“Light your torches, don your helmets,

sharpen your swords, and prepare your spells.”

swords and wizardry: white box is an OGL adaptation of the original 1974 fantasy role-play-

ing game, created by Gary Gygax, that started it all. Based on the swords and wizardry: core

rules, the whitebox version takes the game even further back, because it only uses the first

three books of the original game—no material from the supplements at all.

Inside this book, you’ll find everything you’ll need to embark on a fantastic adventure:

Ք The 4 Classic Races: Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and Humans

Ք The 3 Original Classes: Clerics, Fighters, and Magic-users

Ք Over 90 wondrous spells and tens of monsters to use them on

Ք Hirelings, 10 ft poles, and 1d6 damage

Consider this book the gateway to an earlier style of gaming. The rules herein are open, flexible,

and allow for a great deal of freedom. For enterprising souls, the contents of this book represent a

foundation from which to build the ultimate gaming experience. All that’s required is this book,

some polyhedral dice, pencil and paper, a good group of friends, and an imagination.

Imagine the hell out of it!

White Box
By Matt Finch and Marv Breig

With thanks to Jason “Philotomy Jurament” Cone, Allan T. Grohe, Jr., and Jerry Mapes for
proofreading and suggestions

Art Director: hellbender

Cover art: Pete Mullen
Layout and additional proofreading: Jesse “Verhaden” Rothacher

MYTHMERE GAMES™
Copyright © 2008 Matthew J. Finch
Swords & Wizardry, S&W, and Mythmere Games are the trademarks of Matthew J. Finch
Table of Contents

Introduction� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � iv Missile Attack � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14

Editor’s Comments � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � iv Negotiation and Diplomacy� � � � � � � � � � � � 15
Spells� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 15
Chapter 1: Getting Started Invisible Opponent � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 15
Starting the Game� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Turning the Undead� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 15
Rule Number One� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Morale � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16
The Dice� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Damage and Death� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16
Ability Scores� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Healing� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16
Strength � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 Gameplay Example� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17
Intelligence� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3
Wisdom � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 Chapter 5: Spells
Constitution� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 Clerical Spell List� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 18
Dexterity � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 Magic-user Spell List� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 18
Charisma� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4
Universal Attribute Bonus� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 Chapter 6: Running the Game
Experience Bonus � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 Information for the Referee� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 31
Starting Gold� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 Designing an Adventure� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 31
Creating a Campaign� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 31
Chapter 2: Character Classes Experience Points � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 32
Character Classes� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5
The Cleric� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 Chapter 7: Monsters
The Fighter� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 Monsters� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 33
The Magic-user � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 Monster “to-hit” Rolls� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 33
Dwarves� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 8 Creating Monsters� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 52
Elves� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 8
Halflings� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 10 Chapter 8: Treasure
Character Retirement� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 10 How Much Treasure? � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 53
“Trading” GP Value for Treasures� � � � � � � 53
Chapter 3: Items and Equipment Magic Potion Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � � � � 54
Buying Equipment� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 11 Protection Scroll Descriptions � � � � � � � � � � 55
Calculating Armor Class � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 12 Cursed Item Description� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 56
Comparing Armor Class Systems � � � � � � � 12 Unusual Weapon Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � 57
Unusual Armor Description� � � � � � � � � � � � 57
Chapter 4: Playing the Game Greater Wand Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � � � 57
The Game� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13 Lesser Rings Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � � � � � 58
Gaining Experience� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13 Misc. Magic Item Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � 59
Time� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13 Cursed Items � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 63
Movement Rate� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13 Cursed Item Descriptions� � � � � � � � � � 64
Hiring Assistants� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13
Combat� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14 Chapter 10: Publishing and License Information
Determine Initiative� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14 Publishing Your Stuff � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 65
The Attack Roll � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14 The Swords & Wizardry CSL� � � � � � � � � � � 65
Melee Attack � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14 Open Game Content License� � � � � � � � � � � 66

iii
swords & wizardry: white box

Introduction

swords & wizardry: white box is a fantasy roleplaying game. The rules are
extremely short, compared to the multi-paged rule-libraries required to play
most modern roleplaying games. Yet this game contains within itself all the
seeds and soul of mythic fantasy, the building blocks of vast complexity, the
kindling of wonder. The game is so powerful because it’s encapsulated in a small
formula, like a genie kept imprisoned in the small compass of an unremarkable
lamp. It’s a good introductory game for learning how to play fantasy roleplaying
games. It’s also, for that matter, the ultimate tool for the expert Referee who cus-
tomizes his worlds with variant rules. The customizability of a small system is
very powerful (it is always easier to add rules than to untangle them away).
One other note about publishing your own stuff: you can publish your own
adventures, house rules, and other materials for this game. Guidelines and re-
quirements are in the back of the book right before the Open Game License.
Enjoy!

— Matt “Mythmere” Finch

Editor’s Comments

Like an archeologist unearthing ancient ruins, my task is to uncover and pre-

serve the essence of what made role-playing great in the genesis of the hobby.
These rules are designed to maintain the spirit and philosophy of the oldest
gaming models, back in the days where the rules weren’t supposed to be “com-
plete” because half of the fun was making up your own rules to cover new situ-
ations. I have played role-playing games since 1975 when I first discovered a fun
game in a little white box, and I enjoy giving the reader the opportunity to dis-
cover the flavor of what I found so many decades ago.
I’d like to thank Matt for giving me the opportunity to do this, Philotomy
for his wonderful suggestions, and to quote Sir Isaac Newton “If I see so far it’s
because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

— Marv “Finarvyn” Breig

iv
ChapTer 1: GettinG Started

Starting the Game

The first step in playing the game is to create a char- Character Sheet
acter. This is a simple matter of rolling some dice to Your character sheet could look something like
determine your character’s strength and other basic this (Finarvyn prefers 3x5 index cards):
attributes, picking a character class, using your game
money to buy some equipment, and then playing.
If you’re the Referee, you’ve got a bit more prepa-
ration to do—that’s covered later in a section espe-
cially for the Referee.

Rule Number One

The most important rule is that the Referee always
has the right to modify the rules. In fact, it’s encour-
aged. There are gaps in the rules—holes which we did
not fill on purpose because much of the fun of “old
school” gaming is being able to make rules up as you
need them. House Rule: Rolling Attributes
This could be as simple as “um, grab some dice, Some Referees prefer to allow players to have
roll them, and tell me the number” or more complex more flexibility in their choice of class. One
home-brew charts for the smallest of details. Along option would be to roll 3d6 six times and “ar-
the way we’ll be making suggestions, explanations, range to taste.” This allows the player to put
and giving ideas in textbox format; feel free to use the best rolls on the attributes that best fit the
them or discard them as you like. character concept.
This is your game, after all.

The Dice Ability Scores

swords & wizardry uses several different kinds of The basic attributes are numbers which represent the
dice, and we abbreviate them according to how many strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexter-
sides they have. So, the four-sided die is called a d4, ity, and charisma of the character.
and if we’re telling you to roll 3 of them, we say to roll The standard way to create ability scores is to roll
3d4. The six-sided die is a d6, the eight-sided die is a 3d6 in the order listed above. Once those rolls have
d8, the ten-sided die is a d10, the twelve-sided die is been made, it is often obvious which type of charac-
a d12, and the twenty-sided die is a d20. There’s one ter best fits the attributes, but a player always has the
other die, the d100. There is no die with 100 sides— option to play any char-
what you do to roll a d100 is to roll two ten-sided dice, acter class desired.
treating the first roll as the “tens” and the second roll
as the “ones.” A result of 0 and 0 means a result of
“100.” So, if you were to roll a 7 and
then a 3, that would mean a 73.

1
Chapter 1: Getting Started

Strength
A high strength can (using the appropriate house House Rule: Strength for Combat
rules) give your character bonuses when attacking Some Referees may rule that Fighters can use
with a sword or other hand-held weapon (called a their Strength Bonus in combat. For example:
“melee weapon”), and lets him carry more weight.
Strength is the prime attribute for Fighters. ՔՔ Fighters can use their Strength Bonus to
modify your “to-hit” number with hand-
ՔՔ Fighters can use their Strength Bonus to gain held (melee) weapons.
a percent bonus on earned Experience Points
(XP). ՔՔ Fighters can use their Strength Bonus
to modify your “damage” number with
Intelligence hand-held (melee) weapons.
Intelligence represents IQ, reasoning, and the abili-
ty to solve puzzles or understand difficult concepts.
Intelligence is the prime attribute for Magic-user
characters. House Rule: Intelligence for Spells
Some Referees may rule that Magic-users can
ՔՔ You can use your Intelligence Bonus to learn ad- use their Intelligence Bonus to gain a bonus
ditional languages. You gain one extra language on “spell effectiveness” (i.e. target suffers a loss
for every point above 10. on his saving throw against the Magic-user’s
spells).
ՔՔ Magic-users can use their Intelligence Bonus to
gain a percent bonus on Experience Points (XP)
earned.
House Rule: Wisdom for Spells
Wisdom Some Referees may rule that Clerics can use
Wisdom determines a character’s insight, percep- their Wisdom Bonus to gain a bonus on “spell
tion, and good judgment. Wisdom is the prime at- effectiveness” (i.e. target suffers a loss on his
tribute for Cleric characters, and any character with saving throw against the Cleric’s spells).
a wisdom score of 13 or higher gains a 5% bonus to all
experience point awards.

ՔՔ You can use your Wisdom Bonus to gain a per- House Rule: Dexterity for AC
cent bonus on Experience Points (XP) earned. Some Referees may rule that you can use your
Dexterity Bonus to modify your Armor Class
ՔՔ Clerics can use their Wisdom Bonus to gain an (AC) or Ascending Armor Class (AAC); use
additional percent bonus on Experience Points the number for AAC or change the +/- for AC.
(XP) earned. This may be limited more to Swashbuck-
ler-style campaigns or other games where ar-
Constitution mor is more limited.
Constitution is the health and endurance of the char-
acter. A high constitution gives your character extra
hit points.

ՔՔ You can use your Constitution Bonus to gain ad-

ditional hit points on each hit die.

3
swords & wizardry: white box

Dexterity Table 2: Universal Attribute Bonus

Dexterity is a combination of coordination and
quickness. A high dexterity score gives your char- Attribute Roll Description Bonus
acter bonuses when attacking with a bow or other 3–6 Below Average -1 (or 5%)
ranged weapon. 7–14 Average –
15–18 Above Average +1 (or 5%)
Ք You can use your Dexterity Bonus to modify
your “to-hit” number with ranged (also called This rules set encourages the use of the above table
“missile”) weapons. for all of the attributes except for Charisma (which
has its own table).
Charisma Each Referee can decide how and when the Bo-
A highly charismatic character has a better chance to nus is used, and should feel free to tinker with the
talk his way out of trouble, and can lead more special table if desired. For example, some Referees prefer for
followers than characters with a low charisma. Any the “average” range to be 9–12 and will adjust the ta-
character with a charisma score of 13 or higher re- ble accordingly.
ceives a bonus of 5% to all experience point awards.
Experience Bonus
Ք You can use your Charisma Bonus to gain a per- Each character gets a bonus percentage to “experi-
cent bonus on Experience Points (XP) earned. ence points,” that will usually increase how much ex-
perience is gained in an adventure.
Ք You can use your Charisma to modify the num- All characters get to add their percentage Wis-
ber of loyal NPC hirelings you can acquire. These dom Bonus to their percentage Charisma Bonus as
hirelings include specialists and non-human XP Bonus.
creatures, but do not usually include basic men- All characters get to add their Prime Attribute
at-arms. You can use your Charisma to modify Bonus based on their class.
the loyalty of those NPC hirelings. Those numbers are added together to get the to-
tal experience bonus for the character. The maximum
Table 1: Charisma Bonus attainable XP Bonus would be 15%.

Charisma Hirelings Loyalty Starting Gold

3–4 1 -2 Roll 3d6 and multiply by 10. This
5–6 2 -2 represents the number of gold piec-
7–8 3 -1 es (gp) that your character gets to
9–12 4 0 have at the start of the campaign.
13–15 5 +1
16–17 6 +2 Alignment
18 7 +2 Just a quick note on alignment—games are usually
set up as “us” against “them” and you can use various
The Referee may want to make a “loyalty check” for names for each. Usually “us” is considered to be Law
an NPC put into a dangerous situation or one who is (or Good), while “them” would be the monsters who
offered a bribe to change sides in a conflict. are Chaos (or Evil).
The Referee gets the final say on which options
Universal Attribute Bonus are for the protagonists and which ones are for the
Each attribute has the potential to modify what you antagonists.
can do. The Universal Attribute Bonus (or just “Bo-
nus”) table gives some numbers to consider:

4
Chapter 2: character classes

Character Classes
There are three character classes in this game: Cleric, Reading Character Class Tables
Fighter, and Magic-user. Your Referee may also have Level: Refers to the level of experience of the
invented other character classes, or may be allowing character.
optional character classes and races from other fan-
tasy games. XP: This is the number of Experience Points
(XP) needed to advance to this level.
The Cleric
Clerics are armored priests who serve Good/Law or BHB: This is the “Base Hit Bonus” added to the
Evil/Chaos. Most Clerics have a patron deity or serve attack roll. (See Combat)
a particular religion. Feel free to make up the details,
if your Referee doesn’t use a particular mythology for HD: This is the number of d6 Hit Dice at that
the campaign you’re playing in. level. Characters re-roll their HD each time
Regardless of the details, you are a champion of they advance a level to obtain a number of hit
your faith and moral alignment. You might be a sin- points. (If you roll poorly, those hit points don’t
ister witch-hunter, an exorcist of demons, a shining go down, however.)
knight of the faith, or a secret agent of the Temple
hierarchy. Because most of a Cleric’s abilities are ori- ST: This is the Saving Throw number for the
ented toward healing and protecting, Clerics tend to character trying to avoid something terrible.
play a support role during combat, backing up the
front line, but able to stand shoulder to shoulder with
the party’s Fighters if need be—at least for a while.

