FIGHTER

A
Level Armor Armor Armor Armor Climb Ride Swim Weapon Languag Spot Toughnes
(Light (Leathe (Chain (Plate s e s
) r) ) )
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
Abilities
Abilities differ from Attributes in that Abilities represent a character’s skill gained from
experience and learning, rather than their inherited strengths and weakness. Anytime a
character attempts something, or if there is a risk of failure, an “Ability Check” can be used
to influence the outcome. The result of an Ability Check gives the Adventure Master an
indication of how well a character performed (or didn’t perform) a task. You won’t roll dice
for everything your character does. In fact, most tasks and character interactions are
governed by the Adventure Master without even rolling dice.
Some Abilities have unique rules, but most are used in the same way. If an Ability has special
rules that apply, the differences will be noted under the Ability description.

Ability Bonuses
Character Ability Bonus Character Ability Bonus Character Ability Bonus
Points Points Points
0 -5 13–14 +16 50–54 +28
1 +3 15–16 +17 55–59 +29
2 +5 17–18 +18 60–64 +30
3 +7 19–20 +19 65–69 +31
4 +8 21–23 +20 70–74 +32
5 +9 24–26 +21 75–79 +33
6 +10 27–29 +22 80–84 +34
7 +11 30–33 +23 85–89 +35
8 +12 34–37 +24 90–94 +36
9 +13 38–41 +25 95–99 +37
10 +14 42–45 +26 100–104 +38
11–12 +15 46–49 +27 105+ +39
ABILITY BONUSES
Each Ability has an associated Ability Bonus. To figure out a character’s Ability Bonus, add up
the following items:
 The Ability Bonus for the total number of Character Points the character has
purchased in the Ability. This bonus is found in the Standard Rank Bonuses table.
Note that purchasing no skill ranks in a skill will normally result in a –5 penalty to the
skill rather than simply no bonus.
 The character’s Attribute Bonus for the Attribute that governs the Ability (listed in the
Ability descriptions later in this chapter).
 Any other bonuses for special items, active spells or other effects.
Write down the Ability Bonus on your character sheet so that it is easier to access them
when you need o use the relevant Ability.
ABILITY CHECKS
To make an Ability Check, just roll a 1E20 and add the Ability Bonus for the relevant Ability to
the roll. If the roll’s total is greater than or equal to the Target Number for the task, the
check has succeeded. If it is less, the check has failed.
Standard Difficulties
Standard Difficulties
Difficulty Level Target Number (TN)
Routine 14-15
Easy 16-17
Light 18-19
Medium 20-21
Hard 22-23
Very Hard 24-25
Extreme 26-29
Sheer Folly 30-33
Absurd 34+
Difficulty Level Checks
For many Ability Checks, a character can either succeed/fail, or the odds of success are
relatively fixed. In these situations, you roll a Difficulty Level check with a fixed Target
Number selected by the Adventure Master. The standard Difficulty Levels for Ability Checks
used throughout the game are listed in the Standard Difficulties table.
Difficulty Levels have a range of Target Numbers that are selected by the Adventure Master.
The higher the Difficulty, the harder the task will be to accomplish. Adventure Masters don’t
have to tell you the difficulty of the task, that’s where the player’s skills of observation,
evaluation and experience kick in.
Opposed Checks
Sometimes an Ability Check will be rolled against another character’s Ability Check, instead
of a static Difficulty Level. In these “Opposed Checks” the character who is using their Ability
“passively,” adds 10 to their Ability Bonus. The character using their skill “actively” uses
that sum as the Target Number for their Ability Check.
Armor Penalties
Some Abilities require a higher degree of movement and flexibility; if a character is wearing
armor, they will find it more difficult to accomplish tasks involving physical agility (e.g.,
Stealth, Swimming, etc.). These types of Abilities have an Armor Penalty applied to them
(based on the type of armor a character is wearing) which is subtracted from their Ability
Check. Armor Penalties are also subtracted from Dexterity Attribute Checks made for
maneuvering that doesn’t correspond to an Ability.
ATTRIBUTE CHECKS
Sometimes there isn’t an Attribute that is suitable for a particular task. For example, if a
character wants to perform a dance at a raucous wedding or lift a heavy object over their
head, no Ability really applies. In situations like those above, the Adventure Master will
usually call for an Attribute Check based on the character’s relevant Attribute Score instead
of an Ability.
To make an Attribute Check, just roll a 1E20 and add the Attribute Score (the while Score,
not the Bonus) relevant to the roll. If the roll’s total is greater than or equal to the Target
Number for the task, the check has succeeded. If it is less, the check has failed.
