7.a Spot Rules

Acid

Exposure to acid or corrosive substances can be a hazard. 

  • Damage: 1 AV or 1d4 for weak acid, 1d6+1 for standard acid, and 1d10+1 for strong acid.
  • Armor protects against acid, but a direct hit from acid eats through 1 AV per round. 
  • Acid can be neutralized by a base (Knowledge Alchemy), magic, or dilution. Antacid negates any acid, but takes one standard action to apply.

 If a creature is fully submerged (like being thrown into a vat of acid), it suffers 10d6 damage per round.

Aim

Once per round, you may attempt to aim an attack that will hit a specific part of target. An aimed attack is Difficult by default. With a successful Heroic Action (Spot, Sense) you can aim, and your attack is at your standard skill rating.  

An aimed shot can do one of two things: It may negate 1/2 AV of worn armor*. Or it can target a specific part of the body. This can have many effects, and it is up to the player and SG to determine the effect.

*Some creatures have natural AV, so bypassing it would only happen if they have known weak spots. AV is rounded up.

Animal Companions

Animal companions are more than a pet, they are a bonded creature that understands their counterpart. They can share thoughts, vision, and more.

Talent Point LevelHPNatural AVAttack and Dodge SkillDamageSpecial
1-31/2 of Heroes HP050%1d4+dbLink, 1 Supernatural Ability, Skills
4-61/2+1 of Heroes HP055%1d6+dbShare Vision
7-101/2+3 of Heroes HP+160%2d4+dbShare Hearing
11-131/2+4 of Heroes HP+265%2d6+dbShare Mind
14+1/2+5 of Heroes HP+270%2d6+db+(1 per every 3 talents)

Link: There is a link between an animal companion and their partner. A hero can suggest an action to their animal companion as a free action, and there is a favorable understanding and bond between the two.

Supernatural Abiliies: An animal companion can have a supernatural ability. These are decided upon with the SG, but here are a few examples:

Enlarged: An animal companion can grow in size once per day. This is a growth of 8 SIZ points, allowing the creature all benefits to the larger size.

Keen Sense: The animal companion can pick one sense and it gains +10% to skills related to that sense.

Shrink: An animal companion can shrink in size once per day. This is a change of 5 SIZ points, allowing the creature all benefits to the smaller size.

Skills: Pick four non-combat skills that the animal would be competent with, and these skills are all 60%.

Share Vision: The hero can see through the eyes of their animal companion at will. There are no distance restrictions.

Share Hearing: The hero can hear through the ears of their animal companion at will. There are no distance restrictions.

Share Mind: The hero and companion share a strong mind link, and both gain a +10% to and skills used against mind influencing spells and effects as long as they are with 100’ of each other.

Armor Damage

Armor protects the user from damage, but as it protects, it becomes damaged. When a person wearing armor is hit with a special or critical attack, that armor loses 1 AV, whether it does damage to the wearer or not. When the AV reaches 0, the armor is essentially just a burden.

Armor can be repaired with a repair roll, as long as the crafter has a means to repair it (kit or crafting room). A single kit can repair 1 AV worth of damage, and the repair takes 10 minutes and a successful Repair skill check. Armor can be repaired back to its full AV value, but not above. Special materials must be repaired with a kit made for that special material. 

Shields do not take damage in this way, but helmets do. Shields only take damage as listed for Special damage or during Parry attempts. This only applies to armor worn on the body, not natural armor like tough skin or scales. Some spells that replicate armor may also take damage, as noted in the spell descriptions.

Armor can be damaged, but only by Critical Hits or special attacks like acid or fire. A critical hit does normal damage to the target but also does 1 damage to the armor. When armor reaches 0 AV, it no longer gives any protection, but still weights and encumbers the same as when it was functional.

Acid, fire, or other corrosive or highly caustic attacks can damage or even destroy armor. It is possible also that a piece of armor can be destroyed by critical hits or even fumbles, though this is at the gamemaster’s discretion. If armor is damaged or loses pieces, reduce its armor value by 1/2, rounding down.

For example, armor worth 5 points of protection is downgraded to only having 2 points of armor value. If random armor value is used, armor worth 1D8+1 may be reduced to 1D4 protection, which is 1/2 of 1D8, with the +1 rounded down.

