rune cd preview kit - narod.ruflorell-page.narod.ru/rpg/rune/runerpg.pdf · 2013-04-05 · rune...

the adventure roleplaying gamePreview Kit

w w w . a t l a s - g a m e s . c o m

In the RUNE Roleplaying Game,you seize the reins of action as youand your friends create your ownfierce adventures and furtherexplore the world of RUNE.

In a roleplaying game, you createyour own heroes, grab fistfuls ofdice, and watch their action-packed adventures unfold beforeyour eyes. You use rules to deter-mine whether you hit a foe, howmuch damage you do to him, if hehits you back, whether you canjump that raging river, and so on.

In a traditional roleplaying game,one player becomes the GameMaster, who controls everythingabout the world, inventing itsstory lines and populating itsmonster-filled subterranean pas-sageways. He gets to be in charge,but loses out on the opportunity tosend a mighty-thewed character ofhis own screaming through themonstersÕ lairs, swinging hisbloody battle-axe. Everybody elsesticks to his chosen role of player,enjoying the battles but having noreal say over the direction of thegame. Although theyÕre calledÒgames,Ó traditional roleplayinggames offer no end-point, no over-all winner. The game goes onindefinitely, and, supposedly,Òeveryone is a winner.Ó

To that, the RUNE RPG says, bah!What kind of Viking attitude isthat?

THIS IS A GAMEYOU CAN WIN!

¥ A winner is declared at the endof every session.

¥ You also keep track of an over-all winner over a series ofgames.

¥ You can play RUNE in tourna-ment format, or in a league.

¥ In RUNE, you score pointsevery time your mighty swordslashes your foe. Naturally,you get extra points every timeyou strike a fatal blow Ñ evenif youÕve stolen the kill from afellow player whoÕs whittledthe enemy down for you! Youalso get points whenever yousucceed at one of your non-combat abilities, when youbring back bushels of silver toenhance your familyÕs stature,or when you act in a suitablyViking manner.

¥ There is no single GameModerator. Everybody gets achance to pillage and slay!

RUNE RPGRELEASE

Hack-and-slash comes into itsown with this roleplaying adapta-tion of Human Head StudiosÕ bru-tal RUNETM video game forMacintosh and PC. You and yourband of bloodthirsty Vikings pur-sue epic adventure and glory in aland of Scandinavian myth,smashing anything that gets inyour way. From the icy depths ofNifleheim to the whispering evilof Svartalfheim, only the gods, orperhaps the apocalypse ofRagnarok itself, could hope todeter your ravaging course.

The RUNE roleplaying gameincludes stunning concept art fromthe video game, and stays true to itsroots with its Òcompetitive role-playingÓ approach; players earnvictory points during their exploits,and a winner is named at the end ofthe campaign É thatÕs right, youcan win this roleplaying game! Andfor die-hard combat fiends whoseGame Moderator may be contem-plating defection to a ÒstorytellingÓsystem, RUNE offers a group GM-ing experience to lighten the load,in which players each design anencounter that the GM inserts intothe larger plot. For added back-ground depth, the RUNE roleplay-ing system is based on a stream-lined version of Ars Magica,

TMmak-

ing it an easy entry point intoMythic Europe,

TMor a way to spice

up combat for your covenant.

Copies of Human Head StudiosÕRUNE demo will be included ineach hardcover copy of AtlasGamesÕ roleplaying game. Withthis partnership, RUNE promisesto bring the gore back to gaming!

Available in March 2001

The Pillaging Has Only BegunÉ

CONTINUE YOUR VIKINGADVENTURES WITH THE

RUNE ROLEPLAYING GAMEÉComing In 2001 From Atlas Games

2www.atlas-games.com

¥ Everyone takes a turn runningand creating scenarios. Playersbuild scenarios from a check-list, using a set number ofpoints: things that endangerthe heroes cost points; ele-ments that might benefit themadd points. (So do terrain fea-tures, which make the fightsmore interesting and challeng-ing.) So you pay points fortraps and tricky tests of skill,but gain them for includingtreasures or easy challenges.

¥ And, even when youÕre theGM, you can still win!

If thatÕs notenough toconvinceyou tohauntyour localgame storeuntil ourdragon-prowed long-boats delivershipments ofthe RUNE RPG,letÕs take a closerlook at its fea-tures.

(Note that we arestill honing theserules in our dwarvencyber-forge, and thatsome details maychange between thewriting of this pre-view kit and therelease of the actualgame.)

The Worldof RUNE

The world of RUNE offers bothdanger and glory to young Vikingwarriors such as yourselves.Enormous serpents infest the seas,ready to wrap their tails aroundlongships and drag their crewsdown to watery graves. Giants

stride throughmountain pass-

es, their noseshungry for

the smell ofmanflesh.

Elves both light and darkdwell in woods too deep for mento survive in. Deep in the moun-tains lie trackless miles of cavernsand passageways, infested with allmanner of creatures, from lowlybut devious goblins to massivewyrms who can devour an entireraiding party without filling theirmonstrous bellies.

Men are but pawns in a warbetween gods, a battle which willreach its catastrophic climax whenthe day of Ragnarok comes. Thechieftain of the gods dwells inAsgard, where he rules over twojoined families of gods: the Aesirand Vanir. He is Odin, also calledthe All-Father, who cast out an eyeand hung himself from the cosmicash tree to gain divine wisdom. Hisson, Thor of the thundering ham-mer, is our warrior god, spurringus on to win glory in battle. Balderis OdinÕs fair-haired and glowingson of innocence and light. Theprophecies of the three weirdwomen, called the Norns, tell usthat someday Balder will be slainby his half-brother, the cruel andambitious Loki. Loki now writhesin chains in a secret chamber farbelow the earth, imprisoned byOdin and Thor in an attempt tostave off this predicted murder; forwhen Balder dies at LokiÕs hand,the final battle between giants andgods will commence. The grimship Naglfar, made from the nailparings of the dead, will lose itsanchor as the sea monsterJormungandr, one of the mon-strous spawn of Loki, makes itsway towards the shores of

Asgard, the godly realm. LokiÕsother progeny, Fenrir the

wolf and Hel, queen of thedamned, head an army

to fight our gods. The

RUNE Roleplaying Game Overview

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prophecies tell us that the forces ofboth good and evil shall be utterlydestroyed in this inevitable con-flict, and, with it, our mortal world.

