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Realms of Adventure A Fantasy Roleplaying Game Sa m ple file By James Patrick Updike i
Realms of Adventure A Fantasy Roleplaying Game by James Patrick Updike Realms of Adventure 2009 James Patrick Updike. All Rights Reserved All Interior Artwork Copyright James Patrick Updike (JPU) Cover art by Jesús García López Visit Jesús García López on the Internet at: http://raro666.deviantart.com/ Previously published as Lands of Adventure for 1 st and 2 nd edition printings. First Edition Rules 1992 Second Edition Rules 1997 All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, now known or yet to be invented, including but not limited to: mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, videotaping, computerization, etc. without prior written permission of the author. * Permission is given to make as many copies as you wish of any of the Character Sheets for your personal use. First Edition Rules First Printing May 1992. Second Edition Rules First Printing February 1997. SPECIAL THANKS TO: Major Playtesters: Jeff Balcom, Doug Hancock, Andy Hoyer, Philip Klug. THANKS TO: Doug Hancock for help in designing the Gods in the Pantheon. Jeff Balcom for helping design the Hellhound in the Bestiary. Joel and Jeff Kuether for much inspiration particularly in the Races. Realms of Adventure: www.realmofdreams.com/adventure adventure@realmofdreams.com ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction...................................... 1 2. Character Creation................................. 2 3. Attributes........................................ 3 4. Luck............................................ 5 5. Races............................................ 6 6. Skills............................................ 19 7. Combat.......................................... 32 8. Personal Information............................... 57 9. Movement........................................ 64 10. Character Points................................... 65 11. Magic............................................ 68 12. Spells............................................ 73 13. Religion.......................................... 93 14. The Gods........................................ 98 15. Psionics.......................................... 104 16. Extra Abilities..................................... 108 17. The Bestiary...................................... 112 18. Magic Items...................................... 125 19. Character Sheets................................... 134 iii
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1. Introduction Realms of Adventure was created to take advantage of what I felt were the best parts of several different systems and to create a game that contained the things I felt were missing in other games. I wanted to simplify things that I felt were too difficult in other games and expand things that were too basic. Finally with this third edition I think I have not only reached a balance of these different aspects, but also balanced the game mechanics. Realms of Adventure is a role-playing game designed to allow for more role-playing. In Realms of Adventure the idea is to have fun. Play a character, and adventure! The main thing is to ROLE-play. Use the rules as a guideline, but allow the players to be as creative as possible. Above all- enjoy... THINGS NEEDED TO START To play you will need pencils, paper, copies of the character sheets, and dice. DICE The game uses the standard RPG polyhedral dice available at any gaming store: 4,6,8,10,12,20, and % dice. The game also has an optional system of using the uncommon additional polyhedral dice: 3, 5, 7, 14, 16, 24, 30, and 34 sided dice. These are all available but they are more difficult to find. There are true 3 sided dice available as well as a 6 sided die marked 1-3 twice. You can simply roll a 6 sided dice and use a result of 1-2 as 1, a 3-4 as 2 and 5-6 as a 3. If a 30 sided die is called for you can roll 2 ten sided dice and 1 twelve sided die and add the result together and subtract 2. Or roll a 10 sided die and a 3 sided die, and use the 1 to 3 to indicate if you should add 0, 10 or 20 to the result. Whenever a 2 sided die is called for you can either use a 6 sided die marked 1 and 2 three times each, or just roll any die for odd or even. The optional dice rules say that any time you do not have the die type called for you use the next smaller die that you have. Such as, if the rules call for a d24 or a d30 and you do not have one of these you would use a d20 in its place. In other cases the Game Master or GM may simply substitute any other die type for a die you do not have. Throughout the text dice rolls are abbreviated thusly: 2d6. This means that a roll of two 6 sided dice is required. The number before the "d" is the number of dice to be rolled, and the number after is the type of die to be rolled. A d% refers to a die roll that generates 1-100, using either two 10 sided dice or a 100 sided die. The d% is the most used die in Realms of Adventure. Roll 2 ten sided dice reading one as the first number in the percentage and one as the second number. Two zeros would be a 100. There may also be a modifier after the dice such as: 3d8-1 or 3d8+1. This would mean to roll three 8 sided dice and add or subtract 1. THE GM & PLAYERS Throughout the text you will see references to the Game Master or GM, the Players and their Characters or PCs, and to Non-Player Characters or NPCs. The GM is the person who creates the adventures and runs the game. The Players are the other people who create characters that go through the adventures created by the GM and the NPCs are the other characters that the GM creates that the players interact with. 1
