Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Introduction
Welcome to a fantasy world where the men are Baldrick, the dwarves are punk, and the dogs are small but vicious. Welcome to a world of bawds, grave robbers, excisemen and witch hunters; a place where “Blather”, “Flee!” and “Mime” are legitimate skill choices; and where all material on the insidious threat of Chaos is officially interchangeable between settings.
Welcome (back) to the Grim World of Perilous Adventure.
Whisper it (that fanboys may not hear and descend a squealing), but for all the charm of its skewed familiar 16th century milieu and the lurking horror of Chaos, Warhammer Fantasy Role Play was little more than a modcop of classic Dungeons & Dragons . Yes, our beloved WFRP was yet another ‘fix D&D’ fantasy heartbreaker, albeit one which had the clout of the biggest name in British gaming behind it. Whole chunks of the system were lightly disguised D&D mechanics adapted to a roll under d% system 1, and many setting elements not gleefully ripped off from Tolkien, Leiber or Moorcock were already established D&D tropes by the time WFRP was published. 2
But that's ok. Indeed, that's part of why all right thinking people – Brits, Italians and Poles especially – love WFRP. To paraphrase a better man than I: we took an American invention, soaked it in a witches' brew of Bosch, Durer and Doré, Mervyn Peake and Tom Sharpe, Blackadder , The Young Ones , pints of bitter, cheap weed, Iron Maiden and The Damned , and then we played the hell out of it.
And that’s what this ill considered rules hack is about. Your humble author – a dirty little yahoo from a rainy, grimy, post imperial isle in the northern seas – decided to have a go at welding D&D and WFRP together. Why? So I could play games of WFRP ish misery and despair with rules of B/X ish brevity, thus achieving personal gaming nirvana. This here resulting travesty is a 90% pure game mechanics kitbash with minimal background material or context. I won’t even pretend I can précis 20 odd years of background material into 32 pages or so. If you want all that good stuff you should hunt out a copy of WFRP itself; it is worth your time.
I hope you enjoy my little love letter to *real* WFRP (the one that came complete in a single fat book). But “If you know a better hole, then go to it.”
Note: This is not for gain fanwork which requires access to both B/X D&D (either in the form of the original TSR games, or as Goblinoid Games’ fine simulacrum Labyrinth Lord ) and WFRP (1E or 2E) for full use and enjoyment. It is not intended as a replacement for either game, or as a challenge to any copyrights.
A Note on Abbreviations Most people reading this will know what all these acronyms mean, but just in case:
OD&D Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974 77), published by TSR. B/X Moldvay/Marsh/Cook Dungeons & Dragons (1982), published by TSR. BECMI Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons (1986), published by TSR.
WFRP Warhammer Fantasy Role Play (1986). Reprinted by Hogshead Publishing 1995. WFRP 2E Warhammer Fantasy Role Play (2005). Published by GW’s Black Industries imprint. WFRP 3E Some boxed collectible dice and card game that claims to be Warhammer Fantasy Role Play. Oh, how we laughed! Published by Fantasy Flight Games (2010). d20 SRD The d20 System Reference Document (2000), published by Wizards of the Coast. LL Labyrinth Lord, published by Goblinoid Games. LLAEC Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion, published by Goblinoid Games.
Credits WFRP created by Meisters Bambra, Davis, Gallagher, Halliwell and Priestley. B/X D&D created by Meisters Gygax, Arneson, Moldvay, Marsh and Cook.
SBVD from the pen of Chris Hogan, a lowly ink stained wretch. Proofreading by Kelvin Green. Playtesting by [TBC]
1 Said system being a heavily Runequest/Call of Cthulhu influenced elaboration of the one prototyped in Games Workshop’s 1985 Judge Dredd RPG .
2 Even the people who wrote Warhammer novels in the early 1990s were quite clear on the derivative nature of the WFRP world. See, for example, Steven Baxter’s 2002 retrospective article “Freedom in an Owned World: Warhammer Fiction and the Interzone Generation”.
1 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Ability Scores
A character’s Primary Ability Scores are Movement , Strength , Toughness , Agility , Intelligence , Willpower and Fellowship . I’m sure anyone familiar with B/X and WFRP will be able to work out what’s what…
Movement (Mv) = B/X speed in feet/turn divided by 30. Why the change for the sake of it? Because a single digit Movement score (Mv 4, Mv3, etc) is 1) more WFRP ish, and 2) much simpler than fiddling about with “so many tens of feet per round”.
Other Ability Scores are generated 3d6 in order , for such is the way of righteousness (although see “Laughter of Dark Gods” rule below).
Primary Profile Mv Str Tgh Ag Int Wil Fel
Ability Score Modifiers, and use in play, are per B/X unless indicated otherwise.
Ability Modifier Affects Score General Mod Init or Reaction Str WS, melee damage 3 3 2 Tgh Wounds per die 4 5 2 1 Ag AC, BS, Initiative 6 8 1 1 Int Additional languages 9 12 0 0 Wil Save modifier vs. magic 13 15 +1 +1 Fel No.# of retainers, their morale, 16 17 +2 +1 NPC reactions 18 +3 +2
A character’s Secondary Scores are other game relevant numbers. These are a bit of a mish mash in that some are randomly generated, while others are either fixed, or accumulate/decrease over time. These are:
Secondary Profile WS BS Att W Mag IP FP
Weapon Skill (melee attack bonus) See Combat, pp16 17 Bow Skill (ranged attack bonus) See Combat, pp16 17 Attacks (per round, generally 1) See Combat, pp16 17 Wounds (a.k.a. hit points) See Races” and “Careers, pp3 6 Magic (max # of casting dice) See Magic, pp19 20 Insanity Points See Insanity, p14 Fate Points See Fate Points, p7
A character’s Saving Throws are determined by their class and level, as normal for B/X D&D.
Saving Throws Death Petrify Breath Device Spell
Death also poison, disease, drug addiction, suffocation and drowning, etc. Petrify also paralysis, polymorph, sleep, entanglement, terror . Breath also adverse weather, avalanches and suchlike natural force majeure . Device wand, rod, stave, trap, explosion, falling into heavy machinery, etc. Spell also non magical fear effects.
Laughter of Dark Gods At character generation a player may replace one – and only one – 3d6 Ability Score that makes them sad with a 10. Players who do this may be freely mocked as soft, gurly and sorely lacking in moral fibre.
True followers of the WFRP Way may instead replace their highest rolled Primary Profile ability score with a 10. This latter choice earns kudos for being “Totally WFRP!” and, at the GM’s option, gains the character an additional d3 Fate Points.
2 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Races
Choice of playable races is one area where SBVD (and all its source material before it) show a notable debt to that erudite 800lb gorilla of 20th century fantasy, J.R.R.Tolkien. Humans are the vast majority in SBVD, with non humans being the designated butts of both superstitious prejudice and a blatantly unfair tax regime.
Those who elect to play a non human don't get the unalloyed joy of rolling for a career; instead they play a professional stereotype straight from Central Casting. Use the demi human races of B/X as written.
Dwarf (0 2 per party) Wounds: 8+d8/lvl Attack as: Fighter Save as: Dwarf Likes: gold, jewels, honour, combs. Preferred MO: axe to the knees, or over complicated death machines (“Pull the lever!”) Trappings: scruffy clothes, chainmail, hammer or axe, tankard, lantern, helmet. Huge beard, dour mien.
All dwarves are beer soaked beards on legs who stop mining only to fight, drink heavily and/or sing about mining. They consider everything they say and do to be SRS BZNZ and nurse a grudge like a Bretonnian nurtures a fine vintage wine. All perceived similarities between Dwarves and Yorkshiremen are coincidental.
There’s a 10% chance that any dwarf character created is a Troll Slayer, a kamikaze no pants dwarf with a big orange mohawk, prison tats, a two handed axe and a burning desire to ragequit life as violently as possible.
Elf (0 1 per party) Wounds: 6+d6/lvl Attack as: Fighter Save as: Elf Likes: wine, art, singing, anything you haven’t heard of. Preferred MO: peppering with arrows, then singing beautiful songs about same. Trappings: fine clothing, lute or lyre, bow and arrows, sword, smug expression.
All elves are metrosexual minstrels and archers who fly into fey rages when provoked. The elven ability to lose it in spectacularly violent fashion has been clocked at “Nought to Feanor in 4.2 seconds”. Most PC elves are filthy tree hugging pseudo Celtic Wood Elves, although the Sea Elves who hang out in coastal cities seem to be a kind of Elven gap year backpacker. No one’s quite sure what the mohawked, spandex wearing paramilitary Riverdance troupe known as Wardancers are supposed to be, apart from FABULOUS!
Rumour has it that the Elven homelands are contested in an endless war between two mighty and ancient factions: the louche and arty vs. the darker and edgier. The origin of their interminable strife is unknown, although it probably began as a spat over the relative aesthetic merits of art nouveau and gothic revival styles. Elves of these factions are far too in love with themselves to do anything so déclassé as adventuring for gain.
Elves use the SBVD casting system as wizards of their level.
Halfling (any number) Wounds: 6+d6/lvl Attack as: Thief Save as: Dwarf Likes: food, drink, food, sex, food, stealing, food, gardening, food and food. Preferred MO: poison, or prison yard shanking. Trappings: hardwearing clothes, skillet, recipe book, concealed shiv, jovial manner.
All halflings are smelly footed, opportunistic little food tubes on the make. They are not to be trusted: don’t rely on their word, don’t eat their pies of dubious provenance, and never let them get their hands on your ring. Halflings emerged from the distant East to infest a formerly pleasant area called The Mootland; this schmaltz soaked domain is now a terrible warning about what happens when the more touristy parts of rural Bavaria are invaded and occupied by the Lollipop Guild.
Halflings do not have any sort of wacky Mohawk wearing subculture, for which we are all eternally thankful.
Human (any number) Wounds: 6+(varies) Attack as: 0 level Fighter Save as: 0 level human Likes: money, killing. Preferred MO: varies wildly. Trappings: by Class and Profession.
All humans are cynical, vicious, and have a laser focus on their own self interest. Those not prone to absurd superstition are usually in thrall to pernicious ideologies or religious mania. Humans can be found all over the place, stuffed ten deep in squalid firetrap cities or cluttering up the rural landscape with their farms, mines, castles, temples, lazar houses and hospitals. They even take to the seas, forever seeking new and distant markets in which to display their hard won skills in larceny, fraud and murder.
3 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Classes and Careers
All playable characters in SBVD are levels 1 3 in B/X D&D terms. The grubby, vicious world of SBVD is a place of minor triumphs against a background of misery, squalor and suffering. It thus has very little in common with the monster riding, daemon punching antics of WFB or high level D&D. Baldrick don’t ride no dragon!
Class and Career Selection Overview 1. If playing a human pick (or roll) your class and note the basic package of goodies on your sheet. 2. Roll your starting HD and note your attack and save progressions (derived from the B/X originals). 3. Roll your occupation, adding your career skill and distinctive trappings (stereotypical item, you know, like white coat = scientist, stethoscope = doctor, warrant card = cop/agent, etc.) to your sheet. 4. Note your starting cash: 3d6 GC. No exceptions. 5. Scheme, rob and kill your way to fortune and glory without succumbing to poison, disease, madness, horrible accident, witch hunt, banditry, massacre by beastmen, the machinations of Chaos…
Classes There are four broad classes in SBVD. These are:
1d10 Class Place in Great Chain of Being Totem ‘Great Young One’ 1 Academic The learned in lore Neil 2 3 Ranger Hard bitten, gimlet eyed rustics Mike 4 7 Rogue The turbulent urban proletariat Rick 8 10 Warrior Vicious armed thugs Vyvyan
Each class encompasses 15 or so specific occupations, known as careers, which indicate what the character did before he fell into the high stakes live of a wandering adventurer. Players may choose their class but the hairy chested and manly WFRP way is to generate both class and career randomly.
Academic “…can it be true? That I hold here in my mortal hand, a nugget of purest green?”
Wounds: d4 Attack as: Cleric Save as: Wizard Basic equipment: set of decent clothing, academic robes, knife or stave. Likes: knowledge, comfort, being cited. Preferred MO: killing without getting their hands dirty (magic or vile concoctions).
All Academic PCs gain casting dice (see Magic, pXX) as they advance in level. Yes, there are lots of non caster Academics in the WFRP world, but we really don’t care about them. The simple fact is that a non caster scholar or artisan has the survival chances of a snowflake in Hell. Sure, if you want to play one, knock yourself out and try to die usefully. Elsewise, academic = caster in SBVD.
Academics don’t wear armour and have little, if any, experience wielding weapons. They generally only use small, light weapons (knives, clubs, staves) and that quite poorly.
Esoteric Knowledge: Academics can make an Int test to remember obscure lore related to their profession.
Academic Advancement XP Wounds Casting Dice 1 0 6+1d4 1 2 2,000 6+2d4 1 3 4,000 6+3d4 2
1d20 Career Skill Trapping 1 Alchemist App. Brew alchemicals 1d3 books on alchemy 2 Artisan's App. Trade skill Tools of trade 3 Druid Identify Plants Sickle knife, holy symbol 4 Engineer Engineering Hammer+chisels, surveying tools 5 Exciseman Supernumerate Abacus 6 Herbalist Herb Lore Pestle and mortar 7 Hypnotist Hypnotise Pendulum 8 10 Initiate Priest Theology Robes and holy symbol 11 Pharmacist Manufacture drugs 1d6 glass jars filled with oddness 12 Physician's App. Treat injuries Surgical tools, jar of leeches 13 Scribe Read language Ink, quills and paper 14 Seer Divination Divining gear 15 16 Student Read language 1d3 scholarly books 17 Trader Haggle Stock in trade 18 20 Wizard's App. Scroll Lore Manual of spellcraft
4 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Ranger “Bastards! I hate them, with their long tails and their stupid twitchy noses!” *gunfire* “Squeak” *thud*
Wounds: d6 Attack as: Fighter Save as: Thief Basic equipment: hardwearing clothes, hand weapon, leather jack, pack with bedroll, cutlery, etc. Likes: forests, roads, long walks in the country. Preferred MO: shooting people with missile weapons and retiring into the shadows.
Rangers can wear leather or chain armours and use any one handed or missile weapon.
Survival: Rangers are able to increase the amount of food garnered by foraging/hunting amounts in the wild and know enough to avoid doing stupid things like eating the red mushrooms with white spots.
Ranger Advancement XP Wounds BS 1 0 6+1d6 +1 2 2,000 6+2d6 +2 3 4,000 6+3d6 +3
1d20 Career Skill Trapping 1 Boatman River Lore Oar, pipe, knitted cap 2 3 Bounty Hunter Follow Trail Net, manacles 4 Coachman Drive cart Coach horn, whip 5 Fisherman Sailing Fish gutting knife, waterproofs 6 Gamekeeper Concealment, Rural Mantrap 7 Herdsman Charm animal Sling, pan pipes 8 9 Hunter Follow trail Bow, furry hat 10 Muleskinner Animal care Broad brimmed hat, whip 11 Outrider Move Silent, Rural Horse, crossbow 12 Pilot Orientation 2 lanterns 13 Prospector Metallurgy Pan, pick and shovel 14 15 Rat Catcher Resist disease Animal traps, small but vicious dog 16 Runner Flee! Running shoes, headband 17 Toll Keeper Evaluate Crossbow 18 19 Trapper Set Trap 1d4 animal traps, fur hat 20 Woodsman Identify plants Woodmans axe
Rogue “Good evening Duke, and the lovely Miss Cheapside. Your cash bags please.”
