Tiers of Play

The 20 levels of HoML are divided up into three tiers of play. Within each tier the game assumes a particular flavor of play and certain assumptions are made about the place of characters of each tier in the world. When characters advance from one tier to the next they begin to enter a different arena for their adventures, one of wider scope, greater challenge, and mightier foes and rewards.

Apotheosis

Once a character reaches level 20, her career as an adventurer reaches its peak and comes to an end. The character will achieve his final goals, sail off into the sunset, pass beyond the realms of the living, or perhaps fall into final and uttermost oblivion. Such a character is unlikely to reappear as a PC in future adventures, her story is finished. Perhaps a favorite character might make a cameo appearance in an interlude in a later game! The character might also become a patron, or even enemy, of future heroes.

Minor Quests

Minor quests are generally fairly simple affairs. They generally involve a couple of scenes, possibly formulated as a single moderate complexity challenge. The stakes in a minor quest are generally not too high. They might involve seeing to the welfare of a person, delivering something of value, or some other relatively straightforward service or simple goal.

The reward for accomplishing a minor quest will be a minor boon. This could be money, a consumable, a ritual formula, or something else of value to the heroes short of a major boon. Each participating hero should receive an equivalent minor boon when the quest is accomplished.

Minor quests can be initiated at any time, and heroes may pursue more than one of them at the same time. They are often side goals associated with major quests. For instance a hero might swear to protect a specific NPC during a major quest involving that NPC being in danger. This goal should not be specifically part of the major quest itself, so a hero shouldn't get credit for completing more than one quest for doing the same thing. Otherwise minor quests could be 'side quests' or things the band wants to accomplish which are of lesser importance, such as acquiring a healing potion to cure an ally, though if this is long and arduous it could be a major quest too.

Often these minor quests are personal in nature, but this is not required. Heroes can take on individual obligations, and the entire band can also take on such a quest.

Major Quests

Major quests are the bread and butter of HoML. Whenever the band adventures, they will be undertaking a quest, and the vast majority of these will be major quests. A major quest is a difficult and dangerous undertaking which involves significant risks and usually significant skills and resources to accomplish. While ordinary people might take on the equivalent of a minor quest, the mighty deeds involved in major quests are the stuff of legend.

The reward for completion of a major quest is always a major boon, and thus an increase in the level of heroes participating. Major quests generally involve no less than one to three complex challenges, several battles, etc. Expect a minimum of 3, and possibly as many as 6 scenes to be played out before the quest is complete. When a goal is even greater in scope than this, then it should be considered as an epic.

Major quests can be personal, though they are more typically taken up by an entire band of heroes. A personal, or solo, quest might be undertaken by a single hero on her own without the rest of her band. It might also be a long-term kind of personal goal, such as "I am on a quest to capture the Questing Beast." Often such personal quests are stated as a character goal (See Character traits ). In any case, achieving the goal means that every hero involved receives a major boon.

Opportunity Triggers

Two main situations will create opportunity. First of all, if an opponent moves from a space within the control of an enemy then, before the movement takes place, that enemy gets an opportunity. The other situation is if a character makes a ranged attack while occupying a space within the control of an enemy. Likewise in this situation the enemy resolves its attack before the character making the ranged attack resolves hers.

Sizes

Sizes were discussed previously in the section on player characters. Every object has a size rating, tiny, small, standard, large, huge, or gargantuan. At heroic scale a standard character has a space of exactly one square. This is the typical situation for PCs and many other characters. Thus in this case we can say that the character is 'in square X on the grid'.

Smaller objects also have a space of one square, but they don't fully occupy the square. Small objects are generally treated the same way as standard sized ones in terms of space and the grid. Other rules may treat them slightly differently. As a general rule several small objects can fit comfortably into a square, though only a single small creature can occupy it for combat purposes.

Tiny objects also have a space which fits in a single square, but they are much smaller. Many tiny objects can be in the same square. Up to four tiny characters can occupy the same square for combat purposes without interfering with each other.

Objects larger than standard size have spaces which extend into multiple squares. Large objects occupy between 2 and 4 squares. All of these squares must be adjacent to one another, and generally the shape will be determined beforehand (IE a horse occupies 2 adjacent squares). When moving larger creatures are only held to be entering terrain when their space first occupies it. Thus a horse would not pay a penalty for entering rough terrain for EACH square of its space which moves into the rough terrain square, only the first one, but if it entered two different squares of such terrain in the same move, it would pay two penalties for doing so (IE it would require 3 points of movement).

The same consideration applies for huge and gargantuan objects, they are just even bigger.

Squeezing

Characters may reduce the space they require, at a penalty. Creatures larger than standard size can reduce their space to as little as half as many squares by squeezing.

In the case of standard, small, and tiny creatures squeezing represents entering very tight spaces. These will be designated as conditional terrain. The smaller sized creatures might be able to negotiate such areas without being penalized, and in some cases terrain might not allow larger creatures to pass at all.

Any time a creature is squeezing it incurs disadvantage on all checks it makes which rely on strength or dexterity based aspects.

Clear Terrain

This is the default terrain when no other type is specified. It costs one movement point to enter and there are no other restrictions on movement across it. It assumes the footing is good and creatures generally should have no trouble crossing it. Line of sight and effect are unimpeded by clear terrain.

Empty Square

This simply represents open space where there is no floor, etc. It is not normally a designated part of most maps, but it becomes important when considering flight or other vertical movement. Obviously land movement in empty space is not possible, but flight and such are unimpeded. It has no effect on line of sight or effect.

