For our purposes, fantasy is any genre that has magic, or something so inexplicable it might as well be magic. The sort of core default of this type is Tolkienesque fantasy, also known as second-world fantasy because it includes a completely new world not our own. Big fantasy epics like those penned by J. R. R. Tolkien (hence the name), C. S. Lewis, George R. R. Martin, Stephen R. Donaldson, David Eddings, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others are indicative of this genre. It usually involves swords, sorcery, nonhuman species (such as elves, dwarves, helborn, and half-giants), and epic struggles.
Of course, fantasy might also involve the modern world, with creatures of myth and sorcerers dwelling among us. It might involve mythic traditions of any number of cultures (elves, dwarves, and the like, usually being decidedly European) or bear little resemblance to anything on Earth, past or present. It might even involve some of the trappings of science fiction, with spaceships and laser guns amid the wizardry and swords (this is often called science fantasy).
Fantasy can also be defined by the amount of fantasy elements within it. A second-world fantasy filled with wizards, ghosts, dragons, curses, and gods is referred to as high fantasy. Fantasy with a firmer grounding in reality as we know it in our world is low fantasy. (In fact, low fantasy often takes place in our world, or in our world’s distant past, like the stories of Conan.) No single element indicates concretely that a given fantasy is high or low. It’s the prevalence of those elements.
The point is, there are many, many types of fantasy.
| Role | Character Type |
|---|---|
| Warrior | Warrior |
| Knight | Warrior |
| Ranger | Explorer |
| Barbarian | Explorer flavored with combat |
| Thief | Explorer flavored with stealth |
| Wizard | Adept |
| Cleric | Speaker flavored with magic |
| Druid | Explorer flavored with magic |
| Warrior mage | Warrior flavored with magic |
| Bard | Speaker |
level 1
level 3, attacks as level 4
level 1, Speed defense as level 3 due to size and quickness
level 3, balancing and climbing as level 4; damage inflicted 4 points
level 4; health 15; moves a long distance each round
level 4; Armor 1; swims a short distance each round
level 4, attacks and perception as level 5; Armor 1
level 2, perception as level 3
level 3, attacks and perception as level 4
level 5; health 20; Armor 1
level 3; Armor 5; damage inflicted 5 points; flies a short distance each round
level 3, climbing and attacks as level 4
level 6; Armor 4; pincer attack holds prey and automatically inflicts damage each turn until the target succeeds at a Might or Speed defense task
level 3
level 5, Might defense and stealth as level 6; health 25; attacks four times as an action
level 4; Armor 2; damage inflicted 4 points plus 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Might defense task
level 4; health 18; Armor 2; damage inflicted 4 points plus 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Might defense task
level 2, Speed defense as level 3 due to shield; health 8; Armor 2
level 2, attacks as level 3; damage inflicted 3 points
level 4, perception as level 5; Armor 1; flies a long distance each round
level 5; health 20; Armor 1
level 2; flies a long distance each round
level 3, attacks as level 4; flies a long distance each round.
level 3; moves a long distance each round
level 4; climbing, jumping, stealth, and attacks as level 5; Armor 1
level 5, attacks as level 6; Armor 1
level 3; Armor 1
level 6; ancient history, ancient religion, climbing, and stealth as level 8; health 24; Armor 2; damage inflicted 7 points
level 3, stealth and positive social interactions as level 6
level 3, Speed defense as level 4; moves or flies a long distance each round
level 3; Armor 1; flies a long distance each round
level 1
level 6; health 25; Armor 2; flies a long distance each round; attacks twice as an action
level 3, attacks as level 4; health 15; Armor 2
level 1, attacks as level 3, Speed defense as level 3 due to quickness and size; health 5; Armor 1
level 4; Might defense, perception, and attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 1; makes two attacks as its action; once per hour can teleport up to 1 mile; once per hour can heal a creature for 4 Pool points (or health) and remove poisons up to level 4
level 2; bite inflicts 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor)
level 4; moves a long distance each round
level 5, attacks as level 6; Armor 1; damage inflicted 6 points; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
level 3, Speed defense and stealth as level 4; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
level 4, attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 2; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
level 5, attacks as level 6; Armor 1; damage inflicted 6 points; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
level 3, perception as level 4
level 3; attacks, perception, and stealth as level 4; Armor 1
level 2, metalworking as level 4; health 8
level 2, animal handling as level 3; health 8
level 2, haggling and assessment tasks as level 3
level 2
Note
The basic village from the Cypher System Rulebook is level 2, the basic villager from Godforsaken is level 1.
Bard 3 Basilisk 5 Berserker 3 Blackguard 6
Cambion 5 Corrupt Mage 7 Cyclops 7
Elemental, Air 4 Elemental, Thorn 6 Elemental, Water 4 Elf 4 Evil Priest 7
Hag 6 Halfling 3 Harpy 3 Hollow Knight 4 Hydra 7
Jotunn, Fire 6 Jotunn, Frost 6
Merfolk 3 Minotaur 4 Minotaur, The 7 Morlock 2
Sapient Tree 3 Shadow 1 Soul Eater 5 Sphinx 7
Worm That Walks 7 Wraith 2 Wyvern 6
This list includes appropriate creatures from the Creatures and Npcs chapters as well as creatures described below.
A bard uses the power of words and music to create magic that inspires and influences others. A typical bard plays a musical instrument and weaves song-spells that rival the magic of wizards and priests, but some use their voices, creating fascinating tales and dramatic speeches.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Entertainment, interaction, and novel experiences
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
10
- Damage:
3 points
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Music, oration, persuasion, stealth, and Speed defense as level 4
- Combat:
Bards prefer weapons that rely on speed and agility, like daggers, rapiers, and small bows. Every other round, a bard can create a blast of pure sound that inflicts 3 points of damage (ignores Armor) to one target within short range.
A bard knows several spells, such as adding +1 to recovery rolls of nearby creatures, making an indifferent creature friendly (or a hostile one indifferent) for a few minutes, deafening one opponent for hours, easing a physical task by two steps, turning invisible for a minute, or negating sound for a minute.
- Interactions:
Bards are personable and easy to talk to, but they have a sharp wit and a sharper tongue when it comes to critics and tyrants. A bard would rather escape from a dangerous situation than fight to the death.
- Uses:
A bard ally often has useful information about the current situation, drawn from songs and folk tales. In a pinch, they can make do as a scout or spy, especially in an urban setting. An unfriendly bard mocks the characters and turns the will of a crowd against them.
- Loot:
In addition to a musical instrument and a nice outfit for performing, bards usually have currency equivalent to a moderately priced item and one or two cyphers.
- Source Book:
- Level:
1 (3)
- Environment:
Underground
- Health:
3
- Damage:
1 point
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Urban
- Health:
8
- Damage:
2 points
- Combat:
Metalworking as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Forest
- Health:
9
- Damage:
4 points
- Combat:
Balancing and climbing as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Forest
- Health:
15
- Damage:
4 points
- Combat:
Moves a long distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Swims a short distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks and perception as level 5.
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
20
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
8
- Damage:
2 points
- Combat:
Animal handling as level 3.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Underground
- Health:
9
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
5
- Combat:
Flies a short distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Climbing and attacks as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
6 (18)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
18
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
4
- Combat:
Pincer attack holds prey and automatically inflicts damage each turn until the target succeeds at a might or speed defense task.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
25
- Damage:
5 points
- Combat:
Might defense and stealth as level 6 attacks four times as an action.
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
8
- Damage:
2 points
- Armor:
2
- Combat:
Speed defense as level 3 due to shield.
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
6
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Attacks as level 3.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Perception as level 5. Flies a long distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Attacks as level 4 flies a long distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Jumping, stealth, and attacks as level 5.
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks as level 6.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Armor:
1
- Source Book:
- Level:
8 (24)
- Environment:
Underground
- Health:
24
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
2
- Combat:
Ancient religion, climbing, and stealth as level 8.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Stealth and positive social interactions as level 6.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Speed defense as level 4 moves or flies a long distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Flies a long distance each round.
- Source Book:
- Level:
6 (18)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
25
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
2
- Combat:
Flies a long distance each round attacks twice as an action.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Ocean
- Health:
15
- Damage:
3 points
- Armor:
2
- Combat:
Attacks as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks as level 6.
- Source Book:
- Level:
1 (3)
- Environment:
Underground
- Health:
5
- Damage:
1 point
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks as level 3, speed defense as level 3 due to quickness and size.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Perception, and attacks as level 5. Makes two attacks as its action once per hour can teleport up to 1 mile once per hour can heal a creature for 4 pool.
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Urban
- Health:
6
- Damage:
2 points
- Source Book:
- Level:
2 (6)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
6
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Bite inflicts 3 points of speed damage (ignores armor).
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks as level 6.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Speed defense and stealth as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
2
- Combat:
Attacks as level 5.
- Source Book:
- Level:
5 (15)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
15
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Attacks as level 6.
- Source Book:
- Level:
3 (9)
- Environment:
Wilderness
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Combat:
Perception as level 4.
- Source Book:
- Level:
4 (12)
- Environment:
Mountains
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Combat:
Perception, and stealth as level 4.
- Source Book:
A basilisk is a magical kind of serpent that resembles a cobra, has a series of scales on its head like a crown, and crawls upright instead of slithering on its belly. It feeds on snakes and other creatures smaller than itself, relying on its poisonous aura to weaken and kill its prey. It is known to make an unnerving growl instead of a typical snake hiss. An adult basilisk is 10 to 18 feet (3 to 5.5 m) long.
- Level:
5 (15)
- Motive:
Hunger
- Environment:
Forests and plains (Forest)
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Perception and stealth as level 6
- Combat:
A basilisk bites like a snake, inflicting 5 points of damage and injecting a poison that moves the target one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll.
The basilisk can spit its poison up to short range, inflicting 1 point of damage and moving the target one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll.
The basilisk's venom affects its breath, and on its turn, anything within immediate range of it must make a Might defense roll or take 1 point of poison damage. Because of this constant invisible cloud of poison, a basilisk's lair is surrounded by a stinking area of dead vegetation, blasted earth, and etched stone.
Basilisk venom is so potent that even creatures that are immune to poison can still be harmed by it, taking 5 points of Speed damage instead of moving down the damage track. (A creature that is immune to poison and acid is fully immune to the venom.)
Anyone within short range of a basilisk who meets its gaze and fails a Might defense roll turns to stone. In combat, when a character within short distance attacks a basilisk, they must either avert their gaze to attack safely (which hinders their attack by two steps) or make a Might defense roll. On a failed Might defense roll, the character takes 5 points of ambient damage as their flesh partly mineralizes; if the character is killed by this damage, they are turned to stone.
- Interactions:
Basilisks act like simple animals and respond threateningly if disturbed or provoked. If not hungry, a basilisk avoids conflict and hides in its lair.
- Uses:
A blighted area in a field, briar, or forest suggests that a basilisk has moved into the area. Swarms of snakes enter a village, fleeing an approaching basilisk.
- Loot:
Basilisk venom is valuable, but it must be stored in a strong, sealed container or the bearer will succumb to the poison. Its blood has alchemical properties relating to transmuting metals.
- Intrusions:
The basilisk strikes quickly, biting the same creature twice on its turn.
- Source Book:
A berserker is a fierce warrior who can fly into a rage, greatly increasing their strength and hardiness. Many of them choose an animal such as a bear, wolf, or boar as their spiritual kin, wearing the skin of that animal and fighting like wild beasts.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Glory in battle
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
- Combat:
Berserkers prefer large, heavy weapons such as axes, hammers, and greatswords, but they may use bows if they can't easily get close to their foes.
A berserker can enter a state of rage as part of their action. When raging, they gain +1 to Armor (including against fire), their melee attacks inflict an additional 2 points of damage, and their attacks, Might defense, and actions relying on strength (such as climbing and jumping) are eased by two steps. However, their Speed defense is hindered. A raging berserker fights only with melee weapons and won't retreat from battle.
- Interactions:
Berserkers are the elites of some warrior cultures and enjoy physical competitions such as wrestling, throwing heavy items, and feasting. They dislike weak and cowardly folk, and do not tolerate insults to their strength or honor.
- Uses:
A group of warriors is led by a mighty berserker looking for a challenging fight. A group of berserkers enters town and picks fights with the local toughs.
- Loot:
In addition to their weapons and light armor, a berserker has one or two moderately priced items. The leader of a group might have a cypher that enhances strength or toughness.
- Source Book:
Blackguards are evil knights who serve dark entities or their own corrupt agendas. Some were once honorable knights who fell to temptation and have abandoned their original principles, but many were raised under evil circumstances and have never known anything but hatred and conflict.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Power, domination of others, slaughter
- Environment:
Almost anywhere, either alone or as part of a cult or evil organization (Other)
- Health:
30
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Short; long when mounted
- Modifications:
Perception and Intellect defense as level 7
- Combat:
Blackguards use high-quality armor and weapons (usually decorated with symbols depicting death, demons, or evil gods). Many wear heavy armor and prefer weapons that inflict bleeding wounds, but some take a more subtle approach and act more like assassins than knights. A blackguard typically has two or three of the following abilities:
Fiendish Beast: The blackguard has a companion creature such as a dog, horse, or raven with an eerie, unnatural look (in the case of small animals, the creature may also be an exceptionally large specimen of its kind). The creature is actually a semi-intelligent fiend in animal shape (and therefore immune to abilities that affect only normal animals) that can understand the blackguard's commands, and may even be able to speak. If the beast is a horse or similar creature, the blackguard might ride it as a mount. Fiendish beast: level 4, stealth as level 5, Might and Intellect defense as level 5
Necromancy: The blackguard uses a ten-minute ritual to animate a human-sized corpse as a zombie under their control. The zombie becomes a corpse again after a day.
Poison: The blackguard coats their weapons with a level 6 poison; a foe who fails a Might defense roll moves one step down the damage track.
Spells: The blackguard knows several spells granted by an evil entity, typically spells that cause a foe to flee in fear for one minute, restore 10 health, create an eerie darkness or fog in long range, or grant +5 Armor against energy and magical attacks for an hour.
Surprise Attack: When the blackguard attacks from a hidden vantage, with surprise, or before their opponent has acted in combat, they get an asset on the attack and inflict +4 points of damage. Unholy
Aura: Defense rolls by foes within immediate distance of the blackguard are hindered.
Unholy Blessing: The blackguard's defense rolls are eased.
- Interactions:
Blackguards enjoy killing righteous paragons of good and are often cruel for the sake of cruelty itself.
- Uses:
A blackguard has united various groups of bandits into a small army. An evil wizard sends her blackguard lieutenant to kill the people interfering with her plans.
- Loot:
Blackguards usually have treasures equivalent to three or four expensive items, a few useful manifest cyphers, and an artifact weapon or armor.
- Intrusions:
The blackguard's weapon flares with unholy power, inflicting an additional 6 points of damage (ignores Armor). A slain black guard rises as an undead or is possessed by a demon and continues to fight
- Source Book:
Fine ebony scales cover a cambion's perfectly athletic figure. Two reddish horns grow from its brow, and the tips of fangs emerge from between its dusky lips. Its eyes, absent iris and pupil, are the color of driven snow. Cambions are cursed creatures, born of mortal and demonic parentage, and are also sometimes called helborn. Most cambions give in to what everyone expects of them, and embrace evil.
- Level:
5 (15)
- Motive:
Defense, conquest, revenge on a world that's rejected them
- Environment:
Anywhere, often hiding in plain sight (Other)
- Health:
25
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Disguise as level 7
- Combat:
Cambions sometimes wield heavy weapons in combat, especially if they come across an artifact that can enhance their attacks. Some cambions develop their natural and magical abilities to become powerful sorcerers, but most can call up hellish energy merely by willing it at least once per day, as follows.
Finger of Torture: A ruby ray lances out from the cambion's finger to strike an enemy prone with torturous pain on a failed Might defense task. The target automatically takes 6 points of damage each round until they can escape the effect with an Intellect task.
Soulfire Blast: An explosion of soul-rending black and crimson fire explodes around up to three targets standing next to each other within short range, inflicting 4 points of damage and stunning the targets so that they lose their next action on a failed Speed defense task.
- Interactions:
Cambions are bleak, depressed, and misunderstood. Most have turned to evil, but a few can be redeemed.
- Uses:
A great fire is seen burning on the horizon. The next day, travelers come across a burned region with a crater that has destroyed a farmhouse. At the center of the crater is an unconscious human with hornlike growths on its head.
- Loot:
Powerful cambions sometimes wield artifacts as weapons.
- Intrusions:
The character's cypher explodes when touched by cambion demon fire on a failed Speed defense task.
- Source Book:
Some wizards and sorcerers are tempted by dark magic, inevitably damning their souls and corrupting their flesh as they cut corners and delve into forbidden lore. Their research and experimentation create new kinds of rampaging monsters and turn people into misshapen horrors. They sometimes modify their own bodies in order to gain demonic or draconic powers, or make pacts with such creatures for knowledge and magical ingredients.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Magical knowledge at all costs
- Environment:
Almost anywhere, usually with fleshbeast minions (Fleshbeast: level 4, attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 1) (Other)
- Health:
35
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
All tasks related to knowledge of arcane lore, demons, and altering bodies as level 8
- Combat:
Corrupt mages blast opponents with beams of energy that blister, slash, and rot flesh, attacking up to three creatures as an action. Many of them have given themselves long claws and teeth that they can use to make up to three melee attacks per action.
A corrupt mage knows many spells, such as the following:
- Armor: Covers a creature with ugly scales, granting them +3 to Armor for an hour.
- Madness: Wracks the brain of one creature within short range for one hour, reducing them to a babbling catatonic state in which they can't recognize friend or foe. If disturbed or harmed, the creature is likely to lash out with lethal force at what it perceives as its tormentors.
- Organ Request: Extracts a handful of internal organs from an opponent within short range, moving the creature one step down the damage track if it fails a Might defense roll.
- Polymorph: Transforms one foe within short range into a tiny, helpless creature such as a cockroach, fish, or snail for one hour.
- Summon Demon: Summons a demon to serve the mage for one hour.
- Teleport: Moves the mage up to 100 miles (160 km) away, or less far if they bring additional creatures with them.
