Warning!Violence and the Supernatural

The fantasy World of the Palladium Role-Playing Game is violent, deadly and filled with magic and mon-sters. Other dimensional beings, demons, and sorcerers torment, stalk and enslave humans. Monsters, gods,magic, insanity, cannibalism, war and heroic adventure are all elements of this book.

Some parents may find the violence and supernatural elements inappropriate for young readers/players. Wesuggest parental discretion.

Please note that none of us at Palladium Books condone or encourage the occult, the practice of magic, theuse of drugs, or violence.

A complete role-playing game.Compatible with the entire Palladium Books Megaverse!

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Dedicated to the Defilers, each and every one of them, for an epic adventure that I will always remember.This one is for you; Thorn, Ken, Steve, Julius, Alex, Bill, Mark, Dave, Tony, Rusty, Al, Ziggy, Ron, Vince,Terry, Jeff, Kerry, and all the rest. 15 years later and I remember the adventures like they were yesterday. Longlive Narabium (ha!) and the Nameless Lord!

Kevin Siembieda, 1996

Special Thanks to Julius Rosenstein for introducing me to role-playing games without Julius there wouldbe no Palladium Books. Erick Wujcik for 17 years of friendship and his ideas and suggestions during my devel-opment of concepts for the basic Palladium game system back in 1979-1981. And for all those great experiencesat the Detroit Gaming Center (not mention endless discussions to this day about storytelling, game theory andeverything one can think of). Randi and Roger Cartier for all of their suggestions, ideas, encouragement andkindness over the years.

To Maryann for her constant support, trust and faith in me. Thorn for investing in the original RPG editionwhich was pivotal in launching my company and the years of adventure that have followed. To Martin McKennafor his beautiful artwork. Alex, Steve, Jim, Kevin, Hank and all the Palladium wizards for helping to make mydreams a reality.

Kevin Siembieda 1996

Third Printing October, 1998

Original Printing 1983

Copyright 1983, 1988, 1991, 1996 Palladium Books Inc.Copyright 1983, 1988, 1991, 1996 by Kevin Siembieda

All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention, World Wide. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form orby any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents, situations, institutions, governmentsand people are fictional and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

Palladium Books, Rifts and Megaverse are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.The Mind Mage, Diabolist, Summoner, Tristine Chronicles, Dragonwright, Wolfen, Baalgor Wastelands, Yin-Sloth Jungles, Adventures on the HighSeas, Monsters & Animals, Beyond the Supernatural, Heroes Unlimited, Palladium Fantasy RPG, and other names and titles are trademarks owned byKevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.Owner of Trademarks Palladium Books, Rifts and Megaverse. Kevin Siembieda. Licensed User: Palladium Books Inc.

Palladium Fantasy RPG: 2nd Edition is published by Palladium Books Inc., 12455 Universal Drive,Taylor, MI 48180. Printed in the USA.

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Created, Written & Designed By: Kevin Siembieda

Senior Editor: Alex Marciniszyn

Editors: James OstenKevin KirstenJulius Rosenstein

Cover Painting: Martin McKenna

Pencil Artist: Kevin Siembieda

Interior Artists: Martin McKennaVince MartinKevin SiembiedaScott JohnsonMichael KucharskiR.K. Post

Maps: Kevin Siembieda

Art Direction & Keylining: Kevin Siembieda

Typography: Maryann Siembieda

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Table of ContentsThe World of Palladium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

How to Play a Role-Playing Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12What You Need to Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Glossary of Role-Playing T e r m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Creating a C h a r a c t e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Step 1: The Eight Attributes & Attribute B o n u s e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Attribute Bonus C h a r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Different Applications of Physical Strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Throwing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Movement and Exertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Supernatural Strength & D a m a g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Speed C h a r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Step 2: Hit Points & S.D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Determining Hit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18S.D.C. or Structural Damage C a p a c i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Recovery of Hit Points & S.D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Surviving Coma and D e a t h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Optional Damage Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Step 3: How to Determine Psionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Random Psionics T a b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Step 4: Selecting a Race and O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Skills and Skill Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Skill B o n u s e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Multiple Character Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Step 5: Equipment and M o n e y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Step 6: Rounding Out One's Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22A l i g n m e n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Good Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Selfish A l i g n m e n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Evil Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Insanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Trauma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Insanity Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Random Insanity T a b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Affective Disorders T a b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Neurosis Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Psychosis T a b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Phobia Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Obsession Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Cures for Insanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Addiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Alcoholism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Drug Withdrawal and Recovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Experience P o i n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Why an Experience Point System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Experience Points and Their Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Experience and Hit Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Experience Points T a b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Character Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Birth O r d e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32H e i g h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Disposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33E n v i r o n m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Social Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Racial B i a s e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Notes on A g i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Notes on Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Tips on Role-Playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Game Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

The Game Master and the Art of S t o r y t e l l i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Telling the Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Dice and Chance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Reactions and C o n s e q u e n c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Crime and P u n i s h m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Mercy in C o m b a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Combat R u l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Step 1: Determine I n i t i a t i v e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Step 2: Attacker Rolls Strike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Step 3: Defender May Parry, Dodge, or E n t a n g l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Step 4: Attacker Rolls Damge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Step 5: Defender May Attempt to Roll with Impact/Punch . . . . . . 43Combat S e q u e n c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Combat Terms and M o v e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44No Hand to Hand Combat Skill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Saving T h r o w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6S.D.C. V a l u e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Hand to Hand C o m b a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Hand to Hand: B a s i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Hand to Hand: E x p e r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Hand to Hand: Martial Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Hand to Hand: Assassin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Psychic C o m b a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Saving Throws against Psychic Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Inner Strength Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Horror F a c t o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Skill Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Skill L i s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Education and Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Skill M o d i f i e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Communication and Performing Arts Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Domestic Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Espionage S k i l l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Horsemanship Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Medical Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Military Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Physical Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Rogue and Thief S k i l l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Science S k i l l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Scholar, Technical, and Noble S k i l l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Weapon Proficiencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Wilderness Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Player Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Money and E q u i p m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62List of O.C.C.s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Clergy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Priest of Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Armor and C o m b a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Allegiance to a God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Special Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Knowledge and Abilities . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Travelling Priest O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Priests of Darkness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Special Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Priest of Darkness O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Warrior Monk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Special Training and M a s t e r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Warrior Monk O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Druid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Druidic Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74The Five Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Druids and A r m o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Experience Levels and P o w e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Druid O.C.C.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Men of Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

