Outlaws of the Water Margin

Action

IN THE course of the game, characters will attempt various actions. To resolve these actions effectively and dramatically, the referee should know which of the character's skills to use in that situation. In most cases it is obvious which skill should be used, but there are occasions when the referee will have to use a bit of judgement to decide on the appropriate ability for the task.

When your manor is full of rats a lame old cat is better than the swiftest horse

Mechanics

To find out whether a character succeeded at an action, and how well, all you have to do is follow this simple procedure:

The referee decides the ease of the task. This is rated on a scale of one to ten, with 10 being extremely easy and 1 being extremely difficult.
The player checks to see whether the character has any skill bonuses that assist them in the task. If so, these are added to (or subtracted from) the ease to produce a chance of success. If the character has no positive skill bonus that assists the task, the ease is reduced by 2.
If the chance of success is over 10, then the player can choose to have an automatic success, a doubles roll or a bonus roll.
The player rolls the dice. If the total rolled is greater than the chance of success, the character fails. If it is less than or equal to the chance of success, the character succeeds. The degree of success is worked out.
The referee interprets the degree of success in terms of the game situation.

Ease

The referee is responsible for making final judgement on how easy any given task is. Many guidelines are given in these rules, but in the end there will be many circumstances where the referee just has to guess. Exercising judgement in this way is one of the most essential skills of being a referee.

As a general guideline, consider the average easy task to have an ease of 8 or 9. This means that an unskilled character has about a fifty-fifty chance of success. If this seems harsh, remember that this roll of the dice refers to a stressful situation. Where the character has the opportunity to work on a task at leisure the ease will be higher.

All other tasks' eases are measured relative to this benchmark. Although there are some situations in which a task's ease has a slightly different meaning, for general actions you can use this table:

Ease	Meaning
<1	Impossible
1-2	Almost impossible
3-4	Very difficult
5-6	Challenging
7	Relatively easy
8-9	Easy
10	Simple

10 is the highest possible value of ease for a task. There is no lowest value. Also, although it says 'impossible' in the table above, remember that the impossible happens quite often in adventure fiction!

Abilities

The ease value decided above refers to the ease of the task to the average person. But characters may have strengths or weaknesses which make the task more or less easy. Again, the referee has final say on which abilities may be used in a given task, but it will usually be obvious which are applicable. For example, a character attempting to run away from an enemy may add any bonus for RUNNING to the ease of the task.

Referees should make sure that players do not abuse this system. In particular, players may attempt to argue that their characters may use a number of different ability bonuses. A character's energy places a limit on the number of ability bonuses a character can use in a given task, but this may only encourage players to try to use all the bonuses they are allowed. The acid test is whether multiple abilities can be combined in one action. If not the player will have to make separate dice rolls.

For example, a character tries to open a locked door using THIEVERY, and then asserts that the character's bonus in STRENGTH can also be used. However, using strength to barge a door is clearly a different thing to picking a lock; separate rolls must be made. On the other hand, a bonus in CO-ORDINATION could be added, as it is obviously directly relevant.

Adding the skills to the ease of the task produces the chance of success. In some special circumstances, there may be further modifiers, but they will be explained later.

Dice Roll

Once you have settled on a chance of success roll two dice. If the total of the dice rolled is greater than the chance of success, then the character has failed at the task.

If the total of the dice is less than or equal to the chance of success, then the character has succeeded.

You can then go on to find out how well they succeeded. The basic degree of success is the highest of the dice rolled. So if the player rolled two dice, getting a 2 and a 5, for a total of 7, their degree of success would be 5.

If the two dice come up with the same number, this is a lucky break. The degree of success is the sum of the two dice. An exception to this is noted in Over Ten, below.

Players should beware of double ones. These are called snake-eyes and may have unfortunate effects (see below). Because of the bad luck, snake-eyes are an exception to the lucky break rule - they have a degree of success of 1.

Over Ten

If the chance of success is 11 or over, the player faces a choice. Such a task is so easy that it is well within the abilities of the character. The player may choose to have an automatic success. In this case, rather than rolling the dice the player can simply place them on the table with one showing a 4 and the other a 3.

On the other hand, the character may extend themselves, risking failure against the chance of a much greater degree of success. A player making a doubles roll succeeds on anything but a 12 (irrespective of the chance of success). There is no bonus to the degree of success, but they may score lucky breaks (see above).

A player making a bonus roll succeeds on anything but a 12. The number of points by which their chance of success exceeded 10 is then added to the higher of the two dice. This will alter both the total roll and the degree of success. It also means that lucky breaks are not possible.

Interpretation

The most important part of this system is using it to explain what happens in the game. Thus the referee must use the degree of success to explain what the character actually did. The amount of explanation required will depend on the situation. In some cases it's enough simply to announce that the character was successful - the degree of success doesn't matter too much. If the situation is tense, however, an exciting description of the result adds to the atmosphere and excitement of the game.

This game contains a number of examples that should help in giving you a feel for the meaning of degrees of success, but just as a general guideline:

Degree of Success	Meaning
1-2			Barely succeeded by a whisker
3-4			Unspectacular success
5-6			Good result
7-8			Superb result
9-10			Exceptional success
11+			Superhuman

You'll notice there is a correlation between ease and success. Both are rated on a very rough 1-10 scale. Once you get a feel for the significance of numbers on these scales, you'll be able to visualise the events of the game better.

Example: Helping A Friend

Yang Ming, the Sleepy Dragon, is trying to help a friend of his. He needs the Magistrate's seal in order to put the finishing touches to a document which will allow his friend to avoid being drafted as a member of the local militia. To get the seal, he needs to get into the Magistrate's office while the Magistrate is out, and apply the seal to the document, which is concealed in his sleeve.

There's one obstacle: the Magistrate's personal secretary. Yang decides to try to bluff his way into the office. He tells the secretary that the Magistrate has sent him to pick up a document relating to the case he's working on, a document tied with a black string.

The referee finds this a reasonably plausible story, as this sort of thing often happens. The problem is, will the secretary insist on accompanying Yang into the office? An ease of 6 is decided on, to which Yang may add bonuses in DECEPTION (+1) and WIT (+1). The player tries to claim his INTIMIDATION bonus too, but the referee rules it out, as it doesn't really square with deception.

With an overall chance of success of 8, Yang rolls two dice, getting a 5 and a 1. This means he succeeds with a creditable result. He slips into the office, uses the seal on his document, ties it with black string and hurries out, waving it in the face of the secretary on the way!

You cannot build a fine manor with a single pole

More Details

By using the mechanics above, you should be able to deal with most situations that arise. But inevitably, there are some special situations and details that need clearing up.

Energy

People need energy to perform actions. If a character wants to use a positive skill bonus, they must have as many points of energy available as the skill bonus they want to use. If they don't have enough energy, they can only use as much skill as they have energy.

In most cases, this rule won't cause too much trouble. Characters will usually have sufficient energy to use their skills. Where it will particularly apply, however, is in the case of characters who have been hit in fights, or who are suffering from injury, disease or fatigue, or who attempt to combine actions.

If a character has insufficient energy to perform an action then they are unable to act. This will particularly apply in combat. For example, wearing armour requires a certain amount of energy. A character who no longer has sufficient energy to wear their armour may not fight. They are considered to be exhausted.

Energy has no effect in the case of negative skill bonuses. These are always applied, and the character doesn't 'gain' energy!

Combining Actions

If it seems logical, characters may combine two or more actions. However, a skill roll is required for each action. The player should choose one action as the primary action. The player rolls for this action first; it may not be an automatic success. Failure indicates that all the actions attempted have failed. Success allows the player to roll for the secondary action.

The ease of any action after the first is always two less than it would be if the action was a normal or primary action. If the character attempts a tertiary action, they may go on to roll for that (at an ease of two less than normal) if successful at the secondary action, and so on.

Characters must have sufficient energy available to cover all actions attempted at once.

For characters to combine actions, the intention must be stated before any dice are rolled. You can't announce a secondary action after you roll the dice. Also, referees should be strict in ensuring that the actions can really be performed at the same time.

Snake-eyes

A roll which includes a double one is snake-eyes. A snake-eyes may be a success, but it carries a penalty. A character succeeding with a snake-eyes will suffer some little misfortune. For example, our intrepid lock picker succeeds with a snake-eyes: the lock springs open but Snap! the pick breaks in the lock mechanism. Snake-eyes results shouldn't be too deadly. More examples are provided elsewhere in the rules, particularly in the Combat chapter.

It is usually up to the referee to decide on the results of snake-eyes. The player who rolls a snake-eyes, however, always has the option of making a bad joss roll instead. This roll will provide the character with some misfortune (explained in the Games chapter), but it will also have the effect of reducing the character's stock of bad joss.

Opposed Rolls

If a character is opposed in the task by another character then both must roll. The higher successful result prevails, but the degree of success of the higher is reduced by that of the lower. This may require a little interpretation, especially where the degree of success of the loser' is higher than that of the winner'. You can get an idea of how this applies by studying the combat system, where the principles are applied in greater detail.

The ease of the task may be set by the referee according the situation facing each of the opposing characters, or it may be chosen by one of the competing characters (usually the one who 'goes first'). For example, if two characters play a game of chess, the player who makes the first move may select how easy their strategy is going to be. A simple principle in these cases is that both characters use the same ease value.

