Full reference, condensed only in wording (not content) from Chapter II, "How to Create an Adventurer."

Characteristics

To build a human Adventurer, roll 3D6 for each of seven characteristics. This gives a range of 3 (low) to 18 (high) and defines the basic parameters of human development. Other playable species — elves, dwarves, dragonewts, and so on — use different ranges, covered in the monsters chapter.

1. Strength (STR)

STR governs how much damage a character does, what armor he can wear, and what weapons he can wield. It can be increased through training up to the higher of the character's Constitution or Size — but if STR is already the highest of those three ratings, no amount of training will raise it further; only magic can.

2. Constitution (CON)

CON is the measure of a character's health, and is the primary factor in how much damage he can take before dying. All attacks by poison or disease are matched against CON. It can be trained up to the rating for STR or SIZ, whichever is higher — and, as with STR, if CON is already the highest of the three, only magic can push it further.

3. Size (SIZ)

SIZ indicates a character's mass. It affects how much damage he deals and absorbs. Large Adventurers hit harder and soak more punishment but find it harder to move quietly or hide in shadows; small Adventurers have the reverse advantages and drawbacks. SIZ can never be altered naturally.

4. Intelligence (INT)

INT is trickier than the physical scores. It measures a character's ability to deal with abstractions and to memorize — the theoretical underpinning of skills as varied as fighting, thieving, magic, and crafting. INT is the major modifier of how fast a character progresses through experience, and it also caps how many spells he can hold in memory. Barring some miraculous intervention, this characteristic never changes.

5. Power (POW)

POW represents a character's raw ability to work magic, and is effectively a measure of the soul. High POW makes an Adventurer easier-hitting, harder to defend against, and generally more capable, because he is "in tune" with the Universe — but that same aura works against him when he tries to move unseen. POW varies over time: casting spells depletes it, rest restores it, and successful spellcasting can permanently raise it (full rules appear in the Basic Magic chapter).

6. Dexterity (DEX)

DEX measures how fast and accurately a character performs physical and magical actions. It can be raised by training, up to whatever maximum applies to the character's species.

7. Charisma (CHA)

CHA is the measure of leadership — the ability to say "follow me" and have people actually do it. It should never be confused with physical beauty. CHA is useful for obtaining cheap training and has assorted other uses covered throughout the rules. Unlike the other characteristics, CHA rises and falls with the success or failure of an Adventurer's past ventures.

Maximum and Minimum Characteristics

No characteristic may ever be increased, for any reason including magic or divine intervention, beyond the maximum that could have been rolled on the characteristic dice plus the number of dice rolled. For humans that's 18 + 3 = 21. The minimum possible for any reason is simply the number of dice rolled — 3 for humans — and no characteristic may voluntarily be reduced below that floor.

Abilities and How Characteristics Influence Them

Each Adventurer has a set of abilities he can improve with training. His characteristics shape how well he starts out in each. The tables below give a percentage add or subtract for each characteristic band; these percentages sum to a "natural ability," which can come out positive, negative, or exactly zero.

1. Attack

The ability to attack is more than a single stroke — it's a combination of blows, feints, and shifts meant to make an opponent open himself up and be struck. As an Adventurer trains and gains experience, he learns more combinations, more deceptive movement, and generally lands blows more often.

Reasons: immense STR helps an attacker move his weapon faster and brush aside an opposing parry — low STR has the opposite effect. INT matters because a sharp attacker sees an opponent's weaknesses and works out new combinations and moves; a dull attacker just bores in with the same repeated attack and learns little from training. Extremes of POW — high or low — affect the attack because POW measures how well a character relates to the Universe; a character favored by the gods hits more easily. DEX is simply the ability to control where a weapon goes, which is obviously central to landing a hit.

2. Parry

A parry is a series of movements designed to interpose a shield or weapon in the path of an attack. Because parrying is a matter of trained reflex rather than aggressive technique, it uses its own separate table of adds and subtracts.

Reasons: strength aids the parrier for the same reasons it aids the attacker. A small target is easier to protect than a large one, so low SIZ helps parrying while high SIZ hurts it. POW's influence works the same way here as with attack. DEX's role is, again, the same as for attack.

3. Defense

Defense is a trickier concept than attack or parry — it is the art of getting out of the way, of being where a blow is not. In the modern world this has become the martial art of Aikido, but in the ancient world of Glorantha it's simply a discipline every fighter develops. Critically, Defense is only ever learned through experience — it cannot be bought with training money.

Reasons: a smaller target is harder to hit, a larger one easier — hence SIZ's role. INT contributes through the character's ability to learn and observe combat and apply that theory in the moment. POW again reflects the character's "flow" with reality. DEX's role is once more self-evident.

How Defense Works

An Adventurer attacking a character with a Defense ability must subtract that ability from his own attack chance. If a defender has 10% Defense and his attacker has a 45% chance to hit with a broadsword, the attacker's real chance drops to 35%.

Defense Versus Multiple Opponents

Facing several foes, a character may put all his Defense against a single attacker, split it among some or all of them, or ignore some entirely — so long as the total allocated never exceeds his full Defense rating, and no single allocation drops below 5%.

How Defense Is Increased

As DEX and POW rise, a character's Defense rises with them, per the table above. Separately — and in total contrast to the usual training-and-experience system used for every other combat ability — a character gains Defense purely through experience: any time his Defense actually saves him from being hit (i.e., the subtraction made the difference between being struck and not), he may roll his INT or less on D100 to gain an increase in Defense. A character with no Defense at all cannot improve by this method until he first gains some Defense score through rising DEX and/or POW.

4. Hit Points

Hit Points aren't so much an ability as an attribute — the measure of how much damage a character can take before dying. They're based directly on CON, then modified by POW and SIZ.

Reasons: the larger a person, the more damage he can soak up before a mortal wound, so an increase in SIZ equals an increase in Hit Points. A high POW likewise proves useful, as the favor of the gods always is.

Note that, unlike the other tables above, these bonuses are given in actual points rather than percentages. A character with CON 12, SIZ 17, and POW 18 would have 15 Hit Points, and must take that many points of damage before he's dead. A human can never have fewer than 3 Hit Points while undamaged. If a character's Hit Points fall to 2 or 1, he's unconscious; at 0 or less, he's dead.

5. Damage Bonus

This table works differently from the rest — it combines a character's strength and mass to determine how much extra damage he does with a weapon beyond the weapon's own listed damage. Both STR and SIZ work together here.

Reasons: the stronger a character, the harder he hits — and vice versa. But raw STR isn't the whole story: without enough mass behind a blow, even great STR doesn't add much (a character weighing 95 kg can put more behind a swing than one weighing 55 kg with the same STR). That's why the table averages STR and SIZ together rather than using either alone.

6. Perception

Perception is the first of the non-combat abilities, covered further in the Other Skills chapter. It's the ability to detect anomalies and follow through on hunches, drawing heavily on mental discipline and on Power.

Reasons: a character who isn't sharp enough to look for, and learn to recognize, a trap, secret door, or telltale noise simply won't notice it — hence INT's role. POW supplies "hunches" about where and when to look; the gods give hints to those they favor.

7. Stealth

Stealth is the ability to do things surreptitiously — moving quietly, hiding in shadows, picking pockets, and similar skills.

Reasons: the more area a body takes up, the harder it is to hide, so SIZ cuts both ways here. INT contributes the knowledge of when and how to move, how to use available cover, and how to distract a watcher. POW, uniquely among the abilities, is a handicap to Stealth — too much POW builds an aura around a character that's hard to ignore no matter how quiet he tries to be. DEX is the ability to avoid tripping over your own feet or bumping into things, which is obviously essential to staying unnoticed.

8. Manipulation

Manipulation is the ability to work with small and intricate things — lockpicking, trap removal, and sleight of hand all fall under it.

Reasons: STR helps hold one part of an object steady while manipulating another part — real strength matters even in fine work. INT is important simply for knowing what to manipulate and how. POW is, again, useful for staying in tune with the world. DEX is crucial for putting your fingers exactly where they're needed.