Depending on the exact task being attempted, the Adventure Master may require you to
subtract your character’s Armor Penalty from the total. This is almost always the case when
performing Dexterity Attribute Checks for maneuvering.
Other Bonuses and Penalties
Adventure Masters will often apply other bonuses or penalties to Ability/Attribute Checks to
account for the effects of weather, illumination, tools (or lack thereof), and other
environmental factors. Generally, bonus/penalties of this type will never be larger than +/-2
unless there is an extreme circumstance. You will usually be informed of circumstances that
make Ability/Attribute use easier/harder, before you commit your character to the task
(unless there is a good reason why circumstances are unknown to your character).
Skill List
Category Ability Attribute Score Armor Penalty
Armor Abilities Armor (Light) none No
Armor (Leather) none No
Armor (Chain) none No
Armor (Plate) none No
Magical Abilities Read Magic INT No
Target Spell* DEX No
Use Magical Device INT No
Wilderness Abilities Climb STR Yes
Ride* DEX Yes
Swim STR Yes
Subterfuge Abilities Disable Device DEX
Pick Lock DEX
Sneak Attack none
Stealth DEX
Weapon Abilities 1-Handed Slash STR
1-Handed Blunt STR
2-Handed STR
Thrown DEX
Missile DEX
Pole-Arms STR
Special Abilities Language* none
Spell Lore none
Spot WIS
Toughness CON
*Ability comprises a group of separate abilities
DETAILED ABILITY DESCRIPTIONS
Armor (Armor Ability)
Attribute: None
Progression: Normal
The Armor Abilities allow a character to maneuver in armor with a lessened Armor Penalty.
The four separate Abilities require Character Points to be spent independently of the others,
but they all work in same way.
Each type of armor has an Initial Armor Penalty and a Minimum Armor Penalty. Character
Points spent on an Armor Ability reduces the Initial Armor Penalty by their Ability Bonus
when wearing that type of armor. No matter how large the Ability Bonus for the armor is, the
penalty cannot be reduced below the amour’s Minimum Armor Penalty.
The -5 penalty for not having spent Character Points in the Armor Ability (mitigated by
adding your Dexterity bonus to it to generate your total Ability bonus, of course) cannot
increase the penalty beyond the Initial Armor penalty for the type of armor being worn.
Armor Abilities do not affect the Dexterity bonus reduction of the armor.
Armor Abilities are an exception to the normal rule that a character can only spend a
maximum of two Character Points in a single Ability per level. Providing you have the
Character Points; you can spend as many points on Armor Abilities as you like.
The types of armor covered by each skill are:
  Armor (Light)
 Armor (Leather)
 Armor (Chain)
 Armor (Plate)
In any of these cases the same Ability covers use of the armor both with and without bracers
and greaves.
Armor
Item Weight Cost Initial Minimum Dexterity Move
Armor Armor Bonus Speed
Penalty Penalty Reduction*
Armor (Light) 20 lbs. 20 gp -2 - - 30’
Armor 35 lbs. 35 gp -10 -3 -1 30’
(Leather)
Armor (Chain) 55 lbs. 125 gp -24 -5 -4 20’
Armor (Plate) 75 lbs. 250 gp -30 -7 -6 20’
*The dexterity bonus reduction reduces the effective dexterity bonus used for both dodge
bonus and missile attacks, but cannot reduce the dexterity bonus used in these
circumstances below zero. This reduction only applies to dodge bonus and missile attacks,
not to other skills that use a dexterity bonus.
Climb (Outdoor Ability) (Armor Penalty)
Attribute: Strength
Progression: Normal
This Ability is used for climbing anything from trees to sheer rock faces. Simple tasks like
climbing a ladder should be automatically successful and not require a check, unless there
are extenuating circumstances (for example trying to climb a wet rope in a storm).
A “Medium” (20) Difficulty Level is generally used for climbing stone walls with plenty of
handholds at a rate of 10’ per round. The Difficulty Level will be adjusted up or down as
necessary depending on exactly what is being climbed and how fast the character attempts
to climb.
A single failed roll doesn’t mean the character has fallen, only that the character is unable to
progress further and must re-roll the check. If the re-roll is also a failure, the character will
fall a random (or 2D10) percentage of the way through the climb.
Disable Device (Subterfuge Ability)
Attribute: Wisdom
Progression: Normal
This Ability is used to disable traps and other mechanized devices. A “Medium” (20)
Difficulty Level is generally used to deactivate a reasonably complex trap (such as a
pressure-plate activated poison gas dispenser) in about ten minutes. Other traps will require
easier or more difficult checks depending on their complexity, craftsmanship and how fast
the character attempts to work on them.
