100867_RAA_Quill & Codex_R1_PROOF

The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

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The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

QUILL & CODEX THE CULLEN BUNN ROLE-PLAYINGSYSTEM BETA RULES

Created, Game Design, & Written by Cullen Bunn Illustration by Nicolas Giacondino Design & Layout by Jeremy D. Mohler

Quill & Codex: The Base Game Rules Copyright © 2025 Cullen Bunn & Outland Entertainment. All rights reserved. Daemonrot Copyright © 2025 Cullen Bunn & Outland Entertainment. All rights reserved. Published by Outland Entertainment LLC 3119 Gillham Road Kansas City, MO 64109 Visit outlandentertainment.com to see more, or follow us on our Facebook Page facebook.com/outlandentertainment

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TablE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................1 2. What is a Role-Playing Game? ....................................................................2 3. What You Need to Play ................................................................................3 4. The Golden Rule… or The Golden Rules ..................................................3 5. Rules Are For Suckers! .................................................................................3 6. The Basics .......................................................................................................4 7. Creating an Adventurer ...............................................................................5 a. Backstory ................................................................................................5 b. Adventuring Traits ...............................................................................6 c. Adventuring Classes.............................................................................8 i. Warrior............................................................................................8 ii. Ranger .............................................................................................8 iii. Priest ...............................................................................................9 iv. Thief ..............................................................................................10 v. Magician .......................................................................................10 d. Skills ......................................................................................................12 e. Advantages ..........................................................................................13 f. Health Points and Dying....................................................................14 g. Adventure Points ................................................................................15 h. Faith.......................................................................................................17 i. Spellcraft...............................................................................................18 j. Wealth, Weapons, Equipment, and Carrying Capacity.................21 i. Wealth ...........................................................................................21 ii. Encumbrance ...............................................................................21 iii. Weapons and Armor...................................................................22 iv. Gear ...............................................................................................23 8. Challenges ....................................................................................................24 a. Bumping a Die .....................................................................................26 9. Combat ........................................................................................................26 10. Terrible Monsters and Fearsome Foes......................................................29 a. Challenge Threshold...........................................................................30 b. Villainy Points .....................................................................................31 c. A Menagerie of Monsters...................................................................32 11. Magic Items..................................................................................................40 12. What’s to Come ...........................................................................................43 13. Special Thanks .............................................................................................44 14. The Adventurer Sheet.................................................................................45

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INTrODUCTION

W elcome to QUILL & CODEX, a rules–light game through which you and your friends will craft epic stories together! I’ve been playing Role-Playing Games for a long, long time now. I started with Dungeons and Drag ons , but over the years I’ve played dozens and dozens of different games. Top Secret, Gangbusters, Boot Hill, Chill, Call of Cthulhu, Vam pire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, The Whispering Vault, Stormbringer, Villains and Vigilantes, KULT, Amber Diceless Roleplaying, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, Ars Magica, Shad owrun, Twilight 2000, Dark Conspir acy, Paranoia, RIFTS, Mutants and Masterminds, 7th Sea, Legend of the Five Rings, Lord of the Rings, Path finder, GURPS , and… Well, really, the list goes on and on. At some point in the 80s, I created a Role-Playing Game titled Robots & Renegades , in which players took the role of robots who could— get this —disguise themselves as earth ly vehicles. Yeah, I was into the car toon and the toys. My friends and I played at least a few sessions of the game, though. Suffice it to say, Role-Playing games have been a big part of my life and a big influence on me. I sim ply love the idea of collaborative storytelling and world–building. I love gathering around a table (or across an online connection) and weaving a story of adventure and horror and intrigue. I love the sur prises. I love the thrills. I love the laughs. I’ve never really loved a lot of rules, though. I get that, for some folks, the rules make the game. For me, though, I feel like they can get in the way of some damn fine storytelling. And, so, QUILL & CODEX was created.

Light on rules, quick to play, col laborative, story–driven, and fun. The idea is simple (as is the game). I wanted to create something that anyone (whether they have played every RPG or have never seen a twelve–sided die) could pick up, understand the rules (such as they are), and start playing a game with friends. The rules are there… main ly to add a small bit of structure and a bigger dose of drama and surprise to the mix. But the point is to get to gether, enjoy each other’s company, and tell stories together. So, this will not provide a lot of “crunchy” bits. In some cases, I’ve actively avoided such ideas. As I was putting this together, I thought of them as stumbling blocks on the road to a good time. This game system is intended to fit into almost any theme or genre. For simplicity, this edition is writ ten with a typical fantasy world in mind. I thought that might be the easiest way to get the general concepts out there. Upcoming edi tions and supplements might cover stories set in a futuristic world, an apocalyptic environment, or the depths of space. Other editions might introduce concepts common in the superhero or horror genres. What we have here, though, should offer your group enough informa tion to build almost any story you want, right from the ground up. I hope you enjoy what I’ve put together. Have fun. Roll some dice. Tell some stories together. ––Cullen Bunn From Somewhere in Snake Mountain

Within the depths of the Daemonrot, mad prophets ponder an apocalyptic future.

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WhAT IS A rOlE-plAYING GAME?

I bet you already know the answer to this. A Role-Playing game is a system of rules through which Players take the roles of fictional characters, making decisions and acting out the actions of those characters while a Game Master or Narrator guides them through vari ous situations, details the challenges they face, and describes the world around them. Basically, as mentioned elsewhere, this is a game in which the Players tell a story together.

