Russ Nicholson: an appreciation

Some years ago I made an off-hand remark that the fantasy world I would create would be a "slipstream version of Middle-Earth and the world of Firetop Mountain, illustrated by Russ Nicholson".

The mention of Russ Nicholson, who died this month, was not casual. Nicholson was one of the most important, distinctive, and influential of modern fantasy and gaming illustrators. Where writers and game designers described imaginary worlds, Nicholson visualized them, and in the process made them vivid, distinct, and memorable.

As an illustrator, Nicholson's line-work was extraordinary—dense and kinetic. He was incapable of creating a boring or static scene. As you flick through a now-tattered copy of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, you see swirls of smoke, lantern light, debris, decoration, rags, and finery. There was an element of Celtic craft and Medieval illuminated manuscripts in his work, in the whorls of dragon-smoke and the patterning and stitching of leather armor, that suggested depth and richness and danger. The fantasy underworld was an ancient world, trapped in darkness and flickering lamplight, but also filled with treasure, craft, and strangeness.

Consider these ORCS at their grog:

They're ragged, down-trodden in their patched armour and cloaks, Bored soldiers assigned to an unwelcome duty on the threshold of the labyrinth. But they're also sly (one of them is pouring from his more drunken mate's tankard), scarred-looking, and dangerous even in their stupor. They’re neither muscular savages nor hulking brutes. These are creatures of the underworld, characters, guards briefly caught off-guard.

Or who could forget this GHOUL:

The rags and decaying flesh, the sunken, desperate eyes, the hand reaching out of the dark. The detail, the sense of sudden motion, exaggerated the horror.

There’s much more of course, from the density of the city-scapes and crowd scenes in Blacksand to the preternatural beauty of the “houri” character class for White Dwarf magazine. And yet always, as in Beowulf Beastslayer, his fluid and intricate line reflected the craftsmanship of these magical worlds.

If you want to make a full fictional world work, you need to describe it. And for me, that means to see it first, and deep down Russ Nicholson remains one of the artists who let us see things, in line and motion and texture, for the first time.

Hwaet! Review of Beowulf Beastslayer by Jonathan Green

The early Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, in particular The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, had a strong influence on both my gaming and my reading. Up until Firetop Mountain, I preferred science-fiction, and while the gamebook made it easier for me to imagine role-playing as a hobby, it also suggested fantasy as a genre, which lead me eventually to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien, as a scholar and writer, studied and taught Old English, and so by a curious confluence we find, years later, a gamebook based on the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and if you throw in illustrations by the inimitable Russ Nicholson, there's really no reason to resist.

Beowulf Beastslayer, by Jonathan Green, is the most fun and interest I've had in a gamebook since finishing Steve Jackson's magisterial Sorcery! series decades ago. Perhaps the reason Beowulf Beastslayer is so engaging is that by going back to the Old English heroic sources, Green is able to make the world of the gamebook fresh and fantastical again. The first time you read The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, orcs and trolls and ghouls and skeletons and underground mazes are new and intriguing; but after a while the tropes and inhabitants of the fantasy world become familiar, and therefore less exciting. Translating the Old English world-view and poem into gameable format refreshes the experience by creating that sense of the unfamiliar again. Monsters like Grendel, giants, sea serpents, even dragons take on a new immediacy. Riddles based on Anglo-Saxon sources present a new challenge.

To his credit, Green also adapts the Old English alliterative verse to his prose sections, which makes each passage of the gamebook poetic and even evocative of the sense of the source poem. The passages that one would usually skim to find the next fight or choice point are also a pleasure to read. And, the gamebook uses kennings – compact poetic figures from the period – as progress markers and resources: another evocative turn that makes each achievement more memorable.

Green uses the ACE system for the gamebook series, adapted from the original Fighting Fantasy rules, where the ACE scores Agility, Combat, and Endurance are used in a familiar fashion with standard dice, and includes a Hero Points score which functions much like Luck. It's a familiar and highly workable system, although if you're familiar with Fighting Fantasy in general, it's pretty clear where you should allocate your character points for maximum effect, and, if a criticism can be made of the mechanics, I've never felt in much danger during a fight, or worried greatly about missing a roll.

