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TSR 2110 PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook

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Published by professor_smth, 2019-11-26 00:46:32

TSR 2110 PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook

TSR 2110 PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook

Keywords: D&D,AD&D,Dungeons & Dragons,Dungeons and Dragons,Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,AD&D 2nd Edition,AD&D 2nd Ed

e

ndbook



Introduction

The ADVANCED DUNGEONS rules for different weapon campaign, we highly recom-
&DRAGONS@2nd Edition Play- styles. combat tactics, combat mend that you familiarize your-
er’s Handbook and Dungeon maneuvers, jousting, combat self with them and introduce
Master’s Guide told you all you results,and many other fighter- them into your playing.
needed to know about playing oriented abilities within these
warriors in the game. But it pages. Here’s a special note for those
could be that you want to know of you who are using this Com-
more than the bare minimum it Is it new equipmentyou’re af- plete Fighter’s Handbook with
takes to play the warrior ter? That. too, is present in copi-
classes. ous quantities, from new armor your frst edition AD&D@ game
and weapons to new magic
That’s where The Complete items. instead of the new second edi-
FYghter’s Handbook comes in. tion: This supplementmentions
In these pages, we’re going to Or perhaps you want some a lot of page numbers from the
show you lots of interesting Player’s Handbook and the
things you can do with the war- role-playing and campaigning
tips for your fighter characters Dungeon Master’s Guide. The
rior classes . . . things that the
. . .oryour campaignin general. page numbers cited are for the
Player’s Handbook and DMG second edition, not the first:
didn’t have room to show you. In these pages you’ll fmd role-
playing advice for fighter char- -vou’ll have to ignore the page
Do you want to play fighter acters, and discussion of the
characters other than Fighter, role of the fighter in regular numbersgiven. L
Paladin,and Ranger?Herewe’ll campaigns and in all-fighter
give you rulesfor characterslike campaigns.
barbarians,samurai, gladiators,
amazons-they’re all subsets of Whether you’re a player or
the three main warrior classes, DM, an intent rules lawyer or
but they’re here. just someone wishing to add a
little depth to your campaign or
Do you want new combat character,you’ll find something
rules? We have them. You’llfind here for you. Have fun.

1

- -The Complete Fighter's Handbook -

Introduction ............................ 1 BABmaearabszatorRinaidsne.sr.as.n.d.B..e.r.s.e.rk....e.r.s..................................................... . . 46

Character Creation ....................... . 4 GMNolyabrdmlieaiWtdooarnsrrsi.o..rs................................................................................. .47
48
48
....................................................................... 4
cWAPlrlaaiogsrinrlscimeoiserenK.nic.ttl.cs.s................................................................................................................. 4 .50
4
4 . .
4 ......................... .50
4
.......................... 4 ...............

WBoPCAeTRCARwalidhpeeoamypppdspayeotaaenererntedii/crtrrons-EeoFiinncmctlxoCiherggcpfiharaueMAFefahrslntrafaixatamnAaicgnAlgevrtoid.ercmarrm.raeO.wo..lo.Avr...o.re.r..r.r.m.k....s...s...eo...h.e...r..or......s.p...........s.............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
.. 6
6

.7
8

.8

.8 New Combat Rules . . . . . . . . . . .56

10 Kneelingand Sitting ............................ .56
Weaponsmithin ......................... 10 Rangeand Initiative ............................ .56
WeaponQuaIity ................................ 10 .56
~ p o n s N o t Sohw ............................. 11 WeInatpeolnligPemncielcaienndcPymSlfoictise.n.c.i.e.s................................
Money and Equipmen.t................................... 11 Single-WeaponProficiencyWeapon Spedali
wlgic 11
................................. 11
Warrior Kits ............................ 13

Kits and WthaemWloarrsrio.r..C.l.a.s.s.e.s................................. 13 ......................................... . . . .60
Kits and
Kits and Character Creation Ambidexterity .60
StyleSpecialization ........................................... .. .. ..666111
ThBABeamerWabasaaztr-roRriniaiodnre.Kr..i.t..s........................................... .. .......................... . . 14
14
. . . . . . . . . . . .16
. . . . . . . ..61

GMlyardmiaitdoorn...................................................... 24

Noble Warrior . .Single-WeaponStyle ..................... .. ........ . .. ..............6622
tP- Hem
TwwHander Style

. .Itno-weaponStyle
Sample Style Spec
MeleeManmvers ................................. bl
Wildernesswarrior C..h.a.r.a.c.t.e.r.S.h..e.e.t................ 35 CalledShots ..................................... 65
RecordingKits on the
Warrior Kits and Multi-Class Characters . . . . . . . . .Striking a Specific Body part 65
Warrior Kits and Dual-ClassCharacters 65
Smashing SomethingBeing Held
BvnassimArmor ............................... 65
.Abandoning a Kit ...... ...................................... . . ...3377 Sp_ LecialResults ................................. 66
Disarm ....................................... 6
ModtfyingtheKits
CreatingNewKits ................ 37
Role-Playing .......................... .39 Tbrown-Weaponand MissileMsarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Expertrn-s ................................. 68
Grab ..........................................
warrior Personaatl€s . . . . . Grabbing a Person .... ..... . ............................. . ... 69
Grabbing a
TheBrashmutb ............ Hold Attack .M.on.s.t.e.r. .
TheCNdeQusher .....
42 POlearmPanies . . . .
The oaogemusAntagonist 42
TThheeDFmatrendeFd'MChoasmqbpeiorn............................
TheMemyShmmB ..............................

TheNammlLeader..... PMairsrsyilienWg feraopmonthPeaDrrMieGs.....................................................................

........................... .44 71
71
The.?Jan-hcaBl* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
use of Polearms ..........
-*-Mag i d ..%ridy8. .N.m..z.n..a.g.i.d.W..or:l.d. . .

Magoia.
Strictly NmnnagkdwWorxklld.................................. .45 Shield-Rush ........................................................... 72
The MOnixee-Wd-awrarriroi~orT-yTpyepCeacmampaaiagingn. .. .. ............... .46 shikerrhmst 73
Tbe .. ............... .46 Surpriseand FlashManeuvers ...................... 73

The Complete Fighter's Handbook

Don't Say No:DetermineDifficulty .................. .73 .WlRkootcalftt-pitodancMki'.xE.x..t..i.c..s.......................................

PMuanncehuivnegr,sWinrethsteliCnagm,apnadigMnar.ti.a.l.A.r.t.s.................. . 7 4 Spear-Carriers
SpecializingWith Punching and Wrestli DirectingTtaffic
NormalPunchingAttacks ........................ 75 campaign k t i c s . . . . . . . . . . . .
Punching SpeciauZa Just Arriving in mwn ........................................ . . .
Normal Wrestling A The combat Sheet
.................76 Equipment .............................

......................... 77 Old Weapons . . .........93
.. ...... .......................... 78
78 New Weapons ............. .........93

. . . . . . . . . 94

Called Shots: Punching and hiartid A.r.t.s. .............. 79 samurai weapons
79 SavageWeapons
.............
NmArm01 .............................

samuraiArmor ............................................... . . . . . . . . io5
EBectSOfArmor
........................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Effectson Speed ............... :....106
Effectson Dexteri ....... ,106
...................
What Head ProtectionDoesn't Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
............................. 80
ection. . . . . . . . .
.................so ..............
...............so

................................. 109
....................... 109
.......................... 110
. . . . . . . . . . . . 111
ealsuits ........................
....................
........... . . . . . . . . . _ _I

............82 .......................
........83 ...................... 112

. .g..n..................................... . . . .. ...... .. .... 113
113

pment .................
Tables ............................... 118
Forms ............................... 120

......... Complete Fighter's Character Sheet .

Complete Fighter's CombatSheettPC . . . . . . . 124

CWaormripolretKeiFtiCgrhetaetri'osnCSohmebeatt.S.h.e.e.t.(.D.M.

........ WnmbyApmnAllatcm
eauty . . . . . . . Edltedbystcucwmfu

............... 88 Blach ana white M by V x k k W-k
cobr M by J ~ a n d Dou~gCha~ffle. a,nd JdfFaSW
T Y F e a P h Y by *ng* !J!%mZ

aeTSRbgo--omedbyTSRhc.
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DlMmvtcdtoUrrbmrwdcinthcUNMS~~byRPndanHou;xr.sndinCanadaby
-drm-orCanadaLtd~tedfofhcfqandhobbyVadebyrrgl~d~~bu-

uar.asmbute.4 m uated Klngdrm by TSR UK LM-

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rrpmdueflonmothaunauthorUeduaeofthcme~aarrrorkmntainedherrlllis
~,~~~thoui*~~prrssantvnpsrm-~dTSRine.

mctics ...... ...............

ShieldWallsand Polearms ....................... .89

-Character Creation

In this chapter, we’ll briefly Classes choice. (The chaotic evil fighter
present notes on character crea- who wants to play with the
tion in the AD&D@ game. This is The three war- troupe of wandering paladins
material you already know, but rior character classes (Fighter, will be a problem.)
we’ll be talking about character Paladin, and Ranger) are still
creation asit specificallyapplies the only warrior character Warrior Kits
to warrior player-characters classes. However. those players
(Fighters, Paladins, and Rang- who would like to have more Once you’ve
ers). specialized warrior classes will worked up your character’s abil-
probably find what they want in ity scores. and then chosen his
Ability Scores the Wm.or Kits chapter. class and alignment, you can
choose a Warrior Kit for the
For a normal When you’re creating single- character. Warrior Kits are dis-
campaign, any of the six dice- class warrior characters, we rec- cussed in the Warrior Kits chap-
rolling methods from the Play- ommend that you start all ter of this book.
er’s Handbook, page 13, is first-level warriors with the
acceptable. maximum number of hit points hoficiencies
they can have at that level-
If you decide to run an all- don’t even bother to roll the As the Intro-
warriors campaign (see the duction notes, use of the Profi-
Role-Playing chapter of this dice. In other words, if you have ciencies section of the AD&D
book for detailson such a thing), a fzst-level Fighter with a Con- 2nd Edition Player’s Handbook
we recommend that you use one stitution of 16, he’d start with is not optional with The Com-
of the fiveAlternate Dice-Rolling plete Fighter’s Handbook. The
Methods presented. 12 hit points instead of rolling Proficiencies are necessary for
his ldlO and adding +2 for his you to customize and fine-tune
Whether or not you runan all- Constitution adjustment. your character, and for the use
of the Warrior Kits chapter of
warriors campaign, if you uti- This is for a couple of impor- this book.
lize the Warrior Kits chapter of tant reasons. First, it gives the
this rule book. we recommend warrior a slightly better chance Use of the Weapon Proficien-
that you use Method VI to create for survival at lower experience cies are pretty much self-
the ability scotes for your char- levels. Second, it reflects the evident after you read the
acters. Because characters us- fact that warriors are simply Player’sHandbook. Later in this
ing the Warrior Kits are so tougher and hardier than other book, though, in the Combat
specialized, you’ll find it helpful player-character classes. chapter, you’ll learn some inter-
to be able to custom-design your esting new things which you
character ability scores, which But remember: This is for first can do with weapon proficien-
Method VI allows you to do. level singleclass warriors only cies.
Starting with second level,
Races these Fighters, Paladins, and Don’t forget that high Intelli-
Rangers have to roll their hit gence scores grant extra profi-
Much of The points like everyone else. No ciencies (equalto the number of
CompleteFighter’s Handbookis other class gets this benefit, and extra languages the character
written with the human charac- multi-class warriors (such as receives for the same score).
ter in mind. However, most of warriorlthieves. warriorlmages,
the text is equally applicable to and the like)don’t get to do this. Here, let’s talk about three
all the other player-character nonweapon proficiencies (Ar-
races as well. and can be used Alignment morer, BowyerlFletcher. and
by them without any sort of ad- Weaponsmithing) which are of
aptation necessary. The Complete particular use to the warrior
Fighter’s Handbook follows all player-character.
All the normal rules for racial normal game rules forcharacter
ability adjustments, class re- alignments. Once the player has Armorer
strictions, level limits, lan- chosen an alignment for his
guages, and miscellaneous character, he needs to have his With the Ar-
bonuses and penalties will be choice approved by the DM: it morer proficiency, a character
used, and all the material in this may be that his choicewill clash knows how to build all varieties
book can be used for all the de- excessively with the alignments of armor. Armorer overlaps a
mihuman races except where of other characters in the party. couple of other proficiencies:
specificdly noted in the text. so the DM is within his rights to
disapprove any alignment

r sary to process unrefined metal Then, the workshop would ac-
The Armorer knows enough commodate three more armor-
Blacksmithing toforge metal ar- into armor. ers at the same time. For
mor and craft scale and chain Such a workshop costs 200
mail (though he cannot forge another +250 gp, now totalling
horseshoes, wrought iron gates, gp, plus the cost of the shelter 1,OOO gp, the shop can accom-
hardened metal tools. or any where it is set up: An additional
other useful itemsunlesshealso 100gp fora paviliontent, an ad- modate nine armorers at the
knows Blacksmithing): ditional 300 gp for a well-crafted same time.
The Armorer knows enough LeatherAnnor
Leatherworking to cut and huffworkshop, or more as part
shape boiled leather into leather of a larger dwelling, such as a If he intends to make any sort
armor, shield coverings, and the
under-layers of scale mail and mansion, villa or castle (these of all-leatherarmor (hide armor,
banded mail (though he cannot leather armor, and armored
make dress jerkins, saddles, sorts of dwellings are priced at
elaborate pouchesor rucksacks, whatever sort of price scheme leather caps),the workshop is a
or any other useful leather the DM prefers).
items): and leatherworker’s shop, including
The Armorer knows enough (Included in the price of the apparatus for leather soaking,
of the ‘hilor’s art to manufac- smithy is the cost of the tools scraping, tanning, boiling. boil-
ture padded armor and armor necessary to make leather hilt- ing in wax, shaping, hole-
padding (but not enough to cut wrappings, padded armor, ar- punching, sewing, and all the
and sew any sort of good- mor linings and padding, and other processes by which
looking garment). leather is transformed into ar-
Naturally, the ordinary Black- the simpleleatherstrapsused to mor.
smith cannotforge metal armor,
the Leatherworker isnot experi- hold all-metal armors together.) Such a workshop costs 25 gp,
enced with making leather ar- This workshop is large plus the cost of the shelter
mors, and the ‘&tilor isn’t where it is set up: An additional
conversant with the making of enough to accommodate the 25 gp for a large tent, an addi-
padded armor, unless they also character and up to two appren- tional 75 gp for a well-crafted
take the Armorer proficiency. tices working full-time. (The ap- huffworkshop, or more as part
The Armorer can repair exist- prentices, too. must have the of a larger dwelling (atwhatever
ing armor that has taken dam- Armorer proficiency: the char- price scheme the DM prefers).
age (ifyou’reusing that optional acter can always take in an ap-
rule), and can also craft barding prenticewithout the proficiency (Included in the price of the
(horse armor) through use of his and train him. but until he ac- leatherworker’s shop is the cost
proficiency. quires the Armorer proficiency of the tools necessary to make
But what does all of this mean he doesn’tcountas a productive
in a campaign? element of the workshop.) padded armor and armor lin-

The Workshop In theory, the character could ings and padding.)
IIb craft armor, hire another three-man crew to As with thesmithy above, this

the character must flrst have a work a second shift in the same price presumes one principal
workshop (a place to work and leatherworkerand up to two ap-
workshop: thus the workshop prentices may work together at
tools with which to do work). would be occupied nearly 24 the same time. Above that num-
hours a day. (This presumes ber costs 50% of the workshop
Metal Armor eight- to ten-hour shifts and a and housing costs per addi-
certain amount of necessary tional three leatherworkers.
Ifhe intends to make any sort nonproductive time each day: Metal and Leather Armor

of all-metal armor (chain mail, Time for furnaces to cool and be If he intends to make both
field mail, full plate, plate mail. cleaned, tools tobe repaired and
and helmets). the workshop is a sorts of armor, or armor which
smith5 completewith tools,bel- sharpened, etc.) No more than combines both metal and
lows, a furnace, an anvil, tongs, leather elements (banded mail,
cauldrons, casting molds, and three people can work in this brigandine, bronze plate mail,
all the other materials neces- ring mail, scale mail, shields,
workshop effectively:with more splint mail, and studded
than three people,the workshop leather), a combined workshop
suffersa loas of emciency50 that is needed.
it producesgoodsjust asthough
itwere only manned by threear- Such a workshop costs 250
morers.
gp, plus the cost of the shelter
IIb expand the workshop costs
an additional 50% for each where it is set up: An additional
100gp for a pavilion tent, an ad-
+three workers. If the smithy
costs 200 gp and is set up in a

300-gphut, thus Costing 500a,

the builder could pay +250 gp.

5

Character Creatio

ditional300gp for a well-crafted Time to aft Armor For pieces of armor which
huffworkshop, or more as part
of a larger dwelling (again, at of chain mail. 2wk L ’*’
whatever pricing the DM pre-
fers). Armor
Piece
(Included in the cost of the ar-
morer’s shop is the cost of the Full plate
tools necessaryto makewooden
shieldblanksand shield frames, HeMgreat
padded armor,and all armorlin- Helmlbasi
ings and padding necessary to Ring mail
the armored goods.) Scale mail
Shieldhody
Aswith the smithyabove,this
price presumesone principalar- hieldlbuckler
morer and up to two appren- hieldimedium
tices: above that number costs hieldsmall
+50% of the workshop and
housing costs per additional 6wk 114 +
three armorers. 2wk 38 +
8wk 152 +
Apprentices and Overseers
The cost of the * ’hPNeOaapppprreennttiiccee,s,nooovevresreseerer
* * * one apprentice,no overseer
workshop constitutes only the
set-upcost for the armoring op- + TNOapprentices. one overseer
eration. Maintenance of the + + apprentice, no overseer
workshop, pay for the employ-
ees, and cost of materials also a’’+ + + Cost reducedbecause of easy
come into play. Of course. so do “0 means cost is a negligi
the profits from the d e of man-
ufactured goods.

Each apprentice costs 2 gpl
week for food, upkeep, and
training. And once an appren-
tice has reached young adult-
hood (age 16) and has achieved

an Armorer ability check of 12

or better,he’ll demandto be pro-
moted to Overseer status (de-
scribed immediately below) or
will find better pickings else-
where.

Apprentices cannot run a
workshop unsupervised.Super-

vision comes in the form of an
Overseer, an adult with an Ar-

morer ability check of 12or bet-

--ter. Each Overseer costs 15

adweek Ithe DM may wish to
have the cost relate tithe Over-
seer’sArmorer ability check: 15
@week at a check of 12, + 15
gplweek per +1 to his ability
check: thus, i f his ability check
is 16,he costs 75 gplweek).

,.

(a) About half the “retail apprentices to the job. At that the manpower on the task as it
value!” of the armor piece for point, you cut the speed of the customarily requires, thus cut-
job in half. ting the time required to one-
materials: plus fourth. or two weeks). If he can
tb) The cost of m a i n w g Example: From the chart.you
see it taka one apprentice with sell it for 15 gp,he’s made 8 g p .
one or two apprentices d-g no overseer ten weeks to work
the time it takes to make the up a set of chain mail. That’s a He’s earning a meager 4 g p a
piece: plus standardin thearmorer’sindus- week, which is better than a
try: they’ll always tell you it poverty-levelwage, but lessthan
(c) Additional cost based on takes ten weeks to work u p a middle-class.
chain mail hauberk. But in an
how much of the overseer’stime emergencysituation,they could Chance of Failure
and attention the project takks. put an extra apprentice on the It would seem
(The project may take one or job (either have two workingon
two overseers full-time on &e it at once, or have one on the that the thing to do would be to
project, may take only halfdne “day shift” and one on the set up an armorer’s shop and
“night shift”). With twice the just build field plate and full
overseer’s time on the project, available manpower, it would plate,which are the most profit-
only take half the time, or five able items of armor. However,
or may take none of the over- weeks, to create the chain mail. that isn’t necessarilyso.
seer’s time-the latter congti-
tute projects that the Second, if the Overseer is a This isbecause,for every item
apprentices can do all by them- player-character. he doesn’t of armor you make, you have to
selves, mostly unsupervised.l have to pay himself as much. make an Armorer Ability
This is usually the case with ar- Check. At the end of the armor-
The previous table shows morers when they first go into makingperiod, the most experi-
standard costs to manufacture business for themselves: They enced (highest ability check)
armor. pay the cost for materials and character who worked continu-
the cost for their apprentices, ously on the project makes his
In usual circumstances, the and whatever they have left Armorer ability check. If he
difference between the over is their own salary,evenifit passes the check, the armor is
Cost and the Retail Value is tpe is much less than the 15 gp! just fine. If he fails it, it’s flawed.
shop’sprofitwhen it sellsa piece week standard mentioned
of armor. above. (That number, 15 gp! If the charactermissedhis roll
week, represents a firm lower- by 1,2,3, or 4, the armor looks
As you can see from the table, middle-class standard of living: just fine. The maker knows it‘s
hide armor, leather armor. pdd- an armorer who earns 1- will flawed, but this will not be obvi-
ded armor, medium shieldsapd be living at a lower-classstand- ous to anyone on casual inspec-
small shields are little-to-qo- ard of living.) tion, and only another armorer
profit propositions. However,
they keep the apprentices pqid With that in mind, we can re- . .will be able to detect that it’s
and keep work in the shop. interpret some of the numbers
flawed. and only with careful
Playins With These Numbers above. Let‘s say that we have inspection. This type of flawed
Now, the costs armor functionsat 1AC higher
one player-character armorer than it should (thus flawed full
given above are not the fiqal who wants to work up a set of plate would be AC 2 instead of
hide armor. 1). If the flawed armor is ever
word on how much it costs to struckin real combatwith a nat-
make armor. With your DM’s Hide armor normally takes up ural to-hit roll of 19 or 20, it
permhion, you can skew thw “breaks” (caves in, splits open,
halfthe workday of one appren- etc.). Its AC goes up 4 (thus OUT
numbers around (both up ahd tice for eightweeks. It costs 7 g p flawed full plate would shoot
down) through the following in materials, and he can selliton from AC 2toAC 6). And because
means. it’s broken and hanging wrong,
theusualmarketfor15gp.Ifjust it hinders the player: until he
First, you can put extra men the chief armorer, who countsas can take it off (this takes ld4
on a job. (Important Note: If an Overseer if his Armorer abil- rounds), he moves at half his
ity check is 12 or better, works normal rate and suffers a -4
overseers are drafted to do on this item alone, it will take penalty to all of his attack roils.

apprentice-levelwork, one ovqr- him only two weeks to make the Obviously, most reputable ar-
morers would never sell a piece
seer countsas two apprentices.) hide armor (remember, an Over-
You can only put extra men OII a seer counts as two auurentices:

job in incrementsof the original

number of men required for the
job In other words, if thejob te-

quired two apprentices, ybu
don’t see an improvement in
speeduntilyou assigntwo more

7

:I’

..’

of flawedarmor. They have their Armor Type Modifier to Unclaimed Goods: Somc
. . reputations to protect, so they Barding: Armorer
times a patron who custon-
throw it away. They take a loss Chain Profidency orders a piece of armor never
in money equalto the ’lbtal Cost Full plate Check shows up to buy it. Maybe he’s
of the armor from the chart 0 been killed in the meantime:
above. Full scale -3
0 maybe he ranlow on funds and
Ifthecharactermisseshisroll Half brig. 0 decided not even to tell the ar-
it at half the ’lbtal Cost value to Half padded 0 morer of his misfortune. And if
Halfscale 0 the custom piece of armor was
someone desperate for cheap ar- LthrPadded 0
mor, someone who‘s willing to decorated or fine-tuned to that
take the risk of wearing flawed As you can see. making field specific customer (for examplc
armor. If he can’t sell it, this too plate and full plate is a risky
is a total loss. if it bears his coat of arms or ur
proposition. Only the best of in- usual decoration), it could be
normal overseer. dependentarmorerswill under- that no one else is willing to buy
below shows the take such a task because the
it... exceptat heavily discounted
culty of manufac- potential]oasesare so great. (On prices.
ese different types of the other hand, a hireling ar-
Unsold Stock: Armorers
morer will do it whenever his don’t just work up pieces of ar-
employer says, because all the mor to order. The armorer fabri-
flnancialrisk is his employer’s.) catesnumerousexamples of the
And player-character armorers most common sorts of armor
(leather and padded armor,
run these same Anancial risks shields)for the casual customer
and as practice for the appren-
when they try to make field tices. Not all of this gets sold,
and a piece that isnever sold is a
plate and full plate for them- few gold pieces out of the shop’s
coffers.
selves or their friends.
All in all. it may be safer, fi-
Armor Type Modifierto Added Expenses nancially, for a player-character
Banded Mail Armorer If the DM
to be a full-timeadventurer and
cy wishes,he can add to the grief of only a part-time armorer.

