ARMS OF LEGEND - Mongoose Publishing

ARMS OF

LEGEND

Credits Contents

Authors Introduction 2
Bryan Steele and Lawrence Whitaker
Additional Text Adventuring Gear and Basics 3
Matthew Sprange, Nick Robinson, Gareth
Hanrahan, August Hahn, Shannon Kavlar, Trading and Quality 38
Joseph Miller, Patrick Younts and Adrian Bott
Developer Armour 48
Richard Ford
Layout and Graphic Design Weaponry 59
Will Chapman Transport 90
Interior Illustrations Beasts and Cohorts 121
Nick Egberts and Lorena Soriano
Proofreading Enchantments 140
Charlotte Law Alchemy 152
Special Thanks
Pete Nash, John Hutchinson, Simon Bray,
Jeff Richard and Greg Stafford
Playtesting
Christopher Morrell, Michael Parkin, James
Lodge, Peter Schofield and Ron Carver

Copyright Information

Arms of Legend ©2012 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content
of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. Legend is
presented under the Open Game Licence. See page 162 for the text of this licence. All text paragraphs and
tables containing game mechanics and statistics derivative of Open Game Content and the System Reference
Document are considered to be Open Game Content. All other significant characters, names, places, items,

art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed in USA

Items by Description

Acid, Vial: A simple vial of acid presents a multitude of uses. Acid can quickly eat
through rope, soften up metal, ruin a lock or serve as an impromptu weapon. It can also
be used to inflict damage on individuals or objects (see the Legend Core Rulebook).

Altar, Portable: Designed with the travelling priest in mind, the portable altar is a heavy
polished wood case, properly sanctified by the priest’s religion. Carefully engraved with
the symbols and imagery of the church or cult, the heavy lid opens to reveal a silk-lined
compartment designed to contain a large amount of religious paraphernalia. With a
full stocked portable altar, a priest can hold services anywhere he travels and counts as
a shrine for the purposes of learning Divine Magic.

Altar Shroud: Similar to, but serving an almost opposite purpose from, an altar cloth,
an altar shroud is a large piece of linen or silk hemmed in all four corners to form a
cover for any size of altar. Often inscribed with religious symbols of protection and
warding, these cloth wraps keep the radiance of a consecrated altar bound, preventing
it from being detected magically. Religious ceremonies require that the shroud be
removed, but when not in use, a shroud can protect an altar from unwanted attention.
This item is often used by persecuted religions, allowing them to operate in areas where
they would otherwise be quickly discovered and eliminated.

Anatomy Kit: This kit of knives and sharpened flints incorporates only natural materials
and very little metal. The mystical qualities of the items have been cleansed through
intensive rituals and allow an individual to safely extract materials and body parts from
creatures without contaminating them. The Adventurer using this kit receives a +10%

4 bonus to all Heal Skill Tests made to extract materials from a dead creature.

Adventuring Gear and Basic Items

Item ENC Cost Item ENC Cost
Dowsing Rod 1 300 SP
Acid, Vial 1 20 SP Dye, Coloured 1 13 SP
Elfen Bowstring — 150 SP
Altar, Portable 3 300 SP Erasing Broom 1 2 SP
Everyday Tonic 1 10 SP
Altar Shroud 2 50 SP Exploding Egg — 10 SP
Fairy Dust — 15 SP
Anatomy Kit 1 50 SP False Face Kit 1 150 SP
Familiar’s Pack 1 15 SP
Animal Call/Whistle — 1 SP Figurine — 2 SP
Fins 1 20 SP
Animal Snare/Trap 2 7 SP Fire Seed — 2 SP
Fire Wheel 1 10 SP
Anti-fungal Ointment 1 25 SP First Aid Kit — 25 SP
Fish Hooks (5) — 1 CP
Appraisal Kit 2 25 SP Fishing Kit 1 15 SP
Flare Paste — 12 SP
Ashen Powder — 20 SP Flash Powder — 2 SP
Flint and Tinder — 5 CP
Back Travois 3 30 SP Folding Stool 1 15 SP
Font, Great 30 1,000 SP
Backpack 1 5/7 SP Font, Portable 1 150 SP