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WhAT YOU NEED TO plAY

T o play this game, you will need a few things. •This rulebook – This book has all the information you need to play. It’s simple enough, though, that eventually you’ll have all the rules locked away in your head. •Gamers – You’ll need at least a couple to play the game. One Gamer will take the role of the Game Master. The others will take the roles of Adventurers. •Dice – You will need a set of multi–sided dice to place the game. A D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20. You’ll actually need two ten–sided dice. These are used together to represent a D100. You might want to have a few extra

on hand for when another Player forgets theirs. • Paper – You’ll need this to track the adventure, monitor initia tive in combat, and keep your Adventurer in order. You might also want to take notes during the adventure. A sample Adven turer Sheet is provided at the end of this book, but you could also write your Adventurer’s stats on a blank piece of paper and it would work just fine. • Writing Utensils – Pencils, Pens, Markers • A Place to Play – This might be the home of one of the Players, a library or community center, a bar or coffee house, or even on line.

ThE GOlDEN rUlE… Or ThE GOlDEN rUlES

T he “Golden Rule” of most Role-Playing games is often considered to be “the Player’s enjoyment comes first,” meaning that the game should be tailored to provide the most fun experience for everyone participating, even if it sometimes means breaking the rules.

QUILL & CODEX embraces this concept. In fact, only one other rule is as important.

“Do not call up what you can’t put down.”

rUlES ArE FOr SUCKErS!

r ules Lawyers will probably not like this game. To them, I say, chillllllllll laaaaaaax . If this game had NO RULES AT ALL, it would have met the criteria I had in mind when I started put

ting it together. Quick to learn. Easy to play. No need to dig through page–after–page and appendices– after–appendices to uncover some vague ruling. The vague rulings are in your head.

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There is no spoon. Make it up and keep the story going.

interpretive dance to demonstrate their actions? Make it so! Do you hate dice? Throw them out! As long as everyone in your gaming group is having a great time, then what else matters? I mean… lots. Your friends. Your family. Your rent or mortgage. Your physical and mental health. There are lots of worries and troubles in the world that matter. But this is a game … and hopeful ly it helps you forget your troubles and worries for a little while. In other words—make it your own and have a terrific time. • Challenge Die – These are the dice rolled in Challenges. • Challenge Thresholds – Some enemies are so dangerous that Adventurers must spend Adven ture Points just to face them. • Faith – This represents miracles that can be performed in the name of one’s deity. These feats require the expenditure of Faith Points . • The Game Master (GM) – The narrator and referee of the game. On the fridge in my studio, I have a magnet that features a Game Master sitting at the game table. “I am Your God Now,” it reads… which isn’t completely off–base. • Game Session – This is a sin gle night of playing the game. It might last a few hours. Many Adventurer attributes (such as Health Points, Spellcraft Points, and Faith Points) reset at the be ginning of each Session. • Health Points – This is a measure ment of an Adventurers health and vitality. If it reaches zero, the Adventurer is in danger of dying.

This is your game!

Play it the way you want! Noth ing in this system should stand in the face of the enjoyment of those playing the game. In fact, much of this system is left intentionally vague so you can interpret or ignore elements as you see fit. Do you want to devise a much more elaborate grimoire of magic spells to be used in your campaign? By all means, do it! Do you want to require all players to sing the words their Adventurers speak and use S everal Core Concepts shape QUILL & CODEX into the game you’re about to play: • Advantages – All Adventurers have special abilities that set them apart from everyone else. • Adventurers –The characters the Players control throughout the game are called Adventurers. Af ter all, we’re all Adventurers in this thing called life. They are the avatars through which wonder, mystery, fright, and thrills are ex perienced. • Adventure Points – Adventur ers have a supply of Adventure Points that they can use to influ ence the game, face dire enemies, and improve over time. • Bumping a Die – Using Adven ture Points (and maybe some other circumstances) a Player may Bump a Challenge Die up or down, tinkering with the possi bilities of success or failure. • Challenge – These opposed die rolls determine the success or failure of almost all actions in the game.

ThE bASICs

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• Non – Player Character (NPC) – Any character or monster con trolled by the Game Master. • Player – These are the folks who take on the role of Adventurers. • Skills – Adventurers have nu merous Skills that make them special and influence their suc

cess during their Adventures. • Spellcraft – This is the ability to cast spell through the expendi ture of Spellcraft Points . • Traits – Four Traits ( Muscle , Brains , Agility , and Will ) repre sent an Adventurers physical and mental abilities.

CrEATING ThE ADVENTUrEr

C reating an Adventurer for QUILL & CODEX is simple! You can write your stats on a simple sheet of paper, but we’ve in cluded a sample Adventurer Sheet at the end of this book! There are eight steps to creating an Adventurer: • Create Backstory • Determine Adventuring Class • Determine Adventuring Traits • Select Skills • Select Advantages • Determine Wealth and Equip ment

• Choose a Name • Go forth on your adventures. These steps can be taken in any order… save for Step 8. This must be last. If you were to cast an un formed, unnamed adventurer into the realm of fantasy and adventure, you may very well conjure a demon into reality. Remember—do not call up what you cannot put down.

Then again… RULES ARE FOR SUCKERS… so do what you want.

bACKSTOrY

A nswer the following questions about your Adventurer: • What is your Adventurer Con cept?

• What has driven you to break away from the peace and quiet of your home and seek a life of ad venture? • What is your Adventuring Class?

EXAMPLE 1 – Josh is both essentially a scientist AND essentially a modern day Viking. He also loves Cullen’s book HELHEIM. So, he decides he wants to play an undead Viking killing machine. For ADVENTURER CONCEPT, he writes down “Undead Viking Killing Machine.” For his reason for seeking a life of ad venture, he writes “Raised from the dead by an evil witch to battle the minions of ANOTHER evil witch.” For ADVENTURING CLASS, he selects “Warrior.” And for name he writes “Rikard.

