Samlaidh

Role Playing in the Dark Ages

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Table of Contents
Introduction............................ 2 Overland Travel................... 156
Rolling Dice............................ 2 Languages.......................... 158
Scenes................................... 2 Law and Punishment.............161
Seasons................................. 2 Objects............................... 164
Pronunciation Guide................. 3 Orders and Societies.............166
The World................................ 4 Settlements......................... 171
World History.......................... 5 Herbs................................. 175
Atlantis and Lemuria................ 6 Some Places of Interest........ 180
Roman Britain......................... 8 Allies and Opponents........... 184
Now..................................... 10 Faeries............................... 192
Cultures................................. 13 Men and Animals.................. 201
The Celts.............................. 13 Covens............................... 204
The Saxons........................... 20 Summonings....................... 206
The Picts.............................. 24 The Undead......................... 207
The Romano-British................28 Spirits................................ 210
The Byzantines...................... 31 Constructs.......................... 213
The British Isles..................... 36 Campaigning........................ 217
The Landscape of Britain......... 36 Writing Adventures............... 218
The Kingdoms of Britain.......... 38 Seasonal Play....................... 229
Religion..................................46 Designers Notes................... 231
Heathenism.......................... 49 The Kingdom of Mercia.........232
The Religio-Romana............... 52 Starting Adventures............. 256
Wotanism............................. 54 The King Below the Green..... 257
Christianity........................... 55 Girls day out........................265
The Darkness........................ 57 The Tower of Brass...............271
The Otherworld...................... 59
The Struggle.......................... 66
The Fianna............................ 66
Bands.................................. 67
The Fianna Code.................... 68
Character Generation............. 72
Archetypes.......................... 100
The Rules............................. 108
Battle................................. 122
Magic................................. 135
Equipment............................145
Money................................ 146
Crafting.............................. 147
Equipment List..................... 148
Weapons............................. 149
Armour............................... 150
Economics........................... 151
The First World.................... 152
Hazards.............................. 152

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Introduction
Samlaidh is a role-playing game of adventure and fantasy in an alternate dark age Britain. The
game draws on the rich history and mythology of the real worlds Dark Ages and embellishes
them with magic and fantasy.

“In the realm of the Otherworld the Fomorians brood and plot in their great castles below the
sea whilst their hated enemies, the jaded Tuatha Lords feast and indulge in their domains.”
“On the spirit plane the dread death God Arawn forges the spirits of the dead into an army to
take his rightful place as the king of the Gods.”
“In Hell Lucifer and his Princes plot against the world of men... waiting for the opportunity to
claim the mortal world as their dominion”
“The Byzantine empress watches the Might of the Celestial Empire at her borders, ready to
sweep in if her guard should drop”
“In the shadows of the world forces long forgotten stir”
“Beautiful slaves serve at the tables of their Masters and mighty warriors fight on the fields of
honour, for glory and fame”
“Mighty magicians gamble with fate to wield powers which rival those of the Gods
themselves...”

-This is a world of conflict and passion, a world of destiny...

Rolling Dice
There is only one type of dice used in Samlaidh, six-sided dice. These are referred to as d6, dice
or just “d”. A number followed by a d, such as 2d, means roll two six-sided dice and add them
together.
Occasionally you may be asked to roll d66. Take two dice and choose one to be the tens dice,
and the other the units dice, then roll them and read a value from 11 to 66.
For example, if you roll a five on the tens dice and a six on the other the result is 56.

Scenes
Most units of time used in Samlaidh will be familiar to you (days, weeks, hours, minutes and so
forth) but another common unit of time is a “Scene”. These are scenes in the theatrical sense.
You can normally declare a scene ended when one of the following two things happens:
1. The flow of time is broken (for example, everyone beds down for the night or a battle ends
and everyone sits down to recuperate).
2. A major change in location occurs (for example, moving from a village to another village, or
encounter en route).
It is always up to the GM to declare when a scene ends, and when a new one begins.

Seasons
The year is divided into three seasons of three months each. The seasons are as follows:
Spring March, April, May The Planting season
Summer June, July, August The Campaigning season
Autumn September, October, The Harvest season
November
Winter December, January, The Resting season
February

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Pronunciation Guide
Various non-english words are scattered through this book, the following section gives some
advice on how to pronounce these words. Saxon and Latin words (such as romano-british and
Byzantine names, and the Numina and Pontifex) are pronounced largely as written. It is only
the Celtic and Pictish words which differ significantly:

th= th as in then, not as in tooth

y is usually pronounced uh, with exceptions:
Singly, it sounds like ee
At the end of a word it usually sounds like ee, but rarely like uh
ll= th as in tooth
dh, bh and mh are pronounced as v
si is pronounced shee
ch is pronounced “ach”, in the german way from the back of the throat

For example:
Ellyllon is pronounced “Eth-uth-on”
Fiosaiche is pronounced “Fee-say-ach”
Eachdraidh is pronounced “Ay-Ach-Draa-v”

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The World
The world of Samlaidh is a distorted version
of our own historical dark age Britain and
Europe. The game is set in 610AD but things
are not quite as they were in the real
historical world. Major differences include:
 The population has declined
massively following the departure of
the Romans, allowing large areas of
landscape to revert to their previous
woodland state (evergreen forests in
the far north of Scotia and deciduous
woods elsewhere) with communities
sitting in small cleared islands
connected by track-ways through the
woods.
 Magic is real, but is a subtle and
capricious force linked to Higher
powers.
 An uneasy peace is maintained
between the various kingdoms of the
Celts, Picts and Saxons with no single
power being ascendant.
 There is growing pressure from the
continent, the Byzantine empire is
not content to maintain itself but is
beginning to develop an expansionist
bent and is looking to Britain.
 The Romano-British do not directly
rule Britain anymore, but their great
houses occupy positions of influence
within British society and they play
complex games of intrigue and
subterfuge to maintain their power
and wealth.
 Atlantis and Lemuria/Mu were real
places. Atlantis and Mu were both
magically powerful cultures who
fought a great war. The magical
remnants of this clash, tens of
thousands of years ago, still
reverberate through the known
world.
 Mechanisms are far more advanced
than the real-world of 610AD, much
Roman and Greek technology has
been maintained and developed,
partly with the assistance
Lemurian and Atlantean lore.
 In the Otherworld, the languid Tuatha
are engaged in an ongoing war with
the driven Fomorians (a warrior race
created by the Tuatha in their
younger days).
 The Tuatha are far more powerful
than the Fomorians.. so the
Fomorians seek advantage in the
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First World and amongst the Dark
Gods, looking for allies or secrets
which will enable them to topple the
hated Tuatha Lords.
 Beyond the borders of the Byzantine
Empire to East and South lies the
mysterious might of the Celestial
Empire, ruled by the Son of Heaven.
 The Gods no longer walk the First
World but still interfere with the fate
of those mortals they favour.
Britain in the Dark Ages
Britain is an island lying, at its closest, 21
miles off the western coast of europe.
These straits separating the island from
mainland europe are referred to as the
English Channel. The island is just under
1,000 km long from the south coast of
England to the extreme north of Scotland,
and covers an area of about 243,000 sq km.
At its widest point, it is 500 km across. The
climate is generally mild and temperate.
Prevailing weather systems move in from
the Atlantic, the weather changes
frequently, but there are few extremes of
temperature (temperatures rarely exceed
32°C or fall below -10°C, and tend to stay
between 10°C and 20°C for most of the
year). Rainfall is fairly well distributed
throughout the year, although the east of
the country is drier than the west and north.
This climate is, in part, due to a flow of warm
water which originates in the caribbean and
flows north east across the atlantic ocean to
wash the south west shores of the island.
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A Quick History of the First World
BC: Before the Christian Era.
AD: During the Christian Era, Anno Domini.

18,000 BC- 'Birth' of the Lemurian civilisation in the Pacific.

14,000 BC- 'Birth' of the Atlantean civilisation in the Western Atlantic.
12,000-14,000BC- Increasing tensions as the Atlantean civilisation grows at the expense of
the older Lemurian civilisation.
12,000 BC- Outbreak of war between Atlantis and Lemuria.
11,500 BC- War ends with the destruction of Atlantis and Lemurian. Great Mages of the
Empires unit to hide all weapons. Atlantis and Lemuria fade into the mists of time becoming
folk memories.
3200 BC Sumerian Civilization Begins- Around 3200 BC, a system of city-states developed
along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The Sumerians developed a loose confederation of the
city-states. The states often fought against one another.
3000 BC Egypt's First Dynasty - King Menes founded the first dynasty of Egypt. Menes united
Egypt into a single Kingdom, bringing together what had been, until then, two separate
Kingdoms: the Lower and the Upper. Menes built a new capital for Egypt at Memphis, in the
lower Nile delta.
2900 BC The Great Pyramids Built - The Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza was built around
2900 BC. It took 4,000 stonemasons and as many as 100,000 laborers to build the pyramid. The
pyramid rose to a height of over 481 feet.
2205 - 1767 BC Hsia Dynasty - Civilization in China is said to have begun with the founding of
the Hsia dynasty. Knowledge of the Hsia is limited mostly to a list of the seventeen kings of the
dynasty.
1400 BC Iron Age In Near East - The production of iron was invented in Armenia. The people
were subjects of the Hittites. The use of iron by the Hittites gave them a military advantage,
and kept the secret of how to make iron a secret. The secret: raising the temperature of the
iron in the forge. After the fall of the Assyrian Empire iron manufacturing was widely dispersed
throughout the Middle East.
814 BC Carthage Founded- In 814 B.C., Phoenicians founded a colony at Carthage. The colony
would soon overshadow the homeland and become an important world power in its own right.
753 BC Rome Founded- According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. Its traditional
founder was Romulus, said to be the son of a princess of Alba Longa. In truth, we know little
about the actual founding of the city. The first settlement in Rome most likely took place on
Palatine Hill near the Tiber River.
525 BC Persians Conquer Egypt - The end of the New Kingdom coincided with the end of
dynasty of the Ramesids. Egypt entered a long period of turmoil and foreign conflict.
509 BC The Roman Republic Founded- 509 BC is the year that has traditionally been given as
the founding of the Roman Republic. Junius Brutus and Taqrquinius were the first consuls of
Rome.
60 BC Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar Form Triumvirate- Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey and
Marcus Crassus formed the first triumvirate to rule Rome. Each had successfully commanded
Roman armies in the field. They worked together to advance each other's needs. The alliance
was cemented when Caesar's daughter Julia married Pompey.
55 BC Caesar Invades Britain- Caesar led Roman troops across the Straits of Dover for a
short reconnaissance mission and then returned to Gaul. He came to England the next year
with a larger force, defeated the Catuvellauni and established Roman sovereignty over parts of
England.

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Atlantis and Lemuria
Approximately twelve thousand years ago
two mighty civilisations spanned in the
globe. At the heart of the pacific ocean the
people of the myriad isles of polynesia and
micronesia came to call themselves the
Lemurians, and this federation of island
kingdoms became known as Lemuria, or
sometimes Mu.
On the far side of the world a second island
continent existed in the Atlantic ocean, a
few hundred miles from the entrance to the
mediterranean sea (the pillars of Hercules).
The people of this island called themselves
the Atlanteans and their homeland Atlantis.
Lemuria
The older of the two cultures, Lemuria
coalesced from the small fishing tribes of
polynesia and micronesia into a single
federation around 18,000 BC. Lemurian
society was advanced and peaceful with vast
volumes of trade between the island. Magic
played a critical role in Lemurian culture,
initially used to communicate across the
vast reaches of the pacific ocean, and those
importance led to continuing development of
magical powers. By around 14,000 BC the
Lemurian federation encompassed all of the
pacific and its coastal regions, and reached
deep into the America's and Asia, a peaceful
political entity bound together by trade and
goodwill. A trademark of Lemurian culture
was an emphasis on the organic, living in
harmony with the world rather than trying to
dominate it.. this was most likely due to the
experience of pacific hurricanes and other
phenomena.. events on such a titanic scale
that no power could hope to control them.
Atlantis
The island of Atlantis was dominated by
several fiery volcanoes, and the combination
of mild climate and rich soils led to a thriving
civilisation born around 14,000 BC. Atlantis
grew rapidly developing a society which was
both magically and technologically
advanced. Atlantean ships were powered by
steam turbines and equipped with deadly
flame throwers and clockwork bolt throwers.
The Atlanteans spread aggressively from
their homeland, quickly building an empire
which encompassed the coasts of the
atlantic ocean and deep into europe.
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War
Soon after the two great cultures found
themselves as neighbour. The Lemurian
viewed the hot-headed Atlanteans as
interesting but no great threat, after all what
could one small island nation do against a
federation which stretched across half the
world. The Atlanteans were initially
dismayed when they encountered the
Lemurians, at first awed by the sheer scale
and age of the Lemurian empire, but awe
soon turned to calculation as the Atlanteans
came to understand the co-operative and
passive nature of the Lemurians.
The Atlanteans began to adopt more
aggressive stances in their relations with
their larger neighbour, pushing for trading
and territorial concessions. At first the
Lemurians shrugged their shoulders and
agreed, but as the demands became greater
factions within the great senate of the
Lemurian federation began to become
unsettled.
With a depressing inevitability the two great
cultures slipped from neighbours to
combatants, beginning with small border
skirmishes but rapidly escalating to all-out
war. Initially the Atlanteans make great
gains, there powerful war machines more
than a match for the harmonious magics and
organic technologies of the Lemurians. The
Atlanteans had to gobble up Lemurian
territory quickly, stripping it for resources to
feed their war machine.
Slow to respond, the Lemurians began to
slowly turn their economy from one of trade
to war, following significant initial losses of
land and forces to the Atlanteans they began
to hold their ground, then slowly began to
take back lost territory as their massive
economy switched gear to war. Magic and
crafts designed to breed harmless creatures
and products were used to breed living
horrors, engineered war beasts and other
monstrousities.
Apocalypse
Around 12,000 years ago the Atlanteans had
been pushed back to their home island with
the mighty forces of Lemurian chasing at
their heels. As the legions of Lemuria
massed on the coasts of western europe the
Atlanteans prepared their last stand, their
sorcerer-scientists bringing into play all
manner of experimental weapons.
The final battle was dramatic beyond words.
Lemurian attacked, Atlantis fought back.. the
carnage was colossal and the isles of Atlantis
were sent to the bottom of the Atlantic in a
single night of blood and fire, but as a
parting gift the Atlanteans retaliated with a
weapon which the Lemurians had no
expected, a scientific plague so virulent that
it swept through the mighty Lemurian
federation in a matter of years decimating
the population and destroying the once
mighty civilisation. Even with the Lemurians
mastery of magic and biology they were
hard pressed to find a cure, but were
eventually able to.
Aftermath
Looking upon the remains of their once great
cultures the few survivors swore an oath to
hide away the weapons that had created
their downfall and to ensure they could
never be used again.
Powerful magics were used to seal away the
weapons of war, both preventing entry to
the storage places and also erasing and
controlling the knowledge of their very
existence.
The world became a quiet place, with most
of mankind reduce to savagery until the next
blooming of civilisation began in the middle-
east around three and a half thousand years
ago.
The remains of a once proud Atlantean city
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Remants
Traces of Lemuria and Atlantis can be found
all over the globe, mainly in the form of
ancient ruins. Only Atlantean ruins can be
found in the British Isles though.
Much of the war was fought by
manufactured constructs, the powerful war
machines of Atlantis and the horrific battle
beasts of Lemuria. Many of these constructs
survived the war and even now lurk in the
hidden corners of the earth, deep in the
wilds, far below ground, under the heaving
oceans, on the highest mountain tops and in
long since abandoned Atlantean ruins.
Great secrets and artifacts are still to be
found in the ruins. Those who dare to brave
such places can gain great wealth and
power.. but they can also come to horrific
ends at the hands of fiendish traps or
devilish constructs.
Most Atlantean and Lemurian ruins were
sealed with magic and only recently have
these magical seals weakened to the point
where the daring can penetrate them.
Roman Britain
The Romans first attempt to take Britain was sacked by the Visigoths for twelve days,
led by Julius Caesar in 55BC. This initial foray then 'shortly' after the Roman city of
was little more than a raid across the Carthage was captured by Vandals, under
channel from Roman occupied Gaul. Shortly the command of Genseric. Carthage became
after Caesar returned in force and began to his capital.
settle parts of southern england. In 441AD in Britain the first Saxon revolt
Over the next 150 years or so the Romans against native Britons took place in 441 A.D.
would gradually expand north and west, It was led by two brothers, Hengst and
eventually dominating all of the British Isles Horsa. In 455 AD the Saxons, led by Hengst
except for the savage lands of Scotia in the and Horsa were defeated by the Britons. This
north. defeat significantly slowed the Saxon
In 122AD the Emperor Hadrian ordered the takeover of Britain.
building of a 70 mile long wall which crossed
Northern Britain, from Wallsend-on-Tyne in
the east to Bowness-on-solway on the So what did the Romans
western coast. The Walls primary function do for us, apart from
was to prevent pictish raiders from easily ransack our country
raiding into northern Northumbria and and bleed us dry?
Cumbria. For a brief period the border Well..., aqueducts, plumbing
central heating.... need I go
pushed further forward and a second wall
on?”
was built called the Antonine wall, but within A discussion between
a few decades the Romans retreated back to Arian Carew, Druid,
Hadrians wall. and his student Eynon
As far as the inhabitants of Britain were
concerned the next major event in the
Roman occupation was the edict of Caracalla
in 212AD. This Imperial edict declared all
476AD marked the final end of the Western
free people of the Empire to be now be
Roman Empire when the Emperor Romulus
Citizens of the Empire.
Augustulus was deposed by German
In 324AD, following a series of civil unrests
mercenaries at Ravenna. The German
and battles for power within the Empire
mercenaries then declared themselves to be
Constantine the great finally settled affairs
the rulers of Italy.
by defeating his rivals and becoming the
The Eastern Empire continued to grow, both
uncontested emperor of Rome. He
economically and military, steadily but
established his capital at Byzantium on the
slowly expanding its grip in all directions
Bosphorus straits in 330AD, then died
from Byzantium. In stark contrast to most
shortly after in 337AD. He bequeathed the
cultures of the time Byzantium was a
Eastern empire to one of his sons and the
matriarchy, with an Empress and a female
West to the other and the Empire was not to
led aristocracy. Inheritance descended
be united again until 351AD, when
through the female line (matrinlineal) and
Constantius (the Emperor of the Western
women occupied the dominant positions in
empire united the two empires at the battle
society. This feminine outlook proved most
of Mursa.
effective for the expansion of Byzantium,
Arguably the end of the Empire began in
with an emphasis on diplomacy and trade as
378AD with the killing of the Emperor Valens
empire building tools, military force only
by the Visigoths at the battle of Adrianople.
being used to enforce such agreements. As
This marked the first permanent breach in
the Western Roman Empire waned
the northern border of the Empire.
Byzantium grew in strength and security.
When Emperor Theodosius died in 395 A.D.,
Between 503 and 557AD three successive
the Roman Empire was forever split.
wars, interrupted by periods of peace, were
Theodosius was succeeded by his daughter
fought between Byzantine and the Persian
Arcadia, who ruled the Eastern portion, and
Empire. The first two wars were indecisive
his son Honorius, who ruled the Western.
but the final war marked the effective end of
The Romans withdrew from Britain in 407AD
the Persian empire, which fell to the
as the Western Empire was increasingly
Byzantines.
pressed by many barbarian tribes
In 552AD a Byzantine army invaded Italy and
surrounding it. In 410AD Rome itself was
decimated the germanic invaders,

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reclaiming Rome for the Byzantine Empire.
Justina the Great died in 565 A.D. bringing to
end 38 years of rule as leader of the
Byzantine Empire. Under her stewardship,
the Empire expanded to include all of North
Africa, most of the Middle East as well as
Italy and Greece. Under Justina, the first
comprehensive compilation of Roman Law
was published and the Byzantine matriarchy
reinforced.
Her daughter was Helena, who proved, if
anything, an even more able leader than her
mother. From her investiture in 565AD to the
current 610AD her Empire has continued to
expand to now dominate all of mid and
southern Europe, the Russian steppes, the
middle east and North Africa. The Saxons of
Northern europe have resisted Imperial
advances but have been forced back to the
north of Europe (what will become the
modern day Netherlands, Northern
Germany, Denmark and Scandinavia).

The investiture of Helen, Empress of Byzantium

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Now
The Roman Empire officially withdrew from
the British Isles in AD 407, and chaos
followed. The Romans had effectively
maintained the infrastructure of the isles
and with their withdrawal every petty
warlord, mage, criminal or other person with
a grudge took the opportunity to carve out
their own territory.
The Supernatural was largely kept in check
by the Romans, driving denizens of the
Otherworld and other supernatural beasts
deep into the ancient woods, allowing the
peoples of the land to live unmolested. With
the withdrawal of Rome and its great central
authority these forces were able to creep
forth again and threaten man. The loss of
knowledge in this period was incalculable,
whole settlements vanished into the woods
and the Darkness prowled the land.
If you need to travel, travel
by day. If you can't travel by
day stay on the roads and
don't be tempted to stray...
there are bad things in the
woods”
Advice from Gart map Uuen,
Pictish Wayfinder
For the best part of a 160 years Britain has
been torn asunder by feuds and intrigues
with the whole country collapsing into tiny
fiefdoms and kingdoms and a significant
reduction in population. Through this period
a slow process of aggregation has occurred,
with the most powerful warlords uniting
tribes and gradually bringing larger and
larger areas under their sway, to the current
state where the country is dominated by a
handful of powerful tribes organised into
kingdoms, although settlements within a
kingdom still have a great deal of autonomy
of action.
By the current date, of 610AD, large swathes
of the countryside have reverted to scrub
and woodland, with many villages, manors,
villas and hamlets now ruined and deserted.
Such abandoned ruins make ideal homes for
bandits and creatures of the Otherworld and
the country is still a dangerous place with
such magical and mundance threats
prowling the lands, and many bandits and
outcasts lying in wait.
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The adult population of the isles in 610 AD is
around eight hundred thousand people,
giving an average population density of
around one person per three square
kilometers.
The country is criss-crossed by an extensive
network of well built roman roads. These
roads allow fast, although not necessarily
safe, travel.
The majority of the population is agrarian,
living in small villages (with no more than
one or two hundred residents) which cluster
round a market town (which acts as a
trading hubs for the villages). Some cities
exist, mainly at strategically important
locations or at the juncture of several roman
roads. Most of the farmers live in the village
and work land adjacent to the village itself,
with the occasional hamlet (a cluster of a
few houses) further from the village. The
villages typically occupy an area of cleared
land bounded by ancient forest and tracks
run through the forests connecting the
villages to one another and the nearest
town. A typical village has an inn, mill,
blacksmith and general shop with other
services being found in the nearest town.
Most villages have a church or similar site of
religious worship (such as a druidic sacred
grove).
The landscape is wild, with people tending to
stay close to home and rarely venturing out
by night. Night is when the wild creatures of
the forest, including dreaded creatures from
the Otherworlds, prowl and come into
human settlements. Given a choice the
average Britain will not cross through woods
if they can avoid it, instead trying to skirt the
edges.
The natural vegetation of much of the
lowlands of the British Isles is broad-leaved
deciduous woodland dominated by oak (with
around 90% of the British Isles wooded). In
the extreme south this is more likely to be a
mixture of beech and oak. A combination of
birch and oakwood is the natural vegetation
of the lower slopes of higher land in England
and Wales. In the Grampians and North West
Highlands of Scotland this is replaced by
Scots Pine.
Heather moorland dominates the rounded
summits of hills throughout the country. This
is particularly apparent in Dartmoor, the
Pennines and the Cheviots. Heather, gorse
and bracken dominates wherever sandy soils
are found.
Water meadow and freshwater marsh is the
natural vegetation of river flood plains. This
is particularly the case in the Midlands
around the Trent and in the Somerset levels.
Saltwater marshes are found in several
coastal areas. The most extensive areas are
in East Anglia where the coast around the
Wash has extensive marshland. Most of the
major estuaries (including the Humber,
Thames, Severn and Mersey) are bounded
by large marshland areas
Wolves, red deer, boar and reindeer are all
to be found wandering the landscapehave all
become extinct and small carnivores such as
badger, fox, stoat and weasel thrive in most
areas. Rabbit and hare are common and
otters thrive in most rivers. There are three
species of snake (slow snake, grass snake
and adder) of which only the adder is
venomous. There are no snakes in Ireland
because the Irish Sea formed before snakes
could cross from Europe.
Politics
Politically the isles are divided up into tribal
lands. Some tribes have united with others
under a common king, maintaining their own
identity but working together. These
'kingdoms', such as Mercia and Wessex, are
more like loose federations. The tribes within
a kingdom agree to a common currency and
trading laws and respect a common king,
who is agreed between the tribes (usually
the King of the strongest tribe in the
kingdom).
The stability of a kingdom is mainly
dependent on the strength and political
acuity of its king, who serves to keep the
tribes in balance. It is not unusual for tribes
within a kingdom to raid each other,
skirmish at borders and the like.
As a general rule of thumb adjacent tribes
(those who share a border) will be rivals.
They will trade freely with one another.
Occasionally minor incidents on the borders
may flare into small skirmishes, but rarely
develop beyond that. The priests and law-
givers of the tribes tend to communicate
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freely (for example, the Celtic Druids hold
their allegiance to the Druidic Order above
the allegiance to a tribe) with one another
and act as diplomats and counsellors to the
tribal rulers, calming inflamed passions and
salving ego's as needed.
Relations between kingdoms, and tribes of
different kingdoms, tend to be more
aggressive. Border skirmishes are common
and often escalate to small wars although,
again, the priests and other wise people of
the kingdoms tend to act to calm inflamed
passions before things get out of hand.
Skirmishes between neighbouring tribes of a
kingdom tend to be triggered by overheated
passions.
Skirmishes between kingdoms tend to be
more premeditated, often a kingdom will
attack when it perceives weakness, hoping
to take some land and consolidate their
gains before the enemy can reply in force.
Over time this exchange of land tends to
balance out, with contested areas of the
borders changing hands repeatedly over the
years.
It is also common for kingdoms to raid one
another, small forces of warriors raid across
the border, grab what booty or slaves they
can, then retreat before the enemy can
muster a significant response. Such raids
nearly always result in diplomatic arguments
and a few heads may roll, but they are
generally approved of by the raiding
kingdoms rulers. One of their main uses is to
test a fellow kingdoms strength, and if the
kingdom is found to be weak the rulers may
order a full scale land-grab.
Relations between Saxon and Celtic
kingdoms are, on the whole, more fraught.
The Saxons make no attempt to hide their
intention to conquer all of the british isles in
time. Their bluff code of behaviour allows a
Saxon to comfortably flip from peaceful
trade to murdering raider without a blink of
the eye. One week Saxons from a nearby
kingdom may be peacefully trading with you,
the next they may be sacking your village
and raping your cattle. Celtic kingdoms
bordering Saxon kingdoms are careful to
keep border garrisons up to strength, and
regular patrols in force are common. It is
important not to show weakness to the
Saxons or they will attack swiftly and
decisively.
Northumbria and Cumbria both border
Scotia. The picts are similar to the Saxons in
many ways, although they are less
organised and, at the moment, do not
present such a substantive military threat.
Picts tend to move freely across the border
to trade or raid as the mood takes them. The
Romans were masters of keeping the pictish
tribes at each others throats, but since their
departure the risk of a single powerful
uniting the Pictish tribes has been a real
threat.
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The Celestial Empire
The borders of the mighty Byzantine empire
stretch far from Britain, but beyond them
lies an even mightier power, the Celestial
Empire of China. The celestial empire spans
from Southern Africa, across Asia, to the
west coast of the America's. The Empire is
ruled by the Celestial Emperor, Son of
Heaven. It is bound together by the
astonishing military power of the Empire and
a complex interweaving of trading
relationships. The Empire has largely
expanded without open warfare, a
combination of threat and trading
opportunity has bough most of the lands it
has encountered into is fold, their rulers
swearing fealty to the Emperor on his Jade
throne in the Heavenly City.
Lands outside of the Chinese mainland are
client states of the Empire. The ruler of that
kingdom has sworn allegiance to the jade
throne. Client states are able to participate
fully in the trading network of the Empire
and are protected by the Empires military
might, in return they pay taxes to the
Empire and levy troops to the Imperial
armies.
At the current time relations between
Byzantium and the Celestial Empire are
quite cool.. it may only be a matter of time
before war breaks.
The Celestial Empire will be explored in more
detail in future supplements.
Cultures
The Celts
The celts are the indigenous inhabitants of
much of europe who have gradually been
pushed eastward by the migration of Saxon
tribes from the west and now the only major
celtic populations are in Iberia (modern-day
Spain and Portugal), Gaul and the British
Isles. The strength of the Byzantine empire
has largely stalled the Saxon advance,
leaving Russia, Northern europe and
Scandinavia in the hands of Saxon peoples
and the rest of europe and the british isles
populated by a mixture of mediterranean
types (the Byzantines), small saxon
kingdoms and celtic tribes.
The Celts of Britain were first conquered by
the Romans in the first century AD. The Celts
organise themselves into tribes, ruled by a
hereditary king. Normally two or more tribes
in close proximity will come together to form
a kingdom, which is ruled over a High King,
one of the tribal Kings elected to the job by
his peers. Normally the king of the most
powerful tribe becomes King, but not always.
Many Celts are Pagans, following the Druidic
traditions, but Christianity is gradually
spreading among them.
In the world of Samlaidh the Romans never
succeeded in taking Anglesey (the heart of
the Druidic Order) and Druids still play a
major part in daily life to the tribes acting as
teachers, priests and advisors to the tribes
and maintaining a strong pagan way of life.
The Celts of central Britain, what will
become England, are commonly referred to
as the Britons, those of Wales as the
Cymri. The Celts of Eire are usually called
Gaels and the Celts of the Southwest
peninsula (Cornwall and Devon) are the
Cornish.
The Cymri are renowned for their
commitment to victory at all costs and are
often accused of being duplicitous and
decitful in their dealings with others,
particularly the Britons. The Gael are
renowed for their love of life and general
vivacity. The Cornish are renowed for their
wits and are noted as shrewd bargainers,
careful to ensure that events always fall in
their best interests, and finally the Britons,
who are renowned as ferocious warriors,
obsessed with their honour.
Some key points to consider with Celtic
culture include:
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 The Celts are respectful of the
denizens of the Otherworld and
Druids.
 First loyalty is given to local leaders.
 Law is based on tradition and custom.
Jurists are individuals who have
studied the law and customs and act
as judges. Most Druids are jurists and
some non-druids are also jurists. The
village leader will usually call on a
jurist to hear a case and rule on it,
the village as a whole will then
enforce the ruling. If an individual
refuses a ruling they are likely to be
cast out from the tribe and
excommunicated from the faith
(particularly if the Jurist was a Druid).
In game terms most Knowledgeable
Celts can act as Jurists.
 Celtic law only applies to members of
a tribe. If you are an outsider the law
does not protect you in that tribes
lands unless you are of the Aes Dana.
 Celts are organized into Tuaths, clans
(a clan is group of related families),
which then clump into tribes.
 Clans spend a considerable amount
of time feuding with one another, as
do their respective tribes.
 Each Tribe is headed by a King or
Duke (called a Ri in Eire) who is
advised by a council of Nobles.
 Alliances between tribes and clans
are mainly made through marriage
and/or fostering, where one or more
children are sent to be raised by an
allied clan/tribe, acting as hostages in
addition to forging strong links.
 The Ri’s elect a high king who rules
the high kingdom.
 The King or High King is primarily a
war leader, they have little or no
ability to change the law. That ability
lies with the jurists.
 The economy was originally based
entirely on barter but use of Roman
coinage is now almost universal.
 Celts are fond of music and song.
 Celts are respectful of anyone who
can perform.
 They like to organise contests of
singing, music, and dancing.
  Most Celts are illiterate, but tend to
know a lot of stories and songs.
 Celts tends to be pale skinned, with
brown eyes and dark hair. Red hair is
not uncommon but blue eyes and
blonde hair are rare.
 Trial by ordeal (also known as
torture) is a common technique in
legal cases.
 Sexual equality is the norm in Celtic
tribes. The women fight alongside the
men and have an equal standing in
society. A King may well be a Queen.
 The Celtic written language is called
Ogham, and is generally only used by
the Druids.
 Marriage between Celts can either be
for life or for a year. At the end of a
year both parties can go their
separate ways, renow their vows for
another year or for life. The suitor
must pay the father of the bride a
bride price to marry, the price being
half the brides blood price.
 There is a strong tradition amongst
Celtic warriors to fight completely
naked in battle, referred to as “going
sky-clad”
Name Structure
Most Celts have their names in the following
structure:
{First Name} {Surname} “of the” {Tribe
Name}
For example, Annwyn Einon from Gynedd
would be known as “Annywn Einon of
Gwynedd”.
Some examples of female Gael names
include:
Abigail, Aghna, Aideen, Aileen, Ailís, Áine,
Aisling, Aithne, Alana, Alyson, Ana, Anne,
Badb, Blayne, Breena, Brenda, Brenna,
Briana, Brid, Brigid, Cait, Caitlin, Caitriona,
Ciara, Clare, Cliona, Colleen, Creidne, Dana,
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Deirdre, Edana, Eileen, Eithne, Erin, Evelyn,
Finola, Fiona , Gwen, Gweneth, Hilde, Íde,
Isabel, Islene, Keavy, Keeley, Mab, Maeve,
Marta, Medb, Moyna, Moira, Mona, Morgan,
Moya, Muirin, Naomh, Niamh, Nuala, Orla,
Riona, Ros, Rowena, Sarah, Seana, Shannon,
Sheelah, Sheena, Sinéad, Siobhán, Tara
Some examples of Male Gael names
include:
Aed, Aidan, Angus, Ardal, Blaine, Blair,
Brady, Bram, Bran, Brendan, Bryon, Brogan,
Caleb, Calhoun, Cassidy, Cavan, Cian,
Kieran, Colm, Conall, Connor, Conway,
Cormac, Culann, Dáire, Declan, Delaney,
Devin, Devlin, Dolan, Dóna, Donovan, Doyle,
Eóin, Evan, Fergus, Fergal, Finbar, Flynn,
Galen,Garett, Glen, Hagan, Hogan, Kane,
Kearney, Kelvin, Kieran, Kilian, Liam, Lir,
Logan, Miles, Morgan, Murphy, Nevan, Niall,
Owain, Padraig, Quinn, Reilly, Riordan,
Roarke, Rogan, Rónán, Rory, Ross, Seamus,
Seán, Shane, Sloane, Vaughn, Wynn.
Gael Surnames:
Mc, Mac = son of
O = can signify either grandson, or earlier
ancestor
Fitz, from French fils = son of
Ní = girl's use before her father's name
Ban = wife's use before her married name
Brennan, Conroy, Devine, Doherty,
Donoghue, Dowling, Doyle, Duffy, Dunne,
Egan, Fahy, Flanagan, Flynn, O'Loinn,
O'Lynn, Gallagher, Garvey, Geraghty,
Hennessey, Hogan, Kavanagh, O'Cahan,
MacCloskey, Kelly, Lee, Lynch, McAuley,
MacAuliffe, MacBride, MacCabe, MacCann,
MacCarthy, MacCormack, MacDermott,
McDermmot, Kermode, MacElroy, MacEvoy,
MacGee, MacGovern, MacGrath, MacHugh,
MacInerney, MacKenna, MacLoughlin,
O'Loghlen, MacMahon, Mohan, Vaughn,
MacManus, MacNally, MacNamara,
MacNulty, MacQuaid, McQuillan,
MacSweeney, McGinn, Madden, Maguire,
Mallaghan, Malone, Maloy, Monaghan,
Moore, Mulcahy, Mulligan, Murphy, Nolan,
O'Brien, O'Byrne, O'Callaghan, O'Casey,
O'Connell, O'Connor, O'Dea, O'Donnell,
O'Donovan, O'Dowd, O'Driscoll, O'Dwyer,
O'Farrell, O'Flaherty, O'Flanagan, O'Grady,
O'Hagan, O'Leary, O'Malley, O'Meara, O'Neill,
O'Reilly, O'Rourke, O'Shaughnessy, O'Toole,
Quinlan, Quinn, Regan, Ryan, Mulryan,
Scanlan, Sheridan, Walsh
Some examples of Female Cyrmic
Names:
Angharad, Annwyn, Ariana, Arionrhod, Viridomaros, Viridovix, Voccio
Blodwyn, Branwen, Bronwen, Caron, Cate,
Catrin, Dee, Derwen, Deirdre, Elen, Essyllt, British Female Names
Ffion, Gaenor, Glenna, Gwen, Gweneth, British female names are generally the same
Hywela, Idelle, Iola, Jenifer, Linette, Lowri, as British male names, but the last letter is
Mab, Megan, Meriel, Mona, Morgan, usualy an -a. In the case of -os endings the
Morgana, Myfanwy, Nia, Nimue, Ogen, -os is replaced with an -a (for example,
Rhiamon, Rhian, Rhianwen, Rhonwen, Vericos becomes Verica and Viridovix
Rhosyn, Rowena, Sian, Tegan, Torri, Vivian becomes Viridovia)

Some common names for Cymri Males: British Surnames

Aedd, Alawn, Alun, Anwyn, Anir, Arian, Barri, British surbames, like forenames, are
Bedwyr, Berwyn, Beven, Blair, Blaise, Bors, latinised versions of traditional pre-roman
Bowen, Bradwen, Bran, Brice, Bryn, Brys, names.
Cadell, Cadfael, Cadman, Cadoc, Cadwr, Cai, Abbas, Acutus, Alemannicus, Alesius,
Caradoc, Cas, Cerwyn, Cian, Conwyn, Anastasius, Anclicus, Aquapontanus,
Conwy, Dafydd, Dillan, Drew, Dylan, Einion, Arbalistarius, Archidiaconus, Arundelius,
Emrys, Eoin, Ermid, Evan, Gareth, Gavin, Ascelinus, Aubericus, Augustinus, Auonius,
Gawain, Geraint, GiBert, Glendower, Glew, Barbatus, Bardulfus, Barrarius, Bercarius,
Govan, Govannon, Griffin, Gwalchmei, Berengarius, Bituricensis, Bononius,
Gwydion, Gwyn, Huw, Hywel, Iago, Iestyn, Borlasius, Brunus, Budellus, Caecilius,
Ieuan, Kevyn, Kim, Lleu, Lludd, Llyr, Lot, Calcearius, Caluinus, Caluus, Canonicus,
Madoc, Mael, Menw, Merlin, Mordred, Cantor, Capellanus, Caractacus,
Morgan, Morvran, Neued, Owydd, Oswallt, Carbonarius, Caretarius, Carnotensis,
Owain, Pellinore, Peredur, Puw, Pwyll, Rhodri, Castellanus, Cenomannicus, Chentiscus,
Rhys, Sewyn, Steffan, Tad, Tarrant, Tor, Chirchebeius, Cinomannicus, Claranus,
Tremayne, Trent, Tristan, Tristram, Urien, Constabularius, Corbaldus, Coruesarius,
Vaughn, Weyland, Wyn Crassus, Cruciarius, Dacus, Dalenrigius,
Decanus, Deuon, Draco, Drogo, Durandus,
Common Cymric Surnames Duridentis, Dux, Easterlingus, Elyota,
Adda, Aban, Anwyl, Awbrey, Bach, Bebb, Ernaldus, Esperuerius, Falconarius,
Belth, Bevan, Beynon, Blaeny, Bythell, Falterellus, Faukesius, Ferratus,
Caddock, Cadogan, Cadwalader, Cardigan, Fierebrachius, Flauus, Flecharius,
Carew, Connah, Danic, Eynon, Gadarn, Forestarius, Formannus, Ganterius,
Gethin, Gruffydd, Gwalchmai, Gwilt, Gwynne, Garnerus, Grandus, Granetarius, Grassus,
Gwythur, Heilyn, Iudhael, Landeg, Llewelyn, Grisius, Grotius, Hastifragus, Herueus,
Llywarch, Mabe, Mostyn, Owen, Parry, Hosatus, Howardus, Juuenis, Lauremarius,
Puggh, Rees, Rhys, Rhydderch, Roch, Legatus, Leslaeus, Leuchenorius, Ludouicus,
Trahaearn, Trewent, Vaughan, Wynne, Lupus, Mainfelinus, Marescallus,
Iorwerth Marruglarius, Maurenciacus, Mentulamanus,
Monachus, Murdacus, Mustela, Norensis,
British Male Names Norriscus, Nouus, Nutricius, Ostiarius,
Adminios, Boduoccos, Caratacos (Caradoc), Paceus, Paganellus, Parmentarius,
Carvilios, Cassivellaunos, Cogidubnos, Pentecostes, Perfectus, Phiscerus, Pincerna,
Commios, Cunobelinos, Cunobelin, Eppillos, Placidus, Polus, Ponderator, Puletarius,
Lugotorix, Mandubracios, Prasutagos, Puntius, Ragotus, Regiosyluanus, Reinardus,
Segovax, Tasciovanos, Taximagulos, Rex, Rheseus, Rodericus, Rotarius, Rufus,
Venutios, Vericos, Acco, Adiatuanos, Saluagius, Sartorius, Sauagius, Serlo,
Ambiorix, Andecombogios, Boduognatos, Sewallus, Siluanus, Siwardus, Sophocardius,
Camulogenos, Casticos, Catamantaloedis, Stiganaus, Talliator, Taxo, Telarius,
Catuvolcos, Cavarillos, Cavarinos, Cetillos, Teutonicus, Thamarius, Theodoricus,
Cingetorix, Conconnetodumnos, Vacarius, Valchelinus, Valesius, Vardaeus,
Convictolitavis, Correos, Critognatos, Velox, Venator, Vetulus, Vicinus, Vidulator,
Diviciacos, Dumnacos, Dumorix, Duratios, Vitulus. Vulpis, Vulsaeus, Walchelinus,
Gobannitio, Gutuater, Indutiomaros, Liscos, Warennarius, Wiscardus, Wollaeus, Wolsaeus
Litaviccos, Lucterios, Moritasgos, Nammeios,
Orgetorix, Sedullos, Suros, Tasgetios, Cornish Male Names
Teutomatos, Valetiacos, Vercassivellaunos, Allun, Alan, Anta, Austell, Austol, Breaca,
Vercingetorix, Vertico, Vertiscos, Breage, Break, Breward, Brioc, Budeaux,

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Budic, Cadan, Cador, Cini, Cleder, Clemow,
Colan, Columb, Conoc, Cornetin, Credan,
Credus, Daveth, Digory, Docco, Dochou,
Doniert, Durngarth, Elid, Enoder, Erc, Erme,
Erth, Ervan, Euny, Erney, Eval, Feoc, Feoca,
Gawen, Gennys, Gerens, Gerent, Germoc,
Germoe, Glywayatus, Gonand, Goran, Goron,
Gorran, Gothianus, Grada, Gudwal, Gwinear,
Herygh, Howel, Hydoc, Hydroc, Ia, Ingonger,
Ives, Jacca, Jago, Jory, Jowan, Kaveran, Ke,
Kea, Kenan, Kenen, Conan, Kenver, Kenwyn,
Kevern, Keverne, Kitto, Lide, Ludgvan,
Ludjan, Ludwan, Ludan, Maban, Madern,
Madernus, Madron, Manaccas, Manaus,
Margh, Mar'h, Mark, Massen, Maunanus,
Mawnan, Mawes, Mawgan, Maylwen, Meber,
Melan, Mellion, Mellyan, Melyn, Mullion,
Melof, Meriasek, Meryasek, Merryn, Mewa,
Mybard, Myghal, Mylor, Melor, Nechtan,
Neot, Nivet, Pasco, Peder, Peran, Perran,
Piran, Petroc, Petrok, Probus, Pynocus,
Rewan, Ruan, Rumon, Selevan, Selyf, Selyv,
Semane, Sennen, Silin, Sithney, Stedianus,
Stithian, Sulain, Sydnius, Sythyn, Talan,
Talek, Tehta, Telent, Thei, Tomas, Ulogen,
Uthno, Vepus, Wella, Wennap, Weep,
Wenne, Wethinoc, Winnier, Winnow,
Wolvela, Wron, Vuron, Wynap, Wynwoluy,
Yestin, Ythel
Cornish Female Names
Beryan, Blejan, Breaca, Breage, Burien,
Buryan, Caja, Ceinwen, Chesten, Crewenna,
Crewyn, Crowan, Demelza, Ebrel, Elowen,
Endelient, Endelienta, Endellion, Eseld, Ewa,
Ewe, Hedra, Ia, Eia, Jenifer, Jenna, Kensa,
Kerensa, Carenza, Kerra, Kew, Keyne, Kuet,
Kywere, Ladoca, Lowenna, Mabyn, Manacca,
Materiana, Melior, Meliora, Mellier, Melyar,
Melyear, Melyor, Mellyn, Menefreda, Meraud,
Merouda, Merewenna, Metheven, Morveren,
Morwenna, Morwinna, Morwen, Morwetha,
Newelina, Newlyn, Rosen, Senara, Sowena,
Stediana, Steren, Tamsyn, Tecca, Tegen,
Tregereth, Trevenna, Tryfena, Vepa,
Wendrona, Wenep, Wenn, Wenna, Gwen
Cornish Surnames
Ahearn, Andrewartha, Angove, Annear,
Anning, Baragwaneth, Bargwanath,
Berriman, Boaden, Boase, Boden, Bolitho,
Bonython, Borlase, Bosanko, Brendon,
Brenton, Brock, Burnard, Cardell, Carlyon,
Carne, Carveth, Cawrse, Chegwidden,
Chenhalls, Chynoweth, Clemow, Clemson,
Clyma, Clymo, Coad, Colenso, Congdon,
Craddick, Crago, Cragoe, Craze, Cundy,
Curnow, Dobell, Ellery, Endean, Faull,
Frayne, Freethy, Galtey, Geach, Geake, Gee,
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Glasson, Godden, Goninan, Goss, Grigg,
Grose, Gundry, Gurvey, Gynn, Hambly,
Hawkey, Hayne, Hearle, Hellyer, Hendra,
Hendy, Hosking, Jacka, Jago, Jane, Jasper,
Jelbart, Jewell, Joliffe, Jory, Jose, Keen,
Keigwin, Kerkin, Kerno, Kersey, Kestle,
Kevern, Kinsey, Kitoow, Laity, Landreth,
Lanyon, Lawry, Liddicoat, Lobb, Lory, Lugg,
Lyon, Maddaford, Maddiver, Magor, Mayne,
Menadue, Menheneott, Morcom, Morkam,
Mundey, Nacekevill, Nance, Nankervis,
Nankivel, Negus, Nepean, Odgers, Oppy,
Otes, Palk, Pascoe, Pedlar, Pender, Pengilly,
Penhaligon, Penna, Penrose, Pentreath,
Perrin, Pethick, Philp, Poldark, Priskan, Quick,
Raddall, Ravilias, Restorick, Retallack,
Rodda, Roose, Rosewarne, Roskilly, Rowse,
Rundle, Runnalls, Ruse, Sandry, Sara,
Seccombe, Skewes, Spargo, Tamblyn,
Tangye, Thorne, Tippett, Trebilcock,
Tredinnick, Trefusis, Tregaskiss, Tregear,
Tregellas, Tregelles, Tregenza, Tregilas,
Tregoning, Trelawney, Treleaven, Treleavin,
Treloar, Tremayne, Trembath, Tremenheere,
Trenberth, Trengrouse, Trenoweth, Trerice,
Trerise, Trescothick, Treseder, Tresillian,
Trethew, Trethewey, Trethowan, Trevail,
Trevellick, Trevelyan, Trevithick, Trewartha,
Treweeke, Trewella, Trewhella, Trewin,
Tripcony, Trudgeon, Trudgian, Truscott,
Tyack, Tyacke, Uren, Veale, Vellenoweth,
Verman, Verran, Vial, Voss, Vyvyan, Warne,
Whetter, Wickett
Common Personality Traits
The following personality traits are
commonly seen in Celts:
Generous, Vengeful, Honest, Proud,
Vivacious
The Celtic Code of Honour
All Celts are expected to abide by three
rules:
 Truthfulness; If you make a promise
keep it. Don’t lie to people, always
tell the letter, if not the spirit, of the
truth.
 Hospitality; If someone arrives at
your door make them welcome, feed
them etc… even if it is your sworn
enemy. Don’t ask them who they are
or what they are doing. On the other
hand if you accept such hospitality
you are bound to do no harm to your
host and it is only polite to tell them
who you are and what you are doing.
 Revenge; If someone kills one of
 your clan kill them in return. Don’t be
subtle, open combat is the way to go.
Single combat is honourable, do not
interfere with it.
A Celt who fails to abide by these rules is
likely to be shunned by other Celts who are
aware of their breaking the rules.
Cattle Raids
Raiding other tribes or kingdoms for cattle is
a common past-time of Celtic warriors,
considered a good way to keep in shape and
practise skills. The object of a cattle raid is
simply to enter another tribes land and steal
as many cattle as possible. If this can be
done without alerting the enemy, all the
better, but if it turns into a large scale battle
that's fine as well.
The Hero's Portion
Following any major battle it is common for
the Celts to hold a great feast and roast an
ox. The Hero's portion is the best meat from
the hindquarters of the animal and to be
allowed to cut and eat the Hero's portion is a
great honour. Sometimes there is no
question about which warrior should cut the
hero's portion but often there will be dispute
over who has the right. It is considered good
form for those who have a decent claim for
the portion to contest the portion. Either
exchange taunts and insults to determine
who should take it or to just fight it out
(although a brawl is normal here... weapons
should not be used).
Fir Fer (The Fair Fight)
Celtic honour demands that a character who
is challenged to single combat should fight
alone with their foe. It is dishonourable to
interfere with a single combat. Before a
single combat begins both characters agree
the rules (eg.. armed or unarmed, first blood,
third blood or to the death). If one or other
fighter breaks the rules the Fir Fer rule is
abrogated and usually the offended fighters
allies will pile in to break up the battle.
Celtic Law
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The rights and obligations of each freeman
within a clan are clearly defined and largely
enforced by custom. Parties in legal disputes
usually submit to a professional Jurist (often
a Druid) who has memorised the law and
precedents and who renders judgement. The
power of custom and tradition is largely
sufficient to enforce such judgements. In
extreme cases the Druids can
excommunicate someone who then
becomes an outlaw, their life and
possessions forfeit to anyone who could slay
them and they may not participate in celtic
society.
Blood relations form the heart of Celtic law
and kindred is considered to extend over
four generations. Kindred are expected to
support each other completely, if one
commits a crime they bring shame on their
kin and any fine would be expected to be
shared by the whole family.
Imprisonment is unknown and the usual
punishment is fines, paid to the offended
party, or a vendetta. Levels of fines are
based on precedent and handled by the
Jurists and the fine is referred to as the
Honour Price for the crime.
If the law breaker refuses to pay the honour
price, as set by the jurist, the kin of the
offended party simply go to war with the kin
of the offender and try to kill/steal property
sufficient to compensate them.
Within a tribe vendettas are very rare, with
offenders bowing to the judgement or being
outlawed. Between tribes vendetta becomes
more common as a tribe only grants legal
rights to its own members or Aes Dana, not
to other outsiders.
A vendetta basically declares “open season”
on the lawbreaker, anyone may attack them
with impunity and whosoever slays them
takes all their property.
Fasting
A traditional way of expressing a grievance
against another Celt is the Fast. The
character sits outside the other persons
home and refuses to eat. The other
character is required, by honour, to also fast.
This continues until one or other character
breaks and eats, in which case they are
required by hospitality to feed the character
who is expressing a grievance, and by so
doing admit their guilt. A fasting character
can drink water as normal. Normally the
fasting characters should make a roll
 A Byzantine warrior (right) accepts the offer of single combat from a lone Celt
(Tough, Strong Willed & Healthy are
relevant traits) every week to maintain the
fast, starting at DIFF 10 and increasing by 5
per week after the first.
The first character to faill the roll gives in
and eats, if both characters fail the one who
rolled highest held out longest and wins.
Celtic Adventurers
Celtic adventurers tend to be motivated by
many things, but once common one is a
desire to explore the wider world and see
whats out there. Glory, wealth and power
are also useful things to collect, but nearly
always secondary to the sheer enjoyment of
adventure.
Celtic Social Structure
Celts have five social classes:
1. Royalty: the Ri (King) and his
immediate family to four generations.
2. Nobility (the Flaith): the warrior
aristocracy, clan chieftains and war
leaders and their immediate families
and relations.
3. Professional (Aes Dana): the Aes
Dana are the professionals of Celtic
society. They are well respected by
all and membership of this class is by
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merit and training not by birth. It
includes druids, seers, jurists,
physicians and those who work with
metal (smiths). Members of the Aes
Dana are protected by Celtic law and
allowed free passage anywhere in
celtic land regardless of their clan
and tribe. In return Aes Dana are
expected to behave in a neutral
fashion, in relation to inter-clan/tribal
politics.
4. Freemen: freemen form the bulk of
society. In peace they are the small
farmers, hunters, herdsmen,
shepherds, fishermen and
journeymen or apprentice craftsmen.
In war they provided the bulk of the
military serving as infantry.
5. Slave: the slaves were usually
captives taken in battle and provided
labour for the nobility. They were the
absolute property of their owners.
The lowest ranks in Celtic society are
outlaws and slaves. Slaves are generally
captured from other tribes in the regular
internecine conflicts between tribes. The
majority of Celts are commoners; the
farmers, artisans and soldiers of the society.
Above them are the nobles, who's main
function is to act an professional warrior
class to protect the commoners and lands of
a tribe. The nobles are ruled by a king.
Most tribes operate a semi-democratic
system. Nobles are respected for their
military prowess but this is not a feudal
culture, the commoners are freemen (and
women) owning their own lands and so forth.
The commoners pay taxes to the nobles, to
ensure their upkeep as an effective fighting
force. Community leaders are not
necessarily nobles, being elected by the
consensus of a community and it is clearly
understood that nobles should offer suitable
respect to a community leader, even if they
are not a noble. The king (or queen) is
elected by the community leaders of a tribe,
although it is common for a kings sons, or
daughters, to effectively inherit the crown.
The community leaders of a tribe will only
block a natural inheritance if they feel the
kings son or daughter to be wholely
inappropriate.
The Druidic order also plays a key role in
Celtic society. The Druids are still a
significant force in the British Isles, Anglesey
not being destroyed by the Romans and
their powerful presence has ameliorated the
spread of Christian worship. Members of the
druidic order act as teachers, advisors and
priests to the Celts and are thusly revered.

20 of 286
The Saxons
The Saxon's ancestors were barbarians from
the russian steppes, far to the east. Over
many centuries they gradually migrated
westward into europe and slowly pushed the
celtic tribes eastwards. The strength of
Byzantium has stalled this gradual advance,
resulting in Saxon domination of the
northern coast of europe, russia and
scandinavia. Saxons from Scandinavia and
northern europe have settled south eastern
britain over the years resulting in a number
of Saxon kingdoms.
The independent Saxon kingdoms dominate
Scandinavia and most of Northern Europe,
although the Byzantine Empire is gradually
displacing them North, mainly by bringing
kingdoms into the Imperial fold. The Saxons
are renowned as fearless warriors and skilled
sailors.
The Saxon kingdoms of Britain are quite
settled now, the combination of a major
defeat in 455AD by the Britons and the
relentless pressure from the Byzantine
empire on the continent has calmed their
more aggressive instincts and the kingdoms
are now more willing to engage in trade with
their neighbours than war. Don't think this
reduces the threat too much though, war is
in the Saxon blood and if a neighbouring
kingdom is perceived as weak the Saxons
will happily raid or even invade it.
The Saxons worship a pantheon of Gods
ruled by the Lord Wotan. Priests of Wotan
tend to war leaders in their own right and
the religion is very aggressive. Saxons
believe that they will not ascend to Valhalla
(their version of heaven) if they do not die a
violent death.
Old or dying Saxons are notorious for
staggering from the sick beds to the nearest
cliff and throwing themselves off it to die a
violent death.
The Saxons organise themselves into
Kingdoms ruled by an elected King. Families
form clans within a kingdom and the clans
often vie with one another for power and
prestige. Each clan is ruled by a chieftain
and these chieftains select a king from
amongst their number. The king rules until
death, when a new king is appointed. A king
can be removed from office by the
Chieftains, but such is a very rare event.
Saxons place great value in public meetings,
holding regular meetings at all levels of
society (clans, kingdoms etc..). All manner of
affairs are discussed at such meetings and
the decision makers, such as the clan
21 of 286
chieftains take great care to listen to the
views of others. Ultimately they make a
decision, but they are not as autocratic as
their Celtic counterparts in their decision
making. A great conclaves is held every
Summer, called the All thing. Widely spread
Clans will send representatives to the All
thing and it is a great celebration, market
and opportunity for politicking and intrigue.
“A terrified enemy is a
defeated enemy... and nothing
is more terrifying than me”
Thorgar Thorgarsson,
Berserker
Some Saxon Customs:
 Saxons are often muscular and well
built with great manes of hair and
long beards (the men that is).
 They tend to be blue eyed and fair or
blonde haired, with pale complexions.
 Saxons love making boasts,
particularly before combat. A boast is
generally a statement and a
condition, such as “I won’t shave until
I kill 50 men” or “I will fight with no
shield”. A Saxon who makes a boast
and then fulfils it gains great respect
from his, or her, peers.
 Saxons are really into wild, drunken
parties. Hallucinogenic mushrooms
are often consumed adding to the
mayhem.
 Drinking contests are a sign of
manhood, drinking to collapse is even
better.
 Saxons love fighting. They'll fight
anyone and its all in good humour. A
Saxon won't escalate a brawl, so if
one starts a fight with you come back
with fists flying, but don't draw a
knife.
 It is considered bad form to kill a
downed opponent who has fought
well.
 Axes are a man's weapon, swords
and spears are okay though.
 Saxons respect strength, if you give
them a good fight they'll love you for
it (and that includes the women).
 The Saxon alphabet consists of Runes
 which were given to the Saxons by
Wotan.
 If you fight a particularly hard battle
and are victorious it is obviously
Wotans blessing so you should
sacrifice your enemies and any
material goods to him in thanks.
 The Gods help those who help
themselves. Calling on them for
assistance is showing weakness and
you can guarantee you'll be ignored.
On the other hand if you face
impossible odds bravely, well, you
never know who might be watching
and give you a hand.
 The Saxon judicial system is based on
getting people to swear oaths that
they are innocent. This is usually
done when wearing an oath ring.
Each village has an oath ring, which
is a heavy gold armlet inscribed with
all manner of runes. Oaths sworn on
the ring are magically binding and if
you break the oath (for example,
swearing to tell the truth then lying)
you are cursed. The details of the
curse depends on the oath you broke,
but they are always unpleasant1.
 If you wrong someone (such as
stealing from them or raping them)
pay compensation.
 If you kill someone pay their kin
weregild
 If someone wrongs you and refuses
to pay compensation or weregild
declare vengeance and go after them
(along with your kinfolk).
 A kings elite bodyguard are called
Huscarls. Huscarls are all massive in
stature and wield the dreaded pole-
axe, a devastating weapon. Huscarls
will give their life for their lord
without question.
 If someone comes to your door it is
only polite to invite them to stay for a
night, feast and swap tales. A guest is
never turned away or asked to leave.
 It is rude to stay for more than one
night, unless you are specifically
1 An oath ring is a magical artifact
created by the most powerful Vola (8d)
and given to each new Saxon
settlement. Anyone who breaks an oath
made on the ring incurs the wrath of
Forseti and will come to a horrible end
2d4 days after making the oath, unless
they can make suitable amends.
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invited to do so by the home owner.
 A house guest must never be
harmed. A guest must, likewise,
never harm the owner of the home
they are staying in.
 Defeated opponents should be
released if they fought well. If they
fought poorly they should be killed or
enslaved.
 Saxon society is not as egalitarian as
Pictish or Celtic society and women
are generally considered socially
inferior to men. Some Saxon women
can handle a sword as well as a man
and are accorded due respect as a
warrior.
 Warriors are the pre-eminent class,
aside from Skalds. Other people are
important to society but are of lower
social rank to warriors.
 The Skalds are masters of poetry and
song. They compose epic poems
which record the history of the Saxon
people and the great deeds of
individuals. Saxons are treated with
enormous respect. Having a well-
respected Skald compose poem to
your deeds is a great honour. Such an
epic poem will outlast your life and
keep your memory alive for
generations (it also almost certainly
guarantees you a place in Valhalla).
 Saxon men normally take wives,
paying the brides father a bride price
equal to the brides blood price.
Within Saxon society wives are
responsible for maintaining the home
and husbands for providing for their
families. Some marriages are for love,
others for convenience, but either
way “playing away from home” is
frowned upon, although it is
important to note that relations with
slaves or victims of raids is fine and
doesn't count as adultery.
Name Structure
Most Saxons have their names in the
following structure:
{First Name} {Surname or Descriptor} of
the {Clan Name}
For example, Erick Longarm of the Hallssons
clan would be known as “Erick Longarm of
the Hallssons”.
Common Saxon first names include:
Alrik, Ari, Arngrim, Arnulf, Asa(F), Astrid(F),
Common Personality
Beowulf, Bjarni, Bjorn, Brynhild(F), Buri, Traits
Ceowolf, Elsa(F), Erick, Erika(F), Einar, Erling,
Fjolnir, Freydis(F), Gerloc(F), Godfred, Gorm, The following personality traits are
Gudren(F), Gunnar, Guthrum, Gyda(F), Haki, commonly seen in Saxons:
Hakon, Halfdan, Hall, Hallfred, Harald, Helga Generous, Proud, Valorous, Vivacious,
(F), Helgi, Hemming, Hengist, Herjolf, Horick, Reckless
Hrothgar, Hrolf, Horsa, Hygelac, Ingjald,
Knut, Knute, Leif, Olaf, Ottar, Magnus,
Ragnar, Ragnhild(F), Rognvald, Rollo, Rorik,
Weregeld and Blood Feud
Rurik, Saemund, Sigred, Sighvat, Sigmund,
If someone is killed in a Saxon family the
Sigrid, Sigtrygg, Siglinde(F), Sigvaldi, Skapti,
killer is required to pay Weregeld to the
Snorri, Sokki, Sturla, Stryborn, Sven, Rhora
family of the deceased. Failure to do so likely
(F), Thorfinn, Fhorgeir, Thorir, Thorkell,
results in the declaration of a Blood feud, an
Rholeif, Thormod, Thorolf, Rhorvald, Thyri(F),
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. A
Tosti(g), Tovi(F), Tryggvi, Ubbi, Ulf, Uni,
characters weregeld value is equal to their
Volund, Yrsa(F), Sigrid(F), Ursa(F)
Blood price (which is equal to the square of
their highest traits number of dice times 10).
Surnames are usually either a
For example, a character who's highest trait
descriptive, such as Erik Bloodaxe, or
is Fighter(4d) has a blood price of (4x4)
the fathers name with –son or –sson
x10=1600 silvers.
prefixed to it for a son, or -dottir for a
If a guest is killed, unprovoked, by their host
daughter. Such as Bjorn Einarsson,
then a Blood feud will almost certainly be
which means Bjorn, son of Einar.
declared and the host faces a massive loss
of honour. The Weregeld for a wife or child is
½ the sum owing for their husband/father, or
their own value, whichever is higher.

Swearing on the oath ring

23 of 286
Saxon Adventurers
The most common motivations for a Saxon
adventurer are Glory and Wealth. Glory is
found through battle and wealth, well wealth
is its own reward isn't it. A rarer motivation
is for the Saxon to be on the run from a
blood feud (in such a case it would be
appropriate to take the Enemy flaw,
representing the enemy clan who want you
dead).
Ideally a Saxon adventurer will perform
deeds of sufficient glory to merit their own
epic poem, to be created by the skalds and
passed on for generations to come.
Saxon Kingdoms
A Saxon Kingdom is ruled by a King, elected
for life by the heads of all the clans in that
Kingdom. The kingdom is effectively divided
into clan lands, with the settlements within
each “land” ruled by Noble members of the
appropriate clan. The leader of a settlement
is normally chosen by the clan head of that
land and as such respected by the majority
of the population, who are of the same clan.

Social Structure
The Saxon Social Structure(Highest to
Lowest)
 Cyning- Kings
 Aethlings- Clan chieftains
 Ealdormen- Leaders of groups of
Thegns within a clan
 Thegns- Full-Time warriors within a
clan
 Ceorls- Part-time warriors/part-time
farmers or artisans in a clan
 Thrall- Slaves, owned by a clan, not
by an individual.
The lowest rank in Saxon society is slave
(thrall) or outlaw. Next up are the Ceorls-
part time Fighter/Farmer/Artisans. Above
them lies the 'noble' strata, really defined by
the fact that they are supported by the
Ceorls and do not perform any productive
activity. The lowest rank of nobles are the
Thegns, professional warriors, then the
Ealdormen, effectively officers, then the
Cynings who are kings. Another class are the
Aethlings, nobles who are not strong enough
to hold their own kingdom, but who are
strong enough to bow to no Master,
effectively being independent war chieftains.

24 of 286
The Picts
A band of Picts rest after a days hunting
The picts are, on the whole, a semi-nomadic
people, hunting and gathering and tending
small herds of cattle, sheep and goats
populating the forests and highlands of
Scotia (Northern Britain, modern day
Scotland).
The picts are the indigenous inhabitants of
the British Isles, who have been gradually
forced northwards by the Celts.
Pictish society is based on clans and tribes. A
clan comprises between 5 and 100 families
who occupy a given geographical area.
Around 100 clans make up a tribe. The clans
intermarry and feud between each other
(although it is preferred to feud with clans of
other tribes) and each tribe has its own
Samlaidh (“totem” spirit) which watches
over the tribes members from the
Otherworld.
An individual pict typically identifies
themselves by their given name, family
name, clan name and tribe name, where the
clan name is often related to the area the
clan inhabits.
The picts are very much in tune with the
land with each tribe having its own Samlaidh
and shamans, called Fiosaiches, who
intercede between the people and the
spirits.
Picts are regarded as sneaky, they live in
25 of 286
tune with the natural world and move
through the woods like ghosts. Pictish
society has many similarities to animal
society, they hunt in packs with the
strongest Pict being the leader and there is a
strong emphasis on winning above all else.
The leader takes the advice of the Fiosaiche.
The Picts are generally disliked by non-picts
and they return the sentiment. Were's are
quite common in Pictish society, with whole
families being were-creatures. Such families
are generally respected by other families but
avoided where possible, because of the
obvious danger they present.
Most Picts view non-Picts as a resource, their
property exists to be taken by the Picts.
Picts are quite happy to, one week, visit a
settlement and trade with them, and then to
return the next week and burn it to the
ground. As far as they are concerned if
others are not able to defend themselves
they are not worthy of respect.
 Pictish society is semi-matriarchical.
In most situations the oldest female
of a family/clan/tribe is the leader.
 5 to 100 families form a clan. Around
100 clans form a tribe.
 Each tribe has its own guardian spirit,
the Samlaidh, and members of that
 clan often refer to themselves as the
children of that Samlaidh (for
example, if the clans Samlaidh is the
Bears they refer to themselves as
Children of the Bear).
 Picts tend to wear little clothing, have
lots of tattooes (in blue woad) and
daub themselves with blue woad
body art.
 Pictish society is Matrilinear.
Bloodlines, and thus inheritance, pass
through the mother.
 There are no urban areas in Scotia
(although there are village and
hamlet sized settlements).
 Families wander semi-nomadically
through their clan lands. When they
meet a great drunken festival is
usually held which lasts for several
days. Stories are swapped, trade is
done and competitions of all types
take place.
 Children are raised by the family and
it is common for Picts to father
children in other families during
festivals. Those children have the
same social status as other children
and are raised by the mothers family.
 Festivals are an opportunity for Picts
to marry and pair off. Usually a Pict
from one family leaves to join
another family. This keeps the
bloodlines mixing and cements
alliances and relations between
families. This shouldn't be confused
with the Celtic tradition where
swapping members has a hostage
role. Once a Pict joins a family they
are of that family and the idea of
them being a hostage is unthinkable.
 Picts tend to be slim and dark
skinned with dark eyes and hair.
 Picts are virtually all illiterate. The
Fiosaiche use a system of glyphs as a
written language.
 Fiosaiches commonly carve glyphs
into natural formations with
information for the following clans.
Messages such as “good hunting
here, the deep pool has many
salmon” and such like. The Fiosaiche
do not tend to let the other Picts
know that these glyphs have such
mundane meanings, and will often
read the glyphs then spend hours in
meditation before announcing that
they have divined good fishing and so
on. This serves to reinforce the
Fiosaiches authority and mystical
26 of 286
power to the other picts.
 Picts often fight naked in battle.
 There is little structure beyond the
clan, the idea of a Pictish 'King' is
laughable. Tribes are quite flexible in
concept, with clans on the fringes of
a tribes land often moving between
tribes.
 The Picts often talk to the denizens of
the Otherworld, particularly spirits.
They are much closer to the
Otherworld than other peoples.
 By nature the Picts are sneaky and
like to do ambushes. They do not
believe in the concept of a fair fight
and will use any means to win.
 They will avoid a fight if they cannot
win easily.
 No one owns Scotia. The land is
shared by all Picts. This is one thing
they find infuriating about other
peoples, they do not like to see the
land boxed up and shared out and
react violently to such actions.
 Reproduction and marriage are very
much at the behest of Pictish women.
A pictish woman chooses a man to
mate with and decides whether to
stay with him or not. Children are
raised by the whole family or clan.
The Picts see themselves as caretakers of
the Earth and are a wild people closely in
tune with their environment. They are
spread across Scotia from the relatively
benign lowlands through to the windswept
highlands and north into the isles.
The Picts of Southern Scotia make a habit of
raiding across the border into northern
Britain. The primary aim of these raids is to
steal sheep and cattle and bring them north,
killing Britons is just an added benefit.
The Britons tend to respond in kind,
periodically sending small forces northwards
on punitive raids. Usually such a force is met
with little opposition as the Picts melt away
into the thick forests leaving the Britons
some primitive camps to burn down and
vent their anger on, then once the Britons
have left life returns to normal.
During the Roman occupation it was a
constant concern for the Romans that a
leader might arise amongst the picts and
unit the families to make an organised foray
south. These fierce and hardy fighters would
have presented a significant threat to the
stability of northern britain so the Romans
spent much of their time ensuring that this
didn't happen, mainly by careful trading,
force and bribery.
With the withdrawl of Rome the threat of an
organised Pictish invasion has begun to
grow. The kingdoms of Northumbria and
Cumbria have not proved to be as efficient
at ensuring the stability of the north as the
Romans, even with the influence of the
powerful Romano-British factions.
King Cole of Cumbria has adopted a
placatory stance to the Picts, tolerating their
raids in the hope that if they do organise
they will concentrate their efforts on his
Neighbour Aelfric of Northumbria.
Aelfric is of good Saxon blood and is not one
to turn away from a fight. His northern
forces regularly skirmish with the Picts . The
picts have gained some respect for his
mixed British/Saxon forces and it likely that
if they ever organised to attack in strength
they will strike through Cumbria, perceived
as a softer target.
Pictish Naming Conventions
Pictish names are written in the following
way:
{given name} map {mother's name}
{Tribe} child
For example, Elpin, who's mother was Cinid
of the Bear tribe would be known as “Elpin
map Cinid, Bear child”
usually of blue woad inserted below the skin
with sharp needles. To one who is familiar
with the markings a Picts body tattooes tell
of their heritage, kinfolk and exploits. A pict
does not choose to be tattooed, instead their
kinfolk will decide when they should have a
tattoo, usually to celebrate some significant
success. As such tattooes are a mark of
honour amongst the Picts. Picts can often
determine a lot of information from another
Pict on first meeting, just be reading their
tattooes.
Pictish Law
Any transgression against the clan is likely
to be met with either death or maiming and
banishment from the clan. Crimes against
another clan aren't a crime, its just the way
of life. If a Pict does something to another
clan they will kill the Pict if they catch him.
Crimes against another tribe are positively
encouraged and rewarded.
Drust.. did you attack
Talorc's wife?
Yes.. but......
Kill him...
Pictish Justice

Common names include: Pictish Adventurers

Elpin, Artbranan, BlieBlituth, Brude,
Caeltigern, Cal, Canaul, Canutulachama, A pictish adventurer is an unusual individual.
Carvorst, Cimoiod, Cinid, Cint, For some reason they have forsaken their
Denbecan, Deoardivois, Deocilunon, family to leave their ancestral homelands.
Deoord, Deototreic, Deo, Diu, Drust, Some more common reasons for
Drost, Drosten, Emcat, Edarnan, Fecir, adventuring include:
Fet, Galam, Galanan,Gant, Gart, • Outcast: you committed a crime against
Gartnait, Gede, Gust, Gest, Gilgidi, your clan and were banished. It would be
Gnith, Grit, Leo, Morleo, Mund, appropriate to take the Impairment or Old
Nechtan, Pant, Ru, Talorc, Talorcan, Wound flaw to represent some physical
Taran, Udrost, Uuen, Uuidid, Uip, Vipog, punishment received when you were cast
Uirolec, Ongust, Uurat, Uuradec, out.
Uurcich, Uurgust, Uroican, Usconbuts, • Survivor: you are the last surviving
Uust member of your clan, some tragedy
resulted in their deaths (or the Clan was
Common Personality Traits wiped out by another clan).
• Boredom; you are one of the rare few
The following personality traits are who isn't happy with the semi-nomadic
commonly seen in Picts: lifestyle of your people. Perhaps you went
Vengeful, Honest, Proud, Arbitrary, Worldly raiding and the bright lights of
'civilisation' intrigued you. For whatever
reason you are interested in exploring the
The Use of Tattooes wider world, perhaps one day you will
return to your clan and tribe, or perhaps
The Picts make extensive use of tattooes, not.

27 of 286
Pictish Social Structure
Pictish society is based on the clan, with the
greatest respect accorded to the elderly. A
Clan is ruled by its oldest female member,
with the oldest man being the Clans war and
hunting leader. In a more civilised society
this could lead to problems when
grandfather starts to drool at the corner of
the mouth and forgets who everyone is..
then is called upon to make important
decisions, but Pictish life is wild and short..
so the elderly rarely last long enough to
become infirm or senile. Living apart from
the mainstream of scoiety are the Fiosaiche
who are petitioned for advice and assistance
and afforded great respect. The elders of a
clan will not make a significant decision
without first seeking the opinion of a
Fiosaiche.

Childhood Initiation
The first day of each month is a holy day to
one of the twelve tribes. On a tribes annual
holy day all the children of around fourteen
years of age are bought together to undergo
their rite of passage. The rite consists of the
children taking herbal preparations given by
the Fiosaiche which place them in a deep
sleep and enable their spirits to soar into the
dreaming, where they encounter the tribes
Samlaidh. At this first meeting the children
are bound to the Samlaidh and receive their
Slugh-Gairn, a stylised magical tattoo of the
Samlaidh. This affirms their relationship with
the tribal Samlaidh. By magic this tattoo is
placed on both their spirit form and physical
body. Following the completion of the rite
the new adults join the other adults for the
dance of nine days, a nine day festival of
drinking and pleasure.
Those children with a special destiny will
usually find out during the initiation rites.

