TEXT: PLAY COMPONENTS INCLUDED 
  
  rnill~D@ 
  rn®l1~ 
  0 Wl1illTID~® 
  DEDICATED 
  To Steve Perrin and and the other authors of 
  RuneQuest for their work and inspiration in the 
  RPG field. 
  An Introductory Guide 
  by GREG STAFFORD 
  LYNN WILLIS 
  Illustrated by WILLIAM CHURCH; 
  Additional Illustrations by RICK BECKER 
  Copyright © 1980. 1981 C/uwsium Inc. AU Rights 
  Reserved. Published by ChDosium Inc., Box 6302. 
  Albany CA 94706. Printed in the U.SA . 
  Second Edition 
  This PDF produced by a Sword of Humakt. 
  This book i s copyright Chaosium Inc. This file i s for illu s trati on and 
  discu s sion only. If you do not already own this book, 
  delete this file immediately l 
  
  I. Introduction 
  WHAT IS A FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAME? 
  A fantasy lole-playing (FRP) game is one wherein the play-
  ers construct characters who live out their lives in a specially 
  made game-world. The characters need not be anything like 
  the people who play them. Indeed, it is often more rewarding 
  and enjoyable for players 10 create characters entirely unlike 
  themselves. For instance, the most popular sorts are warriors 
  and magicians- how many knights or wizards do you know in 
  this world? 
  The game world Is operated by a referee (sometimes called 
  a game master, adventure master, dungeon master, etc.) who 
  sets up the situations which the players confront and who also 
  plays 'the world.' 
  An FRP game, then, is an interaction between players, who 
  operate (run) characters, and a referee, who runs the world in 
  which the adventures occur. 
  Most of the play is verbal exchange. The players tell the 
  referee what they wish or intend to do. The referee then tells 
  them if they can or may do it and, if nol, whal happens 
  instead. 
  The actual game rules are important only when there is 
  some question of success or failu re. for the rules are the agreed· 
  upon 'reality' which makes the game world understandable. 
  The rules represent the common experience of the player-
  characters as well, and provide ways of determining the likeli· 
  hood of success or failure before a situation is actually met. 
  The rules also are the court of appeal: whenever there is a con· 
  flict between what the player~haracters wish to do and what 
  their game.world seems to 11:1 them do, then !he ruJes are used 
  10 settle the dispute. 
  Suppose that a player tells the referee that he wishes to 
  open a door and enter the room. The referee tells the player 
  that the door is locked. The player says he will open it. With· 
  out rules, an argument or an arbitrary decision might result. 
  The rules tell you how to discover the outcome of game 
  actions. 
  Rules commonly use various die-rolling methods to deter-
  mine the outcome of actions. Sometimes dice are used to rUld 
  out whether or nol something happened, such as the door 
  whlch did or did not open. And sometimes there is a greater 
  variety of outcomes possible, such as in combat when an attack 
  succeeds or fails and is amplified or modified by a critical hit 
  or weapon fumble. The amount of damage done by a success-
  ful attack depends on a die roll, as well. 
  In FRP, the referee has the immense responsibility of pre-
  paring a game world and playing it without bias. Most often he 
  or she will set up a lair of some hostile monsters and bandits, 
  and then he or she will play !hem against the player~haracters . 
  It is the referee's duty to make the opposition smart and mean, 
  or there will be little challenge for the players, and they will be 
  bored. But the referee must refrain from arbitrary decisions 
  even though the players out-fight, out-wit, or out-guess him in 
  the end. 
  The players also have a duty to play their characters within 
  the known limits of the characters they run. Remaining un-
  biased is as difficult for them as for the referee. Just because a 
  player happens to be a science major and knows how to con-
  coct subtle and potent compounds does not mean that his 
  shepherd character (without learning or training) can 5trolilo 
  a game·world village and open an alchemy shop. 
  2 
  Operating within the limits of their characters presses the 
  imagination of every player, and it is just that situation which 
  name.s this genre of games, role-playing. The playen them-
  selves act out the roles endowed to their characters as Ihough 
  only those characters existed. Doing this is the most difficult 
  and most satisfying part of the game. 
  like anything else, role·playing is easier when you have 
  done it a few times. Always have some idea of your character 
  before you start, but also allow the events of his or her life to 
  help shape the character's personality. Allow yourself different 
  roles for different characters. 
  As you go through this book, you'llieam a basic role-playing 
  system. The booklet explains the game mechanics which de· 
  rUle the 'world machine.' But you must do the character crea-
  tion whlch dermes the character's personality. You do not 
  need a prepared character to begin role-playing. By the time 
  you rmish this book you will have one, though, and this is a 
  good time to get him started. 
  EXAMPLE 
  Your character is a young person, male or femille (you 
  get your choice). He knows little of the world, htll'ing 
  always livm on a farm located in quiet countryride far 
  in the middle of somewhere. His childhood has been 
  happy and SIlfe, and his adolescence has been innocent 
  and ignorant. The game you play will start his chroncle 
  of adulthood. 
  Today is exCiting. The foreman of your father's farm 
  is going to town to pick up supplies, and he has asked 
  your chilracter to go along. Since you \Ie nn;er been to 
  town before, you can Juudly wait. 
  The wagon trip is uneventfuL You hove seen the trees 
  and fields of the [arm before. The rutted dirt road passes 
  by more farms, now ones you \Ie neller seefL From the 
  wagon you spy a do.rk tower, broken and mysterious, 
  atop a distant knolL The foremlln tells you (hilt it is 
  
  Crag~ Ruin, and that ghosts dwell there, and thot his 
  father once helped kill a troll nearby. He also tells you 
  not to won')', because he has hu jfI\/elins with him and 
  tkat you are SlIfe. 
  (How does his talk make you {eel? Are you worried 
  by being JO close to the ruins? Curious to see if ghosts 
  really Iille there? Reossured by his statements? Confutent 
  in his j(Illtiins? Wish you hod ont younelf. even though 
  you wouldn't know how to uu it?) 
  The wagon trip takes three hoon to complete. The 
  village of Shinown (»ruuned because you can buy cot· 
  ton clothes there) is snwll, $Orne 20 buildinp scattered 
  along a stream. To you, who /unit never seen anything 
  bigger thtm Q famuteod. Shirtown is a rel'ewtion. 
  The [oremtJII hitches the horse and wagon to a rail at 
  the troding post and waten the animal. Seeing your cur-
  iority. he tells you to take Q walk around. "Be careful," 
  he saY.f. "You 'rejus( Q kid- there're /oreignen;n town." 
  (How do you {eel about being CtZlIed a kid? Willyou 
  talk back to him to prove you oren '17 Does the idea of 
  foreigners scare you or make you want to see them?) 
  Walking around the village, yoo see that the 'main 
  street' has the trading post on it, a boardiTIC house with a 
  painted sign overhead, an office with words written on 
  the door, a stable, and a number of fancy houses painted 
  with colon much brighter than any used on your farm. 
  A dozen or SO people wflik along also, most briskly on 
  busineu. 
  You tum from the tnQin street mong one of the small 
  trails which weave behind building and along garden 
  plots. You suppose that the people who tend the fields 
  around Shirtown actually live in town, and that these 
  are their penonal gardens. A baby cries fretfully {rom a 
  house on your left. Geese waddle toward the creek. 
  Bored, you Ttttlm 10 the main street. The foreman is 
  not visible, evidently inside, conducting businen. 
  Suddenly a man, wearing helmet and amror with a 
  shield strapped to his bock and a sword at his side, stag-
  gen out of the building near you, stumbles, and crashes 
  into you. You are knocked down and look at him from 
  the ground. lIe.rwean at you and tums his back, moving 
  OWQ)'. 
  (Are you angry? Frightened? Do you swear back <It 
  him, possibly angering him further? Or are you impress' 
  ed, wishing you had weapons and amlor and a bellyful 
  a/drink?) 
  As you watch, he turns the comer and falls down, ly-
  ing in a heap and snoring. Looking quickly around, 
  you see that no one is nearby, to see either you or him. 
  A money bag is lying on the ground near him, obviously 
  dropped from his hand. 
  ( What do you do? Want some quick cash? 1I0w about 
  an easy sword? Maybe he won't even wake up if you 
  take off his helmet. Here iJ an opportunity which may 
  ~/I shape the nst of your life. What will it be, an easy, 
  if dishonm, chance to get ahead in the world quickly? 
  An honeu attempt to help thiJ stranger? Should you 
  leave him to his troubles and go on? Whatever you wish 
  wiIllwppen, since then is no referee right now to wake 
  him!) 
  Farther down the street a Iody sits atop a bam! She 
  is Imlike any you've seen before. Her face is heavily 
  made up, something you've heard of but never seen. She 
  3 
  smiles at you when you approach and calls you over. She 
  offen to sel/you ajlask of magical drink. 
  {Want to buy? Got any money? If not, you honest 
  soul, then she will give it to you for {ree if you'll promise 
  to do her a fQllor, unspecified, sometime in the future. 
  She will make you swear on your soul if you do take it, 
  an oath which has some import to you or anyone living 
  here. She doesn't even insist that you drink it now. You 
  may take it and save ii, orask the foreman what it is. ... ) 
  You wander back to the wa,gcm. 
  There you have the start of it. Not a lot to do, for sure, but 
  several opportunities to present your character with some per-
  sonality. Honest or dishonest? Gullible or wary? In debt to 
  that old con-woman or still free? These are traits and events 
  which can come up again in you r young life, and maybe with 
  far.reaching effect. 
  Developing a character will also depend upon the basic 
  abilities which the character has, and those will be discussed 
  below. But you must clothe the numbers with imagination, 
  and that is the real play in the game. 
  IS IT FUN? -COOPERATION AND COMPETITION 
  Gaming is social. If you want to use your imagination alone, 
  you could read a book. But be warned: when a number of 
  people get togethe r cooperatively, they can fonn a communal 
  fantasy far more interesting and imaginative than could any 
  one person, and the joint effort results in an extremely satisfy· 
  ing experience for all involved. 
  Players must work together. For instance, a patty ofadven-
  turers will not survive against a batch of monsters if they are 
  not willing to aid each other, heal each other, and guard each 
  other. This is not to say that you cannot playa back-stabbing 
  thief, only to suggest that if everyone plays that way, there 
  will be no incentive to play together. There must be honor 
  even among thieves, so far as gaming goes: if all of your char-
  acters are cut·throats, who will want to play with you? 
  There also needs to be cooperation between players and 
  the referee. Though the referee does mastermind the world 
  and does set up and run the details, it's also true that the game 
  remains a game for him as well, and that he likes to have fun 
  playing too. The player-eharacters should pit themselves against 
  the world, not the referee. The referee should not be afraid to 
  ask others for their opinions on game mailers, and the players 
  should not be afraid of debating rules questions or play oppor-
  tunities with the referee. Referee rulings should be final, 
  though, and players must be willing to take losses if the referee 
  is adamant in his thinking. Work out questions by discussion, 
  not fiat, and players and referee should be willing to change 
  their minds if necessary, and occasionally change the game 
  somewhat 10 adjust to the situation at hand. 
  Simple communication will build an enjoyable and under· 
  standable world to play in. The rewards of cooperation are 
  great; hostility and resentment are fatal to play. Remember, 
  the object of all this is to have fun. 
  WINNERS AND LOSERS 
  Uniquely and admirably, in FRP there are no winners and 
  losers in the nonnal competitive sense. Play is cooperative, 
  wherein the participants work together for a common goal. 
  The opponent is some alien or hostile situation controlled by 
  an impartial referee, not another player. 
  
