Glaive RPG Rules

 On a whim, I backed the Glaive kickstarter and got my reward a few weeks ago. It is a booklet sized physical produce coming in at 30 pages. Given that it is based on the Knave RPG it is actually a fair bit more detailed (my version of Knave is only 7 pages).

Glaive takes the Knave rules and mixes them with some old school D&D rules. The first change you notice is character creation is that the six attributes are just modifiers (+1 to +3 to start) with no Defence numbers like you have in Knave. The characters choose from 2 talents to start and can have as many as five in play. Talents are arranged by old school classes but they do not have to be chosen that way. You could choose the warrior’s Hack and Slash talent (roll of 18-20 you perform a stunt), and the magic-users’ spell-casting ability. You can gain more talents as you level but you can only have 5 at a time. You can actually drop talents to change it for a new one.

Hitpoints advance with level. You reroll your entire hit points at every level increase (they cannot go down). Hit points are d8 for everyone. Combat feels a lot like D&D. You have d6 initiative and roll a d20 + your ability modifier (Strength for melee) and hit if the roll is greater than or equal to the opponents AC. You can regain 1d6 hit points if you pause for a turn and eat rations. Almost like a computer game. I am not certain about this rule. Given the rules on encumbrance, you are limited in how many rations you can carry.

Character creation also has similar traits (personality, background, etc) to Knave. There are also a lot of random charts included for gear. Inventory is done like Knave with it based on Constitution and you have a set number of slots (10+ CON bonus).

In an interesting choice, magic spells are provided but they are not grouped by level. They are all level less but some scale depending on your level. They are also no healing or offensive spells. The rules note this is to prevent magic-users from being healing bots or artillery. But the rules also provide magic-users the ability to turn any spell into a burst of offensive magic that does damage based on level. Ohh, and the kicker is that each spell is in a single book and each takes up one inventory slot. So Mages need high CON. I can understand the reasoning here but I think I would prefer if it was intelligence-based. Maybe all the spellbook takes up 3 slots and the number of spells is based on intelligence.

The rules do not include monsters but OSR monsters can almost be used as written and the rules do provide an explanation of how to convert monsters or create your own.

I found the rules interesting, I do not like all of the choices but I am willing to give it a try. Since my online Swords & Wizardry game takes up most of my time I am not going to try running Glaive online at least not right now. That leaves playing Solo. I decided to use Mythic as the Solo engine since I have the Mythic cards and want to get them into more use.

The (Brief) Adventures of Brem Lonetree

Scene 1 Cold Start: Close Thread, Disrupt, Friendship.

Brem Lonetree is working as a mail carrier for the messenger guild. He works for a named Wilmar Finkel. Today he arrives in Greenvale but he is delivering the messages two days late because he got held up by snow. But he has often been late. This time Wilmar uses the contract to dock his pay. Rather than 20 crowns, he is paid only 12. In a rage, Brem curses Wilmar and vows to never work of him again.

Brem goes out and gets a room at the Wandering Minstrel Inn now that he has to leave the Messenger Guild Hall. It costs him 3 crowns for the room and a hot meal.

Is Brem disturbed during the evening? Unlikely. No.

Event: NPC Action, Malice, Dispute.

The next day Brem is minding his own business eating breakfast (down to 8 crowns now) when local tough Padon Bitsk enters the tavern and walks over to where Brem is eating. He leans over and spits in Brems porridge. Brem looks up startled. Podon chuckles and says that he was sent by Wilmar to collect him.

Brem thinks for a moment and then leaps to his feet and takes a swing at Podon. It is a swing and a miss. Podon (+1 to hit, AC 10, 6 HP) swings a punch at Brem striking him for 2 points of stunning damage. Brem takes another swing and misses again. Podon laughs and punches Brem in the stomach for 1 point of damage. Finally, with his anger boiling to the top, Brem strikes Podon right in the jaw as the other man is laughing. Podon goes out like a candle and crashes to the floor. The angry innkeeper Berstern Dobbs comes out of the kitchen and yells at Brem to stop fighting. Brem smiles and says the fight is all over. He gathers his gear and trudges out the door.

Scene 2 Expected Scene: Wilmar expecting to be offered a job by Wilmar. Interrupt. PC Negative, negligence/adversities.

