SBVD

Small But Vicious Dog (B/X-WFRP hack)

Introduction Welcome to a fantasy world where the men are Baldrick, the dwarves are punk, and the dogs are small but vicious. Welcome to a world of bawds, grave robbers, excisemen and witch-hunters; a place where “Blather”, “Flee!” and “Mime” are legitimate skill choices; and where all material on the insidious threat of Chaos is officially interchangeable between settings.

Welcome (back) to the Grim World of Perilous Adventure.

Whisper it (that fanboys may not hear and descend a-squealing), but for all the charm of its skewed-familiar 16th century milieu and the lurking horror of Chaos, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play was little more than a modcop of classic Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, our beloved WFRP was yet another ‘fix D&D’ fantasy heartbreaker, albeit one which had the clout of the biggest name in British gaming behind it. Whole chunks of the system were lightly disguised D&D mechanics adapted to a roll-under d% system, and many setting elements not gleefully ripped off from Tolkien, Leiber or Moorcock were already established D&D tropes by the time WFRP was published.

But that's ok. Indeed, that's part of why all right-thinking people – Brits, Italians and Poles especially – love WFRP. To paraphrase a better man than I: we took an American invention, soaked it in a witches' brew of Bosch, Durer and Doré, Mervyn Peake and Tom Sharpe, Blackadder, The Young Ones, pints of bitter, cheap weed, Iron Maiden and The Damned, and then played the hell out of it.

And that’s what this ill-considered rules hack is about. Your humble author – a dirty little yahoo from a rainy, grimy, post-imperial isle in the northern seas – decided to have a go at welding D&D and WFRP together. Why? So I could play games of WFRP-ish misery and despair with rules of B/X-ish brevity, thus achieving personal gaming nirvana. This here resulting travesty is a 90% pure game mechanics kitbash with minimal background material or context. I won’t even pretend I can précis 20-odd years of background material into 32 pages or so. If you want all that good stuff you should hunt out a copy of WFRP itself; it is worth your time.

I hope you enjoy my little love letter to *real* WFRP (the one that came complete in a single fat book). But “If you know a better hole, then go to it.”

Note: This is not-for-gain fanwork which requires access to both B/X D&D (either in the form of the original TSR games, or as Goblinoid Games’ fine simulacrum Labyrinth Lord) and WFRP (1E or 2E) for full use and enjoyment. It is not intended as a replacement for either game, or as a challenge to any copyrights.

A Note on AbbreviationsMost people reading this will know what all these acronyms mean, but just in case:

OD&D - Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974-77), published by TSR.B/X - Moldvay/Marsh/Cook Dungeons & Dragons (1982), published by TSR.BECMI - Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons (1986), published by TSR.

WFRP - Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play (1986). Reprinted by Hogshead Publishing 1995.WFRP 2E - Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play (2005). Published by GW’s Black Industries imprint.WFRP 3E - Some boxed collectible dice-and-card game that claims to be Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play.

Oh, how we laughed! Published by Fantasy Flight Games (2010).

SRD The d20 System Reference Document (2000), published by Wizards of the Coast.

CreditsWFRP created by Meisters Bambra, Davis, Gallagher, Halliwell and Priestley.B/X D&D created by Meisters Gygax, Arneson, Moldvay, Marsh and Cook.SBVD from the pen of Chris Hogan, a lowly ink-stained wretch.

Playtesting/Proofreading by [TBC]


Ability Scores A character’s Primary Ability Scores are Movement, Strength, Toughness, Agility, Intelligence, Willpower and Fellowship. I’m sure anyone familiar with B/X and WFRP will be able to work out what’s what…

Movement (Mv) is B/X speed in feet/turn divided by 30. Why the chance-for-the-sake-of-it? Because a single digit Movement score (Mv 4, Mv3, etc) is 1) more WFRP-ish, and 2) simpler than fiddling about with “so many tens of feet per round”.

Other Ability Scores are generated with 3d6 in order, for such is the way of righteousness (although see the “Laughter of Dark Gods” rule below).

Ability Score Modifiers, and use during play, are per B/X D&D unless indicated otherwise.

Primary ProfileMv

Str

Tgh

Ag

Int Wil Fel

A character’s Secondary Scores are other game-relevant numbers. These are a bit of a mish-mash in that some are randomly generated, while others are either fixed scores, or accumulate or decrease over time. These are:

Secondary ProfileWS B

SAtt

W Mag

IP FP

WS - Weapon Skill (melee attack bonus) See “Combat”, pp13-14BS - Bow Skill (ranged attack bonus) See “Combat”, pp13-14Att - Attacks (per round, generally 1) See “Combat”, pp13-14W - Wounds (a.k.a. hit points) See “Races” and “Careers”, pp3-

6Mag

- Magic (max # of casting dice) See “Magic”, pp19-20

IP - Insanity Points See “Insanity”, p11-12FP - Fate Points See “Fate Points”, p7

A character’s Saving Throws are determined by their class and level, as normal for B/X D&D.

Saves ProfileDeath/Poison

Petrify/Paralysi

s

BreathWeapo

n

Device

Spell

“Laughter of Dark Gods”At character generation a player may replace one – and only one – 3d6 Primary Profile ability score that makes them sad with a 10. Players who do this may be freely mocked as soft and gurly with our blessing.

True followers of the WFRP Way may instead replace their highest rolled Primary Profile ability score with a 10. This latter choice earns kudos for being “Totally WFRP!” and, at the GM’s option, gains the character an additional d3 Fate Points.


Races Choice of playable races is one area where SBVD (and all its source material before it) show a notable debt to that erudite 800lb gorilla of 20th century fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien. Humans are the vast majority in SBVD, with non-humans being the designated butts of both superstitious prejudice and a blatantly unfair tax regime.

Those who elect to play a non-human don't get the unalloyed joy of rolling for a career; instead they play a professional stereotype straight from Central Casting. Use the demi-human races of B/X as written.

Dwarf (0-2 per party)Wounds: 8+d8/lvlAttack as: Fighter Save as: DwarfLikes: gold, jewels, honour, combs.Preferred MO: axe to the knees, or over-complicated death-machines (“Pull the lever!”)Trappings: scruffy clothes, chainmail, hammer or axe, tankard, lantern, helmet. Huge beard, dour mien.

All dwarves are beer-soaked beards on legs who stop mining only to fight, drink heavily and/or sing about mining. They consider everything they say and do to be SRS BZNZ and nurse a grudge like a Bretonnian nurtures a fine vintage wine. Any resemblance of Dwarves to Yorkshiremen is purely coincidental.

There’s a 10% chance that any dwarf character created is a Troll Slayer, a kamikaze no-pants dwarf with a big orange mohawk, prison tats, a two-handed axe and a burning desire to ragequit life as violently as possible.

Elf (0-1 per party)Wounds: 6+d6/lvlAttack as: Fighter Save as: ElfLikes: wine, art, singing, anything you haven’t heard of.Preferred MO: peppering with arrows, then singing beautiful songs about same.Trappings: fine clothing, lute or lyre, bow and arrows, sword, smug expression.

All elves are metrosexual minstrels and archers who fly into fey rages when provoked; the elven ability to lose it in spectacularly violent fashion has been clocked at “Nought to Feanor in 4.2 seconds”. Most PC elves are filthy tree-hugging pseudo-Celtic Wood Elves, although the Sea Elves who hang out in coastal cities seem to be a kind of Elven gap year backpacker. No one’s quite sure what the mohawked, spandex-wearing paramilitary Riverdance troupe known as Wardancers are supposed to be, apart from FABULOUS!

Rumour has it that the Elven homelands are contested in an endless war between two mighty and ancient factions: the louche-and-arty vs. the darker-and-edgier. The origin of their interminable strife is unknown, although it probably began as a spat over the relative aesthetic merits of art nouveau and gothic revival styles. Elves of these factions are far too in love with themselves to do anything so déclassé as adventuring for gain.

Elves use the SBVD casting system as wizards of their level.

Halfling (any number)Wounds: 6+d6/lvlAttack as: Thief Save as: DwarfLikes: food, drink, food, sex, food, stealing, food, gardening, food and food.Preferred MO: poison, or prison-yard shanking.Trappings: hardwearing clothes, skillet, recipe book, concealed shiv, jovial manner.

All halflings are smelly-footed, opportunistic little food tubes on the make. They are not to be trusted: don’t rely on their word, don’t eat their pies (invariably of dubious provenance), and never let them get their hands on your ring. Halflings emerged from the distant East to infest a formerly pleasant area called The Mootland; this schmaltz-soaked domain is now a terrible warning about what happens when the more touristy parts of rural Bavaria meet the Lollipop Guild.

Halflings do not have any sort of wacky Mohawk-wearing subculture, for which we are all eternally thankful.

Human (any number)Wounds: 6+(varies) Attack as: 0-level Fighter Save as: 0-level humanLikes: money, killing.Preferred MO: varies wildly.Trappings: by Class and Profession.

All humans are cynical, vicious, and have a laser-focus on their own self-interest. Those not prone to absurd superstition are usually in thrall to pernicious ideologies or religious mania. Humans can be found all over the place, stuffed ten-deep in squalid firetrap cities or cluttering up the rural landscape with their farms, mines, castles, temples, lazar-houses and hospitals. They even take to the seas, forever seeking new and distant markets in which to display their hard-won skills in larceny, fraud and murder.


Classes and Careers All playable characters in SBVD are levels 1-3 in B/X D&D terms. It thus has very little in common with the monster-riding, daemon-punching antics of WFB or high-level D&D. The grubby, vicious world of SBVD is a place of minor triumphs against a background of misery, squalor and suffering. Baldrick don’t ride no dragon!

1. If playing a human pick (or roll) your class and note the basic package of goodies on your sheet. 2. Roll your starting HD and note your attack and save progressions (derived from the B/X originals).3. Roll your occupation, adding your career skill and distinctive trappings (stereotypical item, you know, like

white coat = scientist, stethoscope = doctor, warrant card = cop/agent, etc.) to your sheet.4. Note your starting cash: 3d6 GC. No exceptions.5. Scheme, rob and kill your way to fortune and glory without succumbing to poison, disease, madness,

horrible accident, witch-hunt, banditry, massacre by beastmen, the machinations of Chaos…

There are four broad classes in SBVD. These are:

1d10 Class Place in Great Chain of Being

Totem ‘GreatYoung One’

1 Academic The learned in lore Neil2-3 Ranger Hard-bitten, gimlet-eyed rustics Mike4-7 Rogue The turbulent urban proletariat Rick

8-10 Warrior Vicious armed thugs Vyvyan

Each class encompasses 15 or so careers (specific occupations). Players may choose their class but the way of true WFRP gaming righteousness is to generate one’s career randomly.

