First you must choose which race your character will be. The following profiles are presented in this format:

Racial Characteristics: This is present if the race as a whole suffers from any abilities or impairments (explained later). You do not suffer any points modifiers for this (also explained later). Some of the race will not have any of these in which case the player must give a good reason for it to the GM.

Age: This shows two numbers. The first is the youngest age at which you will usually find an adventurer, and this is usually the age that a member of that race becomes an adult. The second is the age when that race will normally be too old to adventure any more.

Height: This shows the minimum and maximum heights for this race that are common to the ages shown above.

Psychology: This shows any special psychology rules that the race follows such as hatred of another race (explained later).

Reputation: This shows what reputation the race has. It shows what people think of it i.e. whether they think it is a dark race, or a light race etc (explained later).

Languages: This shows the languages that most members of that race will know. If two are shown, the first is almost always known, whereas the second is only sometimes known. A player may choose whether he knows both but must explain where he learnt the second.

Move: The most common movement of the race. This can vary, but will be similar to the rate shown here. Note that characters wearing no metal armour will gain a +2 bonus to this.

Alignment: This is similar to reputation, but it is what the character really is and not just what they are reputed to be. These have not been shown on the profiles below because the player makes them up.

The most common of the Myth races, humans do not have any particular advantages or disadvantages.

Racial Characteristics: Literacy ~ Semi-Literate

Age: 18/70

Height: 5'/7'

Psychology: No special rules

Reputation: Light

Languages: Bruig

Move: 8

Another very common race to the Myth world, the Dwarves suffer from a few racial characteristics. The Dwarves have an understanding of higher technology that is absent from other races in Myth.

Racial Characteristics: Literacy ~ Literate, Bad Sight ~ Nearsighted, Dwarven Technology

Age: 35/150

Height: 3'/5'

Psychology: Hatred ~ Ghôls

Reputation: Light

Languages: Bruig, Dwarven

Move: 6

Although strictly human, these people have different characteristics than normal humans. They inhabit mainly the mountains around the Twelve Duns, and the island to the north. The famous Berserks are of this race.

Racial Characteristics: Literacy ~ Semi-Literate

Age: 18/70

Height: 5'/7'4"

Psychology: Hatred ~ Myrmidons

Reputation: Mercenary ~ Light

Languages: Bruig

Move: 10

The fir'Bolg inhabit the Ermine. Around the time of the Great War, they did exist elsewhere (after Caliban and ou'Kahn forged the treaty of the fir'Bolg) but once the war was over, almost all of them returned to their forest lands and vowed never again to leave.

Racial Characteristics: Acute Sense ~ Sight, Literacy ~ Semi-Literate

Age: 22/90

Height: 5'/7'
Psychology: Hatred ~ bre'Unor

Reputation: Mercenary ~ Light

Languages: fir'Bolg, Bruig

Move: 8

The Ghôls live mainly east of the Cloudspine. They currently inhabit Stoneheim which they captured from the Dwarves during the Great War. However, there are parties of Ghôls that move around the rest of the world.

Ghôls have very long arms - usually about 3' in total. They can tolerate extreme high temperature relatively well.

Racial Characteristics: Acute Sense ~ Hearing, Temperature Tolerance ~ Hot

Age: 6/40

Height: 4'8"/5'8"

Psychology: Hatred ~ Dwarves

Reputation: Dark

Languages: Ghôl, Bruig

Move: 12

The Mauls inhabit mainly the Blind Steppes. They became scattered around the world after the defeat of Soulblighter and are mostly trying to make their way home. Some high-ranking officials employ mauls as bodyguards. They have a good tolerance of low temperature due to their living conditions. Mauls are a primitive race with little more than simple hand weapons for fighting with.

Racial Characteristics: Acute Sense ~ Hearing, Bad Sight ~ Nearsighted, Temperature Tolerance ~ Cold

Age: 8/45

Height: 6'5"/8'5"

Psychology: No special rules

Reputation: Dark

Languages: Maulish, Bruig

Move: 10

Some races will hate other races, just as some people will hate other specific people. If a character is with another character who he hates, he will not get along well with him! When making a Fel test, he will suffer a modifier of ­30 at the minimum. Sometimes it will be more because the hated person might be provoking the character. If the character who hates another race perseveres, me may be able to work off his hatred of a particular person but it is very rare for him to stop hating a whole race.

A character's race will have a reputation as either Light, Mercenary Light, Mercenary Dark, or Dark.

Light: This means that people will react in a good and providing way to the character (although still depending on their Fel). The character's race is reputed to serve the light and fight the dark because it is morally the right thing to do.

Mercenary Light: The character is known to serve the light and not the dark, but they will not do so because of any morals. They will do so if they get something in return (normally). People of Light reputation will treat these people with a small amount of scorn, and will suffer a Fel modifier of ­5 when dealing with one of these people.

Mercenary Dark: This character is though to serve the dark whenever it offers them reason. They may serve the light from time to time but they are not reputed to. People who are Light will suffer a ­15 Fel modifier when dealing with Mercenary Dark characters. Mercenary Light will suffer a ­5 modifier.

Dark: These people are reputed to serve the dark and the dark alone. If a character of Mercenary Light or Light encounters a dark character, he will normally attack. There are exception however, for example high status humans sometimes employ Mauls as bodyguards. In this case, a character would realise that the dark creature is no threat. The GM needs to improvise in these situations.

A character's alignment is chosen by them and shows who they really serve i.e. whether they are dark, light etc. Use the same modifiers as above (under reputation) but only use them once a character has openly expressed his alignment, otherwise use reputation.
Example: A Light character is travelling along a road and sees a Ghôl skulking about a little way ahead. Ghôls are reputed to be Dark so the character would probably attack. However, what he doesn't know is that the Ghôl is actually of Light alignment and if the character got to know the Ghôl better, he would find that out. As it is, the poor little Ghôl is going to get his head chopped off!

Attributes are the natural characteristics of a player. They are all represented by a number between 01 and 100%. Some races will be naturally better at some attributes than others.

This is the character's ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat and represents a mix of natural skill and aggression, combined with learnt skill and technique.