You see that our legends are as darkand gloom-enshrouded as the coldand foggy fjords in which we makeour homes. We believe in no ulti-mate victory of good. Destructionis the final fate of man and godalike. The best we can do is forestallthis inescapable doom, by keepingLokiÕs forces in check. This we dowith axe and sword, felling thosewho serve him, and those whostand in the way of this goal. Thewinding caverns and passagewaysbeneath the mountains and fjordsconnect our mortal realm to thoseof the gods. Warriors who fightwell will win the favor of the gods,gaining the superhuman powersneeded to cross over to those myth-ic places and thrive despite theirmany perils.

The world we live in, the place ofbirths and harvests and feast days,is called Midgard. We haveexplored it widely, having raidedthe homes of many other peopleswho share the world with us. Theyare ignorant of RagnarokÕsapproach, and worship godsunknown to us. Though theirbeliefs are foolish, it is not for us toconvert them to our ways. Theywill be but bystanders in the ulti-mate battle between light anddarkness.

On the edges of these distantrealms are found the places ofmyth and story, which lie on theborder between Midgard and thelands of the gods. To the East isJotunheim, the mountainous placewhere giants stride. Further norththan even we dare to dwell is

Nidavellir, the underground realmof the Dwarves. Svartalfheim isthe dense and woody domain ofthe Dark Elves, who will march inLokiÕs armies in the final battles.Though these can be reached byarduous far-travel, shortcuts existto each of these realms, and more,by following the network of cavesand passageways beneath theearth. Only those who enjoy theblessings of the gods may usethese faster Ñ and more haz-ardous Ñ routes. This shadowydomain is known by many names,but we call it the Underworld.

As you delve through theUnderworld, your exploits willcome to the attention of the manygods of the Aesir and Vanir. Theywill gift you with great powers thatordinary men can only envy. Butbeware their machinations. Not allof the gods believe that Ragnarokbrings all-encompassing doom.

Many of them scheme to positionthemselves to rule the existencethey believe will follow Ragnarok.Perhaps these ambitious gods arecorrect; if so, it would be wise toaccept their gifts, in preparation forthe rewards of this unknowablenew day. But if they are wrong, theymerely play into the hands of Loki,and hasten our rush towardsdestruction. In any event, there arefew gifts which do not come with aprice. The more gifts you acceptfrom a single god, the more his pup-pet you become. At times you willfind your sword hand moved, orstilled, by your patron god, as heuses you to advance his scheme ofthe moment. It is best to take giftsonly from gods you can trust, or totake but a few gifts from each god.And though it is possible to earn thedark gifts of Loki and his mon-strous kin, the perils of such greedare vast.


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Rules Basics

Your hero is deep in the under-world, in a strange cavern whichseems to swallow up and feed uponthe light from his torch. He stepscarefully forward. Suddenly, a netfalls upon him! Can he avoid thenet, or will he be trapped?

Of course he can avoid the net! Heis a hero, and heroes make theirown luck by the strength of theirbacks, the speed of their feet, andthe quickness of their wit.

In this example, you play the roleof your hero while a competingplayer is currently GM. His notestell him how difficult it is for yourhero to evade the net.

Your characterÕs game statisticsinclude Characteristics, Abilities,and Gifts. Characteristics measurehis innate mental and bodily tal-ents, including his strength towield an axe, his speed to hit anenemy before the enemy hits him,and his wit to gather informationbefore he enters a fight. Abilitiesare the everyday, non-magicalskills your character learned in thecourse of his upbringing, fromsparring to shipbuilding. Gifts areextraordinary powers granted bythe various gods. They allow yourcharacter to do things that ordi-nary people canÕt do, but mayfrom time cause him to fall underthe control of the god to whom hestands in the greatest debt.

When you try to do something inthe game, and the outcome of yourattempt is uncertain, you roll aten-sided die and add it to yourbonus Ñ a number derived fromsome combination of your charac-

teristics, abilities, and gifts. TheGM then compares it to aDifficulty number. The tougher thetask, the higher the number.

Various circumstances set out inthe rules may change your die rolleither upwards or downwards. Anumber added to your die roll iscalled an increase. A number sub-tracted from your die roll is adecrease.

Sometimes something bad willhappen to your character and hewill suffer a decrease to every rollhe makes until the problem is rec-tified, either by your actions, orthrough the simple passage oftime. This state is known asimpairment. Each point ofdecrease is called an impairmentpoint.

Often the difference between yourresult and the Difficulty becomesimportant.

So, that net was falling on yourhero. The GM for the encounterhas decided that it is Tough toevade Ñ that is, that your bonusplus die roll must equal or exceed atarget number of 9. The GM tellsyou which Characteristics,Abilities, or Gifts to derive your

bonus from; you can also use therules to remind the GM of otherapplicable game statistics he maynot have thought of. In this case,you derive your bonus from yourQuickness characteristic (which is3), plus your Swiftness of Sleipnirgift (which is 2). Thus you add atotal of 5 to your die roll. You roll a3. 5 plus 3 is 8 Ñ one less than thetarget number of 9. Looks like yourhero will indeed fall prey to thatnet. But donÕt despair Ñ as amighty-thewed Viking, you havemore than one way of overcomingthe dangers of the Underworld.

Almost any action undertaken bya warrior in the heroic but doom-laden world of RUNE carries withit the potential for both over-whelming achievement or devas-tating misfortune; this is accom-plished with open-ended rolls.Whenever you roll a 10, you scorea triumph. Reroll, take the resultand add it to the 10 you alreadyhave. Unless, that is, that resultalso comes up as a 10, in whichcase you add that, too.