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EXAMPLE 2 – Cindy has never read Cullen’s much–im itated (well… at least ONCE– imitated) comic series LUCKY DEVIL, but she likes the idea of Stanley, an everyday schlub with the powers of a demon. For ADVENTURER CONCEPT she writes (believe it or not) “Everyday Schlub With The Powers of a Demon.” For his reason to adventure, she writes “When the demon possessing him was exorcised, the demonic powers remained.” With AD VENTURING CLASS, she faces a conundrum. Her Ad venturer might be best reflected as a Priest or a Magician. In the end, she thinks his magical mumbo jumbo is best represent ed by the Magician class. For name, she selects “Stanley.”

CULLEN SAYS – What about special ancestries? What if you want to play an Elf or Dwarf or Hobbit or the like? For the rules as presented here, Adventur ers are assumed to be human. However, if there are Dwarves in your world and you want to play a Dwarf, simply add that to your Adventurer Concept and you’re off to the races. Choose the Advantages and Skills that you think are most appropriate for a Dwarf. For now, being a Dwarf (or Elf or whatever) does not change your statistics and bonuses. In later publications, that might change.

ADVENTUrING TrAITS

T here are four Key Adventuring Traits: • MUSCLE (a measurement of your physical strength) • BRAINS (a measurement of your intelligence and cunning) • AGILITY (a measurement of your speed and dexterity) • WILL (a measurement of your determination, drive, courage, and stubbornness) During Adventurer Creation, you have a D6, a D8, a D10, and a D12 to assign. Assign one to each of the statistics. The higher the die, the more competent you are in that Ad venturing Trait.

EXAMPLE – For his Undead Viking, Josh decides that he is very strong and resilient, and he therefore puts a D12 in MUSCLE. The Adventurer (and Josh) is smarter than you might expect, so Josh places a D10 in BRAINS. Even though Rikard was created as the ser vant of an evil witch, his WILL is such that he sometimes strug gles against her urgings, so that score is a D8. And, since you don’t have to be fast when you can take a hit, the Viking’s AGILITY is a D6.

A sly Thief might have a D6 Muscle, a D8 Brains, a D12 Agility, and a D10 Will.

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ADVENTUrING ClASSES

Y our Adventuring Class en hances your Adventurer’s effectiveness in a variety of ways. There are five Core Adven turing Classes: • Warrior – Fighters, warlords, brawlers, and brutes. • Ranger – Hunters, trackers, and stalkers. • Priest – Healers, holy knights, and figures of faith. • Thief – Tricksters, cutpurses, and sneaks • Magician – Wizards, illusionists, sorcerers, and diablerists.

WArrIOr K nights, cavaliers, swashbuck lers, brawlers, barbarians. The Warrior represents the front line of high adventure and tough– as–nails action. •You gain a +1 bonus to Muscle Rolls • You start each Game Session with 1D10+4 Health Points. • You gain Skill in one melee weap on of your choice. Starting at +1. • You have 3 additional Skills to as sign as you see fit. •You start with one Medium (or Light) Weapon and one Medi um (or Light) Armor. If you start with a weapon requiring ammu nition, you have enough ammo for 20 shots (a quiver of arrows for example). Light) Weapon and one Medi with a weapon requiring ammu rANGEr h unters, scouts, trackers, stalkers, and outdoors man, the Ranger rep resents the rugged prowlers of the wild. • You start each Game Ses sion with 1D6+3 Health Points. • You start each Game Ses You gain 5 Skills, each starting •You gain 5 Skills, each starting at +1. These skills are Tracking, Survival, Scouting, Set Snares, and Animal Lore. You can use additional skill points to enhance them further if you like. • You have 3 additional Skills to assign as you see fit. The Warrior is emboldened. For tonight’s Gaming Session, he rolled 12 Health Points!

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• Rangers are keen hunters. If there is a Ranger in your party, you get a +1 bonus to meet Challenge Thresholds. • In Melee Combat, a Ranger may wield two melee weapons of Light or Medium weight. When fighting in this way, a Ranger can make two melee attacks in a Combat Round. • Rangers CANNOT wear any ar mor heavier than light. If they do, they lose access to their two– weapon fighting and any skills related to stealth. • You start with one Medium and one Light Weapon. If you start with a weapon requiring ammu nition, you have enough ammo for 20 shots (a quiver of arrows for example).

The Priest relies on the power of her Faith to mend wounds and bolster the strength of her allies.

prIEST c lerics, healers, cultists, and fa natics, the Priest represents fig ures of faith who can call upon divine (or hellish) powers. •You have a +1 bonus on Will Rolls. • You start each Game Session with 1D6+3 Health Points. • You gain three Skills, each start ing at +1. These skills are First Aid, Theology, and Occultism. You can use additional skill points to enhance them further if you like. • You have 3 additional Skills to as sign as you see fit. •Priests have access to a special • • •

This Ranger has a +3 Skill with Flintlock Pistols. That means she adds +3 to any roll involving her pistol.

