Barbarians Versus. Written by Nathan J. Hill. Cover Art by Jeremy Mohler. Copyright 2004, Nathan Hill & Mystic Ages Online. All Rights Reserved.

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2 Barbarians Versus Written by Nathan J. Hill Cover Art by Jeremy Mohler Copyright 2004, Nathan Hill & Mystic Ages Online. All Rights Reserved. Special Thanks to the Creator, Richard Tillman, Darrin & Jill Hill, My Parents, Jeremy Mohler, Jason Blair, My Family, David & Michelle Lyons, & the Rpg.Net community. Keep gaming! Version 1.0, 3

3 Table of Contents Cover 1 Barbarian s To Do List 2 Title & Credits 3 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 Barbarian Creation 7 Rules 13 GameMaster 18 Adventure: The Black Pit 28 Author Notes 30 Index 31 Character Sheet 32 Ancient Barbarian Wisdom: A barbarian without his axe may be more dangerous than a barbarian with his axe. Fine, take my axe, Grunthar. But I will still crush your head in with my bare hands! Come here, you filthy oaf! - Churg of the Bloody Shield Clan Appendix A: Loot Table 23 Appendix B: Drinking Rules 24 Appendix C: Barbarians 25 Appendix D: Villains 27 4

4 You hail from the icy north, a land of snowy, jagged peaks. You are trained to kill; you are molded to survive. You are a legend among warriors. You are a barbarian. Barbarians Versus is an easy to learn, fast-paced, actionoriented roleplaying game. You play a barbarian from the cold north, far from your homeland in search of honor and treasure. Bring back riches and trophies, and you will be the pride of your clan. Bring back the most riches and trophies, and you will be a legend among barbarians. However, the normal raiding season has turned out to be unusual. Word has spread among the various barbarian parties throughout the countryside -- castles, cities, and villages are empty and deserted. In their place, reptilian aliens from beyond the sky have built sprawling slave camps and massive factories. These evil creatures are armed with unusual weapons -- iron sticks that shoot lightning, delicate stones that explode upon impact with humans, flying chariots that arc through the sky, and invisible walls that shock those why try to escape. To gain honor this year, the barbarians will have to take the battle to these alien invaders or go home empty-handed. Of course, what self-respecting barbarian would do that? If you like to make up stories about savage barbarians and the creatures they smash to tiny bits, Barbarians Versus is for you. Players You will play a crazed barbarian seeking loot and honor to take home to his (or her) clan. Sounds like fun, right? You can begin by creating a barbarian in the Barbarian Creation chapter. Feel free to print off the character sheet at the end of this document. You will also want to take a moment Introduction You hail from the icy north, a land of snowy, jagged peaks. You are trained to kill; you are molded to survive. You are a legend among warriors. You are a barbarian. 5 to peruse the Rules chapter. The game mechanics behind Barbarians Versus will take no more than a moment to learn - the key to remember is that the more dice you roll for your barbarian s crazy actions, the more legendary your Northerner is. GameMaster The GameMaster (GM) has the exciting job of running the vile alien invaders, rival barbarians, and normal humans. You also have the job of devising nasty traps, exciting encounters, and strange alien technology. A story also needs to be developed to bind the various encounters and battles together, so the heroic barbarians will have a magnificent tale to share with their families and clan members. You can begin by being comfortable with every chapter in this book. The rules and game mechanics are easy to learn, and you will find plenty of supporting material in the GameMaster section. At the end of this document, you will also find a pre-built story to introduce your players into the exciting world of Barbarians Versus. Rolling the Dice & the Grunt Rule You will need a number of ten-sided dice to play Barbarians Versus. The key to the game system is simple and universal - the more dice you roll when your barbarian attempts an action, the more likely you will succeed. When rolling the dice, remember to count a roll of a zero ( 0 ) on any die as ten (10), not as zero. However, there is a slight rule to this - for every ten ( 0 ) that a player rolls for his barbarian, he must grunt or bellow some drunken slogan. Each player can

5 are encountered. Specifically, Guk has avoided numerous family visits because he knows that the reunion will erupt into pathetic, vile arguments. Step Seven. Choose Your War Cry Every barbarian has a special war cry that strikes fear into your opponent and insures victory. The war cry can be a shout, a chilling slogan, a damning curse, or even a legendary name. Select your war cry -- just make sure it fits your heroic barbarian and his quest for treasure and honor. Once per day, you may shout your war cry, and your dice roll for that particular action doubles. Example: Guk s war cry is Boulder Boulder! Step Eight. Finishing Touches Write a short character history, and draw a picture of your barbarian. When finished, your barbarian is prepared to begin his journey. Character Example: Guk Barbarian of the Rock Cruncher Clan Attributes: Smash - 8 / Throw - 5 Feet - 5 / Craftiness - 5 Contemplating - 2 Abilities: Stone Chest (Tough Skin), Boulder Skull Smash (Double Damage) Items: Boulder Club (5) Shield of Ancestral Hardness (3) Torch of Eyes in the Darkness (2) Guts: 36 / Grit: 7 What Your Barbarian Bleeds For: The opportunity to smash unique rock formations with his bare hands, Elga - his true love, Destroying the evil mining industry What Your Barbarian Whimpers For: An aversion to heights, Blond-haired women of other clans, Familial arguments War Cry: Boulder Boulder! 11