A Pictish girl

28 of 286
The Romano-British
One of the main methods used by Rome to
pacify a territory was the incorporation of
the native cultures ruling elite into its own
citizenry. Those rulers who worked with the
Romans benefitted from Roman trade and
Roman civilisation, with such innovations as
hypocausts (underfloor heating), baths and
running water. With the departure of Rome
in the 5th century a significant Romanised
Celtic aristocracy was left in place, referred
to as the Romano-British.
Romano-British characters may be British by
race, often with strong Roman traits (such as
the famous patrician nose of the romans), or
may be of any other race which lay in the
Empire (such as Black African, North African2
or Middle Eastern). The Romano-British
families tend to trace their roots to a mixture
of romanised britons and settled
legionnaries (it was common for roman
soldiers to be given a parcel of land in a
conquered country on retirement, and then
for them to take wives, and so for there).
The Romano-British are normally literate and
try to cling to the old Latin culture and
Christian religion, although some still follow
the old Roman mystery cults in secret.
The Romano-British are very much people of
the towns and cities. As such towns and
cities tend tend to follow Romano-British
customs rather than Celtic customs, so
everyone has the right to a fair trial.
The Romano-British organise themselves
into Major Houses. A Major House comprises
a single powerful noble family with
associated lesser families (commoners).
The relative position of houses is mainly built
on their wealth (and holdings), military
power, and their degree of influence over
political matters.
Members of a house answer to the local
king/ruler like other citizens but their house
enables them to exert influence over
actions. For example, the leader of a Major
house in a given Celtic kingdom may
technically be outranked by any Celtic
warrior but in fact would likely be present at
2 Contrary to common belief black people
did not first appear in the British isles in
the latter part of the second millenium.
The roman military incorporated many
units made up of black or north african
units and many settled in the british isles
on retirement, in addition to the usual
soldierly pursuits of begetting children on
local women.
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court often and their opinions listened to and
acted upon by the king.
The houses tend to spend much of their time
intriguing against one another, seeking
advantage both politically and financially,
and they are certainly not above
manipulating their British 'overlords' to their
own ends.
Some key points include:
 The Romano-British use Latin as a
first language and make extensive
use of written documents, illiteracy is
rare.
 The Romano-British use Latin names
 Most Romano-British are from towns
or cities.
 Ownership of Books is common.
 Urban life is complex and intricate,
with friends regularly dining together
and so forth.
 Oratory and Public Speaking are
practised as a fine art and rigourous
intellectual debate is a common past-
time.
 Most Romano-British children receive
a formal education by Tutors (even
commoners).
 Bathing and personal hygiene are
important to Romano-British. Most
Romano-British people bathe at least
once a day, usually in public baths.
 Public baths are mixed and have a
central role in Romano-British
society. Liaisons, business and other
activities are all pursued at the baths.
 Romano-British society is riven by
intra and inter family feuds and
power struggles with assasinations
common place.
 Marriage is more or less a
requirement in Romano-British
families, with men and women
expected to be married off before
they reach 25. Most marriages are of
convenience and it is considered
normal for both husbands and wives
to take mistresses or lovers or
consort with their slaves.
Common Personality Traits
The following personality traits are
commonly seen in the Romano-British:
Deceitful, Proud, Prudent, Suspicious,
Vengeful
Relations with the
Byzantine Empire
Whilst the Romano-British share many
customs with the Byzantines, through their
shared roman origins, they diverge by
maintaining the traditional Roman
patriarchal social structure, at odds with the
Byzantine matriarchies.
Romano-British society is roughly split into
two factions, one wishes to see the
Byzantines annex Britain and bring it into
the empire, thus restoring civilised values,
even if they are a bit odd. The other faction
does not wish to see “reunification” under
the empire and pursues strong trade links
but intrigues to keep Britain independent.
The Roman Calendar
The Romano-British use the Roman
calendar. More information on this can be
found in the First World chapter.
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Romano-British Social
Structure
In many ways the Romano-British are like
the Picts in that their society is based on the
family. Groups of families are organised into
Houses, bound together by intermarriage
and alliances. Family and house politics are
complex and often dangerous, with
assassination being a commonly used tool
for advancement. There is no formal
mechanism to decide who is the nominal
leader of the House, it is decided through
complex politicing and deal-making and a
leader who weakens will likely be quickly
supplanted by one of their relatives. The
lowest social class in Romano-British society
is that of slave.
Common Names for the Otacilius, Peltrasius, Pinarus, Placidus,
Quintilius, Rusonius, Salonius, Scipio,
Romano-British Sempronius, Bandimus, Tertinius,
Romano British characters use the old Valerius, Varius, Velius, Victricius
naming conventions of the Empire.
 Men:{Praenomen}{Nomen} Cognomen
{Cognomen}{House Name} Adventus, Agricola, Abinius, Aloysius,
 Women:{Praenomen}{Nomen} Ambrosius, Amor, Amphion, Anatolius,
{House Name} Andronicus, Antius, Aquila, Aquilius,
Armiger, Artistus, Audens, Augustus,
For example, Marcus Germanicus Rex of the Aurelius, Auspex, Barbatus, Belenus,
House Antius would be known as “ Marcus Belisarius, Bellus, Brutus, Caesar,
Germanicus Rex Antius” Caligula, Calpurnis, Calvinus,
Capito, Carnifex, Cato, Celsus,
Cognomen ex virtute Censorius, Christianus, Cicero, Clement,
Cogitatus, Commidius, Commidus,
Men with two or three names could be Commius, Commodus, Constantius,
officially awarded an additional cognomen, Corvinus, Crassus, Cremutius, Dacien,
an “honorific” which they bore for life but did Dannicus, Dardanus, Diocletianus,
not pass down to their descendants (e.g., Drusillus, Drusus, Durus,
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (“the Great”), Emeritus, Epolonius, Eudoxius, Falco,
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Falconius, Faustus, Felix, Festus,
(“conqueror of Africa”); both these Fidelis, Fimbria, Flavian, Flavinus,
cognomina were awarded by senatorial Florens, Fortunatus, Furius, Gaius,
decree. Sometimes this additional Galarius, Gallus, Gavrus, Gladius,
cognomen was a nickname that stuck (e.g., Gordianus, Gracchus,
Publius Cornelius Sulla Felix (“the Lucky”). Hadrianus, Helvius, Herculius,
Honoratus, Horatius, Ignatius, Julian,
Male Praenomen Justin, Justinus, Justus, Laevinus,
Amulius, Appius, Augustus, Aulus, Leon, Liberalis, Lucianus,
Caius, Cassius, Decius, Flavius, Gaius, Lucretius, Lupis, Macro, Magnus, Major,
Caius, Galerius, Gallio, Julianus, Kaeso, Marcellus, Maritimus, Marius, Martial,
Lucius, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Martinus, Maximian,
Oppius, Placus, Publius, Quintus, Maximus, Mercurialis, Moderatus, Nero,
Secundus, Servius, Sextus, Tertius, Nerva, Nonius, Octavian, Olympicus,
Tiberius, Titus, Vibius Pelagius, Photius, Primanus,
Quintilianus, Quintilius, Quintillius,
Female Praenomen Reginus, Rex, Romanus, Sabellius,
Aelia, Aemilia, Agrippina, Aurelia, Sabinus, Salvius, Sanctus, Scipio,
Antonia, Aquilia, Aurelia, Caecilia, Secundas, Sevtonius, Sparticus, Sylla,
Claudia, Cornelia, Domitia, Lucilla, Sylvian, Sylvius, Tacitus, Tertius,
Drusilla, Euphemia, Fabia, Flavia, Tiberinus, Titianus, Tranquillus,
Fulvia, Helena, Helvia, Honoria, Julia, Tyranus, Ursus, Valens, Valentinian,
Justina, Livia, Marcella, Marcia, Octavia, Valerian, Varro, Varus, Velius, Velus,
Paulina, Pompeia, Sabina, Porcia, Venatio, Viator, Victor, Victricius,
Prisca, Titiana, Valeria, Verina Vitalis

Nomen Romano-British Adventurers

These are male surnames, for women
change the ‘ius’ ending to ‘a’ or ‘illa’. Almost without exception Romano-British
Abanus, Antius, Antonius, Arminus, adventurers are the bored scions of families
Attius, Augustus, Aulus, Aurelius, who are seeking some adventure before
Calidius, Calpurnius, Clovius, Cominius, they settle down into the mundane day to
Cornelius, Dexius, Dionysius, Drusus, day life appropriate to their station.
Duronius, Fabius, Flavius, Galenus,
Gallus, Germanicus, Gratus, Helvetius,
Hortensius, Julius, Justis, Liburnius,
Livius, Longinus, Lucius, Mallius,
Manilius, Maximus, Mercurius, Novius,

31 of 286
Byzantium
The Empire of Byzantium, also known as the
Byzantine empire, straddles the world from
the edges of china to the channel and from
the borders of northern europe to the horn
of africa. Upon Constantine the greats death
in 337AD he split the Roman empire in two,
leaving the two halves to his sons. The
eastern empire had its capital at
Constantinople, now known as Byzantium,
and the western empire centred on mighty
Rome. This was mainly in response to the
growing persian threat from the east of the
empire and the need to be able to respond
quickly and decisively to changes in
circumstances.
The Empire was again united in AD351 by
Constantius, at the battle of Mursa, but was
split again in when Emperor Theodosius
died in 395 A.D. Theodosius was succeeded
by his daughter Arcadia, who ruled the
Eastern portion, and his son Honorius, who
ruled the Western. As the western empire
came under greater pressure from the
hordes of barbarians moving westward from
the russian steppes into europe the Eastern
empire prospered, growing strong through
peace and trade.
The Romans withdrew from Britain in 407AD
as the Western Empire was increasingly
pressed by many barbarian tribes
surrounding it. In 410AD Rome itself was
sacked by the Visigoths for twelve days,
then 'shortly' after the Roman city of
Carthage was captured by Vandals, under
the command of Genseric. Carthage became
his capital. 476AD marked the final end of
the Western Roman Empire when the
Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed
by German mercenaries at Ravenna. The
German mercenaries then declared
themselves to be the rulers of Italy. The
Eastern Empire continued to grow, both
economically and military, steadily but
slowly expanding its grip in all directions
from Byzantium. In stark contrast to most
A Byzantine lady of leisure
32 of 286
cultures of the time Byzantium was a
matriarchy, with an Empress and female led
aristocracy. Inheritance descended through
the female line and women occupied the
dominant positions in society. This feminine
outlook proved most effective for the
expansion of Byzantium, with an emphasis
on diplomacy and trade as empire building
tools, military force only being used to
enforce such agreements. As the Western
Roman Empire waned Byzantium grew in
strength and security. Between 503 and
557AD three successive wars, interrupted by
periods of peace, were fought between
Byzantine and the Persian Empire. The first
two wars were indecisive but the final war
marked the effective end of the Persian
empire, which fell to the Byzantines. In
552AD a Byzantine army invaded Italy and
decimated the germanic invaders,
reclaiming Rome for the Byzantine Empire.
Justina the Great died in 565 A.D. bringing to
end 38 years of rule as leader of the
Byzantine Empire. Under her stewardship,
the Empire expanded to include all of North
Africa, most of the Middle East as well as
Italy and Greece. Under Justina, the first
comprehensive compilation of Roman Law
was published and the Byzantine matriarchy
reinforced. Her daughter was Helena, who
proved, if anything, an even more able
leader than her mother. From her investiture
in 565AD to the current 610AD her Empire
has continued to expand to now dominate all
of mid and southern Europe, the Russian
steppes, the middle east and North Africa.
The Saxons of Northern europe have
resisted Imperial advances but have been
forced back to the north of Europe (what will
become the modern day Netherlands,
Northern Germany, Denmark and
Scandinavia).
Like the Romano-British byzantine citizens
can be of any race within the empire, which
includes north africans, black africans,
persians and other middle easterners.
Byzantine Culture
The most notable feature of the Empire is its
matriarchal structure. Blood lines are traced
through the maternal side of the family,
much like the Picts, and women dominate
the political, military and economic life of
the empire, acting as military officers,
senators, clan heads and merchants. Men
are generally found in subordinate roles,
working for women.
The empire is a pseudo-republic ruled by a
hereditary Empress who is answerable to a
senate. Much as in a 17th century england
the Senate effectively controls the purse
strings of the Empire, so the Empress must
gain the senates approval for any major
financial commitments, such as wars.
The senate comprises 113 members, drawn
from the provinces of the Empire. Senators
are normally elected for life, with a conclave
of the clan matriarchs of a province being
held upon the death of a senator (needless
to say virtually all the senators are women).
Occasionally the clans of a province may
remove a senator by consensus, but such
only generally happens when some grievous
crime or scandal has occurred, and requires
the Empresses consent.
The common citizen of the Empire is free to
own land, be protected by the law and so
forth.
Technologically the empire is superior to
even Rome at its height, the only major
technology that has not yet been developed
is gunpowder, although trade with the far
east makes it likely that this will soon be
remedied.
• Ruled by an empress who is
“accountable” to an elected senate.
• Byzantine society is quite corrupt, bribery
is a way of life, particularly when dealing
with the Imperial bureaucracy.
• Citizens may own land.
• Citizens pay taxes to the Empire and are
protected by its laws.
• Public officials are appointed by the
Empress.
• Citizens do not elect senators directly,
instead their clan elects senators.
• Use Latin as a first language and make
extensive use of written documents,
illiteracy is rare.
• The Byzantines consider even numbers to
be unlucky.
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• Use Latin names
• Ownership of Books is common.
• Urban life is complex and intricate, with
friends regularly dining together and so
forth.
• Female children (even commoners)
usually receive a formal education by
Tutors.
• Bathing and personal hygiene are
important. Most Byzantines bathe at least
once a day, usually in public baths.
• Public baths are mixed and have a central
role in society. Liaisons, business and
other activities are all pursued at the
baths.
• Use formal judicial procedures and Roman
Law, Jurists serve both for prosecution
and defense and courts are presided over
by a judge (jury trials do not exist).
• The attitude to marriage in Byzantine
society is similar to that in Romano-British
society, although the age is 30 and many
more marriages are for love than for
convenience.
Naming Conventions
Byzantine characters should use the same
naming conventions and lists as male
Romano-British characters, but they have no
House names.
Common Personality Traits
The following personality traits are
commonly seen in Byzantine men:
Prudent, Modest, Temperate, Worldly,
Merciful
and in Byzantine women:
Proud, Energetic, Valourous, Reckless,
Vivacious
Gladiatorial Contests
The Byzantines have inherited the Romans
live of militant sports and gladiatorial
combats are a firm favourite with the
crowds. The most popular style at present is
single weapon fighting, with each fighter
only wielding a single one-handed weapon
(typically a Gladius or Falcata). Not all
gladiators are slaves, many are freemen or
foreigners who have come to test
themselves. The rewards for a successful
gladiator are great, with successful
gladiators having the fame and prestige
which sportsmen will have in millenia to
come.
The Imperial Structure
Within the Empire, government rests on four
main pillars: the Army, the Church, the
Imperial bureaucracy, and a handful of noble
families. From the latter came the
empresses themselves. From the great
nobles, too, came much of the top level of
imperial government--military commanders,
provincial governors, and so on. From their
estates came soldiers for the army and
money for governing, and from them, too,
came plots and rivalry. Each new Empress
has to court the great nobles while at the
same time being careful not to let any of
them grow too powerful.
As with any government, the army is of vital
importance, but in the Empire it holds a
particular political significance. Unlike most
other kingdoms (excepting the Celestial
Empire) the Empire has a standing army of
professional soldiers. The Empress needs
victory in the field to enhance her prestige
and fend off rivals, so she needs the loyalty
of the army and especially of its officer
corps. Moreover, the most prestigious
posting was at Byzantium itself, or nearby,
making it tempting for the army to meddle
in imperial politics. If the army's loyalty
should go to a rival, the Empress is doomed.
The daily business of government, in
matters great and small, is in the hands of a
great bureaucracy. The layers of
government--imperial, provincial and
municipal--had been inherited from the old
Roman Empire and never ceased to
function. Local authority was at the
municipal level; cities in the Empire were
commercial and religious focal points and
also centers of administration, justice and
tax collection. The next layer up is the
province, ruled by governors, appointed by
the emperor from among the great families.
Their prime duties are the collection of taxes
and the appointing of local officials. They are
supplemented by military governors who
command mostly native troops to keep
public order.
The Orthodox Church is the fourth base on
which the Byzantine Empire rested. It is an
enormous landowner and possesses vast
wealth which it protects jealously but which
Empresses do tap when they can. In general,
the Orthodox Church is under the control of
the state and the Empress can speak with
authority on religious matters, and she has
the privilege of nominating the Matrirch. At
the same time, bishops in the major towns
can become popular leaders and a bishop
34 of 286
could pose as a champion of the poor, or a
defender against oppression, and so stir the
populace as to effect rebellion.
The Byzantine Empire is polyglot, consisting
of numerous peoples and cultures. At the
imperial level it is a mixture of Roman and
Greek traditions with Latin being the
language of learning, commerce, religion,
politics and the military. Greek philosophy
ruled intellectual life, the Orthodox faith is
the only faith officially supported by the
state (others are tolerated). Its political
structure and its law were Roman, and
indeed its Empresses called themselves
Empresses of the Romans.
At the local level, national cultures prevail.
Local laws and customs are generally
respected by the Byzantines, in the Roman
tradition--as long as the locals behave
themselves, pay their taxes and contribute
soldiers to the army, they are allowed to
keep their customs and sometimes even
their own laws and governments.
One last point worth making: Byzantine is
the keystone to it all. Political power and
religious authority converge only here.
Whoever controls the city controls the
empire; similarly, no claimant to the throne
can be successful until she has taken the
city. Palace intrigues are, therefore, more
important in the Empire, and the actions of a
family member might weigh more heavily
than the loyalty of entire cities.
The Byzantine Military
The Byzantine military can be divided into
two main groups; the Legions and the
Praetorian Guard. The Legions are full-time
professional soldiers, comprising a mix of
Byzantine citizens and local auxiliaries. The
Legions are generally stationed in the
provinces of the Empire. The Praetorian
guard is an elite force (the name of which
was inherited from Rome) which is sworn to
protect the throne and is stationed at
Byzanium itself. Praetorians are elite fighting
women, and men, identified by the ornate
armour they wear and the scarlet cloaks
worn as a badge of membership of the
Guard.

“You have all distinguished
yourself sufficiently in your
career to date to have justified
your place at this table. But
make no mistake., for every one
of you here a hundred more are
waiting for you to fall so they
can take your place”
Induction speech to new
members of the Praetorian
Guard
The British Isles and the
Empire
The Empire is not as military aggressive as
ancient Rome was. Instead Imperial policy is
to acquire new provinces through aggressive
trade relations and settlement, eventually
Byzantine society is based on a rigid social order
35 of 286
resulting in mutual non-aggression pacts,
trade pacts and military alliances then finally
joining the Empire and all residents
becoming full citizens as their land becomes
a province. Within british society the
commoners generally view the empire as a
threat to their livelihoods, with its might
armies poised just over the channel. The
noble classes are split between those who
wish to join the Empire, remembering the
benefits that old Rome bought to the isles,
and those who wish to remain separate from
the empire, but on good terms. At the
moment the separatists are in the
ascendant, but the Empire is gradually
wearing down resistance through guile,
trade and subterfuge.
Social Structure
Byzantine social structure is much like
Romano-British social structure with the
exception that the women tend to be the
decision makers and power brokers, with
men in a subordinate role. Assassination is
less common, with a much stronger legal
structure in play, so the deposition of others
is usually through bribery and blackmail.
36 of 286
Slavery and the Empire
Byzantium is a slave owning society, much
like Rome was. Slaves are owned by citizens
and are generally prisoners taken through
warfare or debtors/criminals. Slaves are
protected by the laws, the Empire
remembers the errors of ancient Rome and
is careful to avoid upsetting the large slave
population which could result in revolts.
37 of 286
The British Isles
The Landscape of Britain
The major terrain types to be encountered in
Britain are:
Mountains
British Mountains are jagged and rocky,
although small by continental standards with
the highest peak in the Isles (Ben Nevis)
standing only 4400 feet in height. Needless
to say these mountains still present a
considerable barrier to movement with very
few narrow passes. The only mountainous
areas in Britain are the highlands of Scotia,
the Lake district in Cumbria and the
Snowdonian peaks in Norther Cymri.
Hills
Hills dominate much of the British
Landscape. Hills are low rolling rises and
dips in the landscape, sometimes isolated,
sometimes in groups. Generally speaking the
hilly areas marked on the map of Britain are
around 500ft or higher.
Downs
Downs are an unusual type of hill. They are
ridges in the landscape with one steep side
and one gently sloping side. Generally the
northern slope of a down is the steep one.
Marshes
A marsh is an area of low lying ground with
poor drainage. Marshes are boggy,
sometimes dotted with low scrub and small
38 of 286
copses of trees. Most marshes are found in
coastal areas. Marshes are very dangerous
to traverse if you do not know the area well,
with plenty of deep sucking muds and pools
to trap the unwary. Marshes are generally
shunned by most people, often being
inhabited by creatures from the Otherworld,
beasts and criminals, those exiled from
society.
Plains
Plains are wide areas of low ground. Many
plains are river valleys, with a river running
through a gently sloping valley. On the
whole plains are quite fertile and are often
settled extensively and farmed. In Dark Age
Britain the low population means that even
most fertile plains are heavily wooded with
small patches of agriculture around
settlements.
Moors
A moor is a tall flat-topped rise in the ground
with poor drainage. Consequently it is boggy
and treacherous. Moors are usually quite
sparsely covered, barren even. They are
often covered in deep layers of moss which
make travel very difficult and dangerous.
Moors are also generally regarded as places
of ill-omen, with local people staying away
from them. Standing stones are often
located on moors and gateways to the
Otherworld are common near them.
39 of 286
The Kingdoms of Britain
The British Isles comprise five main areas; Scotia in the North, Cymria in the West, the isle of
Eire to the far west, Kernow in the South West and to the east, Albion.

40 of 286
41 of 286
A note on Kings (and
Queens)
It is not uncommon to find a kingdom to be
ruled by a King or Queen of different cultural
origins to the majority of the population. This
is usually a result of the complex blood lines
and intermarriages between the ruling
nobles of the time. As a rule of thumb those
who share the rulers culture are likely to
have some minor advantages and favours in
the society, but this is usually countered by
the disfavour the majority feel at being ruled
by an outsider. In such kingdoms there is
usually a degree of tension between the
majority and the ruling classes.

Aelfric, King of Northumbria

42 of 286
Gazeteer of the Kingdoms
Kingdoms of Cymria
Gwent
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Cynfeddw (Cymric)
Character Cultures: Cymric, Cornish
Capital: Venta
Tribes (Celtic): Gwent
The kingdom of Gwent extends across the
valleys of South Cymri and incorporates the
low plain which borders the Bristol channel.
There are many mines in the valleys and it is
a major producer of iron and coal.
Gywnedd
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Cadfan (Cymric)
Character Cultures: Cymric, Cornish, Gael
Capital: -
Tribes (Celtic): Gwynedd
The kingdom of Gwynedd lies in the north of
Cymri and is dominated by the mountainous
peaks of the Snowdonian range. To the north
of the kingdom is the Druid island stronghold
of Anglesey, separated from the mainland by
the Menai Straits, a relatively narrow stretch
of water with fierce currents and rip tides.
Like Dyfed, most of the population live along
the coastal strip of the kingdom, with few
inhabiting the rugged inland mountainous
areas.
Dyfed
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Cadog (Cymric)
Character Cultures: Cymric, Cornish, Gael
Capital: Moridunum
Tribes (Celtic): Dyfed
Dyfed lies to the South West of Cyrmi. Much
of its coastline is rugged with fierce cliffs,
with a few lowland areas. Most of the
population inhabit the coastal regions of the
kingdom with the higher inland areas more
or less reserved for hill farming and thick
woodland.
Ceredigion
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Rhun (Cymric)
Character Cultures: Cymric, Cornish, Gael
Capital: Moridunum
Tribes (Celtic): Ceredigion
This kingdoms lies in mid-cymri, an area of
low rolling hills with a low mountain range to
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the west in Ceredigion, which rolls down to a
low plain on the western coast.
Powys
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Cynan Garwyn (Cymric)
Character Cultures: Cymric, Cornish
Capital: Moridunum
Tribes (Celtic): Powys
Powys dominates the eastern side of middle
Cymria, bordering Wessex and Mercia. The
landscape is dominated by barren rolling
hills and settlements are generally found
nestling in the valley bottoms with sheep
farming playing a key role in the economy.
Due to the relatively poor nature of their
land the people of Powys often raid
surrounding kingdoms, particularly Mercia.
Kingdoms of Kernow
Cornwall and Devon
Population: 10,000
King (Culture): Gurvor (Cornish)
Character Cultures: Briton, Cornish,
Romano-British
Capital: Isca
Tribes (Celtic): Dumnonii
Great Houses: Dexius, Gratus
Cornwall and Devon encompass the South
West peninsula of the British Isles, stretching
out towards the isles of Lyonesse to the west
(modern day Scilly). The warm waters of the
caribbean ocean, far across the Atlantic,
wash the peninsula moderating its climate
so it is warm all year round. The heart of the
peninsula is a spur of granite which
stretches along it, forming a low rocky spine
with high moors such as Dartmoor, Exmoor
and Bodmin moor, and creating steep cliffs
with deep rocky bays along much of the
coastline. Cornwall is rich in tin and other
metals and traders from all over europe and
the mediterranean travel here for
commerce.
Kingdoms of Eire
Eire
Population: 60,000
King (Culture): Finn Connor (Gael)
Character Cultures: Gael
Capital: Ulster
Tribes (Celtic): Ulster, Leinster, Connaught,
Munster, Meath
Across the Irish sea lies the Emerald Isle,
populated by the Gael (Irish Celts) and ruled
by the High King, Finn Connor. Eire is a
beautiful island.
Kingdoms of Scotia
The kingdom of Fib lies along the firth of
Forth, a large estuary. Much of the
population lives along the coastline, living
off the sea. Foreign traders occasionally visit
Fib, seeking to exchange manufactured
goods for products bought from further into
Scotia.

Rheged Fortriu
Population: 5,000
Population: 6,000
King (Culture):-
King (Culture): -
Character Cultures: Picts
Character Cultures: Picts
Tribes (Pictish): Raven
Tribes (Pictish): Cat
Capital: -
Capital: -
Fortriu lies in the south west of the
The lands of the Rheged tribe are mainly
Cairngorm mountains, a harsh landscape of
barren hills with wooded valleys and the
soaring peaks and deep shaded valleys. The
large Galloway forest in the west. The
people of Fortriu scrape a living from this
families move through the valleys, usually
unforgiving landscape as best they can, with
several tribes inhabiting a valley and it is not
many living along the western coast on the
unknown for generations of family members
coastline or on the many small islands just
never to leave a valley. The families on the
offshore.
southernmost side of the lands regularly raid
across the borders into Cumbria and
Northumbria. Ce
Population: 15,000
Dal Riada King (Culture):-
Character Cultures: Picts
Population: 14,000
Tribes (Pictish): Owl, Bear
King (Culture):-
Capital: -
Character Cultures: Picts
Ce is the largest of the pictish “kingdoms”
Tribes (Pictish): Boar, Wolf
with wild hills in its west and wide wooded
Capital: -
plains to the east. The land is rich and fertile
To the north of Rheged lies Dal Riada, an
and some families have even settled down in
area dominated by low forested plains. The
primitive farming communities.
border between Dal Riada and Rheged is
virtually non-existent and families regularly
migrate between the two areas, with
considerable intermarriage along the border Fotla
areas. Population: 10,000
King (Culture):-
Fib Character Cultures: Picts
Population: 10,000 Tribes (Pictish): Stag, Bull
King (Culture):- Capital: -
Character Cultures: Picts Fotla is much like Fortriu, much of its area
Tribes (Pictish): Otter dominated by the Cairngorm mountains and
Capital: - with its population concentrated on the

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western shores and islands.
Fidach
Population: 7,000
King (Culture):-
Character Cultures: Picts
Tribes (Pictish): Salmon
Capital: -
Fidach straddles the great loch ness, with
the Cairngorms to the South and Grampian
mountains to the north. A significant number
of the people of this land live along the
shores of the great lochs, famed for their
salmon but also feared for the rumoured
great water beasts that lurk into their pitch
black waters.
Cait
Population: 13,000
King (Culture):-
Character Cultures: Picts
Tribes (Pictish): Snake, Weasel
Capital: -
Dominating the far north of Scotia the
Kingdom of Cait consists of low hills, the
granite peaks of the Grampian mountains
and the marshes of the North east peninsula.
The majority of the population of Cait lives
along the coastline, with few venturing
inland unless they must.
Kingdoms of Albion
Cumbria
Population: 20,000
King (Culture): Cole (Cymric Celt)
Character Cultures: Briton, Romano-British
Capital: Moridunum
Tribes (Celtic): Carvetii (Northern
Cumbria), Brigantes (Southern Cumbria)
Great Houses: Longinus, Mercurius
Strathclyde lies in the North West of
“England”, with its greatest single feature
being the massive granite outcrops and
mountains of the lake district. The lake
district is bounded to the east by a wide
valley, separating the lakes from the central
pennine mountain range, and to the west by
a thin (no more than ten miles) fringe of land
which borders on the sea. The people of
Cumbria are largely split between those who
live along the coast in fishing villages and
sea-ports, and those who manage herds of
sheep in the lake district, their flocks grazing
on the high mountains.
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Wessex
Population: 50,000
King (Culture): Cyngelis (Saxon)
Character Cultures: Briton, Cornish,
Saxon, Romano-British
Capital: Glevum
Tribes (Celtic): Dobrunni (North West
Wessex), Catuvellauni (East Wessex),
Atrebates (South Wessex), Durotriges (South
West Wessex), Belgae (mid Wessex)
Great Houses: Abanus, Varius, Julius,
Otacilius, Liburnius, Mallius, Salonius
Clans (Saxon): Horsa, Thorkell,
Magnussons, Gunnarsons, Bjarnisons,
Arissons, Ruriksons. Knutsons, Burissons,
Godfredsons
Wessex is, according to its inhabitants, the
most civilised kingdom in the Isles. The river
Thames meanders through western Wessex,
the land around it well watered, rich and
fertile. The South West of Wessex is
dominated by the Somerset levels, an
immense tract of marshland and rivers with
the mysterious Isle of Avalon at its heart, a
place strongly linked to the forces of Good.
The levels are bounded by Exmoor to the
west and the Mendip hills to the East, with
the deep and mysterious caves at Cheddar
slashing a path through them. Some
christians claim that the caves lead all the
way to Hell. North west Wessex is the
province of the rolling Mendip and Cotswolds
hills.
Northumbria
Population: 20,000
King (Culture): Aelfric (Saxon)
Character Cultures: Briton, Saxon,
Romano-British
Capital: Novocastria
Tribes (Celtic): Brigantes (all except South
East Northumbria), Parisi (South East)
Great Houses: Duronius, Hortensius,
Bandimus
Clans (Saxon): Gormsons, Rolfssons,
Sigvaldisons, Ingjaldsons, Erikssons
The kingdom of Northumbria dominates the
North East and North Midlands of “England”.
Northumbria is a celtic kingdom ruled by a
Saxon King, a strange combination. It is
constantly pressed on its norther borders by
the Picts of Strathclyde and has an
aggressive expansionistic bent towards its
smaller neighbours of Cumbria and Mercia.
Northumbria looks to the east for its main
threat, with Saxon raiding parties from
Scandiavia regularly landing on its shores.
Mercia East Anglia
Population: 20,000 Population: 20,000
King (Culture): Ceorl (Briton) King (Culture): Raedwald (Saxon)
Character Cultures: Briton, Cymri, Character Cultures: Briton, Saxon,
Romano-British Romano-British
Capital: Viriconum Capital: Venta
Tribes (Celtic): Cornovii (North Mercia), Tribes (Celtic): Iceni
Coritani (South Mercia) Great Houses: Cornelius, Maximus,
Great Houses: Antius, Galenus, Sempronius Tertinius, Justis
Mercia straddles the Midlands of the Isles. Clans (Saxon): Harkonsons, Elsassons,
Mercia is the setting for the introductory Ruriksons, Herjolfsons
campaign and more information can be East Anglia is a very flat kingdom most
found later on in the rules. notable for its huge expanses of low
marshland. The marshes are wild and unruly,
Sussex populated by strange backward tribes,
Population: 10,000 bandits and outlaws and supernatural
King (Culture): Aethelwold (Saxon) beasts. The civilised folk of the Kingdom are
Character Cultures: Saxon, Romano- found around the edges, or along the various
British rivers which criss-cross the great marshes,
Capital: Noviomagus where they make a good living from the
Tribes (Celtic): - fertile land. East Anglia is a Saxon kingdom,
Great Houses: Drusus, Aulus and with the deep marshes so nearby most
Clans (Saxon): Svensons, Fjolnirssons, East Anglians keep an axe close at hand and
Alriksons are ready to fight to protect their lands.
Much like its neighbouring kingdom of Kent,
Sussex has always been at the forefront of Kent
invasions of the British Isles. Sussex is very Population: 10,000
much like Kent in geographical and political King (Culture): Eadbald (Saxon)
terms. Character Cultures: Saxon, Romano-
British
Essex Capital: Durovernum
Population: 30,000 Tribes (Celtic): Iceni
King (Culture): Sigbert (Saxon) Great Houses: Maniliu, Clovius
Character Cultures: Briton, Saxon, Clans (Saxon): Fhorgeirssons, Hallssons,
Romano-British Erlingssons, Ulfssons
Capital: Camulodunum Kent lies in the most South Easterly corner of
Tribes (Celtic): Catuvellauni (Western the British Isles, bordering the English
Essex), Trinovantes (Eastern Essex) channel. Historically Kent has always been at
Great Houses: Augustus, Germanicus, the forefront of any invasion of the isles and
Rusonius, Quintilius is a Saxon stronghold, settled by the
Clans (Saxon): Sigridsons, Beowulfssons, invaders after the retreat of Rome.
Arngrimsons, Leifssons, Helgisons,
Snorrisons
Essex lies to the North of the Thames
estuary and is a key centre for trade from
Northern Europe. The land is low and flat
with scattered villages and towns.

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 The Mysterious isles of Lyonesse

Lyonesse The Orkneys

28 miles across the sea from lands-end (the
southwest most point of Britain) lie the The Orkneys are a cluster of around 70
mysterious isles of Lyonesse. Little is known islands, of which only 16 are inhabited. The
of these Isles and few who make the cluster lies just off the North eastern tip of
crossing return to teel tales, although the Scotia. The inhabitants of the isles are a
few that have leave rumours of Otherworldly mysterious folk known as the Orcadians.
castles and mystical happenings. The Little is known of these folk, and few who
crossing is treacherous as the waters of the travel to the isles return to tell the tale, and
irish sea and channel mix here, creating even those that do are strangely reticent to
turbulent waters and dangerous currents. discuss their experiences, with the word
“Sorcerer” often being repeated.
The Hebrides
The Hebrides are the many islands off the
West coast of Scotia. They are divided into
two general groups, the Inner and Outer
Isles. Passage to the Isles is difficult and
dangerous, with the waters surrounding
them prone to powerful tides and whirlpools.
In addition powerful storms regularly sweep
in from the western ocean to scour the
barren landscapes of the isles.
The Hebrides are a wild and mysterious
place, populated by Faeries and other
strange creatures. There are a few Pictish
outposts on the isles but most of the land is
unsettled and largely unexplored.

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Religion
Religion is a key constituent of the day to
day life of most people living in the Dark
Ages, involving the worship of a higher
power than yourself (most mortals worship
the Gods).
For player characters the main impact their
choice of religion will have on them is
determining one of their favoured aspects
for the purposes of gaining Renown (and
thus developing the character).
The six main religions to be found are the
the Druidic religion of the Celts (Paganism);
the Wotan worshipping Saxon faith
(Wotanism); the Pictish worship of
Samlaidh,animal spirits, (Heathenism), the
worshippers of the old Roman Gods (the
Religio-Romana), the Christians and finally
the diabolists (worshippers of the Christian
Devil and other dark forces).
The older religions (Heathenism, Wotanism,
Paganism and the Religio-Romana) have not
been easily swept away by the onrush of the
Christian church and instead a more tolerant
co-existence has become the norm. The
main reason for this is the actual concrete
benefits of religion in the dark age world.
Faith is not a matter of unproven loyalty, but
a loyalty to a very real and effective force,
with priests able to wield magical powers.
The Druids spiritual centre on the isle of
Anglesey (in North Wales) was assaulted by
the Romans in 61AD, but the assault was
repelled and the Romans forced to retreat to
deal with the uprising of the Iceni in the
South East, as Londinium was sacked. The
Druids power and position in Celtic Society
was not destroyed and they continue to be a
major power behind the throne, with Druids
acting as teachers, judges and advisors to all
the Celtic peoples.
The Christian religion has gradually spread
throughout europe, slowly gaining converts
and Christians co-exist with the followers of
the old religions throughout the lands.
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Omnipotence
Is the Christian God really omnipotent? In a
word, no. There is a distinct relationhip
between the power of a deity and the faith
of their followers. As worship of the christian
God grows its power increases in proportion
to all others. The concept of a “divine plan”
is something created by the followers of God
to suit their own needs. With a large base of
worshippers who split their belief between
only two entities (God and Lucifer) the
powers of the Christian religion are the two
most powerful forces in the Otherworld.
Direct Intervention
The Gods rarely intervene directly in mortal
affairs, limiting themselves to signs and
omens to guide their favoured worshippers.
The Dark Gods tend to extend their hand a
little, by way of sending servant creatures to
aid their followers.
Desecration
A sacred site can be desecrated by anyone.
Desecration requires a conscious effort to
wreck the site, by destroying altars and the
like. A desecrated site loses it's sacred
status until it has been re-consecrated by a
priest of it's religion, a process taking
several days.
Sacred Sites
Each religion has places which are
particularly sacred to it. Anyone of the
appropriate religion gains a bonus dice on all
actions performed in a sacred site. Examples
of each religions sacred sites are listed in it's
detailed description. A site becomes
“sacred” to a religion after regular use for
around a century.
Priests less likely to try to gain temporal power,
knowing that they are ultimately answerable
Characters with the Priest* boon are to a very real power.
ordained priests of their religion. The
benefits of this are explained in the boon Sacred Days
table, and they are also able to
reconsecreate desecrated places and Each religion has days which it holds to be
oversee rites of worship. particularly sacred for some reason. Any
action performed on one of your religions
Local Gods holy day is at +1d.

Before the birth of the “formal” Pagan

religion the many small communities spread
across the lands worshipped local Gods.
These local Gods were Genius Loci,
Awakened Spirits of a place.
The Picts never had these local Gods, from a
very early time their fates were intricately
bound up with the Samlaidh.. their
guardians.
Sometimes the God was benign, receiving
worship in exchange for protecting their
followers from other supernatural terrors.
Other times it was revered purely as a power
in the land, a show of respect to something
that was unknowable and powerful. And at
other times it was worshipped out of fear,
failure to sacrifice and revere the God
resulted in dire retribution.
Over millenia the worship of the local Gods
gradually gave way to the worship of a
pantheon of greater Gods, the Celtic deities
and now, in turn, the new religion of
Christianity threatens to sweep away these
Pagan Gods.
Very few communities still actively worship
Local Gods, but there are often legends and
half remembered stories which date back to
the worship of these entities. Altars and
sacred places to these Gods can be found
throughout the land, that is where many of
the standing stones, circles and mounds
originated, places of worship for a Local God.
The Local Gods themselves are now largely
quiescent, forgotten about, although
occasionally they stir.
In game terms Local Gods are Ysbryd,
usually with at least 8d, often more. They
will not generally manifest or communicate
with mortals unless actively sought out using
the correct invocations and rituals.

Church and State

In a world where the gods are real the state
has little ability to manipulate religion to it's
own ends. In the same way the clergy are

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The Religion Sacred Days
Wotanism • The Charming of the Plow (1st weekend in February)
• Summer finding (spring equinox, 21st March)
• Merry moon (1st weekend in May)
• Midsummer (summer solstice, 21st June)
• Harvest (1st weekend in August)
• Winter finding (autumn equinox, 21st September)
• Fogmoon (1st weekend in November)
• Yule (winter equinox, 21st December)
Pagan • Oimelc (1st weekend in February)
• Eostara (spring equinox, 21st March)
• Beltane (1st weekend in May)
• Midsummer (summer solstice, 21st June)
• Lughnasadh (1st weekend in August)
• Mabon (autumn equinox, 21st September)
• Samhain (1st weekend in November)
• Midwinter (winter equinox, 21st December)
Heathen The first day of each month is sacred to heathens, being the holy
day of the Samlaidh of that month.
• Bear samlaidh (1st day of May)
• Bull Samlaidh (1st day of June)
• Salmon samlaidh (1st day of July)
• Weasel samlaidh (1st day of August)
• Raven samlaidh (1st day of September)
• Snake samlaidh (1st day of October)
• Owl samlaidh (1st day of November)
• Cat samlaidh (1st day of December)
• Wolf samlaidh (1st day of January)
• Stag samlaidh (1st day of February)
• Boar samlaidh (1st day of March)
• Otter samlaidh (1st day of April)
Christianity • Christmas—This celebrates Christ’s birth. December 25. A day of
Joyful Celebration marked by the exchange of gifts, attendance of
Mass, and much feasting.
• Lent—The forty day period of albstinence before Lent. Fasting is
common, and no meat is eaten on Fridays, except fish. Typically,
most do their yearly confession during this period
• Good Friday—The Friday before Easter. Commemorates Christ’s
death.
• Easter—Celebrates Christ’s Resurrection. Falls sometime in March
or April. Everyone goes to Mass and has a big feast afterwards. No
Easter Eggs, yet. Easter is usually around the 21st of March.
• Pentecost—40 days after Easter. Another holy day of obligation.
Commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles.
• All Saints- 1st of November
Religio-Romana • Parentilia (first nine days of February)- a festival dedicated to the
worship of ones dead ancestors
• Consualia (21st of August)- traditionally celebrated with games
• Saturnalia (7 days around the 21st of December)
• Lupercalia (15th of March)- Lupercalia celebrates the founding of
Rome
• Equiria (27th of February)- a festival dedicated to Mars, God of War
Darkness The night before any other holy day.

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The Pictish Religion (Heathenism)
The Heathen religion is centred on the natural features in the form of glyphs.
worship of tribal animal spirits, the Information such as “good fishing in this
Samlaidhm and a reverence for the land. stream, there is a hidden path up the cliff
Heathens are obliged to respect, maintain behind the hawthorn” and such like.
and protect the land, and in exchange the In order to reinforce their authority and the
land provides for them. Of all the religions air of mystery surrounding them, Fiosaiche
the Heathen religion is the closest to the will read the glyphs then go away and
earth, the most in tune with the natural seclude themselves for some time
cycle of life and the seasons. performing “rituals”. When they return they
There are few “formal” religious rites in the will then have magical knowledge relevant
Heathen canon, the main ones being: to the area and impress their fellows.
• Initiation of youths into the tribe.
• Birth ceremonies
• Marriage ceremonies.
• Funeral ceremonies.
• Religious rites of reverence to be
performed on a Samlaidh's holy day.
The most common form of worship for
Heathens is to ensure that they only take
what they need from the land. It is also
common to thank the spirit of an animal Aims
once it has been slaughtered, giving respect
to it for the life it brings to you. The aim of Heathens is to emulate their
The Fiosaiche are the shamans of the picts, Samlaidh as closely as possible, which is
their religious leaders. Fiosaiche tend to live expressed in placing an overwhelming
away from the extended family groups which importance on success and victory, the way
form the basis of Pictish society, living a of the natural world.
hermits lifestyle in the deep woods. Each
Fiosaiche is allied to their tribal Samlaidh
and during religious ceremonies it is
common for a Fiosaiche to don a mask which
The Samlaidh
represents the beast. The twelve most common Samlaidh are:
A Fiosaiche typically has one apprentice, • Bear samlaidh
who is chosen from one of the Clan families. • Bull Samlaidh
It is considered a great honour for a family to • Cat samlaidh
have one of its children apprentice and • Weasel samlaidh
trained to follow in the Fiosaiche's footsteps • Otter samlaidh
when they die. Fiosaiche are typically • Snake samlaidh
approached by petitioners on an ‘as needed’ • Owl samlaidh
basis and their advice sought. Many • Salmon samlaidh
Fiosaiche spend much of their time in a drug • Wolf samlaidh
induced haze, witnessing visions and • Stag samlaidh
communing with spirits. Pictish leaders will • Boar samlaidh
always consult the Clan Fiosaiche before • Raven samlaidh
committing to any significant course of
action. The Fiosaiche also acts as the judge
in Pictish society, their decision on any affair
is final and binding on all parties involved. Sacred Sites
Sacred places to the Picts are magical
places, usually deep in the woods, where the
Glyphs veil between this world and the dreaming is
weak. Such places are normally used for
Glyphs are the written language of the
worship and glyph inscribed altars are often
Pictish people, but their meanings are a
placed there.
secret shared only by the Fiosaiche. As
outlined in the section on the Picts, Fiosaiche
often leave useful information engraved onto

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The Celtic Religion (Paganism)
The Celtic religion is one of balance and
reverence for the natural world. Celts revere
the natural world much like the Picts but,
unlike the Picts, their Gods are
anthropomorphic (possessed of human
strengths and weaknesses). The Celtic
religion is administered by the Druidic order.
The Druidic Order
Before discussing what the Druids are its
first crucial to explain their importance in
Celtic society.
The Druids are part of an order which spans
the whole of Britain, the only organisation of
such size and scope remaining post-Rome.
Druids are the teachers, spiritual leaders and
advisors of the Celtic people. Within the
complex internecine politics of the isles
Druids have a key diplomatic function,
ensuring communications are always
maintained between different tribes and
kingdoms.
The Druids give particular reverence to
Lugh, the sun God of the Pagan pantheon.
Members of the Druidic Order can be both
male or female, but there is a strong
tendency towards male membership (around
70% of the Order are male and 30% female).
The Druids serve the gods of the Celtic
mythos. Druids do not generally mingle with
others, and may only take a mate from
among the worshippers of their god.
To join the order proper a bard must have at
least seven years experience under their
belt, then they may undergo an ordeal and,
if successful, they are promoted to the rank
of Ovate. The order does not advertise is
ranking system to outsiders and most people
just see a member of the order as a Druid. In
fact there are two ranks in the Order; Ovate
and Druid. The vast majority of members of
the order are Ovates.
Ovates act as priests to their community and
often practise divination (Perceive-time
spells). Many ovates specialise in one of the
following fields; Religion, judging, divination,
learning about nature or teaching. An ovate
approaches any study as seeking the answer
to a puzzle.
Periodically all ovates and druids gather
together to compare knowledges and things
they have learnt in the form of poems. Those
ovates judged particularly worthy would be
promoted to the rank of Druid. It was
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considered unworthy to strive to become a
druid, it is an honour bestowed upon an
ovate by his peers to reflect his skill and
ability.
Outside the order the differentiation
between Ovates and Druids is unknown.
Outsiders tend to accord respect to Ovates
and Druids on the grounds of age, so a 60
year old Ovate may be accorded more
respect by outsiders than a 40 year old
Druid, but within the Order the Ovate would
accord more respect to the Druid.
Religious Practises
Celtic gods are very tolerant of their priests’
and worshippers’ actions, as long as they do
not damage nature. Human sacrifices,
usually of condemned criminals, are made
four times a year. Services are held in
specially prepared sacred groves, planted
with mistletoe and holly, and guarded by
wild boars. The druids wear torcs,
ornamental neck rings, and every druid has
his own cauldron. Druids often use potions
as talismans for their spells, brewing the
potions in their cauldrons.
The home of the Druidic order is Anglesey
(an island off the coast of Gywnedd) and no
non-Druid may set foot there without the
express permission of the Grand Druid
himself. The Romans attempted to
exterminate the Druids during their
occupation of Britain but failed and the
Druids still form an important part of Celtic
society with Druids being teachers, advisors
and priests.
Wiccans
Wiccans are pagans who give special
reverence to the triple Goddess in all her
three aspects. The triple goddess is strongly
associated with the moon and the majority
of Wiccans are female (around 80% female
and 20% female). The Wiccans are still part
of the Pagan religion, but have a far less
formal structure to their worship. Where
Druids act as teachers and religious leaders,
Wiccans tend to the more mundane needs of
their flock, casting simple spells of healing
and blessing and handing out good common-
sense wisdom.
The Greater Celtic Gods like her. The Morrigan blesses those who
solve conflicts through force, rather than
The Druids revere a pantheon of Celtic gods, through diplomacy.
• Ceridwen, the hag, goddess of wisdom
ruled by the Dagda.
Dagda: The Dozen King, ruler of this loose and knowledge. The Ceridwen blesses
pantheon of Gods. He and his worshippers those who gather knowledge for its own
share the neutrality which characterizes the sake, and not for any personal gain.
pantheon generally. • Blodwyn, the maiden and goddess of
Arawn, as The Dark One, God of the Dead is healing. The Blodwyn blesses those who
evil and he is worshipped by all who worship selflessly help others in any way.
death. Arawn favours those who bring new Nuada is also a God of War, God of the
spirits to his kingdom, by any method. Silver Hand. He is worshipped by warriors of
Arawn seeks to overthrow the Dagda and all types.
become King of the Celtic pantheon. When Oghma, God of Intelligence, is The Binder,
his followers die they pass to his lands in the Patron of All Bards. Oghma favours those
Otherworld where he builds an army of the who have created beautiful songs, poems, or
dead. When he has sufficient force he plans stories.
to declare war on the other Pagan Gods and Silvanus, God of the Forests and Nature. He
become their ruler, toppling the Dagda. is worshipped by forest dwellers and, of
Brigit is Goddess of Fire and Poetry. Brigit course, druids.
blesses those who create poetry and
promote the arts. Local Gods
Diancecht, Physician of the Gods, is
worshipped by healers. He heals without In addition to the greater Gods listed above
regard to allegiance, friendship, or other the Pagans also respect many lesser, local,
status, and can restore to life any creature Gods. In game terms these Gods are, in fact,
who has not lost its head. Diancecht blesses Ysbryd, Awakened Spirits. Both wiccans and
those who heal others without regard to pagans revere these local Gods, making
allegiance or their own safety. small sacrifices to them. It is common to find
Dunatis, God of the Mountains and Peaks. small shrines set up at the places where
He has been known to raise or flatten these Local Gods are to be found.
mountains in an instant, usually related to
the presence of a fortress. Dunatis blesses Sacred Sites
those who climb high peaks and worship
him.
Celtic holy places can be almost anywhere.
Goibhnie (the “bh” is pronounced almost as
They are places where the hairs on the back
“v”) is the Metal worker of the Gods, and as
of ones nape stand up. Often they are gates
such is worshipped by those working in
to the Otherworld or places where great
metal. He is known to make weapons which
events. Such places are venerated from afar
never miss and amulets which protect
and it is considered unwise to linger, so they
against things. Goibhnie blesses those who
are usually shunned by the local people, who
create metal items of master-crafted quality
only visit on holy days. The Celts have great
(making such an item then destroying it as a
reverence for water, and springs and seeps
ritual sacrifice earns a blessing).
are often treated as holy wells... sacred to
Lugh, Long-handed, is the God of
the religion. Celts often plant tree's around
Generalities. He is said to understand
such places to create sacred groves, places
druidism better than any other being.
of worship, and plant stone altars to mark
Manannan Mac Lir, God of the Sea,. Those
such places as sacred.
who use the sea worship him. Manannan
Mac Lir blesses those who help sailors and
other peoples who livelihood is associated
with the sea.
The Triple Goddess: The triple Goddess
has three aspects, all of which are
worshipped as one:
• Morrigan: the Goddess of War, but she is
worshipped by all who live by war. She is
served by the demi-goddesses of war Fen,
Neman, Badb, and Macha, who are very

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The Religio-Romana
The old state religion of the Roman Empire,
before the official adoption of Christianity.
Following of the old ways is still common
amongst Byzantine and Romano-British
families.
The Roman religion venerates a host of
Gods, but has a particular reverence for a
families ancestor spirits (Atharta) and
guardian spirits of the household (the Lares).
Each household maintains its own small
shrine to the various Gods and ancestors,
with small offerings being made on a daily
basis.
The Religio-Romana has two “classes” of
Priest; the Numina and Pontifex.
The Pontifex are often known as the “high”
priests of the church, specialising in services
in formal temples and the use of sacrifices
and other divining techniques to peer into
the future and make prophecies (it was a
Pontifex who gave Julius Caesar the
apocryphal warning to “beware the ides of
march”.
The Numina are more like family priests. The
specialise in communing with the spirits of
the dead (Atharta) and a families guardian
spirits (Lares). Much of their time is spent
keeping these spirits happy and ensuring
that the living give appropriate respect to
the dead.
Temples tend to be plain and simple, in the
classic columned style of ancient rome with
simple classical features. Most towns or
larger with a significant Romano-British
presence host at least one temple, usually
dedicated to Jupiter, Apollo or Minerva.
Larger settlements possess more temples.
The “lesser Gods” of the religion are more
often worshipped at small private shrines in
Romano-British homes, or at small wayside
shrines found along major Roman roads.
The Goddess Vesta is a notable exception to
this rule. She is a Greater Goddess but her
worship is almost entirely restricted to small
family shrines, within homes, with no major
temples dedicated to her.
As an ex-state religion there is a strong
focus on law and order in the Roman
pantheon, with the main virtues of the
religion being a sense of responsibility
towards the family and state and powerful
regard for law and custom.
Sacred Sites
Temples and shrines to the Gods are holy to
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the Religio-Romana. Such structures are
usually built to commemorate great events.
A site becomes holy to the Religio-Romana
by virture of use. As a good rule of thumb a
temple or shrine that see's regular use by
worshippers becomes sacred after perhaps a
century.
The Gods
The religio-romana has a bewildering variety
of deities and spirits which are worshipped,
but the following list tries to grasp some of
the more common. They are grouped into
main groups, the Greater Gods, who
normally deserve temples to themselves,
and the lesser Gods who are normally
worshipped at small shrines:
The Greater Gods
• Jupiter:Lord of the Sky, Gods, and
Thunder, also Rain-god, Cloud-gatherer
• Juno:Protector of Marriage
• Neptune:Ruler of the Sea
• Pluto:God of the Underworld and
Precious Metals
• Minerva:Goddess of the City,
Education/Science, and War
• Apollo:God of Sun, Truth, Music, Healing
• Diana:Goddess of Wild Things, Hunter-in-
Chief
• Venus:Goddess of Love and Beauty
• Mercury:God of Commerce and Market,
Jupiters Messenger
• Mars:God of War
• Vulcan:God of the Forge and Fire,
Workman to the immortals
• Vesta:Goddess of the Hearth and Home
• Ceres:Goddess of the Corn, Earth,
Harvest
• Bacchus:God of the Vine, Wine,
Merriment
• Luna:Goddess of the Moon
• Sol:God of the Sun
• Saturn:Protector of the Sowers and the
Seed
• Janus:God of good beginnings
The Lesser Gods
• Bellona:Lesser Goddess of War
• Libitina:Goddess of the Underworld
• Priapus:God of Fertility
• Cupid:God of Love
• Hymen:God of the Wedding Feast
• Hebe:Goddess of Youth
• Juventus:God of Youth
• Iris:Goddess of the Rainbow
• Persipina:Goddess of the season of • Each mystery cult has it's own secret rites
spring and the underworld through Hades and rituals. New members are required to
• swear blood curdling oaths never to
• Faunus:God of Flocks, Sheep reveal these rites to others outside of the
• Terminus:Guardian of Boundaries cult.
• Priapus:Cause of Fertility • Most of the cults are not secret, but their
• Pales:Strengthener of Cattle members do not go out of their way to
• Sylvanus:Helper of Plowmen and advertise their membership.
Woodcutters • Unlike rites of the Religio-Romana, which
• Lucina:Goddess of Childbirth are normally held in temples and presided
• Pomona and Vertumnus:Powers over by a Pontifex, the rites of mystery
Protecting Orchards and Gardens cults are normally held in the homes of
• Aether:God of Light members and presided over by the most
• Aurora:Goddess of the Dawn senior member of the cult present.
• Aesculapius:God of Health and Medicine • Mystery cults have no formal priests or
• Hygea:Goddess of Health priesthood.
• Aeolus:King of the Winds
• Aquilo:North Wind
• Favonius:West Wind
• Auster:South Wind
• Eurus:East Wind
• Pontus:God of the Deep Sea
• Nereus:"Old Man of the Sea"
• Triton:Trumpeter of the Sea
• Ate:Goddess of Mischief
• Discordia:Goddess of Discord
• Fauna:Goddess of Fields, "Good
Goddess"
• Flora:Goddess of Flowers
• Somnus:God of Sleep
• Juturna:Goddess of Springs [Water]
• Victoria:Goddess of Victory
• Suadela:Goddess of Persuasion
• Trivia:Goddess of the Crossways, the
Dark Side of the Moon, and Magic
• Fortuna:Goddess of Fortune
• Voluptas:Goddess of Pleasure
• Poena:Goddess of Punishment
• Nemesis:Goddess of Revenge
• Hespera:Goddess of Dusk
• Morpheus:God of Dreams
• Fama:God of fame, rumor

The Mystery Cults

One of the notable features of the Religio-
Romana are the mystery cults. More
information can be found on the cults in the
section on orders and societies, but in
summary:
• Each mystery cult pays homage to one
specific deity or power of the pantheon.
• Membership of a mystery cult is by
invitation only and they are a significant
part of romano-british life.
• There is an expectation that a cult
member will look out for interests of
others members of the same cult.

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The Saxon Religion (Wotanism)
This is the traditional saxon faith. Wotanists
believe they live in Midgard, the middle
world, one of many connected to Yggsdrasil,
the world tree. The gods live in Asgard, one
of the worlds above, and war against the
giants of Jotunheim. Below is Niflheim, land
of the dead3.
One day, the worlds will all be destroyed in
the war known as Ragnarok, but until that
day, one must live valorously so that they
will be fit to reside in Valhalla when they die
and fight by the side of the gods on that day.
That they will lose is no matter; the question
is only whether they have the bravery to
fight even if they will not win.
The Gods care little for mortals, but it is not
wise to anger them either. Be Generous to
your friends, and crush your enemies. Show
them your courage so that they will not send
you to Niflheim to suffer endless cold and
hunger and boredom forever. Do not die in
bed…Seek out your enemies with your last
strength and take them with you. Make a
proud boast then carry it out to gain the
respect of your peers and Gods.
There are Wotanist temples, run by
professional priests, the Vola, but most
worship is conducted by war-leaders and
other ‘civilians’. Sacrifices often are made to
seek success in war, voyages, hunting, and
trade. The Priests of Wotan are known as the
Vola.
Wotanism shares many common features
with Heathenism, namely a lack of formal
structures and minimal religious rites such
as:
• Initiation of youths into the tribe.
• Birth ceremonies
• Marriage ceremonies.
• Funeral ceremonies.
• Religious rites of reverence to be
performed on a Samlaidh's holy day.
• Blessings before battles.
The Gods
Wotan is Supreme Ruler of the Gods. He is
worshipped by all who are not evil. He
cannot raise the dead, and will not heal
mortals, but is a potent warrior god. Wotan
blesses those who achieve victory, in war or
other pursuits, by honourable means.
3 This belief is, in fact, incorrect. The
Saxons live in the First World and their
Gods reside in the Otherworld with the
other Gods.
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Frigga is the wife of Wotan, Goddess of the
Atmosphere. She is worshipped by
housewives and those seeking marriage in
addition to those who share her
temperament. She also controls the
weather. On rare occasions she saves
worshippers who call on her when in mortal
danger. Frigga blesses those who survive
mortal danger.
Aegir is God of Storms and the Sea. He
swamps ships that have not sacrificed to
him, but calms storms for his friends.
Forseti, the Peacemaker, is God of Justice.
He never lies. Forset blesses those who
make wise judgements.
Freya is the Goddess of Love and Fertility
and leader of the Valkyries. She is also
worshipped by lovers. Freya blesses those
who fight to defend those they love.
Idun is Goddess of Spring and Eternal Youth.
She is worshipped by farmers.
Sigurd is Goddess of Excellence and Skill in
Battle. Sigurd blesses those who fight
honourably in battle.
Wayland: the smith of the Saxon Gods.
Wayland blesses those who make master-
crafted items and then sacrifice them to him.
Thunor is God of Thunder. He is worshipped
by all, especially warriors, those wishing
specific weather, and those wanting fair
play. He is the god of the common man.
Thunor blesses those who refuse to exploit
an advantage and always attempt to fight
with as even odds as possible.
Fenris, the great wolf which is currently in
chains but which is destined to escape and
bring Ragnarok. It is Evil in nature.
Loki, the trickster.
Berserk; Berserk is the God of bloody
handed war, war without rules or honour,
war to achieve victory at all costs. Berserk
blesses those who murder their opponents
after they have surrendered or been
defeated.
Sacred Sites
High places are sacred to Wotanists, such
places being perceived as nearer to Asgard,
home of the Gods. Wotanist priests often set
up small altars at such places and make
offering there. Such a place that has seen
regular offerings for a century or more can
be considered to be sacred.
Christianity
"Christianity believes in a single God who
created the world and everything in it. Adam
and Eve were the first human beings, and
because they sinned, all of the world
became corrupted. Death was loosed upon
humanity, and evil became stronger than
good”
During the Roman times, God incarnated
himself as a human being, and after a short
life on Earth, allowed Himself to be killed by
being tortured and nailed to a cross. He was
buried, and after three days, he rose from
the dead and ascended into heaven.
He did this to fix the wrongs done by Adam
and Eve and to return sanctity to the world.
This sacrifice by God allowed humans to
obtain eternal salvation, and after death, to
join God in Heaven."
There are two main branches of Christianity
in the british isles, Byzantine Orthodox
christianity and Celtic christianity.
Celtic Christianity can best be summarised
as ‘Do as I do, not as I say’ and is very
earthy. Many celtic Christian prayers are
intended to be spoken when performing day
to day chores, for example a prayer may
have a rhythmn the same as milking a cow.
Celtic Christianity is very non-hierarchical
with a minimal formal priesthood where
respect is earnt not given as a virtue of
position.
Orthodox Christianity is the state religion of
the Byzantine Empire and is quite the
opposite of Celtic Christianity, it can be
summarised as ‘Do as I say, not as I do’.
It has a very strong hierarchical structure
where individuals are expected to defer to
those of higher rank just because they are of
higher rank and not because of any personal
qualities.
The celtic christian church is the major arm
of christianity in the British isles at present,
but the Byzantine orthodox church is
gradually making gains at its expense..
largely through its greater size and
resources.
The Holy Days
 Christmas—This celebrates Christ’s
birth. December 25. A day of Joyful
Celebration marked by the exchange
of gifts, attendance of Mass, and
much feasting.
 Lent—The forty day period of
albstinence before Lent. Fasting is
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common, and no meat is eaten on
Fridays, except fish. Typically, most
do their yearly confession during this
period
 Good Friday—The Friday before
Easter. Commemorates Christ’s
death.
 Easter—Celebrates Christ’s
Resurrection. Falls sometime in
March or April. Everyone goes to
Mass and has a big feast afterwards.
No Easter Eggs, yet.
 Pentecost—40 days after Easter.
Another holy day of obligation.
Commemorates the coming of the
Holy Spirit to the Apostles.
 Saint’s days—Vary by location,
dedicated to local saints.
Saints
The Christian religion has a habit of
honouring its martyrs (and others) as Saints
upon their death. Generally speaking one or
more miraculous events are attributed to a
Saint, which is what qualifies them for
“sainthood”.
Sacred Sites
Christian sacred sites tend to be churches
and graveyards, or the burial places of saints
or other very holy figures. The sites of
martyrdoms to the church are also
considered sacred.
The Sacraments
Sacraments are the rituals of the Christian
faith.
 Baptism—Initiates you into the faith,
often performed on infants.
 First Communion/Communion—First
receipt of Communion, around age
eight. You have to confess all mortal
sins before you go to Communion.
Many people take it once a year, at
Easter. Bread and Wine.
 Confession—Confess your sins to a
priest. You must go to confession
once a year, at least, during Lent.
 Confirmation—Marks your adulthood
entrance into full membership in the
church
 Marriage—What God has joined, let
 no man put asunder.
 Holy Orders—On entrance into the
priesthood
 Extreme Unction/Sacrament of the
sick—Anointing of the sick for
recovery and/or to prepare them for
death.

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The Darkness
Every religion has it's Dark side. The pit, to languish there for ever.
Darkness is not a specific religion as such, Lucifer now seeks to bring his legions of
more of a philosophy devoted to gaining demons into the World, to claim it as his own
power for one-self at the expense of others. domain. Because God has given mankind
Followers of the Darkness tend to revere the freewill he will not interfere if Lucifer
appropriate God, or Gods, of their native succeeds in this, resulting in an ongoing
religion. For example: conflict between the Diabolists (worshippers
of Lucifer) and everybody else in the World.
Culture Dark God(s) Hell is deep below the ground of the
Otherworld but, bounded by Gods power, no
Celtic Arawn Demon or creature of evil can leave Hell
Saxon Loki without assistance from outside.
Religio-Romana Pan
Cat
Christian Lucifer
Picts Cat (but see detailed The Samlaidh cannot really be judged by the
notes later) same standards as the anthropomorphic
gods of the other religions, being beasts
rather than man. Of all the Pictish Samlaidh
The rites for each god may differ but the
Cat is the nearest to what could be
general principles remain the same.
considered “evil”, with it's propensity to play
Followers of the darkness tend to gather in
with it's prey, behaviour which humans
covens, with a coven comprising mainly
perceive as cruelty. To this end it's difficult
members of one culture revering one god,
to place Cat in with the other Dark Gods.
but it is not unusual for covens to revere
Cat's followers can exhibit behaviours which
several gods.
others perceive as cruel and “evil”, but
which they just consider to be part of the
Aims natural order.

The aims of the followers of Darkness are

simple. Place yourself in positions of
Loki
authority, create chaos and conflict which
Loki is the Saxon trickster God and lord of
will result in the current order collapsing and
deception. Loki is perhaps not as “evil” as
then take control, turning the world into a
his fellow Dark Gods, but none the less his
paradise for you and your allies and hell for
worshippers seek to cause chaos and discord
everyone else.
wherever they can.

Sacred Sites Pan

Sacred sites are places where much blood
Pan is the Roman god of madness and
has been shed and/or great suffering has
sudden terror. It is an old God, a spirit of the
occurred. They are usually hidden or
deep woods and dark places. The rites of
shunned places, often deep in the woods or
Pan involve drinking, dancing and mad
underground, away from the prying eyes of
orgiastic celebration, with the celebrants
others.
debasing themselves and acting like beasts.
Pan has strong associations with elder
Lucifer beasts and other such nightmares.
Diablists revere the Christian Devil, known
by various names including Lucifer, Satan Arawn
and the Devil. The Devil was originally an
Angel, cast down into the pit of Hell by God. As discussed in the Pagan religious section,
Lucifer Morningstar and a faction of the Arawn seeks to build an army of the dead
Angels strove to over-turn the Heavenly who will bring him victory over the Dagda
order, to take the throne of Heaven. They and the rulership of the Pagan pantheon.
were cast out of Heaven by God and into the

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Spirits
As described in the section on spirits, when a
mortal dies their spirits leaves the body and
travels to the appropriate resting place on
the spirit realm. The spirits of the followers
of the Dark Gods automatically transmigrate
to their realms. In addition Demons are able
to trap the departing spirits of those they kill
and drag them to Hell with them. If the soul
doesn't wish to go to hell an opposed roll is
appropriate, using the Demons dice against
traits such as Strong Willed. Most of the Dark
Gods tread a fine line between encouraging
their followers to die, harvesting their spirits,
and recruiting new followers to the religion.
Dark Assistance
Elder Beasts
Pan is a very old God, a God of the dark and
hidden places of the world. Many strange
beasts worship him in these places and he
often sends such hideous things to serve
and protect his worshippers.
The Wolves of Loki
The Fenrir wolf is a terrifying creature bound
in chains by the Saxon Gods, to be released
at Ragnarok.. the end of the world. Loki is
“allied” to the wolf and will sometimes send
it's lesser offspring to protect his
worshippers. The Wolves of Loki are much
like the Were-creatures created by the
Lemurians.

One area in which the Dark Gods differ from Covens

the more conventional religions is in the
Gods willingness to offer direct assistance to The worshippers of the Dark organise
their followers, usually by sending them themselves into covens. Covens are
minions to protect and serve covens. discussed in more detail in the Fianna
chapter.
The Legions of Hell
Lucifer has an army of unearthly creatures
at his command. His followers are often able
to open temporary gateways to allow these
creatures into the World, usually to assist
them in some way or other.
• Demons: the fallen Angels, Lucifers army
which attempted to take the throne of
Heaven. After untold aeons in Hell these
angels are twisted, evil and spiteful
creatures... motivated by a hatred for all
things good and decent.
• Demonic Essences: A demonic essence
is the spirit of a demon with no physical
form attached. Essences are easier to
summon, but must possess a host form.
• Demon Princes: the Demon Princes are
the most powerful Demons, Satans
lieutenants. Demon princes can very
rarely leave Hell.

The Undead
Arawn often sends spirits from his armies to
inhabit the bodies of the dead in the World,
creating undead creatures which serve his
will, and the will of his followers.