  Winning in such a situation depends on whether or not the 
  player-characters succeed in their goal. Losing is what happens 
  if they fail (they may just try again later). The only real losers 
  are those chuacters- not players-who die in the attempt. 
  Even then there is satisfaction in dying gloriously, and recount· 
  ing such a deed of honor. 
  LIFE AND DEATH 
  Danger is a common part of role·playing. There is satsifac· 
  tion in non·dangerous occupations, and players are urged 10 
  have some non-combative characters if time allows. But the 
  sharpest spice is the perfonnance of characters in Iife-or-death 
  situations. Dying is the one experience we cannot know more 
  than once, and few of us are interested in hurrying-up our 
  chance for the knowledge. Role-playing gives us surrogate 
  danger without the risk. 
  Even so, you will experience real emotion when your char-
  acters gain victories, and undergo real agony when they die. 
  Players and their characters have a very intimate relation, and 
  the longer a player runs his character well, the more likely there 
  will be a sense of loss when death comes and resurrection is 
  not possible. This can be traumatic if you arc too close to the 
  characters at hand. For this reason, peoplc arc advised to never 
  play themselves in a game. Always maintain a proper mental 
  attitude towards the game, and remember that it is only imag-
  ination, no matter how real it seems during play. 
  Possibility of loss makes success rewarding. Commit your 
  characters to battle and play without reSlnin!. 
  II. Materials 
  DICE, AND HOW TO READ TIlEM 
  Basic Role-Playing uses a number of different dice. If you 
  boughl this booklet separately, chit-dice are included on the 
  center insert. Dice sets are available at game stores or by mail. 
  For convenience, players use their own sets, but aho will share. 
  Four types of dice will commonly be used: they are 20-sided, 
  8-sided, 6-sided, and 4-sided dice. When two 20·sided dice are 
  used together, or when one 20-sided die is rolled twice, a num-
  ber between 01· 100 is generated-a 'percentile roll.' 
  Abbreviations are used to designate these dice. The letter 0 
  stands for the word Dice. This letter will be followed by a 
  number denoting the number of sides on the die being used. 
  Thus a 020 is a 20-sided die, a D6 is a 6-sided die, and a 0100 
  is a pair of20·sided dice used as percentile dice. 
  Designations may be preceded by a number. This number 
  tells the player the amount of that kind of dice 10 roll. For 
  instance, 206 means that two 6·sided dice should be rolled 
  and their results added together. If you don'l have the right 
  number of that kind of die, roll the one you have for the num-
  ber of times indicated, and total the result. 
  Sometimes additions must be made to die rolls. You might 
  see " 106+ I". The number following the plus sign should be 
  added to the result of the I 06 roll. " 106+ I" means that the 
  final result must be between 2 and 7, though the exact result 
  depends on the actual roll of the D6. 
  Finally, there are occasional results requiring that different 
  dice be roUed at one time. If a weapon does 106+204 damage 
  the actual damage will be found by rolling the three requested 
  dice and summing their results. 
  READING THE DICE 
  Most of us are familiar with the good old cubical 06. We 
  read it by thrOwing it so that it rolls, and then talting the num. 
  4 
  ber which is face up on the die as the result. This is the meth-
  od used for reading D8 as well. The top number is the number 
  rolled. 
  D4 
  08 
  020 
  D4s are more difficult. They are pyramid-
  shaped and have no apparent top to read. In 
  their case the number rolled is the one which 
  is right-side-up on the sides of the die after it 
  is thrown. These dice rarely roll, and it is ad-
  vised thai you get a random result by tossing 
  them so that they tumble in the air before 
  landing. 
  Though 020 Is also read from the top, as 
  with 06 and 08, they have only two sets of 
  single digit numbers 0-9 on their 20 sides. 
  What to do? 
  There are two usual ways to make a 020 
  yield 20 different numbers. You can take a 
  marking pen and mark one each of the num-
  bers from 0·9 to distinguish them from the 
  other sel of ten numbers, and then decide 
  whether the marked or the unmarked num-
  bers represent the single digi ts. The others 
  will be the 'Ieen' numbers. Green pens will 
  yield 'teen is green,' but any color will do. 
  As a 0 20, the low zero will be 10, and the 
  high zero will be 20. 
  An a1ternale method does not mark the dice. Roll the 020 
  and any other die at the same time. The other die result deter· 
  mines whether the 020 is a single digit or a double digi t num-
  ber: low equals 1-10, and high equals 11·20. 
  0100 rolls are actually easier. If you have one 020, you 
  need to roll it twice. The first roll is the 'tens' roll, and the 
  second roll is the 'ones.' If you roll a 5 the Iirst time and an 8 
  the second time, you've rolled 58. "00" always equals 100. 
  With two 020 of different colors, you need only roll both 
  at the same time to read the 0100 number. Decide which color 
  is the 'tens' and which is the 'ones.' Then always read the dice 
  the same way. If you are using the chit-dice, the first number 
  you tum up is the tens number. 
  CHARACTER SHEET 
  On the nexl page are three BRP character fonns. Anyone 
  fonn holds all the immediate character info you 11 need about 
  a particular character. You'll learn laler to ftll out the fonn 
  and what the sections mean. Photo-copy the page so that you 
  can reuse the fonns; a completed fonn is on page 16. 
  FIGURES ANO FOCUS 
  BtlSic Role-Playing can be played as a slrictly verbal game, 
  as you can see from the example about the fanner's child com· 
  ing to the big city. But many games go farther than this, and 
  play with miniature figures and a battJeboard. 
  Focus is always useful, for all the players can then weave 
  their imaginations into the same framework. For instance, set· 
  ting up a marching order for a party of Adventurers to travel 
  overland shows which characters will be in a pOSition to speak 
  to each; this may be signi ficant later if a character must choose 
  one person out of many to aid. 
  Aiding rules interpretations is an excellent reason for using 
  figures. When the figures are on the table, it is possible to see 
  that your friends are blocking the field of fire your bow might 
  have, or it will show which characters are first assailed by giant 
  wasps strilting from the flank, or how long it will take for one 
  character 10 aid another. With figures, measurement provides 
  
  CHARACTER NAME 
  PLAYER 
  STR _ 
  2 
  3 • 
  5 
  WI 
  W2 
  OTHER 
  CON _ 
  HIT 
  6 
  7 • • 10 
  Au"" 
  Attack 
  1> • 
  51Z --
  POINTS 11 
  12 
  13 
  I. 
  15 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  R 
  lNT _ 
  Idea Roll 
  16 
  17 ,. I. 
  20 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  ~ , 
  POW_ Luck Roll 
  Hit Points __ 
  Hit Points _ 
  ~ 
  , 
  i 
  DEX_ Dodge Roll 
  ARMOR 
  • 
  CHA_ Persuasion 
  W3 
  W' 
  i • 
  JUMP 
  MOVE Ou/ETL Y __ 
  Attack 
  Attack 
  • 
  ~ 
  CLIMB 
  THROW 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  LISTEN 
  HIDE 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  SPOT HIDDEN __ FIRST AID 
  Hit Points--
  HitPoints_ 
  Copyright C '980 ChMJ,ium Inc. 
  CHARACTER NAME 
  PLAYER 
  STR _ 
  1 
  2 
  3 • 
  5 
  WI 
  W2 
  OTHER 
  CON_ 
  H'T 
  6 
  7 • • .0 
  Attack 
  Attack 
  • 
  > • 
  51Z -
  POINTS 
  11 
  l2 
  13 " 
  15 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  ! 
  'NT_ Idea Roll 
  16 
  17 
  I. 
  I. 
  20 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  , 
  POW_ Luck Roll 
  Hit Points __ 
  Hit Points _ 
  ~ 
  , 
  i 
  DEX _ 
  Dodge Roll 
  ARMOR 
  , 
  CHA_ Persuasion 
  W3 
  W' 
  ~ • 
  JUMP 
  MOVE OUIETL Y __ 
  Attack 
  Attack 
  • 
  ~ 
  CLIMB 
  THROW 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  LISTEN 
  HIDE 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  SPOT HIDDEN __ FIRST AID 
  Hit Points--
  Hit Points __ 
  Copyright C 1980 Ch_ium IrK:. 
  CHARACTER NAME 
  PLAYER 
  STR _ 
  2 
  3 • 
  5 
  WI 
  W2 
  OTHER 
  CON_ 
  H'T 
  6 
  7 • • .0 
  Attack 
  Attack 
  1> • 
  51Z -
  POINTS 
  11 
  l2 
  13 
  I. 
  15 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  R 
  'NT_ Idea Roll 
  16 
  '7 
  I. 
  I. 
  20 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  ~ 
  , 
  POW_ Luck Roll 
  Hit Points __ 
  Hit Points __ 
  ~ 
  i 
  DEX_ Dodge Roll 
  ARMOR 
  • 
  CHA_ Persuasion 
  W3 
  W' 
  i • 
  JUMP 
  MOVE aUIETL Y __ 
  Attack 
  Attack 
  • 
  S 
  CLIMB 
  THROW 
  Damage 
  Damage 
  ;;-
  LISTEN 
  HIDE 
  Parry 
  Parry 
  SPOT HIDDEN __ FIRST AID 
  Hit Points-
  Hit Points __ 
  Copyright C '980 ChMnium Inc. 
  