Wounds: d6 Attack as: Thief Save as: Thief Basic equipment: scruffy clothes, knives galore, well concealed purse, leather jack. Likes: stealing, money, getting one over on the lordships. Preferred MO: leaving unexplained knives protruding from the backs of their enemies.
Rogues generally wear street clothes or leather armour and can use any one handed or missile weapon.
Sneak Attack: Treat as backstab attempts according to the B/X rules.
Rogue Advancement XP Wounds Sneak Attack 1 0 6+1d6 x2 2 2,000 6+2d6 x2 3 4,000 6+3d6 x2
1d20 Career Skill Trapping 1 Agitator Public Speaking 2d10 inflammatory leaflets 2 Bawd Bribery Pimp hat 3 Beggar Concealment, Urban Begging bowl, crutch 4 Entertainer Perform Tools of trade 5 6 Footpad Strike to Stun Mask, blackjack or garrotte 7 Gambler Gamble Cards (marked), dice (loaded) 8 Grave Robber Silent move, Rural Spade, large sack 9 Jailer Resist poison Club, ring of keys, fleas 10 Minstrel Perform Lute or mandolin, flashy clothes 11 12 Peddler Haggle Stock in trade 13 Raconteur Blather Fancy clothes, outrageous hat 14 15 Rustler Move silent, Rural Lantern, lasso 16 17 Smuggler Move silent, U or R Cart or row boat 18 19 Thief Move silent, Urban Swag bag, hooks and rakes 20 Tomb Robber Spot trap Crowbar, lantern, sack
5 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Warrior “Swords! What do you think this is, the Middle Ages? Only girls fight with swords these days. Stand by your gun, sir!”
Wounds: d8 Attack as: Fighter Save as: Fighter Basic equipment: sturdy clothing, hand weapon, leather jack+helmet, pack with bedroll, cutlery, etc. Likes: fighting, looting, rapine. Preferred MO: smashing you in the face …hard …repeatedly.
Warriors can wear any type of armour and use any weapon they encounter.
Combat Ability: Warriors are able to use any weapon they pick up with minimal practice.
Warrior Advancement XP Wounds WS 1 0 6+1d8 +1 2 2,000 6+2d8 +2 3 4,000 6+3d8 +3
1d20 Career Skill Trapping 1 Bodyguard Street Fighting Knuckle dusters 2 3 Labourer Scale sheer surface Packed lunch, flask of tea 4 5 Marine Dodge blow Grappling hook, chainmail 6 8 Mercenary Strike mighty blow Bow or crossbow, chainmail 9 10 Militiaman Dodge blow Spear, shield 11 Noble Etiquette Costly clothes, horse, d4 hangers on 12 Outlaw Concealment, Rural Bow, bandanna 13 Pit Fighter Disarm Wacky arena weapon combo 14 Protagonist Strike to injure Horse, chainmail, attitude 15 Sailor Sailing Boat hook, bottle of rotgut 16 17 Servant Dodge blow Livery, stolen trinkets 18 Squire Animal care Livery, pony, cleaning kit 19 20 Watchman Strike to stun Lantern on pole, hourglass
Advanced Careers “…I fail to see why a common thief should be idolized just because he has a horse between his legs.”
What’s that? You don’t like being a salt of the earth peddler or doughty ratcatcher. You want to play a Warrior Priest, or a magus of the Colleges of Sorcery, or a Knight of the White Wolf, or a Dwarven Giant Slayer? OK. Crawl your way up to around 8,000xp without dying horribly in a ditch, and we’ll talk. What? No! Not about you taking L33T advanced careers, but about your failure to enter fully into the correct WFRP ish mindset: joy through adversity.
Joking aside, even the most advanced careers in WFRP are about on a par with mid level D&D characters. They’re substantially harder to kill than Fritz in the street, but most of that difference in survivability stems from training, equipment and, above all else, player skill .
If sufficient interest is ever expressed your humble scribe may one day re jig the experience and advancement requirements, addressing the subject of advanced careers (and all the headaches that go with them – like arcane lores, skill mastery, mass combat and leadership, etc.) in a hypothetical “Small But Really Vicious Dog”.
Otherwise, it’s all about the travails and torments of the little guy.
6 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Resolution
Although the skill test system was among the glories of WFRP I don’t think D&D is much enhanced by hundreds of skills; too prescriptive for me. So, in the name of simplicity:
Career Skill / “I grew up doing this” = Ability check vs. Ability Score Non career Skill / “I know what I’m doing…kind of” = Ability check vs. ½ Ability Score Total Mystery* / “I saw this done once” = Ability check, succeeds only on a 1
* Things entirely outside a character’s ken: the mysterious workings of magic to a guttersnipe, the subtleties of courtly etiquette to a labourer, the nuances of armed combat to a desk bound scribe, etc.
Unless indicated otherwise all mechanical task resolution in SBVD is per the rules laid out in B/X D&D. Existing B/X dungeoneering skills (checking for traps, barging open doors, sneaking about and the like) can either be retained as written or treated as “vs. Ability” checks, as the GM prefers. If the latter option is used demi human racial abilities are treated as Career skills tested against a relevant Ability Score.
Yes, this ‘treat as career skill’ handwave does skew the probabilities given in the B/X rules. As written it makes characters marginally more competent than in either of the base systems from which SBVD is derived. 3
The Gods Hate You! In keeping with the ‘failure is the expected outcome’ ethos of WFRP the GM is encouraged to arbitrarily slap penalties onto any die roll or target number as he sees fit. I suggest +/ 1d6 in whichever direction is against the best interests of the players. This should serve to convey the unfairness and perversity of a world where the presiding gods of law are Murphy and Sturgeon. The exact reason why these “SO UNFAIR!” modifiers apply is left to the limitless imagination and exquisite good taste of the GM.
Ability Check or Saving Throw? My personal rule of thumb for SBVD is to use Ability Checks to adjudicate actions initiated by a character and to resort to Saving Throws when characters are on the receiving end of something. Yeah, the ‘roll over’ nature of player initiated actions in combat does confuse the issue slightly, but in my experience players seem to have no problem remembering whether more or less is better if things are in their interests.
Fate Points
These represent the favour of the gods, or, more likely, the unwillingness of the gods to let you die until you have suffered further for their entertainment. Expenditure of a Fate Point allows a player character to avoid otherwise inevitable death (or horrific permanent injury). What happens instead of death or maiming is entirely up to the GM, although the words ‘frying pan’ and ‘fire’ should be meditated upon.
Human characters start with 3 Fate Points. Dwarves and Halflings start with 2 Fate Points. Elves, being front loaded and cheesy beyond belief, start with 1 Fate Point.
Fate Points are lost forever once spent. New Fate Points can only be gained either by achieving greater skill and renown (a.k.a. levelling up) or through spectacular heroic endeavours (a.k.a. GM fiat). Which means they’re pretty much an irreplaceable wasting asset in SBVD.
Experience & Advancement
Experience in SBVD is awarded for killing dudes and taking their stuff. There’s none of this namby pamby experience for “achieving objectives” or “good role playing”. Those things are expected elements of play , means to the true end of adventuring: riches, glory, and the bloody downfall of one’s enemies.
Characters earn experience by:
Making money through theft or looting 1 xp per 1 GC Killing members of player races 25xp/HD Killing monsters 50xp/HD + 50xp per special ability
Sucking Less On advancing in level a player may select either by 1d6 roll (Winning!) or careful consideration (Weak!) one 3d6 Ability Score on his character’s primary profile. With all due rejoicing and thankful sacrifices, he may then raise that score by one (to a maximum of 18). He also gains 1 Fate Point free and clear.
3 A typical unmodified adventuring check for a level 1 character in B/X D&D, or for a first career character in WFRP, would have ~35% chance of success if a career skill, ~17% if not. System synchronicity strikes again! Chances of success in SBVD are all over the shop, largely by design.
7 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Social Status
The world of SBVD is hopelessly caste ridden. The law is entirely weighted in favour of the rich and well bred (As well it should be! Only a fool writes laws against his own interests), as are tax codes, military obligations and even social mores. In civilised parts of the world it's still considered perfectly acceptable – among those who can afford them – to roger the serving girls and viciously horsewhip insolent underlings. 4
Climbing to the top over a heap of looted bodies doesn’t just advance personal power; it also advances your place in society. Instead of representing vast disparities in clout and authority with higher character levels, here’s a fix inspired by the hilarious and under rated GURPS Goblins sourcebook. 5 These rules are entirely optional, and supersede The Gods Hate You! (see Resolution, p7) where appropriate.
Social position affects all dice rolls made directly against a particular character. Hit rolls, Ability Score checks, Saving Throws; they’re all affected by the modifier given on the table below. Similar modifiers cancel out: the lowly batter one another on roughly even terms, as do the rich and powerful.
Your Position What Your Kind Do For a Living Mod. Highborn Titled toffs, merchant princes, emissaries, etc. +3 Pillars of Society Burghers, guild notables, Collegiate wizards, etc. +2 Respectable Types Lawyers, physicians, priests, engineers, etc. +1 People of the Middling Sort Apothecaries, initiates, roadwardens, etc. +0 Humble Folk Scribes, militia, peddlers, bounty hunters, etc. 2 The Lowly Hoi Polloi Poor but honest farmers, ratcatchers, day labourers, etc. 4 The Vile Underclass Thieves, gypsies, corpse pickers and similar. 6
Exactly how and why this works the way it does is something of a mystery: the consensus is that it’s rather difficult to beat the crap out of someone while you're malnourished and/or busy doffing your cap. Either way, this rule prevents some dirty oiks with rusty knives and a plan from opportunistically assassinating the Kaiser.
So, for example, if Reinhard the Ratcatcher decides to take his ratting shovel to Hans von Schnitzelgruber, Grand Duke of Burgdorf Hossenpfeffer, he’s laying himself open to a world of hurt. Thanks to poor diet and a crippling inferiority complex all Reinhard’s rolls against the Duke will be at –4; all His Grace’s rolls against ghastly little plebian Reinhard will be at +3! By contrast, if Stinking Aggie the Puregrubber, doyenne of the Vile Underclass, decides to shiv Reinhard for his hard earned loot she’ll suffer a net 2 to all rolls (6 4 being, yep, 2). Reinhard will suffer no penalties beyond those that the GM in his mercy and wisdom sees fit to inflict.
I am Huge of Moustache. You Must Obey! When a character is able to pull rank by virtue of position he may elect to use social clout in lieu of Fellowship. People might not respect the man, but they do respect the office. Likewise lowly characters attempting to wheedle their betters must use the lower of their social standing or Fellowship in reaction rolls.
Pull Rank (high status vs. lower) = best of Fel mod. ~or~ Social Standing mod. Toadying (low status vs. higher) = worst of Fel mod. ~or~ ½ of Social Standing mod.
Your Ways Are Strange And I Mock Them, Puny Weaky Man Relative status has no effect whatsoever on creatures that don’t respect social niceties. Grumblefimwanger the Giant doesn’t care if you’re a big noise socially: to him you’re just another uppity runt to be trampled. Nor are a gang of rampaging Beastmen likely to be awed into submission by your cultivated cut glass accent and exquisitely fashionable garb. Suchlike non human yahoos must be taught respect the old fashioned way: cold steel, hot lead and arcane fire.
Gaining and Losing Status All 1st level characters start out in the hoi polloi ( 4), rising in position through graft, backstabbing and low cunning. An adventurer claws his way into the ranks of the Humble Folk ( 2) at level 2, and may pass as A Person of the Middling Sort (+0) at level 3. This ‘gentrification’ only applies if the character comports himself in a befitting manner; if he dresses and acts like a common thug, he will be treated as one.
Adventurers may climb further in status through conspicuous consumption, politic toadying, bribery, largesse and charitable donations, but this is all considered tres nouveau . Real class, like good furniture, is inherited.
Characters of any standing can fall into the Vile Underclass by acting in a despicable manner. The usual routes to infamy are 1) committing detected crime against people who actually matter, or 2) engaging in certain ‘untouchable’ trades. Recovery of lost caste if possible at all should be a long and torturous affair.
4 Where 'insolent' = 'coughed in my presence' or 'had the temerity to look me in the eye'.
5 WFRP and GURPS Goblins are near perfect matches in tone and attitude. I’d go so far as to call Goblins the WFRP urban caper sourcebook that never was.
8 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Psychology
There are several psychological states which are so frequently encountered a part of life in SBVD that they have their own rules (suffice it to say ‘happiness’ and ‘contentment’ are not among them). Stimuli as varied as insanity, drugs, or a nasty fright may cause these outbursts of atypical behaviour, which generally last 3d4 rounds, or until the inspiring object is no longer visible (GM’s discretion).
Some psychological states are mutually exclusive ( stupidity and most others), while others are synergistic in effect ( hatred and frenzy , for example). Follow the WFRP guidelines, or apply common sense (as preferred).
Aggro Some people just don’t play well with others and will cheerfully turn on their own side if they can see both an opportunity and clear advantage in doing so. Ratmen, goblins and orcs are infamously prone to treacherous infighting.
Hatred Hatred is aroused by a particular stimulus, usually someone you really, really don’t like. Dwarves hate orcs and goblins; various factions of elves hate one another; daemons of rage hate everyone (and their little dog too).
Frenzy Some states of aggressive excitement can be so powerful they impair the urge to self preservation. These can be induced by drugs, religious mania, insanity, or through martial disciplines.
Stupidity There’s mildly confuzzled, and then there’s troll grade stoopid. A character affected by stupidity is unable to sustain a train of thought without outside assistance. Concussion and intoxication have a remarkably similar effect to innate stupidity.
Fear However brave and hard bitten someone is, there are some things that are just downright scary. A pack of charging minotaurs, for example, is nothing to be sniffed at.
Terror Some things out there are more than just scary; they are pants wetting terrifying. A character that lays eyes on such a sanity blasting horror must save vs. paralysis to avoid letting the side down in an undignified and histrionic manner.
Mental State Save/Check Effect if passed Effect if failed Aggro Morale check No effect Turn on allies unless already in melee. Hatred Will check Character gains +2 bonus to Dislike is evident, but the character draws no morale, to saves vs. especial benefit from the animus he bears. fear/terror, and to melee hit rolls against hated enemy. Frenzy Will check Character remains calm. Character goes utterly berserk. Must move towards the object of outrage and destroy it if at all possible. Morale = 12, unaffected by Fear, treats Terror as if it were Fear, all attacks are furious attacks (see Combat, p16). Stupidity Int check Character copes with the Character initiates no meaningful action, being myriad distractions and instead distracted by something extraneous complexities of life. (and probably shiny). He is treated as being under the effect of a hold person spell but will lash out if goaded or attacked. Fear vs. spell Character masters his fear. Character refuses to move towards or attack This time… the fear causing object unless and until it attacks him. He suffers a –1 penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws and ability checks for 3d4 rounds (as scare spell effect, LLAEC). Terror vs. paralysis Treat as failed Fear test Character gains one Insanity Point. He (above) screams like a sissy girl and legs it (if possible) or else curls into a helpless catatonic ball. This state of terror lasts for 3d4 rounds.