9. Knowledge

Knowledge covers all book learning — Mixing Potions, Speaking Languages, and General Literacy (by no means common) all fall here.

Reasons: the ability to memorize and work with abstractions is essential to learning, hence INT's central role. POW again occasionally provides hints from the gods to those they favor.

Increasing Characteristics

1. Physical Characteristic Training

Once a character has reached full growth — usually around age 16 in this world — the only way to enhance a physical characteristic is hard training.

• STR may be increased at a cost of 1000 L per point, subject as always to the rule that STR cannot rise past the higher of CON or SIZ (except temporarily by magic) if it's already the highest of the three. STR conditioning is traditionally taught by the fighting bands and guilds.
• CON — the sages and alchemists have devised a regimen of diet and exercise that will increase CON, up to the level of SIZ or STR. Again, if CON is already the highest of the three it cannot be enhanced this way. The cost is 2000 L per point.
• DEX — this training is usually handled by Thieves' Guilds. The cost basis is the same as STR training, but thieves will often exact a fee of service instead of, or alongside, monetary payment. Players (bards and minstrels, not "dice rollers") will generally just demand payment, but wandering breeds can sometimes be persuaded to settle down if the pot is sweetened enough. Just what service the thieves may exact, or what extra the player-characters might wish, is left to the Other Skills chapter and referee discretion.

Training Costs and Time

Basic training in Glorantha costs 400 L a week for eight hours a day, which can be subdivided into four two-hour sessions at 100 L a week each.

The cost basis for characteristic improvement is identical to the cost basis for any ordinary skill (see Chapters IV and VI): for every week of training at 2 hours a day, the cost is 100 L. So, since STR takes 1000 L to gain one point, it takes 10 game weeks at 2 hours a day, or 2½ game weeks at 8 hours a day. No more than 8 hours a day may be devoted to training. For the curious, this works out to an hourly rate of 8⅓ Lunars — high for an ancient economy, but instructors go through a great deal to teach it, as later chapters make clear.

Training must be continuous. Any break forces the Adventurer to start over, paying the full cost again from scratch.

2. Increasing Other Characteristics

• POW — increasing this characteristic is discussed fully in the Basic Magic chapter; for now it can only be said that it improves through experience (successful spellcasting).
• INT — cannot be increased through normal means at all.
• SIZ — cannot be increased through normal means at all.
• CHA — a nebulous quantity, and raising or lowering it is often left up to the referee's judgment. However, the following instances have a definite, concrete effect:
  1. Each 25% of skill gained in Oratory raises CHA by 1 point, to a maximum of 4 points this way.
  2. Each 25% increase in the use of one's main weapon (after it passes 50%) adds 1 point of CHA. There's no cap to how many points can be gained this way.
  3. Possessing good, showy magical objects raises CHA by 1 point — but only 1 point total, no matter whether the character owns one such item or a hundred.
  4. Successfully leading an expedition can add a point to CHA: the character rolls his CHA as a percentage or less for a gain, or the referee may apply some other criterion appropriate to the situation.
  5. Unsuccessful leadership can cost CHA. A truly disastrous expedition can force the leader to roll his CHA as a percentage — and lose 1 to 3 CHA points on a failure.

Money and Equipment

Background

A character just beginning his career can expect some starting money, though probably not much. The Background Table determines both how much money he begins with and what "class" of upbringing he came from — though he isn't limited to that background class as he advances.

* A barbarian can additionally expect a riding animal (20% chance he doesn't have one), leather armor, and basic weapons.

** A noble with an income must return to a specific spot each campaign year to collect it, or it simply piles up uncollected with no interest earned; the specific location is agreed between player and referee. A poor noble's income is usually cut off around his 21st year. A rich noble can generally keep drawing his stipend indefinitely — though this always depends on Fate, as ruled by the referee.

Starting Equipment

All beginning characters can be expected to come with the following, regardless of background:

Depending on the background rolled, a character may also start with:

Poor Noble additionally starts with: a basic weapon (such as a broadsword), a ring mail hauberk, an open helm, and a two-handed or missile weapon (chosen depending on DEX).

Rich and Very Rich Noble additionally start with: a basic weapon (such as a broadsword), a brigandine or chainmail hauberk, chainmail limb protection, a closed helm, a riding horse, a two-handed or missile weapon (per DEX), and — being wealthy — anything else he needs, which he can simply buy.

The Character Sheet

Keeping track of a character's initial rolls and abilities by hand is laborious, so a character sheet is provided to hold everything an Adventurer can do on one piece of paper. Two versions are offered — one for humanoid Adventurers, one for other types of creature — and neither claims to be perfect, but either is workable for a beginning character. Areas whose purpose isn't obvious become clear as the rest of the rules are read. The publisher grants permission to photocopy the sheets as needed for personal use.

Full reference from Chapter III, "Mechanics and Melee."

Time

Four terms define the passage of time throughout the rules.

Game Week

This describes the passage of time for characters within the world of Glorantha. Training, Rune Magic, and similar long-run considerations are all based on the game week. How long is a game week in real time? Running one real week per game week makes the game drag unless the campaign is conducted by mail. The authors recommend a scale of one real day per game week instead, which lets players keep characters in continuous play. Referees should adjust this to whatever suits their own campaign.

Full Turn

This term is not optional. A full turn represents 5 minutes, or 25 melee rounds, and is used to mark the passage of time during a scenario.

Melee Round

The melee round is 12 seconds long. One complete round of attacks, parries, spells, and movement happens during a melee round.

Movement

RuneQuest recognizes three separate scales of movement.

Daily Movement

Used on the referee's world maps to track characters traveling from place to place. A referee could devise a dozen different travel rates depending on season or mount, but the authors suggest the following simple scale as a baseline.

Terrain

Rough terrain slows movement, of course:

• Major rivers — one day to cross unless bridged or very shallow at a ford.
• Forest — reduces movement by 1/3 unless the party is on a road or trail.
• Rolling hills — reduce movement by 1/3.
• Mountains — reduce movement by 2/3.

These conditions are cumulative. A party attempting cavalry movement through forested mountains has its movement cut first by 2/3, and then by a further 1/3: instead of covering 40 km a day, it manages roughly 4.7 km (40 − 2/3×40 = 14×1/3 = 4.7 km).

Scenario Movement

During a full turn, a character may cautiously advance 120 meters, stroll as much as 240, or run up to 1000. A riding animal can double this speed, though a walking horse doesn't outpace a walking man unless it's well trained.

Melee Movement

Every creature has a movement class, on a scale of 1 through 12. Each number represents how many movement units the creature can cover in one melee round; one unit equals 3 meters, or roughly 10 feet.

Human Movement — an unarmored man can move 8 units in a melee round. Carrying heavy or awkward items will slow this.

Comparative Movement — many long-legged, multi-legged, and flying creatures are relatively much faster than a human's baseline of 8 — but this refers to combat speed during a melee, where a fighter must dodge out-thrust spears, pools of blood, falling bodies, and still find time to fight. Under these conditions, even flying creatures have to slow down to land an accurate attack.

Flight/Chase/Unhampered Movement — for speed unhampered by the considerations of melee (impossible if a melee is going on around the character, unless he's attempting to flee with no thought of what's happening around him), double all two-legged movement speeds; triple the speed of all four-or-more-legged creatures as well as two-legged species of extraordinary size, such as giants; and multiply the speed of flying creatures by 5. Non-legged creatures should have their speed multiplied by 1.5 instead. They can usually be outrun.

Encumbrance (ENC)

Ideally, an encumbrance rule for a role-playing game should simply read, "Characters may not carry more than they could reasonably be expected to carry under normal conditions." Unfortunately, players interpret "reasonable" quite differently from one another, so the authors offer the following concrete system instead.

