Players Handbook

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Players Handbook

Post by Urk » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:26 am

As the campaign has grown so has the in-game players guide. In fact the in-game guide has grown SO big that it's unrealistic to think you'll have time to read it in-game unless you die. Most of the information in the players guide is available somewhere on these threads, but alas they too have grown quite a bit.

I have decided, therefore, to post the entire in-game Players Guide right here.

Welcome to Urk's Greyhawk: Rel Mord...

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Special Rules
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Classes:
Knight's House Rules attempts to use the Aurora Engine to approximate the rules of 1st edition D&D. This means there are severe restrictions on the classes available. In first edition D&D there is no sorcerer class. Knight's house rules does not allow for PC sorcerers.

Prestige Classes
1st edition D&D had only 2 Prestige classes, bards and assasins. Bards are now a base class, and franky I never felt assasins really fit in with the 1st edition rules. Therefore... Bards are permitted as a base class but no prestige classes may be taken.

Class Enforcement:
There are numorous Class Violation Enforcement Zones scattered about the map. Violators stepping on one of these zones will be penalized a number of experience points equal to their level multiplied by 1000 points. This is enough to strip you of 2 levels.

Perma Death:
If you die you will be sent to a Fughe plane. There is no way back from inside of this area.

When you die you will drop a Corpse Marker. If at any point during the current session a raise dead is cast on the corpse marker you will be teleported out of the Fughe Plane, but you cannot do this for yourself, so as a rule make sure if you get into a scrap you're with friends... or at the very least with people that you trust.

If a session ends and you have still not raised the corpse give it to a DM at the end of the game. Corpse markers cannot usually be transferred from session to session. A custom corpse marker will need to be made and the token will no longer be raisable without DM supervision.

Food and Resting
Resting is VERY restricted. There are safe rest areas scattered throughout the game. The common sleeping room found in most inns, for example.

When you enter a valid rest zone you will receive a text message telling you that, "You have entered a valid rest zone." You will often see conditional messageges. In an inn you will likely find rooms that say, "This is a valid rest zone, but you'll need to pay the innkeeper." Outdoors you will often see,"This is a nice place, you could rest here if you had a tent." In dungeon settings you may occasionally see a different message, "This room seems pretty well secured. If you had a bedroll you might be able to rest here."

The fresh food purchased in inns is substantially cheaper than the salted rations that you'll be eating in the field. A good fresh meal can be prepared for a few copper pieces and only the finest inn offers meals for a silver piece. For game purposes, these meals are free, but fresh food will rot and vanish from your inventory soon after you leave the place where you got it.

PC's can buy properties where they can rest. PC properties with rest zones will have placeables that provide "free meals". The most common of these are "cooking pots".

A disadvantage to this system is that the resting script cannot discern between fresh meals and the more expensive "rations" used for resting in dungeon and wilderness rest zones.

When resting, store your preserved food in a container in your pack or in the room. This way your character will eat the fresh food in his pack instead of his expensive trail rations.

Bleeding:
If your HP drops to 0 or lower you are not neccissarily dead. You will begin to bleed at one HP per round until you reach -9. At this point you will die. There is a possibility that you will stabelize normally providing that whatever killed you doesn't deliberatly finish you off or eat you alive. During this time a party member can also attempt to heal you.

Crafting:

Potions:
Potion crafting requires a magical alchemy table. This will include a table, a cabinet full of frequently used reagents, a writing desk for jotting down formulations, and a brewing cauldron.

Making Base Potions
Requires:
Brewing Feat
Potion Bottle
Magical Alchemy Lab
5gp special Materials

Result if Succesful:
Brewer creates a Magic Potion.

This is not a completed potion, but a potion base which can "hold" a spell. First the "magic potion" item must be created, then it can be further enchanted to hold a spell.

Procedure:
Making a magic potion takes 1 day and requires 2 relatively easy skill rolls. The first is an INT (CR 8: -1/level of brewers best spellcasting level*) and the second is a DEX roll (CR 8: -1/level of brewers best spellcasting level*). If either of these rolls fail the Special Ingredients (ie... the gold) are lost and the brewer must try again (the bottle can be reused). Note that anyone can formulate one of these potion bases, even if they do not have magical skills.

*example: A 5th level wizard is crafting a shield potion. At fifth level a wizard can cast up to third level spells. The CR for his INT and DEX rolls are:
8 (Base CR) -3 (for spellcasting ability) =5


Making Completed Potions
Requires:
Brewing Feat
Spell must be memorized
Special ingredients
Magical Alchemists Lab

Result if Succesful:
Brewer imbues a Magic Potion with a Spell.

Procedure:
Taking a magic potion base and infusing it with magic takes at least a day. First the brewer must mix the ingredients by placing them together in the right proportions in the brewing pot. This requires a relatively easy INT and DEX roll (CR 8 +1/level of the spell: -1/level of the brewers coresponding spellcasting level). If this roll fails the special ingredients are lost and the player must start again. If the roll succeeds the brewer may cast the potion spell on the potion bottle completing the potion.

Recipes:
GP values represent the value of "standard" components used. It is assumed that these components are available to anyone with access to a magical alchemy lab.

Wizard/Sorcerer Potions

Level 1
Spell; Special Ingredients
Endure Elements; 125 gp
Expeditious Retreat; 125 gp
Identify (lore); 12 gp, Pearl (any size)
Ironguts; 12 gp
Mage Armor; 125 gp
Shield; 125 gp


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Setting Notes:
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Rel Mord is an old city, and is one of the greatest in the entire Flanaess. It was originally brought into the limelight during the Great Kingdom when it was the seat of the Viceroyalty of Nyrond, starting a century after the first Common Year. From Rel Mord the Viceroyalty of Nyrond spanned a region encompassing the modern areas of the Pale, Tenh, parts of the Bandit Kingdoms and the Dutchy and County of Urnst.

