TEXT:  
  - 1 - 
  - 2 - 
   
  Orcs Among Us 
   
   
   
   
  “ORCS AMONG US” 
  A Brutal Adventure 
   
  This adventure takes place in and around 
  the city of New-Zella™. 
  Created and freely distributed by 
  DAVID J. STANLEY 
   
  ©Copyright 2003-2007 
  All Rights Reserved 
   
  Feel free to print, copy, distribute, and 
  share this document as you desire. 
   
  Never change this document in any way 
  and never, never make any profit from it! 
   
  Check for other free stuff on-line 
  WWW.BRUTALRPG.COM 
   
  
   
  - 3 - 
  - 4 - 
   
  ORCS AMONG US 
   
  This adventure is intended as a sample adventure, and 
  may very well be the first BRUTAL – Big Bad Ball 
  Busting Bloody Battles adventure you’ve ever read.  For 
  this purpose, a lot of its content has been dedicated to a 
  verbose, step-by-step tutorial. 
   
  A small group of Orcs, have been desperately trying to 
  earn the trust of the city. Then suddenly they find 
  themselves in danger. They need the help of your 
  characters and offer to pay them with the gift of a 
  magical weapon. But these are Orcs. Can they be 
  trusted? 
   
  NEW-ZELLA 
   
  This adventure can be easily incorporated within any 
  existing town you may already have.  All you need is a 
  city with a big wall, a small unknown brick building next 
  to the wall, and some nearby ruins only 2 to 3 hours 
  away.  
   
  This adventure was developed for the world of Zella’Tier, 
  and begins in the free city of New-Zella, in the open 
  Market.  Refer to the city map at end of this booklet 
  (area M), where the characters meet an Orc and follow 
  him to a small brick building nestled in the corner of the 
  Wall of Dead (area W).  From there, the characters leave 
  the city and travel through the swamp for 2 to 3 hours to 
  arrive at the ruins of Skullcap Tower. 
   
  AT THE MARKET 
   
  � Text is a box should be read to the players… 
   
  This adventure begins in the open Market (area M), as 
  many adventures often do.  While standing in line for a 
  couple of fish sticks – fried fish on a stick – you notice a 
  single Orc wandering about the market place all alone. 
  “How odd is that?” You think to yourself, …an Orc by 
  himself.  Then suddenly you realize that you’ve been 
  staring a bit too long, and to make matters worse, he’s 
  looking right back at you!  He gestures for you to follow 
  him, and begins to move away rapidly.  He’s wearing 
  leather armor and a chain shirt.  He carries a wooden 
  shield and has a small sword stuck through the left side 
  of a big black leather belt.  The Orc doesn’t speak to 
  you.  However, he is definitely trying to get you to follow 
  him. 
   
  � Text not in a box should be kept secret… 
   
  This is where the secret details of the boxed encounter 
  above are provided, and are meant for the Game Master 
  only.  Never read out loud any text not inside a box. 
   
   
   
  
   
  - 5 - 
  - 6 - 
   
  KEEP FOLLOWING 
   
  After leaving the open market and the public crowd, the 
  Orc stops and looks back to make sure you’re still 
  following him.  He then continues on down the street. 
   
  Pause here as if the players forgot something.  The idea 
  is to keep them guessing and to peak their curiosity. 
   
  ORC DWELLING 
   
  A bit further, the Orc eventually leads you to a single 
  story brick building roughly 20 feet wide, 10 feet tall, and 
  40 feet long.  The nondescript building is nestled into the 
  inside corner of the Wall of Dead (area W), a 40 foot tall 
  stone wall carved to appear as dead bodies stacked 
  upon each other. 
   
   
   
   
  Surprisingly, the Orc dwelling has a larger then normal 
  open yard, especially for such an excellent location. The 
  simple looking building has a flat, stone roof, no windows 
  and a single nondescript door centered along its longest 
  wall.  Standing on both sides of the door is an Orc 
  Guard.  The Orc you are following stops at the door and 
  gestures you to enter. 
   
  Don’t let the characters enter the building.  Give them a 
  minute to think about it then read the following.  If they 
  start to enter, then read the following immediately. 
   
  The three Orcs say nothing to you.  Nor do they make 
  any advances with their weapons.  However, they do 
  seem to sense your lack of trust, and become insulted.  
  All three begin to gesture repeatedly for you to enter but 
  a loud grunting from within the dwelling causes them to 
  snap to attention, …stiff as boards. 
   
  Through the door you peer into the darkness.  The large 
  room within has only dim lighting.  The floor is dry and 
  dusty, and perhaps a dozen Orcs can be seen scattered 
  about, squatting near the floor and panting like wolves 
  trying to stay cool in the shade.  Then with the clank-
  clank of metal armor, a larger then normal Orc steps out 
  of the darkness and stops at the doorway.  He’s wearing 
  full plate armor, and has a large steel shield slung over 
  his back.  He carries in front of him a large wool blanket 
  in both hands.  Across this blanket likes a spectacular 
  two-handed sword, which he holds out to you.  With a 
  snort and a few grunting sounds, he manages to clear 
  his throat and speak to you in the language of Humans 
  (the most common language in these parts), “This is all 
  we have.” He states. “Please help us, and the sword is 
  yours.” 
  
