Tools of the trade: About Warriors

As it always is in fantasy roleplay, fighting types seems to rule at the start then kind of stagnate when higher levels are up. Here’s to them.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY WEAPONS
Those “weapons” are more often associated with protection, for they are usually not used as primary weapons - if you have only one weapon, it won’t be one of those), and release their full potential more often as a reaction to the enemy’s attack than as primary attackers. They are used in conjunction with a primary weapon, and held in the off-hand (the hand that doesn’t hold the weapon), as shields are. As you can guess, you cannot use one if you have a 2-handed weapon, or if you have a shield.
Opportunity weapons produce an effect when an opponent misses his attack roll. The exact nature of the effect depends on the weapon, but it always targets said opponent, nothing else.

Net: Can be made of rope or metal strings. Can be used as a thrown weapon, or an opportunity weapon; it immobilises the opponent, until he succeeds on a roll HAB (TN9). When the opponent frees himself, there are 3/6 chances that the net is rendered unusable (2/6 if metal strings).

Main Gauche: Can be used as a primary weapon (counts as a knife) or a opportunity weapon; it gives you a riposte, which mean you can attack your attacker right now. This doesn’t prevent you from attacking on your turn, and when you are done, the combat turn resumes as usual.

Brise-lame: Can be used as a primary weapon (counts as an improvised knife), or as an opportunity weapon; it is used to disarm the opponent, so that he must finish the fight with his bare hands (or find an improvised weapon).

Dagger-fist: Can be used as a brawl weapon (pair, count as spiked fist with a “bleed” critical) or an opportunity weapon; it causes the opponent the “Bleed” effect. It is a dwarf weapon.

ABOUT SHIELDS
Shields are first hand protective items. Any hero with a minimum combat training can use them that way; bur a really trained fighter can do marvels with those.
We saw three types of shield already (shield and spiked shield in SFK, and tower shield in LARA). A fighter with the reserved skill “Shield training” (see “new skills" below) can also use them as opportunity weapon; shield and tower shield deal [damage reduction] damage and “stun” the opponent. Spiked shield already deals 1 damage, add to it the “Bleed” effect.
And this gives us the opportunity (ha-ha) to add one more type of shield:

Bocle: reduce damages taken in melee by 1 (doesn’t work on ranged attacks); as an opportunity weapon, either cause 1 damage and the “stun” effect, or opens the enemy’s guard, reducing his DEF by 4 until his next turn.

ABOUT COATS
Medieval literature informs us of the varied uses of a coat in combat; I’ll here detail the two most important (and adaptable to LARA that is).
If a hero wears a cape or coat, it can be rolled over the other arm to act as a makeshift shield; it will reduce damage by 1, but to a minimum total damage of 1, and if your opponent misses an attack, you can roll PHY (TN is 6 plus opponent ability) to try and disarm him.
A coat or cape can also be used as a opportunity weapon; the hero can immediately break from melee and move to free position. If used this way, the coat is “lost”, and can be recovered at the end of the fight, or in melee, as a thrown weapon.
At the end of any fight you used your coat one of these ways, you have (2/6 for leather, 4/6 for wool) chances that it is so mangled it cannot be used anymore.

ABOUT SKILLS
As a complement to those, here are new reserved skills for the Fighter:
Precise timing: After he rolled his initiative, the fighter can set it to any score he wants, with the one he rolled as a maximum.
Opportunist: The fighter is trained in the usage of opportunity weapons, and can also use their effect as his main critical if he so wishes. Note: riposte as a critical actually gives you a second attack after the first one.
Shield training: The fighter can use any shield as an opportunity weapon.
Offensive protection: Always inflict 1 damage when an opponent misses its attack. This comes on top of an eventual opportunity attack.
Dirty fighter: the hero’s fists are weapons of opportunity with a “stun” critical / effect.
Beefy: the hero can hold a single 2-handed weapon with one hand (he can have a shield or opportunity weapon in the other hand).

Master of Horror: Episode 4

So, I'm late. But I'm here. Been sidetracked by a bunch of Orks...

Here goes part 4 when you visit the cube, and hope someone dealt with the architect already! the guy must be quite mad.