Blocking Terrain

Blocking terrain is a specific type of terrain which represents large solid, generally permanent and immobile, objects and materials which occupy entire squares. When a square is designated as blocking terrain it is considered impassable, no movement through the square is possible. Likewise, unless otherwise noted, blocking terrain also blocks line of sight and line of effect. Blocking terrain fully occupies the square, right to the edges. It is not possible to 'cut the corner' of a blocking terrain square and move diagonally around it. Characters negotiating their way around must move horizontally and then vertically (assuming this is possible).

Contiguous squares of blocking terrain represent a single unbroken expanse of material. This is true even if they only contact each other at the diagonals of their squares.

Blocking terrain is also considered both complete cover, and obscuring terrain, unless noted otherwise.

Difficult Terrain

Difficult terrain represents rough ground or some other condition of the surface which impedes easy movement. Its only effect is to add one point to the cost of moving into the square. Remember, larger creatures only pay this cost once when part of their space enters the square, not each time part of their space moves into it. If the difficult terrain is the edge of a square, then moving to a directly adjacent square across that edge costs an additional one point of movement.

Concealing Terrain

Some terrain may have an effect only on the line of sight. This is termed concealing terrain. It might be a fog, foliage, a curtain, etc. There are two types. Basic concealing terrain simply makes sighting things within or beyond it more difficult. See the rules on vision, and line of sight for an explanation of concealement itself. Obscuring terrain is a more significant form of this. It entirely blocks the line of sight into or through it. Thus, while a flimsy curtain might simply conceal what is beyond, allowing a glimpse or the discerning of shapes beyond, a heavy curtain entirely blocks sight, nothing is visible beyond at all, though effects might still penetrate.

As with difficult terrain, this type could be either a full square, or occupy the edges of a square. Either way the effect is the same.

Cover

Cover is any hard material which provides substantial impediment to attacks. There are two cases of cover, complete cover, and basic cover. Complete cover means no line of effect exists. A closed door, assuming it is heavily enough constructed, is complete cover. An open window behind which a character hides and peers out is basic cover, LOE exists, but attacks are disadvantaged. A breastwork would be cover, but if it was, say, waist height then it would provide complete cover against attacks from the other side to a prone character.

Terrain Conditions

A terrain condition is some sort of effect which is located within a square; when a character moves into the square, the effect is applied to them. Most conditions are negative, but this is not mandatory, some squares could grant positive effects too. A character can only be affected by a condition of terrain in a specific square once per turn. Some conditions might be designated to have a space larger than one square, in which case entering the entire space can only have an effect once per turn.

Again, the edge of a square could also contain a condition.

Vertical Terrain

As discussed in the three dimensional space section the grid can be extended into the third dimension when necessary in order to provide for non-flat locations, drops, etc. As such all terrain should be thought of as having a vertical dimension. Usually this won't matter, the walls of the cave continue all the way to the roof, 10 meters (5 squares) above. However, there are likely to be many cases where there are balconies, ledges, stairs, pits, cliffs, steep slopes, etc. and the GM should define exactly where they are in a vertical sense. Characters may traverse space in this vertical direction in many ways, but generally the concepts of terrain work in the same way as in the standard square grid. If a cliff face is difficult to climb, that surface may be considered difficult terrain. a steam vent set in a wall might produce a terrain condition (IE it might burn you if you move across that surface). Likewise concealment and such may exist at different levels. Some terrain effects may extend upwards to the limits of the area of play, others don't.

Line of Effect

Line of Effect is a relationship that can be determined to exist or not for any 2 squares on the grid. In order to determine LOE, draw a line from each corner of one of the squares to each corner of the other square. If any of these lines does not cross terrain which grants total cover, then LOE exists between the two. Generally this will be fairly obvious, but the test given here is definitive. This can be extended into three dimensions as well.

Line of Sight

Line of Sight is similar to LOE, but it is also blocked by obscuring terrain. Pick a corner of the originating square. If a line drawn to any corners of the target square pass through obscuring terrain, then LOS does not exist to the target square. In the case of basic concealing terrain, the effect only exists if a line drawn from one corner of the originating square to all corners of the target square pass through basic concealing terrain.

Practically speaking this means that fog only blocks LOS if one attempts to peer through a square of fog into squares beyond it. On the other hand a solid curtain completely blocks all view of anything behind it.

Movement Modes

There are various movement modes. The default mode is land movement. When nothing else is specified, this is the assumed mode. It consists of walking, crawling, running, or some analogous process. Characters are assumed to be walking unless otherwise specified.

Other modes of movement include climbing, flying, swimming, etc. Each of them has specific additional rules which apply. Subsequent topics will detail all of these considerations.

Land Movement

This is simply the default type and any movement rate not specifying a mode is a land movement rate. The character simply follows the default movement procedure.

Crawling is a slight variation on standard land movement. If a character has the prone condition, then their movement rate is divided by two, rounded down. A prone character may also be capable of, or incapable of, negotiating specific terrain features, and may benefit from concealment, or cover, in cases where an upright character would not. Different pieces of terrain may detail these factors, or they may be decided by the GM in play as appropriate.

Climbing

This mode works like land movement, except it applies to vertical surfaces. If a creature has the spider climb tag, then it can also apply this mode to inverted movement, crawling across ceilings and other similar horizontal surfaces. In either case the creature simply moves normally, no climbing checks are required when the character has this mode.

Characters who lack a climbing movent rate can still use this mode to traverse vertical surfaces, but they must pass a climbing check governed by the athletic aspect. If they succeed they can move, but for them all vertical surfaces are difficult terrain. Failing a check means the character is unable to proceed, their movement immediately ends. Only one check is required for each move action needed to climb, there's no need to check for each square, the first check governs this aspect for the whole climb. Should the character continue the same climb, this check will remain in effect in subsequent rounds.