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The Otherworld
Everything that is, has been, and will be is
referred to as “Creation”. There are three
main places in creation; the First World, the
Otherworld and the Veil.
The First World is the world of mortal men,
our world... the world of land, sky and sea,
sunshine, wind, earth, waves and mortal
beings. This is the realm which you inhabit.
The Otherworld is a place of magic and
enchantment which lies beside the First
World separated by the Veil.
If the First World is best described as a place
of the body, the Otherworld is a place of the
Mind.
In some places the veil between the worlds
is weak and magic slips through, along with
creatures of the Otherworld and Mortals in
turn. It is quite common for unwary mortals
to find themselves in the Otherworld... and
for Otherworlders to slip through into our
realm.
The Atlanteans and Lemurians maintained
cordial relations with the denizens of the
Otherworld and built many sacred sites, such
as the great stone circles, which can act as
gateways to the Otherworld at the right time
of year and with the right spells.
As you wander, or is that wonder, further
from the settled lands of mortals, into the
wild woods and mysterious places of the
world the veil thins... and reality becomes
more fluid. You may find mysterious towers
or dungeons deep in the woods one day,
only to return the next and find them gone.
These areas where reality “slips” are
sometimes referred to as “being in the veil”..
not entirely in the First World, but also not
entirely slipped through into the the
Otherworld. The Veil is a truly mysterious
place... neither Otherworlder nor Mortal is
entirely at home there, although some
powerful enchanters make their homes in
the veil, along with strange beasts and
creatures of myth and legend. Unicorns do
not exist in the First World, but a Unicorn
may be found grazing a glade in the veil...
The First World
The First World is the “real world” of humans
and their ilk and information on this realm
forms the bulk of this book.
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The Otherworld
The Otherworld is a very strange place to
mortals. The reality of the First World is
static, the reality of the Otherworld is fluid,
dictated by it's inhabitants.
This difference manifests in many ways, for
example you might be standing an arctic
waste then take a step and be in a blazing
desert, the Otherworld does not dance to the
same tune as the First World.
Geography
The Otherworld does not have a
“Geography” as such, spatial relationships
constantly shift, but some features are
constants:
• Limbo: Between the Veil and the
Otherworld lies Limbo. When a spirit
ascends to the Otherworld it must pass
through limbo. Only the spirits of the
greatest people pass through Limbo to
their respective “heaven or hell”. Most
spirits simply stay in limbo, gradually
fading until no trace is left of their former
existence, at which point they are able to
reincarnate back into the body of a
newborn. Ysbryd and animal spirits also
enter limbo, again waiting there until they
have faded and are able to be reborn in
the First World again. Limbo is known by
many names. The Romans call it
Asphodel, a barren grey wasteland, the
Saxons know it as Hel.
• Asgard: Asgard is a number of great
halls which can be found high in a range
of mountains the Otherworld. Within
these halls the Saxon Gods feast and live,
accompanied by the spirits of the greatest
warriors. Near Asgard lies A place of ice,
darkness and cold, Nifleheim, Loki's
domain.
• Heaven and Hell: the Christian Heaven
and Hell. Heaven is in the “sky” of the
Otherworld, a place of soft music, clouds
and angels where the most virtuous
christian spirits reside. Hell is deep below
the ground of the Otherworld, a place of
flaming pits, demons and tortured souls,
often known as the Pit.
• The Eternal Fields: Much of the
Otherworld comprises great swathes of
fields who's terrain slowly shifts over
 time, hills rising and falling like great slow
waves, forests sprouting, vanishing and
moving. The Pagan Gods live on the
eternal plain, except for Arawn who's
kingdom, the Land of the Dead, lies below
the surface in great, dark underground
caverns.
• The Great Forest: The Great Forest is
the domain of the Samlaidh and where
powerful Ysbryd travel to from Limbo. It is
a quiet place, stable and secure, an island
of safety in the often chaotic Otherworld.
The spirits of the most powerful Heathens
travel to the great forest to reside upon
their death.
• The fields of Elysium: Home of the
Roman Gods, where they live in splendid
villas and great temples.
• The Lands of the Tuatha: Each of the
Tuatha Lords and Ladies has their own
lands within the Otherworld which reflect
their personality and desires.
• The Wave Kingdoms of the
Fomorians: Like the Tuatha, each of the
Fomorians has their own domain, below
the waves.
The Land of the Otherworld
The land of the Otherworld is inhabited by
the Faeries, Spirits, Gods and other strange
creatures. It can be reached through
gateways which are scattered throughout
the mortal land, existing in both the First
World and the Otherworld simultaneously.
Such gateways are usually found in wild
places such as deep woods, desolate
hilltops, mountainous valleys etc… Most
gateways have been marked by the ancients
with stone circles, menhirs and such like.
It is also possible to slip into the Otherworld
by accident by passing through the veil.
Most gateways can be opened by anyone
possessing a Magical trait (typically at DIFF
10) and can be passed through from either
direction, although some are one-way only.
Some gateways can only be opened at
certain times of the year (eg.. equinoxes,
nights of the full moon) or open themselves
at such time without interference.
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Otherworld creatures sometimes wander
through gates and may be encountered in
the area around the gate.. where they will
tend to stay in the hope of returning home.
Gates can be a quick, but risky, way to
travel. Open a gate, enter the Otherworld,
walk or ride to a gate near your destination
in the First World then return. If you are
lucky the time shifting effect will work in
your favour.
The Veil
The Veil is a place which exists between the
land of the Otherworld and the First World. It
is a place where the rules of neither realm
are dominant. The veil is most often entered
by accident, by travellers lost in the deep
woods or wild places of either realm, far
from “civilisation”.
Time in the Otherworld
The temporal relationship between the First
World and the Otherworld is somewhat
strange. Sometimes a character may enter
the Otherworld, spend days there, then
return to find minutes have passed and at
other times they may spend a few minutes
there to find days have passed in the First
World. The flow of time in the land of the the
Otherworld is quite variable in relation to the
flow of time in the other lands. If a character
enters the land of the Otherworld roll 1d10
to determine how much time passes in the
other worlds for every hour spent in the land
of the Otherworld for that particular visit:
2d6 Time Passed in the First World
for every hour in the
Otherworld
2 Seconds
3-5 Minutes
6-8 Hours
9 Days
10 Weeks
11 Months
12 Years
In the case of a party, roll once for the whole
party.
Denizens of the Otherworld
The Otherworld is populated by a variety of
denizens, including:
• Spirits: The spirits of the dead and of
destroyed inanimate objects. Most spirits
are to be found in Limbo, with some of
the more powerful ones residing with
their respective Gods.
• Samlaidh: The samlaidh are the
representative spirits of species of
animals. They dwell in the Great Forest
and each Samlaidh watches over a single
Pictish tribe.
• Demons: The supernatural servants of
Lucifer. Demons cannot leave Hell without
the assistance of an outsider.
• Gods: The Gods dwell in various places in
the Otherworld as discussed above.
• Faerie: The Tuatha, Fomorians and their
servants, the Seelie Fae and Unseelie Fae
respectively. Of all the denizens of the
Otherworld the seelie and unseelie fae are
those most likely to be encountered in the
First World.
More detailed information on these denizens
can be found in the Allies and Opponents
section.
The Politics of the
Otherworld
The Gods and their followers tend to keep
themselves to themselves and the spirits
are, on the whole, incapable of coherent
action. The only active political factions are
the Tuathan and the Fomorians.
The Otherworld civilisation of the Tuatha
peaked millenia before humans had even
crawled out of the caves. In the distant past
the Fae walked the First World with
impunity, helping, and hindering primitive
mortals, and often interbreeding with them.
The Blood are the descendants of these
ancient unions, mortals with a touch of Fae
blood. The Fae have never been creative or
innovative, instead they are imitative and
relatively static in their ways. As humans
evolved and developed civilisations the Fae
gradually retreated to their own realm,
spending more and more time in the
magnificant the Otherworld castles and deep
barrows.
One of the characteristics of the Fae is
mutability, the idea of static shapes and
forms is quite strange to the Fae who
naturally change shape and appearance with
astonishing ease and regularity.
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The Fae can be divided into two major
groups, physically, mentally and culturally
quite discrete. The Tuatha are the tall elf like
beings who inhabit the land. The Fomorians
are giant misshapen creatures who live in
great castles below the waves.
The Tuatha and Fomorians fight an unending
war, the detailed reasons for this war have
long since been lost in the mists of time,
although it is known that originally the
Tuatha were the ruling faction of the Fae
whilst the Fomorians were the warrior caste.
The Fomorians became tired of following
orders and rebelled against the Tuatha, but
were defeated and driven into the sea. Ever
since the Fomorians have sat on their
thrones of bone in their mighty castles below
the waves, plotting and dreaming of the day
when they will destroy the Tuatha and take
their position in the sun again.
The Tuatha
The Tuatha are the tall, elegant, beautiful,
arrogant, powerful and bored rulers of the
Fae lands. They inhabit ostentatious castles
and palaces spread across the land, floating
in the sky or burrowed into the ground,
depending on their individual whimsy. There
are, perhaps, a thousand Tuatha in the fae
realm, each with their own castle and hosts
of lesser fae servants. The Tuatha are ruled
by a king and queen, and much of their
social life revolves around the royal court
and its romances, intrigues and
entertainments.
The Tuatha are masters of glamours and
enchantment and spend much of their time
entertaining each other in their homes or at
court. Each Tuatha is a law unto themselves
in terms of personality and style, with the
ability to change anything they wish and
control the minds of those around them,
they tend to shape their personal lands into
whatever they wish. It is entirely possible to
be in blazing sunshine in one land, then step
across the border into the lands of another
Tuatha lord and be plunged into an arctic
winter. Some Tuatha occupy themselves
with romances and intrigues with their
neighbours and the court, some still travel to
the First World to seek entertainment from
the mortals and others choose to entertain
themselves by fighting the Fomorians. It is
possible that, one day, all the Tuatha may
lose interest in the war with the Fomorians
and the Fomorians will sweep to victory on
the back of the sheer indolence of the
Tuatha.
The Fomorians
The Fomorians were originally bred by the
Tuatha as warriors. They are ugly and
mishshapen giants, possessed of astonishing
strength and prowess in battle. Following
their unsuccessful coup attempt the
Fomorians were driven into the sea by the
Tuatha and now they bide their time there in
giant castles below the waves. There are a
few hundred Fomorians, less in number than
the Tuatha. The Fomorians are obsessed
with defeating the Tuatha, to the
exceptional of everything else, a mono-
mania which the Tuatha now find amusing.
Each Fomorian is served by host of lesser
Fae which obeys its commands and whims.
The Fomorians are constantly struggling
against the Tuatha, organising raids and
operations to unseat their enemies.
The Lesser Fae
The Tuatha and the Fomorians are the
aristocracy of the Otherworld. Below them
lie hordes of lesser the Otherworlds of all
manner of shapes and forms. These lesser
the Otherworlds can be divided into the
servants of the Fomorians, dark twisted
creatures, and the servants of the Tuatha.
The Fae Mind
In order to understand, if such is possible for
a mortal, the mind of the Fae consider that
they are immortal, spiritless and mutable of
form. Immortality quickly breeds boredom
and malaise, so the Fae spend much of their
time seeking entertainment and sensation.
This is one of the reasons they come to the
First World, finding the antics of mortals
entertaining.
Most Fae are mischevious, the Tuatha and
their servants are not generally malicious
though. Although their idea of humour can
be humiliating and painful to mortals it is
rarely fatal, and a particularly entertaining
mortal may even receive a boon or reward
for the pleasure they have given.
The Fomorians, on the other hand, are fixed
of form. They still suffer the malaise of
immortality and they and their servants take
their pleasure in the pain of others,
torturing, murdering and generally wreaking
havoc purely for enjoyment.
The Tuatha are generally possessed of short
attention spans and rarely engage in any
kind of long term strategy or thought, as
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opposed to the Fomorians who enjoy
brooding over complex plans and strategies.
Fomorians often work with the forces of Evil,
finding a mutual interest in evil and
destruction.
The Tuatha do take pleasure in the love and
adoration of mortals though and it is not
uncommon for them to come to the First
World to seduce mortals, often resulting in
blooded mortals.
The End of the Stalemate?
For millenia the war has raged between
Tuatha and Fomorians or, more precisely,
the Fomorians have ceasely and futilely
attacked the Tuatha. But now the tide may
have turned. The Fomorians have begun to
strengthen their alliance with the Dark.
The Tuatha are, by their nature, too prone to
flights of fancy and change to ally
themselves with the Light.
A deadly “alliance” of the Fomorians and the
Dark cults of the First World has been forged
and is now working towards achieving
ultimate victory.
At this time the existence of this threat has
not fully been realised by the forces of Good,
and only the Fianna in the First World is
starting to understand the events around
them and their possible consequences.
In addition, the seals of the Atlantean
remnants are beginning to weak, and soon
weapons of unprecedented power may be
loosed on both worlds.
Adventures in the
Otherworld
The Otherworld is a truly astonishing place,
reality is fluid there, set by the will of the
dominant Tuatha (or Fomorian) Lord or Lady
in the land you are in. As mentioned
previously it is quite possible to wander into
the Otherworld without realising it. You may
be trudging through a marsh and encounter
a mysterious tower which is not there when
you wake the next day, or when you return
to try and find it again.
Dreaming and the
Otherworld
Sometimes the spirit of a sleeping person
detaches from their body and slips into the
Otherworld. Some people can achieve such a
feat with a conscious effort, using a process
known as Lucid dreaming. Their spirit self
slips through the veil and limbo to travel as
it will in the Otherworld.
For this reason the Otherworld is often
referred to as the “Dreaming”.
Normally such dream journeys present no
real risk to an individual, if any trouble is
encountered the spirit is almost instantly
snapped back into the body (ever woken
sweating from a nightmare....) before any
harm can befall it. The spirits of most
dreamers rarely venture far beyond Limbo
anyway, just slipping into the nearest edges
of the Eternal Fields.. a relatively safe place
in the Otherworld.
The Nature of Spirits
Everything has a spirit, from the smallest
beetle to the largest mountain.
In unintelligent “things” the spirit lies
quiescent in its natural form (unawakened)
and cannot be interacted with.
In intelligent things the spirit has been
awakened and is the mind. An intelligent
creature has a degree of self awareness
which is lacked by those things with an
unawakened spirit.
There are various kinds of spirit:
Gods: Gods are a type of spirit, although
immensely powerful. A God is the
manifestation of faith by a large number of
intelligent beings, given form and shape in
the spirit realm. Gods can move freely
between the worlds and are possessed of
astonishing powers.
Unawakened Spirits: Unawakened spirits
are the natural spirits of everything, be it an
object, animal, person, plant etc...
Unawakened spirits cannot be caused to
manifest from their body, they are only freed
when the mortal body is destroyed (or dies).
The mind of mortals are the manifestations
of their spirits and the spheres of Mind,
Animal and Plant all work by compelling
obedience from the spirit4.
Ysbryd: Awakened Spirits, also known as
4 In the world of Samlaidh the mind and
spirit are one in the same. The spirit
manifests in intelligent beings as the
mind. In animals and plants the spirit is
not manifest as a mind and as such
animals, objects and plants are driven
solely by instinct.
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Genius Loci. Powerful magics and unusual
circumstances can sometimes awaken the
spirit of an animal, plant or object..
effectively imbuing that object with a mind
of it's own. In the case of animals the animal
is now as intelligent as a normal human and
can speak, if it wishes. In the case of plants
the spirit can observe it's surroundings,
control its physical form (eg.. a tree can
wave it's branches around) and may choose
to manifest in a corporeal or non-corporeal
form (Dryads are the awakened spirits of
tree's manifested in physical form). The
awakened spirits of objects are usually
called elementals and can cause their
physical form to change shape, move around
and so on. The object is discrete in form, so
a lake could be awakened and the whole
lake would be an elemental (the lady of the
lake is a common manifestation of a water
elemental, the elemental shapes some part
of itself into a watery body), a boulder could
be awakened as an elemental and so on.
Even a fire can be awakened, creating a fire
elemental. A storm or other weather
phenomena can be awakened as an air
elemental. An awakened spirit is as
intelligent as a man, although it's personality
will usually reflect its physical form, for
example:
• Tree's are slow and considered.
• Animals behave as one of their ilk would
expect, for example an awakened hound
is helpful and friendly to humans, a cat is
cruel and malicious.
• Rocks are stolid and uncommunicative.
• Water is deep and mysterious.
• Wind is light and playful with a very short
attention span.
• Fire is temperamental and easily angered.
Atharta: Atharta are ancestor spirits, the
spirits of the dead. Atharta do not fade over
time on the spirit plane, instead they have
dedicated themselves to watch over their
descendants. The Numina are able to use
Dark Arts to consult with Atharta to seek
advice and wisdom.
Lares & Disir: The Lares (romano-british
term) and Disir (Saxon term) are the
awakened spirits of a house of estate. They
watch over the inhabitants of that house or
estate, even when they are some distance
away.
Wyrd: Wyrd are spirits of luck and change.
They are very powerful, as powerful as the
most mighty Gods. The wyrd are not usually
worshipped specifically, but instead
generally revered by everyone. Wyrd can
effect the probabilities of events occurring
and their outcomes. The Saxon Seidkohna
possess a form of magic which lets them
commune with the Wyrds to try and twist
fate and chance as they see fit.
Samlaidh: The Samlaidh are the
quintessential spirits of animals. Each
species has it's own Samlaidh. Samlaidh are
sometimes referred to as “Beast Gods”. The
Heathen religion is based on the reverence
of these spirits and each Pictish clan has an
allied Samlaidh.
Demons: Demons are evil spirits from the
Christian Hell. They are motivated by pure
evil and wish only to cause as much harm
and chaos as they can. Demons can either
manifest in corporeal forms, when
summoned by Diabolists, or possess host
forms (which can be anything, from humans
to dogs to tree to buildings).
Ghosts:Ghosts are a special kind of Atharta.
Sometimes, when someone dies with some
great weight on them (such as a task they
have not finished or some great feeling of
guilt) their spirit cannot leave the First
World. In such a case the spirit becomes
trapped in the First World as a ghost. Ghosts
normally only manifest at night. A ghost will
usually beg, bully or entreat any mortals
that encounter it to help lift its burden. The
only way to get rid of a ghost is to lift its
burden. It can be dispersed by enchanted
attacks or magic but whatever you do it will
return the next night. Many Ghosts are also
able to lay Gea's on characters (and counter-
spells will not stop or dispel such a gea's).
The Gea's will be to lift the Ghosts burden,
and any signficant diversion from that end
will result in the usual penalty for breaking
your Gea's. Once the burden has been lifted
the Gea's is also lifted and the Ghost leaves.
Ghosts usually manifest in incorporeal forms,
but can possess and even, rarely, manifest
in corporeal forms.
Manifestation
As already mentioned, some spirits can
manifest separately to their body or form.
This should not be confused with the ability
of many awakened spirits to control their
form (such as the Ysbryd of a tree using its
branches to attack someone).
The most common forms of manifestation
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are:
Corporeal Manifestation
Not very common, and usually only spirits of
8d or more are capable at all of corporeal
manifestation. The spirit manifests in a
physical form which can move away from
the spirits physical body. A dryad is an
example of a corporeal manifestation. The
Ysbryd (awakened spirit) of a tree forms a
body and inhabits it, enabling it to travel
away from its own tree.
Incorporeal Manifestations
The spirit manifests as an image with no
physical form. It can communicate freely
with mortals and others. Ghosts are the
most common form of incorporeal
manifestation.
Possession
Some ghosts, and demons in incorporeal
form, are able to possess bodies or objects.
More information can be found in the
description of the possession special ability
in the monster section.
Spirits in Play
Spirits form an integral part of the world of
Samlaidh. Several spheres of magic work by
temporarily awakening sometimes spirit's to
obey a magicians command (the spheres of
plant, animal and elements) or by
commanding a spirits obedience (the sphere
of mind).
Spirits are also useful sources of information
and give the GM a way to guide player
behaviour in a way appropriate to the game
world.
Ghosts are an excellent way to get
characters into adventures. Ghosts will
usually try to appeal to a characters better
nature, but failing that will use a Gea's on
the character who they think it most
sympathetic to their cause.
Faeries and spirits
The Faeries have no spirit and they are
effectively immortal. When a Faerie dies
they vanish completely and a new Faerie is
quickened within the the Otherworld realm
to replace that which is lost. This “process”
seems to be a natural part of the magic of
the the Otherworld realm. The the
Otherworlds are truly a part of the realm.

Conflict between Gods

The Gods of a pantheon, or different
pantheons, do not often war overtly with one
another, but there is much rivalry between
certain Gods and others. This rivalry usually
manifests in the First World through
competition and conflict between the
various Gods worshippers.

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The Struggle
Two great wars are being fought across the
whole of Creation. In the First World the
battle is between the forces of Light & Dark
and in the Otherworld the war is between
the Tuatha and Fomorians. Most of the time
the wars are separate, but on occasion the
Fomorians take sides with the Darkness and
the Tuatha with the light.
The war between the Tuatha and Fomorians
is discussed in more detail in the Otherworld
section, but needless to say the Fomorians
have made little progress towards victory in
the last few millenia.
The War between Light & Dark in the First
World has raged for millenia also, with first
one side then the other gaining advantage,
but never enough to decisively defeat the
other. To a degree the war is a secret war,
with only a relatively few knowing the details
of the battles that are being fought and
being aware of the full scope of the conflict.
The Champions of the Light in the British
Isles are the Fiann, members of the Fianna
(player characters in Samlaidh).
In the lands of the Byzantine empire the
paladins of the Blessed Order of St.Sebastian
and the Inquisitors of the Byzantine
Orthodox Church hold the bulwark against
the Darkness.
The battle is largely fought in the shadows
and dark places of the First World, out of
view of the great kingdoms and powers of
the world and the common people. The
battlegrounds are the hearts and minds of
the common man and victory will go to
whichever side can sway the people.
The agents of the Dark are the Covens,
groups of individuals faithful to the Darkness
for a myriad of reasons, who seek to
promote the desires of their Gods. The Dark
appeals to the negative emotions and
desires of the people, nurturing the seeds of
Darkness in all of us, selfishness, greed,
corruption, hatred, deceit and the like.
The champions of the Light fight to combat
both the Covens directly, rooting them out
and destroying them, and also opposing the
negatives they promote.
What is largely unknown to those not
directly involved in the conflict is it's scale,
they perceive only the occasional instance of
the conflict and rarely realise the true scale
of the battle being fought. Individuals that
do realise the scope may join the Fianna, or
become it's allies.
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The Loosing of the Seals
Recent events threaten to upset the balance
of power. The magical seals which were
placed on the stockpiles of Atlantean and
Lemurian weapons by the survivors of the
conflict are beginning to break down.
The magics used to protect the weapons are
of two types, overt magics which prevent
access to the Atlantean and Lemurian
stockpiles and subtle magics which cloud the
minds of anyone trying to find such places,
or examining records of their location.
With the gradual decay of these spells
scholars have began to find clues as to the
locations of some of the stockpiles,
apparently untranslateable texts are starting
to become understandable and so forth.
It is only a matter of time before someone
finds a stockpile and gains the use of the
weapons therein.
To this end the Dark and Light are engaged
in a race. The Light is seeking to find these
stockpiles so they can control them and
prevent the Darkness using them, whilst the
Darkness seeks to obtain and use the
weapons in their war. The Fomorians are
also engaged in the hunt, believing that
these weapons may be what they need to
finally vanquish their age old Foes the
Tuatha.
The Fianna
The Fianna began as an elite band of Gael
warriors, twenty seven in number, who were
sworn to protect the Gaels from invaders.
Over the centuries the order has enlarged to
hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of
members and spread its' coverage to all of
the British Isles. The most significant change
is to welcome members of any persuasion to
the Fianna's ranks, regardless of their
culture, religion or other backgrounds.
The Celtic Kingdoms
The Celtic Kingdoms respect and the support
the Fianna, and Fianna bands can expect
reasonable support from “official” forces
within Celtic kingdoms. Most Celtic chieftains
are more than ready to send warriors to help
a band, although the Fianna code frowns
upon a band calling upon “the weak” for
assistance. The Council takes the view that
Fiann are best equipped to deal with covens,
and that they should not bring others into
the fray unless absolutely necessary, as
those others are far less well prepared for
the hazards the Dark can wield.
This can cause friction, as politely telling,
even inferring, that any red blooded warrior
is too weak to participate in a battle is sure
grounds for a challenge to an honour battle..
something that Fiann are obliged to avoid.
With this in mind Bands often choose to
adopt a low-key approach to situations,
attempting not to draw undue attention to
themselves and not identifying themselves
as a band unless necessary.
The Saxon Kingdoms
Whilst individual Saxons may be Fiann,
who's going to miss the opportunities for
Glory that battling the Dark brings, the
Saxon kingdoms maintain a degree of
neutrality with the Fianna Council. Many
Saxon leaders consider the inference that
they cannot handle their own problems
highly insulting, making it difficult for bands
to operate in Saxon lands, although by no
means impossible.
The Gods
The Gods do not tend to directly intervene in
mortal affairs, instead they rely on their
agents amongst men to act for them. For
most Gods this means the priestly caste of
their religious and the faithful, for the Dark
Gods it includes that group and the
occasionally sending of a supernatural
servant of some shape or form, such as a
Demon or Elder beast.
The Faerie
The Faerie are largely unconcerned with the
trials and tribulations of men, and focus
instead on their own feasting, entertainment
and quarrels. The Fomorians do, from time
to time, ally themselves with the Darkness to
gain advantage over the Tuatha and
likewise, the Tuatha ally with the Light to
combat the Tuatha.. at least when they can
be bothered to.
The Picts
The Fiosaiche of the Picts follow the natural
order, and consider themselves above the
concepts of good and evil. In the long run
this will be to their detriment and the fianna
spends a lot of time and effort trying to bring
the Fiosaiche into the Order.. likewise the
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Darkness is attempting the same. Bands
operating in Pictish territory run the same
risks as anyone else, they are afforded no
special status or treatment.
The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire considers itself to be
more than adequately equipped to fight the
Darkness through its own forces, the
Paladins and Inquisitors, and there is little
co-operation with the Fianna. It is not
unusual for Fiann to find themselves
competing with Byzantine Paladins or
Inquisitors, sometimes productively and at
other times not.
The Byzantine orthodox christian church
fights the Dark through two factions, the
Inquisition and the Blessed Order of Saint
Benedict. The Inquisition was set up by the
Church around 400AD specifically to root out
heresy and the Darkness. The Blessed Order
traces it's roots back further and, whilst part
of the Church, maintains a degree of
independence.
Other Factions
There are a great many other factions
involved in the struggle and more details on
these can be found elsewhere.
Bands
Player characters are individuals members of
the Fianna, who have the title Fiann. A group
of Fiann form a Band of the Fianna,
motivated by their desire to defeat evil. The
Dark's version of Bands are covens. A Band,
or Coven, typically consists of four to eight
members.
The Ail
The Ail is a mystical mark which a character
receives when they first join the Fiann. The
Ail is a tattoo which is inscribed somewhere
on the character body and then hidden by a
simple, but powerful, spell. The character
can choose to make the Ail appear or
disappear at will. An Ail can be revealed by
anyone with a Magical trait by casting a DIFF
30 spell. The Ail serves as a way for a Fiann
to indicate their membership of the Fianna
and also acts as a focus for the Gair. The Ail
has an additional magical property:
• Improved Healing: Characters with an Ail
 heal 1 damage per day (normally damage
heals at 1pt per week).
The Council
The Fianna comprises the Bands' and the
Council. The Council governs the Fianna as a
whole, issuing instructions to the Band's,
acts as a gatherng place for information and
intelligence and manages relations with
other factions. The Council comprises a
dozen members and around a hundred
functionaries who support its activities.
Membership of the council is by invitation
only, with a new member being invited to
join as an existing one retires or dies. Only
the best and brightest of the Band's
members are invited to join the council (in
game terms most Council members have 7
or 8d in their primary trait). The Council
tends to move every year, usually moving
from kingdom to kingdom. Normally the
council stays within Celtic kingdoms but, on
occasion, it will spend time in Saxon
kingdoms.
The Fianna Code
Members of the Fianna are bound to follow a
simple code of conduct:
• Loyalty to all Celts and your fellow
fianna.
• Respect and Honour seers, druids, and
wisdoms.
• Respect and Honour the Law.
• Respect and Honour holy places,
shrines, burial cairns, vaults and
tombs.
• Provide hospitality to any who ask or
need.
• Aid the weak and unprotected.
• Defend the weak and unprotected.
• Set aside all personal and clan
differences, you have but one family
and clan, the Fianna.
Minor infringements of the code are, on the
whole, overlooked, but major infringements
should be dealt with. Normally a Band is
expected to police it's own members in the
case of a significant violation of the code,
but if they refuse to sanction a member who
breaks the code the Council may send
another Band, or more, to enforce any
required sanctions agreed by the Council.
Normal sanctions are:
1. First major infringement of the code: A
formal reprimand
2. Second major infringement of the code:
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Suspension. The character is banished
from the Hearth for a season (three
months).
3. Third major infringement of the code:
Suspension. The character is banished
from the Hearth for a year and a day.
4. Fourth major infringement of the code:
Suspension. The character is banished
from the Hearth until they are considered
to have earned the right to return,
through appropriate deeds.
5. Fifth major infringement of the code:
Expusion from the Fianna.
The Three Paths
A key component of the Fianna's strategy
against the Darkness is the creation of
heroes. Fiann are expected to conduct
themelves in “heroic” ways, exhibiting
positive virtues which create respect and,
hopefully, encourage others to emulate their
behaviour.
Band Relations with the
Fianna Council
Bands operate on a semi-freelance basis.
Between missions from the council they tend
to act on their initiative, often for personal
gain or other reasons. In this way not all
adventures have to revolve around fighting
the forces of Darkness, they can often
involve local politics, treasure hunts,
mercenary work or other activities.
Band Organisation
Each Band may organise itself as it wishes.
Some Band's elect a single leader and run
along military styles, others are collectives
with every member having a say in ever
decision and others adopt a mix of these
styles.
The Gair
The Gair is the call to arms for a Band. Any
member of the band can issue a Gair, a
spiritual call to the other members. The Gair
manifests as omens and happenings in the
environment which members of the Band
understand to be a call. All a Gair does is call
the members to the Hearth. The Gair is also
the method by which the Council usually
communicates with Fiann, sending them
dreams.
The Eachdraidh
The history of the band is known as the
Eachdraidh. When bands meet it is typical to
feast and for each band to recite it's
Eachdraidh to the other by way of an
introduction.
Communications
Communications from the Fianna council to
the Band's are normally via dreams, or
directly from messengers. Dreams can be
very direct, particulary when events of great
importance are in the offing, but are often
very vague and cryptic.. often causing
confusion amongst Fiann.
At the end of each month roll 1d6 once to
see if the Council has assigned any missions
to the Band for that next season:
d6 Missions
1-3 No mission next month
4-5 Optional mission next month: The
Order has concerns about events and
you are asked to investigate and act
as appropriate. If you cannot, or
choose not to, another Band can be
sent.
6 Critical mission next month: The
Order needs you to intervene urgently
in a developing situation. You are
either the only Band near enough to
take action, or have the specific mix
of talents needed to handle the
situation.
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Band Resources
Each Band may have one or more resource
dice pools. These represent resources
invested in, and shared by, a Band's
members and may be used by anyone
during play. Once a dice has been used it is
lost from the pool until the start of the next
session, when all the pools replenish. These
dice are extra trait dice, but no more than
one can be used on any given roll.
• Sgil (Skill): Extra trait dice for physical
type actions (including stealth and
combat)
• Aithne(Knowledge): Extra trait dice for
knowledge type actions.
• Mur (Influence): Extra trait dice for
social situations.
• Syn (Magic): Extra trait dice for magical
type actions.
• Toic (Resources): each dice yields 100
silvers per month to be spent as the Band
see's fit.
A new Band begins play with three dice to
allocate between pools as they see fit (for
example, a new Band could begin with Gym
3d, or Gym 2d and Library 1d or any other
combination of three dice).
Whenever a member of the band gains an
extra trait dice from their Renown they get a
dice to add to one of the Bands pool as they
see fit.
The Hearth
The Hearth is the physical base of the a
Band. Members of a Band do not necessarily
live at their Hearth, but those who live away
do no normally maintain a close proximity to
it.
When a Band is first created characters
should decide on the location of it's Hearth
(for the initial campaign the Band should be
located in Aldbridge). The precise details of a
Bands location are up to the members, some
examples of Band locations:
• A town-house
• In the cellars below the town
• A cave in the woods or hills
• A villa near the edge of the town
If any of the members have Magic traits the
Band location may be magical in some way,
agree this with the GM, but some examples
might be:
• A bubble of air below a lake, created by
Elemental magic.
• A small building protected by Mind
magics to hide it's location.
• A wooded grove shaped by Nature magic.
Use your imagination. The physical
quarterers of a Band are large enough to
encompass it's resources, house the
members and have a little space over for
rest and recreation. Each Band has several
servants/slaves who attend to it in the
members absence. If any Band member is a
priest they can consecrate a room in the
Hearth as holy ground.. it is not appropriate
to consecrate the whole Hearth.

Loss of the Hearth

The loss of a Band's Hearth is a serious affair
and should be the result of an adventure,
not just a GM inspired occurrence. The only
forces that are likely to attack a Band's
Hearth are a Coven, and/or it's allies,
seeking revenge for prior events and they
are likely to take over the Hearth rather than
just destroying them. If a Band does lose it's
Hearth, dice invested in shared resources
are not lost, they simply become unusable
until new Hearth have been built. Roll 1d6 to
see how long it takes to find a new site and
rebuild:
1d6 Months
1-3 Two
4-5 Four
6 Six

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The Order of Dark
Covens
The main agents of the Darkness in the First
World are the covens. Covens can be seen
as the Darknesses equivalent of the Bands of
the Fianna.
They lack the formal organisation of the
Fianna, having no formal central council or
authority to answer to, but powerful covens
do often collaborate on specific projects.
This lack of formal structure is somewhat
made up for by the more active support of
the Dark Gods.
Covens range from groups of amateur
meddlers who perform the occasional
drunken black mass, to groups of very
Notorious characters with supernatural
support, such as Demons or Elder beasts.
Coven members are not bound together by
loyalty, but by sharing a common goal.
Coven members spend much of their time
plotting against one another.
Infamy
Coven members do not possess Renown.
Instead they have an equivalent attribute
called Infamy. Infamy has the same effect as
Renow, giving additional trait dice and lives
to characters. Members of covens follow
different paths to members of the Fianna.
Infamy and these paths are discussed in
more detail in the Blood, Swords and Sorcery
A traditional Black Altar
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supplement.
Black Altars
Every coven possess a black altar. This need
not be a large stone block (the traditional
black altar) and may be a place, an item or
just about anything you can imagine. The
Black Altar serves as a focus for the Coven
and stores Darkness for the coven.
This Darkness acts like the resource dice of a
Fiann Band, but it is not differentiated into
separate pools. A Black Altar begins with 3d,
and gains one dice for each extra trait dice
gained by a Coven member through
increases in Infamy.
To destroy a black altar is a DIFF 20 action
and if the altar is destroyed the coven
members lose the use of the Darkness
stored in it until they can obtain a new altar
(which takes d6 months).
The link to the Altar is very powerful for
individual coven members and destruction of
the altar is a significant psychological blow
to the coven, almost certainly driving them
away from the area they are in, and possible
even destroying the coven itself.
Character Generation

Illustration 1: An elf-blooded Scout, Celtic Warrior, Hermetic Mage and a dwarf-blooded Vola

Creating a Character
To create a character work through the following five steps.

1. Choose (or roll) your culture.

2. Choose or roll your sex (1-3 male, 4-6 female)
3. Choose a religion from those eligible to your culture.
4. Choose a kingdom from those eligible for your culture.
5. Choose a Tribe if you are Pictish or Celtic, a Great House if you are Romano-British or a Clan
if Saxon. The possible choices are limited by your choice of Kingdom.
6. Roll d66 four times (or choose) to get four traits. One is at 4d, two are at 3d and one is at 1d
(you can either allocate the dice after rolling, or roll them in the listed order, so the first roll
is your 2d trait, second 1d and so on). If you roll a trait twice roll again, except for the
Magician trait, when you may choose a different tradition each time.
7. Every character then receives a free 2d trait named after their culture (eg.. Picts get Pict
2d, Celts get Celt 2d, Romano-British get Romano-British 2d, Byzantines get Byzantine
2d and Saxons get Saxon 2d)
8. Come up with a signature for each trait and note it down.
9. Roll once on the Boons and Banes table if you wish. Alternatively you may discard one or two
of your 3d traits and instead choose one or two boons from the boons and banes table OR
you may choose one Boon and allow the GM to choose one Bane for you.

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10.Your starting age is anywhere from 21 to 40 (the exact number is your choice unless
prescribed otherwise by a result on the boon and banes table).
11.Fiann begin play with 10 Renown (and hence two Lives).
12.Choose one Virtue from those available to your culture, one from those available to your
religion, one from the Fianna row and any one other, for a total of four different virtues.
13.Everyone begins play with the following basic equipment:
• Normal clothes
• Travelling Kit- Waterskin, 30 yards weak rope, basic clothes, hatchet, hammer, tarpaulin,
fish hooks, fishing line, sack, bandages, cooking things, flint, whetstone and steel, bedroll,
torch etc.. all in a backpack.
• Dagger (sharp, +1d in combat)
• 250 silvers (which can be used all or in part to buy other starting equipment).
14.Once every character has been created it is time to create the bands hearth, follow these
steps:
1. Split three dice between the Hearths five shared resource pools.
2. Decide on the Hearths location.

Character Names
The description of each culture given previously explains how character names should be
constructed, but this is a brief summary for each culture:
• Romano-British Men:{Praenomen}{Nomen}{Cognomen}{House Name
• Romano-British Women:{Praenomen}{Nomen}{House Name}
• Byzantine: {Praenomen}{Nomen}{Cognomen}
• Celtic: {First Name} {Surname} of the {Tribe Name}
• Pictish: {given name} map {mother's name} {Tribe} child
• Saxon: {First Name} {Surname or Descriptor} of the {Clan Name}

Signatures
Every facet of a character should have a signature (this includes all your traits, including
culture, your religion, your path and any boons or banes you have where it is relevant). A
signature is a single word or short phrase which describes that facet of your character to
outsiders. A signature is something that other people can see which indicates that you have
that trait.
For example, a character has Fighter(3d) as a trait. They decide their signature is “well used
weapons”. Whenever anyone looks at them they see the well used weapons, a hint that the
character may be able to look after themselves if things get dicey.
The traits table gives some example signatures for each trait, just to give you some ideas.

Signature Bonuses and Penalties

Signatures generally shouldn't give bonuses or penalties to rolls, that is what supporting traits
are for. Consider a signature to be for information only.

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Cultures
Each character has a 2d trait for their culture. The table below gives you the possible cultural
traits and some example signatures for each one:
1d6 Culture Example Signatures
1 Pict Slim, medium height, dark haired, not comfortable in towns, respectful of
wildlife, ruthless, respectful of women, tattooed, wears little clothing,
always on edge, doesn't talk much, shaved or half shaved head, very long
hair
2* British Celt Brown haired, heavy build, medium height, brown eyes, fierce, vengeful,
quick to judge others, wears woad paint on skin
2* Cymric Celt Dark haired, short and stocky, quiet, watches others a lot, very protective
of clan, tries not to draw attention to oneself, likes mountains
2* Cornish Celt Dark haired, moderate build, medium height, tight fisted, chooses words
carefully, always on the look out for a bargain or profit, friendly but
shallow to non-Cornish people, distrustful of non-Cornish, wise
2* Gaelic Celt Red haired, green eyes, moderate build, medium height, lilting voice,
outspoken, lustful, hedonistic, fiery temper, welcoming to newcomers,
loves to swap stories, great respect for craftsmen, wears jewellery
(particularly torcs)
3 Saxon Heavily Built, Tall, Long blonde hair, big beard, piercing blue eyes, bulging
muscles, hearty laugh, boisterous, boastful, drinks like a fish, loves the
water and sailing
4** Byzantine Dignified, uses long words, respectful of women, avoids physical labour,
Male Dark haired, In good shape, Tall, wears plain but good quality clothing
4** Byzantine Honourable, Dark haired, Tall and athletic, authoritative manner, expects
Female others to do what she says, haughty manner, doesn't tend to respect
mens opinions, not afraid to muck in with dirty jobs, tends to wear little
clothing but what she is wearing is armour
5 Romano- Arrogant, a little overweight, condescending, doesn't trust anyone
British (especially own family), dark haired, medium height, always watching for
weaknesses in others, well dressed, into ostentatious displays of wealth
6 Choose or roll again
2* Roll 1d6 to determine what kind of Celt: 1-2 British, 3-4 Cymric, 5 Cornish, 6 Gaelic. British
Celts are also known as Britons, Cymric Celts as Cymri, Cornish Celts as Cornish and Gaelic
Celts as Gaels.
4** obviously depends on the sex of the character.

Religions
Find your culture in the left hand column then choose one of the religions in the right. Your
choice of religion modifies how your character advances through experience.
In the case of the Picts each individual also has a Samlaidh, a specific animal spirit which they
revere. The choice of Samlaidh is restricted by the kingdom of origin of the character. Once you
have chosen your religion refer to the next table for possible signatures, or make one up.
Culture Possible Religions
Celtic Pagan or Celtic Christian
Pictish Heathen
Byzantine Byzantine Orthodox Christian, Religio Romana
Romano-British Religio Romana, Celtic Christian or Byzantine Orthodox Christian
Saxon Wotanist or Celtic Christian

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Religious Signatures
Like other traits, you should choose a signature for your religion.
Religion Common Signatures
Pagan Seeks to maintain a balance, enjoys life, leaves offerings to animals
Heathen Wears earth tones, into “nature”, uncomfortable in urban areas
Wotanist Loud, shouts a lot, boastful, eats and drinks too much, lecherous, loves a
good fight, show-off
Celtic Christian Likes to sing prayers, kind to children and animals, eminently practical,
wears a small plain crucifix,
Orthodox Pray regularly, wears an ornate crucifix, god fearing, preaches a lot, quotes
Christian from the bible, crosses self a lot
Religio-Romana Considered, invokes the names of the gods regularly, sacrifices to gods
before doing anything significant, swears by gods names (eg.. “By Juno!”)

Virtues for Religions and Cultures

h Eligible virtue for culture/religion.

Culture
Compassion
Courage

Prowess
Success
Honour
Glory

Passion

Wisdom
Wit

Fianna h h h h
Pictish h h h h
British Celt h h h h
Cymric Celt h h h h
Cornish Celt h h h h
Gaelic Celt h h h h
Saxon h h h h
Byzantine Male h h h h
Byzantine Female h h h h
Romano-British h h h h
Religion
Religio-Romana h h h h
Celtic Christian h h h h
Orthodox Christian h h h h
Wotanist h h h h
Pagan h h h h

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Virtues for Heathens
The favoured aspect for Heathen characters depends on their Samlaidh:

Samlaidh

Success
Honour
Compassion

Glory

Passion

Wisdom
Courage

Wit
Prowess
Bear h h h
Bull h h h
Salmon h h h
Weasel h h h
Raven h h h
Snake h h h
Owl h h
Cat h h h
Wolf h h
Stag h h h
Boar h h h
Otter h h h

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Traits
Roll d66 for each trait, or choose.

d66 Traits Description and Descriptive Phrases Foci

Relevant Actions
11-12 Strong Fighting, Lift and Very muscular, firm grip, Lifting,
carrying things, powerful arms, scrawny, breaking
Restraining people likes to show off, wears things, melee
little clothing combat
13-14 Tough You are good at resisting Thick skin, iron jaw, glass Resisting
pain, injuries or torture jaw, high pain threshold, pain,
highly driven, drives nails resisting
through skin to show off, damage
low pain threshold
15-16 Healthy Good at carrying on for Slow heart rate, never been Endurance,
long periods of time and sick, wheezy, encourages resisting
fighting off poisons or others to exercise, works poisons &
diseases. out every morning for an diseases
hour
21-22 Fast Fast reflexes, fighting, Twitchy, strong legs, eats a Reacting to
good for going first, lot, very indecisive, surprises,
quick draws etc.. impatient of slower people performing
things fast,
quick
drawing
23-24 Accurate Good at fine work (good Steady hands, pays Shooting,
for shooting, electronics attention to details, eagle throwing, fine
etc..) eyed, perfectionist, makes work
models, hands shake
25-26 Agile Good or bad at moving Moves gracefully, slim Dodging,
around and dodging etc.. build, very poor balance, climbing,
never caught off balance, balancing,
enjoys dancing dancing,
melee
combat

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31-32 Intelligent Quick thinking with a Good at riddles, knows lots Logical,
good memory. of trivia, has problems Intuitive,
grasping even basic ideas, Wise,
belittles less intelligent Ingenious,
people, intolerant of Creative
stupidity, Constructs
detailed plans before
acting, likes intellectual
puzzles, hates clutter, can't
keep more than one thing
in their mind at once, Well
respected by people,
foolish, seasoned traveller,
unfazed by new situations,
Likes making gadgets,
tends to look at the world a
different way to others,
enjoys traditional things
and hates new ideas, thinks
“out of the box”, Has lots of
bright ideas, Enjoys
guessing games, wouldn't
recognise a good idea if it
hit them in the face
33-34 Knowledgeable The character has a Quotes classical texts, History,
good formal education. expert on a specific field of Places,
Education primarily study (such as european Current
relates to “book history, kings and Affairs,
learning” rather than the kingdoms), enjoys engaging Medicine
school of life. others in philosophical
discourses, can't read
35-36 Strong Willed The character has great Rock steady hands, waits Resist fear,
strength of will and is until the last moment to resist
hard to scare or parry, unfazed by threats, influence,
influence against their cold hatred of something resist
will (such as evil or undead), damage,
eye twitches when under fighting to
pressure the finish
41-42 Manipulative The character is good at Scarred, steely gaze, scary Seduction,
influencing peoples voice because of damage to Persuasion,
behaviour. throat, hesitant, Stunning Intimidation
figure, perfect complexion, Charming,
startling blue eyes, thick Eloquent,
hair, warts, scars, Very Commanding
gracious, never , Inspiring,
condescending, mocks Bluffing
others all the time,
Accomplished liar, not
comfortable telling the
truth, never lies
43-44 Stealthy The character is very Likes creeping up on Sneak, Hide,
good at not being people, heavy footed, spent Stealth in the
detected, useful for a lot of time hiding as a wilds, Stealth
hiding and moving child, very light footed in urban
without being caught. areas

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45-46 Perceptive Notices fine details. Hard Short sighted, excellent Notice,
to surprise or ambush. night vision, tends to poke Search,
Useful when searching and pry at things, Acute Perception in
for things, including hearing, jumpy, blunders the wilds,
detecting lies and around, loves to explore Perception in
deceptions. new places, could get lost urban areas,
on a road, good at hunting, Tracking
good at tracking, loves to
stalk people, gets a kick out
of observing people without
them noticing
51-53 Healer Capable of treating Caring, gentle voice, cruel Injuries,
injuries, diseases and Diseases,
poisons. Poisons
54-55 Magician* Magicians are those rare Depends on domain One relevant
individuals who can feel action to your
the flows of magic in the domain
landscape and shape it
to their own ends. There
are several different
domains of magic.. and
when a character takes
this trait they must
choose one. Each
domain is good at
different things, and a
character can only be a
member of one domain
at a time. The Magician
trait must be at least
3d.
56-63 Fighter The characters is good Strong arms, Hates Picts (or In built up
at fighting. This can be a some other foe), expert on areas,
natural talent, training weapons and armour, loves In the wilds,
and experience or a to talk about weapons and With a
combination of any or all armour, loyal to kingdom, specific type
three. good with an axe, fights of weapon,
well in metal armour, well In heavy
used weapons, lavishes armour,
care and attention on In non-heavy
weapons and armour, has a armour,
knack for digging ditches, When
weak grip unarmoured
64-65 Pious Pious characters have Ostenatious display of Attack the
exceptional faith in their religious symbols, quotes supernatural,
chosen religion (in the scripture, always stops to Influence the
case of Pious as a flaw pay homage to shrines, supernatural,
the character is likely to ascetic, spits when own Resist
be lapsed). This faith religion is mentioned Influence of
protects them from supernatural,
supernatural beings and Defend
magic (demons, faeries, against the
ghosts, undead, all supernatural
spells) and can be used
to attack or influence
such creatures.

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66 Crafter A crafter can work raw Brawny shoulders, Wood, non-
materials into finished dextrous, eye for quality,
precious
goods of all kinds. 1d in fumble fingered metals,
this trait indicates a truly gems,
fumble fingered precious
character. metals, flint,
stone,
leather, cloth
*Unlike other traits the Magical trait can be taken multiple times, each time specifying a
different domain.

Additional Traits
A variety of additional traits can be found in the human and animals section, specifically for
humans. Player characters may choose traits from this list if they wish, but bear in mind that
those traits are, on the whole, inferior in breadth to the traits in the table above.

Boons and Banes

A boon is a special ability possessed by a character which is negative in effect. A bane is a
special ability which is positive in effect and a mixed blessing has both positive and negative
effects.
When a character is created they have several options concerning boons and banes. Note that
you may choose none, any or all of the options below:
1. Choose a single mixed blessing.
2. Choose a Boon and allow the GM to choose a Bane for you.
3. Roll randomly to determine if you receive a Boon, Bane or Mixed Blessing, then random roll
what you get.
4. Sacrifice a 3d trait for a Boon.

Boons, Banes and Mixed Blessings are recorded on the character sheet with the other traits and
marked with a *, rather than a number of dice, to show them as Boons/Banes/Mixed Blessings.
For example, a character with Bad Luck would write Bad Luck* on their character sheet.
Each boon, bane or mixed blessing should also have a signature attached to it, at least where
such is appropriate.
If you choose option three Roll 1d6 to determine which table to roll on, then d66 on the
appropriate table:

1d6 Table
1-2 Table One
3-4 Table Two
5-6 Table Three

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d66 Type Boon or Bane
11 Bane Bad Luck: Once per session the GM may have you re-roll a roll and take the
new result.
12 Boon Patron: Someone in a position of power is watching out for you. They will
rarely intervene directly, but will exert subtle pressure to protect and assist
you. Roll 1d6 to identify your patron
1-4 A local Lord
5-7 A senior member of the administration (eg.. a minister of state)
8-9 A member of the royal family
0 The King
13 Mixed Famous: You are famous in your native kingdom. People recognise you in the
street and ask for your autograph. Outside your native kingdom you will not
be recognised by sight, but will be recognised if you identify yourself. Being
famous gives a bonus dice in most situations where you are recognised. For
the purposes of recognition you are treated as one step higher than normal
on the Renown table (for example, if you would normally be known in a town
because of your Renown score, you would instead be known in clan lands).
14 Mixed Infamous: As famous people shun you and spit on your shoes if they
recognise you. Being famous gives a bonus or penalty dice in many situations
where you are recognised. For the purposes of recognition you are treated as
one step higher than normal on the Renown table (for example, if you would
normally be known in a town because of your Renown score, you would
instead be known in clan lands).
15 Boon Inheritance: You inherit something of value. Roll 1d6
1-3 You inherit a sum of 2d6x 100 silvers.
4-5 You inherit a single master-crafted item.
6 You inherit a single enchanted or blessed item.
16 Boon Wise Investment: Sensible investments yield 200 silvers per month.
21 Bane Financial Debt: You owe money, roll 2d6x200 to determine how many
silvers you owe, then roll 1d6 to determine who you owe it to.
1-3 Family; the debt can be paid off whenever you wish.
4-5 A Merchant; the debt can be paid off whenever you wish, but increases by
½% of the sum remaining each month (due to interest).
6 A Criminal; roll 1d6 at the start of each game session. On a 1 the debt
collectors come knocking.. they require at least 20% of the debt each time
they visit. The first time you default they try and beat you up, the second
time they send professional assassins.
22 Bane Debt of Gratitude: You owe someone a single big favour. Roll d6 to
determine who:
1-3 A rich merchant
4-5 A local lord
6 The King
23 Boon Owed Debt of Gratitude: someone owes you a single big favour. Roll d6 to
determine who.
1-3 A rich merchant
4-5 A local lord
6 The King

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d66 Type Boon or Bane
24 Mixed Useful Contact: You have useful contacts relating to a particular field of
endeavour and can call in a favour relating that sector at any time, but you
must be prepared to repay the favour with one of similar magnitude if asked.
Roll 1d20 to determine the contact:
1-4 Business: you have contacts in the business community. This includes
craftsmen, traders, money lenders and so forth.
5-8 Religious: you have contacts in your own religious community, including
priests and the like.
9-12 Judicial: you have contacts in the judiciary. This includes magistrates,
judges, jurists and the guard/militia.
13-14 Magical: you have contacts with “magical” society, which includes
Augurs, the Order of hermes, the order of Isis and so on.
15-17 Military: you have contacts in the military.
18-19 Ministerial: you have contacts in the “government”. The layer of
people between the nobility and the commoners.
20 Royal: you have contacts with the royal family.

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d66 Type Boon or Bane
25 Bane Oath: You have sworn an oath which you must do your utmost to obey. If you
obey your oath in a significant way during a session receive an additional
point of Renown. Roll 1d6 to determine the type of oath and again for the
subject of the oath.

1-3 Obey (roll 1d6)

• 1-2 Your Religious Leader
• 3-4 Your Native King
• 5 The Ruler of a foreign Kingdom (choose the kingdom)
• 6 Another party member

4-5 Protect (roll 1d6)

• 1 Your religious beliefs
• 2 The interests of your native kingdom
• 3 The interests of a foreign Kingdom (choose the kingdom)
• 4 Another party member
• 5 A holy relic (which you possess)
• 6 An heirloom (which you possess)

6 Revenge (roll 1d12)

• 1 Picts
• 2 Celts
• 3 Saxons
• 4 Byzantines
• 5 Romano-British
• 6 Undead
• 7 A powerful individual (Non-player character of 2d6+6 levels) or group
(2d6x10 members of 1st to 6th level).
• 8 Your native kingdom (its people, rulers and agents)
• 9 A foreign kingdom (its people, rulers and agents)
• 10 The rulers of a foreign kingdom (and their agents, but not the wider
populace)
• 11 the Otherworlds
• 12 Demons

For revenge roll 1d10 to determine why you are seeking revenge:
• 1-4 You were (Roll 1d6 1-3; Humiliated, 4-5; Wounded 6 Tortured)
• 4-7 A relative or lover was (Roll 1d10 1-4;Killed 5-7; Wounded 8-9; Tortured
0;Humiliated)
• 8-9 Some you had sworn an oath to protect was (Roll 1d10 1-4;Killed 5-7;
Wounded 8-9; Tortured 0;Humiliated)
• 0 A friend was (Roll 1d10 1-4;Killed 5-7; Wounded 8-9; Tortured 0;
Humiliated)

Holy relics are discussed in the Pious section. An heirloom has no inherent
special powers, it is valuable by virtue of its history. If you also have the
inheritance event you may specify that the inherited item is the
relic/heirloom, with any associated powers (so if you inherited a magical
weapon and also had Oath “Protect the Sword” you could specify that the
magical weapon was the sword to be protected).
26 Boon Blessed: once per session you may re-roll any roll, and take the new result.
31 Boon Unusual Knowledge: choose, or roll to determine, an extra 3d trait.

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d66 Type Boon or Bane
32 Boon Military Rank: You served in your native Kingdoms military and gained rank:
1-3 Non-commissioned Officer
4-5 Commissioned Officer (you led a unit)
6 Command Rank (you led an army)
This gives you +1d on social interactions with members of your native
kingdoms military, or it's allies.
33 Boon Civil Rank: You have civil rank in your native kingdom. Roll 1d6
1-3 You were the chief of a village.
4-5 You were a magistrate/judge.
6 You were a minister to the Kingdoms ruler.
This gives you +1d on social interactions with members of your native
kingdoms “government” (but not the military), or the government of it's
allies.
34 Boon Award: You have been given some type of significant award for some act of
heroism. Roll 1d6
1-3 You have been inducted into some order or society related to the traits
you possess.
4-5 You have received a commendation from your native kingdom for
services.
6 You have been made an honourary member of your home kingdoms royal
guard (the Kings personal bodyguard)
Your award may be worth a bonus (or penalty) dice in appropriate situations
where you are trying to influence others.
35 Bane Dishonourable Discharge: you were expelled from the official service of
your native kingdom for some “bad” acts. Roll 1d6 (1-3 You did it, 4-5 You
didn't do it but were in the wrong place at the wrong time 6, your were
framed). Roll d6 to determine the act:
1 Murder
2 Manslaughter
3 Rape
4 Theft
5 Treason (roll 1d6; 1-3 Cowardice 4-5 Selling Secrets 6 Assisting the enemy)
6 Fraud
You are at -1d to all social interactions with those in the service of your native
kingdom, or it's allies.
36 Mixed Hidden Birthright: note this. At the start of each subsequent game session
the GM should roll 1d6. On a 6 they then roll, secretly, on this table to
determine your birthright, which will be revealed by the GM as soon as
practicable.
41 Bane Wanted: You are wanted for a crime, which you may or may not have
committed (roll 1d6: 1-4 you committed it, 5-6 you are innocent). Roll 1d10 at
the start of each game session and on a 1 you have a run in with those who
are after you. Assume that sufficient forces to take you are sent and you must
escape/defeat them. Roll 1d6 to determine the crime you have been accused
of:
1 Murder
2 Manslaughter
3 Rape
4 Theft
5 Treason
6 Fraud

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42 Bane Married: You are married. Roll 1d6
1-3 Marriage is healthy and happy
4-5 Marriage is tempestuous but secure
6 Marriage is on verge of breakdown (each time you go adventuring roll 1d6,
on a 1 you are divorced (see below for the implications of divorce)
43 Bane Divorced: You have been divorced and are paying 20% of your income in
alimony. Roll 1d6 at the start of each month and on a 1 the divorced spouse
remarries and your alimony payments end.
44 Mixed Children: you have one or more children, roll d6 to determine how many
then 1d6 for each childs sex (1-3 girl, 4-6 boy) and finally 3d6 for each childs
age. Each child below 16 years of age requires 50 silvers per month in
upkeep, once they hit 16 they can be assumed to go their own way.
Roll 1d6 to determine your marital status:
1-3 Married
4-5 Mother/Father of children divorced.
6 Mother/Father of children deceased (you can assume the children live with
friends or relations whilst you're off adventuring)
45 Mixed Dependent: you have a dependent, could be a family member or friend, who
depends on you in some way. Roll 1d6
1-3 Roll 1d6 (1-3 Younger brother 4-6 Sister), costs 50 silvers per month to
support and has a 1 in 6 chance of being involved in a given adventure (not
session) somehow.
4-5 Elderly Parent(s); cost 100 silvers per month to support.
6 Disabled sibling; costs 150 silvers per month to support.
46 Bane Lost Limb; Roll 1d6 (1 Foot 2-3 Leg 4-5 Arm 6 Hand), then 1d6 again (1-3
Left 4-6 Right). See the Complication table for the effects of a missing arm or
leg.
51 Bane Lost eye; As the lost eye result from the Complicationtable.
52 Bane Deaf; you can't hear anything, but you can sign and lip-read.
53 Bane Unstable: you are mentally unstable. Whenever you botch in a stressful
situation you lose control and completely over-react to the situation.
54 Bane Chronic Illness: you have a chronic illness. At the start of the session roll
1d6. On a roll of 1 your illness flares up and you are at -1d to all actions
during the session.
55 Bane Minor Curse: Once per session the GM may have you re-roll a roll and take
the new result. This is due to a magical curse laid on you by either a powerful
supernatural being or magician. When you roll this bane determine why you
were cursed and how the curse can be lifted, agree this with the GM.
56 Boon Minor Regeneration: The power of the land flows through you, constantly
refreshing and healing you. You heal 1pt of damage per hour.
61 Bane Drug Habit; you have a drug habit, roll 1d6 to determine what it is:
1-3 Alcohol
4-5 Hemp (Cannabis)
6 Opium
Roll 1d6 at the start of each game session:
1-3 You have a handle on the problem this session and suffer no penalties.
4-5 Not doing so well, -1d to all actions this session (you are drinking/smoking
on and off during the session).
6 Wasted, you are at -2d to all actions this session.

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62 Bane Flashback; you are prone to flashbacks to some traumatic event. Whenever
you botch a roll you are momentarily frozen and lose your next turn (and the
remainder of the one you are in as well).
63 Bane Phobia; You have acquired a serious phobia (fear) of something. Decide what
it is when you roll this event, although you must agree it with the GM and it
must reasonably common (for example, water, darkness, spiders). When you
encounter the thing you are phobic to you must flee, or take a -1d penalty to
all rolls until you can escape.
64 Mixed Frenzy; If you are injured in combat you cannot then retreat from the battle.
You must disable all your opponents or be disabled yourself. You do get +1d
when fighting in this enraged state though.
65 Bane Blood Thirsty; You cannot leave an injured enemy alive, you must try and
kill them. If your allies are able to stop you once the blood lust passes and
you do not need to try again. You also enjoy torturing people and small
animals for fun.
66 - Blessed Presence: twice per session you can enable another member of
your Band to re-roll a roll, taking the new result. You cannot use this boon to
re-roll your own rolls.

d66 Type Boon or Bane

11 Bane Sterile: You cannot have children. Roll 1d6 (1-3 A genetic flaw (you can still
have sex) 4-6 Your appropriate parts may have been injured by accident or in
battle (no sex)).
12 Mixed Old: gain a bonus dice on intellectual actions, but take a penalty dice on
physical actions. Your starting age is 41+.
13 Bane Shunned: You have been marked as a criminal by your native culture and
marked as such (for example, branded or tattooed). You have a -1d on all
social rolls when dealing with members of your own culture.
14 Bane Exiled: You are an exile from your native culture. Non-noble characters will
have been branded to show this (take the Shunned flaw at the same time),
Noble characters are usually not so marked. If you enter the lands of your
culture you are liable to attack by anyone and your property becomes the
property of your killer. An exiled character can have no assets in their native
lands.
15 Bane Old wound: At some time in the past you have taken a wound which has
never fully healed. If you botch a roll you become fatigued as the old wound
flares up.
16 Bane Melancholic: If you botch a roll in any situation you become depressed and
will not act for the rest of the scene without someone else's instruction.
21 Bane Obsession: Choose one thing which you are obsessed with. Whenever you are
confronted with an opportunity to pursue your obsession you must do so or
take a penalty dice on all rolls, as you're attention keeps wandering.
22 Bane Blind: You are blind as a bat. You automatically fail any action where sight is a
key requirement, and take a penalty dice on other actions where sight is
important.
23 Mixed Young: You are barely out of your childhood. Take -1d on social and
intellectual actions, but receive +1d on physical actions. Your starting age is
14 to 20. This modifier is lost when you hit 21.
24 Bane Coward: If you botch a roll when in a situation where you are threatened in
any way you must flee immediately, not returning during the scene.

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25 Bane Flashbacks: If you botch a roll whilst in a stressful situation you completely
freeze for the rest of the scene as you relieve some past traumatic experience
in your mind.
26 Bane Nightmares: When you try to sleep roll 1d6, on a 1 your sleep is disturbed by
nightmares and you do not recover from Fatigue that night.
31 Bane Extra Flaw: roll or choose another 1d Trait.
32 Bane Enemy: You have powerful enemies. The GM should secretly rolls 1d8 at the
start of each game session, on a roll of 1 your enemies will show up at some
point during the session. Roll 1d6 to determine your enemies, then 1d6 to
determine why they are your enemies:
1 Agents of a foreign kingdom
2 Agents of a religion (roll 1d6 1 Wotanists 2 Heathens 3 Pagans 4 Romans 5
Christians 6 Diabolists)
3 A group of bandits
4 A powerful individual and their allies (Non-player character of Level 2d6+6)
5 A society or order
6 Supernatural foes (roll 1d4; 1 The Tuatha (and the Seelie fae) 2 The
Fomorians (and the Unseelie fae) 3 Demons 4 Undead)

Then roll 1d6 to see why they are you're enemies:

1-2 You cheated them of something
3-4 You disrupted their plans
5-6 You personally offended their leader

The term Agent is used to distinguish from the majority of less active people.
An agent is, for example, a priest or fanatic of a religion, a spy or soldier of a
kingdom and so on.
33 Bane Dark Past: You have done things in your past which you now regret. At the
start of each game session the GM should roll 1d6 and on a 1 some reminder
of your past will surface during the session (for example, if you had been a
bandit you might encounter the wife of a man you murdered). Roll 1d6 to
determine the dark deed:
1 Murder
2 Manslaughter
3 Rape
4 Theft
5 Treason (roll 1d6; 1-3 Cowardice 4-5 Selling Secrets 6 Assisting the enemy)
6 Fraud
34 Boon Guardian Spirit: A spirit watches over you. The Saxons call such spirits Disir,
the Romano-British call them Lares, the Celts believe they are the spirits of
their ancestors, the Byzantines see them as Guardian Angels and the Picts see
them as manifestations of their clans Samlaidh. Once per session, the
Guardian Spirit may intercede to negate an attack which has just injured you
(even if it would have killed you)... you choose when this happens.
35 Bane Dark Secret: You have some terrible secret. If this secret is ever revealed you
feel obliged to flee or kill yourself. In game terms if your secret is revealed
your character is removed from play, never to return.
36 Mixed Hideously Scarred: You have severe facial scars which give you a penalty
dice for seduction and persuasion rolls, but a bonus dice for Intimidation.
People visibly recoil when they see you (for example, your jaw has been blown
away, you have no nose).
41 Bane Cryptic Answer: You cannot give a straight answer to a question, every
response must be roundabout or indirect.

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42 Bane Beardless: Obviously for men only. You can’t grow a beard. In Celtic and
Saxon cultures the ability to grow a beard is the sign of reaching manhood, so
you are always considered to be a child or lesser man. Take -1d on all
attempts to influence Celts and Saxons.
43 Mixed Doom: You are doomed. At the start of every session roll 2d6. On a 12 you will
die in that session. The bonus is that all your traits receive an extra dice
immediately, except your 1d which stays as 1d (so you begin play with one 5d
trait, two 4d traits, a 3d culture trait and a 1d flaw). Note that this is the only
time the Culture trait can be 3d.
This is because the life-force which would normally preserve you until your
allotted time is used up faster and more fiercely. The GM should always decide
whether to approve use of this bane.
44 Mixed Weird: A weird is an ordained fate, something which will happen to the
character in time.. whether they wish it to or not. The term weird is peculiar to
Pictish and Celtic cultures, Saxons and other cultures usually refer to a weird
as a Fate or Destiny. Either agree a Weird with the GM or roll below:
1. Long Imprisonment or Torture: You will be imprisoned and/or tortured
for d6 months before getting a chance to escape.
2. Loss: You are doomed to lose everything you hold dear (family and assets)
at some future time.
3. Fated: You will die once you have sired your first child.
4. Death of the first born: Your first born child will die.
5. Exile: An event will happen which will result in your exile from your native
culture for d6 months before any chance of reconciliation occurs.
6. Madness: For d6 months a terrible madness will consume you.
7. Blindness: For d6 months you are struck blind.
8. Heroic Death: You will die in the process of defeating your greatest foe.
9. Ordained Death: You know the circumstances of your death, but not the
time or place (for example, you know you will be killed by a man in green,
or by a woman with hazel eyes).
10.Maiming: At some future time you will lose a random limb (roll d6; 1-left
arm, 2-right arm, 3-left leg, 4-right leg).
11.Chosen of the Gods: like it or not the Gods of your religion have chosen
you as their champion. You will find yourself thrust into situations which the
Gods wish you to resolve, whether you like it or not.
The benefit of a weird is that those touched by fate gain an extra dice on one
trait of their choosing (except your Flaw). This bonus remains even after the
Weird happens. It is up to the GM to decide when a weird happens. One way is
for the GM to roll 2d6 at the start of each month and on a 12 result the Weird
happens in that month, although the player is not informed of the fact until it
arises.
45 Boon Trader: You are an experienced merchant/trader. You can buy equipment at
¾ the list price, and get ¼ more when you sell equipment.
46 Boon Blooded; in your veins runs both mortal and supernatural blood. Roll or
choose the type of supernatural blood you have.
51 Boon Supernatural Affiliation: You are affiliated to one environment or condition
and gain a bonus dice when that condition is met. Roll or choose the affiliation.
52 Boon Fear Immunity: choose one frightening thing, you are completely immune to
it's effects. Examples include: Undead, Demons, Horrific Sights, Unnatural
Atmospheres or Violence.
53 Boon Beautiful/Handsome: you are exceptional beautiful or handsome. +1d on
rolls where such beauty is a bonus, such as seduction or persuasion.

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54 Boon Beautiful Voice: your voice has exceptional lyrical qualities and your mastery
of the spoken word is unusually good. +1d on rolls where spoken
communication is needed.
55 Boon Empathic: you are unusually sensitive to the emotions of others, able to feel
their general emotional state. In situations where such knowledge would be
useful gain +1d to rolls.
56 Boon Additional Virtue: Choose an extra virtue.
61 Boon Quirk: Roll or choose an exceptional Quirk. You receive a bonus dice on any
action which is motivated by your quirk.
62 Mixed Small: The character is unusually small (5ft or less). Receive a bonus dice on
actions where being small is helpful, and a penalty dice where being small is a
disadvantage.
63 Mixed Large: The character is unusually large (6'4 or more and over 300lbs). Receive
a bonus dice on actions where being big is helpful, and a penalty dice where
being big is a disadvantage.
64 Boon Speciality: Choose one action which you particularly excel at, such as fighting
unarmoured, fighting with an axe, picking locks, telling lies and so forth. When
performing that specific action you get +1d to the roll.
65 Bane Bad Geas: A Geas is a magical compulsion, in the form of a simple prohibition,
which has been laid up on you. If you break the prohibition you are cursed by
ill-luck and take -1d on all rolls for the rest of the session (if you break the geas
near the end of a session the GM should feel free to extend the penalty into
the next session). Either agree a suitable prohibition with the GM or roll on the
Geas table.
66 Mixed Good Geas: As Bad Geas, but in addition to the prohibition you gain an extra
trait dice on one trait of your choice.

d66 Type Boon or Bane

11 Boon Warped One: If you are not Celtic re-roll this. As a free action, a warped one
can enter the Riastradh (also known as a warp spasm) as long as they are
unarmoured. They must spend one or more Lives to enter the spasm. For the
rest of the scene their Strong & Tough traits increase by one extra dice for
each Life spent. If you do not have the Strong or Tough traits the first Life
gives you one or both at 3d. The warp spasm is a channeling of earth magic
through the body, causing it to swell and warp in shape. Muscles bulge
massively, bones and tissues warp and shift, the skin becomes as hard as iron
and burns red hot. If you Botch a physical roll whilst in a warp spasm you
immediately take one damage for every one rolled on the botch, as the
magical power overstrains your body.
12 Boon Berserker: If you are not a Saxon re-roll this. Treat the Berserker boon as the
Warped one above, but rather than a magical warp spasm you are possessed
by an unearthly anger and filled by the spirit of Thunor, the Saxon God of
Thunder.
13 Mixed Spirit of the Beast: If you are not a Heathen re-roll this. You have a
particularly close affiliation with your tribal Samlaidh, which grants you an
extra trait dice on one trait, but if you botch a roll you become overwhelmed
by the spirit for the rest of the scene. See the section after this table for more
information on this boon.
14 Boon Wyrd stone: Begin play with a single wyrd stone of your choice.

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15 Boon Fae Glamour: You can make small shifts in your appearance at will, giving an
extra trait dice on rolls to influence people who can see you. If the target has
the Perceptive or Magician traits at 3d or more you do not get this extra
dice.
16 Boon Heroic Deeds: Due to various heroic deeds performed before the campaign
starts you begin play with an extra 40 Renown.
21 Boon Signature Item: You have a single item which you have a strong bond with.
This could be any kind of item (weapon, tool, armour, magical focus for a
magician etc..). When using your signature item for a task receive an extra
bonus dice. If the item is broken you lose this boon.
22 Boon Rakish Scar: You have a rakish scar, such as a minor scar on the cheek. This
gives you a bonus dice when trying to seduce people.
23 Boon Noble: You were born into the nobility and receive a bonus dice when trying
to influence the behaviour of non-noble characters. In addition you have an
income of 2d6x 50 silvers per month.
24 Boon Physical Training: Due to a regimen of physical exercise you get a bonus
dice on physical actions provided you exercised for at least half an hour the
same day.
25 Boon War Veteran: You have fought in several wars/skirmishes and can share that
expertise with your fellow Band members. Your Band gains an extra dice to it's
Skill pool as long as you are a member.
26 Boon Experienced: Experience has taught you to stay sharp. Gain a bonus dice on
perception type rolls.
31 Boon Driven: You are naturally self-motivating, unhappy when you can't complete a
task. When something is stopping you reaching your goal receive a bonus dice
on any rolls necessary to achieve the goal.
32 Bane Physical Wreck: You are in a very poor state of health and fitness, take a
penalty dice on all physical actions.
33 Boon Exceptional Motivation: roll or choose an exceptional motivation. You
receive a bonus dice on any action which is directly involved in following your
motivation.
34 Mixed Exceptional Secret Motivation: roll or choose an exceptional motivation but
keep it a secret from other people. You receive a bonus dice on any action
which is directly involved in following your motivation. Roll 1d6 to determine
why you keep it secret
1-3 Ashamed: you are ashamed of the motivation for some reason.
4-5 Advantage: you are convinced that keeping your motivation secret gives
you some advantage in life.
6 Illegal Act: Sometime in the past you have performed one or more illegal
acts in pursuit of your motivation.
35 Bane Unfocussed: You find it hard to concentrate on things. Take a penalty dice
when you need to concentrate on a task for any length of time.
36 Boon Sure footed: You are unusually well balanced. Gain a bonus dice on any
action where balance is important (this doesn't apply to all combat situations,
but is useful when fighting on rough or unstable ground).
41 Boon Voice of Authority: People listen to you. In any situation your opinion will
always be heard and considered, never ignored... even by hostile forces.
42 Boon Mystical: You have a natural affinity for magic and receive a bonus dice when
using magic.

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43 Boon Exceptional Presence: You have an exceptional presence, when you enter a
room everyone notices you and so on. This is worth a bonus dice in
appropriate situations.
44 Boon Priest: You are an ordained priest of your religion. This gives +1d on all social
interactions with other members of your religion, or on rolls relating to the
practises, laws and rites of your own religion. Note that not all priests are
Pious. Examples signatures depend on your religion:
• Pagan: wears long robes, carries a silver or gold sickle, gives good advice,
bearded or long haired
• Heathen: some mannerism common to animals of your Samlaidh's species,
wears little clothing, uncomfortable around lots of people, hates being
indoors
• Orthodox Christian: Ornate robes, large crucifix, quotes scripture,
disdainful of other religions, arrogant, refuses to dirty hands
• Celtic Christian: Calming presence, helpful, friendly, happy to muck in,
plains robes, simple crucifix, down to earth manner
• Wotanist: Big, bluff, hearty, enthuasiastic, hard drinking, loves to bet,
boastful, judgemental
• Religio-Romana: Respectful of authority, conformist, non-judgemental,
concerned about the safety of the group, likes to plan in detail.
45 Boon Dream Walking: You are able to enter a trance state and detach your spirit,
sending it into the Otherworld. You may also guide the spirits of anyone with
you into the realm at the same time as you enter, and return them to their
bodies when you return. They are fully under their own control whilst with you,
you do not control them.
46 Boon Scholar: Your Band gains an extra dice to its Knowledge resource as long as
you are a member. If you do not have the Knowledgeable trait receive it free
at 3d.
51 Boon Well Connected: You are very well connected and your Band gains an extra
dice to its Influence resource as long as you are a member.
52 Boon Favoured: The Gods or Spirits favour you and your Band gains an extra dice
to its Magic resources as long as you are a member.
53 Boon Wealthy: Your Band gains an extra dice to its Wealth as long as you are a
member.
54 Mixed Skin Changer: You are a were-creature (see the monster section for rules on
being a were-creature). Roll 1d6. On a 1-2 you are a Latent, 3-6 a Pure breed.
55 Bane Sociopath; You have no conscience whatsoever. You will do whatever it takes
to get the job done and have no qualms about it.
56 Bane Escaped slave: You were a slave and have escaped from your owner. Choose
a kingdom, that is where you were enslaved. If you return to that kingdom you
are liable to be captured and re-enslaved again.
61 Boon Prophecy: You are “gifted” with the power of prophecy. This is not a
controlled power like the domain of Divination magic, but it is more powerful.
Occasionally you have strange dreams which you known instinctively predict
future events which, in some way, will relate to you. The GM should use this
ability to feed useful information to you as they deem fit.
62 Boon Nine Lives: You begin play with an extra Nine Lives. Once one of these lives
has been used up is lost. These lives do not return every session in the same
way that Lives from Renown do.

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63 Boon Mothers Touch: You have an uncanny ability to heal others and may expend
a Life to completely heal one person of any wound or sickness (including
poisoning).
64 Mixed Creature Power: You may roll once on the special creature power table and
take the resultant power. You cannot choose the power and must take the
result of the roll.
65 Mixed Ghost: You are a ghost or liche, see after this table for more information.
66 Boon Earth Power: You are able to channel magical power from the earth, enabling
you to perform superhuman feats. Choose one of your traits when you receive
this boon. At any time you may spend one or more Lives to increase that traits
dice score for the rest of the scene. Each life spent gives one extra trait dice to
that trait for the rest of the scene.

Motivation Table
Choose or roll a motivation (d6 twice)
d66 Motivation
Description
11 Gallant
You seek to protect the weak and innocent, but at the same enjoy
being in the limelight and receiving credit for your action.
12 Builder
You seek to leave a lasting legacy.
13 Merchant
The merchant seeks to increase their wealth by clever bargaining
with others.
14 Hedonist
You seek pleasure and joy.
15 Bully
You seek to dominate others through strength.
16 Compassionate
You are highly compassionate, caring for others.
21 Passionate
You are very passionate about some cause. Passionate characters
may be described as “fanatical” by less charitable people.
22 Competitor
You are always striving to best others, to be the best at things.
23 Conformist
You seek to conform with any group you are in, going with the
consensus.
24 Loner
You do not conform and always tend to choose your own path over
a consensus.
25 Schemer
You seek to get others to do your work for you.
26 Curmudgeon
Nothing is every good enough and you spend most of your time
pointing this out.
31 Deviant
You defy “convention” and normality on principal.
32 Director
You take charge and bring order to situations.
33 Bestial
You follow your lower instincts, behaving more like an animal than
a human being.

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 34 Judge
You seek justice and truth, bringing balance to situations.
35 Martyr
You sacrifice your own interests to save others.
36 Masochist
You seek pain and suffering for yourself.
41 Sadist
You seek to bring pain and suffering to others.
42 Teacher
You seek to share your knowledge with others.
43 Penitent
You must atone for your sins to become worthy.
44 Perfectionist
Your achievements are never enough, you strive for perfection.
45 Rebel
You have a complete disregard for rules of any kind.
46 Diplomat
The diplomat seeks to calm troubled waters and ensure that
people remain on good terms with one another and to resolve
disputes by identifying a solution which satisifies all parties.
51 Soldier
The soldier fights for a cause. For most soldiers the cause is either
their religion, or their kingdom, or their culture, money or some
sense of debt or duty.
52 Survivor
You must survive at all costs.
53 Thrill-Seeker
Life on the edge. Live fast and die young.
54 Protector
The protector seeks to protect something from harm or mis-use.
There is no need to specify a particular thing they protect, this is a
general personality trait.
55 Trickster
You seek to make others laugh.
56 Servant
The servant follows the orders of others. Use these dice when you
are following orders.
61 Missionary
You consider it your duty to convert others to your beliefs.
62 Nationalist
You seek to promote the interests of your native kingdom and
culture above the interests of others.
63 Heroic
You are a born hero, seeking to protect the innocent and fight for
“right” at every opportunity.
64 Explorer
The explorer seeks out new experiences, places and knowledges .
65 Manipulator
You seek to manipulate others into actions which benefit you,
preferably without them realising they have been manipulated.
66 Watcher
The watcher observes without participating, remaining neutral and
gathering information.

Quirk
Roll 1d6 to determine which table to roll one: 1-3 Table A, 4-5 Table B then d66 to determine
your Quirk, or choose.

Table A

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d66 Quirk Description
11 Afraid of...BATS, CROWDS, DARKNESS, DOGS, HEIGHTS, INSECTS,
WARRIORS, MEN, PRIESTS, RATS, SOLDIERS, SOLITUDE, SPIDERS,
WITCHES, WOMEN, WOLVES, OTHER THINGS.
12 Ambitious Obsessed with one's career, driven to increase power and rank by
any means.
13 Amorous Very romantic, easily falls in love, possibly fascinated by the art
and manners of love. Often acts foolishly when around attractive
members of the opposite sex.
14 Arrogant Extremely vain and haughty, totally self-assured. Often irritates
others.
15 Blasphemous Offensively amused by religion. Often disparages those with faith.
16 Blood thirsty Always tries to kill foes.
21 Boastful Loves to talk of his own deeds. Often claims impossible skill and
gets into trouble.
22 Bootlicking Obsequious, prone to hero worship.
23 Cautious Averse to any risk. Occasionally a life-saving trait.
24 Chivalrous Very concerned with honour, status and formal codes of action,
such as the need to protect women. Often intrudes into
inappropriate, usually dangerous situations in order to maintain
reputation.
25 Cowardly Terrified of anything dangerous. Often seen hiding, begging for
mercy, or running away.
26 Cruel Enjoys inflicting both mental and physical pain, loves violence and
perhaps even torture.
31 Deceitful dishonest, lies or causes confusion whenever possible. Often hurts
others by unnecessary deceptions.
32 Disloyal Notoriously self-centred, ungrateful, contemptuous of authority.
Not actively treacherous
33 Energetic Enthusiastically diligent about work and duties. Often volunteers for
tiresome duties that others avoid.
34 Envious Annoyed by the prosperity or happiness of others. Often takes
petty or treacherous actions against those envied.
35 Fanatical About...REPUTATION OF NATIVE KINGDOMS WARRIORS, RELIGION,
FAMILY HONOR, WIFE'S VIRTUE, OTHER THINGS. Always becomes
emotional, illogical when the object of fanaticism is raised.
36 Fearful Generally timid, pessimistic and apprehensive. prone to sudden
flights and paranoid fantasies.
41 Indecisive Incredibly slow and cautious, never makes decisions unless forced
to. Often prevents others from taking any action.
42 Foppish Takes pleasure in personal appearance and manners, known for a
degree of vanity and pride.
43 Violent Enjoys violence, prefers to solve all problems with violence.
44 Generous Charitable, open-handed. If obsessively generous, may reduce self
to penury.
45 Gluttonous for...FOOD, WINE, WOMEN, SONG, OTHER PLEASURES. Easily
distracted by pleasure.
46 Gossipy A blabbermouth. Often reveals important information to the wrong
people.
51 Gullible About one subject...FOREIGNERS, FOLKLORE, MONEY, OTHER
SUBJECTS. Often babbles nonsense about favourite subject.
52 Valorous Exceedingly brave, self-sacrificing, and heroic. Always willing to
take the risk of injury or other loss whenever bold action is
necessary and useful, regardless of risk.
53 Gullible About everything, a real buffoon. Often in prison or under
punishment for incredibly foolish behaviour.
54 Hate SAXONS, DOGS, CHILDREN, CORNISH CELTS, OTHERS. Usually
pursuing an object of hatred, or planning to.

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 55 Honest Extremely ethical, moral, trustworthy.
56 Hot-tempered Easily angered, and very violent and rash when angered. Often
makes mistakes in the heat of fury.
61 Independent A loner, very self-reliant, reluctant to follow any leaders or take up
any causes.
62 Ignorant Stupid and determined to stay that way, offended by more sensible
or knowledgeable persons.
63 Jealous towards someone...CHILD, MOTHER, LOVER, SPOUSE, LEADER,
OTHERS. Viciously possessive and protective towards the object of
jealousy, hostile against any who dare come between them, even
other family members.
64 Just Concerned with fairness, legalities, impartiality, and suitable
rewards and punishments. Often meddles in other people's affairs
to ensure just behaviour.
65 Love Of one person of the opposite sex, faithfully and with total
commitment. Spends much time mooning over the object of love
OR of a group or category...ANIMALS, BROTHERS, CHILDREN,
FAMILY, HORSES, OTHERS. Always concerned with the good
opinions and well-being of the object(s) of love
66 Cannibal Possessed of an overwhelming desire to eat human flesh.

Table B
d66 Quirk Description
11 Loyal To a person, group, or concept...THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THE
HONOR OF THE WARRIOR CLASS etc... Faithful to the orders,
concerns and well-being of the object of loyalty. Tries to carry out
even impossible tasks.
12 Lustful Seeks out sexual liaisons whenever possible.
13 Melancholy Always very depressed, never laughs, often cries or sighs
mournfully. This trait is often perceived as romantic.
14 Merciful Avoids hurting; others, both physically, financially, and mentally,
unless absolutely necessary.
15 Merciless Never hesitates to cause suffering to others. Never spares a
wounded foe in combat, never helps the poor or the weak.
16 Miserly Grasping, greedy, never spends money unless forced to. Loves the
feel of coins and treasure.
21 Modest Humble, willing to let others take the glory, has a very realistic view
of own capabilities (negative dice= Arrogant)
22 Murderous Enjoys killing for its own sake, kills whenever possible, especially if
the killing is illegal or harmful.
23 Optimistic Always hopeful, even in distress, takes a positive attitude towards
events.
24 Pacifistic Won't cause injury to others, even enemies, even under terrible
danger.
25 Perverse Contrary, obstinate, enjoys discord.
26 Prejudiced for or against...WICCANS, ARMWRESTLING, CELTS, SAXONS, DOGS,
FOOD, HERMITS, WARRIORS, MAGICIANS, MEN, MERCHANTS,
MONKS, NOBILITY, PEASANTS, RISING EARLY, BYZANTINES,
SCHOLARSHIP, SCRIBES, SEAMEN, SOLDIERS, SONG, SURGEONS,
WINE, WOMEN, WORK, etc. Often makes unprovoked verbal or
physical attacks based on prejudice.
31 Proud Obsessed with own importance, defensively paranoid about rank
and prerogatives. Often refuses to take action due to pride·
32 Quixotic Excessively chivalrous, always helps a person in need or challenges
an evildoer.
33 Reckless Overconfident, rash, and hasty.
34 Selfish Always puts self first, never generous. Frequently embittered over
own problems.