Junie rolls a 10. She rerolls, gettinga 3. She adds it to her original 10,for a result of 13.

Target Number Chart

Degree of Challenge Difficulty

Very Easy 3

Average 6

Tough 9

Very Tough 12

Nearly Impossible 15

Superhuman 16+

Janie rolls a 10. She rerolls, gettinganother 10. She rerolls, getting yetanother 10. She rerolls, getting a 6.Her result is a 36.

However, if you get a 1 on yourinitial roll, you suffer a botch.Reroll and make the result a nega-tive number. If you get a 10 on thererolled die, it becomes part ofyour negative total, and you keeprolling. Further 10s are alsorerolled and added.

Junie rolls a 1. She rerolls and getsa 4. Her result is -4.

Junie rolls a 1. She rerolls, and getsa 10. She rerolls, getting a 7. Herresult is -17.

Creating YourHero

The hero creation process is asfollows:

Step 1: Name Your Hero

Your hero needs a suitably Norsename. Odin will not smile upon aFred or Jimbo. He must be aThorleik or Ansgar to earn thefavor of the gods.

Step 2: Buy Characteristics

In this step, youÕll juggle the num-bers to give your hero theCharacteristics you desire.

Step 3: Buy Abilities

Here youÕll do the same forAbilities.

Step 4: Choose Your Weapons

Outfit yourself with as manyweapons as you can carry. On sec-ond thought, you should perhapsleave some space in your pack forother useful items. Still, it is goodto have a great many weapons.

Step 5: Other Important Numbers

Certain other game statistics arederived from your combinedCharacteristic, Ability and weaponchoices. These are figured here.

Characteristics

As previously mentioned,Characteristics are basic talents res-ident within a heroÕs body andmind. There are eight of them:Strength, Stamina, Dexterity,Quickness, Perception, Intelligence,Communication and Presence.

Each Characteristic a character hasranges from -3, the absolute worstpossible score for any living humanbeing, and +3, the apex of mortalpossibility. The vast majority of peo-ple from your home village have ascore of 0 in most of theirCharacteristics; it is the human aver-age. Through Divine Gifts, you maybe able to increase Characteristicsbeyond the human limit of 3.

Each Characteristic is associatedwith a particular Norse god. Heroeswith many Gifts boosting a particu-lar Characteristic are apt to owe agreat debt to that patron deity.


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¥ Strength (STR) is musclepower, which you use to lift,shove, push, manhandle andÑ above all Ñ hit those thingsin need of lifting, shoving,pushing, and hitting. You useit to smash down doors and toincrease the damage done toyour foes when you strikethem. Thor the Thunderer isthe patron god of Strength.

¥ Where the previousCharacteristic measures thedamage you can dish out,Stamina (STA) shows howwell you can take it. Staminaallows you to push yourselfpast the point of exhaustion, toresist diseases and poison, andto keep your head above waterwhere weaker men woulddrown. The brave, sufferinggod Tyr, who lost a hand inbattle, grants gifts of Stamina.

¥ Dexterity (DEX) measures thegrace and precision withwhich your hero moves. Mostimportantly, it determinesyour accuracy when wieldingweapons. It also allows you topick locks and stay on yourhorse when he rears back. Ull,god of the hunt, is patron tothe dextrous.

¥ If your hero has a highQuickness (QIK) rating, he runsfast and reacts quickly to sud-den dangers. It allows him tostrike first in battle and to dodgeblows. Njord, enigmatic god ofthe wind, extends Quickness tothose who please him.

¥ Intelligence (INT) measuresyour heroÕs memory and abili-ty to reason his way throughproblems. He might use it to

recall the exact pattern of aseries of runes he saw severalencounters ago, or to figure outthe answer to a riddle posed bya menacing bridge troll.Intelligence is sometimes seenas suspect, for it is the tricksterLoki who, of all the gods, pos-sesses it in abundance.

¥ If your hero has a highPerception (PER) rating, he isgood at noticing fine details inthe world around them. Hisintuition allows him to sensedangers his conscious mindmay not be aware of. He mightuse Perception to see the tell-tale glint of light that reveals asword being drawn in thewoods up ahead, or to eaves-drop on a conversationbetween a priest of Hel andone of her undead minions.Watchful Heimdal, whoguards the Bifrost Bridge link-ing Asgard and Midgard, is thegod of Perception.

¥ Presence (PRS) measures aheroÕs ability to make animmediate positive impressionon others of his kind. A highscore means that he is consid-

ered handsome, according tothe standards of his people,that he walks with confidence,and that he attracts the raptattention of others. In somecases, Presence might indicatea strong negative impressionthat nonetheless commandsobedience: a fearsome warriormight be big, mean-looking,and speak in a deep, boomingvoice shot through with men-ace. Presence is the trait ofchieftains and leaders, so it isfitting that Odin, chieftain ofthe gods, grants it to the heroeshe favors. It is also the trait thatpowers many of the DivineGifts, super abilities grantedby the gods which you acquireduring play.

¥ Communication (COM)allows a hero to speak clearlyand persuasively. It deter-mines his talent not only fortalking, but for listening to oth-ers, so as to best understandhow to convince them to dowhat he wants. Freyr, the godof growing crops and bulgingpurses, blesses his favoredheroes with the powers ofCommunication.

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Abilities

After purchasing Characteristics,you buy your Abilities with thepoints left over. Some cost more thanothers, depending on how impor-tant they are to your adventures.

You might not want to spend all ofyour creation points in the Abilitystage, though, because you canalso use them to purchase hitpoints, which increase the number

of injuries you can take beforethings really start to get serious.

The various abilities are listed inthe chart to the right.

Hit Points

A fight where a Viking warriordoes not get bloodied is hardly afight at all. Your hero begins thegame with a number of hit points,

which represent his ability to keepgoing even while injured.

Your starting hit points are deter-mined by your combined Strengthand Stamina Characteristics, asper the chart below.