If a character is climbing and they are subject to forced movement, they must make another climbing check. If they fail, they fall. If they are attacked and suffer damage, they must likewise make a check, or fall; this does not apply to characters with a climb mode speed, they never lose their grip unless specifically stated otherwise. Any character which becomes incapacitated while climbing falls immediately.

Flying

Flying works similarly to other movement modes, but when a character flies, they can move anywhere in three dimensional space. See the section on three dimensional space, and the section on aerial combat for more details.

Swimming

Swimming is similar to flying or other movement, the character simply moves at her swimming mode movement rate. Characters without such a rate may also swim, but they will be forced to treat water as difficult terrain, and may be forced to make a check governed by the athletic aspect in order to remain afloat and make forward progress at all. Those failing will begin to drown, and may sink. See the section on aquatic combat for more information, and note that 3d movement is also possible underwater if there is sufficient space (water depth).

Jumping

Jumping is a form of movement governed by the athletic aspect. The character makes a check with a DV appropriate to the situation. If the situation is heroic tier, then characters can simply jump over any gap of 1 square (2 meters) from a standing start with an athletic check. This is roughly a level 1 challenge. Likewise a running start requires a check to cross a 2 square distance. A standing jump of 2 squares or a running jump of 4 squares will be difficult and approaches world-class athletic standards. These types of jumps should be fairly routine for Legendary characters, who can probably manage a 3 square standing jump or a 5 square running jump (these are superior Olympic class performances) and can certainly attempt even longer jumps, with characters of beyond 11th level making thoroughly superhuman leaps and bounds. Mythic characters are potentially capable of jumps of beyond 30 meters (15 squares) and might even make larger leaps in some situations.

The above guidelines are intentionally vague, HoML does not dictate a specific formula for athletic or other types of performance. The challenges should be scaled to the degree of epic feel which the narrative demands, and it is likely that properly equipped, trained, and empowered characters may go far beyond what is outlined here.

A jump is simply a single movement. It will expend 1 movement point per square covered, but lack of sufficient movement points will simply mean that the character lands at the ending point of the jump, and cannot move further in that action. Otherwise, if they have movement points remaining, they can be used as normal.

A character failing a jump check might be left hanging on the edge of the precipice. If they succeed they might still be off balance or lose something if the jump was particularly difficult. If the jump is extreme then the GM might inform the player that his character will fall entirely short on a failure, and in that case success might force the character to stop moving and recover his footing, or scramble for purchase when landing.

Shifting

Shifting is a special form of movement in which the character carefully maneuvers from one square to an adjacent square. Doing so requires the character's full allotment of movement points, plus any extra costs for terrain. Thus a PC cannot normally shift into difficult terrain, or any other terrain which requires additional movement points.

When shifting, the character does not present enemies with an opportunity. That is, if a character shifts out of a square which is in the control of an enemy, that enemy cannot make an opportunity attack on the shifting character. This is the only completely safe way to move away from an opponent.

Characters may not shift when they are prone.

Standing Up

Coming from a prone state to one's feet requires a full movement action. The character may shift as a part of this action if they desire.

Teleportation

Sometimes characters have the ability to teleport, which means moving directly from one square to another without entering any of the squares in between. Teleportation does not present opponents with an opportunity. The character simply disappears from the starting space, and appears a number of squares away equal to their teleportation mode movement rate. This may also work as an effect, such as 'Teleport 5', which means the target is teleported 5 squares to a destination square of the choosing of the originator of the effect in most cases.

Pull

Pulling is an effect which force moves a target closer to the origination point of the effect. This movement will always be directly towards the origination point, with the player controlling the effect deciding which squares are moved through in the event that there are two equally closer squares. Each square of the pull must move the target closer, or if this is impossible, then no further from the origination point and always in a direction which obviously leads closer (IE not into a cul-de-sac or something similar unless no other path exists).

Push

Pushing is an effect which force moves a target further from the origination point of the effect. This movement will always be directly away from the origination point, with the player controlling the effect deciding which squares are moved through in the event that there are two equally more distant squares. Each square of the push must move the target further away, or if this is impossible, then no further from the origination point.

Slide

Sliding is an effect which force moves a target in any direction desired by the controlling player. Each square of the slide is considered independently, so a slide could move a target back and forth, etc.

Danger

Players may decide to expend a power point to allow their character to fall prone if at any point the character would be subject to an effect if it was forced to move into a specific square. The player simply expends the power point, and their character acquires the prone condition instead of being force moved. The effect in question must be either a terrain effect, a fall, or the effect of a zone, etc.

Procedure for Attacking an NPC

First the player needs to expend an action to either use a feat, or make an improvised attack. The action must be of the type designated by the feat. In the case of an improvised attack the GM will determine the type of action required. As described under actions, the character must have an action of the required type available for use. The process is as follows:

1. Pick Targets: The player first decides what square and/or creatures are targetted using the Type/Target attribute of the feat, or the GM will make this determination for improvised attacks.
2. Make Attack Check: The player will make an attack check against each target. The feat's attack attribute generally determines what the defense is. If there are multiple targets check each of them and note which ones are hit, and whether the check was a success or a complete success.
3. Roll Damage: Damage dice are rolled for the attack. These dice apply to every target which was hit. If different numbers of dice are required for different targets, you can roll the lower damage on one set of dice, and roll some additional dice to provide enough to make up the number of DD for the other targets. Any additional, special, situational, or bonus damage should also be rolled as needed. Note the amount of damage each target takes, adjusting for any resistance, vulnerability and damage reduction. Apply the damage to each target in any desired order, applying any effects this triggers or conditions the damage applies (IE dying or bloodied).
4. Apply Effects: Any effects, either due to a success/complete success, or any miss effects, or any effects not dependent on an attack roll are now applied to the targets, in any order, and any triggers resolved. The resulting conditions are placed on the targets.

