In law, there are endless arguments about what is the letter of the law, and what is the spirit of the law. What follows will be many many pages about the letter of the rules. Let me take a bit of time here at the beginning to talk about the spirit of the new rules. I want to expound a bit about why I'm writing them and what it is I hope to accomplish and convey later. I have run many LARPs now for many years on the same relatively antiquated set of rules. They have changed and gotten better, but still had many inherent flaws deeply entrenched in them to the core. The new system is an attempt to rectify many of the short comings of the past system. I wrote it years ago, and lacking the insight of many of the years and much of the experience I have now. When first writing those rules so long ago, I had a really short sighted perspective. Now in hind sight, I see two of my greatest errors in particular. The first is that characters grew too powerful, too quickly, too exponentially, By the time later LARPs came, new characters / players were so completely outclassed, it must have been very demoralizing for them. Additionally encounters had to keep getting more challenging for an ever increasingly powerful group. Soon I was running multiple LARPs at the same time, trying to cater to everybody, and selling everybody short in the mean time. My second great error was the error of the class / level system. Character advancement was too communist and regimented. You attended a LARP, you gained a level. You gained a level, you got more HPs and a few new spells. Later the secondary skills gave a little diversity, but it was too little too late. There was also my lack of foresight and the lack of wisdom with how to deal with long term characters. I never expected my LARPs to have lasted as long as they did. I never planned for some to have gained so many under their belts that character levels would go off the charts. The second edition has been designed with these flaws in mind and with the foresight I should have had years ago.

What I want for this new system is flexibility in character creation and the promise of continued flexibility in advancement. I desire that characters grow in power and ability in time but not at such a rate and manner as to render new characters as second class LARP citizens before they even begin. I want the system to prevent characters from becoming so powerful that "easier" encounters cease to be at all challenging or fun. I want for there always to be improvements and betterment a character can strive for. I want battles to be taken seriously and not looked at as just another filler encounter to give players something to do and drive off boredom. I never again want to hear. " It was just a group of 5 monsters, they only did 50 HPs of damage to me, one spell and I'll be ready to do it again." .

Live Action Role Playing or LARPing is a game experience based upon the same general premise of most paper and pencil role playing games where a player assumes the identity and roll of a fictional character. In conventional role-playing games a player takes the part of his character by describing to others in the game their character's actions while portraying the character verbally as an actor would. In such a game, outcomes are resolved through a mediated system of explaining events and reaction as well as some dice rolling to determine successes and other random events as a set of game mechanics ( rules) dictate. In a LARP we take this a step further. You represent your character not in this way, but instead by dressing in costume, gathering LARP acceptable gear and equipment and actually doing what you want your character to do. If you want your character to go check out the dark woods you've heard so much about, get on your feet and go take a look for yourself, but beware. In LARP, when the monster in the dark woods jumps out, it will be somebody working for the person producing the game dressed in a costume of some sort, and likely carrying a foam weapon of some sort he intends to hit you with to kill your character. When this happens, you have to choose what to do. Will you pull your own foam weapon and hope to best the fiend, or will you turn tail and hope you run fast enough to escape. In a LARP, you will do the things you've likely only spoken and dreamed of. Sneak through the woods to ambush foul monsters. Best foul villains with sword and magic. Perhaps even flee running and screaming. The choice is yours.

What is presented here are a set of rules which can be used to facilitate and organizing such a game of playing pretend in such a way that everybody else playing is working under the same basic understandings. These rule go a long way in adding fairness, equality, efficiency, diversity, and commonality to what would otherwise be a very difficult and confusing event.

Well, most of the rules are new or modified. What I want to talk about here is what is different about the flavor of the new game system. Not the nuts and bolts, but the common understandings of what the LARP is going to be like.

The first big difference is that game play will have a between LARP element. LARPs themselves will be the adventuring time for most characters. The time between LARPs will be time characters may be off perusing their other interests. Between LARPs there will be the chance for some minimal play by e-mail type of interaction with the GM. This is time where you and the GM can communicate back and forth a bit and learn things and peruse more long term goals. Let's say you want your character to be able to fabricate that great suit of enchanted armor. Going to take a month, between LARPs e-mailing the GM is a great time to do it. Found a cool set of books last LARP and want to study them to learn skill, Let the GM know. Want to work on your skills by hiring an instructor, feel free to set that up with the GM. It's actually my expectation that much of how characters will progress in terms of skills and abilities will occur between LARPs. LARP time itself is time for your characters to become embroiled in more exciting and dangerous encounters. Lots of opportunity for character development and progression will be available both during and outside of standard LARP play.

Encounters will be more serious and less haphazard. The new rules make combat far more lethal and challenging. There will be fewer "random wandering monster encounters" as well as "wave after wave" encounters. Even the average monster will be none too far behind a characters in ability, some monsters will be out right terrifying. Players may do very well to begin thinking very tactically and logistically about each and every fight, looking for every advantage that will limit risk. Additionally, most encounters will have real purpose and a feeling of gravity to them.

I'm going to try very hard to make a financial system this time around that makes sense. The acquisition of wealth will be more reasonable, as will there be more applications for such wealth making it worth obtaining.

I plan to structure the game right from the beginning in a way that facilitates reasonable cooperative efforts between all players and giving everybody a chance to be fully integrated into the game. Gone will be the days of one or 2 small groups finding all the cool stuff, leaving everybody else to wait for random critters to fight. I plan to do my absolute best to insure that everybody can be involved as deeply as I can bring them.

Character development will be more about actions, experiences, interactions and accomplishments than numbers on paper. The numbers on paper will change slowly. Strive for things in game as you would strive for them in real life. In life we look for accomplishments that mean something to us personally, not a magical level increase that gives us more hit points allowing us to kill bigger creatures. Character development is about the process of a character's life and his experiences, not level advances. This LARP will focus upon the process of it's player characters, not so much there technical betterment ( particularly at the LARPs themselves).

The best things in life are hard fought, and something given has no value. A common understanding among players in my paper and pencil games is that "everything has a price". Do not expect gifts or an easy go of it. LARPs are about adventure. Adventure is about risk, daring, close calls, pyyrhic victories and defeat. There about striking a balance between playing it smart and being brave. LARPs are ultimately about a great story. The great stories of all time are filled with betrayal, tragedy, irony, suspense, intrigue, and disaster. Expect these things. It's about the process and having the experiences you can't have in real life. It's not about happy endings. There aren't happy endings in a world where men must fight the forces of evil manifest to just get by. In a world where swords, magic, war and evil are common, adventure and challenge are abound, but happily ever after is not a common ending.

1) These are the most basic rules for any LRPG

2) Keep the location clean and respect all others.

3) Know these rules well.

4) Follow all game, park, state, and federal rules and laws.

5) The Game Master and judges will have their own area; enter only if you have business with them

6) Set things you might have up only in areas the judges designate.

7) If you want to continue to play, The judge may inspect what you have brought with you at any time he/she desires. ( There responsible for promoting safety, and some things need to be kept out)

8) NEVER use any type of play that involves indiscriminate actions against people. This specifically means such things as setting traps. Even if the tripwire only swings a foam spear on kite string at a person; a non player should NEVER be placed in a situation that could result in their becoming "involved" in any way.

9) If your character dies, you may talk to the GM to start a new one.

10) Game Masters should consider themselves to have the right to "draft" players occasionally to make sure things get done and to serve parts the plot needs filled. Game Masters should give players enough warning as possible.

Sword play seems to be a very important aspect in fantasy LRPGs because the players like it so much. Though I find many other elements of Live Action Role Playing Games more interesting, a good old sword to sword brawl is always a crowd pleaser. Because swordplay is such as strong element in fantasy games, we have a rather elaborate system to handle it. What follows are the basic rules for sword play and combat over all. This section has only the most basic rules. In other sections you will encounter additional rules that augment and expand on these.

1) Carry your character record at all times.

2) All creatures ( characters, monsters, NPCs etc) have "hit points". A hit point represents a measure of physical health and fortitude a creature has. The more hit points, the more of a beating can be taken before a victim succumbs. A character's maximum hit points are determined by his race, plus any bonus gained by the skill "warriors heart". A characters actual hit points will fluctuate between his maximum and -5 based upon such things as injuries and healing.

3) Only judge-approved LARP weapons will be allowed. These are always to be padded and built by specifications the judges mandate. Judges are free to ban a weapon if they feel it to be unsafe or unfair for any reason.