Academic“…can it be true? That I hold here in my mortal hand, a nugget of purest green?”

Wounds: d4 Attack as: Cleric Save as: WizardBasic equipment: set of decent clothing, academic robes, knife or stave.Likes: knowledge, comfort, being cited.Preferred MO: killing without getting their hands dirty (magic or vile concoctions).

All Academic PCs gain casting dice as they advance in level. Yes, there are lots of non-caster Academics in the WFRP world, but we really don’t care about them. The simple fact is that a non-caster scholar or artisan has the survival chances of a snowflake in Hell. Sure, if you want to play one, knock yourself out and try to die usefully. Elsewise, academic = caster in SBVD.

Academics don’t wear armour and have little, if any, experience wielding weapons. They generally only use small, light weapons (knives, clubs, staves) and that quite poorly.

Esoteric Knowledge: Academics can make an Int test to remember obscure lore related to their profession.

Academic AdvancementXP Wounds Casting Dice*

1 0 6+1d4 12 2,500 6+2d4 13 5,000 6+3d4 2* See Magic section.

1d20 Career Skill Trapping1 Alchemist App Brew alchemicals 1d3 books on alchemy2 Artisan's App. Trade skill Tools of trade3 Druid Identify Plants Sickle-knife, holy symbol4 Engineer Engineering Hammer+chisels, surveying

tools5 Exciseman Supernumerate Abacus6 Herbalist Herb Lore Pestle and mortar7 Hypnotist Hypnotise Pendulum

8-10 Initiate Priest Theology Robes and holy symbol11 Pharmacist Manufacture

drugs1d6 glass jars filled with oddness

12 Physician's App. Treat injuries Surgical tools, jar of leeches13 Scribe Read language Ink, quills and paper14 Seer Divination Divining gear

15-16 Student Read language 1d3 scholarly books17 Trader Haggle Stock in trade

18-20 Wizard's App. Scroll Lore Manual of spellcraft


Ranger“Bastards! I hate them, with their long tails and their stupid twitchy noses!” *gunfire* “Squeak” *thud*

Wounds: d6 Attack as: Fighter Save as: ThiefBasic equipment: hardwearing clothes, hand weapon, leather jack, pack with bedroll, cutlery, etc. Likes: forests, roads, long walks in the country.Preferred MO: shooting people with missile weapons and retiring into the shadows.

Rangers can wear leather or chain armours and use any one-handed or missile weapon.

Survival: Rangers are able to increase the amount of food garnered by foraging/hunting amounts in the wild and generally know enough to not do stupid things like eating the red mushrooms with white spots.

Ranger AdvancementXP Wounds BS

1 0 6+1d6 +12 2,000 6+2d6 +23 4,000 6+3d6 +3

1d20 Career Skill Trapping1 Boatman River Lore Oar, pipe, knitted cap

2-3 Bounty Hunter Follow Trail Net, manacles4 Coachman Drive cart Coach horn5 Fisherman Sailing Fish-gutting knife, waterproofs6 Gamekeeper Concealment,

RuralMantrap

7 Herdsman Charm animal Sling, panpipes8-9 Hunter Follow trail Bow, furry hat10 Muleskinner Animal care Broad-brimmed hat, whip11 Outrider Move Silent, Rural Horse, crossbow12 Pilot Orientation 2 lanterns13 Prospector Metallurgy Pan, pick and shovel

14-15 Rat Catcher Resist disease Animal traps, small but vicious dog16 Runner Flee! Running shoes, headband17 Toll-Keeper Evaluate Crossbow

18-19 Trapper Set Trap 1d4 animal traps, fur hat20 Woodsman Identify plants Woodmans axe

Rogue“Good evening Duke, and the lovely Miss Cheapside. Your cash bags please.”

Wounds: d6 Attack as: Thief Save as: ThiefBasic equipment: scruffy clothes, knives galore, well-concealed purse, leather jack.Likes: stealing, money, getting one over on the lordships.Preferred MO: leaving unexplained knives protruding from the backs of their enemies.

Rogues generally wear street clothes or leather armour and can use any one-handed or missile weapon.

Sneak Attack: Treat as backstab attempts according to the B/X rules.

Rogue AdvancementXP Wounds Sneak Attack

1 0 6+1d6 x22 1,500 6+2d6 x23 3,000 6+3d6 x2

1d20 Career Skill Trapping1 Agitator Public Speaking 2d10 inflammatory leaflets2 Bawd Bribery Pimp hat3 Beggar Concealment,

UrbanBegging bowl, crutch

4 Entertainer Perform Tools of trade5-6 Footpad Strike to Stun Mask, blackjack or garrotte7 Gambler Gamble Cards (marked), dice (loaded)8 Grave

RobberSilent move, Rural Spade, large sack

9 Jailer Resist poison Club, ring of keys, fleas10 Minstrel Perform Lute or mandolin, flashy clothes

11-12 Peddler Haggle Stock in trade13 Raconteur Blather Fancy clothes, outrageous hat

14-15 Rustler Move silent, Rural Lantern, lasso16-17 Smuggler Move silent, U or R Cart or row boat18-19 Thief Move silent, Urban Swag bag, hooks and rakes

20 Tomb Robber Spot trap Crowbar, lantern, sack


Warrior“Swords! What do you think this is, the Middle Ages? Only girls fight with swords these days. Stand by your gun, sir!”

Wounds: d8 Attack as: Fighter Save as: FighterBasic equipment: sturdy clothing, hand weapon, leather jack+helmet, pack with bedroll, cutlery, etc. Likes: fighting, looting, rapine.Preferred MO: smashing you in the face …hard …repeatedly.

Warriors can wear any type of armour and use any weapon they encounter.

Combat Ability: Warriors are able to use any specialist weapon they pick up with minimal practise.

Warrior AdvancementXP Wounds WS

1 0 6+1d8 +12 2,000 6+2d8 +23 4,000 6+3d8 +3

1d20 Career Skill Trapping1 Bodyguard Street Fighting Knuckle dusters

2-3 Labourer Scale sheer surface Packed lunch, flask of tea4-5 Marine Dodge blow Grappling hook, chainmail6-8 Mercenary Strike mighty blow Bow or crossbow, chainmail9-10 Militiaman Dodge blow Spear, shield11 Noble Etiquette Costly clothes, horse, d4 hangers-on12 Outlaw Concealment,

RuralBow, bandanna

13 Pit Fighter Disarm Wacky arena weapon combo14 Protagonis

tStrike to injure Horse, chainmail, attitude

15 Sailor Sailing Boat hook, bottle of rotgut16-17 Servant Dodge blow Livery, stolen trinkets

18 Squire Animal care Livery, pony, cleaning kit19-20 Watchman Strike to stun Lantern on pole, hourglass

Advanced CareersWhat’s that? You don’t like being a ratcatcher. You want to play a Warrior Priest, or a magus of the Colleges of Sorcery, or a Knight of the White Wolf, or a Dwarven Giant Slayer? OK. Crawl your way up to around 8,000xp without dying horribly in a ditch, and then we’ll talk. What? No! Not about you taking L33T advanced careers, but about your failure to enter fully into the correct WFRP-ish mindset: joy through adversity.

Joking aside, most advanced careers in WFRP are about on a par competence-wise with 3rd to 4th level D&D characters. They’re substantially harder to kill than Fritz in the street, but most of that difference in survivability stems from training, equipment and, above all else, player skill.

If sufficient interest is ever expressed your humble scribe may one day re-jig the experience and advancement requirements, addressing the subject of advanced careers (and all the headaches that go with them – like arcane lores, skill mastery, mass combat and leadership, etc.) in a hypothetical “Small But Really Vicious Dog”.

Otherwise, it’s all about the travails and torments of the little guy.


Resolution Unless indicated otherwise all mechanical task resolution in SBVD is per the rules laid out in B/X D&D.

Although the skill and test system was among the glories of WFRP I don’t think D&D is much enhanced by hundreds of skills.

Treat Career Skills (and anything else a character could reasonably be expected to be competent at by virtue of their background) as Ability Score checks against the most relevant score.

Things the character has only limited knowledge of = Ability Check against half the relevant ability. Things entirely outside that character’s ken (the mysterious workings of magic to a guttersnipe, the

subtleties of courtly etiquette to a labourer, the nuances of armed combat to a desk-bound scribe, etc.) should be treated as Ability Score checks that succeed only on a 1.

Yes, this makes characters marginally more competent than they are in either of the base systems from which SBVD is derived, but see “The Gods Hate You” below.

The Gods Hate You!In keeping with the ‘failure is the expected outcome’ ethos of WFRP the GM is encouraged to arbitrarily slap negative modifiers onto any die roll as and when he sees fit (I suggest –1d6 per roll). This should serve to convey the unfairness and perversity of a world where the presiding gods of law are Murphy and Sturgeon. The exact reason why these “SO UNFAIR!” modifiers apply is left to the limitless imagination and exquisite good taste of the GM.

Ability Check or Saving Throw?My personal rule of thumb for SBVD is to use Ability Checks to adjudicate actions initiated by a character and to resort to Saving Throws if characters are on the receiving end of something. Yeah, the ‘roll over’ nature of player initiated actions in combat does confuse the issue slightly, but in my experience players seem to have no problem remembering whether more or less is better if things are in their interests.

Fate Points These represent the favour of the gods, or, more likely, the unwillingness of the gods to let you die until you have suffered further for their entertainment. Expenditure of a Fate Point allows a player character to avoid otherwise inevitable death (or horrific permanent injury). What happens instead of death or maiming is entirely up to the GM, although the words ‘frying pan’ and ‘fire’ should be meditated upon.

Human characters start with 3 Fate Points.Dwarves and Halflings start with 2 Fate Points.Elves, being front-loaded and cheesy beyond belief, start with 1 Fate Point.

Fate Points are lost forever once spent and new Fate Points can only be gained either by achieving greater skill and renown (a.k.a. levelling up) or through spectacular heroic endeavours (a.k.a. GM fiat). Which means they’re pretty much an irreplaceable wasting asset in SBVD.

Experience & Advancement Experience in SBVD is awarded for killing dudes and taking their stuff. There’s none of this namby-pamby experience for “achieving objectives” or “good role-playing”. Those things are expected elements of play, means to the true end of adventuring: riches, glory, and the bloody downfall of one’s enemies.

