RULES AND STUFF
Introduction:
You are an adventurer in the world of The Hobbit. Specifically, the world as it appeared in the 1937 edition of that book.
Anyone can be a wizard with the right knowledge, trolls turn to stone in the sunlight, animals or magical objects can speak, elves aren't always nice, and the wild is full of terrible creatures like goblins, giant spiders, and even dragons!
Character Concept:
To create a character, start with a 2-3 word Concept in keeping with the world of The Hobbit. Some "standard" concepts are exiled dwarven miner, hobbit burglar, strange wizard, human ranger, wood elf. But you could also be an elf historian, hobbit sheriff, elven swordsmith, dwarven tunnel-fighter, human skin-changer, or any other thing you can dream up (and get the GM to agree to).
Toughness and Fate:
Each character begins with 3 points of Toughness and 2 points of Fate. Then, divide 5 more points between the two (so, a total of 10 between them).
Toughness is how many wounds you can take before being taken out of the action. Choose a high Toughness if you plan on being a rugged adventurer.
Fate, whether you think of it as luck, heart, or the path of destiny, is a resource you can call upon in a dire situation. Choose a high Fate if see your character as particularly lucky or magical, whether just innately, or through training, or because of having magical trinkets.
During your adventures you will lose Toughness from taking wounds (which can happen when you fail a roll) and spend Fate to get out of sticky situations or do magical things. If your Toughness falls to 0, you are Incapacitated until you can get healed or rest up. If you take more wounds while Incapacitated, you die (unless it involves magic or poison, in which case you might hang on long enough to get you to a Haven where you can be healed magically).
After a long rest in a safe place, a Haven, your Toughness and Fate return to their
starting values. You may also regain points of Toughness and Fate when you Take Courage! You may never go above your starting T/F numbers, but you may increase these numbers through Advancement.
Traits and Skills:
Choose two Traits (in bold) and three Skills (total) from the lists that follow each of your Traits. (See the example, below.)
--Rhyming: singing, playing an instrument, reciting poetry, telling stories
--Riddling: using logic, solving puzzles, outwitting someone, reading runes, and speaking languages
--Fighting: up-close combat with weapons, weaponless brawling, feats of strength
--Foraging: surviving (in the wild), healing, herbalism, tracking, shooting (incl. using thrown weapons), guiding, scouting
--Sneaking: dodging, escaping bonds, hiding, concealing something, moving quietly
--Crafting: forging, repairing, building, appraising
--Carousing: drinking, cooking & eating, charming, haggling
--Magic: crafting/lighting pyrotechnics, taking an animal form, healing with magic, animal kinship/speech, etc. (You may create new ones with the GM.)
Magic always requires 1 Fate to use each time, aside from any spent on bonus dice. Also, you can't do Magic without using the Magic Trait.
Sample Character:
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Forzo Dunfield, Hobbit Sheriff Toughness 6 / Fate 4
--Carousing: drinking
--Foraging: scouting, shooting
Gear:
----clothes, AND 1 change of clothes
----Dagger, and bow (with arrows)
----a big backpack, including bedroll for camping
----won't-spoil-soon types of food and water to last for many days
----Supplies (coins to buy stuff, in other words)
----and 3 uses of Adventuring Gear (see below about Gear).
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Rolling Dice:
When you try something risky or complicated, or whenever the GM tells you to, grab 2d6. Before rolling…
Magic? Spend 1 Fate point if you are using a Magic trait.
Advantage? If you have a significant advantage, grab another d6. If you have a significant Disadvantage, drop a d6. Having a skill is an advantage. NOT having a trait is a disadvantage. The GM determines which traits/skills are relevant and is the final arbiter on all advantages or disadvantages... but you can make your case.
Roll and Count Successes. You never roll more than 3d6 (unless you spend extra Fate) or less than 1d6. A 5 or 6 on any die = success. Otherwise you fail, and may take a wound.
Spend Fate to add 1 extra die per 1 point spent. You can go above 3d6 this way!
If you rolled all 1s, it's a Blunder. Something really bad happens; the GM says what. (Note that you may spend Fate to try and roll your way out of a Blunder.)
All rolls are made by players. The GM describes situations and asks players what they do or presents an immediate threat and forces the characters to react.
Take Courage!
Courage can be found in many places.
--If you sing and/or play a song, recite a verse, or tell a story of heroes of yore while in a dark and dangerous place, roll Rhyming.
--If you drink an excellent brew or vintage, and/or cook and/or eat a delicious meal while in a dark and dangerous place, roll Carousing.
On a success, each player involved (even if just listening, drinking, and/or eating) chooses to get 1 Fate point or 2 Toughness back. (The GM may offer other choices.)