Brem goes to the small hall that is the quarters for the Messenger Guild. It is empty except for Wilmar behind a table. Brem tells Wilmar that he got his message but he is not interested. Wilmar, raises his eyebrows, "Ohh, you have other plans then?" Brem shrugs. "Well forget it. You owe me money and I expect to collect". Brem is confused and argues. But Wilmar says that the Messenger guild was not paid by two clients because Brem was late. Wilmar informs him that he has been penalized for the 40 crowns. He asks Brem for the silver. Brem laughs but Wilmar shows him the penalty note on the contract. Since Brem cannot read he shrugs. He figures he can just walk away and there is not much Wilmar can do about it.

Wilmar further tells Brem there is a way for him to pay back the 40 crowns and get paid an additional 40 crowns. Brem leans in with interest. “What needs to be delivered?”

Wilmar tells Brem that they have a large delivery that needs to be made outside the town. It turns out the location is Zoquill's Tower. The wizard Zorquill’s tower is in the Thin Thorns forest, which can be dangerous. Brem knows that Wilmar is likely really desperate. He expresses concern at the danger and demands 60 crowns. They settle on 50 crowns.

Wilmar goes back to the locked stockroom and with much struggling drags a wooden crate into the room. Brem goes over and tries to lift the crate. It is heavier than a keg of beer. He goes to the stock room and grabs a sled to place it on.

Scene 3 Expected Scene: Brem delivers the crate to the wizard 5 miles away. As Expected.

Brem sets out immediately. It will be impossible to get to the wizard's tower and back while the sun is still up. At this time of year, there are only 10 hours of sunlight. So he sets out just as the sun is rising.

Does Brem encounter any difficulty passing through the Thin Thorns? Likely. Yes.

As he reaches the Thin Thorns he can just make out the tower of the wizard in the distance. Keeping the location in mind he trudges through the pines careful to avoid snowfalls. He hears some odd animal calls and realizes he is being followed. He maneuvers the sled into a protected position near some trees and ducks behind it and waits. After a few moments, a pair of Goblins carrying spears advance slowly out of the trees toward the sled. Just as they reach the sled, Brem leaps to his feet and attacks one with his spear. But the goblins are not surprised and attack as well. One spear cuts into Brem's arm. It throws off Brem's aim and he misses. As he steps back one Goblin stabs him in the side. Brem feels warm blood pouring down his side. He struggles to get away but the goblin's chop him down. Brem falls dead in the snow. The wizard will never get his crate of goods.

So that was a little disappointing. A drew up a little map (below) and everything for this solo adventure and poor Brem was killed in his first encounter. The combat was no more deadly than any other OSR game. But I rolled poorly for Brem and very well for the goblins. The encounter should have been of mild difficulty but it turns out Brem is a lousy fighter.

I will have to try something else using Glaive in the same setting.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG Rules

Advanced Fighting Fantasy rules are based on the mechanics of some pick-your-path gamebooks that were popular in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. I was aware of the books from seeing them in stores and advertisements in Game magazines but I never owned one.

I bought the rules in 2014 and never looked at them too closely. But this weekend I went through them in detail. It is a simple system that is very different from other fantasy games I have played.

What follows is a brief overview of the rules.

Characters

The system does not use classes or levels and allows a lot of customization in creating the hero you want to play.

Heroes have four characteristics, Skill, Stamina, Luck, and Magic. The characteristics have starting values of 4, 8, 8, and, zero respectfully. There are 8 additional points that can be added to the characteristics. Skill and Luck can each be increased by 3 points. Four points can be added to Stamina and each point added to stamina is worth 2 points. It is possible to leave Magic at zero if you do not plan to create a magic-using character. But you can put 7 points into magic.

The game assumes that must heroes are humans. Humans gain +1 to Luck. If you want to play an Elf they get a +1 to magic and dwarves get a +2 to stamina. Elves and dwarves also must take the Dark seeing talent.

The real customization begins in taking Special Skills. Special skills are Lore skills, stealth skills, combat skills, and magic skills that define a hero. All new Heroes also assign 2 points to three different special skills and 1 point to six more special skills. No skill can be increased twice. Although racial special skills can be further raised.

The Magic Special skills detail the different types of magic available. To have one of these skills the hero must have at least one point in Magic skill. Only one type of Magic can be chosen.