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ability—FAITH. This grants sev eral key abilities. See FAITH. • You start with a Light or Medium Weapon. If you start with a weap on requiring ammunition, you have enough ammo for 20 shots (a quiver of arrows, for example). ThIEF r ogues, tricksters, con artists, grifters, assassins, and swin dlers, the Thief Class rep resents those who prowl the shad ows. • You gain a +1 bonus Agility Rolls • You start each Game Session with 1D6+3 Health Points. •You have 5 Skill points to place in skills of your choice. You may put multiple points into the same skill. You may enhance them fur ther with additional skill points if you like. These skills must be chosen from this list: ◦ Acrobatics ◦ Climbing ◦ Deceit ◦ Detect and Disarm Traps ◦ Disguise ◦ Hide ◦ Pickpocket ◦ Sneak • You gain 5 Skill points to assign as you see fit. •Thieves are lucky. Once per Game Session, you may re–roll any one die roll (without spend ing an Adventure Point). You must accept the result of the new roll. If this new roll results in a Stunning Success, your luck holds and you can re–roll another die roll during the session. •Thieves CANNOT wear any ar mor heavier than light. If they do, they lose access to any skills relat ed to stealth. • You start with a Light or Medium Weapon. If you start with a weap You start with a Light or Medium Weapon. If you start with a weap grifters, assassins, and swin dlers, the Thief Class rep resents those who prowl the shad You gain a +1 bonus Agility Rolls You start each Game Session with You have 5 Skill points to place skill. You may enhance them fur -

on requiring ammunition, you have enough ammo for 20 shots (a quiver of arrows, for example).

The thief sometimes throws caution to the wind and relies on dumb luck to see her through.

MAGICIAN M agic users, wizards, witch es, illusionists, psychics, and sorcerers, the Magician Class represents those who can reshape the forces of reality around them selves. •You gain a +1 bonus to your Brains rolls. • You start each Game Session with 1D4+2 Health Points. • You have 3 skills, each at +1. You

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may enhance them with addi tional skill points if you like. The skills are Alchemy, Arcane Lore, and Occultism. • You have 3 additional Skills to as sign as you see fit. •Magicians have access to a spe cial ability—SPELLCRAFT. This allows you to cast spells. See SPELLCRAFT. • Magicians CANNOT wear armor (unless the armor has some mag ical property that allows such things). If they do, they lose ac cess to Spellcraft. • You start with a Light Weapon. things). If they do, they lose ac

CULLEN SAYS – You might find yourself saying, “But… but… but… my campaign is set in the modern world. There are no Magicians! People don’t walk around as Warriors with swords!” Oh, no? Is an MMA Fighter not a Warrior? Is a guy performing card tricks on the street not a Magician? Is a Cat Burglar not a Thief? Yes, the Adventuring Classes above are focused on more of a Fantasy Setting, but with a lit tle tweaking they can apply to any world in which you want to play. Find the closest Adventuring Class and go with it. No magic in your world? Well, then, don’t allow the Magician class… unless the Adventur er is the ONLY person in the world with magic, which could be kind of badass. Want to make a statement about religion, faith, and theology? Maybe a Priest would be writ ten as a Thief. Future supplements for the QUILL & CODEX will offer some guidance on tweaking and adding Adventuring Classes, but this is your game, do with it what you want! class… unless the Adventur Maybe a Priest would be writ

The Magician prepares to call forth a fireball, a Rank 5 spell.

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SKIllS

S kills represent an Adventurer’s experience, book–learning, street sense, and know–how. They can also help an Adventurer over the course of their exploits. Based on their Adventuring Class, the Adventurer will have a certain number of skills. Some are pre–assigned. Some are open to selection. Each Skill grants you at least +1 to rolls directly involving that particular skill. You may take a skill more than once, thereby giving you additional bonuses to the roll. During Adventurer Creation, skills can be bolstered at a one–for–one cost. Later on, skills will require a bit more effort to enhance.

At Adventurer Creation, the maximum Skill Bonus is +3, but skills can be enhanced beyond this level over time.

During Adventurer Creation, you can choose ALMOST ANY SKILL you can imagine to flesh out your Adventurer. Skills influence the game, yes, but they are also tools for role–playinig. “Hamster–wrangling”? Sure, if you want it. “Proofreading”? Does that fit the Adventurer? “Profanity”? Why not? “Iron Stomach”? Might come in handy if it fits the Adventurer concept. “Keeping Composure While Being Tickled”? I don’t know what you’re going for here, but go for it! Your Game Master should devise plot points that bring your acquired skills into play throughout your campaign. While this is BY NO MEANS an exhaustive list, some examples might include: • Acrobatics • Alchemy • Ancient History • Ranged Weapon Expertise (must specify the weap on)

• Dancing • Deceit • Dancing • Deceit • Detect Lie • Detect and Disarm Traps • Disguise • Fast Talking • Hide (In Shadows)

• Ancient Language • Animal Handling

• Occultism • Pickpocket • Read Lips • Rope Use • Riding • Scrounging

• Animal Lore • Appraising • Arcane Lore • Astrology • Armorer • Barter • Blind Fighting • Bluff • Camouflage • Climbing • Concealment

• Seduction • Set Snares • Stealth • Tightrope Walking

• Intimidation • Investigation • Juggling • Jumping • Language • Melee Weapon

• Tracking • Trapping

Expertise (must specify the weap on)

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This game is set up in such a way that any Adventurer can attempt to perform any task. Does the Warrior need to climb a wall, but has no skill in it? They can still try to climb the wall. Does the Magician want to attempt to pick a lock even though they have no lockpick skill? They can certainly try. The GM should, however, feel free to make difficulty levels high er for certain untrained skills. For example, an unskilled adventurer trying to pick a lock. The GM can also decide that some skills are impossible (D100 or worse) to someone who doesn’t have a skill. For example, deci phering the ancient language of the dragons without a skill in linguis tics.