The best subjects for Rhyming are natural wonders, bountiful feasts, humorous anecdotes, and tragic tales of lost love or great sacrifices.
Sing for Success:
Whenever a PC speaks or sings at least one verse from a poem or song in compliment to his action, they gain an extra 1 point to any result of 4 that they may have. Obviously, this can help a LOT if they roll 1d6 and get a 4...
If the song is not a Tolkien nor folk song, but something original, it:
--must maintain a Tolkien-esque aesthetic, and
--must be pretty applicable to the task at hand.
If the GM feels that an original rhyme or song is especially good, he may choose adjust the roll a little extra (although anyone who actually asks "hey how about helping my roll a little extra-- wasn't that good enough?" will forfeit this possibility).
You can spend Fate to reroll to try to get out of a blunder, but you can't rhyme your way out if it.
--Languages:
What humans and halflings speak is a language called Westron. All PCs who aren't animals (and even some of the "greater" animals) can speak and read and understand Westron. However, Dwarves also get to speak and understand and read Dwarvish for free, and Elves are the same with Elvish. (If a PC is an Ent or Woodwose, same.) The "Speaking Languages" skill can allow a non-Dwarf to try to read Dwarvish or a non-Elf to try to read Elvish, or whatever.
Speaking Languages: Animal Tongues:
Animals speak their own languages. Foxes speak foxish, eagles speak eaglese, thrushes speak thrushic, etc. Animals can sometimes learn additional languages, including the Westron Tongue. Player characters can learn additional languages, including animal tongues. A sample list: Eagle, Thrush, Fox, Horse ("Pony" counts as the same language as "Horse"), Spider, Wolf ("Warg" counts as the same language as "Wolf"), Badger ("Greater" Badgers are big and have thumbs), Bear, Dog, Raven, Deer, Cat, Boar, Dragon, Whale, Swan. (Note: Yes, if you are not an animal, you do have to pick just one, until the next time you level up... (If you ARE an animal PC, you automatically start with speaking and understanding your animal tongue, and you can understand Westron if you want. Actually SPEAKING Westron will require this skill.)
Identification:
You can tell when an item is magical because it has runes on it (although they may not be immediately visible to the naked eye!). Until identified, all found magical items exist in a quantum state of being unknown magic-wise. If a player character tries to use the magic item, the quantum state collapses, and the GM rolls determines what the item is. As the player experiments with it, the GM informs them what happens. Does it catch on fire? Does it return when thrown? And so on.
HOWEVER, IF the player WAITS, and just holds onto the magic item until it can be identified through a) research at a safe haven or b) identification by a loremaster NPC, the player has authority to choose what kind of magic item was found. (If they feel creatively stuck, the GM may offer them a couple of choices to choose from.)
If a PC tries to roll to identify treasure when not at a Haven:
--if they fail, the GM will decide what the treasure does, if anything.
--if they succeed, they can decide what the treasure does, if the GM reports that it is magical at all.
--HOW MANY dice they succeed with matters. Also, how many items they are rolling to check for at once matters (fewer at a time may bring better results).
Critical Names:
When you roll 2 or more dice and ALL of the final results are 6, you may sacrifice 3XP to declare a new name or epithet for yourself or one of your items.
For example, if you pick up a club and manage to hold off a goblin's attack with a critical success, you can give yourself the byname "Oakenshield." If you take out your magic dagger and stab a spider right in his stupid spider face with a critical success, you can call your dagger "Sting." (Except you can't, because that one's taken already.)
When your epithet (or your item's name) comes up and is relevant to the task at hand, you can add +1 die to your roll. For example, if your weapon's name is Orcrist, The Goblin Cleaver (except it isn't, because that name is taken already), you either get 1 extra die when attacking goblins (max of 3, though, unless you also spend Fate), or you might do 1 extra hit when you do, or maybe you hit on a 4 (GM decides what the exact benefit will be).
Weapons and Armor:
--A shield will allow a character to ignore the first hit they receive in each combat.
Armor will allow them to ignore one more.
A Mithril shirt, if you ever get one, will allow you to ignore the first two hits you receive in combat.
Armor, though, will cost you a die on rolls for dodging and moving quietly.
And a shield will mean you can't have both hands free... You may OWN a shield and a bow, but you can't use a shield and a bow in the same combat.
And, of course, weapons and/or armor may sometimes cost you at least one die on rolls toward charming people into thinking your intentions are entirely peaceful...
--Disarming: some opponents have a definite disadvantage if their weapon breaks or if they are otherwise disarmed. The average goblin, for example, will often just stop fighting and just try to flee if this happens to them.
