Professional Documents
Culture Documents
R
wordhawk
ules
A t last, the Swordhawk Rules are ready for the public. It has been a long way in coming, but on the
following pages I have tried to make the incompleteness and contradictions presented by TSR inc.
in their various books for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd ed. role-playing game.
I have tried to make the combat rules more understandable and better, as well as developing a more
comfortable magic system. It is loosely based on \Spellpoints III" (author: Tim Prestero) found in the Net
Wizard's Handbook, 3rd ed. by Jim Gitzla.
Adne Brunborg
1
Contents
1 Combat 3
1.1 Specialization (melee) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 3
1.2 Specialization (bows) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 4
1.3 Critical hits and misses : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 4
1.4 The four ghting styles : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 4
1.5 Secondary weapon initiative : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 6
1.6 The DAC disarm-system : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 6
1.7 The parry-maneuver : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 6
1.8 Unarmed combat : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 7
1.9 Knocking out characters outside of combat : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 8
2 Magic 10
2.1 The concept of magic : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 10
2.2 Spellcasting : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 11
3 Miscellaneous Rulings 14
3.1 Multi-classed characters : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 14
3.2 Hit points : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 15
3.3 Movement : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 15
A Tables 16
A.1 Strength table : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 16
A.2 Critical hits : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 17
A.3 Critical misses : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 18
A.4 Level progression tables : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 19
2
Chapter 1
Combat
1.5 Secondary weapon initiative any bonuses/penalties for to-hit from specializa-
tion or non-prociency
The following modications is added to the base ini- defense adjustment (from dexterity)
tiative to arrive at the secondary weapon initiative: AC-bonus from style specialization
weapon speed any magical AC-bonus (any + on armor and
size modier rings etc., but not shield, Bracers of Defence,
reaction adjustment Armor-spell etc.)
-1 if weapon has a basket hilt
Note that the reaction adjustment cannot do more -6 if uses two-handed weapon
than reduce the size modier, the weapon speed can-
not be decreased with any means except magic. The The DF is decided like this:
secondary weapon initiative must come at least 1 seg-
ment after the primary weapon, it is not possible to Joe Average is ghting his cousin Bill Average. They
strike simultaneously with both weapons (not even both have average ability scores (8-12). Joe decides
with a speed 0 weapon and high dexterity). to disarm Bill. They are both 1st level ghters using
In the case of several attacks with the primary long swords, in which they are procient. The ques-
weapon, the secondary weapon initiative is used to tion is: What number does Joe need to roll to disarm
determine when the second strike is to come (in the Bill? This number is the \disarm-factor".
case of several characters with multiple attack). In Mirador, this number is 15.
Example: Timok and DrIzt are ghting a Frost Gi- Note that a disarm attempt causes no damage, regard-
ant. DrIzt is a 9th level Ranger, wielding a long sword directedwhether
less of
against
it is successful or not, as the blow is
the weapon and not the man behind
+2 and a short sword +1. Timok is a 10th level it.
ghter, specialized in long sword, and is wielding a
long sword +4. DrIzt has a dexterity of 17 (+2 reac- A disarm must be declared in advance, before initia-
tion adjustment) and Timok has a dexterity of 16 (+1 tive is rolled, and it imposes a +1 modier on initia-
reaction adjustment). tive.
Timok rolls a 5 and DrIzt rolls a 3 on their initiative
rolls, the giant rolls an 1. DrIzt strikes with his long
sword rst (initiative 3+3(spd)-2(dex)=4),then Timok
with his rst strike (initiative 5+1(spd)-1(dex)=5). 1.7 The parry-maneuver
DrIzt follows up with his short sword (initiative
4+3(size)+2(spd)-2(dex)=7). Many times a character wants to parry an attack
The Giant strikes with his huge axe (initiative against him. In order to do so, he must make a suc-
1+9(spd)=10) before Timok strikes his 2nd blow for cessful parry-maneuver.