CULLEN SAYS – Skills can really set your character apart and offer you some exciting options. Have a character who isn’t big and buff but you want them to be deadly with a rapier? Give them Weapon Expertise in Rapier, adding bonus points to your dice rolls to hit! EXAMPLE – Emmy Crawford is a sweet little witch living in Harrow County. She gets along well with animals, so she has an Animal Handling +2 Skill. When she encounters a group of hunting dogs, she gets a +2 to any roll associated with calm ing them. EXAMPLE – Kirby Hale is a gunfighter with a D12 Agility. He is a deadly shot, so he has a +2 Ranged Weapon Expertise (Six–Shooters). Whenever he rolls an Attack Roll to hit, he rolls a D12+2!

However, should a GM allow an Adventurer to try something impossible for which they are not skilled, a Stunning Success might give that Adventurer that skill at +1!

ADVANTAGES

A dvantages are similar to Skills in that they offer bonuses to rolls. As with Skills, you can take almost ANY Advantage (with the Game Master’s approval). Ad vantages, though, are not typically learned. They are inherent gifts that make the Adventurer unique. During the creation process, an Adventurer can allot 3 Points to Advantages. This might be up to three different +1 Advantages or multiple Points can be assigned to one Advantage for an additional +1 bonus. This is a 1–for–1 scenario. Advantages can be enhanced down the road, but new Advantages can

not be purchased after Adventurer Creation.

At Adventurer Creation, the maximum Advantage Bonus is +3, but skills can be enhanced beyond this level over time.

Here are just a FEW examples of possible Advantages. • Acute Senses (pick one) • Alertness

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• Always Land on Your Feet • Animal Empathy • Barbarian Rage • Calm Under Pressure • Fearless • Fleet–Footed • Green Thumb • Gorgeous • High Pain Threshold • Intimidating • Lightning Reflexes • Magic Resistance • Musically Gifted • Natural Outdoorsman • Nimble • Sexy • Silent • Tough as Nails

EXAMPLE – Horror movie fan turned vigilante Jumpscare has “Lightning Reflexes” +2. That means that for any roll involving acting fast, such as Initiative, she gets a +2 Bonus. She also has “Tough as Nails” +1. That means when she makes a Challenge roll involving re sisting Damage and the like, she gets a +1. EXAMPLE – Blood magician Roman Black is a warlock with a “Blood Magician” +10 Ad vantage (he’s been around a while). He can cast all sorts of spells with his Spellcraft, but when he casts a spell involving Blood Magic, he gets a +10 bo nus.

hEAlTh pOINTS

A t the beginning of every Gam ing Session, roll to deter mine an Adventurer’s Health Points. This is determined by the Adventuring Class. This is the amount of Health Points you have for the session. Sometimes you will have more, sometimes less. Tread carefully! You can lose Health Points from a variety of sources. Combat damage,

getting fried by a spell, traps, falling off a cliff, stubbing your toe, anger ing the Game Master, etc. Any damage taken (if it doesn’t kill the Adventurer) is healed at the end of the Game Session. Yell, “It was just a flesh wound!” and be glad you survived. At the beginning of the next Ses sion, determine your Health Points again.

DYING

I f you are reduced to 0 Health Points, the Adventurer falls un conscious. The Adventurer is dying. Every round thereafter, until a Health Point is healed, the Play er may roll either a MUSCLE or WILL Trait Challenge. It’s the Play er’s choice. Some Adventurers are tough enough to shrug off the pain.

Others have the willpower to keep on fighting. On any roll other than a Natural 1, the Adventurer keeps on breath ing. On a Natural 1, the Adventurer dies. If the Max Number is rolled on the die, the Adventurer heals 1 Health Point and awakens.

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ADVENTUrE pOINTS

• Bringing snacks • Writing a detailed Adventurer backstory • Doing something very heroic • Contributing to everyone else’s enjoyment of the game • And anything else the Game Master wants to reward.

Properly spending… and saving… Adventure Points can be a key to survival. T his is a game of heroic deeds! Of daring escapades! Of thrill ing risks and great rewards! This is a game of Adventure! There are no levels in this game, but your Adventurers will gather Adventure Points as they delve into ancient labyrinths and challenge fearsome foes.

You also gain an Adventure Point when you roll a Stun ning Success!

During a Game Session, Adven ture Points can be used in a number of ways, including: • Bump a die up for any single Challenge Roll. See BUMPING A DIE. • Bump a Game Master’s roll down. See BUMPING A DIE. • Re–roll a failed roll. This can only be done once per die roll. Only you re–roll. The Game Master’s

At the beginning of every Gaming Session you attend, you get 3 Adventure Points.

The Game Master may reward an additional Adventure Point as they see fit. Some example Adventure Point rewards include:

• Defeating a major NPC • Completing an adventure

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Challenge roll remains the same. • Completely avoid damage from any single attack. • Take an additional action in a Combat Round. • Automatically succeed a roll to avoid dying. • Asking the Game Master for a clue to a current riddle or mys tery. • Paying the Challenge Threshold to face exceptionally tough NPCs.

◦ Skill – Cost is Current Modifi er Level +1 ▪ So… if you have a First Aid skill at +3, it will cost 4 points to raise it to +4. ◦ Advantage – Cost is Current Modifier +3. ▪ So… if you have a +1 Always Land on Your Feet Advan tage, it will cost 4 points to raise it to +2. • Acquire a new Skill – A new +1 Skill costs 2 Adventure Points

You can only spend your Ad venture Points for yourself, not for other Adventurers.

Traits, Skills, and Advan tages can only be enhanced ONE STEP at a time.

Adventure Points CANNOT be spent to Bump a Spell craft Challenge Die, but they can be used to re–roll magic– related Challenges.

CULLEN SAYS – Adventur ing Points are a vital part of this game system. In fact, I al most threw everything out the window EXCEPT Adventuring Points. These points can make a game even more thrilling, so don’t be afraid to dish them out! CULLEN ALSO SAYS – Don’t spend all your Adven turing Points if you can help it! You might want to save a few in reserve. You’ll need them to even think about facing some of the tougher foes in the game!