  answert to "My guy was supposed to be here," and "Where is 
  the elephant?" Counter.; can easily act as figures. 
  A few props provide drama. Large ruins can be constructed 
  with childrens' plastic blocks. Scrounging will unearth railroad 
  accessories, cake decorations, weird things from hardware bins, 
  and so on. Slyrofoam packaging can be carved 10 different 
  shapes. Some HO·scaJe trees, toy fences, and a large rock give 
  otherwise lifeless melees intriguing possibilities for deployment 
  anu use of special skills. 
  Figures are normally I" high lead miniatures, purchasable 
  at many game and hobby stores, or ordered by mail. Some 
  manufacturers publish attractive cardboard figures. Many 
  people make good use of economical available toy figures. 
  Preferences and pocketbooks influence what is used. No one is 
  likely to have every kind of monster or person which a game 
  demands. Substitutions are common. 
  THE BA TTLEBOARD 
  If you use figures, you will also want a battleboard. A 
  battleboard is made of almost anything, but is commonJy a 
  large sheet of paper which can be drawn on and disposed of 
  afterward or reused each time with added details. Also popular 
  are transparent plastic sheets which can be written on with 
  china markers or grease pencils which can be erased and reused. 
  Sometimes the referee may pre-draw a location or floorplan, 
  and at other times he may use such sheets to record terrain as 
  play develops. If you bought this book separately, there is a 
  battleboard included as an insert. 'Sattleboard' is a term carried 
  over from the days when FRP was mainly fighting. Now there 
  are many noncombative situations. 
  It is often useful for the referee to draw out the area of ac· 
  tivity on an ordinary sheet of paper and to note the scale 
  there. When the action shifts to individual seale, the referee 
  turns to the battleboord. 
  Ill. Life From Statistics 
  NAMING YOUR CHARACTER 
  How you name your character may depend upon the cam· 
  paign in which you play. Some campaigns allow only some 
  specifically appropriate type of name, such as using onJy Scan· 
  dinavian names for a Vildng campaign. This is relatively easy, 
  since lists of names can be found in any library's reference 
  section. Some campaigns allow names of any sort, such as one 
  where Fre nc h ~anadian politicians appear beside American 
  movie stars and Greco-Roman legendaries. This is largely a 
  matter of taste, preference, and what everyone agrees to. 
  If you have trouble thinking ofa name for a new character, 
  then choose one relatively neutral. such as Mudd, Glop, John, 
  Arnold, or even Nameless. It is possible to change your charac-
  ters' names later, especially if they do something significant 
  which their campanions will remember. Thus they might be 
  known as Dragonslayer, Panicky, or Prunes instead of their 
  original name. 
  If you are at a loss, you can always choose a well·known 
  name from popular fiction. Be warned to avoid the best· 
  known ones, like Conan or Frodo. That way you won't suffer 
  the embarrassment of being one of 12 people with identically· 
  named characters in the same adventure. Always take a name 
  you and you r character can live with, and remember that char· 
  acters with descriptive names (like 'Strongman') frequently 
  may be tested about them by referees. 
  6 
  CHARACTER CREA nON & CHARACTERISTIC ROLLS 
  Every player starts in role.playing by creating a character. 
  The numbers rolled which represent his basic characteristics 
  will go a long way towards determining his relative worth and 
  value in the game world. 
  The seven basic characteristics are Strength (SIR), Consti· 
  tution (CON), Size (SIZ), Intelligence (INT), Power (POW), 
  Dexterity (DEX), and Charisma (CHA). 
  For human beingli, these basic characteristics are found by 
  rolling 306 once for each of the seven. Doing this yields seven 
  numbers which should be written down in the appropriate 
  places on the character sheet. Using 306, each number will be 
  nol less than 3 and not more than 18. You need not accept 
  every roll, though- you might, for instance, make a peTSOllai 
  rule that any roll below 10 has 34 added to it, so that the re· 
  suiting character is not ridiculously weak in a specific charac-
  teristic. You are free to ignore the existence of characters who 
  do not interest you. In fact, you are free to do what you will 
  with the game or the characters! If your fantasy world widens, 
  and you build a home base, you could populate your home 
  fann or castle with the characters you otherwise might not 
  run. After all, somebody has to wash the windows and answer 
  the door, and rub down your war horse after adventuring! 
  Take this opportunity to roll up the characteristics for your 
  own character, and copy the results onto one of the character 
  forms. (The authors also will roll up the chamctemtics of one 
  l on A'tIf!rage, whom you'll see displayed on the last page.) 
  SIR is Strength. This measures the muscle·power of the char· 
  acter. STR measures whal and how easily he or she can pick 
  up something. (We rolled 04 forlon,and that 's IIOt good. We71 
  add three to it. as discussed above, to give him a 7-he still 
  won't win in ann·wrestling, but he Ctln lift Q AVQrd now.) 
  CON is Constitution, a relative measure of health. From CON 
  you can figure a character's hit points (liP). These teU the 
  amount of damage a character can take before becoming un· 
  conscious or dead. In BosicRo/e-Playing, CON points are ident· 
  ical in amount to a character's HP; also circle that HP number 
  on the character form . Whenever damaged, mark off the num· 
  ber of damage points taken directly on the Hit Point section. 
  Damage can be repaired by Healing, which raises the HP num· 
  ber, and CON will also resist poison and disease, as explained 
  later. Note that CON is not lowered by damage. (Luckily for 
  l on, the authors rolled a 14. He may not be strong, but he is 
  hellithy! As all example, by the way, If l on were hit by an 
  arrow which did 3 points of damage, his HP would become 11, 
  but his CON would remain 14.) 
  SIZ is Size, combining height and weight into one figure. This 
  will be important if something wants to lift your character, or 
  if he or she needs to squeeze into a small space, or even help 
  determine who in an adventuring party is first attacked. (The 
  roll forlon is 10- almost average. If l on were in the U.SA., he 
  would beaOOut 5'9" tall) 
  INT is Intelligence;your character is that smart and no smarter. 
  It's hard to playa SInart character if you aren't, and it's almost 
  as hard for a snlarl person to playa dumb one. For that reason 
  the 'Idea RoU' is used. The character's INT is multiplied times 
  a number detennined by the referee, and then Ihe character 
  tries to roll equal to or less than the number, to "really" think 
  of it. CommonJy, the multiplier is 5, but never more than S. 
  A player may have to playa character who is ignorant of facts 
  the player knows, and sometimes the referee must give data to 
  the player which the player's character normally would know 
  
  but which the player doesn't, since he is unfamiliar with the 
  scenario. Thus a character sees arcane symbols chalked on 
  a wall. The player does not know the meaning, but the referee 
  has him make his INTxS die roll on 0100. A roll of less than 
  INTxS means the character recognized the meaning of the 
  symbols. (AIul! Jon's !NT roll is 14. He is smarter tluln most, 
  and he will find it eosier to leam the ropes in the world in 
  which he is awakening. His idea roll is J4x5, or 70, which is 
  written in the space proVided.) 
  POW is Power, the measure ofa person's soul, piety, or will. In 
  games with magic, POW resists spells cast at the character and 
  powers cast spells. Use it also as a 'Luck Roll' for tight spots. 
  For instance, if a character faUs down a hole, he might land 
  upright and take no damage. Determine if this occurs by roll-
  ing his POWxS on DlOO. (Jon's POW is nonna!. He probably 
  will not be extremely religious or become expert in magic un-
  less he finds a way to raise his POW. His luck roll is llx5, or 
  55, which is written in the space provided. ln the preceding 
  instance, if Jon had rolled 56, he would not have been lucky, 
  and the referee would determine the darrwge roll he then 
  would have to make.) 
  DEX is Dexterity, or how quick a character is. In combat, the 
  character with the higher DEX hits first, hopefully disabling 
  his opponent before being hit himself. Characters can dodge 
  when they see something coming from a distance, such as a 
  rolling rock or a charging bear, and concentrates on getting out 
  of the way. The typical 'Dodge RoU' is DEXxS on 0100. (The 
  authors roll a DEX of 14 for Jon! Except for tlult bad begin-
  ning STR roll, he's getting pretty good. Notetlult his dodge roll 
  will be 14x5, or 70, and should be written down.) 
  CHA is Charisma, a measurement of the intangible ability to 
  inspire others to follow or listen to a character. Use it as a per· 
  suasion roll, when the character is trying 10 talk his way out of 
  a tight spot, or when he is trying to convince someone to obey 
  him. Suppose some local authorities notice your character is a 
  stranger and question him or her: you could try your persuasion 
  roll to get away. The referee may rule il CHAxS, or even 
  CHAx3 if the authorities have reason to be suspicious. And if 
  you're trying to talk to a "non·player character" (NPC)---a 
  character run by the referee- the NPC mighl try his INTxS and 
  nol be persuaded! (Oh-oh! Jon's CHA is only 6. Well, we'll add 
  3 to it, to bring it up somewhere near nanna!, but probably 
  Jon should tell the truth as often as possible! /lis persuasion 
  roll will be 45 on DlOO, by the way.) 
  Other uses of these characteristics will be explained in chap-
  ters to come. In many odd situations not covered in these rules 
  it is possible to see one of the characteristics as being appro-
  priately influential in a decision. Sometimes it may be a com· 
  bination of characteristics, such as adding SIZ+STR+CHA 
  when trying to bluff down the local bully to leave you alone. 
  Situations will arise not covered by the rules, and using charac-
  teristics in this way is usually the quickest and most convenient 
  way to decide the resuJts. 
  SUCCESS OR FAILURE? 
  Whether your character is heroic or dastardJy. you'll want 
  him to act and succeed. In Basic Role-Playing your character 
  can succeed in three ways: (I) automatic actions, (2) simple 
  percentile rolls, and (3) the resistance table rolls. These will be 
  discussed separately. 
  7 
  AUTOMATIC ACTIONS 
  This term describes activities which are always successfuJ 
  under normal circumstances. There is no need to roll any dice 
  for these. They are assumed 100% successful. These include 
  walking, running, talking, seeing, hearing, and any other 
  nonnal basic function. 
  Attempting to do these things under extraordinary condi-
  tions, or trying to do them with close scrutiny, requires a die 
  roll, as outlined in the next section. 
  SIMPLE PERCENTILE ROLLS 
  Ordinary actions performed under stress or requiring can· 
  centration need a die roll to be successful. This includes Climb-
  ing, Jumping, Spotting Hidden Items, Listening, or Moving 
  Quietly. Further, any action which requires a specific special 
  skill to do requires a die roU as well. Examples of these are 
  Ricling, Swimming, Throwing, or Picking Pockets. 
  A list of common sltills is given below, with nonnal start-
  ing percentages. 
  Jumping 
  45% 
  Throw 
  45% 
  Climbing 
  55% 
  Fist 
  45% 
  Listening 
  45% 
  Hide 
  55% 
  Spot Hidden Item 25% 
  First Aid 
  45% 
  Move Quietly 
  25% 
  Fighting skills are also in this category. The brawling ability 
  of Fist is included, as is Throw. Tool-using people easily use 
  Hitting With a Stick- in weapon temlS this is called a light 
  mace, and that you'll see in the example below. 
  EXAMPLE 
  One day while loafing outside, you hear a shn'ek/rom 
  inside the house. Your mother is yelling her head off 
  Without hesitation you leap up and dash inside to see 
  what the IUckus is. 
  There is a large dirty rat cowering in the ashes of the 
  fireplace. You know your mother hates rats, so you pick 
  up the nearest weapons- a coal shoveL 
  The chance to hit with a coal shovel is the SQme as 
  your chance to hit with a mace, or 25%. To see whether 
  or not you do hit the rat, you must roll DJOO until you 
  roll less than 25. A roll that low means that you did hit 
  the rat. Withyour percentile dice, roll Ulltil you do kill it. 
  Congratulations! Your mother WOIl't even scold you 
  for loafing nowl 
  RESISTANCE TABLE ROLLS 
  The fmal method of determining success is by using the Re· 
  sistance Table. It makes it easy to figure out if your character 
  succeeds in pitting some characteristic of his against something 
  else, also expressed as a simple number comparable to the 
  characteristic. The Table is a ready.to-use version of the form-
  ula devised to solve such problems; it's printep on page 16. 
  To use it, take the active pe~on's characteristic and find it 
  on the upper, horizontal entry. Then fInd the passive object's 
  characteristic on the left-hand, vertical line. Cross-index them 
  and you have the maximum number you can roU and still suc· 
  ceed in the task. 
  