It's here! enjoy!

Master of Horror: Episode 3

August is not a good month to work, between the kid's holidays and the heat... Anyway, here is part 3, where we go down the pit to the prison of the Wizard king...

It is here!

Also, the introduction, which was not very useful up until now, but becomes necessary from this point, especialy if you have a bard in the team: here!

Master of Horror: Episode 2

 Talk about schedule... Second part of the campaign here! Only one week late! Youhou!

This time, we explore a lost cemetery, and meet its denizen.

It's here! enjoy!

And now for something completely different...

I was working on this for quite some time, and it is not really finished, but circumstances dictate sometimes.

Master of Horror is a mini-campaign for SFK, undead themed. It will be 5 short scenarios, plus one more, a bunch of new monsters... I have 4 parts ready, which gives me a bit of time to finish it ^^

I get this out here now because, well, Mr Romero died last week, and he was instrumental in my deep Undead craze. So here's to him.

There is the first chapter, Hostel. More should follow soon, but maybe you should wait the whole to play it. I will try to keep the delays, but drawing takes me a lot of time...

Tools of the trade: Blessings and curses (part2)

IMBUED WEAPON
A weapon can sometimes become magical of its own, with no particular intervention. Take durandal, Roland’s sword. It was more resilient than any other sword, but nowhere will you find any trace of magic being applied to the blade. A weapon may become imbued by many ways. Whatever the way, it will take time; so much time in fact that the “magical” effect will often be available only after the hero’s death, not before.

- The egregor way : if enough people think an item has magical properties, there is 2/6 chances it will really develop those. We’re talking about at least 2000 people, for at least a year. The people need to be really convinced of the stuff.

- The loving way: This hero wouldn’t think about using another weapon than his trusted blade, and would rather jump into danger to fetch it than leave it in another man’s hands. He passes all his free time and downtime caring about his weapon, oiling it, sharpening it, tending to it. Such a weapon has 2/6 chances to develop “magical” properties.

- The habit way: The wielder is a professional Ork Hunter, he spent his life hunting Orks, using that very weapon; there are 2/6 chances that the weapon will develop ork hunting “magical properties”

Those are of course cumulative and compatible. Our ork hunter (let’s call him Crazy bill) may well place so much faith in its weapon that it cares about it over anything else (my only companion), which will lead many an adjoining soldier to believe the weapon is magical (say twelve thousands in the last orkish crusade); In this case, the weapon will have (2+2+2=6) / 6 chances to develop magical properties.

Crazy bill will become famous for its blade, carreer, and longevity; talk about it! Still fighting orks, at 75 years old? Of course, we know it’s been 25 years since the blade developed its first power (+1 on all to hit rolls against orks), and  developed four more since then (another +1 to hit, a +1 damage, and critical hit on 10, 11 or 12, all only applicable when fighting orks). That helps.
But it has a price: Crazy bill started his career at 15. He uses his blade ever since. Of course the weapon has been repaired so many times there is almost nothing left of the original material but in Bill’s mind, it is still the same sword! So, for 35 years (from 15 to 50), he uses the blade, and become good with it, and kills so many orks he stops counting. As he turns 50,  he starts to wither, and his skills and abilities diminish, but then the sword takes over by compensating the growing weaknesses of the hero.
One day, Bill will die, and give his sword to his most trusted lieutenant. The lieutenant, traumatised by war, will quit the ork hunters and become a drunk. He will finally sell the sword to buy booze (“at least three bottles man! This here blade is Crazy Bill’s  Ork-slayer! Genuine!”); and so the sword enters in legend.
Imbued items will keep growing in power with time, if the conditions are still ongoing. The caretaker doesn’t have to be the same person, for example, the dwarves’s fabled Hammer of Kings is indeed imbued, and quite powerful, but it took seventy generations of kings to empower it so.