You can buy additional hit pointsby spending creation points. Thenumber of extra hit points you getfor each creation point spent variesaccording to your Stamina rating.

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A word of warning: the hit pointsof the enemies you face are deter-mined in relation to the hit pointratings of the heroes in your raid-ing party. So if everyone buyshuge numbers of hit points, no onebenefits: you just make your ene-mies tougher. (Students of gametheory will recognize this as a vari-ant of the prisonerÕs dilemma,where it is good to be the only per-son claiming a benefit, but bad tobe one of many.)

Injuries can temporarily reduceyour hit points below your nor-mal, or maximum level. Mostinjuries you receive are purely pic-turesque punctures, abrasions,and contusions which make youlook appropriately courageous butdo nothing to hamper youractions. That is, unless you receivea Impairment Ñ an especiallynasty hit that can affect your char-acterÕs performance permanently.

Ability

Animal HandlingAwarenessBalanceBargainBowsBraveryBrawlingCarouseChain WeaponClimbCrossbowsDeceptionDemeanorDisarm TrapDisguiseDivine AwarenessDodgeGambleGreat WeaponHealerInsightJumpLeadershipLongshaft WeaponLoreMapMusicPick LockPursuitRepairRideRunesSeamanshipSingSingle WeaponSkaldSkiSleepSprintStealthSurvivalSwimThrown WeaponTwo Weapons

Characteristic

PresencePerceptionDexterityCommunicationPerceptionStaminaDexterityStaminaDexterityStrengthPerceptionPresencePresenceDexterityIntelligencePresenceQuicknessvariableDexterityDexterity/PerceptionCommunicationStrengthPresenceDexterityIntelligenceIntelligenceCommunicationDexterityPerceptionDexterityDexterityIntelligencevariableStaminaDexterityIntelligence/PresenceDexterityStaminaStrengthDexterityIntelligenceStrength/StaminaPerceptionDexterity

Abilities Chart Starting Hit Points

STR + STA Hit Points

-4 or less 37-3 to -1 40

0 441 to 3 48

4 525 566 60

Buying Hit Points

Stamina Hit Points-3 1-2 2-1 30 41 52 63 7

Weapons

A mighty warriorÕs weaponsbecome an extension of himself.Your warrior begins the gameequipped with a selection of ordi-nary weapons created by his vil-lageÕs smith. In the course of hisadventures, he will graduallyaccumulate even more powerfulweapons. Some are so large thatheÕll be able to use them properlyonly through the blessings of thegods.

Weapons, just like heroes, havegame statistics. These are as follows.

Initiative Rating(INIT)

The bigger the weapon, the short-er the distance between its killingsurface and the skulls of your foes.The shorter the distance, the soon-er you act. The faster the weapon,the higher the initiative rating.

Attack Rating(ATK)

Some weapons are more wieldythan others. The easier it is to hityour foe with a weapon, the high-er its attack rating.

Defense Rating(DFN)

Most close-range weapons can beused to parry incoming blows. Themore useful the weapon is whenavoiding the attacks of others, thehigher its defense rating.

Damage (DAM)

This is the amount of injury youinflict on your enemies as you mowthrough theirranks with your

weapon ofchoice.

Load

Load measures a weaponÕsweight. You can only carry somuch, and your weapons con-tribute to the total Encumbranceyou suffer when lugging all ofyour gear around.

Ability

The chart below notes the Abilityyou must use in order to wield theweapon. For example, youÕll seethat a shortspear falls under theSingle Weapon Ability, while a flailcalls for the use of Chain Weapon.

Availability

Weapons are either common orrare. Common weapons are madeby the smiths of your home vil-lage. You can start play with asmany common weapons as youcan carry. Rare weapons can only

be gained in the course of play,either through trade or by loot-

ing the corpses of the slain.

ChoosingYour

Weapons

At the beginning of the game,you may pick up to 3 com-mon weapons.


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Weapon Chart

Name INIT ATK DFN DAM Load AbilityAvailabilityBillhook +5 +6 +1 +8 1.5 Longshaft RareChair +2 +2 +3 +1 NA Brawling ÑComposite Bow -1 +1 NA +8 0.5 Bow RareDagger +2 +1 +2 +3 0.25 Single CommonDouble-bladed Axe +6 +5 +7 +12 3 Great RareDwarven Battle Axe +8 +7 +8 +14 4 Great RareDwarven Battle Hammer +8 +8 +10 +14 3 Great RareDwarven Battle Sword +8 +6 +10 +12 1 Great RareDwarven Work Hammer +6 +6 +8 +10 2 Great RareDwarven Work Sword +6 +4 +6 +8 1 Great RareFist/Kick +1 +0 +0 +0 NA Brawling ÑFlail (2 handed) +2 +7 +1 +7 0.5 Chain CommonFour-bladed Mace +4 +4 +3 +7 0.5 Single RareGauntlet +1 +0 +1 +1 0.25 Brawling RareGoblin Axe +4 +2 +2 +7 1 Single RareGoblin Spike Club +3 +2 +3 +6 0.5 Single RareHand Axe +3 +1 +2 +6 0.5 Single CommonHeavy Crossbow -10 +2 NA +14 1 Crossbow RareLight Crossbow -6 +2 NA +12 0.5 Crossbow RareLong Bow -1 +1 NA +10 1 Bow RareMace +3 +2 +3 +5 0.5 Single CommonMorningstar (two-handed) +1 +5 +0 +8 0.5 Chain RareNet +0 +4 +2 +0 0.5 Chain CommonPike +6 +4 +1 +6 1.5 Longshaft RarePolearm +6 +3 +5 +9 1.5 Great RarePuny Knife +1 +0 +1 +2 0.15 Single CommonQuarterstaff +6 +4 +8 +3 1 Great CommonRock +4 +0 NA +2 0.0 Thrown CommonRoman Sword +3 +1 +4 +4 0.5 Single RareSap +1 +0 +1 +2 0.15 Single CommonSevered Arm +1 +1 +1 +1 NA Great SpecialShort Bow +0 +0 NA +6 0.5 Bow CommonShortspear +5 +1 +2 +3 0.5 Single CommonShortsword +4 +2 +3 +3 0.5 Single CommonShortsword + Dagger +6 +5 +6 +5 0.75 Two Weapons CommonSling +2 +2 NA +3 0.1 Thrown CommonSpear (thrown) +0 +2 +0 +6 1 Thrown CommonSpear/Lance +5 +6 +4 +6 1 Longshaft CommonThrowing Axe +1 +1 +0 +4 0.5 Thrown CommonThrowing Knife +1 +1 n/a +3 0.2 Thrown CommonTwo Hand Axes +4 +3 +5 +7 1 Two Weapons CommonTwo Short Swords +6 +3 +5 +7 1 Two Weapons CommonViking Axe +5 +3 +4 +10 1.5 Great CommonViking Broadsword +5 +3 +4 +6 1 Single CommonWar Maul +5 +2 +4 +10 1.5 Great CommonWhip +0 +6 +0 +2 0.5 Chain Common