- Twist Flesh: Reshapes the flesh of a creature within close range, turning it into a hideous monstrosity for one hour. The transformed creature's actions are hindered, but its physical attacks inflict +3 points of damage. The mage's control over the creature is limited to indicating which target it should attack.
A corrupt mage usually has several cyphers useful in combat and perhaps an artifact as well.
- Interactions:
Corrupt mages generally can't be trusted and see other creatures as things to experiment on and vivisect. They might negotiate with someone who brings them a rare specimen or spell. Many are mentally disturbed by their research and self-alterations and may fluctuate between calm clarity, obsession, paranoia, and rage.
- Uses:
The strange hybrid monsters emerging from the forest are said to be the creations of a corrupt mage. A corrupt mage in a calm state presents themselves as a neutral or benevolent wizard seeking assistance on a task.
- Loot:
A corrupt mage has 1d6 cyphers and perhaps a wizardly artifact.
- Intrusions:
A desperate or dying corrupt mage transforms their own body into several new flesh beasts, which retain fragments of the mage's intelligence and immediately attack. The mage's attack spell is incredibly painful, stunning the character for one round if they fail a Might defense roll.
- Source Book:
Cyclopes resemble massive humans that stand 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) tall and weigh about 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg). Everything about these giants is exaggerated, from the thick features of their faces to their oversized hands and lumpy, corpulent bodies. They clothe themselves in animal skins, scraps of cloth, or canvas stolen during their travels. A cyclops's most distinctive feature is the single eye positioned in the center of its forehead. Cyclopes live on the edges of civilized areas or on remote islands. For all their power and stature, they aren't especially brave, and most have a dim idea that puny humans have an advantage when they have numbers on their side.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh
- Environment:
Almost anywhere (Other)
- Health:
32
- Damage:
8 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Attacks targets within immediate range as level 5 due to poor eyesight; Speed defense as level 5 due to size; Intellect defense as level 4
- Combat:
A cyclops can always resort to using its fists in melee, pummeling opponents with knuckles the size of large hogs. However, most cyclopes carry a tree trunk and use it to sweep enemies from their path. Due to its massive height, a cyclops can make a melee attack against creatures within short range.
Cyclopes can pry up boulders from the ground and throw them at targets within long range. A thrown boulder inflicts 8 points of damage to all targets in an immediate area.
Killing a cyclops can be dangerous. When killed, it falls away from the attacker that delivered the killing blow. Any creature under it when it falls must make a successful Speed defense roll or be pinned under its corpse and take 7 points of damage. Escaping from under a dead cyclops requires a successful Might roll.
- Interactions:
Cyclopes know the language of the lands they inhabit, but they are notoriously dim and easily fooled. A cyclops thinks about its belly first and foremost and doesn't pay much attention to what it stuffs in its mouth.
- Uses:
A cyclops has been rampaging across the countryside, and warriors sent to deal with it have been vanquished. PCs who investigate learn that the cyclops has been robbed and is trying to find the stolen item.
- Loot:
Most cyclopes carry sacks filled with things they find interesting or plan to eat. Aside from the rubbish, a typical sack contains 1d100 coins of the realm and a couple of cyphers.
- Intrusions:
The cyclops hits a character so hard that they fly a short distance away and land prone. A character is struck by the cyclops's fist is grabbed and stuffed in the creature's sack.
- Source Book:
Demon lords are mighty demons, commanding hundreds of lesser fiends and often ruling an entire hellscape dimension. No mere brutes, they are smart, wield powerful magic, make centuries-long plans of conquest against rival demons, and seek to corrupt and enslave powerful mortals. Some are nearly as powerful as gods and are worshipped as such by cultists or evil creatures, claiming ownership of a concept like murder, rot, undeath, or seduction. A few are known to mate with mortals to produce cambion offspring.
- Level:
9 (27)
- Motive:
Power, conquest, souls
- Environment:
Any hell dimension, sometimes called by mortal magic (Other)
- Health:
100
- Damage:
12 points
- Armor:
5
- Movement:
Short; long when flying
- Modifications:
History and magical knowledge as level 10
- Combat:
A demon lord attacks with a bolt of evil energy or fire up to a long distance away, inflicting 12 points of damage on one target or 9 points of damage on all targets within short range of the primary target. Targets caught in the area attack who succeed on a Speed defense roll still suffer 5 points of damage. A demon lord can make melee attacks on all targets within immediate range as an action.
They can also call on a variety of other magical abilities that mimic the effect of any cypher of level 5 or lower-usually destructive, painful, and transformative effects.
A demon lord automatically regains 3 points of health per round. They typically have the following abilities:
- Change Shape: The demon lord can take the form of a human or similar humanoid as its action, or return to its regular shape. When so changed, its disguise is nearly impenetrable without special knowledge. As a human, the demon lord is a level 7 creature.
- Possession: The demon lord can possess a creature and still use its own abilities.
- Summon Demon: Summon a demon or devil to serve it for one day.
- Wish: The demon lord can grant a mortal a wish (up to level 9) in exchange for an appropriate payment or service, but the wish is often twisted or has hidden consequences.
- Interactions:
Demon lords are willing to bargain with mortals if it leads to the mortal's corruption or advances the demon's agenda in some way. They sometimes respond to flattery or bribes of powerful souls or magic items.
- Uses:
A mad cult wants to summon a demon lord in order to end the world. A mysterious stranger offers aid in exchange for a favor to be named later.
- Loot:
A demon lord often has an artifact relating to some aspect of its nature or interests, such as a weapon, ring, or armor, as well as 1d6 cyphers.
- Intrusions:
The demon lord offers the character something so tempting (an artifact, immortality, and soon) that they lose their next action and must make an Intellect defense roll to resist trying to bargain for it. The demon lord creates a portal and retreats to its own dimension; the portal remains open for one round.
- Source Book:
A druid is a servant of a nature deity or the entirety of nature itself. Some have specific interests such as animals, plants, or storms, with greater powers relating to that devotion. Druids are leaders and advisors in some cultures, society-hating hermits in others.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Protecting nature
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Nature lore, perception, and stealth as level 5
- Combat:
Druids use simple weapons crafted out of natural materials, such as spears, slings, and bows, as well as ritual tools such as daggers and sickles.
A druid knows several spells, such as a short-range attack that uses electricity or fire, healing a touched creature for 4 health, calming and befriending animals, traveling quickly, controlling the weather within long range, transforming into an animal or plant, and manipulating the natural elements. A druid often has a loyal animal companion, such as a black bear, hawk, viper, or wolf.
- Interactions:
Druids are cautious when dealing with city folk, and they act quickly to stop the reckless use of fire or exploitation of the wilds. They are generally on good terms with local animals and magical creatures of nature (faeries, sapient trees, satyrs, and so on).
- Uses:
A hermit druid comes to the aid of injured or lost characters in the wildlands. A druid has been attacking loggers and hunters who stray too far from civilization.
- Loot:
In addition to weapons, light armor, and some moderately priced ritual items, a druid might have a couple of cyphers or perhaps an artifact.
- Source Book:
A typical dwarf found outside of their homeland is an explorer, warrior, and tradesperson of some skill. Dwarves travel to find work as mercenaries, sell the goods they create, or find unusual materials to use in their crafting.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Defense, loyalty, honor
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Crafting (metal or stone), Intellect defense, and Might defense as level 5
- Combat:
Dwarves traditionally use weapons like axes, hammers, and crossbows. They're used to working together to defend their halls; three or more dwarves attacking the same target act as a level 6 creature that inflicts 8 points of damage.
Dwarf leaders are usually officers or priests.
Dwarf officer: level 5; health 16; damage inflicted 7 points Dwarf priest: level 5; health 16; can heal one creature for 10 points or all within immediate range for 5 points
- Interactions:
Dwarves are proud and hardworking, but they tend to be stubborn, gruff, and unforgiving of offenses to them or their clan. It takes time to gain their trust, but they respect a fair deal, a hard bargain, a sharp axe, and a sturdy hammer.
- Uses:
A stoic old dwarf is looking to go on one more quest before retiring. A clan of dwarves seeks a trade agreement with a human city leader-or redress for an old insult.
- Loot:
In addition to their weapons and light or medium armor, a dwarf probably has several moderately priced items (such as tools or exploration gear) and perhaps a cypher or two.
- Source Book:
Air elementals are capricious pieces of air with simple minds. They spontaneously appear in clouds and high mountains, and often resemble an area of mist or a cloudlike humanoid shape.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Mischief and destruction
- Environment:
Anywhere the wind blows (Other)
- Health:
24
- Damage:
4 points
- Movement:
Long when flying
- Modifications:
Stealth as level 6
- Combat:
Air elementals slice foes up to a short distance away with blades of fierce wind, or use blasts of air to throw small objects. Once every other round, an air elemental can turn into a tornado-like vortex that inflicts 4 points of damage to all creatures within immediate range. In this form, the elemental gains +1 to Armor and an additional +2 to Armor against physical projectile weapons such as arrows and javelins. The elemental reverts to its normal form at the start of its next turn.
An air elemental can disperse itself over a short area as an action. In this form it is invisible, unable to attack, and can't be attacked except with area attacks. The elemental can remain in this form indefinitely, but must use an action to return to its normal form.
Air elementals are elusive opponents and hard to destroy. If an air elemental is reduced to 0 health, there is a 50 percent chance that it rejuvenates a few rounds later with 6 health. The elemental then continues to fight or flees to cause trouble elsewhere.
- Interactions:
Air elementals see and hear many things, but they are flighty and what they remember usually isn't important or relevant. They can be summoned with magic but don't like being controlled, and there is a 10 percent chance that they free themselves and strike out on their own.
- Uses:
A safe mountain trail has become hazardous due to unseasonal winds that threaten to push travelers off a cliff. An old tree is surrounded by whispers of conversations that took place recently and has started hurling sticks and fruit at anyone who comes too close.
- Intrusions:
A violent blast of wind disarms a character and sends whatever they were holding up toa long distance away(depending on the object's size and weight).
- Source Book:
The grisly sign of an active thorn elemental in areas of heavy woods or jungle is the presence of shriveled bodies dangling from vines, dead of strangulation and poison. Thorn elementals take form in areas dense with woody growth under threat by hatchet, axe, saw, and, sometimes, human-caused climate disruptions.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Defense of forests
- Environment:
Anywhere trees grow (Forest)
- Health:
36
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Immediate
- Combat:
Thorn elementals batter foes with thorny, vine-wrapped fists. Targets who suffer damage must make a successful Might defense roll or take 2 points of Speed damage from a paralytic poison transmitted by a thorn's prick. Worse, the poison continues to inflict 2 points of Speed damage each round until the victim succeeds at a Might defense roll.
As its action, a thorn elemental can disentangle its form and reassemble a new body anywhere within long range where trees and plants grow. A thorn elemental regains 2 points of health each time it travels in this fashion.
- Interactions:
Thorn elementals communicate through speech, though they generally disdain talking to creatures of the animal kingdom. Thorn elementals exist within a hierarchy; those that have a greater capacity for communication are also usually more powerful. Summoned thorn elementals have about a 5 percent chance of breaking the geas and turning on their summoner.
- Uses:
Adventuring characters journey through a forest that is under threat of destruction by an encroachment of other humanoids. Thinking the PCs are part of the encroachers, a thorn elemental attacks them. If communication is opened, it might break off hostilities and instead ask the characters to help.
- Loot:
The bodies of those previously defeated by thorn elementals dangle from the forest or jungle canopy with all their former possessions. One or two might have a cypher and other tools and treasure.
- Source Book:
Water elementals are animate masses of water. When swimming, they are nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings, but when they have to move on dry land, they usually take the form of a curling wave, amorphous blob, or large puddle. They can spontaneously appear in locations with pristine salt or fresh water.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Flood, drown, and wash away
- Environment:
Anywhere there is flowing water (Ocean)
- Health:
24
- Damage:
4 points
- Movement:
Short; long if swimming
- Modifications:
Swimming and aquatic maneuvers as level 6; stealth as level 6 when in water
- Combat:
Water elementals bash opponents with heavy limbs of water or spray jets of water out to short range.
Instead of a bashing attack, a water elemental can use its action to attempt to envelop, smother, and crush one opponent, who can resist with a Might defense roll. If the opponent fails, it takes 4 points of damage immediately and every round on the elemental's turn. Each following turn, the enveloped character must attempt a new Might defense roll every round or move one step down the damage track from drowning as the elemental forces itself into the creature's lungs. The creature can free itself with a Might defense roll. An elemental with an enveloped opponent can move up to a short distance as its action; a common tactic is to dive deep, release their opponent to drown normally, then return to its previous position to fight other opponents.
Any attack that inflicts 6 or more points of cold damage hinders a water elemental's actions on its next turn.
- Interactions:
Water elementals are somewhat intelligent but think very differently from humans, so they often seem distracted and dull. They are generally compliant when summoned with magic, but there is about a 5 percent chance that they break free of the spell and lash out against their summoner.
- Uses:
Offerings left at a sacred pond have gone missing, and the water itself seems threatening. Garbage or dead bodies have polluted a water source, spawning an angry elemental that attacks everyone until the mess is cleaned up.
- Intrusions:
The force of the elemental's attack knocks over a character,sweeps them a short distance away, or both.
- Source Book:
An elf has a very long lifespan and tends to learn and abandon many skills and interests, including combat and magic. Elves are likely to wander in pursuit of something new and interesting, such as finding the tallest tree in the forest, the most beautiful sunset, or the perfect love song.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Curiosity
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Perception, Speed defense, and any two noncombat skills as level 5
- Combat:
Elves usually fight with short or medium blades and delicate but deadly bows. Because of their subtle skill and fast reactions, their first attack in any combat inflicts an additional 2 points of damage.
A typical elf might know a few minor spells, such as heating or chilling food, creating a bit of moonlight, and cleaning or repairing clothing.
- Interactions:
Elves appreciate beauty, grace, and skill, and they don't respond well to crudeness or bluster, especially from people decades or centuries younger than themselves. They are subtle in their insults but do have a sense of humor.
- Uses:
A group of young elves arrives in a city, wanting to see firsthand how the short-lived humans do things. An elf is said to have lived in the forest for a thousand years, listening to the secrets whispered by the trees.
- Loot:
In addition to their weapons and light armor, an elf carries a few moderately priced (but extremely well-made) curios and mementos, and usually a cypher.
- Source Book:
Evil priests are worshippers of evil gods, demons, devils, strange malevolent forces from beyond known dimensions, or even death itself. They lead cults, corrupt the innocent with lies and twisted ideologies, and enact the will of their patron in the mortal world. The most insidious ones are able to infiltrate good churches and secular organizations in order to tear them down from the inside.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Domination of others, divine rule
- Environment:
Almost anywhere that people live (Urban)
- Health:
28
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Deception, persuasion, and religious lore as level 8
- Combat:
Evil priests make one or two short-range magical attacks as an action, which are thematically appropriate to the god or entity they serve, such as blasts of hellfire, grasping shadowy tentacles, or disruptive necromantic energy. They often rely on zealous minions to protect them from melee opponents.
Priests usually know several spells, such as how to banish or control creatures from other dimensions, create an area of darkness, see and hear remote locations, speak with the dead, mesmerize or paralyze a person, cause blindness, or create a ward against energy damage. They also have the following magical abilities:
- Curse: The priest curses a foe within short range, hindering all of the foe's actions by two steps.
- Heal: The priest heals a touched creature for 10 health or removes an affliction such as a disease or curse.
- Necromancy: The priest uses a ten-minute ritual to animate up to four human-sized corpses as skeletons or zombies under their control. The undead revert to corpses after a day.
- Sacrifice: The priest uses a ten-minute ritual to kill a helpless, restrained, or unconscious creature of level 4 or higher, using its soul to grant one ally an asset on all actions and defenses for one day.
- Summon: Once per hour the priest can summon a demon or one level 3 or 4 creature (such as a giant snake, giant spider, or swarm of bugs). The summoned creature serves the priest for an hour before vanishing. Swarm of bugs: level 3
- An evil priest usually has one or two combat-useful manifest cyphers and often has an artifact appropriate to their religion. Most also wear armor or have an ongoing defensive spell that grants them Armor.
- Interactions:
Evil priests tend to be knowledgeable, arrogant, and condescending toward heroes and members of rival faiths. They might strike a bargain to save their lives or the life of a valuable minion, or to gain an advantage later on.
- Uses:
An evil priest is converting frightened peasants into followers, and turning those who refuse into zombie slaves. A new religious figure in the city is acting suspiciously, and members of rival faiths have been disappearing or turning up dead.
- Loot:
Evil priests usually have mundane treasures equivalent to three or four expensive items, a few useful manifest cyphers, and an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The dying evil priest utters a curse that attempts to pull the character's soul into the afterlife with them,moving them one stepdown the damage track if they fail anIntellect defense roll. The evil priest ignores, avoids, or immediately recovers from an attack that would have killed or greatly harmed them.
- Source Book:
Faeries are magic creatures of music, mirth, tricks, and taunts. Some might only perform a silly song or follow people for a while, flitting around and asking questions like an annoying young child. Some faeries are crueler and delight in stealing clothing, equipment, or prized objects. And a few are downright malicious and, under the guise of a helpful guide or a pretty light in the distance, lure lost travelers to various dooms.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Unpredictable
- Environment:
Alone or in a flutter of three to twelve (Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Movement:
Immediate; long when flying
- Modifications:
Tasks related to performance and deception as level 5; Speed defense as level 5 due to size and quickness
- Combat:
A faerie can hurl damaging magic dust at any target within short range, but sometimes it wields tiny weapons such as bows, spears, or swords.
If a faerie is touched or struck by a melee weapon, more magic dust puffs away from the faerie and clouds the attacker, who must make a Speed defense roll or take the same amount of damage they just dealt to the faerie.
A faerie can see in the dark, but it can also emit bright light and appear as a glowing humanoid or an illuminated sphere.
Faeries regenerate 1 point of health per round while their health is above 0.
Some faeries can attempt to use a song or light display to charm others within short range. The target must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or fall into a suggestible state for one hour. During this period, the target can be led by the faerie at their regular movement rate. The target can be brought out of the spell early if they take damage or are heartily slapped and shaken for a round or two, causing the glamour to fade. A faerie can use this power once per minute.