Field Plate .~ -3 a player-character armorer by Player-Character Workshbp
+3 confrontinghim with a lot of the
Fullplate +3 hiddenexpensesofany such o p Often,a PC AI
+3 morerwho isalso an adventure
Hewgreat ++33 eration:
Helm/basinet 0 will set up an armorer’s sho
Hide armor +1 Bribery:In many places. local and crew it with a single ovei
+1
PLaeadtdheedraarrmmoorr +3 officials will expect a little graft seer and two apprentices. Thi
Plate mail +3 in order for them to process the
Ringmajl +3 necessary permits efficiently shop’s duty will be to keep the
Scale mail and regularly. If the PC doesn’t PC supplied in armor: also.
Shieldhdy +3 pay up. those permits take a whenever the PC returns home.
Shieldmuckler +3 long. long time (months) to be he can, if he wishes, operatethe
Shieldmedium +3 processed. and during that time shop. especially in the “off-
Shieldsmall the PC can’t operate a retail ar- shift” (whichever shift the regu-
morer’s shop. lar crew is not operating it).
Studded leather
Theft: Armorer’s shops can If he does hire an overseer,
he’ll have to pay the rates ac-
be burglarized just like any cording to the overseer’sability,
other operation. Thieves are as described above.
quite willing to steal some high-
quality armor goods and fence Note that a PC Armorer can
them elsewhere in the city. De- make armor for his friends. A
pending on the quality of the can’t avoid paying the min
merchandise lying around in mum cost for the materials. c

the shop,thiscan be a seriousfi- course. The character can cam

nancial blow for the shop.

Character Creation

a tent and leatherworker’sshop morer, which assumes that a p Repairing Magical Armor
on the back of a horse, so he can prentices are doing the work,
work on any sortof all-leatheror and unsupervised: apprentices Magical armor
padding armor while on the can perform all armor-repair is repaired in exactly the same
road. But on the road, he can functions. The cost to the ar. way. Base the cost for repairson
only get in a couple of hours’ morer,compared to the appren- the normal retail value of the ar-
work per day, so multiply all tice’swage, showsyou how long mor as ifil were not magical.
armor-making times by four to it takes to repair (2 gp/week for When magical armor is dam-
determine how long they take. one apprentice,remember). aged, holes may be driven into
it. but the basic enchantment is
The character who does all Example: A set of chain mail unchanged. Therefore, the ar-
this extra work will be a little morer doesn’t have to have re-
more tired than his fellows: re- has taken 10points of damage pair materials enchanted to
duce his Intelligence ability in combat. The owner brings i t “match” the original armor: all
check to spot upcoming dan- in lo be repaired. Retail value 01 he has to do is patch up the
gers. chain mail is 75 gp, so the cost holes and the armor will be
to repair each point of damage fixed. Typically, the armorer
Repairing Armor will not even know that he’s
If you use the will be .75 gp,or 75 cp. The ar- working on magical armor.
Of course, aswe discuss in the
optional rules for damaging ar- morer repairs the 10points 01 Combat chapter, ifa set of magi-
mor found in this rule books damage, which costs him 750 cal armor is damaged so severely
Combat chapter, you can also that the enchantment is ruined,
use the Armorer proficiency to cp (75 sp). This isless than 1 gp. nothing a normal armorer can
repair damaged armor. do will repair it. Armor that sen-
so the apprentice doing the re- ously damaged is ruined even as
It coststhearmorer lllooththe pairs takesabout two days tofur normal armor: an armorer wo~n’t~~.
armor’s retail value for each the chain maul hauberk. be able to fix k. ~~~ ~~ ~
Damage Point that he repairs.
Again, that‘s the cost to the ar- Armorers typically charge a
50%profit on repairjobs. In the
example above, the armorer’s
cost was 75 sp; therefore, he’d
charge the customer about 115
sp for the repairjob.

I

I --Character Creatio

I

I

Bowyer/Fletcher fact. the same smithy can be when it’s being cooled after
The material used for armoring and weapon- heat-tempering).
smithing.
on the Bowyermetcher profi- Weapon Quality
ciency from the Player’s Hand- The Weapon Construction ta- It is possible to
book, page 58, is all correct for ble on page 65 of the Player’s
use with this supplement. Handbook is correct. It consti- construct weapons of different
tutes one Overseer-level wea- quality thanjust average.
A set of bowyer/fletcher’s ponsmith working by himself
tools, which can be used at max- and craftingweapons of average Poor quality weapons are
imum efficiency by one charac- quality. An Overseer weapon- shabbily made. They look bad,
smithworkingwith twoappren- and like the flawed weapons de-
ter, costs 10 gp. (It’s 15 gp for a tices cuts the time in half. The scribed above, they break on a
set which can be used simulta- time indicated on the chart natural attack roll of 1 to 5.
should be convertedto weeks so They don’t hit as well (this is a
neously by three workers, and that you can compare the wea- penalty to the attack roll) or do
+7.5 gp per +3 workers which ponsmith’s times with the ar- as much damage (penalty to the
can work simultaneously.) The morer’s; consider 5 days on the damage) as their average-
bowyedfletcher is not required chart to constituteone week. quality equivalents.
to set up a workshop; he can
work by himselfinthe field, ifhe Weaponsmithing Failure Average quality weapons are
chooses. Ifhe choosesto setup a When con- not especially notable: they get
permanentshop,tents and huts the job done, they’re reliable,
cost the same as what‘s listed structingaweapon, atthe endof and they’re inexpensive. Unless
for the leatherworker’s shop the weapon-making process, otherwise noted, all (non-
(above, under “Armorer”). the weaponsmith makes his magical) weapons listed on
Weaponsmithing proficiency chartsin theAD&D@gameare of
Note that the construction abilitycheck. He’ll use the Profi- average quality.
times listed in the Player’s ciency Modifier based on the
Handbook presume that he’s weapon and the weapon quality Finequality weaponsare very
working a full week. If he’s trav- he’s trying to achieve; see the well-made. Each will have one
eling or adventuring and work- chart below, under “Weapon specific bonus: Either a + 1 to
Quality;”for that modifier. hit or a + 1 to damage. This bo-
ing on bows and arrows in his nus is not magical: it comes
spare time, multiply all crafting If he successfully makes his from improved balance, sharp-
check, he’s created the weapon ness, etc. (The weaponsmith de-
times by four. Thus, a long or he wanted to create. termines,when he’smaking the
short bow takes four weeks. weapon, whether he’s trying to
Ifhe fails by 1, 2.3, or 4, he’s make it more accurate or make
Cost of materials for arrows created a weapon that looks it hit harder.) They alsocost a lot
and normal bowsisnegligible.If like what he intended to make more than average weapons.
the characteris tryingto makea Enchantments are typically
weapon of truly fine quality, he . ..but he knows it has a seri- made on weapons of at least
must either pay 50% of the Fine quality.
weapon’s normal retailvalue for ous structural flaw. In a real
exceptionallyfine woods, or add combat, if the wielder rolls a Exceptional quality weapons
an extra 100% to the time it natural 5 or less to hit, the are like he:weapons, but have
takes to craft the weapon: the weapon breaks and is useless. both bonuses: They’re + 1 to hit
extra time constitutes him hav- (For some reason, it just won’t and + 1to damage. They’re also
ing to look for the perfect wood very expensive.
and materialsin the wild. break in practice combats . . .
The following list, adapted
Weaponsmithing only in the real thing.) He can from the list on page 65 of the
The text on still sell the weapon, of course, Player’s Handbook, shows the
but eventually. after he’s done differences in cost and time to
Weaponsmithing proficiency this sort of thing a few times, create weapons of these differ-
from the Player’s Handbook his reputation as a craftsman ent levels of quality.
(page 65) is basicdy correct, will be utterly ruined. It’sbetter
but let‘s elaborate on it. just tobreaktheitem,sell it asa
wall-hanger, etc.
As mentioned, a weapon-
smith does need to have a If he fails by 5 or more. the
weapon breaks and is ruined
smfthy. The costs for having a during the last stagesof the cre-
ation process (for example.
smithy are given above in this
section, under “Armorer.” In

10

POOr the f m t blow of their first fight.
However,if you prefer to have
H. Crossbow 10days 15dais 30dais 60dab I
20daYySs your beginning characters a bit
Long Sword -zr--1s ’ 4l o-=ddaa y s more nervous and defensive,
2-hd Sword s then it’s certainly more appro-
WeaponQuality ^, priate for you to startbeginning
Pc charactersat 1stlevel.
15days 30 day Sodays 12Odays
20 days 45 day- 90days 180days Character Sheet
At the back of
Effects On Mod.to Prof
Performance Check to the book is a character sheet es-
Attack Damage Breaks craft pecially suited for use with The
-1 -1 1-5on d20 +2 Complete fighter’s Handbook.
~ ~~ , W e a look at it, and then we’ll
discuss it in greater detail.
Exceptional +1 +1 * * -4
Front of the Sheet
* This isn’t an automaticbreak, it breaksonly if the DM feelslike it. In ulb
* * Fine weapons get either a + 1 to hit or + 1to damage, not both.
of the character sheet‘s front,
Fine and Exceptionalweapons break only in remarkablecircum- you put all the vital statisticsof
the character: His name, physi-
stances, as dictated by the DM (for example, a powerful enemy cal and racial characteristics,
his character class, his Warrior
rollinga natural 20when hittingtheweapon, or thecharacterroll-
ing a natural 1when striking at an artifact). Kit (if he uses one-see the War-
rior Kfts chapter), alignment,
Weapons Not Shown Magic
Some warrior current experience level, his
Ifyou’re trying current experience earned, and
to construct a weapon not Characters (Paladins, Rangers, the amount of experience it‘ll
shown on this chart, compare it and multi-class Fightermages take him to reach the next level.
to the most similar weapon that and Fighter/Priests) do have
ison thechartanduse those val- spells. At this point in the char- In the second box, you put all
ues. (The DM has the fmal say acter creation process, for the the information relating to the
on what is most similar.) For in- multi-class characters,you and
stance, if you’re trying to create character’s six ability scores
a halberd,that‘s closest to a fork the DM will have to determine (Strength, Dexterity, Constitu-
or trident. If you’re tryingto cre-
ate a bastard sword, that‘s clos- the character’s spells. (Paladins tion, Intelligence, Wisdom, and
est to a long sword. and Rangers wait until 9th and
I 8th levels, respectively, to get Charisma). All this information
I their spells,so you don’t haveto
Money and Equipment worry about them for a while.) comes from the charts in the
Player’sHandbook, pages 14-18.
The Complete Experience
fighter‘s Handbook follows all Here‘s an op- In the third, narrow, box, you
the normal Player’s Handbook write down any bonuses and
guidelines for the character’s tion you ought to think about if abilities the character receives
based on his race: for instance,if
. . .initial money and equipment you’re planning to run espe- he’s an elf, you’d put something
usually. Use of some of the like “90%resistantto sleepand
Warrior Kits will dictate differ- cially heroic, combat-heavy ad- charm; +1 to hit with bow,
ences in the way mme charac- ventures or campaigns. short sword, long sword can
surprise opponents: infravision:
ters spend their beginning You mightwish to start all be- 1on d6 to detectsecret doors(1-
ginning player-charactersout at 2 on d6 when looking, 1-3 for
3rd experience level instead of portals).”
1st. This makes them a bit
tougher,a bit more heroic,and a In the fourth box, you write
lot less fearful about dying with down many of the character’s
game-mechanic notes: HOW
many bit points be bas, how his
hit dice are calculated (with
Fighters, you’d write ’‘dlo’),

11

co Back of the Sheet really!”)
The back of And in the bottom box you
his saving throws are,
es on his followers and any the sheet is used mostly for can make any other notes perti-
special abilities or restrictions equipment lists. nent to the character.
from his character class choice
(especiallyappropriatewith pal- The top box is used to record The Next Step In
adins and rangers), and his his weapons; here, you can put Character Creation
Spell Progression (if any; this, all the information found on the
too, is especiallyappropriatefor Weapons table (Player’s Hand- For the next
paladinsand rangers). boolc, page 68).
In the fifth box, you note
down any modifications made The second box is used for
to the character by the Warrior short descriptions of important
Kit he chooses (again, see the equipment, especially magical
WarriorKits chapterfordetails). items.
In the sixth (bottom) box. you
record any of the character’s The third box allows the
skill-type abilities: His lan- player to indicate where all his
guages, his weapon proficien- character’s important posses-
cies (and specializations!), and sions are normally kept. The
his nonweapon proficiencies.
DM should insist that the play-

ers use these blanks; it helps
prevents mistakes from being

Sometimes it‘s just not warrior must take propriate for him. and the DM
enough to be a Fighter, Paladin number of slots h must steer him toward such
or Ranger. Each of those classes equipment types.

is a lot of fun.but there’s noth- For example, the pirate who
ing which says you want to be
keeps his full plate on while
restricted only to three types of
aboard ship will be knocked
fun. overboard time and time again
So, here, we’re going to show
as a reminder of why pirates
you how tocreateand play other
don’t usually wear such cum-
sorts of warrior characters. bersome stuff. As he’s being
dragged to the ocean bottom, he
Kits and Warriors aren’t really res when jousting will almost cer-
tainly get what he deserves for
Each special hard-and-fast rules. A
warrior described in this chap shore may wish to dec Benefits: Mmt War-
ter is dennedas a Kit of different out in full pIate. for rior Kits have some special ben-
characteristics. The Kit consists efits that others don’t. Often,
of the following elements: character should
ward the types of e Other benefitsaremore unusual
Description This paragraph or dramatic: The Berserker can
talks about what the warrior is. call on hidden resources of
It‘s a general description of the strength and vitality when in
appearance, manner, cultural combat, for instances.

background and use of the char- Special Hindrances: Like-
acter in a campaign. It also lists wise. each Warrior Kit has cer-
tain disadvantages which
any requirements necessary for
the character to take the Kit; for Pirates are sought
by the authorities: Amazons
instance. to be an Amazon. a
character must be female. (Sur- face discrimination in male-

prise!) dominated societies.
Role: This paragraph de- Wealth Options: Some War-

scribes the role of this warrior in rior Kits have special rules re-
the society that spawned him garding their wealth. The Noble
Warrior, for instance, will begin
and in an ongoing campaign. A play with more starting gold
Samurai has a different cultural than some other Warrior Kits.
role from a Wilderness Warrior, However. he’s also required to
maintain a higher standard of
even ifboth. say,are Paladins. living than the others. If he fails
to do so, he temporarily loses
Secondary Skills: If you’re some of his Special Benefits.
using the Secondary Skills rules
Races: Each of these Kits is
from AD&D@ 2nd Edition. then
written with the human charac-
your Kit may require your war- man charac-
rior to take a specific skill: the
character may not be able to ask himself if he wants certain

choose or random-roll his Sec- racelwarrior Kit combinations
riors?). If he does allow them,
ondary Skill.
Weapon Proficiencies: You

must use the AD&D@2nd Ed&
tiongame rules for Weapon Pro-
ficiencies in order to use these
Warrior Kits. Most of these Kits

will requlre your warrior to take
specific weapon proficiencies. A
Samurai wouldn’t be the same
without his katana,or a Noble
Warrior without his lance, for
example.

When required to take a spe-
Rc Weapon Proficiency, the

this paragraph will make notes questionable. For example, it’s For each Warrior Kit, the DM
not likely that you’ll be playing has to choose:
on recommended racial modif- a Pirate Paladin. However, it is
possible. If your band of pirates, (1) If he will evenallow this Kit
cations. For instance, the Noble in happy-go-lucky movie tradi- in his campaign.
Dwarf-Warrior will be required tion, attacks only the wicked,
to be proficient with axe and frees all innocents, and per- (2) What additional informa-
forms in an otherwise mostly- tion he needsto give the players
hammer rather thansword and honorable fashion, they’re about each Kit.
obviously not an evil group and
lance, and won’t be required to a paladin could adventure (3) What changes he might
be a rider. among them. If that‘s the sort of wish to make to each Kit.
An Important Note pirate campaign you and your
Let‘stake the Amazon Kit as
In the follow- DM agree to play, then that’s an example. This Kit was
loosely derived from the Ama-
ing sections, several Warrior fine. zons of Greek myth. But this
Kits get reaction bonuses and When one warrior class can- DMs Amazons may be substan-
tially different from those.
penaltiesas part of their Special not choose a specific Warrior
Kit, the exceptions will be So, fmt. he has to decide if he
Benefits and Special Hin- noted. will allow this Kit in his cam-
drances. A word of caution paign. If he hasany sort ofAma-
needs to accompany them. Kits and Character zons on his world, he probably
will allow this. If he has no Ama-
In the AD&D@ game. when a Creatlon zons,then he won’t. Let‘s pre-
sume that he does.
character is very charismatic, You can only
he gets what is called a “reac- Second,he has to decide w
tion adjustment.” (See the Play- take one Warrior Kit for your additionalinformationhe ne
er’s Handbook, page 18.)When character. to give the players about
the character has a high Cha- Amazons. In his world, let‘s say,
You can only take a Warrior
~rismaand receives a bonus,it‘s Kit for your characterwhen that the Amazons live on Lunyrra, a
expressed as a plus: +2, for in- characteris first created.
heavily forested island sur-
stance. When he has a low Cha- There’s an exception to that rounded by almost unscaleable
rismaand receivesa penalty,it’s secondrule: If you and your DM cliffs, and make war on the sur-
expressed as a minus: -3. for both want to integrate these rounding islands: when players
example. rules intoan existingcampaign, are interested in playing Ama-
and both DM and players can zons, he gives them that infor-
However, when you roll the agree upon what Warrior Kit mation in addition to the Kit.
2d10 for encounter reactions each existing playercharacter
(see the Dungeon Master’s most closely resembles, then Third, he has to decide what
you can use theserulesfor exist- changes he wishes to make to
3, don’tadd the ing characters,addinga Warrior the Kit. Since his Amazons are
subtract the pen- Kit to each existing character. sailorsinstead of famouseques-
the die roll. Do it trians, he changesthe requiredl
Once you’ve taken a Warrior bonusNonweapon Proficiencies
around. If the Kit, you cannotchange it. Later from Riding and Animal ’kairr-
haracter has a Charisma of 16. in the character’s life. he can ing to Seamanship and Naviga-
possibly abandon his Kit: see tion.
gets a +5 reaction ad- “Abandoning A Kit:’ later in
By these means, he has
you subtract that this chapter. adapted the generic Warrior Kit
m the 2d10 die roll. below to his own campaign
the NPCs would be The Warrior Kits world and made it fit in just a-
ng even more badly be- he likes.
the character was charis- Following are
several sorts of warriors repre- Amazon
.Kitsand the sented by Warrior Kits. Before
Wqrior Classes allowing his players to choose Description: Amazons are
Kitsfor their characters,the DM women warriors in a male-
In general, should review these and make dominatedworld. Their ohriliza-
&h’Wt can ‘be used with each notes for himself about them. tion mighthave been createdby
of thethreewarriorclasses. Your a deity who likes women war-
character can,for instance. be a riors; or they might have been
Barbarian Fighter, an Amazon
Paladin, or a SamuraiRanger.

Some choices may be a little

14

Whatever their origin, wey their territory. (In this last in-
now live in civilizationsor cpm- stance, some Amazon cultures,
munities where women occppy afterwards, may decide to kill
thepositionsand rolestradi~on- the adventurers: others don’t.)
adventurers. For details of exactly how the
Amazon communities work in
your campaign world, consult fenderof the wholec i v i w
your DM. (And give him plenty way of life. and eve
of time to come up with the an-
swers if it‘s not something he’s
thought about before.)

lkaditiondy, Amazonsare fa-
mous riders and breeders of

horses. In their own countries,

they wear lightarmor and carry
shields, spears, swords and
bows. In other countries, if they
are disadvantaged by their cul-
tural weapons and armor, they
quickly adapt to local weapons
and armor.