Psychology: Ability Check or Saving Throw? “Why do I check for frenzy, but save vs. terror?” Good question. This refers back to “Ability Check or Saving Throw?” (see Resolution, p7).
• Hatred, frenzy and stupidity are functions of a character’s internal mindset; hence Ability Checks. • Fear and Terror are (generally) conditions inflicted by external stimuli; hence Saving Throws. • Aggro only affects NPC creatures. One way to determine what monsters are going to do in a binary Y/N outcome is by checking their Morale. The better a creature’s morale, the better it can keep its desire to frag the boss in check.
9 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Poisons
Sometimes the quickest way to take someone out of the picture is to dose him with something nasty. Poison is a pretty effective and definitive statement of disapprobation, but its use has harsh penalties (both socially and in law): no one likes a poisoner.
The world is full of poisonous things, from serpents to mushrooms to mineral compounds. Most animal venoms kill within seconds of injection, plant and fungal toxins within 1d6 hours of consumption, while mineral toxins may be fatal immediately or cumulatively. Tileans have spent centuries researching ever more subtle poisons, some of which only take effect in the presence (or absence) of other chemicals.
Most poisons kill or render incapable. Save vs. poison/death or suffer listed effect. A successful save inflicts the next less intense degree of debilitation until treated. 6 Levels of effect are:
Dead > Helpless > Seizure/Drowsy (as Stunned) > Dizzy (as Floored) > Unaffected
Infamous Toxins Vector Onset Failed Save Belladonna Contact Minutes Dead Black Lotus Extract “ Seconds Dead
Arsenic Ingestion Hours Dead Cyanide “ Seconds Dead Rabid Dog Saliva “ Hours Frenzied Hemlock “ Minutes Dead Wolfsbane “ Hours Dead
Liche Dust Inhalation Minutes Drowsy Hellebore “ Minutes Helpless Mercury Fumes “ Hours Confusion
Centipede Venom Injury Seconds Helpless Scorpion Venom “ Seconds Dead Spider Spittle “ Seconds Dead Tarantula Venom “ Seconds Seizure
Killing That Which Does Not Live Supernatural and daemonic creatures can be poisoned, although usually not by things toxic to mortal life. Some unnatural beasts are poisoned by substances rare and strange: alchemical silver, blessed jade, or holy water. Others wither at the touch of the most innocuous of things: salt, iron, garlic, or the wood, roots and seeds of particular plants. The particular effects of these atypical arcane poisons are treated in the description of the creature in question.
How Much To Make Him Go Away, Permanently? Prices for toxin are whatever the market will bear. The powers that be dislike the idea of poison, which is a great leveller in the killing people stakes. Unlicensed possession of poison is generally held to be proof of “going equipped to commit murder”. Plan for the usual black market antics, and be prepared to swing for it if caught in possession.
6 Yes, this is more severe than the poison rules of B/X D&D. But then SBVD isn’t meant to be a game where you can just shrug off the envenomed bite of giant serpent with naught but a macho grunt.
10 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Drugs
People in the Grim World of Perilous Adventure will try to get wasted on almost anything. And society is okay with that. Alcoholism and drug addiction are not even recognised as illnesses, merely as gluttonous appetite. The local potentates only come down heavily on drug use if suppliers forget to pay the informal ‘non guild retail trade tax’, or if all gets a bit Gin Lane and starts to affect tax revenues.
Most drugs are toxins if taken in larger doses, or over an extended period. Overdose is entirely too easy if a user has no formal knowledge of what he’s dealing with, or just impaired judgement.
Taking drugs is easy and fun and has a universal mechanic. To whit: procure; take; save vs. poison. Pass = good times, and no lasting harm done. Fail = good times with complications (consult the table below).
Save Failed Take once Habituated (require 1/day) Take again while habituated Addicted (require 3/day) Take again while addicted Overdose (save or Keith Moon)
Withdrawal So you’re habituated/addicted and can’t get any of the good stuff. Take the relevant withdrawal penalty to all actions until you can feed the monkey, which you totally will if any of what you hanker for is handy (Willpower check or go hog wild).
Taking extra doses while under the effect of your initial hit (addiction can be fun like that) has all sorts of entertaining side effects.
Popular Drugs Dur Effect 2 doses 3+ doses Withdrawal Black Lotus 2d6 hrs Drowsy Hallucination Death 4 Bottled Love 1d6 hrs Arousal Palpitations Death 2 Crimson Shade 1d6 hrs Hatred Palpitations Death 3 Lustrian Marching Powder 3d10 min Stupidity Frenzy Palpitations 1 Mad Cap Mushrooms 1d6 hrs Frenzied Death 3 Rye Mould 3d6 hrs Hallucination Helpless Death 1 Sultan’s Resin 1d6 hrs Dizzy Drowsy Unconscious 2 Weirdroot 1d6 hrs Drowsy Hallucination Unconscious 3
Arousal: You are hot for it, where ‘it’ has a value of ‘whatever crosses your path’. Hallucination: Save vs. poison or act in a hilariously inappropriate – and likely dangerous – manner. Palpitations: Save vs. poison or treated as Stunned, albeit unpleasantly conscious, for 3d10 minutes. Death: Indecorously dead in 1d6 rounds.
Other status effects not listed here are covered under Psychology (p9) or Poison (p10).
What’s This Gonna Cost Me? Prices for drugs are whatever the market will bear. Many jurisdictions place punitive taxes on these goods, usually at the behest of the Distillers and Apothecaries Guilds. This invariably leads to all the usual black market antics, or – as we call them around here – opportunities for profit and advancement.
Kicking the Habit Going without a hit for a month (or 4d6+10 days, if you feel the need to throw dice about it) and then passing a save vs. poison (modified by the relevant withdrawal penalty) cures you of addiction, as does becoming habituated to a new drug. So you can either get clean the hard way, or you can stave off your unfashionable and debilitating smack habit by becoming addicted to cocaine, and vice versa. 7
Addiction: Ability Check or Saving Throw? Once again, the mechanics presented here refer back to “Ability Check or Saving Throw?” (see Resolution, p7).
• Saving throws are to resist the physiological/psychoactive effects once a drug is in your system. • Ability checks are to resist the urge to go all Dr Rockso in the first place.
7 It worked for Alistair Crowley, so what could possibly go wrong? I dunno. Maybe you could ask all those late Victorians weaned off their debilitating addiction to opium by doctors who prescribed morphine and heroin as substitutes! Relapse rates into opium use were recorded as being gratifyingly low…
11 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Disease
Disease is a fact of life in the filthy living conditions encountered in SBVD. There is no systematic epidemiology: diseases, syndromes and chronic conditions are categorised by their symptoms and visible effects, rather than by a true understanding of their operation. More primitive societies consider disease to be evidence of moral failing on the part of the sufferer, sure evidence that they have somehow offended the gods.
Exotic infections are an occupational hazard to adventuring types. To keep things simple all diseases require a save vs. poison/death when exposed to their vector of transmission, with failure indicating that the lucky character has a colourful new complication in his life.
Infamous Medical Afflictions Vir. = Virulence (save modifier) Inc. = Incubation Period (in days) Dur. = Duration of illness (in days)
Name Vector Vir Inc Dur Symptoms Effect Remedy Black Plague Rats, fleas 2 2d10 2d10 Coughing, fever, 1 to all ability Flower posies. black buboes, scores/day. And prayer. death Death if any stat Panicked, fervent drops to 0. prayer. Frothing Tileans, foul +0 2d6 3d6 Frothing at mouth, 1 Tgh per day. Wrap in heated Yellow Pox water fever, death blankets. The Kruts Goats, +0 1d8 2d10 Itching, rash 4 Fel while Daily application Dwarves affected. of creosote to affected area Mootish Halflings +0 1d4 2d10 Rotten odour from ½ Mv, 4 to Ag Poultice of Stinkfoot feet checks. mashed Halfling Gurglish Rot Curse or 4 1d6 3d10 Vomiting, 1 to all ability Poultice of Chaotic diarrhoea, scores/day. mouldy bread influence pustules, Rise as Daemon decomposing flesh of Disease if any stat drops to 0. Scurvish Sailors, +0 3d10 2d6 Tooth loss, 1d6 all mental Fresh fruit, Gob Rot poor diet nonsense speech, ability scores essence of flawed judgement (Int, Will, Fel). albatross in grog Sinople Pox Viciously 2 1d10 2d10 Green or red 6 to all ability Ice baths and disputed pustules, fever or checks and cool blankets, or chills saving throws hot eggs up the while affected. fundament Sylvanian Corpses, +0 1d6 2d6 Blue grey skin 1 Tgh per day. Potation of Tomb Rot graveyard tone, open sores No natural calcined Mummy miasmas healing possible. bones Wound Rot Weapons, +0 1d4 2d8 Inflammation, Prevents natural Eating ground (Infected animal bite, fever, affedted healing. 1d6 Ag iron, application Wounds) sewage area rots while affected. of maggots
Jolly Uncle Gurgle’s Super Happy Funtime Instant Disease Generator Need a particularly horrible affliction, fast? The GM should apply horrific effects as he sees fit, the more grotesque the better. Whether the sufferer ever fully recovers from the disease, or if he remains a wasted shell of a man, is also at the GM’s option. Err on the side of “disfiguring, unpleasant, but not viciously debilitating.”
1d12 Disease Name 1 [d2 of Humour, Symptom or Magnitude] Ague 2 Canker of the [body part] 3 [Animal or Symptom] Cough 4 [any descriptor] Fever 5 [Humour] Flux 6 [Place] Measles 7 [Colour or Place] Plague 8 [d3 of Colour, Animal, Place or Magnitude] Pox 9 [any descriptor] Rot 10 [d2 of Place or Symptom] Sweats 11 [Place or body part] Wen 12 “An inexplicable medical mystery. One for the journals.”
Colour: Red, blue, umber, puce, crimson, etc. The more lurid and obscure a shade the better. Humour: Blood, bile, phlegm, choler. If you want to think up more humours that’s fine by me. Place: Named for city, region or nation: Saratogan, Reman, Bilbali, Sylvanian, Talabecan, Mootish, Khyprian, Hekharan, Estalian, Breton, Norse, Cathayan, Lustrian, etc. Symptom: Wheezing, shivering, sweating, gibbering, foaming, seeping, gritty, galloping, etc. Magnitude: Petty, lesser, great, ghastly, mickle, horrible, etc.
12 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Medicines and Healing
Medicine in SBVD is empirical at best, and more often than not absurdly wrongheaded. Although correlations between dirt and infection have been observed there is no germ theory of disease. Illnesses as varied as the common cold, cholera and cancer are almost randomly attributed to miasmas, celestial influences, to tiny invisible daemons of disease, or to the personal hobby horse of the physician being consulted (“Every learned man concurs that purple cloth, by virtue of its chromatic resonance with the arcane wind of death, carries disease. You’ll have to burn that jacket. And probably those pants too…”).
In game terms, if a character is afflicted with disease and chronic ailments he’s going to be wholly at the mercy of his (drunken, semi competent, shaky handed) physician and whatever fad or fashion is currently en vogue among the leech fondling fraternity. The GM might want to represent this with a random chance that a treatment actually harms (poisons, weakens, causes damage or wound rot, exacerbates the existing problem, etc.) the character upon whom it is inflicted. The physician still expects payment in such circumstances.
The harsh do or die schools of battlefield medicine and invasive surgery have largely escaped the dead hand of the theoreticians and leech farm lobbyists. Surgeons, although socially inferior to physicians, pride themselves on being more practical and rational than their pompous, pampered rivals. Unfortunately their techniques and equipment are just as rudimentary as those found in the salons of the gouty and pox ridden. Deftly wielded knives, drills, saws, hot pitch, bandages and splints are the limit of surgical sophistication. Opium poppies and alcohol are the commonest anaesthetics, and with fire, alcohol, lime wash and hot water as the current state of the art in antiseptics wound rot and other secondary infections are rife.
Miraculous and magical healing exist; but many people are loath to trust their precious health to the power of Chaos or the whims of enigmatic gods. Better to resort to that time tested poultice of stink nettles and mashed weasel bollocks.
And no, a player character physician cannot single handedly replicate the development of modern scientific medicine through a series of ‘lucky guesses’ and ‘simple structured experiments’. Injecting people with milder forms of diseases and/or cutting up dead bodies for research is verboten in most jurisdictions. Legally such things are classed as poisoning or necromancy, and rumours of such goings on always gets the witch hunters and all purpose angry mob excited.
Miracles of Modern Medicine Anyone can slap some clean linen over a gushing wound, but doing anything more requires at least a modicum of medical knowledge. Any medical intervention requires an Int check (halved if the character has no claim to even empirical medical training).
Stop Wound Loss: Check at +4 bonus. Prevents character from bleeding out (see Combat, p16) Treat Light Wounds: Takes 1 turn, restores 1d4 Wounds. Accelerate Recovery: Doubles rate of natural Wound recovery.
Set Broken Limb: Limb must be bound up for 1d4+2 weeks. Amputation/ Patient dies of blood loss, shock or infection if failed. Invasive Surgery: Recovery time as if critically injured.
Healing Times Players do whine on when you take away their precious Wounds and Ability Scores. Minimize their whining with the following – harsh but fair – recovery times. All recovery times assume non strenuous physical activity and relatively clean living conditions. The rigours and squalor of adventuring != convalescence.
Lightly Injured (flesh wounds; Wounds remaining) 1 Wound/day Critically Injured (limb, organ, cranial damage; 0 Wounds) 1 Wound/week Recovering from Ability Score loss 1 point/week/score
13 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Insanity
I know some people find the idea of sanity systems in RPGs less than tasteful, but they’ve been an integral part of WFRP since the year dot. This is a game of darkly comic horror, where sometimes the only sane response to the unrelenting horror of a world sinking in misery, squalor and corruption is to go stark, staring mad.
The attitude towards mental illness in SBVD is horribly ignorant. There is no difference in the popular imagination between insanity and daemonic possession; both are seen as clear manifestations of Chaos in the world. Relatively harmless ‘village idiots’ or ‘noddy men’ are tolerated, their conditions provoking pity or laughter. The violent or unsettling mad, on the other hand, are treated with fear and loathing, with lynch mobs forming at the least provocation.
A character gains an Insanity Point (IP) if any of the following conditions are met:
• Failing a Terror test (see Psychology, p9) • Surviving drug overdose (see Drugs, p11) • Suffering a Critical Hit (see Combat, p16) • Other: failing to save a loved one, suffering torture, encounter with Chaos, etc.
