regions it can fly for only short dis-
  tances (30m at a time, at most) and will usually keep its
  wings folded close to its back.
  Taking the guise of battle-sickened Knights or for-
  saken lazars (for they are masters of deceitful illusion),
  Pazuzus will trick their way close to an adventuring
  party and consider its strengths before launching its
  attack. There is only a 5% chance of seeing through a
  Pazuzu's illusory disguise - and this only if a charac-
  ter has reason for suspicion and scrutinizes the being
  carefully - and so it will surprise its foes on a roll of
  1-4 on d6. Pazuzus have other magical abilities as
  well. They can breathe flame (like a Dragon breath
  spell, but for only 1d6 + 3 HP damage) every other
  Combat Round, and can cast the Sorcery spell Image
  once per day.
  A Pazuzu which grapples a foe may choose to soar
  aloft with the intention of dropping him from a great
  height. It will attempt this only when fighting in desert
  or mountains, for without thermal currents it cannot
  attain much altitude. The seized character is able to
  strike freely at the Pazuzu as it bears him up, of course.
  (NB: a Pazuzu carrying another character in this way
  flies at only half normal speed.)
  ATTACK 16 Claws (d8, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 10 Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9 
  Movement: 10m(15m)
  EVASIONS 
  flying-30m
  Health Points 1d6 +11 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  SNOW APES
  Shaggy, white-furred primates that live in arctic
  climes. Their colouring makes them hard to see against
  the snow, meaning that they surprise characters on a
  roll of 1 - 3 on d6. In all other respects they are iden-
  tical to Apemen (qv).
  109
  
  THE SUFIRIAD
  Minor demons motivated by the spirits of long-dead
  priests, the Sufiriad could perhaps be thought of as a
  snow-dwelling variety of Spectre. They are not, in fact,
  undead - merely invisible monsters energized with
  exotic sorcery. The position of a Sufiriad can be deter-
  mined by the terrible screeching, moaning wail it
  makes, and the swirling whirlwind in which it is
  cloaked. The Sufiriad have no weapons with which to
  smite their foes. They attack instead by moving right
  up to a character and imploding their freezing whirl-
  wind upon him. The character suffers 1d10 HP damage
  110
  (subtracting his Armour Factor from this, if any), and
  must roll equal to or less than his Strength on d20 or
  die! Even if he survives, the scream the monster emits
  during this attack has a 10% chance of shattering the
  victim's eardrums.
  Fire (as, for instance, of a Dragonbreath spell)
  scores + 2 HP damage against the Sufiriad, but direct-
  attack magic of any kind is useless.
  The Sufiriad constantly sweep and glide through the
  broken, snow-choked ruins of their ancient temples.
  Their task is to guard these ruins, and they never move
  far from them.
  Those able to see beyond the visible spectrum will
  find the appearance of these creatures macabre and
  disturbing: an ultraviolet, ophidian body and a head,
  wreathed in cold white fire, resembling a horned but
  human skull.
  Whirlwind (see above for details)
  DEFENCE 0 
  Armour Factor 5
  EVASION 4 
  Movement: 10m
  Health Points 5d10 + 5 
  Rank-equivalent: 10th
  TIGERS (Sabre Tooth)
  These great cats range across the plains of warm
  southern lands and stalk prey through humid jungles.
  They eschew temperate climes, though a snow-
  dwelling variety has been sighted by arctic adven-
  turers.
  The Sabre-Tooth is a skilled hunter, surprising its
  prey on 1 - 4 on d6. It can leap up to 8m to attack, giving
  vent to a bloodcurdling roar as it does so. All who hear
  this must roll their rank or less on d10 or be rooted to
  the spot for the first Round of combat (and thus have a
  DEFENCE of 0 against the Tiger's first attack).
  ATTACK 19 Bite (d8, 7 points) or Claws (d12, 6
  points)
  111
  
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 10m(30)m
  EVASION 6
  Health Points 2d6 + 18 
  Rank-equivalent: 6th
  TROLLS
  Trolls are tall, gaunt creatures of morbid character.
  Though unable to use sorcery, they share a distant
  supernatural ancestry with Goblins and are quite
  resistant to magic. The common abode of Trolls is fen-
  land or marsh, where they supplement a diet of raw
  toads and muddy eels with the warm flesh of unfor-
  tunate travellers.
  Glimpsed capering madly along a distant ridge, or
  loping sullenly in lonely places after the sun has set, a
  Troll could almost be mistaken for a wiry man. At close
  quarters, however, this resemblance disappears:
  Trolls have wrinkled grey-white skin, slimy and
  112
  scabrous. Blank eyes stare from the Troll's awful face
  and an odour of spilled blood wafts from its snaggle-
  toothed maw. Some Trolls, furthermore, may have two
  or even three heads, and these heads will chatter
  horribly to one another as the creature wanders the
  night in search of prey.
  Trolls do not venture abroad during the day, as the
  light of the sun would quickly transform them into
  lumps of stone. A Troll will either find some shadowy
  lair in which to pass the daylight hours or, failing this,
  will simply squirm into a muddy river-bank hole.
  Trolls cannot be harmed by non-metallic weapons
  such as cudgels or staves. Their rubbery hide turns
  blows from these weapons aside - though iron and
  steel arms cut through the loathsome flesh readily
  enough.
  ATTACK 18 Talons (d6 +1,5 points)
  DEFENCE 10 Armour Factor 2
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11 
  Movement: 10m(20m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 15 
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  VOLUCRETHS
  Volucreths are a fearsome race believed to inhabit a
  jungle-cloaked land deep in the tropics. They make
  slaves of Humans, and this is one reason why they
  sometimes make forays into the lands of men (the other
  reason being plunder). Fortunately, Volucreths never
  stray into the colder climes of the north, requiring the
  sustaining heat of the tropics and sub-tropics to
  survive.
  Any Volucreth encountered is likely to have some
  adventuring experience, otherwise it would not have
  ventured beyond its native territories. Little is known
  of Volucreth civilization, but about 90% of those
  encountered seem to belong to a warrior caste which,
  in humanoid terms, closely approximates to Barbarian
  113
  
  114
  in fighting skill. The remaining 10% are observers
  (priests? nobles?) who display little or no combat
  abilities. Some have been known to use Mystic powers,
  though sometimes these work in ways inexplicable to
  Human or Elven Mystics.
  Ah enraged Volucreth is a terrible creature to
  behold. Its powerful sinews swell and its iridescent
  silvery plumage bristles to display a glorious pattern of
  reds, greens and blues. Volucreths usually stand some-
  what over 2m in height, and in the throes of battle-rage
  they can appear disconcertingly larger than a man.
  Volucreths of the aforementioned warrior-caste
  caparison themselves in war-harness of leather sewn
  with metal discs. Their favoured weapon is the two-
  handed sword, which they wield with skill and
  strength. Volucreths have been seen with great bows
  across their backs; their arrows are a metre long, but
  they appear never to use these (or any other missile
  weapon) in combat.
  The stats given here are for an average Volucreth
  warrior of 1st rank. Higher skill-levels and other
  Professions can be extrapolated.
  ATTACK 16 Two-handed Sword (d10+ 1, 6
  points)
  DEFENCE 7 Armour Factor 3 (harness gives 2,
  +1 for plumage/scales
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 2 
  Movement: 10m(20m)
  EVASIONS
  Health Points 1d6 + 10
  WILD BOARS
  Though these powerful animals are not normally
  aggressive, they can be more ferocious than Wolves
  when aroused. The tusks of a Boar can inflict grievous
  wounds, but nevertheless hunting these beasts is a
  popular sport for Knights.
  115
  
  ATTACK 17 Gore (d6 + 1, 6 points)
  DEFENCE 3 
  Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 0 
  Movement: 8m(20m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 2d6 +11 
  Rank-equivalent: 3rd
  WOLVES
  Wolves will be encountered in forested areas, usually
  in packs. They generally prefer to go for wounded or
  solitary prey, but they will also attack small parties
  who settle down in the woods for the night. The keen
  senses of a Wolf make it impossible to surprise these
  creatures.
  Movement: 12m(25m)
  ATTACK 15 Fangs (d4, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 3 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 1
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 4 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  The Undead
  The Undead are beings who have died but who con-
  tinue to 'live on', after a fashion, because their life
  force (and sometimes their physical form) is replaced
  by necromantic sorcery. Undead creatures are not
  subject to poison, disease or spells which only affect
  the living. They are creatures of the gloom; all Undead
  can see in darkness, and most abhor the light of day.
  GHOULS
  Ghouls are transformed Humans (or, sometimes,
  Dwarves or Elves) who have entered a twilight exis-
  tence between life and death as a result of their
  warped appetites - they gorge themselves on the rot-
  ting flesh of corpses. Ghouls present a ghastly sight to
  116
  those who encounter them: shrivelled forms loping
  from the shadows, their olive-hued flesh puckered and
  leprous, yellow eyes glinting with the fever-light of
  insane hunger, mouths gaping to reveal the chipped
  uneven fangs with which they rend their prey. . . Any
  NPC (non-player character) below 3rd rank encoun-
  tering a Ghoul must roll his Intelligence or less on 1d20
  or else flee in panic.
  Ghouls fight with a berserk fury, using whatever
  weapons they may have gathered from their tomb-
  robbing forays. Their lair, if it can be found (it will
  often be a ruined mausoleum or abandoned cottage),
  may contain rich treasures, for Ghouls love to hoard
  their spoils.
  ATTACK 17 Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 9 Armour Factor depends on type
  worn (usually none)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7 
  Movement: 12m(25m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d6 + 10 
  Rank-equivalent: 4th
  MUMMIES
  The embalmed bodies of those long dead are sometimes
  encountered stalking the passages of their ancient
  tombs. They usually fight with spears, or with swords
  and shields, and are often clad in ceremonial armour.
  Having rather dessicated bodies, Mummies are vulner-
  able to fire. If a Mummy is struck with a flaming torch,
  a Dragonbreath spell or other type of fire-attack, there
  is a 20% chance that it will catch alight. The Mummy
  will then lose 1d4 HP per Combat Round until it can
  extinguish the flames (it rolls d6 at the end of each
  Round, and succeeds in putting out the flames on a roll
  of 5 or 6).
  Although these are the combat statistics for a
  'typical' Mummy, more powerful ones have been
  117
  
  known -
  tombs.
  particularly in the oldest and grandest
  118
  ATTACK 18 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 12 Armour Factor depends on type
  worn, + 1 for leathery skin
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9 
  Movement: 10m( 15m)
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 4d6 + 5 
  Rank-equivalent: 6th
  Special attack: When a Mummy is 'slain', it has one
  chance to afflict the character who destroyed it with a
  Doom, a type of curse with a MAGICAL ATTACK of 18.
  If the Doom takes hold, the character will die horribly
  within one month unless he can get the curse lifted.
  (This requires a Dispel Magic of at least 6 Magic Points
  intensity.)
  SKELETONS
  Animated Skeletons are sometimes used as servants
  by reclusive and powerful wizards who distrust
  human vassals. Skeletons usually fight with swords
  and, although they occasionally use shields, are rarely
  equipped with armour. They are rather feeble
  fighters, relying on tenacity and weight of numbers to
  overcome their opponents.
  Stabbing weapons, such as spears and daggers, and
  arrows may easily pass between the bony ribs of a
  Skeleton without effect. Count a Skeleton as having an
  effective Armour Factor of 2 against such attacks.
  Skeletons take only half damage from fire-based
  attacks.
  ATTACK 11 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 0 (except as
  indicated above)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: 10m(20m)
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 1d6 + 1 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  119
  
  SPECTRES
  Spectres are the non-corporeal undead remnants of
  strong-willed persons whose lives were twisted by
  dark hateful passions. Their gliding, translucent forms
  are often mistaken for Ghosts, but in fact they are far
  more dangerous. If a Spectre surprises a party of
  adventurers (4 chances in 6 of this, as the monster is
  apt to drift straight out of a stone wall!), everyone in
  the party is subject to a fright attack - like a Ghost's,
  but with a fright attack strength of 1d6. The Spectre
  will then close with the party to combat them physi-
  cally. Its dead white hands are potent with destructive
  energy. Since the Spectre is itself ethereal, however, it
  is difficult to harm; non-magical weapons do not affect
  it, and neither do physical spells (like Dragonbreath or
  Shadowbolt).
  ATTACK 19 Touch (d12, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 12 Armour Factor 0 (but immune to
  non-magical weapons)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11 
  Movement: 12m
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 4d6 + 4 
  Rank-equivalent: 8th
  VAMPIRES
  Vampires are the class of undead most difficult to dis-
  tinguish from living beings. They stalk the night in
  search of blood, but are rendered powerless by sun-
  light and so must return to their crypts by day.
  Vampires retain the skills, memories, intelligence
  and rank that they had in life. All Vampires have
  superhuman strength, and add 2 to their Armour
  Bypass Rolls and to the damage they inflict with a
  weapon. After defeating its opponents, a Vampire will
  attempt to drain their blood. Then, satiated, it returns
  to its tomb, there to lie torpid for 2-8 hours.
  Some Vampires adopt a more subtle approach to
  their prey, using their mesmeric ability. A Vampire
  can use its mesmeric power against any victim of lower
  rank than itself. The Vampire must engage its intended
  victim in conversation for at least thirty seconds, and
  the two must be within 8m of one another throughout
  this time. The Vampire first determines the strength of
  its mesmerism by rolling 3d6 and adding its rank to the
  number rolled. After subtracting the victim's rank, the
  final total is the number that the Vampire must equal
  or be less than on 2d10 in order to succeed. A mes-
  merized victim will stand passive until killed or until
  the Vampire departs.
  Vampires have partial immunity to nonmagical
  weapons. Such a weapon will inflict only half the usual
  damage on a Vampire - so a sword, for example,
  causes the creature a 2HP wound. Magical weapons,
  Shadowbolt spells, etc, score full damage. A wounded
  Vampire must have fresh blood to heal itself. Two pints
  will act on the Vampire like a Lesser Healing spell, four
  pints are equivalent to a Greater Healing, and draining
  all a victim's blood will restore the Vampire to full
  health. Even a powerless Vampire (ie, one at 0 Health
  Points or under) can be restored if fresh blood is made
  to gush over its body; the monster is only permanently
  destroyed if a stake is driven through its heart, its head
  is cut off with a sword that has been blessed, and the
  remains are then burned to ashes.
  Apart from vulnerability to the light of day, a
  Vampire has three major weaknesses. Adventurers
  would do well to take note of these. Fresh garlic
  flowers exude a scent which is repugnant to the
  Vampire, causing it to deduct 1 point from its ATTACK
  for the first 1-6 Combat Rounds against a character
  so protected. Presenting a cross to a Vampire will
  cause it to flinch back, giving the character an oppor-
  tunity to escape. If the character continues to present
  the cross for thirty seconds, he can attempt to drive the
  Vampire away. This attempt is resolved exactly like
  the Vampire's own mesmerism attack, but in reverse
  120
  121
  