The ability to fight with a missile weapon, or to throw an item or throwing weapon.

How much damage the character does in combat, as well as the character's ability to do things like climbing, laboring etc.

A representation for how much the character can resist damage, mainly from combat.

A representation of the character's ability to think and understand. It shows how well the character can learn new knowledge, as well as how much knowledge they already know.

Ability to perform intricate tasks such as sleight-of-hand and lockpicking etc.

This shows the character's wits, as well as their general perception. This means their ability to respond quickly to situations, and to notice things not easily noticed.

Ability to resist things such as torture, magical effects etc as well as magical awareness.

This shows the characters use of things such as etiquette, charm, charisma etc as well as a rating of their general appearance to others. People will get along better with someone with a higher rating.

An average character gets 200 points to assign to attributes. This is for normal campaigns, but as long as the GM agrees you may use more to represent an already experienced character. The numbers in the chart are the minimum and maximum for the attributes when you first make your character. These may also be changed to suit a more (or less) experienced character.

Skills are essentially specializations of attributes. Each skill is assigned to an attribute that it specializes in. Whenever you perform an action that is covered by a skill you have, use that skill. When you do not have the skill just use the attribute. Some skills are Special in which case they will have an S next to them. This means that you need to use the skill and cannot perform the task without it.

Multiply your age by ten to see how many points you get to spend on skills. This is to represent someone's experiences up to that age but if your character has had any special intense training, they may be assigned additional points on a specific skill.

Example: If you have been trained for a number of years in the Legion, you will be allowed to have 2pts per year of training unlike the normal 1, but they must be spent on a skill that the Legion would teach such as Melee Weapon ~ Broadsword, Parry ~ Sword.

At the following ages you will begin to lose points on skills at the rate of 100/200 points.

Human ­ 45/55 (so he loses 100 points at the age of 45, and 200 points at the age of 55).

fir'Bolg ­ 65/75

Northman ­ 45/55

Dwarf ­ 110/140

Maul ­ 30/40

Ghôl ­ 20/30

When you make a skill roll, you may receive a bonus to it if the attribute it is based on is high. Use this chart:

The attribute in brackets is the attribute it is based on. For a short task, roll once each time you do it. For a task that would take more than an hour, roll once per hour of work until it is done. When doing a task that would take a day or more, roll per day. When it says to roll against another characters statistic, you make an opposed roll (described in Character Actions section).

It is a good idea first to go through this list and choose any skills that you might want, and then go through the full list (after this one) to find out more about the skills you are interested in.

Used when jumping and leaping etc, also useful when attempting to get employment.

Knowledge of how to act, use of expression etc. Can be used to fool people as well as perform and get employment.

Knowledge of farming methods and tools. Laborers who are commonly farmers usually have this skill.

Knowledge of how to care for and train animals.

You have knowledge of a particular area's politics, laws, culture and geography. An area would count as a town or city and the land within a few miles around it, or a mountain pass and the ways across etc. There is a different skill for each area.

Ability to draw and paint with accuracy and beauty. Will also require a DX test when producing a piece of art.

Knowledge of the sky. Being able to identify astronomic events and bodies.

Knowing how to strike a good deal. Used mainly by merchants, this does not involve any 'dodgy' methods!

This includes knowing the techniques involved in successful begging, as well as knowing how much cash to push for etc. A successful test should let the character earn about D3 silver shillings per hour of begging, modified for the circumstances.

The ability to be able to talk about nothing particular but still keep someone's attention. This includes fast-talking and feeding them interesting lies. You will usually have to test against the I of the person you are talking to.

Unarmed combat.

The skill of making things from out of wood, and the knowledge of the tools required as well as various wood types.

Being able to understand maps. Also means being able to draw maps. You will be able to recognise features even if they are drawn badly.

Being heroic, or being able to inspire courage by knowing when to say what to people in situations that require it.

Skillful and strong at climbing difficult surfaces. It is required when climbing and extremely difficult sheer surface (Special).

A character with this skill has specialised in training his muscles for quick combat effectiveness. You can use this skill instead of I when determining who goes first in a round of combat.

The ability to convince someone of a lie. This can help in bargaining situations, as well as things like run-ins with certain angry guards.

Knowledge of how to cook various foods, as well as how to brew drinks that are common to your culture.

The ability to decipher coded words and work out there intended meaning. Also the ability to turn language into code, and knowledge of various codes. Note that you will need to know the language the code is in to be able to decipher it.

The ability to perform dances common to your culture and learn new dances. Useful to gain employment.

The study of demons, not demonic cults. Being able to recognise a demon when you see one.

The art of negotiation and compromise. You will usually need to roll against the diplomacy of someone you are talking to in order to get a result.

This shows your body's resistance to disease. You use this skill when attempting to resist catching and resist the effects of a disease.

The ability to make yourself look like someone else. Roll against other people's Int to see whether you fool them.

This means being able to place yourself in someone else's shoes. Although it is normally considered a natural ability and therefore not a skill, there are various ways of training to be more empathic.

The art of getting free from ropes and other such bonds. The first attempt to do so will take one minute, subsequent attempts will take ten.

Knowledge of manners in specific situations, including talking politely. Mainly useful in 'high society' situations.

The ability to tell the value of an object after a quick examination. The higher roll you get, the closer you get to the actual price. For this reason it is convenient for the GM to roll secretly, so the player does not know how well he did, and thus how close he is.

Knowledge of various explosives (including Dwarven cocktails) and how to use them. For anyone without the Dwarven Technology ability, this costs twice the number of points to buy (so to have an Explosions of 30, you will need to spend 60 pts).

The skill of reloading a missile weapon quickly and firing another shot within a short period of time. Making a successful roll will allow you another shot or in the case of a weapon that needs a whole round to be reloaded, you will be able to fire next round.

The ability to patch up an injury 'in the field'. This does not qualify you to perform any sort of surgery, only using bandages correctly and preventing bleeding temporarily.

The ability to produce false money. This will include a knowledge of the metals required to make coins, amounts of the different elements etc. The person will know how to use the required equipment to forge coins.

This is the skill of playing games of chance. This will include knowledge of various common gambling games, and a successful role will be able to tell you the likes of whether the game has been rigged or what the chances are in a certain gambling situation.