On first passing the threshold of 5 IP, and for each IP gained thereafter, a character must make a save vs. Death/Poison:
Pass = the pressure continues to build… Common Name We’d know it as… Fail = the character’s fragile mental state finally Alienated Flesh Body Dysmorphia succumbs to the horror of it all. Bestial Rage Psychotic Rage Crushing Despair Suicidal Tendencies A character who goes insane loses 5 IP from his Delirious Saviour Messianic Delusions accumulated total, but gains a colourfully named Cataclysmic Mania Eschatic Delusions insanity (usually, but not always, related to Heartless Hate Sociopathy whatever finally drove him over the edge). Gaining Inescapable Memory Obsession, fixated on event another 5 IP either advances an existing insanity in Loathsome Mistrust Unfocused Paranoia some catastrophic way, or gives the character a Mandrake Mania Addiction to Mandrake Root whole new aspect of unreason to explore. Profane Persecutions Focused Paranoid Delusions Razed Recollection Amnesia When confronted with an opportunity to act out an Restless Fingers Kleptomania insanity the sufferer must make a Willpower check: Slave to the Vine Dipsomania Thrall of Chance Compulsive Gambling Pass = the character holds it together enough to Unreasoning Fear Phobia stay within the (usually generous) social norms Tides of Joy and Dread Bi polar Manic Depression accorded to adventurers. Fail = “Oh dear, here we go again…”
Curing Insanity Insanity can be managed through regimens of drugs and behavioural modification therapy and, on rare occasions, cured by surgery or powerful magic. Be warned that all of these expedients are wildly hit and miss. Scholars, surgeons and apothecaries are universally agreed that merely ‘talking it out’ achieves absolutely nothing. Such dire straits require heroic (if often catastrophically wrongheaded) intervention.
14 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Mutation
The common yokel hates and fears deviation from the physical norm as evidence of the taint of Chaos. When whipped up by witch hunters or zealous preachers even civilised urbanites will readily drive from their midst those marked with extra digits, vestigial tails, funny shaped birthmarks, or ginger hair. More severe mutations (tentacles, horns, feathers or scales, etc.) are obvious marks of Chaos; anyone manifesting them will be burnt at the stake unless they flee the inevitable torch and pitchfork party.
If exposed to the influence of Chaos (Weirdstone, catastrophic spell failure, backwash of a daemonic summoning, a bracing hike through the Northern Wastes, etc.) a character must make a save vs. Poison/Death, developing some form of mutation if they fail. Generally the more intense or prolonged the exposure the greater the degree of mutation, but don’t hold to this as a hard and fast rule. Chaos is, well, chaotic.
Some mutations can be concealed with clever tailoring or prosthetics. A successful Int check is required to spot a concealed mutation, modified by location and severity of mutation, lighting conditions, GM fiat, etc. It’s easy enough to hide a sixth toe from most people, but a steaming, smoking mechanical limb, transparent skin or a parasitic second head that sings blasphemous songs isn’t so easily obfuscated.
Mutations can be removed by surgery (although they may grow back – the caprices of Chaos are not so easily thwarted), by cleansing fire, or through a miraculous intercession involving the willing sacrifice of “one of innocent blood”. That last is a fancy way of saying GM fiat as the objective of a particular quest.
The GM should roll on the mutation table of his choice. Mutations should rarely, if ever, be picked.
(If you want access to the true, proper and sacred WFRP mutations tables then refer either to an obscure little volume entitled Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness , or to the RoC lite Tome of Corruption for WFRP 2E. Andrew Fawcett also produced a handy fanwork compilation of iconic WFRP mutations entitled “Chaos Mutations”, for which consult Google.)
15 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Combat
Initiative SBVD uses B/X D&D’s optional individual initiative rule (1d6 +/ Ag mod.) as standard.
Actions You get one action per round. Moving (up to Mv rate) and swiping wildly counts as an action, as does aiming and firing a missile weapon, casting a spell, running away (up to 3x Mv rate), etc. More than one Attack on your profile allows additional attacks per round, but not additional movement or spell casting. It no Я complex.
Hitting People for Fun and Profit SBVD uses Dan Collin’s Target 20 system for combat resolution. Why? Because simple and intuitive is good.
To hit: get 20 or more from the total of your WS/BS + their AC + d20 .
WS = melee bonus to hit (class modifier +/ Str mod) BS = ranged bonus to hit (class modifier +/ Ag mod – cover mod) AC = Armour Class (armour worn +/ Ag mod)
Further Complexity Rolling a natural 20 in melee allows you to make a follow up attack during the same combat round. Rolling a natural 1 in melee allows your enemy to riposte, making an additional attack against you.
Combat Options It’s assumed that characters protect themselves in melee; they don’t just stand there exchanging blows like mechanical figures on a municipal clock tower. If the GM allows especially cautious or reckless behaviour in combat may result in mechanical advantage. This ties in nicely with psychological effects (see Psychology, p9).
Dive for Cover Forego attack, gain +1d4 bonus to AC against missile fire. Unless the fight is taking place in a ballroom there’s always some cover within diving distance. Fight Defensively Forego attack to confer a penalty = WS on enemy attack (as Parry, LLAEC p152) Furious Attack Take 4 penalty to AC, gain +2 bonus to hit.
Several warrior careers also have career skills with an effect on combat:
Dodge Blow (Marine, Militiaman, Servant) 1 from damage inflicted by any melee weapon Street Fighting (Bodyguard) Never count as being unarmed Strike Mighty Blow (Mercenary) +1 damage with any melee weapon Strike to Injure (Protagonist) May swap damage for debilitating effect on enemy ( 2 to all rolls until healed) Strike to Stun (Footpad, Watchman) May swap damage for Stun effect on enemy (save vs. paralysis to avoid)
16 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Damage In both B/X D&D and WFRP base weapon damage was 1d6, modified by Str and by any special rules that applied to the weapon type. One wrinkle that WFRP added was an exploding damage die:
Re roll to hit if 6 comes up on damage dice. Another hit = damage of 6+1d6+modifiers.
This simple and elegant system can be replaced by the variable damage system from B/X D&D, or by the weapon qualities of WFRP 2E, if the GM prefers (see Weapons, p18 19).
Combat Conditions Sometimes a blow will do more than simply cause damage. The most common effects (in increasing order of severity) are:
Floored: Prone (no movement), defensive actions only. Enemies gain +2 to hit Stunned: Prone. No actions may be taken. Enemies gain +4 to hit Helpless: Paralysed or unconscious. Enemies hit automatically for x2 damage. Bleeding Out: Dead in 1d6 rounds if not healed. Any further hits: coin flip, tails = dead
Hit Location This is an optional rule, generally used in connection with critical hits or specialist weapons like lassos and bolas, or because the GM feels like enforcing the “No helmet? Head = AC9” rule today. Roll a d10:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 0 Leg, l Leg, r Arm, l Arm, r Torso Head
Critical Hits When a character you actually care about (PC, named NPC) is reduced to 0 Wounds take the overkill damage (total damage – remaining Wounds), add 1d10, and compare to the chart below. Make another roll each time the character is damaged further. Anyone who isn’t significant enough to merit a roll on this table just has a 50% chance of dying at 0 Wounds (coin flip, tails = dead). Yeah, it sucks to be insignificant.
As you can imagine, getting gnawed on by a creature that does multiple dice of damage on a hit is almost invariably fatal, but that’s as it should be.
Overkill + d10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14+ Result 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10
Arm Leg Head Body 1 Butterfingers Staggered Disoriented Winded Drop wielded item Lose next action Lose next action 4 to all actions for 1 rnd 2 Arm numbed Leg numbed Ears ringing Kidney Jab No attack or Ag bonus Mv 1 and 4 to Ag Stunned for 1 rnd Stunned for 1 rnd to AC for 1 rnd checks for 1 rnd 3 Arm numbed Leg numbed Nose crumpled Groin shot As #3 for 1d4 rnds As #3 for 1d4 rnds As #3 for 1d4 rnds Stunned for 1d4 rnds 4 Hand incapacitated Leg incapacitated Scalp sliced Ribs cracked Cannot use hand Floored 1 rnd, Mv 1 2 to all actions 2 to all actions 5 Arm broken Hip cracked Concussed Badly winded Cannot use arm Stunned 1d4 rnds, 4 to all actions 4 to all actions Mv 1 for 1d6 rnds for 1d6 rnds 6 Arm mauled Leg mauled Flattened Walloped As #5 + bleeding out As #5 + bleeding out Stunned for 1d10 rnds Stunned for 1d10 rnds 7 Arm mangled Leg mangled KO ed Gutted As #6 + save or die As #6 + save or die Helpless for Helpless + bleeding out or lose hand or lose foot 1d10 minutes 8 Arm hanging off Leg hanging off Face mangled Spine Crushed As #6 + save or die As #6 + save or die As #7 + save or die As #7 + save vs. paralysis or lose arm at elbow or lose leg at knee or lose an eye or lose use of legs 9 Dead, bloodily so 10 Dead, messily so
Unless duration is listed penalties last until the injured character is treated by a medically competent healer.
There’s no shame in surrendering, or in just staying down and quietly awaiting assistance, if reduced to 0 Wounds. Only the most ferocious combatants (berserks, wild boars, Trollslayers, warriors/daemons of RAEG!) will keep fighting beyond this point. You probably want to avoid that kind of nutter.
17 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Weapons
Many, varied and exotic are the tools of death. Any and all weapons from B/X D&D are available, along with a bunch of rare and specialised quasi Renaissance kill toys.
A note on carried weapons: Carrying a knife is unremarkable even in polite company, many workingmen carry potentially lethal tools of the trade (axe, club, meat cleaver, crowbar, ratting shovel, etc.), and the gentry are positively expected to wear an elegant ‘hanger’ (rapier) as a mark of their status. However, wandering the bustling streets of Burgdorfstadt clad in full armour and tooled up for mayhem will get you turned away by merchants and/or stopped by the guard. There’s a time and place for such things, and market day is not it!
Weapon Properties These rules may be used to differentiate weapons beyond simple raw damage potential.
Property Weapon Mechanic (2H)anded Battle axe, flail, halberd, heavy crossbow, Roll 2K1 damage. Strikes last in melee morning star, pole arm, two handed sword (B)raced Spear, halberd, lance, pole arm 2x damage vs. chargers (Ch)arge Lance, scimitar 2x damage in cavalry charge (C)ompact Dagger, shortsword, pistol Usable in tight spaces (Fl)ail Flail Ignore shield bonus to AC (Fi)rearm Arquebus, blunderbuss, jezzail, pistol Ignore armour bonus to AC at short range, Misfire on Nat 1 to hit (save vs. poison/death or take 1d6 damage), *really* noisy (Q)uick Dagger, pistol, any one handed sword May be drawn as free action (R)each Spear, lance, pole arm Wins initiative vs. non reach weapons (Sn)are Bola, lasso, mancatcher, net, whip May entangle opponent (T)hrown Dagger, bola, dart, hammer, hand axe, May be thrown javelin, lasso, net, spear, trident
Crossbows The original point and click weapon has been elaborated on by weaponsmiths who have created ingenious specialised versions for the discerning killer. Cheaper and quieter than guns, and easier to master than self or compound bows, crossbows are still popular among hunters and militia.
Repeating A gravity feed magazine (capacity 10) and integrated lever action allow rapid restringing. Wielder may fire twice/round if no movement is taken. Popular with stagecoach guards. Pistol A small all steel crossbow, infamous as an assassin’s weapon and illegal in many jurisdictions. Requires both hands to span with assistance of a mechanical screw, but only one hand to aim/fire.
Fencing Weapons Gentlefolk use smaller, lighter blades than the full sized war sword (variously dubbed the broadsword, claymore, or spadroon) when in civilised company. These light blades and their accompanying array of off hand bucklers and blades are optimised for quick jabbing combat against lightly armoured human sized opponents, not for hacking at shield walls, pike blocks, or gargantuan monsters.
There are several competing styles of fencing, with Tilean sword and buckler fighting being the most famous. Estalian defencing (a one handed style typified by rapid jabs and linear shifts back and forth) and Teutogen duelling (a macho northern style relying on static positioning and reflexive parries and ripostes) also have their adherents, and students will fight to prove the superiority of their chosen style at the least provocation.
Large wooden shields are simply too bulky to be used in conjunction with the rapid movement of fencing. A buckler, dagger, cloak, main gauche or swordbreaker (a fork like weapon with two or three blades set at angles) is more commonly wielded in the off hand.
Judicial shield A curious fencing weapon found in rustic courts where trial by combat remains on the statute books. Only the most eccentric (and short lived) warriors wield such things on the field of battle.
Judicial shields are wielded two handed, and their protrusions and hooks may be used to overbalance, trip or pin opponents. Wielders can elect to either do damage or Floor their opponent (see Combat). The defender chooses whether they want to take the damage or suffer the penalties of being floored.
18 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Non Lethal Weapons Sometimes it’s worth keeping the enemy alive for questioning or ransom. That’s when non lethal entangling weapons come in handy. A humanoid, physically solid target hit by a non lethal weapon (one with the (Sn)are weapon property) must save vs. paralysis or be tangled. Check the hit location table (see “Combat”, p17) and apply an appropriate effect for maximum hilarity (lasso to the arm = disarmed or caught, bola to the head = spark out). If used two handed, or by more than one person, or as part of a trap, a large net can hopelessly entangle a targeted enemy per the web spell (successful hit and failed save required). Even if the save is successful the entangled must spend a round shaking off the encumbrance. 8
Melee Weapons Cost Enc Dmg Properties Foil 10 1 1d6 +2 to individual initiative Rapier 15 1 1d8 +1 to individual initiative Scimitar/Sabre 10 1 1d6 Ch, Q Buckler 5 1 +1 to AC vs. melee attacks only Main Gauche 10 1 1d4 Second attack ~or~ +1 to melee AC Swordbreaker 10 1 1d4 Second attack ~or~ disarm* Judicial Shield 25 2 1d4 +2 to AC Mancatcher 10 2 1d4 2h, Sn Whip 5 1 1 Sn, 10’ reach
* If a successful parry is made with a swordbreaker, the opponent must save vs. paralysis or be disarmed.
Ranged Weapons Cost Enc Dmg Range ROF Properties Repeating Crossbow 100 2 1d6 40/80/120 1 or 2 2h Crossbow Pistol 50 1 1d6 30/60/90 ½ Bola 5 1 1d3 20/40/60 1 Sn, T Lasso 5 1 10/20/30 1 Sn, T Net 10 2 10/20/30 1 Sn, T
Firearms Prolonged and rigorous alchemical study has revealed the explosive qualities of certain compounds of naturally occurring minerals. Warriors sick and tired of high and mighty wizards hogging the pyrotechnic limelight have gleefully exploited these properties for maximum carnage. Firearms are expensive, fiddly, complicated and prone to failure, but their potential for noise and damage outweighs these failings in many minds.
Arquebus Five feet and 10+lbs of awkward, one shot matchlocked fiddlyness. Look at one of your d20s. That’s about the size of the ball being thrown. Blunderbuss Wide mouthed, short barrelled dispenser of havoc. Damage drops off rapidly at longer range, but it’ll totally ruin the day of anyone nearby. Jezzail Long barrelled, small bore hunting piece. No one has come up with rifling yet, so this is state of the art. Price? If sir has to ask… Pistol Sophisticated snaplock weapon. Don’t think in terms of a snub nose 9mm revolver. Think of something over a foot long with a 12mm bore.
Cost Enc Dmg Range Reload Properties Arquebus 300 2+ 1d10 50/100/200 1 2H, Fi Blunderbuss 100 2+ 1d8/6/4 * 20/40/60 2 2H, Fi Jezzail 2+ 1d8 75/150/300 2 2H, Fi Pistol 200 1+ 1d8 25/50/75 1 C, Fi, Q
* Counts as 2 handed weapon only at short range. Damage drops off as range increases. “Reload” is the number of combat rounds of complete inactivity (no movement, no attacks; nothing but faffing around with the boomstick) required to reload the weapon and ready it for use again.
