Summary Phrase
Name
Kingdom
Tribe
BODY
LUCK
Sex
Age
Religion
MIND
Speed
(score) Edge (description)
etc…
Flaw (description)
etc…
Melee Weapon (cost, mass, damage, notes)
etc…
Ranged Weapon (cost, mass, damage, range, notes)
etc…
Other Equipment (cost, mass, notes)
etc…
Money
Mass Carried (Encumbrance limit1)
Description
Quick Character Generation
Race, profession, and then two backgrounds, one for childhood and one for early career
1
Note the characters encumbrance limit (normally Body-4)
Three Stats
BODY: your characters physical capabilities (speed, strength, health, agility,
dexterity)
MIND: your character mental capabilities (coolness, command, memory,
willpower, perception, senses, problem-solving, charisma)
LUCK (PC’s and major NPC’s only): your characters natural luck.
The World
The Dark Ages world is a distorted version of our own historical dark age
Britain and Europe. The game is set in 610AD but things are not quite as they
were in the real historical world. Major differences include:
 More towns & cities survived the departure of Rome, so there are many
urban areas.
 Magic is much closer to the surface.
 The power balance between celts, picts & Saxons is much more
balanced, no single power has a significant ascendancy.
 There is growing pressure from the continent, the Byzantine empire is
not content to maintain itself but is beginning to develop an
expansionist bent.
 The Romano-British do not rule, but their great houses occupy
positions of influence within British society.
 Atlantis & Lemuria/Mu were real places. Atlantis and Mu were both
magically powerful cultures who fought a great war. The magical
remnants of this clash, tens of thousands of years ago, still reverberate
through the known world.
 Mechanisms are far more advanced than the real-world of 610AD,
much roman and greek technology has been maintained and
developed, partly with the assistance of lemurian and atlantean lore.
A note on rolling
When a Stat is noted with a * by it this indicates a roll is made to modify the
Stat before comparison with any difficulty or other Stat. Roll two six-sided dice,
one is positive & one negative. Subtract the negative dice from the positive
dice and add the result to the Stat (so a negative result reduces the Stat value
for that particular task).
As a general rule of thumb the acting side of a contest rolls dice, the resisting
side does not (eg.. in combat the attacker rolls dice and modifies their Fighting
edge then compares that to the targets unmodified Fighting edge).
Dice are only rolled when there is a significant degree of chance
involved in an action, this is quite often a GM call during play. As an
example, attacks are rolled but lifting a weight would be an unrolled task.
Using luck
Luck can be used to increase your Stats when resisting or when actively using
a Stat in conjunction with a roll (eg.. you could add LK to attack when
attacking, there’s a roll involved, but couldn’t add LK to strength when trying to
lift something as that doesn’t involve a roll).
1pt of LK increases a Stat by 1pt. You can spend a number of points each
session equal to your LK score. Your LK score doesn’t reduce by doing this
though (so a character with LK 8 could spend 8pts of LK but regardless of
how much LK they spent their LK Stat would still be treated as 8). Certain
flaws prevent a character spending LK on certain types of action and
conversely certain edges make 1pt of LK add +2 to a Stat.
Note that only Player Characters and major Non-player characters have
LUCK scores, most other characters and creatures do not have a LUCK
score.
Format
Edge*DIFF
The * is optional. A * means roll (d6-d6) and add the result to the Edge score.
No * means just use the Edge value unmodified. Compare the modified Edge
to the DIFF. If you do not have the edge use the appropriate Stat (body or
mind) -3.
The DIFF may be a Edge itself combination.
7 is the human average Stat, +3 is a doubling, -3 a halving.
Running Notes
Easy Task: DIFF 8
Average task: DIFF 10
Hard Task: DIFF 12
Very Hard Task: DIFF 14
If you don’t have the specific edge default to the Stat at -3 (eg.. if asked
for your Fighting score and you do not have Fighting your score is
BODY-3).
Movement
Characters Run at speed 7 (15m per round). The fleet-footed edge increases
this by +1 to 8 (20m per round). The slow flaw reduces it to 6 (10m per round).
Speed Meters per Round
6
10m
7
15m
8
20m
Walking movement rate is Speed-4 (so an average character walks at speed
1, or 1.5 meters per second).
Fatigue
For every four hours of significant activity (eg.. travelling, working) a character
incurs a -1 penalty to all physical actions due to fatigue, this includes
movement speed.
Every 8 hours of rest reduces this penalty by 1pt (so if you work for 8 hours
and then rest for 16hrs, a normal working day, you are fresh again for the next
day).
If the fatigue penalty exceeds Resist Fatigue the character collapses and
cannot continue.
Weather
Inclement weather increases the rate of fatiguing to characters exposed to it.
For every one of the conditions below increase the fatigue penalty by 1pt per
four hours:
 Heavy Rain
 Strong Wind
 Biting Cold: winter clothing neutralises this condition.
 Boiling Heat: summer clothing neutralises this condition.
Wearing armour neutralises any benefit from winter or summer clothing.
Death by Fatigue
A character who collapses from Fatigue in one of the weather conditions
above is in serious danger. If not got into shelter they will die four hours later
from hypothermia or hyperthermia.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol gives the character Fatigue points (to represent its befuddling
effects). Each pint of beer or mug of wine gives a 1pt Fatigue penalty. Fatigue
from alcohol is reduced at the rate of 1pt per two hours after you stop drinking
(a different rate to normal fatigue recovery).
Encumbrance
A character can carry BODY-4 mass units with no penalty. Greater than this
and they are considered Encumbered. An encumbered character increases
fatigue gain by 1pt per four hours of activity.
Long Distance Travel
A characters long distance travel speed is based on their walking movement
rate (speed-4) modified by the terrain they are on:
 Road, Plains or Fields in good weather: no modifier
 Plains or fields in bad weather: -1 speed
 Woods/forests or Hills/Mountains: -1 speed
 Mountains/Swamps: -2 speed
The table below provides a quick summary of distances travelled over
different types of terrain assuming 8 hours travelling and 16 hours rest per
day. Note this breaks some standard rules for Speed by effectively allowing
negative speed values, this is a special case rule and it also assumes the
character is not encumbered.
Speed 7
Speed 8
Character
Character
Road, Plains or
50.4 (30
64.8km (38
Fields in good
miles)
miles)
weather
Plains or fields in
36km (21
50.4km (30
bad weather
miles)
miles)
Woods/forests or
36km (21
50.4km (30
Hills
miles)
miles)
Mountains/Swamps 22.1km (13
36km (21
miles)
miles)
Distance=(Speed+Time)
Time=(Distance-Speed)
Speed=(Distance-Time)
37=2-35
Throwing: +1 distance to thrown objects.
Character masses 7.
Large: +1 mass.
Very Large: +2 mass.
Huge: +3 mass.
Value
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Mass
6
9
12.5
18
25
35
50
70
100
140
200
280
400
560
Time
2
3
4
6
8
12
16
24
32
48
64
96
128
192
256
Distance
1
1.5
2
3
5
7.5
10
15
20
30
40
60
80
120
160
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
Simplify Things
1. One round, two seconds in duration.
2. Act on your INITIATIVE (you may hold your action until later). You
can:
 Wait
 or
 Run & perform a simple action
 or
 Perform a complex action IF YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY IN
MELEE2
3. Attacking or other action ends your movement (eg.. you can move
then attack, but cannot attack then move). The move-by attack
has special rules to allow movement after attacks.
4. Multiple attacks are allowed. Roll once & use the multiple attack
penalty but you must be able reach all your targets (this may
involve a move-by attack).
Wait

2
You do nothing on your turn and wait. If you wait you can
perform one simple action between your INITIATIVE and your
If you are fighting someone in close combat you cannot use a complex action.
INITIATIVE next turn but that action is at -3 to success (treat it
as trick-shot). The action can be declared at any point and is
considered to be simultaneous to any other actions declared by
other characters (if you wait and shoot a bow at an opponent
who moves you can choose when to shoot during their
movement. If someone’s attempts a move-by or charge on you,
you attack when they do).
Simple Action & Run
 Attack
 Say a few words
 Draw a readily available weapon (eg.. one sheathed or
holstered)
 Ready a bow
 Evade: no attack, but +1 Defense til your next turn (can be used
in response to an attack, using up your next turn in advance)
Complex Action
 Fire & re-ready a bow
 Aimed Attack: +1 to attack
 Kill a stunned, wounded or dying opponent.
 Reload: a magazine, INITIATIVE/2 individual rounds into a
weapon, a single arrow to a bow, one turn of reloading a
crossbow
 Unsling a weapon or item from your back/pack (includes
weapons in ankle holsters and such like)
 Say a complete sentence
 Use Legend Lore*12 to identify a single weakness a monster
you are facing has.
d6-d6 curve
<=
-5 2.7 2.7
-4 5.5 8.2
-3 8.3 16.5
-2 11.1 27.6
-1 13.9 41.5
0 16.7 58.2
+1 13.9 72.1
+2 11.1 83.2
+3 8.3 91.5
+4 5.5 97
+5 2.7 100
Attacking
On a characters turn they can attack (normal attack/snapshot is a simple
action, an aimed attack is a complex action and cannot be attempted whilst in
close combat with someone).
Attack is resolved as follows:
MELEE: Fighting*Fighting OR Fighting*Dodge (+weapon damage-target
armour)
RANGED: Marksmanship*Dodge (+weapon damage-target armour)
Damage
Add the success margin of the attack (if 1+) to the weapons damage modifier
then subtract the targets Armour. The result is taken by the target as Damage
and the target is Stunned.
Stunning
A character who takes damage is Stunned and loses their next turn. Attacks
against them whilst stunned are at +1.
Incapacitation
A character who is Incapacitated must make a Survival*9 test. On a failure the
character is dead, on a success the character is dying, they have ten minutes
to be stabilised which is an Healing Lore*10 task. Success on the healing task
means the character does not die but roll 1d6 to determine which Stat is
permanently reduced by 1pt due to the trauma;
1-3: BODY
4-6: MIND
Use of Luck: luck points can be spent to negate damage points on a 1:1
basis (if you have the Hardy edge 1 LK negates 2 damage).
For example,
Healing
A character who isn’t incapacitated reduces damage total by 1pt per day. One
who is incapacitated reduces damage by 1pt per week! If attended by a
character with Healing Lore (one in the same party counts as attending)
recover 2pts per day, or 2pts per week.
Multiple Attackers: If a character begins the round with more than one foe
engaged with them their attackers get bonuses against them:
 Two foes: +1 Fighting each
 3-4 foes: +2 Fighting each
 5-8 foes set-ups: +3 Fighting each
 9+ foes: +4 Fighting each
Surprise: if you surprise a foe you get one free-attack on them at +1 to hit.
The second and subsequent turns are resolved as normal.
Move-By: move by attack lets you move to an opponent, strike them move
on again. It is a trick shot (-3 attack).
Charge: if you move into combat with an opponent get +1 Damage if you hit.
Stunned Opponent: if an opponent is Stunned you are at +1 Attack against
them.
Flanking: if you are in an opponents rear 180 degrees get +1 Attack against
them.
Offhand: a character who attacks with their offhand is at -1 attack
(ambidexterity removes this penalty).
Two Weapons: you can strike with your primary hand/foot and your
offhand/foot in the same turn but take a -1 to the primary attack & -2 to the
offhand attack (if you have ambidexterity the penalty is -1/-1).
Trick Shot: a trick shot is intended to cause a special effect of some kind.
Take -3 to attack to perform a trick shot. Some examples of trick shots
include:
 Attack with a ranged weapon whilst in melee with one or more foes.
 Move, attack, then continue moving or attack then move.
 Bouncing a thrown or missile weapon off a surface to hit a target out of
LOS (you must know they are there though)
 Make a ranged attack against a target in melee
 Throw a melee weapon not designed to be thrown, Distance=STRMass.
 Arcing an attack over an obstacle to hit a target without LOS (you must
know they are there though). Note this is the standard indirect fire
attack for a grenade launcher.
 Pinning an opponent to a surface by their clothes.
 Disarm an opponent.
 Breaking an opponents weapon.
 Slicing armour or clothes off an opponent.
 Trample with a mount
 Knock an opponent unconscious without hurting them.
 Hitting an opponent in the leg so they are knocked down (ignoring
normal damage, so you either hit & Knock them down or miss
completely).
 Hitting an opponent for no damage but to give them -1 BODY for the
rest of the battle. Multiple such blows are cumulative in effect.
 Hitting an opponent for no damage but to give them -1 Speed for the
rest of the battle. Multiple such blows are cumulative in effect.
 Use an automatic weapon to make a multiple attack but skip targets in
a line (you would incur the trick-shot penalty and the multiple attack
penalty)
Multiple Attack: a character can make a multiple attack on their turn. This is
a complex action and all targets of the multiple attack must be in range of the
weapon or the attacker must be able to move within reach of all of them
through their movement this round (this would be a move-by attack, with an
additional -3 penalty). Roll once and compare to all defenses to determine
effects. Take an attack penalty based on the number of targets attacked:
 2: -3 attack
 3-4: -6 attack
 5-8: -9 attack
 9-16: -12 attack
If using an automatic weapon to multiple attack you must hit all the targets in
a line, you cannot skip individual targets in the line unless you use a trick-shot.
A multiple attack could be a series of rapid blows as you run through a
group, slamming a bench into a group of foes, a spinning kick to strike
multiple adjacent foes, a knife thrown to slice through two or more
targets etc…
Mounted Combat
When mounted use the mounts Speed and your own INITIATIVE to
determine turn order. Mounted characters get +1 Fighting. Any of your edges
are capped at the same level as your Ride edge when mounted (eg.. if you
have Fighting+3 and Ride+2 your Fighting is capped to +2 when mounted).
A Stun to a rider dismounts them immediately (alternatively a trick shot
can be used to dismount a mounted opponent).
Chariots
A chariot is pulled by two horses and has two occupants. Use the horses
movement and the characters INITIATIVE to resolve turn order as normal. A
character on a chariot has +1 Fighting & Dodge (due to the advantageous
position and the cover the chariot gives them).
Cover
A character who has something solid between themselves and the attacker
gets a defense bonus based on the amount of cover (ie.. increase the
Difficulty of hitting them by the bonus):
 ½ or less of body covered: +1 Defense (behind a low wall, lying down
on open ground)
 ¾ or less of body covered: +2 Defense (leaning round a corner and
firing, lying down in a ditch)
 All of body covered: +3 Defense (this assumes you are ducking in and
out of cover, if you stay completely behind the cover you cannot be hit).
Grapple
Treat as a Fighting trick-shot (-3). On a success you have grabbed your target
and pinned them. Neither of you can do anything until the grappler releases
the hold. The target can try and grapple back if they wish, so you are both
grappling each other. The grappler can cause Strength Feat-Body damage to
their victim each round if they wish.
Knock-Back
Causing knock-back is a Fighting trick shot (-3 attack). If you hit the target is
knocked back a distance equal to your (Mass-their Mass). If you Charged add
+1 to you Mass. If you moved into combat the knock-back must be in the
same direction you were moving to reach combat, otherwise it can be any
direction of the attackers choice. If the target is knocked into a wall or other
surface they are automatically Stunned.
Poisons & Diseases
A given poison or disease has an effect, delay and potency. Upon exposure a
character begins to feel ill then after the delay period has passed they make a
Resist Poison*X where X is the poisons potency. If you succeed (success 1+)
there is no effect. If you rolled equal there is some mild nausea and the
character takes a -3 fatigue penalty, but no serious effects, if you rolled less
then the full effect occurs after the delay period passes again. The main
difference between diseases and poisons is diseases tend to have much
longer delay periods (measured in days usually).
Fear
In some circumstances a character can be frightened by something, this is
referred to as a fear check. Whenever you encounter a creature with Fear
score you must immediately make a Willpower*Fear check.
If your success margin is 1+ or more you are unaffected by the fear. On a 0 or
less you are effected. On a 0 you are just Stunned for a turn, on a -1 or less
you are Stunned and also take the amount you failed the check by as a
penalty to all actions until you leave the presence of the thing causing the fear
and ten minutes has passed (eg.. if your modified Willpower was 9 and the
creature or situations fear was 10 you would be at -1 to all actions until you
have left the presence of the sight and ten minutes has passed). If you have
fear immunity to something you are faced by you do not need to make the
check.
Rallying
A character can try to make a Leadership roll to rally their own side from fear
effect, this is a complex action. Roll Leadership and compare to your allies
Willpower, if you roll greater than their Willpower they reduce any penalties
from Fear by that amount (eg.. your ally is scared of a monster, -2 fear penalty
& Willpower 8. You use a complex action and roll Leadership, getting a 9. This
is 1pt more than their willpower so there penalty is reduced by 1pt to -1). Only
one Rally attempt can be made per side, per battle.
Unseen Opponent
If you cannot see your target you cannot use ranged attacks on them. You
can still engage them in melee combat but you are at -3 Attack & Defense
against them.
Weapons
If a weapon has a split damage code the first number refers to one-handed use, the second to two-handed use.
Class is the Weapon Focus edge relating the specific weapon (ie.. a character with Weapon Mastery: Blade +1 would get +1 attack
& defense with any blade type weapon).
Weapon cost includes a sheath or some other fixture to carry the weapon in/from.
Unless noted otherwise Metal working edge is needed to make weapons.
A Staff requires a Wood worker, although an improvised* staff can be made for free by anyone.
Class
Type
Cost
Weight Damage Notes
General notes
(Silver) (kg)
Brawling Unarmed
+0
Blade
Knife
2
0.5
+1
Easily concealed (+1 to any rolls
A cheap eating and tool knife,
to hide it), Improvised*
not designed to stand up to
blows in combat
Blade
Dagger
10
0.5
+1
Easily concealed (+1 to any rolls
A proper, high quality fighting
to hide it)
dagger.
Blade
Short Sword3
60
1
+1/+2
+1 Fighting
A short stabbing sword
4
Blade
Long Sword
100
1.5
+2/+3
+1 Fighting
A long sword designed to cut
and thrust
Blade
Great Sword (2h) 130
2
+4
+1 Fighting
A very long (5-6ft) cutting sword
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents
Blunt
Heavy Armour
15
1
+1
+1 damage against medium
Metal gauntlets or gloves
Gauntlet/Cestus
armour
padded with metal.
Blunt
Club
3
1.5
+2/+3
+1 damage against medium
An improvised club, damages
armour
mainly through concussion so is
Improvised*
good against flexible medium
armour
3
4
Typical short-swords are the Roman Gladius, the Saxon Saexa or the Celtic Falcata.
Typical long-swords are the Roman Spatha or the Celtic long-sword
Blunt
Big Club (2h)
10
3
+4
Blunt
Light Mace
10
1
+1
Blunt
Mace
15
1.5
+2/+3
Blunt
Heavy Mace (2h)
40
2.5
+4
Blunt
Maul (2h)
60
3
+4
Blunt
Light Spiked
Mace
10
1
+1
+1 damage against medium
armour
+1 damage against medium
armour
+1 damage against medium
armour
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents.
target
-1 Fighting if used in an enclosed
space
+1 damage against light armour
Blunt
Blunt
Spiked Mace
Heavy Spiked
Mace (2h)
Spiked Maul (2h)
15
40
1.5
2.5
+2/+3
+4
+1 damage against light armour
+1 damage against light armour
60
3
+4
+1 damage against light armour
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents.
Blunt
+1 damage against medium
armour
Improvised*
+1 damage against medium
armour
“
A forged heavy metal head on a
shaft, damages mainly through
concussion so is good against
flexible medium armour
“
“
A forged heavy metal head on a
very long shaft, damages
mainly through concussion so is
good against flexible medium
armour
A slightly lighter head than a
standard mace but with sharp
spikes welded on. When it
strikes these spikes easily
punch through thin light armour.
“
“
As a maul, but with a lighter
spiked head
Axe
Fighting Hatchet
15
1
+1
Axe
Battle Axe
20
2
+2/+3
Axe
Great Axe (2h)
30
2.5
+4
Axe
Hatchet
3
2
+1
Axe
Felling Axe (2h)
4
2
+4
Flail
Morning star
20
1.5
+2/+3
Flail
Flail
Net
Flail (2h)
Chain, 4ft length
Net
30
5
5
2
1.5
2
+4
+1/+2
Polearm
Short Spear (1h)
10
1
+1/+2
Polearm
Spear (2h)
15
1.5
+2/+3
-1 Fighting if used in an enclosed
space
+1 damage against opponent with
a shield
+1 damage against opponent with
a shield
+1 damage against opponent with
a shield
+1 damage against opponent with
a shield, Improvised*
+1 damage against opponent with
a shield
Improvised*
-1 Fighting, +2 Damage
-1 Fighting, +2 Damage
-1 Fighting, +2 Damage
Success gives target -3 penalty to
all actions until they use a
complex action to remove it. It
cannot be used again until that
target has escaped the penalty.
+1 Fighting on first round of
combat with a foe
+1 Fighting on first round of
combat with a foe
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents
Good for hacking through
shields
Hard to handle, but the heads
whip round defenses and
deliver crushing blows
Length advantage when
opponent tries to close with you
Polearm
Long Spear (2h)
15
2.5
+4
Axe
Pole Axe
20
3
+4
Lance
Lance
5
3
+4
Polearm
Staff
3
2
+2/+3
Polearm
Staff
-
2
+2/+3
Blunt
Light Hammer
5
1
+1
Target Stunned on 0+ damage
Improvised*
+1 damage against heavy armour
Blunt
Hammer
15
2
+2/+3
+1 damage against heavy armour
5
+1 Fighting on first round of
combat with a foe
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents
-1 Fighting if used in an enclosed
space
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents.
+1 damage against shield
equipped opponents.
-1 Fighting if used in an enclosed
space
Mounted use only
+1 Damage on Charges
(additional to normal +1 damage
for charges)
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponent.
Target Stunned on 0+ damage5
If modified damage is 0+ the target is stunned (normally a target is only stunned if they take 1+ damage).
Often delivers stunningly fast
one/two strikes which stagger
opponent.
Pointed hammer head punches
straight through metal plate
armour.
Blunt
Blunt
War Hammer (2h)
Great Hammer
(2h)
Brawling Shield
20
30
3
4
+4
+4
10
1.5
+1
+1 damage against heavy armour
+1 Fighting against mounted
opponents.
+1 damage against heavy armour
-1 Fighting if used in an enclosed
space
Improved Knock-Back
*Improvised Weapons: break on a DOUBLE ONE attack roll. Note that this only applies to use in combat, reflecting using the
weapon to attack & parry with. A felling axe wouldn’t normally break if you were using it for its assigned task of cutting down a tree