Procedure for Attacking a PC

When a PC is attacked, either by an NPC, or possibly as a result of being in the AoE of another PC's attack, then the player must decide how they will defend. This is accomplished using the standard check rules given under How to Play . First the player describes what the character is doing, or what aspect of their nature, resists the damage. A character may declare the use of a feat which contains a 'defense' tag as well. Then the GM decides what aspect is governing the defense. In the case where a player declared defensive use of a feat, the feat normally defines which aspect or ability governs. The player then makes the check in the standard way. If the check fails, then the success clause of the attack is applied to the character, otherwise the fail clause.

In other respects the procedure here is identical to that used when NPCs are attacked. Damage is rolled in the same fashion, etc. Note that attacks don't normally achieve the complete success level against PCs.

Type and Target

This attribute of a feat defines whom it will attack, and/or the type of effect. First comes the type, which is one of two types, either close or ranged. Close attacks are those which originate in a square of the space of the initiator of the attack. Ranged attacks originate from a square designated by the attacker within a given distance from the attacker's space. Next is the area of effect designation, if present. There are four possibilities:

1. No Designation: If there is no AoE designation, then the feat is a single-target attack, it will effect only one target
2. Burst: A burst will consist of a statement of the form burst N where N is a number designating the burst radius in squares. A burst targets all eligible creatures within the given distance from the origination square. Thus a burst 2 will target every character within 2 squares of the origination point.
3. Blast: A blast will consist of a statement of the form blast N where N is a number designating the blast size in squares. A blast is a square area, who's sides have a length equal to the blast size, drawn such that it touches the origination square and one of that square's sides is shared with part or all of one of the blast area's squares.
4. Wall: A wall consists of a statement of the form wall NxM where N is a number designating the length of the wall and M indicates its height in squares (for cases where this matters). The area affected will be N squares, where each of the squares in the wall is adjacent to no less than one, and no more than three, other squares in the AoE. All squares of the wall must be valid target squares (see below).

There is a range clause, which is stated as within N where N is the maximum distance from a square in the space of the feat's initiator to the origination square of the attack; range may also be designated as weapon, the range of the weapon itself, or touch, meaning within the attacker's unarmed reach. Thus a type of ranged within 5 is a single target attack which can originate anywhere within 5 squares distance from one of the squares of the initiator's space. Since this attack is single-target, the one target must be in the origination square. If the type was ranged burst 3 within 10 then the origination square could be anwhere within 10 squares of a square of the initiator's space, and all valid targets within a radius of three squares from that point would be in the AoE and considered as possible targets.

Finally, there is a target clause, which qualifies who the eligible targets are. It may take a number of forms, but it will clearly indicate which creatures are subject to attack. It could state all creatures which means every single creature in the AoE is attacked. It could state all opponents meaning only creatures which are the enemies of the initiator of the feat. It could specify all allies meaning only the allies of the initiator, or one creature meaning one of the creatures in the AoE (usually these are limited to single target attacks).

Origination Square

In the above discussion, origination square refers to the square where the effect of the feat is centered. For all close effects, this is the square designated by the initiator (the attacker) within it's space. The player is free to choose any square in the initiator's space for this.

For a feat with a ranged type, the origination square is any valid target square within the range given, chosen by the attacker.

Valid Targets

In order for a creature to be attacked, it must be a valid target. In order for a square to be the origination square of a ranged attack, it must also be valid.

Creature's are valid targets if there exists a line of effect (LOE) between the origination square, and one square of the space of the target. In the case of a single-target attack, this means the origination square is in the target's space. This means, for instance, that a creature will be shielded from a burst if none of its squares can trace an LOE to the origination square of the burst (IE it is behind blocking terrain for instance).

An origination square is valid if the attacker can trace LOE from one of it's squares to the origination square, and that square is in range.

Walls are a special case. While the first designated square of the wall effect is its origination square, all the other squares to which the wall extends must also be valid origination squares. In other words, you cannot extend a wall beyond the range of your feat, or into an area where you don't have LOE.

Attack Check

The attack attribute of a feat describes how the attack check is carried out. It consists of a clause naming the aspect of the check or a tool used to make the check, 'vs' a clause naming a defense which is the check's DV. NPCs have three defenses, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. Every attack is made against one of them. The check can fail, succeed, or be a complete success.

Players may amplify the level of success by one degree at the cost of a power point. Some feats may have an 'enhanced success' result, which cannot be achieved without paying a point, and getting a complete success on the check. Note that such enhancement must be selected before the check is rolled.

In some cases the area of effect, or other attributes of the attack, may be modified by the level of success.

Damage

When an attack hits, the target will usually suffer damage. This damage is subtracted from the target's hit points. If their hit points are brought below half, they will immediately acquire the bloodied condition. If their hit points are brought below 1 then they will acquire the dying condition. There may be a few exceptions for monsters which have unusual abilities.

The amount of damage a hero's attacks do is determined as follows: Each hero has a number of damage dice. The type of die depends on the hero's calling. At level 1 a hero will have one of these dice, and at higher levels they will gain additional damage dice (DD). When an attack is successful it will usually do some damage to the target(s). The amount of damage will usually depend on the degree of success, and is specified in the feat description for the attack. This will be expressed as a damage expression of the form DD +M +ABILITYBONUS where M and N are numeric values. is an additional number of damage dice, thus if a hero has a damage die of d6 and is 7th level, thus having 2 damage dice, then a 2DD result would mean roll your 2d6 for your calling/level and an additional 2d6, 4d6 total. A static number, +3 for instance, means add 3 more points of damage, a +ABILITYBONUS literally means add the bonus for the ability which the weapon or implement uses. Some attacks might also specify a specific ability bonus to use, such as +STR. If the expression includes +implement or +weapon then also add the damage value of the weapon or implement itself. So, for a level 1 knight (DD=6) with a +2 STR and wielding a 2 damage arming sword, 2DD+3+STR+weapon means 3d6+3+2+2 damage. Note that if an attack is an area attack of any kind then roll the damage once for the first target hit and simply apply the same result to any other targets which are hit.