6 Your barbarian is at the center of the action wherever he goes. You will chop limbs off of disgusting reptilian aliens. You will smash open treasure chests and steal precious jewels and gold. You will sneak aboard alien spacecraft and sabotage the entire vessel with a well-placed blow to the main computer. You will evade cunning traps set by your enemies. You will save your people from enslavement at the hands of the evil aliens, and most important of all, your barbarian will become a legend. In order to achieve that heroic status, you must know when your barbarian succeeds at his heroic actions and when the bitter sting of failure slaps him in the face. You must also know how to survive in the thick of combat, deal with your life threatening wounds, and use your barbarian s fame and fortune to his advantage. You will learn how best to maximize your barbarian s ability to win, using the various rules presented in this chapter. Actions Whenever your barbarian attempts an action that is heroic and dangerous, you will need to roll some dice to figure out if he succeeded or failed. This process is called an action roll. The general rule of thumb is simple. If the action puts your barbarian in danger, calls him to test his limits, or pits him against some foe, you will need an action roll to figure out what happened. If the action is not dangerous or heroic, you can assume that it automatically succeeds. Action rolls begin with a vivid description of your barbarian s action. Be clear about what your barbarian is doing, and feel free to add flourish to the action. Your GM might reward you with a bonus die. Next, figure out which attribute applies to the action. You may need to ask the GM for advice if you can t determine which of your barbarian s raw attributes deals with the action in question. Next, pick up a number of dice equal to the attribute. Add any bonus dice, and subtract any penalty dice. The Bonus Dice and Penalty Dice sections in game rules 13 this chapter tell you how and when to add bonus or penalty dice to an action. Now roll the dice. Add up the result, remembering to count a 0 as a ten. This final tally is your Result. Your Result determines whether or not you succeeded. You must compare it to a Target Number set by the GM or your opponent s roll. If your Result equals or beats the Target Number or opponent s roll, your action succeeded. Otherwise, the action has failed. If the action is a success, you can calculate your Outcome by subtracting the Target Number or opponent s roll from your Result. The Outcome is used to determine how successful your action was and how much damage you dealt when attacking. Example: Guk has approached the Brug processing center, where belches of steam and smoke puff from the various tubes and pipes crisscrossing the ground. He decides to hunker to the ground, hiding behind his Shield of Ancestral Hardness and moving slowly toward the center of the camp. The GM decides that the TN for the action will be a 25, since there are many watchful eyes around the alien camp. John picks up 5 dice and adds 3 for using his Shield of Ancestral Hardness. The GM also decides that the action suffers 2 penalty dice because of the vigilant alien patrols. John rolls 6 ten-sided dice and gets a Result of 30. Success! Guk pads silently toward the center of the camp like a silent, hunting fox without being spotted. Target Numbers Use Target Numbers (TN) when an action is not directed against an enemy or character that can resist. If your barbarian hurls an axe at an alien invader, the action requires an opposing roll. If your barbarian is climbing the sheer cliff wall to reach an alien camp, the action requires a TN. The GM sets the Target Number for actions, using a 20 as a starting place. A TN of 20 represents an average heroic difficult. If the action

7 Use these detailed rules to determine how much your barbarian needs to consume to get drunk. Remember, your barbarian gains 2 bonus dice to any courageous action while intoxicated. Tavern owners, beware! In general, it is the player s job to keep track of the type and quantity of drink consumed during play. Inform the GM when your barbarian has reached an appropriate level of intoxication. For every turn spent in action, your barbarian s drunkenness decreases by 1. In Barbarians Versus, you will find three general categories of alcoholic beverage. The first type is called the staples and includes run-of-the-mill ales, beers, and meads. The second type is called the gourds and includes whiskey, vodka, and other stout brews. The third type is called the mush and includes disgusting home-brewed drinks palatable only to barbarians. Table 1. Alcoholic Currency 1 Mug of Mush = 2 Mugs of Gourds 1 Mug of Gourds = 4 Mugs of Staples Therefore, 1 Mug of Mush (nasty stuff) is equivalent to 8 Mugs of Beer. Use the handy chart below to discover how many mugs of staples it will take for your barbarian to become intoxicated. Alternately, you can use the more advanced version, Table 3. Table 2. Easy Way Smash + Feet = # of Mugs of Staples Guk would need 13 Mugs of Staples to get him drunker than a snow pig on a full moon. Alternately, Guk could drink 1 Mug of Mush, 1 Mug of Gourds, and 1 Mug of Staples. drinking rules 24 The more advanced way is dynamic and depends on a variety of outside factors. Table 3. Dynamic Intoxication Meter Smash + Feet + (Other) = # of Mugs of Staples Table 4. (Other) These are events that must be occurring or have occurred to your Barbarian. Tally up all modifiers, add them together, and insert in place of (Other) above. +4 = Close friend died -4 = Close friend narrowly avoided death +2 = New Moon -2 = Full Moon +2 = Broke up with lover -2 = Got new lover +4 = Enemies escaped alive -4 = Many enemies died at your hands +2 = Warm day -2 = Cold day +2 = Wind from south -2 = Wind from north +5 = Lost favorite weapon -5 = Found favorite weapon +5 = Not birthday -5 = Birthday! -4 = Severed limb/leg -4 = No severed limb/leg +2 = Only bruises from battles -2 = New scars from battles +3 = No/little loot -3 = Lots of loot +10 = Not drunk yet -10 = Already been drunk at least once

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