  For instance, a character with of STR 9 wishes to push 
  open a door that is stuck. The referee determines that the door 
  has STR 4. Checking the Resistance Table you'll see that he 
  needs to roll 75% or less or succeed. If he rolls that, then the 
  door has been pushed open. 
  Sometimes it is more appropriate to pit one characteristic 
  against another. In the example below, it is appropriate to pit 
  the character's STR against the Sil of the object being lifted. 
  Other examples will be listed later. 
  EXAMPLE 
  Your foreman has told you ~o load the wagon with 
  the items he's bought, while hegoes and has a drink. List-
  ed below are a number of items in ascending SIZ which 
  you must load. Use the Resistance Table and figure out 
  whether or not you can lift them onto the wagon. 
  I hammer 
  2 duck 
  3 goldsmith's anvif 
  4 ordinary house dog 
  5 a wagon wheel 
  6 an eagle 
  7 alorgechest(empty) 
  8 busJielofgrain 
  9 a big table 
  to a penon-sized scarecrow 
  11 a timber wolf 
  12 an ironsmith s anvil 
  13 the tapestry in the tax office 
  14 0 keg full of liquid 
  15 a smoll donkey 
  160greatbigstump 
  17 the huge wolf killed 8 years ago 
  18 a sleeping barbarUm 
  19 a 3-man boat 
  20 a log for 3 men to use as a ram 
  21 the biggest guy you ever will see 
  22 the black rock by the inn 
  23 a wheeled fan'Ow 
  24 a 2·wheel cart 
  25 an average horse 
  .. 36 a bison 
  .. 40 a 4-wheel wagon 
  .. 60 a triceratops 
  As you can see, there is a practical top-end to the items you 
  can lift. It is possible to lift vel)' big things with proper body 
  mechanics (Le., a lucky die roll) but it is not normal to do so. 
  ANOTHER EXAMPLE: ARM WRESTLING 
  Having done the job, or given up, you decide to find 
  the foreltUJJl. In the bar a numberof burlies and braggarts 
  are arm wrestling. They ask if you'd care to wager on 
  your ann. 
  How to do it: first,you already know yourSTR, and 
  you must pit it against the other person's. You find the 
  roll which you need, then find the roll which the other 
  person needs. Both rolls are nwde simultaneously. If both 
  cilaracters milke their roll, then there is no result, and 
  the wrest/ing continues. If one of you nwkes it and the 
  other fails, then the bout is over and the person who 
  made it is the winner. 
  Here are three people who you nuJy wish to ann wres-
  tle with: Skinny Sam (STR 6), Ordiflllry Ogberr(STR 121, 
  and Burly Bob (STR 17). 
  Good Old Burly Bob 
  These three methods of determining success give you all 
  the mechanics you need for a character to perform nomlai 
  activities. Below is a short scenario which you can practice 
  with. When you've done it, you'll be experienced enough to 
  enter the militia, where you 11 learn more complex uses of 
  these methods . 
  NEXT EXAMPLE: A CROSS-COUNTR Y JA UNT 
  It is another fine summer day, and your cilaracter has 
  nothing to do. He or she decides to take a walk through 
  the countryside. 
  Walk in any direction. Leave the house, bam, and 
  fields behilld. Run a little alld stretch. Look at that tree 
  over there. Think you can climb it? Give it a try! 
  From the tree you take a look around. See anything 
  special? Try rolling your Spot Hidden Item skilL Wilat is 
  tilat in the distance? If you made your Spot Hidden roll 
  then you see that it is a wolf lurking around the sheep 
  pasture. If you didn 'f mIlke your roll, you will not dis-
  cover this until you draw closer. 
  Climb down from the tree and set off cross-country 
  for a closer look. After a short time you Ctln get close 
  enough to see the wolf You are down-wind from it, SO it 
  hasn't smelled you yet and is unoware of your presence. 
  
  Try to make your Spot Hidden Item roll again as you 
  look past the wolf to try to see whot the wolfis :studying 
  :so intently. If you mlJde your roll, then you do, indeed, 
  :see the lamb toward which the wolf creeps. 
  What will you do? You know this is 0 bad thing for 
  your farm In 0 role-playing :situation there is often no 
  one to give hint:s obout whllt to do. Do you wont to run 
  off and get help? A helpful referee m4.Y suggest tMI 
  wolves, alone, ore Quite cowardly. If:so, you will know 
  that throwing rocks and yelling ought to work. 
  But first you wont to edge closer. Try to make your 
  Move Quietly roll. If you do get closer, then you will 
  hove 0 beller chlll/U of hitting it with a rock. 
  Now you ore within range. If you did no t make your 
  MO)le Quietly roll, then the wolf Iu1s tumed to face you. 
  It loob meaner face to face, doesn't it? 
  If it i:s facing you, then the wolf con make its 'dodge' 
  roll (its DEX is 12, :so its dodge is 60%J. If it hasn't 
  heard you, then it cannot dodge the first rock you throw. 
  You throw the rock! Rolf DIOO: if you roll less than 
  45%, it is hit. If it is facing you, the wolf may make its 
  dodge roll. If it dodge:s, then your rock missed it aflerall. 
  Throw rocks at it for a while, making first your 
  Throw skill, then its dodge. If you hit it once without it 
  dodging thot throw :successfully, then it will be con)linced 
  enough and $link off. If it merely dodges seJ1eral rocks, 
  then it will still slink off, but probably with a wolvish 
  :smirk al your kzck of skill. 
  It is gone. 
  Good work! Fint rots, and now woh>es- what {ote 
  Un'lopen 10 such un ufHUld<oming fnd/IJIdUlZI? 
  V. Rewards of Success 
  EXPERIENCE 
  A great pleasure of contin ued role·playing is watching and 
  participating in the advancement of a character from his hum· 
  ble beginnings to his ultimate fate. Characters grow and change, 
  generally getting better at whatever they attempt to do. There 
  is real satisfaction in having characters be successful . 
  Success is measured in many ways. Your character may be 
  important in whatever locaJ game in which he participates. He 
  may be a knigh t or warrior, a cleric or magician, a nobleman or 
  a wicked tyrant. How this occurs depends upon how the par· 
  ticular game has been established. 
  These (\lIes standardize another measurement, advancement 
  through experience. Simply put, the more you use a skill, the 
  more you Jearn about it and the better you get at it. This in· 
  cludes concrete skills, such as swordfighting or jumping, abo 
  stract ones such as lhtening, or exotic skills in advanced ver· 
  sions of the game. 
  Whenever your character has fmished an adventure, typic· 
  ally after play is done and before everyone goes home, you 
  should check over his character sheet 10 see what skills were 
  used during play. If your character succeeded in using skills, 
  they should have been marked on the sheet. Just trying is not 
  enough to learn by- you muSI succeed. No matter how many 
  times a character succeeds in a skill, he gets only one chance, 
  between adventures, to Jearn by experience. 
  9 
  For each skill he used sllccessfully, subtract his current skill 
  level from 100%. That gives you his 'learning threshold' for 
  that particular skill. Then roll 0100 and try to roll a number 
  equal to or smaller than his threshold for the skill. Jf you do 
  not roll !hallow, then he hasn'tleamed from his experience. If 
  you did roll low enough, then your character did learn some· 
  thing. and you add 5% to that skill. 
  Repeat the procedure for all the sJdIIs used in the (\In. Note 
  here that a successful weapon attack does not raise the parry 
  skill, and vice vena. 
  EXAMPLE 
  Torban the Nimble successfully used two skills on his 
  last fJ{/)Ienture, Jumping and :speor parry. His current 
  threshold for Jumping is 35%, while /or !pear parry il is 
  65%. 
  For Jumping, 100 minus 35 equals a 65% chance to 
  letlm. His player rolls a 48, a success! On his next adJten-
  ture, Torban will hQ'lie a Jumping skill of 40%. 
  For the spear parry, 100 minus 65 equals a 35% 
  chance to leom. lIis player rolls a 39, a netlr miss but not 
  enough to be successful. On his next ad~enlure, TorOOn's 
  spear parry will remain at 65%. 
  You can see that successfully doing something you're poor 
  at is hard, but also that if you succeed at it then you're likely 
  to learn from the experience. Conversely, if you're good at a 
  skill youll usually succeed at it, bu t it will get progressively 
  harder to increase your skills. 
  Finally, remember that characteristic rolls, such as the 
  dodge roll or the luck roll, do not increase this way. Those are 
  are conuanl IInle.u the ch ari\C leri~tic it.<;elf should change for 
  some reason. 
  TREASURE 
  Raw loot is another important source of success. Much FRP 
  is based upon heroic exploits by warriors and their ilk. A com· 
  plete campaign will have places to buy useful goods or to just 
  spend money frivolously. It is importan t to be able to upgrade 
  the annor, occasionally buy new weapons, and (where the 
  campaign allows it) to purchase training in skills and magic. 
  Treasure is often overlooked, even by referees. If you can 
  cany them, you can always cart off annor and weapons, and 
  another option is to skin monsters and sell their pelts. Always 
  search for hidden traps and secret compartments before giving 
  up the search for money. The monsters didn't put it in the 
  open for you to stumble over! 
  VI. Costs of Failure 
  If success is rewarded, failure is not. It is painful to miss out 
  on a chance, even if it has no immediate effect on your char· 
  acter other than not bringing home the rich merchant's daught-
  er juS! then. While your character may get a bit hungry with-
  out money, thai will only motivate him strongly on the next 
  adventure. But there can be worse fates, such as the failure to 
  finish climbing up that rope, or failing to make a pany. 
  TAKING DAMAGE 
  Damage is a measure of the hurt which your characters' 
  bodies can take. Damage is inflicted whenever there is a phys· 
  ical cause, such as falling from a height or being stabbed. 
  