An imbued power will always be closely related to the activities of the wearer, for they are born from legend, and legend is born from fact.
Items other than weapons can also be imbued, the coat of a very stealthy thief, the gloves of a healer, the crown of a very wise king…

CURSED ITEMS
There are two ways an item may become cursed. Either someone put a curse on it (see blessings and reverse) or through the imbuing process.
A “spell-curse” can be lifted by a high level priest. See The Arena for details on that.
An “imbued” curse cannot be lifted in any way (well maybe the intervention of a god, but which one would care to do it?). It is permanent, or at least cannot leave the item (whether the hero can leave the item behind is another matter entirely). What’s tricky with this type of curse is that the item is usually also magical, with powerful properties; and then there is the curse.
Consider the Great Bow of Menil Argy, which may well be the most famous cursed items of all: It is a great bow (2 hands, range 1-5, damage D6+1, critical Damage x2) with two properties: it gives a massive +3 to hit and damage against all enemies of the elves (yes, that’s a lot of people); once per day, when hunting only, it insta-kills one target. But, it also has a curse: the holder can never set foot in any house, can never go back home, and will be hated and hunted by any elf recognising the bow (and yes, that’s a lot of people too). So, a perfect weapon for a woodsman, which incidentally makes the most powerful dwellers of the woods want to kill you.

GIVING UP A CURSED ITEM?
Well, most curse don’t prevent the wearer to let the item go. Some require him to give the item to somebody, others to sell it; even heard of one that should be sold for a smaller price than you bought it; and then, there are those few that you cannot get rid of. This can manifest in several ways:

- The hero doesn’t even imagine getting rid of the item, and becomes aggressive when someone else suggests it.

- The item always comes back; it is lying by the bed the next morning, wherever you dumped it. Or someone brings it back.

- If the item is given up, the hero will feel uneasy at first, then (the day after) he looses 1 points of PHY, and another one two days later, and so on until his PHY score reaches –1 (he then dies). If the item is retrieved, all lost points come back in an instant.

Tools of the trade: Blessings and curses

ABOUT BLESSINGS
There is of course the “Bless” prayer and the “Blessed” enchantment, but we are here to discuss true blessing at the temple, with the ceremony and all. All the following blessings are permanent.

CRUSADE BLESSING
A special kind of blessing given by a high priest of Primus, Ultimus, or The Hag. This will only be bestowed at the beginning of a crusade, and only to the leaders of the crusade army. The effects only apply to the enemies of the God, and thus, the potential targets are at best variable. For example, as of right now, The Hag’s crusade weapons have no real targets, since she’s not at war with any other gods.
A Crusade weapon can never be lost in battle (“disarm” critical doesn’t work); it never does fumble, and gets critical on 10, 11 or 12 on the combat roll; and there is a special effect depending on the god concerned.
- The Hag: each critical reproduces the effects of the “Gore” prayer (see the darklands); usually a scythe.
- Primus: +1 to touch and +d6 damage (holly); usually a sword;
- Ultimus: damages provoked by that weapon don’t heal by any non magical means; usually a sword or spear.
Crusade weapons are usually relics of the god’s Clergy, and it is really improbable that any new ones are created, or that those existing may be found outside the bigger temples.

COMMON BLESSING
Sometimes, a temple is in need of adventurers for some mission or another. Those blessings are either part of the mission equipment, or part of the reward. The exact effect of the blessing depends on the god, and can vary; here are a bunch of examples:
- Primus: double damage to nocturnal creatures; +2 to combat rolls against cultists of the dead gods;
- Armalee: +2 to initiative; the user cannot be immobilised in any way;
- Mankha slavra: poisonous attacks;
- Monolith: the item becomes indestructible; The items casts “negate magic” on hit;
- Ultimus: +2 to all attack rolls as long as there are more monsters than heroes; +2 to damage when fighting alone;
- The Hag: All hits cause bleeding; the weapon leeches damages and give them back as HP;
- Maaafsh’tarla: +1 to initiative for all friends in a 10 metres radius; +1 to combat roll against [animal species];
- Moulüd: The user can see as in bright daylight in any circumstances; the holder cannot be lied to.