Bag of Glass Beads — 10 SP Footpads 1 12 SP
Glass Cutter — 10 SP
Beads, Prayer — 30 SP Glass, Reflecting 1 20 SP
Grappling Hook — 5 SP
Bedroll 1 1 SP Grappling Hook, Assassin’s — 20 SP
Grindstone 8 20 SP
Besom — 5 SP Hammer 1 1 SP
Hand-striker — 3 SP
Blackface — 10 SP Handpouch — 5 SP
Healer’s Kit 1 150 SP
Blade Sharpener 2 10 SP Hourglass 1 20 SP
Horn, Hunting 1 8 SP
Blessed Food 1 2 SP Horn, Speaking 1 5 SP
Horse Nails 1 15 SP
Block and Tackle 1 15 SP Howler — 6 SP
Icepick — 6 SP
Blood Decoy — 5 CP Icon 1 200 SP
Insect Netting 1 300 SP
Body Sled 4 60 SP Insect Repellent 1 2 SP
Jacks — 1 SP
Bottle, Glass — 2 SP Jailbreak Tools 1 40 SP
Knockout Powder, Vial 1 80 SP
Branding Iron 1 3 SP

Breath Bag — 4 SP

Bull-roarer 1 8 SP

Candle, 1 hour — 1 CP

Candle, 2 hour — 3 CP

Candle, 6 hour 1 1 SP

Candle, Religious — 10 SP

Candle Snuff — 2 SP

Candlemaking Kit 2 50 SP

Cards — 10 SP

Chain, 2m 2 40 SP

Chalice 1 100 SP

Chalk — 5 CP

Clay and Wax Box 1 40 SP

Climbing Kit 1 25 SP

Codex 1 60 SP

Compass — 100 SP

Craft tools 2 75 SP

Crowbar 1 25 SP

Crutches 2 8 SP

Dice Set — 1 SP

Doorjamb 2 5 SP

28

Item ENC Cost Item ENC Cost
Ladder, 3m 4 2 SP Sack, large 1 5 CP
Ladder, Grappling 3 8 SP Sack, Secure — 1 SP
Lantern, Basic 1 10 SP Sack, Small — 2 CP
Lantern, Cowled 1 12 SP Salt Tablets — 3 SP
Lantern, Hanging 1 14 SP Saw, Hand 1 1 SP
Listening Cone — 8 CP Scatter Sticks — 2 CP
Lock Picks — 75 SP Scourge — 2 SP
Magnifying Lens — 10 SP Scrollcase — 5 CP
Marbles — 1 SP Scrollcase, Watertight — 3 SP
Milling Stones 2 8 SP Scythe 2 30 SP
Mining Pick 1 35 SP Sea Chest 4 25 SP
Musical Instrument 2 70 SP Sea Salt 1 1 SP
Net, Fishing 4 10 SP Sighting Lens 1 80 SP
Net, Handled 1 10 SP Skates 1 15 SP
Noble Seal — 100 SP Skis 3 20 SP
Oar, Collapsible 2 5 SP Sleeping Draft 1 10 SP
Offering Bowl 1 5 SP Slingbag 1 5 CP
Oil, Flask 1 1 SP Snow Guards — 7 SP
Oil, Jellied 2 10 SP Snow Shoes 1 5 SP
Oil, Weapon 1 2 SP Sounding Drum 1 15 SP
Papyrus, Sheet — 5 CP Spade 1 25 SP
Parasol 1 60 SP Spices — 5 SP
Pendulum 2 45 SP Stocks 5 20 SP
Pepper — 5 SP Tent, 4 person 2 10 SP
Poison Antidote 1 100 SP Tent, 8 person 5 50 SP
Pole, 3m 1 1 SP Thurible 1 100 SP
Pottery Wheel 25 25 SP Torch, 1 hour — 4 CP
Preservative Fluid 1 30 SP Torch, 6 hour 1 8 CP
Preserving Kit 2 10 SP Torch, Waterproof — 2 SP
Quenching Blanket 5 6 SP Travois 3 5 SP
Quick Sheath 1 20 SP Tree Net 1 12 SP
Quick Sheath, Wrist — 15 SP Underwater Goggles — 15 SP
Quiver — 2 SP Walking Stick 1 5 SP
Rangeglass 1 300 SP Water Additive 1 3 SP
Razor, Folding — 3 SP Water Pack 6 10 SP
Relic Case 2 50 SP Water Trap 4 40 SP
Relic, False 1 5 SP Waterskin 1 5 CP
Relic, True 1 10,000 SP Wax, Block 1 2 CP
Retracing Tool — 2 SP Weatherproofing Kit 1 10 SP
Reversable Clothes Wine, Ritual 1 15 SP
Ring, Bladed — 15 SP Writing Kit 1 45 SP
Rope, 10m 2 10 SP Yarn, 50m 1 7 CP
Rope, Silken 1 75 SP

