Legends of the Ancient World Corebook.pdf

Legends of the Ancient World

Artwork: Nicole Cardiff, Dario Corallo; Design: George Dew; Design Team: Scott Chisholm, Darryl Cook, Grayson Dew, Brian & Chris

Hudgins, Jerry Meyer Jr., David O. Miller, Rick Nichols, Robert Purnell, Robert W. Purnell, Bret Winters and Kirk Woller. Thanks to

Grayson Dew for the inspiration, Steve Jackson for his genius, and of course Gary Gygax. Permission to copy and distribute freely,

RULES

Legends is a role-playing game. Each player

controls one or more characters who go

adventuring. Players mark their characters with

cardboard pieces and use a hexagon board to

depict an encounter area. One hexagon (hex)

equals roughly one meter to five feet.

Adventures

An adventure is designed to be played either

solitaire or with other players. If played with

others, one player should be the Game Master

(GM), reading the instructions aloud and keeping

close track of game time and the party's current

progress.

CHARACTERS

Each character possesses three attributes:

Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence.

Strength (ST): Strong characters inflict and

survive more damage.

Dexterity (DX): Agile characters hit enemies

and dodge blows with greater success.

Intelligence (IQ): Smart characters are better

able to notice clues and apply skills.

New Characters

Create a new character with 32 points,

allocating a minimum of ST8, DX8 and IQ8.

Distribute the remaining eight points as desired.

Decide if your character is normal or a mage.

Normal characters begin with three points of

skills (see Skills ); magical characters begin with

three points of spells. Record your characters'

attributes, skills, capabilities, weapons and

belongings.

RESOLVING UNCERTAINTY

A character hits a foe by passing a three-die DX

check ( 3/DX ). The player rolls three six-sided

dice (3D6) and totals the results. If the total is his

character's DX or less, he hits; otherwise he

misses. For example: Ajax (DX11) rolls 2, 3 and

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5 for a total of 10. This is his DX or less, so he

hits Hector and rolls for damage (see Damage ).

A ST check ( 3/ST ) can be required for physical

feats or an IQ check ( 3/IQ ) for mental ones. A

four-die check is abbreviated 4/DX , 4/ST or 4/IQ .

Winning a Check

Each player rolls one or more dice. The higher

total wins, provided it does not exceed the

character's attribute (+skills). On a tie, the higher

attribute wins. If both totals exceed their relative

attributes, both characters fail.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Legends is played in turns. The side with

initiative moves first. Sides then alternate turns

until only one side survives.

Initiative

Decide initiative with a die roll. The side with

initiative takes the first turn.

Surprise

An adventure may specify that one side has

surprise. The side with surprise gets one free

unopposed turn, and then takes the first turn.

Player's Turn

The player moves each of his characters, in any

sequence, one at a time. He must complete one

character's turn before proceeding to the next.

When all his characters have taken a turn or

passed, the player's turn is over and the next

player begins his turn.

Character's turn

A character can move up to his movement

allowance (MA) and execute ONE action. He

must move before acting. A character may pass.

MOVEMENT

A character's MA is half his DX, rounded down.

A character may move up to his MA in hexes

before executing an action. For example: Ajax

(DX11) moves five hexes and attacks.

Legends of the Ancient World

Space

Only one character can occupy a space, unless

grappling an enemy. A character must stop upon

entering an enemy’s space.

ACTION

Every character can execute ONE action per

turn. An action is shooting, striking, grappling,

etc. A character cannot move after an action.

Reaction

A defender can act out of sequence,

immediately reacting to ONE of his attackers.

However, the defender gives up his following

turn. A reaction is counterattacking, dodging or

entering the attacker's space.

If an attacker passes adjacent to a defender

and does not attack, the defender can

counterattack or enter the attacker's space.

Shoot/Throw

An attacker with a missile or throwing weapon

hits an unobstructed defender by passing 3/DX.

If he passes, roll for damage; if he fails he

misses. If the defender survives, he may

immediately counterattack. If adjacent, he may

counterattack or enter the attacker's space.

A shooter cannot move in the turn he shoots,

but a thrower can. Missile range exceeds the

playing board. Throwing range is the thrower's

ST in hexes. A thrower must recover his weapon

from the target hex before throwing it again.

Counterattack

A defender surviving an attack may immediately

counterattack by shooting or striking his attacker.

The defender hits by passing 3/DX. If he hits, roll

for damage; if he fails he misses.

Strike

An attacker hits an adjacent foe by passing

3/DX. If he passes, roll for damage; if he fails he

misses. A defender can immediately dodge, or if

he survives the strike, he may counterattack or

enter the attacker's space.

