Towers & Tyrants s&s using the Woodland Warriors rules

[simonw]

I'm just working on a new 'old-school' S&S rpg "Towers & Tyrants" using the basics from Woodland Warriors (only uses D6, HD = hit points and attack dice and a few other changes to core S&W). The classes are Fighter, Thief and Sorcerer. Thieves are specifically tomb-robbers, rather than the more traditional "rogues". There is a race-as-class, called the Dendrelyssi which are loosely based on Melniboneans/Elves/Vadragh, who are both sorcerers and fighters. Sorcerers will be based on the Magus from Sabres & Witchery, with quite a few changes. There'll be evil serpent-men, bestial demons, raging elementals, lords of chaos, crawling horrors and other goodies. Here's the thief:

THIEF
Thieves are tomb-raiders, crypt-breakers and tower-robbers. They are at home creeping along long-forgotten tunnels and breaking into hidden vaults and musty chambers to steal whatever wealth the ancients buried with their dead. Sometimes thieves come away with great riches – other times they don’t come back at all, fallen to a trap or monstrous guardian. Thieves can turn their hands to street crime, such as picking pockets and mugging if needs be but most consider that type of activity beneath them. You might get a few nights board and lodging from a merchant’s purse, but you won’t get treasures beyond your wildest dreams! Thieves tend to work alone and ahead of the main party, scouting, removing traps and opening doors. When battle comes, they can defend themselves but when the fighting gets heavy they need their fighters.

Prime Attribute: Dexterity. If dexterity is 13+, you gain +5% to XP earned
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+1) at first level. Then per the Thief Advancement table.
Armour/Shield Permitted: Any, but with various modifiers to skills for heavier armour types
Weapons Permitted: Medium or light weapons only

Thief Class Abilities
Sneak attack (1st level): At first level, a thief who can catch his opponent unawares or get behind him can attack his opponent in a vital area for extra damage. The thief can only do a sneak attack with a light concealed weapon if he is in view or a light or medium weapon if behind. If the thief hits his target he can add another D6 to the damage he causes to a single target. At 6th level, he can add 2D6 to the damage caused to a single target by a sneak attack. He can do this with a ranged weapon, if within close range.

At first level, the thief chooses which of the following skills will be his primary (best), which will be secondary and which will be tertiary. He chooses two skills for each category.

Climb: Thieves are expert at breaking and entering – quite often this involves scaling ancient wizard’s towers or clambering out of pits they’ve fallen into. Roll this number to scale a wall, clamber along a ledge or even balance on a beam.

Locks: Thieves like to get into places where there might be hidden treasure. Normally, such places are behind locked doors or inside chests. Roll this number or higher to successfully defeat the lock.

Find: Thieves are good at finding hidden things – whether that is a disguised door in a wall, a secret compartment in a chest or a small object hidden in the lining of a cloak. Roll this number or higher to spot something that is deliberately or accidentally concealed.

Sounds: Thieves are good at listening for strange noises and are alert to unusual sounds. Roll this number or higher to hear a monster’s breathing in the shadows or a footfall from behind.

Stealth: Thieves are skilled at hiding and creeping. Roll this number or higher to bypass guards or to avoid being spotted.

Traps: Thieves are good at setting and removing traps and tripwires. If the thief is attempting to set or disarm a trap, roll this number or higher for success.

[blackbarn]

Sounds awesome, Simon! I have Woodland Warriors and thought it would make a great traditional fantasy game, too. S&S is even better.

[jdjarvis]

Cool. woodland warriors made for really quick playing fights when I played it. looking forward to a S&S version.

[simonw]

It's had a change of name to "Crimson Blades" now. Still coming along.

[Zulgyan]

Looks really cool.

[simonw]

I'm considering a "Mountebank" class. Here's what I've got so far. Anyone got some other abilities to add?

MOUNTEBANK
Mountebanks are frauds and con artists, capable of slipping into new identities as others change clothing. However, they are also streetwise information gatherers and, in an urban environment, they come into their own.

