Characters begin the game with silver coins equal to their archetypal ability.
Players may have their characters keep this initial money or spend it to have acquired starting equipment. They may also “have spent it” in the adventure during their first level: at any point during the character’s first level, if the player wants their character to have already acquired an item, they can spend some of this starting money and have the item. Either the money was spent back when it was most reasonable to have spent it, or the character always had the item, perhaps as an inheritance or gift. As long as it makes sense for them to now have it, it can be assumed that they’ve been carrying it all along.
The equipment that the character “purchases” does not have to have been actually purchased by the character. It might have been inherited, given as a gift, or found in the ruins of a destroyed farmhouse in the midst of the woods. The character’s starting money is a measure of how much money and equipment the character starts with; it is not necessarily how much actual money the character has to purchase things. Because of this, characters can often start the game with items that are not for sale in their home town, as long as it is for sale somewhere where they or some member of their family might travel.
General equipment
Characters will wish to equip themselves with many odd and normal items: lanterns, rope, walking staves, blankets, horses, horse equipment, and more. Prices for such equipment can vary depending on the area, the time period, and the time of year.
Some items, such as torches, have an activation time. If the character attempting to activate the item is in combat, an evasion roll is required to successfully activate the item.
Some items, such as picks, can double as weapons. Such items are not designed for combat and will have a penalty to attack of from 1 to 3.
Characters are not limited to the items listed on these tables, nor are items on these tables guaranteed to be available. It will be up to the Adventure Guide to gauge the availability and cost of all items. In many games, for example, gunpowder and firearms will be unavailable.
Food & lodging
| Item | Cost | Bulk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer, pint | .2 | 3 | This is a glass or mug of beer, as you might purchase in a tavern. |
| Beer, half-gallon | .4 | 5 | A half-gallon is 4 pints, which fits in a waterskin. |
| Beer, three gallons | 2 | 26 | Three gallons is 24 pints; this is a small keg’s worth of beer. |
| Room, common | .4 | Room costs are per night. | |
| Room, private | 1 | Cost is usually increased by .5 to 1 per extra person. | |
| Dry food | 5 | 10 | Lasts 1 week eaten carefully; spoils if stored in prolonged humidity. |
| Meal, simple | .3 | 2 | A simple meal does not last more than two days without spoiling. |
| Meal, fancy | 2 | 2 | A fancy meal does not last more than a day without spoiling. |
| Wine, pint | .5 | 3 | This is a glass or mug of wine, as you might purchase in a tavern. |
| Wine, half gallon | 1 | 5 | A half-gallon is 4 pints, which fits in a waterskin. |
| Wine, three gallons | 5 | 26 | Three gallons is 24 pints; this is a small keg’s worth of wine. |
More than other equipment, food and lodging costs will vary widely according to quality and scarcity. Liquid pint bulks assume an open container. Liquid gallon bulks do not include the container. Liquids weigh approximately one pound per pint or eight pounds per gallon.
Ingredients
| Item | Cost | Bulk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal part, common | .3 | .3 | small animal parts such as the beak of a crow |
| Animal part, uncommon | 1.5 | .3 | small animal parts such as the claw of a wolf |
| Animal part, rare | 4 | .3 | small animal parts such as the feather of an eagle |
| Carving, simple | .5 | .1 | small wooden carvings, such as tiny arrows |
| Carving, complex | 2 | .5 | small wooden carvings, such as faces, intricate designs |
| Herb, common | .1 | .1 | |
| Herb uncommon | .5 | .1 | |
| Herb, rare | 1 | .3 | rare herbs have bulk .3 to keep them extra safe |
Bone and metal carvings cost twice as much as wood. Stone carvings cost four times as much, and have four times the bulk. Special materials, such as rare metals and gemstones, will cost even more.
Extremely rare animal parts (such as the parts of Fantastic creatures) will usually be much more expensive due both to their rarity and to the difficulty of acquiring them. Normally these must be supplied by the player characters.
