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House Rules 1: Warriors and Combat

The following pages are a revamp of my original house rules for warriors

and combat, adapted for the new edition of Dragon Warriors.

This document is intended to be a work of non-profit making fan

appreciation and is not meant to challenge any copyrights and/or

trademarks. These rules additions are not official and the current

copyright owners of the Dragon

Warriors RPG at the time of writing are Serpent King Games.

The Warrior Professions

Knights Knights are basically professional warriors who share the same combat

style and attitude to fighting.

Despite their name, knights can be of any social class; but despite this,

I believe social class should still play a strong part in their concept. With

this in mind, the following rules addendum presents four distinct

versions of the knight profession, the 'Knight Errant'; the Knight Patrician; the Knight Equestrian'; and the 'Knight Vulgaris'.

All four knight packages use exactly the same game mechanics, apart

from the knight's starting special abilities. The special ability package detailed in the rulebook now refers

to the knight Errant, which represents knights of any social

background who decide to wander the land in search of fame and

adventure.

A player character wishing to

become a Knight Patrician needs to roll 'Nobility' on the knight's

'Background Table' in the main rule book. Player character Patricians are

assumed to be a low ranking members of the nobility, probably a

cousin or a younger sibling to the family's true hair, and therefore has

little prospect of inheriting any real

wealth or power, forcing them out into the world to forge their own

destinies.

A player character wishing to

become a Knight Equestrian needs

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to roll 'Gentry' on the 'Background Tables'. The Gentry are non-

commoner households that provide nobility with their attendant knights.

The heads of such families are often given stewardship of small keeps

and villages.

Player Character 'Knights Patrician' and 'Knights Equestrian' can be

assumed to have been 'officially'

knighted, and may use the title 'Sir'.

A player character who becomes a

Knight Vulgaris, is assumed to be a military trained commoner, used primarily as an armoured foot

soldier.

The Knight Errant Errant knights are romantically

thought of as low ranking members of the Nobility who have chosen to

go questing in search of honour, fame and fortune. Knights Errant are

in fact far more likely to be military

trained commoners who; for one reason or another, find themselves

without employment, wandering the land in the hope of providing for

themselves.

Most errant knights would therefore

have had some campaign experience prior to 1st Rank, resulting in a set

of well rounded abilities, and some half decent equipment; probably

looted from the battlefield.

A Knight Errant is initially equipped

with plate armour, shield, dagger, lantern, flint-and-tinder, backpack,

25 florins, and a sword or morning

star.

The starting Special Abilities for

Errant Knights are:

Armour Expert; Ride Warhorse; and

Track.

The Track ability reflects the Errant Knights experience of living rough on campaign, and it can therefore be assumed to also include basic

outdoor survival skills, such as setting up a camp, finding shelter,

building a fire, and basic campfire

cooking.

The Knight Patrician Knights Patrician are military trained nobles who forgo the Track ability in return for 'Wealth and Status. Like all other knights however, Patricians

still gain the Armour Expert, and Ride Warhorse abilities.

The ability 'Wealth and Status affords the knight a certain level of

deference and respect from any NPCs of a lower social status, when

within their own kingdom. It can

also be helpful sometimes, when travelling abroad in similar feudal

cultures.

Being of high birth, Patricians are expected to follow the knightly code of chivalry, and to swear an oath of

fealty to another knight or noble of higher social status. Patricians are

also entitled to carry a personal Coat of Arms to identify themselves on

the battlefield. The Patricians status is usually evident from the knights general bearing and behaviour, from his or her coat of arms, and from the

quality of his or her equipment.

Knights Patrician are initially equipped with plate armour, shield,

dagger, lantern, flint-and-tinder, backpack, 25 florins, a Warhorse

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with saddle, tack and harness, and a sword or morning star.

This starting equipment can be assumed to be of the highest quality and worth 50% more than their

normal counterparts.

In addition to the knight's usual starting equipment, the Wealth and Status ability also gives the Patrician a surcoate and banner;

displaying his or her personal coat of arms, as well as items of fine

clothing, various pieces of jewelry,

and other small trinkets (all together worth an additional 5d6 Florins).

This 'wealth' represents the knights status in society, and should not be

bartered away lightly.