Dodge

A defender dodges a strike by passing 3/DX. If

he fails, he is hit. On passing, he must retreat

one hex away from the attacker into a vacant

space. If no such space exists, he is hit. He may

view the attacker's hit roll result, but not damage

roll result, before deciding to dodge. A defender

cannot dodge a missile or thrown weapon.

Entering an Enemy's Space

Entering an enemy's space counts as an action

(or reaction). If used as an action, the defender

can execute a preemptive counterattack. The

defender hits by passing 3/DX; otherwise he

misses. If the defender hits, roll for damage

adding an additional die. Both characters drop

their weapons/shields and are now grappling.

Grapple

Enemies in the same space are grappling, and

can only attack each other. A grappler can only

attack if he begins his turn grappling. Attacks

automatically hit; roll for damage. If the defender

survives, he can immediately counterattack.

Drag

A grappler drags his opponent into any adjacent

unoccupied space by winning a ST check. A

grappler with twice or more the ST of his

opponent suffers no mobility penalty nor must he

attack only into his own space. When moving, he

carries his opponent with him.

Escape

A grappling character escapes into any empty

adjacent space by winning a ST check. If he

fails, he remains grappled. A character with twice

or more the ST of his opponent may freely exit

the grappling space and move/act normally.

Change Weapons

A character takes a turn to change weapons.

He cannot move in the same turn.

Cast Spell

A character casts a spell by passing 3/IQ. He

cannot move in the turn he casts. If casting a

direct spell, the caster must win an IQ check, or

the spell fails. A caster can only cast a spell into

a hex with an unobstructed line of sight.

INJURY & EXHAUSTION

Injury is measured in damage points;

exhaustion is measured in fatigue points. Both

are cumulative. When a character accumulates a

combination of damage and fatigue equal to his

ST or more, he immediately falls unconscious

and is completely helpless until he recovers.

Damage

When all combat is over, characters suffering

damage equal to their ST or more must be

healed to a net ST of at least one. If not, they

die. Characters sustaining twice their ST or more

in damage are unrecoverable.

Fatigue

Fatigue counts towards falling unconscious but

not death. Each fatigue point delivered to an

unconscious character is a damage point.

A character recovers one fatigue point after

each encounter and recovers all his fatigue with

a full night of sleep. If his sleep is interrupted, he

recovers only one fatigue point.

Recovery

Between adventures, all characters recover

fully. However, during an adventure, every week

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Legends of the Ancient World

a character spends resting with warmth, water

and food, he checks 3/ST. His margin of

success is the number of damage points he

recovers. A character recovers a minimum of

one damage point/week.

WEAPONS

Damage (D)

A character hitting an opponent rolls the

number of dice indicated by his weapon's

damage rating. He then adds or subtracts any

modifiers. This total is the number of damage

points he delivers. For example: Ajax hits Hector

doing 2D6-1 damage. He rolls a five and a two,

inflicting six damage points (5+2-1=6).

Heft (H)

Each weapon has a heft rating. This is the

minimum ST required to use the weapon.

Reach/Range (R/R)

Used in advanced rules only.

(G) Can be used grappling.

(R) Reload takes one turn.

(R3) Reload takes three turns.

(T) This weapon can be thrown.

(U) Unarmed attacker deals D3 fatigue.

Stronger character deals additional fatigue point.

ARMOR

Armor (A)

When a character is hit, reduce the damage

points he suffers by the cumulative rating of the

armor he wears. For example: Hector suffers six

damage points, but his total armor stops three

points. Therefore, he suffers only three damage

points (6-3=3).

Restriction (R)

Adjust a character's DX down by the restriction

of the armor he wears. This also affects MA. For

example: Hector (DX12), wears cloth (1) and

carries a large shield (1). He has an adjusted

DX10 (12-1-1=10). His MA is half of DX10 or five

hexes.

UNARMED

H R/r

Unarmed (U)

D3 (U) - 1-

TYPE

A/R

SWORDS

H R/R

Cloth

1/1

Dagger (G,D,T)

- 1-/2

Leather

2/2

Rapier

9 1

Chain

3/3

Cutlass

2D6-2 10 1

Plate

5/4

Short Sword

2D6-1 11 1

Small Shield

1/0

Broad Sword

2D6 12 1

Large Shield

2/1

Bastard Sword

2D6+1 13 1

Tower Shield

3/2

2-Handed Sword (2)

3D6-1 14 1

CAMPAIGNING

Experience Points

Characters use experience points (XP) to buy

skills, magic and attribute points. After each

encounter, every character contributing to victory

gets one XP if all enemies are killed, captured or

routed. Characters get no XP if they flee.

Additionally, when a party acquires a plotword,

each character gains one XP.