Table 3: Clerical Advancement

Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1 +0 14
2 1,500 2 +0 13
3 3,000 3 +0 12
4 6,000 3+1 +1 11
5 12,000 4 +1 10
6 24,000 5 +2 9
7 48,000 6 +2 8
8 96,000 6+1 +3 7
9 192,000 7 +4 6
10 384,000 8 +5 5

Table 4: Clerical Spell Advancement

Level Spell Level Level Spell Level

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1 – – – – – 6 2 2 1 1 –
2 1 – – – – 7 2 2 2 1 1
3 2 – – – – 8 2 2 2 2 2
4 2 1 – – – 9 3 3 3 2 2
5 2 2 1 – – 10 3 3 3 3 3

5
swords & wizardry: white box

Clerical Class Abilities bility. Fail, of course, and you will die—just another
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Because Clerics dis- forgotten warrior in a dangerous world.
like the shedding of blood, they may only use blunt
weapons (club, flail, mace) and the only missile weap- Table 5: Fighter Advancement
on they are allowed is oil. Clerics have no armor
restrictions. Level XP HD BHB ST
Spell Casting: Clerics cast divine spells from a 1 0 1+1 +0 16
specific list, as per the Clerical Spell Advancement 2 2,000 2 +1 15
Table. Each day, the Cleric prays for a certain set of 3 4,000 3 +2 14
spells, choosing any spells from the standard list. 4 8,000 4 +2 13
Clerics of specific gods might have entirely different 5 16,000 5 +3 12
sets of spells as designed by the Referee, but the stan- 6 32,000 6 +4 11
dard Cleric has the standard spell list. 7 64,000 7 +4 10
Saving Throw: Clerics get +2 on saving throws 8 128,000 8 +5 9
vs. death and poisons. 9 256,000 9 +6 8
Banishing Undead: Clerics can “Turn” the un- 10 512,000 10 +6 7
dead, making them flee from the Cleric’s holiness (or,
in the case of an Evil Cleric, bringing them to heel as Fighter Class Abilities
servants and minions). See Page 15. Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Fighters are trained
Establish Temple (10th): At tenth level, a Cleric in warfare and as such have no armor or weapon
character who chooses to build a temple to their de- restrictions.
ity of choice may attract a body of loyal followers who Combat Machine: Against foes of one hit dice
will swear fealty to him. (HD) or fewer, Fighters get one attack per level each
XP Bonus for Wisdom: This class bonus is in ad- turn.
dition to the XP Bonus all characters get by having a Saving Throw: Fighters get +1 on saving throws
high wisdom attribute. vs. death and poisons.
Establish Stronghold (th): At ninth level, a Fight-
The Fighter er character who chooses to build a castle is consid-
You are a warrior, trained in battle and ered to have the rank of “Baron” bestowed upon him
in the use of armor and weapons. Perhaps by the local ruler or monarch and may choose to at-
you are a ferocious Viking raider, a roaming tract a body of loyal men-at-arms who will swear fe-
samurai, or a medieval knight. Whatever type alty to him.
of Fighter you choose to play, you will probably end XP Bonus for Strength: This class bonus is due
up on the front lines of your adventuring party, going to a high strength attribute.
toe-to-toe with dragons, goblins, and evil cultists.
The Fighter character is best equipped of The Magic-user
all the character classes to dish out and ab- The Magic-user is a mysterious figure, a student of
sorb damage. Clerics heal, and Magic-users cast arcane powers and spell casting. Magic-users can
spells, but the down-and-dirty hack and slash be devastating opponents. However, they are usual-
work is up to you. ly physically weaker than other adventuring classes,
You’re going to serve as the party’s sword and and are untrained in the use of armor and weapons.
shield, protecting the weaker party members and As Magic-users progress in level, they generally
taking down the enemies before you. Perhaps one become the most powerful of the character classes,
day they will tell legends of your battle prowess, and but at lower levels they are quite vulnerable and must
followers will flock to your castle stronghold—where be protected by the other party members. Perhaps
you revel in your fame, riches, and newly earned no- one day, though, you will rise to such heights of pow-

6
ChapTer 2: character claSSeS

er that you can build a mystically protected tower for

your researches, create fabulous magic items, and House Rule: M-U Advancement
scribe new formulae for hitherto unknown spells. Some Referees may want to allow the Magic-
Such arch-mages can sway the politics of kingdoms, user to advance beyond 10th level and access
and command respect and fear across the realms. Spell Level 6. For your benefit, we have sup-
plied an advancement method suitable for
Table 6: Magic-user Advancement those purposes.

Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1 +0 15 Magic-user Class Abilities
2 2,500 1+1 +0 14 Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Magic-users tend to
3 5,000 2 +0 13 spend their waking hours in study of arcane tomes
4 10,000 2+1 +0 12 and scrolls, and as such tend to not have much train-
5 20,000 3 +1 11 ing in weapons. Magic-users may only use daggers or
6 40,000 3+1 +1 10 staves and are not allowed the use of armor.
7 80,000 4 +2 9 Spell Casting: Unlike the Cleric, a Magic-user
8 160,000 4+1 +2 8 owns a book of spells, which does not necessarily
9 320,000 5 +3 7 include all of the spells on the standard lists. Read-
10 640,000 5+1 +3 6 ing from the book, the Magic user presses his chosen
11 – 6 +4 5 spell formulae into his mind, “preparing” these spells.
12 – 6+1 +4 5 Once a prepared spell is cast, it disappears from the
13 – 7 +5 5 Magic-user’s ability to cast (until it is prepared again).
14 – 7+1 +5 5 It is possible to prepare a spell multi-
15 – 8 +6 5 ple times using the available “slots”
16 – 8+1 +6 5 in the Magic-user’s memory/ca-
pability. If the
Table 7: Magic-user Spell Advancement magic user finds
scrolls of spells
Level Spell Level while adventuring,
1 2 3 4 5 6 he can copy them
1 1 – – – – – into his spell book.
2 2 – – – – – Saving Throw:
3 3 1 – – – – Magic-users get +2
4 4 2 – – – – on saving throws vs.
5 4 2 1 – – – magic.
6 4 2 2 – – – XP Bonus for In-
7 4 3 2 1 – – telligence:: This class
8 4 3 3 2 – – bonus is due to a high
9 4 3 3 2 1 – intelligence attribute.
10 4 4 3 2 2 –
11 4 4 4 3 3 –
12 4 4 4 4 4 1
13 5 5 5 4 4 2
14 5 5 5 4 4 3
15 5 5 5 4 4 4
16 5 5 5 5 5 5

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swords & wizardry: white box

Dwarves
Dwarves tend to grow up in underground cities. As Character Races
such, Dwarves easily take note of certain features of In a fantasy world, humans often aren’t alone.
stonework: sloping corridors, traps made of stone (in Elves may populate the great forests, Dwarves
particular: falling blocks, rigged ceilings, and tiny ar- may carve their halls and mines into the heart
row slits designed to release poison gas or darts), and of the earth, and Halflings may reside in the
moving walls. There is no established die roll or rule comfortable hill-houses of their bucolic shires.
for using these abilities; exactly what the Dwarf does By contrast, some fantasy worlds depict an
or does not perceive is up to the Referee. isolated human race pitted against ancient pre-
human evils and the grim, savage wilderness
Dwarven Race Abilities of worlds at the dawn (or dusk) of human civi-
Character Advancement: Dwarves use the Fighter lization itself.
class advancement chart. They are typically allowed Some fantasy worlds, as a third example,
to progress as high as sixth level. accentuate the bizarre, with a wide variety of
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Like other Fight- fantasy races available to the players—such
ers, Dwarves are trained in warfare and as such have worlds are filled with conflict and contradic-
no armor or weapon restrictions. tions, always with a new wonder to be found
Hereditary Foes: Dwarves gain an extra +1 when beyond the next corner. The Referee deter-
fighting orcs and goblins. mines what non-human races, if any, you can
Keen Detection: Dwarves are good at spotting choose for your character. In fact, the Referee
traps, slanting passages, and new construction while might permit races that aren’t covered here.
underground.
Hard to Hit: Being small, Dwarves typically are
awarded some defensive bonus in combat because for the Referee to craft new Elven character classes if
they are hard to hit. (Perhaps -2 against men-folk and he so desires.
-4 against giants.) The Elven adventurer may choose, on any given
Saving Throw: Dwarves don’t use magic and as day (perhaps when the moon rises) whether to use
such are somewhat immune to it; Dwarves get +4 on the capabilities of a Magic-user or of a Fighter. As a
saving throws vs. magic. Since they are such hardy result, the Elf has access to either the Fighter or Mag-
folk, Dwarves also get +1 on saving throws against ic-user chart for to-hit bonuses and saving throws,
death and poisons. depending upon whether he donned steel that day or
Languages: For campaigns that give each race its summoned up the power to cast spells.
own dialect, Dwarves should be able to speak with Elven adventurers must use a spell book to pre-
gnomes, goblins, orcs, and kobolds. pare spells, just as a Magic-user, and spells disappear
from his casting capability once they are cast, also in
Elves the same way as a Magic-user’s do.
Referees interpret Elves in all kinds of different ways.
Are they the faerie-folk of Irish legend, the Vanir of Elven Race Abilities
Norse legend, the human-like Wood Elves or pow- Character Advancement: Elves may use either the
erful and alien Grey Elves of Tolkien, or something Fighter or Magic-user class advancement charts, to
else defined by the Referee’s own imagination? As a be announced at the start of an adventure. They are
baseline, most Elves of folklore are associated with typically allowed to progress as high as fourth level as
magic as well as being skilled with sword and bow. a Fighter or eighth level as a Magic-user.
The nature of the Elven race as a whole is completely Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Elves have general
the province of the Referee, and it is entirely possible limitations similar to those of Magic-users, but are

8
ChapTer 2: character claSSeS

allowed to wear special Elven chain mail while ad-

venturing as a Magic-user. House Rule: Elf Variant
Hereditary Foes: Elves gain an extra +1 when Some Referees may want to allow the Elf to
fighting goblins, orcs, intelligent undead, and lycan- advance as a blend of Fighter and Magic-us-
thropes. Elves are also immune to paralysis caused er instead of switching back and forth. In that
by undead such as ghouls. model, the following abilities and advance-
Keen Detection: Elves are good at spotting hid- ment table might be used instead:
den and concealed doors. Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Elves would
Saving Throw: Elves get +2 on saving throws vs. have the advantage of both magic and armor at
magic. the same time, so the Referee may limit the Elf
Languages: For campaigns that give each race to chain mail. Elves may not use shields when
its own dialect, Elves should be able to speak with casting spells. Elves may not use two-handed
gnolls, goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins. weapons (two-handed sword, pole arm) when
casting spells.
Foes Elves gain an extra
Hereditary Foes:
+1 when fighting orcs, undead, and magical
creatures.
Detection Elves are good at spotting
Keen Detection:
hidden and concealed doors.
row Elves get +2 on saving
Saving Throw:
throws vs. magic.
Languages For campaigns that give each
Languages:
race its own dialect, Elves should be able to
speak with gnolls, goblins, orcs, and
hobgoblins.

Table 8: Elf Variant Advancement

Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1+1 +1 16
2 5,000 2 +1 15
3 10,000 2+1 +1 14
4 20,000 3 +1 13
5 40,000 3+1 +2 12
6 80,000 4 +2 11
7 160,000 4+1 +2 10
8 320,000 5 +2 9

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Table 9: Elf Variant Spell Advancement Near Invisibility: When not engaged in combat,
Halflings are hard to see and move with almost total
Level Spell Level silence.
1 2 3 Saving Throw: Halflings don’t use magic and as
1 – – – such are somewhat immune to it; Halflings get +4 on
2 1 – – saving throws vs. magic. Since they are such hardy
3 2 – – folk, Halflings also get +1 on saving throws against
4 2 1 – death and poisons.
5 3 2 – Languages: For campaigns that give each race its
6 4 2 – own dialect, Halflings should be able to speak with
7 4 2 1 creatures that fit the style of the Referee’s campaign.
8 4 2 2
Character Retirement
Halflings Each Referee has his or her own style, and a prefer-
There are many types of Halflings which appear in ence for a given range of character levels for their
literature, and this group could include gnomes, pix- games. The Referee has the final say on how and when
ies or fairies, small folk from the shire-land, or any retirement works for the campaign. Some ignore re-
other of the “wee folk” which the Referee will allow tirement altogether, and simply extrapolate the tables
in his campaign. to include levels beyond those shown.

