Equipment

## Optional: Encumbrance

For coins, 50 coins equals 5 points of encumbrance.

Characters can manage a certain amount of encumbrance based on their Strength Characteristic before feeling its effects. A character can carry a number of encumbrance points equal to their Strength Characteristic x 10. Thus, a character with Strength 45%, could manage 450 points of encumbrance before slowing down. For every 50 points by which they exceed their encumbrance, they take a –1 penalty to their Movement Characteristic.

Dwarfs can handle larger loads than other characters, using their Strength Characteristic x 20 instead. Dray animals, such as horses, can handle larger loads and may handle encumbrance values equal to their Strength Characteristic x 30.

A character or creature’s encumbrance value equals the sum of character or creature’s Strength and Toughness Characteristics multiplied by 10.

## Coinage

exchange rates

The rate of exchange is as follows.

1 gold crown (gc) = 20 silver shillings (s) = 240 brass pennies (p)

1 silver shilling = 12 brass pennies

## Availability

Characters searching for a particular item or service must make a successful Gossip Test modified by the availability of the item (Table 5–2: Consequences of Availability provides a baseline modifier for Gossip Tests to find an item in a community of 1,000 people or less). For communities larger than 1,000 people, reduce the difficulty for finding an object by one step for communities of 10,000 or less, or two steps for communities of 10,000 or more. If the community has 100 people or less, increase the difficulty by one step. Table 5–3: Availability by Population shows how the difficulty changes based on population size.

## Craftsmanship

Normally, craftsmanship has no affect on game play for regular goods and services. A poorly crafted tallow candle may refuse to stay lit, or sputter, or give off a foul odour, while the best-crafted wax candle may burn brightly, resist gusts of wind, and so on. In the case of weaponry and armour, there are effects on the item’s performance or encumbrance, but in cases of general goods and services, differences of quality are merely descriptive. The GM may reduce the difficulty of certain tests, but it is entirely at her discretion.

### Weapon Craftsmanship

All weapons presented in the chapter are of common craftsmanship. For weapons of better or worse construction, use the following modifiers, unless otherwise mentioned in the weapon’s description.

**Best:** This weapon is one of the best of its kind. When wielding such a weapon in combat, you gain a +5% bonus to your Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill (as appropriate). In addition, it is less cumbersome than a standard weapon, reducing the overall encumbrance of the weapon by 10% (to a minimum of 1). Ammunition of the best craftsmanship does not give you a bonus to BS, but its encumbrance is reduced. Weapons of the best craftsmanship are often beautiful, with gemstones set into the pommel, or extra detail in the workmanship. Some weapons of this level of craftsmanship may be plain, but exquisite in its performance.

**Good:** This weapon is of high quality, with good balance and reliability. It is less cumbersome than a standard weapon, reducing the overall encumbrance of the weapon by 10% (to a minimum of 1). Ammunition of good craftsmanship confers no benefits.

**Poor:** Weaponry of poor craftsmanship is shoddy and unreliable. When wielding such a weapon in combat, you take a –5% penalty to your Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill (as appropriate). Poor quality ammunition applies this penalty to the weapon with which it is used. If a poor missile weapon is used with poor ammunition, the wielder takes a –10% penalty to their Weapon Skill.

### Armour Craftsmanship

All armours presented in the chapter are of common craftsmanship. For armour of better or worse construction, use the following modifiers, unless otherwise mentioned in the weapon’s description.

**Best:** A master armourer constructed this armour. It is tailored to the individual so it fits properly. When wearing such armour, you halve the encumbrance value.

**Good:** This is exceptional armour. Though not the best, it was constructed with care and skill. Reduce the encumbrance of this armour by –10%.

**Poor:** Poor armour rarely performs well, with pieces falling off on the battlefield, straps breaking, or is otherwise worn out. Given its sorry state, and the extra effort a character must give to maintain it, this armour adds +50% to the armour’s encumbrance.

 Good
 Common
 Poor

## Weapons

### Ammunition

\*Requires two hands to wield, so this weapon cannot be used in conjunction with a shield or buckler

†Range is expressed in yards; if you are using squares, simply halve to find the range.

Special: See weapon description (link from weapon) name for additional special rules.

* **Arrows** (for bows) and **bolts** (for crossbows) come in bundles of five. At the end of an encounter, you can retrieve fired ammunition, but each has a 50% chance of being ruined or lost. For the desperate, arrows and bolts can serve as melee weapons (treat them as improvised weapons, see page 109), but they have a 50% chance of breakage with each successful attack.
* **Firearm shot** is available in small oiled cloth pouches of 10 shots each. Used as ammunition for any Engineer and Gunpowder weapons, they are more common than the weapons for which they are designed. Best Craftsmanship firearm balls are made of steel, while lower quality shot might be lead, ceramic, or even clay. Unlike other forms of ammunition, once the firearm ball is shot from a firearm, it is not reusable.
* **Gunpowder**, required to fire pistols and other firearms, is sold in small kegs or in horns, stopped with wax to prevent moisture from ruining the powder. There are no craftsmanship differences in gunpowder, though if exposed to water, the gunpowder is ruined. Each dose of gunpowder is good for one shot.