A single failed roll doesn’t mean the device will be set off, only that the character is unable
to deactivate the trap and must re-roll the check. If the re-roll is also a failure, the character
sets off the device. If the character fails to disable the device the first time (and survives the
trap being sprung if necessary), they may use the Ability multiple times.
Language (Special Ability)
Attribute: None
Progression: Special
This Ability includes any number of Abilities for each individual language. The character’s
fluency in language is generally determined by the number of Character Points invested in
an individual Ability:
 1 Character Point: Knows a few words and can recognize the language.
 2 Character Points: Can understand simple words and phrases when spoken slowly,
but cannot speak the language beyond that.
 3 Character Points: Can understand slowly spoken sentences and speak in broken
phrases.
 4 Character Points: Can participate in a slowly spoken conversation using common
words.
 5 Character Points: Can converse at a normal pace, unless technical or unusual words
and concepts are being used.
 6 Character Points: Normal language proficiency of a native speaker.
 7 Character Points: Has an extensive vocabulary and can discuss obscure or technical
matters with ease.
 8 Character Points: Understands the roots of the language and can translate archaic
or obscure dialects.
Characters are assumed to start with six skill ranks in their native tongue.
Pick Locks (Subterfuge Ability)
Attribute: Dexterity
Progression: Normal
The Pick Locks Ability is used for picking mechanical locks normally found on doors or
chests.
To pick a reasonably expensive keyed lock in about ten minutes is a “Medium (20)” task,
with simpler or poor-quality locks being easier to pick and complex or exotic locks being
more difficult. Attempting to pick a lock faster will also result in higher difficulty. If a lock is
trapped, attempting to unlock it will normally set off the trap whether the attempt was
successful or not. On a failed roll, the character may spend another ten minutes to try to
pick the lock again as normal.
Read Magic (Magical Ability)
Attribute: Intelligence
Progression: Normal
The Read Magic Ability allows characters to cast spells from scrolls. Characters are always
able to cast spells from scrolls that they have written themselves, but comprehending a spell
that someone else has inscribed onto a scroll requires a successful Read Magic Ability Check.
The first time a character encounters a given scroll, they may make a Read Magic Ability
Check to understand the inscribed spell. The difficulty of the Ability Check depends on what
the character knows about the scroll:
Character Knowledge Difficulty Target
Level Number
The character knows which spell is on the scroll. Easy 16
The character does not know which spell is on the scroll, but knows Medium 20
what sphere of magic the spell is from.
The character does not know which sphere of magic the spell on Very Hard 24
the scroll is from.
The character has researched and can cast the spell. +6 Bonus to roll
The spell is of a sphere of magic that the character cannot cast -6 Penalty to roll
spells from.
If the Ability Check succeeds, the character learns what spell is on the scroll (if they didn’t
already know) and may use the scroll at any time without rolling again. If the Ability Check
fails, the character must roll a second time:
 If the re-roll also fails, the character learns nothing about the scroll.
 If the re-roll succeeds, the character learns what spell is on the scroll, but they still
may not use it.
In either case, a failed Ability Check means the character cannot attempt to understand the
scroll again unless they learn more about it (the sphere or exact spell) or they increase their
Read Magic Ability Bonus.
All scrolls are considered unique, when a character learns how to use one particular spell
scroll, it doesn’t help the character use or recognize other scrolls even if they are inscribed
with the same spell.
Ride (Outdoor Ability) (Armor Penalty)
Attribute: Dexterity
Progression: Normal
The Ride Ability is an extensive group of related Abilities. Each type of animal has its own
Ride Ability (e.g., Ride (Horse), Ride (Elephant), Ride (Camel), Ride (Dragon), etc.), each of
which must be learned independently.
Ability Checks are not normally required for riding on a passive creature as it trots, swims or
flies gently. However, controlling a panicking animal or getting an animal to perform an
unusual maneuver will likely require am Ability Check with a difficulty based on the
circumstances.
When fighting from the back of an animal in mounted combat, the character uses their
relevant Weapon Ability Bonus or their Ride Ability Bonus whichever is lower.
Sneak Attack (Subterfuge Ability)
Ability: None
Progression: Standard
This Ability lets a character attack with great precision and skill, vastly increasing the chance
of killing their opponents outright.
A roll isn’t required to use this Ability. Rather, for each five points of Sneak Attack Ability
Bonus (rounded down), The character may adjust the critical strike roll for hits they make on
opponents by +/-1. This won’t increase the chance of getting a critical strike; but if an attack
is successful, they can increase or decrease the severity of a critical.