1. "Things" — any item that can be held easily in one hand (a sword, a rock, an axe, a rope, etc.) counts as a "thing." There's a limit to how many things a person can carry before weight and/or awkwardness makes it impossible for him to move and act normally. Objects that need two hands to carry (a spear), one arm (a large sack), or that come in more than one piece (a bow and its quiver of arrows) are worth two or more "things." See Chapter IV for the specific ENC of individual weapons and armor.
2. Maximum ENC — the total number of things a character can carry and still function normally is found by averaging his STR and CON. However, the maximum limit on this total is capped by STR alone. Thus a character with STR 12 and CON 18 may only carry 12 "things" comfortably, even though the average of the two scores is 15 — because STR limits how much can be picked up and carried at all, while the character with STR 12 and CON 6 has an ENC maximum of 9, since no matter how much he can lift, he needs the stamina to carry a load for any length of time.
3. ENC Penalties — for each point of ENC over his maximum, a character suffers: −1 to movement class; −5% to Defense; and +1 to all strike ranks. In any case, a character can never carry more things at all than 1.5 times his STR.
4. Equivalent Weights — multiply maximum ENC by 100 to find how many Lunars a character can carry with no other ENC cost, assumed to be in a sack or small coffer. Thus 100 L equals one "thing." Other common weights in Lunars: 1 Wheel = 2 L; 1 Clack = 1 L; 1 Gem = ½ L; 1 Ring = 3 L; 1 Necklace = 3–10 L.
5. The "Adventurer's Pack" — as an easy game convention, players should assume a standard Adventurer's pack consists of a backpack of effectively 1/5 ENC, plus standard equipment: 2 days' rations, 5 torches, 15 meters of rope, a blanket-bedroll, and a water-bag. This pack has a total ENC of 2.

The Melee Round

A melee is a mass of combatants trying to do many things at once while keeping from dying at the same time. To bring order to that chaos and keep every player involved in the picture, melees are divided into phases. It's always necessary to remember that, although these phases are handled in turn, the underlying action is actually simultaneous.

There are four phases to a melee round.

1. First Phase — Statement of Intent.
2. Second Phase — Movement of Non-Engaged Characters.
3. Third Phase — Resolution of Melee, Missiles, and Spells.
4. Fourth Phase — Bookkeeping.

1. First Phase

Statement of Intent — the players and referee formally state what their respective participants in the melee will be doing. During the course of this melee round, intentions may be aborted but not altered ("OK, since the troll ducked out the door, I won't shoot an arrow at him" is fine; "OK, since the troll ducked out the door, I'll shoot at the Dragonewt instead" is not).

2. Second Phase

Movement of Non-Engaged Characters — all characters and monsters not engaged in melee may move up to their total movement allowance. Those moving no more than half of their usual movement allowance may also participate in melee, or perform other feats such as throwing a spell, in the same round.

3. Third Phase

Resolution of Melee, Missiles, and Spells — each attack of whatever type is resolved in strike rank order. The lowest strike rank always strikes first (strike rank is fully explained below). If one opponent disables another before the second one can attack, the disabled character gets no attack at all — missile, spell, or melee weapon. If both combatants have the same strike rank, their DEX scores are compared, and the faster combatant strikes first. If the DEXs are also the same, both strikes are simultaneous: damage is not assessed until both attacks have been rolled and resolved.

The character or monster with the lowest total strike rank always attacks first. Securing this initiative rests on three main criteria — SIZ, DEX, and weapon length — with the modifiers of surprise and movement added in. There's no need to work out a running strike rank as a melee proceeds; it's simply calculated once for each weapon beforehand and noted on the character sheet.

The Main Criteria

1. SIZ — while the SIZ roll for characteristics is more a measure of mass than of stature, a large mass generally does indicate a large stature. Referees should adjust strike rank when this assumption obviously doesn't hold, as for a long but not very tall creature such as a snake. A large SIZ gives an earlier strike rank thanks to the reach advantage a large person has on a smaller one. Missile weapons and spells don't depend on the user's SIZ at all. If the missile weapon or spell isn't already prepared, the user must add 5 points to his usual strike rank to represent readying the weapon or bringing the spell to mind.
2. DEX — the most obvious of the criteria. One must be quick to strike first. For successive rounds of melee against the same foe, DEX can be used alone as the sole criterion for determining who strikes first — this is strictly optional.
3. Weapon Length — a slow, small person with a long spear is still likely to get the jump on a large, fast person armed only with his fist. Note that a giant with high SIZ (virtually impossible for a giant not to have) attacking with his bare fist is using a weapon in the 0–0.4 meter range — because his fist is part of his body, he's putting it at risk as he strikes with it. Referees may wish to limit hit location to the giant's arm or leg for realism's sake in such cases. Multi-point POW spells take a finite amount of time to gather energy for the casting — thus a 1-point Disruption spell takes less time to cast than a 3-point Bladesharp.

The Minor Criteria

1. Surprise — a fast, large man with a long weapon can be slow to react when a dwarf with a short sword and two heads steps out of the wall. Being surprised therefore adds to a character's strike rank with any weapon or spell used that round.
2. Movement — any time two fighters meet in melee, however long they've each traveled to get to that meeting, strike rank is figured normally for them. However, time taken to get from point A to point B should be counted when: (a) a character joins an already-ongoing melee; (b) a character charges across the room at a foe while casting a spell against him; or (c) a character charges across the room at a foe using a missile weapon against him.

In short, each strike rank may be treated as a separate action whenever a character is outside direct melee contact with a foe.

Multiple Activities Within Melee

A character has fewer options once he's actually inside a melee. While engaged, he must spend his effort attacking and defending. He may throw a spell at an oncoming foe and then engage him physically within the same round, but a character cannot, while already engaged in combat, attack both physically and magically at once. A character who starts a round already physically engaged in melee may either attack and defend normally, or defend normally and attack magically — not both. In short, within a melee a character's strike rank marks when he may initiate an attack; once that point in the round comes up, he's considered to be attacking (or defending) for the entire round and can do little else besides parry and defend.

Magical Attacks and Strike Rank

See the Basic Magic chapter for the requirement that most attack spells need a free hand as a focus. Because of this, 5 strike rank points must be added to a character's normal strike rank for a spell if he's switching from a weapon in hand to casting a spell that round. However, using a spell like Bladesharp or Fireblade to enchant a weapon he already has in hand only requires adding the spell's own strike rank to his normal strike rank for that weapon that round — because a character will normally carve the appropriate runes into his weapon the moment he obtains it, rather than in the heat of combat.

"Preparing" a Weapon

Changing from one weapon or tool to another takes 5 strike ranks. This is an abstract convention meant to save referees from having to draw up a chart of exactly how many strike ranks it takes to pull out a sword versus draw another arrow. Referees who want to complicate their lives are welcome to draw up their own comparative preparation-time chart. Two things should be kept in mind:

1. "Changing" involves dropping the item currently at hand and drawing another. Resheathing a sword and then drawing an axe, for instance, is two separate actions and takes 10 strike ranks total — except in special circumstances, the dropped item can simply be considered set down gently rather than actually dropped.
2. Taking out two items at once, such as drawing a sword and unlimbering a shield, is likewise two actions and takes 10 strike ranks — though this may be reduced if the character's hands are already free to begin with and the items are easily accessible, such as a sword-and-dagger combination worn ready on the belt. A shield strapped on one's back, by contrast, is not easily accessible.

Limit to Strike Rank Per Melee Turn

No action or combination of actions may be performed in one melee round if the total strike rank required adds up to more than 12. This is deliberately correlated to the 12 seconds that make up a melee round, though referees should avoid a slavish "each second equals one strike rank point" reading of the rule.

Multiple Activities Outside of Melee

A character not currently involved in melee can conceivably do a number of things in one round, always keeping in mind that he only has 12 strike rank points to spend. He could, for instance, toss a Disruption spell — taking 3 points for a character of average DEX — then move 9 meters (3 more points) and draw his bow and an arrow (5 points for readying a weapon). He's then out of points and cannot fire that round, since loosing the arrow would cost another 3 points and only 1 remains. At the referee's option, the 5 points it took to ready the bow and arrow could instead be combined with the 3 points of movement, giving him the time necessary to loose an arrow that same round. Note that a character of average DEX could loose two arrows in a melee round if he starts the round with an arrow already nocked (strike rank 3 for the first shot, then 5 to ready a new arrow, then 3 to shoot it — 11 points total).