Halfling Race Abilities

Character Advancement: Halflings use the Fighter
class advancement table. They are typically allowed
to progress as high as fourth level.
Hard to Hit: Being small, Halflings typically are
awarded some defensive bonus in combat because
they are hard to hit. (Perhaps -2 against men-folk and
-4 against giants.)
Deadly Accuracy with Missiles: Halflings re-
ceive +2 when firing missile weapons in combat.

10
ChapTer 3: itemS and eQuipment

Buying Equipment Equipment Weight

Each character starts with some gold pieces at the A “normal” level of miscellaneous equipment is as-
beginning of the game, used to buy equipment. One sumed to weigh 70 pounds. Treasure is added to this,
gold piece (gp) is worth 10 silver pieces (sp) or 100 with each twenty coins and gems weighing a pound.
copper pieces (cp). Prices for equipment are listed on
the tables below, and all are given in gold pieces. Table 11: Transportation

Type Cost (sp)

Mule 20
Horse, draft 30
Horse, light riding 40
Warhorse, medium 100
Warhorse, heavy 200
Saddle bags 10
Saddle 25
Cart or small wagon 80
Table 10: Adventure Gear Wagon, small 160
Horse armor (barding) 320
Gear Cost (gp) Raft 40
Backpack (30 pound capacity) 5 Boat 100
Bottle (wine), glass 1 Small Sailing Ship 5,000
Case (map or scroll) 3 Small Galley 10,000
Crowbar 5 Large Sailing Ship 20,000
Flint & Steel 5 Large Galley 30,000
Grappling Hook 5
Hammer & bundle of wooden stakes 3 Table 12: Melee Weapons
Holy Symbol, wooden 2
Holy Symbol, silver 25 Weapon Damage Weight Cost
Holy Water, small vial 25 Axe, Battle1 1d6+1 15 7
Lantern 10 Club 1d6 10 –
Mirror (small steel) 5 Dagger 1d6-1 2 3
Oil (lamp), 1 pint 2 Flail 1d6 15 8
Pole, 10 ft 1 Axe, Hand 1d6 10 3
Rations, trail (day) 1 Halberd / Pole Arm1 1d6+1 15 7
Rations, dried (day) 3 Mace or Warhammer 1d6 10 5
Rope, hemp (50 ft) 1 Morning Star 1d6 15 6
Rope, silk (50 ft) 5 Spear2 1d6 10 2
Sack (15 pound capacity) 1 Staff1 1d6 10 1
Sack (30 pound capacity) 2 Sword 1d6 10 10
Shovel 5 Sword, Short 1d6-1 5 8
Spellbook (blank) 100 Sword, Two-handed1 1d6+1 15 15
Spike, iron 1 1
Two-handed weapon
Tent 20 2
Reaches 1 rank forward if used two-handed
Torch (bundle of 6) 1
Waterskin 1
Wolvesbane, Belladonna, Garlic 10

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Table 13: Missile Weapons

House Rule: AC vs AAC
Weapon Damage Weight Cost Your Referee will decide whether your game is
Bow, long 1d6 5 40 using the “standard” armor class system where
Bow, short 1d6-1 5 25 a lower AC is harder to-hit, or the “ascending
Quiver1 – – 5 AC” system (AAC), where a higher AC is hard-
Arrows (20) – 1 5 er to-hit.
Arrow, silver (1) – – 5 Numbers for the AAC system are set off in
Crossbow, heavy 1d6+1 5 25 brackets, as you will see in the table below, to
Crossbow, light 1d6-1 5 15 distinguish the two systems when the numbers
Case2 – – 5 appear side by side.
Crossbow bolt (30) – 5 5
Sling 1d6 1 2
Pouch – – 1 Using the ascending AC system (AAC), an unar-
Stones (20) – – 1 mored human has an AAC of 10. Armor worn, in-
1
20 arrow capacity stead of subtracting from this total, is added—mak-
2
30 bolt capacity ing him more difficult to hit.
Thus, a human (base AAC 10) wearing Leather
Table 14: Missile Weapon Rate of Fire and Range Armor (+2) has an effective AAC of 12 (10+2).
Your Referee will tell you which system he’s using
Weapon RoF Range1 for the campaign, so this isn’t as hard as it sounds. In
Bow, long 2 70 ft one system (standard), a high AC is bad, and in the
Bow, short 2 50 ft other system (ascending) a high AAC is good.
Crossbow, heavy 1/2 80 ft Once you start playing using one of the systems,
Crossbow, light 1 60 ft it will make perfect sense, no matter which system
Sling 1 30 ft you use.
1
-2 “to-hit” per increment
Comparing Armor Class Systems
Table 15: Armor To translate between Ascending and Descending AC
systems, the ascending armor class (AAC) and de-
Armor AC [AAC] Weight1 Cost scending armor class (AC) values should add up to
Chain -4 [+4] 50 30 19. Thus, AC 7 is the same as AAC 12 (19-7=12).
Leather -2 [+2] 25 15
Plate -6 [+6] 75 50
Shield -1 [+1] 10 10
1
Magical armor weighs either nothing or half normal at
Referee’s discretion.

Calculating Armor Class

In the standard/descending AC system (AC), an un-
armored human has an AC of 9. Any armor worn
subtracts from this total—making him more difficult
to hit.
For example, a human (base AC 9) wearing
Leather Armor (-2) has an effective AC of 7 (9-2).

12
ChapTer 4: playinG the Game

The Game Time

Once you’ve got a character, the Referee will describe Sometimes the Referee will rule that “an hour pass-
where the character is, and what he sees. The game es,” or even, “a month passes,” in the life of our in-
might start in a rural peasant village, in a vast and trepid adventurers, but two important time measure-
teeming city spiked with towers and minarets, in a ments need a quick explanation. These are the “turn,”
castle, a tavern, or at the gates of an ancient tomb. and the “combat round.” A turn represents ten min-
That’s up to the Referee. From that point on, you de- utes, and a combat round is 1 minute.
scribe what your character does. Going down stairs,
attacking a dragon, talking to the people you meet Movement Rate
(either the characters being run by the other players, Base movement rate for all races is calculated, on the
or non-player characters controlled by the Referee): table below, in terms of feet per combat round. Each
all of these sorts of things are your decisions. The Referee is advised to alter the units of measurement
Referee then tells you what happens as a result: the to suit their own games and situations.
stirs lead down to a huge tomb, the dragon attacks
your character, etc. The rules below are guidelines Table 16: Movement Rate
for how to handle certain events; mainly combat, but
also experience, movement, healing, dying, and oth- Weight Carried Elf/Human Dwarf/Halfling
er important parts of the game. 0–75 lbs 12 9
Basically, you and the Referee work together, 76–100 lbs 9 6
with the Referee handling the details of a dangerous 101–150 lbs 6 3
fantasy world, and you handling what your character 151–300 lbs 3 1
does in it. The epic story of your character’s rise to
greatness (or death in the effort) is yours to create in Table 17: Movement Adjustment
the Referee’s world.
Movement Type Adjustment
Gaining Experience Careful Half of Average Rate
Characters are awarded experience points (XP) for Normal Average Rate
killing monsters and accumulating treasure. Mon- Running Double Average Rate
sters have a set experience point value (in the mon-
ster descriptions), and one gold piece is equal to one Hiring Assistants
XP. It may seem odd to award experience for trea- Many characters, particularly
sure, but keep in mind that every gold piece gained by when first starting an ad-
the character is an index of the player’s skill. Award- venturing career, are in
ing experience only for killing monsters fails to re- the need of hirelings to
ward a party of adventurers that successfully lures a assist in carrying loot or
dragon away from its hoard so that its treasure can be fighting monsters. The
stolen without a fight, and it fails to reward charac- table below assumes that
ters that operate by intelligence, stealth, trickery and a typical adventure lasts
misdirection. roughly one week. Prices
Each character class has a prime attribute listed are in gold pieces.
in the character class description, and the character
creation process details how to use your attributes to Table 18: Hiring Assistants
determine the character’s total XP bonus.
Hireling Cost (gp)
Non-combatant (servant, torch bearer) 5
General “redshirt” soldier 2

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swords & wizardry: white box

Hireling Cost (gp)

Horseman, Sailor 3 House Rule: Statement of Intent
Blacksmith 5 Some Referees prefer to have all parties make a
Armorer 25 “statement of intent” before they roll Initiative
Ship Captain 75 in order to force players to decide what they are
Animal Trainer, Spy 125 doing before they know who goes first.
Engineer 200
Alchemist 250
Assassin, Sage 500
House Rule: 20’s and 1’s
Rates are for humans. Demi-humans cost more. Many Referees have rules that a “natural” roll
of 20 is an automatic hit or inflicts double dam-
Combat age, that a natural roll of 1 is an automatic miss
When the party of adventurers comes into contact and may result in dropping a weapon or trip-
with enemies, the order of events is as follows: ping. These are commonly called “critical hits”
and “fumbles,” respectively.
1. Determine Initiative.
2. Party with Initiative acts first (casting spells,
attacking, etc.) and results take effect. any bonuses for magic weapons, and any other bo-
3. Party that lost Initiative acts, and their results nus identified as a “to-hit” bonus.
take effect. The attack roll is then compared to the tar-
4. The round is complete; keep turn order for get’s armor class to see if the attack hits, according
the next round if the battle has not been to whichever system the Referee has chosen to use.
resolved. The standard system (where a lower AC is better) is
resolved by comparing the “to-hit” number to the
Determine Initiative number required on the standard “to-hit” table. If
At the beginning of a combat round, each side the attack roll is equal to or higher than the num-
rolls Initiative on a d6—high roll wins. The win- ber on the table, the attack hits. In the “Ascending”
ning side acts first, moving, attacking, and casting AAC system, if the attack roll is equal to or higher
spells. The other side takes damage and casualties, than the defender’s armor class, the attack hit.
and then gets its turn.
Initiative rolls may result in a tie. When this Melee Attack
happens, both sides are considered to be acting A melee attack is an attack with hand-held weap-
simultaneously. The Referee may handle this sit- ons such as a sword, spear, or dagger. A character’s
uation in any way he chooses—with one caveat. strength bonuses to-hit and on damage are added
The damage inflicted by combatants during simulta- to melee attacks. Two combatants within ten feet of
neous initiative is inflicted even if one of the com- each other are considered to be “in combat.”
batants dies during the round. It is possible for two
combatants to kill each other during a simultaneous Missile Attack
initiative round. Missile attacks are attacks with ranged weapons such
as a crossbow, sling, or thrown axe. A character’s
The Attack Roll dexterity bonus for missile attacks is added to the to-
To attack with a weapon, the player rolls a d20 and hit roll when the character is using missile weapons.
adds any bonuses to the result. These “to-hit” bonus- When using missiles to attack into a melee, it is not
es include the character’s Base Hit Bonus (BHB), the possible to choose which opponent (or friend) will re-
strength bonus for attacks with hand held weapons, ceive the attack.

14
Chapter 4: playing the game

Table 19: Attack “to hit” Roll

Attack roll required to hit opponent’s standard armor class (AC) and ascending armor class (AAC)1
AC -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9
[AAC] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Required Roll 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
1
This includes the BHB and other bonuses

Negotiation and Diplomacy will frequently be able to detect invisible opponents;

Some combats can be averted with a few well-chosen the Referee should determine the chance of this ac-
words (including lies). If the party is outmatched, or cording to the creature concerned and the situation.
the monsters don’t seem likely to be carrying much
in the way of loot, the party might elect to brazen Turning the Undead
their way through in an attempt to avoid combat (or Clerics have the ability to turn undead, causing them
at least delay it until favorable conditions arise). to flee or even outright destroying them. When a
turning attempt is made, a 3d6 roll should be made
Spells and the Turning table consulted for the result.
Spell casting begins at the beginning of the round. It
is possible to cast a spell while within melee range of ՔՔ If the “number” on the die is equal to or greater
an opponent (10 ft), but if the spell caster suffers dam- than the number shown on the table, all undead
age while casting a spell, the spell is lost. Unless the creatures of the targeted type are turned and will
spell description states otherwise, the spell takes ef- flee for 3d6 rounds, or will cower helplessly if
fect in the caster’s initiative phase. they cannot flee.

Invisible Opponent ՔՔ For good-aligned Clerics, if the table indicates

An invisible opponent can only be attacked if the “D”, the undead creature is automatically de-
general location is known, and the attack is at -4 to- stroyed and will crumble to dust. For evil Cler-
hit. Note that more powerful monsters (those with ics, a result of “D” indicates that the undead are
sensitive smell or hearing, or more than six hit dice) forced into the Cleric’s command for a period of
24 hours.

