CODEX

Credit Due
Concept and Design
Luke Crane
Rules for Rich
Richard Soto

Development Foreword
Radek Drozdalski, Chris Adam Koebel
Allingham, Peter Tierney,
Mayuran Tiruchelvam, Copy Editor
Alexander Newman, Dwight Elisa Mader, Patrick Riegert
Frohaug, Anthony Hersey,
Thor Olavsrud, Jared Sorensen, Cover
Rich Soto, Anthony Hersey, Judd Kurt Komoda
Karlman and Topi Makkonen
Art and Illustrations
Taxidermist Jordan Worley, Kurt Komoda,
Topi Makkonen Richard Luschek, Storn A Cook,
Jennifer Rodgers, Kev Sather,
The Black Duke Rebekah Bennington, Peter
Nathan Black Bergting, Daniel Schenstrom,
Russ Nicholson, Christopher
Roden Concept and Design Moeller and Dejan Mandic
Peter Tierney
Folios
Speaker of the Jordan Worley, Ian Miller and
Secret Language Russ Nicholson (respectively)
Radek Drozdalski
Playtesting
Don Corcoran, Hart Crane,
Roles of Magic Essay
Chris Allingham, Andy Markam,
Thor Olavsrud
Eric Cardon, Jason Ellis, Keren
Lifepaths and Traits Form, Rich Soto, Alexander
Luke Crane and Anthony Hersey Cherry, Tony Hamilton, Wilhelm
Fitzpatrick, Aaron Brown,
Wizard Danaher Dempsey, Jason Costa
Merrill Sterritt and Bob Doherty. Rowan

www.burningwheel.com
Crawford, Mel Stephenson, Thank You
Charles Nairn, Chris Ferrand, Jake Norwood, Ron Edwards,
Jeremiah Frye, Josh Ryan, Clinton R. Nixon, Ralph Mazza,
Brian Todd, Jahmal Brown, Erin Strumpf, Bob Doherty, Carly
James Rowland, Adam Layzell, Bogen, Megan McFerren, Nicole
Chris Hannam, Sean Johnston, Fitting, Rachel Brown, Phil Kobel,
Abel Vargas, Alan Steiner, Kevin Corruption, Chris Bennet,
Chris Johnson, Janet Gilbert, Robert Earley-Clark, Karen
Jon Leonard, Jonathan White, Twelves, Chris Peterson, Łukasz
Pedro Amador-Gates, Daniel Lenard, Sanjeev Shah, Jonathan
Heacox, Doug Newman, John Slack, Daniel Slack, Wesley
Stavropoulos, Miguel Zapico, Edmunds, Wil Alambre, Kyle
Mark Watson, Aaron Friesen, Foxworthy, Nicholas DiPetrillo,
Christopher Connell, Greg Falk, Rachel Walton, Phil Walton, Don
Geoff Hadlington, Brandon Corcoran, Joanna Walmsley, Dan
Franklin, Justin Smith, Erik Fessinden, Alicia Fessinden, Erin
Hoofnagle, Andrew Merlina, Lowery, Brian Lowery, Jule Ann
Kaitlyn Corcoran, Shelby Adams, Wakeman, Jeremy Wakeman, Jon
Michael Adams, Tyler Bensend, Markus, Rich DiTullio, Jonathan
Jason Heilman, Brandon Wise, White, Mike VanHelder, Paul
Brodie Bensend, Pau Martinell, Beakley, Merrill Sterritt and
Mateu Pastoret, Quim Ball-llosera, Adam Koebel
Eudald Bonmatí and Albert
Puignau

In Memoriam
Bob Doherty
Extra Rotam Nulla Salus

Burning Wheel, the Codex, the Adventure Burner, the Character Burner, the Magic Burner and the Monster
Burner are trademarks (™) of Luke Crane. The five-spoked wheel logo is a registered trademark (®)
of Luke Crane. The Burning Wheel Codex is © 2023 Luke Crane.
ISBN: 978-0-9758889-0-2
Printed in China by AdMagic.
First Edition | Fontocalypse Printing | Fourth Printing with Corrections
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

the Codex
Codex Ignis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Adventure Burner
Looking from on High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Burning Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Adventure Burner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
More Bloody Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Commentary
Commenting on Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Table Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Running a Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Situation Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Antagonists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Building Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Instincts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Artha Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Trait Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Intent and Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Versus Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Linked Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Let It Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Shades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Duel of Wits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Range and Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Fight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Wises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
The Roles of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

the Arcane Library

The Arcane Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Gifted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Practical Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Art Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Enchanting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Spirit Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Summoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Death Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Blood Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
The Arsenal Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Artifacts
Magical Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

Lifepaths
Using the Lifepaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Wizard Burner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
The Path of Spite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Roden Lifepaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Nests of Roden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Troll Lifepaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Mountains of Trolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Great Wolf Lifepaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Way of the Great Wolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Monstrous Trait List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Monstrous Skill List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
Index of Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
Colophon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
 Foreword
The origins of its name shrouded by the mists of time, the Burning Wheel
is a perfect analogy for the experience of playing the game. It won’t allow
you to sit idly by, taking turns only as the cold stare of the GM falls
upon you. There is no engaging the wheel partway. The game doesn’t
give quarter; it doesn’t grant mercy. It burns. Though you may often be
given cause for reflection, it is not a game of stillness, but one of action.
A wheel is crafted to move, to turn. This is a game about momentum.

In the eleven years since I first set eyes on the Burning Wheel, I’ve played
countless other roleplaying games. I’ve seen trends emerge from the game-
design zeitgeist only to fall back into the churning sea of “What if we
made a game about…” Through all that, Burning Wheel has remained a
fixture of not just my gaming shelf, but my gaming mind. It is a book I’ve
taken down, time and again, to turn over in my hands, wondering what
tales it would wring from me next. I think this is what Luke and company
intended, particularly when they published the Gold edition—a physical
object weighty enough to match the heavy brand the wheel burns onto
its disciples, those who feel its constant turning in their minds.

I’ve heard Burning Wheel dubbed the Swiss watch of roleplaying games—
not just for the intricate impossibility of reassembling it if viewed as
merely individual pieces, but because of the intimate and slightly
mad way each piece fits together into the larger whole. A thing whose
surface is precise and beautiful but whose insides—whose elements—
require devotion and time to fully understand. Luke describes the main
mechanisms as a hub—the core around which the rules are crafted—with
the systems that expand on that hub and give the wheel motion as its
spokes. We’re given discrete systems such as Resources, Circles and the
Duel of Wits. We’re challenged to master Fight and take on the back-and-
forth engagements of Range and Cover. As we play, our Steel is tested
with each new spoke crafted to expand on the hub and support the wheel.

What you’re holding now is potent fuel for your campaign’s inner fire.
More ways and means to turn the wheel. New spokes to build onto
the hub. Every time I start a new roleplaying game (Burning Wheel
or otherwise), I pull the Adventure Burner from my shelves and drink
from the fountain of wisdom that its essays contain. I’ve lost count of
the many times a page from the Magic Burner lifepaths of the creatures
of the Monster Burner, looking both for adversaries and allies. Now and
here, in the Codex, we are granted access to that strange library anew,
revised and reformed. These are gears whose teeth have been carefully
filed to fit the intricate clockwork of Gold.

I hope this book imparts momentum in a strange direction, no matter

what your campaign might look like. I hope it kindles something in you
and your fellow players. As it has for me, I hope it sets you aflame.

Adam Koebel
Spring 2016

Adam Koebel is codesigner of the award-winning Dungeon World roleplaying game. He’s
a pioneering member of the Twitch.tv live actual-play community and spends most of his
time in Vancouver, British Columbia, either ranting about fictional positioning to Starcraft
players or half-designing games.
 the
Codex
 Codex Ignis
The Codex should be dead. Its pages should be lifeless bones of old
ideas, packed between two covers and dumped into your lap. It
contains no new material. Everything within has been published
before in one form or another.

So what good is it? Why not write a new supplement? Why use
this old dross?

Fair questions. Allow us to answer:

In 2011, we published the definitive edition of Burning Wheel. It

has taken five years for the ideas of that edition to settle and for the
need for more material to build to a boil.

In the Codex, we chose to include the Adventure Burner,

Commentary, Arcane Library, Magical Artifacts and the
monstrous lifepaths. And I think you will see, we have spun this
dross into gold. We have taken the best material published, tested
it, distilled it and refined it. This is no mere regurgitation. We took
a hammer to the metal and beat it into shape, until it glowed with
purpose and pattern.

Through our efforts, we have created the perfect companion to

Burning Wheel Gold. The material in the Codex adds no weight
to the game. To the contrary, it provides breadth and depth,
ultimately lightening the load Gold bears. This tome works
for you. It provides. Shimmering, it shall guide you down new
and wondrous paths—to create ever better stories, ever more
memorable characters.

This Codex is stamped with the mark of more than ten years of our
blood and sweat. We are proud to put it in your hands, and hope it
brings light into your life.

10
Adventure
Burner
 Looking
from on High
Introductions out of the way, the Codex begins with the Burning
Philosophy section, in which we look at the principles behind the
Burning Wheel system. This introduction presents a perspective
for both players and game masters.

In the eponymous Adventurer Burner, we provide a framework for

creating your own worlds and situations, plus a few new rules to
enhance long-term play.

Two Things
Rules Mastery
Burning Wheel is very much a game. It’s meant to be played
skillfully and mastered over time. To gain maximum enjoyment
from a session of Burning Wheel, it is important to have some
facility with the rules. The rules are deep enough that one is
rewarded for exploring them and invoking them. The more you
play, the more you learn about the game and how the various pieces
fit together. The better you play, the richer the results.

Buy-In
Burning Wheel is not your standard fantasy RPG. It is more
character-focused and player-driven than your traditional fantasy
fare, although it uses more intense rules than other nontraditional
alternatives.

Some folks grok Burning Wheel at a glance—it is the game they

always hoped for. For everyone else, Burning Wheel asks only for an
open, honest desire to try it out and see how it works. Sometimes,
players will be reluctant to try a new game or they’ll be skeptical of
a new style of play. That’s perfectly natural, but for Burning Wheel
to have a hope of working with your group, everyone at the table—
including the doubters—has to say, “Let’s give this a fair shot.”

12
 The Adventure Burner

How do you create this basic level of buy-in? That’s a tough question.

Looking from on High

We’ve found that it’s best to place some limits on the game the first time
you play. Burning Wheel is a deep game, meant for long-term play. It’s
not possible to take it all in at once. You’ll be overwhelmed. To have the
best chance of convincing skeptical or wary players to give it a shot, we
recommend playing our starter scenario, Trouble in Hochen (contained
in the Twilight in the Duchy Verdorben PDF). Don’t modify it or hack
it to suit your group’s needs. Make your group step up and come to
Burning Wheel as it is. Ask them to give it their best shot. Ask them to
really get in there and play the game. Ask them to use the mechanics
and try out stuff they wouldn’t normally try otherwise. It is a test, after
all.

Afterward, if it didn’t work, you can say you gave it your best shot. But
if you had a reasonably good experience, you can talk about starting a
more involved game.

How Long Does It Take?

Burning Wheel can be run as a single session, an adventure or a campaign.
In a single session, you generally resolve one problem in the course of
play—usually about four to six hours.

13
The Burning Wheel Codex

An adventure is a term we use for a cycle of play lasting two to six

sessions. An adventure contains an overarching goal, a subordinate goal
or two and an unexpected twist.

A campaign is a series of interconnected adventures.

We talk about the differences between each type of game in the Running
the Game chapter in the Commentary section. For now, it’s enough
for you to know that Burning Wheel plays slightly differently—using
different mechanics—depending on how long you play it.

14
Burning Philosophy
This chapter attempts to spell out some of the philosophy behind
Burning Wheel. If you don’t want to read my poetical musings, just
skip this section. If you want to see my thoughts about what goes
on behind the rules, read on.

Fight for What You Believe

Burning Wheel is about fighting for what you believe. You take up
the fight both as a player of the game and as a character in play.

You fight with steel, words and magic. All of the other rules are
incidental to those fights. They help you prepare for, survive and
recover from those conflicts.

Your Beliefs announce to the group what you’re willing to fight

for. We provide rules for conflict, but more important, we provide
a framework of consequences for your actions. This framework—
success, failure, injury, compromise—makes your decisions in the
game meaningful. You know that when you step up, your struggle
is going to affect you and the game, even if you don’t get what you
want in the end.

The Big Wheel

Burning Wheel is an odd duck of a game. It’s a mess of contradictions.
It doesn’t have a setting, but the lifepaths are tightly focused and
impose a culture and perspective on the characters. Play is open-
ended—there’s no fixed structure like those found in our other
games. And the system itself is modular—chunks can be added or
replaced with ease—but if you tweak the core mechanics, it falls
apart.

We often hear questions like “Why are there so many fiddly bits?
Why so many skills? So many traits?” The short answer is: Because
the game needs it. The long answer is: Setting in Burning Wheel is
primarily presented to the players in the form of skills and traits.
It’s not enough for us to say that a culture has a particular feel.

15
The Burning Wheel Codex

The game needs to represent that culture mechanically. New settings

and cultures require new system elements, because the system is what
enforces meaningful decisions in play.

But there’s more to it than that. The range of options in the game creates
the spaces in which we play. Skills can be used creatively. Advancement
requires dedication and focus. Fight, Range and Cover, and Duel of
Wits allow the player to make important decisions on multiple levels.
These decisions bring the player deeper into the game and open up new
perspectives that can be further explored through the mechanics.

We Think Life Should Be Hard

You know those little bits of the game that don’t make sense, are a pain
in the ass or seem broken? Those are hooks that we built into the game.
Sure, it’s a drag to be an indigent sorcerer with B0 Resources. So now
you have to earn your bread by summoning someone’s dead loved one,
banishing an angry spirit or going on ridiculously dangerous quests. Fight
is difficult and scary on purpose. You’re supposed to prepare for it, be
smart about it. Tools and shoes seem like mundane, pointless details.
But in this game, they are a chance to get into trouble over something
innocuous—elements that ground us in the “reality” of the fiction. And
because most characters start lacking something—or burdened with
something they don’t want—the characters are in motion with an energy
that propels them right into the story.

Burning Currency Cycle

The currency cycle of a game encompasses a player’s operation of the
system, the feedback the system produces and the reward presented to
the player as a result of the operation.

Burning Wheel has a long, complex and downright baroque currency

cycle. In its most basic form, the currency cycle is “Belief, Action,
Reward.” Let’s break that down.

You’re a player in the game; you state a Belief for your character. The
GM presents an obstacle or challenge to that Belief. You state an intent
for overcoming that obstacle. You and the GM determine the appropriate
task for the intent to overcome that obstacle and select the appropriate
stat, skill or attribute to test. After gathering help, spending artha and
using other advantages, you roll against the obstacle. In most cases,
the test earns you (and those who helped) advancement, regardless
of success. If successful, you achieve your intent in the manner you
described. If you fail the test, the GM controls the outcome and can have
the task fail outright or twist your intent into unforeseen consequences.

16
The Adventure Burner

Burning Philosophy

17
The Burning Wheel Codex

This process also produces a result in the shared fiction of the game:
Something happens in the story. This result—a vivid description, a
thrilling performance—provides context for new Beliefs.

Successful tests lead to fulfilled Beliefs—accomplishing goals and

earning artha. Failed attempts lead to more, unexpected challenges to
Beliefs, which engage the cycle anew, allowing the player to earn more
advancements. Failed attempts earn artha as well.

Advancements increase the size of the dice pool. This means you can take
greater and greater risks while attempting to act on your Belief. Trait
votes reflect how the other players view your portrayal of your character.
Artha invested in your stats and skills can cause a heroic shift in power
for your character. But it all comes back to testing to try to fulfill a Belief.

Collaboration and Sportsmanship

Burning Wheel is not a collaborative game. Not all opinions have equal
weight. Not every suggestion should be considered and included.

Burning Wheel is a game of strong opinion, vision and zeal. To excel, you
must advocate your position. However, it is also a thoughtful and civil
game. You are expected to play at your absolute best within the scope
of the written rules and the unwritten spirit of the game. But to be good
players you must be courteous to one another. You must ensure that
the other players understand the rules as well as you do. If they don’t,
explain what is unclear so they can make the best decision possible at
the time. Do not cheat, grief or spam. Help each other and the game will
prosper—even when you’re fighting for your beliefs.

Some Advice for the Players

Some advice for players of Burning Wheel: Dare the GM to hurt
you. Hurl your character into danger. You must take risks with your
character while maintaining the civil attitude described above.

Why take risks? Why not sit back and be safe? Risk-taking is dramatic
and exciting. You push your limits and lay everything on the line for
your Beliefs. Furthermore, playing it safe in Burning Wheel won’t get
you the resources you need to succeed.

This is a novel way to play roleplaying games for some. You set out your
own priorities. The GM challenges them. You plunge into the challenge
wholeheartedly, no matter the danger. You don’t hide or evade.

18
 The Adventure Burner

Don’t Be a Wet Blanket

Burning Philosophy
When another player wants to do something dangerous or risky, don’t
smother him with suggestions about “the right way to do it.” Play
dumb and pretend you don’t understand the risks. Or play along and
encourage the bad behavior. Of course, you still need to be considerate
and thoughtful in your actions.

Too often I see players use so much caution and care that they stifle good,
energetic ideas. Don’t do that. Make bad decisions and enjoy the fallout
and encourage good risk-taking in fellow players.

Inherent Dramatic Irony

Burning Wheel demands a deep investment in your character. To make
a good character for this game, you must commit yourself—commit
to your gamesmanship in the numbers and your sense of drama in the
Beliefs and Instincts. The more you throw yourself into this enterprise,
the more engrossing and exciting the results will be.

Conversely, Burning Wheel acknowledges an immutable divide between

player and character. The character is a fictional element only alive in
our imaginations. It is only in action when we all sit around the gaming
table. It is not the player; it has no life of its own. The player is not the
character, but the character cannot exist without the player.

The system provides a safe environment and many opportunities for

the player to set up his character to fail—not because the player wishes
his character ill, or even because he is incompetent, but because failure
is interesting. It shows frailty, vulnerability, courage and heart in the
character. It lets us sympathize with him. Failure creates narrative
tension: He fails now, but one day he will overcome.

Are these failures purely mechanical? Are we suggesting that you gimp
yourself for a test to deliberately fail? Not at all. Numbers-wise, it’s always
possible to place your character at risk. After all, you know how many
dice you roll, you know the obstacle. The math isn’t that hard. But I am
suggesting a different kind of failure.

You can set your character up to fall with clever use of Beliefs, Instincts
and traits. You can make him believe in something that’s wrong. You
know it’s wrong, but he doesn’t. He pursues this goal with all of the vigor
we expect of the righteous, but ultimately, we know he’s not doing the
right thing. Or he’s doing the right things for the wrong reasons.

19
The Burning Wheel Codex

Or he is at war with his heart. One Belief tells him to go in one direction,
another pushes him down the opposite path. Which will he choose? The
decision is engaging for you as a player, but it is also engrossing for the
audience—the other players—to see the internal conflict played out
before their eyes. Certainly, you might want your character to do the
right thing, to go where you would, but that’s the easy answer. Choose
the wrong direction. Do the misguided, selfish, unrighteous thing. Let
your experiences at the table, not your own personal beliefs, shape your
transformation.

Burning Wheel is a character-driven game. When we set out on the wrong

path, we create tension and exciting opportunity to do the right thing.
This sounds backward, but remember that the premise of this game is to
fight for what you believe. So if you believe in the right thing, then the GM
must challenge or oppose that belief with the wrong thing. That means
if your character changes, he’ll fall—he’ll fight for the wrong thing. It’s
a good choice, but a hard one! If you believe passionately in the wrong
thing, then the GM has a chance to challenge and oppose you with the
right thing. If your character changes under these circumstances, then
he rises—he can learn from his mistakes and turn to the right path. And
this is the stuff that heroes are made of.

Directing your character toward this kind of transformation needs a

cleverly worded Belief or two to acknowledge that what you and your
character want might be different. Explore that conflict of interest; show
the rest of us the internal struggle. It makes for a satisfying game.

Some Advice for the GM

Being the GM in Burning Wheel is different from being a player. We mostly
don’t have to worry about tracking advancement, artha, epiphanies or
trait votes. We have an overall vision of a world, a handful of problems
in that world and a host of characters to embody those problems. We
balance our vision and our will to persevere with an accommodating,
cooperative attitude.

We are never rude. We never react out of anger. Our role is to present
unexpected challenges to the players that make perfect sense in the
context of the setting and the action.

20
 The Adventure Burner

Secrecy Impulse

Burning Philosophy
Try not to hide or protect your ideas. Try your best to place them in
harm’s way—in the path of the players. When the players want to know
something, test them. When the players want to confront and change
something, test them. When they want to fight something, test them.

When you feel that tightening in your gut, “No, I can’t let them…,”
that’s a sign that you need to set an obstacle and call for a test. Give the
players a shot at your villains, your organizations, your tricks and traps.
Let them try to succeed. Let them risk failure. This staccato rhythm of
challenges—some overcome and others failed—is what creates the story
in Burning Wheel.

Emergent Properties
Burning Wheel has many moving parts. It is unlikely that one can
interpret the entire range of possible results by looking at the individual
pieces. In the course of operation, it is very likely that this system of
interlocking gears produces unexpected results. Properties of the game
emerge only through exploration. No amount of study or presumption
will illuminate all of the possibilities.

This phenomenon is due in part to the complexity of the currency cycle

and in part to the nature of a roleplaying game.

Let’s look at some emergent play involving one Belief. Let’s say you have
a Belief that states, “I will liberate Dro from his burdens.” You’re going
to steal Dro’s stuff, because you think he’s a bastard and you need to eat
and pay rent. So, you use Circles and wises to get close to him. Later,
you meet him and realize that he’s got troubles, too. You sympathize.
You use Persuasion and Falsehood to tease his problems out of him. But
as you’re getting to know him, you discover that he’s a terrible person.
One of his burdens is, in fact, that he was the one who had your family
killed. He feels deeply guilty about it, but it doesn’t change the fact that
your mom, dad and little sister are gone—dispatched on the execution
block for being seditionists. You’ve still got that Belief about him: “I will
liberate Dro from his burdens.” Yet…something has shifted. Now you
use your wises and Circles to learn about his shadowy past. You begin to
marshal allies against him. Then you decide to use your Persuasion and
Falsehood to lure him out alone.

At the last, you—a peaceful person at heart—decide to assassinate Dro

with your own hand. You play your Belief to its final iteration: You
will remove his ultimate burden—his cold, dead soul. Everything has

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The Burning Wheel Codex

changed now for you. You began simply wanting to survive, even if it
meant stealing from another. But you’re not who you once were. When
you pick up the dice, survival is the furthest thing from your mind. Only
revenge weighs heavy in your heart and your hand as you roll the dice
to finish what you started.

You used the system to accomplish a very different aim than that with
which you started.

Now imagine this in three layers. You have three Beliefs. All of them create
a context like this. Each Belief colors how and why you engage the system.
In a virtuous cycle, each engagement casts new light on your Beliefs.

Thus, what seems straightforward at the start—player priorities, skill

tests, advancements, rewards—grows around you in rich, complex and
unpredictable patterns.

Dive into a Demo

That’s enough philosophizing. Before you head for the Commentary
section, I recommend you download the Twilight in the Duchy Verdorben
from burningwheel.com and run it for some friends. Make the game
fresh in your mind as you read and our further ramblings will make
much more sense.

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 Adventure Burner
This section takes you through a detailed approach for creating a
Burning Wheel game. I don’t recommend you use this text word-
for-word every time you want to start a game. I recommend you
adopt the spirit of the process and forget the rest. Use the ideas here
to get you excited about starting games, then go off and use these
mystical techniques to create your own scenarios, adventures and
campaigns.

At Burning Wheel Headquarters, we’re fans of sketching and

brainstorming. We think those are vital parts of the creative
process, so the chapter starts with an exhortation to brainstorm.
Then we walk through establishing a situation and setting.
I feel that only after you have situation and setting can you
develop characters. You might feel differently and want to start
with characters first and then plug them into a setting. That’s
acceptable. These are guidelines for you.

The chapter also briefly discusses how to kick off your game or
session with action. This discussion is followed by a breakdown
of how to challenge Beliefs. You want to write strong Beliefs, but
how do you know what to write them about? If you write a strong
situation, how do you induce players to care about it?

Lastly, the chapter rounds out with some rules variations that we
like to consider when fleshing out our settings.

Definition of Terms
Here are some terms that we’re going to lean on throughout the
Adventure Burner chapter:

Characters
In this chapter, we talk about characters that the players have
burned up, relationship characters that the players have named
during character burning and straight-up GM-controlled NPCs.

23
The Burning Wheel Codex

Setting
The setting is the overarching container of play—the place, the age, the
atmosphere. But setting in Burning Wheel is represented primarily by
stocks, traits, skills and gear. It’s more than just geography; it’s culture
and people. The geographical aspect—the places—are just sketched out.

Situation
Situation is a problem in the setting to which the characters are
inextricably bound. In Burning Wheel, characters must fight their way
through these problems. There’s no other option.

Action
Action is the thing that’s happening right now. It’s the immediate, in-your-
face problem that is merely a part of a bigger problem as represented
by the situation.

Chicken or Egg
To play this game effectively, you must create a situation. To have a
situation, you must have setting and characters. But setting doesn’t
matter unless you have a compelling situation. And characters must be
firmly entwined with both setting and situation. So which comes first?
Chicken? Egg? Setting? Situation?

Sketching and Brainstorming

To set up a game of Burning Wheel and create compelling characters,
setting and situation, you and your group must toss around some ideas
to narrow your options and find a general aspect of the fantasy genre
that interests everyone.

We usually spend a session to set up a game and create characters.

Although we also sometimes do prep through email, we find it much
more productive to make time to do it all face-to-face.

Draw on any source of inspiration at your disposal. If you recently read

J. Gregory Keyes’ The Waterborn and were inspired by the gods and
mythology, don’t hesitate to propose pulling those gods into your game.
If you recently watched Peter Jackson’s film of The Return of the King
and were inspired by Theoden’s speech at Pelennor Fields, tell your
friends why you love it and why you want cataclysmic wars between
the forces of light and darkness in your game. If you just finished Mark

24
 The Adventure Burner

Smylie’s Artesia comics and love the flavor of his world—the intrigue,

Adventure Burner
the politics, the culture—you should propose using similar ideas in your
game.

Find a land, a place or a time that interests everyone in the group. Work
with it a bit—adding or adopting ideas. Get everyone involved.

GM’s Big Picture

To begin a game of Burning Wheel, one of the players has to have a strong
opinion—a vision. That player takes on the role of the game master.

As the game master, your job is to approach the game with the fire of
inspiration in your gut. You have an idea that excites you. You want to
share it. I call that idea the Big Picture.

When you present that Big Picture to the players, you weave their
feedback into it. You want them to interact with this idea. You want
them to have a stake in the fate of this nascent thing. So we bend and
stretch it as best we can to accommodate the players’ needs. Some ideas
don’t fit and are discarded from the start. Some will wash out during play.
While the process is not an equitable collaboration, there is give and take.

However, as you brainstorm, remember this dictum: Limitations make

things interesting. Don’t try to include everything in your Big Picture.
Limit it; pare it down. When you decide not to include an element, devise
a reason or logic behind the decision. Likewise, when you expand the Big
Picture to include input from a player, share the logic of your decision.
Why do these elements exist (or not) in your schema?

The Big Picture is your world, but the term “world” is too big. The word
world makes you think you need to design an ecology and economy right
off the bat­—the whole fantasy milieu. You don’t. You need only sketch
rough lines. Create a loose structure with indistinct borders that you can
detail in play. As you fill in each area, you learn how it works. When you
return to a place you established, it feels comforting, fostering a sense
of space and time.

Tone
Set a tone for your game. Tone is often tied directly to the setting. Some
examples include: straight historical (Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant
Mirror), mythological or mystical (The Tale of the Heike, which is sort
of historical but with magic and heroes), fairy tale (William Goldman’s
The Princess Bride), grim dark fantasy (Stephen R. Donaldson’s
The Mirror of Her Dreams or Glen Cook’s The Black Company) and

25
The Burning Wheel Codex

adventurous in the vein of classic

Dungeons & Dragons fantasy
(Terry Brooks’ The Sword of
Shannara).

Loose Character Concepts

Toss around some loose character
ideas. The GM’s Big Picture is a
large circle encompassing appro-
priate character concepts. Players
state what type of character they’d
like to play, but they should also
be ready to adapt as details get
firmed up. There will likely have
to be some negotiation between the
GM’s concept of the setting and the
players’ character concepts. Try to
accommodate all of the ideas that
make sense. Throw out everything
that’s disruptive or nonsensical. Actually, keep one thing that doesn’t
make sense. You might be able to make the anomaly compelling as play
develops.

A word to the wise: Consider the lifepaths. Try to mold your concepts to
the existing lifepaths. Creating new lifepaths is possible, but it should
be your option of last resort, not your first.

One-Sentence Setting
At this point, you should have at least one sentence to describe the type
of setting in which you want to play. You should not have more than
three bullet points.

An ancient kingdom in which a prophesied king ruled justly, leaving it

all to his son upon his death.
The last Elven citadel, still a shining example of all that the First Folk can
accomplish, a place of wisdom and grace.
A broken land to which the Orcs were exiled after their dark lord was
defeated.
The primordial forest that links to all forests.

26
 The Adventure Burner

A tapestry of Dwarven princes vying for fame and glory from their

Adventure Burner
palatial halls scattered along the mountains.
A land walked by gods who do not have the best interests of humans
and beasts at heart.

Burning Situation
Burning Wheel doesn’t care about the topography, population, climate,
cosmology or creation myths of your world unless—unless­—it matters.
What matters in Burning Wheel? Stuff that challenges the players’
Beliefs.

How Do You Challenge a Belief?

To successfully challenge a Belief, you first need to create believable
context. You need to draw the players into the world so that they care
about their characters and these challenges; then you confront them.

Bloodshed in the name of violence is irreligious; I shall not raise my hand

to strike another.
A Belief like that speaks of pacifism. You cannot challenge it simply by
saying, “You’re in a fight!” Or even, “Some guy picks a fight with you.
What do you do?”

You need to create a situation in which the player can make a choice
about how he will engage that Belief.

In this case, the owner of that pacifist Belief is a doctor. What will he
do when one of his patients is attacked while convalescing? Will he
intervene? Will he stand idly by? Run for help?
A situation is something that contains choices. What are these choices?
They are potential actions a player can take with his character. It’s not
enough to have the option to refuse or to walk away. In the context of
the game, you must have the option to cut your own path.

These choices lead to actions. Actions are tests of a character’s abilities.

Resolution of an action produces a result that changes the situation,
even if only slightly.

Building a situation is tricky business. Note its many qualifications:

• A well-wrought situation is interesting to everyone at the table.

27
The Burning Wheel Codex

• It is a conflict that encompasses many fictional people, making it

easy for the players to burn characters that are central to this long-
term conflict.

• It gives players room for input and interpretation through their
Beliefs, Instincts, reputations, affiliations and relationships.

• And perhaps most important, a situation is not easily resolved, nor

is it solved through any one straightforward path. In fact, there is no
correct solution—only action.

All that is certain is that the situation must be confronted through

adventure and conflict. When the situation stops burning, when
players can no longer find conflicts to which they can attach Beliefs and
Instincts, you know your game has come to a conclusion.

How Does One Create a Well Wrought Situation?

Creating a situation requires a measure of passion, a slice of inspiration,
a helping of determination and a good amount of patience.

•T
 hink. Come to the table with an idea that excites you about Burning
Wheel or fantasy gaming or literature. It could be a character or
even a situation borrowed from another story.

•B
 rainstorm. Everyone has an idea they’re excited about. Get it all
out on the table. I like to have everyone pop off an idea, and I write
them down in a list as they come.

•B
 e inspired. Get excited about other people’s ideas. Repeat each idea
aloud as it’s announced. Roll it around on your tongue.

•B
 e merciless. The other side of this friendly collaboration is to be
merciless and honest. Cut out ideas that don’t interest you.

•C
 ompromise. After you’ve all brainstormed about ideas that excite
you and hacked off the ones that don’t, compromise. Merge what
you have. How can it all fit together? The GM is the main player
in this role. It’s primarily his job to take the ideas and build them
into a coherent whole. Be imaginative. Create a warped internal
logic. Each connection between two elements creates a reason or
paradigm. Explain this logic to the group.

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 The Adventure Burner

Use the following questions to get you started and talking. Again, the

Adventure Burner
GM should take a strong role in this, but needs to honor reasonable
requests, especially for including character types. Try not to break the
setting, but rather flesh it out.

• What’s the conflict? What are the characters involved in? What are
the sides? What problem do they face?

—W
 ho opposes the goals of the characters? Who are the
antagonists? What is the relationship between the antago-
nists and the characters?

—W
 hat are the antagonists’ goals? Why are the characters in
their way?

• I magine a scene in which all of the characters are standing in a

room with the antagonists or their minions. What do the antagonists
want from that meeting? What do the characters want? Parley,
redress, slaughter?

•A
 lternately, imagine the characters standing at the scene of some
great disaster or calamity clearly caused by one of the antagonists.
What’s the disaster? How did it happen? What are the characters
going to do about it right now?

• And lastly, what’s the raison d’etre: Why are the characters together
as an inseparable group? What is the glue that binds them? Are they
family, neighbors, friends or fellow employees?

The situation for one of our campaigns was as follows: An ice age arrived
because Death gained control of the God of Fire’s lantern, which heats
the world. The lantern now guttered in Death’s care. Mysteriously, the
group was dispatched on a journey by Death herself to find the lantern
and decide whether or not to rekindle it.
The conflict was two-fold. First, the players had to successfully complete
their journey. Second, they would have to convince Death in regard to
the fate of the Lantern.
Their opposition was frightening. When I considered the setting of
walking gods, it struck me that their enemies would be the two gods
who wished to see light and fire extinguished eternally: Night and Cold.
Those are powerful enemies.

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The Burning Wheel Codex

From the outset, I planned to have the God of Cold pursuing them, turning
all in their path to ice. The God of Night would then offer to aid them in
their quest…if they would only perform a small service for him.
Those were my big setting villains. More immediately, I planned to oppose
them with tribes of humans who believed themselves to be the Chosen
(not the players), goblins who sought to cause mischief and lesser gods
who simply wanted to get their way despite the end times!
This was a rather esoteric but high-stakes game.
The last element of the situation was the most important by far: Why
were the characters together? What bound them? We decided that they
ardently believed they were Chosen of Death. Each had their own reason,
but essentially they were zealots for the god. I’ll talk more about the
characters in the Burning Characters section.

Burning Setting
When creating a setting for Burning Wheel, it’s important to
acknowledge the game’s limits. Versatile though the game may be, you
cannot “do whatever you want.”

Burning Wheel doesn’t provide you with a map, geography or other

setting details, but there is a setting to this game. The lifepaths, traits
and game rules themselves create the setting. The atmosphere of this
setting is passionate and violent. It’s fraught with volatile emotions like
faith, greed, grief and hatred. The people of this setting are trying to
escape the grind of their daily life, looking for something better. They
are a colorful, quirky people—but often scarred or crippled by their
experiences.

Look over the lifepaths and traits. Try to fit these ideas into your setting.
If you can make it work, your game will go smoothly. If you can’t make
your ideas fit with our intrinsic setting, you need to rethink your game.

Technologically, Burning Wheel favors fourteenth-century France and

twelfth-century China. The poor are very poor but surviving. The
wealthy are very wealthy but also teetering on the edge of ruin. Magic
is extremely potent, armor is effective and injury from a sword or bow
is calamitous for the victim.

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 The Adventure Burner

By default, there are peasants, villagers and townsfolk. There is a noble

Adventure Burner
ruling class and an elite class of magicians and priests. The age of
the professional soldier—mercenaries—has just dawned. Slavery and
bondage are not uncommon, and society casts out those who don’t fit
or obey tradition: criminals, vagabonds, insurrectionists and sorcerers.

In addition to humans, there are all manner of fantastic peoples. The

most robust are Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls, Great Wolves and Roden.
Each people has its own distinct culture that governs its abilities
and outlook. These peoples are heterogeneous—their cultures exist
separately within the setting.

All of these elements exist in the default Burning Wheel setting. You
can and should pare down the default settings to what’s absolutely
necessary to get your setting off the ground.

Use the following questions for inspiration. Let the world-builders in

your group go to town—the GM should take an especially strong role—
but be sure to accept input from all interested players. Try to answer
these questions as succinctly as possible and don’t spend more than a
half hour or so on this part!

• What’s the Big Picture? What’s going on in this setting that makes it
ripe for adventure? What’s changing, evolving or declining?
• What’s the culture? What are the cultural analogs? Analogs can be
taken from history, current events or fantasy works.
• What is the environment or atmosphere like? Is it a sunlit realm of
contrasts or a dour, grim country?
•W
 hat’s the name of the most important place in this setting? Not the
capital per se, but the place where all the action goes down.
•W
 hat’s the name of a faraway place? A place that folks talk about,
dream about or mutter about under their breath.
•W
 hat types of magic exists in this setting? How is it viewed by the
various cultures?
•W
 hich character stocks are in play in this setting? Which are
restricted and why?
•W
 ho are the monsters of this setting? Are they outcasts, or are they
a part of everyday life?
•H
 ow does the economy work? What’s the currency? Who collects the
taxes? What do people do for work? What’s the major trade?

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The Burning Wheel Codex

I’m going to run down the answers for some of these questions for an
example campaign:
Big Picture: We played in this world in a previous game. We wanted to
explore more of it, but we didn’t want to rehash what we’d done. On the
other hand, the results of our last campaign were rather catastrophic:
Fox God tricked Forest God, Mountain God and Fire God into war with
one another. This resulted in Fire God’s lantern being doused and stolen.
We decided that in the aftermath of that divine cataclysm, Death had
come into possession of the lantern and an ice age had set in. The question
overhanging this world now was: Will Death extinguish the lantern for
good and plunge the world into eternal darkness or would she rekindle
it and bring an age of rebirth?
Culture: We decided that some time had passed since Death had gained
the lantern. In that time, glaciers crept down from the north. Human
civilization crumbled into itinerant tribes, slowly fleeing before the
inexorable cold. But in addition to these tribes, great furry trolls now walked
the earth, protected from the sun by the pall of gloom that preceded the ice.
Environment: The ice age wasn’t complete. I decided that the campaign
would start on the ice and move south and west, into verdant, still-living
lands. But if the group delayed, the weather would turn cold and the
clouds would blot out the sun.
The Most Important Place: This campaign didn’t necessarily have a
central location. It was a journey, a quest that traversed the world.
In fact, I made certain that the location of each session was markedly
different than the last: a great cave, a rushing river, a hidden glade, a
goblin grotto, a mountain town, a rotting valley and windswept plains.
Faraway Place: There were two faraway places in this world: the Land
of Death and home. One was at the end of their journey and the other
was the beginning.
Magic: Thor decided he wanted to play a summoner, so the world had
Summoning. Danny decided that his brother was a spirit binder, thus
there was also Spirit Binding. And, despite the fact that gods trod the
earth in many forms, there was no Faith magic present in the world.
If you wished to entreat a god, either you bound it with Summoning or
encountered it through your Circles or relationships.

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 The Adventure Burner

Burning Characters

Adventure Burner
Character Concepts
When you’re burning up your characters, weave in the details you’ve
created for your game. Review questions. Tie characters into setting
and situation.

Continuing my example from the Setting and Situation headings, we

had four characters joined together by a love of Death–the power, not
the practice.
Thor decided that he wanted to play a medicine man who treated with
the dead. He claimed that he had received his powers when he died and
was thrust back into life by Death herself.
Dro decided that he wanted to play a simple hunter who wished to guide
his companions safely to the Land of the Dead.
Group Burning
When you make characters, try to make them together as a group.
There’s a certain energy and camaraderie that only comes when all
heads are bent to rule books and pencils can be heard scritching on
worksheets.

Making characters together is pretty straightforward. Take turns

announcing your concepts and check to make sure everyone is still on
the same page. Then tuck into the Burner. Choose your lifepaths. Divide
stat, trait, resource and skill points. Buy your gear. Write Instincts.
Read off the Steel, Health, Grief, Greed and Hatred questions. Hold off
on relationships and Beliefs for a moment.

Hacking Lifepaths
If you’re stuck on finding the right lifepath to represent your setting,
you may use the following options. However, the modifications must be
approved by the other players first and then the GM gets final say. He
can make suggestions to modify or tailor your changes to the setting.
This is his job: to ensure the setting creates adequate adversity for your
little guy.

Change the Names First

This method is by far the simplest, best option for modifying
lifepaths to suit your setting. Change a “knight” to “janissary,”
for example. Sometimes that’s the difference you need to make

33
The Burning Wheel Codex

something fit. If that’s not enough, add a wise or skill to the path.
Don’t change anything else. If that’s still not enough, change one skill
to something more appropriate to your setting. For example, if playing
in a Renaissance setting, you might need to change Bow or Crossbow
to Firearms or something similar.

Sometimes the culture of your setting just doesn’t fit the lifepaths.
To accommodate the culture, consider changing one of the lifepath’s
requirements—a trait or skill.

34
 The Adventure Burner

Traits are a major part of the Burning Wheel ethos, but it’s tempting to

Adventure Burner
cut them out in favor of your new awesome setting. I urge you not to.
Believe it or not, behind each lifepath trait is a careful decision about
game balance. So, it’s cool to change the names of traits to suit the
flavor of your game, but try not to change their substance.

New Lifepaths
Sometimes your setting will encourage inventive twists that aren’t
included in our lifepaths. Create a new lifepath that suits your
requirements. Try to look in the various settings in the Codex for an
analogous lifepath and base your new path on that.

Use this option sparingly.

Of Men and Monsters

Sometimes, a player is going to devise a character concept that simply
cannot be burned up using the existing lifepaths. There are a couple of
ways to go about this. You can simply rough in the appropriate abilities
and traits for the creature or you can burn it from one of the extant
lifepath sets and then just toss on some additional traits to make it into
a monster.

Danny wanted to play a half-troll, half-yeti. We used the Troll lifepaths to

create the skeleton of the character. Then we replaced some of his Trollish
traits with traits from the Monstrous Trait List: Rather than being scaly,
he was hairy. He replaced his Claws and Fangs with the Aura of Fear,
and his Night Eyes with Keen Sight.
Cultural Traits
What cultural traits apply to the characters of this game world? Pick
one to three character traits for each culture (see the Burning Wheel,
page 198).

Material World
Take a look at your material world. Can you make your setting more
interesting by imposing limits or restrictions? What weapons and
armor are available? Are some weapons and armor restricted to certain
cultures or character stocks? What property is available? Are resources
and gear otherwise restricted?

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The Burning Wheel Codex

Burning Action
You’ve got a setting, a situation and characters,
so you’re good to go, right? Almost, but not
quite. You need an immediate problem in the
setting to kick you off. You need action. To
create action, the GM makes a strong statement
about how the antagonists, their minions and
the general forces of the setting are out to make
the lives of the characters difficult.

These forces can attack the characters directly,

attack their relationships and property, or even
try to destabilize the setting itself. The GM sets
up a scenario and lays it out for the players.

Alternately, the action can consist of a mission

for the player characters—an act they must
undertake. The direction for the mission comes
from one of their relationships. The goal of the
mission entangles them with their enemies. It
shouldn’t topple or directly confront the enemy.
Build up to that.

Two tribes—one of furry trolls, one of humans—meet at the prophesied

place, the mouth of a great cave. Both claim to be Chosen of Death to
undertake this quest. You are members of both tribes. You must strike an
accord so that the tribes do not slaughter each other and fail to complete
Death’s quest before it is begun.
In our game, a contest between the champions of each tribe was declared.
The winners would go on the quest.
Once the contests were decided, the group of Chosen was led into a great
cave by Bat God. He led them to a chasm from which they had to leap in
darkness into River God and be swept away. They had to make Forte tests
to stay conscious once they hit the freezing, rushing river…and then they
were away on their quest.

36
 The Adventure Burner

Burning Beliefs and Relationships

Adventure Burner
Now that you have setting, situation, characters and action on the table,
the players finalize any relationships their characters have and write
Beliefs.

The action as described by the GM should grab you by the throat. If

your enemies are acting against you, you should be narrowing your
eyes and saying “No way” after hearing the description of their actions.
If you’ve been sent on a mission, you should be staring at the GM with
conviction, announcing, “Nothing can stop me!”

The following bullet points give you some pointers:

• Write a Belief about the action. This Belief must be goal oriented.

• Write a goal-oriented Belief about helping, hindering or learning

about another player’s character.

• Write a non-goal-oriented ethical statement about the situation—

you oppose the situation on moral grounds, you’ll do the right thing
no matter what or you’ll follow your code despite the situation.

• Write a goal-oriented Belief about one of your relationships.

• Write an ethical statement about something you want to explore in

the setting.

Chris wrote the following Beliefs for his furry troll who loved Death:
• I must find a guide to aid me on this journey (or I will get lost).
• I must rescue the lantern and keep it burning.
• I love Death. I will prove to her my prowess and serve at her side.

The situation in of our first session was a direct challenge to his last Belief:
to prove his love for Death and win his place on this quest at all costs.

Burning Mechanical Details

There are a handful of mechanical details that the GM and interested
players can fiddle with to better customize the game for the setting.

• What optional or new rules from this book are you using? Make sure
all of the players are aware that these rules are in play.

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The Burning Wheel Codex

• What’s your Resources cycle? One month, seasonal, six months,

annual?
• If traditional Sorcery is used, what’s its idiom? Does it require
speech? Gestures?
• If traditional Sorcery is used, what spells are available? Which spells
are inappropriate to the game world? If Summoning is used, which
orders are in play? If Art Magic, what schools? If Death Art, which
creatures are appropriate? If Spirit Binding, which domains?
• If Faith is used, what is the Faith idiom? What are the religions? Is
Faith universal or does it only affect believers?

Resources Hacks
Are there special conditions on your world that necessitate characters
beginning with certain resources, gear or relationships? If necessary,
distribute 5, 10 or 15 resource points to each character, so they may
begin the game in line with the vision of your world. Don’t take this one
lightly. It can break the game. Err on the conservative side.

Does your world necessitate certain traits for survival? Is it an

apocalyptic wasteland, an undersea kingdom, a realm of cloud castles?
If so, assign appropriate traits to the characters so that everything fits
and makes sense. These traits should mostly be character traits, but
low-end die traits are acceptable, too.

Burning Starting Artha

For games with a more heroic feel, start your players with a larger pool
of artha—up to three fate and three persona. To encourage your players
to really dive into their Beliefs, start them with the bare minimum of
one fate and one persona.

Wrapping Up
The questions and bullet points in this chapter should have you primed
to develop a functional situation and setting for a Burning Wheel game.
This chapter is little more than a sketch. For a more in-depth look at the
individual mechanics and how to use them in your games, check out the
rather extensive Commentary section. Beliefs, setting and situation all
have individual Commentary chapters; building a long-running game is
discussed in the Running the Game chapter; and collaborating and being
a good, supportive player is discussed in the Table Behavior chapter.

38
 More Bloody Rules
Here are some rules that might help clean up some bad habits and
soft spots in the rules that emerge in long-term play.

Too Many Cooks

For tests in which space or time is constrained, when design by
committee would prove detrimental or when the GM feels like it,
only one helper should be allowed unless extraordinary conditions
are met. Extraordinary conditions include a training skill or trait
that allows for extra help, a workshop (not just tools) or extreme
conditions as determined by the game’s circumstances.

Slowest and Loudest

When using help to make a test as a group—such as running away,
sneaking or climbing—the character with the lowest exponent
must make the test for the group. If two characters have the same
exponent, use the one with the higher obstacle penalty.

Slowest and Loudest applies to tests in which the group must

succeed together: They are all trying to convince someone, they
are all sneaking together, they are all fleeing an enraged monster,
etc. It is not a universal rule to be applied to all help. Sometimes the
master can accept help from the students, but at other times, when
the students have to escape the rampaging monster, the protective
master can only go as fast as the slowest of the pupils.

Fight Action Variants

Counterstrike Variants
There are two variants to the Counterstrike action that we use at
Burning Wheel Headquarters: Counter-Lock and Counter-Disarm.

They use the same basic mechanics as the Counterstrike—the same

action interactions. You divide your dice between defense and attack.

39
The Burning Wheel Codex

The attack portion of the Counter-Lock acts as a Lock action. Check

the interaction against your opponent’s current action. If you meet your
obstacle or win the versus test, apply a Lock according to the standard
rules. This also indicates you’ve won advantage at hands fighting distance.

The attack portion of the Counter-Disarm acts as a Disarm action.

Check the interactions against your opponent’s current action. If you’re
successful, you knock your opponent’s weapon away, as per the standard
rules.

I only recommend incorporating these variant actions if you’re looking to

add more martial flavor to your game. I also recommend limiting them
to specific skills or even individual characters who can teach them. A
simple instruction cycle can be used for teaching this new technique.

Damaging Locks
After you incapacitate your opponent with a Lock action, you may
continue to apply the Lock action even though your opponent cannot
resist any further. Each subsequent unopposed Lock action counts as a
bare-fisted Strike. You may not uses any weapons for this Strike except
claws or teeth. The grappled victim may not defend in any way. Armor
does not protect against this attack.

If you wish to incapacitate someone and knife them, you use a regular
Strike action and all the normal rules for that action apply.

Stature
Stature gets short shrift in Burning Wheel. Let’s see if we can make up
for that. There are five statures: tiny, diminutive, middling, massive
and gigantic.

Middle of the Road

Humans, Elves, Orcs and Wolves all count as middling stature, neither
diminutive nor massive. And due to their Stout trait, we’ll count
Dwarves as middling stature for the purposes of this rule. Roden, alas,
are diminutive.

Grabbing the Big Guys

Add a +1 Ob penalty for each step of difference in stature when a smaller
character is attempting to Lock, Charge or Push a character of bigger
stature.

40
 The Adventure Burner

Thus, a Dwarf or human has +1 Ob to Push, Charge or Lock a Troll

More Bloody Rules

(massive stature). They would have +2 Ob to Push, Charge or Lock a
Dragon (gigantic stature).

Faith Hindrance Against Stature

When attempting to use the Faith Hindrance miracle against creatures
of larger than middling stature, use the following modifications: massive
stature counts as two people (Ob 5); gigantic stature counts as three
people (Ob 6).

Free Shots
Take all the free shots owed to you on a maneuver in Range and Cover
(instead of being limited to one as described in the standard rules). Don’t
say I never gave you anything.

Instinct Timing
How much time does an Instinct provide? The core rules are intentionally
silent on the matter. I want players and GMs to decide what feels right.
Instincts are a way to edit the story so it fits better with our conception
of what is heroic.

But if I had to put a number on it, I’d say 2-3 actions before a conflict are
reasonable for an Instinct. But don’t get too picayune with this definition.
If you have an “Always practice…” Instinct, then you practiced the last
time there was a good moment for it. But this doesn’t mean you can
squeeze in one last practice session right now before your big fight.

41
Commentary
 Commenting on
Commentary
In this section, we try to pass on all of our observations and
insights about Burning Wheel. We break the game down chapter
by chapter, rule by rule. We also try to talk about what happens at
the table—stuff beyond the rule books. This section is for expert
users who want to get more out of their games.

In each commentary chapter, we discuss the rules, how they work

and what they mean. We talk about house rules and variations.
And then we try to delve into practical applications of the rules at
the table. So, there’s more than just us blabbering about how much
we like the Fight system. There are pointers on how to get more
from the rules for your game.

Traditionally in our section introductions, we list each chapter

and give a summary. There are too many chapters in this section!
You’re just going to have to read through and enjoy the process of
discovery (or use the Table of Contents).

The Commentary section isn’t meant to be read straight through.

There’s no narrative to it. Each chapter is largely independent of
the others. Commentary is meant to be digested a bit at a time.
Read a chapter to clear up confusion about mechanics after one of
your games. Or consult a chapter before your game to help sharpen
your situation. We feel these essays are all useful, but there’s too
much information to absorb in one pass.

43
 Table Behavior
Rules give us the procedure for the operation of the system. They
tell us how to run the game, but there’s more to how we play than
rules. What do players do at the table when playing Burning
Wheel? In this chapter, we highlight some important habits at our
table: referencing the rules, logging tests and artha, supporting
the other players in pursuit of their goals, passing the spotlight
and taking notes.

Referencing the Rules

There’s a certain ebb and flow to the intensity of play in a roleplaying
game. Sometimes we’re all talking in funny voices, deeply engrossed
in the situation. Sometimes we’re slinging dice and crying victory
or howling defeat. Sometimes we’re an interested member of the
audience. Sometimes we zone out. And sometimes we need to
reference the rules.

There is no secret knowledge in the Burning Wheel rules. Everyone

is encouraged to know the rules of the game. Some players will have
a better handle on the rules than others. That’s only natural. But
when a rules question arises, we reference the rules: What’s that
obstacle? What’s the practice time? What’s the appropriate skill?
Sometimes we all go to the rules at the same time. Sometimes the
referrer is the GM, but more often it is a player not directly involved
in the action who reaches for a book and reads aloud the relevant
passage. It helps us all become more familiar with the system. Our
memories are subjective, faulty and unreliable. By relying on the
rules, we ensure that calls are as fair and consistent as they can be.

It deserves mention that if there’s a dispute to be settled or

interpretation to be made about the rules, the GM is the lead player
in the matter. We can each cite rules, but the final call is the GM’s.

Master Your Role

Players are responsible for knowing their part. If you’re playing a
knight, familiarize yourself with Fight. If you’re playing a courtier,
learn the Duel of Wits chapter. If you’re playing a priest, read up on
Faith. If you’re playing a sorcerer, learn what your magics do and
how to perform them.

44
 Commentary

If you’re playing a Dark Elf, make sure you know your Spite.

Table Behavior
It’s considered very bad form at our table to not know the specialized
rules for a character you’re playing. You might not have mastered them,
but make a reasonable attempt to absorb them. It’s the polite thing to do.

One way to learn these specialized rules is to help refer to them during
play. We don’t expect you to memorize everything beforehand. We learn
much better by doing and referring in play.

Logging Tests and Artha

The best practice for logging a test for advancement is to wait until the
moment has passed, the test is resolved and the performance has ended.
The spotlight will inevitably pass to another player or the GM. Use that
moment to quickly check off your advancement. If you don’t know what
the difficulty was, look it up—either on page 41 of the Burning Wheel
or on your character sheet.

Do not be rude and interrupt the GM and other players by asking for
the difficulty. If I could go back and make this a rule, I would: “If you
interrupt another player or the GM with a question about advancement,
you lose the test for advancement that you are trying to log.” The
interruptions drive me crazy, especially since they’re unnecessary.

On the other hand, when first starting out with Burning Wheel, for the
first few sessions you should stop play momentarily after a test or scene
and walk everyone through logging tests.

When you spend artha, the situation is different. You must announce
the expenditure to the group and mark it off your sheet (and mark the
progress toward epiphany) as you spend it.

Supporting Other Players

Supporting other players in pursuit of their goals is a more nuanced
behavior than referring to rules or logging tests, but it is an important
habit at the table. It requires measures of sensitivity, humility, fair play
and a sense of drama.

Support goes beyond passing a helping die, but it can start there. If a
player is in pursuit of a Belief, don’t jump on the test simply because
you have a better chance of succeeding. Offer to help the other player
accomplish this goal. Roleplay the mentorship and support.

45
The Burning Wheel Codex

On the other hand, if you’re gunning for a goal, but you don’t need this
test for advancement, take a moment to roleplay your character asking
for help. Make an impassioned plea. Let another player step up and share
in your moment. Help them help you accomplish your goal.

Another great way to support another player is to include his character in

one of your Beliefs. Write a Belief about helping, hindering or convincing
another player’s character. It’s guaranteed to benefit you both, and you’ll
get to share the spotlight to resolve the situation.

Passing the Spotlight

Sometimes you have to take center stage when a Belief is challenged.
However, after you’ve accomplished a goal, think about how you can help
your fellow players accomplish theirs. Don’t be selfish in the spotlight.
They’ve helped you. Now, what can you do to help them? We’ve found
that a session of Burning Wheel play often revolves around one or two
players driving the action while other players, who aren’t as invested,
play supporting roles. It’s a perfectly natural state, and those roles change
from session to session. We can’t all be in the spotlight all the time.

As the GM, you must be conscious of this phenomenon as well. It

doesn’t pay to focus too heavily on one character—challenging only that
character’s Beliefs. This will stymie the growth of the group. When I’m
running a campaign, I try to pick one Belief from two different characters
to challenge in a session. During the session, I set up the challenges for
those Beliefs. Everyone else is expected to help or support those players.
Hopefully they have Beliefs about doing just that. Next session, I set up
challenges for two different Beliefs. This way, in our ongoing games, I
work to ensure the spotlight is shared over the long term.

Note Taking
At BWHQ we like extended campaigns. We like story lines that span
sessions, campaigns, characters and even groups! We foster this type
of play by keeping notes on our play. Usually a couple of players will
note down the names of characters met, places visited and items found.
The GM logs Duel of Wits compromises and winning statements. And
sometimes a player will keep an obsessive log of all of his character’s
accomplishments.

46
 Commentary

After playing this way for many years, we have a sprawling archive of

Table Behavior
material from multiple campaigns. Honestly, it’s a bit daunting. Since
it’s all scribbled in notebooks, it can be hard to find a particular piece of
information. However, it’s incredibly inspiring. I can grab a notebook, flip
through it and not only remember some good times, but find inspiration
for other stories for those characters—stat blocks, scrawled notes, careful
plans and lists of names.

There’s plenty of downtime in a game when the spotlight is on another

player or the GM is in the bathroom. Instead of rewriting your equipment
list (again), checking your email or tuning out, take some notes. Jot down
what you’re thinking about the campaign. Write down your friend’s
hilarious in-character outburst. Record the name of the fortress you
just conquered. The notes will pay dividends in the long run. We use
notebooks and a folder full of notes for each campaign. Some folks like
to use online documents and wikis, too. These can be shared around the
group to allow everyone to contribute and collaborate.

47
 Running a Game
The Burning Wheel provides procedures for creating a character,
enumerating player goals, resolving conflicts and changing
characters over time. Yet the text does not provide instructions
on how to combine those elements and run a session, adventure or
campaign. This chapter contains loose commentary on how to run
a game of Burning Wheel. We’ll get into specifics in the individual
commentary chapters.

One-Off
A complete game of Burning Wheel can be played in one sitting. In
this case, the situation must be a one-act story with one goal to push
toward. Complications in attaining the goal and the resolution of
the goal make up the action for the session. Burning Wheel sessions
of this type run from two to six hours.

Here are some of the one-offs I’ve run: A tribe of Orcs attempts to
overthrow its leader; a delegation of Elves comes to congratulate
a Dwarven prince upon his coronation, but they forget to bring a
gift; four adventurers find a magical sword and debate who keeps
the treasure; four Elves journey to a lost island to end their kin
who have become Dark Elves; a family gathers to cremate their
deceased grandfather and divide his patrimony; and a ragtag group
of adventurers must aid a town plagued by a violent demon.

During a one-off session, don’t worry about tracking advancement.

Don’t track artha for epiphanies. Most players will focus on one
Belief in a one-off session. Once they’ve made a statement about
that Belief, challenge it. You’re not going to get a second chance.
If a player is struggling with a Belief, try to push for a climax that
threatens or changes that Belief. Otherwise, don’t worry about
challenging each Belief in a one-off. Drive toward the action with
players who are interested and focused. Other players with tangential
Beliefs need to dive into the action and participate—encourage them,
but don’t coddle them.

When starting a one-off session, it’s vital that the GM be explicit

about the situation. Before characters are chosen or burned, the
GM tells the players what the goal of the session will be. He’s not

48
 Commentary

obligated to reveal any secrets or spell it out, but he must tell the players

Running a Game
what’s going on. Doing so allows the players to make more directly
applicable choices for their characters—Beliefs, skills, wises, gear—and
thus get right to the action.

Single-Session Goals
If you were to tackle a dungeon in a single session of play, the GM might
give a goal like, “retrieve the orb.” He then notes about four obstacles that
lead to one fight. How the players handle the obstacles determines the
state of the fight. They can walk into it fresh and smart, or they can wash
up bedraggled and in trouble. The results of the action in the dungeon
might lead to a Duel of Wits about the fate of the aforementioned orb.
If everything goes well, we might play out a return trip through some
of the obstacles.

Short Campaign
To run a short campaign of Burning Wheel, you’ll need a setting and
a situation with two goals. One goal should be obvious and explicit,
similar to a one-off session goal. The second goal should be occluded and
emergent. It presents itself after the first goal has been accomplished or
failed to be accomplished.

How long is short? We recommend 4-15 sessions. In four sessions, you can
accomplish quite a bit, but don’t have room to advance many abilities. In
15 sessions, you can usually see one full cycle from a starting character
through a trait vote or two, with plenty of advancements.

You have more time to stretch your legs in a short campaign. You can
afford to more broadly address individual Beliefs. However, you still
need to stay tightly focused on the resolution of the situation at hand.

Plan on confronting the first goal at the end of the second session or the
beginning of the third. However, don’t start slow. Start off the first session
of the short campaign with action—a confrontation, a fight, a dispute, an
argument, a ceremony or a mystery revealed. Use this action to engage
the players; challenge a Belief or two right out of the gate.

Once you’ve accomplished that first goal, the players will have new ideas
about their Beliefs. Encourage the players to change them. Prepare to
be taken by surprise. Prepare to have to scramble to challenge them.

49
The Burning Wheel Codex

Your second goal is a twist or revelation presented at the conclusion of

the first. It is not an unconnected surprise. It’s a natural outgrowth from
the action thus far. This twist is revealed in the action of completing that
first goal. You topple the duke, but you learn that your wife is pregnant
by him. You gain a pup from an opposing wolf pack, but now you’re
embroiled in a war with the gods, and so on.

Long-Term Mechanics for Short-Term Play

In a short campaign, it’s possible for the players to accomplish micro-goals
from session to session—changing a Belief at the top of each session to
reflect their immediate goal. This is perfectly acceptable. Also, encourage
them to track advancement. You’ll probably see advancements in session
three or four. Don’t worry about tracking epiphany artha—unless you
plan to return to these characters in the future. An epiphany typically
requires 30-50 sessions of play to accomplish.

Lifestyle maintenance cycles depend on the pace and passage of time in

the fiction. If you’re playing a taut, thriller-like story that happens over
the course of a week, then you won’t need the lifestyle maintenance rules.
If you’re playing a short campaign about a war that spans a year—with
significant downtime between the battles—then you’ll want to agree on
a maintenance cycle.

Also, at the end of a short campaign, take time to perform a trait vote.
It is an excellent way to reflect on the game and cement the characters
in the group’s imagination. It is also a nice reward for all of your hard
work. Or, you can accelerate the pace even further and allow a trait vote
after the first short campaign goal is accomplished. That way, you get to
play the changed characters—which is its own reward.

Long Campaign
Burning Wheel is designed to be run as a long campaign. The system
creates growth and change in the character—Beliefs and Instincts change,
abilities advance, injuries reduce your abilities, new traits are earned
and old ones lost. In a long campaign, these events happen inevitably
and repeatedly. Thus the character changes not once, but gradually,
constantly, as the story progresses. I find this style of play immensely
satisfying.

How long is long? To us, a long campaign is just getting rolling around
session 12. At this point, all of the original Beliefs are resolved and now
we’re really digging into the setting.

50
 Commentary

For a long game, it’s important to have a big, loose setting. The GM and

Running a Game
the players need to have an idea of the culture, the customs, the mores
and even the prejudices of the people they are playing.

However, the pregnant situation that kicks off a one-shot or short-term

game is also vital to the success of a long-term game. You must jump into
a long-term game with action and you must move from action to action.
When a goal is accomplished, it reveals new information, a new situation
that changes the players’ perspectives. Players must modify their Beliefs
to accommodate this new information. If you reach a point in which the
action is resolved and players don’t wish to modify their Beliefs, you’ve
reached the end of your game.

In a long-term game, track advancement and log artha expenditures

for epiphanies. Keep a practice journal. At least one player should take
notes on important NPCs met, compromises reached and other important
events. Perform a trait vote every 6-12 sessions.

Reincorporate NPCs. Old characters encountered in the early days of the

game return with a new perspective and new goals.

Revisit locations. Recurring locations help create a sense of place in the

game. You can indicate progress or change in the setting with descriptions
of how certain locations have changed during the course of the story. The
players can also directly change these places—buying them, ruling over
them, destroying them or liberating them. This in turn creates a sense of
ownership, which translates to ownership of the story itself.

Engage with the practice and lifestyle maintenance cycles. When a

character absolutely must recover from an injury, use this downtime to
allow the other characters to accomplish long-term aims. Their progress
is described in terms of practice cycles—intriguing at court? Practice
Etiquette. Scouting a city? Practice Streetwise. Imprisoned? Time to do
pushups for two hours a day and practice your Power.

When you reach a lull in the game, don’t be afraid to set it aside for a
while. Talk about the setting, the characters and the events. Find out
what parts of the setting interest the group. Pick up the game again
and address those interests. Or play from a different perspective—same
setting, but different characters. We’ve used one of our settings to play
out a dozen campaigns from a variety of perspectives. From adventure
to adventure, some characters recur, some are new. This practice truly
gives the setting a feeling of life and depth.

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The Burning Wheel Codex

One-on-One Games
Some of my favorite campaigns have been one-on-one: one player and
myself as the GM. These games are intense. You have to be very focused.
There’s no way to turn aside to another player and get a break while your
brain chews on a thorny problem.

In my experience, this intensity makes the sessions shorter than they

would be for a larger group. My one-player sessions last between two
and three hours. Never longer. They’re exhausting, since you can’t pass
the spotlight and rest or reflect.

Mechanically, the game works fine in this mode except for three aspects:
help, artha and trait votes. Help is a problem since there is only one
player—and help is a vital aspect of the system that ties deeply to
advancement and learning new skills. To remedy this, play strong NPCs
and use them as surrogate PCs. Build close relationships. Let the NPCs
help and be helped during play.

The artha awards for MVP, Workhorse and Embodiment are tricky. They
are derived from a group vote. It’s too easy for the GM and player to lazily
agree that all awards are deserved. Or too easy for the player to sit back
and let the GM hand out the awards at will. Neither of these scenarios is
acceptable. Both player and GM must be open, honest and critical of the
session. They both need to look at the session with dispassion. Be harsh
critics. Your play will benefit greatly from it.

Traits votes are difficult in a manner similar to group-determined artha

awards. It’s too easy to be lazy and just toss on benefits. The player
and GM must be critical of the play and look at it with an open mind.
Procedurally, the GM plays a dual role in the trait vote, acting both as
the group and as the GM. It’s quite a bit of power. He judges the player’s
performance and determines what trait is appropriate or what traits are
valid to be removed. It’s a bit stressful, but also very refreshing. It’s a
tremendous venue for deeply changing a character. A one-on-one game
will transform you and the way you play.

A group game is like a little party, but a one-on-one game is more like a
date. The intimacy, for lack of a better word, can be intimidating. There’s
nowhere to hide! Still, the experience is very rewarding. Try it out.

52
 Commentary

Practical Action

Running a Game
Burning Wheel is a game about action. Characters take action in service
of their Beliefs to accomplish their ends.

Options and Questions

To keep action interesting, there can be no set outcome to the situation.
Both player and GM must be prepared for a beneficial or harmful
outcome, but the GM holds the greater responsibility in this process.

When the GM presents an obstacle for you to overcome, there must be an

explicit question about its resolution. Your nemesis, the cardinal, visits
your cell. You’ve been condemned. He represents your only possibility of
redress, yet you hate him. Will you treat with him or will you go stoically
to your fate? If you treat with him, will you plead, bribe or spell your
way out of this situation?

If there’s no question, consider Saying Yes to this action and moving on.

Fights and arguments in Burning Wheel have uncertain outcomes. They

present their own inherent questions: Will you survive? How much
will this cost you? But again, if there’s no question—if an opponent is
unassailable—don’t play out the action. Move the story along to the point
at which there is a question with uncertain outcomes. You can’t defeat
the giant in single combat; you’ll be destroyed in a single blow. But can
you outwit him? Can you escape his dungeons? Those are questions
whose outcomes we don’t know. Their resolution will provide us with
interesting play.

Practical Situation
Simple Motivations
When devising problems to be solved in fantasy roleplaying games, it’s
easy to run away with complicated, outsized ideas. The classic example:
We must save the world! Why? Because the forces of ancient chaos have
arrived to annihilate it! Great. Who cares?

Such situations are tempting, because they are full of awe and imply
heroic deeds. However, Burning Wheel operates best with simple,
human motivations: greed, jealousy, grief, hatred, zealotry, love, despair,
fraternity, etc. Drill down to these base motivations and you can give the
impending doom of the world more gravity.

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The Burning Wheel Codex

Place these themes at the core of your situation and build out from there.
Give your characters motivations based on these simple emotions and
Burning Wheel will sing.

Even if you’re conducting an old-school dungeon crawl, make your

dungeoneer hateful and bigoted or motivate him with loyalty and
friendship. The Goblin King at the center of this hellish pit might be
motivated by unrequited love for the noble knight’s beautiful sister.
Motivations like these help the actions make sense. They give structure
around which you can easily wrap Beliefs and Instincts. And most
important, they allow you to start from a believable center and grow
out into the realm of the fantastic.

The key to creating an epic game in Burning Wheel isn’t in the shade
of the villain’s abilities, but the motivations. These motivations must be
made comprehensible, even sympathetic. Make the core of the story small
and set it against a large backdrop. Your game will take on an epic scope.

Practical Situation in
Continuing Games
It’s one thing to set up a neat world and have an interesting starting point,
but how do you continue that game?

Last Time…
You can pick up right where you left off. Briefly recap the last session.
Drop the players right back into the action. This is a basic technique
that works well for resolving cliff-hangers and other unfinished action.
It’s easy for the GM because he doesn’t have to do a lot of new work for
the next scene.

The GM can and should use the break between sessions to add a new
twist or dimension to the situation. Bring in a relationship to help or
an enemy to hinder, or use a previous failure result to add a new twist.
Be sure to add this new obstacle to the end of the recap of last session.

The players are welcome to modify or change Beliefs to suit developments

in this ongoing problem.

Our Intrepid Adventurers Recently Discovered…

You can use a recap method that takes the last bit of action and restates
it as a kind of prologue for the coming session. This works well with big
revelations. Restate the discovery. Rattle off a number of the players’

54
 Commentary

options for dealing with the

Running a Game
situation. Give them a few minutes
to discuss. Then hit them with a
new twist: A relationship comes to
see them with more information;
an antagonist makes a move
against an ally; or an antagonist
makes a move directly against the
group.

This technique is most easily used

at the top of the session, but it’s
quite effective during a session,
too. If the players lack direction,
you can stop the bickering and
say, “You recently discovered that
the twelfth daughter of the Queen
Mother of the city is a sorceress and
in love with Ian’s character. What
are you going to do about it?”

Meanwhile…
If your group is split up, you must switch the spotlight between the two
segments. I find it effective to start the session with a “Meanwhile…,”
focusing on the group that was inactive at the end of the last session.

Describe the situation of both groups. Let the players write or modify
Beliefs. Focus the action on one part of the group. Allow them to overcome
or resolve one obstacle. Cut back to the other group and do the same.
Try to keep each cut to five to 10 minutes. Don’t make the other group
sit so long that they get bored. Try to make the cuts back and forth with
die rolls. Sometimes you can even intertwine tests between two separated
groups. Set up a test and have one group throw the dice. Cut to the other
group before narrating the results. Have the second group roll for their
test, but then cut back to the first group and determine their results. And
then finally jump back to the second group for their results. It can be a
nice tension-building technique.

Once the action is resolved, narrate the groups rejoining. “After your
harrowing experiences, you meet again on the far side of the marsh.” Or,
“Later, back at your apartments in the city, you discuss what happened.”

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Of course, if one group is in great danger, the other players may have to
come to the rescue. If this is the case, don’t make the captured or dangling
group wait too long. Frame an obstacle to the rescue and resolve it. Dig
right into the real action of the situation—players helping one another
in a heroic fashion.

You can also use Meanwhile situations to demonstrate what the

antagonists are doing or to show off a piece of the Big Picture. Once the
players have resolved a situation—especially one that transpired over
a long period of game time—hit them with a Meanwhile: “Meanwhile,
the Society of Professional Mourners has set up an office in the funerary
district. You hear about it from some of your clients.” Or, “Meanwhile,
while you were out traipsing around the countryside, the Council has
passed a law restricting the practice of magic in the city.” You can use
these to showcase the effects of the players’ actions in the setting and
foreshadow the next situation.

Born from your setting and situation, such simple statements can
galvanize a group and spur them to creative action—especially if they
challenge Beliefs.

Later…
The GM controls the pacing of the game. If he feels the game is stalled
or dragging, he must reframe the action. He briefly narrates a jump
in time and then describes the current, more pressing situation to the
players. It’s the perfect opportunity to grab one of the player’s Beliefs
and confront him about it.

Don’t say, “You finish that and wait.” Put the players right into the
throat of a problem they can’t ignore. Tell them, “Your hearing goes
poorly. You’re conducted back to your cell to await the verdict. After an
interminable, undefinable amount of time, the cardinal—your nemesis—
is admitted to your cell to give you absolution.” What will you say to the
cardinal? Will you try to escape judgment?

This technique is very powerful, but take care in using it. Players will
often want to interject some action or detail, “Oh, before that I wanted
to go shopping.” Say no. Tell them there was no time. This is a GM
superpower. You control pacing. You get to set the scenes. Of course, if
you honestly forgot a pending request, you should honor it. Don’t be a
dick, but don’t let players dither.

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 Commentary

When Do You Back Off and Let the Players Take the Reins?

Running a Game
It’s important to keep the action moving, to keep the players interested
and engaged. After a good, strong run, players will be exhausted and out
of ideas. Their characters will be beat up, in need of rest and recuperation.

You do not want to rest up the characters before every dramatic situation.
The whole point of being wounded or suffering similar penalties is
that these modifications make the next action more dangerous, more
challenging. If the players are allowed to gather their strength before
every encounter, then the penalties lose their value, which causes success
and failure themselves to lose their value.

Thus, you must strike a balance. You must push the players and threaten
their characters. You must harry them, work them. But once they have
accomplished that great goal in their Beliefs, you must back off. Once
the situation has been resolved or substantially changed, you must give
the reins to the players. You must frame the action so they can rest and
consider their options.

Even so, unless you’re ending a campaign, you must constrain their
choices. Give them a set amount of time or resources to use. Give them
a month to rest and practice, for example. During that time, they can
make Resources tests. At the end of the rest period, something happens:
An event transpires that challenges their Beliefs in an unexpected way.

Certain savvy players will build rest, recuperation and refitting into their
Beliefs. They’ll create personal goals that seem to dodge the situation and
create room for them to lessen the impact of injury, tax or loss. Don’t get
flustered by this tactic. It’s a beautiful thing and perfectly valid within the
scope of Burning Wheel play. Don’t forget: Your job, as GM, is to challenge
their Beliefs, whatever they may be. So if the players write Beliefs about
replenishing lost gear or recovering from wounds, run with it. Challenge
them: Pester them as they recover; tax them as they save; summon them
for duty when they practice. The story will spin in unexpected directions
with this action. The players will gain a new perspective, you’ll generate
hooks for future developments and resting won’t be quite so easy.

Of course, if they resolve these Beliefs, they should be given time to rest
and refit as per their goals. As they recover, hit them with a Meanwhile
situation. Or when they’re done, frame the action with a Later situation.
Keep things moving!

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If there’s truly no action or situation to be resolved, then don’t play

out the rest and downtime at all. Simply set a length of time and allow
players to log practice, recovery and jobs as appropriate. Don’t forget
those lifestyle maintenance tests!

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 Situation
Commentary
I believe stories are best told through the actions of their
protagonists and antagonists. However, this statement is simplistic.
It’s not enough to have protagonists and antagonists. To create
drama, we need the seed of a problem that will drive the characters
into conflict.

We call this seed “situation.” A situation takes a handful of

elements from the bigger setting, places them in context and pits
them against one another. Many forces are at work, all vying for
dominance. The outcome is uncertain.

In this chapter, we offer commentary on creating and playing

through situations in Burning Wheel. We discussed the Big Picture
in the introduction—a setting fraught with peril and all manner
of interesting characters. It seems like that would be all you’d
need to get a game rolling. Unfortunately, starting out with only
characters and a setting makes playing Burning Wheel harder
than it needs to be.

That’s where we come in. To play Burning Wheel, we need a Big

Picture and this smaller situation. Once we have them, we can
design our characters so they are part of this world. They have a
role in it, a stake in it. They feel at home. They care about it or,
conversely, hate it.

We need to wind your character up and launch him or her into the
situation. You know the forces at play. You know your role. Write
Beliefs that thrust you into action. They tell us that you’re going
to enter this space and do something. We don’t know the outcome,
but something is going to change. In the course of this action, other
unanticipated elements will be revealed and create new situations.
New Beliefs will be written to address new situations. Action will
spin off into unforeseen directions. Play will be interesting and
exciting.

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Three General Situations

Broadly speaking, there are three general types of situation in fantasy
roleplaying: the quest, the struggle and intrigue. They are not mutually
exclusive to one story, but they exist discretely within a narrative.

For example, you must recover an artifact and confront a supernatural

evil. Heroes risk their lives in this quest. Meanwhile, the armies of evil
swarm over the land in an overwhelming tide. A small band of heroes
must rally their beleaguered allies and stand against evil at any cost.
While in the halls of power, the struggle and the quest have unearthed
ugly truths about the ruling class. These revelations must be carefully
navigated lest they topple the very order that all now fight to uphold.

That example outlines an epic campaign. However, your game does not
need to be nearly so involved, especially at the outset.

It’s best to pick one of the archetypes and work from there. Flesh out
the situation at hand, and perhaps leave hooks for the other tropes to
tie in later, if appropriate. In general, a campaign will be mostly of one
situation type, with flourishes from the other two types.

Quest
A quest is a journey to a foreign, lost or exotic place to recover or destroy
a person, artifact or piece of knowledge. Quests can be epic in scale—to
Mount Doom—or local—to the attic above or to the sewers beneath
your home.

Quests contain stories of self-discovery, mastery and coming-of-age.

If we’re aiming for a quest story, then one of your Beliefs might be about:

• Seeking the missing item

• Learning something about the object of the quest, ideally from
someone unwilling to hand over that information
• Beating others who seek the same thing

Struggle
In a struggle, our protagonists face overwhelming odds against which
they must fight. While at first it may seem the protagonists fight for
survival or self-interest, ultimately they fight to change the established
order. Revolutions, wars of succession and wars of resistance are all
classic struggles.

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Situation
Struggles often include stories of self-sacrifice, coming of age, justice
and other loaded values.

If we’re struggling for a cause, one of your Beliefs should contain:

• An idealistic (perhaps even naive) statement about the politics,
religion or philosophy of the setting
• Sacrificing something you care about for an ideal
• A defiant declaration about overthrowing (or safeguarding) the
powers that be

Intrigue
Intrigue is perhaps the most subtle and least glamorous of the three
archetypes. An intrigue unfolds within a social or cultural structure.
Protagonists must operate within that structure—playing by its rules,
both overt and covert—to achieve their ends. Courts, guilds and clans
all make perfect backdrops for intrigues.

Intrigues often involve power, revenge, benign tyranny, despotism and the
lofty battle to uphold the rights of protagonists. Protagonists of intrigues
are reformers, whistle-blowers, ambitious social climbers and the power
hungry. Antagonists include the established order or forces that would
turn the order to evil.

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To set up an intrigue, establish a strong social order in the setting and

then upset the balance: The duke dies without an heir; an impoverished
nobility desperately tries to retain power in the face of wealthy merchant
families; the king has gone mad and is in love with a chambermaid; your
guild is being undermined by its former allies. Each of these situations
creates many hooks for conflicts about intrigue.

If we’re aiming for an intrigue story, then one of your Beliefs might require:
• Getting information from someone
• Setting someone up for failure or success
• Covering up a secret
• Establishing an alliance or friendship
• Ruining an enemy

Choosing an Overall Situation

The initial situation is a broad template. It should be easy to insert
yourself into it.

Let’s play a band of doughty adventurers dispatched to aid a town beset

by a demon. Struggle or quest? The GM decides that the demon will
possess secrets that will lead to further adventures, so it’s a quest. The
GM doesn’t have to reveal his secrets to the players, but he should tell
them that he’s interested in running a quest.
Place yourself in the framework. Can you imagine playing a character
in this situation? Are you inspired by it? Do you have ideas for other
characters, places or artifacts?

If you’re not inspired, ask your fellow players for help. Ask them to pitch
you ideas. Keep an open mind. If you absolutely can’t be moved to play
in this situation, then perhaps you and your friends need to talk about
why you’re playing this game.

Buying Into a Situation

Situation is something that all of the players agree to buy into before the
game begins. If the players aren’t excited about immersing themselves
in the situation, then there’s a problem. The uninterested are either
going to get left behind or, if there’s no interest at all, the game is going
to grind to a halt.

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So right at the beginning, everyone must explicitly agree to the situation.

Situation
Do not move on from situation generation until you’ve heard everyone
say, “Yes, I want to play that.” Tie their characters into this idea using
Beliefs, Instincts, traits, relationships and property!

Build Tension
Build up tension. Don’t destroy the world in a day. Threaten it. Build
toward its eventual demise. In doing so, you provide solid anchors on
which players can hook their Beliefs. As the game progresses, those Beliefs
will guide you in how to continue to challenge the players.

Relationships, Affiliations,
Property and Situation
Once the players have burned up their characters, it is the GM’s job to
take the relationships, affiliations, property and anything else within
reach and bind it to the situation. Put relationships in power. Put them
in jeopardy. Threaten them. Undermine or attack affiliations. Covet
property. Work to change the laws of the Big Picture so you can own it.

When setting up the situation, use the game elements provided in

character burning as fodder for Beliefs.

Reincorporate
Reincorporation is a technique for building a situation from parts
of a previous scenario. You take characters and places and use them
again in a new way. A personality the players met in the past has now
changed—she’s been promoted or perhaps lost everything. She has a
new perspective.

Places are powerful tools for reincorporation. It’s a simple trick to have
action in the game transpire in a set of locations. This trick lends the
game a sense of time and space. Players can come to know the places
in their world.

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 Setting
We need a place for our fantasies to inhabit. We need bounds and
limits, for these embellish and highlight our characters and their
actions. But we don’t want to overburden ourselves. We want to use
the barest description and minimal details to evoke the greatest
range of possibilities.

Burning Wheel’s setting is an abstraction, an agglomeration of

fantasy tropes represented by lifepaths, traits, skills and gear. It’s
not a place, but an idea or aesthetic. In this setting, the world is
rough, harsh. There is a great divide between wealthy and poor.
The poor are downtrodden, sickly and harried. The wealthy are
powerful and aloof. People of all types fight for what they believe
with words, swords and sorcery.

The cities, the lands, the seas and the people are for you to decide.
Those names, qualities and details fall to you to design—pulled
from your knowledge of the fantasy genre. These places and
cultures contain inherent inequities that one must struggle against
or quest to overcome.

Devil in the Details

A setting for Burning Wheel is broad, composed of brush strokes
and vague pronouncements, punctuated by a handful of details.
The items that get listed on each character sheet—traits, skills
and gear—are the only setting details that truly matter. They are
the most vital elements of any setting. Population, geography and
culture are all secondary.

Setting Over Time

Don’t fill in your setting all at once. Don’t front-load. Sketch out the
broad lines—some geographical, some political, some cultural—but
leave the precise details to be filled in later as needed. Focus on the
immediate details. Flesh out the space that’s directly in the path of
the players’ Beliefs and relationships.

Make some notes about possible contingencies, but I strongly urge

you to refrain from “world building.”

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 Commentary

Why? World building can be great fun, an exciting exercise for the

Setting
imagination, but in Burning Wheel, it often creates an impediment to
thoroughly and accurately challenging Beliefs.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have a deep or compelling setting.
Your setting should be amazing and exciting. But it’s third in the list of
things important to a Burning Wheel game: player priorities, situation
and setting, in that order.

So as you test for Circles, note the NPCs found. Build a list of contacts
over time. As you explore each new place, give it a culture and a climate.
Make it memorable and inspiring. Present fresh ideas. Each new culture
encountered should receive traits appropriate to the situation. Don’t just
make the culture exotic, make it challenging.

Culture
Creating a fantasy culture is a delicate, prolonged process. It cannot be
done in a single night. Certainly, fascinating facets can emerge and be
explored in a session of play, but a culture is too vast and complex to be
exhausted by one such look.

When introducing a culture into my games, I start with a cultural analog,

whether from history or fiction. I modify it to suit my needs—in fact, I
strive to make it only barely recognizable.

Using the analog, we can describe a mode of dress, architecture, accent

and even climate. I also like to include one element of the culture that is
different from ours and offensive to our modern sensibilities—something
that jars the modern player. In a recent game, victims of human sacrifice
went willingly to the slaughter and, in fact, resisted attempts at rescue.

Conversely, I like to include a custom that’s different from, but pleasing

to our sensibilities. I often make the food and diet of the setting different
from our own, but perhaps more delicious.

Added to the core of the cultural analog, these two accents are usually
enough to create a convincing model. Of course, when you’re deciding
on the content of the society’s customs, you should seek to intersect with
and contravene as many Beliefs and Instincts as possible.

Cultural Traits
Page 198 of the Burning Wheel briefly describes cultural traits. On the
surface, it may seem that cultural traits create a one-dimensional or
possibly even bigoted view of culture.

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Cultural traits do carry this risk. But they are designed to blend into all
of a character’s other traits. You carry a piece of your culture with you
among all of the other traits you’ve acquired from your family, your life
and your work. We hope this creates a nuanced view of character, rather
than a stereotype.

Names
Names are magical. And they are potent tools in your hands. When you
name an element in a roleplaying game, whether a character, a house or
inn, a city or a sword, you make it just a little more real, more substantial,
to everyone else. A sword found in a tomb? Big deal. The Sword of Seven
Shadows found in the tomb of Aras-Ekbar? That’s special.

When you introduce something new to your group, name it! It will create
a connection between the others at the table and the fictional element.

You can do some pretty neat tricks if you get creative with your naming.
For instance, you can assign different earthly languages to cultures in
a fantasy game. For one of our games, we kept a Mongolian-to-English
dictionary at the table. Any time we needed a name for a character, a ship
or an island, we dove into the dictionary and pulled one out.

Assigning different cultures to different languages creates auditory

differentiation between the two cultures in a recognizable but subtle way.

Monsters
When choosing monsters for your setting, use folktales and mythology
to inspire you. A little research can pay huge dividends. Rather than
having a kitchen-sink setting, you can pare down your choices to a few
important entities and really focus on how they’re a part of the setting.

Gear
Restrict or add gear as appropriate for the setting, having different stuff
available in different places. Even better, price Resources differently
depending on where the players are.

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Setting
Playing Burning Wheel in
an Established Setting
On occasion, it can be fun playing someone else’s world. Whether it’s
Hârn, Earthsea or the Old World, it’s possible to take a different look at
these settings through the lens of Burning Wheel.

I’m not going to relate a step-by-step conversion here, but I will say that
you want to look for settings with a particular tech level and societal
structure. Even more than that, you want to make sure that this is a
world in which characters struggle against great odds to make changes
in themselves and the society.

Once you have a world you think fits the mold of Burning Wheel, you
need to completely redesign the game to match it, right? No. Don’t rewrite
the game. Resist the urge with all strength available to you. Instead, look
for one or two characteristics in the world that really matter and write up
the rules for them. It could be a small set of lifepaths for all the players

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to draw from, a magic system, or a new piece of technology. But the

most important aspect to remember is: Keep it simple. Enjoy the setting
through play, not by tinkering hopelessly with rules.

When picking and choosing from elements of Burning Wheel, be sure to

establish the rules and emphasize the feel and atmosphere of the setting.
It could be as simple as saying “We’re all playing knights.” Or “Magic
is rare and dangerous in this world. You can’t start with any spells and
we’ll use Corruption.”

The characters and places of these worlds draw us to them. But once
you’re playing in an established world, treat canon lightly. Consider all
of those familiar places and fascinating backstories as toys for you to
play with. They’re a source to draw from, but also exist to be changed.

And finally, steer clear of “the plot.” Where the plot and main characters
are, start somewhere else. Start in a different time or on a different
continent. This will help you make the world your own, and avoid any
feeling of “Oh, Ged would never say that.”

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 Antagonists
Burning Wheel revolves around character-driven drama. Characters
are the most important element of the game. The problems that
confront your characters come in many forms, but the most engaging
and memorable ones are the antagonists.

The Source of Antagonism

An antagonist can spring from five sources in Burning Wheel:
relationships, the Enmity Clause, the Big Picture, the setting and
the situation.

Relationships
By spending a few resource points, players can create an antagonist
for themselves at the beginning of the game. The level of power paid
for—minor, important or powerful—determines where this character
falls in the GM’s scheme. Minor characters will pester the character
at a local or tactical level. Important characters form part of the
situation. Powerful characters are enmeshed in the Big Picture.

The players create these characters in very sketchy terms—a type of

relationship, a relative power level and a name. It is up to the GM to
place them in context. The GM fleshes them out based on the initial
sketch, personifying them and giving them life.

Enmity Clause
Antagonists can be generated extemporaneously from the Enmity
Clause rule (Burning Wheel page 382). As a result of the failed
roll, the GM can introduce a character who opposes the players’
goals. These characters are often minor, but due to the scale of the
Circles rules, they can be as powerful as they come. If you try to use
Circles to contact the king and you fail the test, then you’ve made
a powerful enemy.

Keep that in mind. The higher the obstacle for the Circles test, the
more the character should be plugged into the situation, the setting
and, ultimately, the Big Picture.

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The Situation
Situations demand antagonists. To adequately challenge the players’
Beliefs, they must be opposed by the actions of other characters.

Important relationships and enemies from failed Circles tests can both
emerge as antagonists in the situation: the captain of the guard with
whom you must fight; the courtier who is jealous of your love; or your
brother who has turned to evil.

Those examples tie directly back to the characters. However, sometimes

the situation demands a villain who stands apart from and in direct
opposition to the characters. Sometimes you need a bad-ass Orc
summoner who’s razing towns and villages. Sometimes you need a rebel
leader who’s inadvertently undermining the character’s machinations.
Sometimes you need a staunch conservative minister who opposes the
characters purely because they are outsiders.

Where do antagonists like that come from? They are born by intuiting
the best way to challenge the players and by personifying that challenge
in the form of an engaging character. They aren’t created by the players.
They are purely the province of the GM in the role of chief adversary.

Situation-based antagonists can also emerge from allies who are turned
against the characters by their actions during play—from a Duel of Wits,
a failed test or just fallout from play.

The Setting
I try to create the seeming of a living, breathing world in my games.
Therefore, in addition to all of the characters who are tied into and
opposed to the characters, I always create characters and groups who
exist outside of the immediate action, but who are nevertheless opposed
to the players.

These antagonists are connected to the structure of the setting. They

are members of important groups with their own agendas. They do not
directly or actively oppose the players, but their very nature is inherently
opposed.

A dragon decimated your people in ancient times. He’s not part of the
situation; he doesn’t care about you or your petty aims. Though someday
you might find him and confront him. Or the king: He’s not interested in
your trials and travails, but he certainly doesn’t want you going around
killing his men and upsetting the status quo. He doesn’t oppose you

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because he cares about you. He stands in your way because it’s his job to

Antagonists
keep punks like you in their places.
Where do these characters come from? Extrapolate them from all of the
bits and pieces on the characters’ sheets—particularly their lifepaths,
reputations, affiliations and relationships.

If a player has created a knight, that means there are other knights in the
setting. There are probably cadres of them. Who do they work for? How do
they get paid? Who’s their boss’s boss? Who’s his boss? What’s his name?
What’s his rank and title? That’s a setting-based NPC right there.
If a player buys an affiliation with a group of mages, he’s implying a whole
ecosystem. First, the group itself: Who leads them? How are the members
ranked? Are there rivals in the group? Who are they? What are their
names? What do they want? Does the group itself have any rivals? Are
the rivals publicly known or do they plot in secret? Who leads the rival
group? What’s his name? Where is he from? Just a few questions like
those can produce a proper antagonist that you can keep in your back
pocket until the time is right.
I am not advocating that you build out every NPC in your setting.
The key here is to pluck these personalities from the character sheet
and then drop them into the background. When the characters start
moving in larger, grander circles, you’ll be ready with some thoughtful,
powerful antagonists.

The Big Picture

Finally, when I run a game, I ensure that beyond the situation and the
setting, something Big is happening in the background—the wheels of
change are grinding on. The players might never directly encounter this
change, but even just mentioning it enriches the game—traders arrive
from heretofore unheard of kingdoms, wars erupt in distant provinces,
wizards brood in towers for generations, gods grow angry and throw
plagues upon the land.

There are two keys to making these events meaningful. First, they should
be scary. If the players were involved, they would certainly be put to the
test. In this way, these rumblings are a way for the GM to indicate that
Beliefs are being challenged whether you’re there or not. Second, these
events need faces: heroes, gods and wizards whom the players later meet,
only to find out, “Oh, you’re the one who leveled that city…” These
faces are all potential antagonists or allies. They go about their business,

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but they are not allied or in sync with the players’ goals. They are not
necessarily directly opposed—at least not to start—but if pressed they
will fight for their own goals.

The Face of Antagonism

So how do you successfully antagonize someone? Well, the weaker the
antagonist, the more direct his interactions must be. If you’re on the
outs with your local hostler, he’s only going to bug you when you come
into his stable.

If you’re at odds with the local guard captain, well, that’s a slightly
different matter. She’s going to ride you when she sees you, but she’s
also going to instruct her soldiers to keep an eye on you. Thus, her reach
is extended beyond her immediate presence. She has agents to do her
dirty work.

At the level above that—the evil wizard who controls the wasteland—you
never see him until the final confrontation. You are vexed and plagued
by his minions, but he is out of reach until the very last.

Finally, there are antagonists whom you might never directly confront—at
least in the way that you want. Gods, kings and other powers beyond our
ken remain aloof. You defeat their minions and their agents, you ruin
their works, but you never strike at them directly. Those antagonists
can be frustrating to deal with since the game is so character driven, but
when used sparingly, they can add to the tension and create the feeling
of a natural order in your world.

An Antagonist Is an Empty Vessel

How many lifepaths do you choose for your villains? Do you write Beliefs
for them? What skills and spells do you choose?

An antagonist begins life as an empty vessel, a container that will hold

a conflict. The shape of that vessel is determined by his place in the
game—his purpose, his name, his power level. Its contents are added
only as necessary, but once they’re in, they remain and evolve.

Thus, if you have an Orc summoner leading a horde, rampaging across

the countryside, you’ll ultimately need to know his stats, skills, traits,
spells and gear. But when you first introduce him, what do you need?
If he remains in the background, then you don’t need his stats or skills.
You want to hold off in creating those stats because you want to ensure

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 Commentary

the summoner is the right kind of challenge for the players. If you

Antagonists
planned on using a five-lifepath character with a horde of goblins, but
your players are ripping through their opponents, then you want to give
him a few more lifepaths and some better minions.

This isn’t cheating. Your job as GM is to create adversity. If your villains

get bowled over without any sort of a fight, then it’s no fun for the
players.

So keep your villains empty until the time comes when you need hard
numbers. Once you have those numbers, though, stick to them.

Motivating Antagonists
There are villains who directly oppose you because it is their nature to
want what you do not. An Orc summoner exists to destroy all that you
stand for. Why? Because he is o’erbrimming with hatred. He needs no
other motivation to send him into conflict with the group. But such
motivation is poor and thin. Even the most wrathful villains must have
a deeper motivation.

There are villains who believe what you do. They stand for what you
stand for, but they achieve their goals in a vile, destructive manner.

For example, a despotic king sits on the throne. You want to depose him,
as does a rather dark, unsettling wizard. You wish to restore justice to the
kingdom. The wizard wishes to punish it—its rulers, its ministers and
even its people—for allowing itself to be so corrupted.

How do you oppose this wizard? When do you oppose her? Do you work
with her to topple the despot and then confront her? Or do you stand
up for what you believe in from the outset and make a true enemy of
the wizard? She is the best type of villain because your relationship is
complex. There is no one way to deal with her. You must, in fact, confront
yourself before you can confront her.

As you place your antagonists onto your palette, be sure to create some
who are simply opposed, and others who share the same goals, but for
different reasons.

Antagonist Beliefs
Small-fry antagonists don’t need Beliefs. The thugs and angry shopkeepers
don’t require that much attention. But all the rest of them do.

Write a Belief that describes this villain’s world view.

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Villains need a goal-oriented Belief as well. This goal should be to

accomplish an act that intersects with as many of the players’ Beliefs as
possible. If the players all have a Belief about their patron, the villain
must act against him. If the players all have a Belief about an orphanage
and its staff, then he’s got to burn it down. Write a goal-oriented Belief
about what the villain must accomplish.

An antagonist doesn’t need to have all Belief slots filled. You should fill
them as appropriate. Focus on the best way to challenge the players. And
you should change them as you need until he finally appears on stage and
meets the players. Until then, he remains an empty vessel. His contents
are determined by necessity.

Additional Beliefs can focus on tying his goals and philosophy together.
Or you can write a Belief about another character in the game. Writing
Beliefs about characters is tough because you don’t necessarily want to
focus your main antagonist on just one character. You want him to tie
together as many of the players’ characters as possible.

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Typically, a game of Burning Wheel has only one or two real antagonists

Antagonists
at a time. You play against them and ultimately confront them. In the
confrontation, they are changed: They are defeated; changed from
antagonist to ally; or they are magnified and elevated. Thus, there’s not
too much to keep track of, only a handful of Beliefs.

The Evolution of an Antagonist

What follows is an extended example about one of the best and most
unlikely villains I’ve ever created, Wizard Librarian Xu, the Storm King.

Throughout our long-running campaign, a cabal of sorcerers has

plagued the characters. For all intents, using a couple of generations
of characters, the players have been at war with a group of 20 or so
wizards for about 10 years. In the course of play an empire was toppled,
cities were destroyed, factions were crushed, demons were summoned,
minds broken, lives were lost. We felt it was rather epic.

Now there’s only one surviving member of that cabal.

There’s also a giant magical storm engulfing the capital city. The storm
delivers vicious lightning strikes that either immolate the target or
imbue it with magic. Mutants roam the wastes. It’s a fantasy apocalypse
caused by my friend Chris’ young wizard years ago in a previous
campaign.

In his last encounter with our heroes, Wizard Librarian Xu was

poisoned and grievously injured. He fled the chaos to the relative safety
of the storm and the now-abandoned capital city. There he recuperated
and took command of the place. He became the Storm King.

I explicitly told the players this last bit when I pitched the game to
them. It was the Big Picture and the situation coming together for the
game. I also told them that their characters had heard rumors of the
Storm King in the Tower. Previously, Danny, Chris and I had played
an abortive short campaign in which they gained knowledge of the
situation we were now in. When we were setting up this new game,
they helped me fill in the details about the situation—the storm, the
monsters, the wasteland.

I presented their mission to them: They were charged by the recently

reinstated emperor to go forth and slay the Storm King, thus ending the
storm so that the emperor could return to his rightful throne.

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The group wrote strong beliefs about destroying the vile Storm King
and all of his works.

My initial concept for this game was to have a puissant, despotic villain
ruling like Sauron over an army of magically corrupted mutants. I
imagined the players would swarm his tower and there would be a giant
fight. I envisaged my Storm King in ornate, heirloom armor, wielding
a deadly halberd, shouting spells behind red lips and ivory teeth. I kept
that image in my head for the first few sessions, but I didn’t detail it
any further.

Once the players began their approach to the storm, I had to know
more about this putative Storm King and his mutant army. I thought
about him for a bit. Who was he really? He was a product of the cabal.
Therefore, he knew “red wizardry” as we call it: fire spells and mind-
affecting spells. He also knew a handful of battle spells such as Turn
Aside the Blade and the Fear. I dug through my old (old) notes. I couldn’t
remember which of the red wizards he really was. Was he Kwok? Mosu?
Fou? No, they were all slain. Well, if that was the case, then his name
was Xu, he was a northerner from a remote port and was a…researcher.
Suddenly, my fearsome concept lost a bit of his stature. Well, I could
just change him to make him what I wanted, right? No one really knew
what was contained in my voluminous notebooks. I decided against it.
It would defile the purity of our ongoing game. He was who he was. I
was prepared to work with the concept.

I set to work. What was my raw material? He was a powerful, sorcerous

researcher. I could use that. Hell, I could set him up with lifepaths and
then just have him practice and train to get all of the martial stuff that
I wanted. Yeah!

So I burned up a headmaster-sorcerer-researcher with the College of

Magic lifepaths. An eight-lifepath bad-ass! Woohoo. 64 years old. Ouch.
Based on the campaign timeline, he’d have two-and-a-half to three
years to practice after his last meeting with the players.

I pondered his spell list, his skill list, his resources. It became clear that
three years wasn’t enough time for him to become a martial master
and do all of the magical research he needed to do at the tower to create
player-killing enchantments. Hrm. I could have just fudged it, but my
gut told me not to. My gut told me to leave him be. My conscience, on
the other hand, was screaming at me: “He’s going to die like a sucker!”
Well, we would see.

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I did give him three (rough) Beliefs to give energy and direction to his

Antagonists
nefarious plans:

• All of the secrets of this land [meaning the ruined capital] must be mine.

• I will found a new [magical] order and city in this tower.

• The Gifted must be protected and instructed.

I did not reveal these Beliefs (until the very last moment of the last
session).

During play, I always referred to Xu as the Storm King, implying he was

more like my original concept. I never revealed his actual nature. Until,
of course, my friend Chris—playing his disguised wizard—passed a
brilliant Sorcerer-wise test to discover who Xu truly was. I informed
the group that he wasn’t a mass murderer, but a librarian. Still, I tried
to present him as a mysterious, remote, brooding presence. This came
across especially when they interrogated mutants who served him. To
them, the Storm King was aloof and powerful.

As the campaign progressed, the group discovered the Storm King was
kidnapping children from their parents and taking them to the tower.
How ghoulish!

Later, the group was attempting to find a safe place to hide in the Storm
King’s half-ruined citadel. They made a Slaver-wise test to find an old,
disused slaver safehouse. They failed and instead found one of the
Storm King’s schools, run by ex-slavers. Six children were being trained
there, guarded by former slavers and mercenaries. It was obvious then,
especially to Chris’ disguised wizard, that the Storm King was culling
Gifted children from the surrounding wasteland and instructing them
on how to use their power. The children were attentive, intelligent and
curious. They were not abused, enslaved or manipulated.

This revelation challenged many Beliefs about toppling the Storm King.
Here was evidence of his good works. Would they still crush him? Was
he still a tyrant?

When the time came to confront the wizard, the players were deeply
divided. One group wanted vengeance, the other reconciliation. I
pounced on the divisive atmosphere in the group. I had the Storm King
raise a flag of truce so they could discuss the situation. Were they at war
or was something else afoot?

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Just prior to that scene, my understanding of Xu had crystallized. He

was a survivor, not a visionary or a savant. He wanted to ensure that
he was protected and fed, so he could practice his art unopposed. Over
a decade ago, he’d been summoned to a war council of sorcerers, where
he was made a soldier. He wanted to return to his roots and study the
wondrous secrets at his feet. He’d seen all of his friends, colleagues and
rivals die. Even his own secret library was razed in the fighting. The
lands that supported him revolted. Every ploy and aim was crushed. He
was tired. He didn’t want to die like the rest, but neither did he want
to fight.

I also decided that he would cop to all of the evil acts he’d committed.
In doing so, I knew that I could destroy some illusions—he didn’t create
the Storm; and he never summoned demons. The players themselves did
those things. He merely profited from these events.

In the final moments of the campaign, this villain manifested before me.
He was not the swaggering automaton of destruction I had originally
envisaged. He was a small, tired man, radiating power. His old battle
robes long lost, he dressed in finery. His fingers, ears and neck were
laden with enchanted jewelry. He carried no weapon, nor wore any
armor.

He met the characters alone in a wheel-shaped chamber in a vast,

abandoned citadel tower—a crossroads, literal and metaphorical.

They demanded that Xu come and stand trial for his crimes. He
scoffed. They wanted a Duel of Wits, but I declined the stakes. I would
accept a Duel, but not under those terms. I made it clear in the ensuing
conversation that he was not trying to end the Storm. He even said,
“Why would I do that? It protects me.” This was a shocking revelation
for the players.

However, I also made it clear that I would accept from them a statement
of purpose about the storm rather than about his own fate. In doing so,
I was careful to challenge Beliefs across every character on the table.
Some wanted justice, so I mocked justice. Some wanted the storm to
end, so I embraced the storm. And, due to a previous Duel of Wits
among the players, they couldn’t just murder the wizard where he stood.
They had agreed that he would either be taken to justice or would work
to end the storm.