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Mercenary Warrior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78S o l d i e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Long B o w m a n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

The Code of C h i v a l r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Palladin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Ranger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90T h i e f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Thieves' Guilds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Thieves' Guilds Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

A s s a s s i n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Optional O . C . C . s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Merchant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96N o b l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96S c h o l a r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97S q u i r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Vagabond/Peasant or Farmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99The Ways of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Magic G u i l d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Magic Guilds S e r v i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 4Conversion of Spell S c r o l l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Warlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 8Notes about E l e m e n t a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I l lW i t c h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112G i f t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113The P a c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Devil's Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Demon F a m i l i a r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Diabolist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 7Power W o r d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Secrets of Runes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Knowledge and A b i l i t i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Diabolist O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Ward M a g i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Ward Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Ward P l a c e m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Affixing Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Ward Energizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Saving T h r o w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Ward Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122The Ward Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Ward Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Multiple Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Ward C o m p o n e n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Rune Symbols Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Ward Creation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Destroying Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124The Ward A r s e n a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Ward Limitations and Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Ward Symbols and Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Area Affect W a r d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Ward S y m b o l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Damage and Effects of Condition Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Mystic S y m b o l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Other S y m b o l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Inflict Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Permanence Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Power Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Protection W a r d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Trigger Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Summoner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 5Summoner O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

List of Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Circles of Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Summoning C i r c l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Battle of Wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Maintaining Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Subservient Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Releasing Circle Slaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Summoning Circle Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Circles of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Power Circles I l l u s t r a t e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Psionic P o w e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Who has Psionic P o w e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Inner Strength Points (I.S.P.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Meditation and Recovery of Inner Strength Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Saving Throws Against Psionic A t t a c k s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Influence of Ley Line E n e r g y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Psionic Attacks Per Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Psionic Abilities in Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Psychic Character Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Psychic Sensitive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Psi-Healer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158P s i - M y s t i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Mind Mage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Psionic Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162List of Psionic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Healing Psionic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Physical Psionic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Sensitive Psionic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168Super Psionic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 9How does Magic Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179The Mastery of Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Other Sources of P . P . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Ley Lines, Nexus Points and P . P . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Known Places of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Random Ley Line Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182The Pursuit of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Types of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Learning Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Magic Combat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Saving T h r o w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Canceling Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Magic Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185P o s s e s s i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Alphabetical Spell List by Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Alphabetical Spell List by Page Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Wizard Spell Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Spells of Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Elemental Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 8Alphabetical List by Level and Element. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Alphabetical List by Page N u m b e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Air Elemental M a g i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Earth Elemental Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227Fire Elemental Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Water Elemental Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238More Water Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Alchemy & Magic Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245The Alchemist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Magic Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Spell M a g i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Magic Scrolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Price Notes for Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Magic A r m o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Magic Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Transformable W e a p o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Rune Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Holy Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252Magic Rings, Bracelets, Charms and Medallions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Magic P o t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Magic P o w d e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Magic Fumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Magic Crystals and S tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Guardian Stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Magic F a b r i c s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257Magic Make-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258Other Articles of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Faerie F o o d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Miscellaneous Magic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261C u r s e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Poisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264H e r b l o r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Euphoric D r u g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265H a l l u c i n o g e n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Mind Alteration Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Other Types of D r u g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Natural Herbal Potions, Powders, and Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 8E q u i p m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Body Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270B a r d i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Repairing A r m o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Kobold Manufactured I t e m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Dwarven Manufactured Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Superior A r m o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272Additional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272Gems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 5M e t a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275Precious Gems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275Semi Precious Stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275List of Gems and Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276List of Semi-Precious Stones and Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276The Palladium W o r l d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Palladium Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277The Age of C h a o s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277The Age of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277The Battle of Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279The Age of a Thousand Magicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279The Age of Elves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279The Millenium of Purification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280The Time of Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280Timeline S u m m a r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281World O v e r v i e w . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282The Kingdom of Bizantium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282The Great Northern Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282The Northern Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Ophids's G r a s s l a n d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282The Land of the Damned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283The Western E m p i r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283The Isle of the C y c l o p s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283The Eastern Territory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283Phi and L o p a n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284Old Kingdom Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284The Old K i n g d o m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284Mount Nimro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Baalgor Wastelands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Timiro K i n g d o m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Land of the South Winds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286The Yin-Sloth Jungles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Map of the Known World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Player R a c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288H u m a n k i n d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288The E l f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290Dwarves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Gnomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Troglodytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295Kobolds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297G o b l i n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299Goblin C o b b l e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300H o b - G o b l i n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300Orcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Ogres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304Trolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306Changelings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308Wolfen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309C o y l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 3Sub-Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 3G a r g o y l i t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313G a r g o y l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314G a r g o y l e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314Gargoyle Mage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314Gargoyle Lords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Lesser Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Alu Demon H o u n d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Aquatics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Banshee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Couril . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317L a b a s s u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317G h o u l s / N a s u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Lasae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318S h e d i m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319Mares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320Succubus/Incubus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320Greater D e m o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321Baal-rog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321Demon Locust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322G a l l u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322J i n n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Magots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Night O w l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324R a k s a s h a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325Demon Lords of Hades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325Deevil H o r d e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Lesser D e e v i l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Deevils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Devilkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Dire H a r p i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Fenry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328F i e n d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328Gorgons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329Imps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330Greater D e e v i l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 1Arch Fiends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331H o r r o r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331Serpents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332W r a i t h s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332B e a s t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332Deevil Lords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333True G i a n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Experience Point Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Quick FindAlignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23A t t r i b u t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Armor: Types & P r i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Armor: Magic (Alchemis t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Code of C h i v a l r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Combat Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Crime & P u n i s h m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40D e e v i l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Demon Familiar ( W i t c h ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115E q u i p m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Guild: T h i e f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Guild: Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Hit P o i n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Horror F a c t o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48How to Create a Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14I.S.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Map of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287Palladium World Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282P . P . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Prayers (Priest O.C.C.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 & 68Psionics: C o m b a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Psionics: Determination of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Psionics: Power Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255S.D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Tables: A l i g n m e n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Tables: Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Tables: Experience Tables by O.C.C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336Tables: Experience, How to Determine . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Tables: Hand to Hand Combat T y p e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Tables: I n s a n i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Tables: Optional Character Background . . . . . . . . . . . 32Tables: Optional Damage Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Tables: S.D.C. Values List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Tables: Speed Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Tables: Supernatural S t r e n g t h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Tables: Throwing O b j e c t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17T i m e l i n e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Tips on R o l e - P l a y i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Weapons: Types & P r i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Weapons: Magic ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249R a c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