Minor Magic, Magic Priestly, Magic Sorcery, Magic Wizardry are the types. Magical Heroes need to calculate how many Magic Points they have. Magic points (MP) power Wizardry and Magic-Minor spells. The Hero receives 2 MP for every point in the Magic Characteristic, Magic-Wizardry or Magic-Minor.

Finally, every hero chooses one Talent.

Core Action Rules

The core rules of the system are Unopposed checks and Opposed checks. The Hero rolls 2d6 and compares the result to the appropriate Characteristic. If the result is lower than or equal to the Characteristic it passes. Usually, this will be the Skill characteristic. If the hero has an appropriate Special Skill, the value of the Special Skill is added to the Characteristic. There can be other modifiers that add or subject from the hero’s Characteristic.

Most results are simply a passed or failed check. However, a roll of double 1 or double 6 each produces special results. Double 1 is a critical while double 6 is a fumble.

If the Hero is in competition with an opponent to complete the task then the opposed check system is used. Both the hero and the person opposing him roll 2d6 and ADD it to their Characteristic and Special skill total. Other modifiers may apply. Whoever has the highest result succeeds.

There is also a Luck check. This is normally requesting when a Hero is trying to avoid a Trap or any other situation where luck is the overriding factor. To test Luck the hero rolls 2d6 and compares the result to his CURRENT LUCK score. In this case ignore double 1 or double 6 results. Regardless of the result, the Hero’s current Luck will be reduced by 1 point. A player can choose not to be tested for Luck and fail automatically. A player can also voluntarily request to check for Luck in certain circumstances usually as an alternative to Skill.

Luck does not automatically recover over time. The DM may allow it to return to its full level at the end of an adventure.

Combat

The combat system is different from the skill check system and that makes it a little confusing for new players.

When a Hero fights an enemy BOTH combatants roll 2d6, and add their Skill score and appropriate weapon Special skill (if possessed). The highest total wins the round. If there is a tie the round is a draw. The winner of the round then rolls 1d6 to determine damage. This result is compared on the appropriate weapon damage table to find out how many Stamina points are lost. The loser of the round rolls 1d6 and compares the result on the armour table. This will determine how many Stamina points of damage are prevented by the armour.

If a hero reaches 0 Stamina they are immediately knocked unconscious. If they reach -4 Stamina they die outright. An unconscious hero loses 1 Luck every minute (six combat rounds) until attended by a Hero with the First Aid Special skill or is healed with magic. If they reach 0 Luck they die.

The rules suggest rolling 3d6 to speed up play. One die is a different colour and indicates a damage or armour roll.

If a combat roll is double 6, that combatant automatically wins the round. Also, they inflict more damage. Roll 1d6 damage roll and double the result. Armour works as normal. This is a critical hit. Critical hits also force the victim to lose one point of Skill. Conversely, if a combat roll is a double 1, that combatant has fumbled and will automatically lose the round. They also must roll 2d6 on the fumble table.

If magic is cast or a magic missile weapon attacks these attacks are resolved first, followed by any magical spells or items, followed by any melee attacks.

Heroes my make a Luck check in combat to give themselves an edge. This will reduce the Luck score. Luck may be used after attack rolls are made to force the successful attacker to roll a 1 for their damage roll. Luck may also be used to increase the damage of a successful attack. The hero must check Luck before making the damage roll. If successful the Hero will use the damage from column 7 of their damage table.

If a hero or a monster is facing multiple enemies. The single combatant must choose which enemy he is attacking. All combatants roll as normal and calculate as normal. If the lone fighter beats the nominated enemy then he inflicts damage. If he has a higher roll than other enemies he avoids damage. But if another enemy has a higher roll he will take damage from that enemy.

Some creatures have 2 or more attacks. These creatures may inflict damage on multiple opponents, up to the number of attacks. BUT they may only attack each opponent once. So if a creature with 2 attacks is fighting a single opponent it only gets a single attack.

Missile attacks are handled the same way as melee combat with the exception that the combatant firing a weapon will only take damage if the other combatant has a missile weapon as well.