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Armor

Although you, as an eager warriorwho has yet to be blooded, mayhave visions of running shriekinginto combat, protected only byyour screaming blades and thevalor of your heart, veteranVikings will tell you that there isno substitute for good armor pro-tection. Someday a treacherous foewill jab past your parrying swordor blocking shield, and on that dayyou will be glad you wrappedyour hide in as much protectivegear as you could muster.

You can start the game with anyone type of common armor, andone common shield of your choice.

Each armor configuration, asyouÕll note from the chart, carriestwo values. Initiative has alreadybeen explained. Protection (PROT)is taken into account when calcu-lating Soak, which allows you toshrug off blows that would injurean warrior wearing lesser armor.

Shields

Shields add their Initiative,Attack, Defense, Damage, andLoad values to the values of thesingle weapon with which theyare paired.

ImportantNumbers

Before you wade into combat, youneed to calculate some more gamestatistics and note them on yourhero sheet. Each of the followingnumbers plays an important rolein the smiting of your enemies,and youÕll do well to have them

handy at alltimes.

Initiative (INIT)

ItÕs good to hit your enemies beforethey can hit you. A high Initiativeallows you to do this. Calculateyour Initiative score as follows:

Your QIK Characteristic + YourWeapon Ability + Your WeaponÕs

INIT

Note that you have a differentInitiative value for each weapon youuse, and that it changes whenever youadd or discard items in your pack.

Attack (ATK)

A high Attack score increases yourlikelihood of actually hitting yourfoe in combat. Again, each weapongrants you a different Attack value.

Calculate the Attack values ofmelee weapons as follows:

Your DEX Characteristic + YourWeapon Ability + Your WeaponÕs

ATK

Your Attack values for missileweapons (whose ranges are greaterthan Close) are calculated like so:

Your PER Characteristic + YourWeapon Ability + Your WeaponÕs

ATK

Shield Chart

Name INIT ATK DFN DAM Load Ability Availability

Buckler -1 +0 +2 +0 0.25 Single Common

Round Shield -1 -1 +3 +0 0.5 Single Common

Kite Shield -1 -1 +4 +0 2 Single Common

Tower Shield -3 -2 +6 +0 3 Single Rare

Armor Chart

Type PROT INIT Load Availability

Quilted/Fur 1 -0 1.0 Common

Heavy Leather 3 -1 1.5 Common

Studded Leather 5 -3 2.0 Common

Chain Mail 7 -5 2.5 Common

Steel Scale Mail 9 -7 3.0 Rare


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Defense [DFN]

Your Defense score measures thedegree to which you can avoidbeing hit by opponents, either bygetting out of the way of theirblows, or parrying them with yourweapon or shield. Missileweapons donÕt confer Defensescores; if youÕre holding one whenattacked, use your Brawling abili-ty (as modified by the Fist/Kickstatistics on the Weapons Chart) asthe basis for your Defense score.Calculate Defense as follows:

(Your QIK Characteristic + YourWeapon Ability + Your WeaponÕs

DFN) - Your SIZ

Damage (DAM)

Hitting your opponent is all welland good, but once youÕve done ityouÕll want to know whetheryouÕve just scratched his hide, ordelivered a disemboweling death-blow. Your Damage score tells youhow much harm you do to your foe.Once more, it varies by weapon.

When using a melee or thrownweapon, calculate it like so:

Your STR + SIZ + Your WeaponÕsDAM

Missile weapons use the straightDAM rating of the particularweapon.

Soak

Although even the bravest Vikingprefers not to be hit in the firstplace, he knows that eventually a

foemanÕs blade will taste of hisflesh. When that time comes, it isgood to be tough, and have thecapacity to shrug off some of thedamage. Your Soak score allowsyou to do that, and is calculated asfollows:

Your STA + Your SIZ + YourArmorÕs PROT

Combat

When you enter combat, you firstroll Initiative to see who goes first.If you get a really high result, youmay be able to strike more thanonce in a single round. When youstrike, you roll a die and add yourAttack value; your opponent rollsa die, to which he adds his Defensevalue. If your result is equal to orgreater than his, youÕve hit him.He suffers damage equal to theDamage rating of your weaponplus the difference between hisDefense result and your Attackresult. He subtracts his Soak fromthat Damage; the rest is subtractedfrom his hit point total. When hereaches 0 hit points, heÕs dead ordying.

Missile combat works a bit differ-ently; here you roll either against aDifficulty to hit, which is based onfactors like the distance betweenyou and your enemy, the range ofyour weapon, and any cover yourtarget might be cravenly lurkingbehind. Your opponent can alwaysDodge if he feels it will improvehis odds of evading your missiles.

In a fight, you have a number ofoptions you can trot out to suityour circumstances. If youÕrealready toe-to-toe with your

enemy, you can increase yourDefense by ducking and weaving,or bolster your Attack by holdingground. When your foe seems onthe cusp of death, you can moreeasily dispatch him by goingberserk, adding your Defense toyour Attack value. But beware: ifyou donÕt finish him, he gets a freeshot at you, and your Defense iszero!