The Patrician's starting abilities

are:

Armour Expert;

Ride Warhorse; and Wealth and Status.

The Knight Equestrian Knights Equestrian are military

trained Gentry who are primarily used as cavalry during times of war.

As a result of this, they forgo the Track ability in return for 'Mounted Combat', which gives a +1 bonus to armour bypass rolls when fighting

from horseback with any hand to hand weapon. Like all other knights,

Equestrians still gain the Armour Expert, and Ride Warhorse abilities.

Like Nobles, Equestrians are

awarded a certain level of deference

from those below them in station. They are also expected to follow the

knightly code of chivalry, and swear allegiance to another knight or noble

of higher social status. Unlike Patricians however, Equestrians do

not start with any extra wealth or possessions.

Equestrians may be entitled to carry a personal Coat of Arms with the

referee's permission, and depending on the character's background story.

Knights Equestrian are initially equipped with plate armour, shield,

dagger, lantern, flint-and-tinder, backpack, 25 florins, a Warhorse

with saddle, tack and harness, and

a sword or morning star.

The Equestrian's starting abilities

are:

Armour Expert;

Mounted Combat; and Ride Warhorse.

The Knight Vulgaris Knights Vulgaris are commoners who have been trained in the knightly

arts and as they are used primarily

as armoured foot soldiers, they forgo the 'Ride Warhorse' ability in

return for 'Forage' (as per the new Hunter's Ability found in the 'Player's

Book Preview').

'Ride Warhorse' now joins the other

abilities that become available to Knights from 8th rank or higher.

Knights Vulgaris are basically professional soldiers and

mercenaries, and are rarely expected to swear a lifelong oath of

fealty, or abide by the code of Chivalry. In times of peace, they are

usually released from service, and

often become Errant Knights.

Knights Vulgaris are initially

equipped with plate armour, shield, dagger, lantern, flint-and-tinder,

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backpack, 25 florins and a sword or morning star.

The Vulgaris' starting abilities are:

Armour Expert;

Forage; and Track.

Forage

A skilled forager is an expert at finding sustenance in the wilderness.

He must make a Perception roll, and beat a difficulty number assigned by

the GM. The GM then rolls an appropriate die to determine how

long the forager takes in finding the food and water. The three basic

levels of foraging ability by any terrain are:

Type TN Time

Fecund 8 1d3

Fertile 12 1d3+3

Desolate 18 1d3+6

The result of the die roll indicates

how many hours it takes for the forager to find a days food and water for a number of people equal to half the foragers Rank.

The Knightly Code of Chivalry

The knightly code of chivalry determines the behaviour expected

from noble born knights, and includes: performing noble quests;

defending to the death any item or person placed in their charge;

showing courage and enterprise; obeying their rulers and liege lords;

showing respect for their peers; honouring those who are above their

station; demanding respect and

obedience from those who are

below; scorning those who are lowly, ignoble, ill-mannered, coarse, or

crude; performing military service for their liege lord when called upon;

and showing courtesy to ladies.

Characters may not necessarily

choose to follow the knightly code of chivalry, but unless they pay it at

some lip service, they will lose respect from their peers, and this

situation will remain in place until the Patrician can make amends.

Barbarians In the original Dragon Warriors game, Barbarians did not

automatically gain the 'Track' ability and in my original house rules, I

differentiated between the different barbarian cultures by deciding

whether they got Berserk or Track as a starting ability. To maintain

game balance, I am not changing the new rules for barbarians, so they

continue to get both abilities.

Barbarian characters however do

need to identify the culture from which they have come. As many

early campaigns are likely start in

Albion, an ideal homeland would be Thuland (and possibly some of the

more isolated regions of Cornumbria).

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Barbarians are initially equipped with full mail armour, dagger, lantern,

flint-and-tinder, backpack, 6d6 florins, and a battleaxe or a two-

handed sword.

Special Abilities for Barbarians are:

Berserk; Ride warhorse; and

Track.

Barbarians do not get the 'Armour

Expert' ability, but can wear any armour up to a suit of full mail

without suffering any combat

penalties. They are unused to fighting in plate armour however,

and must suffer a -2 penalty from ATTACK and DEFENCE if they ever

wear it.