LOVER’S BLESSING
Sometimes love is just enough. And sometimes, the word of a father can forge the destiny of his children. We’re talking “someone who loves you”, not “someone you sleep with”, here.
Norynn’s people place a good deal of power in family and genealogy; the quest for love, be it filial or flirty, is a highly respected activity. Many a knight goes around wearing a woman’s scarf, just because his lover gave it to him with a kind word –and the same goes for ladies, who can easily wear man jewellery or apparatus, if it was lover-given.
Memento of love hold real – if flimsy- power, as long as the love is true. There are lot of ways to render this in game:
- You can decide it gives the hero one Legend Point per adventure (see the GM’s Folio). This point is only usable against all odds, it is not a bonus, it is a game-changer;
- You may use it in roleplay, and ask less of that hero because of the charm;
- You may authorise one re-roll per adventure, on a very important failed roll, because the hero wants to surpass himself  for his loved one;
anyway, the hero must believe in love and cherish the memento for it to have an effect. In fact, you may want it to works only if the player thinks of it, and gives a flaming monologue about his only true love before the roll. Your call.

Tools of the trade: Material (part2)

STRANGE METALS
The following metals are quite rare, and have powerful abilities, regardless of what weapon they are forged into. Most of them are quite difficult to acquire, and once you have it, forging it (or finding someone who knows how) could prove very tricky. This can be an adventure in itself (several, even).

Orichalque: also called Meteoric silver, or Star silver, this metal cannot be naturally found on Norynn. All usable supply of the stuff has been discovered in the starfalls. Once forged, it looks like silver, but with a darker shade in the reflections. Orichalque is light, very light (+2 init, an armour made of it has no Initiative penalty), and very sturdy (it will never bend nor break); It sharpens well, and the edge doesn’t blunt (it always deal +2 damage per damage dice); like gold, it doesn’t oxidise. An Orichalque weapon should cost at least a hundred times the price indicated, and that is if the smith has some! There are more meteorites crashing than we realise, but still, the stuff is very rare. Some say there is a big deposit of the stuff in the lower levels of the Dungeon, under the Boss’s Throne room, but who knows…

Adamant: also called Dead silver, because it is silvery black once forged, and doesn’t reflect images, however polished it is. It reflects light, but in strange ways. Adamant is as heavy as steel, but it will never break nor bend, though. It seems to have a life of its own; a weapon made of Adamant will seem to search for preys, adjusting blows to deal maximum damage (+1 to hit, and +1 damage per dice). Last but not least, Adamant weapon are especially efficient against Undead (nobody knows exactly why) and as such deals them double damage, and criticals on 10, 11 or 12. It also can hurt ethereal beings, dealing them normal damages and normal criticals. Adamant is only found in the outer spheres, the Rock, Coal hell, and Sulphur elementary realm. Some dwarf tribes use complicated rituals to mine the rock for the stuff, but even as such, Adamant is rare. Even when acquired, it can only be melted by elemental fire, and so forging it can prove tricky. It would cost at least a thousand time the indicated price.

Vermilion: The red gold of Faëry, the fabled metal of which faë weapons and armours are forged. It is light and indestructible, as far as humans know, and shines like a dawning sun, a profound red with a golden halo. The only way to acquire such a marvellous weapon is to steal it from a faëric creature, or be offered one as a gift from a faë (very unlikely), as nobody knows where to mine for it (well in the land of Faëry, but where is it?), nor how to forge it (in the cold fire of the Dimensional Firewell, but how can you do that?). All faëry weapons are kind of small (meant to be used by faës, which are small; remember a Faë two handed sword is something like a (very) short sword for a human), but give +2 to init. and each damage dice. It also deals normal damages to faës and can, indeed, take away their last HP.

WHAT ABOUT WOOD?
Metal being the principal material to make weapons nowadays, a number of wooden weapons still exist. Mostly used by semi-savage and barbaric cultures, they can, used properly, prove, if not as deadly as metal ones, deadly enough.
The principal weakness of wood is its relative frailty; each time you roll a critical, you must roll D6. If you get less than the number indicated in the table below (durability), the weapon breaks.
Of course, there is wood, and wood. The following table recap three types of wood, and in order: the price if you buy the weapon, the price if you buy the wood, the durability roll, and the TN to make the weapon.