Characters earn experience by:

Making money through theft or looting 1 xp per 1 GCKilling members of player races 25xp/HDKilling monsters 50xp/HD + 50xp per special ability

Sucking LessOn advancing a level a player may pick one of the six Ability Scores on his character’s primary profile. He may, with all due rejoicing and thankful sacrifices, raise that score by one (to a maximum of 18). He also gains 1 Fate Point free and clear.


Psychology There are several psychological states which are so frequently-encountered a part of life in SBVD that they have their own rules (suffice it to say ‘happiness’ and ‘contentment’ are not among them). Stimuli as varied as insanity, drugs, or other stimuli may cause these outbursts of atypical behaviour, which generally last 3d4 rounds, or until the inspiring object is no longer visible (GM’s discretion).

Some psychological states are mutually exclusive (stupidity and most others), while others are synergistic in effect (hatred and frenzy, for example). Follow the WFRP guidelines, or apply common sense (as preferred).

Aggro Some people just don’t play well with others and will cheerfully turn on their own side if they can see both an opportunity and clear advantage in doing so. Ratmen, goblins and orcs are infamously prone to treacherous infighting.

Hatred Hatred is aroused by a particular stimulus, usually someone you really, really don’t like. Dwarves hate orcs and goblins; various factions of elves hate one another; demons of rage hate everyone (and their little dog too).

Frenzy Some states of aggressive excitement can be so powerful they impair the urge to self-preservation. These can be induced by drugs, religious mania, insanity, or through martial disciplines.

Stupidity There’s mildly confuzzled, and then there’s troll-grade stoopid. A character affected by stupidity is unable to sustain a train of thought without outside assistance. Concussion and intoxication have remarkably similar effect to stupidity.

Fear However brave and hard-bitten someone is, there are some things that are just downright scary. A pack of charging minotaurs, for example, is nothing to be sniffed at.

Terror Some things out there are more than just scary; they are pants wetting terrifying. A character that lays eyes on such a sanity-blasting horror must save vs. petrifaction/paralysis to prevent himself letting the side down.

Mental State

Save/Check Effect if passed Effect if failed

Aggro Morale check No effect Turn on allies unless already in melee.Hatred Will check Character gains +2 bonus to

morale, to saves vs. fear/terror, and to melee hit rolls against hated enemy.

Dislike is evident, but the character draws no especial benefit from the animus he bears.

Frenzy Will check Character remains calm. Character goes utterly berserk. Must move towards the object of outrage and destroy it if at all possible. Morale = 12, unaffected by Fear, treats Terror as if it were Fear, all attacks are furious attacks (see Combat, p13).

Stupidity Int check Character copes with the myriad distractions and complexities of life.

Character initiates no meaningful action, being instead distracted by something extraneous (and probably shiny). He is treated as being under the effect of a hold person spell but will lash out if goaded or attacked.

Fear vs. spell Character masters his fear. This time…

Character refuses to move towards or attack the fear-causing object unless and until it attacks him. He suffers a –1 penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws and ability checks for 3d4 rounds (as scare spell effect, LLAEC).

Terror vs. paralysis Treat as failed Fear test (above)

Character gains one Insanity Point. He screams like a sissy girl and legs it (if possible) or else curls into a helpless catatonic ball. This state of terror lasts for 3d4 rounds.


Poisons and Drugs Sometimes the quickest way to get someone out of your way is to dose them with something nasty. Poison is pretty a definitive statement of disapprobation, but its use has harsh penalties both socially and in law. Drugs are often just as effective, if less final.

ToxinsThe world is full of poisonous things, from serpents to mushrooms to mineral compounds. Most animal venoms kill within seconds of injection, plant and fungal toxins within 1d6 hours of consumption, while mineral toxins may be fatal immediately or cumulatively. Tileans have spent centuries researching ever more complex and subtle poisons, some of which only take effect in the presence (or absence) of other chemicals.

Most poisons simply kill or render incapable. Save vs. poison/death or suffer effect. A successful save inflicts the next less intense degree of debilitation (see Combat Conditions, p15) until treated. Levels of effect are:

Dead > Helpless > Seizure/Drowsy (as Stunned) > Dizzy (as Floored) > Unaffected

Infamous Toxins Vector Onset Failed Save

Belladonna Contact ? DeadBlack Lotus Extract -“- Second

sDead

Arsenic Ingestion Hours DeadCyanide -“- Second

sDead

Rabid Dog Saliva -“- Hours FrenziedHemlock -“- Minutes DeadWolfsbane -“- Hours Dead

Liche Dust Inhalation Minutes DrowsyHellebore -“- Minutes HelplessMercury Fumes -“- Hours? Confusion

Centipede Venom Injury Seconds

Helpless

Scorpion Venom -“- Seconds

Dead

Spider Spittle -“- Seconds

Dead

Tarantula Venom -“- Seconds

Seizure

Even supernatural and daemonic creatures can be poisoned, although usually not by things toxic to mortal life. Some unnatural beasts are poisoned by substances rare and strange (alchemical silver, blessed water), others by the most innocuous of things (iron, garlic, the roots or seeds of particular plants). The particular effects of these atypical arcane poisons are treated in the description of the creature in question.

DrugsPeople in the Grim World of Perilous Adventure will try to get wasted on almost anything. Alcoholism and drug addiction are not recognised as illnesses, merely as gluttonous appetite. Most drugs are toxins if taken in larger doses, or over an extended period.

A single dose will bring on the specific effect of the drug (save vs. poison to resist). Most habitual users just willingly fail their save and enjoy the ride. Overdose is entirely too easy if a user has no formal knowledge of what he’s dealing with, or just impaired judgement.

Dur 1 dose 2 doses 3+ dosesBlack Lotus 2d6 hrs Drowsy Hallucinatio

nDeath

Bottled Love 1d6 hrs Arousal Palpitations DeathCrimson Shade 1d6 hrs Hatred Palpitations DeathLustrian Marching Powder

3d10 min Stupidity Frenzy Palpitations

Mad Cap Mushrooms 1d6 hrs Frenzied Death -Rye Mould 3d6 hrs Hallucinatio

nHelpless Death

Sultan’s Resin 1d6 hrs Dizzy Drowsy Unconscious

Weirdroot 1d6 hrs Drowsy Hallucination

Unconscious

Arousal: You are hot for it, where ‘it’ has a value of ‘whatever crosses your path’.


Hallucination: Save vs. poison or act in a hilariously inappropriate – and likely dangerous – manner.Palpitations: Save vs. poison or treated as Stunned, albeit unpleasantly conscious, for 3d10 minutes.Dead: Dead in 1d6 rounds.

Prices for toxins and drugs are whatever the market will bear. Many jurisdictions place punitive taxes on these goods, usually at the behest of the Distillers and Apothecaries Guilds. This invariably leads to all the usual black market antics.


Disease Disease is a fact of life in the filthy living conditions encountered in SBVD. There is no systematic epidemiology: diseases, syndromes and chronic conditions are categorised by their symptoms and visible effects, rather than by a true understanding of their operation. More primitive societies consider disease to be evidence of moral failing on the part of the sufferer, sure evidence that they have somehow offended the gods.

Rare and exotic infections are an occupational hazard to adventuring types. To keep things simple all diseases require a save vs. poison/death when exposed to their vector of transmission, with failure indicating that the lucky character has a colourful new complication in his life.

Infamous Medical Afflictions

Name Vector Vir

Inc Dur Symptoms Effect Remedy

BlackPlague

Rats, fleas -2 2d10

2d10

Coughing, fever, black buboes, death

-1 to all ability scores/day. Death if any stat drops to 0.

Flower posies. And prayer. Panicked, fervent prayer.

Frothing Yellow Pox

Tileans, tainted water

+0 2d6 3d6 Frothing at mouth, fever, death

-1 Tgh per day. Wrap in heated blankets.

The Kruts Goats,Dwarves

+0 1d8 2d10

Itching, rash -4 Fel while affected.

Daily application of creosote to affected area

Mootish Stinkfoot

Halflings +0 1d4 2d10

Rotten odour from feet

½ Mv, -4 to Ag checks.

Poultice of mashed Halfling

Gurglish Rot

Curse or Chaotic influence

-4 1d6 3d10

Vomiting, diarrhoea, pustules, decomposing flesh

-1 to all ability scores/day. Rise as Demon of Disease if any stat drops to 0.

Poultice of mouldy bread

Scurvish Gob Rot

Sailors, poor diet

+0 3d10

2d6 Tooth loss, nonsense speech, flawed judgement

-1d6 all mental ability scores (Int, Will, Fel).

Fresh fruit, essence of albatross in grog

Sinople Pox Viciously disputed

-2 1d10

2d10

Green or red pustules, fever or chills

-6 to all ability checks and saving throws while affected.

Ice baths and cool blankets, or hot eggs up the fundament

SylvanianTomb Rot

Corpses, graveyard miasmas

+0 1d6 2d6 Blue-grey skin tone, open sores

-1 Tgh per day. No natural healing possible.

Potation of calcined Mummy bones

Wound Rot(Infected Wounds)

Weapons, animal bite, wading in foulness

+0 1d4 2d8 Inflammation, fever, rotting smell from affected area

Prevents natural healing. -1d6 Ag while affected.

Eating ground iron, application of maggots and leeches

Vir. = Virulence (save modifier)Inc. = Incubation Period (in days)Dur. = Duration of illness (in days)

Jolly Uncle Gurgle’s Super Happy Funtime Instant Disease Generator

Need a particularly horrible affliction, fast?

1d12 Disease Name1 [d2 of Humour, Symptom or Magnitude] Ague2 Canker of the [body part]3 [Animal or Symptom] Cough4 [any descriptor] Fever5 [Humour] Flux6 [Place] Measles7 [Colour or Place] Plague8 [d3 of Colour, Animal, Place or Magnitude] Pox9 [any descriptor] Rot10 [d2 of Place or Symptom] Sweats11 [Place or body part] Wen12 “An inexplicable medical mystery. One for the journals.”

Colour: Red, blue, umber, puce, crimson, etc. The more lurid and obscure a shade the better. Humour: Blood, bile, phlegm, choler. If you want to think up more humours that’s fine by me.


Place: Named for city, region or nation: Saratogan, Reman, Bilbali, Sylvanian, Talabecan, Mootish, Khyprian, Hekharan, Estalian, Breton, Norse, Cathayan, Lustrian, etc.