Resources:
You begin with 2 points of party Resources. To make a big purchase, roll 1d6. If your result is the same as your current Resources, you buy it without trouble. Otherwise, your Resources goes down by 1 or more. You can't purchase anything big if your party Resources = 0. Time to go out and find more treasure!
You won't roll Resources for routine purchases, only when you kit a party out for a big adventure or try to buy something really expensive or rare (for instance). Also, the GM may raise or lower your Resources number as appropriate if you are robbed, spend a big sum, find
treasure, etc.
--Gear: It's presumed that EACH PC will start adventuring with the basics of what you need:
----clothes, AND 1 change of clothes OR 1 item of armor, if you want it
----2 non-magical weapons of your choice (and ammo, if needed) OR 1 non-magical weapon (and ammo, if needed) and 1 shield, if you prefer
----a big backpack, including bedroll for camping
----won't-spoil-soon types of food and water to last for many days
----Supplies (coins to buy stuff, in other words)
----and 3 uses of Adventuring Gear. When you need something specific-- rope, a crowbar, a piece of flint for starting a fire-- just mark off one of your three uses of Adventuring Gear, and say "I pull a length of sturdy rope from my pack." You can get more Adventuring Gear (up to 3 again) at any Haven.
Enemy Morale:
--When an enemy is killed, knocked unconscious, or otherwise defeated in combat, the GM may or may not choose to roll 1d6. If the roll result is smaller (or maybe equal to) than the round of combat, all enemies weaker than the one that was just defeated will flee. The GM may also raise or lower this number based on how flashy and impressive the way the opponent got defeated was.
Havens & The Wild
In your adventures you will move from places of quiet and rest into terrible dangers (and back again). These safe spaces are called Havens, where mostly civilized folk dwell and the worst perils are kept beyond guarded borders. Beyond lies the Wild-- the places in the land that have never been tamed or have been reclaimed by the chaotic and evil forces. You must be in a Haven to fully heal (re-set) your Toughness, recover your Fate, or grow your character through Advancement.
Companions:
Friends, retainers, or other extra characters may join your party. They have 1-3 different skills and may be controlled by anyone in the group. If a Companion undertakes a task on their own at which they are skilled, they always get -1 die compared to if they were a PC with the same skill. If they try something they don't have a Trait for, the GM decides if they are successful or not.
Sample companions:
Primrose Hornblower, Halfling Mistrel:
--Rhyming: singing, playing an instrument, reciting poetry
Austri Stonefist, Dwarven Sage:
--Riddling: reading runes, speaking languages
--Crafting: appraising
Tirien Mormeril, Wood Elf:
--Foraging: healing, herbalism, guiding
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Advancement:
Characters get 1 XP each time they:
--add to the lore of the world with Rhyming, OR
--secure a special treasure, OR
--encounter something dangerous in the wild and overcome or avoid it.
Players can spend 5 XP while in a Haven to permanently get +1 max Toughness, +1 max Fate points, a new Trait, or a Skill from a Trait area they already have.
For the Game Master:
Play the world and everything in it. When a character tries something dangerous or difficult, call for a roll. Don't roll for easy; it just happens. Don't roll for impossible; it doesn't. (Note that an easy Magic action still costs 1 Fate, even if no roll is required.)
After the roll, the fiction always moves forward! Don't allow second attempts at
the same action unless something in the situation changes.
Failure:
On a failed die roll make things worse. Occasionally consider “failing forward:” allowing success with a serious cost or drawback. On a fail you can also cause a wound (-1 Toughness). Really big monsters, deadly traps, severe falls, etc. may cause 2 or 3 wounds.
Always push hard on a Blunder! Cause collateral damage, pin them down, burn up a resource, have their Magic backlash or have a magic item act up.
Dangers:
The world is full of dangerous places, creatures, and people. When you add an important danger, consider making a list of the things it will do if the characters don't intervene. When a character fails at something important or things stall out, you can mark one off to make the world feel more perilous. Be sure to show signs that something bad happened in the world, even if it was far away or hidden.
Also give dangerous creatures and people Toughness (to see how many hits they can take) and Fate points (to do magical things). List out their powers ahead of time and think about how they will look when used.
Magic Items:
Magic items may be merely Wondrous, or they could be Relics.
Wondrous items often carry names and have subtle, passive effects (e.g. glow near
evil creatures). Relics confer a Magic skill (say, like invisibility), but characters must spend 1 Fate to use/activate them.
Any magic item can be lost, broken, discharged, or tainted of course. And some have a will of their own!
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The text of There and Back Again version 1.0 is CC-BY-NC-SA Ray Otus, 2018.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Mon 04 Mar.