By the time Nyrond proclaimed independance from the Great Kingdom in 356CY it had spread haphazardly across both banks of the river. A capitol city project was begun to improve Rel Mord. However, the western city was finding the ground to be less stable than the eastern bedrock. It was decided to extend a curtain wall around the eastern city, connecting the fortlets into a unified military structure. The bridge connecting the western fortress and the eastern structures was also built at this time, and later came to be known as the Highbridge[4]. These structures have remained largely unchanged, until after Chathold fell in Almor. The military was concerned about a similar fate for Rel Mord, and a six year project was begun, with the joint efforts of the Arcane and Divine Legions as well as assistance from the University and the Wizards Guild, to magically enhance the strength of the curtain walls, protecting as well as hardening. What enchantments were actually laid has not been released.

The city of Rel Mord is ruled by King Lynwerd, but many of the day-to-day functions are handled by the Royal Seneschal Dihconwy Mthar.

Rel Mord enjoys a fairly metropolitan atmosphere. While the years before and immediately after Lynwerd took crown were tough on the entire nation, Rel Mord has managed to revive itself and prosper. The western city is the only area where open begging is allowed, but this hasn't kept the beggar's guild at bay very effectively.

The Royal University of Rel Mord is one of the largest intellectual establishments known on Oerth, and has come to influence much of the attitudes in Rel Mord. Many noble and well-to-do families across the Flanaess send their children to Rel Mord for schooling. This has caused an influx of dilettante behavior. Not only known for scholastic and artistic pursuits Rel Mord is fast becoming known for its culinary innovations. Restaurants and eateries are a common past-time of the idle rich who inhabit the city.

Justcrown Province
The Justcrown Province is the only region of Nyrond ruled directly by the Royal Family, and as such it also has a unique political situation. The Nyrondese Kings, fearing challenges to the crown's authority, have long discouraged and set laws on the books disallowing large settlements and cities near the capital. Because of this, Rel Mord is the only city in the Justcrown province, and no other large settlement is allowed. Instead, what has been created is a broad network of Thorps spread across the province's rolling hills, governed by a broad network of lesser nobles and knights who report directly to Rel Mord.

The Thorps are not allowed to grow beyond a certain size, which has created a unique degree of broad communities. This has also cultivated much traffic, giving rise to many small overnight travellers shacks and periodic Inns on the more frequented roads. At the heart of Justcrown is the fortress-like walled city of Rel Mord, capital of all Nyrond and a renouned center of learning and culture.

In the years following the Greyhawk Wars, as more and more citizens of Nyrond faced a bleak future of poverty and disease while King Archbold dined on plates of platinum, the term "As true as Justcrown" entered common parlance. In earlier times, however, Nyrond's central province carried with it a certain pride; Justcrown was the center of a great and good empire ruled by kings endorsed by the will of the gods.

Lynwerd tries desperately to regain this reputation, and in truth has done much to heal the wounds caused by his father. The people of Justcrown, while they grumble as much as elsewhere, know that, in Lynwerd, their lives will be better than before.

Nyrond
The Kingdom of Nyrond covers a large swath of land east of the Nyr Dyv. Most of Nyrond's population is made up by rural and farming communties (only 7% of its large population lives in any major city). Because of this it has often been a strong force to deal with both economically and militarily. Nyrond did suffer during the Greyhawk Wars, but was still standing at the end of the day. The Nyrond people are strong willed and willing to fight to protect their lands and well-being. Military duty is a requirement to become a full citizen of Nyrond.

Many roadways fell into disrepair under the earlier rule of King Archbold; and most are still in this condition, making travel difficult. The population of Nyrond has changed since before the Greyhawk war. The refugees from Ahlissa, Almor and other war torn countries now make up a significant minority. There also seems to be a greater number of women than men as the war also left vast numbers of widows and orphans.

The Flanaess
Very few people know much about the world outside their own kingdom. The common man's knowledge of international affairs is seen primarily through a the lense of recent series of conflicts known collectively as the Greyhawk Wars.

The Wars were triggered by the hated Iuz. Iuz is the demon King of an empire to the west of Nyrond. It began as a clever series of intrigues whereby Iuz tricked the Barbarians of the North into attacking it's neighbors. The conflict slowly escalated until all of the Flanaess was engulfed in war. The Empire of Iuz struck north seizing huge tracts of land while the barbarians moved south completely anhialating the nation of Tenh.

While the war raged to the west another threat awoke to the east. Ivid the Undying, the undead emporer of the decaying and evil Great Kingdom that once ruled Nyrond, struck with all his might in an attempt to retake his former province. Nyrond was staggered, but managed to hold off Iuz's combined army of men, orcs, skelatons, and zombies.

In addition, a new player appeared. A secret society of Assassins and Spies called the Scarlet Brotherhood began trying to influence world affairs with a highly successful campaign of assassination and blackmail.

The wars finally ended with the signing of a series of treaties in the free city of Greyhawk in 584. Iuz settle in to consolidate his new Empire, as did the Scarlet Brotherhood which managed to sieze control of many coastal and island areas in and around the Aerdi sea.

The Great Kingdom crumbled. Ivid's empire split into Aerdy to the north and Ahlissa to the south leaving him alone to rule the crumbling remains of his capitol.

That was 7 years ago...

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