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Rather than a cataclysmic fight, we ended the campaign with a Duel

Antagonists
of Wits: Their statement of purpose was “You will work to end the
Storm with Yang [Chris’s character].” Mine was, “There is no empire,
no justice. The citadel was abandoned and I claim it as mine own.”

In other words, it was“End the apocalypse” versus “Admit the empire is

gone and given over to wizards and mutants.” Good stuff!

During the Duel of Wits, I was careful to choose actions that reflected his
jaded caution. And when I (narrowly) lost, I made sure to compromise
rather than escalate to violence. Xu would do as they asked, provided
that he could have his order and be protected—thus fulfilling two of
his Beliefs.

As a result, even though I lost the Duel, quite a few of the players were
sympathetic to the old villain. They could see it his way.

And that is the greatest possible victory I could ever have hoped to win.

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 Building Beliefs
In this section, we attempt to distill more than ten years of advice
about writing Beliefs. Pray for our immortal souls.

Belief versus Situation

You cannot write Beliefs in a vacuum. Before Beliefs are put to paper,
the GM and players agree to the rough action, the situation. Situation
includes a bit of the setting, the player characters, antagonists and
a problem or two that can’t be ignored.

Once you have your situation, the players must bind their characters
into it. How are you going to change this situation? What must
you do right away? If a player has trouble answering those two
questions concretely—including a character, a setting element and
a problem—then the situation is lacking. The GM must review the
situation, tighten it up and make it more threatening, impossible
to ignore (but not so pressing that the game is going to end in the
first session).

The cost for ignoring the situation isn’t the end of the road; rather
it causes the antagonist’s plans to evolve. While the players dawdle,
the villain gains. The situation becomes more grim. The idea is that
if the players fail to stop the initial problem, the antagonist changes
the setting to his benefit. He takes over. He ruins lives. He murders
loved ones. He steals ancient artifacts. He rewrites law. He enslaves
nations. His work is never finished in the first session. If the situation
is ignored (or if challenges are failed), the Big Picture is threatened.

Your first Belief always refers to this situation. It describes your view
of it and how you’re going to tackle it. Are you opposed? Why? What
action will you take to stop it?

Intraparty Beliefs
The other players at the table present other opportunities for Beliefs.
During play, you interact with them more than anything else in the
game. Each of you have your own opinions and methods. Each
player has a unique perspective on the history, behavior or actions

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of the other players’ characters. And each player is taking action in the

Building Beliefs
situation. You may find those actions compelling and want to help. Or
you may find their actions offensive and wish to thwart them.

Write your second Belief about another player character. What intrigues
you? What offends you? How will you help? How will you hinder them?

One-on-One Games
In one-on-one games, the GM is the “other player” mentioned above.
The GM must present a compelling, recurring allied NPC about whom
the player cares.

Ethical or Philosophical Stances

Some of my favorite Beliefs contain no goal or opinion, and no action at
all. They are philosophical guides. They are the moral underpinning of
the character. These are by far the hardest Beliefs to write. Not that you
can’t come up with a fascinating statement of your philosophy. On the
contrary, that’s the easy part. The difficulty lies in application. If poorly
conceived, these Beliefs are too easy to ignore. And if you’re ignoring one
of your Beliefs, you’re carrying around deadweight.

Make your third Belief an ethical, moral or philosophical statement. For

the best effect, write it so that it can be contradicted. It’s easy to say that
you believe in God or good, but it’s not easy to challenge a Belief like
that. A slightly more nuanced Belief like, “As a faithful man, I should
sacrifice myself for the greater good,” tells us more about the character
and allows for the statement to be tested. Just how much of yourself
will you sacrifice? Try not to have more than one of your Beliefs be an
ethical statement.

The Fourth Belief

Loyal, Zealot and other similar traits grant characters a fourth Belief.
According to the rules, the Belief must tie into the nature of the trait.
The rules for the traits say that if the Belief is changed, the trait is lost.

Some of this might sound contradictory, but you can in fact change the
Belief tied to the trait. To clarify: You lose the trait if you use the Belief
slot for anything aside from a Belief relating to the trait.

If you’re Loyal but your master is killed, you can take on a new master
and write a new Loyal Belief about it.

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Often players write two-part Beliefs into these slots: “I believe strongly
in this thing; therefore I must…” You can keep the declarative statement
and change the action to reflect your current situation.

Give and Take

When you start a Burning Wheel game, the GM presents a situation
building on the Big Picture and the characters. You write your Beliefs
based on those elements. The GM then presents scenes or actions to
challenge those Beliefs.

The game proceeds based on your decisions and the results of the tests—
pass or fail. Based on your actions, a new circumstance will arise. The
situation will change. You will have a new opinion about this situation.
Some Beliefs will be fulfilled by the developments of the ongoing game.
Write new ones based on the new circumstance.

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Some Beliefs will be engaged but left incomplete. Tweak them so they

Building Beliefs
reflect the current situation. Others will lay inactive. Talk to the GM
and the other players about these. Is the story headed in that direction?
If it is, keep the Belief. If you are clinging to an idea that the game has
moved past, change it.

Belief-Building Tips
Beliefs are a principled to-do list. The two most common problems we
see with Beliefs are that they either have an ideology but no action, or an
action without a driving ideology. Each Belief needs an objective so it’s
clear when the character is pursuing his Belief and he can earn artha,
and each Belief needs an ideology to back it up so the action has context.

Red Flags
If the players don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing, their Beliefs
are broken. The situation and buy-in are probably deficient in this case,
too.

If the players aren’t earning at least one fate point per session for
pursuing their Beliefs, their Beliefs are lacking.

If the players haven’t completed a Belief and earned a persona point

within a session or two, their Beliefs lack urgency. They’re not broken,
but potentially stagnant. To earn persona points, try to break your goal-
oriented Beliefs down into smaller steps.

Inner Conflict
By design, Beliefs provide an opportunity for you to evoke the inner
turmoil of your character. You have three Beliefs rather than one so you
can counterpose them. You are supposed to have differing or conflicting
opinions about various elements of the game. Your actions in the situation
may contravene your philosophy. In play, as the action rises, you get to
decide which is more important to you. Play out the turmoil in a dramatic
fashion, and you’ll earn artha for Moldbreaker as well as for playing your
other Belief or accomplishing a goal.

Direction
You can use Beliefs to set your character on an arc—transformation from
neophyte to master, from worm to hero, from child to adult and even
from hero to something more.

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Ethical statements are one tool for setting such directions. You play them
now, but you plan on growing past them in future play. In fact, you can
make ethical statements now and set yourself to move into direct conflict
with that stance later. I can say, “I will never raise my hand in violence.”
I can play a pacifist in the moment. However, my plan can be for this
peaceful man to transform in the course of play into a cold-blooded killer.

Of course, there is a danger in playing your character too rigidly—locking

onto a predetermined course. To prevent this, stay open to the possibilities
that arise in play. Consider the events of the game and how they affect
your character’s perception. Be prepared for unexpected change.

I once played a character whom I planned to transform from a pacifist to

a martial arts master. But after seeing the woman he loved killed before
him—struck down by the curses of an angry god—his goals seemed
hollow. I had to readjust and choose another long-term arc for him:
Perhaps to devote himself to the faith or to medicine; perhaps his heart
broke and he determined never to return home again.

Goal-Oriented Beliefs
It is a good habit to shape one Belief so that you can accomplish it in the
current session. It might not happen, but you should try for it. Shooting
for the Personal Goals award keeps you active and engaged.

Sometimes we even cross out the “Belief” title for one of our Beliefs and
write “Goal” over it.

What’s an Appropriate Goal?

Goals are relative things. In game terms, a goal must require action from
you—you must risk for this Belief. At minimum, you must make at least
one test in pursuit of the goal. It is preferable that you make a series of
tests, but there is no hard formula.

Remember, our motto is “Fight for what you believe.” If a player isn’t
fighting, then the game isn’t delivering on its promise. Therefore, as a
GM, you must place a challenge in the path of each Belief: an opponent
to overcome, a confidante to convince, an artifact to rescue, a mystery
to solve or even a dangerous cliff to scale.

These elements are born from the Big Picture. They are facets of the
setting that you pull from the background and place into the foreground.

It should be feasible to accomplish goals in a session or two.

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Reconciling Two-Part Beliefs

Building Beliefs
Two-part Beliefs are very useful because they allow you to maintain your
philosophical stance but to change up what you’re going to do about it.
When the action portion is invalidated or the goal accomplished, you can
keep the ideological statement and change the action or goal. “I am loyal
to the king, therefore I will…” has huge potential for play. What will
you do for the king? Keep your statement of loyalty and as the situation
changes, insert new actions into the Belief. Now you get a fresh persona
point from it in play!

The “fourth Beliefs” from Loyal, Zealot and similar traits are often two-
part Beliefs and thus fall into this category.

Practical Beliefs
This section breaks down some issues with Beliefs in Burning Wheel:
trouble writing Beliefs, writing Beliefs for a campaign, changing Beliefs
during a campaign, what to do when you earn Moldbreaker, what to do
when you’ve finished with a Belief, how to play a Belief that can’t be
accomplished and some practical advice on challenging Beliefs in general.

Trouble Writing Beliefs

If your players are having trouble writing Beliefs, try to get something
down on paper, anything that’s even close to the concept. Don’t worry
about getting it perfect out of the gate. Have them write proto-Beliefs,
even if you know that they’ll need to change.

During the session, confront your players with a handful of decisions.

Use your own inspiration and ideas for the situation to prod at half-
baked Beliefs. Set up a problem that can’t be solved in a single roll.
When the players grabs for the dice, pause them. Before any rolls are
made, nail down the intent and task for this test and ask what needs to
be accomplished by the end of the session. This declaration can often be
converted into a Belief on the spot.

At the end of the session, be sure players are given the proper rewards for
playing Beliefs. Break down the reward process. Let each player know
why he’s earning these strange little points. This will close part of the cycle
for him—he should understand now that if he acts on his Beliefs, he’ll get
rewarded in a way that will allow him to act more effectively next time.

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Writing Beliefs for a Campaign

You want to topple the duke, but it’s going to take many sessions of play
to get there. You can write a Belief that states, “I must overthrow the
duke, no matter the cost.” This is a nice, strong Belief, but it’s very hard
to earn rewards for it. In the short term, you’ve got to constantly push
against the duke or his works. This will probably get you a handful of
fate points. Ultimately, after many sessions of work, you’ll accomplish this
goal (or die trying). That’ll net you one persona point—not an adequate
reward for all your effort.

It’s best to break that long-term goal into bits that you can accomplish in
the short term: “I will rob the duke’s treasury of every penny;” or, “I will
kidnap the duke’s brother, Baron Evil Crown the Bad, and hold him for
ransom;” or, “I will embarrass the duke at court when the prince comes.”
Assume, for the sake of argument, that these instances are not long-term,
campaign-spanning goals, but scenarios that you can accomplish in a
session or two of play.

Writing strong, goal-oriented Beliefs allows you to stay on track for your
larger aims, earn lots of artha (to be saved for that final confrontation, of
course) and have many exciting sessions en route to your goal.

Changing Beliefs During a Campaign

When do you change a Belief? In the rules as written, you can change one
at any point as long as the GM approves the timing. However, we rarely
change Beliefs during a session. We prefer to let them be challenged in
the course of the session. If we can’t challenge a Belief in a session, we
reexamine it. At BWHQ, we change Beliefs at the start of a session. We
review what happened last time we played. We state where we are now
and what we plan on doing. If goal-oriented Beliefs were accomplished
in the previous session, we change or update them. If ideologies were
challenged or crushed, we change them to suit our new outlooks. If we
have a Belief that’s not being challenged, we try to rework it so it can
be more rewarding.

On rare occasions, an earth-shattering event will rock one of the players.

Something snaps. He’s got to make a change right now. This moment is
perhaps one of the most powerful in all of Burning Wheel. By all means,
go with inspired changes of Beliefs!

Sometimes, a Belief needs to sit in reserve for a session or two before you
can really dig into it. That’s perfectly acceptable. It’s rare that a single
session challenges all of a player’s Beliefs. Yet, if a couple of sessions pass
without the Belief being touched, then you need to change it.

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In campaign play, if you’re playing hard with goal-oriented Beliefs,

Building Beliefs
you’ll probably also have far-reaching goals that aren’t appropriate for
a Belief. Or you’ll agree to accept a side mission to help a friend—to help
accomplish another player’s goal. You need to write a Belief about this
goal, so what do you do with the Belief that you’re replacing? We keep
notes on the backs of our character sheets about long-term goals (and
any artha we’ve invested in them). So if we need to clear a Belief slot for
a short-term goal, we can do so without fear of forgetting our big plans.

When the immediate situation is resolved, we refer to the notes, make

sure they’re still germane and then write new Beliefs for them.

When to Say No to Changing a Belief

It’s possible, in the course of a session, for the GM to have an
unrevealed obstacle waiting to challenge a Belief. If this is the case,
and a player asks to change the Belief that is about to be challenged,
the GM can and should advise him to wait. Only delay the change of
the Belief if you can challenge it this session. If you can’t get to it this
session, let the player change it.

Moldbreaker
The Moldbreaker reward is a powerful tool in long-term play. You can
earn this reward in a very self-conscious way. You are in control of when
you play into or when you break a Belief. Breaking a Belief isn’t the
same as disregarding it for convenience’s sake. You must dive into the
drama, and play against yourself. For your troubles, you earn a nice
persona point.

What do you do with the Belief after you’ve broken it? Do you discard
it? No. You keep it. Breaking it convincingly shows how much you truly
care about that ideal. You return to the Belief and play it earnestly, like
one shamed by one’s own actions who resolves stalwartly to do good from
now on. Your transgression reaffirms your Belief.

We talk about Moldbreaker a bit more in the Artha chapter, but to briefly
summarize what’s said there: If you find yourself breaking a Belief three
times in a row, then it’s time to change it.

Finishing a Belief
When we accomplish a goal related to a Belief in a game, we have a short
conversation. The GM asks, “Are you done with that? Do you want to
push that further?” Remember, the GM’s job is to challenge Beliefs. Even

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if a situation is resolved, it’s possible that the Belief isn’t resolved with
it. A Belief may take on new meaning in the resolution of the action. It’s
up the player to decide.

On the other hand, as the GM, you have to be honest. If you have
inspiration for more action behind a Belief, then you should say so. And
if you don’t, you should tell the player, “I feel like you’re done with that.
I don’t have anything else. Do you agree?”

If the player and GM don’t agree, discuss the problem and work out an
appropriate direction. You can modify the situation or create a new one
to accommodate the Belief.

Guiding Light Beliefs

A guiding light Belief is one that is not accomplishable by any means.
It provides an ethical rule upon which the player can measure his
character’s actions. At BWHQ, we try to discourage these Beliefs in new
players. They’re hard to play and hard to challenge. However, for a
skilled Burning Wheel player, they’re a lot of fun. Guiding light Beliefs
help you “get into character.” They encourage you to offer a different
perspective on the situation. If you have a Belief that says “I must never
raise my hand in violence again, since I have been forced to slay mine
own brother,” how are you going to topple the duke?

Guiding light Beliefs that subscribe to an ideology—“I will abide by the

precepts of Nergal’s Temple,” for example—are colorful but difficult to
play. Behind these Beliefs sits an ideological system. The player must
keep this ideology in mind while he plays and be ready to spout those
precepts and abide by them! On the other hand, as the GM, you must
also know these principles. You must be ready to offer situations that
directly contradict them or present options in which one way contravenes
the ideology and the other venerates it. This is quite a challenge to bring
out during gameplay.

As the GM, I find that not only do I have to present nuanced situations,
but I often have to remind players of their own ideologies! “Really, you’re
going to do that? I thought that was against your religion.” So take care
with these Beliefs. It’s okay for each player to have one, but no more.
When getting started with the game, try to focus on goal-oriented Beliefs.
You can develop these deeper, more nuanced Beliefs in play.

Practical Advice on Challenging Beliefs

Here are some practical perspectives on challenging Beliefs. They were
presented to us by Michael Prescott on our forums.

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A player has the Belief “I must kill that bastard Mordock.” Here are

Building Beliefs
a number of ways you can challenge that one Belief using different
perspectives on the character Mordock.

•V
 alidation. Make Mordock super villainous, mean to children, etc. to
validate the worthiness of the Belief.

•U
 ndermining. Make Mordock a super nice guy, someone nobody
in their right mind would want to kill. The player has a chance to
define his character by the unreasonable pursuit of his goal.

•F
 lip. Switch from validating to undermining, or vice versa. Have the
villain repent and beg for mercy; now the long-validated player has
to risk looking murderous to complete his goal.

•O
 pposition. Make Mordock hard to kill in logistical terms. He has
henchmen, powerful allies, etc. so that once he’s dead, it feels like a
big accomplishment.

•C
 atch-22. Make gunning for Mordock costly in terms of the player’s
other Beliefs. For example, if the player has a Belief about curing his
sister’s terminal illness, Mordock is the only guy who can cure her.

•D
 ivide and Conquer. Like Catch-22, but you cause interplayer
friction by getting the other players to oppose the player with the
belief to bring down Mordock. For example, Mordock is the only
person who can teach the players the secrets of Enchanting.

•M
 erge. Create harmony in the group by making Mordock’s death a
means of accomplishing other goals. Perhaps Mordock also has the
Black Chalice, an item that another player needs.

Try to imagine your players’ Beliefs in this scheme. What’s the common
goal they share? What are their secondary goals? How can you tie the
secondary goals back into the common goal? Can you use the secondary
goals as obstacles to accomplishing the common goal?

What’s the mood at the table? Do the players universally hate one of the
antagonists? Can you turn him into a sympathetic villain and thereby
challenge all of their Beliefs by causing them to question their goals?

Michael’s simple scheme for challenging Beliefs helps frame matters

into a pattern of easily executed actions. How do your group’s goals fit
into this scheme?

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 Instincts
Instincts are a tricky part of the game. A good Instinct is harder
to write than a good Belief. And often, a bad Instinct is harder to
apply than a bad Belief. To write a good Belief, you need a situation,
a character and a sense of drama. To write a good Instinct, you
need a character, a sense of drama and a bit of system mastery.
Instincts game the system, so to use them best you need to know
how the system works.

The rules mention two types of Instincts: those that add

characterization and those that grant a mechanical benefit. There’s
a third type that we describe in this chapter—Instincts born from
the situation. We also discuss what makes a good characterization
Instinct and how you get the most mechanical benefit from an
Instinct.

Characterization Instincts
A characterization Instinct is a reminder to you about how to play
your character through a situation. It offers little or no mechanical
benefit, but it tells you “what your character would do.” It’s helpful
when overwhelmed by choices to be able to refer to your Instinct list
and be nudged in a direction.

The best characterization Instincts remind you to do something with

your character that you, the player, are bad at or uncomfortable
with. They remind you to push against comfortable behavior. They
remind you to be cool when you always blow up; they remind you
to lie when you always tell the truth; they remind you to be cold-
blooded when you’re usually sanguine.

Mechanical Instincts
A mechanical Instinct is one that gains you some mechanical
advantage in the game. Typically, you are allowed to make a free
roll to cover your ass when trouble arises or to trigger a condition
that bypasses a penalty.

Instincts work best in the looser framework of independent and

versus tests made in the course of play.

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As it says in the Burning Wheel (page 56), Instincts let you make a

Instincts
test when triggered by a situation or obstacle. Essentially, play stops
advancing for a moment and you step back in time to allow the player
with the appropriate Instinct to make a test. If you have an Instinct such
as, “Always remember to bring a gift when visiting,” and you arrive at
court in play but you forgot a gift, you get to make a Resources test on
the side for an appropriate gift. No questions asked.

Instincts can also provide the pretext to turn a situation into a versus
test—rather than a standard test or an outright declaration by the
GM. You have an Instinct to “Always watch out for an ambush.” You’re
assured of getting to test your Observation against an impending
ambush, no matter how distracted your character is.

Finally, an Instinct allows you to take an action in the game that

alleviates a penalty. This is the “I forgot to say it, but my guy would
totally do that” type of Instinct. “Always sleep with a knife under my
pillow.” You don’t have to talk about that knife, ever. It’s always under
your pillow when you bed down. “Always lock the door when I leave the
vault.” That vault is always locked when you leave. You don’t leave it
ajar unless you specifically state you play against your Instinct.

Instincts in Duel of Wits, Range and Cover and Fight!

Contrary to appearances, Instincts don’t work in Duel of Wits, Range
and Cover and Fight. They work before you engage these systems and
after, but not during. Timing is too important in these instances to let
people cheat outright. If Instincts could change actions, these conflicts
would rapidly devolve into Instinct wars.

You can write Instincts about being prepared for a Fight, or to always
escalate to violence in a Duel of Wits, or to always gather your arrows
after a skirmish in Range and Cover, but you can’t write anything that
interferes with the action sequence. “Always fight in aggressive stance”
will allow you to start a fight in aggressive stance, but once you drop
out of stance, you don’t automatically pop back in. You have to spend
the action required.

“If disarmed, draw my knife.” This Instinct sounds cool, but it breaks
the rules. It costs two actions to draw a knife in Fight. Since there’s no
way you could have had the knife ready before you were disarmed in
the melee, the Instinct can’t pay off.

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Situational
Instincts
Situational Instincts are similar
to characterization Instincts,
but rather than focusing on
the character per se, they relate
an action about a specific
circumstance in the story.

So instead of, “Always draw my

sword at the first sign of trouble,”
your third Instinct should be
something like “When I see my
traitorous brother, attack him
vigorously!” Or, “When I see the
night watch, run.” Or, “When
Soryu mouths off, try to cover
for him.”

These Instincts relate to specific

circumstances and particular
characters you are involved
with in the game at hand. Using
these Instincts will pay off
handsomely in artha and create
a pleasant chaos in the game.

Practical Instincts
Let me try to give some advice about common problems with Instincts.

Always Win
I see badly written, poorly conceived Instincts all the time. They go
something like this: “Always win;” or “Always do the right thing;” or
“Always know [something seemingly prosaic but actually impossible—
exits, the truth, your thoughts].”

Bad Instincts are written to shield the character (and player) from
danger. That’s not what Instincts are for, so don’t tolerate Instincts like
that.

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Make sure Instincts are focused on a physical action that can be

Instincts
accomplished in a single heartbeat or something that you do habitually
when you’re not under pressure or in danger. Instincts have to make
sense in the context of their use! If you have an Instinct “Always
assess my opponents for weaknesses,” and you get ambushed, there’s
no time for assessin’! Checking out your opponent seems like such
a simple thing, but it’s tricky. Weaknesses need to be studied. That
Instinct needs to say “Always assess my opponents for weaknesses
before a fight.” But if you were at court and you met your enemy in
passing, that’d be a perfect time to assess her for weaknesses—even if
you don’t say you did it. When you fight her, you can call back to that
moment and say, “Weren’t we at court together? I totally assessed her
weaknesses then! I want to make a Perception test to have noted where
she wears the lightest armor.”

Picking Three Good Instincts

Players often struggle to choose three good Instincts. They typically have
one sweet Instinct in mind, but lack inspiration for the second or third.

Let us start off this discussion by removing the pressure. The Burning
Wheel states, “Characters may have one to three Instincts.” You’re not
required to have all three. If you only have one Instinct, you’re fine. You
can start playing and worry about adding others as play progresses.

We often use this tactic when we’re set with two great Instincts but
blanking on a third: In the course of play something usually happens that
makes us say “My guy would never do that,” or “My guy would always
do that!” That becomes our missing Instinct.

We also use these guidelines:

Personal Instinct
Make one Instinct about your character’s personality.

“Never let them forget that I’m a noble.”

“Never let an Elf insult me.”
“Always bait the captive wolves.”
Material Instinct
Make one Instinct about your gear or equipment.

“Always mend my armor before I bed down.”

“Always sleep with a knife under my pillow.”
“Never wear shoes.”

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Skill-Based Instinct
Look over your skills. Imagine how they would make your character
behave. Write an Instinct about that behavior.

“When I’m in a library, do research.”

“Always intimidate people who are shorter than me.”
“Always recite a poem for my lover.”

Changing Instincts
Instincts can and should be changed as your character grows. Examine
your Instincts every few sessions. Are they causing you trouble? Do they
really reflect your character’s current personality?

If you’re not getting into or out of trouble with an Instinct, how can you
refine it? Perhaps the intent reflects your character’s personality, but in
practice it’s not coming up. Can you modify the Instinct to reflect your
current situation while retaining the heart of it?

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 Artha Cycle
Burning Wheel is a game of rewards. It is not enough for you to
claim to want something. It’s not enough for you to fight for what
you think you want. The game only begins to work when you stake
your claim on a Belief and are then rewarded in fate and persona
points. That artha creates incentive for further engagement with
even tighter, more dramatic Beliefs, but it also fuels other parts of
the system.

Artha is meant to be used. It’s not hoarded or reserved. You can

only benefit from it if you spend it. And generally, you need to use it
to overcome obstacles so that you can fulfill your Beliefs. The more
you invest in that circuit, the more you’re likely to get back. Spend
artha and earn it right back. Do more, push harder.

But that’s not all. You need that artha to advance, too. Perception,
Faith and Resources can’t advance without it. You need to invest
it in challenges that are too difficult to overcome without it. That
investment pays off as your stat, skill and attribute dice pools
increase.

One way to advance abilities of exponents 5 and higher is to use

artha to pass challenging tests. The only way to garner the artha is
to play your Beliefs, Instincts and traits to thoroughly engage with
the game.

Furthermore, investing artha in Beliefs helps you earn traits from

trait votes. Those traits codify the aspects of your character that
you evoked while fighting for your Beliefs. Spending that artha
has helped bring your character closer to your vision of who he is
right now.

Lastly, there’s the ultimate investment: epiphany. Fighting for

your Beliefs, spending, earning and investing make an epiphany
inevitable. It takes quite a long time, but it’s worth it. A gray-shade
ability substantially multiplies your character’s effectiveness.

This enormous, beautiful cycle is born from working toward

fulfilling one Belief.

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Awarding Artha in General

Artha awards are granted at the end of each session. How do we remember
if we played a Belief or Instinct? We developed a method that I feel
enriches our games. We wrap up 15 minutes earlier than we used to.
We each read our Beliefs, Instincts and traits aloud in turn. As we read,
we each interject commentary—“I played that when I…” or “This one
didn’t get touched at all….” Other players also offer insights. Often, one
of us will shrug off a Belief, “I didn’t play this at all,” and the rest of us
shout, “Are you kidding?! What the hell else were you doing when you
murdered that dude in cold blood?!” or something similar. If the player
agrees, he takes the award. If he disagrees, then he doesn’t take the point.
It’s important that the group as a whole remember and parse the session
together. It helps us all keep focused on the game.

This works in the other direction, too. If a player isn’t earning artha from
a Belief, it’s obvious. Therefore, when reviewing Beliefs for artha, we can
clearly see what’s misfiring and what’s working.

Earning Fate
Fate is the most common artha currency. It is the easiest to earn and there
are more conditions for its acquisition than persona or deeds combined.

Earning Fate for Beliefs

The conditions for earning fate for playing a Belief are very loose. The text
says, “serves a purpose or drives the game forward.” Ideally, I intended
that the player make a test in service of a Belief. I want you to bring your
statement into the game—make it manifest with a risk of failure. If not
that, then at least a strong performance based on or defending a Belief
is necessary for the reward.

Merely restating the Belief to the group or silently handing over a few
helping dice during the session is not enough to earn this reward. Beliefs
must be actively pursued—there must be some risk—if you wish to be
rewarded.

Working Toward…
For most Beliefs, you earn fate points on your way to earning a
persona point for personal goals. You don’t accomplish the goal this
session, but you actively worked toward it. That earns a fate point.

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The Artha Cycle

Fate Mines
Some Beliefs are not goals. Either the explicit goal is beyond the
scope of the campaign or the Belief is an ideological or philosophical
statement. “I will spend my every breath to overthrow this empire” is
an example of the former (for argument’s sake, let’s say the scope of
the game doesn’t include room for me to actually topple anything so
grand as an empire). “Fire is my guide and my succor” is an example
of the latter type of Belief.

I can work toward both of those Beliefs. I can attack the imperial tax
collectors and drive them from my town. I can defame the emperor
in public. I can write manifestos about the downfall of the emperor.

For the fire Belief, I can use fire to light my way. I can build fires to
keep us warm when it rains. I can boil water. I can sterilize my medical
implements. I can speak in mystical terms about the fire within when I
make decisions. All of this counts toward playing a Belief, even though
there is nothing to ultimately accomplish.

These are acceptable Beliefs. In fact, I recommend writing one for your
character. We call them, rather baldly, fate mines. You work them into
play to provide characterization and are rewarded with fate points.

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Earning Fate for Instincts

Instincts are often their own reward. They can grant a mechanical
advantage. If that mechanic is invoked and you benefit from it, you
don’t get an artha award. If the Instinct mechanic is invoked and you
suffer for it, then you’re rewarded with a fate point.

No one can trigger your Instincts but you. Good Instinct play requires
a proactive player. If you don’t invoke the Instinct, you cannot benefit
from it. If you don’t call for its mechanical aspect to aid you, then the
Instinct remains inert. If you don’t invoke the Instinct in a problematic
circumstance, then you won’t be rewarded. This reward is very much
dependent on your own behavior at the table.

Earning Fate for Traits

Trait awards are very important, but they are less frequent than rewards
for Beliefs. The criteria for the reward is that the story must head in an
unexpected direction due to the invocation of the trait.

We’ve drifted the conditions for this award slightly. We only give out trait
awards for character traits. On a rare occasion, we’ll grant the award
for another type of trait. Why? We feel that using a die or call-on trait
is reward enough.

Using a character trait is purely a way to embellish performance and color

decisions. This is a noble thing and it should be rewarded.

At the end of the session, we quickly scan our trait lists and make a case
for any character traits that were brought into play in a meaningful
way. We try to cite the moment of decision or change. If the group
agrees, we take the award. In general, you earn one fate per session for
playing character traits. Otherwise, play becomes trait-bingo rather than
meaningful roleplay.

Earning Fate for Humor

In some of our games, the humor point is a nightly award. In other
campaigns, it’s rare. Burning Wheel is, by its nature, a rather heavy
game. It’s an intense experience, fighting for what you believe! But in
this context, we value comic relief. If that in-character remark makes
us all laugh—from humor, joy or excitement—we want to reward you.

However, comedic moments pass quickly and in the final end-of-session

tally, they’re easy to forget. To make sure just rewards are distributed,
some of us will make a note of what was said if we think it’s humor-

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worthy. My notebooks and character sheets are littered with incongruous

The Artha Cycle

quotes that are just bizarre out of context but were spit-take hilarious
in the moment.

Earning Fate for Skills

Right Skill, Right Time is the rarest of the fate point awards. It’s meant
to award clever character builds or diligent practice. It is only disbursed
when the group is at an impasse and the GM calls for an obscure or
unlikely skill to bypass the obstacle. A player unexpectedly chimes in, “I
have that!” The game rolls on and he’s rewarded in the end.

The best example I can remember is a group who needed to sneak into
a well-guarded citadel tower. Dro chimed in, “I have Architecture. I
want to use my knowledge to find us a secret entrance.” Dro was the
absolute hero for that session. I think he got MVP and the Right Skill,
Right Time award.

You cannot earn this award more than once per skill, ever. Once we know
you have that skill, there’s no more magic to it. Once we start to rely on
your clutch skills, you’re in the running for Workhorse, not Right Skill,
Right Time.

Earning Persona
There are five distinctions for earning persona points: Embodiment,
Moldbreaker, Personal Goals, Workhorse and MVP.

Earning Embodiment
Anyone can nominate another player for the Embodiment award. Just
recap the scene or scenes and why you thinks the player deserves an
Embodiment point. Everyone has a chance to chime in, for or against.
Don’t nominate yourself.

We also tend to make Embodiment awards gradually harder to earn.

Repeating your stellar performance from session to session will earn
you a few persona points in the early games, but later in the campaign,
it’s just what we expect as your normal behavior. If you want that
award, you have to push into new and interesting ground.

Earning Moldbreaker
Moldbreaker is perhaps my favorite award, but it has its problems. It is
earned for dramatically playing against a Belief. You can betray a Belief
in situations presented to you by the GM or you can set up your own

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Moldbreaker by writing conflicting Beliefs. Both are perfectly valid. It’s

important to note that you don’t earn this persona point by ignoring a
Belief. If a Belief doesn’t come into play, or if it’s challenged and you take
no action, then there is no reward.

To get the Moldbreaker award, you must bring your character’s internal
struggle into the spotlight. You must show the rest of the group how you
are fighting with your own demons. Show us how much this decision
costs you.

Sometimes this roleplay results in you serving one Belief while ignoring
another. That’s perfectly normal. Often, if a great performance or brain-
breaking decision doesn’t get you Moldbreaker, you are considered for
an Embodiment point.

The Moldbreaker Belief Change Warning

As I said above, I love Moldbreaker moments. They’re very powerful
for me. They represent a point at which many parts of the game
come together and present the player with a poignant, meaningful
choice. The Moldbreaker moment is part of the classic Burning Wheel
question, “Is that what you believe now? Well, what if this happens?
Do you still believe that?”

When I GM and a player undergoes a Moldbreaker moment, I ask

about the Belief at the end of the session. “Do you still believe that?
Do you want to change the Belief?” I am comfortable with the
player deciding either way, but I want to make sure that there is still
interesting conflict to squeeze from the decision.

Sometimes when you break a Belief, you are changed by the moment.
Your character has surprised you. You no longer believe. You know it
intuitively. You know you have to change. Powerful stuff.

Other times when you break a Belief, you are using that moment to
define the very Belief that you played against. By going against it this
one time, you are demonstrating just how committed you are to your
ideals. You would prefer to do this another way, but circumstances
have forced you to compromise your ideals. However, this doesn’t
make you callow or disingenuous. In fact, it roots you even more
firmly in your ideological stance.

Thus, after you earn the Moldbreaker award, reflect a bit on the Belief
and the direction of the character. If you no longer believe, change it.
If you care even more, leave it alone.

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If a player earns Moldbreaker in multiple sessions, I flag the Belief.

The Artha Cycle

After three times, I request that the Belief be changed to reflect
the character’s new ideology. Generally, the players agree with me.
On occasion, the situations in the game are so fraught with chest-
tightening, fist-clenched struggles of ideology that it’s appropriate
to keep the Belief even though it’s been broken repeatedly. This is a
tough call, though—something to be discussed and verified by both
player and GM.

Personal Goals
The persona point for the Personal Goals award is straightforward on the
surface. Did you accomplish the goal set out in your Belief or not? If yes,
you get a persona point. If not, then you either played it to drive the game
forward and earned a fate point or didn’t touch on it and didn’t benefit.

In practice, this award can get a little muddy. Players can have Beliefs
whose meanings change in context. “I will destroy the Red Council and
all of its evil works,” for example. In the campaign, the Red Council is
down to one wizard who maintains lots of evil works. Once that wizard

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is destroyed, is that Belief counted as accomplished? What happens if the

evil works still exist or the evil works are thwarted but the sole wizard
survives? Who decides?

When we read our Beliefs at the end of the session, we’ll just ask the
player who owns it. “Are you still interested in that Belief? You pretty
much fulfilled it, but you could pursue it more if you’d like.” If the goal
has been nominally accomplished, but contains open-ended possibilities,
we let the player decide whether to keep the Belief and take a fate point,
or change the Belief and take a persona point.

At our table, when a personal goal is achieved, we strongly encourage the

player to write a new Belief to replace that one. It’s tacitly understood
that the GM is going to move on and challenge other Beliefs.

MVP
To determine the MVP, we review the session. First, we look at the tests
made. Was a particular test or conflict crucial to the progress of the
story, incredibly influential or vital to the survival of the group? If one
player’s actions stand out, we award him the MVP award. If there’s no
test or conflict we can point to, we look for moments of performance in
which a player’s decision or action drove play in a vital direction.

If the session was mellow, everyone contributed equally or it was a

builder, moving toward future action, don’t be afraid to withhold this
award. It is not obligatory; it is discretionary.

Workhorse
For the Workhorse award, we look at everyone’s actions across the
session. Who used lots of seemingly mundane skills to keep us going?
Who carried us through that fight, soaking up blows that would have
killed us all? Who was the unsung hero? He gets the persona point for
Workhorse.

Workhorse is a test-based award. It’s for rolling lots of dice without

hogging the spotlight. However on occasion, a player will slog away
behind the scenes without a lot of tests. A player can devise plans,
inspire other players to action or play the anchor, supporting the other
players with a strong performance and still earn this reward. This
includes passing lots of helping dice while not testing much yourself.

This award is not based entirely on success. You can labor behind the
scenes, testing to forage and cook for the group, trying to muster a
couple of linked dice, but only accruing failure and penalties. In the

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rules, you’ve hurt the group, but in the fiction you’ve fed and clothed

The Artha Cycle

the group so they can carry on the fight—even if you’ve also made them
sick and poor. On occasion, that’s also worthy of the Workhorse award!

The Deeds Point

The deeds point is the single most powerful type of artha in the game.
It can be spent before the roll or after. It can double your dice or reroll
your traitors.

The criteria for earning a deeds point are intentionally vague. In fact,
deeds points aren’t earned, they’re given. Unlike fate or persona points,
which are earned by fulfilling player-driven criteria, these points are
handed out at the sole discretion of the GM.

The deeds point is bound up in the Big Picture of the game. It’s for
performing remarkable, unexpected things that the GM thinks are
exemplary or even frustrating! These points are earned when the players
sacrifice their petty aims for a grand act.

If you feel like you’re cruising toward a deeds point, then you’re doing
it wrong. If you feel as if you’ve tricked your way into one, then you’ve
done yourself a disservice. If your stomach is in knots and your hands
trembling under the intensity of the events that concluded your game,
then you might be eligible.

Deeds points can be earned in conjunction with persona points for goals.
However, in the quest for that goal, the player must risk his character
to unanticipated heights or profound depths. If these great deeds are all
part of the plan, then it’s worth a persona point. If the situation blows
up, gets complicated and you have to take a few deep breaths before you
dive in (yet you still manage to persevere) then you might be eligible.

The context of play and the challenges therein are paramount. It’s all
relative—and, ultimately, up to the GM.

As a GM, I gave out a deeds point to each member of my group for

completing the campaign goal of ending the reign of a powerful wizard.
As a player, I earned a deeds point for helping banish a Greater Dæmon
who had plagued our party for years. Both events resulted from a lot of
hard work, but they both concluded with explosive, unexpected results.

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Artha Bloat
If you play Burning Wheel over a long
period of time, you may experience
artha bloat. An excess of fate and
persona builds up. This happens for
a number of reasons:

• If you’re too lenient awarding

fate for Beliefs, Instincts and
traits, it’s easy to build up a
hefty reserve.

• If you’re not challenging players with difficult obstacles, they have
less incentive to spend artha. Thus if you see players with eight or
more fate points, you should be sure to hit them with some steep
obstacles.

• If you’re not using the extended conflict mechanics enough, players
tend to build up a fat reserve.

Conflicts Soak Artha

Duel of Wits, Range and Cover and Fight require lots of little rolls that all
carry significant consequences—in these conflicts you’re always pushing
for just one more success. Thus a player can easily invest a lot of artha
in just one conflict. Conversely, if you’re not using these systems, players
are missing out on an opportunity to invest in their abilities.

The game awards artha at a rate that is not easily modified. The rate
of awards assumes that the extended conflict mechanics will be used
at least once per session. Thus if you rely solely on versus tests in your
game, you’re skewing the risk/reward balance of the game. In long-term
games, the rate of reward and use can balance over time—you might
have a mellow session one week, and a hectic one the next. If you’re
using versus tests exclusively, then your players will build up ridiculous
reservoirs of artha. If players are accumulating stockpiles of artha, that’s
a red flag that it’s time to put the spurs to them. Hit them with conflicts.
Set up big moments that require them to completely engage with the
system—not just one battle, but a series of conflicts that keeps them on
their toes and burning artha.

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Artha for NPCs

The Artha Cycle

Don’t give your mooks any artha, no matter how bad-ass they are. It’s
just rude.

If you spent time burning up a creature or character to oppose the group

and you don’t want to see your villain punked, then provide a fate and
a persona point (or two). Otherwise, let your antagonist’s dice fall as
they may.

Going further, your Big Bads should start with a nice reserve of three
fate and three persona.

Allied NPCs and Artha

I try to de-emphasize artha for allied NPCs. The players, not the
supporting cast, are the focus of the game. On occasion, however, it is
appropriate for these characters to start with, earn and spend artha as
per the guidelines presented here and in the Burning Wheel.

NPCs Can Earn Artha

Page 63 of the Burning Wheel states that NPCs can earn artha. It’s up
to the players to nominate the character—for Embodiment, Personal
Goals, etc. However, in practice, I’ve found that this acknowledgement
is very rare. Thus I shamelessly pester the players if I feel like I’ve done
a good job with an NPC: “Did you enjoy that performance? Can I have
an Embodiment point?” Don’t be shy. They’re not going to give you
anything unless you ask.

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 Trait Vote
Trait votes are an often overlooked part of Burning Wheel’s grand
currency cycle. In a trait vote, the group provides feedback about
the character play in the most recent arc of the campaign. The
vote highlights the evocation of Beliefs, Instincts and traits and the
group’s own self-perception. The process is both a capstone of the
currency cycle and a safety valve for the system—we get final say
over the characters after all is said and done.

The basic mechanic of the trait vote is very simple, but the
procedure is left rather vague.

When to Trait Vote?

There’s no perfect time for a trait vote. Try to perform the vote
after a major event or accomplishment in the campaign. I like a
vote every six to 12 sessions. The exact timing is up to the events
and flow of your game.

If you run a trait vote too soon, the players don’t have a sense of
each other’s characters. The votes are strained. If you wait too long
to vote, then the precipitating events of the campaign are forgotten
and lots of good trait opportunities are missed.

Trait Vote Procedure

At BWHQ, we’ve developed a procedure for our trait votes. We
devote a whole session to the process, with any extra time put toward
smaller “interim” procedures like practice, copying over characters
and single-player wrap-up events.

At the start of the vote, we review the period upon which we’re
voting. We try to recall a major event at the beginning of the
eligibility period to mark it in our minds. Then we agree on how
many traits we’re eligible for in the vote. This usually takes one of
three forms: one character trait only; one character trait and one
other trait; or two traits of any type. We almost always break this
limit, but it’s good to set a guideline.

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We go around the table in turn and read out our current traits. The GM

Trait Votes
and the owning player make cases for and against losing traits. We vote
to keep or lose any traits that are so identified. Traits are lost if they are
unplayed, unused or actively played against. This is a small but vital
part of this process. This is your chance to get rid of those humiliating
lifepath traits.

Once we’ve voted off any traits, we then pick a character. Each player
in turn nominates that character for a trait. One player takes the role
of secretary and notes down the nominations. Trait nominations can be
based on traits from the lifepaths, the special list, the general list or traits
that you develop on the spot during the vote.

When you nominate, tell the group the name of the trait and why you
think the character should have that trait. Don’t give a speech, but a
short comment is in order.

If we have a group of four players and a GM, at the end of the nomination
process, each player should have five possible traits next to his name: one
nomination from each player, including himself, and the GM.

Once all of the nominations are in order, starting with the first character
nominated, read out the list of traits one at a time. The player who
nominated the trait should make a case for the trait and why it is
appropriate. Decide on the type of trait—character, die or call-on—at
this point. If a question arises about what the trait does, use another trait
as a model and create your own. Vote on each nomination according to
the procedure in the Burning Wheel.

If you are nominated for more traits than you’re eligible, the group should
review the deadlocked traits. Make cases for or against them. Revote until
a decision is reached or you decide to break the eligibility limitations.

Following this procedure should lead you to shiny new traits in a

reasonable amount of time.

Beliefs, Instincts and Trait Voting

The character sheets have a place in which you can note whether you’ve
spent artha using a Belief or Instinct. This note helps to remind us of
moments in which we’ve invested. The amount of investment is a good
benchmark for the types of traits for which the character is eligible.

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This process is problematic in games with high Belief turnover. It becomes

all but impossible to log your investments without keeping another
separate record. I do not want to encourage more bookkeeping, so use
this rule lightly. Use it to inform your decisions about the trait vote rather
than as a strict measure.

Evolving Traits
Using the trait vote rules, you can neatly transform a character trait into
something more potent and useful—a die or call-on trait. So when you’re
voting, examine traits that have been played well. Can they evolve into a
new form with more benefit to reflect how the character has been played?
If so, propose their evolution rather than a whole new trait.

Take care that you don’t forget character traits. In our games, sometimes
we get so caught up in developing die and call-on traits, we lose our
character traits as they get promoted to other levels. As you evolve
character traits, be sure to vote on new ones that accurately reflect
changes in the character.

Reputation Votes
A trait vote is just one of two ways to vote to change your character in
Burning Wheel. You also vote to change, increase, decrease, add or remove
reputations. The process is essentially the same as a trait vote, but you’re
looking at reputations, not traits. Reputation votes can come at the end
of any scenario, but they’re usually lumped into the trait vote process.
Don’t overlook the reputation vote. It’s very useful!

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 Intent and Task
The intent-and-task procedure is a simple, vital part of Burning
Wheel. It exists so we can clearly discuss how to interact with
an obstacle. It is not a negotiation. Either the GM presents an
obstacle and describes the options for testing to overcome it, or a
player states an action for his character and the GM asks for the
underlying reason—the intent—so he can judge the correct task.

Note that task and action are slightly askew in this scheme. As a
player, you’re telling us about what your character is doing. The
GM (and usually the rest of the group) then need to translate that
action into the system.

This makes the operation of the rules pretty simple. It boils down
to “describe cool things for your character and we’ll figure out
what it means in the rules and make a roll for it!” This philosophy
stands at the core of the resolution system and bubbles all the way
up into Duel of Wits, Range and Cover and Fight.

Intent
Intent—what do you want out of this roll? What are you trying to
get from this situation? What are you trying to accomplish here?
Intent addresses the player behind the character. Often, intent is
implied by the situation. You’re hunting for your enemy’s hideout
and you encounter a sentry. You want to sneak past the sentry. The
GM calls for a Stealthy test. The underpinnings of that exchange
are obvious to us—you want to sneak past; you are going to do it
by being quiet and sneaky.

But that’s not the only option. You can choose to alter the vector of
your intent. You could choose to capture the sentry, trail him back
to his observation post or even murder the sentry—three different
intents with three different outcomes for one obstacle.

You could also announce that you want to convince the sentry that
you’re on guard with him. Wait, the obstacle was to sneak past the
sentry. You say, “What? You were sneaking through the woods and
now you want to saunter up and talk to this guy?”

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“Sure!”
“No, way. That’s not an appropriate task for this obstacle.”
The GM vetoes that intent. Why? Because it is inappropriate for the
situation. It doesn’t make sense in the fiction. You’re not dressed like
one of them. You’re sneaking through the woods. They’re on patrol. You
can’t just pop up out of nowhere, start a conversation and expect it to go
well. That intent is no good for getting past the sentry.

So what happens? Usually, the player reframes his intent to something

more appropriate to the situation. Or the player can press his case and
describe how he will accomplish his intent—his task.

Task
Task describes how you accomplish your intent both according to the
rules and in a fiction:

“I pull off my boots and creep along the rocks quietly.”

“Great. Test Stealthy. Do you have any wises you want to FoRK?
“Yes! I used to be a sentry so I know how lazy they are. And I grew up
playing outside a dangerous forest. Sentry-wise and Forest-wise?”
Task must dovetail with intent. What you’re doing must make sense as a
way to get what you’re after. The GM arbitrates this (usually backed up
by the rest of the group). If it doesn’t make sense to him, it doesn’t fly.

So to return to our previous example, being sneaky and passing the sentry
makes sense. What about the other intents?

To capture the sentry: “I sneak up behind him, muzzle him and choke
off his windpipe.” Test Stealthy plus Brawling (or Martial Arts) plus
appropriate wises.

To follow him back to his observation post: “I keep my distance and

trail him on his rounds. Where does he go?” Stealthy plus Observation
or Tracking, maybe even Hunting.

To murder him: “I hurl my knife into his neck, slicing his windpipe,
killing him before he can make a sound.” Throwing plus Stealthy, Knives
and any appropriate wises.

Note how merging the intent with the task changes what skill is tested
and what FoRKs are appropriate.

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Divining the implications of intent and task—what abilities can be used—

Intent and Task

occupies a huge space in the game. You are meant to enter that space
creatively and suggest interesting, unexpected combinations. But to do
so, you have to back it up in the fiction. The process points right back to
the top: It’s got to make sense to the people at the table.

Now, what about our waggish actor? He wants to impersonate another

sentry to deceive this one. When we squint at the intent, it doesn’t seem
like that bad of an idea. So we ask him, “How would you do it?”

“Easy, I roll around in the mud and get good and dirty. Then I move off
a good hundred yards or so in the direction he came. I call out loudly,
‘Damn it!’ Then I come staggering down the trail, cursing and muttering.
‘Fell in the damned mud! Hey, friend! You’re wanted back at the post.
Damned mud. I slipped in it. Can you believe it? Anyway, yeah, you’re
wanted back at the post.’”

Hm. Well, it sounds unlikely, but it certainly is intriguing. The GM

can still veto, but the player is clearly onto something. In this case, the
GM can grant the test: “Fine, test your Acting, plus FoRK in Disguise
and Falsehood. Obstacle is his Will, and I’m going to give you a +1 Ob
disadvantage because this is utterly outlandish.”

Note that he’s changed his intent from the original example. He’s not
trying to sneak past, per se. He’s trying to trick the sentry into leaving
his post. The task is appropriate for the outlandish intent. If he succeeds,
the player deserves the fruits of his labor. Fortune favors the bold and
failure is fun.

By the way, my absolute favorite part of these moments is when the

player responds to the GM’s outline for the task saying, “Wait, I don’t
have Acting!” Well, that’s why we have rules for Beginner’s Luck. Don’t
let them weasel out of the test.

What Skills or Ability for the Task

Assigning skills for tasks takes some fluency with the game. The best way
to learn is to let the player suggest a skill that the character possesses. “I
want to bypass this sentry.”

“What skill would you use?”

“Falsehood.”

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Does the suggestion makes sense? If it doesn’t, produce your own

suggestion. Go with your gut. Don’t flip through the book looking for
an appropriate skill.

You’ll gain an intuitive understanding of the skills after making calls like
this during your games.

Tasks are a major part of the setting. They provide information about
how this place works. So when you make a call on a skill for a task, be
firm and be consistent. That’s how it works here!

No Weasels
In Mouse Guard, we wrote a rule called No Weasels. It says that once a
GM sets an obstacle, you must engage it. This rule isn’t entirely applicable
to Burning Wheel, but it’s a good guideline. Once you’ve stated your
intent and task, once your character is in motion and the obstacle has
been presented, you’re expected to roll the dice. Even if it’s too hard!

But Weasels…
Part of making a test in Burning Wheel involves a bit of negotiation
with the GM and other players. Can I do this? What about this? To my
mind, it’s equivalent to the characters investigating their environment.
Sometimes this poking about will lead down a path. For example:

Player Rich: “We need to get into this fortress. Does it have a courtyard
and a curtain wall?”
GM Luke: “Yes it does.”
Player Rich: “Oh! Let’s climb it! We go climb it. We’re good climbers.”
GM Luke: “Sure. It’s the middle of winter and there’s ice on the wall.
Also, it’s a new construction with a nearly sheer surface. I think Ob 5 is
the fairest I can be.”
Player Rich: “Oh…we’re not that good at climbing. Uh. Maybe we can just
knock on the gate? We, um, we go to the gate.”
This is perfectly acceptable! However in the fiction of the story, we have
to imagine that some time has passed. The characters have at the very
least made the initial preparations for the climb and have only given
up at the last minute. So they’re in a bit of a different situation. Are
there consequences? Perhaps mild ones—time advances, along with the
machinations of the plot—but it’s up to the GM ultimately.

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No Fishing

Intent and Task

Any negotiation about the appropriateness of the action should be handled
when you state your intent. Any rules clarifications and obstacles should
be handled before you get to the intent stage. You can ask questions about
rules and look up details in the rule books. We want you to be informed
when you boldly declare your action. We don’t want you fishing, “What’s
the obstacle to convince him? That’s too high. What if I intimidate him?
What if I use a wise to know what he knows?”

An obstacle isn’t a physical thing. It’s a metaphor. Once it’s presented,

you need to confront it!

Roll the Dice or Say Yes

The Say Yes rule is difficult to adjudicate, yet it’s one of the most vital
elements of the system. It grants the GM the authorial power to cut right
to the important stuff and skip extraneous or tiresome action.

In one campaign, our characters were crossing a narrow span over a

chasm. The GM, Pete, described the bridge in vivid detail. One of the
players, Rich, described his character hopping up to the railing and
capering along. Should Pete have called for a Speed test for Rich’s
character to keep his balance? No. Never. Why? Certainly “in real life”
there’s a chance of falling, but in the story, it just didn’t matter. Rich was
roleplaying. He was embellishing, interacting with Pete’s description.
Rich made the scene better.

And what would the test have accomplished? He would have succeeded
and stayed on the bridge. Success would have kept him at the same point.
Or he would have fallen and we would have had to save him. It would
have turned out like a false note in a bad action movie. There would have
been quick cuts and close ups but nothing really would have happened.

Thus, Pete could Say Yes to this action. Rich wanted his character to look
cool crossing the bridge. Great! Move on.

Later, those same characters needed to cross a narrow ledge to gain entry
to a lost tomb. Pete described wind whipping along the cliff walls. We
would have to make Speed tests to cross and enter. This was a totally legit
test. The tomb was the goal of a long quest. Would we get in unscathed?
Or would this cost us? In this case, it wasn’t about us in particular, but
about our gear and an NPC friend. If we failed, we’d lose those precious
resources!

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In another game, our previous session ended with Thor’s summoner

making a pact with a revenant to lead the group across endless plains. At
the beginning of the next session, I had to resist every bad GM impulse. I
wanted to call for Orienteering tests, Survival tests and Foraging tests. I
wanted to dig right into that journey and make it real with dice rolls. But
it would have been too much and unnecessary—and it’d break the intent
of the deal Thor made in the previous session. Instead, I described the
arduous journey and cut right to the good stuff—the group of travellers
on the banks of the river that borders the Land of the Dead. Though I
did not explicitly Say Yes, the idea is the same.

Don’t Be a Wet Blanket, Mr. GM

Don’t call for a test just to see a character fail. If you feel this impulse–
“Well, he’s walking down the street, but there’s a chance he could fail
and get lost!”—resist. Take a deep breath and describe the next obstacle.

If a player asks for a test or describes something simple and cool for his
character, don’t call for punitive tests. Ask yourself, “Is anything really
at stake here?” A good measure for important tests is whether or not
they actively challenge or build into a challenge for a Belief or Instinct.
If not, just roleplay through it. If they do, negotiate an intent and task
and roll some dice!

Success
Success in Burning Wheel is rather straightforward, almost rigid. You
get what you ask for. Neither the GM nor the other players can impede
or negate that result.

When a successful player has earned his intent, we often turn to him
to put the finishing touches on the test. He stated what he wanted and
how he was doing it. He gathered dice and rolled. Finally, he picks up
the thread again and embellishes a bit on his victory, describing it to us
with a detail or two.

This isn’t a canon procedure, but neither does it drift the rules. It simply
stretches the application of intent and task from before the roll to before
and after the roll. It has a pleasant side effect: It helps us keep the thread
of the narrative. Occasionally, we’ll get bogged down in helping and
FoRKing. The post-roll description reminds us where we left off.

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Intent and Task

Failure
You fail a lot in this game. You roll the dice quite often, and frequently
the difficulty is rather steep. This is a design feature. Success isn’t a
given, it’s something to strive for. And failure isn’t a roadblock; it’s a
twist or a complication.

In fact, Burning Wheel advocates that a protagonist must fail en route

to the climax. We think that failure makes a character much more
interesting. How do you deal with the unexpected? What choices do you
make when you don’t get what you want? The answers to these questions
deepen your character.

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Success is the province of the player. He gets to pick a direction in the

story and push for it. If he passes his test, he moves in that direction.
Failure is the province of the GM. If the player does not overcome that
obstacle, then the GM nudges the narrative in a direction of his choice.

Failure isn’t a dead stop; it’s an opportunity for a new, unexpected turn
of events—more penalties, more tests, more conflicts and more situations.
Failure also typically provides opportunities for advancement. And it is
rewarded with artha when you bring your Beliefs into play. You don’t
have to be successful; you merely engage with your goals in the fiction
and you’re rewarded.

Announcing Risk of Failure Before the Roll

According to the Burning Wheel (page 32), when a test is made, the
player announces intent and task and the GM states the results of a
possible failure. It’s a good habit to get into, and a valid rule, but I
confess that I do not explicitly announce the terms of each test. Why?
Two reasons: I find the results of failure implicit in most tests. If I’m
doing my job correctly as the GM, the situation is so charged that the
player knows he’s going to get dragged into a world of shit if he fails. We
project the consequences into the fiction as we’re talking in-character
and jockeying before the test.

The second reason I don’t announce failure results is a bad habit at

BWHQ. My players trust me. They know I have a devious GM-brain
that will take their interests into heart and screw them gently but firmly.
I can’t write rules about this kind of trust and, frankly, I think basing
a game solely on trust is awful. It leads to all sorts of other bad habits.
However, it does have a positive side. Withholding some failure results
allows for the game to move a little faster. It varies the monotony of the
testing structure and provides room for the occasional inspired surprise.

And you know, sometimes the surprise is on me—sometimes I’m so caught

up in my players’ successes that I forget they can fail.

When I do announce failures before a roll, it’s often after hearing a really
important intent and task from the players. Once I give them the failure
result, we have everything clear about what’s on the line. Even then, I’ll
keep my failure results vague, “If you fail this, you’re going to be lost.”
If the failure comes up, then I embellish with details. Otherwise, I leave
it unspoken.

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So why do I have the rule to announce failure conditions prior to the

Intent and Task

roll in the Burning Wheel? Do I still support it? Announcing the risks
of failure before a roll is absolutely a good rule and a worthy practice to
follow. It forms good habits. It adds a new dynamic to the game—knowing
that failure isn’t arbitrary when you roll the dice. I’m a poor role model,
so definitely follow what’s written in the book.

Protesting Failure Results

On occasion, one of my players will protest a failure result. He’ll claim
that I’ve gone too far or even broken a rule. It’s perfectly valid for a player
to call foul in Burning Wheel if he thinks he’s been wronged.

If I’ve made a call that breaks a rule or is against the spirit of the game,
I apologize and offer an alternative. The GM is as bound to the rules as
the player. Sometimes I get carried away in the heat of the moment and
I honestly appreciate it when my players pull me back down to earth.

If I’ve made a call that offends, I apologize and retract it. That’s not my
aim at all.

If I’ve made a call that seems to go too far—that provokes protest or

incredulity—I reconsider it. Is the player turtling up and failing to
engage a Belief? If I feel like my failure result appropriately, if forcefully,
challenges a Belief, I let it stand. Protests be damned. If I’ve made a bad
call, I attempt to retcon it and take a step back in the narrative.

Separate Intent and Task

When adjudicating the result of a failed test, we find it’s a useful exercise
to look at the intent and task separately. You wanted to assassinate the
duchess quietly in a crowded room and implicate your enemy? A daring
plan. The intent is to lay the blame of the duchess’s murder upon your
enemy’s shoulders. The task is her secret murder by stiletto. The obvious
failure result is that you do not murder your target and are caught.
However, that’s a bit of a roadblock and it leads to rather trite situations
that lack nuance—fighting your way out or pleading innocence. A less
obvious option has you succeed in the assassination, but you are caught.
It’s certainly much harder to plead innocence when the blood is running
down your knife hand. In this circumstance, the action is reframed: The
duchess is dead and everyone knows you’re guilty. A still less obvious
and more devious turn has you succeed, but your dear friend is wrongly
blamed for the act and carted off to the gallows. Your actions have
dragged an innocent soul down. What will you do?

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Which direction to choose? Each is serviceable. The key is in the

character’s Beliefs (or to a lesser extent, an Instinct). Which option
presents an interesting and difficult choice for the player based on his
Beliefs? If the player has a Belief about never fighting in the open, then
the first option is quite valid. If the player has a Belief about maintaining
his pristine reputation, then the second option is a strong challenge to
that Belief. If the player has a Belief about using the duchess’s murder as
pretext to propel his friend to power, then a twist like the third suggestion
isn’t an option—it’s a necessity.

Directing failures is a matter of observation and practice. The best

guideline I’ve found as a GM is that if the option bores, it’s going to
be boring for the group. But if the imagined turn of events makes me
squirm or get butterflies in my stomach, it’s probably the way to go.
Listen to your gut!

The Light Touch Versus the Heavy Touch

Slamming your players with earth-shattering failures at every turn is
exhausting. Your players will burn out, become frustrated or, worse, grow
gun-shy. Be sensitive to the situation. Build up from smaller missteps to
bigger disasters over the course of a session. It’s even better if you can
build up from minor inconveniences to true catastrophe across multiple
sessions.

If a test isn’t directly in service of a Belief or Instinct, use a light touch

on the failure. Apply a minor inconvenience and move on. If a linked
test, a test to make tools for a job or a test of a similar caliber becomes
too onerous, the cost outweighs the benefit and players will quickly
disengage from the system.

However, if a test is directly related to a Belief or Instinct, use failure

to shock and surprise your players. Change the situation. Turn matters
on their head. Shake them up. And then sit back and watch the players
scramble. They will care about these twists because their Beliefs are on
the line!

Failure Timing
Hold off on applying the results of a failure until dramatically appropriate.
Delaying the inevitable can add to the tension. Just be sure not to wait
so long that you forget.

If you are handling multiple simultaneous actions, hold off for a beat.
Resolve the rolls for as many of the players as plausible and then combine
the failure result into a cascade of disaster!

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Practical Success

Intent and Task

Failure gets a lot of discussion, but what about poor old success? What
can it do? In addition to having a noticeable effect on the fiction of your
game, success can also be used to generate mechanical benefit.

•M
 ake stuff. You can craft items for one use or built to last. You can
also make items of a particular quality—poor, run-of-the-mill or
superior.

• Acquire gear. You can use your skills to acquire useful gear!

•F
 ind cash. Success can produce cash dice! This effect isn’t just from
Resources; you can use a variety of abilities to squeeze cash out of a
person or location.

•M
 ake a friend. You can use social skills to build temporary alliances
and induce NPCs to take action for you.

•A
 lleviate the pain. You can concoct solutions to alleviate penalties—
whether medicinal, social, physical or otherwise.

Embellishing Success
The player’s intent is made manifest and he describes his character’s
actions. I turn to my players, “Tell us what happened!” When they
complete their inevitably entertaining description, I try to embellish
a little. I try to add in reactions or other details. Adding a small detail
can really help. It makes great success even more vivid and memorable.
There’s something special about collaborating to describe a brilliant
victory.

If I’m unsure of where a player is going with his description of success, I’ll
back off and ask a few quick questions, “And then what? What happens
next?” Rather than stepping on his victorious toes, I try to create room
for him to make a statement.

Honor Success, Challenge Assumptions

Sometimes I react badly to success. “Fine, you get what you want.”
And play stalls on that point. Don’t fall into this bad habit. The player
accomplishes his intent. Describe the result. Honor it with an engaging
illumination. Make it special.

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Once the success is out there, solidly in the minds of the players, it’s
time to introduce new information and new problems. These aren’t
failure results. This information is stuff the players can see coming.
Unlike a failure result, players get to choose how they’ll deal with this
new information.

Advantage
Success technically can’t produce advantage dice unless the player or GM
stated that it was a linked test before the dice were rolled. This is due
to the failure condition—+1 Ob—for linked tests. It’s bad form to screw
players with unforeseen penalties after a die roll. Hence, the reverse is
true: It’s bad form to give out advantage dice without risk.

Success in a Duel of Wits

Success in a Duel of Wits is one of the most powerful results in the
game. Using this system, you can make another character do almost
anything! Of course, to get what you want, you need to state your own
goal beforehand or incorporate it into your compromise.

However, Duel of Wits results are flexible and versatile: You can get
paid, cause people to take your side, gain reputations, add affiliations,
cement relationships or push another character into an action he wouldn’t
otherwise take.

Go ahead: Next time you’re in a Duel of Wits, ask for a little bit more than
you would have otherwise. Once you have an agreement, you’re going to
get what you want. Just be careful what you ask for.

Practical Failure
Burning Wheel is an effects-based game (mostly). The system provides a
host of mechanical options that one can apply in a variety of situations.
This section describes how you can use mechanical effects as failure
results.

New Test
The most basic mechanical result of a failure is a new test. Rather than
getting what he wants, the player is shunted down another course in
which he must make an additional test to get back on track.

A failed Climbing test leaves your character dangling from a precipice—

now you must pass an Agility test to scramble to safety.

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A failed Persuasion test results in a soldier demanding a bribe, thus

Intent and Task

necessitating a Resources test.
A failed Orienteering test can lead to a trapped corridor. You must pass
a Speed test to avoid the trap.
Full-Blown Conflict
When failure forces a player to make a new test, it can lead to a single
test or a full-blown conflict: Duel of Wits, Range and Cover or Fight.

You jump a musketeer and attempt to clout him with a single blow. You
fail, so now you must draw swords and duel with him. The Fight rules
are then brought into play.
Unexpected Encounter
When a player fails, place a character or monster in the group’s path. You
now have a new enemy who can be reincorporated into future obstacles.

Traveling through a wild wood, the ranger fails her Orienteering test and
inadvertently leads her companions into the lair of the Doom Serpent.
A failed Intimidation test summons forth the peddler’s rather large
cousin, who is ironically called “Tiny.”
Obstacle Penalties
The GM can impose a +1 or +2 obstacle penalty on a future, related test.

You fail to surprise your opponent with a Stealthy test. You’re in a bad
situation; you now have +1 Ob to your initial positioning test.
During an argument, you so insult your friend that the GM applies a
+2 Ob penalty to a future social skill test against him.
Gear Loss
One of my favorite failure results is to apply an effect against gear or
property. Gear can be lost so that it’s completely gone or so the character
must test to recover it. Gear can be damaged—made poor quality or
assigned an obstacle penalty until it is repaired. Gear can be broken—
made unavailable until repaired. Broken gear can require a Mending
test to repair or a more substantial skill like Blacksmith or Carpenter.

Gear loss is best used in physical tests.

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Swept away down a river, you fail your Speed test. Not only are you far
from shore, but your arrows have spilled from their quiver. They sail off
into the current.
You fail to pick that lock and your lockpicks are jammed in the mechanism.
It’ll take a Mending test to extract them. Failure this time will trigger
the trap mechanism for sure.
A failed Seduction test at the ball prompts the young lady to spill her
goblet of wine over your finery. Your outfit is ruined and you have an
obstacle penalty to any other test at the ball until you change.
Drastic failure results can see gear ruined—destroyed unless refigured
with magic.

You jam your steel-gauntleted hand into a doomsday mechanism to halt

its progress. You fail your Power test. Your gauntlet and vambrace are
sucked into the machine and crushed. The machine rumbles on.
Injury
Failure in physical tasks can result in injury. You can assign a wound
grade, rather than a coordinate, or you can assign a wound coordinate
using the standard wounding rules.

Assigning a wound grade gives me more control over the effect of the
result. “You fall and take a midi wound,” rather than “You fall and take
a B7.”

Using wound coordinates is more abstract, but it’s a natural evocation

of the system—PTGS coordinates are built into the mechanics! Wound
coordinates are generally more fair, as well, since they let players use
traits such as Iron Skin to reduce their impact.

Injury is a great failure effect for martial versus tests—you are defeated
and you take a wound. Brutal!

Superficial and light wounds are assigned if the pressure is on the

characters to succeed in the next scene and there’s no time to rest.
Typically, players can take care of these wounds rather easily if given a
moment’s rest; therefore they are of limited value as penalties.

Midi wounds are appropriate results for falls, near-drownings, poisonings,

explosives or traps. They’re tough to treat, but they’re not fatal. They
leave a nice, lasting sting.

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Severe and traumatic wounds will take out all but the most powerful of

Intent and Task

characters. These are great results for terrible falls, brutal traps, deadly
poisons or bad accidents, but use them sparingly. Only the most dire of
failures results in a Severe or Traumatic wound.

I don’t like to use mortal wounds as test failure results for anything but
fights, and even then only in the most extreme circumstances. You can
use the effect as you see fit, but be careful.

Turning a Relationship
The nature of a relationship can change as the result of a failed test. Just
like a character can turn from ill-disposed to favorable due to a successful
test, a character can turn from friendly to inimical.

A relationship can change temporarily—you’re feuding with your lover,

so for the time being, he’s your enemy. Or the change can be permanent—
too much damage has been done to his heart and he swears eternal
vengeance upon you.

These changes can come as a result of a Duel of Wits compromise, but

they can also emerge as the result of a failed Persuasion test against
Will. They are also born of other kinds of failure—losing a fight, stealing
something from someone, failing to pay back a loan—but be sure to
telegraph these changes to the player. Set up the relationship as volatile.
Play the character into the situation. Give the player no doubt as to what’s
at stake. Not merely because you stated failure consequences but because
the character you are portraying is so vivid.

Destroying a Reputation
Page 385 of the Burning Wheel briefly notes that reputations can be
destroyed as the result of a failed test. Apply this result to any test in
which the character’s failure is visible and public: a duel, an argument,
a battle or even a comically failed Inconspicuous test. The failure results
in a die subtracted from the relevant reputation!

A reputation reduced to zero is lost. It can be re-earned in play.

Damaging an Affiliation
Affiliations can be damaged as the result of a failed test. This is a
brilliant failure result for a failed Accounting or Estate Management
test. Resources and Circles can be used as well, but they’re the obvious
choices. A battle lost might prompt supporters to withdraw investments,
or poor conduct in court might cause business to dry up.

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As in the case of reputations, this effect reduces the affiliation by one

die. An affiliation reduced to zero is lost. It must be repurchased in play
as described in the rules on pages 383 and 385 of the Burning Wheel.

Apply Traits
You may also apply traits as the result of a failed test. This is a rather
drastic condition, so use it sparingly. This result changes a character
fundamentally in ways that other failure results do not. Once assigned,
a trait is hard to get rid of!

You can assign character traits for a variety of failure conditions:

Characters can be scarred, branded or stigmatized. Die traits that add
obstacle penalties, reduce stats or skills or lower stat caps are appropriate
for tests that carry the risk of dire physical consequences.

Die traits that provide infamous reputations are also excellent devices to
tack onto particularly brutal social skill failures.

Do not assign call-on traits as the result of failure since they are solely
beneficial.

Use Failure to Trigger Instincts

As we’ve demonstrated, a failed test provides many opportunities! In
addition to all that we’ve mentioned, you can also use failure results to
trigger a player’s Instinct.

If you have the Instinct “Never let them forget that you’re a noble,” and
you fail an Etiquette test, I’m going to use this chance to ride you. Your
interlocutor responds, “Oh. Yes. I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t
recognize your name. Or your face. Your family is one of…good breeding,
I presume?”
If you have the Instinct “Never accept an insult,” I’m going to use nearly
every social skill failure result to insult you!
If you have the Instinct “Never wear shoes,” a failed Stealthy test is going
to land you on some sharp rocks or broken glass.
This may seem mean, but it’s not. You’re showing the player that you
care, that you’re paying attention. And you’re providing him a chance
to earn artha. See what a great GM you are?

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 Advancement
In the Burning Wheel, I rant on and on about advancement—
“Advancement is lifeblood” and all that. This mechanism is a
fundamental gear in the Burning Wheel cycle of play. As a player,
you’re supposed to want to improve your character’s abilities.

Advancement shapes your behavior in play. To advance, you must

have your character attempt a variety of tasks. You can’t do the
same thing over and over again to advance your ability. You need
to attempt a combination of easy and difficult acts. Furthermore,
you need to attempt tasks that are statistically impossible.

Advancement also paces the campaign. The hard coded system—

how many rolls per session toward advancement—determines how
long it’s going to take you to master that sword so you can confront
your rival.

The Rate of Advancement

Most abilities don’t advance in a single session of play. In our games,
we see advancements pop three or four sessions into a campaign.

It’s possible to advance sooner, but you have to devote yourself to

the ability’s progress and be a bit of a test-monger or start with very
low exponents.

This is part of the design. We created Burning Wheel for campaigns.

It really starts to shine six, eight or even 12 sessions into a campaign.

The Behavior of Routine Tests

When you need a routine test for advancement, you have an
incentive to use FoRKs, lobby for advantages, angle for linked tests
and, most important, accept help to get as many dice into your
hand as possible.

Help for routine tests is key in a group situation. The routine test
you are benefitting from is often a difficult or even challenging test
for the helper. By helping one another, the group can earn a broad
spectrum of advancements in a single session—or even a single roll,
if you’re clever.

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Behavior of Difficult Tests

Difficult tests require a bit of dice optimization. You want to gather the
precise number of dice so the test counts as difficult and not routine for
advancement. Still, you don’t want to take too few dice, either! If you
have a skill of B4 for an Ob 4 test, it’s difficult to know whether to roll
four dice or five. My first impulse in that situation is to get help. If no
help is offered, I root around for a FoRK or advantage die. I can afford
to take that extra die and still log the difficult test.

Earning Difficult Tests Through Help

You can also earn difficult tests by helping another player. To gain this
benefit, you must be attentive to the action. You must involve yourself in
your friends’ scenes. Place yourself in danger with them. Thus when the
time comes for a test, you can justify your help. You give them helping
dice to overcome the obstacle while you
compare the obstacle of the test to your
raw exponent and log the appropriate
test for advancement. Using this
method, you can ensure that people
who need routine tests get them—by
piling on helping dice—and people
who need difficult tests get them—by
providing assistance.

Behavior of
Challenging Tests
Challenging tests are a win-win
situation. On one hand, you can be
confident that you will fail a challenging
test. You can grab your dice, toss them
down diffidently and grin at the GM,
“I fail.”

Or, you can dig in, muster your traits,

gather your artha, blow on your dice,
mutter your imprecations to the gods
and roll. You just might get lucky with
some 6s and pull it off. It’s exhilarating!

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Of course, failure isn’t an option for Faith and Resources. You must

Advancement
succeed to advance. So spend that artha and get ready to weep.

Earning Challenging Tests Through Help

There’s another way to earn challenging tests that isn’t quite as
invigorating: You can help another player in need. If your friend is making
a test that’s higher than your exponent, try to devise a way to help. He’ll
get a test relative to the number of dice rolled. You’ll get a challenging
test for advancement.

The hitch is that if your friend needs a challenging test for his exponent, he
might not be able to accept help. Taking the extra dice will usually change
the type of test. Thus you might need to set up the test differently—taking
action yourself so your friend can help you and get the test he needs.

Balancing Success
Against Advancement
Sometimes you want to succeed. And sometimes you want to hurl yourself
against impossible odds and fail. Once you start playing the advancement
game, you quickly run into a juicy decision: Do you muster dice and pass
the test with little risk of failure and no benefit to advancement, or do
you risk failing the test by using fewer dice and logging a needed test for
advancement? It’s a simple matter to muster enough help from your mates
to turn any difficult test to a routine. But without the difficult tests, you
won’t advance. You must make a decision: Do you opt for short-term gain
and pass the test or do you risk failure for a chance at long-term gain?

There’s no right answer. Sometimes you’ll need to choose one way and
sometimes you’ll go in the other direction. A goal could be too important
to risk failure or you might be one test away from advancing an ability.
The best moments are when it is crucial for you to pass a test, but you
also need the test for advancement—so you can’t add too many dice. The
tension between success versus advancement adds a lot to the game. And
as always, if you are not sure which path to take, check your Beliefs.

Beginner’s Luck
Beginner’s Luck imposes a double obstacle penalty on tests by unskilled
characters. This is one of my favorite rules in the game. I find it simulates
unskilled behavior very well—easy stuff is still accomplishable without

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too much fuss; moderate tasks are possible to achieve, but not a sure
thing; and difficult feats are all but impossible for the unskilled. Simple,
elegant, beautiful.

Of course, this simple, elegant and beautiful rule causes all sorts of
headaches. Namely, how do you deal with a double obstacle penalty when
you’re making a versus test, skilled against unskilled?

Beginner’s Luck, Helping and Advancement

Unskilled characters may help one another with a test. The primary
character tests using the Beginner’s Luck rules. The helping character
can earn a difficult or challenging test toward advancing the stat used
to help, and does not gain a skill test applied to aptitude.

When using Beginner’s Luck rules in a versus test against a skilled

opponent, it’s best to count the unskilled successes as half successes—
two unskilled successes equal one skilled success. This makes factoring
advancement easier. Discard any remaining half successes.

Factoring Beginner’s Luck Obstacles With

Disadvantage and Tools
When making a test using Beginner’s Luck and disadvantage, the testing
obstacle is double the base plus the disadvantage. The advancement
obstacle is just the base obstacle plus the disadvantage.

When making a Beginner’s Luck test without required tools, the testing
obstacle is double the double obstacle! Nonetheless the advancement
obstacle is only double the base obstacle—the obstacle for the test without
tools.

Performing unskilled surgery on your severely wounded friend without

tools is not a good idea, even worse if you’re superficially wounded as well.
In this case, your obstacle would be 3x2 = 6 for the unskilled treatment of
a severe wound. 6x2 = 12 for no tools. And +1 Ob on top of that for your
superficial wound penalty.
Time to spend that deeds point.

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 Practice
Practice is a subset of Advancement, but we broke it out into its
own chapter so we can take a deeper look at the rules and their
application.

The Burning Wheel makes the purpose of practice explicit: It

exists so you can acquire tests needed for advancement that you
otherwise missed while out on campaign.

However, that practice requires a substantial investment in game

time. Your character spends a lot of time practicing. That time is
not spent adventuring, working or recovering.

The practice cycles help set the pace of play. In fact, they are
part of a suite of longer-term mechanisms—working, recovering,
research—that are all scoped to produce a sense of the passage of
time. You play hard, down in the shit for a while, then you crawl up
out of the muck, rest, recuperate and reequip. Once you’re ready,
you head back into the fray and begin the cycle anew. This process
creates a sense of ongoing life for the characters.

Pressure
The adventure-rest-practice-reequip-adventure cycle is the natural
pace of the game. However, it’s the GM’s job to keep up the pressure
for as long as possible without breaking the players. Don’t give them
a moment of peace. Throw challenges at them. When they stop for
rest, move your pieces in the Big Picture. Make them say, “Uh oh….”
Force the players to create their peace by accomplishing their goals
or by spending themselves utterly. When they’re wounded, broke
and ragged, let them go to ground but let them know that their
enemies will not rest.

Squeezing in Practice
Practice doesn’t only have to happen during downtime. Certain
elements of campaign life are meant to be noted as practice, rather
than tests. You’re not supposed to test to forage, cook and mend
every night that you’re out on the trail, for example. You test when
it’s important. Otherwise, you note the time spent as practice.

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In less adventurous lifestyles, you

can practice Reading, Writing,
Composition, Doctrine, History,
Etiquette and a variety of other
skills as part of your daily routine.

I prefer to limit this type of practice

to activities you perform when
you get up and stuff you do before
you bed down for the night. For
example, I play an Elf who keeps
a journal of his travels. He makes
his entries when his companions are
resting. I use the journal to practice
his Elven Script.

Practice Log
When you’re squeezing in practice
between other events, it’s important to keep a log. You can practice
piecemeal—a day here, a day there. For example, I’ve noted in my Elf’s
practice log that he has 14 weeks of practice toward his Elven Script skill.
Elven Script is an academic skill, so I need six months—24 weeks—before
I can notch a test.

Practice Instincts
A great way to squeeze practice into your character’s routine is via an
Instinct. My aforementioned Elf has an Instinct, “Always keep a journal
of my travels.” Such an Instinct leaves no doubt as to your character’s
behavior. You can be confident therefore that when you explain that
you’ve been practicing your Elven Script skill for the past year, your
fellow players can see it in your Instinct.

Practice and Recovery

Can you rest and recover while practicing? I once heard a tale of a
pneumoniac scholar who refused to rest and subsequently worked himself
to death. Was he practicing while recovering?

We play this situationally. If the nature of the injury permits, we allow

light practice: routine tests for Read, Research, languages, wises or similar.

However, you can practice while your friends are nursing their wounds.
They’re laid up in bed, pissing and moaning. You’re out in the world,
sharpening your skills and preparing for the next adventure.

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Practice and Passage of Time

Practice
The practice rules are meant to allow for the passage of long stretches of
time in your game. Let five years pass! You don’t get to practice for all
of those five years—you need to eat, sleep and work, too, right? But set
aside a portion of that time that you feel is appropriate. Let the players
practice and beef up their abilities. And let the setting and situation
evolve and change meanwhile!

Practical Limits of Practice

The practice rules are very loose and meant to smooth over wrinkles
between the advancement system and the game fiction. However, they
can be too loose. The GM can and should impose intent/task limits on
the practice cycle. If, for example, a player wants to practice his Sword
skill, but he has no sword because he is, in fact, locked in a prison, then
he may not practice that ability.

The literal time allotment for practice is too liberal—15 hours of potential
practice for a Will of B5 is just too much. No one has that much free time
and willpower! The GM can and should also limit the amount of time
available. Characters must maintain their lives; they must sleep, eat and
pay their bills. If a player wishes to push his character beyond reasonable
tolerances, the GM may call for Will and Health tests to maintain his focus
and dedication on his travails. Failure not only impedes his practice, but
can also make him sick or crazy.

Practical Instruction
Instruction is a much more efficient way to gain tests for advancement
than practice­—possibly even more efficient than adventuring. Instructors
can typically be found with Circles and hired with Resources. The Circles
test obstacle can vary, but the Resources test obstacle is 4. By subjecting
the instructor’s availability to those two types of tests, you ensure that
finding an instructor is also subject to the intent and task rules. Thus if
it’s not appropriate to search for an instructor, the GM can inform the
player that the intent is inappropriate and move on.

Of course, if you have time in your busy schedule, your character can
learn Instruction and teach skills to the other members of the party.

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 Obstacles
Obstacles are problems that players must overcome. They can seem
like a drag or even a punishment from the GM. This couldn’t be
further from the truth. Obstacles are love.

Burning Wheel thrives on its currency cycle. While obstacles may

seem like roadblocks, they’re actually one of the building blocks
of the cycle.

When a player wants to perform a task, the GM is obligated to set

an obstacle. The GM can refer to the skill, spell or trait list in most
cases. Some tasks are determined systematically—like the base
obstacle to Strike in a Fight. Some tasks ask the GM to determine
an appropriate obstacle using the rather loose guidelines on page
15 of the Burning Wheel.

Obstacles come in two forms: base and modifiers. Your base

obstacle forms the core difficulty of accomplishing your task. Each
skill lists a series of base obstacles for certain tasks, for example.
And base obstacles are agnostic to your ability exponent. Ob 1 is
Ob 1 whether you’ve got a skill of 2 or 8.

You throw modifiers on top of base obstacles to make a task

more difficult. Modifiers come from incidental effects like injury,
working conditions, magic and other in-game effects. The system
hands out plenty of obstacle penalties on its own, but the GM can
distribute disadvantage as appropriate.

What is not obvious behind this system is that these obstacles

create setting. When a player acts in the game, he needs a difficulty
for his test. The obstacle is the number, but it’s also the object of
adversity in the fiction. Obstacles, over time, create a sense of space
and logic in the game world. When a player repeatedly meets the
same obstacle for the same task, he knows what to expect and he
knows how to set up his character to best overcome this problem,
or he knows enough to find another way around.

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If the obstacle for the same task varies each time a player attempts it—

Obstacles
with the same intent—it destabilizes the game world. The solidity and
consistency of the world distorts. Players struggle to find their footing,
to care about what’s happening around them. Rolls seem arbitrary.

Conversely, when done right, changing the obstacle for the same intent
and task can be a powerful signal that something has changed. It can
be a signifier of magic or otherworldly forces at work, but this only
works if the obstacle has been used consistently up to a point before the
mysterious change is presented.

And sometimes, you can change your task and use a different skill to
get a whole different obstacle!

Punishment!
Obstacle modifiers seem punitive, a negative reinforcement. They make
it harder for a player to succeed at a task. I know I often flinch when
I assess a steep penalty. I don’t like punishing players for trying to be
heroic. However, there’s a massively positive side to obstacle modifiers.
In design parlance, they are feedback. You perform an action and the
game gives you feedback about that action. In this case, the feedback
lets the player know about the difficulties and limits of the environment
and the character. This is important. The game exists only as an
exchange between our imaginations and the rules. The penalties give
us a scale and a structure for our imagination.

Obstacles and Advancement

Furthermore, at a certain level of play, we require obstacle penalties
to keep the advancement system running. Tests become too easy.
Characters need bigger challenges to advance. Obstacle penalties
(among other elements) provide this opportunity. What was punishing
with a Stealthy B2 is a nice perk at Stealthy B6. It’s a satisfying
transformation for both player and GM to watch near-insurmountable
problems become mere bumps in the road for our heroes.

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Obstacles and Artha

In addition to advancement, obstacles provide opportunities to spend
artha (and thereby earn epiphanies) as well as an incentive for other
players to help (and earn their own necessary advancements). Obstacles
may seem punitive or obstructionist, but they are a vital, productive
fundament of the game.

Practical Obstacles
The Hub provides a brief overview of obstacles. The Character Burner
skill list provides numerous obstacles for tests. That said, versus tests
constitute roughly half of the obstacles in the game. Even the trait
list contains a handful of obstacles. And character stats make up the
remainder.

Most of those obstacles are purely mechanical executions—you consult

the skill, it tells you the difficulty. How do you, as the GM, judge an
obstacle on the fly?

My Favorite Obstacle
The GM sets the obstacles for tests. Some players cry foul that the GM
can seemingly set an arbitrary difficulty for their goals. Well, tough
luck. Someone has got to make these challenges hard. In this game, the
GM does that heavy lifting to challenge the players. Setting obstacles is
fundamental to that opposition.

My favorite obstacle is 3. It’s great. Let me explain why. Ob 2 is easy.

Even a character with a skill of 3 is likely to pass an Ob 2 test. On the
other hand, obstacles 4 or 5 are just darn hard. It takes a character
with six or eight dice available to have a good shot at an Ob 4 or 5. But
Ob 3 sits right in the middle there. It’s achievable with three, four or
five dice, but there’s also a reasonable risk of failure even when rolling
eight or nine dice. It’s a nice, comfy statistical zone in the system. When
in doubt, set your obstacle at 3!

Of course you need Ob 2 (or even Ob 1) tests to make the world go round.
Not every action is difficult; you need routine tests for advancement. So,
if an action is perfunctory or dead easy, don’t hesitate to hand out an
Ob 1 or 2 test. It’s common to think that you should Say Yes to low-
obstacle tests. This is not the case! You should Say Yes when there’s

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nothing at stake, no conflict. You should call for Ob 1 and Ob 2 tests in

Obstacles
situations of risk, even if it’s small. These tests often produce beautiful,
unexpected results.

Obstacle 4 and higher tests are equally vital, but they’re dangerous.
When setting a high obstacle, you’re saying, “Hey, this scenario is
important! But you’re probably not going to get what you want.” High
obstacles are the sharp means by which the GM confronts the players.
They make players sit up and take notice. Be clear about what the
player gets if he succeeds. Let him know just how important the test
is. That way he can spend artha, use FoRKs and get help according to
his priorities.

Social Skills Against Will

Simple social skill tests are very difficult in Burning Wheel. To use most
social skills, you must meet an obstacle equal to the target’s Will exponent.
For characters with low skills—exponent 2 or 3—or unskilled characters,
it makes the test seem impossible.

We designed social skill tests to be difficult to be successful with. Talking

your way out of (or into) a situation is a powerful weapon. It’s perhaps the
easiest thing for us, at the table, to do. But this ease isn’t representative
of the difficulty of actually convincing or intimidating someone. That’s
hard to do.

The high obstacle also encourages use of the Duel of Wits system. If you’re
afraid of outright failure, initiate a Duel of Wits. Not only can you gun
for a compromise if you’re losing, but you can also log juicy Will and
skill tests during the conflict.

Finally, and most importantly, the high obstacle encourages players to

invest in the test. Such an obstacle requires the use of FoRKs, help and
artha. This additional investment makes the end result—the enhanced
roleplay, the more nuanced argument—much more satisfying.

Traps as Obstacles
How do you set a trap in Burning Wheel? First, determine the effect of
the trap. What does it do? Does it cause an injury? Does it lock off a
section of ye olde dungeon? Does it cast a spell? Release poison? Design
an effect for your trap.

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Next, set an obstacle to spot or avoid the trap. You can use Observation
to spot traps before they’re triggered, but too much looking for traps
makes for a boring game. You can walk characters into traps and then
have the players make Speed tests to dodge out of the way, Agility tests
to get their hands free or Power tests to stop the mechanism, etc.

The effect of the trap is the result of the failed test. For easy, not-too-
deadly traps, I’ll allow a Perception or Observation test to spot the
mechanism. If that fails, I’ll force a second test to avoid the effects of

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the trap. For deadly traps, I describe the trap triggered and call for tests

Obstacles
against the trap’s obstacle. I make sure the players know the severity of
the situation so they can gather help and spend artha appropriately. I try
not to fall into spot-then-disarm mode as I find it tedious. It’s much more
interesting to have characters leaping nimbly from the jaws of death.

Weather
Weather can be an obstacle during play—not just as an obstacle modifier.
You can use weather to invoke Navigation, Pilot, Orienteering, Climbing
or other skill tests, or Perception, Speed or Forte tests.

The actual obstacle depends on your setting. In one of our home brew
settings, winter and summer are calm, while fall and spring are very
volatile. Therefore, high weather obstacles are more appropriate in the
spring and fall.

Weather makes for an excellent excuse to use outsized obstacles. Obstacles

1 to 3 are too weak for the force of nature. Obstacles 4 to 10 are much
more appropriate!

Squalls and storms are good excuses for Navigation, Piloting and
Orienteering tests. Rain provides a pretext for a Speed test if you’re
leaping a precipice. Snow is good grounds for Forte and Speed tests. Ice
and wind make fine friends for Climbing tests.

You can frame these tests like so: “Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem,
but the gods are angry and the weather is blowing. You need to test…”

Failure blows you off course to uncharted lands, causes injury, causes gear
to be swept away, etc. There’s lots of room for good, adventurey stuff.

Wilderness
Wilderness is similar to weather in certain respects; it’s a massive,
implacable obstacle. Perhaps not quite so overpowering as weather,
wilderness nonetheless provides excellent action. Swamps, steep ravines,
rushing rivers, crumbling glaciers, and so on. If your game involves
travel, be sure to present interesting terrain features as obstacles that
the characters must thread through.

Wilderness obstacles most often test Orienteering and Speed—to stay

on the path and to stay out of harm’s way. You can use Power to move
boulders or debris, or to haul people to safety. Ditch Digging is a fun
and useful skill for carving trenches around dangerous terrain. Song of
Arbors can be used to safely traverse an ancient forest.

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Trapper, Foraging and Hunting tests can often lead to wilderness

encounters. A failed test might lead a character into a sucking swamp
or entangling vines. Prospecting can precipitate dangerous rock slides
or collapsing holes. Animal Husbandry failures can lead to a character
chasing his herd through clinging brambles.

Wilderness obstacles are best set in the range of 2 to 6. The lower the
obstacle, the more of a nuisance the challenge is, which helps build the
atmosphere. Whereas higher obstacles indicate greater dangers and
higher stakes.

Weather and Wilderness as Obstacle Modifiers

In addition to presenting their own obstacles, weather and wilderness
can both act as modifiers for other obstacles.

If it’s raining while you’re tracking someone, your obstacle should be

higher than it would be otherwise.
If you’re fighting in a swamp, the obstacles for nearly all of your tests
should be higher than they would be if you were fighting on dry land.

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 Versus Tests
Versus tests are the workhorse mechanic of the game. You use a
versus test when you want to compete with another character or
entity in a simple, direct way.

A versus test can resolve a situation in one throw of the dice or

a series of versus tests can create an iterated resolution. In this
chapter, I talk about those tests specifically resolving situations
in one roll. I’ll talk about iterative resolution in the Fight, Duel of
Wits and Range and Cover sections.

Social Versus Tests

Versus tests are used to resolve social situations only when both
parties want to influence the other party. If you want to convince a
mercenary to help you on your quest and he wants to convince you
to change your goals, you make a versus test.

You do not use a versus test when you’re simply convincing another
character who does not want to be swayed, wants to merely do his
job or just wishes you would go away. If you’re trying to compel that
mercenary to join your quest, but he doesn’t have a counterpoint,
then the test is an independent test, not a versus test.

When to Use Versus Tests for Social Interactions

If you want to stand up and reject the attempt at manipulation,
you let the other guy test his skill using your Will as the obstacle.
It’s worth noting that Let It Ride will protect you from having to
go through it again unless something changes, but Let It Ride also
binds you to the result.

If someone wants something from you and you want something from
them, you can resolve the stand off using a versus test. One of you
is going to get what he wants. The other is not.

You can also escalate to a Duel of Wits, if you want something from
the other person but you don’t want to risk a black-and-white, win/
lose result. Even when unskilled in a Duel of Wits, you can often
gain a compromise from a skilled opponent.

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Violence in the Versus Test

Violence is serious business in Burning Wheel. Nothing trumps it. You
cannot stop a blade with words. In fact, by default, Burning Wheel
considers attempting to convince someone who is stabbing you a violation
of intent and task.

“I run him through.”

“I plead for my life.”

There’s no contest in these two statements in Burning Wheel. The intent

and task system is not intended to make all skills equivalent—just the
opposite. Using intent and task, we hope you can clearly delineate
appropriate actions in each circumstance. Just know that, by default,
words don’t counter physical actions. When a punch is thrown, it’s time
to duck. After the scuffle, you can talk.

Versus Tests for Competition and

Physical Altercations
Versus tests are the best and simplest mechanic to resolve a competition
between two characters: a race, a test of strength, a display of knowledge,
etc. Set the stage, gather help and FoRKs and roll to determine who
has won the contest. It’s even possible to compete with three or more
characters. Everyone rolls and the highest amount of successes wins
the day.

For a brawl or a shoving match, use the Simple Martial Conflict rules
described on page 425 of the Burning Wheel. The intent of the opponents
determines the results.

Wounds in Versus Tests

If this versus test concerns more of a duel or combat, use the rules for the
Bloody Versus Tests on pages 426-427 of the Burning Wheel.

Versus Tests with Help

A group can use a versus test to overcome an opponent. One player is
designated the primary actor and everyone else helps. The group succeeds
or fails together.

This is an excellent method for resolving skirmishes, gang fights and

shouting matches.

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What Versus What?

Versus Tests
Versus tests are versatile. They don’t always have to be Power versus
Power, Speed versus Speed or Persuasion versus Persuasion. Let the
players declare their intent and task. Use the abilities appropriate to the
situation. If I want to tackle you but you want to run away, we test Power
versus Speed. If I want to convince you but you want to rile the crowd,
we test Persuasion versus Oratory.

Also, note that you must obey the skill versus stat paradigm—double
obstacle penalty for the stat tested against the skill unless otherwise noted
(like Steel tests in Range and Cover).

Abilities Must Be in the Same Realm

There are limits to the feasibility of versus tests. The abilities tested
must be in the same realm. In Burning Wheel it is not appropriate to test
Persuasion versus Brawling when a scoundrel is pummeling you. Once
the punch is thrown, it’s too late for words. The words can’t physically
stop the punch—and the situation is now very physical—so you need to
resort to other methods. Stop him with your Power, run away with your
Speed. Thwart him and then engage with the Persuasion.

Set My Obstacle
At BWHQ we have a bad habit picked up from playing Mouse Guard
and Burning Empires. We make the GM roll first in a versus test so the
opposing player can determine how much artha to spend before rolling
the dice. This a lazy, cowardly habit. Don’t do it!

In a versus test we gather our dice at the same time—everyone knows

how many dice the other side is rolling—and then we roll together and
count up successes. After the roll we can use our call-ons and spend our
fate and deeds points if need be.

Ties
Versus test ties can prove quirky. How do you define the aggressor or
defender? What happens when a tie can’t be broken?

Aggressor or Defender
Tied versus tests are won by the defender. It’s worth noting that the
aggressor or defender tags aren’t literal. Aggressor is the player who
initiated.

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Deadlocks
In the case of versus tests like two Orcs trying to kill one another, two
monks debating doctrine, etc., a tie deadlocks them.

What page 26 of the Burning Wheel does not say (though it is implied) is
that the conflict now moves on from the deadlock to another test in the
same situation. Combine the deadlock with the Let It Ride rule and you
have a perfectly functioning cycle. Two wrestlers attempt to best each
other with their skill. They tie. They cannot overcome each other with
technique, so they surge back into the fight and attempt to overpower
their opponent­—Power tests. This too results in a tie. They are matched
in skill and power, now it’s a matter of endurance—Forte tests. Who can
outlast the other?

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That situation calls for three successive tests. What seemed like a simple

Versus Tests
versus test has turned into a Herculean struggle. The unintended results
created tension, escalation and action.

This methodology applies to all similar situations. If you’ve ever played

The Sword demonstration game with me, you’ll remember that I often use
this technique. Two characters rush for the sword. They tie on a Speed
test. They get there at the same time. They both grab for the sword. They
tie on an Agility test. They both grab it at the same time. They attempt
to wrestle it out of each other’s hands. They test Power and…

It’s an effective technique and one of my favorite bits of interaction in

the game. It does require the GM to be nimble and ready with lightning-
quick complications and descriptions so the players stay tightly focused
on this immediate, pernicious problem.

Call-On Traits to Break Ties

You can use a call-on trait to break a tie or reroll failed dice. Doesn’t
rerolling failed dice break the tie?

Usually you’re going to use a call-on for the reroll, but there are instances
when you’ll simply want to break the tie in your favor rather than reroll:
If you’ve rolled all successes (no failed dice) and the roll is still tied; or if
you do not want to risk a reroll in which you might not get even a single
success, when all you need is one. Using the call-on to break the tie in
this case is a guaranteed win.

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 Help
Help is a vital part of Burning Wheel. Not only is it useful for
passing tests, it binds the group together socially. It can make an
otherwise impossible test possible. It enhances the advancement
system, providing opportunities for tests too risky to attempt.
It lets us resolve potentially complex scenarios involving lots of
players with a single roll of the dice.

Burning Wheel is, by its nature, a group-oriented game. Players

often act together. Help facilitates this part of the game. Rather
than sitting out, players on the sidelines can participate by helping.

When to Use Help

Use help when the group is acting as a unit and failure for one
member is the equivalent of failure for the whole group.

Sneaking about is a classic example. The group needs to sneak into

a place together. Individual Stealthy tests will result in some getting
caught and some going undetected. This is problematic and often
renders the successful rolls moot. If the loud, clumsy characters
are caught, the sneaky players are going to turn around and help
their comrades. So why did they test in the first place? They were
successful, but it didn’t matter.

In those instances, we find it easier and more efficient to have

the group test together using the helping rules. If the test is
passed, the group succeeds. If the test is failed, the group fails.

Task of Help
When you help, you’re piggybacking onto the primary player’s
intent—you agree with it and you want it to be successful. However,
to pass that helping die, you must state your task—what you’re
doing and how you’re doing it. That task must be appropriate to
the intent. If the task doesn’t fit, the GM can veto your helping die.

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Coloring Help

Help
The skill you use and the task you invoke become part of the test. These
elements color the success and failure of the event, just like the primary
player’s task does.

Accepting Help
In the Advancement commentary, we discussed
why you would accept or decline help. You might
need a particular type of test to advance, and
taking extra dice will change the type of test, etc.

Conditional Help
When we hand over helping dice, we’ll often
make impromptu agreements: I’ll help you now
if you’ll help me later. They’re nonbinding, but
they can be deliciously juicy when your fellow
player has a Belief that runs counter to yours yet needs your help on a test.

Advancement for Helpers

Helpers earn tests for advancement. You get a test as if you’d used your
own raw skill. If your skill is B4 and you helped with an Ob 3 test, you
get a difficult test for advancement. It doesn’t matter how many dice the
primary acting player rolled.

Helping is vital to increasing your abilities. Helping one another pass

Beginner’s Luck tests is especially fun and useful. The primary acting
player will usually get a test toward aptitude (unless the test was really
hard), while you can rack up a test for advancing the stat with which
you helped.

Sharing the Spotlight with Help

The help rules are an excellent device for sharing the spotlight. Imagine
you’re the best in the group for a job and everyone knows it. Rather than
routinely testing every time your niche arises in the story, you instead
extend a hand to another player who is learning or struggling in this
area. You roleplay your offer to help him learn. You hand him helping
dice and say, “Go ahead, lead us through!”

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Maybe you earn a test for advancement, maybe you don’t. Maybe your
fellow player earns a test. What’s more important is that you have used
the system to support teamwork and action.

Sharing the spotlight like this takes a conscious decision. I want to

demonstrate my skill and expertise, and I want to succeed. But I remind
myself to back off. I sacrifice a bit of immediate gain to gain long-term
enjoyment and satisfaction with the game and story.

The Many-Headed Beast

Helping fosters a great dynamic at the table. It allows the group to
participate in moments dominated by a single player. However, this
also engenders a problem when the group acts as a many-headed beast,
always helping. The game loses its mechanical punch when the players
are tossing helping dice into one pile for every test. How do you prevent
that without simply saying “No” all the time?

As the GM, you must accept that not all tests are appropriate for the
whole group. Use the following guidelines: To participate in a test, each
character must act at the same time. They can act in sequence to provide
help—I trigger the mechanism, you run across the bridge—but not help
in a test and then wander off into another test saying, “Meanwhile….”

The characters must be physically in the same space or must be occupying

the correct place when the test is made. The whole group can sneak
through a room together using Stealthy. However, the whole group cannot
all fit in the cardinal’s cabinet to convince him to take their side.

The characters must be able to conceivably operate on the task at hand.

You cannot all make a watch together. One watchmaker, one apprentice;
that’s it. Five of you can’t all fit in the forge. One master smith, one
apprentice smith and someone to chop wood; that’s all I’d allow. You can’t
all bend the king’s ear. It’s rude, so one of you may speak for the rest.

If this problem still persists after applying this wisdom, look at our new
rule, Too Many Cooks.

NPC Help
Characters controlled by the GM or even your own bodyguards and aides
can provide help for a roll so long as they have the appropriate ability
and are not acting mindlessly. They’re not help-bots. Like any other

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character, they should have a reason to help. That’s an important detail

Help
because if you fail this test, they’re subject to the result as well. And they
might not be so happy you dragged them into this mess.

Pass the Dice

When helping, you physically pass your die or dice to the player receiving
help. This small gesture creates a visceral connection between you two.
You are now both bonded to this test. It seems like an unlikely thing, but
you’ll have to trust us. It’s very powerful.

Also, at BWHQ we each keep dice of an distinct color so that when we

hand over helping dice, we can see whether or not we helped in the test.
There’s no mechanical incentive for this act. It merely adds some fun to
the helping rules and creates a nice simple ritual around help. Everyone
wants to watch the roll and see how they did!

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 Linked Tests
Linked tests provide a versatile method to bring players together
to overcome an obstacle. The danger with a linked test is that rolls
are called for and made purely for the advantage rather than to
further the fiction.

To make a test to provide a linked die, the linking player must

have both a legitimate task and an intent that generates its own,
appropriate result in the fiction. “I want to give him +1D” isn’t a
valid intent. On the other hand, “I want to help him by sharpening
his tools and cleaning the workspace,” is a valid intent and an
excellent use of the Mending skill.

How Many Links?

How many linked tests should you make? We often hear this
question. Unfortunately, our answer is rather lacking: It depends.
Generally, we allow one linked test per player, if appropriate.

Descriptively set the scene and then pause the action. Find out who’s
doing what. Ask each player in turn what they’re doing and how
they’re doing it. If a character is involved in other matters at the
time, then he can’t participate in a linked test.

Link Intent and Task

It is vital that a linked test have its own intent and task—its own
reason to be. A linked test must contribute something more to the
fiction than just +1D. If a linked test doesn’t mean anything, then
you’re just rolling to generate a mechanical effect. Boring! Just beg
for an advantage die in that case.

There are three possible results for a linked test: failure that passes
a penalty on to the linkee; success that creates a result like any other
test; and success that creates an exemplary result that grants the
linkee +1D to a test.

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Link versus Help

Linked Tests
Linked tests are mechanically similar to help. Both give advantage dice.
When do you use a linked test as opposed to giving help?

If the conditions for help cannot be met or if help is inappropriate, the

player may ask the GM if there is an action he can take that will link to
the primary test.

When a player wants to perform an action tangential, but possibly helpful

to a task at hand, use a linked test.

Linked dice may also be generated far in advance of a test. They do not
need to be directly tied to the next test. You can prepare a bolt of cloth
with your Weaving skill. This preparation can be used as a linked test to
a future Sewing skill test.

Finally, some situations require the operation of a large social, cultural or

physical mechanism: A party, a religious service or managing a caravan
can all be set up as a series of linked tests by the GM. Each test affects
the next and, ultimately, the fate of the entire operation. In this case,
the GM must determine what the final test of the series will be. He then
offers the players a handful of possible skills they can use in the series.
He tells them how many tests need to be accomplished before the final
test is made.

