Grognards & Bogeymen: Essence
Playing like it's 1974!
Introduction and Basic Rules
Playing Grognards & Bogeymen: Essence evokes the spirit of the original fantasy role-playing game experience from 1974, offering players a journey into the roots of tabletop RPGs. It feels like stepping into a time machine, recapturing the simplicity, sense of discovery, and raw creativity that defined the early days of fantasy RPGs.
With a focus on imagination rather than elaborate mechanics, players find themselves in a world where every choice feels significant, dice rolls can be unpredictable, and the rules act as a framework rather than a constraint. The game encourages improvisation, presenting rules as guidelines that foster the same spirit of exploration and rules crafting encountered by the original players.
It's about collaboratively creating a story where the outcome of the adventure isn’t dictated by complex rulebooks but rather by the whims of the dice, the creativity of the Game Master, and the players' willingness to dive into an uncharted, fantastical landscape.
Introduction: Grognards & Bogeymen: Essence is a role-playing game where players create characters to explore dungeons, fight monsters, and gain treasure.
Character Creation:
Choose Class: Fighter, Magic-User, or Cleric.
Fighter: Uses swords, bows, etc. You can wear any armor.
Magic-User: Uses spells, limited to daggers, staves, and no armor.
Cleric: Uses blunt weapons, can wear armor, and has healing spells.
Characters Class:
Fighter: Includes fighters, elves, dwarves, and halflings. They can use all magical weapons and have more hit points but are limited in using non-weapon magical items and can't cast spells. High-level fighters become Barons with a base income from taxes.
Strength is the primary requisite for fighters. Clerics can use strength at a 3-1 ratio in their primary requisite area (wisdom) to gain experience only. Strength will also assist in disarming traps, among other tasks.
Magic-Users: Includes humans and elves. They start weak but can become the most powerful, using all magical items except weapons and armor (elves can use some). They can only use daggers for weapons. High-level magic-users can create magical items like potions and scrolls.
Intelligence is the primary requirement for magical characters. Fighters and Clerics can utilize Intelligence in their core attributes (Strength for Fighters and Wisdom for Clerics) on a 2-for-1 basis. Additionally, Intelligence can influence referees' decisions regarding whether specific actions can be taken, allowing for the possibility of speaking extra languages.
Magic-User Research: Any Magic-User can research spells at any level, but success depends on their level of magic. For example, a Magic User who can cast 4th-level spells can study or develop new spells up to that level. More details on this are in the SPELLS section.
Clerics: Only for humans, they use blunt weapons, can wear armor, and have access to healing and other spells.
Wisdom is the primary requirement for Clerics. Fighters can use Wisdom at a 3-to-1 ratio, while Magic-Users can utilize it at a 2-to-1 ratio in their respective areas of expertise. The Wisdom rating functions similarly to the Intelligence rating.
Capabilities: Clerics combine aspects of Fighting-Men and Magic-Users, using magic armor and non-edged magical weapons, and have their own spells. They can utilize more magical items than fighters.
Stronghold: A Cleric can build a stronghold at the highest level (Patriarch). For every 100,000 Gold Pieces spent, they get a fortress worth twice that amount, attracting loyal followers, including heavy cavalry, mounted crossbowmen, and infantry.
Alignment: High-level Clerics (7th level+) are either "Law" or "Chaos." Changing alignment results in the loss of all unique benefits.
Territory: Like fighters, they control territory and receive tithes of 20 Gold Pieces per inhabitant yearly.
Character Race:
Dwarves:
Class: Can only be Fighters.
Level Cap: Max level 6.
Advantages:
Strong magic resistance (saving throws as if four levels higher).
Mastery of +3 Magic War Hammer.
A keen sense of underground features.
Speak Gnome, Kobold, and Goblin languages.
Elves:
Classes: Can be Fighters or Magic-Users, switching between adventures but not within a session.
Level Caps: 4th level as Fighter, 8th as Magic-User.
Traits: Gain benefits from both classes; good at detecting secrets.
Languages: Orc, Hobgoblin, Gnoll, Elvish.
Halflings:
Class: Limited to Fighter.
Level Cap: Max level 4.
Advantages: Magic resistance (saving throws as if four levels higher).
Attributes: Roll 2d8+4† for each of Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.
Strength affects melee combat.
Strength is the primary requisite for fighters. Clerics can use strength at a 3-1 ratio in their primary requisite area (wisdom) to gain experience only. Strength will also assist in disarming traps, among other tasks.
Intelligence for Magic-Users.
Intelligence is the primary requirement for magical characters. Fighters and Clerics can utilize Intelligence in their core attributes (Strength for Fighters and Wisdom for Clerics) on a 2-for-1 basis. Additionally, Intelligence can influence referees' decisions regarding whether specific actions can be taken, allowing for the possibility of speaking extra languages.
Wisdom for Clerics.
Wisdom is the primary requirement for Clerics. Fighters can use Wisdom at a 3-to-1 ratio, while Magic-Users can utilize it at a 2-to-1 ratio in their respective areas of expertise. The Wisdom rating functions similarly to the Intelligence rating.
Dexterity for AC and missile combat.
Dexterity affects both manual speed and spellcasting ability. It determines a character's proficiency with missiles and their quickness in actions like shooting first or casting spells.
Constitution for hit points.
Constitution measures health and endurance, influencing hit points and resistance to effects like paralysis or petrification.
Charisma for NPC reactions.
Charisma is a mix of appearance, personality, and other traits. Its primary purpose is influencing how many unique hirelings a character can attract. This doesn't mean a character cannot hire regular soldiers or employ mercenaries; however, the character's charisma will impact these individuals' loyalty. Players will likely aim to hire Fighting Men, Magic-Users, and Clerics to enhance their roles in the campaign. (See Charisma Chart.)
Hit Points: Roll 1d6 for each level of Fighter, 1d4 for Magic-User, or 1d6 for Cleric at the first level.
Starting Money: Roll 3d6 again to find initial Gold Pieces (result × 10).
Character Choice: Players choose their character's role with these scores and the amount of gold for the start of the adventure.
Bonuses and penalties are due to Ability Scores. (See chart.)
Languages:
Common Tongue:
She is universally known among humans on the continent.
Approximately 20% of creatures and monsters also speak this language.
Creature Languages:
Each type of creature or monster has its language.
Divisional Languages:
Law, Chaos, and Neutrality each have their language.
Creatures speaking these languages will recognize and may react to divisional languages that are not their own, potentially leading to hostility.
Language Acquisition:
Characters with Intelligence above ten can learn additional languages:
One language per point of Intelligence above 10.
Example: An Intelligence of 15 allows for five additional languages in addition to the common and divisional languages, totaling seven.
Magical Means:
Spells and magic items can facilitate communication in languages the character does not know.