For a simple one-shot' conflict, a single roll will suffice, but if the competition is more sustained, or comprises several bouts', a series of rolls can be used. In this case, opponents will use their degrees of success to reduce some predetermined number, representing the opponent. A simplified version of the combat system can be used to represent this kind of opposed roll. For examples of this in practice, see the descriptions of the various skills.

All-out Effort

The referee may allow players to enhance their characters' performance by using points of motivation. Characters may gain a bonus to a skill roll by spending motivation. The bonus must be bought like a specific skill. To gain a +1 bonus one point of motivation is lost. To gain a +2 bonus 3 points are lost and so on. However, the character must have energy available to use this bonus from motivation.

Points of motivation used in this way are lost.

A scholar discusses books; a butcher discusses pigs

Language

There are many different dialects in China, not to mention the assorted languages of the barbarians on the borders. There is also the Chinese writing system, an ideographic language accessible to anyone, irrespective of native tongue, but requiring that the literate character learn in excess of 5000 hanzi (Chinese ideographs).

Chinese

For the purposes of this game, we assume that, unless otherwise stated, all conversations are being held in the 'ordinary' language of China. The skill of CHINESE refers to ability in this language. However, as all Chinese characters are assumed to be able to speak this, no bonus is required. A bonus in CHINESE reflects the sophistication of a character's speech, use of metaphorical language, and so on.

All characters will also be able to converse in their 'native tongue', which will be a regional dialect. Rather than listing the names of the dialects, it is simpler to base them on the political regions of the country. Thus each character's regional dialect will be that of the route in which they were born. They may use this dialect with any other native of that region.

Members of the Imperial Family and the class of Officials have their own dialect in addition to a regional dialect: Mandarin Chinese. Indeed, members of the Imperial Family do not speak 'ordinary' Chinese at all unless they learn it as a skill, and may therefore only converse naturally in Mandarin or their regional dialect (usually Kaifeng).

Anyone attempting to understand a regional dialect or Mandarin may attempt to do so with an ease of 9. This ease assumes the listener has a bonus in the DIALECT. If not, the usual penalty of 2 to the ease is applied. To the basic ease you should also add bonuses in LANGUAGES, INTUITION and EMPATHY. A listener who doesn't have a bonus in the dialect suffers an additional penalty if they come from a route which doesn't border on the route in which the dialect is used: 1 for each route by which the listener's home is separated from that of the dialect being spoken.

Sub-dialects

Even within regional dialects there are differences according to the particular set of villages from which a person comes. This is represented by the sub-dialect, which is based on the region surrounding a prefecture in which a character was born. Unlike dialects, sub-dialects may not be learned as skills. Officials and members of the Imperial Family do not know regional sub-dialects.

Two characters from the same prefectural area may speak to each other in their sub-dialect. The chance of others listening to the conversation understanding it depends on whether they are a native of the route or not. If they are, then the ease of understanding is 7, to which bonuses in LANGUAGES, INTUITION and EMPATHY should be added. If they are not they will have to make a roll of ease 3 to which bonuses in LANGUAGES, INTUITION, EMPATHY and the regional DIALECT should be added.

Foreign Languages

Characters who have the opportunity to talk to barbarians may learn their languages. This will normally be limited to traders, sailors and wanderers, though others may have an opportunity if they live in a port, or a border town. A bonus of +1 represents basic fluency in a foreign language. To acquire a greater level of comprehension a higher bonus is necessary.

Literacy

Literacy is a requirement for performing many actions, and for many occupations. A character with no bonus in LITERACY is considered to be illiterate, though they should be able to recognise the most basic of ideographs, well-known names and the like.

Note that spoken language and dialect are irrelevant to literacy. Two literate characters will be able to communicate with each other in writing even if they cannot understand each others' conversation.

In these rules LITERACY refers to the Chinese system of writing. Although the nomads of Xi Xia have actually developed their own script (an imitations of Chinese) it is almost entirely unknown within China.

The superior man is one whose virtues exceed his talents; the base man is one whose talents exceed his virtues

Abilities

All the abilities available to characters are described below. There are two types of abilities: aptitudes and skills. However it is possible that a character may have both an aptitude and a skill in the same ability. In this case, the two bonuses can usually be added together to produce a single bonus. You should still keep a note of the separate bonuses, as it is important in improving the skill. In the list below, all abilities are specific unless noted as basic.

Physical Abilities

Acrobatics

A Chinese theatrical performance includes a variety of different forms, possibly the most spectacular of which is acrobatics. The performance of the various flips, rolls and leaps of Chinese drama. It may be used in combat to perform complex manoeuvres. Sample acrobatics with their eases include spin (7), vault (9), roll (10), forward flip (6), back flip (5), cartwheel (8). Characters should also use their GRACE and CO-ORDINATION bonuses, though characters without a specific ACROBATICS bonus will have their ease values reduced by 2.

Ambidexterity

(Basic skill) Each point of this bonus negates 1 point of the penalty for using the off-hand. A negative bonus indicates a particularly inept off-hand. Characters who are left-handed must have a bonus of +1 in this ability. The maximum value, representing full ambidexterity, is +2.

Climbing

The steeper the slope, the more difficult the climb, the lower the ease. A roll should be made every 10 seconds. Failure requires a second roll at -4 to avoid falling. A successful roll means the character climb a number of yards equal to the degree of success. Characters should also use their bonus for GRACE.

Co-ordination

(Basic skill) Precision of movement of the body. May be used to enhance the chance of success of any task requiring speed and accuracy in movement. It is used for such actions as readying a missile weapon, dodging in combat and so on. Take care not to overuse it, however, especially in cases where GRACE or STRENGTH might be more appropriate.

Dancing

The ability to perform gracefully. Dancing is a performance activity: there is no social dancing except the traditional rites of farmers. Characters should also use their bonuses for GRACE and CO-ORDINATION.

Drinking

Drinking generally produces a penalty to actions of -1 for every 2 cups of wine consumed. However, characters who can hold their drink won't suffer from this penalty. The ease of avoiding the penalty is 10 minus 1 per drink consumed, adding in DRINKING and HEALTH bonuses. The degree of success reduces the penalty to actions. Characters may roll at any time, but once they fail, they can't roll again: they are drunk!

Drinking experts may attempt to gain a benefit from their drunkenness. Once drunk they may make one drunkenness roll of ease 2 plus their DRINKING and WILL bonuses. If successful, their penalty from drunkenness is ignored, and they gain a temporary bonus of the degree of success to all their physical or spiritual actions for ten minutes. If unsuccessful, they will pass out.

A drinking contest is handled by rolling to see if you can avoid passing out. Drinkers make a roll for each round of drinks. The first round is at an ease of 10, but this will go down steadily (depending on the strength of the wine being drunk, but usually by 1 for every two cups of wine). To this roll the characters add their DRINKING bonus, and any bonuses for HEALTH, ENDURANCE and WILL. The first character to fail his roll is unconscious. A character rolling snake-eyes vomits (which usually means losing the match).

Endurance

(Basic skill) Fitness, stamina and resistance to shock and pain. ENDURANCE is used to fight off fatigue, and in combat helps to keep a warrior from being knocked unconscious by a wound. Take care not to confuse it with HEALTH and STRENGTH.

Fast Draw

(Skill only) This skill enables a character to draw a weapon smoothly and very rapidly. It applies to both thrown weapons and melee weapons. Characters should also use their bonus for CO-ORDINATION.

Example: Fast Draw

Yang Ming is wandering absentmindedly through the woods one day, when a pair of ne'er-do-wells leap out with swords drawn. 'Hand over your cash, or join your honourable ancestors!' one of them yells. Yang Ming feigns fear, but quick as a flash whips out his sword and strikes at the bandit who spoke. This requires a roll of ease 7, to which Yang can add his +1 CO-ORDINATION and his +1 FAST DRAW. If he succeeds at this roll, he can also strike in the same round as a secondary action (he has a total bonus of +5 with his sword, and he'll also get a +2 for a surprise attack). He can even let out an intimidatory yell at the same time, but since he has only 10 energy and has already used a total of +7 bonuses, he is only able to use +3 out of his possible +4 bonus (+2 INTIMIDATION plus +2 FIGHTING). Still, I wouldn't bet on him joining his honourable ancestors all that quickly.

Fighting

(Basic skill) Warriors can learn techniques from a martial arts master, but their fighting skill represents their experience in combat. and their ability to apply any fighting methods they learn. It may be used for any type of fighting, with any weapon. This bonus is added to the ease of a combat roll to determine chance of success (see the Combat chapter for further details).

Football

A popular sport in medieval China, football's aim is to keep the ball in the air. The first kicker decides on the ease of the kick they will try. Success indicates that the ball has been struck correctly, and the degree of success shows how well they performed the kick. The next kicker's ease is this degree of success, plus the roll of one die. CO-ORDINATION should also be used in playing football.

Grace

(Basic skill) Smoothness of movement, including balance and flexibility. GRACE may be used to enhance a performance of DANCING, and is essential in such feats as walking along the top of a narrow wall, or landing properly after leaping.

Health

(Basic skill) Resistance to disease, and the body's resources at recovering from injury. Take care not to confuse HEALTH with ENDURANCE. The main difference is that ENDURANCE is used to resist physical stresses.