Repairing armor costs half-again the armor’s normal cost. This may be adjusted based on circumstances, such as your character’s relationship with the craftsman, the availability of materials needed for repairs, and the nature of the damage.

Armor, Equipping

Medium armors take 1 round to equip, and heavy armors take 2 rounds.

Battlefield Spaces and Squares

Sagaborn d100 assumes the use of 5’ spaces or squares to measure tactical battles. If you are using theater of the mind, you can describe battles as three sections: close, near, or far.

Broken Weapons

Equipment is often damaged or broken during combat. A weapon or shield breaks if it is used to parry an attack that reduces the weapon’s hit points to 0, or through other means. A broken weapon does half its normal rolled damage (round up). Any attacks or parries with the weapon are Difficult, though the skill may be unmodified if it resembles a similar weapon with which your character is familiar.

For example, a broadsword with a blade broken in half is still useable as a shortsword. However, half of a longbow is unusable except as a light club.

Cover

If a target is partially covered by a wall, doorway, window ledge, fencepost, etc., any attacks on that target are Difficult. If the attack roll is over the adjusted amount to hit (but less than the normal skill rating), the attack has hit the obstacle or cover rather than the target of the attack.

For example, your character shoots at a foe half concealed behind a wall. Their normal skill rating is 72%, reduced by half to 36% because the task is Difficult. The attack strikes the target if the outcome of the roll is 36 or under. If roll falls between 37 and 72, the attack strikes the covering wall.

If appropriate, damage should be rolled to see if it bypasses the cover and goes through to the intended target of the attack (see Damage to Inanimate Objects). Roll damage only when it makes sense, such as when the attack’s normal range of damage is higher than the obstacle’s armor value and/or hit points.

If hit locations are used, you should announce what portions of your character’s body are behind cover before the gamemaster rolls for an attack, with the gamemaster deciding how much cover the obstacle allows. The attack is rolled normally, with no skill adjustments, but any protected hit locations strike the cover instead. As above, the damage rolled may pass through the covering object or structure and strike the intended target, if appropriate.

Darkness

If your character is fighting in darkness, whether semi-darkness or pitch black, see Situational Modifiers for modifiers. To detect an opponent in complete darkness, you must make successful Difficult Sense or Listen roll. If successful, reduce the darkness modifier by half.

Your character can offset the penalties of darkness by wielding a light source in one hand (see Light Sources). Powers such as Keen Sense, Aura Detection, or Super Sense may offset any darkness-related penalties.

Dark Vision

No characters can see in truly pitch black environments, but some can see when there is even the faintest light source. Those with Dark Vision can see as they normally with even the slightest of light sources. This Dark Vision is limited to the light source, though, but allows them to see 3x as far as the standard light.

Example:

If a torch gives 30’ of light, a dworv with Dark Vision can see 90’.

Disease and Illness

When exposed to a disease, a character must roll a CON save. This save can be easy, average, difficult, or very difficult, but should probably not be impossible unless it is a magical-oriented disease. If it is a success, they avoid the disease. If they fail, the disease incubates, and its effects appear after the incubation period. After the disease manifests, the character may attempt one CON save per day to cure the disease. Some diseases need more than one save to start recovery. Most mild to moderate illnesses will run their course in a certain amount of time. More severe diseases may only be cured with saves.

Another character may help a sick character by using Medicine or First Aid. Using those successfully makes the save for the disease one step easier (Average becomes Easy, Hard becomes Average).

Illness Severity Chart

SeverityCON SaveEffects# Saves to Cure
MildEasy-1 Characteristic, skills become difficult1
ModerateAverage-2 Characteristic, skills become difficult2
AcuteHard-3 Characteristic, skills become difficult2
SevereVery Hard-4+ Characteristic, skills become very difficult3+

Common Diseases

Disease NameCON SaveOnsetDurationSeverityEffectCure
Common ColdEasy1 day1d6+2 daysMild-1 CON loss; all skills difficult1 save
FluAverage1 day1d6+2Moderate-2 CON loss; all skills difficult2 saves
Ghast FeverHard1 day2 weeksAcute-3 CON loss, all skills difficult2 saves
Mummy RotVery Hard1 day∞Severe-2 CON per week, -2 SOC at onset, skills and saves become difficult5 saves

The following are generic disease types, each tied to a single characteristic. You can build your own diseases and illnesses from the severity chart and these symtpoms. All characteristic loss affects associated attributes (hit points, skill category modifiers, etc.). Reaching 0 in a characteristic usually means death or permanent debilitation (see Characteristics).

