* Rules

Originally the rules for the Lost Roads of Lociam were far from uniform and a bit of a mess. With revisions being made the rules were streamlined and simplified, and finally made into a bit more of a cohesive whole.

The base of the rules-engine is the hundred-sided die, or the D100. This is normally rolled with two ten-sided dice (D10), with the darker one being the multiple of ten and the lighter one the single digit (so that the dark die landing on 8 and the lighter on 4 would result in an 84 and so on). The D100-test is used for all skill-tests, all basic attribute-test and a lot more. There are some exceptions, but using two ten-sided dice you can get through all of them.

Traits for humans are rolled with 1D100 meaning that the attributes range from 1 to 100, normally spanning between 20 and 75.

Player characters have ten attributes

• Athletic – reflects the physical strength of a character along with speed, dexterity, coordination and balance. Feats like breaking up doors, climbing, sneaking and lifting heavy loads are dependent on this trait.
• Perception – the general alertness and ability of the character to notice and spot things.
• Communication – tells us about how charming, manipulative or intimidating the character is. This trait also reflects language-skills.
• Knowledge – holds the common sense and general wealth of information the character has. Did they pay attention to the stories grandmother told them about all the dangers of the world? This trait also has two sub-traits.
  • Academics – looks at the book-smarts of the character. Did they ever learn how to read and write? Do they know their numbers? Have they spent time in the library, learning all the obscure history and customs of far-removed exotic lands?
  • Forester – is all about how comfortable the character is in the great outdoors. Can they find their way? Can they find food? Can they build a shelter from the storms?
• Martial – draws all the blades of the character at once. This trait not only reflect weaponskills but also experience in the theaters of war, hardiness and aim. It can be augmented by adding armor and weapons.
• Magic – reflects the magical potential and skill of the character, ranging from their perception of the magical world, lower magic and finally higher magic, where the true power resides. Lower magic is divided by profession, and higher magic by sphere, such as the Sphere of Fire, or the Sphere of the Body.
• Faith – is more about the faith and attention the gods pay the character, rather than the other way around. Even a zealot may have prayers go unanswered, while an innocent may attract the attention of their divine patron to grant miracles.
• Street-smarts – is a derived trait, decidedly urban, including things like pick-pocketing, disguised, forgeries and stalking through the towns and cities.
• Wealth – is divided into Means and Investments, reflecting the monetary power of the character. Are they wealthy or poor? Can they afford all they desire, or is their purse light on coin?

Challenges are resolved with a single roll most of the time, so no matter if you are sneaking by a guard, forging a document, casting a spell or wading into battle you do so with a single roll of the dice and comparing it to the appropriate trait, possibly modified by the situation, preparation, equipment and so on.

A character can also choose a margin of success in most situation, but at a cost. This sort of exertion takes its toll and will make subsequent rolls for that trait harder for the rest of the adventure. It is a resource that has to be used wisely!

The magic rules have been streamlined to minimize the number of rolls, both for Lower magic (which is part of most everyone’s professional education) and Higher magic (which is the more complex arcane art used by magicians and others that study it in more depth). The magic rules are mostly concerned with these two kinds of magic and with rules for spotting/sensing magic nearby. These are dependent on the innate magical talent of a character, both for their type and range.
Lower magic is learned as part of a character’s education; thieves have one kind, warriors another, traders a third, and so on. If you want to learn more magic you can study the entire “package” of another education, and, depending on your talent, master some or all of them.
Higher magic is divided into Spheres, each concerned with a specific topic. The Core Rulebook contains five Spheres; Change, Fire, the Body, Water and Wind. In this game you do not learn one spell at a time, but an entire Sphere at a time. Learning even a single Sphere requires a fairly high Magic trait, and if the character is to master more than one then Magic has to be very high indeed.
Lower magic is commonly quick, immediate and low-powered; useful in situations you get into in your professional life, but not more. Higher magic, on the other hand, can literally move mountains, given enough study, preparation, energy and time. The quicker and more subtle the effect, the lesser power can be used through it, normally. The rules also include things like runes, enchanted items and magical combat.

The rules for religions govern what sort of things certain deities consider to be good offerings, rules of conduct and traditions, along with how prayers and miracles work. Prayers are rolled to overcome a difficulty; the greater the favor asked of the deity the higher the result must be. Asking for your god to make you a copper coin so that you don’t starve a devout follower can succeed with about four tries out of five. However, the same follower asking for the god to make them a private floating island would take a month of prayer and fasting, a suitable offering and a one in one hundred roll.

The rules are easy to learn, and there are examples to the more complex rules in the rulebook itself. In addition to this, there are several examples on the homepage, of both characters and various rules, to walk you through the process, and make it even easier to learn.