Leaping

Leaps take at least two rounds to complete. One round is spent taking off and another is spent landing. A roll must be made for each: LEAPING and CO-ORDINATION should be added on take-off, while LEAPING and GRACE should be added on landing.

Taking off has an ease of 7, to which up to 2 bonus points may be added: one for each additional round spent running up.

The degree of success plus the character's STRENGTH bonus provides the distance covered by the leap, but the vertical and horizontal components of the leap use different units. The degree of success may be split between horizontal and vertical, or applied entirely to one or the other (obviously, horizontal leaps always have some vertical component, but this can be ignored in practice).

Hero characters may multiply their degree of success by the power level of the game (minimum 1).

The unit used for the vertical component is feet, while yards are used for the horizontal component. The time spent in the air depends on the degree of success. For each complete 5 rounds in excess of 1, the character spends an additional round in mid-air.

The ease of landing from a leap is 8. Failure at this roll indicates that the character has stumbled and fallen upon landing. The LEAPING skill may also be used when falling (see Falling, below) but such a roll need not be made when landing from a leap.

Leaps may be used to gain an advantage in combat. See the Combat chapter for details.

There is ample room for complexity in the measuring of vertical and horizontal components, so referees are encouraged to keep it simple, and use their discretion in preference to mathematics!

Example: Leaping

Lin Chong is in town in disguise, when he sees a thug of a constable from the local yamen attacking a young girl. The girl is cowering on the ground, and her face reminds Lin of his wife, who took her own life to escape the evil intentions of Young Master Gao. Lin is ten yards distant. Seething with anger, he leaps into action.

The ease of taking off is 7, to which Lin may add his LEAPING bonus of +3, and his CO-ORDINATION of +1. He doesn't waste time taking a run-up. He rolls a 4 and a 3, meaning a successful leap, with a degree of success of 4. After adding his STRENGTH bonus, this becomes 5. Because he is a hero, in a game with a power level of 3, he then multiplies the degree of success by 3.

With a result of 15, Lin could cover the ten yards travelling 5 feet into the air for a bonus to his strike. However his priority is speed. He opts for a result of 10, travelling 10 yards horizontally. This takes two rounds, and he can strike at the constable during the second round.

As he lands, Lin will have to make a roll with a chance of success of 11 to see whether he lands safely. He can combine this with a strike at the constable. I don't think the constable has much chance, myself...

Martial Arts

(Skill only) This skill actually covers a wide variety of skills, all of which must be learned separately. It includes the unarmed martial arts of the fist and kick, and the techniques of weapon use. A skill bonus in a martial art reflects the character's ability to perform the techniques of that art correctly; it may be added to FIGHTING ability in combat.

Martial arts include: Axe (used for axe and hammer), Chain, Dagger (used for dagger and knife), Flail, Halberd (used for halberd and battle-axe), Hook, Lance, Mace (used for club and mace), Spear/Staff, Sword (used for double-edged sword and sabre), Unarmed, Axe and Shield, Mace and Shield, Hook and Shield, Sword and Shield, Twin Axes, Twin Hooks, Twin Maces, Twin Swords. It is also possible to learn unusual combinations such as Axe and Sword, but your chances of finding an instructor are slim.

Further details of the weapons and available tactics are given in the Combat chapter.

Missiles

Although the MISSILES aptitude may be applied to any form of missile use, including aiming, there are actually three separate MISSILES skills. A separate bonus must be learned for each. The three are BOW (used for the composite and light bows), CROSSBOW (used for light and heavy crossbows) and THROW, used for thrown weapons. A skill bonus in the first two may be used for both loading and shooting the weapon. A bonus in THROW is used only for the action of throwing. See the Combat chapter for further details.

Night Vision

(Aptitude only) Each point of NIGHT VISION negates 1 point of the penalty for darkness. A negative bonus increases the penalty for darkness.

Pillow Arts

Sophisticated Chinese hate explicit mention of sex and refer to it using complex and imaginative euphemisms. Entertainers are expected to excel at these arts, including the exotically named positions of intercourse, but it is an activity popular with all levels of society. When using the arts of the courtesan and the concubine, a character should use bonuses for PILLOW ARTS, CO-ORDINATION, EMPATHY, ART, ENDURANCE and PRESENCE! The degree of success indicates the pleasure imparted to the partner. The ease of the activity depends on the situation: it is up to the referee to distinguish between the relative merits of the Emperor's lushly appointed bedchamber and the back of a grain wagon on the road to Daming...

Riding

(Skill only) The ability to control a horse (or other kind of mount) and manoeuvre on horseback. It should be combined with bonuses in ANIMALS (the aptitude) and GRACE. A character must be successful at riding to remain in the saddle. The ease of riding depends on the speed of the horse:

Stationary	10
Trotting	8
Galloping	6

A bonus of +2 to the roll is gained if the rider holds the horse's reins, thus anyone can stay in the saddle on a stationary horse without having to roll. In addition, if the horse is startled (perhaps because of injury), these values for ease are reduced by 2.

If the roll is failed, the character starts to fall from horseback. The next round they can try to recover by making another riding roll at -4. This cannot be combined with another action. Failure at this roll means the character falls to the ground, suffering damage equal to the roll of a die (energy may be used to soak four points of this up as shock).

Rowing

The art of propelling a sampan using an oar or pole. The ease is usually 7, while the degree of success of the roll gives the number of feet travelled per round. In most cases, it's simpler to make a roll for a longer period of time: the degree of success multiplied by two-thirds is the number of miles-per-hour attained. Anything over 1 mph maintained for an hour may result in fatigue (see the Fatigue section below).

Running

Running on smooth, level ground has an ease of 10. This should be reduced for uneven ground or if there are obstructions. There are two categories of running: sprints and long distance.

For sprints, the character's STRENGTH, CO-ORDINATION and size bonuses should be added to their RUNNING ability for the roll. The number of yards covered in one round is equal to twice the degree of success (to a maximum of 10 for normal characters). Characters acquire one point of fatigue for every complete 6 seconds (plus ENDURANCE bonus) spent sprinting.

For long distances, the character's ENDURANCE is added to the RUNNING ability bonus. The character can run for two hours at a speed of the degree of success in miles per hour without suffering any fatigue penalty. After two hours they will have to make a roll for fatigue (see the section on Fatigue, below).

Characters may push themselves faster than the speed attained in the roll, but if they do they will suffer fatigue immediately. For every 2 mph faster that they push themselves (to a maximum of twice the degree of success for normal characters), they will acquire one point of fatigue for every complete half hour spent running.

Don't forget, miles per hour translate conveniently to yards: to find the number of yards covered per round just halve the mph.

Shipcraft

The skills required of a sailor on a junk, including rope work, sail making, tacking and steering. It can also be used to reflect the speed obtainable from a junk: the ease depends on whether the junk is travelling upwind (ease 8) or downwind (ease 10). These values may also be modified by currents. A quarter of the degree of success of the roll is the maximum miles per hour of the junk when travelling upwind. Half the degree of success is the maximum speed when the wind is abeam. As the roll refers to the way the sails are set as well as steering it is not appropriate to allow new rolls in successive rounds.

Singing

The quality of a character's voice and ability to carry a tune. Ease of songs are pretty standard: the simple melody hummed by a peasant at work in the fields has an ease of 9 or 10. A complex harmonic arrangement may be as low as 2 or 3.

Sneaking

The ability to hide or move undetected. The successful degree of success is applied as a penalty to a potential observer's PERCEPTION roll. Typical eases range from 10 for remaining unobserved in pitch darkness to 2 for sneaking past someone who is awake in broad daylight.

Soldiery

The skills of professional soldiering other than weapon use. Includes weapon maintenance, marching, and a grasp of elementary military tactics. It may also be used to command other soldiers. Thus it includes the ability to inspire loyalty and improve morale. When giving orders to subordinates, bonuses in INTIMIDATION and PRESENCE should be added to the roll to see whether they obey.

Strength

(Basic skill) Muscle potential and brute strength. Also gives a guide to the proportion of body mass composed of muscle rather than fat. STRENGTH increases a character's body score, and it also increases the amount of damage inflicted in combat.

Surgery

(Skill only) The surgeon's art is to keep mortally wounded characters alive, and to repair injuries. A character's SURGERY bonus may be added to their chance of administering first aid. It may also be used to operate on an injured character. Details are given in the Combat chapter.

Swimming

To a swimming roll you should add STRENGTH and CO-ORDINATION. However, characters who have no bonus in the SWIMMING ability cannot swim, so they must roll just to stay afloat. Ease of a swimming roll depends on the water:

10 for flat, still water
7 for a moving stream or choppy water
5 for a fast-flowing river or stormy sea

A successful roll means the character swims a number of feet equal to their degree of success in one round. Failure indicates the character must try to stay afloat.

Characters trying to stay afloat (whether because they can't swim, or because they failed a swimming roll), should roll against the same ease listed above with a penalty of -4. Failure at this roll indicates the character starts to sink.

Sinking characters must hold their breath. This requires a roll every fifteen seconds at ease 10 plus the character's SWIMMING and ENDURANCE bonuses, minus the number of complete fifteen second periods spent underwater. In each 15 second period the character may also attempt to reach the surface. This requires another swimming roll with a penalty of -4.