Type                                                 Price(weapon)         Price(wood)        Dur.        Fab.TN 
Soft wood (cedar, pine...)                 ½ max damage                 2                  5+             8
Medium wood (willow, chestnut...)      max damage                   5                 4+            10        
Hard wood   (oak, maple...)             2x max damage                 7                 3+             12

Any blunt weapon may be made of wood without problems. A wooden weapon damage roll is really dependant of its possessor’s strength, so all damages should be read as follow: the base damage is the dice (or dices) indicated, ignoring any “+something”. Then, the hero adds its PHY score. Critical is always “stun”.

Piercing weapons, say arrows, lances, spears may (and indeed are) easily made of wood. The pointy side is sharpened, then burnt to make it resilient. Damages are the same as in the table. Note that an all wooden spear is somewhat lighter than a metal headed one, and so could add +1 to hit and to initiative, but will probably break or blunt if thrown (DM’s discretion). Critical is always “bleed” or “stun” (if the weapon’s blunted).

Slashing weapons made of wood are clearly not a thing. Even if some exist (say a boken, for example) you should treat them as a staff, used with the Specialist: Sword skill.

Note: certain particular woods have specific effects on certain creatures. The most well known are Juniper tree being able to hold faës, and old oak spike paralysing vampires.

EXOTIC MATERIAL
Of course there is always a smartass in the group who wants a stone weapon “like in RG Veda”, or a giant bone as a club “it’s so badass”. You may go along the line “what about you just choose in the table?” or you can indulge them.
Stone is heavy, and with a few exceptions (silex and obsidian), not really slashing; plus, it seems hard and resilient, but it is really not when you start pounding it. So, cumbersome and fragile as Bronze, but may (if you like) give a +1 (or +PHY, if you’re in a really good mood) to damage if carved as a blunt weapon.
Bone is nice, but it grows weaker with time, even left alone; so, a bone weapon start as hard wood, and becomes weaker after each durability roll (medium, then soft, then autobreak). It does no special damage, but may cause infections, because of the splinters in the wounds.

YOU WANT A WHAT?
The case I have in mind is the Aztec stone sword, the Macuahuitl: it is made of wood, but the slashing part is obsidian shards, so stone (and of course one of the specials).
You’ll have to improvise; you can treat it as a normal sword, with a durability test; you may want it to cause infection (because obsidian does splinters too); you also may want it to become less and less effective (because of the splinters really) like bone.
As always, it is impossible to cover everything; there will be times of deep questioning indeed. But we covered enough for improvisation to be pretty easy.

Tools of the trade: Material (part1)

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
The success of a campaign lies in its capacity to renew itself, which may be difficult after a while, especially with a minimalist system. So here I propose no new rules, but variations on known themes.
The following series of articles suppose you have read the Peninsula, the Dark Lands, the Hero’s Folios, the Master’s Folio, the Arena, and of course Savage Flower Kingdom.

ABOUT MATERIAL
Material has a major impact on the overall quality and capacities of a weapon. And we’re not talking only about resilience here.

CURRENT METALS
Most weapons sold and manufactured on Norynn are made of metal (at least the head / blade / point). Those are the most frequently used.

Bronze: For centuries, bronze was the principal weapon-making alloy on Norynn; it was dropped in favour of iron and steel, more durable and lighter, but some monsters and lost people still use it. A bronze weapon is fragile; each time you roll a critical while using such a weapon, or deal the weapon’s maximum damage, roll D6 (1-2, good; 3-4, the weapon needs repair; 5-6, the weapon is broken); and it is quite cumbersome (Init –2). It only costs ¾ of the price though, if you find someone to forge it.

Steel : the most commonly used metal on norynn. Iron weapons are those described in SFK core booklet. Steel is a variant (more rare) obtained through a certain treatment of Iron, which is more durable, sharpens better (damage +1), and is lighter (init +1); it is of course more expensive (price is doubled). Both those metals, when cold, do D6 supplemental damages to Faës and Faëry creatures. It cannot take away their last HP, though.

Silver: silver is not commonly used in weapon making, usually favoured for jewellery and ornamentation. A silver weapon can be made, however it will cost 5 times the indicated price, and will be a lot less sturdy than its iron counterpart; each time you roll a critical while using such a weapon, or deal the weapon’s maximum damage, roll D6 (1-3, good; 4-5, the weapon needs repair; 6, the weapon is broken). It is of course nicer, shines a lot, and some say it takes magic better; when casting a spell on such a weapon, you have a +2 bonus on the casting roll. Silver is also known to hurt Undead and shapeshifters better; when fighting such an opponent with a silver weapon, you deal D6 supplemental damages.