4) Do not hit in groin, breasts or head. Accidents happen, but report repeated "accidents". Accidental blows in these areas inflict no damage.

5) Swinging a weapon at another person ( even a foam one) should always be done with great care. Control the strength and aim as best you can. Your goal is a swing fast enough to evade a block attempt, but soft enough to be only a tap on your opponent. Attempt to "pull back" a bit at the last moment before impact to soften the blow.

6) Attacking swings with a weapon must be full. Make a full motion in an attack move. Small swirls, dips and feints where the weapon point moves two foot or less ( not so for small weapons) only deal damage as a "glancing blow" because the weapon lacks the force of a real swing. LARP fighting is as much about show as it is about winning. Give the defender a chance to block by projecting your swings a bit. It is often referred to as "cocking back" or "pulling back to ready" when after a swing you draw back a weapon far enough to get another good full swing out of it. Only swings that have come from such a "ready" inflict damage as discussed elsewhere. Note it is possible to make very broad swings that go to an alternate ready position. This happens frequently when an attacker swings right to left, then another left to right.

7) There are three colored ribbons that can indicate Hit Points. A white ribbon indicates hit points a characters has himself. A blue ribbon indicates additional hit points a person may have for armor there wearing. A yellow ribbon indicates any additional hit points a character might get from magical protections.

8) When you land a blow on an opponent that is "free and clear" and from a good full swing ( not a glancing blow), let up on your attacks for a moment to inform your opponent how much damage he has taken and give him a few moments to mentally figure out what that means for him. Wait for your opponent to acknowledge he understands what you said.

9) When you receive damage form any source ( unless otherwise noted) divide it equally among any different types of hit point ribbons you may have ( though all must be applied someplace). If you have both white ( personal) and blue (armor) hit point ribbons and suffer a 8 HP hit, apply 4 HPs against each ribbon. Any damage beyond capacity to blue ( armor) or yellow ( magic protection) instead goes to white ( personal). With damage quantities in un-evenly divisible amounts, apply the remainder damage first to a yellow ribbon ( magical field) then to blue ribbon ( armor). Example.. I have armor on. I take 5 HPs of damage. That's 2 damage to each my white and blue. The remaining 1 HP damage would first go to yellow which I don't have, then to blue which I do. Thus 2 to white 3 to blue. If I had 3 ribbons (white, blue and yellow) and suffered 4 HPs damage, each ribbon would take 1 HP with a remainder of 1. Yellow takes un-even division remaining damage first so it takes the extra 1. Thus 1 white, 1 blue and 2 yellow.

10) Characters don't exactly die when they run out of personal (white) hit points. They usually fall unconscious first. If a character runs out of hit points, he is only dead if the blow was enough to knock him/her straight to -5 HPs or worse. Otherwise from 0 to -4, the character is "unconscious".

11) Unconscious characters must drop to the ground and play dead. If an unconscious character is healed. they will be back at 1 hp regardless of what negative they were at, and how much the healing restored. Until that character sleeps for 4 hours, they will not be allowed to gain HPs above 1.

12) Dead characters will be out of game permanently or until some plot element might allow for his being "raised". If there doesn't seem to be an immediate potential for such a raise from death, player should create a new character or play a monster / NPC for the GM.

13) During a battle, if a party flees and leaves an unconscious character behind, or the entire party falls dead or unconscious, it is left up to those remaining there and conscious to decide the fate of the fallen.

14) The player of a slain character is required to relinquish any game props ( such as coins, gems and magic items, letters, etc.) to those who win the battle.

15) Attempting to disarm a foe is legal under very important conditions, You may only attempt to disarm an opponent using finesse, but not brute strength and force. If you can swirl around an opponents sword to make them drop it, all the better. You my not entangle a weapon such as with a chain weapon and yank it from his hand, nor may you bludgeon his hand into dropping it.

16) Blows to a weapon holding hand do not count. This limits attempts to batter a weapons from one's hand as well as arguments as to where the blow has actually struck ( hand pommel, crossguard, etc.). The hand begins at the wrist. In the past we included the forearm in this. This lead to the so called "forearm shield" where people would intentionally block with their sword arm. This is no longer legal.

17) Many times a weapon blow will hit a part of an opponents body in a legal area shortly after or simultaneously to it having partially been deflected by the defenders weapon or shield. There are always arguments as to if this is a block or a hit. In these rules, it is to be considered a "glancing blow" which inflicts only 1 HP of damage. Only swings that hit a legal body area on their opponent, free and clear, inflict the damage amounts discussed elsewhere in these rules.

18) Playing Turtle- Playing turtle simply means to have a large shield, and to hide behind/under it. Some people feel this is an unfair advantage. Deal with it. If somebody wants to hide under a shield, that's the advantage they get from dealing with lugging it around ( not to mention skill and channeling penalties).

19) Overbearing- Overbearing is a tactic often used by people using shields in order to make people move aside / back, or to "put the pressure on". Overbearing is simply like using a shield as a moving wall to impose on another. Though a good tactic in real fighting, don't do it in these LRPGs. It's just too dangerous. The only time I ever want to see a shield touch another person's equipment is when they block a weapon blow. I never want to see a shield touch another person. I don't want to see a player menace or pressure another player by "moving in" on them with a shield. Use your shields to block, not as a bulldozer.

20) LRPG Combat Math- Weapon blows do the basic damage of the weapon, plus any bonuses given from anything else like skill ranks. Not having at least rank 1 in a weapon your using makes it do 1 less HP of damage. Occasionally you will find a situation where damage numbers are multiplied in some situations. Thus begins the confusion of "LARP Combat Math". First, any multiplication is done before addition. Example; a base damage 4, plus 3, times 2 is ( base, multiply, add) or [(4 X 2) +3] or 11. Now even trickier is dealing with stacked or multiple multiplications. A multiplier means that something does it's base damage yet again. Multipliers do not compound upon each other in an exponent manner. If one sources wants to multiply base damage by 2 and a second contributing source wants to multiply base damage by 2 also, they do not team up to a X4. Think of X2 as base then base again. In this way X2 followed by another X2 is base, base again and bases again ( like X3). In this same way, X5 followed by another X5 is not base X25. It is X9, base 5 times with another 4 times tacked on. In X2, X2, X2 it is not X6. It is base twice, then base again and base again or X4 base.

To play a Live Role Playing Game, a player must first make a character. This character will be the means by which a player projects himself into the fantastic world. A character exists in a couple of forms that are very different from a standard game, even of the role playing variety. The first element of the character is the concept. The concept starts as a general idea of what you want your character to be like. Basic ideas about race and profession should move on to personality, outlook and mannerisms. These begin in your own mind and should later move to the realm of acting the part in game and designing a character that fits your wants and needs using the game mechanics. It is very important to limit your character concept to something reasonable and within the parameter of the game. It's all well and good that you want to play Thor's bastard son, most powerful of the demi-gods, but it is not likely to be allowed by any game master. The second important consideration is your own body. In a live role playing game, you are your own manifestation into the game world. You will be your character in the long run, just as an actor is his part.. but a bit more so. You will of course have costume and props to help you along with this, and feel free to make liberal use of them if you like, but ultimately much of your character ability will rely on your own personal skill. Keep your character concept within the realm of what you are willing and able to do. Though character concepts that push a player's limits in regards accents, personality and outlooks are encouraged; you would be well advised not to play a sneaky character if you yourself are incapable of skulking around, nor should you be a warrior if you think yourself an incompetent swordsman. Lastly are the mechanics of building a character for use with this game system. This is the paper statistical representation of your character, not always the more important facet, but the one upon which these rules will focus.

1) Familiarity- Take some time to read through the material presented here. Get a handle about what kinds of things are reasonable and appealing in the system. Try to get your mind around some of the major mechanics of the game so you can make good informed choices in later steps of character creation.

2) Concept- Once you have become familiar with what's available, take some time trying to visualize what it is you want out of your character.

3) Blank Character Sheet- Print yourself up a character sheet to work with. One can be found HERE . It's in RTF and everybody should be able to open it. You mignt have to "save as" to you hard drive because it wont open like a web page.

4) Race- Now you must choose a race for your character to be. This choice should work with your character concept. Choices are Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf and Halfling. Descriptions of each of these races follow in a later section. Once you have made your choice, write it down on your character sheet where it says "Character Race". Now, read the racial description again. If there are any skills disallowed by your race, it is best to simply cross that skill off your character sheet now. Next add the free KPs you gain from your race to the appropriate spots on your character sheet.

5) Skills- Now it is time to "Buy" your skills using "KPs" (Knowledge Points) which are given to you at character creation. Each character is given 20 KPs at character creation. Spend them well, after this all KPs will be hard won. A single skill may be allotted as many as 6 of these KPs. No other skill may be allotted more than 4 of these KPs. A chart that follows will indicate how many KPs in a given skill equates to what rank in that skill. Note, that you may place more KPs in a given skill than necessary for a rank if you wish an easier assent to the next rank in the future. Once you tally the ranks of the skills you choose, take a look at the skill descriptions to see what they really do for you.

6) Character Adjectives- Many games use a sort of alignment system to help define characters. We have a more loose system of defining character characteristics that players may choose for their character to help define them. Not only do these terms help a player to remember the general themes in their character's personality, but they help GMs and Judges to get a good insight into a characters motivations. In this system we ask that players choose 3 words that best describe their characters personality, outlook, motivations or hang-ups. You really may use any words you like, but here are some suggestions. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, judgmental, cowardly, friendly, curious, kind, egotistical, uncaring, cheerful, friendly, pious, brave, forgiving, lustful, vengeful, hateful, shy, peaceful, greedy, suspicious, calm, sneaky, deceptive, outgoing, and lazy.

7) Gear- Now its time to outfit your character / yourself. A first concern is a costume. Be inventive but stick to the general theme of the game. Robes, capes and tunics are good, startreck costumes are bad. You might want weapons, shields and armor. If so, instructions for making LARP legal equipment can be found later. Keep in mind where your character skills lay, and effects some equipment will have on your skills. Also be sensible; if you chose long swords as your character skill, make one of those, not an ax. Now is also the time to rig up any skill specific props you might need. Mages will need a spell book, armorers and weapon smiths will need hammer and anvil, and clergy will need holy trappings appropriate to the descriptions of their faith. All manner of other props are encouraged. Some have even built portable fortifications to house themselves. Well decorated bikes can make wonderful horses that much ease travel. Use your imagination and good judgment. Here is an important note about equipment. I encourage elaborate costumes and gear. It must be noted that characters are only allowed to have gear made from normal economical materials in game. Weapons and armor are made from iron, steel, wood, leather, and stone ( in game, in reality there foam, bamboo, etc.). Just because you spray paint your sword silver does not mean it's made from silver. Just because you spray paint your armor gold does not make it fabulously valuable. Do not attend my LARP and tell us your scale male armor is made from dragon scale; it isn't. Don't show up to LARP telling my your plate mail is made from a strange magical ceramics that don't break, get hot or resist magnetism; It isn't. Please make good equipment that is good looking and functional. Please do not try to cheese your way into being better off than what you have earned. You already have a lot of leverage in that I don't bother with starting restrictions of any kind about the quantity and quality of gear you have, even for a starting character. If you want to come with 3 suits of plate mail armor, 5 extra weapons with a portable fortification just in case, that's fine with me.. so long as none of them are made of rare/expensive materials.

8) Tally Things- Now It's time to work out all the other parts of the character sheet. Hit Points will be based on your character race and any bonus you get for the "Warrior's Heart" skill. Manna pool is determined by your character race plus any additional points based upon your "Manna Well" skill. Your Resistance attempt is 4 of 4 unless you happen to have rank in the resist magic skill. If that's the case, check the chart here to find your odds. Look up and fill out damage for weapons you have, armor points for armor worn as well as channeling and skill penalties that come from weapons and armor. Record those in the appropriate spots at the bottom of the character sheet.

9) Fill out Data- Last but not least you will need to name your character. Again, be creative, original and genre appropriate. Laurance Hallen is a good name, Spock and Conan are not. After that, fill out the rest of the top of the character sheet.

Humans

Humans are by far the most common and average of all the races in the Karador LRPG. Though not as long lived, and not particularly more intelligent as other good races, humans seem driven to make the most of their short lives and are builders of structures, empires, institutions and knowledge without equal. Human characters begin the game with 10 Hit Points and a Manna pool of 5. Additionally, humans begin character creation with 1 free KP in each of the following skills; Literacy, Resist Magic and Great Strength.

Elf

Elves are long lived cousins of the fey. Though very human like, they have some very distinct physical differences. They are thin and agile. They may have no facial hair and must have elf ears. Elves tend to be a bit xenophobic, and prefer the company of their own kind. though they currently have alliances with the races of good, they tend to look down on all but the halflings as being slightly on this side of the line between civilization and barbarianism. Elf characters begin the game with 8 Hit Points and a Manna pool of 6. Additionally, Elves begin character creation with 1 free KP in each of the following skills; Ancient History, Fey Lore, Projectile Weapon and Resist Magic. Elves however can never have the Great Strength skill at a rank higher than 3, and may not gain Necromancy or Demonology beyond Rank 1

Half-Elf

Half- Elves are a merge of the blood line of the human and elven race. It is common knowledge that of all the races of the world, it is human and elven blood lines that seem to blend the most easily. Most elves are privately disgusted at the thought of their biological compatibility with humans. Most other unions between races produce no children at all. Half-elves retain some of their elven blood's long agile features and slightly pointed ears. Mostly however they are human, living only slightly longer life spans, and exhibiting secondary sexual characteristics like facial and body hair as well as eventual balding. Half- elf characters begin the game with 9 Hit Points and a Manna pool of 5. Additionally, Half- Elves begin character creation with 1 free KP in each of the following skills; Literacy, Dodge, Anthropology and Resist Magic.

Dwarf

Dwarves are a long lived, squat, well muscled human like race. They tend to live in the mountains and hills, or even great subterranean caverns. Most races consider Dwarves to be overly serious and hard working. A common joke quips that the last dwarf who laughed was stoned to death, and that was over 100 years ago. Dwarves do tend to be a bit dower and often complain at length about their racial allies. Fact of the matter is that even though dwarves in general dislike every other race as a whole, they generally have genuine care, concern and respect for any given individual of any race they have opportunity to get to know. Only players who are 5 1/2 foot tall or less are allowed to play dwarves. Male dwarves must have beards and females must have long braids. Dwarven characters begin the game with 12 Hit Points and a Manna pool of 4. Additionally, dwarves begin character creation with 1 free KP in each of the following skills; Great strength, Ancient History, Resist Magic, Resist Illnesses, Resist Poison, Weapon Smithing, and Ax skill. Dwarves howerver are not allowed to raise in rank past 2 in any of the following skills, Thamatergy, Meditation, Demonology, or Necromancy. Furthermore they may not take the following skills at all; Evasion, Dodge, Psionic Discipline or Druid craft.

Halfling

Halflings are a small nimble race that seem to like the simple things of life. Most generally work hard in various agricultural professions, and very much enjoy relaxation and celebration at day's end. Most favored by halflings is good food, drink, dance, song and long stories. What halflings are best known for among their ally races is their playful nature. Halflings are somewhat less than courageous yet are still good reliable folk. Halflings being a more diminutive race, are only allowed to players of 5 1/2 feet tall or less. Halfling characters begin the game with 8 Hit Points and a Manna pool of 5. Additionally, Halflings begin character creation with 1 free KP in each of the following skills Thrown Weapon, Evasion, Snaring, Dodge, Item Lore, Appraisal, Ancient History and Monster Lore. The only restriction a halfling faces is an inability to raise a rank in Great Strength above 2.

The heart and soul of the new rules is the skill system. I have eliminated any pretext or dependence upon class and level. From this point on, the measure of a character will be the presentation of that character by the player, and the skill choices that player makes for his character. A character is no longer defined purely by a career choice and his experience in that career. This new system allows far more flexibility for players building characters as well as offering more diverse, interesting and rewarding growth options. As in real life, a character may have a diverse skill selection that represents his varied interests and represents what value he places on the activities he chooses to engage in.

A character's experience and expertise are represented in this system numerically by a score called a "rank". The higher the "rank", the better that character is at that skill. Skill ranks range from 0 to 6. Ranks are gained in individual skills by allocating and earning "KPs" into them. "KPs" is an abbreviation for "Knowledge Points". When a character is first started, he will have "KPs" to allocate into skills ( for the most part, as he sees fit). This is how a character gains his initial ranks in various skills. Methods of gaining future KPs into skills will be discussed later.

Character sheets will keep a running tally of how many KPs a character has earned and allocated to various skills. On the "KPs needed for Rank in Skill" table, you will be able to see how many KPs total are required to achieve various ranks in the different skills. You will see that some skills require significantly more KPs than others to advance. This represents the fact that some skills require far greater devotion to learn and improve upon.

Gaining KPs after character creation

Skill rank improvement is the primary method of character development in terms of game mechanics. Despite this, let me take this opportunity to point out that development of a character's personality, persona, accomplishments and interactions are the most important character developments in the game. Gaining KPs is of course the way Ranks are raised. The easiest way to gain KPs is to use a skill a lot in game. After each LARP, the GM and judges will look at their copy of your character sheet and try to remember what they saw you doing the most of. In these things they will likely find it in their hearts to grant you some KPs. Aside from this, your character can seek out training from other characters and NPCs. Obviously, only a person who is your better in a skill can train you in that skill, and only efficiently if they have the "instruction" skill ( see that skill description for details). If you get training of this kind be sure to let the GM know. Lastly, it is possible to gain KPs from reading special books that can be found, traded or purchased. Reading books is generally something that takes place between games, but they must be obtained during play.

Warrior's Heart- This skill represents a character's training and experience in armed conflict. Aside from martial proficiency with weapons which is represented by the various weapon skills; experienced warriors also learn lessons of survival. Most vital among these is experience in minimizing trauma by rolling with the punches and knowing how to soak assaults. To represent this, Ranks of this skill will add additional Hit Points to a character's total. Thus a 3 point of damage blow to an experienced warrior isn't quite as bad proportionately as is would be to a character less capable of "minimizing" that damage. Each rank of "Warriors Heart" grants an additional 3 HPs.

Sword Skill- This skill allows a character to use swords ( short sword, long sword, bastard sword or two handed sword) with the experience and training of a warrior. Rank 1 allows the character to use the weapon without suffering the -1 to damage penalty for non- proficiency. Rank 2 confers one auto parry per day with a sword. Rank 3 increases any damage character inflicts with a sword by +1. Rank 4 confers a second auto parry per day with a sword. Rank 5 increases any damage character inflicts with a sword by a further +1 ( for a total of +2). Finally at Rank 6, character looses the two auto parries gained at Ranks 2 and 4, but now gets to auto parry 1 out of every 4 melee weapons that strike him. Character gets his choice of which 1 out of 4 strikes these are and may start with the first of an engagement.

Ax Skill- This skill allows a character to make use of ax weapons. Characters with this skill at rank one may use a battle ax, inflicting full damage and not suffering the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, the character gains a +1 damage bonus when wielding a battle ax. At rank 3, character gains 1 auto-parry per day with his battle ax to use as he sees fit. At rank 4, character gains a second +1 to damage when using a battle ax ( for a total of +2). At rank 5, character gains a "shield break" attack. Once per battle a character with rank 5 in this skill may raise his ax high above his head and swing straight down; during his swing he must announce the "shield break" swing. If that swing hits a shield, the shield is destroyed or "mangled" ( some magic shields are "unbreakable"). At rank 6, character gains a third +1 to damage with ax weapons making for a total of +3 to damage.

Blunt Weapon- This skill allows a character to better wield blunt weapons. Characters with this skill at rank one may use blunt weapons, inflicting full damage and not suffering the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, the character gains a +1 damage bonus when wielding a blunt weapon. At rank 3, character gains 1 auto-parry per day with blunt weapons to use as he sees fit. At rank 4, character gains a second +1 to damage when using a Blunt weapons ( for a total of +2). At rank 5, character gains a "Stun" attack. Once per battle a character with rank 5 in this skill may lash out with his blunt weapon and cry "Stun". If that swing hits a target in the torso, shoulders or other part of the main body, that target is "stunned". A stunned target has all of his skill ratings effectively reduced to 0 for the next 15 seconds. ( consider what that means, loss of spell casting, evasion, and weapon proficiencies with all their benefits... and thats just the tip of the ice berg). The "stun" attack does not work on large creatures or those who are not basically human that can't "have the wind knocked out of um". At rank 6 the character looses his free auto-parry per day, but gains 1 free auto parry per battle.

Flail Skill- This skill allows a character to make use of chain and flail weapons. Characters with this skill at rank 1 may use these weapons, inflicting full damage and not suffering the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, a character gains a damage bonus of +1 when using weapons of this class. At rank 3, a character gains 1 auto parry per day using weapons of this type. At rank 4, a character once per battle my trump an opponent's auto block with a shield. At rank 5 a character may "auto disarm" an opponent once per battle. To do this, attacker must call "Auto disarm", swing at, and hit opponent's weapon. This being successful, the defender must throw his weapon with a good deal of strength in a direction of attacker's choice. A person with a weapon tied to their wrist must drop the weapon and re-begin the fight with it dangling at the wrist. ( Characters with a Great Strength skill or 2 or more or a Weapon skill of 3 or more are immune to this auto disarm). At rank 6 a character looses the auto parry previously gained, but instead may auto parry 1 of 4 melee blows that strike him. Character gets his choice of which 1 out of 4 blows these are and may start with the first of any engagement.

Pole Weapon- This skill allows a character to use any of many sorts of pole weapon with equal ability. At rank 1, a character may use pole weapons without the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, a character may use his pole weapon in a "set for charge". Setting for charge requires that a character firmly set his stance and hold his weapon at ready. He is allowed only a bit of swivel of the weapon, but no swinging or stabbing. If a clean blow can be obtained in this way, it does X3 normal damage. At rank 3, character gains a +4 damage bonus when using his pole weapon against large creatures (if a large creature charges, you get both the rank 2 & 3 benefits). At rank 4, a character gains a "formation bonus" when fighting side by side (or in ranks behind) with others wielding pole weapons. A rank 4 or better character gains a +1 damage bonus for each pole arm wielding character besides himself in the formation with him ( skilled or not). Any proficient ( rank 1-3) character in the formation with him gains a +1 damage bonus for his leadership and example. ( these bonuses can and do compound with "set for charge" and large creature bonuses. Charging a formation of pikemen is insane) At rank 5, character gains a +1 over all damage bonus with pole weapons. At rank 6, character gains an enhanced "set for charge". Rather then the normal X3, it is now X6 ( still accumulative with other bonuses).

Dagger Skill- This skill allows proficient use of small bladed melee weapons. At rank 1, a character may use such a weapon without the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, a character gains a +1 damage bonus when using a dagger in melee combat. At rank 3, character gains 1 auto parry per day when using a dagger. At rank 4, character gains another plus one damage bonus ( for a total of +2) when using a dagger in melee. At rank 5, character looses his daily auto-parry with his dagger, but instead gains a single auto parry once per encounter. At rank 6, the character becomes so proficient at exploiting weaknesses in his opponents armor that no damage inflicted by a dagger character is wielding is ever applied to a targets armor ( blue ribbon HPs). It goes among actual hit points ( white ribbon) and magical protections (yellow ribbon) if any only.

Thrown Weapon- This skill represents a characters experience and talent using any of many thrown weapons. At rank 1, character may use any thrown weapon without the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, a character inflicts an additional point of damage when landing a blow with a thrown weapon. At rank 3, character aim is so accurate that no defender may auto block his thrown weapons. At rank 4, the characters aim becomes even more accurate yet, such that auto dodges are also foiled. ( remember , auto parries already don't work on projectile weapons). At rank 5, character gains an additional +1 damage bonus with thrown weapons (for a total of +2). At rank 6, a characters thrown weapons become crippling. Any limb struck by them on a clear shot ( not glancing blows) become useless until a healing skill or magic is used upon the target. In this way leg blows will prevent a foe from walking, though standing and pivoting is still possible ( a blow to both legs will send a foe tumbling prone to ground), blows to arms prevents use of weapons, shields or any other actions or items with that limb.

Projectile Weapon- This skill allows a character to better wield projectile weapons such as bows. Characters with this skill at rank one may use projectile weapons, inflicting full damage and not suffering the -1 damage penalty for non proficiency. At rank 2, a character gains a +1 damage bonus when using a projectile weapon. At rank 3, a shot fired by character is so accurate that it can no longer be "auto-blocked". At rank 4, accuracy becomes so great that shots can no longer be "auto dodged". At rank 5 character gains a second +1 damage bonus ( making for a total of +2 damage with projectile weapons). At rank 6 in this skill a character becomes so deadly accurate that mortal creatures having a human like bodily make up and less than 12 maximum hit points (white ribbon) are slain with a single blow, regardless of normal damage and armor considerations (magical yellow ribbon hit-points add to the white ribbon total for this).

Armor Use- The Armor Use skill represents a character's training and experience in performing feats that require a degree of agility and precision while wearing bulky armor. The more experience a character gets, the better control they maintain despite the bulky encumbrance of armor. Each rank of this skill negates a -1 rank "Skill Penalty" that a character might incur from wearing armor.

Shield Use- Any character using a shield without the shield use skill suffers "concussion damage" from a melee attack he blocks with a shield as a result of the battering. This damage is 1 HP that goes directly to white ribbon. Rank 1 of shield use negates this. At rank 2, a character gains 1 auto block per day with a shield. At rank 3 a character gains a second auto block per day with a shield. At rank 4 a character gains 1 free auto block per battle with a shield. At rank 5 a character becomes so good with his shield he is capable of limiting damaging effects to himself from magic with his trusty shield. A character with rank 5 carrying a shield in good condition suffers 1/2 less ( i.e.. He still takes 1/2) damage from magical spells / effects as he might otherwise (this "damages" his shield if this defense option is chosen). At rank 6, A master shield user gains a second auto block per battle, in addition he is so skilled that even "concussion damage" from "massive damage" attacks may be ignored ( see below).

Unskilled shield users do not suffer the 1 white ribbon HP damage if the blow was so weak that it would have inflicted between 0 and 2 HPs damage normally. Blows that deal "massive damage" will inflict "concussion damage" directly to even skilled shield users if the blows is blocked by a shield ( which includes an auto block). Massive damage is defined as any blow inflicting 10 or more damage normally. A skilled shield user will suffer 1 white ribbon HP of "concussion damage" for every 10 damage a blocked blow inflicts ( round down). Yes, very large and strong monsters can crush an opponent to death even under their shield.

Critical Strike- Critical strike represents a character's skill at using surprise and knowledge about anatomy to inflict additional harm on his foes with a weapon. Those whom a character with this skill hits suffer twice the normal weapon damage under specific conditions. The most important of these conditions is that the target be taken aback and be completely unprepared for the attack ( this means the target not only does not expect his attacker to hit him, but does not feel there is any kind of a current fight or potential for one beyond the norm). At rank 1, a character my critically strike a target of the same race as himself. At rank 2 they may critically strike any target that is demi-human ( humans, orks, dwarves, elves, goblins, etc.). At rank 3, he may critically strike any humanoid creature at all so long as it has anatomy which resembles that of humans for the most part. At rank 4, character may critically strike a target who is prepared to fight, though is not actively defending himself at the moment. At rank 5 a character may critically strike a target who is actively defending himself so long as he is not actively defending himself against the person critically striking him ( yes, you can run around the field of battle randomly back stabbing unexpecting monsters). At rank 6, all attacks from character against humanoid opponents are critical strikes. The "glancing blow" rule that limits hits to 1 HP of damage takes precedence and even a critical "glancing blow" only does 1 HP damage. Please remember how "LRPG math" works when doubling damage. A character must have at least one rank in Healing to take this skill.

Great Strength- Occasionally a task will require great strength to fulfill. GMs will rate how much strength is needed in terms or " X number of men's strength". Each character is considered to have the strength of one man. Any rank of this skill allows a character with it to contribute an extra man's strength to any effort per rank. Thus a character with 4 ranks of this skill contributes the strength of 5 men to any effort he helps with. At rank 2 of this skill a character can use some rare items that are classified as "heavy". These items are generally found during an adventure and are generally equipment made for larger creatures. At rank 3 the character gains a +1 damage bonus to any melee weapon he uses. At rank 4, a character can use items that are considered "very heavy". Finally characters with rank 6 gain an additional +1 damage ( for a total of +2) for any melee weapon they use.

Paired Weapons- Anybody can pick up two weapons and flail them around in a manner they consider to be fighting. The proficient use of two weapons together is another matter entirely and takes training and practice. Any character using paired weapons and lacking the appropriate rank to do so in this skill suffers a -1 damage penalty with both weapons and does NOT benefit from any bonuses they normally receive for proper skilled use of those weapons ( i.e., any bonuses for those weapons granted by skill in them is forfeit when used paired without the appropriate rank in the "paired weapon skill" ). Rank 1 in this skill allows for the proficient use of two identical small melee weapons ( short swords and daggers) together. "Identical weapons" means just that; not just 2 daggers, but 2 daggers of the same length and general make. Rank 2 allows for proficient use of any two identical one handed weapons together or a mismatched pair of small weapons ( i.e. a dagger and short sword). Rank 3 Allows for proficient use of any combination of one handed melee weapons. Ranks 4-6 provide no particular benefit other than to help pad against "Skill Penalty" from armor being worn.

Evasion- Evasion is a skill that represents a character's talent for fleeing and chasing. Characters good at evasion are fast, sure footed, and have an understanding of tactics which use terrain and psychology to their advantage. A character with the evasion skill who manages to get at least 10 feet away from an opponent may declare an "evasion attempt". A successful evasion attempt means the character is allowed to leave the encounter without pursuit or being target of any further attacks. An evasion attempt is successful if the person attempting to flee has an evasion skill higher than any person wishing to chase him. A failed evasion attempt allows the winner to chase the fleeing character for as long as he wishes. Note that the evasion skill among monsters is not too uncommon. The evasion skill also allows characters to escape bindings and other types of custody. The length of time to escape depends a great deal on how secure the custody, and how well observed the character is. The call of length is up to a judge ultimately. Those with rank 6 can expect to escape simple rope bindings with dozens watching in only moments like Houdini . Those with rank 1 can expect to get themselves out of being tied up in a few hours if being casually watched, or perhaps 20 minutes if ignored for that long. A fleeing character need not flee at his full rank of evasion if he does not want to. A monster with an evasion of 3, may choose to only flee at evasion rank of 1 or 2, allowing some to follow.

Lock Picking- The lock picking skill allows a character to open something up that has been tagged as "locked". Attempts to pick open a lock take 5 minutes. Chance of opening lock is based on a D6 roll by the GM. All locks are rated from 1 to 6 as a open difficulty. This difficulty is compared to the character's rank in this skill. On an even "open difficulty" vs. Skill Rank situation, the character must roll a 4 or higher on a D6 to open the lock. For each point higher the difficulty is then the skill rank, success becomes one less likely. For each point higher the skill rank is then the open difficulty, success becomes one more likely. . Multiple attempts may be made in the case of failure until a 1 is rolled. Then a character may not try again till his rank in this skill improves.

Foil Traps- Many closed containers may be trapped. This skill allows a character to inspect such a container and disarm any trap he finds. Making a foil attempt on a target requires 10 minutes. Traps are rated in difficulty between 1 and 6. When examined, the GM will compared the difficulty of the chest to the skill rank of the character. A secret D6 roll is made by the GM. If the difficulty and skill rank are even, a roll of 4-6 will successfully identify the presence of, and disarm a trap, or reveal to character that no trap exists. For every point of difficulty above the characters rank, odds decrease by 1. For every point of skill rank above the difficulty, odds get better by 1. Failure by 3 or more activates a trap that is there or leads a character to believe a trap exists that does not. Failure by 2 leaves character completely unsure of if a trap exists or not. Failure by 1 lets a character know if a trap does or does not exist, but if it does it's beyond his ability to open. Only one attempt may be made on a target until a characters rank increases. A box with not trap at all is considered difficulty 2 to foil ( Yes, some traps are difficulty 1, and are very obvious. an untapped box is easy to mistake by an overly cautions person as a very cleverly hidden trap.)

Snaring- The snaring skill allows a character to defend himself from weapons using only his bare hands. At rank 1 a character may catch any thrown weapon. So long as he actually catches it he suffers no damage, if he touches it, yet fails to catch it he suffers a grazing wound. If he touches it, yet it hits some other part of his body it does damage as normal. At rank 2, the character can do much the same as in rank 1, but may do so to weapons that are shot as well as those that are thrown. At rank 3, a character need not catch a missile weapon to prevent damage to himself, he simply needs to prevent it from hitting any other part of his body by swiping it with his hands. This no longer counts as a grazing wound. At rank 4, a character can render any missile weapon harmless ( to everybody) by touching it in flight with his hands. At rank 5, a character can auto block 1/3 of any missile weapons that strike him in any given battle ( character must have a free hand to do this). At rank 6, a character can block melee weapons with his bare hands as if they were weapons. This is DEFENSIVE only, he may block with his hands, but may not strike back.

Dodge- This skill represents a characters heightened ability to limit harm to himself through agility and uncanny ability to get out of harms way. Characters with rank 1 in this skill gain one auto dodge per day. Characters with rank 2 in this skill gain an additional second auto dodge per day. Characters with rank 3 in this skill gain a free auto dodge for each battle. At rank 4, a character suffers 0 damage rather than 1/2 in such cases that a successful "resistance attempt" is made, based upon the "Resist Magic" skill. At rank 5, a character looses all auto dodges previously gained in exchange for gaining the ability to auto dodge 1 of 2 melee blows that strike him. Character gets his choice of which 1 out of 2 blows these are and may start with the first of any engagement. At rank 6, a character gains the ability to make a "resistance attempt" to save for 0 damage against spells and spell effects against spells that do not allow a save or that character doesn't otherwise qualify to save against.

Weapon Smiting- This skill represents a characters ability to repair and make melee weapons. Rank 1 allows for simple repairs and with a half hour work can eliminate the "damaged" status of a melee weapon. Rank 2 and a half hour of labor allows a "mangled" weapon to be used good as new again. Rank 3 allows for the fabrication of brand new weapons in about an hour from 10 gold worth of materials ( This helps people who have had their weapons destroyed) . Rank 4 allows for the creation of melee weapons from exotic materials ( such as those players may find during their adventures). Rank 5 allows the fabrication of Masterwork weapons that have higher damage ratings ( +1 to normal). These items cost 100 gold pieces in materials the smith must buy and often take several weeks to make. Rank 6 weapon smiths can fabricate truly remarkable weapons suitable for enchantment. These weapons are +1 to damage and are of such quality that they my hold magical bindings. These require 100 gold per point of damage the weapon inflicts in materials and months to fashion.

Fletcher- At rank 1 of fletching, a character may removed the "damaged" status of any bow weapon with 15 minutes of work. He may also make arrows from exotic materials that may be found in game. At rank 2, a fletcher may removed the "mangled" status from a bow weapon in 20 minutes. A rank 3 fletcher may fabricate exceptional arrows. These arrows inflict an additional +1 damage though require an hour to make and 5 gold coins worth of materials. Characters at rank 3 may also make bow weapons from exotic material found in play, as well as making normal bows from scratch in about an hour ( to bring destroyed weapons back into play). At rank 4 a fletcher may fabricate special "piercing" arrows. These arrows take a half hour to make and 20 gold worth of materials. These arrows bypass armor and allocate all their damage to white and yellow ribbon Hit Points only. At rank 5 a fletcher can fabricate bow weapons that are +1 to damage. These weapons cost 100 gold to buy materials and require weeks of labor. At rank 6, a fletcher may make bow weapons which are not only +1 to damage, but suitable for enchantment as well. These require 75 gold per point of damage the weapon inflicts in materials and months to fashion.

Armorer- A rank 1 armorer may repair damaged armor up to its normal maximum. Working on armor requires he actually have the armor in his possession and fake work on it with his armorer's set up. Damage may be repaired at a rate of 1 HP per 5 minutes.At rank 3 the armor smith may fix 1 blue armor HP every 4 minutes. At rank 5, this becomes 1 blue armor HP every 3 minutes. At rank 2, an armorer may remove the "damaged" status from a suit of armor by working on it for 20 minutes. At rank 3, an armorer may remove the "mangled" status of a suit of armor by spending 45 minutes working on it. At rank 4 an armorer may fabricate armor from various exotic materials he might come across in game. At rank 5, an armorer may fabricate exceptional pieces of armor that provide much greater protection than standard armor (these require gold to make and large enough amounts of time that they must be made between play sessions). Finally at rank 6 a character is capable of fabricating armor as at rank 5, but so good as to be suitable for magical enchantments.

Toxicology- Toxicology is the study of poisons. It has ranks between 1 and 6. A toxicologist may produce poisons of his own, assuming he knows it's recipe, is of a Rank equal to or higher than the recipe requires and has all the required materials. Toxicologists can immediately identify a poison if a judge is present to ask. Finally, a toxicologist may treat a person suffering from a poison effect. This treatment required 10 minutes, and if the victim dies in that time, oh well. Treatment does not fix damage already done, but does stop further damage from occurring. Likelihood of success treating poison is 1 pip per Toxicology Rank on a D6 ( A character with Toxicology of Rank 2 cures poison with a 1-2 on a D6). A character having both herbalism and toxicology is free to make 2 checks to cure a poison, one for each. Note that the proper time must be spent on each skill check. Characters starting with Toxicology will begin with 1 poison recipe, and may trade, find or purchase others. Furthermore, toxicology is necessary for the application of poisons. A character with a rank of 1 in this skill may apply a single dose of poison to bladed melee weapons. Rank 2 is required to apply a single dose of poison to projectiles such as blow darts, arrows and thrown daggers. At rank 4, a character may apply 2 doses ( of the same or 2 different toxins) to a bladed melee weapon.

Literacy- Literacy is one of the basic academic skills. Most magical and academic skills have some rank of literacy as a prerequisite. Aside from this, literacy is remarkably useful all by itself. Only those who are literate to varying ranks may use magical scrolls. Additionally only literate characters can benefit from the education certain books and tomes can provide. Characters without the literacy skill are still allowed to read, but can't do so with the proficiency necessary for the things listed above that the literacy skill allows for.

Monster Lore- Monster lore is a very potent lore skill. It's students know much about a wide variety of creatures both natural and mystical. Characters with monster lore are entitled to ask the GM questions about various monsters he might have interest in ( like the one he heard lives in the woods near by). GMs will answer based upon how uncommon he thinks the knowledge might be and what rank the character has the skill at. It is not uncommon for a person good at monster lore to know relative strengths of monsters as well as special powers and weaknesses.

Ancient Languages- This skill represents a characters study of ancient languages and their origins. Ultimately this skill is most useful in identifying the origin of odd writings characters may come across as well as helping to decipher them. The GM will translate one random word per rank of this skill in any given piece of text. In cases where the language is more or less common, the GM will be a bit more or less helpful.

Anthropology- The Anthropology skill represents a characters knowledge and experience with interacting with cultures and civilization other than his own. Anthropology is as much a lore skill as most. A player with an anthropology skill may ask a GM any question he like regarding the culture, taboos, structure, order, goals, fears, weaknesses, and strengths of any civilized or culturally organized group. This applies as well to any intelligent human civilizations as monster group that exists in a cultural, tribal, clan or societal structures. How much information a GM will share has to do with character's rank in this skill as well as the obscurity of the topic. Good anthropologists can often know enough about different groups that they can come up with a few communication words and present themselves in such a way as they wish to be seen. ( example. "Mr, GM.. .How can I approach a group of orks and make them talk instead of just attacking me?")

Fey Lore- This skill represents a character's knowledge about faeries of both light and dark nature ( the Seelie and the Unseelie). This skill work as both the Monster Lore, Ancient History and Anthropology skills together, but only applied to fey / faerie / sprite type creatures. As with all lore skills, a characters rank will determine how much information a GM will choose to divulge.

Ancient History- A character in possession of this skill may feel free to ask the GM questions about the histories of people, places, and things. The GM will decide how much information is forthcoming based upon character history, rank of the skill, and obscurity of the knowledge being sought. Note that you are to ask the GM, not the judges.

Healing- The healing skill allows a character with it to care for the wounds of a person over an extended period of time, and as such help speed their recovery. A person being tended to by a character with the healing skill heals an additional 1HP per night of sleep. This is in addition to those which he gains naturally from time. A person with the healing skill may tend to twice as many patients as he/she has Ranks in the healing skill. Additionally, a healer can tend to the wounds of a person immediately after a fight. If a healer spends 5minutes caring for the wounds a person received no more than 10 minutes ago, he can immediately restore 1 HP. There is a serious limit to this however. If the character has suffered twice as many HPs of damage in the last 10 minutes than the healer has Ranks in Healing, the wounds are simply beyond the scope of the healer to tend to with immediate results. Please also note that this kind of care requires 5 minutes per patient and must be done within 10 minutes after wounds are inflicted. This means a single healer can tend to only 2 people wounded in any battle due to simple time constraints. For the sake of this description I use the term HP (hit point) a lot. This refers solely to "white ribbon" hit points ( real ones, not armor protection or magic field, etc.). Multiple healers can not help a single recipient to heal more quickly. A healer and a herbalist can combine their efforts on the same patients however. A healer/herbalist can use both his skills on the same patients at the same time. Those planning on using the healing skill will be expected to have gear to act it out such as a kit containing bandages and such.