The Sneak Attack Ability can only be used if the target is unaware of the attacker. Flanking
or attacks from the rear are unaffected if the target is aware of the attacker. If the target is
already engaged in combat (or vigorously moving around), the attacker may only adjust the
critical strike roll by +/-1 per ten points of Ability Bonus (rounded down).
Sneak attacks may be made with melee attacks or with missile or spell attacks, providing
the target is within Close range of the attacker.
Spell Path Research (Special Abilities)
Ability: None
Progression: Special
This group of Abilities is used for learning new spell paths. There is one Spell Path Research
ability (usually just called a “Path Ability”) for each spell path (e.g., the Divine Light spell
path has an associated Ability called Spell Path Research (Light Mastery)). Each Character
Point spent on a Path Ability gives access to five levels of spells from the spell path. One
Character Point gives access to 1st through 5th level spells, two Points 1st through 10th level,
three Points 1st through 15th level, to a maximum of ten Points giving access to 1st through
50th level spells.
Each character will have a number of core spell paths based on their class:
Expert Caster: 6 class spell paths based on their class, plus four additional spell paths of
their choice taken from the lesser and greater paths for their sphere, for a total of ten core
spell paths.
Dual Caster: 6 class spell paths based on their class, plus two additional spell paths of their
choice taken from the lesser paths for their two spheres, for a total of eight core spell paths.
Adept Caster: 5 class spell paths based on their class, plus one additional spell path of their
choice taken from the lesser paths for their sphere, for a total of six core spell paths.
Novice Caster: None.
Characters cannot learn all the spells from a path unless it is one of their core spell paths.
There is a maximum number of Character Points that may be spent on non-core paths and
some Path Abilities may actually require two Character Points to be spent to gain a single
Character Point in the skill. These costs are summarized in the table below:
Spell Path Abilities
Caster Type Max CP (Core) Max CP (Non-Core, Max CP (Non-Core,
Lesser) Greater)
Expert Caster 10 4 4
Dual Caster 10 2 2*
Adept Caster 10 2* 0
Novice Caster N/A 1* 0
* Cost two Character Points each
The level of the first spell that the Character Point gives access to must be less than or equal
to the character’s current level (over and above spell levels that prior Character Points have
already given access to). For example, a character cannot buy a third Character Point in a
Path Ability until they are 11th level, since the third Character Point gives access to level 11-
15 spells (level 1-10 spells having already being accessed by the two Character Points spent
on the Path Ability).
If the cost to increase a Path Ability costs two Character Points, the points may be spent at
the same level or at different levels. However, a character does not gain the Character Point
(and therefore cannot use the additional spells from the path) until the second Character
Point has been spent.
Spot (Special Ability)
Attribute: Wisdom
Progression: Normal
This Ability is used for noticing things. Although primarily visual, the same Ability can also be
used for hearing or smelling things. Spot is primarily used in opposed Ability Checks with the
Stealth Ability to notice someone or something sneaking up on the character.
Spot may also be used to notice things the Adventure Master intentionally doesn’t tell the
players. This may be poorly hidden objects, imperfections that hide the secret doors, traps,
ambushes; or dangers like loose rocks or unsafe ladders. The difficulty of Spot Checks for
noticing things is determined by the Adventure Master.
Stealth (Subterfuge Ability)
Ability: Dexterity
Progression: Normal
The Stealth Ability is used for both hiding from view and for moving silently to avoid being
heard. There are no standard difficulties for stealth checks.
When a character attempts to hide from a creature that is actively looking for them, then
use this skill in an opposed skill check with the Search skill of the seeker, with the seeker
being the active party in the check.
When a character attempts to move silently in order to sneak up on or sneak past one or
more other creatures, use this skill in an opposed skill check with the Spot skill of the targets
with the sneaker being the active party in the check. If the Sneak check fails against any of
the targets then the opposed skill check must be rolled a second time. If the re-roll results in
the sneaker succeeding then they are unable to get closer to the target quietly and must
remain in place in order to stay unnoticed. If the re-roll results in the sneaker failing a
second time then they have accidentally alerted the creature or creatures whose Spot
checks they failed to match.
Swim (Outdoor Skills)
Ability: Strength Progression: Normal
Armour Penalty: Yes, x3 Take 10/20: 10 only
All characters are assumed to be able to swim short distances when unarmoured, but when
a
character needs to swim in less straightforward circumstances – such as swimming long
distances
or in rough or fast moving water; or when trying to swim while wearing armour – then this
skill is used.
The difficulty of the swim check should be judged based on the conditions; but remember
that even a “Routine” TN 14 check will be failed by an untrained person over half the time. A
failed swim check may or may not result in the character beginning to drown, depending on
the circumstances.