Grenado Big black ball with a fizzing fuse and “BOMB” written on the side. Grenadoes are popular with grenadier storm troops and black cloaked anarchists, but really unpopular with everyone else. Requires move action to light fuse provided flame is to hand. Grenadoes misfire (roll d10) on a natural 1 to hit:
1 4 Fuse fizzles out 5 7 Fuse delayed 1d3 rounds 8 9 Explodes halfway to target 0 Explodes in the wielder’s hand
Cost Enc Dmg Range Grenado 50 1 4d6 ** 10/30/50
** 10' radius, save vs. device for half.
8 Hey look! Non casters get to throw “save or…” effects around without having to re write the whole D&D game system from scratch. I honestly don’t see how that stumped WOTC for a decade and two whole editions.
19 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Equipment
Characters in SBVD start with very little stuff, and most people are motivated by the desire to gain more and better stuff. This is much easier to achieve if you can leverage your ownership of existing stuff in some ingenious manner. The universal rules of business apply: “it takes money to make money”, and “violence trumps money trumps ethics”.
Money Generally as B/X. Gold Crown (gp), silver Shilling (sp), copper Pfennig (cp). Keep the WFRP names for flavour, but don’t bother with the ‘old money’ (£ S/d) format: such timeless elegance and sophistication in a currency system just overwhelms the colonials. KISS principle applies. Counting on fingers is just easier.
Selling Off Loot So you’re got your hard earned swag to the big city. Congratulations! Time to liquidate it and squander the proceeds. As a general rule, used and/or looted goods yield ~50% of the list price for a new item. There are, as ever, a couple of exceptions to the rule:
• Used/looted markdown does not apply to precious metals, jewels or magic items. Stuff like that always retains value; that’s what makes it so ideal as treasure. • Good stolen from people (not tombs, or monsters) should be fenced, yielding 5 30% of list value. Selling stolen goods openly may result in apprehension and judicial mutilation (branding, finger cropping, etc).
Trade and Buying in Bulk Sometimes you’re going to want to buy something by the batch, barrel or shipload. Be warned that bulk trade is the fiercely protected prerogative of chartered merchant guilds. These cartels of hard nosed mercantile types regularly bribe, beat and burn to safeguard their lucrative local monopolies from competition. Someone with valid guild contacts (You have paid this season’s trading dues I trust?) can expect the following discounts:
Quantity Purchased Price mod. 10+ of an item ¾ list price 100+ of an item ½ list price 1,000+ of an item ¼ list price
The above table is, of course, a gross simplification on market behaviour. Prices and availability will vary wildly by season, market saturation or scarcity, local tax changes and tariff wars, smuggling crackdowns, etc. 9
Quality Some stuff is better made than other stuff. People can, and do, pay through the nose for something superior in terms of utility or bragging rights. There’s also a lot of cheaply made crap out there, which sellers will usually try to pass off as quality product. Caveat emptor .
Quality Mark up Rarity Game effect Fine 10x list price Rare as hen’s teeth (10%) +1 to relevant skill use, 1 enc. Good 3x list price Sought after (30%) 4/5ths normal enc. Poor ½ cost Common as muck 1 to skill use, +50% enc
Armour Big solid chunks of material interposed between one’s soft delicate bits and the harsh realities of the unforgiving world. Armour types are (N)one, (L)ight, (H)eavy and (P)late, which map pretty handily to the armour types found in both TSR’s Chainmail and GW’s Warhammer Fantasy Battle rule sets. Funny that…
Type AC Cost space AC Cost (Clothing) N 9 Shield, buckler * +1 5 Padded N 8 10 Shield, small +1 10 Leather L 7 20 Shield, large +2 25 Scale mail L 6 50 Shield, judicial * +2 25 Chain mail H 5 150 Helmet 10+ Banded mail H 4 250 Plate mail P 3 600 * new item Full plate P 2 1,000
For those who desire the rich local colour of looted and pieced together patchwork armour (traditional in WFRP): a D&D piecemeal armour system appropriate to a 16 th century milieu was presented in the historical sourcebook volume A Mighty Fortress for AD&D 2 nd Ed.
9 If you want comprehensive WFRP trading rules seek out a copy of Death on the Reik , or you could Google for Rolph Seger’s WFRP 2E Trade Tool Excel spreadsheet.
20 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Gear Price and descriptions are generally as B/X. Keith Thompson’s LLA006 General Equipment Lists pdf is suggested for those who care enough about fine detail to distinguish between a keg and a kilderkin, or for when you need definitive figures for the resale value of that stolen glass fronted bookcase.
Gunpowder Accoutrements Match, powder, balls, etc: all the various fiddly bits and pieces that make gunpowder weapons such a delight to use during extended engagements.
Lead shot* 1GC for 10 shot Powder* 3GC for 10 shot Slow Match 1 shilling/foot (burns at 1ft/hr)
* Double cost per shot for the substantial powder and shot requirements of blunderbusses.
Land and Property Becoming Squire Broadacres or a rack renting slumlord is way beyond the intended scope of action in SBVD. As a general rule use the prices for buildings given in Labyrinth Lord (or other game book of your choice). Rental or leasehold price will be 5 10% of purchase price per annum.
Land is a bit more fiddly. Although the cash economy has made inroads a lot of land is still held through a web of feudal obligations. An acre of good grainland yields around 3.5GC per year 10 , and will probably cost around 10 12 times that to purchase outright. Suburban land suitable for market gardening will cost more, and prime urban real estate vastly more.
Prosthetics Replacements for body parts chopped, gnawed or rotted off. Assume 3d6GC for an item of average quality, less for pre owned tat. As ever, more sophisticated lifestyle solutions (lighter, sturdier, more elegant, more comfortable to wear, etc.) will cost more.
Artificial… Poor Average Good Fine Leg Crutch Peg Leg Carved Foot Spring Leg Hand Hook/fork Carved hand Gripping hand Eye Patch Wooden Glass Nose Leather Ceramic Silvered/Gilded Ear Ear horn Prosthetic Teeth Wood Horn Human Ivory Skull Plate Pewter Iron Silver or Gold
Encumbrance
Yes, you could track every ounce of carried weight individually, but that’s just masochistic (and not in the entertaining WFRP fashion). I use James Raggi’s Lamentations of the Flame Princess encumbrance rules: tick off each carried item, to a max of 25: 0 10 = Mv 4, 11 15 = Mv 3, 16 20 = Mv 2, etc.
Enc Enc One handed weapon 1 Shield 1 2 Two handed weapon (inc. bows) 2 Light armour 5 Ammo (per 10 shots) 1 Heavy armour 10 Blunderbuss Ammo (per 10 shots) 2 Plate armour 15
Multiple instances of small, light item 1 Cash 1 per 100 coins Bulky loot (stolen furniture, etc) 5 Carried casualty = Tgh score
The one downside of all that lovely gear and swag is that it is heavy, and can really slow you down at critical moments. If the GM elects he can impose a penalty to any physical Ability Checks of 2 per degree of encumbrance (Mv 3 = 2, Mv 2 = 4, etc). This is why you bring porters.
10 Where did I asspull these figures from? Well, according to the SRD a pound of wheat costs 1cp, and historically an acre of good farmland sown with two bushels of wheat typically yielded eight bushels (480lbs) at harvest. Reserve two bushels for re sowing and you have a net yield of 480 120 = 360lbs, or 360cp.
21 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Treasure
These alternative treasure generation rules have been included for GMs who want to make loot a bit more WFRP ey (i.e. begrudgingly stingy, inconvenient, corpse robbing) than traditional B/X treasure. 11 These rules owe a substantial debt to Dave “Sham” Bowman’s excellent Dismal Depths Treasure Tables .
Pocket Change The vast majority of people and creatures encountered carry “walking around money” of some kind. This might be literal pocket money, or disregarded inedible loot, or body parts that have bounty value (goblin ears) or re sale value (manticore bile ducts), or whatever. You acquire this by looting their cadavers.
As a rule, everyone carries 1d10xW^2 shillings (0 = 1d10xW^2 GC instead, 0 again = “My Precious”, a random piece of swag, jewellery or magic). You might want to add an extra 1d10xW^2 pfennigs for variety.
Notable creatures (boss types, nobles, rich merchants, best of breed, etc.) may disgorge some multiple of normal value for their type. For example: A rich merchant or noble might carry 5x normal silver, have two extra rolls for gold, and up to 3 non cash items (1d10 7). Of course, our putative Herr Bulgen Kaschbagze invariably has half a dozen attentive bodyguards on hand…
Treasuries, Troves and Hoards The royal road to ill gotten wealth isn’t in opportunistic muggings and highway robbery, but rather in knocking over cash rich traders, tribes, temples, tombs and the like. When the party secure a tribal hoard, ancient grave goods, etc. roll once for each category of the eight types of treasure on the tables below.
W of Owner/Guards: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12+ Gold Crowns (1d12 6x)* 50 100 200 500 1,000 2,000 3,000 Silver Shillings (1d6x) 100 200 500 1,000 2,000 5,000 10,000 Copper Pfennigs 1d100x100xW, always present
* An adjusted result of 0 or less indicates that no gold is present in the hoard.
For non cash treasure check using the die type indicated vs. TN equal or less than W of the opposition .
Success = the hoard contains # of items of that loot type equal to the number on the die. Fail = treasure eating moths ate that particular category of loot from this hoard.
Type Die Type Example Value per Item Clothing 1d6 vs. W Fine apparel and fashionable décor: 1d10x5GC, 0 = 50GC + re roll* fur cloaks, bolts of silk, rugs, tapestries, etc. Goods 1d8 vs. W Well crafted useful items: candelabra, 2d10x10GC, 0 = +1d10x10GC cutlery, plate, cruet sets, jars of spices, etc. Artwork 1d10 vs. W Objects d’art: cameos, paintings, statues, 1d10x20GC, 0 = 200GC + re roll* vases, ivories, furniture, books, etc. Gem/Jewel 1d12 vs. W You know what these are, right? 1d10x50GC, 0 = 500GC + re roll* Magic 1d20 vs. ½W Ditto Generate per B/X.
* All “roll again” results explode, doubling all values added with each successive 0. So, for example, a gem/jewel roll of “0,0,0,3” would indicate items of (2,000 + 3x400 =) 3,200GC in value.
Non coin swag encumbers 1 Enc per item, except for gems, which encumber as coinage (100 = 1 Enc).
Where’s All The Gold Gone?! I know, I know. Under this system of treasure generation the average gold yield of a dragon or clan of orcs drops to ~10% of expected B/X norms, which totally skews the incentive system. 12 That’s why Clothing, Goods and Artwork have been added as treasure types: they boost treasure values while hopefully giving loot a little bit more variation than yet another pile of boring old money. 13
Other reasons for adding tableware and art as swag included: 1) verisimilitude: gold and silver were traditionally held in the forms of plate and jewellery (both for security reasons, and because these were socially acceptable forms in which to flaunt wealth before one’s peers), and 2) entertainment value: watching the PCs lug that ornate marquetry arras back to civilisation in one piece should be good for a few laughs…
11 You humble scribe has never been enamoured of the treasure tables of Classic D&D. Five(!) coin metals and three types of shiny thing, only one of which (Magic) is something other than a gp equivalent? Pah! Any loot generator that doesn’t have the PCs stealing boots and tearing out the furnishings is just Doing It Wrong!
12 A kill/loot XP ratio of 20/80 or 25/75 is traditional in Classic D&D, which puts the emphasis firmly on theft over massacre as means of advancement. XP for gold: a feature, not a bug.
13 Sure, coins are fungible, but let’s face it after the first chest of pirate gold they’re just ledger entries.
22 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Hirelings & Retainers
It’s nice having flunkies and cronies around to do your bidding, sing your praises, carry your stuff, and take care of the dreary little details of life. Adventurers tend to acquire hangers on like a nasty rash; that heady aroma of doomed glamour and easy gold unerringly draws opportunists, thieves, conmen and trulls, at least until it gets dangerous.
Hirelings Use B/X rules (or the more comprehensive figures presented in OSRIC , BECMI or Lamentations of the Flame Princess ) as guidelines on pay and conditions for your malingering 0 level hired lackeys.
Don’t expect that hirelings will take an arrow for you, or even work an extra minute out of loyalty. Unless watched like hawks apprentices will skive off, maids and footmen will gossip and pilfer, and stewards will embezzle (“Perks of the job, innit squire”). Yes, you can totally hire a bunch of scruffy street urchins as personal gophers, lookouts, catamites or whatever; just don’t expect any loyalty from them either. Use Morale checks to establish whether the hired help succumb to bribes, idleness, petty theft, and similar temptations whenever temptation crosses their path.
Mercenaries Use B/X rules, but recall that the WFRP world has more strictures on the political use of force than a classic ‘fantasy frontier’ game world. A burgess or gentleman accompanied around town by a couple of burly cudgel armed bodyguards won’t raise eyebrows, but retaining a dozen armed and armoured horsemen to defend one’s honour is definitely a noble prerogative (“My young cousins and nephews: a rash, touchy crowd…”).
Recruiting, equipping and training large numbers of men for purposes opaque and nefarious is severely frowned on by the powers that be: those are someone’s cheap labour pool and militia reserve you’re hiring away. Yes, there are mercenary companies are available for hire, but such concentrations of unaligned military force become very political, very quickly. Be prepared to lay the necessary ‘gifts in anticipation’ on extra thick.
Retainers Retainers are class levelled second string adventurers who will stand by their employer through thick and thin, or at least so long as they get their cut of the loot. A retainer is at least as much a trusted ally and comrade in arms as he is a mere employee. All normal B/X rules for retainers apply in SBVD.
PC must make successful 2d6 Reaction Check to hire a prospective retainer. Humans and Halflings are common (d10, 1 9), Dwarves and Elves rare (d10, 0). Roll for Ability Scores, Class, career and trappings of the retainer as for a starting PC.
Max. retainers: 4 +/ Fel mod. Their morale: 7 +/ Fel mod. Their cut: ½ normal share of loot and XP each
Retainers are equipped out of the PC’s pocket and controlled by the player during play. The GM should only step in to veto blatant attempts to use them as canaries, trap springers, meat shields or suchlike ‘onerous duty’ fodder (“You want to know if it’s safe down there? After you Freiherr…”).
Although loyal many retainers have long term ambitions of their own. Check against a retainer’s morale after each adventure. If the check fails the retainer retires from service (to marry his sweetheart, open an inn, join a guild/cult/the army, set up his own capers, or whatever). This check can be adjusted in the player’s favour by offering extra pay, or by working to advance the retainer’s ambition.
I suggest you don’t bother with “The Gods Hate You!” modifiers when rolling to hire or keep retainers: 2d6 rolls are hard enough to pass as is.
He’s Dead? Right. I’m the Daddy Now! If a PC dies the player can promote his senior hireling to the status of full share PC in good standing, complete with Fate Points (see p7). The new PC enjoys full XP, swag and corpse looting rights from that moment. The new PC must pay 10% inheritance tax on any property, goods or chattels gained from his late predecessor. (“Either a tithe of the value, or the whole estate is forfeit to the Kaiser’s tax collectors. Your choice…”)
How They’d React When things get dangerous, the distinction between hireling, mercenary and retainer comes into stark relief.