  122
  - moreover, Sorcerers roll only 1d6 plus rank for the
  strength of the attack. If the attempt to drive off the
  Vampire is successful, it will depart by any available
  escape route. If the attempt fails, or if the Vampire has
  no means of getting away, it will dash the cross aside in
  a berserk rage. The third of the Vampire's vulnerabili-
  ties is to pure running water; it cannot pass through
  running water, though it may travel across by boat or
  bridge. Stagnant water presents no obstacle.
  The victim of a Vampire will sometimes rise from the
  dead as a Vampire himself. This costs the first
  Vampire a part of its 'life' force - represented by the
  loss of 2d100 experience points. The new Vampire will
  be subservient (not necessarily loyal) to the one who
  'created' it.
  About 90% of all Vampires are 'ranked' - ie, belong
  to one of the adventuring Professions. Of these, 40%
  were and are Knights, 30% Sorcerers, 5% Mystics
  and 15% Barbarians. It is difficult to give the mortal
  statistics of a 'typical' Vampire because the creature
  might be of any rank. In brief, the changes that ensue
  on passing to the vampiric state are:
  Strength increases to 19
  Reflexes increase to 18
  Health Points increase by 4d4
  MAGICAL DEFENCE increases by 1
  For a 1st rank Vampire Knight, this yields:
  ATTACK 16 Sword (d8 + 2, 6 points)
  DEFENCE 10
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
  EVASIONS
  Health Points 1d6 + 7 + 4d4 (average: 21)
  Lastly, the traditional shape-changing powers are
  available to Vampires of higher rank. A 4th rank
  Vampire can transform itself into a bat; at 6th rank,
  the transformation can also be into the shape of a wolf;
  when the Vampire reaches 8th rank, it can change into
  123
  
  a mist and seep through narrow cracks. Whenever a
  Vampire transforms itself, it loses 1 Health Point.
  WIGHTS
  Wights are ancient undead, greatly feared because of
  their passionless evil and strange magical powers.
  They are the shamans and wizard-kings of a bygone
  age, and dwell in the bowels of their lonely burial-
  mounds. Transformed and sustained by their own
  necromantic magic, Wights appear sallowish and
  dessicated, sunken eyes glittering with an eldritch
  light. Wights occasionally go clad in antique ring mail;
  but they really have little need of armour. Though they
  can be harmed by enchanted weapons or those of solid
  silver, normal weapons will score half-damage for one
  blow only and then shatter as though from centuries of
  rust.
  Much of a Wight's former power is attenuated by the
  effort of maintaining its macabre unliving state, but
  the creature is still capable of formidable magic. It has
  the spellcasting ability of a 5th rank Mystic and the
  following special powers (usable once per day):
  Portal (the Sorcerer spell of that name)
  Mephitic Breath - a black, noxious vapour roils
  from the Wight's mouth. Any character within 5m
  who fails to roll Reflexes or less on d20 breathes this
  in, and is then subject to a normal strength poison.
  This poison causes its victims to die and rot away
  within moments.
  Apparitions - the Wight matches its MAGICAL
  ATTACK against the MAGICAL DEFENCE scores of
  1-4 characters within 10m. Any character affected
  sees hideous apparitions from his worst nightmare
  lurking at the edge of his vision. He must try to roll
  his rank or less on did each Round; if he fails, he is
  paralyzed with terror and can do nothing that
  Round. A Spell Expiry Roll applies; this is
  124
  sidered to be a 7 MP spell with respect to Dispel
  Magic.
  Raise Fog (the Sorcerer spell of that name)
  Once expended, the Wight's magical powers return at
  moonrise. Gaunt and awful in their rotting tabards,
  Wights venture forth from their barrows at night, or
  under cover of the freezing fog they can summon up
  from the bleak moors, but they cannot tolerate the
  direct light of day.
  Rather than striking with its weapon (usually a two-
  handed sword), a Wight will sometimes attempt to
  physically touch an opponent. This subjects the
  character to a numbing sorcery, for the Wight's touch
  is chill and deadly. No Armour Bypass Roll is needed
  for the touch - the Wight merely matches its
  MAGICAL ATTACK against the victim's MAGICAL
  DEFENCE and, if this attack takes effect, the latter
  loses 3-13 (roll 2d6+l) Strength points. When a
  character's Strength reaches 2 he falls helpless, too
  weak to move. The Wight will seek to slay him then,
  and, given time to work its exotic magic, can raise the
  body as a Zombie. If the Wight is destroyed before this,
  however, its victim's Strength can be restored by
  taking him out into the sunlight.
  ATTACK 17 Damage depends on weapon used
  DEFENCE 10 Armour Factor depends on type
  worn (and see above)
  MAGICAL ATTACK 20 
  Movement: 12m
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 10
  EVASIONS
  Health Points 1d6 + 15 
  Rank-equivalent: 7th
  WRAITHS
  As far as most people are concerned, 'wraith' is just
  another word for a Ghost. A monk named Ecgric, com-
  posing his Entire Compendium of Creatures Malign &
  125
  
  Mischievous, uses the term in a precise way, however.
  He writes that a Wraith is 'the riven remnant of a
  hoary dead wiht'. The creature he describes is the
  thing that results when a Ghost haunts a place that is
  steeped in powerful sorcery. Gradually, over the
  course of millennia, the Ghost absorbs the magical
  energy from the very air and stones around it; in the
  process it forms a partially substantial 'body', and
  thus passes from the truly dead state of a Ghost to the
  undead existence of a Wraith.
  Wraiths appear as wild ragged figures, shadowy
  and dim within a wreath of colourless cold fire. They
  stalk their secluded haunts without a sound, seeking
  prey with the desperate eagerness of a tortured
  animal. When they come out of the night, upon strag-
  gling wayfarers or those who dare to camp in their
  dank ruins, it is without warning. All who behold the
  Wraith at that moment are subject to a 1d8 fright
  attack. It then closes with a victim (selected at random)
  and, standing before him, begins a deathly shriek. At
  first its thin jaws seem to gape noiselessly, but then a
  distant keening becomes audible. The Wraith is build-
  ing up for a Death spell against its chosen victim, and
  each Combat Round that it delays accumulates + 1d10
  MAGICAL ATTACK. After three Rounds (the maxi-
  mum the Wraith can delay before unleashing the hex)
  it will thus cast its Death spell with a MAGICAL
  ATTACK of 3-30. If its spell fails, the Wraith will
  depart; if it succeeds, the victim is slain (like a Dis-
  hearten, except that his soul is devoured by the Wraith
  and can never be restored to life in this world) and the
  monster fixes upon another.
  This terrible hex is the only way in which a Wraith
  can harm its prey. It can itself only be affected by
  magical weaponry or by a Hold Off The Dead or Banish
  spell.
  DEFENCE 4 
  Armour Factor 0 (but immune to
  nonmagical weapons)
  MAGICAL ATTACK 1d10
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1d20
  ZOMBIES
  Combat Round attack
  is delayed
  Movement: 15m
  Rank-equivalent: 5th
  Perhaps the most gruesome of all the Undead, these
  are the true 'walking corpses' of legend and night-
  mare. Zombies are apt to evoke a shudder in even the
  bravest fighter as he gazes on their haunted faces.
  They are usually to be encountered in deserted places
  - shambling out of graveyard mists, perhaps, or
  wandering between the broken stones of an ancient
  henge - doomed to follow the curse or command of a
  pitiless necromancer.
  The Zombie is a poor but persistent fighter. It will
  take a lot of hacking before it goes down, and the intel-
  ligent adventurer will capitalize on its sluggish reac-
  tions (roll 1d6 for a Zombie's Reflexes) and slow speed.
  126
  127
  
  ATTACK 10 
  Damage depends on weapon used
  (with Strength 16)
  DEFENCE 4 
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 1 
  Movement: 6m
  EVASION 1
  Health Points 2d6 + 13* 
  Rank-equivalent: 1st
  (*This HP score is for a freshly created Zombie.
  Decomposition and the wounds sustained in various
  encounters gradually take their toll; roll Health Points
  for a randomly encountered Zombie on 3d6 + 7)
  128
  
  How are the characters and creatures of the last chap-
  ter encountered? In the musty depths of dungeons,
  most often, but also in mists, moonlight and thunder-
  storm - and even (in the wild and forsaken places of
  the world) by the light of day.
  The DRAGON WARRIORS world is a lot like our own
  during the Middle Ages. Common people do not travel
  much. A villager might live his whole life without ever
  going more than a day's journey from his home. Lords
  travel widely with their men-at-arms, patrolling the
  manors of their fiefs, and others such as minstrels and
  friars may wander far and wide. But almost everybody
  avoids the desolate tracts of moorland and forest ('the
  waste') where unearthly creatures stalk.
  Almost everybody. These are just the kind of places
  where adventurers will often be found. After all, it
  stands to reason that any place worth pillaging must be
  some way from civilization - the more accessible dun-
  geons would have been plundered of their treasure
  long ago. Therefore it is likely that the player-
  characters will begin many of their adventures with a
  journey across country (or even over the sea) to reach
  the locale where most of the action will take place.
  You will begin with a rough map of where the adven-
  ture locale (dungeon, ruin, etc) is situated. The follow-
  ing table shows how long the characters will take to get
  there. You may decide to skip through the journey and
  get on with the adventure you have planned. ('Okay,
  you leave the village where you've been staying. You
  pass through forest and low hills and arrive at a ruined
  tower after four days.') Alternatively, you could pro-
  vide an appetizer to the main adventure by giving the
  characters some encounters en route.
  Outdoor Travel
  Terrain
  Open country
  Distance covered in one day
  on foot - 25 miles
  on horseback - 40 miles
  Forest 
  on foot - 15 miles
  on horseback - 20 miles
  Hills 
  on foot - 20 miles
  on horseback - 25 miles
  Swamp 
  on foot - 10 miles
  on horseback - 10 miles
  Arctic 
  on foot - 5 miles
  on horseback - 10 miles
  on sled - 20 miles
  Desert 
  on foot - 15 miles
  on horse/camel - 30 miles
  River 
  by boat - 40 miles
  The tables on pages 136-141 are used to generate
  'random encounters' for the journey. A chance of
  encounter is given for each terrain type; you check for
  this twice each day, at dawn and dusk. If an encounter
  is indicated, it will occur at some random time in the
  following twelve hours. Adventurers always take
  turns standing guard when camping out for the night!
  The tables allow for a percentile dice roll to deter-
  mine what creature is encountered. You can use this
  method when you feel your imagination is flagging -
  just roll the dice and see what comes up. (Always be
  prepared to disregard the result and reroll, though, if
  you think the first encounter that comes up would be
  too tough for your players.) Alternatively, you may
  decide just to select something from the tables that you
  think will provide an interesting encounter.
  Suppose we consider an example based around the
  introduction to The King Under The Forest, the
  DRAGON WARRIORS adventure scenario in this book.
  The player-characters start in a village called
  Axbridge, where they meet the parish priest who is to
  embroil them in the adventure. A map shows the
  countryside round about.
  The characters set off on their adventure one morn-
  ing. They will be passing through open country at first.
  The GamesMaster makes a secret roll of the dice; no
  130
  131
  