When working out a character’s skill total for Swim checks, apply triple the character’s
armour
penalty.
Target Spell (Magical Abilities)
Attribute: Dexterity
Progression: Normal
Most spells that affect an opponent are all-or-nothing (the target either resists the spell or is
affected by it), but some spells are used more like weapons. These “Weapon Spells” usually
create an elemental blast that is fired at an enemy.
Weapon Spells fall into two categories, Area and Target: “Area Weapon Spells” affect a large
area and cannot be accurately aimed. “Target Weapon Spells affect a single target with a
precise strike that can be accurately aimed.
Target Weapon Spells use the Target Spell group of Abilities, and Character Points must be
spent independently for each spell. The only exception is that spells that differ only in
numeric values (e.g. Magic Missile I and Magic Missile III) share the same Target Spell Ability.
These Abilities use the normal progression, and the character’s Dexterity bonus. Armor
penalties do not affect these abilities, but they are affected by Armor Missile Penalties as if
the character were firing a missile weapon.
A character cannot spend Character Points on a Target Spell Ability unless they are at a high
enough level to cast that spell (or are in the process of gaining that level). Additionally, they
must have learned the spell using an appropriate Spell Path Research Ability.
If a character spends Character Points on a Spell Path Research Ability during a level
increase, they may spend Character Points in the Target Spell Ability for one of the spells
covered by that path Ability during that same level (providing they are also high enough
level to cast the spell).

Toughness (Self Discipline Skills)

Ability: Constitution Progression: Special
Armour Penalty: No Take 10/20: n/a
The Toughness skill is used to determine how much pain a character can take before falling
unconscious. Most of the time this pain will be due to being hit in combat, but traps and
environmental
sources of damage can also hurt a character.
When fully healthy, all characters have a number of hit points equal to five times their
Toughness
skill bonus. If this value would be lower than the character’s constitution score (their
whole ability score, not their bonus) then the character has hit points equal to that score
when
healthy, instead.
Use Magical Device (Magical Skills)
Ability: Intelligence Progression: Normal
Armour Penalty: No Take 10/20: 10 only
The Use Magical Device skill allows characters to cast spells from charged items such as
wands
and staves, single use items, and daily use items. Characters may always cast spells from
items
that they have made themselves, but understanding how to use an item that someone else
has
crafted requires a Use Magical Device skill check.
The first time a character examines a given item, they may make a Use Magical Device
check to
recognise what spell it contains and how to activate it. The difficulty of the skill check
depends
on what the character knows about the item:
◊ If the character knows which spell is in the item, the difficulty is “Easy” TN 16.
◊ If the character does not know which spell is in the item, but knows what sphere of magic
the spell is from, the difficulty is “Medium” TN 20.
◊ If the character does not even know what sphere of magic the spell in the item is from, the
difficulty is “Very Hard” TN 24.
Additionally, if the character has researched and can cast the spell (whether they know this
or
not) then they get a +6 bonus to the roll, and if the spell is of a sphere of magic that the
character
cannot use (whether they know this or not) then they get a –6 penalty to the roll.
If the skill check succeeds, then the character learns what spell is in the item and may
activate
the item at any time without further rolls being needed.
If the skill check fails, the character must roll a second time. If the re-roll also fails then the
character learns nothing about the item. If the re-roll succeeds then the character learns
what
spell is in the item, although they still may not activate it.
In either case, a failed skill check means that the character cannot try to understand this
item
again unless they learn more about it (the sphere or exact spell) or they increase their use
magical
device skill total.
All items are unique, and when a character learns how to use an item with a particular spell
in
it, this does not help the character use other items even if they contain the same spell.
Weapon (Weapon Skills)
Ability: Strength or Dexterity Progression: Normal
Armour Penalty: No Take 10/20: No
This is a group of skills rather than an individual skill, and each skill in the group must be
bought
separately. The twenty Weapon skills in the group each cover a number of weapons that are
used in roughly the same manner.
Some particularly versatile weapons may be used with more than one weapon skill, as
shown
in the Weapon Skills table, although melee skills and thrown skills for the same weapon may
not be used interchangeably.
When using a weapon, the character’s attack bonus may be derived from any Weapon skill
that
is applicable to the weapon in hand, and each one follows normal skill progression.
Weapon skills do not suffer from armour penalties, but all missile or thrown weapon skills are
subject to the armour missile penalty for the armour that the character is wearing.
The twenty weapon skills are listed in the Weapon Skills table. The first column of that table
shows the list of weapon skills that you can buy, and the second column shows which
weapons
can be used with each of those skills (remember, you’re buying skill ranks in the whole skill,
not an individual weapon).