MagicCircles (See S u m m o n e r ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Curses (Dark Priest) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Curses ( o p t i o n a l ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264Dragons (see Dragons & Gods book)Elemental Beings (see Dragons & Gods book)Elemental Magic Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Faeries' Dance S p e l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Faerie Folk (see Monsters & Animals 2nd Ed.)

Faerie Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Familiar Link (Spell). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Familiar: Demon (Witch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Giants (see Monsters & Animals 2nd Ed.)Gods (see Dragons & Gods book)Holy Weapons ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252How Magic Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Learning Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Ley L i n e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Magic Armor ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Magic Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Magic Charms & Rings (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Magic Circles ( S u m m o n e r ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Magic Components ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Magic Crystals (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Magic Curses (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Magic Elemental Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Magic Fumes ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Magic G u i l d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Magic Items (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Magic P.P.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Magic Potions ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Magic Poisons ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Magic Powders ( A l c h e m i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254Magic Spells: Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Magic Spells: Warlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Magic Symbols ( D i a b o l i s t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Magic Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Magic Weapons (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Religions (see Dragons & Gods book)Runes (Diabolist). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 117 & 124Rune Weapons (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Saving T h r o w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Scroll Conversion (Wizard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Scrolls for Sale (Alchemist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Spell Caster (Wizard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Spell Descriptions: W i z a r d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Spell Descriptions: Warlock/Elemental . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Wards (Diabolist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Occupational Character ClassesClergyDruid O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73MonkO.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Priest of Light O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Priest of Darkness O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Men of ArmsAssassin O.C.C.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Knight O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Long Bowman O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Mercenary O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Palladin O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Ranger O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Soldier O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Thief O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Optional O.C.C.sMerchant O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Noble O . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Scholar O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Squire O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Vagabond/Peasant/Farmer O.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Practitioners of MagicAlchemist NPC (non-player character) . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Diabolist O.C.C. (circles and wards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Mind Mage P.C.C. (see P.C.C.s and psionics)Summoner O.C.C. (circles and demonology)........ 135Warlock O.C.C. (elemental magic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Witch O.C.C. (servant of evil) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Wizard O.C.C. (spell c a s t e r ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

PsychicsMind Mage P.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Psi-Healer P.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Psi-Mystic P.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Psychic Sensitive P . C . C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Passages fromthe Tristine ChroniclesAge of Chaos & Humans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288Baalgor W a s t e l a n d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280Battle of Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279Diabolist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Elf-Dwarf War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100, 280Old Kingdom Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Old Ones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288SummonersTime of a Thousand Magicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Witches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

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The World of PalladiumI have called the Second Edition Palladium Fantasy RPG the

Rifts of fantasy games, and I mean it. The Palladium Fantasy serieswill offer an expansive world of magic and monsters, swords and sor-cery, heroes and villains. A world of high fantasy where the forces oflight and dark clash in their eternal struggle for dominance over theother. A struggle that involves ancient gods, mythic creatures, heroesand people from all walks of life. A struggle that, sooner or later, forcesevery last man, woman and child to step forward and take a stand on theside of good or evil. The stories are of survival, courage and triumph.The heroes yours for the making.

The Second Edition Palladium Fantasy RPG is much more than acosmetic upgrading to make the game system and characters more eas-ily adaptable to Rifts and completely compatible with Heroes Unlim-ited, Ninjas & Superspies, Beyond the Supernatural and all ourother S.D.C. based games. You hold in your hands, four months of loveand work. I've added substantially to the history, color and details abouteverything in the Palladium World.

The Second Edition Palladium Fantasy RPG is only the first in aseries of books that will explore and develop the Palladium World.Other books in this series will include revised Second Editions of theoriginal series, including Old Ones, Adventures on the High Seas, andMonsters & Animals, as well as new titles like Dragons & Gods, TheWolfen Wars, The Old Kingdom and many others. All will offer thesame care and attention to detail as we build a tantalizing and everchanging world of magic, monsters, heroes and mayhem. With the up-dated rules, Palladium becomes an easily accessible world in the everexpanding Palladium Megaverse where the possibilities are infiniteand the adventure neverending. Yet at the same time, the PalladiumWorld can stand alone as a breathtaking, intoxicating place filled withwonders and horrors, heroes and villains woven into a galvanizing his-tory.

To realize my full vision of the Palladium World, I've had to add in-formation, artwork and expand the page count. This also means I had toremove some of the old stuff. Long-time fans should not despair at this,because the things that have been removed, like gods and dragons, willbe expanded into their own world and sourcebooks like Dragons &Gods, which I'll be working on soon.

ChangesWhy do a second edition of the Palladium RPG in the first place?

Sales were still solid and people loved it.A few reasons.First, there hasn't been a major revision of the game since its release

in 1983. Since that time, I've made a number of changes and innova-tions to the original game system. Things like S.D.C. and P.P.E. magic

that people love, and which appear in all (or most) of Palladium's othergames. It was time to do a revision.