This, on the other hand, could be intentional. With the earning and spending of Hero Points to overcome key challenges in the book, and initiative providing a bonus in a fight, the best option is always to act like a big-darn hero. This is fun, but also, from the perspective of someone familiar with the Old English heroic mode, sort of educational. Playing the heroic values of Anglo-Saxon epics – bravery, boastfulness, generosity, cunning – is a way to immerse yourself in the mindset as well as win the best outcome.

In early 2021, Green also launched Heorot, a kickstarter campaign for role-playing in the world of Beowulf Beastslayer, based on the same rules as used in the gamebook. Given the ease and simplicity of the system, and the potential of the setting (with the chance that it could even fit Tolkien's view of Middle-earth), I'm following this project with great interest.

Ramshackle rules and roles

While tinkering with the free-form Fighting Fantasy rules, it strikes me that the simple trio of characteristics and basic tests can be adapted with relative ease and speed for a wide variety of worlds. Here's one such adaptation.

Ramshackle

The vast, labyrinthine structure, from Gormenghast to the Hayholt, from the citadel of Nessus to Mampang, is as important a part of fantasy as the underground dungeon. Here, I’ve adapted the Fighting Fantasy rules for playing in places that tower as far above as descend below, anything from immense ramshackle piles to sprawling cities.

Adventurers

Our adventurers use the attributes:

• ABILITY (like Skill, begins at 7)
• ENDURANCE (like Stamina, begins at 1d6+6)
• COURAGE (like Luck, begins at 1d6+6)

Courage works just like LUCK in FF. It represents bravery, resolve, and the character’s readiness to take — and dodge — extreme risks. Courage is worn down by every danger the character encounters, but restored by significant victories, small acts of grace and kindness, and fortuitous choices.

Character standing

One's position, or social standing, is a critical part of your background in the convoluted and sometimes archaic society of the ramshackle pile. 

Choose, with GM approval, or roll a die on the list and take +1 initial Courage for accepting the risk!

1 - Lowly: a scullion, scullery maid, or apprentice.
Staring equipment is shoddy or makeshift. Weapons such as a knife, club, hammer, or pick (1 damage only on.a roll of 1-2). Kitchen staff have access to plenty of provisions.

2 - Servant: footman, maid, valet, gatekeeper, guard.

Have access to workaday but sturdy equipment, Weapons such as dagger, staff, spear, halberd, if their duties permit. Guards may have common armor (1-2 chance of -1 damage).

3 - Staff: Senior or trained household retainers, such as butler, tutor, officer of the watch, falconer, artisan, cook, bailiff, apothecary. Equipment, suitable to the profession, and specialist weapons (swords, muskets).

4 - Household Companion: professionals, usually close to the family and part of the gentry, such as tutor, archivist, chaplain, sorcerer, astronomer, knight errant, duelist, surgeon. 

Well-made professional equipment and specialized weapons that require special skill (rapiers, great-swords, pistols, well-crafted armor).

5 - Scion; part of the ruling family or clan—noble, heir, gentry, magistrate.
Has access to the best equipment, weapons, and armor (improved damage or protection), and considerable personal wealth.

6 - Outsider: an explorer, wanderer, or even a monster; any individual from the outer world (if there is an outer world).
Equipment at the GMs approval, possibly rare, exotic, magical, or dangerous (or all of these).

Missions in the ramshackle halls

Through vast labyrinths, halls, cloisters, galleries, adventurers will find themselves on many missions, often driven by the needs and rituals of the place itself as much as the inhabitants, who are, after all, merely temporary.

Roll a die:

1 - Fetch

Go and recover for her ladyship a bunch of the lost copper roses from the ruined conservatory among the Ash Towers. Beware the argumentative and senile sphinxes that guard the approach.

2 - Hunt

Two wild hippogriffs are hunting in the western galleries. Track and eradicate or drive off the beasts. Ensure his lordship comes to no harm during the hunt.