  133
  132
  
  encounter is indicated for the first day (although we
  may assume that they espy a few peasants tilling the
  fields near the village, or out gathering firewood). At
  dusk they are passing Igham and decide to find shelter
  there for the night. A few copper pennies secure a bed
  of straw for the night and, with a roof over their heads,
  no night-time encounter is rolled for.
  They are up with cock-crow, hoping to put eerie
  Norham Wood behind them by the evening. The GM
  decides not to roll for an encounter today - any delay
  might force them to spend the next night in the open,
  for they have a long day's travel ahead, and he has no
  wish to see them weakened and hurt before the main
  adventure has begun. Unaware of this leniency on the
  part of their GM, the players hurry north and over the
  river, reaching the village of Trefell shortly after dark.
  Realizing that the game will be all-action once they
  get to Fenring Forest, the GM decides to introduce a
  little 'light relief - and at the same time give the
  players a chance to act their roles. They find that the
  honest peasants of Trefell mistake them for thieving
  brigands! Doors are barred in their faces, and for a
  while it seems they will get no lodging this night. The
  situation is only aggravated by the hot-tempered
  Barbarian, Carl, who soon resorts to bellowed threats
  as he pounds the flimsy door of a terrified cottager.
  Eventually the others calm him down, however, and
  Bretwald manages to convince the village priest that
  they are honest wayfarers. They spend the night inside
  the church, and again no encounter roll applies.
  They take breakfast with the priest and then depart
  intending to set a leisurely pace to the next village on
  the road. Unbeknown to any of them, the GM's dice
  have decreed an encounter.
  The GM's first d100 roll on the Open Country table is
  99. A Vampire! Hardly plausible in broad daylight, so
  he rolls again. A 26 - a band of brigands. He toys with
  the idea and then discards it. There will be mayhem
  aplenty when they reach the forest. An encounter with
  134
  a certain whimsy to it would be appropriate. A flash of
  inspiration gives the GM what he wants:'' Shortly after
  noon, as you sit by the roadside for lunch and a short
  rest, you see a grandly caparisoned group approach-
  ing from the east. As they draw near, you see a naughty
  noblewoman on a snow-white charger. Seven
  armoured Knights ride with her. You stand and bow,
  but she does not deign to acknowledge you. The
  Knights stare only at her, enraptured, as though
  drained of any will of their own. Once this strange
  entourage has passed, Bretwald turns to you and says
  with hushed tones, 'I believe that was the Lady
  Samana, a fay enchantress. Tales of her bewitching
  evil have spread far and wide. Those poor, spellbound
  wretches are the Knights who have sought to vanquish
  her through the years. She holds their souls in a silver
  chalice, so it's told.' He hastily packs up his gear and
  gestures for you to hurry away from here." A cold
  shiver goes up the players' spines, and the GM smiles.
  This episode has not merely built up an eerie atmo-
  sphere; he can develop it into a recurrent plot theme
  for later adventures. The player-characters may even-
  tually try to take on Samana themselves - though such
  a time must, for these 1st rank characters, be far in the
  future. Subdued and thoughtful, they trudge on
  towards Saxton...
  A night in Saxton holds no terrors, so we rejoin them
  on the morrow. For reasons explained in the scenario,
  they must reach the forest at nightfall, so they rise late
  and do not leave the village until mid-afternoon. The
  GM decides not to make a daytime encounter roll. As
  the sun sets, they draw close to the edge of Fenring
  Forest. Three and a half days of game-time (and about
  twenty minutes of actual playing-time) have elapsed
  since they left Axbridge. The players are now com-
  fortable in their 'character roles'; they are beginning
  to see what it is that makes fantasy role-playing dif-
  ferent from any other game. The party light lanterns
  and advance into the dark forest. The GM rolls to see if
  135
  
  there will be an encounter tonight. Their adventure
  has begun.
  Open Country
  Terrain Type: Rural areas, moorland
  Chance of Encounter: 50%
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll Encounter
  Humans -
  01-05 
  Adventurers (2-8)
  06-10 
  Peasants (2-12}
  11-13 
  Minstrels (1 -10)
  14-18 
  Lazars(l-l0)
  19-22 
  Monks &/or Pilgrims (1-12)
  23-28 
  Outlaws (2-12)
  29-33 
  Lord/Lady with retinue of 2-12
  Knights
  34-37 
  Merchants (1-6)
  38-46 Bull or Stag
  47-54 Horses
  55-65 
  Goblins (1-3)
  66-70 
  Hobgoblin (20% chance of 1-3 Goblin
  attendants)
  71-74 
  Ogre
  75-80 
  Trolls (1-3)
  81-85 
  Wild Boar
  86-87 Basilisk
  88-90 Gargoyle
  91-95 
  Volucreths (2 - 8; warmer climates only,
  otherwise reroll)
  Undead
  96-97 
  Ghouls (1-3)
  98 
  Spectre
  99 
  Vampires (1 - 2)
  00 
  Wight
  Forest
  Terrain Type: Woods, thick forest, jungle
  Chance of Encounter: 35%
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll
  01-07
  08-12
  13-16
  17-21
  22-24
  25-26
  27-28
  29-48
  49-50
  51-53
  54-55
  56-58
  59-61
  62-63
  64-70
  71-73
  74
  75-76
  77-78
  79-80
  81-84
  85-86
  87
  88
  89-92
  93
  94-95
  96
  97-99
  00
  Encounter
  Wolves (3 -18)
  Wild Boar
  Bears (1-3)
  Stag
  Bats (4 -24)
  Basilisk
  Death's Head
  Elves -
  Normal elven community (3 - 30)
  Elven adventurers (1
  Giant Spider
  Gnome
  Goblins (1-6)
  Hobgoblins (1-3)
  Humans -
  Human adventurers
  Peasants (3 -18)
  Outlaws (3 -12)
  Friar
  Ogre
  -6)
  (2-8)
  Python (in warm climate only)
  Pazuzus (1-4)
  Tiger (in warm climate
  Undead -
  Skeletons (2 -12)
  Spectre
  Vampire
  Halflings(l-8)
  Air Elemental
  Gargoyles (1-3)
  Ghost
  Gorgon
  Dragon
  only)
  136
  137
  
  Hills
  Terrain Type: Downs, craggy fells, mountains
  Chance of Encounter: 20%
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll 
  Encounter
  01-07 
  Bats (4-24)
  08-10 
  Basilisk
  11-13 
  Death's Head
  Dwarves -
  14-33 
  Normal Dwarven settlement (4 - 40)
  34-43 
  Dwarven fortress (several hundred
  individuals)
  44-45 
  Dwarven adventurers (3-12)
  46 - 48 
  Earth Elemental
  49-50 Ghost
  51-57 Goblins (1-10)
  58-60 Manticore
  61-64 
  Ogre
  Humans -
  65 
  Hermit (often a Mystic)
  66-69 
  Outlaws (3-18)
  70-71 
  Human adventurers (2 - 8)
  72-78 Orcs (4-24)
  79-80 Pazuzus(l-3)
  81-84 
  Trolls (1-3)
  Undead -
  85-88 
  Skeletons (3-18)
  89 
  Spectre
  90 
  Wight
  91-93 
  Gargoyles (1-3)
  94-97 Apemen(2-12)
  98 - 99 Gorgon
  00 
  Dragon
  Swamp
  Terrain Type: Marshland, fens
  Chance of Encounter: 15%
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll Encounter
  01-07 
  Giant Rats (3 -12)
  08-10 
  Death's Heads (1-3)
  11-15 
  Crocodile (in warm climates only)
  16-19 
  Giant Spider
  20-22 
  Gorgon
  23-30 Hobgoblin
  31-35 
  Obsidiaks(l-4)
  36-37 Pazuzus(l-3)
  38-45 Trolls (1-6)
  46-54 
  Wild Boar
  55-57 Water Elemental
  Humans -
  58-60 
  Adventurers (2-8)
  61 - 79 
  Peasants
  80-85 
  Outlaws
  86 
  Ghost
  Undead -
  87-89 
  Ghouls (1-4)
  90 
  Spectre
  91-94 
  Zombies (2-8)
  95 - 99 
  Marsh Beast
  00 
  Dragon
  Arctic
  Terrain Type: Frozen wasteland, tundra
  Chance of Encounter: 5%
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll Encounter
  01-06 
  Frost Giants (3-12)
  07-22 
  Elk (1 - 3 bulls with females and young)
  ,138
  139
  
  23-38
  39-53
  54-59
  60-66
  67
  68-71
  72-73
  74-78
  79-80
  81-91
  92-96
  97-99
  00
  Wolves (2-16)
  Bears (1-4)
  Tigers (1 - 2)
  Snow Apes (2 - 20)
  The Sufiriad (l-6)
  Undead -
  Skeletons (2-12)
  Zombies (2-12)
  Manticore
  Ghosts (1-3)
  Humans -
  Fishermen/Hunters (2-12)
  Hermit
  Adventurers - may be Humans, Elves
  or Dwarves (2-12)
  Death's Heads (1-8)
  Dragon
  Desert
  Terrain Type: Tropical desert and semi-desert
  Chance of Encounter: 5 %
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll Encounter
  Humans -
  01-38 
  Nomads (5-60)
  39-44 
  Adventurers (2-8)
  45-52 
  Merchant caravan (3-30)
  53-55 
  Pilgrims (4-40)
  56-62 
  Manticore
  63 - 70 
  Obsidiaks (1-4)
  71-80 
  Pazuzu(2-8)
  81-84 
  Fire Elemental
  Undead -
  85-87 
  Ghouls (1-4)
  88-90 
  Skeletons (2-8)
  91 
  Vampires (1-3)
  140
  92-93 Volucreths(3-12)
  94-95 
  Ghost
  96-98 
  Giant Scorpion
  99-00 
  Dragon
  One feature of travel which cannot be covered in the
  encounter table is the disputation. This occurs when a
  powerful character - most often a Knight, but in a few
  instances a Sorcerer - sets up a pavilion at a cross-
  roads or ford and challenges all comers to single
  combat. This occurs only quite rarely, but it is never-
  theless a feature of travel on the roads which may lead
  to an entertaining sequence.
  A Knight who is disputing another's right to pass will
  be of 4th to 6th rank. (Lower ranks are too weak for so
  bold a stance; higher ranks have better things to do.)
  He will challenge only other Knights, though he'll not
  refuse combat with a Barbarian. When the duel is
  between two Knights, neither will purposely attempt to
  slay the other. If one is losing, he may surrender
  without dishonour. A disputing Knight who wounds
  another he has challenged is obliged to feed him and
  tend his wounds before allowing him on his way. Bar-
  barians are excluded from this gentlemanly conduct,
  however; the Barbarian who meets a disputing Knight
  in combat must expect to fight to the death.
  When the disputing character is a Sorcerer, only
  combats with other Sorcerers are sought. Characters
  of other Professions will not be challenged. The dispu-
  tation will often take the form of scholarly debate and a
  comparison of spell-expertise. Only if this eminently
  reasonable interlude is refused will the disputing
  Sorcerer resort to combat.
  Honour and reputation are the main motives for a
  disputation, but the character also gets the chance to
  improve his skill. A Knight who bests another in the
  'friendly combat' described gets experience points -
  but only half what he would get normally, because
  the risk is less than it would be under true 'combat
  141
  
  conditions'. In a real grudge-fight with a Barbarian,
  where either combatant might die, full experience
  points are awarded.
  The intellectual disputation of the Sorcerer provides
  some experience also, but only 1 experience point for
  an encounter with a character of higher rank. A dis-
  cussion with a Sorcerer of equal or lower rank than
  one's own has but a 20% chance of yielding an experi-
  ence point. A Sorcerer can only gainfully dispute once
  with any given Sorcerer he encounters; two Sorcerers
  who go on disputing with one another day in and day
  out will never go up in rank!
  In the rare cases when a disputation between Sor-
  cerers turns into a violent exchange of spells, they will
  battle to the death. Sorcerers have no concept of
  Knightly honour. In such a duel, the victor of course
  gets full experience points for vanquishing his
  opponent.
  Hazardous though the untamed countryside of the
  Dragon Warriors world can be, it is nothing to the
  mortal dangers to be faced in the magic-laden under-
  worlds. Underworlds (a term used to include any laby-
  rinth, catacomb or dungeon inhabited by monsters and
  things of the occult) are the 'high risk' areas where an
  adventurer gets down to the gruelling business of fight-
  ing the creatures of evil and darkness and wresting
  from them their ancient treasures.
  Any underworld should really be designed to take
  account of the characters' particular skills and adven-
  turing tastes. If the players have predominantly
  chosen to be Barbarians, for example, you will doubt-
  less arrange fewer fights with Undead than if they had
  chosen to play Sorcerers. Similarly, you will not have a
  group of four 1st rank player-characters ambushed in
  an underworld corridor by a Dragon. Encounters in an
  underworld happen more often than out-of-doors (the
  encounter check is made every thirty minutes of game-
  time), so you must be very careful not to make them too
  142
  powerful. Even if the characters managed to surviv
  one imbalanced encounter, the effects of several in 
  row would soon spell their doom.
  Underworld
  Description: Ruins, dungeons, ancient temples, tombs
  Chance of Encounter: 15%, check every half hour
  Creature(s) Encountered:
  d100 roll 
  Encounter
  01-05 
  Basilisk
  06-10 
  Bats (2-20)
  11 
  Dragon
  12-15 
  Dwarven adventurers (3-9)
  16 - 20 
  Elven adventurers (1-8)
  21-36 
  Human adventurers (2 - 8)
  37-40 Gargoyles (1-3)
  41-43 
  Ghost
  44-49 
  Giant Rats (2-16)
  50-54 Giant Spider
  55-58 Gorgons(l-S)
  59-63 
  Goblins (1-6)
  64-66 
  Hobgoblins (1-2, with 0-5 Goblin
  attendants)
  67-70 Manticores(l-2)
  71-73 
  Ogre
  74-80 
  Obsidiaks (l-6)
  81-87 Orcs (3-12)
  Undead -
  88-89 
  Ghouls (1-3)
  90 
  Mummies (1-2)
  91 
  Spectres (1-2)
  92-94 
  Skeletons (3-18)
  95 
  Vampires (1-3)
  96 
  Wights (1-3)
  97 
  Wraiths (1-2)
  98-99 
  Zombies (2-12)
  00 
  Special (a unique monster of the GM's
  own devising)
  143
  