The skill of cutting gems and minerals very delicately to make jewelry. Does not include knowledge of many gems.

This means knowing about all manner of herbs, including rare herbs. It means knowing how to mix them and preserve them.

These are the sciences such as Theology (religious studies), History, Philosophy and Literature. Each one can be a separate skill.

Knowing how to use threats and violence to scare someone into doing something. A general statistic of how intimidating you are.

This means being good at lifting and carrying, and doing general physical tasks. This does not involve fighting. Note that this can also be used to determine maximum encumbrance (see later).

Each different language is a separate skill. You will already know the languages that are on your race profile, this is used for your ability to learn new languages. It can also be used to try and understand someone talking in a language not known to you if they are using gestures. This includes the Arcane Language skill for magical writing.

Knowledge of laws in different areas, as well as criminal proceedings. A trial is handled by rolling your law against your opponents.

The ability to inspire people to follow you. This is usually used in a battle situation, but it also helpful in deciding which character will lead in a group of characters, some of which are NPC's.

Knowing how to open a lock without a key, and knowledge of tools that may be needed in certain situations. Picking a lock will usually take about a minute.

This skill represents a character's ability to learn new spells and sense magic. Use this whenever trying to do so.

The ability to build things out of brick and stone and knowing about the tools needed to do so.

There can be a skill for every different type of hand weapon available. Some of them will be specialist weapons. These include the following: 2-handed weapon, halberd, quarter-staff, flail, 2-handed flail, rapier, left-handed dagger, lance. Using a Special weapon without the skill will mean you will have an effective MC of 10, and the GM may impose a risk test. Examples of non-specialist weapons are: broadsword, axe, dagger, spear, claymore, buckler, net and whip.

There is a separate skill for each different type of missile weapon. Some are Special and will therefore require the skill to be used and if it is not, the character will suffer having an effective RC of 10 and a risk test imposed on them if needs be.

Examples of Special weapons are long bow, sling, dart, throwing knife/axe, Dwarven cocktail, blowpipe, and musket. Examples of non-specialist weapons are short bow, bow, crossbow, javelin, spear and improvised. Anyone without the Dwarven Technology ability will have to spend double the amount of points on musket or cocktail skill (so a rating of 30 would require 60 points to be spent).

The ability to play a musical instrument. Each instrument requires a separate skill.

Ability to find out where you are by land formations, stars and ocean currents.

Knowledge of different occults that are mysterious and supernatural.

You have studied in a more defensive form of fighting. This skill shows that you are specifically skilled at blocking blows from melee weapons. There is a different parry skill for the following types of weapon: Sword, Axe, Two-handed Weapon, Polearms (Spears, Halberds etc) and Miscellaneous weapons (all other types not covered by the above headings).

Knowledge of medical drugs and general medical knowledge. This does not mean you know about surgery.

The talent of being able to steal a small object from someone's person. Unless they are very unaware, make a test against their I.

You have developed resistance and immunity to poisons. This is usually obtained by slowly vaccinating yourself against the poison by taking small amounts of it.

Knowledge of poisons and there effects, as well as where to find them and tools used. Counts as Special only when manufacturing.

Ability to speak in public and gain a good response. Used for telling stories and news.

This skill only comes into use if you have the Semi-Literate ability (sub-class of Literate). Whenever a semi-literate character wishes to try and understand something, they make a roll on this skill.

The ability to sift out information useful to you from information that is not. This mainly takes place in libraries.

This covers all technique used to resist the effects of torture and not give in to it. This does not help in resisting damage from the torture, only the effect of giving in because of it.

Knowing how to ride a horse (or other similar animal) and drive a cart drawn by such an animal. You will only need to make a roll based on this when in a dangerous or unexpected situation.

Knowing about river wildlife, and signs of hazardous river conditions. They can also tell if river water is drinkable.

Being able to understand runes, as well as any of their magical properties. You can tell the difference between normal runes and magical runes.

This is only rolled as a skill when running great distances. A successful roll means you will be able to keep a running speed for an extra six rounds. Also, it adds an amount of yards to your running speed equal to the amount of points you have on it divided by ten (rounding down). Note: characters without this Special skill will still be able to run, just have no chance of gaining any of these special advantages.

Understanding magical scrolls, presuming you can understand the language the scroll is written in. You may also use the magic contained within.

The talent of being able to look in the right places for things. This will mean the character knows the techniques in looking for things in buildings and in a rural environment.

This involves knowing the techniques to perform well via singing. This is a form of entertainment and so can be used to gain employment.

The ability to work non-precious metals by hand, knowledge of the tools required and various metal elements needed to produce certain compounds.

Each social science (eg Anthropology, Archaeology, Psychology or Sociology) is a separate skill.

The skill of being able to hide from other people. If coming across an area that will be difficult to stealthily navigate, such as through a bed of leaves, make a normal roll. If trying to avoid detection from another creature it is sometimes better to roll against its I.

You are adept at improvising in a combat situation. This skill is used instead of RC or MC when attacking someone with an improvised weapon.

This is the skill of causing enough damage on your opponent to knock him unconscious. Use this instead of MC when trying to stun someone.

You know about medical instruments and procedure used in surgery. You will be able to perform it, but you may have to make a DX test for certain delicate tasks.

Knowledge of how to 'live off the land' and find food and water. A different skill is required for different terrain such as desert, wilderness, mountains, urban etc.

This is used whenever swimming without aid. Without this skill, it is impossible to swim.

This is the art of war, knowledge of battle-tactics and how to command troops as well as how to fight in battles yourself. However, troops won't necessarily follow your orders!

Being skilled in the art of torture, being able to apply a large amount of pain while causing little damage to the person.

This involves knowing how to track someone or something by trails and traces left behind. For a clue that's particularly difficult to notice, make an I roll as well.

This involves knowing about various traps and their uses, and knowing how to spot them. You will be able to set and spot traps. When determining attribute bonuses, use DX when setting traps, I when spotting them and Int when trying to recall knowledge about them.

Knowledge of all types of undead, as well as their weaknesses and the methods involved to raise them.

