10. StoryGuide’s Codex

Running the Story

Many great books, podcasts, and videos are already out there helping you become a great Gamemaster (GM), so this section will focus on helping you create, run, and enjoy SagaBorn and Dark Return games. In SagaBorn, we call the GM the StoryGuide (SG). The following are suggestions and optional rules, but they can be used to set the foundational guidelines for your games. 

The Story Guide Motto for SagaBorn:

The StoryGuide (SG) is a fan of the player. The StoryGuide should make rulings in favor of the players during ties, rules interpretations, and cinematic flair. 

Running in the World of the Dark Return

Atheles has long suffered under the shadow of many catastrophes, and its cultures and people reflect that. They have long been afraid of what might come in the next cycle or what lurks out in the dark, empty woods between settlements. You should convey this to your players as they begin their adventure. Those who brave the wilds have just as often disappeared and then returned. 

In addition, the past 30 years have seen the Dark Return of magic and monsters. Seven hundred years ago, the Disappearance occurred, leaving Atheles barren of arcane and mystical forces, artifacts, and creatures. Species bound with magic just vanished. Slowly, they have begun to creep back into the world, returning from the misty limbo between the worlds, throwing Atheles into chaos and turmoil. The actions of the player-heroes, the SagaBorn, will define and characterize this world and its stories. 

Adventure Hooks

The world of Uteria is fraught with crises and conflicts, any of which is a dire threat to the peoples of the lands.

Invasion From the Navirim

Eldritch horrors and bloodthirsty demons find their way into the world from the Navirim. Stopping their invasion might be a fool’s errand, but you are among the few who stand against the onslaught nonetheless.

The Return of Magic

The return of magic has brought peril and uncertainty to some and power to others. Will a hero who employs magic be hunted by the powerful or pious for their arcane usage? Will the local people suffer under the new yoke of an all-powerful sorcerer-queen/king? 

The Uthgard Empire

A rising new star in the north, a new King has begun amassing power for the old Kingdom of Uthgard. His armies defeated the invading giants from the tundra, and he has now turned his attention to the lands in the South that once swore fealty to his throne.

Rebellion in Kowal

The city of Kowal has recently sworn allegiance to the Uthgard Kingdom. A catastrophe ended the old power structures, but a new one, emboldened by the Ministry of the Arts and the Uthgard Royal Army, has brought an iron fist down on the city. The Duke enjoys the wealth of the metalwork factories relighting their fires. Still, whispers of rebellion skitter along the avenues and alleys of the grey city.

Demons From the Never

As magic has returned, so have the fae and elves. But that is not all: demons and other Navirites have made their way from beyond the veil and invaded Atheles. The dark places of the world now have new inhabitants.

Storms and Disaster

The Dark Return has brought massive storms to the continent. Acid rain that burns the skin or storms whose green lighting turns vast swaths of land to waste pummels the land relentlessly. The ecological fallout from these storms is enormous, and scholars have no idea how to combat them.

Encounters

Encounters are a tricky thing to design in any game. Roleplaying games are great for players, as there are so many options and so many paths for design and gameplay. When designing an encounter, it is hard to make general rules since there are so many variables in each play group. But we can try.

Social Encounters

There are a myriad of social encounters that heroes can be involved in, and the D100 system makes it pretty easy to navigate. When the player wants their character to do something, decide if it will be easy, average, or hard and adjust their skill challenge to match.

Combat Encounters

Combat is where we can get into sticky issues with encounters. A social encounter is not often life or death for a character.

Combat Rule One – Take it easy. SagaBorn D100 is meant to be fun for the players and the person running the game. It is not as overwhelming as some other big games with monsters having 30 abilities and spells. You can even ask yourself, does this creature need a specific stat block? 

Here are quotes from the Basic Roleplaying (the core system SagaBorn D100 comes from):

“As a gamemaster, the first question to ask yourself is whether you actually need a stat block at all. Do you, as gamemaster, foresee any circumstances where this particular NPC or creature will be pitted against the player characters in a way that escalates beyond a single ability, whether it be a characteristic or skill?”

