Exploring the Halls of Arden Vul: WWN chargen

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The material of the Halls of Arden Vul was created by Richard Barton and Andreas Claren for the OSRIC system, a clone of 1e Advanced D&D. We'll be using Worlds Without Number by Sine Nomine Publishing (Kevin Crawford), using some elements from Into the Wild by Todd Leback, The Perilous Wilds by Jason Lutes, and Old School Essentials - Advanced Fantasy by Gavin Norman.

Worlds Without Number has a free version at DTRPG. Here's an affiliate link for the Deluxe paid version, which has information on additional character classes, Legates, characters that are more epic/solo, and additional GM tools. The deluxe version of the game is unnecessary for play.

Chargen Order

PCs start at L4, with 12 XP. The chargen instructions below are for generating L1 characters, using the Summary of Character Creation section in WWN (pp 6-7). You can use that as a guideline instead for much of chargen, but note that there are sections below for Arden Vul world specifics, Custom characterization aids, Languages, and Arden Vul Context for WWN Content.

For generating L2-L4, see WWN 54-55 and the individual WWN Class sections. Please come up with a sentence or phrase describing the types of activity your character was engaging in to acquire that experience before the start of their joining the game - are they an experienced guard or mercenary, an imperial agent, an itinerant mage or scholar, etc.?

GM Rolled Attributes

• I will roll 3 sets of attributes for you using 3d6. You'll select one set for your PC.
• Adjust Ability Scores. Attributes will be rolled in order (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma). You may swap one (1) roll for another result (swapping the Strength roll for the Wisdom roll, for example). Unlike standard WWN, you will not pick one attribute to change to a score of 14 (this stems back to the game's origins in OSE and the processes for chargen and conversion to WWN used for legacy PCs).

From 'A Summary of Character Creation' WWN 6

• Once adjusted, make note of attribute modifiers:
  • Score of 3 = -2 | 4-7 = -1 | 8-13 = none | 14-17 = +1 | 18 = +2
• Pick a background from the list on WWN 11. You gain the Free Skill listed under the background name at level-0, which equates to an ordinary professional knowledge of it.
  • Inappropriate backgrounds for this game: Barbarian, Slave
• Decide whether to roll for additional skills or pick them. If you pick skills, you can choose two more skills from the Learning table for your background, with the exception of entries that say “Any Skill”, which you may not pick. You cannot pick entries from the Growth table. If you’re not sure what to pick, just take the “Quick Skills” listed for your background at level-0.
• If you choose to roll for your skills, you can roll up to three times, dividing up your rolls between the Growth and Learning tables as you wish. When you roll on the Growth table, some results may say “+2 Physical” or “+2 Mental”. In the former case, you can add two points to either Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution, or one point to two different stats. In the latter case, you can add two points to either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, or divide the bonus between two of them.
• Choose your Class from those starting on page 18, representing those talents you have that are most relevant to an adventurer’s lifestyle. If your hero isn’t well-described by Warrior, Expert, or Mage, you can choose Adventurer and mix classes. Classes customized to the setting (as drawn from WWN, WWN Deluxe, and Atlas of the Latter Earth (ALE) are detailed below in Arden Vul Context for WWN Content.

Arden Vul world specifics

• Cultures other than Human can be defined later in chargen through the use of a Special Origin focus. You can read more about Arden Vul People and Cultures.
• With regards to Class:
  • Halflings are generally not Mages, though they have some healing skill and healing magic
  • Imperial Goblins tend towards the Adventurer class, but have no class restrictions
  • People of Stone tend towards the Adventurer class, but have no class restrictions
  • Sylvari are generally wilderness-focused Adventurers, with some rare exceptions

Customized content from WWN-Free, WWN-Deluxe, and ALE has been mapped onto Arden Vul cultures in Arden Vul Context for WWN Content.