Knowledge of plants and animals in the wild. This does not mean you will know how to train them, track them etc. This does not include herbs.

Used when grappling, this is an art of unarmed combat. You may also use this instead of S when in a grapple.

Some characters may wish to sacrifice skill points for attribute points and vice versa. Every four skill points you sacrifice gives you one attribute point. Average characters may have a maximum of 300 attribute points in this way.

Every attribute point you sacrifice gives you four skill points. Average characters may have a minimum of 100 attribute points in this way.

These are usually only obtained by a particular race who all share a common ability. An example of this is the fir'Bolg who usually have Acute Sight. If your race profile has any abilities listed, the rules for them are below (ignore the points values). Normally, unless it lists one of these abilities in your race profile, you will not have it. However, you may spend some of your skill points on these but you must have a good reason to have the ability. The amount of points each ability costs is listed in brackets.

You have a particular sense that is significantly better than your other senses. You will gain a +5 modifier to your I attribute whenever you use this particular sense. There is a different ability for each different sense.

You are naturally resistant to disease. You will gain a +20 modifier to your T attribute/Disease Resistance skill when attempting to resist catching or suffering the effects of a disease.

A character who has this will have an understanding of Dwarven technology, which is slightly higher than normal human technology. Characters without this ability will have to pay double when purchasing the Missile Weapon ~ Cocktail/Cannon/Mortar/Musket skills or any explosive skills.

There are two levels of this:

Semi-literate: You will be able to understand simple words that you would need to use in your line of living but you cannot read a book unless you took many, many more hours than normal to do so. If you try and read or write something, use your Read/Write skill to determine how successful you are. This ability costs 20 points.

Literate: You completely understand how to read and write. If you have this then there is no need for the Read/Write skill. This ability costs 50 points.

Anyone who does not have one of these abilities will be illiterate and will not be able to read or write at all.

Your eyes adapt rapidly to the darkness. Whenever a penalty is made by the GM due to darkness, it does not apply to you (unless in total darkness).

Sometimes you can sense danger when it is near. Whenever you are in a situation where you might be ambushed, or some sort of disaster might happen, the GM secretly rolls against your I. A successful roll means he can warn you that, 'all is not as it seems'Š

These are essentially the opposite of abilities. They are racial characteristics that make the character worse. However, unlike abilities, these are far more common for many races and so you do not need a good reason to have them. Impairments give you skill points back so you can spend them in other areas.

You can either be nearsighted or farsighted. If you are nearsighted then you cannot read small print more than a foot away, and large print (signs) at more than 10 yards. You are also at ­10 to RC. If you are farsighted then it takes 3x more time to read anything within a foot of you and you also suffer a penalty of ­10 to MC.

This does not really fall under the category of impairment or ability as it has both negative and positive effects. The Northern fighting men are the most well known for their berserk tendencies, which is why they are called Berserks. When in a close combat situation, a character with this will have to pass a WP test per round if he wishes to remain calm. Otherwise he will go berserk. A berserk character will gain a bonus of +10 to his MC attribute/relevant combat skill and +20 to his S. However, he will suffer a further modifier of ­20 to his weapon's parry, and he will not be able to flee from combat or until he passes a WP test, modified depending on the situation (danger level, weather conditions etc). Note that a berserk character will not stop going berserk unless he passes his WP test even if the combat has stopped. He may require his comrades to wrestle him to the ground to keep him calm!

You cannot see at all! A character will very rarely take this as an impairment as it seriously restricts play, but certain mages have been known to use magic as their sight if they are blind. Also, there are a few small sources that suggest that the Great Hero Tireces may have been blind.

Like Blind, this is very rarely taken by a player as it means that the character cannot hear anything. A deaf character will also suffer a ­10 modifier to any task that requires balance such as combat or moving particularly fast.

You are not deaf but you suffer some hearing loss. Suffer a ­20 modifier when trying to understand someone speaking in a different language to the ones you know, and also when making an I roll that involves hearing.

You have a degree of impaired mobility. There are three levels and the points values reflect them.

Level 1: Crippled leg: You have a very bad leg. Your move is reduced by 4 and when dodging you suffer a ­15 modifier.

You also suffer ­15 when performing a physical skill which requires walking or running (including hand-to-hand fighting but not ranged combat).

Level 2: One Leg: You have lost a leg. As above but suffer a ­30 modifier and your maximum move is 4.

Level 3: Legless: You have absolutely no legs whatsoever! You are as above under One Leg but you cannot move at all by yourself (except by pulling yourself along by your hands).

You have lost an arm or were born without one. Choose which arm it is. You cannot use a two-handed weapon, fire a bow etc anything that requires two hands.

You suffer a ­5 to MC and any skills used in combat, and a ­15 to RC and any related skills. You also suffer ­5 to all hand-eye coordination exercises. You may wear a patch over it in which case you will not suffer any Fel penalties. If you do not, suffer ­10 to Fel.

This means you are fearful of a specific item, creature or circumstance. When in a situation that incorporates the phobia, you must make a WP roll to avoid running away or shrieking wildly. Even if you pass you will suffer ­10 Int and ­10 DX and will have to make a test 10 minutes later.

The points cost is variable as it reflects the seriousness and commonness of the disorder. The GM assigns a cost to it when the character is created. Some examples of phobias are blood (hemophobia: -15pts), darkness (scotophobia: -15pts), dogs (cynophobia: -5pts), enclosed spaces (claustrophobia: -15pts), heights (acrophobia: -10pts), number 13 (triskaidekaphobia: -5pts), open spaces (agoraphobia: -10pts), spiders (arachnophobia: -5pts), phobia of strange and unknown things (xenophobia: -15pts) and more common to Myth a fear of the dead (necrophobia: -10pts).

This is the equipment the character will start off with. Although the characters have a good pick of what they want, there are some restrictions.
Characters can only lift so much weight, and this is determined by multiplying their S (or Laboring if they have it) by 10 (20 for Dwarves, 30 for horses). This is the maximum number of encumbrance they are allowed. Each item has an encumbrance value and you simply take this away from your encumbrance rating whenever you pick that item up. If you go over your encumbrance, you lose 1 (explained later) from your movement per extra fifty points of equipment.