Symptom: Wheezing, shivering, sweating, gibbering, foaming, seeping, gritty, galloping, etc.Magnitude: Petty, lesser, great, ghastly, mickle, horrible, etc.

The GM should apply horrific effects as he sees fit, the more debilitating and grotesque the better. Whether the sufferer ever fully recovers from the effect of the disease, or if he remains a wasted shell of a man in its wake, is also at the GM’s option. Err on the side of “disfiguring and unpleasant, but not viciously debilitating.”

Medicines and HealingMedicine in SBVD is empirical at best, and more often than not absurdly wrongheaded. Although correlations between dirt and infection have been observed there is no germ theory of disease. Illnesses as varied as the common cold, cholera and cancer are almost randomly attributed to miasmas, celestial influences, to tiny invisible daemons of disease, or to the personal hobby-horse of the physician being consulted (“Every learned man concurs that purple cloth, by virtue of its chromatic resonance with the arcane wind of death, carries disease. You’ll have to burn that jacket. And probably those pants too…”).

In game terms, if a character is afflicted with disease and chronic ailments he’s going to be wholly at the mercy of his (drunken, semi-competent, shaky-handed) physician. And no, a player character physician cannot single-handedly replicate the development of modern scientific medicine through a series of ‘lucky guesses’ and ‘simple structured experiments’. Injecting people with milder forms of diseases and/or cutting up dead bodies for research purposes just gets the witch hunters and all-purpose angry mob excited.

Battlefield medicine is less in thrall to idiotic theories, but just as rudimentary. Deftly wielded knives, saws, hot pitch, and bandages are about the limit of sophistication. Opium poppies and alcohol are about it in the anaesthetic stakes, and sepsis is an occupational hazard.

Miraculous and magical healing do exist, but many people are loath to put their health in the hands of the power of Chaos or the whims of enigmatic gods. Better to resort to that time-tested poultice of stink nettles and mashed weasel bollocks.

Miracles of Modern MedicineAnyone can slap some clean linen over a gushing wound, but doing anything more requires at least a modicum of medical knowledge. Any medical intervention requires an Int check.

Stop Wound Loss: Check at +4 bonus. Prevents character from bleeding out (see Combat, p14)Treat Light Wounds: Takes 1 turn, restores 1d4 Wounds.Accelerate Recovery:

Doubles rate of natural Wound recovery.

Set Broken Limb: Limb must be bound up for 1d4+2 weeks.Amputation/Invasive Surgery:

Patient dies of blood loss, shock or infection if failed.Recovery time as if critically injured.

Healing TimesPlayers do whine on when you take away their precious Wounds and Ability Scores. Minimize their whining with the following – harsh but fair – recovery times. All recovery times assume non-strenuous physical activity and relatively clean living conditions. The rigours and squalor of adventuring != convalescence.

Lightly Injured (Wounds remaining) 1 Wound/dayCritically Injured (limb, organ, cranial damage; 0 Wounds) 1 Wound/weekRecovering from Ability Score loss 1 point/week/score

Insanity I know some people find the idea of sanity systems in RPGs less than tasteful, but they’ve been an integral part of WFRP since the year dot. This is a game of darkly comic horror, where sometimes the only sane response to the unrelenting horror of a world sinking in misery, squalor and corruption is to go mad.

The attitude towards mental illness in SBVD is horribly ignorant. There is no difference in the popular imagination between insanity and daemonic possession; both are seen as clear manifestations of Chaos in the world. Relatively harmless ‘village idiots’ or ‘noddy men’ are tolerated, their conditions provoking pity or laughter. The violent or unsettling mad, on the other hand, are treated with fear and loathing, with lynch mobs forming at the least provocation.


A character gains an Insanity Point if any of the following conditions are met:

Failing a Terror test (see Psychology, p8) Surviving drug overdose (see Drugs, p9-10) Suffering a Critical Hit (see Combat, p15) Other: failing to save a loved one, suffering torture, encounter with Chaos, etc.

On gaining 5IP, and for each IP gained thereafter, a character must make a save vs. Death/Poison. If the save is failed the character loses 5IP from his accumulated total and gains a debilitating insanity (usually, but not always, related to whatever finally drove the character over the edge). Gaining another 5IP either advances an existing insanity in some catastrophic way, or gives the character a whole new aspect of unreason to explore.

Common Name We’d know it as…Alienated Flesh Body DysmorphiaBestial Rage Psychotic RageCrushing Despair Suicidal TendenciesDelirious Saviour Messianic Delusions Cataclysmic Mania Eschatic DelusionsHeartless Hate SociopathyInescapable Memory Obsession, fixated on eventLoathsome Mistrust Unfocused ParanoiaMandrake Mania Addiction to Mandrake RootProfane Persecutions Focused Paranoid

DelusionsRazed Recollection AmnesiaRestless Fingers KleptomaniaSlave to the Vine DipsomaniaThrall of Chance Compulsive GamblingUnreasoning Fear PhobiaTides of Joy and Dread Bi-polar Manic Depression

When confronted with an opportunity to act out their insanity the sufferer must make a Willpower check. If successful they manage to keep their behaviour within the (generally generous) social norms accorded to adventurers. If they fail, off they go…

Curing InsanityInsanity can be managed through regimens of drugs and behavioural modification therapy and, on rare occasions, cured by surgery or powerful magic. Be warned that all of these expedients are wildly hit-and-miss. Scholars, surgeons and apothecaries are universally agreed that merely ‘talking it out’ achieves absolutely nothing. Such dire straits require heroic (if often catastrophically wrongheaded) intervention.

MutationThe common yokel hates and fear deviation from the physical norm as evidence of the taint of Chaos, and, when whipped up by witch-hunters or zealous preachers, even civilised urbanites will readily drive from their midst those marked with extra digits, vestigial tails, or ginger hair. More severe mutations (tentacles, horns, feathers or scales, etc.) are obvious marks of Chaos; anyone manifesting them will be burnt at the stake unless they flee the inevitable torch-and-pitchfork party.

If exposed to the influence of Chaos (Weirdstone, catastrophic spell failure, backwash of a demonic summoning, a bracing hike through the Northern Wastes, etc.) a character must make a save vs. Poison/Death, developing some form of mutation if they fail. As a general rule the more intense or prolonged the exposure the greater the degree of mutation, but don’t hold to this as a hard-and-fast rule. Chaos is, well, chaotic.

Some mutations can be concealed with clever tailoring or prosthetics. A successful Int check is required to spot a concealed mutation, modified by location and severity of mutation, lighting conditions, GM fiat, etc. It’s easy enough to hide a sixth toe from most people, but a steaming, smoking mechanical limb, transparent skin or a parasitic second head that sings blasphemous songs isn’t so easily obfuscated.

Mutations can be removed by surgery (although they may grow back – the caprices of Chaos are not so easily thwarted), by cleansing fire, or through a miraculous intercession involving the willing sacrifice of “one of innocent blood”. That last is a fancy way of saying GM fiat as the objective of a particular quest.

The GM should roll on the mutation table of his choice. Mutations should rarely, if ever, be picked.

(If you want access to the proper WFRP mutations tables refer to an obscure volume entitled “Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness”, or to the “Tome of Corruption” for WFRP 2E. Andrew R Fawcett produced a handy compilation of iconic WFRP mutations entitled “Chaos Mutations” for the criticalhit.co.uk fan site.)


Combat InitiativeSBVD uses B/X D&D’s optional individual initiative rule (1d6 +/- Ag mod.) as standard.

ActionsYou get one action per round. Moving (up to Mv rate) and swiping wildly counts as an action, as does aiming and firing a missile weapon, casting a spell, running away (up to 3x Mv rate), etc. More than one Attack on your profile allows additional attacks per round, but not additional movement or spell casting. It no Я complex.

Hitting People for Fun and ProfitSBVD uses Dan Collin’s Target 20 system for combat resolution. Why? Because simple and intuitive is good.

To hit: get 20 or more from the total of your WS/BS + their AC + d20.

WS = melee bonus to hit (class modifier +/- Str mod)BS = ranged bonus to hit (class modifier +/- Ag mod – cover mod)AC = Armour Class (armour worn +/- Ag mod)

Further ComplexityRolling a natural 20 in melee allows you to make a follow-up attack during the same combat round. Rolling a natural 1 in melee allows your enemy to riposte, making an additional attack against you.

Combat OptionsIt’s assumed that characters protect themselves in melee; they don’t just stand there exchanging blows like clockwork figures on a municipal clock tower. If the GM allows especially cautious or reckless behaviour in combat may result in mechanical advantage. This ties in nicely with psychological effects (see Psychology, p9).

Dive for Cover Forego attack, gain +1d4 bonus to AC against missile fire. Unless the fight is taking place in a ballroom there’s always cover within diving distance.

Fight Defensively

Forego attack to confer a penalty = WS on enemy attack (as Parry, LLAEC p142)

Furious Attack Take –4 penalty to AC, gain +2 bonus to hit.

Several warrior careers also have career skills with an effect on combat:

Dodge Blow (Marine, Militiaman, Servant)

-1 from damage inflicted by any melee weapon

Street Fighting (Bodyguard) Never count as being unarmedStrike Mighty Blow (Mercenary) +1 damage with any melee weaponStrike to Injure (Protagonist) May swap damage for debilitating effect on enemy

(-2 to all rolls until healed)Strike to Stun (Footpad, Watchman) May swap damage for Stun effect (save vs paralysis to avoid)


DamageIn both B/X D&D and WFRP base weapon damage was 1d6, modified by Str and by any special rules that applied to the weapon type. One wrinkle that WFRP added was an exploding damage die:

Re-roll to hit if 6 comes up on damage dice. Another hit = damage of 6+1d6+modifiers.

This simple and elegant system can be replaced by the variable damage system from B/X D&D, or by the weapon qualities of WFRP 2E, if the GM prefers (see Combat, p15-16).

Combat ConditionsSometimes a blow will do more than simply cause damage. The most common effects (in increasing order of severity) are:

Floored: Prone (no movement), defensive actions only. Enemies gain +2 to hitStunned: Prone. No actions may be taken. Enemies gain +4 to hitHelpless: Paralysed or unconscious. Enemies hit automaticallyBleeding Out: Dead in 1d6 rounds if not healed. Any further hits: coin flip, tails = dead

Hit LocationThis is an optional rule, generally used in connection with critical hits or specialist weapons like lassos and bolas. Roll a d10:

1 2 3-4 5-6 7-9 0Leg, l Leg, r Arm, l Arm, r Torso Hea

d

Critical HitsWhen a character you care about (PC, named NPC) is reduced to 0 Wounds take the overkill damage (total damage – remaining Wounds) add 1d10, and then compare to the chart below. Make another roll each time the character is damaged further. Anyone who isn’t significant enough to merit a roll on this table just has a 50% chance of dying at 0 Wounds (coin flip, tails = dead). Yeah, it sucks to be insignificant.