Multiple Activities While Engaged

Refer back to the "Multiple Activities Within Melee" note above — a character who does have to choose between attacking magically or physically once already engaged should treat his committed strike rank as governing his entire round, not just the initial action.

Hit Locations and Wounds

Location

As stated previously, the attacking character must roll a D20 for the hit location of the target. The hit location of the target is the area of the body a blow actually lands on. While this could be a very complex determination in reality, the rules simplify the human body into a small number of location categories for a humanoid adversary.

Hit Points

Each of the above areas has a certain number of hit points, dependent on the character's total Hit Points, as shown in the table below. Note that the total hit points of the various locations can add up to more than the character's overall Hit Points — this is deliberate, and not an error. However, once a character has taken enough damage to surpass his total Hit Points (as determined by CON and its modifying characteristics), he is dead, regardless of whether any single location has actually been fully destroyed. It's entirely possible for a character to die of bleeding and shock without any single body area having been completely disabled.

As an example, a character with total Hit Points of 14 would have 5 points in his abdomen, 4 in each arm, 5 in his head, and 6 in his chest, plus (from the leg row) 5 in each leg — the location totals sum to well more than 14, but 14 points of total damage anywhere across the body is enough to kill him.

Notes on Damage Results

1. Points Equaled or Exceeded in Any One Location

• Leg — the limb is useless, and the character must fall, doing nothing else that round. He may fight from the ground during following rounds.
• Abdomen — both legs become useless and the character falls. If left unhealed within 2 full turns, he'll bleed to death. He may heal himself, but can do nothing else.
• Chest — the character falls, too busy coughing blood to do anything. He'll bleed to death in 2 full turns unless treated, and cannot take any action, including healing himself, in the meantime.
• Arm — the limb is useless, and anything not fastened to it is dropped. The character continues to stand and fight with whatever limbs are left to him.
• Head — the character is unconscious and must be healed within 2 full turns, or die.

2. Arm or Leg Receives More Than Twice the Points Available

A modern, high-velocity bullet hitting a limb hard enough to disable it would probably kill the owner of the limb through hydrostatic shock; the slower-moving ancient weapons of RuneQuest don't have this effect. Therefore a character can never take more than twice the possible points of damage in an arm or leg from a single blow. A 2-point arm hit for 5 points, for instance, only takes 4 points off the character's total Hit Points — the fifth point has no effect, though further blows to that same arm will still affect the character's total Hit Points normally.

However, a character damaged this severely from a single blow is functionally incapacitated regardless. He cannot fight until healed, though he may still heal himself.

3. Location Receives 6 More Points Than Available

A limb struck for 6 or more points beyond what it can hold in a single blow is severed or irrevocably maimed. Only a 6-point Healing spell or potion, applied within 2 full turns, will reknit the limb. Note that this applies even if the points leading up to the severing wouldn't ordinarily be counted under rule 2 above — thus if a character with a 2-point arm is struck for 8 points, he takes only 4 points of damage against his total Hit Points, but the arm is nonetheless maimed, and of course the character is functionally incapacitated as well. A head, chest, or abdomen hit for 6 or more points beyond its capacity is an instant death.

4. Healing Damage to a Hit Location

• Healing Spell — a Healing spell affects only one particular location, the healer's choice. A 2-point Healing spell is necessary just to stop bleeding. As noted above, a full 6-point Healing spell is necessary to replace a severed or maimed limb.
• Healing Potion — a salve or other externally-applied item treats only the specific location it's applied to. A potion taken internally instead goes randomly to whatever areas are damaged (if there's more than one), healing what needs healing until its points run out.
• Natural Healing — without Healing spells or potions, a character recovers from wounds at the rate of 1 point per game week, in each wounded location.

Full reference from Chapter IV, "Combat Skills."

Notes on Combat

The Attack

An Adventurer has a certain probability of succeeding with an attack. If the player rolls the character's needed percentage or less on D100, the character has succeeded and managed to hit his opponent. How much damage this hit does depends on the type of weapon used and the kind of armor the target may be wearing to absorb the damage.

The Parry

The Adventurer also has the opportunity of parrying with a shield or weapon. This chance is again rolled on D100, and if the needed percentage or less is rolled, the parry blocks the attack — whether or not that attack was itself successful.

Effect of Natural Ability

Chapter II discusses the "plus and minus" percentage that various characteristics like DEX and INT give to an Adventurer's basic chance of attacking and parrying. These percentages must be added and subtracted from a character's basic chance of use with all weapons, including his hand, foot, or head as improvised natural weapons.

Basic Chances

The basic chance for most attacks or parries (and most skills) is 5%. A roll of 01-05 on D100 always means a successful attack or parry; a roll of 96-00 always means an unsuccessful attempt at whatever's being tried. NOTE: natural ability only ever affects the basic chance to hit once. A natural ability add of 5% will not continuously add another 5% to all training and experience gained afterward — it's a one-time modifier to the starting basic chance, not a running bonus that reapplies at every stage.

Special Basic Chances

Certain weapons can be used with a basic chance higher than the ordinary 5%, thanks to their simplicity of handling or common use within the culture. The following list gives the basic chance to attack and parry with each of these weapons.

* The asterisked weapons above are not parrying weapons. One would not parry a weapon with a fist, and it's rather hard to parry with an already-thrown weapon. Also, the shields mentioned above are concerned solely with their basic chance to parry. Striking with a shield uses the ordinary basic 5% roll.

Special Damages

Critical Hits

A critical hit ignores the effects of armor or any other protection entirely. How important this becomes is obvious once one considers how effective armor normally is at absorbing damage.

At all times, a strike resulting in a roll of exactly 01 on D100 is a critical hit. As an Adventurer gets better at fighting, his chance of striking a critical hit improves along with it: if the player manages to roll 5% or less of what he needs to successfully attack, the character has struck a critical hit. All such calculations are rounded down, so a character with only a 25% chance to hit — 5% of which is 1.25 — still only has the flat 1% (a roll of 01) chance of a critical, since fractions always round down for this purpose.

Parrying a Critical Hit

A weapon that parries a critical hit takes twice the damage it would take normally. If the attacking weapon is long-hafted or an impaling weapon, however, the parrying weapon takes no damage at all, per the long-hafted-weapon exception described in the Mechanics and Melee chapter. A shield that parries a critical hit takes twice as much damage as normal, and any unabsorbed damage strikes the parrier directly — though his armor still counts as protection against that excess.

Fumbles

An Adventurer using a weapon for which he has only a 5-20% chance of success has a flat 5% chance of fumbling (that is, a roll of 96-00 on D100 counts as a fumble rather than an ordinary miss). For every additional 20% capability an Adventurer gains with that weapon, his chance of fumbling with it is reduced by 1%. However, an attack roll of exactly 00 is always a fumble regardless of skill. Even an Adventurer with a full 100% chance of hitting (actually capped at 95%, since rolls of 96-00 are always a miss) will still fumble on a roll of 00.

Effects of a Fumble on the Fumbler

A simple effect, like simply ignoring armor, is too tame for a fumble roll, so the authors present a table based on all the strange and silly things that have happened to them on the tourney fields of the Society for Creative Anachronism. If an attack results in a fumble, the fumbling player must roll on the Fumble Table with D100 and follow the directions. If the result on the table doesn't apply to the situation as written, the referee should apply a similar effect or simply ignore the fumble. The authors have found that these fumbles enliven the game and show up at the most embarrassing moments. Remember — the monsters fumble too.

The same Fumble Table can be used for parry fumbles with the following substitutions for all rolls above 74 on D100:

Impaling

Any thrusting weapon, and all missile weapons except thrown axes and rocks, have the chance to impale.