**Improved Disarm: a disarm trick shot with a chain is only at -2 to attack.
Gae Bolga: a barbed spear sometimes used by the Celts. Healing rolls to deal with wounds from a Gae Bolga are INT* 10.
Armour
No Armour: +0 Armour
Light Armour: leather armour (leather working) +1 Armour (50 silvers, 10kg).
Medium Armour: mail armour (metal working), +2 Armour (100 silvers, 20kg).
Heavy Armour: plate armour (metal working), +3 Armour (200 Silvers, 30kg).
Shield (1.5kg: +1 Fighting, but must choose to use in attack or defense each
turn, not both (choose on your turn). Cannot wield two weapons or a heavy
weapon (1.5kg). A shield can also be used aggressively to attack with, see its
entry in the weapons table. If a shield is used to successfully knock-back a
target add 2 to the distance they are knocked back.
Spiked Armour: +1kg to armour weight, +20 silvers to cost. Get +1 damage
when crushing a foe you have grappled, +1 damage to unarmed attacks, +1
to Intimidation attempts. If you roll DOUBLE ONES on any physical action
take 1 damage though as you bash into something and hurt yourself.
Roman Armours
Two types of Roman armour deserve a note as they are still sometimes
encountered, even after the fall of the Empire:
Lorica Segmentum (Medium armour, 150 silvers, 15kg): The standard
armour of the Roman legionnaire comprising metal bands which protect the
chest, upper abdomen and back and a skirt of studded leather strips which
protects the lower abdomen and legs to the knee. It gives protection as good
as a mail hauberk but at substantially reduced weight.
Officers Armour (medium armour, 200 silvers, 12kg): A shaped metal breast
& back-plate with upper arm protection and a skirt of studded leather which
protects the lower abdomen and thighs. This was the standard armour of
Roman Officers and is still sometimes encountered
Ranged Weapons
Readying a bow to fire is a simple action, firing can be a simple or complex
action (+1 attack if a complex action). Readying a crossbow is a complex
action & takes 3 or more rounds to achieve.
Ranged weapons use the attack value of the character.
The cost is listed in brackets with the weapon and the weight at the head of
the column.
The rounds rating in brackets is the number of rounds needed to reload the
weapon (whilst reloading the character cannot do anything else, not even
move).
Attacking with a ranged weapon whilst in melee (against a meleeing foe or
someone outside melee) is a Trick Shot (-3 attack).
Class
Type
Cost Weight Damage Range
Notes
(Short/Long)
Bow
Short Bow* 20
1
+1
Distance 17
(120m)
Bow
Long Bow* 40
1.5
+2
Distance 18
(160m)
Crossbow Light
30
1
+1
Distance 17
3rds to
Crossbow**
(120m)
reload
Crossbow Medium
Crossbow**
Crossbow Heavy
Crossbow**
Thrown
Short
Spear
Thrown
Rock
50
2
+2
Distance 17
(120m)
Distance 17
(120m)
BODY+4
Distance
BODY
Distance
70
3
+3
10
1
+1
-
1
+1
Thrown
Sling
5
0.5
+1
BODY+3
Distance
Thrown
Hatchet
3
1
+1
BODY+2
Distance
Thrown
Dagger
10
1
+1
BODY+2
Distance
Thrown
Knife
2
1
+1
BODY+1
Distance
10rds to
reload
20 rds to
reload
Target
Stunned
on 0+
damage
Target
Stunned
on 0+
damage
+1
damage
against
shield
using
opponents
Easily
concealed
(+1 to any
rolls to
hide it)
Easily
concealed
(+1 to any
rolls to
hide it)
*Two Handed
**Two Handed; but can be fired one-handed, once loaded, as a trick shot (-3
attack)
20 Sling stones (2 silvers, 0.5kg): -1 against armoured targets, for slings.
20 Iron sling bullets (5 silvers, 1kg): no modifiers, for slings
20 Normal Bolts (15 silvers, 2kg): no modifiers, for crossbows.
20 Normal arrows (10 silvers, 1kg): no modifiers, for bows.
20 Flight arrows (20 silvers, 1kg): +1 Distance to weapons range.
Barbed arrow (20 silvers, 1kg): Complications from a barbed arrow hit are
INT*10 to heal.
Broadhead arrow (20 silvers, 1kg): +1 damage against unarmoured target, -1
against armoured target.
Bodkin arrow (20 silvers, 1kg): +1 damage against armoured target, -1 against
unarmoured target.
Character Generation
Celts
Throughout the game the use of the world Celt refers to Briton, Cymri & Gael characters.
Character Generation
Run through the following steps:
1. Choose Race (Celt (Briton, Cymri or Gael), Pict, Romano-British or Saxon)
2. Choose Kingdom
3. Tribe (if Celt or Pict)
4. Religion
5. Roll 3d6 three times, each time adding the two highest dice and note the results.
6. Allocate the three results to the three Stats (BODY, MIND & LUCK).
7. Choose Height: Tall/Normal/Short
8. Choose Weight: Heavy/Normal/Light
9. Choose Build: Fat/Normal/Lean
10. Choose Hair Colour (Saxons predominantly blonde. Cymri & Romano-British tend to Dark hair, Picts & Gaels tend to dark
hair but with a fair number of red-heads)
11. Choose Eye Colour
12. Choose Loud/Normal/Quiet Voice
13. Choose Introvert/Normal/Extrovert (no effect on gameplay, just tags for the character description)
14. Choose Empathic/Normal/Cold (no effect on gameplay, just tags for the character description)
15. Choose Primary & Secondary Motivation (no effect on gameplay, just tags for the character description)
16. Choose Optional Secret Motivation (no effect on gameplay, just tags for the character description)
17. Choose Name (see cultural descriptions for sample names)
18. Choose desired starting Age
19. Spend (Desired Age) XP on Edges. Each flaw taken is worth an extra 4 XP.
20. Calculate actual age by taking the desired age and then rolling d6-d6. If this takes you over 30 refer to the aging rules, rolling
once for each year past 30. This cannot reduce your characters age below 15 though.
21. Choose birthday (date)
22. Begin with 200 Silvers (if you take the Income edge add a weeks income to this, if you have a Hoard add the full value of the
hoard to your starting income).
Primary Motivation
Positive Motivations
Seeking Justice
Upholding the Good
Responsibility
Adventurer
Unwanted ability
Negative Motivations
Mercenary
Nihilist
Lust (for power, sex, wealth, influence)
Psychopath
Thrill Seeker
Greed
Envy
Pride
Anger
Sloth
Gluttony
Races
 Celt: The term celts encompasses the Gaels, who occupy Ireland. The Cymri who occupy Wales & the Britons who occupy
Cornwall and the eastern parts of England.
 Pict: Picts are the people of the wilds. They dominate Scotland.








Romano-British: romano-british characters are urbanised to the extreme. They tend to be found throughout England,
although are more concentrated in western areas.
Saxons: The Saxons are the people of Northern Europe & Scandinavia and are found throughout the South East of England.
The following five races are only available as NPC’s.
Bretons: the Bretons are the indigenous people of Brittany. They are closely related to the Celts of Cornwall but be careful
not to confuse Breton with Briton.
Franks: the Franks occupy most of Gaul (roughly where modern day France lies) and Western Germany.
Visigoths: the Visigoths are the dominant people of the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain),
Lombards: the Lombards dominate Italy.
Byzantines: the Byzantine empire stretches across much of easter Europe down into the Carpathians & Asia minor. The
Byzantine empire is the remnant of the eastern roman empire and its capital lies in Constantinople. The Byzantine empire
has maintained the roman way of life and business, with a large standing army and complex trading/political/social systems.
Byzantines are sometimes encountered in Britain as traders. The Byzantine empire is Christian.
Gazeteer of the Kingdoms
Total Population of the British Isles C.600AD: 800,000
The King column shows the current kings name &, in brackets, their race.
Kingdom
Cymri Briton Gael Celt Pict Saxon Romano- Population King
British

Gwent
6
7
Powys


20,000
Gywnedd


20,000
6
7
20,000
Cynfeddw
(c)
Cynan
Garwyn
(C)
Cadfan
The Celts of Gwent, Powys, Gwynedd, Dyfed, Ceredigion are normally referred to as the Welsh.
The Celts of Gwent, Powys, Gwynedd, Dyfed, Ceredigion are normally referred to as the Welsh.
Celtic
Tribes
(Leader)
Gwent
Powys
Gywnedd
Pictish
Tribes
(Leader)
Major
Houses
(C)
Dyfed

Ceredigion
Cornwall &
Devon
Cumbria

Ireland
Strathclyde
8

20,000
Cadog (C)
8

9
20,000
20,000
10
11
Rhun (C)
Gurvor
(C)
Cole (C)
12

13
40,000
120,000

40,000
Dyfed
Ceredigion
Dumnonia
Carvetii
(Northern
Cumbria)
Brigantes
(South
Cumbria)
Ulster,
Leinster,
Connaught,
Munster,
Meath
Rheged
(southern
Strathclyde),
The Celts of Devon & Cornwall are normally referred to as the Cornish.
The Celts of Devon & Cornwall are normally referred to as the Cornish.
10 The Celts of Cumbria, Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia, Essex and East Anglia are usually referred to as the Britons (not to be
confused with the Bretons of Brittany).
11 The Celts of Cumbria, Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia, Essex and East Anglia are usually referred to as the Britons (not to be
confused with the Bretons of Brittany).
12 The Celts of Ireland are usually known as the Gaels.
13 The Celts of Ireland are usually known as the Gaels.
9
Highlands

140,000
Scottish
Isles
Wessex

20,000




100,000
Dal Riada
(northern
strathclyde)
Fib (SE
Highlands),
Fortriu (SW
Highlands)
Fotla (Southmid
highlands),
Circinn(eastmid
highlands),
Ce
(northwestmid
highlands),
Fidach
(north-mid
highlands),
Cait (north
highlands)
Orcs
(Orkneys)
Cynegils
(S)
Dobrunni
(North West
Wessex)
Catuvellauni
(East
Northumbria


Mercia


Sussex
Wessex)
Atrebates
(South
Wessex)
Durotriges
(South West
Wessex)
Belgae (mid
Wessex)
Brigantes
(all except
South East)
Parisi
(South East)
Cornovii
(West
Mercia)
Coritani
(East Mercia)

40,000
Ælfric (S)

40,000
Ceorl (C)


20,000
Æthelwold
(S)
Sigbert
Catuvellauni
(S)
(Western
Essex)
Trinovantes
(Eastern
Essex)
Rædwald Iceni
(S)

Essex




60,000
East Anglia




40,000
Kent
Religions
Celtic
Christian
Roman
Christian
Heathenism
Pagan
Wotanic
Roman
















20,000
Eadbald
(S)
Tribe: If you are a Celt or Pict you must next choose your tribe. Unless you
are Aes Dana or have the Priest edge you only have legal protection within
the lands of your own tribe. Again, refer to the table above to determine the
tribes your character can belong to based on their Kingdom of origin.
Religion: Lastly you must select a Religion. This represents the religion you
hold and believe in. You may change religion, but if you do so any special
abilities you have which are based on your religion are lost immediately.
Choose one of the following religions. If the religion has a race name in
[brackets] following it the character must be of that race to adopt that religion:
 Atheist: very rare. An atheist actively disbelieves in the Gods. Anyone
can be an atheist.
 Agnostic: agnostics do not follow any specific religion but accept the
existence of God(s). Like atheists agnostics are very rare in the Dark
Ages world.
 Celtic Christian: the character is a member of the Celtic Christian
church.
 Roman Christian: the character is a member of the Roman Christian
church.
 Pagan [Celt]: the character is a member of the Pagan faith led by the
Druids.

Heathen [Pict]: the character is a heathen, a follower of the pictish
ways and the shamans.
 Wotanic [Saxon]: the character is a worshipper of Wotan and the
other Saxon gods.
 Roman [Romano-British]: the character worships the old Roman
Gods (eg.. Jupiter, Mithras)
Aetheists and agnostics are treated as having no religion for the purposes of
magic etc… so very few magical items PRE work for them.
Languages
The following table identifies the various language groups and the map shows
where they are primarily used. A character starts with their native
language and gains an additional language for each point of the
Language edge. A speaker of a language can make themselves understood,
and understand, speakers of other languages in the same group, but can only
express complex concepts to a speaker of the same language. For example,
a British speaker can understand and be understood by someone speaking
Scottish but could not express complex concepts to them.
Indo-european (includes British, Scottish, Gaelic, Baltic
& Armenian)
Pictish (includes Basque)
Romance (includes Latin & Dalmatian)
Greek
Slavic
Germanic (includes Saxon, Norse, Frisian, Frankish,
Gothic & Alemanian)
Iranian (includes Scythian & Alanian)
Turkish
Improving Stats
The only way to improve Stats is by taking appropriate Edges (there are a
number of edges which give a one-off bonus of +1 to a specific Stat).
Awarding XP
Every character gets 1XP per session for participating. If they contributed to
the session in some significant way they receive an additional XP. At the
GM’s discretion they may award a third point for particularly good roleplay/participation, even if the character achieved nothing significant.
The GM may wish to award additional XP in exceptional circumstances, but
this is not recommended.
Spending XP
XP can be used to buy new edges, at a cost of 4XP each, or to increase Stats,
at a cost of Stat+1 to increase the Stat by 1pt (eg.. to increase BODY 7 to
BODY 8 costs 8XP). Edges which default to a Stat can be increased in value
(eg.. Fighting +1, Fighting +2 etc…). The bonus is added to the concerned
Stat to determine the edges level. The cost increases for each level:
+0
4XP (starting cost)
+0 to +1
+1 to +2
+2 to +3
+3 to +4
+4 to +5
8XP
16XP
32XP
64XP
128XP
To buy a new edge during play the edge must not have  in the Starting?
Column
Acquiring Flaws
With the GM’s agreement you may acquire new flaws during play, you should
explain to the GM how you acquired the flaw though (eg… you may survive a
particular battle and decide to take a Flashback flaw relating to the specific
circumstance of that battle, this would merit you +4XP immediately).
Teaching & Studying
A character with the Teaching edge can teach other characters. Every month
spent by a student & a teacher gives the student 1XP. A teacher can teach up
to MIND students at any one time.
Race Bonus Edges/Flaws
Certain races tend to be more likely to have certain Edges & Flaws. In the
Race column there may be a letter code indicating a race. If the character
taking that Edge is of that race they pay 1XP less than normal for it, if it is a
Flaw they receive an additional XP.
Pict Celt Saxon Romano-British
P
C
S
R
Standard Tests
The following edges are Standard edges which the GM may call for a roll
against, roll (d6-d6) and add the result to the edge, which equals its default
Stat (eg.. all BODY edges equal the BODY Stat).
If you do not have the standard edge use your BODY-3 or MIND-3 (each
standard edge is linked to one or the other Stat). You may also have bonuses
in a standard edge which increases its score (eg… Climb +1 would mean test
against BODY+1).
For ease of play it is recommended you note in brackets by each edge its
score (based on its default Stat, the edges bonus, if any, and any other
bonuses from non-standard edges).
Background
Climb
Disguise
Dodge
Entertain
Endurance feat
Farming lore
Fighting
Healing Lore
Idea
Initiative
Intimidation
Leadership
Legal Lore
Legend Lore
Mechanical Lore
Persuasion
Sea Lore
Seduction
Sight, Smell, Hear, Touch &
Taste
Stealth
Strength Feat
Survivor
Swim
Trade Lore
Tumble
Wilderness Lore
World Lore
List of Edges/Flaws
Flaws are in bold.
A tick in the Starting? Column means the edge can only be taken during character generation.
List of standard tests. Each has a relevant Stat. If you do not have the edge use the Stat-3.
Edges or Flaws with a – do not have a default, you must take the Edge/Flaw to use it.
Note, you only receive +1 to any edge from feats, even if you have multiple feats giving the same bonus (eg.. a character
with Thug & Mercenary gets +1 Fighting, +1 Intimidation & +1 Endurance feat.. they do not get +2 Fighting).
Starting Race Edge/Flaw
Default Description
Heir
You are the eldest child of your family. When you father dies you will inherit the family
holdings. Make a LK*8 roll on your characters birthday and if you fail your character
must retire from the game to take over their estates. Taking this flaw during play
indicates the death of elder siblings which places you as the heir.
Herb lore
The character is knowledgeable on the subject of herbs and their uses and can
produce salves and potions.

Mariner
+1 Sea lore & swim

Trader
+1 Background & trade lore

Scholar
+1 to any two lores

Nimble
+1 Climb, Dodge, Tumble

Scout
+1 stealth, sight & hearing

Pathfinder
+1 wilderness lore, sight & hearing

Ranger
+1 wilderness lore & marksmanship

Cook
+1 taste & trade lore

Inn-keeper
+1 trade lore & persuasion

Officer
+1 Leadership & Fighting

Jurist
+1 legal lore & persuasion

Bard14
+1 entertain & legend lore
14
The rank of Druid above initiate.















Skald15
Mercenary
Physician
Athlete
Intellectual
Thief
Jongleur
Trickster
Thug
Warrior
Swashbuckler
Cat burglar
Labourer
Savage
Civilised
-
+1 entertain & fighting
+1 Fighting & Endurance feat
+1 Healing lore & persuasion
+1 BODY, -1 MIND
+1 MIND, -1 BODY
+1 stealth & mechanical lore
+1 tumble & entertain
+1 seduction & persuasion
+1 Fighting & intimidation
+1 Fighting & Marksmanship
+1 Fighting & tumbling
+1 mechanical lore & climb
+1 Strength feat & endurance feat
+1 wilderness lore & endurance feat
+1 world lore & entertain

Heroic
Hoard
-
Honest
-
You may spend up to 4 LK points on a single action (the normal limit is 3).
You have a hoard of some value. This will not be in coins but in items of value. Define
what these are, and how you come to own them, when you take the edge. You may
take this Edge multiple times, each time increasing the value of the hoard.
 Once: 50 silver
 Twice: 51-500 silver
 Three times: 501-5000 silver
 Four times: 5001-50,000 silver
 Five times: 50,001- 500,000 silver
Spend a LK point to tell a blatant lie, you can omit things though without penalty. You
15
The Saxon equivalent of a Bard but more martial. Skalds would typically fight in the front ranks of combat and compose epic songs about the events. The songs of the
skalds form the recorded history of the Saxon people.
-

Honourable
Improved Aim
Improved Evade
Improved
Peripheral Vision
Income

Infamous family
-
Deaf
Dumb
No sense of
smell
No sense of
-
may take this twice (for 8XP) but then you must always be totally honest, not omit
anything and be scrupulous in your actions.
To break your word you must spend a point of LK.
You receive +2 Shooting when you use the Aimed shot complex action.
+2 Dodge or Fighting when you use the Evade maneuver.
Your peripheral vision is better than normal. Enemies do not get Flanking bonuses
against you.
Your character has a guaranteed source of income which they receive every week.
This edge can only be taken during character generation or through some roleplayed
activity with the GM’s agreement (eg.. finding a gold mine, being given a grant of land
by the king). You may take this edge multiple times, the number of times determining
the income. There are no limit to how many times you make it:
 1: 50 silver per week
 2: 100 silver per week
 3: 200 silver per week
 4: 400 silver per week
 5: 800 silver per week
 Etc…
Specify the source of income when you take this edge (eg.. it could rent from land
holdings, investments in businesses, a larger investment in a bank, a trust fund, an
allowance from your family or the state for some reason, such as a pension).
Your family are infamous, when someone finds out your family name you are at -1 to
all persuasion or seduction rolls against them. Specify why your family is infamous
when you take this flaw.
You always fail hearing rolls.
You cannot speak.
You automatically fail smell rolls.
-
You automatically fail taste rolls.

-

R

taste
Blind
-
Iron will
-
Jack-of-all-trades
-
Language
-
Lead by Example
-
Leather working
Lightning
Reflexes
Armour mastery
Literate
-
Long Lived
Long shot
Loyal
-
-
You automatically fail sight rolls and when in combat all opponents are treated as
unseen (-3 to hit them).
The character has a particularly determined set of mind and is hard to sway. Every
point of LK they spend to resist a seduction, persuasion or intimidation attempt gives
+2 Stat.
You have been around and experienced a lot of things. Every LK spent on a test
involving some practical (as opposed to theoretical) activity gets +2.
The character can speak an additional language. This can be taken multiples times,
each time getting a new language. You can ‘get-by’ in other languages in the same
group as a language you speak, but to express complex concepts you need to take
the language specifically.
If they have the Literate edge they can also read and write the languages they speak.
If a group you are part of have to make Fear checks you make yours first. If you
succeed all your allies then receive +1 to their checks due to your example.
The character is skilled at working with leather.
+1 to Fighting & Dodge when unarmoured
+1 to Fighting & Dodge when armoured
The character is literate in their own language and any other language they speak
(Celts can read & write ogham, picts can read & write glyphs, Saxons can read &
write the runes and Romano-British character can read & write Latin).
When making Aging tests you may roll 2d6 and select which result to use.
Increase the maximum range of any weapon you use by 30% (+1 Distance unit).
When you take this edge define who you are loyal to and why. When protecting that
person you receive +1 to relevant rolls. If someone tries to persuade you to do
something which is disloyal to that person receive +1 on rolls to resist. On the down
side you will take risks you would not normally consider to protect that person, -1 on
any tests to resist acting in such a way.

C


Lusty
-
Magical
Merciful
-
Metal working
-
Modest
-
Night Vision
-
Noble
-
Offhand Parry
-
Old
-
Old Wound
-
One eye
-
Outlaw
-
When in the presence of an attractive member of the opposite sex spend a LK point
not to lustily pursue them, at the expense of everything else.
Once you have this edge you may buy Magical Edges.
When you are merciful to someone, and being merciful makes your job significantly
harder or increases the risk to you significantly, gain an XP.
The character is skilled at working with metal. Amongst Celts iron is considered to be
a magical metal so those who work it are considered to be part magicians and
respected as such. A character with this skill can take the Aes Dana edge.
To ‘blow your own trumpet’ or say anything positive about yourself you must spend a
LK point.
You see well in the dark. Reduce penalties for darkness by 1pt. You cannot have this
edge and the Blind flaw.
Your character is a member of the noble class, +1 to persuasion, seduction and
intimidation of commoners (but not other nobles) but you must maintain a life-style of
at least Expensive level. If you fail to maintain such a level lose the bonus until you
do so again.
+1 defense when wielding a weapon in the primary hand and another in the off-hand,
if you attack with the off-hand weapon do not get this defense bonus until your next
turn.
Taken during character creation. Add 3d6 years to your starting Age, make Aging
rolls as appropriate.
The character has an old wound which occasionally plays up. Any action
automatically fails on a roll of DOUBLE ONE due to the wound playing up.
You have lost one of your eyes. Take a -1 penalty to Shooting due to your loss of
depth perception.
The character is wanted for some crime and if caught the penalty is almost certain to
be death. Determine in which kingdom they are an outlaw and why. You can take this
edge multiple times, each time choosing a different kingdom. An outlaw is at -1 to
persuade commoners, nobles & royalty if said person is aware they are an outlaw but
C,S
S

S
Passion
-
Pious
-
Poison Immunity
(specific)
-
Poor memory
Priest
-
Proud
-
Prudent
-
Quick Healing
Rapid Reload
Reckless
Resist Alcohol
Resist Heat
-
Resist Cold
-
are at +1 to intimidate or threaten them.
There is something, somewhere or someone you are particularly passionate about,
specify what when you take this edge and why you are so passionate about it. When
you are involved in tasks (acting or resisting) related to that thing each point of LK
spent gives +2 Stat.
You are very religious. Adhering to your religions virtues in adverse circumstances
gives you +1 XP. Acting against those virtues gives -2 XP (eg.. a christian sparing the
life of defeated enemy, even when they are likely to try and kill you again at a later
date would get +1XP. A Pious Christian who refused to give charity to a beggar would
get -2XP). Each religions virtues are listed in its entry in the religion section of the
rules.
You may take this edge multiple times, each time you take it choose a specific poison
which you are totally immune to. If you take this edge during play you must have
survived poisoning by the specific poison you are choosing.
You cannot spend LK on lore tasks.
The character is a priest of their chosen religion. Receive +1 to Intimidate or
Persuade members of your own religion.
You are ridiculously proud. When mocked or taunted spend a LUCK point or confront
the mocker and fight them if they do not apologise profusely.
If you take some-time to carefully consider an action before attempting it (a few
minutes for a physical action, hours for a mental action) receive +1 to that action.
You heal 50% faster than normal.
You can reload a crossbow one turn faster than normal.
You may not spend LUCK points on physical actions.
You only take ½ Fatigue from drinking alcohol.
You only take ½ Fatigue from heat (so only ½ a point every four hours in extreme
heat).
You only take ½ Fatigue from cold (so only ½ a point every four hours in extreme
cold).