Advancement

Between adventures, a normal character may

cash in 10XP for a skill or 20XP for a spell. A

magical character may cash in 10XP for a spell

or 20XP for a skill--but only between adventures.

A character may permanently increase an

attribute at any time, provided he spends XPs

equal to the next higher level. For example: an

IQ13 character can spend 14XP to get IQ14.

Karma/Wish

During an adventure, a character may acquire

karma and wishes. A character expends a karma

point to re-roll one set of dice. A character

expends a wish to negate all accumulated

CLUBS

H R/R

Club (T)

9 1/2

Mace

2D6-1 11 1

Morningstar

2D6+1 13 1

Maul (2)

2D6+2 14 1

AXES

H R/R

Hatchet (T)

D6+1 9 1-/1

Axe

D6+3 12 1

3D6 15 1

POLE ARMS D H R/R

Javelin (T) D6 9 1+/3

Spear (T) D6+2 11 1++/2

Halberd (2) 2D6+1 13 1+

Pike (2) 2D6 13 2

MISSILES D H R/R

Thrown Rock D6-4 6 -/2

Sling D6-1 8 -/4

Bow (2) D6 10 -/5

Longbow (2) D6+2 11 -/7

Crossbow (2,R) 2D6 12 -/6

Arbalest (R3) 3D6 14 -/8

(2) Two-handed weapon; cannot use a shield.

(D) A dagger does D6+2 grappling.

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Battle Axe (2)

Legends of the Ancient World

damage, even if the character has just been

"killed." A wish can be used as a karma point. A

karma point can be used as one XP. Saved

karma and wishes roll over to other adventures.

Curse

During an adventure, a character may acquire a

curse. The cursed character adds one to all his

rolls (making it harder to succeed). He only

returns to normal when the curse is lifted. A

character expends five karma points to lift a

curse. Curses are cumulative.

MAGIC

A magic user casts a spell by passing 3/IQ. He

can only cast spells that he knows. A character

can only learn spells rated his IQ or less. A

caster must be either empty handed; holding

only a staff/wand; or holding only a book/scroll.

Spells

Spells are either dynamic or static. Dynamic

spells are single-use; static spells remain in play

for the duration of the encounter. Spells cannot

be stacked; casting the same spell on a target

yields no additional effect.

Direct Spells

A direct spell is a spell cast directly upon a

being. The caster succeeds by winning an IQ

check. A magic user having an enemy move into

his space can cast a direct spell as his

preemptive counterattack.

Fatigue

A magic user suffers fatigue upon successfully

casting a spell (see Injury & Exhaustion). Fatigue

costs appear in parenthesis following each spell.

Multi-Hex Spells

A character with a multi-hex spell automatically

knows all lesser hex versions of that spell.

Likewise, a character learning a lesser-hex spell

automatically knows the greater-hex version

when his IQ gets to the appropriate level.

Staffs/Wands

A magic user can carry a staff or wand, which

can be any piece of wood (treated as a club in

combat). The staff/wand provides a reserve of

power used in lieu of fatigue--until depleted.

Charging Staffs/Wands

A depleted staff/wand automatically recharges

overnight. New staffs start with zero capacity. A

magic user permanently increases his staff or

wand's capacity by expending 2XPs for each

point of capacity. A magic user can only increase

the capacity of his staff/wand up to his IQ.

Metal

Excessive metal interferes with magic user's

ability to cast spells. As a result, magic users

wearing metal armor cannot cast spells.

CREATION

Creation magically creates physical objects in

target hexes. Creation is static.

IQ 9 Spells

Fire-1 burns two damage points on anyone in or

passing through the target hex. Armor does not

protect. Wild animals will not enter fire. (1F)

IQ 10 Spells

Flash creates a blinding flash. Everyone on the

board except the caster suffers DX-2. Not

cumulative. (3F)

Shadow-1 creates a one-hex shadow in the

target hex. All attacks into or out of the hex are

at 4/DX. (1F)

IQ 11 Spells

Destroy Created Object destroys any created

object that the caster could cast. Costs (F) =

original cost of the creation.

Rope: is used for entanglement or climbing. For

entanglement: character in target space cannot

move and must pass 4/DX instead of 3/DX for all

actions. If character passes 4/DX, rope vanishes.

Works only on characters ST20 or less. (2F)

Wall-1 creates a 1-hex solid wall that blocks

movement just like a real wall. Cannot be cast

on occupied space. (2F)

IQ 12 Spells

Fire-3: three-hex contiguous fire. (2F)

Shadow-3: three-hex contiguous mist. (2F)

IQ 13 Spells

Wall-3: three-hex contiguous wall. (4F)

IQ 15 Spells

Super Rope : Same as rope spell, but works on

creatures up to ST40. Includes Rope. (5F)

Shadow-7: seven-hex contiguous shadow. (3F)

IQ 16 Spells

Fire-7: seven-hex contiguous fire. (4F)

Wall-7: seven-hex contiguous wall. (6F)

ENCHANTING

Enchanting affects the properties or behavior of

objects and beings. Enchantments are static.