  Whenever a character is hit, the amount of damage he re-
  ceives is subtracted from the total HP available. In Basic Role-
  Playing there is no penalty for taking cumulative damage until 
  the character is down to I HP or less. 
  When a character has 1 HP left, he goes unconscious. TItis 
  means the character lives but will stay unconscious till aided 
  by outsiders. He will not wake naturally. He must be tended 
  till he heals (see below) or until enough First Aid is given to 
  wake him. 
  EXAMPLE 
  lama Bubble jumps from a 4-meren-high embank-
  ment to aid his friend who is fighting a seQ monster. Un-
  fortw1Iltely for l ama, his intentions outstrip his abilities, 
  and he fails to make his lumping roll. Falling from a 
  heighrh of 4 meten will give him 2D6 damage. The refer-
  ee happens to roll the maximum of 12-poor Jomo! He 
  has only 13 HP, and so he is knocked cold, a bleeding, 
  rumpled heap also reqUiring rescue. 
  DEATH and HEALING 
  When a character takes more damage than he has hit points, 
  he dies. When a character dies, there mayor may not Qe var-
  ious means of resurrecting him, depending on the possible ex· 
  pansions added to BRP. It is generally a sorrowful occasion. 
  Characters mayor may not wish to bring the body back. But 
  whether they do or not, they probably will loot the body. 
  Healing is a natural process wherein the body regenerates 
  HP. TItis occurs for any living creature. Healing happens at the 
  rate of I HP per week of game time. Thus Jomo Bubble's in-
  discretion will not be naturally healed for 12 weeks, though 
  Jomo may adventure with fewer than his maximum HP. 
  VII. Military Skills 
  "Welcome to the Militia. I am Reeve Holmsman. I'm going 
  to train you to fight and survive. You're all old enough- you 
  can run and jump, you know what you can lift and how far 
  you can walk in a day. Probably already been in a fight or two 
  if my memory serves me n"ght, though you youngsten won't 
  remember how you fought, just what the outcome was. Well, 
  I'm going to teach you to remember how to fight. 
  "I can't do it all, though. And if I didn't htlJle this limp, I 
  wouldn't even be here to try- I'd be out on the ridges looking 
  for trolls. Cowards might not like to admit it, but there's a 
  thrill to battle. When it's just you and that troll and your spear, 
  you find out quick enough if you're a man or not! 
  "Or a woman! Excuse me, miss! Always good to htlJle w0-
  men along on a ron. My wife IISed to Adventure a lot, and 
  none of the kids were unhappy about it the day that she 
  skewered a grizzly through the heart with her spear. 
  "But as I was saying, I can teach you, but you'll have to do 
  the learning. Because my leg is touchy today, I'll do it easier 
  than I might, too. First oft. my friend Godfrey will give all of 
  you a leather jerkin, leggins, and a hood. That1l be all thear-
  mor you get for now, kids, and remember that this stuffwon't 
  tum much of a blade. " 
  ARMOR AND HOW IT WORKS 
  As previously noted, it is possible ror a character to be dam· 
  aged through combat or accident. In most cases a character 
  wearing armor is protected by it rrom laking the damage. 
  All armor has a point value telling you how good it is in 
  stopping damage. The most common armor is leather, and it 
  10 
  is worth 2 points. TItis is roughly equivalent to a heavy motor-
  cycle jacket. The best armor available is plate armor like knights 
  wear. It is worth 6 points. 
  Whenever a character is wearing annor and takes damage, 
  the point value or the annor is subtracted from the amount of 
  damage. The remainder of the damage is passed on to the char-
  acter's body HP. 
  For example, a character wearing 2 point armor is struck by 
  an arrow doing 5 points or damage. The value or the annor is 
  subtracted first, so that 2 of the 5 points of damage are nullified. 
  The rest, 3 points, pass onto the body an d are subtracted from 
  the HP. 
  "That leather will help slow it down, but it sure won't save 
  you from damage. If you value your skin, pay good attention 
  to lesson two-shields and why we love them. Yessjr, if I had 
  my way you'd all train with shields for a year, that s what I 
  think!" 
  I LOVE MY SHIELD 
  Shields work like annor in that they block damage. But a 
  shield generally blocks more damage than armor, there being 
  an average of 12 points for common shields. Unlike annor, to 
  block damage the shield first must be successfully used to 
  parry. (A shield parry is an ability with a 0100 chance to 
  succeed.) 
  Suppose a character is attacked by a bear. The bear swipes 
  with his paw and does 15 points or damage. The character now 
  must roll to see if he successfully parries. In this example, he 
  does. His shield blocks 12 points or damage, leaving only 3 
  that penetrate the shield. If the character had any annor on 
  that would further block damage, presume that it was leather 
  and therefore blocked 2 more points or damage. Therefore 
  only 1 point or damage would penetrate both shield and annor 
  and have to be subtracted from the HP. Without the shield, the 
  character would have taken 13 points damage, possibly enough 
  to kill him! 
  MARTIAL SKILLS 
  Because FRP games usually take place in a primitive, non-
  technolOgical environment, we concentrate on ancient weapons. 
  In general, combat is a combination of a number of skills used 
  by a fighter against another (an attack) or to help himself (a 
  parry). In all cases this is a specific simple percentile die roll 
  resolution, as outlined above. 
  TYPES OF WEAPONS 
  A weapon can be a sword or a rock or a coal shovel grabbed 
  from the corner. In Basic Role-Playing there are five weapon 
  types: natural weapons, hand weapons, thrusting weapons, 
  thrown weapons, and missile machines. Every weapon has a 
  different percentage s.k.ilI for thdr use in attack and thei r use 
  in parry. These skills are used differently and will develop in· 
  dependently of each other. 
  HAND WEAPONS are of three kinds: maces, axes, and swords. 
  Mace is a term describing any blunt instrument, ranging 
  from a big stick to an elaborately shod and studded imple-
  ment. It is used for bashing and for parrying, and it takes a 
  good amount of damage compared to other hand weapons. 
  It does the least amount of damage of the three kindS of 
  hand weapons, but it is also the easiest to use without any 
  training, and hence has the highest attack percentage for 
  beginners. 
  
  An axe does the most damage of the three kinds of hand 
  weapons, but it takes less damage before breaking than a 
  mace does, and it is harder to use, so it has a lower beginning 
  attack percentage. 
  Swords are traditional hand weapon favorites because 
  they do more damage than a mace (though less than an axe) 
  and also take a large amount of damage before breaking. 
  But a sword is the hardest hand weapon to learn to use, and 
  therefore has the lowest attack percentage to start. 
  THRUSTING WEAPONS include only one kind here, the spear. 
  For the play purposes of Basic Role-Pu:ying this is specified 
  to be a two-handed spear. This means that the same weapon 
  must be used to attack and to parry with. The spear does a 
  fair amount of damage compared to the other weapons list-
  ed, and has a reuonable beginning attack percentage. Its 
  disadvantage is that it is relatively fragile, and often breaks 
  during combat. But it is the only weapon wh.ich can be used 
  from the second rank. This means that a person with a spear 
  can stand behind someone else and still be able to attack. 
  Additionally, a spear is a weapon which can impale, as de-
  fined below. 
  THROWN WEAPONS include javelins and rocks. They are nol 
  used to parry with, nor can they be parried (though a target 
  may dodge them, as mentioned previously). Javelins are 
  simply thrown spears. They do fair damage and may also 
  impale. Thrown rocks are the simplest of weapons and have 
  a good beginning attack percentage. They usually do not do 
  much damage when opposed by any annor. 
  MISSILE MACHINES here include only bows. A bow is a rela-
  tively difficult weapon to master and so has a poor initial 
  attacking ability, but il does have Ihe he~t range and doe~ a 
  fair amount of damage. Importantly, it also impales. 
  NATURAL WEAPONS include the fist and the kick. These 
  start with high attack percentages and work weU against un-
  armored victims, but are relatively useless against armor. 
  " THE SHIELD is nol a weapon, per $C, but is still the most im-
  portant item in a fighting man's armament. It has a fair be· 
  ginning pany percentage, but no beginning attack percent· 
  age because it cannol be used offensively. It takes a fair 
  amounl of damage when compared to a weapon. Bul when 
  a shield takes damage, the effects from successive blows are 
  not cumulative: a weld can take blow after blow and not 
  break, while any weapon will give way after a while. 
  THE IMPALE 
  An 'impale' is a special type of successful attack which can 
  be done by long pointed weapons which are used for thrusting. 
  Here the impaling weapons are the spear, javelin, and the 
  arrow. When a person succeeds in an attack with one of these, 
  they should always notice if they roned lower than 20% of the 
  reqUired attack. If they did, then they have impaled their foe. 
  This means that the thrusting weapon happened by chance 
  to find a joint in the foe's armor and to have slipped in, driving 
  deep into vital organs or bone. Because of this, two special 
  things happen: 
  (I) More damage is done. The attacker must roU the nonnal 
  damage (108+ 1 for a spear, for example) and then add the 
  maximum damage possible with that weapon to the damage 
  they already rol.led. An impaling spear would do an automatic 
  9 points of damage, plus whatever the attacker roUed- a deva-
  stating blow of a minimum of JO poinu and a possible maxi-
  mum of 18 points damage! 
  (2) The attacking weapon is stuck in the enemy's body. 
  (Ibis was a common event in medieval baltles.) The next melee 
  round the attacker can try to pull it out by roUing OJ 00 equal 
  to or less than their impale percentage x 2. 
  WEAPONS TABLE 
  Weo,pon 
  Type 
  Beginning Attack 
  DtIlTIage 
  Breakage 
  Notes 
  &- Purry % 
  Points 
  Fist 
  Natural 
  50% 
  103 
  2·Handed Spear 
  Thrusting 
  25% 
  108+ 1 
  15 
  Impales 
  Sword 
  Hand 
  15% 
  108+1 
  20 
  Ax. 
  Hon' 
  25% 
  108+2 
  15 
  Mice 
  Hon' 
  30% 
  106+2 
  20 
  Rook 
  Thrown 
  45% 
  104 
  Jayelin 
  Thrown 
  20% 
  10JO 
  Impales 
  Bow 
  Missile 
  10% 
  106+1 
  Impales 
  Shield 
  Parry 
  25% 
  12 
  Does Not Break 
  