16
Resolute
Robust
-
Rope work
Royalty
-
Second Strike
-
Secret
-
Selfish
-
Sense of Time
-
Signature
Weapon
-
Sleight of Hand
Slow
Slow Healing
Snapshot
-
As Bold but the bonus applies to rolls to resist Fear and Intimidation.
When rolling for complications you may roll 2d6 and choose which dice to use to
determine the Stat reduced.
The ability to make ropes, tie-knots etc...
You have royal blood. You must be a Noble to have this edge. +1 to persuasion,
seduction and intimidation rolls against nobles who know of your blood, but not
against commoners16.
If you Stun an opponent with a melee attack you may immediately attack them again
at -3 attack. Regardless of the result of the second attack you do not get an additional
attack (eg.. if you killed an opponent with the Second Strike you could not use the
Cleave edge).
You know a useful secret. This may be a secret over another character (PC or NPC)
which can give you leverage, the location of something that is supposedly lost or
hidden etc..
To give anything away you must spend a LK point, no matter who it is to or how
important it is.
You have an innate sense of time, knowing what time is, whether it is day or night,
how much time has passed since a particular event etc…
Choose a specific weapon (not type or class of weapon). That weapon never breaks
or is fumbled. You should specify the weapon, its history and its relation to you when
you choose this edge. You may have multiple signature weapons. If the signature
weapon is destroyed this edge is lost, and no XP’s are recovered.
The ability to pick pockets, palm objects etc… +1 to any such task.
-1 speed for movement.
Heal damage 50% slower than normal.
You can evade & make a ranged attack as a trick shot (-3). You can take special
moves to reduce the penalty with specific weapons.
The logic applied here is that royalty are as to nobles as nobles are to commoners, but commoners do not really see a huge difference between royalty and nobles.
C




Salmon Leap
-
Sneak Attack
-
Special Move
-
Spot weakness
Stigmatised
-
Stone working
Scary
Stubborn
-
Superior
Eyesight
Superior Hearing
Superior Smell
Superior Taste
Superior Touch
Suspicious
Tactics
-
Teaching
Thick Skinned
-
-
You can evade & make a melee attack as a trick shot (-3). You can take special
moves to reduce the penalty with specific weapons.
If you flank your opponent get an additional +1 Fighting. If the target has Improved
Peripheral Vision you lose the normal bonus but still get this +1.
You have practised a specific combat maneuver which would be classed as a trick
shot. When using this move you only incur a -2 penalty (the normal trick shot penalty
is -3). You can take this edge multiple times, each time selecting a different special
move.
You receive +1 Fighting against opponents with a lower MIND than yours.
The character is looked down on by everyone else in their society. When you take
this flaw determine why you are stigmatised. Where appropriate this expresses itself
as a -1 penalty to Persuasion, Seduction or Trading Lore rolls, but the flaw is more
pervasive in that people will discriminate against you in even minor ways.
The character is skilled at working with stone.
You are very scary, +1 to intimidation rolls.
Once you have decided on a course of action you must see it through or pay a LUCK
point to change your mind.
Your eyesight is better than average, +1 Sight.
Your hearing is better than average, +1 Hearing.
Your sense of smell is better than average, +1 Smell.
Your sense of taste is better than average, +1 Taste.
Your sense of touch is better than average, +1 Touch.
You instinctively distrust people. To trust someone spend a LK point.
If you come up with a plan everyone in your group who sticks to that plan gets +1
Initiative until they either break from the plan or the plan succeeds. This is intended
for combat tactics, not for whole adventures.
You can train other people.
You have 1pt of natural armour.
Tireless
-
Tracker
Trusting
Valorous
-
Wakefulness
-
Wary
-

Water Sense
-

Weak Willed
Weather Sense
-
Stout-hearted
Wise
-
Wood working
Aggressive
Fighting
-
Ally
-
You reduce fatigue penalties by 1pt for every six hours rest (normally 8 hours of rest
are needed to do this).
+1 to wilderness lore, sight or smell rolls specifically concerning tracking.
You instinctively trust people. To not trust someone spend a LK point.
When confronted with the opportunity to gain glory for yourself spend a LK point not
to leap in without thinking about things first.
You may go without sleep for Endurance Feat days without incurring any penalty.
After that time you must sleep. Note that you must still rest, you just do not need to
actually fall asleep.
You are very hard to take by surprise. Get a +1 on Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste or Hear
rolls when trying to notice a threat (eg.. an ambush or trap).
You always know in what direction the nearest source of fresh water is, roughly how
much there is and how far away it is.
You may not use LUCK points on Willpower tests.
You always know when the weather is about to change and in what way. This
normally gives an hour or two’s notice before the weather shifts.
+1 to Willpower checks to resist Fear
You are very wise and considered in your actions. This should be roleplayed (always
consider your options, don’t be hasty). To simulate this once per adventure the GM
may let you change your mind concerning a decision you made, although this must
be no more than a few minutes after the decision was made.
The character is skilled at working with wood.
On your turn you can opt to reduce Attack by 1pt and increase Defense by 1pt. This
remains so until your next turn when you may choose to reset them to normal or
maintain the change.
You have a powerful ally. You must define who they are when you take this Edge and
why they are your ally. You can call on them for assistance but apply common-sense
in this matter, if you ask an ally to help you expect to be asked to help in return. Note
that a powerful family could be treated as an Ally.
Ambidexterity
Animal Friend

Area Knowledge
(specify)
R


S
-
Arrogant
Arrow Cutting
-
Avaricious
-
Bad Gesa
-
Beardless
-
Berserker
-
Blind Fighting
-
Blood thirsty
-
Ignore penalties for the off-hand
You receive +1 on any action involving an animal. This does not give additional
bonuses to mounted combat.
You have particularly detailed knowledge about an area. This is usually a ‘county’ or
shire sized area. Get +1 to any roll when dealing specifically with that area (and
where local knowledge seems relevant). You can take this multiple times, each time
choosing a different area.
You cannot use Luck on persuasion or seduction tests.
May use Fighting to defend against marksmanship attacks from bows provided you
can see the attack coming.
When wealth falls into your path you must spend a LUCK point or pursue it at all
costs.
Celts only. A Gesa is a magical compulsion or prohibition which is laid upon a
character. Most Gesas are expressed in the form ‘must..’ or ‘must not..’ For more
information see the Celtic culture section. You may take this flaw multiple times, each
time selecting a different Gesa.
Obviously for men only. You can’t grow a beard. In celtic and saxon cultures the
ability to grow a beard is the sign of reaching manhood, so you are always considered
to be a child or lesser man. -1 to persuade, seduce or intimidate Celts & Saxons.
If a berserker rolls DOUBLE ONE on an attack they go berserk. Once berserk you
receive +1 Fighting but cannot leave the battle-field until all your foes are defeated or
you are (you cannot retreat). You may take this twice, in which case you may not
leave the field until everyone on it is defeated (you will turn on your allies in such a
case).
Reduces the penalties for fighting unseen opponents by 1pt (to -2). This bonus is
cumulative with the bonus from the night vision edge.
Spend a LK point not to take a turn to kill an incapacitated/unconscious foe. Note that
this applies in the heat of battle as well as in non-combat situations.
S
Boastful
-
Brutal
Candle work
Charioteer
-
Chaste
-
Cleave
-
Clever
Cloth working
-
Code of
behaviour
-
Command
-
Concentration
-
You may make a public boast at any time. A boast is a statement that you will achieve
some specific goal which must be suitably challenging. Success earns you an XP,
Failure costs you two.
-1 Fighting, +2 damage with unarmed or melee attacks.
The ability to make candles.
The character is able to effectively use a chariot, without this edge you can only be a
passenger on a chariot.
To pursue a member of the opposite sex, or respond to their overtures, you must
spend a point of LK.
If you incapacitate an opponent with a melee attack you may immediately attack a
second adjacent target with the same weapon. If you kill that second target you
receive no additional attacks.
You receive +1 to all Lore rolls.
The character is skilled at working with cloth and fabrics. This is primarily used to
make clothes and draperies of various kinds.
Determine the key elements of your code when you take this Flaw. If you should
break this code of behaviour immediately lose 1XP (if you have no XP the next one
you earn is lost). Every time you break the code you suffer this loss of XP.
You are in command of a body of fighting men. When you take this edge define who
the body is and why you command them. This edge can be taken multiple times, the
number of times it is taken determines the size of your host:
 Once: up to 150.
 Twice: 151 to 1000 men.
 Three Times: 1001 to 5000 men.
 Four Times: over 5000 men.
This body of men doesn’t normally accompany you, to use them requires them to
mustered etc.. It is recommended that the GM approve the taking of this Edge.
You may gain +1 Fighting & Dodge against a single foe each round, but are at -1
Fighting & Dodge against all other opponents.
Coward
-
Cruel
-
Cryptic
Answers
-
Cultural
Knowledge
-
Curious
-
Dark Secret
-
Death Wish
-
Deceitful
-
Defensive
Fighting
-
Destiny
-
You are a craven coward. When confronted by physical danger or threats you must
flee the situation OR spend a point of Luck.
When confronted with an opportunity to be cruel to someone spend a LK point to not
be cruel (eg.. if you could torture someone or just persuade them you must spend a
LK point not to use torture).
Never give a straight answer to a question. This is a common flaw for Druids &
Shamans. If someone asked you how to get to a place you would utter some cryptic
guidance, not just directions.
You have a specialised knowledge of a particular races habits/taboos etc… (race
would mean Saxon, Cymri, Gael, Romano-British etc..), choose which when you take
this edge. When dealing with members of that race you receive a +1 to seduction,
intimidation and persuasion rolls. You may take this edge multiple times, each time
specifying a different culture.
As Bold, but the bonus applies to Luck points spent on Sight, Smell, Hear, Touch &
Taste rolls.
You have a Dark Secret. Determine this when you take the Edge, it must be
something which has serious implications for your character if it gets out. If this Secret
ever gets out lose 4XP (if you don’t have 4 XP the next four you earn are lost) and
remove this Flaw (its no longer a secret). In addition take the consequences of the
secret getting out. This flaw can be bought off by spending XP and using roleplay to
somehow remove the secrets edge.
When confronted by a truly dangerous situation you must either spend a point of
LUCK or charge into the fray.
Spend a LK point to tell the truth when a lie would be believable in its place. You are
always looking out to keep information to yourself and hoard it.
On your turn you can opt to reduce defense by 1pt and increase attack by 1pt. This
remains so until your next turn when you may choose to reset them to normal or
maintain the change.
The character has a great, positive, mythic, destiny (eg.. to lead their people to


Direction Sense
Dirty Fighting
-
Disease
Immunity
(Specify)
Disfigured
-
Disguise
MIND
Drunkard
-
Inattentive
Duty
-
Educated
-
Enemy
-
Energetic
-
Discern Intent
MIND
-
freedom). When they are performing actions which directly relate to following that
Destiny add the bonus this edge provides to any Stats. Likewise add your Destiny
bonus to any rolls to stay alive etc… (fate protects you until you reach your end). This
edge can only be taken with the GM’s agreement.
You always know which way is north, wherever you are.
If you hit with an unarmed attack you Stun your opponent unless they spend a point
of LK.
You may take this Edge multiple times, each time you take it choose a specific
disease which you are totally immune to. If you take this after character generation
you must have been exposed to the disease concerned and have survived.
You have some facial disfigurement. This may be a birth defect or scar from an old
injury. Either way you get +1 to Intimidation attempts but -1 to Persuasion.
The character has a degree of skill in disguising their appearance and changing their
mannerism. Disguise is usually opposed by sight or hearing.
When you have access to alcohol you tend to drink til you drop. To resist the urge to
imbibe spend a LK point, otherwise get drinking and continue until you are forced to
stop by your allies or you pass out (Total Fatigue equals Endurance feat).
You may not spend Luck points on sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch.
When you take this edge determine what your duty is and to who. Every time you fail
in your duty lose an XP.
You have received a wide-ranging education. Every LK point spent on a lore roll gives
a +2 bonus.
You have an enemy. Determine who they are and why they are your enemy when
you take this flaw. The enemy should be powerful enough to present real threat to
you and your allies. As a rough guide the ally will make an appearance once every six
game sessions.
You are very physical and energetic. Each point of Luck you spend on a Body action
(but not to resist damage) gives +2 to that value!
You are able to discern another persons true intent, whether they are lying to or
C,P
Faerie Friend
-

Fair
-

Famous family
-
Fast Draw
-
Fate
-
Favour
-
Favoured Enemy
(specify)
-
Favoured
Environment
-
Favourite
Weapon
Fear Immunity
(specify)
-


-
deceiving you, and if they are what they are trying to conceal.
When you take this determine whether it is Seelie (good) or Unseelie (evil) Faeries
you are a friend to and why they are your friend. Your friends will not harm you if
unprovoked (they may play jokes on you though) and they will come to your
assistance if you are threatened or under very real danger in their presence.
Receive a +1 bonus when trying to seduce or persuade people who find your gender
attractive.
Your family are famous, when someone finds out your family name you are at +1
PRE to all relations with them. Specify why your family is famous when you take this
flaw.
You can draw and attack with a weapon as a trick shot (-3). You can take special
move(s) to further reduce this penalty with specific weapons.
Fate operates in the same way as Destiny but the final outcome is negative/tragic
(eg… Achilles went to Troy and was Fated to live a short but glorious life).
You are owed a significant favour by someone of power (eg.. a great warrior, a king, a
faerie king). You can call this favour in once then this edge is lost. When you take the
edge determine who owes you the favour and why.
You may take this multiple times, each time specifying a different enemy. You get +1
Fighting or Shooting when fighting that that enemy. The enemy must be a species of
animal or faerie or a specific tribe or group of people.
Select a specific kind of environment (eg.. fields, woods, mountains, hills, plains,
forests, towns). This is usually the environment you grew up in. You receive +1 to
wilderness lore, fighting & stealth rolls in that environment.
Specify a particular type of weapon, you receive +1 INITIATIVE when you begin the
round in combat and are wielding that weapon.
You are familiar with a particular cause of ‘fear’ and are immune to its effects. You
can take this edge multiple times, each time choosing a different fear. Examples
include; Undead, Faeries, Gruesome Sights.
If you take this edge during play you must have been exposed to whatever you are
Leadership
Feeble
Constitution
Feign Weakness
MIND
-
Fianna
-
Finesse
Flashback
-
Fleet Footed
Forgivable
-
Gay
-
Generous
-

Good Gesa
-


Hard to Kill
Hardy
-
-
getting Fear Immunity to during play.
You are able to lead people effectively.
If you survive incapacitation lose 2pts of Stats (roll where point comes from
separately, they may come off the same Stat).
When in combat use a simple action on your turn to feign weakness, if your opponent
attacks your next attack against them is at +1.
Gaels only (Irish Celts). Fianna are warbands which have forsaken links to their
native kingdoms and clans to protect Eire as a whole. Fianna swear a code of honour
which they must adhere to rigourously but LK spent on any action relating to their
code gives +2 Stat per point of LK spent.
+1 Fighting, -2 damage with unarmed or melee attacks.
You have experienced a very traumatic event in the past which occasionally comes
back to haunt you. When you take this Flaw define the event. If you are presented
with a situation which is relevant to the event in some way you must spend a point of
LUCK or freeze, not acting until the stimulus is removed.
+1 to Speed for movement.
You are one of those people who can make social gaffes and just laugh them off
without offending people. Treat this as the Bold edge but applied to Social situations.
You are attracted to members of your own sex (this is treated as flaw because of the
prevailing social climate of the period)
If at the end of adventure you give away everything you have bar your basic
equipment and enough money to survive modestly gain an additional XP. Giving this
to your allies does not earn the XP, the stuff must go to a completely independent
third party.
A good Gesa is a Gesa which is beneficial to the character, again, see the Celtic
culture section.
You are hard to kill, +1 to the Survivor roll for the purposes of surviving incapacitation.
You are tough as old boots. Treat this as the Bold edge but the bonus applies to Luck