Apart from that you may choose what you want, except if you choose anything over-powerful or if you choose too much, the GM will likely restrict it. It is normal for a character to start off with a weapon of some sort, perhaps some armor, any personal possessions and any equipment relevant to their previous career. It is much more fun to find items while playing, as opposed to before you start!

There is a list of trappings later in the consumer guide.

Characters will usually start of with some money in a purse as well, depending on their social level. See more about money later in the consumer guide.

This is the most important part of your character. You could play through a game without this, but it would not be anything like a proper RPG. Write a bit about where your character is from, how he grew up, what career he had before he became an adventurer (if he had one), and any other relevant information. The whole point about role-playing is to make a background and then act it out in your character, so don't take this section lightly!

These are the different types of people you get in the world of Myth. Most will usually fall under one of these categories. This shows the type of person the character was before he became an adventurer. You must choose one of these to represent part of your background. Note that the minimum attribute(s) listed is only important if the character wants to get a career relevant to that class.

These come from a fighting background, maybe they were in the army or perhaps a hired bodyguard, killer, brigand etc.

Very rural, independent characters. These live in the wild normally and perhaps used to roam the woodlands or mountains. This is a prime example of a Journeyman. A more common lifestyle would be maybe a trapper, or a hunter.

Living largely by their wits, these people live of the general public and will generally be thieves, entertainers, charlatans, etc.

The well-educated people of society, these people will generally be intelligent and morally correct. They exist as artisans, lawyers, wizard's etc.

Anyone who isn't any of the above will most likely be a laborer. This is someone who has worked the fields, or some other skill-less duty up until now. It is much more fun to pick one of the other classes, this has really only been included to keep a sense of completeness.

Each character will belong to one of the following social status levels:

You must pick a social class that fits your character. For example, a peasant could not pick a status of 12!

You must also pick an employment level that shows what sort of job you had before you became an adventurer, or what sort of job you have now if you still have one.

Choose a job level out of the following (Note that some example jobs have been given but you do not have to choose one of them):

A more full list of jobs is given later on in the Consumer Guide.

These represent your friends and foes. People in powerful or useful positions that you know who might be willing to help you in certain situations. You have an amount of points equal to your social status to spend on these. The player decides who the ally(s)/enemy(s)/contact(s) is and then the GM determines the points cost (usually a max. of 5).

These are people that you are very friendly too. They will almost always try to help you when you need something even if you don't contact them, but will occasionally expect something back from you at a later date. You must give a small description of the people you know.

These are people who have some reason to dislike you. Like impairments, this gives you points back although this time to spend on allies and contacts. The GM decides how many points this gives you depending on how serious the enemy is eg whether he wants something from you, whether he wants to kill you. You'll need to describe the enemy.

These are people who you do not know you personally but that you have had dealings with. They will only help you if you promise to do something in return. If you fail to do what they ask then they will become your Enemies (but will not give you any more points to spend). You must contact them for them to do anything for you, they generally won't be watching after you. However, they tend to have a greater effect, as they are often the sort of people that can go through 'dishonest' channels to get information. You must describe you contacts.

When you are playing Myth RPG via an email roleplay system, combat can often be long and boring. This is because every action the player makes will need to be mailed to the GM, and then the GM will have to mail the player every reaction that occurs. To help 'combat' this (no pun intended!) I have invented a new system. On the back of your character sheet write four headings: FLEE, STRIKE TO STUN, USE IMPROVISED WEAPON and GRAPPLE. Under each of these headings you must write under what circumstances you will perform that action. An example would be:

FLEE ~

When outnumbered at least 2-1, 3-1 for thrall.

STRIKE TO STUN ~

If attacked by someone under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug or any other drug/situation causing them to act irrationally.

Never, always opt for brawling.

Never, always opt for brawling.

If you put something like this, the GM will know what you want to do in a battle situation and so will be able to write up the whole combat in one mail! It will still be exciting as long as the GM describes every detail of the battle and lets the character know what he is doing.

This section gives lists of items, larger lists of jobs and details about money and other things like that.

In Myth, there are three types of basic coin that the Cath Bruig empire uses : the copper farthing, the silver penny and the golden imperial. This is generally accepted all over the world, although areas like Gower have developed their own monetary systems. This is how the standard system works:

1 Golden Imperial = 25 Silver Pennies = 100 Copper Farthings.

1 Silver Penny = 4 Copper Farthings

This is usually written as:

1GI = 25/ = 100c

A sum of money involving different coinage types is written like:

1GI 10/3 - 1golden imperial, 10 pennies and 3 farthings

6/ - 6 pennies only

3 GI 12/ - 3 imperials and 12 pennies

3c - 3 farthings

This section is divided into several charts each showing one of the following types of goods and services:

Subsistence

Clothing

Armour

Weapons

Miscellaneous (carrying equipment, household items, etc)

Transport

Dwellings

Medical Attention

All items have an encumbrance, availability and rough price. The availability is either Very Rare, Rare, Scarce, Average, Common, or Plentiful. If your player wishes to find something in a market stall/shop, make a roll on this chart and compare it to the items availability. You do not have to use this though.

Once you have made a roll, the result will apply until the town gets new supplies of that item. Remember that if a character manages to make a Very Rare item roll then that does not mean there will be an infinite number of that item in the town!

These costs represent average quality. When purchasing clothes of different quality, the following modifiers should be used. You may also wish to modify the encumbrance for different clothes quality.

Best Quality x10

Good Quality x3

Poor quality divide by 2

Clothes do not count towards encumbrance when worn, but if carried in a container they have the listed encumbrance.

*All these prices will vary depending on the source, but these prices are given as a rough guide.

Please remember that these are only guides and do not represent the exact price of something. They merely show the rough cost of the item and they do not take into account inflation or other events that might change the price.

Although there is a chart in the Character Creation section that shows the different job levels and the rough amount of monthly income for those levels, not all the jobs give that amount of money. The lists in this section show a larger amount of the different jobs available. To determine which job level a job fits into, compare it with another job on the chart in the Character Creation section. Note that some jobs provide room and board (such as Legionnaire) and some jobs are free lance meaning the amount of monthly income from them will vastly depend on how skilled you are at them.