As you can imagine, getting gnawed on by a creature that does multiple dice of damage on a hit is almost invariably fatal, but that’s as it should be.

Overkill + d10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14+

Result 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10

Arm Leg Head Body1 Butterfingers

Drop wielded itemStaggeredLose next action

DisorientedLose next action

Winded-4 to all actions for 1 rnd

2 Arm numbedNo attack or Ag bonus to AC for 1 rnd

Leg numbedMv 1 and -4 to Ag checks for 1 rnd

Ears ringingStunned for 1 rnd

Kidney JabStunned for 1 rnd

3 Arm numbedAs #3 for 1d4 rnds

Leg numbedAs #3 for 1d4 rnds

Nose crumpledAs #3 for 1d4 rnds

Groin shotStunned for 1d4 rnds

4 Hand incapacitatedCannot use hand

Leg incapacitated Floored 1 rnd, Mv 1

Scalp sliced-2 to all actions

Ribs cracked-2 to all actions

5 Arm brokenCannot use arm

Hip crackedStunned 1d4 rnds,Mv 1

Concussed-4 to all actions for 1d6 rnds

Badly winded-4 to all actions for 1d6 rnds

6 Arm mauledAs #5 + bleeding out

Leg mauledAs #5 + bleeding out

FlattenedStunned for 1d10 rnds

WallopedStunned for 1d10 rnds

7 Arm mangledAs #6 + save or die or lose hand

Leg mangledAs #6 + save or die or lose foot

KO-edHelpless for 1d10 minutes

GuttedHelpless + bleeding out

8 Arm hanging offAs #6 + save or die or lose arm at elbow

Leg hanging offAs #6 + save or die or lose leg at knee

Face mangledAs #7 + save or die or lose an eye

Spine CrushedAs #7 + save vs. paralysis or lose use of legs

9 -- Dead, bloodily so --10 -- Dead, messily so --

Unless duration is listed penalties last until the injured character is treated by a medically competent healer.

There’s no shame in either surrendering or just staying down and quietly awaiting assistance if reduced to 0 Wounds. Only the most ferocious combatants (berserks, wild boars, Trollslayers, warriors/demons of RAEG!) will keep fighting beyond this point. You’ll probably want to avoid that kind of nutter.


WeaponsMany, varied and exotic are the tools of death. Any and all weapons from B/X D&D are available, along with a bunch of rare and specialised quasi-Renaissance kill-toys.

A note on carried weapons: Wandering the streets of Burgdorfstadt tooled up and clad in full armour will get you turned away by merchants and/or stopped by the guard. Carrying a knife is unremarkable, even in polite company. Many workingmen carry potentially lethal tools of the trade (axe, club, meat cleaver, crowbar, ratting shovel, etc.), and the gentry are expected to wear an elegant ‘hanger’ (rapier) as a mark of their status.

Weapon PropertiesThese rules may be used to differentiate weapons beyond simple raw damage potential.

Property Weapon Mechanic(2H)anded Battle axe, flail, halberd, heavy crossbow,

morning star, pole arm, two-handed swordRoll 2K1 damage. Strikes last in melee

(B)raced Spear, halberd, lance, pole arm 2x damage vs. chargers(Ch)arge Lance, scimitar 2x damage in cavalry charge(C)ompact Dagger, shortsword, pistol Usable in tight spaces(Fl)ail Flail Ignore shield bonus to AC(Fi)rearm Arquebus, blunderbuss, jezzail, pistol Ignore armour bonus to AC at short range,

Misfire on Nat 1 to hit (save vs. poison/death or take 1d6 damage), *really* noisy

(Q)uick Dagger, pistol, any one-handed sword May be drawn as free action(R)each Spear, lance, pole arm Wins initiative vs. non-reach weapons(S)nare Bola, lasso, mancatcher, net, whip May entangle opponent(T)hrown Dagger, bola, dart, hammer, hand axe,

javelin, lasso, net, spear, tridentMay be thrown

CrossbowsThe original point-and-click weapon has been elaborated on by weaponsmiths who have created ingenious specialised versions for the discerning killer. Cheaper and quieter than guns, and easier to master than compound or self bows, crossbows are still popular among hunters and militia.

Repeating

A gravity-feed magazine (capacity: 10) and integrated lever action allow rapid restringing. Wielder may fire twice/round if no movement is taken. Popular with stagecoach guards.

Pistol A small all-steel crossbow, infamous as an assassin’s weapon and illegal in many jurisdictions. Requires both hands to span with assistance of a mechanical screw, but only one hand to aim/fire.

Fencing WeaponsGentlefolk use smaller, lighter blades than the full-sized war sword (variously dubbed the broadsword, claymore, or spadroon) when in civilised company. These light blades - and their accompanying array of off-hand bucklers and blades - are optimised for quick jabbing combat against lightly-armoured human-sized opponents, not for hacking at shield-walls, pike blocks, or gargantuan monsters.

There are several competing styles of fencing, with Tilean sword-and-buckler fighting being the most famous. Estalian defencing (a one-handed style typified by rapid jabs and linear shifts back-and-forth) and Teutogen duelling (a macho northern style relying on static positioning and reflexive parries and ripostes) also have their adherents, and students will fight to prove the superiority of their chosen style at the least provocation.

Large wooden shields are simply too bulky to be used in conjunction with the rapid movement of fencing. A buckler, dagger, cloak, main gauche or swordbreaker (a fork-like weapon with two or three blades set at angles) is more commonly wielded in the off-hand.

Judicial shieldA curious fencing weapon found in rustic courts where trial by combat remains on the statute books. Only the most eccentric (and short-lived) warriors wield such things on the field of battle.

Judicial shields are wielded two-handed, and their protrusions and hooks may be used to overbalance, trip or pin opponents. Wielders can elect to either do damage or Floor their opponent (see Combat). The defender chooses whether they want to take the damage or suffer the penalties of being floored.


Non-Lethal WeaponsSometimes it’s worth keeping the enemy alive for questioning or ransom. That’s when non-lethal entangling weapons come in handy. A humanoid, physically solid target hit by a non-lethal weapon must save vs. paralysis or be tangled. Check the hit location table (see “Combat”, p14-15) and apply an appropriate effect for maximum hilarity (lasso to the arm = disarmed or caught, bola to the head = spark out). Even if the save is successful the entangled must spend a round shaking off the encumbrance.

If used two-handed, or by more than one person, or as part of a trap, a large net can hopelessly entangle a targeted enemy per the web spell (successful hit and failed save required).

(Hey look! Non-casters get to throw “save or…” effects around! Take that SRD-derived D&D!)

Melee Weapons

Cost

Enc Dmg Properties

Foil 10 1 1d6 +2 to individual initiativeRapier 15 1 1d8 +1 to individual initiativeBuckler 5 1 - +1 to AC vs. melee attacks onlyMain Gauche 10 1 1d4 Second attack ~or~ +1 to ACSwordbreaker 10 1 1d4 Second attack ~or~ disarm *Judicial Shield 25 2 1d4 +2 to ACMancatcher 10 2 1d4 2h, Sn Whip 5 1 1 Sn, 10’ reach

* If a successful parry is made with a swordbreaker, the opponent must save vs. paralysis or be disarmed.

Ranged Weapons Cost

Enc Dmg Range ROF Properties

Repeating Crossbow

100 2 1d6 80/160/240 1 or 2 2h

Crossbow Pistol 50 1 1d6 30/60/90 ½Bola 5 1 1d3 20/40/60 1 Sn, TLasso 5 1 - 10/20/30 1 Sn, TNet 10 2 - 10/20/30 1 Sn, T

FirearmsProlonged and rigorous alchemical study has revealed the explosive qualities of certain compounds of naturally occurring minerals. Warriors sick and tired of high-and-mighty wizards hogging the pyrotechnic limelight have gleefully exploited these properties for maximum carnage. Firearms are expensive, fiddly, complex and prone to failure, but their potential for noise and damage outweighs these failings in many minds.

Arquebus Five feet and 10+lbs of awkward, one-shot matchlocked fiddlyness. Look at one of your d20s. That’s about the size of the ball being thrown.

Blunderbuss

Wide mouthed, short barrelled dispenser of havoc. Damage drops off rapidly at longer range, but it’ll totally ruin the day of anyone nearby.

Jezzail Long barrelled, small bore hunting piece. No one has come up with rifling yet so this is state-of-the-art. Price? If sir has to ask…

Pistol Sophisticated snaplock weapon. Don’t think in terms of a snub-nose 9mm revolver. Think of something over a foot long with a 12mm bore.

Cos Enc Dmg Range Reload

Properties

Arquebus 300 2+ 1d10 50/100/200 1 2H, FiBlunderbuss

100 2+ 1d8/6/4 * 20/40/60 2 2H, Fi

Jezzail - 2+ 1d8 75/150/300 2 2H, FiPistol 200 1+ 1d8 25/50/75 1 C, Fi, Q

* Counts as 2-handed weapon only at short range. Damage drops off as range increases.“Reload” is the number of combat rounds of complete inactivity (no movement, no attacks; nothing but faffing around with the boomstick) required to reload the weapon and ready it for use again.

Grenado Big black ball with a fizzing fuse and “BOMB” written on the side. Grenadoes are popular with grenadier storm troops and black-cloaked anarchists, but really unpopular with everyone else. Requires move action to light fuse provided flame is to hand. Grenadoes misfire (roll d10) on a natural 1 to hit:

1-4 Fuse fizzles out5-7 Fuse delayed 1d3 rounds8-9 Explodes halfway to target0 Explodes in the wielder’s

hand

Cos Enc Dmg Range


Grenado

50 1 4d6 ** 10/30/50

** 10' radius, save vs. device for half.


Equipment Characters in SBVD start with very little stuff, and most people are motivated by the desire to gain more and better stuff. This is slightly easier if you are can leverage your ownership of existing stuff in some ingenious manner. The universal rules of business apply: “it takes money to make money”, and “violence trumps money trumps ethics”.