Other special choices may occa-sionally add a bloodthirsty dimen-sion to your battles. For example,you score extra points if you canbeat a foe to death with his ownsevered arm.

Other Ways ToGet Mangled

Of course, it is entirely possiblethat you will succumb to yourfoesÕ attacks. And you must alsoevade a host of other dangers out-side of combat. Fire, poison,drowning, falling, and exposureare chief among them.


Gifts of theGods

Ever aware of the dangers youface, the gods smile grimly onheroes whose axes smite their foes.As you progress, you can acquirethe Gifts of the gods, magicalsuperpowers which extend yourheroesÕ survivability and capacityfor destruction. Divine Gifts mayincrease your Characteristics,pump up your hit points, or grantyou even more spectacular talents.Examples include:

Agony Postponed

Allows you to ignore penaltiesyouÕd otherwise suffer whenseverely wounded.

Aura Of PhlegmaticAcceptance

Allows you to ignore victorypoint losses youÕd otherwisetake from injuries in combat.

Banish His Blade

When you disarm a foe, hisweapon travels further than itnormally would Ñ and yougain extra victory points, too!

Boon of Angrboda

Allows you to temporarilyincrease your size; named after agiantess paramour of LokiÕs.

Bone-SettersÕ Blessing

Makes you tougher to hit whenyouÕre healing your comradesÕwounds.

Buffeting Gale

Knocks your foes down whenyou hit them.

The Chattering Squirrel

Grants you extra victory points forthe use of Deception.

The Clatter of Rushing Boots

Increases the potency of yourattacks when you charge.

Dying Blow

Allows you to keep fighting whenmortally wounded, so that youmay add one last legendary act tothe list of great deeds recited atyour funeral.

The Eager Arrow

Makes your missileweapons seek othertargets after suc-cessful hits.

Eyes Like Glowing Coals

Stare down weak foes, discourag-ing them from hitting you.

From Lofty AsgardÕs Peaks

Gain bonuses when fighting fromsuperior ground.

Imprecation of Doom

Designate a foe who will also bewounded whenever you hit anyother enemy.

The Knitting of Meat and Bone

Magically heal yourself duringcombat.

Nurturing of Yggdrasil

Gain victory points whenyou heal an ally.

The Owl Hears the Viper

Adds to Awareness rollsmade to evade traps.

Penetrating Lightning

Destroy items ofcover behind

which foescower.

Plumed UpBy Njordsbreath

Survive dangerousfalls.

Ripples From theWell of Knowledge

Identify potions andcharms.

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Rune Weapons

Long before they turned their backon the Aesir to make blades andarmor exclusively for Loki, thedwarves aided Odin and his kinby discovering a system of magicalcorrespondences between variousweapons and the elemental runesof power. Odin shared thesesecrets with the other Aesir, whoin turn parceled them out totheir favored warrior devo-tees, both on Midgard and inValhalla.

Many weapon types haveinnate magical power. Eachpower is unique to a particu-lar type of weapon. A hero of suf-ficient accomplishment canlearn to activate these powersfor brief periods of time,provided that he bears therequired weapon. He canuse any version of thatweapon, including the onewith which he started hiscareer, to activate Rune Powers.

Unlike other Divine Gifts, RunePowers can be used by anyonewho knows the secrets behindthem. Even goblins, dwarves,elves, the Dishonored, and trollscan use them. In fact, some RunePowers are associated withweapons used by dwarves andgoblins. These secrets werereleased by the dwarves after theyconcluded that Odin had swindledthem out of fair payment for theirdiscovery.

Rune weapon Powers do notincrease your divine rating. Nordo they have patron deities.Otherwise they work exactly asany other Divine Gift.

Rune Power: Viking Short Sword

When you activate the RunePower of the Viking Short Sword,a glowing, translucent sphereappears and shields you fromdamage.

Rune Power: Roman Sword

Your sword ignites, sheathedin fire that burns your enemies

and other flammable things.

Rune Power: Viking Broad Sword

When you activate this Power, allactual Damage you deal to opponents(after Soak is taken into account) isadded to your hit point total.

Rune Power: Dwarven Work Sword

When you activate this Power,lightning launches out from the tipof your sword, seeking out up tothree enemies.

Rune Power: Dwarven Battle Sword

Your weapon emits a beam of mag-ical energy which seeks out a cho-sen opponent and scorches himwith armor-ignoring arcane force.

Rune Power: Hand Axe

When you activate the RunePower inherent in your hand axe,you become insubstantial.

Rune Power: Goblin Axe

When you activate this Power, youmay once per round create a magi-cal duplicate of the axe, which youcan then throw at an opponentusing your Thrown Weapons skill.

Rune Power: Viking Axe

Turns an enemy into a fanaticalally for a short period.

Rune Power: Double-Bladed Axe

Transform your foe into a crow.

Rune Power: Mace

You may cause the mace to emit asingle blast of radiating force whichbuffets the characters closest to you.

Rune Power: Goblin Spike Club

When you activate this Power, youcause a cone-shaped barrage ofrocks to fire outwards from the busi-ness end of your outstretched club.

Rune Power: Four-Bladed Mace

Activating this Power turns you intothe center of a raging conflagration.

Rune Power: Dwarven Work Hammer

When you activate this Power andthen strike an opponent with thedwarven work hammer, he imme-diately turns to ice.

Rune Power: Dwarven Battle Hammer

This Rune Power is a more fearsomeversion of the above: the victim turnspermanently to stone instead of ice.


Encounters

When your turn to GM comesaround, your challenge is to usethe rules to design an encountermost likely to yield you victorypoints. Your goal is to reduce asmany heroes as possible to withina quivering inch of death, withoutactually killing them off.