  A disadvantage to all this: weapons which can impale can· 
  not do damage to other weapons. In a fight between a spears· 
  man and a swordsman with shield, for instance, the spearsman 
  is likely to do more damage if he connects, but he is also likely 
  to have his spear whitt1ed into toothpicks by the sword. Want 
  to bet which event decides the outcome of the fight? 
  USING WEAPONS 
  Weapons have two uses, attacking and parrying. Each wea. 
  pon can do only one of these actions in a particular melee 
  round, and the intention of which will happen must be staled 
  during the Statement of Intent phase of the round. Shields, as 
  noted, can only be used for parrying, and bows and thrown 
  weapons can only attack. Since most will carry a hand weapon 
  and a shield, it is possible to make two parries per round with· 
  out an attack if desired. This is useful if attacked by more 
  than one opponent. 
  An attack is made by rolling OJ 00 and attempting to roll 
  equal to or lower than your character's attack percentage. 
  Such a roll is a successful attack. 
  A parry is done in the same way. When a shield is used, il is 
  never necessary to stale that a parry will be attempted unless 
  there is more than one foe, whereupon the specific enemy be. 
  ing parried must be poinled out. 
  RESOLUTION OF MELEE 
  Fighting is done in "melee rounds." See the next chapter 
  for an explanation of game sequence. For now the point will 
  be that when a number of foes fight. the order in which they 
  strike at each other is important, and is detennined by the DEX 
  of the fighters. In the first melee round all creatures with DEX 
  18 try to strike. Then ill Cfeatures wilh DEX t7 go, then 16, 
  15, 14, etc., till every character has an opportunity to strike. 
  Characters parry when they need to, without regard to their 
  DEX. If Bosh Blockhead's DEX is 6, he still can parry Amazing 
  Alfred's DEX 18 blow. There is only one shield parry per char-
  acter per melee round, but the character can also attack or par. 
  ry with his weapon, making possible two parries in a round. 
  Characters and creatures alike may try to hit, and still miss. 
  The defender mayor may not parry successfully. In a one-on-
  one melee, there are four possible resuhs: 
  ... ill"- .ltKhr'. 
  ...¥Jd m. ,*"",*r'r 
  _. r~ finM nwlt is: 
  . trik.... 
  plrry ... 
  hitl 
  mines 
  hill 
  perries 
  defender likel damage 'Irmor 
  ma'f absorb somel. 
  defender Ilk" no demage, but " 
  I _apon W8$ u~d to perry 
  then It "kel dllTlage from the 
  Ittaeking nrike. · 
  millIS 
  perries 
  ellaeker'l weepon tlkes d8fTlage if 
  perried by enOther weapon.' 
  ml_ 
  mi_ 
  no dlmlge ¥J'fwhere. 
  • 2-11¥JcMd IPH~ UUMI s_ eKc.plionl; _ 
  lwlow. 
  If a character or monster takes enough damage to kill him 
  or knock him unconscious before he has gotten his attack, 
  then he never geh to make that attack. 
  'fWO-HANDED SPEARS 
  This section is simply to bring all the infonnation about 
  this weapon into one place. 
  Two-handed spears can be used from the second rank. They 
  can be used to attack and parry in a single melee round, or to 
  parry twice. They cannot be used to attack twice in a round. 
  12 
  These weapons may impale, thereby doing extra damage as 
  explained previously. Once impaled into a foe, they must be 
  puUed QUt, requiring at least a full melee round. 
  Two-handed spears do not damage weapons when they par-
  ry an attacking weapon which misses its strike, nor do they 
  damage weapons which parry their successful attack. This 
  makes them an exception to the chart just above. 
  COMBAT NOTES 
  Turning from a foe means you cannot parry any attack 
  from that foe. And if someone attacks their target from be-
  hind, so that their target cannot see them and jump around, 
  then the attacker ~ts a 2O';'b bonus added to his ability to hit. 
  Changing weapons in melee takes a full melee round. muJe 
  a character is changing weapons, he can parry with his shield 
  or dodge. It takes I full melee round to stop and look all about. 
  In general, a single action can be done in a melee round. 
  A COMBAT EXAMPLE 
  Two characten, Able and Doir, have disCQl'ered why 
  they have one fewer lambs than they should. After half a 
  day of cross-country tracking, they find two baboons de-
  vouring the missing lamb. Able and Dafr brought no armor, 
  knowing they would need to move quickly to catch the 
  villilins. They decide to attack. The baboons hear then com-
  ing and pick up their weapons, too. The fig}lt is on! 
  Able Iw a sword and shield; his DEX iJ 12. Dair has a 
  spear, plus an axe strapped to his back; his DEX is 15. Ba-
  boon Screech Iwa mIlceand shield; his DEX is 13. Baboon 
  Bellow /un only rocks and natural weapons, but his DEX is 
  17. All are at 50% with all wca{JOns, and have CON 15 each. 
  ROUND ONE 
  Fint attacker is Bellow (DEX 17). Heartacks Able. Bel-
  low rolls 45, a hit! Able gets his shield up with a 35, and the 
  baboon's blow bounces off. Next attack iJ Dair with DEX 
  15. He rolls 32, a hit! But Screech parries with his shield, 
  and the blow is nullified. Screech now attacks, rolling 75, a 
  miss. Then Able thrusts with his swont, and hits on a roll of 
  22. Bellow Iw no shield and so cannet parry. He is hit. 
  Able's sword does 5 points damage to his foe. The boboon 
  is hUrting now! 
  Since these DEX won', change, the rest of the sequence 
  will be the same. The attacks in order will go to Bellow vs. 
  Able, Dair vs. Screech, Screech vs. Dair, and Able v!. Be/low. 
  ROUND TWO 
  Screech says he will parry with his mace, not his shield. 
  Bellow, bloody but undaunted, attacks again, and misses 
  with a rollofB3. Just oswell/or Able, who missed his parry. 
  Dair attacks Screech again and misses with a 64. Screech 
  porries with a 22, fndmllkesir. Screech rolls JD6+2/ormllce 
  damage and geu the full B points! There iJ now a crack in 
  Dair's spear, and he should be careful But since Screech par-
  n'ed with his weapon, he gets no attack thiJ round. 
  Able attacks WI, and rolls 72, another miss! 
  ROUND THREE 
  Bellow hits! Able misses his parry. But Bellow rolls only 
  2 points 0/ damage, almost inconsequentilli. 
  Dair attacks next, and hit again with a 42. Screech shield 
  parries with a 44, then scores agains! Dair parries with his 
  spear, but Screech rolls 7 points damage, breaking it in two! 
  Able lunges at Bel/ow, rolls 48 and hits again. Bellow, 
  parry-leu, takes 5 more points damage, and hows terribly! 
  
  ROUND FOUR 
  The Statements of Intent are important. The humans are 
  fint. Able says he wjl/ press his attack against wounded Bel-
  low, but Dair will withdraw slightly and pullout his axe. 
  Bellow, in no mood for further combat, says he11 tum and 
  nm, hoping to outdistance his foe after one combat round. 
  Screech seizes his clumce and strikes at the momentarily 
  unarmed Dair. 
  A t the fint strike (Bellow has no attack and Dair is 
  drawing his axe), Screech hits for 3 points of damage which 
  Dair cannot puny. Able attacks fleeing Bellow; attacking 
  from behind gives +20% to his attack. He rolls 61, hitting 
  for 3 more points of damage. Bellow lopes away, bleeding 
  profusely, but glod to be alive. 
  ROUND FIVE 
  Screech sees that he has two foes now, rather tlum one. 
  He declores he will tum and flee before Able can TefJch him. 
  Dair will attack, also getting a +20% for a rear attack. But 
  he misses, and the farmers watch Screech run out of sight. 
  They decide not to pursue: after all, they've dril'en off the 
  thieves and gil'en them a SIltisfying drubbing in the process, 
  and the farmers have their own wounds to hetzL 
  VIlI. Game Sequence 
  TIME, GAME SCALE, AND TURN SEQUENCE 
  Time scales measure the passing of events and deftne the 
  amount of movement possible in a tum. There can be different 
  scales, depending on the game being played. 
  LARGE SCALE TIME: THE GAME WEEK & FULL DAY 
  This scale is of minor use unless your characters are racing 
  against time. Time passes quickly on tltis scale, and generally 
  is used to explain past events or cover travel periods. In some 
  games it is important for training or study. 
  Movement in this scale assumes 10 hours per game day. 
  Walking Movement - 20 kilometers per day. 
  Marching Movement - 30 kilometers per day. 
  Riding Movement -
  20 kilometers per day (animals are 
  moving at a walk, possibly accompanied by wagons). 
  Cavalry MOl'ement - 40 kilometers per day (riding animals 
  unhindered by wagons, going at waJk-trot-walk pace). 
  SCENARIO SCALE TIME: THE FULL TURN 
  A full tum indicates 5 minutes of time, and is used to de· 
  scribe the passage of time as an adventuring party is engaged in 
  scenario actions like walking, climbing, searching, and so on. 
  Man Cautiously Advancing - 120 meters in 5 minutes. 
  Man Strolling - 240 meters in 5 minutes. 
  Man RUTUling - 2000 meters in 5 minutes. 
  Riding Animals: double the above rates. 
  COMBAT TIME: THE MELEE ROUND 
  A melee round is used during combat or other tense situa-
  tions where seconds count. It is approximately 12 seconds 
  long and is defmed as the time needed to perform one com-
  plete action. 'One complete action' includes an allack and a 
  parry, or preparing and throwing a rope, or looking around an 
  area long enough to use Spot Hidden Item or Listening, or 
  preparing and lighting a torch, or changing weapons, or mount· 
  ing and settling on a horse, or speaking clearly to others 
  nearby, and so on. 
  13 
  In a melee round, all humans and other 2.1egged folk move 
  not more tlum 24 meters. 
  In a melee round, all4-legged types mOl'e not more than 36 
  meters. 
  If a character or creature aims solely at getting away or at 
  following someone who is getting away, 2-legged mOl'ement 
  should be doubled, and 4-iegged movement should be tripled. 
  TURN SEQUENCE: KEEPING ORDER DURING PLAY 
  Because this is a game, it simulates the perception of a real 
  situation, but does not reproduce it exactly. It is necessary to 
  impose an external order upon play to keep events moving 
  smoothly. This external order is called the tum sequence. 
  Events occur without confusion as long as it is followed. 
  During game weeks the passage of events is conversational. 
  The referee tells what has happened and shouJd be prepared to 
  answer questions casually and completely without resorting to 
  formal turn sequence. 
  Similarly, the referee will narrate the sequence of evenlS in 
  scenario scale segments (5 minute segments) or even longer 
  ones when nothing significant occurs (there's no point in re-
  peating the phrase "nothing new" for 20 times during an un-
  eventfuJ passage, though the referee may want to throw out 
  false clues or threats occasionally to keep the party interested). 
  Melee scale gets more complex, since individual characters 
  become intimately involved in the action. Here there is a strict 
  sequence or order of play, wltich should be closely followed. 
  This sequence can also be used for other time scale. 
  I. Statement of Intent 
  2. Movement of Non-Engaged Characters 
  3. Resolution of Melee, Magjc, etc. 
  4. Bookkeeping 
  Statement of Intent. During this phase, the players and referee 
  form3l.ly state what their characters will do that melee 
  round. It is usual for the referee to state intentions first in 
  one round, then have the players state first in the following 
  round, but this varies, and the referee should follow what-
  ever method he prefers. During the round the stated action 
  may be changed, but another action may not be substituted. 
  For instance, the statement may be, "I will fire an arrow at 
  that troU," but if the referee states that the troll is dodging 
  behind cover, so that you haven't a clear shot, you can 
  abort the shot but cannot choose another target nor per-
  form another action. 
  Movement of Non-Engaged Characters. Now the characters, 
  both players and referee-eontrolled characters, can be moved 
  about. this may bring some forces into action. As a rule of 
  thumb, moving characters will not engage in melee in the 
  round in which they moved and met, but will be able to 
  fight next round. Likewise, if that troll didn't move but 
  spent the round waiting for you to run up to it, then it 
  cannot fight either, and must wait till next round. 
  Resolution of Melee. Now all attacks, parries, and missile firin~ 
  are resolved. 
  Determine which person or monster hits first by check-
  ing their OEX. The higher OEXs go first, followed by the 
  successively lower OEXs until everyone has struck. If a 
  character is knocked unconscious or killed before he strikes, 
  then he cannot make a return blow. 
  Missiles shot in melee will always be resolved before any 
  hand combat. 
  Bookkeeping. In this phase everyone records damage, healing, 
  or successfuJ use of a skill on their character sheet. 
  
