Official Game Rules of Legendary Quest™ by John Kirk and Mark Chester The Handbook of Hazards and House Rules and Legendary Quest are trademarks of LoreWeaver Games. he Handbook of Hazards and House Rulesä is Copyright ã1996-2004 by LoreWeaver. All rights reserved. You may make unlimited electronic copies of this book and may print out individual copies for your own personal use; provided the work is copied in its entirety and you make no alterations to its content. You may T make limited numbers of hard copies at a printing service (no more than 5 copies at a time), provided said printing service does not otherwise act as a publishing house and provided said printing service charges fees for the copies that are commensurate with its general copying services. You may be reimbursed by the recipients of those copies for the copy fees, but may not otherwise charge those recipients any amount over this cost. In other words, if you try to sell this book for profit, we’ll sue the pants off of you. On the other hand, if you are a publishing house that wants to sell this book for profit, get a hold of us and we’ll talk turkey. (Note: If you’re one of those “publishing houses” that charges its writers for the privilege of having you publish their books, don’t even bother asking. Real publishers pay writers, not the other way around.) All characters are fictional; any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. LoreWeaver intends to protect its interests in this game to the full extent of the law. However, it does not intend to hinder free discussion concerning the game or its contents. If you wish to create, produce, and/or publish a Legendary Quest™ supplement (book, module, etc.) or other derivative work, please send an explanatory e-mail to [email protected] for terms and conditions. (We’ll be reasonable if you will.) The Grimoire of Game Rules™, The Manual of Mythologyä, The Tome of Terrorsä, Celtic Creatures and Nordic Nightmares™, The Monsters of the Mediterranean™, and Legendary Questä are trademarks of LoreWeaver Games, a business based in Albuquerque, NM. Any questions or comments about this book or Legendary Quest should be directed to [email protected]. Or, if you prefer, visit us at our website at www.legendaryquest.com. www.legendaryquest.com July 31, 2004 Acknowledgements i egendary Quest™ could not exist exclusively from the writings of only a few authors. Many wonderful ideas came from others L deserving tremendous credit. Matt Ault, David Bailey, Justin Bailey, Bill Beezley, Bill Boucher, John Boucher, Blake Brandt, James Bockmon, Bob Brown, Mike Brown, Dan Budd, Genevieve Burt, Marlin Burt, Dan Coppersmith, John Coulborn, Gregg Fiehler, Maura Fitzpatrick, Howard Hampton, Rich Higgason, Tom Hildrich, Darren Hinesley, Dave Julian, Tim Knight, Andy Mayo, Jason McDowell, Charles Nickell, Adam Reid, Ben Rhodes, Job Roberts, Tracy Schurtleff, Sherry Steinberg, Curt Suddarth, Mike Valet, Brandi White, Paul White, TJ Williams, and Karl Winters contributed years of playing and play testing Legendary Quest™. Thanks go to them for their efforts. A special salute goes to the co-authors of Legendary Quest's other books: Denys Carrico-Bockmon, Mark Chester, Mike Patrick, and Leroy Hills. For her help in formatting this book, I must thank Genevieve Burt, my overworked desktop publisher and editor. I’d also like to thank Mike Holmes, co-author of Universalis, for his expert guidance on moving Legendary Quest toward my ultimate vision. The Heroic Idiom rules contained herein would not exist if he hadn’t suggested I find something better to encourage role-play than a simple alignment system. Mike Cantrell deserves special recognition for hosting the Legendary Quest forums. Mike has done a great job keeping the site running and has given LQ’s fans a nice way to interact. Finally, I must send all of my love and appreciation to my wife, Melissa, who continually encourages my writing, as she has done throughout our lives together. Without her support, work on this game would have ended long ago. To all the others who have played and enjoyed Legendary Quest for only a short time, thank you for all the much needed support and enthusiasm. For those neglected in these acknowledgments, please forgive my forgetfulness. Be assured the oversight was not intentional. In the rush to complete this work, much could have easily eluded me in the last moments before the final printing. John Kirk “There are some surprising gems in this book that weren’t even a glimmer in my eye when The Grimoire of Game Rules was first put up on the Web for the world to see... this book is jam-packed with ways to add even more flavor to your characters.” The Handbook of House Rules i Table of Contents i Introduction 1 