Here’s an important point to
remember: In most campaigns,
you don’t haveto be an Amazon
to be a female warrior; check

with your DM for other ways to
play a femalewarrior. The Ama-

zons are merely a very colorful

15

ter how cultured her civilization Special Benefits: Male war- either: they'd follow the rules
might be). stared at, whispered riors in a civilization where fe-
about. The people of other cul- above for human Amazons.
tures will be suspicious of her, male warriors are rare tend to
and she will probably start out It's a little harder to envision
being uncomfortable around underestimate the Amazon. dwarvish. gnomish, or halfling
men who appear to be her social Therefore, in any fight where Amazons. Butifyou do use such
equal-in her eyes. theyare the the Amazon confronts a male civilizations:
ones who are unnatural. who is not familiar with her per-
The DM will have toguide this sonally or female warriors in DwarfAmazons will have Axe
situation carefully. Once the and Hammer as their required
Amazon character has proven general, she gets a +3 tohit and
herself in combat to her outer- weapon proficiencies: they are
world allies, and once they have +3 damage on her first blow
proven themselves in combat to stillRiders,but substituteswine
her, there's no reason why they only. This is because her oppo-
cannot be staunch allies. NPCs nent's guard is down. for their mount of choice (swine
may continue to trouble her. but are very dangerous. and the
player-characters should not: This doesn't work on player- prospect of a ferocious she-
and the other PCs should rise to dwarf on the back of a biting
her defense when NPCs make characters unless the player is boar is a daunting one).
trouble for her: only the most
obnoxious of PCs would con- role-playing honestly enough to Gnome Amazons will have
tinue to give her trouble, and declare that he. too. would un- Throwing Axe and Short Sword
the other PCs certainly derestimate her. as their required weapon profi-
shouldn't support his attitude. ciencies; their Bonus Non-
secondary sktlls: Required This ability doesn't work on weapon Proficiencies are
Groom. some other types of characters: 'Racking and Survival.
Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
quired Spear, Long Bow. (Ama- An NPC who is wary enough Halfling Amazons will have
zon fighters can Specialize only not to underestimate the Ama- Javelin and Sling as their re-
in Spear or Long Bow.) Recom- zon might, with a successful In- quired weapon proficiencies:
mended: Various axes. swords. telligence check, see the attack their Bonus Nonweapon Profi-
Nonweapon Proficiencies coming and deny her the bonus: ciencies are Endurance and Set
Bonus Proficiencies: Riding Snares: and you will have to pre-
(Land--), Animal 'Raining. A seasoned veteran (any War- sume that thesehalflings aren't
Recommended General-Ani- rior of 5th level or higher.or any
mal Handling, (Warrior) Animal other character of 8th level or asfond of easeand leisure as the
Lore, Armorer. Bowyerl higher),in spite of his prejudice. more commonsortsof halflings.
Fletcher, Hunting, Running. will realize that she is moving
survival. Backing. like a trained warrior and keep Barbarian
Equipment: When an Ama- his guard up, denying her the
zon Character is &t created, bonus. Description: This is not the
she must buy her weapons and barbarian of history.but the bar-
armor from among the follow- If the Amazon hits an NPC barian of fantasy fiction. He's a
ing choices only: Weapons- with this attack, he'll never powerful warrior from a culture
Battle Axe. Bow (Any). Club. on the fringes of civilization.
Daggermirk.Hand or Throwing again be prey to it: if an NPC
Axe, Javelin, Knife. Lance, even seea an Amazon hit some- He's left his home to sell his
Spear, Sword (any): Armor-
Shield. Leather, Padded, Stud- one with it, he'll never fall for it skills and adventure in the civi-
ed Leather, Brigandine. Scale himself. But if she misses that lized world-perhaps to amass a
Hide, Banded Mail. Bronze first strike. then the target will fortune with which to return
Mall. Once she has adven- continue to underestimate her home,perhaps tobecome an im-
elsewhere in the world. and she can use those bonuses portant figure in this so-called
may purchase weapons and again on her next strike. civilization. He's known for
strength.cunning, contemptfor
Special Hindrances: The the outer worlds decadence.
Amazon suffers a -3 reaction andfor adhering tohis own code
roll adjustment from NPCs who of honor.
are from maledominated soci-
eties. This reaction adjustment The barbarian is usually very
goes away for characters who strong: therefore, the barbarian
must have a Strength ability
come to respect her. such as
(presumably) her PC allies. score of 15or more. A character

Wealth Options The Ama- cancome from a barbarianmbe
and have a lower Strength than
zon getsthe ordinary 5d4x10gp that-but he cannot have the
as starting money.
Barbarian Kit.
R a m The Amazons from
folklore and myth were humans.
It's not difacultto envision elvlsh

or half-elvlsh clans of AmauJns,

L - IWarrior Kits

Role:The typical RPG barbar- the listed number of slots if reaction. But because he’s
ian is a powerful, dangerousfig- Fighter or Ranger, or just the reached an 8, his Barbarian bo-
ure, as though he were an listed number if Paladin) Her- nus comesintoplay.making the
animal totem in human skin. In balism, (Rogue-costs double fmal reaction roll a 5: A Mendly
a campaign, he’s a front-line slots) Jumping. The DM is reaction.
fighter with some special skills within his rights to insist that
and a very different outlook the Barbarian character take a Special Hindrances: All that
than the rest of the characters: proficiency in the tribal spe- impressiveness can work
his player should always play cialty (Fishing, Agriculture, against the Barbarian, too.
him assomeonefrom a different whatever) if the DM so wishes. Whenever the barbarian char-
land, someone whose likes and acter achieves a reaction roll of
dislikes and perceptions are Equipment: The character, 14 or more, he takes an addi-
based on a different culture. (If when he spends his starting
you play him as just another gold, may not buy armor tional -3modifier.That is, if the
warrior from down the street, heavier than splint mail,
you lose a lot of the mystique banded mail, or bronze plate reaction is negative at all, it will
the character has.) mail. Outside his tribe,once he be even more negative than it
has adventured in the outer otherwise would have been-
If the PC party has no real world, he can use any type of ar- the barbarian is scary, and the
leader, he may gravitate to that mor without penalty. When he other person overreacts.
role: if it has a good enough spends his starting gold, he
leader, he’ll probablystickto be- must limit himself to weapons Example: Torath next meetsa
ing a specialist in the things he the DM says are appropriatefor suspiciouswitch. andis indHer-
does well. his tribe-the usual group of ent towardher. On the “IndHer-
weapons includes battle axe, ent” column of the Encounter
Secondary Skills: The DM bows (any), club, dagger or dirk, Reactions chart, the DM rolls a
will decide,based on the charac- footman’s flail, mace. or pick, 17.Torath’s Charisma bonus of
ter’s background, what sort of hand or throwing axe, sling, 3reducestheroll toa 14.butit’s
secondary skill would be re- spear, or sword (any). still enough that his Barbarian
quired. Most barbarian tribes penaltyjust shootsit right back
have a requiredskill:a tribethat Special Benefik Barbarians up to a 17 a g a h The witch be-
makes its living by fishing are impressive because of sheer comes Threatening.
would have Fisher as its re- strength, intensity, and animal
quired secondaryskill. magnetism: this gives them a Wealth ODtions: The Barbar-
+3 reaction adjustment bonus ian gets thd starting gold for a
Weapon Proficiencies: Re- in certain situations. Warrior (5d4x10 gp). but he
quired: Battle Axe, Bastard mustspend it all (beforestarting
Sword. (These are the classical Wheneverthe barbarian char- play) except three gp or less: he
fiction-barbarian weapons: the acterachievesa reactionroll of 8 can have some pocket change
DM may decide to substitute or less (includingCharisma and when he reaches civilization.
others more appropriate to his racial bonuses), you subtract but must be close to penniless.
own world.) Barbarian fighters the modifier. That is, if the reac-
may specialize in any weapon, tion is positive at all, it will be Races: Demihuman Barbari-
but are not likely to encounter ans follow the same rules.
unusual weapons (like lances, evenmore positivethanit other- Dwarves are perhaps the most
quarterstaves, flails. peculiar admirablysuitedtobeing Barbar-
polearms) until they reach the wise would have been.
outer world. Recommended: Example: lbrath the Toranar- ians.The DM will have to decide
Bow (any), Sling, Sword (any), whether his elves, half-elves and
War Hammer. an is a Barbarian with a Cha-
risma of 15. Encountering a gnomesarebroodingand menac-
Nonweapon Proficiencies knight who could be friend or ing enough to be Barbarians: the
Bonus Proficiency: Endurance. foe to him, he speaks with the question is even harder with the
Recommended: General-Ani- knightin a friendlyfashion. The leisure-lovinghalflings. But if the
mal Handling, Animal ’Raining, DMrollshis EncounterReaction DM wishes to allow any or all of
Direction Sense, Fire-Building, andachievesan 11on 2d10. On
Riding (Land-Based), Weather the “Friendly” column of the these demihuman races to have
Sense, (Warrior) Blind-Fighting, EncounterReactionschartfrom
the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Barbariansamongthem, he may.
Hunting, Mountaineering, Run- this is a “Cautious”reaction. Final Note: Most classic

ning, Set Snares, Survival, But wait-his charisma gives fantasy-fiction barbarians are
’Racking, (Priest-costs twice him a +3 bonus. The 11 be- male, but this Warrior Kit can
comes an 8, still an indifferent certainly be taken by female

characters,with all the Kit‘s re-

quirements, benefits, and hin-
drancesin effect.

17

Beast-Rider leery of speaking to or negotiat- the Beast-Rider and act as a
ing with the Beast-Rider if mount. With the DM’s permis-
Description: The Beast-Rider there’s a more “civilized char- sion, the Beast-Rider character
is a warrior in a tribe or clan acter on hand to perform those gets to decide what sort of ani-
(usually a barbarian tribe) functions. The DM needs con- mal this is; the DM is encour-
which has a strong mmity for stantly to use the Beast-Rider’s aged to disallow any sort of
one type of animal. The animal reaction modifiers, listed below animal that will give the Beast-
is the totem of the tribe, and the under “hindrances.” Rider a great advantage in the
Beast-Rider makes friends very campaign (for example, a pega-
easily with that type of animal Secondary Skills If you’re sus or griffon).
and can train it into a riding-
using the Secondary Skills The Beast-Rider gets a +5
beast. . .evenif it‘s a type ofani- rules, the character must take
the Groom (Animal Handling) positive reaction adjustment
mal not normally considered a secondary skill. wheneverdealingwith these an-
riding-beast. imals. He finds it easy to make
Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
In a campaign, the Beast- quired None. Recommended: friends with them; on a die-roll
Rider is an exotic warrior who is All the weapons commonly as- result of 9 or less (on the “Hos-
notable for his kinship with his sociated with mounted war-
animal: like the Barbarian, he riors-Bow (composite short. tile” column of the Encounter
bringsa wild. outsider’sattitude and short), Horseman’s flail, Reactions Chart, Dungeon Mas-
into the adventuring party: His Horseman’s mace, Horseman’s ter’s Guide page 103). he can
animal also has abilities which pick, Lance (any, according to even persuade attacking ani-
can benefit the adventuring the size of the animal), Spear, mals of this sort to leave him
party. However, the more unu- Bastard Sword, Long Sword. and his allies alone.
sual the animal is, the harder it
is to accommodate in all situa- Nonweapon Proficiencies: Additionally, the Beast-Rider
tions:It‘sno problem to stable a Bonus Proficiencies: Animal begins play in the campaign
horseat the inn, butjust try sta- ?2alnlng, Riding (Land-based). with one of these animals as his
blixig a great white wolf, a wild The character must declare personalfriendand mount. This
boar,or a dolphin! which one sort of animal both animal is devoted to him and
these proficiencies pertain to. will risk (or even sacrifice) its
’Ib be a Beast-Rider,the char- Recommended: General- own life to save the character:
acter must have a Charisma of Animal Handling, Direction and the characteris expected to
at least 13. (Naturally,there are Sense, Fire-building, (Priest) behave thesameway towardhis
members of the Beast-Rider’s Healing (specifically veteri- mount. (If he doesn’t role-play
tribe who are not themselves nary). (Warrior) Animal Lore, this attachment to his animal,
Beast-Riders; the Beast-Riders Hunting, Mountaineering. Set the DM should decide that the
are the tribe’s elite warriors.) Snares. Survival, Racking.
character has abandoned this
Role: As mentioned, in his Equipment: When he is first Warrior Kit, as per the guide-
own society, the Beast-Rider is created, the Beast-Rider may
the elite warrior, and he com- only have Hide, Leather,or Pad- lines given later in this chapter.)
mands a lot of respect among ded armor (plus shield and The Beast-Rider has a tele-
his own kind. Outside his tribal helm). Later in the campaign,
grounds, however, he’s very de- pathic rapport with his animal.
finitely an outsider. His barbar- .he may switch to more When in contactor visual line of
ian mannerisms and his sightwith hisanimal,he can tell
advanced forms of armor . .as what the beast is feeling, even
bvious and very unusual thinking if it has some intelli-
endship with his animal set long as hismount can carry him gence: he and the animal can
im apart from most societies. communicate with one another
use of this, the Beast-Rider and the armor both, of course. without appearing to. When the
become especially at- When first created,he may have two are not within line of sight
d to the other player- only weapons from the list with one another, each will
aracters (if they treat him as aboveunder “Weapon Proficien- know the other’s emotional
cies:’ (The DM may change or state and whether or not the
an equal and not a freak),even if add to this list to reflect specific other is hurt;eachwill know the
he’d never admit it to them. cultural details of the Beast- direction to travel to find his
Rider’s tribe.)
The DMneedsto reinforcethis friend,and the approximatedis-
social role by having NPCsreact Special Eenefih The Beast-
to the Beast-Rider’s strange- Rider has an amazing rapport tance (a hundred yards, an
ness. For instance, NPCs will be with one type ofanimal.The an- hour’s travel, several days’
imal must be of a species nor- travel, for instance).
mally strong enough to carry

ts

If the animal ever dies, the Tiger, Wild role-ulav the character’s reac-
Beast-Rider can choose another -Unicorn (traditionally, only vir- tions-hek just felt, through
animal of the same type as his gin lawful-good females mav their telepathic link, the death
companion. However, the DM hde) _I of his beloved friend, after all.
must include this situation as
part of the campaign story: The Wolf, Dire (evil characterscould Wealth Options: The Beast-
character must seek out an- bond with a Winter Wolf) Rider gets the ordinary 5d4x10
other such animal, and may gp for starting gold. Like the
only be satisfied with the * Flying animals do tend to Barbarian, however, he must
healthiest, strongest, greatest spend it all (beforestartingplay)
examples of this animal (in change the nature of a cam- except 3 gp or less.
other words, if the characterap- paign. especially a low-level
pearsto be contentto settlewith campaign, by making it easy Races: This is a kit that is es-
less, the DM tells him, “You for characters to go long dis- peciallyappropriatefor demihu-
tances quickly, to avoid dSi- man characters. It’s easy to
.sense you won’t be able to bond cult terrain, etc. The DM envision dwarves on boars,
should disallow any such elves on dire wolves, sea-elves
with this animal . .”I; then choice if it will cause prob- on giant sea-horses, and so on.
lems in his campaign.
there must be some sort of Notes: It adds a lot of detail
bonding ritual between beast + Since many of these crea- and color to a campaign if the
and man [for example, a physi- DM does a certain amount of
cal combat where the human tures are evil, the DM may work creating the society of
have to introduce into his each Beast-=der tribe. The
must be able to saddle and ride campaign a nearly-identical tribe’s behavior and activities
race with neutral or good ten- would be dictatedby the type of
the animal in spite of its spirited dencies. animal it was tied to: Horse-
attempts to throw him). Only & This species only works if Riders would live on the plains,
then can the character have his mast of the campaign takes
new animal. place in watery domains. riding far and wide, while Boar-

Followingis a list of many ani- IIb calculatethe weight-bearing Riders would live in forests and a
mals which are appropriate abilities of these animals, com- moist bottom-land, few ever
mounts for the Beast-Rider. pare them to the listonpage 78 of travelling more than five miles
Note that not all of them are in- the Player’s Itvldbook. Choose from the; home village.
cluded in the Monstrous Com- the animalfrom that list mast re-
pendium series; if a player sembling your animal in sizeand r
chooses one not included there, mass,and then use the valuesfor
and theDMapprovesthe choice, that animal. --scrip-~n The Berserk
the DM will have to work up the
animal‘s abilities. SpecialHindrances:As men- a warriorwbo has specialattrib-

Bat, Huge * + [mobat) (gnomes tioned earlier,the Beast-Rideris utes and abilities when he’s in
and halflings only may ride) outof placein mast societies.He combat. In combat, he citn
Bear achievean ecstaticstateof mind
Boar takes a -3 negativereactionad- that will enable him to fight
Buffalo longer, harder, and more sav-
Camel justment when meeting NPCs agely than any human being
Dolphin & from any culture but his own.
Dragon * + (only allowable in (The player-characters do not . ..has a right to. This makes him a
very high-powered herdic have to be hostile to the Beast-
campaigns) Rider if they do not wish, how- deadly warrior who can be
Elephant ever.) asmuch a menace to himself as
I to his enemies. In a campaign,
Also,should the Beast-Rider’s he’s nearly identical to the
Griffon * animal ever die, whether it‘s in Barbarian-except it‘s obvious
Hippogriff * theBeast-Rider’spresence or far from the outset that he has a
Horse truly savage and inhuman ele-
Hyaenodon ~ away, the Beast-Rider immedi- ment in his personality, and he
tends to disturb and unsettle
Lizard (Fire, Giant. or Minotaur) ately takes 2d6 points of dam- other people.
Lobster, Giant &
Pegasus * age and must make a saving -Like the Barbarian, the Ber-
Ray, Manta & throw vs. spells. If he fails the
Sea-Horse,Giant & saving throw, he behaves as if serker must have a Strength
Smilodon he were a magic-user hit with ability score of 15 or more.
feeblemind for the next 2d6
hours. Evenif he makesthe sav- Roie: In his tribe, the Ber-
ing throw, the player should serker has a special role. He’s

19

I

been touched by supernatural specialty (?tapping, Agricul-
forces, and accepted that touch ture, etc.).

so that he mig-ht better defend Equipment: As with the Bar-

his people. barian, the Berserker may not
The idea of a Berserker Pala- use his starting gold to buy ar-

din is a little strange, and some mor heavier than splint mail,
DMs will prefer not to allow it.
banded mail, or bronze plate
That’s h e . It‘snot always inap- mail. Once he hasadventuredin
propriate, though. If the charac- the outer world, he can use any
type of armor without penalty.
ter’stribeis deeplyinvolvedwith When he spends his starting
an appropriate animal totem, gold, he must limit himself to
weaponsknownto histribe,and
such as a bear or wolverine, a may not choose missile weap-
paladin might even be required ons.Goodchoicesincludebattle For these reasons,Berserking
axe, club, dagger or dirk, foot-
to be a Berserker, since the DM man’s flail, mace, or pick, hand
may reason that it’s only the su- axe. spear, or sword (any).
pernatural touchof the totem an- Special Benefits: Berserkers When Berserk. the character
imal spirit that gives the paladin has phenomenalenduranceand
his other powers. But. again, receive a +3 reaction adjust-
that‘s up to the individualDM. ment bonus from NPCs belong- LIS laughter, hold person,
ing to any tribe that also has monster, and confusion.
SecondarySkills:Aswiththe Berserkers-they recognize the emotion spell has no
Barbarian, the DM will decide Berserker instinctively and re- the Berserker, unless
what sort of secondary skill is spect him, even if he is an
most appropriate for that spe- enemy.
cific barbarianberserkertribe.
The other benefit the Ber-
Weapon Proficiencies: No serker receivesis his Berserk.
specific weapon proficiencies
are required of the Berserker- At any time, the Berserker
but he may not start out play may choose to Go Berserk. This
havinga proficiencyin a ranged isn’t an instantaneous pro-
weapon (no thrown axes or cess-he must spend a little
knives, no bows or crossbows, time to “psych himself up:’ It
etc.). The Berserker lives to de- takes a full turn (ten combat
stroy things in hand-to-hand
combat, so he cannot start play rounds) to Go Berserk. In that
with any sort of ranged weapon
proficiency. He can learn others time, the character is growling,
during the course of the cam-
paign, if he and his DM wish to .moaning,uttering imprecations
allow it-but it’s a little out of
character for the Berserker. . . it’s impossible to be quiet

Nonweapon Proficiencies: when trying to Go Berserk. He
Bonus Proficiency: Endurance. may also be fightingduringthat
Recommended General-Ani- time, meaning that he can start
mal Handling, Animal ’hining, to Go Berserk on the round the
Direction Sense, Fire-Building, fight begins, fight for ten full
Riding (Land-Based), Weather rounds, and then be Berserk on
Sense, (Warrior) Blind-Fighting, the eleventh round.
Hunting, Mountaineering, Run-
ning, Set Snares, Survival, Of course, when theBerserker
Tracking, (Priest-costs twice
the listed number of slots if knows a fight is coming, he can
Fighter or Ranger) Herbalism.
(Rogue-costs double slots) begin to Go Berserk, even if
Jumping. As with the Barbar- there is no fight currently going
ian,the DM may chooseto insist on. At the end of a full turn of ets a normal Saving Throw: if
that the Berserker character preparation,he canbecomeBer- e makes it, he continues on as
serk instantaneously. If there’s efore,but if he fails it, he is pre-
no enemy in sight yet, he can
hold the Berserk until combatis coming out of the Ber-
engaged. But if no combattakes t he doesn’t suffer any
place within five more full
turns, he automatically reverts