  At the end of this chapter is an introductory adventure
  scenario. When you have been GamesMastering
  DRAGON WARRIORS for a while, you will be devising
  scenarios of your own. But this one is specially written
  to be easy to GamesMaster. Read through it now, quite
  carefully, and try to visualize the scenes. It is like the
  storyboard for a film, but not yet populated by the prin-
  cipal characters (your players). Once you have looked
  through the scenario, get a group of players together
  and take them through it.
  This is really the only way to learn how to be a
  GamesMaster. Practical experience. A book can no
  more explain how to GM than it could tell you how to
  hang-glide or to play the violin. We have only a few tips
  and suggestions to offer the prospective GM. Skim
  through these and you are ready to begin.
  Non-player characters
  Apart from the players themselves, every character in
  your DRAGON WARRIORS world is an NPC (Non-
  Player Character). You play the roles of all the NPCs.
  In the space of a few minutes' gaming, you may be
  called upon to portray a whole gamut of roles - a
  145
  
  whingeing beggar who invents a string of 'rumours' in
  exchange for the players' hard-won silver, the honest
  townsfolk who offer them a reward to dispatch some
  local menace, the dour forester who shows them the
  way to a hidden and haunted dungeon, the wily war-
  lock who inhabits it.. .
  In a bad game, all these NPCs are just 'cardboard
  characters' with no reality of their own. In a good
  game, you will really make them come to life. The play-
  ers should respond to NPCs as they would to one
  another. For your DRAGON WARRIORS world to
  work, your NPCs should be like real people.
  Relationships with NPCs also provide you with a
  credible excuse for getting the player-characters
  embroiled in an adventure. The hackneyed device of
  terrified villagers offering twenty/thirty/forty Florins
  if the characters get rid of the Orcs/Goblins/Trolls
  wears thin after a while. If the players are friendly
  with an NPC, they have a very good reason for stepping
  in to get him out of trouble. A player-character applied
  to join the lord's retinue and was sponsored by an NPC
  Knight. The player felt obliged to help when, months
  later, the NPC was accused of plotting against the lord.
  The other side of the coin is to have an NPC villain -
  the mainstay of many a campaign. One such fellow
  began as a hireling, but betrayed his employers (the
  player-characters) and ran off with the treasure.
  Those that got out of the underworld alive swore ven-
  geance, and later undertook several adventures which
  offered no material gain, in the hope of catching up
  with him.
  File cards are an excellent way of keeping track of
  your major NPCs. On one side you can make a few
  notes about the character - where he lives, what he
  owns, his personality and his combat stats (if he
  belongs to an adventuring Profession). On the other
  side, make notes concerning his relationship with the
  player-characters and other NPCs. Major NPCs for
  whom you will eventually have file cards will probably
  146
  include: the local lord and several of his principa
  Knights, the local high-ranking Sorcerer, three or fou
  citizens of the town where the player-characters ar
  living, the Abbot and a few brothers of the neares
  monastery, the leader of a local outlaw band, and an
  NPC adventurers who habituate the area.
  Hired help
  There is no reason why a party should consist entirel
  of player-characters. They might hire some NPC
  adventurers to increase the strength of the group; eve
  a hired peasant can be useful for carrying torches
  bags of treasure and so forth.
  Bearers
  Peasants who are too infirm or lazy to work in the fiel
  will sometimes agree to accompany the characters o
  an adventure and carry their lanterns and equipmen
  There are usually two or three such individuals in any
  village, and they will work for about fifteen copper
  Pennies a day. A sum of about twenty Florins is usually
  left with the bearer's family, for them to retain a
  compensation if the player-characters do not brin
  him back alive. Bearers never join a combat; if th
  party encounters a particularly horrible monster
  bearers may drop what they are carrying and flee.
  Hirelings
  Hirelings fall into two groups. Some are adventurer
  themselves - Knights or Barbarians of low (usuall
  1st) rank. The majority are just young hotbloods wit
  no special fighting skills (ie, ATTACK 11, DEFENCE 
  1d6 + 3 Health Points; see Chapter Seven). Adven
  turers will charge ten Florins a day to join in an adven
  ture; untrained hotbloods expect to be paid 2-
  Florins (roll 2d4) a day.
  NPC adventurers who join the party will gai
  147
  
  experience points just as the player-characters do, of
  course. Hotbloods are not awarded experience points.
  However, if they continue to adventure with the
  player-characters and survive six underworld expedi-
  tions, they will become Knights of the 1st rank.
  The availability and type of hirelings depends on
  where the player-characters are looking:
  Village 
  30% chance of 1-4 hotbloods; 10%
  chance of 1-2 1st rank Knights or Bar-
  barians. Check each month.
  Roadside 
  40% chance of 1-3 hotbloods; 15%
  inn 
  chance of 1-4 1st rank Knights or Bar-
  barians. Check each week.
  Town 
  25% chance of 1-10 hotbloods; 15%
  chance of 1-4 1st rank Knights or
  Barbarians. Check each month.
  Castle 
  30% chance of 1-4 hotbloods; 30%
  chance of 1-6 1st rank Knights. Check
  each week.
  (Hotbloods usually possess just leather armour and a
  simple weapon such as a flail. Adventurers will have
  the usual equipment.)
  Fellow adventurers
  Fellow adventurers are NPCs who join the player-
  characters' party on an equal footing. Sometimes they
  are not habitual adventurers, just normal men whom
  the players have a good reason for including in the
  share-out. (Bretwald, the cleric in The King under the
  Forest, is an example.) More often, they will be adven-
  turers of the player-characters' own rank.
  Locating fellow adventurers is never a matter of just
  rolling the dice for availability. If your players need a
  4th rank Sorcerer for a specific adventure, insist that
  they provide some coherent plan of how they will go
  about finding one. Even if they find the man they need,
  he may be reluctant to join them - act his part, make
  148
  them convince you that joining their party will b
  worth his while.
  For your convenience in preparing NPC adventurer
  for the player-characters to meet, and also as a guid
  to the relative powers and abilities of different rank
  the following tables give the stats for average charac
  Stats for an average Knight
  Rank 
  Abilities
  1st 
  ATTACK 13
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3
  2nd 
  ATTACK 14
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
  3rd 
  ATTACK 15
  DEFENCE 9 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5
  4th 
  ATTACK 16
  DEFENCE 10 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6
  5th 
  ATTACK 17
  DEFENCE 11 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7
  6th 
  ATTACK 18
  DEFENCE 12 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8
  7th 
  ATTACK 19
  DEFENCE 13 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9
  8th 
  ATTACK 20
  DEFENCE 14 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 10
  9th 
  ATTACK 21
  DEFENCE 15 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11
  10th 
  ATTACK 22
  DEFENCE 16 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 12
  llth 
  ATTACK 23
  DEFENCE 17 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 13
  12th 
  ATTACK 24
  DEFENCE 18 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 14
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 1
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 18
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 19
  EVASION 6
  Health Points 20
  EVASION 6
  Health Points 21
  EVASION 6
  Health Points 22
  EVASION 6
  ters in each Profession.
  Stats for an average Barbarian
  Rank 
  Abilities
  1st 
  ATTACK 14
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3
  2nd 
  ATTACK 15
  DEFENCE 7. MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
  149
  Health Points 13
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 14
  EVASION 5
  
  3rd 
  ATTACK 16 
  Health Points 15
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5 
  EVASIONS
  4th 
  ATTACK 17 
  Health Points 16
  DEFENCE 9 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6 
  EVASIONS
  5th 
  ATTACK 18 
  Health Points 17
  DEFENCE 10 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7 
  EVASION 6
  6th 
  ATTACK 19 
  Health Points 18
  DEFENCE 11 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8 
  EVASIONS
  7th 
  ATTACK 20 
  Health Points 19
  DEFENCE 12 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9 
  EVASION 6
  8th 
  ATTACK 21 
  Health Points 20
  DEFENCE 13 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 10 
  EVASION 6
  9th 
  ATTACK 22 
  Health Points 21
  DEFENCE 14 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11 
  EVASION 7
  10th 
  ATTACK 23 
  Health Points 22
  DEFENCE 15 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 12 
  EVASION 7
  llth 
  ATTACK 24 
  Health Points 23
  DEFENCE 16 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 13 
  EVASION 7
  12th 
  ATTACK 25 
  Health Points 24
  DEFENCE 17 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 14 
  EVASION 7
  Stats for an average Sorcerer
  Rank 
  Abilities
  1st 
  ATTACK 11 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 15
  DEFENCE 5 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5
  Magic Points 4
  2nd 
  ATTACK 11 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 16
  DEFENCE 5 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6
  Magic Points 8
  3rd 
  ATTACK 11 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 17
  DEFENCE 5 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7
  Magic Points 12
  4th 
  ATTACK 12 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 18
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8
  Magic Points 15
  5th 
  ATTACK 12 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 19
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9
  Magic Points 19
  6th 
  ATTACK 12 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 20
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 10
  Magic Points 23
  7th 
  ATTACK 13 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 22
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 12
  Magic Points 25
  150
  Health Points 8
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 9
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 9
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 10
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 10
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 11
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 11
  EVASION 4
  8th 
  ATTACK 13 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 23 
  Health Points 1-2
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 13 
  EVASION 4
  Magic Points 28
  9th 
  ATTACK 13 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 24 
  Health Points 12
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 14 
  EVASIONS
  Magic Points 31
  10th 
  ATTACK 14 MAGICAL ATTACK 25 
  Health Points 13
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 15 
  EVASIONS
  Magic Points 35
  llth 
  ATTACK 14 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 26 
  Health Points 13
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 16 
  EVASIONS
  Magic Points 39
  12th 
  ATTACK 14 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 28 
  Health Points 14
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 18 
  EVASIONS
  Magic Points 43
  Stats for an average Mystic
  Rank 
  Abilities
  1st 
  ATTACK 12 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 14
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
  2nd 
  ATTACK 12 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 15
  DEFENCE 6 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5
  3rd 
  ATTACK 13 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 16
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 6
  4th 
  ATTACK 13 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 17
  DEFENCE 7 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 7
  5th 
  ATTACK 14 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 18
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 8
  6th 
  ATTACK 14 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 19
  DEFENCE 8 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9
  7th 
  ATTACK 15 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 20
  DEFENCE 9 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11
  8th 
  ATTACK 15 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 21
  DEFENCE 9 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 12
  9th 
  ATTACK 16 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 22
  DEFENCE 10 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 13
  10th 
  ATTACK 16 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 23
  DEFENCE 10 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 14
  llth 
  ATTACK 17 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 24
  DEFENCE 11 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 15
  12th 
  ATTACK 17 
  MAGICAL ATTACK 25
  DEFENCE 11 
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 17
  151
  Health Points 9
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 10
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 10
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 11
  EVASION 3
  Health Points 11
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 12
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 12
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 13
  EVASION 4
  Health Points 13
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 14
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 14
  EVASION 5
  Health Points 15
  EVASION 5
  
  The campaign setting
  Our own DRAGON WARRIORS world is set in an indis-
  tinct land and place, with perhaps a strong flavour of
  late Dark Ages and early Medieval Europe. This is the
  setting used for The King Under the Forest, as well as
  the adventure scenarios in the other DRAGON
  WARRIORS books. But this is only one possible back-
  ground for your adventures. History and literature
  provide hundreds of others that you and your players
  might prefer.
  Death
  The fact that he may one day be killed is something that
  every adventurer must learn to accept. The game
  would be no fun without the possibility of dying. In the
  DRAGON WARRIORS world, death can sometimes be
  reversed by magic. High-ranking characters may come
  to see it as one of the hazards of the job, in fact! For
  those with access to the mightier spells, death is a
  serious setback but not the end of the world.
  But miracles cost money - far more than player-
  characters will have at the start of the campaign. For
  them, fatality is final; if a player's character gets
  killed, he must roll up another. This is just what the
  player of a solo gamebook does, of course. But
  DRAGON WARRIORS is a multi-player game. Time
  does not turn back to the start of the adventure simply
  because one of the characters has been killed. The
  others will wish to go on with their adventure - so how
  does the player who has lost his character rejoin the
  game?
  Suppose you are playing The King Under The Forest,
  the introductory scenario in this book, and one of the
  player-characters is killed in the very first encounter,
  with some wolves. (We should add that this is very
  unlikely to happen! But as an example - ) One way you
  could deal with this is to make the player concerned
  152
  your 'assistant GM' for the rest of the game, and have
  him help you plan the monsters' attacks on the party.
  His new character makes his debut at the start of the
  next game. Of course, the drawback here is that all the
  other characters get experience points and treasure
  from the adventure, but when the new character joins
  their group he will have only the initial gear.
  Another way of dealing with the problem is to have
  the surviving characters return immediately to the
  nearest village, where they conveniently encounter
  and immediately befriend the new character. Some-
  times a GM will stretch credibility even further -
  "After the fight, you discover that Balin is dead.
  Suddenly a tall Knight steps from the trees and asks if
  you need any help. - Okay, Bob, this is your new char-
  acter. .." If you are inventive, you may find some
  clever ways to introduce new characters mid-adven-
  ture. Try not to make it too contrived - this is a fantasy
  game, but it should still be realistic!
  For the very first adventure, we recommend that you
  have the player-characters accompanied by two or
  three NPC adventurers - 1st rank hirelings. Fill in
  Character Sheets for these NPCs before the adventure,
  and if any player-character gets killed, hand the
  player one of the Character Sheets. This is his new
  character.
  Game-time
  Game-time is not real time. The twenty Combat Rounds
  that the player-characters spend fighting off a pack of
  wolves represent two minutes of time in the game
  world, but the dice rolling and note-keeping involved
  might take nearly a quarter of an hour of real time.
  When the player-characters stop for the night at an
  inn, you will probably skip through the ten hours or
  more (game-time) that they are there in a few seconds
  of real time.
  Part of the GamesMaster's job is to estimate how
  153
  