Mithraic Initiate 38 The Templars 66 Scholar 39 Historical Background 66 House Rules 1 Spiritualist’s Apprentice 39 The Cathars 66 Heroic Idioms 1 Templar Votary 39 The Crusades 67 Chivalrous Hero 1 Town Guard 40 King Philip 67 Classical Hero 2 High Order Classes 41 The Downfall of the Knights Cognoscente 3 Dark Spiritualist 41 Templar 68 Quester 4 Dimacherius 41 The Ranks of the Knights Templar68 Tragic Hero 5 Escape Artist 41 For the Overlord 70 Trickster 7 Gray Spiritualist 41 Playing a Spiritualist 70 Troubadour 8 Guild Master 42 Rules for use of Psychic Powers 70 Votary 9 Hashashim Fidai 42 Psychic Disciplines 71 Creating Your Own Idiom 10 Hashashim Fidai Master 43 ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception) 71 Changing Idioms 10 Hoplomachus 43 Mind over Body 71 For Character Attributes… 11 Illuminated Templar 43 Mind over Magic 71 “Pick-a-Sub-Race” House Rule 11 Illuminatus Dirigens 44 Mind over Matter 71 “Racial Minimums” House Rule 11 Illuminatus Prefect 44 Mind over Mind 71 Exponential Attributes 12 Maenad 44 Psychic Powers Lists 72 Faith Hastens Priest Spells 13 Master Spiritualist 45 ESP 72 Willpower Hastens Mage Spells 13 Master Thief 45 Mind Over Body 72 Willpower as “Emergency Backup”14 Mentalist 46 Mind Over Magic 72 Split Damage “Half-and-Half” 14 Mirmillo 46 Mind Over Matter 72 Even E.P. Split 14 Mithraic Trustee 46 Mind Over Mind 72 Maximums for Unusual Races 14 Mithraic Master 46 Psychic Powers 72 For Physical Characteristics… 16 Myrmidon 47 Height and Weight 16 Hazards 83 Praetorian 47 Awarding Experience for Hazards83 Hair/Eye Color 16 Psychic 47 Hazard Level 83 Age 17 Retiarius (Laquerius) 48 For Trauma… 18 Risk Factor 84 Sage 48 Bleeding To Death 18 For the Overlord 85 Savant 48 Traps 86 Critical Blows 18 Shining Spiritualist 49 For the Overlord 86 Suffering Shock due to Damage 18 Swami 49 For Combat… 19 Finding Traps 86 Templar Master 50 Disarming Traps 87 Surprise Rolls are for Everyone 19 Thracian (Thraex) 50 Drinking Potions in Combat 19 Triggering Traps 87 New Talents 51 Descriptions 87 Giving & Gaining Ground 19 Calligraphy 51 Defending From Missile Showers19 Booby Traps 88 Shield Formation 51 Rural Traps 91 Firing Missiles 30+ Yards: 19 New Skills 51 Firing Arrows & Bolts out of Range19 Structural Traps 94 Contortionism 51 Triggers 98 Attacks for Varying Combat Levels19 Library Research 51 Using Shields 20 Barriers 101 Oratory 52 For the Overlord 101 Using Magical Shields 20 New Mundane Lores 52 Absorption for Barriers 102 Attacking Lines of Pikesmen 20 Logic 52 nd Damaging Barriers 102 Polearms in the 2 Rank 21 Street Smarts 52 Armor Fatigue 21 Awarding E.P. for Barriers 102 Disengaging from Combat 21 Spiritualism 53 Physical Barriers 102 Free-For-All Combat 21 The Gnostics 54 Magical Barriers 107 Movement 21 Historical Background 54 Locks 109 Running Away 22 The Gnostic Beliefs 54 Crafting Locks 109 Miscellaneous House Rules 23 Spiritual Growth in Gnostic Faith 55 Trapping Locks 109 Attribute Bonuses Don’t “Stack” 23 For the Overlord 55 Locksmith Craft Descriptions 109 Put “Fate” in the Player’s Hands 23 The Illuminati 56 Natural Hazards 112 Awarding Experience for Healing 23 Historical Background 56 For the Overlord 112 Awarding Experience for Knitting 24 Cagliostro 56 Tracking Initiative 135 Relationship Maps 24 The Minervals 57 The Initiative Wheel 135 Vision Genres 24 The Masons 57 The Combat Worksheet 136 For Piecemeal Armor… 26 The Mysteries 58 An Analysis of Initiative 136 Armor Types 26 For the Overlord 58 When Do I Go? 137 Armor Pieces 27 The Mithraists 58 Combatant to Combatant 137 Standard Suits of Armor 36 The Mithraum & the Tauroctony 59 Combatant to Fence Post 137 Armor Suits of Various Cultures 36 The Pirates of Cilicia 59 Range Weapon Firing Times 137 Mithraism & Alchemy 59 Mixed Turns 137 New Classes and Abilities 37 The Mithraic Ranks 60 Low Order Classes 37 Multiple Flurries 138 For the Overlord 62 Mixed Attack Types 138 Adept 37 The Nizari Ismailists 62 Hashashim Devotee 37 Engaging Combat 139 Hasan-i-Sabah 63 Multiple Initiative Rolls in a Turn140 Hoplite 37 Hasan II 63 Illuminatus Minor 38 The Old Man of the Mountain 63 Character Sheets 144 Knife Fighter 38 The Nine Degrees of Wisdom 64 Merchant 38 For the Overlord 65 The Handbook of House Rules i Introduction to House Rules 1 protection used throughout history, and enables a person Introduction to cobble together a wide range of armor suits tailored to various time periods. It also enables a character to The entirety of this book is reference material for the accumulate pieces of armor bit by bit over the course of game of Legendary Quest™. It assumes that you his career, making his appearance at any given time already own a copy of The Grimoire of Game Rules™.