Some characters have either vulnerability or resistance. This will always indicate some damage types which it is effective for. If a target takes damage from a feat with this tag, then this attribute will modify the damage. If a character is damaged by a source with a tag to which it is vulnerable, the damage is doubled. If the character has resistance, the damage is halved, rounded down, but never less than one point.

Some characters have Damage Reduction, DR. This is usually a consequence of being armored. When a character has DR each instance of damage it takes from a different source will be reduced by the amount of the DR. Thus DR 4 would cut 8 damage to 4 damage.

Non-lethal Damage

Some damage may be determined to be non-lethal. This covers cases where an attacker takes an action which isn't physically injurious to the target, but which reduces their morale and ability to fight. It might be a psychic attack, or even a well-aimed comment or observation aimed at breaking the enemy's will to fight. It could be a subdual hold, or a blow with a fist or weapon calculated more to mildly incapacitate than to kill.

In game terms, when a player wishes, they can declare an attack to be non-lethal. If it is something inherently damaging, like fire, then the attack is assumed to be aimed just over the heads of the targets, or demonstrates the attacker's great skill by some feat of marksmanship, etc. Whenever a character reaches zero hit points due to non-lethal damage, the character acquires the broken condition instead of the dying condition.

Mechanically the character is still defeated, but they remain conscious and responsive, or at the GM's option unconscious but not dying. Note that any effects which take place when a character reaches the dying state don't take place, but any which are triggered by reaching zero hit points will.

Effects

Many attacks have effects beyond simply doing damage. These can be almost anything, but there are some common effects which are seen often.

First of all an attack might impose a condition on the target. See the section on Conditions . Another common effect is Forced Movement , either a push, a pull, or a slide of a certain number of squares. Some attacks might impose an affliction, others could impose some other sort of penalty or have some other effect, which will be described in the feat block.

Zones

Commonly a feat will specify an area of effect, and also a duration. In this case the effect persists as a zone of temporary conditional terrain. The effects of that terrain will be described by the feat. Note that this kind of effect doesn't normally depend on a hit or any sort of check. Often these zones will be described in an effects attribute of a feat, not in a success attribute .

Damage

Various situations can result in damage to a character. The relevant sections of the rules detail how much damage various things cause and how to calculate it. Once an amount of damage is known, then it is subtracted from the characters current hit points. Should the characters hit points be reduced to half or less of their starting total, the character immediately acquires the bloodied condition. If the hit point total is reduced to zero or less, the character immediately acquires the dying condition.

Note that the GM might sometimes impose, or feats might have rules specifying, that reduction to 0 or less hit points results in some other condition or effect. If the damage was non-lethal in nature, then the character acquires the incapacitated condition. If the damage was from a psychic effect or something similar, then the character might acquire the broken condition instead. In any case, reduction to 0 or less hit points represents the character becoming unable to act.

Catastrophic Damage

If a character has been reduced to a hit point total equal to half of their maximum hit points below 0 (IE -50 for a character who starts with 100 hit points) then the character has suffered a catastrophic amount of damage. The character immediately dies at this time. If the damage was non-lethal (psychic or similar) then the character's mind is broken, and they are unable to recover. Such a character will remain in an incapacitated condition until they are either slain, or some form of powerful magic or medicine is used to treat them.

Dying

Whenever a character has the dying condition they are in danger of perishing. Even characters who's damage is non-lethal are in danger of becoming permanently disabled. If a rest can be taken at the end of a scene in which a character is dying/incapacitated by damage, and the character is treated, then the character recovers to a state in which they have one hit point and the condition is removed. The character can now spend power points to recover additional hit points. If no treatment is possible, then the character will die soon. If they are recovered within several hours, then they will simply receive the affliction Badly Wounded, otherwise they reach death's door.

Stabilization

Emergency treatment, delivered promptly, will stabilize a character who is dying/incapacitated. The dying condition is treated by application of a heal action. At this point the character will remain incapacitated but is no longer dying, and will recover to one hit point at the end of the scene. Psychic or other non-lethal damage can be treated by using the rally action on the afflicted character. Again, they will simply stop and do nothing until the scene ends, at which point they will recover to one hit point.

Healing Value

Each character has a healing value which is calculated as 1/4 of the character's maximum hit points, rounded down. This value is used whenever the character is healed in order to determine the amount by which they heal.

Resting

Taking a rest allows a character to catch their breath, bandage their worst injuries, recover their wits, etc. As discussed in the section on rests, a character may expend power points to increase her hit points by the character's healing value per power point expended. Thus even a character with one hit point will be fully restored at the cost of 4 power points.

Healing Effects

Many feats and boons exist which will allow a character to spend a power point to gain healing. When the character is healed she does not need to take any action, the power point is deducted and she regains hit points as described by the effect, usually equal to the character's healing value plus some bonus. If the character has no power points to spend then such effects will have not heal the character, but any other effects will still apply normally. Note that a character may also refuse to spend the power point if they wish.

Regeneration

Regeneration is a magical effect of a healing nature which is sometimes encountered. A character may be granted regeneration as an effect, or it could be an attribute granted to the character by a boon. In any case, it will have a numeric value, which is the quantity of hit points which are regained by the character during each of its turns. If the character's hit point total goes to zero or below, then regeneration has no effect. Once the character reaches maximum hit points, they cannot benefit further from this effect. Some forms of regeneration may have other/different conditions and restrictions which override these.

