EDRulebook: 13 Adventuring In Earthdawn

Of course, it's a stupid idea. Some of our best plans started with stupid ideas.
-- Seethian, Windling Thief The heroes of Earthdawn pit their skills and courage against supernatural creatures and Horrors on a daily basis and confront their fears as a matter of course. Heroes brave the forgotten kaers and citadels left unexplored after the Scourge. These brave adventurers travel across Barsaive, facing nomadic ork scorchers and deadly crystal raiders, fighting to protect their world from the Horrors that remain. The heroes of Earthdawn strive to reclaim their world from both the ravages of the Horrors and the tyranny of the Theran Empire.

As your characters explore Earthdawn, they will also face many everyday dangers that bear no relation to the plotting or malice of villains and creatures. Sometimes just surviving is a challenge.

[Discretion is the better part of valor . . .]

This section describes many of the dangers of the adventuring life in Barsaive and provides rules and suggestions for determining whether or not a character survives them. Because this section contains many rules that affect the fate of the characters, the gamemaster may prefer that players not read this section. If your gamemaster does not object to you reading these rules, keep in mind that he still chooses the Difficulty Numbers and determines how successfully your character performs various actions. No matter what, the gamemaster has the final say.

This section offers the gamemaster guidelines for dealing with everyday perils of adventuring, including climbing, traps, poison, curses, and so on. If the gamemaster finds dealing with all the situations outlined in this section bewildering, he should simply use the examples and guidelines presented until he feels more confident of his own judgment. These rules should help the gamemaster run his adventure, not get in his way. See Gamemastering Earthdawn for more information about running the game.

PERILS OF ADVENTURING

Adventuring can be a dangerous business. Many hazards threaten a character’s health, including climbing into a pit that conceals a kaer’s entrance, dealing with a curse put on a magical item, fighting magical creatures, falling, poison�well, you get the idea.

CLIMBING

Many situations will require your character to climb. He may have to climb out of a pit he has fallen into, or climb down a mountain face to escape a band of ork cavalry, or scale a wall to make a surprise attack. Apply the climbing rules on the following pages whenever a character is forced (or chooses) to climb a surface.

Climbing Tests

A character who attempts to climb any surface must make a Climbing Test, using his Dexterity step or the Climbing Skill/Talent. The Difficulty Numbers for Climbing Tests depend on the surface being climbed. The Climbing Difficulty Table below suggests Difficulty Numbers for various types of surfaces. Though far from complete, this list provides a guideline for the gamemaster to determine climbing Difficulty Numbers.

CLIMBING DIFFICULTY TABLE

Surface	Difficulty Number
Tree	3
Pole	7
Wall with handholds	9
Rocky cliff	12
Sheer surface	15

Each successful Climbing Test allows a character to climb up to 50 feet. If a character wants to climb a 200-foot cliff, he must make four separate, successful Climbing Tests.

In most circumstances, a character climbs at a rate of 2 yards per Combat Round (10 seconds). On a slick surface or under adverse conditions (in a rainstorm, while under fire), the character may climb more slowly. Characters with the Climbing Skill or talent can climb much faster than 2 yards per round (see descriptions of Climbing Skill/Talent in the Talents and Skills sections).

Climbing Gear

The Difficulty Numbers given in the Climbing Difficulty Table assume the character is climbing the surface freehand, that is, without using climbing gear. A character using ropes and other climbing gear adds 4 steps to his Dexterity or Climbing Skill/Talent step number.

Me’gana wants to climb down a cliff to reach the entrance of a long-forgotten kaer. If she attempts the climb without rope, she uses her Dexterity step to make her Climbing Test (Step 7). If she uses rope, she adds 4 steps to her Dexterity step (7 + 4 = Step 11), making the climb much easier.

Failing A Climbing Test

If the result of a Climbing Test equals or exceeds the Difficulty Number, the character succeeds in climbing the surface. But what happens if the character fails? A character who fails a Climbing Test falls and takes damage. The Falling Damage section, below, explains how much damage a character takes from falling.

If a character fails a Climbing Test when scaling a surface 50 feet high or less, he falls from a point approximately halfway up the surface. This means that a character attempting to climb a 30-foot wall would fall 15 feet, and would take damage from falling 15 feet rather than 30.

A character who fails when making successive Climbing Tests to scale a high surface (i.e., more than 50 feet high) falls a distance equal to half the section he is currently climbing, plus the entire distance he successfully climbed. He takes damage based on the total distance he falls.

Farliv the Archer is attempting to climb a 150-foot-high cliff. No one is attacking him, he’s not in a hurry, and the weather is ideal, so Farliv climbs at the average rate of 50 feet per Climbing Test. Farliv succeeds at his first Climbing Test, but fails his second Climbing Test. The hapless Archer falls a total of 75 feet (50 + 25 = 75).

FALLING DAMAGE

It is a fact of life in Earthdawn that characters will fall, usually from high places. When a character takes a dive, use the Falling Damage Table to determine how much damage he or she takes from falling. After finding the appropriate number of Damage steps, consult the Step/Action Dice Table on the damaged character’s record sheet to determine the number of dice to roll for Damage Tests. Armor provides no protection against falling damage. The number in parentheses in the Damage Steps column is the number of Damage Tests the player makes for his character’s fall.