29

ALCHEMY

The traditional view of the alchemist is of the bearded, robed and capped scholar,
surrounded by his apparatus, striving to turn base metals into gold. This image belies
the truth of alchemy; for its is an ancient art practised by the Chinese, Egyptians, and
Sumerians more than a 1,000 years before the detailed writings and experiments of
the likes of Basil Valentine, John Dee and even Sir Isaac Newton. The transformation
of base materials into gold is a simplistic metaphor for an art that is a subtle alliance
of chemistry, mysticism and spirituality and which seeks, no less, for the secret of
eternal life. The chemical experiments of alchemical practitioners have little to do with
attaining material wealth, although it is no doubt an attractive side-effect, and more to
do with understanding how to attain spiritual purity and consequently metaphysical
transformation through achieving the same with the use of the Elements and the
Metals.

Alchemy is included here, in Arms of Legend, because the alchemical process relies on
specific equipment and a scientific methodology far more than other forms of magic.
Hence, the availability of equipment, which is described later in this chapter, is a
practical necessity.

Alchemy, Magic and Science

Alchemy occupies a curious place in relation to both magic and science. It blends
both, but belongs to neither. In a magic-rich world, where gods regularly grant divine
gifts, and magical power, there are easier ways to achieve the purity and transformation
sought by alchemists. In worlds where science dominate, alchemy’s importance is
diminished for the simple reason that mysticism and spirituality has little place in the
hard, logical world of empirical science, although alchemy clearly laid the foundations
for the scientific endeavour, particularly during the European Renaissance.

Alchemy offers something magic and science cannot. In the case of magic, alchemy
offers permanence. Magic is a temporary application of power, short-lived and reliant
on inherently magical paradigms such as Gods. Alchemy seeks to attain similar powers
through defining the essence of things and then manipulating that essence to create
something new that transcends mundane capability. In the case of science alchemy offers
a mystical and spiritual approach that is about understanding the nature of the soul and
its relationship with the earth and cosmos to achieve a higher state of being. Curiously,
it is not about attaining godhood; instead alchemy is concerned with attaining human
perfection, through purity of mind and spirit, and thereby transcending the ravages of
disease and time to attain enlightenment.

152

Lore (Alchemy) (INT x2)

Like all Lore skills, Alchemy is based on the INT Characteristic. It is the Adventurer’s
ability to study, perceive and understand the essential qualities and properties of the
physical world and how they relate to the spiritual world. Alchemists study both
practical chemistry but also metaphysics and philosophy.

The Alchemy skill is used whenever an alchemical experiment is being conducted
to determine the degree of success and the experiment’s result. It also measures the
alchemist’s own progress towards purity of body, mind and spirit. The value of the
Alchemy skill indicates what results the alchemist is capable of achieving with his degree
of knowledge, as outlined in the Philosopher’s Stone, overleaf. However if can also be
used in tests requiring expertise with mystical, spiritual or philosophical concepts, since
all alchemists are widely read in both practical and metaphysical disciplines.

Alchemists concern themselves with four core endeavours: Understanding (the physical
and metaphysical worlds), Manipulation (of the same), Transmutation (of the physical
into the metaphysical, and vice versa) and Purity. They do this through the study of
the Elements and the Seven Metals. Alchemists have determined that metals can be
subdivided into seven lesser forms which relate to the Prime Metals which are: Copper,
Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Silver and Tin. Gold is the purest metal, symbolising physical
and spiritual purity and perfection. By transmuting the six lesser metals into gold, the
alchemist hopes to unlock the secret of achieving similar, personal purity and perfection.