Upping the Stakes

Wounds are generally received when a character is subject to an especially traumatic situation. This is handled in a slightly different way than other afflictions. While the following rule specifically applies to wounds, it could sometimes be applied to other types of afflictions as well. For example the trauma of some psychic damage might be manifested instead as a type of disease, in this case a sort of mental illness or curse.

When a player decides that their character is in an especially bad situation and the character is subjected to damage or an effect, then the player may volunteer to accept an affliction instead. There must be a narrative logic to this substitution, and it must be proportionate. While this rule is intended to allow players to recover from bad or impossible situations, it is mostly intended to allow for natural consequences that fit the story. For example Roger the Rogue has fallen into a terrible pit trap filled with spikes. He was already pretty beat up, and he has taken 20 points of damage, enough to reduce his hit points to a negative value equal to his bloodied value. Normally this would mean Roger dies instantly. However the player has other ideas. He proposes that Roger is impaled by a spike and suffers a serious debilitating wound (see the Wounds section). In recompense he only suffers 12 points of damage (he has a healing value of 8). Roger is now unconscious at the bottom of a pit, and even if he's pulled out he'll be suffering the ill effects of the wound for a considerable time, but he has a fighting chance.

As a rule of thumb, a player may accept a wound, or some similar affliction, in lieu of one healing value worth of hit points of damage. Allow a character to suffer an affliction in lieu of a similar effect, if they can explain narratively how they achieved this result. For example: a player might propose that his character grabs hold of the sting of the giant scorpion, which then crushes his leg with its pincer instead of injecting its lethal venom (toxic damage and stun effect). The damage is still taken, but the character now has a broken leg instead of being poisoned.

This rule should be used to produce interesting consequences that give the players a way to enhance their character's stories, not to simply avoid every unfortunate die roll and turn it to their advantage. Note that players also have the fate rule which they can use as well. Fate can get you something for no cost (except using up fate, a temporary expenditure) whereas upping the stakes always means the hero is in a worse situation in some sense.

Imaginative players and GMs may want to experiment with other possibilities as well. A character could trade loss of major or minor boons in return for a damage reduction or decrease in severity of a condition for example. This could be explained in any feasible way. A character could for instance give up all his supply of cash “As he’s about to hit me I toss my purse in his face and he grabs for the gold coins instead of taking the killing blow!” These sorts of tricks should be considered as something like Improvised Actions (see World and Play), requiring checks to succeed.

Affliction Description

• Name - The name of the affliction, note that the background color of the header indicates the type of affliction.
• Level - The level of the affliction is indicated at the far right of the header.
• Tags - The tags applying to this affliction appear below the header.
• Complexity- The complexity of the challenge required to cure the affliction
• Onset - This indicates how and when the affliction begins.
• Stages - This lists the effects of the affliction at each stage, 0 meaning no failures, and Final meaning 3 failures.
• Description - This is the description of the affliction. It usually describes how the affliction is acquired and its appearance, general progress, etc.
• Cure - This provides an explanation of how the affliction can be cured. This is useful in creating scenes related to this affliction.

General

There are a couple of conditions or circumstances which are implemented in the form of afflictions. These are Hunger, Thirst, Asphyxiation, and Exhaustion. These afflictions generally are imposed by circumstance, but are fundamentally similar to the others found later. In a challenge related to survival a player could accept one of these afflictions in lieu of a failure, much in the way accepting wounds is described above in Upping the Stakes . This will of course simply leave the heroes in a bit worse shape, but may allow them another chance to succeed in the overall challenge.

Wounds

These are the effects of physical trauma, and are thus fundamentally non-magical in nature. They include broken bones, severed limbs, and other similar injuries. Instead of attempting to produce a long list of medical horrors only a few generalized injuries should suffice, with the GM providing any needed additional details of the specific wound if need be. These are treated using the healing knack, survival might also be relevant.

Note that all wounds should be treated as being of the level of the creature or effect which created the wound, or the current level of the PC suffering the wound in cases where it is not clear what level to use.

Diseases

While in the real world these are caused by either microorganisms or some malfunction of the body, the world of HoML doesn't really have natural processes or microscopic life. Instead it has magical forces, which can manifest in the form of bodily disease, or mental illness. In practical terms there is no real difference between these and curses. However, because they afflict the physical body, they are treatable using the healing knack.

Curses

Curses are more varied and less related to physical bodily processes than diseases are; they include such things as therianthropy. Usually a curse will require some sort of specific requirements in order to effect a cure, or a specific magical ritual, etc. Treatment is generally accomplished via using arcana, or in some cases religion. In general curses are difficult to cure.

Poisons

Poisons, which herein includes other sorts of toxins, lethal or non-lethal, are substances introduced into the body of the victim in some way, where they act as an affliction. They are very similar to diseases and can also be treated using the healing or sometimes arcana knacks. There may be magical means to achieve a cure, as with any affliction, but it is common for poisons to have a specific antidote. A wide variety of such poisons exist, and most antidotes are specific to one particular poison, though often they are formulated from similar or identical virtuous substances. As a rule, poisons are associated with the shadow power source, but there are some which are different.

Poisons are also one of the more common types of affliction. While it may require esoteric knowledge to place a curse on someone, brewing up a dose of poison doesn't generally require a lot of special knowledge, and there are some fairly common plants and even animals which can be readily acquired for this purpose. Many animals are themselves poisonous, such as some snakes and such. While none of these are likely to be found lying around the average home knowledge of the more common, though less effective, types is fairly easy to come by.