3 - Deliver

Take this impossibly fragile crown constructed from the bones of extinct birdlife to the Catechist of Ethrain, in the Ninth Ward. Of course we can't tell you what she looks like: she wears a mask at all times, and it's impertinent to ask.

4 - Discover

Find for us a certain volume of impious prophecies concealed in the lower shelving of the Gaunt Archive. Never mind the literate rats or the mummified librarians; it's the crow-headed researchers you need to avoid.

5 - Guard

Secure the crumbling Oblique Tower from the intelligent were-ferrets and their demented pine-martin shock-troopers.

6 - Capture

Retrieve the phoenix tapestry the House of Kellin recklessly purloined from our drowned treasury. They have no idea what will happen if the wrong threads are tugged.

Lurking creatures

1 - Vermin

1–6 Giant Rats ABILITY 5 ENDURANCE 3

2 - Pests

1–3 Crow-folk ABILITY 6 ENDURANCE 4

3 - Prowler

1–2 Were-ferrets ABILITY 6 ENDURANCE 5

4 - Hazard

Ghouls ABILITY 7 ENDURANCE 6 (infected claws)

5 - Marauder

1–3 Gargoyles ABILITY 7 ENDURANCE 8

6 - Hunter

Hippogriff ABILITY 8 ENDURANCE 10 (flies, pounces for 4 damage on first attack)

An adventure for FF Freeform

Orzan's Twist

A scenario for SKILL 7 adventurers. For basic rules, see Fighting Fantasy for your freeform game.

1.

Orzan's Twist in a long cave that provides a winding link between two valleys in the Clattering Hills. The Twist allows passage between two villages that would otherwise be four days weary climb apart. Perhaps the characters are soldiers with an important message, carrying magical ingredients to a sorcerer, or charged by townsfolk to open the quickest path through the hills.

In addition to normal equipment, characters begin with at least one light-source each: lantern, candle, or torches.

2.

As they approach the cave mouth deep in a ravine, they encounter two HALF-WOLVES. If the adventurers are not cautious, the wolves attack with the advantage of surprise (a free attack). Although the players won't be able to see from a distance, the wolves are chained here to guard the cave entrance on behalf of the goblins lurking further within.

HALF-WOLVES, Reaction: Hostile
SKILL 6 -- STAMINA 5
SKILL 5 -- STAMINA 4

The wolves are likely to be defeated, especially if they are caught at the end of their chains. Their barking and howling will surely alert any other creatures inside the cave!

3.

After various twists and turns, the adventurers reach a clear parting of ways. One side (go to 4) seems to lead upwards, and the sandy floor is less scuffed. The other is darker and deeper, and characters who test for Skill may notice the path is well-trodden by a variety of creatures (go to 5).

4.

Eventually, the passageway leads to a pit. A narrow crack far overhead admits some light, but it is unreachable. Test Skill to climb down; 1 STAMINA damage if any adventurer slips and falls. At the bottom of the pit among the remains of small animals and other vermin are the bones of a warrior in rusted armour.

Underneath the corpse is a fine-looking wooden hunter's bow. Any adventurer may take and use the bow, but unknown and unseeable, the bow has a crack in the core and after ten uses it will break the next time it is drawn (a character who tests for LUCK on the last draw will finally notice this). Nearby is a small flask of useable lantern oil (the lantern, though, is broken).

5.

The passage opens into a large chamber with many ledges and alcoves. A goblin gang (12 GOBLINS) camps here. The goblins are unfriendly but not necessarily hostile. They are more afraid of the two dry-ghouls skulking in the heart of the caves.

GOBLINS (10)
SKILL 6 -- STAMINA 6

GOBLIN LEADER
SKILL 7 -- STAMINA 8
Tougher and brighter than the average goblin. Mainly concerned with guarding his loot and planning next raid outside.

GOBLIN WITCH
SKILL 5 -- STAMINA 4
A minor magician at best, the witch has a collection of petty spells and curses that can trip and irritate targets, but she has nothing that will seriously harm stronger monsters like the ghouls. Her main skill is fortune-telling, mainly telling the goblin leader what he wants to hear.