   
  - 7 - 
  - 8 - 
   
  Over the next few minutes, the Orc Chief explains that 
  the Orcs simply want to live in peace, but are being killed 
  by someone who they believe resides in the ruins of 
  Skullcap Tower, an abandoned lighthouse only two short 
  hours away.  The murder is an invisible sniper, who 
  attacks with a deadly bow.  The Chief realizes that his 
  guards are no match against this assassin, so he now 
  asks for your help. However he also realizes that the risk 
  of this favor is very great, even for heroes like 
  yourselves, so he sold 7 of their 12 women into slavery 
  as cooks aboard a pirate vessel in exchange for this 
  mighty sword that creates a magical sphere of protection 
  from any and all arrows. The magic can only be used 
  once per week, so the Orcs have kept it wrapped in the 
  blanket for 7 days and suggest that you do not touch the 
  sword until you are ready to use it’s power. 
   
  If the players accept, then it’s on to the tower.   
   
   
   
  Sword of Rage 
  Two-handed sword 
  Gold = 2500, Treasure = 3d 
  Spell Glyphs 
  (1) Rage, Secret = 9d, Magic = 12d, Autocast = 12d 
  Experience Points = 25 
   
  EXAMINE THE SWORD 
   
  Encourage the players to have their characters examine 
  the sword. 
   
  The sword is a larger then normal, 2-haned sword.  It is 
  a bit horrific, or perhaps really awesome looking - 
  depending on your point of view I suppose.  It’s steel 
  blade is flawless, and the hilt and guard are ornately 
  sculpted with ivory claws and golden scales encrusted 
  with 7 sardonix (bands of sard "red" and onyx "white"). 
   
  Next, let’s have the characters try to guess its value. To 
  do this they must all attempt the “Appraise” action. 
   
  APPRAISAL 
   
  Assuming this is the first action the characters have ever 
  attempted, I will now enter into a step-by-step detailed 
  set of instructions on how to do it exactly. 
   
  The “Appraise” action (page 52 of the Game Rules) 
  defines Intellect as the ability used to attempt the 
  Appraise action, so all characters who want to attempt 
  the Appraise action must now their Intellect rating now.  
  If your character has an Intellect = 3d, then you need to 
  roll three 6-sided dice and add them together generating 
  a result between 3 and 18. The Sword has a Treasure 
  rating of 3d, so as the Game Master “GM”, I will now roll 
  3 dice against you.  You may not combine your rolls, and 
  only those of you who roll higher then me can determine 
  the sword’s estimated value. 
   
   
  
   
  - 9 - 
  - 10 - 
   
  In BRUTAL, the results of all actions are determined by 
  opposing dice rolls.  The highest roll wins and ties 
  always go to the defender. In this case the sword is 
  defending its value against your attempts to Appraise it, 
  so ties go to the sword. 
   
  If any of you had won, I would now lookup the value of 
  the sword and disclose it to you.   
   
  Since most of your characters are new, it’s not likely that 
  any of you won.  However this time I’m going to share 
  with you the value anyway, ...it’s worth 2,500 gold coins! 
   
  IS IT REALLY MAGICAL? 
   
  Enchanted armor and weapons gain a +1d Modifier to 
  their rating, and Legendary items gain a +2d Modifier to 
  their rating. 
   
  Let’s have your characters check to see if the sword is 
  really magical.  To do this, they must attempt a Detect 
  Magic action, where the enchanted or legendary status 
  of the item will be discovered. 
   
  The Detect Magic action (page 123 of the Game Rules) 
  defines Magic as the ability used.  When attempting the 
  Detect magic action, the Game Master always rolls 3d.  
   
  The players should all “get it” now and immediately roll 
  their MG ratings, which for most of them will only be 1 or 
  2 dice.  Meanwhile, you should be rolling the 3d for the 
  sword who is defending itself against the Detect Magic 
  action. 
   
  Ties go to the sword, but if any character should roll 
  higher then you, then that character successfully detects 
  the magic of the sword. Even if they don’t win, let’s again 
  give it to them anyway, because their new players... 
   
  Indeed the sword is magical.  In fact, it is the Legendary 
  Sword of Rage known for causing it’s wielders to go 
  insane with anger and begin attacking everyone they 
  see, ...even their friends and family members. 
   
  MAGIC SPELL GLYPHS 
   
  Most characters within BRUTAL can not cast magic 
  spells from memory, especially new characters, but any 
  character may attempt to cast spells by reading Spell 
  Glyphs. 
   
  Spell Glyphs are powerful, secret, magical markings 
  found on many magical items. 
   