- Interactions:
Faeries are mercurial creatures, but except for the malicious ones, they can be negotiated with, especially if offered sweets, wine, or other gifts. However, faerie attention spans are limited, so even one that means well could end up leaving the PCs in the lurch at just the wrong moment.
- Uses:
The dancing light in the distance, leading curious PCs deeper and deeper into the dark woods, is a faerie. And the destination could be a wicked witch or other unpleasant location.
- Loot:
The tiny pouches that faeries carry are stuffed with forest bric-a-brac, but some of those pouches are ten times larger on the inside and might hold a handful of shiny coins or a cypher.
- Intrusions:
Another faerie appears, and if the character fails a Speed defense roll, it flies off with their weapon or another important possession.
- Source Book:
Statues littering the grounds outside a ruin are meant to deter savvy robbers and explorers. The statues, ranging in size from birds to warriors astride steeds, all depict creatures in states of fright and pain, the final image of death. These pieces are not the work of a fevered mind, but the fates of those who braved a gorgon's lair. Gorgons were humans once. After they offended the gods with their vanity, they were transformed into hideous monsters. A gorgon has the upper body of a human of perfect form and physique, but the lower body of a giant serpent, complete with rattling tail. One who dares look at a gorgon's face can see traces of the old beauty beneath a weary veneer, darkened by hatred. Instead of hair, serpents crown a gorgon's head, snapping and hissing at anyone who draws near. Yet the most terrible aspect of a gorgon is its gaze, which can turn any creature to stone.
- Level:
5 (15)
- Motive:
Isolation, defense
- Environment:
Alone, sequestered in the isolated ruins of old cities and castles (Wilderness)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
5 points
- Movement:
Short
- Combat:
A gorgon has a long-range bow attack. Since creatures that see the gorgon often turn to stone, it must take down its prey at long range so it can get fresh meat. In close combat, a gorgon lashes out with a long dagger or, rarely, a sword. As part of the action the gorgon uses to attack, the serpents on its head can also attack one target within immediate distance. A target that fails its Speed defense roll takes 2 points of damage from the bite and must immediately make a Might defense roll to resist the poison (which deals 4 additional points of Speed damage that ignores Armor).
Anyone within short range of a gorgon who meets its gaze and fails a Might defense roll turns to stone. In combat, when a character within short distance attacks the gorgon, they must avert their gaze (which hinders the attack by two steps) or make a Might defense roll. On a failure, they take 5 points of ambient damage as their flesh partly mineralizes. If the character is killed by this damage, they are turned to stone.
Some gorgons carry a couple of cyphers and perhaps an artifact that they can use in combat.
- Interactions:
Bitterness consumes gorgons. They lead lonely lives, cut off from everyone they have loved. Negotiating with one would be something of a feat.
- Uses:
A gorgon's head retains its power to petrify for several days after being cut from the creature. The PCs might brave the gorgon so they can use its head to defeat an even more powerful foe.
- Loot:
A gorgon typically has a few cyphers and may have an artifact as well.
- Intrusions:
A character glimpses a gorgon's eyes, and a sheen of stone covers their body for one minute, during which time they gain +1 to Armor but can't move farther than an immediate distance in one round.
- Source Book:
Hags are evil magical creatures distantly related to the fey. They resemble withered ancient humans with obvious inhuman features-dead eyes, green or purple skin, metal teeth, webbed fingers, and seaweed-like hair are common traits. They love corrupting pure and innocent things, and feast on the dreams and flesh of their victims.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Power, treachery
- Environment:
Forests, swamps, mountains, and unpleasant natural locations (Forest)
- Health:
25
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Lying, haggling, magical lore, mimicking voices, and Intellect defense as level 7
- Combat:
Hags can attack with their iron-hard claws and teeth, but often rely on their magic abilities in combat. Hags can breathe water, and usually have three or more of the following abilities:
- Arcane blast: Use magical energy to blast one foe within short range and inflict 6 points of damage, or divide this energy (and damage) among several foes as the hag sees fit (each foe makes their own Speed defense roll against this attack).
- Change shape: Transform into a humanoid or common animal, or return to their own form.
- Curse: Curse a creature within long range, hindering all physical actions by two steps.
- Fear: Terrify all creatures within short range who look upon them, causing the creatures to flee for one minute if they fail an Intellect defense roll.
- Illusion: Create an illusion affecting a small area that includes light, sound, and smell. They can use this to disguise themselves as any humanoid creature (such as a human, dwarf, or elf). Changing or maintaining the illusion is not an action.
- Invisibility: Turn invisible for ten minutes. When invisible, they are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks.
- Murderous glare: Glare at one opponent, causing bloody wounds that inflict 6 points of damage if the creature is within short range (3 points if within long range).
- Question: Get an answer to a very simple, general question about a creature or place within 1 mile (1.5 km).
- Scrying eye: View any familiar location within 1 mile as if they were observing it directly.
- Sleep: Make a creature fall asleep for one minute. Damage or loud noises will wake the creature.
Three or more allied hags form a coven, which allows them to use each other's magical abilities, and usually grants the coven (when working together) one or two additional abilities.
- Interactions:
Hags are evil, greedy, hateful, and cruel. They rarely do things for others unless they benefit in some way, and they like to trick fools into dangerous tasks that end up profiting the hag instead of anyone else. If shown proper respect and bribed or paid, a hag can be a valuable source of lore.
- Uses:
The smell of cakes lures children to a mysterious woodland shack. The hag of the swamp is said to kill anyone who enters their territory without carrying a specific gift.
- Loot:
In addition to coins and jewels, a hag usually has several scrolls or potions and may have an artifact.
- Intrusions:
A creature becomes afraid and reluctant to oppose the hag, hindering all actions against the hag by two steps for one day.
- Source Book:
A halfling is fond of the comforts of home, but adventures and exploration are the fodder of great stories told over tea or dinner, or in a fireside chat. Quick, resourceful, and easy to get along with, halflings fit right in with brave big folk as scouts, burglars, and loyal companions.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Defense, comfort
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
9
- Damage:
3 points
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Intellect defense, pleasant social interactions, and stealth as level 4
- Combat:
Halflings are remarkably skilled with knives, clubs, slings, and small bows. They prefer not to fight larger creatures head on; instead they stay at range, plan ambushes to quickly overwhelm opponents, or team up with a larger ally so they can attack a foe's back and legs.
- Interactions:
Halflings enjoy the company of larger folks as long as they aren't mocked for their size. They're brave and determined when they need to be, though some might complain about wanting to go home.
- Uses:
A young halfling wants to have some adventures before settling down. The local thieves' guild is said to employ halflings as lookouts and cutpurses, sometimes disguised as human children.
- Loot:
In addition to their weapons (and perhaps some light armor) and food, a halfling might have an interesting cypher or two. Most carry several useful moderately priced items, or an expensive item such as an heirloom snuff box or a nice bag of tools.
- Source Book:
A harpy is a hideous, filthy creature with the body of a large vulture and the neck and head of an ugly human. Their breath reeks of decay, their wings and talons drip with an unpleasant oil, and their eyes shed acrid tears. They love to torment people and lure them to their deaths.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh, causing anguish
- Environment:
Coastline, forest, and mountains (Forest)
- Health:
9
- Damage:
4 points
- Movement:
Short; long when flying
- Modifications:
Perception and Speed defense as level 4
- Combat:
Harpies are fast and strong, capable of carrying off a light adult human. They attack with their long talons.
Anything a harpy touches becomes fouled with their smelly fluids, and one harpy energetically flapping their wings is enough to contaminate an immediate area. Their fluids are repulsive but not directly harmful, and the smell persists even after a casual washing. Any food touched by harpy filth is inedible to anyone but a harpy. Creatures with a sensitive sense of smell (such as dogs and wolves) are hindered when within a short distance of a harpy. It is common for a group of harpies to attack a campsite or festival, spread their stink over everything, and fly away with whatever food they can carry.
A harpy can sing a weird, entrancing song that hypnotizes whoever hears it. Anyone within long range who hears the song must make an Intellect defense roll or stop whatever they are doing and attempt to approach the harpy. If the creature comes within an immediate distance of a singing harpy, they stand there dumbly even as the harpy attacks them. The creature can make another attempt to break free each round on its turn, and taking damage from anything other than a singing harpy allows them another attempt to break free. Five or more harpies can work together on the same song (treat as a level 5 effect). Harpies are cruel and have been known to lead an entranced creature into a pit, off a cliff, or over the railing of a ship.
- Interactions:
Other than their singing, harpies do not usually speak with other creatures. They are more likely to jeer and screech at people like an angry bird than try to communicate.
- Uses:
A flock of harpies torments a village during its harvest festival, ruining the celebration and some of the food set aside for the winter. Sailors speak of a lonely island where an old, blind king starves because harpies steal or foul any food set out for him.
- Loot:
A harpy nest may have one or two cyphers or other valuables, but the items will smell disgusting unless carefully washed.
- Intrusions:
A harpy snatches something a character is wearing or carrying on a failed Speed defense roll. The harpy throws away or flees with the stolen item
- Source Book:
In haunted castles and among the armies mustered by those with power over life and death, sometimes walk hollow knights. These animated suits of armor move just like living people, and many who encounter these dread revenants mistake them for living foes only to realize in horror that there's nothing inside except for the memory of the warrior that once donned the suit. Brought into being by binding the spirit of a dead warrior to its panoply, hollow knights behave in much the same way they did in life-disciplined, loyal, and battle ready. Clad head to toe in full plate armor, with battered shields strapped to their arms and rusty swords gripped in lobster gauntlets, the knights stand ready to face any foe, heedless of the danger, driven to serve the necromancer that made them. Hollow knights might ride on the backs of skeletal steeds and wield lances.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Obedience to its master
- Environment:
Anywhere (Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
3
- Movement:
Short; long while mounted on a skeletal steed Skeletal steed: level 4
- Modifications:
Resists fear and intimidation as level 10
- Combat:
A hollow knight usually fights with a sword or mace.
When mounted on a steed, a hollow knight charges its enemies whenever possible. As an action, its steed moves a short distance, and the hollow knight can make a single attack at any point during this movement. When attacking in this way, the knight inflicts 7 points of damage.
A hollow knight is fearless and fights until destroyed or ordered to pull back. The magic animating its armor is slow to fade, so armor components may continue to twitch and jerk even after the knight has fallen. Usually, when defeated, the suit of armor falls apart, and wisps of grey smoke curl up from the remains.
- Interactions:
Hollow knights cannot speak. They obey any orders given to them by their creators.
- Uses:
The necromancer or other magician that binds the spirit to the armor also imbues the armor with specific commands-tasks the knight must carry out until destroyed. Some knights may stand guard at citadels or mansions, keeping a vigil until their armor finally falls apart. Others are more active and may function as the core of a dark wizard's army.
- Intrusions:
When a hollow knight is destroyed, a gauntlet flies up, grabs a character, and won't let go. A difficulty 7 Might task is required to pry it loose
- Source Book:
This mythological reptile has five writhing serpent heads, each of which constantly exhales a venomous plume. Well over 20 feet (6 m) long from the tip of its longest head to its thrashing tail, the toxic beast's most discomfiting feature is its magical ability to sprout new heads when it's wounded. Some hydras dwell on land, others in water. Most seem to have been set as guardians of important places by higher powers, which is probably why they're so difficult to kill.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh, defend a location
- Environment:
Swamps, coasts, and forests (Forest)
- Health:
24
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short when walking or swimming
- Modifications:
Perception as level 8 due to its many heads; Speed defense as level 5 due to size
- Combat:
Even approaching a hydra is dangerous; the air around it is poisoned by its venomous breath. Each round a creature is within immediate range of a hydra, they must succeed on a Might defense task or take 1 point of Speed damage (ignores Armor).
All five of a hydra's heads can simultaneously bite foes in immediate range. If three or more heads coordinate their attack, the heads make one attack as a single level 9 creature dealing 9 points of damage. A target bitten by the venomous hydra must also succeed on a Might defense task or take an additional 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).
Whenever the hydra takes 4 or more points of damage from a single attack, a healing pulse surges through the creature a round later. The pulse returns the health just subtracted due to the attack and triggers the immediate growth of two additional heads that sprout from the creature. (The same thing happens if one of the creature's snakelike heads is decapitated.) The new heads are just as effective as the original ones in a fight. Fire, electrical, and other extreme energy attacks do not trigger the healing pulse and head genesis.
- Interactions:
A hydra is a cunning predator, but not intelligent. It can't bargain or negotiate.
- Uses:
The PCs investigate an ancient ruin hoping to find artifacts of the gods. A hydra saw them enter and trails them through the crumbling structure at a considerable distance, waiting for them to take a rest or become otherwise distracted before attacking.
- Loot:
Hydras sometimes collect cyphers and artifacts in their lair, or failing that, they guard something of value.
- Intrusions:
The character reacts poorly to the poison in the air or a bite and goes into helpless convulsions for one round if they fail a Might defense task.
- Source Book:
Fire jotunns are often called fire giants. Their skin is coal-grey or black; their hair is red or gold and may be metal or actual flames. They prefer hot mountainous climates (particularly volcanoes), wear plate armor, and use greatswords that glow with the natural heat of their bodies.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Destruction, hungers for flesh, honor
- Environment:
Hot mountains, volcanic areas, supernatural fires (Mountains)
- Health:
30
- Damage:
6 points plus 3 points from fire
- Armor:
3
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Speed defense as level 5 due to size; breaks and throws objects as level 8
- Combat:
A fire jotunn uses weapons appropriate to its size (which would be two-handed for a human but can be wielded one-handed by the giant), inflicting 6 points of damage plus another 3 points of ambient fire damage conducted from the jotunn's body. Jotunns throw boulders up to very long range, inflicting 6 points of damage plus 3 points of fire damage.
A jotunn can inflict 1 point of fire damage with a touch, and anyone touching it without protection against fire takes damage as if the jotunn had touched them. A slain fire jotunn and its equipment are too hot to safely touch for several minutes.
Fire jotunns are immune to fire damage, but take additional damage from cold (equal to the attack's normal damage, up to a maximum of 5 additional points of cold damage).
Fire jotunn leaders sometimes have magical powers, usually related to earth and fire.
- Interactions:
Fire jotunns tend to be hostile, but they may agree to a nonlethal challenge to allow visitors to pass through their land or join them for a feast.
- Uses:
A fire jotunn decides to cause trouble for intruders in its territory. A clan of jotunns wages war against a fortified village or town, hurling boulders, starting fires, and stealing livestock.
- Loot:
Jotunns like fine things, and their homes usually have utensils, plates, weapons, and trophies made of precious metals and decorated with gems. They may have cyphers, and a leader may carry an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The jotunn's attack inflicts a serious burn, making a limb useless for an hour or until healed.
- Source Book:
Frost jotunns are often called frost giants or ice giants. Their skin is pale white, pink, or blue, and their hair is usually white, pale blond, or actual ice. They prefer cold mountains and tundra, wear chainmail and furs, and use metal axes that channel powerful cold from their bodies.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Destruction, hungers for flesh, honor
- Environment:
Cold mountains and plains (Mountains)
- Health:
30
- Damage:
6 points plus 3 points from cold
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Short; long when skiing
- Modifications:
Speed defense as level 5 due to size; breaks and throws objects as level 8
- Combat:
A frost jotunn uses weapons appropriate to its size (which would be two-handed for a human but can be wielded one-handed by the giant), inflicting 6 points of damage plus another 3 points of ambient cold damage conducted from the jotunn's body. Jotunns throw boulders or chunks of ice up to very long range, inflicting 6 points of damage plus 3 points of cold damage.
A jotunn can inflict 1 point of cold damage with a touch, and anyone touching it without protection against cold takes damage as if the jotunn had touched them. A slain frost jotunn and its equipment are too cold to safely touch for several minutes.
Frost jotunns are immune to cold damage, but take additional damage from fire (equal to the attack's normal damage, up to a maximum of 5 additional points of fire damage).
Frost jotunn leaders sometimes have magical powers, usually related to illusions and weather.
- Interactions:
Frost jotunns tend to be hostile, but if in a generous mood, they may allow visitors to dine with them or rest in their halls. Once they grant someone hospitality, they are loath to break it unless they are attacked, robbed, or tricked.
- Uses:
A frost jotunn throws a boulder just to be threatening. A clever jotunn offers to share a story in exchange for food and conversation. A clan of jotunns uses the cover of a storm to raid a village.
- Loot:
Jotunns like fine things, and their homes usually have utensils, plates, weapons, and trophies made of precious materials and decorated with gems. They may have cyphers, and a leader may carry an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The jotunn's attack numbs one of the character's limbs, hindering all actions with it by two steps until it is healed.
- Source Book:
A lich is a powerful wizard or priest who has used their knowledge of necromancy to bind their soul in a magical object called a phylactery, making them immortal and undead unless their soul object is found and destroyed. Having corrupted its own life energy in an obscene ritual, a lich can pursue its other magical goals, usually the acquisition of more wealth, magic, and power. A newly made lich may look like a recent corpse, but maintaining its physical vessel becomes less of a priority as the centuries pass, so over time they tend to look withered or even skeletal. Liches often work with or command other undead, such as wraiths, skeletons, vampires, and zombies.
- Level:
8 (24)
- Motive:
Magic, immortality, power
- Environment:
Wherever they can remain hidden and work undisturbed (Other)
- Health:
45
- Damage:
8 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Intellect defense and magical lore as level 10
- Combat:
A lich can shoot blasts of necromantic energy that inflict 8 points of damage on a target and 4 points on any creature within immediate range of the target. A lich knows many spells, such as the following:
- Animate guards: Animate ten corpses as skeletons or zombies, which obey the lich for one hour before turning back into corpses.
- Armor: Gain +5 Armor for one hour.
- Death: Inflict 8 points of damage on a creature within short range; if the creature fails a Might defense roll, it also moves two steps down the damage track.
- Fly: For one hour, move through the air as effortlessly as walking.
- Paralyze: One target within short range is held motionless for two rounds, unable to take any physical actions.
- Polymorph: Transform a creature within short range into a harmless creature like a fish or frog for one minute.
- Scrying eye: View any familiar location within 1 mile (1.5 km) as if the lich was observing it directly.