Alternately, the GM can set an obstacle for an important test and invite
the players to link into it with tests of their own choosing.

The final test in the series often determines the overall outcome, but that
doesn’t always need to be the case. Using this method, you can generate
a series of results that all color the final outcome.

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 Let It Ride
If we had to restate the rule, we’d say: You may not test the
same ability repeatedly to bypass the same obstacle. You only
get one chance to overcome each obstacle. Furthermore, your
result—pass or fail—stands for all similar obstacles in your path
for the remainder of the session or until the in-game conditions
significantly change.

Why Let It Ride?

Let It Ride elevates the game from task resolution to conflict
resolution, if those terms mean anything to you. Let It Ride takes
us from a fantastic medieval simulation to a game about creating
character-driven narratives.

Let It Ride Duration

Let It Ride is meant to last for the remainder of the session. It should
bridge sessions only rarely.

If the group is on a long voyage and makes a Navigation test during

the first session, they don’t have to test again for the voyage as long
as the conditions stay the same.
If you fail to convince someone and they vow to never speak to you
again, then you might have to deal with that over multiple sessions.

Let It Ride Conditions

The Let It Ride rule states that your success or failure stands until
conditions “drastically or significantly change.” Here are some
examples of changing conditions:

You discover new information; you’re deceived or betrayed; you lose

your horse/ship/flying carpet; the weather takes a sudden, horrific
turn for the worse; you’re lost; you’re found; your finery is covered
in shit/blood/mud; you learn a new spell or school of magic; your
precious possessions are stolen; you discover a powerful artifact; you
earn a new trait; a miracle happens.

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Conditions that don’t generally count as significant or drastic: you’re

Let It Ride
superficially or lightly wounded; you change a Belief; you change an
Instinct; you ask, “How about now?”; or you fail another test.

If you’re wounded so badly that the skill or ability with which you
overcame an obstacle is reduced to zero, then Let It Ride doesn’t apply.
Otherwise, wounds shouldn’t count as a change of conditions for Let It
Ride.

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 Shades
Ability shading is an interesting, somewhat problematic aspect of
the Burning Wheel system. The game is weighted heavily toward
the default black/mundane shade. If used superficially, shading
can appear superfluous to the system—perhaps it even looks like
cruft.

If you’re playing gritty one-offs, you really don’t need these rules.
However, if you’re playing an extended campaign, or a shorter,
higher-powered game, then these rules are entertaining and add
a lot to the game.

Starting Shades
I’ll be frank. At BWHQ, we don’t like starting grays. We prefer that
a gray be earned in play. We like the sweat, tears and blood that
such a feat requires. We like long games.

We do not think it is appropriate to dump a stat down to 2 to

purchase a gray shade. Nor do we like to see a wasteland of B2
skills topped with a single G5 Knives or Sword skill. Such play is
bad form in our eyes.

Are Starting Grays Ever Acceptable?

Starting grays are appropriate in high-powered games, usually
for characters with six or more starting lifepaths. In the point
distribution, Elves and Dwarves are most likely to have the points
to pull this off. Eight-lifepath Humans and Orcs can pull a starting
gray without crippling themselves. Trolls can field a gray Power at
five or six lifepaths without too much jiggering. Roden or Wolves
don’t usually get enough points to comfortably shade shift an ability
during character burning.

Starting grays require the approval of the whole group. The person
buying the gray should fess up, “I’m power-gaming. Is that okay?”

If the group isn’t comfortable with your starting gray shade, then it’s
fair to break the stat cap for your stock by a point or two in order
to make your concept work without rebuilding the whole character.

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Shade Shifting in Play

Shades
Shade shifting an ability in play is one of my favorite aspects of this
system. The process requires discipline, determination and luck, but when
you shade shift, it’s just about the greatest gaming feeling ever—even
better than pulling off a Feint in Fight.

Shade shifting is the longest arc of Burning Wheel’s grand currency cycle.
It happens far less frequently than trait votes or deeds point awards. In
fact, it only happens after you earn multiple deeds points and undertake
a series of trait votes. Using the epiphany rules, shade shifting requires 20
fate, 10 persona and 3 deeds points. The shade shift cycle is a beautiful,
slow-moving gear that clicks into place with a sublime noise.

Personally, when I start a new character, I don’t focus on any one path
for him. I let the character’s nature emerge in play. After I spend a deeds
point or two, I think about graying out a stat or skill. I assess the direction
the character has been heading in and where I’ve been spending artha.
Once I see a path, I am as diligent as possible, pushing artha into that
ability as often as I can.

On your quest for a gray-shaded ability in play, you must game the
system and slavishly focus your artha expenditures on one ability. Invest
something in every test you can. Spend a persona point, use fate to open
the 6s. And when you have a chance to spend a deeds point, dive into the
situation and don’t miss your opportunity. Shade shifting takes a long
time in play. You don’t always get the opportunities you need when you
want them, so you need to take what you can when you get it!

Shade shifting can be a bit unnerving. Earning a gray-shaded ability

changes the game. Your character’s power in the now gray area increases
massively. The GM must present new types of obstacles to make them
more challenging and must test you more stridently, lest your new power
becomes boring.

Shade Shift From Traits

It is possible to earn, via a trait vote, a trait that shade shifts an ability.
This doesn’t require the artha expense of the epiphany. So long as the
character retains the trait, he benefits from the gray or white shade ability.

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Shade shifting via traits is controversial in my opinion. I don’t like

circumventing the epiphany cycle. However, I can see it being appropriate
in two cases: For shorter epic campaigns, the trait vote cycle can
supplant the epiphany cycle. For truly long-running “challenge the
gods” campaigns, trait votes can be used to earn white-shade abilities.

Gray Faith, Sorcery and Other Nightmares

It’s very easy to shade shift Faith and Sorcery. Faith and Sorcery almost
always need an extra success. Since they are open-ended abilities, you can
spend a fate point to throw another die, even if you haven’t rolled any 6s.

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I’ve found that players like to abuse these loopholes even further by

Shades
spamming the GM with low-grade, low-risk tests. For Faith or Sorcery,
they cast spells without consequence that don’t have great impact or risk,
but they dump artha into them.

There’s an easy tool you can use to curb this bad behavior from the
players. As the GM, simply Say Yes to the low-grade, low-risk requests.
“I cast Magesense…” Just Say Yes to the spell. “I ask for guidance…”
Just provide the holy vision. Am I recommending adversarial behavior?
No. I am recommending that the GM use the tools available to challenge
the players across the longest arc of the game, so that their grand
achievement—the shade shift—is fulfilling and rewarding, not cheap.

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 Resources
Resources represent credit, wealth and temporal power. The system
is quirky. You test to acquire more material wealth or to make
payments. Success indicates your Resources remain steady or even
improve. Failure indicates your Resources are reduced.

In the fiction, you’re managing your assets: asking favors,

borrowing on credit, accepting gifts from others and calling in
your markers when it’s time to pay. Your Resources test indicates
whether you manage your assets well, whether your credit holds
and your markers get cashed. If you manage these factors well, you
don’t suffer any penalty. If you manage them poorly (or you’re just
unlucky), your resources dwindle.

Poverty
Low Resources puts you at risk of descending further into poverty.
You have fewer dice to meet obstacles, therefore you’re more likely
to experience tax. Tax increases your chances of failing tests. The
effect of tax is much more dramatic when your B2 is reduced to B1
than when your B5 is reduced to B4. With a low-exponent ability,
tax is more likely to reduce you to 0 and permanently knock a point
off the exponent. In fact, it’s common to bounce between B0 and
B2—earning a few advancements and then getting Taxed back to
oblivion due to an unlucky roll.

This cycle of poverty exists by design. It is hard to climb out of

poverty. The system creates incentive to take risks in venues outside
of Resources. It’s not enough to throw your Resources dice against
every obstacle. You’ll be taxed eventually. That tax will prod you to
get a job. Once you’re working, you’re stuck in a cycle of recovering
taxed Resources while testing to maintain your lifestyle. It’s a
downward spiral.

To break the spiral, you need to look outside of Resources: You need
to make linked tests into your Resources; you need to get cash from
other sources like dungeons, raids, robberies, extortion, gifts and
vassalage. These activities all make excellent sources of alternate
income.

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Resources
Gaming the Resources System
When you’re poor and it’s Resources maintenance time, you have to
husband your wealth carefully. Or when you have a B1 Resources and
you need to pass a big, expensive test, you should to be cautious. Let me
give you some advice born from hard lessons.

Coordinate your Resources: Designate one player to make the big

Resources test. If you can’t risk being Taxed, don’t help. Make linked
tests into the Resources test. If you can accept the risk of Tax, help the
primary player. You may earn a test for advancement from your help.

Choose one character who can afford the Tax if it hits, who is willing to
take the fall, has cash on hand or has a trait like Penny-Wise to mitigate
failure.

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Adventurer’s Income
Life as an adventurer doesn’t make you rich. Gear and expeditions are
expensive. The services of doctors and armorers aren’t cheap. Itinerant
wizards and warriors are poor credit risks so you have to pay for
everything in cash. And just when you make a penny, it’s tax time and
you’ve got to pay up on what little you earned.

When adventuring, take time out to scavenge for loot when the
opportunity arises. An Ob 3 test should be enough to net you a die or
two of cash. Don’t be afraid to take out loans and repay them. When
negotiating a Duel of Wits compromise, ask for money!

Courtly Income
When at court, selflessly slaving away for the good of the kingdom, do
not neglect your own needs. Secure donations to your cause in the form
of cash, property, titles and funds. Persuasion, Intimidation and Extortion
make excellent tools for acquiring money. You don’t want your finery
to become threadbare or fall out of fashion after a season at court, do
you? You must think of your own needs at all times, lest you fall behind
your rivals.

Noble Income
If you are noble and have vassals under your protection, do not neglect
to send forth your bailiff to ensure the dutiful collection of taxes. Your
vassals shall make payments from their own funds and produce for you
cash for the appropriate, agreed-upon sum. By this method, with the
help of just ten vassals, you can collect the funds necessary to raise a
mighty fortress.

If ye find yourself in extremity and forced to treat with other wealthy lords
for financial gain, ye may countenance to ask them for a loan. Be not
fearful of such endeavors! Certainly thine enterprise shall be profitable
and ye shall promptly repay all that is owed.

Religious Income
Donations are the bread of religious institutions. Suasion can loosen the
purse strings of the most miserly merchant and cause him to proffer
cash so that his soul might rest more easily. Such a donation is but a
trifle for the rich.

If donations are bread, titles are butter and properties are jam. Do not
neglect to secure these temporal artifacts. Though they be burdensome,
they are also profitable for the church.

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Scoundrel’s Income

Resources
If ye be a scoundrel, knave or rogue, ye can earn coin by lightening the
purse of another through subtle tricks of the trade. Or, perhaps, should
secrets be divulged to thine ear, you can trade them, or gather coin for
your assurance they never be repeated. Should all of your pride and
resources abandon you, you can take to thy knees and prostrate yourself
before the mercies of your fellows.

Cash Money
The Burning Wheel touches briefly on using Resources as money in the
Currency section of the Resources chapter. To reemphasize this here:
Consider your cash dice as bags of silver; your cache is a box full of
treasure and gold; your fund is a promissory note that you can draw
on, etc.

Loot and Fence

How does loot work in the game? You grabbed a sweet sword and want
to sell it? When you sell it, you convert it to cash dice. You don’t test or
use Resources to sell anything. You test Haggling to agree on a price—an
amount of cash dice—or Persuasion to convince your mark to buy.

Linked Resources or Resources Help

A linked test into Resources risks raising the obstacle if the linked test
is failed. Help carries no such risk. However, a linked test insulates the
assisting character—he won’t be taxed if the test is failed, whereas a
player who gives a helping die is taxed if the roll is failed.

Lifestyle Maintenance
Every so often in the course of play, at a predetermined juncture, the
GM calls for a lifestyle maintenance test. This test pits the expense of
the character’s day-to-day living conditions against his Resources. For a
typical character, it’s an Ob 2 test—poor adventurer. But it’s important
to pay attention to the actual living conditions for the last lifestyle
maintenance cycle and assess the obstacle based on that. I’ve seen
players set their characters to living on the street to lower their lifestyle
maintenance obstacle to 1. The opposite holds true as well—a profligate,
careless lifestyle, living in hotels and eating well should raise the obstacle.
Life at court is more expensive than life on the road, and so on.

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Lifestyle Maintenance Failure

If you fail this test, you’ve been living beyond your means. Your lifestyle
has overborn your Resources. In the future, you had better bring in more
income, get a job or curb your expenses.

This failure isn’t drastic, but it is notable. It should be commemorated

with a wistful description of all that heavy spending.

Failing and Reduced to Resources 0

Failing your lifestyle maintenance test and being reduced to Resources
exponent 0 is bad. You’re broke. You’ve spent it all on this lavish (or not)
lifestyle. The rent is due, the piper calls and your pockets are empty. It’s
time to go out into the world and earn some ducats.

No Resources for Lifestyle Maintenance

If a character has a B0 Resources and cannot get cash to make the
maintenance test, then he automatically fails his lifestyle maintenance.
He can’t be taxed any further, so failure comes in a different form—he
falls sick, his gear breaks down, his toolkits run dry, his animals die, his
finery becomes threadbare, his reputation withers, etc.

Injured and Poor

If you’re recovering from an injury such as a severe, traumatic or mortal
wound, then you’ll most likely have to pass a lifestyle maintenance test
as you convalesce. If you’re poor, this can impose a crushing financial
burden. If you have no Resources at all to support yourself, the GM can
chip away at your possessions or even your Health.

Characters have a massive incentive in the system to stay on the road,

injured and poor. Keep hunting for that fortune. Don’t rest until you
know you can pay your expenses. It’s harsh, but if you survive, you’ll
benefit mightily.

Practical Resources
For some games, Resources play only a minor part, but for adventurers
in the tradition of Alexandre Dumas or even Glen Cook, Resources are
central to the action of the setting.

Setting and Currency

The Resources mechanic is an abstraction. We don’t want to count coins
or manage books. We want to make a roll, just like we’d make a roll to
forge a shirt of mail. However, too much abstraction renders the mechanic

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dull. We make an Armorer roll to forge a shirt of mail from steel links,

Resources
not merely “I make some armor.” Likewise, if we reduce Resources to a
roll only to get some cash, we do the game a disservice.

Your setting has a currency system: gold, ducats, livres, pounds, talents,
etc. Use it to delineate how much a die of cash is worth. You don’t have
to be too specific. A cash die equates to a small bag of silver, for example.
A cache or fund is a talent.

In our games, I use currency to illustrate different locations in the

setting. In one land, small-change cash is called “quick,” and the gold
standard is called an “imperial throne.” In another land, the people
instituted a currency of “fifths.” Five fifths make up one unit. The
whole unit doesn’t even have a name! But five fifths buys a ton of rice,
so it’s a substantial amount of money.

Industry
Another way to make Resources shine is to link it directly to industry in
your setting. Inventing small details like the industry of a city can add a
nice sense of depth. Is a city a banking center? Does this province make
its money growing and selling sorghum? Is this town known for its silk
weavers?

These details then help qualify Resources tests. When you get cash
or make a loan, you’re tapping into the industry of the place—you’re
opening an account, buying a bushel of sorghum or six bolts of silk. These
all count as Resources tests and cash dice, but the color is important.

Each character has a source of wealth, too. Each player should note the
basis of his Resources according to the elements of the setting: rents,
allowance, inheritance, industry, cash from wages, credit, property, etc.
Most characters start with a little cash, but the wealthier they get, the
more nuanced the source of the Resources.

In play, this small detail provides the GM with tremendous opportunity.

Let’s say you play a young prince of a merchant family who makes its
money from a trading fleet. In play, the family’s rivals attack and burn
one of their cargo-laden ships. This is an excellent excuse for a +1 Ob to
Resources tests until the loss can be recovered. If the young prince goes
a-raiding and captures a ship, the penalty is alleviated. Even better, if
the young prince manages to capture a convoy of treasure-laden ships,
you can grant the player a substantial amount of cash dice—+5D to
+10D, I think. Thus the color of the source of income provides grist for
the adventure mill.

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Failure and Maintenance Cycles

Burning Wheel games are meant to play out over longer arcs of game time
than one would expect. Some scenes are played in intense detail while
others sweep months or years aside with a few words. As time passes in
the game, through travel, rest, recuperation and practice, you, the GM,
must mercilessly call for lifestyle maintenance tests.

Rent comes due. The tax collector comes. The queen demands her share.
Your ship needs repairs. When the players fail their maintenance tests, use
the failure options mercilessly. Apply penalties to future rolls. Repossess
property. Destroy their gear.

Why be so cruel? Because making money is a time-honored reason to

undertake daring adventures!

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 Circles
Circles is a vibrant, powerful mechanic. It grants players a
substantial measure of creative control and unburdens the GM
from an often-tiresome duty. Circles puts some responsibility
for the setting in the hands of the players. If the players want a
character to appear in the story, the GM isn’t obligated to whip
something up, nor does he have to be the bad guy and flatly refuse.
Instead, he calls for a Circles test.

We have found that this arrangement produces an interesting side

effect: Once the group embraces the Enmity Clause, the GM gains
access to even more power than in the traditional arrangement.
Engaging with the Circles rules entails the risk of finding an
enemy. Arbitrary enemies feel like punishment.

Turn that on its head and the Circles test could be considered a
system for determining NPC disposition toward the players. Sure,
you find who you’re looking for. But what do they think of you?

Playing the Circles

The Circles rules are very efficient in play—determine who you
need, calculate the difficulty and roll. The intent portion of Circles
is almost always self-evident. But what is your character doing?
How do you roleplay out the scene? How does the task portion of
the roll work?

Circles is not an abstract process. Your character is not simply

wishing or hoping, summoning another being from the darkness of
his or her mind. Circles, as an ability like any other, requires action
on your character’s part. Admittedly, it’s a difficult frame to enter.
How do you roleplay out meeting someone for the first time? Or
finding an old friend (you never knew you had)?

Play it with a light hand, but do act on the roll: go to the market,
talk to your friends at court, dispatch your couriers to fetch that
woman, ask your relatives to make a connection.

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For me, Circles is very much a “What would I do here?” ability. Asking
friends or family is a very natural, almost universally human activity.
And it’s a great way to launch a Circles test.

Circles Obstacle Modifiers

You’re not supposed to use all of the Circles modifiers for every Circles
test. Using all of the modifiers for each test renders the tests impossible—
the mechanic won’t see much use with sky high obstacles. However, use
of the mechanic is intended to be a risky proposition, so you should use
one or two obstacle modifiers.

Occupation
Occupation is the easiest aspect of Circles to consider. Examine the setting
being called upon by the player. Is the character type common to that
setting? For example, if a player uses his Born Noble lifepath to bring
a knight into the story, we need to ask “Does the character know any
knights?” The answer is “Yes, almost definitely.” But were those knights
common to her circle—with her being a noble child? No. Common to
her circle were pages, nurses, governesses and other children. But neither
were knights rare. She probably saw them in court quite often. Thus the
Born Noble circle imposes the +2 Ob Uncommon Occupation penalty
on a Circles test to find a knight. If the character had the Page lifepath,
Squires would be common to her circles. If she had the Squire or Knight
lifepaths, squires and knights would be common to her paths, whereas
little princes and princesses would be much less common.

If the occupation is unimportant to the Circles test, the GM can really

offer some surprising twists. For example, “We need to find someone who
knows the password for the Thieves’ Guild.” That’s specific information;
occupation doesn’t matter. Thus the answer could be a disgruntled former
guild member or, even better, the constable for this district. “What do
you need that information for now, friend?”

Station
The station modifier recognizes class distinctions and social ranking. If
you are dipping below or rising above your station, this modifier applies.
So yes, it’s more difficult for a king to find a servant than it is for him to
find another damned courtier.

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Time

Circles
The time modifier is problematic as written. It implies that the timing of
the NPC’s arrival is up to the GM. This grinds against the basic intent and
task structure: state your intent, and if successful, that’s what you get.

Use the time modifier when it is highly improbable that the player meets
his acquaintance. For example, your group of thieves and thugs just
survived a fight with their rivals, but one of you was wounded badly in
the scuffle. It’s the dead of night and the Watch is on the look-out for
you. You need to find a surgeon right now.

Place
The place modifier has similar problems as the time modifier. There
seems to be this implicit idea that you can find your friend, but he’s in
the next town over. Again, it seems to break the intent and task paradigm.

The thinking behind this modifier is to create a sense of space in the

setting, rather than have every NPC bump into you in a bar or at the
market. You get word about your cousin, but he lives on a farm; you’ll
have to ride out there to meet him. The modifier isn’t intended as a way
to punish or block, but as a way to deepen your setting with a momentary
dash of narrative.

You only engage the “specific place/player decides” condition when it’s
utterly unlikely that the player could know someone here. For example,
you’re an Elven Wanderer traveling through a Dwarven hold: Your
starlight is stolen by greed-mad Dwarves; you make a Circles test to
bring into play an Elven Chandler who knows the culture and can help
you recover what was lost. I’d apply the local modifier to that test. It’s
unlikely you’d find such a character here in this Dwarven hold.

Affiliations
Affiliations dice are useful for passing Circles tests as they provide
convenient creative bounds for Circles. When a player uses an affiliation
with the army in a Circles test, this neatly colors the friend or enemy who
might appear as the result of the test.

Going further, affiliations provide an excellent incentive to reinforce

setting aspects. Give members of an affiliation distinctive dress, insignia,
ceremonial weaponry or even specialized jargon. Taking the time to
characterize the affiliation with just one detail pays huge dividends as
the game progresses.

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In one of our games, members of the Imperial Inspectorate received a jade

seal as their badge of office. Over the course of many campaigns, that
badge was flashed to invoke the affiliation. But the most powerful use of
the seal came the day one of the players quit the office. He passionately
described his character ripping the seal from his neck and violently
hurling it to the ground. Suddenly, that small piece of colorful description
took on the weight of the whole campaign.

Reputations
Reputations are similar to affiliations; they are one-note mechanical
representations of broad, fluid aspects of the fiction. The same dangers
beset reputations as affiliations—it’s too easy to lean on them only as a
lever to pull when you want extra dice.

When I GM, I try to have NPCs recognize characters by their reputation

without the player having rolled or invoked his reputation. For example,
a player introduces himself, “I’m Dvalin…” and I interrupt him, “Not
Dvalin the Bandit Slayer, is it?”

Such simple acknowledgements add a surprising amount of depth to the

world. It lends an air that the players exist within a living, changing place.

Enmity Clause
The Enmity Clause is among the most powerful mechanical results in
Burning Wheel (second only to the Duel of Wits compromise). It is a
potent tool for the GM.

The Enmity Clause is a gift for player and GM alike. When you make a
Circles test, there is no bad result. Friend or enemy, something is going
to happen.

An enemy is not required to directly oppose the character, nor are they
required to be the evil version of the character being sought. The Enmity
Clause provides the GM with the opportunity to introduce an antagonist—
someone opposed to the character’s goals, directly or indirectly.

Simple Enemies
At its most basic, the Enmity Clause produces antagonists like an angry
shopkeeper, a surly drunk, a hostile thug, a stubborn guard, a haughty
servant, an insubordinate officer or a jealous cousin. These simple

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Circles

antagonists oppose the immediate goal of the character. They charge

more, obfuscate, provide misinformation or spurn the advances of the
character.

They can raise the obstacle of any subsequent interaction—to purchase,

persuade or pursue—or force the player to make a test to bypass them—a
versus test for a fight, argument or subterfuge. Once they’re bypassed,
they don’t usually play much more of a role in the game. If they reappear,
it’s usually through another Circles test or via the GM’s cheekiness.

Simple enemies can also convey information to major antagonists—

ratting the characters out, for example.

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Epic Enemies
Epic enemies are characters who recur throughout the story, opposing
the players’ characters in surprising and escalating ways. Perhaps the
epic descriptor overstates their role, as these are the seeming nobodies
who pop up in the darnedest places. We hate them, but we can’t wait to
see where they’ll appear next.

To create such a recurring villain—an annoying magistrate, a quarrelsome

cousin, a brutal hunter, an unbeatable bully—you need to be dedicated
and focused with your Enmity Clauses. Whenever there’s an opportunity
for an Enmity Clause, you should invoke this character. Either he himself
appears on the scene with a “Well, well, we meet again…” or one of the
villain’s agents or allies acts for the enemy in the scene and reports the
encounter back to this burgeoning antagonist.

Unexpected Enemies
Be creative with the Enmity Clause. It’s easy to have the NPC arrive as an
antagonist, but as I mentioned above, the opposition can also be indirect.
The villain could have the same goals as the player and be willing to help,
but he has his own nefarious reasons.

You can also use the Enmity Clause to place obstacles between the player
and his intended contact. The contact could be captured or waylaid by
bandits, pirates or thugs. The contact could have been arrested and
now languishes under the eye of a gaoler. Or the potential contact could
be dead and inquiries about the deceased arouse the suspicion of the
authorities or the ire of his surviving family.

Expanding Circles
One flaw in the Circles mechanic is that after you burn your character,
and you enter play, your character doesn’t acquire new lifepaths, and
thus circles don’t organically expand.

Technically, affiliations and reputations don’t grant access to new

Circles—they only grant power in existing Circles. If you are City Born
and buy a knightly affiliation, you do not get Noble setting circles from
it. Your affiliation bonus applies only in your urban home.

It’s easy to fudge this rule and we’re sure most groups do. It only makes
sense that as you increase in reputation and experience, you can use your
influence among new and varied social groups.

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Traits provide an answer to the problem. During trait votes, bestow traits

Circles
that not only grant affiliations and reputations, but also allow access to
new circles.

An Elven character in one of our games was appointed by a Dwarven king

to a post in Dwarven lands. After spending some time serving at his post
(and dealing with some high-profile crises), he was subsequently voted
for a trait that gave him contacts among the followers of this Dwarven
king. He can now use his rather substantial Circles and reputations to
call up Axe Bearers, Graybeards and all manner of troublesome Dwarves!

Practical Relationships
A relationships is a character who is tied to a player but controlled
by the GM. These characters are vital to presenting a rich, believable
world. Relationships, while set up by a player, each need a voice and a
perspective supplied by the GM. They need to be imperfectly aligned with
the interest of the player who created them. If they are too closely aligned,
they become dull and one-dimensional. Giving them their own priorities
and attitude imbues them with life and adds energy to your game.

To Burn or Not to Burn

Players often create numerous relationships when starting a game. Once
created, the GM then takes control of them. What obligation does the GM
have to provide abilities, Beliefs, etc. for these characters?

I am a lazy GM. I treat relationships very lightly to start. If I think

a relationship is important, I’ll give that character one Belief. If the
relationship character needs to test for something, I use the NPC abilities
on pages 562-564 of the Burning Wheel. Once play has progressed, and if
the relationship has been featured, I’ll consider burning up the character.
Otherwise, I leave the relationship character as a very rough sketch.

Pick a Lifepath, Any Lifepath

I use a trick to create colorful NPCs off the cuff: I consult the lifepaths.
A single lifepath provides an easy, one-dimensional character. I can use
the skills and traits from that path at the ratings suggested on pages
562-564 of the Burning Wheel.

If an NPC demands a little more depth, but not a full burn, I’ll check his
“last” lifepath—the lifepath that best represents who he is now—and
then step backward through his requirements. This process takes about
two minutes and gives me a useful, short list of traits and skills that I
can use in the encounter at hand.

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Relationships for a Player

If a player has an intimate relationship who is intended to accompany
his character—like a bodyguard or servant—I make the player fully
burn up the character and then hand it over to me. I create a voice and
personality for the character and play him or her as best I can, but I think
I have a bad reputation in my group for playing some very mouthy and
disagreeable servants.

If a situation arises in which the player’s main character is absent but the
servant present, I make the player take over the role of the servant. This
a better solution than a player sitting idle as the GM plays with himself.

I make the player log all advancements and artha for the character as
well. I have enough to worry about on my end without logging Power
advancements for your irascible hobgoblin archer.

Relationships for a GM
If I have created a character in the course of play, I take ownership of
that character. Even if that character came about from a Circles test, I’ll
usually retain complete control. I’ll track all numbers and Beliefs. I use
these characters to convey information to the players. Rather than issuing
facts about a place or people as narration from on high, I provide details
and color through the voices of these characters.

The danger of these characters is that you can forget them. Since Burning
Wheel is so player-character focused, it’s easy to overlook secondary
characters who aren’t part of Beliefs. To mitigate this problem, both the
players and GM need to take responsibility. At the start of the session,
a roll call is helpful. Quickly review who is present and where they are.

Unexpected Surprises
Burning up a relationship character does have its benefits. Often, the
character grows and changes before your eyes. The choices that you make
in character burning add elements that you hadn’t anticipated. Suddenly,
that simpler gaoler becomes a former knight turned extortionist who
somehow landed this sinecure.

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Practical Reputations

Circles
To render reputations useful and lively, I’ve found they need to be specific.
Reputations designed during character burning are usually looser, since
the setting isn’t quite fleshed out yet. But those earned in play deserve to
be tightly wound around a place and an event in the setting.

If you cleared a nest of bandits from the forest surrounding Verge, your
reputation should state: Bandit Slayer of Verge—1D. As your fortunes
grow and your reputation increases, you can build on that reputation:
Destroyer of Cults in Specularum (and Surrounds)—2D. And finally,
when you achieve the ultimate success: Dragonslayer of Karameikos—3D.
Each reputation stems from your actions. Each supersedes the last. Each
gives the sense of your growing sphere of influence and power.

Reputation Votes
There’s a lot going on in a Burning Wheel game, both in the metagame
and in the fiction. You can easily overlook reputation votes. Don’t do
that! Use reputation votes as a way to celebrate events. They’re different
than trait votes in that they’re not about how the other players see you,
but about how your character is seen in the setting.

When you accomplish a great deed, or a terrible disaster strikes, take

a few moments at the end of the session to discuss how it affects your
reputations.

Practical Affiliations
Affiliations are an unassuming but powerful element of the game.
Nominally, they’re just bonus dice for a Circles test. But let’s look
at them from a different perspective. An affiliation is a tie to an
organization. An organization, as we mentioned earlier in this chapter,
has customs. More important, an organization does not exist in a
vacuum. An organization has rivals, suppliers, allies and supporters.
An organization has disgruntled former members. An organization
is a manifestation of power that seeks to ensure its own survival by
fighting off attacks while accounting for its needs. Fleshing out just one
organization can provide insight into a massive chunk of your setting.

When you have an affiliation, you’re privy to some of the aspects

discussed above. The more dice, the more you are privy to.

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Also, don’t forget that according to pages 383 and 384 of the Burning
Wheel, you can join and create new affiliations in play. If you join an
existing organization, you gain access to people and information. Of
course, you need to test your Circles to contact those people—who
knows who your friends or enemies are in this new group? If you
create a new organization, you give the GM the opportunity to bind
you into the setting, and spawn rivals for the upstarts and allies who
seek to gain ground in a new order. Creating an affiliation becomes a
situation unto itself. It’s a small mechanical element, but it can have
huge ramifications in play.

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 Duel of Wits
The Duel of Wits is a powerful system that allows players to resolve
disputes and disagreements in the game via their characters.

When to Engage in
a Duel of Wits
Let me give you some advice when you’re considering using the
Duel of Wits mechanic: Roleplay, you bastards. Feel it out. Talk.
Poke around. Can you come to an agreement? Are you just blowing
off steam? Are you simply making a declarative statement? Or are
you at loggerheads, repeating yourselves, not making any progress?

Is there something you want the other party to do? If so, then it’s
Duel of Wits time.

Is there a Belief at stake? Maybe not your Belief, even. Maybe your
friend has a Belief on the line and you want to challenge it, see if he
really means it. If so, a Duel of Wits is in order.

Procedure
Just for fun, I’m going to break down the Duel of Wits procedure
into a series of bullet points.

• Declare that you want a Duel of Wits with another player.

• The other player can agree or walk away.
• Announce your statement of purpose and then write it down on
your Duel of Wits sheet.
• Is this argument a big deal or not a big deal?
• Roll for your body of argument or set it according to the big
deal rules.
• Choose your actions in private.
• In each volley, use the three Rs: reveal, roleplay and roll. You
must roleplay to roll the dice. And you must roleplay if you’re
giving a helping die.
• When one side is reduced to zero body of argument, end the
Duel of Wits.
• Compromise based on the damage done to the winning side’s
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Everybody Help Every Time

If you help on a body of argument roll, you’re bound to the results of the
duel of wits. You can fight for the side you helped or aid the other side,
that’s up to you. But whatever the result, you’re bound to it—something
to consider before you glibly toss in your Persuasion helping die.

Am I a Big Deal?
The big deal rules allow you to bypass the body of argument roll and
simply set a starting level for both parties. The rule is designed to speed
up play a bit and to encourage a little buy-in. Does this moment feel
critical for both parties? Is this a major moment in the story? Use the
rules.

Uneven Importances
Can the moment be a big deal for one side and not the other? This isn’t
written in the rules themselves, but I think it’s acceptable. As a young
supplicant you’re arguing with the abbot about taking a trip to town. To
you, it’s life or death. To the abbot, it’s just another whiny teenager trying
to escape for the weekend to go fornicate. In cases like this, I think it’s
reasonable to set a big deal on one side, but not the other.

Downsides of Big Deals

For me, the big deal rules have an obvious problem: in critical moments,
you want to muster your dice, spend artha and use traits. Setting a body
of argument prevents that. Many cases exist in which investing heavily
in a roll can produce more successes than using the big deal rules.

In effect, what the big deal rules do is protect the middle: characters
acting on their own, without a lot of resources to toss into a test; or players
like me who are simply bad at rolling dice.

Consider this next time you’re setting up a duel of wits. For skilled
characters with lots of resources, big deals can be limiting. For folks who
are bad with dice, it can be boon.

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Duel of Wits
Tactics
Let’s talk a bit about setting up your statement of purpose and choosing
actions for a Duel of Wits.

Setting Your Statement of Purpose

The best statement of purpose compels another player to action—
especially when that action contradicts a Belief. Don’t worry about
changing someone’s mind. Make them do something if you win. That
will ratchet up the tension and make your statement of purpose much
harder to ignore.

Aiming High
Certain clever players have been known to engage in a Duel of Wits
with a compromise already in mind. Knowing that if they lose, they
will not get what’s included in their statement, they do not mention
this potential compromise. Instead, they write a statement that aims
higher than what they hope to gain. In the event that they lose, they
have a ready compromise—in fact, they achieve what they were after
all along. If they win, they gain more than they expected.

Of course, there’s a risk in this tactic. Sometimes, you don’t really

want to aim so high and push so hard. You just might get what you
asked for. Be careful.

Choosing Actions
Make decisions based on your performance, your traits and your Instincts.
Don’t make random decisions and don’t make optimal tactical decisions.
Use the action choice to say something about your character.

Action Combinations
The following combinations or series of actions have proven useful
in play:

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• Incite-Point: Cause your opponent to hesitate and then attack him

without risk of reprisal. Don’t follow Incite with Avoid, Obfuscate,
Feint or Rebuttal actions.

•O
 bfuscate-Rebuttal: Use Obfuscate to impose a penalty on your
opponent in the next volley. This tactic maximizes the effectiveness
of Rebuttal, since the dice pools for Rebuttal are smaller than an
incoming attack.

•O
 bfuscate-Point: If your opponent is using Point-Rebuttal
combinations, use Obfuscate to stop a Point and then reduce the
effectiveness of the subsequent Rebuttal with the +1 Ob penalty.

•D
 ismiss-Dismiss-Dismiss: If you need to win in the first volley, you
can use this combo, but you’ll probably hesitate in the second volley
unless you get very lucky. Mathematically, this tactic is less effective
than Point-Point-Point. Hesitating an action in the Duel of Wits can
prove very costly.

•P
 oint-Point-Point or Point-Point-Dismiss: Both of these
combinations are devastating attacks but neither offers any defense
or trickery. This is not the wisest tactic if you care about how
your opponent might force you to compromise. And if you think a
compromise is a negligible act, then you’re playing wrong.

•F
 eint: This action is a dangerous choice, but if used effectively it can
pay off. Use this action when your opponent is on the defensive and
convinced you’re going to attack.

•A
 void: Don’t use Avoid in the third volley. You’re more likely to be
Dismissed in the third volley. Use Obfuscate instead.

Compromise
Compromise generated by the Duel of Wits is probably the most important
resolution in the game. It’s far more significant and powerful than any one
test result—even one that results in a Mortal Wound. Mortal Wounds are
endings. Compromises are beginnings, sudden shifts and new directions
for the game. They are vital and powerful. Even more important,
compromises stem from the players. They are bursts of inspiration,
born from the fires of a rousing debate and a hard fight.

While you can use standard or versus tests to overcome social obstacles, the
simple resolution lacks nuance. That resolution is direct and predictable.
Whereas compromise brings acceptable, contextual consensus to the fore.

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The actual Duel of Wits—the points, the actions—exist so everyone gets

Duel of Wits
a reasonable chance to say their piece, so we can get a rough measure
for how much compromise is necessary. However, the compromise itself
forms the most important part and it’s vital that the whole group agrees
to it. Compromises blow up obstacles and create rubble and ruin in their
wake. They are a wild, uncontrollable aspect of the game powered by the
group’s collective will and cunning.

The rules for compromise are very loose in Burning Wheel. I like it that
way, but looking to some of our other games for inspiration, I think there
are a few instances in which we can offer further advice.

I think the text in Burning Wheel overlooks a fundamental aspect of a

compromise in a Duel of Wits: The goal of the Duel of Wits system is to
come to a decision as a group. Compromises are not the sole jurisdiction
of the winner or the loser. Traditionally, we allow the loser to propose his
compromise first. If it is rejected, it is the winner’s responsibility to make a
counteroffer. If that is rejected, it is the responsibility of the other players
involved in the Duel of Wits to offer suggestions. If those are rejected,
you can consult uninvolved players or the GM.

Duel of Wits Results Are New Obstacles

Once a Duel of Wits result—a win, a loss, a compromise, a tie—is
determined, it is set in stone. The winner’s statement is a hard mechanical
fact in the game, like it or not. The loser’s statement has been discredited
and is unattainable. The story can’t go in that direction…unless something
dramatic changes.

A compromise, a win or a loss are all new obstacles. They can be broken
down and overcome like any other—so long as the group abides by the
result of the Duel of Wits.

How? The best way to counteract a Duel of Wits result is with another
Duel of Wits. You can’t attack the first result directly. You can’t contravene
the rules. So you must be subtle and clever. You must build your case.
You must undermine the opposition.

You present your case to the duke, “Your cousin, the baron, is corrupt
and evil. He harbors black magic and plots against you. Arrest him now
before it’s too late.”

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The duke demolishes you in a Duel of Wits with a statement like, “Your
claims are specious and you will never again speak ill of my cousin in
court.” So you’ve been booted from court and you have to stop badgering
the duke with what you know to be true. The compromise is of course
that you retain your liberty and don’t make an enemy of the duke.

So what happens in the game now? You go out and prove the duke wrong,
of course! You take the fight to the baron. You rout his army of witches.
You exact a confession from him.

The compromise didn’t block your actions at all, rather it forced you
into action!

When the group confronted the duke, the story reached a juncture. The
group ally with the duke and aid him deposing his evil cousin. Or the
group could be forced to antagonize the duke by outing his cousin as the
evil bastard that he truly is! Either direction is great.

We detailed one possible outcome of the second result above—the players

take the fight directly to the baron himself. A classic story of heroic
vigilantism: “The halls of power are deaf to our righteous cries. Therefore,
we must wage this just war ourselves.” Another direction could have
lead to the players themselves being hunted or arrested by the duke for
slandering a member of his family.

All this from one Duel of Wits compromise!

Walking Away
A Duel of Wits is not mandatory. When challenged to a Duel of Wits
you have two options: to accept or to walk away. You do not have to
participate, because if you do participate, you’re bound to the results—
good or bad. Thus, sometimes the situation is such that you don’t want
to be bound. Sometimes someone will want something from you, but
you don’t want anything in return. You should never engage in a Duel
of Wits out of a sense of obligation. If you don’t want something out of
it, you should walk away.

If you do choose to walk away, your character must exit the scene. You
literally walk away. You do not roleplay out the argument any further.
The matter is no longer open for discussion. Essentially, you’ve ceded the
high ground to your interlocutor while preserving your own opinions. It
can be very hard to walk away, knowing that your friend has made his
point uncontested!

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Duel of Wits
Take Them Away
With influential or potent antagonists, I don’t have them exit the scene
so much as I send the player characters away. I refuse to discuss the
matter and show the characters the door. It’s much more appropriate to
their rank and station.

It makes a powerful statement when an influential antagonist refuses to

engage in a Duel of Wits. If the players challenge you and you refuse,
you’ve essentially ended the scene. Discussion screeches to a halt. In
roleplaying terms, I think it’s an excellent quirk. Negotiations end for
the day. They’ll resume on the morrow, when perhaps you’re in a more
polite frame of mind.

Walking Away from the Group

Our group uses a craven tactic during big moments. If one of our members
is dissatisfied with what’s at stake, he’ll have his character exit the scene
while his companions battle it out. Since he’s walked out, he’s not bound
to the results of the Duel of Wits and can act according to his whim.

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It’s a valid character choice, but I find it a rather cowardly game tactic
as it provides room for one player to sabotage agreements made by other
players. It usually arises when a player is unhappy with both sides. Be
a good audience member and stay on hand for the scenes—even if you
don’t like the potential results. Perhaps it’ll change your character in an
unexpected way!

Secret Sauce
The Duel of Wits allows a player to take on the role of a social character
and carry equal weight in the rules as a combat- or magic-oriented
character.

Creating rules for resolving social conflict had an accidental, unintended

effect on our games. We found the rules also settled player disputes at the
table. Duel of Wits isn’t really about character disputes, just like Beliefs
aren’t really about the character either. It’s about the player having a
fair chance to voice his thoughts in the context of the game. Presenting
a fair system for resolving arguments between players has had a few
knock-on effects. It’s sped up our games immensely. No more hours
of arguments that last until someone gives up due to exhaustion. Now
we can just disagree and, if we disagree forcefully enough, jump into a
Duel of Wits to resolve it. This speedy resolution has, in turn, created
another strange effect: We disagree more now. Not just because we’re
old and curmudgeonly, but because we know we can have productive
disagreements now. We can argue, cajole and plead and we know it’ll
get resolved in a satisfying manner so we can move on and keep playing.

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 Range and Cover
Range and Cover is an iteration of our conflict mechanics designed
to represent skirmishing with bows, crossbows and guns. As in the
other conflict systems, players privately choose actions, reveal them
and play out the consequences.

More than the other two systems, Range and Cover is a small
abstract war game nestled into the game. In it, you attempt to use
strong, smart tactics to encircle and eliminate your opponent.

Unlike Duel of Wits, there’s no disposition pool. Range and Cover

adheres to the deadly philosophy of our fighting systems: You put
your life on the line for victory. The skirmishing system often
transitions straight into a Fight rather than being resolved on its
own.

Set It Up
Range and Cover is an abstract system, so much so that it suffers
greatly without a strong in-game context. When you decide that it’s
time to let fly, the GM needs to step up and offer a vivid description
of the scenery. Describe the weather, the ground, potential areas of
cover and how far apart the opponents stand. Don’t be dry about it,
either! Be florid and rich with detail. Burning Wheel isn’t a tactical
war game; it’s a character-driven roleplaying game. So describe the
field as the characters would see it.

Setting Up With Tactics, Fortifications and Wises

In our games at Burning Wheel HQ, we often jockey for advantage
in Range and Cover with Tactics, Fortifications and applicable wises.

Tactics Skill in Setting Up Range and Cover

We use Tactics to look for advantageous positions or to set up in
prudent formations. These Tactics tests count as linked tests for
initial positioning. We also use Tactics to try to set ambushes—
Tactics versus Tactics or Observation. If successful, we can cause
the enemy to take an obstacle penalty to initial positioning and
the first couple of volleys. If we’re really lucky and successful,
we can force them to make Steel tests and then shoot them down
while they flee.

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Fortifications Skill in
Range and Cover
We use Fortifications if
we can choose the field
of battle and have time
to entrench. We throw up
barricades if we only have
a few minutes. Sometimes
we will even go so far as to
use Scavenging to gather
materials if there’s nothing
available. If we have a few
hours, we will dig trenches
and set up fenced positions. The obstacles and the dice conferred are
listed under the Fortifications skill.

Wises in Setting Up Range and Cover

When setting up a battle in Range and Cover, we use wises to ask
quick questions about the battlefield. Sometimes, you just have the
right skill for the job. An Ob 2 Battlefield-wise test could give you
the lay of the land and get you a nice linked die to initial positioning.
An Ob 3 Forest-wise test could find you a defensible grotto. An Ob 4
Paths-wise test could lead you to a trail that circles back behind your
enemy.

These wise tests aren’t always for just a linked die. Tests like these
introduce new information about the setting that can change the
disposition of the battle. However, results like these are intensely
contextual. The new information must make sense. And the GM
decides how it affects the conflict at hand.

Describe Your Actions

Range and Cover is abstract so that it can be used in many different
circumstances—fields, forests, castles and even ye olde dungeons. If
played raw, merely announcing mechanical actions, it can get boring
quick.

Take a moment to describe your character’s movements. What’s he doing?

Where’s he looking? What does he do when he runs? What does he do
when he ducks behind cover? What does he do when he peels off a shot?

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Helping players are actually the prime describers in this situation. They

Range and Cover

must narrate their actions to hand over those helping dice. Without a
cool description, they can’t help. So if you’re helping, step up and inspire
everyone else with your great description.

When to Use Range and Cover?

When do you initiate a Range and Cover conflict? Ambushes, hunting
parties, raids and skirmishes all come up in play. They offer excellent
opportunities to engage these mechanics. However, don’t be overzealous.
Range and Cover is a big deal. If you can resolve an altercation with a
simple versus test and move on to more important matters, do that. But
if there’s nowhere left to run, and it’s time to fight, by all means, these
are the rules for you.

Integrating Range and Cover

The Burning Wheel notes that the timing for a Range and Cover volley
is plastic, not fixed. If we have multiple conflicts engaged in play, we’ve
found that it’s best to bounce back and forth between them, volley to
volley. Trying to play an exchange of Fight for every Range and Cover
volley isn’t a good idea.

Same goes for non-conflict actions: Play a volley of Range and Cover,
then cut away to the action elsewhere. Resolve a roll or two and then cut
back to the Range and Cover. Keep bouncing back and forth until one
situation or the other is resolved.

Range and Cover to Fight

Sometimes, when you’re fighting a Range and Cover battle, one character
moves into the “too close to shoot” range—in other words, he’s charged
into melee. At this point, you have two choices. You can bring all
participants in the battle into the Fight mechanics. Or you can have the
character who charged into melee wait until the Range and Cover has
concluded or at least come to a lull.

I prefer to have the whole battle dragged into Fight. It makes the situation
more dangerous, more desperate. Those who charged use the Too Close to
Shoot and Last Ditch Arrow rules. Everyone else starts outside of striking
distance. If they just loosed arrows in this volley or the last, then their
weapons are considered unloaded. If they haven’t loosed any volleys,
their weapons are considered loaded and ready.

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Why Can’t I Just Shoot Him?

Range and Cover is an abstract system. There’s no line of sight and
you’re not completely in control of your character. This can lead to some
frustration, leading players to harumpf, “Why can’t I just shoot him?”or
“Why do I have to roll to act?”

The system itself makes sense and can answer, but to really get at the
problem it’s important to build context for your players.

The overarching theme for all Burning Wheel conflicts is that chaos
reigns. Your character doesn’t have a bird’s-eye view, can’t see the best
course and certainly doesn’t know the truth.

To represent that confusion and perspective at the table, we must abstract

the situation. More concrete representation like miniatures don’t work in
Burning Wheel and, in my opinion, they detract from the chaos of battle.

Thus in Range and Cover we don’t know your line of sight, what cover
is available, the exact position of the enemy or many other battlefield
conditions until you roll the dice.

If you stop and think about it, this might be a bit more true to life than
staring at a grid or a top down view of miniatures. Stalking through the
woods hunting quarry is tense because you don’t know when or if you’ll
come upon your prey; when wading through a pitched battle with arrows
raining down you don’t what your enemy will do in the moment.

So we make our plans, roll the dice and hope the gods are with us this day.

Tactics
Let’s see if we can share some battle-earned wisdom with you.

In general, use the action to which you’re best suited. If you have a high
Stealthy skill, use Sneak In. If you have a B8 Steel (and some decent
armor), by all means cry havoc and Charge.

Of course, this begins to hint at strategy. If you know your opponent is

strong in one area, can you play a countertactic? Well, it depends. For
example, if your opponent has a high Stealthy skill, you’ll want to counter
with Tactics- or Observation-based maneuvers like Flank or Hold. But
what if you don’t have either of the counterskills? Sometimes the middle
of a life-or-death struggle isn’t the right time to start learning a new skill.

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Range and Cover

In this case, you can counter Stealthy (and nearly any skill-based
maneuver) with a Charge. It uses Steel, but more important it doesn’t
suffer a double obstacle penalty for stat versus skill tests (because it’s an
attribute and special). It’s risky strategy—you will likely get shot, and
you may charge into the wrong location and end up hesitating as you
search in vain for your quarry—but it might be the best gamble you have.

When to Maintain
Use the Maintain action when you don’t want to give ground, but
can’t afford to hold a fixed position. Maintain uses Speed, under the
assumption that you’ll stay mobile, perhaps giving a little ground before
counterattacking. Or perhaps you’ll sortie out a bit before falling back
to your original position.

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When to Hold
Hold your ground when you’re being rushed or when you simply need to
shoot right now. Your opponent will be able to maneuver at will—closing
in, retreating or even maintaining distance to get off a good shot. At least
with the Hold action, you’re guaranteed to shoot.

It’s best played against the Sneak In/Out actions and of course against
Charge.

When to Close
You close in to improve range or move into hand-to-hand combat. If
neither of these work to your advantage, don’t use close actions!

When to Withdraw
You use withdraw actions to exit combat. That’s obvious. But you can
also use withdraw actions to gain an advantageous range. Note that
when you maneuver, you do so in range bands of your own weapon.
So if your opponent has moved into optimal range for rocks, bombs,
knives, pistols, etc. then you should do your level best to withdraw to
your extreme range. You can put all of their weapons out of range and
then leisurely pick them off.

Take a Position
When you win your first positioning test in a Range and Cover skirmish,
don’t spend your successes on shots or actions unless you absolutely
must. Instead, take up a position. This will get you +1-2D for your next
positioning roll.

Fighting Ranges
Fight from extreme range if you have the advantage in skill. Force your
opponent to shoot on the move or to take wild, unlikely shots. If your
skill isn’t up to the task of hitting Ob 3-4 targets, you can also sit out at
extreme range as a delaying tactic. Of course, you’d better be delaying
for a reason.

Fight from optimal range only if you can afford to absorb a few shots or
if you absolutely must close in to reduce your shot obstacles. Otherwise,
optimal range usually proves too dangerous.

When closing into melee, try to have your weapons loaded. If you win
that close action and get to the “too close to shoot” range, you’ll be able
to launch into Fight with a deadly, point-blank hail of shot.

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Range and Cover

Skirmishes
Using the Range and Cover rules, it’s possible to run skirmishes involving
groups of two to ten fighters.

In its simplest iteration, you run a skirmish by placing all of the players
on one team—whether or not they can fight—and allowing them to help
one another test for positioning. One character leads, everyone else helps.
The leader doles out action dice. On the GM’s side, he lumps his villains
into one horde, grabs a pile of helping dice and doles out his actions as
appropriate.

Alternately, you can break down into multiple groups. The GM divides
his forces into an equal number of groups to oppose the characters. Note
that the sizes of the groups don’t have to be equal. If the players break
into two groups, the GM splits his forces into two groups. The groups can
be evenly divided or one group can consist of a Troll and an Orc while
the other could be 10 Goblins.

When positioning, pair off two opposing teams and run two simultaneous
Range and Cover battles: player group A versus the Orc and the Troll,
player group B against 10 Goblins. One group will inevitably fall. The
remaining group will want to help their companions. Allow them to
make positioning tests against another group on the other side. In order
to maneuver and gain action, they must beat their target’s positioning
rolls as per the standard rules. Their target only rolls once to defend itself
from the two incoming attacks.

For extra fun, use the Slowest and Loudest rules found in this book in
combination with Range and Cover skirmishes. These new rules neatly
curb any die bloat from forming teams.

The Battle Space

For skirmishes and groupings of fighters to make sense to everyone at
the table, the GM must clearly describe the battle space. He must set up
the situation on the ground. Who’s where? What are they doing? What
are they defending? What are they assaulting?

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You can sketch a map if necessary, but florid description usually suffices.

We promise you, if you do not describe every maneuver with a short

spray of vivid details, the conflict will quickly turn to mush. No one will
understand where he is or what he’s fighting for. It is a roleplaying game
after all; the mechanics exist for you to hang your lovely descriptions on.

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 Fight
The Fight system in Burning Wheel is designed to be dangerous,
unpredictable, frightening, ritualistic and exhausting. It demands
much of both player and character. It is not a matter to be taken
lightly.

It is much less abstract that Range and Cover and the Duel of Wits
rules. You’re not knocking away points of indeterminate meaning
to be resolved by negotiation. The objective is nearly always
murder and survival. Your disposition in a fight is your skill and
body. Compromise is writ in blood and fear.

Despite the danger, most fights do not result in the death of a

character. You are more likely to be incapacitated, flee or surrender.

The Scope of Violence

Violence plays a different role in a game of courtly intrigue as
opposed to a Tolkien epic war. A game about courtly machinations
might involve an assassination or duel once every few sessions—
perfect Fight material—while the Tolkien stuff would be rife with
versus tests and Range and Cover tests, only rarely calling for the
full Fight rules.

While this game is about fighting for what you believe—and the
Fight system is central to this—these rules are meant to be used
at the proper juncture. Overusing them can do just as much harm
as underusing them.

Fight as Climax
The Fight rules are best used during climactic events. Fights in
Burning Wheel are high-stakes and intense. Fight should not be used
to resolve every single physical (or even violent) dispute. If you’re
engaged in a low-stakes, violent activity like “ye olde dispatch the
guard,” then use a versus test.

Or if you’re on your own and the whole group is waiting for you
to finish your scene so they can get on with the big moment of the
session, use the versus test mechanics, not Fight.

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However, when you’re confronting a character described in your Belief—

when the plot has reached a climax and death is on the line—then by all
means dive into a full-blooded Fight.

Fight as Opening Action Sequence

If your group is Fight friendly, it’s a good idea to surprise them once
in a while with a jump-start combat at the top of the session. Kick the
session off with a sharp exchange or two. It gets the blood pumping.
And be prepared to spend the rest of the session dealing with the fallout!

Fighting Smart
The Fight system possesses an internal logic. It rewards players who fight
smart. There are optimal and suboptimal strategies. To effect any strategy,
you must begin planning before you cross swords with your opponent
because, indeed, a sword might not be the right weapon for the job.

Intelligence
Assess your opponents before a battle. Find out how they fight; identify
their weapons and armor. If you’re fighting heavily armored opponents,
you need to develop tactics and use weapons that neutralize their defenses.
If your opponent uses longer weapons to keep his enemies at bay, you need
to either beat him at his own game or prepare a gambit to close with him.

The system substantially rewards this forethought. Bashing a sword

against plated mail armor can be a futile endeavor—better to have your
mace or axe ready.

Implicit in these lofty entreaties is the idea that gathering intelligence

and learning how to fight differently are integral parts of play. They
are not to be glossed over. You are meant to use your Perception, wises,
Resources, practice time, instruction and anything else you can think of
to gain advantage in the sessions preceding a confrontation. These are
significant and important parts of your adventures!

Ambush
For the less scrupulous among us, ambush is a tried-and-true fight-
winning tactic. Surprise your enemy and force him to take a Steel test.
Use any hesitation to your advantage. If your opponent is only hesitating
for a moment, knock him down with a Push or Charge. If he’s hesitating
for a few beats, try to Lock him up. He can’t resist. If he’s hesitating for
longer than a moment, have at him with a Great Strike or two.

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Weapon Speed

Fight
Weapon speed is useful for both breaking up your own rhythms and
encouraging the use of alternate attacks like Push or Disarm. But your
opponent’s weapon speed is a clue to help you better plan your attacks.
If you predict when your opponent can’t Strike, you have an opening
that you can exploit.

The Crossbow and the Gun

Another dastardly tactic is to bring a gun to a sword fight. If you can
win the engagement test, you can shoot down your opponent like a dog.
If you fail to incapacitate him with your shot, draw steel and move in to
engage on your terms.

Positioning
Positioning is the mother of Fight. Your weapon length, Speed and stride
all combine to put you at an advantageous fighting distance. Your optimal
fighting distance might differ from your opponent’s. And being caught
outside of your optimal fighting distance is a tragedy. So do whatever
you can to win that engagement test.

Use the Environment

Unarmed? There’s a handful of found weapons described in the weapons
list on page 555 of the Burning Wheel. Use your Scavenging skill to
produce an improvised weapon before your enemies burst through the
door. If you’re fighting in the kitchen, use an Assess action in the fight
itself and find a boiling pot to grab so you can smash your opponent in
the face with it!

You can also spend an Assess action to make a linked test to find an
advantage in the fight. You can use physical actions to overturn tables,
climb up balconies or slam doors shut. These actions call for Power, Speed
or Agility tests respectively. They can completely change the nature of
the battle space. You can provide advantage for positioning, escape the
fight or cut off retreat respectively.

The key here is to use descriptions of the battle space to spark questions:
“Is there a window out of this room?” These questions can lead to the GM
Saying Yes or they can lead to one of the tests suggested above.

Of course, these questions and tests must abide by intent and task. If
you’re fighting in the kitchen, this provides viable intent for an Assess:
“Is there a boiling pot on the stove? I want to grab it.” If you’re fighting
in the throne room, it’s not. If you use these questions judiciously, your

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fights will be richer and more exciting. If you forget about intent and
task and use the Assess action to introduce improbable elements, then
your fights will become silly and unsatisfying.

Use Your Hands

The Physical Action is often overlooked, too. Spend two actions and
you can use your hands (or feet) to get some work done! I mentioned
that you can open and close doors using the Physical Action. You could
also use this to rip pieces of armor off of your opponent. Of course, you
need to have him in at least a 1D Lock to get started, but how shocking
would it be if some brute just grabbed you and ripped your helmet off?

Use Power and Agility tests to resolve Physical Actions like that.

Armor
If you’re heavily armored against an opponent without an armor-
penetrating weapon, be aggressive. Don’t defend yourself. Let your
armor absorb the blows while you crush your enemy.

If you’re lightly armored, use Avoid, Block and Counterstrike to soften

incoming blows, so if your armor should fail, you’re not at great risk.

If you’re fighting a heavily armored opponent and you can’t penetrate

his defenses, change your tactics. If he has a long weapon, get close. If he
has a short weapon, try to hold him at bay. Push him down or Throw him
if you can; Lock him up. Tear away his helmet (with a Physical Action
and a Power or Agility test) and stab him in the face. But for all that is
unholy, don’t just stand there and flail away ineffectually.

Retreat
If a fight arrives at a stalemate, don’t be afraid to retreat and exit the
battle. You can reengage another time on terms more favorable to you.

Surrender
Surrender if you’re overmatched. A surrender is an excellent time to
push for a Duel of Wits and it can lead to all sorts of fun situations like:
capture, prison, ransom or a trial.

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 Commentary

Fight
Objects in Motion
Fighters are not standing flat-flooted, bashing away. We took out most of
the movement rules and measurements from the game, because everyone
is in motion. Everyone is vying for position, pushing in, falling back,
circling. A strike, for example, doesn’t merely entail a movement of the
arms—it’s a forceful step, a swing of the hips, an extension of the body.

Keep this in mind as you choose your actions and describe what your
character is doing.

Everyone Can Fight

Some players will shrug their shoulders, throw up their hands and say,
“I can’t fight! I’m not a fighter!” This is never true. Everyone can fight
in Burning Wheel. Many actions in combat don’t require a skill. Avoid,
Charge, Lock and Push can all be performed using stats, which means
anyone can use them, regardless of training.

And that means that your rogue scholar can help her mercenary buddy
out of a scrape. She can tackle an opponent to the ground, push around
weaker enemies and maybe get lucky, grabbing someone and holding
them down. Of course, this may all get her killed—but there is no reward
without risk!

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Gain Advantage
Gaining advantage over your opponent is key to winning fights.
Advantage represents positioning and reach. Having the advantage
over your opponent means they have a disadvantage in acting against
you. And this can be the difference between life and death.

How do you gain advantage? You can win it outright through engagement
or positioning. This requires you to have a weapon of a different length
than your opponent. That weapon can be your sword or even your hands.

You can seize the advantage during the exchange using the Beat, Push and
Charge actions. Beat allows you to use your weapon to knock down your
opponent’s guard and gain advantage for yourself. It’s easy to overlook
this action, but I can’t stress enough its importance in these rules.

Push and Charge require that you use your hands as your weapon for
the action (perhaps forcing you to a temporary disadvantage). But if
you time the action correctly, you can easily surprise your opponent and
gain the advantage—and if you’re lucky, knock them down. Also, note
the special rule for Push: If you have a shield, you can use the action at
short weapon length.

Lock and Throw can also be used to gain advantage, but they are a bit
trickier to pull off. They both require you to position yourself at hands
fighting distance. Lock entails beating your opponent in a versus test
while making yourself vulnerable to attack. Throw demands a martial
arts skill, but if you’re skilled it’s extremely effective.

You Have Me at a
Disadvantage, Madame
You’re staring down the point of your opponent’s halberd, comparing
it to the meager length of your mace. You envision what comes next:
you flailing away ineffectually while she stabs you to death from a safe
distance. Why didn’t you bring a spear with you? you idly muse. A
question best left for another time. For now, the most pressing question
remains how do you get out of this mess? Of course, the answer that
leaps to mind is to clear your throat and apologize. However, it seems
we’re long past the point of apology, given what you did to her brother,
the bishop—though he quite had it coming, you admit. Regardless, that

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won’t help you now. She seems to be taking measure for a swing likely to

Fight
remove your head’s long service to its suffering body. Well then, nothing
for it but to dive in.

She leads with a thrust and you block. You suspect she’s testing you, but
you’re also testing her will to end you. She seems quite resolved, you must
admit. And you imagine she’ll follow that thrust around with a cut to the
head, neck or shoulders. Lo and behold, here it comes: You can almost
feel bones break in anticipation as you swim into her, counterstriking—
pushing the haft of the polearm aside as you lunge to land a blow. Not
a bad idea, but it could have used more polish in practice. It seems you
were both touched by the effort. You managed to ring her bell before
she stepped around, but she certainly removed some skin from your
shoulder with the blade of that bloody poleaxe. Well, at least you still
have all your limbs.

Now’s your chance. She’s taking a breath to readjust her grip—is it a trap?
Well, only time will tell. You drive at the weapon, brandishing the mace,
but with the real aim of grabbing the halberd’s shaft with your free hand
to buy time to step inside her guard. She works the shaft around in a tight
circle to avoid your grab, but your gambit seems to have worked—you’re
definitely close enough to see the murder in her eyes and the blur of the
thick wooden halberd butt wheeling toward your head as she attempts
to fend you off…

Bide Your Time

The point being, when confronted with a disadvantage, you must bide
your time. You’re going to get hit quite a bit, so defend yourself. Block
and Avoid are your allies. Both actions mitigate damage, but Block can
grant you a tidy bonus to your next action or even a serious penalty to
your opponent. And don’t neglect Counterstrike. It will help ward off the
flurry of blows, and the riposte portion of Counterstrike does not suffer
disadvantage for weapon length and positioning. Using it smartly, you
can pick your opponent apart with a few cuts that reduce her effectiveness
or perhaps even trigger a Steel test.

Timing
You have to consider a lot of timing aspects in Fight, but the one you
want focus on is attacking your opponent when they’re flat-flooted and
don’t have an action. Of course, the inverse also hold’s true, if you’re
slower than your opponent, you want to make sure they waste their
extra actions on defense. You don’t want them attacking you while you’re
catching your breath.

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How Do I Know?
Gauging that timing is tough, but it is possible. The best course of action
is to play through an exchange to get a read on your opponent. In what
exchange did they put their actions? How are they timing their attacks
and defenses? If they seem intent on attacking twice in the first volley,
you know that assuming you can survive, you can ding them in the
second or third volley.

Of course, if you’re fighting a faster opponent, you have to play smart.

Telegraph a certain set of actions but choose a different set. If you front-
loaded your attacks in the first exchange, perhaps your opponent will
defend in the first volley of the next exchange. This opens up opportunities
for you to attack later in the exchange, since you don’t want to waste
attacks against a strong defense.

The Eye of the Storm

The Eye of the Storm rule creates a sense of pacing and space in combat.
It’s a perk for you dispatching or running off your opponent. You can
also plan for it. While you can’t affect another group of fighters in this
exchange, you can ready a pistol, spell or missile to gain advantage to
engage at the top of the next exchange. You can shrug off your wounds,
grab an item from your fallen foe or simply take a breath and assess the
field to check for reinforcements or escape routes.

Fight Actions Advice

There are 19 actions in Fight not including shooting, throwing and magic.
The interactions between all of these are complex, but there are certain
optimal combinations.

Avoid
Avoid is a good defense for the unskilled as it relies on Speed and doesn’t
suffer the stat versus skill penalty.

Beat
The Beat action is vital to master if you want to fence with opponents
using a variety of weapons. It allows you to steal advantage midway
through a fight—possibly disrupting your opponent’s entire script.

Don’t neglect the two-handed bonus for using Beat!

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Block

Fight
Block is seemingly safe and innocuous, but it can be used to set up some
grand attacks—granting you bonuses and your opponent penalties. It
can even cause your opponent to hesitate. If you are confident in your
skill and know when your opponent will attack, you can set up a Block/
Strike volley and deliver a powerful blow to your opponent.

Charge/Tackle
Shooting into your opponent’s guard with a Charge/Tackle action is a
strategy for the bold and the strong. You only want to take this action
if you have a high Power and a good stride—especially if you’re at a
disadvantage. If you have the advantage, you can often catch your
opponent flat-footed by using an action to Charge rather than attack.
You can knock them down (giving them substantial penalties) and still
regain the advantage if successful.

Counterstrike
Counterstrike allows you to fight from a disadvantage but still tag your
opponent. Use it, but don’t be predictable with it.

Disarm
Disarm is not the action you see in movies—swirl the swords around and
one goes flying. Uh oh. It’s quite hard to pull off in Burning Wheel (by
design) and easy to defend against. It’s an action that favors skill and
timing. Honestly, the Disarm action is for the master fighter to take a
weapon away from a less experienced opponent so that they don’t hurt
themselves.

Feint
A successful Feint action requires impeccable timing. You need to
know when your opponent is going to use one of five actions: Block,
Counterstrike, Beat, Disarm or Feint. Feint is most effective against Block
and Counterstrike, so if you have the advantage and your opponent seems
to be in a defensive posture, use a Feint in your script in place of one of
your Strikes—it just might pay off.

Great Strike
Set and strike. This powerful action is both satisfying and useful. The two
actions of Great Strike can be separated by the interval between volleys
or even between exchanges. You don’t have to Set and Great Strike in one
volley. You can get clever with it, setting in your second action, baiting
your opponent to forfeit and change actions.

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Great Strike becomes a necessity when using a weapon with little or no

VA against an armored opponent. When fighting an unarmored opponent,
use Great Strike to deliver extra damage.

Lock
Lock is perhaps the most powerful attack available. It bypasses the
damage circuit and directly, if temporarily, removes dice from the target.

Players should attempt Locks with their characters regardless of their

Power. Not only is it a fine opportunity to glean tests for advancement,
but it’s an easy action to get lucky with.

Push
Push is a workhorse action. Any player can pull off an effective Push,
regardless of ability. It’s a solid attack, very useful as an offbeat action
when using a slow speed weapon: Strike/Push/Strike makes an effective,
aggressive combination.

Strike
Ah, good old Strike. What would we do without you? Actually, Strikes
aren’t necessary. Unlike the Point action in the Duel of Wits, you do not
need Strike to win in Fight. You can disable or run off an opponent with
Charges, Locks, Pushes and Throws.

If you’re heavily armored, use your armor as protection and pound away
on your opponent with as many Strikes as you’re able. If you’re lightly
armored and can’t absorb a hit, try to time your Strikes and put them
in unexpected intervals. Second action, volley 2 is always a nice place
to tuck one in.

If your opponent is lightly armored and on the attack, give him a strong
poke. Don’t let him get the initiative by forcing you on the defensive when
he can be struck down with a solid hit. Of course, don’t make yourself
vulnerable. If you have to take up a defensive posture, try to wear him
down as we described above.

Throw
Throw is a devastating attack that requires skill and timing to pull off.
It’s really not worth attempting unless you’re skilled. But if you have the
Boxing, Martial Arts or similar skill, you should use this as a main part
of your repertoire.

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Missiles and Spells

Fight
Missiles and spells make great
weapons in Fight. They provide
hordes of advantage dice to engage
or position, and they’re often quite
injurious. But know that once the
bolt is loosed or the spell cast,
you’re vulnerable. You are, for the
moment, effectively fighting with
your hands. You haven’t suddenly
teleported close to the fight, but
your position is exposed. Other
fighters, should they be so inclined,
can roll up on you and tell you what
they think of your standoffish
techniques.

Mind Games
Fight is a mind game. A fighter of little skill can get into the head of a
more dangerous opponent and take them down.

I love this aspect of the system. It’s not possible to completely lean on
your high numbers or big swords. You must play the game.

To do so, you must watch your opponent. What gear are they carrying?
What’s their weapon speed? What armor? What actions did they choose?
What’s their timing? Those are a lot of variables to juggle, but each one
offers a bit of information that will make your decisions about actions
more accurate.

If you feel like you don’t have enough information to make solid decisions,
don’t go for broke and sell out for a desperate attack. Play for time. Learn
your opponent’s pattern. Wear the other player down…and then once
you get your intuition tuned, make your move.

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

Lots of folks look at the wound penalties from injury and despair. One
hit and it’s over, right? Maybe, but I’ve seen plenty of characters fight
their way through an injury or hesitation and come back to win (or just
to escape).

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True, once you’re injured you’ll likely have to change your tactics, perhaps
make riskier decisions. But if you’re injured, try this: Take a stance
that favors your fighting style and play for time. If possible, get to the
Eye of the Storm and try to shrug off your wound penalty. If that’s not
possible (due to Reflexes dropping due to lost dice, for example), you
need to disrupt your opponent. Look for a way to knock them down or
cause a Steel test.

Never give up. The situation may look bad, but you’d be surprised how
inventive desperation makes you.

Stances
Stances comprise an advanced part of the fighting system and are often
overlooked. Aggressive Stance provides +2D advantage dice to Strike and
Great Strike, while it restricts Avoid completely and penalizes Block and
Counterstrike with a +2 Ob. Those advantage dice are often necessary
for a character to deliver superb hits. Without them, a character with a
B3 skill can only hope to get Mark results with most weapons.

Defensive Stance is the inverse and perhaps more potent version of

Aggressive Stance. It provides +2D to Block, Counterstrike and Avoid.
Strike and Great Strike are penalized with a +2 Ob penalty while in this
stance. Defensive Stance also has the added benefit of acting like a Block
action when it is scripted.

The +2D to Counterstrike and Avoid are invaluable in any fight. Using
those advantages, you can keep an aggressive opponent at bay while
worrying him with counterattacks. The striking portion of Counterstrike
is not penalized in Defensive Stance! I’ve seen swordsmen win whole
fights against multiple opponents using just defensive Counterstrike
and Push actions.

Crosscutting
Sometimes a Fight happens while other action takes place elsewhere in
the story. Do your best to cut between the various scenes of action. Run
one exchange of the combat, then jump to another scene—perhaps an
exchange of Range and Cover—and so on until everyone has enjoyed an
equivalent amount of screen time. Usually you can resolve quite a bit
just while combatants are choosing their actions.

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GMing Fights

Fight
Fights are straightforward to run one on one. But what about when it’s
time to crash the gates and party with the Count and all his cronies?
Here’s some advice for the GM:

Prescripts
Use simple prescripted sequences for secondary fighters: Block/Strike/
Block/Strike. Don’t tell your players. Let them figure out the pattern and
break the rhythm themselves. This is a surprisingly effective technique.
I’ve had NPCs using scripts like this for whole fights and the players
never even noticed.

Telegraph
Don’t choose your actions in brooding silence (unless the players are
confronting the Brood Silent Ultimate Boss Opponent, of course). Describe
your NPC’s reactions. Demonstrate their stances. Annunciate their curses.

You can transmit a host of soft information to players that will enrich their
experience but also allow them to make better decisions during the melee.

Don’t Be Too Smart

It’s possible that, as the GM, you have a lot of advantageous information
at your disposal. You know your players’ habits, you know your NPC’s
weaknesses and likely you know the rules best.

Don’t use any of that. Forget it all. Roleplay your antagonists. Let them
make mistakes, be predictable or overconfident. It adds a lot of character
to the game. It tells the players you’re willing to put the story ahead of
rules mastery, and set aside your own thirst for their blood in service of
everyone having a good time.

Having every Orc Follower fight with the utmost cunning and resolve
will exhaust the players. Let the players rack up a few solid victories.
Save the smart fighting for the characters who deserve that spotlight.
It’ll make them stand out even more.

Fight Is Complicated
I hear this complaint every day: “Fight is complicated.” You bet. If you
don’t like tactical, technical, involved systems, don’t use it. I’m not shy
about it being complicated—I like complex games—but it is not broken,
clunky, kludgy, crufty or whatever. It works great if you care to use it.

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Ending a Fight
One of the weaknesses of the Fight mechanics is their lack of a clear end
point. Not every conflict needs to be played out to the death, but the rules
give no direction in this regard. Hopefully I can clear up any confusion.

• You should end a Fight if the other side is killed. That’s the obvious
one, right?
• You should end a Fight if one side is incapacitated. There’s no need
to stay in the action structure if no one is actually fighting—you’re
just beating on unconscious soon-to-be-corpses.
• You should end a Fight if one side isn’t necessarily incapacitated,
but they’re incapable of fighting. Your opponents all have B4 skills
with -3D/+1 Ob injury penalties? Just end the fight. You don’t need
to play out the end of this sorry mess action by action.
• You should end a Fight if a shocking or earth-shattering event
transpires that commands everyone’s attention.
• You should end a Fight if one side wants to quit. That’s tantamount
to surrender. Pick up the scene there. No more fighting (invoking the
Let It Ride paradigm); one side has been defeated.

When a Fight is over, you have two main options as the GM. You can
pick up the action right where the Fight leaves off. One side surrenders
to the enemy. He offers you terms. Negotiations ensue. Or you can cut
away, incorporating the resolution of the combat into the next scene,
but in a new situation. You were all incapacitated—you wake up in the
duke’s dungeons, stripped to the waist. The duke and his torturer mock
you as they douse you with water.

The appropriate choice depends on circumstance. If you’re unsure

which option to choose, focus on the characters’ Beliefs. What situation
would challenge them the most, a new scene with a new problem or
dealing with the fallout here and now?

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 Injury
At a glance, the Anatomy of Injury rules seem punitive. They
appear to encourage a cautious, conservative style of play. They
seem to say, “If your character is badly injured, he will be rendered
ineffective and forced to sit out for an inordinately long period of
game time.” That seems clear incentive to avoid injury at all cost.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In practice, death from

injury is rare. Mortal wounds are hard to come by. For severe
and traumatic wounds, there’s time to be treated before you die.
Light and midi wounds are not life threatening; they’re more of
a nuisance than anything else. Superficial wounds are annoying
but fleeting. Once you overcome the fear of taking an injury, you
realize that it isn’t a burden, but an opportunity.

Injury as Advancement
Resting times for injuries are long. If you take a bad shot and need
to recover, you’re likely out of play for the near future. That’s no
fun. However, there’s one sure way to counteract that: Don’t rest
until the action is over. Suck up your penalties and keep playing.

Playing injured, you’ll have far fewer dice at your disposal. When
you’re injured, you roll fewer dice against obstacles. The same
obstacles that were easy to overcome when you were healthy are
now troublesome and dangerous. That’s great!

If your B5 Speed is chopped down to B3, Ob 3 tests now count as

difficult tests for advancement, whereas with a B5 they don’t count
for anything. Your listed rating doesn’t matter for advancement, only
the amount of dice you’re rolling. When injured, you’re rolling fewer
dice against the obstacle and therefore the test carries more value.

Playing injured is an excellent technique for advancing stats and

skills of exponent 5 or higher. These require difficult and challenging
tests for you to advance. It’s much easier to rack up those tests when
obstacles 2, 3 and 4 count for advancement.

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When playing injured, your character appears clumsy for a good number
of sessions. As those advancements accrue, your abilities quickly jump
up—particularly your stats. Once you’ve recovered, you reacquire your
injured dice and boosted a few exponents as a bonus. Your increase in
power is significant and satisfying.

What Can I Do While I Recover?

Recovery times are long. Technically, according to the rules, resting to
recover absorbs all of the character’s down time. You don’t recover while
slogging through a dungeon. You recover while laying up in a hostel,
drinking soup.

In general at BWHQ, we allow characters to engage in light practice

while they recover. Reading, writing, researching or conversing for a
few hours a day are all acceptable. Light travel—aboard a ship, a sedan
or carriage—is also permissible. Physical training regimens, whirlwind
social activity, hard travel, adventure or intense practice—more than an
hour or two a day—are all out of the question.

You cannot get a job and work to recover taxed Resources while recovering
from an injury.

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What Do My Friends Do While I Recover?

Injury
Conversely, while you’re laid up, your friends can practice, work, instruct
one another, conduct research, pay your bills, etc. Your recovery is their
gain!

Resources and Recovery

Injury and tax combine to create a downward spiral of poverty and
privation in the game. If you’re injured, you need to rest. Rest typically
takes you through one Resources maintenance cycle. You need to test
Resources to maintain your lifestyle. If you fail, you’re taxed. Thus your
recovery costs you.

Worse, if you’re taxed while going into a recovery period, you’re going
to remain taxed, possibly becoming even more taxed. You can’t work
while resting, so you have to live off of your current Resources or you
need to forgo rest and boost your Resources by working while injured.
It’s an ugly cycle by design. Infirmity and poverty are disruptive and
destructive elements in the system.

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 Wises
Wises are among the coolest aspects of Burning Wheel, but also
among the most misused or misunderstood. On the surface, wises
look simple: They’re knowledge skills. They represent the little bits
and bobs of information that characters pick up over time. But
probe a little deeper and they become a lot more complex.

In this chapter, we’re going to look at three main questions: Under

what circumstances should we use wises in our games? If I’m the
GM, when should I call for a wise test? And if I’m a player, when is
it appropriate for me to ask to test a wise?

Wises as Information
When a player asks for information on behalf of his character, the
first thing you should consider as a GM is whether you have the
information or not.

I played in a game in which the Big Picture established that long

ago the black dragon descended upon a great Dwarven hall, slew
the defenders and took it as his own. One of the players assumed
the role of the last scion of that Dwarven house. His long-term
goal was to slay the dragon and reclaim his homeland. The rest of
the players created characters that wanted to help him for various
reasons. The entire campaign revolved around preparing for the
goal.

Thor was playing a wizard named Petronax the Hawk. Early in

the quest, we were attempting to track down some information
about this particular dragon. Trying to come up with a place to
start, he asked the GM, “Do I know any stories about the origin
of dragons?”

Before answering the question, the first thing Anthony, the GM,
had to consider whether he knew the answer or not. When he was
preparing this campaign, did he determine where dragons came
from?

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For argument’s sake, let’s say that he did. At that point, Anthony

Wises
would have had to decide whether to simply Say Yes and give Thor
the information or call for a Dragon-wise test. Further, he also had
to consider these details: Would having the answer allow Thor to
circumvent obstacles he had planned? Could he think of an interesting
consequence or complication that would result from a failed wise test?

If the answer to either of those questions was “No,” he would have just
given Thor the answer: “The first dragons were born from the sparks
that flew off when the world was forged upon the anvil of the Void. It’s
a common legend that everyone in these parts knows.”

If the answer to either of those questions was “Yes,” Anthony would

have called for a test. He might even have fished for more details: “Do
you want the common legend that is told around hearths on stormy
nights? That’s Ob 2. Or do you want the story the dragons believe?
That’s Ob 8.

But what if Anthony hadn’t considered the origin of dragons in the

game? In that case, he would need a little more information about what
Thor was looking for and why. For instance, Thor might tell him he
wanted information about where dragons came from so we could go
there and hopefully pick up the trail of this particular dragon. Thor
might have even suggested they came from a particular remote island
known for its monstrous inhabitants—an isle known as Strach.

At that point, Anthony would have had to consider more questions: Does
the player’s contribution contradict something previously established in
the game? Would having the answer allow Thor to circumvent obstacles
Anthony had planned? Could he think of an interesting consequence or
complication that would result from a failed Wise test?

If the answer to any of the questions was “No,” Anthony could have said
yes and gone with Thor’s suggestion. “Sure, they come from Strach.”

If the answer to the first question was “Yes,” Anthony would have denied
Thor. “You’ve already been to Strach and there wasn’t any evidence of
dragons there. Plenty of other big lizards, but not dragons.”

If the answer to the latter two questions was “Yes,” then Anthony would
have considered Thor’s contribution and set an obstacle.

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In our game, what actually happened is that Anthony had not considered
the origin of dragons at first, but he’d been rolling it around in his head
as we played and the campaign developed. When I asked the question,
he had an idea in mind: “Remember when you were searching for the
Lost City of Panax and you fought your way to the Chronicle of Ages in
the Hall of the Allfathers to do some research? You recall there was a
section dedicated to dragons that you didn’t have time to investigate.”

And so Thor had to wait for another opportunity to test Dragon-wise.

And it would be a bit more time before he learned the awful truth:
Dragons are born when a Dwarf advances his Greed to exponent 10.

Information as Setting
It is primarily the GM’s job to fill in setting details through play. Most of
those important details should be shared with the players in the course of
play, as per Roll the Dice or Say Yes. If a detail is essential to helping a player
engage with the situation for the game session, just go ahead and share it!

If the session’s situation depends upon the players knowing that the
prince just murdered the chatelaine in cold blood, then tell the players.
After all, everyone’s talking about it! The chatelaine’s son has demanded
a judicial duel, and the prince’s uncle—the new king—has agreed!

But if the players hunger for more detail and want to draw out more
information that will provide a more nuanced understanding of the
situation, then a wise is just what the doctor ordered.

Why is the king siding with the chatelaine’s son against his own kin?
Court Gossip-wise. What are the rules for judicial duels? Trial by
Combat-wise. Do any other kingdoms stand to gain from this turmoil?
Politics-wise.

The answer to each of those questions, whether the test is successful or

failed, has the potential to spin the game in a new direction.

Establishing Setting as a Player

In addition to eliciting more information from the GM, wises are a
key way for the players to put their own stamp on the setting. This
is implicit in the core Burning Wheel rules but perhaps not quite as
apparent as it should be.

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Wises, Intent and Task

Wises
Like all other skills in the game, wises must be considered in the context
of Intent and Task, as well as Roll the Dice or Say Yes. The player
states his intent—what he hopes to accomplish—and also his task—the
description of how the character goes about achieving that intent. In
many cases, the player’s intent for a wise matches up with what the GM
has in mind for the Big Picture, the setting or the session’s situation.

For instance, in the situation described above, the player might declare
that his intent is to determine whether any other kingdoms stand to
gain from the turmoil at court. He wants to use his familiarity with
the court’s affairs (the character grew up with the prince) in the form
of Politics-wise.

In this case, the GM should already have a pretty firm grasp of the
details, as they connect directly to his situation. If the GM does have
foreign affairs in mind, he should call for an Ob 1 test, as a list of the
country’s closest enemies should be common knowledge to anyone with
Politics-wise. If the GM knows that no foreign powers stand to gain
from the situation, he should just Say Yes and tell the player that no
foreign mischief is afoot, to keep everyone focused on the situation at
hand.

Sometimes your players will attack a situation from an oblique angle.

They’ll use wises you never expected to hunt for details you never
anticipated. For instance, one of the players has the Poisons skill (not a
wise) and is searching for a way to use it to affect the coming duel. He
tells the GM that his intent is to determine whether it is customary for
the king to offer a cup of wine to each combatant before the duel begins.
He fought in a number of duels himself when he was a younger man,
and he wants to use Trial by Combat-wise as his task.

In this case, the GM had never considered such a custom before. He

doesn’t know if this court follows that tradition or not, but the existence
of such a custom wouldn’t contradict or invalidate the situation he’s
presented. It’s important to keep in mind that the GM’s goal is to
ensure the players address the situation in some fashion. If they come
up with an interesting or novel way to do so, that’s fine. The GM then
asks the player for more information: Why does the player want to
know about this custom? The player explains that he wants to know
because it would create an opportunity to attempt to poison one of
the combatants. Ah! That presents some very compelling potential
complications! The GM tells the player that it will be an Ob 2 Trial

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by Combat-wise test for an interesting fact. A character would need to

have some passing familiarity with judicial duels to know something
like that. And if the player succeeds in the test, then the custom really
does exist and the player will have added a new bit of detail about the
ceremony surrounding a judicial duel in that court.

The accumulation of such details over time and the richness they bring
to a setting are part of what make wises so special. And it’s important to
note that the facts established with wises in this way need not be minor.
For instance, in your setting two nearby barons have been warring with
each other for years and their neighbors and allies are being drawn into
it as well. Their battles form a backdrop at this point—the real action is
elsewhere and the GM hasn’t dedicated any thought as to why the two
are at each other’s throats. Nonetheless you might see an opportunity
to use your Feud-wise to establish the cause of their enmity. That test
could have far-reaching consequences. Wises allow the GM to paint the
setting with broad strokes, knowing that he can either fill in the details
later, or allow the players to add the details that interest them through
a test.

The players and the GM should take note when such facts are added
to the game. They now constitute a true and established part of the
world. Record these facts in the same notebook you use for Duel of Wits
compromises and other setting details.

Wises and Let It Ride

Recording these details helps ensure that you can recall them when
necessary, but just as important, it ensures that the group doesn’t
contradict itself down the road.

Pete: “I am going to find a secret entrance into the Citadel of the

Unconquered Sun.”

Thor (as GM): “No way. We already established that this keep is the
strongest in the entire kingdom. You failed that Citadel-wise test way
back at the start of the campaign. If you want to get in, you are going
to have to use diplomacy, trickery, battle or start scaling the walls.”

Established information, whether introduced through GM description or

via player use of wises, holds a privileged position in Burning Wheel. Once
a fact has been established, it stands until the players change it through
their actions or until a new situation introduced by the GM changes it.

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For example, once it’s established that the Citadel of the Unconquered

Wises
Sun has no secret entrances and the only means of ingress is the front
gate, that remains true until the players dig their own tunnel or the GM
introduces a situation in which a foreign army lays siege to the place
and sends in sappers.

An astute reader will notice that I’m simply restating Let It Ride here.

Wises and Failure

Wises are no different than other abilities in Burning Wheel when
it comes to failure. For a GM, it’s not enough that a player have an
appropriate intent and task. Before you allow the player to proceed
with testing a wise, consider the consequences of failure. If you can’t
think of an appropriate complication or twist, and there are no other
contravening facts in play, don’t test. Say Yes and move on.

That said, there are always complications and twists to be had.

Are the players using Family Secrets-wise to determine that the duchess
is having an affair so they can blackmail her? Well, it’s true that she
had an affair, but her paramour happens to be a powerful crime lord
with all sorts of resources at his disposal to make the characters’ lives
a hell.

Citadel-wise to determine the location of a secret entrance? Oh, it’s

there, but the defenders know all about it. It’s guarded and well trapped.

Trial by Combat-wise to establish a wine-sharing ceremony beforehand

so you can poison someone? The combatants drink from each other’s
cups, as does the king.

A good failure doesn’t lead to a brick wall. It requires the players to

make new and interesting choices.

Etiquette of Wises
As you can see, wises accomplish two different goals. On the one hand,
they are a method for eliciting more information from the GM. On the
other hand, they give players the power to establish facts in the game.

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Navigating those two abilities requires a bit of etiquette. It’s not polite
to demand your GM establish facts as true without first asking if it
contradicts what was has planned for the Big Picture, the setting or the
situation. Nor should the GM allow the player to do so.

For example, a player has a character with Illness-wise. He wants to

use it to establish that everyone he meets has a terminal illness. This
is potentially abusive, especially if used upon other players’ characters
without their consent. What’s a GM to do? Use the Say Yes or Roll Dice
rule. “Your intent is to determine whether he has a terminal illness or
not? No need to test. He doesn’t.”

As the GM, don’t step on players’ ideas for using wises out of hand. If
you don’t have a legitimate reason to prevent the test and the player
isn’t simply test mongering, allow the player the freedom to add to the
setting.

Wises Are Contextual

Roleplaying games are all about context, and Burning Wheel is no
exception. By context we mean the details that help us to care about the
situation and the way our characters overcome obstacles.

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For instance, let’s say the situation is that a small band of thieves

Wises
has just stolen the holy artifacts from the temple of their neighbors.
That’s interesting on its face, but what’s the context? In our game, the
neighboring people were making war on and enslaving the thieves’
people. In your game, the thieves needed the artifact for a despicable
rite. The context casts the situation in a very particular light.

Context is where wises shine. The right wise could tell us about the
artifacts and their purpose, or a wise could provide details about the
planned rite such as other necessary components or a specific time or
location.

But it is important to note that not all wises are equal. Village of
Hochen-wise is very different from Village-wise. Village-wise will give
you information on villages in general: how they tend to be organized,
how their economies work, basic layout, etc. Village of Hochen-wise, on
the other hand, will give you much more specific information: who the
wójt is, who the lord is, who the most disliked man in the village is and
which fields are being left fallow this season.

Broad wises like Village-wise can be useful because they are so widely
applicable. A player can probably find a use for his character’s Village-
wise in any village he happens to pass through. However, it will be
difficult to use it for specific details of a particular place. Very specific
wises, like Village of Hochen-wise, only apply in certain scenarios but
can provide a deep level of detail in those situations. For instance,
determining that Martin Ralya is the wójt of Hochen is an Ob 1 test
for Village of Hochen-wise. It’s common knowledge! But it might be
Ob 8—freaky details or specifics—for Village-wise. You might know
about villages, but that doesn’t mean you know intimate details about
this particular one.

Village-wise Example Obstacles

• The difference between a village and a hamlet, Ob 1
• The typical governing body for a village in this province, Ob 2
• The composition of the buildings in villages in this area Ob 3
• A big holiday that villages in this province all celebrate, Ob 4
• Judging by the crops, can I tell what this village’s specialty dish is? Ob 5.

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Village of Hochen-wise Example Obstacles

Village of Hochen-wise:

• Who’s the chief of Hochen? Ob 1

• What does Hochen produce? Ob 1
• Which lord lays claim to Hochen? Ob 2
• Where do I find a priest in Hochen? Ob 3
• Why is Hochen in such a shambles? Ob 4
• Are there any bandit groups that frequent the areas around Hochen?
Ob 5
• Does Hochen have a history of occultism? Ob 7.

Nooks and Crannies

Wises are a way for players to comment on the lifepaths their characters
have taken. A knight who has Bandit-wise and Ambush-wise has led a
different life than a knight who has Court Gossip-wise and Lady-wise.
Wises show where the character has been and what they have studied
closely or learned from their travels.

They can also make a competent character into an outright brutal

killing machine through the use of FoRKs and helping dice. An Orc
with Elf Armor-wise is a frightening enemy, able to call on an extra die
when confronted with an Elf or aid his fellow Orcs with a well-placed
helping die: “Elven helms have a weak point above the nose. Aim high,
goblin.”

Learning Wises
Wises aren’t just the province of Character Burning. Learning wises
through play can be incredibly rewarding. Both Practice/Instruction
and Beginner’s Luck are viable ways to learn wises through play. You
aren’t limited to the wises listed in the lifepaths. You may create your
own, as long as the GM agrees it is legitimate.

Wises learned through play can become skill-based artifacts that shine
on the character sheet. The player of the Orc who has acquired Dwarf-
wise and Dragon-wise while dealing with the war between the Dwarven
kings and the dragon: Spider-wise while slaying the spider goddess;
and Elf-wise while dodging Elven patrols in the western forests has

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hard-won and tangible evidence on his character sheet, showing where

Wises
the character has been and a way for the dice to represent what he has
learned.

Wises and Beginner’s Luck

Players can make wises tests with Beginner’s Luck just like other skills.
Unskilled use of a wise is subject to a double-obstacle penalty as per the
standard unskilled rules.

When a player wants to make an unskilled wise test, as the GM you

must consider it thoughtfully. First, is it test mongering? If the player is
simply testing to open a wise, don’t allow the player to test. It’s fine that
the player is gunning for a test, but he must supply a game-appropriate
reason to do so. Furthermore, he must provide a bit of color as to how
he came by this knowledge. It’s not enough to say that you want to
test Trial by Combat-wise to establish the custom for the king to offer
duelists a goblet of wine before a judicial duel. You should add, “I know
this because I was a hothead in my youth and fought a lot of duels.”
Remember, wises don’t just define the world—they also define your
character.

As with other wise tests, when making a Beginner’s Luck wise test,
the GM needs to balance the equation with a juicy complication or
twist that results from a failure. If you can’t think of an interesting
consequence for failing a Beginner’s Luck wise test—or a previously
established fact—you should Say Yes and move on.

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 Monsters
Let’s talk about some of the problems surrounding the use of
monsters in your game. How can we use them more efficiently and
keep them alive long enough to make an impact?

Using Monsters
I find that we fantasy GMs have a tendency to place Big Bads at the
end of a story—ye olde boss fight.

We’ve learned that in Burning Wheel, those single monsters, unless

overwhelmingly powerful, will crumble against the onslaught of
skills, help and artha that the players pour on. Whether in Range
and Cover, Duel of Wits or a Fight, more often than not a group of
PCs will conquer any single opponent. Let us GMs pause and have
a moment of silence for all our villains lost to a single, abrupt blast
of white fire.

Ahem.

Our collective job as GMs is to challenge the players, right? Well,

what must we do to have our Big Bads and eat the players too? We
must stoop to a little prep work. We must, before placing a powerful
villain into the game, consider how it can best challenge the group.

Fighting Monsters
A single monster is going to fall to a rain of blows unless it is either
heavily armored or has a mortal wound higher than the characters’
weapons shade—usually gray or white.

If you want a big fight against a single creature, try using armored
creatures like Trolls, Formians or even B’hemahs. If your group is
up for it, you can use gray- or white-shade creatures, but make sure
your group has a chance to defend against their attacks. Otherwise,
you’ll wipe them out—and that’s not fun.

If you want to fight with a monster who isn’t so heavily armored—an

Orc, a great eagle, a great spider or a martikhora, for example—you
can try two tactics. One, you can fight smart: Fight from an ambush;
hit and run; or stay out of direct battle.

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 Commentary

Monsters
Or you can give the monster help. Look at your group of characters. Build
a suite of monsters that will challenge each of them. I’m not saying to
unleash six great eagles or five martikhora. But maybe one lead beastie
and then some lesser willing thralls who can add to the mix.

Arguing With Monsters

Unless your monster is a master of intrigue and rhetoric, refuse the Duel
of Wits! Attack (or run; monsters know no pride)!

If that’s not the right path, how do you prevent the players from ganging
up on you in a Duel of Wits and wiping you out before you get even a
teeny compromise? You need to plan ahead. Try to corner your target
character alone. If you can’t do that, try to manipulate the group before
the Duel of Wits so that some sympathize with your side—so that they’ll
give you help during the conflict.

It’s lame if the group gangs up on and shouts down every opponent they
face. If you send a Troll Warlord against them, for example, refuse to talk
to anyone but their leader. The lesser worms can’t speak in the presence
of such greatness. It’s unheard of in the Legion!

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Shooting at Monsters
Some monsters can be effective in Range and Cover, but some monsters
are helpless in such a conflict.

You should gauge the strengths of your adversaries before pitting your
monsters against them. Opposing a troop of Elves with a handful of rock-
throwing yeti is going to end badly for the yeti. The Elves have range
and killing power with their bows.

But one of the most deadly, effective monsters I ever played was a bow-
armed flying monkey. I threw a pack of them at a group of Elves. It was
a narrow thing for them. They barely survived.

If your monsters aren’t suited for a running fight through the forest, don’t
set up that situation. When framing the action, establish the environment
to your monster’s advantage. Why? Because you want to challenge the
players. It’s boring if they just shoot down everything they come across.
So ambush them and force them to withdraw or fight at close quarters,
or simply don’t offer battle unless the players force it.

Monsters and Magic

Many monsters are vulnerable to magic. There’s not much to be done
about it unless you bring in your own sorcerer to counter the characters’
magic. You can protect your Big Bads with Eldritch Shield if they have a
friend who’s a sorcerer. If your players are carving through your monsters
with magic, you’re obligated to use such tricks to provide a challenge.

You can also plan ahead and give your monsters protection in the form
of enchanted items like the Jade Amulet. That said, whatever you give
your monsters will likely end up in the hands of the players. You can
assign anti-magic traits to your monsters. These tweaks are good for
stiff challenges, but not good as a regular habit. Too many cheaty traits
punishes sorcerers (and benefits enchanters).

Finally, you can just straight-up target the mages and priests with clever
tactics, henchmonsters and dirty tricks. Use attacks that make them
hesitate or interrupt their flow. For example:
A Troll Warlord’s mattock might bounce off a mage’s Turn Aside the
Blade spell, but they could easily knock the sorcerer over with a well-
timed Push.
Your players will sweat it, but when they’re ultimately triumphant,
they’ll thank you for the thrilling fight.

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 Magic
Magic is a problematic element in a game since it confers
extraordinary power upon a player. This chapter briefly discusses
how to challenge magic-wielding characters in your game.

To facilitate the explanations in this chapter, I’m going to lump

priests, sorcerers, summoners and death artists under the “mage”
category.

Challenging Mages
Mages are a pain in the ass. They’re powerful. They offer unexpected
solutions to lots of problems. Sometimes, they have one trick that
they milk to get past anything you throw at them.

How do you challenge the mages in your game? You need to oppose
them with an antagonist who can resist their depredations. Such an
antagonist could be a mage with a sustainer for the Eldritch Shield
spell and an Instinct to maintain the spell at all times, for example.

Another common tactic for limiting magical power is to make

magic forbidden or illegal in the setting. I find this of marginal
effectiveness. As a GM, I’m never willing to fully enforce this custom.
I feel terrible arresting and imprisoning player characters for doing
their thing, so I don’t use this option very much. It can still be used
effectively if you’re willing to lay down the law and then play out
the ramifications. The struggle of magic against law or tradition
could make for a good game, but then that’s what the game is going
to be about.

Magic Against Obstacles

Set up obstacles that can’t be solved with a single spell. For example,
pit multiple opponents against a powerful mage or set up observers
to interfere with a sneaky mage.

Create encounters that play against the mage’s weaknesses. If

you’re challenging a summoner, press him for time. Don’t give him
breathing room to draw his circles and call forth powerful allies.
If you’re dealing with a mage with white fire bolts, use Orcs with
crossbows to outrange him and pepper him and his allies with darts.

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Make magic inappropriate. In intimate encounters with powerful

characters, casting a spell is obvious and perhaps rude or dangerous.
When the player inevitably persists with summoning his power before
this potentate, stop the action and round on him, “What are you doing?
How dare you?!” Make an issue of it. It’ll make the setting seem richer,
more believable.

Finally, beat up your mages. In fights, attack them with force and vigor.
Don’t give them a chance to sit back and leisurely cast their spells. Gun
for them. Try to hit them so that you interrupt their spells and rituals.
They’re clearly powerful. It only makes sense that their enemies take
them seriously.

I like to build up pressure against them. As a mage’s reputation increases,

I turn the attention onto him more and more. I make him work for his
power. And if he backs off the fire-spewing madness, so much the better.

In a social setting, treat the mage with skepticism and caution. Don’t gloss
over the fact that he is a powerful freak who treats with demons. He can’t
be trusted. Let your villains refuse to engage in disadvantageous Duels
of Wits. Cite mistrust and superstition as your reasons.

If a mage is known for abusing his power, it makes perfect sense for
leaders to exclude him from their dealings. It follows that power-hungry
souls will seek out mages and bargain with them. Use Duel of Wits
compromises to shape and focus the mage’s power. An excellent minor
compromise against a mage is “Of course, I’ll do as you ask because I
know you’ll never use your powers against me.” Such a small thing to
ask, but it makes the character incredibly dangerous to the mage.

The Victimized Mage

In my games, when I introduce challenges directed against magery, I
sometimes see a strange phenomenon emerge. The mage player feels
victimized. He claims he’s being unfairly singled out. My incredibly
healthy and productive tripartite response is to roll my eyes, laugh and
tell him to get over it.

Perhaps a better response is to remind the mage player that it is your

job to challenge him and that you’re doing the best you can. If you’re
making him sweat, then it sounds like you’re on the right track. Maybe
even ask him for some ideas on how to better challenge him. Give him a
little rope and he just might help you fix the noose.

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Magic
Squishy Faith
Faith is a powerful, versatile ability with one very squishy requirement
attached to it—the player must say a prayer. If any rule is abused in
Burning Wheel, it’s this one. Characters with the Faithful trait either
grandstand during a single Fight volley, or they rapidly mutter,
“Rubadubdub, thanksforthegrub,” and toss the dice before we can all
protest.

Faith rules are subject to the intent and task paradigm of the system.
The prayer or invocation of the player forms the prime part of the task.
And, as we’ve discussed in this book, the task must be appropriate to the
intent. The player must offer an invocation appropriate to the moment
and his idiom. If he doesn’t, the GM can and should inform him that his
task is inappropriate to his intent and stop the Faith dice before they
hit the table.

Happy Helping Faith

Helping Faith with Faith is also another very squishy, oft-abused area of
the rules. According to the letter of the help rules, Faith can help Faith
any old time, right? So gather a pile of priests and pray up some major
miracles!

What’s a valid way to limit help among the Faithful? In our games,
priests from different religions may not help one another unless they pass
a Ritual skill test. It’s a small restriction, but one that’s added a lot of
depth to our religion-heavy games. There are some basic obstacles listed
with the skill. Extrapolate advantage and disadvantage from there based
on how close or far the ritual is from the faithful’s core religious beliefs.

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We also encourage you to make the truly Faithful rare in your world. If
a player tries to use Circles to bring the Faithful into play, impose the
+3 Ob Specific Disposition modifier.

Faith in Fight
How quickly can you pray? According to the rules, you can pray and
fight. We love to see battle priests bashing heads while they invoke
divine might. How often can you pray? Each prayer must be a complete
idea spoken, sung or invoked in the proper idiom. The spoken prayer is
part of the task of this test! If the task doesn’t correspond to the intent,
disallow the test. Since only a few words can be spoken in each volley,
most prayers should take two volleys. More elaborate prayers can take
three to six volleys.

Most successful prayer effects ride for the duration of a conflict. If a

particular prayer is failed, invoke Let It Ride for the remainder of the
conflict.

Prayer in Duel of Wits

Instead of using a Duel of Wits action, faithful characters may use prayers.
Most prayers only take one volley in the Duel of Wits. Perhaps crazy stuff
like a Major Miracle will take longer. While praying, you may not attack
or defend or perform any other action. You are completely vulnerable.
Your prayer takes effect on the volley after its successful completion.

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 The Roles of Magic
The Magic Burner exists to help you shape the role of the
supernatural in your game. Perhaps you seek a more historical
game where men of power follow the model of Pythagoras (the
famed Ionian Greek mathematician, philosopher, magician and
mystic) or Henricus Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (a German
magician, scholar, physician, legal expert and theologian who
served the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I). Or maybe you are
more interested in a game with mythological overtones inspired
by the likes of Odin or Medea. Most likely, you are interested in
a game where magic is firmly ensconced in the tropes of fantasy
fiction inspired by the exploits of Gandalf and Ged. You should
find something here to help make magic in your game unique and
exciting.

Specifically, this essay is about exploring magic and practitioners

of magic in the context of a Burning Wheel game.

Standard Burning Wheel is based largely on Western fantasy and

history, and as such, we draw primarily from Western sources in
this supplement. It is not our intention to exclude the magic of
other cultures and traditions. It is our hope that those of you more
interested in magic based on the legends and stories of Africa, Asia,
Southeast Asia, Australia and the Americas, or fantasies derived
from these sources, use the tools in this book to develop them
yourselves. We encourage you to share your creations with your
fellow players at our website.

Further, because we are speaking of Burning Wheel, it should be

clear that all magic consists of choices and consequences. Power
exacts a great price, both from the person that wields it and from
the world itself. But despite the cosmic powers involved, both the
choices and the consequences will be fundamentally human in
nature, driven by Belief and Instinct.