  Enchanted items do not need spell glyphs, but many of 
  them have one or two anyway. Legendary items on the 
  other hand, almost always have at least two, but some of 
  them have been know to have many, many more. 
   
  Magic Spell Glyphs can be read again and again with no 
  limitations.  The only trick is to find and identify the Spell 
  Glyphs first.  Only then may your character may attempt 
  to use them as they would attempt any other action. 
   
  
   
  - 11 - 
  - 12 - 
   
  LOOKING FOR SPELL GLYPHS 
   
  To search for Spell Glyphs on the sword, your 
  characters must now attempt the “Spot” action (page 61 
  of the Game Rules). To attempt the Spot action your 
  characters must roll their Intellect rating, while the Game 
  Master rolls the Secret ratings for each of the Spell 
  Glyphs. I might pretend to roll for Spell Glyphs, even if 
  there aren’t any, just to keep you guessing. 
   
  As this is your first adventure, I will share with you that 
  the sword only has 1 Spell Glyph with a secret rating = 
  5d.  Now let’s see if any of your characters can find it. 
   
  All characters who win the Spot action have found the 
  Spell Glyph and can read it immediately: 
   
  IDENTIFYING SPELL GLYPHS 
   
  Finding a Spell Glyph is not enough.  Your characters 
  may not use it until they first understand what it does.  
  The Identify Spell Glyph action (page 123 of the Game 
  Rules) defines Magic as the ability rating used. The 
  Game Master will roll the Spell Rating of the Spell Glyph 
  to resist being identified.  The more powerful the Spell 
  Glyph, the harder it is to identify. 
   
   
  USING SPELL GLYPHS 
   
  To use a Spell Glyph, a character must roll their Magic 
  ability rating vs. the Spell Rating of the glyph.  If they 
  succeed the spell is cast.  If they fail the action is lost 
  and their turn ends.   
   
  Warning: Some glyphs have bad things happen to those 
  who fail. 
   
  AUTOCAST SPELL GLYPHS 
   
  Some Spell Glyphs include an Autocast (page 143 of the 
  Game Rules).  These Spell Glyphs occur automatically 
  such as a cloak of invisibility, or a cursed sword of rage. 
   
  WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? 
   
  If your characters try to use the sword, the wielder will 
  very likely go mad with rage and began attacking his or 
  her friends. Apparently, the Orcs were fooled by the 
  pirates, or perhaps they know the sword is cursed and 
  hope that your characters will try to use the sword to 
  protect themselves from the archer assassin.  But if they 
  know the sword is cursed, then why give it to you when 
  you’re trying to help them out?  
   
  Either way, you know the truth and won’t try to use the 
  sword, …will you?!  
   
  Meanwhile, let’s continue on to Skullcap Tower... 
   
  
   
  - 13 - 
  - 14 - 
   
  SKULLCAP TOWER 
   
  The journey goes smoothly enough and in a few short 
  hours you find yourselves standing before the oldest of 
  ancient light houses.  Skullcap tower was built to look 
  like a huge giant skull, stuck on top of a tall round tower, 
  30 feet across and 60 feet high.  The lights that once 
  burned in the eye sockets of the skull, are now nothing 
  more then a spooky legend.  The face of the skull gazes 
  over the sea, and directly beneath its jaw are the rusted 
  hinges that once held the door where only a gaping hole 
  now lies.  Within the round tower can be seen the unsafe 
  remains of an ancient spiral staircase. Surrounding 
  Skullcap Tower once stood a simple rectangular wall of 
  stone, 2 feet thick and 12 feet high forming a 100 foot by 
  60 foot perimeter. Now the wall is in ruins, collapsed into 
  piles of large rubble and moved around somewhat 
  regularly to spell various Greek letters for some odd 
  reason or another.  Currently they spell “Alpha Beta”. 
   
  Ground Terrain = 2d 
  +2d modifier to hide amongst the crumbled walls. 
   
  “Alpha Beta”?  - Many fraternity brother players like to 
  change the letters here to represent their houses.  
   
  For more information on the Tower refer to the 
  adventure: “Skullcap Tower” 
   
  LOOKING AROUND 
   
  To look around, your characters must attempt the “Spot” 
  action, again.  This is the same action your characters 
  used to find the Spell Glyphs. 
   
  To attempt the Spot action, you must roll your 
  character’s Intellect rating. 
   
  As the Game Master, I am responsible for rolling all of 
  the secret, hidden, and invisible stuff.  In many cases 
  there is nothing to find. I simply roll a few dice and 
  pretend you missed something.  My job is to keep 
  secrets and keep you guessing as long as possible. 
   
  ORCS ARE HIDING 
   
  Unknown to your characters, 12 Orcs are hiding in the 
  rocks.  The “Spot” action in the Action tells us to use our 
  character’s Coordination rating to remain hidden.  Since 
  these Orcs all have a  Coordination rating = 2d, I will roll 
  2 dice. 
   
  Let the players look for the Orcs. 
   