More importantly, I wanted to make the Palladium World the dy-namic place I had always envisioned. As good and loved as the originalfantasy game was, it was never exactly what I had originally envi-sioned. In 1983, Palladium Books was a tiny newcomer to the role-playing market. I had very limited resources (mainly me and the helpinghand of a few friends like Alex, Erick, Matt and Ed) and barely enoughmoney to publish the game. The Palladium RPG would be the first per-fect-bound softcover RPG ever marketed; back then everything washardcover or put in a box. Only adventure and sourcebooks were soft-covers and they were saddle-stitched magazine style, flat and sta-pled. Many of my 30 distributors expressed grave concern over this(then) revolutionary packaging. One of the big guys even told me that itmight destroy my company. Already taking what many saw as a bigrisk, everybody insisted that I don't go completely crazy and publish agame with a very unique and specific world of my own creation. ForPete's sake, make it more generic! The idea being that a more genericbook would have greater universal appeal. Actually, I should haveknown better. The Mechanoid Invasion series had done very well, anda few years later the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Robotech adap-tations, both with very specific settings and unique characters, wouldbecome blockbusters surpassed only by Rifts, my ultimate RPG envi-ronment. Ah, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. Without it, I decided toplay down on the uniqueness of the world and many of the differenttypes and approaches to magic, the broad range of nonhuman playercharacters, and especially, the history, kingdoms and conflicts of thePalladium World.

The book did great and the fantasy series became the cornerstone ofPalladium Books. Later books in the fantasy series would place moreemphasis on the world, races and history. And I was glad to see playersquickly recognized the incredible range and playability of the magicand psionic system. Still, I felt cheated; it just wasn't everything I hadintended. I wanted to share that full zestful world with everybody outthere. So, I decided to pull a "George Lucas," by going back into myold, favorite creation and make it better. Then, like Lucas with StarWars, I'm going to add to the saga with new world and adventure booksto make the Second Edition Palladium Fantasy RPG series the mostepic, fun and best damn fantasy games on the market! The readers/play-ers will learn more about the Elf-Dwarf Wars, Time of a ThousandMagicks, the Old Ones, the Wolfen Empire, the different races andmore! Old nightmares will be awakened and new terrors will arise. Oldheroes will die and new ones will be born in an epic struggle betweengood and evil, wrapped in adventures of high fantasy, just the way youlike it!

Kevin Siembieda

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How to Play aRole-Playing Game

Role-playing games are really just an advanced form of regularboard games. In fact, they are so advanced that they no longer use aboard. Some of the elements are still the same; you still need paper andpencil, dice, and players, but the main thing you need to play is imagi-nation.Imagine the Scene

Picture stone stairs leading down into the earth. At the bottom ofstairs is a room. It may have once been a basement, a cellar, or one ofmany chambers of a dwarven city. The brick walls are covered in dustand cobwebs. With every step you take down the stairs, your feet cre-ates a little cloud of dust. At the bottom of the stairs, if you turn andlook around, the entire cellar lies before you. A few broken crates restnear the foot of the stairs. What looks like an old trunk is partially bur-ied under a pile of tattered rags and debris. A huge pile of rubbish com-pletely fills one of the far corners. It's too dark to tell for certain, but thedebris pile looks to be composed of clothes and sticks. Or are thosebones? You'd have to light a torch and walk closer to get a better look.

Can you picture this scene? Try to keep the mental image in yourhead. Don't worry if you forget some of the details; one of the greatthings about role-playing is the way your memory improves with prac-tice. Now you are ready for the next step.Imagine the Setting

A foul odor is mingled with the musty basement air. As your eyesadjust to the darkness, you realize there is an opening in the wall behindthe stairs. If there was ever a door, it's rotted away or fallen off. Conse-quently, all you can see is the dark rectangular shape of the doorwaywhere what feeble light there is tries to penetrate. From the blacknessrises a hoarse, inhuman chuckle and the rattle of bones skittering acrossthe stone floor.

Like a cameraman in a film, the scene is established and now our at-tention is focused on a specific setting, the blackness behind the stairs.We have also established an atmosphere and the beginning of action.Got all that? Good. Now let's figure out where you, the player, fit intothis.Imagine the Character

Now here comes the tricky part. YOU are not in the cellar, but thereis somebody whose eyes you see through. That person is your character.An imaginary individual that is your playing piece in the game. Just likean actor assuming a role for a movie, you play a fictitious character inthe game. It is your imaginary character who is standing at the bottomof the staircase, eyes squinted, trying to peer into the darkness. It is yourimaginary character who is a wizard with magic powers, and who re-acts and interacts with the other playing pieces the other characters.

Normally, you will spend an hour or so developing your playercharacter. Once the character has been created, you will probably con-tinue playing it for many weeks, perhaps even years.

In our example, you character is standing at the bottom of the stairsin a subterranean chamber. A chilling, inhuman laughter is coming fromwhat appears to be a dark, connecting room only 10 or 15 feet (3 or 4.6m) away (remember the scene? The setting? See how it all comes to-gether now?)

Imagine the ActionActually, you need one more important ingredient to make a role-

playing game work, the Game Master. The Game Master (G.M.) is an-other player (a real person) who controls and acts out all the charactersin the game which are not the characters of other players. It is the GameMaster who, like the director of a film, establishes the setting, builds thescenes, introduces antagonists and keeps the action moving. This meansthe Game Master will play/act out the friendly police officer, thegrumpy old man, and the hideous thing under the stairs. In this exam-ple, you are the only player and I am acting as the Game Master (G.M.).

The Game Master says to you: "You hear this hoarse, rasping laughcoming from the opening beneath the stairs. It doesn't sound human.The laughter is getting louder and seems to be getting closer. You real-ize that whatever it is, if it lunges from the darkness, it can be on you ina matter of seconds! What are YOU (your character) going to do?