Poor ­ 23/

Struggling ­ 1GI 7/

Average ­ 3GI

Comfortable ­ 5GI 20/

Wealthy ­ 26GI

Please note that this is by no means exhaustive. There are many jobs available and this list only represents some of the more common ones.

The GM has the overall decision over which class a job is in, but should allow the player some flexibility.

This section describes the basic tests and actions that a character can perform during the game. It also describes various effects such as fire and poison that a character can cause and come up against during an adventure. Combat is described elsewhere.

1 ­ The player tells the gamesmaster an action that he would like to perform.

2 ­ The gamesmaster examines the action to be attempted and decides on which skill(s) or attribute to be used.

3 ­ The GM examines the situation and decides on any modifiers to the roll, applies them to the player statistic and arrives at a number between 00 and 100.

4 ­ The player rolls a D100 (use a scientific calculator's random number function and use the last two digits). If the score is less than or equal to the number then the action is a success. If it is not then the action is a failure (note that in an eRPG, the GM will normally roll the D100 to save having to exchange another set of emails with the player).

5 ­ The GM decides how successful the action has been by the amount the player beat (or missed) the score by. This shows the relative success or failure of the action. The GM then determines by this result what happens in the game and informs the player.

Whenever the GM wishes to modify a roll, he must decide how much. This is usually something like +10, -5 etc. However, if in a situation where there is either an extremely easy or extremely difficult task, you may wish to modify the roll differently. It is normal for the test to be made on twice the characteristic for an especially easy task, or for a difficult task the characteristic might be halved.

Sometimes a character will be required to 'test against' someone else's characteristic. An example would be if you were in a court of law and you were arguing against another lawyer. The way you manage this is called an opposed roll. Both the subjects roll against the characteristic the GM has chosen (in this case Law skill/Int attribute). If both fail then roll again. The winner is the one who beats his score by the most. In the unlikely event of a tie, either roll again or the GM can call a draw.

Sometimes a character will be required to make a series of rolls just to perform one task. Say for example some pirates have captured you, tied an anchor round you and thrown you into the sea! You will have to undo the knots of the rope, and you will have to do it very quickly before you sink too far to be able to swim back up or before the rope swells too much for it to be undone. DX and I are used for this ­ DX for untying the rope and I for doing it quickly. When confronted with such a situation, average the various attributes/skills (add their totals together then divide by how many there are) and then use that number.
Some situations involving lots of rolls can be broken down into several separate rolls so be wary of using the above method too much.

Whenever a turn or round is referred to in the rules, It generally means 5 seconds of game time. An example of this is combat where each player gets to make an attack each round.

When a character wishes to move a large amount of distance, or when a chase is occurring, you will need to know how movement works. Normally when characters are just milling about in a town you will not need to use these rules. A good rule of thumb is only use these movement rules when you are using game rounds (described above) or when travelling more than a mile.

The movement characteristic given to your character is his movement in yards per round (5 seconds) when moving at standard (normal) speed. This is the speed generally used when travelling on open ground without having to keep a formation of any sort. If you wish to move cautiously, divide this number by two to get your cautious move rate. This is generally used when in a constricting space or when part of a military formation. If you wish to run, multiply your standard move rate by four to find your running rate. If this is used for more than an amount of rounds equal to your S divided by ten (round down), you will drop a yard of speed per round until you reach standard speed (after which continue normally).

Use this chart to determine the amount of miles you can travel per hour depending on your speed.

Characters who are travelling at standard or normal speed using the mile per hour charts will have to rest for half an hour once they have traveled a number of miles equal to their S attribute divided by 10 (round down). Characters follow the normal rules for running.

During an adventure, characters will normally meet many other people of different alignments. Most of the time the GM can decide how the characters will react to each other based on their Fel attributes, modified by anything such as alignment and reputation, also by the difference between the two character's social status'. The higher the Fel, the better they will react to the other person, and the better the other person will react to them. Fel is a rating of the character's social skills, appearance and charisma. Sometimes the GM may want to make a test when two people encounter each other. To do this, average the two attributes together and then make a roll on this number. A failure will mean the characters don't get on well together at that time. A success will mean that the characters do get on well.

As well as the fellowship test, characters will need to make Fel checks to see what they know about manners, etiquette etc in a given situation.

If a character tried to swim, he must first have the specialist skill Swimming. If he does not have this skill the character will begin to drown after a number of rounds equal to his S attribute and will then lose one wound (see Combat section) per round until he dies or is rescued.

If the character does have the skill, he may attempt to swim. It is assumed that if the skill is obtained at any level, the character will be able to swim fine. A test is only made against this when swimming in hazardous conditions. This includes swimming while wearing armor in which case make a test every minute modified by ­5 per point of armor. If you fail this test you will begin to drown as per the rules above.

You will not always need to use these rules, normally its ok to just let the character perform the action. However, if the character is in the grip of a chase scene it is sometimes a good idea to use these rules.

A jump is a controlled vertical descent or ascent. If you are pushed, it does not count as jumping. Characters only count as jumping if they do it on purpose, otherwise it's usually a fall.

Descent: First determine the distance jumped in yards and multiply it by ten. Then roll S attribute/Acrobatics skill. Subtract your roll from the distance. If nothing remains then you have made the jump successfully. If there is anything left, divide it by 10 (round down) to find the amount of wounds lost. There is a 50% chance you will drop anything held.

Ascent: First determine the distance that will be attempted in yards and multiply it by ten. Then roll S attribute/Acrobatics skill. Subtract your roll from the distance. If nothing remains then you have made the jump successfully. If there is still something remaining, you have failed and will have to try again. You do not suffer any damage (unless you fall a certain distance ­ see below).

A fall is an uncontrolled descent. Characters can only fall if they are pushed or by accident.

When falling, determine the distance fell in yards. Double this and then multiply it by ten. Then roll your T attribute and subtract it from the yards number. If there is nothing left you suffer no damage. If there is anything left then divide it by ten (round down) to find the amount of wounds lost.

This means a horizontal jump.