  much game-time is passing. Suppose the characters,
  wending their way through a wood, come to a river
  which they must cross. They set about collecting wood
  to build a raft. An estimate of two hours or so to gather
  the wood, cut it and lash the raft together is not unrea-
  sonable. Other tasks might vary from a few minutes
  (eg, finding a jeweller in a large town) to days or weeks
  (finding a 6th rank Sorcerer to join them on a quest).
  Your estimates of game-time do not have to be com-
  pletely accurate, so long as they are believeable. Don't
  ask your players to accept that it takes them half an
  hour to unpack their adventuring equipment, or thirty
  seconds to scale a castle wall!
  You will also need to keep a record of the seasonal
  flow of game-time. You might begin your campaign in
  early autumn - both in the game and in real life, say. A
  few weeks later, the player-characters could have
  gone through many months of adventuring (partic-
  ularly if they have done a lot of travelling) and be in the
  middle of winter! Keep a game-time calender, and
  cross off the days and weeks as they pass.
  During an adventure
  Following a few simple rules will make your task as
  GamesMaster a lot easier:
  1. Continually check the characters' battle order.
  Make sure the battle order is consistent with
  where they are - eight people can't walk
  abreast in a 3m wide corridor.
  2. When the characters encounter a monster,
  remember to check for surprise.
  3. You will need to roll Reflexes for the monster(s)
  so you know when it/they get to act each Combat
  Round. When dealing with a large group of mon-
  sters, don't roll a separate Reflexes score for
  each monster; this involves too much book-
  keeping. A single 3d6 roll gives the Reflexes of
  every monster in the group.
  154
  4. Consider how the monsters would go about
  attacking the player-characters. Intelligent mon-
  sters should act intelligently. Imagine that you
  are the monster - what would you do?
  5. Make sure you see all your players' dice rolls.
  Make sure they see none of yours.
  THE KING UNDER THE FOREST
  General note:
  Overview of the
  adventure:
  A simple underworld scenario to
  introduce beginners to the game.
  The characters meet for the first
  time in a small village called
  Axbridge. The local priest, Bret-
  wald, enlists their company in an
  adventure. He claims to know the
  location of the tomb of Vallandar,
  once king of this land. The char-
  acters must venture into Fenring
  Forest to reach the tomb where
  Vallandar and his treasures lie.
  GM: Sections of this scenario which may be para-
  phrased or read out to the players are in italics. The
  remaining material, which includes all monster scores
  and explanatory details, is for your eyes only.
  I. Setting the scene
  You have all recently arrived in the village of
  Axbridge. Some of you travelled here from the
  north, through Helfax Wood; some of you came
  through the Coronach Marshes, along the myster-
  ious raised dyke called Dobby's Walk
  You are strangers here, and you have spent the
  past few days getting the lie of the land. The
  villagers tell you that their Lord is Baron Aldred,
  155
  
  whose castle is many days' ride away. Axbridge is
  the most westerly village of his fief; travellers
  pass through fairly regularly, so the villagers are
  better informed than most. They know that the
  fiefs of surly Baron Grisaille and Montombre,
  nicknamed 'the Elfin Earl', lie to the south. They
  are ruthless lords, said to be no friends of Aldred.
  Harvest-time is close, and the villagers are
  working Jong hours in the fields. Most of your
  information comes from Odo, a crippled old man
  who whiles away the day on a seat under the
  apple tree on the village green. He claims to have
  adventured a little in his younger days, and seems
  pleased to let you stay at his house in return for a
  Florin or two every few days.
  GM: 
  Odo has in fact never adventured in his life. The
  player-characters may suspect this, but Odo does not
  mind. He just enjoys spinning yarns. The longer they
  stay at his house, the more fanciful his stories will
  become. If they relate any of their own adventures to
  Odo, they will eventually hear them recycled as
  episodes from his youth!
  II. The adventure begins
  You have not helped bring in the harvest, but that
  doesn't stop you joining in the festivities when, a
  few days later, the last corn is cut. Cider is drunk
  and a service performed by the village priest,
  Bretwald. After the service, as the autumn
  evening turns to night, the villagers dance merrily
  in the churchyard.
  Bretwald joins you. "Many of these rites are
  pagan, of course," he says with a wry smile, "but
  it does no good to tell them that." He rubs his back.
  "Bringing home the harvest has been hard work
  for us all. I have a cask of cog wine inside - come,
  join me for a drink."
  156
  In Bretwald's house you can still hear the
  sounds of revelry outside, but muffled now. The
  last rays of sunlight are fading and he brings a
  lamp and places it on the table. He unfurls a
  parchment - it seems to be a map, and there is
  something written below it in a script you do not
  recognize.
  "Have you heard of Vallandar?" asks Bret-
  wald. "Rex quondam rexque futurus. He is said to
  have been king of this land long ago. His reign was
  just and pious, great warriors bowed to be his
  vassals. But his evil half-brother Morgrin hated
  him for his goodness, betrayed him to his enemies,
  wrought a war in which Vallandar's kingdom was
  laid waste. The legends say that Vallandar met
  Morgrin in the final battle and struck him down
  with a single blow, but Morgrin had laid a spell
  upon his sword and it dealt the king a grievous
  wound as it fell from the traitor's dead hand.
  "Mathor, the king's wizard, found his dying
  lord on the battlefield and took him in his arms,
  carrying him to a secret crypt that he had built.
  There he placed Vallandar, with his twelve
  bravest knights and all the treasures of his king-
  dom, to await the day when he was needed again
  to drive injustice from these shores.
  "A pretty story, to be sure. 1 believe there was
  indeed a powerful warlord called Vallandar - or
  Valdyne, or Klavayn; accounts differ. This docu-
  ment was given to me by a monk years ago; he
  could not read the language. I was a friar in
  Cornumbria in my youth, and I learned a little of
  this script there. It tells where Vallandar is
  buried" - he stabs his finger down on the
  parchment - "in Fenring Forest, three days
  hence!"
  GM: 
  The player-characters might reasonably ask
  why, if has had this map for several years, Bretwald
  157
  
  has not made an expedition before now. In fact he has,
  and he will freely tell them about it -
  "About a year ago I found a suitable band of
  adventurers - at least, I thought they were suit-
  able. Agnar Wolfeye and his men turned out to be
  the most bloodthirsty cutthroats one could hope
  not to meet? We entered Fenring Forest, and
  while we were searching for the exact location of
  the tomb, one of Agnar's ruffians spied an Elf
  nearby. The damned fool shot it with his
  crossbow.
  "That was the start of our troubles. The next
  day two of the men took sick, poisoned by bad
  water from a spring. A man we sent out scouting
  failed to return. At dawn we awoke to find his
  severed head set on a pole by the camp fire!
  "Most of the men were for turning back then,
  but Agnar was a mad dog and 1 - for my sins, I
  was too proud and greedy to abandon the search.
  We went deeper into the forest, keeping our
  scouts closer now. At last one of them called out to
  us - 'Here! I've found it! Here!' We rushed
  through the trees, and came into the clearing
  where the colossal stone portal of the tomb
  stands. But the man who had called out was
  lashed upside-down to a frame, and Elves stood all
  around with bows.
  "Agnar bellowed crazily and charged them,
  swinging his axe. A tall faerie lord strode
  forward, spoke a word. Agnar fell dead in his
  tracks. Then the Elf-lord came to me, and I held my
  cross in trembling hands. I looked right into his
  pale cold eyes. He said, 'You are not one of them.
  You did not desire this madness, and we shall
  spare you our retribution. Go now; take my cloak
  and the wolves shall let you pass.' Sure enough, he
  gave me the cloak from his shoulders. I could see a
  circle of red-eyed wolves about the clearing now.
  158
  Agnar's men were pleading with me to help them,
  but I could do nothing. I went to the edge of the
  clearing, and though the wolves snarled they
  parted to let me go. I walked at first, then began to
  run. Behind me, the men began to scream. As God
  is my witness, they deserved their fate - but I
  covered my ears as I ran.
  '"It was bitter to know I had found the tomb and
  lost it. Then a wily thought came to me. I snagged
  the Elf-lord's cloak on a briar and began to
  unravel it as I went. When 1 reached the forest's
  edge I had used up all the thread. I went quickly to
  Saxton and lay in a fever there three days. When I
  went back, I could not find the thread, though I
  had marked the tree where I had wound the end
  of it. Abbot Adrian, whom I later consulted in a
  circumspect manner, was of the opinion that a
  fine faerie thread might only show in strong moon-
  light, for the Elves make garments to keep them-
  selves hidden. I believe him to be a considerable
  authority in such matters. The first full moon of
  Michaelmas falls twelve days from now, so if you
  wish to join me we shall depart in just over a
  week."
  GM: 
  What Bretwald has told them is substantially
  true. Before setting out, they may wish to make some
  definite deal as to how the treasure will be shared.
  Bretwald, for a man who has had years to scheme, has
  thought very little about this. His own vision is of a
  treasure so vast that the only limit will be how much
  each can carry. He also feels that each character
  should give him one tenth of what they receive from the
  adventure, because he is the instigator of the entire
  plan.
  Some devious player-characters would attempt to
  steal poor Bretwald's map. Such thievery would not
  pay off - it is written in Lughwyd, a language they
  cannot speak nor read.
  159
  
  III. Getting there
  GM: The village of Saxton, which lies very close to
  where Bretwald hopes to pick up the thread, is three
  days from Axbridge on foot. You are recommended to
  give the characters no dangerous encounters en route.
  Novice GMs should refer to Chapter Eight for an
  example of how this journey might be handled.
  They should reach Fenring Forest after nightfall.
  The thread is easily found, tied to a marked tree a mile
  or so west of the Forest River. It is visible as a glim-
  mering line, like spider silk, shining in the moonlight.
  Following the thread, it will take them all night to
  reach the clearing where Vallandar's tomb is to be
  found. You could roll to see if they have an encounter
  during the night; the chance of this is 35% (ie, a roll of
  01-35 on d100). Any encounter at this stage should
  preferably be with non-fantastic creatures, and rela-
  tively light. A small pack of Wolves (say one Wolf per
  character) would do fine:
  WOLVES
  ATTACK 15
  DEFENCE 3
  Fangs (d4, 5 points)
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 1
  EVASION 3
  Movement: 12m
  per Combat
  Round (25m/CR
  at a run)
  Reflexes of this pack: 14
  Health Points (use only as many Wolves as
  there are characters in the party):
  First WOLF 5 HP
  Second WOLF 
  5 HP
  Third WOLF 6 HP
  6 HP
  7 HP
  8 HP
  9 HP
  10 HP
  Fourth WOLF
  Fifth WOLF
  Sixth WOLF
  Seventh WOLF
  Eighth WOLF
  160
  Underworld Map
  161
  
  IV. The underworld
  It is dawn as you enter the clearing Bretwald has
  told you about. In the side of a grassy bank,
  entwined with the roots of an old tree, stands a
  massive door of stone. Tall letters are carved
  across the face of it. Bretwald picks moss from
  them with a knife before murmuring, "Here lies
  Vallandar, who was and will again be King."
  GM: It will take several hours to excavate the portal,
  and the characters would now be very tired.. They
  should take several hours' sleep before going down
  into the underworld. If they do not, each character
  takes a temporary 1 point penalty to ATTACK,
  DEFENCE and EVASION and halves his Reflexes. It is
  not advisable to go adventuring when one is worn out!
  When they are fully rested, Bretwald will produce a
  pickaxe and three shovels and set them to work on the
  portal. With four of them working, it will not take long
  to get the portal open. If anyone complains, Bretwald
  comments that it is no harder than working in the
  fields!
  Bretwald is not an adventurer, and he will not fight
  at any point unless it is to save his life. His stats are
  those of any normal human (ATTACK 11, DEFENCE 5,
  etc). He wears hardened leather armour and carries a
  shield. He has a flail at his belt and also a knife, though
  he will not use the latter in combat. His most useful
  function will be to carry a lantern.
  Remember that, except where otherwise stated, the
  underworld is not illuminated. The characters can see
  only as far as their lantern-beams.
  From this point, sections of the text are numbered.
  This refers to the numbering on the underworld map.
  The characters will not necessarily visit the rooms in
  this numbered order, of course. The first time they visit
  each location you can read out the description in
  italics. If they later come back for another look, you
  162
  will have to alter the description to take account of
  what they did the first time. (Eg, if they burned the
  tapestry you would omit it from your description when
  they came back that way.)
  1. Entrance corridor
  Finally you pull the huge doors open, to reveal
  steps leading down into the darkness. You light
  your lanterns and descend.
  You find yourselves at the eastern end of a long
  gothic-arched corridor about 4m wide. A faded
  tapestry hangs along the wall to your left. It
  depicts a host of warriors locked in gory battle.
  GM: The tapestry is magical, but this magic will not
  show itself until they have advanced further along the
  corridor (see 3, below).
  2. The map room
  GM: Note that the tunnel leading to this room is
  concealed by the tapestry. The characters will only
  find it if they say they are looking behind the tapestry
  (or if they tear it down).
  You enter on octagonal room about 5m across.
  The floor is extraordinary - it seems to be made
  of smooth polished quartz, and below it you can
  see a curious design of greens and blues overlaid
  with a scattering of glowing red symbols.
  Against the south wall is a heavy oak chest.
  GM: The 'design' is actually an accurate map of the
  entire country, created for Vallandar by his court sor-
  cerer, Mathor. Never having seen such a map, the
  characters would have little chance of recognizing
  what it is.
  The chest is not locked. However, the moment a
  character opens it a jet of green vapour issues from the
  hasp. The character in question must roll under his
  Reflexes score on d20. If he makes this roll he manages
  163
  