Money Generally as B/X. Gold Crown (gp), silver Shilling (sp), copper Pfennig (cp). Keep the WFRP names for flavour, but don’t bother with the ‘old money’ “£ S/d” format of WFRP money; such timeless elegance and sophistication in a currency system just overwhelms the colonials. KISS principle applies: counting on fingers is easier.

Selling off LootIf you want comprehensive trading rules seek out a copy of Death on the Reik or something. Generally:

Looted goods sold on the open market yield ~50% purchase price. Used goods markdown does not apply to rarities like precious metals, jewels or magic items. Stuff like that

always retains value; that’s what makes it treasure. Stolen goods should be fenced, yielding 5-30% of list value. Selling stolen goods openly will likely result in

apprehension and judicial mutilation (branding, finger-cropping, etc).

EncumbranceYes, you could track every ounce of carried weight individually, but that’s just masochistic (and not in the entertaining WFRP fashion). I use James Raggi’s Lamentations of the Flame Princess encumbrance rules: tick off each carried item, to a max of 25: 0-10 = Mv 4, 11-15 = Mv 3, 16-20 = Mv 2, etc.

Enc EncOne-handed weapon 1 Shield 1-2Two-handed weapon (inc. bows) 2 Light armour 5Ammo (per 10 shots) 1 Heavy armour 10Blunderbuss Ammo (per 10 shots) 2 Plate armour 15

Multiple instances of small, light item 1 Cash 1 per 100gpBulky loot (stolen furniture, etc) 5 Carried

casualty= Tgh score

Quality Some stuff is better made than other stuff. People can, and do, pay through the nose for something superior in terms of utility or bragging rights. There’s also a lot of cheaply made crap out there, which sellers will usually try to pass off as quality product. Caveat emptor.

Quality

Mark-up Rarity Game effect

Fine 10x list price Rare as hen’s teeth (10%) +1 to relevant skill use, -1 enc.Good 3x list price Sought after (30%) 4/5ths normal enc.Poor ½ cost Common as muck -1 to skill use, +50% enc

Adventuring GearPrice and description are generally as B/X.

ArmourBig solid chunks of material interposed between one’s soft delicate parts and the harsh realities of the unforgiving world. Armour types are (N)one, (L)ight, (H)eavy and (P)late, which map pretty handily to the armour types found in both TSR’s Chainmail and GW’s Warhammer Fantasy Battle rule sets. Funny that…

Type

AC Cost space

AC Cost

(Clothing) N 9 - Shield, buckler * +1 5Padded N 8 10 Shield, small +1 10Leather L 7 20 Shield, large +2 25Scale mail L 6 50 Shield, judicial * +2 25Chain mail H 5 150 Helmet - 10+Banded mail

H 4 250

Plate mail P 3 600 * new itemFull Plate P 2 1,000


Gunpowder gear Match, powder, balls, etc: all the various fiddly bits and pieces that make gunpowder weapons such a delight to use during extended engagements.

Lead shot* 10sp for 10Powder* 3sp/shotMatch 1sp/foot (burns at 1ft/hr)

* Double cost/shot for the excessive requirements of blunderbusses.

Prosthetics Replacements for body parts chopped, gnawed or rotted off. Assume 3d6 gp for an item of average quality, less for pre-owned tat. As ever, the more comfortable and sophisticated lifestyle solutions cost more.

Artificial… Poor Average

Good Fine

Leg Crutch Peg Leg Carved Foot Spring LegHand Hook/fork - Carved

handGripping hand

Eye Patch Wooden Glass -Nose - Leather Ceramic Silvered/GildedEar - Ear horn - ProstheticTeeth Wood Horn Human IvorySkull Plate Pewter Iron - Silver or Gold


Magic As ane fule kno the use of magic in the world of WFRP (and thus in SBVD) is much riskier than in B/X D&D. Magic is the stuff of Chaos in the world, and casting spells is the imposition of a mortal’s will upon Chaos energy. As you might imagine, this is an insanely dangerous way of making a living. All those elaborate rituals and weird paraphernalia aren’t just mumbo-jumbo designed to impress the rubes; they’re time-tested protective gear just as vital as the graphite rods and lead shielding in a nuclear power plant. Of course, those same rites and juju are dead giveaways to the inevitable witch hunters and pitchfork posses.

Giving Them the ExplodoSBVD uses a straight rip of the WFRP 2E casting system (already familiar to players of Legend of the Five Rings, which is basically WFRP + samurai) because it’s an unimprovably vindictive mini-game of Russian roulette. There are no limits on spells/day, other than the caster's own prudence and the tolerance of locals…

To cast: roll d10s = character’s Casting Dice vs. Target Number (TN) of spell

Equal or better: Success

“Just as planned.”

Less than TN: Failure “Winds of magic say NO!”All dice = 1s: Fumble As above + save vs. magic, caster gains +1 IP if failed

Wearing armour while attempting to bend the uncontrolled power of Chaos to your will is generally not a good idea. All that iron plays havoc with the flow of magic. Add +1 to TN per 1 AC of armour worn.

Our Wizards Are DifferentThere are three arcane traditions accepted (or at least semi-accepted) in polite society. These are:

The time-hallowed rites of priestly prayer, which most people don’t thing of as toying with Chaos. The scholarly magic of the wizard traditions. The half-assed word-of-mouth tomfoolery of the hedge wizards and cunning folk.

Cleric: Cast Divine Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Divine Wrath.Wizard: Cast Arcane Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Curse of Chaos.Hedge wizard*: Cast Hedge Petty Magic and Lesser Magic, Subject to Curse of Chaos in spades.

* Any academic who isn’t a Priestly Initiate or Apprentice Wizard can dabble in the infernal arts. Lacking the rigorous training and protective gear of their more respectable peers they are even more prone to having it all go horribly wrong on them. Hedge wizards roll an extra die whenever they attempt to cast any spell. This doesn’t count towards the total accumulated by their Casting Dice, just towards checks for Curse of Chaos.

Curse of ChaosIf any casting dice match the wizard has sorely mishandled his magic and becomes subject to magical backlash;

the more dice match, the more severe the effect.

Doubles(2,2)

Minor ManifestationCaster glows with eldritch light for 1d10 rounds, milk curdles, animals flee, ghostly voices, caster takes minor damage, etc.

1in20 chance ofmajor manifestation

Triples(5,5,5)

Major ManifestationCaster gains visible infernal mark lasting 24 hours, stunned for 1 round, gains +1 IP, a minor demon appears, suffers magical burnout (-1 Casting Dice for the next 24 hours), etc.

1in20 chance of arcane catastrophe

Quads(7,7,7,7)

Arcane Catastrophe!Casters falls unconscious for 1d10 minutes, gains +1d10 IP, 1d6 demons appear, caster takes random critical hit, etc.

1in10 chance caster is sucked into Realm of Chaos

Wrath of GodIf any casting dice match the priest’s god requires some self-sacrificial ritual of his pawn *ahem* devoted

servant. This can be anything from “no more spells for you today” to “1d10 minutes of penitential prayer, right now! Yes, in the middle of the fight” to “no more spells until you go on a penitential pilgrimage”.


Petty MagicApprentice magic, either learnt by trial-and-error, or as trade secrets, or drummed into the apprentice by rote. Most petty magic spells map readily to low-level spells found either in B/X, or in the d20 SRD.

Petty Arcane TN EffectGlowing Light 3 as lightSounds 4 as ghost soundsDrop 4 as targeted grease (SRD)Marsh Lights 6 as dancing lights (SRD)Magic Dart 6 as magic missileSleep 6 as sleep, one target, touch attack

Petty Divine TN EffectCourage 3 as remove fearSpeed 4 As cat’s grace (SRD)Fortitude 5 as bear’s endurance (SRD)Healing 5 as cure light woundsMight 6 as bull’s strength (SRD)Protection 7 Enemy must save or target another opponent

Petty Hedge TN EffectProt from Rain 3 You’re unaffected by rain, and float if immersedMagic Flame 5 Casts light as candle, can ignite flammable

materialGust 4 Wind knocks over small objects, scatters paperGhost Step 4 as pass without trace (SRD)Ill Fortune 5 as bestow curseShock 6 save or stunned, touch attack

Lesser MagicThese universal spells are largely inherited from an older system of magic that predates the modern Lores vouchsafed unto men by smug know-it-all Elves. All characters capable of using magic know 1d3 of these (determined randomly), even if they can’t yet cast the spell successfully due to the TN.

Lesser Spell TN EffectMove 4 as ghost hand (SRD)Aethyr Armour 5 as mage armour (SRD)Bless Weapon 6 as lesser magic weapon (SRD)Magic Lock 7 as wizard lockMagic Alarm 8 as alarmSilence 10 as silence, one targetSkywalk 11 3xMv for 1 round, leap up to 6 yds verticalDispel 13 as dispel magic

Learning an additional Lesser Magic spell costs 100xp and 1d4 weeks of study, meditation, fasting and drug-assisted dream questing. Magical research in SBVD looks more like a Russ Nicholson pic than anything else.

Arcane Lores The flash-bang effects of College, High, Dark and Chaos Magic are beyond the scope of SBVD. Should you feel the need to include such things in your game simply pick a B/X spell, assume a casting TN of around 6(+/-2) per D&D spell level, and give the spell a pompous Vancian name. It’s quite remarkable how readily the spell lists of WFRP 2E map to the spells of the d20 SRD.1

1 Or how clearly WFRP 2E talents map to SRD feats. Or the WFRP 2E action economy maps to that of the SRD combat system. Or how XP-per-career requirements in WFRP map to XP-per-level requirements in D&D. Or how WFRP armour types and protective values map to D&D AC. Or how both WFRP and B/X use the same arbitrary 45g units for their encumbrance systems. Or…


Magic Items Many of the magic items in WFRP had direct equivalents in D&D. A magic sword/shield/codpiece is what it is; ditto such folkloric standbys as hats/rings/potions of invisibility, cornucopia of endless sandwiches, seven league boots, et blah. Use the WFRP item lists as a guideline to what’s out there, erring on the side of scarcity.

Side EffectsAll magic items in SBVD (with the exception of Runes and Dawnstones) have side effects. That’s an inherent aspect of the Chaotic nature of magic. These side effects will usually be little more than cosmetic, but may be greatly amplified in locales of great magical potency (Waystones, the Chaos Wastes, etc.).

AmuletsAmulet of Blessed Copper: unerringly detects poison at a range of one foot and grants +4 bonus to saving throws made to resist the effects of poison.Side effect: wearer loses sense of taste.