Table 20: Turning Undead

Undead HD Examples Clerical Level

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9–13 14+
1 Skeleton 10 7 4 D D D D D D D
2 Ghoul, Zombie 13 10 7 4 D D D D D D
3 Shadow, Wight 15 13 10 7 4 D D D D D
4 Wraith 17 15 13 10 7 4 D D D D
5 ? 17 15 13 10 7 4 D D D
6 Mummy – – 17 15 13 10 7 4 D D
7 Spectre – – – 17 15 13 10 7 4 D
8 Vampire – – – – 17 15 13 10 7 4
9–11 ? – – – – – 17 15 13 10 7
12–18 Lich – – – – – – 17 15 13 10
? Demon – – – – – – – 17 15 13

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swords & wizardry: white box

Morale
Certain monsters, such as mindless or undead crea- House Rule: Death
tures, are fearless and always fight to the death. The Different Referees have a different spin on how
majority, however, will not continue to fight a hope- lethal the game should be. For this reason,
less battle, seeking to retreat, surrender or flee. The many Referees allow characters to be “uncon-
Referee will decide when monsters abandon the bat- scious” at 0 HP and not actually die until they
tle and retreat, based on the situation and the mon- reach some pre-determined negative number.
ster’s intelligence. For example, perhaps the Referee will rule
that the character can survive below zero by as
Damage and Death many points as his level; so a 4th level character
When a character (or creature) is hit, the amount of might die if he falls below -4 hit points.
damage is deducted from his hit points. When hit
points reach 0, the character dies.

Healing House Rule: Binding Wounds

In addition to the various magical means of restoring The Referee can allow a character to bind 1d4
hit points, a character will recover 1 hit point per day HP worth of wounds following a battle.
of uninterrupted rest. Four weeks of rest will return This is particularly useful in low-magic
a character to full hit points regardless of how many campaigns or in adventures where none of the
hit points the character lost. players has chosen to run a Cleric.
Note that the character can only recover
hit points lost during this particular battle.
Recovered hit points cannot exceede the unin-
jured maximum amount.

16
Chapter 4: playing the game

Gameplay Example
A Fighter, Arnold the Lion, is fighting three goblins Remember
in a dark alley of the Glittering City of Semoulia. We swords & wizardry is a free-form roleplay-
eavesdrop just as the encounter begins: ing game, meaning that there aren’t very many
rules. The Referee is responsible for handling
Arnold’s player: “I draw myself up to full height and situations that aren’t covered by the rules,
inform them that I’m a captain of the guard. My making fair evaluations of what the characters
soldiers are right behind me, and these vermin do and deciding what happens as a result. This
better disperse or I’ll have them brought in for is not a game in which the players are “against”
interrogation.” the Referee, even though the Referee is respon-
sible for creating tricky traps, dangerous situ-
Referee: “Um, no. They’re not buying it. You’re cov- ations, and running the monsters and other
ered in filth from that garbage pit, remember?” foes the PCs will encounter during the game.
In fact, the players and the Referee cooperate
Arnold’s player: “Oh, yeah. I forgot that.” with each other to create a fantasy epic, with
the Referee creating the setting and the play-
Referee: “Roll initiative.” (Secretly rolls a d6 and gets ers developing the story of the heroes. If they
a result of 6.) aren’t skillful and smart, the epic might be
very short. But it’s not the Referee’s job to de-
Arnold’s player: “I rolled a 2.” feat the players—it’s his job to provide inter-
esting (and dangerous) challenges, and then
Referee: The goblins attack first. They’re all more guide the story fairly.
than ten feet from you, and they move forward
with their clubs at the ready.”
Referee: (That’s enough to kill it. The goblin had only 2
Arnold’s player: “They don’t charge?” hit points.) “Okay, so as it’s moving forward, the
goblin slips a little bit in a puddle on the stones
Referee: “Nope.” of the narrow alley where you’re fighting, and
skids right onto your sword. As you yank out the
Arnold’s player: “They don’t get an attack because blade, the goblin falls dead to the ground. The
they closed in. It’s my turn to attack, right?” other two are still attacking, but they look ner-
vous now—obviously starting to reconsider this
Referee: “Yes.” whole thing.”

Arnold’s player: (Rolls a d20.) “16…sweet! Adding

my BHB and Strength Bonus gives me a total “to-
hit” roll of 18!”

Referee: (Notes that goblins have an armor class of 14,

using the ascending AC rules.) “You swing your
sword into the leading goblin. Roll for damage.”

Arnold’s player: (Rolls a d6.) “2 points, but I’ve got a

+1 damage bonus, so that’s 3.”

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swords & wizardry: white box

Clerical Spell List Magic-user Spell List

Level 1 Level 1 Level 4

ՔՔ Cure (Cause) Wounds I ՔՔ Charm Person ՔՔ Charm Monster
ՔՔ Detect Chaos (Law) ՔՔ Detect Magic ՔՔ Confusion
ՔՔ Detect Magic ՔՔ Hold Portal ՔՔ Dimension Portal
ՔՔ Light (Dark) I ՔՔ Light I ՔՔ Giant Growth
ՔՔ Protection from Chaos ՔՔ Protection from Chaos I ՔՔ Hallucinatory Terrain
(Law) I ՔՔ Read Languages ՔՔ Massmorph
ՔՔ Purify (Putrefy) Food and ՔՔ Read Magic ՔՔ Polymorph
Drink ՔՔ Sleep ՔՔ Remove Curse
ՔՔ Wall of Defense I
Level 2 Level 2 ՔՔ Wizard Eye
ՔՔ Bless (Curse) ՔՔ Detect Chaos
ՔՔ Find Traps ՔՔ Detect Invisibility Level 5
ՔՔ Hold Person ՔՔ Detect Thoughts ՔՔ Animal Growth
ՔՔ Speak with Animals ՔՔ Invisibility I ՔՔ Animate Dead
ՔՔ Knock ՔՔ Cloudkill
Level 3 ՔՔ Levitate ՔՔ Conjure Elemental
ՔՔ Cure (Cause) Disease ՔՔ Light II ՔՔ Contact Other Plane
ՔՔ Light (Dark) II ՔՔ Locate Object ՔՔ Feeblemind
ՔՔ Locate Object ՔՔ Phantasmal Force ՔՔ Hold Monster
ՔՔ Remove Curse ՔՔ Web ՔՔ Magic Jar
ՔՔ Wizard Lock ՔՔ Passwall
Level 4 ՔՔ Telekinesis
ՔՔ Cure (Cause) Wounds II Level 3 ՔՔ Teleport
ՔՔ Neutralize Poison ՔՔ Alter Time ՔՔ Transform I
ՔՔ Protection from Chaos ՔՔ Crystal Ball ՔՔ Wall of Defense II
(Law) II ՔՔ Dark Vision
ՔՔ Speak with Plants ՔՔ Dispel Magic Level 6
ՔՔ Sticks to Snakes ՔՔ Fireball ՔՔ Anti-Magic Shell
ՔՔ Fly ՔՔ Control Weather
Level 5 ՔՔ Hold Person ՔՔ Death Spell
ՔՔ Commune ՔՔ Invisibility II ՔՔ Disintegrate
ՔՔ Create Food and Drink ՔՔ Lightning Bolt ՔՔ Invisible Stalker
ՔՔ Dispel Chaos (Law) ՔՔ Protection from Chaos II ՔՔ Move Earth
ՔՔ Insect Plague ՔՔ Protection from Normal ՔՔ Move Water
ՔՔ Quest Missiles ՔՔ Project Image
ՔՔ Raise (Cause) Dead ՔՔ Water Breathing ՔՔ Quest
ՔՔ Reincarnation
ՔՔ Transform II

18
Chapter 5: spells

Alter Time Bless (Curse)

Spell Level: M3 Spell Level: C2
Range: 240 ft Range: PC/NPC (out of combat)
Duration: 30 minutes Duration: 1 hour (6 turns)

The caster must announce which of the two options This spell of Good grants its recipient a +1 to attack
are being cast. rolls (and improves morale, if the recipient is not a
As a Haste spell, an area of radius of 60 ft around player character). The recipient cannot already be in
the point where the spell is targeted, as many as 24 combat when the spell is cast.
creatures become able to move and attack at double The Evil spell is Curse and is similar to Bless ex-
normal speed. cept imparts a -1. As with Bless, the recipient cannot
As a Slow spell, an area of radius of 60 ft around already be in combat when the spell is cast.
the point where the spell is targeted, as many as 24
creatures failing a saving throw can only move and Charm Monster
attack at half speed. Spell Level: M4
Range: 60 ft
Animal Growth Duration: Until dispelled
Spell Level: M5
Range: 120 ft This spell operates in the same manner as Charm
Duration: 2 hours Person, but can affect more powerful monsters.
For monsters of fewer than 3 HD, up to 3d6 can be
This spell causes 1d6 normal creatures to grow imme- affected.
diately to giant size. The affected creatures can attack
as per a giant version of the normal animal.creatures Charm Person
failing a saving throw can only move and attack at Spell Level: M1
half speed. Range: 120 ft
Duration: Until dispelled
Animate Dead
Spell Level: M5 This spell affects living bipeds of human size or
Range: Referee’s discretion smaller, such as goblins or dryads. If the spell suc-
Duration: Permanent ceeds (saving throw allowed), the unfortunate crea-
ture falls under the caster’s influence.
This spell animates skeletons or zombies from dead
bodies. 1d6 undead are animated (per level of the Cloudkill
caster above 8th). The corpses remain animated un- Spell Level: M5
til slain. Range: Moves 6 ft per minute
Duration: 1 hour
Anti-Magic Shell
Spell Level: M6 Foul and poisonous vapors boil from the thin air,
Range: Caster forming a cloud 15 ft in radius. The cloud moves di-
Duration: 2 hours rectly forward at a rate of 6 ft per minute unless its
direction or speed is affected by winds. Unusually
An invisible bubble of force surrounds the caster, im- strong gusts can dissipate and destroy it. Poison-lad-
penetrable to magic. Spells and other magical effects en, the horrid mist is heavier than air, and thus sinks
cannot pass into or out of the shell. down any pits or stairs in its path.
This spell affects only creatures 5 HD or fewer.

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Commune Conjure Elemental

Spell Level: M5 Spell Level: M5
Range: Caster Range: 240 ft
Duration: 3 questions Duration: Until dispelled

Higher powers grant an answer to three questions The caster summons a 16 HD elemental (any kind)
the caster poses to them. Higher powers don’t like from the elemental planes of existence, and binds it
constantly being interrogated by mere mortals, so to his commands. Each type of elemental may only
the spell should be limited to once per week or so by be summoned once per day.
the Referee. The elemental obeys the caster only for as long
Once per year, the Referee may rule that a caster as the caster concentrates on it; and when the cast-
may cast a “double strength” Commune spell com- er ceases to concentrate, even for a moment, the el-
posed of six questions. emental is released and will attack him.

Confusion Contact Other Plane

Spell Level: M4 Spell Level: M5
Range: 120 ft Range: None
Duration: 2 hours Duration: See Table

This spell confuses people and monsters, making The caster creates a mental contact with the planes,
them act randomly. Roll 2d6 to determine the crea- forces, powers, and geometries of the beyond, in or-
ture’s behavior: der to gain affirmative or negative answers to the
questions he contemplates. The spell’s effect depends
Table 21: Confusion Reaction on how deeply the caster delves into the planes of
existence.
Roll Reaction The caster must decide how “far” into the planes
2–5 Attack the caster and his allies of existence he wishes to make contact.
6–8 Stand baffled and inactive
9–12 Attack each other Table 22: Contact Other Plane

The effects of the confusion may shift every ten min- Plane1 Insane2 Wrong3 Right
utes or so, and the dice are rolled again to determine 1 1-2 3-11 12-20
any change. 2 1-4 4-13 14-20
The spell affects 2d6 creatures, plus an additional 3 1-6 7-16 16-20
creature for every caster level above 8th. Creatures of 4 1-8 9-17 18-20
3 HD or fewer are automatically affected by the spell, 5 1-10 11-18 19-20
and it takes effect immediately. Creatures of 4 HD or 6 1-12 13-19 20
more automatically resist the confusion effect until it 1
Planes are the “depth” that he chooses to seek truth, also
builds up to its full power (which takes 1d12 minutes, the number of Yes/No questions asked.
minus the caster’s level), but are required to make 2
Temporary insanity lasts for as many weeks as the
a saving throw at this time. Eventually, these crea- “number” of the plane where the caster’s sanity failed.
tures are likely to succumb to the confusion, for they 3
This is the chance of receiving a mis-interpreted or “wrong”
must continue to make another saving throw every answer.
10 minutes until the spell’s 2 hour duration has run
its course.