  • Atrophy: This affects the muscular system, causing a loss of STR.
  • Chills: Chills and fever, ruining health and lowering CON.
  • Delirium: A feverish state marked by muddled thought and clouded cognition, affecting INT.
  • Malaise: Either a supernatural or psychic disease, attacking the POW on the spirit plane, or a simple ennui, causing a lack of will and energy.
  • Shakes: A nerve ailment, causing tremors and unsteadiness, affecting DEX.
  • Pox: Any disease affecting SOC, usually by deteriorating skin condition, or other visible symptoms. It could also represent general illness, causing regular coughing and/or a sickly appearance.

Elemental Damage

In almost all cases, elemental damage from the environment, alchemical items, or spells, bypasses Armor Value.

Fall Damage

A character takes their Damage Modifier in damage for every 10’ they fall, with a minimum of 1 damage per 10’.

Fatigue

If a character is fatigued, either by lack of rest, armor, overuse, or due to spellcraft, they suffer 1 bane (1d6) added to all skill or characteristic rolls per level of fatigue. This is negated when they are no longer fatigued. Eight hours of rest will remove one fatigue level.

Fire

A character or flammable object on fire takes 1d6 damage per round until it is put out. Armor Value does not negate fire damage.

Light Sources

Candles, torches, lanterns, flashlights, and other equipment provide portable sources of light, and give enough light by which to read and to use Search or Spot skills. Torches and lanterns provide visibility (and are visible) from 100 meters away in darkness. At 100 meters, your character must succeed with a Spot roll to see a candle or equivalent light source. Other light sources can range from much higher than these extremes, or fall somewhere between (see Darkness).

A candle flickers, is easy to drop, and is easy to blow out, less so if in a lantern. A long wax candle burns for approximately six hours; a short, pouch-sized candle burns for two hours. A torch gives a large, bright flame, and is difficult to blow out. A torch burns for approximately one hour. Oil lamps or lanterns usually contain enough light for several hours. If dropped, any flaming light source keeps burning with a successful Luck roll and might present a danger in combat (see Fire and Heat). If a light source must be used with care (an oil lamp, etc.), applicable skills are Difficult.

Passions

A passion is a guiding belief in a hero’s life. Passions are intense and define how a hero may act in a situation. These are distinct emotional connections to various entities, groups, places, or even oneself. Love, Hate, Fear, Devotion, and Loyalty are often placed in terrible conflict with one another, as well as challenging personal codes of honor. You start with one Passion. You may gain more Passions through your adventures or by discussing it with your SG.

Following a passion may allow the character to become inspired, while going against a passion may cause despair.

Basic Passions

The most common passions are described here, though this list is not exhaustive. Like a skill specialty, a parenthesis after a passion indicates that a suitable focus must be chosen.

Devotion (deity)

Devotion to a god or divine force represents a personal devotion of one’s life to a deity or some divine force or entity. This indicates a sincere emotional dedication and strong faith. When used for inspiration, that faith manifests within the character, imbuing them with some small measure of courage.

Fear (type or individual)

Fear is perhaps one of the strongest passions, driving all manner of behavior, for better or worse. Fear can cause an individual to flee from the subject or act irrationally to escape its presence, or it can even cause an adverse reaction.

Common Fears can be focused on a particular group or an individual, such as a former enemy or treacherous relative. Fear cannot be defined towards general concepts or forces, such as ‘old age’ or ‘earthquakes’, and is generally not useful when the subject is something any reasonable being would fear, like death.

To inspire the character, the subject of the Fear must either be present, or their presence imminent. One cannot be motivated by Fear when the subject is hundreds of kilometers away and shows no sign of arrival. The threat of confronting the subject must be real and immediate.

The resulting behavior from being inspired by Fear can be to aid some form of avoidance, flight, or defense from the subject, or even to spur violent opposition when cornered. At times, though, the gamemaster may ask the player to roll for their Fear passion if the character is embarking on a course of action that would put them into contact with the source of fear.

Hate (group or individual)

Hatred unfortunately motivates many people, whether through racism, bigotry, or based on a particular hatred for a past wrong, real or imagined.

When used for inspiration, Hatred can only be used against a specific subject or type of subjects and does not apply to those allied with the subject of the hatred. Hates can also be aimed at specific people, usually for specific personal reasons.