The inevitable masked assassins have finally come for you. They crash in through the window and… …the hired help run screaming, fighting to ensure their own escape. …the mercenaries fight, fleeing if opposition is tough or if their payday (you!) bites the dust. …your retainer draws his sword and ploughs in. That’s his bread and butter they’re f***ing with!
23 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Magic
As ane fule kno the use of magic in the world of WFRP (and thus in SBVD) is much riskier than in B/X D&D. Magic is the stuff of Chaos in the world, and casting spells is the imposition of a mortal’s will upon Chaos energy. As you might imagine, this is an insanely dangerous way of making a living. All those elaborate rituals and weird paraphernalia aren’t just mumbo jumbo designed to impress the rubes; they’re time tested protective gear just as vital as the graphite rods and lead shielding in a nuclear power plant. Of course, those same rites and juju are dead giveaways to the inevitable witch hunters and pitchfork posses.
Giving Them the Explodo SBVD uses a straight rip of the WFRP 2E casting system (already familiar to players of Legend of the Five Rings , which is basically WFRP + samurai) because it’s an unimprovably vindictive mini game of Russian roulette. There are no limits on spells/day, other than the caster's own prudence and the tolerance of locals…
To cast: roll d10s = character’s Casting Dice vs. Target Number (TN) of spell
Equal or better: Success “Just as planned.” Less than TN: Failure “Winds of magic say NO!” All dice = 1s: Fumble As above + save vs. magic, caster gains +1 IP if failed
Wearing armour while attempting to bend the uncontrolled power of Chaos to your will is generally not a good idea. All that iron plays havoc with the flow of magic. Add +1 to TN per 1 AC of armour worn.
Our Wizards Are Different There are three arcane traditions accepted (or at least semi accepted) in polite society. These are:
• The time hallowed rites of priestly prayer, which most people don’t thing of as toying with Chaos. • The scholarly magic of the wizard traditions. • The half assed word of mouth tomfoolery of the craft mysteries, hedge wizards and cunning folk.
Cleric: Cast Divine Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Divine Wrath. Wizard: Cast Arcane Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Curse of Chaos. Hedge wizard*: Cast Hedge Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Curse of Chaos in spades.
* Any academic who isn’t a Priestly Initiate or Apprentice Wizard can dabble in the infernal arts. Lacking the rigorous training and protective gear of their more respectable peers they are even more prone to having it all go horribly wrong on them. Hedge wizards roll an extra die whenever they attempt to cast any spell. This doesn’t count towards the total accumulated by their Casting Dice, just towards checks for Curse of Chaos.
Curse of Chaos If any casting dice match the wizard has sorely mishandled his magic and becomes subject to magical backlash; the more dice match, the more severe the effect.
Doubles Minor Manifestation 1in20 chance of (2,2) Caster glows with eldritch light for 1d10 rounds, milk curdles, major manifestation animals flee, ghostly voices, caster takes minor damage, etc. Triples Major Manifestation 1in20 chance of (5,5,5) Caster gains visible infernal mark lasting 24 hours, stunned for 1 arcane catastrophe round, gains +1 IP, a minor daemon appears, suffers magical burnout ( 1 Casting Dice for the next 24 hours), etc. Quads Arcane Catastrophe! 1in10 chance caster is (7,7,7,7) Casters falls unconscious for 1d10 minutes, gains +1d10 IP, sucked into Realm of 1d6 daemons appear, caster takes random critical hit, etc. Chaos
Wrath of God Priestly magic doesn’t normally result in the kind of grotesque outburst of Chaotic power that plague wizards. However, if any casting dice match the priest’s god requires some self sacrificial rite of his pawn *ahem* devoted servant. This can be anything the GM finds amusing and thematically appropriate, such as “no more spells for you today”, “1d10 minutes of penitential prayer, right now! Yes, in the middle of the fight”, “1d10 rounds of self flagellation with a spiked knout”, or even “no more spells until you go on a penitential pilgrimage”. Refusal of a direct command from Upstairs is not recommended.
24 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Petty Magic Apprentice magic, either learnt by trial and error, or as trade secrets, or drummed into the apprentice by rote. Most petty magic spells map readily to low level spells found either in B/X, or in the d20 SRD. You’ll probably want to chop most of the durations listed from turns or hours down to minutes at most: magic in SBVD is envisioned as short duration boosts or stunts, not the stuff of daily morning buffing rituals.
Petty Arcane TN Effect Glowing Light 3 as light Sounds 4 as ghost sounds Drop 4 as targeted grease (SRD) Marsh Lights 6 as dancing lights (SRD) Magic Dart 6 as magic missile Sleep 6 as sleep , one target, touch attack
Petty Divine TN Effect Courage 3 as remove fear Speed 4 as cat’s grace (SRD) Fortitude 5 as bear’s endurance (SRD) Healing 5 as cure light wounds Might 6 as bull’s strength (SRD) Protection 7 Enemy must save or target another opponent
Petty Hedge TN Effect Prot from Rain 3 You’re unaffected by rain, and float if immersed Magic Flame 5 Casts light as candle, can ignite flammable material Gust 4 Wind knocks over small objects, scatters paper Ghost Step 4 as pass without trace (SRD) Ill Fortune 5 as bestow curse Shock 6 save or stunned, touch attack
Lesser Magic These universal spells are largely inherited from an older system of magic that predates the modern Lores vouchsafed unto men by smug know it all Elves. All characters capable of using magic know 1d3 of these (determined randomly), even if they can’t yet cast the spell successfully due to the TN. Learning an additional Lesser Magic spell costs 100xp and 1d4 weeks of study, meditation, fasting and drug assisted dream questing. Magical research in SBVD looks more like a Russ Nicholson pic than anything else.
Lesser Spell TN Effect Move Object 4 as ghost hand (SRD) Aethyr Armour 5 as mage armour (SRD) Bless Weapon 6 as lesser magic weapon (SRD) Magic Lock 7 as wizard lock Magic Alarm 8 as alarm Silence 10 as silence , one target Skywalk 11 3xMv for 1 round, leap up to 6 yds vertical Dispel 13 as dispel magic
Arcane Lores The high powered flash bang effects of College, High, Dark and Chaos Magic are largely beyond the scope of SBVD. But it’s quite remarkable how readily the various spell lists of WFRP 2E map to the eight schools of magic in the d20 SRD. 14
SRD School WFRP Lore Abjuration Light Illusion Shadow Divination Heavens Necromancy Death Evocation Fire Conjuration Beasts Transmutation Metal Enchantment Life
Should you feel the need to include high powered magic in your game you could either use WFRP 2E spells as written, or pick a thematically appropriate B/X spell, assume a casting TN of around 6(+/ 2) per D&D spell level, and give it an appropriately pompous pseudo Vancian name.
14 Or how clearly WFRP 2E talents map to SRD feats. Or the WFRP 2E action economy maps to that of the SRD combat system. Or how XP per career requirements in WFRP map to XP per level requirements in D&D. Or how WFRP armour types and protective values map to D&D AC. Or how both WFRP and B/X use the same arbitrary 10 to the lb units for their encumbrance systems. Or…well, you get the idea.
25 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Magic Items
Many of the magic items in WFRP had direct equivalents in D&D. A magic sword/shield/codpiece is what it is; ditto such folkloric standbys as hats/rings/potions of invisibility, cornucopia of endless sandwiches, seven league boots, et blah. Use the WFRP 1E item lists as a guideline to what’s out there, erring on the side of mystery and scarcity. Requiring the players to (gingerly) experiment with their new arcane toys is entirely in keeping with the intended spirit of the game.
Side Effects All magic items in SBVD (with the exception of Runes and Dawnstones) have side effects. That’s an inherent aspect of the Chaotic nature of magic in the WFRP world. These side effects will usually be little more than cosmetic, but may be greatly amplified in locales of great magical potency (Waystones, the Chaos Wastes, etc.) And, yes, even magic items imported from other sources gain side effects in SBVD.
Amulets Amulet of Amber: the wearer is able to speak and understand the language of beasts. Whether they have any desire to speak to him, or anything useful to impart, is entirely another matter. Side effect: the wearer is the locus of a low level field of static electricity. He enters a world of constant static cling, bad hair, minor shocks as he earths against things, and playing havoc with compasses. Witch hunters suspect the very worst of such inexplicable phenomena.
Amulet of Blessed Copper: Unerringly detects poison at a range of one foot and grants +4 bonus to saving throws made to resist the effects of poison. Side effect: wearer loses sense of taste.
Amulet of Silver: The wearer is immune to fear and terror caused by the undead. Side effect: the wearer becomes sensitive to sunlight, being dazzled by it as Orcs are.
Amulet of Jade: grants the wearer immunity to wound rot and triples the normal natural healing rate (see Medicine and Healing, p13). Does not allow regeneration of severed limbs. Side effect: the wearer develops a voracious appetite, consuming three times the normal amount of food.
Amulet of Cold Iron: the wearer is unaffected by any magic that targets him directly. He can be harmed by knock on effects created by magic, just not by magic itself. The Amulet of Cold Iron is treated as a cursed item (it cannot be willingly discarded, and can only be disposed of after application of dispel evil or remove curse ). Side effect: that no magic clause includes curative magic, other magic items and so forth.
Amulet of Adamantine: the wearer takes minimum possible damage from melee attacks. Side effect: the wearer’s skin takes on a metallic tinge, and their sense of touch is lessened.
Weapons Arrow of True Flight: Always hit their target so long as they are within maximum range. No roll to hit required. Side effect: eagle feathers gradually replace the bearer’s hair. He gains 1d6 new feathers/day.
Arrow Storm: Splits into numerous separate arrows upon firing. The arrow damages as normal in a 10’ radius area of effect centred on the original target. If you’re not fussed about nitpicking areas of effect just say it affects 2d6 of the enemy. Side effect: ravens constantly follow the bearer. People notice this, and get nervous about it.
Items of Awe and Wonder
All Seeing Mirror: two Aethyrically linked mirrors, each shows what would be reflected in the other were it a non magical mirror. If one mirror is broken the other also shatters. Side effect: You can see them? That means they can see you. Oh, and daemons love wandering through unattended magic mirrors. Just something to bear in mind…
Boots of Bovva: Allow an additional kick attack (causing 2d6 damage) if wielder hollers the ancient ritual incantation “Oi! Oi! Oi!” during melee. Side effect: the hair on the wearer’s head shortens to coarse stubble. This grows back at the normal rate.
Boots of Command: The wearer moves around as commanded by the true master of the boots. Suicidal actions (marching over a cliff, into a furnace, etc.) allow a save vs. device to resist. Side effect: the master of the boots suffers restless leg (half movement) while commanding another.
Der Schreiber: Anything object or creature drawn with this wax crayon becomes real. If the user is desirous of drawing money, each individual coin has do be drawn separately. And good luck uttering that false coinage: how confident in the quality of your art are you, really? Side effect: the wielder of Der Schreiber has no control over any living thing he draws. Small animals and birds will simply hop/scamper/fly away; daemons, dragons and suchlike… won’t.
Enchanted Rope: Coils, uncoils, ties up enemies or ascends and ties itself off as required. The rope can support the weight of a single climber unsupported, or up to its breaking strain if ordered to tie itself off.
26 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Side effect: the hair and beard of the last person to command the rope knot and tangle constantly.
Globe of Poisoned Wind: Seamless glass globe containing a lurid green swirling mist. May be thrown as a flask. Releases a cloudkill effect on impact. One use only. Side effect: none, but it’s a glass globe full of poison gas, and most characters have an active lifestyle.
Krutnacker: a foot tall wooden nutcracker puppet, painted to resemble one of the Kaiser’s Guard. Anything small enough to fit in the mouth can be crushed to pieces with a successful Str check. Yes, anything. Side effect: small and precious things tend to break while owner of Krutnacker is around.
Puppetboy: a foot tall wooden mannequin with severed strings. The master is able to control it as deftly as their own body while it remains within sight. Puppetboy moves at up to Mv 4, climbs as well as a thief (5in6 chance), and can carry 1 Enc. Side effect: the controller suffers damage as the mannequin while he controls it.
The Leydenpall: lead lined vestments embroidered with symbols of the god of death and dreams. Renders the presence of the wearer invisible to undead; the results of his actions can be perceived, but not the wearer. Side effect: the wearer must sing hymns of praise to the god of death if directly requested (save vs. device to resist the compulsion).
Weirdstone The otherworldly arcane substance dubbed weirdstone is sought after by some, but the focus of terrified superstition to many more. Ratmen consider it the sacred leavings of their vile god. Pious men deem it the condensed sins of the world. Simply carrying weirdstone without the correct protective equipment (sealed lead caskets and the like) requires the carrier to save vs. device 1/day or suffer mutation.
So why would anyone bother with these wickedly dangerous hell rocks? Well, because it’s compressed Chaos stuff: the very essence of magic. Using weirdstone as a component in a casting increases the power the wizard can draw on, albeit at a cost. Drawing on a chunk of weirdstone grants the caster +1 casting die, but requires that he save vs. device or suffer a chaotic mutation. A hand sized chunk of weirdstone is good for 1d6 castings and commands fantastic prices on the black market.
Dawnstones Pre Chaos artefacts. Each of these things is weird and unique and breaks the rule of magic as understood by moderns. Treat them as AD&D artefacts of low to middling power with a secondary effect of suppressing Chaotic influences. Dawnstones repel daemons as protection from evil , entirely negate the toxic effects of Weirdstone, allow a caster to ignore one matching die on a casting roll, etc.
Magic Monoliths: Waystones, Oghams and Herdstones These are scattered all over the wilderness, usually at the centre of their own little zone of weirdness. Why exactly the Ancient Ones erected huge menhirs here and there is an enigma, but the effect of these stones is profound and powerful.
Any spell cast within 100ft or so of a monolith adds +1 additional casting dice. Any spell cast by someone touching a monolith adds +2 additional casting dice. Each multiple of the normal TN required allows the spell to take effect again. These bonus dice count for both the purpose of spellcasting success and for chance of invoking either The Changer’s Curse or Wrath of God.
E.g. a 1 st level wizard casts the arcane petty magic spell sleep while touching a monolith. He rolls 3 casting dice rather than his usual one and achieves (6,9,9 =) 24. His spell takes effect on four targets rather than the usual one and he suffers a minor manifestation of arcane backlash.
Runes Dwarves really distrust magic. They bind it into items in a rigidly ritualised time hallowed form: arcane runes. Runic items have no side effects, but are generally confined to abjurative and/or protective effects. Ancient humans ripped off dwarven rune lore as the basis of Hekharan ritual magic, which was in turn a significant root of modern scholarly magic. The dwarves, being dwarves, are still angry about this.
There are various forms of non dwarven runes, each with their own wacky specialities. Hekharan, Rattish and Chaotic are the most infamous, and the pictographs of Lustria and ideographic sigils of Far Cathay are foci of constant disputation and scholarly investigation. No one’s quite sure if Orcish ritual glyphs are actually runic, or if they’re just magic because the Orcs think they are.