- Teleport: Move instantly up to 1 mile. A lich also likely carries several cyphers useful in combat. Liches are undead, and therefore immune to anything that affects only living creatures, such as disease and poison. Unless its well-hidden phylactery is destroyed, a lich that is killed reforms a new body near its phylactery over the next week or so, returning at full health and with all of its abilities and memories.
- Interactions:
Liches hate being interrupted and have more important things to do than answer questions from mortal weaklings. A lich may be convinced to teach a character a spell, especially if given a spell, cypher, or artifact in trade.
- Uses:
A lich is planning a ritual to raise an army of skeletons or zombies to attack the kingdom. A lich has made a pact with a demon to unleash a plague in exchange for obscure magical knowledge.
- Loot:
- Intrusions:
The lich casts a spell in addition to taking other actions on its turn. The lich uses a cypher, spell, or other ability to nullify an attack that otherwise would have affected it.
- Source Book:
Merfolk are intelligent creatures with humanlike bodies from the waist up and scaly fish bodies from the waist down. They are able to breathe air or water but prefer the sea for its beauty and their better mobility. Merfolk have great underwater cities ruled by a king or queen, but most land-walking species interact only with the common or soldier merfolk who visit the ocean surface and coastlines. Merfolk societies are much like those of surface humans; their inability to use fire limits them in some ways (such as blacksmithing), but they have compensated for this with water magic and other skills.
Merfolk skin ranges from all human colors to green, blue, and grey. Some have small fins on their heads and elbows or webs between their fingers. They dress for comfort and wear jewelry made of shells, coral, pearls, polished gemstones, and metals they can salvage or trade for. Most of them are content to be hunters or cultivators of kelp and other aquatic plants, but some are curious about land-walkers (and their sunken ships) or fiercely territorial about protecting their waters against outsiders.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Defense, entertainment
- Environment:
Oceans, seas, and coasts (Ocean)
- Health:
9
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Immediate; short when swimming
- Modifications:
Perception as level 4 while in water
- Combat:
Merfolk use spears, tridents, daggers, and other stabbing weapons that are effective underwater. They may create traps using nets to confine or direct foes into an ambush. A few lucky or clever ones have acquired or adapted light crossbows designed to fire underwater up to a short distance away.
About once every ten minutes, a merperson can swim a short distance as their action and still make a melee attack, or swim up to a long distance as their action.
About one in ten merfolk have the magical ability to harden water until it is as strong and durable as wood, taking about an hour to make a spear or similar tool that lasts for several days. Some noble merfolk can create short-range bolts of electricity as an action and make limited alterations to the weather (stilling, increasing, or dispersing wind and clouds in a very long area) by concentrating for several minutes.
- Interactions:
Merfolk react according to their role in merfolk society-farmer, rancher, guard, explorer, noble, and so on. Some merfolk are more aggressive or hostile and dislike the presence of land-walkers in their territory. Most merfolk are amiable to conversation and trade with people who treat them with fairness and respect.
- Uses:
Merfolk are often seen sunning themselves on a small island off the coast. Merfolk warriors accompanied by trained large fish have been harassing boats and ships that stray too far from the shallows and shores. Trained large fish: level 2, attacks as level 3; swims a long distance each round
- Loot:
In addition to several small pieces of jewelry, a group of merfolk might have a manifest cypher. A noble or royal merperson usually has a cypher and might have an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The merfolk's weapon injects poison, inflicting 5 points of Speed damage if the character fails a Might defense task. Another merperson or an allied aquatic creature arrives and joins the fight against the character.
- Source Book:
Minotaurs are aggressive bull-humanoids who enjoy human flesh. Some legends say the first minotaur was the result of a curse from a god, and others suggest it was created by a demon, but the truth is lost to antiquity. Minotaurs care little about history or their origin, preferring to hunt for meat and spar with each other for dominance and trophies. Minotaurs live in small tribes of up to a dozen adults. Solitary minotaurs are exiles, last survivors of their tribe, or younger individuals claiming their own territory.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh
- Environment:
Caves, plains, and labyrinths (Wilderness)
- Health:
19
- Damage:
6 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Hunting and tracking as level 5
- Combat:
Minotaurs attack with their horns or use large weapons. A minotaur can charge up to a short distance and then make an attack, which inflicts an additional 3 points of damage.
Minotaurs are interested in mazes and mazelike spaces and like to wander within them, memorizing the paths and finding good places to stage ambushes. They leave out piles of equipment and useless treasures from previous victims to lure people into the maze and give the minotaur time to corner their prey. Sometimes one minotaur in a tribe develops simple magic powers and is able to create illusions of smoke or mist in an area a short distance across, turn invisible for a few moments, or enchant weapons to inflict bleeding wounds.
- Interactions:
Minotaurs can speak, usually in their own language or another crude humanoid language. However, they typically choose not to speak to weaker creatures (such as humans).
- Uses:
A wandering gang of minotaurs has been stealing livestock from a local village and is ready to start hunting humans. A minotaur gladiator escaped from a secret underground arena and is stalking prey in the city. Something lurks in a corn maze, leaving nothing but bones and bloodstains.
- Loot:
Minotaurs don't have much use for coins but keep a few small trophies, such as ivory dice, gems, or simple jewelry. The most powerful minotaur in the tribe may have a cypher or even a mastercraft weapon.
- Intrusions:
A minotaur smashes a nearby wall, causing part of the ceiling to collapse on one or more characters, inflicting 6 points of damage and trapping them until they can escape from the rubble. A minotaur grabs a character, who can resist with a Might or Speed defense roll; if they fail, the minotaur takes them up to a short distance away and disappears (behind an obstacle, into a maze, or in some other hiding spot)
- Source Book:
The most famous minotaur is the Minotaur, the singular beast from which all lesser minotaur myths descend. The product of a god-cursed union between human and bull, the Minotaur is monstrous, and only the flesh of people can nourish it. It is usually lost in a labyrinth created to contain it. But it occasionally gets free to hunt the wider world before the labyrinth pulls it back. Some demigods claim to have slain the Minotaur, but the Minotaur always returns.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh
- Environment:
Usually in mythological labyrinths, but sometimes metaphorical ones (Other)
- Health:
33
- Damage:
10 points
- Armor:
3
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Breaking through barriers as level 9
- Combat:
The Minotaur attacks by goring foes on its horns, inflicting 10 points of damage on a successful attack. If the Minotaur charges a short distance, it can attack as part of the same action and inflict an additional 5 points of damage.
The Minotaur is trapped by the labyrinth, but also part of it. Whenever a character attacks the Minotaur, they must succeed on an Intellect defense task or be claimed by the labyrinth themselves until they can escape with a successful difficulty 7 Intellect task. Those claimed by the labyrinth seem to disappear and find themselves wandering a dark maze. Once a character successfully escapes, they are no longer subject to being claimed by the labyrinth for several days.
If killed, the Minotaur's body is claimed by the labyrinth. Thirty-three days later, the Minotaur is resuscitated.
- Interactions:
The Minotaur can speak, but usually chooses not to. It is belligerent and cruel, and always hungry.
- Uses:
The Minotaur has escaped the labyrinth and now wanders the narrow streets of a metropolis, treating the winding alleys and twisting roads as its new maze.
- Intrusions:
The Minotaur smashes into the wall, causing a section of the tunnel or hallway to collapse on the character(s), inflicting 10 points of damage and trapping them until they can escape the rubble
- Source Book:
Morlocks are degenerate, blind cannibal humanoids that avoid light. They have prominent teeth, piglike eyes, loose skin, and stooped postures. They avoid bright daylight and prefer to hunt and forage when it is dark out (or at least under the twilight-like canopy of a heavy forest). Morlocks eat any sort of meat, even carrion and their own dead. Morlocks build piles of stones to mark their territory. On nights of the new moon, they create unnerving music by playing simple drums made out of skulls and logs. They lack the foresight to store food for lean times, so they range farther from home in winter and times of famine. They are sometimes enslaved by more powerful creatures such as ogres or a vampire.
- Level:
2 (6)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh, defense
- Environment:
Caves, forests, hills, and underground (Wilderness)
- Health:
6
- Damage:
2 points
- Movement:
Short; short when climbing
- Modifications:
Stealth and tracking as level 4
- Combat:
Morlocks fight with their nails and teeth, but sometimes they use simple weapons like clubs, stone knives, spears, and javelins if they have observed other humanoids doing so. Some tribes dig simple pit traps and chase prey into them.
Morlocks dislike strong light but are not harmed by it. Their hearing and sense of smell is strong enough that they can "see" in dim or very dim light as if it were normal light. They can track scents as well as a trained dog.
- Interactions:
Morlocks have a simple language of hoots, howls, and growls that communicate basic concepts like food, fire, danger, and cold. If enslaved by a more powerful creature, some of them can manage to learn a few words in that creature's language.
- Uses:
Town elders warn that the drums and near-human howls on dark nights are signs of morlocks who'll steal away foolish children. Stacked piles of stones are found in the forest, each surrounded by bare humanoid footprints.
- Loot:
Morlocks don't value what they can't eat, but their lair may have a cypher or two from a recent victim.
- Intrusions:
An unnoticed morlock drags away an unconscious character or animal to be eaten once they're out of sight.
- Source Book:
The ability to influence, command, and call up the dead is an impressive power, given how many more people are dead than living. Since the only thing separating a living person from a dead one is a well-aimed knife or death spell, the number of dead always rises.
- Level:
5 (15)
- Motive:
Magical power, mastery over death
- Environment:
In places where dead are interred, usually with some number of undead servitors (Other)
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Speed defense as level 6 due to shroud of undead protective spirits
- Combat:
Necromancers can blast a foe within long range with the cold of the grave or flesh-decaying magic.
A necromancer can cast a death spell on a foe within short range once every minute; the victim must succeed on a Might defense roll or move down one step on the damage track. This ability could be an innate power or come from an artifact.
A necromancer who isn't already accompanied by undead spirits or shambling, spirit-inhabited corpses under their command can call up a spirit as an action. A necromancer can command up to five spirits (or newly allied undead, as described below) at a time.
A necromancer can attempt to take command of a spirit or undead creature within short range. They automatically succeed against an unaligned undead target of level 4 or less. If a targeted spirit is already allied with or in service to a PC, the PC must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or lose control of the spirit to the necromancer's will for one minute.
Spirit: level 3; flesh-decaying touch inflicts 3 points of damage
- Interactions:
Necromancers are feared for their nonchalant attitudes toward life, especially the life of normal people (such as peasants and city folk). They will negotiate but usually don't have the capacity to care about another person's well-being; they're sociopathic.
- Uses:
A character has died, and their allies must find a necromancer to help retrieve their spirit. Of course, the necromancer wants something in return for this aid-perhaps an artifact pilfered from whatever underworld or hell the dead character is imprisoned within.
- Loot:
Necromancers have one or two expensive items, a cypher, and possibly an artifact.
- Intrusions:
A bony hand erupts from the ground at the character's feet. On a failed Speed defense roll, they are held in place until they can succeed on a Might task to escape. Each round the character fails to escape, the hand squeezes them for 3 points of damage.
- Source Book:
Whether noble or ignoble, some knights achieve an amazing mastery over weapons, combat, and courtly graces, eclipsing lesser warriors and champions. The quests of some noble knights can lead them far across the land into strange new territories where they encounter and defeat various magical creatures.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Accomplish noble (or ignoble) deeds
- Environment:
Almost anywhere, often alone, sometimes with followers (Other)
- Health:
50
- Damage:
10 points
- Armor:
3
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
All tasks related to heraldic lore and chivalry as level 8; Speed defense as level 8 while holding shield
- Combat:
Noble knights are armed with massive weapons they can wield in one hand, which means they can also hold a shield. They are skilled with melee weapons (such as a battleaxe, broadsword, or mace) and inflict lethal damage on a hit.
Noble knights can also rely on a magic artifact or two to aid them, and possibly a noble steed (Noble steed: level 5; moves a long distance each round). The artifact might be the very weapon a knight wields in combat and could grant them one or more of the following additional abilities:
Legendary Strength. The noble knight can call upon the artifact to grant them great strength or fortitude to accomplish a particular physical task (such as breaking down a door, lifting a boulder, or knocking down pillars holding up a structure), which they attempt as if they were level 10.
Regeneration. The noble knight regenerates 2 points of health per round while the weapon is drawn.
Resistance. The noble knight is immune to effects that would influence their mind, charm them, or put them to sleep.
- Interactions:
Flowery language and impeccable manners show a knight's noble background. Those who negotiate with one in good faith are likely to come away with something of value. However, sometimes a noble knight is corrupt and betrays trusts.
- Uses:
A noble knight has decided that they must guard a bridge against any who would cross it.
- Loot:
Noble knights carry weapons, heavy armor, and perhaps a cypher or even an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The character damaged by a noble knight's attack must succeed on a Might defense roll or be knocked off a mount, a bridge, or a cliff, or, if nothing suffices, they are knocked to the ground and out of immediate range of the knight.
- Source Book:
Paladins are heroes who swear a holy oath to vanquish evil. Their power and righteousness are a gift and a heavy burden, and most of them expect to die in battle against an evil foe.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Protecting the innocent, destroying evil
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Attacks and Might defense as level 5
- Combat:
Paladins like flashy weapons and shiny armor, which help them show their devotion to the ideals of goodness and draw the attention of evil foes. Many choose a two-handed weapon, but some prefer using a shield in their off hand (defense-oriented paladins like these inflict only 4 points of damage with their attacks but gain an asset on Speed defense).
Blessed by the powers of good, paladins can draw on innate holy magic for several purposes, such as detecting the presence of supernatural evil (demons, evil dragons, undead, and so on), restoring 4 health to themselves or a touched creature, smiting an evil foe to inflict an additional 4 points of damage, or breaking free of mind control.
- Interactions:
Paladins have big personalities and strongly believe in their purpose and goals. They have no tolerance for evil acts and are unwilling to look the other way when their allies want to bend the rules or take advantage of a "grey area." However, they are not fools and won't throw away their lives for nothing.
- Uses:
A paladin lays claim to a foe the characters are seeking or have captured. An old paladin is looking for one last villain to smite.
- Loot:
In addition to their weapons and armor, paladins might have one or two cyphers. More experienced ones might be lucky enough to have an artifact (usually a weapon or armor).
- Source Book:
Guardians of the wood, sapient trees stand eternally vigilant, often on the outskirts of their grove or forest to keep out those who might seek to do them-or other, ordinary trees- harm. They look like normal trees until they reveal their true nature, with limb-like branches and faces in the bark of their trunk. They don't always move, but with effort, they can uproot themselves and walk about. However, they usually do so only when no one is looking. The origin and temperament of sapient trees varies; they might be haunted trees possessed by spirits, trees animated by magic spells, or ancient mythical beings. Some are peaceful and noble, but others are downright wicked and cruel.
- Level:
3 (9)
- Motive:
Defense
- Environment:
Found in groves or copses of five to twenty (Forest)
- Health:
16
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
3
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Initiative as level 4; Speed defense as level 2 due to size
- Combat:
When a sapient tree attacks, it often does so with surprise because it looks like a normal tree at first. If a character about to be attacked fails an Intellect defense roll, they do not perceive the attack in time, and the tree's attack is eased.
If a tree strikes in combat with one of its branch-arms, it can choose to grab the foe (rather than inflict damage) and toss them an immediate distance away, inflicting 2 points of ambient damage if they hit the ground or another solid object. If they are tossed at another creature, that second creature must make a successful Speed defense roll or also take this damage.
Sometimes, a sapient tree that bears fruit will hurl its fruit up to short range, inflicting 4 points of damage.
- Interactions:
Sapient trees are generally unfriendly and indignant toward animal life. They are fearful and assume that any creature not native to their forest is a threat. They are likely to attack first rather than speak, although they can speak eloquently, if sometimes slowly.
- Uses:
These trees populate magic forests. They can be used to surprise characters with an attack from an unexpected direction.
- Intrusions:
The tree grabs the character and holds them fast, shaking them. They take 4 points of damage each round and can do nothing but attempt to escape (the task is hindered by two steps because of the shaking).
- Source Book:
Shadows are semi-intelligent patches of darkness roughly in the shape of a humanoid creature's silhouette. They creep along walls, floors, and ceilings, blending in with actual shadows, peeling themselves free only when they're ready to clutch at a victim with their cold claws.
- Level:
1 (3)
- Motive:
Hunger for life energy
- Environment:
Anywhere that shadows can occur (Other)
- Health:
3
- Damage:
2 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Stealth as level 3
- Combat:
Shadows attack with their claws, which feel like a cold breeze and drain 2 points of Might from their target with each hit. They can barely interact with physical objects, and even something as simple as moving a pebble an immediate distance or knocking over a candle takes intense concentration.
A group of five shadows can act as a swarm, focusing on one target to make one attack as a single level 3 creature, inflicting 4 points of damage. In an area of complete darkness with no illumination at all, shadows are effectively powerless-they cannot attack and all their actions are hindered. If suddenly deprived of light, they slink about menacingly for a few minutes but lose interest if it seems like their prey won't be bringing back the light.
Shadows are flat rather than insubstantial, but attacks that harm phased, ghostly, or similar creatures are fully effective against them. They can easily pass through narrow spaces such as the gap under a door or between the bars of a cell, but cannot move through solid objects.
- Interactions:
Shadows never speak, but they can make rustling noises like a gently moving curtain. If controlled or prevented from attacking, they can communicate with simple pantomimes and seem to understand some pieces of language.
- Uses:
The flickering shadows from a campfire bend strangely and begin to creep toward a nearby character. A person appears to have two shadows just before they feel icy coldness slide along their flesh.
- Intrusions:
The shadow attaches itself to a character and begins to take over as their shadow, automatically inflicting damage every round until the character uses an action to tear it off of them.
- Source Book:
A soul eater is the animate head of a powerful wizard who shuffled off this mortal coil to become an undead creature without ethics, feelings, or a sense of morality. Also called dread skulls, these creatures maintain their existence by occasionally absorbing the spirit or mind of living victims. An absorbed "soul" is burned away, which is why dread skulls are wreathed in flame; it's the by-product of the creature's previous meal.
- Level:
5 (15)
- Motive:
Hungers for souls
- Environment:
Usually at the center of tombs (Other)
- Health:
15
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Long when flying
- Modifications:
Resists mental attacks and deception as level 7; Speed defense as level 7 due to size and quickness; knowledge of arcane methodologies and rituals as level 8
- Combat:
A soul eater has a library of magic abilities it can draw upon, including long-range attacks of fire or cold against all targets within immediate range of each other, the ability to read the mind of a victim within short range on a failed Intellect defense roll, and the ability to cloak itself in the illusion of a normal human for up to an hour at a time.
In addition, a dread skull can draw out a victim's consciousness and absorb it in a blaze of supernatural fire. To do so, the creature must bite a target, which inflicts 5 points of damage; the target must then succeed on an Intellect defense roll or take an additional 5 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).
If a dread skull drains a character's Intellect Pool to 0 through repeated bites, the character's soul is sucked into the skull, and the body falls limp. Once absorbed into the skull, a victim's essence is trapped and slowly consumed over the next twenty-four hours. During this period, the skull regenerates 1 point of health per round.
If a dread skull isn't destroyed within twenty-four hours of eating a soul, the victim's essence is fully consumed. If the soul eater is defeated and its skull is shattered before then, all unconsumed souls are returned to their bodies.
- Interactions:
Dread skulls are slightly insane but hellishly smart, which means that sometimes they will negotiate to get what they want.
- Uses:
Soul eaters remember a little bit of the knowledge of every creature's essence they consume. The PCs need to learn the command word of an artifact they've found, but the only one who knew it was consumed by a dread skull.
- Loot:
Sometimes dread skulls keep treasures as trophies of past victories, consisting of 1d6 cyphers and maybe an artifact.
- Intrusions:
The character who uses a cypher against the dread skull must make an Intellect defense roll. On a failed roll, the cypher begins to burn with flame, dealing the character 5 points of damage and destroying the cypher in the process.
- Source Book:
A sphinx is a magical creature with a large lionlike body, feathered wings, and a head that is like that of a human or some kind of animal (typically a hawk or ram). Wise and fierce, sphinxes have a connection to the divine and are often found guarding temples or persons of great interest to the gods (although whether they serve good or evil depends on the individual sphinx). No matter what their head looks like, a sphinx can devour creatures as easily and quickly as a lion.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Defense, riddles
- Environment:
Deserts, plains, and mountains (Mountains)
- Health:
25
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
2
- Movement:
Short; long when flying
- Modifications:
Intellect defense and magical lore as level 8
- Combat:
A sphinx attacks with its lion claws, making two swipes as its action. A sphinx also has the following magical abilities:
- Curse: Curse a creature within long range, hindering all their physical actions by two steps until some other magic lifts the curse.
- Heal: Restore 10 health to an NPC, or allow a PC to use their next action to make a recovery roll that does not count toward their normal allotment. Can be used three times per day.
- Riddle: A creature within long range must make an Intellect defense roll to answer a difficult riddle; failure means the creature stands confused for one minute even if they are attacked.
- Spellbreaker: End an ongoing magical effect within short range, such as a curse or protective spell. If there are multiple effects, the sphinx chooses which one to end. It can target an immediate area instead of a specific effect (such as an area where it suspects an invisible enemy is hiding).
- Teleport: Instantaneously move a very long distance. Can be used once per day.
- Interactions:
Sphinxes are very intelligent and speak several languages (including at least one ancient or obscure language). If their demands are met (such as by answering a riddle or performing a service), they can be quite talkative, if arrogant.
- Uses:
A sphinx guards the main road into the city, killing anyone who fails to answer its riddle. A sphinx approaches, offering secret lore if the characters can direct it to a suitable mate or an abandoned temple it can restore and guard.
- Loot:
A sphinx usually has one or two cyphers and perhaps a small artifact it can wear and use.
- Intrusions:
The sphinx leaps onto its opponent, attacking with all four claws as its action.
- Source Book:
A thief takes things that don't belong to them-preferably with their victim remaining unaware of the crime until the thief is safely away. Burglars and pickpockets are the most common sort, but ambitious thieves are known to plan elaborate heists to steal priceless items from prominent targets.
- Level:
4 (12)
- Motive:
Greed, curiosity, risk
- Environment:
(Other)
- Health:
12
- Damage:
4 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short
- Modifications:
Balancing, climbing, perception, pickpocketing, and stealth as level 5
- Combat:
Thieves prefer small concealable weapons-knives, batons, and so on-so they can quickly make themselves look like an innocent bystander. Their goal is to escape, not kill, so they often rely on tricks like caltrops, spilled oil, and smoke pellets to distract or delay foes and give themselves an opportunity to get away. They aren't above using poison, typically a sleep poison that knocks out a foe for ten minutes on a failed Might defense task.
- Interactions:
Thieves run a broad range of personalities-nervous, arrogant, quietly confident, sarcastic, and more. They like to know the risks and rewards of what they'll be doing, and they don't like surprises.
- Uses:
A cocky thief steals an item from a character and returns it to prove their skills are up to the task. A gang of pickpockets targets a character's jewelry or cyphers.
- Loot:
Thieves usually carry light tools, a few small weapons, miscellaneous equipment for creating a distraction, and a cypher they plan to use or sell.
- Source Book:
A troll is a hideous humanoid standing at least 10 feet (3 m) tall that hunts more by smell than by sight. They are dangerous but not particularly intelligent. Always ravenous, trolls eat anything, and rarely take the time to cook a meal. Usually, they distend their mouths and throats and swallow subdued prey whole.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh
- Environment:
Nearly anywhere, hunting alone or in pairs (Wilderness)
- Health:
30
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Long
- Modifications:
Speed defense as level 5 due to size; Might defense as level 7; sees through deception as level 4
- Combat:
The troll attacks with its claws. If it hits, it grabs a foe tightly, then squeezes and bites until the victim is dead or it releases that victim to attack another creature. Each round that a held creature does not escape, they take 10 points of damage.
Trolls regain 3 points of health per round. If a troll suffers a particularly egregious wound (10 or more points of damage in one round), rather than regain health in that round (and instead of taking any other action), the troll divides into two level 4 trolls that are 3 feet (1 m) tall. Spawned trolls that survive the battle and have access to food grow into full-power trolls within a few weeks.
- Interactions:
Trolls speak their own simple language, but a few know a little bit of a local human language. Most prefer to attack and eat other creatures, but might be bargained with after a successful show of force. Spawned troll: level 4, Might defense as level 5; health 15; Armor 1; claws inflict 5 points of damage; grabbed victim suffers 5 points of damage each round held by troll
- Uses:
Trolls may be chance encounters in the wilderness for unlucky travelers. Sometimes captured trolls are used by slavers, armies, and powerful wizards as guards and warriors.
- Intrusions:
The struck troll divides into two separate trolls that immediately attack the character in the same action.
- Source Book:
This sodden, leather-wrapped humanoid smells of the sea. It moves effortlessly through the air, levitating above the ground while its damp wrappings writhe and squirm as if infested with thousands of worms-because they are. Each worm that walks is a mass of psionic grubs squirming through a slush of salty ooze. Individually the grubs are harmless vermin, but together they're a sentient entity, a single psionic mind formed of thousands of tiny, maggot-like pupae. The tightly wound leather straps covering a worm that walks are just as important for hiding its true nature as for adhesion. Despite being fully encased, the worm that walks senses its environment with a hard-to-fool sixth sense.
- Level:
7 (21)
- Motive:
Domination of other creatures, hunger
- Environment:
Almost anywhere (Other)
- Health:
30
- Damage:
7 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Immediate; short when flying
- Modifications:
Perception as level 8; Speed defense as level 5 due to slow nature
- Combat:
A worm that walks can strike a single target in immediate range with a leather-wrapped "fist" as its action. When it hits and deals damage, several grubs spill out and attach to the victim (getting under most armor unless it's hermetically sealed or behind a force field), who must make a Might defense roll to shake them loose. On a failure, the grubs begin to feed, and the target takes 5 points of damage (ignores Armor).
If a victim is killed while in immediate range of a worm that walks, the worms automatically engulf the body through a wide opening in their wrappings. The grubs go into a feeding frenzy, reducing the remains to nothing within minutes. During the frenzy, the worm that walks regenerates 2 points of health per round. A victim's equipment is retained for later study.
A worm that walks can also emit a psychic burst that can target up to three creatures in short range as its action. On a failed Intellect defense roll, a victim suffers 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and is unable to take actions on their subsequent turn. If the victim is attacked while so stunned, their defenses are hindered by two steps.
- Interactions:
A worm that walks can communicate telepathically with characters within short range. It negotiates only with those strong enough to harm it; otherwise, it tries to eat whoever it runs across. Even if the worm that walks makes a deal, it eventually reneges if it senses any advantage for doing so.
- Uses:
A worm that walks has been active in a small rural community for weeks, apparently in preparation for something it calls "the Great Hatching." If that refers to the hatching of more psychic grubs, it could spell trouble for a much larger region.
- Loot:
A worm that walks might have one or two cyphers, though during combat it will use any devices that could help it in the fight.
- Intrusions:
A character struck by the worm that walks notices that they weren't able to shake off all the grubs that spilled out. If they fail a Speed defense roll, a grub dives into their flesh and travels through their body, its route visible beneath their skin. The character is distracted (all tasks hindered) until the grub dies one minute later or is otherwise extracted
- Source Book:
When a spirit of a dead creature fails to find its way to the afterworld, escapes the same, or is summoned forth by a necromancer, it may become a wraith: a bodiless spirit of rage and loss. A wraith appears as a shadowy or misty figure that can resemble the humanoid figure it once was, though wraiths tend to swarm together, making it difficult to distinguish them from each other. Wraiths are often mindless, consumed by their condition. But on occasion, a wraith not too far gone still remembers its life and may respond to questions or seek to locate its loved ones or enemies. A wraith may even attempt to finish a task it started in life. But in time, even the strongest-willed spirit's mind erodes without physical substance to renew it, and it becomes an almost mindless monster of destruction.
- Level:
2 (6)
- Motive:
Destruction
- Environment:
Almost anywhere, singly or in groups of six to ten (Other)
- Health:
6
- Damage:
3 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short while flying
- Modifications:
Stealth as level 5
- Combat:
A wraith attacks with its touch, which rots flesh and drains life.
A wraith can become fully insubstantial. After it does so, the creature can't change state again until its next turn. While insubstantial, it can't affect or be affected by anything (except for weapons and attacks that specifically affect undead or phased creatures), and it can pass through solid matter without hindrance, but even simple magical wards can keep it at bay. While partly insubstantial (its normal state), a wraith can affect and be affected by others normally.
A group of five wraiths can act as a swarm, focusing on one target to make one attack roll as a single level 4 creature dealing 5 points of damage.
- Interactions:
Most wraiths moan and scream in rage. The rare few that retain reason can speak in a sepulchral voice, and they may even negotiate. Any alliance with a wraith is usually short-lived, since the creature eventually forgets itself and descends fully into rage and the desire to spread destruction.
- Uses:
The PCs are attacked while attending a burial, or they happen to pass close to or camp near a graveyard. Another swarm of wraiths appears in a location where an earlier group was destroyed (indicating a necromancer is summoning them).
- Intrusions:
The wraith screams out, summoning 1d6 more wraiths from the afterworld.
- Source Book:
Wyverns are aggressive lesser cousins of dragons. Their bodies are about the size of a heavy horse but their wingspan makes them seem much larger. Lacking a dragon's fiery breath or other magical abilities, wyverns rely on their strong flight and deadly stinger to catch and kill their prey, typically humanoids or large animals. Wyverns have four limbs- two legs used for clumsy walking and two arm-wings used for flight and balance.
- Level:
6 (18)
- Motive:
Hungers for flesh
- Environment:
Mountains, hills, and plains where large prey is plentiful (Mountains)
- Health:
35
- Damage:
5 points
- Armor:
1
- Movement:
Short; long when flying
- Modifications:
Perception as level 7; Speed defense as level 5 due to size
- Combat:
Wyverns prefer to attack from the air, moving up to a short distance and making three attacks (bite, venomous stinger, claws) as their action. If a wyvern has to fight on the ground, it can attack only with its bite and stinger on its turn.
The stinger injects poison, dealing an additional 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) if the opponent fails a Might defense roll. Because the wyvern hunts primarily out of hunger, it usually focuses its attacks on one creature, weakening the prey so the wyvern can carry it away and eat in peace.
- Interactions:
Wyverns lack the intelligence of true dragons. They are relatively smart animals (on par with large reptiles such as crocodiles) but can be distracted by easy prey. Allowing one to catch a pig, pony, or riding horse can give characters enough time to get safely away.
- Uses:
Hungry wyverns are known to swoop in and carry off livestock and travelers near a particular road or field. A gang of crafty bandits has managed to train a couple of wyverns as mounts and use them as flying cavalry for their troops on the ground.
- Loot:
Wyverns do not collect treasure, but their nest might have a few cyphers from previous victims. If carefully extracted, an intact venom gland from a dead wyvern can be used to poison one weapon (if sold, it is the equivalent of an expensive item).
- Intrusions:
As part of its attack, the wyvern grabs hold of the character and flies a short distance away. The character can escape with a Might or Speed defense roll (which probably means they fall to the ground and land prone). The wyvern uses a wing or its tail to slam a character so they are thrown a short distance away and land prone.
- Source Book:
In the default Medieval Europe-style fantasy setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to that time period) are usually available.
| Weapons | Notes |
|---|---|
Arrows (12) Crossbow bolts (12) |
|
| Knife (rusty and worn) | Light weapon (won’t last long) |
| Wooden club | Light weapon |
| Other Items | Notes |
|---|---|
Burlap sack Candle Iron rations (1 day) Torch (3) |
| Weapons | Notes |
|---|---|
| Blowgun | Light weapon, immediate range |
| Dagger | Light weapon |
| Handaxe | Light weapon |
| Sword (substandard) | Medium weapon (won’t last long) |
| Throwing knife | Light weapon, short range |
| Armor | Notes |
|---|---|
| Hides and furs | Light armor |
| Leather jerkin | Light armor |
| Other Items | Notes |
|---|---|
Rope Signal horn |
Hemp, 50 feet |
Spikes and hammer Tent |
10 spikes |
| Weapons | Notes |
|---|---|
| Battleaxe | Medium weapon |
| Bow | Medium weapon, long range |
| Cutlass | Medium weapon |
| Light crossbow | Medium weapon, long range |
| Quarterstaff | Medium weapon (requires 2 hands) |
| Sword | Medium weapon |
| Armor | Notes |
|---|---|
| Breastplate | Medium armor |
| Brigandine | Medium armor |
| Chainmail | Medium armor |
| Other Items | Notes |
|---|---|
Bag of heavy tools Bag of light tools |
| Weapons | Notes |
|---|---|
| Greatsword | Heavy weapon |
| Heavy crossbow | Heavy weapon, long range |
| Sword (jeweled) | Medium weapon |
| Armor | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dwarven breastplate | Medium armor, encumbers as light armor |
| Full plate armor | Heavy armor |
| Other Items | Notes |
|---|---|
| Disguise kit | Asset for disguise tasks |
| Healing kit | Asset for healing tasks |
| Spyglass | Asset for perception tasks at range |
| Armor | Notes |
|---|---|
| Elven chainmail | Medium armor, encumbers as no armor |
| Other Items | Notes |
|---|---|
| Sailing ship (small) |
Magic items are a staple of fantasy stories and games. In the Cypher System, these magic items are, of course, cyphers. The Cypher System assumes that subtle cyphers are the default, but in a fantasy game the assumption is usually the opposite—cyphers are physical objects (manifest cyphers) with magical powers, which the heroes find as treasure, gifts, or rewards for their adventures and exploits.
All of the cyphers in this chapter are manifest and fantastic cyphers.
There’s no reason why a fantasy campaign can’t use manifest cyphers and subtle cyphers. In this setup, manifest cyphers are the tangible objects found in treasure hoards, and subtle cyphers represent good fortune, the blessings of the gods, and other coincidences that benefit the characters.
What form a manifest cypher takes—such as a potion or scroll—doesn’t affect its abilities at all. A potion that eases the user’s next task by three steps is functionally identical to a magical scroll that does the same thing.
To randomly determine a manifest cypher’s form, roll on the following table.
| d100 | Cypher Form |
|---|---|
| 01-02 | Bone runeplate |
| 03-04 | Book page |
| 05-07 | Bottle of powder |
| 08-09 | Brand |
| 10-12 | Brick |
| 13-15 | Carved bone |
| 16-18 | Carved stick |
| 19-20 | Carved tooth |
| 21-23 | Chalky potion |
| 30-33 | Clay runeplate |
| 34-37 | Crystal |
| 38-39 | Elaborate scar |
| 40-42 | Envelope of powder |
| 43-44 | Fuming potion |
| 45-47 | Glass |
| 48-50 | Leaf |
| 51-54 | Leather scroll |
| 55-57 | Metal runeplate |
| 58-60 | Oily potion |
| 61-62 | Paper scroll |
| 63-66 | Papyrus scroll |
| 67-71 | Parchment scroll |
| 72-74 | Pouch of powder |
| 75-76 | Skin drawing |
| 77-80 | Stone |
| 81-82 | Tattoo |
| 83-85 | Thick potion |
| 86-88 | Tube of power |
| 89-92 | Vellum scroll |
| 93-96 | Watery potion |
| 97-00 | Wood runeplate |
| # | Cypher |
|---|---|
| 1 | Acid Resistance |
| 2 | Animal Control |
| 3 | Beast Shape |
| 4 | Clockwork Ant Lion |
| 5 | Cold Resistance |
| 6 | Demon Ward |
| 7 | Dimensional Folding |
| 8 | Dragon Ward |
| 9 | Electricity Resistance |
| 10 | Elemental Conjuration |
| 11 | Extradimensional Inventory |
| 12 | Fire Resistance |
| 13 | Giant Size |
| 14 | Instant Boat |
| 15 | Instant Tower |
| 16 | Locks Of Love |
| 17 | Lycanthrope Ward |
| 18 | Penultimate Key |
| 19 | Pixie Dust |
| 20 | Poison Resistance |
| 21 | Polliwog |
| 22 | Restorative Aura |
| 23 | Thought Listening |
| 24 | Tiny Size |
| 25 | Undead Ward |
| 26 | Vermin Swarm |
| 27 | Voice Thief |
| 28 | Walking Corpse |
| 29 | Wonder Clock |
The user gains Armor against acid damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
To activate the cypher, the user must succeed on an Intellect attack against a beast whose level does not exceed the cypher's level. If successful, the beast immediately becomes calm. The beast awaits the user's commands and carries out all orders to the best of its ability. The target remains so enslaved for a number of hours equal to the cypher's level minus the target's level. (If the result is 0, the target is enslaved for only one minute.) The beast could attack or defend, a dog could follow a scent or retrieve an object, a badger could dig a hole, and so on. The cypher doesn't give the user any special ability to understand the target or perceive through its senses. For example, the user can command an eagle to fly above a group of enemies, but the eagle can't describe what it sees and the user can't look through its eyes. "Beast" in this sense refers to creatures of animal-level intelligence and may include unintelligent magical creatures like basilisks, pegasi, and so on.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
The user transforms into a specific kind of animal, such as a bear, hawk, horse, or wolf (the kind of animal is determined by the cypher's creator). The user gains the animal's type of movement (swimming for a fish, flying for a bird, and so on) and two assets on tasks to pretend to be that animal. The user also gains an asset on one skill appropriate to their animal form (or two skills for cypher level 5 and higher). See the Animal Form Minor Abilities table. The magic shrinks or enlarges the user to a size more suitable for their animal form, but generally can't make them more than about 50 percent smaller or larger, so the user might become an unusually large bird or a small bear. This doesn't affect the animal's abilities. The user can still use all of their abilities that don't rely specifically on their normal form. For example, an Adept in wolf form can't wield a dagger because wolves don't have hands, but could still use a healing power or mind blast ability. After about an hour, the user returns to their normal form. Depending on the cypher, the user might still be able to speak in a humanoid language, talk in a "language" of animal noises that other transformed people can understand perfectly, speak with animals of the same kind, or none of the above.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
If one points the jaws in the direction of the target and then drops the cypher on the ground it will burrow underground for one round in and then burst onto the ground immediately latch itself on one of the targets legs and do damage equal to the level of the cypher.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Looks like a vicious clockwork palm-sized ant lion brooch.
- Type:
Manifest, Fantasy
- Source Book:
The user gains Armor against cold damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from demons, devils, and similar malevolent creatures.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
For a number of minutes equal to the cypher's level, one of your three dimensions collapses into an extradimensional space. While transformed in this way, you gain an asset to stealth tasks and Speed and Intellect defense tasks, you can move through any available space as long as your remaining two dimensions can squeeze through it, and you take 1 additional damage from physical attacks.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Edible, silk cloth, or gilded paper—or for a subtle cypher, a magic spell
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from dragons, wyverns, and similar magical reptilian creatures. In a typical fantasy campaign, a demon is a supernatural being from another dimension or plane of existence.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
The user gains Armor against electricity damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
Summons an elemental creature (air, earth, fire, or water) that can understand the verbal commands of the user. Once the elemental is summoned, commanding it is not an action. It can make attacks or perform actions as ordered to the best of its abilities, but it cannot speak. The elemental never goes farther than long range away from the user. The elemental is not particularly intelligent or capable of initiating action. It responds if attacked, but otherwise does only as commanded. The elemental remains for one hour per cypher level or until its physical form is destroyed, after which it vanishes back to its native realm.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
For one day, a number of willing creatures equal to the cypher level can access any item in each other's inventory. This effect crosses any physical distance, but not across planes of existence, such as recursions, or realities.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Scraps of cloth, a set of enchanted pouches, sewing needle—or for a subtle cypher, a magic spell
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
The user gains Armor against fire damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
The user grows to about one and a half times their normal size. While at this larger size, they add 4 points to their Might Pool and +2 to their Might Edge, but their Speed defense rolls are hindered. They return to their normal size after a minute. When the effect ends, their Might Edge returns to normal, they lose the penalty to Speed defense, and they subtract 4 points from their Might Pool (if this brings the Pool to 0, they subtract the overflow first from their Speed Pool and then, if necessary, from their Intellect Pool). If the user is an NPC, the cypher increases their health by 4, eases their Might-based tasks, and hinders their Speed defense. When the effect ends, they lose 4 health and all of the other advantages and penalties from the cypher.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
Creates or transforms into a small sailboat that can carry up to eight people. The user or other characters must row, steer, and sail the boat as normal. At cypher level 5 and higher, the boat grants an asset on all tasks relating to its movement, and at cypher level 7 and higher, the boat can move a short distance each round under its own power. The boat lasts for a day, after which it vanishes.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
Creates a simple, squat stone tower with a door, three arrow slits, and a ceiling hatch leading to the roof. The tower is 10 feet (3 m) square and 12 feet (4 m) tall. If the cypher level is 7 or higher, the tower also has a second story (with four arrow slits), increasing its total height to 20 feet (6 m). If there isn't sufficient room for the tower to reach its full size, it fills the available space, but its appearance and growth does not apply any force or pressure against the confining surfaces. The tower is permanent and immobile once created.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
These braided or tied locks of hair are blessed by the bond of true love. You can burn the locks as a part of a one- or ten-hour recovery roll, consuming and destroying them. When the ritual is complete, the creature that donated their hair to create the braid knows it, and you are energized by your connection to them. For the next 24 hours, all your tasks are eased by one step.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Braid of hair, locket, photograph, or other token from a great love—or for a subtle cypher, a prayer
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from werewolves and other lycanthropes. Lycanthrope: Formally, a human who can transform into a wolf. Informally, a human who can transform into an animal, such asa bear, rat, tiger, or wolf.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
Locks or unlocks any one door, portal, chest, or other lockable item of the cypher's level or lower. The targeted item must have a keyhole for the cypher to work. Legends speak of the Ultimate Key, which can open any lock, even those sealed by a god.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
You can throw this bag of dust at target up to a short distance. On a hit, roll a d20 and consult the Pixie Dust Effects table.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Bag of sparkling, faintly glowing dust—or for a subtle cypher, an burst of wild magic
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The target is wreathed in light, glowing faintly. They are clearly visible in darkness, and cannot become invisible. |
| 2 | The dust is loud—the target and all creatures within an immediate distance of it take sonic damage equal to the cypher level. |
| 3 | Roll a d20. On a 1–10, the target shrinks to half its size and its might actions are hindered and it substracts the cypher's level from its damage rolls. On a 11–20, the target's dize is doubled, and its might actions and eased, and it deals additional damage equal to the cypher level. These effects last for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level. |
| 4 | The target sneezes, causing a great wind to erupt from it in a random direction determined by the GM. Creatures in the wind's path must succeed on a Might defense roll against the cypher level or be knocked prone. |
| 5 | The target's skin, hair, pigment, or other coloration shift to new, random hues. This effect is permanent. |
| 6 | The target's shadow detaches and attempts to flee. This effect is permanent. |
| 7 | The target's eyes, ears and other sensory organs double in size. They gain an asset to perception tasks. This effect is permanent. |
| 8 | The target spends their next turn expelling live frogs from their mouth, unable to do anything else. |
| 9 | The target becomes confused, acting randomly (at the GM's discretion). The creature's damage rolls inflict additional magical damage equal to the cypher level, which ignores Armor. |
| 10 | The target becomes inert, asleep, or deactivated for ten minutes per cypher level. |
| 11 | The target takes poison damage equal to the cypher level. Additionally, whenever they breathe or speak, colorful, glowing bubbles erupt from their nose and mouth whenever they breathe or speak, hindering stealth tasks. This effect lasts for a number of weeks equal to the cypher level. |
| 12 | The target is petrified, turned to stone for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level. |
| 13 | The target can speak only their first language, and cannot knowingly tell a lie. These effects last for a number of minutes equal to the cypher level. |
| 14 | The target is wreathed with static. dealing electricity damage equal to the cypher level to all other creatures within an immediate distance (but not the target). |
| 15 | The target takes damage equal to the cypher level and loses its balance. Try as it might on its next turn, it cannot stand back up. |
| 16 | The target gains a strange compulsion. If the creature speaks, reads, or hears your name, they spend their action on their next turn removing an piece of equipment or clothing they are wearing or carrying. The effects last for a number of minutes equal to the cypher level. |
| 17 | The target becomes invisible for a number of minutes equal to the cypher level, or until it attacks or casts a spell. |
| 18 | The target can fly a short distance each round. The effects last for 10 minutes per cypher level. |
| 19 | The target can perform one additional action each round, but can't use this additional action to perform an action they took the previous turn. These effects last for 1 minute per cypher level. |
| 20 | The target's body becomes translucent, revealing their internal systems and organs for a number of minutes equal to the cypher level. Attack rolls of 17–18 against the creature create a Minor effect, and attack rolls of 19–20 against it create a major effect. |
The user gains Armor against poison damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
You target a creature you can see within short range. If you succeed in your attack, roll a d10, and consult the Polliwog Effects table. Once each hour, the target can attempt a Might action to end the effects, which subside on their own within a day. Just before each attempt, the target momentarily returns to their original form.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Potion of glowing green liquid, puffy mushroom—or for a subtle cypher, a hex
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | The target assumes the form of a frog. (Level 1; swims as level 2) |
| 5-7 | The target assumes the form of a giant frog. (Level 3; swims as level 4) |
| 8-10 | The target's head becomes that of a frog's—and it has the intelligence of a frog. It cannot speak, except to other frogs, and it gains an asset to interactions with them. |
| 11-13 | The target's eyes bulge, its voice becomes a hoarse croak, and it grows webbing between its fingers and toes. It can breathe air and water, it gains an asset to swimming tasks, and it can jump a short distance on its turn, even without a running start. In this state, social interaction tasks are hindered. |
| 14-17 | Its mouth becomes a wide, froggy grimace. It can make unarmed strikes within a short range with its tongue, which inflict 3 damage on a hit. However, it is also compelled to attempt to eat small creatures near it. |
| 18-19 | The effects are delayed by one minute, during which the target remains in its normal form. |
| 20 | The target assume the form and mentality of an angry swamp womp. (Level 6, swims as level 7, can devour creatures as large as a human with a successful tongue attack.) |
Creates an immediate area filled with aromatic smoke, reassuring sounds, gentle light, or other pleasing sensations that last for one hour. Creatures who rest within the area gain +2 on their recovery rolls (or +4 for cypher level 5 and higher). NPCs instead recover 2 health if they spend at least ten minutes within the area (or 4 health for cypher level 5 and higher). For a creature to gain this benefit, its entire rest must occur while the cypher is active.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
The user can read the surface thoughts of a creature within short range that they can see, even if the target doesn't want them to. Once the user has established contact, they can read the target's thoughts for up to one minute per cypher level.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
The user shrinks to about one-tenth their normal size. While at this smaller size, they add 4 points to their Speed Pool and +2 to their Speed Edge, but all of their Might actions are hindered by two steps. They return to their normal size after a minute. When the effect ends, their Speed Edge returns to normal, they lose the penalty to Might actions, and they subtract 4 points from their Speed Pool (if this brings the Pool to 0, they subtract the overflow first from their Intellect Pool and then, if necessary, from their Might Pool). If the user is an NPC, the cypher eases their Speed-based tasks and hinders their Might-based tasks. When the effect ends, they lose all of the advantages and penalties from the cypher.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from skeletons, zombies, ghosts, vampires, and other undead creatures.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
A swarm of rats, (or other similar vermin appropriate for the environment) burst forth from the ground or a wall at any point you choose within long range. The vermin are level 1 creatures, but will scratch and bite any creature within immediate range of them, inflicting damage equal to the cypher level each round and hindering all tasks in the area. After a number of rounds equal to the cypher level, the swarm will disperse, scattering in all directions.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Hunk of cheese, mousetrap, bit of flesh, or rotten egg—or for a subtle cypher, a conjuration
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
You steal the voice of a creature within short range. For the next 24 hours, the creature cannot speak or make any sound from its mouth, and you can speak with a perfect facsimile of the creature's voice when you desire it. You can speak languages you know, or any language the creature you stole the voice from knows, although you have no special ability to understand any responses in languages you do not know yourself.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Dictaphone, silk glove, or seashell—or for a subtle cypher, a magic spell or curse
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
Animates a corpse as a level 1 (or level 2 for cypher level 5 and higher) undead skeleton or zombie, depending on the condition of the body. The corpse can be no larger than a typical human. The animated corpse has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows the user's verbal commands for one hour, after which it becomes an inert corpse. Unless the creature is killed by damage, the user can reanimate it again when its time expires, but any damage it had when it became inert applies to its newly reanimated state.
- Level:
1d6
- Type:
Fantasy, Fantastic, Manifest
- Source Book:
Activating this cypher takes 10 minutes, at the end of which, you anchor your essence to the current coordinates of your timeline, creating a waypoint for your possible return. For a number of hours equal to ten times the cypher level, you can use an action to return to your waypoint. When you use the cypher, you can also set conditions that would trigger a return to your waypoint (for example, your death, the failure of a particular objective, or a spoken codeword). When you return, you retain all memories of your experiences. When the wonder clock is activated, each PC should record their location and status, including Pool amounts, expended abilities, and any cyphers, artifacts, or other equipment in their possession.
- Level:
10
- Form:
Miniature grandfather clock, platinum sundial, hourglass pendant, or wristwatch—or for a subtle cypher, a magic ritual
- Type:
Subtle, Manifest, Fantastic, Fantasy
- Source Book:
If cyphers are the expendable magic that is ever-present in fantasy, artifacts are the more durable magic items that can be used over and over again—swords, armor, tomes of weird magic, cloaks of invisibility, and so on. Unlike cyphers, there is no limit to how many artifacts a character can bear; an entire campaign might stem from an ongoing quest to collect all of the legendary items carried by a famous hero.
The rest of this chapter is examples of artifacts suitable for a fantasy game. The artifacts are divided into two tables—one for minor items (artifacts that don’t have particularly flashy or world-affecting abilities) and one for major items (artifacts that do). A GM running a campaign where magic is subtle, weak, or otherwise limited can use the minor items table, and a GM of a campaign where some magic can do powerful or even impossible things can roll on either table.
| d100 | Artifact |
|---|---|
| 01-02 | Adamantine rope |
| 03-06 | Alchemist bag |
| 07-09 | Armored cloth |
| 10-15 | Belt of strength |
| 16-18 | Bounding boots |
| 19-21 | Cats eye spectacles |
| 22-24 | Cloak of elfkind |
| 25-26 | Coil of endless rope |
| 27-28 | Crown of the mind |
| 34 | Crystal ball |
| 35-37 | Deflecting shield |
| 38-40 | Elfblade |
| 41-43 | Enchanted armor |
| 44-49 | Exploding arrow |
| 50-55 | Gloves of agility |
| 56-58 | Gruelmaker |
| 59-60 | Helm of water breathing |
| 61-66 | Mastercraft armor |
| 67-72 | Mastercraft weapon |
| 73-75 | Mindshield helmet |
| 76-77 | Pack of storage |
| 78-79 | Poisoners touch |
| 80-85 | Protection amulet |
| 86-87 | Shield of two skies |
| 88-92 | Skill ring |
| 93 | Soulflaying weapon |
| 94-96 | Sovereign key |
| 97-98 | Tunneling gauntlets |
| 99 | Vorpal sword |
| 00 | Whisperer in the ether |
Note
The Deflecting Shield is listed in the above table, but not included in the CSRD text.
| d100 | Artifact |
|---|---|
| 01-03 | Angelic ward |
| 04 | Book of all spells |
| 05 | Cloak of Balakar |
| 06-07 | Crown of eyes |
| 08 | Deaths scythe |
| 09-10 | Demonflesh |
| 11 | Demonic rune blade |
| 12-15 | Dragontongue weapon |
| 16-18 | Dragontooth soldiers |
| 19-20 | Explorers gloves |
| 21-23 | Falcon cloak |
| 24-25 | Flying carpet |
| 26-27 | Ghostly armor |
| 28-30 | Guardian idol |
| 31-33 | Hand of glory |
| 34-36 | Horn of thunder |
| 37-39 | Instant ladder |
| 40-43 | Lightning hammer |
| 44-47 | Necromantic wand |
| 48-50 | Ring of dragons flight |
| 51-53 | Ring of fall flourishing |
| 54-56 | Ring of invisibility |
| 57 | Ring of wishes |
| 58-60 | Smooth-Stepping boots |
| 61-62 | Soul-stealing knife |
| 63-65 | Spellbook of elemental summoning |
| 66 | Spellbook of the amber mage |
| 67-69 | Staff of black iron |
| 70-74 | Staff of healing |
| 75-77 | Staff of the prophet |
| 78-79 | Storm shack |
| 80-83 | Trap runestone |
| 84-88 | Wand of firebolts |
| 89-93 | Wand of spiders webbing |
| 94-97 | Witchs broom |
| 98-00 | Roll twice on the Minor Fantasy Artifacts table |
This length of rope has the flexibility of ordinary rope but a hardness greater than steel. It is impervious to damage (including attempts to cut it) from anything less than the artifact's level.