A character who runs out of breath while underwater starts to drown. Drowning inflicts damage of one die per 15 second period. Characters may use spare energy to reduce this damage, but may not recover energy while under water. For the purposes of healing, drowning damage is considered flesh wounds.

Thievery

The art of cutting purses and otherwise appropriating possessions from other people. Ease depends on the circumstances: as a general guide, stealing an obvious purse from someone in a crowd has an ease of 9. If the crowd is lacking the ease is 7, while if the purse is not obvious the ease is 4. A bungled roll means the item has not been grabbed.

The victim's ease of noticing a successful theft is 10 minus the degree of success obtained (PERCEPTION bonus may be added to this). The victim's ease of noticing a bungled theft is equal to the roll made by the unfortunate thief.

This skill may be used for other tasks associated with thieves, such as picking locks (ease depends on the quality of the lock), sleight-of-hand or moving an object without causing a noise.

Mental

Administration

The everyday duties and paperwork of the bureaucracy require a high level of application and attention to detail. Bureaucrats and clerks should check to see whether they have made a mistake in this work: failure can have unfortunate consequences. This ability also covers management of a business. Most merchants do not travel: they own a shop in a town doing such jobs as running a tavern, or a butcher's shop, or any other trade establishment. This bonus is used to handle the day-to-day running of such a business.

ADMINISTRATION also includes mathematical ability.

Agriculture

The skill of growing crops. Includes knowledge of planting times, how to plough, and what techniques may be used to increase yield. Bear in mind that farming in China is a hard business: the level of ease is often very low.

Alchemy

This activity is available to Taoists only. The Taoists are obsessed with the quest for immortality, and alchemy here refers to that search where it is conducted by external means. Usually, Taoists combine external and internal methods, so that ALCHEMY is used in combination with MEDITATION and physical training, as well as benefiting from a MAGIC bonus. Alchemical methods of achieving immortality are often based upon the idea of ingesting cinnabar pills. Alchemists acquire the techniques needed to make chemical compounds and refine poisons (see the Poisons section, below).

Methods of obtaining Immortality are not dealt with in this book, so referees who wish to make that the focus of their game will have to improvise, or get in touch with me and badger me for more rules.

Animal Treatment

(Skill only) Veterinary medicine is used to treat animals. It covers diagnosis, preparing simple compounds and operating. The character's aptitude for ANIMALS should be added to this roll.

Chess

(Skill only) Chinese chess (xiangqi) features two armies of sixteen units facing each other across a river, the Chu, running across the middle of the board, which divides the warring states of Chu and Han (a reference to the historical situation prior to the establishment of the Han Dynasty). Because of its literary, historical, poetical and philosophical references, it is a useful game socially. To represent the high level of skill involved, the game should be conducted as a simplified version of the combat system: with opponents using their skill each round to attack and defend. As each player has 16 pieces, players use their attacks to deplete this number.

Go (weiqi) is the ancient game pitting black counters against white, on a simple grid. Opponents attempt to encircle enemy counters. As with chess, ability at the game is an important status symbol among bureaucrats and scholars. Like chess, games should be conducted as a simplified form of the combat system, competing for 20 points. It is considered good manners for skilful go players to allow inexperienced opponents a handicap. In this case, reduce the number of points the inexperienced player needs.

For both Chess and Go, use the CHESS skill. Characters should also use their REASONING and INTUITION bonuses.

Commerce

The arts of bargaining, haggling and dealing. Merchants should use this skill whenever they are making a deal. Non-merchants may use this in order to try to get a better price. According to the approach taken, it can be combined with various other bonuses, for example EMPATHY, EMPATHY or DECEPTION.

Composition

The most esteemed of all the arts of a scholar: COMPOSITION covers the art of writing. It includes the drafting of prose essays, but focuses on the art of producing poems in the accepted forms. The higher the degree of success, the more subtle the composition. A failed roll indicates that the piece's faults will be recognised by educated readers. This skill is essential in order to acquire the greatest success in the Civil Service examinations.

The two principal forms of poetry are the shi, with eight lines per poem each of five or seven syllables; and the more modern ci or lyric, which tends to be divided into two verses with lines of variable length.

Crafts

There are many individual crafts, and artisans must specify which craft a skill bonus applies to. An aptitude for CRAFTS, however, may be used for any craft. When constructing an item, the ease is determined by the type of item, while the degree of success indicates the quality obtained: a poor item will usually require a degree of success of 2-3, an average item 4-6, a good item 7-8 and a fine item 9+. Crafts skills may also be used in making repairs.

Crafts include: armour and weapon making, basket weaving, boat building, brewing, building, carpentry, cookery, engraving, fletching, jewellery making, masonry, paper making, pottery, rope making, shoemaking, silversmithing, smithing, tailory, tanning, weaving, wine making.

Diligence

(Aptitude only) A character's DILIGENCE is particularly used in improving mental or knowledge skills. It reflects the character's dedication to study, and ability to absorb information. It can also be used when researching, as it reflects the efficiency with which the character can glean useful information from a source.

Evaluation

Enables the character to recognise ability in another if they observe the person fighting. Basic ease is 7, which assumes that the person is seen fighting for more than 20 combat rounds. Less than this will reduce the ease accordingly (one combat round would yield an ease of 1, for example), and more time might increase the ease, to a maximum of 10. The ease is increased by one if the person is seen fighting against more than one opponent. Success indicates that the ability of the person relative to the viewer can be deduced. Note that you can only evaluate the ability which is actually used: a clever fighter may not use all their bonus. Also, if the degree of success of the EVALUATION exceeds the character being observed's total ability bonus, the excess may be used once only as a situational bonus when fighting that person. It represents having spotted some flaw in the person's fighting technique.

Fishing

Hunters catch fish from rivers, without using a boat. They may employ a spear, or try a more subtle approach such as tickling, or a rod and line. Other fishermen catch fish from a boat, whether at sea or on a river, usually with the aid of nets. The ease of catch is decided by the referee according to the particular area and the method used. The degree of success is the number of fish caught.

Forgery

The ability to forge official documents and other peoples' handwriting. It requires that the character have at least +1 LITERACY, and the character may also employ any skill in CALLIGRAPHY if they are forging calligraphic works. They should add their ART bonus to all rolls.

Gambling

The ability to win money in gambling games. This skill is usually an opposed roll against a number of others. It can be conducted as a simplified form of the combat rules, with the money available to be wagered replacing body. It includes skill at gambling games such as double-six and mah-jong. REASONING and INTUITION should also be used in gambling.

Intuition

(Aptitude only) A sixth-sense, or unconscious capacity for analysis and decision, which may be used by a character in a wide range of situations. It is particularly useful in enhancing more obvious logical abilities such as PERCEPTION (in spotting an ambush, for example), or CHESS. INTUITION also affects a character's prospects of improving spiritual skills.

Languages

(Aptitude only) This natural facility for languages may be applied as a bonus to both native tongue (usually Chinese) and foreign languages. A negative bonus indicates a basic ineptitude at languages, the precise nature of which is up to the player to decide.

Medicine

Includes acupuncture (the art of using needles), massage, or moxibustion (burning cones of moxa) to stimulate the correct points on the patient's channels and collaterals. It is used to relieve pain, treat disease and infection and combat the effects of fatigue and exhaustion. In treating fatigue, half of the doctor's MEDICINE bonus may be added to the recovery roll of the patient he is treating.

When treating disease, the ease of the roll is 10 minus the virulence of the disease. Bonuses in PLANT LORE and TALISMANS should be added to the roll. Half the degree of success may be added to the patient's roll against the disease. Failure at the roll means the patient should subtract 1 from their roll against the disease. See Disease, below, for more details.

Navigation

The art of guiding a ship correctly using the stars and a lodestone.

Perception

(Basic skill) The ability to spot things. PERCEPTION covers a wide range of uses, from finding a needle dropped in a haystack (proverbial or otherwise), to noticing a helmet poking out of a tree two hundred yards away.

Reasoning

(Basic skill) Comprehension and grasp of rational thought processes. A bonus in REASONING may be used to help solve logic puzzles and the like. It also indicates a rational approach to strategy, whether of a real battle or in a game of chess.

Rhetoric

Officials need to be adept at the art of disputation, though this works rather differently to the western version. A Chinese rhetorician must use precedent and the classics in order to formulate his argument. This covers the arts of persuasion when applied to members of officialdom. When used for persuasion, PRESENCE bonus should be added to the roll. At the discretion of the referee, bonuses in REASONING and CLASSICS may also be relevant.

Strategy

The art of warfare on the battlefield. A strategist should be well versed in the techniques described by the legendary Sun Zi. This skill includes knowledge of a variety of military formations. It is used to determine the outcome of a battle as described in the Combat chapter.

Tracking

The art of recognising and interpreting tracks. The ease of identifying a set of tracks, or following them, depends on how recent they are, and the type of earth in which they are made.

Trapping

The art of catching small game in the wild by setting traps. A hunter will usually make a single roll for a day's trapping, with the ease determined by the amount of game in the area. The degree of success gives an idea of the sort of game caught.

Larger game requires TRACKING and the use of an appropriate weapon to bring down.