  IX. A Solo Scenario 
  The Old Widow Marshum, your neighbor, has been com-
  plaining thai a bear is stealing her chickens and she can 't 
  do anything about it. She is looking for someone to put an 
  end to such goin~ on. She has heard that your character is 
  pretty adventurous, and has sent a message asking if you 
  would help her out. Are you interested? If so, go to her 
  place and talk it over. 
  She is desperate for any help. She has lost half her chick· 
  ens and feln for her cattle. She is offering your character 
  something special for success: a suit of Ring Mail which 
  belonged to her husband. It protects like 4 points of annor 
  and can be worn over leather armor, giving a total of 6 
  points of protection. Quite an improvement! However only 
  the person bringing back proof of the bear's death will gel 
  the prize. 
  The bear bothering her farm can't be too tough, since it 
  prefe rs nabbing chio:lkens to living naturally in the hills. The 
  old woman thinks it may be ill, or injured, but that is likely 
  to make it more dangerous to a hunter. 
  14 
  She teUs you that if you go, she will send along a flask of 
  magical healing potion. When drunk, this will reSlore tissue 
  rent by up to 5 points of damage. Thus if a character took 
  8 points of damage, and then drank the potion, there wouJd 
  be only 3 points of damage left. It is not possible to drink 
  this beforehand and get your hit points higher than natural, 
  though. If unused, the widow will want the potion back. 
  She shows you its tracks, and you set off. If you neglect. 
  ed 10 check your weapons before, here's what you brought: 
  a suit of 2·point annor, a shield, a hand weapon of your 
  choice (see the last page of this book), a s~ar, and a bow 
  and arrows. Decide what you'll be carrying in hand as you 
  track the bear- what you decide could be important. 
  Now, try to make your listening roll. Make it? If so, 
  you heard a stick snap nearby. If you made it, then try to 
  make your Spot Hidden roU. If you made that, then you 
  see where the bear is hiding. 
  Jr you didn'l make the listening roU, then your charac· 
  ter keeps on walking. If you made the Ustening bUI not the 
  SPOI Hidden, then he walks cautiously with the staled wea-
  pon in hand. 
  
  The bear attacks! If you did not malee your Listening, 
  then it has surprised you and will ge l a free attack at your 
  character. If you made the Listening but not the Spot ffid-
  den, then it gets first attack and all you can do is parry 
  against it the first melee round. If you made both rolls, 
  then you go right to nonnal melee sequence. 
  Here are the stats for the bear. Only those numbers rele-
  vant to the melee have been included. 
  BEAR 
  STR 17 CON IJ SIZ J 7 
  POW 10 DEX /6 
  Toutl Hlf Pol"" J J 
  Annor Z point Skin 
  W~"ponf: 
  Ripll C14w, j5% IIltad, 1D6 dIlrrJIIP 
  'Lt{t arw, 10% 1I1I«k, 206 dtlmllge 
  Biu, 4J" . ID6+IDSda1l1llge 
  Remember thai the bear cannol parry but SCls two at-
  tackJ per round. Probably it will bite and strike with one 
  paw each round. You may parry twice (with your shield 
  and with your weapon) but you sure won't hann the bear 
  much that way! Choose which attack youll parry, and hope 
  the other does not strike home as you try to ltill the beast. 
  WHATNEXT? 
  15 
  Once you have hit it twice, the bear will tum its back 
  (pving you a free strike at it) and altempt to ron away. The 
  bear moves faster than a person on foot and so il can flee if 
  it is not killed. 
  What will you do when it flees? Need time to drink that 
  Healing pOlion? Will you do that first? Did you think to 
  pull ou t your bow and shoot at the bear as it fled? What 
  about throwing your spear like ajavelin? If you did. do you 
  want to go inlo the brush and try to find it? 
  The bear's trail leads to a small, nearby cave. You know 
  the bear went inside. Your character should have little de-
  sire to go into a dark, close place and melee with a wound-
  ed bear. What will you do to collect the reward now? 
  You have many options besides the obvious one of fight. 
  ing blind. How about building a fire at the mouth and 
  smoking it out? How about ffiding until it reveals itself, 
  then shooting it with an arrow? Want to go back and ask 
  the Widow Marshum for a chicken to use as bait? Make up a 
  plan, then stick to it. 
  17tt nut rttp If to It!t into II nIIl pmt. BIIde RoIt-i'tJIyinl u dtripltd to /It into II Ulfll! mlmbtr of otht r IIImtf whldlllre nurmtly IIMlilllblt 
  or bel", pnp#rtd rifht now. 17t11 IIIIIY bt II {IIntlllY mmpllip, in RrmtQunt ', Clonlntlut or JOmtplll~ liu tht YOUnl KI1tIdomr of Efne; It OIn 
  bt in Irlltorlcllf timtl. In ~ditWll IlIptln or tht IItro/c Alt of SlliI; it can bt In rtultiwly trIOdem timtl. wlrtrt you tiu:kie tilt horron 0/ tilt 
  Ctlrullhu nlftlrtr. or in tht nIIlm of Klnl Arthur. or in Kftn~ fietion'r miffion worlds. 
  l oin/nl ll trlmptlipl mIly rtqulrt romt mon ruftl rudinl, bul l/you IIfrsdy Iut~t II rt/trtt, Illtn clltd: wilh him for tht ddlllfr you 7f fUtti. 
  Don't bt II/rtl/d 10 fUk. qutrtionr, lind you 7/ btpn II nt w hobby provid;", ntw fritndl lind un/1m/ltd t njoymtnt. HIlh rchool tmd rolltll! 
  trlmputt, !nqutnlfy hII~t roIt·plGy;", clubl, lind Illmt lIon ptTIOnIIt/ o/ltn know of optn mmp#ips. MlIlIIZlntllUdI at Dilftrtnl Worldl tmd 
  77I~ DrillVI' /'ff/."",tfy ","y lis" ofpllly~rs wlsnf"8 to br cont<lcteci. 
  Btpnni", your OWII ccmpalgn II mort tlmt·ronsumllll and mort rtr,wmlinl aJ well. Ch/lOr/um provldtl mDny ICtlltlrlOI and pl4Y-ilidJ which 
  art Itlldy fOl' Imlant tift afttr <In iniliol rtlldillf. $ucll productr Nil fUidt IItwcomtff IIl1d <lct al tht htllrl 0/ campr:ipll wilt" tht nftru has tht 
  t ntrtY IIl1d Illclination bUllGck f tht tlmt to fully p'tpan dtt<li/r. FOla cu"tlll /IIu flra ttd catlllOf. writt 10 Chaoflum fllc .. Box 6J()2, A/ooIlY. 
  CaIl/., 947()6. 
  HAPPY GAMING! 
  HIT PQINT CHART FOR SELECTED NATURAL ANIMALS, MONSTERS, AND INTELLIGENT RACES 
  Ther. it not room to give fuller mImics, .. ,;wn ~ 
  for the bur, but _ can .... pply the ...... hit pOinu few many Iypes. Use 
  Ihr. infol'TNtlon 10 build your own foes , nd heroes. Consider t.ow er"lu .... t lghl,.nd wlMlher ew not Ihey might be tr.ined 10 flghl. III 
  rolling up eholtaeteristiC$. dttermint if • e..,lure il Inltlligenl, whether II Is lhe .m. or IIrger or sm.ller tlWln. humen, how lough it Iogie-
  . lIv would til. ,lid 10 on. and Idd or .... blrK1 diee from t he ehoaraet«istie rolls IS .pproprill •. T he strong« ,nd bigger . erln .... ,s, lhe more 
  pOl,nl III ' !lackl m.V be if Ih' '!leeks .. «lid-but Ih, Ittacks will nol be ,xp...-!, at 118ft at first (just lik, play.r~IWII'IC1"" you elm keep 
  and Improve monsten, if you likel . Remember that skin Or hide or car'pace may.et IS Irmor. AI. rull o f thumb whieh you should adopt 
  o nly to I18t staned, give a creature 4 hil pOlnl1 lor ""Iry 06 u&ad to establish It I STR , .00 1 point for """V 6-8 added to the roll " an ·add.· 
  Thul , beer 11111 3-4 D6 $ IZ plul lOme minimum add (10 that you don't roll up pygmy beInI. Anv OIIlurel a~ 
  should be I constant. 
  u .... allv 2 pointllor thick hid, or fur. In 1M list below, the first number r. the nltural,tmOf of the being, followed bv It I hit points.. 
  N~ral AIoilnlh: 
  Gorill.2+ 13 
  Biboon 1+10 
  Monklr &#-1 
  CommonBHI2+15 
  G,'ulr s..,4+18 
  Lion 2+13 
  Ti,.r 2+'3 
  lMJPMd 1+10 
  l .r,. Hawk &#-5 
  EIgI. ' +9 
  Condor 2+12 
  b".&t0+9 
  "., ... 
  Wolf 1+10 
  0..,&#-10 
  Horst &#-14 
  80M 3+16 
  Sm#II Cr11codiI. 5+ I 1 
  Mldium C,ocodlle 1&#-27 
  l.". Crocodile 15+44 
  EI."".,t 5+ 16 
  Mammom6+2t 
  HippopoDmw3+11 
  ,.."mon 2+16 
  GI.nt Squid 2+ 16 
  B,ontQMu,20+80 
  Tr,,,,noraur 24+63 
  Triee~ topr 24t-54 
  R.t ()+.tf 
  Mo"r E., 1+12 
  MythoIogiQI Cratu .. : 
  c.ntaur &#- 15 
  Griffin 4+17 
  MMlt;cor.4+17 
  MiI10,....r &#-16 
  ()gnI &#-,3 
  Troll &#-12 
  ~ul&#-'5 
  UI1/com &#- 17 
  Bifl DtIfIOII4b+80 
  Sm'" Drl(lOl1 25+60 
  Sttyr 2+16 
  Gilmt Ant 2+12 
  Giltlt Wlrrior Ant 4+ 14 
  HlrPr 1+9 
  Gorpon 5+11 
  HiPPOgriff3+16 
  Roc 12+40 
  Sp/Iil1Jt 2+24 
  K"pi.2+18 
  GlNt Whit. Whal. 22+ 1 18 
  RMlioactitle Blob &#-200 
  Gl."t Spidtt, 5+20 
  .Jtbl»rwoclt &#- 16 
  Gl. nt W-sp 3+12 
  Abomlfllbl. SIlo....,.,." 4t-I 2 
  Chi",.,. 2+19 
  Bigloot 2+,4 
  Goblin 1+H 
  Ell &#-14 
  Dw.rf&#-14 
  