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To this end, we should be clear that while magical powers hold a degree
of novelty in themselves, our conceit is that the decision to use power or
not, how to apply it and the price to be paid for it is far more interesting
than the actual power itself. The best stories of magic are about the
choices its use presents.

Finally, it is worth noting that the magic in this book is heavily flavored
by the source material we used for inspiration. At Burning Wheel
Headquarters, our pole star for matters magical is Ursula K. Le Guin
and her stories of Earthsea. It is no coincidence that we return to her
stories again and again to illustrate our points. Stephen R. Donaldson’s
stories of Thomas Covenant are another powerful inspiration, and it
should come as no surprise that J. R. R. Tolkien’s stories helped to guide
us as well. Norse and Greek mythology also play an important role in
our thinking, and we have drawn from them heavily.

Magical Magic
Magic is a supernatural power that defies the natural order. It is a force
that controls both man and nature. Magic has laws that govern its
working, though they are often alien from the laws that describe the
working of the natural world. In many cases, only another application
of magic or faith is sufficient to guard against it or break its power.

In historical or mythological conceptions of magic, it is generally a

power granted by the gods or spirits of some kind.

Such magic is usually innate in the case of gods (though some, like
Odin, must quest or sacrifice for deeper secrets). For men, visions
and callings are a common way to discover power, from Moses and
the burning bush to the Oglala Lakota medicine man, Black Elk, who
received his vision at a young age during an intense, life-threatening
fever. Humans, in general, invoke the power—the power does not belong
to the humans themselves.

In Western fantastic literature, wizards and witches generally keep

the quasi-scientific trappings of the Renaissance- or Enlightenment-
era magus. The historical and religious overtones of such magic are
usually left behind (a great many Renaissance magicians were monks,
like Giordano Bruno, Tommaso Campanella or Abbot Johannes
Trithemius).

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Practioners of magic usually tap their power through esoteric formulae

The Roles of Magic

and incantations. Often—but not always—the one who seeks to control
such powers must have been born with a special gift. Others, like Pan
Twardowski (a sorcerer from Polish folklore) or Dr. Faust (of German
legend and literature), gain access to their powers by bargaining with
the Devil.

Archetypes in Magical Fiction

There are three important terms we use in this essay that bear
definition: the other, the mistake and the forbidden place. These are
three archetypes that appear in fantastic fiction. Let’s look at them
before we delve too deeply into the roles of magic.

The Other
The other is a person who, although acknowledged by a community,
is considered outside it. Wizards stand apart as others because they
are different; they wield a power that regular people neither have
nor understand, and their names are written in the book of destiny.
Communities either fear a wizard’s power, revere that power or both.

The Mistake
The mistake is a terrible error committed by a young wizard in hubris
or ignorance. The error has far-reaching consequences that threaten
doom to the wizard, his loved ones and often the world itself.

The Forbidden Place

The forbidden place appears in story after story. It is a place that
the community considers taboo. It appears in many guises: a cave,
a haunted forest, a lost temple, a deep mine, a tomb, a labyrinth or
even the land of the dead. The forbidden place is fraught with terrible
danger. Perhaps most dangerously of all, the forbidden place forces
the wizard to examine himself, to face who and what he is.

Sorcerer and the Community

Sorcerers and wizards always exist in relation to a community, whether
they are its protector, its outcast or its terrifying adversary. The
stories of sorcerous heroes often begin with a pressing need within a
community. The community will be threatened, whether by natural
disaster, conquest or even more insidious perils, like the weakening of
the barrier that separates the living from the dead.

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As one who stands apart, the sorcerer is in a unique position to answer

the community’s need, for he is able to see in ways the community
cannot. Further, he has, or can find, the power to act on what he sees.

If the community recognizes its need and reverses sorcery, or at least

accepts it, community may view the sorcerer as a savior. Prophecy may
identify him as anointed for the role.

Ramon Alonzo, the hero of Lord Dunsany’s 1926 fantasy novel The
Charwoman’s Shadow, is a prime example. His father is the Lord of the
Tower and Rocky Forest, but the family has fallen on hard times and
has no money for the dowry of Ramon’s sister, Mirandola. Ramon is sent
to study with a nearby magician so as to learn how to turn dross into
gold and thus supply his sister’s dowry. In this story, the community is
small, consisting only of Ramon’s family. This is believable because the
story remains relentlessly focused on the personal level, even though
Ramon’s actions ultimately affect all of Spain and one long-suffering
charwoman.

Galen Bradwarden provides another example in the film Dragonslayer.

Galen’s community is the whole of the kingdom of Urland. He steps
into the role of savior by summoning his master from the dead with an
incantation so that he may confront the dreaded dragon Vermithrax
Pejorative.

Thomas Covenant, of Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas

Covenant the Unbeliever, is the quintessential antihero. He shows
another side of this type of wizard. The White-Gold Wielder, and
supposed reincarnation of a great hero of the Land, is recognized as
a savior by almost everyone in that place except for himself. He is
sent forth in accord with prophecy to use his wild magic to thwart the
machinations of the dreaded Lord Foul.

Other times, the need is only hinted at in prophecy, and only a select few
recognize the portents. Heroes in such stories are often underestimated
and even scorned, for the community does not see its need. Yet when
trouble strikes and only a man or woman of power has the ability to
face it, it is fortunate indeed that such a person is nearby to hear the
call.

Once the need has been identified, the anointed one must step forward
as destiny requires—the living embodiment of the mystical other who
possesses the power to cure the incurable.

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The Light Side

The Roles of Magic

Whether the source of inspiration is historical, mythological or literary,
certain themes recur. Magical heroes generally take one of four roles:
the Adept, the Bringer of Fire, the Maker or the Oracle. Sometimes a
hero is purely one type, while some heroes blend them.

Our examples are far from exhaustive. We’ve pared them down to our
favorites and encourage you to reflect on yours. In some cases, we’ve
left out the most obvious examples because, well, they’re very obvious.

The Adept
“Ged, listen to me now. Have you never thought how danger must
surround power as shadow does light? This sorcery is not a game we
play for pleasure or praise. Think of this: that every word, every act of
our Art is said and is done either for good, or for evil. Before you speak
or do you must know the price that is to pay!”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

The Adept is a young wizard or sorceress, flush with power—often

beyond that of magical peers—but lacking the wisdom and experience
to understand the deeper ramifications of his actions.

The story of the Adept is one of power, error and redemption. The need
to redeem himself, to fix an error, is what separates the Adept from the
other roles.

The Adept is powerful, but he is also innocent, naïve and vulnerable.

In his arrogance or ignorance, the Adept uses his magic to play with
powers he does not yet understand and breaks a fundamental law or
rule that is beyond his mastery. Often, repeated warnings against the
danger of his chosen path go unheeded. The core question of his story is
whether he will earn the wisdom to redeem his mistake (and thereby to
practice his art as a master), or succumb to corruption and be enveloped
by it.

The mistakes of wizards are not small. They threaten the world,
a community or a soul, often all three. The Adept—vulnerable and
corruptible—must go forth as a savior on a quest to undo what he has
wrought.

Such quests generally have three stages, as follows:

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First, the Adept must recognize the extent of his mistake and that only

The Roles of Magic

he has the ability to fix it. He cannot run from his mistake, nor can a
mentor or Oracle resolve it for him.

Second, the Adept must accept that the mistake was the result of a flaw
in himself. Outside forces may have played a role in bringing him to his
mistake, but he alone is ultimately responsible for his fate.

Finally, the Adept must confront his mistake, usually in a lost or

forbidden place, and pay a price (which could be anything from
humility to death) to redeem it.

Ged defines the role of the Adept in A Wizard of Earthsea, when his
arrogance and envy lead him to attempt to summon the dead. Instead,
he brings forth a monstrous shadow and must undertake a long
and harrowing quest beyond the edge of the world to master both it
and himself. Only by vanquishing his pride, learning humility, and
accepting the dark things within himself as part of his being, is he able
to overcome the shadow that he summoned.

Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever is another Adept. In Lord Foul’s

Bane, his disregard leads him to commit an unforgivable crime that
he must struggle to redeem. Somewhat uniquely for an Adept, Thomas
Covenant’s mistake is not tied to misuse of magical power, but rather to
a refusal to acknowledge the world around him and his role in it. Only
by accepting the world and his place in it can he draw on the wild and
unpredictable magic of his ring to defeat Lord Foul.

John Constantine, too, is an embodiment of the Adept. As a young man,

Constantine thought he had the wisdom and power to end a demonic
possession. Instead, he damned a little girl’s soul and doomed himself
and the friends who participated in the ritual. The comic Hellblazer is a

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long and winding chronicle of his doomed effort to live with his mistake
and his addiction to walking the razor’s edge between the role of the
Adept and the role of the Dark Disciple.

The Bringer of Fire

Prometheus was one of the Titans, a gigantic race, who inhabited the
earth before the creation of man. To him and his brother Epimetheus
was committed the office of making man, and providing him and all
other animals with the faculties necessary for their preservation.
Epimetheus undertook to do this, and Prometheus was to overlook his
work, when it was done. Epimetheus accordingly proceeded to bestow
upon the different animals the various gifts of courage, strength,
swiftness, sagacity; wings to one, claws to another, a shelly covering
to a third, etc. But when man came to be provided for, who was to
be superior to all other animals, Epimetheus had been so prodigal
of his resources that he had nothing left to bestow upon him. In his
perplexity he resorted to his brother Prometheus, who, with the aid
of Minerva, went up to heaven, and lighted his torch at the chariot of
the sun and brought down fire to man. With this gift man was more
than a match for all other animals. It enabled him to make weapons
wherewith to subdue them; tools with which to cultivate the earth; to
warm his dwelling, so as to be comparatively independent of climate;
and finally to introduce the arts and to coin money, the means of trade
and commerce.
—Thomas Bullfinch, The Age of Fable

The Bringer of Fire is one who recreates the feat of Prometheus by

journeying to lost or forbidden places, to bring forth salvation for the
people. It should be noted that this represents two distinct arcs for the
Bringer of Fire—the journey to that forbidden place and the return to
society with his fire.

Fire represents many things. It is the force of creation, and also

destruction. It is a source of protection, and also terror. It transforms,
consumes and purifies. It represents technology and man’s ability to
tame nature, but also nature’s ability to reclaim what man has made—
civilization and primal forces at once. It allows man to communicate his
prayers to the gods in the form of burnt offerings. Fire is magic.

But it comes with a steep price. Man does not steal the power of gods
lightly. Ask Crow, who lost his brilliant plumage; or Dr. Frankenstein,
who lost everything. A victorious Bringer of Fire will be feted by his
people, but the price he pays will forever set him apart.

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The Bringer of Fire is both savior and trickster, for power alone is not

The Roles of Magic

enough to steal power. Wisdom, cunning, ingenuity and a true heart are
required to defeat the challenge of the forbidden place.

The forbidden place can be frighteningly real or sublimely spiritual.

The prize can be a physical treasure, eldritch might or lost or forgotten
lore.

The Bringer of Fire doesn’t always make his journey with the fate of
the world at stake. The people can often continue as they are without
the Bringer of Fire’s intervention, yet he can make their lives better and
more meaningful if his quest is successful.

The Bringer of Fire has not erred, as the Adept has. But neither is he
perfect. His quest will test and change him. He will have to prove his
wisdom, cunning and heart to succeed.

Ged takes on the mantle of the Bringer of Fire when he enters the
lightless depths of the Tombs of Atuan and brings forth the Ring of
Erreth-Akbe, thus restoring the Bond Rune, the sign of Peace. The ring
is a physical treasure, but it also represents forgotten lore. Ged’s strength
and will are put to the supreme test in the tombs, as he struggles against
darkness and the oppressive force of the Nameless powers of the earth.
But his true test is discovering Arha, the Eaten One, and kindling the
light of her desire for freedom in order to guide her from the belly of the
Nameless Ones and allow her to be reborn as Tenar.

Norse mythology gives us yet another example in the form of Odin the
Allfather, who takes a more spiritual journey by hanging himself from
the World Tree for nine days, a sacrifice to himself, so that he might
bring forth the Runes of Power—eldritch might. He learns many things,
from spells to stay the weather and extinguish fires to spells for blunting
weapons and healing. Odin sacrifices an eye so that he might drink
from the Well of Wisdom and so see into the past, present and future.
Odin’s tests are physical in nature, but also tests of will, requiring the
king of the gods to humble himself and suffer for power.

In Journey to the West, Tripitaka the monk (also known as Xuanzang)

and his disciples become Bringers of Fire when they journey to Vulture
Peak in India to bring forth the Buddhist scriptures. Tripitaka’s
main magical ability is guidance from Buddha himself, though his
companions, like Monkey, have flashier abilities, such as transformation
or leaping incredibly long distances. Countless evils, both physical and

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spiritual, test the companions on

their journey along the Silk Road
and prove their worthiness to carry
the scriptures back to China.

The Maker
In that time were made those
things that afterwards were most
renowned of all the works of the
Elves. For Fëanor, being come to
his full might, was filled with a
new thought, or it may be that
some shadow of foreknowledge
came to him of the doom that drew
near; and he pondered how the
light of the Trees, the glory of the
Blessed Realm, might be preserved
imperishable. Then he began a
long and secret labor, and he summoned all his lore, and his power,
and his subtle skills, and at the end of all he made the Silmarils.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion

The Maker is a skilled technician, a craftsman who accepts the gift

of fire and tames it so that it becomes a power of creation rather than
destruction.

Most frequently it is the product of the Maker’s labors that initiates or

is the goal of a quest.

Sometimes, this product can lead to more harm than good, as happened
with Fëanor and his sons, who became so enamored of his greatest
creation that they swore an oath that would lead to great suffering and
misery in the world. The stories of such treasures rarely have happy
endings.

Other times, the Maker crafts physical treasures of power, like the
Finnish god-smith Ilmarinen, who created the mysterious Sampo, a
magical artifact that manufactured flour, salt and gold from thin air.

The Maker also exists to mend such treasures, like Elrond Half-Elven
taking up the shattered pieces of Narsil—symbolic of the broken
kingdom of Arnor and Gondor—and forging them anew as Andúril,
the Flame of the West, in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring.

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Rarely, it is the land itself the Maker seeks to mend. Heleth, master of

The Roles of Magic

Aihal, who in turn was master to Ged, shows this face of the Maker
when he stills the earthquake, mending the fault beneath the Isle of
Gont in “The Bones of the Earth.”

The Maker’s story is primarily one of building and shaping, whether

it be an item of power, a destiny, a nation or a person. It requires
something broken that a man or woman of power might mend, or a
danger that a magician might face by crafting a treasure. The mending
is never an easy task, and frequently requires a journey to a forbidden
place for the reagents necessary for a making. Invariably, the making
requires a sacrifice that is difficult for the magician to bear.

The Oracle
Alas, alas, what misery to be wise
When wisdom profits nothing! This old lore
I had forgotten; else I were not here.
—Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

The Oracle is an advisor and guide, a keeper of secrets and lost lore.
His role is to inform, never to act. The Oracle is always a supporting
character, great in power but unable to perform the task for which the
hero is destined.

Oracles deliver knowledge from unattainable sources—the gods, the

future, the past, the dead—and transmit it to the hero so he might
continue his quest. Not infrequently, the hero denies the Oracle’s
wisdom to his misfortune.

The Oracle can appear at the beginning of a tale so that he might

commune with the otherworld and relay the hero’s destined path—one
that is surely filled with misfortune or anguish. But the Oracle can also
be a goal of a hero’s quest, dwelling in the forbidden place to deliver the
otherworld’s lore to the Bringer of Fire.

Teiresias the blind seer plays the role of Oracle many times in his
appearances in epic poetry and tragedies. In Oedipus Rex he reveals
the cause of the curse on Thebes to the furious and disbelieving King
Oedipus. Even death does not dull the prophet’s abilities, for Odysseus
ventures into the Underworld itself to learn from the ghost of Teiresias
what he must do to assuage the sea god Poseidon’s wrath.

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Then there is the tragic Cassandra of the Iliad, whose sufferings seem
endless. She foresaw the destruction of Troy, as well as her own demise
and defilement, with the oracular powers inflicted on her by Apollo.
Despite this, her brothers Hector and Paris, and her father Priam,
thought her mad and imprisoned her, denying her visions.

Dallben and his adoptive mothers, Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch all
play the Oracle to the hero Taran in The Chronicles of Prydain. As
an Oracle, Dallben helps Taran begin his quests. Taran’s two journeys
into the Marshes of Morva—the forbidden place—to visit Orddu, Orwen
and Orgoch mark important turning points in his destiny.

Playing the Light Side

When a player creates a magical character in a Burning Wheel game,
it is worth considering which of the roles that character will play.
All player characters in Burning Wheel are expected to be dynamic
protagonists. It is expected that the story of the game revolves around
the characters and that the characters’ Beliefs will be challenged and
changed in the course of play.

Of the wizardly roles described above, two—the Adept and the

Bringer of Fire—lend themselves to the role of protagonist. The Adept,
especially, addresses the fundamental question of magic: What is the
proper use of magic? When is its price worth paying and when is it not?

The other two roles—the Maker and the Oracle—are rarely protagonists;
they are usually supporting characters that aid or guide the protagonist
in some way.

The reason comes down to choice. Adepts and Bringers of Fire are in
the process of questioning their choices about magic and themselves.
Their stories are about answering those questions. Makers and Oracles
have typically made their choices and paid their prices. They are not
expected to become something else at the end of the story.

Heleth, cited as a Maker, is an example of a rare exception for this type.

He is a character who still has a choice to make and a price to pay, and
so he is a fit protagonist for a tale.

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In any event, when creating a magical character—whether that

The Roles of Magic

character uses sorcery, faith, or some other magical power—ask yourself
what price and what choice stands before the character. What does the
character struggle with? How does that struggle define magic in your
game? Write a Belief about that struggle.

The Dark Side

Magical villains generally take one of four roles: the Dark Disciple, the
Deceiver, the Bringer of Darkness and the Unmaker.

The Dark Disciple

Then, grotesquely, his laval eyes took on an angle of cunning. Twitching
nods over his shoulder, he hissed in a raw voice, “Here—this is fair.
Fair. Better than promise. All of them—here. All little Lords and puny
Bloodguard—humans. Ready for crushing.” He started to laugh, broke
into a fit of coughing. “Crush!” he spat when he regained control of
himself. “Crush with power.” He made a little noise like cracking of bones
in his throat. “Power! Little Lords. Mighty Drool. Better than promises.”
— Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Foul’s Bane

The Dark Disciple is one who walked the path of the Adept but was
unable to redeem himself. Instead, he was consumed by his mistake.
Redemption might still be possible, but it is outside the Dark Disciple’s
reach alone. The impetus must come from another.

The possibility of redemption is the defining attribute of a Dark

Disciple. Whether that redemption comes to fruition or not is another
story. The mere possibility gives the character humanity and also
makes the character an excellent foil for the protagonist, who should,
in turn, recognize that he too might fall as the Dark Disciple has fallen.

In the meantime, the Dark Disciple must serve an evil master and pay
for his mistake by spreading suffering and terror. The Dark Disciple is
a servant of a greater evil. He must be confronted, and vanquished or
redeemed, before the true evil can be faced.

Each Dark Disciple has a weakness, sown from his own arrogance and
corresponding to his mistake. The one who discovers that weakness can
use it to remind the Dark Disciple of his humanity, or to break his power
if the Dark Disciple refuses redemption.

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In general, if the Dark Disciple is the foil of an Adept, the mistake of

The Roles of Magic

the Dark Disciple should be the same as the one with which the Adept
struggles. A Dark Disciple works best when held up as a mirror to the
protagonist.

Dark Disciples are the most human of sorcerous antagonists. Their

motives are typically discernible and understandable. We may not
feel that we would make a similar mistake, but we should be able to
understand the choice that was made.

Dark Disciples are often the servants of Bringers of Darkness and

Unmakers, archetypes who rarely interact with the protagonists
directly.

Darth Vader is perhaps the most iconic Dark Disciple. His flaws are
pride and anger. He is ruled by those passions, as typified by using
the mystical powers of the Force to kill subordinates who question
his power or fail in their duties. Pride—his desire to overthrow his
master—leads him to seek a reunion with his son, leaving the door open
for that son to awaken feelings in him that he had long buried. Whereas
Darth Vader succumbed to his passions and fell to the Dark Side, his
son, though tempted, resists. That resistance proves to be the example
Darth Vader needs to struggle anew against his own mistake.

Saruman, chief of the Order of the Istari in The Lord of the Rings,
represents another face of the Dark Disciple. Like his eventual master,
Sauron, Saruman was a servant of the Vala Aulë; like many of Aulë’s
servants, he was predisposed to covetousness. His lust for ring lore and
Sauron’s power led him to abandon his original quest in Middle Earth
and to become Sauron’s accomplice and servant, raising up armies of
orcs. His desire for power led to his weakness: His pride blinds him to
the anger he arouses in the primal forces of Fangorn. He sends all his
armies into Helm’s Deep in an effort to conquer Rohan, and leaves his
stronghold undefended against the march of the Ents. Gandalf offers
Saruman a chance to redeem himself, but Saruman is unwilling, and
so Gandalf breaks his staff and his power with it.

Drool Rockworm, in Lord Foul’s Bane, is a classic Dark Disciple.

Thinking that he has captured and mastered the Staff of Law himself,
he merely performs Lord Foul’s bidding. Lord Foul, potent and cunning,
grants Drool power so that the twisted cavewight can lead Thomas
Covenant into a trap and further bind the hapless hero to Lord Foul

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himself. Drool is a pawn in the game, and though he nearly obliterates

Covenant and his companions, it is he who is destroyed by Covenant’s
wild magic.

The Deceiver
Moreover [the Noldor] were not at peace in their hearts, since they
had refused to return into the West, and they desired both to stay in
Middle‑earth, which indeed they loved, and yet to enjoy the bliss of
those that had departed. Therefore they harkened to Sauron, and they
learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days
the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before;
they took thought, and they made the Rings of Power. But Sauron
guided their labors, and he was aware of all that they did; for his
desire was to set a bond upon the Elves and bring them under his
vigilance.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion

The Deceiver is a dark Oracle, an agent of evil sent to twist the hero’s
destiny and send him hurtling down the wrong path.

The Deceiver’s power stems from his ability to fool and manipulate
the protagonist. The Deceiver rarely has the power to stand up to a
protagonist in a fair fight once his lies have been revealed. Instead, the
Deceiver plays upon the weaknesses of his victims to encourage them
to destroy themselves.

Although the Deceiver’s methods are often employed by more powerful

entities with apocalyptic goals, the Deceiver himself is not seeking the
end of the world. He seeks control, like the Bringer of Darkness, but is
not strong enough to take it by force. Instead, the Deceiver’s enemies
must be manipulated into giving up control.

To function, a Deceiver must gain the trust of a person of power and the
ability to influence that person. The victim falls under the Deceiver’s
influence due to the Deceiver’s evil power, but also due to a flaw or
weakness in the victim’s character. The Deceiver guides his victim to
wrong actions, but ultimately it is the victim’s choice. The Deceiver does
not make anyone do anything.

Often, the baleful influence of the Deceiver becomes apparent to those

who truly care for the victim, but by the time it does, the victim is too
far under the Deceiver’s spell. Those who can see the truth are never in a
position to act directly against the Deceiver without hurting the victim.

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Deceivers most often work on behalf of other powers. They are rarely

The Roles of Magic

the main villains and frequently turn on their masters at the end,
though it is rarely out of penitence. Their evil and selfishness does not
allow them to care for anyone but themselves.

Gríma Wormtongue of The Two Towers is one of the most recognizable

Deceivers. He uses his arts, learned at the feet of Saruman, to enfeeble
and influence Théoden, king of the Rohirrim. Under Wormtongue’s
influence, Théoden King drives his loyal subjects into exile and forsakes
his duties. Gríma works also to poison the mind of the king against
Gandalf and the companions. When Wormtongue is undone, he turns
upon his master.

Sauron himself, in his guise as Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, shows

himself a very potent Deceiver. Sauron takes the role of Annatar at the
beginning of the Second Age, befriending the Elven smiths of Eregion
and instructing them in ring lore and magic, despite the doubts of
Galadriel and Gil-galad. It is under Annatar’s direction that the rings
of power are made. Later in the Second Age, captured by the king of
Númenor, Sauron the Deceiver convinces them to build a temple to
the Dark Lord Melkor where human sacrifices are made. Eventually,
under his dark guidance, Númenoreans make war upon Valinor itself,
and Eru sinks the isle beneath the waves for their presumption. And
so Sauron’s manipulation and lies ended one of the greatest threats to
Melkor’s ultimate rule of Middle Earth.

In A Wizard of Earthsea, it is Serret, daughter of the lord of Re Albi

and Lady of the Court of the Terrenon, who performs the duties of the
Deceiver. It is she that goads Ged into making the terrible mistake for
which he pays dearly. She senses the weakness in him—his pride and
arrogance—and plays upon it. Later she seeks to enslave him to the
Terrenon, one of the Old Powers of the Earth, thinking that she had
mastered that dread stone and could control Ged through it. Through
Serret, the Terrenon promises Ged mastery and rule. By way of much
suffering and heartache, Ged is able to see through her wiles to the
truth of slavery nestled within her lies. In the end, as is inevitable with
a Deceiver, Serret betrays her master.

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The Bringer of Darkness

He thought of Yara, the high priest, who worked strange dooms
from this jeweled tower, and the Cimmerian’s hair prickled as he
remembered a tale told by a drunken page of the court—how Yara
had laughed in the face of a hostile prince, and held up a glowing,
evil gem before him, and how rays shot blindingly from that unholy
jewel, to envelop the prince, who screamed and fell down, and shrank
to a withered blackened lump that changed to a black spider which
scampered wildly about the chamber until Yara set his heel upon it.
—Robert E. Howard, “The Tower of the Elephant”

The Bringer of Darkness is a sorcerer whose mastery is bent to infecting

the land with fear and ignorance. The Bringer of Darkness seeks his
own aggrandizement and power, temporal or otherwise.

Such sorcerers seek dominion over the earth, and they pursue this goal
by employing or making deals with dark powers and by seeking to
break the bonds of civilization. They seek to make men ignorant and
savage in order to make them easier to rule.

The Bringer of Darkness is not bent on destruction for its own sake. If
the world were destroyed, there would be nothing to rule and dominate.

While it is harder to relate to the motives of the Bringer of Darkness

than to the motives of the Dark Disciple, the Bringer of Darkness still
has recognizably human qualities. The desire for power and domination
drives the Bringer of Darkness, though it is not necessarily clear what
the Bringer of Darkness hopes to do with this power should he gain it.

Without a clear purpose behind the drive for domination, the Bringer
of Darkness can be a bit one-dimensional. It is therefore best to keep
him as a menace looming in the background, rather than a force that
confronts the protagonists directly. These characters most frequently
confront the protagonists through their minions, Deceivers and Dark
Disciples in their service.

On the other hand, a Bringer of Darkness with a fully formed motive can
become a truly memorable and terrible foe to a group of protagonists.

Arawn Death-Lord, the tyrant that overshadows all of the Chronicles

of Prydain from his stronghold in Annuvin, is a Bringer of Darkness.
Able to take any shape he chooses, he spends years traveling the land
of Prydain, stealing enchanted tools and knowledge. Rather than using

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The Roles of Magic

them for himself, he locks them in the treasure vaults of Annuvin,
where their power can benefit no one. He maintains his power by
keeping men ignorant and weak. While he is a looming threat, he most
often acts through his servants, like the Horned King, the gwythaints,
the Cauldron-Born, the Huntsmen of Annuvin and power-hungry men
that flock to his banner.

The Magician, from The Charwoman’s Shadow, initially seems to

be a less menacing Bringer of Darkness but proves to be all the more
sinister for it. Dedicated to cultivating his own power and wresting
away the secrets of heaven, the Magician tricks his servants into giving
away their shadows in exchange for his gifts, but all too soon they
discover that doing so has put them deep in his power. The Magician’s
defeat at Ramon Alonzo’s hand, while freeing those who suffered in
the Magician’s clutches, does not drive back the darkness. Instead, the
Magician sets off on a voyage through Spain, drawing all the hidden
creatures of magic to him and taking them with him to the Country
Beyond the Moon’s Rising. The Magician’s departure brings an end to
all magic and Spain’s Golden Age.

Jadis, the White Witch of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
is another Bringer of Darkness. The beautiful Amazon dominates
all Narnia with a wand that turns those who oppose her to stone
(reminiscent of Circe’s wand, which turns victims into swine). The
remaining, fearful subjects of her police state suffer a never-ending
winter. In addition to her wand and other sorceries, Jadis maintains
her power with an army of evil creatures, including wolves, giants,
dwarves, werewolves and ogres.

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The Unmaker
Fall’n Cherube, to be weak is miserable
Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,
To do ought good never will be our task,
But ever to do ill our sole delight,
As being the contrary to his high will
Whom we resist. If then his Providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,
And out of good still to find means of evil;
Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps
Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb
His inmost counsels from their destind aim.
—Satan to Beelzebub upon the Fall, John Milton, Paradise Lost

The Unmaker is a sorcerer whose mastery is focused upon bringing

destruction. Unlike the Bringer of Darkness, the Unmaker does not
concern himself with dominion, nor is power really his ultimate end.

Unmakers seek to bring about the end of the world and the destruction
of all things.

Unmakers are not so much characters as plot elements. Their motives

are typically inexplicable, their powers vast, and they rarely appear
to the protagonists. Instead, they act behind the scenes and through
minions, and their actions have widespread consequences.

Because they rarely have motives with which we can sympathize, it is

best to leave Unmakers off the stage as much as possible in our games.
Instead, the protagonists encounter the Unmaker and his acts through
his minions, especially Dark Disciples and Deceivers in his service.

The key to the Unmaker is not his motive, but the methods he employs.
They are what give each Unmaker a unique flavor. In a sense, the
Unmaker is a metaphor for a fear or darkness in ourselves. Additionally,
though powerful, the Unmaker is not without limits. There are certain
rules to how he must accomplish his ends, and these rules are almost
always tied to the method the Unmaker employs.

Cob, the villain of The Farthest Shore, is a symbol of the fear of death.
To defeat death, Cob breaches the wall between worlds. This act grants
Cob eternal life of a sort, but also slowly strips away all that is good and
worthwhile in the world. Without the intervention of Ged and Arren,

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Cob would exist forever, but there would be no real life. Cob plays upon

The Roles of Magic

the fear of death in those he encounters, convincing them to willingly
give up their names in exchange for supposed never-ending existence.
But when they do so, they also give up the things inside themselves that
allow them to take pleasure in life. Each person who gives up his name
to Cob further erodes the wall that separates the world of life from the
Dry Land.

Meanwhile, Lord Foul the Despiser, of the Thomas Covenant stories,

ultimately seeks to destroy the Arch of Time and thus unmake Creation.
Lord Foul works through despair, corruption and seduction. He makes
his foes think their fight is hopeless, exposes them to their flaws to make
them succumb to despair, and seduces those who do not react in horror
when they are confronted with their flaws. Slowly, through his expert
manipulation, he subverts all those who would fight him and turns
them to his cause. Indeed, it becomes clear that Lord Foul must work
this way because there is a fundamental mystic rule which he must
obey: The White Gold Ring and its wild magic must be given to him
willingly. He cannot take it by force.

Playing the Dark Side

Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the
gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can
transform a good try into a triumph.
—Roger Ebert, review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Whereas the children of light are protagonists, the children of darkness

are intended to be antagonists, plain and simple. Aside from the player
characters, antagonists are the most important characters in any
Burning Wheel game. To appropriate Mr. Ebert’s analysis, a hero is
only as good as the villain who makes him interesting.

While each Burning Wheel game is about the player characters, it is

the antagonist, the villain, who will provide them with the opportunity
to be great. Sorcerous villains are especially fun, as their powers are
wide-ranging and they can rarely be countered by anything short of
magic or faith.

Your primary sorcerous villains will be Dark Disciples. They are the
most human of the villainous types, and therefore the easiest for us to
understand. The ability to understand motivations is what separates a
villain from a force of nature. Dark Disciples are also reflections of the
choices and potential future facing the protagonist.

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In addition, Dark Disciples have a personal stake in the defeat or

destruction of the protagonists. A Dark Disciple should incorporate his
mistake and the protagonist into at least one Belief.

The Deceiver, meanwhile, must get close to the player characters—

or someone they care about—in order to do his work. The Deceiver
poisons from close up. He, like the Dark Disciple, usually has strong
and complex motivations. It is essential that the characters either not
recognize him for what he is at first, or not have the political power to
confront him directly.

A Deceiver whom the players know about but cannot touch due to his
political influence can be one of the best, most maddening villains
players will ever face. Such a villain will take great care and cunning
on the players’ parts to attack.

Deceivers have Beliefs based upon subverting their victims and getting
them to do something in the interest of the Deceiver or his master. If the
victim is not a player character, he should be a relationship of a player
character.

The Bringer of Darkness and Unmaker are more plot elements than
villains. They are forces of nature, and the player characters are usually
beneath their notice. They seek the destruction of the protagonists in
an impersonal way. They are the big picture problem tied inextricably
into the fabric of the setting. It just so happens that the protagonists
stand in their way. Should the protagonists’ actions be brought to their
attention, the Bringer of Darkness will take personal interest in their
destruction. They will send monstrous minions, Deceivers and their
servant Dark Disciples to carry out the task. Because their motivations
are typically one-dimensional, it is best to keep Bringers of Darkness
and Unmakers in the background. The players should see and feel the
results of their actions but shouldn’t come face to face with them until
the final climactic moments.

Bringers of Darkness and Unmakers should have Beliefs born of their

goals and their motivations. They rarely take protagonists into account
in their Beliefs. Instead, they obliquely attack the protagonists through
the ideological core of protagonists’ Beliefs.

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Questions, Questions

The Roles of Magic

In order to make the most of magic in your game, you should consider
both the nature of magic in the world in which the characters live,
and how the characters’ communities relate to the power. Review the
following questions. Their answers will lend a great deal of depth to the
magic in your game and help establish its boundaries.

How does magic take shape in your game? Does it work subtly or
blatantly? Are speech and gestures required to use the power?

Does magic come from an external supernatural agency? Is it a gift

with which only a select few are born or are study and discipline enough
to allow anyone to master the art?

What limitations bind the magic in your game? What can’t it do? What
does it excel at doing?

How is mastery taught or learned? Do people know about it and, if so,

how do they feel about it? Are the men and women who wield these
powers revered or hated? What does religion have to say on the matter?
What of the law?

Are there rituals a practitioner must observe? Are certain actions or

possessions taboo for sorcerers? Are certain magical actions forbidden
or restricted?

The answers to these questions will enrich your world and help keep
magic arcane and mysterious.

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Arcane
Library
 The Arcane Library
This section contains 12 chapters detailing new magic systems,
variations of extant systems and a couple of new magical powers.

The Gifted chapter presents rules for using characters who possess
the Gifted trait but are untrained in any sorcerous art. It introduces
an element of magical mayhem into the game—something for
lovers of young adult fantasy fiction.

Corruption presents a new emotional attribute for mages.

Tampering with ancient forces can empower the character, but at
great cost and risk!

Practical Magic offers up a very simple form of magic in which

sorcerers are merely skilled craftsmen. It’s subtle and low-key,
perfect for anyone sick of White Fire bolts destroying every
monster in the path of the sorcerer.

The Religion chapter talks about ways to codify Faith into religion.
It describes the powers of gods and pantheons and offers small
variants for the versatile Faith mechanics.

Art Magic presents an alternate Sorcery system. Using Art Magic,

the wizard player can devise his spells on the fly, rather than
prepurchase spells from a list. Of course, this versatility comes
with a price!

The Enchanting chapter provides an extensive system that

allows characters to create their own magical artifacts­—whether
it’s something created quickly to be used once or something
painstakingly crafted and meant to last a generation.

The next chapter, Spirit Binding, details the mysterious and

dangerous art of calling and binding the very forces of nature.

Summoning is the sister to Spirit Binding, but rather than the

implacable forces of nature, the summoner trucks with the dead,
demons, angels and gods.

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No arcane library would be complete without a treatise on raising the

dead. The Death Art chapter offers the chilling details of this powerful,
obscene art. If you wish to raise corpses from death and have these
tormented souls blindly serve you, this is your foul home.

Folklore teaches you when it’s time to yoke up the virgins in your
village and toss salt at them as they plough furrows in circles to keep
out disease.

Blood Magic isn’t a full magic system per se. It is an optional subsystem
that you can tack on to nearly any of the systems in this book or to
canon Burning Wheel. Blood Magic provides the awful details on using
ritual torture and murder to fuel your other magics.

Finally, the Arcane Library concludes with a short entry describing

new rules for memorizing spells in the Arsenal Method for use with the
traditional Burning Wheel Sorcery system.

Danger
This book is not a list of pretty new toys to be dumped into your game.
Do not toss in all of the options on top of Faith, traditional Sorcery,
Elven Songs, Dwarven Art and Orc Rituals!

Individually, each of these systems is dangerous. If you want to use

one, introduce it to your campaign with care and caution. Discuss
the system with your whole group. Hell, if you can, read the whole
section together. Any single one of these can change the face of a game.
Therefore, everyone should be aware of the possibilities, even those who
aren’t playing mages.

So, when starting a new game, pick a couple of magical elements to

bring into play. Let each character have access to one—a new system, a
new item or a new trait—and go from there.

Another pitfall is the multitalented magic character: the wizard-priest

with Faith, Sorcery and Enchanting or the Chaos Lord Munchkin
master of Death Art, Summoning and Corruption. To reduce campaign-
breaking characters, limit each character to one form of magic until
your group gets a feel for the scale of the systems.

After you’re comfortable with the new elements, introduce more systems
and have fun!

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Sorcerous Skills

The Stacks
Sorcerous-type skills—Alchemy, Aura Reading, Death Art, Enchanting,
Practical Magic, Sorcery, Spirit Binding and Summoning—cannot be
learned just by unskilled testing. In order to acquire one of these skills, the
first test toward learning the skill must come from Instruction. Thereafter,
all other tests needed to learn the skill can come from Beginner’s Luck
or Instruction.

System Review
Before you can introduce a system into your game, the whole group
must have a chance to review it. At least two players should read the
chapter and explain the positive and negative aspects of that type of
magic. If the group doesn’t think the system is a good fit, they may
decline to allow the system into the game.

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 Gifted
When I originally designed the Burning Wheel magic system, I
intended sorcerers to be rare individuals. Inspired by Ursula K. Le
Guin’s fiction, I wanted them to possess a special quality that gave
them access to their power. The Gifted trait is the first conceit of the
Burning Wheel Sorcery rules. It sets the first limit—a restriction on
learning the magic of Sorcery. Sorcerers, summoners, enchanters
and death artists all must be Gifted in order to work their wonders.

The following section describes options for omitting, modifying

and tailoring the Gifted trait for your game.

Magic for the Masses

You can remove the Gifted trait from the game. In this case,
Sorcery and other similar skills no longer require it in order to tap
true magical power.

Removing the Gifted requirement opens up magic for all to learn.

On one hand, magic then becomes more about finding the dusty
tomes and old teachers and learning secrets than about a cadre of
elite men and women with the power to destroy all life.

On the other hand, anyone who’s played a fantasy roleplaying game

knows that this option could quickly lead to every man, woman
and child in the setting learning Sorcery and gaining the power
to destroy all life.

Still, for magic-infused settings where every farmer knows a

charm to herd cattle and every doctor knows a chant to knit bone,
this option can be viable.

The key to making this option work is to make learning sorcerous

skills arcane and mystical, or at least difficult. If there’s an open
exchange of information, all spells would be available to everyone
and that becomes problematic. But if there’s a cult to explore or an
economy to navigate, spells will be restricted to those who have
access to the mysteries or to those who can afford them.

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Raw Talent

Gifted
It is possible to create a character who is Gifted but untrained in any
art. In standard Burning Wheel canon, this condition means that the
character possesses untapped potential. He needs a sorcerer to teach
him.

There is another way to play this. In this case, the Gifted trait indicates
that the character possesses the ability to work great magic, but also a
raw talent and wild power.

The following powers—Stress, Concentration and Accident-Prone—

manifest in Gifted characters who do not possess any sorcerous skills
like Sorcery, Death Art or Aura Reading. As soon as any sorcerous
skill is opened, these youthful abilities are no longer available to the
character.

Stress
When an unskilled and Gifted character fails a Steel test, his powers
manifest in unanticipated ways. Roll on the table below to generate a
trait. The trait is applied regardless of whether or not the character
would otherwise be eligible for it. The trait is temporary. It lasts until
the end of the scene in which the character was stressed.

Gifted Stress Table

2D6 Stress Trait
2 Bottomless Stomach
3 Clumsy
4 Commanding Aura
5 Eldritch Sink
6 Child Prodigy
7 Second Sight
8 Low Speech
9 Lesser Muse
10 Touch of the Devil
11 Lawbreaker
12 Brass Skin

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If the player is stressed again in a future scene, he may decide not to roll

Gifted
on the table and let the previous trait manifest again, or he may choose
to gamble and roll again on the table.

The specific effects of traits like Child Prodigy or Lesser Muse must
be decided upon when the trait is rolled. If the player is stressed again
and opts to use the previously generated trait, those modified abilities
remain the same as when they first manifested. If the trait is cast off
for a new trait, but then later rolled again on the table, the player may
assign the benefits to new abilities or the old ones as he sees fit.

Lesser Muse grants +2D to a skill. If I roll it once and choose Cooking,
it grants a +2D bonus for the scene. If I’m stressed again and I roll
Lesser Muse again, I can choose to apply the muse to a different skill, like
Research or whatever I need at the time.
The traits on the Gifted Stress table can be found in the Character
Burner and the Monstrous Trait List in this book.

Concentration
The untried hero may spend a persona point to add his Will dice to a
Beginner’s Luck test.

However, concentrating in such a manner is draining and dangerous.

The player must make a Forte test at an obstacle equal to the Beginner’s
Luck test (using the doubled obstacle). This counts as a standard tax
test for Sorcery.

My character is testing his Perception for Beginner’s Luck for Aura

Reading. It’s an Ob 1 test to detect an Aura trait, doubled to 2 since I
don’t have the skill. After the Perception test, whether I pass or fail, I have
to make an Ob 2 Forte test to resist the tax.
Accident-Prone
When Gifted characters fail an attempt at any skill test, the results are
spectacular. First, the failure results in the worst possible outcome for
the situation. It’s bad. There are loud, painful crashing sounds. This
calamity must affect the people around the character, including his
friends and allies. It cannot only affect the mageling.

If he were trying to cast a spell, for example, there could be no harmless

dissipation result. It’d have to be either an unwanted summoning or a
garbled transmission.

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However, this incident is coupled with another unlikely event. Shortly

after the catastrophic failure, the young mage-to-be gains a new friend
or companion, or an important item. Treat these conditions as either
a successful Circles test or Resources test. If you need a value for the
person or object, it can be the equivalent Circles or Resources test
obstacle equal to the test’s margin of failure.

If you fail by two, then the object can be worth up to whatever an Ob 2

Resources test would buy you.
Learning
When using the Raw Talent rules, Gifted characters are subject to
the Stress, Concentration and Accident-Prone rules until they open a
sorcerous skill. The powers are lost when they open a sorcerous skill.
The Gifted trait reverts to its standard manifestation.

Due to their accident-prone nature, learning Sorcery and casting

spells with Beginner’s Luck is very dangerous. Once given a test for
advancement toward Sorcery, Death Art, Summoning or Enchanting,
the Gifted child may begin attempting to test these skills. He does so at
a double obstacle penalty!

Should an apprentice actually manage to learn a spell for traditional

Sorcery prior to opening the skill, he casts with a double obstacle penalty
for Beginner’s Luck plus a double obstacle penalty for casting a spell
during practicals. That’s a double double obstacle penalty. Very nasty.
To avoid this, he needs to open the Sorcery skill first, then begin casting
spells.

Specifically Gifted
Another option for the Gifted trait is to make it specific to one or two
sorcerous skills. The character may learn and use skills for which he is
Gifted, but not any others.

For example, if a character is Gifted for Sorcery, he may not use Art Magic.
I recommend this option for campaigns which use multiple spell casting
variants, like Art Magic, Sorcery, Death Magic and Enchanting.

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 Corruption
Corruption is a new emotional attribute designed to emphasize
the effects of magic upon its users in settings where magical lore is
unnatural or forbidden.

The more the sorcerer calls upon his power, the more corrupted
he becomes—in body and soul—and the more twisted and vile he
grows.

You can combine the Corruption emotional attribute with nearly

any of the extant magic systems, but it works especially well with
the Death Art, Sorcery, Summoning, Spirit Binding and Faith
mechanics.

Inspiration for this system of tampering with dark powers who

punish and reward in a whim is taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s
various tales, Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series and
Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe.

Starting Corruption
The Corruption emotional attribute starts at B0. Everyone has the
potential to travel down this path. Those who wield magic or truck
with dark powers hasten the speed at which they travel. Increase
the starting Corruption exponent using the following list:

+1 if the character has the Gifted trait.

+1 if the character has the Faithful trait.
+1 if the character has the Chosen One trait.
+1 for each point of Spirit Marks (see Spirit Binding).
+1 for each point of Orders (see Summoning).
+1 if the character has ever prayed alone at night to remote,
unholy gods to aid him.
+1 if the character has ever entered into a pact with a demon.

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If a character has a starting Corruption value of 10 or more, the player

must spend five exponent points to shade shift to gray. He may not begin
play with a Corruption exponent greater than 9.

Starting Corruption in Play

If a character meets the conditions for any of the above in play—he
earns a trait, prays to bad things at night, gains a Mark or Order—he
earns the Corruption emotional attribute at a value appropriate to the
starting Corruption conditions. Usually, that’ll be B1.

Starting Corruption Traits

A player whose character begins the game with Corruption rolls once
on the Corrupted Body and Soul table in this chapter to get a free trait.
He may choose whether to take the primary or alternate version, but
this affects his future choices.

Using Corruption
The corrupted use their Corruption to aid their actions during play. It
works similarly to Greed or Spite in that regard. It may only be called
upon when the character is undertaking a vile, dark or corrupt act.
This can be due to overt actions or simple intent. The group is the final
arbiter of whether an act is degenerate enough to warrant help from the
chittering gods who dwell in the shadows of men’s dreams.

The Temptation
• For one fate point, a sorcerer may call upon dark powers to help
him. Corruption may then help any stat or skill test, whether one
of the character’s own abilities or a comrade’s. Help gives 1D for
exponent 4 or lower, 2D for exponent 5 and higher. The help is from
an outside force, like fallen gods or lurking demons. This bonus is in
addition to standard FoRKs and help.

• For one persona point, a sorcerer may substitute his Corruption for
any skill or stat in any test.

• For one deeds point, a sorcerer may add his Corruption exponent to
any skill or stat test.

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Corruption Brings Strength

Corruption
The corrupted player may always substitute Corruption for Forte to
pass tax tests if the player desires. If dice are lost due to a failed test,
Forte is reduced, not Corruption. If using the Art Magic or Religion
rules in combination with this emotional attribute, Corruption must
be used to pass tax tests.

Advancing Corruption
Corruption advances like a skill, but like Greed, routine tests always
count for advancement—even when advancing Corruption from
exponents 5 to 10. For exponent 5 and higher, routine tests equal to the
exponent count as one category of advancement filled. Therefore, from
exponent 5 and higher, the attribute advances if any two of the three
categories—routine, difficult or challenging—are filled.

You earn tests for advancement when Corruption itself is rolled (when
it replaces a stat or skill), when the attribute is used to help another test
and when certain situations arise in the game. The replaced stat or skill
does not earn a test for advancement when you spend persona points
for replacement or when using the Corruption Brings Strength rules.
The aided stat or skill earns a test for advancement as per the standard
testing, helping and advancement rules.

If you spend a deeds point to add Corruption to a stat or skill test,

the standard artha rules apply—the stat or skill earns a test, but the
added dice don’t count when factoring the difficulty of the test for
advancement. The Corruption attribute does earn a difficult test for
advancement in that instance.

When the Corruption attribute advances, the character’s body and soul
change. See the Corrupted Body and Soul rules below.

We Have Eternity to Know Your Flesh

When Corruption reaches exponent 10, the dark ones, demons or outer
gods from whom the character has been granted power come for him.
They cruelly grant him one last gift before taking him from this realm
into theirs. Roll on the Corrupted Traits table one last time to see
what trait the sorcerer has earned by advancing his Corruption. The
character is then removed from play.

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Situational Tests

Corruption
Tests for advancing Corruption are also earned through actions in play.
If the character meets any of the conditions below, the player must mark
down the advancement as if he had passed a test at the appropriate
obstacle.

The situations described in the following section only count toward

advancement if the Corruption attribute has been opened. The
Corruption attribute may not be opened via these situations, only
through those described under Starting Corruption.

Obstacle 1 Corruption
Lying or committing a willful falsehood. Casting a spell.

Obstacle 2 Corruption
Learning a new spell. Summoning an imp for any purpose. Physically
causing harm to another person.

Obstacle 3 Corruption
Casting a spell that affects another person. Learning a new facet or
school of magic. Summoning a greater imp for any purpose. Paying
tribute to a demon. Discovering a marked item.

Obstacle 4 Corruption
Mutilating an animal, human, Elf, Orc, Dwarf, etc. Casting a spell
with harmful intent. Summoning a lesser demon for any purpose.
Commanding a demon to perform a social service (as per Summoning).
Owning a marked item (as per Enchanting).

Obstacle 5 Corruption
Murder, by any means. Summoning a demon for any purpose.
Commanding a demon to perform a physical service that leads to the
injury of a person (as per Summoning). Being Marked by a demon (as
per Summoning).

Obstacle 6 Corruption
Torture—to cause physical and emotional pain to a subject so as to
extract information or derive pleasure from them. Summoning a
greater demon for any purpose. Commanding a demon to perform a
physical service that leads to the death of a person (as per Summoning).
Paying a physical price for a service (as per Summoning).

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Obstacle 7 Corruption
Necrophilia. Commanding a spirit service from a demon (as per
Summoning). Owning many marked items (as per Enchanting).

Obstacle 8 Corruption
Necrophagia. Selling the soul of another to an otherworldly power.

Obstacle 9 Corruption
Being possessed by a being with Spirit Nature.

Obstacle 10 Corruption
Selling your own soul to an otherworldly power.

Corrupted Body and Soul

When your Corruption advances in play, roll one die and add the result
to your new Corruption exponent. This will generate a number from 2
to 16. Consult the table below. Listed next to the number are two traits,
primary and alternate. The first time a player rolls on this chart, he
may choose which of these two traits he wants. However, the next time
he advances his Corruption, he must choose from the opposite category.
The following time, he must take a trait from the other category, and
so on.

If I advance my Corruption from 1 to 2 and I roll a 1 on the die, I can choose

between Rat Speak (primary) or Lunatic (alternate). Let’s say I choose
Rat Speak from the primary column. The next time I choose, I must take
the alternate trait. And the following time, I have to take the primary.
The time after that, I have to take the alternate. And so on, and so forth.
Corruption Traits
The Corruption traits can be found in the Character Burner and the
Monstrous Trait list in this book. Some of the traits are not particularly
nice. Some are not harmful, nor even useful. The character is stuck
with them, though. One set of traits is particularly vicious—Tongueless
and Radula. The Gods of Corruption are cruel and mocking. It amuses
them that sorcerers would become so corrupt that they could no longer
speak the words of their spells but not corrupt enough to ascend into
their divine ranks.

If a character already has the trait he’s rolled, then tough luck. He’s
earned no benefit from his debauched ways.

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Corruption
Corrupted Body and Soul Traits Table
Roll Result Primary Trait Alternate Trait

2 Zoophagia Dissent Parasite

3 Rat Speak Lunatic
4 Bottomless Stomach Dreamer
5 Lame Forked Tongue
6 Palsy Wolverine
7 Diseased Tough
8 Blind Fearless
9 Maimed Dreadful
10 Aura of Malevolence Aura of Fear
11 Enlarged Venom Sacs Cilia
12 Fur Spines
13 Tongueless Radula
14 Hermaphrodite Tentacles
15 Believer Tough as Nails
16 Amoeboid Shadow and Dust

Corrupted Life
Corruption draws other souls to its foul light like moths to flame.
Corrupted characters are often the focus of the attention of dilettantes
and seekers of knowledge, but also of hunters and exterminators.

The Creepy Clause

Failed Circles tests for characters with the Corruption emotional
attribute are always interesting. Rather than the standard Enmity
Clause, the GM can invoke this rule, which allows him to bring forth
unsavory, detestable seekers of knowledge and power. These characters
are always mad in some fashion, and murderous. They either seek to
gain the power of Corruption from the sorcerer, or wish to elevate the
sorcerer to an exalted place of power (and thereby reap a reward for
themselves). They may also be unwitting pawns of powers who seek to
aid or destroy the sorcerer (sometimes both).

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The Mortal Enemy Clause

Instead of bringing in creepy ne’er-do-wells, the GM can choose to use
the Enmity Clause in a grand and brutal fashion—rather than those
who seek to aid and uplift the corrupted, he can bring forth those
who seek to destroy him. Witch hunters (Village Born, Kid, Village
Guard, Pilgrim, Zealous Convert) or inquisitors (Born Noble, Religious
Acolyte, Priest, Archpriest, Inquisitor) with a pair of zealous knights
(Born Noble, Page, Squire, Knight) backing them up make for good
times!

The Gift of Corruption

Corruption dwells not just in the hearts of humanity, but also in the
fabric of life. When a corrupted soul fails a Resources test and the
Gift of Kindness is invoked, the sorcerer has stumbled upon some
previously unknown secret of the dark and forbidden forces. Whatever
it is that he sought bears the arcane taint of some degenerate power.
It is a “marked” item, and just knowing of it, touching it, seeing it,
increases the sorcerer’s own Corruption. Marked items are described in
the Enchanting chapter.

Marked items often possess some magical power of their own. It’s more
likely a curse than a blessing. Use the Enchanting rules to determine
the nature and power of the item. The obstacle of the enchantment
cannot exceed the margin of failure of the Resources test. Assume that
a proper antecedent was used to create the item.

Note that just seeing such an item counts as a test toward advancing
Corruption (Ob 3), and owning one counts even more so (Ob 4).

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 Practical Magic
In this form of magic, there are no spells, no sustaining, no casting
times, no flash, no great effects. It is a simple magic. A sorcerer is
less a thunderous god and more a potent, skilled mortal who can
overcome tasks that vex and belabor the mundane.

Practical Process
When using the Practical Magic rules, the Sorcery skill may be
used as a proxy to test against obstacles that fall under one of the
skills in one of the sorcerer’s schools of magic. The Sorcery skill
rolls are open-ended.

When the player wishes to attempt a test using his Sorcery, he

incants an extemporaneous spell and undertakes the task using
magic rather than simple, mundane means. Test Sorcery against
the obstacle. The standard success and failure rules apply.

There is no “duration” for these spells. They last as long as the skill
test would otherwise last. So if you make a pot using Sorcery rather
than Blacksmithing, it lasts as long as a pot would last.

Normal skill test rules apply—FoRKs (from other mundane skills),

linked tests, help, etc. Time for the Practical Magic test is as the
skill for which it is being substituted.

Players may not use the Sorcery skill as a stat or for Beginner’s
Luck tests.

Weaving Charms
A sorcerer player can earn a 1D advantage to his Sorcery test if he
names the spell he is casting and describes the effect. For practical
magic, the effects must be simple and low key. This is not the stuff
of high-energy magic.

When using Sorcery as the Ritual skill to sanctify a body, I inscribe

it with the rune of ending.

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Weaver’s Balm is a charm to aid using practical magic for Weaving. The
charm soothes the fingers of the weaver. The Spring Steel is a charm for
practical Sword skill magic. The spell both lightens and strengthens the
blade of the caster.

Tools
Tools and raw materials are required for individual tests as per the
standard skill rules.

When using Sorcery to count for Blacksmith, you must have tools and
metal to work with.

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Practical Schools of Magic

Practical Magic
In order to gain power in a certain realm, the sorcerer must study a
school of magic. Schools of magic provide access to the expertise of
certain groups of skills. They are a part of the Sorcery skill.

A school of magic contains the knowledge of a skill category as described

in the Advancement chapter of Burning Wheel Gold. When the sorcerer
has mastered that school, he may use his Sorcery skill as the equivalent
of any skill that falls into the associated skill category.

Practical Magic may be used with general, Mannish and Roden skills
only. Skills specific to any other character stocks are not part of this art.

Starting Schools of Magic

The sorcerer begins the game with the Sorcerous skill category for free.
He also gains an additional school of magic for each lifepath he took
during character burning. The school of magic is derived from the skill
category of the first skill on the lifepath skills list. If the sorcerer already
knows that school of magic from a previous path, he’s out of luck. This
lifepath doesn’t teach him anything new.

The player may purchase additional schools of magic using resource points.

Practical Schools of Magic RP Cost

Academic 16 rps
Artisan 12 rps
Artist 7 rps
Craftsman 18 rps
Forester 15 rps
Martial 12 rps
Medicinal 13 rps
Military 9 rps
Musical 7 rps
Peasant 12 rps
Physical 7 rps
School of Thought 9 rps
Seafaring 12 rps
Social 25 rps
Sorcerous free
Special 18 rps

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Wises Restricted
Wises may not be folded into the Sorcery skill. They are not a part of
its practical magic application.

Adopting Schools of Magic in Play

Players may have their characters learn new schools of magic in
play. Consult the table below and note the Adoption Obstacle for the
particular school. The obstacle must be divided into an obstacle for a
Will test and an obstacle for a Resources test. The obstacle number may
be split in any fashion, with a minimum value of one.

In order to learn a school, the mage must find someone or something

willing to divulge this knowledge. No test need be made by this entity.
The player tests his Will to learn the school and Resources to make an
offering.

Adoption
Practical Schools of Magic Obstacle
Academic 8
Artisan 6
Artist 4
Craftsman 9
Forester 8
Martial 6
Medicinal 7
Military 5
Musical 4
Peasant 6
Physical 4
School of Thought 5
Seafaring 6
Social 13
Sorcerous —
Special 9

For example, the Craftsman school is listed with an Adoption Obstacle

of 9. This may be split into an Ob 4 Will test and an Ob 5 Resources test
or an Ob 2 Will test and an Ob 7 Resources test or in any other fashion
the player sees fit.

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Adoption Time

Practical Magic
Adopting a new school of magic requires one full skill practice cycle
for that category. No other skills may be practiced or learned during
that time. Both tests must be made during that span of game time.

If I want to adopt the peasant school, I must practice it for three months.
If both tests succeed, the character may now cast spells in this school
of magic.

Will Failure
If the Will test is failed, the character cannot adopt this school.

Resources Failure
If the Resources test is failed, the character has researched or
uncovered a perverted version of the school. Resources is taxed as
normal. In addition, the margin of failure for the test is added as an
obstacle penalty when casting spells in the school.

If I fail the Resources test to adopt the Peasant school of magic by one, I
have a +1 Ob penalty to all Sorcery tests in that school.
This perversion can only be corrected by completely relearning the
school from another practical magician with a higher skill exponent
who knows the school.

Being Taught the Right Way

If a practical magician learns a perverted school, another magician may
attempt to undo the damage with instruction. The teach must know the
school being taught and have a Sorcery exponent higher than the student.

Test Instruction. The obstacle is 3 plus the level of perversion. Each

successful test reduces the level of perversion by one.

Tax
When casting a Practical Magic spell, the caster must resist tax equal
to the Sorcery skill test obstacle. Test the caster’s Forte against the
skill test obstacle. In the case of a versus test, the Sorcerer’s Forte test
obstacle is equal the number of successes rolled by his opponent. If the
test is open, then the tax obstacle is 1.

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If the Forte test is passed, there is no ill effect. If the test is failed, Forte
is temporarily reduced by a number of dice equal to the margin of
failure. If Forte reaches zero, the character is incapacitated.

If the Sorcery test is successful, he passes out after completing his task.
If the test is failed, he passes out before completing the task.

If I use my Sorcery to pass an Ob 3 History test, I must also test my Forte

against Ob 3. If I roll two successes, my Forte is temporarily reduced by
one die.
Use the standard tax recovery rules described in the Sorcery chapter of
the Burning Wheel.

No Turning Back
Once you start using magic in place of a given skill for a Duel of Wits,
Range and Cover, Fight or any other series test, you cannot return to
the mundane for any instance of that skill until the end of the conflict.
A sorcerer player can opt not to test if he feels that the tax would be too
much for him, but in this case any opponent would get to test against
him unopposed for that action.

Practically Gifted
At the outset of your campaign, you may decide if Practical Magic can
be used with or without the Gifted trait. If used with the trait, it’s a
rare art just like Sorcery in standard Burning Wheel. This has the
additional effect of making magic very low-key for the campaign world.

If used without the Gifted trait, magic is more easily accessed, but since
this isn’t a powerful art, it shouldn’t be overwhelming. Rather, it has the
effect of creating a magic-rich world in which many different types of
people know a little sorcery. If you limit the schools of magic available,
individual groups will have magical specialties and unique flavor.

Sorcerous Skill Practical Magic

The sorcerous skill category for Practical Magic is intended to allow the
mage to have access to Alchemy, Aura Reading and Circination through
his Sorcery skill. It is not intended that the wizard have access to Death
Art, Enchanting, Summoning, Art Magic, Spirit Binding or any other
full-blown art through Practical Magic. However, we recognize that by

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default, the literal description of Practical Magic allows access to all

Practical Magic
sorcerous skills and hence those arts. Allowing that loophole to remain
makes Practical Magic the supreme magical art. Experiment with that
loophole at your own risk!

If you use practical magic sorcerous skills, I recommend making all

sorcerous tests not open-ended. Make truly magical acts hard, requiring
time and investment. Whereas magic in the mundane world has a bit of
unpredictability to it.

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 Religion
Religion is dealt with very lightly in Burning Wheel. The Faith
rules assume all deities in the game are of equal power, and the
powers they grant are uniform. This chapter provides guidelines
for introducing a variety of faiths and powers into your Burning
Wheel game.

In our experience, we’ve found that the Faith rules are much more
interesting when we impose limits. The rules described in this
chapter provide limits and strictures for the extant Faith rules.
They create a sense of religious order and structure in the game
world to help differentiate adherents.

Theism
Before proceeding, you must decide how your culture’s religions
view their deities. Is there one chief god and a handful of minor
ones? Are there many entities with a variety of duties and spheres?
Or is there a singular super-religion that derives all its power from
the same source?

Monotheist
A monotheistic society worships a singular divine entity who
espouses a singular ideology. He is not universal and omnipotent;
he is powerful, but limited. Miracles are then limited to the god’s
idiom.

For example, a tribe that worships a local volcano god.

Polytheist
A polytheistic culture contains many gods and their attendant
religions. Each deity rules over a sphere of power. There are ranks
of deities—chief deity, deity, minor deity.

In these cultures, the priest has a patron who favors him, but he
may call upon the aid of other powers so long as he performs the
proper rituals.

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Supertheist

Religion
Supertheism describes a single, overarching, all-encompassing ideology.
Divine power is universal, and all power is derived from a single source.
Using Burning Wheel’s unadulterated Faith mechanics produces a
supertheistic culture. Even if there are multiple gods in play, all entities
have the same power and influence.

The Spheres of Gods

In monotheistic and polytheistic cultures, deific power comes in many
forms—gods of war, fire and law.

To simplify the myriad possibilities, we’ve divided the domains of

divine power into three spheres: Nature, the Human Condition and
Society. Nature encompasses the natural world outside of humanity’s
control. The Human Condition describes what we are individually, for
good or for ill. Society describes what we, as groups, do. Use these
spheres to design deities for your campaign. The list is by no means
exhaustive, so feel free to add elements to it.

Nature
Fire, Wind, Oceans, Water, Earth, Sun, Fertility, Time, Volcanoes, Sky,
Mountain, Chaos, Ice, Darkness, the Moon, the Underworld, Grain,
Spring, Twilight, Dawn, Rain, Storms, Thunder, Earthquakes, Rivers,
Hills.

The Human Condition

Love, War, Luck, Betrayal, Revenge, Work, Labor, Marriage, Poetry,
Knowledge, Family, Hunger, Famine, Plenty, Death, Birth, Childhood,
Adulthood, Illness, Health, Honor, Fear, Courage, Forethought, Order,
Discord, Harmony, Justice, Grief, Joy, Sex, Anger.

Society
Contracts, the Written Word, Travel, Trade, Law, Military, Harvest,
Protection, Medicine, Augury, Magic, Agriculture, Trade, Temples,
Necropoli, Ships, Markets, Roads, Craft, Architecture, Crime.

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The Power of Gods

Gods are broken down into three levels of power: chief deities, deities
and minor deities.

Chief Deities
These are singular entities who head up a whole pantheon or exist on
their own as the sole representatives of their religion. They’re powerful.
When determining their nature, choose one domain from each sphere,
plus at least two more domains from any of the three.

Odin, Zeus and Ahura Mazda are examples of chief deities. Odin’s
spheres are justice, magic, the sky, death and family (in the form of the
All-Father).
Deities
Deities have one domain in each of the three spheres.

Athena, Thor and Angra Mainyu are examples of deities.

For example, the Roman god Vulcan is the god of fire (Nature), the god of
smithing (Society) and is tied to the harvest (Human Condition)—both
in ripening it with his heat and protecting it from fire.
Minor Deities
Minor deities control one domain in one of the spheres.

Thetis is one of the 50 Nereids, a sea nymph and the mother of Achilles.
Her domain is the Aegean Sea.
Dagr is the god of day. He is the son of Delling, the god of twilight. His
mother is Nótt, the goddess of night.
Ammit is she who dwells in the Hall of Ma’at. Her domain is divine
retribution. When Abubis weighs the hearts of the dead, those who fail
are given to her to devour.
Faith in the Nature of God
Once you have a god and his spheres of power delineated, you have also
described the sphere of influence for his worshippers’ Faith abilities.
This doesn’t restrict the categories of miracles described on pages 524
and 525 of the Burning Wheel. It does restrict where and how those

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miracles can be performed. Gods of oceans are diminished on land;

Religion
gods of revenge are only empowered when their followers are seeking
vengeance and not altruism.

Divine Afflictions
Afflictions are curses and hindrances handed down from the gods for
angering them with your mortal concerns. These rules, if used, replace
the standard rules for failure for Faith.

If a priest fails a Faith test, the GM has two options. He may give him
a pass and inform him that his patron has failed to heed his cries. The
failure has no additional adverse effect. Or he may hit him with an
affliction! Use one of the following:

Empower Thine Enemies!

Your prayers to your god have angered him/her/it. Your temerity
is inexcusable. To teach you a lesson, rather than grant you aid, he
empowers one of his more favored, who happens to be your enemy.

The GM grants persona points equal to the Faith test’s margin of failure
to one character of his choosing. This character must be opposed to the
faithful character’s goals. He may be a PC or NPC.

Confronting a death artist, I fail a crucial Faith test by three. The GM

decides that my cries were heard by the dark gods. He immediately gives
the death artist three persona points to use against me.
Tax Thine Allies
How dare you question the power of the gods? Your temerity causes the
very vitality to be sapped from your allies. See how you’ve caused them
to suffer! If the spell is failed, the GM may call for an immediate tax
test to be made by one of the character’s allies. This poor soul can be a
player character or a GM-controlled character. He must pass a Forte test
with an obstacle equal to the obstacle of the Faith test. Margin of failure
temporarily reduces Forte. If Forte is reduced to zero, the character is
incapacitated. If Forte is reduced below zero, the character also evinces
stigmata and suffers wounds. The wound is pips equal to the obstacle
multiplied by each die below zero.

So a tax test for a minor miracle (Ob 5) that reduces Forte two below zero
knocks him out and does a B10 wound to the character.

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Awful Revelation
Your patron stuns you with an awful revelation. The GM may call for
the faithful to make a Steel test. The character’s hesitation is increased
by the margin of failure of the Faith test. If the test is failed, the player
may not Run Screaming or Stand and Drool from this revelation. He
may only Swoon or Fall Prone (and beg for mercy).

Enmity
Such profane utterances offend the faithful! The GM may turn a
relationship or named Circle on the priest character’s sheet from
favorable to hateful or rivalrous. This invokes the Enmity Clause
conditions for Duel of Wits! If no relationship is available, the GM may
assign one instead. Failure by one success indicates a minor relationship.
Failure by two or three successes indicates a important relationship.
Failure by four or more indicates a powerful relationship.

Infamy
Your arrogance defies reason! The deity curses you for having idly
called upon his power. The GM assigns you an infamous reputation.
The reputation is of a value equal to or less than the margin of failure,
at a maximum of 3D.

Isolation
Now you must walk in the desert alone. The worst affliction the deity
can impose on his follower is to cut him off from the divine conduit.
On the condition of a failed Major Miracle test, the GM may impose
isolation upon this character or an allied Faithful character. The
isolated character may not call upon the powers of this deity again
until he has atoned for this sin. He must take the Lost Faith trait until
he either performs a ritual of atonement or satisfies the requirements of
the Lost Faith trait.

Curses
The Curse is a new Faith miracle. It can be used by any of the faithful
on anyone who is opposed to the religion. It cannot be used on other
faithful members of your religion, no matter your differences of opinion.

Curse—Ob 3. This miracle summons the power of the gods to hurt or

hinder blasphemers! It adds +1 Ob to one of the target’s abilities of the
player’s choosing for the duration of the scene.

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Religion

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Rituals
The faithful may alleviate certain divine afflictions—enmity, infamy
and isolation—by performing the proper rituals to propitiate his god.

Test the Rituals skill. The obstacle for the ritual is one less than the
Faith test obstacle that got him into trouble in the first place. The player
may get help and may use linked tests from Doctrine or Resources.

If you earned your isolation from an attempted major miracle (Ob 10), it
is an Ob 9 Rituals test to atone.
If the player does not have the Rituals skill, he may hire a priest to
perform the ritual for him. In this case, he must pass a Resources test to
fund the ritual. The obstacle to donate to the priest’s cause is the same
as the failed Faith test obstacle.

Faith in Dead Gods

The gods you follow are long fallen, given way—pushed aside, perhaps
even murdered—by the new gods. But even in death, the power of Dead
Gods still resonates across time and civilization. A faded echo of power
still rumbles through the bowels of humanity, and it is to this frequency
the faithful are attuned.

Faith in Dead Gods is a variant of the Faith rules. You may replace
the Faithful trait and Faith emotional attribute with the Faith in Dead
Gods trait and emotional attribute. This attribute behaves in a manner
similar to Faith. Use the following rules for the specific characteristics
of the ability.

The power of your dead gods is diminished, and faith in them only
grants the faithful miraculous power over himself and other believers.
The character may heal the believing sick, and bend the minds of the
believing wayward. However, he has no dominion over non-believers
and apostates—he cannot affect them with the power of the dead ones.

Starting Faith in Dead Gods

Use the starting Faith questions. The shade of Faith is that of the
character’s Will.

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Faith in Dead Gods in Play

Religion
Faith in Dead Gods only affects the character himself and other believers.
These believers must have an appropriate Belief that clearly states they
adhere to the doctrine that the faithful preaches. It otherwise is tested
and advances like Faith.

The Limitations of Faith in Dead Gods

The faithful may call for blessing, curse, aid, boon, guidance, minor
miracle and inspiration. He may not call for an intercession, miracle,
purification, hindrance or consecration.

The Twists of Faith

The faithful has access to two other miracles of moribund power.
Hypnotism may be used on non-believers.

Hypnotism (Ob = Victim’s Will)

The faithful may channel the siren call of the dead gods through his
eyes and speech. Make a Faith in Dead Gods test at an obstacle equal
to the victim’s Will. If successful, the victim hesitates for two actions
and will obey one simple, direct command from the faithful. This
requires a few moments of peace alone with the victim.

Sublime Transformation (Ob 5)

The priest of the Old Ones may assume the form of an animal
representative of the physical qualities of his patron. In this form,
he retains his own thought and philosophy. Use the appropriate stat
block for the animal from the Creature Codex PDF.

Closer to God
As his Faith in the Dead Gods rises, the faithful grows closer to his
ancestors. Time seems to fold around him and he begins to exist in the old
temple as if it were new. Once his Faith in Dead Gods reaches exponent
10, the faithful joins his strange deities in the void in which they reside.

Dealing with Deities

If a situation ever arises in play in which a character must confront a
deity, use the following traits liberally for the divine beings. Minor deities
all have the Force of Nature trait. Deities have the Higher Power trait.
Chief deities have the I Am God trait.

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Force of Nature Dt 7 pts

This entity is tied into the very fabric of time and tide. His will is a force
of nature. If this entity should ever lose a Duel of Wits against a being of
equal or lesser stature, he receives a minor compromise in addition to the
compromise determined by the state of his opponent’s body of argument.

Higher Power Dt 9 pts

This deity governs over spheres of nature, society and humanity. He is
potent and revered. If this entity should ever lose a Duel of Wits against a
being of equal or lesser stature, he receives a compromise in addition to the
compromise determined by the state of his opponent’s body of argument.

I Am God Dt 12 pts
Chief Deities rule over gods, men and all the creatures of their many spheres.
Powerful beyond understanding, they are not to be trifled with. If this entity
should ever lose a Duel of Wits against a being of equal or lesser stature, he
receives a major compromise in addition to the compromise determined by
the state of his opponent’s body of argument.

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 Art Magic
Art Magic is a variant of the standard Sorcery mechanics presented
in the Burning Wheel. This system does not use a set spell list.
Instead, the sorcerer gathers his art, skill and inspiration together
and calls upon the eldritch powers to obey his will and aid him as
he requires.

This art can’t recreate all of the effects of standard Sorcery. We

have omitted certain big effects, and it’s not nearly as destructive
as Sorcery. However, it is more versatile.

This system is challenging to use. The sorcerer player must think

of the outcome of his spell before he can cast. He must envision the
result, not only in terms of eldritch and arcana, but in the form of
a game-mechanical effect. This takes some practice, but once the
player masters it, he may never want to leave the warm embrace
of Art Magic.

Sorcerers Use Sorcery

To build a spell using Art Magic, the sorcerer player must first
choose the effect, breadth and duration for the spell. Once those
facets are chosen, determine if his school of magic applies. Next, the
player must either name the spell or speak a bit of the incantation.
These steps determine the obstacle for the spell and any advantage
dice available. Test Sorcery plus the advantage dice against the
obstacle. If the test is successful, then the spell has its intended
effect. If failed, the GM may choose the consequences.

Sorcery, not Sorcery

Art Magic is accessed through the standard Sorcery skill. When
using Art Magic, the rules for standard Sorcery are replaced with
these rules. Do not use any of the rules in the standard Sorcery
chapter unless otherwise instructed to do so in this chapter.

We strongly recommend against having Art Magic and Sorcery in

your game at the same time.

Gifted
Characters must be Gifted to use Art Magic.

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Effects
What does the sorcerer want his spell to do? There are a host of effects
to choose from in Art Magic: Hinder, Advantage, Arcane Knowledge,
Sorcerous Weapon, Destroy with Sorcerous Fire, Evoke, Arcane Action,
Illusion, Trait and Transform. Multiple effects can be combined in a
single spell.

Hinder
The magician may hinder one or more of the target’s abilities. When
using this effect, the player must name which specific ability (or
abilities, depending on the breadth of the spell) he is targeting.

Hindrance can manifest as commanding branches to entangle,

conjuring illusions to blind, or casting diseases or afflictions on your
target.

Hinder Effect Casting Obstacle

+1 Ob Ob 2
+2 Ob Ob 3
+3 Ob Ob 5

Advantage
The sorcerer may use his art to grant himself and his allies aid. Using
this effect, he may add advantage dice to stats, skills, Steel, Resources,
Circles or stride (stride is increased by 1 per advantage die added).
Multiple abilities may be targeted using the breadth modifier.

Advantage can manifest as a favorable wind in the sails, a burst of

strength, a flash of insight, a quickening of the pulse or the blessing of
spirits and gods.

Advantage Effect Casting Obstacle

+1D Ob 2
+2D Ob 3
+3D Ob 4

Recursive Curse
A Sorcerer may not directly or indirectly give advantage dice to
Sorcery, Enchanting, Summoning, Spirit Binding, Death Art or any
other similar spell casting art.

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Arcane Knowledge

Art Magic
The sorcerer may plumb the wells of magic in his search for knowledge.
To use the Arcane Knowledge effect, test Sorcery. In this case, Sorcery
counts as a proxy for any academic skill in the skill list. The obstacle
for the effect is the same as the skill test obstacle for the academic skill,
plus breadth and duration.

Sorcerous Weapon
The sorcerer may summon forth an eldritch weapon to wield against his
enemies! He may call forth the sorcerous equivalent of a sword, spear,
axe or mace. This may be wielded in Fight like a normal weapon—it
requires use of a weapon skill or Beginner’s Luck. Rather than using
Power as a base for the weapon damage, use the sorcerer’s Will exponent.
Add the weapon power from the appropriate conjured weapon. Also, use
the weapon’s length, speed, Add and VA categories for the appropriate
weapon type.

Burning Spear of Arcane Fury

With an Ob 1 Sorcery test, the wizard may conjure to his hand an
eldritch (but run of the mill) spear, sword or mace ringed in arcane
fire. The player must choose which weapon he desires before the spell
is cast. To make the weapon superior quality, increase the obstacle by
+2 Ob. The weapon may also be conjured as a spirit weapon. To do
so, increase the casting obstacle by +2 Ob.

Death’s Axe
This spell effect summons forth a shimmering silver black axe. The
obstacle is 4. Use the stats for the Sweet Axe. The weapon may also be
conjured as a spirit weapon at +2 Ob.

Destroy with Sorcerous Fire!

The sorcerer chants violent and profane syllables as white fire jets from
his fingertips! Base Ob 4. Must be combined with the One Test Duration
if being used to harm characters. Otherwise, any other duration
is applicable to set up walls of magic fire. May not be used on Self.
Damage as follows: Sorcerer’s Will as base Power, VA 2, Die of Fate as
a bow. Successes may be used to increase damage (+1 Power per extra
success), increase the VA (two successes for +1 VA) or modify the Die
of Fate (one success for +1 DoF). Weapon Length: Longest. Range: as
hunting bow.

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Illusion
A sorcerer may use his magic to create illusions to confuse or deceive.
Make a versus test between Sorcery and the victim’s Perception (with
the attendant double obstacle penalty). Be sure to add obstacle penalties
to the Sorcery test for breadth and duration. If the sorcerer wins the
versus test, his victim believes the illusion to be true.

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This spell cannot be used to harm its victims or create perfect

Art Magic
simulacra. It may only be used to frighten, confuse, deceive, bamboozle
or otherwise fool them into thinking something is real when it is not.
Illusion costs three actions in Fight.

Evoke
Using the Evoke effect, the sorcerer can force a versus test between his
Sorcery skill and a target’s physical stat, martial or physical skill or
the Health attribute. When using this effect, the sorcerer must declare
his intent to shove, grab, immobilize, knock down or similar. He may
not use this effect to directly injure the target. Any other effects of this
spell come from the results of the physical reaction of the target—if he
is pushed into a freezing pond, for example.

A wizard could use the Evoke effect to keep a team of Orcs from pulling up
a tree: Sorcery versus Tree Pulling. He could stop an enemy sorcerer from
being able to draw enough breath to cast a spell himself: Sorcery versus
Health. Or he could knock a bird off its perch: Sorcery versus Speed.
To cast the spell, make a versus test between Sorcery and the target. Be
sure to add the obstacle modifiers for breadth and duration.

Evoke spells cost two actions to perform in Fight.

Arcane Action
Using the Arcane Action effect, the sorcerer may overcome the material
world around him with his arcane power. Sorcery may be used to pass
any simple physical test­—pushing, leaping, grabbing, thrusting. The
obstacle for this effect is 1 plus the obstacle of the test at hand. Success
indicates that the wizard has passed the test as if he had been testing
the appropriate ability. Failure on the skill test also counts as a failed
spell!

Using this, the sorcerer may strike an unsuspecting opponent with a

sword or climb a wall.
Trait
Using this spell effect, the sorcerer may grant the target access to a trait
from the general Trait List in the Burning Wheel or the Monstrous Trait
List from this book. Ob 1 plus the trait point cost for a beneficial effect.
Ob 2 plus trait cost for a curse or detrimental effect. Unpriced lifepath
traits in the individual character stock chapters are Ob 4. Common
traits from the eight existing character stocks are Ob 5. Call-ons may

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not be so granted. Neither can you grant Gifted, Faithful, Loathsome

and Twisted, Essence of the Earth or any similar defining common
trait.

Transform
A wizard may transform himself into an animal. Obstacles are as
follows: Mundane, harmless creature (like a bird or a fish), Ob 3.
Mundane, effective or threatening creature (like a wolf or a bear), Ob 4.
The wizard is completely transformed into that creature. He may not
cast other spells while so changed.

To transform another it’s Ob 1 plus the victim’s Forte, plus a +1 Ob

penalty per difference in stature from the original form to the new one.

Changing a Dragon (Gigantic Stature) to a bird (Small Stature) is a

base obstacle 13 (1 plus G10 Forte plus 2, assuming our wizard has black
shade Sorcery) plus four for the difference in stature: Ob 17, plus breadth
and duration. Good luck!

Breadth
Breadth describes how much the spell affects. Does it affect the caster,
or the whole town? Choose the breadth of your spell from the list below.

Breadth of Target Obstacle Modifier

Self (One Ability) —
Single Target, One Person (One Ability) +1 Ob
Group, Handful, Two Abilities +3 Ob
Crowd, Copse, Cluster, Three Abilities +4 Ob
Village, Pond, Four Abilities +6 Ob
Town, Countryside, Castle, Five Abilities +7 Ob
City, Forest, Six Abilities + 8 Ob
Mountain, Plain, All Abilities +9 Ob
Sky, Ocean +10 Ob

The parenthetical “(One Ability)” listed with Self and One Person
indicates you can affect one ability on yourself for no penalty or one
ability on another character for +1 Ob. If you’re affecting an object, use
the Single Target breadth.

Breadth is cumulative. If you wanted to affect the Faith and Will of an

entire city, it would be Two Abilities +3 Ob of a City +8 Ob = 11 Ob.

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Duration of Spell

Art Magic
There are five possible durations for an Art Magic spell: one test,
conflict, session, adventure and campaign. Choose the duration for your
intended effect from the list below.

Duration Obstacle Modifier

One Test (according to Let It Ride) —
Conflict (Range and Cover, Fight or Duel of Wits) +1 Ob
Session +2 Ob
Adventure +3 Ob
Campaign +4 Ob

A one test duration indicates the effect lasts for a single roll or a series
of rolls as per the Let It Ride rule—anything short of a conflict like
Fight, Range and Cover or Duel of Wits. One goal, no change of venue,
no introduction of new problems.

A conflict duration indicates the effect lasts for one Fight, Range and
Cover, Duel of Wits, Pursuit or Chase. This is a nice hefty duration,
because those mechanics indicate that the character is doing something
important.

A session duration is the simplest to measure. The effect lasts until the
end of the session. That’s it.

The adventure duration remains in effect until the group has completed
some agreed-upon future goal—slay the dragon, rescue the princess,
break into the bank.

Campaign durations usually last until the group has accomplished a

great goal and then drifts off into retirement. It’s not much of a limit at
all. Typically the game’s over at the end of the campaign. But campaign
duration does have a cool flavor, especially if you end up coming back to
the game later and pulling those characters out of retirement.

Lasting Effects
The effect may last beyond the duration of the spell if the spell changed
the environment in some way. For example, you may conjure a scourging
fire to burn a forest. After one scene, the fire is gone, but the forest
remains burnt.

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Casting Time
The casting time for a spell is a number of actions equal to its obstacle.
Spells that cause versus tests have their own rules: Evoke costs two
actions to cast, Illusion costs three.

In Fight, use the Cast Spell action. In Range and Cover, A sorcerer
may cast up to 20 actions of one spell during one volley instead of
performing one of the standard actions. Dangerous!

Casting Under Pressure

A sorcerer must complete a spell uninterrupted and unimpeded.
Therefore, a sorcerer may not be locked, injured, knocked off his feet
or fail a Steel test while casting. If interrupted, the spell automatically
fails at the full margin of failure (and note that tax at this level can
possibly kill the sorcerer, so these are serious consequences).

A sorcerer may cast a spell while otherwise on the move, in a fight or

argument.

Schools of Magic
Using Art Magic, sorcerers are trained at various schools and taught to
favor one form of magic over another. To form your school, select three
effects of the ten offered. For example, evocation, illusion and arcane
knowledge. These are the areas in which you specialize.

Name your school. Call it something esoteric and wizardly.

Take the seven remaining effects and order them from 1 to 7—from
most desired to least desired. These are the magical arts outside of
your ability. You may cast spells outside of your school, but the order
indicates the obstacle penalty added on top of the spell’s obstacle—from
+1 to +7 Ob.

Joining Schools of Magic in Play

To join a school of magic during the course of a game, a player must find
a member of the school who is willing to instruct him on its theories and
methods. To learn from this teacher, the student must forge a mystical
connection with him: The student must pass a Will test with an obstacle
equal to 10 minus the teacher’s Will. If this test is passed, the sorcerer
player learns one effect from his mentor’s school and now may cast

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it without obstacle penalty. Do not reorder or reshuffle the remaining

Art Magic
unlearned effects. You can only know a number of effects equal to or
less than your current Sorcery skill exponent.

If you fail this test, you cannot learn this art magic effect. Ever.

Founding a New School of Magic

A sorcerer may found his own school of magic. This requires a year of
time and an Ob 5 Research test. Symbology, Astrology and Obscure
History are acceptable FoRKs.

If you pass the test, after the time allotted, the sorcerer founds a new
school of magic and may remove the obstacle penalty from one effect
outside of his current school.

If you fail the test, the sorcerer has founded a corrupted or distorted
version of the school. All spells in that school are cast at an obstacle
penalty equal to the margin of failure of the Research test.

For example, if you’re trying to found the School of Brilliant Oratorical

Techniques and you fail your Research test by two, all advantage effects
cast in that school suffer a +2 Ob on top of the penalty for their being
outside of your starting school.
Once a school is founded, all appropriate spells must be cast through
that school, even if they come at a penalty.

Learning Art Magic in Play

If your character learns art magic during the course of the campaign,
he starts in the school of his mentor (or from the tradition of the text,
if taught from a book). Your three starting effects are the same as your
mentor.

Incantation
If the sorcerer player names his spell with an appropriately florid name
or offers a bit of chant or verse for the spell, then he gains +1D to cast
the spell.

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Consequences
Art Magic has five possible prices that can be paid for each spell. If
the sorcerer fails to properly cast an Art Magic spell, he suffers one of
the following consequences: Tax, Hindrance, Enmity, Infamy or an
Unintended Effect.

The GM applies the consequences of the Sorcery based on the margin

of failure and his judgement of the situation.

Tax
If the spell is failed, the GM may call for a tax test (as per the standard
rules). The sorcerer must pass a Forte test with an obstacle equal to
the obstacle of the spell. Margin of failure temporarily reduces Forte.
If Forte is reduced to zero, the character is incapacitated. If Forte is
reduced below zero, the character suffers a wound equal to the obstacle
multiplied by each die below zero. Sorcerers recover taxed Forte the
rules described in the Sorcery chapter of the Burning Wheel.

Hindrance
The GM may apply an obstacle penalty equal to the margin of failure.
The hindrance has the same duration and breadth as the intended spell.

Enmity and Infamy

A spell gone awry causes friends to become enemies! When using this
failure condition, the GM must describe how the casting goes wrong.
The spell has an effect, but it’s not exactly what was planned.

The GM may change a relationship or named Circle on the sorcerer

character’s sheet from favorable to hateful or rivalrous. This invokes the
Enmity Clause conditions for Duel of Wits! If no relationship is present,
the GM may assign one. Failure by one success indicates a minor
relationship. Failure by two or three successes indicates an important
relationship. Failure by four or more indicates a powerful relationship.

Alternately, the sorcerer can gain an infamous reputation among people,

spirits or animals. If the spell is failed by one to three successes, the GM
may assign the character an infamous reputation of a value equal to
or less than the margin of failure in an appropriate sphere of the GM’s
choice (people, spirits or animals). The GM can also compound any
existing infamous reputations or even turn a positive reputation to one
of infamy due to the failed spell.

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Even the birds have heard about what a bastard you are.

Art Magic
Unintended Effect
The GM twist the intent of the spell so that it has an unintended (and
unhappy) effect. The unintended effect could be that the original effect
is not what was planned for, or the original spell doesn’t activate at all.
Instead birds fly from your mouth, or devils peel themselves from the
walls or the house catches fire, etc. The only limit here is how evil your
GM feels in the moment.

Weaving Magic into the

Fiber of My Being
Using this mechanic, a Sorcerer may eventually weave the fabric of
spells and incantations into his very being. If he casts a spell successfully
a number of times equal to 10 minus his Will, he has “woven” the spell.
Thereafter, the player gains an additional +1D when casting the spell.
This is in addition to other advantages like +1D for the Incantation
rule. Any obstacle penalties for using a particular effect remain.

This rule is optional for Art Magic. It’s beneficial to the sorcerer player,
but it requires that he do a substantial amount of bookkeeping—he
must track the spells he’s cast and the number of times he’s cast them.
If the player doesn’t want to do that, don’t use this rule!

Versus Sorcery
The GM can call for Art Magic tests to be resolved using simple versus
tests. The sorcerer player states the spell he’s casting and declares his
intent, then he makes the versus test. If he succeeds, he may describe
how his magics have overcome his opponents.

This process mirrors the one described on page 425 of the Burning Wheel.

Bloody Sorcery
Sorcery can also be substituted for a martial skill in the Bloody Versus
test described on pages 426-427 of the Burning Wheel. Sorcerer counts
as using a longer length weapon and a shield.

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 Enchanting
Enchanting is the art of imparting an otherwise mundane object
with magical properties. The skill can be used in one of two ways—
to temporarily and quickly imbue an extant item with power, or to
create and enchant a new item.

Imbuing
Imbuing requires the Enchanting skill, an Enchanting tool kit and
another complementary skill.

Complementary Knowledge
When imbuing an item with power, the enchanter must use a
complementary store of knowledge (or power) in order to guide
his will. The complementary skill provides the spark of magic
that the enchanter then blows on like an ember so it blossoms into
fire. Complementary skills must be one of the following: Doctrine,
Sing (or any other art), Folklore, Ancient History, Obscure
History, Ancient Languages, Astrology, Demonology, Symbology
or Empyrealia. One or more of these skills must be forked into
the Enchanting roll. The item being enhanced or the power being
bestowed must relate to or draw from the complementary skill.
Enchanting isn’t enough. There must be art and knowledge as well.

Imbuing Process
The magician uses the Enchanting skill (plus forks and help) for
imbuing. Imbuing requires hours equal to the obstacle. The player
can reduce time by working quickly or increase it by working
carefully. The imbued power lasts for one test or series test. An
item may be imbued for multiple effects with multiple rolls, but
you must roll for each effect. Let It Ride doesn’t count in this case!

Failure indicates that the item cannot hold the power. The time is
wasted, but the materials remain.

You may not imbue an item to aid the Enchanting skill.

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Imbuing Effects

Enchanting
Choose one of the following effects to imbue into your target object:

• Grant +1D advantage, Ob 3.

• Open-ended test for one ability when using the item, Ob 4.
• Negate a +1 Ob disadvantage when using the item, Ob 3. Use Ob 4
to negate a +2 Ob disadvantage and Ob 5 for a +3 Ob penalty.

Ramne the wizard brews up some special tea for his adventurer friends.
When drunk, it negates the +1 Ob penalty for a Superficial wound.
Imbued Duration
In order to create the magical effect while imbuing, the magician must
create an object—a concoction, a painted sigil, a delicate scroll, etc. The
imbued magic remains until it’s used or the item is damaged, destroyed
or otherwise corrupted. Once lost, the magic is gone forever. The imbuing
process must began again.

Antecedents
True Enchanting requires a core or root substance that possesses a
similar nature to the power to be infused into the creation. This root
substance is called an antecedent. In game terms, an antecedent is a
trait extracted from a creature and repurposed for the enchantment.

Alchemy and Taxidermy

You do not use the Enchanting skill itself to extract antecedents.
Alchemy or Taxidermy is used instead. Taxidermy requires a carcass;
Alchemy requires significant sample portions of the creature. This is a
process of extraction and preservation. It is delicate and difficult. If you
do not follow the proper procedures (if the test is failed), the inherent
power of the substance is lost.

Identifying Traits
The obstacles to identify the traits of a creature or substance using the
Alchemy or Taxidermy skills are as follows: Character traits, Ob 1.
Call-ons, Ob 2. Die traits, Ob 3.

Aura Reading may be used to identify traits as well. See the Magical
Skills section for details on identifying traits using Aura Reading.

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Extracting Antecedents
The obstacle to extract a trait for an antecedent is equal to the point
cost of the trait. Unpriced lifepath traits are Ob 4 to extract.

Extracting Common Traits

Some creatures have certain traits as part of their body and soul. These
are described in the Common Traits listing for each character stock.
It is a flat Ob 3 Taxidermy or Alchemy test to extract a common trait.

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Specific Antecedent for Each Specific Need

Enchanting
An antecedent is extracted for a specific enchantment. It cannot be used
for more than one enchantment, nor can it be used for multiple purposes
within the same item. A player must declare their intent—the nature of
the enchantment—when extracting an antecedent.

An antecedent cannot be extracted for a Forte-enhancing enchantment

and then later be used for an enchantment for rounding the Mortal Wound.

Enchanting
When a sorcerer player wishes to create an item of power, he tests his
character’s skill plus bonus dice accrued from the following choices:
Vessel, Name, Antecedent, Effect, Internal Duration, External
Duration, Trigger, Frequency of Use, Target, Side Effects, Recharge and
Modularity. It’s a big list with many options. A variety of interesting
devices can be created!

Enchanting is separate from imbuing. You may not combine the two
in a single item.

Enchanting Requirements and Restrictions

Enchanting requires the Enchanting skill, a tool kit, an antecedent and
usually a vessel. There is no tax for Enchanting. Enchanting uses the
Carefully, Patiently, Quickly rules for skill tests, though.

Choose from the selections and questions to determine an obstacle and

an amount of advantage dice to be used to create the desired item.

Vessels and Name

If the enchantment is designed for a specialized item like a sword or a
shield, then that item must be created and infused with the antecedent
during the enchantment. The proper skills, materials and tools are
required to create this vessel. They can be part of the enchanter’s
repertoire or be accessed via help. If the item in question is just a mere
bauble or trinket, no additional craft or materials are required.

If you give the vessel a unique name, successfully creating the vessel to
be enchanted grants +1D to the Enchanting roll.

The Staff of Heartwood or Dvalin’s Bloody Gauntlets.

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Antecedent Trait
The enchanter must obtain a trait which represents the source for his
enchantment. The trait, separated from its source, is the antecedent.
Antecedents are meant to be figurative and metaphorical, not literal.
Use the following modifiers for Enchanting using certain antecedents:

• Character trait antecedent, +1 Ob.

• Call-on, no bonus or penalty.
• Die trait antecedent, +1D.

The blood of a character with the Evil trait could be used to make a
compass that detects evil in others. The hair from the head of a child
with the Aura of Innocence can be woven into a chain that renders the
speaker glib. The husk of a B’hemah’s Brass Skin can be used to forge
some very potent armor!
Basic Enchantment Effects
There are 11 different effects an enchanter can bestow upon an item:
make magic, advantage, obstacle, negate penalty, grant skill, grant stat,
trait transference, test tweaks, weapon enchantments, magic armor and
useful magical device. Multiple effects can be combined in a single
enchantment.

Make Magic Ob 1
An enchanter may invest his work with a dweomer or faerie fire. It
casts no light and has no mechanical advantage, but each dweomer is
unique to the enchanter who creates it, like a fingerprint. This is an
Ob 1 effect.

Advantage Ob 1 + advantage dice

An enchanter may have his item bestow +1-3D advantage dice
upon its user: to a stat, a skill, Health, Steel, Circles or Resources.
The ability benefitted must be noted at the time of enchanting. An
enchanter may not create items which give advantage directly or
indirectly to the Enchanting skill.

The obstacle is equal to 1 plus the advantage dice to be granted.

Disadvantage Ob 1 + disadvantage or Ob 4
This device can impose an obstacle penalty to a stat, a skill, Health,
Steel, Circles or Resources tests. The ability targeted must be
determined at the time of enchanting. Rather than a set obstacle
penalty, the item can impose a double obstacle penalty. This effect
is Ob 5.

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Negate Penalty Ob 1 + penalty value

Enchanting
An enchanter may negate obstacle penalties like dim light, Superficial
Wounds or Obfuscate. The obstacle is 1 plus the value of the penalty.

Grant Skill Ob = skill exponent

This effect allows the enchanted item to grant the bearer a skill he
might not otherwise have. The obstacle is equal to the skill exponent
to be granted. This skill must be possessed by the creature that was
the source of the antecedent. If the bearer of the item already has the
skill at a greater exponent, he gains no benefit from the enchantment.
If he has the skill at a lesser exponent, he can let the item test or test
himself. In this case, if the item tests, he may help it.

An enchanter may not create an item which grants the Enchanting skill.

Grant Stat Ob 1 + stat exponent

The magical object may grant a stat exponent. The obstacle for this
effect is 1 plus the exponent of the stat to be granted. The shade of
the stat matches the enchanter’s skill. The stat exponent must be
represented in the stat line from the creature that was the source of
the antecedent and must be set during the enchanting process. When
used, this effect replaces the wielder’s ability with that of the item.

Trait Transference Ob = trait point cost or see below

An enchanter may transfer the abilities or effects of a trait into an
item for magic like flight, underwater breathing, flaming eyes,
etc. The ability must be contained in the antecedent trait. The
enchanting obstacle is equal to the point value of the trait. Call-on
traits may not be transferred. If a dual-purposed trait is transferred,
only the non-call-on part works. If using an unpriced lifepath trait
from one of the existing character stocks, the obstacle is 4. If using
a common trait from one of the character stocks, the obstacle is 5.

The Greed, Grief, Spite, Loathsome and Twisted, Gifted, Faithful and
Chosen One traits may not be transferred.

Test Tweaks Ob 2
The enchanter can imbue the item with a bit of fighting spirit stolen
from the source creature for the antecedent. Thus you can create doors
that resist being opened, pictures that seduce onlookers or gloves that
grab things they shouldn’t. When activated, the item causes a versus
test between itself and its target. The ability that the item uses comes
from the source creature. During the enchanting process, choose a
stat, skill, Health or Steel attribute that the item will challenge. This
is an Ob 2 Enchanting effect.

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Steel tweaks: Steel is not generally used in versus tests. If the enchanter
wants to build a Steel tweak, he can use this effect obstacle, but
no versus test is made. The item simply causes its target to make a
standard Steel test.

Weapon Enhancements See below for obstacles

The effectiveness of a weapon can be increased through Enchanting.
There are six ways to modify a weapon: increase its VA, increase its
weapon power, modify its weapon speed, reduce its add, modify its
weapon length and turn it into a spirit weapon. This effect requires a
vessel that is a weapon.
• Increase VA: Ob 1 plus value of the new VA.
• Increase weapon power: Ob 1 plus value of the new Power.
•M
 odify weapon speed: WS 1 to 2, Ob 2. WS 2 to 3, Ob 3. WS 3 to 2,
Ob 2. WS 2 to 1, Ob 3.
• Reduce add: Ob 4.
•M
 odify weapon length: Magically reduce one weapon length, Ob 1.
Magically increase one weapon length, Ob 2.
• S pirit Weapon: Make the weapon a spirit weapon so it can harm those
of Spirit Nature, Ob 3.
Magical Armor Protection See below for obstacles
An enchanter may create an item that confers protection like armor in
combat—a ring, a coronet or a bracer. There are four body locations
in Burning Wheel: head, arms, torso and legs. Use the following
obstacles for type and location:

• Leather, +1 Ob per location • Plated Chain, +4 Ob per loc

• Plated Leather, +2 Ob per loc • Full Plate, +5 Ob per location
• Chain, +3 Ob per location

The quality of the magical armor protection is run of the mill and may
be damaged when 1s are rolled. The enchanter may create the armor
as Superior Quality for a cost of +2 Ob.

If armor failure destroys the piece of magical protection, that item

loses any and all enchantments. The piece may be repaired using
Enchanting or craftsman skills appropriate to the vessel. Obstacles
are 1 plus the standard armor repair obstacles.

If you possess a coronet that provides helmet protection for the head and
it is damaged, the Jeweler skill may be used to repair it.

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Useful Magical Devices See below for obstacles

Enchanting
Tools, Ob 2: Despite its unlikely appearance, this item may be used as
tools for a specific skill.

Spell Matrix, obstacle equal to stored spell: Use the item to store a spell
that can then be released when the wielder chooses. Once the magic
is released, it’s as if the spell has been cast at that moment. Use the
spell’s own effect, breadth, duration and area of effect. If appropriate,
the owner of the spell matrix may direct the spell.

The obstacle to create a spell matrix is equal to the spell to be stored.

The spell must then be cast into the item. It can be done at any time,
not just during the enchanting process. Casting the spell into the item
determines the results of the spell when it is finally released—margin
of success, etc. Tax or other consequences are dealt with by the caster
when the spell is initially cast, not when it is released. To release a
spell from a spell matrix, the user must abide by the trigger. See the
Trigger heading in this chapter.

Sustained spells may not be placed into a spell matrix unless the item
is also a sustainer.

Sustainer, Ob 4: This item sustains one Sorcery spell. You choose its
purpose when the sustainer is created or first activated. Thereafter it
may only ever sustain that particular spell.

Once cast, the spell is sustained so long as the sustainer remains in

contact with the sorcerer’s skin. The sorcerer does not have to allocate a
Will die to the spell, but the sustainer does not protect against tax. The
sorcerer must retest tax as per the Power Still Flows Through Him rule.

To use a sustainer the mage simply casts a “Duration: Sustained” spell

and then states, “I am putting Mage Light in my staff [or pendant,
or ring, or whatever].” The spell is then considered maintained by the
sustainer. The mage does not have to allocate a Will die to hold the spell.
Multiplier: This item may be used to increase a specific spell’s area of
effect, breadth or target of a spell on the following scale: Increase one
level, +2 Ob. Increase two levels, +3 Ob. Increase three levels, +4 Ob.
Increase four levels, +5 Ob. Increase five levels, +6 Ob. For standard
Sorcery area of effects, use this list to determine the order: Caster,
Single Target, Half Presence, Paces, Presence, Double Presence, Tens
of Paces, Hundreds of Paces, Miles, Natural Effect, Tens of Miles. For
Art Magic, use the breadth scale. This effect may not be used with
other skills.

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Target
Whom does the effect affect?

Target of Enchantment Obstacle Modifier

The Item Itself +1D
Wielder of Item, One Ability —
Single Target, One Ability +1 Ob
Group, Handful, Two Abilities +3 Ob
Crowd, Copse, Cluster, Three Abilities +4 Ob
Village, Pond, Four Abilities +6 Ob
Town, Countryside, Castle, Five Abilities +7 Ob
City, Forest, Six Abilities +8 Ob
Mountain, Plain, All Abilities +9 Ob
Sky, Ocean +10 Ob

The target groups are meant to be exclusive. You can affect a crowd of
people or three abilities. If you want to bestow three abilities to a crowd
of people, that’s two separate targets that must be paid for individually:
+4 Ob and +4 Ob.

Internal Duration—Enchantment Duration

How long does the item hold the enchantment? Does the enchantment
fade over time? Does it have to be used within a certain time frame?

Enchantment Duration Ob/Dice Modifier

Lasts until used and is then expended —
Only lasts until the end of the session +1D
Specific physical condition +2D
Lasts until failed test +1 Ob
Multiple uses +1 Ob
Lasts until the end of the adventure +2 Ob
Lasts until the end of the campaign +3 Ob
Permanent +4 Ob

Most of the Internal Durations are self-explanatory. The tricky ones are
described below.

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Specific Physical Condition

Enchanting
The item’s power fails if a specific physical condition is met (or is
unmet). Physical conditions are varied—the item can’t be wet, the
item can never touch the ground, the item must always be held,
the owner may never refuse a handshake. This is the most dynamic
duration category; it’s a lot of fun. These conditions can heavily
influence the behavior of the character. The enchanter can develop
his own physical condition for his item. It must not be obscure, but
neither should it be very common.

Failed Test
This item holds its enchantment until a specific test is failed. The
enchanter may determine the nature of the test—what stat, skill or
attribute is in question. The test or type of test must relate to the use
of the item or to the antecedent. If an ability test of that type is failed
while the character possesses the artifact, its power fades. It may not
be used again unless it is recharged.

Multiple Uses
Items with the Multiple Uses internal duration hold their enchantment
for a variable number of uses. Some may never run out, some expire
after only a few uses. Each time the item is used after the first, roll a
Die of Fate. If the die comes up a 1, the item’s powers have expired. It
cannot be used again unless it is recharged.

External Duration—Effect Duration

If the item’s effect has an external duration, how long does that last? If
your enchantment only affects the item itself—like a weapon or a piece
of armor—do not use this category.