  not to breathe any of the vapour in, but if he fails then
  he will be afflicted with acute paranoia. You should
  take him to one side and tell him that his comrades are
  closing in on him with swords drawn! If the player
  refuses to rise to the bait, his character will shake off
  the feeling of paranoia and see that the others are not
  really attacking him at all. If he believes what you have
  told him, he will fight his own friends for six Combat
  Rounds before the vapour's effect wears off.
  Within the chest are two hundred silver coins and
  an empty leather bag secured with a cord of twined red
  hair.
  3. Tapestry magic
  You are approaching the end of the corridor.
  Double doors lie ahead - of black wood bound
  with verdigris-stained copper. There is a smaller
  door in the north wall, and a passage leading off
  to the south.
  GM: If they did not previously cut down or destroy
  the tapestry, strange things begin to happen:
  Before you reach the doors, a metal portcullis
  drops down to block your way. A harsh clang
  makes you turn - another portcullis has fallen
  across the foot of the stairway.
  The tapestry flutters, though there is no breeze.
  Even as you watch, five of the warriors become
  solid and step into the corridor behind you. They
  wear strange sculpted armour, still in the faded
  hue of the tapestry, and their faces are the colour
  of old cloth. But their wide-bladed shortswords
  appear all too real.
  GM: TAPESTRY WARRIORS Rank Equivalent: 2nd
  ATTACK 14 Shortswords (d8, 3 points)
  DEFENCES Armour Factor 4
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 5 
  Movement: 10m/
  EVASION 4 
  . 
  Combat Round
  164
  Reflexes: all 12
  Health Points:
  First WARRIOR 
  9 HP
  Second WARRIOR 
  10 HP
  Third WARRIOR 
  10 HP
  Fourth WARRIOR 
  10 HP
  Fifth WARRIOR 
  11 HP
  The Tapestry Warriors fight soundlessly. If slain,
  they disappear and return to their places in the tape-
  stry, where they will be seen to have any wounds the
  characters inflicted on them.
  If the tapestry is set alight or ripped down, the
  Warriors will instantly disappear with a ghostly howl.
  Once the Warriors are disposed of, the characters
  will have no difficulty lifting either portcullis to be on
  their way.
  4. A hovering wand
  The passage brings you to a small circular cham-
  ber with no other exits. The wall is covered with
  markings that follow some unfathomable geo-
  metric principle. A wand hangs in the air in the
  middle of the chamber. It is rotating about its
  centre, at a rate of roughly one revolution a
  second. One end of the wand glows a dull red, the
  other sparkles with blue-white light. The central
  section is black and unreflective.
  GM: There are two things to consider if anyone tries
  to seize the wand. First, which hand is he using? Unless
  he says otherwise, he must be assumed to have used his
  sword hand. Second, where is he attempting to grasp
  the wand; is it the blue-white, the black or the red
  section? If he does not specify, roll randomly for this.
  If the character wishes to grasp a specific section of
  the wand, refer to his Reflexes score. If he has Reflexes
  of 14 or more, he succeeds automatically. If his
  Reflexes score is 13 or below, he must roll less than
  this score on d20 to grip the wand by the section he
  165
  
  specifies. Failure means that he has seized a randomly-
  determined part of the wand.
  The red end is burning hot and the blue-white end is
  icy cold. Holding the wand by either will sear the
  character's hand - he loses 1 Health Point and, if it is
  his sword hand, 1 point from ATTACK and DEFENCE
  for the rest of the adventure.
  Once someone has grasped it firmly, the wand stops
  hovering. It is a Wand of Fire and Ice, and the safe area
  to hold it is the black central section. By mental com-
  mand, the wielder can cause the red end to emit a blast
  of heat or the blue end to produce a wave of cold. The
  character who holds the wand will somehow know this
  (but his companions won't, unless he chooses to tell
  them; you should pass him this information on a note).
  Both the heat- and cold-effects may be dodged,
  having a SPEED of 10 (see Chapter Four), The heat
  blast will inflict 5d6 HP damage on any creature which
  fails to evade it; a creature in armour may subtract its
  Armour Factor from this damage, however. The pulse
  of coldness inflicts only 4d6 HP damage, but armour (of
  whatever sort) will reduce the damage taken by only 2
  points.
  Each use of the wand expends a 'charge'. It has only
  three charges, so it can be used only three times. You
  will have to keep track of how often the character uses
  it.Once the power of the wand becomes known,
  Bretwald (if he has not been killed by the Tapestry
  Warriors) will caution against using it rashly. As it
  turns out, this is wise counsel indeed - there are
  points later in the adventure where all may be lost if
  they no longer have this wand.
  5. A steep climb
  You walk along a roughly hewn passageway.
  Soon you see a wall of rock towering ahead of you.
  A glimmer of golden light filters down from above.
  Will you climb, or turn back?
  GM: The climb has a difficulty factor of 13. This
  means that any character with Reflexes of at least 13
  can make it without difficulty. Other characters must
  roll d20 and score under their Reflexes to make the
  climb safely. A character who fails this roll will fall at
  a randomly-determined point in the climb. The dis-
  tance to the top is 10m, so roll d10 for anyone who fails
  the roll to see how far he drops.
  A character who falls may if he wishes (and if he sur-
  vives!) attempt the climb again.
  If one person can get to the top and secure a rope,
  other characters make the climb at difficulty factor 6.
  6. The wizard's cave
  GM: You should relate the following only to those
  who actually make the climb. Any players whose
  characters remain at the bottom will have to go into
  another room.
  At last you reach the top and haul yourselves up
  into a vast cavern. Stalactites sparkle in light
  which seems to come from all around. Your
  hearts skip a beat as you behold, curled atop an
  enormous mound of treasure, the long sinuous
  form of a huge red Dragon! Luckily for you, it is
  sleeping; wisps of blue smoke curl gently up from
  its black nostrils. Near it, contained within a red
  pentacle inscribed on the cavern floor, is a stout
  old oak whose branches reach up to the shadows
  'beyond the magic light.
  GM: At this point, take the player whose character
  has the highest Psychic Talent score to one side. Tell
  him/her the following: (NB: If you are using Dragon
  Warriors 2: The Way of Wizardry and there are
  Mystics and Sorcerers in the party, this should be
  addressed to them.)
  Just for a moment, as you reached the top, you
  fancied you saw a figure: a wild bearded man two
  166
  167
  
  metres in height, dressed in ragged furs, holding
  aloft an ebony staff. But then, when you look
  again, it is the oak tree you see standing there. It
  must have been a trick of the light. . .
  GM: The oak is the dormant form of Mathor,
  Vallandar's court sorcerer. He will not awaken until
  his liege does (see 23). The pentacle prevents anyone or
  anything from touching the oak; the pentacle is
  strongly magical and cannot be erased.
  The Dragon opens one lazy eye if the characters
  approach its treasure. A couple of paces more and a
  red tongue flickers between its sharp teeth. Then it
  speaks. (You should portray the Dragon as solemn,
  droll or jocular, according to the style you favour for
  your GamesMastering. Bilbo's conversation with
  Smaug in The Hobbit gives a fine account of how a
  Dragon might speak.)
  The Dragon's name is Fengel. It is Mathor's servant,
  bound by his magic, but out of pride will maintain it is
  his friend. It will be very flattered if anyone remarks on
  the magnificence of its treasure. If any character mis-
  takes this hoard for 'the treasures of the kingdom',
  Fengel will correct him haughtily, announcing that
  those treasures are in the chamber of the dead king,
  unguarded, and anyone may take them.
  This brings the conversation neatly around to the
  question of whether anyone may take any of this trea-
  sure. Fengel is loath to part with even the merest
  trinket, though he will finally consent to a riddling con-
  test. For each riddle the characters get right they can
  take a gold coin (larger than their modern Crown, and
  worth about forty-five Florins). Once they fail to
  answer a riddle, they must go away and leave Fengel to
  sleep.
  Typical riddles that Fengel will ask are:
  I watched an army gathering supplies
  Over miles of countryside,
  No homestead did they pillage,
  168
  No blade of grass was broken. (Answer: a swarm of
  bees)
  Across the seas
  Up to the sky
  All through the land
  Unseen by eye 
  (Answer: the wind)
  As Jong as six men,
  As strong as six men.
  One man may carry it,
  Six men cannot stand it up. 
  (Answer: a rope)
  It eats everything but is always famished
  And when it drinks, it dies. 
  (Answer: fire)
  Fengel knows the history of each coin in his hoard,
  and will muse sadly at his bereavement each time the
  characters take one.
  If the characters try to snatch up a handful of trea-
  sure and run, Fengel will wait until they are at the lip of
  the cliff and then breathe a jet of flame (SPEED 16,
  Strikes 2-12 characters; anyone failing to dodge takes
  2d6 + 12 HP damage, less Armour Factor). If anyone
  survives that he will let them go. A 'handful' of Fengel's
  treasure will be worth 10d6 x 1d20 Florins.
  7. The north wind's hall
  You swing back the heavy door of a Jong hall. At
  the north end, your lantern-light falls upon a
  podium of grey marble carved to resemble a
  bulbous-cheeked face blowing at you. A silver
  goblet rests on the podium. Beyond, another door
  leads deeper into the underworld.
  GM: 
  As the characters walk towards the podium, a
  fierce gale springs up and shrieks along the hall,
  forcing them back. Even by dragging themselves along
  the wall, the strongest characters can get no further
  than halfway.
  If they hold up the bag from the chest in room 2, the
  169
  
  wind will be drawn within and disappear at once. The
  cord must then be tied to hold the wind within.
  If the bag is opened at any later time in this adven-
  ture or a subsequent one, the wind will immediately
  return to this hall by the shortest possible route, bowl-
  ing over any character in its path and blowing him
  along for 2-8 metres. This means that if the charac-
  ters reopen the bag when they get back to Axbridge,
  for example, anyone standing north-east of the bag (ie,
  directly between it and the location of this underworld)
  will be knocked down.
  The silver goblet is worth about 60 Florins. Its real
  value to the characters, however, is likely to lie in its
  usefulness later in the adventure [see 11, below).
  8. A choice of ways
  You are in a 3m wide corridor running east and
  west. To the east, the corridor opens out into a
  room after only a few metres. To the west, you can
  just make out that the corridor turns to head
  north after some 15m.
  9. The spider's web
  You can see that a bronze helmet lies on a wooden
  table against the far wall of the room. As you step
  through the archway into the room, your ankles
  become entangled in a web of fine strong strands.
  GM: The Giant Spider that lives in this room quickly
  descends on its web to attack its prey. Only the charac-
  ters in the front row of the battle order will be caught
  in the web. The other characters will not be able to
  attack the Spider because their trapped colleagues
  are in the way.
  GIANT SPIDER
  ATTACK 15 Bite (d6, 3 points and paralyzing
  venom)
  170
  DEFENCE 2 
  Armour Factor 1
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 4 
  Movement: 15m
  (20m)
  EVASION 4 
  Reflexes: 
  14
  Health Points 11
  (See the Monsters chapter for details of the web.)
  If reduced to 3 HP or less, the Spider will scuttle back
  to its lair above the rafters.
  If the players defeat it and reach the helmet, give
  this description:
  It is a strange ornate helmet, curiously free of
  corrosion. The oddest thing about it is that the
  visor consists of a large flat mirror!
  If anyone puts it on:
  From the inside, you find that you can see through
  the mirrored visor. However, it is like peering
  through smoked glass, and you can see objects
  only as dark silhouettes.
  Any character wearing the helmet takes a combat
  penalty of - 1 from ATTACK and - 2 from DEFENCE,
  to represent his impaired vision. The helmet might thus
  strike the characters as rather useless, but it may
  prove to be a valuable asset when they come up against
  the Gorgon (see 19).
  10, A trap
  As you approach the bend in the corridor, a flag-
  stone gives slightly under your feet. There is an
  ominous click.
  Suddenly a massive gleaming axe-blade swings
  out of the side wall—
  GM: The axe swings across the corridor, so it could
  strike any or all of the characters at the front of the
  party. It has a SPEED of 13; match this against each
  character's EVASION as explained in Chapter Four.
  171
  
  172
  Each character that it hits will absorb some momen-
  tum from the swing, so (from right to left across the
  front row) the first character is struck with an Armour
  Bypass Roll of d8 + 2 and takes 8 HP damage if it gets
  past his armour; the second character (if it hits more
  than one) is struck with an Armour Bypass Roll of
  d8 + 1 and takes 7 HP damage; the third character is
  struck a normal axe blow - d8 for Armour Bypass and
  6 HP if it gets past his armour.
  After one swing, the axe resets itself in the wall. The
  characters will have to remember to avoid the loose
  flagstone when they come back this way, or they will
  trigger the trap again.
  11. Barrier of light
  The way on is blocked by a flickering barrier of
  violet light that shimmers in the air between two
  baroquely carved pillars on either side of the pas-
  sage. Through the shimmering, you can just
  barely discern the outlines of the corridor as it
  continues north.
  Just in front of this barrier, set back in alcoves
  to your left and right, are two fountains, in the
  western alcove, a chalky grey liquid issues from a
  snarling stone face and runs down into the foun-
  tain beneath. The eastern fountain is filled by a
  purple liquid that bubbles from a face sculpted in
  an expression of fear.
  GM: The barrier is magical. A character who walks
  through it is subject to a MAGICAL ATTACK of 18,
  matched against his MAGICAL DEFENCE (see Chapter
  Four). If the attack works, the character will be
  afflicted with an unreasoning fear. For the rest of the
  adventure, his ATTACK score is decreased by 1 point
  and his DEFENCE score increases by 1. Also, any time
  the party encounter a monster, the character has a
  25% chance of being so overwhelmed by his fear that
  he will merely cower with his hands over his head until
  173
  
  the monster has been slain or driven off. (Encourage
  any player whose character is affected by this barrier
  to role-play as though he genuinely is frightened.) The
  effect wears off as soon as the character leaves this
  underworld.
  The grey fluid in the western fountain has a curious
  effect on anyone who drinks it. The character's flesh
  will become stony and grey. For the rest of the adven-
  ture, until he leaves the underworld, he adds 2 points
  to his Armour Factor. However, he is slower in this
  stone-flesh form: his Reflexes and movement rate are
  halved.
  The purple liquid in the eastern fountain has even
  stranger properties. As long as it remains within the
  alcove, it is a powerful acid that will dissolve anything
  except gold and silver. If a character tries to drink
  directly from the fountain he will be badly burned (1d4
  HP damage; if he put his hands in he permanently loses
  1 from ATTACK; if his face, he loses 1d8 Looks). The
  characters can, however, use the silver goblet from the
  north wind's hall to scoop up some of the liquid. Once
  the liquid is removed from the fountain it loses its
  acidity, so characters can drink it from the goblet
  without injury. It has the effect of making a character
  immune to the effect of the magic barrier.
  Once a character has drunk the liquid of one of the
  fountains he can gain no benefit from the other. Each
  character will have to settle either for immunity to the
  flickering barrier or for becoming stone-flesh for a
  while.
  These liquids only possess their magical properties
  in this underworld. Any removed from the underworld
  will become just stagnant water.
  12. Underground river
  Passing through the barrier of light, you continue
  north along the corridor. The sound of a surging
  underground river echoes from the darkness
  ahead.
  174
  175
  