27 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Menagerie
The vast majority of the monsters in WFRP are straight borrowings from the well of public domain folklore from which D&D drew. Consult your preferred D&D monster book for such familiar fantasy stalwarts as bandits, goblins, orcs, ghouls, mummies, dragons, basilisks, manticores, etc. 15
The standard B/X monster stat block has been reformatted to be a little more WFRP ey in appearance. The missing information from the B/X block (damage, treasure, flight, swimming or burrowing speed) can be found in the monster description. I’ve also included Labyrinth Lord Hoard Class entries for those who consider the SBVD treasure rules to be needless tinkering for the sake of it.
Monster Name (# Encountered) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl # # # # # # ## #
Mv B/X movement in feet per turn /30 W Wounds (d8 HD) WS Weapon Skill (melee attack bonus) AC B/X Armour Class BS Bow Skill (ranged attack bonus) Sv B/X Saving Throw matrix Att Attacks per round Mrl B/X morale
Psychology and Special Abilities A lot of monstrous creatures in the WFRP world cause fear , terror , infected wounds or disease . This will be noted in the descriptions of new monsters. To enhance that WFRP flavour of SBVD I suggest that the WFRP/WFB psychology rules be applied across the board, even to B/X D&D monsters that don’t normally terrify hardened adventurers.
• Things as relatively mundane(!) as a skeleton, ghoul, ogre or giant spider should cause fear . • Things a normal human has no chance against (daemons, dragons, hydras, vampires) should cause terror . • Creatures causing fear or terror are immune to the effects. Fear causing creatures treat terror as fear .
Many creatures that attack with claws or bites have a non trivial chance of causing infected wounds when they hit. Assume a 25% chance for most animals and monsters. Rats, otyughs, carcass scavengers and suchlike habitual wallowers in mire should have vastly increased chances to cause infected wounds and/or disease .
They Breed ’Em Big These Days All stat blocks in this section represent typical examples of their kind. Rare and dangerous atavisms, giant mooks or leader types are easily represented though. Simply advance numerical scores by +1 3 across the board. 16 Damage can also be advanced by +1 per die (or by one die type, d4 > d6 > d8 > etc.), to represent the Big Bad’s superior muscular power, fighting skill and bogarting of all the best gear.
Let’s Fight One of Them Converting WFRP and WFB creatures to SBVD is dead easy.
Damage: Damage per attack should generally by 1d6, modified upwards (either by larger die type, or additional dice) for bites, crushes, rams, etc. Attacks and Saves: WS, BS and saving throws largely derive from HD, modified if the creature is noted as being particularly ferocious, clumsy, resistant to magic, etc. Armour Class: This is a GM call, but generally each +1 of WFB armour should be treated as +2 D&D AC. Modify up or down if the creature is noted as especially fast, dextrous or clumsy. Wounds: You can generally use WFRP 1E Wounds directly (dividing by 5 to determine HD), or count every WFB Wound after the first as +2 HD/Wounds.
WFB Wounds 1 2 3 4 5 …+1 SBVD W/HD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 …+2
Move, Attacks & Morale: take as read. Special Abilities: These can be fiddly, but where not already covered by SBVD converted rules – you can just convert to the nearest equivalent from the Labyrinth Lord bestiary, or treat as an equivalent spell effect cast at a level equal to the beastie’s SBVD Wounds score.
15 It’s remarkable quite how many of the odder WFRP beasties were *ahem* influenced by those in the Fiend Folio, which was itself an outgrowth of the Fiend Factory column in GW’s famous White Dwarf magazine (not that you’d know this from the masterfully self serving introduction to the Fiend Folio , which makes only passing reference to WD and GW, refers to neither by name).
16 As in much else, the D&D and WFRP rules as written are in nodding agreement on monster advancement.
28 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Humanoids “People on the left… we hate the people on the right.”
The world is full of strange and exotic people. Well, for a given value of people… Don’t assume that the inhuman races are as inimical to one another as modern GW canon suggests: alliances of convenience, trade relations, mutual exploitation, and careful parleying in the face of superior force are more entertaining for all concerned than a blanket “always mutually hostile” WFB mentality. Reaction rolls, and the associated Stronghold Encounter Table, are the GM’s friends.
Beastmen (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 2 2 1 2 6 F2 8
Beastmen are goat legged, animal headed tribal humanoids who consider themselves the favoured children of Chaos. They are nothing like gnolls, and they’re especially not a PG13 copypaste of Runequest Broo. Nosirree.
Beastmen produce nothing and live by hunting and raiding, scattering both the bones of their enemies and their looted wealth (HC XIX) around tainted Chaos monoliths found deep in the forests. Beastmen attack with vicious kicks and head butts, or with crude but effective spears and melee weapons (all attacks cause 1d8 damage). There is a 50% chance that any beastman has a randomly determined Chaotic mutation.
Ratmen (1d100) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 1 1 1 1 6 F1 4+
The twisted Ratmen don’t exist, even though entire armies have fought against their uncountable hordes, their twisted warbeasts, and their bizarre magical technology. They’re just a rat faced type of beastman, that’s all. They’re don’t have an extensive hidden empire in the sewers and tunnels. And they certainly don’t plot to overthrow the world of men and establish their own macabre Ian Miller illustrated hegemony.
Ratmen are unutterable cowards on their own, but gain an almost mystical courage among large numbers of their kind. The more Ratmen around, the braver and bolshier they become. Morale base 4, each doubling in the number of Ratmen present in a group increases it by 1 with no upper limit. (2 ratmen = Mrl 5, 4 = Mrl 6, 8 = Mrl 7, 16 = Mrl 8, etc.) Ratmen packs suffer from Aggro if they pass a Morale check: small units tend to stay focused on their goals, while large swarms are continually wracked by opportunistic fragging incidents.
Common Ratmen wield spears and jagged poisoned blades with vicious glee and a fanatic’s eye for your soft parts. The infamous Ratmen special weapons should be treated as magic items with radioactive/steampunk FX and some downright cheesy puns and visual gags (warpfire = wand of fire, warplock = jezzail+poison ammunition, poison wind = see “Magic Items”, etc.) Yes, players can wield these weapons if they manage to capture and decipher them, just remember that Ratmen have absolutely no conception of Elf’n’Safety.
Treat the gigantic Ogre Rats as stupidity prone, fear causing White Apes, and the ruling Grey Wizards and Warlock Engineers as wizards of level equal to their W (3+). The swarms of feral giant rats that accompany all Ratmen incursions cause infected wounds 35% of the time, and carry Black Plague 2% of the time.
Fimmish Bog Devils (2d4) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 4 1 3 3 4 F3 7
The Bog Devils are monocular amphibian humanoids of evil aspect. These ancient terrors of the wetlands have been driven to the verge of extinction by divisions among their creator gods, and by the inexorable expansion of Ratmen and Dark Elves into their conceptual n iche territory. Legend says that they once fielded entire armies and waged terrible wars against men, dwarves and elves, but such things are long past. And the Bog Devils are really bitter about it.
Bog Devils are whirling terrors in close combat, attacking with two large axes or maces and with swipes from their long, sharp edged tails. All attacks cause 1d8+1 damage, and the tail attack may strike to stun (see Combat, p16). The eldritch mist they naturally exude invariably covers Fimmish attacks and also serves to gauge range for their wildly inaccurate thrown missiles. Treat Fimmish mist as a random level of cover, which varies round by round (roll a d4 for it). If this mist is dispelled or dispersed by high winds Bog Devils suffer 1 to hit.
The ancient masters of the Bog Devils are evil sorcerers able to cast spells as wizards of level equal to their W (3+). They are 50% likely to have an allied daemon on speed dial. Bog Devil sorcerers are able to enhance their minion’s eldritch mist into a stinking cloud (Fimmish cooking: not one of the great cuisines of the world).
29 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Bog Devil lairs are semi flooded ruins filled with ancient treasure and blasphemous idols of ancient make. Individually they carry HC IV; collectively they hoard stuff equivalent in value to HC XXI.
Giants (1d2) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 9 9 1 9 4 F9 9
SBVD giants are all massive (20’+) drunken hobos who live by theft, blackmail and occasional mercenary work. Giants claim that their drinking is to numb the tragic pain of the ancient greatness their race has lost to the passage of ages, but the general consensus is that they’re just at the ‘tired and emotional’ stage. Giants dislike even their own kind, engaging in bawling and rock hurling over incomprehensible slights and rivalries whenever they meet. One of the few things that will get these obstreperous creatures working together is a planned assault on a brewery.
All giant attacks, melee or ranged, hit for 3d6 damage and automatically Floor human scaled opponents for 1 round (see Combat, p16). The damage dice from giant attacks may be divided up between several opponents to represent stomping and kicking, sweeping blows with tree trunk clubs, the bounce and ricochet of hurled stones, hurling some poor unfortunate into a wall, etc. If you have access to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules for giant attacks ignore the preceding paragraph and use those instead. Why? Oh, like the dreaded “Pick Up and… Stuff Down Pants” result isn’t reason enough in itself.
When fighting in melee a giant must save vs. paralysis every round to avoid tripping over his own feet and ending up Floored. Human scale creatures in melee with a giant when it topples must save vs. poison/death or be fatally crushed under tons of malodorous hairy flesh. Giants are big and violent enough to cause terror .
There is a 25% chance that a giant has been affected by Chaos and has 1 3 randomly determined mutations. Chaotic giants are evil minded surly drunks who revel in pulling the limbs off those smaller than them. Giants generally lug HC XVIII around in their huge swag bags, with the emphasis being on large, bulky objects.
Slaai (1) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 1 5 5 1 12 1 W12 10
Reclusive humanoid space frogs who simultaneously inhabit both the tropics and an uncanny intermediate realm located halfway between two poles of copyrighted product identity 17 , the Slaai are just plain weird. They are immensely powerful, but are either completely lolrandom in their actions, or so wrapped up in the inscrutable internal logic of their own complex long term plans that they merely seem insane to short lived mortals. No one knows for sure, and most people aren’t crazy brave enough to ask.
Slaai communicate in enigmas and koans through their crystal balls (with ESP and clairaudience as standard), and can easily overwhelm your tiny monkey brain with mind blasting telepathic insights into their ancient cosmic frog perspective (save vs. death, fail = dead, pass = terror for 1d6 turns). Slaai have a 50% chance of being entirely unaffected by any force, magical or otherwise, used against them, may use telekinesis at will (as the spell), and can cast wish 1/day, with the emphasis on choral music and godlight FX spectaculars.
The star frogs don’t believe in owning a dog and croaking themselves, cheerfully enslaving hordes of tribal humans (treat as Men, Nomads with Mayincaztec flavour text) or savage armies of lizardfolk and dinosaurs to do their enigmatic biding. Each individual Slaai (Rainbow Kyer Maat, Lord Todof Todhol, Phrogi Wena Kortan, All Glorious Yp Hno Todh, Bharan Sylos Ghrinbax, etc.) is the focus of fevered veneration by its thralls; its ever shifting alien agenda being the axis upon which all their efforts turn.
Slaai are proverbially rich. Folklore claims ‘solid gold pyramid, fist sized gems strewn like pebbles, ancient magic from the dawn of time’ wealthy, although HC XV is more likely. As ever, the Slaai are weird about their stuff. Sometimes they’ll let adventurers get away scot free with butchering their guards and taking them for a king’s ransom; other times they’ll send endless waves of assassins, curses, spectral killers and unusually selective natural disasters after the holder of one particular unremarkable trinket picked up by accident.
Zoat (1) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 7 4 4 2 4 5 E4 10
These ancient lizard centaurs have a long and convoluted history. They originated as druidic defenders of the forest, and then went into space as the shock troops and diplomats of an alien hive race before disappearing
17 Both of which originated with GW, oddly enough. One ends in ‘ d’ and the other in ‘ n’.
30 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3 entirely. They appear to have vanished into a combined time travel/ret con portal, returning as fearsome lightning powered Dragon Ogres. Suffice it to say these guys are weird, a bit confused and not to all tastes.
Zoats attack with a barging trample which causes 1d8 damage (2x damage on a charge) and with gigantic two handed stone maces which cause 2d6 damage. Ancient runes grant the weapon +1 enchantment and require any daemon struck to save vs. death or discorporate. Zoats are rumoured to possess ancient treasures and lost lore equivalent to HC XVI in their well concealed and retrotastic lairs.
Zoats either have spellcasting ability as a wizard of level equal to their W, or (with their Dragon Ogre hat on) a complete immunity to damage from electrical attacks, AC2 and a tendency to frenzy .
Dumb Animals Dumb doesn’t equate to helpless. There are plenty of Chaos warped creatures out there that are more than happy to remind those uppity humans that no one is above the food chain.
Bloodsedge (1d10) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 3 1+ 3 8 5 F3+ 12
Large briars that grow on battlefields tainted by the spilled blood of Chaotic creatures; bloodsedge are especially rife in the Troll Wastes. Unlike most plants bloodsedge is proactive about securing dinner, exuding a soporific scent that attracts mammalian creatures (horses, deer, PCs…) unless a save vs. breath weapon is successful. When a sufficiently meaty morsel is within 20 feet of their thorny trunks the spiny limbs of a bloodsedge lash out, entangling and throttling the delicious meal. A bloodsedge can attack one target per W. if hit a target takes 1d6 damage and must save vs. paralysis or be entangled, automatically taking damage each round until dead or freed.
Lizardmen and Goblinoid races aren’t affected by the scent of bloodsedge, and Goblins often lurk near stands to opportunistically pick at loot hurled hither and yon by the lively thrashings of woody predator and fleshy prey.
Dog, Small but Vicious (1) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 1 1 ½ 7 F1 11
Loyal, aggressive little ratter. Smart enough to obey simple instructions; also smart enough to go for the groin (1 3 damage, 25% chance of infected wounds ). 18 Small but vicious dogs can be excitable if over stimulated, and their high pitched barking causing considerable aural discomfort and outright fear in Ratmen. If their master is felled, well treated dogs suffer both hatred and frenzy towards those responsible.
Small but vicious dogs do not carry treasure, but are rare and precious jewels in and of themselves. You think not? How many of your friends will fearlessly bite and worry at the flesh of those who anger you? How many of your friends patiently wait for years in the unshakable certainty that you’ll come back any time now?
Dog, Big and Surly (1d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 2 1 2 6 F1 10
Huge great things bred to take down bears and transport kegs of rum across mountains. Attacks with a vicious bite for 2d4 damage. On a natural 18 20 to hit the bearhound has latched on and does automatic worrying damage each round until victorious or dead. Yes, you can have one. They cost at least 25GC, and anything up to ten times that for the strongest, most intelligent specimens.
Giant Bogtopus (1) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 1 8 4 6 8 7 F4 9
Bogtopi spend their lives squelching around in mires and marshes looking for things to fondle and eat. They attack as normal giant octopi and have enough cunning to drag air breathers below the water. A bogtopus generally fears fire, and will throw clods of mud at torch wielders. Bogtopi have no interest in gathering treasure, although exceptionally cunning specimens use shiny objects as bait for passing humans.
18 Yes, the more than passing resemblance mechanical between the small but vicious dog and the B/X giant rat is intentional. I’d still put my money on the dog though.