Wit

(Aptitude only) Sense of humour, and ability to make others laugh. It is up to players to do their best to live up to this characteristic if they choose it as a bonus. It may be used to enhance the appeal of stories or poetry, or even used as a tool of persuasion or deception.

Spiritual

Acting

In China acting is stylised, incorporating elements of mime and storytelling. This ability allows the character to perform in situations ranging from formal drama to an impromptu street show. EMPATHY, PRESENCE and WILL bonuses should also always be added to this. In a formal show, a character's GRACE is also relevant.

Animals

(Aptitude only) A natural empathy for animals. A bonus in this aptitude may be applied to any activity involving animals. This will include both RIDING and ANIMAL TREATMENT for example. It could even be of use in TRAPPING.

Art

(Aptitude only) Creative ability, usually visual. Characters with a bonus in this aptitude may use it to enhance their PAINTING, for example, or in the use of imagery in poetry (using COMPOSITION).

Calligraphy

(Skill only) A character who has at least +1 LITERACY may use this skill to produce works of calligraphy. It requires a good brush, ink stick and ink stone. The character should add their ART bonus to the roll.

Chanting

Chanting the Sutras is an important practice of the Buddhist clergy. It also has a number of beneficial side effects. The holy words of the Sutras are repellent to inimical spirits and ghosts, and if uttered by a monk of sufficient spiritual advancement, the words may repel such spirits and demons. Chanting may also be used as a means of harnessing the power of Buddhist magic. Further details are given in the Magic chapter.

Deception

The art of the con-trick: how to dupe a person in an informal environment. This includes the fine art of begging. PRESENCE, EMPATHY and WIT bonuses should also be used for this task.

Disguise

Altering physical features, speech and mannerisms to look like somebody else. Impersonating specific people is much more difficult. This skill will also come in useful in pretending to follow a different occupation, or come from a different social class.

Divination

The use of the Book of Changes to understand the circumstances surrounding a particular event or person, and to make predictions from this information. The character must have +1 LITERACY or more to use the Book of Changes. Details about divination are given in the chapter on Magic.

Elementalism

Elementalism is a deep intuitive understanding of the workings of the natural world. Thus a character with this ability is able to use it to predict the weather, dowse for water or perform similar feats, without the necessity of casting a spell. Elementalism tends to be favoured by Taoists, though Buddhists may also learn it. It also includes geomancy: the knowledge of land magic. This covers the currents of qi flowing beneath the earth, or 'Dragon Veins' as they are known, and the way in which they affect the area. It enables a character to advise on the auspicious placement of buildings or graves. A soundly placed structure will have increased resistance to evil, and more chance of enjoying good fortune. A geomancer may also be able to gain advantageous knowledge about a good place for a battle. Elementalism and geomancy are explained further in the Magic chapter.

Empathy

(Aptitude only) Natural fellow-feeling towards others. EMPATHY may be used to get an idea of another person's feelings or state of mind. It is also useful in activities involving other people, such as acting.

Illusion

A sorcerer who studies ILLUSION is studying the nature of reality. The Buddha taught that the world we inhabit is all maya (illusion), while Lao Zi wrote that 'the Tao is the only reality: all else is opinion'. By practical application of these philosophies, the sorcerer discovers that what we describe as 'reality' is by no means as concrete as we like to believe. The first fruit of this insight is the acquisition of the ability to detect illusion and magic. ILLUSION tends to be favoured by Buddhists, though Taoists may also learn it. Illusion is explained further in the Magic chapter.

Intimidation

This skill covers the various methods a warrior might use to psychologically attack his opponent, ranging from a war cry to a staring match. A war cry or staring match may be used before combat in order to inhibit one or more opponents from attacking. The ease is 4, and bonuses in PRESENCE and FIGHTING may be added to the roll. The degree of success is the number of rounds for which the opponent may not initiate an attack. If you attack the opponent during this time, you don't suffer the -1 situational modifier for attacking a waiting opponent (see the Combat chapter), however they can fight as normal.

A war shout can also be be used at any time in combat, though use of a bonus requires energy just like any other ability. The ease is 4, plus the character's PRESENCE and FIGHTING, less the victim's WILL bonus. Success deprives the victim of points of energy equal to the degree of success as if it were shock damage.

INTIMIDATION may also be used to obtain compliance from others without resorting to violence.

Intrigue

Within the central government cliques and factions scheme and plot each others' downfall. At the moment the major causes of dissent are the conservatives vs the reformers, and those in favour of military action against the barbarians vs the appeasers. Highly placed officials, aristocrats and eunuchs have to be able to deal with these conflicts - their lives may sometimes depend on it!

Magic

(Aptitude only) This aptitude reflects the character's potential for channelling their energy into magical actions. A character with a bonus in MAGIC is capable of manipulating magical energy. Although in theory any character can cast a spell, only characters with MAGIC bonuses are able to draw energy from sources outside themselves. Characters also use their MAGIC bonus to resist magical attacks and detect the presence of magic and spirits. Characters with a negative MAGIC bonus are particularly vulnerable to the supernatural.

Meditation

A skill used by the Buddhists to achieve Enlightenment, and by the Taoists to achieve Immortality. It provides a means of controlling and refining the body's energy. Characters who meditate for 5 minutes or more may make a roll at ease 5. Half the degree of success may be used as a temporary bonus to energy. Unfortunately the bonus only lasts for the same length of time as the character spent meditating. Sorcerers may use MEDITATION as a means of creating magical effects. This is further explained in the Magic chapter.

Music

Chinese instruments include the two types of flute (vertical and horizontal), the lute (pipa), the zither, the xylophone, pan pipes and the drum. The aptitude of MUSIC may be applied to any instrument, but the skill must be learned separately for each instrument. As with singing, the ease depends on the sophistication of the musical piece attempted.

Occultism

Occultists are attuned to the spirit world. This includes the spirits of humans (whether ghosts or those revered ancestors who have been deified), demons and deities. With this ability, a character is able to detect the presence of spirits, and with a good degree of success, judge their level of power or even their identity. This applies whether the spirit is disguised as a human, or inhabiting some other form such as an object or a natural phenomenon. OCCULTISM is used by both Buddhists and Taoists, although their interpretation of the spirits tends to be a little different. More details about OCCULTISM are given in the Magic chapter.

Painting

(Skill only) The ability to produce pleasing works of art in the accepted styles of Song China. Also, the capacity to recognise well-executed artworks. Like calligraphy, Chinese painting is executed with brush and ink, with paper and silk being the two preferred surfaces. ART bonus must also be added to a painting roll.

Presence

(Aptitude only) This may merely represent appearance, but it goes far beyond that. A person with a positive PRESENCE bonus is, quite simply, noticed. For this reason it is of great benefit in such activities as acting or persuading. On the other hand a negative bonus is of more use for a criminal. However, this does mean that if the criminal is caught they won't have such a good chance of defending themselves...

Puppetry

The art of manipulating marionettes to put on a display. Includes providing the voices. Bonuses for ART, WIT and CO-ORDINATION should also be added.

Storytelling

The art of spinning a tale to entertain listeners. There are four basic types of tales told: the first includes the love romances, fairy stories and tales of mystery and war. The second concerns famous Buddhist monks: effectively Buddhism in popular form. The third are historical narratives. One of the most popular of these is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The fourth type is conundrums. Storytelling often involves subtle denunciations of the corrupt practices of those in power. In telling a story, characters should add their WIT and PRESENCE bonuses.

Will

(Aptitude only) Determination (or lack of it, in the case of negative bonuses) is represented by WILL. It covers mind over matter, the ability to remain conscious, or to resist a persuasive argument or intimidation.

Knowledge

Animal Lore

Knowledge of stock-rearing techniques as well as more general knowledge about the peculiarities of the wild and domestic fauna of China. The skill also allows a farmer to guess at the causes and possible remedies for sicknesses and other infirmities in livestock. It may thus be added to ANIMAL TREATMENT when attempting veterinarian medicine. ANIMAL LORE is also useful to a hunter in identifying spoor, lairs and so on: it may be added to TRACKING and TRAPPING rolls.

Astrology

The art of interpreting the heavenly bodies correctly, and calculating their relevance to a particular event or person. Enables the character to work out the birth signs of another character, say whether they are normal or a hero, and decide the likely implications of an event for them. It is also of importance in timing activities such as writing Talismans. More details are given in the Magic chapter.

Ceremony

A bureaucrat must be au fait with the Confucian rituals, as everyday activity is regulated according to them. These include holding court and dispensing justice, as well as the rituals involved in administration, and the sacrifices and rites which are conducted at certain temples. Priests must also know the correct rituals for their religions if they wish to perform them correctly. This is a Civil Service examination subject.

Chinese

Ability to speak the 'standard' Chinese language is possessed by all Chinese, but a bonus in this area of knowledge indicates particular depth and sophistication of vocabulary.

Classics

Characters must have a LITERACY bonus of at least +1 in order to be able to read the classics. Includes knowledge of the Five Classics: the Book of Documents (Shu Jing), the Book of Poetry (Shi Jing), the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), the Book of Rites (Li Ji) and the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chun Qiu); the Three Books: the Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu), the Great Learning (Da Xue), and the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong); the Daodejing written by Lao Zi, and the work of Zhuang Zi. This is a Civil Service examination subject.