Animals & containers
| Item | Cost | Bulk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | 2 | 2 | Difficult to get into quickly; requires one round to pull something out |
| Donkey | 7 | Movement 9 carrying 225 bulk | |
| Horse bit & bridle | 1.5 | 3 | |
| Horse saddle | 10 | 28 | |
| Horse saddle bags | 3 | 5 | |
| Horse saddle blanket | .3 | 4 | |
| Horse shoe | .4 | 2 | Horses and donkeys already have shoes when purchased |
| Horse, pack | 30 | Movement 10 carrying 200 bulk | |
| Horse, riding | 75 | Movement 14 carrying 250 bulk | |
| Horse, war | 200 | Movement 14 carrying 300 bulk | |
| Keg, small | 3 | 6 | Will hold three gallons of liquid |
| Mule | 20 | Movement 10 carrying 400 bulk | |
| Ox | 12 | Movement 5 carrying 400 bulk | |
| Pony | 30 | Movement 12 carrying 180 bulk | |
| Pouch, belt | .5 | .5 | |
| Pouch, shoulder | 1 | 1 | |
| Sack | .2 | .5 | |
| Scroll case | .8 | .5 | |
| Trunk, Wooden | 8 | 25 | Cost and bulk can vary widely according to size and ornamentation |
| Wineskin/Waterskin | 1.5 | 1 | A skin holds four pints of liquid |
To assist them in carrying their equipment, characters will want to purchase sacks, backpacks, quivers, and pouches. (Quivers are listed under ammunition.) A container allows the character to carry multiple items in as if they were one item in their carry list.
For animals, the bulk carry listed assumes that the animal’s load has been packed reasonably, using saddle bags and saddles or other standard pack devices. Generally, reduce an animal’s movement by 1 for each 10% increase in bulk carried. Horses, ponies, mules, and donkeys may jog, run, and sprint at twice the speed listed for their movement on the movement chart.
Riding a horse requires a saddle. Saddles include a saddle blanket, or you can ride with just a saddle blanket at a penalty of 2 to rolls while riding and a penalty of one to the horse’s daily movement. Riding bareback reduces the horse’s daily movement by 3, and riding rolls are at a penalty of 3.
Miscellaneous
| Item | Cost | Bulk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axe | 1 | 8 | Does d6 damage as a hand weapon, -1 to attack, bulk 16 |
| Blanket | .2 | 5 | |
| Book, handwritten | 5+ | .5+ | Add .03 to bulk and .1 to cost per ten pages |
| Book, printed | 1+ | .5+ | Add .03 to bulk and .15 to cost per ten pages (content also affects cost) |
| Journal, blank | 1+ | .5+ | Add .03 to bulk and .1 to cost per ten pages |
| Candle | .01 | 1 | 6 yard radius, -1 to actions outside of 1 yard, candles last 6 hours |
| Canvas | .25 | .5 | Per square yard |
| Chain, large | 1 | 3 | Made from iron links, cost is per yard |
| Chain, small | 2 | 1 | Made from iron links, cost is per yard |
| Flint, steel, tinderbox | .5 | 1 | It requires two rounds to start a fire using flint, steel, tinder, and kindling |
| Hunting horn | 25 | 6 | A simple coiled horn of the type used in a hunt |
| Ink | 8 | .5 | Enough for writing 100 letters or pages. |
| Lantern | 8 | 3 | 20 yard radius, 6 hours per flask, 1 round activation |
| Lock and key | 8 | 1 | Better locks can cost double, quadruple, or more, penalizing lock-pick attempts by -1 for each doubling of the cost |
| Mirror | 10 | .1 | |
| Oil | .05 | 1 | Cost is per flask |
| Paper | .1 | .03 | Per ten pages |
| Parchment | 1 | .01 | Per square foot |
| Pick | 1 | 10 | Does d8 damage as a hand weapon, -2 to attack, bulk 20 |
| Pole | .02 | 7 | 3 yards long, wooden. Does d4 damage as a hand weapon, -2 to attack, bulk 14 |
| Quill | .2 | .05 | |
| Rope | .2 | 3 | Usually made from hemp, cost is per 3 yards |
| Rope, light | 2 | 1 | Usually made from silk, cost is per 3 yards |
| Shovel | 5 | 9 | Does d6 damage as a hand weapon, -3 to attack, bulk 18 |
| Spike (iron) | .3 | 1.5 | About seven inches long |
| Tent, enclosed | 15 | 32 | 3 by 3 yard area |
| Thieves’ tools | 5 | 1 | |
| Torch | .01 | 1 | 10 yard radius, 3 hour duration, 2 rounds activation |
| Tent, canopy | 10 | 24 | 4 by 4 yard area |
Money and equipment: Weapons
Anyone can attack with their hands for d3 points damage (d2 for Halflings, Goblins, and Gnomes). Most adventurers will prefer using a weapon, however.