  Spotted or not the Orcs howl with excitement as they 
  leap from their hiding places and attack with simple 
  looking bows and arrows. 
   
  
   
  - 15 - 
  - 16 - 
   
  The bows and arrows are simple sticks with strings.  The 
  Orcs can’t afford real bows and arrows, and only use 
  these in hopes of tricking the character into grabbing for 
  the magic sword, which just happens to be cursed.   
   
  If anyone tries to grab the sword at this point, then stop 
  playing for a minute and explain that the Orcs wanted 
  them to do that and if they do, then they’ll go mad and 
  attack their own friends. 
   
  For now, let’s assume that no one tries to grab the 
  magical sword. 
   
   
   
  
   
  - 17 - 
  - 18 - 
   
  BRUTAL BATTLES 
   
  Before the battle can begin, we must position our 
  miniatures on the table.  When setting up the battle field, 
  feel free to use pencils, small pebbles, extra dice, small 
  sticks, etc. to position the various land marks.   
   
  For this battle we’re going to need to identify a 60 foot by 
  40 foot crumbled wall with 4 or 5 gaps, built around a 20 
  foot diameter circle (representing the round tower).  A 
  map is provided below.   
   
  Remember that 3 inches on the table represent 10 feet 
  for the characters. So the wall is 18 inches by 12 inches, 
  and the tower is 6 inches across.   
   
  All of the characters for the miniatures should be placed 
  somewhere within the square walls.  All of the Orc 
  miniatures should be placed outside the rectangle walls. 
   
   
  ROUNDS OF COMBAT 
   
  Battles are divided into one or more consecutive rounds 
  of combat.  During most rounds, everyone will get a 
  chance to move twice and attempt one or two actions.   
   
  Round #1 
   
  FIRST MOVE 
   
  At the start of each round, all characters (and monsters) 
  move at the same time.  This is meant to happen “all-at-
  once” without communication between the players. 
   
  Characters (and monsters) may only move as many 
  inches on the table as they have in their Movement 
  rating.  For example, if your character has a Movement 
  rating = 2d, then they may move up to 2 inches on the 
  table. 
   
  � The Orcs do not Move, they hide behind the rocks. 
   
  WHO GOES FIRST? 
   
  Each round of combat is broken down into 10 individual 
  seconds of time.  The Game Master will count them 
  down in reverse order: 10, 9, 8, … 3, 2, and Last Call. 
   
  To find out when your character may begin fighting, they 
  must roll one dice.  Characters with a Coordination rating 
  = 6d or higher may roll two dice.  All rolls 10 or higher 
  are treated as 10’s. 
   
   
  
   
  - 19 - 
  - 20 - 
   
  Normally when two or more characters and monsters 
  share the same count down second, they are supposed 
  to attempt their actions at the same time. 
   
  When watching a BRUTAL game, the players seem to 
  reach out move miniatures, roll dice and yell out results 
  all at the same time.  The battles move very quickly and 
  the deaths pile up! 
   
  Because this is meant to be your first adventure, we will 
  still count down the seconds but only play one character 
  at a time.  Also, all of the Orcs will wait until the end of 
  the round to move and attack. 
   
  FIRST ATTACK 
   
  When it’s your character’s turn to move and attack, you 
  may turn your character to face any direction you want, 
  then move them as many inches as they have dice in 
  their Movement rating.   
   
  If you character has a bow or moves within 1” of an Orc, 
  they may attack the Orc by rolling their attack dice. Your 
  attack dice are found by adding your characters weapon 
  rating (for example a sword=2d) and their attack 
  adjustment (minimum=1d, maximum=5d).  If you have 
  an attack roll of 5 dice then you need to roll five 6-sided 
  dice and add their values resulting in a total of 5 to 30 
  points.    
   
  FIRST DEFENSE 
   
  When your character attacks one of my Orcs, I roll the 
  Orc’s defense dice. Their defense dice are found by 
  adding their total armor ratings and their defense 
  adjustment.  Currently, while the Orcs are still holding 
  the bow and arrows, their total defense roll is 7 dice. 
   
  For range weapon attacks like bows and spears, they 
  gain a +2d Modifier because they are hiding behind the 
  piles of stone. 
   
  The Orcs are using toy bows and arrows that the made 
  with simple sticks and strings.  Their goal is to motivate 
  one of the characters to grab the magical sword which 
  they mislead the characters into believing had protection 
  from bows and arrows. 
   
  Since the Orcs do not intend on Attacking with the bows, 
  they are using All Out Defense (page 77 of the Game 
  Rules). 
   
  Also, the Orcs gain a +2d Modifier to their defense rolls 
  against range weapons (like bows and spears) whil 
  hiding behind the rocks. 
   
  All Out Defense with Bows = 3 + 3 + 1 = 7 
   
  
   
  - 21 - 
  - 22 - 
   
  FIRST DAMAGE 
   
  If one of your attack rolls is higher then my 
  corresponding defense roll, then your character has 
  successfully hit my Orc and damage is found as the 
  difference between our two rolls. For example, if you 
  rolled 5 points higher then I did, then your character 
  caused 5 points of damage to my Orc.   
   