In fact, poisons might even be purchased or acquired from certain unsavory individuals, and can be deployed by anyone bold enough to dose a victim. Each type of poison has its own methods of delivery, which are explained in the description.

Experts

Some hirelings may be considered experts. These are trained specialists in some field. If a PC hires an expert for a specific task then the cost will be a simple fee for the job being done. If a PC hires an expert on an ongoing basis then he will be required, as part of the expert's upkeep, to pay for their ordinary expenses and/or supply their needs. For example if a character hired an alchemist to be a member of his staff he would need to supply a laboratory, lab supplies, equipment, etc in addition to a place to live, food, etc of a quality level acceptable to a skilled expert as well as a wage. If said alchemist was then required to make a magical potion the character would pay for the ingredients and other expenses.

Skilled Labor

There are many sorts of hirelings who are not experts, per se, but have valuable skills nevertheless. These would include skilled carpenters, bricklayers, masons, tailors, etc. As with experts they might simply be hired to perform a specific job, in which case they are paid a fee, or they might be taken on as longer-term employees. The requirements of skilled labor are less than that of experts, they have more modest living standards and wages.

Specifically mercenaries and such fall into the category of skilled labor; they are characters with some skill at arms and the training required to use and care for military equipment, follow orders, and fight with some degree of discipline. A wise employer always makes sure his troops are paid well, and on time. Soldiers must also be equipped, just as all skilled laborers must. They also often expect to share in any booty which is acquired during wartime; this can be handled in the form of a 'campaign bonus'. Whenever a military operation is successful and the characters achieve their goals the troops will require a bonus, which is usually paid in the form of loot, or in some cases in even less savory fashion depending on the nature of the troops and their employer. Troops not paid this bonus are infamous for bad behavior and such an eventuality is sure to be grounds for a Leadership check, if not an entire challenge!

Unskilled Labor

These are the lowest sort of hirelings, basic construction workers, farm hands, haulers, etc. All they expect is a very basic wage and the most common sort of upkeep, a roof over their heads, hot meals, and basic tools and clothing. Raw military recruits with no training would be considered unskilled labor. Such soldiers still require a campaign bonus however since the only reason they are risking themselves is the hope of loot. This sort of soldiery is of questionable value, but may be useful as garrison troops or to bulk up a smaller force, freeing up more valuable troops for the decisive moment.

Animals

Animals which characters own, those which are NOT companions (see below) fall into this category. They are essentially hirelings, working for their living. They will obey orders to the best of their ability and serve within the limits of their nature. As with other hirelings they are subject to morale, loyalty, and obedience checks. Most such animals are trained and will perform certain specific actions upon command. Training animals falls under the Nature knack; commanding them is also a function of Nature.

Design

Minions are intended to be very simple to run in play; each one is counted as 1/4 of a monster for encounter design purposes. When creating a minion it should be kept simple. They won't normally have recharging powers, power points, or multiple types of attack. Most minions will have a basic attack of some kind; damage should be a static value somewhat lower than the average for standard monsters of that level, but it will be adjusted for role. Various traits, a secondary form of attack, some interesting movement ability, or something like this should be included in order to make the minion interesting. One frequently used design pattern is to give the minion some way to do extra damage or impose a condition, strengthen an ally, etc. which requires the minion to achieve some specific tactical positioning or objective. Such an ability could also key off something a likely ally can do, allowing the monsters to set up a 'whammy' if the heroes don't deal with the minions.

Players should be a bit worried when they see a bunch of minions show up. They are not meant to be the primary danger, but they should be just threatening enough to make the heroes want to take action to deal with them; this will give the other monsters time to raise the threat level or carry out their other plans.

A minion could also represent a non-heroic person, a bystander or even a person whom the heroes wish to rescue or avoid harming.

Design

These are the meat and potatoes of the game. Each standard monster should be a character, albeit perhaps a bit player, in the story that represents their interaction with the heroes. While a standard monster is challenging, remember that it isn't going to represent a great threat to a player character which has power points, fate, and the ability to utilize an appropriate defense against each attack. This is fine, when a PC engages the monster, it will use its unique traits to present the characters with a problem to solve, or not solve.

Each standard monster needs a reasonably engaging routine which it can employ against the PCs; since it will probably remain in play for at least 2-3 rounds. Most standard monsters should have some kind of attack or ability which allows them to push the PCs; thus the heroes will be in a dangerous situation, usually right near the start of a fight, in the first couple of rounds. The monster's 'thing' might simply be a big encounter attack, or it might involve putting some condition on one or more PCs so that they cannot easily employ their preferred tactics. It could simply be an ability to remain less exposed to countermeasures; thus the monster threatens to rain damage down without being threatened in return.

The best ideas are both subtle and obvious. It should be pretty clear what the challenge is; but meeting the challenge should require some enginuity and force the players to make tradeoffs when possible. Its OK if there are a few vanilla monsters in the mix, as long as they are given a way to shine indirectly, such as by taking advantage of an ability of another monster.

Standard monsters often have at least a couple of attacks, including one that can do extra damage and/or impose conditions in at least some situations. Other kinds of traits are likely to be useful as well, but any one given monster should probably stick to a single basic conceptual thing that it does, one set of tactics. Monsters are not usually generalists, a different monster, or a variation of a monster, can always be developed to cover other situations.

Design

These monsters are ones whom the heroes should remember, and probably not in a good way! They should always have something interesting and genuinely threatening about them. An uncommon monster should be likely to launch more than one sort of attack; remember, it is taking the place of two standard monsters, so it basically needs to do 2x the damage as well; while it is possible to simply give this kind of a monster one really big attack, that isn't usually a good strategy. In addition to its own attacks, give these monsters a way to interact with and enhance the standard monsters they are paired with. An uncommon monster might be able to entirely tie down a couple of heroes for 2-3 rounds, giving other monsters a chance to roam free; it could directly enhance other monsters which are around it; or it could give the other monsters an easy way to use their best tactics, making them a bit more dangerous.