Impaling takes place if the attack roll is 20% or less of what was needed for success. Thus, a spearman with a 40% chance of success who rolls 8 or less on D100 has impaled his opponent, unless the blow is parried. Impaling does two things:

1. The weapon's damage and "damage add" (damage bonus) should be rolled normally and added to the total possible damage the weapon can do. For instance, a spear thrust that impales rolls its own damage die (say, a 3), adds that to the weapon's total possible damage (7 for a typical spear), and then adds any STR/SIZ damage bonus (say, a 2) on top — for a combined total of 12 points to the hit location. This is usually enough to punch through most armor.
2. The weapon also becomes stuck in the target's body, and can only be extracted by the attacker making a roll of D100 equal to or less than twice his chance of impaling. If this roll fails, the weapon remains stuck in the target and is jerked out of the attacker's hands. If the attacker is left alone for a full melee round, he has his normal impale chance of retrieving the weapon at the end of that round — this action takes place in the melee round following the impalement, not the same one. If the retriever runs into an incredible string of bad rolls, the referee should simply assume he's gotten the weapon back after about a minute (5 melee rounds) of being left alone. If the character fumbles his withdrawal attempt, the weapon breaks instead. If the blow failed to penetrate armor in the first place, it never sticks, and there's no need to extract anything.

Parrying an Impaling Blow

An impaling attack that is parried by another weapon does no harm to either the weapon or its wielder. If instead parried by a shield, the weapon becomes stuck fast in the shield, unable to be removed until all combat is over and someone spends 5 free melee rounds working it loose. Any damage beyond what the shield can absorb strikes through to the target anyway. A weapon sticking in a shield this way has the following effects, based on its ENC:

1. If the stuck weapon has an ENC of 2 or more, the shield is completely useless until its user can remove the spear (or break it off) by dealing normal smashing/cutting weapon damage to it until its hit points are gone.
2. If the weapon has an ENC of 1, such as a shortsword or dart, the shield can only be used at half effectiveness until the weapon is removed as described above.
3. If the weapon has an effective ENC of 0, such as a knife or arrow, the shield is unaffected — unless more than 5 such light weapons accumulate stuck in it, at which point it's treated as case 2 above.

Optional Consequences of Impaling

Because of a low damage roll, it's possible for a character to take only 1 or 2 points of damage in a hit location while nonetheless having a spear, arrow, or other weapon left sticking in him. The following optional factors should be kept in mind:

1. The impaled character cannot be Healed until the weapon is withdrawn. A Healing 2 spell, or some other form of first aid, can stop the bleeding without withdrawing the weapon, but no points will actually be healed until the weapon comes out.
2. If the character moves while the weapon is still through him, he takes half normal weapon damage again (rounded down) from the weapon as it catches in his armor, clothing, the nearby wall, or similar obstacles. He is effectively immobilized and cannot turn to meet a foe without taking this damage — though, assuming the original blow didn't incapacitate him, he can still meet foes who come at him head-on.
3. The character may try to pull out the weapon himself. Even under attack, he may ignore his attacker (using neither parry nor Defense) and try to draw the weapon free. His chance of doing so depends on his STR and CON — CON matters here as a measure of his ability to stand the pain of drawing the weapon out — with the necessary roll being (STR+CON)×2 or less on D100.

Optional Modifiers

Multiply the chance of drawing out the weapon by the following table, keyed to the stuck weapon's ENC:

NOTE: a functionally incapacitated character can still Heal himself just enough to stop the bleeding, but since the Healing spell doesn't actually restore points to a location with a disabling weapon still in it, someone else has to remove it for him.

Attacking from Advantage

1. An attacker has a 20% greater chance of hitting an opponent when that opponent is on the ground, otherwise immobilized, or unaware of him.
2. An attacker fighting from the ground can never do more than his weapon's basic damage, with no STR/SIZ damage bonus applied, unless he's attacking with hands and feet (or claws, tail, etc.).
3. An attacker fighting from the ground has only half his normal chance of a successful attack, but keeps his full, normal chance to parry.
4. A totally helpless opponent can be killed outright with any weapon unless the attacker rolls a fumble — the attacker's chance of fumbling remains the same as usual with that weapon.

Optional Rules — Parries, Critical and Fumbled

1. Critical Parries

If a character parries with a percentage roll equivalent to a critical hit (5% of normal chance, per the rule above), it counts as a critical parry. The effect of a critical parry is that the parrying weapon takes no damage at all, and a parrying shield will block the incoming blow perfectly, absorbing all its damage without any passing along to the parrying character. An impaling blow is stopped outright by a shield under this rule — it never sticks. If a critical parry happens to be rolled against a critical hit, the parry is instead treated as an ordinary parry, and the critical hit is treated as an ordinary attack — the two special effects cancel each other out.

2. Parry Fumbles

If a parry can critical, it can also fumble, and the two optional rules must be used together. The percentage chance of fumbling with a parry is figured the same way as the fumble chance for an attack (see the Fumbles section above, and the substitute Fumble Table entries for rolls of 75 and higher).

Learning Fighting Skills

Guild Credit

Bright, adventurous men and women are at a premium in and around the Lunar Empire. The magical cults, fighting bands, and other guilds are all either (1) intermixed in the politics of the region, or (2) trying to maintain enough power to keep themselves outside of that same politics. To gain new members, the lesser skills of all these organizations are for sale, indiscriminately, often as much from the desires of the sponsoring deities as from political necessity.

By long tradition, the guilds must train those who come before them; there's nothing to say they must do it for free. However, beginning Adventurers do have the privilege of obtaining credit from the guilds.

This credit takes the form of 100 L multiplied by a specific characteristic the guild in question is interested in. The diviners of the guild determine how much credit to give, and their judgment is exact. Fighting guilds base their credit allowances on STR; other types of guild base their training on other characteristics, explained in the chapters dealing with magic and other skills.

Notes on Guild Credit

1. The training gained through this credit must be paid for in full.
2. No further formal training of any sort can be taken until this initial debt is paid off. The guilds, bands, and cults all interconnect, and their diviners can determine whether someone is trying to pull a fast one on them.
3. A candidate may take this credit in actual Lunars, so that he can buy equipment instead of training. This must be paid back at a rate of 2 for 1, and no further purchases may be made until this debt is paid.
4. An Adventurer is under no obligation to use all — or any — of his available credit.

Training

The fighting bands will test an Adventurer wishing to learn how to use a particular weapon. If the natural ability (the plus or minus given to attack and parry by various characteristics) plus the basic chance of the character with the weapon of choice add up to less than 25%, the bands will train the character up to a flat 25% ability with the weapon, as long as his Lunars hold out.

If the natural ability and basic chance instead add up to 25% or more, the bands will train the character at the 30-50% rate for an increase of 5%. The Adventurer cannot be trained further in that skill until he's succeeded in attacking and/or parrying with that weapon on an actual adventure.

NOTE: if a character has a minus attack or parry chance due to unfavorable characteristics, that minus must be "trained away" first. So a character with a −5% chance of parrying has only a 5% chance of parrying with a broadsword — the bands will either train him up to 25% attack and 20% Defense (in which case Rurik-style characters have to pay for the full 15% training needed) or they will train him up to 25% in both attack and parry with the broadsword if he pays for 20% training. His attack chance still won't go above 25% either way.

The same applies to a character's training with a mace, or any other weapon: if he's already at the 25% attack level naturally, he can pay for 5% training to bring it to 30%. This training will also bring his parry to 25% for the same fee — and he can then bring the parry up to 30% also by paying another 5% training fee, since the 30-50% training band covers both attack and parry together at that rate once qualified.

This training applies solely to the use of the particular weapon (and shield, if applicable) trained with. The character still has whatever natural ability minus or plus applies to any other weapon he might pick up. Once a character has had the chance to use a skill in a "field" situation (that is, on an actual adventure), he may then purchase another 5% of training in it.

The Use of Charisma in Buying Training

If a character's CHA is higher than average (13-18), he may purchase training in any skill, including the use of spells, at a discount of 5% per point of CHA over 12. Thus, a character with a CHA of 15 could purchase training in the 30-50% range for a composite bow at 680 L per 5% increase, instead of 800 L (a 15% discount, or 120 L off). This discount does not reduce the amount of time needed for the training itself — only the cost.

Learning by Experience

During the bookkeeping phase of each melee round, the player should keep track of whether the character managed to land a blow with a weapon (it doesn't matter whether it did damage, bounced off armor, or was parried) or managed to parry another attack. This only needs to be recorded once for each weapon or shield used, no matter how many times that success happens in a single fight. For experience purposes it doesn't matter whether the character got in one lucky shot, or hit several times before his luck ran out — either way, only a single successful use of a given weapon or shield needs to be logged per scenario for that item to be eligible for an experience roll.

At the end of the scenario, once the character can take a week to relax and meditate upon his experiences, there's a chance he'll learn something from what happened to him. To see if a character has learned from experience, subtract his current chance to hit from 100. If the character's INT is above average (13-18), add 3 to this result for every point of INT over 12. This resulting quantity, or less, must be rolled on D100. A successful roll means the character's chance to hit has increased by 5%.

Total Increase Possible

A character may only increase a combat skill of any kind by 5% through training and 5% through experience — a total of 10% — between uses of that skill in the field (i.e., in an actual scenario).

Progressing to 100% Ability

An Adventurer may gain from training only up to the 75% level. Beyond that, an Adventurer may still learn by experience, all the way up to the full 100% level. When a character starts to reach the 90-95% range, a special rule becomes relevant: a character's percentage chance of learning from experience (the number his player must roll or less on D100) can never drop below his INT, no matter how skilled he's actually become.

Mastering a Weapon

As soon as an Adventurer reaches 90% in any weapon, he may teach it himself, at the usual guild training rates.

Splitting Attacks

A character may split his attacks or parries if, and only if, each resulting attack/parry would be 50% or higher. Thus, a character can only split attacks or parries if he's reached 100% ability with the weapon or shield in question. The use of this ability to attack, or parry, two different foes at once is obvious. This technique cannot be used to attack or parry the same foe twice in a round, because any single attack already represents a combination of blows (see Chapter II). A character with 100% attack ability merely has a better chance of using that combination to hit his target.

If a character doesn't have enough strike ranks left to get off two blows — say, striking with a fist at strike rank 9 — he cannot strike twice that round. Likewise, if the first blow lands at strike rank 5, the second blow must come at strike rank 5+5=10. Note that if the first attack is an impalement, the second attack cannot be delivered that round at all. If the second attack turns out to be an impalement, the character can only deliver one attack the following round, regardless of how many strike ranks he'd otherwise have available.

Remember that even with a full 100% chance of hitting or parrying, 96-99 is still always a miss, and 00 is still always a fumble.

Weapon Use and Training

There are five types of weapons and two modes for using them in melee combat. This doesn't include missile weapons, which are handled separately below.

Types

1. Cutting Weapons — weapons used for chopping or hacking. These range from the brute power of the axe to the relative finesse of the broadsword. Size can range from a small hatchet up to a full poleaxe.
2. Cut and Thrust Weapons — weapons capable of both hacking and thrusting, ranging from the easily maneuverable shortsword to the long rapier.
3. Hand to Hand Weapons — basic grappling tools, including fists, kicks, and daggers, as well as specialized fighting tools like the cestus and claw.
4. Smashing Weapons — weapons that concentrate weight at the end of the weapon, ranging from the light mace to the heavy maul and military flail.
5. Thrusting Weapons — long weapons used with an extension or lunge, such as the spear, ranging in length all the way up to the pike.

Modes

1. One Handed — fully controlling a weapon with one hand.
2. Two Handed — using a weapon with two hands, with one hand acting as a stabilizer or support, and one hand for control.

Effects of Training with Similar Weapons

Any character who knows how to use a weapon of one type and mode (i.e., a broadsword, which is a one-handed cutting weapon) can use any similar weapon at half effectiveness. Given a few minutes to get used to a weapon's individual foibles, a character will be able to use it as he would the weapon he actually trained with — but if he picked it up in the middle of a melee and fought with it immediately, he would fight at half effectiveness. A character cannot pick up a weapon in the middle of a melee (even a duplicate of his own) and use it at full proficiency.

Weapon Training Costs

Weapon use is taught according to the types and modes stated above, with common subdivisions within the types and modes. The Weapon Training Costs Table lists the various types and modes of weaponry and the costs for learning them.

* The ½ effectiveness rule for using an unfamiliar-but-similar weapon applies only to these weapons.
† These weapons can impale. No others on this list can, with the exception of the dagger.

Explanation of Headings

• Basic — the basic chance a character has with the weapon without any training at all.
• 05-25 / 30-50 / 55-75 — the cost to learn a 5% increase with a particular type of weapon within the percentage range indicated. So, learning broadsword costs 300 L per 5% increase between 05 and 25% ability, 500 L per 5% between 30 and 50%, and 1000 L per 5% between 55 and 75%. Remember, each 100 L pays for a week of training at 2 hours per day. The higher costs reflect the longer time necessary to learn the finer points of style.
• NOTE: ability cannot be trained past 75%. Any further increase has to come through successful experience rolls.

Specific Weapon Characteristics

The Weapon Statistics Table gives a listing, by weapon type, of what sorts of weapons can be used after receiving training in one particular weapon type. Each weapon within a category is different, even if two share the same weapon type — a character cannot pick up a mid-melee weapon (even a duplicate of his own) and use it at full proficiency without first getting used to its individual quirks.

* All ENC shown in parentheses indicate the number of items necessary to equal one ENC point. Thus, 4 daggers equal 1 ENC. These fractional ENCs add to one another, so that a character with a hood and composite helm, two daggers, 1 dart, and a pair of light cesti would have a total ENC of 3 from these objects.

Explanation of Headings

• STR/DEX Needed — the minimum necessary STR and DEX required to handle the weapon. An excess of STR makes up for a lack of DEX, on a 2 for 1 basis. As an example, a character might lack 1 DEX point of being able to handle a spear one-handed, but have 3 STR points over what's needed for the short spear; he can make up the missing DEX point with his 2 extra points of STR.
• Damage — expressed as a die roll (such as 2D6), often plus a few additional damage points. Shortsword damage, for example, is found by rolling 1D6 and adding 1 to the result, ranging between 2 and 7 points.
• HP — how many hit points of damage the weapon takes while parrying before it breaks. All damage is cumulative. Better-quality weapons may absorb more damage — or less, depending on quality.
• Cost — the standard price of the weapon in Lunars. A better-quality weapon could be offered at a higher price — but "better quality" may just mean gaudier.
• ENC — the encumbrance factor of the weapon, measuring how many "things" it weighs (see Mechanics and Melee).
• Length — the metric length of the weapon, used in determining strike rank.
• SR — the normal strike rank of the weapon. Note that the same spear differs in SR depending on its mode of use — this is because using a one-handed spear involves a significant "choking up" on the shaft to control it, whereas the two-handed grip allows the full reach of the weapon.

Special Attack — Grappling

Grappling is the ability to wrestle a foe.

A successful grapple attack means that the attacker has caught the foe at the hit location rolled. If a parry with a weapon intervenes instead, the weapon arm was caught; a parry with a shield means the shield has been grasped. Defense can be applied against the initial attack normally, and a parry with fist or grapple percentage will mean the hold was blocked entirely.

After a successful attack, the grappler may attempt to immobilize the limb grasped, or throw the foe, in the next melee round. To do so, he must make another successful grapple attack. Failure means the hold has been broken.

To immobilize a limb, the attacker must also succeed at a STR versus STR roll on the Resistance Table (see Chapter V). If this roll is not made, he still has hold of the limb, but it is not immobilized.

To throw his foe, the grappler must make a roll on the Resistance Table of his STR+DEX against the SIZ+DEX of the foe. Again, failure of this roll means he did not manage to throw his foe, although he still maintains a grip.

If two characters are attempting to wrestle each other simultaneously, two successful attacks mean they have grasped each other mutually. Two successful immobilizations (one for each) may either mean that nothing was accomplished (if they contradict each other) or that both succeeded. Two throws cancel out and neither character is thrown. A character's attempt to immobilize his foe should always be resolved before his opponent's attempt to throw him.

After the initial attack, if it's successful, strike rank for further grapple actions should be based on DEX alone, without consideration of SIZ or weapon length.

If thrown, a character must make a DEX×5 roll on D100 or suffer 1D6 damage to a random hit location. Armor protects against this damage normally.

Weapon Damage Absorption

Weapons absorb damage on a cumulative basis: 4 points of damage taken in a single melee round stay with the weapon throughout the fight, and are added to any further damage it takes later. When the accumulated damage a weapon has taken exceeds the amount it can withstand, the weapon breaks. Weapons take damage when they are (1) used to parry other weapons that successfully attack, and (2) when they fail to successfully attack against a successful weapon parry. There are two exceptions to this rule:

1. Short stabbing weapons have insufficient mass to affect another weapon at all.
2. Long-hafted thrusting, cutting, and smashing weapons such as poleaxes, pikes, and spears do not damage other weapons because it is their hafts, not the weapon heads, which are actually engaged in the parry. They will, however, still affect parrying shields normally.

Two Weapon Use

1. Any Adventurer using a weapon in each hand may use them for 2 attacks, 2 parries, or 1 attack and 1 parry, as he chooses.
2. Every Adventurer is assumed to be right handed. Use of a weapon in the "off" hand must be started at a flat 5%, with the usual characteristic bonuses/penalties added or subtracted on top of that base. Also, a character's DEX must be at least 1.5 times the minimum DEX needed to use the weapon (always rounded up) before he may use it in his "off-hand" at all.
3. To learn how to use a weapon left handed (as opposed to simply off-hand with the dominant right hand's own trained skill) means finding an instructor — the referee's discretion covers how difficult this is at any given time and place. The cost is the same as learning the weapon right handed, so going up in training with both a right- and left-hand sword, for example, costs a total of 1000 L per 5% increment for training between 30 and 50%.
4. Keep track of the individual weapon expertise of the character with each weapon as used in each hand. Training or experience gained using a weapon left handed will not help the right-handed attack or parry with that same weapon. However, the ½ effectiveness rule for similar weapons still applies, so that use of a dagger left handed, for example, does allow the character to use it right handed at ½ effectiveness.
5. When attacking with two weapons, the second attack is made at a strike rank equal to the strike rank of the first attack, added to the usual strike rank for the second weapon. Thus, if a character has a strike rank of 5 with his first weapon and a strike rank of 6 with his second, the second attack comes at strike rank 11. If the two strike ranks together add up to more than 12, then neither can attack that round at all.
6. A character using two weapons at 100% or more with each weapon may attack one foe twice at full attack percentage (once with each weapon). He may attack two foes twice each (at half normal attack percentage against each). Or he may attack one foe at half attack ability with one weapon and the other foe at half attack ability with that weapon, while attacking with full ability with the other weapon.

REMEMBER: the character must have sufficient strike ranks to encompass all of these attacks. If a character's strike rank is 6 with each weapon, then he can only make two attacks total — at strike rank 6 and strike rank 12 — and no more.

Missile Weapons

The Missile Training Table and the Missile Statistics Table are in approximately the same format as the melee weapon tables, but weapon length isn't relevant for missiles, and range and rate of fire have been added to describe the weapon's characteristics instead.

Use of Shield with Missile Weapon

A shield cannot be readied for use when the character is using any projectile weapon except the sling (and that sling must be a small shield). This exception does not include the staff sling, which needs two hands, as do all bows and crossbows.

Shooting at Moving Targets

Movement of a target directly toward or away from the archer (a general term meaning any user of a missile weapon) has no effect on the probability of hitting it. A target moving at an angle from the archer reduces the archer's chance of hitting by ½. A target specified to be dodging as it moves reduces the archer's probability by a further ½. A dodging character may only move ½ his normal movement and may do nothing else but move and dodge. These effects are cumulative — thus if an archer with an 80% chance of hitting is confronted by a foe crossing his path at a 45-degree angle while also dodging, his chance of hitting is reduced to 20% (80×½×½). These effects are also cumulative with distance, so if the target is at medium range, his chance of hitting is reduced further still (10%, i.e. 20×½).

Shooting While Moving

A character cannot shoot while moving or dodging. The only exception is horse archery, which is performed at the same ability chance as regular archery, assuming the horsemanship of the archer is sufficient. This is explained further in the Other Skills chapter.

Shooting at Protected Targets

The chance of hitting a foe behind some form of protection, such as an arrow slit in a wall, is the same as normal. However, if the hit location rolled is not actually visible to the archer, the arrow or other missile simply hits the protection instead of the target. A critical hit will hit in any case — adjust the hit location rolled to match an exposed area of the body. The same rule applies to melee combat conducted over barriers, fences, castle walls, and so on.

Range

The ranges shown on the Missile Statistics Table are effective ranges. At the ranges shown, or closer, the character can expect to hit at the percentage for which he has trained.

Thrown Weapons — thrown weapons have no effective value beyond 20 meters.

Projectile Weapons — projectile weapons can reach further than their effective range, at a cost of accuracy. Medium range is about half again as many meters as the effective range. A character shooting at medium range has half his normal chance of hitting. Long range is between the limit of medium range and a distance of about twice effective range. A character shooting at long range has ¼ his normal chance of hitting.

Thrown Weapon Damage Bonus

If a character using a thrown weapon has a damage bonus due to STR and SIZ, his thrown weapon will have only half the normal effect of that damage bonus. Thus, if a character normally has a D4 damage bonus, his thrown axe will do 1D6 plus D4×½ (round up) instead of the full D4.

* All ENC shown in parentheses indicate the number of items necessary to equal one ENC point. Thus, 4 daggers equal 1 ENC. These fractional ENCs add to one another, so that a character with hood and composite helm, two daggers, 1 dart, and a pair of light cesti would have a total ENC of 3 from these objects.

Explanation of Headings

• Range — at these ranges and less, the character can be expected to hit at the percentage for which he's been trained.
• HP — a character isn't trained to parry with a projectile weapon as well as shoot with it (thrown weapons are a different story). The chance of parrying with a projectile weapon should be based on the basic chance with a staff (20%), plus or minus any applicable natural ability adds. A character with a natural ability of +5% to parry, for example, would parry with a projectile weapon at 25%.
• Rates of Fire — S/MR means as many shots can be fired per melee round as strike rank permits; 1/MR means one shot per melee round; 1/2R means one shot every 2 melee rounds; 1/3R means one shot every 3 melee rounds; 1/5R means one shot every 5 melee rounds.

Shields

A shield is used to absorb damage before it gets through to the bearer. As with a weapon, a shield user must make a successful parry roll to interpose the shield between himself and an incoming attack.

Explanation of Headings

• Size — relative size of shield. A small shield is about 30-35 cm in diameter, held with one hand-grip; it's called a buckler. A medium shield is about 60 cm in diameter, equivalent to the ancient Greek round shield, or the medieval knight's "heater." A large shield is the equivalent of the foot shield of the Greeks and Romans, or the Norman kite and Viking round.
• STR — strength necessary for a character to be able to use such a shield.
• Absorbs — the number of points the shield will absorb per attack, before the armor and/or the user takes damage.
• 05-25 / 30-50 / 55-75 — costs, functioning the same way as the corresponding columns in the weapons chart. Any ability beyond 75% must be gained from experience, not training.
• Price — the standard price for a shield in Lunars. Fancier ones cost more.
• ENC — for those who use encumbrance rules, this is what the type of shield is worth in "things" (see Mechanics and Melee).

Thrown Weapons — thrown weapons have no effective value beyond 20 meters.
Projectile Weapons — projectile weapons can reach further than their effective range, at the cost of accuracy: medium range is roughly half again the effective range, at half the normal chance to hit; long range extends to about twice effective range, at a quarter of normal chance.