Dialects

Regional dialects are learned as if they are foreign languages. Only dialects may be learned: local sub-dialects may only be picked up by natives.

First Aid

Knowledge of first aid allows rapid action to staunch bleeding and bind wounds, or to deal with drowning or fire damage. It is explained in more detail in the Combat chapter.

Folk Lore

Knowledge of the oral traditions of the Chinese. Includes legends about monsters and spirits - not all accurate, it has to be said - but possibly of use in a pinch.

Foreign Languages

Each language must be learned separately. Languages include Japanese, Jin, Korean, Mongol, Qidan, Tangut, Thai, Tibetan and Vietnamese.

Goods Lore

Expert knowledge of specific classes of goods. It will ordinarily apply to the particular class of goods the merchant trades in. Examples include tea, silk and other cloths, foodstuffs, metals, ceramics and art items.

History

According to Confucian dogma, history provides the answer to any question a general, administrator or magistrate might ever ask. The history of China is meticulously kept. However, functional literacy is required to read it, and therefore acquire this knowledge. HISTORY says nothing about the day-to-day life of the people: it is only concerned with the activities of government. This is a Civil Service examination subject.

Law

The Chinese legal system is harsh and complex. This specialisation covers knowledge of its intricacies. The most important detail, known by all, is that no one may be sentenced until he has confessed to his crime. Thus torture was frequently employed. This specialisation includes knowledge of the appropriate torture to apply in a given situation. When the bureaucratic system is functioning correctly, there are limits on a magistrate's power: if he is found to have falsely convicted someone, he shares their fate. More details are given in the Society chapter. This is a Civil Service examination subject.

Learning

This includes mathematics, engineering, astronomy and other practical subjects. However it does not include the scientific method as such a thing was alien to the rigidly empiricist spirit of Confucianism. In order to study these subjects, a scholar requires at least +1 LITERACY.

Literacy

The Chinese writing system, an ideographic language, is accessible to anyone, irrespective of native tongue or dialect, but requires that the literate character learn in excess of 5000 hanzi (Chinese ideographs). A bonus in literacy may be used to enhance written works, particularly examinations, and is necessary for certain other skills.

Manners

The rules of etiquette and polite behaviour, including the art of kow-towing - kneeling to a superior and touching the ground with the head. Failure to observe the correct manners in a formal situation can have disastrous consequences.

Plant Lore

Knowledge of herbs, flowers and vegetables. This allows the character to recognise properties which may be useful. It may be used, for example, by doctors to improve their use of MEDICINE. It may also be used to find natural poisons (see the Poisons section, below).

Routes Lore

For most people, this is the knowledge of the best way to get from one place to another, including potential trouble spots to avoid. For a merchant, this will be knowledge of the most important and lucrative trade routes, including information about what goods fetch the best price where.

Rumours

Knowledge of a local area, whether it be a country district or a town. The RUMOURS bonus is specific to a particular area. It covers the topics that people on the street are talking about, famous personages of the district and so on.

Example: Recognition

Although China is very large, word spreads. If a person is famous, there is a good chance you will have heard of them. This chance is greatly increased in the case of heroes.

The basic ease of having heard of a person is 0. To this should be added their respectbonus, and your RUMOURS bonus if it relates to a place in which that person is well known. You should also subtract 1 from the chance for every route (a large area of China) by which your home is separated from theirs. If you are both heroes, 5 may be added to the chance.

The referee may also add bonuses to reflect the level of fame which they may have acquired.

The degree of success of the roll indicates the amount of knowledge you have about the person.

Spells

There are a large number of spells available, and sorcerers can rarely learn more than half-a-dozen. A full list of spells is provided in the Magic chapter. As with normal skills, spells are learned with a bonus, which will determine which effects are possible with a particular spell.

Talismans

This bonus may be used to recognise, select and correctly use an appropriate talisman from the immense corpus of available designs. Advanced techniques of printing are used to produce a large number of talismans, available easily to the common people. Without a level of knowledge, however, use of these is rather indiscriminate, and correspondingly ineffective. The TALISMANS bonus enhances the chance of finding a suitable talisman for a particular task and correctly identifying the way in which it should be used. Note that the skill roll is not made at the time the talisman is selected: the roll is made when the power of the talisman is tested.

The TALISMANS bonus represents the maximum bonus of talisman known by the character. It is possible to specialise in certain talismans. By passing up the chance to use their bonus on all talismans, a character may double the effective bonus on a specific talisman. This may be done with part of the bonus: a character with a bonus of +4 may choose to have a general bonus of +2, and a +6 bonus in one particular talisman (half of the bonus doubled, plus the general +2 bonus).

Most talismans are concerned with protecting from the effects of evil spirits or purifying the body. In addition, there are some which assist other activities such as meditation or occultism. Examples are given in the Magic chapter.

Taste

Song China is teeming with artworks, cuisine, performances of all kinds. In such an environment, good taste can become a crucial skill in social situations. Most restaurants in the major metropolises are quick to spot a neophyte (someone without a bonus in TASTE). Such a person will receive poor service and probably none-too-impressive food. In some restaurants in the capital, waiters and other diners may even make sport of such a rustic. TASTE is also essential in appreciating artworks, whether they be paintings, porcelain or poetry. It may have practical benefits in enabling a character to select a good gift for use in an influence attempt.

Theology

Knowledge of the religious classics, and understanding of their implications. The Taoist religious classic, the Daocang collects together the doctrines and cosmology of the religion, which great attention given to immortality, immortals, talismans and the Otherworldly. The Buddhists follow a Chinese version of the Tripitaka (the three Indian Buddhist scriptures). The Jing corresponds to the Sutras, the Lu to the Vinaya, and the Lun to the Abhidarma. The Chinese Tripitaka also includes the Za, miscellaneous works by Chinese authors. More details are given in the Beliefs chapter.

Wilderness Lore

The art of survival in the wild. Enables a character to detect adverse changes in weather conditions, find an appropriate place for shelter, construct shelter and many more survival tricks.

A teacher for one day is a father for life

Improving Skills

There are two ways to learn skills: self study and being taught. Self study is slow, but for someone who can't find a teacher, it's the only ofption. On the other hand, a teacher will make considerable demands on a character. A teacher is a patron (see the Characters chapter) and in Chinese society occupies a place akin to that of the father. A teacher will usually demand total obedience of a student.

In both cases, the character's personality will have a large effect on their progress. They will also be limited by time. Characters can learn up to three of their occupation's bonus skills at a time, and an additional 2 skills as 'hobbies'.

Both methods of improvement result in characters gaining experience. If this experience is not sufficient to increase the bonus of the skill, note it down by the skill. Then when you acquire experience on another occasion, you can combine it to increase the bonus.

Self Study

In order to improve a skill you need to acquire experience. The only way to do this is to practice regularly. Players should inform the referee which skills their characters are self-studying. They are limited by the total of five skills mentioned above, and they must be able to show that their character has the opportunity to study that skill.

To find out whether your character has improved at a skill, you should make an improvement roll. You can only make one roll for each skill per game year. However, you can make the roll any time during the game year. Even in the middle of a fight, you can still make an improvement roll! This reflects the fact that you only really discover you've improved through sudden flashes of insight.

A self study roll has an ease of 4. However, you can apply several bonuses to this.

DILIGENCE (for mental or knowledge skills)
INTUITION (for spiritual skills)
WILL (for physical skills)
+1 if the skill is a bonus skill
+1 for each point of motivation spent (ie lost).
special bonuses derived from using classic books

Half of the degree of success is the amount of experience gained in that skill. Acquiring skills is exactly the same as when you created the character: the cost of a bonus is the value of the bonus. In other words, to raise a +2 bonus to +3 costs 3 experience. Basic skills cost triple.

The remaining half of the degree of success represent indirect benefits of the study. These may be spent on related skills which are likely to have been improved from studying that skill. For example, practising acrobatics is likely to have a beneficial effect on a character's CO-ORDINATION, studying the classics is considered to help with a character's LITERACY and COMPOSITION skills.

This remaining half can also be spent, if preferred, on motivation, if this seems reasonable. It's possible to spend motivation in acquiring a skill, and then to recover the motivation straight away. Learning is like that.

However, because these effects are indirect, you can only get half value: thus only a quarter of the degree of success may be used in this way. Fractions of less than a half count as zero.

Players will have to persuade the referee to agree to the possible indirect effects of the skills they have successfully studied.

Being Taught

In order to be taught a character must first acquire a teacher. This requires the teacher to be a patron (see the Characters chapter); there is no 'casual teaching' in China.

You may then make rolls for improvement at intervals depending on how intensively you are being taught:

Every month for full time instruction.
Every 6 months for one lesson per day.
Every year for one lesson a week.

You are also limited in the number of skills you can learn at any one time. Full time instruction prevents the student from learning any other skills during the period of instruction. Characters having one lesson a day may only self-study 2 bonus skills and one hobby. Characters taking one lesson per week may self-study as normal.

An improvement roll for being taught may be made at any time after the period of instruction.

The ease of the roll is 4, to which may be added the following bonuses:

Twice the number of points by which the teacher's skill bonus exceeds your character's.
DILIGENCE (for mental or knowledge skills)
INTUITION (for spiritual skills)
WILL (for physical skills)
+1 if the skill is a bonus skill
A special bonus of between -1 or +1 at the referee's discretion reflecting the teacher's attitude towards the character.

