Four Kingdoms 2 - Four Kingdoms Long ago man made its exodus to the north of the world, shunned by the other peoples for its wars and battles against itself and them. All that is remembered of the others is that they were cowards, and heeded not the call of aid from the gods. When men arrived in the north they found the gods beset by nameless horrors - manifestations of Dark that killed the light wherever they touched. The men rallied behind their father, the god of Fire and War, striving to push back the Dark to the Abyss from whence it came. But they were betrayed - the other gods fled and expended most of their power to erect great mountains - now called the Mountains of Treachery - and fierce storms above them to trap both men and the Dark within. The Father, seeing his children beset and betrayed, bequeathed to his children almost all of his power. To each of the four kingdoms he gave a different aspect - His Fire, his Cunning, his Prowess and his Artifice - before spending the last of himself to drive the Dark back to the Precipice - for a time. His children mourned their father and moved his shattered body to a tomb they had erected for him, easily the grandest building ever constructed amongst the lands of men. The Mother of man - Goddess of Wisdom and Compassion - looked back and felt great guilt and sorrow for her fallen love and children. She could not bring herself to leave his side. Using her power she manifested in the tomb and remains there to this day, watching over what little remains of her love, as well as her valiant children who gave so much and were in turn betrayed. But the land was not untainted by the Dark. Horrors abound in deep places and the dead rise to beset the living. Many creatures were changed in terrible ways and even men were not immune. For more than a thousand years the valor of men and the sacrifice of their father has held them at bay - but his power is fading. Every day the attacks grow stronger and every night seems longer than the last. There are rumours of horrors escaping from the Precipice in the north - things that are only spoken of in the ancient legends. The light of the Father is fading. Dark is beginning to spread once again. Look not to the gods for assistance, for they are dead or traitors. The world needs warriors. Good and Evil - such concepts are meaningless before the Dark. What will you do to save the light? How far will you go? Welcome to the Four Kingdoms. Four Kingdoms is a Role-Playing Game set in a grim fantasy world where men struggle against the oncoming dark and the light fades more every day. This is not the time of great heroes and villains - but rather of desperate gambles and last-ditch efforts. The characters in Four Kingdoms come from a world which is fading more with each passing day. Some become grim and taciturn, others jovial and carefree. Regardless, a sense of fatalism pervades the lands and there is very little to be hopeful for. Magic exists and is a relatively commonplace occurrence, but its use is heavily prescribed and very limited in scope. Indeed, magic of kinds not gifted by the Father is an executable offence in all the lands. Players can expect to be thrust into hopeless situations, with only their prowess and wits to save them. They must learn to provide for themselves in a world where even the gods are treacherous, and sometimes that a knife in the back is the lesser of two evils. 3 - Test System In Four Kingdoms, Tests determine the outcome of a character’s attempt at a task, and for all Tests, four six- sided dice (4d6) are rolled together. A die result equal to or above the Required Result is a Success and the Test is passed if the number of Required Successes are met. The type of Test determines the Required Result and Required Successes. Sometimes, Tests can be rerolled, any roll may only be rerolled once. Standard Tests have Required Result and Required Successes as set by the final Bonus for the Test on the Standard Table. Secondary Attributes together with other Forces determine a final Bonus. The Standard Table also sets Movement speed, for which the Speed Attribute is the deciding factor. Standard Table Secondary Required Required Bonus Move (m) Run (m) Attribute Successes Result 1-3 -3 4 3+ 2 8 4-6 -2 3 4+ 3 12 7-9 -1 2 5+ 4 16 10-19 0 4 2+ 5 20 20-29 1 3 3+ 6 24 30-39 2 2 4+ 7 28 40-49 3 1 5+ 8 32 50-59 4 3 2+ 9 36 60-69 5 1 4+ 10 40 70 6 1 2+ 11 44 Primary Attribute Tests are different from Standard Tests in that the Required Result is 4+ and the number of Successes is added to the Primary Attribute which is compared against the Required Successes of the task, usually called Thresholds for Primary Attribute Tests. Opposed Tests are similar to a Primary Attribute Test, except two characters are competing to have the highest total. The character with the highest result wins, draws being a win for the defender. Attributes Attributes are the fundamental aspects of a character’s natural ability. Primary Attributes represent more fundamental aspects of a character. They are called upon in a more general case to do things such as lift heavy objects or climb a high wall. Your Primary Attributes are calculated from your Secondary Attributes. To determine your Primary Attribute, add half of the higher associated Secondary Attribute to the full value of the lower secondary Attribute and divide the result by 10, rounding down. Secondary Attributes represent specific aspects of the Primary Attribute they are linked to. They directly contribute to things like damage and defense chances. Secondary Attributes can be increased by spending experience. Characters begin with 10 in each Secondary Attribute and your GM will set your starting experience. Statistic Range: Experience Cost 11-20: 2 21-30: 3 31-40: 5 41-50: 6 51-60: 8 61-70: 10 4 - Strength A character’s Strength is a measure of their physical power. Jumping, lifting, pulling, pushing and things of that sort are all based on Strength. Your Attack Power is equal to your Strength. Strike: A character’s Strike is their ability to attack using a weapon to inflict harm. Weapons that benefit from having a high Strike Attribute are usually large and possibly heavy. Multiply your Strike Attribute by the strike value of the weapon to determine weapon damage. If you are wielding a weapon in both hands, multiply your Strike value by 150% before calculating damage. To be wielded in two hands, a weapon must weigh at least 4.5 units. Heft: A character’s Heft is their ability to bear heavy burdens without sacrificing their mobility. Heavier armour and weapons require a higher heft value to wear and wield. Your currently carried weight proportional to your Heft, in units, determines encumbrance and Speed penalty. Below or equal to half Heft, your Speed is unmodified. Above half heft to your Heft, your Speed is reduced by 1/3rd, and above your Heft, by 2/3rds. You cannot carry more than 1.5 times your Heft. Weapons and Armour have Heft requirements in order to use them. Armour requires twice your Heft to wear, and weapons can be wielded in one hand if their weight times 4 is equal or lower than your Heft, and in two hands for weight times 3. Agility A character’s Agility is their fine and gross motor skills, their flexibility and their quickness. Acrobatics, contortionism, sleight of hand and the like are based on Agility. Your Dodge Power is equal to your Agility. Dexterity: A character’s Dexterity is their ability to place attacks in areas that will do the most damage. Weapons that benefit from having a high Dexterity are usually light and accurate. Weapons with the 'Advanced' Attribute allow you to add your Dexterity to your damage in the same manner as using Strike. Wielding a weapon in both hands does not multiply your Dexterity value by 150%. Speed: A character’s Speed is their ability to run quickly and dodge deftly. Characters with high Speed benefit greatly from not being weighed down. Your Speed Attribute determines your Move and Run as per the Movement Table, as well as Dodge Bonus. Running imposes a -2 penalty to attack for that turn. Vitality A character’s Vitality is their innate life force, their will to survive, their sheer stubbornness in the face of death. Resisting poison, inebriation and staying alive while Mortally Wounded are all based on Vitality. Your Endurance is equal to your Vitality. Constitution: A character’s Constitution is their ability to withstand sheer lethal damage. Characters with high Constitution will be able to weather blows that would kill lesser men. Multiply your Constitution value by 2 to determine your Health. Toughness: A character’s Toughness is their ability to absorb attacks in the least damaging way possible. Characters with high Toughness can deflect even flurries of attacks and can sometimes ignore damage completely. Brace Tests and Death Tests are based on Toughness. Intelligence A character’s Intelligence is their reasoning ability, their education and their mental fortitude. Many spell characteristics are based on Intelligence.