At this point, you must decide what your playing piece, your char-acter, is going to do. Does he (or she) slowly inch toward the stairs,with a hand on his sword? Does he flee back up the stairs and into thecomforting light of day (and where his comrades, other player charac-ters, may wait)? Or does he stand his ground and shout "Who's there?"into the darkness? Perhaps the wizard casts a spell of protection overhimself, or prepares to cast a globe of daylight spell to better see who orwhat lurks in the darkness. The decision is yours. The Game Masterwill have your opponent(s) respond to your character's actions. Likeimprovisational theater, you, your fellow players, and the Game Masterare all building an adventure, a story. When the game is over, you'llhave a complete chapter of a larger story forever locked in you mem-ory. A story that you helped to create.

In a role-playing game there are no simple answers. There are alsoalmost no limits to what you and your fellow players can do. The onlyrestrictions are that you cannot go beyond the physical, mental andemotional limits of your character.

Note: For insight into role-playing, take a peek at the section offer-ing tips and suggestions on playing and game mastering.

What You Need to PlayOther than imagination, this book, two or more players, and a Game

Master, you'll need the following:Paper and Pen for taking notes and keeping track of equipment,

experience points and other data you may feel is important.Character Log Sheets: Over 20 character sheets are provided in

Palladium RPG Book 3: Adventures on the High Seas. Thesesheets can be photocopied and used for your personal use and enjoy-ment.

Dice: 2 four-sided, 4 six-sided, 2 eight-sided, 2 ten-sided dice, and 2twenty-sided dice. These can be purchased at most hobby stores andmany comic book shops; even many mainstream book stores carry suchdice. They can also be acquired through mail order and at gaming con-ventions. You can find out about gaming conventions, stores and mailorder from magazines like Dragon, Shadis, Pyramid and others.These role-playing game magazines can be found in book stores andhobby shops around the world, so check 'em out.

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Sourcebooks, world books and adventure books are all supple-ments published to expand on the fictional world and to provide theG.M. and players with more world information, characters, villains,monsters, equipment, powers, adventures and ideas. Supplements areadd-ons provided for your entertainment, should you want to use them.However, you can build your own adventures and create you own arrayof villains and adventures with just the book in your hands.

Furthermore, because all of Palladium's role-playing games use thesame basic set of rules, once you learn one Palladium game, you canplay all of them! That also means you can take the magic, special pow-ers, weapons, equipment, monsters, heroes, and player characters fromone book and incorporate them in any number of different game worlds,dimensions, settings and genres! This is what we call the Megaverseof Palladium Books unlimited possibilities and epic adventure. "Onegame system for a Megaverse of adventure!" Again, you are only lim-ited by your imagination, so cut loose and have fun!

Glossary of Role-Playing Terms

Attributes: These are numbers used to evaluate the strengths andweaknesses of your character. For example: P.P. means Physical Prow-ess; how smooth, agile and quick a character is in combat. A P.P. of 4would indicate that the character is pretty clumsy. A P.P. of 9 or 10would be an average, well coordinated character. While a P.P. of 16 orhigher would belong only to characters with exceptional agility and re-flexes. Attributes are also part of a character's overall Statistics or Stats.

Adventure: An adventure is the heroic or sword and sorcery storythat the player characters engage in. It is the responsibility of the GameMaster to create and orchestrate each adventure.

Bonuses: Many skills and some Occupational Character Classes(O.C.C.s), magic spells, weapons and other things may provide the fic-tional character a bonus to strike, parry, dodge, save, etc. These bonusesare typically added to a particular combat or melee action. Always besure to include your character's bonuses, they may make the differencebetween life and death; or worse! See the combat section for details.

Campaign: A word used to describe an ongoing game with thesame characters. If you play the same characters with the same gamemaster, in the same basic game world/setting, on a regular basis, thenyou are in a campaign. A campaign can be one long adventure or nu-merous adventures of varying length.

Character: Every player (except the G.M.) has a character thatserves as an imaginary playing piece; also called the Player Character.

Death: Just as in real life, these fictional characters can die. Thedeath of heroes in comic books, or in games, is usually a fairly rareevent (and hopefully a noble or heroic sacrifice). The amount of deathin a campaign usually depends on the individual Game Master, his play-ers and the world setting. In the Palladium Fantasy RPG, the world isincredibly dangerous and violent, so death may be commonplace, un-less the player characters use their heads, do not take silly chances andwork as a team.

Players should take a character's death calmly. Remember, it'sONLY a game. Roll up a new one and try to get back into the gamewith the orientation and personality of the new character. Some playerswill have a back-up character already rolled up and ready to play, incase the current character should die.

Game Masters (G.M.s) should allow players to roll up a "NEW"character and include it in the game as soon as it is appropriate for theongoing adventure; it is no fun sitting out a game for long periods oftime. However, characters should not be a dime a dozen, or killed on awhim or because of a personal conflict between player(s) and GameMaster.

Dice: There are a variety of different dice used in role-playinggames. First of all, there are the standard six-sided dice; the kind youuse for most board games. We call them "D6." To find out how manydice to roll for a stat or damage, it will be indicated with an expressionlike: "roll 3D6." This means: "Roll three six-sided dice and add the re-sults together." Dice are also available with four-sides (D4), eight-sides(D8), ten-sides (D10), and even twenty-sides (D20). They are availableat most hobby stores.

Game Master (G.M.): This is the person who controls the game"world," sets up and develops the adventures, pacing and serves as thegeneral referee and rules interpreter. All the non-player characters(NPCs), innocent bystanders, police, politicians, monsters, and even theweather are controlled by the Game Master. G.M.s should try to be fairand to run a fun game.

Game Session & Adventures: Each time you play is considered agame or gaming session. A game session can last a couple hours or halfthe day. A typical game runs about 3-4 hours. A game session can be acomplete story/adventure in itself, like a single adventure comic bookstory that begins and ends with that session, or a "chapter" in a muchlarger, continuing story.