From 'A Summary of Character Creation' WWN 6-7

• Choose your Foci, representing the side talents or particular specializations of your hero. You can pick one level of a Focus of your choice. Characters with the Expert class or the Partial Expert feature of the Adventurer class get one level of a non-combat Focus for free in addition to this. They can spend both levels on the same Focus, starting with level 2 in it if they wish. Characters with the Warrior class or Partial Warrior feature of the Adventurer class can do the same in choosing one level of a combat-related Focus.
  • If you wish to play a culture other than Human, you can use the Special Origin focus. The GM will work with you to craft a culture-specific focus. The Imperial Goblin special focus is noted below.
• Now pick one skill of your choice to reflect your hero’s outside interests, natural talents, hobby expertise, or other personal focus.
• If you’ve chosen the Mage class or chosen to be an Adventurer with the Partial Mage class, you need to pick a tradition for your sorcerer. These are listed in the Magic chapter starting on page 60. Also see the Customized content below. You may be a full-fledged High Mage, Necromancer, or Elementalist, or you may be an Adventurer with only a partial class in these arcane arts or expertise in the magically-gifted partial classes of Healer or Vowed.
  • If you’re a full High Mage, Elementalist, or Necromancer, or a Partial in two of these, choose four starting spells from your class’ first level spell list. Partial Mages of these classes pick only two. Record these on your charsheet.
• Hit Points at L1 are maximum for your class. Add any CON modifiers. HD will be re-rolled at every level gain, with +1 HP if the new HD roll does not exceed the character's current HP.
  • Warriors 1d6+2
  • Experts 1d6
  • Mages 1d6-1
  • Adventurers use the tables on WWN 21
• Note down any base attack bonus you may have. This will vary based on your class; you can check the class tables starting on WWN 18 to see what your hero’s basic martial aptitude might be.
• Choose one of the equipment packages on page 29
• Mark down your total hit bonus with your weaponry. This is equal to your base attack bonus, plus either your Punch, Stab, or Shoot skill depending on the kind of weapon it is, plus your relevant attribute modifier. The weapon table on page 37 will tell you what attribute is used for a particular weapon. If two attributes are listed, use the best one for your hero. If you haven’t even got level-0 skill at combat, take a -2 penalty on the hit roll.
• Note down the damage done by your weapons. This is equal to its base damage dice plus its attribute modifier. If it’s a Punch weapon, you can add your Punch skill to the damage as well.
• Record your Armor Class, the measure of how hard it is to hurt your hero in a fight. The armor table on page 35 gives the score for a given harness. Different suits of armor grant different Armor Classes; if you aren’t wearing any armor at all, your base AC is 10. Add your Dexterity modifier to this AC. In order to hurt your PC, an enemy has to roll an attack roll on a d20, adding their attack bonus and equaling or exceeding your AC.
• Note down your beginning saving throw scores for your Physical, Evasion, Mental, and Luck saving throws. Physical saves against poison, disease, or exhaustion are 15 minus the best of your Strength or Constitution modifiers. Evasion saves to dodge sudden perils or dive away from explosives are 15 minus the best of your Intelligence and Dexterity modifiers. Mental saves to resist psychic influence or mind-bending sorceries are 15 minus the best of your Wisdom or Charisma modifiers. Your Luck saving throw is a flat score of 15, and rolled when pure chance is your only hope of avoiding some random disaster. To make a save, you need to roll equal or better than it on a d20 roll.
• Name and describe your character on your charsheet. See the People & Cultures page, which has naming suggestions and more information.

Custom characterization aids

Alignment. Select the alignment of your PC and the appropriate number of traits. You can roll, if you prefer. (from The Perilous Wilds)

IMO, the appeal of this system is that it asks the question: "When you have power/influence, what do you do with it?" It's a question highly applicable to the upwardly mobile adventurer, and at default the traditional adventurer is generally going to be some version of 'evil' -- given their druthers, they'd prefer to loot tombs for personal wealth and power, and are willing to harm those who stand in their way of that wealth and privilege. To be something other than evil in this system requires intention and action. A Chaotic or Neutral character doesn't need to enter play with a cause or agenda, just as a Lawful or Good character doesn't, but when they discover a prevailing order their tendency is to act towards disrupting it (in small or large ways); or when they discover imbalances, they tend to seek to right them. Similarly, an Evil character needn't be a mustache-twirling sociopath, but they intend to take what they want, even if it means harming others.

Commoners may not employ the same system of alignment; their access to power and influence is different than that of those who either already hold power or who rapidly climb the socio-economic ladder (as adventurers do).

If you roll and get a Trait that you're not interested in portraying, please select another. These are meant to be play aids, not uncomfortable constraints.

Determine a Secondary Skill

(from OSE Advanced Fantasy) Choose or roll a skill from the below list. This is solely a skill with a narrative effect, though you can make it a mechanically-supported skill with points invested in Work. Skills not named on this list can be discussed.