A group of encounters is called anadventure. One player becomes theplotter, choosing the location of theadventure. He creates threeencounters (the Set-Up,Development, and Climax) aroundwhich the rest of you wrap yourown encounters. He chooses wherethe encounters are set. For example:

¥ Scandinavia: The adventuretakes place in various wilder-ness locations and villages nearyour home base. YouÕll benegotiating with other Vikings,occasionally fighting them, andbraving the hazards of travel indifficult, rocky territory.

¥ Jotunheim, the mountains wheregiants live: The heroes face thedangers of cold weather andtreacherous mountain terrain,as well as the threats, puzzles,and challenges posed by giants.Giants are sometimes friendly,sometimes hostile.

¥ Nidavellir, the strange domainof the mechanistic dwarves:All or most encounters will be

with dwarves or their mysteri-ous devices. Carefully-engi-neered traps of incomprehensi-ble workmanship abound.

¥ Svartalfheim, the thick, gloomyforest where the Dark Elveslive: Encounters will take placein the wilderness. Opponentsoften include unusually fero-cious wild beasts. Traps consistof snares and other outdoorsyhazards.

¥ Foreign Lands: The players goto another region of Midgardand lay waste to it in search oftreasure. You must specifywhere they go. They mightburn down wealth-ladenabbeys in England, battle hos-tile natives on the cold androcky shores ofNewfoundland, or serve asmercenaries in the Holy Land.This hook works splendidly ifeverybody is a history buff,but should be used with care ifsome of your fellow playerscouldnÕt tell a Varangian guardfrom a Valencia orange.

¥ Other Dimensions: The heroesvisit another fantasy world orgame setting with which all ofthe players are already famil-iar, in order to sack and pillageit. The further afield you gofrom a Viking world, the morework you and the other play-ers will have to do ahead oftime to develop extra rules forguns, laser cannons, or what-ever other trappings of the set-ting cry out for game systemsupport.

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Opponents

No RUNE encounter is completewithout a bone-crunching, viscera-spewing fight scene. You can pickany of the creature types youÕllknow from the computer game:goblins, dwarves, land crabs, SarkAmen, and wendols. You caninclude one big fight, or a smalland a medium one. You decidehow threatening the opponentsare in relation to the heroes. Foescome in seven threat categories,from Pitiful to Terrifying. You givethem their Atk, Dfn, Dam, Soakand other game numbers depend-ing on the collective strength of theheroes. The greater the threat cate-gory, the fewer foes appear: youget only one Terrifying foe forevery four heroes. On the otherhand, Pitiful foes outnumber theheroes by four to one.

A handy flow-chart governs thebehavior of enemies in combat,preventing you from playingfavorites and killing off the guywho never pays for his share of thepizza.

Non-CombatOpponents

Not every enemy will fightthe heroes. Some might facethem in non-violent contests ofskill, subject them to riddles, ortry to out-bargain them whileswapping silver for plunderedgear.

You must pay points for anysituation in which theheroes must overcome aDifficulty greater than 6.You can gain encounter points touse elsewhere by creating situa-tions in which they faceDifficulties less than 6.

Traps

YouÕll build traps by choosing theDifficulty to avoid and theDamage dealt. Costs vary for spe-cial cases. Sometimes only onehero need successfully roll toavoid a trap. On other occasions,everybody can try. In others,everybody must succeed. Sometraps target specific characters.Some types of trap carry specialrules: the rules spell out the

Damages u f f e r e dfrom falls,depending onthe height and the hardness of thelanding. Some traps, like fire andacid, deal out recurring or escalat-ing damage. Others take multipleshots at the heroes until deactivat-ed. Especially nasty traps deal outImpairment, a much-feared penal-ty against every subsequent roll ahero makes. You name it; if a trapcan do it, thereÕs a rule and a pricefor it.


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Terrain

For the first couple of fights, a bat-tle waged on a flat and featurelesssurface remains as exciting as anyin the Norse sagas. But then youneed to add terrain features tospice things up a bit, making eachcombat distinct from the last. Youget encounter points when youadd terrain features; even better,these convert to victory points ifthey actually have an impact onthe course of the battle when yourun the encounter. Add cover,sloped or slippery surfaces, multi-ple levels, or traps to which bothheroes and villains are vulnerable;these are just a few of your avail-able choices.

Gains

Pay for your traps and high-Difficulty ability rolls with plentyof goodies for the heroes to takeaway with them. These gainsmight be intangible, like clues touse in later events during yourencounter, or they might beopportunities to win status orplease the gods, which score the

players victory points. They caneven be actual swag, from ouncesof silver to salvaged equipment tomagical charms, potions, andamulets. The more potent the itemor bigger the haul of silver, themore points you gain to spendelsewhere in the encounter.

The Checklist

Manage all of your encounter pur-chasing with our handy checklist,surely a gift from Odin himself.You can either photocopy theentire list and check off the appro-priate boxes, or download it as adocument file from our web siteand cut and paste it into an orderthat makes sense for you.

A sample of the checklist appearsat the end of this kit.

EncounterTrading

Because encounters all obey astandard format and can be mixedand matched to fit into any adven-ture sharing the same basic hook,youÕll be able to trade yourencounters with other RUNE play-ers via the Internet. Thus, evenwhen you donÕt have time to whipup an encounter of your own, youcan still bring a suitably fun andfiendish fight-fest to the tablewhen itÕs your turn to run.


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More ON THEWORLD OF RUNE

A chapter devoted to the creaturesof RUNE provides additionalinformation on the creatures youfight in the computer game, aswell as other figures in the shad-ows, from dark elves togiants.

Another chapter pro-vides further informa-tion on RagnarÕs world,from the different areas ofScandinavia, to foreignlands ripe for plunder, to themythic realms of the gods.

Join us ForGlorious

battle!

As we write, itÕs fall of 2000,and weÕre hip-deep in test-ing the RUNE rules. Amidthe bodies of the slain, weready ourselves for youronslaught as you descend upongame stores in search of the RUNERoleplaying Game. By OdinÕsbeard, both our rules and yourfellow players will beready to face its grim butheroic challenges. Areyou ready, young war-rior?