2. Character Creation The first thing each player must do is to create at least more than one, either to use as a backup in case your main character dies, or to play two or more characters simultaneously. Character creation is a simple ten step process. STEP 8: Fill out all of your character's Personal Information using the rules from the Personal Information section. STEP 9: Determine your character's Starting Money and outfit them with equipment using the rules detailed in the Personal Information section. STEP 10: Fill out all of the Combat Information for your character using the rules found in the Combat section. STEP 1: Choose a Race for your character. There are many available to choose from in the Races section. If none of the available races are to your liking you may (with the GM's permission) create your own race using the available rules. STEP 2: Determine your character's Attributes. Using one of the methods in the Attributes section, generate a number for each Attribute. Next, apply the Attribute Modifiers for the race you've chosen. Lastly, roll 2d10 and divide these points up among your Attributes as you wish. See the Attributes section for more detailed information. STEP 3: Determine your character's Starting Skills using the detailed rules in the Skills section. STEP 4: Determine your character's Luck using the rules in the Luck Section. STEP 5: Determine your character's Hit Points using the rules in the Combat section. STEP 6: Spend your Starting Character Points (usually 300 points) using the rules in the Character Points section. STEP 7: Determine your character's Movement Rates using the rules in the Movement section. Note on math: At any time in the game when a formula is used to determine something you must always round down and drop all fractions. What about classes? : There are no classes in Realms of Adventure. Some role playing games use classes to determine what your character can do, such as being a fighter or a thief or a Wizard. In Realms of Adventure if you want to be able to pick pockets or move silently like a thief you simply buy those skills. If you want to be able to cast spells you spend character points on Magic Ability. What skills and abilities you buy determines what your character can do. You can build a character who specializes in elemental magic, or one who has skills many different areas, or you can be a Spellcaster who fights and thieves. It is all up to how you build your character. What about Alignment? : Some role playing games use some type of system where you choose an alignment for your character; where you choose whether they are good or evil, lawful or chaotic, and so forth, and then must play your character to match the alignment. There is no alignment system in Realms of Adventure, rather you simply play your character within the image you have created for him. However, the GM should determine whether the characters in the game should be limited to heroic characters, dark anti-heroes, villains, a mix or simply a free-for-all. Any deviation beyond what the GM outlines for the campaign should be expressly approved or disallowed by the GM. 2
3. Attributes There are nine Attributes. These are the scores of which reflect the various facets that make up your character. The standard Human has scores which range from 1 to 100 with an average score being a 50. It is possible in exceptional Humans to have scores outside this range. With many of the other races it can be quite common to have scores higher or lower than the 1 to 100 range. ACCURACY LEFT (ACL): This is the character's accuracy when doing things with his left hand. This score applies particularly to Combat. ACCURACY RIGHT (ACR): This is the character's accuracy when doing things with his right hand. This score applies particularly to Combat. APPEARANCE (APP): This is a reflection of the character's physical appearance and innate sex appeal. CONSTITUTION (CON): This is a reflection of the character's physical health and stamina. This tells how well a character can resist certain detrimental effects and how long and well the character can exert himself. DEXTERITY (DEX): This score reflects a combination of a character's physical speed, reflexes, agility, and hand/eye coordination. This score is used to determine how well a character can move his or her body as opposed to the Accuracy Attributes that determine the skill at doing things with just a hand. WILLPOWER (WIL): This is a reflection of a character's mental strength and their resolve. It is used in determining a character's ability to resist things they don't want to happen, as well as to determine if they are able to accomplish certain things they want to do. ATTRIBUTE ROLLS In certain situations a character will be required to make an Attribute Roll, such as making an Intelligence Roll to see if they can recall forgotten information. Attribute Rolls are made on 1d% and compared to the appropriate Attribute. If the number rolled was equal to or less than the Attribute then the Roll was successful. In certain instances there will be a penalty or bonus to the character's Roll. If Mouka the Mighty, with a Strength or STR of 90 wanted to bend the iron bars of his prison the GM Might ask him to make a STR Roll. The GM decides that the iron bars are of