20

r fear effect). The fear spell (6)While Berserk. the charac- “The orc-captain hits you with
...”his axe. a mighty blow which
tly the same effect:Ifhe ter gets +1 to attack, +3 to you barely feel It is there-
damage until immediately after damage, and +5 hp. fore very possible for a Ber-
hesnapsoutoftheBerserk.Ifhe serker to be nickled and dimed
SpecialHindrances:The Ber- todeath and notknow it untilhe
fails to save. he doesn’t die until drops dead. The DM can also,if
he snaps out of the Berserk. serker has hindrances as severe he so chooses, roll all Saving
as all those benefits he receives. Throws for the Berserker, not
(5) The Berserker. while Ber- telling the player whether they
serk. is immune to KO results (1) The Berserker character were failures or successes.
from the Punching and Wres- receives a -3 reaction from all (3)While Berserk, the charac-
tling rules. and takes only half NPCs (except, that is, charac- ter can use no ranged weapons.
damage from bare-handed at- tersfrom tribeswhich have ber- He kills only in hand-to-hand or
tacksfrom these rules. serkers in them, as described melee-weapon combat.
above). (4) While Berserk, he must
fight each w e n t until that
(2) When the Berserker goes opponent i# down. Once an op-
ponent is felled, the Berserker
Berserk,the DM shouldimmedi- must move to the nearest en-
ately say to him,‘”kll me how emy and attack him. He can’t,
for instance, choose to attack
many hit points you currently the enemy leader if that leader is
behind seven ranks of spear-
have.” From that point until the men. The Berserker must keep
fighting until all enemies are
Aght is done and the Berserker down, as described earlier.

has returned to normal, the DM
keepstrackofhishitpoints.The

player is not told how many hp
he has left, nor how many
points of damage he is taking
with each attack. (After all, the
charactercanfeelnopain.. .so
he cannot keep track of how

close he is to death.) The DM
simply tellshim something like:

(5) While Berserk, the chamc- except three g p or less. that both are noblemen war-
ter cannot take cover against Races: It’s the DMs choice as riors, but the Noble Warrior is
missile f i e . primarily interested in defend-
(6)If, while the character is to whether his demihuman ing the rights and maintaining
Berserk, another charactertries characterscanhave Berserkers thestatusquo of his social class,
something he can interpret as among them. It‘sentirely appro- while the Cavalier pursues
attack (for instance, hits him to priatefor dwarves,and notinap- loftier goals.
move him out of the way of an propriate for elves, gnomes and
incoming attack,) the Berserker half-elves. Halfling Berserkers ’Ib be a cavalier, the character
must roll ld20 vs. his Intelli- are not very likely. In any case, must be of any good alignment
gence. If he succeeds (that is, demihuman Berserkers would (chaoticgood, neutralgood, law-
rolls his Intelligence score or not advertise the fact that they ful good) and have at least the
less), he’s dimly aware that his were such until the fmt time following minimum ability
friend isnot attacking him. If he they Berserkedin combat, their scores: Strength 15, Dexterity
fails (rollshigherthanhisIntelli- companionswould probably be 15,Constitution 15,Intelligence
gence), he now thinks his friend unaware that they were Ber- 10,Wisdom 10.
is an enemy, and continues to
think so until the fight is done serkers. (The DM can help pre- Also, the character must be-
and he is no longer Berserk. long to the noble social class in
(7) While Berserk. the charac- serve the secret by not the campaign. It‘s up to the DM
ter is temporarilyunaffected by publicizing the fact that all to determine whether this is
the clerical spells bless, cure NPCs are taking a -3 to reac- possible. If his campaign uses a
light wounds, aid, cure serious tion rolls concerning the Ber- random die-roll to determine
wounds, cure critical wounds, serker characters.) who’s nobility and who isn’t,
heal, regenerate land wither). then the character must first
He will gain the benefitsof those Cavalier successfully roll to be noble in
spellsonly after he has come out orderto be a Cavalier.If it‘smore
of his Berserk and suffered any Description The Cavalier is of a role-playing exercise in the
and all damages which occured the ultimatemounted warrior of campaign, then any character
then. civilized cultures, especially who takes the Cavalier Warrior
(8) The taunt spellis automat- those of MiddleAges technology Kit will be presumed to be of the
ically successful,and will cause and outlook. In a campaign.he’s nobility. (This doesn’t mean
the Berserker to abandon his the shiningknightwho leadshis that he has a lot of money: it‘s
current enemy and rush to at- fellows on an eternal quest for quitelikelythat he belongsto an
tack the taunter. truth, justice, and the elimina- impoverished noble family, one
(9) Finally, when the charac- tionof evil. ’Ibtheworld at large. with a lot ofhonorable tradition
ter comesoutofhisBerserk,bad he’s a mighty hero. To his but no money to speak of.)
things happen to him.He loses friendsand allies,he’sa staunch
the 5 hp he gained when he be- friend, a tireless cheerleader, Fightersand Paladinsmay be
came Berserk. (This could drop and often an overenthusiastic Cavaliers: Rangers may not.
him to or below 0 hp and kill pain in the neck. Only humans, elves, and half-
him, of course.) He collapses in elves may be Cavaliers.
exhaustion (exactlyasif hit by a This is a good Warrior Kit for
ray of enfeeblement, no saving Role: In his own and similar
throw possible,for one roundfor paladins to take. it can be ar-
every round he was Berserk. He cultures, the Cavalier is a
suffers the effects of any spells gued that paladins look some- mighty hero who has the re-
which wait until he’s returned thing like this already, but that spect of the majority of the pop-
to normal before affecting him ulation (thecriminalclassesand
(fkger of death, for instance). isn’t neceSSarily so: Only pala- evil characters excepted). He
And only thenran healin-g mag-- has the good-will of the people
its affect him. dins of culturesresembling me- (reflectedasbonusesto his reac-
Wealth Outions: The Ber- dieval Europe would look like
serkergets &e ordinary5d4x10 this (a paladin of a Japanese- tion rolls), but the people also
gp for starting gold. Like the type culture, a paladin of a make many demands of him:
Barbarian, however, he must Polynesian-like culture, and a
T n d it all (beforestartingplay) paladin of a culture resembling When there’s danger, when
later Renaissance Europe would someone is in trouble, the peo-
all be very different from the ple turn to the Cavalierfor help.
This character does not get
Cavalier). Therefore, a paladin much time for rest and relaxa-

who wants to look every inch tion.
the shining knight should take Secondary Skills: If you’re
the CavalierWarrior Kit.
ii-ing the Secondary Skills
The Cavalier kit resembles
the Noble Warrior kit (q.v.1 in

22

rules, the Cavalier must take These pluses to hit do not add When he travels, he can de-
Groom. to damage, and don’t allow the mand shelterfrom anyonein his
Cavalier to hita monster that can own nation who is of status
Weapon Proficiencies: Re- only be hit by magical weapons. lower than nobility. And most
quired Lance (any; player people of his own status or
choice) and Sword (any; player The Cavalieris completelyim- higherwill be happy to offerhim
choice). Recommended: All mune to the fear spell. Because shelterwhen he is travelling.
other Lances, all other Swords,
all Horsemen’s weapons, Dag- he is so brave,he inspiresothers Special Hindrances For all
ger, Spear. Javelin. to courage, and so,while he is these benefits, the Cavalier has
somepretty hefty hindrancesas
Nonweapon Proficiencies: fighting,he actually radiatesan well.
Bonus Proficiencies: Ridiag, emotion spell in a 10’ radius.
(Land-based, horse), Etiquette. This emotion spell radiates The Cavaliercannotattackan
Recommended: Animal Han- courage (see the writeup for the opponent at range if he can in-
dling, Animal n-aining, Danc- 4th-level wizard spell emotion), stead charge ahead and attack
ing, Heraldry, (Priest, douule but only to the extent that it ne- him in melee or jousting com-
slotsunlessPaladin)Musical In- gatesfw,it does notbestow the hat. Therefore, he cannot snipe
strument, ReadingIWriting, berserkfury that theactualwiz- on enemieswith a bow or cross-
(Warrior) Blind-Fighting, En- ard spell provides. bow; he cannot use a polearm
durance. from behind a shield wall. He
The Cavalier is +4 to save vs. hasto be on the front line, meet-
Equipment: The Cavalier all magic which would affect his ing his foes face-to-face.(A Cav-
must start play with (i.e., spend mind, such as the wizard spells alier couldconceivably shoot an
charm person, friends, hypno- opponent with an arrow to stop
his initial gold on)at least tdo tism, sleep, irritation,ray of en- thatopponentfrom killingan in-
feeblement, scare, and geas, nocentperson: that doesn’tcon-
weapons, including one lance and the clerical spells com- stitute a violation of his code.
and one sword, and must then mand, charm person or m a - But he couldn’t shoot the en-
buy the most expensive set of mal, enthrall, cloak of bravery. emy to protect a friend if his
armor he can still afford. After and symbol. friend is fighting that enemy
those expenditures, whatever
remainsof his gold can be spent The Cavalier starts play with honorably . . .even if his friend
on items of his choice. a horse which he does not have
to pay for. This will be either a is losing.)
Special Benefits: The Cava- Heavy Warhorse, Medium War- In any combat, the Cavalier
lier enjoys many special benie- horse, or Light Warhorse (see
fits, including: the Monstrous Compendium. must attack the enemy who is
Volume One entry on Horses). the biggest and most powerful-
At 1stlevel,he getsa + 1to hit The player may choose what looking. If he’s held up by lesser
sort of horse it is, subject to the troops, he must dispatch them
with any lance for which he has DM’s approval. It will automati- as quickly as possible and then
proficiency, when using the cally be a Charger (see the sec- get to his “real” opponent.
lancefrom horseback. This go$s tion on Horse Quality in the
up +1 every six experience Dungeon Master’s Guide. page He must always have the
levels (sohe’ll be +2at 7th level, 36): the DM may roll for its per- highest-qualityarmor he can af-
+3 at 13th. etc.). sonality traits according to ford. As he goes through his
those rules. If this horse dies, early experiencelevels, if he has
At 3rd level, he gets a +1 to the Cavalier has to acquire him- the money, he’ll constantly be
hit with any one type of swoqd self another one through the sellinghisold armorand buying
(his choicefrom among thosehe usual campaign means (buy the next most protective set of
has proficiency with; most co&- one, be given one for noble armor. Hisgoal is to have a set of
mon are broad sword, long deeds, etc.), but will not be con- full plate armor; the next step
sword,bastardsword,and scim- tent with any horsewhich is not down from that is field plate,
itar). This goes up + 1 every six a Warhorse of Charger quality. then plate mail, then bronze
plate mail, then banded or
experience levels (sohe’ll be +I2 The Cavalier receivesa +3 re- splint, then chain, then scale or
action from anyone of his own brigandine, then ring or stud-
at 9th level, +3 at 15th,etc.). culture (except criminals and ded. And to him, magic bonuses
characters of evil alignment, don’t mean as much as the type
At 5thlevel,he getsa + 1to hlit from whom he receivesa -3). of armor: He prefers a suit of or-
dinary field plate to a set of
with either horseman’s mace, And finally, the Cavalier has
horseman’s flail, or horseman’s banded mail +5. The DM must
pick (his choice from amoqg
those he has proficiency witli).

This goes up + 1every six expk-

rience levels (so he’ll be +2 at
11th level, +3 at 17th level,
etc.).

23

rigorously enforce this limita- If the Cavalierbreaks his vow was a freeman, will feel like a

tion on the character if the a third time without repenting naturalized citizen there.) A
player is inclined to ignore it. Gladiator player-character can
and undertaking that task,he be an active gladiator in the
The Cavalier must also fdllow arena, one who adventures in
the very strict Code of Chivplq. has abandoned his Cavalier his free time (or within some
Warrior Kit. He permanently other context of the current ad-
In most AD&D@ game dam- loses all the special benefits of venture), or can have formerly
been a gladiator now living the
paigns, his code includes these the Kit. He no longerhasto obey We of the adventurer.
rules: He must cheerfully per-
form any noble service or quest his knightly code. He receives a In the campaign, the Gladia-
asked of him;he mustdefedd,to permanent -3 reaction adjust-
the death, any person or Item ment from all members of his tor is going to be a showy, hi
placed in his charge; he must own culture (even those who do
show courage and enter@rise profile warrior. He perfor
when obeying his rulera: he not know of his past will be put
must show respect for all peers off by the air of treachery and dangerousstuntsin combat.
and equals; he must honor all
faithlessness that now haunts attracts the attention of c
those above his station (hie so- the man). His horse, even if it is
not the one he began play with, of admirers. He receives a lot of
cial class): he must demanld re- leaves him-either rides offinto
spect and obedience from those the sunset without him, or at- credit for brave deeds whether
tacks him. He may never ride it he deserves the credit or not. A
below his station: he must wrn again, even ifhe killsit tryingto Gladiatorcan be a callousbrute,
those who are lowly and ignoble
do so. See “Abandoning a Kit” a dirty arena fighter with no in-
(he will not help the ill- later in this chapter.
mannered, the coarse. the terests other than killing his en-
Wealth Options:The Cavalier
crude; he will not use e4uip- gets the standard 5d4x10 gp in emy as quickly as possible and
ment which is badly-madeOr in- starting gold. making off with his prize: or he
ferior:he will fight onfootbefore can be a clean-limbed, heroic
riding a nag; etc.); he musti per- Races: Of the demihuman figure, a hero who alwaysfights
form mIlttary service to his lord races, only elves and half-elves honorably in the arena and
may be Cavaliers.
whenever asked; he must $how never kills when he does not
courtesy to all ladies (ifthelcav- mcnpuun: The gladiator is have to.
alier is male); he must rqgard a showman-warriorfrom a soci-
war as the flowering of chi**, ety where public combat com- DMs take note: a Gladiat
and a noble enterprise: he must petitions are a popular sport. character is not likelv to be
regard battle as the test of wan- The gladiator is a professional RangeiYou c a ipermit it if you
hood, and combat as glee; he warrior in this high-profile wish, but Rangers are very
must achieve personal glory in arena;forthedeUght (andblood- wilderness-orientedcharacters,
battle: he must slay all tihose lust) of the crowds, for his own and Gladiators are very urban.
who oppose his cause: arid he personal wealth and aggran- A Ranger could have been cap
must choose death before dis- dizement (or, if he is a slave, for
honor. the profits of his owner). he .tured, enslaved, trained as
fights organized matches
Ifa Cavalierchoosesnot tofol- against human, demihuman, Gladiator,and then escaped ,
low this code, bad things hap and even monstrousopponents. but still, the Ranger and Gladia-
pen.The first time he brealtshis
vows, the DM will warq the There are no special ability- whether there are
player that the Cavalier feels scorerequirementsto be a Glad-
bad about violating his code. tors on his worl
The second time he breaks his iator. allow it: a she-gladiator char
vows, the Cavalier loses aU hi%
special benefits until suchi time Role:For the Gladiator to a p ter could be a-very interesting
as he repents and undertakesa pear in a campaign, the DM one.
dangerous task to redeem;him-
self. When performingthis1task, must establish that at least one Secondary Skills: The G1
he mustbehave accordingIt0 his culture has gladiatorial c o m ator character receives his s
code and his hindrances. Only bats, and the Gladiator charac- ondary skill through what
when thetaskis successfu~lyac- ter must come from such a
complished does he reg& his means is usual for
.. .culture. (He need not have been
campaign-by choice or
born there but he will either
have been a slave there or,if he dom die-roll.This skill p
represents the trade he learned
&?ore

..

II 24

Warrior Kits

Weapon Proficiencies: Re- Gladiators, at least, if not by Myrmidon
quired: short sword (gladius), their own names-wherever
trident. net. Gladiators should Description: The Myrmidon
learn an even mix of normaland they go. This makes it more diiX- is the ultimate soldier. Soldier-
unusual weapons: the DM is ing is his life. He may be a high-
within his rights to insist that cult for them to do things in se- ranking officer or a career
the Gladiator learn one strange cret; some troublesome N E is sergeant; he may belong to one
weapon proficiency (such As always remembering “the tall, nation’s armed forces or may be
whip) for every “normal” profi- f&-haired gladiator’’ who was at a mercenary. To the campaign
ciency (like sword, spear, etc.). the scene of the action, which and the adventuring party, he
(Also, see the Equipment chap- makes it very easy for the au- brings discipline and a useful
ter, under “New Arms” a d thorities to follow the heroes’ understanding of military tac-
“New Armor,” for weapons and trail. (Thisis something the DM tics; he’s often rigid and con-
armor especially appropriate to will havetoenforcescrupulously temptuous of rugged
Gladiator characters.) if the Gladiator is to have hin- individualistsor characterswho
drances offsettinghis benefits.) don’t like to take orders, so he
Nonweapon Proficiencies: can cause a lot of friction in an
Bonus Proficiencies: (Warriok) Also,and thisis strictly a role- adventuringparty, too.
playing consideration, pro-
Charioteering, (Rogue) ’hm- moters and managers are When f i s t created, the Myr-
always interferingin the Gladia- midon’s player must decide
bling (for the combat showman- tor’s life: wing to hire him to whether his character is part of
ship that characterizes areria participate in certain-death a standingarmy or a mercenary
fighting). Recommended (Gen- events,to fightpeople theGladi- unit. If he’s part of a standing
ator doesn’t want to fight, to army. he’semployed as a soldier
eral) Animal Handling, Animal force him to participate in or officerin thearmy of a nation,
eventstaking place at the exact large regian, city guard, or even
naining, Etiquette, Riding time the Gladiator needs to be palace/castle guard. If he’s p a
somewhereelse, etc. These pro- of a mercenary unit, he belongs
(Land-Based), (Warrior) Ar- moters will go to any length to to a group of freelance soldiers
get their way; they may black- who hire themselves to just
morer, Blind-Fighting, Endur- mail the character, kidnap his about anyone who can pay; or
ance, Gaming, Weapom- followers, use the time-honored may be a personal bodyguard.
smithing, (Priest) Healing (do@- bait of a gorgeous romantic in- The DM will have the deciding
ble slotsunless Paladin). terest (whom the Gladiator vote in what sort of force the
doesn’t immediately realize is Myrmidon helongs to: if, for in-
Equipment: The Gladiator an employee of the promoter), stance, the DM doesn’t want to
may buy any sort of no*- and so forth. have an.al1-military campaign,
magicalweapon or combinatiw he’ll probably insist that the
of weapons before beginniqg To make sure this is regarded Myrmidon be a mercenary, cur-
play. However, he must c h w e
his armor from the listing of as a hindrance, the DM should rently employed by a player-
Gladiator Armor in the Equip- make it clear that these pro- character or NPC important to
moters are mostly of the sleazy
ment chapter, under “New At- variety who will cheat, rob and the current story.
betray him at the drop of a hat. However, in the course of the
mors.”
Wealth Options: The Gladia- campaign. the Myrmidon’s em-
Special Benefits: Gladiators, tor gets the standard 5d4x10gp ployment can change, once or
to spend, and may spend it any several times. He may start out
because of their intensive trahp- way he chooses (subject to the as a mercenary bodyguard:
ing, get a free Weapon Speciali- restrictions listed in “Equip later in the campaign, he may
zation (see under “Weapon ment,” immediately above) or find himself commanding a
have it all unspent at the begin- small mercenary force in a bor-
Specialization” in the 2nd W- ning of play. der war: later still, be may ac-
cept a commission in the king’s
tion Player’s Handbook). This Races Any demihuman war- army and find himself a regular
doesn’t cost any of their begid- rior can be a Gladiator. Opera- officer.
ning weapon proficiencies: tors of the arenas try to acquire
They still get all four of those, The choice of whether the
and get this Specialization free. as many different. unusual character is of a non-commis-
It must be chosen from one cbf fightersasthey can,by hiringor sionedrank (such asrecruit. pri-
the following weapons: bow enslaving them, and demihu-
(choice), cestus., dagger, dru- mans (when they can be ac-
sus’, lasso*, net’, scimitar, quired) are major attractions.
short sword, spear. trident. anid

whip. (The “*” indicates a new

weaponfoundin the Equipmerlt
chapter.)