P

Hatred (Specify)
-
Healing Touch
Veteran
Weapon focus: X
-
Tumble
BODY
Climb
Dodge
Fighting
BODY
BODY
BODY
Marksmanship
Endurance Feat
Resist
poison/disease
Riding
BODY
BODY
BODY
Stealth
Strength Feat
BODY
BODY
Swim
BODY
Background
LUCK
Survivor
LUCK
BODY
spent to prevent damage effects.
Hatred is treated like Berserk but only kicks in when confronting the thing you hate
and you roll DOUBLE ONES.
+1 to Healing Lore.
You can use unspent XP as LK points.
+1 bonus to fighting or marksmanship when using a specific class of weapon. Can be
taken multiple times, each time selecting a different class of weapon.
Acrobatics and gymnastics. Make a tumble roll to land on your feet, swing on
chandeliers, perform stunts of derring do etc…
The character is skilled at climbing.
The ability to get out of the way of things.
You are able to fight effectively, this may be natural ability, training, experience or a
mixture of all three.
You are accurate with ranged weapons.
When Fatigue penalty equals Endurance feat edge collapse from exhaustion.
You are better able to resist poisons & diseases.
Your character can ride. When mounted all your BODY edges are capped at your
Ride edge level (eg.. if you have Ride then all your other BODY edges are capped at
+0, if you have Ride+1 all others are capped at +1 etc…)
You are skilled at moving without being detected, and hiding from detection.
Used to lift weights/gates, bend bars, kick in doors, rip telephone directories up, break
chains etc…
The character can swim. Like literacy swimming was by no means an automatic
ability in the Dark Ages.
Background reflects a characters range and depth of experience over time. A
character with the background edge is more likely to have relevant contacts to a
situation, know general facts about something or to have been somewhere before.
When incapacitated make a Survivor*8 roll to avoid death
C
Entertain
MIND
Farming lore
MIND
Hear
Initiative
MIND
MIND
Intimidation
MIND
Legal Lore
Legend Lore
MIND
MIND
Mechanical Lore
MIND
Persuasive
MIND
S
Sea lore
MIND
R
Sight
Smell
Taste
Touch
Trade Lore
MIND
MIND
MIND
MIND
MIND
Wilderness Lore
MIND
The character is skilled at entertaining others with song, dance, story telling, playing
an instrument, humour and such like.
Your character has experience of farming, this includes animal husbandry and arable
farming.
You have good hearing.
You are able to maintain a cool head when under stress (eg.. combat). This edge
determines the order of characters in a round.
The character is intimidating, whether by appearance or demeanour. They can exert
influence over others by the fear of violence (be it physical, mental or even social
violence). Intimidation also includes the use of torture.
The character has an understanding and ability to practise law.
Your character is familiar with the legends and myths of the world. They are able to
identify artefacts, creatures and such like (including Faeries) and may know best how
to defeat or deal with them.
The ability to work with mechanisms. Designing and making them, dismantling them,
bypassing them and repairing them.
The character has a silver-tongue. They are skilled at persuading others to do what
they want and/or agree with them.
Your character is familiar with the sea, ships, boats etc… This includes sailing,
fishing, navigation and survival at sea.
You have good eyesight.
You have a sensitive nose.
You have sensitive taste.
You have a good sense of touch.
The character is knowledgable about trade, commerce and such like. Apply this
bonus to any roll concerning the buying or selling of goods or other business
activities.
Your character is at home in the wilds, hunting, trapping fishing, surviving and
navigating. Wilderness lore includes tracking and concealing ones tracks from others.
Willpower
MIND
World Lore
MIND
Healing Lore
MND
Idea
MND
Seduction
MND
You are strong willed, used to resist Fear, Seduction, Persuasion and Intimidation
attempts.
Your character is familiar with the wider world of politics, history and cultural
interactions and the workings of the civilised world.
Your character is capable of healing others. This is most commonly used to diagnose
and treat illnesses/poisoning and to treat wounds (can attend to MND characters at
any one time)
The character is good at coming up with solutions to problems. An idea roll is most
often made when a character is completely stuck. A successful roll lets the GM give
the player a clue as to how to progress.
You are very attractive and able to use your looks/demeanour to seduce others.
Dark Ages Rules
Cost of Living
The values below indicate the average cost of living for a week. A character
who lives at Subsistence level for a week is at -1 BODY until they spend a
week at Comfortable level. A character who cannot even afford the
Subsistence level is Destitute, taking -2 BODY until they spend a week at
Comfortable level.
Life-Style
Expenses/Week
Destitute
0
Subsistence 20
Moderate
45
Comfortable 65
Expensive
100
Minimum lifestyle for nobles to avoid
penalties
Extravagant 150 or more
Minimum lifestyle for royalty to avoid
penalties
Wilderness Lore, City Lore & Cost of Living
A character with wilderness lore can support a number of characters equal to
their level in the edge at a comfortable level indefinitely as long as they are in
the wilderness. The same applies for a character with the city lore edge in an
urban area.
Social Status & Titles by Culture
For game purposes all Nobles are considered equal in status, this reflects the
reality that although some titles are of higher rank than others the holdings
and political positions of the family are often more important.
Saxon
Celt
Pict
Romano-British
Outlaw
Outlaw
Outlaw
Outlaw
Outlaw
Commoner Ceorls- part time
Freemen/Soldier Freemen/Soldier Commoners/Soldi
Fighter/Farmer/Artisans
Noble
17
Thegns—Full-Time
warriors
Ealdormen—Leaders
of groups of Thegns
Cyning—The kings
Aethlings—Petty
independent leaders
who aren’t strong
enough to call kings,
but have no master.
Warrior
Flaith- leader of
a group of
warriors / Druid
Clan Leaders
Tribal Leader
(King)
Warrior
Village Leader /
Shaman
Clan Leaders
Tribal Leader
There is no higher rank than Lord in Romano-British society.
Lord17
-
Royalty
Prince
Duke
King
High King &
family to four
generations
(King) 18
Aging
Once a character hits 40 they begin to suffer aging effects, this system is not
exactly realistic but serves to represent the effects of age well enough for our
purposes. Roll 1d6 on each birthday starting with the 41st birthday.
1-3 No reduction this year.
4-5 Lose 1pt from BODY or MIND. Determine which randomly.
6
Lose one point from BODY and one from MIND.
When BODY is reduced to 0 the character dies of old age, when MIND is
reduced to 0 the character has become totally senile and can do nothing.
An average character (BODY & MIND 7) will live to around 60.
OPTION: Young Characters
A player may wish to begin with a character of less than 15 years age. In this
case subtract 1 from BODY for each year below 15 to a minimum 1. Take a -3
to all persuasion, seduction or intimidation rolls as well. A character below 15
may only select a single edge to begin play with.
Cultures
Cultures
The Picts
Tattooed, blue woad daubed Pagans from north of Hadrian's wall. Nobody
likes them, and they return the sentiment. Even the Saxons hate them.
 Matrilinear, Bloodlines, and thus inheritance, passed through the
mother.
 There are no urban areas north of the border
 Don’t wear much clothing.
 Illiterate
 Clans consists of a group of related families, multiple clans form a tribe.
 Revere totem animal spirits, each clan has its own totem spirit. More
than one clan can have the same totem spirit.
 Talk to Faeries sometimes.
 Sneaky, like to do ambushes
 Communal ownership of land
18
There is no higher status in pictish society than King. At any given time
there are only normally two Kings, the leader of the strongest highland tribe
and the leader of the strongest lowland (Strathclyde) tribe.
See themselves as caretakers of the Earth Mother. The picts are a wild
people closely in tune with their environment. They are spread across Scotia
from the relatively benign lowlands through to the windswept highlands and
north into the isles. Scotia is divided into several small kingdoms, each
dominated by a single tribe. These tribes comprise a multitude of warring
clans who are so busy fighting each other they have never made any serious
incursion across the border into Northumberland & Strathclyde.
Pictish names are usually organised in one of the following ways
 {given name} mac {father's name}
 {given name} map {father's name}
Common names include:
Elpin, Artbranan, BlieBlituth, Brude, Caeltigern, Cal, Canaul,
Canutulachama, Carvorst, Cimoiod, Cinid, Cint, Denbecan, Deoardivois,
Deocilunon, Deoord, Deototreic, Deo, Diu, Drust, Drost, Drosten, Emcat,
Edarnan, Fecir, Fet, Galam, Galanan,Gant, Gart, Gartnait, Gede, Gust,
Gest, Gilgidi, Gnith, Grit, Leo, Morleo, Mund, Nechtan, Pant, Ru, Talorc,
Talorcan, Taran, Udrost, Uuen, Uuidid, Uip, Vipog, Uirolec, Ongust,
Uurat, Uuradec, Uurcich, Uurgust, Uroican, Usconbuts, Uust
Pictish Law is very similar to Celtic law.
The following map shows the major Pictish tribes and their approximate
locations.
The Pictii are organised into Tribes, each tribe having a king. Each tribe
consists of several clans (extended families) and each clan has several
villages. The Pictish tribes do not have a High King, the various tribes
co-exist in a continuous weaving of wars and alliances.
The Celts
The Semi-Romanized Celts, conquered by the Romans in the first century AD.
Their old tribal structures are collapsing, and many of the tribes are now
controlled by a Romanized aristocracy. Many live in feudal villages, while the
rest are organized into small clans based in a few villages with a clan chief,
owing allegiance to the tribal King/Duke/whatever. Many are Pagan, but
Christianity is spreading among them. The Celts of what PRE become
England are commonly referred to as the Britons, those of Wales as the
Cymri and the Celts of Ireland are usually called Gaels.
 Respectful of Faeries and Druids.
 First loyalty is given to local leaders
 Law is based on tradition and custom
 Organized into clans, which them clump into tribes.
 A clan is a group of families.
 Clans spend a considerable amount of time feuding with one another,
as do their respective tribes.
 Each Tribe is headed by a King or Duke (called a Ri in Gael).
 Alliances between tribes and clans are mainly made through marriage
and/or fostering, where one or more children are sent to be raised by
an allied clan/tribe, acting as hostages in addition to forging strong links.
 The Ri’s elect a high king who rules the high kingdom.
 The King or High King is primarily a war leader, they have little or no
ability to change the law
 The economy was based entirely on barter, although use of Roman
coinage was common
 Fond of music and song.
 Respectful of Bards
 They like to Grab contests of singing, music, and dancing
 Usually illiterate, but knowing a lot of stories and songs.
 Conduct Trials by Ordeal
Sexual equality is the norm in Celtic tribes. The women fight alongside the
men and have an equal standing in society.
Some examples of female Gael names include:
Abigail, Aghna, Aideen, Aileen, Ailís, Áine, Aisling, Aithne, Alana, Alyson,
Ana, Anne, Badb, Blayne, Breena, Brenda, Brenna, Briana, Brid, Brigid,
Cait, Caitlin, Caitriona, Ciara, Clare, Cliona, Colleen, Creidne, Dana,
Deirdre, Edana, Eileen, Eithne, Erin, Evelyn, Finola, Fiona , Gwen,
Gweneth, Hilde, Íde, Isabel, Islene, Keavy, Keeley, Mab, Maeve, Marta,
Medb, Moyna, Moira, Mona, Morgan, Moya, Muirin, Naomh, Niamh, Nuala,
Orla, Riona, Ros, Rowena, Sarah, Seana, Shannon, Sheelah, Sheena,
Sinéad, Siobhán, Tara
Some examples of Male Gael names include:
Aed, Aidan, Angus, Ardal, Blaine, Blair, Brady, Bram, Bran, Brendan,
Bryon, Brogan, Caleb, Calhoun, Cassidy, Cavan, Cian, Kieran, Colm,
Conall, Connor, Conway, Cormac, Culann, Dáire, Declan, Delaney, Devin,
Devlin, Dolan, Dóna, Donovan, Doyle, Eóin, Evan, Fergus, Fergal, Finbar,
Flynn, Galen,Garett, Glen, Hagan, Hogan, Kane, Kearney, Kelvin, Kieran,
Kilian, Liam, Lir, Logan, Miles, Morgan, Murphy, Nevan, Niall, Owain,
Padraig, Quinn, Reilly, Riordan, Roarke, Rogan, Rónán, Rory, Ross,
Seamus, Seán, Shane, Sloane, Vaughn, Wynn.
Gael Surnames:
Mc, Mac = son of
O = can signify either grandson, or earlier ancestor
Fitz, from French fils = son of
Ní = girl's use before her father's name
Ban = wife's use before her married name
Brennan, Conroy, Devine, Doherty, Donoghue, Dowling, Doyle, Duffy,
Dunne, Egan, Fahy, Flanagan, Flynn, O'Loinn, O'Lynn, Gallagher, Garvey,
Geraghty, Hennessey, Hogan, Kavanagh, O'Cahan, MacCloskey, Kelly,
Lee, Lynch, McAuley, MacAuliffe, MacBride, MacCabe, MacCann,
MacCarthy, MacCormack, MacDermott, McDermmot, Kermode, MacElroy,
MacEvoy, MacGee, MacGovern, MacGrath, MacHugh, MacInerney,
MacKenna, MacLoughlin, O'Loghlen, MacMahon, Mohan, Vaughn,
MacManus, MacNally, MacNamara, MacNulty, MacQuaid, McQuillan,
MacSweeney, McGinn, Madden, Maguire, Mallaghan, Malone, Maloy,
Monaghan, Moore, Mulcahy, Mulligan, Murphy, Nolan, O'Brien, O'Byrne,
O'Callaghan, O'Casey, O'Connell, O'Connor, O'Dea, O'Donnell,
O'Donovan, O'Dowd, O'Driscoll, O'Dwyer, O'Farrell, O'Flaherty,
O'Flanagan, O'Grady, O'Hagan, O'Leary, O'Malley, O'Meara, O'Neill,
O'Reilly, O'Rourke, O'Shaughnessy, O'Toole, Quinlan, Quinn, Regan,
Ryan, Mulryan, Scanlan, Sheridan, Walsh
Some examples of Female Cyrmic Names:
Angharad, Annwyn, Ariana, Arionrhod, Blodwyn, Branwen, Bronwen,
Caron, Cate, Catrin, Dee, Derwen, Deirdre, Elen, Essyllt, Ffion, Gaenor,
Glenna, Gwen, Gweneth, Hywela, Idelle, Iola, Jenifer, Linette, Lowri, Mab,
Megan, Meriel, Mona, Morgan, Morgana, Myfanwy, Nia, Nimue, Olwen,
Rhiamon, Rhian, Rhianwen, Rhonwen, Rhosyn, Rowena, Sian, Tegan,
Torri, Vivian
Some common names for Cymri Males:
Aedd, Alawn, Alun, Alwyn, Anir, Arian, Barri, Bedwyr, Berwyn, Beven,
Blair, Blaise, Bors, Bowen, Bradwen, Bran, Brice, Bryn, Brys, Cadell,
Cadfael, Cadman, Cadoc, Cadwr, Cai, Caradoc, Cas, Cerwyn, Cian,
Colwyn, Conwy, Dafydd, Dillan, Drew, Dylan, Einion, Emrys, Eoin, Ermid,
Evan, Gareth, Gavin, Gawain, Geraint, GiBert, Glendower, Glew, Govan,
Govannon, Griffin, Gwalchmei, Gwydion, Gwyn, Huw, Hywel, Iago, Iestyn,
Ieuan, Kevyn, Kim, Lleu, Lludd, Llyr, Lot, Madoc, Mael, Menw, Merlin,
Mordred, Morgan, Morvran, Neued, Olwydd, Oswallt, Owain, Pellinore,
Peredur, Puw, Pwyll, Rhodri, Rhys, Selwyn, Steffan, Tad, Tarrant, Tor,
Tremayne, Trent, Tristan, Tristram, Urien, Vaughn, Weyland, Wyn
Common Cymric Surnames
Adda, ABan, Anwyl, Awbrey, Bach, Bebb, Belth, Bevan, Beynon, Blaeny,
Bythell, Caddock, Cadogan, Cadwalader, Cardigan, Carew, Connah,
Cwnic, Eynon, Gadarn, Gethin, Gruffydd, Gwalchmai, Gwilt, Gwynne,
Gwythur, Heilyn, Iudhael, Landeg, Llewelyn, Llywarch, Mabe, Mostyn,
Owen, Parry, Puggh, Rees, Rhys, Rhydderch, Roch, Trahaearn, Trewent,
Vaughan, Wynne, Iorwerth
Celts have five social classes:
1. Royalty: the Ri and his immediate family to four generations.
2. Nobility (the Flaith): the warrior aristocracy, clan chieftains and war
leaders and their immediate families and relations.
3. Professional (Aes Dana): the Aes Dana are the professionals of
Celtic society. They are well respected by all and membership of this
class is by merit and training not by birth. It includes druids, bards,
seers, jurists, physicians and master craftsmen. Members of the Aes
Dana are protected by Celtic law and allowed free passage anywhere
in celtic land regardless of their clan & tribe. In return Aes Dana are
expected to behave in a neutral fashion, in relation to inter-clan/tribal
politics.
4. Freemen: freemen form the bulk of society. In peace they are the small
farmers, hunters, herdsmen, shepherds, fishermen and journeymen or
apprentice craftsmen. In war they provided the bulk of the military
serving as infantry.
5. Slave: the slaves were usually captives taken in battle and provided
labour for the nobility. They were the albsolute property of their owners.
Celtic Code of Honour
All Celts are expected to abide by three rules:
 Truthfulness; if you make a promise keep it. Don’t lie to people,
always tell the letter, if not the spirit, of the truth.
 Hospitality; if someone arrives at your door make them welcome, feed
them etc… even if it is your sworn enemy. Don’t ask them who they are
or what they are doing. On the other hand if you accept such hospitality
you are bound to do no harm to your host and it is only polite to tell
them who you are and what you are doing.
 Revenge; if someone kills one of your clan kill them in return. Don’t be
subtle, open combat is the way to go. Single combat is honourable, do
not interfere with it.
Fir Fer (The Fair Fight)
Celtic honour demands that a character who is challenged to single combat
should fight alone with their foe. It is dishonourable to interfere with a single
combat. Before a single combat begins both characters agree the rules (eg..
armed or unarmed, first blood or to the death). If one or other fighter breaks
the rules the Fir Fer rule is abrogated and usually both sides PRE pile in to
break up the battle.
The Fianna
Gesa
A Gesa is a magical compulsion or prohibition which is laid upon a character.
Gesas are generally either Good (edges) or Bad (flaws).
Most Bad Gesas are expressed in the form ‘must..’ or ‘must not..’ and prohibit
a certain action until some condition is fulfilled. When the condition has been
fulfilled the Gesa flaw is removed for free. The condition must be reasonably
onerous or appropriate to the prohibition. For a condition which is very hard to
fulfil the GM may allow the Gesa to be treated as two Flaws (8XP).
Breaking a Gesa is very bad. Calamity is certain to follow. The GM should
decide a suitable punishment for the breaking of the Gesa and introduce it
during play. Note that the calamity need not necessarily be directed against
the character themselves, but may be against their allies/clan/friends/lovers….
Any character with the Bad Gesa edge can lay a Bad Gesa on another Celt,
but it costs a point of LK (which is not recovered).
A good Gesa is an inborn Edge (not given). A good gesa sets how a
character can die, this is the only way they can die. They can be wounded still
and suffer complications, but they cannot die in any way except that laid out in
the Gesa. Good Gesas have a level and the level reflects the rarity of the
condition for death, the less often the character is exposed to the risk the
higher the level of the Gesa. Some examples follow to indicate power level:
1
Can only be killed out of doors
2
Can only be killed on a doorstep
3
Can only be killed by a door (not the ambiguous use of by.. this can
mean near a door, or actually by a door)
4
Can only be killed by a door whilst wearing green armour
5
Can only be killed by an earless green boar
Obviously it is unlikely a player character PRE have more than a Gesa 3 due
to the XP cost and requirement to take the edge during character generation.
Celtic Law
The rights and obligations of each freeman within a clan were clearly defined
and largely enforced by custom. Parties in legal disputes usually submitted to
a professional Jurist who had memorised the law and precedents and
rendered judgement. The power of custom and tradition was largely sufficient
to enforce such judgements. In extreme cases the Druids could
excommunicate someone who then became outlaw, their life then become
forfeit to anyone who could slay them and they could not participate in society.
Blood relations formed the heart of Celtic law, where kindred was considered
to extend over four generations. Kindred were expected to support each other
completely, if one committed a crime they bought shame on their kin and any
fine would be expected to be shared by the whole kin.
Imprisonment is unknown and the usual punishment is fines, paid to the
offended party, or a vendetta. Levels of fines were based on precedent and
handled by the Jurists and the fine is referred to as the Honour Price for the
crime.
In the event of Vendetta the kin of the offended party simply go to war with the
kin of the offender and try to kill/steal property sufficient to compensate them.
Within a tribe vendetta would be very rare, with offenders bowing to the
judgement or being outlawed. Between tribes vendetta becomes more
common.
Legal protection only extends to members of the tribe or Aes Dana, any
foreigner takes their chances. If they are hurt etc.. they have no legal status
and would have to seek a Blood feud.
The Aes Dana
Aes Dana are Celts who are protected by local law regardless of their native
tribe or kingdom. The possession of certain edges grants automatic Aes Dana
status to Celtic characters:
 Druidic Order




Any lore edge
Metal work
Wise
Entertain
Fasting
A traditional way of expressing a grievance against another Celt is the Fast.
The character sits outside the other persons home and refuses to eat. The
other character is required, by honour, to also fast. This continues until one or
other character breaks and eats, in which case they are required by hospitality
to feed the character who is expressing a grievance, and by so doing admit
their guilt. A fasting character can drink water as normal. They take 1 damage
per day they fast. If damage equals TGH they pass out and will die in a day
unless someone helps them.
Romano-British
Highly Romanized Celts. They have latin names, are literate, live in cities, and
try to cling to the old Latin culture. Most are now Christian although the old
roman religion still holds sway with many. Areas with a strong Romano-British
presence tend to follow Romano-British customs rather than Celtic customs,
so everyone has the right to a fair trial.
The Romano-British organise themselves into Major Houses. A Major House
comprises a single powerful noble family with associated lesser noble and
commoner families. The lesser families are sometimes referred to as Minor
Houses themselves and may also have associated commoner families.
Generally speaking characters with Noble 1-3 are members of a minor House
(in this case determine your own minor house and the major house you are
allied to). Those with Noble 4-5 come from a Major House.
The relative position of houses is mainly built on their wealth (and holdings),
military power, and their degree of influence over political matters. Members
of a house answer to the local king/ruler like other citizens but their house
enables them to exert influence over actions. For example, the leader of a
Major house in a given Celtic kingdom may technically be outranked by any
Celtic warrior but in fact would likely be present at court often and their
opinions listened to and acted upon by the king.
 Use of Latin and Written Documents extensively.
 Use of Latin names
 Romano-British characters do not come from Wild areas
 Ownership of Books
 Urban life
 Practice of Oratory and Public Speaking as a fine art
 Formal Education by Tutors when possible.
 They BATHE  Attendance of Public Baths.
 Use of Formal Judicial procedures and Roman Law, Jurists serve both
for prosecution and defense and act as magistrates and judges.
The Roman Calendar
The Romans do not count the days of the month from 1 through 30. Instead,
three days in every month had names:



the Kalends fell on the 1st
the Nones on the 5th or 7th, according to the rhyme
the Ides on the 13th or 15th.
When a Roman wants to say "March the 14th" they would say: "the day
before the Ides of March". March the 6th would be: "The day before the None
of March." (you do not count after, always before). April fool's day fell 'On the
Kalends of April." After the Ides (the 13th or 15th, according to the month) you
counted the days to the Kalends of the next month. March the 16th was "17
days before the Kalends of April." (with March 16 and April 1 in ancient
fashion counting as full days).
Common Names for the Romano-British
Romano British characters use the old naming conventions of the Empire.
 Men: Praenomen, Nomen, Cognomen
 Women: Praenomen, Nomen
Cognomen ex virtute
Men with two or three names could be officially awarded an additional
cognomen, an “honorific” which they bore for life but did not pass down to
their descendants (e.g., Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (“the Great”), Publius
Cornelius Scipio Africanus (“conqueror of Africa”); both these cognomina were
awarded by senatorial decree. Sometimes this additional cognomen was a
nickname that stuck (e.g., Publius Cornelius Sulla Felix (“the Lucky”).
Male Praenomen
Amulius, Appius, Augustus, Aulus, Caius, Cassius, Decius, Flavius,
Gaius, Caius, Galerius, Gallio, Julianus, Kaeso, Lucius, Manius, Marcus,
Numerius, Oppius, Placus, Publius, Quintus, Secundus, Servius, Sextus,
Tertius, Tiberius, Titus, Vibius
Female Praenomen
Aelia, Aemilia, Agrippina, Aurelia, Antonia, Aquilia, Aurelia, Caecilia,
Claudia, Cornelia, Domitia, Lucilla, Drusilla, Euphemia, Fabia, Flavia,
Fulvia, Helena, Helvia, Honoria, Julia, Justina, Livia, Marcella, Marcia,
Octavia, Paulina, Pompeia, Sabina, Porcia, Prisca, Titiana, Valeria,
Verina
Nomen
These are male surnames, for women change the ‘ius’ ending to ‘a’ or ‘illa’.
Abanus, Antius, Antonius, Arminus, Attius, Augustus, Aulus, Aurelius,
Calidius, Calpurnius, Clovius, Cominius, Cornelius, Dexius, Dionysius,
Drusus, Duronius, Fabius, Flavius, Galenus, Gallus, Germanicus, Gratus,
Helvetius, Hortensius, Julius, Justis, Liburnius, Livius, Longinus, Lucius,
Mallius, Manilius, Maximus, Mercurius, Novius, Otacilius, Peltrasius,
Pinarus, Placidus, Quintilius, Rusonius, Salonius, Scipio, Sempronius,
Septimus, Tertinius, Valerius, Varius, Velius, Victricius
Cognomen
Adventus, Agricola, ABinius, Aloysius, Ambrosius, Amor, Amphion,
Anatolius, Andronicus, Antius, Aquila, Aquilius, Armiger, Artistus,
Audens, Augustus, Aurelius, Auspex, Barbatus, Belenus,
Belisarius, Bellus, Brutus, Caesar, Caligula, Calpurnis, Calvinus,
Capito, Carnifex, Cato, Celsus, Censorius, Christianus, Cicero, Clement,
Cogitatus, Commidius, Commidus, Commius, Commodus, Constantius,
Corvinus, Crassus, Cremutius, Dacien,
Dannicus, Dardanus, Diocletianus, Drusillus, Drusus, Durus,
Emeritus, Epolonius, Eudoxius, Falco, Falconius, Faustus, Felix, Festus,
Fidelis, Fimbria, Flavian, Flavinus, Florens, Fortunatus, Furius, Gaius,
Galarius, Gallus, Gavrus, Gladius, Gordianus, Gracchus,
Hadrianus, Helvius, Herculius, Honoratus, Horatius, Ignatius, Julian,
Justin, Justinus, Justus, Laevinus, Leon, Liberalis, Lucianus,
Lucretius, Lupis, Macro, Magnus, Major, Marcellus, Maritimus, Marius,
Martial, Martinus, Maximian, Maximus, Mercurialis, Moderatus, Nero,
Nerva, Nonius, Octavian, Olympicus, Pelagius, Photius, Primanus,
Quintilianus, Quintilius, Quintillius, Reginus, Rex, Romanus, Sabellius,
Sabinus, Salvius, Sanctus, Scipio, Secundas, Sevtonius, Sparticus, Sylla,
Sylvian, Sylvius, Tacitus, Tertius, Tiberinus, Titianus, Tranquillus,
Tyranus, Ursus, Valens, Valentinian, Valerian, Varro, Varus, Velius,
Velus, Venatio, Viator, Victor, Victricius, Vitalis
Saxons
Germanic Invaders. Actually a mix of Jutes, Saxons, Angles, Frisians, and
Franks. Notable for berserker warriors, worshipping Wotan, actually knowing
how to make decent boats. Organized into Kingdoms, lead by the warrior
class of Thegns.
The Saxon Social Structure(Highest to Lowest)
 Cyning—The kings
 Aethlings—Petty independent leaders who aren’t strong enough to call
kings, but have no master
 Ealdormen—Leaders of groups of Thegns
 Thegns—Full-Time warriors
 Ceorls—Part-time warriors/part-time farmers or artisans
 Thrall -Slaves
Some Saxon Customs:
 Saxons are often Large
 Making Boasts before Combat (I won’t shave until I kill 50 Cymru. I
PRE fight with no shield, etc)
 Wild, drunken parties
 Rune Magic
 Sacrificing really intransigent enemies to Wotan. If they win, they
destroy everything and take no plunder.
 A Judicial system based on getting people to swear oaths that you are
innocent.
 Vengeance and Weregild
System of Heathweru sworn to die in battle if the King dies, his bosom
companions and faithful bodyguards, plus looser bands of warriors lead by
Thegns form the army.
Common Saxon first names include:
Alrik, Ari, Arngrim, Arnulf, Asa(F), Astrid(F), Beowulf, Bjarni, Bjorn,
Brynhild(F), Buri, Ceolwolf, Elsa(F), Erick, Erika(F), Einar, Erling, Fjolnir,
Freydis(F), Gerloc(F), Godfred, Gorm, Gudren(F), Gunnar, Guthrum,
Gyda(F), Haki, Hakon, Halfdan, Hall, Hallfred, Harald, Helga(F), Helgi,
Hemming, Hengist, Herjolf, Horick, Hrothgar, Hrolf, Horsa, Hygelac,
Ingjald, Knut, Knute, Leif, Olaf, Ottar, Magnus, Ragnar, Ragnhild(F),
Rognvald, Rollo, Rorik, Rurik, Saemund, Sigred, Sighvat, Sigmund,
Sigrid, Sigtrygg, Siglinde(F), Sigvaldi, Skapti, Snorri, Sokki, Sturla,
Stryborn, Sven, Rhora(F), Thorfinn, Fhorgeir, Thorir, Thorkell, Rholeif,
Thormod, Thorolf, Rhorvald, Thyri(F), Tosti(g), Tovi(F), Tryggvi, Ubbi, Ulf,
Uni, Volund, Yrsa(F), Sigrid(F), Ursa(F)
Surnames are usually either a descriptive, such as Erik Bloodaxe, or the
fathers name with –son or –sson prefixed to it. Such as Bjorn Einarsson,
which means Bjorn, son of Einar.
Weregeld & Blood Feud
If someone is killed in a Saxon family the killer is required to pay Weregeld to
the family of the deceased. Failure to do so likely results in the declaration of
a Blood feud, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. A characters weregeld
value is based on their social status.
 Thrall: 100
 Freeman: 1000
 Gentry: 5000
 Aristocrat: 10,000
 Noble: 50,000
 Minor Royal: 100,000
 Major Royal: 500,000
If a guest is killed then a Blood feud PRE almost certainly be declared and the
host faces a massive loss of honour.
The Weregeld for a woman or child is ½ the sum owing for their
husband/father. Saxon priests have a were-geld of that for their social class
plus another 20,000 Silvers.
Byzantine Empire- Emperors
582-602AD MAURICE
602-610AD PHOCAS
610-641AD HERACLIUS
Equipment & Encumbrance
Manufacturing
Each item has an edge noted with it. A character who possesses that edge
can make that item given suitable materials and time. Unless noted otherwise
a character with the appropriate edge can manufacture 60 silvers worth of
equipment per day, but must pay out 1/3rd the cost of the items to buy
materials etc.. (for example, a character could make 10 6 silver razors per day,
at a cost of 20 silvers, leaving them with a profit of 40 silvers per day for their
work). When you make an item roll 2d6, if you roll DOUBLES and the
DOUBLE numbers are less than or equal to your Work edges level you have
produced a master-crafted item (eg.. a character with Metal Working +5
produces master-crafted items on a DOUBLE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR or
FIVE).
Master Crafted Items
Master-crafted items give an additional +1 bonus to the task they are
designed for and usually cost 10 times more than a standard item. In the case
of weapons the Master Craft bonus is for Attack & Defense, but not for
damage.
Improvised materials
It may be possible to gather materials from the environment or dissemble
other items to get the required components to manufacture something. The
GM should rule on this but generally speaking an item produced in this way
will be at -1 to any task it is used for & will fail/break on a roll of DOUBLE
ONES when it used.
Item
Encumbrance Work
Winter Clothing
Cost
(Silvers)
20
10kg
Cw
Normal Clothes
10
5kg
Cw
Summer Clothing
15
2kg
Cw
Expensive
x10
-
Cw
Includes thick
cloak, furs,
breeches,
boats, hat, belt,
belt pouch
Includes cloak,
tunic,
breeches,
boats, hat, belt,
belt pouch
Includes light
robes, hat, belt
pouch
As the
Clothes
Travelling Kit
20
8kg
-
Blacksmiths
Tools20
Anvil
Forge
Cloth workers
Tools
Leather workers
tools
Apothecaries
Tools
Healers Tools
Carpenters Tools
Musical
Instrument
100
15kg
Mw
400
400
30
75kg
Not portable
3kg
Mw
Mw
Mw
50
5kg
Mw
100
3kg
Mw
100
100
30
3kg
5kg
2kg
Mw
Mw
Ww
Meal plus drinks
Days rations
Pint of beer
Mug of wine
Pony
Palfrey
Draft horse
Faster Horse
Stronger Horse
Quicker Horse
1
1
¼
¼
300
600
500
+100
+100
+100
0.5kg
-
-
19
-
standard type
of clothing
above but ten
times the price
and gives +1
PRE
Waterskin, 30m
weak rope,
basic clothes,
hatchet,
hammer,
tarpaulin, fish
hooks,
fishing line,
sack,
bandages,
cooking things,
flint,
whetstone19 &
steel, bedroll,
torch etc..
Required for
metal working
For example,
lute, pipes,
harp
+1 Speed
+1 STR
+1 INITIATIVE
If an edged weapon is used in battle and not honed with a whetstone it causes 1 less damage than
normal until honed (which takes about ten minutes)
20
Excluding an anvil & forge
Tougher Horse
Braver Horse
Tack for one
horse
+100
+100
50
10kg
Lw
Backpack
Crowbar
Holy Symbol
8ft Ladder
Wagon
Courtesans
services
Accommodation,
1 night in
dormitory
Accommodation,
1 night in private
room
Contract
Court
Appearance
Deed
Will
15
9
15
6
220
12+
5kg (empty)
7kg
0.5kg
20kg
-
Lw
Mw
Mw
Ww
Ww
-
1
-
6
-
Mercenary, light
armour
Mercenary,
medium armour
Mercenary, heavy
armour
Veteran
mercenary
Elite mercenary
Prostitute
Rope, 6ft
Sagely
knowledge21