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 d66 Quirk Description
35 Slothful Very lazy, torpid, and unambitious. Rarely takes action quickly or
decisively.
36 Snoopy Inquisitive, enjoys spying on others.
41 Squandering Spends money and other resources, without regard to value.
42 Thieving Enjoys taking other's possessions.
43 Thoughtful Takes the trouble to make all decisions methodically and calmly,
researching all possible angles with great skill. Usually scholarly, or
at least well-informed.
44 Treacherous Enjoys betraying others. Often destroys those who trust him.
45 Trusting Very poor judge of character, often ends on the wrong side of a
quarrel. Often in peril as a result. A more serious form of Gullible.
46 Truthful Always tells the truth, even when it is inappropriate, ruthlessly
forces others to accept facts rather retain their illusions.
51-66 - Re-roll

Geas Table 24 If you drink, get drunk, never

moderate your drinking (make it all
Geas are magical prohibitions which or nothing)
characters are born with and, even though 25 Never insult a poet or bard, or
Geas is a Celtic term, characters of any similar entertainer.
culture may have one. When a spirit enters 26 Always protect any women in your
limbo the Gods of its religion may choose to charge
lay a geas upon it, usually as a punishment 31 Never swear allegiance to anyone
or reward for the characters actions in life. 32 Never have pity for the weak
When the spirit is reborn in a new body it 33 Never turn down an opportunity to
has no memory of its past life, but the Geas gather new knowledge
remains. The presence of a Geas, and its 34 Never give up a chase
nature, is normally identified by a priest 35 Never refuse a challenge to combat
when the child is born (consider this to be an 36 Never start fights
automatic ability of any character who is a 41 Never avoid work
priest or magician). There is no way to lift a 42 Never use insults or crude
Geas, in the case of a Bad geas the behaviour
character must respect it and, if they live a 43 Never damage a tree
good life, hopefully the Gods will lift the geas 44 Never fail to join in with a song or
when they die. If they do not the geas may festivities if invited.
carry on for ever. 45 Never stand aside for another
The geas in this table are for guidance, you 46 Never refuse sex when it is freely
may create your own unique one if you wish: offered
51 Never pass up an opportunity to
d66 Geas loot
11 Always earn at least one Renown 52 Never abuse a friend
from the Path of Glory each session 53 Never tell a lie
12 Always earn at least one Renown 54 Never leave one of your allies
from the Path of Honour each behind
session 55 Do not eat during daylight.
13 Always earn at least one Renown 56 Never use a specific piece of
from the Path of Virtue each equipment (eg.. sword, axe, mail
session armour, shield, cloak, horse).
14 Never be the last person to run 61 Always be out of bed before
from a dangerous situation sunrise.
15 Never take more than you need 62 Do not eat a specific type of food
16 Never fail to avenge an insult or (eg.. fish, red meat, white meat,
slight root vegetables, fruit).
21 Always honour and obey priests of 63 Always take a foes head in combat.
your religion. 64 Never surrender if attacked.
22 Never fight over a woman 65 Always be loyal to your friends.
23 Never give up on a task once you 66 Do not drink water during the
have started it daylight hours.

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Spirit of the Beast
You have a particularly close affiliation with
your tribal Samlaidh and gain an extra trait
dice on a certain trait. If you do not have the
listed trait for your Samlaidh you receive
that trait at 3d. In addition you should take a
signature for this boon relevant to the
Samlaidh. The list below details each
Samlaidh's trait and some example
signatures.
The downside is that if you Botch a roll on
the appropriate trait you are overwhelmed
by the spirit for the rest of the scene, and
must do your best to act in a way that such
an animal would act.
Bear(Strong): Grumpy after being woken,
fiercely protective of friends and family, likes
fish, slow but strong. On a botch you
become ridicously over-protective of your
friends and allies, physically trying to stop
them placing themselves in danger, and
going to any lengths to prevent harm to
them.
Bull(Tough): Rash and impulsive, very
protective of friends and allies, broad
shouldered. On a botch you can only take
the most direct route to solve a problem for
the rest of the scene, you will not
countenance round-about tactics or cunning
Spirit of the Wolf
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plans.. a frontal assault on a problem is all
that is acceptable.
Cat(Stealthy): Quick witted, playful but
malicious, sleeps a lot. On a botch you must
torture or be similarly cruel to (physically or
mentally) the next helpless or weak person
you encounter.
Weasel(Stealthy): Loves dark places and
tunnels, very decisive, attacks suddenly
without warning. On a botch you are seized
by the urge to explore and must disappear
off on your own to find something or
somewhere new.
Otter(Agile): Very playful, loves to gently
mock others, entertaining. On a botch you
must immediately try and find a way to
entertain yourself for the rest of the scene
and pursue it to the utmost.
Snake(Fast): Doesn't like being away from
cover, makes quick darting movements. On
a botch, for the rest of the scene you will
flee from any threat and avoid conflict at all
costs.
Owl(Accurate): Sometimes fixates on mice
or small animals, eats live mice and the like.
For the rest of the scene you cannot directly
confront a foe, and will only attack if you feel
perfectly safe in doing so.
Salmon(Intelligent): Good swimmer,
indefatigable, once they've set a goal do
their damndest to complete it.
On a botch, for the rest of the
scene you become totally
focussed on any task and
refuse to give up it.. even if
there is no possible way of
succeeding.
Wolf(Perceptive): Cautious,
always looking for an
opportunity, avoids conflict
where possible. On a Botch the
wolf's pack instinct becomes
predominant and you become
incapable of acting alone or
making your own decision, for
the rest of the scene you will
obey any group decisions
without argument and, if left
to your own devices, will do
nothing.
Stag(Manipulative): Proud
and noble, an inspiration to
others, virtuous. On a botch
you become obsessed with
your own self-importance for
the rest of the scene and will
refuse to do what anyone else
suggests or orders.
Boar(Strong Willed): Grumpy and bad
tempered, hates being disturbed. On a botch
you will refuse to back down or flee from any
situation for the rest of the scene, no matter
how bad.
Raven(Knowledgeable): Prefers uncooked
food that's been left to stand for a while,
collects shiny things. On a botch, for the rest
of the scene you must stop after defeating a
foe and loot their body, even if battle still
rages around you.
Blooded
One of your mortal ancestors lay with a
supernatural being and a touch of that
ancient blood flows through your veins.
Blooded characters all have some small
traits of their supernatural ancestors which
mark them out as different. If they
encounter a supernatural creature of their
own “type” roll 1d6:
44- Fomorian Blood: You are prone to
46 murderous rages which gives you
+1d in combat, but can lead to
irrational behaviour. You also have
webbed fingers and toes.
51- Kelpie Blood: You can breath freely
56 under-water, if you go without being
fully immersed in water for twenty
four hours you have a penalty dice
on all actions until you do get wet.
You also get green hair.
61- Troll Blood: +1d in combat due to
66 thick warty skin but you cannot eat
cooked food.

1-3: No special response.

4-5: Supernatural creature considers you to
be a “friend” and one of their own kind.
6 Supernatural creature considers you an
abomination and instantly attacks.

Roll or choose your blood type:

d66 Blood
11- Elf Blood: You have delicate pointed
16 ears, a slim build and fine features
and the innate sex appeal of elves.
Receive a +1d on any relevant A touch of troll blood
seduction or influence.
21- Dwarf Blood: You are very hairy
26 and stocky of build. Receive +1d for Ghost
strength feats or to resist
poisons/diseases and such like. Immediately change either one of your 3d
traits or your 4d trait to the trait “Ghost”.
31- Demon Blood: Your demonic
See the Undead section in the Allies and
33 heritage makes you faster and
Opponents chapter for more information on
stronger than mortals, giving you
being a Ghost. This will also tell you how to
+1d in combat or where
determine what is keeping you bound to the
speed/strength are useful. You have
First World.
glowing red eyes and cannot enter
consecrated ground though.
34- Ogre Blood: +1d in combat and to
36 strength feats. You are possessed of
massive massive bulging muscles.
41- Tuatha Blood: You are possessed of
43 a hint of the unearthly charisma of
the Tuatha. Receive a bonus dice on
any roll to influence peoples
behaviour. You also have silver hair.

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Nobles
Each month a Noble must make one roll of
2d6. On a 12 they have inherited the family
holdings, on a 2 a marriage proposal has
been made for them:
Inheritance
Roll 2d6, on a 12 you're next oldest sibling
has passed away etc.. and you have
inherited the family holdings. You have an
immediate choice to make, you may accept
the responsibility, in which case your
character is immediately retired from play
(the job of a Lord is a full-time one) or you
may shirk it and continue as a player-
character, in which case you must roll 1d6
(+1 to the roll if you are Romano-British):
1-3 You are disowned by your family and
lose your income.
4-5 Your family are not happy with you, but
you keep your income.
6 Your family are furious, cut off your income
and you are now considered their enemy.
Roll 1d6 at the start of each gaming session,
on a 1 they have sent assassins to kill you.
On an 6 their anger has faded and they are
no longer your enemy (you are still disowned
though).
Either way, Shirk or Accept, you need not
make Inheritance or Marriage rolls again.
Marriage Prospects
If you roll 2 on the 2d6 roll a marriage has
been arranged by your family. You may
accept it or shirk it. If you shirk it roll 1d6
and use the same table as for Inheritance for
the consequences, except that if you roll 6 it
is the prospective marriage partners family
who have decided you are an enemy (you
have grievously insulted their offspring by
refusing to marry). If you accept marriage
there is not direct game result, and you will
no longer have to worry about future
marriage prospects. The only catch is that if
a married character dallies with other
men/women they should roll 2d6 at the end
of the game session they did it in.
2-9 No comeback
10 Spouse finds out and is very unhappy, if
you do it again in a subsequent session add
+2 to the 2d6 roll.
11 Spouse divorces you and leaves.
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12 Spouse divorces you and her family
declares you an enemy.
Details on divorces can be found in the
boons and banes table.
Children of...
The character has a magical affinity for a
particular environment and their
performance is enhanced when in that
environment, giving them an additional
bonus dice. Be careful not to confuse this
boon with the way Pictish characters are
often referred to (ie.. Picts from the Bear
tribe are often known as Children of the
Bear).
This is achieved by drawing magic directly
from the environment they have an affinity
with. Normally some significant event
occurred at your moment of birth such as a
solar or lunar eclipse, being born at dawn on
mid-summers day, being born during a great
storm and so forth.
Roll or choose the affinity from the table
below:
d6 Affinity
1 Child of the Green: +1d on all rolls
made whilst in woodland or fields. You
are very tanned, almost brown in
colour.
2 Child of the Stone:+1d on all rolls
made whilst in a mountains or in
caves. Your skin has a slightly grayish
tinge to it.
3 Child of the Sun:+1d on all rolls
made whilst in sunlight. You have a
small sun shaped mark somewhere on
your body.
4 Child of the Moon:+1d on all rolls
made whilst in moonlight. You have a
small moon shaped mark somewhere
on your body.
5 Child of the Shadows:+1d on all
rolls made whilst in the dark (no sun
or moon showing). Shadows appear
slightly darker near you, and the light
slightly dimmer (no game effect).
6 Child of the Waves:+1d on all rolls
made whilst at sea or in/on water.
Your eyes constantly change colour
from green to blue and back again.
Archetypes
Any of the following archetypes can be used
as player or non-player characters. You'll
note that none of them have Flaws, it is up
to the GM or player to either roll or choose
that 1d trait (the flaw). Some of them do not
meet the normal allocation of traits either, in
which case choose or roll sufficient extra
trait to “complete” your character.
Archetypical characters help to enforce the
“atmosphere” of the game and as an
incentive to play an archetypical characters
a player who chooses one gets an additional
20 starting Renown (which means they
begin play with 30 Renown).
Wiccan
Sorcery(3d), Pious(3d), Manipulative(4d)
Pagan Priest*, Geas (roll randomly or
choose)
Wiccans are the pagan worshippers of the
triple Goddess. They have close links to the
Druids and are effectively a sect within the
larger pagan “church”. Where the Druids
tend to the spiritual needs of their flocks, the
Wiccans tend to provide for their physical
needs, particularly with healing and practical
common-sense advice. Wiccans are
sometimes known by the term “hedge-
witch”. Crystals are common magical tools
for Wiccans.

Celtic Pagan Druid

Knowledgeable(4d), Pious(3d), Nature Magic
(3d), Pagan Priest*, Geas
(roll randomly or choose)
The Druids are the priests of
the Celtic people,
overseeing the worship of
the Celtic Gods, tending the
sacred groves, maintaining
the knowledge and laws of
the people. The Druids
revere all the Pagan Gods,
but give particular devotion
to Lugh, the sun God. Gold
or Silver sickles are common
tools for Druids.

Celtic Enchanter
Intelligent(3d), Sorcery (4d),
one other trait(3d)
Enchanters are magicians
who possess some of the
power of the Faeries, the
ability to create Glamours
which influence the minds of
intelligent beings. An
enchanter can twist
someones thoughts as they
desire and make them
believe that which is untrue,
or forgot that which they
know. This power also
extends to weaving magic
into material things, and the
Enchanters are renowned
for their skill in the
production of magical items.
Rings or amulets are
A Wiccan meditates in the moonlight common magical tools for

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enchanters (and enchantresses).
Fiosaiche (aka.. Shaman)
Pious(3d), Healing(3d), Nature Magic(4d),
Heathen Priest*, Geas: Never harm an
animal unless first attacked by it
The Fiosaiche are the shaman priests of the
Heathen religion. Fiosiache are affiliated with
their tribes Samlaidh (hence the focussed
Nature Magic trait). The most common
magical tools of the Fiosaiche are animal
masks of their Samlaidh species, or animal
skin head-dresses.
Illustration 2Fiosaiche
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Byzantine Orthodox Priest
Byzantine Orthodox Christian Priest
Knowledgeable(3d), Pious(4d), One other
trait(3d), Christian Priest*, Geas: Always
earn at least one Renown for your
religious virtue each session
The Byzantine Orthodox Church is far more
formal and structured than the Celtic
Christian Church, and this is reflected in the
demeanour of its men of the cloth, the
Orthodox priests. Orthodox Priests go out of
their way to create an aura of mystery and
reverence from their flock, maintaining an
aloofness from the massess. The most
common magical tool for an Orthodox Priest
is an ornate Crucifix.
Orthodox Inquisitor
Pious(4d), Manipulative(3d), Dark
Arts/Demons(3d)
A member of the Inquisition of the Byzantine
Orthodox Church, discussed in more detail
elsewhere. Where Paladins are trained to
confront overt occurences of evil, Inquisitors
specialise in rooting out hidden evils.
Paladin of the Blessed Order of
St.Sebastian
Pious(3d), Fighter(4d), Tough(3d)
Paladins are the fighting force of the Blessed
Order of St.Sebastian, described in more
detail elsewhere in these rules. Paladins may
be members of a Fianna band, but this
would be quite unusual.
Paladin of the Blessed Order of St. Sebastian
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Celtic Christian Priest
Healing(3d), Pious(4d), Christian Priest*,
Geas: Always earn at least one Renown
from your religious virtue each session
The Celtic Christian Church is quite dissimilar
to the Orthodox church. Celtic christian
priests are encouraged to “muck in” with
their flock, helping out on the farms and
providing good common-sense day to day
advice. Many Celtic Christian hymns are
written to be sung to the rhytmn of everyday
tasks, such as milking a cow or digging the
fields. The most common magical tool of the
Celtic Christian Priest is a plain crucifix.
Vola (aka.. Soothsayer)
Divination(4d), Wotanist Priest*, Pious(3d)
The Vola are the favoured of Wotan, gifted
with his power of prophecy. The normal
magic tools for the Vola are carved runes
(either of bone, stone or wood) which are
thrown and the results interpreted to predict
the future or past. and their other main
function is as judges in Saxon communities,
using their Mind magics to detect lies and
untruths.
Romano-British Pontifex
Divination(4d), Pious(3d), Religio-Romana
Priest*
Pontifex are the prophetic priests of the
Religio-Romana. They specialise in
performing sacrifices of animals and reading
the entrails to divine the future. They tend to
concentrate on the veneration of the Greater
Gods of the pantheon and are usually found
in shrines or temples to the Gods.
Romano-British Numina
Pious(4d), Dark Arts(3d), Religio-Romana
Priest*
The numina are also priests of the Religio-
Romana, but focus their attentions on the
many lesser gods of the pantheon. Whereas
Pontifex are usually found in the major
shrines and temples of the religion, the
Numina are more often found performing
ceremonies for individual families in the
small shrines at their homes, or on the road
tending to wayside shrines to these smaller
gods.
Hermetic Mage
Elemental Magic(4d), Knowledgeable(3d),
one other trait(3d)
Hermetic Mages have studided the magical
methods of the Hermetic Order, although
being a hermetic mage does not
automatically grant membership of the
order. Hermetic mages are able to awaken
the spirits of the elements and cause them
to obey. Virtually all Hermetic mages are
trained in the one of the imperial academies
of the Byzantine empire, and most end up
spending at least some time serving either
the military or bureacracy of the Empire. The
staff is the most common magical tool of a
Hermetic mage.

A Hermetic Mage calls upon the spirits of the Air

105 of 286
Pictish Hunter
Stealthy (4d) Fighter(3d) Perceptive(3d)
Unlike most other societies the Picts
consider the hunter to be socially superior to
the raider or warrior, respecting the hunters
role in bringing food to the clan.
A Pictish huntress tracks her prey
Gruagach
Nature Magic(4d), Perceptive(3d), Spirit of
the beast*
Gruagach are Pictish sorcerers, specialising
in the magic of the land. Gruagach have an
astonishing “feel” for the land, often being
referred to as “at one with nature”. This
attunement extends to their tribal Samlaidh,
with the Gruagach being able to take on
some of the traits of their Samlaidh.
Romano-British Noble
Knowledgeable(3d), Manipulative(4d),
Noble*
A member of one of the ruling noble families
of the Romano-British. Nobles are raised in
an air of luxury and refinement, with an
emphasis on knowledge and social skills.
Nobles normally wear luxurious clothes (+1d
on appropriate social rolls).
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Thaumaterge
Elemental Magic(4d), Speciality: dealing with
elementals*, Enchantment Magic(3d)
Thaumaterges are a specialist group of
Hermetic mages who specialise in the
summoning and control of Elementals.
Thaumaterges tend to use incenses and
small amounts of purified elements as
magical tools.
Seidkohna
Sorcery(4d), Blessed*, Blessed Presence*
The Seidkohna are Saxon magicians who
have a special affiliation to the Wyrds, great
spirits which control the fates and fortunes
of men. Seidkohna are able to petition the
Wyrds to twist the skeins of fate in their
favour, or others disfavour, making them
often appear to supernaturally lucky. Most
Seidkohna use an assortment of coloured
threads as magical tools to symbolise the
fates of those they cast magic on.
Romano-British Assassin
Fighter(3d), Stealthy(4d), Manipulative(3d)
Romano-British culture is riven by internal
strife within the large noble families and
death is a common way of resolving Celtic Flaith
arguments or social status. The assassin is Fighter(4d), Tough(3d), Healthy(3d)
either a talented amateur or a professional The Flaith are the primary warriors of the
killer for hire. Celtic people. Most Flaith are usually born
into warrior families, socially a little above
the common farmers and craftsman, but
Celtic Bard (aka.. Filidh) below the noble families.
Knowledgeable(3d), Manipulative(4d),
Perceptive(3d)
The Bards are masters of the spoken and Celtic Gaesatae
written word, keepers of Celtic history and Fighter(4d), Agile(3d), Fast(3d)
law. Bards wander the land, carrying news The elite warriors of the Celts, who normally
between places and entertaining those they fight naked, or nearly naked. They usually
meet. Within Celtic lands Bards can expect a have the Druids daub them in blue woad
welcome reception by virtually anyone, designs before battle, believing this to make
people always being eager for news and them resistant to damage. The fighting style
tales. of the Gaesatae focusses on their freedom of
movement, involving acrobatic leaps
(salmon leaps), jumping onto opponents
Saxon Skald shield, rolling along the ground and similar
Fighter(3d), Manipulative(4d), dynamic moves.
Knowledgeable(3d)
The Skalds are the Saxon equivalents of the
Bards although, in keeping with the more
warlike nature of Saxon
society, they are also
fighters in their own
right. Skalds are
expected to fight
alongside the warriors
so they can observe the
deeds of all concerned
and sing of them
accordingly. Skalds
compose epics, which
are usually poems or
songs, which
commemorate the
deeds of great
individuals or the details
of great events. They
are the keepers of the
history of the Saxon
people.

Celtic Riastradher
Fighter(3d), Tough(3d),
Warped One*
Riastradher's are celtic
warriors who channel
the power of the earth
through their bodies,
entering a terrifying
“warp-spasm”.

A Riastradher in warp spasm

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Byzantine Legionnary
Fighter(4d), Healthy(3d), Strong Willed(3d)
A member of the large organised military of
the Byzantine empire. Soldiers are trained to
fight in formations and tend to be more
disciplined than the other more
individualistic types of fighter.
Byzantine Centurion
Fighter(4d), Manipulative(3d), Strong Willed
(3d)
An officer in the Byzantine army. Around
90% of officers are female.
Varangian Guard
Fighter(4d), Accurate(3d), Tough(3d)
A member of the elite Varangian guard of
the Byzantine empire. The guard are the
personal guard to the empress. Varangian
Guards can be either Byzantines or Saxons.
Saxon Thegn
Fighter(4d) Strong(3d) Tough(3d)
The Thegns are the warriors of the Saxon
people, occupying the same position in
society as the Flaith of the Celts.
IA Baresark
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Saxon Huscarl
Fighter(3d), Strong(4d), Tough(3d)
The elite warriors of the Saxons are the
Huscarls, household troops of the noble lords
who are noted for their use of ferocious pole-
axes. Huscarls are noted for their great size
and strength.
Saxon Baresark: Strong(4d), Tough(3d),
Berserker*, Geas: gain at least one
Renown from Courage each session
Baresarks (literally “without shirt”, which
refers to them not wearing armour) are
Saxon's who are able to enter a powerful
rage which boosts their strength and
toughness. Berserkers are generally
renowned for their uncouth behaviour, lack
of personal hygiene and all round aggressive
and unpleasant demeanour. Few berserkers
possess any formal fighting skills, instead
relying on pure muscle and anger to defeat
their opponents.
Pictish Raider
Fighter(3d), Spirit of the Beast*, Stealthy(4d)
Pictish raiders are usually young men, or
women, who regularly test themselves in
raids on the lands of other tribes of
kingdoms.

Village Healer
Healer(4d), Knowledgeable(3d), Manipulative
(3d)
A “generic” archetype. Most villages possess
a village healer, knowledgeable in the uses
of herbs and possessed of common
knowledge.

A pictish raider

A village healer

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The Rules
Introduction to the rules
Samlaidh uses a relatively free-form system,
with characters described by one or more
traits, with each traits having a value
expressed in dice.
Traits
A trait is a single word which describes some
notable aspect of a character and has a
number of dice associated with it, such as
Strong 3d. A 1d trait is a Flaw, a trait with
three or more dice indicates an above
average level of ability in that trait, so a
Strong 3d character is stronger than the
average person. When a character attempts
an action with some chance of failure (a
rolled action) they decide which trait is most
relevant to the action being attempted
For example, the Strong trait is useful for
actions such as lifting things, restraining
people, breaking down doors or forcing
locks, breaking chains and so on.
Examples of relevant actions for traits can
be found on the trait table in the character
generation section. Non-player characters
may possess traits not available to
characters, and in these cases examples of
relevant actions are given with the trait.
Focussed Traits
When a character is created they begin play
with one 4d trait, two 3d traits, a 2d trait and
a special 2d cultural trait. Players may
decide to take any of the 3d or 4d traits as
focussed traits. Focussed traits should have
the subject their focus recorded after the
trait name, separated by a slash.
When you take a focussed trait choose one
specific kind of action which that trait is
relevant to, that becomes your focus. When
you are attempting that action you receive
an extra trait dice. Unfortunately every
benefit comes with a cost, and the cost is
that for any other relevant action you lose a
trait dice.
For example, Andy is creating a new
characters and takes the Fighter 4d trait. He
wants the character to be the archetypical
ranger, so decides to make his Fighter trait a
focussed trait, declaring that the focus is
“fighting the wilds”. When his character is
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using his Fighter trait in the wilds he gets
5d, but in any other situation, such as in a
town or village, or underground, he only
gets 3d. On paper his character has
Fighter/fighting in the wilds(4d) recorded.
As another example, Thorgun the Fighter 4d
has “axe fighting” as a focus. When he is
wielding an axe in combat his Fighter trait is
5d, but with any other weapon he only gets
3d. This is recorded as Fighter/axe fighting
(4d).
Types of Action
When a characters attempts an action the
GM should, firstly, decide whether the action
is going to succeed automatically (such as
opening an unlocked door, walking, climbing
over a low wall, speaking to people and so
forth) or whether it requires a roll (such as
fighting, breaking down a locked door,
casting a spell, trying to persuade someone
to do what you want and so on), or whether
it automatically fails (such as drilling a hole
in an anvil with a feather).
Action Rolls
If the action needs a roll the player of the
concerned character has to roll one or more
d6 (six-sided dice) and up the result. When a
character is called upon to make a roll they
must first look at their traits and decide
which, if any, is relevant to the task. The
chosen trait is known as the primary trait.
You then roll the dice for the primary trait
and add them up.
If you have no relevant trait use your Culture
trait, which always has two dice. You must
always roll for a relevant trait even if you
have one, so if you had a relevant 1d trait
you would roll 1d.
Note that a character does not have to use
all their trait dice in a roll if they do not want
to.
For example, a character with a relevant 3d
trait could roll 1d, 2d or all 3d
Dice Modifiers
When a character performs an action they
roll the dice for the primary trait as
explained above but sometimes they may
receive modifiers to the number of dice
rolled. Modifiers are always given as + or –
Xd, meaning add or subtract X dice from the
roll.
The catch is that you can only keep a
number of dice equal to the Primary traits
value, regardless of how many dice you roll.
If you roll less dice than the primary trait you
only get to keep the dice you rolled.
For example, Jessa rolls against Fast(3d)
trait and the GM gives her a +2d bonus. She
rolls 5d, but only gets to keep three of them.
Normally a player keeps the highest dice
and discards the lowest.
Common Modifiers
There are several common sources for
modifiers:
• Circumstances: Sometimes the GM may
award a modifier because of
circumstances (for example, you may
have the advantage of height in a battle)
• Supporting traits: Each other trait
possessed by a character which is
relevant to the action being attempted
gives you +1d on a roll.
• Equipment Dice: Using suitable
equipment (such as weapons and armour
in combat) quite often results in bonus
dice to rolls.
• Boons and Banes: Sometimes a
character may receive modifiers from
boons or banes they possess.
For example, A Strong(3d) Fighter(4d)
uses their Fighter trait as their primary trait
in combat and rolls 4d. Because they are
also Strong(3d), which is relevant in melee
combat, they get to roll 5d (the Strong trait
is treated as a supporting trait and gives a
bonus dice), but only keep the highest four
still (because the primary trait is 4d).
For example, a character has 3d in their trait
and gets a bonus dice from equipment. They
would roll four dice and keep the best three.
If the same character has a one dice penalty
they would roll only 2d, but keep both.
Extra Trait Dice
Sometimes characters may receive extra
trait dice to roll, not just modifier dice.
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Botches
If the majority of the dice in a dice roll come
up ONES you have botched the roll.
A botch is an automatic failure and
something particularly bad happens to the
botching character, or an ally, at the same
time. Some examples of botches might
include:
• In ranged combat a botch might indicate
a broken bow string, or a hit on an
innocent bystander or ally.
• In a melee defense a botch usually means
you have broken your weapon. In an
attack you may have dropped your
weapon or tripped over, or your opponent
may have dodged and you've punched a
wall (fatiguing yourself).
• When trying to persuade someone to do
something you might accidentally reveal
one of your secrets, or insult them so
badly that they either attack you, or
refuse to have anything to do with you
ever again.
• If you were climbing you have fallen.
Opposed and Normal Rolls
In a normal roll the total of the dice is
compared to a Difficulty number (DIFF) set
by the GM. If the total equals or exceeds the
DIFF the action succeeds.
If the roll is less than the DIFF the character
fails.
In an opposed roll the total of the opponents
dice roll is the DIFF number and on equal
rolls nothing happens (a draw).
For example, a character is climbing, using
their Strong(3d) trait and climbing gear
which gives them a bonus dice. They roll
equal to the DIFF of the climb and suceed in
the climb.
Margin of Success
Sometimes it can be useful, when you
succeed, to know how well you succeeded
by. In combat rolls are always opposed, so
you need to beat the targets defense roll to
hit them.
• If you win by 0-4pts you have scored a
success.
• If you win by 5-9pts you have scored a
good success.
• If you win by 10-14pts you have scored a
major success.
A Saxon contest of Strength
• If you win by 15 or more points you have
scored an exceptional success.

Retries
If you fail at an action you cannot try again
until there has been a change in
circumstances (in combat each new action is
considered to be a change in
circumstances).

Difficulty
If a roll is not opposed it is likely to need a
Difficulty number (DIFF). Some examples
follow:

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DIFF Example Actions at this DIFF
1-5 Easy: Most people(2d) can perform at this level most of the time.
Examples: Lift a small sack of potatoes and carry it(Strong), common knowledge
such as the capitals of nearby kingdoms(Knowledgeable), being able to read and
write your own name(Knowledgeable)
6-10 Moderate: Most people(2d) can perform at this level on a good-day.
Examples: Lift a large sack of potatoes and carry it(Strong), Run a 100 yards in less
than 15 seconds(Fast), riding a horse over very rough ground(Accurate), persuading
a guard to let you into a city after nightfall(Manipulative), being able to read and
write non-technical works(Knowledgeable), throw a grapnel so it snags on a building
roof edge(Accurate)
11-15 Difficult: Characters of above average ability(3d) can perform at this level on a good
day.
Examples: Run a hundred yards in ten seconds(Fast), knowing which areas in a city
are dangerous(Knowledgeable), jumping a horse over an obstacle(Accurate), run a
marathon in under three hours(Healthy), being able to read technical works
(Knowledgeable), notice the signs that give-away an average person lying
(Perceptive), beating an average person at a riddling contest(Intelligent)
16-20 Very Difficult: Characters of superior ability(4d) can perform at this level on a good
day.
Examples: Lift a full barrel of beer over your head(Strong), Run a 100yds in less than
ten seconds(Fast), ride through a crowd at a canter without hitting anyone
(Accurate)
21-25 Excellent: Characters of excellent ability(5d) can perform at this level on a good day.
Example: run a marathon in two and a half hours(Healthy), remembering something
you only saw for a fraction of a second some time ago(Intelligent), pick up a 600lb
boulder(Strong)
26-30 Exceptional: Characters of exceptional ability(6d) can perform at this level on a good
day.
Examples: lift a grown calf over your head(Strong), talking a group of bandits into
handing themselves over to the authorities(Manipulative)
61-35 Astonishing: Characters of astonishing ability(7d) can perform at this level on a good
day.
Examples: lift a small pony over your head(Strong), run a marathon in two hours
(Healthy)
36-40 Legendary: Characters of legendary ability(8d) can perform at this level on a good
day.
Examples: Lift a bull over your head(Strong), run a hundred yards in under eight
seconds(Fast), run a marathon in under two hours(Healthy)

Working Together and 2, for a total 12. Elena's 15 is kept and

Two or more characters can work together
on a task, it's up to the GM to decide how
many extra characters can work on a task .
Each character rolls as normal, then the
highest roll is kept and each other character
contributes their highest dice to that roll.
eg.. Elena the Knowledgeable(4d) &
Intelligent(3d) is trying to decipher an
ancient manuscript. She is assisted by her
colleague Artonius, who is Knowledgeable
(3d). Elena rolls 5d and keeps 4, getting a
15. Artonius then rolls his 3d and gets a 4,6
Artonius contributes his 6, for a combined
total of 21.
The Culture trait
Every character has a trait named after their
culture, which is at 2d and which is relevant
to everything. This trait is used when you
have no other trait relevant to a task.
Your culture trait can also NEVER support
other traits, it is purely there for the times
when you have no other relevant trait to roll.
It can also never be increased in any way.

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If you have a relevant 1d trait you must use
that in preference to your culture trait, you
only get to use the culture trait when you
have no other relevant traits.
How Good am I?
The following table serves to give an idea of
how “good” a trait is relative to the average,
based on the number of dice in it.
conflict.
Combat is more detailed, being run as a
series of five seconds rounds, and the
margin by which a character loses a roll
determines the severity of the wound they
take.
As noted before, on a drawn roll both
characters lose a dice from equipment (if
they have any).

Trait Description
Dice
1d A Flaw, significantly worse than the
average person.
2d Average.
3d Good at the trait, a professional.
4d Very good at the trait, a respected
professional
5d Excellent, an expert, one of the best
in a town or region.
6d One of the best in a kingdom,
exceptionally good at the trait, a
master.
7d One of the best in a country, a
master's master.
8d One of the best in the world at the
trait, legendary (human maximum
ability)

An increase in 1d in a trait indicates roughly

a 50% increase in capability over the
previous number of dice, so a Strong (8d)
character is eight times as strong as an A mortal wound
average character (with 2d). This should
only be used as a guideline and is not true of
all traits, particularly Fast, where a Fast(8d)
character is not eight times faster than an
average character.

Conflict
Conflicts are a common occurrence in
Samlaidh. Usually a conflict is represented
by an opposed roll between the conflicting
characters. Conflicts are usually organised
into rounds, with one roll per round. In
battles a round usually lasts around five
seconds, in mass battles it may be around
one hour per round and in debating contests
and the like perhaps a minute or so per
round.
Most conflicts are simply a win/lose affair,
the character who rolls highest wins the

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Damage
Characters may take damage from failed
defense rolls or failed rolls to resist hazards.
The amount the roll was missed by
determines how many points of damage the
character takes:
Missed by? Result
damage total ever reaches 12 death is
instant.
Recovery from Damage
Each point of damage takes one week to
heal. Fiann characters (player-characters)
heal damage at one point per day, due to
the mystical properties of their Ail.

0 Miss
Healing
1-4 1 Damage
5-9 2 Damage Healing can be mundane (using the Healing
or Culture traits) or magical (using the
10-14 3 Damage Sorcery trait). You can only attempt to heal
15-19 4 Damage a character once per scene, and only of
damage taken during that scene.
20-24 5 Damage Make your healing roll (the Sorcery or
25-29 6 Damage Healer traits are relevant) and use the
following table to determine how many
Each +5 +1 Damage
points of damage you heal.

Effects of Damage Roll Reduction

4 or less No effect
Every dice that rolls less than or equal to the
characters current Damage total is 10-14 1pt
discarded immediately, before deciding 15-19 2pts
which dice to keep.
A character who has taken 6 or more 20-24 3pts
damage is incapacitated and will die at the 25-29 4pts
start of the next scene if not reduced below
6 damage. 30-34 5pts
For example, Argo has been wounded and 35-39 6pts
has taken 3 damage. He rolls 4d in an attack
roll and gets 2, 3, 5 & 6. Because of his Per +5 +1pt
injuries he immediately discards the 2 & 3,
because they are both less than or equal to
his current damage total of 3.
Treating Poisons and
Diseases
Serious Wounds Poisons and Diseases can also be treated as
well. Make your Healing roll with the DIFF to
A character who takes 4 or more damage neutralise a poison or disease the same as
from a single event (attack or hazard) has it's DIFF to resist normally and, again, only
been seriously wounded. They are one attempt is allowed for each instance of
immediately incapacitated for the rest of the poisoning or disease.
scene (or until healed, whichever happens
first) and, if the attack was not Subudal,
must roll once on the Complication table at
Encumbrance
the end of the scene.
A character who is carrying any Heavy or Big
items (including Big weapons or Heavy
armour) is at -1d to any non-combat physical
action where the size and weight of the
Death object could impair their performance (such
as climbing, swimming, running, balancing
If a characters damage total is 6 or more at and the like). Note that this penalty is just
the start of the next scene they die. If -1d, regardless of the number of such items

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carried. A character cannot carry more Big
or Heavy items than their number of Strong
dice (so two items for an average character).
For example, a character carrying a Big
weapon and wearing Heavy armour is at -1d
to actions such as climbing, running,
balancing and so forth. If they had Strong
(3d) they could carry three such items, but
not four.

Fatigue
A character who becomes fatigued has a -1d
penalty to all actions due to their tiredness.
To remove this penalty requires at least six
hours good sleep. Multiple “fatigues” are
cumulative in effect. There are various ways
of becoming fatigued, here are some
examples:
• Forced marching
• Hard labour
• Having your sleep disturbed for two
nights in a row.
• Not getting at least two hours sleep in
twenty four hours.

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Complication Table
If a character is takes a Serious Wound, which is not healed by the end of the scene, they must
roll d66 at the scene end to determine if there are any complications, and if so, what they are.
In the case of locations, such as arms, legs, hands and so on, roll 1d6 to determine which side
is effected: 1-3 left, 4-6 Right.

d66 Complication
11 No Complication
12 *Comatose: The character sinks into a coma. Roll 1d6 at the start of each
subsequent month and on a 1 the character comes out of the coma. Obviously a
character in a coma can't participate in play.
13 Weight loss: the character loses weight recovering from the injury. For the next
three months they are at -1d to all strength type actions until they put the muscles
back on.
14 Weakness: -1d to strength type actions.
15 *Lose genitals: you lose your genitals, no kids or sex again.
16 *Brain Damage: -1d to all intellectual actions. This result is permanent.
21 *Major Scar: The character has taken a large scar to the face. This gives -1d for all
social interactions except intimidation, for which it gives +1d. A large scar might be
the loss of part of the jaw or cheekbone, the nose being hacked off, a missing ear..
it is not pretty or rakish, the result is quite horrific.
22 No Complication
23 *Traumatised: The wound leaves the character traumatised and if they Botch any
combat roll they have an immediate flashback which leaves the completely
helpless for the next d6 rounds.
24 Nightmares: The character is now prone to nightmares, roll 1d6 each night and on
a 1 they sleep fitfully and fail to recover from Fatigue.
25 Weight gain: The character suffers a prolonged period of bed rest and gains a lot
of excess weight as a consequence. For the next three months they are at -1d to all
movement type actions until they shed the extra pounds.
26 Fever: Character is taken ill and cannot participate in adventures for a month.
31 Hamstrung: -1d to all movement type actions from now on.
32 Shakes: From now on the character suffers from nervous shakes. This gives them
a -1d to any roll requiring fine motor control, which includes ranged combat, but
not melee combat.
33 No Complication
34 *Heart Destroyed: Dead and gone
35 *Limp: Damage to a leg leaves you with a permanent limp. You cannot move and
perform an attack or similar action in the same round (you can move and defend
still though).
36 *Blind in one eye: Lose sight in one eye, -1d to all actions where depth
perception is important (most commonly ranged combat).
41 *Deaf in one ear: Lose hearing in one ear, -1d to all actions where clear hearing is
important
42 Mild facial paralysis: Certain muscles in the characters face are paralysed, giving
a -1d to all social interactions.

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43 Paralysed Limb: roll 1d6
1 Hand: the paralysed hand cannot be used for anything. Actions requiring two
hands may be impossible or at -1d, depending on circumstances.
2-3 Arm: the paralysed arm cannot be used for anything. Actions requiring two
arms may be impossible or at -1d, depending on circumstances.
4-5 Leg: the paralysed Leg cannot be used for anything. Actions requiring two legs
may be impossible or at -1d, depending on circumstances.
6 Foot: the paralysed foot cannot be used for anything. Actions requiring two feet
may be impossible or at -1d, depending on circumstances.
44 No Complication
45 *Slurred Speech: -1d to social interactions involving speaking. Players should
roleplay this when speaking in character, the characters words are slurred and
slow, with very broken speech patterns.
46 *Weak Voice: Damage to the vocal chords means that the characters voice
cannot be raised above a loud whisper, shouting is definitely out.
51 *Wheezy: Damage to the lungs means the character becomes fatigued very
easily, even relatively minor exertions such as a short run or a brief fight, leave the
character Fatigued.
52 Death from massive blood loss
53 *Lost Limb: Roll 1d6
1 Hand: Cannot hold anything in the missing hand and any actions requiring two
hands are at -1d.
2-3 Arm: Can't use missing arm and any actions requiring two arms are at -1d.
4-5 Leg: All movement activities are at -1d.
6 Foot: All movement activities are at -1d.
54 Badly Set Break: Roll 1d6
1 Hand: From now on -1d to all actions which use the effected hand.
2-3 Arm: -1d to all actions involving the concerned limb from now on.
4-5 Leg: From now on, -1d to all actions (including movement) which involve the
concerned leg.
6 Foot: From now on -1d to all actions which use the effected foot (including
movement).
55 No Complication
56 *Brain Destroyed: DEAD
61 Damaged Joint: roll d6.
1 Ankle: -1d to all actions involving the effected ankle.
2 Knee: -1d to all actions involving the effected knee.
3 Hip: -1d to all actions involving the effected hip.
4 Wrist: -1d to all actions involving the effected wrist.
5 Elbow: -1d to all actions involving the effected elbow.
6 Shoulder: -1d to all actions involving the effected shoulder.
62 *Lower spine broken: the characters lower spine has been damaged and they
are immobile from the waist down.
63 Infection: Character catches a wound infection (see the disease section for more
details on wound infections)

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64 *Upper spine broken: the characters upper spine has been damaged they are
immobile from the neck down.
65 *Lose some fingers: -1d to any action involving fine manipulation with the hand
concerned (can still grasp weapons and the like though).
66 No Complication
Some Common Situations
Perception rolls
A Perception roll is a roll called for by the GM
to notice or spot something. The Perceptive
trait is relevant, and Intelligent may often
be a relevant supporting trait.
Perception rolls are an excellent tool for
heightening tension, just having players may
such rolls immediately increases the tension
of the game as they automatically
something is there to be spotted, even when
it may not be.
A botched perception roll means the
character has seen something where there is
nothing and should act accordingly.
Contests
It is quite common for individuals to
challenge one another to contests of all
kinds. This is particularly common in Celtic
culture, the Celts being great games players.
A contest can be just about anything, from
wrestling, riddling, poetry, knowledge tests,
lifting weights, feats of physical prowess,
hunting, climbing and so on.
Betting on contests is common practise.
Challenges can be for any number of
reasons, some common ones including:
• To resolve a matter of honour.
• To prove one's superiority.
• For money.
• To get a service or favour.
It is considered dishonourable to challenge
someone who is considerably inferior in
ability (in the matter of the chosen contest)
to you. So a 300lb muscle bound oaf who
challenged a 100lb weakling to a wrestling
match would be considered to be acting
dishonourably.
Meeting People
When characters meet significant foes or
NPC's it is normal for all parties involved to
describe themselves and their deeds.
In game terms run through all your
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signatures and recite any deeds you have
performed from your experience point list.
This little routine is very important and fun
to do, as it really creates a sense of depth to
your characters and other NPC's.
Influence Attempts
Social interactions are usually a matter of
changing another characters attitude
towards you. Social interactions are usually
resolved by one character attempting a roll
to change anothers attitude, and them
making a defensive roll to resist such a
change. If the influencing player equals or
beats the opposing roll the target of the
influence attempt has their opinion swayed
in favour of the “attacker”.
Modifiers to Influence
Attempts
There are various modifiers which can be
applied to influence rolls, all modifiers are
applied to the defending character:
Penalty Circumstance
+1d Opposed or Hostile to character
attempting influence
-1d Successful influence attempt
will place defender at risk
-1d Influencing character has clear
advantage (for example, they
could obviously beat you up, or
have a knife to your throat)
+1d Defending character has clear
advantage (such as being more
heavily armed and armoured
that influencing character who
is attempting to intimidate
them)
+1d In a small group of allies (such
as an adventuring party, small
military squad or gang of thugs)
up to about 8 people.
 Penalty Circumstance
+2d In a medium sized group of
allies (such as a large military
squad, church congregation or
bar-room of friends) up to about
20 people.
+3d In a large size group of allies
up to about 50 people.
+4d In a group of 50 or more people
*A man trying to seduce another (non-gay)
man.

For example, a priest is preaching to a

crowd of 100 people, trying to convert them
to Christianity. Everyone in the crowd gets
+4d on their rolls.

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Sneaking around
The main relevant trait for sneaking around
without being detected is Stealthy.
Remember that wearing Heavy armour or
carrying a Big weapon gives a -1d on
sneaking rolls.
The most relevant trait in opposition is
Perceptive.
For example, Artorius the Stealthy(3d),
Fighter(3d) tries to sneak up behind a
Tough(3d), Perceptive(3d) Guard in
leather armour (+1d). Artorius rolls 3d,
getting 4,5 & 3, and keeps all three for a
total of 12. The Guard also rolls 3d, getting
1,4,5, and keeps all three for a total of 10.
Artorius is able to sneak up behind the
Guard.
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Murdering or Knocking-out
surprised foes
A character who is attacked from behind has
a -1d defense (for example, during a fight). If
they are completely surprised they are at
-2d defense.
Attackers weapons and defenders armour
should be applied to attack and defense rolls
respectively.
For example, continuing the previous
example, Artorius tries to kill the surprised
Guard. He uses his Fighter(3d) trait and gets
+1d/+0d for the sharp dagger he is
wielding. He also decides to declare this as
an all-out attack, giving him +1d/-1d this
round. This means he rolls 5d and keeps
three. The Guard gets 3d from Tough and 1d
from armour, but loses 2d due to being
completely surprised, so rolls 2d and keeps
both.
Renown
Each character has a renown score which
reflects their fame and experience. Points of
Renown are received at the end of the
session depending on the characters deeds
and actions in relation to their personal
virtues.
Personal Virtues
When a character is created they must
choose four Personal Virtues as follows:
1. Choose one from the list of virtues for
your culture.
2. Choose one from the list of virtues for
your religion.
3. Choose one from the list of virtues for the
Fianna.
4. Choose any one other virtue.
The nine Virtues are:
1. Compassion: helping the weak and
innocent, being merciful to your foes.
2. Courage: resisting your fear, continuing
on when faced with adversity, refusing to
give up on an important task.
3. Glory: making a name for yourself,
becoming famous, performing “larger
than life” deeds.
4. Honour: keeping your word, respecting
others, being loyal to your allies.
5. Passion: being motivated by your
emotions and passions rather than logic.
6. Prowess: using your muscles to solve
problems.
Dedication to the task
7. Success: winning, being victorious.
8. Wisdom: exhibiting common-sense and
beingmotivated by logic over emotion.
9. Wit: using your intellect to solve
problems.
Gaining Renown
At the end of a game session the GM should
ask each player how they performed in
relation to each of their Virtues in turn. The
question to be asked is “Were you....”
For example, for the virtue of Compassion
the question to be asked is “Were you
compassionate during this session?”
• If the answer is No, or never the character
gains No Renown for that Virtue this
session.
• If the answer was Maybe, or sometimes
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the character gains One Renown for that
virtue this session.
• If the answer was Yes, or always the
character gains Two Renown for that
virtue this session.
Extra Trait Dice
As a characters renown increases they gain
Extra trait dice at certain points. When they
reach the appropriate point they must
immediately decide which trait dice to
increase by one dice (for example,
increasing a 3d trait to 4d). Alternatively a
character can spend a season in down-time
and gain a new 3d trait, rather than
increasing an existing trait.
The only rule is that you cannot ever
increase your Culture trait, it is permanently
fixed at 2d.
Renown Table
Lives No trait can be increased above 8d except when boons or banes are involved.
Player characters and NPC's with
Renown Renown
Reputation Mercian Extra Lives
have one or more Lives. A life is a “lucky Campaign Trait
break” which saves a characters neck. Dice
A characters “Lives”
0-4 renew at the start of
Unknown - - 0
each session, but5-9 lives not used in
Littlea session
known - 1
are lost and do not
10-19 carry over into
Startingnext
the Renown for Fiann - - 2
session. 20-39 Known in village or town district - 1 -
• One Life negates one point of damage.
40-79 Known in town Aldbridge - 3
• Two lives can be spent to negate a point
80-159 Known in clan lands Earl 2 -
of damage to another character within Kedric's
close proximity. lands
In the case of an160-319
ongoing hazard, suchin
Known astribal lands. Sought after by Cornovii - 4
being caught in a fire, or drowning, spending
eligible batchelors/damsels. lands
a Life saves you320-639
from any ill-effects
Known and gets
throughout a kingdom. Crowds will Mercia 3 -
you out of the dangerous situation if you
tend to gather when such a character is
wish. If you choose not to escape the
present. Cowardly opponents will tend to
situation it continues to attack youflee asfrom such a character.
normal, the Life640-1279
just preserved youKnown from one
throughout a country Albion - 5
injury. 1280-2559 Known throughout the isles Britain and 4 -
For example, Argos is fighting and loses a Eire
defense roll to an
2560attack.
or He decides
Knowntothroughout europe Europe - 6
spend a Life to twist
more just in time so the
deadly thrust misses him. Later in another
battle Argo is fighting with Jessa, his ally.
She is hit with a successful attack and Argo
opts to spend a Life to shove his shield in
the way of the attack, this saves Jessa and
he takes the hit instead stuns him instead. If
Argo had used two Lives he would have
prevented the stun and not been stunned
himself.
At another time Argo falls into a river whilst
wearing heavy armour, he begins to drown
and spends a Life to survive and claw his
way to the bank. Later again Argo rushes
into a burning house to rescue a child
trapped there. He fails a roll and will
collapse, but spends a Life to negate the
effect. He could escape the blaze
automatically, having spent the Life, but
instead opts to carry on searching for the
girl.

123 of 286
Battle

A Celtic Warrior fights a Were-creature

124 of 286
Wargaming
Before the rules on combat it is probably
useful for the GM and players to have an
idea how battle fits into Samlaidh. Battle is
one of the most effective ways of
introducing drama and tension into a game
and as such is great fun for all involved.
These rules are not detailed skirmish battle
rules, with distances measured to the
nearest yard and complex initiative, attack
and damage rules.
What they are is a relatively free-form
system designed to encourage cinematic
play and creative description on the part of
the player characters.
The GM should throw themselves into
describing events in battles, as should the
players. If you find yourself just chucking
dice and counting up numbers take a step
back and consider the situation. Players
should be seeking every advantage possible,
and one of the easiest ways to do this is to
make the best possible use of your traits in
supporting your primary trait. Players
running fighter types will probably find this
fairly easy, but those of you running non-
fighters should have a go at using your traits
to your best advantage.
Got Manipulative as a trait? If so hide a
knife behind your back, play dumb, flutter
your eyelashes.. lull your enemy into a false
sense of security so they ignore you in
favour of the meat-heads in the party. As
soon as their back's are turned whip out the
knife and stick it between their shoulder
blades.
Combat Rounds
Combat is resolved as a series of rounds,
with each character in the combat getting
one action per round. Players take it in turns
to declare and resolve their actions,
beginning with the player to the GM's left
and working round the table. Once all the
player-characters have acted any GM
controlled characters (NPC's) that have not
already acted, take their actions. On
occasion the GM may have NPC's act first in
a round, usually when they have surprise or
initiate an attack.
Actions
Each character announces their action on
their turn. A character always gets a defense
roll against an attack, but at -1d if the attack
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is from behind or they are not aware of it.
Restrictions on Traits
Traits except for Fighter can only be used to
attack or defend each round (either as
primary or supporting trait), never both. The
Fighter trait can be used to both attack and
defend if you wish.
For example, an Agile(4d) character could
use their Agile trait to defend or attack in a
round, but not both. A Fighter(3d)
character could both attack and defend
using the Fighter trait.
In the case of monsters with a single trait
only, as long as that trait includes fighting as
a relevant action it is treated as the Fighter
trait, so can be used for both attack and
defense in the same round.
Movement
A character can move as part of their action
without any penalty. The maximum distance
is ten yards, or Fast trait times five yards (if
your Fast trait is 1d you can only move five
yards per round).
Holding Actions
A character can opt to hold their action.
They simply pass on their turn and wait.
They can then take their turn later in the
round as they see fit, interrupting as needed.
Attack & Defense
A character can defend any number of times
per round but may only attack once.
Attack Rolls
An attack roll is made like any other trait
roll. Before rolling any dice the attacker
must decide which trait they are using as
the Primary trait and which, if any, are
supporting. Bonus dice can from various
sources, including weapons and even
armour.
Relevant traits to melee attacks
include: Fighter, Strong, Fast, Agile,
Accurate
Outcomes
If you succeed in an attack the amount of
damage inflicted depends on the margin of
success: normal effect.
• 0: Miss • Stumble into a pond or hole in the
• Missed by 1-4: 1 Damage ground.
• 5-9: 2 Damage
• 10-14: 3 Damage
• 15-19: 4 Damage Modifiers
• 20-24: 5 Damage
• 25+: 6 Damage Most combat modifiers, including weapons
and armour, are given in the format Xd/Yd.
The Xd is applied to attack rolls and the Y
dice to defense rolls.
Ranged Attack Rolls For example, +1d/-1d means +1d for attack
A ranged attack is treated like a normal and -1d for defense.
attack with some additional modifiers:
• Target at Long range: +1d to targets
defense roll.
• Target in Cover or has Shield: +1d to
targets defense roll.
• Target in a melee with your allies:
+1d to targets defense roll (and a
botched attack hits one of your allies)
Relevant traits to ranged attacks
include: Fighter, Accurate, Perceptive

Defense Rolls
An attack roll is made like any other trait
roll. The character must decide which trait
they are using as the Primary trait and
which, if any, are supporting. The choice of
defensive traits must be relevant to the
attackers choice of traits5.
Bonus dice can from various sources,
including armour and even weapons.
Relevant traits to defenses include:
Fighter, Tough, Agile, Fast

Botches and Bonuses
The GM should be creative in their handling
of botches and bonuses, using them to spice
up a combat and make it more memorable.
As a rule of thumb a botch or bonus should
inflict some additional disadvantage or
advantage on the character concerned.
Some examples might be:
• A flint weapon always breaks if you botch
an attack or defense roll whilst wielding it.
• Trip over and stun self.
• A botched defense roll might mean you
drop your weapon from the shock of
being hit, or fall over, in addition to the
5 Part of the fun of combat is in using your
traits in interesting ways to attack, forcing
an opponent to use less than ideal traits
in defense.
Grappling
Grappling is attempting to restrain an
opponent. You must be unarmed to grapple
(exception: nets & whips can be used to
grapple) but your opponent does not get
armour dice against a grapple.
Relevant traits to grapple include Accurate,
Agile, Fighter and Strong. Relevant traits
in defense include Fast, Agile, Strong and
Fighter.
Take an additional -1d penalty to grapple
and if you succeed you have restrained your
opponent in a lock or hold from which they
cannot escape.
Once you have restrained another character
they are helpless and all you can do is either
hold them in place OR maintain the grapple
and move, with your target, up to five yards
per round OR you may inflict one damage
automatically to them each round (this can

126 of 286
be normal or subdual damage and
represents twisting limbs, slamming the
person into something, choking them or
similar maneuvers).
If you are attacked whilst grappling someone
you may use them as a shield, giving
yourself +1d defense. If the attack misses it
hits the person you are holding instead.
You may also use someone you have in a
grapple as a weapon, slamming them into
another target (or targets in a multiple
attack). Such an attack is always made using
Strong or Fighter and gets +1d. If you hit
the target the target takes damage as
normal and the grappled character you are
using as a weapon takes one damage.
Combat Spot Rules
The following rules cover a variety of
circumstances and can be used as needed.
Subdual Attacks: Any attack can be
declared as a subdual attack. All damage
from subdual attacks is negated at the end
of the scene, before a character would
normally die from excess damage.
Disarm: State your intent to disarm and
take a -1d penalty to attack, if you succeed
you disarm your opponent of a weapon (or
shield) of your choice (traits like Tough are
no using when defending against an attack
to disarm).
Break Weapon/Shield: State your intent to
break a weapon or shield and take a -2d
penalty. On a success you break one of your
opponents weapons or their shield. To break
an enchanted item require an enchanted
weapon to be used on it (traits like Tough
are no using when defending against an
attack to break a weapon or shield).
Grab: State your intent to a grab an item off
an opponent and take a -2d penalty. If you
succeed you have grabbed the item and can
use it freely (traits like Tough are no use
when defending against such an attack).
Stun: State your intent to try and stun your
opponent, take a -1d penalty to attack and if
you hit they are damaged as normal and
cannot attack, move or perform any other
action on their next turn, except defend.
Knock-Down: State your intent to try and
knock down your opponent before attacking,
take a -2d penalty to attack and if successful
you knock them down. Treat this as a
combined stun and disarm as the opponents
weapons are dropped when they hit the
ground. Tough is no defense against a
knock-down, but Strong is.
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Readying Weapons: A character may draw
a weapon or ready a bow/sling on their turn,
They cannot attack in the same round, but
can use the weapons defense bonus (if any).
Multiple Attacks: A multiple attack is a
single attack which attacks multiple targets.
The attacker must be able to move to strike
all the targets in a single round, or have a
suitable ranged weapon. Roll to hit as
normal but reduce damage, if you hit, by
(number of targets less one).
For example, a character attacks three
targets in a single action. They roll to attack
once, with a -2 damage penalty to each
attack.
Multiple Defenses: For each attack made
against you in a round reduce your defense
roll by 1d (for example, -1d for the second
defense in a round, -2d for the third, -3d for
the fourth and so on).
All-out attack: Only applicable in close
combat. An all-out attack is declared on your
turn and gives you +1d/-1d for the rest of
the round. If you have already made a
defense roll this round you cannot use an all-
out attack. Examples of an all-out attack
might be a wind-up before hitting, powerful
uppercut, spinning attack, combination of
blows in rapid succession, a
charging/jumping type attack or a flying
tackle of some kind.
Cautious attack: A cautious attack is
declared on your turn and gives you -1d/+1d
for the rest of the round. You cannot use a
cautious attack if you have already made a
defense roll this round. Examples of a
cautious attack might be a feint or parry-
riposte, or quick jabs.
All-out defense: Declared at any time as
long as you have not attacked this round.
Take an extra trait dice on all defense rolls,
but no attacks this round.
Good description: +1d if you describe your
combat action well (GM's discretion as to
what consitututes “well”).
On Higher ground: +1d/+1d against
opponents below you.
On bad footing: -1d/-1d.
Using a Big weapon in a confined space:
-1d/-1d
Behind target: -1d to targets defense roll.
Target Surprised: -2d to targets defense
roll.
Nets: A net is a one-handed weapon which
normally gives +0d/+1d in combat but,
when used with a Disarm or Grapple
outcome it gives +1d/+1d (nb.. this is an
exception to the rule that weapon dice do
not add to Grapple outcomes). A large net
requires two hands and gives +0d/+1d
normally, and +2d/+1d with a Grapple or
Disarm outcome.
Whips: A whip is a one-handed weapon
which normally gives +0d/+0d in combat,
but when used with a Disarm or Grapple
outcome it gives +1d/+0d.
Shields: A character cannot use a shield
and a Big weapon, or two normal weapons
and a shield. A shield costs 20 silvers and
gives +0d/+1d in combat (this is cumulative
with armour and any dice from the weapon
in the primary hand. A shield also gives an
extra +1d against ranged attacks (for a total
+2d in defense against ranged attacks).
Two Weapons: A character can wield two
weapons, one in each hand, as long as
neither is Big. The primary weapon counts as
normal and if the character equals an
opponents roll, when attacking or defending,
they strike their opponent with the offhand
weapon for one damage. If both combatants
have two weapons they cancel one another
out.
Master-Crafted Weapons: A master-
crafted weapon costs five times the listed
price but gets +1d/+0d in combat.
Master-Crafted Armour: Master-crafted
armour costs five times the listed price but
gives +0d/+1d in combat.
Attack from behind: Characters can only
defend with Toughness against attacks
from behind (Perceptive is appropriate as a
supporting trait) and the attacker receives a
+1d when they attack. Outside of combat
use the murder and knock-out rules to
handle such attacks.
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Mounted Combat: +1d/+1d (+2d/+2d for
an excellent mount, which costs five times
the normal price) and uses the mounts dice
for movement rates.
Flying Opponents: Flying combatants
receive a +1d/+1d bonus and can only be
hit by ground bound opponents with ranged
weapons or if they engage them in melee
combat.
Poison: A poisoned weapon only needs to
inflict a Scratch outcome on an opponent to
poison them.
Flint weapons: Characters can have any
Sharp weapon made of flint rather than
metal. A flint weapon is very sharp and
receives an additional +1d/+0d in combat
BUT on is broken on a botched attack or
defense.
Spears: Spears are very long weapons. If
you draw on an attack or defense roll with a
spear against a non-spear wielding opponent
you inflict 1 damage on your opponent. If
both fighters have spears this is cancelled
out.
Steel Weapons: Steel weapons are rare, .
On a drawn attack or defense roll a steel
weapon breaks an opponents non-steel
weapon. If both weapons are steel neither is
damaged6.
Knife in the Dark: Sometimes two
characters may be stalking each other
through a maze, crates, corn field or some
other obstacles. Treat this as a normal
combat but allow the Stealth and
Perceptive traits to be relevant (either as
primary or supporting traits).
Defend an ally: You may defend an
adjacent ally from attacks, but doing so
prevents you attacking this round.
Duels: Warriors of all cultures often
challenge one another to duels, usually over
points of honour. Duels can be fought to first
blood (the first bruise or worse hit), third
blood (the third bruise or worse hit), to
capitulation (one fighter surrenders) or to
the death. Choice of weapons is usually
given to the challenged character, time and
location to the challenger. It is normal for
each party to bring a second to the duel and
a referee is normally present as well. The
referee's word is final. The second is there to
tend the duellists wounds and, if necessary,
6 It is quite common to find some steel in
iron weapons, by virtue of their
manufacturing processes, and master-
crafted weapons often have a very high
steel content. A steel weapon is one
which is specifically crafted from steel, an
almost lost art.
administer the killing blow to a mortally
wounded duellist.
Honour battles: An honour battle is a
melee fought between two sides, usually
tribes, clans or kingdoms to resolve a point
of honour. An honour battle differs from a
normal battle in that the objective is not to
kill your opponents, instead a fighter is
expected to retire from the field when
blooded by the enemy.

129 of 286
Tactics The Celtic salmon leap is a classic acrobatic
maneuver (leaping high into the air and
Some example tactics: twisting to strike down at your foe).
• Once character opts for all-out defense
Fast: A furious rain of blows against an
opponent or a small shift in position to just
and protects an ally, that ally opts for all-
miss an attack allowing a quick riposte. A
out attack.
clever feint followed by a lighting fast attack,
• Multiple characters attack the same
or a rapid parry and riposte.
opponent, to reduce their defense
Strong: A powerful blow, such as a powerful
chances.
hack, spin kick, jump kick, two-handed
punch, shoulder charging, forcing them into
Description in Combat obstacles, grabbing at them, spitting at
them, a straight punch or knee in the groin,
The level of description used in combat is grabbing and crushing your foe or trying to
really a matter for individual player choice. twist or break their limbs, and so forth.
Some players (and GM's) will want to really Tough: Ignoring minor cuts and bruises as
embellish their descriptions, others will want you fight to get an advantage.
to do little more than throw some dice. As a Fighter: Tactics such as a feint, double
rule of thumb a good description of your feint, knocking an opponents weapon away,
actions is worth +1d. Some ideas follow for combinations of blows and defenses.
using different traits, either as relevant or Accurate: Cuts and thrusts to the wrists or
supporting traits: eyes or other vital areas.
Primary Traits Magician: Some magical domains can use
Agile: Using the environment to your their magic in combat. Probably the most
effective are
the Hermetic
Mages who
can hurl
blasts of fire,
gusts of
wind, cause
the ground
to shake
under their
foes feet and
so forth. The
Gruagach
are able to
sense the
flows of
magic
around them
and can
virtually
determine
an
opponents
actions
before they
make them,
giving them
Fast versus Strong
a split
second
advantage (such as getting onto higher advantage in a fight.
ground, using a tree for cover whilst fighting,
pushing vases onto enemies, collapsing
market awnings onto them). Acrobatic Supporting Traits
moves such as jumps, rolls and ducks..
trying to get behind your foe for example. Manipulative: Throwing insults, trying to
goad your opponent into becoming angry

130 of 286
and making an error. An attractive character
can use the classic “fluttering eyelashes” to
throw their opponent off guard, or make
them appear less of a threat. An intimidating
character can try and threaten their
opponent, keeping them off balance and
hesitant to attack.
Intelligent: An intelligent character may be
able to spot patterns in their opponents style
and exploit them.
Perceptive: A perceptive character may
notice any weakness in an opponent, such
as one wrist being weaker than the other, or
a slower arm or some other opportunity to
explot.
Stealthy: A stealthy character may be able
to maneuver behind someone before
attacking, although this is by no means
always possible.
Strong Willed: Ignoring external
distractions and maintaining a perfect focus
on the fight, refusing to go down when
injured.
Experienced: Using dirty tricks, like spitting
in someones eye, throwing sand or grit into
their face, a knee in the groin, a headbutt or
a blow to the throat, striking them with your
weapons pommel, tripping them
Armour Dice
A suit of armour has one more qualities
which determine how many bonus dice it's
wearer receives in combat when wearing it.
Each weapons modifiers are given in the
usual Xd/Yd format, for attack and defense.
Only a Strong (4d+) character can wear
armour with four traits.
• Heavy: +1d in combat, -1d to non-
combat movement type actions (such as
climbing, running and so forth), has some
heft to it.
• Metal: +1d in combat, is made of metal.
• Hard: +1d in combat, has a hard surface
which can deflect attacks.
• Thick: +1d in combat, is thick, enabling it
to better absorb impacts.
• Spiked: +1d/+1d in combat, has blades,
spikes or other fittings which make it
harder to get a good hit on the wearer
and which can be used offensively in
combat.
To calculate the cost of a suit of armour
begin with a base cost of 10 silvers, then
multiply as follows:
Heavy: x2
Spiked: x4
Metal: x3
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Hard: x3
Thick: x3
Example Armours
Furs (20): Heavy, +0d/+1d: Thick furs, not
generally worn as armour but usually as a
way to keep warm.
Leather Doublet (30): Thick, +0d/+1d, a
thick leather doublet which protects the
body and arms.
Mail Vest (30): Metal, +0d/+1d:A vest of
small metal rings woven together which
protects the body and upper arms. Referred
to as Lorica Hamata by the Romans and
commonly worn by officers.
Brigandine (60): Heavy and Thick,
+0d/+2d: A brigandine is a long coat which
protects the arms and upper thighs, it
comprises two layers of soft leather with
metal strips or discs sewn between the
layers.
Hard Leather (90): Hard, Thick,
+0d/+2d:Leather shaped into shapes which
protect the body, then treated with wax and
heat to harden them into solid plates.
Typical hard leather armour protects the
body and upper arms.
Scale Mail (180): Hard, Heavy and Thick,
+0d/+3d. Scale mail comprises lots of small
metal plates rivetted together into a
protective coat which covers the arms, body
and legs to the knee. The romans referred to
Scale Mail as Lorica Squamata and it was
popular with cavalrymen.
Double-Mail vest (90): Thick, Metal,
+0d/+2d: Basically two layers of mail woven
together to create a double thickness vest.
Mail Hauberk (180): Heavy, Metal and
Thick, +0d/+3d: A suit of mail which covers
the arms, body and legs completely. The leg
protection is skirt-like, not trousered.
Muscle Cuirass (90): Hard, Metal,
+0d/+2d: A pair of metal plates shaped to
the body which protect the front and back of
the torso. Muscle cuirass' were popular with
senior roman officers and were often
elaborately molded to accentuate the
officers own chest and belly muscles. The
muscle cuirass is the preferred armour of
most Byzantine officers.
Half Plate (180): Heavy, Metal and Hard,
+0d/+3d. The classic Lorica Segmentata of
the Roman legionnaires. Half plate covers
the body and shoulders only. The stomach
and chest are protected by a series of
horizontal bands of metal with additional
articulated plates protecting the shoulders
and neck. Most Byzantine infantry wear half
plate armour.
Full Plate (540): Heavy, Metal, Thick and
Hard, +0d/+4d: Full plate is the ultimate in
protection, a suit of metal plates shaped to
the body which cover the wearer from head
to toe. Paladins of the Blessed Order of
St.Sebastian nearly always wear full plate
armour, as do some elite regiments of the
Byzantine empire (most notably the elite
Varangian Guard which is dedicated to
protecting the Empress).
Layering Armour
You cannot layer armour.
Donning Armour
To put on a suit of armour takes (Armour
dice cubed) rounds. A character putting on
armour can do nothing else whilst dressing.
Weapon Dice
A weapon has qualities which, like armour,
determine how many bonus dice it's wielder
receives in combat when wielding it.
To calculate the cost of a weapon begin with
a base cost of 5 silvers, then multiply as
follows:
Big: x2
Balanced: x4
Sharp: x3
Weighted: x3
Ranged: x3
Only a Strong(4d+) character can wield a
weapon with four qualities, no character can
wield a weapon with five qualities.
Each weapons modifiers are given in the
usual Xd/Yd format, for attack and defense.
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• Big: +1d in combat, needs two-hands to
wield, -1d to non-combat movement type
actions (such as climbing, running and so
forth) due to the weapons bulk.
• Sharp: +1d in combat, has a sharp edge.
• Balanced: +1d/+1d in combat, the
weapon is carefully balanced.
• Weighted: +1d in combat, has some
“heft”, so it can crack bones and the like.
• Ranged: +1d for ranged attacks only,
the weapon or its ammunition is designed
to fly through the air.
Example Weapons
Battle Axe (45): Sharp and Weighted,
+2d/+0d
Table or Chair (10): Big, +1d/+0d
War Club (15): Weighted, +1d/+0d: A
piece of wood reinforced with iron spikes,
bands and/or studs.
Dagger or Hatchet (15): Sharp, +1d/+0d:
a simple knife or small axe head on a short
handle. Daggers and Hatchets are primarily
tools, not weapons.
Pole Axe or Great Axe (90): Big, Sharp
and Weighted, +3d/+0d: A pole-axe is a
battle-axe head on a long (6ft) shaft, a great
axe is a much larger head (usually double
sided) on a shorter pole (typically 3-4ft).
Gladius (60): Sharp and Balanced,
+2d/+1d:A short sword designed primarily
for close combat and thrusting attacks. The
Gladius was the standard sidearm of the
Roman legions.
Spatha (60): Balanced and Sharp,
+2d/+1d:A longer straight edged sword
which tapers to a point, designed for equal
facility in cut or thrust. The standard sidearm
of the Roman officer classes, and the
present day Byzantine military.
Long-Sword (60): Balanced and Sharp,
+2d/+1d:The long-sword is similar to the
Spatha, although wider with parallel straight
edges and a flatter point than the spatha,
making is slightly better at cutting than
thrusting. A common weapon of the Saxon
peoples.
Falcata (45): Sharp and Weighted,
+2d/+0d: An interestingly curved sword,
originally developed by the Celts of Iberia
(modern day Spain). It is of little use on the
thrust, but cuts excellently.
Short Spear** (15): Sharp, +1d/+0d: A
short (3-4ft) stabbing spear designed to be
wielded in one hand in conjunction with a
shield.
Long Spear** (30): Big and Sharp,
+2d/+0d: A long spear, typically 6-8ft,
 Falcata, Gladius, Long Sword, Pole Axe
Battle axe, War club
designed to be wielded two handed. another Long Spear.
Staff (40): Big and Balanced, +2d/+1d: A
length of wood (usually 6-7ft) reinforced with
iron.
Single-stick (20): Balanced, +1d/+1d: A
short length of wood reinforced with iron.
Differs from a warclub in that the weapon is
not weighted towards one end or the other.
Pilum (45): Sharp and Ranged, +2d/+0d
(20/100 range): A 5ft throwing spear with a
long iron head.
Bow* (90): Big, Sharp and Ranged,
+3d/+0d (50/200 range): A shaped and
curved piece of wood held in tension by a
string and used to fire arrows from.
Sling* (15): Ranged, +1d/+0d (20/100): A
simple loop of cloth reinforced with leather
and used to hurl small sling stones (also
known as bullets) at foes with.

*Bows and slings fire arrows and bullets

respectively.
**Short spear has a +0d/+1d against non-
Big weapons or Long Spears. Long spear has
+0d/+1d bonus against any weapon except

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Weapon Ranges
A weapons Short and Long range are
determined by its total number of bonus dice
and whether one of the weapons traits is
Ranged or not:

Dice Short/Long Short/Long

Range Range if one of
it's trait is
Ranged
1d 10/20 10/50
2d 5/10 20/100
3d 0/5 50/200

Arrows
Bows can fire a variety of different types of
arrow. Non-standard arrows cost twice the
price of normal arrows:
Target Arrows: no modifiers (the standard
type), 10 silvers for a dozen arrows.
Bodkin Arrows: +1d/+0d against armoured
opponents, 20 silvers for a dozen arrows.
Broadhead Arrows: +1d/+0d against
unarmoured opponents, 20 silvers for a
dozen arrows.
Flight Arrow: Range is 50/300 yards, 20
silvers for a dozen arrows.

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Combat Moves
And finally, some ideas for specific combat moves and relevant traits. This table is to
complement the notes earlier on relevant and supporting traits and to give you some ideas how
different combinations of traits could be interpreted in combat, note that many of these
maneuvers are equally applicable as attacks or defense. This is by no means a full list of the
possible maneuvers in combat, it just serves to go you some ideas:

Move Relevant Traits Description

Joint Lock Accurate, Fast, Fighter Grabbing a limb and twisting it against the joint to
immobilise your foe.
Leg Lock Strong, Agile, Fighter A jump or dive to lock your legs round your
opponent.
Jump Attack Strong, Agile, Fighter A jump or leap ending in a powerful blow.
Straight Fighter A simple attack such as a cut or thrust.
Attack
Straight Fighter A simple defense such as a block, parry or step-back.
Defense
Combination Fast, Fighter A quick combination of light and fast blows.
Attack
Finishing Fast, Strong, Fighter A quick combination of light, fast blows, finishing
Combinat with a really powerful one.
Mighty Blow Strong, Fighter A powerful blow, usually the weapon is thrown back
behind the head before hitting.
Spinning Agile, Fighter Spinning right round before landing a blow, to add to
Blow its power.
Feint Fast, Fighter A quick feint followed by a real attack.
Taunt Manipulative, Fighter A taunt to distract your foe before hitting them.
Salmon Leap Accurate, Agile, Fighter A twisting leap over your opponents head
accompanied by an accurate stab down into their
head.
Rolling Agile, Fighter A diving roll past your foe, striking as you pass or as
Attack you come up from the roll.
Concealed Stealthy, Fighter Deliberately moving so as to keep your weapon out
thrust of your opponents line of sight, then striking from an
unusual angle.
Parry-riposte Fast, Accurate, Fighter A quick parry followed by a rapid response.
Block Tough, Fighter A powerful block.
Parry Fast, Fighter A quick parry of an attack.
Dodge Agile, Fighter Throwing yourself out of the way of an attack.
Roll with Tough, Agile, Fighter Rolling with a blow to minimise it's effect.
Blow
Brace for Tough, Strong, Fighter Standing your ground to accept a hit.
impact

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Magic
Characters and Magic
Some characters can manipulate the flows of
magic in the world, creating magical effects.
Such characters have one or more Magical
traits.
When a character receives the Magical trait
they specify a magical domain which
determines relevant actions for that trait.
When a character uses their Magical trait
they are automatically considered to be
casting spells.
A character can acquire the Magical trait
more than once, but each time they must
specify a different domain.
The Sociology of Magic
As explained in more detail below, Magic is
intimately tied up with the existence of
spirits and other supernatural forces. To
most people magic is simply viewed as part
of the natural order of things, albeit a
mysterious part to the uninitiated. Magicians
are largely regarded with superstitious awe
and respected by most people, partly out of
a sense of genuine mystery and partly out of
a sense of self preservation. Christians have
a more difficult relationship with magic.
Some sects of christianity preach that all
magic is evil, coming from Lucifer.
Unfortunately this preaching tends to fall on
deaf ears when magic is seen to be used by
non-christian parties for good purposes.
The more practical members of the church
have adopted the position that all magic
used for “good” purposes comes from God,
and even those who wield magic whilst not
professing reverence of the Almighty are still
performing His will. Magic used for evil
comes from Lucifer in their opinion and
those who use magic for evil should be
treated accordingly (such treatment usually
involves fires).
Magical Botches
If a character botches a roll with a Magic
trait as the primary trait they suffer the
normal effects of a Botch and any spells they
have currently active instantly end (this
includes summonings).
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Magical Tools
Most magicians use a variety of tools when
casting magics. When you create a character
determine what are “appropriate” tools for
yourself. If you have these tools to hand you
get +1d on casting rolls. Master-crafted tools
are also available, giving +2d but costing
five times normal. Magical tools are not used
up when using magic. Examples include gold
or silver sickles, crucifixes, bags of carved
runes and so on. For most ideas appropriate
to specific cultures see the archetype
character section.
Magical Components
Magical components are much like tools, but
a single batch of components gives +1d for
one use only, being consumed in the
process. Examples include incense, holy
water, herbs, crushed crystals or rock,
special powders, special chalks and so on.
For most ideas appropriate to specific
cultures see the archetype character
section.
Working together
Magicians of the same, or complementary
domains for the task as hand, can work
together to accomplish a task in the same
way as other characters, using the same
rules.
Spells
Spells are the practical application of the
Magic trait to achieve a desired effect. All
spells adhere to some basic rules:
• Only characters with a Magic trait of 3d or
more can cast spells.
• The caster must be able to see the target
of a spell or have something intimately
linked to the target person, object or
place.
• The caster must be able to speak to cast
a spell (spells require a brief incantation
to cast).
• If a Magician botches a roll (any roll) all
durational spells they have active end
immediately.
Spell Casting
To cast a spell follow these steps:
1. Determine the DIFF of the spell.
• If the target is an object the DIFF is it's
DIFF to break.
• If the target is a character the DIFF is
their defensive roll against your spell
“attack”.
• If the target is something else the DIFF
is set by the GM, based on the usual
guidelines for setting DIFF numbers OR
on how much a successful use of the
spell will effect the play of the game.
2. If the magician wishes to extend the
spells duration or area of effect they take
an appropriate penalty.
3. Roll the Magic trait dice and any
supporting dice, (less any penalties for
duration or area), and compare the roll to
the DIFF of the spell.
4. If you equal or beat the DIFF the spell has
been cast.
5. The effect, area or duration are a function
of the amount you beat the DIFF by.