Notes on Shield Use

Damage taken by the shield beyond the number of points it can absorb in one blow is taken at the hit location rolled in the attack. Any armor on that location, if present, absorbs the excess points. Note that neither shields nor armor break the way weapons do — a shield's absorb value simply shows how many points of damage it will absorb before it's driven away or penetrated by the force of the blow, letting the remaining points strike through to their target.

Helmets

Helmets aren't dealt with in the discussion of armor because they can't usefully be categorized by the material they're made from. Instead, they must be categorized by the amount of protection they afford, regardless of construction. The names given to helmets below are entirely arbitrary, offered as sufficient indication of what's intended.

* All ENC shown in parentheses indicate the number of items necessary to equal one ENC point. Thus, 4 daggers equal 1 ENC. These fractional ENCs add to one another, so that a character with hood and composite helm, two daggers, 1 dart, and a pair of light cesti would have a total ENC of 3 from these objects.

Armor

How Armor Works

Armor is the last barrier between a character and an incoming weapon, fang, or claw. Armor absorbs damage and, hopefully, keeps the character intact. Different hit locations may wear different forms of armor.

Types of Armor Materials

• Leather — either the padding leather described in the notes to the chart, or the thicker (2-point) shoe-leather thickness armor. It's fairly easy to obtain in the herd-oriented world of Glorantha, and in most other ancient historical or fantasy settings.
• Linen — waxed and quilted cloth. Stiff and hard, this early armor disappeared as metal became more common, but it's still used to armor militia and the like.
• Cuirbouilli — leather treated with boiling wax, hardening it almost to the resiliency of metal.
• Ring Mail — metal rings butted together and sewn to leather.
• Scale — small metal plates sewn onto leather in an overlapping pattern. An excellent, if heavy, form of protection.
• Chainmail — metal links woven into a mesh and formed into garments.
• Brigandine — a jacket of plates between two leather layers; only the rivets holding it together show on the leather.
• Plate — large metal plates, usually molded to the wearer's body; absorbs damage excellently but is heavy and encumbering.

Explanation of Headings and Terms

• * Can be worn under any other armor. Instead of leather, this could also be quilted or thick cloth — it has the same qualities as described for leather.
• ()* — all ENC shown in parentheses indicate the number of items necessary to equal one ENC point. Thus, 4 daggers equal 1 ENC; these fractional ENCs add to one another the same way described elsewhere.
• † — for game convention, these are considered to cover the entire limb, although the actual armor represented by these names only covers the area between elbow and hand (vambraces) or knee and foot (greaves).
• Type — a term drawn from general armor lore describing the type of armor. These terms come from all times and climes; what they cover is shown in the preceding column.
• Material — briefly describes the type of material the armor is made from.
• Absorbs — the number of points of attack the armor absorbs before it reaches the wearer.
• ENC — encumbrance shown is meant for human-sized people. A pixie's chainmail would weigh less, a great troll's would weigh more. This armor would, of course, only fit those types of beings and be of little use to a human Adventurer.
• Cost — for leg and arm armor, this is for the whole set, not just one piece — as are the ENC costs.
• Silent — this shows how much the particular armor subtracts from a character's ability to Move Silently (see the Other Skills chapter). When several different types of armor are worn together, take only the noisiest one as the subtractor — do not add all the different types together.

By now the headings should be fairly clear. Note that some forms of armor protect more than one hit location. These types can, as a rule, be overlapped — so one could wear both a chainmail hauberk and chainmail trews (trousers) together, of course accumulating both their protection and their encumbrance rapidly in such cases.

Sidebar: Rambling Runequestions

An intermittent designer's-notes column addressing common rules questions, paraphrased here from the original.

• On the "Crush" and unreasonable bludgeon users — the designers acknowledge the rule making Giants, Trolls, and other strong bludgeon-users "totally unreasonable" opponents was intentional. It was meant to make them exactly that unreasonable to fight, as such creatures should be.
• On falling damage — a fixed geometric increase in falling damage per the height fallen wasn't judged necessary; the compromise was simply to add one extra D6 of damage per 3 meters fallen. Falling from a horse is treated the same way, though realistically even an unarmored target falling from a horse would very often break something — riders who take a "luck roll" and blow it should just take the same damage shown for a surprised rider thrown from his mount.
• On the removed "humanoid individualizer" — this feature from an earlier edition was cut; it was never actually used by the design team, and they had more interesting things to fill the space with instead.
• On full plate on a cover illustration — an observant reader pointed out that a fertility cultist depicted on the cover appears to wear full plate body armor, despite the rules stating there's no such thing as full plate body protection. The designers concede this is neither artistic license nor a game-design point — it's simply an error. The armor on the cover, they clarify, doesn't actually cover the hips and pelvis, so the abdomen isn't fully protected after all; she's really wearing a cuirbouilli skirt underneath the plate cuirass.
• On rules for fighting with two weapons — a reader asks whether a very strong character could use two battle axes at once. The designers think not without qualification: alongside the 1.5×DEX requirement already given for off-hand use, they suggest requiring 1.5×STR as well — meaning twin battle axes would demand a STR of 20 and a DEX of 14 to wield both effectively.
• On learning languages informally — an alternate system is floated: learning a language by speaking with native speakers, at a cost of roughly 20 Lunars of expenses per week of practice. Does a character already need some baseline fluency to start this way? Yes — at least the 31-50% "assured communication" level. Left open-ended, informal learning this way could in principle bring a language from scratch up to around 90% in about 18 real weeks and 360 Lunars — far cheaper and faster than formal training from a sage, though bounded by the character's INT and by how many willing native speakers a referee's campaign world can plausibly supply. A parallel "Method #2" is also mentioned: cheaper and faster than sage training, though not quite as fast or cheap as the native-speaker method, and requiring double the usual time if trained from a traveler rather than a formal instructor.
• On why anyone would use a battle axe when a bastard sword exists — cost aside, there's no obvious reason under the rules, since the battle axe does slightly less average damage for the same or worse encumbrance in most builds. By contrast, choosing a Great Axe over a Military Flail makes more sense: the axe is cheaper, faster to learn, and less encumbering, which suits an Earth-cult worshipper well, while the flail's advantage is only its quicker strike rank — worth it if speed matters more than economy. On crossbow reload speed specifically, real historical research into the arbalest suggests its winch mechanism actually reloads faster than a heavy crossbow's claw-foot mechanism, the opposite of what's sometimes assumed — though missile weapons aren't really the designer's own area of expertise, and every outside authority they've consulted gives a slightly different account.
• On defense and the Shimmer spell — if a Shimmer spell raises a character's Defense from 10% to 20%, and he's then attacked by a foe with a 40% chance who misses his parry as well, does the defender get an experience roll for Defense? Probably not, strictly — though it depends on how closely the referee is watching things. It could be argued the Shimmer spell wouldn't have helped if it hadn't been for the character's underlying Defense to begin with, so the referee might reasonably let the roll happen anyway.
• On combining natural experience checks — hitting once with a dagger enchanted with 2 points of Bladesharp (raising a normal 60% chance to 65% effectively, in this example) and rolling a hit with a 65 doesn't cost the character his experience roll — he still gets to roll for experience with the dagger normally, on the basis of his actual (spell-boosted) attack chance for that round, not his un-enchanted base chance.
• On combined-skill experience rolls — a character who successfully moves silently and climbs in the same action does get separate experience-roll opportunities for both skills.
• On magic and Defense conflicts — if a character casts Dullblade on an opponent's weapon (say, giving himself 10% Defense against it) and that opponent, with a normal 70% attack chance, then misses with a 66, to what should the miss be attributed — the Dullblade magic, or ordinary Defense? The magic reduced the normal 70% attack down to 65% before Defense even had a chance to apply, so in this example there's no actual Defense roll to be had — the miss is purely down to the magic.
• On when Defense increases are checked — after every adventure, not immediately after each individual successful use during play.
• On whether Rune Priests share Rune Lords' Divine Protection — the rules as written don't extend that protection to Rune Priests. It would seem a natural extension, however, and is a legitimate variant a referee might choose to allow.