Clever adventurers may even find a way to persuade the goblins to gang up on their mutual foes. See 6 next.

6.

Here, the passageway simultaneously dips sharply and turns, creating a disorienting corkscrew like formation, the cave's famous "twist".

In the center of the twist lurk two noxious DRY-GHOULS, semi-mummified horrors, who have found the caverns a convenient lair and trap for wandering prey. The ghouls are nasty, intelligent, slow moving, vulnerable to fire, and any character hit three times by their claws will be paralyzed!

DRY-GHOULS, Reaction: Hostile (hungry)

Mikence
SKILL 9 -- STAMINA 10

Tromp
SKILL 9 -- STAMINA 11

These ghouls are stronger than the adventurers. Remember that the simplicity of the rules means that characters can try anything to gain an advantage, from rope traps to spear walls to throwing burning oil.

Add 2 LUCK each for defeating these vile creatures. At the bottom of the Twist, the ghouls have stashed a well-made dagger with a silver-bound handle, two fine hunting spears, and copper and silver coinage from various realms amounting 3-18 silver pieces. Feel free to add other treasures of your own devising.

Fighting Fantasy for your freeform game

Fighting Fantasy (the minimal gamebook rules) could be enough of a framework for rule-light, freeform gaming, with a little judgement and tweaking.

Core Rules

Choose your character type, such as WARRIOR, SORCERER, or ROGUE.
Your initial SKILL is 7.
Your initial STAMINA is 1d6+6
Your initial LUCK is 1d6+6

Choose three Special Skills to complete your character, and note any equipment your GM allocates (usually a weapon, a backpack, some coin and rations, and optional potions).

Now, since most of the FF rules are easy to remember, you can start playing.

Test for Skill when character abilities and Special Skills are on the line.
Test for Luck when chance and happenstance are the deciding factor.
Roll probability (x in 6) when the chance of success depends on a variety of factors, including the external circumstances and the soundness of the player's plan.

In combat, the highest roll plus SKILL hits, and the standard wound is 2 STAMINA. Bigger creatures can ATTACK more than one target per round, but never roll more than once.

Apply modifiers freely as the conditions and tactics on the battlefield change.

Playing FF as a Freeform Game

From then on, the GM is free to work like the author of an adventure gamebook to develop and extend the rules according to the direction the game takes.

Experience

At certain key points in the campaign, characters advance 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA. Advances in LUCK are rare and memorable.

At first, SKILL 7 characters will be able to defeat only weaker creatures (goblins, orcs, rat men, wolves); choose their foes carefully, and encourage "inventive" tactics. Common Trolls have SKILL 8. In this world, many stronger creatures become deadly terrors, dreadful, lurking threats to be avoided or outwitted, at least until the adventurers gain a few SKILL points.

Humans have a maximum of 12/24 in SKILL, LUCK, and STAMINA. Dragons are always terrifying.

Combat

STAMINA damage is weariness as well as wounds and shock. Player characters are truly injured at zero STAMINA.

Most weapons begin at 2 damage, but over time the characters may discover finer weapons, or come across armour with a x in 6 chance of stopping a point or two of damage.

Arrows (test of Skill to hit) become an important strategy to wear down a foe before closing for battle.

Magic

Add a MAGIC score (or another custom score, like RESOLVE, if your campaign requires it). Design a list of spells, set the cost in MAGIC, and continue. Perhaps learning spells leaves little time for sword-play (-2 SKILL in battle).

A handful of skills for FF

One of the nice things about basic Fighting Fantasy is that most of what an adventurer would want to do is described in the section on common adventuring situations. There's no need for a comprehensive system of skills (as opposed to SKILL) as these situations describe what most adventurers will actually want to do in the confines of adventure: search, sneak, bribe or persuade monster, snaffle loose objects, break doors and chests.

There a plenty of skill-based systems (like BRP) with extensive lists of skills, but a few common skills could be a good way to add variety to your Fighting Fantasy character without adding much more to the rules.