At the end of any Gaming Ses sion, Adventure Points may also be banked to be used for the following purposes: • Enhance a Trait Bonus, Skill, or Advantage for the following costs: ◦ Trait – Cost is Current Modifi er Level +3. ▪ So… if you have a +1 Muscle Bonus, it will cost 4 points to raise it to +3. If you have a +3 Muscle Bonus, it will cost 6 points to raise it to +4.

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The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

FAITh

• Heal Wounds – For 1 Faith Point, you may heal an Adventurer (in cluding yourself). You can restore 1D4+1 Health Points per Faith Point spent. An Adventurer’s Health Points cannot rise above their maximum for the Game Ses sion. • Cure Disease – For 1 Faith Point, you may cure any disease that is afflicting an Adventurer. • Remove Poison – For 1 Faith Point, you may remove a poison effect from an Adventurer. • Bless/Inspire – For 1 Faith Point, you may Bump a die. This works in a similar fashion to Adven ture Points. Unlike Adventure Points, you may Bump die rolls for OTHER Adventurers. You can, of course, use multiple Faith Points to Bump a die multiple times. As with Adventure Points, Faith Points CANNOT be used to Bump dice associated with Spell craft.

Using a Faith Point, the Priest rebukes a zombie. F aith is the Priest’s ability to channel the power of their gods (or whatever else they worship) into spell–like effects that impact the world around them. At the beginning of every ses sion, a Priest rolls 1D6+4. The re sulting roll is the number of FAITH POINTS you the Priest has for that session. Sometimes, you will be brimming with the gospel. Oth er times, your lack of Faith will be disturbing. At the end of a session, unused/unspent points are lost. You roll again at the beginning of the next session. That’s how it goes. Priests may spend Faith Points for a number of abilities, including: Using Faith, a priest may:

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• Rebuke Undead/Demons – For each Faith Point spent, you may rebuke a demon or an undead creature. A rebuked creature must withdraw, usually hiss ing and screaming, from your presence. If a demon or undead creature has Villainy Points, they may use a point to resist this abil ity. Once this has been resisted, the creature cannot be affected by this gift during the encounter. GMs have the final say on which creatures can be rebuked.

CULLEN SAYS – In some campaigns, it might be appro priate to test a Priest’s faith. This, I’ve found, is a particu larly effective technique in hor ror–themed games. “You have to have faith for that to work, Mr. Vincent!” If that is some thing you would like to explore, you could institute a D10 Will Challenge every time Faith is used. On a successful roll, Faith my be used as normal. On a failed roll, the Priest’s Faith simply does not work.

SpEllCrAFT

Bending the forces of nature to your will requires the following steps: •Tell the Game Master what you are trying to accomplish.

Conjuring an otherworldly tentacle to capture and crush a victim might be a Rank 4 spell. M agicians are in touch with the primal forces of the elements and they can channel them into amazing feats of wizardry. But you will not find pages and pages of spell descriptions herein. We’re keeping our printing costs down… which is a feat of magic in and of itself. Wizardry is about using your imagination to bend reality to your will. This is reflected in these simple rules for Spellcraft.

CULLEN SAYS – Originally, I had a much, much more com plicated system for Spellcraft. It was a little more formalized and orderly… and it didn’t feel like magic. So, I altered it to be a lit tle more loose.

At the beginning of each session, a Magician rolls 1D10+4. The result is the number of Spellcraft Points you have for a session. At the end of a session, unused/unspent points are lost. You roll again at the begin ning of the next session. are lost. You roll again at the begin -

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The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

• The Game Master determines the general Spell Rank of the spell. This deter mines the Spellcraft Point Cost and the Initial Challenge Die. Working with magical forces is not easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it! The Spell Rank is determined by how complicated, damaging, or powerful the spell might be. This is up to the GM’s discretion, but here is a quick and dirty guide:

SPELL CRAFT POINT COST

CHAL LENGE DIE

SPELL RANK

POSSIBLE BACKLASH

EXAMPLES

Cantrip –

–

Minor acts of prestidigitation

None

Conjuring an orb of light, detecting magic, cre ating a minor illusionary sound, move a small object with your mind, send a short telepathic message An attacking spell with a +0 Damage Bonus, un derstand a language you do not speak, create a minor illusion, summon a giant rat to do your bidding An attacking spell with a +1 Damage Bonus, put a small group of enemies to sleep, read some one’s thoughts, turn invisible, see something that is invisible, An attacking spell with a +2 Damage Bonus, temporarily enchant a weapon, summon a skele ton to do your bidding, teleport a short distance, shape change into an animal, induce fear An attacking spell with a +3 Damage Bonus, summon a demon or elemental to do your bid ding for a short while, shape change into a hu man–sized monster, heal someone’s wounds, charm an enemy An attacking spell with a +5 Damage Bonus, shape change into a dragon for a short time, change someone into a frog for a short time

1

1

D6

None

2

1

D8

None

3

1

D10

None

4

1

D12

None

5

2

D20

None

Lose 1 additional Spellcraft Point Lose all remaining Spellcraft Points

6

3

D100

Impossible without Bumping Impossible without Bumping Impossible without Bumping Impossible without Bumping Impossible without Bumping Impossible without Bumping

An attacking spell with a +10 Damage Bonus, raise the dead

7

4

Bring a castle crashing down, summon a demon lord or God for a conversation

Drop to 0 Health Points Banished to the under world Become an evil lich, now under the Game Mas ter’s control. A horrifying and painful death Erased from all realities