+1 TGH
+1 PRE
Includes bridle,
blanket,
saddle, spurs,
reins etc…
per evening
Can sleep four
comfortably in
a room
12
20
-
Legal Lore
Legal Lore
18
24
-
Legal Lore
Legal Lore
15
-
-
35
-
-
60
-
-
+10
-
-
+20
2
1
varies
-
-
-
Appropriate
Lore
Per day
Per night
Supports 500lb
Uncommon knowledge: 25 (identification of plants, summary of political
situations, recent history)
Rare knowledge: 75 (reading dead languages, descriptions of foreign
lands, old history)
Very rare knowledge: 200 (reading ancient dead languages,
descriptions of the farthest reaches of the known world, ancient history)
Dangerous/illicit knowledge: 500+ (reading magical texts, descriptions
of poisons, heretical theological speculation)
Slave, labourer
Slave, pleasure
Slave, gladiator
Small Tent
Big Tent
Very Big Tent
Huge Tent
200
300
500
50
100
200
500
10kg
20kg
50kg
100kg
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Sleeps 2
Sleeps 4
Sleeps 8
Sleeps 16
Herbal Preparations
A character with the Herb lore edge can attempt to produce preparations from
herbs. To make a given preparation requires INT*(Herb Lore):DIFF. The table
below lists the various preparations that can be made/ obtained and the
Difficulty for each one. The amount the DIFF is beaten by indicates the
number of preparations produced in the batch.
Cost: the cost of one batch, the number of doses produced depends on the
result of the INT test.
Notes: the effect of the preparation. Unless noted otherwise the effects of a
preparation last around 6 hours (eg… a morning, afternoon, evening or night)
Wait: the period the preparation must stand for, after successful preparation,
before it can be used.
Season: the season the herb required for the preparation grows in. If out of
season the base material cost is doubled.
 Sp- spring
 Su- summer
 Au- autumn
 Wi- winter
Availability: the availability of the herb determines the base cost per ounce
(1oz is needed to make one batch of a preparation). If the herb is out of
season double this base cost.
C
U
R
ER
Herbs – common - per oz
2 Silvers
Herbs – uncommon - per oz
25 Silvers
Herbs - rare - per oz
60 Silvers
Herbs - extremely rare - per oz 100 Silvers
Multiple Doses
Application of multiple doses of certain preparations increases the effect by +1
for each additional dose administered. Preparations where this applies are
named in bold.
Weight: A preparation weighs ½lb unless noted otherwise (it consists of 1 oz
of herbs plus 7oz of mixed solvents etc…
They PRE never give free hints to expensive secrets, and (especially with
dangerous or illicit knowledge) may not give any answers at all. The prices
quoted above are, of course, a very rough guide.
Preparation
Aconite
Adingantida
All Heale
Amaranth
Anenome
Arsenic
Base mullein
Bastard
Daffodil
22
Cost
Notes
(Silvers)
RESIST
POISON*10 10m
after exposure,
failure results in
death 10m later.
RESIST
POISON*11 1hr
after exposure,
failure results in
death 1hr later.
Any day this
preparation is
taken counts as
two days for the
purposes of
healing any
wounds the
character is
suffering from.
If administered to
a diseased
character they
receive +1 on
their roll to resist
it.
For 8 hours the
character travels
at +1mph when
moving overland
on foot
RESIST
POISON*12 a
day after
exposure, failure
results in death a
day later.
If applied to a
wound caused by
a burn that
wound is fully
healed within a
day.
Administration of
this preparation,
DIFF Wait
2w
Season22 Avail.
Au
U
None Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
C
2w
R
Wi, Sp
If you wish to produce a preparation and the herb is out of season the base
materials cost 60% of retail rather than the normal 30%.
Bay Laurel
Bdellium
Belladonna
Betony
Bindweed
Bishops
Weed
Black Poppy
23
23
within 12 hours,
to a character
who has lost
INITIATIVE due
to wounds
restores the lost
INITIATIVE
points.
If ingested before
attempting any
kind of divination
it gives visions,
the GM should
be clearer in their
answer to the
question posed.
Immunity to
disease when
resin is eaten.
This effect lasts
for a day, so a
character who
eats treated
bdellium resin
every day is
immune to
diseases.
+1 to seduction
or related acts for
6hrs.
+1 to STR for
6hrs, but -2 to
STR for 12 hours
after that.
RESIST
POISON*10 one
round after
exposure, failure
results in
paralysis for an
hour.
+2 to rolls to
resist Diseases.
A dose lasts a
day.
Death trance, the
character
appears dead for
3w
During a major outbreak of disease double this price.
Su
R
Bull-Rush
Cat’s tail
Chimedon
Colewort
Cow Parsnip
Cow-wheat
Darnell
the duration
RESIST
POISON*11 one
round after
exposure, failure
results in
unconsciousness
one round later
for an hour.
If taken every
day for a month it
restores on point
of INITIATIVE
lost to permanent
complications.
Imbiber speaks in
their sleep, useful
for spies.
Gives +3 to rolls
to resist the
effects of drugs
and alcohol. One
dose lasts for
around 6 hours.
Used to treat
madness and
amnesia. Take
+2 on rolls to
resist such
effects.
RESIST
POISON*12 Ten
minutes after
taking this, failure
results in being
rendered
immobile and
useless for a
whole day, after
a further 15 mins
passes, through
splitting head
pains. If you must
act all actions are
at -3.
Causes dimness
of Sight, -2 to all
rolls where
eyesight is
important
3d
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
R
1w
Su
U
none
Sp. Su
U
6w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
R
1w
Su
R
2w
Au
R
Deadly
Nightshade
Dittany
Elder
English
Galingale
Fever Few
French
Marigold
Garden Flax
Goats Rue
RESIST
POISON*14 10
mins after being
poisoned to not
be put to sleep. If
your modified
RESIST POISON
is 8 or less you
die an hour later.
If applied to a
wound by a
within an hour or
so of it occurring
the Healer gets
+1 on their
Physician roll to
prevent
permanent
complications.
Anyone inhaling
the fumes of
burning elder
become easier to
suggest and are
at -2 to resist
persuasion or
suggestion.
Enlivens the
senses giving +1
Initiative for 6
hours, but -2
Initiative for 12
hours after that.
?
RESIST
POISON*13 15m
after exposure,
failure results in
death 15m later.
Powerful pain
killer, gives a
character +1
Toughness for
ten minutes.
If administered to
a character who
has been
poisoned they
receive +2 to
their roll to resist
1w
Su
U
2w
Su, Au
R
1w
Sp, Su
ER
3w
8w
Su
Sp, Su
U
R
2w
Sp, Su
R
2w
Su
R
Hawk weed
Hazel
Hemlock
Henbane
Horehound
Houseleek
Jacinth
Land
caltrops
Larks Heel
the effects of the
poison
+1 to notice type
rolls for half an
hour after taking
this preparation
+1 Intelligence
for six hours
RESIST
POISON*12 one
round after
exposure, failure
results in
unconsciousness
one round later
for an hour.
Henbane is used
to treat painful
wounds. A daily
dose negates 1pt
of temporary
complication
reduction.
A dose of
horehound
induces copious
vomiting and
purging. If given
to a poisoned
character they
get +2 on their
roll to resist the
poisons effects.
The drinker gets
1pt of natural
armour against
Fire, Cold &
Electrical
Damage for an
hour.
+2 to rolls to
resist illusions
and glamours
If administered to
someone who
has been bitten
by a snake they
get +4 to resist
the poison
If the preparation
2w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
U
1w
Su, Au
C
4w
Su
C
2w
Su
R
2w
Su
R
Leopards
Bane
Makebate
Mandrake
Marjerome
Mede
Saffron
is scattered on
the floor (covers
an area 6ft long
by 1ft wide) no
venomous
creature PRE
cross it.
RESIST
POISON*14 one
round after being
exposed or die
10 minutes later.
It has no effect
on humans or
faeries.
If administered to
someone who
has been stung
by a scorpion
they get +4 to
resist the poison
RESIST
POISON*16 a
minute later or
fall asleep for 5
hours. They
cannot be
awoken whilst
asleep.
If administered to
someone who
has been
poisoned with
hemlock it
neutralises the
poison
completely (no
roll is necessary).
This works even
if the person has
failed their
RESIST POISON
roll and is about
to die.
A character who
is exposed to
mede saffron
begins to choke
immediately.
RESIST
none
Su
ER
2w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
R
4w
Sp
R
4w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
R
1w
Sp, Su
U
Mevais
Mistletoe
Moonwort
Pearl-wort
Mountain
Garlick
Mugwort
Palma
Christi
POISON*12 5
minutes or choke
to death after a
further 5 minutes.
RESIST
POISON*14 2hrs
after exposure,
failure results in
death 2hrs later.
The drinker gains
+2 Damage
against Faeries &
Spirits for 6 hours
+2 to resist
Curses
A Faerie who
ingests pearlwort (it is usually
made into a
potion and mixed
with food) can do
no harm to
humans until the
next full moon.
Once the
preparation is
exposed to air
any evil spirit
must make a
PRE*9 or be
repelled from it.
They must make
this roll each
round to stay
near the herb.
A character who
takes Mugwort
can ignore the
next Daze or
Stun within an
hour. The effect
lasts one hour
and if they are
not incapacitated
in that time the
benefit is lost.
A dose of palma
Christi lasts for a
day and gives +3
RESIST POISON
1d
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
ER
2w
Su
R
3w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
C
Plantain
Rosemary
Rowan Sap
Saffron
Saracen’s
Confound
Shepherds
Purse
vs. weather
effects such a
heat, cold, rain,
wind etc...
If administered to
a poisoned
character they
gain +1 on their
resist roll.
If mixed with
poisoned food or
drink neutralises
the poison
Sap from the
rowan tree
prepared and
smeared on a
weapon and that
weapon can
strike faeries,
spirits and any
creature which is
immune to
normal weapons.
Saffron is a
powerful
Stimulant. For
one hour the
character gets +1
to all physical
action rolls. At
the RESIST
POISON of the
hour they must
make a DIFF 13
Stamina roll of
pass out for 6
hours.
Stops bleeding. If
applied to a
character who is
dying from a Kill
result (made their
LK roll) they last
for an hour,
rather than the
normal ten
minutes.
5w
Wi
R
1w
Au, Wi
R
11w
Su
C
1w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
C
Spiderwort
St. Johns
Wort
Stinking
Trefoile
Tamarindes
Throw-Waxe
Willow-Herb
Winter
Woofesbane
Witch hazel
WolvesBane
If administered to
someone who
has been bitten
by a spider they
get +4 to resist
the poison
A character who
takes St.Johns
Wort gets +1
against fear
effects for a day.
If applied to a
poisoned wound
(ie.. if the
character is hit
with a blade
venom) this gives
+3 on any roll to
resist the poison.
If taken in hot
weather it gives
+1 bonus to
resist the ill
effects of the
heat
If taken daily for
a year it removes
all of a
characters scars.
Burning this
preparation
creates a safe
area where
snakes PRE not
enter for a day,
this PRE drive
away any snakes
in the immediate
area
RESIST
POISON*11 15
minutes after
being exposed or
die after a further
15 minutes.
+2 to any magics
involving spirits
Shapeshifters
must make a
PRE*10 roll to
2w
Sp, Su
R
1w
Su
C
2w
Su, Au
ER
4w
Sp, Su,
Au, Wi
C
7w
Sp, Su
R
none
Su
U
3w
Wi
ER
approach within
10ft of
WolvesBane.
They must roll
every round.
Magic & Religion
Religion
Within the game most characters PRE be a member of one religion or another,
this grants no specific advantage or disadvantages. If you take the Priest
edge you are automatically a priest of your own religion, you cannot be a
priest of another religion. Characters can add the level of the Priest Edge to
their PRE when interacting with followers of their own religion, which
represents the respect accorded to them.
Magic
To gain magical abilities first take the Magical edge, then you can buy magical
edges from the list presented after the religion section. Note that you do not
have take the Priest edge to gain such abilities, and not all Priests have
magical abilities.
The Religions
In a dark ages game there are 5 possible religions, in addition characters can
be aetheists or agnostics, but these choices are rare in the extreme:
1. Christianity (split into Roman & Celtic Christianity)
2. Paganism
3. Heathenism
4. Wotanism
5. The Old Roman Religion
Christians
"Christianity believes in a single God who created the world and everything in
it. Adam and Eve were the first human beings, and because they sinned, all of
the world became corrupted. Death was loosed upon humanity, and evil
became stronger than good”
During the Roman times, God incarnated himself as a human being, and after
a short life on Earth, allowed Himself to be killed by being tortured and nailed
to a cross. He was buried, and after three days, he rose from the dead and
ascended into heaven.
He did this to fix the wrongs done by Adam and Eve and to return sanctity to
the world. This sacrifice by God allowed humans to obtain eternal salvation,
and after death, to join God in Heaven."
There are two main branches of Christianity in the british isles, Roman (or
Augustinian) christianity and Celtic christianity.
Celtic Christianity can best be summarised as ‘Do as I do, not as I say’ and
is very earthy. Many celtic Christian prayers are intended to be spoken when
performing day to day chores, for example a prayer may have a rhythmn the
same as milking a cow. Celtic Christianity is very non-hierarchical with a
minimal formal priesthood where respect is earnt not given as a virtue of
position.
Roman Christianity is quite the opposite of Celtic Christianity, it can be
summarised as ‘Do as I say, not as I do’. It has a very strong hierarchical
structure where individuals are expected to defer to those of higher rank just
because they are of higher rank and not because of any personal qualities.
Christian Virtues
 Chaste
 Modest
 Forgiving
 Merciful
 Temperate
The Holy Days
 Christmas—This celebrates Christ’s birth. December 25. A day of
Joyful Celebration marked by the exchange of gifts, attendance of
Mass, and much feasting.
 Lent—The forty day period of albstinence before Lent. Fasting is
common, and no meat is eaten on Fridays, except fish. Typically, most
do their yearly confession during this period
 Good Friday—The Friday before Easter. Commemorates Christ’s
death.
 Easter—Celebrates Christ’s Resurrection. Falls sometime in March or
April. Everyone goes to Mass and has a big feast afterwards. No
Easter Eggs, yet.
 Pentecost—40 days after Easter. Another holy day of obligation.
Commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles.
 Saint’s days—Vary by location, dedicated to local saints.
The Sacraments
 Baptism—Initiates you into the faith, often performed on infants.
 First Communion/Communion—First receipt of Communion, around
age eight. You have to confess all mortal sins before you go to
Communion. Many people take it once a year, at Easter. Bread and
Wine.
 Confession—Confess your sins to a priest. You must go to confession
once a year, at least, during Lent.
 Confirmation—Marks your adulthood entrance into full membership in
the church
 Marriage—What God has joined, let no man put asunder.
 Holy Orders—On entrance into the priesthood
 Extreme Unction/Sacrament of the sick—Anointing of the sick for
recovery and/or to prepare them for death.
Saints
The following is not a full list of all the Christian Saints, there are thousands.
This list focuses on Saints who are patrons of subjects relevant to the average
adventurer. Roman & Celtic Christians choose from the same list of Saints
because at this time (early 7th Century) few, if any, Celtic Saints are patrons of
relevant subjects.
Name
Patron
Feast Day
St. Brigid
Academics
January 21
St. Genesius
Actors
August 25
St. Vitus
Elements (earth, air, fire, water) June 15
St. Medard
Weather
June 8
St. Pancras
Lies & Truth
May 12
St. Barbara
Lightning
December 4
St. Blaise
Animals
February 3
St. Raphael
Healers
September 29
St. George
Fighters
April 23
St. Nicholas of Myra Thieves
December 6
St. Guntramnus
Murder
March 28
St. Benedict
Disease & Poison
July 11
St. Jude
Lost Causes
October 28
St. Christopher
Travellers & Natural Disasters
July 25
St. Valentine
Love
February 14
St. Dymphna
Madness
May 15
St. Expeditus
Merchants & Trade
April 19
St. Justin
Oration, Philosophy
June 1
St. Elmo
Protection at Sea
June 2
St. Lucian
Possession by Spirits
October 26
St. Sebastian
Enemies of the Church
January 20
St. Aggripina
Evil spirits
June 23
St. Servatus
Success
May 13
St. Marciana
Wounds
January 9
Christian Priests are either priests, monks, friars or nuns. For game
purposes most characters should be friars as these are the only group
who can freely move around and adventure. The others are not suited to
adventuring as they must spend most of their time based in their
assigned community tending to their flock.
Roman Christian Priest
The character is an ordained Roman Christian priest of the Church of Rome
(also known as the Augustinian church). They are well educated in theological
matters and are able to perform all the rites and rituals of the Church. Priests
are well respected and listened to. Roman Christian Priests tend to be
concerned with spiritual matters and rarely dirty their hands with manual
labour. A Roman Christian priest usually has a congregation of around Priest
level squared x100 parishioners (eg.. a character with Priest +3 would
typically have around 900 parishioners). All their living costs are taken care of
by the church and parish.
Celtic Christian Priest
A Celtic Christian priest is an ordained priest of the celtic Christian church.
They have a similar role to the Roman Christian priest but tend to be in more
touch with the day to day lives of their parishioners. The celtic Christian
church is like the Church of Wotan in as much as it has little formal
organisation. A Celtic Christian priest has a similar number of parishioners to
a Roman priest of equal rank.
Monk or Nun
Monks are treated much as Christian priests, they can be Celtic or Roman
Christians. Monks live in monasteries & Nuns in abbeys. Roman Christian
Monks have a separate hierarchy to Priests and their abbots answer to the
Pope and not local religious figures, Celtic Christians do not have such a
formal hierarchy. A monk, nun or friar can either be from a specific monastery
or a member of the Benedictine order, there is no significant difference.
Friar
A friar is a monk who wanders from place to place teaching, helping the sick
and needy and generally being a good Christian whilst preaching the word of
God wherever they go. Most PC’s with the Priest edge PRE be Friars. In the
Dark Ages world Friars can be male or female. Select the order the character
is a member of from the monk/nun list.
Hermits
Hermits are Christians who have retired from the world and live in seclusion,
contemplating the nature of life the universe and everything. Hermits are not
priests but are noted here for reference.
Bans and Excommunication
The most powerful threat Christian priests have is that of excommunication or
bans. A ban is a temporary measure whereby the target of the ban is declared
anathema to all Christians. All Christians must shun such a person and drive
them from their presence, a priest may ban a character and set them a task
which they must achieve to have the ban lifted. Excommunication is a
permanent version of a ban. The GM should decide if a banned or
excommunicated characters loses any edges related to their religious, a gross
sin or similar would cause the abilities to be lost, a politically motivated ban
would not (God decides who receives his grace, regardless of what the
church would like to think).
A ban or excommunication can be lifted by a priest of higher rank and such
are only used under the most extreme of circumstances (the target of the ban
must have committed to gross sacrilege against the church).
Pagans
There are an almost endless array of local gods and local cults. Most of them
have part-time priesthoods, or are connected to covens of enchantresses,
druids, etc. They preach a fairly simple morality. Don’t kill your neighbour,
don’t rob him blind, cooperate with each other, love the land, etc.
You do your duty to the gods through respecting their servants and holy sites
and observing the appropriate rites on holy days.
Pagan Virtues
 Generous
 Energetic