Adventuring Skills

Stealth: The first thing you want to try is sneaking past that guard.
Tricks & Traps: Finding the location of that hidden latch, tampering with a trap, opening a stubborn lock, detaching a tempting purse.
Persuasion: A bluff, a clever lie, or a call to a higher purpose, even striking a good bargain, all require persuasiveness.
Bind Wounds: Any form of rough healing, or first aid after battle.
Strength: Not simply training and endurance, but knowing the point of leverage, or where to exert pressure when you break open a chest or smash down a door.
Hunting & Tracking: There's always game to pursue and tracks to follow in the wild.
Wayfaring: It's useful to know the hidden paths, the landmarks, the places of safety and concealment.
Learning: Reading is one thing, but this character knows how to decipher an ancient script, the name of that demon, that crucial fragment of old lore. Speak, friend, and enter!

How to use the skills

Skills are not just training, they're habits, strategies, approaches. In a simple FF game, offer characters three skills when they're created. Then, if the conditions are right, the skill confers a +1 or +2 bonus to action. This can be added to SKILL (or WITS, if you use that option), or even a probability roll.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E review

This is a long review, as befits an interesting and playable system with genuine appeal.

Overview

The Fighting Fantasy gamebook series has long been the first, most memorable step into fantasy RPGs for many players, and the Tinkerage has long thought that SKILL, STAMINA, and LUCK, and two dice, can encompass an accessible, rules light RPG system. So a true Fighting Fantasy RPG carries a lot of promise. The Tinkerage still has the books of the first version of Advanced Fighting Fantasy, and though the system is fundamentally flawed, the books are a great resource and a strong introduction to roleplaying. So how does the second edition in one volume from Arion Games, substantially rewritten and revised by Graham Bottley, compare?

Well, for starters, Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E is an eminently playable RPG, with a fun, evocative setting that can be broadly adapted and simple, direct rules which nevertheless enable plenty of options. The rulebook, however, looks and read more like a dedicated fan project than a professional publisher's product. Though this is part of its charm, that the core book could also stand to be significantly edited only points to its inherent potential.

Characters

After a brief introductory adventure in the spirit of the original Fighting Fantasy rules, with incompatible creatures lurking in a magical dungeon complex, the character generation section is the first substantial revision of the rules, and some of AFF 2E's best work. Bottley was absolutely right to make character generation points-driven rather than random (which led to hugely unequal characters in the first edition). The system allows players to select and customise their characters, but the limited pool of points drives some interesting decisions, as well as quite flexible design (as the sample characters demonstrate). Skills, or special skills, have been rationalised and cover a variety of character approaches and pursuits. Although I doubted the value of Talents at first, Talents, as particular character knacks or abilities, allow another level of individualisation. And since they fit within a page and a half, they are hardly challenging to scan and select from. Overall, the character section gives players the power to imagine, build and run a character that fits their intentions, and I can see this working for any number of fantasy styles, from High Fantasy to gritty dungeon-delving.

Rules

The rules of play are simple, based on the roll of two dice with modifiers where appropriate. That tests require a low roll under the governing ability (usually SKILL) and contests require a high roll over the opposing ability (as in combat) does not seem inconsistent as much as a clear way to distinguish the two basic sorts of action (although there is an optional rule to make all checks roll-high). For a rules light system, there is an extensive set of guidelines for the use of skills and special situations, such as sneaking, traps, trickery, hazards, and so on.

Combat is simple and fast, based on an opposed roll. The only weakness in this section is that damage and armour effectiveness are based on a die roll where the results are read from a table. Although it is easy to roll all the dice at the same time, this requires an awkward look up, and the weapon damage lines are the most fiddly part of an otherwise clean character sheet. While it is clear that the designers have wanted to keep weapon damage and armour protection fairly bounded, there is perhaps a more elegant way to do this. Despite the quick resolution of combat, there are several combat options which encourage a tactical approach and situational awareness, and some interesting tactics implicit in the Combat Situation table for GMs and players to explore.