Special Hindrances G l a a -
tors tend to be recognized-*

25

I vate, or sergeant] or an officer’s Equipment: The Myrmidon A second hindranceis his em-
may spend his starting gold on ployer. Naturally, his employer
rank (such ascaptain)is entirely whatever sort of arms, armor, makes many demands on the
up to the DM.who’ll make his and equipment he chooses. If, Myrmidon. If the Myrmidonis a
choice based on what works when he’s first created, it is bodyguard. he must accom-
agreedthat he’ll be part of a spe- pany his employer just about
best in his campaign’s current cific military force with specific everywhere, regardless of any
storyline. equipment requirements, he’s personal goals or interests the
requiredto buy that equipment, Myrmidon has. If the Myrmidon
’lb be a Myrmidon,the charac- but the DM must give him extra is a common soldier, he’s sub-
ter must have scores of at least gold in the amount of half that ject to the orders of his officers.
12 in Strength and Constitu- cost. If the Myrmidon is a military of-
tion. ficer. he’ssubjectto the ordersof
Special Benefits. The Myrmi- his superiors or the local ruler,
Role: In the campaign’s cul- don has two advantagesof note: and bears the added stress of
having to look out for his men
ture, the Myrmidon is.a career First. he gets a free Weapon whenever they’re engaged in
soldier. In times .of war, they’re Specialization.He must choose military action.
heroes to the nation. In times of it from the following group: Bat-
peace. the common folk often tle axe, Bow (composite long Wealth Options: The Myrmi-
look on themas parasites,living bow, composite short bow, or don receives the standard
offtaxesbut providingno useful long bow). Crossbow (heavy 5d4x10 gp starting gold.
service. Mercenaries are often crossbow or light crossbow),
looked on as bandits and preda- Lance (choice), Polearm Races:Depending on the way
tors. Regardless of the public’s (choice), Spear, Sword (choice).
opinion, though, the Myrmidon theDMhas setthecampaignup,
and the standing m y are nec- Second, the Myrmidonis usu- any demihuman race can have
essary to the defense of the na- ally in the employ of some pow- Myrmidons. Mercenary Myrmi-
tion, and so there are always erful patron. The DM will have don demihumanswill be travel-
Myrmidonsto be found. to decide what immediatebene- ling mostly in human-occupied
fits this grants him: they vary lands, while Myrmidondemihu-
Secondary Skills: If you’re with the type of employer he is mans in standing armies will
using the Secondary Skills working for. usually stick to their own race’s
rules, the myrmidon^ may
choose his Secondary Skill, but For instance, if he’s working territories . . . although some
must choose it from the follow- for a wealthy nobleman, he
ing list: Armorer, Bowyerl won’t have to spend any money special ones 1i.e.. the player-
Fletcher, Forester, Groom, for room and board and will en- characters)will often find them-
Hunter. Leatherworker, Naviga- joy an upper-classexistence.
tor, Sailor. Scribe, Teamster/ selvessent out on special quests
Freighter,Weaponsmith. Or, if he’s part of a standing
army, he may be immune to and adventures all over the
Weapon Profieiencies: The prosecution by the civilian au- campaign world.
Myrmidon may spend his thorities (though he can cer-
Weapon Proficiency slots any tainly face court martial for ... .I
way’he chooses. misdeeds).
lis character
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Special Hindrances: The is of the-nobility, and theoreti-
Bonus Proficiencies: Ancient Myrmidonis instantly recogniz- cally represents everything the
History (specifically Military able by his military demeanor, rulingclassstands for. In classic
History), Fire-Building. Recom- erect posture, disciplined man- medieval fantasy, this means
mended: (General) A m Han- nerisms, etc. (There are plenty chivalry. the protection of
dling, Cooking,Heraldry,Riding of soldiersand mercenarieswho
(Land-based). Seamanship, aren’tMyrmidonswho aren’t so women (those who want to be
Swimming, Weather Sense. distinctive.) Because he is dis-
(Priest, doubleslots unless Pala- tinctive, the Myrmidon is easily protected, that is-it’s a bad
din) Readinglwriting, (Rogue, remembered and described by
double slots) Disguise, (Warrior) witnesses to his adventures: idea to try to protect a woman
Armorer, Blind-Fighting. Bow- this makes it easier for the en-
yer/Fletcher. Charioteemg, En- emy to identify him and follow warrior anxiousto prove herself
durance, Navigation. Set his trail if he’s trying to escape in combat), and (especially) up-
Snares, Survival, ’Racking, or travel through dangerouster- holding the rights of the ruling
Weaponsmithing, (Wizard, dou- class to rule (and upholding the
ble slots unless Ranger) rights of the other classes to
Readinglwriting.
serve . . .). Noble Warriors in

most campaigns are called
Kni&ts or Sauires. though me-



ent designations and be based horses, and don’t forget this Warrior is Wth level, the patron
on different sources than medi- skill when they themselves be- will offer shelter for the Noble
eval European history. come knights. Warrior and up to nine of his
companions). In his own land,
?b be a Noble Warrior, a char- Weapon Proficiencies: Un- the Noble Warrior can adminis-
acter must have Strength and less the campaign deals with a ter low justice upon common-
Constitution scores of 13 or cultureunlike medievalEurope, ers-act asjudge, jury and exe-
better-it‘s what comesof being all NobleWarriors must take the cutioner for minor crimes he
forced to train in heavy plate ar- following proficiencies: long comes across (the definition of
mor for so many years. sword or bastard sword (player “minor crimes” is necessarily
choice), lance (player choice of up to the DM of the campaign,
Role: In a campaign, the No- type, usually jousting lance), but in general should include
ble Warrior is a romantic ideal and horseman’s flail or horse- things like assault, petty theft,
man’smace (player choice). The etc.).
which most of society looks up last proficiencymay be used for
to. The Noble Warrior is sup- a weapon of the warrior’schoice Special Hindrances: In order
posed to be courageous,gallant, or to specialize in one of the re- to become a Noble Warrior, the
protective of the defenseless, quired choices. character has sworn an oath of
dedicated to honorable ideals. loyalty to some greater noble. If
Nonweapon Proficiencies: he’ssquireto aknight,he hasan
But that’s just what society Bonus Proficiencies: (General) oath to his knight. If he’s a
expects of the Noble Warrior. Etiquette, Heraldry, Riding knight himself, he’s sworn an
Some theoretically Noble War- (Land-Based). Recommended: oath to his king or some other
riors are mere brutes in shiny (General) Animal ’lkaining, noble-or perhapsto both. He’ll
armor, warriors who take what Dancing, (Warrior) Blind- be expected to live up to that
they want, murder the inno- Fighting, Gaming. Hunting, oath from time to time: Accom-
cent,and continuallybetray the ’lkacking, (Priest, cost double pany his lord into combat, pro-
oaths they took when they f m t slots unless Paladin) Local His- vide troops to his lord, even
won their spurs. So it‘s up to an tory, Musical Instrument, beggar his own householdin or-
individualplayer to decidewhat Readinflriting. der to supporthis lords needs.
alignment his Noble Warrior
takesand how well helivesup to Equipmenk The Noble War- Additionally, the Noble War-
the pertinent ideals. rior may spend his gold pretty rior is expectedtolive well. After
much as he chooses-but there he is created, he must add
Whether the Noble Warrior are certain minimumstandards + 10%to the base cost of goods,
characteris a Knightor a Squire he cannot violate. He cannot equipment, and services he is
(or some other designation) de- buy armor less protective than buying-for each experience
pends on the campaign and its brigandineor scale mail. Before level bebas-to reflecthis noble
DM. From the viewpoint of con- startingplay, he mustbuy a suit tastes and requirements.
venience,it’sbestfor NobleWar- of m o r , a shield, at least one
rior characters to begin play as weapon larger than a dagger, a Thisextracostisnotjusta ti1
young knights who have just horse (at least a riding horse), The character is buying higher-
won their spurs: this will ac- riding saddle, bit 8r bridle, quality goods. Here’s how it
countfor the fact that they have horseshoes and shoeing, halter works.
little money (they’re just start- and saddleblanket.
ing out as free-lancers) or fol- Example: Sir Amstard ride
lowers, and for the fact that Special Benefits: The Noble
they’re wandering around ad- Warrior starts with more gold into town.He’s in need ofa new
venturing: they’re anxious to sword,a night’s lodging at the
provetheir mettle. If the DMpre- than other Warrior Kits see be- inn for himself and his squire,
fers, the starting Noble Warrior low under Wealth Options. The and meals and baths for both.
could be the squire for an NPC Noble Warrior receives a +3 re-
knight, one who is aging and He’s a 5th-levelNoble Wm-or.
needs the stout sword-arm of a action from anyone of his own He stops by a weaponmaker.
young squire: but here, the DM culture. When travelling,he can
demand shelter from anyone in The basic cost for a long sword
has to run the NPC knight until his own nation who is of lower is 15gp. Amstardmustchoosea
social status than he. Most peo- better weapon than the “basic
it‘s time for the squirecharacter ple of his own status or higher long sword,” and so chooses a
to leave his knight. will offer him shelterwhen he is more decorative one having the
travelling-up to two persons exact same combat characteris-
Secondary Skills: AU Noble times the Noble Warrior’s expe- tics, but costing 22gp and 5 sp.
riencelevel. (Thatis. ifthe Noble
Warrior characters must take He goes to the inn. The basic
the Groom skill. Squires are ex- 28 rate at that specac fnn is 2 gp
pected to care for their knights’
I

per night per person. A m s t a d him visited by a nice, large campaign-world’s peasants.
won’t settle for the basic room. Short sword, spear, bow, foot-
though. and so pays 3 gp per crowd of nobles to whom he is man’s weapons and the like are
night per person, aU for better all very appropriate; horse-
qualitynwms.Hepays 6gp.one ..expected to offer shelter and man’s weapons. exotic po-
night’s stay for himself and his learms, lances, long swords,
food. and who proceed to eat tridents and the like are not.
squire. him out of house and home. This is only a restriction when
the characterlsdtlst created: af-
The two baths would be 3 cp Wealth Opttons: The Noble terwards, of c o w , he canlearn
each, or 6 total. Amstard, Warrior begins play with more any weapon hereceivestraining
gold than other Warrior Kits:he with.
though. must have soap and a receives 225 gp plus the stand-
ard 5d4x10gp. But do notforget Nonweapon Proficiencies:
brush and the water heated es- that he is required to spend a Bonus Proficiencies: Agricul-
ture or Fishing (player choice),
peclally for him {and for his ...large portton of that on specific Weather Sense or Animal Lore
[player choice). Recommended:
...squire, tool;total cast is 9 cp. items described above Any of the General proficien-
Andsoon Races: It‘s appropriate for any Cies.
If the Noble Warrior is unable
to spend this extra money be- sort of demihuman race to have Equipment: The Peasant
cause of lack of funds, he can a class of Noble Warriors. Hero may spend his starting
gold any way he sees fit, but
..settlefor lessergoods. but his Peasant Hero may have no morethan 3 gp left
when he begins play.
bonus to Reaction rolls will be Description: The Peasant
reduced. at -1 per such inci- Hero is the “local boy done Special Benefits No matter
dent, until it reaches +O, to re- good:’ the home-town warrior what he’s done or what anyone
flect the fact that people are who fights and adventures to thinks of him,the Peasant Hero
seeing that he is settling for the delight of the people in his alwayshasshelter and often has
shabbier goods and otherwise home area. The PeasantHero is other help when he’s in his own
the most common sort of fighter community. Unless it is known
not living up to thetr expecta- found wandering the land and that the Peasant Hero has hurt
adventuring: every village has people from his own commu-
tions of how a noble warrior one or has had one within living nity,he’ll always find people to
should live. At the DMs discre- memory. put him up, hide him and com-
tion, other problems may follow panions from the law. supply
this: Nobles fail to offer him There are no ability-score re- them with food and drink and
shelter or help because he’s what little weaponry can be
such a shabby specimen, he quirements to be a Peasant scraped together (usually dag-
gets a reputation as a penny- Hero. gers), and even provide them
pincher, etc. with helpers-earnest 0-level
Role: In the campaign, the youths who want to grow up to
’zb retain his bonus, when the Peasant Hero is the fellow who be like their hero.
Noble Warrior is once again in won’t forget that his roots are in
the money he must do whatever the country and in the soil. He Special Hindrances: Since
it takes to upgrade his situation can be a rebel against the crown the Peasant Hero is looked upon
(buy new clothes, go on a buy- in lands where the peasants are as a patron and hero by the peo-
ing spree, etc.. at the DMs dis- especially oppressed; he can be ple from his home, they will fre-
the farmboy who becomes a quently come to him for help.
cretion) and his +3 reaction will mighty general; he can be the Whenever the village is lasing
noble’s child (secretly raised by
return. peasants)who grows up tofuwl people to nocturnal predators,
an ancient prophecy: but in
If a Noble Warrior gets a bad every case, he remembers his whenever a village overlord
reputation. deservedly or unde- origins and strives to make
things better for his family and turns out to be a dangerous ty-
servedly, his +3 reaction be- home community.
comes a -6 reaction from rant, whenever a local citizen is
everybody who knows of the Secondary Skills: The player jailedand tried for somethinghe
reputation. may choose his character’s see- didn’t do, the citizens turn to
ondary skill. the PeasantHerofor help. And if
And just as other nobles a x
expected to extendshelter tothe Weapon Proficiencies: The -he turns them away. he loses
player may choose his charac-
Noble Warrior, he is expected to ter’s weapon proficiencies. but their respect and earns a 2 re-
offer other nobles shelter when may notchoose any that the DM
they are travelling through his feels would be unusual for his

territory-or when they meeton

the road wM,e he is encamped
and they are not. etc. Whenever
a Noble Warrior characteris get-

ting too cocky,the DM canhave

29

actionfrom all of the peasantsin and his Merry Men, where the skill), Tightrope Walking, ’hm-
theland until he is onceagain in outlaws robbed from the rich bling, (Wizard, double slots un-
his home community’s good and gave to the poor, and pro- less Ranger) Engineering (for
tected the defenseless with shipbuilding), ReadinglWriting
$races.
Wealth Options: The Peasant more honor and zeal than En- (for mapmaking). Outlaw’s Bo-
Hero gets the standard 5d4x10 gland‘s supposedly Noble War- nus Proficiencies: Direction
gp starting money. riors did. Sense, Fire-Building. Outlaw’s
Races: The Peasant Hero is a Naturally, if a player chooses Recommended Proficiencies:
dlstlnctlyhuman sort of charac- tobe a goodguy in a companyof (General) Riding (Land-Based),
ter; it’salso appropriate to half- bad guys, or vice-versa, when (Warrior) Animal Lore, Bowyer/
lings, and to half-elves living hiscompanionsfind out histrue Fletcher, Endurance, Hunting,
among humans. But no other colors, they’ll probably try to Running, Set Snares, Survival,
demihumansshould have Peas- kill him or to turn him in to the ’Racking, (Priest, double slots
ant Hero characters unless the law for the reward on his head. unless Paladin)Healing,Herbal-
DM decides that their cultures Secondary Skills:If the char- ism, Local History, (Rogue,dou-
are very much like rural human acter is a Pirate,roll d100for his ble slots) Disguise. SpecialNote:
society. SecondarySkill. On a 01-70, his Your DM may be a fan of the very
Secondary Skill is Sailor; on a acrobatic pirate or outlaw mov-
71-80,it‘sshipwright; on 81-00, ies of the past, and prefer that
Pirate/Outlaw it’s Navigator. If the characteris ’hmbling be one of your Bonus

Description: This character an Outlaw, the character may Proficiencies instead of one of
is the heroic scofflaw, the war- choose between Bowyerl the ones listed: check with him
rior who defies the laws, and Fletcher, Forester, Hunter, and to see if this is so.
rulers of the land and steers his ?t’apper/Furrier. Equipment: Pirates and Out-
Weapon Proficiencies: If the laws come from widely diverse
own course. Usually in the com-
pany of other piratesoroutlaws, character is a Pirate, he must backgrounds, so there’s no real
he fights the minions of the take the followingproficiencies: restrictionon what they can buy
riders he defies,and comestobe Cutlass’, and Belaying Pin* or with their starting money. How-
regarded as a hero by others Gaff/Hook* (player choice). If ever, it would be foolish foreither
who suffer at those rulers’ the character is an Outlaw, he typeof character tobuy metal ar-
hands. The Pirate, of course, is .can take any weapon proficien- mor ofany kind (banded, brigan-
the adventurer of the high seas, dine, bronze plate, chain, field
cies he chooses . . but the DM,
who makes his living raiding if he’s created this campaign so plate, full plate, plate mail, and
other ships and seacoast corn- that the outlaws have a special ring mail). Pirates wearing such
;the Outlaw makes his motif weapon (such as Robin armorin navalcombatwill inevi-
the wilderness (often Hood’s Merry Men and their tably fall overboard and sink
deep forest) and preys on the longbows) may insist that all (they can’t swim with such stuff
traffic moving through that wil- Outlaw characters take a spe- on); if they’re lucky enough to
derness. cifc weapon proficiency. Rec- get it off so they can swim,
There are no special ability- ommended to classic Merry they’ve lost the armor. Outlaws
score requirements to be a Pi- Man-type outlaws are longbow, living out in the wild have their
rate or Outlaw. long sword and quarterstaff. belongings exposed to the ele-
Rak, In a campaign, the pi- (The ”*” symbol indicates a ments, and metal armor quickly
rate or outlaw can belong to one new weapon found in theEquip- corrodes. Therefore. it‘s up to the
of two orientations.Either he’sa ment chapter.) DMto keep thingsin balance.If a
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Pirate or Outhvrbuys metal ar-
“goodguy,” and it is the law and
the rulerswho are evil. or he is a Pirate’s Bonus Proficiencies: mor and keeps it stowed away
“bad guy” and simply takes (General) Rope Use, Seaman- for special occasions(major land
what he wants from those who ship. Pirate’s Recommended engagements, climactic battles,
have it. The player, therefore. Proficiencies: (General) Swim- etc.), that‘s fine. But if they wear
gets to decideon his character’s ming, Weather Sense, (Warrior) such stuff all the time, the DM
alignmentand (mis)deeds. Navigation, (Priest, double slots should continually take it away
Note, though, that good guy unless Paladin)Engineering(for from them through accidents,
and outlaws tend to live shipbuilding), ReadinglWriting rust and corrosion, etc.
very strict code of (for mapmaking), (Rogue, dou- Special Benefits: Pirates and
t-for example, the clas- ble slots)Appraising, SetSnares Outlaws do not have any intrin-
t sic cinema code ofRobin Hood (in m i a t i o n with Rope Use sic sDecial benefits, although
I1 I

s Warrior Kits

the DM can bestow some Pirate Warrior Kit, however. calledronin.The ronin has all of
They could instead become the abilities of the samurai, but
campaign-based benefits on Privateers-who are basically operatesunder slightly different
pirates sailing under the papers rules. as you will see below.
them if he chooses. For in- of (permission of) their ruler, With your DM’spermission,you
stance. in many Pirate settings, and preying on the nation’sene- can create your character as a
there is a powerful pirate city mies. At that point, they can ronin instead of a samurai. A
where the PCs can go to trade still behavejust as they did pre- samurai can become a ronin at
their ill-gotten gains, a place viously, and the other nation’s any time in a campaign: like-
where the law dares not enter: authorities become their spe- wise, by swearingallegianceto a
this makes it easier for them to cifc enemy. lord who will have him, a ronin
disposeof their goodsand enjoy can become a samurai again.
the benefitsof a home city when Samurai
otherwise they wouldn’t have Beforeyou createa samuraior
DescriptiomThe samuraiis a
one. As another example, in a warrior from cultures based on ronin character, ask your DM if
the medieval Japanese civiliza-
“Merry Men” type outlaw cam- tion. He lives by a very strict such things exist on his world
paign. the heroes have the dubi- code of honor and behavior, a and if you may play one. It could
ous benefit of knowing that code demanding: absolute obe- be that the DM does not wish to
they’re on the right side and if dience to his lord: readiness to allow samurai and ronin in his
they can just oust the current die for honor or for his lord at campaign (because the cam-
rulers (probably restoring the any time: eagerness to avenge paign world has no oriental set-
proper rulers in the process), any dishonor to his lord, his ting to act as their origin, for
they’ll have their fortunes re- family,or himself;willingnessto instance).
stored or enhanced, the land repay all debts honorably: and
will once again be bright and unwillingness to demonstrate secondary Shills: A samurai
shiny, and everyone will live the most dishonorable trait of
happily ever after. cowardice, or ronin must have the Scribe

Special Hindrances: The ma- Samurai must have mini- secondary skill.
jor problem with being an out- mum scores of 13 in Strength, Weapon Proficiencies: The
law or pirate is that the law is Wisdom, and Constitution,and
always after the characters. of 14in Intelligence. They may samurai and ronin start play
Though the authorities do not be of lawful alignment only (but with two free extra weapon pro-
have to put in an appearancein still may be good, evil, or neu- ficiency slots-that‘s the good
every single play-session, news. The bad news is that, of
they’re always out there, plot- tral). his six initial weapon proficien-
ting against the heroes. Many of Role: In a campaign, unless cies, five are chosen for him.
them are quite clever,they prob- The samurai and ronin must
ably have more money, ships the campaign itself is set in an specialize in katana* (samurai
and men than the heroes, and eastern culture, the Samurai is sword, two proficiency slots)
they’ll continue to plague the presentto providea touch of the and daikyu. (samurai great
heroes until the campaign is exotic (culture clashes are al- bow, three proficiency slots).
done. ways very interesting in a cam- The samurai or ronin may
paign): it also allows for a spendhis last proficiencyslot as
Wealth Options: Pirate and variety of warrior who can be
tremendously deadly. he chooses . . . but only from
Outlaw characters get the
standard5d4x10gp for starting A samurai can fall from his among the samurai weapons
gold. noble position within a greater listed in the Equipmentchapter
lords household. It may be that
Races: Outlaws and Pirates, the house has perished in a war of thisbook. (The “*” symbolin-
unless your campaign is very or other calamity, or that the
human-oriented, will take just samurai’slord has rejectedhim, dicates a new weapon to be
about anyone they can get. so or ordered him to commit sui- found in the Equipment chap-
it’s perfectly appropriate for cide and the samurai has ter.) After the character is in
there to be Outlaws and Pirates refused,or that the samuraihas play in another culture, he may
of the demihumanraces. left his lordfor some other point becomeproficientin weaponsof
of honor. Regardless,the samu- that other culture.
Note In a Pirate campaign, it rai is now masterless: he is
could be that the player- Nonweapon Proficiencies:
characterswill eventually come Bonus Proficiencies: Etiquette,
to terms with the authorities Riding (Land-Based). Required
and “go straight.” This doesn’t (samurdronin must purchase
mean they have to abandon the these, but gets no extra slots to
pay for them): (Priest and Wiz-
ard, costs double slots unless
Paladin or Ranger) Reading/