I.S.P. or Inner Strength Points: I.S.P. are spent or expended everytime a character uses a psionic power. Each psionic power costs a cer-tain number of I.S.P. to activate and perform. When all I.S.P. are usedup, the character cannot use any more of his or her psychic powers.I.S.P. are restored at a rate of two per hour while one sleeps or relaxes.They can also be restored through meditation at a rate of six points perhour. Only psionic/psychic characters have I.S.P. points and psychicpowers. See the Mind Mage and Psionics section for a complete de-scription about I.S.P. and psychic powers.

Magic: The Palladium Fantasy RPG and many role-playing gamesinclude magic spells, powers, weapons and monsters. Although some ofthese things may be inspired from myths and legends, NONE of themare real! The magic in these games is entirely fictional make-believe.The use of mystical powers are typically reserved exclusively to practi-tioners of magic, creatures of magic and supernatural characters.

Megaverse: The trademark we use to identify the multi-genre,anything goes, infinite worlds and possibilities that Palladium's onegame system has to offer. A complete catalog of Palladium role-playinggames and sourcebooks is available upon request for only 75 cents tocover postage and handling. The 34 page catalog offers over 100 differ-ent products. Send catalog requests (and letters of comments) to Palla-dium Books Inc., Department P, 12455 Universal Drive, Taylor, MI48180

Natural Twenty: In all of Palladium's role-playing games (RPGs),the outcome of combat is determined by the roll of a twenty-sided die(1D20). The higher the roll the better. Many combat "rolls" get bonusesto strike, parry, dodge, etc. These bonuses are added to the roll of thedie. For example if a 12 is rolled, but a character has cumulative bo-nuses of +4 to strike, then the roll is modified to 16.

A natural twenty is rolling the highest possible number (a 20) with-out adding any bonuses to the number rolled. A natural 20 never missesunless one's opponent also rolls a natural 20 (very uncommon, but Ihave seen it happen). Yes, a natural 20 will hit even if an opponent'sroll is higher than 20 after bonuses are added to it. A natural 20 alsodoes double damage. See the combat section for complete details.

Non-Player Character (NPC): A character that is not played byany of the players, such as villains and other characters, and is playedby the Game Master (G.M.).

Occupational Character Class (O.C.C.): This is the character'seducational background and occupational training. It will indicate spe-cific skills, skill selections, goals, orientation, equipment, and salary.

An R.C.C. (Racial Character Class) is basically the same thing butrestricted to a specific race.

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P.C.C. stands for Psychic Character Class (as described in Beyondthe Supernatural, Nightbane and Mystic China) and applies to charac-ters who have psychic powers and occupations that utilize those powers.

Player: A player is a person who plays a fictional character in arole-playing game.

P.P.E. or Potential Psychic Energy: P.P.E. is the energy that magicdraws its powers from. All intelligent creatures, humans, wolfen, de-mons, etc., have some level of P.P.E. That level is minimal in most hu-mans, but immense in practitioners of magic, creatures of magic, andsupernatural beings (particularly gods and demons). A practitioner ofmagic draws on his P.P.E. to cast spells and perform magic. Most typesof magic only temporarily use P.P.E. points in a similar way as I.S.P.Mystic energy can also be found along ley lines and contained in somemagic artifacts. See the magic section for a complete description aboutP.P.E. and magic.

Psionics or Psychic Abilities: Like magic, the psionic powers andabilities described in this book are fictional, although they may be in-spired by myths, legends and reports of psychic phenomena.

Role-Playing Game: Sometimes called an RPG, or fantasy role-playing (FRP), these are games that build a story with imaginary char-acters in a fictional setting. Role-playing games cover every genre,including horror, fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, cyber-punk, mecha/giant robots, superheroes, war, and just about everythingone can imagine. In fact, the great thing about role-playing games isthat the Game Master and players are limited only by their imagination.Anything is possible.

Roll a Twenty-Sided: Simply roll a twenty-sided die (1D20) for anumber. Typically, the higher the roll the better.

Roll to Strike: The roll of a twenty-sided die to determine whetheror not the attacking character hits his opponent. Typically, the higherthe roll the better. See the combat section for details.

Roll Percentile: Take two, ten-sided dice, each with different col-ored numbers. Let's say we have one with black numbers and one withred. First, you declare which die will be high ("I call red high"). Next,you roll the pair of dice. First, you read the "high" die and then the"low" die; just put the numbers together and you have a percentile. Forexample: Red is 4 and green is 8, so your roll is 48%.

Run: This is just a term gamers use to describe playing a game. Ex-ample: "He runs an excellent campaign." or "I ran in Kevin's game lastweek."

Saving Throw: This is a roll (usually on a twenty-sided die) toavoid some unpleasant event, magic spell, psionic attack, poison, horrorfactor, or danger. For example: A character might have to roll a savingthrow to avoid being overcome by a magic cloud or to resist the effectsof a spell.

Scenario: This is a specific adventure in which the players' charac-ters engage in adventure and building a story while role-playing. A sce-nario is usually a story with a beginning (hearing about the criminal), amiddle (tracking down the criminal's hide-out), and an end (defeatingthe criminal). Most campaigns are developed around a number of sce-narios.

Creating a CharacterAt first glance, a role-playing game can look intimidating. Page after

page of rules and information ... how can you ever learn it all? Well re-lax. First of all, you don't have to learn everything there is to knowabout this game. That's why you have this beautiful book as a constantcompanion and reference. Second, a lot of the material is a fun readabout the world and the villains, heroes, and mystery in that world, butnot stuff you must know. Take your time and enjoy.

The creation of a character is relatively simple, requiring five mainsteps:Step 1: The Eight Attributes (and bonuses)Step 2: Hit Points and S.D.C.Step 3: How to Determine Psionic PowersStep 4: Selecting a Race and Occupational Character ClassesStep 5: Equipment and MoneyStep 6: Rounding Out One's Character

Step 1:The Eight Attributes& Attribute Bonuses

The first step in creating a character is to roll up the eight attributes:I.Q., M.E., M.A., P.S., P.P., P.E., P.B., and Spd.