Spell or Enchantment
Difficulties
The Difficulty of an opposed magic use is the
opposing roll as usual. If the character is
using a spell to overcome a task with an
existing DIFF (for example, a problem set in
an adventure) the listed DIFF is used. In
other cases the GM has to judge the
difficulty. There are two main ways of doing
this. Either judge the difficulty as normal,
using the guidelines in the rules section or
set the difficulty based on the impact of a
successful use of the spell on the game (the
Dramatic method). The table below gives
guidelines on setting such Difficulties:

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 DIFF Spell
10 Trivial. The use of magic has no effect on game play at all and is purely incidental.
This might be things like opening an unlocked door with a spell, lighting a pipe,
causing a mug of ale to float to you from the bar.
15 Easy. The use of magic will help the magician overcome a problem facing them,
but not entirely solve it (such as making a rope fly up a cliff and tie on, the Mage
still has to climb the rope, but it makes life easier). It is entertaining to the party.
20 Average. The use of magic will solve a problem facing the magician (such as
levitating over a chasm), or help the whole group solve a problem (such as
creating an unstable bridge over the chasm which everyone still has to carefully
cross, with Agile rolls and the like). The party still has to work together to
overcome the problem. It upstages the rest of the party.
30 Difficult. The use of magic will solve a problem facing the whole group (such as
creating a wide safe bridge over a chasm, no rolls needed to cross it). Using the
magic basically makes the party redundant.
40 The use of magic will basically end the scenario (such as casting an enchantment
to clear the mist away from a wights lair, forcing it back inside until the
enchantment ends, or flooding a dungeon with water and drowning everything in
it). It upstages the GM
50 The use of magic will basically end the campaign (such as casting a spell which
destroys the demon lord from a hundred miles away). It makes the GM redundant.

Resisting Magic botch rolls for magic use apply (in effect a
low power spell is being used in support of
When a spell is cast on a living creature, or a the primary trait).
living creature enters the area of effect of an
already active spell, the creature makes a
defense roll against the casting roll of the Spell Duration
spell caster. This is not an option, creatures
and characters must try to resist even Spells can either take effect instantly, or
benign spells. have an extended effect:
Everything is magical, magic flows through For the duration of the spell it's effect
everything, organising, binding together and continues, so a wall of water with a duration
sustaining. When a magician tries to alter of a day would stay up for one day, then
something using magic, the innate magic in collapse into a puddle. Damage causing
that thing must be overcome and bent to the spells with a duration do not begin to heal
Magicians will. until the duration ends (or the spell is
broken).
Spells and Enchantments To extend a spells duration beyond instant
gives the caster a penalty on their Magic roll.
The Magician trait is used to cast spells or, in
the case of Enchantment Magic, to create Penalty Spell Duration
lasting enchantments.
Knowledge of magic related things is based -1d Ten minutes
on the Knowledgeable or Intelligent -2d One hour
traits, not the Magic trait. That trait refers
only to the raw ability to manipulate magic. -3d One day
-4d One week
-5d One month
Supporting Traits -6d One season
Magical traits can support normal and other -7d A year
magical traits as appropriate, when a
magical trait supports another the usual

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 Penalty Spell Duration Damage causing spells cause damage as
they pass over the “thing”. If the spell is a
-8d A decade mental compulsion and it works, the target
-9d A century immediately moves as quickly as possible to
leave the effected area.
-10d A millenium Area effect spells can have a boundary and
vice versa. A boundary spell effects anyone
Area Effect Spells trying to cross the boundary. When the spell
is cast the caster may specify where gaps
An area effect spell effects everything within are in the boundary, whether there are any
an area. Area effect spells can effect methods which can be used to pass through
everything in an area, or create a boundary the boundary unhindered or if specific things
round an area, which effects anyone passing etc.. can pass through unhindered.
in or out (or only one or the other at the Take an additional penalty to the number of
casters choice). Take an additional penalty dice rolled based on the size of the area
to the number of dice rolled based on the encompassed by the boundary (use the area
area effected: effect table to get the penalty).

Penalty Spell Area of Effect Enchantments

-1d Room Characters with the Enchantment domain
-2d House or similar building can use magic to craft enchanted item in
downtime. They can produce an item which
-3d Village gives a number of bonus dice up to the
-4d Town square root of the Enchantment Magic
trait, rounded down, taking one season per
-5d City
dice. A character creating an enchanted
-6d Region in a Kingdom item cannot adventure during this period.
The nature of the enchantment is defined
-7d Kingdom
when the item is enchanted, and it's bonus
-8d Country dice apply to relevant actions.
For example, an Enchantment Magic(4d)
-9d British Isles
character could produce a +1d enchanted
-10d Europe item in one season, or a +2d enchanted
item in two seasons, but could not produce a
+3d item until they reached Enchanted
Conditions Magic(9d).
A condition is some additional condition on a A list of some common enchanted items can
spells effect. Each “condition” set when a be found in the equipment section.
spell is cast gives an extra -1d on the casting Enchanted items can only be broken by
roll. Some example conditions: magic or other enchanted items.
• An area effect spell which only effects
enemies of the caster. Damaging Spells
• A boundary spell which permits certain
types of people past. A spell which aims to cause damage can
cause subdual or real damage. If you wish
the spell to ignore armour take another -1d
Boundary Spells to the casting roll.
A boundary spell creates a barrier or
boundary round an area. When the spell is Penalty Damage
cast the caster has the option of either 0-4 1
forming the boundary immediately round the
edge of the desired area, or having it expand 5-9 2
outwards from the centre. Anything in the 10-14 3
area which the boundary would normally
block is effected by the boundary as it 15-19 4
passes over. In the case of spells that 20-24 5
physically block access effected things are
pushed along by the barrier to it's edge. 25-29 6

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 Penalty Damage but is out of control... run.
Traits such as Manipulative or Strong
30-34 7 Willed are appropriate in support of a
35-39 8 summoning roll.
Remember that the summoned creature will
only remain as long as the duration of the
summoning spell, so you had better take a
Healing Spells penalty to get a reasonable duration. Once
the duration ends the creature vanishes
A healing spell heals damage based on the
back to where it came from. There is no limit
margin of success (using the table above for
on how many creatures you may have under
damage).
your control at any given time but remember
the effect of a botch. The summoning
automatically fails if the character is
Summoning disturbed at any time during the two rounds
of summoning.
Some magicians can summon and control For example, a Hermetic Magician with
elementals, ghosts, undead and demons. An Elemental Magic(5d) decides to try and
elemental is not really summoned, rather summon a 3d Fire elemental. He specifies
the spirit of a body of an element is that it will be immune to non-enchanted
awakened (so a mass of the appropriate weapons, so it rolls 4d. He also wants it to
element must be present to be remain under his control for one hour (-2d).
“summoned”). He rolls 3d and keeps all three, it rolls 4d
• Elemental magic can be used to and keeps all four. He rolls a total of 12 and
summon and control Elementals. the elemental rolls only 11, so he succeeds
• Sorcery can be used to summon and in summoning and binding it. It will obey his
control demons. commands for the next hour, then vanish.
• Dark Arts can be used to summon and
control the undead and ghosts.
• Nature magic can be used to summon
animals.
An elemental manifests from the element
present in the environment.
Demons can either be summoned as
corporeal entities or incorporeal ones. The
rules for demons and elementals can be
found in the monsters section.
Ghosts always appear as incorporeal
creatures. Undead can be corporeal or
incorporeal (depending on whether a
suitable body is present for them to
animate).
Animals take several rounds to reach the
caster on a successful summoning.
Summoning is a two step process which
requires at least two rounds to perform:
1. Decide how many dice the creature to be
summoned will have, and add one extra
dice for each “special” ability it has (this
is the first action, using up a round).
2. Make an opposed roll of those dice
against your appropriate Magic trait (this
is the second action, using up the second
round).
1. On a success you have summoned and A Hermetic Mage
controlled the creature.
2. On a failure you have failed to summon
it.
3. On an botch it has been summoned,

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Creating and Destroy Penalty Modifier to trait
Matter 35-39 +/-8d

Hermetic magicians are able to manipulate Note that a character can opt not to resist a
the four elements. In game terms they can blessing or curse and must defend against it.
effectively reshape, disperse or concentrate
any of the element, but not conjure them out
of thin air. A Hermetic mage at sea could
work with water, air or fire.. but not with Breaking Spells
earth.
Characters can overcome durational spells
Fire is created by causing the molecules of
with appropriate rolls. Any Magic trait can
air or earth to vibrate very rapidly, producing
be considered relevant to breaking a spell,
heat.
regardless of domain. Other traits can be
used as relevant to the spell at hand.
Equalling or Beating the casters original roll
Permanent Structures ends the spell. A failure leaves the spell in
place and still fully effective.
Some spells can be used to create structures For example, a Mage creates a DIFF 10 wall
or items, such as walls or other shapes. of water. Another character wants to get
Elemental magic can physically reshape through and rolls using their Strong(3d)
elements and Nature magic can be used to trait. If they get a roll of 10 or more they
cause plants or organic materials to form push through the wall and the spell ends,
new shapes. the wall collapsing about them. If they roll 9
The structure created has a DIFF to break or less they fail to break the wall and cannot
equal to the magic roll (ie.. roll 13 to make try again until circumstances have
an earth wall and it has a DIFF 13 to break). signficantly changed.
The structure immediately behaves as
expected by the laws of nature when the
spell ends.
For example, a rock bridge stays in place, a Rituals and Preparations
wall of water collapses into a pool.
A character may perform a ritual and/or
other preparations to cast a spell. The longer
the ritual the more bonus dice it gives to the
Blessings and Curses caster. The spell casts at the end of the
ritual, but if the caster is disturbed whilst
Sorcery can be used to bless or curse, working the ritual the spell automatically
respectively. A blessing or curse needs a fails. You can use a ritual to prepare to
duration to be effective. A blessing adds control a summoned creature, then summon
extra dice to a trait for the duration, and a it as part of the ritual without disrupting the
curse subtracts them. ritual itself.
If the spell overcomes the targets opposed
roll to resist (using any Magic trait or the
Strong Willed trait normally) the target has Penalty Ritual Duration
a modifier to one trait for the duration of the +1d One minute
spell, based on the margin of success:
+2d Ten minutes
Penalty Modifier to trait +3d One hour
0-4 +/-1d +4d One day
5-9 +/-2d +5d One week
10-14 +/-3d +6d One month
15-19 +/-4d +7d One season
20-24 +/-5d +8d One year
25-29 +/-6d +9d One decade
30-34 +/-7d
For periods over an hour the ritualist can

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stop for breaks to eat, drink, sleep, use the
bathroom and so forth but nothing else.
Multi-Casting
Casting a spell counts as a single action,
using the characters attack action for the
round. A character may cast a single spell at
multiple targets using the normal rules for
multiple attacks (take a penalty equal to the
number of targets less one). It is also
possible to use All-out attacks, Cautious
attacks and All-out defenses when casting
magic (for +1d/-1d this round, -1d/+1d or
one extra trait dice and no attacks,
respectively).
Examples of Magic use
Elemental Magic
Change earth: change the shape of earth,
success changes the earths shape as
desired, the new shape is held for the
duration of the spell.
Elemental Attack: target of spell takes
damage (normal or subdual) based on
margin of success, A durational element
means the damage does not begin to heal
until the duration passes or the spell is
broken. An area effect means everyone in
the targetted area must defend against the
spell.
Nature Magic
Tangle roots: target of spell is pinned to
the spot for spell duration. A margin of
success of 5+ completely immobilises them.
Summon animal: use the normal
summoning rules to summon an animal.
Mind Magic
Command Spell: resisted by targets Strong
Willed trait, success forces target to obey
command for spell duration. If the spell has
no duration the target obeys your command
on their next action only.
Read thoughts: a success finds out what
the target is thinking at the moment.
Read memories: as read thoughts, but is
used to examine a targets memories.
Whispering barrier: cast the spell with an
area effect and duration. Anyone trying to
cross the barrier, round the area of effect,
must beat the casting roll to get through, or
be persuaded to turn back. They think the
thoughts the spell places in their minds are
their own.
Divination
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See future: state the information you are
seeking, the GM decides the DIFF based on
how much damage getting that information
would cause to the flow of the adventure.
Necromancy
Create zombie/skeleton: use the
summoning rules to create a zombie or
skeleton.
Speak with dead: as see future for
prophetic magic, but applies to information
concerning past events.
Corruption: an attack spell, damage is
based on margin of success, or DIFF to break
an object.
Disease: success infects target with a
disease of DIFF equal to the margin of
success.
White Magic
Heal Wounds: margin of success
determines amount of damage healed.
Treat Disease: DIFF is DIFF of disease.
Purge Poison: DIFF is DIFF of poison.
Blessing: margin of success determines
number of extra trait dice target receives for
duration.
Black Magic
Demon summoning: summons a demon,
using the normal summoning rules.
Curses: margin of success determines
number of trait dice target loses for
duration.
Wounding: margin of success determines
damage target takes from spell. It is
common to extend the duration of wounding
spells, representing wounds which magically
fester and refuse to heal.
Dreaming
Legendary Items
Legendary items are mundane items which
have become imbued with supernatural
properties through long exposure to truly
great characters, events and/or deeds. If a
character with a trait of 10d or more has a
particular item which they have a strong
attachment to that item becomes a
legendary item upon their death. The owner
of a legendary item gains a bonus to the 10d
or more trait as shown below:
Trait Extra Trait Dice
10-13 One extra trait dice
14-16 Two extra trait dice
 Trait Extra Trait Dice Rhegynydd Ysgolhaig; Whatever food
was required was found therein.
17-19 Three extra trait dice • The chessboard of Gwenddolen; when
22-22 Four extra trait dice the men were placed upon it, they would
play of themselves. The chessboard was
For example, the sword of the great hero of gold, and the men of silver.
Aenas, Fighter(14d), becomes a legendary • The mantle of Arthur; whosoever was
item upon his death, conferring two extra beneath it could see everything, while no
Fighter dice to whosoever wields it. one could see him (+1d to Stealth).
Legendary items may also have other • The girdle of Hercules: a heavy
powers, not just adding trait dice. Such studded leather belt worn by the ancient
powers are usually related to some specific Greek demi-god Hercules (+1d to Strong).
event of great historical importance. • The sandals of Perseus: magical
sandals given to the greek hero Perseus
Some example Legendary Items by the God Mercury (+1d to Fast).
Some legendary items include the renowed • The torch of Hephaestus: a magical
“Thirteen Treasures of Britain” torch which has a single 4d fire elemental
• Dyrnwyn the sword of Rhydderch bound into it. The elemental can be
Hael; if any man drew it except himself, it summoned from the torch at will, and
burst into a flame from the cross to the serves the torches holder without
point, and all who asked it received it; but question. If the elemental is destroyed it
because of this property all shunned it. disperses, reforming in the torch on the
and therefore was he called Rhydderch night of the next full moon, until then it
Hael. Anyone excepts the weapons cannot be summoned again.
owner, who picks up the weapon, takes
an automatic wound.
• The basket of Gwyddno Garanhir; if
food for one man were put into it, when
opened it would be found to contain food
for one hundred.
• The horn of Bran Galed; what liquor
soever was desired was found therein.
• The chariot of Morgan Mwynvawr;
whoever sat in it would be immediately
wheresoever he wished.
• The halter of Clydno Eiddyn; which
was in a staple below the feet of his bed;
and whatever horse he wished for in it, he
would find it there.
• The knife of Llawfrodded Farchawg;
which would serve four and-twenty men
at meat all at once.
• The cauldron of Tyrnog; if meat were
put in it to boil for a coward it would
never be boiled, but if meat were put in it
for a brave man it would be boiled
forthwith.
• The whetstone of Tudwal Tudelud; If
the sword of a brave man were sharpened
thereon, and any one were wounded
therewith, he would be sure to die, but if
it were that of a coward that was
sharpened on it, he would be none the
worse.
• The garment of Padarn Beisrudd; if a
man of gentle birth put it on, it suited him
well, but if a churl it would not fit him.
• The pan and the platter of

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Magical Domains
Unlike other traits the Magical trait can be taken multiple times, each time specifying a
different domain from one of those below. For each domain possible foci are listed.
The table below lists the various domains, relevant actions for them and common foci (like
other traits, magical traits can be normal or focussed).

Elemental Magic
Elemental magic involves commanding the spirits of bodies of an element (air, earth, fire or
water) to temporarily awaken and serve the Mages will. Such magic can also be used to fully
awaken spirits, creating elementals, which are hopefully under the command of the Magician.

Sorcery
Sorcery is the magic of the mind and body of intelligent beings. Sorcerous spells can be used to
twist the mind and body of such beings as the caster wishes, giving blessings, curses, altering
or reading their thoughts.

Divination
The ability to reach into the Other World and consult with the powerful spirits to be found there,
which can perceive past, present and future as one. These spirits can give a caster useful
information. These same spirits can also convey messages to beings in the First World or Other
World, through the medium of dreams and omens.

Dark Arts
Practioniers of the Dark Arts dabble in the arts of death and darkness. They treat with the
spirits of the dead and demons from the pit of hell for knowledge and power. They can summon
the spirits of the dead back into mortal forms, creating hideous zombies and skeletons..
travesties of life in the service of the magician, or call forth hideous demons from the pit to
serve their wills.

Nature Magic
Nature magicians can feel the flows of magic through the natural world, sometimes referred to
as Earth Power. They can twist and manipulate this flow to effect the behaviours and forms of
plants and animals by influencing their unawakened spirits. Powerful nature magicians can also
awaken these spirits fully, creating Ysbryd.

Enchantment Magic
Enchantment is the ability to intensify the natural magic of an object to give it supernatural
properties. Typically the time to perform an enchantment is measured in months, if not years,
and complex rituals are used to weave spells into the objects concerned.

Domain Relevant Actions Foci

Elemental Magic Elemental manipulation (air, earth, fire and Air, Earth, Fire, Water
water) and controlling elementals. Air covers
both air, vapours and gases. Water is water and
other liquids. Earth is earth, stone, rock and
solids. Fire is fire and other forms of energy. It
also covers the summoning and control of
elementals.
Sorcery Magic which controls the behaviour of living Men, Faeries, Blessings,
intelligent beings and can effect their physical Curses, Constructs
forms (blessings and curses, which increase or
decrease traits respectively).

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Domain Relevant Actions Foci
Divination Magic which relates to information, both past, Future events, past
present and future. Also used to send messages events, present events,
through dreams and omens. messages
Dark Arts Summoning, control of, and communing with Ghosts, Undead,
the spirits of the dead, including undead and Ancestor spirits,
ghosts, and the forces of Hell and Darkness. Demons, Elder beasts
Nature Magic Magic which controls the behaviour of plants, Animals, Plants, Ysbryd
animals and awakened nature spirits (Ysbryd) Wayfinding, Weather
and can effect their physical forms (increasing control
or decreasing traits).
Enchantment Creating enchanted items in down-time. Weapons, Armour,
Magic Magical tools, General
equipment

“These are not the

Druids you are
looking for”

An example of
Mind Magic
in use

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Example Signatures for Different Domains
Domain Example Signatures
Elemental Magic Doesn't get wet in the rain, smokes a pipe but never has to light it,
sigils embroidered on clothes
Sorcery Flirtatious, good at getting peoples confidences, wears clothes well,
winning smile, smooth voice, hypnotic gaze, fascination with
anatomy
Dark Arts Animals shy away from you, gaunt and hollow eyed, likes to wear
black, hear spirit voices making you look distracted, mutters to the
ancestors sometimes
Nature Magic Wears very little clothing, spends a lot of time communing with
nature, not comfortable in cities, looks after sacred groves and
trees
Divination Never gives a straight answer, cynical, tendency to give people
knowing looks, far away look, tosses runes when distracted, always
knows people names before being told
Warding Has an extensive collection of fungi, enjoys smoking various herbs,
animals and small children like you, often seems to be a bit dizzy
Enchantment Magic Carries round a hammer, very interested in the quality of things
Warding Brusque manner, authoritative, powerful presence, peaceful or
calming presence, liked by animals

Great Glamours resisting such spells, representing an

individuals ability to see through the illusion.
Glamour is the magic of the Faerie folk. The If a player expresses an opinion that the
power of Lesser Glamour is possessed by spell may be an illusion they should receive
virtually all Faeries and simply allows them +1d or +2d to their roll to resist the spell.
to effect changes in their own appearance,
often confusing to mortals, but rarely
dangerous.
The power of Greater Glamour is possessed
by the Tuatha and Fomorians. This power
enables them to warp reality to their will. In
the Otherworld and the Veil the effects of
this power are real, the very stuff of the
Otherworld transforms and changes.
In the First World the changes are not real,
simply illusory, but are none the less
powerful if believed. Glamours have one
restriction, any Glamourous spell must have
an “achilles heel”, a way in which it can be
broken or it's effects ignored, provided a
character is aware of, or can work out, that
flaw.
In game terms the Greater Glamour ability
lets Tuatha or Fomorians cast spells for any
purpose (all actions are relevant), but they
must set a condition which allows the spell
to be broken or ignored. In the First World
Glamours are illusions, although they are
treated exactly as “real” effects with the
caveat that the Perceptive or Intelligent
traits can always be considered relevant to

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Equipment

Clinching a deal

Split Bonuses their silver coin, the Byzantines use Bezaints

as theirs. One Silver is worth ten bronzes,
The format Xd/Yd refers to attack/defense the smallest type of currency used. A gold
bonuses for weapons or armour. piece, rarely encountered, is worth ten
Silvers.

Money Availability
The Silver piece is the common currency
across all of Dark Age Europe. Most of the The availability of items is primarily a
british isles use the old Roman Denarius as function of their price and the size of the

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community you are shopping in:
• City or Great City: any item
• Town: 800 silver
• Village: 300 silver
• Hamlet: 20 silver.
• Camp: 100 silver
Evaluating Value
A character can make a roll to evaluate an
items worth.
Second Hand Items
Characters can sell “used” items for ½ their
list price.
Repairing Equipment
A broken item can be completely repaired
for one-half its list price. This relies on the
component pieces of the broken item being
present, if some have been lost the item
cannot be repaired and must be replaced.
This repair can be undertaken by most
competent craftsmen, so there is no problem
getting equipment repaired in most
settlements.
Wood and Iron
Most weapons are made of wood, iron, or a
mixture of the two.
Silver Weapons
It is possible to apply silver to weapons,
making them fully effective against undead,
were-creatures and some other supernatural
opponents. A silver weapon is not made of
solid silver (it is not resilient enough to
withstand repeated use) but its striking
surfaces are coated with a layer of silver. To
silver a weapon costs 100 silvers or 200
silvers for a Big weapon).
Flint Weapons
Any sharp weapon can be made of flint
rather than metal. This does not change the
cost and gives the weapon an additional +1d
in combat (flint is very sharp). The catch is
that a flint weapon breaks on a botched
attack or defense roll. A broken flint weapon
cannot be repaired, it must be replaced.
Steel Weapons
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Steel weapons costs ten times the normal
price and gain +1d/+1d in combat. Steel
weapons can only be repaired in towns or
cities due to the rarity of the specialised
skills needed to make them.
Master-crafted Items
Using a master-crafted item a relevant
situation gives you an extra bonus dice for
any rolls needed. Master-crafted items cost
five times the list price. In the case of
weapons a master-crafted weapon gives an
additional +1d/+0d and master-crafted
armour gives an extra +0d/+1d.
Enchanted Items
Enchanted items can be had, but are usually
quite expensive (normally x10 for a +1d
item, x100 for +2d item and x1000 for a
+3d item). Some common enchanted items
follow:
• Wizards Staff: +1d on magic rolls.
• Ever-keen Sword: +1d/+0d in combat.
• Resilient Mail: +1d
Legendary Items
Legendary items are unique and priceless,
each one having associations with a great
and widely revered character, although if
one does become available for money a
figure of 100,000 silvers or more is not
unreasonable.
Crafting
Any character can attempt to make any non-
enchanted item. An attempt to make an
item requires you to be in a settlement of
village or larger size and spend silvers equal
to half it's list price for raw materials, You
then make a Crafting trait roll. Each roll
takes one day. On a botch you have messed
up and lose your money and have no item.
On a failure you can try again the next day,
but do not need to spend any more money.
On a success you have produced the desired
item.
The DIFF of the roll is based on the
complexity and materials in the item. Metal
items are harder to work as well. Determine
the DIFF from the following table:
 DIFF
One material only, single piece 5
One material, two or more pieces 10
Multiple materials (and thus pieces) 15
Metal +5

Most weapons are DIFF 20 to make (multiple

materials and metal). Non-metal armours
are usually DIFF 15, metal armours DIFF 20.
Master-crafted items use the same
methodology to make, but only roll is made
per month, and a whole week must be spent
on the item before rolling.
Large items, such as buildings, carts and the
like roll once per week.

Equipment List
If it's not on the list tell the GM what you
want and agree a price and weight.

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Item Cost
(Silvers)
Winter Clothing 80 Includes thick cloak, furs, breeches, boats, hat, belt, belt
pouch, religious symbol
Receive a bonus dice against the effects of very cold
climates.
Normal Clothes 10 Includes cloak, tunic, breeches, boats, hat, belt, belt pouch,
religious symbol.
Luxurious clothes 80 Luxuriously tailored clothes which give a bonus dice on
relevant social interactions.
Travelling Kit 40 Waterskin, 30 yards weak rope, basic clothes, hatchet,
hammer, tarpaulin, fish hooks,
fishing line, sack, bandages,
cooking things, flint, whetstone and steel, bedroll, torch
etc.. all in a backpack.
Climbing Gear 80 Proper climbing gear (ropes, pitons etc..) which gives a
bonus dice to climbing rolls.
Cooking utensils 20 +1d on rolls to cook meals.
Magicians tools 40 +1d on magic rolls.
Magical 20 +1d on magic rolls, used up in process.
components
Craftsmans tools 80 +1d on craft related rolls.
Herbs 20 One dose of a particular herb (see herb section for details)
Wyrd Stone 500
Healers Tools 80 +1d on healing rolls.
Musical 80 +1d when relevant. For example, lute, pipes, harp
Instrument
Tools 80 +1d when using one specific trait (specify when you take
the tools)
Disposable tools 20 +1d when using one specific trait (specify when you take
the tools), used up in the process though.
Meal plus drinks 1
Seven Days 7
rations
Pint of beer ¼
Mug of wine ¼
Pony 300 Pony(4d): running, endurance, neighing, being ridden,
pulling things
Palfrey 600 Palfrey(5d): running, endurance, neighing, being ridden,
pulling things
Draft horse 500 Draft Horsed(6d): endurance, neighing, being ridden,
pulling things
War Horse 1000 War Horse(6d): running, endurance, neighing, being
ridden, pulling things, fighting
Tack for one 80 Includes bridle, blanket, saddle, spurs, reins etc… +1d on
horse riding rolls.

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 Backpack 15
Crowbar 10 +1d on rolls to force things open
8ft Ladder 6
Wagon 220
Courtesans 12+ per evening
services
Accommodation, 1
1 night in
dormitory
Accommodation, 6 Can sleep four comfortably in a room
1 night in private
room
Contract 12
Court special A lawyers fee, per day (most trials take a day), is equal to
Appearance the square of the number of dice in their highest relevant
trait times ten (so a lawyer with Eloquent 3d would cost 90
silvers a day to hire).
Deed 18
Will 24
Ancient 100 Sufficient for the Study edge.
document
Mercenary 15 per Mercenary(3d): Fighting, digging trenches, putting up
day tents, marching long distance, playing dice games, staying
awake on sentry duty, bargaining, drinking and wenching
• Arms and armour as desired.

Mercenary, 35 Mercenary(4d): Fighting, digging trenches, putting up

Veteran tents, marching long distance, playing dice games, staying
awake on sentry duty, bargaining, drinking and wenching
• Arms and armour as desired.
Mercenary, Elite 60 Mercenary(5d): Fighting, digging trenches, putting up
tents, marching long distance, playing dice games, staying
awake on sentry duty, bargaining, drinking and wenching
• Arms and armour as desired.
Prostitute 20 Per night
30 yards Strong 30 Supports 500lb
Rope
Grappling Hook 20
Sagely varies
knowledge7
Slave Blood A slaves price equals their blood price.
price
Small Tent 50 Sleeps 2
Big Tent 100 Sleeps 4
Very Big Tent 200 Sleeps 8
Huge Tent 500 Sleeps 16

7 Uncommon knowledge: 25 (identification of plants, summary of political situations,

recent history)
 Rare knowledge: 75 (reading dead languages, descriptions of foreign lands, old history)
 Very rare knowledge: 200 (reading ancient dead languages, descriptions of the farthest
reaches of the known world, ancient history)
 Dangerous/illicit knowledge: 500+ (reading magical texts, descriptions of poisons,
heretical theological speculation)
They will never give free hints to expensive secrets, and (especially with dangerous or illicit
knowledge) may not give any answers at all. The prices quoted above are, of course, a very
rough guide.

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 Map 100 A map of a relatively small area (such as a tribes lands).
+1d on wayfinding rolls in the appropriate area.
Weapons
Shield 20 +0d/+1d in melee combat, but +2d in defense against
ranged attacks. -1d for non-combat movement actions
though
Net 10 +0d/+1d normally, +1d/+1d with a Grapple or Disarm.
Large Net 20 Big, +0d/+1d normally, +2d/+1d with a Grapple or Disarm.
Whip 10 +0d/+0d normally, +1d/+0d with a Grapple or Disarm.
Battle Axe 45 Sharp and Weighted, +2d/+0d in combat
Table or Chair 10 Big, +1d/+0d in combat, -1d for non-combat movement
actions
War Club 15 Weighted, +1d/+0d in combat
Dagger or 15 Sharp, +1d/+0d in combat
Hatchet
Pole Axe or Great 90 Big, Sharp and Weighted, +3d/+0d in combat, -1d for non-
Axe combat movement actions
Gladius 60 Sharp and Balanced, +2d/+1d in combat
Spatha 60 Balanced and Sharp, +2d/+1d in combat
Long Sword 60 Balanced and Sharp, +2d/+1d in combat
Falcata 45 Sharp and Weighted, +2d/+0d in combat
Long Spear** 30 Big and Sharp, +2d/+0d in combat, -1d for non-combat
movement actions
Short Spear** 15 Sharp, +1d/+0d in combat
Staff 40 Big and Balanced, +2d/+1d in combat, -1d for non-combat
movement actions
Single-stick 20 Balanced, +1d/+1d in combat
Pilum 45 Sharp and Ranged (20/100 range), +1d/+0d in melee
combat, +2d/+0d in ranged combat
Bow* 90 Big, Sharp and Ranged (50/200 range), +1d/+0d in melee
combat, +3d/+0d in ranged combat only, -1d for non-
combat movement actions
Sling* 15 Ranged (10/50), +0d/+0d in melee combat, +1d/+0d in
ranged combat
Thrown Rock - Ranged, +0d/+0d in melee combat, +1d/+0d in ranged
combat
Armour
Furs 20 Heavy, (+0d/+1d) in combat, -1d for non-combat
movement actions
Leather Doublet 30 Thick, (+0d/+1d)in combat
Mail Vest 30 Metal, (+0d/+1d) in combat
Brigandine 60 Heavy and Thick, (+0d/+2d) in combat, -1d for non-combat
movement actions
Hard leather 90 Hard, Thick, (+0d/+2d) in combat
Scale Mail 180 Hard, Heavy and Thick, (+0d/+3d) in combat, -1d for non-
combat movement actions
Double-Mail Vest 90 Thick, Metal, (+0d/+2d) in combat
Mail Hauberk 180 Heavy, Metal and Thick, (+0d/+3d) in combat, -1d for non-
combat movement actions
Breast Plate 90 Hard, Metal, (+0d/+2d) in combat
Half Plate 180 Heavy, Metal and Hard, (+0d/+3d) in combat, -1d for non-
combat movement actions
Superheavy Plate 540 Heavy, Metal, Thick and Hard, (+0d/+4d) in combat, -1d for
non-combat movement actions
*Uses one unit of ammunition with each attack (arrows for a bow, stones for a sling)
**Short spear has a +0d/+1d against non-Big weapons or Long Spears. Long spear has
+0d/+1d bonus against any weapon except another Long Spear.

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Economics If you lose more than 100% of your
investment you have been wiped out.
Rather than trying to produce a micro-
detailed set of rules for farming, trading, A minus value indicates a loss, the capital
agriculture etc... We've instead opted for a invested is reduced by the loss.
much simpler approach. A player character Low Risk: land and investments in a
states how much money they wish to invest kingdom.
(capital) then receives a return on that Moderate Risk: agricultural investments.
capital every season (paid in a lump sum at High Risk: investments in business and
the end of the season). You can decide how local trade.
to invest you money, divide the sum into Very High Risk: investments in long
low, moderate, high and very high risk distance trade.
investments. You may have any number of
each kind of investment if you wish (for Selling Up
example, you could have three low risk
investments). You may, at any time, decide to sell you
At the end of the season roll the dice shown investments. If you are in no hurry (weeks or
to determine whether your investment has months) assume you receive the full value of
increased or decreased in value. You may the investments in cash. If you need to get
take out any increase without penalty, if you money fast (days) decide how much you
wish (representing the profits). wish to sell then roll (2d6x1d6) to determine
Roll the dice listed to determine the change what percentage of their value you receive.
in value of your investment.
Banking
Low Risk Modera High Very High
te Risk Risk Risk There are no such things as “banks” in the
(1d6-1d6) (1d6- (1d6- (1d6-1d6) Dark Age world, but money can usually be
x1% 1d6) 1d6) x20% safely be left with the church, the royal
x5% x10% treasury or well establish merchants for safe
keeping. You do not get interest by leaving
money there though.

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The First World
Hazards
Characters can be exposed to various
hazards during a game. In game terms all
hazards are handled the same way, the
character must roll against a fixed DIFF, its
value being based on the nature of the
hazard. If you fail the roll you take damage
accordingly.
Unless stated otherwise the severity of an
injury from a hazard determines it's healing
time as normal, but a roll on the
Complicationtable is NOT made for damage
from a Hazard.
The only exception is a fall, in which case
hazard table rolls are made.
The Relevant traits to be used against
hazards vary, but may include:
Agile: Against falling.
Tough: Against fire, acid, extremes of
climate or falling.
Healthy: Against drowning, suffocation,
poison and disease or extremes of climate.
Strong Willed: Against climate or drugs.
Armour is not effective against poison,
disease, drowning or suffocation. It can
protect against burning, and climate
(although it can also have a negative effect
on climate rolls) and always has a negative
effect on swimming and drowning.
Climate
A character who has to spend time in a very
hot (such as a desert under the hot sun) or
very cold (such as freezing winters night or
arctic conditions) environment is at risk.
Make a DIFF 10 roll every hour in such an
environment and if you fail take damage
accordingly.
In very hot conditions armour dice are
applied as penalty dice (for example, a
character wearing +2d armour has -2d when
rolling against a very hot climate).
In very cold conditions metal armour gives
you a -1d, but thick armour gives you +1d.
Winter clothing also gives you another +1d.
Suffocation
If a character is deprived of oxygen they
begin to suffocate. Make a DIFF 10 roll every
round and if you fail take damage
accordingly.
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Climbing
Traits relevant to climbing include Strong
and Agile. The DIFF of the roll reflects the
hardness of the climb (quality and number of
holds, incline of rock) and distance. A
successful roll gets you up the climb. A failed
roll means the climb is beyond you. A
botched roll indicates a fall and damage
accordingly from the failed roll.
If you have proper climbing gear, such as
rope and chocks receive +1d on the roll.
To increase tension the GM may wish to
break a longer climb down into several
stages, rolling for each stage separately.
If a character has managed to get up a climb
it can be assumed that they can
automatically get back down again (even
though this often isn't the case in reality).
Swimming & Drowning
A character who is in still, or slow moving,
water and not wearing armour does not
need to make any rolls, the can swim around
as an automatic action8. If they are in
armour or the water is rough a roll must be
made each round to avoid inhaling water. If
you fail the roll take damage accordingly.
The DIFF of that roll is calculated as follows,
add up the DIFF numbers if multiple criteria
apply:
DIFF
Fast flowing water 5
White water (such as rapids) 10
Severe white water (such as a 15
storm tossed sea)
In armour 5
In heavy armour 10
Unconscious 10
For example, a character in white water
wearing armour has to roll against a DIFF of
15 each round.
8 Characters in Samlaidh are heroes, so we
assume they can all swim.
Burning
Every round which a character spends in
contact with fire requires a roll to avoid
damage. The only really effective trait
against fire damage is Tough and armour
dice should be counted as bonus dice as
well. The DIFF depends on the kind of fire:
Temperature DIFF
Burning clothes
Body part thrust into a wood fire
Body part thrust into a charcoal
fire (like a smiths forge)
Burning oil
Caught in a burning building9
Burnt at the stake
9 Wrapping a wet rag round you face
gives you a bonus dice in such a
situation, as does covering yourself in
a blanket or similar.
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If you fail take damage accordingly.
For example, the heroic Bran, Tough(3d),
leather armour(+1d) is caught in a burning
villa as he tries to rescue a child. In the first
round he rolls four dice (3d from Tough, one
bonus dice from armour) and and keeps
three. He rolls 6,4,3 & 3 and keeps 6,4 & 3
for a total of 13. The DIFF of a house fire is
15 10, so this round he is unharmed.
In the second round he rolls again and gets
5 a total of 4, taking (10-4=6, two damage).
In the third round he rolls an 8 and takes *-
20 4=4, one damage)
15
10
15
Falling
A character who falls from a height should
make a single roll against a DIFF equal to the
number of feet fallen, taking damage if they
fail.
For example, so a 20 ft drop would require a
DIFF 20 roll.
The distance fallen is always calculated from
a character feet to the ground, so a 6ft
character who climbed over a 10ft wall, then
lowered themselves as far as possible would
probably only fall 2ft, a DIFF 2 roll. Unlike
other Hazards wounds and serious wounds
from a fall do trigger a roll on the
Complicationtable.
Drugs and Poisons
Drugs and poisons are treated like other
hazards. Poisons are defined by their
method of administration, speed of effect
and potency. When a character is poisoned
they must roll against the poisons DIFF.
If a character beats the DIFF the poison or
drug has been fought off and no more rolls
are needed (As an optional rule the GM may
wish to give characters +1d against that
specific drug or poison in future to represent
some degree of immunity to it).
If the character fails the roll they take
damage as normal. In the case of a drug
stop rolling after you become incapacitated.
Poison and Drugs are rated as Slow, Normal
or Fast. This determines how often a
character has to roll to resist them.
A slow poison or drug requires a roll every
day. A normal poison or drug requires a roll
every ten minutes and a fast poison or drug
every round. If a poison or drug has no
specific speed noted it can be assumed to be
normal speed.
Methods of Administration
Ingested: Ingested poisons and drugs must
be drunk or eaten to take effect. They are
often hidden in foods (for most drugs or
poisons a DIFF 12 roll will identify the poison
or drug before eating it, if hidden in food).
Contact: Contact poisons or drugs only
require contact with bare skin to take effect.
Inhaled: Inhaled poisons are vapours, fine
mists of gases which must be breathed in to
take effect.
Blood: Blood poisons must be introduced
into the blood stream to take effect, usually
through a cut or other open wound. Blood
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poisons are most often used on weapons in
combat.
Poison Weapons
Weapons can be poisoned. A dose of poison
lasts until used (where used means it is
introduced to a target effectively) or until
the end of a scene, whichever comes first.
Sharp weapons can be coated with Blood or
Contact poisons, other weapons can only be
coated with Contact poisons.
To introduce a poison requires a wound.
Once such a wound has been inflicted the
poison is considered to have been wiped off
the weapon. The rules applies to drugs,
which can also be applied to weapons.
Poisonous animals use the same rules, they
normally attack to scratch, just enough to
inject their venom.
Poisons and Drugs
You will find various drugs and poisons listed
in the general equipment section. The
difference between drugs and poisons is that
drugs stop effecting you once you are
unconscious, they do not kill.
Animal and Mineral Poisons
Various herbal poisons can be found on the
herb table. This list gives some common
animal and mineral poisons:
• Arsenic (DIFF 15 Slow poison)
• Lead (DIFF 10 Ingested slow poison)
• Quicksilver (DIFF 10 Normal Blood
poison)
• Mineral Acids (DIFF 15 Slow Inhaled
Poison)
• Adder venom (DIFF 5 Normal poison)
Animal poisons can be milked from the
concerned creature but generally do not last
long before becoming harmless. Note that
there are no snakes in Eire.
Diseases
Characters can become infected with a
variety of unpleasant diseases. A character
infected with a potentially fatal disease
should be treated as though they have been
subjected to a poison, make the roll every
day after infection. Non-fatal diseases are
just unpleasant, but no rolls are needed.
Some examples include:
 • 1 in 6 chance per week of catching a
• Pneumonia (DIFF 6): Symptoms include disease in an area of epidemic (such as
fever and difficulty breathing. city with a smallpox epidemic). If you
• Typhoid (DIFF 8): Symptoms include catch a disease it will be the epidemic
intestinal disorders and diarrhoea. one.
• Plague (DIFF 8): Symptoms include
fear, intestinal disorders and skin lesions. Immunity
• Smallpox (DIFF 10): Symptoms include
prolonged vomiting and fever, A character who survives a disease can be
accompanied by fluid filled red pustules considered to be immune to it in future.
on the skin. Anyone who survives a bout
of smallpox will be permanently scarred
(-1d to any rolls where being scarred Treating Poisons and
would make things difficult). Diseases
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
(STD's) (DIFF 4): There are various As noted in the rules chapter, poisons and
STD's, with the two most common being diseases can be neutralised with treatment.
gonorrhoea (the clap) and herpes. The DIFF is the poison, drug or diseases DIFF
• Influenza (DIFF 4): Symptoms include to resist.
high fevers and joint pains.
• Wound Infection (DIFF 8): The two
most common wound infections are
gangrene and septicaemia (blood
poisoning).

Catching Diseases
Even without modern medicine the dark age
world is surprisingly disease free. This is
largely due to the low population densities in
most areas, which restricts the spread of
disease and prevents a build up of human
wastes beyond the environments ability to
handle it.
For game purposes we assume that player
characters always use protection when
having sex (and protection doesn't mean a
battle-axe), which effectively negates any
risks from STD's.
Characters usually catch diseases in one of
several ways:
• You may catch a wound infection as a
result from the Complicationtable.
• Roll 2d6 for every month spent in a town
or city, on a 3+ you catch a disease. Roll
1d6 to determine what you catch:
1d6 Disease
1-3 Influenza
4-5 STD*
6 Roll d6 again
1-2 Typhoid
3 Plague
4 Smallpox
5-6 Pneumonia
*If your character is celibate you catch
influenza.

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Overland Travel finishing up by sunset to allow time to set-up
A parties overland movement rate is as camp.
follows: Leisurely movement is typically used by
merchant caravans or nobles on the move.
Leisurely Normal Hurried Character who insist on travelling whilst
Roman 10 20 30 wearing (not just carrying) heavy armour
Road also move at the Leisurely movement rate.
Good 5 10 15
Road Wayfinding
Trail 4 8 4 One party member should make a roll each
Wilds 2 4 2 day to stay on track (possibly supported by
The figure in the table is in miles per day. other members). Relevant traits include
• Roman Road: An old roman road. Knowledgeable and Intelligent.
• Familiar territory: DIFF 5
• Good Road: A well used route.
• Unfamiliar territory: DIFF 10
• Trail: A trail is little more than marks in
• On trails: DIFF +5
the dirt.
• In Wilds: DIFF +10
• Wilds: No trail at all.
If the roll is failed the party has circled back
The Hurried rate can only be used if the on itself that day and ends up back where it
whole party is mounted (there is no penalty started, making no progress.
for hurried movement) or by characters with
Healthy(3d) or more. Maps
Normal movement assumes a good days
travel, setting off in the morning after a An appropriate map gives you a bonus dice
breakfast, stopping for lunch and then on rolls to stay on track. A master-crafted or

Remembering maps can save a lot of time and effort

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enchanted map is worth +2d and a master-
crafted and enchanted map is worth +3d.
Winter Travel
Travelling in the winter is far more difficult
than in the other seasons and the overland
travel rates should be halved during the
winter time (round up). In the British Isles
winter can be considered to run from the
start of December to the start of March, the
coldest quarter of the year.
Forced March
A character can opt to force march when
travelling overland, this doubles the distance
travelled in a day but doing so automaticaly
fatigues them and they are at -1d to all
actions the next day if they do not get a
good nights sleep. A fatigued character
cannot force march until they have had a
good nights sleep.
Water and Sea Travel
Water and Sea Travel are not uncommon
ways of getting around in dark age Britain.
Water travel is mainly by barges on rivers,
A Byzantine military column on a forced march, note the mounted officer and footsoldiers
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usually pulled by horses or cattle on the
bank, ferries across wide rivers and small
fishing boots in some lakes. Barges travel
around 10 miles per day downriver and 5
miles upriver with passage costing around a
silver a day. Travel on flat water (such as
lakes) is at around 7 miles per day.
Sea going ships of the period are quite
primitive and few captains have mastered
the art of tacking against the wind, so travel
is very much dependent on wind direction. A
typical sea going vessel can cover around
2d6x10 miles per day, at a cost of one silver
piece per day.
The Saxons are the unchallenged masters of
the sea, their tough small ships plying the
channel and north sea waters for trade and
raiding purposes. Most sea journeys in the
British Isles are on small fishing boats or
cogs which ply the coastal waters, taking
cargo from port to port. To cross to the
continent is a risky affair and takes 2d6
days, which reflects the variable winds and
tides. On a roll of doubles the ship sinks
during the crossing, killing everyone aboard,
Saxon ships only sink on a roll of 2 or 12.
To cross the North Sea, to Scandinavia,
takes 2d6x3 days and a ship sinks on a roll
of 2 or 12 (Saxon or not).
The Aftermath of Babel Writing DIFF
(Languages) In Atlantean or Lemurian +10

Virtually everyone throughout Europe speaks One roll is sufficient to read the document,
a bastardized form of Latin, a common or to write such a document. If you fail the
lingua franca, in addition to their native roll when writing you simply cannot find the
tongue. In game terms this means form of words to express your meaning. A
communication is generally not a problem. botched roll when writing produces a
On the other hand, literacy is not common document which is misleading.
and there are several common written A botched roll when reading means you
languages: completely misinterpret it, a failed roll
• Latin: the language of the Romano- simply means you do not understand it..
British and Byzantines.
• Ogham: the language of the Celts.
• Glyphs: the language of the Picts.
• Sorcerers Script: a language learnt by
Sorcerers and used to record information,
to protect it from prying eyes.
• Ancient Atlantean and Ancient
Lemurian: the written forms of the
tongues of these long vanished
civilisations.
Note that in some scripts one symbol
represents several different Roman letters...
enjoy, this just makes working out what a
script says more entertaining and difficult.

Languages in play
Spoken language should rarely present any
problems during play, but written languages
are another matter.
To read or write requires a roll
(Knowledgeable is relevant) against the
following DIFF numbers:
Writing DIFF
Own name and address 5
Non-technical writing (such as 10
shopping lists, personal letters)
Technical writing (such as 15
engineering documents, battle
plans)
Very technical or abstract writing 20
(such as magical texts,
philosophical treatises)
In language other than native +5
tongue

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Latin Celtic Pictish Sorcerers Saxon Ancient Ancient
Ogham Glyphs Script Futhorc (the Atlantean Lemurian
Runes)
A A A A A A A
B B B B B B B
C C C C C C C
D D D D D D D
E E E E E E E
F F F F F F F
G G G G G G G
H H H H H H H
I I I I I I I
J f J J J J J
K l K K K K K
L L L L L L L
M M M M M M M
N N N N N N N
O O O O O O O
P P P P P P P
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
R R R R R R R
S S S S S S S
T T T T T T T
U U U U U U U
V b V V V V V
W u W W W W W
X n X X X X X
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
I 1 1

II 2 2

III 3 3

IV 4 4

V 5 5

VI 6 6

VII 7 7

VIII 8 8

IX 9 9

X 0 0

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Calendars
Each culture has its own calendar. For most purposes the Celtic calendar is used in play.

Modern Moons Celtic Tree Celtic Saxon Pictish

Equivalent

May 1st Moon Birch An Bhealtaine Ðrimilcemonað (month of Bear

three milkings)
June 2nd Moon Rowan An Meitheamh Ærra Liða10 (first Liða) Bull
July 3 Moon
rd
Ash lúil Æfterra Liða (after Liða) Cat
August 4 Moon
th
Alder Lúnasa Weodmonað (Weed Weasel
month)
September 5th Moon Willow Meán Fómhair Haligmonað (holy Otter
month11)
October 6th Moon Hawthorn Deireadh Winterfilleð12 Snake
Fómhair

November 7th Moon Oak Samhain Blotmonað (month of Owl

blood sacrifice13)
December 8th Moon Holly Nollaig Ærra Geola (First Yule) Salmon
January 9 Moon
th
Hazel Enáir Æfterra Geola (Following Wolf
Yule)
February 10th Moon Vine Feabhra Solmonað(Mud month) Stag
March 11 Moonth
Ivy An Márta Hreðmonað Boar
April 12 Moonth
Reed An t-Aibreán Eostermonað Raven
13 Moonth
Elder

Monday Dé Luan Monandaeg (Day of the Hawk

Moon)
Tuesday Dé Mairt Tiwesdaeg (Day of the Hound
Warrior)
Wednesday Dé Céadaoin Wodnesdaeg (Day of the Cow
hunter)
Thursday Déardaoin Thursdaeg (Day of Robin
Strength and Thunder)
Friday Dé h-Aoine Frigedaeg (Day of Beauty) Trout
Saturday Dé Sathairn Saeterdaeg (Day of Eagle
Saturn)
Sunday Dé Domhnaigh Sunnandaeg (day of the Horse
Sun)

10Liða means “gentle” and refers to the calm state of the sea's at this time of year. This is the
season when raiders set forth from the shores to cross the channel.
11 Many ritual sacrifices take place this month, mainly giving thanks for the harvest (which
happens this month) and for the safe return of ships which have been out for the summer.
12 This month marks the beginning of the winter months.
13 Cattle which are unlikely to survive the winter are sacrificed in this month for their meat.

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The Roman Calendar
The Romano-British tend to use the local calendar of the kingdom they are in. The Byzantine
Empire uses the old Roman lunar calendar of ten months (six of thirty days and four of thirty
one days).

Kalends Nones Ides

Iannarils (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
Februarias (28 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
Martius (31 days) 1st day of the month 7th day of the month 15th day of the month
Aprilis (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
Maius (31 days) 1st day of the month 7th day of the month 15th day of the month
Iunius (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
Quintilis (31 days) 1st day of the month 7th day of the month 15th day of the month
Sextilis (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
September (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
October (31 days) 1st day of the month 7th day of the month 15th day of the month
November (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month
December (29 days) 1st day of the month 5th day of the month 13th day of the month

The Romans do not use days of the week,
instead there are three key dates in the
month; the Kalends, the Ides and the Nones.
Dates falling between these key dates are
designated by counting inclusively backward
from the upcoming division point. This
means that any day after the Ides is counted
back from the Kalends of the next month.
For example 30th March was known as III
(three) Kalends April. The 10th of July would
be V (five) Ides Quintilis.
Hospitality
Every culture shares a common approach to
hospitality. Basically you are required to
feed and shelter, as best you can, anyone
who comes to your door. You must do this
for as long as they wish to stay with you, but
it is considered a gross breach of etiquette
to stay more than one night unless invited. If
someone seeks your hospitality you may not
injure or harm them whilst under your roof. It
is also considered a breach of etiquette to
seek hospitality when an inn or tavern is
near by, unless you have been invited to
stay by the host.
Likewise the character who receives
hospitality may not harm or dishonour their
host.
As a rule of thumb, if a character overstays
their welcome they are likely to be “asked”
to leave by the hosts kinfolk in short order...
this is considered socially acceptable.
Due Hospitality
Nobles are required, by law, to offer
Hospitality to their social superiors (such as
the King). Unlike non-nobles it is not
considered a breach of etiquette for your
superiors to stay as long as they wish, in fact
the longer they stay the more honour they
do you.
Law and Punishment
Every culture has its own legal system, but
they are all broadly similar. Crimes are
either civil or criminal. A civil charge is
bought by another citizen and usually
involves some transgression against their
person, such as breaking a contract or
causing them harm in some way which is not
criminal. Criminal charges are bought by the
“state” for breaking recognised laws, such
as murder, rape, assault, theft and the like.
Either kind of case is resolved in the same
way.
Legal Protection
Different cultures have different outlooks on

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who is protected by local law. Saxon and
Byzantine kingdoms extend full legal
protection to everyone present in the
kingdom, although courts are more likely to
find in favour of natives than non-natives.
Pictish and Celtic cultures do not, generally,
respect the legal rights of anyone who is not
of the tribe who's land they are in. In such
circumstances a characters protection
comes from their own strength of arm or wit.
Fianna Bands
Fianna Bands have a status much like Aes
Dana. A character who is identified as a
Fiann (usually be revealing their Ail) is
automatically given full legal respect and
status, regardless of origins. This applies in
all lands, even Pictish lands.
Aes Dana
Aes Dana is a social status certain
individuals have within Celtic society. One of
the key points about this status is the legal
protection it affords to the individual.
Characters of the Aes Dana are protected
fully by local law, regardless of their tribe of
origin. In game terms any character who is
Knowledgeable, has a Magic trait or who
can make things (such as weapons or
equipment) is considered Aes Dana in Celtic
lands, even if not of Celtic origin.
Lawyers
Anyone may represent themselves in court,
but it is common practise to hire a local
lawyer. Lawyers usually have one or more
relevant traits (at 3d or more) such as
Intelligent, Manipulative or Knowledgeable.
It is also wise to use a local lawyer as they
will be known to the presiding authority and
strangers are generally viewed with more
suspicion.
Procedure
The plaintiff (in a civil case the citizen who is
making the accusation, in a criminal case
some representative of the “state”) and
defendant are bought before a judge (in
Celtic lands this is usually a Druid, in Pictish
lands a Fiosaiche, in Saxon lands the
settlements chieftain or Vola and in Romano-
British or Byzantine lands a career judge,
employed by the state).
The case is represented by an opposed roll
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between the plaintiff and defendant (usually
between their representatives).
If the plaintiff wins they have persuaded the
judge that they are in the right and the
defendant should be punished. If they lose
the judge rules in favour of the defendant.
Some applicable circumstance bonuses may
be:
• You are not from the local
community: +1d to opponents roll.
• No Evidence: +2d to defendants roll.
• Poor Evidence: +1d to defendants roll.
• Average Evidence: no modifiers.
• Good Evidence: +1d to plaintiffs roll.
• Excellent Evidence: +2d to plaintiffs
roll.
Blood Price
A key concept in all cultures is Blood price
(called Sarhaed in Celtic lands and Were-gelt
in Saxon ones). The usual punishment for a
crime is to pay a fine based on the victims
Blood price.
An individuals Blood price is equal to their
highest dice squared x100, so a character
with a 4d trait has a blood price of 1600
silvers. Double the blood price for characters
of Noble birth.
Byzantine courts operate differently, but this
will not addressed in detail as the core rules
of Samlaidh are set in Britain and are not
part of the Empire.
Enslavement
If you cannot afford to pay a fine levied by
the court you have another option other
than the blood feud. You may be enslaved,
in which case your sale price equals your
Blood price. The proceeds of the sale go to
paying off the blood price, any remainders
go to your kin. In practical terms an
enslaved character is removed from play.
Blood Feuds
In all cultures a blood feud may, on occasion,
be declared. A blood feud is generally
declared when an individual fails to pay the
fine set by the court or when the crime is so
heinous (in the eyes of the aggrieved party
or their kin) that money will not compensate.
A blood feud allows the whole clan of the
offended party to pursue the criminal, but
does tend to result in a clan vs. clan feud.
Sometimes, rarely, the individual will
surrender themselves to the offended clan
for execution or their own clan will hand
them over, although this only happens for
very grave offences which have dishonoured
the clan (such as paedophilia). Blood feuds
are not common, everyone recognises that
an ordered society is a good thing, and that
unrestricted blood feuds can cause serious
upset, so a blood feud is generally only
declared in extreme circumstances.

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 Crime/Charge Punishment
Theft by violence Value of goods stolen x2
Theft by stealth Value of goods stolen x3
Fraud, breach of contract or Defrauded amount x3
cheating
Murder of a freeman Victims blood price to immediate family and half to kin one
step removed
Murder of a slave Slaves blood price to their owner
Secret Murder x2 the price of murdering the victim
Ilegal Maiming Victims blood price
Illegal wounding ¼ victims blood price for each wound of 5 or more value
Illegal satire Victims blood price
Rape Victims blood price
Sexual Assault Victims blood price
Violation of protection Full fine for crime plus Victims blood price to protector
Damage to buildings Cost of repair or replacement x3
Damage to other property Cost of repair or replacement x2
Accomplice or accessory to a Full fine demanded by the crime
crime
Inciting a crime to be committed Full fine demanded by the crime
Looking onto a crime Quarter of fine demanded by the crime
Illegal distraint Return of property plus 100 silver fine
Refusal of due hospitality Blood price of the guest

Satire fine is payable to the victim and their

Satire is quite a common way of punishing
someone. A satire is a poem, tale or song
which makes fun of an individual or slurs
their character. An illegal satire is a satire
which is unjustified (eg.. a bard may
compose a satire of a character who has
mistreated them, this is fine, but to compose
a satire purely out of maliciousness would be
illegal).
In game terms to satirise someone is an
opposed roll. Relevant traits include Bard,
Eloquent, Ingenious and Intelligent. The
character who rolls higher has created the
more effective satire and the loser is at -1d
to all social type rolls in the community for
the rest of the season.
Protection
A character may publicly offer their
protection to another. If the protected
character is then transgressed against any
protector as well.
Distraint
Distraint is the recovery of property from
someon through due legal process. An illegal
distraint occurs when the due process is not
followed (eg.. the property is ceased on a
holy day).
Murder vs. Killing
It is important to note the difference
between murder and killing. Killing happens
in battle or other moment of excitement and
conflict. As a rule of thumb if the opponent
has a fighting chance and is killed it is a
Killing, if the opponent has no real chance of
survival it is murder (eg.. if you slaughter an
unarmed farmer, that's murder.. if you kill an
armed warrior in battle that is killing). Killing
is not criminal, its just part of life, Murder is.
Secret murder is assassination or the like,

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killing someone in cold blood who has For example, to break a DIFF 8 door requires
absolutely no chance of surviving (eg.. a roll of 8 or more.
stabbing a farmer in the back would be
murder however cutting a sentries throat in
a raid would be killing, unless you were
killing them to facilitate a theft rather than
in war situation).

Policing
The Byzantine empire has a “police” system,
although it is not of the cops on the beat
variety, rather it is an elite group of warriors
called Justicars who investigate crimes and
arrest suspects. Other cultures have no
formal police, instead the local militia acts as
a police force.

Objects
Objects have a fixed DIFF to break, make an
appropriate roll (Strong is the most relevant
trait) and if you equal or beat the DIFF the
object is broken. An object can be repaired
by a skiled craftsman with appropriate tools
for half the cost to buy it new.

Arguably, not the most efficient way to dispose of unwanted furniture

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Common Objects
Some common objects include:

Object DIFF
Light wooden furniture 6
Heavy wooden furniture 10
Light Wood door (1“ thick) 6
Medium Wooden door (2” thick) 10
Heavy Wooden door (4” thick) 15
Metal reinforced Heavy Wood door (4” thick plus 21
iron bands)
Wattle and daub wall (majority of buildings) 4 per inch of thickness (round up)
Wood Wall 6 per inch of thickness (round up)
Brick Wall 8 per inch of thickness (round up)
Stone Wall 15 per inch of thickness (round up)
Iron Wall 25 per inch of thickness (round up)

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Orders and Societies
There are a great many orders and societies
in the world of Samlaidh and some examples
follow. In this section the term order or
society are used interchangeably.
Certain boons allow player characters to
begin play as members of societies, but for
most characters joining the society will
require a conscious effort. Most societies are
joined by invitation only, with new members
usually being required to undertake some
kind of trial of initiation, the nature of which
depends on the society.
Joining a Society
Characters may begin play as members of a
society if they roll the appropriate boon
during character generation, otherwise they
will have to join later in their career.
Each society looks for high scores in one or
more traits. When a character hits the
required number of dice there is a 1 in 6
chance of them being invited to join. Each
time they gain an additional dice in one of
the appropriate traits roll again, with the
same 1 in 6 chance.
In the case of the Paragon schools roll once
only for all the schools and on a one the
school most appropriate to your fighting
style has approached you (for example, if
you use an axe normally the fellows of the
axe approach you).
The same applies to the mystery cults, if you
roll a one then the most appropriate Mystery
cult approaches you and offers membership.
A character who is invited to join must
undertake some initiation service, which the
GM will decide on and, on successful
completion of the service, they become a
member. To gain the societies secret benefit
requires the character to spend a season out
of play studying with the order.
Once a member the character should seek to
uphold the societies beliefs and aims as best
they can. A character who wilfully ignores
the societies aims has a 1 in 6 chance each
season of being ejected from the society,
although they do not lose their secret
technique.
The Order of Hermes
Usually referred to as the Order of Hermes
(or Hermetic order). First and foremost note
that not all Hermetic mages are members of
the order. The order is dedicated to the
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study and investigation of magic and
promotes a balance above all things. The
order of Hermes holds that magic was first
taught to the ancient eqyptians by the God
Hermes, also known as Thoth. The order of
Hermes does not publicise its existence, but
is not secret either. Hermetic mages spend
much of their time between adventures
engaged in research and experimentation.
The order maintains chapter houses in most
towns and cities. The order takes a rational
approach to magic, considering it to be more
of a science than an art. Members of the
order are often referred to as Hermetic magi.
The order considers magic to be a useful
asset for human civilisation and as such it
should be researched, its boundaries and
limitations and mapped and true
understanding achieved.
• Choose one element (from air, earth, fire
or water). When you cast a spell using
that element gain a bonus dice.
The Fianna
Player characters begin as members of the
Fianna and more information can be found
on the Order in the Fiann section.
The Fianna began as a Gael order of celtic
knights dedicated to protecting Ireland
before their own clans. They adhere to a
strict code of honour which dictates their
behaviour. Over the centuries the Fianna
have spread and now consider themselves
the protectors of all Celtic lands. Members of
the Fianna tend to operate alone, or in small
groups, and wander freely throughout Celtic
lands bringing justice and order. They are
generally respected by Celtic peoples, and
treated as Aes Dana in most Celtic
communities.
Fianna may be male or female. Individual
members of the Fianna are usually referred
to as Fian and they adhere to strict code of
honour.
• Loyalty to all Celts and your fellow
fianna.
• Respect and Honour seers, druids, and
wisdoms.
• Respect and Honour the Law.
• Respect and Honour holy places,
shrines, burial cairns, vaults and
tombs.
• Provide hospitality to any who ask or
need.
• Aid the weak and unprotected.
• Defend the weak and unprotected.
• Set aside all personal and clan
 differences, you have but one family a single one-handed sword and get
and clan, the Fianna. additional trait dice on their Fighter trait
From the ranks of the Fianna come many (not just a bonus dice).
legendary heroes.
• Receive a bonus XP if you meet the
criteria for Valour in a session.

The Red Branch

The Red Branch is a Celtic warriors society.
It's members are renowed for their ferocity
in battle. The typical red branch is a hard
drinking warrior of some renown. Successful
Celtic fighters are likely to be invited to join
the Red Branch. The Red Branch has no
specific aims or intentions, it is really a
glorifed social club for the best fighters
around, although members do help each
other out as and when. Warriors of the red
branch train specifically to fight in little or no
armour.
• A red branch warrior who fights in no
armour gets an additional trait dice on
their Fighter trait (not just a bonus dice).

Paragon Schools
Those who study and practise the
techniques of combat tend to cluster
together into schools, with each school
based on a common style of fighting. Each
paragon school has its own secret
techniques which members of the school
learn. A character cannot be a member of
more than one school at any given time and
some fighters spend much of their lives Fighting Dimacherian style
moving from school to school, studying at
each then moving to another when they The Cult of Mithras
have mastered the lessons to be learned.
Many of the schools can trace their origins Mithraism is a soldier’s mystery cult that
back to the Roman Empire, and tend to have spun off from Zorastrianism. It believes in a
a strong representation of Romano-British cosmic war between Ahriman, the God of
fighters. Some of the paragon schools Evil and Ahura-Mazda, the God of Good, who
include: will eventually triumph. Mithras is one of
• Fellows of the Axe: Bonus dice with Ahura-Mazda’s chief servants. The cult is a
axes. mystery cult, with secret rites, ranks of
• Sword Dancers: Bonus dice with swords initiation, and secret cult wisdom. It tended
(gladius, long-swords, spatha or falcata). to be a soldier’s cult, as its members
• Thracian School: Bonus dice with a believed they were preparing for the last
weapon & shield combination. battle. The cult actively opposes Diabolists
• Dimacherian School: Bonus dice when and other evil doers, and it is quite common
fighting with two-weapons (techniques to find agents of the cult opposing such
evolved from a roman gladiatorial style). activities.
• Sagittarian school: Bonus dice with • Receive a bonus dice when fighting any
bows. kind of summoned evil creature.
• Velesian School: Bonus dice when
fighting with any spear.
• Flashing Blade School: Fight with only

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The Cult of Sol Invictus the paragon.
The cult of Sol Invictus was founded by the
Roman Emperor Aurelius in the 4th century The Order of Isis
AD. The cult still exists as a small following
of sun worshippers, similar in many ways to Isis is the egyptian moon goddess who's
the cult of Mithras. The cult of Sol Invictus dominion is the night and magic. Where the
harbour a deep hatred of the undead and order of hermes tends to concentrate on
consider it their sacred duty to hunt down overt magic members of the order of Isis are
and destroy any undead creatures in the more interested in subtle magic, particularly
First World. magic which influences the mind and spirit.
• Receive an additional trait dice to Fighter
The order attracts members from many
when fighting the undead. different domains but with a definite slant
towards the Wiccans and their like, those
The Mystery Cults who wield subtle spells.
• Receive a bonus dice on Mind magics.
The cult of Mithras and Sol Invictus are
mystery cults, but are important enough to
merit their own entries. Each of the Gods
listed in the description of the Religio-
Romana has their own mystery cult. The
exact details of worship differ but the
general benefits are the same.
• A member of a mystery cult receives +1d
when dealing with Byzantine or Romano-
British authorities/ bureaucracies because
of the likelihood of someone in the system
also being a member of the same cult as
you.

Haephestians
The Haephaestians are a society of smiths
who possess the secret of making steel
weapons. They use this secret to gain
political and financial leverage.
• Possess the secrets of making steel
weapons. Any sharp weapon can be made A follower of Isis
of steel and gains +1d/+1d in combat
(steel is harder than iron and holds a
sharper edge). Steel weapons normally
cost ten-times the price of a normal iron
or flint weapon and are usually only
available to those with contacts in the The College of Augurs
forgemasters.
The Augurs are a select group of Pontifex
(priests of the Religio-Romana) renowned for
Pictish Orders their powers of foresight. Originally the
college had only fifteen members as part of
Each Samlaidh has its own order, secret the roman state religion but now it's
societies which are comprised of Picts who membership varies as new members join
follow that Samlaidh and exemplify its and existing members die. Members of the
virtues. Within each society one member is society are often found as close advisers to
declared to a paragon of their Samlaidh and powerful figures, using their prophetic
the other members constantly vy with each abilities to guide policy decisions. The
other to become the paragon. As such the augurs use these positions to pursue their
societies members tend to wander the land religious goals of unity and strong
performing significant deeds in line with government. The Augurs possess the secret
their Samlaidh's nature, trying to become of Lucid dreaming, enabling them to enter a

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trance state and send their spirits into the
Otherworld.
• Every night roll 1d6, on a 1 the Augur
receives a prophetic dream.. hinting at
some future event.
Sons of Thor
The sons of Thor are a warriors society,
dedicated to drinking and fighting. Many
berserkers are members of the society.
Enchanters
The enchanters are not a very organised or
formal society, more of a network of
powerful wiccans. Members use the term
enchanter (or enchantress) as a title to
indicate their affiliation to the group. The
enchanters tend to meet up periodically in
local conclaves to discuss matters of mutual
interest.
Blessed Order of St.
Sebastian
Sebastian was a christian saint who died in
288AD. He joined the Roman army to protect
christians who were captured by the
authorities and proved to be such an able
warrior that he was promoted to Captaincy
before being identified as a Christian and put
to death. The blessed order is a Militant
order of the Byzantine Orthodox church
which considers it's duty to be to protect the
church from all harm. Members of the order
are mainly, but not exclusively, fighters and
are known as Paladins. The order usually
acts with the support of the church although
it maintains a little distance and does not
always adhere to church doctrine rigidly.
Members of order can generally call on other
members of the order, or the order itself, for
assistance as long as they remain in good
standing. Likewise a member in good
standing should expect to be called upon by
the order or its members on occasion and
they are duty bound to assist as best they
can.
Paladins are usually devoutly religious, but
not fanatical. They often respect the spirit of
the faith more than the word and are
notorious for ignoring church doctrine when
it does not suit their aims.
Paladins operate mainly on the Empire or in
kingdoms near it's borders, but will
occasionally travel further afield in pursuit of
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a known evil. Normally they have no issues
with working with a Fianna Band and are
useful allies.
• Receive an additional trait dice to Fighter
when in conflict with demons (this
includes fighting, using magic and so on).
The Inquisition
The Inquisition was set up by the Church to
root out heresy and combat the Darkness. It
has a somewhat adversarial relationship
with the older Blessed Order of St.Sebastian,
which often plays fast and loose with Church
doctrine.
Individual members of the Inquisition are
known as Inquisitors and usually have the
suffix Ordinary or Extraordinary. Inquisitors
Ordinary only operate within the bounds of
the Empire, Inquisitors Extraordinary operate
freely both within and outside the Empire.
Unlike the Blessed Order Inquisitors are not
normally warriors (although many can still
fight well). Instead they specialise in rooting
out concealed evils, using cunning and
ruthlessness (most Inquisitors have a
fondness for torture). Once heretics or a
coven has been found the Inquisitors either
deal with them directly, or call upon the
Imperial Military to cleanse the corruption.
The Inquisition is notorious for creating
diplomatic incidents. The typical Inquisitor is
a religious fanatic, driven by a fanatical need
to purge the evil. As such they ride
roughshod over local laws, and usually get
away with such behaviour as few kingdoms
are prepared to bring the wrath of the
Empire down on their heads.
Inquisitors do not care for Fianna Bands,
considering them to be barely one step from
the Darkness itself.
• Receive an additional trait dice to
Manipulative when trying to reveal the
presence of the Dark, evil or corruption.
Dark Blades
The Dark Blades are a secret society of
assassins and professional killers.
Membership is by invitation only. The society
acts as a broker for it's member services,
taking a fee for any job. Society members do
operate on a freelance basis as well as
through the society.
• Receive a bonus dice when you attack a
target from behind or by surprise.

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Settlement Types
There are various types of settlements in the
British Isles:
Great City
A great city is a large city. Great cities have
a population of more than 8000 people and
there are only two in the British Isles; York
and Colchester.
City
A city is a larger town, based on the same
layout but generally boasting a population of
around 2000, although some cities have
populations up to 7000.
Town
Virtually all towns are based on the
standardised Roman layout. This comprises
an inner fort, surrounded by stone built town
houses then industrial buildings, then a town
wall and finally suburbs, usually of wooden
buildings, outside the wall. The city is built
on a grid pattern of intersecting avenues.
Buildings rarely exceed a single storey, two
or more storeys indicates significant wealth.
Most towns are market towns, they have
sprung up to service a cluster of villages
with a common market. Most towns have a
population of around 250.
Village
Villages are usually haphazard in layout,
normally they are centred round a road or
cross-roads with an place of worship, inn,
smithy and other shops or industrial
buildings in the village centre. Celtic villages
tend to have a sacred grove in place of a
church and it is located nearby, but not in
the village centre. Most houses are wooden
built, perhaps the village headman and rich
residents may have stone built homes. Most
of the residents are farmers and their lands
abut the village forming a farmed area
around it. A typical village has a population
of less than 100.
Hamlet
Hamlets are comparatively rare and
generally spring up when the distance to a
farmers lands from the village becomes too
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far to travel easily. In such a case the farmer
moves to live on his own lands. Often
several families will move to set up a small
cluster of homes/farms. As a guide a hamlet
will possess no church or other facilities,
although it may have a small inn. Its
residents will walk to the nearest village for
such services.
Camp
A camp is usually a temporary cluster of
buildings and tents which houses a transient
population engaged in some economic
activity specific to the area (such as mining
or logging). The camp may grow into a
village over time, although it is more likely
that when the resources dry up the camp
will fade away. There is some deep mining,
mainly of tin and lead in the Southwest of
Britain and of gold and silver in Wales. Most
mining though is of the Gill variety. Gills are
river valleys where the natural erosion of the
valley walls by the river exposes nodules of
iron, lead, and other minerals (including blue
john from the peaks).
Breakdown of Settlement
Population
The Population figures mentioned before are
for the adult population, add to this the
same number of children again (so a typical
town has 250 adults and 250 children). Most
adults will be married. The Population is
approximately half male and half female,
with the women taking the role of
homemaker and child rearer. Some women
will be found in other professions, but rarely
amount to more than 20% of the group
concerned (for example, 8% of adult males
are warriors and 2% are adult females). In
Byzantine settlements the reverse is true for
the warrior, noble and merchant classes,
with women forming 80% of the class and
men only 20%.
Nobles 1% The ruling elite.
Others 4% Assorted odd-balls, travellers and the like.
Warriors 10% These are full time professional warriors, in the event of serious
conflict most of the adult male population will turn out to bear arms
as a militia.
Merchants 5% Those who buy and sell merchandise for a living.
Craftsman 10% Skilled craftsmen.
Labourers 30% Those who perform basic manual labour tasks.
Farmers 20% Farm the land.
Slaves 20% Property of others, usually merchants, nobles or farmers.