As an alternative, the Games Master might decide that certain barbarian

cultures will have different starting

abilities, for example Forage. If this is the case, I would advise that if

Berserk is replaced, it should be with an 8th Rank Knights ability and that Bloodrage be also replaced when the character reaches 8th Rank. This

rule change suggestion should not really affect Barbarians from

Ellesland.

Thanes and Hunters Details of the 'Thane' Profession can be found in 'Ordo Draconis',

winter 2010 (Vol: 1/No: 2). It offers an alternative version of the

Forage ability and a new ability of Carouse. Knights Vulgaris may

select Carouse instead of Forage if they wish, and Barbarians may

select it instead of track.

Forage (by Stephen Dove and Lance Melville):

A skilled forager can always find food for himself and 1d4 other people (player

rolls each day), provided he is in a terrain that is similar to that of his

home area (grassland, mountains or swamp: to be chosen at character creation). He moves only at half-speed

whilst foraging, and in winter, a forager can feed only himself.

Carouse (by Stephen Dove and Lance Melville):

A skilled carouser spends much of their

lives in taverns, inns, and mead-halls, and have earned a well deserved

reputation for drinking vast quantities of mead, ale, cider and whatever else they can find, buy, loot, or steal. A skilled

carouser can drink everyone else under the table as a favourite game to see

who will be the last man standing. Strong drink is a mild poison that causes unconsciousness if a character

fails a Strength check. After three drinks, each character makes a

Strength Check on 2d6. For each drink thereafter, add a 1d6 to the dice roll.

Skilled carousers gain a +4 to Strength Checks for the purpose of resisting strong drink.

The Hunter Profession can be found in the Players Book Preview document from Serpent King Games.com

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Barbarian Backgrounds Thuland

The people of Thuland are not completely uncivilized, in fact they

have a highly developed early feudal society. The warriors of this land are represented as Barbarians rather than Knights, because this

reflects their temperament and fighting style better.

Thulanders are very similar in culture to the Norse, and are tall and

fair-skinned, often with red or blond hair. Thulander characters are

assumed fluent in their native language of 'Vasic'; and in my early

campaigns, should take 'Elleslandic'

as a second language at intermediate level (near fluent, with

a strong accent).

Cornumbria

The inhabitants of Cornumbria (as

well as Ereworn and Glissom) are

the original native peoples of Ellesland, who dominated the whole

island in ancient times, before being forced into the fringes by the

invading Selentium Empire.

Nowadays Cornumbria is an

independent and civilised feudal kingdom, whose warriors are usually

best represented by using the Knight's profession. However, in the

more remote and inaccessible highlands of Cornumbria, the old ways still predominate, and it is here that Cornumbrian Barbarians

still call home.

Cornumbrian Barbarians are very similar to highland warriors, and are

tall, fair-skinned, and often red haired. Cornumbrian Barbarians are

assumed to be fluent in their adopted language of 'Elleslandic',

and in my early adventures; should either take 'Vasic' as a second

language at intermediate level, or the lost Cornumbrian language of

Lughwyd' at basic level (please note that spoken Lughwyd is a dead

language, and Cornumbrian barbarians will not be able to

improve their fluency in this language beyond the few words and

phrases that have been passed down

by their elders).

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House Rules for Combat

Aimed Attacks In my campaigns, attackers may

target specific locations such as the head, arms or legs by applying a +4

penalty to the attack roll. If the roll fails, then the attack misses, if the

roll succeeds, then that specific body part is hit.

If a successfully hit body part is un-

armoured, then no armour bypass

role is made, making helmets suddenly useful in Dragon Warrior

campaigns.

Critical hits still automatically bypass armour as usual, and in the case of

head hits, will effectively destroy the helmet in the process.

Helmets In my campaign there are three

distinct types of helmet, Great Helm, Helmet and Coif.

Great Helms

Great Helms are large heavy metal

helmets with a visor giving face protection. They are bulky and offer

limited vision though small eye slits and ventilation holes.

Great Helms offer an AF of 5 with the visor down, but only AF: 4 with

the visor up or missing.