  Be/ore long you come to a short flight of steps.
  At the bottom you see a stone quay beside the
  rushing black waters. A rickety plank bridge
  leads across to another quay on the far side.
  A figure of rose-coloured rock stands between
  the steps and the bridge. It looks like an uncom-
  pleted statue - the upper torso, arms and head
  are perfectly sculpted, but the lower body is a
  single lump of unworked stone. With a harsh grat-
  ing noise it slowly flexes its massive sinews. Its
  long talons are knives of flint.
  GM: Having no legs, the Living Statue cannot move
  from where it stands on the quay. The characters
  might try to rush past it, but it will get to strike at two of
  them as they do so (one with each claw). Characters
  who are trying to parry as they run past get only half
  their usual DEFENCE against the monster.
  LIVING STATUE Rank Equivalent: 10th
  ATTACK 22 
  Claw (d10 +2, 8 points)*
  DEFENCE 14 Armour Factor 7
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 12 
  Movement: 0
  EVASION 0 
  Reflexes: 16
  Health Points 30
  *It is ambidextrous and strikes with both claws, at
  full ATTACK, every Combat Round.
  If they try to fight it out with the Living Statue they
  will probably soon find that most of their blows slide
  harmlessly off its granite hide. It is quite easily van-
  quished, though, if they use the Wand of Fire and Ice.
  The expansion and contraction due to the use of heat
  and then cold in quick succession will shatter its stone
  body into rubble! (Note also that, having no legs, it can-
  not evade the Wand's blasts.)
  If the characters defeat it and think to search amid
  the broken chunks, they will soon find an enchanted
  shortsword that had been left in a cavity under its
  176
  base. A character fighting with this shortsword rolls
  d8 + 1 for Armour Bypass rolls, adds 1 point to both
  ATTACK arid DEFENCE, and inflicts 4 HP damage on
  an opponent with each successful hit. (Note also that
  there are some monsters - eg Spectres - that can
  only be harmed by enchanted weapons.)
  13. A flimsy bridge
  GM: The bridge is very fragile. If any character who
  has been transformed to stone-flesh (by the grey fluid
  at 11) steps upon it, he will go right through the planks
  and plunge into the river. This means death for the
  character concerned, for he will sink like a stone and
  drown.
  The Wand of Fire and Ice is useful again here. A
  blast of its frigid cold will freeze a path across the river
  which even the heaviest of stone-fleshed characters
  can lumber across in safety.
  14. Short passage
  You climb a short stairway like the one on the
  south bank of the river. You are standing in front
  of a small black door. There is a strong feeling of
  peace and serenity here.
  15. The chapel
  You enter a low-ceilinged chamber hung with
  sombre drapes. A flickering sanctuary lamp
  burns on an altar stone in an alcove in the east
  wall. A large crucifix hangs above this. There are
  double doors in the west wall and another small
  door, like the one you have entered by, directly
  opposite you.
  GM: A character afflicted by fear (having passed
  through the magical light at 11) may be cured of this by
  kneeling in prayer before the altar. There is no way of
  knowing this in advance, of course; you should not tell
  them unless someone announces that he is praying.
  177
  
  The benefit applies only to one who prays without
  thought of gain: a character who suddenly becomes
  pious when he sees the advantage will stay terrified!
  16. Long passage
  A narrow passage leads north for a short
  distance and then turns to the east. Looking along
  it, you see that the first ten metres or so are not
  illuminated, but from that point onwards bright
  red lamps hang from the ceiling. The passage
  extends as far east as you can see.
  17. Nagging doubts?
  You continue until you have almost reached the
  first of the lamps. There is something odd here -
  the lamps seem to dim slightly as you approach,
  and become redder.
  GM: 
  In fact the lamps have not changed at all - they
  merely seem dimmer in contrast with the light of the
  character's lanterns. The passage from this point on
  does not exist. It, and the red lamps that hang along it,
  are an illusion cast by Mathor the wizard. If the
  characters shutter their lanterns, they will see that the
  red lights shed no light at all westwards (ie, before
  the illusion begins) - so a character could bring his
  face to within inches of the first illusory lamp and yet
  his companions would be unable to make him out in the
  darkness.
  If the characters do not detect the illusion, and press
  onwards, the entire corridor from this point will dis-
  appear. (Illusions vanish when touched.) The charac-
  ter at the front of the party will suddenly find himself
  at the end of the passage - about to step into a yawn-
  ing pit which was previously covered over by the illu-
  sion! The character must roll under his Reflexes on d20
  to catch hold of the person behind before he falls into
  the pit. The pit is 10m deep, and the climb out has a
  difficulty factor of 11.
  178
  18. Light ahead
  Beyond the double doors lies a 3m wide corridor
  which leads west. A little over 15m away from
  where you are standing, it is joined by another
  corridor leading north. The east-west corridor is
  gloomy, illuminated only by the murky light of
  your lanterns. But you can see bright light flood-
  ing from the northern branch.
  19. A lady in waiting
  You walk towards the T-junction. In the bright bar
  of light thrown across the corridor from the
  northern branch, you now notice a looming
  shadow. Someone is waiting just around the next
  corner. You pause and hold your breath as you
  study the outline of the shadow. Could it be a
  robed woman with an elaborate coiffure? A soft,
  evil hissing reaches your ears. . .
  GM: 
  Presumably few players will miss the hint that a
  Gorgon is waiting to ambush them. As they step close to
  the T-junction she will suddenly advance to block their
  path and stare the foremost character full in the face.
  GORGON
  ATTACK 16 
  Sword (d8, 4 points) and 1-3
  DEFENCE 10 
  Tresses (d4, 1 point and
  venom)
  Armour Factor 0
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 9 
  Movement: 10m/CR
  EVASION 4 
  Reflexes: 8
  Health Points 10
  See Chapter Seven for details of the Gorgon's petri-
  fying gaze. If you do not possess Dragon Warriors
  Book Two, assume that this particular Gorgon has
  no sorcerous powers apart from her gaze.
  If the leading character is wearing the bronze
  helmet from the spider's lair (room 9), the Gorgon
  179
  
  will get a nasty surprise as she sees her gaze
  reflected back at her! On a roll of 2 -10 on 2d10 she
  will turn herself to stone. If not, she will close her
  eyes and fight the characters blind (i.e. at -4 attack
  and -8 defence) rather than risk seeing her own face
  a second time.
  20. At the junction
  The northern branch of the corridor, where the
  Gorgon was lying in wait, extends only a few
  metres and then ends in stout oak doors bound
  with iron. The light comes from a glowing crystal
  globe hanging from the ceiling.
  Shining your lanterns west, you discover that
  the transverse corridor also ends in double doors
  after another eight or ten metres.
  21. A stout coffer
  On the other side of the doors lies a dusty room
  with a mouldering reek in the air. Suddenly a host
  of grinning Skeletons hurl themselves forward
  from the shadowy corners of the room.
  GM: 
  This encounter is likely to be bothersome rather
  than fatal.
  SKELETONS
  ATTACK 11 
  Swords (d8, 4 points)
  DEFENCE 5 
  Armour Factor 0 (but 2 vs
  thrusting weapons)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 3 
  Movement: l0m/CR
  EVASION 3 
  (20m/CR running)
  Reflexes: all 12
  Health Points:
  First SKELETON 4 HP
  Second SKELETON 
  2 HP
  Third SKELETON 
  2 HP
  Fourth SKELETON 
  3 HP
  Fifth SKELETON 
  4 HP
  180
  Sixth SKELETON 
  3 HP
  Seventh SKELETON 
  7 HP
  These Skeletons have shields, so remember to
  check each time one is struck to see if the shield
  stops the blow.
  GM: 
  If the characters defeat the Skeletons:
  You now notice a huge wooden treasure-chest by
  the south wall. It is sealed with a gilded pad10ck
  bigger than a man's fist. Then you notice some-
  thing gleaming in the lantern-light: a key, hanging
  from a chain around one of the Skeletons' necks.
  GM: The key unlocks the chest, sure enough. Within
  they will find a quiver full of arrows, a gold robe-clasp,
  two stoppered stone jars, a parchment case, a large
  silver sceptre and an ivory crucifix.
  The moment a character touches any of the items, a
  tremendous force will throw them all back across the
  room and the chest will slam shut. No one is hurt, but
  the chest is now locked again and the key is nowhere to
  be found. The item that was touched is lying on the
  floor beside the chest. The chest is too big for them to
  budge, so this single item is all they will ever get out of
  it.
  In detail, the items are:
  Six magic
  arrows
  Healing Potion
  Elixir Vitae
  The character who uses one of
  these adds 1 to his ATTACK,
  Armour Bypass Roll and the
  damage inflicted if the arrow
  hits. In the terminology of Chap-
  ter Three, they are (d6+l, 5
  points) weapons.
  A wounded character who drinks
  this regains 7 Health Points, up to
  the limit of his normal HP score.
  Poured between the lips of a
  corpse (who must not have been
  181
  
  dead more than a month), this
  potion will restore him to life!
  The resurrected character per-
  manently loses 1d3 Health Points
  and 1 point from each of his
  characteristics (Strength, Looks,
  etc).
  A gold clasp 
  Worth 120 Florins.
  An ivory 
  This is a reliquary containing the
  crucifix 
  ashes of Saint Leon, an indefatig-
  able opponent of evil. The char-
  acter who wears it gets a bonus
  of + 2 to ATTACK when fighting
  Undead, and is unaffected by
  the fright attack of Ghosts and
  Spectres.
  A scroll in a 
  Only a 4th rank Sorcerer could
  case 
  understand what is written on
  this scroll, though any Sorcerer
  could recite it and thus release
  the Shadowbolt spell it contains.
  A silver 
  Worth 150 Florins, and also use-
  sceptre 
  ful as a mace for smiting Wights.
  22. Short walk and long drop
  This narrow passage goes north a short distance
  and ends in a pit. Looking down, you see only sty-
  gian darkness which the light of your lamps does
  nothing to dispel. Iron rungs set in the wall of the
  pit form a ladder of sorts.
  GM: If they drop a coin down (remember that some-
  body has to deduct it from their cash reserves!) it takes
  six heartbeats to reach the bottom.
  If any character tries climbing down, you should
  emphasize to him how eerie and dank the pit seems. He
  can see almost nothing, and his friends' voices echo
  distantly from above. A character gripped by the
  182
  magical fear-effect (see 11) could not bring himself to
  climb down under any circumstances; you should not
  have to remind the player of this if he is role-playing
  properly.
  The climb is not at all dangerous, in fact. The bottom
  is vile and slimy, but if the character does not mind this
  and searches for a minute or two he will find a dagger.
  When this is taken up into the light it is discovered to
  have five gems encrusted along the hilt. It is worth 400
  Florins.
  23. The High King's Hall
  You find yourselves on a balcony overlooking a
  vast circular hall full of shadows. You cannot see
  the far wall or the soaring roof above.
  In the centre of the chamber, within a pillar of
  green light that streams down out of the darkness,
  waits a tall man on horseback. Both horse and
  rider wear great plates of decorated armour.
  Their heads are bowed as though in slumber, and
  on the man's brow you see a golden crown.
  Around Vallandar, twelve mighty swords stand
  balanced upon their points in a perfect circle.
  Off to your right, stone steps sweep down to the
  floor of the hall. At the foot of the steps, your Jan-
  terns pick out the shining surface of a massive
  gold casket.
  Will you go down - ?
  GM: The Spectre of Morgrin, Vallandar's evil half-
  brother, lurks in this hall. As the characters descend,
  this is what they see:
  Tatters of deepest shadow flit from the furthest
  recesses of the hall, clustering and coalescing on
  the steps in front of you. Two darkly glittering
  eyes fix upon you as a manlike form takes shape.
  The sense of abiding malevolence descends like a
  pall. The figure drifts up towards you. Its body
  and fluttering robes are murky and indistinct, but
  183
  
  you see its white hands and hate-filled visage with
  a terrible clarity. It reaches back and seems to
  draw a spectral sword from the empty air.
  184
  GM: The characters have two Combat Rounds befor
  Morgrin reaches them, and if any of them have magi
  arrows they would be wise to loose them off. Morgrin
  can only be harmed by enchanted weapons; even th
  Wand of Fire and Ice (if it isn't used up by now) will not
  hurt him.
  Characters already suffering from magically
  induced fear are now subject to a 1d6/right attack (roll
  1d6, subtract the character's rank, and roll the result
  or less on 2d10 to kill him).
  MORGRIN 
  Rank Equivalent: 8th
  ATTACK 19 
  'Sword' (d12, 5 points)
  DEFENCE 12 
  Armour Factor 0 (immune to non-
  magical weapons)
  MAGICAL DEFENCE 11 
  Movement: 12m/CR
  EVASION 4 
  Reflexes: 17
  Health Points 14
  The characters will be in single file on the steps, so
  this is a bad place to stand and fight. Apart from the
  magical shortsword (from the Living Statue at 12) and
  the magical arrows (from the coffer at 21), the only
  other weapons they could use to fight Morgrin are the
  swords that stand in a circle around the king. Of
  course, to get these swords they will have to reach the
  floor of the hall - possibly by climbing down on a rope
  while someone tries to keep Morgrin busy.
  They do not have to battle Morgrin, of course. They
  could just flee. If Bretwald is still with them, they will
  have to drag him kicking and screaming. He has sought
  this tomb for so many years that even Morgrin's
  Spectre will not drive him back now!
  Any character who reaches the circle of swords can
  take one. Having taken one, he will not be able to move
  any of the others. There is no sign of any support
  keeping them miraculously balanced on their points -
  it is more of Mathor's wizardry. Having taken one of
  the swords, a character leaves behind him the shadow
  185
  