Honor

Honor is a martial virtue, a personal code of dignity, integrity, and pride. Personal honor is not a slippery issue, subject to interpretation. The difference between honorable action and dishonorable action is clear to everyone, no matter how they behave. 

Examples of general dishonorable deeds:

Attacking an unarmed foePlundering a holy place of your religion
CowardiceTreason against your allies
Desertion from battleBreaking an oath
Refusing to offer mercy when it is deservedKilling family members
Attacking or stealing from the weakKilling someone weaker than oneself

Performing these deeds diminishes honor.

Love (group or individual)

Love is an emotional bond or attraction felt by one individual for another individual or group. A character may have many loves.

  • Love (family) is a natural emotion common to humankind in any age or culture. One’s close family is often the first and most important community one belongs to. Family members are expected to support, protect, and avenge each other.
  • Love (individual) indicates a deep feeling and attraction for another person. It usually implies physical and carnal commitment, although it may also include unrequited love.

Loyalty (group or place)

Loyalty is the cornerstone of all of society beyond the family. It is the social bond which members of a community feel for each other. With it, one can call upon that community for support.

A character with conflicting loyalties may use their respective Loyalty ratings to determine an appropriate course of action. The player can choose based on the higher Loyalty rating or test them as an opposed roll. Thus, a player can use an opposed roll to determine if their character will obey their hometown loyalty or to an individual if those loyalties are in conflict.

  • Loyalty (community) is the measure of the bond a character has with their culture. It typically includes an obligation to avenge slights or injuries against that community or its members. Loyalty (community) is used to gain the support of the community in question.
  • Loyalty (location) is the measure of one’s willingness to live, fight, and die for a location they feel immense attachment to. This can be a hometown, a city, or even a country.
  • Loyalty (individual) is the measure of a character’s bond to a specific individual, such as a ruler, boss, or another patron. A warrior owes personal loyalty to their leader; in return, the leader rewards their followers with compensation, support, or other privileges. Loyalty (individual) is also used to gain the personal support of that individual.

Other passions may exist, such as Distrust (individual or group), Respect (individual or group), or Greed, which works like Honor and can spur avaricious behavior. You can work with your players to devise other passions, as desired, but if personality traits are being used, be careful not to overlap too much with those.

Using Passions

Passions define a character’s life intentions and serve to inspire them. There are a couple of ways to incorporate passions into gameplay.

When a hero does something that supports their passion, they become inspired and gain a Boon to a skill roll relating to it. When they do something that is against their beliefs, they may despair and suffer a Bane to a skill roll relating to that. If a player makes a hard choice that supports their hero’s passion but may not be the optimal gaming choice, they should be rewarded with a Saga Point.

Poisons

All poisons have a potency value (POT) matched against the CON of a poisoned character. If the poison overcomes the CON, then the creature is poisoned. Most poisons do damage (which is POT – Targets CON), but some have other effects. If the poison does not overcome the character’s CON, it has a lessened effect—usually only doing half the poison’s POT in damage (round up). See Chapter 05: Equipment for sample poisons.

Poison damage can be damage to hit points or to a characteristic, or it can have an effect such as unconsciousness. Poison damage does not usually occur on the same combat round in which the character is poisoned. The delay before poison damage takes effect depends upon the poison. Unless otherwise specified by the StoryGuide, the delay is one combat round for fast-acting poisons, or three full turns for slower poisons. Your SG may wish to devise more complex rules involving poison administered to specific locations or onset times for a more granular approach. Successful Stamina checks can sometimes negate a poison. 

Average POT by Poison Strength

Poison TypeApprox. POT
Weak natural poison (e.g., mild plant toxin)POT 5–10
Moderate poison (e.g., venom from snake, spider)POT 10–15
Strong poison (e.g., synthetic toxin, scorpion venom)POT 16–20+
Deadly or magical poisonPOT 25–30+

Poison Characteristics

Type
The poison’s method of delivery (contact, ingested, inhaled, or via an injury). See below for more information.

Potency (POT)

This is how potent the poison is. For a character to resist the poison, you compare the poison’s POT to the affected creature’s CON.

Onset

How quickly the poison works.