As with self-study, half the degree of success may be used as experience in the skill being taught. The other half is divided by two (round up) and applied to other skills specified by the teacher (ie the referee).

Special Training

It is possible for characters to learn even more rapidly than described above. This may happen when the teacher is exceptional, and the character concentrates exclusively on one skill, or when supernatural methods are involved. In such cases, at the referee's discretion, the period of study required to make an improvement roll may be reduced.

In these cases, a roll should be made against the character's motivation score (adding bonuses for WILL and DILIGENCE, and ENDURANCE for physical skills) to see whether they managed to see through the special training regime. If they do, the amount of time taken to qualify for an improvement roll may be reduced to two or even one week.

For example, a character who is trained intensively by an Immortal may qualify for an improvement roll after only two weeks.

Becoming A Hero

It is possible for a normal character to become a hero. This is at the discretion of the referee, who may 'bestow' Hero status on a normal character who performs some exceptional feat, or who is affected by some extraordinary magic, divine patronage, or the like. The character will not gain any extra skills or abilities upon becoming a hero. They will be treated as a hero in those few rules which differentiate. They will also suffer the disadvantage of becoming exiled from society. Becoming a hero isn't all it's cracked up to be.

To keep up a fast comes from within; to break a fast comes from without

Motivation

As explained in the Characters chapter, player characters will have motivations which they can use in various ways, including the improvement of skills. Motivation can be obtained in the course of the game as described below.

Claiming Motivation

At appropriate points in an adventure, players may declare that they are going to claim motivation for their characters, based on the events that have happened. The principle of claiming motivation is that the players decide on the psychology of their characters. Although the list of motivations in the Characters chapter provides some idea of circumstances in which a character can claim motivation, these are only suggestions. It is up to the players to decide how events shape the psychology of their characters.

To claim motivation, the player rolls against an ease value of 7. If unsuccessful, there is no effect. If successful, half the degree of success is added to that motivation, and the remainder noted by the referee as bad joss (explained further in the Beliefs and Games chapters).

Once claimed, motivation can be used immediately.

Receiving Motivation

Referees may give single points of motivation to characters in special circumstances. If a referee feels that a particular event is sure to have a positive effect on a character's attitude, taking into account that character's particular motivation or motivations, a special award may be made. Motivation received in this way brings with it no bad joss.

Players are free to refuse points of motivation given them in this way, if they disagree with the referee's assessment of their character's personality.

Using Motivation

Motivation may be spent to improve the chance of improving skills, as described above. If the referee chooses to use the All-out Effort optional rule, points of motivation may also be spent to improve rolls.

Certain motivations may also be used in other game circumstances, and players may opt to use their motivations to drive game mechanics if they feel that it assists them in making decisions about their characters' actions.

For example, Buddhist motivations of Mercy, Enlightenment and Purity are used by monks when chanting, and by Buddhist sorcerers in channelling magical energy. Characters with motivations of Desire or Greed may choose to make a roll, with their motivation providing the ease, to see if they succumb to their craving.

Although role-playing is preferable, motivations may be used to resolve character dilemmas. A character with the motivation of Filial Piety who discovers that his father is a traitor will suffer a terrible dilemma. A player who cannot cope with this dilemma without assistance may like to roll with an ease of his accumulated stock of motivation to see whether devotion to his father outweighs conscience.

There is no need to toil like an ox for your children and grandchildren, for their pleasures are predestined

Fatigue

Characters may become fatigued for a number of reasons, including travelling, casting spells and over-exertion. Each point by which a character is fatigued is a point of energy which they cannot use until they have recovered from their fatigue.

Acquiring Fatigue

Characters may walk or ride up to four hours a day plus their ENDURANCE bonus without suffering from fatigue. However, characters who travel for longer than this, or who run or swim for more than one hour, must make a roll when they stop or are interrupted. Referees may also require that characters make a roll in other cases where they may have become fatigued, such as after climbing a mountain. Usually only one fatigue roll need be made per day.

The chance of becoming fatigued is 7, to which you should add any of the following:

The number of hours the character walked or rode in excess of the minimum (4 plus their ENDURANCE bonus)
The number of half hours the character ran in excess of the minimum (1)
The number of hours' sleep less than 6 that the character had last night
+1 if the character's sleep last night was interrupted
+1 if the character slept rough last night
+1-3 if the character has had insufficient food

The character should subtract from this chance their ENDURANCE bonus.

If the roll is successful, the character acquires fatigue of half the degree of success.

Characters may acquire fatigue directly in other ways:

Casting spells using the body's innate energy causes fatigue.
Running characters who push themselves to go faster will acquire fatigue immediately, as described under the RUNNING skill description.
Characters acquire one point of fatigue if their energy score is reduced to zero by suffering shock damage in combat.

Recovery

To recover from fatigue, a character requires a minimum of one hour's rest. You can make a roll after each period of rest (or sleep). The ease of recovery is 3, to which you should add your character's ENDURANCE bonus and +1 for each complete hour of sleep. You may also add half of the MEDICINE bonus of a doctor who provides treatment for fatigue.

Half the degree of success of this roll may be used to reduce the character's current fatigue.

Note that there are other methods of recovering from fatigue, such the imbibing of certain special cordials (Spring Wine or the Elixir of Life), magic, talismans and herbal preparations.

Medicine cures everyone not fated to die

Disease

There are a huge number of illnesses, all with different characteristics. In this game, disease is simplified. Referees are encouraged to embellish the rules description, to provide diseases with symptoms.

The most common cause of illness for the player characters will be accumulated bad joss. It is also possible to acquire diseases through poor environmental conditions. See the China chapter for more details about this.

Medical Theory

The common understanding of disease is based on the principles of harmony and balance. The human body is regulated by the five elements, and yin and yang, and harmony must be maintained between these for perfect health. If there is an imbalance, disease will result. The imbalance may be physical (caused by a poor diet, for example) or spiritual (inflicted by spirits).

The most common causes of disease are identified as the six excesses and the seven moods. The six excesses represent environmental conditions; they are wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness and fire. The seven moods represent emotional imbalance; they are joy, anger, anxiety, obsession, sorrow, horror and fear.

Treating illness requires the balance to be restored. There are many methods which may be used to achieve this: acupuncture, moxibustion, massage, talismans and, most common of all, administration of herbal compounds.

Catching A Disease

Ordinarily, characters will only be subject to a chance of catching a disease when they make a bad joss roll. If they find themselves in poor environmental conditions (bad weather, sleeping rough, among other diseased persons, etc), or making do with an inadequate diet, however, they will have to roll. These situations are explained in the China chapter, in the sections about Travelling, and Food.

When a character catches a disease, it is important to know the disease's virulence, and its duration.

Pathology

Suffering from a disease is a struggle. The disease attacks the character's body, which must fight back to avoid being overwhelmed. Each must make a roll:

To their energy, the character should add their HEALTH bonus, any bonus from medical treatment or the spell The Yellow Emperor's Method, and any bonus from a Talisman which protects against disease.

For the disease, to the bad joss of the character should be added the virulence of the disease, and any bonuses from environmental conditions and diet.

Roll each day the character is suffering from a disease. If the disease succeeds at its roll, then its degree of success is used to attack the character's body.

If the character succeeds at their roll, the degree of success may be used to reduce the damage from the disease suffered that day or to heal the disease damage already suffered or to reduce the duration of the disease. The player may choose how to apply the degree of success, and may divide it as preferred.

A character will continue to suffer from a disease as long as the disease still has points of duration remaining. Once the disease's duration is reduced to zero, the disease symptoms will clear up. The character may still suffer from disease damage, but they may continue to make daily rolls as above to heal this damage.

Disease Damage

The degree of success of a disease reduces the character's body total. If a disease reduces a character's body total to zero, the character is on the verge of death (see Death's Door, below).

As with wound damage, which will be explained in the next chapter, disease damage is divided according to its severity. The net amount of damage suffered in one day (after the character has reduced it with their energy and HEALTH roll) should be compared to the character's normal total body score. If it is equal to or greater than the body score, the shock is enough to kill the character immediately. Otherwise consult the table below, and apply its effects to the character's energy score.

A character whose energy score is reduced to zero by disease falls into a coma. They may continue to roll to resist the attacks of disease only if they are being given medical treatment.

body light bad serious fatal

5 1 2 3-4 5+

6 1 2-3 4-5 6+

7 1 2-3 4-6 7+

8 1-2 3-4 5-7 8+

9 1-2 3-4 5-8 9+

10 1-2 3-5 6-9 10+

11 1-2 3-5 6-10 11+

12 1-2 3-6 7-11 12+

13 1-3 4-6 7-12 13+

14 1-3 4-7 8-13 14+

15 1-3 4-7 8-14 15+

16 1-3 4-8 9-15 16+

17 1-3 4-8 9-16 17+

18 1-4 5-9 10-17 18+

19 1-4 5-9 10-18 19+

20 1-4 5-10 11-19 20+

Light Effects

Disease damage of up to a fifth of the character's normal total body causes light effects. The character is deprived of one point of energy while suffering from light effects of disease.