IQ 8 Spells

Blur makes the subject difficult to hit. All

attacks are 4/DX to hit the subject. (2F)

Slow slows down the target. The target can

only move 1/2 his MA. (2F)

IQ 9 Spells

Assist adds +1 to the ST, DX or IQ of any

character (including the magic user). (1F)

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Legends of the Ancient World

Clumsiness drops the target's DX-1 for every

fatigue the caster spends.

Confusion drops the target's IQ-1 for every

fatigue the caster spends.

IQ 10 Spells

Speed doubles subject's MA. (2F)

Slippery Floor-1 Characters in affected hex

fight at 4/DX and must pass 3/DX or they will fall

and lose their turn. (1F)

IQ 11 Spells

Reverse Missiles: all missiles aimed at target

attack the shooter, not the target. (3F)

Slippery Floor-3: three-hex contiguous slippery

floor. (2F)

IQ 12 Spells

Freeze freezes the target for the duration of the

encounter (does not prevent a magic user from

casting spells). (4F)

Invisibility: target becomes virtually invisible.

Target is DX-4 to hit, unless grappling. (4F)

Mage Sight: see through any visual

obstruction, both natural and magical. (3F)

IQ 13 Spells

Flight: target flies 12 hexes per turn. Target is

4/DX to hit while flying. (4F)

Slippery Floor-7: seven-hex contiguous

slippery floor. (3F)

Stone Flesh stops four damage points each

time the subject is hit. Cannot be stacked with

other armor spells. (3F)

IQ 14 Spells

Remove Enchantment removes any

enchantment the magic user could cast. Cost (F)

= original cost of enchantment.

Spell Shield protects the subject from any

direct spells on him. (4F)

IQ 15 Spells

Iron Flesh stops six damage points each time

the target is hit. Cannot be stacked with other

armor spells. (4F)

IQ 16 Spells

Death: gives the target one damage point for

each fatigue point the magic user expends.

HEALING

Healing facilitates rapid recovery of injury.

Healing spells are dynamic.

IQ 10 Spells

Heal Wounds: target heals one damage point

per fatigue point expended. Can treat self.

IQ 14 Spells

Reverse Death revives a character killed in the

current encounter, stabilized at ST1. A character

having taken 2xST damage points is irreversibly

dead. Cost (F) = ST of the resurrected character.

IQ 16 Spells

Channel Energy: transfer damage point from

one local character to another. Target resists by

passing 3/IQ by a margin greater than or equal

to the caster. Cost (F) = points transferred+3.

ILLUSION

Illusion creates imaginary objects and mind

manipulations. Images disappear upon touch;

illusions do damage until disbelieved or killed.

Any character can use his action to disbelieve an

image or illusion by winning an IQ check against

the caster. Illusions are static.

IQ 8 Spells

Image-1 creates a one-hex object that looks,

sounds and smells just like real. (1F)

IQ 11 Spells

Illusion-1 creates a one-hex object acting just

like real; exists until disbelieved. (2F)

Sleep-1: target immediately falls asleep. He

wakes when attacked or shaken for a turn. (3F)

IQ 13 Spells

Image-4: four-hex contiguous image. (2F)

Mind Control: Target will do as instructed

unless suicidal. Target cannot act on the turn his

mind is taken over. (5F)

IQ 14 Spells

Dispel Illusions causes all illusions within 15

hexes of caster to vanish. (5F)

Illusion-4: four-hex contiguous illusion. (3F)

Sleep-4: four-hex contiguous sleep. (4F)

IQ 15 Spells

Image-7: seven-hex contiguous image. (4F)

IQ 16 Spells

Illusion-7: seven-hex contiguous illusion. (5F)

Sleep-7: seven-hex contiguous sleep. (8F)

KINETICS

Kinetics is the ability to move remote objects.

Magic strikes (Fist, Fireball, Lightning ) act as

missiles and cannot be resisted as direct spells.

Kinetic spells are dynamic.

IQ 8 Spells

Magic Fist does XD6-2 damage for X fatigue

spent (max=2).

Drop Weapon target drops any object he is

carrying. (1F) or (2F) if the target has ST20+.

IQ 9 Spells

Avert-1 causes one character to end his move

two hexes farther away from the magic user than

when he started. Static spell. (3F)

IQ 10 Spells

Trip knocks victim down. (2F) or (4F) if target

has ST30+.

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