Charcoal Burners being manned by a small garrison of

Charcoal burning communities deserve a
special mention. Charcoal is produced by
burning wood in the absence of air,which
drives off its water content and other volatile
chemicals. What is left is charcoal, which is
then used either as a fuel for stoves and so
forth or, more importantly, as a fuel to smelt
and forge iron. Charcoal burners tend to live
in small hamlets in the deep woods and
these communities often suffer from
significant inbreeding and other problems.
For this reason charcoal burners tend to be
shunned and avoided by other people. Many
charcoal burners are Pan worshippers, often
whole villages openly venerate this dark
God.
These men of the woods walked with a
stooped and shuffling gait and appeared surly
and suspicious at our presence amongst them.
The village was of the most primitive form,
hovels comprising little more than piled mud
and earth with little evidence of skill in their
construction. My guide warned me that
they were a surly folk, little used to contact
with outsiders and many centuries of
isolation had resulted in some tainting of
the blood lines.
-Emrys Gwynne, Bard, on the charcoal
burners of Mercia
Forts
A fort is, typically, a low earth hill
surrounded by a moat (often water filled)
with a wooden palisade fence and a cluster
or wooden or stone buildings within. Forts
are dotted regularly around a kingdom and
act as focal points for defense, with each fort
soldiers. The density of forts is highest in
border regions, with less in the safer inner
regions of a kingdom. Most forts have some
small settlement associated with them, to
fulfil the soldiers needs and forts are often
located on, or very close to, Roman roads.
Dun
A dun is a fortified settlement common to
the western coasts of Scotia. A typical dun
consists of a 20 foot thick stone wall, circular
or oval or shape, with a single doored
entrance and several timber frame dwellings
in a 70 foot diameter interior space,
inhabited by several families.
Crannog
Rarely found outside of Scotia, a Crannog is
a timber house built on an artificial island in
a lake or loch, either connected to the
mainland by a submerged causeway or not
connected and requiring use of a boat.
Villas and Manors
During the Roman occupation of Britain
many rich landowners built large villas or
manners in the centre of their farmlands.
Villas and manors are typically within a mile
or two of a settlement, where the
landowners labourers would live. With the
reduction in population post-Rome and the
reclaiming of agricised land by the wild most
of these villa's and manors are now long
abandoned.
Describing a Settlement
Settlements are described in the following

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format:
Type, Description, Key Individuals, The governing faction seeks to maintain law
Adventure Ideas and order and ensure their position at the
top of the social order. This faction actively
Type discourages any kind of change and are the
group with the most to lose if some
The type of settlement as outlined above; tumultuous evolution should occur. In most
Great City, City, Town, Village, Hamlet, settlements the nobles and the military are
Camp, Fort, Villa/Manor the main members of the Government
faction. The government factions strength
usually lies in its military muscle.
Description Motivating Values
• Maintain the security of government
A brief description mentioning any • Continue to gain a regular tax income
interesting facts about the settlement.
• Ensure peace with neighbouring
settlements (except where an easy win
Key Individuals can be achieved)
• Maintain at least minimal control over
A list of key individuals in the town who community affairs
player characters may interact with. • Maintain communications and trade with
other settlements
Adventure Ideas • Do not allow conditions in the settlement
to change rapidly (ie.. maintain the status
Each settlement should have several quo)
Adventure Ideas. • Keep wages and prices reasonably low
• Keep most of the citizenry reasonably
content
Militias
Most settlements have a militia, which is Mercantile Faction
defined as
“A military force that is not part of a regular The mercantile faction are the quintessential
army and is subject to call for service in an capitalists. Where the labour faction makes
emergency” money by actually doing work the merchants
make money by controlling the flow of goods
In hamlets and villages the militia will not be and money through a settlement. The
a standing force, instead certain members of mercantile factions primary concern is
the community will gather their arms and keeping the economy stable and avoiding
muster to a point (usually the village square) any upsetting events, anything which
upon the sounding of an alarm bell or gong. interferes with the free flow of trade is bad
Usually the most experienced warrior in the news for them. The mercantile factions
community will act as the head of the militia strength is usually its large monetary
and take command. reserves.
In a town or city there will usually be a Motivating Values
standing militia under the command of the • Maintain an active market in the
local chieftain. This militia will act as a settlement (ie.. make sure plenty of
fighting force in times of war and as buying and selling occurs)
peacekeepers in peace time, ensuring • Keep the level of thieving low
criminals are bought to trial and so forth. • See that goods stored in the settlement
are protected from harm
Politics in a Settlements • Keep prices as high as possible
• Keep wages as low as possible
Three factions can be found in most • Keep government involvement with
settlements business affairs to a minimum
• Government • Encourage unregulated (ie.. tax free)
• Mercantile trade with other settlements
• Guild • Ensure that any changes to the status
quo occur gradually, in a controllable
Government Faction fashion

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Guild Faction
Guilds are groups of individuals who share a
common trade or profession, such as
Blacksmithing. Each guild exists to protect
the interests of its members by, for example,
trying to create monopolies (so only guild
members can practise their craft in a given
place). The guild faction usually counts all
the guilds present in a settlement as its
members. The guild does not wield as much
overt power as the government or
mercantile factions, but does represent the
interests of the vast majority of people in a
city.
Motivating Values
• Keep wages as high as possible
• Keep taxes as low as possible
• Minimise the level of government
interference with the guilds
• Control price levels so most items of
necessity are affordable
• Ensure that no other faction becomes too
powerful
As you can see, there are simmering
tensions in most settlements. The mercantile
faction only tends to be a significant player
in larger settlements, such as cities. As far
as player characters go, these tensions
create plenty of opportunities for
adventuring with all three factions willing to
hire outsiders to perform tasks for them.
Religions and Politics
A religions relationship to local politics very
much depends on the religions position in
the community. Priests of the dominant
religion usually have high social status and
the ear of all the other factions. The clergy
has great sway over the masses and usually
has considerable sway over the government,
where priests often act as tutors and
advisors to the nobles. The dominant religion
will tend to wish to maintain the status quo
and its primary goal is to make sure that
followers of the religion can worship freely.
The Byzantine Christian church has begun to
make significant inroads into the British Isles
and it is quite a lot more aggressive in its
outlook than the other churches. It is an
evangelical movement, aggressively seeking
to convert people to the faith and is also
quite acquisitive, encouraging people to
leave their lands and assets to the church
when they die, using material wealth to gain
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spiritual salvation.
Death
When a mortal being (animal or human)
dies, or an inanimate thing is destroyed, it's
spirit splits from it's body and travels to the
Otherworld, slipping through the Veil to stop
in Limbo. Most spirits remain in limbo,
gradually losing the memories of their
previous existence until they are completely
blank, at which time they can slip back
through the veil to be reborn in a new body,
acorn or whatever. A few spirits, the most
powerful, are able to pass through Limbo
and seek the lands of the patron Gods where
they reside in the glory of the Gods
splendour for eternity.
Slavery
With the exception of the Picts, all of the
major cultures of Dark Age europe are slave
owning societies. Slaves are people who are
owned by other people. Slaves form the
lowest social class in society and are
generally found performing manual labour or
acting as servants, although well educated
slaves may be found in positions of power
and influence, acting as accountants or
scribes for example.
Most slaves are individuals captured by a
kingdom or tribe in one of the innumerable
wars being fought throughout europe or
criminals who are enslaved for a fixed period
for their crimes. Slaves generally have some
legal protection, particularly from excessive
abuse, and may often hold land and own
property (including other slaves).
Wyrd Stones
Wyrd stones (not to be mistaken with the
Wyrds, spirits of fate) are special stones
which are charged with magic. A character
may only possess a single wyrd stone at any
given time. Each Wyrd stone has a unique
benefit depending on its mineral
composition. A Wyrd stone takes a season of
down-time to construct, and requires the
Elemental Magic trait.
Wyrd stones can either be shaped stones or
lumps of a material, cunningly crafted
objects or even pieces of material set into
amulets, rings and the like. A wyrd stones
properties depend on what it is made of:
 Wyrd Stone Properties
Flint +1d attack in combat.
Agate +1d for climbing rolls.
Moss Agate +1d for swimming rolls.
Amethyst +1d to resist poisons or drugs.
Aventurine Once per session you may re-roll a single roll and take the new result.
Bloodstone +1d to agility type rolls.
Calcite +1d on any roll to defend against or resist the powers of undead creatures.
Carnelian +1d to casting spells.
Fluorite +1d on any roll to defend against or resist the powers of the Otherworlds.
Hematite +1d to defense rolls.
Jade +1d to resist the effects of diseases.
Jasper +1d to resist hostile climates.
Malachite +1d on all rolls concerning animals.
Rutilated quartz +1d to Elemental spells which effect earth.
Gold +1d to Elemental spells which effect fire.
Rhodonite +1d to Healthy trait rolls.
Serpentine +1d to Intelligent trait rolls.
Tiger's eye +1d to Strong Willed trait rolls.
Turquoise +1d to Elemental spells which effect air.
Silver +1d to Elemental spells which effect water.
Copper +1d to Healing spells
Lapis Lazuli +1d to Wounding spells
Opal +1d to Curses
Onyx +1d to Blessings
Quartz +1d to Prophetic magics
Smoky Quartz +1d to Dark Arts spells
Rose quartz +1d to Animal effecting spells
Salt +1d to Plant effecting spells
Fool's Gold +1d to Mind magic spells
Meteoric Iron +1d to attempts to break spells
Quicksilver +1d to Fast trait rolls.

Herbs Dose Size

Herbs must be bought or found in the wild.
To use a herb take it, wait d6 rounds for it to
take effect, then gain the effect listed on the
table for the rest of the scene.
A prepared dose of any herb costs 10 silvers.
If you look for herbs in the wild make a roll of
and for every 4 full points you rolled you
may roll once on the finding herbs table. The
search takes 2d6 hours. If you find a herb
you find one dose of it.
A single dose effects a normal character as
listed. Large characters require two doses
for the listed effect. Each additional dose
above what is needed gives +2 DIFF, where
appropriate, but has no effect in the case of
herbs that give bonuses or penalties.

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Herb Season Effect
English Sp, Su +1d to feats of strength (but not combat) for the rest of the
Galingale scene, but -1d for the following scene
Saffron Au, Wi +1d to Combat for the rest of the scene, but -1d for the
following scene
Darnell Au +1d to intellectual actions for the rest of the scene, but -1d
for the following scene
Garden Flax Sp, Su +1d to stealth actions for rest of scene but -1d to each in
the next scene
Hawkweed All +1d to perception actions for rest of scene but -1d to each
in the next scene
Woodrose Su +1d to willpower type actions for rest of scene but -1d to
each in the next scene
Mistletoe All +1 to magic or supernatural type actions for rest of scene
but -1d in the next scene
Sanicle Su, Au, Wi Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
Shepherd's all Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
Purse
Mugwort Su Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
Saint John's Su Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
Wort
Navew Wi Added to a drink or meal it neutralises any poison that is
present.
Serapias Turbith Sp, Su Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
All heale Au Healing herbs, single-use and +1d on a healing roll.
Horehound Su +1d to all rolls to resist a single instance of poisoning
Cow-wheat Su -1d to all rolls for the rest of scene.
Feverfew Su +1d to all rolls to resist a single instance of disease
Colewort Sp, Su If chewed whilst drinking alcohol it negates the effect of the
alcohol completely.
Deadly Su Fast Contact or Ingested DIFF 14 poison.
Nightshade
Masterwort Su Gives +1d against disease for a day
Mandrake Sp In small doses a fast ingested DIFF 18 drug (causes
unconsciousness), in larger doses a DIFF 18 poison (causes
death).
Mede Saffron Sp, Su Burnt, the smoke is a Fast Ingested DIFF 10 poison.
Woodrose Su If mixed with alcohol and drunk everyone who imbibes gets
a +1d to all rolls for the rest of the scene due to the herbs
morale boosting properties.
Woolfe's bane all Fast DIFF 14 blood poison
Mountain Garlick all Denizens of the Otherworld cannot come within 10 yards of
burning mountain garlick. A single dose will burn for 2d6
minutes.
Goat's rue Su Poison antidote

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Hemlock Au Fast Blood or Ingested DIFF 20 poison (can be used either
way)
Leopards bane Su A Fast Ingested or Blood DIFF 16 poison which only effects
animals.

Collecting herbs

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 D20 Spring Summer Autumn Winter
1 English Galingale English Galingale Saffron Hawkweed
2 Hawkweed Hawkweed Darnell Saffron
3 Mistletoe Woodrose Hawkweed Mistletoe
4 Shepherd's Purse Mistletoe Mistletoe Sanicle
5 Serapias Turbith Sanicle Sanicle Shepherd's Purse
6 Colewort Shepherd's Purse Shepherd's Purse Navew
7 Garden Flax Mugwort All heale Woolfe's bane
8 Mandrake Saint John's Wort Woolfe's bane Mountain Garlick
9 Mede Saffron Serapias Turbith Mountain Garlick -
10 Woolfe's bane Horehound Hemlock -
11 Mountain Garlick Cow-wheat Leopards bane -
12 - Feverfew - -
13 - Colewort - -
14 - Garden Flax - -
15 - Deadly Nightshade - -
16 - Masterwort - -
17 - Mede Saffron - -
18 - Woodrose - -
19 - Woolfe's bane - -
20 - Mountain Garlick - -

Earth Lines and Earth
Vortexes
In addition to being present in everything in
small amounts magic also flows through the
realms. These flows of magic are called
earth lines (or ley lines) and they criss-cross
the landscape. Where the lines meet earth
vortexes form, magical pools.
Magic can best be imagined to behave like
water. It comes from the sun in a diffuse
form, falling on the land, then flows into
small streams which merge into larger
rivers. When these rivers meet they swirl
together into earth vortexes and the magic
flows downwards into the earth. Any
character who can cast spells can feel the
flow of magic around them.
circular formation around the edge of the
vortex. Menhirs are commonly used to mark
earth lines. Any character using magic when
touching or close to a menhir gets a bonus
dice. Cromlechs work the same way, but
give +2d.
Sarsen
The term Sarsen is used to describe Menhirs
found in Wessex and nearby kingdoms.
Sarsens are made of a very hard sandstone.
Henge
A Henge is a roughly circular ditch which
surrounds a stone circle (comprised of
cromlechs, menhirs and/or sarsens) with a
level plateau inside.

Cromlechs and Menhirs

A cromlech consists of one or more
horizontal stones supported by two or more
vertical stones. A menhir is a single large
free-standing vertical stone. Cromlechs are
usually placed at earth vortexes, often in a
Cairn
A cairn is a mound of stones erected on a
site as a memorial or marker. Cairns are
often used by Picts to mark safe routes
through areas, and to mark a grave-site.

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Fogou
A fogou is an artificial underground passage,
usually running just below the surface of the
ground and roofed with massive stone
slabs . They are normally used for storage,
as hiding places in times of danger or as
places for specific rituals.

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Some Places of Interest in
the British Isles
Important Sites can be generally broken
down into one of four types:
• Atlantean: Sites created by the
Atlanteans for their own purposes (usually
to serve as foci for magical energies). The
secrets of using these sites have largely
been lost.
• Ancient: Sites built by early men. Most of
these sites are burial mounds or religious
markers of some kind.
• Recent: Sites built relatively recently,
usually as burial sites or for practical uses
(such as hillforts).
• Otherworldly: Sites created by
Otherworldly forces, such as Faeries or
the like.
Each site is given in the format:
Name, Kingdom, Type
Description
Mercia
No places of interest in Mercia are presented
in this list, instead these can be found in the
detailed guide to Mercia later in this book,.
Avebury, Mid-Wessex, Ancient
Twenty miles to the north of Stonehenge lies
the village of Avebury, which is surrounded
by a great earth bank approximately 1800ft
in diameter. Within the bank lies the village
and a great circle of Sarsens.. Avebury is
older than StoneHenge and is a Druidic Sun
Temple, although its building predates the
Druids.
Badbury Rings,South East Wessex, Ancient
Badbury Rings is an iron age hillfort and
complex of earlier burial mounds. The rings
fell to the Romans in the invasion of 43AD
and, following a great massacre on the site,
were never resettled. The rings are
rumoured to be haunted by the ghosts of
slain Celts and Roman legionnaires who
repeat the battle on the night of every full
moon.
Bill Masheen, Cumbria, Otherworldly
Bill Masheen is a deep cave in the heart of
the Cumbrian mountains. It is rumoured that
the christian hell can be reached if you know
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exactly the right turns to make as you
traverse the cave.
Bryn Celli Ddu, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Ancient
Bryn Celli Ddu, ‘the mound in the dark
grove’, is a stone age passage grave
surrounded by a ditch and stone circle, all
lying deep within a wooded area. One of the
“founders” of the Druidic Order is buried
here and it is one of the holiest sites of the
Pagan religion.
Cadbury Castle, South-eastern Wessex,
Ancient
Twelve miles from Glastonbury Tor this huge
Iron Age hillfort sits astride an isolated hill
and is the site of the town of Cadbury.
Cairnpapple Burial Mound, Fib, Ancient
This ancient burial mound and henge is
around four and a half thousand years old.
The Pictish Otter tribe's founder is buried
here and as such the mound is a very
important site.
Callanish Stone Circle, Isle of Lewis, Outer
Hebrides, Scotia, Otherworldly
Little is known of this stone circle, including
its builders or their motivations.
Canterbury, Kent, Ancient
An important Pagan religious site which was
desecrated by the Romans foillowing their
invasion and a Christian church built atop it.
Following the departure of the Romans the
church was rased and rededicated as a
Pagan site, which was then rased in turn by
the Saxons when they invaded. The Saxons
have not built on the site and it nows stands
empty. Canterbury has been a source of
friction between the Celts of Wessex and the
Saxons of Kent for decades.
Carn Euny, Cornwall, Ancient
Carn Euny is a Cornish Fogou near Penzance,
60ft long with a side passage half way along
leading to circular stone walled chamber
with a domed roof.
Caslerigg Stone Circle, Cumbria, Ancient
This is believed to be one of the first stone
circles in Europe, probably dating from as
early as 3200 BC. The tallest stone is in line
with the Samhain sunrise. An unusual
feature of the circle is a cove at its eastern
side, ten menhirs organised to form a
rectangular enclosure, the purpose of this
feature has long since been lost to the mists
of time.
Cerne Abbas Giant, South Wessex, Recent
In AD 490 a Saxon incursion pushed far into
Wessex, led by a faerie giant. At the village
of Cerne Abbas the invading force was
confronted by a Celtic army, led by a great
Sorcerer King. In a titanic battle of magic he
succeeded in binding the giant into the form
of a great chalk outline on the hill and the
Saxons, having lost their champion, fled the
scene. On nights of the full moon the Giant
figure comes to life and walks to a nearby
stream to quench his thirst before returning
to the hillside.
Chun Castle, Cornwall, Ancient
An iron age hillfort near lands end. Chun
castel is most notable as the site of a great
battle when the Celts of Cornwall beat off an
invasion of strange creatures from the sea.
Clava Cairns, Fidach, Ancient
Three cairns lie in a small clearing in the
forest. They are the resting place of the
three brothers who founded the kingdom of
Fidach around 1800 BC. On midwinter’s day
the rays of the setting sun are directed down
the passage of one of the passage cairns.
Dwarfie Stane, The Orkneys, Recent
Dwarfie Stane is a huge block of red stone
which has been hollowed out. It is used by
the Orcadian Sorcerers as a gateway to the
Other World.
Glastonbury and Glastonbury Tor, Wessex,
Ancient
Glastonbury and Glastonbury Tor are to be
found deep in an area of dangerous marshes
known as the Somerset levels, which can
only be travelled across by a series of
submerged log causeways. The Tor is lone
hill deep in the marshes and Glastonbury is
small settlement near its base. Glastonbury
Tor is one of the holiest places of the Pagan
Faith and when Joseph of Arimathea (Jesus'
brother) came to Britain with his eleven
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followers they settled here and founded a
Christian settlement in Britain which,
strangely, has maintained cordial relations
with the Pagans present here as well.
Holy Island (Lindisfarne), Rheged, Recent
Holy Island is just off the coast of Rheged
and, at low tide, is connected to the
mainland by a causeway. A Christian
settlement is on the isle, which its monk
preaching to the Picts of Rheged.
lona, Inner Hebrides, Recent
Iona is an island of the inner Hebrides and is
where the Irish St Columbia and twelve
companions landed in 563 AD and
established a Christian monastery which is
attempting to bring Christianity to Scotland
(so far unsuccessfully).
Long Meg and her daughters, Cumbria,
Ancient
A circle of standing stones which are the
remains of a coven of evil witches turned to
stone by a powerful magician.
Men-an-Tol, Cornwall, Ancient
Men-an-Tol consists of four upright stones
surrounding a single large stone with a hole
in it. Anyone crawling through the stone has
a 1 in 6 chance of being cured of one ilness.
Only one roll per month can be made, even
if you crawl through more often. Note that
men-an-tol means “stone with a hole in it” in
Cornish.
Merrivale, Devon, Ancient
An ancient stone circle found high on
Dartmoor. Anyone standing inside the circle
receives +1d on spells to effect the element
of air.
The Nine Stones, Wessex, Ancient
An ancient pre-pagan religious site deep in
the woods. It is quite easy to slip into the
Veil at this place and encounters with
Faeries and spirits are common.
Old Sarum, Wessex, Recent
At the heart of Wessex lies this city and hill
fort, a mighty fortress which lies on the
convergence of four Roman roads and four
ley lines, including the Stonehenge to
Clearbury ley. This hillside carving was made in the Iron
Age and is a representation of the Celtic
Pentre Ifan, Dyfed, Ancient Horse God Epona.

This is a Cromlech on the slopes of the

Preseli mountain dating from at least 4000
BC. Local lore says that sometimes fairies
are seen here.

Rollright Stones, Wessex, Otherworldly

The site is made up of a stone circle known
as The King’s Men, a single stone known as
The King Stone, and a group of standing and
fallen stones which are the remains of a
once turf-clad megalithic tomb known as The
Whispering Knights. These stones are
believed to be older than Stonehenge.
Royston Cave, Essex, Otherworldly
This is a bell shaped chamber cut out of the
chalk below the town of Royston which lies
on the ancient Icknield Way (a Roman Road).
The caves purpose is unknown.
St Michael's Mount, Cornwall, Ancient
Is essentially a huge granite rock rising from
the centre of Mount’s Bay in Cornwall.
Silbury Hill, Wessex, Atlantean
West Kennet Long Barrow, Wessex, Ancient
West Kennet Long barrow is a stone age
tomb.
Weylands Smithy, Wessex, Otherworldly
Weylands smithy is a long barrow quite close
to the white horse of Uffington. At dawn of
the summer or winter solstices someone
who knows the correct incantations can
open a gateway to the smithy of Goibhne,
the Celtic smith God (also known as
Weyland) in the Otherworld, and he will
undertake to repair any broken legendary
item that he is presented with.
Ty Canol Wood, Dyfed, Recent
Near to Pentre Ifan in Dyfed lies Ty Canol
wood, one of the largest schools for Druids in
the British Isles.

Silbury Hill is the largest man-made

prehistoric mound in Europe. Silbury hill was
built by the Atlanteans as a focus for earth
magic, but the secrets of its use have long
been lost.

Stanton Drew, Wessex, Otherworldly

There is a tradition that the stones at

Stanton Drew cannot be counted and that
death or illness are rewarded to those who
try. The Great Circle is approximately 350ft
metres in diameter with a stone avenue
entering the circle which is the approximate
position of the Summer Solstice sunrise.

Stonehenge, Wessex, Atlantean

Stone henge lies at the heart of salisbury

plain and is a tremendous focus of magical
power. Like Silbury Hill, it was built by the
Atlanteans and its secrets lost, but it is still
used as a focal point for Pagan rituals.

Uffmgton White Horse, Wessex, Ancient

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Allies and Opponents
This section details a variety of foes our
intrepid heroes (or villains) may find
themselves facing in the Dark Age world.
Non-player characters, be they monsters,
animals or other people, are usually
described in one of two ways. Named
characters are given the usual selection of
traits, much like player characters. Unnamed
opponents are normally only given a single
trait (often referred to as their primary trait)
with a dice score, then following it any notes
for weapons and armour or other special
abilities. Only significant NPC's normally
have more than one trait.
For example, a simple guard might be
described as Guard(3d): fighting,
patrolling, guarding places, equipped with a
Gladius (+2d), Leather Armour (+1d).
A veteran fighter might be Antaeus:
Romano-British(2d) Fighter (4d,
calloused hands) Strong(3d, powerful
legs), armed with Gladius (+2d), Mail
Hauberk (+2d)).
In the case of monsters or animals they will
often only have a single trait which is their
name. Relevant actions for that trait will be
found in the creatures description.
For example, the trait wolf might have
running, tracking by scent, sensing
environment, sneaking around and fighting
as relevant actions.
If an action does not fit the creatures trait
give it 2d, or 1d for actions which it is clearly
going to have problems.
For example, a Wolf (3d, snarls a lot) gets
into a fight. It gets all 3d in a fight. Later on
the same wolf is trying to drag a carcass
over some rocks and the GM gives it the
default 2d. Still later the wolf is presented
with a sheer rock face which it needs to
climb, the GM awards it 1d (you try climbing
without claws or an opposable thumb).
Natural Weapons and
Armour
Some creatures may have natural weapons
and armour, which give bonus dice as
normal, with the exception that these
natural weapons cannot be broken or
disarmed.
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Number of Dice
The number of dice in an NPC's primary trait
is a good indicator of their level of ability.
Green or Novice 1d
Competent 2d
Veteran 3d
Elite 4d
Elite and Veteran 5d
Legendary 6d
As a rule of thumb, a character will usually
be able to defeat an opponent with the same
number of dice in their primary trait as the
characters primary trait. This is because,
usually, player characters have better
equipment and other traits which give them
more bonus dice. An opponent with one
more dice in their primary than the players
should be a hard fight, but winnable with
some luck, especially if the PC uses XP to
boost their performance. Two or more dice
above the characters primary trait and it's
likely the character is in serious trouble.
In the case of multiple characters, to keep
the balance add one dice to the NPC for
every extra opponent.
For example, an Ogre 5d would be a
reasonable fight for four 2d characters.
Renown
You may wish to give famous, or infamous,
creaturs Renown scores. This may result in
adjustment of their number of trait dice and
them receiving one or more Lives, which can
be used in the same way as player
characters.
Weaker and more
Powerful Foes
Many of the creatures in this section have a
number of dice listed. This is for a “typical”
member of the species. For a weaker
member of the species roll 1d less, for a
strong member roll one, two or even three
more dice.
Special Abilities
The following table outlines a variety of special abilities which may be possessed by monsters,
or even characters. Rather than repeat the same information over and over the rules for each
ability are given here and only the abilities name is listed with the creatures concerned. Special
abilities use the same notation as Boons and Banes, the name of the ability with an asterix(*)
behind it. If you need to generate a random special ability roll 1d6:
1d6
1-3 Roll on table A
4-6 Roll one table B

Table A
Special Description
Ability
11 Rooted: The creature ignores knock-downs and knock-backs.
12 Diseased: Anyone wounded by the creatures unarmed attack is infected with a
DIFF 10 disease.
13 Regeneration: The creature regenerates 1 damage per round. Damage inflicted by
enchanted weapons, magic, fire, acid or silver heals at normal rate. If the creature is
killed it stops regenerating.
14 Superior Regeneration: As regeneration, but if the creature is not burnt
completely after death it will recover by the next scene.
15 Incorporeal: Only Enchanted weapons, magic and silver can damage it. All other
attacks pass straight through harmlessly. An incorporeal creature can attack
normally, and armour does not count in defense against its attacks. It can also pass
through solid objects, rolling its dice against the objects DIFF to break.
16 Drain life: If the creature inflicts any damage on a foe it gains an extra dice to all
its traits for the rest of the scene, this is a one off extra, not once for each wound
caused.
21 Weakening: The creatures presence drains the strength from it's opponents. The
Strong trait cannot be used in the presence of this creature.
22 Blood Lust: If the creature inflicts any damage it goes into a feeding frenzy and
gains +1d for the rest of the scene.
23 Poison: The creature has a naturally poisonous attack. Any unarmed attack that
causes a wound inflicts a DIFF 10 fast poison on the target.
24 Terrifying: Some creatures are naturally terrifying. Any character who does not
have the Strong Willed trait at 3d or more is at -1d on all rolls against such a
creature.
25 Lesser Glamour: Your appearance constantly shifts and changes subtly, especially
in combat. Anyone who does not have the Perceptive or Magician traits at 3d or
more is at -1d to all rolls against such a creature.
26 Greater Glamour: You possess the greater glamour magical ability at a number of
dice equal to your highest trait. See the Faerie section for more information on the
Glamour.

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Special Description
Ability
31 Veil Walking: You can pass through the veil, slipping into the the Otherworld. Make
a roll with your highest traits dice against the following Difficulties to penetrate the
veil:
• Anywhere: DIFF 20
• At a menhir: DIFF 16
• At a cromlech or barrow: DIFF 12
• Taking a few minutes of mental preparation before attempting to pass
through: -4 DIFF
• On a night of the full moon: DIFF -4
32 Magical touch: your unarmed attacks count as enchanted.
33 Vulnerability: You are vulnerable to a particular substance. Anyone using a
weapon made of the substance against you gets +1d. Roll 1d6 to determine the
substance:
1-2 Iron
3-4 Silver
5 Wood
6 Other (choose)
34 Unholy: The creature cannot enter sites sacred to any religion except the Darkness.
35 Horror: The creature is horrifying. Anyone without the Strong Willed trait at 3d or
more is at -2d on all rolls to oppose this creature.
36 True Name: Anyone who knows the creatures true name has power over it (it must
follow commands issued to it by its true name).
41 Anathema: A holy symbol of any non-Dark religion repels the creature. If such a
symbol is worn or wielded the character wearing it/wielding it gets +1d on all
actions against the creature.
42 The creature cannot hurt virgins.
43 Must feed on human flesh once per day. Every day it goes without flesh it takes one
damage. As soon as it feasts all wounds instantly heal.
44 Holy water burns and causes pain to the creature. If it comes in contact with holy
water it is at -1d to all actions for the rest of the scene (holy water is water which
has spent at least a week in a sacred site). This penalty is not cumulative.
45 Crippled: Half the creatures movement rate due to horribly twisted and
mishshapen legs.
46 Hatred of Colour: Always attacks anyone wearing a specific colour (roll 1d10; 1-
red 2-orange 3-yellow 4-green 5-blue 6-indigo 7-violet 8-white 9-black 10- roll again
twice, use both colours)
51 Banned: Cannot enter a building protected by rowan or elder.
52 Stupid: Easily confused or fooled; -2d on rolls to resist persuasion.
53 Enchanting: Some creatures are naturally beautiful and alluring. Anyone trying to
oppose the creature has -1d to all actions unless they have the Strong Willed trait
at 3d or more.
54 Night Stalker: The creature gets one extra trait dice to all traits at night, and one
less in the day time. They have no modifiers at dawn or twilight.
55 Life Leech: Every time the creature inflicts damage on an opponent it heals one
damage.

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Special Description
Ability
56 Moon Linked: The creatures power varies with the phase of the moon;
• Full moon; one extra dice to all traits.
• Waning or Waxing Moon; No modifiers.
• New Moon; one less dice to all traits.
These modifiers are based on the current phase of the moon, whether it is in the sky
or not.
61 Invisibility: The creature can turn invisible at will. Whilst invisible it receives
+3d/+3d in combat.
62 No Subdual: The creature is not effected by subdual damage.
63 Immune to normal weapons: Only magic, silver and enchanted weapons can hurt
it.
64 Supernatural strength; The creature has +3d for strength related actions.
65 Supernatural speed; The creatures movement rate is doubled.
66 Mist: The creature is surrounded by a permanent mist, anyone fighting it is at -1d/-
1d.

Table B

Special Description
Ability
11 Thickened Hide; The creatures thick hide gives it (+0d/+1d) in combat.
12 Supernatural toughness; Ignore the first point of damage from any hit.
13 Supernatural camouflage; As long as the creature stays still it cannot be
detected by mortals (it can be detected and attacked in any round it moves in).
14 Supernatural Reflexes; The creature always gets to act first in a round, before
any other characters or creatures.
15 Damage Resistance; the creature is completely immune to certain kinds of
weapons. Roll 1d6
1-3 Sharp weapons
4-6 Weighted weapons
5-6 Weapons that are not Sharp or Weighted
16 Poison and Disease Immunity: the creature is completetely immune to poisons
and diseases.
21 Unstoppable: The creature ignores damage for the purposes of penalties, it is still
incapacitated at 6pts as normal though.
22 Possession: The creature is capable of possessing the bodies of other beings,
objects or places. Incorporeal creatures actually enter the host, corporeal creatures
abandon their own body to possess another. For corporeal creatures roll 1d6:
1-3: As 4-5, but the host spirit is merely contained and helpless, when you leave
the body it regains control.
4-5: When you possess a living host their spirit is destroyed. If you subsequently
leave that body it dies after 2d6 hours, unless you return first.
More information on possession is given after this table.
23 Form Shifting: The creature has +5d which can be used for attack, defense or a
mix of the two each round. These are bonus dice, not extra trait dice, and
represent rapid changes in form for attack and defense (such as forming sharp
edges, hardened plates and so on).

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Special Description
Ability
24 Imbue: Any weapon you are currently wielding is treated as Enchanted, although it
gives no extra bonus dice.
25 Iron Grip: The creature cannot be disarmed.
26 Flaming Aura: Anyone fighting the creature is at -1d to attack and defense due to
the flames that constantly lick around the creatures form.
31 Cannot cross running water.
32 Cannot enter a building without the permission of someone already inside.
33 Cannot approach within 5 yards of garlic.
34 Cannot approach within 5 yards of any holy symbol, except those of the Dark.
35 Must sleep on the soil of its homeland, failure to do so results in destruction.
36 Achilles Heel; The creature has a specific place where a single hit will kill them
instantly. If you know this place take a -3d penalty to hit it and kill the creature
instantly. A variation exists where the location must be struck with a specific type
of attack (such as a wooden stake), in this case the penalty to hit is only -2d.
41 Take one damage for every round spent in direct sunlight.
42 Improved Senses: +3d on perception type rolls.
43 Claws; +1d/+0d natural weapons. If the creature already has claws they gain an
extra +1d in attack.
44 Mist form: The creature can transform into a mist at will. As a mist they can only
be hurt by enchanted weapons (even elemental magics are ineffective), but cannot
effect the material world at all, or use magic. The mist can move at up to five yards
per round, passing through cracks and holes etc.. When the creature transforms its
equipment and other items do not transform with it, so when it reforms it is
completely naked.
45 Hypnotic Gaze; the creatures gaze is hypnotic. Anyone who does not have
Strong Willed at 3d or more and who botches an attack or defense roll against
the creature catches sight of its eyes. They are frozen to the spot until the creature
chooses to attack someone else (it can continue to attack them), and can only
defend with Tough or culture trait.
46 Enslavement; The creature can turn someone into their willing slave by spending
ten minutes talking to them in quiet circumstances. If the target wishes to resist
(ie.. they know the creature for what it is) the enchantment automatically fails,
otherwise it works. The effect lasts until the creature is killed or releases the victim.
51 Shapeshift; the creature can transform into an animal. Choose an animal. The
creature may change into that animal at will, using a whole round to do so. Once
changed it lose's its own physical traits and gains the animals trait(s) at a level
equal to its own highest dice.
52 Animals servants; the creature is served by a pack of animals (1-3 rats 4-5 bats 6
wolves) which obey its every word.
53 Ecstasy; the creatures bite instils tremendous sexual pleasure in its victim, the
victim of a bite is rendered helpless by this pleasure whilst being bitten and must
make a DIFF 15 roll (Strong Willed is relevant) to escape or resist being bitten
when presented with the opportunity to be bitten again.
54
55
56

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Special Description
Ability
61
62
63
64
65
66

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Possession
Possessing an intelligent host require an
opposed roll of the possessors dice vs. the
host (traits such as Strong Willed are
appropriate). Success allows the creature to
possess the host and take control. An object,
plant or animal can be automatically
possessed without any roll.
Possession by spirits
Effects of Possessions
In the case of an animate host, such as a
person or animal, the possessor controls the
host and adds the square root (rounded
down) of it's dice to it's hosts traits.
For example, a Demon(9d) possesses a
Fighter(3d), Strong(3d) host. It now has
complete control and decides to increase it's
hosts Strong trait to 6d and Fighter trait to
6d.
With an object the possessor is able to apply
the square root (rounded down) of it's Dice
to any action the item is used for as bonus
or penalty dice. It can also communicate
with the holder of the item, normally a
possessor inhabiting an object will bargain
with the objects holder, offering them
bonuses in exchange for performing evil
acts.
For example, a Ghost(9d) possesses a
sword. It can give the swords wielder up to
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+ or -3d on any action involving the sword.
A possessor can also possess a place,
provided the place is not sacred to any
religion save the Dark. It can use animate
the place, for example causing walls to bend
and twist, or rooms to rearrange themselves.
If any roll is needed for this the possessors
full dice are used. The possessor cannot
move from the place, and cannot move the
place from its location.
For example, a Coven summons a Demon
(6d) and has it possess an old house. The
demon can animate the house as a 6d
creature at will, but the house cannot move
from it's location.
Exorcism
Sorcery can be used to force possessing
entities out of host bodies. Such an action is
an opposed roll using the Sorcery trait
(Strong Willed and Manipulative
supports) against the possessing entities
dice. Success drives the spirit out of the host
and back into incorporeal form. The
magician can then command it to possess
something else (an object or place) or flee
back to the Otherworld. If it is compelled to
possess something else it is stuck there and
cannot leave again without the permission of
the Magician who bound it there.

This section presents a variety of monsters

and other opponents characters may be
faced with, organised into general groups.

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Faeries
The first group of denizens are the Faeries,
grouped into the Seelie fae, who are
servants or allies of the Tuatha; the Unseelie
fae, usually leagued with the Fomorians; and
finally the animals of the Otherworld. These
creatures are most often encountered in the
land of the Otherworld itself, but are also
common visitors to the First World,
intentionally or not. All the Otherworlds are
Vulnerable* to Iron. Intelligent the
Otherworlds also possess the abilities of
Lesser Glamour* and Veil Walking*.
Both the Tuatha and Fomorians also have
the Greater Glamour* ability.
Fae Magic, the Glamour
the Otherworlds are, by their very nature,
magical. All the Otherworlds are able to
influence reality around to them to a greater
or lesser extent through magical glamours.
In the First World glamours are only illusions,
with no substance, but in the Veil and the
the Otherworlds native realm these changes
are real and solid.
All the Otherworld creatures are possessed
of the power of Glamour. This power
enables a creature to reshape the
appearance of reality around itself, adapting
its environment to it's needs.
Iron
Faeries do not like cold iron and iron
weapons are more effective against them,
giving their opponent a +1d attack.
Veil Walking
Intelligent the Otherworlds (ie.. not the
Otherworld animals) can slip across the
barrier between the three realms (mortal,
the Otherworld and spirit). To do this the the
Otherworld should make a roll of its dice
with the following DIFF numbers:
• Anywhere: DIFF 16
• At a menhir: DIFF 12
• At a cromlech or barrow: DIFF 8
• Taking a few minutes of mental
preparation: -4 DIFF
• On a night of the full moon: DIFF -4
Success means the the Otherworld has
slipped through the barrier between realms.
a Faerie can bring other's across with it, but
this increases the Difficulty (+2 for each
extra person), and it can never force
somewhere to travel with it (although most
the Otherworlds can be very persuasive).
Dealing with the Otherworlds
There are many folklore remedies to the
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Otherworlds, some of which are presented
below. It is up to the GM to decide upon the
efficacy of a particular technique in relation
to a given the Otherworld. Usually using
some relevant technique gives you a bonus
dice against the the Otherworld.
• Turn clothes inside out (a glove turned
inside out and tossed into a Faerie ring
will disperse the revellers)
• Bells
• Iron
• A knife in the doorway
• A nail in the pocket
• open scissors hung above a baby's cot
• Carry the Bible
• Running Water
• Bread
• Rowan and red thread (in the case of the
scots, a red ribbon attached over the
front door or tied to the tails of cattle
-this was to discourage witches.
Elsewhere a red cloth was sometimes tied
round children's chests as protection
against the little people)
• Salt
• Ancient churchyard mold
• Daisy chains
• Stones with a hole through it
• Horseshoes (moon symbol and iron
combined)
• A sock under the bed
• A knife under the pillow
• A twig of broom
• St. John's wort
• The burning of thorns on top of a Faerie
hill will release captive children
• Shoes placed with toes facing away from
the bed
• If you walk nine times around a fairy rath
at the full of the moon you will find the
entrance to the Sifra; but if you enter
beware of eating fairy food or drinking
fairy wine.
• On Fridays the fairies have special power
over all things and chiefly on that day
they select and carry off young mortal
girls as brides for the fairy chiefs.
• Fairies are passionately fond of music; it
is therefore dangerous for a young girl to
sing all alone by the lake, for the spirits
will draw her down to them to sing to
them in the fairy palace under the waves,
and her people will see her no more.
• In Connaught, the people have many
strange superstitions of great antiquity. If
a child spills its tin of milk on the ground,
the mother says: "That is to the fairies,
leave it to them and welcome" and the
 child is never scolded, lest that might
bring ill luck. For the fairies hate
everything that is mean being of
themselves of a bright, free, joyous
nature; except, indeed the Banshee, who
is the spirit of sorrow and doom.
• The fairies like people who are kind and
considerate, and who leave food on the
dresser and fire in the grate at night for
when they hold their councils; yet not too
much fire, for they dislike smoke, and the
good woman of the house must never
throw out water after dark, without
saying: "Take care of the water", for the
fairies are very nice in their ways, and
resent any such chance as might spoil
their pretty gay caps and feathers. They
greatly desire human aid and are very
clever and acute in obtaining it.
• The fairy doctors are generally females.
Old women, especially, are considered to
have peculiar mystic and supernatural
power. They cure chiefly by charms and
incantations, transmitted by tradition
through many generations; and by herbs,
of which they have a surprising
knowledge.
• Place a small bit of iron near or around
your bed to protect from the Otherworld
intrusions.
• the Otherworlds love to look at their
reflections in pools of water but hate
mirrors, hanging up mirrors near the
entrance to your home will ward of fae
folk.
• One of the best things to see a Faerie
with is a small stone or shell that has a
hole worn through it from water rushing
over it. Peek through and you shall see
the entrance to the Otherworld Land.
• Tie up a bundle of twigs from the oak, ash
and thorn, this will generally protect
against the Otherworlds.
• The sound of bells is thought to frighten
the Otherworlds away also.
• Fairies love milk but if you lace the milk
with mothan (also called pearl-wort) it will
render the fairy powerless against
humans.
• Tossing a hot coal into the butterchurn
will keep fae folk from stealing the butter.
• Beltane and Mid Summer are two
occasions when one is more apt to see
fae folk.
• the Otherworld music is very beautiful,
even the popular song Londonderry Air
was thought to be a gift from the fairies.
• Fairies are attracted to pretty rocks and
stones. Most notably, staurolite (also
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known as faery cross), fluorite, peridot,
jade, and their favorite, the emerald.
Faerie Rings
Faeries sometimes slip into the First World
from their own realm to dance and revel in
favoured places. Such places are marked by
rings of discoloured grass and are known as
the Faerie rings. On nights of the full moon
the Faeries will often be found at such
places, dancing to merry tunes and feasting.
Any mortal who stumbles onto such a scene
is well advised to stay away. Sometimes the
the Faeries will take offence and turn on
them, tearing the intruder to pieces and at
other times they may invite the watcher to
join the dance with many possible
consequences. If a character encounters the
Faeries dancing roll 1d6:
d6 Response
1-2 The Faeries turn on the intruder and
attack.
3-4 The Faeries simply ignore the
intruder.
5-6 The Faeries invite the intruder to
join the dance. If they accept make
a DIFF 12 roll to dance with them.
Traits such as Manipulative and Healthy
are relevant to this roll.
On a success the Faeries are impressed by
your dancing and general demeanour and
increase one of your traits (except the
culture trait) by one dice. On a failure they
are not impressed and punish you for your
presumption, reducing one trait of their
choosing (again, except the culture trait) by
one dice. This gain or loss is permanent.
Regardless of success of failure the dance
ends at dawn, with the Faeries trooping back
to their realm with the rising sun, leaving the
character(s) fatigued.
Faerie Beasts
Faerie beasts are the mundane beasts of the
the Otherworld realm, such as the Cu Sith
(Faerie hounds) and Crodh Mara (Faerie
cattle). Most of these creatures accidentally
slip into the First World through rifts or open
gateways, although some, such as the
Gabriel Hounds, consciously come to our
reality to hunt their favourite prey, mortals.
Cu-Sith
The Cu-Sith are Faerie hounds. They look
much like large mortal hounds but their eyes
glow with a soft inner light. Cu-Sith are like
most animals, they are not particularly
aggressive but will attack if cornered, their
territory threatened or attacked first. A small
Cu-Sith will have 3d, a medium 4d and a
large one 5d.
Cu-Sith: running, fighting, sensing the
presence of living things nearby and being
stealthy.

Crodh Mara
Crodh Mara are Faerie cattle. A Faerie bull
will typically have 6d (a large specimen 7d),
a cow 5d. Like Cu-Sith they look much like
normal cattle only larger and healthier and
their eyes have an inner glow. Cattle do not
normally attack and are quite friendly. Bulls
will attack anything which they perceive as a
threat to their herd.
Crodh Mara: fighting, running and eating
grass.

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The Lesser Fae
The lesser Fae form the bulk of the the
Otherworld population. They are intelligent,
to varying degrees, and usually have an
allegiance to either the Tuatha or Fomorians.
Seelie Faeries
Dwarves
Dwarves are the miners of the the
Otherworld realm, living in great cities deep
below the land. Dwarves typically have 4-6d
and mainly use Glamours to conceal
themselves with. Dwarves in the First World
tend to frequent mines and are sometimes
known as Knockers, particularly in cornwall.
Dwarf: fighting, mining, sensing location
underground, sensing the presence of others
below ground.
Elves
Elves look like attractive young men or
women and are highly mischevious by
nature. They will typically use their glamour
and natural looks to try to tempt a mortal
into some embarassing or dangerous
situation for their amusement. An elf will not
deliberately try to kill a mortal, but if a
mortal is killed by their “joke” they are not
particularly bothered. elf are normally very
attractive, blonde and healthy looking.
Elf: fighting, persuasion, running away
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Brownies
Brownies are house the Otherworlds. They
look like small men or women dressed in
ragged clothes, around a foot in height and
tend to attach themselves to a household.
As long as a bowl of milk or some small
portion of food is left out at night the
Brownie will tend to household chores,
cleaning, milking cows and so forth. If
anyone tries to spy on the brownie when it is
at its work it will depart, never to return. The
same happens if any valuable gift is left for
them (the Brownie will don its new clothes or
takes it gift and decide that its luck is
looking up and skip off to pasture new).
Brownies usually have 2-3d and are not
aggressive, if challenged they will usually do
their best to run and hide.
Brownie: fighting, domestic chores, running
away
Unseelie Faeries
Boggarts
Boggarts are the 'soldiers' of the Fomorian
army. Boggarts are twisted, evil the
Otherworlds who come in many shapes and
sizes. The darkness, which has twisted them
and sustains them, causes them continuous
pain, and this pain drives them to madness
and insanity. Most boggarts are cruel,
sadistic and despicable, always seeking to
hurt others and taking delight in the
suffering of others. All Boggarts are able to
consume the spirits of those that they kill
slowly by torture and then eat the remains
of. They can absorb one edge (or magical
talent) from a victim killed in such a way. If
they subsequently kill another character
they have the option of taking a new edge
from that new victim, or keeping the edge
from the existing victim. Each boggart is a
unique creature and the GM should use
some imagination in describing them. Roll
1d6 to determine how many special creature
abilities a Boggart has when first
encountered:
Illustration 3Banshee
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1d6 First Roll
1-3 One special ability
4-5 Two special abilities
6 Three special abilities
Banshee
The banshee in Irish Gælic, is called 'bean
sidhe', which means 'supernatural woman'.
She is often envisioned with a sunken nose,
scraggy hair and huge hollow eye sockets,
fiery red from continuous weeping.
Banshee's feed off the suffering of dying
people and tend to appear where a death is
about to happen, particularly of a more
powerful person. Their presence prolongs a
death, making it more painful.
Banshee(4d): predict death, terrify,
freezing touch, resist damage, prolong
painful death
Buggane
A shape-shifter, it is often seen in the form of
a horse or a calf, although sometimes it
appears semi-human, with long hair, teeth
and nails. It is a water-spirit and almost
always lives near a waterfall. Bugganes love
to feed on human flesh and cause general
misery to mortals. In combat a bugane
rapidly changes shape whilst fighting
changing its body shape and structure in
response to circumstances (for example,
when a Buggane dodges it tries to move out
of the way of the attack as normal, but also
changes it body shape to avoid the attack as
well).
Buggane(5d): Fighting, resisting damage
The Buggane has the form shifting special
ability.
Giants
Giants are a kind of the Otherworld, massive
in stature and usually surly of mood. Most
giants are man-eaters and evil in nature,
although some, rare, neutral or good giants
do exist.
Giant(8d): fighting, stomping on things,
resisting damage. Thick hide (+0d/+1d).
Gabriel Hounds
Gabriel Hounds are relatives of the Cu-Sith
although of a vile and dangerous nature and
quite hideous appearance. Gabriel hounds
are often used by Fomorians and Boggarts
as tracking, hunting or guard dogs. Gabriel
hounds are almost always encountered in
packs of 2-12 (roll 2d6).
Gabriel Hound(4d): fighting, running,
tracking prey, sensing the presence of living
things. Sharp teeth (+1d/+0d)
Gwyllion
The Gywllion is the Unseelie cousin of the
Elf. They appear much the same and behave
in similar ways but where the Elf is
mischevious but generally harmless the
Gwyllion is mischevious and very dangerous,
its jokes tend to result in bloody death for
the unfortunate target of its humour.
Gwyllion(5d): influencing peoples
behaviour, running away, hurting people in
interesting ways
Kelpie
Celtic water horses found in the Scottish
Highlands and in some parts of Ireland do
not like humans. Unlike the Kelpie, the each
uisge prefers lochs and sea inlets. The each
uisge takes the appearance of a beautiful
horse and beckons for a traveler to mount. If
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he does, he will be taken on a wild ride
ending up underwater, where he will drown
and be devoured by the each uisge. The
Kelpie's hide is sticky like glue and once
someone mounts it, they find it very hard to
get free again. Kelpies can also adopt a
human form, usually that of a very
handsome young man. They like to frequent
the shores of lochs or lakes and seduce
young women, persuading them to come for
a swim, then drowning and eating them.
Kelpie(6d): attracting people to mount it,
riding into lochs and drowning riders, Sharp
hooves (+1d/+0d) and Thick hide
(+0d/+1d).
Trolls
There are various forms of troll, but all share
a common love of mortal blood. All trolls
have the following trait:
Troll (5d): wiry, tough, fighting, moving
around, sensing prey, eating things, resisting
damage. Heavy fists (+1d/+0d), Thick hide
(+0d/+1d).
All trolls regenerate. They ignore Bruises
except when caused by fire, enchanted
weapons, magic or acid.
Rock Troll: Rock trolls have a grey hide,
better to hide against rocks. Their preferred
habitats are mountainous areas where they
hide against the rocks and ambush hapless
travellers.
River Troll: River trolls have webbed feet
and hands and a bluey-green hide. Their
natural habitat is along the banks of rivers
where they feed of fish and other wildlife.
River trolls in the First World often lair below
bridges and prey on lone travellers for food.
Marsh Troll: Marsh trolls have greeny-
brown hides and live in the deep marshes,
spending much of their time immersed in the
fetid waters. They feed off wildlife but are
prone to attack passing travellers, trying to
pull them into the marsh to drown.
Bog Beast
The Bog beast looks like an animated jungle
of roots, mud, fungus and noxious slime. Bog
beasts lair deep in marshes, lying in the
surface layers of mud and water and taking
small prey as their own. The beasts
metabolism is usually very slow, but when
roused it can accelerate to a respectable
pace.
Bog Beast(6d): passing as vegetation,
resisting damage, fighting & Agile(1d, very
slow moving)
Non-sharp weapons are at -1d against a bog
beast.
Boulder Beast
Boulder beasts look like a pile of boulders
which somehow hold together in a coherent
shape, usually vaguely manlike and around
9ft in height. They enjoy wallowing in the
blood of living creatures and take great
pleasure in crushing such creatures flat.
Boulder beast(6d): passing as boulders,
fighting, resisting damage & Agile(1d,
clumsy and slow moving). Heavy fists
(+1d/+0d), Thick hide (+0d/+1d).
Sharp weapons are at -1d against a Boulder
beast.
Jack'o'lanterns
Jack'o'lanterns are know by various other
names, one of the most common being
will'o'the wisps. A jack'o'lantern appears as a
small light, often mistaken as the light of a
settlement of campfire. The lantern will try
to lead anyone who comes towards it into
danger, typically over a cliff edge, into a bog
or such like.
Jack'o'lantern(4d): lead people to their
doom
An Ogre
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Ogres
Ogres are smaller relatives of the Giants. A
typical Ogre weighs over 800lbs and stands
8ft tall. They have thick hides and massive
muscles, some are flabby and others toned
(much like any other race). Unfortunately (or
fortunately for everyone else) what an Ogre
has in size it lacks in intellect. To put it
simply, Ogres are stupid... very stupid. Ogres
tend to wield large 2h weapons. Some
enterprising mortals have discovered
(apparently through trial and error) that
Ogres make good bodyguards if they are
kept fed and entertained. In such a case a
character might find themselves facing an
800lb Ogre wielding a 2h Axe and wearing
Armour....scary.
Ogre(6d): fighting, eating anything, being
angry, resisting damage. Thick hide
(+0d/+1d).
All Ogres have an Intelligent(1d) trait.
The Fomorians
There are many Fomorians, each unique in appearance and ability. For the moment a couple
are presented here for your delectation.
Nucklavee “The Flayed Centaur”

Black Annis “The Hag”

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The Tuatha
Like the Fomorians, there are many Tuatha, each unique and again, a couple are presented
here for your information.

Lady Vivane “The Lady of the Lake”

Lord Scolaris “King of the Moon”

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Men and Animals
Normal Animals
The following list is by no means exclusive. It gives a variety of animals, typical ranges of dice,
relevant actions and flaws for that animal. Roll the full dice for relevant actions, two dice for
other actions and only one dice for flawed actions. Unless stated otherwise animals can operate
perfectly at night. The listed number of dice are for a “typical” member of the species. For a
weaker member (such as wolf cub) reduce by one dice, for a strong member use one or two
more dice.

Species Dice Relevant Actions Flaw Natural Natural

Weapons Armour
Wolf 3 Tracking by smell, stalking Climbing Sharp teeth
prey, fighting, perception +1d/+0d
Boar 4 Fighting, finding truffles Climbing Sharp tusks Thick hide
+0d/+1d
+1d/+0d
Bear 6 Fighting, feats of strength Climbing Powerful Thick hide
claws and hair
+1d/+0d +0d/+2d
Bull 5 Fighting, feats of strength Climbing Horns & Thick hide
Hooves +0d/+1d
+2d/+0d
Horse 4 Carrying a rider, endurance Climbing Sharp -
feats, strength feats hooves
+1d/+0d
Adder 4* Avoiding being seen, biting Fighting - -
Hound 3 Tracking by scent, protecting Climbing Sharp teeth -
owners, fighting, perception +1d/+0d
Wild cat 3 Stalking prey, fighting, Climbing Sharp teeth -
perception & claws
+2d/+0d
Deer 3 Running, grazing, perception Climbing - -
Stag or 4 Running, fighting, grazing, Climbing Horns -
Reindeer perception
+1d/+0d
Owl or Raven 4 Flying, eating small prey, Climbing -
perception
Eagle, Hawk 5 Flying, eating small prey, Climbing Rending -
or Osprey fighting, perception talons
+1d/+0d
Bat 5 Flying, Perception, stealth Fighting, - -
climbing
Blackbird 5 Flying, Perception, singing Fighting, - -
songs climbing
Crow 3 Flying Fighting, - -
climbing
Badger 3 Digging burrows, fighting Climbing Powerful -
claws
+1d/+0d

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 Species Dice Relevant Actions Flaw Natural Natural
Weapons Armour
Goose 5 Sensing intruders, flying Fighting, - -
Climbing
Hare 5 Running, perception Fighting, - -
Climbing
Ram 3 Fighting, running Climbing Horns -
+1d/+0d
Otter 3 Swimming, playing, catching Fighting, Sharp teeth -
fish Climbing
+1d/+0d
Salmon 4 Swimming, never giving up Fighting, -
Climbing
Seal 3 Swimming, hunting fish Climbing Sharp teeth -
+1d/+0d
Rat 4 Sneaking, carrying diseases, Fighting - -
perception
*An adder bite introduces a DIFF 5, normal poison to the target.

Humans Character Relevant Actions

Blacksmith Craft metal items, be
Minor Characters strong and muscular
Minor characters are the “spear-characters”
of the Dark Age world. Minor characters may Chieftain Being in charge,
have names, or may not. They are usually persuading travellers to
described in a similar way to animals, given help the village, fighting,
a dice value and then a list of relevant controlling meetings of
actions for that character. The table later townsfolk
gives some ideas for relevant actions for Carpenter Making things of wood,
various kinds of minor character, this table is repairing wooden things
by no means exclusive and is there to give
you some ideas. Minor character will Leatherworker Craft leather items
normally have whatever weapons and Merchant Strike deals, buy
armour you deem fit, based on cheap/sell dear, evaluate
circumstances, but will rarely have items
enchanted or master-crafted gear, that sort
of equipment is generally reserved for major Woodsman Chop down tree's, fight
characters. with an axe, be strong,
know your way around
Dice Values woods
Green or Novice 1d Hunter Predict preys behaviour,
Follow trails, sneak up on
Competent 2d prey, kill from a distance
Veteran 3d Tracker Follow tracks
Elite 4d Thief Steal things, climbing,
Elite and Veteran 5d sneaking around, evaluate
value of stolen things, find
Legendary 6d fences to buy stolen things

Relevant Actions Thug Attack & defend self,

intimidate, hang around
looking tough

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 Character Relevant Actions
Sage Know things, talk
cryptically
Soldier Fighting, digging trenches,
putting up tents, marching
long distance, playing dice
games, staying awake on
sentry duty, following
orders
Officer Fighting, logistics, strategy
and tactics, giving orders,
looking smart
Mercenary Fighting, digging trenches,
putting up tents, marching
long distance, playing dice
games, staying awake on
sentry duty, bargaining,
drinking and wenching

Major Characters
Major characters should be created in the
same ways as player characters, selecting or
rolling traits from the traits table and
choosing or rolling boons or banes as
desired. The archetypes in the character
creation section give a good starting point
for creating major characters. Once you
have created a major character you can
modify their traits according to what you
need.

A Byzantine Mercenary

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Covens
Covens are common foes of Fianna bands.
The following section presents guidelines on
creating Covens. Some coven members may
be Damned and possess. Rules for such
characters are presented in the Blood,
Swords and Sorcery supplement.
In addition a Coven has a Black Altar. The
Black Altar holds three extra trait dice, which
can be used once each per session by any
member of the Coven (in the same way as
the Resource dice of a Fianna Hearth, but
these dice are not divided up into separate
pools).
An example Coven
Nightfall Coven
The covens Black Altar is to be found in
Trademeet, in the cellar of a villa owned by
Lady Drucilla.
Infamy
Each coven member has at least 10 Infamy
(giving them two Lives). If you use the coven
to oppose a Fiann band increase the average
Infamy of the coven members to match the
average Renown of the Fiann band.
Remember that each extra trait dice gained
from Infamy adds another dice to the Covens
Black Altar.
Gilgid map Gede, Cat Child and assassin
for hire
Pictish (2d, slim, dark hair), Fighter(3d,
wickedly sharp knives), Stealthy(5d,
enjoys surprising people), Spirit of the
beast/Cat* (likes to play with victims before
killing them)
She usually carries 4 or 5 master-crafted
knives (+2d/+0d) hidden about her person,
and fights with one in each hand (+1d/+0d
or +0d/+1d each round). She normally
wears a master-crafted mail vest (+0d/+2d),
concealed under a light cotton shirt.
The extra trait dice for Stealthy from the
Spirit of the Beast/Cat boon is figured into
the Stealthy trait already.
Quintus Dexius Flamma Liburnius,
Romano-British (wears a toga)
Elemental Magic/Fire(4d, skin is
unnaturally hot to the touch),
Knowledgeable(3d, likes to quote greek
philosophy), Manipulative(3d,
charming)
Quintus carries a stout oak staff (+1d/+1d in
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combat and +2d for magic use) which
serves as a weapon and a master-crafted
magical tool. He is a charming
pyromancer/pyromaniac, who originally
trained in the Hermetic method in a
Byzantine academy of magic. During a
period of military service Quintus discovered
that he really liked burning things, and has
drifted down the Dark path where he takes
particular delight in burning people, animals
and homes.
Kim Gadarn, Damned Diabolical Cymri
Priest
Goetics(3d), Fighter(3d), Manipulative(4d,
overbearing) Priest of Lucifer*
Kim is normally armed with a stout cudgel
(+1d/+0d) and will don a mail vest
(+0d/+1d) when battle is likely.
Kim is the nominal “leader” of the Nightfall
coven. He started life as a Cyrmic farmer but
rapidly become bored and took to travelling,
spending some time as a mercenary soldier.
During one campaign in eastern europe he
discovered an ancient text that detailed the
ways of the demons. In short order he used
this tome to summon his first demon and
rapidly became a convert to the Dark. Kim is
a brutal individual, quick to lash out with
cudgel and overbearing.. talents which help
to keep his “colleagues” in line. Kim is
Damned, a concept which will be explained
in more detail in Blood, Swords and Sorcery.
His gift is a demonic servant, detailed below.
Olaf Mad-dog, Blood thirsty Saxon
Berserker
Fighter(4d), Tough(3d), Strong(3d)
Berserker*, Quirk:Cannibal*
Olaf is a berserker, but his tendency to try
and eat his downed foes was regarded badly
by his peers. In short order Olaf was cast out
from his clan and became a mercenary for
hire, wandering from battle to battle. Olaf
was recruited by Kim, offering him the
chance to eat the dead without shame, in
exchange for his services. Olaf is totally loyal
to Kim.
Lady Drucilla Novius Atrox,
“Experimental” Byzantine surgeon
Healer(4d), Intelligent(3d),
Knowledgable/Interrogation(3d), Quirk:
Sociopath*, Noble*
Her usual weapon, when she must fight, is a
sharp scalpel (+1d/+0d). Drucilla developed
a fascination with anatomy whilst studying
medicine in the Empire.. unfortunately she is
a sociopath and has no empathy at all. In
her opinion the only way to truly study
anatomy is to dissect living people and
examine their internals. In short order she
was tried.. but her noble blood guaranteed
her exile rather than death. She joined up
with Kim, using her talents to interrogate
and torture as needed for him.
Calhoun Mohan of Ulster, Grizzled
Amoral Irish Veteran
Fighter(4d), Accurate(3d), Strong Willed(3d)
Calhoun is a hard fighter, armed with a pair
of axes (+2d/+0d, +1d/+0d or +0d/+1d
each round from offhand axe) and wearing a
double-mail vest (+0d/+3d). He is purely in
the coven for the money.. being well paid for
his troubles, and oversee's the activities of
the Covens henchmen.
Gilgid at work
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Amonmarax, Winged Demon(6d, large,
red, forked tail, bat wings, evil): flying,
fighting, being evil), Sharp claws (+1d/+0d),
Leathery Hide(+0d/+1d)
Amonmarax serves Kim faithfully, in
exchange for the periodic sacrifice of
innocents. He is normally to be found close
to Kim and when Kim ventures into
settlements he wears a heavy hooded cloak
to avoid identification as a creature of the
Dark. Animals can sense his presence and
shy away.
Henchmen
The coven usually employs around half a
dozen mercenaries or thugs to guard the
Black Altar and perform simple missions for
Coven members. These guys typically have
the trait Mercenary(3d), or Mercenary
(4d) for experienced veterans. They are
armed with normal weapons and armour (no
enchanted or master-crafted gear).
Summonings
The Beast of Pan
The God Pan will send a beast to protect his
worshippers and receive any sacrifices they
make to it. The creature looks like a blob of
jelly with writhing tentacles with snapping
circular maws at the ends, ringed with razor
sharp teeth. The beast will attack any non-
Pan worshippers near Pan's altar or who
threaten his worshippers. The beasts stats
depend on how many sacrifices it has
received in the last month.
One attack action allows the beast to attack
everyone adjacent to it, due to its multiple
writhing fanged maws.
Beast of Pan (5d): eating opponents,
sensing living creatures. Multiple snapping
mouths and tentacles (+2d/+1d), rubbery
flesh (+0d/+1d)

Elder Beasts
The Elder beasts are truly nightmarish
creatures. Little is known of them, except
that they are of tremendous age, most are
immortal, and they spend much of their time
asleep far below the surface of the earth in
stygian caverns and other lost places.
Luckily elder beasts are rarely encountered
by mortals, but many of them seem to have
strong relations with Pan, the Roman God of
madness and the woods. The beast of Pan
described above is a weak example of an
Elder beast, roused by Pan and sent to serve
his followers. More information on Elder
beasts will be provided in later supplements,
but as very rough guidelines they have at
least 8d, are Terrifying and can only be hurt
by enchanted weapons or magical attacks.

The Wolves of Loki

The wolves of Loki are the lesser offspring of
the Fenrir wolf. Treat the Wolves of Loki as
Were-wolves but they have the Superior
Regeneration creature ability, so they must
be burnt after death or will eventually
reanimate. The wolves of Loki are often
called upon by Loki's followers to undertake
specific acts for them.

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The Undead resist damage and attacks.

Zombies
A zombie is created when the spirit is forced
The undead are the spirits of the dead
to possess a relatively fresh body. Zombies
returned to the First World either inhabiting
tend to be slow and ungainly, but very
physical form (corporeal undead) or as
strong and hard to hurt. Zombies are also
incorporeals. All undead all have several
very stupid
things in common:
Zombie(3d or more): shuffle slowly
• Undead are Unholy* and cannot enter
around, fight, resist damage. All Zombies are
sites sacred to religions, except for the
also Intelligent(1d, very dumb).
Darkness.
• All undead are Terrifying*.
• All Undead ignore subdual damage.
Skeletons
Corporeal Undead A skeleton is created when the spirit is
Corporeal Undead are created by spells of forced to possess a pile of old bones.
the Dark Arts, coercing the spirit of an evil, Skeletons tend to be fast and agile, but
dead, person into mortal remains. relatively brittle and easy to break.
Rules for creating such creatures can be Skeleton (3d or more): move fast, fight.
found in the magic section, under All Skeletons are also Intelligent(1d, very
summoning. dumb).
Liche
A liche is a more powerful form of zombie,
likely the inhabiting spirit was a warrior
when alive.
Liche (5d or more): move, fight, be dead,

An animated skeleton and zombie

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Incorporeal Undead
Incorporeal undead have no physical form
and appear as spectral figures.
Ghosts
Sometimes a creature will die and its spirit
does not migrate to the Otherworld and is,
instead, trapped in the First World. Usually
this occurs when the spirit has some
unfinished business in the First World and
the spirit is not willing, or able, to break its
emotional ties to the First World. Ghosts are
incorporeal and tend to be bound to a
specific place, usually somewhere very
important to them or near their mortal
remains. Some reasons why ghosts may stay
in the First World include:
• To persuade mortals to right a wrong that
was done to them, or their kin, in life.
• To persuade a mortal to avenge the
ghosts death.
• To persuade a mortal to find their remains
and then convey them somewhere.
• To persuade a mortal to continue a task
the ghost was not able to finish (such as
convey an artifact to a place).
Generally speaking, helping a ghost to find
peace is a virtuous act.
Ghosts are quite unpredictable and should
always be handled with caution, by definition
a ghost is always quite fanatical about
something.. that's why their spirit has
remained trapped in the First World, and
such fanatics can become enraged easily.
Ghost: scaring people, walking through
walls, fighting (through a combination of
intangibility and freezing touch).
Handling Objects
A ghost cannot handle a material object,
although they can damage living creatures
with their freezing touch.
Walking through Walls
A ghost can pass through a solid object by
rolling its Ghost dice against the objects DIFF
to break, success lets the ghost move
through the object.
Manifestation
All ghosts are normally incorporeal, although
8d or more ghosts can manifest a corporeal
form if they wish. When incorporeal only
Blessed or Enchanted weapons and silver
can damage them. All other attacks pass
straight through harmlessly.
Dispersion
If a ghost is disabled or killed it disperses
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into a vapour which then slowly vanishes.
The ghost then reforms at the same place at
nightfall the next day. The only way to
permanently defeat a ghost is to fulfil
whatever condition is binding it to the First
World.
There are some particularly common kinds
of ghosts one may encounter, all of which
have the same Ghost trait as mentioned
above.
d6 Type
1 Revenant: The revenant is the ghost
of someone who was betrayed in life.
The revenant seeks revenge against its
betrayer.
2 Hungry Ghost: A hungry ghost is the
ghost of someone who starved to
death. Hungry ghosts will attempt to
eat any food they find, unfortunately
being incorporeal they do not succeed
and all they do is cause any food they
contact to rot and become corrupted.
Hungry ghosts will attack people and
animals if no other food is available.
The traditional way to get rid of a
hungry ghost is to ply it with rotten
food which it can consume and then it
vanishes.
3 Wandering Spirit: The name of this
ghost is a bit of a misnomer. In fact a
wandering spirit is bound to one place.
The wandering spirit was a devout
person in life, who's mortal remains
were not buried according to the rituals
and customs of their religion. Until the
mortal remains are found and properly
buried the wandering spirit will not be
laid to rest.
4 Wight: The wight is the ghost of a
great warrior who died defending their
lands from their enemies and who's
side lost. The Wight will not be laid to
rest until it's enemies have been driven
from it's lands. A wights dice usually
equal the dice it had in life, plus an
extra one (so a 5d Fighter would
become a 6d Wight). Unlike other
ghosts Wights also often have spectral
weapons and armour, typically giving
them +2d/+2d in combat!
5 Wraith: A wraith is the ghost of
someone who died of hypothermia (the
cold). Wraiths are motivated soley by
the urge to absorb the heat of the
living, an experience which usually
proves fatal to those it embraces. The
usual way to get rid of a wraith is to
lead it to a large bonfire, which it will
leap into and thence vanish.
6 Joint Eater: A horrible, usually
invisible, formless ghost which attaches
itself to a person. Any meals the person
eats have no nutritional value and
eventually they will waste away and die
regardless of how much they eat. The
only way to avert this fate is to drive
away the spirit by not eating for ten
days.

Player Character Ghosts

It is possible for a player character to be a
Ghost (one of the entries on the boons and
banes table allows this). Treat them as
normal Ghost as described above, but the
player should decide on the reason for the
Ghost staying in the First World. This is their
motivation for staying as a Ghost and not
moving on. If a player character Ghost fulfils
their motivation they have the option of
moving on, or remaining as a Ghost. If they
choose to voluntarily depart the player may
create a new character with the Renown of
the Ghost character (a reward for good role-
playing).

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Spirits spirits goes back to sleep and its body
becomes a pile of elements as normal. The
elemental has one dice for each dice in the
Elementals
enchantment and obeys the Magician
Lesser elementals: 6d in their elemental
without question.
trait.
Common elementals: 8d in their elemental
Awakening Spirits
trait.
As noted already, some types of magic work
Greater elementals: 10d or more in their
by awakening spirits temporarily. To truly
elemental trait.
awaken a spirit, which then remains awake
and independent, is a different matter
Elementals and Natural Phenomena
altogether.
Some particularly noticeable, and consistent,
natural phenomena may have awakened
Corporeal Manifestation
spirits already. Some examples:
As described in the spirit section awakened
• Off the west coast of Scotia, between the
spirits can sometimes choose to manifest
isles of Jura and Scarba, there is a mighty
away from their physical form. As a general
whirlpool known as the Corryvreckan. The
rule only elementals of 8d or more can
Corryvreckan is, in fact, a giant Undine.
manifest in this way. Some of the more
•
common manifestations include:
• Naiads: Undines sometimes manifest as
Elemental Antipathy
very beautiful women with thick dark hair
Fire elementals receive a bonus dice against
and very pale skin (Naiads are always
water elementals and vice versa. Earth
Enchanting*)
elementals receive a bonus dice against air
• Salamanders: Sometimes a fire
elementals and vice versa.
elemental manifests as a
Elementals and Hermetic Magicians
Undine (water)
Hermetic magicians work their magic by
Undines are water elementals. An undine is
temporarily awakening the spirit of a body of
created when the spirit of a body of water is
air, earth, fire or water. For the duration of
awakened. A small pond or stream would
the spell the spirit of that body obeys the
create a lesser (6d) elemental, a large pond
Magician's command and animates it's body
or narrow river a common (8d) elemental
to do what is asked of it. The elementals
and a lake or larger body, or a wide river,
created by most magicians tend to be
would create an (10d) elemental. The
weaker than even the lesser elementals
awakened spirit can animate it's form as it
listed here. It's important to note that an
see's fit.
elemental is awakened by a magicians single
Undine: fighting and anything water related
command, the magician is not creating a
Only enchanted or blessed weapons, or
servant to obey it. If the magician used a
magic, can effect an Undine.
spell to command the spirit of a rock wall to
awaken and reshape the wall to create a
Sylph (air)
hole it would do so, then return to sleep
Sylphs are air elementals. A sylph is created
immediately, leaving the hole. If the spirits
when the spirit of a volume of air is
form cannot sustain a new shape it is given
awakened. A gentle breeze would create a
it behaves according to the laws of nature
6d elemental, a moderate wind a 8d
when the spell ends. An enchantment
elemental and a howling gale an 10d one.
awakens the spirit and instils in it a single
Sylph: fighting and anything air related
command, which it maintains until the
Only enchanted or blessed weapons, or
Magician ends the spell, when it returns to
magic, can effect a Sylph.
sleep.
Salamander (fire)
Summoning Elementals
Salamanders are fire elementals. A
Hermetic magicians can use an
salamander is created when the spirit of a
enchantment to create an elemental. The
fire is awakened. A small camp-fire would
elemental manifests from the element
create a 6d elemental, a bonfire a 8d
present in the environment and will obey the
elemental and a blazing house or burning
Magician as long as they maintain the
forest an 10d elemental.
enchantment. The moment they cease to
Salamander: fighting and anything fire
maintain the enchantment the elemental

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related.
Only enchanted or blessed weapons, or
magic, can effect a Salamander.
Gnome (earth)
Gnomes are earth elementals. A single small
boulder would be awakened as a 6d
elemental, a moderate sized boulder as an
8d elemental and a tor or rock face as a 10d
one. Gnomes are usually created from rock,
but they can also be created from earth with
the same results.
Gnome: fighting and anything rock related.
Only weighted weapons can hurt a Gnome,
and Sharp weapons are at -1d against it.
A Wose
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Dryads
Dryads are the corporeal manifestation of an
awakened tree. Dryads normally, but not
always, appear as beautiful young women
with a brownish taint to their skin and leaf
green hair.
Dryad: fighting, seduction and persuasion,
moving undetected through the woods,
perception whilst in woodland
Dryads are Enchanting*.
Woses
A Wose is an awakened tree. They are
capable of slow ponderous movement
through the forests and tend to shepherd
the other unawakened trees, protecting
them from harm. Most woses are 6d or
greater elementals. Woses
tend to make a conscious
choice not to manifest, unlike
the Dryads.
Wose: fighting, feats of
strength and toughness,
moving through woods, being
aware of anything going on in
your wood.
Demons

Demons are spirits of the Christian hell

summoned to the First World by followers of
the Darkness. Demons can either be
summoned as essences, which must possess
someone or something, or as corporeal
beings. The form a demon takes in the First
World is largely determined by the
expectations and desires of the summoner.
Demons can be summoned as corporeal or
incorporeal creatures, with no difference in
cost.
Incorporeal demons cannot effect the
material world in any way, all they can do is
communicate with characters in the First
World and try to possess characters or
items.
An incorporeal demon can only be hurt by
magic or magical weapons, or silver
weapons.

Demon Princes
Demons of 8d or more are usually referred
to as Demon princes.