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ChapTer 5: SpellS

Control Weather Cure (Cause) Wounds I

Spell Level: M6 Spell Level: C1
Range: Referee’s discretion Range: Touch
Duration: Referee’s discretion Duration: Immediate

The caster can summon or stop rainfall, create un- This spell cures 1d6+1 hit points of damage.
usually high or low temperatures, summon or dis- The spell of Evil, Cause Wounds 1, inflicts 1d6+1
perse a tornado, clear the sky of clouds, or summon hit points of damage.
clouds into being.
Cure (Cause) Wounds II
Create Food and Drink Spell Level: C4
Spell Level: C4 Range: Touch
Range: Close Duration: Immediate
Duration: Immediate
This spell cures 3d6+3 hit points of damage.
This spell creates a one-day supply of simple food and The spell of Evil, Cause Wounds II, inflicts 3d6+1
drinking water for 24 men (or horses, which drink hit points of damage.
the same amount as a man for game purposes).
Darkvision
Crystal Ball Spell Level: M3
Spell Level: M3 Range: Touch
Range: 60 ft Duration: 1 day
Duration: 2 hours
The recipient of the spell can see in total darkness for
The caster must announce which of the two options the length of the spell’s duration. The recipient should
are being cast. roll 1d6 to determine the range of his vision.
Cast as Clairaudience, the caster can hear
through solid obstacles. Table 23: Darkvision Range
Cast as Clairvoyance the caster can see through
solid obstacles. A 2 ft thickness of solid stone blocks Roll Range of Vision
the spell, as does even the thinnest layer of lead. 1–2 40 ft
3–4 50 ft
Cure (Cause) Disease 5–6 60 ft
Spell Level: C3
Range: Touch Death Spell
Duration: Immediate Spell Level: M6
Range: 240 ft
This spell cures a person of any diseases, including Duration: Permanent
magically inflicted ones.
The Evil spell, Cause Disease, infects a person Within a 60 ft radius, up to 2d8 creatures with fewer
with a disease to be determined by the Referee. than 7 hit dice perish.

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Detect Evil (Good) Dimensional Portal

Spell Level: C1, M2 Spell Level: M4
Range: 120 ft (C), 60 ft (M) Range: 10 ft casting (360 ft teleport)
Duration: 60 min (C), 20 min (M) Duration: Immediate

The caster detects any creatures of Evil, or those with Dimensional Portal is a weak form of teleportation,
evil enchantments, evil intentions, evil thoughts, or a spell that can be managed by lesser magicians who
evil auras within the spell’s range. Poison is not in- cannot yet manage the Teleportation spell. The cast-
herently evil, and cannot be detected by means of er can teleport himself, an object, or another person
this spell. with perfect accuracy to the stated location, as long
The reverse spell, Detect Good, works the same as it is within the spell’s range.
way except that it detects creatures of Good.
Disintegrate
Detect Invisibility Spell Level: M6
Spell Level: M2 Range: 60 ft
Range: 10 ft per caster level Duration: Permanent
Duration: 1 hour
The caster defines one specific target such as a door,
Caster can perceive invisible creatures and objects. a peasant, or a statue, and it disintegrates into dust.
Magical materials are not disintegrated, and living
Detect Magic creatures (such as the aforementioned peasant) are
Spell Level: C1, M1 permitted a saving throw. The Disintegrate spell
Range: 60 ft cannot be dispelled.
Duration: 20 minutes
Dispel Evil (Good)
The caster can perceive, in places, people, or things, Spell Level: C5
the presence of a magical spell or enchantment. As Range: 30 ft
examples: magical items may be discovered in this Duration: 10 minutes
fashion, as can the presence of a charm secretly laid
upon a person. This spell of Law is similar to the arcane spell Dispel
Magic, but affects Evil magic. This spell works against
Detect Thoughts items, spells, or agents of evil. Unlike Dispel Magic,
Spell Level: M2 this spell functions against evil “sendings,” possibly
Range: 60 ft including spells, dreams or supernatural hunting-
Duration: 2 hours beasts. See the box below for an example.
The reverse spell, Dispel Good, works the same
The caster can detect the thoughts of other beings. way except it affects creatures of good instead.
The spell cannot penetrate more than two feet of
stone, and is blocked by even a thin sheet of lead. Dispel Magic
Spell Level: M3
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 10 minutes against an item

Dispel magic can be used to completely dispel most

spells and enchantments.

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Chapter 5: spells

Feeblemind
Spell Level: M5 Dispel Magic Example
Range: 240 ft The chance of successfully dispelling is a per-
Duration: Permanent until dispelled centage based on the ratio of the level of the
caster trying to dispel over the level of the cast-
Feeblemind is a spell that affects only Magic-users. er (or HD of the monster) who hurled the orig-
The saving throw against the spell is made at a -4 inal magic.
penalty, and if the saving throw fails, the targeted Thus, a 6th level magic user attempting to
Magic-user becomes feebleminded until the magic is dispel a charm cast by a 12th level Magic-us-
dispelled. er has a 50% chance of success (6/12=1/2). If the
12th level magic user were dispelling the 6th
Find Traps level Magic-user’s charm, the dispelling cast-
Spell Level: C2 er’s chance of success would be 200% (12/6=2).
Range: 30 ft around caster
Duration: 20 minutes (2 turns)
Hallucinatory Terrain
The caster can perceive both magical and non-magi- Spell Level: M4
cal traps at a distance of 30 ft. Range: 240 ft
Duration: Until touched (other than
Fireball by an ally) or dispelled
Spell Level: M3
Range: 240 ft This spell changes the appearance of the terrain into
Duration: Instantaneous the semblance of what the caster desires. A hill can
be made to disappear, or could be replaced with an
A missile shoots from the caster’s finger, to explode, illusory forest, for example.
at the targeted location, in a furnace-like blast of fire.
The burst radius is 20 ft, and damage is 1d6 per level Hold Monster
of the caster. The blast shapes itself to the available Spell Level: M5
volume. A successful saving throw means that the Range: 120 ft
target only takes half damage. Duration: 1 hour+10 min/level

Fly The caster targets 1d4 creatures (saving throw ap-

Spell Level: M3 plies). The caster may instead target a single creature,
Range: Touch in which case the saving throw is made with a pen-
Duration: 1d6 turns plus 1 turn/level alty of -2.

This spell grants the power of flight, with a movement Hold Person
rate of 120 ft per round. The Referee secretly rolls for Spell Level: C2, M3
duration; the player does not know exactly how long Range: 180 ft (C), 120 ft (M)
the power of flight will last. Duration: 90 minutes (C)
1 hour+10 minutes/level (M)

The caster targets 1d4 persons (the same parameters

as the Charm Person spell; saving throw applies). The
caster may also target a single person, in which case
the saving throw is made at -2.

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Hold Portal sion. It also, however, throws a 10 ft radius sphere of

Spell Level: M1 invisibility around the recipient, which moves with
Range: Referee’s discretion him/it. If the Referee uses the game’s invisibility rules
Duration: 2d6 turns unchanged, the invisible creature cannot be attacked
unless its approximate location is known, and all at-
This spell magically holds a door or gate in position tacks against him/it are made at -4 to-hit. If the in-
for the spell’s duration (or until dispelled). Creatures visible creature makes an attack, the spell is broken.
with magic resistance can shatter the spell without Otherwise, it lasts until dispelled or removed by the
much effort. caster.

Insect Plague Invisible Stalker

Spell Level: C5 Spell Level: M6
Range: 480 ft Range: Near Caster
Duration: 1 day Duration: Until mission is completed

This spell only works outdoors. A storm of insects This spell summons (or perhaps creates) an invis-
gathers, and goes wherever the caster directs. The ible stalker, an invisible being with 8 HD. The stalker
cloud is approximately 400 sq ft (20 ft by 20 ft, with will perform one task as commanded by the caster,
roughly corresponding height). Any creature of 2 HD regardless of how long the task may take or how far
or fewer that is exposed to the cloud of insects flees in the stalker may have to travel. The stalker cannot be
terror (no saving throw). banished by means of dispel magic; it must be killed
in order to deter it from its mission.
Invisibility I
Spell Level: M2 Knock
Range: 240 ft Spell Level: M2
Duration: Until dispelled or an attack Range: 60 ft
is made Duration: Immediate

The object of this spell, whether a person or a thing, This spell unlocks and unbars all doors, gates, and
becomes invisible (to both normal vision and to dark- portals within its range, including those held or
vision). If the Referee is using the invisibility rules locked by normal magic.
unchanged, the result is that an invisible creature
cannot be attacked unless its approximate location is Levitate
known, and all attacks are made at -4 to-hit. Spell Level: M2
If the invisible creature makes an attack, the spell Range: 20 ft/level
is broken. Otherwise, it lasts until dispelled or re- Duration: 1 turn/level
moved by the caster.
This spell allows the magic user to levitate himself,
Invisibility II moving vertically up or down, but the spell itself pro-
Spell Level: M3 vides no assistance with lateral movement. A wall,
Range: 240 ft cliff side or ceiling could, of course, be used to pull
Duration: Until dispelled or an attack along hand-over-hand.
is made Levitation allows up or downward movement at
a rate of up to 6 ft per minute (60 ft per turn), and the
Like the Invisibility I spell, this makes the target crea- caster cannot levitate more than 20 ft per level from
ture or object invisible to normal sight and to darkvi- the ground level where the spell was cast (such range

24
Chapter 5: spells

being applied both to movement into the air, and to Magic Jar
downward movement into a pit or chasm). Spell Level: M5
Range: See Below
Light I Duration: See Below
Spell Level: C1, M1
Range: 60 ft This spell relocates the caster’s life essence, intelli-
Duration: 2 hours (C) gence, and soul into an object (of virtually any kind).
1 hour+10 min/level (M) The jar must be within 30 ft of the caster’s body for
the transition to succeed.
The target person or object (at a range of up to 120 ft) Once within the magic jar, the caster can possess
produces light about as bright as a torch, to a radius the bodies of other creatures and people, provided
of 20 ft. that they are within 120 ft of the jar and fail a saving
throw. The caster can return his soul to the magic jar
Light II at any time, and if a body he controls is slain, his life
Spell Level: C3, M2 essence returns immediately to the jar. If the caster’s
Range: 120 ft body is destroyed while his soul is in the magic jar,
Duration: Permanent until dispelled the soul no longer has a home other than within the
magic jar (although the disembodied wizard can still
The targeted person or object produces light about as possess other bodies as before). If the jar itself is de-
bright as a torch, to a radius of 120 ft. stroyed while the Magic-user’s soul is within, the soul
is lost. The magic user can return from the jar to his
Lightning Bolt own body whenever desired, thus ending the spell.
Spell Level: M3
Range: 240 ft Massmorph
Duration: Instantaneous Spell Level: M4
Range: 240 ft
A bolt of lighting extends 60 ft from the targeted Duration: Until negated or dispelled
point, almost ten feet wide. Anyone in its path suffers
1d6 points of damage per level of the caster (half with One hundred or fewer man-sized creatures are
a successful saving throw). The bolt always extends changed to appear like innocent trees. The illusion is
60 ft, even if this means that it ricochets backward so perfect that creatures moving through the “forest”
from something that blocks its path. will not detect the deception.

Locate Object Move Earth

Spell Level: C3, M2 Spell Level: M6
Range: 90 ft (C) Range: 240 ft
60 ft+10 ft/level (M) Duration: Permanent
Duration: 1 round/level
This spell can only be used above ground. It allows
This spell gives the caster the correct direction (as the caster to move hills and other raised land or stone
the crow flies) toward an object the casters specifies at a rate of 6 ft per minute (60 ft per turn).
with a description. The object cannot be something
the caster has never seen, although the spell can de-
tect an object in a general class of items known to the
caster: stairs, gold, etc.

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Move Water Plant Growth

Spell Level: M6 Spell Level: M4
Range: 240 ft Range: 120 ft
Duration: See Below Duration: Permanent until dispelled

The caster must announce which of the two options Up to 300 sq ft of ground can be affected by this spell;
are being cast. undergrowth in the area suddenly grows into an im-
This spell lowers the depth and water level of passable forest of thorns and vines. The caster can de-
lakes, rivers, wells, and other bodies of water to one- cide the shape of the area to be enchanted. An alter-
half normal. Used in this way, the spell lasts for 10 nate version (Referee’s decision) would allow the spell
turns. to affect an area of 300x300 ft, for a total of 90,000
Alternately, this spell creates a gap through wa- sq ft.
ter, but only to a depth of 10 ft. Used in this way, the
spell lasts for 6 turns. Polymorph
Spell Level: M4
Neutralize Poison Range: See Below
Spell Level: C4 Duration: See Below
Range: Referee’s discretion
Duration: 10 minutes The caster must announce which of the two options
are being cast.
This spell counteracts poison, but does not bring the The caster assumes the form of any object or
dead back to life. creature, gaining the new form’s attributes (the use
of wings, for example), but not its hit points or com-
Passwall bat abilities. The Referee might allow the benefit of
Spell Level: M5 the new form’s armor class, if it is due to heavily ar-
Range: 30 ft mored skin. A great deal of the spell’s effect is left to
Duration: 30 minutes (3 turns) the Referee to decide. This form of the spell lasts for
roughly one hour plus one additional hour for each
This spell creates a hole through solid rock. The hole level of the caster.
or tunnel is up to 10 feet deep, and is large enough for Alternately, this spell allows the caster to turn
the passage of a man. another being into a different type of creature (such
as a dragon, a garden slug, and of course, a frog or
Phantasmal Force newt). The polymorphed creature gains all the abili-
Spell Level: M2 ties of the new form, but retains its own mind and hit
Range: 240 ft points. Used in this way, the range on this spell is 60
Duration: Until negated or dispelled ft. This form of the spell lasts until dispelled.

This spell creates a realistic illusion in the sight of Project Image

all who view it. The illusion disappears when it is Spell Level: M6
touched, but if the viewer believes the illusion is real, Range: 240 ft
he can take damage from it. Duration: 1 hour

The caster projects an image of himself to a max

range of 240 ft. Not only does the projected image
mimic the caster’s sounds and gestures, but any spells
he casts will appear to originate from the image.