8

8

9

10

Enslaving a Demon Lord or God

10

14

Destroy a city

11

16

Ripping the world apart

Shattering the multiverse, transcending into godhood

12

20

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• The Magician Spends the re quired Spellcraft Points for a spell of that Rank. • The Magician may spend Spell craft Points (but NOT Adven ture Points) to Bump the Spell’s Challenge Die down. Spells of 7 th Rank and above cannot be cast without Bumping the Spell Chal lenge Die down. • The Magician rolls their Brains, modified by any applicable bo nuses and skills they might have. If they are successful, they cast the spell. (Note that Adventure Points CAN be used to re–roll dice associated with Spellcraft.) ◦ A Stunning Success means you recover 1D4 Spellcraft Points (though you can never recover more Spellcraft Points than you spent in the casting of the spell). ◦ A Catastrophic Failure means 1D4 additional Spellcraft Points were lost in the casting of the spell. • In most cases, attacking with a spell does NOT require a Com bat Roll. Successfully casting the spell means the Attack hits. De fense against the spell’s Damage is rolled normally. • More powerful spells have Back lash effects that the GM inflicts upon the Magician when a spell fails.

Even if a Spell’s Challenge Die is reduced, the Spell Point Cost and potential Backlash remains the same.

CULLEN SAYS – These rules are subject to the whim of the Game Master, yes, but that feels right when it comes to the mercurial nature of magic. Sometimes, spells come easy. Other times, the spell might be difficult. CULLEN ALSO SAYS – Mag ic is strange and exciting, and I don’t want to apply a bunch of rules to something that is, by its very nature, all about breaking rules. There’s one more concept, though, that I want to share. In addition to the rules above, if a player names their spell in a creative way, the Game Master might want to give them a bo nus to their Challenge Die or al low them to Bump the die. After all, saying “I want to cast a fire ball” is fine, but saying “I call forth Vexriel’s Flaming Sphere of Calamitous Rage!” adds so much to the game and should be rewarded!

EXAMPLE – Reinhardt is a Magician with a D12 Brains and 10 Spellcraft Points. He decides that he wants to bring the castle of his most hated enemy, Lord Doomitrell, crumbling down under a firestorm. The GM determines that this spell is Rank 8 because it is so powerful. It costs 8 Spellcraft Points to cast. A Rank 8 spell is beyond impossible for Reinhardt, so he needs to find a way to Bump the Challenge Die. With only two more Spellcraft Points remaining, he spends them both, taking the Challenge Die to D100, which is still pretty hard to pull off. What to do? Ah ha! Reinhardt intones, “I conjure the Void–Storm of Xelvrithrex the Crestfallen!” Naming the spell Bumps the Challenge Die to a D20. The GM rolls a D20 and scores an 11. There’s still a chance! Reinhardt rolls a D12 and scores a 12! Not only is that a success, but it is a Stunning Success! Miraculously, the spell works! The castle walls come crumbling down! And Reinhardt recovers a D4 Spell craft points!

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The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

WEAlTh, WEApONS, EQUIpMENT, AND CArrYING CApACITY

plying an Adventurer’s Muscle Rat ing by their— Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Oh, sorry. I fell asleep there for a second. If you got into Role-Playing games to carefully calculate carry ing capacities… well… whatever floats your boat. But that’s not fun for me. For this system, we recommend handling Encumbrance in this way.

STArTING EQUIpMENT AND WEAlTh A ll Adventurers start with a weapon (and possibly a piece of armor) as described in the Adventuring Class Descriptions. They also start with basic cloth ing (tunics, breeches, boots, cloaks, etc). And they start with a Bag of Coins. Wealth Every Adventurer has a Bag of Coins. At Adventurer Creation, this bag contains a D20+5 coins. Or dol lars. Or magic beans. Whatever the currency is of your world. For our purposes here, we’ll call them farthings . Adventurers can use farthings to pay for the things they want or need.

An Adventurer can carry: • The clothes on their back • A bag of money • One weapon

• And up to SIX additional items. Additional items include armor, shields, extra weapons, magic items, quivers of arrows, potions, treasure, the rotting heads of your enemies, and anything else you might want to pick up along the way. Carrying more than the allotted items Bumps all Challenge Dice down by one for the Adventurer until they lighten the load.

CULLEN SAYS – You may also ignore Encumbrance rules in the same way that al most every gamer since the dawn of Role-Playing games has ignored them. Just use a common sense approach to how much an Adventurer can car ry.You just don’t want a char- acter carrying around 10 suits of plate mail stolen from their enemies without some sort of repercussion.

Encumbrance Encumbrance represents how much weight an Adventur er can carry without impacting movement speed and other abil- ities. It can be calculated by multi

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Melee Weapons •Light Weapons (Melee Requires D6 Muscle Trait) – +1 damage modifier ◦ Light weapons might include daggers, darts, shuriken, rapi ers, quarterstaffs, and the like. ◦ For ranged weapons (hurled daggers, darts, shuriken) there is no reload time, but they must be picked up after being thrown, so you could run out. •Medium Weapons (Melee Re quires D8 Muscle Trait) – +2 dam age modifier ◦ Medium weapons might in clude longswords, longbows, spears, hand axes, maces, morning stars, and the like. ◦ For ranged weap ons, there is no re load time, but your ammunition may run out. •Heavy Weapons (Me lee Requires D12 Mus cle Trait) – +3 damage modifier ◦ Heavy Weapons might include bastard swords, battle axes, war–ham mers, heavy crossbows, flintlocks (if they are available in your world), Ol’ Painless, great clubs, and the like. Heavy Weapons (Me lee Requires D12 Mus Heavy Weapons (Me -

CULLEN ALSO SAYS – Be reasonable here. A belt of 4 dag gers might only count as 1 item slot. Same with a bandolier of darts.