Languages

Characters begin with the knowledge of their native language, Archontean, and fluency in additional ones based on their Connect and Know skill levels. Level-0 in either grants one more language and level-1 grants two. Thus, a PC with Connect-1 and Know-1 skills would start fluent in their native tongue, Archontean, and four additional languages of their choice. Increasing Connect or Know skills later can allow them to learn one more language for each level they gain, as can spending a few months immersed in a culture.

Accessible Languages

• Archontean (Mithric script)
• Thorcin (Mithric script)
• Wiskin (Wiskin runic script)
• Mithric - a dead language of arcane theory and practice. All magic-users trained in one of the imperial collegia have some knowledge of Mithric (10% chance per experience level to decipher something written in Mithric). Alternatively, it can be acquired as a language slot.
• Goblin (Mithric script)
• Halfling (Mithric script)
• Beast-tongue (spoken by the Beastpeople of eastern Irthuin) (Mithric script)

Inaccessible Languages, barring cultural factors

• Brotherhood Cant - spoken by the Benevolent Brotherhood (Archontean and Imperial Goblin Mithric)
• Silent Vengeance - gestural language spoken by Vengeance Factor
• Sylvan (Sylvan runic and Sylvan script)
• Stonetongue (Stone runic script)
• Draconic - a language once spoken in ancient Archontos, but now dead amongst humans; quite rare in any cultural group and requires a strong narrative reason for having access to it (Draconic runic script)

Arden Vul Context for WWN Content

If it's in Worlds Without Number (Free or Deluxe edition) or the Atlas of the Latter Earth (ALE), it's generally material appropriate for the game. In order to flesh out the world of Arden Vul (Magae) with the world of WWN, I am categorizing some of the content from WWN and ALE. These assignations are not final, and are absolutely negotiable. If there's something you're interested in playing that doesn't otherwise fit, let me know.

WWN has a system for modifying and customizing equipment built around the Craft skill. ALE has a system for 'mundane' alchemy. It would be nice to see either/both in play.

Notes on Classes

WWN - Free

• High Mages are products of the Archontean Collegia system (which is open to Archonteans and their subjects) and the following collegia are primarily High Mages: Order of Thoth, Imperial Academy, Collegium of Macrina, Order of the Fifth Circle.
• Elementalists can be found within the Thorcinga, Wiskinga, People of Stone, and Sylvari. Amongst Archonteans, the Collegium of Cinders are primarily Elementalists.
• Healers appear in all cultures, but are not part of the Archontean Collegia system.
• Necromancers are found within the People of Stone and in the Archontean New School of Arcane Might.
• The Vowed are a tradition of the Wiskinga and People of Stone, though each culture has their own pathway into those mysteries.

WWN - Deluxe

• The arts of the Adunic Invoker are Thorcin, though the Archontean New School of Arcane Might has been making inroads to its secrets through questionable means.
• Skinshifters are found amongst the Sylvari and goblins, including some Imperial Goblins.
• The Kistian Duelist is an Archontean tradition. Many claim their right of entry to the Imperial Academy arcane college.
• Beastmasters are generally Sylvari, though some Thorcinga and Wiskinga have similar traditions.
• Blood Priests are tied to the worship of The Twelve, the old gods of the ancient Archontean Empire, and have found their way into some of the churches of The Ten. Worship of the Thorcin and Wiskin pantheons is not so martial.
• Thought Noble is another name for the Sortians, the renegade arcanists who instigated the collapse of the original Archontean Empire

Atlas of the Latter Earth

• The Accursed tend to be associated with religious orders, but might be Archontean, Thorcin, or Wiskin
• Bards can be found in most cultures, but have particularly strong traditions amongst the Thorcinga, Wiskinga, Imperial Goblins, and Grain Islands halflings
• Mageslayers are found amongst the Thorcinga, Wiskinga, People of Stone, and the Archontean New School of Arcane Might

New Foci (ALE)

Maqqatban Knight Foci are available, but have cultural restrictions (again, this is negotiable):

• Archontean styles: All Directions Edge, One Point Strike, Righteous Iron
• People of Stone style: Wrathful Mountain
• Sylvari style: Catalytic Soul
• Thorcinga styles: Pyre of Heaven, World Tree Lance
• Wiskinga style: Ghost Archer

Amundi Godblood Foci are available, and anyone from any culture may take them. However, some of them are relatively common among certain cultures:

• Imperial Goblins often have Master Tracker, Night Walker, and/or Pack Beast
• Sylvari often have Master Tracker, Walk Like Wind, and/or Wildtongue
• Arcane Secret Foci are available, and have no restrictions. However, some Foci are tied more to certain cultures:
• Nagadi Hemomancy is a common technique of Thorcinga practitioners. Few Archonteans practice it.