  If you rolled equal or lower then I did, then your 
  character missed.  In BRUTAL, ties always go to the 
  defender. 
   
  FASTER COMBAT OPTION 
   
  This option must be discussed and agreed upon by all 
  the players first.  And this option is either used 
  throughout a battle or not at all.  Players are NOT free to 
  change options in the middle of a fight. 
   
  A successful hit is found by simply counting the 5’s and 
  6’s rolled.  If the Attack roll has more 5’s and 6’s then the 
  Defense roll the a successful Attack has been made and 
  the Damage is still found as the difference between the 
  two sums. Essentially, there is no need to sum the dice 
  unless damage occurs. 
   
  Of course this option is not perfect.  It is a shortcut after 
  all. Sometimes the Attack roll has a lot of 4’s and 
  damage might have been made but is lost using this 
  option.  And sometimes the Defense roll has a lot of 4’s 
  and though a successful hit is made, there is no damage 
  found. 
   
  SURVIVING 
   
  Each of my Orcs have 10 Hit Points and when one of my 
  Orcs suffers damage, the points are taken away from 
  their currently remaining Hit Points. After subtracting 6 
  points of damage, one of my Orcs would still have 4 Hit 
  Points currently remaining. 
   
  If one of my Orc’s Hit Points falls to zero, then they 
  collapses and lie unconscious. 
   
  If one of my Orc’s Hit Points fall below zero, then they 
  are dead. 
   
  When an Orc is killed, you may tip the miniature on it’s 
  side.   
   
  If you are using Splt Marks (page 70 of the Game 
  Rules), the remove the dead miniature, slap down a 
  Splat Mark (small bit of red felt) and yell out “Splat”. 
   
  � Make sure every player moves every one of their characters. 
   
  Count down from 10 to 1, stopping each time a player 
  informs you that one of their characters has an Initiative 
  roll that allows them to Move and possibly Attack if they 
  get within range. 
   
  
   
  - 23 - 
  - 24 - 
   
  ORCS ATTACK 
   
  Now that all of the characters have had a chance to 
  Move and possibly Attack if they managed to get within 
  range of the Orcs, …it is now the Orcs turn to fight back. 
   
  During each round of combat, every character and 
  monster are permitted two Moves.  The first Move 
  happens all-at-once at the beginning of round.  The 
  second move is not permitted until your Initiative roll is 
  reached during the countdown of seconds from 10 to 1. 
   
  During each round of combat, every character and 
  monster are also permitted two Actions.  Typically one of 
  the Actions is used for Attacking.  The second Action is 
  often ignored, but may be used to attempt a different 
  Action.  The two Actions may never be the same and in 
  this case the Orcs use their first Action to grab their 
  swords as they drop their bows.  Dropping an item like 
  their bows is not considered an Action, though putting 
  them away is considered an action.  Their second Action 
  will be to grab their shields so they are unable to Attack 
  this round, …lucky you! 
   
  During a countdown second, your characters may only 
  attempt one Move and one Action.  If you wish to 
  attempt two Actions, you will need to attempt them 
  during different countdown seconds. 
   
  As the Orcs move away from the rocks they loose the 
  +2d Modifier when defending against range weapons, 
  and by loosing their bows and grabbing their swords and 
  shields their Attack and Defense rolls change.  However, 
  this information is kept secret from the players. 
   
  Defense = 4 + 3 = 7 
  Attack = 2 + 5 = 7 
   
  � Don’t forget to Move your Orcs. 
   
  RUNNING AWAY 
   
  If your character is not dead but fears they will be very 
  quickly, they may decide to run away.  If your character 
  is going to run away, you must yell out “run away” for all 
  to hear and do so quickly, before the next round of 
  combat begins.   
   
  All characters who are running away automatically get 
  an Initiative roll of 10 and get to move first. 
   
  Still, they must successfully move off the battlefield 
  before getting killed, and if they somehow manage to 
  escape with their lives the forfeit all claims to experience 
  points and treasure. 
   
  While running away, your character is only permitted to 
  Move toward a consistent exit.  They may not attempt 
  any actions.  They are free to drop stuff, but they may 
  not look around or try to pick up anything. 
   
  While running away they are permitted to use an All Out 
  Defense found (see page 77 of the Game Rules). 
   
   
   
  
   
  - 25 - 
  - 26 - 
   
  Round #2 
   
  FIRST MOVE 
   
  At the start of each round, all characters (and monsters) 
  move at the same time.  This is meant to happen “all-at-
  once” without communication between the players. 
   
  � Don’t forget to Move your Orcs. 
   
  WHO GOES FIRST? 
   
  To find out when your character may begin fighting, they 
  must roll one dice.  Characters with a Coordination rating 
  = 6d or higher may roll two dice.  All rolls 10 or higher 
  are treated as 10’s. 
   