Divide your S attribute/Acrobatics skill score by 10 and subtract 1 to find the maximum distance able to be leaped. Add 1 to this per yard of run up to a max of +4 yards. Then make an S test. A success means you leap up to your maximum distance with no ill effects. If you fail then you jump one less yard of your maximum per 10 that you fail by (round down). A critical failure may mean you trip and do not leap at all.

Characters can climb non-sheer surfaces at half their cautious move as long as they do nothing else that round.
When attempting to climb a sheer surface, divide your S/Climbing by 10 to determine the amount of yards climbed per minute. Each minute you must also test on this attribute/skill. If you pass then you may continue climbing. If you fail then you fall and suffer damage as per normal.

This, essentially, means lifting and carrying. Like the above actions, you do not always need to use these rules. This shows the amount of pounds a character can lift:

One-handed lift: 3xS/Laboring

Two-handed lift: 12xS/Laboring

Lift on back: 15xS/Laboring

Shove and knock over: 12x or 25x with a 4-yard run-up

Shift slightly: 50x

Drag: On a rough surface, you can drag as much as you can carry (depends on one or two handed). On a smooth surface, halve the weight.

Pull on wheels: As per dragging but divide weight by 10 for two wheeled cart, 20 for four-wheeled cart. Also halve again if being pulled on good road.

For each turn that a character is in contact with fire, he takes a strength 30 hit (see later in Combat section) and add a bonus of D4 x 10. Roll against toughness as per usual for combat. Because fire is all-engulfing, it counts as hitting all areas on the body so use the one with the least armour when determining toughness, unless it is a missile-fire attack in which case roll like normal.

If the character suffers 2 or more wounds from the fire in a single turn, he catches on fire. He will continue to take fire damage as above until someone puts him out!

To put someone out, first work out the difference between their T and the fire's strength as per usual, and then remember this difference. The only way to put a fire out is to reduce this difference to 0. The amount of damage can be lowered by beating (-10 points of damage), another character beating (-10pts per character), by dowsing with water (-10pts per bucket) or by total immersion in water which automatically puts the fire out.

There are many different poisons in the Myth world but the most common ones are listed here. Each poison has a different effect depending on which species it is used on. For example, Manbane will only have a powerful effect on humans, but may have a slight effect on humanoid creatures.

You must have the Poisons skill to manufacture poison. Although this will often take place in between adventures, the following procedure is given if a character wants to prepare a poison during the game:

Find Premises ­ First you need to find a small room where you can prepare your poison.

Find Equipment ­ The character will need equipment such as a small hand balance, a pestle and mortar, a burner and some flasks and bottles.

Find Materials ­ You must get together the necessary ingredients to actually produce the poison. These can be found in the wild, although few people know which regions they can be found in. They can also be purchased from NPC's. Most ingredients cost about 10/ per dose and there will be about two or three ingredients required per poison. A dose is enough to poison one person or douse one weapon.

Produce Poison ­ Now you must make a successful Poison skill roll to produce the poison. This will normally take several hours.

Some poisons are put into the targets food or drink, some are doused on weapons. These two types are called Additive Poison and Blade Venom.

Additive Poison: As well as putting this in the targets food and drink, it can also be used by convincing the person that it is a medicine or cure. When consuming food or drink that contains poison, there is some chance that the character will notice that something is amiss. The main factor affecting this is the size of the serving. The following chances are for one dose in the meal:

Goblet: 15%

Tumbler or small dish: 10%

Tankard or large dish: 05%

The GM must roll this secretly.

These chances are then averaged with the person Int/Poison skill (although you may also use Cooking/Brewing skill) and rolled to see if they notice anything. If the test is passed, the character notices something wrong with the food/drink and will stop consuming it. If they fail, do not tell them anything and they will continue eating/drinking the substance and they will consume the whole dose.

If more than one dose is used, multiply the chance from the chart above by the amount of doses present.

Blade Venom: In addition to normal preparation, this must be distilled to a resinous paste and requires two doses per one on the blade. It will also take several hours more. Then the character must douse the tip of the weapon with the paste. When that weapon next wounds a creature, the venom enters its bloodstream. It only works once and must be used within about four hours of appliance.

The victim may make a T/Poison Resistance test to resist all effects of the poison. If they fail then the poison will have full effect. Some poisons may be particularly strong or weak and may apply modifiers to this roll. Where multiple doses are involved, the character makes a test per poison.

The primary effect will cause unconsciousness if one dose is taken, paralysis for two doses, and death for three or more for the creatures shown. Unconsciousness and paralysis will wear of after a number of hours equal to their T/Poison Resistance divided by ten minus 10. The character will still be drowsy for a further D4 hours.

The secondary effect will cause unconsciousness on the creatures shown as per the rules above.

There are also many deleriants which cause hallucinogenic effects on the subject. The GM should make up rules for these as they are encountered because they are very rare and there are many different types. They are often herbs.

The most well known herb is nepenthe (an anesthetic). Mandrake roots are also known of but they are very rare and difficult to use (as well as difficult to procure!). They also require the user to know healing magic in order to be used. There are many other types of herb that can be found wild, but like deleriants these are too numerous to list. They will normally have an effect against some sort of poison or disease.

Buildings have a toughness and wounds level just like characters. However, picks and other specialised siege equipment must be used to knock down brick and stone walls whereas wood, straw and mud can be assailed by normal weapons. Buildings and walls count as prone (see Combat section).

The following toughness' are for different types of surface:

Solid Timber 70

Light Wood 60

Wattle and Daub 50

Thatch 50

Wooden Floor 70

Clay Floor 70

Reed or Matting 60

Brick/Stone 90

10 damage points must be caused to create a hole large enough for a man to walk through. Characters with Escapism skill may attempt to get through a hole after 5 damage is caused. This will usually not cause any danger to the building and will not make it fall down!

To destroy a buidling, you must destroy each 8 by 8 yard section of it. The following chart shows the toughness and wounds of different buildings:

When characters perform actions in a game, they are gaining experience from them. Over the course of an adventure, a character may gain so much experience that it needs to be represented on his profile. This can come in the form of an attribute being raised, a skill being raised or a new one learnt, a disadvantage being bought off, an advantage being bought or a spell level being raised.