Gold: Gold is not such a good idea as weapon material: it is soft and weak; each time you roll a critical while using such a weapon, or deal the weapon’s maximum damage, roll D6 (1, good; 2-4 the weapon needs repair; 5-6, the weapon is broken). It is also quite expensive (10 times more) and heavy (Initiative –2); it has a lot of alchemical properties and conduct magic very well (like silver). Gold is eternal (it doesn’t oxidise), and as such is symbolically the metal of the gods; it deals D6 supplemental damages to Hellions.

AND WHAT ABOUT PLATING?
Well, of course, you can have a plated weapon. A silver sword is solid silver, a silver plated sword is an iron or steel sword, with a thin silver coating all over it. Since there is less silver than in a silver sword, the effect will be lower.
A silver plated sword would give +1 damage when fighting shapeshifters and undead, a gold plated one +1 damage when fighting hellions; they would still give +1 to all casting rolls on them.
Of course, plating is easy to damage, and needs to be done again everytime the weapon deals a critical, or does its maximum damage. And of course, there is the price: first you buy the weapon (iron or steel), and then bring it to a jewelmaker to have it plated; plating costs the same as the weapon for silver, and fifty percent more for gold. And you still look cheap!
Note: the strange metals described in next part are already difficult to forge; they cannot be plated.

Norynn: The arena

The middle of Norynn is a big plain, known to all as the great plains of battle, or the Arena. It is a place of conflict and war, pain for the meek and spoils for the brave! But you better be warned: don't go there alone!


Download it here (or in the Download tab)!

Master's Folio

The heroes had their books, now the GM does too.
The Master's Folio is a compilation of optional rules and tools for the GM: Advanced combat and damages, illness, NPC generation, legend points (to do legendary stuff), and Special boss monsters.

Download it here (or from the Download tab)!

Where to start?

Okay, something old, something new...

You'll find, in the "download" tab, all previously released files for Savage flower Kingdom, even those with only an historical interest. You'll also find links to LARA, which is the generic system SFK uses. It is not necessary to play, The Core rules of SFK includes all the needed rules.
I'll try to keep this up to date, and to keep it clear!
For now, everything is written for the Core rules 2ed, and most of it also uses the "Heroes folios". So if you only get 2, get those.

Now for something new...

You'll also find there a bunch of stuff I did for myself and am happy to share: my GM screen (small but effective), the last version of my character sheet (the one I use in my games), and of course, my advanced combat set (vampirised from a lot of EP games, all Art from Robertson Sondoh Jr, of course). If memory serves, the advanced combat set was published on EP facebook page some times ago (years maybe) in comment to a post; well it's here too now.

And to finish, a reminder: EP blog published a lot of creatures, classes, rules, and general stuff about SFK over the years, some of it I used, some of it is mine, but a lot of it is exclusive there!
Cheers!

Introduction

Well, here we are. Introduction. Yeah.

Those of you who are familiar with Experimental Playground may well have heard of me, those who have not... Go there and read EVERYTHING! Now! it's worth it!

I plan to keep on doing pretty much the same here as I do there, meaning free pen and paper RPG, maybe boardgames, anything in topic really. Norynn will continue to grow, and we'll see more of Pyre, with just a bit of luck. Maybe translate things in french (I am français by the way...), but don't wait on that.

This is in no way a break with EP, this is just me getting on the front line, instead of staying hidden behind Rob. It's about sharing the load of work. I don't like facebook, google+ is a pain, maybe this will work for me. I won't promise a specific rhythm, I hate to talk when I have nothing to say, and to rush things; so there will probably be times with lots of posts (because yeah, inspired) and months of radio-silence (because, well, not inspired).

Voilà voilà. If you have comments, feel free; I can't promise I'll answer to all, but I'll try. If you have questions, do not hesitate; if you have ideas, you're welcome too; anyway, be patient, I have a life.

Welcome, and good reading.