  In the first round of combat I gave you a break and made 
  all the Orcs wait until the end of the round, but this time I 
  will roll an Initiative for the Orcs.  I have an option of 
  rolling them individually or use a single roll shared by all. 
   
  Some of the Orcs may roll higher then some of your 
  characters and there by get a chance to Move and 
  possibly Attack before some of your characters do. 
   
   
   
  BINDING WOUNDS 
   
  Now that you understand that your characters have two 
  Actions each round, you might be wondering what to do 
  with the extra one. 
   
  For a wounded character the option should be easy.  I 
  recommend using the Bind Wounds action (page 72 of 
  the Game Rules). Any character who is hurt but not 
  dead, may use either their first or second Action to tend 
  to their wounds. The Bind Wounds action instantly heals 
  1 dice of damage. 
   
  WARNING 
   
  The Bind Wounds Action may only be received by a 
  character one time per day. 
   
  SPRINTING 
   
  Another common Action used by characters in a battle is 
  the Sprint Action (see page 79 of the Game Rules). In 
  simple terms, the extra Action is used as an additional 
  Move. To attempt the Sprint Action you must roll your 
  characters Coordination rating against twice the Terrain 
  rating, which happens to be 3 in the ruins of Skullcap 
  Tower, so you will need to roll your character’s 
  Coordination against 6 dice. 
   
  The Sprint Action must always be attempted as the first 
  Action and if you fail your turn ends. Also, the Sprint 
  Action may be used by characters who are Running 
  Away. 
  
   
  - 27 - 
  - 28 - 
   
  BETTER BATTLES 
   
  Now that you’ve all seen the move, attack and defend, 
  it’s time to show you how this game really works.  
   
   
  � Keep on FIghting. 
   
  Keep running through round after round of combat until 
  all of the Orcs are dead, or all of the characters are dead 
  or have run away. 
   
  EXPERIENCE POINTS 
   
  In most adventures, the characters must wait until the 
  end of the adventure to be awarded any experience 
  points, but in this example it is assumed that you are all 
  playing new characters who desperately need them, so 
  we’ll stop and add them now.  
   
  The 12 Orcs were are each worth 12 Experience Point 
  for a total of 144 points, and the magic sword is worth 25 
  points for a grand total of 169 points. 
   
  I now divide the 169 points up evenly between the 
  number of characters who survived the battle and did not 
  run away.  
   
  If there were 6 survivors, then they each earned 49 
  points.  Always round up. 
   
  TREASURE 
   
  After searching all of the dead Orcs, you find a total of 
  only 2 gold coins and 18 gold bits among them.  A gold 
  bit is a tiny round golden marble. 1 gold coin is worth 10 
  gold bits. 
   
  How you choose to divide this up is up to you. 
   
  IMPROVING YOUR CHARACTER 
   
  You can find the rules about experience points on page 
  7 of the Game Rules, but I’ll sum it all up right here. 
   
  You may only use Experience points to advance your 
  character’s Ability ratings: Combat, Coordination, 
  Corruption, Intellect, Magic, Nature, Strength and 
  Willpower. 
   
  The higher your rating, the more points are needed to 
  increase it.  You may not skip a rating.  You must 
  advance from 3 to 4 then 4 to 5, etc. 
   
  It costs 2 points to advance 1 to 2.   
  It costs 3 points to advance 2 to 3.   
  It costs 4 points to advance 3 to 4.   
  Etc. 
   
  
   
  - 29 - 
  - 30 - 
   
  HEALING AND RECOVERY 
   
  Your characters heal at a rate of 3 points a day while on 
  the road (see page 72 of the Game Rules), so if your 
  characters are badly wounded you may consider setting 
  up camp and getting some rest.  However, random 
  swamp monsters (including Dragons) might attack you 
  during the night so it’s best to get back to the city and 
  find a safe place to rest. 
   
  The Drunk’n Griff’n (area G on the city map) will let you 
  place up to 4 individuals in a room for only 5 gold coins.  
  And for an additional 1 gold coin you can get room 
  service to deliver plenty of chicken noodle soup which 
  adds +1 point of healing. 
   
  3 points per day 
  2 points if resting all day (1 point if resting half a day) 
  1 point for chicken noodle soup 
  d6 for Binding Wounds 
   
  The total is d6+6 for 7 to 12 points of healing each day. 
   
  If this isn’t enough, then stay a second day (costs more 
  gold) and do it again, and again. 
   
   
  TWO SHIELDS 
   
  Now I realize that your characters want to go back to 
  those pesky Orcs in the city and teach them a thing or 
  two, but before you do, here are a few more rules about 
  combat. 
   
  Characters who have the ability to attack with a bite, or 
  kick, etc. may do so freely while holding a pair of shields 
  one in each hand, and both shields defense ratings are 
  included in all defense rolls. Adventure Beetles, 
  Cesspoolers, Cyclops Turtles, and Nightstalkers are 
  often encountered with two shields and attack with their 
  bite.  This is considered to be a bit uncivilized and 
  barbaric however, and some characters might look down 
  upon such a defense. 
   