In other words, how long are you frozen if I hit you with my freezie wand?
Duration of Effect Obstacle Modifier
No External Duration —
One test/instantaneous +1D
One conflict or series test —
Session +1 Ob
Adventure (multiple sessions) +2 Ob
Campaign +3 Ob
Forever +4 Ob

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Trigger
What activates or triggers the enchantment? How is the magic evoked
from the item? Potions benefit from the somatic component bonus—one
must drink them. A magic wand that emits bolts of fire at the caster’s
mental command requires the Mind Meld penalty. Magic swords merely
need to be held, so they don’t have a trigger.

Enchantment Trigger Ob/Dice Modifier

No trigger —
Mind meld/thought control +2 Ob
Verbal, somatic or conditional trigger +1D
Must be touching bearer +1 Ob
Ritual +2D

No Trigger
Use this entry for items that don’t require triggers, like certain magic
swords, magic helmets, sustainers or multipliers. Do not get cheeky
with this and create wands of ever-burning-gouts-of-fire.

Mind Meld or Thought Control

This trigger allows the bearer to merely think his commands and the
item will obey. This requires two tandem actions in Fight or Range
and Cover to trigger. It’s nearly instantaneous!

Verbal, Somatic or Conditional Trigger

The item requires that a command be spoken or gesture performed
before it can be used. The creator may determine which is more
appropriate. If used in Fight, this trigger requires actions equal to half
the Enchanting obstacle. These count as spell casting actions.

Alternately, this trigger can be used for a condition like “when it

rains” or “when someone opens the door.”

Must Be Touching Bearer

In order for the magic to be active in this item, it must be held in the
proper fashion so that it touches the bearer’s flesh—either held in the
hand, worn as a ring or hung on a pendant around the neck.

Ritual
The ritual requires that the user perform some lengthy task before the
item can be used. The task takes at least its own scene to perform—it
cannot be performed in a conflict. The task also requires a successful
test of its own using Doctrine, Ritual, Etiquette or something similar.
The obstacle for the ritual is 2. If the test is failed, the item may not be

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used for its intended effect. The creator of the item may describe the

Enchanting
format of the ritual and the skill needed to activate the item.

Recharge
Most enchanted items lose their power after a period of time or number
of uses. The internal duration determines how much power the item
has in it. Once that power is used up—once the duration expires—the
item is rendered inert.

The enchanter may build a charm into his creation so that, once the
internal duration expires, he may recharge it. Adding the recharge
option to an item increases the Enchanting obstacle by +1 Ob.

The creator must detail how the item is recharged. This process must
require a test of an appropriate ability, a quest for some rare item or a
change of ownership.

Modularity
Would you like to design the item so it can be further enchanted and
enhanced in the future? If yes, increase the Enchanting obstacle by +1 Ob.

If you choose the modularity option, further enchantments can be added

to the item without having to create a new vessel. However, additional
antecedents are required for further enchantments. If modularity is not
chosen, the item or vessel is closed off to further enhancements.

Heroic and Supernatural Gear

Creating heroic (gray shade) and supernatural (white shade)
enchantments requires heroic and supernatural skill (even if acquired
by temporary means) and a heroic or supernatural antecedent.

A device created with a heroic or supernatural skill and antecedent

takes on the shade of its creator.

A sword created with a temporary epiphany to gray shade and dragon’s

blood or giant’s sinew is a gray weapon. Or, you could make an item
using a gray Enchanting skill and dæmon’s hair, which would grant a
G5 Disguise skill.
This grants the skill, stat and tweak abilities as the shade of the skill
of the enchanter. Alternately, creating a weapon under these conditions
brings forth a heroic or supernatural device, respective to the shade of
the enchanter’s skill.

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Enchanted Failures:

Enchanting
Sacrifice, Curses and Perversion
If the Enchanting roll is failed, the GM may choose one of the following
results—Sacrifice, Curse or Perversion—appropriate to the item’s
nature and the margin of failure for the test.

In the case of Sacrifice and Curse, the enchantment counts as having

succeeded and the magic has its intended effect in addition to the effects
of failure. For Perversion, the GM may decide on a new, twisted effect
for the item. It does not count as having succeeded in the intent.

If none of these options tickle the GM’s fancy, he may opt to simply have
the Enchanting test fail with no further consequences. Consequences
can be such fun though.

Sacrifice
These corrupted items require a sacrifice in order to be used. In this
case, the sacrifice counts as an additional trigger for the item. This
sacrifice can come in a variety of forms: blood, wealth or harvest.

Blood
In order to squeeze an effect from the item, the user must either use
it to spill blood or spill blood onto the item itself. Note the margin of
failure from the Enchanting test:
Blood must be spilled Margin of Failure

The user must inflict or sustain a superficial wound with the item 1
The user must inflict or sustain a light wound 2
The user must inflict or sustain a midi wound 3
The user must inflict or sustain a severe wound 4
The user must inflict or sustain a traumatic wound 5
Must inflict or sustain a mortal wound 6

You must inflict this injury on an intelligent being capable of feeling

pain and suffering. The wielder may not tend to or shrug off the injury
while the item is in use.

Wealth
If the item requires wealth as a sacrifice, the user must offer the item
or the appropriate gods a certain amount of gold and gems. Note
the margin of failure for the Enchanting test. This is the obstacle for
Resources tests to sacrifice wealth to the item (or its patron gods).

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Harvest
The enchantment may require an offering of harvest. The margin
of failure from the Enchanting test is the obstacle for a Farming or
Animal Husbandry test required to activate the item. This represents
the necessity to harvest the grain and raise the livestock.

Harvest can be used with a margin of failure of five or less. Blood can
be used with a margin of failure of up to six. Wealth can be used with
any margin of failure.

Curses
The item can be cursed so that it becomes so desirable that it destroys
the relationships of those who use it. It is coveted by its owner, who
believes it to be mighty and powerful and anyone else who holds it.

To give up the cursed object, the character must pass a Will test with an
obstacle equal to the Enchanting obstacle. If another character offers
to purchase or trade for the item and is rebuffed by the owner, they
become cursed and gain the benefit of the Enmity Clause when dealing
with the bearer of the cursed item. Cursed items always cause a Greed
test in Dwarves.

Perversion
A perversion twists the nature of the item. A perverted enchantment’s
effect changes to the opposite of the intention of the enchanter. If the
item was meant to heal, it harms. If it was meant to protect, it makes
vulnerable. If it was meant to aid, it hinders.

Corrupted and Marked Items

These sacrifices, curses and perversions count as marked items as
described under the Gift of Corruption heading in the Corruption chapter.

Enchanting Time
Time to enchant an item is the obstacle in the indicated increment (3
hours, 4 days, etc.). You may reduce the time by working quickly.

Enchanting Obstacles Time Increment

Obstacles 1-3 Hours
Obstacles 4-5 Days
Obstacles 6-9 Weeks
Obstacles 10+ Months

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Failed Enchanting Times

Enchanting
Failure by a margin of one to four successes requires the complete time
to manufacture. Failure by five or more requires a just day or so of
mucking about before you make a complete mess of things.

If an Enchanting test is failed and the GM uses the Sacrifice, Curse or

Perversion mechanics, the test takes the full required time.

GM-Created Items
GMs may create items for their campaigns at will. Use the steps described
in this chapter, but no Enchanting skill test is necessary. Be creative, but
also be conservative. Magical artifacts are very potent in Burning Wheel.

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 Spirit Binding
Spirit Binding is the art of calling forth the spirits that dwell in the
earth, sky, rivers, stones, rain, roads and even the homes of Men,
Elves, Dwarves and Orcs.

Spirit Binding requires daring on the part of the character, a bit of

imagination on the part of the player and a bit of luck on the dice.
As you’ll see, this form of magic differs substantially from Sorcery
in game play. It is subtle and potent, and it comes with a price.

Spirit Binding has no set spells or list of spirits that the summoner
can call. Instead, the summoner has a range of locations—
determined by his lifepaths—in which he can bind spirits. The
skill is as follows:

Spirit Binding Will

Spirits abound. They infuse the world around us, and those who know
their secrets call them forth and bind them into service. Using this
skill, a summoner binds a spirit and sets it to a task.
To summon and bind, the player totals his dice from Spirit Binding, a
domain binding, a spirit mark, summoning circles and any offerings.
He tests those dice against an obstacle that combines the spirit’s
Strength, the task, the summoner’s own Immanence, the immediate
need for the spirit and the scope of the domain affected. If successful,
the summoner can name his task and reduce the amount of retribution
the spirit will visit upon him. If failed, the summoner has angered the
spirit and will suffer the consequences in either retribution or enmity.
Obstacles: See the Spirit Binding Obstacles and Spirit Services in this
chapter.
FoRKs: Astrology. Linked tests are appropriate.
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: No.

Spirit Binding Process

When a player wishes to call on the spirit world for aid, he
undertakes a series of short steps. Determine if the summoner is
in one of his domains (see Domain Bindings). Total the dice from
Spirit Binding, the appropriate domain binding, spirit marks,
summoning circles (see Circination) and offerings (see Offerings).
Determine the task the spirit is to perform, then determine the

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necessary Strength of the spirit to be summoned. Consult the obstacles

Spirit Binding
for Immanence, Need, Medium and Domain. Total the Strength and
obstacle modifiers.

All of the dice rolled for a Spirit Binding test are open-ended.

Retribution, Not Tax

After the dice are cast for a Spirit Binding, whether the result is success
or a failure, see the Retribution section. There is no tax for this magic,
but there are consequences.

Spirit Binding Terminology

Nameless Spirits
Nameless spirits are entities born from the original elements of
creation—the first river, the first sea, the first wind, the first mountain,
the first road, the first fire—and have been broken down and spread
across the earth through the millennia. They bear no resemblance to
life as we know it. They are wild, willful, capricious and unpredictable
forces of nature, tied directly to their domains. One who knows their
ways can master the very environs.

These entities are not intelligent by human measure; they are not
sympathetic and have no desire to befriend living creatures. They are
nature. In order to command them—to tap their primordial power—
one must use sturdy and clever magics. One must reach into their
domains and bind the spirits to one’s will!

Spirit Strength
A spirit’s Strength determines both how old it is and how potent it
will be when it manifests through its medium. Spirit Strength ranges
from exponent 1 to 10. Whenever the spirit is tasked to accomplish
something, use its Strength dice for the test. Spirit Strength dice are
always open-ended.

Domain and Medium

A domain is a conceptual geographic location where a spirit exists. A
domain can be: house, field, river, hill, mountain, storm, lake, sea. It
is a broad concept—these are not specific houses or seas, but all houses
and all seas.

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A spirit’s medium is the element or object by which it manifests in

its domain. A medium is a specific thing: a rock, a branch, a door, a
gravestone, a cold current, a wind in the shutters.

Spirit Binding Obstacle

To determine the Spirit Binding obstacle, add the Spirit’s Strength to
the obstacle modifiers in Immanence, Medium, Domain and Need.

Strength
The base obstacle to bind a spirit is its Strength exponent. The spirit
binder player determines the Strength of the spirit that he is attempting
to bind and thus sets his base obstacle for the test.

There are a number of considerations to take into account when

determining the Strength of a spirit to summon. Certain spirit Strengths
are necessary for certain tasks. The following list describes some of the
possible tasks for spirits and the recommended Strength for that task. A
more in-depth list for spirit tasks is described in the Spirit Tasks section.

Reveal Information
Reveal information about the medium or domain: Strength 3.

Service: Hinder
Strength 2 spirits hinder their targets with a +1 Ob penalty. Strength 4
spirits impose a +2 Ob. Strength 6 spirits impose +3 Ob. Strength 8
spirits impose +4 Ob. Strength 10 spirits impose +5 Ob.

Service: Help
Strength 1 spirits grant 1D of help. Strength 5 spirits grant 2D of
help. Strength 9 spirits grant 3D of help. A spirit may not help you
with a Spirit Binding test.

Service: Harm
Here are a few examples of using a spirit to harm: A Strength 4 spirit
of lightning does IMS: B4, B7, B10 (VA: 8). A Strength 4 spirit of fire
does IMS: B3, B6, B9 (VA: 5). A Strength 4 spirit of earth, wood or
stone does IMS: B3, B5, B7 (VA: 1).

Immanence
Immanence describes how close to the spirit world the character is.
Consult the following list of traits and apply the appropriate modifier.

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Immanent, +1D

Spirit Binding
Characters with the following traits contain within them a portion of
the spirit world: Spirit Nature, Immortal, Essence of the Earth, Cold
Black Blood, Stink of the Ancient.

Pre-Immanent, No Modifier
Pre-Immanence indicates the character contains a sliver of the spirit
world in him. He stands firmly between two worlds, the mundane
and the divine. Pre-Immanent characters are marked by one of the
following traits: Odor of Spirits, Ancestral Taint, Stone’s Age, Shaped
from Earth and Stone, Second Sight, Touch of Ages, Mark of the
Beast, Haunted, Tainted Legacy or Fey Blood.

Mundane and Mortal, +2 Ob

Creatures and characters without any of the above traits suffer a
+2 Ob when attempting to use the Spirit Binding skill. Note, though,
that they are not restricted from using the skill. There is no required
trait like Gifted for Sorcery.

Medium and Domain

The spirit binder player determines how he wants the spirit to manifest:
in a specific medium, as a portion of the domain or as the whole domain.

Specific Medium, No Modifier

Examples include: a grave, a single room, a tree, a large stone in a
field, the ruts on a road, a wave at sea, a rushing wind (in a storm),
a hearth, a well, a door. A spirit summoned in a specific medium can
only affect one person or object or a small structure.

Partial Domain or Expansive Medium, +1 Ob

Examples include: a clearing, a pond, the shallows of a great lake,
the rapids of a river, the breeze through a house, the stretch of road
between two villages, the lightning of a storm, the hallway in a castle,
doldrums in a sea, the dunes of a desert, a single rain cloud in a
rain storm. A spirit summoned from a partial domain or expansive
medium can only affect a few people (up to its spirit Strength), a
group of objects or the structure of its domain or medium.

Domains, +3 Ob
Summoning forth the power of the entire domain—the lake, the
house, the sea, the castle, the mountain, the road, the caldera, the
north wind, the storm, the desert—incurs a +3 Ob penalty. Spirits
of the domain may equally affect everyone and everything in their
domain.

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People and Possessions

People and their possessions are not part of any domain and may not
have a spirit evoked from them.

Need
The obstacle for summoning a spirit increases the more and the sooner
you need it.

Unhurried, Not in a Conflict, No Modifier

If the spirit binder is unhurried and has a few peaceful moments to
conjure, there is no obstacle penalty.

Hurried, +1 Ob
If the spirit is being summoned to aid in a versus test or to overcome
an immediate obstacle—the summoner needs aid to overcome an
opponent—then apply a +1 Ob penalty.

In Range and Cover or Duel of Wits, +2 Ob

If the summoner is embroiled in Range and Cover or the Duel of Wits
and he needs a spirit, apply a +2 Ob modifier to Spirit Binding. This
costs an action.

Fight, + 3 Ob
If you are in a Fight and need to summon a spirit, add +3 to the Spirit
Binding obstacle. This costs two actions.

Spirit Tasks
These spirits are forces of nature, not ghosts, animals or people. They
act on a different plane, with different energy and different intent.
Understanding them is difficult, mastering them even more so. Once
summoned, they may be bound to attempt one of three general types of
services: reveal, succor or serve.

Reveal
There are two aspects to the reveal power: Spirits Are Wise and Reveal
Unto Me This Fact.

Spirits Are Wise

A spirit tasked to reveal may grant the summoner any wise appropriate
to the domain or medium. The summoner may test for the wise as per
the normal wise rules. The exponent is equal to the spirit’s Strength.
The wise counts as open-ended when tested. It may be advanced.

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However, when the duration elapses, the entire skill disappears,

Spirit Binding
including any advancements made.

Reveal Unto Me This Fact

Reveal may also be used to have the spirit inform the summoner about
a certain game setting fact: directions, the weather, the lay of the
land. This is for “no contest” setting stuff—pure info dump of spirit
coolness. Game setting facts are established by the GM. This type of
reveal requires a Strength 3 spirit.

Succor
Spirits may be called on to protect the summoner (and his companions
if a partial domain or full domain is summoned). Succor protects from
Natural Effect sorcery and natural phenomena of equivalent force to the
ratings on the Natural Effect scale so long as the effect is appropriate
to the domain or medium. A spirit cannot protect against any effect
higher than its Strength. The Natural Effect list is on page 520 of the
Burning Wheel.

Spirit versus Magic

Succor can also be used to protect against damaging and taxing
impetus magic. If such protection is appropriate to the spirit’s idiom,
test the spirit’s Strength. The test is open-ended. Successes reduce
incoming spell successes. If the spell is reduced below its obstacle, it
has no effect on the summoner.

Service
Spirits may be bound to evoke a spooky atmosphere, perform a physical
service or induced to hinder, to help or to harm.

Spooky Stuff
A spirit may be tasked to influence its domain in a spooky, supernatural
manner. This is an Ob 1 service. This has no in-game mechanical effect.

Eerie silence falls in the forest. A clear pool roils. Fire burns cold.
Like an Ox
Spirits may be induced to perform a physical stat-based task. A spirit’s
physical stats are equal to the spirit’s Strength. This includes Locks,
Throws and Pushes, but not Strikes or anything causing direct harm.

Hindrance
Spirits may be induced to hinder. Such hindrance causes it’s targets
an obstacle penalty to all physical actions or Perception-based actions

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(whatever’s appropriate to the idiom). Strength 2 spirits hinder

their targets with a +1 Ob penalty. Strength 4 spirits impose +2 Ob.
Strength 6 spirits impose +3 Ob. Strength 8 spirits impose +4 Ob.
Strength 10 spirits impose +5 Ob.

Help
Spirits may be induced to help a character with skill (or stat) tests
appropriate to the domain. Help as per the standard rules. Use the
Strength as the spirit’s skill or stat exponent: Spirits of Strength
1 provide 1D of help, Strength 5 provides 2D of help, Strength 9
provides 3D of help.

A spirit will never help a Spirit Binding test. They’re very jealous of
the power of the spirit binder and thus it is one thing they simply will
not do.

Harm
If appropriate to their idiom, spirits may be forced to harm another
character, object or structure. Such an attack must manifest within
the spirit’s idiom: rock slides, falling branches, lightning strikes and
bursts of flame, for example. The Power of such an attack is equal to
the spirit’s Strength plus the idiomatic material of the attack: water
is +0, stone and wood are Power +1, flame is Power +2, lightning is
Power +3. Factor the damage just like a melee weapon. Roll the Die
of Fate to determine actual damage: 1-2 Incidental, 3-4 Mark, 5-6
Superb.

Retribution
All spirit bindings—whether successful or not—have the potential to
bring retribution down upon the summoner. Spirits never forget that
they have been bound and commanded. As much as they can be said
to show emotion, they despise the summoner for treating them thusly.
Hence they will always try to return in kind what was asked of them.

Successful Binding
Binding Meets Obstacle
If the Spirit Binding test meets, but does not exceed, its obstacle, the
summoner will suffer retribution. The retribution is doled out at the
Strength of the spirit. See Retribution Suitable to the Task below.

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Binding Exceeds Obstacle

Spirit Binding
If the Spirit Binding test exceeds the obstacle, the margin of success
reduces the Strength of the spirit for purposes of retribution. See
Retribution Suitable to the Task below.

If the margin of success reduces the spirit’s Strength to zero, no

retribution is suffered (except maybe for a flung plate, banging
shutter, groaning foundation or cracked window pane).

Failed Binding
When the spirit binder fails to meet the obstacle of a Spirit Binding
test, the GM has three options: He can benignly declare that there is
no answer to the call because there are no spirits available. No further
retribution is suffered. Or he can determine the player has angered a
spirit more powerful than he bargained for—see Anger of Ancients. Or
he can decide that the spirit has gone wild and will eternally plague the
summoner—see the Enmity Clause.

Anger of the Ancients

The summoner has angered this entity with his prattle. Add the
margin of failure of the Spirit Binding to the summoned spirit’s
Strength for purposes of retribution. This new Strength indicates the
true nature of the spirit in the area. The spirit may take one act of
retribution. See Retribution Suitable to the Task below.

Enmity Clause
Alternately, the GM may declare that the summoner has raised
the permanent ire of his intended victim or driven the spirit of this
domain mad. This invokes the Enmity Clause. The spirit may now
enact retribution (at its original Strength) whenever the summoner
enters its domain until it is imprisoned.

Retribution Suitable to the Task

Spirits who are asked to reveal will later attempt to obscure. Spirits who
are asked for succor take retribution in the form of hindrance or may
steal from the summoner. Spirits who are asked to serve may obscure,
steal, hinder or harm depending on the exact nature of the service asked
of them. Invariably, the spirit will wait for the right moment to interfere
with the summoner, a crucial or critical juncture come to pass in the
spirit’s domain. Time unfolds differently for them; they can afford to
wait.

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Obscure
A spirit bound to reveal will later attempt to obscure. Add its spirit
Strength as an obstacle against an appropriate Perception test or
Perception-rooted skill test of the GM’s choosing.

Hinder
Spirits can add their Strength as an obstacle penalty to an applicable
physical task. Spirits of wind can blow in your eyes. Spirits of fire can
make campfires refuse to light. Spirits of earth and water can trip up
or bog down characters (causing Speed test penalties, for example).

Steal
Spirits previously bound to succor or serve may take retribution by
fouling or stealing the summoner’s possessions: Wind will carry away
unlikely items (like the summoner’s staff), a muddy road will suck
under a precious boot, clouds will bring a sudden squall down while
the summoner is looking at a fragile, ancient map.

These items can only be recovered by a Strength 3 Reveal Unto Me

or a Like an Ox service. Alternately, the GM may toss them back into
play at his discretion.

Harm
Spirits who are asked to do harm to others will invariably attempt
to do harm in return. A hillside spirit will roll a stone down upon the
summoner or smash him with a falling branch. Wind will kick up too
hard while the summoner is crossing a ledge and toss him off. Water
will heave and suck him under.

The Power of such an attack is equal to the spirit’s Strength plus the
idiomatic material of the attack: stone is Power +1, flame is Power +2,
lightning is Power +3. Factor the damage just like a melee weapon.
Roll the Die of Fate like a bow to determine actual damage.

Alternately, instead of doing direct harm, spirits may use their Strength
to Push, Lock or Throw the summoner at an inopportune time—like
when he’s crossing a lake or climbing a wall. The summoner may
resist with Power or Speed if appropriate.

Scope of Retribution
Everyone who has benefitted from the spirit’s service suffers from its
retribution. If the Spirit Binding test is failed, the GM determines the
targets of the retribution so long as they fall in the limits of the medium
and domain obstacles that the summoner player set out for the test.

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Timing of Retribution

Spirit Binding
Retribution rarely comes immediately, but it always arrives at the
worst possible moment. If a spirit is determined to kill its tormentor,
it is not enough to just murder him in his sleep. The spirit waits until
other people are relying on the summoner to save them, then makes
its attempt. Spirits detest being bound and commanded; they will
demonstrate their ire in the most wicked and vengeful ways possible.

Laws of Service
Listed below are a few limitations to bear in mind when dealing with
these nameless spirits.

•S
 pirits are limited to their domains. The spirit of the pond knows
nothing of the hills, the wind knows nothing of what dwells beneath
the waves, the stone knows little of the birds on the wind, and the
fire knows only the taste of air and the fragrance of wood.

•S
 pirit memories are long and their senses broad. They know much
of what transpires in their domains—but a fire just lit will only
know of the wood it eats and the air it breathes, nothing more. A
stone taken from its birthplace and dropped in a new land will only
know about himself and its past, nothing about this new place until
it has had a good long time to get to know its new neighbors. But a
river summoned forth to account for itself will know its length and
breadth, from source to mouth.

•S
 pirits may only act in their elements. Wind may rise or fall, brooks
may run fast or slow, the earth may yawn, and fires may douse.
But branches never instantaneously grow around the enemies of the
summoner, rocks never roll across level ground, water never forms
into a wall and fire does not speak.

•S
 pirits reveal through idiom. Spirits in general do not speak the
tongue of man. Rather, bubbles will rise in water, a path will end
abruptly in the forest, fire will flare (vaguely taking shape), wind
will blow from a certain direction.

•S
 pirits act unseen. Demanding to be led from the forest while
standing still, awaiting a sprite to take you by the hand, will only
produce a very long wait. Walk with eyes half-closed while whistling
a merry tune and you will find yourself at the forest’s edge rather
quickly. Watching for ephemera will only serve to delay the act and
may anger the spirit further.

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•A
 spirit bound must complete its task. It cannot delay or deviate
from the task given to it. Once its service is complete, then it is
released from the summoner’s spell.

•O
 nce it is released from its service the spirit will exact retribution.
Being bound to the summoner and forced to act in his will is a
painful and arduous affair for a spirit. Invariably, this arouses a
retributive anger in the spirit. When a spirit does so it will take
payment in kind for the service stolen from it.

Spirit Task Duration

If the length of a spirit’s task is longer than a day or so—if the spirit is
asked to guard some location, for example—consult the table below to
see exactly how long the spirit sticks around. Spirits will carry out their
sentence as quickly as possible, but they know no time. Roll 2D6 and
consult the chart below.

Length of Service Table

2D6 Length of Service
2 Mere moments
3 2x Strength in Months
4 Strength in Months
5 10x Strength in Months
6 2x Strength in Days
7 Strength in Days
8 10x Strength in Days
9 2x Strength in Years
10 Strength in Years
11 10x Strength in Years
12 Forever

You can also use the chart to determine when retribution occurs. Spirits
have a long memories.

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Domain Bindings

Spirit Binding
Domain bindings are a ritual spiritual bond the summoner has with
an archetypal location. They are to Spirit Binding what affiliations are
to Circles.

Example domains are: abyssal, alluvial plain, badlands, castle, caldera,

coast, desert, doldrums, foothills, forest, house, lake, mountain, oasis,
ridge, river, road, sea, taiga, tundra, wadi, north wind, westerlies,
storm, forest fire, prairie fire or cold current.
When creating domain bindings, the player may choose from our
examples or make up his own.

Starting Domain Bindings

The character starts with one bound domain for each lifepath and
appropriate trait. You may summon spirits in bound domains, but
you are not powerful there. The player describes the most prominent
geographic location from each lifepath. The summoner is bound to this
domain.

For example, if the summoner grew up on a farm (and has the Farmer
lifepath), he takes the domain binding Farms. Whenever he is on a farm, he
may conjure its spirits, even if it isn’t the farm he grew up on. A character
who has never been at sea cannot conjure while at sea. A character who has
never been to a mountain prairie cannot call its spirits to him.
Domain Traits
The following traits each grant the spirit binder a bound domain, in
addition to any other qualities the individual traits provide. If the
trait doesn’t specify or connote a geographic location, the player may
choose a domain for the trait before play begins:

Adventurer, Back-Breaking Labor, Beespeaker, Black Lung,

Bookworm, Claustrophobic, Deep Sense, Down to Earth, Exile,
Hiding, I Know This Ship…, Keys to the Church, Landlubber, Lost,
Scavenger, Street Smart, Sword of the White Towers and World Weary.

Summoner Must Be Bound to a Domain

A spirit binder must have at least a zero-level domain binding in a
particular domain in order to summon there. If a spirit binder does
not have a lifepath or a binding associated with a particular domain,
he may not conjure spirits from that domain. In character burning,
additional 0-level bindings may be purchased for 4 rps each.

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Domain Binding Levels

Spirit Binding
Additional domain bindings may be bought at levels 0-3 during
character burning. Also, the spirit binder’s starting domains may be
increased in rank in character burning. There are four levels of Domain
Bindings:

Domain Binding Level Rating Resources Point Cost

Bound 0D 4 rps
Sworn 1D 7 rps
Embodied 2D 25 rps
Mastered 3D 45 rps

Advantage dice from a domain binding may only be used when the
summoner is conjuring within the appropriate domain. You may only
have one binding per domain.

Embodied in Laval Fire, for example, costs 25 resource points in character

burning. This then grants the player +2D to his Spirit Binding skill when
he’s in or near lava.
Binding Oneself to a Domain
During play, the spirit binder will wish to gain power over a new
domain so as to summon spirits within it. Doing so requires that the
summoner spend time in the domain, at least a season, but more time if
possible, and he must offer a substantial sacrifice—cattle slaughtered,
wine poured, harvest offered and burned.

Sacrifice Resources Obstacles

Domain Binding Rating Sacrifice Resources Obstacle
Bound 0D Ob 3
Sworn 1D Ob 4
Embodied 2D Ob 5
Mastered 3D Ob 6

Time Spent in Domain

Time Resources Bonus/Penalty
Years +1D
One year —
A season +1 Ob

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Linking to Domain Binding

Astrology, Spirit Binding, Circination and appropriate wises may be
used as linked tests toward the Domain Binding Sacrifice Resources test.

Binding Traits
Characters can also earn bindings through traits earned in play. If the
group decides a player should earn a die trait related to a binding, then it
counts according to these rules. In general, the traits should start at level
0, but if the recipient character already has a binding, definitely increase
the level by one when you instantiate it as a trait. Further trait votes
(earned by really playing it up) can increase the level as is appropriate.

Spirit Marks
As the spirit binder practices his craft, the spirits start to imprint
themselves on him. They leave their mark, and he becomes more spirit-
like. This benefits the summoner tremendously—it gives him greater
sway over the spirit world—but it is dangerous to his own soul.

Spirit marks apply to a medium, not a domain: Fire Walk With Us,
Teeth of Granite, Ghost of Trees, Whispers of Water, Destiny of Wind,
Pebble in the Pond. Spirit marks are more versatile than domain
bindings. They can be used in a variety of domains, so long as the
appropriate medium is present.

The spirit binder player may devise his own spirit marks.

Whenever the element, medium or idiom of the mark is involved in

the Spirit Binding test, whether or not the summoner is in one of his
domains, he gains the applicable bonus dice to the test. Spirit marks
are the equivalent of reputations in Circles. They are more broadly
applicable than domain bindings, but not universally so.

There are three levels of spirit marks. A character does not automatically
start with any. They must be purchased prior to play.

Spirit Mark Level Rating Resources Point Cost

Touched 1D 10 rps
Marked 2D 25 rps
Infused 3D 50 rps

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Spirit marks can also be earned in play like reputations. The group

Spirit Binding
votes on them when performing a trait vote.

Spirit Taint
If the total of all of the Spirit Binder’s spirit mark dice exceeds his
current Will exponent, he is in grave danger. If he fails his next Spirit
Binding test, he suffers retribution, and he gains the Ancestral Taint
trait.

The starting exponent for Ancestral Taint is equal to the character’s

total spirit mark dice.

If he has three spirit marks (2D, 1D and 3D), he starts with a B6

Ancestral Taint.
Thereafter, the Strength of each spirit summoned and bound counts as
a test for advancement of Ancestral Taint.

If he summons a Strength 4 spirit, it counts as an Ob 4 test for Ancestral

Taint.
When Ancestral Taint advances to exponent 10, the character is
absorbed into the spirit world. He is stripped of all intelligence and
consciousness and becomes one with the fabric of nature. Nothing and
no one can bring him back.

Circination
To the uneducated eye, the summoner is forever scratching in the dirt
and wasting time puzzling over sigils and runes. He drags his staff in
complex patterns and then cries to the heavens. For what? Nothing ever
comes of it! Or so it seems…

Circination Per/Ag
Circination is the art of drawing circles and sigils which aid the spirit
binder in his art. There are three types of circles that may be drawn: the
summoning circle, the fortress circle and the prison circle. The summoning
circle aids in conjuring and binding spirits. The fortress protects the
summoner from retribution, and the prison traps unruly spirits. Circination
is tested like a regular skill: It is not open-ended and does not get combined
with anything special (except help or FoRKs) when tested.
Circles are specific to a spirit or ritual and may not be repurposed for
summoning spirits other than the ones they were originally intended for.

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Obstacles: Summoning Circle: The spirit binder may set his obstacle. The
Fortress obstacle is equal to the Spirit Strength to be deflected. The Prison:
obstacle is twice the Spirit Strength to be trapped.
FoRKs: Illuminations, Cartography, Calligraphy, Symbology, Painting, plus
appropriate wises
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: For summoning circles, no;
for prison and fortress circles,
yes.

The Summoning Circle

To draw a viable summoning circle, simply set your obstacle and test
your skill. If successful, the Circination obstacle equals advantage
dice for the Spirit Binding test. Time to draw a summoning circle is 1
hour per obstacle point. Extra successes reduce time by 10 percent per
success.

The Fortress Circle

This circle protects against retribution. The obstacle to draw a fortress
is equal to the Strength of the spirit the summoner intends to conjure.
The time is two hours per obstacle point. The fortress will avert
retribution from a spirit of that Strength or lower. If the summoner is
in a fortress when retribution comes, the spirit will “deflect” and forget
about it for now. The summoner may exit the domain safely. If he tarries
or returns, the retribution is back on!

The Prison Circle

If a spirit is wreaking havoc in a domain, a summoner may bind it to
this circle so that it becomes trapped. An imprisoned spirit may not
be summoned to serve nor may it enact retribution on anyone outside
the prison. The obstacle for a prison is twice the Strength of the spirit
to be imprisoned. The time to draw a prison circle is three hours per
obstacle point.

If the circle is successfully drawn, the spirit becomes bound and trapped
within it. If the Circination fails, the spirit may enact retribution on the
spirit binder as if it had been commanded to serve.

Making Offerings
A spirit binder may make offerings to the spirits before he summons
them. Offerings must be appropriate to the domain and must be
important or vital to the summoner or those who live in the domain:
wine poured, harvest proffered and animals sacrificed.

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An offering requires a Resources test equal to the Strength of the spirit

Spirit Binding
being summoned. Success grants +1D to the Spirit Binding test. Failure
causes Resources to be taxed, and there is no Gift of Kindness for an
offering.

Spirit Encounters
Spirits make great encounters, whether or not there’s a spirit binder in
the group. Here are two suggestions for bringing them into the game.

Wild Spirits
Wild spirits make great adversaries, especially for spirit binders. A wild
spirit is one who was summoned or disturbed at some point and now visits
harm and hindrance upon all who enter its domain. This is how forests
become lost and haunted, seas become unsailable and mountain passes
uncrossable. They also make the spirit binders who tame them famous.

Imprisoned Spirits
Though rare, it’s possible to stumble across the work of another spirit
binder—his circle and an imprisoned spirit within. Perhaps the domain
of the spirit has fallen to waste since it has been imprisoned for so long.
Freeing it will restore life to the place but might also invite retribution.
To free a spirit, you must damage or destroy the prison circle which
contains it.

Or perhaps a spirit that contains necessary secrets has been locked

away in a remote place. Finding it, freeing it and rebinding it could
make for an epic quest.

Spirits Don’t Talk or Bargain

Spirits do not talk, bargain or gossip. They will never engage in a Duel
of Wits. They cannot be motivated with social skills. If you wish to
motivate a spirit of the type described in this chapter, you must use
Spirit Binding.

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 Summoning
This magical art focuses on the summoning of arcane,
supernatural, otherworldly and divine entities. Through his art,
the summoner sends out a call. An entity responds, the summoner
asks a service, the entity asks a price and the two forge a pact.

Summoning Process
Summoning operates similarly to the Circles mechanic described
in the Burning Wheel. A summoner has certain supernatural
“circles” from which he may call on favors. He uses his knowledge
of those circles, his skill in Summoning and his reputations within
the supernatural world to bring forth spirits.

Once summoned, the conjurer and entity bargain to form a

supernatural pact, an agreement for service and the price of that
service.

Decide what type of service is needed, then determine the order of

entity to be summoned who can fulfill said service. The summoner
must have at least a journeyman level in this order to summon from
it. Test summoning plus the gate, orders, reputation and advantage
dice from the creature’s name against the obstacle.

If the obstacle is met, an entity of the proper order appears before

the summoner, willing to perform his service. Failure indicates
that the creature fails to appear, appears irritated or enraged by
the summoner (as per the Enmity Clause in the Circles rules) or
another creature appears in its stead.

Linked Tests for Summoning

Astrology, Demonology, Empyrealia, Folklore, Symbology,
Doctrine and Obscure History may be used as linked tests into
Summoning. There are no FoRKs other than wises.

Gifted or Not?
Summoning can be used by both the Gifted and the mundane.
Gifted characters use the rules as written. If a non-Gifted character

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wishes to summon, he must pass a Circination skill test with an obstacle

Summoning
equal to the order of spirit he wishes to summon. Once that circle is
drawn, he may summon using the rules as presented. This is separate
from any gate, fortress or prison circle he might draw.

A Gifted summoner calls forth spirits of the appropriate order whenever

he has a few minutes of peace, whether or not he has drawn a circle.

Service
These spirits are not wish granters. A summoner cannot demand wealth
from a demon and expect for gold to instantly appear in piles beneath
his feet. A summoned entity must go forth, find and acquire that wealth
and return it to the summoner. The creatures described in this chapter
are limited by their stats, skills, attributes and traits. They are potent,
but not omnipotent. Consider this when asking for a service!

The nature of the service is used to determine the price the spirit asks
in return. Use the following guidelines to determine where your service
falls in this scheme.

Types of Service
Below is a suggested list of services for summoned spirits. The exact
form and degree of service is shaped by the entity that performs it.

A revelation from a ghost may come in the form of a nightmare, whereas

a revelation from a deity is a soul-shaking affair—it’s not a mere dream!
Physical
This is the simplest form of service a summoner can ask of a spirit.
Physical services include: murder, kidnapping, transport (of an item or
person), guarding or infesting an area and protecting the summoner.

Economic
A summoner may demand wealth from a spirit. This wealth can come
in many forms. It is not always just a pile of gold. If the spirit has
Resources, it may grant the summoner loans, cash and funds as per
the standard rules. If the summoner is asking for something more, like
an item or land, the spirit must go forth and procure it.

Social
A summoner may ask a spirit to go forth and convince another person
of something—love, fear, respect, promotion, etc. Love and affection
may be earned through the machinations of a spirit. This is a rather

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complex and open-ended task, the means of which are left entirely to
the spirit. Assassination, bribery, arranged marriages and worse are
not out of the question.

Empowerment
Empowerment is a spiritual binding that grants the summoner or a
character of his choice one of the spirit’s stats.

Transference
Transference is the process by which the summoner or a character of
his choice may take on one of the entity’s traits. During the term of
service, the creature does not have access to the transferred trait.

Revelation
Revelation is a question answered. If the consulted entity does not
know the answer, it returns to its realm and seeks those who might.
Asking questions of creatures of this ilk is always unwise, yet some still
persist in doing so; the answers are always far worse than ignorance.
Revelation may be conveyed in the form of a dream or a vision. The
summoner may request the revelation for himself or another person.
Revelations always reveal truth. They may be obscure or confusing,
but they are never false.

Summoning Obstacles
The player chooses what type of service he requires and a corresponding
order that can perform said service. This sets the obstacle for the
Summoning skill test and the price for the service.

Summoning Obstacles by Service and Order

Service Order Obstacle Price
Revelation, Transfer, Physical Restless Dead Ob 3 Tribute
Revelation, Transfer, Social Sanctified Dead Ob 4 Tribute
Physical, Economic, Social Minor Corporal Spirit Ob 5 Possession
All but Revelation Corporal Spirit Ob 8 Physical
All but Social Major Corporal Spirit Ob 9 Mark plus other soul
Social, Transfer, Revelation, Minor Deity Ob 10 Mark plus any one
Empower except souls
Social, Transfer, Revelation, Deity Ob 11 Other soul plus
Empower tribute
Social, Revelation Chief Deity Ob 12 Own soul plus
other soul

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Orders

Summoning
There are eight orders of supernatural, infernal, celestial and divine
beings: restless dead, sanctified dead, minor corporal spirit, corporal
spirit, major corporal spirit, minor deity, deity and chief deity.

Restless dead are ghosts of souls who have not been properly buried or
who have had their graves disturbed—this includes those disinterred
and bound by death artists. Sanctified dead are souls who have been
given the proper rites to send them to their final resting place. Corporal
spirits are entities that manifest physically before the summoner to
do his bidding. This includes imps and querubim who fall into the
minor corporal and corporal spirit categories. Dæmonim and seraphim
are categorized as corporal and major corporal spirits. Deities are the
saints, gods and divinities of this world. They are not tampered with
lightly!

Customize the orders to your game world. Minor corporal spirits might
be imps in one setting, gebbeths in another or animal companions in
still another. When Summoning is introduced into your game, decide
what forms these spirits can take.

The Summoned
The creature or spirit that appears before the summoner is a representative
of his order. His exact personality, body type and position are up to the
GM to decide.

If the summoner player wishes to conjure forth a specific spirit, he must

add +1 Ob to his Summoning test. Once a summoner has learned one
of a particular creature’s names, as per the One Name of the Many rule
in this chapter, the summoner no longer suffers this penalty for calling
forth this particular creature.

Success and Failure in Summoning

If the summoner passes the test, he has successfully brought an entity
before him. This entity will perform a service for him.

Successful Summoning
If he met his obstacle, an entity of the appropriate type and of the GM’s
choosing appears before the summoner. He announces one of his many
names and the price of his help. He agrees to perform the service for
the price described for his order. No bargain is possible for this result.

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If the summoner exceeds his obstacle, he has skillfully cast his

summoning spell and earned some leverage over the entity he has called
forth. The creature announces itself with one of its personal names
and agrees to perform the service for the price described for his order.
However, the summoner may spend his extra successes as follows:

Spending Margin of Success to Bargain

One success may be spent to gain an opportunity to bargain or haggle
with the entity. Make a Bargaining or Haggling versus test. If the
summoner wins, he may lower the price or increase the duration of
the service by one step per success in his margin of success.

If the entity wins the Bargaining test, he raises the price one step. Do
not trifle with me, mortal man!

If the summoner loses a round of Bargaining and the price is raised,

he may spend one of his remaining extra successes (if any) to continue
bargaining to try to lower the price or increase the duration.

The summoner may agree to the current terms before he rolls to

bargain or he may attempt to gamble and test himself against the
entity. There’s no backing out once the Bargaining dice have been
rolled, though—even if the terms are now drastically in the creature’s
favor.

Price and Duration Scale

Use the following scale for prices: mark, tribute, possession, physical,
untainted mortal soul, summoner’s soul. The maximum price is the
summoner’s soul plus any number of other prices!

Use the following scale for duration: a single event, a day, a week, a
month, a year, many years, a lifetime.

Spending Margin of Success for Advantage

Up to two Summoning successes may be spent to add advantage dice
to the Bargaining or Haggling test. Each success adds +1D.

One Name of Many

If the summoner exceeds his obstacle to summon, he also learns one
of the creature’s names. The advantage of a name is two-fold. The
summoner may call on this creature specifically without penalty.
And he gains +1D to attempts to summon this creature in the future.
This bonus does not increase if he successfully summons the creature
multiple times.

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Failed Summoning

Summoning
If the summoner fails his test, there are three possible results. The
GM may declare that no spirit heeds his call: that the summoner has
angered his intended target or that something unintended has heeded
the call and appeared instead.

Angry Spirits
If the GM decides to bring in the intended entity, the creature is
angered by the summoner’s attempt to bring it forth. It does not have
to perform the service asked. It may return from whence it came after
berating the erstwhile Faust, or it may stay in the summoner’s world
and wreak havoc.

It may be convinced to bargain through a Duel of Wits. However,

it counts as having the Enmity Clause against the summoner. As
such, the creature gains +4s to the body of argument for any Duel
of Wits (including bargaining) with the summoner. This penalty
lasts until the summoner convinces the creature he is not its enemy.
If unconvinced, the spirit can retain its +4s bonus across many
encounters and pacts.

Unintended Summoning
The GM may bring in another creature of greater or lesser strength.
This is entirely the GM’s call. Consult the order list if you’re stuck for
options. Use a creature one order greater or lesser than the intended
target. The creature is not obligated to perform a service or bargain.
It may propose its own pact and price to the summoner if the GM
has something in mind. Otherwise, unless it is contained by a prison
circle, it may either return to whence it came or wander off into the
summoner’s world, causing chaos.

The Pact
The result of the summoner’s spell is a pact, a spiritual bond with the
spirit. This pact is as binding as a Duel of Wits result.

A spirit must endeavor to do everything in its power to complete the

terms of the pact. It will cleave to the exact letter of the agreement, but
it will never do more than it is required unless that benefits it.

If it wins, the summoner gets what he asked for. Sometimes this is more
than he bargained for.

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Breaking a Pact
If one side fails to complete its side of the bargain, the other party is
freed from any obligation to the agreement. If it is the summoner who
breaks the pact, the spirit is free to remain in the material world for
555 days. During that time, it may take revenge on the summoner for
breaking his word, or it may attend to other matters. During this time,
it may not be summoned!

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If, due to extenuating circumstances, the spirit fails to complete its

Summoning
appointed task, then the summoner is freed from paying the price.
The spirit may return to the summoner to attempt to strike up a new
bargain; otherwise it returns home.

Price of Service
Each spirit asks for a price dependent on its nature.

Summoner’s Soul
The ultimate price for a service is the summoner’s mortal soul.

Untainted Mortal Soul

There are times a summoner may bargain with a spirit for the gift of
another soul. This soul must be free from taint (and other pacts). By
the conclusion of the spirit’s part of the bargain, the summoner must
proffer and sacrifice the untainted soul. The spirit must be present to
receive the offering.

Beings with the Eldritch Sink, Atravieso, Entropic, Tainted Legacy,

Corruption or similar traits may not be offered in this manner.

Physical Price
The entity demands a physical sacrifice from the summoner. The eyes,
the tongue, a hand, an arm or a leg must be removed as part of the
bargain. The character must take an appropriate physical disfigurement
trait such as Maimed, One-Eyed or Tongueless.

Possession
The spirit may demand access to the summoner’s body and senses as
payment for its services. This state lasts for the same period of time as
the duration of the original service. The player who accepts this price
gains the Possessed trait for the term of the possession.

Tribute
As payment for services rendered, the summoner must build a shrine
to the sovereign powers of the spirit, commission a work of art in its
name, recover a lost artifact or fund a thousand rites to be spoken to the
patron gods. Whatever the final payment is, it is a costly endeavor and
must be completed lest the summoner violate the pact. The obstacle of
the Resources test is equal to the obstacle of the order of the creature.

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Mark
The summoner agrees to wear the insignia or mark of the spirit visible
on his person or flesh. For lesser orders like the dead or minor spirits,
the mark comes in the form of a symbol worn on the person. For other
spirits, the mark appears as a scar or tattoo. The mark can be anywhere
at all on the summoner’s body. It is immutable, will never fade and will
resist all attempts to efface it. The character must take the character
trait Marked by X (whatever the spirit’s name is). For deities, a mark
consists of a character trait as described above plus a reputation with
that spirit’s order. The reputation is infamous with that spirit’s enemies.

Duration of Service
A spirit wishes to serve for as short a span as possible. As such, when
the initial service for a price offer is made, the entity agrees to perform
a single service or task, or agrees to extend his protection or provenance
for the length of a single event.

As per the rules described under the Successful Summoning heading, a

summoner may bargain to increase the duration of the service. Bargaining
begins with the duration of a single event and progresses up the following
scale: a day, a week, a month, a year, many years, a lifetime.

Time of Payment
The time at which the price is to be paid must be negotiated between
the summoner and his servant. The player and the GM should work
out an appropriate time of payment as part of the Bargaining ritual.

Murder is complete at the death of the subject. When the information

is presented, a revelation is ended. When the summoner has bedded his
new wife, the spirit’s social role is done.

Affiliated Orders and Reputations

Orders are the fundamental element of the summoner’s power. An order
is an affiliation with the spirit realm. They act like affiliations do in the
Circles rules. A summoner may only call creatures to him from orders
with which he is affiliated.

Summoners may also have reputations among the spirits. His name
may ring out in the halls of hell!

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Starting Affiliated Orders

Summoning
All summoners begin the game with the restless dead order at
journeyman level for free. The value of this order may be increased or
additional orders may be bought during character burning using the
following prices:

Degree of Order Rating RP Cost

Journeyman Order 0D 10 rps base
First Order 1D 20 rps base
Second Order 2D 25 rps base
Third Order 3D 50 rps base

Modify the cost according to the exact order of spirits:

Order Affiliations Cost Modifier RP Cost

Restless Dead Free
Sanctified Dead +4 rps
Minor Corporal Spirit +5 rps
Corporal Spirit +6 rps
Major Corporal Spirit +7 rps
Minor Deity +8 rps
Deity +9 rps
Chief Deity +10 rps

A 2D affiliation with the order of chief deity costs 35 resource points in

character burning.
Reputation
Reputations among the spirits may be bought in character burning
using resource points, just like buying regular reputations.

Reputations cost 10 rps for 1D, 20 rps for 2D and 30 rps for 3D. The
reputation applies to one order of spirits for each die of its rating. So a
1D reputation applies to one order, a 2D applies to two orders and a 3D
reputation applies to three orders.

You may be Giver Of Tribute (1D) among the order of the restless dead
or Harvester of Souls (2D) among the sanctified dead and the minor
corporal spirits.
Reputations among the spirits do not count when factoring Resources
in character burning.

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Joining New Orders

To join new orders, the summoner must do one of two things: either he
must pay the price of the order or submit to a geas.

The Price of the Order

A summoner may submit an offering to the order in order to join its
ranks and gain its benefits. The offering is equivalent to the price
of a service from a spirit in the order. The GM determines the exact
composition of the price.

The summoner gathers the price, pronounces his holy and mystic
binding to the order and then makes his payment. No test is required
to make the payment. If the price is paid, the summoner gains
a journeyman rank in that order. If the order offers multiple price
options, start with the lower price.

Before he can join the ranks of the sanctified dead, the summoner must
repair his family’s tomb as tribute, for example. To be bound to the
corporal spirits, he must cut off his hand.
Geas
Rather than pay a price, a summoner may submit himself before the
powers of the order and accept a geas. The orders send word through
signs and omens that the summoner must complete a quest.

To join an order as a journeyman, he must complete one goal as

described by the powers that be.

In order to complete a goal, the player must write it into one of his
Beliefs and resolve it, earning a persona point. The GM determines
the nature of a goal, but the player may write his Belief as he sees
fit. Scale the goals according to the power of the order. A goal for the
sanctified dead is less dangerous than what deities demand.

Increasing the Rank of an Order

The rank of an order may be increased by paying a further, more
expensive price or by completing a more elaborate, more dangerous geas.

Paying the Price of an Order

If an order has a single price listed, an appropriate iteration of that
category must be paid. Each price must be greater than the last. If an
order has multiple prices listed, use the first price for the journeyman
rank, second price for the first order, etc. If you run out of prices, just
keep increasing the value of the last one listed.

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Increasing Orders by Geas

Summoning
To increase the rank of your order, you may also submit to a more
arduous geas. The mechanics resemble those described above, but
each level requires more goals to be completed.

To become a member of the first order, the summoner must complete

two goals as proclaimed by the powers of the order.

To become a member of the second order, he must complete three

goals set by the powers.

To become a member of the third order, he must complete four goals

determined by the powers that be.

Earning and Increasing Reputations

Reputations are earned and increased according to the mechanics
described on pages 384-385 of the Burning Wheel.

Circination
Circination for summoners is slightly different than for spirit binders.
Rather than draw a summoning circle, they draw a gate. A summoner
should have the prison drawn before he summons. If he does not, this
willful spirit will take its liberty before striking a bargain. He may
draw a fortress circle to protect himself as does the spirit binder.

Gates and prisons are specific to a spirit or ritual and may not be
repurposed or used for summoning spirits other than the ones for which
they were originally intended. Fortresses, however, may be applied to
any spirit or order. They may be reused.

The Summoner’s Gate

To draw a viable gate, simply set your obstacle and test your skill.
If successful, the Circination obstacle equals advantage dice for the
Summoning test. The time required to draw a summoning circle is one
hour per obstacle point. Extra successes reduce time by 10 percent per
success.

The Prison Circle

The prison circle traps a spirit within it. An entity may not project any
of its powers beyond the circle—it may not twist, burn or harm while
in the prison. A spirit trapped within a prison may only bargain with
its summoner or wait.

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The obstacle to draw a prison is equal to the Will exponent of the

spirit to be imprisoned. If the creature’s Will is gray shade and the
imprisoning skill is black shade, increase the obstacle by +2. If the
creature’s Will is white shade and the imprisoning skill is gray or black
shade, increase the obstacle by +3. It takes a number of hours equal to
three times the obstacle to draw the prison circle.

If the circle is successfully drawn, the spirit becomes bound and trapped
within it until the circle itself is physically damaged or altered.

The Fortress Circle

A summoner may draw a circle to protect himself from harm inflicted
by spirits. Any hostile act from a spirit made against those within suffers
an obstacle penalty equal to the rating of the circle. If any portion, part
or article of the protected passes outside the bounds of the circle, spirit
creature may be grasp, attack or ensorcell it.

The obstacle to draw a fortress is 1 plus the obstacle penalty the

summoner wishes to apply to otherworldly interlopers. Fortresses may
be reused. It takes two hours per obstacle point to draw the fortress
circle.

True Names
All creatures have a true name. This fabled moniker grants intense
leverage to the summoner. A creature will never under any circumstances
give up its own true name. However, it will occasionally give up known
true names of its enemies.

Named Dt
This creature possesses and knows its true name. When its name is spoken,
it knows who the speaker is and where he is.
Knowledge of a true name grants the summoner +3D to summon that
specific spirit and +3D Bargaining tests or to the body of argument roll for
any Duels of Wits conducted against the creature.

Demon, I Abjure Thee!

Faith Versus the Summoned
The Faithful may attempt to banish a spirit entity from this world and
send it back to its own side. Banishing restless dead, sanctified dead and
minor corporal spirits requires a minor miracle. Banishing anything
greater requires a major miracle.

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Spirits of the Dead

Summoning
Spirits of the dead have no corporal form. They are ghosts. As such,
they only have Perception and Will for stats; they also have traits and
skills. Beliefs and Instincts may be assigned by the GM. In general, use
the Beliefs, Instincts, stats, traits and skills the creature had in life. In
other words, pick a stat block for a Mannish, Roden, Great Spider or
Great Wolf character and drop the physical stats. Elves, Orcs, Dwarves
and Trolls may not be summoned as spirits.

There is one exception to this rule. If the spirit of the summoned dead
has been bound into his corpse by a death artist, the spirit heeds the
summoner’s call in the tattered trappings of his rotting flesh. He is mute
and in anguish. The GM can use the stats for the Risen Corpse unless he
has something worse in mind!

Restless Dead
The restless dead have two additional traits, Spirit Nature and Poltergeist.
Spirit Nature is described in the Monstrous Trait List. Poltergeist is
described below.

Poltergeist Dt
This creature is ethereal and may only affect the physical world through an
act of Will. If the creature wishes to touch, push, pull, slap, etc., test Will
against the obstacle rather than Power or Agility. If a test is failed, Will is
reduced by the margin of failure. The creature’s physical skills may also be
channeled through its Will. Test for the skill as normal. After the test, test
the creature’s Will against the obstacle. Will is reduced by margin of failure.
If Will is reduced to zero, the creature dissipates and may not reform or be
summoned for months equal to its Will exponent.

Sanctified Dead
The sanctified dead also have two traits, Spirit Nature and Rest in Peace.

Rest in Peace Dt
Spirits who have gone peacefully to death and whose bodies were properly
sanctified have great difficulty returning to and communicating with the
world of the living. They cannot use any physical ability or skill to affect
the material world. Those abilities are lost to them. Also, while they will do
whatever is in their power to aid the living, they are reluctant to undertake
any act that will disturb their peaceful rest or get them kicked out of heaven.
When bargaining with a summoner, spirits of the sanctified dead may
add +2D to a social skill. When in a Duel of Wits, add +2s to their body of
argument if their opponent’s request goes against their better judgment.

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Relationships with

Summoning
the Supernatural
There’s no rule that says a relationship has to be living or flesh and
blood. If appropriate to your game, players may have relationships with
gods, demons or the restless dead. The standard rules for relationships
apply. In general you do not have to summon you ghost friend but
extenuating circumstances might apply.

You may also develop a relationship with a summoned entity. Add

together the summoner’s skill exponent and order rating appropriate
to the creature. If the summoner successfully brings forth a creature
a number of times equal to 10 minus that number, he may add it as a
relationship.

GMing Summoned Creatures

The summoner’s art is a solitary and remote one. He conjures forth
demons in private and sends them forth to do his bidding. It is not a fast
or flashy art, though it is useful.

Much of the burden of making Summoning useful is placed on the GM.

When the summoner dispatches his minions to topple a king, the GM
must arbitrate if the errand is successful or not. There are two ways to
play this. First, consider the price. It is the most important element in
summoning. If the price is juicy enough fruit, then by all means, have
the creature succeed at its ordained task and return with due haste to
the summoner to demand payment.

Second, if the completion of the task is in doubt, make a versus test (or
series of tests) between the creature and its intended target. Allow the
summoner player to act out and roll for his charge.

If a spirit has been commanded to accompany and protect the summoner,

or some similar task, allow the summoner player access to the creature’s
stats. Let him make rolls for the spirit when appropriate. If there is ever
a question of conflict between the entity and the summoner, the GM
should take on its role.

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 Death Art
Death Art is a ritual magic, not a battle magic or a spell cast
instantaneously to mitigate some obstacle. Using this dark lore,
the sorcerer creates a menagerie of reanimated creatures to do his
bidding.

Skill and Faith

Death Art can be incorporated into your game in two ways. It
can be used as a skill, like Sorcery or Enchanting, using the rules
described in this chapter. Or the powers and obstacles described
in this chapter can be attributed to Faith. If using Faith, the Death
Art skill replaces the Ritual skill for priests. All of the Death Art
tests delineated in this chapter are made using Faith, rather than
the Death Art skill. Death Art is used for linked tests or to create
tools. Tools and workshops are required whether using the skill
or Faith.

Gifted at Death
In order to use Death Art magic as a skill, the character must have
the Gifted or Cold Black Blood trait.

Mortal Soul
Death Art combines elements both physical and spiritual. Though
the physical aspect of the art—creating walking corpses—is
obviously important, the spirit is the prime target. When a death
artist wishes to animate a corpse, he is calling that creature’s soul
back into its body. He is trapping it in a cage of rotting flesh and
decaying bone, using the soul as a fuel for his evil deeds.

Therefore, this art may only be used on the corpses of those

creatures who are mortal and who are considered to have a
soul—a soul being defined here as native intelligence, imagination,
creativity and the ability to endure suffering. This means no
animals or insects and no immortal creatures.

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Orcs, Elves and other immortal creatures may not have their corpses so

Death Art
defiled. Dwarves and Trolls, while not truly immortal, are certainly a
part of the land in a way that most mortals are not. It’s recommended
that they be exempt from this as well. And, while it’s not listed as a trait,
consider Dragons immortal as well.

Death Art Process

Death Art uses three general spells: Rise!, Ritual Reanimation and Death
of the Spirit. Rise! is a short spell used to quickly reanimate a corpse and
put it under the death artist’s control. Ritual Reanimation is a lengthy
process that also raises corpses to serve the sorcerer, but using the ritual
method, the death artist has much more control of the shape of his
servant. The Death of the Spirit spell is a long, complicated and difficult
process that enables the sorcerer to slowly transform a living person into
a ghoul, shade or lich.

Dead Flesh
Before we dig into the black magic of raising corpses to do your bidding,
we must discuss the physical state of the dead body. This is an important
consideration for the death artist.

Decomposition
The state of decay affects the obstacles for the Rise! and Ritual
Reanimation spells. The obstacle modifiers are listed with each entry
below.

3 days dead, no penalty

A corpse remains fresh and viable for up to three days after the time of
death. It attracts flies—who come to lay their eggs—but it has yet to
become infested. It still looks human but for the flat eyes and waxy skin.

10 days dead, +1 Ob
Up to 10 days after death, the body begins to putrefy and bloat. The
pressure of the gases inflates the body cavity and forces fluids to either
collect in the cavity or exit from various orifices. It’s a messy time.

20 days dead, +2 Ob
At this stage, the bloating ceases and the body collapses in on itself.
The fluids drain away and the flesh of the corpse turns to a creamy
consistency. Insects—particularly flies and beetles—swarm to the
body to consume it. The body is typically covered in a crawling cloak
of maggots.

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50 days dead, +3 Ob
After 50 days of decomposition, the corpse is a putrescent mass of
rotting flesh, inhabited by maggots, flies, wasps and corpse-eating
beetles. It is a barely recognizable horror of what it once was.

1 year dead, +4 Ob
After one year of death, the corpse is a ragged collection of dried,
leathery skin, hair and bones. It is very difficult to reanimate such debris.

Many years gone

Contrary to popular belief, an ancient desiccated corpse is useless to a
death artist. There’s not enough material left to reanimate.

Preserving the Corpse

Corpses rot. It’s an unfortunate fact of life. Even under the care of a
diligent death artist, they fall apart. For about the first year, this can be
held off, but after a year of living death, the corpses crumble.

In order to preserve a corpse and gain more life from it, the death artist
may use the Taxidermy skill. The obstacle for preservation is 1 plus
its current state of decomposition as described above. If the test is
successful, the corpse will not fall apart after a year has elapsed. The
sorcerer can squeeze another year of life out of it. It continues to age, of
course, but the sorcerer may also continue to preserve it after each year
by making the Ob 5 Taxidermy test.

If the test is failed, the corpse crumbles to dust at an inopportune time

within the next year. The GM may have the corpse disintegrate during
play at a point whenever he likes.

Living Traits
If the corpse possessed certain traits during life, the sorcerer gains
advantage dice when casting the Rise! or Ritual Reanimation spells
on it. Add +1D to the Death Art roll for each of the following traits:
Aura of Malevolence, Cold-Blooded, Dreadful, Fearless, Horrific Aura,
Lost, Quiescent, Resigned to Death and Weak-Willed. After the corpse
is reanimated, all such traits are lost.

Physical traits that represent the creature’s form and function remain.
However, any trait that requires regeneration or organic manufacture—
the Earth’s Blood or Venom traits, for example—is lost upon the
creature’s death.

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All Good Children Go to Heaven

Death Art
Each of the following traits add +1 Ob to the Rise!, Ritual Reanimation
or Death of the Spirit obstacle: Aura of Martyrdom, Aura of Holiness,
Entropic, Fey Blood, Iron Will, Misplaced Aura, Obscure Aura,
Stubborn and Wolverine.

Corpses that bore the Eldritch Sink trait in life may not be reanimated
or evoked.

Rise!
The most basic Death Art spell allows the sorcerer to command a corpse
to gather itself up, rise to its feet and heed his commands. This ability is
inherent in the skill. The obstacle is 4 plus the state of decomposition.
Advantage dice to the Rise! test can be gained from the victim’s traits
(see Living Traits). If performed in Fight, this spell costs one action
per obstacle point. In Range and Cover or Duel of Wits, Rise! takes one
volley to cast.

Success indicates that the monstrosity shambles to its feet, ready to do

its master’s bidding. See the Risen Corpse stat block.

Failure indicates either that the spell did not take hold or that the
creature is reanimated, but it turns on the caster. The GM determines
which result is appropriate. If the creature turns on its prospective
master, use the Risen Corpse stat block.

Corpses commanded to rise must be in the sorcerer’s presence.

Unfortunately, this means that interred or entombed corpses may not
be so commanded. The necromancer needs to unearth the body to free
it so that it might serve him.

The Rise! spell can be cast without tools and without preparation. If
the death artist wants more from his corpse servants, he must use the
Ritual Reanimation spell.

The Life of the Corpse

A reanimated corpse of a human adult uses the stats, skills, attributes
and traits listed in the Risen Corpse stat block.

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Reanimated Corpse
Wi Pe Ag Sp Po Fo He Re Ste Mw Res Cir
B9 B1 B3 B3 B5 B5 — B2 B7 B11 — —
Stride 6 Hesitation 1
Su Li Mi Se Tr Mo
PTGS Base Rise! Obstacle: 4
B3 B6 B8 B9 B10 B11
Char Hungry Dead, Mute, Clumsy Walker
Traits
Die Reanimated Corpse, Hideous, Dead to Pain, Night Eyed
Skills Savage Attack B3
Weapons and Type/Name I M S Length VA WS
Damage Nails/Bite B3 B5 B7 Shortest — 2

Reanimated Corpse Dt
This trait grants the reanimated corpse the Wi B9, Pe B1, Ag B3, Sp B3,
Po B5, Fo B5 stat line and eliminates the Health, Resources and Circles
attributes. These creatures may not recover from injury. However, neither do
they bleed to death or suffer from any type of disease or poison. Also, these
creatures may advance extant skills, but they may not learn new skills in
play.
The Reanimated Corpse trait also gives the creature the mindless ability to
act in a mob. Up to five walking corpses may help each other at once with
any task, including dragging down their victims and eating them (in other
words, positioning and Lock actions). When one corpse helps another, it
adds helping dice as per usual, but it may not then act on his own.

Hungry Dead Char

As a side effect of their reanimation, the dead become insatiably hungry.
They may consume normal foodstuffs, but the only dish that truly curbs
their desire is living human flesh.

Ritual Reanimation
Raising a corpse back to its unsteady feet is not the only feat a death
artist may perform. Given time and materials, he can reshape a corpse
into a grim horror capable of efficiently carrying out his maleficent
will. The base obstacle for Ritual Reanimation is significantly lower
than the Rise! spell.

This process requires a workshop for Death Art and a number of hours
equal to the obstacle of the spell to be cast to raise the corpse. The
sorcerer may work patiently, carefully and quickly as per the standard
skill rules.

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Death Art

The Ritual of Reanimation

There are four types of rituals for creating a corpse servant—reanimated
corpse, soldier of the damned, abomination and night hunter. Each
ritual produces a different body type and a different stat block. The
sorcerer must choose which body type he wishes to begin with. Factor
the corpse’s state of decomposition into the obstacle. The death artist
may further modify the body and the obstacle by using the rules
described in the Transmogrification section. Finally, the death artist
player can grant his character bonus dice to the skill test by imparting
his servant with Beliefs and Instincts.

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Rituals of Reanimation Obstacles and Advantages

Rituals
Basic Ritual Ob 2
Soldier of the Damned Ob 3
Abomination Ob 4
Night Hunter Ob 5

Decomposition
3 days dead —
10 days dead +1 Ob
20 days dead +2 Ob
50 days dead +3 Ob
1 year dead + 4 Ob
More than one year Not possible

Traits of the Living

Living Traits +1D per trait
All Good Children Go to Heaven +1 Ob per trait

Transmogrification
Enhance stat (2-4) +1 Ob per point
Enhance stat ( 5 and up) +2 Ob per point
Enhance skill (2-4) +1 Ob per point
Enhance skill (5 and up) +2 Ob per point
Add skill +1 Ob per skill
Monstrous corpse trait level 1 +1 Ob per trait
Monstrous corpse trait level 2 +2 Ob per trait
Monstrous corpse trait level 3 +3 Ob per trait

In Morti ad Vivo
Add Instinct +1D per Instinct
Add Belief +2D per Belief (max two)

I Am Night
Add Night Blooded Trait +2D

Time of Death, Preferred Corpse

Any corpse that’s been dead for a year or less may be so raised. Soldiers
of the Damned are best made from fresh kills of strong young men and
women. Abominations are often assembled from the outsized bodies of
criminals, madmen and lepers. Children on the cusp of coming of age
make the best fodder for Night Hunters.

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Transmogrification

Death Art
The sorcerer may tinker with the strength, ability and adaptability of
his creation. The modifications and enhancements that may be made
to a corpse are listed below. Enjoy!

Enhancing the Body

The sorcerer may concoct solutions and lay wards to increase the
physical mettle of his creation. The player may increase physical stats
from the base numbers listed with the body. Raising a stat from 2-4
increases the Death Art obstacle by one for each die added. Raising
a stat to 5 or higher increases the Death Art obstacle by two for each
die added.

The player may increase skill exponents from the base numbers listed
with the body. Raising a skill from 1-4 increases the Death Art obstacle
by one for each die added. Raising a skill to 5 or higher increases the
Death Art obstacle by two for each die added.

Adding Skills
The sorcerer may imbue his creations with additional skills. Each skill
added increases the Ritual Reanimation obstacle by +1 Ob. Each skill
added opens at root plus 2. You may select from the following list:

Weapon skills, Brawling, Throwing, Hauling, Climbing, Riding,

Stealthy, Ditch Digging, Armor Training, Shield Training.

Monstrous Corpse Traits Level 1, +1 Ob

The sorcerer may add any of the following traits to his creation. Each
trait added increases the obstacle to reanimate by 1: Aggressive, Brute,
Claws, Devourer, Fangs, Heaving, Numb, Hideous, Single-Minded or
Silent.

Monstrous Corpse Traits Level 2, +2 Ob

The following traits may be bound into a corpse before it’s reanimated.
They increase the obstacle by 2 each: Berzerker, Dead to Pain,
Hammer Hands, Repulsive Blood, Stillness, Unfeeling or Unflinching.

Monstrous Corpse Traits Level 3, +3 Ob

Aura of Fear, Toothy Maw, Iron Hide, Troll Skin.

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In Morti ad Vivo
Tinkering with the corpse’s composition is primarily a spiritual and
magical act. This process changes the nature of the creature. The more
qualities the death artist grants to his rotting monster, the more lifelike it
becomes. The more lifelike it becomes, the more willful and self-sufficient
it becomes, but also the more vulnerable it grows to fear and pain.

Revenge Is a Vulture
Reanimated corpses lose all of the Beliefs and Instincts they had in life.
The will and energy required to maintain such things in life are fuel
for the bindings which lock the spirit in the fleshy prison and power
its foul deeds. The soul is trapped in a hellish place between life and
death. It only knows pain, loss and sorrow. But it experiences them
without understanding. However, the more power the death artist
grants to his creation, the closer to life and remembering it becomes.

The death artist player may grant his creations Instincts and Beliefs in
order to gain bonus dice for the reanimation rituals.

• Granting a creature an Instinct gives +1D to the reanimation ritual.

A creature may have up to three Instincts.

• Granting a creature a Belief grants +2D to the reanimation ritual. A

death artist may allow two Beliefs to resurface in the corpse’s bound
soul.

The GM writes the Instincts and Beliefs. Even so the creature may not
act on its Beliefs until it either earns three Beliefs or is freed from the
spiritual bonds that bind it. Creatures with Instincts may use them as
they are triggered.

I Am Night
Applying the Night Blooded trait to a corpse—so it is only active at
night—grants +2D to the Death Art test to reanimate.

Preserving a Trait from Life

If a death artist wishes to preserve a trait the corpse held in life, he must
make a separate Death Art test. The obstacle is 1 plus the trait point
cost. You may preserve one trait.

Performing the Ritual

Total the obstacle and bonus from the Reanimation Ritual,
Decomposition, Traits of the Living, Transmogrification, In Morti ad
Vivo and I Am Night categories. Test Death Art plus advantage dice.

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This test requires a Death Art workshop. Success indicates that the

Death Art
corpse rises from the ritual pit, reborn to serve its new master.

Failure indicates that either the spell has failed and the corpse is
just rotting flesh, or that the death artist has called back something
malevolent and destructive to inhabit the body. In this case, the GM
may opt to have the corpse possessed by an imp or dæmon. Roll the Die
of Fate if you don’t have anything else in mind: 1–Lesser Imp, 2–Imp,
3–Greater Imp, 4–Lesser Dæmon, 5–Dæmon, 6–Greater Dæmon. The
possessing spirit transfers the Lawbreaker trait and one other trait of
the GM’s choosing (except Spirit Nature) into the corpse. The corpse
also retains any of the traits that the death artist was trying to impart.

Ritually Reanimated Corpse Stat Blocks

Ritually Reanimated Corpse
Wi Pe Ag Sp Po Fo He Re Ste Mw Res Cir
B9 B1 B3 B3 B5 B5 — B2 B7 B11 — —
Stride 7 Hesitation 1
Su Li Mi Se Tr Mo
PTGS Base Reanimation Obstacle: 2
B3 B6 B8 B9 B10 B11
Char Hungry Dead, Mute, Clumsy Walker
Traits
Die Reanimated Corpse, Hideous, Dead to Pain, Night Eyed
Skills Savage Attack B3
Weapons and Type/Name I M S Length VA WS
Damage Nails/Bite B3 B5 B7 Shortest — 2

Soldier of the Damned

Wi Pe Ag Sp Po Fo He Re Ste Mw Res Cir
B6 B2 B4 B4 B4 B6 — B3 B7 B11 — —
Stride 7 Hesitation 4/0
Su Li Mi Se Tr Mo
PTGS Base Reanimation Obstacle: 3
B4 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11
Char Hungry Dead, Mute
Traits
Die Reanimated Corpse, Hideous, Dead to Pain, Unfeeling, Night Eyed
Skills Savage Attack B5
Weapons and Type/Name I M S Length VA WS
Damage Nails/Bite B2 B4 B6 Shortest — 2

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Abomination
Wi Pe Ag Sp Po Fo He Re Ste Mw Res Cir
B4 B2 B4 B4 B6 B6 — B3 B7 B12 — —
Stride 6 Hesitation 6/0
Su Li Mi Se Tr Mo
PTGS Base Reanimation Obstacle: 4
B4 B7 B9 B10 B11 B12
Char Hungry Dead, Mute
Traits Die Reanimated Corpse, Massive Stature, Hideous, Unfeeling, Brute, Night Eyed
Call Back-Breaking Labor, Lifting Heavy Things
Skills Savage Attack B4, Hauling B4
Weapons and Type/Name I M S Length VA WS
Damage Nails/Bite B4 B6 B9 Short — 2

Night Hunter
Wi Pe Ag Sp Po Fo He Re Ste Mw Res Cir
B3 B5 B6 B6 B3 B3 — B5 B7 B9 — —
Stride 8 Hesitation 7/4
Su Li Mi Se Tr Mo
PTGS Base Reanimation Obstacle: 5
B2 B4 B6 B7 B8 B9
Char Hungry Dead, Mute
Traits Reanimated Corpse, Hideous, Dead to Pain, Unfeeling, Fearless, Clawed, Nose of the
Die
Bloodhound, Night Eyed
Skills Savage Attack B5, Stealthy B4, Climbing B4
Weapons and Type/Name I M S Length VA WS
Damage Slashing Claws B2 B4 B6 Short 1 3

A three-day-old body can be turned into a Reanimated Corpse with an Ob 2

Death Art test. Increasing its Savage Attack skill from 3 to 4 adds +1 Ob.
Giving it the Climbing skill adds +1 Ob. Adding Claws and the Single Minded
trait are +1 Ob each. The total reanimation obstacle for this creature is then
6. If I give it the Night Blooded trait and an Instinct, I get +3D to the test.

Re-Reanimation
Corpses that are dealt a Mortal Wound in play are once again freed from
their mortal coil. They die again and may not receive treatment, recover
or heal. They may, however, be rebound by Death Art. Oh hideous fate!

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Rebinding a spirit to its corpse requires a Death Art ritual similar to

Death Art
the one that reanimated it in the first place. The death artist gains a
+1D advantage to the test. The corpse creature also gains a Belief. It
may have up to three Beliefs. If the creature to be brought back already
has three Beliefs, the obstacle to control and maintain the creature as
described under the Inevitable, Immortal Army is increased by +1.

Repairing the Mortal Coil

Corpses that are damaged but not killed may be repaired using the
Taxidermy skill. Use the obstacles for Field Dressing. Only one penalty
die per wound may be so repaired. No recovery test is possible.

Death of the Spirit

There is another set of rituals contained in this art. Rather than take
that which is dead and give it the semblance of life, the death artist
may take the life slowly from the living and give them the semblance
of death.

This process is undertaken in three steps—toxification, living death

and evocation. The subject may be willing or unwilling. It does not
matter. At the end of the process they will either be dead or transformed
into a powerful spirit of vengeance.

Toxification
The first step in this process is to begin killing the body. The death
artist must introduce toxins and poisons into the victim’s system and
slowly, but firmly, accelerate his path toward death.

As mentioned above, the victim does not have to be willing or even

aware of the process. But he must ingest the concoctions the death artist
presents to him—either willingly or by force.

Death Toxins
The victim must consume special alcohol or drugs, or specially
prepared meat. Preparing death toxins is an Ob 1 Death Art test.
Preparing a meal of poisoned meat is an Ob 2 test. These deadly
substances must be ingested. They may not be injected.

Once the poison is ingested, make a versus test between the victim’s
Forte and Death Art. If Death Art is successful, the process has begun.
Apply the margin of success as described under the You Should Be

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Dying heading. If the Death Art test fails, the victim falls ill and suffers
an injury equal to the exponent of the Death Art skill. But now, the
victim may not be taken down this path—he is resistant. He may, of
course, be killed and his corpse reanimated.

You Should Be Dying

Successful intoxication grants the victim the Aggressive trait. In
addition, each additional success can be spent to grant one of the
following traits: Bottomless Stomach, Cannibal or Death Addicted.

The victim is also now primed for further torment from the death artist.

The Living Death

During the second stage of the process, the death artist begins to
separate the victim’s soul from his body, like prying back fingernails
from their moorings.

This phase of the process requires a ritual involving candles, sacrifice

and meditation. It must take place in the sorcerer’s workshop and the
victim must be present.

Test Death Art versus the victim’s Will. If Death Art is successful, the
victim earns the Silent call-on trait and the Necrophagic character
trait. And he is now ready for the final step, evocation.

Soul Twisting
Extra successes may be spent to apply additional traits to the victim
from the following list: Dissent Parasite, Blood Lust, Aura of Fear,
Single-Minded and Fast Reflexes.

Extra successes may also be applied to eliminating the victim’s Beliefs

and Instincts. Two successes may be spent to remove an Instinct
slot from the character sheet—he had three, now he has two. Three
successes may be spent to remove a Belief slot. Multiple Instincts and
Beliefs may be lost in one test. The target player may determine which
Beliefs are lost.

The time for the test is hours equal to the obstacle of the test plus any
extra successes applied for traits.

If you fail the test, something went wrong during the ritual. The victim
wakes up and witnesses the horror around him. He may attempt to
escape the death artist’s lair using speed, stealth or by force, whichever
is most appropriate to the situation. He may not be brought further
down the path to evocation.

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Death Art
Ghouls
Taking a subject through Toxification and the Living Death effectively
transforms him into a ghoul. However, he is not under the sorcerer’s
direct control. Ghouls are still alive and may think and act as they
please. Persuasion, Seduction, Soothing Platitudes and Intimidation
tests may be used to motivate them and Duel of Wits used to sway them.

Evocation
In the final stage of the ritual, the death artist rips the very soul from
his victim and transforms it into a deadly servant. In order for the soul
to be evoked, the victim must be tormented and then ritually murdered.

Make a Death Art test against an obstacle equal to the victim’s current
Will exponent plus his current Forte exponent. Describe your actions in
terms of things metaphysical, religious and ritual. Describe how you’re
transforming your victim into this new monstrous form.

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Successful Evocation
If successful, the death artist rips the very soul from his victim and
transforms it into a servant of his will, trapped in a living death. The
victim earns the following traits: Slave to the Power of Death, Corpse
Bound, Luminescent, Stillness and Heartless.

Extra successes from the evocation test may be spent to add traits or
to remove Beliefs and Instincts.

• It costs one extra success to remove a Belief or Instinct at this stage.

• The following traits cost one extra success each: Mesmerizing Gaze,
Horrific Aura.

• These traits cost two extra successes each: Celestial Sight and
Amulet Bound can be used to replace Corpse Bound.

• Gifted and Faithful cost three successes each. But can only be
imbued if the servant possessed the trait in life.

• Spirit Nature costs four extra successes.

The victim retains skills he had in life. Die and call-on traits are lost
and replaced with those imparted by the Death of the Spirit process
(except as noted above). Character traits are retained. The slave’s stats
are equal to its stats in life, minus any dice from injuries sustained at
the time of this death.

If a victim is evoked while suffering from a Traumatic Wound, all of his

stats are reduced by four when he transforms from life to unlife.
The victim may not learn new skills unless he has three Beliefs. If he
has fewer than three Beliefs, he has no free will and must obey the
commands of his creator without hesitation.

Evocation Time
The evocation test takes days equal to the obstacle.

Failed Evocation
If the test is failed, the victim dies.

Slave to the Power of Death Dt

This creature is now the servant of the sorcerer who evoked his soul. He is
no longer alive, but neither is he dead. He will not age, grow sick, hunger
or sleep. Use the skills the victim had in life. Die and call-on traits are lost
and replaced with those imparted by the Death of the Spirit process (except
as noted under Evocation). Character traits are retained. The slave’s stats

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are equal to his stats in life, minus any dice from injuries sustained at the

Death Art
time of this death. This condition overrides conditions from other traits like
Corpse Bound.

The Lich
The death artist may perform the Death of the Spirit ritual upon
himself. A necromancer who does so is under his own control and
begins the game with three Beliefs.

I Am in Command
A successful Death Art test to raise a corpse or spirit puts the sorcerer
in command of the creature. Commands must be verbalized, but all
implication and subtext is comprehended via the deep bond between
the death artist and his creation.

For example, the sorcerer may shout, “Get him!” and the creature will
know who “him” is.

Gathering the Materials

Death Art requires a few key ingredients, namely a victim (a corpse or
one who will soon be) and a laboratory or ritual chamber.

Workshops
Death Art requires a workshop (20 rps) for the higher-end processes—
Ritual Reanimation and Death of the Spirit. This “workshop” consists
of either a laboratory or a ritual religious space depending on the idiom
of the art in your game. Acquiring the materials for such a setup is an
Ob 6 Resources test in play. It’s not cheap. It also puts the sorcerer’s
lifestyle maintenance test at Ob 4 minimum.

Victims and Corpses

Victims are characters in your story. They can be relationships bought
before play or characters encountered during the game. Victims may
be brought into the game via Circles. If the sorcerer player wishes to
do this, use the specific disposition modifier—the player is specifically
looking for a victim. Also, this Circles test brings in characters whom
you’ve known in the past. No matter who the victim is, he and the
sorcerer have crossed paths before.

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Corpses can be acquired in a number of ways, none of them pleasant.

I recommend calling for a test in order to find a corpse based on the
following conditions:

Murders
Murder scenes are an obvious site of fresh corpses. However, it’s
difficult to predict where they’ll happen and thus they’re difficult
to exploit. Unless, of course, one arranges and performs the murder
oneself. Then this can become a most reliable source of fresh meat. To
arrange for a victim, use the Victim mechanics.

Murderous sorcerers are an excellent opportunity to bring in the local

law enforcement figures. In medieval human kingdoms, bailiffs,
constables and justiciars are the officers of the king’s law. They’ll
usually be of a count or baron’s rank and have with them a retinue of
knights and squires. In a village, most likely the local sergeant will be
the first to investigate a crime, interrogating witnesses and searching
for physical evidence. Bored officials love to investigate a good crime,
especially when it means they’ll get to crucify a skeevy necromancer.

Graveyards
Finding a suitable graveyard calls for a Graveyard-wise test. The
obstacle should be from 1 to 3, depending on the frequency of such
places in your game. The wealthier an area, the more likely it is to
have a graveyard.

There is the matter of the digging or tomb-breaking. Digging shouldn’t

be a test unless there’s something else at stake, like a time crunch.
Then, by all means, call for a Ditch Digging test.

Unless one is stalking a funeral, finding fresh corpses in a graveyard

is difficult. Roll a die of fate to determine the state of decomposition
of the corpse you dig up:

Graveyard Corpse Ages

1 10 days dead
2 20 days dead
3 50 days dead
4 1 year dead
5 1 year dead
6 Many years gone

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Gibbets

Death Art
Gibbets are execution grounds, specifically scaffolding on which
criminals are hanged until they die. They’re an excellent source of
fresh bodies but suffer from being in rather public places.

You can find a gibbet using Roads-wise in the country, or a Streetwise

test in the city. Alternately, a Bandit-wise or Criminal-wise test could
be used to get directions.

Stealing a body from a gibbet requires an Inconspicuous test (during

daylight hours) or a Stealthy test (at night) against an Observation of
B3 for small towns, B4 for large towns, B5 for cities. In some situations,
an Ob 3 Resources test can be paid to bribe the hangman to look the
other way. Success indicates the sorcerer gets away undetected. Just
a family member come to collect the body, right? Failure indicates
someone is up for a new reputation….

Roll the die of fate to determine how old the corpse on the gibbet is:

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Gibbet Corpse Ages

1 Less than 3 days dead
2 Less than 3 days dead
3 10 days dead
4 10 days dead
5 50 days dead
6 1 year dead
Grave Pits
Grave pits are common in poor areas or areas of the countryside with
temporarily high mortality rates due to plague or war. Grave pits are
open to the air, with the corpses simply wrapped and dropped in and
then covered with a shovelful of quicklime. There is typically a grave
digger present at the grave pits as a nominal guard, but otherwise
these pits are perforce in remote locations.

Finding a grave pit requires a Graveyard-wise test (details Ob 3), or

a Plague-wise test (simple facts Ob 2). Roll a die of fate to determine
the state of decomposition of the corpses:

Grave Pit Corpse Ages

1 Less than 3 days dead
2 10 days dead
3 20 days dead
4 20 days dead
5 50 days dead
6 1 year dead
Battle Sites
Recent battle sites are an excellent source of fresh corpses.
Unfortunately, most soldiers tend to be rather emotional about
retrieving and burying their dead. Stealing a body from an active
battle site requires a Stealthy test versus the force’s scouts or, I
suppose, an Inconspicuous test to walk into camp and pretend you’re
a surgeon. Getting caught inevitably involves arrows and swords, so
do take care. The upside is that these bodies are always fresh!

Prospecting at an ancient battle site is usually a lost cause. A successful

Excavation test will turn up battlefield remains. Roll on the following
table to determine the corpse’s age:

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Death Art
Battle Sites Corpse Ages
1 1 year dead
2 1 year dead
3 Many years gone
4 Many years gone
5 Many years gone
6 Many years gone

The Inevitable, Immortal Army

Using the Death Art, a sorcerer can accumulate quite a horde of dead
followers. Maintaining a horde is difficult and dangerous, but very
rewarding.

Maintaining Your Horde

At the end of each session, before artha is doled out, the necromancer
must test Will in order to keep his horde of creations in control: base
obstacle is 0, +1 Ob for each risen or ritually reanimated corpse, +2 Ob
for each creature with the Slave to the Power of Death trait and +1 Ob
for each of these that has three Beliefs.

Success indicates that the sorcerer keeps his children in check. They
will obey his commands unfailingly for the next session.

Go Forth and Stalk the Night, My Children

Failing the maintenance test indicates that the death artist’s hold over
his dead minions is weakening. The sorcerer may do one of two things:
He may release creatures from his service. These monsters become
independent entities, acting on their own. The sorcerer may not regain
control over them (except through Re-Reanimation). The sorcerer
must release creatures whose maintenance obstacle penalty equals the
margin of failure.

If he failed by three, he’s got to release three risen creatures; one spirit
and one fleshy creature; or one spirit with three Beliefs.
Tightening the Grip
Alternately, the sorcerer can opt to exert his will and force the creatures
to remain in his service. Doing so grants his creations a number of
Beliefs equal to the margin of failure. The Beliefs must be assigned to
the most valuable creation with the most Beliefs first, then to the next
most valuable, etc.

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I Can Remember My Wife; You Killed Her, You Bastard!

If a sorcerer fails a maintenance test and has a creature under his
control with three Beliefs, he must set it free first before he can decide
what else to do with the remainder of his margin of failure.

You may choose to mix these options, releasing members of the horde
and tightening your grip on others in order to satisfy the margin of
failure for the maintenance test.

Help Me, You Fool!

The sorcerer may get help to maintain his horde from another death
artist, so long as his friend has the Death Art skill and is not currently
controlling any reanimated corpses or evoked spirits of his own.

Freedom
Creatures who are set free or break free may act on their Beliefs. The
GM takes control of them, and generally they are not happy. Their
existence is one of torment and slavery. It’s not uncommon for them
to break free from the sorcerer’s control and simply throw themselves
upon him in an attempt to take his wretched life. That rarely ends well.

The truly smart ones crawl off to the hills and barrows and plot their
revenge. To die again in front of their former master only gives him
power over them again!

The GM may choose the best course for these monsters, guided by
their Beliefs and Instincts.

Belief Bookkeeping
Don’t keep a record of all of the creatures’ Beliefs. Simply note how
many Beliefs each monster has. When the creature is freed, write
up the proper odes to revenge and murder that such Beliefs would
encompass.

Instincts Bookkeeping
I do recommend tracking Instincts. They should involve a mix of
survival and revenge. For example:

“Always use my Stealthy when on errands for my master.”

And, “When the master falters, shove him off the cliff.”

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Field Life of a Corpse

Death Art
The corpses do continue to decompose. Death Art does not inherently
preserve them. This does not lessen their effectiveness, per se, but after
a year or so of death, the creatures crumble to a useless pile of hair and
bone. Generally, it’s not going to be something you need to worry about.
But it is something to keep in mind.

Live in Infamy
Death artists are bad people. In every culture, tampering with the dead
and calling souls back to serve you (as slaves) is a great taboo. It’s ugly
business. These taboos are typically written into civil and religious
law. The penalties for breaking these laws are often as harsh as can
be—imprisonment or corporal punishment are typical.

The Infamous Lives of Death Artists

At any point in the game, if a death artist is caught performing his
works, and news of this spreads, he earns an infamous reputation. If
there are one or more surviving witnesses, word spreads. At the end of
the session, review the death artist’s candidacy for a reputation. The
group can vote him a new 1D infamous reputation, increase an extant
infamous reputation by one or they may convert one of his other more
valuable reputations into an infamous one.

Lay Your Fears to Rest

Death Art is an insidious and powerful art, but it is not without its
vulnerabilities. Its base creations may be felled by fire and axe, whereas
wraiths and spectres are vulnerable to Faith, Summoning and Folklore.

Faith in Light, Life, Health and Purity

Priests of the religions who have power in spheres of light, life, health
or purity have a special options for the blessing, hindrance, purification
and intercession miracles.

• T he blessing miracle may be used to turn a weapon to a spirit

weapon against Death Art only or add the standard +1D advantage.
Choose before saying the blessing.
• H indrance stops a number of creatures equal to the priest’s Faith
exponent, rather than just three creatures.
• Purification unbinds body and spirit and causes a reanimated
corpse to crumble before the priest.

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Tormented spirits are another matter. These souls require an

intercession. The priest must pray for them and their god must reach
out and set them free. Successful intercession destroys those under the
duress of the Death of the Spirit.

Summoning Against Death

Summoning may be used to call forth the souls who are bound into
these creations. Reanimated corpses count as restless dead. Fully
evoked spirits count as minor corporal spirits. If the test is successful,
the creature will present itself to the summoner. It will not initially
harm him when it is summoned. If the creature has Beliefs, it can enter
into a pact. If it has none, it may not; the death artist’s magic has it
trapped. The summoner’s magic is not capable of destroying spirits or
countering the Death Art magic. The summoner must find another way
to free the soul if he so desires.

However, the summoner may trap these spirit creatures in prison

circles. See the rules for Circination in the Summoning chapter.

If your uncle’s corpse has been raised to serve a death artist and you
summon your uncle’s spirit, the walking corpse eventually shambles up
and heeds your summons.

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 Folklore
The Folklore skill contains a wealth of knowledge and resources for
combatting the creatures of the night. Often, remedies are specific
to a particular culture. To allow for a range of possible cultures
and game worlds, these expanded rules describe some overarching
motifs for Folklore and how to use them to ward off the walking
dead and track down evil sorcerers.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ve broken down this application of

Folklore into three categories: charms, wards and remedies.

Charms
A charm imposes a +1 Ob penalty to any activity against the
wearer by the target creature.

Charms are small baubles, necklaces and bracelets worn by

the superstitious. When created, a charm must be dedicated to
protecting against a specific type of creature—walking corpses,
ghouls or fully evoked spirits. Also, a charm must be fragile and
breakable—there must be the chance that they get ripped, torn,
lost or broken.

Wards
A ward is a place, object or symbol that keeps spirits, the living
dead and reanimated corpses at bay. These creatures may not
approach, attack or otherwise act against characters within the
protection of a ward.

Holy groves, churches, temples and running streams can act as

wards.
Remedies
A remedy hastens the destruction of a constructed, created or
summoned creature. Remedies can also be used to counteract
curses or similar magical effects like Toxification in Death Art.
Remedies for abominations include things like holy water, silver
swords and wooden stakes. A remedy can turn a regular weapon
into a spirit weapon, grant an advantage die when fighting these
creatures or increase the selected Power of a weapon by 1 when
used against a specified product of Death Art.

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Creating Charms, Wards and Remedies with Folklore

Customs differ from place to place. What might be effective in one
village might not work in the next. The Folklore skill is used to discover
the proper charms, wards and remedies for various places.

In order to identify an effective solution to his current problem, the

player makes a Folklore skill test. The obstacle is determined by
combining a number of factors and conditions. The player and the GM
work together to set the obstacle and thereby determine the folklore
customs for this particular locale.

The more obscure and difficult to perform, the lower the obstacle for the
Folklore. Look through the following list. Choose two to five conditions
and criteria that appeal to you and that make sense.

The base Folklore obstacle is 7. Each condition that you choose from the
list below reduces the obstacle by one.

If you choose Numbers, Gesture and Day-to-Day Rituals—three items

from the list—the obstacle is reduced from 7 to 4.

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Before testing against the obstacle, decide if you’re going to find a

Folklore
charm, ward or remedy. They’re all the same obstacle to discover,
but have different effects in play, and each has different conditions of
acquisition. Once you’ve chosen your conditions and set your obstacle,
decide how they fit together.

Significant Numbers
Certain numbers have mystical effects: 4 is bad luck in some cultures,
5 is a holy number in others. Choose a significant number.

Significant Metals
Certain metals are better at combatting the supernatural. Iron, silver,
gold and lead all have unique properties.

Significant Minerals
Salt, diamonds, quartz and a variety of other minerals are noted for
their protective powers.

Significant Herbs or Plants

Garlic, cloves, aniseed and adzuki beans are all renowned for creating
potent wards and charms.

Significant Animals or Parts Thereof

A wolf’s tooth, rabbit’s foot, lamb’s blood or honey can aid the
knowledgeable in creating wards.

Significant Dates
Holy days, birthdays of saints, equinoxes, solstices, full moons and
eclipses all influence the power of supernaturals.

Significant Geometry
Certain symbols—stars, perfect circles, equilateral triangles—contain
mystical potential.

Significant Architecture
The manner in which a building is constructed can be so pure and
powerful that it adversely affects the spell’s ill intent.

Significant Features
A lone tree on a blasted heath, a swiftly running stream, consecrated
ground or a mountain shaped like a jagged tooth can all act as
powerful wards.

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Significant Gestures or Manners

The sign to avert evil, averting the eyes, dancing in circles and reciting
ritual phrases are all well-known sources of power against the forces
of darkness.

Significant Day-to-Day Rituals

Even everyday rituals like sweeping the stoop with a broom, washing
one’s hands before a meal or praying to the saints before bed can aid
in keeping one’s life free and clear of the death artist’s dark servants.

If you chose minerals, numbers, dates, architecture and day-to-day

rituals, what does that mean? You’ve got to put them all together: On
the morning of the day of the new moon, the stoop of the house must be
swept clean and then three perfect piles of salt poured on the lintel. That’d
be an Ob 2 Folklore test to bring this into the game. Common knowledge
among the midwifery!
Find the Rare Thing
Knowing the Folklore of charms, wards and remedies doesn’t necessarily
mean these things are easily found. If items need to be acquired,
they may be found through an outing or adventure, or perhaps even
Resources or Circles tests.

Folkloric Restrictions
These broad rules allow for the players to shape local color. If the
GM feels that some of the categories break the mood of the setting,
he may restrict them. The first level of restriction is requiring linked
wise tests to discover which criteria hold power in this place or culture.
The second level of restriction is to cut certain items from the game
outright. The culture might not hold animals sacred or have no great
architecture, for example.

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Using pain, torture and murder, the sorcerer may gain bonus dice
to cast his bloody magics!

Blood Magic is not a complete magic system like Art Magic or

Death Art. It’s an add-on system meant to be combined with other
arts. It can be combined with Sorcery, Art Magic, Death Art, Orc
Rituals, Enchanting, Faith, Summoning and Spirit Binding.

If combined with Enchanting, Sorcery or Orc Rituals, test the skill

plus bonus dice from Blood Magic. If used with Summoning or
Spirit Binding, I recommend replacing the Reputations and Spirit
Marks with the Blood Magic rules. For Faith or Death Art, use
them in place of the helping rules and prepare for some bloody
miracles.

We also recommend adopting the Corruption rules found in this

book if you’re using Blood Magic in your campaign.

There are two overall methods to Blood Magic: torture and

sacrifice. Torture uses the victim’s pain and suffering for small
gains meted out over a longer period of time. Sacrifice uses the
victim’s death as a one-time, powerful boost to the spell.

When a player seeks a boost from a blood magic ritual, he must

declare before he starts whether he is using torture or sacrifice.
Torture uses the Torture skill. Sacrifice uses Rituals or Rituals of
Blood.

Torture
If a sorcerer captures a victim, he may torture the victim to fuel his
spells. The sorcerer aims to inflict injury—to draw blood—but not
to incapacitate or kill the victim. It’s the pain, suffering and blood
that grant the sorcerer power.

Test the Torture skill. The obstacle is equal to the victim’s Will.
Success indicates the victim suffers a wound equal to the torturer’s
shade and exponent. Extra successes reduce or increase the damage,
one pip on the PTGS per extra success. If the damage inflicts at

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least -1D of wound penalties, the torturer gains a +1D advantage to

the next spell he casts. For each -1D of wound penalty inflicted on the
victim, the sorcerer gains an additional +1D advantage. Thus a Light
wound is worth +1D, a Severe is worth +3D, etc.

If the sorcerer finds his victim’s Will too high, he may simply beat him
before the actual torture session begins.

The Beatings
Beating a character into submission entails doing injury to him in order
to inflict wound penalties to reduce the obstacle for Torture (or any
social skill).

Before beginning the torture itself, the sorcerer may dispatch his thugs
to beat the piss out of his victim or undertake the task himself. Make
an Ob 2 Brawling test. Success indicates you do Mark result damage to
your victim. One success over the obstacle means you can choose to do
an Incidental or Mark hit. Two successes over means you can choose an
Incidental, Mark or Superb hit. Failure indicates you inflict a Superb
hit on your victim.

The torturing player may make beating tests as often as he likes, but
the results of a test stand: Damage from a beating cannot be reduced or
spent. If a victim is killed or becomes too broken to be tortured, that’s
the sorcerer’s problem.

The Victim Must Remain Conscious and Alive

If the victim falls unconscious or is killed during the torture, all
bonuses are lost. Swooning from a failed Steel test result does not count
as incapacitation in this case. If a stat is reduced to zero or lower, the
victim counts as incapacitated.

Victims Must Recover

A victim recovers from his wounds as per the standard rules for
recovery. The GM must be sure to track the injuries. A victim of a Midi
wound will bleed to Severe if untreated. A victim of a Severe wound will
bleed to death if untreated.

Small, Bite-Sized Chunks

It’s usually best to just take small chunks out of your victims and let
them recover. By maintaining a dungeon full of victims, a sorcerer can
keep a rotating stock of healthy chattel. Gruesome, eh?

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Blood Magic

The Power Remains Until Used

The advantage dice earned through torture remain with the sorcerer
until spent. They may be spent individually, en masse or in whatever
combination the player desires.

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Sacrifice
Torture pays out small benefits over time to the sorcerer, whereas ritual
murder grants a large one-time boost in power.

To make a sacrifice, the sorcerer must have either the Ritual or

Rituals of Blood skill. Make a versus test between the sorcerer’s skill
and the victim’s Forte. This test must take place in a relatively secure
environment and definitely requires tools—ritual implements, candles,
cups, etc. You may not ritually murder your opponent in a fight.

Altar of Sacrifice
If the sorcerer wins the test, he ritually slaughters his victim and gains
a pool of advantage dice equal to the victim’s current Will exponent.
The sorcerer uses these advantage dice for casting or resisting the tax
of a spell. You may allocate them as needed.

Curse of the Damned

If the sorcerer fails to ritually murder his victim the GM should choose
one of the following: The victim escapes or struggles with the sorcerer;
The victim curses the sorcerer before death causing an obstacle
penalty equal to his Will on the tax test for the spell the ritual was
intended to aid; or the victim’s death warps the spell and the GM may
decide a new or additional effect for it.

The Power Fades

Any advantage dice conferred from ritual murder fade over time. The
sorcerer player loses one die for each test made for which the dice are
spent. When casting a spell, the dice are expended as he chooses. The
dice may all be used or used in part and saved for additional spells.

Destruction
A character who is ritually murdered may not be treated for his injuries
and may not make a recovery test. He or she is dead.

Perhaps the corpse will be put to some darker use—or his spirit
summoned to give testament to his fate.

The Blood of Innocents

Certain qualities enhance the effectiveness of Blood Magic. Traits of
purity, holiness or power lend the ritual more power, which is then
transferred to the sorcerer. Bad news for the victims.

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+1D Victims

Blood Magic
Child Prodigy, Aura of Innocence, Faithful, Fey Blood, Gifted,
Immortal (in any capacity) or Tainted Legacy traits add +1D to the
sorcerer’s bonus for murder or torture.

Martyrs and the Holy

Victims with the Chosen One, Aura of Martyrdom or Aura of Holiness
traits double any die benefits conferred from torturing or murdering
them.

Bad Victims
Characters with Eldritch Sink, Atravieso or Entropic traits are useless
for blood sacrifice. They provide no bonus for murder or torture. In fact,
involving them in the ritual at all increases the obstacles for the spell
to be cast by +2.

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 The Arsenal Method
The Arsenal Method limits the number of spells a sorcerer can
have on hand at any one time but allows him to return to home
base and change his current lineup, switching out spells for more
useful options.

This is an optional add-on for standard Sorcery as described in the

Burning Wheel. According to this method, spells are supernatural
creatures fighting for space in the wizard’s consciousness. A wizard
only has so much room to work with before the spells just blot each
other out and he can’t remember anything.

Memories
A wizard may hold in his mind a number of spells equal to his
Perception minus one. He may cast them according to the standard
rules for Burning Wheel Sorcery.

If my character has a Perception B6, I can keep five spells on tap.

If the wizard’s Perception is reduced to injury or impairment, he
forgets a number of spells equal to the difference. The player may
choose which are no longer available.

Spell Books
If a wizard character possesses more spells than he can hold in his
crowded memory at one time, he keeps the extra spells written in
his precious, really-too-big-to-carry-around spell book or similar,
campaign-appropriate edifice.

My spell book contains Eldritch Shield, Philosopher’s Perch,

Magesense, Wyrd Light, Shards, Binding and Blessed Hands.
Starting Spell Book
The wizard purchases a starting selection of spells according to
the standard rules as described in the Character Burner.

Idiomatic Spell Books

The spell book rule is not designed to cut a mage off from the
source of his power. It exists only to limit what he has access
to right now. Feel free to change the spell book to some other

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campaign-appropriate format—a temple,

Sorcerer’s Arsenal
a grove of trees, tattoos, a gaggle of imps,
the spirit of your dead father. The rules
for accessing it remain the same as those
described below under the Changing Spells
rules.

Changing Spells
A wizard may trade out spells from his
current lineup for ones in his reserve during downtime—while other
characters are healing, working or practicing, for example.

My wizard has a Perception of B6; I can keep five spells in his head at
once. My must-haves are Eldritch Shield and Magesense. They always
come with me. We’ll be dungeoneering, so I also choose Wyrd Light,
Shards and Blessed Hands. I want to be able to light the way, heal my
friends and hurt my enemies. I leave Philosopher’s Perch and Binding
in the book for now. It’s a difficult choice, because I see how useful those
spells can be in a dungeon, too.
Spell Changing Options
If you’d like, you may also limit the number of spells that can be
changed at one time. I suggest limiting the wizard to one spell changed
per night of study. Set this limit with your group before starting play.

The Universal Library Option

Instead of learning spells individually, you may decide that, since spells
are creepy, living things, all wizards have access to them. They simply
need to call them to mind.

Pick any spell from the spell list and say, “I summon thee!” Using this
optional rule, a wizard adds to his arsenal by making a Sorcery test
equal to the spell’s obstacle. Add +1 Ob if the spell has a ^. Use Ob 5
if the spell uses a target’s stat. If the spell uses stat plus obstacle, use 5
plus the obstacle.

If he passes, he may add the spell to his spell book. If he fails, he may
never learn that spell. Wizards can learn spells during downtime or at
the start of a session. Only one spell may be added per session.

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Artifacts
 Magical Artifacts
This section describes 27 magical artifacts for use in your Burning
Wheel game. The list contains items of varying power, from small
items like the Golden Tooth to powerful artifacts like the Burning
Wheel itself.

Each item is described in terms of a hook, the item’s powers, the

limits on the item’s powers and the antecedent used to create the
enchantment.

The hook recounts a bit of the item’s history and offers suggestions
for placing it in your game. The powers and limits were all built
using the Enchanting rules provided in this book. The antecedent
described is not a specific trait but a suggestive piece of a monster or
character. The antecedent entry is meant to spark the imagination
with ideas about the labors and quests necessary to create such
an item.