the round (he attacks 2/1 with long sword, due to spe- In order to parry an attack, the characters roll for
cialization and level). Finally, DrIzt strikes his 2nd initiative normally. If the parrying character (the de-
strike with the long sword (attacks 3/2 with primary fender) wins initiative, he gets a +1 bonus on his roll,
weapon, due to level). if the attacker wins initiative the defender gets a -1
penalty. If they have simultaneous attack, or if the
defender has 3 slots in Bladesong and choose to use
1.6 The DAC disarm-system the special parry, these modiers are not used.
This system is based on the principle that it's harder First, the attacker rolls, using his THAC0 with all nor-
to disarm an opponent when he's a better ghting man mal modiers. The defender rolls his parry attack, but
than you, and is not based on what armor type he's he does not get any bonus for using a magical weapon
wearing. DAC is an abbrivaion for \Disarm Armor (other than the decreased speed). The defender rolls
Class". from his base-THAC0, using these modications:
In order to disarm an opponent, the attacker must any bonuses/penalties for to-hit from strength
make a successful attack vs. the defenders DAC. This any bonuses/penalties for to-hit from specializa-
is equal to his baseTHAC0, with the following modi- tion or non-prociency
cations: reaction adjustment based on dexterity (not the
defense adjustment)
the disarm-factor (DF) AC-bonus from style specialization
any bonuses/penalties for to-hit from strength
CHAPTER 1. COMBAT 7
Just like punching, everybody knows how to wres- Armed and armored vs. unarmed
tle. Specialization is possible here, it confers the
same bonuses as for specialization in punching. A It is possible for an unarmed character to ght an
wrestling specialist can, just as a punching specialist, armed one, however he suers brutal penalties.
make Called Shots and hold back damage. if he tries to ght an armed opponent, the un-
Multiple specialization is possible for warriors. armed automatically looses initiative
if the opponent is armored, the KO-roll suers
Wrestling in armor is, if not quite impossible, very the following penalties:
hard to do. The gures on the table below are penal- Armor Penalty to KO
ties applied to the attack roll. Studded Leather -1%
Chain, Ring, and Scale Mail -2%
Armor Modier Banded, Splint, and Plate Mail -5%
Studded Leather -1 Field Plate -8%
Chain, Ring, and Scale Mail -2 Full Plate -10%
Banded, Splint, and Plate Mail -5
Field Plate -8 However, wrestling an armored opponent can be quite
Full Plate -10 eective, see \Wrestling".
Parrying an armed opponent is possible, but the un-
armed character suers a -2 penalty on both AC and
the parry-roll.
Martial Arts Disarming is also possible, but this is at -4 on both
AC and the disarm-roll.
In Kelewan, punching is replaced by Martial Arts.
Just like everybody elsewhere is procient in punch-
ing, everybody here is procient in Martial Arts.
1.9 Knocking out characters
outside of combat
Specialization grants the same benets as the two oth-
ers, and is available only to warriors and ninjas. It is often desirable to knock a person out. One way
is to ght him with bare hands, another (and more
CHAPTER 1. COMBAT 9
subtle) way is to strike him from behind and try to The percentage chance of knocking out an opponent,
sap him. is 15% (may vary with weapon). Additionally, each
In order to do so, the attacker must either have sur- point of damage caused by the attack is +5%, thieves
prised the victim or have moved silently successfully. multiply this bonus with their backstab multiplier.
(Note: If the Move Silently roll was unsuccessful, the
victim may still be surprised.) Additionally, a suc- The victim may also modify the chance, it is modied
cessful attack roll must be made. The attacker must -5% per point of hp-bonus from constitution, and -5%
also use a weapon that is not designed to kill, such as per slot of punching specialization and/or martial arts
a baton or sts. specialization.