  Also realize that an Elf, for example, can carry two 
  shields around for safety, then drop the shields and grab 
  their bow in a single action when they are ready to fight. 
   
  COUNTER ATTACKS 
   
  During each round of combat, your characters are all 
  permitted a single “Counter Attack”. 
   
  The first time each round, and only the first time each 
  round that your character is attacked using a hand-held 
  melee weapon (even if the attacker misses),  your 
  character is permitted a free, single counter attack using 
  a free Attack Adjustment of 3d.   
   
  
   
  - 31 - 
  - 32 - 
   
  GETTING EVEN WITH THE ORCS 
   
  Now let’s go get even with those pesky, cheating, 
  ambushing Orcs, so it’s back to the brick dwelling 
  nestled in the corner of the Wall of Dead. 
   
  In front of the building are two Orc guards standing on 
  either side of the door.  They immediately scream for 
  help and 10 other Orc Guards join them in battle. 
   
  � 12 Orcs near the building. 
   
  Hit Points = 10 
  Movement = 1 
  Defense = 4 + 3 = 7 
  Attack = 2 + 5 = 7 
  Counter = 2 + 3 = 5 
  EP = 12 
   
  � Orc Chief. 
   
  There is 1 Orc Chief here as well.  He wears a full suit of 
  plate armor, carries a +1 enchanted steel shield and 
  wields a massive sword. 
   
  Hit Points = 15  
  Movement = 3 
  Combat = 10 
  Defense = 6 + 3 = 9 
  Attack = 4 + 5 = 9 
  Counter = 4 + 3 = 7 
  EP = 20 + 10 (for the enchanted shield) 
   
  �  Setup the battlefield.  
   
  For this battle, we need to identify a large yard in front of 
  a 20 foot by 40 foot  building nestled into the corner of a 
  tall wall. 
   
   
  
   
  - 33 - 
  - 34 - 
   
  The Ground Terrain = 1d in the city of New-Zella. 
   
  Orcs have a Coordination = 2d, so they successfully 
  Sprint using 2d vs. 2d. 
   
  10 of the Orcs rush out from the door attempting the 
  Sprint action as they try to attack the characters using  
  range weapons first.   
   
  2 of the Orcs hold two shields and use All Out Defense 
  and a shoulder to shoulder formation (see page 95 – 101 
  of the Game Rules) to protect the Orc Chief.  They will 
  even get in the way of all arrows and spears. 
  Defense = 4 + 3 + 1 = 8 
   
  The Orc Chief is very tall and wields a massive sword.  
  As long as both his guards live, he is safe and will attack 
  from behind his two guards by stabbing over and down 
  using Multiple All Out Attacks. 
  Defense = 6 
  All Out Attack = 4 + 5 + 1 = 10 (twice per round) 
   
  MULTIPLE ATTACKS 
   
  Multiple Attacks (see page 83 of the Game Rules) are all 
  considered as one single Action, even though they may 
  be used during different countdown seconds and 
  attempted on different opponents.   
   
  ROUNDS OF COMBAT 
   
  � Do not forget. 
   
  1. Initiavie Roll = 1 dice 
  2. Everyone Moves all at once 
  3. Count down 10 to 1 
  4. Repeat 
   
  Keep on fighting until the Orcs or characters win. 
   
  LOOK AROUND 
   
  Excellent work.  The Orcs are destroyed.  Normally, any 
  form of violence within the city is punishable by death, 
  but no one was around to see it, …or perhaps they just 
  don’t care enough to call for help. 
   
  Still, it might not be a bad idea to quickly drag all of the 
  dead bodies off the street and hide them inside the 
  building. 
   
  In fact, you should probably explore the building for 
  treasure. 
   
   
   
  
   
  - 35 - 
  - 36 - 
   
  ORC BUILDING 
   
  Within the building is a 20 x 20 foot room with a dirt floor 
  and two doors, one to the left and one to the right.  The 
  left door is already opened and leads into a 10 foot by 20 
  foot room with heaps of blankets and piles of pillows.  
  They’re mostly ragged and have little to no value. 
   
  The other door is shut tight and locked by an internal 
  key-mechanism.   
   
  In BRUTAL, no two doors and no two locks need ever be 
  the same.   I’m going to help you out with this door 
  because it is your first one. 
   
  Wooden Door 
  Life Force = 15 
  Hit Points = 45 
  Strength = 12 
   
  Keyhole Lock 
  Life Force = 6 
  Hit Points = 22 
  Lock = 8 
   
  There are a few ways to open the locked door. 
   
  1. Use the key found on the chain around the neck of the 
  Orc Chief. 
   
  2. Burn the door with oil from a lamp.  This takes 2 
  rounds to set up and burns 5 points per round for 9 
  rounds. 
   
  3. Bash it down with a blunt weapon, causing as many 
  points of damage each round as your character has 
  Strength. 
   
  4. Break it down with a siege weapon, such as a 
  massive stone war hammer which causes 3d points of 
  damage + Strength each round. 
   