Acquiring Artifacts
A list of magical artifacts in a fantasy roleplaying game is a license
for gleeful gift giving. Don’t do that in Burning Wheel. Magic is
more powerful and more constant in this game than most others.
Game masters must restrain their generous impulses. In fact, they
must be downright stingy.

There are a number of ways to acquire magical bits in the game.

I’ll walk you through the top four: the Family Heirloom trait,
spending Resource Points, Resources tests and finding one lying
around in play.

Family Heirloom
The Family Heirloom trait is an excellent way to begin the game
with a nice juicy magical artifact. Certain items are appropriate
for the trait; certain others are not. Belt of Flying, Boots of the
Hunter, Circle of Wisdom, the Dropping Ring, the Giant’s Tunic,
the Golden Tooth, the Helm of Protection, the Ivory Shield,
Band of Fortitude, Red Spectacles, Ring of Dexterity, Ring of
the Prophet, Rod of Iron, Serpent’s Spear, Staff of Light and the
Wand of Ages are appropriate.

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The other items from this list are either not powerful enough for
the trait, or much too powerful. For example, Distortion Dust is
expendable and therefore not a good candidate for a generational
heirloom. And don’t even think of taking the Burning Wheel or the
Ring of Power as your family heirloom.

Resource Points in Character Burning

You can purchase some items during character burning: Distortion
Dust (20 rps), Golden Tooth (20 rps), Ebon Shunt (10 rps), Eldritch
Channeler (15 rps), Jade Amulet (10 rps), Silk Armor (60 rps) and a
Wizard’s Staff (10 rps). Talisman of the Orders: 10x the order obstacle.
Talisman of Protection: 5 rps for +1 Ob, 10 rps for +2 Ob or 15 rps for
+3 Ob, multiplied by the order obstacle from the Summoning chapter.

If you’ve made enchanted items and want to make them available for
purchase in your game, the simplest way to price them is to compare
their abilities with one of our magic items. Find a comparable item
and use its price. In general, items that provide a minor effect like
a +1D or +1 Ob should be priced from 10 to 20 resource points,
depending on how expansive the ability is. The more broad it is,
the more expensive. For weapons and armor, pricing should start at
40 rps and climb from there. Any potent item, like the Belt of Flying
or the Giant’s Tunic, should be priced at 100 rps and up. More truly
powerful items simply shouldn’t be available through resource points
in character burning.

Resource Tests in Game

Certain items could conceivably be purchased on the open market
using Resources during the game: Distortion Dust (Ob 6), Ebon Shunt
(Ob 4), Eldritch Channeler (Ob 5), Jade Amulet (Ob 5), Serpent’s
Spear (Ob 7), Silk Armor (Ob 7) and a Wizard’s Staff (Ob 6).

This is not a shopping list. It’s a list of suggested prices to use should
one of the items be available in your game.

Found During Play

All of these items can be found worn by NPCs and in monsters’
hoards. They’re always more precious if won in a hard-fought battle
or clever gambit.

It is acceptable to provide artifacts to the players’ adversaries and

allies. But note well that any item you give to an NPC is going to
end up in the players’ possession at some point. It’s a law of fantasy
gaming: All magic items flow playerward.

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 Magical Artifacts

Band of Fortitude

Magical Artifacts
Hook
The Band of Fortitude is said to
have been formed by a fair young
woman whose husband had been
falsely accused of a crime. He was
to be forced to fight for his life in
the gladiatorial pits. Knowing
she could not aid him with a
weapon or armor, she fashioned
this beautiful piece of jewelry to
sustain him through his brutal
labors.

Powers
When worn on the arm, the Band of Fortitude grants +1D to Forte for
any and all tests. If the Forte increase bumps up the average of Power
and Forte, increase the Mortal Wound tolerance. The band also increases
Health by +1D for tests resisting fatigue, weakness or disorientation.

Antecedent
The heart of a red ox.

Belt of Flying
Hook
This, broad, ornate belt tightens in
the front through a beautiful, silver
hoop. Its maker is unknown, but
rumors speak of a mad wizard who
raised an island out at sea to act as
his laboratory. He used this belt to
shuttle back and forth between his
refuge and the mainland.

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Powers
The Belt of Flying grants the wearer the power to fly on command.
Mechanically, this grants a Stride 13 and all of the abilities that flight
implies—being able to traverse obstacles, for example.

Limits
The belt is activated and used by verbal command—up, down,
forward, back, left, right, circle left, circle right.

The belt has the Multiple Uses internal duration. It may be recharged
after it fails by receiving a blessing from the God of Wind.

Antecedent
The pinion of a great eagle.

Boots of the Hunter

Hook
The Boots of the Hunter were the
product of a losing bet made after
a long night of gambling between
an enchanter and a savvy strider.
Unfortunately for the strider, his
windfall that night didn’t curb his
appetite for future bets. The boots
have since made their way from
owner to owner, used in back room
wagers all across the land.

Powers
These beautiful, high soft leather boots grant +1D to Speed and increase
the Stride of the character by 1 when chasing, stalking or pursuing
another character or monster.

Limits
Multiple Uses duration: The power lasts so long as the soles of the
boots are intact. Each pursuit after the first, roll a die of fate. On a 1,
the boots’ soles are worn through and the power vanishes. They may
be restored by an Ob 3 Cobbler test.

Antecedent
The hide of a martikhora.

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 Magical Artifacts

Magical Artifacts
The Burning Wheel
Hook
The Burning Wheel or, more formally, the Wheel of Fire, is one of a set
of four god wheels. These wheels were given to the high priests of the
great religions by their patron deities to ensure their faiths’ primacy.
Across the ages, the wheels were lost or locked away, their powers
forgotten or feared.

Prophecy states clearly that the Wheel of Fire will come forth once more
during a time of epochal change. It will be the light that guides us into
the darkness. When the Lord of Fire sleeps, the Wheel will gutter low,
ebbing in power—ready to be summoned forth to ignite the hearts of
its followers.

Powers
The Burning Wheel is a wood and metal wheel, approximately two
hands in diameter. It has five irregular spokes emanating from a central
hub out into a hard rim. Blue-orange flames dance across its surface.

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The Wheel may douse any burning fire short of the sun, the stars and
earth’s blood. No test is required. The fire rushes in a gout back into
the wheel. If there’s ever a question, this counts as a physical action.

The Wheel may be used to ignite fires, from candles to campfires,

anywhere in the bearer’s presence. This requires only a thought and
counts as a tandem speech action in Fight.

In addition, the Wheel contributes +5D to any Faith test or Sorcery spell
when conjuring or manipulating fire. It also adds +5D to any Faith test
or spell that affects human blood.

When held aloft, the Wheel grants +2D to Conspicuous tests.

Limits
In order to use the Wheel, the bearer must be in contact with the
artifact. It must burn him. The Wheel causes a B5 injury every time it
is touched, unless the supplicant possesses the Resistant to Fire trait
or is protected by a minor miracle or similar spell. If the Wheel is held
by one who is not immune to its burning, the pain and heat increases
periodically by one damage pip until it is released (applied at intervals
as the GM sees fit)—B5, then B6, then B7, etc.

When gripped, the supplicant feels not only his own flesh burning but
the pain of all the souls tormented in hell. As such, holding the Wheel,
whether or not you are injured, causes a +1 Ob penalty to all actions
requiring calm and concentration—like spell casting and prayer. This
penalty can be permanently negated by passing an Ob 5 Meditation
test while holding the wheel—the +1 Ob penalty has been factored
into that number.

The Wheel was set alight by the god of fire, touched off with a sliver
of the sun. So long as the god of fire is ascendent, the Wheel thrives
and is powerful beyond compare. If the god of fire has been slain or
forced from power, using the Wheel brings a great cost. Invoking the
advantage dice to Faith and Sorcery causes a tax test. For Faith, the
tax is Ob 5. For Sorcery, the tax obstacle is increased by 5.

The Wheel burns. Anyone bearing this burning symbol suffers a

+2 Ob penalty to Inconspicuous, Disguise, Stealthy or similar tests.
It’s fucking on fire.

Antecedent
A piece of the heart of the god of the sun.

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 Magical Artifacts

Circle of Wisdom

Magical Artifacts
Hook
The story of the Circle of Wisdom states that an elder advisor to a young
king knew that he would not live long into the boy’s reign. Therefore,
he collected all of his wisdom and that of the sages of the land. He
imbued this golden circlet with that understanding and bequeathed it
to his young charge. Now
the Circle of Wisdom is
passed from ruler to ruler,
a sign of the ruling line’s
dedication to discernment.

Powers
When worn, this golden
circlet opens the bearer’s
mind to the wise teachings
of a thousand scholars and
sages. It grants +1D to all
Will tests. It increases the
body of argument for a
Duel of Wits by one.

Antecedent
The beard of the greatest
scholar of the age.

Distortion Dust
Hook
Distortion Dust is a common accoutrement of sorcerers who must cast
their spells far and wide. It’s a deadly favorite of wizards of war, and
a quintessential element of those who communicate with whispers on
the wind.

Powers
Distortion Dust is a sorcerous powder that acts as an area of effect
multiplier for a spell. When spread before a spell is cast, the dust
increases the area of effect or breadth of the spell by one increment as
per the multiplier effect described in the Enchanting chapter.

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Limits
The dust must be tossed above the sorcerer as he casts the spell. This
adds two actions to the casting time. There is a finite amount of dust.
Use the Multiple Uses internal duration.

Antecedent
The eyes of an eagle, dried and ground into a fine powder.

Dragon Slaying Sword

Hook
It boggles the mind how easy it is for a young boy to wander into a field,
a pond or a cave and find one of these things lying around. When a
skilled warrior needs one to take on a rampaging dragon, the only one
that can be found is, of course, in the dragon’s hoard.

Powers
This is a simple, elegant and effective weapon, wielded by generations
of heroes: Power 3, Add 2, VA 1, Long, WS 3, Heroic (gray) shade. It
is acceptable to use an alternate weapon form for this item. Use the
weapon’s superior quality stats and make it gray shade.

Antecedent
The blood of a god,
tooth of a dragon or
the heart of a dæmon.

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The Dropping Ring

Magical Artifacts
Hook
Dwarven artificers cast the Dropping Ring in a wager with the trickster
god. The artificers won the wager. Since then, due to its odd limitations,
it has been passed from owner to owner down the ages. It has been
seen on the arm of a wealthy king, and once it was found by lucky
adventurers in the riches of a lost tomb.

Powers
When worn, this golden arm ring produces eight gold replicas of itself
every nine days. This grants the wearer a 2D fund for his Resources.
The fund is permanent and may not be taxed or lost until the Dropping
Ring itself is lost.

Limits
If the owner of this wondrous arm ring ever loses a son, he must lay
the ring on his progeny’s death bed or funeral pyre. If he does not, the
ring loses its magic. If he does, the ring retains its magic, but it may
never be owned by that character again. Another character may take
up the ring and benefit from it.

Antecedent
A drop of blood from a greedy Dwarf.

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Ebon Shunt
Hook
An Ebon Shunt is a piece of jewelry for sorcerers. It is not difficult to
make and is useful—a shunt can mean the difference between life and
death if something should go awry with a spell.

Powers
The Ebon Shunt is an irregular chunk of ebony, hung on a rough leather
cord. When worn around the neck, the shunt adds +1D to a sorcerer’s
Forte when resisting tax.

Limits
Should the sorcerer ever be taxed to unconsciousness, the ebony shard
bursts from the strain, and its power is lost.

Antecedent
The tongue of a black troll.

Eldritch Channeler
Hook
Eldritch Channelers are effective accessories for wealthy wizards. They
are simple, useful devices, and pretty, too.

Powers
This silver bracer is engraved with arcane symbols. When worn on
the left forearm, it grants +1D to Sorcery (or another appropriate spell
casting skill). The silver bracer also acts as heavy mail armor (4D) for
the left arm.

Limits
If any of the armor dice fail—come up a 1—then the power of the
Eldritch Channeler is broken and lost.

Antecedent
The scale of an Ophidian witch.

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 Magical Artifacts

Giant’s Tunic

Magical Artifacts
Hook
Once, the land was plagued
with tyrannical giants. A
great hero went forth to the
giant’s hall and, through guile
and bravery, slew the giant
king. The hero’s friend and
companion, an enchanter of
some merit, skinned the fallen
king and made this tunic. The
hero in turn became lord of
his domain and, legend says,
never refused hospitality
to anyone who crossed his
threshold.

Powers
The Giant’s Tunic grants its
wearer strength and tough­
ness beyond compare! While
worn, it adds +2D to the user’s
Power. This is factored into the wearer’s weapon damages and Mortal
Wound. It also counts as leather armor for the chest and arms.

Limits
Should the owner ever fail to show hospitality when asked, the power
of the Giant’s Tunic fades.

Antecedent
The skin of a giant.

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Golden Tooth
Hook
Back alley enchanters in grimy
citadels churn out trinkets and
baubles such as these so that
they can pay their rent and
soothe their failing minds with
rotgut.

Powers
Once i nsta l led i n t he
character’s mouth, the Golden
Tooth opens previously closed
doors! The tooth increases
the character’s Circles by
+1D. This does not count as a
reputation or affiliation.

Limits
The tooth must be implanted in the character’s mouth by a surgeon or
barber (Ob 2) for its powers to take root.

Antecedent
The tooth of a man with a familiar face.

Helm of Protection
Hook
A powerful warlord commissioned his enchanter to forge him a mighty
helm to aid him in battle. The farsighted enchanter thought carefully
about what would preserve his lord. In the end, he created what he
called a Helm of Protection. The warlord asked, “What are its powers?”

“Should you be wounded while wearing it, you will recover quickly.”

“Fool! This is useless. No man is a match for me in battle. I have only

ever been wounded once, by my fencing master. It was the last lesson
he ever gave me!” With that, he tossed the helm back at the enchanter
and stormed away.

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When the battle was finally joined, the warlord was

Magical Artifacts
indeed triumphant, but he was not unwounded.
His own generals turned on him at the moment of
victory. He bled to death from the injuries inflicted
by their knives.

Powers
The Helm of Protection adds +2D to the warrior’s
Health when recovering from or shrugging off a
wound he received in battle (while wearing the
helmet). The helmet counts as a superior quality bascinet (4D) and
imposes a reduced +1 Ob clumsy weight penalty to Observation and
Perception tests.

Limits
Should the helmet be destroyed by armor failure, the powers are lost.
Also, should the warrior ever show cowardice in battle—fleeing due
to a failed Steel test result—the helmet’s protection is lost to him.
Another character may take up the helm and be granted its benefits,
though.

Antecedent
The bone of a scarred, long-lived hero (with the Healthy trait).

Ivory Shield
Hook
Desperate in the buildup
before a great war, a young
captain went on his knees
to his estranged mother,
begg i ng for a id i n t he
coming battles. She was
a great enchantress. She
agreed to help him and sent
him on a quest to retrieve an
elephant’s bones. Upon his
successful return, she carved
him this beautiful shield. As
she presented it to him, she
inveighed her curse, “Never again will you disobey me. If you do, the
power of this mighty shield will be lost!”

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The Burning Wheel Codex

Powers
This great shield is made of ivory, imported from lands inhabited
by massive lumbering creature, carved with scenes of victory, and
enchanted by impossible magics. When worn, the shield grants +1D to
Command, Oratory and Steel. It grants +1D to Push actions in Fight.
It counts as a Power 3, Add 2, VA –, WS: 1, Short weapon when used
to shield bash. The shield itself is a great shield (5D) and counts as
superior quality.

Limits
Should the owner of this mighty device ever fail to obey his parents’
wishes, the shield becomes too heavy for him to bear. Another, more
filial son or daughter may come and carry it to battle.

Antecedent
The bones of an elephant.

Jade Amulet
Hook
Jade Amulets are prized artifacts.
Found in tombs and graves in certain
cultures, these innocuous devices
ward off the effects of hurtful magics.

Powers
This graven amulet is worn around the neck. It protects the user
against destruction by sorcery. Add +1 Ob to any damaging, harming
or hurting spells cast at the character. It does not affect the obstacle of
influencing-, controlling- or enhancing-type spells. The Jade Amulet
does not affect spirits.

Limits
The amulet protects the character so long as he never eats animal
flesh. He may eat fish and honey, but not meat, milk, eggs or cheese.

Antecedent
The fingernail of a saint.

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 Magical Artifacts

Ring of Dexterity

Magical Artifacts
Hook
Swordsmen, archers, craftsmen and pickpockets alike all covet this
precious ring. It is said it will make a master of any man who wears it,
but that it will also rob him of his friends.

Powers
When worn on the index finger of the right hand, this ring grants the
bearer amazing Agility. Add +2D to any Agility test taken. This bonus
affects skill roots for skills learned when wearing the ring; aptitude for
Agility-based skills; and Reflexes.

Limits
If the character clasps right hands with another character, the ring
loses its power.

Antecedent
The finger of a master juggler missing his right hand.

Ring of Power
Hook
A simple band of gold that contains a reservoir of power, it is seductively
potent, but also cursed and corrupt.

The Ring of Power is the final piece in a set of 20. The other rings each
contain portions of this ring’s power, but none of them contain all of
its might.

Powers
The Ring of Power has many, varied abilities. When worn, it grants:

• +3D to Health tests

• The Second Sight trait
• +1D to Resources tests
• +1D to Persuasion, Oratory, Falsehood, Seduction and Ugly Truth
when used against another character with a lower Will exponent
• +2D to all Sorcery and Enchanting tests
• Access to the thoughts of those who wear other rings of power
created by the same evil that created this ring

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• +4 successes to the bearer’s body of argument in a Duel of Wits

against a character who bears another, lesser ring of power

Lastly, the ring contains a spell matrix for the Elven spell song Threne
of the Chameleon. When the ring is worn, the spell is cast with 5
successes over the obstacle.

Otherwise indestructible, the ring can only be unmade in the fires of

the forge in which it was created.

Limits
The Ring of Power is a cursed item, as described in the Enchanting rules.

Also, any use of the item requires a Will test of an obstacle equal
to the bearer’s own Will. If the test is failed, the character earns the
Corrupted trait and Corruption emotional attribute. Each subsequent
Will test counts as a test for advancement of the Corruption attribute.
The maker of the ring knows when it is used. When it is used, he may
make an Aura Reading test at Obstacle 10 minus the user’s Corruption
exponent to locate the user.

Antecedent
The soul of a dark god.

Ring of the Prophet

Hook
Nothing amazes the locals like the ability to walk on water.

Powers
When worn this ring grants its wearer the miraculous ability to walk on
water as if it were solid. The ring bearer will not sink, and if submerged,
he’ll bob to the surface like a cork.

Water, even when solid, is far from stable. Consider smooth water like
ice. Rough or wavy water is uneven and difficult ground. Speed tests
under these conditions suffer a +1 Ob or greater disadvantage.

Antecedent
The bladder of a Deep One.

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 Magical Artifacts

Rod of Iron

Magical Artifacts
Hook
This enchanted piece of metal was imbued with power to protect its
wizardly creator from ruffians.

Powers
The Rod of Iron grants its bearer the power and force to strike down
his enemies. It bestows a B5 Brawling skill. It counts as a weapon—
Power 2, Add 2, VA 1, WS 3, Short—and as a +1D shield if used with
Shield Training.

Antecedent
A flake of B’hemah flesh.

Serpent’s Spear
Hook
This ancient spear was built by the warrior-smiths of an extinct race of
Ophidian men. It is bronze in hue and carved with sinewy symbols. The
spear is made of a metal that no metallurgist is able to replicate. It is
said to bend and warp in combat, but it always returns to its true shape.

Powers
The Serpent’s Spear has the following stats: Power 2, Add 2, VA 2,
WS 3, Longer. It grants +1D to Strike against Block or Counterstrike. It
contains a concealed hook—a viper’s tooth, if you will—that grants +1D
to Push. It also contains a concealed whip-chain that may be used to
Lock another character when engaged to the spear-bearer’s advantage
at spear-fighting distance at no penalty and without changing weapon
lengths. Lastly, the Serpent’s Spear may be thrown as a javelin.

Antecedent
The spine of a snake-man.

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Silk Armor
Hook
Silk armor appears to be run
of the mill heavy mail, but
upon closer examination, one
can see that all of the links are
forged of lighter gauge wire
and interwoven with thick
threads of scarlet silk.

Powers
The silk armor counts as
superior quality heavy mail
for all locations except the
head. Clumsy weight penalties
for Stealthy and Swimming
are negated. Throwing and
missile weapon skill penalties
are reduced to +1 Ob for full
sleeves. There’s no penalty for
half sleeves. The Speed penalty for leggings is reduced to +1 Ob for full
leggings and reduced to nothing for half leggings.

Antecedent
The silk from a giant spider.

Spirit Weapons
Hook
The demon hunter’s sword was a deceptively simple device. It looked
like a blade of plain manufacture, but for the single rune carved into
the blade. Yet when wielded against a demon, no magic could deflect
its stroke.

Powers
A spirit weapon is a material weapon of any type—knife, sword, axe—
that has been imbued with special power so that it not only affects flesh
and bone, but spirits and magical creatures as well.

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Specifically, spirit weapons can harm creatures with the Spirit Nature

Magical Artifacts
trait, and they are not deflected by the Turn Aside the Blade spell or any
other spell that controls or deflects metal. Spirit weapons are considered
to be arcane or spirit devices, not material ones.

The spirit weapon doesn’t do extra damage or provide bonus dice. Aside
from its spirit-harming capability, it counts as a normal weapon.

A spirit weapon can be made using Enchanting, Art Magic’s sorcerous

weapon effect, a minor miracle in Faith or the Elven spell song Song
of the Sword.

Antecedent
Enchanters need the blood, bone or scales of a creature who possesses
the Spirit Nature trait in order to create spirit weapons.

Staff of Light
Hook
The Staff of Light is an otherwise normal cedar staff. It may be used as
an aid to walking or as a cudgel, if a weapon is needed. The first Staff
of Light was reputedly made by an old mage who was tired of casting
Mage Light at the behest of his less magically inclined friends.

Powers
This powerful staff contains the Mage Light spell (which will dispel
moonlit darkness). The light is triggered by striking the butt of the staff
on the ground. Once struck, it slowly wells up to full brightness, so as
not to blind the bearer.

The powers of the staff are inexhaustible, so long as it remains

unbroken. The light itself will glow brightly, provided that the bearer
grasps the staff in his hand.

Limits
Only characters with the Gifted trait may use this item. If the bearer
loses his grip on the staff, the light winks out. If the staff is broken,
the magic is lost.

Antecedent
The tail of a firefly.

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Talismans
Hook
The old man spent his life collecting trinkets, baubles and curios. He
wore them around his neck on chains. And though he walked alone
through the haunted forest, and dwelt in the ghost-plagued ruins, he
was never molested by the spirits.

Powers
There are two types of talismans used by summoners: Talismans of the
Orders and Talismans of Protection.

Talismans of the Orders

Talismans of the Orders grant +1D to summon an entity of a specific
spirit order. Each talisman is specific to one type of spirit order (see
the Summoning chapter for spirit orders).

Talismans of Protection
Talismans of Protection are also specific to an order of spirits. These
devices increase the obstacle of tests made by spirits of that order
against the summoner. In a Duel of Wits, this only applies to the body
of argument roll.

Talismans of Protection are rated from +1 Ob to +3 Ob.

Antecedent
Talismanic antecedents must come from a being of the approximate
power of the spirit in question. A querub’s tongue can protect against
anything weaker than or equal to it in power. Odin’s eye is sufficient to
compel even other chief deities.

Thor’s Hammer
Hook
Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, is a fabled work of great power. Every so often,
it goes missing or is stolen by the giants. Once Thor sobers up, he goes
and fetches it and the thieves get a good thrashing.

It is also provided in this list as an example of a powerful, legendary

artifact. The only entity Thor can’t reliably take on with Mjolnir is a
god. Dragons, giants and demons are merely nails to be hammered
down.

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 Magical Artifacts

Powers

Magical Artifacts
Power 1-4, Add 2, VA 2, WS 2, Short. Grants +3D advantage for
Hammer and Throwing skills. Mjolnir is a heroic (gray shade) weapon,
but the bearer of this awesome power may opt to do mundane (black
shade) damage if he so chooses. The wielder may also choose the
weapon power for the weapon before he strikes. This requires no time
or action on the part of the character. The player may simply state the
power and the shade of his strike.

Also, Mjolnir may be thrown. It counts as a great bow for range and
positioning. It does damage as a thrown weapon. Once thrown, Mjolnir
only requires one action to recover in Fight, no matter the distance it
was thrown. The wielder simply reaches down to pick up the weapon
and it appears in his hand.

Lastly, the hammer may be slipped inside the bearer’s jacket and be
concealed. When held inside a jacket, against the chest, the hammer is
no bigger than a pendant placed in a pocket. But why would you hide
such a magnificent thing?

Limits
There is a flaw in the design, however. Mjolnir may not be used to
Great Strike. It is a one-handed weapon. The short, angular haft is
too small for both hands.

Antecedent
Blood, sweat and breath from a Master of Forges.

Wand of Ages
Hook
The Wand of Ages is an irregularly shaped, polished switch of yew.
Rumors say it was created by an enchanter who was envious of the
Elves’ ability to commune with trees.

Powers
This wand, when placed against the trunk or branch of a tree, allows
the bearer to speak to the ancient spirit and gather its wisdom. When
so used, the bearer gains a G5 Forest-wise.

Antecedent
Ancient Seneschal’s sap.

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The Burning Wheel Codex

Wizard’s Staff
Hook
In some cultures, a young neophyte must make his own staff before
he is officially given the mantle of wizard. A wizard’s staff is no mean
thing. It is a magical device that aids in concentration. Making one
requires a sturdy sample of good wood, and a curious donation from
the young apprentice’s master.

Powers
This rugged oak staff acts as a sustainer for one spell of the owner’s
choice. Once a spell is sustained in the staff, the device may only sustain
that particular spell.

Antecedent
The blood of a patient wizard.

396
Lifepaths
 Using the Lifepaths
Each lifepath ages the character and grants him time, trait points,
resource points, stat points, leads, skills and skill points. These are
the building blocks of every character.

Character Stock
Herein are the templates for five fantasy character stocks to choose
from: Wizards, Dark Elves, Roden, Trolls and Great Wolves.

Each character stock has a unique culture, complete with several

settings and dozens of lifepaths. A player may never choose lifepaths
outside of his chosen character stock.

The various character stocks also grant access to particular traits,

certain skills and cultural artifacts. Each stock has its own list of
material possessions and spells, but all characters use the core rules
for Resources, Circles, relationships, affiliations and reputations.

Time
The Time column indicates how long in years it takes to walk this
particular path. Years are totalled after all lifepaths are chosen to
determine the age of the character.

Resources (Res)
Players use resource points (rps) to purchase material possessions,
land and spells, and to build relationships and acquire affiliations
and reputations.

Statistics (Stat)
Stat points are garnered from two sources: lifepaths and age. Once
all of a character’s lifepaths have been chosen, his age is determined
and used to find his Starting Stat Pool. Also, many lifepaths give
the character a bonus point toward either a mental or physical stat.

Leads
A lead indicates a setting that the player may jump to from his
current lifepath. If, for example, the current lifepath lists Exile and
Society under leads, the player may choose his next lifepath from

398
the Exile or Society settings, or he may remain in his current setting.
For each lead chosen, add one year to the character’s age—unless you
are a Great Wolf.

Skill
Each lifepath presents a set of skills that may be learned. The player
may only choose skills from the lifepaths his character has walked. If a
player wants different skills for his character, he has to choose lifepaths
that offer those skills.

Skills not described in this book may be found in the Character Burner
in the Burning Wheel rulebook.

Trait
Traits are details that differentiate characters—quirks, affectations and
odd abilities. Burning Wheel is designed so that players can take on heroic
personae—traits help to give them depth and life.

Dark Elves, Roden, Trolls and Great Wolves have certain traits that all
members of their race must take. They are free and mandatory. They are
listed in the Common Traits section of each lifepath set.

Traits will affect game play. Some will do so often and drastically; these
cost the most points. Others will affect game play infrequently or in subtle
ways; these are less expensive.

All traits listed on a lifepath cost one point. The first trait listed with each
path is mandatory. Additional traits on the path may be purchased (for
one point each) by the player during character burning.

If a trait is not described in the relevant chapter, Zealot, for example,

check the Character Burner for the listing.

399
 The Weather Witch
THIRI HTET, 27 year-old, weather witch
Gifted Child (Servitude), Bondswoman (Young Lady), Pirate, Weather Witch

STATS
Will B4 Perception B4 Power B3
Forte B4 Speed B4 Agility B4
ATTRIBUTES
Health B4 Steel B5 Mortal Wound B9 Hesitation 6
Reflexes B4 Circles B2 Resources B1 Stride 7
SKILLS
Astrology B3, Field Dressing B3, Pirate Cove-wise B2, Knives B3, S­ ea‑wise
B3, Superstition-wise B2, Summoning B3, Spirit Binding B4, Folklore B3
TRAITS
Misunderstood, Gifted, Spirit Familiar (Cat, Nagarr), Lucky, Problem with
Authority, Weather Sense, Nose Ring
GEAR
Clothes, Finery, Traveling Gear, Knife
CIRCLES
Pirate Gang (1D Aff), Spirit-talker (1D Rep w/ pirate gang), Sao Thiha (pirate
boss, minor), May Myat Koh (noble lady, minor, forbidden)
SUMMONING ORDERS
Restless Dead ( Journeyman)
DOMAIN BINDINGS
Shrines, River, Sea
BELIEFS
One day, I shall be captain of this fleet and we shall be the greatest flotilla
ever known.
On our next raid, I shall capture a fine young man and make him serve me.
I must earn the trust of spirits before I demand their favor.
INSTINCTS
Always protect Nagarr.
Keep my finery clean and dry.
Always watch the horizon for weather.
 Wizard Burner
The Wizard Burner contains new lifepaths, traits and skills for
wizards and other magically inclined characters. You do not have
to include everything you see here in your game. Pick and choose
what is appropriate and effective. For example, you could choose to
include the College of Magic and not the Death Cult. Or you might
decide to only add the Gifted Child lifepath and exclude all others.

Special Gifted Lifepaths

The Gifted Child and Apt Pupil lifepaths are designed to open up
more options for magical characters. Gifted Child can replace the
Born lifepath in the Peasant, Village, City, Sea and Servitude settings
(but not Born Noble). Apt Pupil can be added as an option to the
Noble Court, Religious, Soldier and Outcast subsettings.

Name Time Res Stat Leads

Gifted Child 9 yrs 4 — Outcast, Court, Religious
Skills: 2 pts: General
Traits: 1 pt: Misunderstood, Gifted, Abused, Spirit Familiar
Apt Pupil 3 yrs 8 — Outcast, Soldier, Servitude
Skills: 3 pts: Obscure History, Ugly Truth, Intimidation
Traits: 1 pt: Believer, Gifted, Tainted Legacy
Restrictions: Must be character’s second or third lifepath. It may not
be taken twice.
Special: For the purposes of other requirements, this lifepath counts
as Neophyte Sorcerer.

Peasant Setting
Name Time Res Stat Leads
Speaker of Names 7 yrs 20 +1 M Outcast, Peasant, Village
Skills: 6 pts: Spirit Binding, Circination, Paths-wise, Spirit-wise,
Domain‑wise
Traits: 2 pts: Well Traveled, Brook No Fools, Fey Blood
Requires: Augur, Crazy Witch, Neophyte Sorcerer or Elder

402
 Lifepaths

Villager Setting

The Wizard Burner

Name Time Res Stat Leads
Wizard’s Apprentice 7 yrs 10 +1 M Peasant, City, Outcast, Servitude
Skills: 6 pts: Reading, Foraging, Symbology, Circination, Pig-wise,
Bone Headed-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Always in the Way, Atravieso, Gifted, Assistant Pig‑Keeper
Special: For the purposes of other requirements, this lifepath counts as
Neophyte Sorcerer.

Hedge Wizard 8 yrs 24 +1 M, P Peasant, City Dweller, Outcast

Skills: 7 pts: Sorcery, Enchanting, Alchemy, Obscure History, Pest‑wise,
Fool-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Low Born, Impressive Hat, Never a Moment of Peace
Requires: Wizard’s Apprentice, Neophyte Sorcerer, Apt Pupil or Junior
Student. This character may not have the Mark of Privilege.

City Dweller Setting

Name Time Res Stat Leads
Evangelist 3 yrs 6 +1 M/P Outcast, Court, Religious
Skills: 5 pts: Empyrealia, Demonology, Oratory, Cultist-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Believer, Fiery
Requires: Dilettante, or any summoner or religious lifepath

Court Setting
Name Time Res Stat Leads
Court Enchanter 8 yrs 20 +1 M Outcast, City Dweller
Skills: 5 pts: Etiquette, Astrology, Alchemy, Enchanting, Excuses-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Late, Harried
Requires: Senior Student, Neophyte Sorcerer, Apt Pupil or Wizard’s
Apprentice

Court Summoner 8 yrs 30 +1 M/P Outcast, Peasant, Villager

Skills: 6 pts: Etiquette, Astrology, Summoning, Circination, Bargaining,
Inane Request-wise, Promise-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Dismissive, Polite, Arrogant, Frustrated, Faust
Requires: Senior Student, Mad Summoner, Apt Pupil or Wizard’s
Apprentice

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Outcast Setting
Name Time Res Stat Leads
Demented Inventor 7 yrs 15 +1 M Peasant, Villager
Skills: 6 pts: Mad Invention-wise, Mending, Enchanting, Blacksmith,
Whitesmith
Traits: 2 pts: Demented, Tinkerer
Requires: Rogue Wizard, Apt Pupil or Wizard’s Apprentice

Evil Necromancer 10 yrs 20 +1 M, P —

Skills: 4 pts: Death Art, Anatomy, Graveyard-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Corrupted, Evil
Requires: Coroner, Death Cultist, Cultist or Apt Pupil

College of Magic
Some cultures are so rife with magic, schools have grown to cull and
refine all of the wayward magelings running about. Inevitably, these
schools grow into powerful institutions, staffed by a cadre of the most
potent men and women in the land.

If using the standard Sorcery rules, pick one element and one impetus
that the school does not teach. Spells containing either may not be taken
in character burning.

Schools of Magic
For games using Art Magic or Practical Magic, the College of Magic
should have a set repertoire of two or three schools it teaches its students.
Players may only choose from those options when purchasing schools
during character burning.

Leads To
In order to make this easy, and to avoid rewriting the entirety of the
Lifepaths of Man, use the requirements of each College of Magic
lifepath as the indication of leads to this setting. For example, Senior
Student requires Junior Student or Sorcerer. Therefore, Sorcerer can
lead to College of Magic.

Born Peasant, Villager Born, City Born, Born Noble and Son of a Gun
can all have leads to the College of Magic. You may limit this list based
on what is appropriate to your campaign. For example, the nobility
might not practice magic in your setting, in which case Born Noble
would not lead to this setting.

404
 Lifepaths

Name Time Res Stat Leads

The Wizard Burner

Supplicant 1 yr 3 — Peasant, Soldier, Servitude
Skills: 2 pts: Animal Husbandry, Firebuilding
Traits: 2 pts: Broken In, Gifted, Second Sight, Fey Blood
Restriction: Must be second lifepath. May not be taken twice

Junior Student 2 yrs 5 +1 P Court, City Dweller, Outcast

Skills: 8 pts: Read, Write, Ancient History, Circination, Illuminations,
Astrology, Symbology
Traits: 1 pt: Hazed
Requires: Supplicant, Arcane Devotee, Apt Pupil or Neophyte Sorcerer.
Restrictions: May not be taken twice.
Special: Counts as Arcane Devotee and Neophyte Sorcerer for the
purposes of other requirements
Senior Student 2 yrs 10 +1 M Court, City Dweller, Outcast
Skills: 7 pts: Calligraphy, Rhetoric, Aura Reading, Empyrealia,
Demonology, Doctrine, School of Magic‑wise, Junior Student-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Graduate, Bully
Requires: Junior Student or Sorcerer. May not be taken twice

Adjunct 6 yrs 10 +1 M Religious, Outcast, City Dweller

Skills: 6 pts: Research, Folklore, Alchemy, Taxidermy, Library-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Overworked, Familiar Face
Requires: Senior Student

Master Sorcerer 8 yrs 30 +1 M, P Court, City Dweller, Outcast, Sea

Skills: 5 pts: Sorcery, Instructor, Facet-wise, Aura-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Versatile, Sixth Sense
Requires: Adjunct or Court Sorcerer

Master Enchanter 8 yrs 20 +1 M, P Court, City Dweller, Outcast

Skills: 6 pts: Enchanting, Instructor, Carving, Etching, Herbalism,
Jeweler, Vessel-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Nimble, Practiced Precision
Requires: Adjunct or Court Enchanter

Master Summoner 8 yrs 20 +1 M, P Court, City Dweller, Outcast

Skills: 8 pts: Summoning, Instructor, Bargaining, Ugly Truth, Soothing
Platitudes, Rule of Law, Philosophy, Scheme-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Extrovert, Fearless, Obscure Aura
Requires: Adjunct or Court Summoner

405
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Researcher 10 yrs 15 — Court, Religious, Outcast
Skills: 12 pts: Research, Composition, Cartography, Cryptography,
Doctrine, Apothecary, Ritual, Death Art, Foreign Languages, Dark
Arts‑wise, Elven Songs-wise, Orc Rituals-wise, Dwarven Art-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Myopic, Bookworm, Speaker of the Secret Language
Requires: Adjunct or Scholar. May only be taken once

Councillor 5 yrs 40 +1 M Court, City Dweller

Skills: 6 pts: Administration, Rhetoric, Wine Tasting, Troubled Student-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Council of Mages, Imperious Demeanor
Requires: Master Sorcerer, Master Enchanter or Master Summoner

Headmaster 12 yrs 50 — Court, Religious

Skills: 7 pts: Oratory, Etiquette, Poetry, Strategy Games, Vintner,
Dark Secret-wise. 1 pt: General
Traits: 3 pts: Stoic, Master of Mages, Domineering Presence
Requires: Councillor

Death Cult Setting

In the forlorn reaches of the world, castoffs, wastrels, vermin and
renegades flock to dark callings that promise the downfall of all who
have spurned them.

Leads To
Use the requirements on the Death Cult lifepaths as the indication
of leads to this setting. For example, Spy requires Cultist; therefore,
Cultist can lead to the Death Cult.

Also, Harem Slave, Captive of War, Gaol, Grave Digger, Pillager,

Cripple, Deranged, Leper and Insurrectionist all lead to this setting.

Name Time Res Stat Leads

Harem Slave 3 yrs 3 — Outcast, Servitude
Skills: 4 pts: Creepy Priest-wise, Disgusting Necromancer-wise,
Death Cult-wise, Escape Artist
Traits: 2 pts: Numb
Death Cultist 2 yrs 5 — Outcast, Soldier, Servitude
Skills: 3 pts: Death-wise, Riot-wise, Secret Cult Worship-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Zealot, Suicidal
Grave Robber 3 yrs 7 — Outcast, Soldier, Servitude
Skills: 4 pts: Ditch Digging, Graveyard-wise, Night Watch-wise, Shovel-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Lunatic

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 Lifepaths

Spy 4 yrs 10 +1 M Outcast, Soldier, City Dweller

The Wizard Burner

Skills: 7 pts: Inconspicuous, Stealthy, Falsehood, Forgery, Observation,
Righteous Priest-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Furtive, Manhunter
Requires: Cultist or Insurrectionist

Factotum 7 yrs 15 +1 M/P Outcast, Soldier, Servitude, City

Skills: 7 pts: Haggling, Persuasion, Hauling, Appraisal, Taxidermy,
Local Law-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Polite, Efficient, Stoic
Requires: Spy, Tomb Guard, Deranged, Evangelist or Insurrectionist

Tomb Guard 4 yrs 10 +1 P Outcast, Soldier, Servitude

Skills: 5 pts: Spear, Knives, Brawling, Walking Corpse-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Disfigured, Loyal
Requires: Cultist, Grave Digger, Freebooter or any soldier lifepath

Death Priest 6 yrs 25 +1 M Outcast, Soldier, Religious

Skills: 6 pts: Command, Ritual, God of Death-wise, Death Cult-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Creepy, Invocations of the Damned, Iron Will, Cult Leader
Requires: Venal Priest or Heretic Priest

Death Artist 10 yrs 20 +1 M/P Outcast, Servitude

Skills: 8 pts: Death Art, Tomb-wise, Orc Servant-wise,
Evil Necromancer‑wise, Death Cult-wise
Traits: 3 pts: Cynical, Mind over Matter, Missing Limb, Paranoid Ear,
Meticulous, Corrupted
Requires: Evil Necromancer, Apt Pupil or Rogue Wizard

Servant of the Dark Blood Setting

Master of the Weak is a new lifepath for Orc Servants. It is the gateway
to all those Orcish necromancers you’ve always craved.

Name Time Res Stat Leads

Master of the Weak 7 yrs 8 +1 M/P —
Skills: 5 pts: Death Art, Apocalypse-wise, Graveyard-wise, Murder-wise
Traits: 1 pts: Feared
Requires: Knower of Secrets

407
 The Burning Wheel Codex

408
 Lifepaths

Wizard Traits

The Wizard Burner

Abused Char Corrupted Dt 3 pts
This character has opened his body
Always in the Way Char and soul to the dark powers. He
must open the Corrupted emotional
Arrogant Char attribute. Increase his starting rank
by one.
Assistant Pig-Keeper Char
Council of Mages Dt 6 pts
Atravieso The Council of Mages is a small,
Character Burner page 313. secretive, yet powerful entity.
This trait grants a 1D reputation
Believer and a 1D affiliation with this
Character Burner page 315.
organization. This combines with
Bookworm other appropriate reputations and
Character Burner page 316. affiliations.

Broken In Creepy Char

Character Burner page 317.
Cult Leader Dt 8 pts
Brook No Fools Dt 7 pts Cult Leaders are charismatic and
The spirit binder’s art is not eccentric. This trait grants a 1D
something to be trifled with! reputation and 1D affiliation with
His secrets are well kept because the Death Cult. This combines with
meddling fools will only cause other appropriate reputations and
irreparable harm to themselves affiliations.
and the domains with which they
tamper. A summoner with this trait Cynical Char
receives a fate point every time
he rebuffs an offer of help from a Demented Char
potential student (so that character
Disfigured Dt 3 pts
does not earn a test toward learning
This character has led a life of
the skill). He receives a persona
hardship and pain. He’s been cut up,
point when he actively thwarts
broken and beaten down. This trait
another character from learning
grants +1D to shrug off or grit teeth
the secrets of Spirit Binding,
for any injury.
Summoning or Circination.
Dismissive Char
Bully Char
Domineering Presence
Character Burner page 322.

Evil Char

409
 The Burning Wheel Codex

Extrovert Imperious Demeanor

Character Burner page 324. Character Burner page 330.

Familiar Face Impressive Hat Dt 3 pts

Character Burner page 325. This character’s hat is mightily
impressive. It can be seen for miles!
Faust Dt 3 pts
It’s so impressive that people often
When bargaining with the higher remember the hat more than the
powers for something pure and person. This gives a 1D Reputation
innocent like love, gain a bonus among the people of a given locale as
persona point for each agreement the wearer of the really impressive
you strike on the behalf of the one hat, so long as the hat is being worn,
you seek to protect or affect. of course. Wearing the hat also
Feared Dt 5 pts
gives a +2 Ob to any Disguise or
For good reason or not, this Inconspicuous test.
character is feared by all who know Invocations
him. +1D to Intimidation. Choose a of the Damned C-O 5 pts
1D infamous reputation. The Dark Priest swears his soul
to fell powers. Like other priests,
Fearless
he must have a Belief that ties to
Character Burner page 326.
his Faith in order to maintain the
Fey Blood emotional attribute. If the player
Character Burner page 326. writes a second Belief tied to his
faith in the dark gods and his
Fiery Char service to them, he may use this
trait as a call-on for Faith when that
Frustrated Char Belief comes into question.

Furtive Char Iron Will

Character Burner page 331.
Gifted
Character Burner page 327. Late Char

Graduate Dt 3 pts Low Born Dt 2 pts

This trait grants a 1D affiliation Low Born characters are born of
with a College of Magic. This unremarkable parents. They cannot
combines with other appropriate trace their lineage to any nobility
and applicable affiliations. or to any historic or notable figures.
They have a 1D infamous reputation
Harried Char in noble or elite circles due to their
obvious lack of heritage. It also
Hazed Dt 2 pts
adds a +1 Ob disadvantage to any
This character may take a free Inconspicuous tests in noble or
inimical relationship with another courtly settings.
character who was his senior in the
College of Magic. Loyal
Character Burner page 334.

410
 Lifepaths

Lunatic Nimble

The Wizard Burner

Character Burner page 334. Character Burner page 337.

Manhunter Numb
Character Burner page 335. Character Burner page 337.

Master of Mages Dt Obscure Aura

The Headmaster of a College of Character Burner page 338.
Magic attained his position by
rigorous pursuit of excellence and Overworked Char
expertise in sorcery and magic. This
trait grants a 2D reputation among
Paranoid Ear
Character Burner page 340.
mages and the halls of power as a
Master of Mages.
Polite Char
Meticulous
Practiced Precision
Character Burner page 335.
Character Burner page 341.
Mind over Matter
Second Sight
Character Burner page 336.
Character Burner page 344-345.
Missing Limb
Sixth Sense
Character Burner page 336.
Character Burner page 346.
Misunderstood Dt 2 pts
Choose a 1D infamous reputation. Speaker of
the Secret Language Char
And suffer -1 to your body of
argument whenever you’re trying Spirit Familiar Dt 5 pts
to explain your nature, position, This character has a familiar whose
meaning or special insight. spirit is linked to his own. He can
see through the familiar’s eyes
Myopic
using the familiar’s Perception stat.
Character Burner page 336.
However, when using his familiar’s
Never eyes, a character with this trait
a Moment of Peace Dt 3 pts cannot look through his own though
This trait grants the character a 5 other senses may still be employed.
rps relationship. This relationship It takes two actions of concentration
must be with a character who is to engage his familiar’s eyes, and
always bothering or interrupting two more actions to return his sight
him. If that character is forced out to his own eyes. This trait does
of his life, someone new will come not grant Low Speech. However,
along. This character just attracts the creature does understand its
these sort of people! companion’s wishes and will go
You may invest additional resource where its master directs it to go, look
points and increase the value of this at what its master directs it to look
relationship. at, etc.

411
 The Burning Wheel Codex
A character with this trait feels the Versatile Dt 4 pts
pain of his familiar. If the familiar The Master Sorcerer places his
suffers a light or greater wound, confidence in the art of sorcery. It
the master suffers a light wound. is a versatile and potent art, and
If the familiar is ever killed, the he knows it intimately. If using Art
master suffers a traumatic wound. Magic, reduce by one the number
In the game, the character is of tests required for Weaving Magic
physically unharmed, but mentally into the Fiber of my Being. If using
traumatized. Recovery and the standard Sorcery rules, reduce
Treatment are as per a standard his practicals aptitude by one. If
traumatic wound. This wound does using Practical Magic, he may take
not bleed out. an additional category of magic. In
A familiar uses the following stats: addition, the player earns a persona
Wi G2, Pe G3, Ag B4, Sp B5, Po B3, point for pushing his character’s
Fo B3, Hea B4, Ref B4, Ste B5, magic in a dangerous or untried
MW B9 direction.

Choose its form: cat, dog, snake, Well Traveled Dt 4 pts

bird, pig, rabbit, fox or similar. No The Speaker of Names wanders
large predators or beasts of burden. the lands and seas, communing
The animal must show some mark with the spirits. This trait allows
or quality that indicates it is not the player to take a new domain
entirely of this world. For example, when his character travels to a
it must be hairless, one-eyed, two- new locale in play. The player may
tailed, of large size or even just have describe a memory his character
a disturbing aura. has of this place or a place like it.
He may describe when he traveled
Stoic
here before. The player then adds a
Character Burner page 347.
new domain to his spirit binder at
Suicidal Dt 5 pts its base level (0). Once used, this
This character (instantly) earns a trait becomes a character trait.
persona point every time he takes a To be clear, the domain is added
mortal wound. during play at a time of the player’s
choosing, not during character
Tainted Legacy burning.
Character Burner page 349.
Zealot
Tinkerer Character Burner page 355.
Character Burner page 350.

412
 Lifepaths

Magical Skills

The Wizard Burner

This section presents the new skills offered in this book and revisions
of the sorcerous skills in the Character Burner. Skills not listed here are
either wises or are described in the Character Burner.

Revised Starting Sorcery Skill Exponents

Sorcerous skill exponents may not start the game with an exponent
greater than 5 unless all members of the group are playing sorcerer-type
characters or you all agree otherwise.

Alchemy Perception of Wits with an otherworldly entity

This entry is an update of Alchemy or another summoner concerning
that incorporates all of the new the price or nature of a pact.
applications presented in this
Obstacles: Bargaining uses the rules
book. Alchemy is the distillation of
described in the Summoning and
materials in order to divine their
the Duel of Wits chapters.
essence. Alchemists may also create
FoRKs: Rhetoric, Ugly Truth,
mixtures of arcane substances to
Folklore.
generate a specific effect.
Skill Type: Special
Obstacles: Distilling components of Tools: No.
earth, Ob 1. Components of water
or liquid, Ob 2. Components of Circination Per/Ag

metal, Ob 3. Components of blood, Circination is the art of drawing

Ob 4. Identifying traits from circles and sigils that aid the spirit
organic samples: Character traits, binder and summoner. There are
Ob 1. Call-ons, Ob 2. Die traits, three types of circles that may be
Ob 3. drawn: the summoning circle or
FoRKs: Enchanting, Herbalism, gate, the fortress circle and the
Apothecary, Munitions, Poisons. prison circle. The summoning
Skill Type: Sorcerous circle aids in conjuring and binding
Tools: Yes. spirits. The fortress protects
the summoner from spirits. The
Bargaining Will/Per prison circle traps unruly spirits.
Immortal spirits know the value Circination is tested like a regular
of ephemeral things like life and skill: It is not open-ended and does
a soul. They bring this knowledge not get combined with anything
to bear against those who wish to special (except help or FoRKs) when
strike bargains with them and form tested. Circination is used to aid
pacts. The Bargaining skill is a Spirit Binding and Summoning.
special social skill designed solely to Please consult those chapters for
negotiate pacts between summoner further nuances of the skill.
and summoned. It may be used for
If a circle is physically damaged—
the bargaining steps described in
erased, marred, smudged—then it
the Summoning chapter or in a Duel
loses its powers.

413
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Obstacles: Summoning Circle or Obstacles: See the Enchanting
Gate: The player sets his obstacle chapter.
according to how many advantage FoRKs: A craft skill appropriate to
dice he hopes to earn. If successful, what’s being created. Linked tests
the test grants advantage dice are appropriate.
for Spirit Binding or Summoning Skill Type: Sorcerous
equal to the obstacle. Fortress: Tools: Yes and no. See the chapter.
For Spirit Binding, the obstacle
Sorcery Perception
is equal to the spirit Strength to
This is not a revision of Sorcery
be deflected. For Summoning,
but an expansion. In your game,
the obstacle is 1 plus the obstacle
the Sorcery skill can count for the
penalty the sorcerer wishes to
standard version of the Sorcery skill
imposes on the spirit. Prison:
described in the Burning Wheel or
For Spirit Binding, the obstacle
count for Art Magic or Practical
is twice the spirit’s Strength. For
Magic described in this book. Pick
Summoning, the obstacle is equal
one form that the skill represents
to the Will exponent of the creature
in your game. All iterations of
to be imprisoned (plus any
the Sorcery skill, no matter what
penalties for shade differences).
lifepath they are earned from, count
FoRKs: Illuminations, Cartography,
as this form.
Symbology, Ritual and appropriate
wises. Obstacles: See the Art Magic or
Skill Type: Sorcerous Practical Magic chapters in this
Tools: No. book or the Sorcery chapter in the
Burning Wheel.
Death Art Will/Forte FoRKs: Aura Reading, Astrology,
Death Art is a black practice that Empyrealia, Demonology and
teaches the sorcerer how to animate appropriate wises.
corpses and turn them into walking Skill Type: Sorcerous
abominations. Tools: No.
Obstacles: See the Death Art chapter.
Spirit Binding Will
FoRKs: Summoning, Folklore and
Spirits abound. They infuse the
appropriate wises.
world around us, and those who
Skill Type: Sorcerous
know their secrets may call them
Tools: Yes and no. See the chapter.
forth and bind them into service.
Enchanting Per/Ag Using this skill, a summoner may
Enchanting is a school of sorcery call forth a spirit and set it to a task.
that focuses on imparting magic To summon and bind, the player
to inert, physical things. There are totals his dice from Spirit Binding,
two sides to Enchanting: imbuing a domain binding, a spirit mark,
and full-blown enchanting. Imbuing summoning circles and any
allows the mage to temporarily offerings. He tests those dice
infuse an item with a small amount against an obstacle that combines
of power. Enchanting allows the the spirit’s Strength, the task, the
mage to create powerful, enduring summoner’s own Immanence, the
artifacts.

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 Lifepaths

immediate need for the spirit and Summoning Perception

The Wizard Burner

the scope of the domain affected. If The Summoning skill allows the
successful, the summoner can name character to call spirits of the dead,
his task and reduce the amount of demons, angels and gods to discuss
retribution the spirit will visit upon matters of faith, life and philosophy,
him. If failed, the summoner has and perhaps to reach a bargain for
angered the spirit and will suffer the service. This skill uses the rules
consequences in either retribution found in the Summoning chapter of
or enmity. this book.
Obstacles: See the Spirit Binding Obstacles: See the Summoning
chapter. chapter.
FoRKs: Astrology. Linked tests are FoRKs: Astrology, Folklore,
appropriate. Empyrealia, Demonology and
Skill Type: Sorcerous appropriate wises.
Tools: No. Skill Type: Sorcerous
Tools: No.

415
 The Bladesmith
DUVAINEL, 175-year-old Dark Elven Bladesmith
Born Citadel, Novice, Shaper, Bladesmith, Griever, Liar
STATS
Will B6 Perception B5 Agility B6
Speed B4 Power B4 Forte B6
ATTRIBUTES
Health B8 Steel B6 Mortal Wound B11 Hesitation 4
Reflexes B5 Resources B3 Circles B4 Stride 8
Spite B5
SKILLS
Elven Script B2, Etching B3, Mending B2, Elven Artifact-wise B2,
Craft‑wise B2, Woodcraft B3, Smithcraft B3, Riddle of Steel B5, Sorrow
of Truth B5, Falsehood B4, Soothing Platitudes B4, Persuasion B3,
The Twisted Tongue B4, Song of the Sword B4, Antiphon Union Training
TRAITS
Born Under the Silver Stars, Essence of the Earth, Fair and Statuesque, First
Born, Grief, Keen Sight, Loyal, Long Fingered, Acute, Spite, Dark and Imposing,
Compulsive Liar, Glib
GEAR
Elven Smithy, Elven Clothes, Elven Shoes
RELATIONSHIPS
Thanguron (Romantic, Hateful), Morfinnor (Family, Hateful)
BELIEFS
I must create a weapon for Thanguron to use against my father, Morfinnor.
I will build my reputation as the finest weaponsmith in the citadel—enough
so that every etharch will desire my blades.
My weapon will teach my client the truth: A blade’s sole purpose is to bring
misery to its wielder and all those around him.
INSTINCTS
Always take my time when crafting.
Always create items of the highest quality.
Sing the Sorrow of Truth into all blades that I forge.
 The Path of Spite
Dark Elves
The Path of Spite is walked by those Elves who have turned their
Grief and sorrow into Spite and bitterness. These dark souls see
the world as coming to nothing but ruin and wreckage. There is no
good left in it for them, nor will there be for anyone else in the end.

Dark Elves are a subset of Elves. In order to create one, you must
start with the Elven lifepaths. Who was your character before he
or she turned? Choose a few lifepaths from the Elven settings and
then make the jump into the Dark Elven paths.

Leads to Spite
To make things fun, any Elf lifepath may take a lead into the Paths
of Spite, provided the Elf have at least an exponent 3 Grief at the
time of the switch. Once on the path though, you may never go back.

Playing a Dark Elf requires sanction from the GM and the other
players.

Path of Spite Subsetting

Lifepath Time Res Stat Lead
Griever 3 yrs — — —
Skills: 3 pts: Sorrow of Truth , Dark Elf-wise
§

Traits: 1 pt: Spite

Wastrel 25 yrs 3 — —
Skills: 6 pts: Scavenging, Brawling, Forest-wise, Wasteland-wise,
Animal-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Filthy, Feral
Requires: Griever
Thief 18 yrs 6 +1 M/P —
Skills: 6 pts: Lock Pick, Stealthy, Climbing, Sleight of Hand, Dirge of Night§
Traits: 1 pt: Thief
Requires: Griever

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 Lifepaths

Assassin 15 yrs 6 +1 P —

The Path of Spite

Skills: 7 pts: Intimidation, Poisons, Escape Artist, Knives, Garrote, Keen of
Terror§
Traits: 1 pt: Murderous, Callous, Cold Blooded
Requires: Griever
Stalker 20 yrs 8 — —
Skills: 8 pts: Hunting, Elf-wise, Tracking, Trapper, Observation, Stealthy,
Throwing, Javelin, Supplication to Shadows§
Traits: 1 pt: Saturnine
Requires: Griever
Deceiver 35 yrs 10 +1 M —
Skills: 7 pts: Sleight of Hand, Disguise, Inconspicuous, Rhyme of the Unraveller§
Traits: 1 pt: Deceptive
Requires: Griever
Liar 25 yrs 8 +1 M —
Skills: 6 pts: Falsehood, Soothing Platitudes, Persuasion, Twisted Tongue§
Traits: 1 pt: Compulsive Liar
Requires: Griever
Siren 55 yrs 20 +1 M/P —
Skills: 9 pts: Seduction, Etiquette, Persuasion, Soothing Platitudes,
Gossip‑wise, Fugue of Discord§, Litany of Fools§
Traits: 2 pts: Charismatic, Femme Fatale/Homme Fatal
Requires: Assassin, Deceiver or Liar
Eremite 150 yrs 15 +1 M Servant to the Dark
Skills: 12 pts: Philosophy, Ugly Truth, Obscure History, Symbology,
Strategy, Elf-wise, Orc-wise, Dwarf-wise, Man-wise, Paean to the Dark Fire§
Traits: 2 pts: Remote, Cold
Requires: Siren, Wastrel or Stalker
Recluse 225 yrs 25 +1 P —
Skills: 2 pts; Ancient History, Dwarf-wise, Elven Politics-wise, Cut of the
Quickened Mind§; 5 pts General
Traits: 1 pt: Vengeful
Requires: Eremite or any three Dark Elf lifepaths

Notes from the Dark

§: Indicates a Dark Elven spell or skill song. These special skills cost 2 pts to open and are
advanced as normal.

Dark Elf Age Chart

Use the Age Chart for Elves on page 138 of the Burning Wheel.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Dark Elf Common Traits

Dark Elves share common traits with Elves with the following
modifications: Change Grief to Spite and you may, if you so choose,
change the Fair and Statuesque trait to the Dark and Imposing character
trait.

Dark Elf Lifepath Traits

Callous Char do. The Feral trait reduces overall
hesitation by one, but adds +1 Ob
Charismatic to all social skill tests. Also, Feral
Burning Wheel page 318.
negates the bonus to Circles from
Cold Dt any Elven lifepath trait such as
In a Duel of Wits where kindness, Etharchal, Lord of Ages, etc.
compassion, Grief or passion are
Filthy Char
involved, the Eremite may double
his Will for the purposes of the body
Murderous Char
of argument. This effect can be
triggered mid-conflict, increasing
Remote Char
the Eremite’s body of argument
immediately. Saturnine Dt
If any other player attempts to
Cold Blooded
influence a character with the
Burning Wheel page 319.
Saturnine trait with passion,
Compulsive Liar Char motivation, joy or love, the
Saturnine Dark Elf player gets a
Deceptive C-O/Dt +1D advantage to all tests for one
The Deceptive trait acts as a call-on scene when confronting, hunting or
for Sleight of Hand and Falsehood. poisoning that character.
However this trait so infuses the
Spite Dt
liar, he has a hard time telling the
Dark Elves trade their Grief for
truth. Deceptive also incurs a +1 Ob
a burning Spite. Something has
penalty to all Oratory, Command
snapped inside the Dark Elf’s soul—
tests and +2 Ob to Ugly Truth or
Grief seems folly to him. Whatever
Litany of Fools.
the truth of an immortal life is,
Femme Fatale/Homme Fatal C-O Dark Elves know that it does not
Call-on for Seduction. lay silently grieving with his Elven
brothers. See the Spite section of this
Feral Dt chapter for more details on the rules.
Wastrels lose themselves to their
animal instincts, living for decades
at a time without contact with
civilization—living as animals

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 Lifepaths

Thief C-O enemy. Humiliating or murdering

The Path of Spite

The Thief trait requires that the the enemy—getting revenge upon
player note a mandatory theft- them—immediately earns the player
related Instinct: “When visiting a bonus persona point, for a total of
home, always steal Mother’s two: one for a personal goal and one
valuables,” for example. So long as for Vengeful.
that Instinct is in play, it acts a call- The Vengeful trait also requires
on for Sleight of Hand. that the Dark Elf have a close
relationship with a non-spiteful
Vengeful Dt
Elf or a mortal human. It can be
If the Dark Elf character is defeated
familial, romantic or fraternal in
in a Duel of Wits or a Fight and
nature—but it must be close. It must
lives to tell the tale, he may FoRK
rankle the Dark Elf that they still
his Spite into all rolls bent on
live that way.
avenging himself against his

Dark Elf Skill Songs

Litany of Fools Will
The song Litany of Fools speaks gently of the terrible fate of those who don’t
see the truth in what the Dark Elf is saying. This song counts as Ugly Truth
or Intimidation—choose which before testing the skill. The Dark Elf player
must incorporate a barbed rhyme of verse into his roleplay.
FoRKs: Falsehood
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Dark Elven Spell Songs

Unless otherwise noted, Dark Elf spell songs follow the rules for Elven
spell songs.

Choosing Dark Elf Songs Versus Elven Songs

When picking spell songs, if the player is presented with two similar
songs—one Elven, one Dark Elven—the player must pick the Dark
Elven song.

For example, Threne of the Chameleon is similar to Supplication of

Shadows. If a player has both songs on his list, he may not choose Threne.
Or Twisted Tongue weighed against Voice of Ages—Twisted Tongue
would be the preferred song.
Song Roots
Dark Elf songs are rooted in Will like Elven songs with a few exceptions.
Sorrow of Truth, Paean to the Dark Fire, Fugue of Discord and the
Twisted Tongue are rooted in Spite.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Cut of the Quickened Mind Ob See Below

It is all but impossible to argue with a Dark Elf. They turn each argument
against their interlocutor, proving their point with each denial and reproach.
This song allows the Dark Elf to switch the function of social skills. He can
switch from a skill he has to one he doesn’t: Falsehood becomes Persuasion.
Ugly Truth becomes Oratory, etc.
Obstacles: To turn a skill to Falsehood, Soothing Platitudes or Ugly Truth,
Ob 2. To turn a skill to Intimidation or Seduction, Ob 3. To turn a skill to
Persuasion or Oratory, Ob 4. To turn a skill to Rhetoric, Ob 5. This effect
lasts for one scene.
Special: The Cut can also be used to temporarily epiphany any one social
skill. The obstacle is 10 minus Spite. The epiphany lasts for one scene. This
effect can only be used once against a single particular opposing character.
It may not be used with the switched skill ability above. It is only used on
skills you possess.
Actions: Obstacle x 10

Dirge of Night Ob 3
Shadows lengthen and deepen to an impossible shade of darkness. This
spell counteracts any sight-boosting trait or spell like Keen Sight or Eye of
the Eagle. In addition, anyone searching the shadows or darkness suffers
a +1 Ob penalty. Dirge of Night can only be sung at night or a place of
shadows—an ancient forest, indoors, etc.
Duration: The Dirge of Night fades come morning or if bright light floods the
area it affects.
Actions: 8

Fugue of Discord Ob 5
When sung this song interrupts spells and songs being cast. It acts as a
distraction to any song or spell currently being sustained. The area of effect
is the Dark Elf’s presence. If a character attempts to sing or cast while a
Fugue of Discord is in effect, they must add the Dark Elf’s extra successes
from the Fugue of Discord to their obstacle.
Duration: The effect lasts while the song is sung. The Dark Elf may continue
to sing for as long as he or she likes and may act but may not otherwise
speak (or sleep, eat or drink).
Actions: 12

Keen of Terror Ob 3
When this dirge is sung, any character without the Spite or Hatred attribute
within the presence of the caster must test his Steel. Extra song successes
increase the obstacle for the Steel test. Use the hesitation options as
described under Intense Sorrow.
Actions: 3

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The Path of Spite

Paean to the Dark Fire Ob 10 minus Spite

When sung properly this terrible song shows the singer’s true form—a
shifting and distorted visage that none can look upon without growing
dizzy or faint. At its base level, the spell gives all who look upon the Dark
Elf +1 Ob to any act directed against him—attacking him, intimidating
him, convincing him, etc. Extra successes over the spell obstacle add to the
obstacle penalty.
Duration: Effect lasts while sung. Dark Elf may continue to sing for as long as
he or she likes, and may act, but may not otherwise speak.
Actions: 4
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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Rhyme of the Unraveler Ob See Below

This devilish song causes havoc around the singer: Knots untie, wax cracks,
mortar loosens, thread unwinds and seams unravel.
Obstacles: Knots or belts, Ob 1. Rope, Ob 2. In addition, you can use the
equivalent obstacle of the Raw Power Obstacles Against Materials table on
Burning Wheel page 542 to cause fences, doors, walls or even structures to
fall apart.
Actions: Obstacle x2

Sorrow of Truth Ob 10 minus Target’s Grief

This mournful song speaks of leaving sorrow behind, putting it to sleep and
waking a new fire within—a flame of spite.
Elves who are confronted with this song (if it is successfully sung), may
choose to change their Grief to Spite. Their eyes are open to this new truth.
Actions: 3000 (about 30 minutes)

Supplication to Shadows Ob 4
The shadows hold no secrets or sorrows from us. This supplication adds +1D
to Stealthy. Successes over the obstacle count as additional advantage dice. It
can only be sung and used in an area of shadow or darkness.
Duration: Until the character steps into direct sunlight.
Actions: 4

Twisted Tongue Ob See Below

When singing into the ear of an unwitting victim, the Dark Elf bends him to
his will. This song is used to enhance the Dark Elf’s social prowess.
Obstacles: Using the following obstacles to make a social skill open-ended
for the duration of the scene: Falsehood and Intimidation, Ob 1. Soothing
Platitudes and Ugly Truth, Ob 2. Persuasion, Ob 3. Oratory, Ob 4.
Rhetoric, Ob 5.
Special: In addition, the Twisted Tongue can be sung to grant the Dark
Elf a reputation for use in Circles tests. Use the following obstacles: 1D
reputation, Ob 2. 2D reputation, Ob 4. 3D reputation, Ob 6. Make the roll
before you test Circles. Failure indicates the Dark Elf has an enemy in these
circles, regardless if you pass the Circles test or not.
Duration: One test or series test.
Actions: 6

Rules of Spite
Spite is complex. It is a dangerous mixture of indignation, self-
righteousness and fury. Whether right or wrong, the spiteful prove
themselves with a point: They are not above revenge, deceit or even
murder to ensure that they get what they believe is their’s by right.

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 Lifepaths

The Path of Spite

Starting Spite
In order to take the Griever lifepath and earn the Spite trait, the Elf must
first have at least a B3 Grief attribute. Before taking the lead to the Path
of Spite, factor all of the criteria for starting Grief as per the normal rules
for Elves. If the character qualifies for a B3 Grief, he may walk the path.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Once the Elf character takes the Griever lifepath, Grief is transmuted
to Spite.

Add one to starting Spite for each of the following traits: Slayer, Exile,
Feral, Murderous, Saturnine, Femme/Homme Fatal, Cold and Bitter.

If the character has taken Bitter Reminders, each 10 rps spent adds one
to starting Spite.

Also, read and answer the following questions:

— Has the character been betrayed by his friends? If so, add one to
the starting Spite exponent.
— Is the character lovesick or broken hearted? If so, add one.
— Has the character been abandoned by those he held dear? If so, add one.
— Has the character been abused or tortured? If so, add one.
— Does the character still respect or admire someone on the other
side? If so, subtract one from the starting exponent.
— Does the character still love someone on the other side? If so,
subtract two from the starting exponent.

Spite may not start above exponent 9. This emotional attribute obeys all
of the limitations described in the Setting Your Game’s Starting Power
Level on page 104 of Burning Wheel.

Five points of Spite may be spent to shade shift from black to gray shade
during character burning. This may only be done at the GM’s discretion.

Limits of Spite
At exponent 10 Spite, the Dark Elf commits suicide.

Sever All Ties

When a player chooses the Griever lifepath and acquires the Spite lifepath
trait, he may choose to sever his ties and obligations to his old life. The
player may remove any required lifepath trait in this vein: Fealty to the
Fêa, Servant of the Citadel, Sworn to Protect and Sworn to the Lord
Protector.

He may also choose to take any reputation gained via his lifepath traits
as an infamous one or he can choose to keep these traits and reputations
as they are. There are a lot of options for playing Dark Elves who still live
among their brethren and are therefore still bound to all their obligations.

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 Lifepaths

Intense Sorrow

The Path of Spite

As Elven songs cause Wonderment, Dark Elven dirges cause Intense
Sorrow in the listener’s heart. Intense Sorrow only affects characters
who understand high speech and who do not have the Spite or Hatred
attributes.

Characters within the presence of a Dark Elf singing must pass a Steel
test. If in Fight, the effect takes hold after a number of exchanges equal
their Will exponent. In Range and Cover or Duel of Wits, the effect is
triggered at the start of the second volley of singing. Outside of conflict,
the effect grips its listeners after a few moments. If the listener fails the
Steel test, he hesitates, as per the standard rules, but with some interesting
choices: Stand and Drool, Exact Revenge or Weep Bitterly.

New Steel Test Result Option: Exact Revenge

If you choose to exact revenge while hesitating, you lash out at one
of your companions who you believe has slighted or betrayed you.
You leap upon your betrayer with a scream and attempt to kill him.
The target of the attack must be a friend or an enemy whose death
will hasten the character’s own death (it cannot be the Dark Elf who
induced the test).

New Steel Test Result Option: Weep Bitterly

Rather than Fall Prone and Beg for Mercy, you may have your
character fall to his knees and begin to weep and sob—remorseful
for all his past actions, because they have all come to naught and will
eternally come to nothing.

In Spite of Grief
Dark Elves may use traditional Elven spell songs and skill songs that
they learned in their previous life. However, they may never use any
song rooted in Grief. These characters no longer possess that attribute
and therefore can no longer use abilities based on it. And, of course, they
may no longer sing laments (except under one specific condition; see
the Spite to Grief heading). Those who have died received the payment
they deserved!

Deeds of Spite
Like Elves, Dark Elves may use deeds points to channel their emotion
into their actions. A deeds point can be used to add the Spite exponent
dice to a roll. This counts as a difficult test for advancement for Spite.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Situational Spite Obstacles

Like Grief and Hatred, Spite is generally not rolled. However, conditions
arise in play that act as tests and count as a test for advancing the attribute.

Obstacle 1 Spite
Being lied to. Betraying an Instinct. Being interrupted while at work.

Obstacle 2 Spite
Being robbed. Going against a Belief. Suffering incompetence.
Reflecting on the bitter reminders of your old life.

Obstacle 3 Spite
Being accused of a crime you did not commit. Being maliciously
attacked or wounded (midi wound or less). Navigating bureaucracy.

Obstacle 4 Spite
Having your home destroyed or ruined. Being personally betrayed.
Suffering a severe wound.

Obstacle 5 Spite
Fighting in a bloody battle. Being captured by your enemies. Suffering
a traumatic wound.

Obstacle 6 Spite
Being imprisoned for a crime you did not commit. Losing a bloody
battle. Being mortally wounded.

Obstacle 7 Spite
Being forced to flee your homeland by incursions of interlopers and
idiots. Having to kill your friend whose mind has failed to see the
truth.

Obstacle 8 Spite
Being tortured. Being betrayed by your family. Forced to ally with the
enemy in order to get one damned thing done.

Obstacle 9 Spite
Watching a friend succumb to Grief. Attempting a great endeavor and
failing. Attempting to give in to Hatred and failing.

Obstacle 10 Spite
Realizing that the Path of Spite breeds nothing but hatred and division,
and that this divergent path will be the end of Elvendom—but walking
it anyway. Betraying friend, family, kith and kin—precipitating their
destruction and end—because they failed to see matters your way.

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 Lifepaths

The Path of Spite

Spite to Hatred
A Dark Elf player may attempt to turn his boiling spite into blazing
hate. At an appropriate or dramatic time in the story, he may make a
challenging Spite test to turn Spite irrevocably to Hatred. This is the only
time Spite is ever rolled directly. Pass or fail, this counts as a challenging
Spite test for advancement! If done in Fight, it requires two actions.
In Range and Cover or Duel of Wits, it costs one action. Otherwise, it
occupies a short scene on its own.

You may spend artha, but FoRKs are not available. Other Hateful
creatures present and attuned to the Elf’s anguish can help.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

If successful, Spite becomes Hatred. The Fair and Statuesque or the

Dark and Imposing trait is instantly lost and replaced with Twisted and
Loathsome. The player may also choose one additional Orc Common
trait to replace one of his remaining Elven Common traits.

Any Elven songs possessed by the character are now forgotten. Dark
Elven songs are kept and are now rooted in Hatred or Will (rather than
Spite or Will). The Dark Elf may learn Hatred-based skills. He uses
the rules for advancing Hatred on page 240 of the Character Burner. If
the character should ever earn the Void Embrace trait, he may turn his
Hatred to Blasphemous Hatred.

Spite to Grief
In play, Spite may be turned back to Grief. To do so, the Dark Elf player
must learn a lament from another Elf character whom he has hurt in the
course of play. He must then pass a test for the Lament of Mourning at
an obstacle equal to his Spite plus one. He may spend artha as per the
standard rules, but he also must have at least one helping die from an
Elven character whom he has hurt in the course of play. If the Lament is
successful, the Spite exponent is transformed to Grief. Mark a challenging
test for Grief. If the test is failed, mark a challenging test for Spite.

Spite and Antiphon Union

A sword crafted by a Dark Elf will have an evil legacy and lead to death
and loss. A Dark Elven smith can use Antiphon Union to imbue items
with the Sorrow of Truth, so that those who use them eventually fall
from Grief to Spite.

Even worse, these enchanted items tend to bear ill will to their masters.
GMs should embrace this and ensure that failure results involving the
items are the most tragic, most sorrowful outcomes possible.

Dark Elf Resources

Dark Elves may purchase one or two heirlooms of their past (as per Bitter
Reminders). Everything else has been thrown into the sea or a chasm in
spite of its worth.

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 Lifepaths

The Path of Spite

Resources Rp Cost
Bitter Reminder..........see below
Bitter ................................... 10
Spiteful Poison..................... 20
Lock Picks........................... 10
Long Knife............................. 5
Barbed Javelins...................... 3
Garrote.................................. 3
Caltrops................................. 3
Tools of the Trade................... 9
Cloak of Darkness................ 30
Climbing Claws...................... 5
Remote Refuge..................... 10
Morlîn Armor................ Special
Morlîn Weapons................... 15

Bitter Reminder— Dark Elf characters may purchase items from the Elven
Resources list on page 156 of the Burning Wheel. Each 10 rps spent
on these items adds +1D to starting Spite.
Bitter Poison— One dose of this ingested poison causes the victim to lose
1D of Health per day for five days. If Health drops to zero, the victim
dies. If not, the victim recovers his Health at 1D per week.
Spiteful Poison— One small cut from a needle or blade so poisoned is
enough to kill. If an Incidental hit is delivered from a blade or barb
with this poison, roll a die of fate. On a 1-2, the victim is poisoned. If
a Mark hit is delivered, the victim is poisoned on a 1-4. Superb hits
always deliver the poison. If poisoned, the victim must pass an Ob 5
Health test. If failed, the victim—unaware that he or she has been
poisoned—will exhibit no symptoms for eight hours or more, after
which time he or she will fall into a swoon and die. If somehow detected
in the interim, the poison can be countered using the Song of Soothing.
If the victim passes the Health test, the victim’s Forte is taxed by four.
Recover as per the Sickness rules, but in days instead of hours.
Lock Picks— These tools are required to use the Lock Pick skill.
Long Knives— These insidious weapons count as daggers and are designed
to cause maximum harm to their targets. Pow 2, Add 1, VA –, WS 3,
Short. Can be concealed like a dagger or knife.

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Barbed Javelins— Barbed Javelins are designed to cause their victims

grievous harm even after impact. If a Superb hit is scored, the javelin
has embedded itself in the victim. All medicinal skill rolls to stop
bleeding or begin recovery suffer +2 Ob penalty due to the javelin’s
ugly barbs that must be extracted before the victim can heal.
Garrote— A garrote is a two- to three-foot length of cord strung between
two small wooden handles. It is used to throttle victims to death. To
use this weapon, a character must win positioning at hands fighting
distance. Once there, a 2D or greater Lock must be established around
the neck with the garrote. If such a Lock is achieved, the victim loses
1D Forte every volley thereafter. If Forte reaches zero, the victim falls
unconscious.
Caltrops— Caltrops are sharp barbs scattered on the ground to interfere
with a creature’s movement. If approached while moving quickly or
if simply walking into the trap unawares, make an Ob 3 Speed test to
avoid. Failure indicates damage. Roll the Die of Fate: 1: B7; 2-4: B5;
5-6: B4.
Tools of the Trade— Skill kits for Disguise, Poisons or any other kit the
Dark Elf may need.
Cloak of Darkness— Adds +4D of open-ended helping dice to the Stealthy
skill. If you have no Stealthy skill, roll the cloak’s own four dice to create
the Observation obstacle.
Climbing Claws— These odd devices help the Dark Elf thieves in their
second-story operations. Add +1D to the Climbing Skill, but +1 Ob to
all other Agility based skills while wearing them (except when using
Climbing Claws with Brawling). They can also act as a weapon: Pow 1,
Add 2, VA –, WS 2, Shortest.
Remote Refuge— Dark Elves often find remote refuges where they can live
in isolation: deep in ancient woods, lost in wastelands or even under the
earth in vast caves. Use the Elven Land list for prices and translate the
actual purchases into something suitably dark and forlorn.
Morlîn Armor— The first Dark Elf, in the centuries of his isolation and
contemplation, developed a special black metal that was light and
supple but as strong as steel. When he ventured forth from his refuge,
he was always clad in this harness. Dark Elven black metal armor
is superior quality armor and incurs no clumsy weight penalties.
Black metal light mail costs 30 rps, heavy mail 40 rps and plated mail
100 rps.

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The Path of Spite

Morlîn Weapons— Weapons made of the Dark Elven black metal count
as superior quality. You may modify the weapon thusly:
• For an additional +15 rps, you may add an additional point of
weapon speed or VA to the weapon’s stats.
• For +30 rps, you may add +1 Power to the weapon.

However, to qualify for this bonus, you must name the weapon and it
must be unique in your campaign. For example, if you take a black
metal dagger with VA 2, it can be the only one of its type.

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Dark Elves in Play

Our Dark Elves don’t follow extant archetypes of dark elves in
gaming. They are neither those who are intrinsically evil, nor are they
underground-dwelling, spider-worshipping sorcerers.

These individuals have made a choice and believe in it with the utmost
conviction. Having turned away from mourning and sadness, they have
focused on rage, hatred and malice. To them such a transformation
represents a natural evolution of an eternal life lived in an endlessly
decaying world.

Dark Elves work well as NPC villains and as an element in an Orc or Troll
cohort. However, playing a Dark Elf in a group of otherwise innocent
player characters can be very risky. I recommend outing the Dark Elf
during character burning. You can incorporate them into Elven society:
having just gone over to Spite, how do they cut their ties? Or make them
a disguised element in an adventuring group who is destined to betray
his friends—but only so long as everyone is in on and agrees with the
ultimate reveal.

When playing with Spite, try to walk the line between the Grief of the
Elves and the outright Hatred of the Orcs. It’s not easy, but the best path
that I have seen is a kind of seething, righteous anger. Dark Elves aren’t
like the Orcs yet. They still care. They still want the world to be right.
Yet it drives them mad to watch the fools ruin it—over and over again.

Oh, and it’s not just Elves whom they despise; it’s everyone. Including you.

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 The Missionary
Pedri of the Tighearnach nest, 28-year-old Roden Missionary
Born to the Fields, Sister, Hermit, Missionary
STATS
Will B5 Perception B5 (B6) † Agility B4
Speed B4 Power B3 Forte B4
ATTRIBUTES
Health B4 Steel B6 Mortal Wound B9 Hesitation 5
Reflexes B4 Resources B0 Circles B2 Stride 8
Faith B5 (Harvest Vow)
SKILLS
Philosophy B2, Suasion B3, Doctrine B2, Read B2, Write B2, Meditation B2,
Shrine-Wise B2, Prayer-Wise B2, Preaching B4, Foreign Languages B2,
Below-wise B2, Brawling B2, Man-wise B2, Astrology B2, Rhetoric B2,
Oratory B2, Foraging B4*, Books-wise B2, Lost Secrets-Wise B2, Field
Dressing B4*, Herbalism B3*, Field Dressing B3*
TRAITS
Aecer’s Likeness, Coat of Fur, Communal, Enlarged Incisors, Tail, Large Ears,
Skittish, Thoughtful, Zealot, Vegetarian, Ordained, Faithful, Boring, Graceful
GEAR
Traveling Gear, Robes of the Ordained or Clothes, Honeyed Oatcakes,
Blood Blossom
RELATIONSHIPS
Tighearnach (Powerful, Father, Hateful)
REPUTATIONS
Wound Mender 1D
BELIEFS
My father is keeping me from my calling; I will change his mind.
I will spread the word of Aecer to those Below; they shall hear or be destroyed.
I will learn the language of the people to whom I’m preaching.
I must protect Aecer’s fields and forests from the encroaching human settlements.
INSTINCTS
When preaching, always repeat my points until they get it.
Always read any new religious texts I find.
Never leave an injured creature without care.

† +1D due to Large Ears trait. *+1D due to Harvest Vow.

 Roden Lifepaths
Field Setting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Lead
Born to the Fields 6 yrs — — Society
Skills: 3 pts: General
Traits: Roden Common traits plus 2 pts: Vegetarian
Hand 3 yrs 3 +1 P Exile
Skills: 4 pts: Singing, Work-wise, Ditch Digging
Traits: 1 pt: Back-Breaking Labor
Woodsen 6 yrs 6 +1 P Exile
Skills: 4 pts: Tree Cutting, Tree-wise, Mending, Orienteering
Traits: 1 pt: Independent
Apprentice 4 yrs 9 +1 P Exile, Society
Skills: 3 pts: Mending, Haggling, Materials-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Gopher
Gatherer 8 yrs 10 — Exile
Skills: 3 pts: Foraging, Herbalism, Nut and Berry-wise
Traits 1 pt: —
Farmer 8 yrs 10 +1 P —
Skills: 3 pts: Farming, Mending, Seed-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Hoarder
Beekeeper 7 yrs 9 — —
Skills: 5 pts: Bee Husbandry, Firebuilding, Bee-wise, Flower-wise,
Honey-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Thick Skin, Beespeaker
Requires: Woodsen, Gatherer, Farmer, Apprentice or Hand
Miller 9 yrs 15 +1M/P —
Skills: 5 pts: Miller, Grain-wise, Haggling
Traits: 1 pt: Industrious
Requires: Woodsen, Gatherer, Farmer, Apprentice or Hand
Meadmaker 9 yrs 14 — —
Skills: 5 pts: Brewer, Mead-wise, Haggling, Cooper
Traits: 1 pt: —
Requires: Meadmaker requires Beekeeper

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Baker 7 yrs 12 — —
Skills: 4 pts: Baking, Firebuilding, Bread-wise, Cooking
Traits: 1 pt: Fragrant, Sweet Tooth
Requires: Hand, Miller or Beekeeper
Weaver 8 yrs 15 —
Skills: 6 pts: Weaving, Sewing, Embroidery, Soothing Platitudes, Singing
Traits: 1 pt: Calloused
Requires: Apprentice
Crafter 10 yrs 20 +1M/P —
Skills: 5 pts: Jargon, Instruction, Apprentice-wise, Blacksmith, Carpenter,
Potter, Mason
Traits: 1 pt: Diligent
Requires: Apprentice
Healer 8 yrs 10 +1 M —
Skills: 6 pts: Herbalism, Field Dressing, Apothecary, Ugly Truth, Hurt-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Compassionate, Bedside Manner
Requires: Hermit, Albino, Sawbones, Hand, Woodsen, Farmer or Beekeeper
Trader 8 yrs 16 — Exile
Skills: 6 pts: Haggling, Appraisal, Accounting, Conspicuous, Village-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Opportunist
Requires: Trader may not be your second lifepath.
Deputy 4 yrs 6 +1 P Exile, Society
Skills: 6 pts: Conspicuous, Spear, Bow, Brawling, Shield Training †,
Trouble-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Alarmist
Requires: Deputy may not be your second lifepath.
Sheriff 8 yrs 8 +1M/P —
Skills: 6 pts: Command, Intimidation, Interrogation, Sword
Traits: 1 pt: —
Requires: Deputy, Bandit King, Bruiser or Mastermind
Mayor 10 yrs 20 — —
Skills: 7 pts: Oratory, Persuasion, Law, Etiquette, Haggling, Petitioner-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Practiced Smile
Requires: Sheriff, Healer, Baker, Meadmaker, Negotiator or Philosopher
Restrictions: Character must be 17 years or older to take this lifepath.
Brother/Sister 5 yrs 14 +1 M Exile, Society
Skills: 6 pts: Doctrine, Read, Write, Meditation, Shrine-wise, Prayer-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Ordained, Faithful

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 Lifepaths

Missionary 5 yrs 5 +1 M, P Exile, Society

Nests of Roden
Skills: 5 pts: Suasion, Preaching, Foreign Languages, Intimidation,
Below-wise, Brawling, Man‑wise
Traits: 2 pts: Zealot, Righteous
Requires: Brother/Sister
Father/Mother 7 yrs 15 +1 M —
Skills: 6 pts: Aecer-wise, Oratory, Illuminations, Calligraphy, Singing,
History, Research, Cartography, Poetry
Traits: 2 pts: Portly, Patient
Requires: Brother/Sister
Abbot/Abbess 10 yrs 30 +1 M —
Skills: 5 pts: Administration, Accounting, Conspicuous, Etiquette
Traits: 1 pt: Revered
Requires: Father/Mother
† This skill is a training skill. It costs 2 points to open and may not be advanced.

Below Setting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Lead
Born Below 6 yrs — — Society
Skills: 3 pts: General
Traits: Roden Common traits plus 2 pts: Tunnel Vision
Pinky 2 yrs 2 –1 M —
Skills: 3 pts: Soothing Platitudes, Below-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Confusing Rant, Distracted, Clumsy, Lucky
Scavenger 4 yrs 3 — Exile, Society
Skills: 5 pts: Inconspicuous, Scavenging, Survival, Appraisal, Junk-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Acquisitive
Scratcher 6 yrs 4 +1 P —
Skills: 4 pts: Ditch Digging, Tunnel-wise, Mending
Traits: 1 pt: Hacking Cough, Deep Sense
Snitch 4 yrs 3 — Exile, Society
Skills: 4 pts: Inconspicuous, Falsehood, Haggling, Secret-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Cowardly
The Gauntlet 1 yrs 4 +1 P Society
Skills: 5 pts: Brawling, Soothing Platitudes, Hazing-wise, Pecking Order-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Victim

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Apprentice 6 yrs 5 +1 P Exile, Society
Skills: 3 pts: Mending, Blacksmith, Bribe-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Gopher
Requires: The Gauntlet
Kidnapper 7 yrs 10 +1 M Exile, Society
Skills: 7 pts: Inconspicuous, Knots, Haggling, Cudgel, Intimidation, Child-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Ruthless
Requires: The Gauntlet
Fingers 6 yrs 5 +1 P Exile, Society
Skills: 4 pts: Sleight of Hand, Inconspicuous, Knives, Streetwise
Traits: 1 pt: Light Touch, Cocky
Requires: The Gauntlet
Sneak Thief 7 yrs 6 — —
Skills: 5 pts: Stealthy, Lock Pick, Knives, Roof-wise, Window-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Cool Headed, Soft Step
Requires: The Gauntlet
Bladesmith 8 yrs 20 +1M/P Society
Skills: 7 pts: Haggling, Instruction, Weaponsmith, Knife-wise, Sword-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Secretive
Requires: Apprentice
Burglar 8 yrs 10 +1 M/P —
Skills: 7 pts: Observation, Climbing, Throwing, Locksmith, Loot-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Quiet, Confident
Requires: Fingers, Sneak Thief, Shadow, Corsair or Bushwhacker
Bruiser 6 yrs 8 +1 P Exile, Society
Skills: 7 pts: Appropriate Weapons, Intimidation, Extortion,
Shield Training †
Traits: 1 pt: Mean, Dumb
Requires: The Gauntlet
Fence 7 yrs 20 +1 M —
Skills: 7 pts: Appraisal, Haggling, Falsehood, Antique-wise, Fake-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Poker Face
Requires: Scavenger, Snitch or Sneak-Thief
Sawbones 8 yrs 15 — Exile
Skills: 5 pts: Field Dressing, Apothecary, Poisons, Haggling
Traits: 1 pt: Practical, Impersonal
Requires: Poisoner, Albino, Healer or Pinky

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 Lifepaths

Negotiator 8 yrs 15 +1 M Society

Nests of Roden
Skills: 6 pts: Persuasion, Deal-wise, Haggling, Intimidation, Ugly Truth
Traits: 1 pt: Calm Demeanor, Good Listener
Requires: Kidnapper, Deputy, Corsair, Missionary, Fence or Perverter
The Brain 9 yrs 13 +1 M Society
Skills: 13 pts: Soothing Platitudes, Read, Write, Research,
Astrology, Strategy, Logistics, Falsehood, History, Obscure History,
World Domination-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Genius, Condescending, Frustrated
Requires: Hermit, Mayor or Scratcher
Restrictions: The Brain cannot take the Pinky lifepath.
Mastermind 10 yrs 30 +1 M, P —
Skills: 11 pts: Intimidation, Persuasion, Oratory, Falsehood, Command,
Below-wise, Sword, Clique-wise, Nest-wise, Traitor-wise
Traits: 3 pts: Ambitious, Ruthless
Requires: Negotiator, The Brain, Bandit King or Abbot/Abbess
The Pope 11 yrs 75 +1 M, P —
Skills: 9 pts: Extortion, Intimidation, Read, Write, Composition,
Church‑wise, Papal Bull-wise, Pope Joke-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Most Holy, Faithful
Requires: Father/Mother or Visionary
† This is a training skill. It costs two points to open and may not be advanced.

Exile Subsetting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Lead
Carnivore 4 yrs 5 +1 P Below, Society
Skills: 5 pts: Hunting, Tracking, Trapper, Bow, Forest-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Gnawing Hunger, Blood Thirsty
Requires: Born to the Fields
Scrub 3 yrs 3 –1 M, P Field, Society
Skills: 5 pts: Inconspicuous, Soothing Platitudes, Kick Me-wise,
Bully‑wise, Nest-wise, Below-wise, Village-wise, Cat-wise
Traits: 3 pts: Abused, Pack Rat
Requires: Born Below
Hermit 10 yrs 2 — Field, Society
Skills: 8 pts: Philosophy, Astrology, Rhetoric, Oratory, Foraging,
Books‑wise, Lost Secret-wise
Traits: 3 pts: Thoughtful, Pack Rat, Boring, Farts

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Bushwhacker 5 yrs 5 +1 P Field, Below, Society
Skills: 4 pts: Appropriate Weapons, Intimidation, Stealthy, Ambush-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Desperate
Corsair 7 yrs 15 +1M/P Field, Below, Society
Skills: 8 pts: Pilot, Rigging, Knots, Navigation, Mending, Ship-wise, Bay-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Ruthless, Sea Legs
Requires: Bushwhacker, Sheriff, Bandit King, Trader, Negotiator or Bruiser
Bandit King 7 yrs 15 +1 M/P Field, Below, Society
Skills: 6 pts: Intimidation, Command, Sword, Bandit-wise, Caravan-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Scheming, Daring
Requires: Bushwhacker, Sheriff or Bruiser
Albino 10 yrs 25 +1 M —
Skills: 7 pts: Astrology, Ugly Truth, Read, Write; either Sorcery or
Spirit Binding
Traits: 2 pts: Albino, Gifted, Misunderstood
† This skill is a training skill. It costs 2 points to open and may not be advanced.

Society Subsetting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Lead
Initiate 3 yrs 2 — Exile
Skills: 3 pts: Doctrine, Society-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Broken
Cultist 4 yrs 4 +1 M —
Skills: 5 pts: Rhetoric, Suasion, Cudgel, Conversion-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Zealot, Defensive
Requires: Initiate
Shadow 6 yrs 6 +1 P —
Skills: 6 pts: Stealthy, Observation, Inconspicuous, Climbing, Tail-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Cautious
Requires: Initiate
Arsonist 6 yrs 6 — —
Skills: 6 pts: Arson, Firebuilding, Inconspicuous, Firebombs, Arson-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Pyromaniac
Requires: Initiate
Murderer 6 yrs 7 +1 P —
Skills: 5 pts: Knives, Stealthy, Intimidation, Inconspicuous, Garrote
Traits: 1 pt: Murderous, Single-Minded
Requires: Initiate

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 Lifepaths

Willard 5 yrs 5 — —

Nests of Roden
Skills: 4 pts: Animal Husbandry, Inconspicuous, Ratiquette
Traits: 2 pts: Rat Speak, Bitter, Weird
Requires: Initiate
Perverter 8 yrs 10 +1 M Field, Below, Exile
Skills: 6 pts: Disguise, Preaching, Inconspicuous, Falsehood, Dupe-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Scheming
Requires: The Brain, Cultist or Missionary
Poisoner 6 yrs 7 — —
Skills: 5 pts: Poisons, Inconspicuous, Apothecary, Toxin-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Nauseous
Requires: Initiate
Guardian 6 yrs 9 +1 P —
Skills: 8 pts: Appropriate Weapons, Brawling, Armor Training †,
Shield Training †, Intimidation
Traits: 2 pts: Merciless, Loyal
Requires: Murderer, Willard or Perverter
Preacher 8 yrs 15 +1 M —
Skills: 6 pts: Preaching, Conspicuous, Symbology, Obscure History
Traits: 2 pts: Obsessed, Righteous
Requires: Cultist, Missionary or Hermit
Visionary 10 yrs 30 +1 M Exile, Below
Skills: 11 pts: Oratory, Command, Astrology, Research, Interrogation,
Torture, Observation, Poetry, Cult-wise, Inner Workings-wise,
Undermining-wise
Traits: 4 pts: Megalomaniac, Imperious Demeanor, Visionary Faith, Dreamer
Requires: Albino, Preacher, Abbot/Abbess or Mastermind
† Indicates the skill is a training skill. It costs two points to open and may not be advanced.

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Stat Points for Roden by Age

Starting Age Mental Pool Physical Pool
1-5 years 6 pts 10 pts
6-9 years 7 pts 13 pts
10-15 years 7 pts 14 pts
16-24 years 8 pts 15 pts
25-30 years 8 pts 14 pts
31-36 years 7 pts 13 pts
37-40 years 7 pts 12 pts
41-45 years 7 pts 11 pts
46-49 years 6 pts 10 pts

Roden in Brief
• Enlarged Incisors: Pow 1, Add 2, VA —, WS 2, Shortest.

• Large Ears: +1D to Perception tests. Add this when determining

Reflexes.

• Skittish: +1 to hesitation. Must flee if hesitating for more than

one action.

• Aecer’s Likeness: Stride 8.

• Coat of Fur: Call-on trait for Health and Forte in weather and wet.

• Communal: 1D affiliation with home or born nest.

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 Nests of Roden
Common Traits
Aecer’s Likeness Dt
Roden claim they were created in the image of their god, Aecer. Covered
in short fur, they bear large ears and long tails. Their elongated feet are
thickly padded, making shoes unnecessary. Pronounced incisors curve
down from their extended snouts.
Roden have fast metabolisms that take a toll on them over time. Roden
live shorter lives than humans, reaching old age by 40. They have a
Stride of 8.

Coat of Fur C-O

All Roden have a short coat of fur. While Field Roden coloration ranges
from sawdust to chocolate, those Below tend to be dark brown, gray or
black. Roden fur offers them protection from the elements. They can
withstand rain and cold with little worry. This trait acts as a call-on for
Health or Forte tests related to weather or wet.

Communal Dt
Roden prefer the company of others and safety in numbers. They live in
close-knit villages made up of large extended families and refer to their
homes as “nests.” It is quite rare to find one alone, and usually such
loners are exiles. All Roden start with a 1D affiliation with their family
nest. Name the nest and its location.

Enlarged Incisors Dt
Roden incisors grow continually through life and need to be filed
regularly. These incisors are quite sharp and can be used to bite
opponents if the situation becomes desperate. Pow 1, Add 2, VA –,
WS 2, Shortest.

Tail Char
Roden tails range from 1/2 to 1 pace long. Field Born often have furry
tails, while those Below often have bald ones.

Large Ears Dt
Roden have large, sensitive ears that sit atop their heads. These give
them excellent hearing: +1D to Perception rolls involving hearing.
Factor this bonus into Reflexes.

Skittish Dt
Roden instinctively fear loud noises and surprises. Increase hesitation
by one for Steel tests caused by fear or surprise. Hesitation for more
than one action indicates the Roden must flee.

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Lifepath Traits
Abused Char Back-Breaking Labor
Burning Wheel page 314.
Acquisitive Char
Bedside Manner Char
Ambitious Char
Beespeaker
Alarmist Dt Burning Wheel page 315.
Deputies aren’t necessarily cowards,
but they know the best way to Bitter Char
deal with trouble is to bring in
reinforcements—fast! “Shout when Blood Thirsty C-O
surprised or hesitating” must be A Carnivore’s blood runs hot, and
added as an additional fourth he is quick to anger. He relies on
Instinct. confrontation to deal with most
problems. Call-on for Intimidation.
Albino Dt He must enter combat in aggressive
This Roden has white fur, pink stance.
eyes and is sensitive to sunlight.
The Albino suffers +2 Ob to all Broken
Inconspicuous tests and carries an Burning Wheel page 316.
infamous reputation among Roden.
Calloused Char
Combine this infamous reputation
with other appropriate similar Calm Demeanor
reputations. Burning Wheel page 317.

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 Lifepaths

Cautious Char Dreamer

Nests of Roden
Burning Wheel page 322.
Clumsy
Burning Wheel page 319. Faithful
Burning Wheel page 325.
Cocky Char
Feared Dt
Compassionate Char For good reason or not, this
character is feared by all who know
Condescending Char him. +1D to Intimidation. Choose a
1D infamous reputation.
Confident Char
Fragrant Char
Confusing Rant Dt
Pinkies are a bit “off” in their Frustrated Char
thinking and tend to be socially
awkward. People who speak to Genius C-O
one often come away dazed by Your every idea is unique and
a bombardment of trivia, non brilliant—every plan sure-fire and
sequiturs and bad jokes. During a flawless. It is only a matter of time
Duel of Wits, this trait grants the before such brilliance is properly
character +3D to Incite. The only recognized and rewarded. Genius
hesitation option is to “Stand and is a call-on for one non-martial or
Blink.” All attempts to Intimidate athletic skill of the player’s choosing.
or Command a character with
Gnawing Hunger Char
Confusing Rant are at +2 Ob. Also,
Ranters are at a +2 Ob to all Oratory Good Listener C-O
and Rhetoric tests. The Negotiator seems to pay
attention to and understand what
Cool Headed
people say. This encourages others
Burning Wheel page 320.
to continue speaking and open up
Cowardly to him. This trait may be used as
Burning Wheel page 320. a call-on for Haggling, Persuasion
and Seduction.
Daring Char
Gopher Char
Deep Sense
Burning Wheel page 321. Hacking Cough Char

Defensive Char Hoarder Char

Desperate Char Humble Dt

All are equal before Aecer, and the
Diligent Char wise continually remind themselves
of this fact. 1D reputation among
Distracted Char the faithful as exceptionally humble.

Dumb Char

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Impersonal Char arguing with him about earthly

matters, philosophy, women or
Imperious Demeanor money benefits from the Enmity
Burning Wheel page 330. Clause: +4s to his body of argument
against Most Holy.
Industrious Char
Murderous Char
Independent Char
Nauseous Char
Light Touch C-O
The key to a successful “lift” is in Obsessed Char
the fingers. May be used as a call-on
for Sleight of Hand. Opportunist Char

Loyal Ordained Dt
Burning Wheel page 334. This Roden is one of Aecer’s
Lucky Ordained. He is responsible for
Burning Wheel page 334. carrying out the rituals and rites.
Ordained characters are always
Mean Char treated with respect by the Field
Roden. 1D affiliation with the
Meek Char Roden faithful.

Megalomaniac Dt Pack Rat Char

The Visionary is a gift from Aecer
to the mortal world. It is his destiny Patient Char
to lead and shape the future in
his image. +2D to Conspicuous Poker Face
and always add an extra die Burning Wheel page 341.
when helping or FoRKing with
Portly Char
Conspicuous.
Practical Char
Merciless Char

Misunderstood Dt Practiced Smile Char

Choose a 1D infamous reputation.
In addition, suffer -1 to your body Pyromaniac Char
of argument whenever you’re trying
Quiet
to explain your nature, position,
Burning Wheel page 342.
meaning or special insight.
Rat Speak Dt
Most Holy Dt
This character can talk to and
This character is the living
understand rats and mice.
embodiment of the power divine. He
gains +3s to his body of argument Revered C-O
in a Duel of Wits involving matters The Abbot or Abbess is a pillar of
spiritual. However, he has no piety in the community. May be used
temporal power. Any other character as a call-on for Oratory or Suasion.

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 Lifepaths

Righteous Char looking directly into these eyes will

Nests of Roden
see glowing green orbs staring back.
Ruthless Char Reduces penalties for dim light by
one step.
Scheming
Burning Wheel page 344. Vegetarian Char

Sea Legs Victim Dt

Burning Wheel page 344. This character has suffered
sustained abuse designed to get
Secretive Char them to conform to a code of
behavior. Choose a relationship with
Serious Char
one of your abusers. That character
has +1D to all social skills used
Single-Minded C-O
against the victim.
Once a Murderer sets his mind, there
is very little that can redirect him.
Weird Char
Call-on for Steel when “on the job.”
Zealot
Soft Step C-O
Burning Wheel page 355.
The Sneak Thief walks in a
particular fashion, feeling each
step before putting his weight on
it. May be used as a call-on for
Climbing and Stealthy.

Sweet Tooth Char

Thick Skin
Burning Wheel page 350.

Thoughtful Char

Toiling C-O
Laborers are used to working
long hours doing the same
mindless, repetitive tasks. Call-
on for any skill when doing
mindless, repetitive tasks.

Tough
Burning Wheel page 351.

Tunnel Vision Dt
The Below is a dark place
and those who live there have
adapted. Your character can see
as normal in low-lit areas but
not in complete darkness. Those

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Special Traits
Clawed Dt 3 pts Night Eyed Dt 4 pts
The Clawed trait produces hard, With this trait, a Roden is able to see
elongated fingernails that can be even in complete darkness. However,
used as tools or weapons. Pow 1, daylight causes a +1 Ob to all tests.
Add 2, VA -, WS X, Shortest.
Pouched Cheeks Dt 2 pts
Club Tail Dt 2 pts These cheeks are wonderfully
This tail is thicker and stiffer than elastic and can be used to carry a
most. It can be a surprising weapon surprising amount of fruits, nuts
during a melee. Pow 2, Add 2, VA – and vegetables. Consider it feasible
WS 2, Long. May not be combined to place up to six apples in each
with Whip Tail. cheek. Knives and other sharp
objects are carried at the bearer’s
Coat of Darkness Dt 5 pts
own risk!
Some of those Below have adapted
almost supernaturally to the dark. Sharpened Incisors Dt 4 pts
When attempting to move unseen in This Roden’s teeth are extra sharp.
areas of darkness and shadow, this Pow 1, Add 2, VA 1, WS X, Shortest.
fur adds +2D to the roll. May not be
combined with Fur of the Fields. Visionary Faith Dt 5 pts
Visionaries draw their power from
Extra-Long Fur Char their followers, not divine favor. This
trait grants a B3 Faith attribute. The
Fur of the Fields Dt 5 pts attribute may not be increased with
Roden with this trait have a the Faith questions; instead, it is
wondrous coat of fur that allows increased by purchasing a Visionary
them to blend into any field or Cult. Any miracles performed with
woodland terrain. When attempting Visionary Faith only affect the
to Stealth in such areas, this fur believers and nothing else.
adds +2D to the roll. May not be
combined with Coat of Darkness. Whip Tail Dt 4 pts
These tails are typically one or two
Naked Char paces longer than most others and
Roden with this trait have no fur, tend to be slender. Pow 0, Add 1,
and their pink skin is laid bare, VA –, Longer, WS 3,. May not be
though whiskers still poke out from combined with Club Tail.
their muzzles. Sunburn is common
and clothing is required.