Bad Effects

Disease damage of more than a fifth, but up to a half of the character's normal total body deprives the character of the use of one point of energy per point of bad disease damage suffered.

Serious Effects

Disease damage of more than a half of the character's normal total body deprives the character of two points of energy per point of serious effects.

Symptoms

Whether or not they suffer any body or energy damage as a result of a disease, characters suffering from a disease will display symptoms. These are up to the referee to provide: they may be the obvious cold symptoms of chills, sneezing, coughing, fever and the like, or more exotic manifestations such as black boils, yellow skin or a foul smell.

Characters who do suffer from disease damage will usually suffer additional effects in the form of symptoms. These are up to the referee to decide, and should depend on the severity of the disease. In addition to the above-mentioned symptoms, more serious diseases may result in temporary blindness or deafness, amnesia, paralysis, and violent reactions to certain types of foods. A single disease will usually only cause one of these effects, so referees should resist the temptation to pile up woes for player characters.

Death's Door

When a character's body is reduced to 0 or less by disease the character's body souls, the po, can no longer inhabit the body for any length of time. However these don't shoot out of a body the instant the body is reduced to zero. They normally take a little time to prepare for their journey onward, and this may be a lifesaver. If the character's body can somehow be restored to 1 or more before the po leave the body, then the character will live.

To find out how many hours the character's souls will linger, the referee should roll against ease 10, adding all the character's basic ability bonuses. The degree of success is the number of hours of life remaining. During this period the character may receive one last roll for medical treatment, and make a final attempt to resist the effects of the disease. Failure to raise the body score above 0 means that the character is dead.

Healing Disease Damage

Disease damage is usually healed by the character's own body. The degree of success of the character's roll may be used as healing and applied to heal disease damage, as mentioned above. The amount of healing required depends on the type of disease damage.

Light disease damage may be healed one for one. Each point of healing removes one point of light disease damage.

Bad disease damage requires one point of healing for the first point, two for the second, three for the third and so on (just like buying a specific ability).

Serious disease damage requires two points of healing for the first point, four for the second and so on. You'll notice that it can take a long time to recover from serious disease damage.

Disabilities

Characters suffering damage from disease may end up with some form of permanent disability. This is explained in the section on bad joss in the Games chapter.

You can't sew without a needle and you can't row a boat without water

Other Situations

Most situations which arise will be covered by the rules given for the various bonuses, or in one of the other chapters. There are a few which require further explanation here, however.

Falling

Falling characters may make a roll of ease 8 plus LEAPING and GRACE bonuses. Situational modifiers may also be added of there is something to help break the fall: a tree, a rock face, a shop awning or whatever.

The degree of success is the number of feet a character can fall without suffering injury. As with leaping, heroes may multiply their degree of success by the power level of the game.

Damage suffered from a fall in excess of this distance depends on the surface on to which the character falls.

For a fall on to a hard surface such as stone, roll one die per additional yard fallen to determine damage suffered.
For a fall on to a softer surface such as earth, roll one die per additional two yards fallen.
For an even softer surface such as water, roll one die per additional three yards fallen.

Up to four points of falling damage may be taken off energy as shock damage.

Fire Damage

Characters who suffer fire damage may use their energy score to absorb up to 2 points as shock. Any excess, however, is subtracted from their body points, and counts as a bad wound for the purposes of healing.

Fire damage in general is highly variable. As a rough guide, having a blazing torch thrust in your face would cause one dice of damage.

Movement

Although it has been mentioned in the appropriate skills, it's worth providing average values for when you can't be bothered to roll the dice.

The first thing to note is a useful rule of thumb: one yard moved per round is equivalent to 2 miles per hour.

Personal Movement

The table below gives average values for different types of human movement. More details, especially about long-distance travelling, are given in other chapters.

Type Average Speed Per round

Walk 4mph 2 yards

Long distance run 8mph -

Sprint 16mph 8 yards

Swim 2mph 1 yard

Movement in combat is different: if combined with a combat roll it must be done as a secondary action. It is only possible to move if the character gets a higher combat roll than their opponent, and the moving roll is at ease 6 (including the penalty for being a secondary action) plus GRACE and FIGHTING. The degree of success is the number of feet moved.

Transportation

For rules covering travelling, see the China chapter. The values given below for horses are based on an average horse. Good and fine steeds will travel faster.

Type Average Speed Per round

Horse: trot 8mph 4 yards

Horse: gallop 24mph 12 yards

Palanquin 3mph 1.5 yards

Cart 4mph 2 yards

Sampan 1mph 0.5 yards

Junk 2mph 1 yard

Chases

When a character is chasing another, it isn't always necessary to be precise about the distances travelled. Instead you can just assign a number to represent the initial separation of the two characters, and conduct the chase as an opposed roll. The degree of success of the pursuing character will reduce the separation number, while that of the pursued character will increase it.

The same system can be applied for pursuits involving running and swimming, and even riding. In the latter case, if the horses are equal in class, the opposed roll should be between the riders' RIDING skills. Poor steeds subtract 2 from the RIDING roll, good steeds add 2, and fine steeds add 4.

As rolling every round may well get boring, it's better to roll every ten seconds. That way, if you need to know the distance travelled, you can find it by simply multiplying the distance moved in one round by 10.

Poisons

A fantastic variety of poisons is available to the unscrupulous. Using poison is by no means an honourable way of dealing with an enemy, but for all that it is effective and therefore popular. Most poisons are designed to be ingested orally, though some can be smeared on weapons (these latter rarely have a virulence of more than 5, however).

As there are so many poisons available, it is up to the referee to decide on the characteristics of any particular poison. As a general guideline, the following rules can be used: a poison is rated for virulence and rapidity. The former is akin to the virulence of a disease; it refers to the poison's potency. The rapidity of a poison determines how quickly it takes effect: it is measured in seconds, minutes, or hours. It shows how often the character and the poison have to make a roll.

Suffering From Poisons

When a character ingests a poison, the poison starts to take effect after the period of time given by its rapidity. A roll is made a little like the roll to resist a disease. In the case of poisons, however, the character's ease is based on their body, to which may be added their HEALTH and any bonuses from talismans, or from resistance to that type of poison.

The poison's roll is made against a fixed ease of 7, plus its virulence. If the poison succeeds at its roll its degree of success is suffered as damage by the character (see the next section).

If the character succeeds at their roll, half their degree of success may be used to resist the effects of the poison, including those already suffered. If the character is suffering from no effects of the poison, then half the degree of success can be subtracted from the poison's chance of success.

Poison rolls continue to be made with a frequency of the poison's rapidity, until either the character is dead, or the poison's chance of success reaches 1 or less, at which point the poison has been neutralised.

A character who successfully neutralises a poison gains a bonus of 1 to all future rolls to resist that poison.

Poison Damage

Most poison damage attacks the character's energy first. Once the energy is reduced to zero, the character is paralysed and unable to act. The poison will then start to attack their body.

Poison damage to energy may be resisted by successful rolls by the character, as explained above. Points of poison damage equal to half the degree of success are stopped.

If a character manages to neutralise a poison, the remaining damage must be healed gradually. Every day the character can make one roll as if fighting the poison (ease is body score plus HEALTH and any other bonuses). Half the degree of success may be used to heal poison damage.

Making Poisons

Characters may attempt to buy poisons though this is, of course, a risky endeavour. Alternatively they may attempt to obtain poisons of their own. The appropriate plants and ingredients are not that easy to find, but with a little skill can be discoevered.

The basic ease of a finding a suitable poison in the countryside is 2, to which the character's PLANT LORE and WILDERNESS LORE bonuses should be added. The degree of success of the roll is the virulence of the poison found.

Most natural poisons are relatively slow acting, and will therefore have a rapidity of around half an hour. The referee is at libery to decide on the rapidity of the poison found. There are some rapid acting poisons to be found in the wilds.

Characters with ALCHEMY skill may attempt to refine natural poisons in order to increase their effect. The ease is 4, with bonuses in ALCHEMY and PLANT LORE being added to the roll. The degree of success is added to the virulence of the poison. Refining a poison may also make it faster acting, reduces the value for rapidity. An exceptional roll may manage to reduce the rapidity to a matter of a few seconds.

Only one roll may be made to refine a poison.

Antidotes

Finding antidotes to poisons is done in the same way as finding a poison, as described above. The degree of success is the bonus which is added to the victim's roll to resist the poison. As with poisons, antidotes may be refined using ALCHEMY to enchance their effects. The problem here is that this takes at least half an hour.

body	light	bad	serious	fatal
5	1	2	3-4	5+
6	1	2-3	4-5	6+
7	1	2-3	4-6	7+
8	1-2	3-4	5-7	8+
9	1-2	3-4	5-8	9+
10	1-2	3-5	6-9	10+
11	1-2	3-5	6-10	11+
12	1-2	3-6	7-11	12+
13	1-3	4-6	7-12	13+
14	1-3	4-7	8-13	14+
15	1-3	4-7	8-14	15+
16	1-3	4-8	9-15	16+
17	1-3	4-8	9-16	17+
18	1-4	5-9	10-17	18+
19	1-4	5-9	10-18	19+
20	1-4	5-10	11-19	20+

Type	Average Speed	Per round
Walk	4mph	2 yards
Long distance run	8mph	-
Sprint	16mph	8 yards
Swim	2mph	1 yard