31

I ‘c$/

I

Writing. Recommended: Gen- he is subservientto hislord.The beautiful native princess from a
eral-Artistic Ability/Calligra- renin has his own great dEi- culture which the characters
phy, Artistic AbilitylPainting, culty: He earns experience consider impossibly primitive
points at half the normal rate. and yet uncorrupted and very
(Warrior) Blind-Fighting, Run- When the DM awards the char-
acters their experience, the noble. . .and so on.Inshort,the
ning. roninreceivesonly half what he
Equipment: The samuraiand would if he were still a samurai. tribal culture from which the
This particular hindrance goes Savage character comes can be
ronin must buy all their starting away when the character once ascrudeor civil,coarseor noble,
equipment from the samurai again swearsallegianceto a lord nasty or admirable as the play-
weapons, armor and equipment ers and DM want it to be.
listed in the Equipmentchapter. and becomes a samurai. (Of
’lb be a Savage, a character
They may haveno morethan 10 course, once he’s a samurai
again, he is subject to the hin- must have a minimumStrength
gp left when they have pur- drances of the samurai.)
chased their equipment.Samu- scoreof 11and a minimumCon.
rai and ronin do not have to buy Wealth Options:The samurai
their katana; that is free to the and ronin start with the normal stitution score of 15.
character. 5d4x10 gp beginningmoney.
Role: In a campaign, the sav-
Special Benefits: The samu- Races: The historical brece- age character has a couple of
rai and ronin are able to focus
their vital energies to increase dent for the samurai is strictly roles. His particular skills and
their Strength score-tem- human, so it‘s up to the individ- benefitsareof use to the average
porarily. Once per day per expe- ual DM if he wants to have an adventuring party. If he comes
rience level. the samurai or oriental-based demihuman cul- from a particularly noble tribe,
ronin can increase his Strength ture with a samurai warrior he may choose to act as the
to 18/00. This lasts for one full class. Such a thing is perhaps “voice of conscience” for the ad-
round,and mustbe precededby most visually appropriate to venturing party, asking why, if
a loud kia‘shout (making it im- elves and half-elves. but a DM the other characters are sup-
possiblefor him tosummon this could allow it to any demihu- posed to be so much more civi-
strength silently or stealthily). man race in his campaign. lized than his own people, their
For that one round, all his hit honor and ethics seem to drag
probability, damage adjust- Note:Playersand DMswishing so far behind? But for the most
ment, weight allowance, maxi- to have more game-oriented in- part, he’s a role-playing chal-
mum press, open doors, and formation on the samurai should lenge, and should be chosen
bend barsllift gates rolls and read Oriental Adventures, an only by playerswilling to devote
functionsare calculatedas ifhis A L M P game supplement deal- the extra effort to portraying
Strength were 18/00. ing exclusively with the topic of someone from such a different
easterncampaigns. YourDMmay
Special Hindrances: The adapt anythinghe choosesto use culture .. . and how that char-
samurai and ronin have differ- from that supplement to ADgd)“
ent special hindrances. The 2nd Edition game rules and sta- acter reacts with the other PCs’
samurai is (supposed to bel ab- tistics. The samurai presented culture. This is an opportunity
solutely devoted to his lord. He here is a simpliiled version of the
is expected instantly to obey OAsamurai. for a lot ofhumor and not a little
every one of his lord‘s orders. up
to and including killing himself Savag- tragedy in a campaign . . . but
or those he loves. If he refusesto
obey an order, he is dishonored Description: The Savage is a - -onlv ifthe ulaver is willing to go
and is expected to kill himself. tribesman, technologically and
(If he does not, he becomes culturally far more primitive -to that effoirt.
than even the Barbarian and
ronin.) The D M should make Berserker, who is very much in Secondary Skills The Sav-
tune with the natural world.
sure that the samurai is acutely age character should have
aware of this by having his lord A Savage can be an honorable Fisher, Forester, Hunter, or
occasionallyissue orders which jungle vine-swinger raised by ?fapper/Funier as his Second-
are difficult for him to keep. animals,a very dirty and primi- ary Skill (player choice).
This doesn’t always have to be tive warrior who lives in mud-
“Kill all of your allies.” but the wattlehutsand fightswith bone Weapon Proficiencies: The
lord can issue orders which in- weapons, a breathtakingly DM should d e f i e a set of weap-
terfere with the samurai’s per- onswhich the PC can choosehis
beginning weapon proficiencies
sonalgoalsand remindhim that from. A typical set, for classic
“noble savages”: blowgun, long
bow, short bow, club, dagger,
javelin. knife, sling, spear. The
character must make his first-
level weapon proficienciesselec-
tions from these choices. Once
he begins play and begins ad-

I1

venturing in the outer world, he to four of the weapons listed un- just to stay alive than other
der “New Savage Weapons” in characters. Another, substan-
.may learn any other weapon, of the Equipmentchapter.He may tial, benefit the Savage receives
assemble an equipment list of is this: He has a special ability,
course , . but it’s better role- up to ten additional items, sub- resembling a spell, which he
ject to the DMs approval,which may use once per day per expe-
playing if he prefers to stick to he will have accumulated dur- rience level he has (Le., a 5th-
the weapons of his tribe. ing his yearswith the tribe; they levelsavagecoulduse hisability
must be items which members five times per day).
Nonweapon Proficiencies: of a savage tribe could have
Bonus Proficiencies: (General) made (things such as pouches, The special ability must be
DirectionSense,Weather Sense, clothing, food, rope, fishing chosen from the listbelow,must
(Warrior) Endurance, Survival. gear, sheathesfor weapons, and be chosen when the characteris
Recommended: (General) Ani- so forth-no mirrors, lanterns, first created, and may never be
mal Handling,Animal Training, iron cookingpots,and the like.) changed. The special ability is
Fire-Building, Fishing, Riding With the DMs permission,if the not truly magic, and Detect
(Land-based),Rope Use, Swim- tribe is a river-tribe or a riding magic will not detect it; it is an
ming, (Warrior) Animal Lore, tribe, he may have either a rid- ability natural to the Savage. It
BowyerlFletcher. Hunting, ing horse (with saddle-blanket, does not require verbal, so-
Mountaineering, Running, Set halter, bit and bridle) or a small matic, or material components,
Snares, llacking, (F’riest, dau- canoe. even if such are required from
ble slots unless Paladin) Heal- the normal spell.
ing, Herbalism, Local History, Special Benefi&. One of the
Religion, (Rogue, double slots) Savage’s special benefits is that The list:
Jumping, Tightrope Walking, he receives more bonus non- (1) Alarm (Wizard 1st Level).
llunbling, (Wizard, double slots weapon proficiencies than any Specialeffects:This is only usa-
unless Ranger) Herbalism, Reli- other type of warrior- ble by the Savage when he is
gion. testimony to the fact that the resting or sleeping in a quiet
Savage must know more skills place. The ability does not
Equipment: The Savage gets sound an alarm like the spell; it
no gold (0 gp)with which to pur-

chase his weapons and equip-
ment. Instead, he may take up

merely alerts the Savage to in- wearing any sort of clothing then escaped?What is he, a Sav-
trusion (if he is already awake) more cumbersomeand conceal- age or a Gladiator?”
or awakenshim (if he is asleep).
It is not cast upon a particular ing than his normal tribal dress, That‘s up to you to answer. If
he still considers himself a
place: it alerts him to activity he suffers a -1 to all attack, member of his tribe and has not
damage and nonweapon profi- been distanced from it by his
within 10feet of the placewhere ciency rolls: he’s uncomforta- capture and training, take the
he lies (asifhe were atthe center ble, and it’s affectinghis actions Savage Warrior Kit: perhaps
of the 20-foot cube of effect of and reactions. your DM will allow you to use
the actual spell). some of your proficiencies to
Likewise, he can wear any learn weapons and skills appro-
(2) Detect Magic Wizard 1st type of armor, but is so uncom- priate to Gladiators.Likewise,if
Level). Special effects: This re- fortablein it that he will suffer a the character is now more ur-
flects the fact that the Savage is -3 to all attack, damage, and ban than savage,build him with
in tune with nature and can feel nonweapon proficiency rolls
when there is somethingunnat- while wearing any sort of armor theGladiatorWarrior Kit. . .but
at all. If a player blatantly de-
ural (Le., magical) in the air. Un- cidesnot to role-playhis charac- have him use some of his profi-
ter’sdislikeof armorand simply ciencies on Savage skills and
less the Savage is alsoa Ranger, wears armor continually, ac- weapons.
cepting that negative modifier,
he cannotdetermine the typeof the DM should gradually in- The Same sort of theory ap-
crease the modifier: -3 in one pliesif you’re creatingany char-
magic present @.e., alteration, acter with a complicated
conjuration, etc.). play-session,-4 in thenext, -5 background A Barbarian youth
brought up in the traditions of a
(3) Animal Friendship (Priest in the next, and so on . . . with Samurai, an Amazon lass who
1st Level). Special effects: This hasgrown up to be a Knight(No-
ability can only make friends of no limit. If the player asks why ble Warrior),a Pirate boy who
an animal which is not angry or this is happening, the DM need gave up the seas and took to be-
threatened. It can be used to merely reply that the character ing a big-city Swashbuckler. De-
make an angry or threatened is growing more and more un- cide which Warrior Kit the
animal calm. IIb make friends comfortable in his unnatural character considers himself to
with an angry or threatenedani- trappings and finding it harder belong to, create him with that
mal, therefore,the Savagemust and harder to concentrate on Kit, and use some of your profi-
be able to use the ability twice thejob at hand. ciencies to buy weapons-
that day (i.e., he must be of 2nd knowledgeand skills pertaining
level or higher) and must have Wealth Options: The Savage to the other Kit.
two uses left. ’Ib use the ability,
the Savage must confront the starts out with no gold. He gets Swashbuckler
animal, face to face. at no fur- hisstartingweaponsasdescribed
ther away than the limits of the above, under Equipment. After Description: The Swash-
animal‘s attack range. As with the campaign starts, the charac- buckler is the sophisticated,
the spell, the Savagemust actu- ter will inevitably come across witty, lightly armed and ar-
ally have no ulteriormotives,for the concepts of money: it’s up to mored hero in a sophisticated
such will be detectedby the ani- the player how he reacts to them city-based campaign-a la The
mal,and the ability will fail. (hecould either like the idea and ThreeMusketeers. He’s fully ca-
try to accumulate the stuffashis pable of putting on heavy ar-
(4) Detect Evil (Pn’est 1st allies do, or put it down to civi- mor, picking up a bastard
Level). Special effects: this is b e d corruption and stay away sword, and soldiering alongside
like the Detect Magic ability, from it).
above. Like the Priest spell, this other tank warriors . . . but he
DetectEvil cannot detect evil in Races: Most role-playingcam-
a PC-only in a monster, place. shines in comparison when the
or magical item. paignstendto thinkof thedemi- heroes are adventuring in the
humans as being more civilized city, in light armor and with
The DM can disallow any of and cultured than humans, but light weapons.
the four abilities given above, or it‘s perfectly all right to have
introduce new ones-though he Savage dwarves. elves. gnomes. ’lb be a Swashbuckler,a char-
can’t add anything that resem- half-elves,and even halflings in
bles a magical spell above 1st your campaignif the DM wishes acter must have an Intelligence
level. them to be there. and Dexterity of 13or better.

Special Hindrances: The Note: “But:’ you say, “what if Role: In a campaign, the
Savage has some drawbacks, my character grew up in a Sav- Swashbuckler is the happy-go-
too. He is uncomfortahlein civi-
lized clothes and armor-When age mbe and was later enslaved

and trained as a Gladiator and

34

II

lucky hero with the ready wit which h’e has specialized, but dress, wielding a narrow blade,
and the flashing rapier. He’s except for that limitation may will work fine-as a Swashbuck-
happiest when he’s in the big spend his gold precisely as he ler, especially elves. half-elves
city. but can be an imposing pleases. and halflings. Dwarves and
warrior anywhere-enemies of- Special Benefits: The Swash- gnomes are not entirely inap-
ten underestimate him because buckler has three special bene- propriate,but are likely to have
of his charming manners and fits. First. when using up his to defend themselves from
don’trealizethathe can plate on Nonweapon Proficiency slots, plenty ofjokes at the expense of
armorand wield heavy weapons he doesn’t have to devote dou- their curiouslooks.
as well as anyone else. The ble the normal number of slots
Swashbuckler, because he’s when choosingRogue proficien-
bright and well-spoken, often cies. Second, when he’swearing Wilderness Warrior

becomes party leader . . . or at light or no armor (i.e., no armor, Description: This hero repre-
leather armor, or padded ar- sentssome tribe (eithercivilized
least the leader’s spokesman. mor), he receivesa -2 bonus to or barbarian)living in a danger-
Secondary Skills: The his AC (thatis, an AC of 7 would ous, threatening, or unusual
become a 5):he’s so nimble that wilderness environment-such
Swashbuckler can choose his he’s very hard to hit. Third, the as the desert, deep in swamp
own Secondary Skill. Good Swashbuckleris such a roman- territory, in the frozen North,
choices include: Navigator (if tic figure that he always re- tucked away in the jungle or
he’sin with a band of pirates,es- ceives a +2 adjustment on his tropicalrain forest, or in distant
pecially), Gambler, Jeweler, reactionroll from NPC members mountains.
Scribe, and Weaponsmith. of the oppositesex. The WildernessWarrior is dif-
Special Hindrances: ’Ikouble ferent from the Barbarian. He’s
Weapon Proficiencies: The seeks out the Swashbuckler. not automatically a menacing
Swashbuckler receives two ex- This is something that the DM figurewhen travellingaround in
tra weapon proficiency slots will havetoplay very carefullyif the campaign’snormal society:
which must be devoted to the Swashbuckler is to be as he’sjust exotic and unusual.He
weapon proficiency with one of hindered as all theotherWarrior can be very cultured and civi-
the following weapons: sti- Kits. When there’s another lized, but, coming as he does
letto*, main-gauche., rapier*, Swashbuckler around, intent from a different culture, will
on proving that he’s the best havedifferentattitudesfrom the
and sabre* .(The ‘‘* ” symbolde- swordsman in theworld, it’s the other player-characters on
PC Swashbuckler he settles many subjects.
notes new weapons to be found upon and challenges. When a For example, a desert nomad
in the Equipment chapter.) certain young lady is being pur- character may be merely of-
Throughout his career, he must sued by the king’s guards, who fended at the theft of his prop
devote half of his weapon profi- are intent on stopping her from erty but be outraged by (and
ciency slots to those four weap- revealing secrets in her posses- demand the death penalty for)
sion, it is the Swashbucklershe theft of his water: he may be-
ons. Once he has achieved stumbles across when fleeing. lieve that women should stay in
When a princeistoo drunk toat- camp and leave fighting to the
specializationin all four of those tend his own coronation,mirac- men (an opinion he will find
weapons, he may freely choose ulously he looks just like the himself quickly disabused from
where the rest of his weapon Swashbuckler. Life conspiresto when in the outer world): he
proficiency slots go. make things difficult for the may feel the need to prostrate
1Swashbuckler, and the DM himself whenever he passes the
Nonweapon Proficieneies: church or temple of the deity he
Bonus Proficiencies: (General) should always throwjust a little
Etiquette, (Rogue) ’hmbling. more good-naturedbad luck at worships: and so on.
Recommended: (General) Artis- ~
tic Abilits Dancing, Heraldry, that Warrior Kit than at any The player decides (with DM’s
Languages (Modern), Riding other. permission) what sort of tribe
(Land-Based), Seamanship, Wealth Options: The Swash- and environment the Wilder-
(Warrior) Blind-Fighting, Gam- ~
ing, (Priest, double slots unless ,buckler receives the standard
Paladin) Musical Instrument, nessWarrior comesfrom. Then.
Readingwriting, (Rogue) Ap- 5d4x10gp startingmoney allot- working with the DM, he must
praising, Disguise, Forgery, ~ determine what sort of unusual
Juggling, Musical Instrument, ment. beliefs and customs the charac-
Tightrope Walking, (Wizard, iRaces: Any demihuman ter and his tribe possess. He
double slots unless Ranger)
ReadinglWriting. who’d look elegant in foppish

Equipment: The Swashbuck-
ler must buy the weapon in

35

*..L ., : .. .:... . ..

., ..

may later abandon a few of startinggold on items appropri- ecording Kits on the
these beliefs in the outer world, ate to his culture. For example, Character Sheet
but should not abandon most of the desert nomad couldn’t buy
them: they are part of what any armor at all with his start- The character
makes him unique in the cam- ing gold,while thearcticwarrior record sheet presented in the
paign. could only have leather or hide Character Creation chapter has
armor. (Of ‘course,if the DM de- blanks for all of the benefits,
lb be a Wilderness Warrior, termines that his is a trading hindrances, and other notes
the character must have a Con- culture. he could have access to generated when a character
stitutionscore of at least 13. goods from all over the world.) takes a Warrior kit.
The WildernessWarrior doesn’t
Role: In a campaign, like the have to spend all his starting Warrior Kits and
gold before entering play. Once Multi-Class Characters
Barbarian and Savage, the Wil- he begins play, there are no re-
derness Warrior is the “outsid- strictions on what sorts of These Warrior
er’svoice” who questionsall the equipment he may buy. Kits are designed to add depth
strange quirks and discrepan- to a warrior-classcharacter.But
cies in the player-characters’ SpecialBenefits: The Wilder- ifthe characteris already multi-
culture. He’s also an opportu- ness Warrior gets a special bo- class (for example,an elf fighter-
nity for some comic-relief ad- nus of +5 to his Survival mage), he doesn’t need any
ventures, when he misin- proficiency roll. This only ap- more depth. Therefore, only
terpretssome aspect of the soci- plies to the Survival proficiency single-class warriors can take
ety and it leads him into confu- pertaining to environmentslike one of the Warrior Kits de-
sion and trouble. More that of his origin; if he later scribed above.
importantly, the DM should ar- takes a second Survival profi- However. with your DM’s per-
range for the occasional adven- ciency for another type of terri-
ture to take place in lands like tory, the bonus doesn’t count mission, there’s no reason why
those of his birth, so that he can toward it. a multi-class warrior can’t use
demonstrate his skills in that hisweapon and nonweaponpro-
environment. Special Hindrances The Wil- ficiency choicesto simulate one
derness Warrior, in his early
Secondary Skills: If you’re years, is occasionally hindered of the Kits . . . and, again with
using the Secondary Skills by his unfamiliarity with the
rules, the Wilderness Warrior player-characters’ society, but DM permission, the characters
may choose his skill from the this is a role-playing consider- possessing that Warrior Kit p
following list: Fisher, Forester, ation: theDM must occasionally
Hunter, Sailor,’Rapper/Furrier. enforce it until he believes the considerhim “one of their own”
characteris sufficientlyfamiliar within the context of the cam-
Weapon Proficiencies: The with the usual culture.
Wilderness Warrior may spend paign. let us say that
his Weapon Proficiencies any Wealth Options The Wilder- For example,
way he pleases.The DM may in- ness Warrior gets the usual 5d4 your campaign features an el-
sist that he spend one or two on x 10g p in starting gold. vish Amazon tribe and you
weapons appropriate to his cul- want to play an elf fighterkhief
ture: A desert nomad should Races: This is a very appro- who belongs to that Amazon
have Scimitar and Short Com- priate Warrior Kit for demihu- tribe.
posite Bow, while an arctic war- man warriors, and the DM may Build her this way: Have her
rior should have Harpoon and wish to createsome unusual de- take Spear and Long Bow
Spear, for instance. mihuman tribes to showcase it. Weapon Proficiencies. For her
For example, everyone would Nonweapon Proficiencies, have
Nonweapon Proficiencies: expect DwaNen Wilderness her take Riding (Land-Based)
Bonus Proficiencies: Survival Warriors from the mountains, and Animal ’Paining (she
(in his native environment), En- Elfand Gnome WildernessWar- doesn’t get either of these for
durance. Recommended: Any riors from the tropical rain for- free,likethe “real” Amazon,but
relating to the land of his birth. est, etc. But what about Desert she can still choose them). For
such as Animal Handling, Ani- Dwarves? Arctic Elves? Swamp her Equipment, limit her to the
mal Baining, Dancing (his cul- Gnomes? Mountain Halflings? equipment choices of the Ama-
tural dances), Fire-building, Such unusual choices can add
Fishing, Riding (Land-based), some color to a campaign. zon.
Swimming, (Warrior) Mountain- If you do all this, and have
eering, ’Racking. your DM’s permission, within
the context of the campaign,
Equipment: The Wilderness
Warrior may only spend his

36

your character will be consid- ;haracter must be hired hy (or, Greek mythology, for instance,
ered an Amazon. That is, she the Amazon queen Antiope
comes from the Amazon tribe fitematively, captured and en- abandoned her former life to
and the other Amazons con- slaved by) an arena or fighting-
stable owner, trained,and pitted .stay with King Theseus of Ath-
sider her to be a shield-sister *gainst other Gladiators. The
and one of their own. Youknow. 3ther characters in the cam- ens . . and she later died fight-
paign could also be enteringthe
and the DM knows, that she gladiatorial arena, or the DM ing her former countrywomen
doesn’t have all the special ben- could contrivethingsso thatthe when they came after her.)
efits of the Amazon Warrior Kit. current adventure involves
And the DM is within his rights gladiatorial elements and still Once the character abandons
to assign the character the spe- get all the PCs involved. his kit, he also abandons all the
cialhindrancesof the Amazon- special benefits and hindrances
after all,you’ve chosenfor herto ’RIbetter simulatethe wait in- it provides.Often,thosebenefits
be identified with a race of peo- volved for the characterto learn included free Nonweapon Profi-
ple with those hindrances. But his new trade, the DM is within ciencies or Weapon Proficien-
to all outward eyes, she is indis- his rights to insist that the char- cies. The character doesn’t lose
tinguishable from any other el- acter not receive his Warrior Kit those, but he must pay for them
vish Amazon. until he’s reached second expe- from the next free slots he has
rience level in his new class. available to him.
Warrior Kits and
Dual-Class Characters Abandoning A Kit The character may not take
another Warrior Kit to replace
The same is Sometimes it the one he’s abandoned. Once
not true of dual-class charac- happens that a character is cre- he gives up his Warrior Kit, he’s
ters. ated with a Warrior Kit and cir- an ordinary Fighter, Paladin, or
cumstances later force him to Rangerfor therest of hisplaying
If a character starts offas a reconsider his character’s role. life.
warriqf. he may take any of the For example, a Noble Warrior
Warrior Kits above. If, later, he could become disgusted with Modifying The Kits
decides to change classes ac- the corruption and excesses of
cording to the normal Dual- his classand decideto renounce The DM can,
Class Benefits and Restrictions histies to the nobility. Or, a Sav- and should. modify the Kits pre-
rules, he doesn’t lose any of the age could become increasingly sented above to represent his
benefitsor hindrancesof the Kit comfortable with the civilized own campaign setting more ac-
he chose; he is still that sort of world and increasingly uncom- curately.
fighter. If that second character
class also has a range of Kits fortahle with his savage kin.In For example, if there are no
available to it, he may not Amazons in his world, he
choose a new, additional Kit. such a case, the player should should disallow the Amazon
‘ I f a character starts off as think about abandoning the Kit. If Gladiators are all chosen
some other characterclass, does Warrior Kit. from the ranks of savages de-
not take on a Kit appropriate to spised in the civilized land, he
that class, and then later ’RIabandon the kit, the player should modify the Gladiator
switches to one of the warrior should privately tell the DM his hindrances to reflect the fact
classes, he can choosea Warrior intentions. If the DM has no ob- that they have no respect in the
jections to the abandonment, campaign setting.
Kit at that time . . . though the then it will take place. Unless
the choice for abandonment Creating New Kits
DMmay insist that certain cam-
paign events be accomplished were brought on by a sudden, Similarly. if
there’s a special sort of warrior
in order to allow him to do this. traumatic event, the DM may that the DM would like to have
have to have some time to work in his world, he can design a
For instance, let‘s say that a the abandonmentintothe story- new Warrior Kit for that warrior.
human mage decides, later in line. Often, in the story. the
life, to become a Fighter, and he characterdoing the abandoning ’RI design a Warrior Kit, you
wants to be a Gladiator. Well, will have to role-play out the sit- must answerthefollowingques-
there’snothingwrong with that. uation: Publicly renounce his tions about the warrior and his
But the DM should insist that ties with the others of his War- role in your campaign.
the nextseveraladventuresdeal rior Kit,andthensufferany con-
with that transformation. The sequences that might arise. (In Description: What is this
warrior? What literary, mytho-
logical, or historicalsource is he