Honest
Proud
Lustful
Holy Days
 Beltaine (May 1st): Celebrating the start of Summer, a great festival.
Associated with gorse.
 Imbolc (February 1st): A fertility festival celebrating the new year.
Associated with silver fir.
 Lughnasa (August 1st): Celebrating the beginning of the autumn
harvesting. Markets and celebrations often started mid July and
continued through until mid August. Associated with heather.
 Samhain Eve & Samhain (October 31st & November 1st): Appeasing
the spirits of the dead. Ritual fires are lit, animals which PRE not
survive the winter are killed and eaten or salted for storage. Associated
with aspen.
The gods of the Celtic mythos are all served by Druids. Druids do not
generally mingle with others, and may only take a mate from among the
worshippers of their god. Bards are those of a more social nature who serve
their Gods through song and music. Bards are welcome through pagan lands
as bringers of news and entertainment.
Celtic gods are very tolerant of their priests’ and worshippers’ actions, as long
as they do not damage nature. Human sacrifices, usually of condemned
criminals, are made four times a year. Services are held in specially prepared
groves, planted with mistletoe and holly, and guarded by wild boars. The
druids wear torcs, ornamental neck rings the value of which reflects the
druid’s level; and every druid has his own cauldron.
The Gods
Dagda the Dozen King is ruler of this loose pantheon. He and his
worshippers share the neutrality which characterizes the pantheon generally.
His worshippers adhering to the druidic neutrality in at least one dimension.
Arawn, as The Dark One, God of the Dead is evil and he is worshipped by all
who worship death.
Brigit is Goddess of Fire and Poetry.
Diancecht, Physician of the Gods, is worshipped by healers. He heals
without regard to alignment, friendship, or other status, and can restore to life
any creature who has not lost its head.
Dunatis, God of the Mountains and Peaks, is a lesser god. He has been
known to raise or flatten mountains in an instant, usually related to the
presence of a fortress.
Goibhnie (the “bh” is pronounced almost as “v”) is the Metal worker of the
Gods, and as such is worshipped by those working in metal. He is known to
make weapons which never miss and amulets which protect albsolutely
against a particular spell.
Lugh, Long-handed, is the God of Generalities. He is said to understand
druidism better than any other being.
Manannan Mac Lir, God of the Sea, is a greater god. Those who use the
sea worship him.
Morrigan as Goddess of War is a lesser goddess, but she is worshipped by
all who live by war. She is served by the demi-goddesses of war Fen, Neman,
Badb, and Macha, who are very like her.
Ceridwen, the hag, goddess of wisdom and knowledge.
Blodwyn, the maiden and goddess of healing.
Nuada is also a God of War, God of the Silver Hand. He is worshipped by
warriors of all types.
Oghma, God of Intelligence, is The Binder, Patron of All Bards. He
sometimes rewards those who have created beautiful songs, poems, or
stories.
Silvanus, God of the Forests and Nature. He is worshipped by forest
dwellers and, of course, druids.
Holy Places
Pagan holy places can be almost anywhere. They are places where the hairs
on the back of ones nape stand up. Often they are gates to the otherworld or
places where great events. Such places are venerated but is considered
unwise to linger, so they are usually shunned.
Holy Wells
Running water has great magical significance to the Celts and is always
venerated and respected. Some older wells are magical and any wound
washed in such a well heals cleanly (complications are only ever temporary if
the wound is washed in such a well).
The Priesthood
There are four ranks of ‘Druid’, although non-Druids rarely know of these
ranks and just consider all Druids to be Druids. Characters with the Priest
edge must choose which rank they are. It is recommended that most player
characters should be Bards, as they are able to freely wander and adventure
whereas Ovates & Druids are generally restricted to a given area where the
community they serve is, except for specific purposes.
Initiate
For the first seven years of association with the priesthood the character is an
Initiate. After seven years they undergo and ordeal, success sees them
promoted to Bard status.
Bard (minimum age 22)
The Bard is the lowest ranking member of the Druidic order (Initiates are not
members of the order). They are trained in poetry and folklore. Bards are
entitled to wear seven colours in their clothing, teach children and may act as
judges if they so choose. To be a bard take the Bard edge.
Ovate (minimum age 29)
After a further seven years as bard a character can undergo another ordeal,
success leads them to become an Ovate. Ovates act as priests to their
community and are capable of divination. Many ovates specialise in one of the
following fields; Religion, judging, divination, learning about nature or teaching.
An ovate approaches any study as seeking the answer to a puzzle.
To be an Ovate or Druid take the Priest edge.
Druid (minimum age 36)
Periodically all ovates and druids gather together to compare knowledges and
things they have learnt in the form of poems. Those ovates judges particularly
worthy would be promoted to the rank of Druid. It was considered unworthy to
strive to become a druid, it is an honour bestowed upon an ovate by his peers
to reflect his skill and ability.
Outside the order the differentiation between initiates, bards & ovates/druids
is known, but only those within the order know the differentiation between
Ovates & Druids. Outsiders accord respect to Ovates & Druids on the grounds
of age, so a 60 year old Ovate may be accorded more respect by outsiders
than a 40 year old Druid, but within the Order the Ovate would accord more
respect to the Druid.
Enchanters/Enchantresses
Enchanters and Enchantresses are not part of the Druidic order. Most have
the magic edge and various powers, mixed in with healing lore, persuasion
etc… Enchanters are male, Enchantresses are female. They are respected
and a little feared by the Celtic peoples. They commonly traffic with the Faerie
for favours and services.
Heathens
This is the Pictish faith. Each Pictish Clan has a totem animal spirit which the
members of that clan revere. During religious ceremonies it is common for
worshippers to don masks which represent their totem spirit. Heathen Priests
are Shaman.
Heathen Virtues
 Vengeful
 Honest
 Proud
 Arbitrary
 Wordly
The Spirits
Goat, the goat is irascible and tremendously hardy.
Eagle, the eagle is considered the noblest of animals and is Lawful Good in
nature.
Dove, the deer represents peace and healing and is Neutral Good in nature.
Stag, the stag represents authority, nobility and strength and is Lawful Neutral
in nature.
Hawk, the hawk considered the free flying rebel and is Chaotic Good in
nature.
Bear, the bear is considered the symbol of strength and balance. It is True
Neutral in nature.
Otter, the otter is considered playful and entertaining, he is Chaotic Neutral in
nature.
Wolf, the bear represents cunning and the need to dominate. It is Lawful Evil
in nature.
Boar, the boar represents laziness but deadliness only interested in getting
what it wants and is Neutral Evil in nature.
Cat, the wild cat represents viciousness and torture, it is considered Chaotic
Evil in nature.
Bull
Boar
Lion
Horse
Stag
Wolf
Eagle
Salmon
Serpent
Bear
Goose
Cat
Shaman
Shaman are the Priests of the Picts and other pagans. They tend to live as
hermits outside their clans and are approached by petitioners on an ‘as
needed’ basis. Each Pictish clan has a totem spirit. Like Priests of Wotan the
shamen have no formal structure to their religion so characters cannot buy
Religious Status. Generally speaking a Pictish Shaman is attached to their
Clan and is considered, socially, to be on a par with the Clan Chieftain
(approximately the same as an aristocrat). Some shaman stay with a specific
tribe, others wander freely, wherever they go Shaman are respected by Picts.
Wotanic
This is the traditional saxon faith. We live in Midgard, the middle world, one of
many connected to Yggsdrasil, the world tree. The gods live in Asgard, one of
the worlds above, and war against the giants of Jotunheim. Below us is
Niflheim, land of the dead. One day, the worlds PRE all be destroyed in the
war known as Ragnarok, but until that day, we must live valorously so that we
PRE be fit to reside in Valhalla on our deaths and fight by the side of the gods
on that day. That we PRE lose is no matter; the question is only whether you
have the bravery to fight even if you PRE not win.
The Gods care little for mortals, but it is not wise to anger them either. Be
Generous to your friends, and crush your enemies. Show them your courage
so that they PRE not send you to Niflheim to suffer endless cold and hunger
and boredom forever. Do not die in bed…Seek out your enemies with your
last strength and take them with you. Make a proud boast then carry it out to
gain the respect of your peers and Gods.
There are temples, run by professional priests, but most worship is conducted
by war-leaders and other ‘civilians’. Sacrifices often are made to seek success
in war, voyages, hunting, and trade.
Wotanic Virtues
 Generous
 Proud
 Worldly
 Indulgent
 Reckless
The Gods
Wotan is Supreme Ruler of the Gods. He is worshipped by all who are not
evil. He cannot raise the dead, and PRE not heal mortals, but is a potent
warrior god.
Frigga is the wife of Odin, Goddess of the Atmosphere, and a greater
goddess. She is worshipped by housewives and those seeking marriage in
addition to those who share her temperament. She also controls the
weather. On rare occasions she saves worshippers who call on her when in
mortal danger.
Aegir is God of Storms and the Sea. He swamps ships that have not
sacrificed to him, but calms storms for his friends.
Forseti, the Peacemaker, is God of Justice. He is the son of Balder. He
never lies.
Freya is the twin sister of Frey, Goddess of Love and Fertility and leader of
the Valkyries. She is also worshipped by lovers.
Idun is Goddess of Spring and Eternal Youth. She is worshipped by farmers.
Sigurd is Goddess of Excellence and Skill in Battle, a lesser goddess. She
occasionally blesses young warriors dedicated to her when they enter battle.
Wayland: the smith of the Saxon Gods.
Thunor is God of Thunder, a greater god. He is worshipped by all,
especially warriors, those wishing specific weather, and those wanting fair
play. He is the god of the common man.
Fenris, the great wolf which is currently in chains but which is destined to
escape and bring Ragnarok. It is Evil in nature.
Loki, the trickster.
Priest of Wotan
A priest of Wotan is the Priest of a Saxon community, a given priest normally
serves a congregation of about 75 warriors. Most Priests of Wotan are also
war leaders and have some significant fighting abilities. The church of Wotan
is not formally organised so the priests are, in fact, lay priests. Socially
speaking a Priest of Wotan lies somewhere between a member of the Gentry
& the Aristocracy (ie.. below a Thegn, but above an Aethling). Priests of
Wotan get the Bonus to Intelligence rolls related to providing rituals and rites
of their Church. A priest of Wotan has all their living costs taken care of.
Roman Cults
Not many people worship the Roman Gods any more, but some of the cities
still follow the old Gods of Rome and Greece. Basically, the Roman Gods
want:
 Sacrifices to keep their arass
 Humility—The greatest Sin is Hubris, excessive pride.
 Duty—Your duty is to serve the state/your ‘polis’—city.
The Religious Virtues are:
 Lustful
 Energetic
 Honest
 Just
 Modest
Holy days vary by diety. For example, you sacrifice to Mars before going off to
war
Priest of Mithras: the character is a priest of the mystery cult of Mithras, able
to perform all the associated rites and rituals. This gives you at least
aristocratic status within romano-british culture. Mystery cults tend to
comprise small tightly woven groups. Mithras is a fighters God, so most
Mithras worshippers PRE be warriors of some kind or other. the Bonus to
Intelligenced rolls related theology & mystery cults and the Bonus Influence
rolls to those who revere holy persons.
Augur: augurs are roman seers, also known as soothsayers. Most augurs
possess the Divination ability, divining the future from the entrails of sacrificed
animals or omens in the world around them. The soothsayer who told Caesar
to ‘beware the ides of march’ was likely an augur. Augurs tend to be well
respected, usually accorded the respect due to one of noble rank.
Priest of Isis: the character is a priest of the mystery cult of Isis, able to
perform all the associated rites and rituals. This gives you at least aristocratic
status within romano-british culture.
Priest of Dionysos: the character is a priest of the mystery cult of
Dionysos,able to perform all the associated rites and rituals. This gives you at
least aristocratic status within romano-british culture.
Priesthoods
The following priesthoods are groups to which an ordained PC would belong,
and some notes on any limitations which should be applied are mentioned.
Ordained PC Romans can be Numina or Clerics of a Mystery Cult.
The Numina: The general definition of a priest in Rome, this covers any sort
of priest who is of scholarly and aristocratic pursuit, dedicated to the state
religion. If you wish to have a somewhat unfettered cleric who can travel or
has enough standing to be important, but not enough to really matter in such
a way that he is sucked in to political affairs all the the time, try this type.
Clerics of the Mystery Cults: The most important mystery cults in the
Roman World are the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis, the cult of the Greek
god Dionysos (often identified with his Roman counterpart Bacchus) and the
Persian Mithras cult. Mystery cults differ from the religion of the Numina by
only worshipping a single God, most Romans revere the whole pantheon of
Gods.
Mithraism: Mithraism is a soldier’s mystery cult that spun off from
Zorastrianism. It believes in a cosmic war between Ahriman, the God of Evil
and Ahura-Mazda, the God of Good, who PRE eventually triumph. Mithras is
one of Ahura-Mazda’s chief servants. It is a mystery cult, with secret rites,
ranks of initiation, and secret cult wisdom. It tended to be a soldier’s cult, as
its members believed they were preparing for the last battle.
The Augurs: Women were often of this role, using their divination to forecast
good or ill omens. Augurs are sought after for divination by many roman
nobles, and are not always just priests and priestesses.
The Gods
Jupiter is Ruler of the Gods. God of the Air. His rule is not albsolute, and the
other gods PRE argue with him. He sometimes gives select worshippers a
giant white eagle similar to the one which accompanies him.
Venus is Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Passion. Doves, works of art, and
jewelry are the common sacrifices. She is vain and jealous, and frequently
takes vengeance on those who claim to be more beautiful than she.
Apollo, God of the Sun, Prophecy, Music, and Archery, is a greater god. His
worshippers extend beyond to those who love music or worship the sun. He
sometimes aids his worshippers in several different ways, including lending
archery skill, giving magic arrows, healing, and granting prophetic advice. He
and his clerics are often harassed by Pan, from whom the position of God of
Music was taken.
Mars, God of War, is worshipped by those of evil and morally neutral
alignments. God of War, he is a greater god. He is opposed to Athena, who
represents a very different aspect of war. Ares’ province is battle lust and the
love of killing.
Diana is a lesser goddess, Goddess of the Hunt. She is associated strongly
with the moon. She never hunts for sport, but only for fwood.
Minerva is the Goddess of Wisdom and Combat. She represents the love of
style and the art of battle, and as such is opposed to Ares. To her lawful good
worshippers are added fighters; her clerics promote her worship aggressively,
and have contempt for clerics of other gods.
Ceres, a lesser goddess, is the Goddess of Agriculture, especially
associated with the growth of grains. All farmers are among her worshippers,
in addition to many others of her alignment.
Mithras, Mithraism was a soldier’s cult that spun off from Zorastrianism. It
believes in a cosmic war between Ahriman, the God of Evil and Ahura-Mazda,
the God of Good, who PRE eventually triumph. Mithras is one of AhuraMazda’s chief servants. It is a mystery cult, with secret rites, ranks of initiation,
and secret cult wisdom. It tended to be a soldier’s cult, as its members
believed they were preparing for the last battle. Mithras is lawful good.
Bacchus is God of Wine. He represents the fact that wine induces both
happiness and madness, and so is associated with joy, pleasure, and
camaraderie, but also with savage Bloodthirsty senseless violence.
Pluto, The God of the Underworld and Death. He has complete power over
the element of earth and most things made from it.
Vulcan is the God of Blacksmiths. As such, he is worshipped by all
metalworkers, including dwarfs. A number of fire creatures are known to
serve this lesser god in his forge within a volcano, including fire elementals,
efreet, and lesser demons.
Juno is the wife of Jupiter, Goddess of Marriage and Intrigue. This greater
goddess is worshipped by wives and intriguers and has been known to curse
errant huBands in response to the prayers of worshippers. She and her
clerics are known for their connection to revenge.
Mercury is God of Thieves, Liars, Gamblers, and Arbitrators. Many of his
worshippers are thieves. He is known for his speed, and his clerics must all
be able to run long distances. They are also noted arbitrators. Although he is
the messenger of the gods, he is a greater god himself.
Pan, a lesser god, is the God of Nature and Wild Passion. His worshippers
follow his alignment. He represents both the fertility of nature and its
destructive power. Although associated with music, he is at odds with Apollo,
who took that province from him, and Pan delights in playing practical jokes
against the sun god. Their clerics are also often at odds.
Neptune is indeed a greater god. As God of Seas, Oceans, Streams, and
Earthquakes. He is worshipped by all who depend on the sea in addition to
those of his own alignment. He is also creator of the horse, and PRE
sometimes reward his clerics with paladin-quality horses. Other responses to
their prayers usually involve providing water, including rain, springs, and
flwoods.
Vesta is the goddess of the hearth and home.
Isis is Goddess of Magic and Fertility.
Special Edges
Religion indicates the religion required to take the edge (if any).
R= Roman, C=christian, P=pagan, H=heathen
The edges column indicates the edges required to take the edge:
P= priest, M= magic, B=bard
A tick in the priest column indicates the priest edge is needed, a tick in the
magic column indicates the magic edge is needed.
A tick in the invoke column means a complex action is required to
activate the edge and its effect lasts for ten minutes unless noted
otherwise.
Taking an Edge multiple times
A character can take an edge more than once. Multiple edges of the same
type do not stack (so if you took the Aesir Blood edge twice you would still
only have +1 Intimidation, NOT +2).
The only reason to do this concerns the Craft Enchantment, Craft Talisman &
Benediction edges. Each time you use one of those edges you lose the use of
one of your instances of the edge given away (so a character who took
Protection three times could, for example, place two of the Protections in
talismans and still have one of them innate).
Religion
S
Edges
M
Aesir Blood
R, C
M
R, C
M
R
P
Aquarius
Ascendant
Aries
Ascendant
Augury
P, H, W
M
Bad Gesa
H
C, P, W
M
P or
M
Bear Totem
Bless
You have a touch of the Blood of the
Aesir gods, the more warlike of the Gods
and have inherited some of their
tremendous majesty and presence.
Receive a one-off +1 bonus to
Intimidation.
+1 to lore edges.
+1 to Fighting.
A half hour ritual, sacrificing a goat and
reading its entrails. Before starting the
augury the character describes their
intended course of action (eg.. to attack
at dawn). The augury then tells them
whether the omens are good for that
course of action, or bad, no more detail
than that though. An augury can only be
performed once per day.
You may curse someone, laying a Bad
Gesa on them but this permanently
reduces your LK by 1pt (see the
description of gesas in the section on
Pagan religion).
One off-bonus of +1 Strength Feat.
You can bless a character of your own
religion and they will receive +1 on the
very next roll they have to make. You
Any
P
Benediction
P
M
Blessing of
the Ceridwen
W
M
Blessing of
Aegir
P
M
Blessing of
Arawn
R
M
P
M
Blessing of
Bacchus
Blessing of
Brigit
R
M
Blessing of
Ceres
R
M
P
M
Blessing of
Diana
Blessing of
Dunatis
W
P
Blessing of
Forseti
W
M
W
M
Blessing of
Freya
Blessing of
Frigga
can only bless a given person once per
week. You can bless any number of
people simultaneously (blessing a group
of people is usually done by celebrating
mass). If the blessed character behaves
in a blatantly ungodly manner before
using the bonus they lose it.
You can pass on the benefit of any
magical (but not priestly) edge you have
to another character with a complex
action. You effectively give them your
blessing for ten minutes, you cannot use
it again yourself until that time has
elapsed unless you have taken the
blessing multiple times.
The blessed of the Ceridwen receive
unpredictable flashes of foresight at
random times. The GM may give a
character with this edge the occasional
clue or direction during an adventure.
You cannot die at sea.. even in the worst
storm you will somehow survive and be
carried to land by the wind and waves.
Those favoured by Arawn (Death) are
cloaked with an aura of fear and unease.
You radiate Fear 5.
You may always become instantly sober
no matter how drunk you are.
The favoured of Brigid (song,
enchantment & music), receive a one-off
bonus of +1 to the Entertain edge.
When defending a blood relative (either
physically or intellectually) gain +1 to
BODY & MIND.
Receive a one-off bonus of +1 to the
Wilderness Lore edge.
The favoured of Dunatis take on some of
the resilience of the rock he is the God
of, +1 Natural Armour.
When attempting any action to right a
wrong, to bring justice to
someone/something gain +1 to BODY &
MIND.
+1 to seduction & persuasion
You are able to touch the weather,
causing it to change in your local vicinity.
For every ten minutes you concentrate
P
M
Blessing of
Goibhnie
W
M
Blessing of
Idun
R
M
R
M
Blessing of
Isis
Blessing of
Janus
R
M
Blessing of
Juno
R
M
W
M
P
M
Blessing of
Jupiter
Blessing of
Loki
Blessing of
Lugh
P
M
R
M
R
M
R
M
R
M
24
Blessing of
Manannan
Mac Lir
Blessing of
Mars
Blessing of
Mercury
Blessing of
Minerva
Blessing of
the weather changes ‘up’ or ‘down’ one
step24. It stays changed for a few hours
then gradually reverts back to normal.
The change covers an area of a few
square miles (a typical hamlet and
surrounding fields).
The smith of the Gods. The character
knows the secret words and rituals to
bring out the magic in iron. A roll of
DOUBLE ONE when making an item
gives it a +2 bonus (normal mastercrafted items only get a +1 bonus).
The blessed of Idun may role an
additional dice when making Aging
checks and choose which of all the dice
rolled to use for the purposes of aging.
+3 to resist possession or spiritual
attacks of any kind.
Those favoured by Janus have power
over portals of all kinds. They receive +2
to force or pick locks or disarm any trap
or alarm.
+1 to Fighting & Marksmanship when
you are fighting to defend your
state/culture (so if you were a soldier
fighting an enemy of the state you would
get this bonus, but if fighting bandits you
would not. The enemy must pose a real
threat to the state).
The King of the Gods. Receive a one-off
bonus of +1 to Persuasion & Intimidation.
+1 to Disguise & Persuasion.
Lugh is famed for his prowess with a
spear, one of his epithets being ‘Lugh of
the Long Arm’. You can throw a spear +1
distance.
The favoured of Manannan Mac Lir have
a supernatural affinity for the sea. +1 to
Swim & Sea lore.
Mars is the God of War. Receive a oneoff bonus of +1 to Fighting.
Receive a one-off bonus of +1 to
INITIATIVE.
Receive a one-off bonus of +1 to all Lore
edges EXCEPT Wilderness Lore.
Mithras fights the forces of Evil. When
Still, Gentle breeze, Mild breeze, Strong breeze, Light rain, Mild rain, Heavy
rain, Storm, Terrible Storm, Hurricane
Mithras
R
M
Blessing of
Neptune
Blessing of
Nuada
P
M
P
M
Blessing of
Oghma
R
M
R
M
Blessing of
Pan
Blessing of
Pluto
W
M
Blessing of
Sigurd
P
M
Blessing of
Silvanus
C
M
H
M
Blessing of St.
Benedict
Healing
Trance
C
M
Blessing of St.
Blaise
fighting Faerie or Undead foes you get
+1 Fighting. It is up to the GM to
determine if a foe is evil.
Receive a one-off bonus of +1 to the sea
lore & swim edges.
Nuada has a silver arm. His blessed gain
tremendous resilience in one of their
arms and can use it to block blows. LK
points spent to reduce damage block 1
extra point than normal (so 2pts
normally, 3pts if you have the Hardy
edge as well).
Oghma gave the Celts the gift of writing.
The blessed of Oghma can read any
script, although they still have difficulty
with foreign or alien concepts even
though they understand the words.
Receive a one-off bonus of +1 to the
Entertain & Seduction edges.
You may attempt to command the
undead. Make a Willpower* roll and
compare to the targets Willpower. If your
Willpower is higher the undeads
Willpower it will obey a single command
from you. You can issue the same
command to multiple undead in one
complex action as a multiple attack (take
the appropriate penalty). If you beat their
Willpower by 4 or more they will
permanently stay with, and obey, you.
Sigurd favours the skilled in battle.
Whenever you slay a worthy adversary
in combat receive one XP (it is up to the
GM to decide if a given adversary is