Chapter 2
Magic
maximum spell level, a 5th level wizard can cast 1st Number of spells memorized
level spells without the use of a sta. Magician of the
Lvl Greater Lesser Priest Ranger Paladin
The sta of a magician is not a normal sta, it is en- Path Path y
chanted by the wizard to have this channeling ability. 1 5 z 5 | |
To enchant a sta, a magician must either be in a 2 7 3 7 | |
place of high magical
ux and chant over the sta for 3 8 4 8 | |
one day per spell level the magician wants the sta to 4 9 5 10 | |
channel. 5 11 6 12 | |
6 16 8 15 | |
Normally, a Magician of the Greater Path starts out 7 19 9 18 | |
with a sta capable of channeling 3 spell levels, a Ma- 8 23 10 21 4 |
gician of the Lesser Path starts with a sta capable of 9 26 11 22 5 4
handling 2 spell levels. When a magician nds that 10 29 12 24 6 5
his sta no longer suce, he returns to Tryll or some 11 31 13 27 7 6
other highly magical place in order to enchant his sta 12 35 14 30 8 7
further. 13 38 16 33 9 9
14 42 18 34 10 10
If a magician tries to cast spells his sta cannot han- 15 44 20 36 11 10
dle, the sta must make a save vs. Magical Fire (as 16 47 21 38 11 11
Wood, thin) with a -1 penalty per additional spell level 17 50 23 40 11 12
or be destroyed. 18 52 25 43 11 13
19 55 27 46 11 14
20 58 29 50 11 15
y: includes Holy Fighters
z: can cast 2 cantrips
2.2 Spellcasting
Additionally, priests and Magicians of the Greater
Path recieve bonuses for high wisdom/inteligence, as
As a spellcaster casts his spell, he releases some of his presented
aquired magical energy. A spellcaster has the ability below. These spell level are cumulative.
to channel spell levels as given on the various tables
in the Player's Handbook (a 1st level priest may cast Bonus spell points
one 1st level spell, and so on). Stat Bonus spells
Basically, a caster can still only cast as many spells as 13 1st
given in the Player's Handbook, but he may memoize 14 1st
a few more. Note that a spell does not vanish when 15 2nd
cast, but stays in the memory of the caster. His ability 16 2nd
to cast the spell depends on how much energy he has 17 3rd
left (see below). Specialist wizards may in addition 18 4th
memorize one specialist spell per spell level as in the 19 1st, 3rd
Player's Handbook. 20 2nd, 4th
21 3rd, 5th
If a caster already has used all his low-level spells for 22 4th, 5th
23 4th, 5th
the day, he may use one of the higher-level slots to 24 5th, 6th
cast a lower-level spell, the extra energy is then lost, 25 6th, 7th
no side-eect.
Multiclassed characters use separate spell points for Example: Azrim, a 6th level wizard with intelligence
the various classes. 14, may memorize 16 spells, divided between his three
spell levels as desired (5/5/4, 10/2/2, 6/7/1, etc...).
Any change in a caster's spell selection requires 1 hour However, including the bonuses, he may only channel
of uninterrupted studying or praying per spell level. six 1st, two 2nd and two 3rd level spells. If he desires,
he may cast ten 1st level spells by sacricing his 2nd
and 3rd level energy.
CHAPTER 2. MAGIC 12
can cast is applied to the save. (A 7th level wiz- Example: Alafar, a 7th level mage with 24 hp is ght-
ard striking 3 spell points would get a +1 bonus, ing a mind
ayer. He is wounded to 11 hp, has -1 fp
a 3rd level wizard doing the same would get a and several spell levels left. He decides to risk himself
-1 penalty.) and his sta in a Sta-Strike.
a failed save will require a system shock roll. He hits the mind
ayer and blasts 5 spell-levels, do-
If the system shock fails, the wizard dies. The ing 49 hp of damage. The mind
ayer, as well as the
penalty to this system shock is -5% per point sta, is annihilated, only the ashes remain. Alafar
the save above was missed by. succeeds his save, but the backlash energy strikes him
If the roll is successful, the wizard will fall into a like a whip and sends him down to -4 hp and -26 fp.