Each type of armour has a protection value. However, a hero must be trained in the wearing of armour or he will suffer penalties. A hero must compare his armour Special Skill plus Skill characteristic total to the listed protection value. If the hero has insufficient total to wear the armour but wears it anyway, then the difference between the required total and the hero’s actual total is deducted from all physical Skill checks including combat checks.

If a shield is used, then the protection provided for a particular result should be added to that provided by the armour worn. Only one armour roll is made whether or not a shield is used. A small shield does not require an Armour special skill to be used.

Damage can only be healed after a battle. A hero can benefit from First Aid immediately after a battle. A successful Healing Special Skill check allows the person healed to recover 2 Stamina. On a roll of double ones the subject actually recovers 4 Stamina. A roll of double 6 inflicts 2 Stamina damage. Only one First Aid check can be made per hero per fight.

A hero will also recover 2 Stamina from eating a meal. A hero can eat as many meals as the like but he regains Stamina only on the first two meals eaten.

If a hero does not eat a meal during the course of a day he loses 2 Stamina.

A night’s sleep also restores 4 Stamina as long as it is uninterrupted. A hero who goes a full day without sleep loses 3 Stamina. It takes a week of rest to recover 1 point of Skill from a major wound.

Magic

All heroes who want to use magic must have at least one point in the MAGIC characteristic. Spells of Minor Magic and Magic-Wizardry types are powered by mystical energy in the hero. This is represented by Magic points as noted earlier. Points are replenished by a night’s sleep.

The rules to cast spells are the same as those for skills. Roll 2d6 and compare to the Magic characteristic. You must roll under the characteristic to succeed. A fumble roll (double 6) requires a roll on the spell fumble table.

Some magic spells can be resisted by the target of the spell even if the spell was cast successfully. Spells that can be resisted are noted in their description.

To resist a spell, the target must make a Luck check. A successful check means that the spell fails to have its full effect. The Luck score would be reduced by one. A hero can voluntarily decide not to make a LUCK check.

If a caster invests extra magic points (wizard) or STAMINA (sorcerer) into a spell they can lower the chance of a Luck check succeeding. The test for Luck is modified by the number of extra points.  

Minor Magic

These spells are cantrips. Because of the ease of these spells, a standard spellcasting roll is made with a +6 bonus. A spellcasters total of his MAGIC characteristic and his Magic-minor special skill is known as his Incantation score.

Wizardry

These spells are powered by magic points. The number of points is equal to the rank of the spell. A wizard wearing armour must expend extra spell points for every spell cast. The number of additional points depends on the armour.

Sorcery

The total of sorcery, Magic characteristic plus Magic-sorcery special skill is called the sorcerer Inner Strength and is powered by Stamina. As with wizardry, a roll of 6 requires a fumble table roll. Unlike wizardry, the wearing of armour does not affect sorcery spells. The sorcerer still needs the armour special skill to receive the fill protective benefits of armour.

A sorcerer must always have a component if one is required for the spell. The required Stamina is deducted immediately after the spell is cast. It is possible for a sorcerer to knock himself unconscious with the casting of a spell. Casting a sorcery spell does not cause wounds, only weakness. This Stamina loss from spell casting cannot be restored by the Healing skill. It is recovered by food, sleep, a healing potion, or priestly ability. Unless noted in the spell description, the components for a spell are not consumed when the spell is cast. They can be reused.

Priests

The priests of a god can only worship one god and will always carry a symbol of the god they follow.  Each god grants powers to his priests. The priest need only mumble a prayer for the power to take effect. A priest still requires the Magic characteristic but he does not need to make a Magic check to cast spells. The total of a Priest’s Magic characteristic and his Magic-Priestly special skill is referred to as Devotion. This is used to determine the effect of his powers.

A priest simply states his action for a round to use a power and it happens. The only thing that prevents a priest's power from occurring is falling out of favor with his god. A priest does not use magic points but he may only use each of his gifted powers once per day. They become available again at midnight. In dire circumstances, a priest may use the same power twice in one day but he must deduct a point of Luck to do so. Each god grants its priests a specific power and three common powers.

The main criticism I have with the rules is that the system of checks using a roll under method for success. I much prefer a rule over mechanic it feels right to roll high. This is made clumsy by the fact that combat uses the opposite approach. I do not think it would have taken a lot of work to change it so that the mechanic was standard. It will be confusing to think of rolling a 1 is a critical for skills but a fumble in combat. Especially, when unopposed checks can occur in combat (Luck for instance).