WEApONS AND ArMOr I n combat, a Melee Weapon adds to the potential Damage an en emy might take. Armor offers some protection against the Dam age an enemy deals.

This game does not include long, detailed lists of every weapon or piece of armor to ever grace the field of battle. Instead, weapons and armor are divided into three categories—Light, Medium, and Heavy. The different categories of fer modifiers to combat and defense rolls. For melee weapons and armor, each category also requires a specif ic Muscle score in order to be used effectively. If an Adventurer does not have the appropriate Muscle score, they cannot use that category of weapon or armor. For ranged weapons, there is no Muscle requirement. There will be ammunition concerns and reload times. Players and Game Masters should make sensible decisions about where armaments or defenses fall. Suggested examples are listed below.

◦ Ranged weapons of this class require One Action to reload after firing. Armor

• Shield – +1 Defense Roll Modifier • Light Armor (Requires D6 Muscle Trait) – +1 Defense Roll Modifier ◦ Light armor might include leather armor, hide armor, bearskin armor, and the like.

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The Cullen Bunn Role-Playing Game

•Medium Armor (Requires D8 Muscle Trait) – +2 Defense Roll Modifier ◦ Medium armor might include chainmail, scale mail, and the like. •Heavy Armor (Requires D12 Muscle Trait) – +3 Defense Roll Modifier ◦ Heavy Armor includes plate mail or power armor or dragon scale armor, and the like.

◦ Flint and Steel ◦ Rations ◦ Waterskin • Crowbar (+1 to Open Doors) – 2 Farthings • Healer’s Kit (+1 to Rolls Related to First Aid) – 1 Farthing • Oil (for burning stuff) – 1 Far thing •Rope (50’) and Grappling Hook (+1 to Climbing) – 2 Farthings •Thief’s Tools (+1 to Pick Locks, Disarm Traps, Etc) – 2 Farthings • Torch (To Help You See in Dark Places) – 1 Farthing • Light Weapon – 5 Farthings • Medium Weapon – 10 Farthings • Heavy Weapon – 20 Farthings • A Quiver of 20 Arrows – 5 Far things • Shield – 5 Farthings • Light Armor – 10 Farthings • Medium Armor – 15 Farthings • Heavy Armor – 20 Farthings

CULLEN SAYS – Some fear some monsters or terrible poisons or awful diseases can temporarily (or permanently) reduce an Adventurer’s Muscle Trait. If that happens, the Ad venturer cannot wield a weapon that is too heavy for them. If it happens in the middle of bat tle… well… that’s just exciting. CULLEN ALSO SAYS – We’ll expand on weapons rules in future supplements, but this is plenty to get you out there and rolling dice. If something comes up that is not covered in these rules, the GM can make a deci sion on the fly and keep things moving.

OThEr GEAr AND EXTrA WEApONS h ere is a list of some basic Gear an Adventurer might want to carry around. Average costs of these items are also included. There are certainly more items out in the world. The Game Master will have the final say on what might be found and how much it costs. Each of these items takes one of the Ad venturer’s slots for Encumbrance. • Adventurer’s Pack – 2 Farthings ◦ Backpack ◦ Bedroll

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ChAllENGES

W hen your Adventurer wants to do something in the game, the Game Master determines which Attribute will be tested and the level of difficulty. Different lev els of difficulty require Challenge Rolls. The Game Master will roll the appropriate die. The player will roll the die associated with what they are trying to do. This may be modi fied by Skills and Advantages relat ed to the Adventurer’s action. Difficulty Levels • Miniscule – No Roll Required • Easy – D6 • Average – D8 • Hard – D10 • Exceptionally Difficult – D12 • Near Impossible – D20 • Impossible – D100 Here’s how the results break down: FAILURE – If the GM’s roll is high er than the Adventurer’s roll, the Adventurer’s action fails. SUCCESS – If the Adventurer’s roll is higher than the GM’s, the Ad venturer’s action succeeds. PUSH – If the GM and the Adven turer roll the exact same mod ified result, it is a Push. A Push ALMOST always benefits the Adventurer, so the Adventurer’s action succeeds. The only excep tion is… CATASTROPHIC FAILURE – If both the GM and the Adventur er roll the same UNMODIFIED NUMBER, this is a ALWAYS a failure for the Adventurer, no matter what the modified roll might be. When a Catastrophic Failure occurs, the Game Master must

make a judgement call as to what happens. This almost always means something BAD happens to the Adventurer. They step on a twig while trying to sneak. They slip, fall, and take Damage while trying to climb. They pull a mus cle while swinging their sword. They accidentally enrage the Dragon while trying to negotiate. This might be a good time to use an Adventure Point or other abil ity to re–roll! STUNNING SUCCESSES – When the Adventurer wins the chal lenge AND rolls the highest pos sible number on their die, it is a stunning success. When a stunning success occurs, the Game Master must make a judgement call as to what hap pens. This typically means some thing GOOD happens. An enemy falls in love with you while you are trying to talk your way out of trouble. Not only do you hide in shadows, but you discover a bag of gold coins. Not only do you discover the secret door, but you accidentally disarm the trap asso ciated with it. A Stunning Success earns the Ad venturer 1 Adventure Point. CAllING ThE TArGET rOll S ometimes, the GM just gets tired of rolling dice. If that is the case, the DM can simply name a Challenge Target. Only the Adventurer Rolls, and if they Push or roll higher than the target, they succeed. The Challenge Target can be whatever the GM decides, but here are some basic guidelines. Everybody loves a winner.

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