Herbalism- Herbalism is a knowledge of plants, and often helps in identifying their medicial value. A character trained in herbalism may help in the healing process of himself and other wounded characters. Any wounded person under the care of a herbalist for a night will receive 1 extra HP that night. A herbalist may care for as many patients as he/she has ranks in Herbalism. This is a relatively low number compared to what a skilled healer can do, but the work of a herbalist is far more demanding. Multiple herbalists can not help a single recipient to heal more quickly. A healer and a herbalist can combine their efforts on the same patients however. Furthermore, a herbalist can recognize and treat poison. Treating poison requires 20 minutes, If the client dies before then, oh well. Treating poison does not repair anything damaged, but does halt future damage. The odds of successfully treating poison are 1 in 6 per Rank of the Herbalism skill. Those planning on using the herbalism skill will be expected to have gear to act it out such as a kit containing the making for poultices and containers holding herbs.

Religious Lore- Religious Lore- This primarily academic skill represents a characters general knowledge of many religions. The usefulness of such a skill is very dependent upon the nature of a campaign, but can provide very useful information when dealing religious NPCs and organizations. Ultimately this skill entitles it's owner to read various summaries a GM might produce that pertain to religion and to ask the GM very specific questions that pertain to plot elements about various deities, religions, cults, sects, mythology, and belief systems. A character's rank in this skill determines how much , if an, insight to share with the player. I character with a rank 1 might be told " Ushu was a fertility god of the Hullik clan, who fell from worship long ago". A character with rank 3 might be told that "Ushu was the fertility and healing god of the Hullik clan some 150 years ago when followers of Makamall ( a war totem spirit) set fire to all his shrines and slaughtered all his holy men".

Appraisal- This skill allows a character to deduce the gold piece value of all manner of objects and items as well as grants them knowledge of what kinds of people may seek to purchase them. A character with appraisal may inform the GM of his appraisal rank and ask the value of any items he cares to. The GM will give him a value, and occasionally some other useful trivia about the item if he believes the characters rank is high enough. This skill does not work for "identifying" magic items, but can help find a reasonable value for them if all their functions are known. Rank 1 - 2 is great for coins, gems, etc.. Rank 3 - 4 works well for jewelry and ornate furnishings. Rank 5 is generally required for more subjective artistic pieces, and Rank 6 for the occasional truly odd thing.

Channeling- This is a vital skill for most practitioners of magic. This skill represents how much manna a character can draw from his manna pool into himself for any single casting. Thus powerful castings are only plausible for those very experienced in channeling. Characters can channel 1 manna per casting per rank they have in this skill. Please note which magic types require channeling and which don't. Also notice that there are many weapons and armor that stifle a characters ability to channel manna. Channeling by itself allows nothing. It is the skill that facilitates manna flowing through a body to be used in other magical spell casting such as cleric, mage or druid spells. Without some casting method which manipulates manna channeled through the body; the channeling of manna in and of itself is without benefit. Ability to channel manna and the ability to manipulate it skillfully should not be confused. Skills such as spellcraft represent a characters command and expertise in manipulating manna in a particular way. There is no real connection between raw channeling power and expertise in manipulating it. This is evident in spell examples. There are some very difficult spells ( that require a high rank in their magical discipline) yet need to draw surprisingly little manna. Other spells are very simple and require little expertise, yet draw enormous amounts of manna for very blatant effects.

Manna Well-All living creatures naturally maintain an aura of manna around them as part of their living nature. Many practitioners of magic draw upon their own manna aura to power spells they cast. Characters proficient in this skill have learned how to make changes in their lifestyle as well as psychological, emotional and spiritual nature such as to facilitate a more robust aura or manna about them. For each rank of this skill a character has, his manna pool grows by 5 points.

Meditation- Living beings always regenernerate their full manna pools as they sleep.Characters skilled in meditation can sit down in some isolation and meditate to replenish manna in to their pool. Meditation of this sort can restore 1 manna to the pool per 20 minutes per rank caster has in the meditation skill. During meditation, the character is aware of what he feels, hears and smells around him, but must choose not to react in any way to them, if he wishes to keep regenerating manna.

Resist Magic- This skill represents a character's aptitude at resisting the effects of harmful or unwanted spells and magical effects. Training this skill is generally a mix of exercises that fortify the will as well as a physical regiment designed to heighten appropriate reflexes and reactions. The best "training" comes from actually attempting to resist spells cast against you, preferably under as safe of conditions as possible. A character's rank in this skill determines his "Resistance Attempt" for Magic. The table which represents this is titled " Character Resistance Table"

Resist Poison- This skill represents a character's aptitude at resisting the effects of harmful or unwanted toxins and chemicals. Training this skill is generally a mix of exercises to fortify the body as well as repeated exposure to toxins and chemicals which are not particularly dangerous or harmful to help build resistance. A character's rank in this skill determines his "Resistance Attempt" for poisons. The table which represents this is titled " Character Resistance Table".

Resist Illness- This skill represents a character's aptitude at resisting the effects of illnesses and other biological abnormalities and complications. Training this skill is generally a mix of exercises to fortify the body as well as a regiment of healthy living which promotes general good health and an strong immune system. A character's rank in this skill determines his "Resistance Attempt" for illnesses and diseases. The table which represents this is titled " Character Resistance Table".

Theology *- Theology is the devote and specialized study of religion. Unlike "religious lore" which focuses upon academic study of many religions, Theology focuses intently on a single religion or close group of religions of similar origin. Most importantly this skill represents high enough learning such as to allow a character to take religious Indoctrinations in a faith of their choice. Taking theology requires that a character have the literacy skill of at least rank one. Unlike many magic skills. theology itself does not allow spell casting. Spell casting is a divine gift of a clerical Indoctrination a character takes. The theology skill is a qualifier for these indoctrinations and governs to what heights the cleric can aspire within the structure of their religion. Theology has it's own, more detailed section of it's own.

Psionic Discipline- This skill represents a character's devotion and aptitude at mastering his psionic potential. Ranks in it allow for the acquisition and utilization of different psychic powers that are used in a way similar to spells. At Rank one, a character may learn 2 rank 1 Psionic abilities. At rank 2, a character can develop 4 ranks worth of abilities of no greater rank than 2. At rank 3, a character can develop 6 more ranks of abilities, none of higher rank than 3. At rank 4, character gains 8 ranks of abilities, none of higher rank than 4. At Rank 5, character gains 10 ranks of abilities, none of a higher rank than 5. Finally at rank 6, character gains 12 ranks worth of abilities. To attaining rank 6 in "Psionic Discipline" requires 24 KPs. For every 2 KPs gained in this skill beyond 24, the psionicist gains one more level worth of psionic abilities. Full details may be found HERE.

Thamatergy * - The Thamatergy skill represents a characters over all mastery of mage magic. Higher ranks of thamatergy allow for more complicated and powerful castings as well as higher levels of learning in more specialized areas. Thamatergy is detailed more specifically in it's own section.

Earth Magic * -Earth Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Earth Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Earth Magic is commonly called geomancy and involves the magical study of manipulating minerals, and geological forces.

Fire Magic * - Fire Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Fire Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. The study of fire magic focuses on the agitation and excitement of small particles which leads to chemical combustion of fuel materials. As such, fire magic is as much a study of warmth and heat as it is fire, smoke and energy.

Air Magic *- Air Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Air Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Air Magic focuses on the manipulation and conjuration of wind and other gases. This in turn allows a degree of weather and climate control. Air mages are most known for the telekinesis like effects their blasts of wind can have.

Water Magic *-Water Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Water Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Practitioners of water magic learn spells that manipulate and conjure liquids, ice and steam. Water mages are most commonly thought of for their offensive ice spells.