Summary

It is a different rules system then what I am used to for a fantasy game. That is a definite plus when you are looking to try something different. I am also a big fan of systems that do not have classes or levels. The character customization looks solid. The rules do provide some standard archetypes (ranger, wizard, fighter etc.) if you do not want to put a lot of thought into your starting character. The rules have a fairly standard experience system that allows you to spend points on increasing characteristics or buying Special skills.

I can see myself trying out these rules to see how they play. There is a fair amount of additional products on Drive Thru RPG. Monster books and adventures. Seeing these online was the inspiration for me to dig out the rules are review them.

Bare Bones Fantasy

Since I a still not getting in any playing time here is another game review.

I have had Bare Bones Fantasy since it came out and I browsed through the rules once before. But this time I took the time to take notes and observations as I read through the rules.

Bare Bones Fantasy is a product from DWD Studios. A fairly new Games company but one that I was aware of through their Star Frontiersman digital magazine. It is an OSR style fantasy role-playing game with a fair amount of support.

The Basics

Bare Bones Fantasy uses a Dice Standard of two 10-siders, so it is a percentile based system that feels a little like Chaosium’s Basic Fantasy in its conflict resolution. Characters have four abilities, Strength, Dexterity, Logic and Willpower. Abilities are rolled as 5d10+30.

The system uses classes but oddly the decision was made to call them skills. Logically, it makes sense but after a lifetime of playing games with class and skill, it is a little off-putting. I don't really have any game logic issue with the decision. The eight “skills” are Cleric, Enchanter, Leader, Scholar, Scout, Spellcaster, Thief and Warrior. The skills are rated in level from 1 to 6. During character creation, you pick a primary skill and give it a +20. Then you pick a secondary skill and give it a +10. As characters advance more skills can be purchased.

The system has the standard fantasy races, human, elf, dwarf, and halfling. The race chosen gives some changes to abilities.

Conflict Resolution

For Actions roll a d100 and compare the results to your Ability or Skill and any other modifiers. If you roll equal to or lower than the number you succeed. The rules allow for automatic success and failure. Any reasonable action succeeds on any roll of 00-05, and action with a reasonable chance of failure does so on a roll of 95-99. For example, if you want to pick a lock you would use your thief skill.

There is also a chance of Critical Success and Failure. Any time you roll doubles and succeed it is a critical success. Any time you roll doubles and fail in your roll it is a fumble.

On Contested Actions, both characters involved in the action make a roll. There must be a clear winner. Rolls are made until one contestant fails and one succeeds on the same throw.

Resistance Checks are made in reaction to some threats (like saving throws) to the character. An ability check that negates or reduces the otherwise successful threat. Resistance checks are actions. Each action taken after the first (in the same turn) results in a cumulative -20 to skill and ability checks.

Body points (BP) represent how much damage your character can take before falling down. When creatures reach 0 BP they are dead. When characters reach 0 BP they are unconscious for the rest of the battle. After the encounter, they must make a STR check. It is a save or die type check. If treated after a fight, 5 BP of damage can be healed (if it is recent). Characters heal 2 BP per day naturally. The system would appear to have fairly dangerous combat.

If you hit in combat, roll damage for the weapon used. The damage is reduced from the opponent's body points. There is also Damage Reduction (DR). If the opponent has DR, he may subtract his DR from the damage he would have sustained.

Spellcasting

For a mage to to cast a spell, the mage must have at least one hand free, be able to speak freely and succeed in a spellcasting skill check. Spellcasters can cast any number of spells (if their usage allows) each counts as an action. Only characters with levels in spellcaster or cleric can learn spells. If a spellcaster is the character’s primary skill he knows 2 spells per spellcaster level. Otherwise, he learns only one spell per level. Once a spell is known, the character may use it as often as its Usage allows.

Each spell has a different usage. For instance, Heal can only be used once per day but Dispel Magic has unlimited use.

GM Advice

The Gamemaster section of the rules goes over success modifiers, resistance checks, and disadvantage. Disadvantage is a situational modifier, a character is considered to be at a disadvantage in his resistance check for a few special situations. If an opponent hits a defender with a weapon in melee and the defender has no weapon. If the defender is hit by a ranged weapon. If the defender is not aware of the threat. Disadvantage causes your resistance check to be halved.

