EDRulebook: 13 Adventuring In Earthdawn

EXPLORING KAERS AND CITADELS

Kaers and citadels lie scattered across Barsaive. In the aftermath of the Scourge, most kaers have opened, and their populations live in nearby towns and villages. The residents use the underground retreat as a shelter when needed or for storage. Most citadels have removed their protective domes and stand as they did before the Scourge, as castles and strongholds against attack. Adventurers should recognize that the citizens of small towns and villages may fear them simply because they are strangers. The scars of the Scourge are too fresh for people to easily accept the unknown.

Some kaers remain closed, their residents either dead or unaware that the Scourge has ended. These abandoned and dead kaers and citadels hold countless treasures and loot. Naturally, tales of these riches draw every adventurer ever to set foot outside his own community. In addition to fantastic wealth, these abandoned strongholds are also riddled with danger. Many serve as lairs for the creatures and Horrors that still lurk within, and offer other threats and challenges as well. Chief among these challenges are traps and secret doors.

[A Trap]

TRAPS

Shortly after people began to create goods worth keeping, they designed traps to protect them. Traps come in all shapes and sizes. They may lie concealed in small treasure chests, or guard the entrances to kaers and citadels. Those who built the kaers before the Scourge constructed traps that they hoped would stop those Horrors able to penetrate the magical protections guarding the entrances. Characters may still encounter many of the traps placed in those kaers that remain sealed, either abandoned or filled with people who have yet to hear that the Scourge has ended.

The information listed below describes how all traps function within the game.

Detection Difficulty: A character making a Perception or Talent Test to see or otherwise sense a trap uses the trap’s Detection Difficulty Rating as the Difficulty Number. Most traps have a Detection Difficulty of 5, though some traps are so obvious that the Detection Difficulty is 0. In effect, the owner of the trapped goods or treasure is saying, "Look, stupid, this thing is trapped. So why don’t you go steal someone else’s stuff?"

For magical traps, use the trap’s Spell Defense Rating as the Detection Difficulty Rating.

Disarm Difficulty: This figure is the Difficulty Number for disarming the trap. If a character does not have the Disarm Mechanical Trap Skill/Talent, he cannot disarm the trap. The best a character lacking the appropriate talent or skill can hope for is to keep from triggering the trap when he opens the door, steps on the pressure plate, or takes other action that would normally snap the trap shut. A character attempting to do so must make a Dexterity Test to avoid mechanical traps and a Thread Weaving or Perception Test to avoid magical traps. The Disarm Difficulty of the trap becomes the Difficulty Number for these tests. Most mechanical traps have a Disarm Difficulty of 7 to 9. The Disarm Difficulty of most magical traps starts at 8 or above. The only other way a character can avoid a trap is to achieve a higher result than the triggered trap on an Initiative Test (see Trap Initiative, below).

Trigger Condition: This entry describes the mechanism or action that triggers the trap. Stepping on a pressure plate, lifting the lid of a chest, and opening a door are common examples of trigger conditions for mechanical traps. Characters using Spellcasting or Perception steps within a certain range may trigger magical traps.

Trap Initiative: This figure is the trap’s Initiative step number. Most mechanical traps have an Initiative of 8 to 10 steps. Magical traps often have a higher Initiative step. When a character triggers the trap, the gamemaster immediately makes an Initiative Test for the trap using the Trap Initiative step number. All characters within range of the trap also make Initiative Tests. Those who achieve a higher result than the trap may be able to act to get out of harm’s way. Those whose Initiative Test results are lower than or equal to the trap’s Initiative succumb to the trap’s effect. The Trap Initiative talent (see Talents) allows characters to react to traps more quickly than normal.

Trap Effect: The trap effect entry describes the type and steps of damage the trap inflicts. For example, some traps restrain their targets, others mark them with a magical stain, and still others may put a spell on the character that takes effect after a delay. A trap may have any effect conjured by the imagination and resources of the character building the trap.

The type of damage the trap inflicts determines its Damage step. For example, the trap effect of a simple pit trap might be only Damage Step 4, while a trap designed to smash an intruder might have a trap effect of Damage Step 10 or more.

Spell Defense: This number is the trap’s Spell Defense Rating. Only magical traps have a Spell Defense Rating, which also serves as their Detection Difficulty (see Detection Difficulty, above). The Spell Defense of most magical traps is the Spell Defense Rating of the character who built the trap.