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Trap/Hazard SheetEvent #:Sheet #:Nature of trap / hazard:

c Blade trap c Crushing trap c Impaling trap c Flame jetsc Falling debris c Acid jet c Fall c Slidec Impact c Breakaway stairs c Magic c Drowningc Acid bath c Avalanche c Exposure c Freezingc Poison c Disease c Sleep deprivation c Alarmc Nuisance animals c Tube-striker c Loss of statusc Other (specify) ____________________________

Unorthodox Description: (specify) ____________________________________________________ / +10Appears: c out of combat / Costs positive, as normal

c in combat, but foes are not at risk of falling prey to it / Costs positive, as normalc as combat terrain feature / All positive costs (except Difficulty) treated as negative

(treat values of less than -30 as -30)c area effect, spreads in:

c all directions / -15c linear manner / -20

Roll to AvoidAbility ____________________________ Difficulty: c 4 / -20 c 5 / -10 c 6 / +0 c 7 / +10

c 8 /+20 c 9 / +30 c 10 / +40 c 11 / +50c 13 / +60 c 14 / +70 c 15 / +80

Singular? c No c Rush c Dogpile c No-fault / -15c Limited Targeting, affects:

c 1 victim / -15 c 2 victims / -10 c 3 victims / +0c 4 victims / +0 c 5 victims / +0 c 6 victims / +0

Selection method:c Affects heroes who choose to: ________________________________c Random

c Specific Targeting, affects:c 1 hero / + 25 c 2 heroes / +20c 3 heroes / +5 c more than half the party / +5c Singles out victims with the

c highest ____________________c lowest ____________________

c Exotic roll c Characteristic only / +6 c Divine rating / +12 c Ability no hero has / +20c Alternate method / -10c Simultaneous with another roll / +15 (that roll appears ____________________________)c Cannot be avoided (cost doubles)c Can be conditionally avoided by ____________________________ / Cost -10c Equipment not needed / -3c Tube-striker may hurl heroes into it / Cost _____ (+7 per tube striker)


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Extra rolls allowed:c Hero may make ___ extra attempts after initial failure / Cost _____ (-5 per attempt)c faces no set limit on extra attempts / -20c loses a combat action for each attempt / halve above Cost; adjusted Cost = ___

Extra rolls required:c every round until condition is met / +25

Specify condition: ________________________________________________________ (if roll required, see sheet # ___ for description)

c distance to task ___ / Cost _____ (+10 for each 15 paces over 30)c By a single hero, over a period of:

c 3 / +15 c 4 / +20 c 5 rounds / +25c By any number of heroes, for a total of:

c 3 / +15 c 4 / +20 c 5 rolls / +25c All must succeed, with following # of players:

c 2 / +10 c 3 / +25 c 4 / +40c 5 / +60 c 6 / +75c Additional players / Another +25 per additional player / Cost _____

c Parallel task: # of tasks ___ / Cost _____ (# of parallel tasks _ all above cost elements)c Positional modifier

c maximum increase ___ / Cost _____ (-increase _ 10)c maximum decrease___ / Cost _____ (+increase _ 10)

c Zone of shelter:c increase of ___; shelters up to ___ heroes (-decrease _ heroes sheltered _ 3)

Nature of Harm:c Fixed number of hit points

c Dam rating 15 or lessDam rating ______ Cost _____ (total Dam rating)

c Dam rating > 15:c 16 / +21 c 17 / +22 c 18 / +23 c 19 / +24 c 20 / +25c 21 / +31 c 22 / +32 c 23 / +33 c 24 / +34 c 25 / +35c 26 / +41 c 27 / +42 c 28 / +43 c 29 / +44 c 30 / +45c 35 / +55 c 40 / +65 c 45 / +70 c 50 / +85

c Damage recurs:c every round / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 2.5)c every 5 minutes / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 2.25)c every hour / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 2)c every 3 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 1.75)c every 8 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 1.5)c every 24 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 1.25)

c Action required to end recurring damage: ____________________________c distance to task ___ / Cost _____ (+10 for each 15 paces over 30)

c Damage escalatesc every round / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 6)c every 5 minutes / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 5)


c every hour / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 4)c every 3 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 3)c every 8 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 2)c every 24 hours / Adjusted Cost: ___ (above cost _ 1.5)

c Action required to end recurring damage: ____________________________c distance to task ___ / Cost _____ (+10 for each 15 paces over 30)

c Dam rating derived from die rollNumber of dice: _____ Cost _____ (# of dice _ 6)

c Impairment:c general, affects

c ___ combat sequences / Cost _____ (# of sequences _ 30)c ___ rolls to avoid traps or trigger gains / Cost _____ (# of rolls _ 5)c ___ freestanding rolls / Cost _____ Total base cost ___

c specific, affects the following ability/roll: ____________________________c roll affected ___ times / Cost _____ (# of occurrences _ 5)c roll occurs in ___ combat sequences / Cost _____ (# of sequences _ 10)Total base cost: _____

c deals ___ points of Impairment / Final Cost _____ (# of points _ base cost)Does Damage Ignore Armor?

c No c Yes / Cost _____ +(heroesÕ average Armor Prot)Triggered by Combat Event?

c character falls down o character takes damagec dropped weapon or object c divine power usedc other (specify) ____________________________

c Parallel traps: # of traps ___ / Cost _____ (# of traps _ final cost of single trap)

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LegaleSe

Rune is copyright 2000 Human HeadStudios, Inc. All rights reserved. Rune, theRune logo, Human Head Studios, Inc. andthe Human Head Studios logo are trade-marks of Human Head Studios, Inc., andare used under license.

The Rune RPG Preview Kit is copyright2000 Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games. Allrights reserved. Atlas Games is a trademarkof John Nephew and Trident, Inc.

PO Box 31233Roseville, MN 55113

[email protected]

rune cd preview kit - narod.ruflorell-page.narod.ru/rpg/rune/runerpg.pdf · 2013-04-05 · rune...

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