The eight attributes represent your character's natural mental andphysical abilities. Some of the physical skills, races, O.C.C. bonuses,and superhuman abilities will increase a character's physical attributes,so it may be wise to write them in pencil until all modifiers and bonusesare accounted for.

Three six-sided dice are rolled to determine each attribute for a typi-cal human, but some of the non-human characters may get a fewer or

greater number of dice to roll. In addition to the racial character sum-mary chart in this section, each description of the many races will indi-cate how many dice to roll for each attribute. For example, an orc onlyrolls two six-sided (2D6) dice to determine the character's Intelligence(I.Q.), but four six-sided dice (4D6) for physical strength (P.S.).

In all cases, the higher the number, the greater the ability. If an at-tribute is exceptional, then an additional six-sided die (1D6) is rolledand added to the total for that attribute.

An exceptional roll for humans and other characters who deter-mine an attribute with the roll of three six-sided dice (3D6) is a roll of16, 17, or 18. If any of these numbers are rolled, the player gets to rollan additional one six-sided die (1D6) and add it to his total. If a six isrolled, the player adds the six to his or her character's attribute and getsto roll 1D6 again, and add that number also to his character's total at-tribute number. However, even if this last roll is a six, the player doesnot roll again. Note that such rolls are relatively rare, so it is very un-likely for a human player to have several attributes (4 or more) with at-tributes higher than 18.

Nonhuman characters who get an initial attribute roll of two six-sided dice (2D6) get to roll one additional six-sided die (1D6) if the rollis a 12. Characters that get to roll four, five or even six, six-sided dicefor an attribute do not get any additional dice rolls even if the rolls areexceptional. Many non-human creatures will get an automatic bonusthat is added to a particular attribute. This is likely to appear as some-thing like, 3D6+6. This means roll three six-side dice and add an addi-tional six points to the total rolled. Thus, if a 10 was rolled on the dice,the character has a total of 16 with the attribute bonus added to it.

Skill bonuses: Many of the physical skills a player can select for hischaracter offer additional attribute bonuses. For example, wrestling of-fers a +2 to P.S. and P.E., so if the player has already rolled a total of 16for P.S. he adds another two for a total P.S. of 18. If his P.E. roll was 8,he adds two for a total of 10. All physical skill bonuses are cumulative,

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a player can enhance and adjust the physical power of his characterthrough the careful selection of physical skills. Some OccupationalCharacter Classes (O.C.C.s) also offer attribute bonuses, or may offerother bonuses on skill performance or on initiative, saving throws andothers. All of these are added to the character's overall abilities. Magicspells and enchanted items may also provide special bonuses, but theseare temporary and fade with the magic.

Low attributes are okay. Don't be dismayed if your character has afew high attributes and a few low (even abysmally low) ones. Remem-ber, this is role-playing, go with the flow and play your character withboth his strengths and weaknesses. This is realistic and fun. Its realistic,because nobody is perfect; just because a character is incredibly strong,it doesn't mean he or she has to be brilliant too. Just because a characteris a genius, it doesn't mean he's an athlete. Or a character may be both

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smart and strong, but he may have a low physical beauty (P.B.) andlook like a moose, or have a Spd of 3 and move like a turtle. Or he maybe physically strong and handsome (a virtual Adonis) but have the per-sonality of a rock (a low M.A.) or be easily frightened, intimidated ormanipulated by others because his mental endurance (M.E.) is low.Flawed characters are a blast to play! Honestly, a hero with strengthsand weaknesses makes for a much more interesting and fun character toplay. Try it.

What's a low attribute? Using humans as our scale, an attribute of3-5 is the bottom of the barrel. Such a low I.Q. means a feeble or down-right stupid character; although a low I.Q. does not necessarily mean ababbling idiot or character without any common sense. On the otherhand, an I.Q. of 1 or 2 would represent a total dunce, or perhaps some-body who might be considered mentally retarded. A P.S. (physicalstrength) of 3-5 means a weakling, and so on.

A character with an attribute of 6, 7, or 8 is a bit below average (thelower the number, the farther below average), so a character with a P.S.(physical strength) of 7 would be considered puny; an I.Q. of 7 indi-cates somebody who's not a brain surgeon but not slow wilted. A P.B.(physical beauty) of 9 or 10 is average (nice looking but nothing spe-cial), 7 or 8 is plain, 5 or 6 is homely, a 3 or 4 ugly or extremely plain.

What's an average attribute? Nine and ten are average. This char-acter is roughly as smart, clever, strong, fast, or handsome as the nextguy. Any attribute higher than 10 is above average; 11-14 is a bit aboveaverage, 15-19 is impressively above average, 20 or higher is excep-tional. A character who has a P.B. (physical beauty) of 11-14 is good-looking, 15-19 very good looking/beautiful, but 20 or higher is aknockout! A P.S. (physical strength) of 11-14 is strong, 15-19 verystrong/a tough guy/weight lifter, 20-25 incredibly strong, and 26 orhigher phenomenally strong/a Hercules!

Can the attribute numbers rolled be modified? That's up to theGame Master. Many role-playing games allow players to reroll a par-ticularly bad attribute or to roll two or three characters and pick the onethey want. Personally, I don't have a problem with any of this, althoughI suggest players try creating a randomly rolled, (mostly) unmodifiedcharacter and "role-play" with what fate gives 'em. However, if a playeris shooting for a particular O.C.C. and misses the attribute require-ment^) by 1-3 points, I often let the player bump up those few attrib-utes to the minimum requirement so he or she can play that O.C.C.Having experimented often with different methods of role-playing andcharacter creation, I've even allowed players to pick a character classand make up the attribute numbers they think are appropriate (subject tomy final approval and modification). Don't forget that physical attrib-utes can be "bumped up" through training/skill selection.

Remember, role-playing should be flexible, so the Game Master cango with whatever works best for him and his players. Just be consistentand fair. The bottom line is to have fun.