A character who falls from a height of 290 feet must make 3 Damage Tests using the Action dice of Step 30 to determine how much falling damage he takes. Even if he lives, he will probably suffer 3 Wounds, and is unlikely to walk away from the fall.

FALLING DAMAGE TABLE

Distance Fallen (in feet)	Damage Step
5-10	2
11-20	6
21-30	15
31-50	15 (2)
50-100	20 (2)
101-150	25 (2)
151-250	25 (3)
251-400	30 (3)
401-600	30 (4)
601 +	30 (5)

FIRE

Characters in Earthdawn occasionally find themselves in situations where they may take damage from fire. Smoke detectors do not exist in Earthdawn; in addition to the regular occurrence of fireballs and other fire-based spells, natural disaster or sabotage remain likely events. This section provides guidelines for determining how much damage fire can inflict.

The size of the fire determines the Damage step of the flames. The table below suggests Damage steps for fires of varying sizes. Like the Climbing Difficulty Table, this list is not exhaustive; it simply serves as an example for the gamemaster.

For each Combat Round that a character remains within 10 feet of the source of the fire, he uses the listed Damage step number to determine the number of dice he must roll when making a Damage Test. For obvious reasons, a character must touch the fire of a torch or campfire to take damage from that source. Lit torches, when wielded as a melee weapon, use the same Damage step as clubs (character’s STR step + 3 steps), but add 4 steps of fire damage.

FIRE DAMAGE TABLE

Size of Fire	Damage Step
Torch	4 (touch only)
Small campfire	6 (touch only)
Large campfire	8 (touch only)
House fire	10
Forest fire	12

Thom Hammerblade is fighting an ork scorcher who is wielding a lit torch. The ork manages to hit Thom with the torch. The ork wielding the torch (i.e., club) would normally make a Damage Test using Step 8 Action dice (STR step 5 + 3 steps). The fact that the torch is burning increases the Damage step of the torch to 12.

Farliv the Archer wakes to find the once-comfortable Crakbill Inn an inferno. The gamemaster decides that the inn fire is already hotter than a house fire, and sets the Damage step number at 11. Based on the position of his room, it will take Farliv 4 Combat Rounds to get out of the inn. For each of those 4 rounds, Farliv’s player must make a Damage Test using Step 11 Action dice. Ouch!

CREATURES AND HORRORS

One of the most common perils of adventuring in Earthdawn is confronting the creatures and Horrors that inhabit the world. Though some creatures are evil and attack characters on sight, others only attack to protect their young or to feed. Whatever the reason, characters will often find themselves fighting off creatures.

Unlike most creatures, the Horrors and their evil servants and constructs often deliberately attack characters. The Horrors enjoy inflicting pain and suffering on those around them, and isolated, sometimes foolish adventurers make excellent targets for their powers. However, not all Horrors attack their victims directly. Dreadfully patient, Horrors often use subtle means to draw more pain and agony from the victim than would result from a direct attack.

Horror Marks

Every character who faces a Horror runs the risk of being Horror Marked. Most Horrors possess this ability and will use it in any conflict with adventurers. This ability allows a Horror to invisibly mark a victim, magically linking the victim to the Horror. This link allows the Horror to use its powers against the victim, regardless of the distance between them. All other powers the Horrors wield pale in comparison to the Horror Mark, and Horror-Marked characters live with the knowledge that they may fall prey to the Horror’s whims at any time or place.

Both items and people can be Horror Marked. In some areas of Barsaive, Horror Marks are referred to as Curses. See Curses for more information; also see Horror Mark in the Creatures section.

POISON

Several creatures in the world of Earthdawn use poisonous bite and sting attacks, and assassins and thieves often use poison on their weapons. The game mechanics of poison depend on three parameters: effect, onset time, and duration.

Effect

Poisons can have a number of different effects. Most commonly, the poison directly inflicts damage on its victim. Other poisons paralyze, debilitate, or instantly kill their victims.

Most poisons have a Spell Defense Rating and step number. The Spell Defense Rating measures how well the poison resists magical treatment by ability, spell, or magical item. Most poisons have a Spell Defense of 6 or more, though a good rule of thumb is that the Spell Defense of a poison equals the poison’s step number.

A poison’s step number is used for Effect Tests (see Effect of the Spell Magic section). When poison affects a character,either by injection, ingestion, or contact, the gamemaster makes an Effect Test for the poison and interprets the test result according to the poison’s type of effect: paralysis, debilitation, damage, or instant death.

Onset Time

The onset time describes how quickly a poison affects a character. Most poisons affect the character immediately upon exposure. Other poisons take longer to affect a character; for example, many debilitating poisons have onset times as long as several days.

Duration

Some poisons affect characters over a prolonged period, referred to as the poison’s duration. For example, many poisons that cause damage affect a character for a specific number of Combat Rounds. A debilitating poison might affect a character once a week for 4 weeks. Though most death poisons affect characters immediately, some death poisons can be used to slowly kill the victim over several days. The descriptions of the four common types of poisons include each type’s typical duration.