Damage is the amount of survival points lost by the target of a successful attack with the specified weapon.
Range applies to thrown or propelled weapons, is in yards. Within range yards, there is no penalty to attack. There is a penalty of 1 after that, and another penalty of 1 for every range yards beyond. For example, an attempt to throw a spear at a target thirteen yards away will be at a penalty of 2: a penalty of one for being greater than six yards, and another penalty of one for being greater than 12 yards. A sling at thirteen yards will only have a penalty of 1, and a bow will have no penalty at all at 13 yards.
Hands is how many hands are required to use the weapon for mechanical reasons. A two-handed weapon requires two hands to manipulate and leaves no free hand for a shield or other item. Note that a weapon’s bulk may also require that two hands be used to wield it with no Carry penalty, depending on the wielder’s strength.
Space is how much space, in yards, the character needs on either side of them to use the weapon.
Bulk is the weight and bulkiness of the weapon. If the character will never use the weapon, the Guide may allow it to count as half the listed bulk. Staffs, for example, have a six bulk if only used as a walking staff but the listed twelve bulk if sometimes used as a weapon.
Fire Actions is the number of actions required to throw or fire the weapon if it is thrown or is a missile weapon. Some missile weapons require loading, lighting, or other preparatory actions. Weapons used to beat on opponents directly require but one action.
Thrown weapons
For thrown weapons, strength negates range penalties as a minor contributor. A character with a minor strength contributor of two can throw an object up to two ranges away without a penalty to attack.
Propelled weapons
Specially constructed versions of weapons such as bows may, at the Guide’s discretion, take advantage of higher strengths. Such weapons will usually cost twice as much, three times as much, four times as much, or more, depending on how much strength must be built in to the weapon (as a major contributor).
Damage can be increased by up to the character’s strength as a minor contributor, and range is increased by 25% according to strength as a major contributor. A character with a 16 strength, for example, might pay 50 silver coins for a bow with a range of 25 yards (strength 12-14, +25% to range), or 75 silver coins for a bow that gets +1 to damage and has a range of 30 yards (strength 15-16, +50% to range, +1 damage).
Anyone without the requisite strength bonus will be at a penalty to attack of the difference in strength bonuses and cannot make use of the increased range or increased damage, if any.
Simple weapons
Simple weapons can be used by anyone.
| Weapon | Damage | Fire Actions | Range | Hands | Space | Bulk | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | d4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0.1 | |
| Dagger | d4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Dart | d3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | .4 | ||
| Hand Gun | d6 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 45 | |
| Knife | d3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Quarterstaff | d6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0.5 | |
| Sling | d4 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Wheel Lock | d8 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 150 | |
| Wheel Lock Pistol | d6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 100 |
Basic weapons
Basic weapons can only be used by warriors or those with the Fighting Art skill basic weapons.
| Weapon | Damage | Fire Actions | Range | Hands | Space | Bulk | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arquebus | d8 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 55 | |
| Brass Knuckles | d3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Crossbow | d6 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 35 | |
| Hand Axe | d6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 | |
| Matchlock Pistol | d6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 50 | |
| Metal Glove | d4 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Short sword | d6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | |
| Spear | d6 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0.8 |
Warrior weapons
These weapons may only be used by warriors.
| Weapon | Damage | Fire Actions | Range | Hands | Space | Bulk | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battleaxe | d10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 7 | |
| Bow | d6 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 25 | |
| Great sword | 2d6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 40 | |
| Heavy Crossbow | d8 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 17 | 75 | |
| Javelin | d4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0.6 | ||
| Lance (may only be used while mounted) | d12 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 14 | ||
| Longbow | d6 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 12 | 50 | |
| Long sword | d8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 20 | |
| Mace | d6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | |
| Morning Star | d8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 6 | |
| Rapier | d6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 20 | |
| Scimitar | d8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 15 | |
| War hammer | d8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 5 |
Weapons: Ammunition
All ammunition costs and bulk are for single units of ammunition. Gun powder is enough for one use, for example. Sellers will usually only sell in larger quantities, such as ten, twelve, sixteen, or twenty.
