The following descriptions give the personality tone of the species. These
are pretty much inviolate. A dwarf can no more have a Greed of 3 than
a human can have Greed of 14. If you want a dwarf with low Greed, high
Sense of Humour and low Mood, then you don't want a dwarf.
Even if you don't desire to play a spell-casting Enchanter, every character
should know their Mojo (MJ) Attribute. This is ascertained by taking the
average of your character's ST (Strength) and IQ (Intelligence). The resulting
number is then reduced by a certain amount, depending on the species you're
playing. We follow proper arithmetic, of course, rounding up or down as
indicated.
HUMANS (homo sapiens)
The
wide-open species. As many variations in size, colour and shape as you
find on Earth, and more.
From saints to sinners, from heroes to hermits, from geniuses to grunts,
from...well, you can see the scope here.
No Minimums or Maximums restrictions in the Personality Chart.
A beginning human has ST: 8 DX: 8 IQ: 8 with 8 optional points to distribute.
MA:10
Average height: 175-180 cm Average weight: 85 Kg
A human's Mojo Attribute is the Average of IQ and ST minus 1.
Close cousins to humans and nearly as polyglot in appearance and skin colouration. Short, squat with an exceptional muscle density that makes them ideal at mining and underground activities. While perhaps the majority of dwarves are engaged in such subterranean occupations, many non-miner dwarves take great exception to this stereotype when applied to them.
Two personality quirks of the dwarves are their insular attitudes to outsiders and their avariciousness. The rule of thumb is that dwarves have a Maximum Sense of Humour of 9 (always a bit touchy that they're being mocked). A Minimum Greed of 6 (one of the main reasons so many dwarves mine minerals is that there is a lot of cash-money to be made in those ores). Minimum Mood of 4 (dwarves do like a good ale and brawl.).
All dwarves have two strong racial characteristics. To be wary of heights (acrophobia) and a fondness for close spaces (claustrophilia). Even dwarven communities not involved with underground work will be found in deep forests or similar terrain. No rolling prairies or boundless oceans for them. The GM may assign up to a minus 2 adjDX penalty to a dwarf when trying to function under such conditions.
The origins of the friction are unknown (thought to have developed in some long lost land called "Middle Earth"), but elves and dwarves are generally disdainful of each other. Each treat the other with an automatic minus 1 on the Reaction Roll.
A beginning dwarf has a ST: 10 DX: 6 IQ: 8 with 8 points. MA: 10
Average height: 140-45 cm. Average weight: 80 Kg.
The cargo carrying capacity of dwarves is double that of humans.
A dwarf employs any weapon of the "Axe/Mace" category at plus 1 damage.
A dwarf's Mojo Attribute is the Average of IQ and ST minus 2.
MERLINS (homo caelestis)
The Hawk People. They
appear as a normal human of smaller size with a lean, wiry physique. There
are no fat merlins. Their skin tones and haircuts and cultural ideas are
nearly as varied as their earthbound cousins. Their magnificent feathered
wings can be any hue of the rainbow you can imagine. Feather colour often
indicates family and/or tribe affiliations.
Merlins are adventurous wild spirits. Their homes and cities are generally
up high and as inaccessible to nonflyers as possible. Merlins and gargoyles
share the same domain and have a long-standing feud. Each treat the other
with an automatic minus 1 on the Reaction Roll.
These bold souls suffer from two handicaps. They cannot swim. Their wings
are too bulky and not very waterproof (they're hawk people, not duck people).
Treat any merlin in deep water as per the "Water" rules covering
non-swimmers heavily encumbered. They do not even have the ability to
dogpaddle enjoyed by wingless nonswimmers. They can flounder a while,
but not for long.
The second affliction is their racial claustrophobia. This fear of being
enclosed is directly proportional to the available room to fly. The Game
Master may assign -1, -2 or -3 adjDX on a judgement of how restrictive
the rooms/corridors/tunnels are.
Minimum Mood: 6 Minimum Bravery: 5 Minimum Sex
Drive: 5
A beginning merlin has ST: 7 DX: 9 IQ: 8 with 8 points.
MA: 10 on ground MA: 20 in air
Average height: 170 cm.
Average weight: 65 Kg.
The phrase "eyes like a hawk" touches on the abilities of merlins.
When purchasing the talent "Alertness", merlins pay only 1 point
instead of 2.
The wings occasionally cause problems for merlins in the haberdashery.
In any item that a ground-bound would wear on their back (ie: backpacks),
multiply the cost by 130% unless you are in territory with a large merlin/gargoyle
consumer base.
A merlin's Mojo Attribute is the Average of IQ and ST minus 3.
CENTAURS (homo equites)
The strangest mutation
of the human line. There are generally two races of centaur; one where
the people part is relatively fair-skinned and the equine part any variety
of "horse-colours". The second has a dark-skinned people part
and a horse part with dark-light alternating patterns (some very like
a zebra).
Smaller than normal horses, centaurs nevertheless bulk over their human
cousins. They can match horses for movement and speed. This mobility is
balanced by the fact that centaurs are not very well suited to vertical
surfaces or climbing (though they can manage stairs well enough). Climbing
ropes and scaling cliffs is a major undertaking or impossible.
These half-human, half-horse beings are supremely self-confident, proud
and boisterous because of their size, speed and physical prowess. As a
rule of thumb, centaurs are rarely introspective and throw an elan into
anything they do.
Minimum Mood: 5 Minimum Bravery: 5 Minimum Dominance: 5
A beginning centaur has ST: 11 DX: 10 IQ: 8 with 6 points.
MA: 24 on open ground. MA: 18 in close terrain (like a forest) and MA:
12 on poor surfaces and tight (indoor) quarters. Hooves work poorly on
slick, hard surfaces (eg. a marble floor) and a centaur could suffer a
-1 adjDX penalty.
The human part does damage as per normal Strength Tables. A centaur may
lash out with front or rear hooves at plus one die to the Strength damage
listed.
Average height: 210 cm.
Average weight: 500 Kg.
Centaurs are 2-hex creatures. This means greater weight in armour and
also two rations per day.
A centaur character requires 150% of the Experience Points a human needs
until its attribute total reaches 40. Above 40 attribute points, the cost
drops to 110%.
A centaur's Mojo Attribute is the Average of IQ and ST minus 4.