Amulet of Silver: was good against fear effects from the undead?Amulet of Jade: promoted healingAmulet of Iron: resisted magic

Amulet of Adamantine: the wearer takes minimum possible damage from melee attacks. Side effect: the wearer’s skin takes on a metallic tinge, and their sense of touch is lessened.

WeaponsArrow of True Flight: Always hit their target so long as they are within maximum range. No roll to-hit required.Side effect: eagle feathers gradually replace the bearer’s hair. He gains 1d6 new feathers/day.

Arrow Storm: Splits into numerous separate arrows upon firing. The arrow damages as normal in a 10’ radius area of effect centred on the original target. If you’re not fussed about nitpicking areas of effect just say it affects 2d6 of the enemy.Side effect:

Items of Awe and Wonder

Boots of Bovva: Allow an additional kick attack (2d6 damage) if wielder chants the ancient ritual incantation “Oi! Oi! Oi!” during melee.Side effect: the hair on the wearer’s head shortens to coarse stubble. This grows back at the normal rate.

Boots of Command: Cursed item. The wearer moves around as commanded by the true master of the boots.Side effect:

Enchanted Rope: Coils, uncoils, ties up enemies or ascends and ties itself off as required. The rope can support the weight of a single climber unsupported, or up to its breaking strain if ordered to tie itself off. Side effect: the hair and beard of the last person to command the rope knot and tangle constantly.

Globe of Poisoned Wind: Seamless glass globe containing a lurid green swirling mist. May be thrown as a flask. Releases a cloudkill effect on impact. One use only.Side effect: none, but it’s a glass globe full of poison gas, and most characters have an active lifestyle.

WeirdstoneThe otherworldly arcane substance dubbed weirdstone is sought after by some, but the focus of terrified superstition to many more. Ratmen consider weirdstone the sacred leavings of their vile god. Pious men deem it the condensed sins of the world. Simply carrying weirdstone without the correct protective equipment (sealed lead caskets and the like) requires the carrier to save vs. device 1/day or suffer mutation.

So why would anyone bother with these wickedly dangerous hell rocks? Well, because it’s compressed Chaos-stuff: the very essence of magic. Using weirdstone as a component in a casting increases the power the wizard can draw on, albeit at a cost. Drawing on a chunk of weirdstone grants the caster +1 casting die, but requires that he save vs. device or suffer a chaotic mutation. A hand-sized chunk of weirdstone is good for 1d6 castings and commands fantastic prices on the black market.

DawnstonesPre-Chaos artefacts. Each of these things is weird and unique and breaks the rule of magic as understood by moderns. Treat them as AD&D artefacts of low-to-middling power with a secondary effect of suppressing Chaotic influences. Dawnstones repel demons as protection from evil, entirely negate the toxic effects of Weirdstone, allow a caster to ignore one matching die on a casting roll, etc.

Magic Monoliths: Waystones, Oghams and HerdstonesThese are scattered all over the wilderness, usually at the centre of their own little zone of weirdness. Why exactly the Ancient Ones erected huge menhirs here and there is an enigma, but the effect of these stones is profound and powerful.

Any spell cast within 100ft or so of a monolith adds +1 additional casting dice. Any spell cast by someone touching a monolith adds +2 additional casting dice. Each multiple of the normal TN required allows the spell to


take effect again. These bonus dice count for both the purpose of spellcasting success and for chance of invoking either The Changer’s Curse or Wrath of God.

E.g. a 1st level wizard casts spell while touching a monolith. He rolls 3 casting dice rather than his usual one and achieves (6,9,9 =) 24. His spell takes effect on four targets rather than the usual one and he suffers a minor manifestation of arcane backlash.

RunesDwarves really distrust magic. They bind it into items in a rigidly ritualised time-hallowed form: arcane runes. Runic items have no side effects. Humans ripped off dwarven rune law as the basis of ancient Nekharan ritual magic, which was a significant root of scholarly and necromantic magic traditions.

There are various forms of non-dwarven runes, including Rattish, Chaotic and Hekharan.


Monsters The vast majority of the monsters in WFRP are straight borrowings from the well of public domain folklore from which D&D drew. Consult your preferred D&D monster book for such familiar fantasy stalwarts as goblins, orcs, dragons, manticores, etc.

The standard B/X monster stat block has been reformatted to be a little more WFRP-ey in appearance. The missing information from the B/X block (alignment, damage, treasure, flight, swimming or burrowing speed) can be found in the monster description.

Monster Name (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

# # # # # # ## #

Mv - B/X movement in feet per turn /30 W - Wounds (d8 HD)WS - Weapon Skill (melee attack bonus) AC - B/X Armour ClassBS - Bow Skill (ranged attack bonus) Sv - B/X Saving Throw matrixAtt - Attacks per round Mr

l- B/X morale

Psychology and Special AbilitiesA lot of monstrous creatures in the WFRP world cause fear, terror, infected wounds or disease. This will be noted in the descriptions of new monsters. To enhance that WFRP flavour of SBVD I suggest that the WFRP psychology rules be applied across the board, even to B/X D&D monsters that don’t normally terrify hardened adventurers.

Things as relatively mundane(!) as a skeleton, ghoul, ogre or giant spider should cause fear. Things a normal human has no chance against (demons, dragons, hydras, vampires) should cause terror. Rats, otyughs, carcass scavengers and suchlike habitual wallowers in mire should have a non-trivial chance

to cause infected wounds or disease from their filthy claws and bites.

Humanoids“People on the left… we hate the people on the right.”

Beastmen (2d6)Mv

WS BS Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 2 2 1 2 6 F2 8

Beastmen are goat-legged, animal-headed tribal humanoids who consider themselves the favoured children of Chaos. They are nothing like gnolls, and they’re especially not a PG13 copypaste of Runequest Broo. Nosirree.

Beastmen produce nothing and live by hunting and raiding, scattering both the bones of their enemies and their looted wealth (HC XIX) around tainted Chaos monoliths found deep in the forests. Beastmen attack with vicious kicks, head butts or crude but effective melee weapons (all of which cause 1d8 damage). There is a 50% chance that any beastman has a randomly determined mutation.

Ratmen (1d100)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 1 1 1 1 6 F1 4+

The twisted Ratmen don’t exist, even though entire armies have fought against their uncountable hordes, their twisted warbeasts, and their bizarre magical technology. They’re just a rat-faced type of beastman, that’s all. They’re don’t have an extensive hidden empire in the sewers and tunnels. And they certainly don’t plot to overthrow the world of men.

Ratmen are unutterable cowards on their own, but gain an almost mystical courage when among large numbers of their own kind. The more ratmen around, the braver they are. Morale base 4, each doubling in the number of Ratmen present in a group increases it by 1 with no upper limit (2 ratmen = Mrl 5, 4 = Mrl 6, 8 = Mrl 7, 16 = Mrl 8, etc.)

Common Ratmen wield spears and jagged poisoned blades with vicious glee and a fanatic’s eye for your soft parts. The infamous Ratmen special weapons should be treated as magic items with radioactive/steampunk FX and some downright cheesy puns and visual gags (warpfire = wand of fire, warplock = jezzail+poison ammunition, poison wind = see “Magic Items”, etc.) Yes, players can wield these weapons if they manage to capture and decipher them, just remember that Ratmen have absolutely no conception of Elf’n’Safety.


Treat the gigantic Ogre-Rats as stupidity prone, fear-causing White Apes, and the ruling Grey Wizards and Warlock-Engineers as wizards of level equal to their W (3+). The swarms of feral giant rats that accompany all Ratmen incursions cause infected wounds 35% of the time, and carry Black Plague 2% of the time.

Fimmish Bog Devils (2d4)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC Sv

Mrl

4 4 1 3 3 4 F3 6

The Bog Devils are monocular amphibian humanoids of evil aspect. These ancient terrors of the wetlands have been driven to the verge of extinction by divisions among their creator gods, and by the inexorable expansion of Ratmen and Dark Elves into their conceptual niche territory. Legend says that they once fielded entire armies and waged terrible wars against men, dwarves and elves, but such things are long past. And the Bog Devils are really bitter about it.

Bog Devils are terrors in close combat, attacking with two large axes or maces and with swipes from their long, sharp-edged tails. All these attacks cause 1d8+1 damage, and the tail attack may strike to stun (see Combat, pg 14). The eldritch mist they naturally exude invariably covers Fimmish advance and also serves to gauge range for their - wildly inaccurate - thrown missiles. Treat Fimmish mist as a random level of cover, which varies round by round.

The ancient masters of the Bog Devils are able to enhance their minion’s natural fog effect into a stinking cloud, and are evil sorcerers able to cast spells as wizards of level equal to their W (3+). They are 50% likely to have an allied demon on call.

Bog Devil lairs are filled with ancient treasure, and blasphemous idols of ancient make. Individually they carry HC IV, collectively HC XXI.

Giants (1d2)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 9 9 1 9 4 F9 9

SBVD giants are all massive (20’+) drunken killer hobos. One of the few things that will get these obstreperous creatures working together is a planned assault on a brewery. Giants claim that their drinking is to numb the tragic pain of the ancient greatness that their race has lost to man, Chaos and the passage of ages, but the general consensus is that they’re just at the tired and emotional stage.

Giants have to save vs. paralysis when fighting small folk in melee to avoid tripping over their own feet, ending up Floored for 1 round. Those fighting a giant against a toppling giant must also save vs. poison/death or be squashed. All giant attacks, be they melee or ranged, cause 3d6 damage and cause all human-sized opponents struck to be Floored for 1 round. The damage dice from giant attacks may be divided up between several opponents to represent stomping and kicking, sweeping blows with tree-trunk clubs, the bounce and ricochet of hurled stones, hurling some poor unfortunate into a wall, etc.

There is a 25% chance that a giant has been affected by Chaos and has 1-3 randomly determined mutations. Chaotic giants are surly drunks who revel in pulling the limbs off those smaller than them.

Zoat (1)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

7 4 4 2 4 5 E4 10

These ancient lizard-centaurs have enjoyed a complex history. They originated as druidic defenders of the forest, and then went into space as the shock troops and diplomats of an alien hive race before disappearing entirely. They appear to have vanished into a combined time travel/ret-con portal, returning to the WFRP world as the fearsome lightning-powered Dragon Ogres. Suffice it to say these guys are weird, a bit confused and not to all tastes.