An oddity buried in the combat rules is that shooting attacks with bows and arrows are also an opposed roll, rather than a test. This means that, correcting for range and size and so on, your chance to hit also depends on the SKILL of your target!

Magic

In the spirit of light rules with many options, there are three magic systems: wizardry, a very workable system based on Magic Points and learned spell; the flavoursome sorcery system, based on Steve Jackson's Sorcery series, where magic is fuelled by STAMINA; and priestly magic. Priestly magic uses a new system, which no longer draws on the same spells as wizardry, and introduces unique powers based on allegiance to certain gods. It's an elegant system that gives priests unique powers, and is an excellent addition to the rules.

Setting and adventures

There are the usual sections on equipment, encounters, world, and notes for designing adventures. The advice on adventures is refreshingly straightforward, running over hooks, locations, enemies, and possible subplots. There is also a random dungeon/location generator system. Shifting focus to locations and encounters, a little like the old gamebooks, means that adventures feel less scripted. The world of Titan is a glorious patchwork: it's meant to be a world of monsters and magic and strange places, not an exercise in faux-Medieval realism.

Other matters

Since the rules are so good overall, it's disappointing that the text is riddled with errors that should have been caught with proof-reading. There are also some larger mistakes in the expression, such as labelling the villain or antagonist in the scenario section the protagonist. And although the layout is attractive overall, with good use of the illustrations from the original AFF series, the justification is a mess, with distracting and erratic spacing between words on almost every page – which makes the text look like it was set in Microsoft Word, even if it wasn't.

Finally, there are some oddities or inconsistencies in the rules which could stand some clarification. For example, the target number for the optional roll-high method is 15+, which is actually harder to reach than the same combination of SKILL and Special Skill for roll-under. And the rules suggest in several places that it is possible to substitute LUCK for SKILL in certain rolls, including attacks in combat, but there is no plain statement or example of this rule. Of course, with such a simple set of base rules, it is easy enough to patch or house-rule the right option, and AFF 2E encourages this. But because AFF 2E really is an ideal introductory game, this is a potentially puzzling to new players.

All this means, though, is that there is an excellent system and game-world here, with genuine scope for a revised edition (not a new edition) that addresses some issues, and gives AFF an even better foothold as the favoured system for beginners or players who first picked up a sword and lantern in the shadowy passages of Firetop Mountain.

Missile weapons for Fighting Fantasy

Curiously, the original Fighting Fantasy before Advanced Fighting Fantasy had no rules for bows, spears, or thrown weapons. This makes sense in the close-quarters of a dungeon, but even Firetop Mountain features a bow with a silver arrow (the bringer of sleep) for slaying the undead.

This raises another issue: how much damage should an arrow or spear do? If we begin at the standard 2 Stamina points for a hit, an archer would have to pepper their target with shots before the target fell. The 2 points damage makes more sense in combat, if we treat these hits as the scrapes and knocks that wear down the opponent rather than debilitating wounds, but this makes less sense when it comes to the impact of an arrow, which simply strikes a body part or doesn't. 

As a house rules, the Tinkerage suggests that aiming a missile weapon be treated as a test of Skill. Apply penalties for range, size of the target, light and wind conditions, and so on.

Damage should be somewhat higher than normal battle damage, with 3 points for a lighter weapon (hunting bow, thrown object) and 4 points for a heavier weapon (spear, crossbow, longbow).

The higher damage reflects the fact that, if one is hit with a missile weapon there is no way to parry or deflect the hurt, unless by armour, or if one is rather lucky and the impact is a mere graze (test for Luck). Feel free to ignore this if you go ahead and use the simple damage roll option.

There is a precedent for this in Out of the Pit, where the arrows of the various elves do 3 points of damage on a hit (with a 5 in 6 chance of hitting!).

This makes a missile weapon a considerable threat in play, but remember that bows, and especially crossbows, take time to aim and reload, are hard to use in close quarters, and leave the wielder vulnerable to a charge or surprise attack.