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Chapter 5: spells

Protection From Chaos (Law) I Quest

Spell Level: C1, M1 Spell Level: C5, M6
Range: Caster only Range: 30 ft
Duration: 2 hours (C), 1 hour (M) Duration: Until completed

Creates a magical field of protection around the cast- If the spell succeeds (saving throw), the caster may
er to block out all evil monsters, who suffer a -1 pen- set a task for the spell’s victim.
alty to-hit the caster, and the caster gains +1 on all If the victim does not diligently work at perform-
saving throws against such attacks. ing the task, the effect that he will experience is based
The opposite spell, Protection from Good, does on the class of the caster. When a Magic-user casts
the same thing except that good creatures suffer the this spell ignoring the Quest will cause death, but if a
-1 penalty. Cleric casts this spell the result is a curse to be deter-
mined by the Referee.
Protection From Chaos (Law) II
Spell Level: C4, M3 Raise Dead
Range: 10 ft radius around caster Spell Level: C5
Duration: 2 hours Range: Line of sight
Duration: See Below
The spell has the same effect as Protection From Evil
I, except that its effect covers an area rather than an Raise Dead allows the Cleric to raise a corpse from
individual. the dead, provided it has not been dead too long.
The opposite spell, Protection from Law II, does The normal time limit is 4 days, but for every caster
the same thing, except that good creatures suffer the Level higher than 8th, the time limit extends another
-1 penalty. 4 days. Characters with low constitution might not
survive the ordeal; and even for those with a strong
Protection From Normal Missiles constitution, a period of two weeks is required before
Spell Level: M3 they can function normally. This spell only functions
Range: 30 ft on races that can be used for player characters (i.e.,
Duration: 2 hours “human-like”).

The recipient becomes invulnerable small non-magi- Read Languages

cal missiles. Only those missiles projected by normal Spell Level: M1
men and/or weapons are affected. Range: Reading distance
Duration: 1 or two readings
Purify Food and Drink
Spell Level: C1 This spell allows the caster to read directions, in-
Range: Close/Touch structions, and similar notations that are written in
Duration: Immediate unfamiliar or even unknown languages. It is espe-
cially useful for treasure maps.
Enough food and water for up to a dozen people is
made pure, removing spoilage and poisons.

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Read Magic Speak with Animals

Spell Level: M1 Spell Level: C2
Range: Caster only Range: 30 ft
Duration: 2 scrolls or other writings Duration: 6 turns

This spell allows the caster to read magical writings The caster can speak with animals within range.
on items and scrolls. Magical writing cannot be read There is a chance that the animals will assist him, and
without the use of this spell. they will not attack him or his party (unless he’s got
something particularly offensive to say).
Reincarnation
Spell Level: M6 Speak with Plants
Range: Touch Spell Level: C4
Duration: Instantaneous Range: 30 ft
Duration: 6 turns
This spell brings a dead character’s soul back from
the dead, but the soul reappears in a newly formed The caster can speak to and understand the replies
body of the same alignment as the deceased. of plants. Plants will obey his commands as far as
they are able (e.g. twisting or bending aside to ease
Remove Curse his passage, etc.).
Spell Level: C3, M4
Range: Close/Touch Sticks to Snakes
Duration: Immediate Spell Level: C4
Range: 120 ft
This spell removes one curse from a person or object. Duration: 1 hour

Sleep The caster may turn as many as 2d8 normal sticks

Spell Level: M1 into snakes, each one having a 50% chance of be-
Range: 240 ft ing venomous. The snakes follow his commands, but
Duration: Referee’s discretion turn back into sticks at the end of the spell (or when
killed).
This spell puts enemies into an enchanted slumber (a
saving throw is permitted). It affects creatures based Telekinesis
on their hit dice. Spell Level: M5
Range: 120 ft
Table 24: Affected by Sleep Duration: 6 turns (1 hour)

Victim’s HD Number Affected The caster can move objects using mental power
Less than 1 to 1+ 2d6+3 alone. The amount of weight he can lift and move is
1+ to 2 2d6 20 pounds per level
3+ to 4+1 1d6

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Chapter 5: spells

Teleport Wall of Defense I

Spell Level: M5 Spell Level: M4
Range: Touch Range: 60 ft
Duration: Instantaneous Duration: Concentration

This spell transports the caster or another person to The caster must announce which of the two options
a destination that the caster knows (at least knowing are being cast:
what it looks like from a painting or a map). Success
depends on how well the caster knows the targeted 1. The caster conjures a wall of fire that flares into
location: being and burns for as long as the caster concen-
If the caster has only seen the location in a picture trates upon it. Creatures with 3 or fewer hit dice
or through a map (i.e., his knowledge is not based on cannot pass through it, and no creature can see
direct experience), there is only a 25% chance of suc- through it to the other side. Passing through the
cess, and failure means death. fire inflicts 1d6 hit points of damage (no saving
If the caster has seen but not studied the loca- throw) and undead creatures sustain twice the
tion, there is a 20% chance of error. If there is an er- normal damage. The caster may choose to create
ror, there is a 50% chance that the traveler arrives low, a straight wall 60 ft long and 20 ft high, or a cir-
1d10 x10 ft below the intended location (with death cular wall with a 15 ft radius, also 20 ft high.
resulting from arrival within a solid substance). If the 2. The other option is that the caster conjures up a
error is high (over the 50% chance for a “low” arriv- wall of ice, six feet thick. The caster may choose
al), the traveler arrives 1d10 x10 ft over the targeted to create a straight wall 60 ft long and 20 ft high,
location—probably resulting in a deadly fall. or a circular wall with a 15 ft radius, also 20 ft
If the caster is familiar with the location, or has high. Creatures with 3 or fewer hit dice cannot
studied it carefully, there is only a 5% chance of er- affect the wall, but creatures of 4+ hit dice are
ror—a 1 in 6 chance of teleporting low—or else high. able to smash through it, taking 1d6 points of
In either case, the arrival is 1d4 x10 ft high or low. damage in the process. Creatures with fire-based
metabolisms take 2d6 instead of the normal 1d6.
Transform I Fire spells and magical effects are negated in the
Spell Level: M5 vicinity of the wall.
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 3d6 days, or spell reversal Wall of Defense II
Spell Level: M5
This spell transforms rock (and any other form of Range: 60 ft
earth) into mud, or mud to rock. An area of roughly Duration: 2 hours (iron)
300x300 ft becomes a deep mire, reducing movement or Permanent (stone)
to 10% of normal.
The caster must announce which of the two options
Transform II are being cast:
Spell Level: M6
Range: 120 ft 1. The caster conjures an iron wall from thin air.
Duration: Permanent until reversed The wall is 3 inches thick, with a surface area of
1,000 sq ft.
This spell transforms flesh into stone or stone into 2. The other option is for the caster to conjure a
flesh, as desired by the caster. A saving throw is per- wall of stone 2 inches thick, with a surface area
mitted to avoid being turned into stone, but if the spell of 1,000 sq ft.
succeeds the victim is transformed into a statue.

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swords & wizardry: white box

In both options, the caster might choose to make the

wall 50 ft long (in which case it would be 20 ft tall), or End of Player’s Section
100 ft long (10 ft tall). This concludes the player’s guide to swords &
wizardry. Players don’t need to read any fur-
Water Breathing ther to be able to play the game.
Spell Level: M2
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 2 hours

This spell grants the ability to breathe underwater

until the spell’s duration expires.

Web
Spell Level: M2
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 8 hours

Fibrous, sticky webs fill an area up to 10x10x20 ft.

It is extremely difficult to get through the mass of
strands—it takes one turn if a torch and sword (or
a flaming sword) are used, and creatures larger than
a horse can break through in 2 turns. Humans take
longer to break through—perhaps 3–4 turns or lon-
ger at the Referee’s discretion.

Wizard Eye
Spell Level: M4
Range: 240 ft
Duration: 1 hour

The caster conjures up an invisible, magical “eye,”

that can move a maximum of 240 ft from its creator.
It floats along as directed by the caster, at a rate of 120
ft per turn (12 ft per minute).

Wizard Lock
Spell Level: M2
Range: Close
Duration: Permanent until dispelled

As with a hold portal spell, but it is permanent until

dispelled. Creatures with magic resistance can shat-
ter the spell without effort. Any Magic-user three lev-
els or higher than the caster can open the portal, and
a Knock spell will open it as well (although the spell
is not permanently destroyed in these cases).

30
ChapTer 6: runninG the Game

Information for the Referee Designing an Adventure

Running a game of swords & wizardry is a lot eas- The first step in designing an adventure is to take a
ier than running most other RPGs, simply because look at the example included later in the book. Basi-
there aren’t many rules, and your discretion over- cally, the “adventure” is just the setting for the game,
rides them anyway. usually a map and your notes about certain locations
Most situations are handled by making “com- on the map. As the players tell you where their char-
mon sense” decisions about what would happen next. acters go and what they do, you’re referring to the
If there are a bunch of zombies around the next cor- map and your notes to describe what happens as a re-
ner, and the players decide to not go around that cor- sult. Don’t try to plan for all contingencies—it’s guar-
ner, it’s up to the Referee to determine whether or anteed that the players will do something unexpected
not it makes sense for the zombies to come out and during the adventure, and you’ll just have to roll with
attack—or whether their orders are simply to stay it, thinking on your feet and making up new things
where they are. If a player decides that his charac- as you go. Just as you challenge the players with the
ter is going to jump through a wall of fire, with sev- adventure, they’ll challenge you to keep up with their
eral bottles of flammable oil in his backpack, it’s up collective creativity.
to the Referee to determine whether or not they ex-
plode. This means “making up” a lot of stuff on the
spot. If you’re not a good storyteller or if you’re not
up to doing a lot of creative thinking on the fly, it
might be better that you try a different game—one
that provides more rules and guidance for every little
situation that might arise. But if you’re a good story-
teller, creative and fair, swords & wizardry’s small,
spartan, rule-set frees up your creativity to create a
fantasy roleplaying experience completely different
from the type of game that depends on a multitude
of rules.
swords & wizardry also frees up your creativ-
ity in terms of customizing the game. You can add
house rules wherever you want to without acciden-
tally messing up something else buried in the rules of
a more complex game. If your campaign needs a spe-
cial set of rules for Asian spellcasting, plug them in
as a replacement for the normal Magic-user character
class. If you want to use critical hits and fumbles in
the game, add ‘em in. You won’t break anything be-
cause there’s not much to break.
The rest of the book contains information for the Creating a Campaign
following aspects of the swords & wizardry game: A campaign is the world beyond the adventure, the
cities and forests and coastlines and kingdoms of the
Ք Designing an Adventure fantasy world.
Ք Creating a Campaign The players will almost certainly want their char-
Ք Experience Points acters to explore wildernesses, visit cities, and do all
Ք Monsters sorts of things in the fantasy world. At the beginning
Ք Treasure of the game, you might want to sketch out a map of
a single village (as a starting point) and some of the

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swords & wizardry: white box

surrounding area. (The location of the first adven-

ture—a dark forest—perhaps?) As players move their
characters around from adventure to adventure,
you can expand the little map into an entire fanta-
sy world—with continents, kingdoms, and great em-
pires at your disposal.
If you want to take a shortcut, you can set your
entire campaign in a fictional world created by the
author of one of your favorite fantasy books. Most of
these have maps, and the author has already creat-
ed the details and the feel of the world for you. The
worlds of Conan’s Hyboria (Robert E. Howard), of
Elric and the eternal champions (Michael Moorcock),
and of the Dying Earth (Jack Vance) are popular fic-
tional settings ready for gaming. Indeed, publishers
have already created pre-packaged campaigns for all
three of those examples.

Experience Points
The player’s section of these rules gives some infor-
mation about gaining XP. Most XP are awarded for
Treasure and Monster kills, but there are more op-
tions a Referee can consider. For example:

ՔՔ Active participation in the campaign could earn

a player XP for each hour of real-time play.

ՔՔ Casting a spell, finding a hidden door, disarming

a trap, figuring out a puzzle, aiding an ally, etc.
could earn a player XP.

ՔՔ A particularly clever solution or epic victory

could earn double the normal XP amount, while
an abysmal failure could merit half.

ՔՔ Some Referees make all earned XP a part of a

community total to be divided evenly, since not
all characters have the same opportunities in a
given adventure. Others prefer a more competi-
tive game, whereby each player earns XP accord-
ing to individual accomplishment.

This is simply a decision each individual Referee will

have to make for their own games.