| Item | Cost | Bulk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrow | .1 | .2 | d3 damage as a hand weapon, -2 to attack |
| Crossbow Bolt | .1 | .2 | 1 point damage as a hand weapon, -2 to attack |
| Crossbow Bolt, heavy | .2 | .3 | d2 damage as a hand weapon, -2 to attack |
| Gun bullets | .05 | .05 | |
| Gun powder (1 use) | .3 | .05 | Gun powder must be kept dry |
| Powder bag | 1 | .2 | Holds 6 uses of gun powder |
| Powder horn | 4 | .5 | Holds 20 uses of gun powder |
| Quiver | 1 | 1 | Holds 20 arrows or crossbow bolts |
| Sling Bullets | .01 | .05 |
Money and equipment: Armor
Armor makes it harder to hit the character in a manner that hurts the character—that takes away survival points. The character may wear one type of armor at a time, and may also wear a full helmet. If the character has a free hand, the character may also carry a shield.
Warriors may learn to use any armor: that’s part of their archetype. Thieves, prophets, and monks may learn to use basic armor: shield, cloth armor, leather armor, banded leather armor, or magically light chain mail. Sorcerors may learn to use no armor.
Some armors are harder to use than others. A character must attain a level in at least one archetype that is high enough to use that armor (assuming they can use it at all).
| Armor | Defense Bonus | Cost | Bulk | Warrior Level | Thief, Prophet, Monk Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| Leather | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Banded Leather | 3 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Scale Mail | 4 | 45 | 20 | 1 | |
| Chain Mail | 5 | 80 | 15 | 1 | 2 |
| Splint Mail | 6 | 70 | 25 | 2 | |
| Plate Mail | 7 | 300 | 25 | 3 | |
| Full Plate | 8 | 1000 | 30 | 4 | |
| Ceremonial Plate | 9 | 2000 | 40 | 5 | |
| Shield | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Large Shield | 2 | 15 | 12 | 2 | |
| Small Shield | 1 vs. one | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| Full Helmet | 1 | 10 or 10% | 4 | 1 |
The Bulk given is while worn. If carried, bulk should be doubled for cloth, leather, shields, or chain, and tripled for splint and plate.
Small shields may only be used against a single opponent in any round. The warrior will need to choose which opponent at the beginning of the round. By default it will be the opponent they last chose, or the opponent they are attacking first in the current round, whichever makes more sense.
While wearing a full helmet, perception rolls and attack rolls are at a penalty of one due to lack of visibility. Full helmets cost a minimum of 10 silver coins, or 10% of the cost of the other armor the character is wearing, whichever is greater.
The Guide may impose extra time for armored characters to perform actions requiring shields adjustments or the removal of helmets, gloves, or other parts of armor.
Equipment for different-sized creatures
The bulk of an item is relative to the size of the creature it was meant for. If a creature of different size attempts to use or carry the item, its bulk will change.
For each increase of one in size of the creature that the item is intended for compared to the size of the creature actually carrying it, item bulk is multiplied by two. For each decrease of one in size, item bulk is halved. For example, a medium creature using a huge-sized weapon that is bulk 20 for huge creatures will find it has a bulk of 80. But a huge-sized creature using a medium-sized weapon that is bulk 20 for medium creatures will find that it has a bulk of 5.
Costs are also relative. For example, a tiny Pixie sword will cost 20 Pixie silver coins just like a human-sized sword costs 20 human silver coins. But when made in differently-sized cultures, cost changes. For every difference in size, the cost of the item is doubled. Both tiny and huge swords will cost 80 silver coins to buy in a medium culture.
Equipment for different-sized creatures: Weapons
Weapons designed for a non-medium creature size will do different damage.
Weapon range is doubled or halved for each size difference. Minimum range is 1, and ranges cannot have fractions, so round normally.
The damage progression is:
| 1 | d2 | d4 | d6 | d8 | d10 | d12 | 2d8 | 3d6 | 4d6 | +d6 |
A large creature using a large long sword will do d10 points instead of d8. The weapon will have a range (should they decide to throw it) of 6 and a cost of 40. Here are other sizes of long swords as an example:
| Size | Damage | Range | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine | d2 | 1 | 160 |
| Tiny | d4 | 1 | 80 |
| Small | d6 | 2 | 40 |
| Medium | d8 | 3 | 20 |
| Large | d10 | 6 | 40 |
| Huge | d12 | 12 | 80 |
| Gigantic | 2d8 | 24 | 160 |
| Titanic | 3d6 | 48 | 320 |
Creatures using a weapon designed for a size different from theirs have a penalty of one to attack for each difference in size. The weapon was designed and balanced for a different-sized creature.
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