GMs may decide to award experience points either at the end of an adventure or during a point in and adventure after a character has gained the experience. The costs for spending experience in different areas is as follows:

+1 attribute point = Current attribute level (divided by ten) x 4 exp. points.

+1 skill point = Current skill level divided by ten (round down) to a minimum of one exp. points.

New skill at level 10 = 10 exp. points

Ability bought = Cost of ability (most abilities cannot be bought outside of character creation. GM decides which ones can be bought under the circumstances).

+ 1 spell point = Current spell level divided by ten (rounded down) x 2 (see more about spells in Magic section).

New spell at level 10 = 20 exp. points.

GMs may also reward experience points for good role-play e.g. staying true to impairments, playing with personality etc.

These points may be spent when they are gained, or at the end of an adventure. It is up to the GM.

A character may not advance in a skill/spell/attribute etc if he has not used that statistic at least once in the course of the adventure (unless the character has a teacher who is training him).

This section describes the procedure for fighting combat, as well as weapon lists for ranged and melee weapons.

1 ­ You and your opponent make an opposed roll: you use your MC/relevant combat skill modified by anything from the table below, he uses his MC/relevant Parry skill modified by his weapon's parry. If you win then you have scored a hit, roll a D100 on the body chart to see where. If he wins then he has parried your blow and you have missed, in which case skip to stage 4.

2 ­ Take your S characteristic, apply any modifiers for weapons and add D6x10. Your opponent takes his T characteristic and applies any modifiers for armour. He then subtracts this from your new number. The remaining number of points you have shows the amount of points you have to cause wounds.

3 ­ Cross-reference the amount of points you have remaining with the Wounds Chart (below) to see how many wounds you have caused.

4 ­ Now it is your opponents turn to strike back. Follow the same procedure as above.

Charging ~ +10 ~ Whoever initiates the combat counts as charging. They receive this bonus for the first round of combat only.

Advantage of Ground ~ +10 ~ If one person is higher up than their opponent, they gain this advantage. Note that this bonus does not include being taller than your opponent!

Winner ~ +10 ~ If you have already fought a round of combat against this opponent, whoever caused more wounds counts as having won that combat and receives this bonus. This is not cumulative.

Obstacle ~ -10 ~ If the target is behind a hedge, small wall etc then they are harder to hit and so apply this modifier.

Wrong-hand ~ -10 ~ If you are using a weapon in your left hand (or right if the player is left-handed!) then suffer this penalty.

Unarmed ~ -20 ~ This will apply to anyone unless they are using the Brawl skill.

Improvised ~ -10 ~ If the character is using an improvised weapon e.g. a smashed bottle they will suffer this modifier.

Most PCs will start out with the following number of wounds:

Whenever you suffer a number of wounds, check one of the wound track boxes per wound, starting from the top. There are 10 wound boxes so the character has 10 wounds. As soon as you reach the Injured state, you will begin to suffer statistic modifiers (to a minimum of 5). Each wound caused at Injury level Stuns your opponent and each hit at Mauled or Crippled level causes your target to go Prone (see later).

When fighting an NPC, it is not necessary to draw out this chart. Just keep track of the amount of wounds they have left. Use the amount of wounds each creature has (signified in the Bestiary) and have them die when they reach zero. You may wish to use the above track for large creatures and enemy leaders as it can be more fun!

Roll a D100 to see where you hit:

01-15 ­ HEAD

16-35 ­ RIGHT ARM

36-55 ­ LEFT ARM

56-80 ­ BODY

81-90 ­ RIGHT LEG

91-00 ­ LEFT LEG

This is for a humanoid creature and may need to be modified for other creatures. You do not need to use these rules but they can be useful if you want to describe a combat more fully.

HEAD: +10 S modifier and if caused when the character is Mauled or Crippled, there is a 20% chance of decapitation! LIMB: At Mauled or Crippled level will give a 20% chance of a dislocated limb, if that fails then a 20% chance of broken leg. BODY: At Mauled or Crippled level level will have a 20% chance of causing terminal bleeding.

A stunned character may not attack or flee for the round after he has been stunned. After that he will recover unless stunned again in the subsequent round. If he is stunned again, he will fall unconscious for D6 hours unless he makes a successful T test.

Before rolling to hit your opponent, you may opt to strike to stun. You roll to hit with a modifier of ­20 unless using your Strike to Stun skill. If you hit, you count as hitting the target's head. Work out the difference between your S and your opponent's T like normal, but this time make a roll on it. If you succeed then you have stunned your opponent. If you fail then you have not in which your opponent may strike back. Unlike normal combat, do not mark any wounds on your opponent unless you roll a 60 on the D6x10 damage roll.

A prone character cannot flee or attack. Also, when trying to hit a prone target, you gain a +30 modifier and you do double the amount of wounds. You may also choose which body area to attack.

If fighting a foe wearing metal armour while unarmed, his armour will have double the effect.

However, instead of fighting normally unarmed, you may attempt to grapple your opponent once per round. Make an opposed roll with your MC/Wrestling skill (you do so at ­10 MC but no modifier if using Wrestling)against your opponents DX/Wrestling skill. If they succeed then they have managed to evade your grapple. If you succeed then. the grappling begins. Each subsequent round, make an opposed S/Wrestling roll against the opposition (who also uses S/Wrestling). If you succeed then you cause damage as normal depending how much you won by (see Wounds Chart above). If your opponent succeeds then he breaks free of the grapple and you both may act normally in your next turns.

When fighting with a weapon that does not actually penetrate the skin such as fists, clubs and other such weapons, it will be much more difficult to kill an opponent. It will take 8 wounds per box once your opponent reaches the injured state.

If you manage to sneak up on your opponent and attack before he realises it, then you get a completely free round of combat. The remaining combat is played out normally.

When deciding who goes first in combat, compare I/Combat Reflex skill values. Whoever has higher goes first. If two people draw then roll a D6 each turn and whoever gets higher goes earliest. Someone Charging into combat will always go first.

If you wish to flee from a combat, then you may do so but your opponent(s) will get a free round of combat and you will not be able to parry. Then the enemy will usually give chase!