♣♠ Merely SAGA: Races & Roles ♦♥

An Extension to the SAGA Game System Primer

By Bob Portnell
Ω
Edited from material written by William W. Connors in the Dragonlance Races & Roles Defined
Fifth Age Dramatic Adventure Game and A SAGA Companion.

CONTENTS A Race is a description of a non-human species,

INTRODUCTION: Why Races & Roles? such as Elf, or Dwarf, or Centauran . . . usually any
Notices & Disclaimers intelligent humanoid species can be identified as a
Contents Race. Races bring important flavor to fantasy and
RACES & ROLES DEFINED science fiction worlds. The Race description lists any
CREATING RACES & ROLES Ability limits and special Advantages &
Race Features Disadvantages that accompany being a non-human.
Role Features A Role is a description of a character or hero
Ability Scores & Codes archetype -- the fundamental characteristics of, say,
Advantages & Disadvantages
a noble knight, or a thief, or a policeman, or a
Additional Requirements
RACES & ROLES IN HERO BUILDING starship crewman. The Role ties into the Hero's
FOR SAGA FANS background, giving more information on the Hero's
AFTERWORD past, his activities before the current adventures, and
the types of people which influenced him in his
youth. The Role description lists any Ability limits
INTRODUCTION: Why Races & Roles? and special Advantages or Disadvantages that are
necessary to fulfill that role in the game world.
Merely SAGA works very well for the humans on
which the game is based. But many heroes of
Creating Races & Roles
literature are not human! Thus the need to address
Heroes and Characters who are other than human.
As the definitions above suggest, a Race
Roles refer to the archetypes of Heroes found in Description and a Role Description look very much
stories. By placing conditions on the Heroes we can alike, and so we will use a single set of guidelines
better simulate these archetypes, making the Hero for creating both Races and Roles.
and the game more vivid. This document presents The key principle for creating Races and Roles is
these concepts in a simplified form for use in Merely balance. Every Race has its good points and bad;
SAGA.
every Role has its strengths and flaws.

Disclaimers and Notices

Race Features
Dragonlance, Fifth Age and SAGA are registered
Just as for Heroes, Races need to be physically
trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and used
described. Since humans are the baseline reference
here without permission. No infringement of the
in Merely SAGA, describe them in relationship to
rights of Wizards of the Coast is intended or to be
the average human: stronger but not as smart, or
inferred.
perhaps uncoordinated but mentally tough. Add the
Copyright 2001 W. Robert Portnell. All Rights
usual comments about height, weight, hair, eye or
Reserved. Permission is granted to duplicate and
skin color, and so on.
distribute this document provided it remains
Races might also have natural weapons or
unchanged from the original distribution.
armor; this should be noted.
Finally, information about how the race is
Contents
played -- how a typical member of the race behaves
Merely SAGA: Races & Roles consists of this
-- is an essential part of the race description. Be brief
rules document.
but be clear and as complete as necessary.
Role Features
Roles are described more in terms of how they
are played than how they appear. Give the Role a
name, provide a one- or two-sentence capsule
description of the Role, a few more sentences on
how such a Role should be played, and perhaps
some notes on Appearance features common to the
Role. (For example, some Acolytes might be
required to shave their heads.)
It is possible that some Roles may be open to
some Races but not to Others. Restrictions of this
type should be recorded.
Ability Scores & Codes
Recall that the human norm for Ability Scores
hovers around 4 or 5, with maximums of 9 and
minimums of 1. Races who are similar to human in
this regard need have no special Ability Score
comments.
However, if a Race (or Role) has a minimum
value for one Ability Score that is much higher than
human-norm, then the maximum value for some
other score must be correspondingly reduced. Use
the following table as a guide:
Minimum Maximum
Score Score
9 3
8 4
7 5
So, if you decide the many-tentacled F'theem
have an Agility /minimum/ of 8, you should set a
maximum on Body, Mind or Will of 4.
Likewise, if a certain minimum Ability Code is
very high, you should offset it with a lowered
Maximum elsewhere:
Minimum Maximum
Code Code
A D
B C
So, if the Role of Metalwright requires a Body
Code of A, you would be fair in setting a maximum
Will code of D.
Since Merely SAGA has so few Abilities, we
recommend that Ability Minimums and Maximums
be confined to one pair of Scores and one pair of
Codes. Placing restrictions on all four Abilities
places unfair restrictions on the player.
Advantages & Disadvantages
In the Dragonlance game, most Races & Roles
have a special Advantage (usually a condition
under which the Hero receives the automatic trump
bonus -- see Merely SAGA: Skills) and a
corresponding special Disadvantage (typically a
condition under which the Hero can never receive a
Trump bonus). Just for demonstration, a Vulcan from
Star Trek might receive a Trump Bonus
automatically for any action involving a computer,
but never be allowed a Trump Bonus in situations
where he might be required to act in an emotional
manner.
Additional Requirements
Finally, the Race might have special conditions
for Wealth/Status or the requirements that certain
Skills be taken. Or a Role might be restricted from
certain possessions or actions. These, like the
Advantages and Disadvantages, should be chosen
to make the Race or Role more interesting to play
but not more difficult.
Races & Roles In Hero Building
This is where the character concept, the Race
and the Role chosen all come together. The
Narrator should work with the Player to allocate his
Fate Cards in such a way as to meet the assorted
requirements of the Race and/or Role. Minimum
Scores or Codes must be met with appropriate cards.
If a card is played which exceeds a Maximum value,
the Ability Score or Code is lowered to the
Maximum regardless of the card played.
For SAGA Fans
This time, of course, we're purely in the material
created for Dragonlance. On close inspection, Races
and Roles are (for rule purposes) the same thing.
And that's how I've approached them here. A SAGA
Companion has much more extensive advice on
created balanced Races & Roles for your game, and
it's a very worthwhile read.
Afterword
And that's all, folks! I shan't be adding any more
Merely SAGA material -- you should have plenty to
spark your imagination and games. Thanks for taking
the time to read (and hopefully play!) my Merely
SAGA rules.
The online home for Merely SAGA is
http://members.home.net/bobportnell/saga.htm.
Feel free to drop in! -- BP