The rules include a simple list of spells and monsters. There is an an adventure idea generator and a random dungeon generator.

Keranak Kingdoms

Finally, there is a provided generic setting, Keranak Kingdoms. It is land of one kingdom that was formerly ruled by a monarch with near-divine powers provided by a crown. When the last of the line died recently, anarchy ruled as all fought for the crown, until the Knights of the Rose banished the crown. The lands await a ruler judged worthy of the crown.

It is a pretty plain setting, which can be a good thing if you want to just plug in standard fantasy adventures with little work.

Evaluation

Bare Bones Fantasy is what it claims to be. A simplified rule system for Fantasy role-playing. It appeals to me. One of my favorite systems was RuneQuest 3 which also uses a percentile system but it much more complicated. Bare Bones Fantasy does have levels, but I think they are not going to affect play very much. A new character should be almost as big a threat as a more experienced player. This very much appeals to me. If I have one major complaint with D&D it is the levels which results in characters who are eventually way more powerful than the average person. They in turn have to be countered with exponentially more powerful monsters. I prefer a system where you could reuse your favourite low-level monsters and have them be a worthy challenge (kobolds again?).

I would have to try the magic system to see how it works in practice, but it does appeal to me. Rather than fire and forget each spell has different uses per day.

Talislanta The Savage Lands

I just recently purchased Talislanta: The Savage Land. It is not a ruleset per se, it is really a rules addition for running a Talislanta campaign using existing rules. There are three versions, 5E, d6 and original. I purchased the 5E version so I do not know, but I assume original uses Talislanta rules?

The Savage Lands is I believe something new for Talislanta. Before the setting assumed a Renaissance level setting with nations, cities and a fairly advanced civilization. The Savage Lands takes place in the distant past. A “Great Disaster” has recently occurred and all that remains are devasted wastelands populated by savage tribes. As in the original, Talislanta is populated by a large number of unique species many of which are playable races. There are none of the traditional fantasy races (elves, dwarves, halflings) but there are various races of humans or near-humans.

There is the dragon-like Drakkan, the plant-based Narada, the lion-like Shaka and a number of near-human races. Each has various pluses attached to choosing that race. Only a few have negatives attached to their attributes.

The Savage Lands is a low-magic setting, the rules recommend banning all magic-using classes in D&D and removing spells from Rangers. There is also an interesting option to run the game without classes. Under this method, all characters start with rolled ability scores but their proficiencies are the same. As they advance, new proficiencies are learned to create more and more unique characters. An intriguing idea for me.

Proficiencies are skills, languages, tools, and in this case medium armor, and martial weapons.

In Savage Lands, everyone is assumed to start as a member of a tribe. Each of the races has carved out their own territory and there are few races that travel indiscriminately between regions. The gazetteer for the Savage Lands reads like a more primitive and brutal version of Dark Sun. There are no nations, towns, or villages. Just tribes wandering wastelands.

A very good list of fairly unique monsters that fit well with the Savage Lands Setting is included in a bestiary. It is rounded out with an extensive list of demons. Random Encounter Tables per region are provided. Making this useful for a good sandbox style game.

Included in these random encounter tables is the chance of encountering a magical storm know as the Gyre. Another table is provided for random results of the Gyre. It is a magical storm that deposits misfortune wherever it goes. A Plague of Demons, a rain of monsters, curses and the like.

Playability

The setting and rules are very playable. Open wastelands with a legitimate reason for tombs, ruined cities and monsters is simplicity for a Dungeon Master. But there are also no cities, towns, villages, civilization or agriculture. Just wandering tribes defending their territories. This makes it very hard to have a party of mixed races. It makes it very hard for the player characters to find food and water or trade what they find in that ancient tomb. There is no coinage, only barter. Coins could be traded but only in the value of the metal. There is an extensive section on trade goods and their value to help the Dungeon Master.

I can see easily running a single adventure in a ruin or a sandbox style game for a short period of time but beyond that, I think that "tomb of the week" could get tiresome. Rules are provided for the players to run the entire tribe and advance their tribe in addition to their characters.

Finding a Colossus in the Wastelands