Zoats attack with a barging trample which causes 1d8 damage and with gigantic two-handed stone maces which cause 2d6 damage. The ancient runes grant the weapon +1 enchantment and require any demon struck to save vs. death or discorporate. Zoats are rumoured to possess ancient treasures and lost lore.Zoats either have spellcasting ability as a wizard of level , or are subject to frenzy and have a complete immunity to damage from electrical attacks.


Dumb AnimalsDumb doesn’t equate to helpless. There are plenty of Chaos-warped animals out there that are more than happy to remind those uppity humans that no one is above the food chain.

Bloodsedge (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

# # # # # # ## #

Proactive carnivorous plant. They grow on old battlefields.

Giant Bogtopus (1)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

1 8 4 6 8 7 F4 9

Bogtopi spend their lives squelching around in mires and marshes looking for things to fondle and eat. They attack as normal giant octopi and have enough cunning to drag air breathers below the water. A bogtopus generally fears fire, and will throw clods of mud at torch wielders. Bogtopi have no interest in gathering treasure, although exceptionally cunning specimens use it as bait for passing humans.

Carnivorous Snapper (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

Riding lizard (Cold One) – hey look! It’s the FF Bonesnapper in all but name!

Chameleoleech (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

# # # # # # ## #

Hallucinatory leeches

Goldworm (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC Sv

Mrl

# # # # # # ## #

Nasty little things that eat your gold if you give them half a chance. Dwarves hate these guys!

Jabberwock (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

6 8 - 3 8 2 F8 10

Jabberwock – a creature that entered the WH world through a mirror or something. Aggressive and stupid.

Claw/claw/bite routine. Confusing cackle, auditors must save vs. breath weapon or suffer as the confusion spell. Poison bite. Regenerates. Causes terror. Subject to stupidity. Immune to non-magical weapons. Used as chariot beasts by the more extravagant (and lunatic) Chaotic Lords.

Lashworm (# Encountered)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

# # # # # # ## #

More a trap/damage tax than a proper monster. Maybe have them activated by noise, as opposed to vibration. Interweave them with shriekers for massive hilarity.

Razorbill (4d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

3 3 - 1 3 6 F2 8

No one is quite sure why the WFRP world has giant angry puffins hopping about its’ rocky shorelines in colonies up to 100-strong. Even Chaos doesn’t take credit for these guys.

Razorbills savagely attack anyone who wanders too near their nests, or anything they mistake for fish (polished armour confuses their simple brains no end). Razorbills have Mv 15 (450’/rnd) in flight and attack with their wickedly sharp beaks; striking for double damage in the round they first charge (stoop upon) their prey.Razorbills don’t care about treasure. Treasure is shiny like fish, but annoyingly inedible.


Sunworm (4d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC Sv

Mrl

3 2 2 1 2 6 F1 8

The warmer, sunnier regions of the world are infested with man-sized carnivorous laser slugs. Why? Because heliotropic laser slugs would make no sense in cold, perpetually overcast locales.

Sunworms bask in the baking deserts of Araby and southern Estalia, zapping unwary travellers and unsuspecting livestock with accumulated solar energy, then eating the smoking remains. A sunworm is able to discharge up to 3 times/day for 3d6 damage (save vs. wand for half) at a range of up to 50 feet. They otherwise just rasp at things with their abrasive tongues for 1d4 damage. Salt affects sunworms as burning oil.

Sunworms consume flesh and leather, but consider metal unpalatable. Treasure equivalent to HC VI per worm will typically be strewn among the remains of their impromptu barbeques.

UndeadDid I mention that there’s no turning the undead in SBVD? Better stock up on garlic, holy water and the like…

Carrion (1d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 5 5 3 5 5 F5 7

Blame the death-fetishists of Hekhara for these beauties. Some bright spark just had to see what happened when you feed the giant vultures on a diet of zombie flesh. The answer: nothing good. Although at least we now know what’s grosser than a vulture: giant stinking undead ghoul-vultures.

Carrion attack with a claw/claw/bite routine, relying on their innate paralysing touch (as ghoul) to subdue prey, rather than the poor damage (1d4/hit) of their natural attacks. If both claws strike the Carrion will attempt to lift its opponent (man-sized or smaller) to a great height before dropping it to its death. Carrion cause fear (and loathing), are 90% likely to cause infected wounds and accumulate large amounts of treasure scattered around their mountain eyries (HC XXI).

DemonsDemons are creature native to the enigmatic Realm of Chaos from whence all magic flows. Some scholars consider demons distorted reified echoes of human sins and virtues; others consider them the inspirers of same. Still others claim they are life forms naturally arising from their realm or that they are accumulated psychic residue. Whatever the nature of their existence demons are alien and hostile to mundane life.

Universal Qualities of Demons: See in darkness (infravision 90’) Immune to non-magical weapons, normal poisons and earthly diseases. Survive indefinitely without food or air. Regenerate 1 Wound per round. Cause fear in living creatures. 50% chance of a randomly determined mutation. Repelled by protective barriers (protection from evil, etc.)

Demon of Rage (2d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv Mrl

4 4 4 2 4 5 Dw4 11

Demons of Rage (a.k.a. Bloodspillers) are impossibly skinny bloody-skinned humanoids with faces of constantly twisted into a grimace of inhuman fury. They are always angry, all the time. If there’s nothing else to get angry about demons of rage will gladly turn on each other.

Bloodspillers attack twice per round, once with a blast of venomous spittle (treat as flask of oil, except damage is acid rather than fire), and once with a massive two-handed black rune sword (cause 2d6 damage per hit, which cannot be healed through magic).

There is a 25% chance that any bloodspiller encountered wears magic plate armour (enchantment +1, grants a base AC of 2), and a further 25% chance that a bloodspiller wields an anachronistically advanced technological weapon (treat as arquebus or blunderbuss that fire once per round, no reload required) in addition to its runesword.

All bloodspillers are by default subject to both frenzy and hatred of everyone they encounter. A successful save vs. spell allows a bloodspiller to control its frenzy and operate (semi-)rationally for 1d6 rounds.


Demon of Disease (2d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 4 4 2 4 3 F4 11

Demons of Disease (a.k.a. Tallymen of Poxes) are created through the agency of Gurglish Rot. Someone slain by the disease will later arise as a one-eyed, horned festering monstrosity which exists only to spread agues, poxes and cankers far and wide. Their mere presence curdles milk, causes food to rot and plants to wither.

All Demons of Disease carry Gurglish Rot and 1-3 other random diseases. Physical contact, a melee strike from their rusted, pitted glaives (1d10 damage and infected wounds), or even extended proximity to the necrotic festering flesh of a Tallyman will require a save vs. poison/death to avoid contracting something unpleasant. Their ever-present cloud of vermin acts as an insect swarm which dissipates only on the banishment of the Tallyman.

Demon of Sensation (2d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC Sv

Mrl

4 4 4 2 4 5 F4 11

Demon of Sensation (a.k.a. Succubettes) are hermaphroditic humanoids with claws, compound eyes and coiled horns. They radiate a strong musky smell. Hypnotic pattern (*ahem*) dance (LLAEC, p51)

Demon of Change (2d6)Mv

WS BS

Att

W AC

Sv

Mrl

4 4 4 2 4 5 F4 11

Demon of Change (a.k.a. Changing Horrors) – Chaotic Aura??? Hawk-beaked fire throwing with detachable limbs. Regenerate? Throw Fire. Weird, brightly coloured combinations of bird, human, jellyfish and porcupine.


ScenariosSBVD scenarios practically write themselves: [people] have [stuff you want], get it without being blamed or falling afoul of [complications]. Also Chaos.

Investigate and Report: There’s something rotten in [the sewers/the necropolis/the village of Dorfdorf/ Kislev – delete as appropriate]. Congratulations, you’re the canaries.

Gold Fever!!! It turns out that old abandoned Dwarven mine/hold/grave is full of treasure after all. Better get in there and secure it for the common good before opportunistic looters can steal it. Hmm, I wonder why the place was abandoned in the first place?

Larcenous Pursuits: It’s not nailed down? It’s like they’re asking you to nick it! What? It is nailed down? Lucky you brought your crowbar… Traps? Lucky you bought a few expendable Halflings… Easy money!

Stop the Pigeon: Hunt down and [capture/kill/sell into slavery] [person] who is rushing by [foot/horse/ carriage/ship] to reveal [revelation] to [the authorities/their cult/the enemy de jour]. Disaster, and accompanying dire retribution, will befall if you fail.

Stand and Deliver: There’s a lot of fuss and expensive preparation about that carriage due in later this week. What could be so important and valuable that it needs all those extra guards and so many bribes, threats and blackmail letters strewn about so thick?

The Quest: Go there. Slay the fearsome Thing of the Heath. Bring back the Graf’s wife/Hammer of Sigmar/Glowing Green Rock of Guffin McGuff. Expect unpleasant people to interfere.

Schattenlaufen: Herr Johanson hires some deniable scum (that’s you) to perform some discrete service intended to result in the discommoding of a political, business or social rival. Cock-ups, complications and hilarity ensue.

Jabberwock…: Find and slay the fearsome [monster] which has been making life so complicated recently. Expect kill-stealers, the authorities welching on promised bounties, and the monster’s kin to show up.

Kohl’s Herren: That village occupied by [enemy], rumour has it that there’s a rich treasure buried beneath the temple that no one knows anything about: enough to retire on if we don’t have to split it with the rest of the army. Sure, the priests are still in there, and the place is thick with [enemy] troops. Fancy a little extra-curricular looting?

Feeling a little more ambitious than running something akin to a Lovecraft-scripted Blackadder episode? Looking at the first three parts of the classic Enemy Within campaign (Shadows over Bogenhafen, Death on the Reik, Power Behind the Throne) will provide massive pointers in the right direction in terms of theme, tone and content. Be advised that looking at the later parts of the same campaign (Something Rotten in Kislev, Empire in Flames) will cause only sadness, confusion and loss of the will to live; it is not recommended.

Keeping It Small But Vicious

Making the PCs suffer best evokes the spirit of the source material that inspired SBVD. Put them through the wringer as much as possible before their inevitable, ignominious demise. Killing characters off is no fun; doing everything just short of that is much more entertaining.

Remember:

1. The world is not fair.2. The gods hate you, and your suffering amuses them.3. 90% of people are corrupt, greedy scum. The remainder are vicious fanatics.4. Everyone has an agenda: sometimes several.5. It can always get worse, and generally should.6. If in doubt, Chaos did it! 7. If it appears that Chaos didn’t do it, check harder.8. Glowing green rocks = bad.9. There are no such things as Skaven.

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SBVD