coma lasting 1 week per spell point used in the He passes out, but if his comrades can rescue him out
strike. A Restoration or Ressurection spell al- he'll probably live.
lows the wizard to wake up, fully conscious and
at full spellpoints (a Heal is not enough).
if the save is successful, the wizard looses 3 hit Holy symbol
points per spell level as well as all spellcasting
ability for two days per spell level used in the A holy symbol is the connection between a priest and
strike. The damage can be cured normally, a his deity. Just as a wizard cannot rememorize spells
Heal or Restoration spell will allow him to cast without his spellbook, a priest cannot change his spell-
spells again before the above mentioned time has selection without his holy symbol.
elapsed (he needs to memorize his spells again if Furthermore, he does not regain spellpoints unless he
his hit point total was below 0). He cannot use has his holy symbol near his body, and must pray to
scrolls, but he can still use magic items. his deity at certain times of the day (unles he has a
A Sta-Strike costs twice the number fp as normal. very good reason not to).
Chapter 3
Miscellaneous Rulings
Human: Fighter/Druid; Ranger/Druid; As long as one class is at positive levels, the character
Fighter/Thief; Fighter/Priest; Fighter/Mage; is alive and may regain most of the lost energy. If
Priest/Mage; Thief/Mage; Fighter/Mage/Priest; a Restoration-spell is cast within the time limit, the
Fighter/Mage/Thief; Fighter/Psionicist; character is restored to his previous state.
Thief/Psionicist; Fighter/Thief/Psionicist
The life energy is regained after one month of game
time, at which time the character regains some hit
Orc: Fighter/Thief; Fighter/Priest; Priest/Thief points. The hit points are rolled and calculated just
as when the character were drained, except that he
also subtracts one from the calculated amount. In no
NOTE: case can a character regain more than one hp.
A priest-class combination is only possible with Example: Herve is now a 6th/4th/2nd level charac-
logical combinations, see under the various ter. He was hit by a wright and drained one life level.
priesthoods for guidelines. Note that not all rolls 6, 3 and 3 on his dice, loosing 6 0:75+3 0:15+
priesthoods have wisdom as prime requisite. 3 0:10 = 5:25 5 hp, and saves as a 5th/3rd/1st
level character. After one month he regains some hit
points, and rolling 7, 1 and 4 respectively, he regains
Wizards 7 0:75 + 1 0:15 + 4 0; 10 1 = 4:8 5 hp, and
thus is lucky and looses nothing.
Most wizards are Magicians of the Lesser Path. How-
ever, it is possible to be a multi-clasased Magician of
the Greater Path, provided at least 85% of the expe-
rience is devoted to the wizard-part. 3.3 Movement
Most wizard kits are usable for all multi-clased wiz-
ards. However, to be a Bladesinger one must be a A character's movement is noe decided per race, but
50/50 elven ghter/mage, and thus a Lesser Magician. per the character's height, as presented on the table
below.
Height (inches) Height (cm) Base move
3.2 Hit points 76+ 193+ 13
71-75 180-192 12
0th level hit points 66-70 168-179 11
61-75 155-167 10
All characters have base hit points equal to 56-60 142-154 9
Str+Dex+Con , rounded o to the nearest whole num-
6 51-55 130-141 8
ber. This represent the physical condition of his body, 46-50 117-129 7
and constitution-bonus does not apply. If a character 41-45 104-116 6
is wounded below this, he gets a -1 penalty on all die up to 40 up to 103 5
rolls for each point of damage below his 0th level hp.