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Constructs Lemurian Constructs
All the Lemurian constructs are organic
weapons, created to either fight alongside
Constructs are, thankfully, rare. Constructs
human soldiers (changelings, were-
were created by the ancient Atlanteans and
creatures) or to act as traps for the unwary
Lemurians using a mixture of magic and
(marsh willows, breath-takers and crawling
science. Constructs are most likely to be
webs).
encountered in ancient Atlantean or
Lemurian ruins.
Changelings
Atlantean constructs tend to be mechanical
Changelings are organic constructs designed
in nature, whereas Lemurian ones tend to be
to be able to change their form to match
more organic.
that of any person. Changelings were
Constructs have no spirits, instead they are
developed as infiltration weapons, killing an
animated by magical forces, the secrets of
Atlantean warrior or other personage and
which have long been lost to men. All
then adopting their appearance.
constructs receive +2d when interacting
Changelings are also gifted with a limited
with Faeries in the First World, being
telepathic ability, enabling them to read the
immune to their illusions.
minds and surface memories of a victim, so
For all intents and purposes constructs are
they can pass as such, although this
immortal and continue to try to fulfil the
superficial knowledge does not tend to pass
function they were made for all those
close scrutiny. Normally the changeling uses
millenia ago.
its dice to resist anyone working out that it
isn't who it is pretending to be, but if the
Atlantean Constructs
interrogation is detailed the changeling
should take a -1d or even -2d penalty. Most
Adamant Golem
changelings are 4d creatures. If the
Adamant Golems were created by the
changeling foregoes its disguise in combat,
Atlanteans as front line soldiers. They are
which it will normally do when identified as
massive metal figures, motivated by
fraudulent, it receive +2d in combat to
Sorcerous energies. Most Adamant Golems
reflect it's ability to change form as it's fight,
Adamant Golem: Fighting, Feats of
sprouting spikes, hardening it's skin and so
Strength and toughness.
forth. Fighting a changeling in this way is
A lesser Adamant golem has 6d, a common
quite a strange experience, as it's form
one 8d and a greater one 10d.
continuously shifts and varies.
Sharp weapons are at -1d against the
Changeling (4d): fighting, passing as
creature. It is also immune to poisons and
someone else
diseases and doesn't need to breath or eat.
It usually wields a 2h weapon (axe or spiked
Marsh Willow
club) giving (+3d/+0d) and it's metal body
Marsh willows are the Otherworld plants
gives it (+0d/+2d).
which feed off living flesh. A marsh willow
looks just like a normal weeping willow,
usually found sitting by the side of pleasant
pool and surrounded by thick green grass.
During the day time the willow releases a
powerful sleeping scent, but once night falls
its roots come up to the surface to pull any
organic matter (ie.. its victims) down below
the ground to be digested. Any inorganic
materials are left under the ground and if
someone digs up the ground round a willow
they will find a variety of inorganic items.
Anyone within 20ft of the tree is attacked
each round by the willows scent (treat as a
poison, using the willows dice). The first time
you fail the roll you collapse into a deep
sleep and, if not pulled away from the tree
by someone, you will be dinner at nightfall.
The willow cannot move at all and is
completely inanimate. It's roots creep very

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slowly up from the ground a a conscious Breath-taker, so if you encounter a patch of
person could easily just step over or round mist, usually in a low hollow, with gems or
them without any trouble. gold in it, beware. The breath-taker can only
Marsh Willow (3-4d): resisting being hurt, be harmed by enchanted or magic weapons,
making people sleep. magic or fire.
Breath-taker (2-3d): looking like harmless
mist, killing people
Crawling Web
The crawling web looks like a pile of soft
grey cobwebs, perhaps 600ft in total
volume. They are normally found in deep
forests or in corridors or rooms in buildings.
Anything blundering into the web will
become trapped if the fail to break free
(opposed Strong roll against the webs dice)
and then is slowly dissolved by the webs
digestive juices over the course of hours, if
not days. Once trapped a victim takes a
Bruise every hour until dead (this damage
comes from the acid). Once the web has
digested the tissue off a victim it is left with
a pile of bloodied bones and at this point the
true horror of the web becomes apparent. A
portion of the web buds off and slithers over
the bones, acting as muscles and ligaments,
and the skeleton animates. The animate
skeleton will then venture away from the
web, hunting for prey, which it will
endeavour to disable then drag back to the
web for digestion. A typical web will have
1d6 such “skeletons” out hunting for it. The
Skeletons are usually 3d creatures.
Crawling Web (5d): restrain victims, look
harmless
Skeletons (3d): run,
fight, be horrific, sense
living things

Breath-taker
Breath takers suck the
very breath from the
lungs of the unwary.
They tend to frequent
isolated spots and
appear to the eye as a
patch of soft white
mist. Anyone entering
the mist is attacked
every round by the
breath-taker. Treat this
as a poison attack,
using the breath-
takers dice. The mist is
mildly acidic and
dissolves away all
traces of its victim in a
few days. Gold and
glass will not be
dissolved by the Illustration 4A Breathtaker

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Were-Creatures Regeneration
Were-creatures are constructs, but not in the Were-creatures heal at an astonishing rate
same way as others listed in this section. in all three forms. This rapid healing makes
Were-creatures were created by the them immune to wounds which do not
Lemurians as shock troops, by mixing the instantly kill them unless such wounds come
essences of men and animals together. from enchanted or blessed weapons, magic,
A were-creature has three forms, pure silver weapons, fire or acid. They can still be
animals, pure human and a hybrid beastman effected by non-wound results on the
form. Were-creatures can shift between the Complicationtable as normal.
three forms at will, but no more than once
per round. Breeding
Were-creatures are possessed of strong Were's which mate with were's breed true,
animal instincts, but these instincts never their offspring also being were-creatures of
overwhelm them. the same breed. When a were mates with a
The three were breeds that commonly exist human the offspring are latents.
are Werewolf, Were-bear, Were-boar, Were-
seal and Were-cat. Others do exist, although
they are much rarer.
In human form a were-creature is just a
normal human, with traits as appropriate.
In beastman (or beastwoman) form the were
still has the same traits, but gains a bonus
dice on various kind of actions and a penalty
dice on others.
In pure animal form the were-creature keeps
the same traits, but receives an extra trait
dice rather than just a bonus dice on
relevant actions.

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 Latents
Latents are the offspring of were's and
humans. A latent can transform still but only
under moonlight or when wounded or
angered.
Latents have the same animal instincts as
full were's, but they are unable to control
them when in beastman or pure animal
form, tending to run amok and kill anything
they can when transformed.

Breed Bonus Actions Penalty

Actions
Wolf Smell, fighting, Any intellectual
running action,
climbing
Boar Fighting, resist Any intellectual
pain and action,
damage climbing
Bear Fighting, Any intellectual
strength action
Cat Fighting, speed Any intellectual
and quick action
reflexes, seeing
at night,
hunting
Seal Fighting, Any intellectual
swimming action,
Climbing,
moving on land

Mermaids and Mermen

Mermaids and Mermen are, in fact, Were
Seals. They are treated as were creatures in
all other respects.

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Vampires but raises as a 5d vampire on the night of
First and foremost, Vampires are not the next new moon.
undead, they are Lemurian constructs
animated with magical forces. All Vampires Powers and Flaws
share a number of common factors: A Vampire has one roll on Table B of the
• Vampires must drink the blood of the creature special abilities tables for every
living to survive. For every day the passes dice it has.
without the Vampire drinking at least a
pint of fresh blood (from a human) it loses
one dice from it's primary trait. These
dice are recovered at 1d per day with
fresh blood again. At 0d it dissolves into
ashes and is gone forever.
• A Vampire can be killed by destroying it's
heart (where the wooden stake myth
originates from) or through massive
damage, such as chopping its head off.
• Vampires recover from Bruises at the end
of a scene, Wounds after an hour and
disabling wounds the next day.
• A disabling result incapacitates the
Vampire until it heals (the next morning).
• A dead result is an instant kill as normal.
• Vampires take damage from direct
sunlight, taking a Wound every minute
they are exposed to such.

In addition most Vampires then have one or

more unique powers and flaws. The Vampire
trait is:
Vampire: Fighting, strength, speed, stealth,
scaring mortals

Dice and Age

A Vampires power increases with age. The
number of dice a Vampire has in its primary
trait (Vampire) depends on it's Age.
Age Dice
1-50 5
51-200 6
201-400 7
401-800 8
801-1600 9
1601-3200 10
3201-6400 11
6401-12800 12
12801-25600 13

Replication
Vampires are sterile, but they can reproduce
by turning normal humans into other
Vampires. This only works in a small number
of cases. If a characters blood is drained by a
vampire roll 3d6, on an 18 the victim dies,

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Campaigning

Campaign Types Soldiers; Soldiers are much like agents,

A campaign consists of a series of
adventures linked by some common thread.
There are various types of campaign but
some ideas follow:
Unthemed
In an unthemed campaign the primary focus
of the player characters is to acquire wealth
and power. Adventures may not be linked at
all, with the party simply moving from one to
the next increasing in their capabilities each
time.
Themed
A themed campaign is a series of linked
adventures with each adventure leading
onto the next. Usually the end of each
adventure leaves the party with some
revelation which leads them into the next
adventure. Not every adventure in a themed
campaign needs to be part of the main
story, it is quite common to insert drop in
adventures just to break up the flow.
Ideas for Themes
Following are some ideas for themes for a
campaign:
only they tend to have less autonomy of
action and participate in overt actions
against the enemy faction. Soldiers are
usually organised into units with an officer in
charge.
Quests
A quest is a task which the party is
undertaking for some reason of their own.
Quests usually involve finding something
and destroying or recovering it. At the start
of a quest campaign the party may or may
not know their final destination. If they do
know their final destination each adventure
in the campaign will be to overcome an
obstacle of some kind on the route. If they
do not know the destination it is likely that
each adventure will reveal a new clue to
either final destination or the next
adventure.. which in turn leads on to the
next and so on until they finally reach the
final destination.
They may also be in competition with other
forces, either trying to beat them to the
subject of the quest, or stop them
succeeding.

Conflict
A conflict themed campaign centres around
a conflict between two or more major
powers. This could be a conflict between
kingdoms, powerful individuals or the forces
of good and evil. Player characters in a war
campaign can take various roles:
Mercenaries; The party are independent
operators who work for pay. They will usually
be hired by one of the factions in the war to
scout, fight or undertake other missions
against the opposing side. Mercenaries have
to stay alert to danger and are vulnerable to
being double-crossed by their own side, they
may even work for both sides at different
times. The advantage of being a mercenary
is that you are not obliged to undertake
missions and can be selective.
Agents; The party are agents of one of the
faction. They will tend to be involved in
covert missions rather than overt ones. An
agent is in a better position in relation to
their employer, but does not have the
freedom to turn down missions. Agents tend
to be given missions to achieve then left to
their own devices, exercising a high degree
of autonomy in choosing how to approach
and resolve a mission.

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Writing Adventures
There are many approaches to creating
adventures but I would tend to recommend
the following methodology. An adventure
consists of a series of scenes linked by
transitions. The first scene is always a Hook,
followed by alternating conflict and
Development scenes, which culminate in a
Climax scene followed by a Resolution
scene.
A scene is defined as a group of actions and
events which all take place in a similar
geographical location and/or timeframe. As a
rule of thumb a major change of location or
time marks the transition between scenes.
• Hook
• conflict
• Transitions
• Development
• Climax
• Resolution
A Hook is the opening “scene” of the
adventure and its purpose is to draw the
party into the adventure. The most
important thing about a hook is that it
interests the players enough to get them
involved (think about a typical TV show
which you are a casual viewer of.. you sit
down and start watching, if the show doesn't
grab your attention in the first five minutes
or so you will probably wander off or change
channels).
Always consider the party carefully when
creating the hook.. you need to make sure
that the hook directly appeals to some, if not
all, the party members. Examples of Hooks
might be:
• The party wake up in a prison cell.
• A patron approaches the party with a
mission.
• Someone the party knows is kidnapped.
• The party obtain the location of
something of value.
Following the hook is a conflict or
development.
A conflict is usually an action or suspense
scene of some kind, it always involves some
degree of conflict (which may against other
people, a situation, the environment, a place
and so on). Such scenes are called conflicts
because there is some danger of failure
associated with the scene. In a TV show it is
normal to end a two-part show on a conflict..
leaving the heroes facing some imminent
peril.. hopefully you will then come back
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next week to see what happens to them.
Examples of conflicts might be:
• A fight
• A verbal confrontation
• Breaking into somewhere
Before or after each conflict comes a
Development. A development has no risk
associated it, there is no conflict. Instead it
introduces new story material to the party,
this could be a clue as to where to go next,
some useful information or a non-player
character. In a TV show developments are
used to heighten our (the audiences)
interest and attachment to the characters..
so that when they are placed in a conflict
situation we are concerned for them and
thus carry on watching. Examples of
developments might be:
• A visit to someone to get information
• A journey to somewhere
• Meeting someone
Separating each scene is a transition.
Transitions are important in conveying a
sense of time and continuity to the scenes in
an adventure. Unlike a conflict or
development nothing happens during a
transition. A transition can be just glossed
over with a quick sentence, such as “you live
Aldbridge and spend the day on the road to
Waybreak, arriving in the evening”, or the
GM may allow players to roleplay through
the transition. Common transitions might be:
• An interrupted days travel.
• A stop-over in a village.
• Camping overnight in the wilds.
• An uninterrupted boat journey.
Of course a transition might be broken up by
a conflict and/or development, such as a
long boat journey where the party are
attacked by a sea monster (a conflict) then,
at journeys end, given some useful advice by
the ships captain (a development).
A given story may have several conflicts and
developments but a conflict never follows a
conflict and the same for developments.
conflicts and Developments always alternate
through the adventure. This is a way to
control the pace of the adventure.. hitting
someone right between the eyes again and
again rapidly becomes ineffective.. it is
much better to hit them, then let them relax,
then hit them again. A good story raises the
stakes, so each hit (to use the metaphor) is
harder than the list. It is also common to
speed up a story.. the opening conflicts may
be relatively easy to defeat and not be to
hurried, but as the climax of the story
approaches the risks build up and the tempo
increases.
Finally the party will reach the Climax. The
climax is a final conflict where the party are
placed in a major conflict situation. Success
at the climax leads to the resolution, which
winds up the story. Examples of a climax
might be:
• Attacking the evil wizards lair
• Confronting the murderer with the
evidence
And finally, the Resolution. The resolution
lets the party see the results of the climax
and ends the story. Examples of resolutions
might be:
• The hero and princess live happily ever
after.
• The murderer is arrested and sent to jail.
In game terms each scene (hook,
conflict, development, climax or
resolution) is a discrete set of events in
a single location.
Scenario Structure
An easy way to structure a scenario:
Summary
A summary of the events in the scenario for
the GM.
Scenes
A description of the events in each scene,
the possible exits from it and the backdoor,
if any.
Protagonists
Statistics for all the characters, creatures
and items which may be encountered
during the scenario.
Rewards
XP awards for the adventure.
Exits
It's a good idea to note the possible “exits”
from a scene. This little section notes which
scene the characters go to next based on
the outcome of the scene they have just
completed.
It's also very important to ensure that there
is always a “back-door” in each scene.. a
way that the party can progress to the next
scene even if they really fluff things up.
Perhaps the party accidentally kill the guy
who knows where the hidden city is.. end of
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adventure.. but you might decide that he
actually wrote down the directions and hid
them somewhere.. allow the players Intuition
rolls to guess this and then let them try and
work it out.
Timing
As a good rule of thumb an adventure
typically takes around 30 minutes per scene
to play through. This is obviously not always
true, but if you work on this basis it will give
you an idea how long a scenario will take to
play (eg.. a six scene scenario will take
around three hours to play through).
Threats
Generally speaking the threats faced earlier
in an adventurer should be fairly easy to
defeat then as the adventure progresses the
opposition becomes harder and harder to
defeat. It is nearly always a good idea to
drop clues (usually as Developments) which,
if picked up on by the party, will make
subsequent conflicts or the climax easier to
defeat (eg.. if the party are going to face a
powerful undead you could leave a clue as
to a weakness it has somewhere earlier in
the adventure. If the party pick up the clue
they can this information to make defeating
the undead easier).
Linear vs. Non-Linear
A linear adventure basically consists of a
series of events in a fixed order which the
party must overcome one at a time. A non-
linear adventure presents a series of events
which the party can encounter in any order.
Many adventures mix the two, with linear
events nested inside a non-linear framework.
For example, a town surrounded by a
number of interesting places is a non-linear
set-up, the party can explore the places in
any order they wish, but once they enter a
place they find they must work through it in
a particular order.
Twists
Another approach to creating adventures is
to start with a basic idea, a simple plot, then
add a twist to it. Not every adventure needs
to have a twist. If you over-use twists the
players in your campaign will come to
expect such and spend much of their time
watching out for the twist to arrive (this is a
common problem in dark future/ cyberpunk/
dystopian type games, where the idea of
being turned over by your employer, Mr
Johson, is a plot staple).
The adventure “the tower of brass”
looks like this:
1. Hook; the magpie gives a character the
note begging for help (exits; the party
work out where the tower is on their own,
and go to scene 3 OR they go to Harald
for help, scene 2).
2. Development; the party goes to Harald
for help in finding the tower then set off
(exit; the party find the burners village).
3. conflict; the party encounters the
Charcoal burner village (exits: the burners
hide, are beaten or do not attack; the
party go to the tower, scene 6 Or the
burners attack and win; the party go to
the Beast of Pan, scene 5).
4. Development; Captured by the burners
the party wake, trussed up in the dark
glade (exits: the party escape their bonds
and go to scene 5, or they are sacrificed..
game over).
5. conflict; The battle with the beast of Pan
(exits: the party lose, game over or win,
go to scene 6).
6. Development; the party find the tower
(exits: scene 7).
7. conflict; the party have to navigate their
way through the various puzzles in the
tower (exits: the party defeat the puzzles
and go to scene 8 OR they are stymied
and go home, adventure ends OR they go
back to Harald, scene 2, who helps them
solve the problem)
8. Development; the party get through the
tower and meet the Dryad (exits: scene
9).
9. Climax; the party confront the Boggart in
a final battle (exits: the party wins, scene
10 or lose and the adventure ends).
10.Resolution; the party take the Dryad
back to her tree and receive the magical
spear as a reward.
This adventure is relatively linear with the
most significant divergence being around
the burner village.. it is possible for the party
to walk straight past scenes 4 and 5,
although during play testing the party came
back after completing the adventure and
went straight to scene 5, killing the beast.
As you can see from this, the scenes in a
story can vary in length enormously. Scene 4
(the party finds the tower) is likely only to
last a few minutes, where as scene 5
(getting through the tower) is likely to last
an hour or more in real-time.
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Some Adventure Ideas for Samlaidh
The following list presents some ideas for
adventures in the world of Samlaidh.
1. The magical seals on an Atlantean ruin
have weakened to the point that a daring
party can enter the ruin and try to
recover whatever secrets are there.
2. A dark coven is working it's evil in a
village and the party must intervene.
3. A rich merchants daughter is kidnapped
by bandits and he hires the party to
rescue her.
4. The king or a noble hires the party to root
out enemy agents operating on his lands.
5. The king or a noble hires the party to raid
into enemy lands, cause as much damage
as possible and return.
6. An entrepreneur knows where a rich
treasure is being transported, he hires the
party to help him steal it.
7. A holy relic or heirloom or inheritance has
been stolen and the party are hired to
recover it.
8. The party are hired to steal a holy relic or
heirloom.
9. Enemy forces are massing to attack, the
party must disrupt them somehow.
10.A legion of undead are bearing down on a
town, the party must recover a magical
item which will protect the townsfolk.
11.A convicted felon has escaped, go and
get him back.
12.An insidious plague has struck a
community, you need to go and fetch the
cure.
13.The party receive a mission but are
double-crossed and have to escape both
their target and employer, revenge is
always an option.
14.The party acquire a map to buried
treasure.
15.A convoy needs guards as it crosses
through the wilds.
16.A powerful individual has gone rogue and
the party are hired to bring them back,
dead or alive.
17.A magician hires the party to perform
several apparently completely random
acts.. it's part of an enchantment they are
performing.
18.The party are hired to investigate a series
of murders and find out who, or what is
killing people, and why.. then stop it.
19.The party are hired to investigate a theft
and bring the perpetrator to justice.
20.The party find themselves embroiled in a
plot between romano-british nobles, they
must navigate the twists and turns of
politics to gain advantage or get out in
 one piece.
21.Byzantine agents are destabilising a
community, the party find out and have
to decide what to do.
22.A loved one owes money to bad people.
You need to help them out.

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Random Adventure Generator
The random adventure generator is a
collection of tables which can be used to
generate random ideas. It still requires some
measure of thought and creativity on the
part of the GM but it can help to galvanise
you into action.
1. Roll a random objective.
2. If the objective involves a target roll for
possible random target complications.
3. Roll a random hook.
4. For a short adventure roll 2d6. Half
rounded up will be Developments and the
other half, rounded down, conflicts.
5. For a medium length adventure roll 3d6.
Half rounded up will be Developments
and the other half, rounded down,
conflicts.
6. For a long adventure roll 4d6. Half
rounded up will be Developments and the
other half, rounded down, conflicts.
7. Generate a random climax.
8. Decide on the possible resolutions.
Random Objective (roll d66)
d66 Objective
11 Rescue: rescue an individual.
12 Assassination: kill an individual
who an (1-3) defend themselves
effectively (4-6) not defend
themselves effectively. The death
must (1-2) look like an accident
(3-4) look like a killing but with
the killers not identified (5-6) a
high profile killing with the
instigators of the murder clearly
identified.
13 Punish: punish an individual or
organisation.
14 Kidnap: kidnap an individual.
15 Steal: steal something.
16 Recover: recover something of
the patrons which has been (1-3)
lost or (4-6) stolen.
21 Train: train a group of people in a
specific skill or skills.
22 Guard: protect a (1-2) Location
(3-4) Event (5-6)Person (7-8) Item
from harm and/or capture.
23 Search and Destroy: patrol an
area and kill/destroy any enemies
you find there.
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d66 Objective
24 Raid: raid a location and (1-3)
destroy it (4-6) secure it
25 Explore: explore a (1-2) known
location (3-6) unknown location.
26 Loot: attack a location and bring
back prisoners and/or loot.
31 Search and Recon: patrol an
area and report back what you
find there without being
compromised.
32 Destroy: destroy a location.
33 Transport: transport (1-2) an
item (3-4) a person (5-6)
information from one place to
another safely.
34 Find: find a (1-2) lost person (3-4)
lost place (5-6) lost item
35 Hinder: stop a group achieving a
specific task (or tasks).
36 Help: perform a specific task.
41-43 Roll twice and take both results
(1-3) one mission is more
important than the other (4-6)
both are equally important
44-46 Roll three times and take all three
results (1-3) one mission is more
important than the other two (4-
6) all are equally important
51-66 Roll again
Target Complications (d6)
Roll 1d6 to determine if there are any
complications and, if so, how many:
d6 Complications
1-3 None
4-5 One
6 Two
Roll 1d6 on the table below for each
complication:
d6 Complication
1 Target is guarded
2 Target is heavily guarded
3 Target is heavily guarded and secured
in a (1-2) safe (3-4) secret (5-6) safe
and secret location
d6 Complication 23 Murder: the adventure begins
with a murder of (1-2) someone
4 There is only a limited opportunity to
close to the party (3-6) a stranger,
get to the target, after that mission
which occurs either near the party
becomes (1-3) very much harder (4-6)
or they find the deceased.
Impossible
24 Memory Loss: the party wake up
5 Target is unguarded but their current
in a difficult or dangerous system
location is unknown
with no idea how they got there,
6 Target is unguarded and their location what they are expected to do and
known who they are, but everyone else
appears to know them and
Random Hook (roll d66) assume they know what is going
on.
25 Patron: the party are approached
11 Crisis: the adventurers are
(1-2) in person (3-4) through an
dropped straight into an ongoing
intermediary (5-6) by letter/post
crisis (such as an invasion).
by (1-2) a stranger (3-4) an
12 False Accusation: the party are acquaintance (5-6) a friend or
falsely accused of a (1-3) serious family member who wishes the
(4-6) petty crime. The party party to undertake a task for
should have to fight or flee, and them, (1-3) it is paid (4-6) unpaid.
prove their innocence.
26-32 Roll again twice and combine.
13 Looming threat: similar to the
33-66 Roll again
crisis, but the threat has not yet
fully materialised and is “looming
over the horizon”. The threat
should be directly related to the
adventure.
14 Discovery: The adventure begins
with a discover, such as a
treasure, new invention or secret.
This discovery should link in to
some important element later in
the adventure.
15 Revelation: the hook is a
previously hidden fact which
changes the party (or one
members) lives. This could be (1-
2) an unexpected inheritance (3-4)
a secret past (5-6) a mysterious
parentage revealed (7-8) a terrible
curse. The revelation is directly
linked to the adventure.
16 conflict Hook: (1-2)
Confrontation (3-4) Ambush (5-6)
Fistfight
21 Development Hook: Generate a
random development.
22 Kidnapped: (1-3) the party (4-6)
a friend of the parties, starts the
adventure as prisoner(s) of some
unknown force. The adventure
will, in part, involve identifying the
mysterious kidnappers.

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Random conflict (roll d66)

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 d66 conflict
11 Chase: the party must chase after the opposition.
12 Race: the party must race the opposition to a (1-2) person (3-4) place (5-6) thing.
13 Dogfight: the party must engage in a fight involving vehicles of some kind, such as
mounted battle.
14 Duel: a one-on-one combat between two protagonists usually using equal weapons.
Duels can be for (1-3) honour (4-6)obedience. The loser of a duel for obedience must
obey the winner. Duels can be (1-2) to first blood (3-4) last man standing (5-6) to the
death.
15 Monster: the party confront a non-intelligent threat (1-2) Undead (3-4) Animal (5-6)
the Otherworld Beast in combat.
16 Trap: a trap is much like an ambush but the opposition is overwhelming. The party can
try and fight their way out, which will be very difficult, or surrender and be captured.
21 Contest: a contest is a ritualised confrontation between the party and the opposition.
It could be a riddling contest, contest of Strength or other traits or other contests.
22 Obstacle: the party are confronted by a trap, natural hazard or other danger which
must be overcome to continue the adventure. Every obstacles must have a weakness..
a way in which it can be overcome relatively easily.
23 Skirmish: a limited battle between the party and the opposition. If the party is winning
the opposition will usually flee, often by using trickery. If the opposition is winning they
will seek to capture the party or leave them wounded but alive.
24 Pursuit: the party are chased by the opposition, who have superior force on their side.
25 Fist Fight: the party (or one member) must engage in an unarmed combat with the
opposition (could be a brawl, wrestling match or other).
26 Confrontation: the opposition has an overwhelming advantage over the party but
chooses not to attack them, instead threatening them, a non-physical fight involving
verbal exchanges (threats and intimidation). The opposition will not attack unless
attacked, the confrontation is used to lean on the party a little and give them a reason
to want to take out the opposition later in the adventure.
31 Battle: a full out battle between the party and opposition. The first battle in an
adventure should be fairly easy to win, with each subsequent battle becoming
increasingly more difficult to win.
32 Ambush: the party is ambushed by the opposition, after the first round of combat this
becomes a battle.
33-36 Roll again twice and combine
41-66 Roll again

Random Development (d66)

Development
11 Secret Meeting: a secret meeting is called at which the party may gain new allies or
information.
12 Strange bedfellows: A common threat arises which compels the party to work with
the opposition to defeat it. The threat must be sufficiently compelling to make this
believable.
13 Lie Revealed: something previously thought to be true turns out to be a lie.
14 Obsession: a member of the party is the target of anothers obsession. This
obsession may be love, hate or curiousity and the other person/thing will do their best
to stay close to the target of their obession.

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 Development
15 Back from the Dead: An old opponent returns from the dead... somehow. Normally
this means (1-5) they somehow survived their death (the fall didn't quite kill them,
the blow missed their heart) but it could mean (6) they have returned as an undead.
16 Sabotage: An important item of the parties is disabled by sabotage. The party
should always have an opportunity to identify the saboteur and stop them, or catch
them soon afterwards.
21 Gain Mastery: the party, or a party member, gain the skills which, if used correctly,
can win the adventure. This usually takes days or even weeks and is compressed
(eg.. spending months learning mystical skills on a swamp world, learning the Crane
kick on a beach).
22 Hesitation: Much like the retreat. The opposition breaks off its attack during the
previous conflict, but rather than retreating pauses, typically to try and make a deal
with the party. If the party do make a deal they can guarantee they will be stabbed in
the back at the earliest opportunity.
23 Advantage Revealed: the party uncover a previously unknown ability which will be
useful later in the adventure (for example, finding out an old sword they have is really
magical or some apparently useless skill or piece of knowledge that suddenly
becomes critical to success).
24 Warning: the party is explicitly warned of a threat to come in the adventure.
25 Personal Stake: the opposition raises the stakes by interjecting a person stake into
the game for one of the players. This could (1) a party member, or members, is/are
poisoned and the opposition has the antidote (2) a party members friend/ally or lover
is kidnapped by the opposition (3) the party are set up by the opposition in some
way, and the only way to prove their innocence is to defeat the opposition.
26 Turnabout: A member of the oppositon decides to join the party, or help them in
some way. The member may (1-3) permanently change sides (4-6) remain with the
opposition but tacitly help the party.
31 Framed: The party, or one member, is framed for a crime they have not committed.
This is obvious to everyone except the authorities who, of course, have convincing
evidence of their guilt.
32 Vengeance: One member of the party becomes the target of the oppositions
vengeance. In any conflict the opposition will make a special point of targetting the
member concerned.
33 Rescuers: The party must rescue someone from capture, death or confinement. The
captured person must be either a (1-3) friend of the party, or (4-6) have something
the party needs to complete the adventure.
34 Foreshadowing: the party receive vague warnings about events to come. The hints
are always very vague and should rarely be relevant to a subsequent conflict (there
should be a reasonable gap between the foreshadowing development and events it
relates to).
35 Betrayal: someone (1-2) their patron (3-4) an ally (5-6) a lover has betrayed the
party to the opposition by (1-2) stealing something important (3-4) revealing the
parties plans (5-6) leading the party into a trap or ambush (7-8) drugging or
poisoning the party. The party should always have an opportunity to stop the
betrayer or catch them soon afterwards.
36 Mistaken Identity: one or more of the party is mistaken for someone else who is
important and (1-3) Good (4-6) Bad. This development should be used carefully as it
can wreck a whole adventure.
41 Clue: an ambiguous revelation. A clue hints at the whole story without giving it away.

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 Development
42 Hidden Weakness: the party finds out a weakness of the opposition which will make
it easier to defeat them. This can also apply to a way to surmount an obstacle or
contest later in the adventure.
43 Second Chance: if the party have failed to progress in the adventure, for example
missing a clue, being unprepared, losing a fight or such like, the second chance gives
them an opportunity to try again. For example, if the party fail to pick up on a clue an
helpful NPC might mention it.
44 Romance: An attractive person takes a strong liking to one of the party members.
This can be very nice and simple, or the new lover can come complete with secret
plots, enemies, jealous lovers/husbands/wives, secret (or not so secret) alliances with
the opposition, be a member of the opposition etc...
45 Hazardous quest: the party are forced to embark on a hazardous journey to
destroy, find or recover something. This may be a short or long journey, but will be
dangerous with any combination of traps, puzzles and monsters to overcome. The
object of the quest will usually play some role in defeating the opposition in the
adventure.
46 Puzzle: the party are confronted by a puzzle (such as a riddle or game) which they
must overcome to move on in the adventure. Unlike a contest a puzzle involves no
opposition. The puzzle must have a solution and clues to that solution must have
been provided in previous scenes.
51 Not what it seems: A previous action or event turns out to be different to what it
was originally perceived as. An ally might be an enemy, an ally who changed sides
might be revealed as really on your side (a double agent), something that was
thought to be harmful might be good or vice versa.
52 Alliance: the party gains an ally in the adventure. The ally will not be enough to
defeat the opposition themselves, but can tip the balance. The ally can be a (1-2)
Individual (3-4) Small group (5-6) Large group.
53 Villains Monologue: the party must be totally in the villains control after the
previous conflict. The villain then precedes to outline their whole scheme to the
helpless party.
54 Retreat: For some reason the oppostion is forced to retreat from a previous conflict.
This could be due to (1-2) a setback or betrayal in the opposition camp (3-4) or the
enemy realising the fight does not suit its original purpose (5-6) some other event has
forced a change of the oppositions plans. The retreat is always covered in some way
which prevents the party following.
55 Revelation: the party discovers the whole story, not just a clue or snippet. Only use
revelations when you deliberately want the party to know the whole story.
56-62 Roll again twice and combine
63-66 Roll again

Random Climax (d6) 1d Climax

1d Climax 6
6
3-6 Final Battle: the party go up against
1-2 Final Revelation: the party and the opposition and must defeat them
other protagonists are gathered to “win” the adventure.
together in one place and must decide
what is going on and expose the true
facts. The truth will come out and the
goal of a final revelation is to uncover
the underlying mystery in an
adventure.

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Random Treasure Generator
Roll 1d6 to see how many times to roll on the random treasure table
1: one roll
2-3: two roll
4-5: three rolls
6: four rolls

Random Treasure Table (d66)

11 d6x10 silvers cash 41 d6x10 silvers gems and jewellery

12 d6x10 silvers cash 42 d6x10 silvers gems and jewellery
13 d6x10 silvers cash 43 d6x10 silvers gems and jewellery
14 d6x100 silvers cash 44 d6x100 silvers gems and jewellery
15 d6x100 silvers cash 45 d6x100 silvers gems and jewellery
16 d6x1000 silvers cash 46 d6x1000 silvers gems and jewellery
21 Master-crafted item, roll 1d6 51 Map, roll 1d6
1-3 general equipment 1-3 Map of an area
4-5 weapon 4-5 Fake treasure map
6 armour 6 Real treasure map
22 Steel item 52 A secret, roll 1d6:
1-4 weapon 1-3 Interesting but useless
5-6 armour 4-5 Useful
6 Very useful
23 Flint weapon 53 d6 days provisions
24 Master-crafted item, roll 1d6 54 XP adder, something which gives one
1-3 general equipment character a bonus of 1 or more XP. Roll
4-5 weapon 1d6 for XP bonus:
6 armour 1-3: +1 XP
4-5: +2 XP
6: +3 XP
25 Historical Item: the item has 55 Enchanted item, roll 1d6:
historical significance, roll 1d6 to 1-3 general equipment
determine it's type: 4-5 weapon
1 general equipment 6 armour
2-3 book or document then 1d6 again to determine bonus:
4-5 weapons 1-3 +1d
6 armour 4-5 +2d
and d6 again for value: 6 +3d
1-3 d6x100 silvers value
4-5 d6x1000 silvers value
6 d6x3000 silvers value
26 d6x10 silvers cash 56 d6x10 silvers cash
31 d6x10 silvers of normal equipment 61 d6x100 silvers of normal equipment
32 d6x10 silvers of normal equipment 62 d6x100 silvers of normal equipment
33 d6x10 silvers of normal equipment 63 d6x100 silvers gems and jewellery
34 d6x100 silvers of normal 64 d6x100 silvers gems and jewellery
equipment
35 d6x100 silvers of normal 65 d6x100 silvers cash
equipment
36 d6x1000 silvers of normal 66 d6x100 silvers cash
equipment

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Random Location Generator (roll 1d6 for column then 1d10 for row)

d66 Location d66 Location

11 Peak standing alone 41 Road
12 Camp in the woods 42 River bank
13 Island in a river 43 Gully or Ravine
14 Hill in the woods 44 River valley
15 Abandoned Villa 45 Hill in the marshes
16 Tower in the woods 46 Graveyard
21 Cave 51 Hamlet
22 City 52 Inhabited Villa
23 Charcoal Burners Camp 53 Temple or Church
24 Clearing in the woods 54 Atlantean Ruins
25 Peak amongst hills 55 Village
26 Hill in the plains 56 Town
31 Dell or Bowl in the hills 61 Island in a lake
32 Abandoned Village 62 Tower in the hills
33 Abandoned Mine 63 In the Veil
34 Working Mine 64 In the the Otherworld realm
35 Island in a marsh 65 An island off the coast
36 Outlying farm 66 Animal burrows

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Seasonal Play

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234 of 286
Designers Notes
It seems tradition for the designer to fill up the last page or two of their games with
notes nowadays, so I thought I'd join in.
Actually, there's a good reason for this section as I'm sure by now at least some of
you have gone “well that's wrong...” when reading information in this book.
In order to explain this let me make a few points:
1. This is a game, so where I felt a change to “reality” would make the game more
interesting, I've tweaked reality.
2. I'm in Hull, on the river Humber and the area of Mercia (in game) is my real-life
stamping ground, and I've taken dire liberties over geography and such like.

Welsh celtic matrlinear inheritance

Someone pointed out that welsh (Cymri in this game) used a system of matrlinear
inheritance. This point actually raises a good point about my handling of the “Celts” in
the game. In reality Celtic culture spanned hundreds, perhaps even thousands of
years and spread from eastern europe to the Ireland. Within this range there was a
great deal of variation, in belief's, language and I've been quite brutal in unifying all
these variations together under a common banner “Celtic”. This is really a practical
game decision, I could easily have had each Celtic culture handled separately.. giving
your Britains, Welsh, Cornish, Irish, Gauls and so on.. but I didn't want to do this, I
like the clean distinctions between the five major cultures in the game.

Pictish “shamanistic” religion

Saxon/Viking melange
The Saxons, as presented in this game, are really a mixture of the historical Saxons,
the Vikings and the “Hollywood Vikings”.

Byzantine matriarchy

Dubious geography

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The Kingdom of Mercia
To make life easier for a starting GM the
following sections gives you the tools to run
a campaign in the British kingdom of Mercia,
along with adventure hooks and three
starting adventures designed to help you get
used to the rules.
The opening campaign is centred around the
town of Aldbridge in the north west of the
kingdom of Mercia. The following sections
provides details on the major settlements in
the kingdom, adventure ideas for each
settlement and some more detailed
information on key locations (such as
Aldbridge).
Mercia
Mercia lies at the heart of the British isles. It
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has a population of around 20,000 divided
into two main tribes; the Cornovii in
Northern Mercia (10,000 population) and the
Coritani (10,000 population) in Southern
Mercia. The current High king of Mercia is
Ceorl, head of the Coritani. The king of the
Cornovii is Segovas.
Politics
The three Cornovii earls are Grisa, Harvald
and Kedric. King Segova's capital is at
Viriconum, in the centre of Cornovii lands
and he dominates the Southern half of the
Cornovii lands. Grisa dominates the North
West, Kedric the Central North and Harvald
the North East. As explained before, the
tribal lands are not feudal in nature. Each
settlement has its own leader who owes no him.
“fealty” to anyone else, but there are
complex webs of alliances, treaties and Neighbours
pacts between the settlements. Most of the • To the west lies Powys
settlements within the “domain” of an earl • To the north lies Northumbria
are allied to that earl. The earl represents • To the south lies Wessex
the strongest military force in the domain • To the east lie East Anglia and Essex
and the other settlements generally pay
taxes to the earl to support his armed forces, Geography
which in turn protect them. Mercia
On a day to day basis much politicking The area immediately west of Sheffield and
occurs between the Earls and Settlements, Chesterfield is the southernmost part of the
as Earls attempt to win allegiance off Pennine mountains, an area of barren upland
settlements, particular those that lie mid- and deep valleys known as the Peak district.
way between a given Earls capital. South of the peaks lies a low area of hills,
Within Northern Mercia the three main Earls which neatly bisects southern mercia.
(as mentioned before) are Grisa, Kedric and The south of Mercia, the Coritani lands, are a
Harvald. fertile heavily wooded flat plain bordered to
Harvalds domain is the North East of the the south by the Cotswold hills of Wessex.
kingdom, a large chunk of it being occupied
the Ooze. In compensation, Harvald controls Major Settlements in Northern Mercia
the major ports of Mercia (Gel & Barra) on (Cornovii Lands)
the Humber estuary and as such has a hefty In addition to the settlements shown there
income from trade. Traders from all over the are various small camps and hamlets to be
world come into the Humber to offload and found scattered throughout northern mercia,
take on goods and Barra, particularly, is a with perhaps a total population of a couple
thriving trade centre as well as being of thousand more people.
Harvalds nominal capital. Harvald is a blood Settlement Type Population Tribe
relative of Aelfric, the Saxon King of
Northumbria.
Kedric is a celt through and through and Kedrics
dominates the centre North from his capital Domain
of Aldbridge. Aldbridge lies astride the
Danefast river, a major route for trade Aldbridge C 800 Cornovii
through the kingdom. One of its main Woodend T 230 Cornovii
purposes is to deliver ores and minerals
mined from the black peaks and the tolls Riverhalt V 80 Cornovii
from this are a main source of wealth for Ingwald V 70 Cornovii
Kedric.
To the North West lies Earl Grisa's domain. Waybreak V 110 Cornovii
The main part of his domain is a large fertile Moorend T 300 Cornovii
river valley, excellent for growing food. Much
of Grisa's income comes from this cropland Riverhead V 220 Cornovii
and a lot is exported into Wales, along the Moorfoot V 100 Cornovii
Beltane river.
All three Earls are highly competitive and Daysend V 70 Cornovii
constantly intriguing against one another Downham V 60 Cornovii
seeking advantage. Grisa is renowed for his
subtlety and double-dealing, Harvald is a
bluff warrior and Kedric is renowned for his Grisa's
honesty and straight forwardness. Domain
Segovas dominates the souther low-lands of
Hatheton C 700 Cornovii
the Cornovii lands, rich farmland. This large
grain basket enables him to muster a Berriton T 230 Cornovii
military force stronger than any of the other
Bordermeet V 80 Cornovii
two earls combined. From his point of view
the most important thing to do is keep the Hillsdown V 100 Cornovii
three Earls perpetually intriguing with each Grainton V 110 Cornovii
other, to ensure they never gang up against

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Settlement Type Population Tribe to try and take Segovas' crown and make
himself king. He is ruthless in war, trade and
Vald T 300 Cornovii diplomacy, a skill which is needed when
Edgemoor V 70 Cornovii dealing with the constant aggression of the
welsh to his west.
Woodhill V 140 Cornovii Earl Kedric; Kedric is a kinsman of Segovas,
Edgeham V 110 Cornovii King of the Cornovii.
King Segovas; Segovas is the King of
Mercia.
Segovas`
Domain Places of Interest
Viriconum C 1200 Cornovii
These places of interest are given in the
Trademoot T 210 Cornovii
usual format of Name, Kingdom, Type,
Heoden's V 80 Cornovii followed by a description.
ford
Bitter Moor, Mercia, Ancient
Alrewas V 90 Cornovii
Staeth Forda V 130 Cornovii The bitter moor is an area of high moorland
(at its highest around 1500ft) with no clearly
Stoc T 280 Cornovii defined trackways across. It is dangerous for
Straet Tun V 90 Cornovii both natural reasons (quickly changing
weather and thick bogs) and unnatural
Forests V 100 Cornovii reasons. There are barrows on the high moor
Shadow tops, which are rumoured to be haunted by
ghosts at night, and there are places on the
moor where one can easily slip into the
Harvalds Otherworld.
Domain
Barra C 900 Cornovii The Ooze, Mercia, Ancient

Gel T 400 Cornovii The ooze is a great marshland to the

northwest of Aldbridge. It is crossed on its
Marsham V 140 Cornovii eastern side by a roman road, connecting
Marshedge V 60 Cornovii Dankester to Barra. Barra is the main
crossing for the Humber estuary and seat of
Grimsage V 90 Cornovii
power for Earl Harvald. The ooze itself is
Dankester T 500 Cornovii dangerous to travel without an expert guide.
Anyone travelling the ooze alone should roll
Rother V 120 Cornovii
1d4 each day, on a 4 they die! If you are
Scunth V 140 Cornovii travelling with a party there is no real
danger as your allies can pull you out of any
Louth V 90 Cornovii
quicksands or the like. Each night in the
Peakfoot T 140 Cornovii ooze there is a 1 in 4 chance of encountering
Ippenham V 90 Cornovii some the Otherworld creature (1-3 on 1d6)
or human bandits (4-6 on 1d6). Bandits will
*Off campaign map be after your money and equipment,
creatures will want to eat you
(Jack'o'Lanterns and Breath-Takers are quite
People of Interest common in the ooze).
Earl Harvald; Harvald is half-saxon. He is a Within its depths can be found creatures fair
great burly man, quick to anger but equally and fell and communities of bandits and
as generous to his friends and allies. He is other outcasts. Travellers crossing from
related by blood to Ælfric, King of Dankester to Barra are at constant risk from
Northumbria, which has helped in bandit attacks.
maintaining the peace between Mercia and The ooze is criss-crossed by a network of
Northumberland. rivers, streams and waterways which are
Earl Grisa; Grisa is Earl of Northwest Mercia navigable by the small boats commonly
and is renowned for his deceits and found in this area. Many pirates operate
intrigues. Of all the Earls he is the most likely

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from within the ooze, hiding in the maze of
waterways and preying on shipping on the
Humber river, estuary and out to sea.
The White Peaks & Black Peaks, Mercia,
Ancient
The pennine hills form a spine to northern
Britain. Its southernmost extension into
Mercia is known as the peak district. The
north east peak district is dominated by
white limestone which gives rise to deep
wooded valley, sheer limestone cliffs and
extensive cave networks. The white peak is
a dangerous place, full of creatures and
outcasts, and many of the cave are
doorways into the Otherworld... even to the
land of the dead. The black peak is mainly
milstone grit and other hard rocks with
plenty of rocky outcroppings but lacking the
majestic limestone cliffs and caves. It tends
more to high moorland (higher on the whole
than the white peak), more exposed to the
elements and fairly bleak and forbidding.
The black peaks are valued because of the
extensive mineral deposits to be found
there. Most of the mining is surface mining,
digging down into “rakes14”. Lead, blue john,
silica minerals, clays, millstone grit (good for
building), gravel are all found here and are
shipped across country to Riverhead then
down to the Danefast river.
Arbor Low, Mercia, Ancient
Deep in the white peaks lies Arbor Low, an
800ft diameter stone circle surrounded by
an earth ditch with a stone age burial mound
at it's heart. Over fifty leys pass through the
circle making it a very magical place. It's
location and the concentration of leys make
Arbor Low a very dangerous place to visit,
particularly at night, with Faeries and other
beasts common in the area around it. A
second burial mound known as Gib Hill lies
nearby to Arbor Low, connected to it by a
continuous earth bank.
Ewden Beck, Mercia, Ancient
On the northern edge of Bittermoor, in a
deep valley, a low earth bank surrounds a
small stone circle by the Ewden beck (a
small stream). There are two ways cut
through the earth bank. Local people shun
this locale and it is reputedly haunted by
14 A rake is a small fault line where minerals have
concentrated. They are near the surface and are
easily excavated and when excavated look like long
thin gullies.
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Faeries.
Bamford Moor, Mercia, Ancient
An ancient burial mound high on Bittermoor.
The Bull Ring, Mercia, Ancient
A few miles South-west of Vald, on the
Darkmoor, lies the Bull Ring henge.
Alrewas
A small village south of Viriconum which sits
in a large alder swamp.
Local Politics
Most internal Mercian politics revolve around
the competition between the Cornovii in
north Mercia and the Coritani in east
mercia. At the present time the Coritani are
'ascendant' with their King the High King of
the kingdom. The Cornovii are doing their
utmost to topple Ceorl, to allow their King,
Atreus, to become High King. Three great
Romano-British Houses are significant
players in the politics of the kingdom;
• Antius: The Antius' are broker of
information and control much of the trade
in the kingdoms.
• Galenus: The galenus family descend
from the regional governor of the peak
district area and they hold a virtual
monopoly on the mining industry in the
Peak district.
• Sempronius: The Sempronius family has
extensive holdings in the agricultural
markets of the Kingdom and excellent
relations with the Saxon kingdoms of East
Anglia and Essex.
Adventure Notes
Unless expressly stated otherwise the values
of any treasure or items in an adventure are
the second-hand resale price (which is half
the list price). If a character has the Deal
edge they can sell the treasure for half again
the listed value.
Aldbridge
The city of Aldbrige acts as a home-base for
parties taking part in the two adventures
included in this rule book and the “Shadow
on the Land” campaign book. As such the
following section presents Aldbridge in some
more detail.
Important Characters
Aldbridge is the capital city of Earl Kedric
Earl Kedric;
Arissa; Arissa is Kedrics daughter and only
child.
Harald the Lorist; Harald is a christian priest
and scholar who runs the christian priory in
Aldbridge is a strategically important
location in the kingdom of north Mercia,
positioned where two Roman roads meet
and cross the Danefast river. The city lies in
the shallow river valley of the Danfast river.
To the east and west lie large tracts of
ancient forest, north are the foothills of the
Black peaks and to the South the land
gradually rises to the Bitter moor. It has a
population of around 800 people, mainly of
Celtic origins with a small enclave of
Romano-British and other races. In addition
the city usually has a transient population of
around fifty to a hundred people, increasing
to several hundred during fairs.
The southern road leads from Aldbridge to
Moorend and thence to the Mercian capital
of Viriconum whilst the east-west road runs
east to Dankester and thence Barra, and
west to Vald and into the Cyrmic kingdom of
Powys.
The river runs from the black peaks along a
shallow valley into Eastern Mercia. Aldbridge
is located a few miles from the foothills of
the Black peaks and commands an old stone
bridge, erected by the Romans, which
crosses the river. The Black peaks are
mineral rich and the river is the main route
out of the peaks. Aldbridge's wealth is
derived from taxes levied on this trade of
minerals along the river and from tolls on
the bridge of materials moving east and
west. As is common for river crossings many
caravans overnight in Aldbridge, bringing
money into the city, and many merchants
have set up shop in Aldbridge as it is an
ideally centrally located trading point.
Fairs
Fairs are held to allow people from outlying
settlements to come into the city and trade
goods on a regular basis. Aldbridge holds
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fairs once a month, on the three days
following a full moon and major fairs in the
weeks before the four solstices (spring,
summer, winter and autumn). The solstice
fairs culminate in a ritual gathering to
celebrate the solstice, presided over by the
Druids.
Marshedge
Description
A small village of 60 souls which lies on the
main route between Aldbridge and Peakfoot.
Marshedge is sandwiched between the ooze
to the north east, ancient woods to the south
east and the black peaks to the west. The
people of Marshedge are primarily farmers.
A Spring
Rumours are circulating of a mysterious
spring found in the woods, an old forester is
supposed to have found it, but no one has
seen him in days.
1. It's all false, there is no spring and the
forester has just wandered back into the
woods hunting.
2. The spring is a chaos spring, it flows
backwards. The forester has wandered
back into the woods but could be found
with a search.
3. The spring has gold in it, several local
toughs have grabbed the forester and are
holding him in a nearby cabin where they
intend to torture him until he reveals its
exact location.
4. An Ogre lives near the spring, the forester
has returned to the spring and the Ogre
has eaten him. He has left a hastily
scrawled map in his cottage on the edge
of the village.
Newly Weds
The party is contacted by a newly married
couple, who decline to give their names, but
have reason to believe that their respective
parents are not pleased with their union.
They will pay 300 silvers to each member of
a group which will escort them safely to a
town beyond their parents' sphere of
influence.
1. The couple has overestimated their
parents' reaction. No attempt is being
made to have either one kidnapped or
murdered. Naturally, in the course of a
normal trip a group of this size obviously
travelling in fear of something is bound to
attract both official and unofficial
attention.
2. Agents of one family will attempt to
 kidnap the woman. The size of the find everyone dead, horribly murdered.
kidnappers' group should be adjusted by Careful examination leads them to believe
the GM, according to the armament and that pirates did this, and the evidence
abilities of the adventurers' band. points to pirates from the Ooze. It is up to
3. As in 2, but the man is the kidnap target. the GM how to play this if the party
4. Agents of one family will attempt to have decide to pursue the pirates.
the woman killed. The GM should
determine the size of the attacking band Random Tasks
as in 2. A rather odd individual asks the party to
5. As in 4, but the man is the target. carry out a number of apparently pointless
6. Both families will attempt to kill one of the tasks for him. He will pay the party 100
couple and kidnap the other. Two silvers for each task (there are 3 tasks):
independent groups should be created by 1.Waiting by a particular place and note
the GM. what the third person to pass you in a hat
looks like.
The Helmet 2.Fetch one chicken egg and one duck egg.
An agent of approaches the party on behalf 3.Place a blank slip of paper in a hole in a
of Earl Kedric and asks them to undertake a wall (specific wall given).
job for him. The job is to steal a helmet 1. He is a harmless eccentric.
which has historical significance to the 2. He is a chaos mage, the party all gain +1
Northumbrians. It is in the hands of King Chaos by performing these tasks.
Cyngelis of Wessex. The helmet has been on 3. He is a Northumbrian agent, and the tasks
display in Denmark and being returned are simply to confuse the Mercian agents
through Barra thence back down to Wessex. who are watching him. The Mercians do
Stealing the helmet has several functions, it not suspect the party.
embarasses Earl Harvald as the theft will 4. He is a Northumbrian agent, and the tasks
happen on his lands, it will embarrass the are simply to confuse the Mercian agents
Saxons and Kedric can use it as a bargaining who are watching him. The Mercians will
chip with the Northumbrians for political come for the party later and question
gain. them.
Kedric wants the party to grab the helmet as 5. He is a merchant who has made a bet
it passes through Barra. The helmets escort with someone else that he could get
is a squad (8) of Huscarls, elite Saxon someone to do these tasks, he wins the
warriors and it will be transported in on a bet.
merchant ship into Barra harbour. The ship
will arrive at low tide and have to stand off
overnight, then the next morning it will
come into harbour and the helmet will be
transferred to land and taken South along
the roman road.
1. Everything is as stated.
2. As stated, except the escort is actually a
platoon (24) huscarls.
3. The intelligence is incorrect, the shipment
comes in on an earlier ship so by the time
the party are in place it is already
heading south. They may wish to
intercept it.
4. The intelligence is incorrect, the helmet
came in through a southern port. The
squad and package to Barra are a
diversion, the package is just sand, no
helmet.
5. As 4, but it is a trap. The Saxons are
aware of rumours surrounding the plot
and wish to capture the thieves and find
out who hired them.
6. The merchant ship drifts in at low tide and
beaches itself. If the party go aboard they

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Riverhalt
Description
With a population of 80 souls Riverhalt sits
beside the Danefast river midway between
Aldbridge and Woodend. Most vessels
travelling the river tie up at Riverhalt over
night and it has largely sprung up to cater
for this passing trade.
Unfair Competition
A nervous looking gentleman, who identifies
himself as Jonus, a local businesman,
approaches the party. Hastening to state
that this is the first time that he has ever
attempted such a thing, he lays the following
job offer before the group. A competitor,
Flavius Decimus, will be arriving in town in
two days on a barge train from downstream.
If Decimus is allowed to complete his task in
the town, it will mean financial ruin for the
patron. What he wishes the group to do is to
kidnap Decimus and hold him for three days,
during which time the patron wil profit
greatly from his absence. Decimus must not
know why he is being detained, or who is
responsible. The patron will provide a
secluded forest vila in which Decimus may
be held, and wil pay 1500 silvers to the
group upon Decimus' safe release. Roll d6:
1. All is as represented.
2. Decimus is accompanied by a skilled
bodyguard. The GM should generate
suitable character.
3. As number 2, but Decimus has two
bodyguards.
4. As number 3, but Decimus is being sought
by two assassins, hired by another
competitor. The refere should work out
events acording to the individual
situation. The patron will not pay if
Decimus is killed.
5. In addition to Decimus, a high official of
the Imperial government and his twelve
man escort of Imperial marines are in the
same merchant convoy.
6. Decimus is not in the barge train. The GM
should determine whether he took a later
convoy, an earlier one or canceled his trip
entirely and other considerations
according to individual circumstances.
Aggrieved Pride
A villager returns home having been
assaulted by bandits in the forest.
Something of value has been taken from him
and he offers the group a reward to retrieve
it. Roll d6:
1. The villagers offer an additional reward
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for the bandits heads.
2. The 'villager' was, in fact, a thief. The
item stolen was the property of the
bandits and they just stole it back.
3. As two, but the bandits are not really
bandits, but a group who choose to live in
the woods in harmony with nature.
The Faerie Castle
A villager reports to the local lord that he
has found a building in the woods that
wasn't there the day before. It must be a
Faerie castle. The adventurers may choose
to investigate. Roll d6:
1. The castle is deserted.
1. The castle is the property of a Tuatha
lord, the adventurers are welcomed as
guests.
2. As two, but the Lord sets the adventurers
a challenge they must complete before
they can leave. If they succeed he
rewards them.
3. As two, but the Lords consort takes a
fancy to one of the adventurers and
makes advances towards him. If not
handled tactfully the adventurers may
have both an angry Tuatha Lord & Lady
after their hides.
Missing Girl
The local chieftains daughter has gone
missing. She was last seen going into the
woods near the village to pick wild flowers.
Roll 1d6.
1. The girl has been kidnapped by Ogres,
violated and may (1-3) or may not (4-6)
have been eaten by now.
2. The girl actually met up with her lover, an
itinerant labourer, who her father
disapproves of. They have eloped to the
next village.
3. As Two, but the lovers have been killed by
the Otherworlds.
4. The girl has been kidnapped by bandits
who intend to ransom her back to her
father.
5. As 4, but the bandits have accidentally
killed her.
6. The girl fell and hurt herself, a local
hermit has found her and is looking after
her.
Dankester
Description
A large town of 500 souls, Dankester sits
astride the meeting place of two Roman
Roads and is an important trading stop.
The Shrine
A mysterious shrine appeared several days
ago in the woods nearby to the town, no one
has entered has yet returned:
1. The shrine is a Faerie practical joke,
anyone passing through the door is
teleported to just outside Grainton.. this is
why no one has yet returned (the first
person through the door will arrive back
in Dankester in d6 days).
2. The shrine is the entrance to a labyrinth
filled with traps, monsters and treasures.
It was placed by a bored Tuatha to amuse
themselves as they watch the mortals try
and defeat it.
The Cave
Whilst digging in a cellar the local
fishmonger has broken through into a
wondrous cave, full of beautiful minerals and
gems and features. Since the cave was
unearthed a number of strange
disappearances have happened.
1. Breaking into the cave has released a
Demon which was bound their centuries
before and comes forth at night to hunt
people.
2. Hidden in the cave is an entrance to the
Otherworld.. and several people have
accidentally wandered through (perhaps
the party wish to try and get them back).
Gel
Description
A major town of 400 people which lies at the
highest navigable reach of the Humber
estuary. Gel is a major port with much of its
life coming from the shipments of minerals
which travel along the Humber from the
Black peaks. Barges navigate downriver
from the peaks to Gel where they offload
and there the cargoes are loaded onto sea-
going ships and shipped out to foreign lands.
Key Characters
The Brothers Grim
Two middle aged brothers are found hanging
from a tree outside the town, the morning
after a night of the new moon. The local
guard are treating it as a suicide pact and
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their mother is distraught. She asks the
party to investigate their deaths
independently as she is convinced they were
murdered.
1. The boys were nagged to death by their
mother, investigation reveals that her
husband killed himself in the same place
and same way a decade before.
2. The brothers were secretly in love with
each. This is so far outside cultural taboos
that they felt their only option was to kill
themselves.
3. The brothers are Pan worshippers. The
local cult decided a human sacrifice was
required this season and one of the
brothers should be it. They tossed a coin
to see who would die and it landed on the
edge.
4. The brothers were gay and were lynched
by a homophobic mob.
5. One of the brothers was having a secret
affair with a local Romano-British noble
woman. Her family found out and
removed the problem, but decided it
would be more explainable as a suicide if
both died.
6. As 5, but the intention was only to kill one
brother. The second brother surprised the
murderers and they decided to kill him as
well to avoid leaving any witnesses.
Arms Dealer
After being watched for several days, the
band is persuaded to meet with an agent of
a rebel group. A shipment of arms is being
carried from the manufacturer to a client
state of the Byzantine Empire on the
Empires border on board a merchant ship.
Due to the delicate nature of relations
between the empire and the client states
neighbors, the vessel will proceed without
escort and with the utmost secrecy to its
destination. Information (gained at the
expense of several lives) has been obtained
which reveals the sailing time and course of
this vessel. To maintain cover, such vessels
usually take on small amounts of cargo and
passengers along the way. The rebels wishes
to divert the armed shipment for its own
uses, but has no agents in the region which
would not be recognized. If accepted, the
rebellion has arranged for two members of
the group to board the ship as passengers,
and for up to four more to be smuggled
aboard as cargo (inside specially padded
packing crates). The merchant is then to be
hijacked and diverted to a specified bay,
where it will be met by a rebel ship and the
cargo transferred.
1-2. All is as represented. The security forces various positions of authority and are now
aboard the ship should be adjusted by the trusted members. The party are approached
GM to reflect the armament of the players' by the cult of Mithras who wish them to
party. “take-out” the Loki worshippers one by one,
3-4. The data obtained by the rebels is false. but do it discretely.
The vessel is simply a normal merchant, 1. Its sort of true, except that the infiltrators
which is of no value to them. The rebels wil are Mithrasians who are trying to calm the
abandon the without paying the group in gangs down and bring peace to Vald, the
any fashion. patron is actually from the cult of Loki.
5. The information obtained by the rebels is 2. There are no complications.
partially wrong. The vessel does not contain
arms, but does contain a full squad of
Imperial marines and 2 tonnes of gold for the
army payroll.
Marsham
6. The plan of the rebels has been
Description
compromised. The vessel has no arms cargo,
Marsham is a large village, 140 population,
but does have 24 Imperial marines aboard.
which sits on the banks of the Humber river
The GM should determine the nature of
between Peakfoot and Gel. Marsham serves
subsequent events based on the individual
as an overnight stop for ships travelling the
situation.
river but it has acquired a bad reputation as
a haven for bandits and cut-throats. Many of
Protection
the pirates who prowl the Humber and its
While wandering in the market area the
estuary call Marsham home and its
band passes a bar from which emerges a
merchants and traders are none to picky
pair of nervous looking young men, who
about the provenance of the goods they buy
hurriedly approach them. "You look honest,"
and sell.
one of them says, and asks the group for
help. They were visiting the area on a lark,
Key Characters
and in the process of having a little innocent
Black Bryon: one of the most notable
fun seem to have mortaly insulted a local
pirates who prowls the rivers.
gang of toughs. They had the good sense to
leave the bar, but they think the gang will
Into the Ooze
soon work up enough anger to pursue them.
The party are approached by a
Their families are wealthy, they say, and will
Northumbrian agent who wishes to hire
pay 1000 silvers if the players will escort
them to organise a number of bandit groups
them to the nearest guard house. At this
in the Ooze into an effective guerilla force
point, the gang begins pouring out of the
which can strike at the settlements around
bar, shouting obscenities and waving
the Ooze. The Northumbrian plan is two fold,
weapons with apparent homicidal intentions.
on the one hand the raids may weaken the
GM's Information:
settlements enough to allow a direct military
1 -3. All is as it seems. The players may use
intervention from Northumbrian or it may
any weapons they happen to have with
cause the settlements to come across to
them, or may find a suitable blunt object
Northumbria in exchange for protection
nearby. To determine the number of toughs,
which Mercia cannot provide.
roll 1d6 and add this to the number of
1-3. All is as represented.
members of the party. The two youths will
4-6. The patron represents the Mercian
not remain to fight, but will flee immediately.
government, not Northumbria. The purpose
4-6. Generate the number of toughs as per
in hiring the group is to provide the Mercians
1. The situation is a ruse to
with an excuse to crack down on dissident
allow half the gang to sneak around behind
elements within the area. The group will be
party and attack it from rear.
allowed to get its raids started, but it will be
infiltrated by informers and will be doomed
The Coven
to failure.
A group of Loki worshippers have entered
Vald and are working to intensify the gang
An offer of money
rivalries. They plan to manipulate the gangs
An oficer in the local guard approaches the
into an orgy of mayhem.. a great act of
party, offering them 300 silvers if they will
worship to their God. The group have
deliver an urgent message to a friend in a
secreted themselves through the gangs in
nearby settlement. As it happens, the party

244 of 286
was intending on going their next anyway, chose an easy target).
and they wil not have to stray from their 3. Someone inside the chiefs authority has
planned course. In adition, the patron wil tipped off the bandits, they are long gone
give them a letter of introduction to the when the party arrive (the party may be
recipient of the message, who is a local able to track them though).
merchant. 4. As 2, but the bandits have set a counter-
1. All is as represented. The letter of ambush. They plan to kill the party then
introduction can be used to obtain a small return their bodies to town, sending a
job from the merchant, the nature of which message of their own. If the party escape
is up to the GM. the bandits let them go.
2-4. As 1, but the patron is feeding classified 5. As 3, but the bandits will pursue the
information about the defenses of Aldbridge party.
to the merchant, who is an agent of the 6. The party find the bandits in their camp,
Byzantine empire. The group will be offered all dead in various gruesome ways. They
a job as permanent couriers between the irritated a Faerie which lives nearby and it
two. Naturaly, the Mercian authorities wil not took its revenge on them.
be pleased if they find out.
5-6. As number 2, but the guard officer has Barra
been discovered, and is being followed to
determined his contacts.
Description
Barra is a city with a population of 900 souls.
The Bowyers Son
It is the seat of power of Earl Harvald and
The local bowyers son has gone missing and
has been a settlement since before the
he wishes to hire the party to find his son.
Roman invasion of Britain. Barra was one of
He offers them 200 silvers each if they can
the major centres of roman government in
either find him or confirm where he is.
northern england which explains its size and
1. His son has actually run away to sea, not
pre-eminence. Barra dominates the humber
wanting to be a bowyer.
estuary and lies at a natural crossing point,
2. His son has eloped with the innkeepers
with large ferries crossing regularly. A major
daughter, they have fled to Gel. If the
roman road runs into Barra from the south,
bowyer or innkeeper are told they wish
then continues on the far side of the estuary,
them bought back, by force if necessary.
heading north to Eboracum. Barra
3. As 2, but the innkeeper and bowyer are
commands the only efficient, safe, route into
content to leave their children be.
Northumbria from Mercia and as such is a
4. Gangs of bandits from the marshes
prosperous trading site.
occasionally grab young men or women
from the town to use as slaves and/or to
Terror at Sea
recruit into their bands. The son has been
A member of a local terrorist organization
so taken and is being held captive.
approaches the players, offering them 800
5. As 3, but he has decided to stay with the
silvers each if they wil aid in the destruction
bandits, preferring a life of excitement.
of a passenger ship. The players are to book
6. As 4, but the boy has been killed by the
passage on board the ship, wait until it is
bandits. The bowyer will pay an additional
near the mouth of the Humber estuary then
500 silvers per party member if they will
hijack the ship. They will force the
kill the bandits in revenge.
passengers and crew into the lifeboats and
put the ship on a collision course with the
Sending a Message
shoreline. The group will be taken of the
Bandit groups in the ooze are becoming a
liner by a launch sent for the purpose. The
problem. The town chieftain wishes to
players will receive no reward for turning the
employ the party to send a message to
patron in to the authorities, and if they do so
them, by attacking one of the camps and
or attempt to steal and sell the ship, they
destroying it completely, bringing back as
will be pursued by the terrorists.
many prisoners as possible for trial. He will
1. All is as outlined above. The armament
pay 100 silvers per dead bandit (head or
and abilities of the crew passengers must be
hand is proof) and 300 for each live one.
determined by the GM.
1. As stated, the bandits are a hard fight but
2-3. The terrorists' plan has been
can be defeated with careful planning.
penetrated, and the group will be arrested
2. As stated, but the bandits are actually
when they attempt to board the ship. The
little more than children (the chieftain
flow of subsequent events must be

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determined by the GM in accordance with
the individual situation.
4-5. The ship does not have enough lifeboats
to carry all the passengers. The flow of
subsequent events must be worked out by
the GM.
6. The ship is carrying a mercenary
contingent, equipped to one level higher
than the level of the players' equipment. The
mercs will not be pleased to be hi-jacked.
The Shady Man
The group is aproached by a shady looking
character with proposition. For 1500 silvers,
he will sell the group 15000 in counterfeit
local currency. He suggests the group use it
to purchase high value, low bulk goods such
as gems, leave the area as soon as possible,
and sell the goods. If the players turn patron
in to local police, he wil swear that they sold
the counterfeit to him. If the players are
caught passing counterfeit money, they will
be tried and sentenced to 20 years hard
labour.
1-2. No special problems wil bencountered
by the players.
3-4. The police have been alerted to the fact
that a large quantity of counterfeit has been
passed lately.
5-6. In addition to selling the counterfeit to
the players, the patron has sold the names
of the group to police.
Rother
Description
A village of 120 souls which lies south of
Dankester on the old Roman Road. The
section of road from Rother to Woodend is
notorous for bandits, who operate from the
edges of the Forest of Shadows and North
Fen. Dankester is a stop-over for caravans
and a haunt for mercenary fighters looking
to hire on to protect caravans across the
marsh.
Key Characters
Adolgo Lucillius: one of the main traders in
Rother, rumoured to deal with the bandits in
the Fen.
The Skull
Not so much an adventure as a piece of
advice. If you are crossing the bridge north
of town on a night of the full moon and feel
someone behind you do not look round (the
“someone” is a Faerie.. anyone looking
round will be confronted by a black robed
figure which slowly draws back its hood
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revealing a grinning skull which causes
automatic Fear. Anyone who stands their
ground pleases the the Faerie (its a joke)
and receives a gift of magical bread (thrown
to their feet by the the Faerie as it walks
away) which will heal one injury completely
when eaten.
Woodend
Description
A town with a population of 230, Woodend
marks the point where the Danefast river
leaves the wooded lands of west Mercia to
flow into the flatter plains of eastern mercia.
Like Rivershalt Woodend is a major stop on
the Danefast river. The river upstream of
Woodend is relatively dangerous compared
to the downstream section, running through
the thick woods as it does, and barges
commonly hire guards at Woodend for the
upriver passage to Aldbridge.
Barge Guards
A merchant approaches the party offering
them works as Guards on his barges as they
head upriver to Aldbridge. He pays 30 silvers
per day.
1. The journey takes 4 days and is
uneventful.
2. Whilst moored up one night the barge is
attacked and the party must beat off the
attackers.
3. The barges encounter another boat
coming downstream, it is just traders.
4. As 3, but the boat is crewed by pirates
who pretend to be traders. Once
alongside they attack.
5. As 4, but the pirates masquerade as
travelling players. They offer to put on a
show, their plan is to get everyone drunk
them attack.
6. One of the passengers is actually a
wanted felon. Riders from Woodend
pursue the barges and catch up on the
second day, demanding the felons
release. Roll 1d6 (1-2) they are the law (3-
4) they are vigilantes (5-6) they are his
allies.
Vanishings
A number of barges have disappeared
between Woodend and Rivershalt. The local
chieftain commissions the party to
investigate.
1. A malevolent water elemenatal is in the
river, it keeps sinking barges and eating
the crews.
2. A group of bandits have set up on the the nearby woods. They are gathering the
riverside. They use an apparently cattle and intend to abandon the area
wounded girl to lure the barges to shore with their prizes in d4 days. They will take
then take them. them across the border into Northumbria
3. Investigation leads to the realisation that to sell.
a one individual has survived each loss.
He is working with the river bandits.
4. As 3, but the individual is, in fact, a chaos
Moorfoot
mage who is sinking the ships for
Description
amusement.
Midway between Aldbridge and Moorend, on
5. Investigation reveals the barges were all
the old Roman road, lies the village of
made by the same craftsman. He has
Moorfoot with 140 souls. It nestles between
been building shoddy barges to increase
the high plateau of the Bitter moor and the
his profits.
thick forests to the east. Like many
6. As 5, but the craftsman is being
settlements Moorfoot largely owes its
blackmailed by Northumbrian agents.. his
existence to the roman road, acting as
actions are damaging the economy. Roll
midway point between Aldbridge and
1d6 (1-2) they have his wife or daughter
Moorend.
(3-4) they know a secret about him which
he cannot afford to have revealed (5-6)
The Red Moss
he is actually a Northumbrian “sleeper”
The red moss of Bitter Moor has medicinal
agent.
properties. Any character successfully
searching for herbs on the moor has the
Low Places
option of automatically finding red moss.
The adventurers stumble upon the entrance
1. The moss is a DIFF 12 normal poison.
to an old Atlantean complex in the wild
2. A dose of the moss gives +2d for healing
woods.
attempts when applied to a wound as a
Roll 1d6.
poultice.
1. It is a burial site, ripe for plunder if they
3. The moss induces hallucinations and
can overcome its guardians.
paranoia, within d6 hours of even nibbling
2. It is an old temple full of magical things,
it a character will become convinced that
but guarded by beasts.
other party members are out to get them.
3. An abandoned ruin, but careful searching
4. The moss is considered a delicacy by
reveals a fragment of a map which seems
Boggarts, it has no other properties and
to point the way to a larger complex
tastes foul to other mortals.
elsewhere.
4. An old Atlantean training complex, once
Herbs
they enter the adventurers must work
The village wise-woman needs some specific
there way through a series of traps and
herbs which must be gathered from a place
challenges to escape.
deep in the forest. In exchange for the herbs
she will provide the adventurers with some
Cattle Thieves
potions.
Something has been stealing the villages
Roll 1d6.
cattle by night, a group of farmers offer the
1. After some difficulty finding the ravine
adventurers a reward to find out who, or
and a dangerous climb down they find the
what, is doing the stealing and stop it.
herbs with no problem.
Roll 1d6.
2. As one, but a tribe of orcs is living in the
1. The thief is an impoverished village
ravine.
farmer who is selling the cows in a nearby
village to make ends meet.
Massacre
2. As two, but the impoverished farmer has
The adventurers stumble upon a deserted
been cheated by the man who's cows he
village in the woods. After some
is stealing.
investigation they find blood-stains, fairly
3. The thieves are a pack of Cu Sith who are
fresh and evidence of a massacre. They find
lairing in the woods nearby. If the cattle
a graveyard and are assailed by a ghost. The
are protected they will turn on the
ghost explains that the village was wiped out
villagers for food.
by a tribe of bandits nearby and beseeches
4. As 3, but the animals are wolves.
them to take vengeance for the people of
5. The thieves are bandits operating from
the village. If they balk at this the Ghost

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attacks them. Roll 1d6.
1. Straight-forward, the bandits really are
murderous brutes and deserve to die.
2. Given a chance, the bandits claim that
they settled peacefully and traded with
the villagers, but the villagers the
villagers covetted the bandits wealth and
lured them to a celebration then attacked
them. In the battle the bandits triumphed
though.
The Crying Ghost
A crying woman is sometimes seen by a
stream just inside the woods (she is a ghost).
If approached she implores the character to
save her child. A successful DIFF 8 roll notes
she is looking into the stream as she speaks.
A character who gets into the shallow water
and searches, finds the bones of a child.. the
ghosts daughter who drowned.. Once the
bones have been recovered the Ghost fades
away. This is a compassionate act.
Moorend
Description
Moorend is a town with a population of 300
and marks the junction of the Aldbridge
Road and the Viriconium road.
Key Characters
Smash and Grab
The adventurers are in a town and are
approached by agents of a Romano-British
family. They want the adventurers to break
into the warehouse of one of their business
rivals and plant a watered down wine jar.
The family will then tip off local agents who
will claim the competition is selling diluted
wine at full price and increase their own
sales at the expense of their rivals.
Kidnappers
A merchants daughter has been kidnapped,
he pays the adventurers to find the
kidnappers and get her back.
1. The kidnapper is a rival of the merchants.
2. The girl is fed up with her domineering
father and has 'faked' the kidnap to
extract some money from him so she can
leave.
3. As two, but the girl plans to elope with
her lover.
4. As three, but the lover is actually a nasty
piece of work who intends to 'elope' with
her, then kill her and keep all the money
for himself.
5. The girl is very pretty and has been
kidnapped by slavers who intend to ship
her to the coast and thence onto
Byzantium.
Viriconium
Description
Capital city of King Segovas. With a
population of 1200 souls Viriconium is the
largest city in Mercia.
Trademeet
Description
A small town of 210 souls on the Cymri way.
Trademeet is a meeting place for Cyrmi and
Mercian traders to do business.
The missing Woodsmen
A number of woodsmen have disappeared
whilst out in the forest. The headman offers
to pay the adventurers to find out what has
happened.
1. An enchantress has set up home near the
village and has enslaved the woodsman.
They will fight to defend her with their
life. If she is disabled the spell ends.
2. As one, but the enchantress has used no
magic. The woodsmen have stayed with
her because she is much nicer than their
nagging wives.
3. The woodsman have stumbled into the
Otherworld and are lost, the adventurers
could rescue them but will likely have to
deal with several the Otherworld
encounters.
4. Careful searching discovers an Ogre
family and the half-eaten remains of the
woodsmen!
5. As four, but the woodsmen have been
killed by a wolf-pack which has taken up
residence.
Daysend
Description
Daysend lies on the western side of
Bittermoor. It lies roughly a days travel from
Moorfoot, on the eastern side. Most people
crossing the moor stop at Daysend and stay
overnight, hence it's name.
The End of the matter
The group is approached by a Guard