“Combat or physical challenges are where things get trickier, but I always advise erring on the side of doing as little work as possible when it comes to stat blocks. In the spirit of complete transparency, as a gamemaster I rarely use anything other than the generic writeup of an NPC where combat is concerned, making minor changes on the fly as required (weapons, armor, magic), and happily use an absolute basic system for statting out combat-ready NPCs in a hurry.

Here’s the secret formula:

Mediocre NPCs (noncombatants, etc.) have 8 in all characteristics, 8 hit points, no armor, and are at a 25% chance to do anything. They do 1D4 damage.

Average NPCs have 10 in all characteristics, 10 hit points, 2 points of armor, and have a 50% chance of doing anything. They do 1D6+1 damage.

Competent NPCs have 12 in all characteristics, 12 hit points, 4 points of armor, and have a 60% chance of doing anything.

Excellent NPCs have 15 in all characteristics, 15 hit points, 6 points of armor, and have a 75% chance of doing anything.

This way, I can spend my creative time customizing only one really good NPC who needs a wide range of skills and abilities, vs. devoting a lot of time to NPCs who might never enter combat, or who might be taken out in a single blow.”

We also incorporated this into our design philosophy, as seen in the NPC stats we created for our Creature Compendium. We made the CV system to try to give SG’s an easy way to create an encounter, but there are always snags, exceptions, and player dynamics. 

Don’t be too harsh on yourself if the party of 6 orlocks were defeated easily. If the players felt challenged, then it was a good encounter, even if they emerged unscathed.

The real thing to remember always is to ask, “Are we having fun?” If the answer is yes, then it was a good encounter.

Combat Rule Two – Action economy rules. The heroes facing off against six enemies will almost always create a more dynamic battle than them facing off against a single foe (even if that foe is much stronger). SagaBorn D100 combat is built around the idea of much higher than average skill successes, offset by damage reduction from AV and the target’s ability to Parry and Dodge. Unlike other games, it is much easier to figure out the chances of success, as the percentage is right there in the skill. But as special damage reduces AV, and the reduction in skill from Parry and Dodge for each use, a single target can get worn down very quickly.

There are several options to address this issue. One is for the solitary target to do more damage. With a successful hit, a hero takes a larger amount of damage, making the battle more dangerous. The second option is to give them more hit points. This is covered in the Creature Compendium, where there are options for upgrading an NPC to a Champion or Boss. An ogre having 117 HP is going to last at least a few combat rounds. Talents are a third route. There are talents that split the defense pools for Dode/Parry/Shield, which can aid in the survivability of a single foe. Or a talent like Riposte, which grants an extra attack to the foe. Special abilities, spells, or items can also add to the battle. Elemental damage bypasses AV, allowing the players and the SG to handle characters with high AV. A large creature that has a whirlwind knockback can stop it from getting overwhelmed by flankers.

There are many ways to balance out action economy in combat, and there is no one simple solution. But without the constant scaling of damage and Hit Points that is common in other fantasy games, once you have a feel for the D100 system, encounters tend to just fall into place.

Combat Rule Three – Let the players and the dice balance the encounter. Throw something hard at them and see how they fare! As long as you communicate with your players if the battle turns against them, let them know this may overwhelm them, and they make the decision on how it gets balanced, either by running or by sacrifice. SagaBorn D100 has a death mechanic that allows players to take a scar or injury instead of dying. They could get captured. They could retreat and come back with a better strategy. As long as it isn’t a gotcha moment, and the players feel they have agency in the game and story, the encounter will just add to the fun.

Treasure:

After those encounters, how do we reward the heroes and the players?