37

quirementsare thereifa charac- free to the character, that ing throws, or the magic is auto-
ter wishes to be one? doesn’t matter.) matically successful); and

Role: What is this warrior to Equipment: If a Warrior Kit is Specialrestrictionsin the cul-
be in the campaign? How does best-known for having specific
his culturelook at him? How do typesof equipment,requirethat ture in which the characters
other cultures look at him? Is the warrior have such equip- travel (for example, not being
there a special sort of outlookhe ment when the campaign be- able to own property or get mar-
needs to have to belong to this ried, or excessive punishments
WarriorKit? And what does this gins. If many examples, but not for specific crimes).
warrior tend to do in a
campaign-lead mighty na- an overwhelming majority, of Wealth Options: If the War-
l tions? brutalize and betray his this sort of Warrior seem to pre- rior Kit has any restrictions or
allies? upset the delicate bal- fer a specifictype of equipment, benefits in the awarding of his
ance of politicalstrategies?have simply list it among the types of starting gold, or in the ways he
a good time without making equipment the Warrior Kit rec-
waves? ommends. can spend it, note them here.
Secondary Skills: If you’re Races: If there are variations
Special Benefits: Every War-
rior Kit should have some spe- to the Kit based on the charac-
cial benefit. It‘s up to you to
choose what that benefit is, but ter’srace. note them here. Some
races can’t take a specific Kit;
some will have different profi-
using the Secondary Skills it should fit in with the way this ciencies, benefits and hin-
rules, you need to determine if warrior appears to function in drancesattached to them.
this Warrior Kit requires such a fiction. mythloreor wherever he Notes: If you have any addi-’
skill. If no one secondary skill comes from. Types of benefits tional notes about the Warrior
should be common to all war- include: Kit pertinent to your campaign
riors of this type, then don’t re- Bonuses to reaction rolls, es-
quire a secondary skiU. But, if pecially from certain categories (such as which players you’d
all members of a Warrior Kit of people; prefer for specific Kits,for exam-
ple), put them here.
seem to have this skill,then you Bonuses to hit and/or dam- Additionally,you could create
should require it of all who take age. especially against certain Kits for other classes than War-
this Kit. categories of enemies, or in spe- rior, or adaptthe existingKitsto
Weapon Proficiencies: cial circumstances; the other through tinkering
Many Warrior Kitsseem to grav- A free weapon specialization; with the skills, proficiencies,
itate toward specific weapon Resistance(immunityor a bo- benefits, and hindrances. There
types. Knights lean to swords nus to saving throws) against could easily be Rouge Swash-
andlances;MerryMenof thefor- specifictypes of magic; bucklers or Barbarian Priests,
est prefer the longbow. If the Specialrightsin the culture in for example.
warrior you’re simulating which the characters normally
seemsto prefer one or twoweap- travel (for example, immunity
ons above all others, then, in from prosecution for certain al- The Warrior Kit Creation Sheet
this Kit, you require them to leged crimes, or the right to de-
take the proficiencies for those mand shelter); and so on. On page 124is
weapons.
Special Hindrances: You the Warrior Kit Design Sheet. If
Nonweapon Proficiencies: should also provide a special you wish to design a new War-
Most Warrior Kits, again, seem hindrance (or hindrances) rior Kit, just photocopy the
to have certain skills in com- which limit the character as sheet and design your new Kit
much as his benefits help him. upon it. When you’re showing
mon. It would be silly to have a the Warrior Kits above to your
Such hindrances can include: players, also include the new
Noble Warrior without Eti- Minuses to reaction rolls, es- Warrior Kits you’v? desi6ned.
quette, for instance.Soyou may
assign up to two proficiency pecially from certain types of
slotsto be given free to the char- people;
acter. If it’s appropriate,the pro- Minusesto hit and/ordamage,
ficiencies may come from especially against certain cate-
listings not appropriate to gories of enemies;
warriors-the Priest, Rogue, Inability to learn specific
and Wizard listings. (Though weapon or nonweapon profi-
normally the cost in slots for ciencies;
such proficiencies doubles, Vulnerability to specific sorts
of magic (either a minus to sav-

38

The ADBd)” game isn’t all Character Desci -ition: attitut , The Bras Youth is
combatand magic,and so a war- These paragraphs talk about easy prey for fast-talkers and
rior doesn’t have to be just a col- the character’s attitudes and con men, suggests straighffor-
lection of numbers which motivations,and how the char- ward and foolish plans sure to
responds to situations by killing acter tends to act and interact in get the party captured or killed,
everything in sight and collect- a normal campaign. admires more experienced war-
riors without questioning their
ing coins. No,there’smuch more Best Suited For: These para- motives, and can be quite a
graphs talk about the align- menace to himself unless taken
to role-playing than that, and ments for which this per- in hand by a more experienced
this chapter is devoted to role- sonality type is best suited, and adventurer.
playing the warrior character. aboutthe Warrior Kits (from the
last chapter) for which the per- Inevitably, a Brash Youth
Warrior Personalities sonality is best suited. It’spossi- character has to “wise up”-to
ble to come up with a good lose some of his preconceptions
There’s a mis- rationale for why a character of and naivete. If this doesn’t hap-
conception that warriors are a specific personality type pen naturally in the course of a
just square, solid guys who do should have an alignment that
the physical work in a fight; that doesn’t (atfirst glance)seem ap- campaign, the DM should de-
rogues are the clever ones who propriate for that personality
do all the conniving and trick- type, so there is absolutely no sign an adventure around the
ing: that wizards are awesome, fum alignmentrestrictionwhen Brash Youth, an adventure
impersonal intelligence dedi- you ’re choosing personalities. where he’s confronted with the
cated solely to their magical However, the recommendations consequences of his brashness.
studies: that priests are only in- made for appropriate choices For instance, a confidence man
terested in the advancement of are good enough for most char- could trick the Youth into acci-
one’s spiritual learning. acters, so keep them in mind. dentally betraying his allies: or,
a Youth’s plan could go horribly
While that‘s a simplification In Combat Situations: These awry and seriously or critically
convenientfor first-timeplayers endanger his friends: or, a hero
of the game, more experienced paragraphs talk about how the particularly admired by the
players may desireto add depth Youth could turn out to be far
to their charactersby providing characterreacts in combat situ- less admirable than the Youth
more detail to their characters’ ations. Not all warriors unstrap has always thought.
personalities: Deciding how their swordsand wade in swing-
they react in certain situations, ing: someapproach battle situa- When this happens, the char-
how they relate to other charac- tions more slowly, more acter must stop k i n g a Brash
ters, and so forth. cleverly,or more aggressively. Youth and choose some other
personality type. By now. he
Experienced role-players, In Role-Playing Situations: should have been playing long
those who already do this, These paragraphs talk about enough that the player will
should skip down to the head- the character’s general reac- know what sort of personality
line reading “The Warrior Cam- tions to NPCsin role-playingsit- that is: alternatively,the events
paign.” Beginning role-players uations: you can use them as that shock him out of being a
should continue from here. general guidelines for your Brash Youth could affecthim se-
character’s role-playing conver- riously enough that this event
Inthe first part of thischapter, sationsand other such encoun- chooses his new personality for
we’ll be talking about Warrior ters.
Personalities, describing a few him (this resultsin such person-
types of heroes common to fic- The Brash Youth
tion and mythology. Read each Character alities as a disillusioned Crude
description, think about Crusher or a hostile Dangerous
whether the description comes Description This characterhas Antagonist).
close to matching your concep- just recently become an adven-
tion about your character’s per- turer, and he doesn’thavemuch Best Suited For: In terms of
sonality, and if it does, try to experience or common sense
utilize that description’sadvice alignment, the Brash Youth is
when role-playing and making . . .meaningthathe getsintrou- best suited to the full range of
decisions for your character. Good and Neutral alignments
ble, and leads his companions (LIG, LIN, NIG, N, ClG C/N). Evil
Each personality in this chap into trouble, quite often. There- charactersaren’t suitedto being
ter will be described in the fol- fore, you should only choose a
lowing way: Brash Youth personality when naive and trusting. In terms of
you’re willing to role-play this Warrior Kits.the Brash Youth is

admirably suited to all of them!
The only kit that might give you

39

a problem is that of the Samu- find hisyouthfulnesscharming, comfortablycoarseasthe Crude
rai, but it‘s possible to play an but may also find him exasper- Crusher is. The Samurai and
inexperienced and eager Samu- ating because he’s always get- Swashbuckler tend to be too
rai struggling to keep his enthu- ting into trouble. cultured for this personality
siasm from showing beneath type. The Cavaliercan’ttake the
the veneer of eastern detach- The Cmde CNsher Crude Crusher personality.
ment; this is an especially good Character
choice in an all-samurai cam- In Combat Situations: The
paign. where one character is Description: The Crude Crude Crusher is a brawler. He
the brash young warrior inter- Crusher is a rude, boisterous, prefersone-on-one combatsand
acting with more experienced belching, physical sort of char- fights dirty, doing whatever it
and settled samurai. acter. Hemay be very clever.but takestowin a fight. He fightsex-
he prefers force to trickery or actly as he chooses, and may or
In Combat Situations The persuasion-it feels good to may not follow the team plan. In
pound people. He doesn’t like
Brash Youth is likely just to proper manners, court eti- -combat, he’s single-mindedand
quette, literature and poetry, or
charge up to a foe and begin haughtiness. Hehasvery coarse effective.

pounding away, unless that foe and common customs . . . al- In Role-Playing Situations:
is so big and scary that even the
most foolish youth will be afraid though he could be of high birth The Crude Crusher can be a lot
of it. He’s very likely to take (nothing says a high-born war- of fun to play, because he says
combat orders from his friends, rior must be clean, virtuous, whatever he wants whenever he
however, so it‘s easy for one and polite,afterall).Puthim in a wants. His crude remarks scan-
wiser warrior to keep him from tavern with a crowd of noisy dalize more refined characters.
killing himself through bad tac- table-banging drinkers, where He’s likely to antagonize his
tics. It‘soften a good idea for the the drinks pour freely and the “betters” in conversation, ei-
party to make the Brash Youth occasional brawl grinds furni- ther accidentallyor (more prob-
one of their designated archers, ture into sawdust, and he’s ably) deliberately, and this can
because it usually keeps him happy. spoil party negotiations and
out of direct hand-to-handcom- muck up theparty‘s plans. How-
bat until he has wised up. Best Suited For: In terms of ever,none of thismeansthat the
Crude Crusher can’t be loyal,
The Brash Youth can learn alignment, the Crude Crusher courageous, competent and
from his experiences,on a case- powerful, so adventuring par-
by-case basis. After he’s been can belong to any of them. If ties aren’t likely to kick him out
hammered by a troll, he can be he’s Lawful, he’s still operates because of his mouth: but
more cautious with the next by a codeofbehaviorthat others they’re usually exasperated by
troll or troll-like monster he his attitudes.
encounters. But he’ll be just as can observe and count upon
brash with a monsterunlike the (even ifhe is a socialmisfit); and The DangerousAntagonist
if he’s Cood. he’s not going to Character
. .others he’s encountered. take the things he wants (by
force) from those who own DescriptionThis characteris a
In Role-Playing Sitmatiom them. For these reasons, a hero with an attitude problem.
Lawful/Good Crude Crusher He’s grim and humorless. and
The BrashYouth getsalongwith never fights just to give some-
everybody until such time as isn’t likely to havea lot of fun.In one a drubbing-he fights to
the other person insults one of termsof Warrior Kits,the Crude kill. He’s drivenby some power-
his friends, challengesone of his ful, unsympathetic motivation:
preconceptions,or betrays him. Crusher is well-suited to the A desire for revenge, over-
Barbarian, Beast-Rider, Ber- whelming desire for a posses-
Even then, he’ll simply be furi- serker, Gladiator, Peasant Hero, sion, or even a near-psychotic
ous and willing to fight or op- Pirate/Outlaw,Savage, and Wil- desire just to be left alone. He
derness Warrior. A Crude must be carefully played so that
pose the other fellow: to be truly Crusher Noble Warrior will al- there actually is a reason for
vengetidrequiresthat the Youth ways suffer the reaction penal- him to accompany the other
tiesgiven to NobleWarriors who playercharacters, and the DM
go through his personality may need to remind his player
change and take on a new per- don’t live according to their so- occasionally that he can have
friends and loyalties, even if he
sonality. cial stations(see the description
The Brash Youth should be of the Noble Warrior from the
last chapter for more on this).
played as either hesitant and Amazons are usually too up-
nervousin new situations,or ea- tight in male societies to be as
ger to throw himself into such
situations-he’s never bored or
indifferent. Other characters

40

Role-Playing 411...,

preters to conceal that fact be- there’s a practical r m o n for it The Doomed Champion 1r
hind hard-bitten mannerisms oust being merciful and hu- Characrcr
and an evil temper. Naturally, mane isn’t good enough). He
this personality type has few or can be a good combat tactician Description: This hero has
no romantic inclinationsor rela- for the team, directing his allies been afflicted with a curse or a
tionships. to fight in the most deadly and prophecy that haunts him
efficient manner possible: or, he throughout his life. He may
Best Suited For: In terms of could be a wade-right-infighter have lost his One m e Love and
who vents his hatred on his ene- been fated never to find her. He
alignment, the Dangerous An- mies. may be doomed to bring misfor-
tagonist is appropriate for all of tune on anyone he cares about.
them. Different alignments re- In Roleplaying Situations: He might be prophesied to die
sult in different motivations: A This character generally whenever certain campaign-
LawfuYGood Dangerous Antag- doesn’t do role-playingnegotia- related goals are achieved. He
onist has been embittered by tions with NPCs, unless the PCs mightbe the last survivor ofhis
events in his life, while a are attempting to intimidate or race, doomed to die without is-
ChaoticEvil character is a soci- frighten the NPCs. The Danger- sue, so that the race dies with
ous Antagonist must be played him.When he’s not fighting for
opath. In terms of Warrior Kits, carefully; many Dangerous An-
tagonist characters are merely his goals, this character is suf-
most are appropriate; the usual kill-crazy fighters with overin-
exceptions are the Cavalier and flated opinions of themselves, fering. For this reason, you
Swashbuckler, who tend to be and so it‘s very easy when play- shouldn’tplay such a character
better-temperedcharacters. ing such a character to aggra- unless you enjoy portraying
vate the other players with his that suffering. If you choose
In Combat Situations: The pretentiousness. In other such a charactertype, you must
Dangerous Antagonist fights in words: Be menacing, but con- consult with your DM to deter-
a smart and deadly fashion (un- minejust what sort of curse af-
less he’sa Berserker). He prefers flicts the character-it’s
a ‘“Eke no prisoners!” attitude,
but can allow himself to be over- intless to play a
ruled by hisfriends, especiallyif
they can persuade him that

Role-Playing

Doomed Championunless there ‘i; ted Philosophers; Chaotic always in motion: he never
actually is a doom or curse at@ ters are seldom that in- merely gestureswhen he can in-
stead make a flourish, never
work. trospective. The Philosopher is walks when he can stride,never
Best Suited For: Any align- equally suited to Good, Neutral, talks when he can orate.

ment is appropriate for the and Evil characters. In terms of Best Suited For: Chaotic
Doomed Champion. In terms of Warrior Kits,the Philosopheris characters are a little better
Warrior Kits,most are appropri- suited to be Merry Showoffs, as
ate, except for the essentially most admirably suited to the they’re more spontaneousthan
cheery Swashbuckler. Samurai. He’s appropriate to the reasoned Lawfulor cautious
mostof theotherkitsaswell, ex- Neutral characters. However,
In Combat Situations: The ceptthe Berserker,which isn’t a there’s no restriction on this.
very introspective sort of hero. Good, Neutral, and Evil charac-
Doomed Champion tends to ters can all be Merry Showoffs:
fight in an all-out, desperate- InCombatSituations: Differ- The elegant, dramatic, self-
strength manner. He throws centered, villainous lieutenant
himself fully into a fight and ent Fated Philosophers face is a classic example of an Evil
seeks out the most dangerous combat in different fashions. Merry Showoff. In terms of War-
opponents. Either he’s simply Some are as thoughtful in com- rior Kits, the Swashbuckler,
desperate to achieve his ends bat as elsewhere, and take a Gladiator, and Pirate/Outlaw
and elude his curse, or he’s un- very analytical approach to are best suited to this personal-
consciously seeking his own combat: Striking where the ity: the Amazon, Barbarian,
death. He’s therefore not good need is greatest, evaluating the Berserker, and Samurai are
as a team tactician.On the other enemy’s strategy, and so forth. least suited; the other kits are
hand, his bravery is inspira- Others, knowing that they can- appropriate.
tional to other heroes and.fol- notforestalltheirfate,jump into
lowers, so he’s often made the the thick of things and fight In Combat Situations: The
leader of war parties. He can be with unrestrained battle-fury Merry Showoff must fight in the
merciful in combat, or kill all (and, perhaps, joy). The player most dramatic fashion possible,
who face him (all the while re- is left to decide how his Fated even when it isn’t as efficient or
Philosopher character fights. safe as another tactic. He leaps,
grettingthe grim necessityof it). Basically, he should simply he bounds, he shouts, he ges-
In Role-Playing Situations: choose the methodof combathe tures,he taunts the enemies,he
prefers for this character, and makes challenges for single
The DoomedChampiontendsto then rationalize it according to
be sympatheticto others’ needs the character’s philosophy of combat. . .he canbe a rightnui-
life.
and pains. . .butis himselfvery sance, for allies as well as ene-
In Role-Playing Situations: mies, and so the player should
depressive, because he knows be careful not to aggravate his
The Fated Philosopheris oftena friends too much with his an-
that some grim fate awaitshim. sort of fatherly-advisor charac- tics.
This means he’s often easy to ter. He thinksabout everything,
he’s full of sage advice. Though In Role-Playing Situation:
persuade to aid in others’ quests he may be driven by goals as Likewise, this character shoula
(not quests for money: quests strong as any other character’s, be ascharmingand theatricalas
for more personal goals). in person he is seldom very in- possible in role-playing situa-
tense. tions. He doesn’t necessarily
The Fated Philosopher have to be witty: that might put
C h a ra.c t e r The Merry Showoff too much of a strain on a player
who isn’t able to wisecrack with
Description: This character is Character ease. But he should be debonair
both similar to and very differ- Description: This character and gracious at all times, even
ent from the Doomed Cham- lives for style or entertainment. when talking to the leader of his
pion. Like the Champion. he He may be a clownwho delights enerniesorllhr rudcsl and codrs-
knows that a particular grim in entertaining people and
fate awaits him: Death. But he’s shooting barbs into the egos of
very philosophical about it and the self-important. He may be
does not torture himself about an elegant fighter who loves to
it. He’s likely to be an old cam- show the world what fighting is
paigner with very few illusions like in the bandsof a master. He
left, but with a keen apprecia- may simply love attracting the
tion of all life has to offer. eyes of ladies. Whichever, he’s

Best Suited For: In terms of
alignment, Lawful and Neutral

Charactersare most suited to be

41

I Role-Playing

The Natural Leader without any intent to think In Combat Situations: The
Character about or direct things, the DM
should assign him temporary Sneaky Thinker hatesto engage
Description This character is minuses to hit and damage: enemies in melee. He doesn’t
the all-around man in charge. This reflects the fact that the mindbeing a ranged fighter,but
He’s the responsible hero who, characteris troubledby his fail- he’d realIy prefer to be doing
even if he isn’t party leader, ure to lead, even if the player something clever or spectacu-
thinks like one: He’s always isn’t. lar:Sneakingaround thefight to
thinking about the team’s goals
and how to implement them, In Roleplaying Situations: come up on the enemy’s un-
the safety of his friends, the
strategy of the bad guys, and so The Natural Leader is a very re- guarded rear, loosening rocks
forth. Hemay be happy to be the sponsiblecharacter, but beyond
leader-type, or may be a reluc- that, there is no limitation on on the hillside above to drop
tant leader: either way. his the way he should be played in down on the enemy, persuading
friendslook to him for direction. role-playing situations. He may
Naturally, you should only be grim or humorous, straight- one of the enemy’s allies to turn
choose this personality type for forwardor deceitful,arrogantor on theenemy, anythingthatwill
your characterif you’re to make modest, as the player decides. demonstrate his mental super-
the effort to do all that thinking He will often be the negotiator iority over the enemy (and
and planning, and are willing maybe over his allies as well).
for your character to be respon- for the party, but this isn’t re- It‘s up to the player whether the
sible for others. character is actually cowardly
quired of him.
Best Suited For: In terms of or not:Sneaky Thinkers can be
The Sneaky Thinker as brave as the bravest warrior
alignment, Lawful and Neutral Character
characters are most appropri- in a pinch, if that’s the player’s
ate: Chaotic characters tend to Description This character conreption of the character.
lives and loves to outwit other
be more spontaneous than the characters. He loves tricking In Role-Playing Situations:
money out of people, outwitting The Sneaky Thinker is often the
Natural Leader. However, if you opponents in combat, persuad-
have a good rationalefor a Cha- ing people to help him against party’s negotiator, as he loves
otic Natural Leader, your DM their better sensibilities,and so talking with other characters
may choose to allow you to play forth. It‘s best for a campaign and getting the best possible
it that way. Most Warrior Kits when the Sneaky Thinker is a deal for himself and his friends.
are appropriateto this personal- goodfriend of therest of the PCs In most role-playing situations,
ity type, especially the Cavalier and so mostly turns his talents the Sneaky Thinker will,
on NPCs: the DM needs to make chameleon-like, adapt himself
and Noble Warrior. In a party sure that the campaign doesn’t to the personality of the person
turn into an endlesssuccession he’s talking to, concealing his
representing several different of incidents of the Sneaky true thoughts and emotions be-
Warrior Kits, though, the Ber- Thinker tricking members of hind the mask he thinksis most
serker and Savage shouldn’t be appealing to the other charac-
Natural Leaders: Other charac- his own party. ter. It’s very hard to find out
ter types don’t tend to trust Best Suited For:In terms of what the Sneaky Thinker is ac-
them as leaders. tually thinking or feeling. Note
alignment, Neutral and Chaotic that it‘s a dangeroustemptation
In Combat Situations: The charactersare best suited to be to trick your friends and allies:
Natural Leader, whether he Sneaky Thinkers, as Lawful in a campaign where the PCs’
wants to or not, is alwaysthink- characters often have more re- party is founded on trust and al-
ing in combat and trying to di- spect for the rights of others: legiance, such a Sneaky
rect his allies’ activities. He but, again, with a good enough Thinker will probably find him-
makes sure that there’s a good rationale provided, the DM may self cast out or killed for betray-
mix of ranged to melee combat. allow himself to be convinced
that shield walls don’t have big ing his erstwhile friends.
holes in them, that when a that a Lawful character should
friend falls there’s someone to Changing PersonalityTypes
drag him behind the lines and be a Sneaky Thinker. Most War- The above ad-
another to take his place. If a rior Kits are equally suited to
player with a Natural Leader the Sneaky Thinker character: vice is for players who don’t yet
character doesn’t do this, and the Berserker,however,is an in- have a firm handle on role-
simplyjumps right into combat appropriate choice and should playing different personalities
not be taken. from their own. And the person-
alities presented here aren’t
firm, formal rules which any