Additionally, a character can carry moe than his
The hit points gained thereafteris rolled normally, and weight allowance at cose of movement rate, as pre-
represent skill in combat, pain tolerance and life force. sented below:
Example: Herve, the 85/15/10 ghter/thief/mage, Movement with Encumbrance
has Str 16, Dex 15 and Con 13. This gives him Wt all Base move
16+15+13 = 7.33 7 hp before any dice is rolled. He
6 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
then rolls for hp as indicated in Section 3.1. 1.2 12 11 10 9 8 7 6.5 5.5 4.5
1.4 11 10 9 8 7.5 6.5 5.5 5 4
1.6 10 9 8 7.5 6.5 6 5 4.5 3.5
Energy drain 1.8 8.5 8 7 6.5 6 5.5 4.5 4 3
2.0 7.5 7 6.5 5.5 5.5 4.5 4 3.5 3
Sometimes characters are exposed to energy drain 2.2 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5
from undead or evil necromancers. The character odes 2.4 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3.5 3 2.5 2
not loose experience and skills, but looses hit points 2.6 4 4 3.5 3 3 2.5 2.5 2 1.5
and saves as a character one (or more) level(s) lower. 2.8 3 3 3 2.5 2.5 2 1.5 1.5 1
Multi-classed characters loose hit points from all their 2.9 2 2 2 1.5 1.5 1 1 1 1
3.0 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
classes, this is calculated normallly.
Appendix A
Tables
A.1 Strength table
Score To-hit Damage Weight Allowance z Op. Door (d20) BB/LG (d100)
1 -3 -4 1% |
2 -2 -4 3% 1
3 -2 -3 6% 2
4 -1 -3 8% 3
5 -1 -2 10% 4
6 -1 -1 12.5% 5
7 -1 15% 6 1
8 17.5% 7 3
9 20% 7 5
10 22.5% 7 6
11 25% 8 7
12 30% 8 8
13 40% 9 13
14 y +1 50% 10 15
15 y +1 +1 65% 11 20
16 y +1 +2 70% 12 25
17 y +1 +3 80% 13 30
18 y +2 +3 85% 14 35
18.1-18.5 $ +2 +3 90% 15 40
18.6-18.9 $ +2 +4 90% 15 45
18.10 $ +2 +5 90% 16 45
y: If a rogue has a 14 to 18 strength, he uses com- ample: A male dwarf with 16 strength have
bat values 1 category lower (example: 18 ! 17), a Weight Allowance of 106.4 lbs, while a fe-
a wizard use 2 categories lower (example: 18 ! male hal
ing with 16 strength have a Weight
16). Multi-class use the best category allowed to Allowance of 42.35 lbs.
them, dual-class use the one they started with.
It is possible for these classes to use weapon- Max. Press is equal to Weight Allowance ,
slots in order to ght in a better category; one but it is not possible to walk with more encum-
slot will reduce the penalty by 1 category. The brance than Weight Allowance 3.
weapon-slots gained at 1st level cannot be used $: Warriors with a strength score of 18 note their
for this purpose, though. level behind the score. A 6th level ghter with
z: This indicates what percentage of the average 18 strength uses the 18.6-line, and has +2/+4.
weight for the character's race and sex the char- At 10th level the maximum is reached, it's not
acter can carry without being penalized. Ex- possible to get stronger without magical aid.
APPENDIX A. TABLES 17
Level progression, priest The reason that wizards and priests vary in the XP
Wisdom: 9-15 16-17 18 needed to rise in levels, is because that mastering a
Level XP 1000 new spell level is more dicult than mastering a new
1 0.0 | | level eciency.
2 1.5 | |
3 3 | | Note that the wisdom requirement for 6th level priest
4 6 | | spells is changed from 17 to 16.
5 12 | |
6 24 | |
7 48 | |
8 90 | |
9 160 | |
10 300 | |
11 470 490 |
12 640 680 |
13 810 870 |
14 980 1060 1135
15 1150 1250 1345
16 1320 1440 1555
17 1490 1630 1765
18 1660 1820 1975
19 1830 2010 2185
20 2000 2200 2395