## Armor

### The Effects of Armour

The protection of armour does come with a price. Good armour is heavy and can reduce the speed and dexterity of the wearer. The effects of armour, which are cumulative, are as follows:

* If you are wearing light armour (Basic) or only leather armour (Advanced), you suffer no penalties.
* If you are wearing medium armour (Basic) or any type of mail (Advanced), you suffer a –10% penalty to your Agility Characteristic. This penalty does not apply if the only mail you are wearing is a coif.
* If you are wearing heavy armour (Basic) or any type of plate (Advanced), you suffer –1 penalty to your Movement Characteristic. If you are using Encumbrance, you can ignore this penalty, as the Encumbrance system already accounts for this.

## Food & Drink

### Starvation

A destitute character may go up to three days without food before being required to make a Routine (+10%) Toughness Test. On a successful test, you tighten your belt and may go on another day. If you fail the Toughness Test, you take 1 Wound. Each day after the third the difficulty of the test increases by one, from Routine to Average, from Average to Challenging, and so on, to a maximum of Very Hard. After the seventh day, you automatically take 1 Wound each day until you starve to death, or eat. Each failed test deals 1 Wound. Wounds incurred from starvation cannot be restored until you actually eat. Water deprivation has the same effects, except you start making Toughness Tests on the second day onward, and on the sixth day, and each day thereafter, you automatically take 1 Wound until you die. You need at minimum a quarter-gallon of water each day.

### The Effects of Alcohol

Whenever you start drinking undiluted alcohol, you run the risk of becoming drunk. If you limit yourself to a number of alcoholic beverages equal to your Toughness Bonus, you remain relatively sober. For each additional drink quaffed, however, you must make a Consume Alcohol Test. Difficulty depends on the drink (see table below).

On a successful test, the alcohol does not have any effect. On a failed test however, you start down the path to drunkenness. Each failed Consume Alcohol Test increases the difficulty of WS, BS, Ag, and Int

Tests, and the difficulty of further Consume Alcohol Tests, worsening the difficulty by each failed test (such that Ale, which starts at Routine, becomes Average, then Challenging, Hard, and finally Very Hard). The listed difficulty is in addition to the normal difficulty of a test; for a drunk, some things are nearly impossible.

Consume Alcohol Test
 Beer
 Wine
 Spirits

Failed Tests
 2
 3
 4 or more

Stinking Drunk

If you fail four or more Toughness Tests, you’re stinking drunk. Being stinking drunk, you must spend a half action each round to keep your bearings. If you opt not to take this half action, roll 1d100 on the following table.

The effects of alcohol fade after a number of hours equal to 1d10–your Toughness Bonus (minimum of 1 hour). If you’re stinking drunk, the effects end after 1d10 (minimum of 4) hours.

 31-40
 41-50
 51-60
 61-70
 71-00

## General Equipment

### Illumination

Lighting can make the difference in nasty fights. Each light source illuminates an area with bright light allowing Normal Vision in a radius measured in yards, followed parenthetically by the distance in squares for those using tactical maps. This illumination is shadowy, but bright enough to see clearly. Beyond this radius, the light source sheds some light, but not enough for details beyond large objects, barriers, walls, and structures. The Maximum Vision column reflects the greatest distance a character can see using this light source. Beyond the normal radius of bright light, a character can only see structures and other large objects. Spotting distance refers how far away a light source can be seen in the dark. Duration indicates how long a light source burns before sputtering out.

## Vehicles

### Boats and Ships

Nearly all boats are manufactured from heavy planking, with lighter wood and canvas for decking and shelter. The most common riverboat measures about twelve yards long and is broad in the beam. A single rigged sail to catch the wind propels the vessel, though many rely on horses to tow them over long distances. A river boat takes 1d10+10 days to construct, while a river barge, a river boat of twice the cost and size, takes, on average, six months. River boats require a crew of at least six men, but can accommodate up to ten. In addition to the crew, most river boats can carry up to 30 more people, with horses counting as three people each. A river barge can haul 45,000 units of encumbrance. Ocean ships can be as small a river boat or far larger. The price listed on Table 5–13: Vehicles is for a galleon which can haul about 130,000 units of encumbrance, with a crew of 30 men, and capable of accommodating 60 passengers.

An oarsman propels a row boat. Significantly smaller, a row boat serves to shuttle travellers across rivers. Included in this category are small flat boats and skiffs. A row boat can carry a maximum of 6 people, including the rower. A row boat can haul encumbrance equal to one person for every person less than six on the boat.