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Roden Skills

Nests of Roden
Firebombs Perception/Agility
The Arsonist learns how to mix ingredients to create incendiary bombs. The
Mark result damage is listed with each type. If the explosion hits a character,
roll the die of fate to determine IMS (like a spell). This skill does not cover
the distribution of such bombs. That would come from Agility, Throwing,
Artillery or simply inconspicuous placement. When igniting such a device,
roll the die of fate. On a 1, the bomb malfunctions. Roll again immediately:
Odd, it detonates; even, it’s a dud.
Obstacles: Small, bottle-sized incendiaries (Mark B6), Ob 1. Incendiary bomb
(Mark B8), Ob 4. Fat Boy (Mark B10), Ob 6.
FoRKs: Alchemy, Herbalism, Munitions, Arson
Skill Type: Craftsman Tools: Yes.

Preaching Will
Preaching relies upon religious doctrine, real-life anecdotes and folk wisdom.
Obstacles: Most common Will among the audience members. Preaching can
also be used in the Duel of Wits for Incite and Dismiss actions.
FoRKs: Intimidation, Falsehood, Doctrine, Soothing Platitudes
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Garrote Agility
A garrote is a two- to three-foot length of cord strung between two small
wooden handles or leather loops. Roden use it to throttle victims to death. To
use this skill, the would-be-murderer must attack from stealth or surprise
(or against a victim already in a Lock). Test Garrote versus Power or Agility
(victim’s choice, but at double obstacle). If the attacker lands a 2D or greater
Lock, the victim loses 1D Forte every exchange thereafter. If Forte reaches
zero, the victim falls unconscious.
FoRKs: Brawling
Skill Type: Martial Tools: Yes.

Fields of Faith
The Great Gatherer, Aecer, is the benevolent deity of the Field Roden.
Through her grace and love, the fields are fertile, the children are strong
and lives are peaceful. Aecer is the Lady of the Harvest and the Seasons.
She maintains the proper cycles of day and night, planting and gathering,
and birth and death.

All Field Roden are brought up with a great respect for Aecer. Piety is
the greatest virtue, followed by humility and patience. Services are held
weekly, and it is very embarrassing to miss one.

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Guiding and governing the Field Roden according to Aecer’s will are the
ordained: Abbots and Abbesses, Fathers and Mothers, and Brothers and
Sisters. These are holy vessels blessed directly by the paw of Aecer. To be
so honored is a wondrous gift, but with it comes a heavy responsibility
for the welfare of all those among the Fields.

Finally, all of the ordained are taught to look forward to the return
of the Leavers to Aecer’s Nest. Such is their duty to their lost kin that
missionaries regularly depart for the human lands, hoping to find and
return with those from the Below.

Vows of Aecer
During character burning, any ordained Field Roden may choose one
of the following Sacred Vows for free if he has the Faithful trait. Only
the most zealous and devout should consider this option. A vow must be
written as one of the character’s Beliefs. One cannot take another vow
of Aecer if he has previously broken a vow. Broken vows result in an
immediate loss of any blessings, plus further punishment. See below for
the specifics of each Vow:

Vow of the Pacifist

In exchange for the Vow of the Pacifist, Aecer will bless the ordained
with +2D to one of the following skills: Persuasion, Suasion or Oratory.
However, should the priest participate in violence or knowingly cause
injury to others, he will lose this blessing and one point from his Faith
attribute.

Vow of the Four Seasons

In exchange for the Vow of the Four Seasons, Aecer will bless the
ordained with +2D to one of the following skills: Law, Doctrine or
Meditation. Failure to live up to the tenets of Aecer—piety, humility
and patience—will result in disgrace for the ordained. Failures include
neglecting to pray every morning, noon, and night; putting oneself
above Aecer; acting in rashness; or disregarding the welfare of the
Roden. The result of any failure is an immediate loss of the Faith
attribute until such a time as the character atones to Aecer.

Harvest Vow
The Fields are an essential part of the Roden’s Faith. By taking this
Vow, Aecer shares with the ordained secrets of life and death. Her
blessing results in +1D to the following skills: Farming, Foraging,
Herbalism, and Field Dressing. Breaking the cycles of Aecer by either

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wantonly destroying fields, forests, or crops; or failing to heal the

Nests of Roden
injured will break this Vow. Punishment includes loss of benefits as
well as loss of one point of Faith.

Vow of Poverty
Poverty instills humility, one of the pillars of Aecer. In exchange for
the Vow of Poverty, the ordained gains +1D to all Suasion and Oratory
tests. However, if the ordained shows signs of greed or avarice, he will
find himself shunned by Aecer. The Vow is broken, and he receives
both the Suspicious and Greedy character traits.

Missionary’s Vow
The role of the missionary is to return the Leavers to Aecer’s Nest.
Aecer supports those who take the Missionary’s Vow by blessing
them with an Aura of Holiness trait. In return, the missionary must
successfully convert at least two Leavers per season. Should he fail
to live up to his end, the missionary will lose this trait and instead be
granted the Untrustworthy and Guilty Conscience character traits. In
addition, reduce the Faith exponent by one.

The Bitterness Below

Possett was one of the ordained. He preached the will of Aecer and led
the Leavers to the Fields of Paradise. All who followed him believed his
words to be true and holy, and they felt pity for those who stayed behind.
While the Roden of the Fields recall stories of Possett’s betrayal, those
Below remember and suffer from it each day.

Thus, when the Leavers found themselves forced into the Below, they
believed it to be the fault of Aecer. She betrayed and abandoned them
for reasons no one ever was able to explain. She sent them a prophet to
punish them for a sin they never understood.

Long years in the dark allowed much time for thought. Minds turned in
on themselves as those in the Below sought answers to twisted riddles.
Yet they only came up with twisted answers. Their faith warped along
with their culture.

Those Below no longer have faith. What remain are bitterness, conspiracy
and doubt, along with empty souls. They blame Aecer for their misery
and wretched condition. Contrary to the beliefs of the Society, those
Below blame her for committing them to a vision that they never had a
chance of completing.

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The Cult of the Visionary: The Society

There are those that still believe fervently in the promise of Aecer, the
vision of Possett and the Fields of Paradise. It is talked of constantly
among the cultists and leaders of the Society. Guiding them all in their
dreams are the Visionaries.

The Visionaries promise that when the Roden recover what was lost to
humans, Aecer will welcome them back into her nest and fill them with
her love once again.

Thus, the Society works toward the downfall of humankind. They toil
in secrecy, fueled by doctrine perpetually spouted by the Preachers. A
murdered merchant here, a torched village there—the Society pulls one
brick at a time away from the foundations of human civilization.

Society members are found

throughout the nests of the
Roden. While there are
exclusive settlements, most
of the Society live and work
among their kindred in the
Fields and especially Below.

The Visionaries gain power

with each new initiate.
Though they cannot call
upon Aecer directly for
blessings and miracles, they
have learned a dark secret
from their ancient leader,
Possett: “Belief is Power.”

Vows of the Society

During character burning,
any Society member with
the Faithful trait may
choose from one of the
following sacred vows. The
only requirement is that
he must follow a Visionary
(even if it’s himself!) with
at least a B4 Faith. Only the
most zealous and devout
should consider this option.

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 Lifepaths

A vow must be written as one of the character’s Beliefs. One cannot

Nests of Roden
take another Vow of the Society if he has previously broken a vow.
Broken vows result in an immediate loss of any blessings, plus further
punishment. See below for the specifics of each vow:

The Vow of Darkness

In exchange for plucking out one’s eye and promising a life of
servitude to the cult, the devotee is granted the Second Sight trait
(in exchange for the Missing Eye trait). Such servants suffer +1 Ob
to all tests involving depth perception due to their missing eye. The
devout must do as the Visionary demands and fulfill his commands
without hesitation. Failure to serve the Visionary with absolute loyalty
will result in the loss of the Second Sight trait. The Missing Eye trait
remains.

The Vow of Secrecy

The completion of Possett’s vision requires utmost secrecy. To reveal
another Society member to the outside would mean the loss of years
of work. To fortify himself against interrogations and suasion, the
member may take the Vow of Secrecy. This will add +4 points to
the body of argument in a Duel of Wits to interrogate, persuade or
otherwise question the member in regards to the Society. Willingly
revealing such information will break the Vow, and result in a curse.
His tongue will rot and dissolve in a matter of hours, rendering the
former devotee mute—take the Mute or Tongueless trait immediately.

The Twisted Vow

Recruiting new members into the Society is essential to the completion
of its goals. Thus, the Visionary may bless those who take the Twisted
Vow by granting them +1D to any Falsehood or Persuasion tests when
trying to recruit new initiates. Should the cultist fail to convert his
target, punishment comes swiftly. He is wracked with pain for an
amount of days equal to his margin of failure from the Persuasion test.
This pain equates to a +1 Ob to all tests for the duration of the curse.

A Change of Faith
During character burning, there is the possibility that a devotee of one
Faith converts to another Faith. This is certainly a possible outcome
among the Roden, especially considering the amount of zealous
Missionaries and twisted Perverters who travel abroad.

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Should this be part of your character concept, factor the character’s

starting Faith attribute based on his current belief, no matter how
strong his previous Faith might have been. If he was once a Preacher,
for instance, who found redemption in the eyes of Aecer, his Faith is
determined by the three questions found on page 206 in the Character
Burner (+1D of Faith for each correct answer). If he was a Missionary who
found his own answers and forsook Aecer in favor of his own “vision,”
then his Faith is determined by the number of Cultists that he purchased
with resource points.

A Roden character may change faiths in play as well. Rewrite the

necessary Beliefs. Of course, once the anchor Belief for Faith or Visionary
Faith is rewritten, the trait is lost. Faith or Visionary Faith may be earned
or transformed in play via a trait vote. Also, beware the penalty of any
vows you’ve taken!

Magic and the Roden

Albinos adapted their magical forms from those of humankind. Gifted
Roden who have taken the Albino lifepath may open Sorcery and other
magical skills as per the standard rules in the Burning Wheel.

Roden Resources
Resources Rp Cost Traveling Gear ...........................1
Arms ..........................................5 Shoes .........................................3
Roden Throwing Blades ............15 Tool Kit.......................................9
Wooden Shield ...........................2 Firebombs.................................20
Leather Armor .........................10 Robes of the Ordained ................1
Plated Leather Armor ..............15 Honeyed Oatcakes ......................5
Chain Armor ............................20 Dandewine .................................5
Workshop .................................20 Blood Blossom ............................5
Animal herd..............................10 Roden Property...... See Description
Clothes .......................................1 Visionary Cult ....... See Description

Roden Throwing Blades— This category includes a number of weapons

designed for throwing, including knives, darts and discs. The balance of
these blades is superb and adds +1D to the Throwing skill when used.
Players may take two knives. These are meant to be rare and expensive.
Pow 1, VA 1, DOF 1-2/3-4/5-6, Range: Optimal 1D, Extreme 1D.

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 Lifepaths

Wooden Shield— While armor might be very rare for Roden, they often

Nests of Roden
use shields to protect themselves in battle. These shields are made from
strong wood and offer 2D of protection as target shields.
Roden Property— A den for a single Roden, 2 rps; a nest for a small family
of Roden, 7 rps; a nest for a large group of Roden, 10 rps. Apiary for
the beekeepers, 10 rps. Fields for harvesters, 15 rps.
Visionary Cult— The devotees of the Visionary, they follow his guidance and
do his bidding. Most are clever and work inconspicuously among the
Field and Below, being very careful to avoid suspicion. Only a Visionary
may purchase a Cult. A Cult counts as an affiliation. Each die spent in
the affiliation also grants +1D to the Visionary Faith trait. If the cult is
lost, destroyed or abandoned, the Visionary loses access to these dice.
Firebombs— In order to purchase firebombs, the character’s last lifepath
must be in the Society. Players may purchase six bottle-sized bombs
or one medium-sized incendiary bomb. If a player’s last lifepath was
Arsonist, he may purchase the firebombs for 6 rps. See the Firebombs
skill description for more information.
Robes of the Ordained— These are the humble wool robes worn by Aecer’s
Ordained. Brothers and Sisters wear brown; Fathers and Mothers wear
green; and Abbots and Abbesses wear pumpkin.
Honeyed Oatcakes— These are a delight for any traveler! Sweet and
crunchy, filling and healthy, they don’t spoil and make for good meals
while on the road. They add +1D to any Forte or Health tests made
within 1 day of consumption.
Dandewine— Made from dandelions and infused with other secret liquids
and spices, dandewine is featured at every Field Roden social event.
Surprisingly, it’s nonalcoholic, but it has wondrous effects. Reduce
hesitation by one and also decrease by one all social skill tests obstacles
made against those drunk on the wine.
Blood Blossom— Known in the Fields and Below for its great healing
powers, blood blossoms have been the staple of Roden healers for ages.
Harvested only at the summer equinox, they are prepared immediately
and stay usable for up to a full year. These flowers will add +1D to any
Herbalism or Field Dressing tests.
Animal Herd— Although the Field Roden do not keep animals, their kin
Below have long known the taste of flesh. A herd may include goats,
pigs or chickens. This counts as property for the purposes of factoring
Resources.

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Roden in Play
Faith makes a good central theme for a Roden campaign. Their history is
based upon the tragedy of misplaced belief and a vow that could never be
fulfilled. Their various cultures straddle the fracture this deluded promise
created. The Field Roden desire to return the wayward and reunite the
race; the Society will never look back and won’t rest until their prophecy
of their savior comes true; those Below have lost all faith and mock those
who rely on any power aside from their own.

Use this conflict to fuel your campaign. A theme as strong as faith

provides fertile ground for conflict and roleplaying. Of course you can
also look to our own history for inspiration: crusades, genocides and
terrorist acts. Look also to the examples of missionaries and pacifists.

Incorporating Roden with other races to create a campaign can be great fun
as well. A Missionary can join Dwarves in an attempt to reclaim lost mines
and convert those Below. A Preacher can recruit humans to help topple an
enemy city. A Burglar can join a band of outlaws in an effort to expand
their territory. An Albino can quest with a worldly party throughout
the lands, looking for an answer to the Roden’s dilemma. These are
basic campaign goals, and there are surely many more you can imagine.

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 Lifepaths

The reunification of the Roden is, of course, the grandest campaign

Nests of Roden
a Roden could participate in. To reclaim two-thirds of a population
scattered across the lands is an epic in the making. Which faction will
succeed—if success is even possible—is up to you.

In all cases, Roden lifepaths are designed to produce strong starting

characters in three or four lifepaths.

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 The Brood Mother
HULDRA, 60-year-old Troll Brood Mother
Born Wild, Manhunter, Brute, Brood Mother
STATS
Will B2 Perception B4 Agility B4
Speed B4 Power B7 Forte B6
ATTRIBUTES
Health B4 Steel B6 Mortal Wound B13 Hesitation 8
Reflexes B4 Resources B0 Circles B1 Stride 7
SKILLS
Man-wise B3, Intimidation B3, Brawling B4, Nursing B3, Ugly Truth B2
TRAITS
Massive Stature, Claws, Fangs, Night Blooded, Night Eyed, Tough, Troll Skin,
Voracious Carnivore, Brute, Misshapen, Witch Flesh, Hammer Hands
GEAR
Sack, Rags
RELATIONSHIP
Sineon, human father of my child (minor, romantic, forbidden)
PROPERTY
Cave hole
REPUTATIONS
Cruel She-Troll (1D infamous reputation)
BELIEFS
I will bear this child to term and deliver it to Sineon on his wedding night.
I will not suffer the presence of any trolls near my village.
When in the village, I am Solveig the Fair and no one can resist my charms.
INSTINCTS
Always approach strangers while wearing my Witch Flesh.
Take revenge on those who spurn me.
Keep my sack close at hand.
 Troll Lifepaths
Wild Setting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born Wild 5 yrs 2 — Pit
Skills: 2 pts: General
Traits: Troll Common traits plus 1 pt
Bogey 7 yrs 1 +1 P Cave
Skills: 3 pts: Brawling, Forest-wise, Stealthy
Traits: 2 pts
Bridgehaunt 10 yrs 2 +1 P —
Skills: 2 pts: Bridge-wise, Intimidation
Traits: 1 pt: Stubborn
Manhunter 7 yrs 2 +1 M/P Pit
Skills: 2 pts: Man-wise, Village-wise
Traits: 1 pt
Forlorn 13 yrs 1 +1 M —
Skills: 1 pt: General
Traits: 2 pts: Solitary, Addled, Slow
Brute 15 yrs 2 +2 P Pit
Skills: 2 pts: Intimidation, Brawling
Traits: 1 pt: Brute
Requires: Bridge Haunt, Mine Haunt, Manhunter, Dwarf Hunter,
Battering Ram or Mattock
Brood Mother 33 yrs 10 +1 M, P Cave, Pit
Skills: 3 pts: Nursing, Ugly Truth
Traits: 2 pts: Misshapen, Grotesque, Witch Flesh
Requires: Brute, Dread Stone or Bellower
Bull 45 yrs 5 +1 M, P Pit
Skills: 3 pts: Torture, Extortion
Traits: 2 pts: Boor
Requires: Brute or Ironshield

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 Lifepaths

Mountains of Trolls
Cavedweller Setting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born to Dark Caves 5 yrs 2 — Pit
Skills: 2 pts: General
Traits: Troll Common traits plus 2 pts
Dweller 4 yrs 1 +1 P Wild
Skills: 2 pts: Climbing, Rock-wise, Brawling
Traits: 2 pts
Mine Haunt 12 yrs 1 +1 M/P Pit, Wild
Skills: 2 pts: Mine-wise, Brawling
Traits: 1 pt
Dwarf Hunter 6 yrs 3 +1 M, P Pit
Skills: 3 pts: Dwarf-wise, Throwing
Traits: 1 pt: Stubborn
Dread Stone 30 yrs 4 +2 P —
Skills: 3 pts: Camouflage, Stealthy
Traits: 3 pts
Requires: Mine Haunt or Dwarf Hunter

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Pit Setting
Lifepaths Time Res Stat Leads
Born to the Pit 4 yrs 1 — Cave, Pit
Skills: 1 pt: General
Traits: Troll common traits plus Vile Language and 2 pts
Tortured 3 yrs — — —
Skills: 1 pt: (No skills: skill point must be spent on other lifepath skills)
Traits: 3 pts: Tasting the Lash, Numb
Ox 9 yrs 1 +1 P —
Skills: 2 pts: Ditch Digging, Hauling, Mining
Traits: 1 pt: Back-Breaking Labor, Tasting the Lash
Battering Ram 6 yrs 1 +1 P Wild
Skills: 2 pts: Brawling, Throwing
Traits: 1 pt: Hardened
Mattock 7 yrs 7 +1 P Wild
Skills: 3 pts: Hammer, Formation Fighting†
Traits: 1 pt: Brutal
Requires: Ox, Battering Ram, Dwarf Hunter, Manhunter or Brute
Ironshield 8 yrs 6 +1 M/P Wild
Skills: 3 pts: Shield Training†, Intimidation
Traits: 1 pt: Unflinching
Requires: Mattock or Brute
Bellower 16 yrs 4 +1 M, P —
Skills: 3 pts: T
 orture, Lash (as weapon skill)
Traits: 1 pt: Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way; Tough as Nails;
Bellowing
Requires: Bull or Ironshield
Warlord 56 yrs 10 +1 M, P —
Skills: 3 pts: C
 ommand, Strategy: 1 pt: General
Traits: 2 pts: Insidious Cruelty, Wickedly Clever
Requires: Bellower

† This is a training skill. These skills cost 2 points to open and may not be advanced.

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 Lifepaths

Stat Pools for Trolls by Age

Mountains of Trolls
Starting Age Mental Pool Physical Pool
1-5 years 3 pts 11 pts
6-12 years 4 pts 14 pts
13-19 years 4 pts 17 pts
20-27 years 4 pts 19 pts
28-57 years 4 pts 20 pts
58-80 years 4 pts 19 pts
81-124 years 4 pts 18 pts
125-213 years 5 pts 17 pts
214-390 years 5 pts 16 pts
391-712 years 6 pts 15 pts

Brawn not Brains

Considering how mentally and physically handicapped Trolls are in their
maximum and minimum stat requirements, these characters may ignore
the starting character exponent 6 limit for Power and Forte. If desired, a
player may start his Troll with its maximums in Power and Forte.

Troll Round Up
• Massive Stature: Stat maximum exponents: Will 6, Per 6, Agi 5, Spd 5,
Pow 9, For 9. Minimum Power and Forte of 4

• Claws: Pow 1 for damaging Locks

• Fangs: Pow 1 bite attack at Shortest fighting distance

• Night Blooded: Turned to stone by the sun

• Night Eyed: No vision penalties for dim light or darkness. +1 Ob in

bright light

• Tough: Round up for Mortal Wound

• Troll Skin provides protection equivalent to full body leather armor

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 Mountains of Trolls
Born of stone and sorcery in the dark ages at the dawn of time,
these fell creatures now roam the earth destroying and devouring
anything that crosses them. They are simple of mind, have no craft
save murder, warfare and scheming, and are impossibly tough.

Troll Life
In this age, Trolls are generally found in one of three places: in the
lost and far-flung wilds hunting the unfortunate, in the caves and
mines sunk deep into the earth or in terrible armies allied with
all that is corrupt and wicked—set upon the destruction of all
civilization.

Trolls in the wild will occasionally form gangs. These serve the
dual purpose of efficiently ravaging outlying countryside while
intimidating other Trolls into joining the pack. Inevitably, these
gangs are loose confederations of a handful of lazy and difficult
to motivate individuals, so they dissolve as quickly as they form.

When dwelling underground, Trolls are exclusively solitary. Perhaps

it is the scarcity of food that drives them to this behavior. Whatever
the reason, Dwarven miners rarely report sighting more than one
of the beasts at a time.

There is a certain breed of Trolls that will form a twisted society.

These beasts are born and bred in great, dark pits where they are
tortured until broken into obedience to their masters. From these
violent ranks, a real leader arises—a warlord—who galvanizes his
host and drives them on to conquer the mortal lands. Fortunately,
such formidable leaders are extremely rare among Troll kind. Often
an entire age passes with no word at all from these creatures.

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Mountains of Trolls

Common Traits
Black Nails Dt
Trolls typically have massive, craggy claws used for digging and tearing.
They don’t often use their claws as a weapon, favoring the use of their stony
fists to subdue prey. However if a Troll has another character in a Lock and
chooses to do damage (rather than increase the Lock), add +1 Power to the
damage of the attack due to the claws gouging into the victim.

Fangs Dt
A Troll’s mouth is a mass of misshapen teeth and fangs. He may bite. Pow 1,
Add 2, VA –, WS: 2, Shortest.

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Night Blooded Dt
Nocturnal by nature, Trolls typically shun the sunlight, for it will undo the
sorcery which gave their night-stalking ancestors life. Exposure to the sun
causes the Troll’s stony roots to consume him and crush him from within.

Night Eyed Dt
Born of the stuff of night, Trolls can see perfectly well in the darkness and
suffer no penalties for nighttime conditions. However, rain and haze do
affect them like other characters, and bright light imposes a +1 Ob penalty.

Massive Stature Dt
Trolls are the definition of Massive Stature: barrel-chested, hulking beasts
with long thick limbs and shoulders like towering cliffs. The largest of their
number grow twice as tall as humans, but even the smallest adults are rarely
less than seven feet in height.
Increase all weapon lengths by one for the Troll.
These great lumbering beasts must have minimum Power and Forte
of 4. The maximum exponents for Power and Forte are 9. The maximum
exponents for Agility and Speed are 5. Stride is 7.

Stone’s Age Dt
Trolls were born of stone and sorcery and to these roots they remain closely
tied. Though not immortal, these creatures age very slowly and are capable
of living for long centuries—if they can survive their own violent tendencies.
However, the weight of granite in their blood has detrimental effects.
Their view of the world is dim and ponderous and their ability to intuit or
empathize is minimal. A Troll may not have a Perception or Will exponent
higher than 6.

Tough Dt
Trolls are the embodiment of tough. Round up when factoring Mortal
Wound.

Troll Skin Dt
Troll Skin is resilient and leathery. It provides 1D of armor to the limbs and
head, 2D to the chest.
As he gets older, a Troll’s flesh often hardens into a stony mass. Thus, the
Troll Skin trait maybe upgraded to Scaly Skin or Stone Skin for just a few
trait points. See the Troll Special Traits list. This skin cannot “fail” and
become damaged like armor: 1s are discounted in this case. VA works as
normal against this armor.

Voracious Carnivore Char

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 Lifepaths

Lifepath Traits

Mountains of Trolls
Addled Char to the walls of the citadels of their
enemies and even use their own
Bellowing C-O
bodies to batter down walls. Use this
The sound of this Troll’s voice is
trait as a call-on for Power when
unimaginably loud. Use as a call-on
trying to break, smash or knock over
for Intimidation and Command.
something.
Boor Char
Insidious Cruelty Char
Bull Trolls have forceful
personalities, perhaps verging on the
Mind Numbing Work Char
barest of leadership qualities, but
mitigated by ill moods, bad jokes
Misshapen Char
and a predilection for overbearing
violence. Numb
Burning Wheel page 337.
Brutal Char
Slow
Brute Dt Burning Wheel page 347.
This Troll is so tough (or alternately,
stupid) that he doesn’t know Solitary Char
when to give up. When taking die
penalties from wounds, mental stats Stubborn
do not count for the purposes of Burning Wheel page 348.
incapacitation.
Tasting the Lash
Grotesque C-O Burning Wheel page 349-350.
Call-on for Intimidation and
Tough as Nails
Conspicuous when displaying your
Burning Wheel page 351.
deformity.
Unflinching Dt
Hardened
Ironshields are the bodyguards and
Burning Wheel page 329.
retinues of the Troll legions. They
Hauling C-O are trained to stand guard and lay
Ox Trolls are the beasts of burden down their lives for their Warlord
in the Troll legions. They haul master. This trait reduces hesitation
impossible loads for interminable by 4 for fear and pain.
journeys. Use this trait as a call-on
Vile Language
for Power when pushing, pulling or
Burning Wheel page 237.
hauling loads.
Wickedly Clever C-O
Heaving C-O
Warlords quickly grow to
The lowest rung for Troll soldiers
understand that the world sees
in their great legions is that of the
Trolls as mindless brutes, good
Battering Ram. These massive
only for absorbing and dealing
brutes haul forth great war engines

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 The Burning Wheel Codex
devastation. Outsiders forget that her character traits are replaced
Trolls can evince intelligence. Troll with Beautiful, Wholesome, Apple-
Warlords use this prejudice to their Cheeked, etc. Any other traits
advantage—playing the part of the requiring physical expression (like
dumb automaton while scheming Horns or Claws) are temporarily
and plotting behind their thick lost to the human form. No test
masks. Call-on for Strategy and is required to transform, but the
Tactics when unveiling a surprising change requires a full scene, during
stratagem or ploy. which the magic slowly takes effect.
Once the Brood Mother reveals
Witch Flesh Dt
her true nature to her victim (or
The Brood Mother knows a bit
is perhaps accidentally spotted
of magic, rumored to have been
transforming), the victim will never
handed down from an old giantess
see her the same way again—and
in ages past. This magic, called
can never be fooled by the Witch
Witch Flesh, grants the ability to
Flesh of this Brood Mother again.
transform into a handsome young
man or woman. The disguise is Where There’s a Whip…
impenetrable. The brood mother Burning Wheel page 354.
retains her stats and attributes, but

Special Traits
Trolls have a host of special traits exclusively available to them. They
may also choose from the General Trait list, but they may not take: Aura
of Innocence, Cadaverous, Chronologue, Diminutive Stature, Faithful,
Family Heirloom, Fleet of Foot, Gifted, Joan of Arc, Quick-Witted, Sight
of the Bat or Street Smart.

Berzerker Dt 3 pts If the monster is already in

When this Troll fails a Steel test aggressive stance when the above
or suffers a wound (that he can conditions are met, he spends two
feel—Numb and Dead to Pain work actions roaring and bellowing
against this trait), the monster (which count as an Intimidation test
immediately and automatically against his opponents).
shifts into aggressive stance. There
is no hesitation. While enraged he Brute Dt 4 pts
will (and must) attack any living This troll is so tough (or alternately,
(or seemingly living) thing around stupid) that he doesn’t know
him—starting with that which just when to give up. When taking die
hurt/enraged him. He then moves on penalties from wounds, mental stats
to the next closest target, friend or do not count for the purposes of
foe. The Troll remains in aggressive incapacitation.
stance even if he sprints. The rage
lasts for exchanges equal to 10
minus the character’s Will exponent.

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 Lifepaths

Bull-Legged Dt 4 pts Devourer Dt 3 pts

Mountains of Trolls
In place of his clawed feet, this Troll This Troll eats anything—soil,
possesses a pair of bony hooves that stone, wood, metal and flesh. He is
give him a kicking weapon (Pow 1, indiscriminate in his choices and
VA 1, WS 1). The Troll also walks in fact cannot help himself from
with a distinctive gait and makes sampling his surroundings. Add +1
quite a racket when treading on VA to bite attacks.
hard surfaces. Any Speed or Stealthy
tests made while on stone, ice or Earth Blood Dt 3 pts

really hard, smooth wood are at a No matter how badly wounded, this
+1 Ob. (May not be combined with Troll will always heal. Cuts will
Webbed Fingers and Toes.) close, bones will knit and even lost
limbs will regrow. This Troll can
Crystalline Spines Dt 3 pts never fail a Health test for Recovery
A growth of crystalline spines (though he can roll poorly, in which
sprouts from the back and shoulders case maximum healing time is
of this Troll. The spines are sharp required for the wound to close).
to the touch and break off and The only way to destroy this beast is
lodge themselves in the flesh of the to put him to the fire.
unwary, causing great discomfort.
Any creature that grapples or Enemy of the Sun Dt 4 pts

otherwise comes into contact with The greatest, most fearsome of

the Troll’s spines suffers a +1 Ob Trolls have been bred to resist the
to all tests until the spines are burning rays of the sun. They may
removed. This takes effect if the travel by day and not be turned to
Troll grapples you, too. The penalty stone as with the Night Blooded
is cumulative for each contact. trait. Enemies of the Sun do not
suffer penalties for dim or twilit
Spines can be plucked out in about
light, but they can no longer see in
a half hour. If the Surgery or Field
complete darkness (+4 Ob in pitch
Dressing skill is used, they can be
dark). This trait replaces the Night
treated in the time it takes to tend to
Blooded trait.
a Superficial wound.
If the troll is forced onto his back—if Hammer Hands Dt 2 pts
he falls or is pushed—it is possible With hands like great mattocks, this
that the spines are crushed and Troll is best suited to brawling and
flattened. Roll the die of fate. On pummeling. Add +1D to the Troll’s
a 1 the spines are crushed and Brawling skill for purposes of bare-
unusable. It takes about a month for fisted Block, Strike, Beat and Push
the crystals to regrow. (They always actions. The Troll suffers a +1 Ob to
regrow.) any other skill that requires manual
dexterity (including Throwing and
weapons skills).

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Hook Hand Dt 4 pts and causes great discomfort and

One of this Troll’s hands has formed nausea. Any creature that bites the
into a massive bony hook. This hook Troll, penetrates his armor and
can be used as a weapon: Pow 2, achieves a Mark result, must make
VA 1, WS 2, Short; may Great an Ob 4 Forte test. Any successes
Strike. In fact, it is really too big and missed equal an obstacle penalty
clumsy to be used for anything else. that lasts for three exchanges.

Horns Dt 5 pts Ridged Brow Dt 3 pts

Great stony horns protrude from the Protruding out over this Troll’s eyes
Troll’s skull. In addition to being is a stony brow like unto a craggy
terribly intimidating, they also cliff. This provides +1D of armor to
serve a somewhat practical purpose. the Troll’s head.
When the Troll charges another
creature of relatively similar size,
Scaly Skin Dt 4 pts
Scaly Skin provides 2D of armor to
he may choose to add +1D to his
the limbs and head, and 3D to the
Charge Power or to do damage
chest. This skin cannot “fail” and
on the Charge as if he had been
become damaged like normal armor:
simultaneously Striking. Damage
1s are ignored in this case. VA works
is Pow 2, VA 2, WS 1. The first two
as normal against this armor.
successes of the Charge attack count
as a superficial wound to the victim. Stone Skin Dt 5 pts
Four successes over equals a Mark The hide of this creature is
hit. Six over is a Superb hit. impossibly tough and unyielding.
Stone Skin provides 3D of armor
Iron Hide Dt 6 pts
protection to the head and limbs,
This skin is as tough as iron and
and 4D to the chest. This skin
scaled like a shark. All incoming
cannot “fail” and become damaged
damage is reduced by -1 pip on the
like normal armor: 1s are ignored.
PTGS: B8 damage would be reduced
VA works as normal against this
to B7, etc.
armor.
Malformed Char
Toothy Maw Dt 3 pts

Mossy Coat C-O 2 pts This Troll’s jaws are massive,

Covered in a coat of moss and slime, distended and terrible. The Toothy
this Troll blends in quite well to Maw counts as: Pow 3, Add 2, VA
forest or earthy surroundings. Call- 1, WS 1, Shortest. It replaces the
on for Stealthy or Camouflage in Fanged trait.
forest or mines. Troll Savant Char
This Troll has the uncanny ability to
Oafishly Charming Char
form complete sentences, understand
Repulsive Blood Dt 2 pts what is said to him and possibly
This Troll’s blood is noxious and even comprehend what a written
caustic. If the Troll should be bitten language, map or glyph could
for effect, the horrid liquid runs into represent—if it were possible in the
the mouth of the attacking creature first place for scratchings on stone

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 Lifepaths

or leather to mean anything. He is a Vestigial Wings Char

Mountains of Trolls
mental giant among his peers and is Two small, bat-like wings protrude
appropriately hated and feared. from the Troll’s shoulders. Flap,
flap.
Tusks Dt 2 pts
This Troll’s lower canine teeth Webbed Fingers and Toes Dt 1 pt
protrude into formidable tusks. Stride 5 when swimming.
The beast may use these sharpened
weapons to gore the unwary. Add +1
Power to the Troll’s bite attack when
it is at hands fighting distance. This
trait may be combined with Fangs or
Toothy Maw.

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Choosing Skills
In general, Trolls create nothing except misery and woe. This is reflected
in their lifepath lists. However, they are sentient creatures and not
inexorably bound to this fate. They may, if given the opportunity, break
away from this. Therefore, General skill points may be used to purchase
any skills from the skill list except: Enchanting, Sorcery or Summoning.

Troll Skills
Bridge-wise
Camouflage Perception/Agility
Using this skill, a Troll may take on the appearance of his surroundings and
remain hidden. The Dread Stone love to build up false stone walls around
themselves and then wait for an unsuspecting passerby to wander into reach.
Using this skill effectively requires that the Troll remain motionless while
camouflaged. Test this skill as a Stealthy skill.
Obstacles: Camouflage is used in versus tests against Observation.
FoRKs: Stealthy
Skill Type: Forester Tools: No.

Extortion Will/Perception
Bull Trolls sometimes learn that it is more fruitful to let their victims live to
extort food and shiny bits from them over the years. This way they can get
more than a single meal out of them!
Obstacles: Obstacles are equal to the Will of the victim.
FoRKs: Intimidation, Interrogation, Haggling
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Lash Agility
Bellowers bear a massive lash with which they drive on their lessers. So
terrible and huge is this whip that it may be used as a weapon.
Obstacles: As a melee weapon. See the Resources section for stats.
Skill Type: Martial Tools: Lash.

Mine-wise

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 Lifepaths

Mountains of Trolls

Troll Resources
Troll Gear Rp Cost
Rags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Troll Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chest or Footlocker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Trophies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shiny Trophies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pile of Rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Troll Lash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mattock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Black Iron Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Cave Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Troll Resources
Troll characters may purchase a small range of sundry goods. There’s
really not much.

Trophies— Trolls love to keep skulls or other keepsakes from their favorite
meals. These are then draped across the shoulders or strung from the
wrists to let other Trolls know how well he has eaten.
Shiny Trophies— Somewhere along the way, one of the Troll’s meals came
with some very lovely shiny bits. These are usually worn prominently
about the neck or waist.
Troll Lash— This dreaded weapon is used by Bellowers to keep their
subordinates in line. Not only does it allow the Troll to use its Where
There’s a Whip, There’s a Way trait, but the Troll whip is powerful
enough to be used as an actual weapon.
L ash: Base Power = Lash skill exponent. Weapon is Pow 2, VA –,
Add 2, WS 1, Longest. The lash can only be used by creatures of
Massive Stature.

Troll Mattock— A fearsome weapon: Two-handed: Pow 4, VA 2, Add 2,

WS 2, Long, may Great Strike. One-handed: Pow 3, VA 2, Add 2,
WS 1, Long. This weapon is built to suit the size of a Troll and cannot
be wielded by creatures smaller than Massive Stature. Even for Trolls,
it is heavy. Characters must have at least a B6 Power to use it properly.
Black Iron Shield— This massive shield provides 3D of protection. Its sharp
edge can also be used as a weapon: Pow 2, VA 1, Add 2, WS 2, Short.
Cave Hole— Even a Troll should have a little home somewhere—a nice,
romantic, stinking hole in the ground to call its own. This counts as
property.

Troll Relationships
Trolls use the standard rules for relationships, reputations and affiliations.
I recommend Trolls only have three possible affiliations: the black legion,
the troll legions or a bull gang. The first two are military affiliations, and
the last is an outcast group.

Trolls In Play
Trolls are, on the surface, straightforward to play: The characters are
tough, strong and usually slow. A four-lifepath Troll typically nets enough
physical stat points to suck up quite a lot of punishment. But the great
thing about Burning Wheel Trolls is that they are not confined to this

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 Lifepaths

stereotype. In character burning, the options are limited but once in play,

Mountains of Trolls
there is no place for a Troll to go but up. The hardest challenge falls in
the realm of social and academic skills—but with enough patience, Trolls
can learn anything.

Trolls are not indestructible. They are tough, but I’ve seen determined
or even just well-equipped three- and four-lifepath characters bring
them to their knees. Without the Brute trait, Trolls are vulnerable to
incapacitation. Mental stats of 2 make getting knocked out a real danger.
So, if you must be the indestructible kill machine, either take the Brute
trait or choose lifepaths that give mental and physical points.

It’s easy enough to integrate these characters into an Orc-based game,

but they can fit equally well in any game that has a need for nine-foot-
tall, anthropomorphic battering rams. The real challenge when playing a
Troll is to stay involved in the game. It’s too easy to say, “I’m stupid and
strong, so I just wait.” This is an excuse. I encourage players to develop
good Beliefs and Instincts that tie their Troll characters into the core of
the situation at hand. If a player takes the “I’m just waiting for combat”
approach, then their Troll character will never improve or go beyond the
bounds of its starting concept. Breaking down such boundaries is possible
and even encouraged in this system!

477
 Dominant Mother
MAYSÁ MATÁ, 4.5-year-old Wild Pack Dominant
Born to the Pack, Yearling, Lone Wolf, Last Wolf, Dominant
STATS
Will B4 Perception B6 (B8)* Agility B5
Speed B5 Power B4 Forte B5
ATTRIBUTES
Health B5 Steel B6 Mortal Wound B10 Hesitation 6
Reflexes B6 Resources B0 Circles B2 Stride 11
SKILLS
Howling B4, Pack Etiquette B3, Territory-wise B3, Begging B2, Intimidation B3,
Stealthy B4, Pack Hunting B3 (B5)*, Scent Tracking B3 (B5)*, Foraging B3, Brawling
B3, Pack-wise B3, Scavenging B3, Command B2, Nursing B3, Nature of All Things B2
TRAITS
Crushing Jaws, Deep Fur, Great Lupine Form, Lupine Intellect, Wolf Eyes, Wolf Snout,
Woodland Ear, Wanderlust, Submissive, Dominant, Blind Eye, Spirit Marked, Raven-
Friend
TERRITORY
Marginal hunting grounds
RELATIONSHIPS
Ukén (pup, 3 pts, minor, immediate family), Nasam-it (pup, 3 pts, minor, immediate
family), Alingaas (dominant Spirit-Hunter of the Dagá Pack, free due to Submissive trait)
AFFILIATIONS
1D (Balát Pack, free, Dominant trait), 1D (Dagá Pack, Spirit Hunters, free, Spirit Marked
trait), 1D (Uwak Conspiracy, ravens, free, Raven-Friend trait)
REPUTATION
1D, Dominant of the Balát Pack
BELIEFS
Ukén and Nasam-it mean everything to me; I will raise them well and strong. The two-
legs encroach upon our hunting grounds; Balát must show its dominance or we will be
forced into the wastes. Alingaas frightens me, but she knows many secrets; I will convince
her to share her wisdom with me.
INSTINCTS
Always know where my pups are. Always defend Balát’s territory. Always move stealthily
when there are two-legs about.

*+2D due to Wolf Snout and Woodland Ear

 Great Wolf Lifepaths
Wild Pack Setting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born to the Pack 1 yr — — Captive
Skills: 2 pts: General; 2 pts: Howling
Traits: Great Wolf common traits plus 2 pts
Yearling 1 yr 1 +1 P Captive, Outcast
Skills: 8 pts: Pack Etiquette, Stealthy, Pack Hunting, Scent
Tracking, Foraging, Brawling
Traits: 1 pt
Restriction: Must be second lifepath. May not be taken twice.

Hunter 1 yr 2 +1 P Captive, Outcast

Skills: 7 pts: Pack Hunting, Hoof-wise, Intimidation, Brawling,
Begging, Scent-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive
Dominant 1 yr 3 +1 M, P Captive, Outcast
Skills: 5 pts: Intimidation, Command, (Nursing), Brawling
Traits: 1 pt: Dominant
Requires: Yearling, Aunt, Uncle or Last Wolf. Dominant wolves are
the pack leaders.
Note: Dominants may be male or female. Female Dominants of three
years or older may take the Nursing skill. Males may not take this
skill at all.
Aunt / yr
1
2
2 +1 M/P Captive, Outcast
Skills: 4 pts: Nursing, Pup-wise, Scavenging, Begging
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive
Uncle / yr
1
2
2 +1 M/P Captive, Outcast
Skills: 4 pts: Rearing, Pup-wise, Scavenging, Begging
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive
Elder 2 yr 1 +1 M Outcast
Skills: 7 pts: Begging, Man-wise, Orc-wise, Forest-wise; 1 pt General
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive
Restrictions: Must be 7 yrs or older to take this lifepath.
Last Wolf / yr
1
2
1 +1 M Captive, Outcast
Skills: 2 pts: Begging, Pack Etiquette
Traits: 2 pts: Submissive, Stained
Note: Any wolf entering the Wild Pack setting from another setting
480 must take Last Wolf as their first lifepath in the Wild Pack.
 Lifepaths

Slave to the Legion Setting

The Way of the Great Wolf

Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born to the Legion 1 yr — — Captive
Skills: 2 pts: G
 eneral; 2 pts: Howling
Traits: Great Wolf common traits plus 1 pt: Vile Language, Demented
Caged and Beaten / yr
1
2
1 — Captive
Skills: 3 pts: Pack Etiquette, Begging, Cage-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Submissive, Tasting the Lash, Deranged
Note: Wolves entering the legion from other settings must take Caged and
Beaten as their first lifepath in this setting.
Shadow Chaser 1 yr 2 +1 P —
Skills: 8 pts: Stealthy, Scent Tracking, Trail-wise, Orc-wise, Scavenging,
Intimidation, Rider Training †, Begging
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive, Tasting the Lash
Wayward / yr
1
2
2 +1 M Outcast
Skills: 6 pts: Pack Hunting, Foraging, Brawling, Stealthy, Howling, Escape
Artist
Traits: 1 pt
Requires: Shadow Chaser or Caged and Beaten
Bitch 1 yr 4 — —
Skills: 5 pts: Nursing, Rearing, Pup-wise, Scavenging, Begging
Traits: 1 pt: Submissive
Restrictions: Characters taking this lifepath must be at least two years old.
Howling Beast 1 yr 1 +1 P —
Skills: 7 pts: Rider Training , Combat Mount†, Savage Attack, Intimidation
†

Traits: 1 pt: Howl of Doom

Requires: Shadow Chaser
Black Destroyer 2 yrs 2 +1 M, P —
Skills: 4 pts: Rider Training †, Combat Mount †, Savage Attack
Traits: 2 pts: Fearsome Beast, Intense Hatred, Fearless, Dominant,
Submissive
Requires: Howling Beast or Ebon Tyrant
Ebon Tyrant 2 yrs 5 +1 M, P —
Skills: 5 pts: Conspicuous, Command, Skirmish Tactics†, Strategy
Traits: 1 pt: Dominant, Great Cunning
Requires: Shadow Chaser or Black Destroyer

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 The Burning Wheel Codex
Dark Friend 3 yrs 3 +1 M Outcast
Skills: 5 pts: Stealthy, Scent Tracking, Brawling, Rituals-wise, Poisons-wise;
1 pt General
Traits: 1 pt: Obedient, Loyal, Fearless
Requires: Caged and Beaten
† This is a training skill. It costs 2 points to open and may not be advanced.

Outcast Wolf Subsetting

Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Lone Wolf 1 yr 1 +1 M Any
Skills: 4 pts: Territory-wise, Pack-wise, Scavenging
Traits: 1 pt: Wanderlust, Spirit Marked
Requires: Yearling, Last Wolf, Captive, Wandering Lost, Ancient
Journeyer, Wayward or Dark Friend
Scavenger 1 yr 2 — Legion, Wild Pack, Captive
Skills: 3 pts: Scent-wise, Village-wise, Dog-wise, Scavenging
Traits: 1 pt: Scavenger
Requires: Lone Wolf, Captive or Caged and Beaten

Captive Subsetting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Captive / yr
1
2
1 — Legion, Outcast
Skills: 3 pts: Begging, Cage-wise, Man-wise
Traits: 3 pts: Broken, Submissive

Spirit Hunter Subsetting

Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Spirit Chaser 1 yr 1 +1 P Outcast, Captive
Skills: 5 pts: Primal Bark§, Pack Hunting, The Way of the First Hunter
Traits: 1 pt
Requires: Lone Wolf and the Spirit Marked trait
Spirit Howler 1 yr 2 +1 M/P —
Skills: 3 pts: Ancestral Jaw§
Traits: 1 pt: Ancestral Taint, Spirit Ears
Requires: Spirit Chaser
Spirit Hunter 2 yrs 3 +1 M, P Ghost of the Deeping Wood
Skills: 3 pts: Grandfather’s Song §

Traits: 1 pt: Spirit Nose

Requires: Spirit Howler
§ Indicates that this is a Wolf-Song and costs 2 points to open up.

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 Lifepaths

Ghost of the Deeping Wood

The Way of the Great Wolf

Subsetting
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Wandering Lost / yr
1
2
— +1 M Spirit Hunter, Outcast
Skills: 2 pts: Nature of All Things
Traits: 1 pt
Requires: Last Wolf and Lone Wolf
Dire Haunt 1 yr 10 +1 M, P —
Skills: 3 pts: T
 ongue of the Ancient One
Traits: 2 pt
Requirement: Wandering Lost
Ancient Journeyer 1/2 yr — +1 M Spirit Hunter, Outcast
Skills: 2 pts: Old World-wise
Traits: 1 pt
Requirement: Wandering Lost
Fell Ancient 2 yrs 15 +1 M, P —
Skills: 3 pts: A
 ncient Ways
Traits: 2 pts: Reclusive, Paranoid, Odor of Spirits
Requirement: Ancient Journeyer
Ghost of the Wood 2 yrs 10 +2 M —
Skills: 6 pts: Wolf-wise, Spirit-Hunter-wise, Legion-wise, Path-wise,
River‑wise, Pack-wise; 1 pt: General
Traits: 3 pts: Preternaturally Calm, Watchful, Piercing Gaze,
Stink of the Ancient
Requires: Dire Haunt and Fell Ancient

Stat Pools for Wolves by Age

Starting Age Mental Pool Physical Pool
1 year 6 pts 12 pts
2-3 years 7 pts 16 pts
4-5 years 7 pts 17 pts
6-7 years 7 pts 16 pts
8-9 years 6 pts 14 pts
10-11 years 6 pts 12 pts
12-15 years 5 pts 10 pts

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Wolf Trait Round Up

• Crushing Jaws: Pow 3, VA 1, Add 2, WS 3, Short. May Lock and Strike
on the same action using the Savage Attack skill

• Great Lupine Form: +2D to the Charge action. Stride 11

• Deep Fur: No penalties for cold or Health tests for cold. +1 Ob for hot

• Lupine Intellect: You’re a very big, very smart wolf

• Wolf Snout: +1D to Perception tests (counts toward Reflexes), +1D

to Pack Hunting and Scent Tracking. Can also detect emotion and
determine identity via scent

•W
 oodland Ear: +1D to Perception tests (counts toward Reflexes), +1D to
Pack Hunting and Scent Tracking, counts as Observation and allows
the wolf to determine a type of animal by its call

• Wolf Eyes: Reduce darkness penalties by one

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Way of the Great Wolf
Wolf Life
In the deep wilderness, far beyond where the lesser wolf packs roam,
hunt the Great Wolves. These massive creatures are the descendants
of the first wolf, the most Ancient Great Grandfather.

The Great Wolves’ voracious appetites drive them to the fringes of

the world. Even just a handful of Great Wolves require vast hunting
ranges spanning hundreds of miles to feed their collective appetite.
Such territoriality precludes being close neighbors with other large
predators, namely humankind.

Great Wolves are not naturally hostile to humans or other creatures,

but they are fierce competitors in the race for survival. In the wilds
of the deep tundra and dark forests, life is always a struggle. The
wolves will always do what they feel is necessary to overcome.

Wolf Packs
Just like lesser wolves, Great Wolves have a complex social structure
built around the family. A wolf pack consists of a family lead by a
Dominant male and female pair, with their offspring from the past
few years. Rarely do they allow outsiders into the pack.

Great Wolf packs are smaller than lesser wolf packs, containing
perhaps three to six wolves. The Dominant wolves are generally the
strongest and largest in the pack, but this is not always the case.
Smaller, wiser wolves have been known to lead very successfully.

Dominants rule by intimidation, fear and physical punishment.

Rarely will they kill a member of their own pack; often they will
simply wrestle their kin to the ground and force them to submit to
their will.

Submitting to the will of the Dominants is a trait that other wolves

learn through experience. To attribute human pride to this behavior
is to misunderstand. This is never seen as debasement in the pack’s
eyes; it is a natural thing. Submission is necessary to survive.

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Below the Dominants, the pack consists of second-tier wolves who help
hunt and raise the pups. Larger packs will also have a “last wolf,” an
unfortunate beast who is singled out as the scapegoat for the pack’s
frustration and anger. Also, any “foreign” wolf entering a pack must
prove himself as a last wolf before even having the opportunity to aid in
other roles in the pack.

Pups
Since life is so precarious in the deep wilds, raising pups is one of
the paramount activities in the pack’s life—second only to hunting.
Dominants mate in the late winter, and the pups are born in the early
spring. Usually, the litter of Great Wolves is very small­­—only one or two
pups. Once born, the whole pack then participates in rearing the pups,
not just the parents. All contribute to bringing food, minding and playing
with the young wolves. Occasionally, a member of the pack will step
forward as an aunt or uncle, taking special interest in a pup’s upbringing
and doing what he or she can to help the mother so that she may better
recover from the arduous birth process.

Wolf Leads
Wolves do not add to their age when taking leads from one setting to
another.

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Common Traits

The Way of the Great Wolf

Crushing Jaws Dt
Great Wolves have powerful jaws honed into deadly hunting weapons.
Crushing Jaws: Pow 3, Add 2, VA 1, WS 3, Short. When using the Savage
Attack skill, the wolf can choose the Lock and Strike action.

Deep Fur Dt
Heavy and thick fur protects Great Wolves against the cold of their harsh
environment. They can tolerate extremely cold temperatures, whereas
extended times of hot weather tend to agitate them. This trait allows the wolf
to ignore penalties and tests relating to cold weather. However, extended
time in hot weather causes +1 Ob to all tests.
The color of a wolf’s pelt can range from pure white to black, from mottled
gray to brown, from sandy to even reddish and ochre.

Great Lupine Form Dt

Great Wolves possess the basic form common to wolves. They have a rangy,
muscular body set on high and powerful legs with large, well-padded feet.
They have long snouts and massive, protruding jaws. Their fur is a crown of
coarse guard hairs supported by a nigh-impermeable layer of soft underfur.
Their most prominent feature is, of course, their massive size. Great wolves
stand three to five feet at the shoulder, and can weigh 200-600 lbs.
Great Wolves have a maximum exponent of 6 for Agility (from their lack of
hands), while other stat maximums are 8. Their Stride is 11.
Wolves perform the Charge/Tackle action in Fight with a +2D bonus rather
than the standard +1D.

Lupine Intellect Dt
Without a doubt, Great Wolves are intelligent creatures. They possess a
personality and intellect equivalent to that of humans and Orcs. Never
assume that just because they don’t live in cities, write with pens or eat with
knives, wolves are dumb brutes.
Even so, Great Wolves are not tool-using creatures. Though they understand
a great many matters, they generally don’t use (or even need) tools to
accomplish the tasks in their daily lives. Any wolf attempting to use tools
like hammers, swords or scissors suffers quadruple obstacle penalties.

Wolf Eyes Dt
Wolves possess the advantage of being able to see well in low light. Wolves
reduce obstacle penalties for dim light, darkness and haze by one step.

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Wolf Snout Dt
Wolves benefit from an exceptional sense of smell. Wolf Snout grants +1D to
Perception for assesses, and +1D to Scent Tracking and Pack Hunting skill
tests. This bonus is also added to Perception for determining Reflexes. This
trait counts as Observation when combined with Woodland Ear.

Woodland Ear Dt
Wolves have extraordinary hearing. The Woodland Ear allows wolves to
distinguish between different animal calls and add +1D to Perception tests
for assesses, Scent Tracking and Pack Hunting. This bonus is also added to
Perception for determining Reflexes. This trait counts as Observation when
combined with Wolf Snout.

Lifepath Traits
Submissive Dominants
The lifepaths can produce a Great Wolf with both the Dominant and
Submissive traits. This indicates that you are (or were) dominant in your
pack, but you’re now submissive to another wolf, or vice versa.

It’s also possible to earn the Submissive or Dominant trait twice. Take
each trait once; the points earned on subsequent paths can be spent on
additional lifepath traits or special traits.

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Ancestral Taint Dt Howl of Doom Dt

The Way of the Great Wolf

Spirit Hunters are said to be Before the charge, these beasts
the chosen ones of the Great bombard their opponents with cold
Grandfather—selected to take up his fear. This wolf can howl and add
eternal struggle against the spirits, +4D to Intimidation. This howl
speech-twisters and demons that requires two actions to perform and
seek to overcome wolf-kind. Once a cannot be done on the charge—it
wolf begins to sing the howls of the must be done beforehand. In Range
Spirit Hunters, he grows closer to the and Cover, it positions with 2D.
Great Grandfather; in fact he begins In Fight, it counts as the Longest
to take on a bit of the ancient wolf’s weapon.
essence. The more the Spirit Howler
sings the ancient songs, the more Intense Hatred Char
the Taint grows within him. See the
Ancestral Taint rules in the Spirit
Loyal
Burning Wheel page 334.
Hunter section for more on this.

Broken Obedient Char

Wolves who are chosen to become
Burning Wheel page 316.
Dark Friends tend to be particularly
Demented Char obedient. While their masters can
be extremely generous—feeding
Dominant Dt their wolves much fresh meat—they
There are only ever two Dominants are also extremely violent and
in a pack: a male and female pair. punishing. Rarely do they hesitate
These two serve as the mother and to kill a disobedient wolf. Lastly,
father of the group, guiding them to a Dark Friend has an intuitive
new hunting grounds and producing understanding of the powers the
more offspring to strengthen and Blood Summoners wield—he
expand the pack. This trait grants knows the might of success and the
a 1D affiliation with a pack and a calamity of failure. It is far better to
1D reputation within that pack as aid the former and prevent the latter.
a Dominant. This trait compounds
with other similar, appropriate Odor of Spirits Dt
affiliations and reputations. This wolf stinks of spirits. The packs
shun him, and the Spirit Hunters
Fearless harry him. 1D infamous reputation
Burning Wheel page 326. and +1 Ob Inconspicuous among
the wild packs and legion. Only the
Great Cunning C-O Haunts and Ghosts accept him.
Ebon Tyrants are the Dominants of
the vast Black Destroyer packs. More Paranoid Char
than just savagery and brutality are
required to attain this rank. Great
Cunning is a necessity. This trait
acts as a call-on for Strategy, Tactics
and any wise tested for insight.

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Piercing Gaze C-O/Dt Spirit Marked Dt 3 pts

The eyes of a Ghost of the Deeping On certain nights in the dead of
Wood burn like glittering coals. This winter, the Spirit Hunters will
trait is a call-on for Intimidation. come to the territories and seek out
Also, characters attempting to lone wolves. Those who are chosen
deceive the wolf (using Falsehood, receive a special scent and are
Persuasion or Soothing Platitudes) marked to become Spirit Hunters.
suffer a +1 Ob penalty. Burning This trait is required to be able
flames flash implacably behind his to take the Spirit Chaser lifepath.
eyes and hint at the terrible fate of It grants a 1D affiliation with the
liars. Spirit Hunters. It also grants a 1D
spirit mark as per the Spirit Binding
Preternaturally Calm Dt rules.
Ghosts of the Deeping Wood possess
a calmness that rivals the most Spirit Nose Dt
serene glade on a starry summer The Taint suffuses the Spirit Hunter.
night. Reduce hesitation by two. Using his Spirit Nose, he may add
his Wolf Snout to detect spirits (as
Reclusive Char Spirit Ears above). Also, Spirit
Nose allows Spirit Hunters to track
Scavenger spirits, even those who leave no
Burning Wheel page 344.
marks or do not touch the ground.
Slave No More Dt Use the obstacles listed with the
After life in the cage, you can’t help Scent Tracking skill and be creative.
but act out against the world that
Stained Dt
has hurt you. Instincts that get you
The Last Wolf is the scapegoat of
into weird or deep trouble earn a
the pack. All of the pack’s anger
persona point instead of a fate point.
and frustration is taken out on his
Spirit Ears Dt hide. No matter how he elevates
Spirit Howlers become attuned to himself throughout his life, the Last
the spirit world as their Taint grows. Wolf always bears this stain on his
A wolf with this trait has the ability very heart. This trait grants a 1D
to hear those of the spirit nature. reputation as a Last Wolf.
Counts as Observation for detecting
Stink of the Ancient Dt
the movements of spirits, demons
Great Wolves can smell a Ghost of
and other creatures of spirit nature.
the Wood when he is near. His scent
Obstacle to detect spirits is 10 minus
is distinct, a mix of Ancient Ways
their Strength. Wolves may use their
and twisted speech that covers his
Woodland Ear in combination with
coat like the blood of the hunted.
this trait but not their Wolf Snout.
This stink causes fear, trepidation
and even hatred in Great Wolves.
They do not look kindly upon one
who so tampers with the will of the
Grandfather. This trait grants a 1D
infamous reputation as a Ghost of

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the Deeping Wood among the packs. Dominant, rolling over and exposing

The Way of the Great Wolf

Combine this with other reputations the belly to the Dominant and
as appropriate. nibbling or licking the Dominant’s
chin.
Submissive Dt
Lastly, wolves may possess both
Wolves learn to submit to a
the Dominant and Submissive
Dominant wolf at a very young
traits. These wolves will rule their
age. Any wolf in the pack who is
pack as they rightly should, but
not part of the Dominant pair is
they might also submit to stronger
Submissive. These wolves follow the
Dominants—be they wolf, human
lead of their superiors and often beg
or Orc.
for certain permissions, including
permission to eat from a kill. Being Tasting the Lash
Submissive in the pack connotes Burning Wheel page 349-350.
no weakness. It merely shows that
the wolf understands the natural Vile Language
order of things. This trait grants a Burning Wheel page 237.
free relationship with a master or
dominant character. Wanderlust Char

Prominent Submissive behaviors

Watchful Char
include: looking away from the
Dominant’s gaze, crouching with
head to the ground before the

Special Wolf Traits

Great Wolves may choose any of the traits listed in the Trait List that are
not otherwise restricted except Ambidextrous, Aura of Holiness, Aura of
Martyrdom, Dexterity of the Cat, Dog-Faced Boy, Joan of Arc, Skin of
an Apple and Street Smart.

They may also choose from the following special wolf-only traits. When
choosing a trait for the wolf’s fur, remember that only one trait may be
used to describe this feature. For example, Frost Coat and Changeling
Coat cannot be taken together.

Ancient Terror Dt 6 pts Fearsome Beast C-O 2 pts

Ancient fear rolls off this wolf in There is an odd and unsettling air
waves. Add +2D to Intimidation about this wolf—something very old
tests. and frightening. Use this trait as a
call-on for Intimidation.
Changeling Coat Dt 3 pts
This wolf was born to be a trickster. Frost Coat C-O 2 pts
His coat shifts patterns and colors The pelt of this wolf is glittering
at will. Add +1D to Stealthy and ice. Use this trait as a call-on for
Inconspicuous tests. Stealthy when stalking the tundra
and arctic wastes.

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Ghost Coat C-O 4 pts Raven Friend Dt 1 pt

This wolf’s coat shifts subtly from Wolves and ravens have a special
dark to light, from mottled to plain, relationship. Not only do they aid
depending on what land he stalks one another on the hunt—ravens
and haunts. Use this for a call-on for will circle a herd to mark it for
Stealthy in any terrain. wolves, and wolves will allow
ravens to feed at their kills—they
Mangy Coat Char are also great friends. Wolves and
ravens enjoy taunting each other
Mark of the Ancient Dt 5 pts
and playing endless and dangerous
Some pups are born with the look
games of tag. This trait grants either
of the Great Ancient about them.
a free relationship with a raven or a
Such rare wolves are descendants
1D affiliation with a conspiracy of
from the Ancient, the first wolf who
ravens.
created the world. The packs believe
This trait signifies a wolf who is
such wolves are cursed and destined
especially fond of ravens and well
for a life of mayhem. This trait is
thought of by the birds. While the
required for using the skills Tongue
whole pack may play, he is the only
of the Ancient One and Ancient
pack member who can understand
Ways.
the quacks and squawks of raven
Formidable Bark C-O 2 pts speech.
The voice of this wolf is strong and
clear. It easily pierces the dense
Shadow Coat C-O 2 pts
The fur of this wolf is perfectly
woods and cuts through dampening
suited to stalking in the shadows of
fog. Use this trait as a call-on for
the woods. Use this trait as a call-
Howling and Command.
on for Stealthy when stalking the
forests and valleys.

Choosing Skills
Wolves abide by the standard rules for choosing skills. They can only
acquire skills found on their lifepaths unless they use General points.
General points may be spent on skills in this chapter and the following:
Almanac, Ancient Languages, Animal Husbandry, Aura Reading,
Brawling, Climbing, Command, Conspicuous, Doctrine, Etiquette,
Extortion, Falsehood, Folklore, Foraging, Hauling, Inconspicuous,
Intimidation, Interrogation, Orienteering, Philosophy, Ratiquette,
Scavenging, Seduction, Soothing Platitudes, Stealthy, Survival,
Symbology, Waiting Tables and Ugly Truth. They may also spend General
point on wises specific to your game, especially ones not listed in these
rules.

Wolves may not purchase craftsman skills, sorcerous skills, weapon skills
or anything that requires a thumb to use.

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Wolf Skills

The Way of the Great Wolf

Ancient Ways Will/Perception
It is said that the Great Ancient spoke the true names of the water, loam,
wind and prairie fire. Closely guarded, these powerful names have been
passed from generation to generation of Great Wolves descended from the
last wolf of the ancestral pack—Fell Ancients who bear the Mark.
This skill is the wolf equivalent of the Spirit Binding skill. Wolves must have
the Mark of the Ancient trait to use this skill.
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: No.

Begging Will
Begging is the Wolf’s version of the Persuasion skill. This skill may be used
as Persuasion in a Duel of Wits between Great Wolves or their friends. When
a submissive wolf wants something, whether it be food or permission, he
must beg the dominant for it. Begging is not humiliating to a wolf; it is part
of their nature. Sometimes the female dominant will even need to beg when
she is nursing her pups—she begs the pack to bring them food.
Obstacles: Begging food for pups, Ob 1. Other obstacles are based on the Will
of the target wolf.
FoRKs: Pack Etiquette
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Cage-wise
Combat Mount Will/Power
Carrying a rider on a journey and bearing him into combat are two very
different skills. A wolf must be trained to modify his fighting style in order to
coordinate with his rider and not roll him or throw him.
Skill Type: Martial Training Tools: No.

Dog-wise

Elf-wise
Escape Artist Perception/Agility
Wolves can learn nearly anything. When trapped or caged, they quickly
learn the mechanics of their captivity and devise a method of escape.
Obstacles: Collars, Ob 1. Leashes, Ob 2. Traps, Ob 3. Cages, Ob 4 and up.
FoRKs: Cage-wise, Trap-wise
Skill Type: Special Tools: No.

Forest-wise

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Hoof-wise Perception
Wolves learn the habits and nature of their prey.
Obstacles: Identifying species (horse, deer or elk), Ob 1. Judging the health of
intended prey, Ob 2. Age and gender of prey, Ob 3. Predicting herd location,
Ob 4.
Skill Type: Wise Tools: No.

Howling Will
Wolves love to howl, and they do so for many reasons. It is the combination
of the Singing, Oratory and Conspicuous skills.
Obstacles: Sing discordantly, Ob 1. Sing for joy, Ob 2. Howl for warning, Ob
3. Howl for the lost, Ob 4.
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Legion-wise
Man-wise
Nature of All Things Perception/Will
This wolf knows the history of the trees, the streams, the rocks and brush.
He knows why the snow falls and why the sun rises. He understands that
the sharp tooth of the wolf lengthens the stride of the hoofed ones. He
comprehends, vaguely, the interconnectedness of all things. This skill can be
used as a FoRK for nearly any other skill (except martial skills), in a similar
fashion to the Astrology skill.
Obstacles: Naming a natural feature, Ob 1. Naming a living creature, Ob 2.
Giving cryptic advice, Ob 3. Discerning truth from lies, Ob 4. Interpreting
natural omens, Ob 5.
FoRKs: Appropriate wises. May FoRK into any other skill from Wolf skill list.
Skill Type: Academic Tools: No.

Nursing Perception/Will
This is the delicate process of weaning pups off the teat and slowly
introducing them to meat and forage. Also, this skill is used like Field
Dressing.
Obstacles: as Field Dressing. Or as the Will of the pup, if appropriate
FoRKs: Rearing
Skill Type: Special Tools: No.

Old World-wise
Orc-wise
Pack Hunting Perception/Speed
Wolves hunt for their prey in a different manner than those on two legs. Use
the obstacles below to determine how much prey a pack can bring down over
the course of a week. The dominant is always the primary for this test. Last
wolves, pups, elders and nursing dominants may not help in this test—only
Hunters, Aunts, Uncles and Yearlings.

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Obstacles: Adequate kills to feed a pack of up to three, Ob 4. Adequate kills to

The Way of the Great Wolf

feed of pack of four or five Great Wolves, Ob 5. Adequate kills for a pack of
six to seven, Ob 7. Note the bonuses and penalties for the hunting grounds
as described in the Territories section of this chapter.
FoRKs: Scent Tracking, Scent-wise, Territory-wise, Forest-wise
Skill Type: Forester Tools: No.

Pack Etiquette Perception

This is crucial knowledge of the laws of the pack and what behavior is
appropriate at what juncture.
Obstacles: Feed order at a kill, Ob 2. Approaching the pack as a foreigner, Ob 4.
FoRKs: Begging
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Pack-wise
Path-wise
Poisons-wise
Pup-wise
Rearing Perception/Will
This is the wolf’s instructional skill. Good Uncles and Aunts pass on the
knowledge of the hunt and the traditions of the pack to the young pups. Use
this skill as Instruction for teaching wolves younger than you.
FoRKs: Way of the First Hunter
Skill Type: Social Tools: No.

Rider Training Will

This training teaches a wolf how to subordinate itself and accept commands
from a rider.
Skill Type: Physical Training Tools: No.

Rituals-wise
River-wise
Savage Attack Agility/Speed
Orcs train wolves to fight savagely and wildly. Wolves with Savage Attack
have access to all of the martial maneuvers, including Lock and Strike when
using their Crushing Jaws.
FoRKs: Brawling
Skill Type: Martial Tools: No.

Scent Tracking Perception

Wolves track in a slightly different manner than humans, Elves and Orcs—
they rely on scent and sound in addition to sight.

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Obstacles: Tracking fresh scent on dry earth, Ob 1. Recognizing a known
creature by scent trail, Ob 2. Picking up day-old scent, Ob 3. Following
fresh scent from nearby prey on the wind, Ob 4. Tracking fresh scent in
new, light rain, Ob 5. Tracking quarry that has crossed through a stream,
Ob 6. Tracking after rain, Ob 7.
FoRKs: Scent-wise
Skill Type: Forester Tools: No.

Scent-wise
Spirit Hunter-wise
Village-wise
Tongue of the Ancient One Perception
It is said that the Great Ancient whispered his secrets to his last pup before
he passed on from this world. He taught his outcast and hated child how
to speak the true speech, how to make his words have power beyond
understanding.
This skill is the equivalent of Sorcery. Great Wolves with the Mark of the
Ancient trait may use this skill to cast spells.
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: No.

Way of the First Hunter Will/Perception

This is the Spirit Hunter’s history of the world. This skill acts as Ancient
History.
FoRKs: Old World-wise, Nature of All Things
Skill Type: Academic Tools: No.

Wolf-wise

The Great Divide

Among the wolves who walk the ancient and forbidden paths, there are
two different packs: the Spirit Hunters and the Ghosts of the Deeping
Wood. As their name implies, Spirit Hunters guard the forests from
wayward and malignant spirits, both named and nameless. In fact, they
believe it is their sacred duty to do so. This duty, and the formidable
magic that accompanies it, was taught to them by the first wolf, Great
Grandfather, who hunted and guarded the first forest of the world.

Spirit Hunters despise the Ghosts of the Deeping Wood. They name them
traitors and polluters. They believe the Fell Ancient’s art of summoning
can bring no good, for it torments spirits and drives them to acts of
madness. It is plainly against the nature of both the wolf and the world
at large to speak in so foul a language and disregard the natural law.

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Ghosts of the Deeping Wood, on the other hand, were taught the true

The Way of the Great Wolf

language of creation by the first wolf, whom they call Great Ancient.
The Ghosts believe Great Ancient was not merely the first hunter but
the creator of the world-forest. Before he disappeared into the mists,
Great Ancient took his youngest son, the most despised of the pack,
on a winding journey across the face of the earth. On the walk, Great
Ancient instructed his son on the name of every rock, tree, cloud, river and
lightning-sparked fire. Once he had imparted his secrets, Great Ancient
told his despised son, the last wolf, to rule and keep the world well, for
he would return one day to judge him and all his offspring.

Ghosts, Dire Haunts and Fell Ancients consider the Spirit Hunters blind
in their devotion to a misunderstood ancestry. They rightly fear the wrath
of the Spirit Hunters and avoid them at all cost, but ultimately they hold
them in disdain.

Spirit Hunters
Lone wolves who wander certain paths—lonely winding paths through
impenetrable brambles and across cutting shale—might find themselves
one night confronted by a wolf of eerie, shining fur. This wolf will nod
and lock eyes once with the lone one, yet the visitor neither submits nor
dominates. After his assessment, the glittering wolf turns and runs full
bore, hurtling along the hidden paths of the forest. If the lone one gives
chase, and if he can keep pace—perhaps even catch him before the gray
dawn sweeps the night from the sky—then he is deemed chosen and
inducted into the Spirit Hunter pack.

Once chosen, he is brought before the great Spirit Hunters and taught
to sing the Song of Great Grandfather, which is the history of the wolf,
the world and the spirits. Once he has mastered the song, he becomes
a Spirit-Chaser and hunts for the spirit-pack. He and the other chasers
patrol the woods seeking out wayward spirits or those malignant wolves
who torment spirits. On the hunt, his fellow chasers teach the new wolf
Grandfather’s first bark—a bark so powerful that even spirits fear it.
If he can master this spirit bark, he is further embraced by the pack
and taught more complex howl-songs so that he might directly combat
spirits himself.

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Ancestral Taint
Spirit Hunters gain their power from the knowledge passed down from
Great Grandfather through the generations. The duty to serve Great
Grandfather is an honor and the power granted is mighty, but its end
is tragic: No wolf who accepts the power will have a natural death—he
shall either be killed by violence or he shall pass on into the spirit realms.

The greater the Spirit Hunter, the closer he comes to succumbing to

the great spirit. Once the Ancestral Taint reaches exponent 10, the wolf
passes on.

Starting Ancestral Taint

Ancestral Taint is an emotional attribute like Faith or Grief. Wolves
with the Spirit Marked trait bear the Taint. The shade of the Taint
is the same as the Wolf’s Will. The following conditions create the
exponent:

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—If a wolf has the Ancestral Taint trait, add one.

The Way of the Great Wolf

—If a wolf knows the Primal Bark, add one.
—If a wolf has Spirit Nose, add one.
—If a wolf has learned Ancestral Jaw, add one.
—If a wolf has learned Grandfather’s Song, add one.
—If a wolf has the Stink of the Ancients trait, add one.

Advancing Ancestral Taint

Whenever the wolf in question meets one of the criteria listed below,
he earns a test toward advancement. Ancestral Taint is never rolled.
When a Spirit Hunter finally gives in to the Spirit Nature (advances
the attribute to exponent 10), he is no longer playable as a character—
he has gone on to join Grandfather.

Note that the actual in-game obstacles of Grandfather’s Song are

irrelevant for Ancestral Taint tests. Use of these abilities has a fixed
obstacle on the scale.

If a player wishes to halt the advancement of his Ancestral Taint,

he must make different choices for the character. The conditions are
clearly set; can the wolf avoid fulfilling his nature?

Obstacle 1
Howling for Spirit Jaws (see Ancestral Jaw). Confronting a lesser
(Strength 1-5) nameless spirit.

Obstacle 2
Howling for Preternatural Jaws (see Ancestral Jaw). Confronting a
Dire Haunt or lesser named spirit. Receiving a superficial or light
wound from a nameless spirit.

Obstacle 3
Howling for Fox-Luck (see Ancestral Jaw). Howling for Silent Voice
(see Grandfather’s Song below). Confronting a greater nameless spirit
(Strength 6-10). Confronting a Fell Ancient. Receiving a superficial
or light wound from a lesser named spirit.

Obstacle 4
Howling for Jaws of Lightning (see Ancestral Jaw). Confronting a
greater named spirit. Receiving a midi, severe or traumatic wound
from a nameless spirit.

Obstacle 5
Howling for Avalanche (see Ancestral Jaw). Receiving a superficial or
light wound from a greater named spirit.

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Obstacle 6
Howling for Spirit Unseen (see Grandfather’s Song). Consuming the
corpse of a creature with the Ancestral Taint trait. Slaying a lesser
named spirit using Ancestral Jaw.

Obstacle 7
Slaying a greater named spirit with the Ancestral Jaw. Receiving
a midi, severe or traumatic wound from a greater named spirit.
Consuming a lesser named spirit.

Obstacle 8
Howling for Celestial Sight (see Grandfather’s Song).

Obstacle 9
Consuming the corpse of a greater demon or angel.

Obstacle 10
Howling for Spirit Nature (see Grandfather’s Song).

Earning Spirit Ears and Spirit Nose Traits

If a character doesn’t start the game with Spirit Ears or Spirit Nose,
these traits may be “learned” in play. When a wolf character learns the
Ancestral Jaw song, she may add Spirit Ears to her trait list. When a
wolf character learns Grandfather’s Song, she may add Spirit Nose to
her trait list.

Remember, learning these skills and gaining these traits can add to the
Spirit Hunter’s Ancestral Taint. See above for the mechanics.

Spirit Hunter Songs

Spirit Hunter Songs are skills, and they are rated, rolled and advanced
like a skill. However, each one has a magical effect tied to it, and all
howl-song tests are open-ended.

Ancestral Jaw Will

It is a matter of debate among the Spirit Hunters and the Elven Wanderers
as to who taught whom to sing. The Great Wolves attest that the Elves
learned to sing from listening to Great Grandfather howl. The Wanderers
say otherwise—it was their creator who taught Grandfather how to howl in
chord and vary his pitch.
Regardless of who is correct, this song is very similar to the Song of the
Sword. It allows the Spirit Howler to summon ancient power into his jaws,
transforming them into a spirit weapon, or worse.

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Obstacles: Ob 1: Spirit Jaws, jaws become a spirit weapon. (This is the

The Way of the Great Wolf

most basic form of this howl. All subsequent forms count as Spirit
Jaws in addition to the howled for power.) Ob 2: Preternatural Jaws,
extra successes add dice to the wolf’s Brawling or Savage Attack skills.
Ob 3: Fox‑Luck, all Brawling, Savage Attack and Speed dice become
open-ended. Ob 4: Jaws of Lightning, +1 to Reflexes for the duration of the
combat. Ob 5: Avalanche, the wolf may double his dice on the Charge.
Duration: Exchanges equal to Will exponent
Actions: 1x obstacle

Grandfather’s Song Ancestral Taint

This powerful and dangerous song allows the wolf to take on the traits of the
very spirits he hunts. The danger in this howl is that it brings the wolf closer
to joining Great Grandfather in the spirit realms. Grandfather’s Song causes
the Ancestral Taint to spread more quickly.
This is the most difficult song, and within it there are four separate tones: Silent
Voice, Spirit Unseen, Celestial Sight and Spirit Nature.

Howl for Silent Voice

Obstacle: 2 Actions: 1 Duration: Hours equal to Will
Effect: While under the spell’s power, the wolf may speak directly to the minds
of those within his presence.

Howl for Spirit Unseen

Obstacle: 3 or 5 Actions: 3 Duration: Hours equal to Speed
Effect: The Spirit Hunter disappears from mortal sight. This Ob 3 ability
grants +1D to Stealthy plus additional advantage dice for each success
over the obstacle. The Ob 5 version of Spirit Unseen allows Stealthy to
work on normal and magical sight and negates all forms of Observation,
imposing unskilled penalties on observers.

Howl for Celestial Sight

Obstacle: 4 Actions: 4 Duration: Hours equal to Perception
Effect: The Spirit Hunter sees as the spirits do. Combined with his Spirit Ears
and Spirit Nose traits, this puts the Spirit Hunter’s senses entirely within the
realm of the spirits. See the Celestial Sight trait in the Monstrous Trait list.

Howl for Spirit Nature

Obstacle: 7 Actions: 5 Duration: Hours equal to Forte
Effect: The wolf may walk as the spirits do. Time does not affect him so
greatly, nor does gravity or other earthly bonds. Shade shift the wolf’s
Speed one step to the right. Also, the wolf cannot be burned by mortal fire
or cold, and mortal weapons do not harm him.

Primal Bark Will

This ferocious and formidable bark comes from deep within the wolf.
Channeling the essence of his snarls and barks, the wolf speaks as Great
Grandfather once did. Roll the wolf’s skill versus the Spirit’s Strength. If
the wolf wins the test, the spirit is abjured and driven off. It will not return

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while the wolf remains in its domain. If used against a named spirit, the
obstacle is equal to the victim’s Will. Success means the creature must pass
a Steel test.
If used against a creature of non-Spirit Nature, Primal Bark causes a Steel
test. Test the skill against an obstacle equal to the victim’s Will. Successes
over the obstacle increase hesitation by one each. Any animal forced to
hesitate from this bark will break and “Run Screaming.” Characters may
choose their own fate as per the standard Steel test results.
The Primal Bark is impossibly loud and penetrating. It can be heard over
a great distance—for dozens of miles on a quiet night. The sound of it will
summon forth any Spirit Hunters in the vicinity, who will come to the aid of
their brethren.
Duration: Instantaneous
Actions: 2

Ghosts of the Deeping Wood

Ghosts know the truth. What the Spirit Hunters fail to acknowledge
is the superiority of their great heritage over all others—humans and
Elves included. Great Grandfather was not merely the first hunter to
prowl the first forest; it was he who created the world and all its forests,
rivers and valleys. He is much older than the benighted Spirit Hunters
dream—not merely Grandfather, but the one true ancient creator.

The Great Ancient took his most wayward son and gave to him these most
precious gifts, which have been passed down from last wolf to last wolf
since the dawn of time. It isn’t merely a privilege to speak this magic, it
is a wolf’s right.

In order to become a Ghost of the Deeping Woods, a wolf must forsake

the pack and all that it entails. He must go alone into the world and
seek not a mate, but empty and forlorn places. He must wander lost
and hopeless, listening to the speech of the brook and the song of the
wind—the nature of the world and its great history whispered across the
backs of snowy pines.

Once he has given himself over to the truth of the world, a shadeling
voice comes to him and brings light to his gloaming eyes. Some say it is
the Great Ancient himself who comes and teaches his pups. Others say
it is the forest and ravens commanded thusly by the Ancient. Still others
believe in the power of the unseen Dire Haunt choosing his pupil and
imparting him with fevered knowledge.

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Dire Haunts

The Way of the Great Wolf

Among wolves, Dire Haunts are seen as tricksters and troublemakers.
Among humans, they are considered terrible and frightening creatures
who lurk in the deep woods and lure the lost to their graves.

A Dire Haunt learns the skill known as the Tongue of the Ancient One.
This is the equivalent of Sorcery and is governed by the same rules.

Wolves who start with the Tongue of the Ancient One skill may choose
from the following spells: Ancient Grip (10 rps), Blue-Blooded Heart
(8 rps), Chameleon (16 rps), Dark of Night (12 rps), The Fear (6 rps),
Grey Cloak (8 rps), High Speech (as Low Speech, replace “Dogs” with
humans, Orcs and Elves; 8 rps), Howl Caster (as Voice Caster, 8 rps),
Trackless Path (12 rps), Water Walker (10 rps) and Witch Flight (6 rps).

New Dire Haunt Spells

Ancient Grip Ob 2-5 Ob x1 Actions
The Ghost of the Woods calls upon the strength of roots, branches, blades
and vines to reach forth and pull down the unwary and weak. Ensorcelling
grass and brush, Ob 2; vines and hangers, Ob 3; small branches and
saplings, Ob 4; large thick branches, Ob 5.
If the spell is successfully cast, the flora will do the bidding of the wolf as
best as they are able. They will carry or retrieve objects, close off paths or
even subdue an opponent. Test the victim’s Power versus that of the spell.
The Power of the spell is equal to the caster’s Will exponent modified like so:
-1D for grass; no bonus/penalty for vines; +1D for branches; +2D for large or
thick branches. The weapon length for each type of flora is as follows: Grass
is shortest, vines are short, small branches are long, and large branches are
longer.
The spell can affect all those in the wolf’s presence, should he so desire. Roll
separate Power tests for each victim.
Origin: Caster Area of Effect: Presence
Element: Earth Impetus: Control
Duration: Sustained Resource Points: 10

Trackless Path Ob 3^ 4 Actions

When ensorcelled with this spell, the traveler leaves no trace of his passage.
Success adds a +1 Ob penalty to anyone attempting to track or stalk this
wolf. Each success over the obstacle increases the penalty by one.
Origin: Presence Area of Effect: Caster or Single Target
Element: Earth Impetus: Influence
Duration: Sustained Resource Points: 12

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Fell Ancients
Fell Ancients know the Great Ancient’s deepest secrets. They speak
directly to the land and sky, and command it to their will. Fell Ancients
are taught the Ancient Ways. This is the equivalent of the Spirit Binding
skill in every respect.

Fell Ancients consider themselves the guardians of the packs. Though

viewed quite superstitiously by their benighted brethren, they believe it
is their duty to aid the packs as the Great Ancient would have. Thus, in
this capacity, they calm storms, abate the snow and wind, clear paths
and even curb the wildfires that erupt in dry summers—all so that the
packs might flourish and another one who bears the mark might journey
forth into the deeping wood and take up his ancestral role.

Packs and Pups

With their limited resources, players may purchase pups, pack mates and
friends for their wolf characters. These wolves hunt and travel with the
player-character wolf. Additional contacts from outside of the pack may
be purchased. Wolf relationships may be powerful, important or minor,
as per the rules in the Burning Wheel.

Pack Affiliations
Wolves think in packs. Beyond any other division, this is the most
important. Wolves from very different backgrounds can come together
in one pack and they’ll treat each other as family. On the other hand,
wolves from different packs are subject to suspicion, mistrust or even
violence. The value of affiliations is slightly different than that of the
civilized world. Use the following as a guide:

Cost Pack Wolves

5 rps Wild 3-5 wolves
7 rps Legion 4-6 wolves
15 rps Spirit 2-4 wolves
20 rps Ghost 2-3 wolves

You may only purchase an affiliation if you took a lifepath from that
setting during character burning. Purchased affiliations start at 1D, and
can only be increased before play through traits like Dominant. In play,
they are increased per the normal rules. Higher level affiliations indicate
your power within the pack, not necessarily the size or power of the pack.

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This is different than the standard affiliation rules, as wolf culture is not

The Way of the Great Wolf

analogous to human culture.

Pack Mates
A wild pack consists of an Aunt or Uncle, one or two Dominants, a
Hunter, a Yearling or two if the pack is healthy and a Last Wolf if the
pack is large. But the most important members of the pack are the pups.

Pups
The most precious resource of any pack is the pup. Without pups, the
pack cannot survive. When the pups are born in the spring, the entire
pack devotes its energies to hunting for them and nursing them to
maturity. A Great Wolf pup does not reach full maturity until he is two
years old, but by the end of the first year, he is usually strong enough
to fend for himself.

A pup is two to eight months old and cannot travel far or hunt for
itself. You must take care of it until it reaches adulthood. If it does so,
it can become a new pack member, a possible mate or a deadly enemy.

Wolf Friends
Raven
Wolves may purchase a raven as a traveling companion. This is a
single raven who travels with the wolf.

Dog or Lesser Wolf

Occasionally a dog or lesser wolf will be inducted into a pack and
allowed to hunt with them awhile. Even more rarely, a lone Great Wolf
will adopt a lesser wolf or dog to accompany him on his long treks.

Reputation
Certain wolves are known amongst the packs, ravens and herds as
prodigious hunters and masters of their realm. Some wolves are so well
known that their fame spills even from the lips of humans and Orcs.
Certain wolves are utterly infamous among their own kind—Ghosts and
Spirit Hunters are especially reviled.

Territory
Great wolves do not own territory in the way that humans, Elves, Orcs,
etc. view it. For wolf packs, they occupy territory and hunt on it. They
defend good hunting ground from interlopers, but they’ll also move on
if hunting goes bad or if a bigger, more powerful pack moves in.

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To determine your starting territory, roll on the following table, modified

by your chosen lifepaths.

Roll Hunting Ground Penalty/Bonus

2 Waste +2 Ob Pack Hunting
3-6 Marginal hunting grounds +1 Ob/+1D special
7-9 Typical hunting grounds —
10-11 Plentiful hunting grounds +1D Pack Hunting
12 Untouched Old World See below

Last Lifepath Setting Penalty/Bonus

Legion, Captive, Outcast -1 category
Wild —
Wild Dominant +1 to roll
Spirit Hunter +1 category
Ghost of the Deeping Wood +2 categories

From the Margins

Waste hunting grounds indicate ill force has befouled the land: a passing
army, a polluting city or an ancient curse. There’s little to be found there.

Marginal hunting grounds means that your pack hunts on the margins of
another culture. Perhaps the Orc Legions are encamped nearby or you’re
hunting through the farms and forests surrounding a human city. If you
respect the boundaries of the other culture, Pack Hunting is done at a +1
Ob penalty. If you do not and you hunt those who share your grounds,
take a +1D bonus to Pack Hunting. You do not decide during character
burning; you may decide on a case-by-case basis when hunting in play.
In addition, Foraging tests suffer the +1 Ob penalty but Scavenging gains
the +1D bonus. But be warned, hunting your neighbors is a way to make
enemies and earn reprisals.

The untouched Old World is a rare and precious hunting ground. In the
Old World, meat practically walks into your mouth. Once per season, the
pack need not hunt at all, as they make an easy kill or gorge on forage.
However, the Old World must remain in balance. As the result of a failed
test, the GM may introduce a creature of the Old World (a dragon, a
demon, a Fell Ancient, etc.) that occupies the pack’s territory and scares
away all prey until it is either driven off or negotiated with.

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Hunt the World The Way of the Great Wolf

Great Wolf territories tend to range for hundreds, if not thousands, of
square miles. Obviously, the pack does not occupy that whole territory at
all times. They’ll range from den to den, making kills and raising pups.
Should they find evidence of trespasses—carcasses, spoor, etc.—they’ll
hunt down the interlopers and see them off.

Sketch the pack’s territory onto your world map. Where are its dens?
What does it hunt?

The territory rules work best in an all-Great Wolf game, or at least one
predominated by wolves. If you’re playing wolves from more than one
background, roll up the various territories and then choose the one that
best suits your situation, campaign and world.

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Barding, Collars and Spikes

Wolves or Orcs whose last lifepath is in the Black Legion are allowed to
purchase wolf armor and weapons, if they so choose.

Wolf Barding Locations Dice Cost

Leather chanfron Head and Face 1D 3 rps
Metal chanfron Head and Face 2D 15 rps
Stiff leather collar Neck 1D 2 rps
Reinforced leather body armor Breast, Body, Rump 2D 6 rps
Light mail body armor Breast, Body, Rump 3D 24 rps
Leather greaves and cuissarts Fore or Hind Legs 1D 2 rps
Metal greaves and cuissarts Fore or Hind Legs 2D 15 rps

Clumsy Weight for Wolf Armor

Armor Type Penalty
Leather chanfron +1 Ob Perception
Metal chanfron +1 Ob Perception, hunting, tracking
Stiff leather collar —
Reinforced leather body armor +1 Ob Health, Forte and Stealthy
Light mail body armor +2 Ob Health, Forte and Stealthy
Leather greaves and cuissarts -1D Speed
Metal greaves and cuissarts -1D Speed and Agility
Blades and Claws +1 Ob Speed and Agility

Not-So-Defensive Weapons
These weapons are built into wolf armor. Your wolf must wear the
appropriate armor to be fitted with the weapon. The cost of the armor
and weapon modification are listed with each entry below.

Spiked Collars
Spiked collars protect the wolf’s neck from being grabbed. Increase all
obstacles to Lock a wolf wearing a spiked collar by +1 Ob.

Spiked collars are an upgrade to stiff leather collars. They cost 3 rps.

Spiked and Studded Armor

You can fit your wolf barding with spikes and studs. Spiked and
studded armor causes a +1 Ob penalty to any bite, claw or bare-fisted
attack made against the wolf.

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Spikes and studs also make great hand holds. Anyone attempting to

The Way of the Great Wolf

Lock, Push or Throw a beast so adorned gains a +1D advantage.

Spiked leather armor costs 8 rps. Spiked mail costs 30 rps.

Blades and Claws

You can fit your greaves and cuissarts with special steel blades. Doing
so enables you to slash and cut with your limbs when pressed: Pow 1,
Add 1, VA –, WS 1, Shortest weapon. +1D when attacking a Locked
opponent or when Locked yourself.

Leather greaves fitted with blades and claws cost 4 rps. Metal greaves
mounted with blades and claws costs 20 rps.

Wolf Tactics
Whether they are bringing down hoofed prey, subduing a wayward
pack member or killing a stray wolf of an opposing pack, fighting is
commonplace in any wolf’s life. Great Wolves have a particular way
they engage in combat.

They prefer to fight in packs but do not have to do so. If at all possible,
a wolf will attempt to gain on his opponent with stealth and attack from
surprise. If spotted, the wolf will lock eyes with his enemy and attempt
to intimidate him into running. If the quarry does break, the prowling
wolf will instantly leap to the pursuit, taking his opponent down with a
savage bite to the midriff or head, if possible.

If quarry does not break from intimidation, a pack of wolves will attempt
to encircle it and harry its flanks. If it doesn’t run, then they are usually at
a standoff. Great Wolves hunt massive prey—huge caribou and moose that
could easily smash them with their sharp hooves and deadly horns. It is
imperative that the wolves catch them on the run, when they are vulnerable.

When fighting against long weapons, a wolf must close quickly and knock
its quarry down, preventing use of the blade and shaft. When confronting
the bow (or worse, crossbow, gun or spell), a wolf must use cunning and
stealth to bring down its opponent. Without armor or range, a wolf is
quite vulnerable to the concerted efforts of those loosing shaft and spell.
Before risking all on a rush, consider other options. Is this the day for this
fight? Can it be conducted at a better time and place of your choosing?
Perhaps patience will win the day when strength and speed cannot.

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Wolves in Play
When envisioning these wolves, think The Jungle Book, Animal Farm
and Princess Mononoke.

The easiest use of a Great Wolf in play is as a mount for an Orc. One
player can undertake the role of both characters, or one can play the
Orc and the other can play the wolf. It’s important to remember that
these wolves are not mundane animals. These mounts argue with their
masters, offer advice and even kill their riders should they grow enraged
or frustrated. So, compromise or a whip is recommended.

Dark Friends also make great additions to an Orc Servant of the Dark
Blood campaign. Also, adding a Great Wolf Shadow Chaser to an Orc
band can add depth to the group.

On the non-Orc side of the coin, wolves make full and rich characters.
They usually enter play with a goodly amount of skill and stat points,
though limited in experience. This strong base allows for fast expansion
and development.

Though not as tough as a heavily armed and armored warrior, a Great

Wolf is a terrifying opponent in combat. However, some caution should
be taken in this arena. Wolf characters are vulnerable—one good shot
usually takes one down. Thus, stealth and cunning are more in order
than brute strength.

Lone Wolves and Scavengers make interesting additions to any party

and they come replete with dark secrets and back-story—elements that
fuel interesting play! The above suggestions usually play out best with
a four or five lifepath character.

Spirit Hunters and Ghosts are potent individuals but notably more limited
in scope than a Sorcerer or Sword Singer. With five lifepaths, these
characters are just beginners—most skills, spells and songs will be learned
in play. Six or seven lifepaths gives them a solid foundation of skills, but
the stats do start to suffer at that point.

It should be noted, though, that the Fell Ancient’s ability to summon and
bind nameless spirits is not to be underestimated. A clever player can
make much of such power! Lastly the Spirit Hunter howl, Grandfather’s
Song, is possibly the most powerful character-affecting spell in the game.

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Monstrous Trait List
This chapter contains a collection of new traits from the lifepaths
in this book. This list does not contain traits in Burning Wheel
Gold (neither does it contain the references to those traits). If you
cannot find a trait, look in Burning Wheel Gold before writing me
an angry letter.

Char=Character Trait
Character traits are quirks or appearance-based traits. They are
self-explanatory—the name usually says it all. Therefore descriptions
are not included. All character traits cost one point.

C-O=Call-On
The C-O abbreviation is short for “call-on.” Call-ons allow for rerolls
or they can break ties. Call-ons cost two points and up.

Dt=Die Trait
Dt is short for die trait. Die traits modify stats, skills, attributes,
limitations, restrictions and even other traits. They can also grant
special abilities. They cost one point or more.

Common Traits
Dark Elves, Roden, Trolls and Great Wolves all come with a suite of
common traits. These traits are free and obligatory for characters
of the respective stock. Common traits may not be purchased. They
may be voted off in play.

Restrictions
In general, the traits in this list are available for purchase by any
character—Dwarf, Elf, Great Wolf, human, Orc, Roden or Troll. If
you want your human urchin to have two tentacles, pay the four
points and enjoy. Some lifepath traits are made available here for
general consumption, but note that these can’t be purchased by
characters of that stock. Those characters need to get them through
the appropriate lifepath. Common traits cannot be purchased.

Certain special traits will be restricted to a specific stock, and may

only be purchased if your character is of the correct origin.

Others traits are restricted to their source lifepath only. These traits
will list no price and state “X lifepath trait.”

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A
Acquisitive Char Amulet Bound Dt 8 pts
This creature’s spirit resides trapped
Aecer’s Likeness Dt in an amulet. If its body is destroyed
Roden claim they were created in the its spirit returns safely to the amulet.
image of their god, Aecer. Covered in
The amulet-bound can inhabit a new
short fur, they bear large ears and long
body if one is provided. Transferring
tails. Their elongated feet are thickly
the spirit requires a Minor Miracle
padded, making shoes unnecessary.
or a body separated from it’s soul
Pronounced incisors curve down from
through the Living Death ritual.
their extended snouts.
Obviously, this may require the
Restrictions: Roden common trait
assistance of your factotum.
Addled Char If the amulet is worn while
inhabited by the spirit, the spirit
Alarmist Dt 2 pts may communicate with the bearer.
Deputies aren’t necessarily cowards,
If the amulet is destroyed while
but they know the best way to
the spirit is inhabiting it, the
deal with trouble is to bring in
spirit is also destroyed­—unless the
reinforcements—fast! “Shout when
amulet-bound possesses the Spirit
surprised or hesitating” must be
Nature trait. In that case, the spirit
added as an additional fourth Instinct.
is released from the amulet and
Albino Dt 3 pts becomes a spooky ghost.
This Roden has white fur, pink
Ancestral Taint Dt
eyes and is sensitive to sunlight.
Spirit Hunters are said to be
The Albino suffers +2 Ob to all
the chosen ones of the Great
Inconspicuous tests and carries an
Grandfather—selected to take up his
infamous reputation among Roden.
eternal struggle against the spirits,
Combine this infamous reputation
speech-twisters and demons that
with other appropriate similar ones.
seek to overcome wolf-kind. Once a
Restrictions: Roden only
wolf begins to sing the howls of the
Always in the Way Char Spirit Hunters, he grows closer to the
Great Grandfather; in fact he begins
Amoeboid Dt 5 pts to take on a bit of the ancient wolf’s
Your body has been transformed essence. The more the Spirit Howler
into a roiling mass of translucent sings the ancient songs, the more
cytoplasm. You no longer have limbs the Taint grows within him. See the
or a mouth. Instead you propel Ancestral Taint rules in the Spirit
yourself and feed with pseudopods Hunter section for more on this.
projected from your body. To feed, Restrictions: Great Wolfs only
you surround something with your
Ancient Terror Dt 6 pts
pseudopods and then liquefy it with
Ancient fear rolls off this wolf in
fluid-filled vesicles in the walls of
waves. Add +2D to Intimidation tests.
your membrane. Your stride is 1.
Assistant Pig-Keeper Char

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The Monstrous Trait List

Bellowing C-O 4 pts Blood Lust Dt 3 pts
The sound of this Troll’s voice is This creature cannot refrain from
unimaginably loud. Use as a call-on feeding when it hungers. It simply
for Intimidation and Command. must have blood. Blood Lust is
transferred to its victims, who will
Berzerker Dt 3 pts
crave blood—in the form of meat—
When this Troll fails a Steel test while they live. So powerful is this
or suffers a wound (that he can lust that, when they die, they rise
feel—Numb and Dead to Pain work from the grave and walk the earth
against this trait), the monster as revenants in search of blood.
immediately and automatically
shifts into aggressive stance. There Blood Thirsty C-O 2 pts
is no hesitation. While enraged he A Carnivore’s blood runs hot, and
will (and must) attack any living he is quick to anger. He relies on
(or seemingly living) thing around confrontation to deal with most
him—starting with that which just problems. Call-on for Intimidation.
hurt/enraged him. He then moves on He must enter combat in aggressive
to the next closest target, friend or stance.
foe. The Troll remains in aggressive
stance even if he sprints. The rage Boor Char
lasts for exchanges equal to 10 Bull Trolls have forceful
minus the character’s Will exponent. personalities, perhaps verging on the
barest of leadership qualities, but
If the monster is already in
mitigated by ill moods, bad jokes
aggressive stance when the above
and a predilection for overbearing
conditions are met, he spends two
violence.
actions roaring and bellowing
(which count as an Intimidation test Brass Skin Dt 9 pts
against his opponents). Brass Skin is equivalent to plated
mail armor covering the whole body.
Black Nails Dt
Trolls typically have massive, craggy Brook No Fools Dt 7 pts
claws used for digging and tearing. The spirit binder’s art is not
They don’t often use their claws as something to be trifled with!
a weapon, favoring the use of their His secrets are well kept because
stony fists to subdue prey. However meddling fools will only cause
if a Troll has another character in irreparable harm to themselves
a Lock and chooses to do damage and the domains with which they
(rather than increase the Lock), tamper. A spirit binder with this
add +1 Power to the damage of the trait receives a fate point every time
attack due to the claws gouging into he rebuffs an offer of help from a
the victim. potential student (so that character
Restrictions: Troll common trait does not earn a test toward learning
the skill). He receives a persona
point when he actively thwarts

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 The Burning Wheel Codex
another character from learning Bull-Legged Dt 4 pts
the secrets of Spirit Binding, In place of his clawed feet, this Troll
Summoning or Circination. possesses a pair of bony hooves that
give him a kicking weapon (Pow 1,
Brute Dt 4 pts
VA 1, WS 1). The Troll also walks
This troll is so tough (or alternately,
with a distinctive gait and makes
stupid) that he doesn’t know
quite a racket when treading on
when to give up. When taking die
hard surfaces. Any Speed or Stealthy
penalties from wounds, mental stats
tests made while on stone, ice or
do not count for the purposes of
really hard, smooth wood are at a
incapacitation.
+1 Ob. (May not be combined with
Restrictions: Trolls only
Webbed Fingers and Toes.)

Bully Char

C
Cautious Char Changeling Coat Dt 3 pts
This wolf was born to be a trickster.
Celestial Sight Dt 8 pts His coat shifts patterns and colors
Those with Celestial Sight do not at will. Add +1D to Stealthy and
see as mortals do. No visible light Inconspicuous tests.
affects their eyes. Instead, their Restrictions: Characters with fur
vision is confined to the realm
of auras. They see the pure auric Cilia Dt/C-O 5 pts
emanations given off by life, arcana You are covered in a mass of
and ephemera. flowing, waving, hair like
appendages. These cilia keep you
Celestial Sight is an improved
free of debris, move food from one
version of Second Sight or the
part of your body to your mouth
spell Magesense. These abilities
and even aid in swimming. Cilia
show a cloudy, distorted window
are used as a call-on for Speed
to the other side, whereas Celestial
tests when swimming. They are
Sight sees clearly and without
also disgusting and disturbing to
impediment.
anyone without them and cause the
With this trait, one can see the owner to always suffer penalties to
auras of spellcraft. The obstacle to Inconspicuous and +1 Ob to other
detect a spell cast is 6 minus the social skill tests (except Intimidation
spell obstacle. If the Ob is zero, the and Ugly Truth).
spell is seen outright. Celestial Sight
grants the ability to use the Aura Clawed Dt 3 pts
Reading skill. Lastly, Celestial Sight The Clawed trait produces hard,
counts as Observation and suffers no elongated fingernails that can be
obstacles for darkness. Weather can used as tools or weapons. Pow 1,
affect Celestial Sight, though. Add 2, VA -, WS X, Shortest.
Restrictions: Roden and Trolls only

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Club Tail Dt 2 pts Communal Dt

The Monstrous Trait List

This tail is thicker and stiffer than Roden prefer the company of others
most. It can be a surprising weapon and safety in numbers. They live
during a melee. Pow 2, Add 2, VA – in close-knit villages made up of
WS 2, Long. May not be combined large extended families and refer
with Whip Tail. to their homes as “nests.” It is quite
Restrictions: Characters with tails only rare to find one alone, and usually
such loners are exiles. All Roden
Clumsy Walker Char start with a 1D affiliation with their
family nest. Name the nest and its
Coat of Darkness Dt 5 pts
location.
Some of those Below have adapted
Restrictions: Roden common trait
almost supernaturally to the dark.
When attempting to move unseen in Compassionate Char
areas of darkness and shadow, this
fur adds +2D to the roll. May not be Confusing Rant Dt 9 pt
combined with Fur of the Fields. Pinkies are a bit “off” in their
Restrictions: Characters with fur thinking and tend to be socially
awkward. People who speak to
Coat of Fur C-O one often come away dazed by
All Roden have a short coat of fur. a bombardment of trivia, non
While Field Roden coloration ranges sequiturs and bad jokes. During a
from sawdust to chocolate, those Duel of Wits, this trait grants the
Below tend to be dark brown, gray character +3D to Incite. The only
or black. Roden fur offers them hesitation option is to “Stand and
protection from the elements. They Blink.” All attempts to Intimidate
can withstand rain and cold with or Command a character with
little worry. This trait acts as a call- Confusing Rant are at +2 Ob. Also,
on for Health or Forte tests related to Ranters are at a +2 Ob to all Oratory
weather or wet. and Rhetoric tests.
Restrictions: Roden common trait
Corpse Bound Dt 8 pts
Cocky Char
This creature is a restless ghost who
stalks the lands of the living. It is
Cold Dt
anchored to this world by its former
In a Duel of Wits where kindness,
body. Use the creature’s stats as they
compassion, Grief or passion are
were in life.
involved, the Eremite may double
his Will for the purposes of the body The spirit can be banished, driven
of argument. This effect can be off or even wounded but cannot
triggered mid-conflict, increasing be completely destroyed until its
the Eremite’s body of argument corpse is. If forced to take refuge in
immediately. its corpse, the spirit will re-emerge
Restrictions: Dark Elf lifepath trait in days equal to 10 minus Will
exponent.