Effect
The effect a creature suffers from the poison. Characteristic damage is temporary unless marked with an asterisk (*), in which case the loss is a permanent drain. If a character is reduced to below 1 CON, they die (see Chapter 8: Combat for more on Dying).

Cure

What it takes to recover from being poisoned, often a Stamina Save. This does not negate the original damage caused by the poison, but it does mitigate the secondary effect. A character can try another save each time the secondary effect takes place (some poisons’ secondary effect happens multiple times). Poisons that reduce a Characteristic or damage a Stat like HP are regained after a successful save, but that save can only be attempted once per day.

Examples: Giant centipede venom causes a character to become dazed. This effects them each round, so they get a save each round until it is cured.

Grelm saliva does POT damage and – 10 Max HP. If the affected character misses their first save, they suffer -10 max HP. They may attempt each morning after to make the save and gain back the lost HP.

Price
The cost of one dose of the poison. It is not possible to use or apply poison in any quantity smaller than one dose.

Poison Immunities
Creatures with natural poison attacks are immune to their own poison. Nonliving creatures (constructs and undead) and creatures without metabolisms (such as elementals) are always immune to poison. Oozes, plants, and certain kinds of outsiders are also immune to poison, although conceivably special poisons could be concocted specifically to harm them.

Poison Delivery Types

Contact
Simply touching this poison causes a creature to become poisoned. It can be applied to weapons or delivered via a touch attack. It still affects targets even if their damage reduction negates the attack. It can also be used on objects (like chests) as part of a trap.

Ingested
Ingested poisons are typically slipped into food or drink, often for assassination. They’re best used outside of combat or on unconscious targets.

Inhaled
Carried in fragile containers (like vials or eggshells), these poisons are thrown. On impact, they release poison in a 5-foot cube. All within are affected. Holding your breath doesn’t help—these poisons affect mucous membranes and tear ducts.

Injury
This poison requires delivery through a wound. If no damage is dealt (due to AV), the poison has no effect. Often used in damaging traps (e.g., blades, needles).

Poison Antidotes

Almost all poisons have antidotes. All antidotes have a POT rating, just like poisons. If your character takes a poison’s antidote no more than six full turns before being poisoned, the antidote’s POT is subtracted from the poison’s POT before damage is figured. An antidote for one type of poison may give a lessened benefit even when used with a different poison type, at the gamemaster’s discretion.

Renown

Renown is a measure of a character’s reputation in the world. Great acts or deeds add to a character’s Renown, becoming part of the character’s Saga. Depending on the deed, the renown gained could be viewed as fame or infamy, and the exact repercussions or bonuses may depend on those the hero is interacting with. Regardless of type, characters with high renown are respected by those they encounter. They may be able to command higher prices for their services or be granted special privileges. In addition, certain skill checks may be more successful than those of lesser-known characters.

RenownStanding within the World
1People you have met remember you. 
2-3In your social circles, people discuss your deeds. 
4-5Locals have heard stories about you.
6-7People familiar with you tell stories about you.
8-9Your stories have started to filter throughout the lands surrounding your adventures.
10-11Bard and minstrels carry news of you throughout the lands.
11-12Songs are written about you.
13-15You carry sway over the masses.
16-19Kings and Queens fear your power.
20+You are legend.

Using Renown

When dealing with non-player characters, a character may use their Renown to add to Persuasion skills. You may add 1/2 your Renown (rounded up) to any Persuasion skill check. The SG will decide if the Renown gives a bonus or a negative to the roll based on what the character’s past deeds were. 

Example

Deed

Pherilyn fought the Tinyfoot goblins, evicting them from their cavernous lair. +1 Renown

Renown as Fame

When shopping in the nearby town, his deeds have made the roads safer, so he uses his Renown as a bonus in Persuasion checks and may even receive a discount on goods.

Renown as Infamy

Years later, Pherilyn encounters the goblins again, and their chief Ma One-Toe remembers Pherilyn. His Renown would count as a disadvantage with any interactions with the goblin tribe.

Recognizing Renown

To find out if the character’s renown proceeds them, roll 2d10. If the result is their Renown or lower, they and their deeds are known to those who made the check.

The character may wish to hide their identity or deeds. Or they may try to exaggerate tales about themselves to seem more important. How Renown is used can vary widely, but it should come down to a decision between the player and the SG, and should make the game more fun for the players.

Repairing Items

Items can be repaired with the Repair skill or with the appropriate Craft skill.