Methods of Exposure

Characters can be exposed to poison in a variety of ways. The most common is through the bite or sting of a poisonous creature. Some poisons work only when ingested; the poison must be mixed with a person’s food or drink in order to affect him. Other poisons work on contact, taking effect when a character touches the toxin.

The table below lists the four types of poisons and suggests standard step numbers, onset times, and durations. This table is not exhaustive; it only gives the gamemaster a guideline for dealing with poison in his game.

Poison Resistance Tests

When a poison enters a character’s body, the character must make a Toughness Test against the Spell Defense of the poison. If the test is successful, the character has resisted the effects of the poison. If the character fails the test, the character suffers the effects of the poison. The gamemaster makes an Effect Test for the poison, interpreting the results according to the poison effect types described below. If a poison affects a character for more than 1 Combat Round, he may make a Toughness Test in each round to resist the effects of the poison. As soon as the character makes a successful Toughness Test, the poison no longer affects him.

Paralysis: For a character affected by paralytic poison, compare the poison’s Effect Test result to the target’s Spell Defense. On an Excellent success or better, the poison paralyzes the character for a number of hours equal to the Effect Test result (or longer or shorter as the gamemaster wishes). A Good success reduces all the character’s step numbers by -2 steps for the duration of the poison’s effect. An Average success reduces all the character’s step numbers by -1 step.

Debilitation: Debilitating poisons create more severe adverse effects than paralytic poisons. For a character affected by a debilitating poison, compare the poison’s Effect Test result to the character’s Toughness step. An Average success reduces all of the character’s steps by -1 step for all tests for as long as the poison affects him. A Good success reduces his steps by -2 steps, an Excellent success by -3, and an Extraordinary success by -4 steps. This reduction lasts for a number of days equal to the Effect Test result. If he wishes, the gamemaster may lengthen or shorten the duration of this effect.

Damage: Most poisons used in Barsaive cause actual damage rather than simply creating a disadvantage for the affected character. The Effect Test result is the number of Damage Points the character takes. Mystic armor does not usually protect against poison, though the gamemaster may allow it to protect the character against certain magical poisons.

Death: Poisons that cause instant death must be handled in a different way than the other toxins. In this case, the Toughness Test a character makes to resist a poison determines whether the character lives or dies, rather than simply determining how severely the poison affects him. For death poisons, the character makes a Toughness Test against the poison’s Spell Defense Rating. If the test fails, the character dies. If the character gets an Average success, he remains alive, but takes 2 Wounds from the poison. If the character gets a Good success, he takes 1 Wound from the poison, but otherwise remains unharmed. If the character gets an Excellent success, the poison does not affect him.

Some poisons that cause death take a long time to kill their victims. A character affected by this type of poison begins to die when he fails his Toughness Test (as described above). Each day the character becomes weaker and weaker, suffering from effects similar to a debilitating poison (see above), until he eventually dies. Poisons that cause instant death remain rare in Barsaive.

POISON TABLE

Type of Poison	Step Number	Spell Defense/ Onset Time	Duration
Damage	5-9	Instant/1-2 Days	1-5 Combat Rounds
Debilitation	5-7	Instant	Effect Test result in days
Paralysis	5-9	Instant	Effect Test result in hours
Death	10-13	Instant/1-2 Days	Instant

Antidotes and Poultices

Fortunately for the characters, antidotes exist that counter the effects of many poisons. Characters usually use one of two types of concoctions to counter poisons: antidotes and poultices. Antidotes are potions that halt the effects of a specific type of poison, such as snake venom, dragon venom, and so on. Poultices work as salves to counter the effects of all types of poisons. Antidotes and poultices add steps to a character’s Toughness Test for resisting the effects of poison. See the Goods and Services chapter for the effects of specific antidotes and poultices.

BARRIERS AND STRUCTURES

During most adventures, player characters will eventually find themselves outside a structure they want to get into or inside a structure but determined to get out. Lacking a key or a handy magic word, the characters will need to break through a barrier to get in or out. To determine how successfully characters storm a barrier, the gamemaster must know the structural capacity of different types of barriers.

Every barrier has two Ratings: Physical Armor Rating and Damage Rating. A barrier’s Damage Rating indicates the amount of damage it can take before it breaks, crumbles, or falls apart. The Physical Armor Rating serves the same purpose as armor worn by characters: it reduces the damage done by attacks. Unlike physical armor worn by characters, however, a character cannot make an Armor-Defeating Hit against a barrier.

Characters make Attack Tests against a barrier using a Difficulty Number of 7. If the test result is less than 7, the blow glances off the barrier and causes no damage. If the test is successful, the gamemaster makes a Damage Test for the barrier, subtracting the barrier’s Physical Armor Rating from the Damage Test result.

The table below suggests Barrier Ratings for common building materials.

BARRIER RATING TABLE

Material	Physical Armor Rating	Damage Rating
Wood, less than 2 inches thick	7	20
Wood, 2+ inches thick	9	30
Stone wall/mortar	12	45
Stone blocks	20	85
Cave/natural wall	30	150