Pit Trap
The pit trap is a classic fantasy adventure trap. When triggered, a section of the floor drops away and dumps the characters into a deep pit lined with stakes. A typical pit trap might use the following stats:
Detection Difficulty: 7
Disarm Difficulty: 7
Trigger Condition: Pressure plate
Trap Initiative: 8
Trap Effect: Damage of Step 12 (from falling and stakes)

Ward Trap
A ward is a magical trap designed to keep people from entering certain areas. A magician can set wards to detect and ignore certain beings (for example, the ward’s creator), and to spring into existence if an unauthorized person attempts to pass the ward. A typical ward uses the following stats:
Detection Difficulty: 10
Spell Defense: 10
Disarm Difficulty: 12
Trigger Condition: The gamemaster makes a Spellcasting Test (Step 16) for the ward against the Spell Defense of any character passing it. If the test is successful, the trap triggers its spell effect (see Trap Effect, above).
Trap Initiative: 30
Trap Effect: Fireball spell, Spellcasting Step 16, Damage Step 20.

SECRET DOORS

Another challenge of exploring kaers is detecting the presence of secret or hidden doors and determining how to open them. Secret doors usually lead to areas within a kaer or citadel used as hiding places, treasure rooms, and defensive strongholds.

During the Scourge, hiding places provided boltholes in which the residents of the kaer could hide from an invading Horror or creature. Treasure rooms kept the kaer’s valuables safe, and now offer the most tempting targets for adventurers. Defensive areas are small rooms where the kaer’s residents could take prepared defensive positions against invaders. These rooms commonly include a safe place from which bowmen could fire at creatures or Horrors that entered the kaer, or a room from which magicians could safely cast spells. Some secret doors conceal magical or alchemical laboratories, smith shops, and even temples to one or more of the Passions.

Detection

A character attempting to detect a secret door makes a Perception Test. The gamemaster determines the Difficulty Number for the test based on how well the door is hidden. Some suggested Difficulty Numbers for spotting secret doors appear in the Detection Diffuculty Table below (also see the Success Level Table in Gamemastering Earthdawn).

If the character makes a successful Perception Test, he finds the secret door. The gamemaster should vary the Difficulty Numbers of secret doors to reflect how carefully the characters are looking for them. If the players look for a secret door in every room, hoping to get lucky, use the same Difficulty Number for every door. If the characters state that they are minutely examining every inch of wall space, the gamemaster might reduce the Difficulty Number by 2 or 3 to reflect the characters’ meticulous search.

DETECTING DIFFICULTY TABLE

Difficulty	Difficulty Number
Easy	5
Average	9
Hard	15
Very Hard	21
Heroic	25

Opening

Successfully spotting a secret door does not mean a character knows how to open it. Some secret doors open when pushed against. Others slide into slots carved into the walls. Still others open when a character works some type of mechanism. The gamemaster decides how a secret door opens at the same time that he determines the purpose of the door and how well it is hidden. Characters may succeed in opening the door on the first try, or they may open it only after a process of trial and error.

CURSES

Curses are negative magical effects attached to items and places. They affect those characters who come into contact with the cursed item or place. The effects of a curse can range from sickness to a penalty when performing actions to damage. Kaers and citadels, certain rooms within them, or items found inside often carry curses. The gamemaster is free to invent the specific effects of curses, but we suggest the following guidelines for creating and implementing them.

Becoming Cursed

Items and places can become cursed through various means. The most common way is through prolonged exposure to the evil and corrupt magical powers of the Horrors. Sometimes a place becomes cursed through the efforts of a questor of the Mad Passion. (See The Passions of Barsaive). Many cursed items result from a magical mishap by their creator. The details of how an item or place became cursed often make up an important element in the background of an adventure. For example, an evil nethermancer may once have summoned a Horror in a certain place, causing that place to become cursed and to inflict illness on all who enter or pass through it. Many believe that Blood Wood is cursed and the Blood Elves victims of that curse.

The inhabitants of Earthdawn usually encounter three types of curses: Minor Curses, Major Curses, and Horror Curses.

Minor Curses

The effects of minor curses usually range from reducing a character’s actions by -2 or -3 steps to affecting the character as a debilitating poison might (see Poison). Minor curses are most often associated with magical items rather than places. The effects of a minor curse should handicap a character, but not threaten his life. Curses whose effects prove more than a minor handicap or irritant are considered major curses.

Major Curses

The effects of major curses should seriously impair characters who come into contact with the cursed item or place. For example, a major curse might affect a character by temporarily lowering one of his Attribute Values. If the curse affects a character’s Strength Attribute Value, he might still be able to fight as skillfully, but his blows would no longer cause as much damage. Another major curse might also create a runic scar across a character’s face that causes gamemaster characters to fear him. Major curses can be associated with both items and places; the curse’s effect lasts as long as the character remains in contact with the cursed item or place. Characters affected by major curses must usually appeal to a powerful magician to help free them from the curse’s effects.