Muto Vita Magic * -Muto Vita is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Muto Vita higher than their rank in Thamatergy. This magical study concerns itself with the repair and restoration of the living as well as the subtle manipulation and alteration of living processes.

Metaphysics Magic * - Metaphysics Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. It's students concentrate on interacting with the spirit world and the ether beyond. Practitioners are known to speak with, call forth powers of, and even summon spirits.

Translocation Magic * - Translocation Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. This is a very difficult and tricky discipline which revolves around manipulating and changing the relative positions and locations of objects and people. Translocators are known for their abilities to hold objects and people in place, and even teleport objects.

Entrophy Magic *- Entropy Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. It is the study of forcing and directing breakdown and chance. Low level use of entropy is generally considered the must subtle of magic types, thought its higher mastery can have truly dramatic effects. Legends have it that the most powerful masters of entropy can not only kill with a word, but completely obliterate anything he chooses.

Muto Vis Magic *- Muto Vis Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. It is the study of energy and natural forces in the material word. practitioners of Muto Vis are known to summon up lightning and cause other odd effects as things react differently than they should. Legend has it that Masters of Muto Vis can send a foe hurtling into the sky never to be seen again by freeing them from the force which holds them to the earth.

Abjuration Magic *- Abjuration Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Abjuration Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Abjuration magic is the study of spells that focus around conferring mystic protections. Of all mystical practitioners, they are one of the most coveted asset of any armed force, second only perhaps to Life mages.

Divination Magic * -Divination Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Divination Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Divination magics are those which tap into arcane sources to search for insight and wisdom. Diviners are feared throughout the world because it is said they can look into you and see your deepest secrets.

Enchantment Magic *- Enchantment Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Enchantment Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Enchantment magics and spells seem to have two very different seeming applications. The first of which in imbuing magical energies into something else. A second is influencing of minds. How these two seemingly different aspects are so bound together is only understood by the in-depth study of this art. Most people, particularly influential ones want no contact with enchanters at all.

Alteration Magic * -Alteration Magic is one of the Thirteen sub-categories of Thamatergy magic. Characters can never have a rank in Alteration Magic higher than their rank in Thamatergy. Study of Alteration magic involves development of one's understanding of how to manipulate all manner of things from one form to another. This magical tampering has been know to give men the strength of giants; or of children. Some even whisper about Alterationists making gold from rock.

Demonology- Demonology is a skill included in the list more for use with evil NPCs than player characters. Use by PCs beyond rank 1 is restricted from players without GM approval. Demonologists are generally hunted by most good characters and groups, and as such, they are not a good choice for players. Generally I discourage fighting among players, but if you choose to be the bad guy, you get no sympathy from me when other players rightfully want to do bad things to you. Demonology is a skill that after rank 1 allows those who have it to engage is magical castings as described in the demonology section Here .

Necromancy- Necromancy is a dark magical art that focuses around magics of the undead. Necromancy is an art that practitioners can balance on the edge of goodness with. Many however choose to leap right into all things vile. Due to this, most necromancers are, as a rule, not trusted by good characters or organizations. Many watch necromancers closely to determine if he has or has not taken the plunge into the evil potential that lingers ripe for the taking. Necromancy itself is outlined in far more detail in it's own section. HERE

Ritual Magic- Ritual Magic- Ritual magic encompasses a wide variety of magics that are quite similar despite their outward difference. Ritual magic involves using complicated ceremony to produce magical effects. Many churches use Ritual Magic in the form of "High Magic". Primitive people practice the same general magic in the form of "Shamanism". Those with the ritual magic skill may make use of any ritual magic ceremonies they have access to so long as they meet the requirements of that ritual. All ceremonies will have a minimum rank requirement for the caster, and many will have time, material and other odd requirements as well. Ritual magic is one of the most heavily role-play intensive magical arts in the game. If you feel uncomfortable dancing around a fire singing native sounding songs, or speaking Latin over a table of "magical" implements, don't take this skill. Those with the skill gain 2 rituals per rank they begin the game with. From that point on, rituals must be obtained in character. Here

Druid Craft- Druid craft is very much like the theology skill. It represents a characters understanding and insight into the esoteric philosophy and faith of the druids and the powers they venerate. Druidcraft as a skill on it's own does not grant casting abilities, but is a requirement for indoctrination into druid covens. It is devotion / affiliation to a coven and the powers they venerate that grant druidical powers. A characters rank in Druidcraft does have a lot to do with what types of magics a member of a druid coven can acquire. Druidcraft will have its own section later in this book.

Divination- A character skilled in this has a knowledge of how to use various divination techniques like astrology, throwing runes, reading hands, doing tarot and watching flames. In order to obtain useful information, the character with this skill is required to spend a half hour applying one of these crafts they like, and then approach the GM and ask him about a particular topic. This skill does not answer questions. It gives the player so some bits of information about a topic that could be very riddle like, yet still of potential value. The amount and usefulness of this skill use is determined based upon the difficulty of the topic, and the rank of the skill. Characters using this skill are encouraged to chose a particular target such as a person, place, thing or time rather than a question. Also note that I will not allow this skill to solve mysteries or reveal secrets directly. It is a vessel to add information into the game which can be a good lead or clue, but not the final answer.

Alchemy- Alchemy is the arcane study of magical potions. A rank 1 alchemist can identify magical potions of any sort. Additionally alchemists can fabricate magical potions if they have a recipe for it and are of significant rank as required by that recipe. Characters starting with alchemy gain 1 potion recipe, plus 1 per rank they begin with. Additional recipes can be traded with other alchemists, purchased or found. Alchemy recipes always require materials ( some exotic) and time to grind and brew. Potions are made by obtaining the materials, spending time in game "brewing them" ( see "fabricating things" section). once this is done, you can go to a judge and they will give to the card to tape onto one of your bottles that makes it a potion. You did bring empty bottles didn't you? Potions may be found Here .

Inscription *- This skill allows a character to make a magical scroll of a Thamatergy spell he is capable of casting. Doing so requires that the character acquire "Blank Scroll Parchment" from which to make the scroll. This parchment is easy to obtain from merchants and such. In addition to this, the character must spend a half hour copying the spell's data sheet onto the scroll ( with or without the "Spell Formula Code" at the characters option) and finish by actually casting the spell into the scroll. Assuming this is completed, it is now a magical scroll. Only spells of rank equal or lower rank than the character's inscription skill can be scrolled. Inscription can only be taken as a skill if character already has at least 3 ranks of Literacy, and can never exceed the character's Thamatergy rank. Magic scrolls can be cast by anybody with a literacy skill greater than or equal to the rank of the spell on the scroll.

Item Lore *- This skill represents knowledge of all manner of magical items including potions, scrolls, armor, weapons and miscellaneous objects of power. Characters with this skill will be capable of deducing the functions and use of most magic items. Studying an item to identify it's properties takes 15 minutes. All items have an identification difficulty ranked between 1 and 6 ( 2 and 3 are common). This difficulty is compared to the character's rank in this skill. On an even "Item Difficulty" vs. Skill Rank situation, the character must roll a 4 or higher on a D6 to accurately identify the item. For each point higher the difficulty is then the skill rank, success becomes one less likely. For each point higher the Skill Rank is then the item difficulty, success becomes one more likely. Taking Item Lore requires that a character have literacy of at least Rank 1.

Instruction- Any character may teach a skill to other characters whom have that skill at a lower rank or not at all. The instruction skill allows that teaching to be more efficient. Teaching generally takes place outside of play, but should be arranged during game. Normally teaching without the instruction skill can only be done on a one to one basis and is a full time apprenticeship sort of arrangement. Those with the instruction skill may teach multiple people on a more part time basis like a teacher teaches class. For each rank a character has in instruction he may teach 5 "units" of instruction. At any given time, a skilled instructor may teach as many students as these units will allow. Each student counts as as many "units" against the teachers total as the rank he is working towards in skill being learned. Thus a teacher with a rank of 1 in instruction could teach 5 students trying to achieve rank 1 or 2 students working towards rank 2, with a rank one student on the side.

* Note that some weapons have 2 separate damage ratings divided by a slash. This is for weapons that may be used one of two handed. The first and lower score is for single handed use. The second higher number is for two handed use.

Wearing Armor

Some armor types confer a "skill penalty". This skill penalty represents a temporary functional loss of ranks in some skills when that armor is worn. Generally this represents skills that require dexterity, agility and precision which is hindered by bulky armor. When wearing a suit of