  that he cast at the moment he touched the hilt. This
  shadow will remain unless the character replaces the
  sword in its position in the circle.
  What does this portend? In fact it is a sign that a
  character who takes one of the swords becomes
  Vallandar's vassal. When the land has need of him and
  he arises from his slumber, Vallandar will call upon
  those who took and wielded these swords. Living or
  dead, they will come to be his knights. (Unless you
  favour an apocolyptic theme, this will probably not
  occur in the lifetime of your campaign.)
  The swords are magical in that they inflict full
  damage on undead monsters such as Spectres. At first
  they confer no combat bonuses on the character who
  wields them, but they will gradually acquire enchant-
  ment whenever the character performs a truly selfless
  and honourable deed (in your view, not the player's!).
  In every adventure that the wielder behaves honour-
  ably, the sword gains a magical 'plus', until it is even-
  tually + 3, the maximum. (Magical sword rules are
  covered in Dragon Warriors 2: The Way of Wizardry.)
  Moreover, the character who possesses one of these
  swords will never lose it. Even if apparently gone
  forever - dropped into a volcano, eaten by a whale,
  etc - it will mysteriously return to the character in the
  space of a few days.
  Assuming that Morgrin is somehow disposed of, the
  characters will doubtless turn their avaricious atten-
  tion to the gold casket they noticed earlier. This is what
  they find when they open it:
  You lift the heavy lid of the casket, expecting to
  find wealth that transcends greed. Is this the
  unimaginable wealth of the realm spoken of in
  legend? Eagerly you peer inside -
  You find a silver crown, a handful of grain, a
  simple ploughshare, a wooden cross and a
  leatherbound book.
  GM: Bretwald, if he has survived the adventure, will
  186
  understand. "The treasures of Vallandar's realm!" he
  groans. "The King, the Land, the People, the Faith and
  the Law..'." He weeps.
  If irredeemably mercenary, the characters could
  take the silver crown. It would fetch about 90 Florins.
  The book of laws is quite a treasure. A gift could be
  made of it to a monastery, and the characters could
  expect much goodwill in return.
  The gold casket itself is much too heavy to lift, and
  too solid for the characters to break up. They must be
  content with what they have already.
  It hardly need be added that it is not possible to
  reach the king himself. Should any character try to do
  so, the column of blue light will fling him across the hall
  with a crackling energy blast which inflicts 1d4 HP
  damage.
  187
  
  V. After the adventure
  Bretwald, if he lived through it all, returns to his posi-
  tion as priest of Axbridge - a sadder, wiser and some-
  what richer man.
  Characters who survived should have reaped rich
  benefits. Award each character 7 experience points,
  in addition to points awarded during the game for
  overcoming monsters. You and your players should
  now have a thorough grounding in the basic DRAGON
  WARRIORS rules.
  Lastly, none of the characters who took part in this
  adventure will ever be able to find the underworld
  again. This is part of Mathor's magic, that no man can
  enter Vallandar's tomb more than once. If not for the
  treasure they carried out with them, and the first
  battle-scars they now bear, the characters might think
  the whole adventure had been but a dream!
  188
  Most of this book has been addressed to the prospec-
  tive DRAGON WARRIORS GamesMaster, but we end
  with some tips for the players.
  Role-Playing
  Newcomers to fantasy role-playing ('FRP') usually
  spend their first few games immersed in the wondrous
  new world that it opens up. For a while, they find it
  enough merely to 'pretend themselves' into adventures
  where they can creep nervously down the winding
  black tunnels of the Ogre's lair and seek vast wealth in
  the cobweb-draped vaults of the Vampire's crypt.
  But eventually you will probably begin to consider
  other aspects of the GM's fantasy world. What is daily
  life like, in between adventures? Who are the local
  lords, and what are the political intrigues between
  them? Most importantly, what is 'your' (ie, your
  character's) attitude to the world around him? Why
  did he become an adventurer rather than, for instance,
  a blacksmith? Questions like this are the starting point
  for the true role-playing.
  Playing a role. This is what makes FRP really
  special, what makes an FRP adventure far more excit-
  ing than any solo gamebook could be. You should
  189
  
  choose a personality for your character - which need
  not be anything like your own personality. During an
  adventure, try to act in a way that reflects the role you
  have chosen.
  Start by thinking a little about your character's past
  life. Is he an impoverished nobleman, perhaps? He
  should demand some deference from the other player-
  characters, and moan bitterly if he has to borrow
  money from them to support his doubtless extravagant
  tastes. Or the character might be an ex-soldier, just
  back from the Crusades. Maybe he finds the unprofes-
  sional approach of his fellow adventurers to be annoy-
  ingly amateurish. His conversation could be a string of
  military cliches and anecdotes. A roving Barbarian
  could find civilization hard to understand. A scholarly
  Sorcerer might go off on an expedition just to collect
  ancient objets d'art. Gold and silver mean nothing to
  him. He has no interest in the tactics of adventuring, so
  he would leave the warriors in the party to decide on
  any battle plans.
  Consider also 'your' attitude to the rest of the party.
  Without a doubt you will eventually meet - or even
  play - the cowardly villain who covets treasure so
  much that he runs off with the loot while his comrades
  are battling the monster. Less familiar is the brave
  adventurer who will risk his own life to delay a foe
  while his friends retreat. Our own campaign includes
  the tale of Dagronelt the Harpist, who befriended an
  NPC (a 'non-player character' operated by the GM)
  and then experienced a conflict of loyalties when the
  other player-characters fought the NPC in question.
  Unlike some FRP games, DRAGON WARRIORS has
  no dice rolls or tables for working out a player-
  character's background. This is something that the
  player should really work out for himself. (Subject to
  the GM's approval. You cannot simply decide that your
  character is heir to the kingdom!) There is no need to
  develop an entire life history at the start of your first
  game, though. Sometimes a character will take on a
  persona of his own after you have played him a fe
  times, and you and the GM can add events or details t
  his background later on.
  Strategy
  An adventure almost always begins with the GM brief
  ing the players - on the most basic level, something
  like: "You're in a village on the edge of Gloaming Moor
  and the innkeeper tells you that a murderous Ogre fre
  quents the area. The villagers will pay forty silvers i
  you find his lair and put an end to him."
  Before rushing into danger, you will probably want
  to find out as much as you can. In the example above
  close questioning of some of the villagers might lead
  you to suspect that it is no mere Ogre that has been
  troubling them, but something much more horrible
  Bodies drained of blood have been found. This 'Ogre' is
  best tackled with the aid of crucifix and garlic! The
  GM will not spoon feed you with the information you
  need. If you neglect essential groundwork and forward
  planning, your adventure may be doomed before you
  set out.
  Always begin an adventure by considering your
  strategy. If the job is to get the baron's daughter back
  from the dungeon of the mad 12th rank Sorcerer, you
  will presumably spend the adventure searching an
  underworld for the girl - and then get out quick. The
  GM might well make the Sorcerer a totally unbeatable
  foe, relying on you to have the good sense to avoid him
  Keep your strategy flexible. The planning you do a
  the start of an adventure cannot take account of the
  full facts. The GM may throw in something unexpected
  at any time ("You mean the baron's daughter's in love
  with the crazy wizard! ?") and you will have to think on
  your feet. The whole point of an adventure is very often
  that things are not what they seem.
  190
  191
  
  Adventuring tactics
  The deployment of your party as you travel cross-
  country or explore an underworld is called your battle
  order. The battle order must be varied according to
  circumstances, the general aim being to put yourselves
  in a position of advantage at the expense of the crea-
  tures or characters you are fighting.
  Consider a lone Knight who enters a subterranean
  temple and is attacked by six Skeletons. The worst
  thing he could do would be to stand in the centre of the
  chamber. The Skeletons would be able to form a circle
  around him, and he would have zero DEFENCE against
  the three behind him. A marginally better tactic would
  be to back up to a wall so that none of the Skeletons
  could come at him from the rear. Now he has only to
  fight them three at a time. The very best manoeuvre is
  to retreat into a narrow doorway so that only one
  Skeleton can attack at a time.
  192
  That example is a little unrealistic, for how many
  adventurers wander into danger on their own? But it
  illustrated the important point that tactics make a
  significant difference to your chances of victory.
  A more extended example will show how a party
  might handle tactical arrangements throughout an
  adventure. Six adventurers have entered a castle
  known to be the hideout of some fifteen or twenty Orcs.
  They have heard that the original lord of the castle was
  a great warrior and that he was buried - along with
  several magical weapons he had acquired - in a
  secret chamber below the castle. They intend to have
  those weapons.
  The party consists of three Knights (Goriel, Sagris
  and Turquin), one Barbarian (Lars], one Sorcerer
  (Anarchos) and one Mystic (Merek).
  Situation A
  They are advancing along a 3m-wide corridor in the
  castle. Trouble could come from either direction, so
  the least well armoured members of the party
  (Anarchos and Merek) are protected by being in the
  middle. These two aim to avoid melee, so they are
  carrying the lanterns.
  The four warriors all carry loaded cross-bows. If
  they spot any Orcs, their plan is for the front row to fall
  prone and shoot, the second row to crouch, and the
  third row to shoot from standing position. They expect
  193
  
  to encounter Orc sentries individually or in pairs, and
  reckon on a four-quarrel volley being enough to take
  these out before they can alert the other Orcs.
  Situation B
  A short time later, the party have met and killed a few
  Orcs, but lost Sagris when a hidden trapdoor flipped
  open under him. Now they are in the inner courtyard of
  the castle. Anarchos, in the centre, holds a shield
  above his head in case Orcish archers start sniping
  from the battlements.
  Suddenly a host of Orcs - a dozen or more - burst
  from archways around the courtyard. The characters
  draw swords and form a ring around Anarchos. This
  ensures that the Orcs can only engage them at two-to-
  one odds, and allows Anarchos to cast healing spells
  on anyone who gets wounded.
  194
  Situation C
  It is much later. Our adventurers have cleared out
  most of the Orcs and are now in the catacombs below
  the castle. The passageways here twist and turn fre-
  quently, so the crossbows are not as suitable as they
  were in the long corridors of the castle.
  They anticipate that the previous lord of the castle
  may be undead, and roaming about. The battle order is
  now adapted to deal with a single adversary. The two
  Knights and the Barbarian take the front row, all
  armed with spears. Anarchos carries a lantern as
  before. Merek brings up the rear, guarding the
  Sorcerer's back. (In case they missed a couple of Orcs
  - they don't want their top magic-user suddenly
  chopped from behind!)
  . 195
  
  NPC Adventurers
  If you think your party is not powerful enough to
  handle an adventure (and the GM may well drop some
  heavy hints if this is so), you can try to recruit extra
  members.
  Hirelings work for cash - a guaranteed sum, agreed
  before the adventure.' They will usually be content
  with that, but if you stumble upon an unexpectedly
  large haul and neglect to offer them so much as a bonus
  then they may cause trouble. Hirelings always have a
  strong regard for their own safety. Since they have no
  particular vested interest in the outcome of your
  adventure, they will desert if the going gets tough.
  Fellow adventurers work on the same basis as
  player-characters. They join the adventure and take a
  share of any treasure found. The exact share depends
  on how powerful they are; if they are the same rank as
  the player-characters, they will naturally expect
  equal footing. They are usually more trustworthy than
  hirelings, and may have strong ideas of their own
  about the way the party is organized.
  Your GM will tell you if there are any NFCs inter-
  ested in joining your party, and the terms they will
  settle for.
  Gaming accessories
  The first FRP game was released about ten years ago,
  and there is now a host of accessories for the FRP
  hobbyist.
  Cardboard counters are one method of showing the
  position of characters and monsters during a combat.
  It cannot be denied that miniature figurines - metal or
  plastic models of adventurers and monsters, usually
  25mm high - are much more colourful, though often
  expensive. There are several companies who special-
  ize in such figurines, the largest in the UK being Citadel
  Miniatures of Nottinghamshire.
  196
  Floor plans are cardboard chambers and passag
  ways that can be fitted together to build up a plan i
  any underworld the player-characters are explorin
  These plans are to the same scale as the figurin
  (1:72).
  Game magazines have grown up around the F
  hobby. The longest-established UK magazine is White
  Dwarf, which features articles and scenarios for
  a number of different FRP games every issue
  IMAGINE™ magazine tends to focus primarily on the
  products of TSR Inc (who publish it), but also has main
  articles of a general nature - how to role-play NPCs,
  design fantasy towns, etc. These magazines are avail-
  able from most newsagents, and by looking through the
  ads inside you will find all of the accessories you might
  need for your games.
  If you do not possess a twenty-sided die, the wheel on
  the next page can be used to make a spinneret for
  generating random numbers in the ranges 1 -10,1 - 20,
  and 1-100.
  First, remove the page from the book and paste it on
  to a piece of stiff card.
  Next you will need a washer and a split pin which is
  narrow enough to fit through the washer. Glue the
  washer over the centre of the wheel.
  When the glue is dry, punch a hole in the middle of
  the wheel, inside the washer. Cut out the pointer and
  use the split pin to pivot it through the hole in the
  wheel.
  Numbers are 'rolled' as follows:
  d20 
  use the outer ring
  d10 use the inner ring; count '0' as '10'
  d100 use the inner ring, spinning twice;
  the first number gives 'tens' and the second
  gives 'ones'. A spin of '0' and '8' then
  becomes 08 - ie, 8. Double '0' counts as
  100.
  197
  
  201
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dragon Warriors (osr)/Dragon Warriors - 1st Edition - Transworld Publishers - Book 1 - Dragon Warriors.pdf