Should a player roll his character in front of the G.M.? That's re-ally up to the Game Master. Most G.M.s who want characters with un-modified die rolls insist on this. Creating a character with the Game

Master's input can help give the player better direction about the type ofcharacter, O.C.C. and skills that might best suit the campaign. A G.M.should try to provide the players with some general idea of what thecampaign will be about and where it is taking place (or at least, whereit's starting off). Further, G.M. assistance can be especially helpful fornew players unfamiliar with role-playing, or those who are new to thisgame system.

The Eight Attributes

Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.): Indicates the intelligence of thecharacter. The exact I.Q. is equal to the I.Q. attribute multiplied timesten. Characters with an I.Q. of 16 or better will receive a one-time bo-nus, added to all the character's skill percentages.

Mental Endurance (M.E.): Measures the amount of mental andemotional stress the character can withstand. Those with an M.E. of 16or higher will receive a one-time bonus to save vs psionic attack and in-sanity.

Mental Affinity (M.A.): Shows the character's personal charm andcharisma, natural leaders, with an M.A. of 16 or higher, have a bonus toevoke trust or intimidation in others.

Physical Strength (P.S.): This is the raw physical power of thecharacter. Also see weight and movement.

Physical Prowess (P.P.): Shows the degree of dexterity and agilityof the character. A P.P. of 16 or higher is rewarded with bonuses tododge, parry and strike.

Physical Endurance (P.E.): Demonstrates the character's staminaand durability. The amount of physical punishment, and resistance tofatigue and disease, are determined by P.E. Characters with a P.E. of16 or better receive bonuses to save vs coma, death, toxins, and magic.Also see supernatural P.S. and P.E.

Physical Beauty (P.B.): An indication of the physical attractivenessof the character. A P.B. of 16 or better indicates exceptional attractive-ness/beauty and is rewarded with a bonus to charm or impress.

Speed (Spd): This is, specifically, the character's maximum runningspeed. The Spd times 20 is the number of yards or meters that the char-acter can run in one minute. The greater the speed attribute number, thefaster the character can run.

Different Applications ofPhysical Strength & Attribute NotesWeight & Movement

Normal characters, with a P.S. of 3 to 16, can carry 10 times theirP.S. in pounds (P.S.x10 = total in pounds). For Example: A characterwith a P.S. of 9 can carry 90 pounds (40.5 kg). A character with a P.S.of 15 can carry 150 pounds (67.5 kg).

Strong characters, with a P.S. of 17 or higher, can carry 20 timestheir P.S. in pounds. This means a character with a P.S. of 18 can carry360 pounds (162 kg).

Supernatural creatures, including dragons, deevils and demons,are even stronger than extraordinary humans. Supernatural beings andcreatures of magic with a P.S. of 18 or higher can carry 50 times theirP.S. Thus, a creature with a P.S. of 24 can actually carry over half a ton,1200 pounds! Creatures with a strength of 17 or less are equal to hu-mans; P.S.x 10 in pounds.

Lifting weight is a little different than carrying weight. You mayhave noticed, yourself, that you can usually lift up a heavier amountthan you can carry. I'm not talking about weight-lifting in a body build-ing sense, nor lifting a heavy weight above the chest. Simply the abilityto bend over and lift something that weighs more than you can carry.The simple rule is that a character can lift TWICE as much as he/shecould carry. This means that the character with a P.S. of 9 can carry 90pounds, but can lift 180 pounds. Meanwhile, the supernaturally strongcreature, with a P.S. of 24, can lift over one ton (2400 pounds).

Optional: Add one foot (0.3 m) to the effective range for every P.S.point listed; e.g., P.S. 24 add 24 feet (7.3 m).

Objects such as bricks, bottles, and swords are not designed forthrowing. Consequently, the effective range is limited regardless of thestrength behind it.

Darts, knives and throwing axes are designed for throwing, but don'thave the weight or balance for great distances. The same is true of mostobjects weighing less than half a pound. Javelins, more so than spears,are designed for distance throwing.

Miscellaneous items weighing over a pound (0.45 kg) and less than10 pounds (4.5 kg), such as chairs, stools, lanterns, can be thrown abouthalf as far as the one pound (0.45 kg) object. Normal and extraordi-narily strong characters can hurl a weight equal to the weight he cancarry four inches per each P.S. point. This means the person with a P.S.9 can toss 90 lbs (40.5 kg) up to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.75 m) away. The herowith a P.S. of 17 can toss 340 lbs (154 kg) up to 5 feet, 8 inches away(1.75m).

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Throwing ObjectsA character can not throw more than he can carry.

General Effective Range by Strength

Supernatural characters can hurl their maximum carrying weightone foot (0.3 m) per P.S. point. So a supernatural character with a P.S.of 24 can hurl an incredibly heavy object (up to 1200 pounds/544 kg) awhopping 24 feet (7.3 m). Damage from these heavy thrown objects is1D6 +1D6 points per every 20 pounds (9 kg), so a 100 pound (90 kg)item will inflict 6D6 points of damage! A thousand pound (900 kg) ob-ject, 6D6x10!!

Movement and ExertionKeep the game simple and quick moving. Light activity, such as

walking, jogging, driving, standing guard, doing repairs and similar ac-tivity, can be conducted for hours without affecting the character ad-versely. Both players and Game Master should apply common senseand logic to the duration of an activity. Even intense activity, such as 20minutes of combat followed by rest or light action, will not significantlyimpair the character's efficiency. It's all a matter of pacing.

Prolonged periods of combat or heavy exertion (an hour or more ofintense, continual, physical exertion) will take its toll on the character.Reduce the following once every hour:Speed -2Initiative -2Parry and Dodge -1Damage -2

Supernatural Strength & DamageDragons, gods, demons and other supernatural creatures inflict a

great deal more damage than normal humans, even humans with ex-traordinary strength. While the strongest human in the world may beable to bend metal bars and lift great weights, he would not be able topunch through a meta