Overall Treasure Value

RatingCreature CVWandering Treasure ValueAverage Treasure Value (Hoard)Rich Treasure Value
Very Easy1/85 sp1 gp3 gp
Very Easy1/41 gp2 gp6 gp
Easy1/22 gp5 gp15 gp
Easy112 gp25 gp75 gp
Average225 gp100 gp300 gp
Hard340 gp200 gp600 gp
Very Hard4150 gp600 gp1800 gp

Random Treasure Tables

Types of Rewards

Gold, of course

Spells

Charged Magic Items

Expertise

Renown

Story Guide Reward Checklist

Start of Session:

Starting Saga Point

After or During Session:

Encounter XP

Extra Saga Points

Expertise

Renown

Economy

The economy in the world of Atheles is a struggling one, with most people relying on agriculture, fishing, and hunting to make a living. The wealthy and powerful people in the world hold most of the wealth, and the poor and downtrodden are often left to fend for themselves. The warring factions fight over resources, which further destabilizes the economy. Inflation is rampant, and many find it difficult to make ends meet.

How to deal with treasure in Atheles:

  • Make money worth something
  • Goods are scarce; not every shop has everything adventurers want. Many shops have little operating funds, and thus a smaller selection of items. Make the adventurers covet good gear and goods.
  • Money can be spent on finding equipment, building strongholds, and paying allies.

Spell Worth

What is a spell worth? You may find a scroll in a treasure hoard or ask a trusted mentor to teach you a spell. These spells have a value that may fluctuate but generally follow the chart below in average cost. This is for an artificed magic item, and the price is for an item with one charge. This can also be used to figure out the worth of a spellbook, with the spells worth being its Mana per level.

ManaCost
Variable600 gp
125 gp
275 gp
3150 gp
4225 gp
5300 gp
6400 gp
7500 gp

Traps

Traps as Puzzles

We suggest running traps in Sagaborn as puzzles as opposed to a “gotcha” moment. No one likes a bunch of boulders just dropping on their head without a chance to discover that in advance or how to avoid triggering it. Traps should make the experience fun and discourage players from slowing down gameplay with their constant fear of traps. A common occurrence we have seen is that once a player encounters a trap, they spend the rest of the night tapping every stone with a 10’ pole. That is decidedly not fun for anyone. 

The best way to counter this is to treat the trap as a puzzle for the players to solve. We want to build a sense of wariness, mystery, and suspense, but we don’t want wariness devolving into tedium. The mechanical change we have made to trapfinding is that the SG initiates the search for the trap rather than the players.

When a trap is in an area, the SG should call for a Spot check. If there is a rogue archetype in the party, they should be the first to search. Otherwise, the party picks someone in their group to roll the check. If the roll is a success, they are aware of the trap and given a clue as to how it works. The party can now decide whether to try to circumvent the trap or attempt to disable it. 

Example: Success in Discovering a Trap 

The adventurers are heading down a narrow hallway, with Krimson the Rogue is second from the lead. There is a poisoned dart trap in the hall. The SG calls for an Spot check. Krimson Spots and rolls a 23, which is a success. The SG tells Krimson he sees three small, round openings in the wall and that the floor looks different under those holes. Krimson inspects the trap and sees that it is a poisoned dart trap with a pressure plate. The problem is that the pressure plate is as wide as the hall and six feet in length. Either he disables the trap, which then uses Fine Manipulation, or the party tries to jump over it. Good luck.

Example: Failure in Discovering a Trap 

Using the example above, Krimson rolls a 95 Spot check, failing to spot the trap. Milentus, in the lead, walks onto the pressure plate and springs the trap.

Social

Bonding

As adventurers travel together, they talk, help, console, or annoy each other. When long periods of downtime or travel occur, they often Bond. An adventurer chooses someone else in the party, rolls d20 plus Cha, and refers to the chart below.

17+: Bonding 

8-16: Reveal

7 or lower: Enmity

Bonding: The chosen character bonds with the other over a specific event or discussion.

Reveal: The chosen character reveals something about themselves to the other.

Enmity: The chosen character upsets the other with an action or conversation.

These interactions should be recorded in the Notes section of the player’s character sheet.