worthy and killing a downed foe does not
gain the bonus).
The favoured of Silvanus are gifted with
the ability to speak the tongue of beasts.
They can converse with animals.
+1 to resist poison/disease.
You can heal damage to yourself at a
cost of 1 Fatigue per 2 damage
removed. Each point of damage
removed requires ten minutes in the
healing trance, during which time you
can do nothing else.
Patron saint of beasts. The character
has been blessed with the ‘The Gentle
Touch’ and gets +1 on all rolls relating to
C
M
Blessing of St.
Brigid
C
M
Blessing of St.
Christopher
C
M
C
M
C
M
C
M
Blessing of St.
Dymphna
Blessing of St.
Expeditus
Blessing of St.
Genesius
Blessing of St.
George
C
M
Blessing of St.
Guntramnus
C
M
Blessing of St.
Jude
C
M
C
M
C
M
C
M
C
M
C
M
C
M
Blessing of St.
Justin
Blessing of St.
Nicholas of
Myra
Blessing of St.
Pancras
Blessing of St.
Raphael
Blessing of St.
Sebastian
Blessing of St.
Sebastian
Blessing of St.
animals and beasts.
Patron saint of academics. +2 to rolls to
unearth information from
academic/library sources.
You are always know precisely where
you are and how to get to the nearest
path. This basically prevents a character
becoming lost, but it may not always be
effective against Faerie Glamours (the
GM decides whether it works or not in
such circumstances).
+1 to resist Fear checks.
+1 to trade lore & persuasion rolls
involving trade.
Patron saint of actors. +1 to disguise and
entertain.
Patron saint of England. The character is
considered a Holy warrior. The
characters attacks are supernaturally
empowered against evil forces (eg..
spirits, undead & faeries). You can strike
any such target, even if they are
normally immune to normal attacks.
Patron saint of murder. You cause an
additional +1 Damage from Flank
attacks.
Invoked in a hopeless situation (eg.. you
are caught in a well with on way out). All
remaining LK points are used up and
then something miraculously lucky
happens to get you out of the situation.
The GM may rule that the prayer fails if it
would be extremely disruptive to an
adventure.
+1 to Persuasion or Intimidation when
orating/ public speaking.
Patron saint of thieves. +1 to Stealth &
Climb.
Patron saint of justice. +1 to Discern
Intent.
Patron saint of healing. +1 Healing Lore.
Patron saint of defending the church. +1
Fighting when fighting non-christians.
Patron saint of the dead. +1 natural
Armour against attacks from the undead.
+1 to seduction and persuasion rolls.
Valentine
Blessing of St.
Vitus
C
M
C
M
P
M
P
M
Blessing of
the Dagda
P
M
Blessing of
the Morrigan
W
M
Blessing of
Thunor
R
M
Blessing of
Venus
R
M
R
M
Blessing of
Vesta
Blessing of
Vulcan
W
M
Blessing of
St.Elmo
Blessing of
the Blodwyn
Blessing of
Weyland
Patron saint of storms. You cannot be
killed by fire, lightning, cold or heat
damage.
Protection at Sea. You cannot drown.
The character can heal others, every
point of damage they remove from
another character adds 1pt of Fatigue to
you though.
The favoured of the Dagda promote
fertility wherever they settle. If a favoured
of the Dagda stays in a place for a month
or more the next harvest it has will be
+50% in size and women are 50% more
likely to conceive children than normal.
The favoured of the morrigan have a
touch of her gift of death. If they
incapacitate a target the target
automatically fails their LK roll, death is
instant. To avoid this the character can
use a Trick shot (-3) to not make the kill
automatic.
Those favoured by Thunor are capable
of entering a berserk fury at will. The
character has been touched by Berserk,
the Saxon war god and may fly into a
fury when fighting. At any time they may
opt to enter a berserk rage. Whilst
berserk they must attack, or move
toward, the nearest target in their
forward 90 degrees, friend or foe. Whilst
berserk they get +1 BODY. The berserk
ends when there is no target in their
forward arc. A berserk character is also
immune to mind effects such as unnerve,
terrify, paralysis or other type effects.
Venus is the Goddess of love. Receive a
+2 bonus to Seduction & Persuasion
tasks.
+1 to Fighting when you are defending
your home.
Vulcan is the smith of the Gods. A roll of
DOUBLE ONE when making an item
gives it a +2 bonus (normal mastercrafted items only get a +1 bonus).
Those favoured by Weyland are able to
use the runes in their crafting of items.
The character knows the secret words
and rituals to weave runes into things
W
M
Blessing of
Wotan
H
H
R, C
M
M
M
R, C
M
H
P
M
P
Boar Totem
Bull Totem
Cancer
Ascendant
Capricorn
Ascendant
Cat Totem
Raise Spirit
P
P
Divination
H
M
Dove Totem
S
M
H
M
Dwergar
(Dwarvish)
Blood
Eagle Totem
P, H
M
Feather foot
P, H
M
Gentle tread
S
M
Elves Blood
they make. A roll of DOUBLE ONE when
making an item gives it a +2 bonus
(normal master-crafted items only get a
+1 bonus).
The character may divine the future by
casting the runes. Once per game
session you may divine the future. Ask
the GM a simple question and they PRE
answer it honestly, perhaps with a simple
Yes or No or with a simple or even
cryptic vision. A casting takes around an
hour to perform.
+1 Endurance feat.
+1 Strength feat.
?work related
+1 to trade lore.
+1 Stealth
You may speak with the dead on a night
of the full moon. To do this you must
either be at the place the desired one
died, where their body is buried, or at a
place where they spent most of their
time. The spirit is summoned and will
answer 3 questions truthfully then fade
away back to the lands of the dead and
can never be summoned again.
You may sacrifice an animal and read its
entrails to try and predict the future or
divine the past. Once per game session
you may ask the GM a simple question
and they will answer it honestly, perhaps
with a simple Yes or No or with a simple
or even cryptic vision. The ritual takes
around an hour to perform.
You may use your LK points to protect
another character within line of sight.
You have a touch of the Blood of the
Dwarves and a powerful affinity with the
earth, +1 Endurance feat.
If you rally your allies from fear each
point you beat their Willpower by
reduces their Fear penalty by 2pts.
You may ignore any penalties for rough,
uneven or unstable footing when moving.
You feet make no sound when they
touch the ground.
You have a touch of the Blood of the
Any
P or
M
P
P
P
B or
M
P
M
Craft
Enchantment
elves about you giving you a portion of
their tremendous grace and agility.
Receive a one-off +1 bonus to
INITIATIVE.
This operates in the same way as the
Benediction ability but you must draw or
inscribe a mark onto the recipient of the
benediction (be it a person or object).
The gifted edge stays with that
person/object until the mark is erased,
the character giving it away cannot
recover the edge in any other way.
Pagans write the mark on Ogham,
Christians in Latin, Heathens in glyphs
and Wotanists in Runes. Once the edge
has been gifted you cannot use it again
until the mark is destroyed.
Marks can be drawn in a few seconds,
Inscribing them depends on the material,
from a few minutes in wood, tens of
minutes in metal to an hour for rock.
They can be tattooed into characters.
You may place as many runes on
something as you wish. If the creator of a
rune dies the rune still works. The
recipient of the rune need not have the
Priest or Magic edges and need not be
of the correct religion for the power to
work for them.
Craft Talisman Operates like the Craft enchantment
edge, but the edge is placed into an
object, the talisman, and whoever is
holding or wearing the talisman has the
power. If the talisman changes hand the
power goes with the talisman.
Destruction of the talisman returns the
power to the creator.
Ensorcel
You are able to ensorcel others with the
power and beauty of your voice. You can
make suggestions through song and
story lasting at least 5 minutes. All who
hear must make a Willpower* roll against
the Persuasion of the character. If they
fail they will tend to follow the
suggestion. If the suggestion is not
subtle, or goes against a characters
nature they may receive a Bonus of +1 to
+3 to resist it (GM’s call).
Faerie Pact
Go to a holy place, a faerie mound or
R, C
M
P, W
M
H
H
P, H
M
M
P or
M
H
M
S
M
P
P
P
M
R, C
M
R, C
M
P
P
P
P
Gemini
Ascendant
Good luck
similar and perform a brief ritual (33
minutes). At the end of that time the
Faerie you wished to summon will
appear to speak to you. At this time you
have thirty three minutes to conclude a
bargain with the Faerie.
+1 to seduction & persuasion.
Once per day you may re-roll a single
dice.
Hawk Totem
+1 Sight.
Rabbit Totem +1 Hearing.
Healing charm The character can heal others, every
point of damage they remove from
another character add 1pt of Fatigue to
you and takes 1 minute to heal.
Horse Totem
You can carry STR-3 before becoming
encumbered.
Jotuns
You have a touch of the Blood of the
(Giants) Blood Giants and have inherited a touch of
their great strength. Receive a one-off +1
bonus to Strength feat
Joy charm
You know the secrets of joy. If you speak
uninterrupted to someone for ten
minutes you can lighten their heart
however depressed or sad they are. The
happiness is a passing flight, persisting
only for an hour. If you can repeat this
process every day for a month the effect
becomes permanent.
Language
You can write a message in such a way
that only the intended recipient can read
it, no one else.
Leo
+1 to Leadership
Ascendant
Libra
+1 to any activity related to the law and
Ascendant
finding out the truth, for example
investigation.
Love spell
Does not need to be activated. The
character knows the words that can bind
anothers heart. They receive +1 to
Seduction & Persuasion rolls.
Madness &
You know the secrets of madness. If you
Joy
speak uninterrupted to someone for ten
minutes you can drive them temporarily
mad (your choice of the madness). The
madness is a passing flight, persisting
only for an hour. If you can repeat this
process every day for a month the effect
becomes permanent.
P
M
Mending
charm
H
M
Otter Totem
H
M
Owl Totem
P
P
Passion spell
R, C
M
P
M
Pisces
Ascendant
Armour
enchantment
P, H, W
P or
M
Protection
charm
P, C
P or
M
Protection
from magic
You can repair a broken item provided
you have all the component parts of it. If
any are missing you cannot repair it.
One-off +1 bonus to Entertain & Swim
edges.
You may imbibe a bitter potion (which
can be quickly made from the common
plants of the woodland) and the resultant
visions can be used to divine the past or
future, with the guidance of your totem
Owl spirit. Once per game session you
may divine the future. Ask the GM a
simple question and they will answer it
honestly, perhaps with a simple Yes or
No or with a simple or even cryptic
vision. The act of gathering the herbs
(which must be fresh) brewing the
potion, drinking it and going into the
vision trance takes around an hour and
the character takes a -3 fatigue penalty
at the end of the rite.
When this edge is used the character
using it is overwhelmed by a passion or
madness and has no self-control in the
matter. Passion is usually used in
conjunction with a talisman, whoever
puts the talisman on is possessed by the
passion.
+1 to any activity involving research
and/or creativity.
Requires a complex action to invoke the
spell, then you have +1 Armour for the
next hour.
You know the secret words which will
cause things not to harm you. Every time
you take this edge choose one thing you
are protected from. That thing cannot
harm you (examples would be: swords,
fire, maces, lightning, water, spears,
arrows). Note that is not the wielder of a
weapon you are protected from, but what
actually strikes you to cause damage.
You may spend a point of LK to negate
any magical effect on you, the negation
lasts for one minute (for example, if you
were being effected by a glamour a point
of LK negates the glamour for one
minute). This only negates the magic
which is directly effecting you. This spell
does not tell you if magic is being used.
R
P
R
P
W
P
R, C
M
C
M
H
C
M
P or
M
R, C
M
H
M
25
Rite of Isis
You may bless a dead body and a body
so blessed cannot be raised as an
undead or possessed by spirits. You can
only bless one body per hour in this way
(the rites take about an hour to perform)
Rite of Mithras The rite takes an hour to perform, but all
who participate in it receive +1 Fighting
until the next sunrise. The rite can only
be performed once per day and can
effect no more people than your LUCK
score.
Sacred Oath
You have the power to enforce a sacred
oath. When two parties are in dispute
they swear to speak the truth on an oath
ring in your presence. They can then be
questioned ‘under oath’ by anyone
present and if they tell a lie they are
cursed with ill-fortune. Such a curse
manifests as a -3 penalty to all actions
until they admit their lie and accept their
guilt. Needless to say lying under oath
will usually result in outlawing and/or
excommunication.
Sagittarius
+1 to Teaching.
Ascendant
Saintly
You are truly holy and radiate a palpable
aura which repels ungodly creatures
(Faeries, Undead & Spirits). Such
creatures have a -3 penalty to all actions
when in your presence.
Salmon Totem +1 Swim & Dodge.
Sanctify
You are able to make something ‘holy’
imparting a tiny part of Gods power to it.
Such things are anathema to ungodly
creatures (eg.. spirits, undead & faeries)
who cannot bear the presence of them
and PRE seek to flee from. Being in the
presence of a Sanctified object gives a 3 penalty to any actions by said
creatures. If such an item actually
touches such a creature it causes an
automatic Wound but the object
becomes defiled in the process and must
be resanctified25.
Scorpio
+1 to Stealth & Hearing.
Ascendant
Serpent
+2 to all rolls which involve deception.
Most Holy Artefacts are treated as Sanctified but they are not defiled by contact with ungodly
creatures.
Totem
Shape-shift
P, H, W
M or
P
H
M
Stag Totem
R, C
M
P, W, H
P
Taurus
Ascendant
Truthsaying
S
M
Vanir Blood
R, C
M
C
P or
M
Virgo
Ascendant
Warding
You can change form. Note how your
BODY varies from the normal score of 7.
When you shape-shift your animal forms
BODY varies in the same way. For
example, a character has BODY 8,
which is +1 from the norm. They
transform into a wolf BODY 6. This
characters wolf form has a BODY of 7
(the wolfs normal BODY plus their
modifiers from the norm). A shapeshifted
character has no change to MIND or
LUCK but there is always a risk of their
animal instincts exerting themselves. If
you roll DOUBLES when shape-shifted
your animal side has exerted itself and
you must behave in a fashion
appropriate to that animal in that
circumstance. If the animal possess
edges you do not you gain there use as
long as you are transformed.
One-off bonus of +1 Fighting &
Willpower.
+1 to Farming lore & trading lore.
You are able to discern when someone
is lying to you. Receive a +1 bonus to
resist deception or deceit.
You have a touch of the Blood of the
Vanir, the Gods who are more in tune
with the land and fertility and are
considered wise. Receive a one-off +1
World lore.
+1 to Healing lore.
You have power over the spirits of the
dead, faeries, demons and other ungodly
forces. You can attempt to ward such
creatures, driving them from your
presence or even destroying them. To
use this power you must pray and
rebuke the creature(s) as a Complex
action. If using this against multiple
creatures treat it as a multiple attack,
reducing your Willpower based on the
number of creatures. Roll d6-d6 and add
to your Willpower then compare to the
target creature(s) Willpower.
-1 or less: no effect and you cannot use
this power again until you have spent
P, W, H,
C, R
P or
M
Warning
charm
P
M
Water words
H
M
Wild-hearted
H
M
Wolf Totem
three hours praying and meditating.
0: no effect
1: creature may not attack
2: Creature must retreat from your
presence but can return to the location
when you have gone.
3: Creature must retreat from your
presence can cannot return to this
location ever again.
4+: Creature destroyed
When this edge is taken choose
something. You will instinctively know
when that thing is close by to you (GM’s
decision on how close is close in any
given circumstance) you are alerted to
the threat, but not to its direction. Note
that the warning can apply to abstracts
such as lies, anger etc… things, events,
locations or people.
You know the secret words which
command water to avoid you. You can
walk through rain or even swim without
becoming damp, if submerged you will
not drown but will die through
asphyxiation.
You must have a totem edge. The
characters link with their totem is very
strong. If they roll DOUBLES ONES at
any time the totem spirits nature
momentarily overwhelms them and they
must act in a fashion appropriate to their
totem. If you have multiple totems the
GM should choose which one effects you
depending on the circumstances.
+1 to Smell & Wilderness lore.
Sidhe Blood (Celt or Pict)
The character has faerie Blood in their lineage. They can buy the sidhe edges
listed below.
Religion Priest Magic
Diseases of the Dark Ages
Flu: influenze, mostly non-fatal but can be lethal to those in a weakened
condition.
Impetigo: Any kind of skin disease causing pustules to erupt on the
epidermus. The Arab practice is to lance the boils. The Church instead only
bleeds the patient (which only weakens him).
Leprosy: A horrid disease that corrodes the epidermis of the body. Medieval
mortals fear this disease like no other. Accordingly, lepers are the subjects of
strict laws passed by the clergy in an effort to prevent the disease's spread.
Lepers are required to wear identifying clothing: a tall scarlet hat and a black
robe embroidered with white patches. Additionally, lepers must signal their
approach by clicking a pair of castanets. Though lepers are ostracized by
society, leper colonies do exist. Some mortals show compassion for these
poor souls, clothing and feeding them when the opportunity arises. Other
towns, however, have hanged or burned lepers, even those found miles
outside of the town gates.
Pneumonia: This disease takes its highest toll during the winter. The
symptoms are fever and difficulty in breathing.
Scabies: A parasitic mite is the cause of this contagious disease. The mite
burrows into the skin of its victim, where it lays eggs. The result is a terrible
itching sensation.
Scurvy: Fresh fruits are scarce in Europe. What little can be harvested rests
in the hands of the nobles and clergy, so most people are restricted to a diet
of meats, breads, and vegetables, which are usually rank or stale. The result
of this scorbutic eating habit is scurvy. Bleeding gums are some of the
symptoms of this disease.
Smallpox: A great killer on all levels of feudal society. Smallpox is a highly
contagious viral disease that sweeps through entire families and small villages,
killing all within months of its onset. Smallpox victims suffer from prolonged
vomitting and fever. Additionally, red, fluid-filled pustules appear on the
surface of the skin. These pustules often burst, leaving the sufferer prone to
infection with additional diseases.
St. Anthony's Fire: This is the name given for any skin disease that causes
fever and skin inflammation. The ailment stems from the consumption of
bread grains tainted with a poisonous fungus.
St. Vitus' Dance: This colorful title denotes a peculiar collective mental
disorder. Those stricken with this disease dance hand-in-hand foaming at the
mouth, until they fall unconscious from exhaustion. St Vitus sufferers are
treated with relative care and compassion, but are forbidden treatment from
doctors and hospitals unless they are potentially dangerous to others. At
times they are bound to the rood screen in a church, the idea being that by
attending mass, their affliction PRE, by the grace of God, be albsolved.
Exorcism is believed to be the only cure for the Dance, as the clergy believes
victims of this malady to be possessed. The sign of the cross is commonly
shaved into the sufferers' hair. St Vitus' Dance is not contagious.
Typhoid: This deadly disease stems from the consumption of food or water
contaminated with fecal matter. This contagion is customarily suffered by
those who live within the city walls, and is swiftly spread by the poor sewer
systems and general unsanitary conditions endemic of 12th-century cities.
Symptoms of typhoid include intestinal disorders and dysntery.
The Three Realms
There are three realms which are parallel but separate
 The mortal realm
 The land of faerie
 The land of the dead
The mortal realm
The mortal realm is the realm of man.
The land of faerie
The land of faerie is inhabited by faeries and other strange creatures. It
can be reached through gateways which are scattered throughout the land,
usually in wild places such as deep woods, desolate hilltops, mountainous
valleys etc… Most gateways have been marked by the ancients with stone
circles, menhirs and such like.
Some gateways are always open, some are one-way only, some only
open at certain times of the year, some can be opened by those blessed in
certain ways.
Faerie creatures sometimes wander through gates and may be
encountered in the area around the gate.. where they will tend to stay in the
hope of returning home. The divide between the three realms also tends to be
weak where gates are located, so the dead may also appear.
Time and distance in faerie do not have a constant relationship with
time and distance in the mortal realm. Time spent in faerie, or a journey
through Faerie can have little relationship to time and distance travelled in the
mortal realm. So a character could step through a gate.. walk a few miles to
another gate and return to the mortal realm to find only a few seconds had
passed, or if they took a slightly different path decades may have passed..
and the gates might be only a few miles apart in Faerie but could hundreds of
miles apart in the mortal realm.. or only a few yards apart.
The land of the dead
When a mortal dies their spirit goes to the land of the dead.. a ghostly
realm of shades and darkness. Such spirits are usually not consciously aware
and their ‘personality’ rapidly fades. Where the barriers between realms is
weak the spirits of the dead may manifest in the mortal realm, often they pose
no threat to the living.. although some (Wraiths) may hunger for the heat and
light of the living and pose a threat.
Ghosts are a form of undead which occur when a mortal dies with
some major business unfinished, the ghost will tend to manifest in places
which the mortal had strong links to and will haunt such places until the
business is resolved.
The spirits of great warriors buried in mounds may sometimes stay
linked to the mounds to protect them, manifesting as semi-corporeal wights.
Mortals given a Christian burial do not go to the land of the dead…
their spirits transmigrate to ‘heaven’ a place which cannot be accessed from
the mortal realm.
Artefacts
The great wars between Mu (Lemuria) and Atlantis scattered many
potent magic artefacts through the world. There creation is a lost art but
these items still appear from time to time. Some examples;
Lemurian Mist Sword; a long-sword which has a blade which appears to be
comprised of shaped mist. Treat it as a normal long-sword but it can strike
incorporeal creatures. On the open market such a weapon is worth around
1000 silvers.
Atlantean Golem
The Golem is an atlantean fighting machine, constructed and powered by a
magical mechanical heart. The one is this adventure is crafted into the
armoured form of an atlantean warrior.
13/7/Fear 7
Strength Feat 12
Heavily Armoured (counts as wearing heavy armour, +6 armour)
Iron Fists (+4 damage)
Mechanical Heart (a trick shot with a ranged weapon or by the character
being attacked this round dislodges the cover. A Second trick-shot under the
same conditions destroys the heart and the Golem stops)
Oil of life (a trick shot with a ranged weapon or by the character being
attacked this round to the golems belly button knocks the plug out, it takes 1
damage per round until all the oil has drained away when it locks solid)
When confronted by a golem make a LK(Legend Lore)*11 roll to know about
the two weaknesses above.
Notes: the Golem does not have the Fighting edge, so it attacks &
defends at only 10. It’s Body 13 lets it take 13 damage before being
incapacitated but it has +6 Armour! Its massive iron fists cause +5
damage though).
Denizens of the World
Animals
The damage column is the damage modifier for the animals natural attack, if
any.
Animal Stats
Speed
Damage Notes
STR/INITIATIVE/TGH/INT/PRE/LK
Wolf
7/10/7/1/7/8
10
Hawk
1/16/4/1/8/5
Wildboar
Bear
12/20 in
a dive
10
15/7/10/1/5/11
10
Bull
17/5/9/1/5/4
11
Cow
16/5/9/1/5/4
10
Pony
12/8/8/1/7/7
9
Palfrey
14/8/10/1/7/7
11
Draft
horse
16/8/11/1/7/7
9
Dog
5/9/7/1/6/6
12
Cat
11
Wildcat
11
Red
Deer
Doe
Red
Deer
Stag
Fallow
Deer
Fallow
Stag
+1
(teeth)
+1
(talons)
+1
(tusks)
+1
(claws
and
fangs)
+2
(horns)
+1
(hooves)
+1
Mainly
(hooves) for
carrying
loads
+1
A riding
(hooves) horse
+1
A horse
(hooves) bred to
pull
heavy
loads
+1
(teeth)
+1
(claws)
+1
(claws)
+0
7/11/6/1/5/6
11
8/11/7/1/5/7
11
+1
(antlers)
5/11/5/1/5/3
10
+0
6/11/6/1/5/4
10
+1
(antlers)
8
+0
HUMANS
Average 777777
Human
Poor
8/8/8/7/7/7
Fighter
Fighter
8/8/8/7/7/7
8
8
Weapon
Veteran
Fighter
9/9/9/7/7/7
8
Elite
Fighter
9/9/9/7/7/7
8
mastery:
one
weapon
+1
Weapon
mastery:
one
weapon
+1
Weapon
mastery:
one
weapon
+2
Faeries
Faeries are considered to be Ungodly by Christians.
Different faeries fall into 4 groupings; Hobs, Bogeys, Folk & Spirits.
Hobs: hobs are the most common type of faeries. They come in a bewildering
array of shapes and sizes but are generally helpful, although prone to causing
mischief.
Bogeys: bogeys are the more dangerous forms of faeries. Most are illtempered and hostile to those with human blood. Their moods tend to swing
from mischievously malicious to outright dangerous.
Folk: the folk are the most ancient, powerful and regal Faeries. They are
cultured and form the aristocracy of the faerie world. In addition the pets and
livestock of the folk are classed in this group.
Most Faeries are sensitive to one of more of the following things; the
detailed description of each type of Faerie notes its vulnerabilities.
 Fire
 Silver
 Rowan
 Cold Iron







