I’ve been reading and watching and reading Goblin Slayer (watch it on Crunchyroll, NSFW) and Vinland Saga (watch it on Amazon Prime, rated mature for violence and language), both very OSR types of anime/manga. Consuming these has put me in a very inspired, creative mindset. So, I refurbished my hack of Knave and gave it a name. “Rascal” is a synonym for “Knave” and still keeps that “down in the dirt” medieval fantasy that I’m going for.
Here are the rules
I use the Knave character sheet (which doesn’t even say “Knave” on it. Score!).
Changes from OG Knave:
- Item slots = Strength defense
- HP = Constitution defense, this way early levels are tankier and HP doesn’t fluctuate much. Lethality is maintained.
- Dexterity is closer to what we think of as Agility, speed and reflexes. Intelligence is more about precision. This makes Intelligence more useful, less about knowledge, and more about skills.
- Added item slot initiative, side-based but bonus to go first is based on how many item slots you have that are empty.
- No armor = armor defense of 10 and bonus of +0, all armor reduced by 1. This way, armor bonus = slots it takes and, more importantly, people hit each other more often.
- Balanced starting Armor against starting Spells, better Armor, fewer Spells and vice versa
- Same as above, but for also weapons and protections (ie helmet and shield)
- RANDOM NAMES ADDED, going for that Rascal-ly feel
- d100 Spells, tweaked with some classic spells
- Spellbooks take one hand instead of two
- Six total pages, grouped in twos (rules, chargen/equipment, spells), making it easy to print
I’ve been meaning to read more Adventurer Conqueror King as well to really get that “Mount and Blade” feel. Opening the game up to more political, Strongholds and Followers, Birthright game has always been a big dream of mine.
I may also end up using this for Adventures in Middle-Earth (originally a 5e game), sans spells obviously.
I keep meaning to ask, are you the artist behind the “A Shipwright” images at the top of each post?
Psh, I wish. I’ve linked to their art page quite often. They’re a really fantastic artist in Korea.
I can see why you like using their work. I’ll have to give their page a visit!
I’m also trying to run AIME with a Knave hack. I ran The One Ring and as a first time DM, it was waaay too fiddly and have been looking to continue the campaign with something much simpler and more modular. I’m in a similar place to you now. Knave is my basic template, but I’m using Skill Slots as well based on Intelligence. I’ve deleted Constitution and Wisdom and replaced them with Precision (hand dexterity) and Awareness (five senses/perception). Strength also determines HP, and Agility (speed/fitness) determines Fatigue Points (taken from the One Ring). Damage is taken first from FP. When FP runs out, player loses Strength (HP) which represents actual wounds/injuries. HP heals slow. FP heals fast. Currently working on a Crit system, where each Nat 20 does a special wound based on the type of weapon (Sword = Disarm, Great Sword = Behead, Dagger = Assassinate, Spear = Impale). This was inspired by One Ring called shots…loosely. Saw your post on diceless combat on Reddit and followed you here.
I now use a different system found here: https://dreamingdragonslayer.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/middle-earth-adventures-v-03/
I’m interested in the changes you made. Sounds neat.