32
Chapter 7: monsters

Monsters
Some creatures may have “magic resistance.” The giv- Reading Monster Entries
en percentage chance is the likelihood that any magic Armor Class: See Page 12.
used against the creature (other than weapon bonus-
es) will fail to take effect. Roll a d100, and the magic Hit Dice: This is the number of dice (d6) rolled
will fail if the result is less than the given percentage. to determine an individual creature’s hit points.
There’s not a lot of detail given about the mon- If there is a plus or minus next to the number,
sters, because the more detail given, the more your you add or subtract that number from the to-
own mental image of the fantasy world is going to be tal, only once. For a creature with 4+1 hit dice,
locked into a single track. We’re not going to say that you’d roll 4d6, and then add one more HP.
giant ants are red, nocturnal, three feet long, and fond
of eating Elves. Because in your mind, they might be Total Hit Bonus: This is the number the mon-
blue, diurnal, five feet long, and eat only plants unless ster adds to its attack roll to see if it scores a hit.
they’re attacked. Details about monsters toss road- It is exactly the same as the creature’s hit dice.
blocks in front of your imagination. Yes, details can
also inspire the imagination, but we’re making the Attacks: This entry shows you the number of
assumption that if you’re interested in fantasy gam- attacks and the damage they inflict. Monsters
ing in the first place, you’ve got a good imagination have 1 attack and inflict 1d6 damage—but there
that doesn’t need details about the size of a giant ant. are exceptions.

Monster “to-hit” Rolls Saving Throw: This shows the target number,
If you’re using the Ascending System AC, monsters on a d20, the monster needs to exceed or beat
roll a d20 to attack, add their Hit Dice to the number in order to make a successful saving throw.
(maximum bonus of +15), and if the result is equal to This number is found by taking 19 minus the
or higher than the defender’s AC, the attack hits and hit dice of the monster.
does damage.
If you’re using the Standard AC System, mon- Special: This is just a “flag” for the Referee to
sters roll a d20 to attack, add their hit dice to the remind him that the monster has a special
number (maximum bonus of +15), and the die roll is ability.
compared to the table below. If the attack roll is equal
to or higher than the number on the table, the attack Move: This number is the monster’s movement
hits and does damage. rate, and it’s handled just as movement rates
See the Attack Roll “to-hit” Table on Page 15. are handled for characters.

Hit Dice Equivalent (HDE): This is used to

separate the monsters into “difficulty levels,” so
that when you’re creating an adventure you’ve
got some guidelines about what the characters
can handle. XP tells you how many experience
points the adventuring party gains as a result
of killing the creature.
Some monsters have multiple saving
throws and HDE’s listed. This is because cer-
tain monsters have a range of hit dice. Order is
always from lowest HD to highest HD.

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swords & wizardry: white box

Banshees Beetles, Giant Fire

Armor Class: 0 [20] Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 7 Hit Dice: 1+3
Attacks: claw (1d6+1) Attacks: bite (1d6-1)
Special: See Below Special: None
Move: 12 Move: 12
HDE/XP: 11/1700 HDE/XP: 1/15

Banshees are horrid fey (or undead) creatures that A giant fire beetle’s oily light-glands glow reddishly,
live in swamps and other desolate places. They can and continue to give off light for 1d6 days after they
only be harmed by magical or silver weapons. Ban- are removed (shedding light in a 10 ft radius).
shees have a 49% resistance to magic, and they are
immune to enchantments. Their shriek (once per Black Puddings
day) necessitates a saving throw versus death or the Armor Class: 6 [13]
hearer will die in 2d6 rounds. They can travel over Hit Dice: 10
water and other terrain as if it were land, but cross- Attacks: strike (2d6)
ing running water causes it to lose its magic resis- Special: Acidic
tance for 3d6 hours. They look like gaunt humans Move: 6
with long, stringy hair and glowing yellow eyes. They HDE/XP: 11/1700
often wear hooded cloaks. At the Referee’s discretion,
such creatures might be undead rather than faerie- Black puddings are amorphous globs with an acidic
folk, and are considered Type 9 undead for turning surface. They are subterranean predators and scaven-
purposes. gers. Any weapon or armor contacting a black pud-
ding will be eaten away by the acid as follows: weapon
Basilisks (1 hit by weapon), chainmail or lesser armor (1 hit by
Armor Class: 4 [15] pudding), plate mail (2 hits by pudding). If a weapon
Hit Dice: 6 or armor is magical, it can take an additional hit per
Attacks: bite (1d6) +1 before being dissolved. They are immune to cold,
Special: Petrifying gaze and divide when attacked by lightning.
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 8/800 Blink Dogs
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Basilisks are great lizards whose gaze turns to stone Hit Dice: 6
anyone meeting its eye (one way of resolving this: Attacks: bite (1d6)
fighting without looking incurs a -4 penalty to-hit). Special: Teleport
If the basilisk’s own gaze is reflected back at it, it has Move: 12
a 10% chance to force the basilisk into a saving throw HDE/XP: 4/240
against being turned to stone itself.
Blink dogs are pack hunters, intelligent and usually
friendly to those who are not of evil intent. They can
teleport short distances (without error) and attack in
the same turn—in most cases (75%) a blink dog will
be able to teleport behind an opponent and attack
from the rear (with bonuses).

34
Chapter 7: monsters

Bugbears Large: A twenty-foot long horror of chitin, multiple

Armor Class: 5 [14] legs, and clashing pincers dripping with venom.
Hit Dice: 3+1
Attacks: weapon or bite (1d6) Chimera
Special: Surprise opponents (on 1–3) Listings are for: goat, lion, dragon
Move: 9
HDE/XP: 3/120 Armor Class: 6 [13], 5 [14], 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 9
These large, hairy, goblin-like humanoids are stealth- Attacks: 3 attacks: 1d6-1, 1d6, 1d6+1
ier than their size would suggest, almost always get- Special: Breathes fire, flies
ting the chance to surprise even alert opponents with Move: 9 (18 when flying)
a roll of 1–3 on a d6 (50%). HDE/XP: 11/1700

Centaurs The chimera has three heads; one is the head of a goat,
Armor Class: 5 [14], 4 [16] w/ shield one the head of a lion, and one the head of a dragon.
Hit Dice: 4 Great wings rise from its lion-like body. The dragon
Attacks: kick or weapon (1d6) head can breathe fire (3 times per day) with a range
Special: None of 50 ft, causing 3d8 damage to anyone caught within
Move: 18 the fiery blast (saving throw for half damage).
HDE/XP: 5/240
Cockatrices
Half man, half horse, centaurs are fierce warriors and Armor Class: 6 [13]
well-known creatures of mythology. The Referee may Hit Dice: 5
choose any “version” of the centaur from myth or Attacks: bite (1d3+special)
folklore for his campaign: some are evil, some aloof, Special: Bite turns bitten into stone
and some are soothsayers. Move: 6 (18 when flying)
HDE/XP: 7/600
Centipedes, Giant
Listings are for: small, medium, and large Resembles a bat-winged rooster with a long, serpen-
tine tail. Its bite turns enemies to stone unless a suc-
Armor Class: 9 [10], 5 [14], 0 [20] cessful saving throw is made.
Hit Dice: (1d2 HP), 2, 4
Attacks: bite: 0, 1d6-1, 1d6+1 Demons
Special: Poison (save): +4, +6, +4 Demons are creatures of the lower planes of exis-
Move: 13, 15, 18 tence, but they are occasionally encountered in places
HDE/XP: 2/30, 4/240, 6/400 where they have been enslaved to serve as guardians
by powerful Magic-users or evil priests. The more
Small: Giant lethal centipedes of the small size inflict intelligent varieties might also be interrupted while
a lethal amount of poison with a +4 modifier to op- carrying out plots of their own. There is no meaning-
ponent’s saving throw, but inflict no damage if the ful game distinction between demons and devils; all
saving throw is successful. are creatures of the lower planes.

Medium: This man-sized giant centipede is a deadly

predator with armored segments, a deadly bite, and a
lethal (though relatively weak) poison.

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swords & wizardry: white box

Demon, Baalrogs Djinn

Armor Class: 2 [17] Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 9 Hit Dice: 7+3
Attacks: Sword (2d6+2), Whip Attacks: fist or weapon (2d6-1)
Special: See Below Special: Flight, magic, whirlwind
Move: 6 (15 when flying) Move: 9 (24 when flying)
HDE/XP: 10/1400 HDE/XP: 9/1100

The Baalrog’s name means, roughly, the Bull of Baal: Djinn are one of the genies of folklore, creatures of
the Baal-aurochs (the aurochs was a bull that stood the air (and possibly of the elemental planes). They
twelve feet tall at the shoulder, and Baal is an ancient can carry 700 pounds of weight, and have a number
and evil pagan deity). These powerful demons some- of magical powers. A djinni can create food and wa-
what resemble vast minotaurs with great, spreading ter of high quality, as well as wooden and cloth ob-
bat-wings; they burn with the fires of hell and are jects. They can also create objects of metal (including
wreathed in flame. The spells of casters below 6th lev- coins), but all such magically created metals dis-
el do not affect them, and against higher-level spell appear in time. Djinn can call up illusions, and al-
casters they are yet 75% immune to all spells. In com- though these are quite excellent they disappear when
bat, a baalrog uses whip and sword; the whip can be touched. Djinni can turn themselves into gaseous
used to reach great distances—on a successful hit the form (cannot attack or be attacked, can enter any
victim is pulled close to the baalrog and burned by area that is not airtight), and can become invisible
the fires of the demon’s body (3d6 hit points). Baal- at will. Finally, a djinni can turn itself into a whirl-
rogs are sometimes referred to in ancient texts as Ba- wind much like an air elemental, sweeping away any
lor or Baalor, which may be the name of a single de- creature with one or fewer hit dice (the diameter of
mon rather than a term for all of them. A baalrog the whirlwind is 10 ft. More powerful types of djinn
could be forced or tricked into the service of a power- might be capable of granting limited wishes or even
ful wizard, but the risk would be immense. true wishes.

Demon, Lemure Doppelgangers

Armor Class: 2 [17] Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 3 Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: claw (1d3) Attacks: claw (1d6)
Special: Regenerate (1 HP/round) Special: See Below
Move: 3 Move: 9
HDE/XP: 4/120 HDE/XP: 5/240

Lemures are vaguely humanoid, but their flesh is A doppelganger can change its form to resemble the
mud-like, shifting and soft upon their horrible bodies. physical appearance (including clothing and gear) of
Like manes and wretches, lemures are lower forms of any person. These creatures are immune to sleep and
demons, the fleshly manifestations of damned souls. charm, and are considered magic resistant for pur-
These demons can only be permanently destroyed by poses such as breaking through wizard locks and
sprinkling their disgusting bodies with holy water. similar spells. They have a very good saving throw
(+5) against magic of all kinds.

36
Chapter 7: monsters

Dragons Breath weapons come in three different types:

All dragons have a breath weapon of some kind,
which can be used three times in a day. The Referee 1. A cloud-shape for gaseous exhalations.
chooses when a dragon will use the breath weapon, 2. A cone shape for fiery-type breath.
or may roll a 50% chance in any given round. 3. A line for spitting dragons. The dimensions of a
Do not roll hit points for dragons as normal. In- dragon’s breath differ according to the dragon’s
stead, determine the age category of the dragon, and type.
that will tell you both the dragon’s hit points per die
and how many points of damage per hit die the drag- Dragon, Black
on’s breath inflicts: Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 6–8
ՔՔ Very young dragon: 1 hit point per hit die, 1 hit Attacks: claw (1d6), bite (2d6)
point per die inflicted by breath weapon. Special: Spits acid
Move: 12 (24 when flying)
ՔՔ Young: 2 hit points per hit die, 2 hit points per HDE/XP: 8/800, 9/1100, 10/1400
die inflicted by breath weapon.
Black dragons spit a deadly, corrosive acid rather
ՔՔ Immature: 3 hit points per hit die, 3 hit points than breathing fire. The acid covers everything in a
per die inflicted by breath weapon. line 5 ft wide and 60 ft long.

ՔՔ Adult: 4 hit points per hit die, 4 hit points per die Dragon, Blue
inflicted by breath weapon. Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 8–10
ՔՔ Old: 5 hit points per hit die, 5 hit points per die Attacks: claw (1d6), bite (3d6+3)
inflicted by breath weapon. Special: Spits lightning
Move: 12 (24 when flying)
ՔՔ Very Old (100 years old): 6 hit points per hit die, HDE/XP: 10/1400, 11/1700, 12/2000
6 hit points per die inflicted by breath weapon.
Blue dragons spit a blast of electric lightning in a line
ՔՔ Aged (100-400 years old): 7 hit points per die, 7 5 ft wide and 100 ft long, affecting everything in its
hit points per die inflicted by breath weapon. path. A saving throw indicates half damage.

ՔՔ Ancient (400+ years old): 8 hit points per die, 8 Dragon, Green
hit points per die inflicted by breath weapon. Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 7–9
Note that dragons, while they are dangerous oppo- Attacks: claw (1d6), bite (2d6+2)
nents, are not by any means invincible. In a medieval- Special: Breathes poisonous gas
type fantasy world, dragons are a common problem Move: 12 (24 when flying)
rather than a godlike creature of legend—so the sta- HDE/XP: 9/1100, 10/1400, 11/1700
tistics for dragons reflect a deadly but not mythical
foe. The Referee is, of course, free to create stats for Green dragons breathe a cloud of poisonous gas, 50 ft
a more “mythical” conception of dragons. Since dice in diameter. A successful saving throw indicates half
aren’t rolled for dragon hit points, it is possible for a damage.
truly mythical dragon to have more “numbers” per
die than it’s actually possible to roll on a hit die.