Turn clothes inside out (a glove turned
inside out and tossed into a faerie ring
will disperse the revellers)
Bells
Iron
o A knife in the doorway
o a nail in the pocket
o open scissors hung above a baby's cot
Carry the Bible
Running Water
Bread
Rowan and red thread (in the case of the
scots, a red ribbon attached over the front
door or tied to the tails of cattle -this was
to discourage witches. Elsewhere a red cloth
was sometimes tied round children's chests as











protection against the little people)
Salt
Ancient churchyard mold
Daisy chains
Stones with a hole through it
Horseshoes (moon symbol and iron combined)
A sock under the bed
A knife under the pillow
A twig of broom
St. John's wort
The burning of thorns on top of a faerie hill
will release captive children
Shoes placed with toes facing away from
the bed
If you walk nine times around a fairy rath at the full of the moon you will find the entrance to
the Sifra; but if you enter beware of eating fairy food or drinking fairy wine.
On Fridays the fairies have special power over all things and chiefly on that day they select
and carry off young mortal girls as brides for the fairy chiefs.
Fairies are passionately fond of music; it is therefore dangerous for a young girl to sing all
alone by the lake, for the spirits will draw her down to them to sing to them in the fairy palace
under the waves, and her people will see her no more.
In Connaught, the people have many strange superstitions of great antiquity. If a child spills
its tin of milk on the ground, the mother says: "That is to the fairies, leave it to them and
welcome" and the child is never scolded, lest that might bring ill luck. For the fairies hate
everything that is mean being of themselves of a bright, free, joyous nature; except, indeed
the Banshee, who is the spirit of sorrow and doom.
The fairies like people who are kind and considerate, and who leave food on the dresser and
fire in the grate at night for when they hold their councils; yet not too much fire, for they dislike
smoke, and the good woman of the house must never throw out water after dark, without
saying: "Take care of the water", for the fairies are very nice in their ways, and resent any
such chance as might spoil their pretty gay caps and feathers. They greatly desire human aid
and are very clever and acute in obtaining it.
The fairy doctors are generally females. Old women, especially, are considered to have
peculiar mystic and supernatural power. They cure chiefly by charms and incantations,
transmitted by tradition through many generations; and by herbs, of which they have a
surprising knowledge.
Place a small bit of iron near or around your bed to protect from faerie intrusions.
Faeries love to look at their reflections in pools of water but hate mirrors, hanging up mirrors
near the entrance to your home will ward of fae folk.
One of the best things to see a faerie with is a small stone or shell that has a hole worn
through it from water rushing over it. Peek through and you shall see the entrance to Faerie
Land.
Tie up a bundle of twigs from the oak, ash and thorn, this will generally protect against
faeries.
The sound of bells is thought to frighten faeries away also.
Fairies love milk but if you lace the milk with mothan (also called pearl-wort) it will render the
fairy powerless against humans.
Tossing a hot coal into the butterchurn will keep fae folk from stealing the butter.
Beltane and Mid Summer are two occasions when one is more apt to see fae folk.
Faerie music is very beautiful, even the popular song Londonderry Air was thought to be a gift
from the fairies.
Fairies are attracted to pretty rocks and stones. Most notably, staurolite (also known as faery
cross), fluorite, peridot, jade, and their favorite, the emerald.
Ankou: Sometimes called the King of the Dead. He collects souls upon their
death and escorts them to the land of the dead. Traveling with his own
subjects he is a feared fairy that is mainly seen on November Eve.
Asrai: An ancient water fairy in female or male form that lives in the sea. They
are rarely seen and only at night. They are sometimes called sea ghosts
because of their extremely pale, translucent skin. Legend states that they
must not be exposed to the sun lest they dissolve into a pool of water.
Banshee [Conceal, Reveal, Divination]: Sometimes called the "washer
woman" because she sits on the banks of streams and rivers frantically
washing Bloodstains from a white shirt. She is similar to the Bean:Sidhe in
that she also foretells death.
Bean Fionn: Also called Jenny Greentooth, she is a malevolent fairy who
lives underwater in streams and lakes. She can be either beautiful or hideous
and is known to reach up from her watery depths and drag young children
under the water with her.
Bean Tighe: Sometimes called the "King of the Dead". He is similar to the
Ankou in that he collects souls upon their death and escorts them to the land
of the dead. Traveling his own familiar paths in black with a black cart he is
mainly seen on November Eve.
Bogey: actually a whole family of small spirits which inhabit different places. If
well treated they will help out around the place at night when everyone else is
asleep.
Boggart [Compel, Conceal, Curse, Transform]: the Boggart is a Browine
turned bad. Where the Brownie is shy and helpful the Boggart is cruel and
mischevious, playing tricks on the house-hold it is in.
Brag: an evil shape-shifting faerie full of evil tricks who takes great delight in
causing grievous harm to mortals.
Brag
Evil shape-shifting Faerie.
888586
Formless (A Brag can freely swap its STR, INITIATIVE & TGH Stats round on
its turn, they then stay in their new form until its next turn)
Deadly Claws (+2 damage)
Regeneration (A Brag heals 1pt of damage per round, except damage from
fire or acid which heals normally)
Brownie [Conceal, curse, heal, reveal]: A scruffy small brown male fairy
who wears dirty, torn clothing and likes to live with humans. They like to help
with chores but also like to be left alone. They expect small rewards and will
abandon a home when there is no extra milk and cakes left for them. The
Brownie is generally helpful unless they are crossed then they become mean
and ill:tempered.
Buttery Sprites [Compel, Delude]: Buttery Sprites are from England and no
one has ever seen one, but they are known because of missing fwood and the
revenge they seek against humans who have cheated others. They live in the
abbeys and inns of England, which is where they have revenge on humans
they believe cheat others or are hypocrites. The Buttery Sprites like to torment
unscrupulous priests and abbots. They get their name because fresh butter is
their favorite fwood which they feel free to steal.
Cailleac Bhuer: Also called the Blue Hag or Stone Woman. She originates in
Scotland and is an old woman of human size who walks by night with a
walking stick made of holly with the carved head of a crow on top. A large
carrion crow sits on her left shoulder and a touch from her magical staff
means instant death to a human. If her staff is found unattended it will give its
owner the power of enchantment.
Changeling: Some fairies love beautiful human babies and will steal them
and leave an old, near:death fairy in their place. Humans have been known to
place iron bars on or in their baby cradles to protect them from such thefts.
Corrigan: These female fairies are enchanted to forever roam the earth as
beautiful blonde women by day and repulsive old hags by night. Legend
states that if a mortal man loves the old hag and beautiful woman equally the
enchantment is lifted.
Duergarrs: A male dwarf fairy approximately 2 feet tall. They are unfriendly to
humans and guard fairy paths and hills.
Elves: Elves are small and thin with pointed ears and sinewy bodies. Despite
their small stature they are very intelligent and industrious and play a major
part in the land of fairy.
Erdluitle: These faeries have webbed feet which they try to keep hidden so
they won't be embarrassed. They can't swim and they wear hwoods, smocks,
and long cloaks that drape over their feet. These faeries were helpful to
farmers, but now dislike humans. They are from Switzerland, Northern Italy
and Western Austria.
Fenoderee: Fenoderees are from the Isle of Man and are solitary faeries that
help farmers. They aren't very bright or attractive because they are nude with
patches of coarse brown hair.
Gancanagh: A legendary beautiful male fairy who enjoys seducing mortal
women to fall in love with him and then disappearing only to leave them to
search for him until their deaths.
Ghillie Dhu: These are tree fairies who disguise themselves as leaves and
love to play pranks on human travelers who unknowingly have ventured into
their forest.
Glastig: An infamous fairy who is believed to no longer exist. A beautiful
woman fairy of human size who attempts to lure mortal human males to be
her companion and is friendly until they notice her goat hooves. Then she
either drowns them or drains them of their blood.
Gnomes or Dwarves: Earth fairies who age very quickly. They seem to have
been born old and they live for hundreds of years. They are very intelligent
and they make their homes in hollowed out trees or partly underground. They
vary in personalities and temperament.
Gwragedd Annwn: A beautiful blond fairy of human size who is helpful and
kind to humans. She lives near lakes. They often take human husbands.
Gwyllions: Either male or female they live in the mountains and tend goats
but also have a disturbing habit of sitting on rocks above roads and staring
eerily at passing travellers.
Goblins and Hobgoblins: A name given by humans to the mean,
mischievous elves who sometimes haunt their homes.
Hamadryadniks: These faeries are tree spirits and appear as living foliage.
But these faeries hate humans, unlike the dryads and Hamadryads. Unlike
other spirits of trees, the Hamadryadnik emerges from his perch during the
day instead of at night to get for fwood and secure its domain. When humans
appear they can freeze and blend into the background. They detest people
who so ruthlessly continue to destroy the forest land and would like to do us
harm, but they don't seem to be able to figure out how to accomplish this.
They are from Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
Knockers: Dwarf fairies who live underground and are expert miners.
Leanan Sidhe (lan-awn-shee): the Fairy Mistress similar to the
Lhiannan:Shee, except she is given a more benevolent description by Lady
Wilde in Ancient Legends of Ireland: 'The Leanan:Sidhe, or the spirit of life,
was supposed to be the inspirer of the poet and singer, as the Ban:Sidhe was
the spirit of death, the foreteller of doom.' Her inspiration comes at a price, in
that poets and artists fueled by her die an early death. A character who is
taken as a lover by a Leana:Sidhe loses 1 Stamina per month, when they
have dropped to 1 Stamina they begin to lose Body points and when they
reach 0 Body they die, prematurely aged. Whilst the lover of such a being
though the character gets +8 to all rolls of an artistic nature!
Nucklavee: a truly terrifying creature. It looks like a malformed centaur with
the skin flayed from its body. The Nucklavee curses crops around it and
actively humans which it considers a delicacy. It is only found in coastal areas
and cannot cross fresh water.
Ogre: giant man-eating savages, once common throughout the land but now
thankfully driven deep into the wilderness. Although some can be find on the
fringes of settlements, the edges of blasted moors, deep caves etc.. They are
tall, stupid, ugly and phenomenally strong. Ogres suffer no averse effects
from cold iron.
Leprechauns: A solitary male fairy with the cunning ability to steal or find
treasure. He loves riddles and dares others to find the treasure that he has
hidden, sometimes so well that he himself cannot find it.
Red Cap: a cruel faerie which looks like a short stunted man. They live in
ruined towers and actively hunt those who come curiously to such places,
dying their caps in the Blood of their victims, hence their name. Despite their
small size they are tremendously strong.
Lhiannan-Shee: A beautiful vampiric fairy who has been said to either drain
her victims of Blood or collects it in a cauldron where she performs spells and
rituals to keep herself youthful and beautiful.
Lunantisidhe: An extremely thin, wiry old hairless man with pointed ears,
long teeth, arms and fingers. He travels in a group that climb and lives in the
Blackthorn trees. They despise humans and will go to great lengths to harm
them if their beloved trees are trodden upon.
Masseriol: These faeries dress in red, are always male, has a big laugh and
an elderly face. Masseriols can be very helpful, but they have a high opinion
of themselves. Their name means "little farmer" and they occasionally help
out on farms as long as they don't get dirty. These faeries also fancy
themselves as a ladies man and especially likes young girls. Masseriols are
from Northern Italy and Iberian Peninsula.
Mermaids: Also called the merpeople, mermen, merrows. A generally gentle
fairy who lives in the sea with a human torso and fish tail. They sometimes
travel upstream and have been known to take human lovers to their
underwater kingdoms.
Puck: This male fairy looks like a satyr with a boys head and the body of a
goat. He is playful and loves to play his pipes throughout the forests which
entices all the animals and fairies alike to follow his melodious music.
Selkies: Selkies appear as seals but are able to shed their sealskins and walk
on land in female or male form.
Spriggans: A fairy monster who is able to inflate himself and float along the
countryside. They sometimes appears as rocks or stones and create havoc
on those who cross their paths.
Tuatha Dé Danann: Also called the Gentry. They are the earliest fairies.
Their goddess was Dana. They are the origin of the fairy race.
Firbolg: man-sized creatures, ugly and evil. The firbolg used to rule Ireland
before they were driven into the hidden corners of the world by the Tuatha.
The Firbolg often lower themselves to consort with men to overthrow the
despised tuatha.
Fomorians: the Fomorians are monstrous giants who hate everything that
lives aside from themselves. They barely tolerate the Firbolg and hate the
Tuatha. Fomorians are incredibly strong, are skilled magicians and terrible
carnivores, eating beasts and men with equal gusto.
Fachan: a monstrous creature which has one great leg, a single eye and
single great arm that protrudes from his chest below his eye. Fachans tend to
evil and usually carry a great iron club wrapped with chains and metal ‘apples’.
Ellyon: the tiny thimble sized fairies of childrens books which haunt the
country side.
Gwyllon: the antithesis of the Gwragedd Annwn. The creatures are withered
old crones which frequent the high mountains and eat travellers. They often
shapeshift into the form of goat to wait a chance to slay someone.
Joint Eater: a horrible, usually invisible, formless spirit which attaches itself to
a person. Any meals the person eats have no nutritional value and eventually
they will waste away and die regardless of how much they eat. They only way
to avert this fate is to drive away the spirit.
Trolls: trolls are large rubbery beasts which traditionally like to live under
bridges or in caves. They shun the sun and consider humans to be good
eating. Most trolls can regenerate damage (not fire though) very rapidly.
Will o'the Wisp: Also called Fairy Lights, Elf:fire, Hobbedy's Lantern or Night
Whispers. Small winged fairies whose glowing lights can be seen at dusk in
the meadows and grassy hills
The Undead
The undead are ungodly creatures which seem to plague the living for one
reason or another.
Skeletons:
Zombies:
Wights: wights are malign creatures which tend to inhabit the places where
the dead have long been buried. They feed off the light and warmth of living
souls and their touch conveys a terrible chilling cold. If a wight is able to slay a
living person that person will rise again as a wight in due course.
Wraiths: a wraith is much like a wight but has no physical form. It is a
creature of mist and shade.
Ghosts: ghosts are not the souls of the dead, they are a manifestation of
intense emotion at the moment of death. When a person dies in a state of
great emotion a ghost will likely form. The ghosts entire reason to exist is to
resolve that emotional state. Once the issue which caused that emotional
state has been resolved the ghost will dissipate naturally and vanish.
The Other World
The other-world is the realm of Faerie. It is divided into a multitude of different
lands, each with unique characteristics. Normally earth and the otherworld do
not interact but sometimes gates can open between the worlds, or the barriers
can weaken. In the case of gate the denizens of the worlds can intermingle
and pass through. A weakening of the veil is more subtle in nature, with
strange events occurring in the real world, though no overt presence of the
Faeries. Holy places often have a weaker veil than normal places, and in such
places strange things happen more often, and it is easier for gates to open, or
be opened.
The Sidhe
The inhabitants of the otherworld are called the Sidhe. There are many forms
of Sidhe. The most humanlike are the Tuatha de Danan who came to our
world some time ago. The Tuatha defeated the firbolg,primitive tribesmen,
then defeated the Fomorians, a race of creatures of similar power to the
Tuatha but hideously ugly, where the Tuatha were radiantly beautiful.
The Tuatha are rarely encountered in the dark ages time period, having
largely retired ‘below the hill’. Most humans encounter the lesser Faeries and
occasionally the Fomori or Tuatha.
Faeries
The following items have power of Faeries:
Cold Iron, Salt, Rohan Wood, Ash & Holy Symbols.
If the GM permits you to create a faerie character of the one of the races
below the +/- entry in brackets after a Stat indicates the modifier to be applied
to that Stat during character generation.
Animal Stats
Secondary Stats
Notes
STR/INITIATIVE/TGH/INT/LUC/PRE INITIATIVE
/MOV/ATT/DEF/RATT/PRE
FAERIES
8(+1)79(+2)777
6(-1)8(+1)79(+2)77
K7I577
Earthsense26
Regeneration27
Ghost
F6A568
UNDEAD
-8879C
Ghouls
9(+2)77
Dwarves
Elves
Giant
(6m tall)
Troll
Skeleton 777149
Zombie
A5B13A
The Silent Death (Faerie)
The silent death is a jet-black man-sized creature which loves to feast on
human flesh. Enchanters/resses sometimes conclude Faerie pacts with these
creatures to assassinate people. The Silent Death demands a death for its
services, if it kills the target that is adequate, if not it will come looking for the
person it has the pact with and try to slay them.
26
Earthsense is the ability to detect features and other living things in total
darkness by sensing the movement of air, heat patterns etc… This only works
in enclosed spaces, such as caves, and negates any penalties for the lack of
light.
27 Regeneration: trolls regenerate quickly from wounds cause by anything
except fire or acid. They heal 1pt of END per round, fire or acid damage heals
at normal rates.
28 Incorporeal creatures can only be struck by magical or blessed weapons.
29 Possession: a ghost must make a successful melee attack to touch their
target. If they succeed they compare PRE* to the targets PRE. A success
margin of 1 means the ghost temporarily possesses the target and is now in
control of the targets body for ten minutes. On a 4+ result it has possessed
the target and is there until some measure is used to drive it out, it does not
leave after a set time duration.
30 Fear: the creature causes fear in living things. Any character seeing it must
roll (d6-d6) and add to Willpower (their choice). If their modified PRE is
greater than or equal to the creatures Fear they are okay, otherwise all Stats
are reduced by the amount creatures Fear exceeds their modified PRE. This
penalty remains until they have left the sight of the creature and ten minutes
have passed.
31 Paralysing Bite: Ghouls get +1 attack against opponents who are not
immune to poisons, due to their paralysing venomous bite.
Incorporeal28
Possession29
Fear 1030
Fear 8
Paralysing
Bite31
Fear 9
+1 defense
against
spears,
arrows/bolts &
swords
Fear 8
11/9/Fear 9
Fighting
Claws (+1 damage)
Fire Walk (the silent death can use any flame as a gate to Faerie, but it
cannot create a flame, the flame must already be there)
Silence (anyone within 5m of the silent death cannot communicate or hear
anything)
INITIATIVE 10 ATT 12 DEF 12 DMG 14 TGH 11 MOV 8 (15m/round)
The silent death may attempt to grab and throw an opponent, this is a trick
shot (-3 attack) but if successful it picks them up and then throws them, on its
next turn, a distance equal to its STR-their STR. If it throws them into a wall
they are Stunned, if it throws them into another character they are both
Stunned but this requires a normal attack to hit the other character! If the
Silent Death realises it is in danger of defeat it will try to escape.
The Undead
Skeleton, Zombie, Wraith, Wight, Ghost, Liche