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lieutenant. The love of his life has stopped
writing to him. He has written to her parents,
but they do not answer, and he cannot
investigate, being on active service. He
offers Cr600 to each member of the group if
they will locate his fiance and bring her
safely to him.
1-2. The patron's fiance has been sent to an
abbey for “finishing”. She's written, but her
change of location has caused her letters to
be delayed. Her parents are constantly on
the move, and their mail never catches up to
them in less than a year.
3-4. The patron's fiance has joined a
religious cult, and has forgotten the patron
completely. Her parents, believing her to
have been brainwashed, are so distracted by
attempts to rescue her that they have not
answered the patron's letters.
5-6. The patron's fiance has been kidnapped,
and her parents have been ordered by the
kidnappers to tell no one.
Downham
Description
A village of 100 souls sandwiched between
the forest and the Dark moor. Downham is
almost due north of trademoot
Bailiffs
The party are approached by a Romano-
British noblewoman with two very large
Saxon bodyguards. She explains that she
has leant a large sum of money to someone
who was her friend but who is no longer on
speaking terms with her. She is sure that if
she could talk to this person she could
convince them to return the money. As such
she would like to hire the party to go and
fetch this person. She can furnish them with
details of where he will be and is willing to
pay 200 silvers per party member for the job
to be done.
1. As stated.
2. Her “friend” was in fact a member of
another Romano-British family. Whilst the
families are technically on good terms she
feels she has lost face because of the
situation and wants him bought in
discretely (hence using outsiders) so she
can kill him.
3. As 2, but her reputation has been much
weakened and when dicsussions are
finished with the party assassins hired by
the other family attack.
4. Members of the noblewomans family
follow and attempt to stop the Party.
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5. The ex-lover is expecting trouble and is in
a secure place with many guards.
6. As 5. but the location he is hiding in is
secret.. the party will have to find it.
Vald
Description
A town of 300 people which lies along the
old Roman road from Aldbridge into Powys.
Vald nestles between the forest and the
Dark moor. Much of Vald's prosperity can be
attributed to its location as a key stop on the
road. Vald is a lawless place dominated by
several large gangs of toughs, who exact
tribute from local businesses and passing
travellers. Whenever the King sends troops
to Vald to clear the place out the gangs
disperse into the forests and Dark moor,
where they are known to have several secret
lairs, the troops usually catch a few
stragglers, stay for a few days then leave
and life returns to normal with the gangs
returning.
Key Characters
The Major Gangs
The Sharps: a very bloodthirsty bunch who
love cutting people open.
The Fops: notable for wearing expensive
clothes and fashionable hairstyles etc... Still
a dangerous bunch.
The Heathens: The Heathens aren't really
heathens, they wear little clothing and lots
of tattooes and pretend to be savage Picts.
Any real Picts are likely to either by amused
or outraged by their behaviours.
The Romans: The romans wear roman style
toga's and similar garb and pride themselves
on how professional they are.. still very
violent and brutal.. but polite about it.
Escort Duty
Just before leaving town, the players are
offered 100 silvers by a disreputable looking
man if they wil escort him to the nearest
town. He declines to give a reason for
wanting to leave town. If refused, the patron
will offer 200 silvers otherwise he will go
elsewhere.
In all cases the patron will have with him a
single battered bag which he will refuse to
let go of. In addition, the GM should give the
players evidence that someone is watching
the patron in all cases, even though it may
not be true.
1-2. The patron is an eccentric noble who
enjoys travel in this offbeat
fashion. He has 500 silvers in his bag, plus
some papers, but if he is pleased with the
players' performance of this job, he may give
them others.
3-4. The patron has just perpetrated an
enormous swindle, and wishes to leave town
before he is discovered. While the players
should be led to believe pursued, in actuality
no evidence links him with the swindle.
5-6. The patron is a bagman for a local
criminal organization who has decided to
flee with the proceeds of a particularly good
collection day. He has 8000 silvers in the
bag, which he will defend with his life. He is
armed with several knives. The organization
will pursue both the patron and the players.
Shake-Down
The party are approached by a small gang of
toughs as they enter town. This is a normal
shake-down, with the gang expecting a
reasonable “fee” from the travellers to enter
the town. If the party pay up nothing further
happens, if they resist and defeat the toughs
(a fairly easy prospect roll) 1d6:
1. The gang boss decides it is too much
trouble to take further action and leaves
it at that.
2. The party receive a visit later that day
from a bigger group, intent on taking all
their stuff and giving them a good
beating.
Discussing Business
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3. The gang members attack the party in
the early hours of the morning (when they
are asleep), intent on killing them and
taking their stuff.
4. -
Burns Night Party
The party is approached by a representative
of one of the gangs seeking to employ them
to do a job. They want the party to go up
onto the moor to one of the other gangs
secret hideouts and burn it out.
1. The mission is as stated, except the gang
members wives and children are in the
hideout.
2. The mission is as stated.
3. The gang representative actually
represents an alliance of local people.
Success on this mission will likely lead to
the same local people wanting to hire the
party to repeat the missions with the
other gangs and help the locals drive the
gangs out.
4. Everything is as stated, but when the
party enter the gang headquarters they
discover the target gang are actually
Arawn worshippers (a Dark cult).
Bring it back
The party is approached by a merchant
seeking to employ them to do a job. They
want the party to break into the hideout of
another gang in the town and get back an
item of the merchants which has great
sentimental value. He is willing to pay 200
silvers to each member, half up front and
half after.
1. The item is actually the merchants
daughter, who has been kidnapped.
2. As 1, but the girl is there voluntarily. She
has taken up with the gang boss.
3. The “merchant” is actually a
representative of another gang. He has
no intention of paying up and when the
party return they are ambushed.
4. As 3, but the party is not ambushed. The
other gang offers them membership if
they wish.
5. As 3, but there is no item and the mission
is a dummy to draw the target gangs
attention away from somewhere else
which the patrons gang will attack at the
same time.
6. Everything is as stated.
Border Meet
Description
A village of 80 souls which lies where the
Kingdoms of Powys and Mercia meet. Border
meet is little more than a waystop for barges
travelling along the Beltane river. The river
follows a valley through the Cynevi hills,
which narrows to only a few hundred yards
at Border meet, creating a natural choke
point. This choke point makes the crossing
highly defensible and the Mercians have
installed a fort here. Unfortunately this
wonderful defensive terrain is terrible for
farming and the village is little more than an
overnight stop for travellers and provider of
services to the fort.
Key Characters
The Ghost in the Hills
It is said that a ghost has been harassing
travellers in the hills at night to the south of
the river. The village headman has set a
bounty of 400 silvers for its head.
1. The “ghost” is simply a large barn owl
(which looks very ghostlike when it flies
silently across a path at night), but
superstitious locals have interpreted it as
a ghost. The owls nest is near the path.
2. The ghost frequents a steep section of
path. It is the ghost of a man who fell to
his death. If the characters do not flee the
ghost (1d6 Fear when it materialises out
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of the darkness) it beseeches them to find
its remains and take the money in its
pouch to Border meet and give it to
Rachel.. his daughter. Doing this allows
the ghost to depart this realm peacefully.
If the money is taken and kept the
characters are all cursed. The GM may re-
roll (or force a player to re-roll) one roll
per session per character.
Hillsdown
Description
At the eastern foot of the Cynevi hills lies the
village of Hillsdown, 100 people strong.
Immediately to the north lies the wooded
border with Northumbria and to the west,
across the hills, lies the border with Powys.
Cymri agents often infiltrate Mercia by
crossing over the hills.
Key Characters
The Bloodied man
The adventurers are staying in a logging
camp near the border when a mortally
wounded man staggers in. He has come
from a nearby camp and claims that demons
have attacked and slaughtered everyone
there.
1. A scouting party of Picts is in the area,
they are scouting for a planned larger
raid. They masquerade as ghosts,
operating only at night and terrifying their
foes.
2. The loggers have broken into a Faerie
mound and the residents have punished
them horribly.
3. The loggers have desecrated an old burial
ground and the ghosts have animated the
dead and local materials to drive them
away.
Dance of the Faeries
On nights of the full moon the Otherworlds
dance around a mound some distance from
the town. A brave soul may be able to treat
with them and, if they gain the the
Otherworlds favours, receive presents
(anyone who takes up this challenge must
make a Prowess(18) roll to entertain the the
Otherworlds with their dancing, then make a
WIL(16) roll to leave the circle before dawn.
A character who fails the WIL roll dances til
dawn then is drawn back to the land of the
Otherworld... how they return to the First
World can be the subject of many
adventures). If they make the Prowess roll
they receive a gift of a talisman with a single
random spell in it.
Hatheton
Description
A city with a population of 700, seat of Earl
Grisa.
Plots and Plans
While in the proces of searching for
employment, players are contacted by
Antonius Tiberius Semprus, a government
official. Certain members of the nobility, he
tells the group, desire to eliminate Earl
Grisa's eldest son, Trian, to discredit Grisa's
political opponents by blaming the kiling on
them and then to take over control during
the resulting chaos. The backers wil provide
weapons, an opportune place from which the
job may be done, an escape route and an
alibi, in addition to 3000 silvers each. The
money will be paid one third up front with
two thirds lodged with a trusted merchant in
Aldbridge. On completion of the mission the
balance can be collected from there.
1. All is as stated. The GM should determine
the nature of the assassination attempt
and the chances of success.
2. All is as stated, but a last minute change
in plans forces the group to improvise the
assasination attempt. The GM should
determine chances for success based in
the circumstances.
3. As Trian dies, the group receives a
message saying that the plan has been
compromised, and they should abandon
the planned escape route and get away
as best they can.
4. As number 4, buthe group wil not be paid.
Should they return to the planet to
investigate, they wil discover thathey are
wanted for murder and thathere is no
government oficial named Tivas. The
refere shouldetermine subsequent events
based on circumstances.
5. Semprus is an agent of the Earl. The aim
is to capture the group in the attempt to
kill Tivas and tried. The opposition party
will be proven to be behind the attempt.
6. Semprus is an agent of Trian. The attempt
will be met with overwhelming force.
Trian intends to use the incident to paint
his father as weak, accelerating his
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succession to the earldom.
Woodhill
Description
A village of 140 people which lies at the foot
of the white peaks on the border with
Northumbria. Due to tense relations between
Mercia and Northumbria a small Mercian
garrison is stationed at Woodhill, which has
served to swell the villages population
somewhat beyond what one would normally
expect for a settlement in such a location. In
addition there is a fair degree of cross-
border smuggling and infiltration by both
sides, keeping everyone occupied.
Dubious Trade
An individual approaches the party and asks
them to take a package to the border where
smugglers will collect it and take it on into
Northumbria.
1. The package is harmless, the fellow
simply wishes to send a gift to some
friends in Northumbria and avoid tax on
it.
2. It's a set-up by the Mercian authorities to
catch the smugglers. The party gets
caught in the “crossfire”.
3. The smugglers are actually slavers, the
package is irrelevant, it's the party they
are after (or one specific member).
4. The package is a stolen artifact,
determine randomly who stole it, but they
want it back. If the party return the item
they may get a reward, or just get left
alone.
5. As 4, but the pursuers will kill the party as
well as recover the item.
6. -
Lost Children
In the last few weeks a number of local
children have disappeared
1. Northumbrian slavers have been taking
children.
2. A large bear has been taking children.
3. a Faerie has moved in nearby and keeps
catching children who it keeps to amuse
it, the the Otherworld is harmless.
4. As 3, but the the Otherworld eats the
children after playing with them.
5. A number of people in the village, recent
arrivals, are Pan worshippers who are
sacrificing the children to a beast of pan
in a nearby cave.
A missing daughter
The innkeepers daughter has run-away and
the Innkeeper wants the party to find her
and bring her back.
1. The girl was being abused by her father.
2. The girl has eloped with a travelling bard.
3. The girl has eloped with the son of a local
farmer.
4. The girl did not run-away, but was
attacked and killed by a (1-2) wild animals
(3-4) Orcs (5-6) a Faerie.
5. The girl was in the woods and was
captured by Slavers.
6. The girl is just bored and has left the
village to seek her fortune, she will likely
be in the nearest town.
Raiders
A northumbrian force tries it's luck, raiding
across the border. The party are pressed into
service to defend the village.
The Black Dog
There is a small shrine near the village which
no one can enter. Whenever they approach
a large black dog comes out of the shrine
and stops entry. The local priest offers to
pay 200 silvers to anyone who can regain
access to the shrine.
1. The dog is just a large mongrel stray, but
the superstitious locals have decided it is
a demon or spirit. It is hungry and tired
and will quite happily leave the shrine in
exchange for food.
2. As 1, but the dog is rabid. Anybody bitten
by it has a 1 in 6 chance of contracting
the disease.
3. The dog is a Cu-Sith.
4. The dog is a Gabriel Hound.
Grainton
Description
Grainton lies at the north eastern end of the
fertile valley of the Beltane river, near to the
border with Northumbria and at the foot of
the White Peaks.
Evil in the Green
A half crazed man staggers into the vilage
babbling about “something evil in the
woods”.
1. He is a lunatic.
2. A dark cult has taken over a nearby
ruined fort and are planning to cause
trouble.
The Treasure Map
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The party are given a map purportedly
showing the location of some treasure in the
white peaks nearby.
1. Its a fake, the party follow the map on a
wild goose chase and find nothing (they
may have some random encounters in the
process).
2. The treasure is a cache buried under a
large stone.
3. The map leads to a small cave network,
the party must defeat the occupants to
get to the treasure.
4. The map leads to Atlantean ruins, the
party must defeat various puzzles and
traps to get to the treasure.
5. The map leads to the hook to another
adventure.
Ingwald
Description
Ingwald lies on the roman road between
Dankester and Aldbridge. It has a population
of 100 Cornovii. It lies in the woods on a path
between Aldbridge and Saxton. It is bounded
by woods on three sides and a small lake on
the other, with woods on the far side. In the
centre of the lake is an island (Middleham
island), popular with courting couples.
Key Features & Characters
Chieftain Hurtha: A thickly bearded, gruff
farmer in his mid-40's. Hurtha's father was
village leader as was his father before him.
His main concern is for the wellbeing of the
village (3d Chieftain, gruff and serious)
Capadocius the Innkeeper: A retired
mercenary soldier (5d Fighter, likes to talk
about his military experience). Capadocius
was born in Gaul and has many tales to tell
of his years spent in service to the Byzantine
Empire.
Aldbrite the Carpenter: The village
carpenter, a retiring man more interested in
his work than those around him (3d
carpenter, very focussed on his work)
Galt the Blacksmith: For a smith Galt is
remarkably small (only 5'4”), although he is
very strong for his size. Galt is a cheerful
chap who spends much of his off time in the
inn drinking large quantities of ale. Galt is
always up for a wrestling bout with visitors
Galt: Strong(5d), Crafter(54d)
Middlehams Treasure
There is a treasure buried under a large oak
tree on Middleham island, a local bandit
buried it there (anyone investigating finds at
least seven large oak trees on the island,
digging around under them is a great way to
waste time, there is no treasure).
Aldbrites Dog
If the characters take the time to wander
around Ingwald they will be offered a quest
by the local carpenter, Aldbrite. His dog has
disappeared and he asks the characters if
they would look for the beast on their
travels. He'll pay 10 silvers for any news, 20
if the dog is returned (he really loves it). Any
character forgoing the reward earns a light
point. The dog has been killed by wolves and
if they bring back evidence he will reward
them.
Haskens manor
Haskens manor is a semi-derelict manor on
the far side of the lake by the village. There
have been rumours of lights in the manor
and activity at night. Hurtha asks the
characters if they could investigate the
manor to see what is up, the villagers are
too fearful to approach. He offers 60 silvers
(light point for foregoing the reward) to the
party to report back to him on what is
happening there.
The manor is on a small rise at the edge of
the lake, it has two floors and a cellar. The
cellar has an exit onto a small hidden jetty,
not visible from the lake or village. The roof
has partially collapsed, rendering the top
floor uninhabitable but the lower floor is in
reasonable condition. The cellar entrance is
a trapdoor in the kitchen, currently covered
in debris, which will need a DIFF 10 roll to
find if actively searched for, or DIFF 15 if
someone is just in the kitchen (Perceptive
is relevant).
There is a terrace at the back of the house,
on the lake side, bounded by a low cliff into
the lake (12ft). There are three entrances to
the house, one on the terrace, one to the
kitchens on the side of the house and one on
the other side (the front door). The terrace
and kitchen doors are rotted and warped
(DIFF 10 to break), the front door has been
recently patched (DIFF 15).
The silent ways into the manor are through
the cellar or by climbing up the badly
decayed wall, a DIFF 15 roll, and entering
from the ruined upper floor.
The ground floor is organised around a
central atrium with stairs up to the first floor
(now collapsed). Off the atrium are the
kitchens, dining room, a lounge and a
library.
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A small group of Cymri have taken up
residence.
The Cyrmi are not well viewed by most
Mercians, considered to be vagabonds and
thieves.
If the party sneaks in the Cyrmi will be in the
lounge playing dice or sleeping,
unarmoured. If the party crashes in,
breaking the doors down etc... the Cymri will
be waiting for them in full armour. The
Leader and two will be in the lounge with the
other two moving from room to room, to
outflank. If possible the two will move to
outflank the characters, so if a fight breaks
out they will have the party sandwiched
between them.
They will not attack without provocation but
will defend their new home if threatened.
The ideal solution is to persuade the
villagers that the Cymri would be useful
members of the community (they are
doughty fighters and are prepared to defend
the village if they are left alone).
Four Cymri: Fighter(3d).
All have +0d/+1d armour, two are armed
with Battle Axes (+2d/+0d) and two with
clubs (+1d/+0d)
Argash, Cyrmi Leader: Fighter(4d) +0d/+2d
armour & 2h axe (+3d/+0d)
Hurtha is quite up for organising a mob and
driving the Cymri out, which he will do given
half a chance. In the first play of this
scenario two player characters went to the
pub in the evening, got drunk, then
proceeded to tell everyone about the Cymri
and how much they disliked them. This,
combined with a Botch by the party Bard in
trying to calm the situation, resulted in a
mob of villagers going off as a lynch mob to
get the Cymri, luckily defused by the bands
Sorcerer who managed to calm the situation,
with the assistance of a mighty warrior.
The Caves
If a character explores the cellar thoroughly
a DIFF 15 roll finds a concealed trapdoor..
this leads down into a network of caves
which stretch under the local area.. this
offers opportunities for another days
adventure.
The Spirit of the Spring
The band hear rumours about a healing
spring to the north of the village.
If the characters investigate the rumoured
healing spring to the north of Ingwald they
spend the best part of day searching before
the find what must be the healing spring,
but it reeks of the Dark and is cloaked in a
thick white mist. A breath-taker(5d) has
taken over the spring and forced the springs
own spirit to hide in the springs rocks, she
cannot manifest. If the characters destroy
the breath-taker she will manifest and thank
them. From now on anyone drinking from
the spring is instantly healed of all poisons,
diseases and damage. A given character can
only gain benefit from the spring once per
lunar month.
The Documents
The group is approached by a noble woman
who wishes the players to bring her copies of
several documents which are stored in the
Byzantine embassy. She will pay 250 silvers
to each member of the group in return for
the documents. She patron will provide
some information on security in the building
where the documents are stored, and how
the players can identify the information
sought.
1. All is as represented. Chances of success
must be determined by the GM.
2. In adition to the information desired by
patron, players discover evidence of
several violations of local law by the
Byzantines. The GM should determine the
results of any attempt to blackmail the
Byzantines or sell the information to the
local authorities.
3. As 2, but the documents are not present.
4. The patron is a Byzantine and the
situation a trap. She has arranged for the
group to be ambushed and evidence
planted on the bodies to indicate that the
break-in into the embassy building was
sponsored by the Mercian authorities to
plant phony evidence of infractions of
local law.
Lost Lovers
Two merchants (Talus and Inigel) approach
the party. Their son and daughter
respectively have vanished and they want
the adventurers to investigate. They offer
100 silvers per adventurer for news of their
children, with an additional 100 if they are
returned to them (lost lovers).
Talus the merchant has a small farm in the
woods to the East. He suspects the lovers
may have gone their. If the party go to the
farm they find it burned out, with many
tracks. Following the tracks leads to a cave
complex. A band of Orcs, with an Ogre ally,
has set up camp here. The boy has already
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been killed and eaten by the Ogre
X eloped with Y, they have been captured by
a band of Orcs and horribly abused then
eaten by the Ogre which is with the Cyrmi
band.
The Black Tower
Aravius the christian priest has heard tales
of an old tower in the black peakes to the
north. He wishes to commission the party to
investigate it and bring back any records
they find. He is interested in religious
artifacts or ancient documents. The party
may keep anything else they find. He can
pay up to 30 silvers per adventurer per day,
plus you get the treasure.
The group is contacted by a middle-aged
merchant who claims to represent
a small group of merchants. Through a
series of dummy links, the group has
obtained mineral rights to a mine in the
Black peaks. The mine has always been
considered worthles by the inhabitants of
the area, but rumors (planted by her group)
of extensive silver deposits have caused the
local government to send a survey party to
the mine. They will return with samples,
which will be assessed by government
specialists. The brokers offer 6000 silvers to
the group if they can intercept the samples
before they can be delivered to the
authorities and substitute "salted" ore. The
report wil cause the value of the dummy
company to rise temporarily and the brokers
will be able to sell at a tremendous profit.
1 -2. All is as stated. The GM must determine
the chances of success based
on individual conditions.
3-4. All is as stated, except that the
government has anticipated the possibility
of tampering with the samples, and has
arranged for two separate sets to be
returned. Inquiries in Riverhead will reveal
that two groups from the government
registry left one week apart. The group the
party has been hired to intercept is the
second one.
5-6. All is as stated, except that the
merchants never intended to pay the group,
and cannot be found upon completion of the
mission.
Berriton
Description
Berriton is a town with a population of 230. It
is notable for electing its leader on a five
yearly basis, with every adult of voting age
being eligible to vote.
Key Characters
Cavarinus, headman: Cavarinus is a large
chap, quick to smile and apparently a little
naïve. He is, in fact, very astute, and has
been elected leader for the last fifteen years.
It is a poorly kept secret that he is having an
affair with the local Druid Erin.
Erin, local Druid: Erin is a beautiful Celtic
lady, 32 years of age and an object of
adoration by every young man in the village.
She is conducting a discreet affair with the
town headman Cavarinus. Erin is, in fact, a
member of the cult of Loki.. although no one
knows this and she is paranoid about
maintaining secrecy. Her long term aim is to
destabilise the town, turning it to Chaos.
Garven the armourer: A master armourer.
Milvena the herbalist: A master herbalist
with a small but thriving business in the
town. Mivena is noted for her willingness to
provide anything to anyone as long as the
price is right.
the village and they are showered with food,
gifts and greatful village girls. Actually the
Ogre is an accomplice of the Saxons and the
whole thing is a set-up, the Saxons will stage
a couple more battles, milk the hamlet of
any treasures, maidens virginities and so
forth, then leave. Their plan is to repeat this
scam at hamlets across the kingdom.
Milvena
Milvena is the local herbalist. She has a need
for some fresh Beeswax and is prepared to
pay 40 silver for some (its an urgent need).
A day spent in the woods and a DIFF 15 roll
finds a nest and gathers the wax. A ranger
need not roll, they automatically find a nest.

The Eye Rock

A mile from the town lies a large rock with a
hole through it, known as the Eye Rock.
Anyone crawling through the eye-rock when
the moon is in the sky crawls out into the the
Otherworld (this is a two-way gate).

Shadow of the Wolf

A shape-shifter who is aligned to the Dark
has been murdering villagers. She came to
the hamlet about six months ago and is
masquerading as a weapon-smith.
Her intent is to create fear and discord in the
village. After another couple of deaths her
allies, three Saxons (also servants of the
Dark) will come to the villagers rescue. They
will identify the killer as a shape-shifter,
setting the scene for much accusation and
counter-accusation amongst the villagers.
Honeyed words from Kirikan will accentuate
any grievances, hopefully resulting in the
villagers deciding that one of their number is
a were-wolf and lynching them. With this the
attacks will end and a few months later
Kirikan will depart, her work completed. The
hamlet will have shifted towards the Dark,
with the villagers distrustful of each other
and strangers.

Would be Rescuers
A fearsome Ogre has been troubling a
village. Three Saxon warriors come to a
village and shortly after it attacks and they
drive it off. This makes them the heroes of

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Riverhead Bear which will not take kindly to intruders.
Bear(6d): sharp claws(+1d/+0d), thick hide
(+0d/+1d)
Description
A village of 220, Riverhead lies in the Black
The WIdow
peaks near the headwaters of the Danefast
The widow Mary map Gawain's roof is
River. Riverhead is primarily a collection
leaking badly (offering to fix it earns a light
point for minerals from the peaks. They are
side point, she has no money)
bought in by cart and loaded onto barges
which then take them downstream.
The hills around Riverhead are dotted with
Insomnia
small mining camps and the area is
Hasovagius, the village smith, is suffering
notoriously lawless, with miners coming into
from terrible insomnia. He can't work
Riverhead at weekends to celebrate.
because of it and this is causing real
problems for the village.
The Boar Hunt
The character strikes up a conversation with
the village chief and is invited on a boar
hunt. Obviously non-combat type characters,
such as mages or healers, can decline
without any loss of face, but anyone with
any physical prowess or ability loses face if
they decline.. they look like a coward. Run
the hunt as a series of tasks:
1. First they must find the trail; DIFF 15 roll.
2. Then cross a deep stream; DIFF 10, failure
results in getting wet and 1 in 6 chance of
losing some random small item to the
water.
3. Then climb a steep cliff; DIFF 10
4. Then jump over a ravine; DIFF 10, failure
results in damage.
5. Then sneak up on the boar; opposed
Stealth vs. Boar.
6. Then slay it; fight the boar.
Boar(4d), sharp tusks(+1d/+0d)

The Troll
A river troll has set up residence a couples of
miles downstream from Riverhead and is
troubling passers by (on the river side road
or in barges), exhorting a toll. The catch is
that the troll has a legal right to do so. He is
a Faerie creature and if challenged will
produce legal documents which verify that
his family has the right to tax this stretch of
water (the right was granted several
hundred years ago by a former Roman
governor).

The Berry Tree

Nearby is a steep hill (Burrtop hill) with a
rocky escarpment. Atop the hill is a boulder
with a small tree atop it. The tree's berries
are reputed to be able to cure sleep
disorders if prepared by a herbalist. To get
to the top of the hill requires either a DIFF 20
roll to climb or there is a cave at the bottom
of the hill which leads up to the top,
although it is currently occupied by a large

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Peakfoot Adventure Ideas hills are the victims of the Wight Tuannon
Dur's rampage through the area. They are
Description harmless, though terrifying. Anyone
Peakfoot is a small village, its chieftain is encountering them should make a DIFF 15
Bors the Saxon... a hearty retired soldier. In roll. If they fail they must flee and part of
many ways it is similar to Riverhead, acting their hair turns white.
as a conduit for minerals mined in the Black
Peaks on their way to the sea port at Gel. A Map
The party are offered a map which shows a
River Passage gold mine in the hills to the west, for 400
A merchant is taking ore along the river silvers. If the follow the map it turns out to
Humber to Gel. He pays 30 silvers per day be fake.
for guards. If the party go with him the
journey takes 3 days each way (with a one
day stopover, for a total 7 days.. although he
only pays for 6 days) with a 1 in 6 chance
each day of a bandit attack. If bandits attack
there will be (number of party members)+2
bandits.
• ¾ of them are Fighter(3d) characters
armed with +2d/+0d weapons and
wearing +0d/+2d armour.
• The other ¼ are Fighter(3d) characters
wearing (+0d/+1d) armour and equipped
with longbows (+3d/+0d)They will stand
off and fire at targets of opportunity, but
not endanger their own side.

Lessons
The village chieftain Bors is fed up with the
repeated incursions of bandits against the
ooze road. He wishes to hire the party the go
into the ooze, find the bandits camp and
burn it.. killing or capturing any bandits they
find and bringing them back for trial. Bors
will supply a Pictish Scout (Aelia) who will
not fight but will lead the party to the Bandit
camp safely. The bandits use the same stats
as above, with twice as many bandits as
party members. The camp is in a small grove
of trees on a dry island in the swamp. By day
they will mostly be around the camp, by
night 3 will be on sentry duty at any give
time whilst the rest are asleep.

Better Weapons
Artur, the village smith, has some rather
special weapons “under the counter”. If you
want to look at him say “I am here about the
flaxen”. Artur has a range of one or two
bonus master-crafted weapons and armours
at ¾ normal price (don't ask where he got
them from).

Haunted Hills
The hills to the west are haunted. Anyone
venturing into the hills by night has a 1 in 6
chance of encountering a ghost, or 1 in 3 on
nights of the full moon. The ghosts of the

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Waybreak Adventure Ideas

Description
West of Aldbridge, on the Vald road lies
Waybreak, a small village in the heart of the
Liche Wood on the Roman Road.

The Innkeepers Daughter

Barkad the Innkeeper is looking to marry his
attractive daughter off, he is willing to pay a
dowry of 500 silvers.

Wolf Pack
A pack of wolves has been threatening
domestic animals. The chieftain has offered
a bounty of 5 silvers per head for wolves. A
DIFF 15 roll will let someone track the wolves
to their lair. There are (2x number of PC's in
party) wolves in total. If cornered in their lair
(an old cave) they will fight to the death,
otherwise they will flee to their lair when half
or more are incapacitated.
Wolf(3d, yellow eyes): Sharp fangs
(+1d/+0d)

Archery Contest
Winner receives 50 silvers, make a DIFF 20
roll to win (Fighter or Accurate are relevant
traits).

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Starting Adventures

Non-player characters (NPC's)

Most of the NPC's are described by a single trait, such as carpenter, chieftain, thug, wolf and so
on. Relevant actions for those traits can be found in the Opponents chapter. As usual, for
actions that aren't relevant to the trait use only 2d. Some NPC's may have a flaw (1d trait), but
this is unusual for non-major NPC's.

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The King Below the Green

This adventure is geared towards a party of 4-6 starting characters. It should take about three
gaming sessions (of 3-4 hours each) if the characters deal with the Haskens manor sub-quest
as well as the main adventure.

The Area
The adventures are in North West Mercia. The tribal lands of the Cornovii under their King
Segovas. The high king of Mercia is Ceorl, king of the Coritani tribe who hold the eastern half of
Mercia.
The area they are in is ruled by the Earl Aldred. To the south lies the land of Earl Montombre
(the Elfin earl) and to the west the lands of Earl Grisaille.

Summary
The band are in Aldbridge at harvest time and one of the members of the band receives a
prophetic dream from the council which indicates a growing evil. Soon after the party are
regaled with a tale by a local priest and he recruits them to help him out in a venture. A few
moons ago he went on an expedition to an ancient tomb, seeking the treasures of Vallandar a
king of the land, long deceased. The party he was with were of a surly nature and quarreled
with one another, falling out in the process and killing each other. Harald fled for his life and as
he ran through the woods a thread of his cloak caught on a bush and unravelled. Shortly after
he crept back but could not find the thread and thus could not find the way back to the tomb
from the trail. He has since learnt that such material may only be visible under the light of the
full moon, so he wants the adventurers to come with him for the next full moon and to explore
the tomb.

A Dream
“A shining man stands atop a tower in the woods. A shadowy figure thrusts a knife into his
spine and as he dies the tower is sucked down into the earth. The shadowy figure tries to flee
and is drawn down into the earth with the tower. A dark mist settles over the scene but a
shining crucifix can be seen in the distance” then the character wakes.

A meeting with Harald at Aldbridge

It is harvest time and the party has been staying in the town of Aldbridge for a week or two
during the harvest. Whilst participating in the various parties and regales they have become
friends with Harald, a local christian priest. One night, over drinks, he tells them a story and
asks to enlist their aid. Six months ago he discovered an ancient manuscript which detailed the
location of an ancient tomb, somewhere near the village of Ingwald (about a day and a halfs
journey from Aldbridge). He believed this to be the resting place of Vallandar, an iron age king
of these lands and, according to the manuscript, the treasures of Vallandars kingdom were
buried with him. Seeing an opportunity Harald recruited a group of passing 'adventurers' to join
him in seeking the tomb. He agreed that the adventurers could take all the treasure, all he was
interested in was any historical records or documents in the tomb. They journeyed to Ingwald,
thence onto the tomb, and found it, but unfortunately his choice of companions proved to be
very poor and soon after arriving in the woods they quarreled, weapons were drawn and they
killed one another. In a blind panic Harald ran through the woods, back to the path. In the
process the cloak he was wearing snagged and unravelled and by the time he reached the trail
it had completely unwound, leaving a slender thread along his route through the woods.
He hurried back to Ingwald, and after a few days rest and recuperation returned alone. He
found his way to where he rejoined the trail but there was no trace of the thread. Disheartened
Harald wrote the experience off as a lost cause and returned to Aldbridge. Some months later
he encountered a reference to magics which might conceal such trails in an old text he was
studying. It seemed to suggest that the thread might only be visible under the light of the full
moon, when the magics were weakest. In two nights time the moon will be full.... will the

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adventurers travel to Ingwald with Harald, thence to the tomb?

A curious encounter
If the party agree to go with Harald they get a good nights rest in Aldbridge then set out early
the next morning to walk to Ingwald. The days travel is easy and they settle down at dusk to
camp for the night. At this point they encounter the Lady Samana and her enchanted retinue.
The party sees a beautiful lady clad in white atop a magnificent stallion. She is escorted by
thirteen heavily armed and armoured warriors. Every character in the party should make a DIFF
10 roll (Strong Willed is relevant), or be dazzled by her beauty.. she is the most gorgeous
creature you have ever seen (this includes women). There is no special effect from failing this
roll, just a moments stunned silence.
If any of the characters are beautiful/handsome or have similar traits or boons she favours that
character with a brief smile, causing jealousy in the other members of the party. As the retinue
pass by everyone should make DIFF 5 rolls (Perceptive is relevant) to notice that the retinue is
completely silent, and all that armour and weaponry should at least jingle as they move. Any
entreaties to the Lady are ignored by her and the retinue passes by.

The Nightwatch
If the characters organise themselves into watches have each watch make a DIFF 12 perception
roll, on anything but a botch nothing happens and the night passes peacefully. If any character
botches they are convinced they have seen something in the woods watching them, even
though nothing is there.

Ingwald
The characters rise early and travel the remaining distance to Ingwald. The route is a clear
forest path and the weather is excellent, clear blue skies and warm sunshine.
Ingwald (village). The party stops for lunch and may acquire any supplies they need and
possibly hear some rumours.
Any character who takes time to chat and gossip with the locals may roll 1d6 on the Adventure
Ideas for Ingwald which, along with more information on Ingwald, can be found in the Mercian
area information.

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Moon rise
After a late lunch at at the Inn in
Ingwald the party continue on along
the roman road for an hour or so,
before turning off down a trail. As
night begins to fall they arrive in the
clearing where Harald remembered
entering the trail from the woods. As
the moon rises and the gentle silver
light fills the clearing have everyone
make Perception rolls. The highest
roll spots the silver thread,
illuminated by the moonlight.
Following it is easy enough, if a little
hard at points as they push through
the woodland undergrowth.

Wolves
After a couple of hours travel the party encounter a pack of wolves (one per character) feasting
on a dogs corpse. The wolves will attack when they sense the party (3d Wolf, snarls and growls
a lot).
To avoid detection make DIFF 14 rolls to sneak by or hide. If one character is trailblazing and
they fail their roll the wolves attack them and the rest of the party do not enter the fray until
the next round.
One at least two wolves have been incapacitated the rest will flee.
They were feasting on a dead dog (Aldbrites)..

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Excavation
The party arrive in the clearing of
the tomb, to find a collapsed
entrance way flanked by large
stones. Everyone should make
perception rolls (Magic traits are
also relevant for this roll), success
gives you an odd feeling of
unreality. A magician who
succeeds instinctively knows that
they are in the Veil here.
The remains of Haralds party are
there, skeletal by now, half
concealed by the long grass.
Clearing the rubble to gain access
will take several hours work and if
the party choose to forge ahead
into the tomb without resting for
an hour or so first they are all
treated as Fatigued until the get a
good six hours sleep. There are
plenty of tools to excavate with,
found by the skeletal remains of
Haralds former party members.

The Tomb
The tomb is unlit, so torches or the like will be required to navigate its gloomy depths. The GM
should feel free to call for regular perception rolls and regularly ask the players for the exact
location of their characters, this is important for the tapestry warriors element of the tapestry
hall, but just generally helps to heighten the suspense, keeping the players guessing. Feel free
to call for random rolls at odd times for no reason at all, this helps to keep players edgy and
also disguises when rolls are actually important.
The tomb is essentially a series of rooms, one after another, which must be passed through to
reach the main hall. The walls and structure of the tomb are strongly magical and any spell
which effects them is of DIFF 40, at least.

Tapestry Hall
The party descends a set of greasy spiral stone steps for perhaps 20 minutes, into the stygian
gloom. At the bottom of the steps lies a long hall, with an ancient tapestry covering the left
hand wall and a single great oaken door banded with bronze at the far end. Anyone
investigating the tapestry will find it depicts scenes of rural normality, although there are ten
strange figures of armoured knights mixed into the rural scenes which do not appear to fit.
Anyone touching the knights with bare skin will find they feel cold and metallic, even though
they look like just part of the fabric tapestry. The tapestry merges seamlessly with the ceiling
and cannot be cut, burnt or otherwise damaged.

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 The Tapestry Warriors
The moment the whole party is
in the far third of the room
(near the door) a number of
strange warriors (one per party
member) step out of the
tapestry and attack.
The tapestry warriors are
magical constructs.:
Tapestry Warrior(4d):
fighting, moving, sensing
opponents, moving into and out
of the tapestry. Armed with a
sword (+2d/+1d) and shield
(+0d/+1d) and wearing mail
armour (+0d/+2)

The Door
The great wooden door is
indestructible and has no
cracks of gaps. It will only open
once the Tapestry warriors
have been dispatched and
when all of the band members
(including Harald) are within 6ft
of the door.

A Tapestry warrior

Map Room
This rooms entrance is hidden behind the tapestry in 1. A short corridor leads into an octagonal
room, perhaps 30ft across, with a strange mosaic on the floor. A DIFF 14 roll by anyone
recognises the mosaic as a map of Western Mercia, if copied out accurately (2d6x 10 minutes
work) it gives +1d to wayfinding rolls in western mercia. If the map is copied and copies sold
each copy is worth around 100 silvers.
At the far side of the room lies a metal banded chest (DIFF 20), it is trapped with a poison gas
trap which will spray anyone opening, poisoning them with a DIFF 5 normal, inhaled, poison.
Inside the chest are 100 silver pieces and a small leather bag tied with a red hair (the bag of
the winds).

The Bag of Winds

If the bag is opened into a wind it catches the wind, stopping it blowing immediately. When the
bag is again opened the wind rushes out in the direction the bag is pointing.

The Wand Room

The party enters a short room (20ft) with a wand hovering in the centre and another bronze
bound door at the far end. They can freely pass through this room and into the North Winds
Hall without any interference.
A wand hovers in mid-air, slowly rotating. One end is frosty blue, the other dull red, the centre

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is black. The ends are, respectively, freezing cold and burning hot.
Anyone grasping either end has their hand burnt or frozen, giving them a -1d to any action
involving that hand for the next 2d6 days (until the burns heals). Grasping the centre causes no
damage and the two ends immediately change to dull black and are safe to handle.
Whoever holds the wand knows instinctively that it can emit a spray of freezing cold snow from
the blue end which will freeze anything it hits solid, and a jet of burning flames from the red
end. It has three charges and a range of 10yds. To hit a stationary target requires no roll, to hit
a mobile target requires a normal ranged attack. On a hit it causes an automatic wound.

The North Winds Hall

The hall is about 70ft in length with a set of bronze bound double doors at the far end. At the
far end of the hall lies a stone pedestal with a glass chalice on it. As a character walks down the
hall a wind begins to blow, strengthening as they move down the hall. No character, regardless
of strength can get more than ½ way down the corridor. Opening the bag of the winds resolves
this problem, sucking up the wind and holding it in the bag. If the bag is later opened the wind
rushes out, knocking down anyone with 100ft of its open mouth, in a 60 degree arc.
If a character tries to use the wand on the chalice the snow or flames shoot out and are turned
back by the wind, dissipating harmlessly before they reach the character.
The wind effects anything that moves down the corridor, thrown objects or arrows/bolts
gradually slow and fall to the floor at the half-way point of the corridor.
The doors can be easily opened to allow entry to the next short corridor.

A trap
Having left the north winds hall you encounter a deadly trap. There is a corridor, around 200ft
in length with a heavy iron door at the far end. At the half way point of the corridor each
character should roll 1d6, the first person to roll 6 steps on the pressure plate causing a large
axe blade to scythe out from the side of the corridor and back in, striking the triggering
character and the characters before and after them. If no one rolls a 6 the trap is not triggered.
Characters may make a DIFF 20 roll to resist the blade (agile, fast and tough are all relevant,
perceptive is a supporting trait, allowing you to feel the stone give or the small click as the
blade releases, armour is also relevant but weapons are not). If they fail they are hit and take
damage as normal. The trap automatically resets after activation. Once the trap has been
triggered no more rolls are necessary to avoid it.

A Metal barrier
A solid wall of metal blocks the corridor, before it are two fonts, the left is full of a grey liquid,
the right full of a bubbling purple fluid. The barrier cannot be broken down by the party.
Drinking the grey fluid causes a character skin to harden and become stone-like until they
leave the tomb they gain +1d of natural armour but are at -1d to all movement or attack rolls.
The purple fluid is a powerful acid, easily able to melt through the metal wall. The problem is
how to get the acid from the font to the barrier, it will dissolve anything put in the font almost
instantly. The trick is to fill the glass chalice from the north winds hall with acid, then throw it
onto the door. Anyone placing a hand in the acid has their hand burnt, giving them a -1d to any
action involving that hand for the next 2d6 days (until the burns heals). If they have a glove on
the glove is destroyed but the hand is okay.

A sound barrier
Immediately after the metal wall is a small fresh water fountain in a circular room, an open
archway leads off down a short corridor and as the character walks down a high pitched (barely
audible) squeal becomes apparent. Any equipment being carried vibrates violently at the half-
way point down the corridor. This has no effect on the party but if the glass chalice is with the

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party it shatters and, if it was full of acid, the person holding it is drenched with acid which
destroys any armour worn, then causes an automatic wound the next round and continues
wounding the character until it is washed off. This can be washed off in a round with water (to
run back to the fountain takes a round).

The River
After the sound area the party reaches a large wooden door. It open easily to reveal a natural
cave with a 20ft wide, cold fast flowing, river running across it (side to side). A DIFF 16 roll is
needed to cross, either by swimming, climbing over the sides of the cave, jumping or using
magic. A failure means you just fail to get over, a botch means you are swept away (roll 1d6, on
a 1-4 they are killed, on a 5-6 they wash out in the lake at Ingwald and may rejoin the party
later). Using ropes to help people across gives +1d, and prevents botches. If they are pulled out
by the stone statue it strikes at them automatically.
A rickety plank bridge crosses it, and before the bridge is a large stone statue. Anyone coming
with 6ft of the statue causes it to animate and attack.
Animated Statue(5d): to attack, defend and resist magic
It is immune to physical attacks. It cannot move from the spot though. The way to defeat the
statue is to use the wand of fire and ice, a blast of heat to warm it, then a blast of cold causes it
to shatter.

The Bridge
Anyone who took the grey fluid will automatically fall through the bridge and be washed away
(as noted above). A blast of ice from the wand will freeze the river, allowing anyone to cross
safely.

The room of bones

A large room (30ft across) with a chest in the centre and a dozen humanoid skeletons scattered
around. An intricate rune circle encloses the chest and skeletons. As soon as someone crosses
the circle the skeletons animate and attack, if they open the door into the hall the skeletons
also attack. The skeletons are clad in mail armour, armed with Gladiuss and medium shields.
One skeleton animates for each character in the party.
Skeleton(4d): Horrifying*, fighting, moving, sensing the living, resist magic. Equipped with
gladius (+2d/+1d) and shield (+0d/+1d).
The room has two exits, one into the Kings hall and other leads down a short corridor to the dry
well.
The skeletons are some of Vallandars huscarls who voluntarily stayed here to protect their king,
they are bound to protect the chest. A key to the chest is hung round one of the skeletons
necks.

The chest contains the following items, once three have been taken out the chest suddenly
slams shut and locks (SP 30), the key vanishing.
• Six master-crafted arrows: +1d attack (worth 8 silvers for half a dozen)
• Healing potion: heals all damage, once use only.
• Gold Clasp: worth 200 silvers.
• Ivory Crucifix: a relinquary, the ashes of a dead warrior saint. The wielder gets +1d when
fighting any supernatural opponent.
• A scroll; contains various magical knowledges. DIFF 20 to read, but success gives 4XP. It is
so old that it falls apart as it is read, so can only be used once.
• A silver sceptre: 3lbs, worth 150 silvers and usable as a silver weapon (+1d/+0d).

A dried out well

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A short walk down a corridor from the room of bones leads to a deep well, it can be climbed
down easily enough and the bottom is thick with mud. Anyone who takes the time to climb
down and search around will find 30 silver pieces in the mud.

The Kings Hall

The hall is three storeys deep and perhaps 300ft in diameter. A long staircase sweeps down
along the wall. In the centre a man on horseback is illuminated by a pool of bluish light,
apparently asleep on his mount. Surrounding him, in a circle, are twelve long-swords, standing
balanced on their tips.
As the party starts down the stairs the shadows gather on the far side of the hall and a Wraith
manifests, Morgrim, Vallandars evil brother. They have two rounds before the Wight reaches
them and engages with a spectral sword.
Morgrim's Wraith(5d): Horrifying*, fighting, flying, sensing opponents, resisting magic.
Equipped with a spectral sword (+2d/+1d).
The wraith is partially incorporeal and normal weapons (not enchanted or silver) are at -1d
against it.
As a flying foe the Wraith gets +1d against non-flying opponents and can only be melee
attacked when it melee attacks someone in the same round.

At the foot of the steps lies a great iron bound chest which can be easily opened to reveal a
silver crown, handful of grain, a ploughshare, a wooden cross and a leather bound book. Harald
weeps as he identifies the treasures as the king, the land, the people, the faith and the law
respectively, hard cheese guys. There is also, by the chest, a smaller pile of various papers
which detail the kingdom and its history, Harald wants these.

The Swords
When a character takes one of the swords their shadow remains where it was lying when the
took the weapon. If they replace the weapon later their shadow returns, but if they keep the
weapon their shadow remains there on the ground, frozen. The swords were the blades of
Vallandars Huscarls, his personal bodyguards. They are enchanted so they can hurt incorporeal
creatures (such as ghosts and wraiths) and are +1d enchanted weapons (making them
+3d/+2d weapons).
Any character wielding one must act with honour and mercy, if they fail to earn at least 1XP for
behaving with Honour or Mercy in a session the sword vanishes from their hands the next time
it is drawn for battle, and returns to the tomb, they get their shadow back though. If the
character gets no XP because there are no opportunities to exhibit honourable or merciful
behaviour the sword does not vanish, it is only when a character deliberately chooses to act
dishonourably or unmercifully.
Selling the sword or giving it away (not just a temporary loan to another party member) breaks
the blessing and sends the sword back to the tomb. If a sword is somehow broken the sword
also vanishes back to the tomb, and the fragments vanish to reappear whole again back in the
tomb (and the character gets their shadow back).

Epilogue
Harald studies the papers he recovered and is able to piece together the story.
Vallandar was a great King, but his younger brother, Morgrim, became jealous of his success.
This jealous would likely have just stayed as a petty irritation but the forces of Evil whispered to
Morgrim and encouraged him. Morgrim raised an army of mercenaries and enlisted the aid of
the Fomorians to try and overthrow his brother. In the resulting battles Vallandar triumphed,
although at great cost, and slew his brother, but in the final battle Vallandar himself was
mortally wounded. His subjects built the tomb for him, and his court Mage bound the ghosts of
his greatest warriors with him, to protect him from evil. As a punishment for his failure the Dark
bound Morgrims shade to the tomb as well, forever cursed to be near the brother who had
defeated him.
Harald returns to Aldbridge by himself.

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Girls day out
The party are hired by a rich merchant (Ignatius Bloom) to rescue his beautiful daughter,
Melina, who has been kidnapped by bandits and is being held for ransom. The merchant has
been givem three days to find the 10,000 silvers and bring the ransom to a wooded ravine at
midday three days hence. The merchant has the money but wishes the party to rescue his
daughter. He will pay 300 silvers to each party member succeed or fail, and a bonus of 200
extra if they bring her back in one piece.

The real Story

The catch is that Melina is behind the plot. She is fed up with living under her fathers yolk and
has decided to leave. In order to get the money she needs to do this she made contact with a
local bandit, Galraithe, through some of her “rougher” friends. Melina is a hard nosed bitch, but
a very attractive and a capable actress. She seduced Galraithe and he agreed to her scheme.
As far as he is concerned he collects the ransom from her father, then they (him and her) will
run away with the all money, leaving his fellow bandits to their own devices. Melina agrees with
the plan, although once they have escaped she intends to dump him at the first opportunity
and steal the money all for herself.

The party are likely to approach this in a number of ways.

1. They may make enquiries about Melina. Go to the section “asking after the girl”.
2. They may take the ransom with the intention of using it to find the bandits and recover the
girl. In this case the party travel straight to the ravine.
3. They may ask after the bandits and find them and rescue the girl. Go to the section on the
Inn, then to the Ravine or Camp (parties choice).

Toughs
No sooner do the party leave the merchants home than they are set upon by a group of street
toughs. The toughs were paid by Melina to discourage anyone expressing an interest in what is
going on. They are paid to rough up the party, nothing more serious. There is one tough for
every party member, with their Leader being a 4d character and he will begin by trying to
intimidate the party into leave the matter alone. Roll the leaders four dice to try and intimidate
the party. Each party member resist the roll (unarmed party members are disadvantaged
against the armed and armoured toughs, take a -1d penalty. Heavily armed party members get
a +1d as they are better equipped). Those who fail by 1-5 are at -1d on attack & defense for
the rest of the fight, but 6-10 they are at -2d, on an 11-15 they agree with the toughs and want
to cease the investigation, on a 16+ they are completely cowed.
Assuming the party don't leave the thugs will attack, but as soon as one of them is
incapacitated they will all run off.
If a tough is captured and influenced they will say that a man in the Hook hired them to stop
the party investigating further.
Street Tough(3d): fighting, being intimidating, swaggering, having useful contacts in the
criminal community. They are armed with a mixture of clubs or knives (+1d/+0d) and wear
leather jerkins (+0d/+1d).

Asking after the girl

Anyone asking around in Aldbridge should make a DIFF 10 roll to find out that she has a bit of
reputation as someone who enjoys hanging out with the “wrong” crowd. If the party pursue this
line of reasoning they can find some of her “friends” in a rough inn in town.

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The Inn
Asking after the girl leads to a rough inn, this is also the place the party are told to visit if they
wish to find out where the bandits are likely to be camping or if they interrogate one of the
toughs and he becomes co-operative.

The Hook
The hook is a pretty unpleasant inn, single storey wattle and daub construction, frequented by
various local low-lives. The party will not be welcome and how they handle themselves dictated
results:
• Bribe (5 silvers) or DIFF 10 roll to influence the innkeeper; points them to Scarecrow
Jack and his pals.
• Throw their weight around; will certainly lead to a tavern brawl (unarmed. If a PC draws a
weapon the other patrons will follow suit). Assuming the party get out of this in once piece,
Scarecrow Jack will introduce himself and say he heard the party were looking for Galraithe
(Aldbridge is a small town).

Scarecrow Jack
Jack was a member of Galraithe's band until recently but fell out with him. He shows a missing
finger and explains that Galraithe did this to him.. so he'd like to get even. He'll tell the party
where Jack is in exchange for 200 silvers, but can be influenced as usual with a DIFF 14 roll. A
failed roll doubles the price to 400. A botched roll angers him enough that either the party pays
up 500 silvers or him and his mates will draw weapons and attack them on the spot (the other
patrons stand back and watch).
There are four of them:
Scarecrow Jack: Celtic(2d) Stealthy(4d), Accurate(3d), Perceptive(3d). He is armed with
a gladius(+2d/+1d) and dagger(+1d/+0d), and wears a mail vest(+0d/+1d).
Bar-room buddies(3d): fighting, drinking, making up outrageous stories. They are armed with
knives or clubs (+1d/+0d) and wearing leather armour(+0d/+1d).

To the Ravine
The ravine is 8 miles of rough ground (woods) away from Aldbridge, following rough trails. At
normal movement rate this takes a day (8 miles per day). The party can opt to Force March,
getting there in half a day, but having -1d fatigue penalties to all actions until they get a good
nights rest. Scarecrow Jacks' directions are good enough not to warrant any need for
wayfinding rolls.

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The Ravine
The ravine is a sheer gap in
the limestone, around 30
yards high (DIFF 12 to
overcome, if someone gets
to the top and lowers a rope
everyone climbing after
them gets +1d to their roll).
If they take it in turns to
climb they can also be tied
to the rope, in which case
they do not fall on a botch.
To get round the ravine and
up onto its top without
climbing is also a DIFF 12
roll, using the Perceptive
or Intelligent trait to find a
way up. Make one roll for
every 30 minutes spent
looking.
The bandits arrive four
hours before the party and
set up as follows:
1. Two bandits hidden in
the niche (marked on the map).
2. Three bandits on the western side of the ravine (on the edge of the cliff in soft cover)
3. Three bandits on the eastern side of the ravine (on the edge of the cliff in soft cover)
4. Galraithe waiting just south of the niche

The bandits are all armed with shortbows and those on the ravine edge with assorted rocks and
boulders. Galraithe waits in the ravine at point one and when the party approach him he tells
them the following
“I have the girl safe.. give me the money then wait.. once we are away from here we'll send her
back to you. If you try and follow us she dies”
If asked he whistles and two of his men on the ravine lip wave from the brush. Galraithe is
playing it straight, except that the plan is actually as follows:
He returns to the camp with the money. Melina then returns to the ravine and meets the party.
She fakes being tired and begs them to camp here for the night. Later that night she intends to
slip away. Galraithe will get his men good and drunk in celebration then likewise slip away with
the money. He and Melina will meet half-way between the ravine and camp and make their
escape. If the party hangs around the bandits will return to the ravine late the next morning
searching for them.

Once he has the money he retreats back north, through the narrow part of the ravine (only
2yds in width). The bandits above will topple a large boulder into the gap if anyone tries to
follow, blocking it. Avoiding the boulder is a DIFF 18 task. On a fail it hits and causes damage
based on the failure. A botched roll means they are also pinned under the boulder, requiring a
DIFF 20 roll to get them free (up to three characters can co-operate to lift the boulder).

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Following the bandits
If the party have met Scarecrow Jack they already know where the camp is. If not they can try
and track the bandits back from the ravine to the camp. This is a DIFF 14 roll, with the
Perceptive trait relevant. A success finds the trail and follows it to the bandits camp in a
couple of hours, a failed roll still finds the route, but it takes the best part of a day to get there.

The Bandit Camp

The camp is three miles from the ravine, through thick woodland.
The bandits have set up camp in an old cave. If someone thinks to recce the area first a DIFF 16
roll (Perceptive is relevant) will find a back entrance.. a narrow rock chimney which leads

down into the cave. A character who is not Strong or Large* could climb down the chimney,
crawl through the rubble and outflank the bandits. Inspecting the chimney and making a DIFF
12 roll confirms that the chimney has not been used by anyone as an entrance or exit.
Taking time to watch the bandits actions reveals that usually two will be out on patrol in the
day time. They do not patrol at night. A patrol consists of three “loops” out from the camp,
each loop taking about 20 minutes to perform (so the bandits leave the camp for 20 minutes,
return, leave again for another 20 minutes, return and leave again for a final 20 minutes then
return and swap with two other bandits.
Getting into the camp without being aware of the guards routine is a DIFF 14 action, with an
awareness of their routine it's only a DIFF 6 roll. On a failure the character runs into two guards.
If the guards encounter more than one person they will run back to camp to raise the alarm. If
they encounter a single person they are likely to try and rob then murder them.

The camp
The caves are rough limestone with plenty of nobs, holds etc.. They are around 8ft high and

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roughly circular in cross-section. There is no light in here except that from the fires set by the
bandits. Once the party are in the caves they must overcome the guards near the entrance
(described below). Any loud noise, such as shouting or the sound of fighting will draw the
patrolling guards back. Roll 1d6 at the start of each round after the first of combat, on a 6 the
patrolling guards return.
1. Guards: two bandits are sitting by the fire, one is snoozing and the other watching the cave
entrance. The fire illuminates a 30ft radius. Creeping up on the bandits from the front is
impossible (although shooting them is an option) although if a character comes in via the
chimney they can probably murder or knock-out the sleeping bandit from behind with an
opposed roll (Fighter,Strong or Accurate are appropriate) vs. the bandits dice roll.
2. Main room: Illuminated by a single fire there are four bandits in here, six if the party attack
at night.
3. Galraithes room: Galraithe will be here along with Melina if the ransom exchange has not
taken place. If it has Galraithe only will be here. If the party have dispatched the guards in
room 2 silently (somehow) they may try to sneak up on him without detection. If you are
successful and Melina is here (she opposes your Stealth roll as well) she will be sitting
sharing wine with Galraithe... obviously not a prisoner. Otherwise he will be armed,
armoured and waiting for the party at the narrow part of the corridor (so only one character
can directly fight with him at a time). In this case, if Melina is here she will be wearing torn
clothes and manacles and beg the party to save her. Each party member should make a
PER/Notice(14) roll to see Galraithe look surprised when she says this (Melina knows things
have gone bad and is now going to play the other card... trying to persuade the party she is
a helpless girl kidnapped and ravished by this evil man). She will hide in the corner and look
on. If Galraithe appears to be winning she may grab a dagger and go for his back (remember
the +1d for attacking from behind, and he will have to defend with Tough as he is unaware
of the attack) . Anyone examining his body after such a strike may make a DIFF 16 roll
(Fighter or Perceptive would be relevant) to notice how precise her blow was... almost like
she knew what she was doing.
4. Stores: just some barrels of salted pork, water and the like. This is the bandits food stores.
5. Jakes: The tunnel slopes steeply (30 degrees or so) down away from the fire at 1, into the
dark. A truly disgusting smell wafts up from the darkness. The bandits have been using this
as a latrine to avoid attracting animals to their camp. Needless to say it is pretty foul at the
end of this tunnel and there is nothing of any value down there.

Stats

Bandits(3d): fighting, patrolling, standing guard. They are armed with 1h axes (+2d/+0d) and
shields (+1d/+1d) and are wearing leather armour (+0d/+1d).
Galraithe: Celtic(2d), Fighter(4d), Manipulative(3d), Fast(3d) equipped with Scale Mail
(+0/+3d) and a 2h Great axe (+3d/+0d)
Melina: Celtic(2d), Stealthy(3d), Fighter(3d), Manipulative(4d) equipped with a dagger
(+1d/+0d)

In the Ravine encounter the bandits are equipped with bows (+3d/+0d) rather than axes and
shields.

Melina escapes
If Melina joins the party she will insist on camping at the ravine overnight. She will also insist on
cooking for her rescuers and goes off into the woods to find suitable ingredients. Melina will use
seduction and persuasion on the party members as the situation presents itself (if anyone
accompanies her away from the camp she is bound to try this on). She will slip a fast acting
sleep draught into the meal. Anyone eating it gets a DIFF 14 roll to notice the poison, otherwise
they eat it and are drugged. Once drugged make a DIFF 16 roll every ten-minutes. On the first
fail you become Fatigued, on the second you become unconscious for 2d6 hours and no more
rolls are needed. If you make the roll you need not roll again.
Once the party are out of it she plans to slip away. If this ploy fails she will blame the effects on
bad mushrooms and bide her time. When the party are asleep she will wake and say she needs
to use the toilet, then slip away. The journey to meet Galraithe takes her an hour to make,

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when she arrives he has a horse so they can escape away.

Aftermath
The party return to Aldbridge and tell Ignatius about events. He is very disturbed but pays them
their 200 silvers each and an extra 100 by way of an apology for how his daughter has
behaved.

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The Tower of Brass

The Magpie
Its a busy market day in Aldbridge and the party have taken the opportunity to see what wares
the traders have to offer. As they are browsing the stalls one of the characters feels a tugging
at them. They turn round to see magpie sitting on a stall looking at them, and a scrap of paper
in its beak. It will let anyone take the paper, which has a note on it, written in Common (the
note is handout one). The magpie will hang around the party, sitting on a random members
shoulder if it can, and when they reach the tower it will fly up into the window. The Dryad will
then come to the window and call down to the party, asking them to help her escape. If the
party are really stuck on any puzzle they can always come outside and ask her for help, in
which case she can give them some kind of clue as to how to progress (let the players think of
asking her, don't prompt them).

Where is the tower of Brass?

The first party member who suggests going to the aid of the notes author receives a Light
point.
Any party member who can make a DIFF 15 roll (Knowledgeable is relevant with Intelligent
in support) has heard of the tower. Failing that the party can ask Harald who will root through
his library and find a cryptic reference to the tower of Brass.. or they can ask around in the
town, which will result in them being directed to Harald anyway.
The tower is supposed to be near a low hill which is perhaps four or five hours walk south of
Aldbridge (in the woods). It was reputed to have been raised overnight by a powerful
Enchanter, but no one has seen or heard anything concerning the Enchanter for many years.

A trek into the woods

After getting directions from Harald (or others) the party can set out into the woods. The walk is
fairly easy, although the trail is quite overgrown and obviously rarely used. After three hours
the party emerges into a clearing, a charcoal burner camp. If one of the party is scouting ahead
they should make a DIFF 12 roll to avoid alerting the burners. If the party is travelling as a
group everyone must make such rolls or alert the burners.
If they do not alert them the burners will be in the camp rather than hiding in the trees.

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The Charcoal Burners
The party enters a large clearing with perhaps a dozen rough looking huts. The place looks dirty
and unkept and there is no one around. Successful DIFF 6 perception rolls give the characters a
feeling that they are being watched. The huts are empty, but anyone who made their rolls who
looks carefully at the clearing edge will see dim shapes lurking there.

The Charcoal burners are brutish, primitive people.. with more in common with cavemen than
“modern” man. If challenged they will come into the clearing, there are around two dozen of
them (half men and half women/children). Their leader is Grark and he will speak with the
party. The burners speak in a very primitive way using monosyllabic words and only simple
concepts.
The burners are Pan worshippers and, once confronted, will have to decide whether to take the
party as sacrifices or to let them go. Those players who do not instinctively sense something is
wrong may make DIFF 12 rolls to get a “bad feeling” about these people.
If any of the party should choose to look around the camp they should make DIFF 14 rolls. A
success reveals signs of an old struggle near the edge of the woods, where a shady path leads
off into the trees (the path to the altar, perhaps half an hours walk away) and some unusual
tracks.. the characters do not recognise them as any species they have ever seen.
The burners are cowardly and will not expose themselves to danger. If the party make a strong
showing the burners will be submissive and “helpful”.. not trying anything. The burners will not
fight.. if weapons are drawn the burners will flee or back-off, they will not try to stop the party
leaving. If the party are weak (in the burners eyes) the burners will offer the party hospitality...
if the party accept the burners drug their food. A DIFF 13 roll detects the drugs, otherwise make
a DIFF 16 roll to avoid falling asleep (with Healthy or Strong Willed relevant). If at least a
quarter of the party resist the drug the burners will not try anything. If less than a quarter resist
the drug the Burners will all jump on the remaining members with clubs and try to knock them
out (taking -1d penalties to pull their blows to bruises only).
There are ten male charcoal burners who will attack.
Male Charcoal Burner(3d): fighting, running away, lying to people

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The Altar of Pan
If the party try to follow the creepy path the burners will warn them of danger and that they
shouldn't go. If they insist the burners will not stop them, hoping that the beast will do that.
If the party are subdued they wake up some hours later tied up in a dingy woodland clearing.
The clearing feels very wrong, with a pervading sense of evil (A place sacred to the Dark).
Anyone with a Magical trait can sense dark magics flowing through the clearing, focussed on
the altar. The altar is a large rough hewn stone, very ancient, splashed with dried blood and
with human bones scattered around its base. The burners are all around the stone, most
kneeling before it and they are chanting in a strange language (DIFF 16 roll to recognise it as a
corrupt form of ancient Greek) whilst several others are banging rythmically on hide drums.
After a few moments a crashing is heard and a hideous creature lurches into the clearing. All
the characters should immediately roll against its Horrifying* appearance.
The party have not been disarmed (armed sacrifices are more valuable to Pan).
Any party member who tries to work loose their bonds (rough rawhide ties at wrists and ankles)
should make a DIFF 16 roll. Once
a character escapes they can
immediately take a turn (ie..
move and attack as normal). The
characters who are trying to
escape get four rolls, as follows:
• The first when the burners are
chanting and drumming.
• A second when the beast
enters the clearing.
• A third when one of them is
dragged to the altar.
• A fourth when Grark lifts his
dagger to stab.
The beast appears to be
responding to the chanting and is
swaying in time with the chanting
and drumming. Grark will say
something and three male
burners will approach the party
and grab one of the bound
members at random and drag
them towards the stone. The
party member will be held down
to the stone and Grark pulls out
an ornate dagger, speaks an
incantation, then stabs them for
an automatic kill.
If a party member gets loose the
burners will flee, leaving the party
to fight the beast (or flee
themselves).
Beast of Pan(6d): Horrifying*,
fighting, slithering around, eating people, resisting magic.
The beasts rubbery amorphous body means that weighted weapons are at -1d against it.

Returning
The party may escape the attentions of the burners but return later to investigate. In this case
the beast will come to the clearing and attack them when they are there. If they defeat it they
can then destroy the altar, and the burners abandon their village.

Destroying the Altar

The altar is a block of solid granite weighing perhaps 3 tonnes. It is going to be virtually
impossible to destroy physically but a character can use a DIFF 15 spell (White or Elemental
magic) to wreck its Dark aspect. Such an act is definitely a significant deed.

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The Tower of Brass
The tower is about an hours walk from the Charcoal Burners village, at the foot of a low hill. It is
about 80ft in height, 30ft across and is a straight sided cylinder with a domed roof. There is a
single window at the top floor and a single brass door at ground level. The window is enchanted
so any rope, grapple or similar device thrown through it is magically made to untie and fall
back. Anyone with the Sight can tell the whole tower is strongly magical.
Engraved on the the door is the following riddle:

Deep, dark, underground,

That is the place where I'll be found.
Yet brought into the light of day,
I sprinkle sunlight every-which-a-way.
Though dulled with oil I will be found,
I am remarkably well and throughly sound.
Cut me quick and it will be seen,
That I instantly have a marvelous sheen.
(A diamond or a gem)
The moment someone says “Gem” or “Diamond” outloud the door swings silently open.

Inside the tower

Each floor consists of a single large circular room about 12ft in height and 30ft across. The
walls, floor and roof are plain brass with no markings of any kind. Completing a puzzle causes a
spiral stairs to unfold from the featureless ceiling and a hole to appear at its top, allowing
access to the next level.

• Floor One
A large round room with no visible exit. The floor consists of a series of holes, organised into a
square 5x5. Next to the grid are four large round orbs of black quartz (GM: make sure you
describe them specifically as QUARTZ orbs). Place the orbs as follows (a diamond) to cause a
set of stairs to magically fold down from the ceiling allow access to the next level. If the orbs
are removed the stairs fold back up into the ceiling (the gap is seamless). The quartz orbs
cannot be moved past the entrance to the tower.. some powerful force stops them crossing the
threshold.
ORB

ORB ORB

ORB

• Floor Two
A grid of letters on the floor with five glass orbs next to it. Every character sees the letters in
their own native language (a spell). The trick is to place glass orbs on the letters QUARTZ. This
causes the stairs to the next level to fold down.
A F J O T F
T U K Q I L
E U M V D W
Q J A R S Z
R I C G P Z
V C A D G C

• Floor Three
Glass and Steel discs constantly circle this room at various heights. On the far side can be seen
the stairs up to the next level. The glass discs are actually illusions. A shield or similar does not
help against the discs as they come from different angles at different speeds and heighs.

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A character who just runs across the room needs to make a DIFF 30 roll to get over in one
piece, if they fail they are damaged accordingly (armour is relevant on this roll).
A character who tries to dodge the discs as they cross the room must make a similar roll, but
with a DIFF of only 20.
A character who tries to dodge just the steel discs as they cross the room must make a DIFF 7
roll.

• Floor Four
The trial of steel. The party are confronted by a brass golem armed with a steel sword which
they must defeat. When it is beaten the stairs to the top floor appear. The golem is a very hard
opponent but it has a weakness, if it is disarmed it immediately freezes in place and the stairs
appear.
Brass Golem(5d): fighting, not being hurt, blocking people from getting up stairs. It is
equipped with a steel sword (+3d/+2d) and has (+0d/+5d) natural armour.
To disarm it just require a single successful hit to disarm.

Floor Five

The fifth floor is richly furnished

with a great bed, divans,
carpets and so forth. Kneeling
on the floor is the Dryad. She
looks shocked when she realises
the party are not the Boggart
returning and then shock turns
to happiness, directed towards
her bold rescuers.

The Dryad is a beautiful young

woman with long flowing green
hair, green eyes and deeply
tanned skin. She is very grateful
to the party for coming to her
aid and begs them to escort her
back to her tree. If questioned
she will explain that she
wandered away from her tree
one day and the Boggart caught
her and bought her to his tower.
The Boggart has not molested
her in anyway, but simply will
not let her leave. He spends
much of his time wandering the
woods and the rest of the time
sitting her just watching her in
this room.
She was able to call a magpie to
her in the tower and wrote the
note which the party received.
The magpie simply flew to the
nearest town and looked for the
first group of people who looked
“able” and gave them the note.
If the room is searched there is around 400 silvers worth of various items of jewellery and art
and a pile of bones (the enchanter).

The Dryad will not fight (if attacked she will just flee), but her stats are:
Dryad(7d): being beautiful, being at one with nature, merging with and tending trees

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The Boggart
When the party leave the tower is is dark, just before dawn (it doesn't matter what time they
enter the tower.. they always leave just before dawn). They are confronted by the Boggart who
roars in anger and charges to attack.
Boggarts are the footsoldiers of the Fomorians. They are horribly twisted and in constant pain.
If it was not for their propensity to violence and murder they would be sad creatures, forever
suffering. This boggart was summoned to the First World by the former occupant of the tower,
an enchanter, but unfortunately for the enchanter his preparations weren't quite all he believed
and the Boggart took great delight in slowly torturing him to death and eating him. The Boggart
has not been able to get back to his home and has been stuck here.. one day he was
wandering in the woods and bespied the Dryad. Taken by her beauty the Boggart kidnapped
her and bought her to the tower. The Dryads beauty takes the Boggarts mind off his pain, at
least for a time. So far he has managed to drag himself away when the violent lusts inherent to
his nature begin to surface, but it is only a matter of time before he gives in to his lusts and kills
her.
The Boggart of the Brass Tower(6d): fighting, being angry, sensing living creatures. The
Boggart is armed with two Battle Axes (+2d/+0d for primary & +1d/+0d or +0d/+1d for
offhand) and wears strange organic armour (+0d/+3d).
The Boggarts axes are magically poisoned, anyone who is wounded by them (not just bruised)
is hit with a DIFF 10 Fast poison. A character who dies whilst wounded by the Boggart dissolves
in a putrid sludge.
When a Boggart dies it dissolves into foul smelling slime leaving a diamond worth 2d6x100
silvers.
Minutes after the Boggart is defeated the sun begins to rise and as the first rays touch the
tower it fades into mist.. dispersing and vanishing.

The Dryad's Tree

The Dryads tree is a mighty oak, several hundred years old with wide spreading branches. Once
she returns to the clearing she will thank the party and tell them where to find the hunters
remains, then merge back into her tree.

The Hunters Remains

If the party follow the Dryads directions they find a small clearing with a skeleton which is
dressed in rusted mail (no value) and clutching a spear, which is in perfect condition. If the
party search the remains they will find 30 silver pieces. Giving the remains a proper burial
earns the person who thought of the idea a Light point.
Elder Wood Spear: The spear is enchanted with high magic. It has two powers. It is protected
from aging/rotting and the owner of the spear receives a bonus dice to resist any poisons or
diseases they are exposed to whilst carrying the spear, otherwise this is a normal 2h spear (Big
& Sharp, +2d).

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I have been
captured by an evil
Boggart and am
held in the Tower
of Brass... please
help me!
-Aliendra

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Deep, dark, underground,
That is the place where I'll be found.
Yet brought into the light of day,
I sprinkle sunlight every-which-a-way.
Though dulled with oil I will be found,
I am remarkably well and throughly
sound.
Cut me quick and it will be seen,
That I instantly have a marvelous sheen.

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A F J O T F

T U K Q I L

E U M V D W

Q J A R S Z

R I C G P Z

V C A D G C

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Alphabetical Index
43, 45, 47, 100, 102, 104p. Druid 100
Ail, the 67 Dun 172
Albion 43 Dyfed 41
Aldbridge 233 Eachdraidh, the 69
Arawn 57 East Anglia 44
Asgard 59 Economics 151
Atharta 63 Eire 41
Atlantis 6 Elysium, fields of 60
Awakened Spirits 63 Enslavement 162
Band Resources 69 Equipment, Availability of 146
Bard 105 Equipment, Repairing of 147
Baresark 106 Essex 44
Barra 238 Eternal Fields, the 59
Berriton 248 Evaluating Value 147
Black Altars 71 Fae Mind, the 62
Blood Feuds 22 Fair Fights 17
Blood Price 162 Fasting 17
Blooded 98 Fianna Code 68
Boons and Banes 80 Fib 42
Border Meet 244 Fidach 43
Britain, Climate of 4 Fiosaiche 101
Britain, Current 10 Flaith 105
Byzantine Empire, Structure of 33 Fomorians 62
Byzantine Military 33 Fortriu 42
Byzantium 31 Forts 172
Cait 43 Fotla 42
Cat 57 Gaesatae 105
Cattle Raids 17 Gair, the 68
Ce 42 Geas 96
Celestial Empire 12 Gel 236
Celtic Christian Priest 102 Ghosts 64
Celtic Code of Honour 16 Gladiatorial Contests 32
Celtic Enchanter 100 Glyphs 49
Celts 13 Gods, Celtic 51
Ceredigion 41 Gods, nature of 63
Charcoal Burners 172 Gods, Roman 52
Children of... 99 Gods, Saxon 54
Christianity 55 Grainton 246
Cognomen 30 Great Forest, The 60
Common Objects 165 Gruagach 104
Cornwall and Devon 41 Gwent 41
Council, the 68 Gywnedd 41
Crannog 172 Hatheton 245
Cumbria 43 Healer 107
Cymria 41 Hearth, the 69
Dal Riada 42 Heathenism 49
Daysend 241 Heaven 59
Demons 64 Hebrides 45
Desecration 46 Hell 59
Disir 63 Hell, Legions of 58
Distraint 163 Hermetic Mage 103
Divine Intervention 46 Hero's Portion 17
Downham 242 Hills 36
Downs 36 Hillsdown 244
Dreaming 62 History 5

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Hospitality 161 Pronunciation 3
Hospitality, Due 161 Protection, Public 163
Hunter 104 Raider 107
Infamy 71 Religion, Celtic 50
Ingwald 246 Religion, Pictish 49
Inheritance 99 Religion, Saxon 54
Initiation 27 Rheged 42
Inquisitor 101 Riastradher 105
Kent 44 Riverhalt 235
Kernow 41 Riverhead 250
Languages 158 Roman Britain 8
Lares 63 Romano-British Assassin 104
Law and Punishment 161 Romano-British Noble 104
Law, Celtic 17 Rother 239
Law, Pictish 26 Sacred Days 47
Lawyers 162 Sacred Sites 46
Lemuria 6 Samlaidh 49
Limbo 59 Satire 163
Local Gods 47 Saxons 20
Loki 57 Scotia 42
Lucifer 57 Second Hand Items 147
Lyonesse 45 Seidkohna 104
Manifestation, Corporeal 64 Settlements 171
Manifestation, Incorporeal 64 Settlements, Camp 171
Marsham 237 Settlements, City 171
Marshedge 233 Settlements, Describing 172
Marshes 36 Settlements, Great City 171
Mercia 44 Settlements, Hamlet 171
Money 146 Settlements, Town 171
Moorend 241 Settlements, Village 171
Moorfoot 240 Signatures 73
Moors 36 Skald 105
Mountains 36 Social Structure, Byzantine 34
Murder vs. Killing 163 Social Structure, Celtic 18
Mystery Cults 53 Social Structure, Pictish 27
Names, Celtic 14 Social Structure, Romano-British 29
Names, Pictish 26 Social Structure, Saxon 23
Names, Romano-British 30 Spirit of the Beast 97
Names, Saxon 21 Sussex 44
Nobles 99 Tattooes 26
Northumbria 43 Thaumaterge 104
Numina 102 The Druidic Order 50
Objects 164 The Fianna 66
Omnipotence 46 The Romano-British 28
Orkneys 45 Thegn 106
Orthodox Christian Priest 101 Trademeet 241
Otherworld, Politics 61 Traits 77
Otherworld, Time in 60 Traits, additional 80
Paladin 102 Tuatha 61
Pan 57 Unawakened Spirits 63
Picts 24 Vald 242
Plains 36 Veil 60
Policing 164 Villas and Manors 172
Politics 11 Viriconium 241
Pontifex 102 Vola 102
Possession 64 Weapons, Silver 147
Powys 41 Weregeld 22
Priests 47 Wessex 43
Procedure 162 Wiccan 100

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Wiccans 50 Wotanism 54
Woodend 239 Wyrd 63
Woodhill 245 Ysbryd 63

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