  5. Push the door down in a single round using a 
  combined Strength of 1 to 3 characters vs. 12d (Door’s 
  Strength Rating) 
   
  6. Pick the Lock (requires thief tools) and can be picked 
  in a single round using your character’s Coordination vs. 
  8d (Lock Rating). Try as many rounds as you want until 
  you succeed or give up. 
   
  STORAGE ROOM 
   
  Beyond the locked door lies a storage room with barrels 
  of water and wine, additional armor and weapons, and 
  plenty of food. 
   
  If they stop and take inventory... 20 x leather armor, 20 x 
  wooden shield, 25 x staff, 35 x sword, 87 days food, 1 
  barrel wine, 2 barrels water, 
   
  
   
  - 37 - 
  - 38 - 
   
  LOOK AROUND 
   
  It’s almost always a good idea to use the Spot Action to 
  look for traps, hidden thieves, invisible monsters, hidden 
  treasure and secret doors. 
   
  Secret Stone Door 
  Secret = 3 
   
  There is only one way to find a secret door and that is to 
  look for it.  To do this have them attempt the Spot action 
  vs. the Secret door’s “Secret” rating.  Players roll their 
  character’s Intellect rating while the Game Master rolls 
  the secret rating of the door = 3 dice. 
   
  SECRET STAIR CASE 
   
  Beyond the secret door is a dry, dark staircase that 
  descends into the Wall of Dead.  The feint smell of the 
  ocean tickles your nose.  
   
  Before entering secret chambers, hidden passages, and 
  such, it might be a good idea to use the Spot action here 
  to look for traps. 
   
  Spear Trap 
  Life Force = 3 
  Hit Points = 14 
  Secret = 5 
  Trap = 5 
  Attack = 8 
   
  SPEAR TRAP 
   
  The second step down is trapped. It sinks in a bit, like a 
  button being pushed, when the first character going 
  down the stairs steps on it. There is an immediate Click 
  sound as your throats tighten with fear, then a spear 
  suddenly thrusts upward attacking the poor fool who 
  stepped on the trap. 
    
  In BRUTAL, traps must be found using the Spot action.  
  Once found, a trap may be removed by using the 
  Remove Trap action.  But more often then not, a trap is 
  found the hard way, by accidentally setting if off.   
   
  Every trap in BRUTAL must be detailed by the author.  
  Some are needles with poison, so the poison must be 
  defined.  Others are damage traps that define the 
  number of dice to roll.  Still others are traps that slide 
  your characters into another room or slide a stone wall to 
  block off a passage.  And finally, there are traps that 
  result in an attack roll. 
   
  This trap has an Attack roll of 8 dice against your 
  character’s Defense roll. 
   
  If you didn’t find the trap then maybe you can avoid it 
  (see page 120 of the Game Rules) by rolling your 
  character’s Coordination against the Trap Rating. 
   
  If you didn’t avoid it, then roll your character’s Defense 
  Roll now. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  - 39 - 
  - 40 - 
   
  HIDDEN TREASURE 
   
  No doubt they are attempting their Spot action more 
  often now, as they continue down the steps.  With any 
  luck they’ll find the hidden treasure near the bottom. 
   
  Hidden Treasure 
  Secret = 3 
   
  To find hidden treasure, they must attempt a Spot action 
  and roll their Intellect vs. the Secret rating.  In this case 
  the treasure is hidden with a secret rating =of 3 dice. 
   
  If they look for it, and if the find it, read the following: 
   
  Hidden under a loose step in the stair case is a large 
  leather bag filled with 94 gold coins. 
   
  While we’re talking about treasure, did you remember to 
  take the plate armor and enchanted shield from the Orc 
  Chief?  
   
  ANOTHER SECRET DOOR 
   
  At the bottom of the stairs, you come to a dead end. 
   
  Secret door 
  Secret = 1 
   
  It’s so easy, because they are looking at it from the            
  inside. 
   
   
   
  SECRET PASSAGE 
   
  If they find the secret door and open it, read the 
  following: 
   
  A burst of fresh ocean air rushes in as you crack open 
  the secret door at the bottom of the stairs.  You have 
  emerged on the other side of the Wall of Dead and are 
  now outside of the main city! 
   
  Directly in front of the secret door is a large tent and 
  three  wooden shacks surrounding a nice fire pit.  Orc 
  females and their children immediately scream in fear 
  and scatter in all directions. 
   
  Congratulations.  You have defeated the Orcs and found 
  a spectacular to place to use as a home base for future 
  adventures.  Why you even have a secret way into and 
  out of the city! 
   
  � Do not forget to divide up experience points.. 
   
  144 Orcs 
  20 Orc Chief 
  10 Enchanted Shield 
   
  174 total 
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Brutal/Brutal Orcs Among Us.pdf