The rough chances

Recently, the tinkerage has been working on a rules-lite system inspired by XD20 and Fighting Fantasy, and developing elements from And Play. The result has been a core concept (you could hardly call it even a mechanic) that could apply to any of these systems, or even to a rules ultra-light game like Sword and Backpack.

Now Sword and Backpack (S&B) is inspiring, but it's barely a system, more like the description of what would happen in play: you describe situations, propose actions, roll dice to decide. But the thought occurs that if you could table just the rough chances of success and failure, and use them consistently, you would have the basis of an RPG. Although most games use tables and extensive modifiers, what we are usually looking for are probabilities that 'feel right' and provide a satisfying balance of success and failure that's true to the circumstances.

So here's the rough chances table:

Chances	Roll	Consequences
Very Low	17+	Exceptional (Critical Hit)
Low	14+	Enhanced
Close	11+	Medium
High	7+	Light
Very High	4+	Slight
Exceptionally High	1+	Negligible (scratch)

Using the rough chances table:

• In free-form roleplaying, like And Play or S&B, you weight up the options, pick a chance, and there on the row is your roll for success (d20, of course). Add a few points to make things harder, or deduct a few to make things easier.
• In XD20, where the lower a STAT the better, the table tells you roughly what the chances are by looking at the Roll column. So if a character has a STAT of 8, chances are good. Want to make the chances better or worse? Select another row and estimate the STAT or modifier from there (so if your STAT 8 character fights a STAT 9 orc, it seems the chances are close; go for a roll of 11 or 12).
• And, if you roll for effect (higher being better) then use the Consequences column. You can even use this to judge damage.

You can also convert this table for different dice (such as 2d6 for Fighting Fantasy).

The new system, based on the rough chances table, is coming soon... -ish. Still tinkering with it.

FF redux - SKILL and WITS

Having one score (SKILL) in Fighting Fantasy for all tests can lead to pretty similar characters with similar abilities across the board, especially if you run your FF with a fixed SKILL, as I suggested in another post.

This is a simple variant for character creation that introduces a new ability, WITS, and a new test for WITS. With a balance of SKILL and WITS, it's possible to create more varied characters that emphasise different abilities, from battle to stealth and cunning.

New Abilities

SKILL: represents general fighting ability, strength and coordination. SKILL is used in fights, and in tests of SKILL which requires force or agility.

WITS: represents resourcefulness, cunning, nerve and dexterity. WITS are useful for tests of stealth, cunning and awareness, and tasks that requires a light touch, such as picking pockets or tampering with locks and traps.

STAMINA and LUCK are unchanged.

Initial SKILL and WITS

SKILL and WITS begin at 6. Then distribute a further three points between them.

GM's Notes

In Arihmere, adding WITS means characters can divide their efforts between combat and stealth. One can master one or the other, or find a near balance, but not both. An armoured knight might choose a SKILL of 9 and WITS of 6, showing contempt for 'dishonourable' tactics, whereas a lightly armed rogue (SKILL 7, WITS 8) may prefer subtlety and stealth in many a dark spot.

You may supplement battle with tricks and traps, but WITS should never be a substitute for clever play. That is, don't prompt a player to test WITS to find a hidden trap unless they are already directing their attentions in a particular direction by announcing a search.

Simple damage rolls for Fighting Fantasy

The fixed two points of damage for any normal hit against any character in any armour with any weapon in Fighting Fantasy is something of an over-simplification, and damage is usually the first feature of the combat rules to be house-ruled or adapted for advanced games.

But in the spirit of Fighting Fantasy, if you are going to roll another die for damage, why not make the rule as simple as possible?

Rolled Damage for Fighting Fantasy

When a hit is achieved, roll one die. This is the number of STAMINA points the wounded character will lose.

Weapons

Heavy weapons (two-handed swords, troll clubs) add 1 point to the total STAMINA loss.

Light weapons (goblin swords, short-staffs) deduct 1 point from the STAMINA loss.

Armour

Light armour deducts 1 points from the STAMINA loss.

Heavy armour (like plate or a full mail hauberk) deducts 2 points.