Great Hems incur a -3 (-2 for knights) penalty to the characters Attack and a 6 (-2 for knights) penalty to Defence when the visor is

worn down due to restricted vision.

Great Helms also incur a 3 penalty to perception in regards to sight and

sound when a visor is down, but only to sound when the visor is worn

up.

Helmets

Helmets are usually open faced, and

do not impede the wearers movements and awareness. Helms

can be made of boiled leather or metal, and they offer an AF: 3 for

Leather, and an AF: 4 for metal.

Coifs Coifs are hoods made of chain or leather, and like helmets; they are

less restrictive then Great Helms. Coifs are thin and flexible and do not

offer good protection. They are however discrete, and can be hidden

under hooded robes. Coifs offer an

AF: 1 for Leather, and an AF: 2 for chain.

Health Points In my campaigns, characters become unconscious on reaching 0

health points and die on reaching 6 (rather then 3 in the rules.

I will however be using the

Permanent Damage Table for characters when they reach 3 health points or less, making combat dangerous, but less lethal.

Permanent Injuries Table 2d6 Injury

2 Severed arm or hand. Roll 1d6:

1. Left hand

2. Right hand 3. Left arm just below

elbow 4. Right arm just below

elbow 5. Entire left arm

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6. Entire right arm

3 Loss of eye. Roll any die, even

number = right eye, odd number = left eye. Characters attack and defence have a 1 penalty when in mle combat

(ranged combat is unaffected); reduce perception score is by

2.

4 Injured joint; Reflexes score is

reduced by 1.

5 Injured muscle; Strength

score is reduced by 1.

6-8 Scar; reduce Looks score is d by 1.

9 Lame; character can no longer run (if rolled again, treat as

Severely Lame).

10 Head injury. Roll 1d6:

14 Reduce Intelligence score by 1

56 reduced Psychic Talent score by 1

11 Severely lame; character can no longer run; walking

movement is reduced by 1d3m; evasion and stealth are

reduced by 1.

12 Severed leg or foot. Roll 1d6:

1. Left foot

2. Right foot 3. Left leg just below

knee 4. Right leg just below

knee 5. Entire left leg

6. Entire right leg

If critical hit results in -3 health

points or less, and the subsequent permanent damage roll results in a

head wound, any head armour is bypassed and the character is

instantly killed.

If the head wound was caused by a normal hit, and head armour is

worn, no permanent damage is incurred, but the character is

unconscious for the remainder of the battle.

Variable Damage In Dragon Warriors, each weapon

does a set amount of damage.

Depending on the preference of the players, I may use the optional

variable damage system presented in the rulebook.

Regular Damage Variable Damage

Die

2 1d3

3 1d4 4 1d6

5 1d8

6 1d10

Languages In many initial campaigns, Knights are likely to be from Albion, and will

be fluent in their native language of 'Elleslandic'. Both Knights and

Barbarians from Cornumbria will also be fluent in Elleslandic, whereas

Barbarians from Thuland will be

fluent in their native language of 'Vasic'.

Unless you have access to the main rulebook, assume for now that

Barbarians will have a second language at intermediate level

(almost fluent, with a strong accent).

For those whose first language is not Elleslandic, their second language

should be.

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Living in the Lands of Legend

Many initial adventures are likely to

begin in the westernmost lands of Baron Aldred's fief:

Ashmore

A town near the border of

Cornumbria.

Axbridge

The most Westerly township of Baron

Aldreds fief.

Coronach Marsh

The marsh appears to be a

wilderness home to charcoal

burners, peat farmers, and outcasts.

The Marsh is plagued by snakes.

Scardic

A large town in Baron Aldreds Fief.

Igham

A village in Baron Aldreds Fief.

Villagers do not travel far into Igham

wood (which is south of the village).

It is believed that if you are caught

in the wood after nightfall, you die

before

morning.

Hesards Ford

A Small Village.

Norham

A small village.

It is believed that the 'evil' fog that

surrounds 'Hobbs Dell shrouds the lair of 'Gardener Jack'.

Pillaton

A large village.

Trefell

A small village.

Saxton

A large village.

Karickbridge

A small market town.

Gullys Inn

An Inn and way station for travelers.

Osterun Abby

A Large Monastery for the True faith.

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