  Weapon 
  Fist 
  2·Handed Spcar 
  Sword 
  Ax< 
  M,,,, 
  Rook 
  Javelin 
  Bow 
  Sltield 
  WEAPONS TABLE 
  Type 
  Beginning A track 
  Dam~ 
  8realwge 
  &: Parry % 
  Points 
  Natural 
  50% 
  103 
  Thrusting 
  25% 
  108+1 
  15 
  Hand 
  15% 
  IOS+1 
  20 
  Hand 
  25% 
  108+2 
  15 
  Hand 
  30% 
  106+2 
  20 
  Thrown 
  45% 
  104 
  Thrown 
  20% 
  1010 
  Missile 
  10% 
  106+1 
  Parry 
  25% 
  12 
  RESISTANCE TABLE 
  Active 
  Notes 
  impales 
  impales 
  impales 
  does not break 
  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 I I 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 
  01 
  50 55 60 
  02 45 50 55 
  03 40 45 50 
  04 35 40 45 
  05 30 35 40 
  06 25 30 35 
  07 20 25 30 
  ... 08 15 20 25 
  ~ 09 10 15 20 
  ~ 10 05 
  JO 15 
  t:(
  11
  -
  0510 
  65 70 75 
  60 65 70 
  55 60 65 
  50 55 60 
  45 50 55 
  40 45 50 
  35 40 45 
  30 35 40 
  25 30 35 
  20 25 30 
  15 20 25 
  10 15 20 
  OS 
  10 IS 
  -
  05 JO 
  -
  05 
  80 85 90 
  75 80 85 
  70 75 80 
  65 70 75 
  60 65 70 
  55 60 65 
  50 55 60 
  45 50 55 
  40 45 50 
  35 40 45 
  30 35 40 
  25 30 35 
  20 2S 30 
  IS 20 25 
  10 15 20 
  95-- ----
  9095
  -
  -
  -
  -
  -
  85 90 95 -
  -
  -
  -
  -
  80 85 90 95 -
  -
  -
  -
  7580859095 --
  70 75 80 85 90 95 -
  6570 7580859095-
  -
  60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 -
  55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 -
  -
  50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 -
  45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 
  40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 
  35 40 45 
  SO 55 60 6S 70 75 
  30 35 40 45 50 55 60 6S 70 
  25 30 3S 40 45 50 55 60 65 
  12 -
  -
  05 
  13 -
  -
  -
  14 -
  -
  -
  15 -
  -
  -
  16 -
  -
  -
  -
  05 10 15 20 2S 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 
  90 95 -
  85 90 95 
  80 85 90 
  75 80 85 
  70 75 SO 
  65 70 75 
  60 65 70 
  55 60 65 
  50 55 60 
  45 50 55 
  40 45 50 
  17 -
  -
  -
  -
  18 -
  -
  -
  19 -
  -
  -
  -
  20 -
  -
  -
  21 -
  -
  -
  -
  05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 
  05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 
  -
  -
  05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 
  -
  05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 
  -
  -
  as 10 IS 20 25 30 35 
  For success, roll equal to or less than the indicated number. 
  /CHARACTER NAME _-=.:n:>::!.!::::.!AJ~--,A;=V~E::.RA:::::...!.:G:..:::E.,,-__ _ 
  PLA VER N Pc:::. 
  ~
  STRL 
  CON '''' 
  HIT 
  1 
  6 
  2 
  3 
  7 • 
  SIZ ~ 
  POINTS 11 
  12 
  13 
  INT 14 Ide. Roll 
  70"/. 
  16 
  17 I. 
  powJ..L LuckRolI 
  56'/. 
  4 • 
  8 
  10 
  C!)16 
  ,. 
  20 
  OEX l.f DodQIt Roll :!!'a? 
  CHA~ p ....... oo 45/. 
  ARMOR __ ~=:~~~r~s~
  . __ _ 
  JUMP 
  +S~ "'OVE aUiETL Y 2.5;1. 
  CLIMB 
  $;<' THROW 
  4S/' 
  LISTEN 
  45" HIDE 
  S5;1. 
  \.: SPOT HIDDEN ~ 
  FIRST AIO 
  !9:S!-
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  Hit Poinu~ 
  W 3 2.~ S~I\R.. 
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  Oom ... 10a+1 
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  W 2 SIlI~Lt> OTHER 
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  Parry 
  2.51· 
  t 
  Hit Points .....!!:.. ___ ~ 
  -1 
  W4 :JA~(LIJ 
  Attack 
  2.0/. ____ i t 
  Oom... I'DIO ___ ' 
  P,,,'1 ---
  Hit Poinu -=-
  Above ;1. Ampl, ch8lkt.r st. .. 1 ,rready filled OUI. Th. eontenu ",ould be eI .. , 10 you now, but notit:fl. few point, : hit POinil will be merked down 
  as Ih. ehlr8et.r 18k" d8mege, .nd Ih"n merked ,-,p as hHling 18kes piKe: Ihe 8bbtwi8l;on. Wl, W2, ... d so on .-.f.r to th. we.pon. Ih81 II" ehan.c:te, 
  has. You will wenl 10 rKord your C:harac;ters wilh • ptnCil, lirw;il some SlaliSlic:s IHPK;.lIy t"" I • • med Ikilll) 'I'IJ likIJly 10 ch •• Cl"er Ii ..... 
  
  This insert contains three separate items designed to let you play 88$-
  ic Rote-Pfaying as soon as you read the book. 
  (I ). THE BATTLE BOARD. shown opposite, is used to r~late move-
  ment. Along its top are the numbers 1-10 to use with the Melee Round 
  Marker to keep track of the current round. Simply move Ihe marker 
  along the track: to record where you are in play. There is also a summary 
  of the sequence of play_ The battleboard may be photo<opied repeal-
  edly to create larger play areas. 
  r C~~ij' 
  (2). DICE·CHITS are Ihe squares with numbers and shapes in them r 
  printed below. There is a series labelled "08" with rectangles, for 
  installCe. These replace the dice called for in the book. To use dice-chits, 
  separate them into piles according to what kind ID4, 06, etc.) of chit 
  they are, and also keep Ihe differently symbolized D6s apart. Place all r-T---;--t, ... ~r----+---+---j 
  the chi ts face down, and when necessary simply pick from the appropri · 
  ate pile. Then return them face down and mix the pile. 
  (3) PLAYING PIECES arc provided in many forms and shapes, .",,,, ,r~ 
  and move them on the ba\tleboard during play. You may need to make \-=--"= 
  up your own stat istics f~ some of the monsters and beasts. 
  We suggest that you copy these pages before cutting them up, Most 
  specialized pholo.copy stores can provide colored papers and heavy 
  paper stock, giving you a variety of durable counters of differing cololS. 
  You may wish to paste the sheets to even heavier ""Cdt""cd.~""
  ~?: 
  lor the th icker the cardboard the easier it will be to pick 
  and move these playing pieces. 
  D20 
  1 
  D20 • 
  Copyripl1 0 1981 Ch.,.;um Inc. ,. ..... ;.ion ann'''' to photo-eopy _ desi...:! for penonaI u. only. 
  06 
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  2 
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  3 
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  020 
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  D. o 
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  D20 
  I 
  020 
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  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  .. 
  ~fflI tophoro-copll 'tK~u,. 
  
  BASIC ROLE-PLAYING 
  Battleboard, Chit-Dice, & Character Pieces 
  Illustrated 
  Many Examples 
  Solo Play or with Several Players 
  Character Forms Supplied 
  Easy to Learn 
  The Fundamentals of Role-Playing 
  BE FANTASY ADVENTURING IN 30 MINUTES! 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Basic Roleplaying (BRP) (d100)/Core/BRP 2e - Basic RolePlaying (2nd Edition).pdf