43

I
Role-Playing

character has to follow: they’re curse himself,he could suffepc? The Warrior Campaign
guidelines with no real restric-
tions placed upon them. change of personality. He could So far, we’ve
become a Fated Philosopher or mostly talked about the warrior
Naturally, then, it‘s very a p Natural Leader. He might enjoy characterand hisrole in normal
propriate for you to write up life so much that he becomes a ADBd)”game campaigns.
more Personality Types appro- Merry Showoff or Sneaky
Thinker. He’s not likely to be- However, it‘s possible to run a
. .priate to your campaign . if, come a Dangerous Antagonist good campaign whose charac-
unless the events which freed
indeed, you need to formalize ters are mostly warriors . . . or
them to that extent. him from his curse were so
all warriors.
It’s also very appropriatefor a nasty that they still scarred his There are a couple of reasons
character to change his Person- personality forever.
ality Type in the course of a to think about having an all-
campaign. Here are some ways The Fated Philosopher isn’t warrior campaign. First, in
it can happen: likely to change. This personal- many campaigns,after the first
ity type comes at the end of a few experiencelevels, the fight-
The Brash Youth wises up process of personality develop- ers increasingly take a back
and loses his naivete and inex- ment, not in the middle. seat to the magic-usingclasses,
perience. This has to happen whose power increases faster
eventually (unlesshe gets killed The Merry Showoff could so- than the fighters’. Second,
before he ever getswise). His ex- many movies, novels, myths
periencesin the campaignso far ber up under the weight of re- and legendsjust feature fighter
will probably have a strong in- sponsibility, like the Crude characters, and if one of those
fluence on the next type of per- Crusher, and become a Natural settings particularly appeals to
sonality he chooses. Here’s a Leader. Or he could naturally you, and you want to simulate
note for the other personalities: it in your campaign, you’ll
Nothing short of amnesia ever evolve into a Sneaky Thinker want to limit your campaign to
changes a character to the fighters.
Brash Youth personality. when it becamelessand lessful-
filling merely to entertain peo- There are several ways to run
The Crude Crusher isn’t such a campaign. Some sample
likely to change,but a couple of ple and more funto manipulate arrangements include:
things could bring about such a
change. He could fall in love them. Mixed Warrior-Types in a
with a more refined partner, The Natural Leader could Magical World
and, feeling gross and coarse in Mixed Warrior-Types in a
comparison, train himself to be- easily changeif dramaticevents Mostly Non-Magical World
come more sophisticated. (The made him sick and disgusted Mixed Warrior-Types in a
Merry Showoff and Fated Phi- Strictly Non-MagicalWorld
losopher become good options with always being so responsi- - _OneWarrior-Tweina Magical
at this point.) He could have World I
heavy responsibility laid upon ble and dependable. At that
him (such as a military officer’s point, any personality except One Warrior-Typein a Mostly
commission)and be changedby Doomed Champion is appropri- Non-Maacal World
it (at which point the Natural ate. However, unless he’s be- One Garrior-Typein a strictly
Leader is a good choice). Non-Magical World
come totally amoral.even in his
The Dangerous Antagonist In the second part of this
is only likely to change when new personality he’ll probably chapter, we’ll be talking about
whatever made him a Danger- still have leadership impulses
ous Antagonist originally is re- and do a lot of tactical thinking. all those arrangements, how
solved. For instance. if he ever they can be set up and what
avenges himself on whomever The Sneaky Thinker isn’t they mean to a campaign.
hurt him in the first place, he ever likely to change: Hisway of
couldchangeto a FatedPhiloso- life is too much fun to him. If he Magical World vs.
pher or Natural Leader. were to change, to become a lit- Non-Magical World
tle less secretive, he’d probably
The Doomed Champion isn’t become a Merry Showoff. The DM, when
likely ever to change. He’s setting up his campaign, must
doomed, after all. But if, in the Forany character, somehorri- decidehow much magic there is
course of the campaign, the DM in the world-not just magical
allows him to un-doom or un- ble event (such as the brutal

murder of a loved one) could
change the character, at least
temporarily,to a Dangerous An-
tagonist or Crude Gusher.

44

Role-PI

L

items. but magical monsters, Mostly Non-Magical World powers which the heroes can’t
spells,and effects of any sort. In a world even approximate. The heroes
must use all their brains and
Magical World where there’s very little magic, brawn to confront such power-
ful beings. and will often have to
In a warrior- no PC can learn spells. This preparefor such a confrontation
by fmding artifacts,researching
orientedcampaignwhere magic means that no player-character
exists at the normal AD&LJ@ can take a Priestor Wizard class the history of the wizard to dis-
game limits, magic is consid- as his character profession, or
ered a scary thingwhich normal even as one of a dual-class or cover his motives and weak-
people don’t appreciate at all. multi-class character’s profes-
Most wizards encountered in sions. nesses, and so forth.
the campaign will be villains. Strictly Non-Magical World
In such a campaign, charac-
The ones who are friends of the terscan stillbe Rangersand Pal- In wodrlds
adins. Even they can’t learn where there is no magic at all,
PCs are mostly low-powered
(low-level). spells. . . but they still get their there can be no genuine Mage
characters.(Of course,therecan
This follows the pattern of other special abilities. be characters pretending to
many sword-and-sorceryfiction Paladinsstill havetheabilities have magical powers, but
series, where each story’s reso- they’re probably Rogues run-
lution comes down to a contest of detecting evil, +2 to saving ning some sort of scam opera-
between the hero and his fight- tion.)Priests,Rangers, Paladins
ing prowessvs. a dastardly wiz- throws, immunity to disease, and Bards exist but have no
ard or magical creature and his healing by laying on hands, spells or magical abilities what-
spells. aura of protection,turn undead, soever;they haveonlywhatever
devils, and demons, and calling special status their society
In such a campaign, the DM of war horse;he can use the spe- places on their professions.
will have to decide whether any cial abilities of a holy sword in
player-charactercan be a multi- the unlikely event he can find Warrior-oriented campaigns
class or dual-class hero with
Wizard or Priest spells. It’s all one. AU the Paladin limitations set on strictly non-magical
right to have Ranger and Pala-
din characters, as they only ac- still apply. worlds are good for a lot of
quire their spells slowly, and Rangers still have their abili- things. By taking the emphasis
off magic, you put it on such
after many experiencelevels. . . ties of bonuses vs. a chosen en- things as combat, battling the
emy, dealing with creatures, elements, and pure adventure.
but the more magically potent building castles, forts, and In such a campaign, only one’s
wizards and priests pose a big- strongholds, and attracting fol- wits, physical abilitiesand skills
ger problem. Their magic is too lowers. All the Ranger limita- make the difference between
handy and too dependable: the tionsstill apply. success and failure, life and
DM has to make his magicalvil- death. Magic, with all its mys-
lains even more powerful in or- Inthistype of campaign,mag- tery and all its complications,
der to cope. In a campaign ical items and treasure of any doesn’t ever enter the picture.
where PCs can’t be priests or sort are very, very rare. They
wizards, a much lower-level may evenbe nonexistent,as the This also means that things
magical villain will be much DM decides. which would be unimpressive
more effective againstthem. in a magical world can be awe-
Magical monsters, equally some and mysterious in a non-
Forthese reasons, ifyodre go- magical one. A “dragon” may
ing to try running a warrior- rare, are especially nasty and just be a giantdinosaurian beast
oriented campaign for the first with no intelligence, no magic
time, we recommend that you fearsome. For example, a spells, and no breath weapon.
not allow PCs to be priests or dragon encountered in a but it will be terrifying anyway,
warriors-onlycampaignis more as the charactershave no magic
wizards. You can always choose like the ferocious, unstoppable with which to help destroy or
engine of death it appears in the defeat it.
to add theoptionlater on. . .but myths, and it takes an espe-
cially brave St. George to con- Without magic present, cbar-
if you fmd that you like the non- front one. actersare never raised from the
magical warrior arrangement. dead. They must be played
it‘s not so easy to remove the And wizards-if wizards are more carefully than in games
PCs’ magical abilities from a found, they are evil beings who
campaignwhere you’ve already have made pacts and alle-
allowed them. gianceswith nether powers and
received their spells from those
powers. They’re particularly
nasty, powerful, and frighten-
ing because they have access to

45

monplaceevent. It might be ad- ers must have other goals if showcase a clash of cultures:
visable to startcharactersout at 're to be satisfied in such a Have a party of Amazon player-
3rd level, as described in the'a One-Warrior-Type characters go adventuring in
Character Creation chapter, so In this type of the outside world (the mysteri-
that they'll be a little tougher to cters have the ous. dangerous, treacherous,
compensatefor this situation. Kit. They don't all woefully male-dominated out-
an identical class: side world). A lot of the role-
Such a campaign is ideal for playing opportunity provided
ler. by such a campaign would in-
settingsbased on historicalperi- The DM may require that all volve the characters doing the
ods. You couldbase your AD&D@ following: Running up against,
game campaign on the Cru- characters in such a campaign and battering down, prejudices
sades, on the era of piracy, on be Warriors, or may allow a mix against women warriors: and
of characterclassesappropriate fighting their own prejudices,
thewars of imperialRome or an- which dictate either that men
ciemt Greece,on the conquestof to the campaign's subject . . . are inferior and must be down-
' . the New World. These areall set- trodden, or are all treacherous
tingsrichin actionand mystery, but the majority of characters andmustalwaysbe viewedwith
but for which there's little evi- muststillbe Warriors, andother distrust and suspicion. They
dence of monsters or magic. classes can be representedonly can also have encouraging,
by one playercharacter.For ex- amusing or even tragic encoun-
The Mixed-Warrior-Type ample, in a campaign based on ters with the women of the out-
Campaign the legendsof RobinHood, most side world, whom they try to
of the characters will be War- convince that the Amazon way
In this type af riorswith the Pirate/Outlawkit; of life is the One 'Rue Way.
campaign, the characters are the DM could permitjust one or
mostly single-class warriors, Here's a sample adventure
and each may have a different a few to be Thieves; there's only idea, drawn from mythlore
Warrior Kit. With the DMs per- one Priest (Friarntck) and only about the Amazons:
mission,~multi-class and dual-
class characters (solong as one one Bard (Allen a'Dale). Beforethe adventurebegins,a
of the class choices is Fighter), The purposes of this cam- ship from the world of men (or a
priests and rogues may also be groupof horsemen,if your Ama-
played, but the majority of paign (other than the normal zons are landbound) arrives in
player-characters (over half) the Amazon community, claim-
must be singleclass warriors. Having Fun and Going on Ad- ing to wish to conduct peaceful
And the DM, if he wants a trade or negotiations with the
fighters-only campaign. never ventures,of course) are to show- Amazon peoples. They are gra-
has to give permission for those case the lives of characterswith ciously received by the Amazon
other character classes to be this Warrior Kit, and to pursue court and negotiationsare held.
played. the goalscommon to characters
who share this Warrior Kit. So, But something goes wrong.
Ina campaigndevoted toWar- below,you'll find descriptionsof The next morning the negotia-
campaigns centered around all tors are gone, all fled-and the
riors,theDMshouldfosteran at- the specific Warrior Kits and Queenis missing, too,obviously
titude that it's more desireable kidnapped by the men. The
to be a fighter than another .-..--zons queen's sister assembles and
class of character. Other classes sends forth a team of crack war-
may be allowed,but are usually In an Ama- riors, the player-characters. to
representedby only one charac- wns campaign,obviously,most retrieve the kidnapped queen or
ter each. or all the characters are die trying.
Amazons-reclusive women
One way to foster thisattitude warriors. The PCs must equip tbem-
is for the warriorcharacters to selves. then head into the outer
get the lion's share of admira- The most interesting purpose world. In the courseof their pur-
tion from the people. Characters suit of the kidnappers, they'll
belonging to other classes will for such a campaignwould be to
get from the public the mini- meet a lot ofNPCs. Some will be
mum amount of admiration callous and stupid, intending
they deservefor their deeds, but
such acclaim shouldn't be their only to oppress or enslave the
main motivation these charac-
PCs.and must be dealt with by

cunningor violence. Otherswill

46

be admiring of the characters’ There are several common tion equalsdecadence,where all
independence and ability, and types of Barbarians and Ber- men are weaker than our bar-
will challenge the Amazon no- serkers campaigns. barian heroes. They encounter
tion that all men in the outer terrifying black magic in jungle
world are their enemies. One type is the ?fibal Cam- ruins, battle enemy armies
which stand in their way, stum-
Finally, when the PCs reach p a i g n : The PCs live with their ble across hidden evil wizards
the city where their queen is be- tribe and act as its defenders and the bizarre monsters they
and heroes. They repel inva- create, and so forth.
ing held, the DM has to decide sions, hunt mighty and mon-
strous animals for their meat, Yet another type is the Barbar-
what her true status is. She attack rival tribes, and do what- ians for the Crown Campaign:
might have indeed been kid- ever they can to ensure their This is much like the Barbari-
napped by the negotiators and own tribe’s survival. Here’s one ans in a Civilized World cam-
needs to be rescued the Ama- paign, but here the barbarian
zon PCs may need to break into sample adventure idea: In heroes have a purpose. One or
her prison and sneak her out, or more of them intends to rule a
may need to ally themselves wastelands distant from civili- civilized nation. He and his
with an outer-world army and zation, two tribes do baffle. One friends must gather enough
sack the city. Or, she might not is an NFC tribe, and the other is power to be able to accomplish
have been kidnapped at all, but represented by the player- this, usually by joining the
might instead have been struck charactersand some NPCs. The army of some great nation, ris-
by a sudden love for one of the ing quickly through its ranks
negotiators,and fled with him- two tribes can be enemies be-
especially fleeing her responsi- (all the while going on many
bilities as queen. If that‘s the cause they compete for hunting
case, the PCs might choose to lands, because of some old dangerous army-oriented ad-
turn around and go home, or grudge,for any reason or none. ventures). and winning enough
might have to sack the city any- popular support in the army
way, to avenge the affront done Adventures involving baffles and elsewhere that they can
them by their thoughtless ex- between them might be simple overthrow the current despotic
queen. fights to the death between royal family.
smallsquads(madeparticularly
Since not many playing interesting by rough terrainand A last choice for a campaign
groups will want to switch over weather), but you can compli-
to the eccentric all-Amazon for- cate things, too. What if the two combines all three of the cam-
mat, you ought to read the text tribes, in the course of their mo- paign styles above. In the early
bile combat, stumble across stages of the campaign, all the
below on “Campaign vs. Mini- some silent, time-lostcity popu-
Series” for a way to play such a lated by monsters? The tribes characters are great tribal de-
may continuetheir runningbat- fenders: many adventures can
thing without disrupting your tle through the city, awakening be run with this theme. Later,
usual campaign. the ancient, sleeping monsters, some great calamity forces the
who will eventually come after heroes to leave their native
Barbarians and Berserkers the barbarians, forcing them to tribe. As described earlier, this
In the Barbari- could be a mission of vengeance
combinetheir effortsor die . . . which forces them to leave for
ans and Berserkers campaign, the outer world: it could be the
most or all charactersbelong to Another type is the Barbari- destruction of their entire tribe
a single barbariantribe. ans in a Civilized World Cam- by powerful,evil forces: it could
be a prophecy which says that
The Barbarians and Ber- paign: The player-character one of the PCs will bring doom
serkers campaign has a couple barbarians and berserkers on the tribe if he stays, but glory
of purposes. First, it’s an oppor- travelthrough theso-called civi- to himselfand hiscompanionsif
tunity for a campaign with a lot lized world. They may be seek- he leaves. So for many game-
of combat, especiallyif the cam- ing a new place to settle their years the heroes will adventure
paign revolves around clashes tribe, the old site being unten- in the outer world, until some-
between two or more competing able for one reason or another; thing (another prophecy, their
tribes. Second, it‘s an opportu- they may be mercenaries who own desires, the desires or ma-
nity to showcase how decadent hire themselves out to anyone nipulations of an NPC involved
and corrupt the “civilized” with enough gold: they may be with the group) point them at
world is, contrasted with the pursuing some villain who in- the crumbling throne of a great
simple strength and rude honor sulted them. or who sacked nation.
of the barbariantribes. their village while the warriors
were away adventuring.

The playercharacters travel
through a world where civiliza-

47

In the Barbarians and Ber- In the early stages of the cam- and style. Yes, they’ll all be de-
voted togood: butthey can have
serkers campaign, by the way, paign, the ordinarily-happy
magic use is almost always tribesmen suddenly begin suf- different alignments, outlooks,
scorned. Magic is considered fering attacks at the hands of and personalities. One Cavalier
unclean and almost all wizards these enemies. They must de- can be a heavy-hearted Fated
are evil enemies of the heroes. fend their village from the first, Philosopher: another, though
Though it would not be inappro- murderousassault, then set up still devoted to doing good, may
priate for one character to be patrolsand reconnaissancemis- have been sufficiently embit-
some sort of shamanistic hero sions to probe into enemy terri- teredby hisprecampaign expe-
(for example, a dual-class tory and find out what‘s going riences to be a Dangerous
Fighterrnagel,this sort of cam- Antagonist: still another may
paign is best suited to worlds on.Ultimately,they will have to have been cursed and is now a
Doomed Champion.
with little or no magic. assemblea crack team of tribes-
men (the playercharactersand Cavalier Campaigns are usu-
-t RideIS their immediatefriends) to pen-
etrate enemy territory, sneak ally runto showcase epic strug-
The Beast- into the citadel of the enemy,
Kiders campaign is very similar gles between pure good (the
to the Barbarians and Ber- and destroy him. player-characters) and pure
serkerscampaign. But there are evil. The fate of the nation or the
significant differences in the Additionally,all the campaign entire world may be at stake.
player-characters’ goals and For example, at some time in
motivations. types appropriate for the Bar- the past, the worlds greatest

In the Beast-Riderscampaign, barians and Berserkers cam- king has discoveredthat a great
menacethreatensto overwhelm
it‘s the tribe’s association with paign work just as well with the all the world. so he has assem-
its totem animal that provides
much of the flavor of the cam- Beast-Riderscampaign. bled his bravest new knights to
Inthis sortof campaign,since h d out what it is and deal with
paign. The villains and threats
everyone has the same Warrior it. In their early adventures,
of the campaign don’tjust men-
Kit and might seem very simi- these Cavaliers are gaining ex-
ace the humans: they also en- lar,each warrior should choose perience,risingup from the low-
danger the animals on whom a very different Personality in est levels, and assembling clues
the tribe is so dependent. order to distinguish himself as to what sort of menace the
from his fellows. world faces. As they learn more,
For example, in such a cam- and begin to have more and
paign, an evil wizard deeper in This campaign may have no more direct confrontationswith
the wilderness has allied him- interaction at all with the the minionsof the menace,they
self with an animal that is a nat-
ural (or unnatural)enemy of the worlds civilized nations: or, the . .realize that the threat is indeed
tribe’s totem. Now, he’s sending tribe‘senemy mightbe a power-
his ownwarriorsafterthetribe’s ful lord from the civilized lands, real. and that they’re not yet
animals, trying to destroy them and the heroes’ mission to de-
and conquer the tribe. If the adequate to save the day. They
playercharacter tribesmen ride stroy him will be doubly peril-
dire wolves, the sorcerer’s min- ous because they don’t know must continually quest to be-
ions, fewer in number than the come better warriors, to find
tribesmen, will be ogres riding what they’ll be facing in those specific magical items which
smilodons(sabre-toothtigers). If strange lands. are supposed to be useful
the PCs ride pegasi, the more- against the menace, and to
numerous enemies might be Cavaliers
goblins riding giant bats. In the Cava- . .gather allies and raise armies

Perhaps this evil sorcerer liers campaign, the player- . until the final hour is upon
wants the tribe’s land: perhaps charactersare all noble knights
he wants the tribe3 princess: questingfor goodnessand glory. them. and it‘s time for these
perhaps his god is an enemy of much more experienced heroes
the god representing the tribe’s This can be one of the great to face the battle of their lives.
animal totem. Whatever the
cause, he’s evil and must be weaknessesof sucha campaign. Since all Cavaliers are good-
dealt with. aligned, the campaign attitude
Who wants to be clean-
scrubbed, dedicated to good- is not going to promote rude PC

ness, and holier than thou all behavior: Theft, robbery, as-
sault, insults, and betrayals are
the time? all actions that will get the PCs
So when runningsuch a cam- in trouble with each other (and

paign, the DM and playersmust with the DM).

be careful to distinguish the
Cavaliers from one another in
personality, motivations, dress

48


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