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Destroying the corpse requires Crystalline Spines Dt 3 pts
either a Minor Miracle or a remedy A growth of crystalline spines
discovered through Folklore. If the sprouts from the back and shoulders
corpse is destroyed the spirit is also of this Troll. The spines are sharp
destroyed. to the touch and break off and
lodge themselves in the flesh of the
Corrupted Dt 3 pts
unwary, causing great discomfort.
This character has opened his body
Any creature that grapples or
and soul to the dark powers. He
otherwise comes into contact with
must open the Corrupted emotional
the Troll’s spines suffers +1 Ob to all
attribute. Increase his starting rank
tests until the spines are removed.
by one.
This takes effect if the Troll grapples
Council of Mages Dt 6 pts you, too. The penalty is cumulative
The Council of Mages is a small, for each contact.
secretive, yet powerful entity. Spines can be plucked out in about
This trait grants a 1D reputation a half hour. If the Surgery or Field
and a 1D affiliation with this Dressing skill is used, they can be
organization. This combines with treated in the time it takes to tend to
other appropriate reputations and a Superficial wound.
affiliations. If the troll is forced onto his back—if
he falls or is pushed—it is possible
Creepy Char that the spines are crushed and
flattened. Roll the die of fate. On
Crushing Jaws Dt
a 1 the spines are crushed and
Great Wolves have powerful jaws
unusable. It takes about a month for
honed into deadly hunting weapons.
the crystals to regrow. (They always
Crushing Jaws: Pow 3, Add 2, VA 1,
regrow.)
WS 3, Short. When using the Savage
Attack skill, the wolf can choose the Cult Leader Dt 8 pts
Lock and Strike action. Cult Leaders are charismatic and
Restrictions: Great Wolf common trait eccentric. This trait grants a 1D
reputation and 1D affiliation with
the Death Cult. This combines with
other appropriate reputations and
affiliations.

D-E
Dead to Pain Dt 6 pt Death Addicted Dt 3 pts
Ignore the effects of Superficial This character is addicted to a
and Light wounds. Reduce Midi, substance. If presented with the
Severe and Traumatic wound substance, the character will
penalties by -1D to -1D, -2D and -3D automatically consume it unless he
respectively. Increase all touch- and or she passes a Steel test. If denied
empathy-based obstacles by +2. the substance for more than a few
hours, the character suffers a +1

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Ob penalty until reacquainted with Disfigured Dt 3 pts

The Monstrous Trait List

the source of his or her addiction. If This character has led a life of
denied for a longer period of time, hardship and pain. He’s been cut up,
take a -1D blanket penalty to all broken and beaten down. This trait
stats and skills. grants +1D to shrug off or grit teeth
for any injury.
Deceptive C-O/Dt
The Deceptive trait acts as a call-on Dissent Parasite Dt 5 pts
for Sleight of Hand and Falsehood. This trait allows its owner to earn
However this trait so infuses the one persona point for every conflict
liar, he has a hard time telling the that he instigates between ostensible
truth. Deceptive also incurs a +1 Ob allies.
penalty to all Oratory, Command
tests and +2 Ob to Ugly Truth or Dominant Dt
Litany of Fools. There are only ever two Dominants
in a pack: a male and female pair.
Restrictions: Dark Elf common trait
These two serve as the mother and
Deep Fur Dt father of the group, guiding them to
Heavy and thick fur protects Great new hunting grounds and producing
Wolves against the cold of their harsh more offspring to strengthen and
environment. They can tolerate expand the pack. This trait grants
extremely cold temperatures, whereas a 1D affiliation with a pack and a
extended times of hot weather tend 1D reputation within that pack as
to agitate them. This trait allows a Dominant. This trait compounds
the wolf to ignore penalties and tests with other similar, appropriate
relating to cold weather. However, affiliations and reputations.
extended time in hot weather causes Restrictions: Great Wolf lifepath trait
+1 Ob to all tests.
Dumb Char
The color of a wolf’s pelt can range
from pure white to black, from Earth Blood Dt 3 pts
mottled gray to brown, from sandy No matter how badly wounded, this
to even reddish and ochre. Troll will always heal. Cuts will
Restrictions: Great Wolf common trait close, bones will knit and even lost
Defensive Char limbs will regrow. This Troll can
never fail a Health test for Recovery
Demented Char (though he can roll poorly, in which
case maximum healing time is
Devourer Dt 3 pts required for the wound to close).
This Troll eats anything—soil, The only way to destroy this beast is
stone, wood, metal and flesh. He is to put him to the fire.
indiscriminate in his choices and
in fact cannot help himself from
Enemy of the Sun Dt 4 pts
The greatest, most fearsome of
sampling his surroundings. Add +1
Trolls have been bred to resist the
VA to bite attacks.
burning rays of the sun. They may
travel by day and not be turned to

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stone as with the Night Blooded opponents if the situation becomes
trait. Enemies of the Sun do not desperate. Pow 1, Add 2, VA –,
suffer penalties for dim or twilit WS 2, Shortest.
light, but they can no longer see in Restrictions: Roden common trait
complete darkness (+4 Ob in pitch
Enlarged Venom Sacs Dt 2 pts
dark). This trait replaces the Night
This creature carries three doses of
Blooded trait.
poison in its venom sacs. The poison
Enlarged Incisors Dt refills at the rate of one dose per two
Roden incisors grow continually days.
through life and need to be filed
regularly. These incisors are quite
Evil Char
sharp and can be used to bite
Extra-Long Fur Char

F-G
Fangs Dt Femme Fatale/
A Troll’s mouth is a mass of Homme Fatal C-O 2 pts
misshapen teeth and fangs. He may Call-on for Seduction.
bite. Pow 1, Add 2, VA –, WS: 2,
Feral Dt 1 pt
Shortest.
Wastrels lose themselves to their
Restrictions: Troll common trait
animal instincts, living for decades
Fast Reflexes Dt 6 pts at a time without contact with
Increase Reflexes by one over the civilization—living as animals
normal factoring from stats. do. The Feral trait reduces overall
hesitation by one, but adds +1 Ob
Faust Dt 3 pts
to all social skill tests. Also, Feral
When bargaining with the higher negates the bonus to Circles from
powers for something pure and any Elven lifepath trait such as
innocent like love, gain a bonus Etharchal, Lord of Ages, etc.
persona point for each agreement Restrictions: Elves only
you strike on the behalf of the one
you seek to protect or affect. Fiery Char

Feared Dt 5 pts Filthy Char

For good reason or not, this
character is feared by all who know Force of Nature Dt 7 pts
him. +1D to Intimidation. Choose a This entity is tied into the very
1D infamous reputation. fabric of time and tide. His will is a
force of nature. If this entity should
Fearsome Beast C-O 2 pts ever lose a Duel of Wits against a
There is an odd and unsettling air being of equal or lesser stature,
about this wolf—something very old he receives a minor compromise
and frightening. Use this trait as a in addition to the compromise
call-on for Intimidation. determined by the state of his
opponent’s body of argument.

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Formidable Bark C-O 2 pts Good Listener C-O 5 pts

The Monstrous Trait List

The voice of this wolf is strong and This character seems to pay
clear. It easily pierces the dense attention to and understand what
woods and cuts through dampening people say. This encourages others
fog. Use this trait as a call-on for to continue speaking and open up
Howling and Command. to him. This trait may be used as
a call-on for Haggling, Persuasion
Fragrant Char and Seduction.

Frost Coat C-O 2 pts Gopher Char

The pelt of this wolf is glittering
ice. Use this trait as a call-on for Graduate Dt 3 pts
Stealthy when stalking the tundra This trait grants a 1D affiliation
and arctic wastes. with a College of Magic. This
Restrictions: Characters with fur combines with other appropriate
and applicable affiliations.
Fur Char
A fine, soft fur coat covers the skin. Great Cunning C-O 5 pts
Ebon Tyrants are the Dominants of
Frustrated Char
the vast Black Destroyer packs. More
than just savagery and brutality are
Fur of the Fields Dt 5 pts
required to attain this rank. Great
Roden with this trait have a
Cunning is a necessity. This trait
wondrous coat of fur that allows
acts as a call-on for Strategy, Tactics
them to blend into any field or
and any wise tested for insight.
woodland terrain. When attempting
Restrictions: Great Wolf only
to Stealth in such areas, this fur
adds +2D to the roll. May not be Great Lupine Form Dt
combined with Coat of Darkness. Great Wolves possess the basic form
Restrictions: Roden only common to wolves. They have a
rangy, muscular body set on high
Furtive Char
and powerful legs with large, well-
Genius C-O 3 pts padded feet. They have long snouts
Your every idea is unique and and massive, protruding jaws. Their
brilliant—every plan sure-fire and fur is a crown of coarse guard hairs
flawless. It is only a matter of time supported by a nigh-impermeable
before such brilliance is properly layer of soft underfur. Their most
recognized and rewarded. Genius prominent feature is, of course, their
is a call-on for one non-martial or massive size. Great wolves stand
athletic skill of the player’s choosing. three to five feet at the shoulder, and
can weigh 200-600 lbs.
Ghost Coat C-O 4 pts Great Wolves have a maximum
This wolf’s coat shifts subtly from exponent of 6 for Agility (from their
dark to light, from mottled to plain, lack of hands), while other stat
depending on what land he stalks maximums are 8. Their Stride is 11.
and haunts. Use this for a call-on for
Stealthy in any terrain.
Restrictions: Characters with fur

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 The Burning Wheel Codex
Wolves perform the Charge/Tackle Grotesque C-O 4 pts
action in Fight with a +2D bonus Call-on for Intimidation and
rather than the standard +1D. Conspicuous when displaying your
Restrictions: Great Wolf common trait deformity.

H
Hammer Hands Dt 2 pts Heaving C-O
With hands like great mattocks, this The lowest rung for Troll soldiers
Troll is best suited to brawling and in their great legions is that of the
pummeling. Add +1D to the Troll’s Battering Ram. These massive
Brawling skill for purposes of bare- brutes haul forth great war engines
fisted Block, Strike, Beat and Push to the walls of the citadels of their
actions. The Troll suffers a +1 Ob to enemies and even use their own
any other skill that requires manual bodies to batter down walls. Use this
dexterity (including Throwing and trait as a call-on for Power when
weapons skills). trying to break, smash or knock over
something.
Hand-Shaker C-O 4 pts Restrictions: Troll lifepath trait
The tools of the politician’s trade.
May be used as a call-on for Oratory Hermaphrodite Char
or Persuasion when he’s shaking
hands. Hideous! Dt 2 pts
Add +1 hesitation to all Steel checks
Harried Char caused by this creature.

Hauling C-O 2 pts Higher Power Dt 9 pts

Ox Trolls are the beasts of burden This deity governs over spheres of
in the Troll legions. They haul nature, society and humanity. He
impossible loads for interminable is potent and revered. If this entity
journeys. Use this trait as a call-on should ever lose a Duel of Wits
for Power when pushing, pulling or against a being of equal or lesser
hauling loads. stature, he receives a compromise
Restrictions: Trolls and Great Wolves in addition to the compromise
only determined by the state of his
opponent’s body of argument.
Hazed Dt 2 pts Restrictions: Deity only
This character may take a free
inimical relationship with another Hoarder Char
character who was his senior in the
College of Magic. Hook Hand Dt 4 pts
One of this Troll’s hands has formed
Heartless Dt 6 pts into a massive bony hook. This hook
Reduces hesitation by three for pain, can be used as a weapon: Pow 2,
murder, fear or violence. VA 1, WS 2, Short; may Great
Strike. In fact, it is really too big and
clumsy to be used for anything else.
Restrictions: Trolls only

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Horns Dt 5 pts Howl of Doom Dt

The Monstrous Trait List

Great stony horns protrude from the Before the charge, these beasts
Troll’s skull. In addition to being bombard their opponents with cold
terribly intimidating, they also fear. This wolf can howl and add
serve a somewhat practical purpose. +4D to Intimidation. This howl
When the Troll charges another requires two actions to perform and
creature of relatively similar size, cannot be done on the charge—it
he may choose to add +1D to his must be done beforehand. In Range
Charge Power or to do damage and Cover, it positions with 2D.
on the Charge as if he had been In Fight, it counts as the Longest
simultaneously Striking. Damage weapon.
is Pow 2, VA 2, WS 1. The first two Restrictions: Great Wolf lifepath trait
successes of the Charge attack count
Humble Dt 2 pts
as a superficial wound to the victim.
All are equal before Aecer, and the
Four successes over equals a Mark
wise continually remind themselves
hit. Six over is a Superb hit.
of this fact. 1D reputation among
Horrific Aura Dt 8 pts the faithful as exceptionally humble.
Horrific Aura causes all those within
the creature’s presence to take a
Hungry Dead Char
Steel test with an obstacle penalty
equal to the creature’s Will.

I-L
I Am God Dt 12 pts person. This gives a 1D Reputation
Chief Deities rule over gods, men among the people of a given locale as
and all the creatures of their the wearer of the really impressive
many spheres. Powerful beyond hat, so long as the hat is being worn,
understanding, they are not to be of course. Wearing the hat also
trifled with. If this entity should gives a +2 Ob to any Disguise or
ever lose a Duel of Wits against a Inconspicuous test.
being of equal or lesser stature, Restrictions: Humans only
he receives a major compromise
in addition to the compromise Independent Char
determined by the state of his
opponent’s body of argument. Industrious Char
Restrictions: Deity only
Insidious Cruelty Char
Impersonal Char
Intense Hatred Char
Impressive Hat Dt 3 pts
This character’s hat is mightily
impressive. It can be seen for miles!
It’s so impressive that people often
remember the hat more than the

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Invocations The effects of Lawbreaker extend to

of the Damned C-O 5 pts the limits of the Presence for black
The Dark Priest swears his soul shade Will and 10x Presence for gray
to fell powers. Like other priests, shade Will.
he must have a Belief that ties to
his Faith in order to maintain the Light Touch C-O 2 pts
emotional attribute. If the player The key to a successful “lift” is in
writes a second Belief tied to his the fingers. May be used as a call-on
faith in the dark gods and his for Sleight of Hand.
service to them, he may use this
Low Born Dt 2 pts
trait as a call-on for Faith when that
Low Born characters are born of
Belief comes into question.
unremarkable parents. They cannot
Iron Hide Dt 6 pts trace their lineage to any nobility
This skin is as tough as iron and or to any historic or notable figures.
scaled like a shark. All incoming They have a 1D infamous reputation
damage is reduced by -1 pip on the in noble or elite circles due to their
PTGS: B8 damage would be reduced obvious lack of heritage. It also
to B7, etc. adds a +1 Ob disadvantage to any
Inconspicuous tests in noble or
Large Ears Dt courtly settings.
Roden have large, sensitive ears that
sit atop their heads. These give them Luminescent Dt 2 pts
excellent hearing: +1D to Perception This creature glows with an eerie,
rolls involving hearing. Factor this otherworldly light. It gives off
bonus into Reflexes. illumination equivalent to a candle.
Restrictions: Roden common trait
Lupine Intellect Dt
Late Char Without a doubt, Great Wolves are
intelligent creatures. They possess a
Lawbreaker Dt 8 pts personality and intellect equivalent
There are strict celestial laws that to that of humans and Orcs. Never
govern the presence of otherworldly assume that just because they don’t
creatures in the mortal realm. When live in cities, write with pens or
a Spirit-Natured creature crosses eat with knives, wolves are dumb
over, he is bending those very laws— brutes.
warping the natural order of things. Even so, Great Wolves are not
Thus the creatures are accompanied tool-using creatures. Though
by all manner of bizarre phenomena they understand a great many
as the mortal fabric reacts to their matters, they generally don’t use
presence: Birds sing backward, (or even need) tools to accomplish
windows crack in strange patterns, the tasks in their daily lives. Any
clocks cease to tick, water fails wolf attempting to use tools like
to boil, strange smells rise from hammers, swords or scissors suffers
nowhere, noises and knocks are quadruple obstacle penalties.
heard in the dark and so on. Restrictions: Great Wolf common trait

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M-O

The Monstrous Trait List

Malformed Char trait grants a 2D reputation among
mages and the halls of power as a
Mangy Coat Char Master of Mages.
Restrictions: Human lifepath trait
Mark of the Ancient Dt 5 pts
Some pups are born with the look Meek Char
of the Great Ancient about them.
Such rare wolves are descendants Megalomaniac Dt
from the Ancient, the first wolf who The Visionary is a gift from Aecer
created the world. The packs believe to the mortal world. It is his destiny
such wolves are cursed and destined to lead and shape the future in
for a life of mayhem. This trait is his image. +2D to Conspicuous
required for using the skills Tongue and always add an extra die
of the Ancient One and Ancient when helping or FoRKing with
Ways. Conspicuous.
Restrictions: Great Wolf only Restrictions: Roden lifepath trait

Massive Stature Dt Mesmerizing Gaze Dt 6 pts

Trolls are the definition of Massive Merely glancing at this creature
Stature: barrel-chested, hulking triggers a Steel test. Fools who lock
beasts with long thick limbs and eyes with the creature must make a
shoulders like towering cliffs. The versus Will test. If the creature wins,
largest of their number grow twice the victim either becomes struck
as tall as humans, but even the dumb until the gaze turns away or
smallest adults are rarely less than performs one action at the behest of
seven feet in height. its mesmerizer.
Increase all weapon lengths by one
Misshapen Char
for the Troll.
These great lumbering beasts must Misunderstood Dt 2 pts
have minimum Power and Forte Choose a 1D infamous reputation.
of 4. The maximum exponents And suffer -1 to your body of
for Power and Forte are 9. The argument whenever you’re trying
maximum exponents for Agility and to explain your nature, position,
Speed are 5. Stride is 7. meaning or special insight.
Restrictions: Troll common trait
Mossy Coat C-O 2 pts
Master of Mages Dt Covered in a coat of moss and slime,
The Headmaster of a College of this Troll blends in quite well to
Magic attained his position by forest or earthy surroundings. Call-
rigorous pursuit of excellence and on for Stealthy or Camouflage in
expertise in sorcery and magic. This forest or mines.
Restrictions: Trolls and Wolves only

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Most Holy Dt 5 pts of his life, someone new will come

This character is the living along. This character just attracts
embodiment of the power divine. He these sort of people!
gains +3s to his body of argument You may invest additional resource
in a Duel of Wits involving matters points and increase the value of this
spiritual. However, he has no relationship.
temporal power. Any other character
arguing with him about earthly Night Blooded Dt
matters, philosophy, relationships Nocturnal by nature, Trolls
or money benefits from the Enmity typically shun the sunlight, for it
Clause: +4s to his body of argument will undo the sorcery which gave
against Most Holy. their night-stalking ancestors life.
Exposure to the sun causes the
Naked Char Troll’s stony roots to consume him
Roden with this trait have no fur, and crush him from within.
and their pink skin is laid bare, Restrictions: Troll common trait
though whiskers still poke out from
their muzzles. Sunburn is common
Night Eyed Dt 4 pts
Born of the stuff of night, these
and clothing is required.
creatures can see perfectly well in
Named Dt 5 pts the darkness and suffer no penalties
This creature possesses and knows for nighttime conditions. However,
its true name. When its name is rain and haze do affect them like
spoken, it knows who the speaker is other characters, and bright light
and where he is. imposes a +1 Ob penalty.
Knowledge of a true name grants Restrictions: Troll common trait
the summoner +3D to summon that Oafishly Charming Char
specific spirit and +3D Bargaining
tests or to the body of argument Obedient Char
roll for any Duels of Wits conducted Wolves who are chosen to become
against the creature. Dark Friends tend to be particularly
obedient. While their masters can
Nauseous Char be extremely generous—feeding
their wolves much fresh meat—they
Necrophagic Char
are also extremely violent and
punishing. Rarely do they hesitate
Necrophobic Char
to kill a disobedient wolf. Lastly,
Can’t control the paranoia. Scared
a Dark Friend has an intuitive
to die.
understanding of the powers the
Never Blood Summoners wield—he
a Moment of Peace Dt 3 pts knows the might of success and the
This trait grants the character a 5 calamity of failure. It is far better to
rps relationship. This relationship aid the former and prevent the latter.
must be with a character who is
always bothering or interrupting
him. If that character is forced out

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Odor of Spirits Dt 2 pts Ordained Dt 2 pts

The Monstrous Trait List

This wolf stinks of spirits. The packs This Roden is one of Aecer’s
shun him, and the Spirit Hunters Ordained. He is responsible for
harry him. 1D infamous reputation carrying out the rituals and rites.
and +1 Ob Inconspicuous among Ordained characters are always
the wild packs and legion. Only the treated with respect by the Field
Haunts and Ghosts accept him. Roden. 1D affiliation with the
Restrictions: Great Wolves only Roden faithful.
Restrictions: Roden only
Opportunist Char

P-R
Pack Rat Char Portly Char

Piercing Gaze C-O/Dt 5 pts Pouched Cheeks Dt 2 pts

The eyes of a Ghost of the Deeping These cheeks are wonderfully
Wood burn like glittering coals. This elastic and can be used to carry a
trait is a call-on for Intimidation. surprising amount of fruits, nuts
Also, characters attempting to and vegetables. Consider it feasible
deceive the wolf (using Falsehood, to place up to six apples in each
Persuasion or Soothing Platitudes) cheek. Knives and other sharp
suffer a +1 Ob penalty. Burning objects are carried at the bearer’s
flames flash implacably behind his own risk!
eyes and hint at the terrible fate of Restrictions: Roden only
liars.
Practiced Smile Char
Polite Char
Preternaturally Calm Dt 3 pts
Poltergeist Dt 3 pts Ghosts of the Deeping Wood possess
This creature is ethereal and may a calmness that rivals the most
only affect the physical world serene glade on a starry summer
through an act of Will. If the night. Reduce hesitation by two.
creature wishes to touch, push,
pull, slap, etc., test Will against
Pyromaniac Char
the obstacle rather than Power or
Radula Dt 3 pts
Agility. If a test is failed, Will is
The radula is a primitive hybrid
reduced by the margin of failure.
of the teeth and tongue. It is a
The creature’s physical skills may
muscular, barbed, toothy tongue
also be channeled through its Will.
that is used to grind up food for
Test for the skill as normal. After the
ingestion. It can be used as a weapon
test, test the creature’s Will against
only on Locked opponents: Pow 1,
the obstacle. Will is reduced by
Add 2. VA 1, WS 1, Shortest.
margin of failure. If Will is reduced
to zero, the creature dissipates and Rat Speak Dt 3 pts
may not reform or be summoned for This character can talk to and
months equal to its Will exponent. understand rats and mice.
Restrictions: Spooky ghosts only

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Raven Friend Dt 1 pt When one corpse helps another, it

Wolves and ravens have a special adds helping dice as per usual, but it
relationship. Not only do they aid may not then act on his own.
one another on the hunt—ravens Restrictions: Corpses only
will circle a herd to mark it for
Reclusive Char
wolves, and wolves will allow
ravens to feed at their kills—they Repulsive Blood Dt 2 pts
are also great friends. Wolves and This Troll’s blood is noxious and
ravens enjoy taunting each other caustic. If the Troll should be bitten
and playing endless and dangerous for effect, the horrid liquid runs into
games of tag. This trait grants either the mouth of the attacking creature
a free relationship with a raven or a and causes great discomfort and
1D affiliation with a conspiracy of nausea. Any creature that bites the
ravens. Troll, penetrates his armor and
This trait signifies a wolf who is achieves a Mark result, must make
especially fond of ravens and well an Ob 4 Forte test. Any successes
thought of by the birds. While the missed equal an obstacle penalty
whole pack may play, he is the only that lasts for three exchanges.
pack member who can understand Restrictions: Trolls only
the quacks and squawks of raven
speech.
Rest in Peace Dt
Restrictions: Great Wolves only Spirits who have gone peacefully
to death and whose bodies were
Reanimated Corpse Dt properly sanctified have great
This trait grants the reanimated difficulty returning to and
corpse the Wi B9, Pe B1, Ag B3, communicating with the world of
Sp B3, Po B5, Fo B5 stat line and the living. They cannot use any
eliminates the Health, Resources physical ability or skill to affect
and Circles attributes. These the material world. Those abilities
creatures may not recover from are lost to them. Also, while they
injury. However, neither do they will do whatever is in their power
bleed to death or suffer from any to aid the living, they are reluctant
type of disease or poison. Also, these to undertake any act that will
creatures may advance extant skills, disturb their peaceful rest or get
but they may not learn new skills them kicked out of heaven. When
in play. bargaining with a summoner, spirits
The Reanimated Corpse trait also of the sanctified dead may add +2D
gives the creature the mindless to a social skill. When in a Duel
ability to act in a mob. Up to five of Wits, add +2s to their body of
walking corpses may help each other argument if their opponent’s request
at once with any task, including goes against their better judgment.
dragging down their victims Restrictions: Spooky ghosts only
and eating them (in other words,
positioning and Lock actions).

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 Lists

Revered C-O 4 pts Ridged Brow Dt 3 pts

The Monstrous Trait List

The Abbot or Abbess is a pillar of Protruding out over this Troll’s eyes
piety in the community. May be used is a stony brow like unto a craggy
as a call-on for Oratory or Suasion. cliff. This provides +1D of armor to
the Troll’s head.
Restrictions: Trolls only

Ruthless Char

S
Sadistic C-O 2 pts it cannot be permanently destroyed.
Causing pain and suffering in If dealt a Mortal Wound or if
others is a highly entertaining and incapacitated, the shadow dissipates.
enjoyable pastime. May be used as a It reforms near its dust half in days
call-on for Torture. equal to 10 minus Health.

Saturnine Dt The other aspect of the creature is

If any other player attempts to the dust: a corpse, a vessel of ashes,
influence a character with the a skull or some other relic of a life
Saturnine trait with passion, past. In order to completely destroy
motivation, joy or love, the this creature, the dust must be
Saturnine Dark Elf player gets a dragged into the morning sun and a
+1D advantage to all tests for one Minor Miracle performed on it.
scene when confronting, hunting or
Shadow Coat C-O 2 pts
poisoning that character.
The fur of this wolf is perfectly
Restrictions: Dark Elf lifepath trait
suited to stalking in the shadows of
Scaly Skin Dt 4 pts the woods. Use this trait as a call-
Scaly Skin provides 2D of armor to on for Stealthy when stalking the
the limbs and head, and 3D to the forests and valleys.
chest. This skin cannot “fail” and Restrictions: Characters with fur
become damaged like normal armor:
Sharpened Incisors Dt 4 pts
1s are ignored in this case. VA works
This Roden’s teeth are extra sharp.
as normal against this armor.
Pow 1, Add 2, VA 1, WS X, Shortest.
Restrictions: Trolls only
Restrictions: Roden only
Serious Char Silent C-O 2 pts
Call-on for Stealthy. Silent creatures
Shadow and Dust Dt 9 pts
may not speak above a whisper.
Creatures of Shadow and Dust
have two distinct aspects—a spirit Single-Minded C-O 3 pts
shadow and some material vestige Once a Murderer sets his mind, there
of their former life. The shadow is is very little that can redirect him.
its active and “living” half. It is a Call-on for Steel when “on the job.”
physical manifestation and can be
harmed by steel and fire. However,

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Skittish Dt Speaker of
Roden instinctively fear loud noises the Secret Language Char
and surprises. Increase hesitation by
one for Steel tests caused by fear or
Spines Dt 4 pts
Certain hairs on this creature have
surprise. Hesitation for more than
developed into nettling spines. They
one action indicates the Roden must
are sharp to the touch and can
flee.
Restrictions: Roden common trait lodge themselves in the flesh of the
unwary, causing great discomfort.
Slave No More Dt 4 pts Any creature that grabs, touches or
After life in the cage, you can’t help otherwise comes into bodily contact
but act out against the world that with the spined creature suffers a
has hurt you. Instincts that get you +1 Ob to all tests as the spines lodge
into weird or deep trouble earn a in its flesh. Armor does not protect
persona point instead of a fate point. against this trait. A character
Restrictions: Former slaves or captives must be covered from head to toe,
only including eyes and mouth to be
Slave to the protected.
Power of Death Dt 5 pts Spines can be plucked out with an
This creature is now the servant of Ob 1 Field Dressing or Surgery test.
the sorcerer who evoked his soul. Restrictions: Trolls only
He is no longer alive, but neither is
Spirit Ears Dt 3 pts
he dead. He will not age, grow sick,
Spirit Howlers become attuned to
hunger or sleep. Use the skills the
the spirit world as their Taint grows.
victim had in life. Die and call-on
A wolf with this trait has the ability
traits are lost and replaced with
to hear those of the spirit nature.
those imparted by the Death of
Counts as Observation for detecting
the Spirit process (except as noted
the movements of spirits, demons
under Evocation). Character traits
and other creatures of spirit nature.
are retained. The slave’s stats are
Obstacle to detect spirits is 10 minus
equal to his stats in life, minus any
their Strength. Wolves may use their
dice from injuries sustained at the
Woodland Ear in combination with
time of this death. This condition
this trait but not their Wolf Snout.
overrides conditions from other
Restrictions: Great Wolves only
traits like Corpse Bound.
Restrictions: You must be an undead Spirit Familiar Dt 5 pts
slave to a necromancer This character has a familiar whose
spirit is linked to his own. He can
Soft Step C-O 4 pts
see through the familiar’s eyes
The Sneak Thief walks in a
using the familiar’s Perception stat.
particular fashion, feeling each step
However, when using his familiar’s
before putting his weight on it. May
eyes, a character with this trait
be used as a call-on for Climbing
cannot look through his own though
and Stealthy.
other senses may still be employed.
Solitary Char It takes two actions of concentration
to engage his familiar’s eyes, and

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 Lists

two more actions to return his sight Spirit Hunters. It also grants a 1D

The Monstrous Trait List

to his own eyes. This trait does spirit mark as per the Spirit Binding
not grant Low Speech. However, rules.
the creature does understand its
companion’s wishes and will go Spirit Nature Dt 17 pts

where its master directs it to go, look Creatures with spirit nature are not
at what its master directs it to look of our world and not bound by the
at, etc. laws of our realm.

A character with this trait feels the Time, space and the elements affect
pain of his familiar. If the familiar those with Spirit Nature differently
suffers a light or greater wound, than they do those of mortal nature.
the master suffers a light wound. All surfaces are stable—they may
If the familiar is ever killed, the walk on earth, mud, water or ice
master suffers a traumatic wound. without difficulty. Gravity lays a
In the game, the character is lighter hand on them, and they
physically unharmed, but mentally are able to easily climb (and fly,
traumatized. Recovery and for those with wings). Give +2D to
Treatment are as per a standard appropriate skills and stats when the
traumatic wound. This wound does Spirit Natured creature needs them.
not bleed out. The harmful elements of this realm
A familiar uses the following stats: have no effect on them—fire does
not burn, cold does not chill, rope
Wi G2, Pe G3, Ag B4, Sp B5, Po B3,
does not bind and metal does not
Fo B3, Hea B4, Ref B4, Ste B5,
harm.
MW B9
In order to affect, harm or bind a
Choose its form: cat, dog, snake,
creature of Spirit Nature, one must
bird, pig, rabbit, fox or similar. No
have tools inscribed with special
large predators or beasts of burden.
spirit runes. Only Sorcery, Faith,
The animal must show some mark
other spirits and these “spirit
or quality that indicates it is not
weapons” can harm those of Spirit
entirely of this world. For example,
Nature.
it must be hairless, one-eyed, two-
tailed, of large size or even just have Spirit Nose Dt 3 pts
a disturbing aura. The Taint suffuses the Spirit Hunter.
Restrictions: Humans only Using his Spirit Nose, he may add
Spirit Marked Dt 3 pts
his Wolf Snout to detect spirits (as
On certain nights in the dead of Spirit Ears above). Also, Spirit
winter, the Spirit Hunters will Nose allows Spirit Hunters to track
come to the territories and seek out spirits, even those who leave no
lone wolves. Those who are chosen marks or do not touch the ground.
receive a special scent and are Use the obstacles listed with the
marked to become Spirit Hunters. Scent Tracking skill and be creative.
This trait is required to be able Restrictions: Great Wolves only
to take the Spirit Chaser lifepath.
It grants a 1D affiliation with the

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Spite Dt Stone’s Age Dt

Dark Elves trade their Grief for Trolls were born of stone and sorcery
a burning Spite. Something has and to these roots they remain
snapped inside the Dark Elf’s soul— closely tied. Though not immortal,
Grief seems folly to him. Whatever these creatures age very slowly
the truth of an immortal life is, and are capable of living for long
Dark Elves know that it does not centuries—if they can survive their
lay silently grieving with his Elven own violent tendencies.
brothers. See the Spite section of this However, the weight of granite in
chapter for more details on the rules. their blood has detrimental effects.
Restrictions: Dark Elf lifepath trait Their view of the world is dim and
Stained Dt ponderous and their ability to intuit
The Last Wolf is the scapegoat of or empathize is minimal. A Troll
the pack. All of the pack’s anger may not have a Perception or Will
and frustration is taken out on his exponent higher than 6.
hide. No matter how he elevates Restrictions: Troll common trait
himself throughout his life, the Last Stone Skin Dt 5 pts
Wolf always bears this stain on his The hide of this creature is
very heart. This trait grants a 1D impossibly tough and unyielding.
reputation as a Last Wolf. Stone Skin provides 3D of armor
Restrictions: Great Wolf lifepath trait protection to the head and limbs,
and 4D to the chest. This skin cannot
Stillness C-O 3 pts
“fail” and become damaged like
This creature can remain motionless
normal armor: 1s are ignored. VA
for unnatural lengths of time.
works as normal against this armor.
Call-on for any test requiring or
Restrictions: Trolls only
benefitting from absolute stillness
for long periods of time. Submissive Dt
Wolves learn to submit to a
Stink of the Ancient Dt Dominant wolf at a very young
Great Wolves can smell a Ghost of age. Any wolf in the pack who is
the Wood when he is near. His scent not part of the Dominant pair is
is distinct, a mix of Ancient Ways Submissive. These wolves follow the
and twisted speech that covers his lead of their superiors and often beg
coat like the blood of the hunted. for certain permissions, including
This stink causes fear, trepidation permission to eat from a kill. Being
and even hatred in Great Wolves. Submissive in the pack connotes
They do not look kindly upon one no weakness. It merely shows that
who so tampers with the will of the the wolf understands the natural
Grandfather. This trait grants a 1D order of things. This trait grants a
infamous reputation as a Ghost of free relationship with a master or
the Deeping Wood among the packs. dominant character.
Combine this with other reputations
Prominent Submissive behaviors
as appropriate.
include: looking away from the
Restrictions: Great Wolf lifepath trait
Dominant’s gaze, crouching with head

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 Lists

to the ground before the Dominant, Suicidal Dt 5 pts

The Monstrous Trait List

rolling over and exposing the belly to This character (instantly) earns a
the Dominant and nibbling or licking persona point every time he takes a
the Dominant’s chin. mortal wound.
Lastly, wolves may possess both the
Dominant and Submissive traits. Sweet Tooth Char
These wolves will rule their pack as
they rightly should, but they might
also submit to stronger Dominants—
be they wolf, human or Orc.
Restrictions: Great Wolf lifepath trait

T-U
Tail Char Toiling C-O 2 pts
Roden tails range from 1/2 to 1 pace Laborers are used to working long
long. Field Born often have furry hours doing the same mindless,
tails, while those Below often have repetitive tasks. Call-on for any skill
bald ones. when doing mindless, repetitive
tasks.
Tentacles Dt 4/7 pts
Tentacles are supple, strong, sticky Toothy Maw Dt 4 pts
and agile additional limbs. This This Troll’s jaws are massive,
trait comes in two grades: Two distended and terrible. The Toothy
tentacles cost 4 pts and give a +1D Maw counts as: Pow 3, Add 2, VA 1,
advantage to all Lock, Push and WS 1, Shortest. It replaces the
grabbing related tests. More than Fanged trait.
two tentacles cost 7 pts and grant Restrictions: Trolls only
+2D advantage to all Lock, Push
Troll Savant Char
and grabbing related tests.
This Troll has the uncanny ability to
These extra limbs cause a +1 Ob form complete sentences, understand
and a +2 Ob to Inconspicuous tests what is said to him and possibly
respectively. even comprehend what a written
language, map or glyph could
Thief C-O 2 pts
represent—if it were possible in the
The Thief trait requires that the
first place for scratchings on stone
player note a mandatory theft-
or leather to mean anything. He is a
related Instinct: “When visiting
mental giant among his peers and is
home, always steal Mother’s
appropriately hated and feared.
valuables,” for example. So long as
Restrictions: Trolls only
that Instinct is in play, it acts a call-
on for Sleight of Hand. Troll Skin Dt
Troll Skin is resilient and leathery.
Thoughtful Char It provides 1D of armor to the limbs
and head, 2D to the chest.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex
As he gets older, a Troll’s flesh often Tusks Dt 2 pts
hardens into a stony mass. Thus, the This Troll’s lower canine teeth
Troll Skin trait maybe upgraded to protrude into formidable tusks.
Scaly Skin or Stone Skin for just a The beast may use these sharpened
few trait points. See the Troll Special weapons to gore the unwary. Add +1
Traits list. This skin cannot “fail” Power to the Troll’s bite attack when
and become damaged like armor: it is at hands fighting distance. This
1s are discounted in this case. VA trait may be combined with Fangs or
works as normal against this armor. Toothy Maw.
Restrictions: Troll common trait Restrictions: Trolls only
Tunnel Vision Dt 3 pts Unfeeling Dt 8 pts
The Below is a dark place and This creature does not take Steel
those who live there have adapted. tests from injury or pain—or fear of
Your character can see as normal suffering harm.
in low-lit areas but not in complete
darkness. Those looking directly Unflinching Dt 6 pts
into these eyes will see glowing Ironshields are the bodyguards and
green orbs staring back. Reduces retinues of the Troll legions. They
penalties for dim light by one step. are trained to stand guard and lay
down their lives for their Warlord
master. This trait reduces hesitation
by 4 for fear and pain.

V
Vegetarian Char nature—but it must be close. It must
rankle the Dark Elf that they still
Vengeful Dt
live that way.
If the Dark Elf character is defeated Restrictions: Dark Elf lifepath trait
in a Duel of Wits or a Fight and
lives to tell the tale, he may FoRK Versatile Dt 4 pts
his Spite into all rolls bent on The Master Sorcerer places his
avenging himself against his confidence in the art of sorcery. It
enemy. Humiliating or murdering is a versatile and potent art, and
the enemy—getting revenge upon he knows it intimately. If using Art
them—immediately earns the player Magic, reduce by one the number
a bonus persona point, for a total of of tests required for Weaving Magic
two: one for a personal goal and one into the Fiber of My Being. If using
for Vengeful. the standard Sorcery rules, reduce
The Vengeful trait also requires his practicals aptitude by one. If
that the Dark Elf have a close using Practical Magic, he may take
relationship with a non-spiteful an additional category of magic. In
Elf or a mortal human. It can be addition, the player earns a persona
familial, romantic or fraternal in

532
 Lists

point for pushing his character’s one of your abusers. That character

The Monstrous Trait List

magic in a dangerous or untried has +1D to all social skills used
direction. against the victim.
Restrictions: Humans only
Visionary Faith Dt 5 pts
Vestigial Wings Char Visionaries draw their power from
Two small, bat-like wings protrude their followers, not divine favor. This
from the Troll’s shoulders. Flap, flap. trait grants a B3 Faith attribute. The
Restrictions: Trolls only attribute may not be increased with
Victim Dt 2 pts the Faith questions; instead, it is
This character has suffered increased by purchasing a Visionary
sustained abuse designed to get Cult. Any miracles performed with
them to conform to a code of Visionary Faith only affect the
behavior. Choose a relationship with believers and nothing else.
Restrictions: Roden only

Voracious Carnivore Char

W-Z
Wanderlust Char Whip Tail Dt 4 pts
These tails are typically one or two
Webbed Fingers and Toes Dt 1 pt paces longer than most others and
Stride 5 when swimming. tend to be slender. Pow 0, Add 1,
VA –, Longer, WS 3,. May not be
Well Traveled Dt 4 pts
combined with Club Tail.
The Speaker of Names wanders
Restrictions: Roden only
the lands and seas, communing
with the spirits. This trait allows Wickedly Clever C-O
the player to take a new domain Warlords quickly grow to
when his character travels to a understand that the world sees
new locale in play. The player may Trolls as mindless brutes, good
describe a memory his character only for absorbing and dealing
has of this place or a place like it. devastation. Outsiders forget that
He may describe when he traveled Trolls can evince intelligence. Troll
here before. The player then adds a Warlords use this prejudice to their
new domain to his spirit binder at advantage—playing the part of the
its base level (0). Once used, this dumb automaton while scheming
trait becomes a character trait. and plotting behind their thick
To be clear, the domain is added masks. Call-on for Strategy and
during play at a time of the player’s Tactics when unveiling a surprising
choosing, not during character stratagem or ploy.
burning. Restrictions: Troll lifepath trait

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

Witch Flesh Dt 6 pts Wolf Eyes Dt

The Brood Mother knows a bit Wolves possess the advantage of
of magic, rumored to have been being able to see well in low light.
handed down from an old giantess Wolves reduce obstacle penalties for
in ages past. This magic, called dim light, darkness and haze by one
Witch Flesh, grants the ability to step.
transform into a handsome young Restrictions: Wolf common trait
man or woman. The disguise is
Wolf Snout Dt
impenetrable. The brood mother
Wolves benefit from an exceptional
retains her stats and attributes, but
sense of smell. Wolf Snout grants
her character traits are replaced
+1D to Perception for assesses,
with Beautiful, Wholesome, Apple-
and +1D to Scent Tracking and
Cheeked, etc. Any other traits
Pack Hunting skill tests. This
requiring physical expression (like
bonus is also added to Perception
Horns or Claws) are temporarily
for determining Reflexes. This
lost to the human form. No test
trait counts as Observation when
is required to transform, but the
combined with Woodland Ear.
change requires a full scene, during
Restrictions: Wolf common trait
which the magic slowly takes effect.
Once the Brood Mother reveals Woodland Ear Dt
her true nature to her victim (or Wolves have extraordinary hearing.
is perhaps accidentally spotted The Woodland Ear allows wolves
transforming), the victim will never to distinguish between different
see her the same way again—and animal calls and add +1D to
can never be fooled by the Witch Perception tests for assesses, Scent
Flesh of this Brood Mother again. Tracking and Pack Hunting. This
bonus is also added to Perception
for determining Reflexes. This
trait counts as Observation when
combined with Wolf Snout.
Restrictions: Wolf common trait

Zoophagia Char

534
Monstrous Skill List
This list is a compilation of the skills presented in the lifepath
chapters of this book. These skills are compiled here for ease of
reference and so that they may be better incorporated into monsters
and characters beyond their original intent.

Roots are listed in italics next to the skill’s name on the first line.
In an effort to conserve space, dual roots have been abbreviated.
Since many skills are part of a particular monster’s niche, specifics
and individualization have been left in. I hope this doesn’t prove
too confusing. A § indicates an open-ended skill. Any skill not listed
here can be found in the Character Burner in Burning Wheel Gold.

Wises
Wises are not included in this skill list. The obstacles for wises are
found in the Burning Wheel on page 309. The purpose of a wise
should be self-evident, as demonstrated in its name.

A
Alchemy Per
This entry is an update of Alchemy that incorporates all of the new
applications presented in this book. Alchemy is the distillation of
materials in order to divine their essence. Alchemists may also create
mixtures of arcane substances to generate a specific effect.
Obstacles: Distilling components of earth, Ob 1. Components of water or
liquid, Ob 2. Components of metal, Ob 3. Components of blood, Ob 4.
Identifying traits from organic samples: Character traits, Ob 1. Call-
ons, Ob 2. Die traits, Ob 3.
FoRKs: Enchanting, Herbalism, Apothecary, Munitions, Poisons.
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: Yes.

Ancient Ways § Will/Per

It is said that the Great Ancient spoke the true names of the water,
loam, wind and prairie fire. Closely guarded, these powerful names
have been passed from generation to generation of Great Wolves
descended from the last wolf of the ancestral pack—Fell Ancients who
bear the Mark.
This skill is the wolf equivalent of the Spirit Binding skill. Wolves must
have the Mark of the Ancient trait to use this skill.
Skill Type: Sorcerous Tools: Yes.

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 The Burning Wheel Codex

B-C Camouflage Per/Ag

Using this skill, a Troll may take on
Bargaining Will/Per the appearance of his surroundings
Immortal spirits know the value and remain hidden. The Dread
of ephemeral things like life and Stone love to build up false stone
a soul. They bring this knowledge walls around themselves and then
to bear against those who wish to wait for an unsuspecting passerby to
strike bargains with them and form wander into reach.
pacts. The Bargaining skill is a Using this skill effectively requires
special social skill designed solely to that the Troll remain motionless
negotiate pacts between summoner while camouflaged. Test this skill as
and summoned. It may be used for a Stealthy skill.
the bargaining steps described in Obstacles: Camouflage is used in
the Summoning chapter or in a Duel versus tests against Observation.
of Wits with an otherworldly entity FoRKs: Stealthy
or another summoner concerning Skill Type: Forester
the price or nature of a pact. Tools: No.
Obstacles: Bargaining uses the rules
Circination Per/Ag
described in the Summoning and
Circination is the art of drawing
the Duel of Wits chapters.
circles and sigils that aid the spirit
FoRKs: Rhetoric, Ugly Truth,
binder and summoner. There are
Folklore.
three types of circles that may be
Skill Type: Special
drawn: the summoning circle or
Tools: No.
gate, the fortress circle and the
Begging Will prison circle. The summoning
Begging is the Wolf’s version of the circle aids in conjuring and binding
Persuasion skill. This skill may spirits. The fortress protects
be used as Persuasion in a Duel the summoner from spirits. The
of Wits between Great Wolves or prison circle traps unruly spirits.
their friends. When a submissive Circination is tested like a regular
wolf wants something, whether it skill: It is not open-ended and does
be food or permission, he must beg not get combined with anything
the dominant for it. Begging is not special (except help or FoRKs) when
humiliating to a wolf; it is part of tested. Circination is used to aid
their nature. Sometimes the female Spirit Binding and Summoning.
dominant will even need to beg Please consult those chapters for
when she is nursing her pups—she further nuances of the skill.
begs the pack to bring them food. If a circle is physically damaged—
Obstacles: Begging food for pups, Ob erased, marred, smudged—then it
1. Other obstacles are based on the loses its powers.
Will of the target wolf. Obstacles: Summoning Circle or
FoRKs: Pack Etiquette Gate: The player sets his obstacle
Skill Type: Social according to how many advantage
Tools: No. dice he hopes to earn. If successful,

536
 Lists

the test grants advantage dice Enchanting § Per/Ag

The Monstrous Skill List

for Spirit Binding or Summoning Enchanting is a school of sorcery
equal to the obstacle. Fortress: that focuses on imparting magic
For Spirit Binding, the obstacle to inert, physical things. There are
is equal to the spirit Strength to two sides to Enchanting: imbuing
be deflected. For Summoning, and full-blown enchanting. Imbuing
the obstacle is 1 plus the obstacle allows the mage to temporarily
penalty the sorcerer wishes to infuse an item with a small amount
imposes on the spirit. Prison: of power. Enchanting allows the
For Spirit Binding, the obstacle mage to create powerful, enduring
is twice the spirit’s Strength. For artifacts.
Summoning, the obstacle is equal Obstacles: See the Enchanting
to the Will exponent of the creature chapter.
to be imprisoned (plus any FoRKs: A craft skill appropriate to
penalties for shade differences). what’s being created. Linked tests
FoRKs: Illuminations, Cartography, are appropriate.
Symbology, Ritual and appropriate Skill Type: Sorcerous
wises. Tools: Yes and no. See the chapter.
Skill Type: Sorcerous
Tools: No. Escape Artist Per/Ag
Wolves can learn nearly anything.
Combat Mount Will/Pow When trapped or caged, they
Carrying a rider on a journey and quickly learn the mechanics of their
bearing him into combat are two captivity and devise a method of
very different skills. A wolf must be escape.
trained to modify his fighting style
Obstacles: Collars, Ob 1. Leashes,
in order to coordinate with his rider
Ob 2. Traps, Ob 3. Cages, Ob 4
and not roll him or throw him.
and up.
Skill Type: Martial Training FoRKs: Cage-wise, Trap-wise
Tools: No. Skill Type: Special
Tools: No.
D-E Extortion Will/Per
Death Art §
Will/Forte Bull Trolls sometimes learn that it is
Death Art is a black practice that more fruitful to let their victims live
teaches the sorcerer how to animate to extort food and shiny bits from
corpses and turn them into walking them over the years. This way they
abominations. can get more than a single meal out
of them!
Obstacles: See the Death Art chapter.
FoRKs: Summoning, Folklore and Obstacles: Obstacles are equal to the
appropriate wises. Will of the victim.
Skill Type: Sorcerous FoRKs: Intimidation, Interrogation,
Tools: Yes and no. See the chapter. Haggling
Skill Type: Social
Tools: No.

537
 The Burning Wheel Codex

F-H Hoof-wise Perception

Wolves learn the habits and nature
Firebombs Per/Ag of their prey.
The Arsonist learns how to mix Obstacles: Identifying species (horse,
ingredients to create incendiary deer or elk), Ob 1. Judging the
bombs. The Mark result damage health of intended prey, Ob 2. Age
is listed with each type. If the and gender of prey, Ob 3. Predicting
explosion hits a character, roll the herd location, Ob 4.
die of fate to determine IMS (like a Skill Type: Wise
spell). This skill does not cover the Tools: No.
distribution of such bombs. That
Howling Will
would come from Agility, Throwing,
Wolves love to howl, and they
Artillery or simply inconspicuous
do so for many reasons. It is the
placement. When igniting such a
combination of the Singing, Oratory
device, roll the die of fate. On a 1,
and Conspicuous skills.
the bomb malfunctions. Roll again
Obstacles: Sing discordantly, Ob 1.
immediately: Odd, it detonates;
Sing for joy, Ob 2. Howl for
even, it’s a dud.
warning, Ob 3. Howl for the lost,
Obstacles: Small, bottle-sized
Ob 4. When used against another
incendiaries (Mark B6), Ob 1.
wolf, use their Will as the obstacle.
Incendiary bomb (Mark B8), Ob 4.
Skill Type: Social
Fat Boy (Mark B10), Ob 6.
Tools: No.
FoRKs: Alchemy, Herbalism,
Munitions, Arson
Skill Type: Craftsman
L-P
Tools: Yes. Lash Agility
Garrote Agility Bellowers bear a massive lash with
A garrote is a two- to three-foot which they drive on their lessers. So
length of cord strung between two terrible and huge is this whip that it
small wooden handles or leather may be used as a weapon.
loops. Roden use it to throttle Obstacles: As a melee weapon. See the
victims to death. To use this skill, Resources section for stats.
the would-be-murderer must attack Skill Type: Martial
from stealth or surprise (or against Tools: Lash.
a victim already in a Lock). Test
Litany of Fools Will
Garrote versus Power or Agility
This speaks gently of the terrible
(victim’s choice, but at double
fate of those who don’t see the truth
obstacle). If the attacker lands a 2D
in what the Dark Elf is saying.
or greater Lock, the victim loses 1D
This song counts as Ugly Truth or
Forte every exchange thereafter. If
Intimidation—choose which before
Forte reaches zero, the victim falls
testing the skill. The Dark Elf player
unconscious.
must incorporate a barbed rhyme of
FoRKs: Brawling verse into his roleplay.
Skill Type: Martial
FoRKs: Falsehood
Tools: Yes.
Skill Type: Social
Tools: No.
538
 Lists

Nature of All Things Will/Per Pack Hunting Per/Spd

The Monstrous Skill List

This wolf knows the history of the Wolves hunt for their prey in a
trees, the streams, the rocks and different manner than those on
brush. He knows why the snow two legs. Use the obstacles below to
falls and why the sun rises. He determine how much prey a pack
understands that the sharp tooth can bring down over the course of
of the wolf lengthens the stride of a week. The dominant is always
the hoofed ones. He comprehends, the primary for this test. Last
vaguely, the interconnectedness of wolves, pups, elders and nursing
all things. This skill can be used as dominants may not help in this
a FoRK for nearly any other skill test—only Hunters, Aunts, Uncles
(except martial skills), in a similar and Yearlings.
fashion to the Astrology skill. Obstacles: Adequate kills to feed
Obstacles: Naming a natural feature, a pack of up to three, Ob 4.
Ob 1. Naming a living creature, Adequate kills to feed of pack of
Ob 2. Giving cryptic advice, Ob 3. four or five Great Wolves, Ob 5.
Discerning truth from lies, Ob 4. Adequate kills for a pack of six to
Interpreting natural omens, Ob 5. seven, Ob 7. Note the bonuses and
FoRKs: Appropriate wises. May FoRK penalties for the hunting grounds
into any other skill from Wolf skill as described in the Territories
list. section of this chapter.
Skill Type: Academic FoRKs: Scent Tracking, Scent-wise,
Tools: No. Territory-wise, Forest-wise
Skill Type: Forester
Nursing Will/Per
Tools: No.
This is the delicate process of
weaning pups off the teat and slowly Preaching Will
introducing them to meat and Preaching relies upon religious
forage. Also, this skill is used like doctrine, real-life anecdotes and folk
Field Dressing. wisdom.
Obstacles: as Field Dressing. Or as theObstacles: Most common Will among
Will of the pup, if appropriate the audience members. Preaching
FoRKs: Rearing can also be used in the Duel of Wits
Skill Type: Special for Incite and Dismiss actions.
Tools: No. FoRKs: Intimidation, Falsehood,
Doctrine, Soothing Platitudes
Pack Etiquette Perception
Skill Type: Social
This is crucial knowledge of the laws
Tools: No.
of the pack and what behavior is
appropriate at what juncture.
Obstacles: Feed order at a kill, Ob
2. Approaching the pack as a
foreigner, Ob 4.
FoRKs: Begging
Skill Type: Social
Tools: No.

539
 The Burning Wheel Codex

R Tracking quarry that has crossed

through a stream, Ob 6. Tracking
Rearing Will/Per
after rain, Ob 7.
This is the wolf’s instructional skill. FoRKs: Scent-wise
Good Uncles and Aunts pass on Skill Type: Forester
the knowledge of the hunt and the Tools: No.
traditions of the pack to the young Sorcery§ Perception
pups. Use this skill as Instruction for This is not a revision of Sorcery
teaching wolves younger than you. but an expansion. In your game,
FoRKs: Way of the First Hunter the Sorcery skill can count for the
Skill Type: Social standard version of the Sorcery skill
Tools: No. described in the Burning Wheel or
count for Art Magic or Practical
Rider Training Will
Magic described in this book. Pick
This training teaches a wolf how
one form that the skill represents
to subordinate itself and accept
in your game. All iterations of
commands from a rider.
the Sorcery skill, no matter what
Skill Type: Physical Training lifepath they are earned from, count
Tools: No. as this form.

S Obstacles: See the Art Magic or

Practical Magic chapters in this
book or the Sorcery chapter in the
Savage Attack Ag/Spd
Burning Wheel.
Orcs train wolves to fight savagely
FoRKs: Aura Reading, Astrology,
and wildly. Wolves with Savage
Empyrealia, Demonology and
Attack have access to all of the
appropriate wises.
martial maneuvers, including
Skill Type: Sorcerous
Lock and Strike when using their
Tools: No.
Crushing Jaws.
FoRKs: Brawling Spirit Binding § Will
Skill Type: Martial Spirits abound. They infuse the
Tools: No. world around us, and those who
know their secrets call them forth
Scent Tracking Perception
and bind them into service. Using
Wolves track in a slightly different this skill, a summoner binds a spirit
manner than humans, Elves and and sets it to a task.
Orcs—they rely on scent and sound
To summon and bind, the player
in addition to sight.
totals his dice from Spirit Binding,
Obstacles: Tracking fresh scent on a domain binding, a spirit mark,
dry earth, Ob 1. Recognizing a summoning circles and any
known creature by scent trail, Ob offerings. He tests those dice
2. Picking up day-old scent, Ob 3. against an obstacle that combines
Following fresh scent from nearby the spirit’s Strength, the task, the
prey on the wind, Ob 4. Tracking summoner’s own Immanence, the
fresh scent in new, light rain, Ob 5. immediate need for the spirit and
the scope of the domain affected. If

540
 Lists

successful, the summoner can name

T-Z

The Monstrous Skill List

his task and reduce the amount of
retribution the spirit will visit upon Tongue of the Ancient One§ Per
him. If failed, the summoner has It is said that the Great Ancient
angered the spirit and will suffer the whispered his secrets to his last pup
consequences in either retribution before he passed on from this world.
or enmity. He taught his outcast and hated
Obstacles: See the Spirit Binding child how to speak the true speech,
Obstacles and Spirit Services in how to make his words have power
this chapter. beyond understanding.
FoRKs: Astrology. Linked tests are This skill is the equivalent of
appropriate. Sorcery. Great Wolves with the Mark
Skill Type: Sorcerous of the Ancient trait may use this skill
Tools: No. to cast spells.
Summoning § Perception Skill Type: Sorcerous
The Summoning skill allows the Tools: No.
character to call spirits of the dead,
Way of the First Hunter Will/Per
demons, angels and gods to discuss
This is the Spirit Hunter’s history of
matters of faith, life and philosophy,
the world. This skill acts as Ancient
and perhaps to reach a bargain for
History.
service. This skill uses the rules
found in the Summoning chapter of FoRKs: Old World-wise, Nature of All
this book. Things
Skill Type: Academic
Obstacles: See the Summoning
Tools: No.
chapter.
FoRKs: Astrology, Folklore,
Empyrealia, Demonology and
appropriate wises.
Skill Type: Sorcerous
Tools: No.

541
Index
 Index of Headings
Angry Spirits 329
Index Key Announcing Risk of Failure
Chapter
Before the Roll 116
Heading
Antagonist Beliefs 73
Subheading
Antagonists 69
Subheading Detail
Antecedents 291
Antecedent Trait 294
+1D Victims 371 Apply Traits 124
1 year dead, +4 Ob 342 Arcane Action 283
3 days dead, no penalty 341 Arcane Knowledge 281
10 days dead, +1 Ob 341 The Arcane Library 247
20 days dead, +2 Ob 341 Archetypes in Magical Fiction 225
50 days dead, +3 Ob 342 Are Starting Grays Ever Acceptable? 152
A Arguing With Monsters 217
Abilities Must Be in the Same Realm 141 Armor 192
Accepting Help 145 Armor Type 508
Accident-Prone 253 Art and Illustrations 2
Acquiring Artifacts 375 Artha Bloat 104
Action 24 Artha Cycle 95
Action Combinations 175 Artha for NPCs 105
Adding Skills Artifacts
347 374
The Adept Art Magic
227 279
Adopting Schools of Magic in Play 266 The Arsenal Method 372
Adoption Time 267 Avoid 196
Advancement 125 Awarding Artha in General 96
Advancement for Helpers 145 Awful Revelation 274
Advancing Ancestral Taint 499 B
Advancing Corruption 257 Bad Victims 371
Advantage 120, 280, 294 Balancing Success
Adventure Burner 23 Against Advancement 127
Adventurer’s Income 158 Band of Fortitude 377
Affiliated Orders and Reputations 332 Barding, Collars and Spikes 508
Affiliations 165 Basic Enchantment Effects 294
Aggressor or Defender 141 Battle Sites 358
Aiming High 175 The Battle Space 187
Alchemy and Taxidermy 291 Beat 196
All Good Children Go to Heaven 343 The Beatings 368
Allied NPCs and Artha 105 Beginner’s Luck 127
Altar of Sacrifice 370 Beginner’s Luck, Helping
Always Win 92 and Advancement 128
Ambush 190 Behavior of Challenging Tests 126
Am I a Big Deal? 174 Behavior of Difficult Tests 126
An Antagonist Is an Empty Vessel 72 The Behavior of Routine Tests 125
Ancestral Taint 498 Being Taught the Right Way 267
Anger of the Ancients 313 Belief Bookkeeping 360

543
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Belief-Building Tips 83 Challenging Mages 219
Beliefs, Instincts and Trait Voting 107 A Change of Faith 455
Belief versus Situation 80 Change the Names First 33
Below Setting 439 Changing Beliefs During a Campaign 86
Belt of Flying 377 Changing Instincts 94
Bide Your Time 195 Changing Spells 373
The Big Picture 71 Character Concepts 33
The Big Wheel 15 Characterization Instincts 90
Binding Exceeds Obstacle 313 Characters 23
Binding Meets Obstacle 312 Character Stock 398
Binding Oneself to a Domain 319 Char=Character Trait 511
Binding Traits 320 Charge/Tackle 197
The Bitterness Below 453 Charms 363
Blades and Claws 509 Chicken or Egg 24
The Bladesmith 417 Chief Deities 272
Block 197 Choosing Actions 175
Blood 303 Choosing an Overall Situation 62
Blood Magic 367 Choosing Dark Elf Songs
The Blood of Innocents 370 Versus Elven Songs 421
Bloody Sorcery 289 Choosing Skills 474, 492
Boots of the Hunter 378 Circination 321, 335
Brawn not Brains 465 Circle of Wisdom 381
Breadth 284 Circles 163
Breaking a Pact 330 Circles Obstacle Modifiers 164
The Bringer of Darkness 240 City Dweller Setting 403
The Bringer of Fire 230 Closer to God 277
The Brood Mother 461 Clumsy Weight for Wolf Armor 508
Building Beliefs 80 C-O=Call-On 511
Build Tension 63 Codex Ignis 10
Burning Action 36 Collaboration and Sportsmanship 18
Burning Beliefs and Relationships 37 College of Magic 404
Burning Characters 33 Colophon 552
Burning Currency Cycle 16 Coloring Help 145
Burning Mechanical Details 37 Commenting on Commentary 43
Burning Philosophy 15 Common Traits 445, 467, 487, 511
Burning Setting 30 Complementary Knowledge 290
Burning Situation 27 Compromise 176
Burning Spear of Arcane Fury 281 Concentration 253
Burning Starting Artha 38 Conditional Help 145
The Burning Wheel 379 Conflicts Soak Artha 104
But Weasels… 112 Consequences 288
Buy-In 12 Corrupted and Marked Items 305
Buying Into a Situation 62 Corrupted Body and Soul 260
C Corrupted Life 261
Call-On Traits to Break Ties 143 Corruption 255
Captive Subsetting 482 Corruption Brings Strength 257
Cash Money 159 Corruption Traits 260
Casting Time 286 Counterstrike 197
Casting Under Pressure 286 Counterstrike Variants 39
Cavedweller Setting 463 Courtly Income 158

544
 Lists

Court Setting 403 Disarm 197

Index
Ritual 300 Distortion Dust 381
Creating Charms, Wards Dive into a Demo 22
and Remedies with Folklore 364 Divine Afflictions 273
The Creepy Clause 261 Dog or Lesser Wolf 505
The Crossbow and the Gun 191 Domain and Medium 307
Crosscutting 200 Domain Binding Levels 319
The Cult of the Visionary: Domain Bindings 317
The Society 454 Domains, +3 Ob 309
Cultural Traits 35, 65 Domain Traits 317
Culture 65 Dominant Mother 479
Curse of the Damned 370 Don’t Be a Wet Blanket 19
Curses 274, 304 Don’t Be a Wet Blanket, Mr. GM 114
D Don’t Be Too Smart 201
Damaging an Affiliation 123 Downsides of Big Deals 174
Damaging Locks 40 Dragon Slaying Sword 382
Danger 248 The Dropping Ring 383
The Dark Disciple 235 Dt=Die Trait 511
Dark Elf Age Chart 419 Duel of Wits 173
Dark Elf Common Traits 420 Duel of Wits Results
Dark Elf Lifepath Traits 420 Are New Obstacles 177
Dark Elf Resources 430 Duration of Service 332
Dark Elf Skill Songs 421 Duration of Spell 285
Dark Elven Spell Songs 421 E
Dark Elves 418 Earning and Increasing Reputations 335
Dark Elves in Play 434 Earning Challenging Tests
The Dark Side 235 Through Help 127
Dead Flesh 341 Earning Difficult Tests
Deadlocks 142 Through Help 126
Dealing with Deities 277 Earning Embodiment 99
Death Art 340 Earning Fate 96
Death Art Process 341 Earning Fate for Beliefs 96
Death Cult Setting 406 Earning Fate for Humor 98
Death of the Spirit 351 Earning Fate for Instincts 98
Death’s Axe 281 Earning Fate for Skills 99
Death Toxins 351 Earning Fate for Traits 98
The Deceiver 238 Earning Moldbreaker 99
Decomposition 341 Earning Persona 99
Deeds of Spite 427 Earning Spirit Ears
The Deeds Point 103 and Spirit Nose Traits 500
Definition of Terms 23 Ebon Shunt 384
Deities 272 Economic 325
Demon, I Abjure Thee! 336 Effects 280
Describe Your Actions 182 Eldritch Channeler 384
Destroying a Reputation 123 Embellishing Success 119
Destroy with Sorcerous Fire! 281 Emergent Properties 21
Destruction 370 Empowerment 326
Devil in the Details 64 Empower Thine Enemies! 273
Dice 508 Enchanted Failures:
Direction 83 Sacrifice, Curses and Perversion 303
Dire Haunts 503 Enchanting 290

545
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Enchanting 293 Fell Ancients 504
Enchanting Requirements Field Life of a Corpse 361
and Restrictions 293 Field Setting 437
Enchanting Time 304 Fields of Faith 451
Ending a Fight 202 Fight 189
Enhancing the Body 347 Fight, + 3 Ob 310
Enmity 274 Fight Actions Advice 196
Enmity and Infamy 288 Fight Action Variants 39
Enmity Clause 69, 166, 313 Fight as Climax 189
Epic Enemies 168 Fight as Opening Action Sequence 190
Establishing Setting as a Player 208 Fight for What You Believe 15
Ethical or Philosophical Stances 81 Fighting Monsters 216
Etiquette of Wises 211 Fighting Ranges 186
Everybody Help Every Time 174 Fighting Smart 190
Everyone Can Fight 193 Fight Is Complicated 201
Evocation 353 Find the Rare Thing 366
Evocation Time 354 Finishing a Belief 87
Evoke 283 Folklore 363
The Evolution of an Antagonist 75 Folkloric Restrictions 366
Evolving Traits 108 The Forbidden Place 225
Exact Revenge 427 Foreword 7
Exile Subsetting 441 Fortifications Skill
Expanding Circles 168 in Range and Cover 182
Expansive Medium 309 The Fortress Circle 322, 336
External Duration—Effect Duration 299 Found During Play 376
Extracting Antecedents 292 Founding a New School of Magic 287
Extracting Common Traits 292 The Fourth Belief 81
The Eye of the Storm 196 Freedom 360
F Free Shots 41
The Face of Antagonism 72 From the Margins 506
Factoring Beginner’s Luck Obstacles With Full-Blown Conflict 121
Disadvantage and Tools 128 G
Failed Binding 313 Gain Advantage 194
Failed Evocation 354 Gaming the Resources System 157
Failed Summoning 329 Gathering the Materials 355
Failed Test 299 Gear 66
Failing and Reduced to Resources 0 160 Gear Loss 121
Failure 115 Geas 334
Failure and Maintenance Cycles 162 Ghosts of the Deeping Wood 483, 502
Failure Timing 118 Ghouls 353
Faith Hindrance Against Stature 41 Giant’s Tunic 385
Faith in Dead Gods 276 Gibbets 357
Faith in Dead Gods in Play 277 The Gift of Corruption 262
Faith in Fight 222 Gifted 250, 279
Faith in Light, Life, Health and Purity361 Gifted 279
Faith in the Nature of God 272 Gifted at Death 340
Faith Versus the Summoned 336 Gifted or Not? 324
Family Heirloom 375 Give and Take 82
Fate Mines 97 GM-Created Items 305
Feint 197 GMing Fights 201

546
 Lists

GMing Summoned Creatures 339 Identifying Traits 291

Index
GM’s Big Picture 25 Idiomatic Spell Books 372
Goal-Oriented Beliefs 84 Illusion 282
Go Forth and Stalk the Night, Imbued Duration 291
My Children 359 Imbuing 290
Golden Tooth 386 Imbuing Effects 291
Grabbing the Big Guys 40 Imbuing Process 290
Grant Skill 295 Immanence 308
Grant Stat 295 Immanent, +1D 309
Grave Pits 358 Imprisoned Spirits 323
Graveyards 356 Incantation 287
Gray Faith, Sorcery Increasing Orders by Geas 335
and Other Nightmares 154 Increasing the Rank of an Order 334
The Great Divide 496 Industry 161
Great Strike 197 The Inevitable, Immortal Army 359
Great Wolf Lifepaths 480 The Infamous Lives of Death Artists 361
Group Burning 33 Infamy 274
Guiding Light Beliefs 88 Information as Setting 208
H Inherent Dramatic Irony 19
Hacking Lifepaths 33 Injured and Poor 160
Happy Helping Faith 221 Injury 122, 203
Harm 312, 314 Injury as Advancement 203
Harvest 304 In Morti ad Vivo 348
Harvest Vow 452 Inner Conflict 83
Helm of Protection 386 In Spite of Grief 427
Help 144 Instincts 90
Help 312 Instincts Bookkeeping 360
Help Me, You Fool! 360 Instincts in Duel of Wits,
Heroic and Supernatural Gear 301 Range and Cover and Fight! 91
Hinder 280, 314 Instinct Timing 41
Hindrance 288, 311 Integrating Range and Cover 183
Honor Success, Challenge Assumptions119 Intelligence 190
How Does One Create a Intense Sorrow 426
Well Wrought Situation? 28 Intent 109
How Do I Know? 196 Intent and Task 109
How Do You Challenge a Belief? 27 Internal Duration—
Howl for Celestial Sight 501 Enchantment Duration 298
Howl for Silent Voice 501 Intraparty Beliefs 80
Howl for Spirit Nature 501 Intrigue 61
Howl for Spirit Unseen 501 Isolation 274
How Long Does It Take? 13 It’s Not Over Until It’s Over 199
How Many Links? 148 Ivory Shield 387
The Human Condition 271 J
Hunt the World 507 Jade Amulet 388
Hurried, +1 Ob 310 Joining New Orders 334
Hypnotism (Ob = Victim’s Will) 277 Joining Schools of Magic in Play 286
I L
I Am in Command 355 Lasting Effects 285
I Am Night 348 Last Time… 54
I Can Remember My Wife; Later… 56
You Killed Her, You Bastard! 360 Laws of Service 315

547
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Lay Your Fears to Rest 361 Make Magic 294
Leads 398 The Maker 232
Leads To 404, 406 The Moldbreaker Belief Change Warning
Leads to Spite 418 100
Learning 254 Making Offerings 322
Learning Wises 214 The Many-Headed Beast 146
Let It Ride 150 Many years gone 342
Let It Ride Conditions 150 Mark 332
Let It Ride Duration 150 Martyrs and the Holy 371
The Lich 355 Master Your Role 44
The Life of the Corpse 343 Material Instinct 93
Lifepaths 397 Material World 35
Lifepaths and Traits 2 Meanwhile… 55
Lifepath Traits 446, 469, 488 Mechanical Instincts 90
Lifestyle Maintenance 159 Medium and Domain 309
Lifestyle Maintenance Failure 160 Memories 372
The Light Side 227 Middle of the Road 40
The Light Touch Versus Mind Games 199
the Heavy Touch 118 Mind Meld or Thought Control 300
Like an Ox 311 Minor Deities 272
Limits of Spite 426 Missiles and Spells 199
The Limitations of Faith in Dead Gods277 The Missionary 436
Linked Resources or Resources Help 159 Missionary’s Vow 453
Linked Tests 148 The Mistake 225
Linked Tests for Summoning 324 Modularity 301
Linking to Domain Binding 320 Moldbreaker 87
Link Intent and Task 148 Monotheist 270
Link versus Help 149 Monsters 66, 216
Live in Infamy 361 Monsters and Magic 218
The Living Death 352 Monstrous Corpse Traits 347
Living Traits 342 Monstrous Skill List 535
Locations 508 Monstrous Trait List 511
Lock 198 More Bloody Rules 39
Logging Tests and Artha 45 The Mortal Enemy Clause 262
Long Campaign 50 Mortal Soul 340
Long-Term Mechanics Motivating Antagonists 73
for Short-Term Play 50 Mountains of Trolls 466
Looking from on High 12 Multiple Uses 299
Loose Character Concepts 26 Mundane and Mortal, +2 Ob 309
Loot and Fence 159 Murders 356
M Must Be Touching Bearer 301
Magic 219 MVP 102
Magic Against Obstacles 219 My Favorite Obstacle 134
Magical Artifacts 375 N
Magical Magic 224 Nameless Spirits 307
Magical Skills 413 Names 66
Magic and the Roden 456 Nature 271
Magic Armor 296 Need 310
Magic for the Masses 250 Negate Penalty 295
Maintaining Your Horde 359 Nests of Roden 445

548
 Lists

New Dire Haunt Spells 503 Peasant Setting 402

Index
New Lifepaths 35 Penalty 508
New Test 120 People and Possessions 310
Noble Income 158 Performing the Ritual 348
No Fishing 113 Personal Goals 101
Nooks and Crannies 214 Personal Instinct 93
No Resources for Perversion 305
Lifestyle Maintenance 160 Physical 325
Notes from the Dark 419 Physical Price 331
Note Taking 46 Pick a Lifepath, Any Lifepath 169
No Trigger 300 Picking Three Good Instincts 93
Not-So-Defensive Weapons 508 Pit Setting 464
No Turning Back 268 Place 165
No Weasels 112 Playing Burning Wheel
NPC Help 146 in an Established Setting 67
NPCs Can Earn Artha 105 Playing the Circles 163
O Playing the Dark Side 243
Objects in Motion 193 Playing the Light Side 234
Obscure 314 Playtesting 2
Obstacle (Enchanting Effect) 295 Polytheist 270
Obstacle Penalties 121 Positioning 191
Obstacles 132 Possession 331
Obstacles and Advancement 133 Poverty 156
Obstacles and Artha 134 The Power Fades 370
Occupation 164 The Power of Gods 272
Of Men and Monsters 35 The Power Remains Until Used 369
One Name of Many 328 Practical Action 53
One-Off 48 Practical Advice on Challenging Beliefs88
One-on-One Games 52 Practical Affiliations 171
One-on-One Games 81 Practical Beliefs 85
One-Sentence Setting 26 Practical Failure 120
Options and Questions 53 Practical Instincts 92
The Oracle 233 Practical Instruction 131
Orders 327 Practical Limits of Practice 131
The Other 225 Practically Gifted 268
Our Intrepid Adventurers Practical Magic 263
Recently Discovered… 54 Practical Obstacles 134
Outcast Setting 404 Practical Process 263
Outcast Wolf Subsetting 482 Practical Relationships 169
P Practical Reputations 171
Pack Affiliations 504 Practical Resources 160
Pack Mates 505 Practical Schools of Magic 265
Packs and Pups 504 Practical Situation 53
The Pact 329 Practical Situation
Partial Domain 309 in Continuing Games 54
Passing the Spotlight 46 Practical Success 119
Pass the Dice 147 Practice 129
The Path of Spite 418 Practice and Passage of Time 131
Path of Spite Subsetting 418 Practice and Recovery 130
Paying the Price of an Order 334 Practice Instincts 130

549
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Practice Log 130 Resources Failure 267
Prayer in Duel of Wits 222 Resources Hacks 38
Pre-Immanent 309 Resources (Res) 398
Prescripts 201 Resource Tests in Game 376
Preserving a Trait from Life 348 Restless Dead 337
Preserving the Corpse 342 Restrictions 511
Pressure 129 Retreat 192
Price and Duration Scale 328 Retribution 312
The Price of the Order 334 Retribution, Not Tax 307
Price of Service 331 Retribution Suitable to the Task 313
The Prison Circle 322, 355 Reveal 310
Procedure 173 Reveal Information 308
Protesting Failure Results 117 Reveal Unto Me This Fact 311
Punishment! 133 Revelation 326
Pups 486, 505 Revenge Is a Vulture 348
Push 198 Revised Starting Sorcery
Quest 60 Skill Exponents 413
Questions, Questions 245 Ring of Dexterity 389
R Ring of Power 389
Range and Cover 181 Ring of the Prophet 390
Range and Cover to Fight 183 Rise! 343
The Rate of Advancement 125 Ritually Reanimated
Raven 505 Corpse Stat Blocks 349
Raw Talent 251 Ritual Reanimation 344
Recharge! 301 The Ritual of Reanimation 345
Reconciling Two-Part Beliefs 85 Rituals 276
Recursive Curse 280 Roden Concept and Design 2
Red Flags 83 Roden in Brief 444
Reference 551 Roden in Play 458
Referencing the Rules 44 Roden Lifepaths 437
Reincorporate 63 Roden Resources 456
Relationships 69 Roden Skills 451
Relationships, Affiliations, Property and Rod of Iron 391
Situation 63 The Roles of Magic 223
Relationships for a GM 170 Roll the Dice or Say Yes 113
Relationships for a Player 170 Rules for Rich 561
Relationships with the Supernatural 339 Rules Mastery 12
Religion 270 Rules of Spite 424
Religious Income 158 Running a Game 48
Remedies 363 S
Repairing the Mortal Coil 351 Sacrifice 303, 370
Reputation 333 Sacrifice Resources Obstacles 319
Reputation 505 Sanctified Dead 337
Reputations 166 Schools of Magic 286
Reputation Votes 108 Schools of Magic 404
Reputation Votes 171 Scope of Retribution 314
Re-Reanimation 350 The Scope of Violence 189
Resource Points in Character Burning376 Scoundrel’s Income 159
Resources 156 Secrecy Impulse 21
Resources and Recovery 205 Secret Sauce 180

550
 Lists

Separate Intent and Task 117 Social Versus Tests 139

Index
Serpent’s Spear 391 Society 271
Servant of the Dark Blood Setting 407 Society Subsetting 442
Service 311, 325 Some Advice for the GM 20
Service: Harm/Help/Hinder 308 Some Advice for the Players 18
Set It Up 181 Song Roots 421
Set My Obstacle 141 Sorcerer and the Community 225
Setting 24, 64, 70 Sorcerers Use Sorcery 279
Setting and Currency 160 Sorcerous Skill Practical Magic 268
Setting Over Time 64 Sorcerous Skills 249
Setting Up With Tactics, Sorcerous Weapon 281
Fortifications and Wises 181 Sorcery, not Sorcery 279
Setting Your Statement of Purpose 175 Soul Twisting 352
Sever All Ties 426 The Source of Antagonism 69
Shades 152 Special Gifted Lifepaths 402
Shade Shift From Traits 153 Special Traits 450, 470
Shade Shifting in Play 153 Special Wolf Traits 491
Sharing the Spotlight with Help 145 Specifically Gifted 254
Shooting at Monsters 218 Specific Antecedent
Short Campaign 49 for Each Specific Need 293
Significant Animals or Parts Thereof 365 Specific Medium, No Modifier 309
Significant Architecture 365 Specific Physical Condition 299
Significant Dates 365 Spell Books 372
Significant Day-to-Day Rituals 366 Spell Changing Options 373
Significant Features 365 Spending Margin of Success
Significant Geometry 365 for Advantage 328
Significant Gestures or Manners 366 Spending Margin of Success to Bargain328
Significant Herbs or Plants 365 The Spheres of Gods 271
Significant Metals 365 Spiked and Studded Armor 508
Significant Minerals 365 Spiked Collars 508
Significant Numbers 365 Spirit Binding 306
Silk Armor 392 Spirit Binding Obstacle 308
Simple Enemies 166 Spirit Binding Process 306
Simple Motivations 53 Spirit Binding Terminology 307
Single-Session Goals 49 Spirit Encounters 323
Situation 24, 70 Spirit Hunters 497
Situational Instincts 92 Spirit Hunter Songs 500
Situational Spite Obstacles 427 Spirit Hunter Subsetting 482
Situational Tests 259 Spirit Marks 320
Situation Commentary 59 Spirits Are Wise 310
Sketching and Brainstorming 24 Spirits Don’t Talk or Bargain 323
Skill 399 Spirits of the Dead 337
Skill and Faith 340 Spirit Strength 307
Skill-Based Instinct 94 Spirit Taint 321
Skirmishes 187 Spirit Task Duration 316
Slave to the Legion Setting 481 Spirit Tasks 310
Slowest and Loudest 39 Spirit versus Magic 311
Small, Bite-Sized Chunks 368 Spirit Weapons 392
Social 325 Spite and Antiphon Union 430
Social Skills Against Will 135 Spite to Grief 430

551
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Spite to Hatred 428 System Review 249
Spooky Stuff 311 T
Squeezing in Practice 129 Table Behavior 44
Squishy Faith 221 Tactics 175, 184
Staff of Light 393 Tactics Skill
Stances 200 in Setting Up Range and Cover 181
Starting Affiliated Orders 333 Take a Position 186
Starting Ancestral Taint 498 Take Them Away 179
Starting Corruption 255 Talismans 394
Starting Corruption in Play 256 Talismans of Protection 394
Starting Corruption Traits 256 Talismans of the Orders 394
Starting Domain Bindings 317 Target 298
Starting Faith in Dead Gods 276 Task 110
Starting Schools of Magic 265 Task of Help 144
Starting Shades 152 Tax 267, 288
Starting Spell Book 372 Taxidermist 2
Starting Spite 424 Tax Thine Allies 273
Station 164 Telegraph 201
Statistics (Stat) 398 The Temptation 256
Stat Points for Roden by Age 444 Territory 505
Stat Pools for Trolls by Age 465 Test Tweaks 295
Stat Pools for Wolves by Age 483 Theism 270
Stature 40 The Vow of Secrecy 455
Steal 314 Thor’s Hammer 394
Strength 308 Three General Situations 60
Stress 251 Throw 198
Strike 198 Ties 141
Struggle 60 Tightening the Grip 359
Sublime Transformation (Ob 5) 277 Time (Circles) 165
Submissive Dominants 488 Time (Lifepaths) 398
Success 114 Time of Death, Preferred Corpse 346
Success and Failure in Summoning 327 Time of Payment 332
Successful Binding 312 Time Spent in Domain 319
Successful Evocation 354 Timing 195
Successful Summoning 327 Timing of Retribution 315
Success in a Duel of Wits 120 To Burn or Not to Burn 169
Succor 311 Tone 25
Summoner Must Be Tools 264
Bound to a Domain 317 Too Many Cooks 39
The Summoned 327 Torture 367
The Summoner’s Gate 335 Toxification 351
Summoner’s Soul 331 Trait (Art Magic) 283
Summoning 324 Trait (Types) 399
Summoning Against Death 362 Trait Transference 295
The Summoning Circle 322 Trait Vote 106
Summoning Obstacles 326 Trait Vote Procedure 106
Summoning Process 324 Transference 326
Supertheist 271 Transform 284
Supporting Other Players 45 Transmogrification 347
Surrender 192 Traps as Obstacles 135

552
 Lists

Tribute 331 Village-wise Example Obstacles 213

Index
Trigger 300 Violence in the Versus Test 140
Troll Life 466 The Vow of Darkness 455
Troll Lifepaths 462 Vow of the Four Seasons 452
Troll Relationships 476 Vow of the Pacifist 452
Troll Resources 475 Vow of Poverty 453
Troll Resources 476 Vows of Aecer 452
Troll Round Up 465 Vows of the Society 454
Trolls In Play 476 W
Troll Skills 474 Walking Away 178
Trouble Writing Beliefs 85 Walking Away from the Group 179
True Names 336 Wand of Ages 395
Turning a Relationship 123 Wards 363
Two Things 12 Way of the Great Wolf 485
Types of Service 325 Wealth 303
The Twisted Vow 455 Weapon Enhancements 296
The Twists of Faith 277 Weapon Speed 191
U Weather 137
Uneven Importances 174 Weather and Wilderness as
Unexpected Encounter 121 Obstacle Modifiers 138
Unexpected Enemies 168 The Weather Witch 401
Unexpected Surprises 170 Weaving Charms 263
Unhurried 310 Weaving Magic
Unintended Effect 289 into the Fiber of My Being 289
Unintended Summoning 329 We Have Eternity to Know Your Flesh257
The Universal Library Option 373 We Think Life Should Be Hard 16
Untainted Mortal Soul 331 Weep Bitterly 427
The Unmaker 242 What Can I Do While I Recover? 204
Use Failure to Trigger Instincts 124 What Do My Friends Do
Useful Magical Devices 297 While I Recover? 205
Use the Environment 191 What’s an Appropriate Goal? 84
Use Your Hands 192 What Skills or Ability for the Task 111
Using Corruption 256 What Versus What? 141
Using Monsters 216 When Do You Back Off and Let the Players
Using the Lifepaths 398 Take the Reins? 57
V When to Close 186
Verbal, Somatic or Conditional Trigger300 When to Engage in a Duel of Wits 173
Versus Sorcery 289 When to Hold 186
Versus Tests 139 When to Maintain 185
Versus Tests for Competition and When to Say No to Changing a Belief87
Physical Altercations 140 When to Trait Vote? 106
Versus Tests with Help 140 When to Use Help 144
Vessels and Name 293 When to Use Range and Cover? 183
The Victimized Mage 220 When to Use Versus Tests for Social
The Victim Must Interactions 139
Remain Conscious and Alive 368 When to Withdraw 186
Victims and Corpses 355 Why Can’t I Just Shoot Him? 184
Victims Must Recover 368 Why Let It Ride? 150
Village of Hochen-wise 214 Wilderness 137
Villager Setting 403 Wild Pack Setting 480

553
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Wild Setting 462 Wolf Friends 505
Wild Spirits 323 Wolf Leads 486
Will Failure 267 Wolf Life 485
Wises 206, 535 Wolf Packs 485
Wises and Beginner’s Luck 215 Wolf Skills 493
Wises and Failure 211 Wolf Tactics 509
Wises and Let It Ride 210 Wolf Trait Round Up 484
Wises Are Contextual 212 Wolves in Play 510
Wises as Information 206 Workhorse 102
Wises in Setting Up Working Toward… 96
Range and Cover 182 Workshops 355
Wises, Intent and Task 209 Wounds in Versus Tests 140
Wises Restricted 266 Wrapping Up 38
Wizard Burner 402 Writing Beliefs for a Campaign 86
Wizard’s Staff 396 XYZ
Wizard Traits 409 You Have Me at a Disadvantage 194
Wolf Barding 508 You Should Be Dying 352

554
 Index of Traits
A Changeling Coat Dt 3 pts 491, 514
Abused Char 409, 446 Charismatic C-O 420
Acquisitive Char 446, 512 Cilia Dt/C-O 5 pts 514
Addled Char 469, 512 Clawed Dt 3 pts 450
Aecer’s Likeness Dt 445, 512 Clawed Dt 3 pts 514
Alarmist Dt 2 pts 446, 512 Club Tail Dt 2 pts 450
Albino Dt 3 pts 446, 512 Club Tail Dt 2 pts 515
Always in the Way Char 409, 512 Clumsy Dt 447
Ambitious Char 446 Clumsy Walker Char 515
Amoeboid Dt 5 pts 512 Coat of Darkness Dt 5 pts 450, 515
Amulet Bound Dt 8 pts 512 Coat of Fur C-O 445, 515
Ancestral Taint Dt 489, 512 Cocky Char 447, 515
Ancient Terror Dt 6 pts 491, 512 Cocky Char 515
Arrogant Char 409 Cold Blooded Dt 420
Assistant Pig-Keeper Char 409, 512 Cold Dt 420, 515
Atravieso 409 Communal Dt 445, 515
B Compassionate Char 447, 515
Back-Breaking Labor C-O 446 Compulsive Liar Char 420
Bedside Manner Char 446 Condescending Char 447
Beespeaker Dt 446 Confident Char 447
Believer 409 Confusing Rant Dt 9 pt 447, 515
Bellowing C-O 4 pts 469, 513 Cool Headed Dt 447
Berzerker Dt 3 pts 470, 513 Corpse Bound Dt 8 pts 515
Bitter Char 446 Corrupted Dt 3 pts 409, 516
Black Nails Dt 467, 513 Council of Mages Dt 6 pts 409, 516
Blood Lust Dt 3 pts 513 Cowardly Dt 447
Blood Thirsty C-O 2 pts 446, 513 Creepy Char 409
Bookworm 409 Creepy Char 516
Boor Char 469, 513 Crushing Jaws Dt 487, 516
Brass Skin Dt 9 pts 513 Crystalline Spines Dt 3 pts 471, 516
Broken Dt 446, 489 Cult Leader Dt 8 pts 409, 516
Broken In 409 Cynical Char 409
Brook No Fools Dt 7 pts 409, 513 D
Brutal Char 469 Daring Char 447
Brute Dt 4 pts 469, 470 Dead to Pain Dt 6 pt 516
Brute Dt 4 pts 514 Death Addicted Dt 3 pts 516
Bull-Legged Dt 4 pts 471, 514 Deceptive C-O/Dt 420, 517
Bully Char 409 Deep Fur Dt 487, 517
Bully Char 514 Deep Sense Dt 447
C Defensive Char 447, 517
Callous Char 420 Demented Char 409, 489, 517
Calloused Char 446 Desperate Char 447
Calm Demeanor C-O 446 Devourer Dt 3 pts 471, 517
Cautious Char 447, 514 Diligent Char 447
Celestial Sight Dt 8 pts 514 Disfigured Dt 3 pts 409, 517

555
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Dismissive Char 409 H
Dissent Parasite Dt 5 pts 517 Hacking Cough Char 447
Distracted Char 447 Hammer Hands Dt 2 pts 471, 520
Dominant Dt 489 Hand-Shaker C-O 4 pts 520
Dominant Dt 517 Hardened Dt 469
Domineering Presence 409 Harried Char 410, 520
Dreamer Dt 447 Hauling C-O 2 pts 469, 520
Dumb Char 447, 517 Hazed Dt 2 pts 410, 520
E Heartless Dt 6 pts 520
Earth Blood Dt 3 pts 471, 517 Heaving C-O 469, 520
Enemy of the Sun Dt 4 pts 471, 517 Hermaphrodite Char 520
Enlarged Incisors Dt 445, 518 Hideous! Dt 2 pts 520
Enlarged Venom Sacs Dt 2 pts 518 Higher Power Dt 9 pts 278, 520
Evil Char 409, 518 Hoarder Char 447, 520
Extra-Long Fur Char 450, 518 Hook Hand Dt 4 pts 472, 520
Extrovert 410 Horns Dt 5 pts 472, 521
F Horrific Aura Dt 8 pts 521
Faithful Dt 447 Howl of Doom Dt 489, 521
Familiar Face 410 Humble Dt 2 pts 447, 521
Fangs Dt 467, 518 Hungry Dead Char 344, 521
Fast Reflexes Dt 6 pts 518 I
Faust Dt 3 pts 410, 518 I Am God Dt 12 pts 278, 521
Feared Dt 447 Imperious Demeanor C-O 410, 448
Feared Dt 5 pts 410, 518 Impersonal Char 448, 521
Fearless Dt 410, 489 Impressive Hat Dt 3 pts 410, 521
Fearsome Beast C-O 2 pts 491, 518 Independent Char 448, 521
Femme Fatale/ Industrious Char 448, 521
Homme Fatal C-O 2 pts 420, 518 Insidious Cruelty Char 469, 521
Feral Dt 1 pt 420, 518 Intense Hatred Char 489, 521
Fey Blood 410 Invocations
Fiery Char 410, 518 of the Damned C-O 5 pts 410, 522
Filthy Char 420, 518 Iron Hide Dt 6 pts 472, 522
Force of Nature Dt 7 pts 278, 518 Iron Will 410
Formidable Bark C-O 2 pts 492, 519 L
Fragrant Char 447, 519 Large Ears Dt 445, 522
Frost Coat C-O 2 pts 491, 519 Late Char 410, 522
Frustrated Char 410, 447, 519 Lawbreaker Dt 8 pts 522
Fur Char 519 Light Touch C-O 2 pts 448, 522
Fur of the Fields Dt 5 pts 450, 519 Low Born Dt 2 pts 410, 522
Furtive Char 410, 519 Loyal Dt 410, 448, 489
G Lucky Dt 448
Genius C-O 3 pts 447, 519 Luminescent Dt 2 pts 522
Ghost Coat C-O 4 pts 492, 519 Lunatic 411
Gifted 410 Lupine Intellect Dt 487, 522
Gnawing Hunger Char 447 M
Good Listener C-O 5 pts 447, 519 Malformed Char 472, 523
Gopher Char 447, 519 Mangy Coat Char 492, 523
Graduate Dt 3 pts 410, 519 Manhunter 411
Great Cunning C-O 5 pts 489, 519 Mark of the Ancient Dt 5 pts 492, 523
Great Lupine Form Dt 487, 519 Massive Stature Dt 468, 523
Grotesque C-O 4 pts 469, 520 Master of Mages Dt 411, 523

556
 Lists

Mean Char 448 Practiced Smile Char 448, 525

Index
Meek Char 448, 523 Preternaturally Calm Dt 3 pts 490, 525
Megalomaniac Dt 448, 523 Pyromaniac Char 448, 525
Merciless Char 448 Q
Mesmerizing Gaze Dt 6 pts 523 Quiet C-O 448
Meticulous 411 R
Mind Numbing Work Char 469 Radula Dt 3 pts 525
Mind over Matter 411 Rat Speak Dt 3 pts 448, 525
Misshapen Char 469, 523 Raven Friend Dt 1 pt 492, 526
Missing Limb 411 Reanimated Corpse Dt 344, 526
Misunderstood Dt 448 Reclusive Char 490, 526
Misunderstood Dt 2 pts 411, 523 Remote Char 420
Mossy Coat C-O 2 pts 472, 523 Repulsive Blood Dt 2 pts 472, 526
Most Holy Dt 5 pts 448, 524 Rest in Peace Dt 337, 526
Murderous Char 420, 448 Revered C-O 4 pts 448, 527
Myopic 411 Ridged Brow Dt 3 pts 472, 527
N Righteous Char 449
Naked Char 450, 524 Ruthless Char 449, 527
Named Dt 5 pts 336, 524 S
Nauseous Char 448, 524 Sadistic C-O 2 pts 527
Necrophagic Char 524 Saturnine Dt 420, 527
Necrophobic Char 524 Scaly Skin Dt 4 pts 472, 527
Never a Moment of Peace Dt 3 pts 411, 524 Scavenger C-O 490
Night Blooded Dt 468, 524 Scheming Dt 449
Night Eyed Dt 4 pts 450, 468 Sea Legs C-O 449
Night Eyed Dt 4 pts 524 Second Sight Dt 4 pts 411
Nimble 411 Secretive Char 449
Numb Dt 411, 469 Serious Char 449, 527
O Shadow and Dust Dt 9 pts 527
Oafishly Charming Char 472, 524 Shadow Coat C-O 2 pts 492, 527
Obedient Char 489, 524 Sharpened Incisors Dt 4 pts 450, 527
Obscure Aura 411 Silent C-O 2 pts 527
Obsessed Char 448 Single-Minded C-O 3 pts 449, 527
Odor of Spirits Dt 2 pts 489, 525 Sixth Sense Dt 3 pts 411
Opportunist Char 448, 525 Skittish Dt 445, 528
Ordained Dt 2 pts 448, 525 Slave No More Dt 4 pts 490, 528
Overworked Char 411 Slave to the
P Power of Death Dt 5 pts 354, 528
Pack Rat Char 448, 525 Slow Dt 469
Paranoid Char 489 Soft Step C-O 4 pts 449, 528
Paranoid Ear 411 Solitary Char 469, 528
Patient Char 448 Speaker of
Piercing Gaze C-O/Dt5 pts 490, 525 the Secret Language Char 411, 528
Poker Face C-O 448 Spines Dt 4 pts 528
Polite Char 411, 525 Spirit Ears Dt 3 pts 490, 528
Poltergeist Dt 3 pts 337, 525 Spirit Familiar Dt 5 pts 411, 528
Portly Char 448, 525 Spirit Marked Dt 3 pts 490, 529
Pouched Cheeks Dt 2 pts 450, 525 Spirit Nature Dt 17 pts 529
Practical Char 448 Spirit Nose Dt 3 pts 490, 529
Practiced Precision 411 Spite Dt 420, 530

557
 The Burning Wheel Codex
Stained Dt 490, 530 U
Stillness C-O 3 pts 530 Unfeeling Dt 8 pts 532
Stink of the Ancient Dt 490, 530 Unflinching Dt 6 pts 469, 532
Stoic 412 V
Stone’s Age Dt 468, 530 Vegetarian Char 449, 532
Stone Skin Dt 5 pts 472, 530 Vengeful Dt 421, 532
Stubborn Dt 469 Versatile Dt 4 pts 412, 532
Submissive Dt 491, 530 Vestigial Wings Char 473, 533
Suicidal Dt 5 pts 412, 531 Victim Dt 2 pts 449, 533
Sweet Tooth Char 449, 531 Vile Language Char 469, 491
T Visionary Faith Dt 5 pts 450, 533
Tail Char 445, 531 Voracious Carnivore Char 468, 533
Tainted Legacy 412 W
Tasting the Lash Dt 469 Wanderlust Char 491, 533
Tasting the Lash Dt 491 Watchful Char 491
Tentacles Dt 4/7 pts 531 Webbed Fingers and Toes Dt 1 pt 473, 533
Thick Skin Dt 449 Weird Char 449
Thief C-O 2 pts 421, 531 Well Traveled Dt 4 pts 412, 533
Thoughtful Char 449, 531 Where There’s a Whip… Dt 470
Tinkerer 412 Whip Tail Dt 4 pts 450, 533
Toiling C-O 2 pts 449, 531 Wickedly Clever C-O 469, 533
Toothy Maw Dt 4 pts 472, 531 Witch Flesh Dt 6 pts 470, 534
Tough as Nails Dt 469 Wolf Eyes Dt 487, 534
Tough Dt 449, 468 Wolf Snout Dt 488, 534
Troll Savant Char 472, 531 Woodland Ear Dt 488, 534
Troll Skin Dt 468, 531 XYZ
Tunnel Vision Dt 3 pts 449, 532 Zealot Dt 412, 449
Tusks Dt 2 pts 473, 532 Zoophagia Char 534

558
 Reference
Music
Darkthrone, Danzig, Earth, High on Fire, Om, Unsane, The Wretched End, He Whose Ox Is
Gored, Helms Alee, Fugazi, Godflesh, 3 Inches of Blood, Iron Maiden, Cult of Luna, Disfear,
Yob, Kyuss, Melvins, Primitives Weapons, Austerity Program, Nick Cave, Frank Zappa, Joseph
Gallows (Live on the Green), Ramesses, SubRosa, Ufomammut, Unearthly Trance, Watain,
Zyklon, Mgła, Panopticon, Chelsea Wolfe, Minsk, Sannhet, Murder by Death and Rosetta.

Non-Fiction
The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems, by “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (Review),
Henry Adams Bellows (Translator) by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times, January
Primitive Mythology, by Joseph Campbell, 1, 1982
Penguin Arkana Forbidden Rites, Richard Kieckhefer, Penn
Oriental Mytholog y, by Joseph Campbell, State Press
Penguin Arkana The Magus, Francis Barret, Samuel Weiser, Inc
Occidental Mythology, by Joseph Campbell, The Magician’s Companion, Bill Whitcomb,
Penguin Arkana Llewellyn Publications
The Norse Myths, by Kevin Crossley-Holland, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition,
Pantheon by Dame Frances Yates
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, by Dame
Frances Yates

Gameography
Torchbearer, Luke Crane and Thor Olavsrud Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Gary
Mouse Guard the Roleplaying Game, Luke Gygax, Dave Arneson TSR
Crane and David Petersen, Archaia Studios Realms of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness and The
Press Lost and the Damned), Rick Priestley, Bryan
Sorcerer, Ron Edwards, Adept Press Ansell, Mike Brunton and Simon Forres, et al.
Games Workshop

Fiction
Taran Wanderer, by Lloyd Alexander, Henry The Ilearth War, by Stephen R. Donaldson,
Holt and Co. Del Rey
The High King, by Lloyd Alexander, Henry The Power That Preserves, by Stephen R.
Holt and Co. Donaldson, Del Rey
Seven against Thebes, by Aeschylus The Wounded Land, by Stephen R. Donaldson,
The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury, Knopf Del Rey
Ramayana, by William Buck (Translator), The One Tree, by Stephen R. Donaldson, Del
University of California Press Rey
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor White Gold Wielder, by Stephen R. Donaldson,
Coleridge, Gramercy Del Rey
The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper, The Charwoman’s Shadow, by Lord Dunsany,
Atheneum Ballantine
Greenwitch, by Susan Cooper, Atheneum The Bacchae, by Euripides, Penguin Classics
The Grey King, by Susan Cooper, Atheneum Medea, by Euripides, Penguin Classics
Silver on the Tree, by Susan Cooper, Atheneum Magician: Apprentice, by Raymond E. Feist,
Lord Foul’s Bane, by Stephen R. Donaldson, Bantam Spectra
Del Rey Magician : Master, by Raymond E. Feist,
Bantam Spectra
559
The Burning Wheel Codex

Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Bantam The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton
Classics Mifflin
The Odyssey, by Homer, Penguin Classics Tales of the Dying Earth, by Jack Vance, Orb Books
The Conan Chronicles, Volume 1: The People of the Hellblazer, Vertigo/DC Comics, by various
Black Circle, by Robert E. Howard, Millennium Bloodstone, by Karl Edward Wagner, Warner Books
The Conan Chronicles, Volume 2: The Hour of the The Book of Wizards: Stories of Enchantment
Dragon, by Robert E. Howard, Millennium from Near and Far, edited by Jennifer Schwamm
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Willis (Anthology), Da Capo Press Books
Bantam Journey to the West, by Anthony C. Yu, University
The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Bantam Of Chicago Press
The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Bantam Lloyd Alexander: Book of Three, The Black
Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Cauldron, Castle Llyr.
Le Guin, Bantam Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars, The
Tales from Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Ace Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars.
The Otherwind, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Orion Louis Cha: Heaven Sword & Dragon Saber.
Children’s Books
Glen Cook: The Black Company, Shadows Linger,
Swords and Deviltry, by Fritz Leiber, Ace Books
The White Rose.
Swords against Death, by Fritz Leiber, Ace Books
Alexander Dumas: Three Musketeers, Twenty Years
Swords in the Mist, by Fritz Leiber, Ace Books
After, Ten Years Later; The Count of Monte Cristo.
Swords against Wizardry, by Fritz Leiber, Ace
Lord Dunsanay: The Charwoman’s Shadow, The
Books
King of Elfland’s Daughter.
The Tomb and Other Tales, by H.P. Lovecraft, Del
Rey E.R. Eddison: The Worm Ouroboros.
The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, by H.P. Lovecraft, William Goldman: The Princess Bride.
edited by S.T. Joshi, DTP Literature Gregory Keyes: The Waterborn.
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by
Harold Lamb: Wolf of the Steppes.
Christopher Marlowe, Oxford University Press
Fritz Leiber: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against
Paradise Lost, by John Milton, edited by Merritt Y.
Wizardry, The Swords of Lankhmar, Swords and
Hughes, Macmillan
Ice Magic.
Elric of Melnibone, by Michael Moorcock, Blue Star
Johnston McCulley, The Mark of Zorro.
The Weird of the White Wolf, by Michael Moorcock,
Daw C.L. Moore: Black God’s Kiss.
Stormbringer, by Michael Moorcock, Savoy Books Arturo Perez-Reverte: Captain Alatriste, Purity of
The Anvil of Ice, by Michael Scott Rohan, Orbit Blood, The Sun Over Breda and The King’s Gold.
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare Rafael Sabatini: Captain Blood, The Seahawk.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Jack Vance: Tales of the Dying Earth.
Mary Shelley, Penguin Classics
Karl Edward Wagner: Bloodstone.
Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Penguin Classics
Gene Wolfe: Shadow and Claw (Shadow of the
Antigone, by Sophocles, Penguin Classics
Torturer, Claw of the Conciliator, Sword of the
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin
Lictor, Citadel of the Autarch).
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton
Mifflin

Colophon
This book was created using an iMac 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5 running OS 10.11.4
and the Adobe Creative Suite 5 (specifically, InDesign CS 5).
The typefaces Bauer Bodoni, Caliban, Post Medieval and Post Antiqua
are used throughout.

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