A shield deducts one more point from the STAMINA loss if the character carrying the shield makes a successful test for skill.

(The GM may apply the protective value of armour (1 or 2 points) as a penalty to any test for skill involving agility or speed.)

LUCK

A successful test for luck will cause a 1 point hit, if wounded, or a 6 point hit, if attacking. There is no penalty for failing the test for luck: a hit is bad enough.

Tinkering with SKILL (Fighting Fantasy)

In a previous post, I put up some house-rules for running the venerable Fighting Fantasy system in Arihmere. I suggested a fixed SKILL score of 9 for all basic characters, but although this is near the average for any character created with the original rules (6+1d6), a SKILL of 9 would mean that most Tests of SKILL would succeed (about 83%, or 5 in 6).

This means that characters will mostly succeed at standard (unmodified) tests and have rough combat parity with many powerful FF monsters. The GM, of course, is expected to devise modifiers for situations to make play more interesting and dramatic. Characters with a high SKILL also gain less from a rare +1 magic or enhanced weapon or tool.

But if you want to make Arihmere a more dangerous place, make the standard SKILL 8 for an adventurer, and 7 for an untrained traveller at the start of adventure.

An initial SKILL of 8 means that the character is equal to a strong monster like a troll, but not a deadly or rare creature. It also means that finding a +1 item is more meaningful, as is any gain in SKILL through experience or magic. Characters with lower initial SKILL must fight harder together, and use their wits and strategy (and LUCK) to overcome tough opponents.

Fighting Fantasy in Arihmere

For many gamers, the Fighting Fantasy series is the distillation of the role-playing experience: not just a first step into the hobby, but the first gaming experience, and the first set of playable rules. The fabled passages under Firetop Mountain remain the first dungeon, the first great adventure.

The rules for FF are elegant and concisely constructed around SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK – brief, memorable, and surprisingly flexible, but they work best for solo questing, where the single character must be as strong and capable as a party of adventurers. A few years after FF, I ran a few sessions of Fighting Fantasy: The Introductory Roleplaying Game, and they worked well for a single player but had evident weaknesses for playing with a larger group.

(I also collected the first Advanced Fighting Fantasy set, and though these rules are a fun introduction to fantasy adventure roleplaying and a useful resources, some of the flaws in the original system remained.)

Over the years, I've tinkered with the FF system and wondered if it would be possible to scale it up to a multiplayer experience without losing the fun and accessibility of the original system. Here are some ideas.

Fighting Fantasy House Rules from the Tinkerage

Characters

Skill: A character's Initial SKILL score is 9.

(Skill is so important in FF that a small difference in initial skill provides a huge advantage. A fixed Skill puts characters on an equal footing.)

Optionally, an advanced character with the ability to use magic has a SKILL of 7.

Stamina: A character's Initial STAMINA score is half of 12+2d6.

(Guarding lower Stamina means that characters should consider LUCK and Escape as options in combat more often.)

Luck: A character's Initial LUCK score is 6+1d6.

Using Skill

A test of SKILL (opening doors, detecting traps, overcoming obstacles or avoiding danger) requires a roll of less than or equal to current SKILL on two dice to succeed. The test may be subject to penalties or small bonuses depending on the situation.

In some cases, particularly in dodging sudden danger, LUCK may be used instead of SKILL.

Fighting

Use the FF combat procedures. Treat wounds from combat as scrapes, scratches, knocks, and bruises, until STAMINA drops below zero and the character is severely wounded. 

Encourage the use of LUCK to enhance or deflect harm, and the Escape rule to flee combat.

Heavy weapons: A weapon that does three points of damage has a -1 penalty to attack strength.

Armour: Tough armour (mail) will turn any normal damage to a 1 point hit on a die roll of 4+ and imposes a -1 penalty on all movement.

Heavy armour (plate) will turn any normal damage to a 1 point hit on a die roll of 3+ and stop all damage on 5+, and imposes a -2 penalty on all movement and perception.

The GM should also allow rest and provisions to restore STAMINA.