© 1994 by Scott Gray and Sharon Tripp. These pages may not be reproduced for profit. They may be copied, provided they are not altered and the authors' names remain attached.
Previous section | Next section | ContentsThe rule of having the armor rating cover the character's entire body was written for simplicity, and because most groups will have a low budget. Some GMs may modify the rules such that armor subtracts from damage only when an attack hits an armored area.
In such cases it is suggested that armor ratings be doubled or tripled -- leather armor providing 2 to 3 points of protection, chain providing 4 to 6 points, and plate providing 6 to 9 points. If the armor ratings are changed, the wear armor ability should be changed accordingly, wear force 2 armor becoming wear force 4/6 and wear force 3 becoming wear force 6/9. The group may also wish to play without the minimum damage of one rule.
Some campaigns will have rules for empathetic characters (those with the empathy benefit) sensing the circumstances of another character's (PC or LC) death. Some GMs may choose to use these death visions in their campaigns if there is a concern that an inordinate amount of killing would take place otherwise.
When a character dies, there is a chance of the fleeing spirit making one last contact with the mortal world. This chance is determined by the GM; (s)he may choose to make such contact more likely if the character suffered a violent death. If the spirit does make contact, then one (no more than one, unless the GM rules otherwise) character with the empathy benefit in the "general area" will receive a vision of the death in his/her dreams.
The GM will select (usually at random) from among all of the characters with empathy benefit, one to receive the "death vision". The vision will consist of any images or pictures necessary to show the means by which the character died and circumstances around the death. Even if the character was poisoned, attacked by surprise or in his/her sleep, the vision will show the figures and forms involved.
Generally, the recipient of the death vision may be any character with the empathy benefit. If the murderer has the empathy benefit and a close friend of the victim has the empathy benefit, neither of those two has any greater or lesser a chance of receiving the vision than someone who had never met the character.
Even in a campaign where death vision exists, it is not
absolute proof, and should seldom be useable as sole evidence to
convict someone of murder. Obviously, a person could lie about
having a death vision. Mages or demons might give false death
visions. Also remember that the death vision does come in a
dream. A character could have a genuine dream, not a death
vision, of someone dying; particularly if (s)he witnessed or
heard of the death.
Engineering and Smithing
A smith can follow blueprints for metal armor. A smith can make weapons with no moving parts, but an engineer is required to put together such things as guns or crossbows. An engineer needs a smith for the parts for such things, however, as well as for the parts for many types of traps -- springs, levers, etc.
Some alchemical formulas will require odd tools and furnaces, for the separation of basic elements. In such instances, the alchemist must get or craft a blueprint of the tool in order to have it made. Likewise, some magical rituals may require odd tools; in which case the blueprint may often be found printed in the grimoire which contains the ritual.
Example: Jake, who was a blacksmith before joining the army, agrees to make something for Kevin. He's not quite sure what its use is, but Kevin has provided him with a blueprint, so he knows what he's making. The blueprint is number 674. The item created is assigned the number 674508 by the GM. Kevin then uses the item in a ritual to age Jake 80 years.
A sacrifice should not be considered betrayal unless the characters have known and interacted with each other in a friendly or trusting manner for at least two days. Certain types of sacrifice (GM's discretion) may receive no points if there is no betrayal on the part of the fleshshaper. (E.g., if an evil nation sanctioned a state fleshshaper to strengthen the national leaders at the cost of citizens chosen by lot for sacrifice, the fleshshaping would work normally; but if a nation chose only criminals found guilty by due process of law for fleshshaping, no points would be rewarded.)
Note that if the fleshshaping is very well played out, and the fleshshaper goes to some cost and trouble to "do it right", the GM may want to allow an additional point or two to the person the points are being transferred to.
Chirurgery is unrealistically quick. This is due to the fact that most players are not going to want to spend the majority of the event, and possibly future events, bedridden. However, if the campaign is run with time crunches (i.e., the GM allows time to pass quicker than "real time", in instances that the characters must wait for something), then the GM may wish to make the time requirements and/or number of points received for chirurgery and natural healing (and perhaps empathic healing as well) more realistic. This might also be an option if the campaign is extremely combat-light, with the only injuries occurring through extreme foolhardiness or ill fortune.
The improvised weapon rules allow a character to have a makeshift weapon in a desperate situation. Improvised weapons are not meant to be used as standard weapons. The GM might choose to allow some weapons, when shattered, to be salvageable enough to do minimal damage; however, not all weapons should be salvageable.
If improvised weapons rules are used, it is assumed that only one portion of any shattered weapon will be usable. The base damage will be one, and the material type will usually remain constant. (A shattered hafted weapon used as an improvised weapon will generally do the damage type of the haft material.) Such weapons will do a maximum damage of "four" in any one blow -- the user may not call more than "four" or "four body" regardless of masteries, doubled attacks or other modifiers.
If these rules are used, improvised weapon tags should be given out with normal weapon tags (in case the weapon is shattered). Not every weapon that is shattered will shatter in such a way as to be useable; the GM may choose to give improvised weapon tags out randomly to people with appropriate sorts of weapons -- perhaps in an envelope so that the player doesn't know until it is opened whether or not that weapon will be usable as an improvised weapon after being shattered.