Old Empire Sigilsm is a common technique amongst those trained in the Archontean collegia.

Vothite Mind-Sorcery is a little known technique attributed to the renegade Sothians.

Special Origin Foci

Imperial Goblin

The humans of Archontos enslaved the goblins of Mithruin in antiquity and put them to work as miners and as laborers on the vast imperial latifundia of Mithruin. More than a millennium of exposure to the Archontean empire has created a distinct racial subgroup, culturally distinct from their native origins. Imperial goblins were freed from slavery a thousand years ago.

Imperial goblins are short, long-armed, and bandy legged, with yellow to orange skin, yellow eyes, and orange to yellow hair. While comfortable wearing minimal clothing, they possess their own standards for fine dress (these include tall conical caps, colorful vests, and jodhpurs tucked into beautiful leather boots). They reach a maximum of 3'8" in height. Goblins are known for their wiry strength and tough constitutions.

Level 1: Gain Exert and Sneak as bonus skills. You can see clearly in the dark out to 60', and can Notice new construction, sliding walls, or sloping passages as an easy test (Difficulty 6). Gain a +1 bonus to your hit die at each level. You are too small to effectively use two-handed melee weapons or large bows.

Level 2: The Old Blood courses through your veins. You can speak with the stone itself, and be understood by the small creatures that inhabit stony places. Conversing with stone is a slow and exhausting process, and stone is reluctant to release its secrets. You can make a Convince test to elicit the answer to a question a stony edifice might be able to answer, such as the presence of nearby secret construction, the presence of a vein of gems or precious metals, the presence of living creatures who reside nearby, or the nearby presence of bodies of water and open spaces. Each question requires a successful test, takes 10 minutes to coax an answer from the stone, and costs 1 point of System Strain; you'll know within 5 minutes if you haven't been convincing or the stone doesn't have an answer. You can also converse very simply with the small creatures that inhabit stony places, though such communication is rudimentary at best.

Variant Rules

Critical Hits

PCs can score critical hits, which confer double damage.

Maiming Wounds

Atlas of the Latter Earth 161

When a character is Mortally Wounded, they need to make a Physical saving throw. If they succeed at it, they avoid permanent maiming. If they fail, they roll on a table that produces results that include laming, limb loss, scarring, infection, mental trauma, etc. "Deathblow' results earn a re-roll. A repeated result means a mere flesh wound with no lasting effect, even if they’ve got another arm, leg, or hand they could lose.

A physician who spends a scene tending them immediately after the injury and succeeds on a difficulty 10 Int/Heal or Dex/Heal skill check can allow a maimed target to make another saving throw with a bonus equal to the physician’s Heal skill. On a success, it’s really a flesh wound after all. Only one such first aid attempt can be made.

If magical healing exists in this world, it can also be used immediately after the injury to allow a saving throw re-roll attempt, though it heals no hit point damage. Only the most powerful magics can actually heal a confirmed maiming wound, however, and the GM decides what magic would qualify.

More System Strain

Atlas of the Latter Earth 162

There aren’t a lot of ways to gain System Strain in a low-magic setting, and some GMs may want to instead use it to represent the stress and pressure of more conventional threats and hardships. This kind of use doesn’t really fit the more pulp-heroic idiom of the base game, but it can fit some styles of low or no-magic gaming.

With this rule, the PCs gain a point of System Strain after each combat, saving throw, or scene of harrowing danger, intense exertion, or other stressful privation. If this point puts them at their maximum, they are exhausted, and can do nothing but rest until reduced below their maximum. If they are forced to fight or otherwise exert themselves while so strained, they need to make a Physical saving throw or they’ll pass out or otherwise collapse during the fray, waking up after the scene.

If this rule is used, the default System Strain recovery after a good night’s sleep should be three points instead of one.