Horror Curses

Horror curses represent the most powerful curses in Earthdawn. A Horror-cursed place or item functions in the same way as a Horror Mark (see Horror Marks): a Horror establishes a link to the item or place, and can use its powers against any characters that come into contact with that item or place. However, because the Horror must work indirectly through the cursed item or place, its powers become less effective. Resolve the use of the Horror’s powers as described in Horror Powers in the Creatures section, keeping in mind the weakening effect of the indirect attack. A good rule of thumb is to weaken a Horror’s powers by 5 to 10 steps when it uses them through a cursed item or place. The gamemaster may wish to adjust the strength of the effect higher or lower than the suggested level.

Horror curses can be powerful, and very dangerous to characters. In order to break the curse, the characters must usually kill the Horror who marked the item or place. Their desire for pain and suffering prompts most Horrors to channel their powers carefully through cursed items or places, using only those powers that will not so alarm the living that they abandon the place or object.

Horrors can, and frequently do use Horror cursed items or places as a channel through which to Horror Mark victims. This method of Horror Marking provides the only exception to the line-of-sight restriction on the Horror Mark power. For more information, see Horror Mark in the Creatures section.

Curse Effects

When a character comes into contact with a cursed item or place, the gamemaster should make a Curse Test against the character’s Spell Defense to see if the curse affects the character. The curse’s step number for this test depends on the type of curse: minor curses use 7-8 steps, major curses use 9-15 steps, and Horror curses use the Horror’s Spellcasting steps. If the test is successful, the curse affects the character.

The table below summarizes the suggested step numbers and effects for each of the three curse types. Again, the gamemaster should use this table as a guideline. Each individual curse is unique, and no two will necessarily affect a character in the same way.

Though the gamemaster may create any effect for a curse, he should be careful to make the curse work within the adventure, and avoid making the effects of the curse overwhelmingly powerful. When designing cursed items and places, the gamemaster should remember that curses are meant to challenge and hinder the player characters, and must be carefully thought out. For example, in an adventure in which the characters seek to discover the identity of a Theran spy within the city of Kratas, the gamemaster should not introduce a cursed item that affects only �those who use the magical abilities taught in Thera.� Such a curse would not affect the player characters, but would hinder their opponent, the Theran spy, and thus help the characters. This is the opposite of what a cursed item should do.

CURSE TABLE

Curse Type	Steps*	Effects
Minor Curses	7-8	Reduced steps, minor damage
Major Curses	9-15	Scars, reduced Attribute Values
Horror Curses	Horror’s Spellcasting step	Horror Marked items/characters, use of Horror powers through item
* The step number used to determine if a curse affects a character.

[A Horror]

ENCUMBRANCE

Especially in the first flush of adventuring, an Earthdawn character may be tempted to carry excess equipment and more treasure than he can hold. In Creating A Character you noted how much weight your character could carry without overburdening himself, but what happens when your character wants (or needs) to carry more weight than his Carrying Capacity allows?

A character carrying weight that exceeds his Carrying Capacity is considered Encumbered. The excess weight he is carrying will tire him out and slow him down, and may get him into serious trouble later on in the adventure. To determine the effect of Encumbrance, calculate how much weight the character is carrying, then consult the Attribute Table, p. 52, to determine the lowest Strength Attribute Value that allows a Carrying Capacity equal to or more than the amount of weight the character is carrying. Subtract the character’s Strength Attribute Value from this value, and reduce your character’s Dexterity Attribute Value by the result. By lowering the character’s Dexterity Attribute Value, you also reduce your character’s Dexterity step number and all of your character’s Dexterity-related Characteristics, including Movement Rates (Running and Combat), Physical Defense, and Dexterity-based talents and skills.

Jerreck, the elven Wizard, has a Strength Attribute Value of 11, and so may carry up to 80 pounds without trouble. Unfortunately, Jerreck couldn’t bear to leave behind the ancient tomes he found at the last kaer, and so he is now lugging around 135 pounds. Jerreck is Encumbered. The gamemaster consults the Attribute Table, p. 52, and sees that the minimum Strength needed to carry 135 pounds is 15. This Attribute Value exceeds Jerreck’s Strength of 11 by 4 points, and so as long as he carries this much weight, Jerreck’s Dexterity Attribute Value is reduced by 4 points. A lower Dexterity Attribute Value reduces his Dexterity step number and his Physical Defense and Movement Ratings. Jerreck vows to not make any sudden moves and to stay out of combat until he can get his treasure safely home.