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
A 50-foot (15 m) length of black rope
- Source Book:
This bag can contain up to one cypher per artifact level, as long as each is no larger than a typical potion bottle or scroll case. These cyphers do not count against a character's cypher limit.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Embroidered velvet bag
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20 (check each time a cypher is added to the bag)
- Source Book:
Once activated, the figurine's spirit emerges and becomes semisolid as a glowing, human-sized winged angel. It follows within 3 feet (1 m) of the figurine owner. Anything within long range that attacks the owner is attacked by the angelic ward, which sends out a bolt of flesh-rotting energy, doing damage equal to the artifact's level. Once activated, it functions for a day.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Tiny figurine of a winged angel
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
This clothing is soft and flexible, as expected, except when it is struck or crushed with force, at which point it hardens, providing +1 to Armor. It then immediately returns to its normal state (which is in no way encumbering). This clothing cannot be worn with armor of any kind.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Suit of typical clothing (robe, dress, jerkin and breeches, and so on)
- Source Book:
The belt enhances the strength and endurance of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Might Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the belt, any excess Might points above their normal maximum Might Pool are lost; if they wear the belt again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Thick leather belt with a metal buckle and rivets
- Source Book:
This mysterious spellbook is said to contain knowledge of hundreds of spells-perhaps even all spells. Each set of facing pages includes the magical runes for one spell and a description of the spell and how to use it. When a character first opens the book, the GM randomly determines what type of spell is shown by rolling on the following table, then rolling on the indicated table in the Cypher System Reference Document. The bearer can cast the spell on the page as if it were a cypher with a level equal to the book's level. This doesn't remove the spell from the page (it can be cast again and again), but it does require a depletion roll. As part of another action, the bearer can turn the page to find a new spell, but only forward, never backward. It is said that turning to the last page makes the book vanish and appear somewhere else in the world. The artifact always remembers the last page it was turned to. Opening the book always presents that page. Attempting to copy, remove, or destroy a page only makes the book turn to a later page on its own.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Weighty tome filled with pages of spell runes
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100 (Check each time the book is used or the bearer turns a page. The chance of depletion increases by 1 each time it is used [1 in 1d100, 2 in 1d100, 3 in 1d100, and so on]. Instead of depleting, the book might turn to a later page, or disappear and reappear somewhere else in the world.)
- Source Book:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Roll on the Manifest Cypher table |
| 3-5 | Roll on the Fantastic Cypher table |
| 6 | Roll on the Subtle Cypher table |
The boots assist the wearer's every step to make jumping and running easier. The boots are an asset for jumping and running (easing one of these skills by two steps if the artifact is level 6 or higher).
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Sturdy but flexible boots
- Source Book:
Outside, the wearer can see at night as if it were daylight. Inside, the wearer can see in pitch darkness up to short range (or to long range if the artifact is level 5 or higher).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Pair of dark crystalline spectacles in a dull wooden frame
- Source Book:
The wearer can calm winds of the artifact's level or lower in a radius of 1 mile (1.5 km). Up to once a day, the wearer can create a destructive windstorm up to that size, lasting one minute; this storm's level is equal to half the artifact's level.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Blue cloak with elaborate designs suggesting blowing wind
- Depletion:
1 in 1d6 (on depletion, cloak disappears and reappears somewhere else in the world)
- Source Book:
When activated (by drawing the hood over the wearer's head), the cloak takes on the colors and textures of everything around the wearer for ten minutes (or one hour if the artifact is level 8 or higher). This eases hiding and sneaking tasks by two steps. While the cloak is activated, the wearer can also see in the dark.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Thin greyish-green cloak with a cowl and clasp
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
This cloak is woven of beautiful fibers and set with dazzling gems. It automatically fits itself to its wearer in the most flattering way. When activated, it enhances the wearer's appearance, voice, tone, and even their grammar, granting an asset to all interaction tasks for the next minute.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Multilayered cloak of glittering material
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
The coil of rope can be let out at a rate of 50 feet (15 m) per round; however, no end to the rope can be found no matter how long the user uncoils it. The rope retains its incredible length until recoiled or until it becomes depleted. If cut, any length beyond the coil's initial 50 feet crumbles into powder after a round or two.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Coil of rope
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20 (check each use that extends it beyond 50 feet)
- Source Book:
It takes one round to activate the crown. When activated, the crystal spheres separate from the crown and fly around the wearer at immediate range for an hour. The wearer can see anything the crystal spheres can see. This allows the wearer to peek around corners without being exposed to danger. This gives the wearer an asset in initiative and all perception tasks.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Metallic circlet set with several crystal spheres
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
The crown augments the mind and thoughts of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Intellect Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the crown, any excess Intellect points above their normal maximum Intellect Pool are lost; if they wear the crown again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Crown, circlet, headband, diadem, or amulet
- Source Book:
This allows the user to scry (view) remote locations and creatures. The user must make a difficulty 2 Intellect task to activate the crystal ball, then use an action trying to make it show a person or location they know. The user must succeed at an Intellect task against the level of the target; otherwise, the crystal shows only indistinct or misleading images. The task roll is modified by how familiar the target is to the user, how available they are to be viewed, and how far away they are.
Familiarity: Only have name or description: Hindered Target has been visited: Eased Target is well known to the user: Eased Availability Target is willing: Eased Target is unwilling: Hindered Distance More than 1 mile: Hindered More than 10 miles: Hindered More than 100 miles: Hindered
These modifiers are cumulative, so trying to view a level 4 target who the user knows only by name (+1 step), is unwilling (+1 step), and is 20 miles away (+2 steps) is a difficulty 8 task.The crystal shows the creature or area for one minute before the image becomes muddled and the artifact must be activated again. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, the user can choose to apply a level of Effort to open two-way communication with the viewed area. All creatures in the area can sense the user's presence and hear their voice, and the creatures can speak to and be heard by the user. An unwilling creature's defenses against magic and Intellect attacks should hinder scrying attempts just as they would against a directly harmful mental spell.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Melon-sized crystalline or glass orb, with or without a support stand
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
This scythe functions as a heavy weapon. In addition, it instantly kills level 1 or level 2 creatures it hits. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, the user can choose to use a level of Effort to affect a higher-level target; each level of Effort applied increases the level of creature that can be instantly killed by the scythe. Thus, to instantly kill a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), the wielder must apply three levels of Effort.
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Double-handed scythe
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20 (check per killing effect; upon depletion, a Level 7 manifestation of Death appears to reclaim its blade)
- Source Book:
When activated, the ball liquefies and coats the body of the user for one hour, appearing to be a form-fitting leather suit veined with pathways of dully glowing blood. As an action, the wearer can become invisible. While invisible, they are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if they do something to reveal their presence or position-attacking, casting a spell, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, they can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding their position. The wearer can inflict 3 points of damage with a touch by releasing a dark crackle of demonic power. This attack ignores most Armor, but Armor made to ward against evil or demonic attacks should work against it. To randomly determine what kind of dragontongue weapon is found, see Chapter 4: Medieval Fantasy Equipment, page 34.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Ball of black leather with vein-like red streaks
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
This longsword functions as a medium weapon, but it is actually a powerful demon transformed into the shape of a sword. The demon cannot speak directly to the wielder, but it can make its desires known by emitting bass rumbles and dirgelike melodies, and by pulling in the direction of its desire. The sword eases all attacks made with it by one step, and it inflicts 4 additional points of damage (for a total of 8 points). If the wielder kills a creature with the sword, the sword eats the creature's spirit and transfers some of its energy to the wielder, adding 5 points to their Might Pool and increasing their Might Edge by 1. This lasts for an hour and allows the wielder to exceed their normal Might Pool and Might Edge stats.If the wielder misses with an attack, the blade sometimes hits an ally of the wielder instead (this always happens on an attack roll of 1).
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Sword inscribed with demonic runes
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10 (check each time a killed creature's life force is absorbed; if depleted, the sword's magical abilities can be recharged if it kills an "innocent" creature)
- Source Book:
This weapon functions as a normal weapon of its type. If the wielder uses it to attack a foe, upon a successful hit, the wielder decides whether to activate the flame. Upon activation, the weapon lashes the target with fire, inflicting additional points of damage equal to the artifact level. The effect lasts for one minute after each activation.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Weapon that roars with red flame when activated, trailing a stream of black smoke
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
If a tooth is drawn from the bag and cast upon the earth, a dragontooth warrior appears, ready to fight for the user for up to ten minutes before going their own way. The user can draw several teeth at once from the bag, but each tooth drawn requires a separate depletion roll. Dragontooth warrior: level equal to the artifact level, Speed defense as artifact level + 1 due to shield; Armor 1; spear attack (melee or short range) inflicts damage and impedes movement of victim to immediate range for one round.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Burlap bag containing a handful of large reptilian teeth
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
This sword can be used as a normal medium sword that deals 2 additional points of damage (for a total of 6 points). The short sword can cut through any material of its level or lower with ease, owing to its exceptional sharpness. The blade sheds a blue light as bright as a candle to warn when goblins, orcs, trolls, or similar creatures are within 300 feet (90 m).
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Medium sword
- Source Book:
This armor is carefully crafted and reinforced with magic to be stronger and more protective than typical armor. It is armor according to its type (light, medium, or heavy), but it grants an additional +1 Armor (or +2 if the artifact is level 7 or higher) beyond what it would normally provide. For example, chainmail is medium armor (2 Armor), so enchanted chainmail provides a total of 3 Armor (for artifact level 6 or lower) or 4 Armor (for artifact level 7 or higher). The additional Armor provided by the magic also applies to damage that often isn't reduced by typical armor, such as heat or cold damage (but not Intellect damage).
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Full suit of light, medium, or heavy armor
- Source Book:
The arrow explodes when it strikes something, inflicting its level in damage to all within immediate range. Roll d100 to determine the type of damage. One advantage of an exploding arrow over a detonation cypher is that the arrow doesn't count toward your cypher limit. An exploding arrow can instead be a crossbow bolt, sling stone, or other thrown weapon or projectile.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Arrow with runes carved on the shaft and head
- Depletion:
Automatic
- Source Book:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-20 | Acid |
| 21-40 | Electricity |
| 41-60 | Cold |
| 61-90 | Fire |
| 91-100 | Necromantic (harms only flesh) |
The wearer can cling to or climb any surface for up to one hour. Even level 10 climbing tasks become routine while the gloves are activated, but taking any other action while climbing requires a new activation.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Thick but flexible-fingered leather gloves
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
For ten hours, the wearer becomes a falcon whose level is equal to the artifact level. The falcon can fly a long distance each round, or up to 60 miles (97 km) per hour when traveling overland.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Cloak made of feathers
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
The carpet flies a long distance each round, carrying up to five passengers. It flies for up to ten hours per activation. When traveling overland, the artifact can achieve a flying speed of 60 miles (97 km) per hour.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Silken rug with repeating designs bordered with a pattern that suggests scudding clouds
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
This armor is carefully crafted and reinforced with magic to be stronger and more protective than typical armor. It is armor according to its type (light, medium, or heavy), but it grants an additional +1 Armor beyond what it would normally provide. For example, chainmail is medium armor (2 Armor), so ghostly chainmail provides 3 Armor. When activated, the armor randomly makes the wearer ghostly and immaterial for ten minutes (or for one hour if the artifact is level 9 or higher), which hinders attacks on the wearer by two steps without hindering any of the character's abilities. Special multidimensional weapons or attacks (such as abilities meant to harm ghosts) ignore this defense.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Full suit of light, medium, or heavy armor
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10 (for the ghostly defense ability, but after depletion, the suit still functions as normal armor and provides its full Armor value)
- Source Book:
The gloves enhance the dexterity and reflexes of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Speed Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the gloves, any excess Speed points above their normal maximum Speed Pool are lost; if they wear the gloves again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Supple leather or cloth gloves
- Source Book:
The bowl fills itself to the brim with a bland-tasting tan porridge that provides enough nutrition for one person for one day (or two people if the artifact is level 5 or higher).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Clay bowl stamped with symbols of fish and birds
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
It takes two rounds to balance this artifact on its metal leg, and then it requires an action to activate. When activated, the idol stares at the activating character and nearby creatures for five rounds, memorizing their faces and shapes. After that, if anything the idol doesn't recognize (and is larger than a mouse) comes within long range, it spits a small ball of fire at the target. The fire inflicts damage equal to the artifact level. The idol can attack up to ten times per round, but it never attacks the same target more than once per round. It remains on watch for twenty-four hours or until it has made one hundred attacks, whichever comes first.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Demonic idol on top of a thin metal leg that is 1 foot (30 cm) tall
- Depletion:
Automatic
- Source Book:
A hand of glory has several potential uses, including the following. In all cases, the candles making up the hand must be lit and burning to produce an effect. Insensibility: A target within short range is held motionless and unable to take actions as long as the lit hand remains within range (or until the target is attacked or otherwise snapped out of the trance). Invisibility: User is invisible for up to one minute while holding the hand. While invisible, the user is specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. Thief 's Passage: A locked or barred door or a container whose level is less than or equal to the hand's level becomes unlocked when touched by the hand.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Dried humanoid hand with candle-tip fingers
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
The wearer's head is enveloped in a tight bubble of air that constantly renews itself, allowing them to breathe underwater indefinitely, speak normally, and so on.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Green metal helm with a scaly or fishy motif
- Depletion:
1-2 in 1d100 (check each day)
- Source Book:
The hermit crab artifact can be activated for 10 minutes and sent to fetch one item that weighs 5 pounds or less. If the material is of a liquid nature it's able to remove its shell and carry 8 ounces back to its owner.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
This artifact resembles a metallic hermit crab with extra-large claws and is about the size of two fists put together.
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
This massive instrument can barely be held or carried by a single person. When activated, it emits a 50-foot (15 m) wide cone of pure sonic force out to long range. Any creature in that area is knocked prone and stunned for one round, losing its action. Unfixed items the size of a human or smaller are toppled and/or moved at least 5 feet (1.5 m). Larger objects might also be toppled.
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Large signal horn banded with metal and carved with runes
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
When activated, the rod extends and produces rungs so that it can be used as a ladder up to 28 feet (9 m) long. The ladder can be transformed back into its rod form from either end.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Small lightweight metal rod with gem buttons
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
This hammer functions as a normal heavy weapon. However, if the wielder uses an action to activate it, the weapon radiates electricity for one round. If used to attack on the next round, the hammer inflicts an additional 10 points of electricity damage. The user can choose to strike the ground instead, sending shockwaves of electricity outward that deal 5 points of damage to everyone within short range.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Massive silver hammer that crackles with electricity
- Depletion:
1 in 1d6 (still usable as a normal heavy weapon after depletion)
- Source Book:
This armor grants its wearer an asset for Speed defense rolls.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Armor of exceptional quality
- Source Book:
This weapon grants its wielder an asset for attack rolls made with it.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Weapon of exceptional quality
- Source Book:
The wearer gains 3 Armor that protects against Intellect damage only. Further, attempts to affect the wearer's mind are hindered (or hindered by two steps if the artifact is level 7 or higher).
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Lightweight cloth, leather, or metal helmet
- Source Book:
This wand emits a faint short-range beam of sickly violet light that affects only organic creatures and materials. Living targets hit by the beam move one step down the damage track. Nonliving organic targets are likely destroyed. This device is a rapid-fire weapon and thus can be used with the Spray or Arc Spray abilities that some characters have, but each "round of ammo" used or each additional target selected requires an additional depletion roll.
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Bone wand carved with runes
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
This pack's mouth can be loosened to open as wide as 6 feet (2 m) in diameter. It is larger on the inside than on the outside, and can carry up to 500 pounds (226 kg) or 10 cubic feet (.3 cubic m). The pack weighs about one-tenth as much as it is holding.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Leather backpack or haversack with multiple pockets
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100 (check each time something is added to the pack; on depletion, all objects are expelled from the pack)
- Source Book:
When the wearer activates the glove (which might require speaking a command word or tracing a specific pattern on its surface), it secretes a small amount of poison. The next creature the wearer touches with the glove takes Speed damage equal to the artifact level (ignores Armor) and must make a new Might defense roll each round or suffer the damage again until either they succeed at the defense roll or five rounds pass, whichever comes first.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Very thin transparent glove with faint markings
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
The amulet reduces one type of damage by an amount equal to the artifact level. Roll a d20 to determine the kind of damage the amulet protects against.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Stylized amulet worn on a chain
- Depletion:
1 in 1d6 (check each time the amulet reduces damage)
- Source Book:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Acid |
| 5-8 | Cold |
| 9-12 | Electricity |
| 13-16 | Fire |
| 17-20 | Poison |
When the wearer activates the ring, dragon wings unfurl from their back, and for one minute the wearer can fly up to long range. The ring does not confer the ability to hover or make fine adjustments while in flight.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Green iron ring that appears like a dragon wound around the finger
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
The wearer of the ring can fall any distance safely, landing easily and upright.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Gold band inscribed with feather wreath
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
The wearer of the ring becomes invisible for one minute. While invisible, the wearer is specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. The effect ends if they attack or spend points from a Pool for any reason.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Gold band inscribed with characters that are revealed only if ring is heated
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
The user makes a wish, and it is granted, within limits. The level of the effect granted is no greater than the level of the artifact, as determined by the GM, who can modify the effect accordingly. (The larger the wish, the more likely the GM will limit its effect.)
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Plain gold band
- Depletion:
1-3 in 1d6
- Source Book:
Upon activation, the amulet creates a faint glow around the wearer that provides +2 to Armor against heat and cold (or +3 for artifact level 6 and higher). The effect lasts for ten minutes.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Small hexagonal amulet
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
This ring grants its wearer knowledge of a specific skill, such as climbing, jumping, history, or persuasion. This grants the wearer training in that skill (or in two skills if the artifact is level 5 or higher).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Ring carved with sigils appropriate to its granted skill
- Source Book:
When the boots are activated, for the next hour the wearer can move across rough or difficult terrain at normal speed, walk up walls, and even walk across liquids. In areas of low or no gravity, the wearer can walk along hard surfaces (even vertically or upside down) as if under normal gravity.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Pair of boots
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
This weapon functions as a normal weapon of its kind. The wielder can use an action to activate its soulflaying magic for one minute. During that time, if the weapon scores a hit, it inflicts normal damage, plus 3 additional points of Intellect damage on all creatures that have souls (not automatons, mindless undead, or the like).
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Weapon of any type, with engraved glowing runes denoting soulflaying
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
This knife functions as a normal light weapon. However, if the wielder wishes, on a successful attack, it inflicts additional damage (ignores Armor) equal to the artifact's level. If damage from the dagger reduces a target to 0 health, the target's soul is drawn into the blade. The soul remains trapped there for up to three days, after which time it is consumed. (Alternatively, the wielder can release the soul to whatever its fate would otherwise be.) As a separate activation, the wielder can ask three questions of a creature whose soul is trapped in the blade and not yet consumed. After answering the third question, the soul is consumed.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Night-black blade in which distant stars are sometimes visible
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20 (check each activation)
- Source Book:
When touched to a lock or the surface of a sealed object (such as a chest, envelope, or urn), the key briefly glows and attempts to open the target. Sealed objects fall open like peeled fruits if their level is equal to or less than the artifact level, and locks open easily if their level is equal to or less than the artifact level.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Slender golden key
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
When the user incants from the spellbook and succeeds at a level 3 Intellect task, they can summon an elemental of one specific kind described in the book (earth, fire, thorn, or some other type). The elemental appears and does the summoner's bidding for up to one hour, unless it somehow breaks the geas created by the book.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Weighty tome filled with pages of spell runes
- Depletion:
1-3 in 1d20
- Source Book:
When the user incants from the spellbook and succeeds at a level 3 Intellect-based task, the user can attempt to trap a creature within long range inside a block of amber. Only creatures whose level is equal to or lower than the artifact's level can be targeted. A creature successfully caught is preserved in perfect stasis until the encasing amber is broken away (the amber has 10 points of health per level of the artifact).