31 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Carnivorous Snapper (1 4) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 6 3 2 3 5 Dw2 8
Explorers who have returned from the New World across the Great Western Ocean tell wild eyed tales about elves, lizardmen and creatures of living stone using these half dragon, half crocodile creatures as nigh unstoppable shock cavalry. Of course, the lands to the west are famous as the source of some really good drugs, so…pinch of salt.
Assuming Carnivorous Snappers do in fact exist, and aren’t just the ravings of skurvy mad sailors and explorers (proverbial liars one and all), they probably lunge from ambush to kick or claw (for 1 4 damage) and bite (for 1 8 damage) at anything that enters their range of vision. Their tiny reptilian brains are subject to stupidity , but a sufficiently vicious master can tame them enough to ride (‘domesticate’ isn’t a word that can ever be associated with these scaly horrors).
Carnivorous Snappers don’t consciously gather treasure, but they love to accumulate piles of bones in their lair in which occasional piece of loot may be mixed.
Chameleoleech (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 2 1 1 1 7 Nm 5
Cubit long hallucinatory leeches: sometimes they make you hallucinate, sometimes they hallucinate; it’s all the same to the chameleoleech. Quite how so brainless and distracted a creature (subject to stupidity ) manifests mental powers that can force intelligent creatures to save vs. paralysis or lie there helplessly marvelling at the pretty colours while they latch on and do damage per round (1 3 damage + 50% chance of injecting some horrible disease straight into the bloodstream), is a mystery.
People are constantly trying to use chameleoleeches as drugs; this generally doesn’t end well.
Goldworm (1d100) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 1 1 1 1hp 9 Nm 10
Nasty little gold tinted finger sized things that eat your gold if you give them half a chance. Snuffle about blindly in search of precious metals. In their dormant state they curl up into coin sized nugget shapes. Can puke their guts up once/day to cause 1d4 damage to exposed flesh (worm acid does no damage to leather, wood or any metal other than gold). Dwarves hate these guys, while alchemists and moralists are fascinated.
Goldworms do not gather treasure, but they do have an unerring nose for gold within 30’. Prospectors have had some success dowsing for veins of native gold using glass jars of goldworms.
Jabberwock (1) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 6 8 3 8 2 F8 10
The dreaded jabberwock (no one is sure if it is unique and immortal, or merely rare and antisocial) is a creature that entered the world through a mirror… or a dragon distorted by Chaotic mirror magic… or a walking avatar of insanity… or a literary trope made manifest… or something. Whatever it is, the jabberwock is an aggressive, voracious and incredibly stupid creature; a plague anywhere it’s misshapen shadow falls.
A jabberwock attacks with a deafening cackle of semi comprehensible gibberish, against which auditors must save vs. breath weapon or suffer confusion (as the spell). The jabberwock then charges in to attack (flying clumsily at Mv 8) with a claw/claw/bite routine for 1d6 claw and 2d6(+poison) bite damage. The beast is not without defences: its iron hard hide is immune to non magical weapons , and it regenerates as a troll. So alien and unnatural is the appearance of a jabberwocky that looking it in the faces causes terror . The alien manner in which the beast’s mind works means that it is subject to stupidity .
A jabberwock produces nothing, but gathers up shiny things with a nigh draconic level of obsession. A jabberwock sometimes sees use as a chariot beast for the more extravagant (and lunatic) Chaotic warlords.
32 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Lashworm (2d10) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 0 1 1 1 9* Nm 12
More a trap/damage tax than a proper monster, the wall dwelling lashworn (distant Chaos warped cousin to the coral polyp, or possibly the razor clam) is aroused to attack by noise and vibration. A lashworm automatically wins initiative, flicking a hook ended muscular tongue (1d4 damage) up to 15 feet towards the sound. A lashworm dug into a wall, cliff or suchlike is treated as AC0, but they can be dragged out of their wall with a successful Ag test (to grab the lashing tongue) followed by a successful Str test.
Surface dwelling breeds of lashworms are a popular addition to moats and defensive ditches. While their vividly coloured subterranean kin seem to have a natural affinity or relationship with the subterranean Shrieking Fungus. Lashworm eggs (stored in the base of the creature’s burrow, fertilised by a neighbour, then hurled away by the powerful tongue) appear indistinguishable from pearls of especial lustre and size.
Razorbill (4d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 3 3 1 3 6 F2 8
No one is quite sure why the WFRP world has giant angry looking puffins hopping about its rocky shorelines in colonies up to 100 strong. Even Chaos doesn’t take credit for these guys.
Razorbills savagely attack anyone who wanders too near their nests, or anything they mistake for fish. The glisten and sheen of polished armour confuses their simple brains no end. Razorbills have Mv 15 (450’/rnd) in flight and attack with their wickedly sharp beaks, striking for double damage in the round they first stoop upon (charge) their prey.
Razorbills don’t care about treasure. Treasure is shiny like fish, but annoyingly inedible.
Sunworm (4d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 3 2 2 1 2 6 F1 8
The warmer, sunnier regions of the world are infested with man sized carnivorous laser slugs. Why? Because heliotropic laser slugs would make no sense in cold, perpetually overcast locales.
Sunworms bask in the baking deserts of Araby and southern Estalia, zapping unwary travellers and unsuspecting livestock with accumulated solar energy, then eating the smoking remains. A sunworm is able to discharge up to 3 times/day for 3d6 damage (save vs. wand for half) at a range of up to 50 feet. They otherwise just rasp at things with their abrasive tongues for 1 3 damage. Salt affects sunworms as burning oil, burning oil just amuses them.
Sunworms consume flesh and leather, but consider metal unpalatable. Treasure equivalent to HC VI per worm will typically be strewn among the remains of their impromptu barbeques.
Undead Most undead are per the existing B/X rules for their kind. Did I mention that there’s no turning the undead in SBVD? Better stock up on garlic, holy water and the like. Also fire. Lots of good old, reliable cleansing fire.
Carrion (1d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 5 5 3 5 5 F5 7
Blame the death fetishists of Hekhara for these beauties. Some bright spark just had to see what happened when you feed the giant vultures on a diet of zombie flesh. The answer: nothing good. Although at least we now know what’s grosser than a vulture: a giant stinking undead ghoul vulture.
Carrion attack with a claw/claw/bite routine, relying on their innate paralysing touch (as ghoul) to subdue prey, rather than the poor damage (1d4/hit) of their natural attacks. If both claws strike the Carrion will attempt to lift its opponent (man sized or smaller) to a great height before dropping it to its death. Carrion cause fear (and loathing), are 90% likely to cause infected wounds , and accumulate large amounts of treasure scattered around their mountain eyries (HC XXI).
33 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Daemons Daemons are creature native to the enigmatic Realm of Chaos from whence all magic flows. Some scholars consider daemons distorted reified echoes of human sins and virtues; others consider them the inspirers of same. Still others claim they are life forms naturally arising from their realm or that they are accumulated psychic residue. Whatever the nature of their existence daemons are alien and hostile to mundane life.
Universal Qualities of Daemons: • See in darkness (infravision 90’) • Immune to non magical weapons, normal poisons and earthly diseases. • Survive indefinitely without food or air. • Regenerate 1 Wound per 2 rounds. • Cause fear in living creatures. • 50% chance of a randomly determined mutation. • Repelled by protective barriers ( protection from evil , etc.)
Daemon of Rage (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 4 4 2 4 5 Dw4 11
Daemons of Rage (a.k.a. Bloodspillers) are impossibly emaciated and bloody skinned humanoids. Their faces of constantly twisted into a grimace of inhuman fury. They are always angry, all the time, and communicate only in strangulated shrieks and bursts of violent invective. If there’s nothing else to get angry about daemons of rage will gladly turn on each other.
Bloodspillers attack twice per round, once with a blast of venomous frothing spittle (treat as flask of oil, except damage is acid rather than fire), and once with a massive two handed black rune sword. They generally dub these swords Mournbringer or Stormblade, for reasons obscure and self referential. Bloodspiller swords cause 2d6 damage per hit; this damage cannot be healed by magic.
There is a 25% chance that any bloodspiller encountered wears magic plate armour (enchantment +1, grants a base AC of 2), and a further 25% chance that it wields an anachronistically advanced technological weapon (treat as arquebus or blunderbuss that fire once per round, no reload time) in addition to its sword.
Bloodspillers are subject to constant, unremitting frenzy and a burning hatred of everyone they encounter. A successful save vs. spell allows a bloodspiller to control its frenzy and operate (semi )rationally for 1d6 rounds.
Daemon of Disease (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 4 4 2 4 3 F4 11
Daemons of Disease (a.k.a. Tallymen of Poxes) are created through the agency of Gurglish Rot. The corpse of a person slain by the disease will later arise as a one eyed, one horned festering monstrosity. The mere presence of daemons of disease curdles milk, sours wine, rots food and causes plants to wither. Only the vilest insects thrive in their rancid presence. These daemons exist only to spread agues, poxes and cankers far and wide, which they do with avuncular delight in their own beneficence.
All Daemons of Disease are healthy carriers of Gurglish Rot and 1 3 other random diseases. Physical contact, a melee strike from their rusted, pitted glaives (1d10 damage + infected wounds ), or even extended proximity to the necrotic festering flesh of a Tallyman requires a save vs. poison/death to avoid contracting something unpleasant. Their ever present cloud of vermin acts as an insect swarm spell effect, which dissipates only upon the banishment or death of the Tallyman.
Daemon of Sensation (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 6 4 4 2 4 5 F4 11
Daemon of Sensation (a.k.a. Succubettes) are hermaphroditic humanoids with claws, compound eyes and coiled horns. They are harbingers and handmaidens of the Chaos god of excess, keepers of forbidden lore who know the secret desire of each human heart and hold the key to pleasure undreamed of by mortal mind. Their knowledge is the stuff of fevered speculation among scholars and sybarites alike.
Succubettes naturally radiate a strong musky smell equivalent in effect to a strong dose of Estalian Fly (see Drugs, p11). Each round spent in close proximity to one of these demons requires a save vs. poison, with successive failures indicating more intense effects. Troupes of succubettes open combat with their infamous hypnotic pattern (*ahem*) dance (as the spell effect, LLAEC, p51). Each additional Succubette dancing after
34 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3 the first increases the save modifier by 1, to a max of 6. Once their opponents have been reduced to drooling moronism the succubettes skitter into range to attack with elegant caressing claw strikes which do 1 8 damage.
There is a 25% chance that a Succubette carries a long staff of glistening silvered metal. These allow the Succubette wielder to perform wildly improbable (and distracting) acrobatics, or to cast specialised spells of a nature wholly unfit for a family publication.
Daemon of Change (2d6) Mv WS BS Att W AC Sv Mrl 4 4 4 2 4 5 F4 11
A Daemon of Change (a.k.a. Polymorphic Horror) is weird, brightly coloured combinations of bird, human, jellyfish and porcupine. These heralds of the chaos god of tumult and transmutation are bizarre… things with weirdly detachable limbs and flaming skin.
The unpredictable movements of Polymorphic Horrors equal parts leaping, rolling and flowing treat gravity, surface tension and suchlike laws of nature more as suggestions than anything else. They can spider climb , levitate and walk on water as they wish. The number and arrangement of their limbs is constantly shifting. Polymorphic Horrors freely throw their limbs to one another in bizarre juggling acts, regenerating as a troll. They cheerfully involve poor fragile mortals in their play, yanking at extremities (1 8 damage) and throwing coherent flame up to 90’ (3d6 damage, treat as flaming oil).
The mere presence of a Polymorphic Horror requires all spell casters within 100ft or so to roll an additional die for the Curse of Chaos (see Magic, p24).
35 of 36 Small But Vicious Dog (B/X WFRP hack), ver0.3
Scenarios
SBVD scenarios practically write themselves: [people] have [stuff you want], get it without being blamed or falling afoul of [complications]. Also Chaos.
Investigate and Report: There’s something rotten in the sewers/necropolis/village of Dorfdorf/ Castle Oopaklastvit/Kislev (delete as appropriate). Congratulations, you’re the canaries.
Gold Fever!!! It turns out that old abandoned Dwarven mine/hold/grave is full of treasure after all. Better get in there and secure it for the common good before opportunistic looters can steal it. Hmm, I wonder why the place was abandoned in the first place?
Larcenous Pursuits: It’s not nailed down? It’s like they’re asking you to nick it! What? It is nailed down? Lucky you brought your crowbar… Traps? Lucky you bought a few expendable Halflings… Easy money!
Stop the Pigeon: Hunt down and [capture/kill/sell into slavery] [person] who is rushing by [foot/horse/ carriage/ship] to reveal [revelation] to [the authorities/their cult/the enemy de jour]. Disaster, and accompanying dire retribution, will befall if you fail.
Stand and Deliver: There’s a lot of fuss and expensive preparation about that carriage due in later this week. What could be so important and valuable that it needs all those extra guards and so many bribes, threats and blackmail letters strewn about so thick?
The Quest: Go there. Slay the fearsome Thing of the Heath. Bring back the Graf’s wife/Hammer of Sigmar/Glowing Green Rock of Guffin McGuff. Expect unpleasant people to interfere.
Schattenlaufen: Herr Johanson hires some deniable scum (that’s you) to perform some discrete service intended to result in the discommoding of a political, business or social rival. Cock ups, complications and hilarity ensue.
Jabberwock…: Find and slay the fearsome [monster] which has been making life so complicated recently. Expect kill stealers, the authorities welching on promised bounties, and the monster’s kin to show up.
Kohl’s Herren: That village occupied by [enemy]. Rumour has it that there’s a rich treasure buried beneath the [landmark] that no one knows anything about: enough to retire on if we don’t have to split it with the rest of the army. Sure, the [residents] are still in there, and the place is thick with [enemy] troops. Fancy a little extra curricular looting?
Feeling a little more ambitious than running something akin to an episode of Blackadder or League of Gentlemen co scripted by Tom Sharpe and H.P.Lovecraft? Look to the first three parts of the classic WFRP campaign The Enemy Within ( Shadows over Bogenhafen , Death on the Reik and Power Behind the Throne ) for massive pointers in the right direction in terms of theme, tone and content. Be advised that looking at later parts of TEW ( Something Rotten in Kislev , the published Empire in Flames ) will cause only sadness, confusion and loss of the will to live: it is not recommended. The Doomstones campaign is right out!
Keeping It Small But Vicious Nothing better evokes the spirit of the source material that inspired SBVD than making the PCs suffer. Killing characters off is no fun; doing everything just short of that is much more entertaining. Make sure you put them through the wringer as much as possible before their inevitable, ignominious demise.
I’m not advocating nakedly adversarial GM ing: merely a firm but fair administration of hardship and betrayal, and a properly parsimonious apportionment of reward. True WFRP players will love every minute of it, and you can make delicious Martinis from the tears of those delicate flowers who simply don’t understand that suffering is love; that adversity breeds character; and that eventual triumph is all the sweeter if you have to kick, gouge and struggle for it every step of the way.
All the best, and remember:
1. The world is not fair. 2. The gods hate you, and your suffering amuses them. 3. 90% of people are corrupt, greedy scum. The remainder are vicious fanatics. 4. Everyone has an agenda, sometimes several. 5. It can always get worse, and generally should. 6. If in doubt, Chaos did it! 7. If it appears that Chaos didn’t do it, check harder. 8. Glowing green rocks = bad. 9. There are no such things as Skaven.
~ Ende ~
36 of 36