a sufficient toughness to require a -30% to Mouka's STR Roll. Mouka Rolls an 85% and fails to break free. ATTRIBUTE VS. ATTRIBUTE In certain circumstances involving two or more creatures the character may have to make an Attribute vs. Attribute Roll, such as a STR vs. STR Roll for an arm wrestling contest. In an Attribute vs. Attribute Roll both characters make a 1d% Roll against the Attribute in question. There are three possible outcomes: INTELLIGENCE (INT): This score reflects a character's learned knowledge, common sense, and memory. This is the hardest Attribute for a player to role-play properly and special care should be given to the playing of it, and reward for well done play. PRESENCE (PRE): This score reflects a character's impressiveness to others and their leadership qualities. It can also be a measure of a character's fearfulness. STRENGTH (STR): This score reflects a character's physical strength. It tells how much they lift, how fast they run, how high they jump, how much damage they deliver bare-handed, and how much damage they can take. 1. BOTH FAIL: In this case neither character is successful in the confrontation. 2. ONE FAILS & ONE SUCCEEDS: In this case the character that makes his Attribute Roll is successful and is the victor in the confrontation. 3. BOTH SUCCEED: In this case each character sees how much they made their Attribute Roll by and whoever made their roll by more is the winner in the confrontation. If both succeed but it is a tie then neither one wins and it is considered the same as if both had failed their Rolls. An Attribute vs. Attribute Roll need not involve the same Attributes. A woman trying to seduce a man might require an APP vs. WIL Roll. 3
CRITICAL ROLLS A Critical Roll is almost always a special circumstance. A Critical Success is any time the number rolled on the dice (without applying any modifiers) is a natural roll of 01-05%. A Critical Failure is any time the number rolled on the dice (unmodified) is natural roll of 96-100%. When rolling, a Critical Success is always a successful roll regardless of the number needed. If a character only had a 3 Strength and had to make a Strength Roll he would still succeed with a Roll of 5% because it was a critical. Conversely, a Critical Failure is always a failure, no matter what the number needed. Even if the character had a 100 Strength a Strength Roll of 96 would fail. RACIAL MAXIMUMS Every Attribute has a Racial Maximum. This is the highest score a normal member of a race may have in that attribute. The Maximum is 100+ any Racial Modifiers. For example, a Human s maximum INT would be 100, an Ogre s maximum STR would be 200, and a Gnome s maximum APP would be 80. A character may, with the GM s permission, raise their Attributes above Racial Maximums using Starting Character Points or Experience Points, but it will cost extra, as per the rules in the Experience section or the rulebook. GENERATING ATTRIBUTES There are three methods that may be used to determine a character s Attribute scores. The GM must determine which method is to be used by the players. When rolling for Attributes a Critical Success would indicate an extraordinary feat was accomplished. A character with a 100 Strength wants to overturn an idol in a temple of an evil God weighing over 500 lbs. Normally with a successful Strength Roll he could bench press 250 lbs. He rolls his Strength Roll and rolls a 4%! He finds a sudden surge of power and is able to overturn more than twice what he could normally lift. When rolling for Attributes a Critical Failure indicates a horrible disaster. Now the character needs to lift an Unholy Brazier. It weighs exactly 250 lbs. and he is filled with bravado from his last effort. The GM determines that since this is the exact limit of what he can normally lift a Strength Roll is called for. The character rolls a 96%! Not only does he not lift the brazier, but he gives himself a hernia in the process! A Critical Success of exactly "1" or a Critical Failure of exactly "100" may not be altered by Luck. 1. This is the preferred method of character creation. Roll either 1d% or 3d34-2 for each Attribute in order and record that number. Rolling 1d% will provide a linear curve with an equal chance of getting any number between 1 and 100, and rolling 3d34-2% will generate a bell curve with a higher chance of getting a score of 50 and a progressively lower chance of getting a number near 1or 100. Then add your character s Racial Modifiers. Finally, roll 2d12 and divide these points among the 9 Attributes however you wish, without exceeding Racial Maximums. 2. This method gives the Player more control over where their strength and weaknesses will lie. Roll 1d% or 3d34-2, 9 times and record the numbers. Then choose which Attribute to put each number into. Then add your character s Racial Modifiers. Finally, roll 2d6 and divide these points among the 9 Attributes however you wish, without exceeding Racial Maximums. 3. This method is not recommended, as it is felt that random elements in character creation help in defining a character and in promoting role-playing. Racial Modifiers are not added to or subtracted from your character s Attributes using this method. They are only used to determine Racial Maximums. To create your character, divide up 455 points among the nine Attributes. No Attribute may have more points put into it than its Racial Maximum. The GM may give the players more points to divide up if he wants them to play more powerful characters. 4