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Weighty tome bound in amber filled with pages of spell runes
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
The wielder can use an action to gain one of the following effects. Influence: The wielder makes a mental attack on a creature within immediate range by providing a suggestion. An affected target follows any suggestion during its next turn that doesn't cause direct harm to itself or its allies. Lightning: The wielder discharges a bolt of lightning that attacks all targets along a straight line out to long range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact level. Shield: For one hour, the wielder gains the protective effect of using a normal shield (an asset on their Speed defense rolls). This effect is invisible and doesn't require them to hold a shield; merely touching the staff is sufficient. The staff can have more than one effect ongoing at a time (such as using the shield ability and blasting someone with lightning), but each requires a separate activation and depletion roll.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Staff of black iron set with an eye-shaped crystal headpiece
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
The staff emits a short-range beam of silvery light that affects only living creatures. A living creature hit by the beam moves up one step on the damage track. A target that is not down on the damage track can immediately make a free recovery roll (or, for NPCs, regain a number of points of health equal to three times their level).
- Level:
1d6+4
- Form:
Wooden staff capped with a golden icon
- Depletion:
1 in 1d10
- Source Book:
The staff has three abilities, each of which requires an action to activate. Sea Passage. Creates a dry route through a body of water. The route is approximately 20 feet (6 m) wide, up to 1,000 feet (300 m) deep, and as long as the body of water is wide. The path remains open for up to four hours, or the wielder can collapse it as an action. Snake Form. Staff transforms into a venomous snake whose level is equal to the artifact level. The snake has a bite attack that inflicts 6 points of damage, plus 3 additional points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) for three rounds on a failed Might defense roll. The snake obeys the wielder's verbal commands, but it can't do anything a regular snake couldn't do.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Short wooden staff
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
Activating the artifact transforms it over the next few rounds into a simple wooden shack that is 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) with a thin door. Everything inside the area of the full-size shack is protected from most forms of inclement weather for one hour (or ten hours for artifact level 6 and higher). Leaving or entering the shack before the duration is up makes it harmlessly collapse upon itself unless the character succeeds on a Speed roll against the artifact's level. If collapsed early or the duration runs out, the shack collapses into sticks, dust, and the miniature model, which can be taken and reused.
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Miniature model of a simple wooden shack
- Depletion:
1 in 1d100
- Source Book:
A simple cypher (such as a potion or scroll) can be modified with this set of implements to turn it into a trap. First, the cypher is attached to a surface with the sealing wax, then the user must make a difficulty 4 Intellect task to draw the runestone symbols around the edge of the cypher with the chalk and place the runestone in the correct position. When the trap is triggered, the cypher is activated, so people often use straightforward cyphers such as an explosive spell scroll, a poisonous potion, and so on. The trigger can react to a specified movement within 3 feet (1 m)-a door opening, a creature or object moving past the runestone, and so on. The higher the level of the artifact, the more sophisticated the trigger. For example, a level 4 artifact's trigger might be based on a creature's size or weight, a level 5 artifact can trigger based on a specific type of creature, and a level 6 artifact can trigger based on recognizing an individual creature.
- Level:
1d6
- Form:
Pouch with chalk, sealing wax, and an engraved runestone
- Depletion:
Automatic
- Source Book:
When activated, for one hour the gauntlets let the wearer burrow up to an immediate distance each round. They can burrow through most soils and even some stone, but only through material whose level is lower than the artifact level. Burrowing leaves behind a tunnel with a diameter of 5 feet (1.5 m) that remains stable for several hours. After that, the tunnel is subject to collapse.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Oversized pair of metallic gauntlets with broad nails
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
The vorpal sword cuts through any material of a level lower than its own. It is a medium weapon that ignores Armor of a level lower than its own. On a natural attack roll of 19 or 20, the suggested minor or major effect is decapitation if the artifact is higher level than the foe (use this only if the foe has a head; otherwise, choose a different effect).
- Level:
1d6+3
- Form:
Long sword that sometimes whispers and snickers aloud
- Depletion:
1-2 in 1d100 (check each decapitation and specific attempt to cut through solid material)
- Source Book:
When activated, the wand looses a blast of fire at a chosen target within short range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact's level.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
Wand of red wood 8 inches (20 cm) long, carved with intricate flamelike images
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
This wand produces a long-range stream of grey spider's webbing that entangles a target and holds it stuck to nearby surfaces. Entangled victims can't move or take actions that require movement. Targets whose level is higher than the wand's level can usually break free within one or two rounds. The entangling web is highly flammable, and if ignited it burns away over the course of one round, but the intense heat inflicts damage equal to the artifact level on whatever was caught within it.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
White oak wand
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
The bearer of this crystal can telepathically communicate with an immortal being whose location is unknown (probably another dimension or a godly or infernal realm). The user can converse with the intelligence on an ongoing basis, but in general, the whisperer can share a useful bit of information, insight, or advice about once every day. Sometimes, this translates into an asset on one of the user's actions. For example, the intelligence can suggest the right phrase to make friends with a shopkeeper to get a good deal, the right tools to use while trying to break open a door, or the right place to put a shield to deflect an incoming attack. Sometimes the information is more broad, such as the right road to take to reach the next town or why a group of monsters is attacking the caravan the bearer is guarding. The whisperer's willingness and ability to converse varies considerably. Sometimes it is quite chatty and offers advice. Other times, it must be convinced, cajoled, or tricked into giving information. And sometimes, it is entirely absent for reasons it will not explain. The whisperer's knowledge base is broad but not omniscient. It cannot see the future, but it can often predict outcomes based on logic.
- Level:
1d6+1
- Form:
Small crystal
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20 (check each day)
- Source Book:
As a vehicle, the broom can be ridden a long distance each round. On extended trips, it can move up to 100 miles (160 km) per hour. The bearer can call upon the broom to grant them a powerful hallucinogenic state that lasts for four hours, during which time all tasks are hindered. After the hallucinations end, the bearer's Intellect tasks are eased for the next ten minutes.
- Level:
1d6+2
- Form:
A 6-foot (2 m) long wooden broom
- Depletion:
1 in 1d20
- Source Book:
In a high fantasy setting, some GMs may want dwarves and elves to be mechanically different from humans. Below are some possibilities for how this might work.
By having dwarf, elf, or other species take the place of a character’s descriptor, it creates a situation where only human characters have the variability of choosing a descriptor that suits their personality. The GM might instead allow all human characters to have two descriptors, and nonhuman characters to have a standard descriptor in addition to their species descriptor.
Sometimes contradictory descriptors might weaken or negate each other’s benefits and drawbacks. If one descriptor gives training in a skill and another gives an inability in that skill, they cancel each other out and the character doesn’t have any modifier for that skill at all.
If a player wants to play a nearly human species without any exceptional or unique special abilities, it’s easy for a GM to pick an appropriate descriptor and use it as that species’ descriptor. A greyhound-like species might have the Fast descriptor.
You are unmistakably feline. Your people have fur; large, pointed ears; sharp teeth and claws; and even tails. You are nimble, graceful, and quick. An ancient and sophisticated culture, your people have their own language, customs, and traditions developed in relative seclusion over the centuries. Neither conquerors nor conquered, the success of your society has come from the fact that you have given most others a wide berth. As a people, you almost never get involved in wars or similar matters, which has given other cultures the idea that you are aloof, unapproachable, or mysterious. As long as they leave you alone, what they think is fine with you.
You gain the following characteristics:
+4 to your Speed Pool.
You are trained in climbing and balance tasks.
Even unarmed, your claws are light weapons that inflict 4 points of damage.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You have scales, fangs, claws, and magic—gifts of the dragons. You might have been born of dragonfolk parents, willingly transformed in a magical ceremony, or chosen by a dragon to be their agent or champion. You have a great destiny before you, but it is your choice whether to make it your own or bend to the will of those who made you what you are. Some people mistrust or fear you, and others consider you a prophet or wish to exploit your power for their own goals.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Might Pool.
You are trained in intimidation
You breathe out a blast of energy in an immediate area. Choose one type of energy (arcane, cold, fire, thorn, and so on); the blast inflicts 2 points of damage of this kind of energy (ignores Armor) to all creatures or objects within the area. Because this is an area attack, adding Effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single-target attacks. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the damage, add 2 points of damage for each target, and even if you fail your attack roll, all targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action.
You gain +2 Armor against the type of energy you create with your dragonbreath.
+1 to Armor.
You have difficulty relating to non-dragons. Tasks to persuade non-dragons are hindered.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You’re a stocky, broad-shouldered, bearded native of the mountains and hills. You’re also as stubborn as the stone in which the dwarves carve their homes under the mountains. Tradition, honor, pride in smithcraft and warcraft, and a keen appreciation of the wealth buried under the roots of the world are all part of your heritage. Those who wish you ill should be wary of your temper. When dwarves are wronged, they never forget.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Might Pool.
You are trained in Might defense rolls.
You are trained in tasks related to stone, including sensing stonework traps, knowing the history of a particular piece of stonecraft, and knowing your distance beneath the surface.
You are practiced in using axes.
You are trained in using the tools required to shape and mine stone.
When you fail an Intellect defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.
You have an axe.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You haunt the woodlands and deep, natural realms, as your people have for millennia. You are the arrow in the night, the shadow in the glade, and the laughter on the wind. As an elf, you are slender, quick, graceful, and long lived. You manage the sorrows of living well past many mortal lifetimes with song, wine, and an appreciation for the deep beauties of growing things, especially trees, which can live even longer than you do.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Speed Pool.
Your natural lifespan (unless tragically cut short) is thousands of years.
You are specialized in tasks related to perception.
You are practiced in using one bow variety of your choice.
You are trained in stealth tasks. In areas of natural woodland, you are specialized in stealth tasks.
When you fail a Might defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.
You have a bow and a quiver of arrows to go with it.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You are curious and love discovering ways to turn found things into art, tools, or weapons. You might be a sculptor, smith, artist, chef, storyteller, or inventor. Alchemy, magic, and engineering fascinate you. Other beings may see you as a strange mix of a nature-loving elf and a craft-obsessed dwarf, but you and your kind are unique people with a passion for life, exploration, and creation.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Intellect Pool.
You are trained in two skills that suit your creative nature, such as alchemy, smithing, poetry, cooking, woodcarving, or pottery.
You are practiced in using hammers.
You gain one of the following abilities: Communication, Eyes Adjusted, or Minor Illusion.
Your small size makes some physical tasks difficult. Might-based tasks are hindered.
You have a bag of light tools or a bag of heavy tools.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You stand at least 12 feet (4 m) tall and tower over everyone around you. Whether you are a full-blooded giant or merely have giant heritage from large ancestors, you’re massive. Always large for your age, it became an issue only once you reached puberty and topped 7 feet (2 m) in height, and kept growing from there.
You gain the following characteristics:
+4 to your Might Pool.
You inflict +1 point of damage with your melee attacks and attacks with thrown weapons.
Tasks related to breaking things by smashing them are eased.
You’re too large to accomplish normal things. Tasks related to initiative, stealth, and fine manipulation of any sort (such as lockpicking or repair tasks) are hindered.
You have a heavy weapon of your choice.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
Three feet tall and proud, you are fond of the comforts of home but itching for a little adventure now and then. Small and quick, you have a way of getting along with everyone. You might have been raised in a halfling village, a mixed community where humans and the small folk work and eat side by side as friends, or a less welcoming environment where your people get things done using deception and criminal activity. You and humans have a lot in common—you’re just more compact and efficient about it.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Speed Pool.
You are trained in pleasant social interactions.
You are trained in stealth.
You are trained in Intellect defense.
When you use 1 XP to reroll a d20 for any roll that affects only you, add 3 to the reroll.
Your small size makes some physical tasks difficult. Might-based tasks are hindered.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
Demons of the underworld sometimes escape. When they do, they can taint human bloodlines. Things like you are the result of such unnatural unions. Part human and part something else, you are an orphan of a supernatural dalliance. Thanks to your unsettling appearance, you’ve probably been forced to make your own way in a world that often fears and resents you. Some of your kin have large horns, tails, and pointed teeth. Others are more subtle or more obvious in their differences—a shadow of a knife-edge in their face and a touch that withers normal plants, a little too much fire in their eyes and a scent of ash in the air, a forked tongue, goatlike legs, or the inability to cast a shadow. Work with the GM on your particular helborn appearance.
You gain the following characteristics.
+2 to your Intellect Pool.
You are trained in tasks related to magic lore and lore of the underworld.
You are inherently magical. Choose one low-tier ability from the Abilities chapter. If the GM agrees it is appropriate, you gain that ability as part of your helborn heritage, and can use it like any other type or focus ability.
You sometimes lose control and risk hurting your allies. When you roll a 1, the GM has the option to intrude by indicating that you lose control. Once you’ve lost control, you attack any and every living creature within short range. You can’t spend Intellect points for any reason other than to try to regain control (a difficulty 2 task). After you regain control, you suffer a –1 penalty to all rolls for one hour.
People distrust you. Tasks to persuade or deceive are hindered.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
You are from a long line of fierce reptilian predators. You show your fangs and scales proudly. Your people survive and thrive in the wetlands, guarding their eggs, raising their hatchlings, and protecting their territory. City-builders may call you a savage and your culture primitive, but there is grace in your hunting, artistry in your crafting, joy in your songs, and reverence in your worship.
You gain the following characteristics:
+2 to your Speed Pool.
You are trained in hunting and tracking.
You are practiced in using javelins and spears.
+1 to Armor.
Your slightly clawed hands make fine detail work difficult. You have an inability with picking locks, picking pockets, and other manual dexterity tasks (but not crafting).
You have a spear and a pair of javelins.
From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
Fantasy settings prioritize magic as an essential ingredient. But why restrict that magic to just wizards and similar characters? It’s not uncommon in fantasy literature for a thief or warrior to learn a few spells as they steal or brawl through their adventures. Leiber’s Gray Mouser knew some spells, Moorcock’s Elric knew a lot, pretty much everyone in Anthony’s Xanth books knew at least one, and so on. Of course, wizards and sorcerers specialize in spellcasting, which gives them clear superiority in magic use. But whether a character is a fireball-flinging wizard or a belligerent barbarian, anyone can learn some spellcasting under this optional rule.
Under the spellcasting rule, any character, no matter their role or type, can choose to learn a spell as a long-term benefit. After they learn one spell, they may learn more later if they wish, or just stick with the one.
Any character can gain a spell by spending 3 XP and working with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the PC learned it. Maybe they learned it as a child from their parent and practiced it enough to actually do it; perhaps they spent a month hiding in a wizard’s library reading; it could be that they found a weird magical amulet that imbues them with the spell; and so on.
Next, choose one low-tier ability from the Abilities chapter. If the GM agrees it is appropriate, the character gains that ability as their spell, with a few caveats. The spell can’t be used like a normal ability gained through a PC’s type or focus. Instead, a character must either use a recovery roll or spend many minutes or longer evoking their spell, in addition to paying its Pool cost (if any).
If the character uses a one-action, ten-minute, or one-hour recovery roll as part of the same action to cast the spell (including paying any Pool costs), they can use the ability as an action. This represents a significant mental and physical drain on the character, because the normal benefit of recovering points in a Pool is not gained.
If the character takes at least ten minutes chanting, mumbling occult phonemes, concentrating deeply, or otherwise using all their actions, they can cast a low-tier spell (if they also pay any Pool costs). An hour is required to cast mid-tier spells. Ten hours are required to cast a high-tier spell.
Once a character has learned at least one spell, they can opt to learn additional spells later. Each time, they must spend an additional 3 XP and work with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the character’s magical learning has progressed.
Two additional rules for learning additional spells apply:
First, a character must be at least tier 3 and have previously gained one low-tier spell before they can learn a mid-tier spell.
Second, a character must be at least tier 5 and have previously gained one mid-tier spell before they can learn a high-tier spell.
Otherwise, gaining and casting additional spells are as described for the character’s first spell.
Wizards (usually Adepts) and characters with explicit spellcasting foci like Masters Spells, Channels Divine Blessings, Speaks for the Land, and possibly others are also considered to be spellcasters, and moreover, specialized ones. Their spells—abilities provided by their type or focus—are used simply by paying their Pool costs. Extra time or physical effort isn’t required to cast them. That’s because, in the parlance of the fantasy genre, these spells are considered to be “prepared.”
But specialized casters can also use the optional spellcasting rule to expand their magic further. They can learn additional spells via the optional spellcasting rule just like other characters, with the same limitations.
Optionally, specialized casters who record their arcane knowledge in a spellbook (or something similar) gain one additional benefit. The spellbook is a compilation of spells, formulas, and notes that grants the specialized caster more flexibility than those who’ve simply learned a spell or two. With a spellbook, a PC can replace up to three prepared spells with three other spells they’ve learned of the same tier. To do so, they must spend at least one uninterrupted hour studying their spellbook. Usually, this is something that requires a fresh mind, and must be done soon after a ten-hour recovery.
For instance, if a wizard exchanges Ward (an ability gained from their type) with Telekinesis (an ability gained from the optional spellcasting rule), from now on the character can cast Ward only by spending time or using a recovery roll (as well as spending Pool points). On the other hand, they can use Telekinesis normally, because now it’s prepared. Later, the wizard could spend the time studying to change out their prepared spells with others they’ve learned using the optional spellcasting rule.
(A PC might choose the 4 XP character advancement option to select a new type-based ability from their tier or a lower tier. If so, the ability gained doesn’t count as a spell, and the spellcasting rule limitations do not apply to the ability so gained. If the PC is a wizard and uses the 4 XP character advancement option, treat the ability as one more prepared spell.)