Prime Attribute: Charisma. If CHA is 13+, you gain +5% to XP earned
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+1) at first level. Then per the Mountebank Advancement table.
Armour/Shield Permitted: None or leather only, no shields
Weapons Permitted: Medium or light weapons only

Mountebank Class Abilities
At 1st level, the mountebank chooses which of the following skills will be his primary (best), which will be secondary and which will be tertiary. He chooses two skills for each category.

Contacts: The mountebank has a number of people around the city (or in other towns and cities) that possibly owe him a favour that he can turn to for help as needed. A successful roll indicates he knows of someone who may lend some assistance and has been able to find them. They still may require a persuade roll to do anything that might be dangerous or that will cost them a lot of money.

Disguise: With a few tweaks here and there, a touch of dye, a change of posture and loose cloaks or clothing, the mountebank can make himself appear to be someone else. Roll this number or higher to fool other people. They may receive a notice roll to spot you even if you are cleverly disguised, if you do anything unusual and they are reasonably close. The Referee will determine what constitutes unusual.

Sleight: The mountebank can perform sleight of hand trickery (the pea under the beaker, or cheating at dice or cards) by deft hand movements and misdirection. He can also pick pockets or cut purses from belts. Make this roll or higher to succeed.

[simonw]

Here's what I've got for the "Dendrelyssi"
The Dendrelyssi are an ancient elfin race - generally tall and slim with long, sharp faces and slightly pointed ears, slanting, colour-flecked, milky eyes that appear blind and high, slanting cheekbones. They are a long-lived and decadent race, given to amoral pleasures; they lack any moral sense. Their actions are determined by tradition, which is about the only thing that has held them in check over the centuries. They constantly search for new pleasures and new sensations. Their sophistication leads them to the arts – poetry, sculpture, philosophy and their love of cruelty and pain. Torture of slaves and prisoners is a common amusement. The otherness of the Dendrelyssi is manifest in their aesthetics. They naturally prefer a mix of colours and elaborate and baroque decoration and architecture. Their buildings are tall spires, lofty towers and pagodas and are built in shimmering colours of the rainbow.
Dendrelyssi are both fighters and sorcerers. Unlike human sorcerers, Dendrelyssi are steeped in the lore of otherworldly demons and elementals, having dealt with them down the centuries; making ancient pacts and oaths that can be traced back to when the world was young. These pacts have become dangerously tenuous in more recent times and some creatures struggle to remember their ties with the ancient race of Dendrelyssi. The Dendrelyssi themselves have become lazy and decadent, failing to maintain some of their bonds, so nothing is certain any more. Nevertheless, Dendrelyssi characters can still summon these entities and, more often than not, get them to do their bidding.


Whilst Dendrelyssi require a high intelligence to cast spells and summon otherworldly beings, to deal with demons in particular requires a strong will and force of personality. Accordingly, they should have wisdom and charisma of at least average, preferably higher.

Prime Attribute: Intelligence, 15+ (+5% XP)
Hit Dice: 1D6 (+1) at 1st level; then per the Dendrelyssi Advancement table.
Armour/Shield Permitted: Any
Weapons Permitted: Any

Spell Casting: As a race of natural sorcerers, Dendrelyssi can cast spells like human sorcerers do. However, they’ve never considered spellcasting as a true way to power; to the Dendrelyssi, real power can only be gained by dealing with otherworldly forces. Therefore, they advance more slowly in spellcasting than human sorcerers.

Summoning: At 1st level, the Dendrelyssi chooses a primary summons. This can be one of the four elementals or one of the six types of demon. Later on, at 3rd level, he can choose second summons and has a third choice at 5th level and a fourth at 7th level. At 7th level, the choice of the Elemental Rulers or Demon Lords also opens up (although this starts at 6+ to summon rather than 5+). Summoning requires a minimum INT, so you need to be sure you can summon the type of being in question before you choose. The chance to summon the entity is as set out in the above table.