Note that the weakness of uncommon monsters is that they are just as subject to conditions and other disabling effects as standard monsters; however the effect is twice as big, since they are effectively two standard monsters in one. It is generally a good idea to provide the uncommon monster with a 'get out of jail free' kind of ability of some sort. That could be a way to disengage when put in a bad situation, an ability to shed conditions, or perhaps a way to avoid at least some of the parties more nasty attacks which will be aimed at them.

Design

All of the things which pertain to uncommon monsters pertain double for singular ones. Every singular monster needs ways to avoid being locked down or crippled by the use of multiple condition imposing feats. They also need ways to reshape the battlefield, avoid being pinned down, or escape from being ganged up on. Alternately a unique monster could sport a design which makes it extremely potent when all its enemies gather around it; thus making them wish not to do so.

Damage output for a unique monster needs to be high, but it is better to split it up amongst several attacks; one giant attack will simply crush an opponent. Alternatively area effects, bursts and blasts, are a great option. Few and far between are the unique monsters which lack additional interesting traits, auras, and triggers; all of these can increase damage and produce interesting tactical situations. Most unique monsters are also fighting in unique locations, often of their own choosing; they should take advantage of this. Traps and other terrain features are almost sure to exist and can synergize well with the creature itself.

Design

Skirmishers are pretty much baseline monsters in terms of their stats. They often move quickly; or have movement abilities which allow them to get to their preferred spot on the battlefield, attack, and potentially avoid retaliation. However they are not particularly well protected in most cases, nor do they have the inherent toughness of brutes. Skirmishers are best employed on the flanks, or as a reserve.

When designing a skirmisher, think mobility. The skirmisher is a tactical asset which can get from A to B and engage on the run successfully. It should have some ability which reflects this.

Design

The brute doesn't have a lot of armor in most cases, but they have a lot of hit points, and they hurt anything which comes close to them. They are employed right on the front line where their job is to act as the hammer to the soldier's anvil. As such the typical design for a brute features a limited number of higher damage melee attacks. Basic standard brutes probably just need a basic attack and an encounter or low recharge rate limited attack. They might also feature some kind of condition imposition or trait/aura that emphasizes their nature and makes them a bit more interesting to deal with.

Effects like pushing are nicely applied to the brute; anything which gives it an impression of power and force works well. Now and then a brute might also sport a secondary function, such as having a minor ranged attack or leadership abilities. Remember, it is unlikely that brutes will survive too long, they're prime targets! Of course, a monster design could use this to advantage, say by punishing anyone who attacks the creature.

Design

As noted in the description, soldiers are all about pinning down the PCs and making their lives difficult. They should be reasonably tough; a soldier has the best DR and a good number of hit points, as well as generally good defenses. They are meant to stand at the front and mix it up with the heroes. Most soldier attacks feature more condition and effect imposition vs high damage. A soldier generally doesn't need the levels of mobility or mechanisms to help with disengaging to the extent that some other roles (lurker, skirmisher) do.

Soldiers often can synergize in some way with other monsters in their groups. A solid design concept involves soldiers who impose some condition and then another monster which can exploit that condition; another good design would be a 'glue monster' which holds enemies close while something like artillery hammers them. A soldier also makes a good bodyguard for a more important monster, intercepting any stray hero who happens to get close and keeping them tied up.

Design

The lurker should have a very well-defined 'shtick' and its feats and other traits should be focused on executing that routine. Remember, a lurker might not attack every round, as it may need time to get into position or wait for its prey. For this reason lurkers often require some sort of ability to avoid damage and an attack which concentrates a lot of damage in one blow. Often these monsters have a deadly recharge type of attack, giving them the ability to strike, withdraw, and then set up and strike again. Since lurkers don't generally want to stick near the enemy they also usually have a 'get out of here' feature of some sort; a way to put on a burst of speed, flight, teleportation, an attack which has a movement effect built in; these are all good ways to design a lurker.

Design

As noted, artillery is all about concentrating firepower; they could also, however, be designed to provide an area effect, denying terrain to the heroes, but this shades into controller territory. Typical artillery are fairly simple monsters with a ranged attack. They may have a secondary higher damage limited version; and they will also typically have a minor melee or close capability to fend off attackers with if needed.

Cleverly designed artillery will often have such features as a synergy with a defender or skirmisher; something like gaining an extra bit of damage or effect vs an opponent with a condition imposed by a soldier is typical. It can work in reverse too, with the artillery imposing an effect which enhances the melee attacking monsters effectiveness. Things like flying artillery are obvious design patterns, but should be used sparingly as they can produce unwinnable situations, which is usually not desirable.

Design

Controllers are a highly varied role. When built to work close in they are pretty similar to soldiers, but they will not usually be so tough, and may sport higher mobility instead. The more classic design can operate at some range, imposing conditions, often through lasting zones, or even walls. A controller might sport a ranged condition imposition attack which slows or impairs heroes, preventing them from reaching their goals. This is the central concept of the controller, it is about breaking the heroes plans. A controller will ideally make the PCs do what it wants, instead of what they want to do. Naturally this will not be good for the heroes...

Note that area effect damage, especially ranged, is essentially a controller function. This is a very basic and effective design, punish any opponents who stick too close together. Adding some sort of durable zone to this is a pretty obvious addition. These sorts of attacks are most often encounter or recharged so they can do limited damage and give the heroes a chance to counteract them and prevail.

Usage

Monster feats have usage rates. These are: