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Freebie: Warrior, Rogue & Mage

WR&M Yesterday around 10pm local time I had an idea for a rule-light fantasy RPG with some old-school feel to it. The result is “Warrior, Rogue & Mage” a four-paged PDF containing complete rules to create and play characters in a fantasy world torn by a civil war.

The game should be playable as it is, but alas I haven’t had the time to do some play testing, so I would like to get some feedback. Does character creation work? Are combats between characters and characters and monsters balanced or way off?

Please share your ideas, criticism and advice in the comments below. You can view the rules here or download the PDF (186k) here.

UPDATE: There are now a revised edition (41-paged PDF) and several supplements available. You can get more information about WR&M here.
Stargazer

Michael Wolf is a German games designer and enthusiast best known for his English language role-playing games blog, Stargazer's World, and for creating the free rules-light medieval fantasy adventure game Warrior, Rogue & Mage. He has also worked as an English translator on the German-language Dungeonslayers role-playing game and was part of its editorial team. In addition to his work on Warrior, Rogue & Mage and Dungeonslayers, he has created several self-published games and also performed layout services and published other independent role-playing games such as A Wanderer's Romance, Badass, and the Wyrm System derivative Resolute, Adventurer & Genius, all released through his imprint Stargazer Games. Professionally, he works as a video technician and information technologies specialist. Stargazer's World was started by Michael in August 2008.

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16 comments

comments user
Badelaire

Looks great, actually. Short, succinct, and to the point. A good rules set for light evening play with a few friends who want to go adventuring and not worry about anything too crunchy.

I'll also agree with the trifecta-style class system. It's how I organize archetypes in my own T&B homebrew RPG, and seems to reflect the natural breakdown of most characters in adventure gaming. Great minds and all that?

.-= Badelaire´s last blog ..A Writer Writes, Always – Part Four =-.

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comments user
Stargazer

I am glad you like it. If you have ever the chance to play it, please let me know, if the rules worked out fine.

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comments user
Francesco

I really, really like your WR&M and would love to give it a try… but i didn't get a thing about fate points: are they only equal to your ROGUE level at character generation time or you earn new points if you raise your ROGUE level later?

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    comments user
    Stargazer

    That's actually up to the GM. According to the rules you start with a set amount of points determined by your Rogue attribute. After that I would probably grant Fate points for heroic or dramatic actions of the players only. Spent Fate points do not replenish automatically but must be earned.

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comments user
sean wills

Hi Michael, Thanks for sharing WR&M, it looks good – I'm planning a session using it at the weekend and had a question:

dual wield – I understand you don't get an extra attack but does it mean you roll once for both the weapons combined – then just add the two damage rolls (2 pistols – kaboom !!!) ? Or could you use an offhand weapon like a dagger to parry (like a shield but without the AP cost) ?

(I'll write up a play report/review on my blog after)
.-= sean wills´s last blog ..We sail tonight for Athanor ! =-.

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    comments user
    Stargazer

    The dual-wield talent allows a character to wield a weapon in the off-hand without penalty but does not grant an extra attack. That means you can wield a dagger and a sword for example and use either one in combat. Or you can use a pistol in your off-hand while wielding a rapier in the other. If you want to use the off-hand weapon for parrying, you'll have to houserule this (hmm, I should add this in a revised edition). Just use the defense bonus granted by a shield for example.
    When you want to allow to attack with both weapons I would probably add another talent that has "dual-wield" as prerequisite. Something like "Advanced dual-wielding" which allows you to attack with both weapons during your turn.

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comments user
Sean Wills

'That means you can wield a dagger and a sword for example and use either one in combat. Or you can use a pistol in your off-hand while wielding a rapier in the other'

– I'll just stick to this during the session as I'm trying not to houserule, just play through it as written.
.-= Sean Wills´s last blog ..We sail tonight for Athanor ! =-.

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comments user
Cassio

WR&M looks great, but I can't download it…

I'm able to view the file but can't get the pdf.

What am I doing wrong?

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comments user
Stargazer

Try this link:

http://sites.google.com/site/stargazersrpgstuff/f…

If it still doesn't work, write me an email and I'll send it to you.

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comments user
Cássio

It works!

Thanks!

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comments user
Stargazer

Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

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comments user
Tourq

I like. If I could just get my group back together…

-Tourq
.-= Tourq´s last blog ..Gaming Tools, #4 =-.

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comments user
Van

Just read over the rules and think it sounds like a lot of fun. I might just try this out next weekend. If I do I'll post how it went.

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comments user
Van

Oh, and my suggestion for the name is simply WRM. People who like it would call it "wyrm," when they spoke to each other.

Sounds silly but I think it has some elegance to it.

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comments user
ReaperWolf

WR&M is fantastic Stargazer. One question: how many spells does a new character begin play with? I noted spells have a cost in the gear section so am I to assume if you don't spend the money your character doesn't begin play with spells?

Very very cool stuff!!!

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    comments user
    Stargazer

    Exactly, you have to buy spells and copy them to one's spellbook.

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