#### Boat & Ship Statistics

 Row Boat
 Ship

Should a boat be attacked by missile fire or magic, use the following chart to determine the location of any hit on a boat or ship:

#### Boat & Ship Hit Locations

 4-5
 6-7
 8-10

### Carts, Coaches, and Wagons

These devices all use the same rules. In general, all are constructed from a sturdy wooden frame with panelling of a lighter wood or sometime canvas. Average construction time is three months. Four horses pull a coach, two pull a wagon, and one pulls a cart. In the case of a coach, a guard and driver man it. Coaches can comfortably carry six passengers with room for two more on the roof. At most, a coach can carry 12 passengers. Carts can accommodate one driver and two passengers, and a wagon can carry six passengers in addition to the driver.

Assuming a normal complement of passengers, there is room for each passenger to carry a chest or something of a similar size, strapped tothe roof. These vehicles have the following characteristics:

#### Carts, Coach, and Wagon Statistics

 Coach
 Wagon

For the purpose of missile fire and magic, horses and carriages count as a single target. To determine the location of any hits on coaches, roll 1d10 and consult the following table.

#### Carts, Coach, and Wagon Hit Locations

 3-7
 8
 9-10

Exposed crew or passengers consist of those individuals on top of the coach, those hanging out the sides, or leaning through a window.

If the leading horse is killed, the coach immediately comes to a halt, turning over unless the driver makes a successful Drive Test. In the event of a crash, all the occupants take 1d10 Wounds, modified by Toughness Bonus only. Characters outside of the carriage are thrown a couple of yards clear but take no damage.

If a horse of the second pair is killed, the vehicle drops to half speed until the animal carcass is cut free. If both horses of the second pair are killed, the results are the same as if one of the lead horses were killed.

A wheel can take 8 Wounds before collapsing. This damage does not count against the vehicle on the whole. However, once a wheel is lost, the vehicle comes to a halt just as if one of the lead horses had been killed.

## Travel Services

When a hero needs to get somewhere fast, and lacks the resources to buy his own horse, there are many services available in most towns and cities. Cost is listed as two values. The number preceding the slash is the minimum cost for a short trip and the number following the slash is per 10 miles—used for longer trips. Characters can sometimes hitch a ride on a wagon at no cost by making a successful Gossip Test, modified according to the driver’s disposition.

## Lodgining

 Inn Common Room per night
 Private Room
 Stabling per horse per night

## Skilled Services

This category includes work performed by all manner of professions, from common labourers to hired muscle. Table 5–17: Services has two categories. One is for common services, used for everyday people when a character needs a porter, a guide, or a doctor. The other group consists of skilled services, for times when a character need someone with experience. These NPCs are always fully generated using Chapters 2 and 3, and many accompany the heroes on their adventures.

* **Artisan**: An artisan includes smiths, apothecaries, and any other profession who manufactures equipment.
* **Entertainer**: Entertainers can include dancers, clowns, mummers, singers, or comedians.
* **Labourer**: This is the wage for peasants, when a character needs a little muscle to carry bags, clear a cave-in, and so on.
* **Physician**: Hiring a physician is special. They are extremely expensive, and nearly always out of the price range for commoners. A single visit has the same result as a successful Heal Test, restoring 1d10 Wounds to a lightly injured character, or 1 wound to a heavily injured character. You can only benefit from a visit to the physician once a day.
* **Servant**: These individuals are barmaids, footmen, or other individuals of some other unskilled non-labour profession.
* **Skilled Servants**: Skilled servants, also called henchmen, serve to provide a skill a character lacks or to add a little extra muscle on an adventure. Skilled hirelings have completed one or more careers, and are both harder to find and more expensive. If an NPC accompanies a character on an adventure, he may be eligible for a share of the spoils.

\*A Skilled Servant receives a share of the spoils if he participates in an adventure.

## Special Equipment

### Draughts

Draughts are liquid concoctions that can produce a variety of effects. They do not require magic to manufacture, instead using a mixture of herbal and chemical components. You must have Trade Tools (Apothecary), spend 1d10 hours per draught, and succeed at a Trade (Apothecary) Test with difficulty as listed in parentheses.

 Greta’s Boon
 Healing Draught

### Poisons

Poisons are assassins’ tools, the weapon of choice for nobility, and a dangerous enemy for any combatant to face. Poisons come from many natural sources, including plants like the black lotus, or extracted from a creature such as a giant scorpion or spider. Most poisons kill, but a few can provide some benefits, augmenting a character’s skills in combat in exchange for a terrible addiction. To prepare or apply a poison, you must succeed a Prepare Poison Test applying the listed difficulty. On a failed Test, the poison is ruined. On a Test result of 95% or higher, the user accidentally poisons himself. These are but a sample of poisons available in the Old World.