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swords & wizardry: white box

Dragon, Red Dwarves

Armor Class: 2 [17] Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 9–11 Hit Dice: 1+1
Attacks: 1 claw (1d6), bite (3d6+6) Attacks: warhammer (1d6)
Special: Breathes fire Special: Stonework insight
Move: 12 (24 when flying) Move: 6
HDE/XP: 11/1700, 12/2000, HDE/XP: 1/15
13/2300
Statistics above are for the common Dwarf with no
Red dragons are the fire-breathing wyrms of leg- particular unusual characteristics. A Dwarf-at-arms
end. They breathe fire in a cone-shape 90 ft long and would usually have a full 8 hit points, reflecting skill
roughly 30 ft wide at the base. and general toughness. Stronger Dwarves (sergeants-
at-arms, for example) might have more hit dice or
Dragon, White unusual bonuses to-hit, even magical abilities if
Armor Class: 2 [17] Dwarves are magical in your fantasy universe. (Norse
Hit Dice: 5–7 myths are a good example of this.) Do not bother to
Attacks: 1 claw (1d6-1), bite treat more powerful NPC Dwarves as Fighters or
(2d6+2) character types; just assign the right number of hit
Special: Breathes cold dice and abilities (if any) and keep moving along with
Move: 12 (24 when flying) the fantasy.
HDE/XP: 7/600, 8/800, 9/1100
Efreet
White dragons are usually found in cold regions, Armor Class: 2 [17]
where they can camouflage themselves in ice and Hit Dice: 10
snow, lying in wait for prey. They breathe a cone of Attacks: fist or sword (2d6)
intensely cold air and frost, with a length of 70 ft and Special: Wall of Fire
a base of 30 ft. Move: 9 (24 when flying)
HDE/XP: 12/2000
Dryads
Armor Class: 9 [10] Efreet are a type of genie, associated with fire (unlike
Hit Dice: 2 the djinn, who have powers over the air). Efreet can
Saving Throw: 14 carry up to a thousand pounds of weight, and under
Attacks: wooden dagger (1d3) the right circumstances they can be forced to serve as
Special: Charm Person a slave (until they figure out how to free themselves).
Move: 12 An efreeti can cast Wall of Fire (per the spell Wall of
HDE/XP: 3/60 Defense I). They appear as giant humans with cruel
features, their skin flickering with flames.
Dryads are beautiful female tree spirits, and do not
venture far from their home trees. They can cast (as Elementals
a native magical power) a strong charm that operates Elementals are living manifestations of the basic
as a charm person spell with a -2 saving throw. Those forms of matter; earth, air, fire, and water. They are
who are charmed seldom return, or might be kept for usually summoned from their native planes of exis-
a hundred years and a day within the dryad’s tree. tence to do the bidding of a powerful wizard. These
beings can also be “chained” within objects or struc-
tures to give the objects magical properties. Elemen-

38
Chapter 7: monsters

tals are barely intelligent at all, but they are as power- Elemental, Water
ful as the forces of nature that they actually are. Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 8, 12, 16
Elemental, Air Attacks: strike (3d6)
Armor Class: 2 [17] Special: Can overturn ships
Hit Dice: 8, 12, 16 Move: 6 (18 when swimming)
Attacks: strike (2d6) HDE/XP: 9/1100, 13/2300, 17/3400
Special: Whirlwind
Move: 36 (Flight) Water elementals cannot move more than 60 ft from
HDE/XP: 9/1100, 13/2300, 17/3400 a large body of water, and their damage is reduced by
1d6 if the opponent is not standing in water (or swim-
Air elementals can turn into a whirlwind of air with a ming, etc). These powerful beings can overturn small
diameter of 30 ft, hurling any creature of 1 HD or less boats, and can overturn a ship if given 1d4+4 rounds
for great distances (almost certainly killing them). to work at it. On water, they can attack ships, batter-
Elemental whirlwinds are approximately 100 ft high. ing them to pieces within one hour if not prevented
or distracted.
Elemental, Earth
Armor Class: 2 [17] Elves
Hit Dice: 8, 12, 16 Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attacks: fist (3d6) Hit Dice: 1+1
Special: Tear down stone Attacks: sword or a bow and 2 arrows (1d6)
Move: 6 Special: None
HDE/XP: 9/1100, 13/2300, 17/3400 Move: 12
HDE/XP: 1/15
Earth elementals are hulking man-shapes of rock and
earth. They batter opponents with their great fists, al- The example above is for a typical Elf; trained war-
though damage is reduced by 1d6 if the opponent is riors would likely have the maximum 9 hit points.
not standing upon earth or rock. Earth elementals Obviously, Elves encountered in the course of a par-
can tear apart stone structures, able to rip down even ty’s adventuring will have a variety of powers and dif-
a castle wall in a matter of 1d4+4 rounds (minutes). ferent attributes.
The Referee will assign such powers as he sees fit,
Elemental, Fire in accordance with the way he envisions elves. They
Armor Class: 2 [17] might be the woodland dwellers of Tolkien’s The Hob-
Hit Dice: 8, 12, 16 bit, or the high elves of the Lord of the Rings, or might
Attacks: strike (2d6) be the faerie folk of Irish legend. In any case, as with
Special: Ignite materials Dwarves, don’t bother trying to fit your “advanced”
Move: 12 elves into the constraints of character classes—just
HDE/XP: 9/1100, 13/2300, 17/3400 make up their attributes to fit what you need. Non-
player characters aren’t subject to the rules that gov-
Fire elementals are formless masses of flame, perhaps ern building a player character; the NPCs are your
with a vaguely human shape. Their attacks cause tools for good fantasy, not an exercise in applying
flammable materials to ignite if the material fails a formulas.
saving throw (as determined by the Referee).

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swords & wizardry: white box

Gargoyles Giants
Armor Class: 5 [14] Giants are a staple of fantasy gaming, huge and dan-
Hit Dice: 4+4 gerous creatures that often have a taste for human
Attacks: claw (2d6) flesh. Most are not particularly intelligent.
Special: Flight
Move: 9 (15 when flying) Giant, Cloud
HDE/XP: 6/400 Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 13
Gargoyles are winged creatures resembling the car- Attacks: weapon (3d6)
ven monstrosities that bedeck the walls of cathedrals Special: Hurl boulders
and many subterranean dungeons. They can be vi- Move: 15
cious predators. HDE/XP: 13/2300

Gelatinous Cubes Cloud giants are cunning beasts, often living in

Armor Class: 8 [11] cloud-castles in the sky (hence their name). They
Hit Dice: 4 throw rocks for 3d6 hit points of damage. Cloud gi-
Attacks: attack (2d6-2) ants are famous for their ability to smell out food, en-
Special: Paralysis, lighting and cold emies, and Englishmen.
immunity
Move: 6 Giant, Fire
HDE/XP: 5/240 Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 12
Gelatinous cubes are semi-transparent cubes that Attacks: weapon (2d6)
slosh through subterranean passages, engulfing de- Special: Hurl boulders, immune to fire
bris and carrion to digest. Their entire substance is Move: 12
acidic: if the cube hits successfully, the victim must HDE/XP: 12/2000
make a saving throw or become paralyzed (6 turns)
for the cube to devour. Most gelatinous cubes contain Fire giants are usually found near volcanic moun-
various metallic treasures or gems that they have en- tains, in great castles of basalt or even iron. They
gulfed but not yet digested. throw boulders for 2d6 hit points.

Ghouls Giant, Frost

Armor Class: 6 [13] Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 2 Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: claw (1d6+paralysis) Attacks: weapon (2d6)
Special: Immunities, paralysis Special: Hurl boulders, immune to cold
Move: 9 Move: 12
HDE/XP: 3/60 HDE/XP: 12/2000

Ghouls are pack-hunting undead, corpse eaters. They Frost giants dwell in cold regions, where they build
are immune, like most undead, to charms and sleep (or conquer) castles in remote places of ice and snow.
spells. The most dangerous feature of these horrid, They throw boulders or great chunks of ice for 2d6
cunning creatures is their paralyzing touch: any hit points of damage.
from a ghoul requires a saving throw or the victim
becomes paralyzed for 3d6 turns.

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Chapter 7: monsters

Giant, Hill Gnolls

Armor Class: 4 [15] Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 8+2 Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: weapon (2d6) Attacks: bite (2d6-2)
Special: Hurl boulders Special: None
Move: 12 Move: 9
HDE/XP: 9/1100 HDE/XP: 2/30

Hill giants are the least of the giant races; most are Gnolls are tall humanoids with hyena-like heads.
brutish cave-dwellers who dress in pelts and uncured They may be found both aboveground and in sub-
hides. They throw rocks for 2d6 points of damage. terranean caverns. They form into loosely organized
clans, often ranging far from home to steal and kill
Giant, Stone with rapacious ferocity.
Armor Class: 0 [20]
Hit Dice: 9+3 Goblins
Attacks: club (2d6) Armor Class: 7 [12]
Special: Hurl boulders Hit Dice: 1-1
Move: 12 Attacks: weapon (1d6)
HDE/XP: 10/1400 Special: -1 “to-hit” in sunlight
Move: 9
Stone giants dwell in caves, isolated in the mountain HDE/XP: < 1/10
fastnesses. They throw rocks for 2d6 points of dam-
age, and can be quite crafty in setting up ambushes in Goblins are small creatures (4 ft tall or so) that inhab-
their native mountains—travelers who wander into it dark woods, underground caverns, and (possibly)
the territory of stone giants seldom return. the otherworldly realms of the fey. They attack at -1
in the full sunlight.
Giant, Storm
Armor Class: 1 [18] Golems
Hit Dice: 16 Golems are man-shaped creatures built to serve their
Attacks: weapon (3d6) masters, usually powerful wizards or high priests.
Special: Hurl boulders, control weather They are often used as guardians. Golems cannot be
Move: 15 hit with non-magical weapons, and are immune to
HDE/XP: 16/3200 the sorts of spells used to create them (iron golems
being immune to fire, for instance). You can find the
Storm giants are the largest of giants, the most intel- details in the specific monster descriptions.
ligent, the most magical, and the most likely to talk
with humans rather than simply devour them. Storm
giants can live in underwater sea-castles as well as
on the heights of mountains. They throw boulders for
3d6 points of damage, and have the power to control
weather (as per the spell).

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Golem, Flesh Gorgons

Armor Class: 9 [10] Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 12 Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: fist (2d6+2) Attacks: gore (2d6)
Special: See Below Special: Breath turns to stone
Move: 8 Move: 12
HDE/XP: 12/2000 HDE/XP: 10/1400

A creation stitched together from human limbs and Gorgons are bull-like creatures with dragon-like
other parts, like a Frankenstein monster. Damage in- scales. Their breath turns people to stone (60 ft range,
flicted by lightning heals the golem, and it is slowed saving throw applies).
by fire and cold spells. No other type of spell than
lightning, fire, or cold affects a flesh golem. Only +1 Grey Oozes
or better magic weapons can harm a flesh golem. Armor Class: 12 [6]
Hit Dice: 3+3
Golem, Iron Attacks: strike (2d6)
Armor Class: 3 [16] Special: Acid, immunities
Hit Dice: 13 Move: 1
Attacks: weapon or fist (4d6+4) HDE/XP: 5/240
Special: See Below
Move: 6 Grey ooze is almost identical to wet rock, but is a
HDE/XP: 17/3500 slimy, formless substance that devours prey and car-
rion with its acidic secretions, lashing forward to
Iron golems are huge moving statues of iron. They strike enemies. Grey ooze is immune to spells, heat,
can breathe a 10 ft radius cloud of poison gas as well and cold damage. Metal (but not stone or wood) must
as attacking with great power. Weapons of +2 or less make a saving throw vs. acid when exposed to grey
do not affect them. These hulking statues are slowed ooze (even if the contact is as brief as the strike of a
by lightning spells, but fire-based spells actually re- sword) or be rotted through. When the grey ooze hits
store hit points to them. No other type of spell affects a character in metal armor, the armor must make an
them. item saving throw. Only cutting and piercing dam-
ages a grey ooze—it is impervious to blunt or crush-
Golem, Stone ing attacks.
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 16 Green Slime
Attacks: fist (3d6) Green slime isn’t technically a monster, just an ex-
Special: See Below tremely dangerous hazard in underground tombs
Move: 6 and other such places. Any metal or organic sub-
HDE/XP: 16/3200 stance it touches begins to turn to green slime (saving
throw). It can be killed with fire or extreme cold, and
Stone golems are massive stone statues animated by the transformation process can be arrested by the use
very powerful magics (much more than just animate of a Cure Disease spell.
object, in other words). They are slowed by fire spells,
and damaged/healed by rock to mud spells and the
reverse. Spells that affect rock (and fire spells) are the
only magic that affects them. They can only be hit by
+2 or better weapons.

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Chapter 7: monsters

Griffons Hippogriffs
Armor Class: 3 [16] Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 7 Hit Dice: 3+3
Attacks: bite (2d6) Attacks: claws (1d6)
Special: Flight Special: Flight
Move: 12 (27 when flying) Move: 12 (27 when flying)
HDE/XP: 8/800 HDE/XP: 3/60

Griffons have the body of a lion, with the wings, The hippogriff is similar to a griffon, having the head,
head, and fore-talons of an eagle. These creatures can foreclaws, and wings of an eagle, but instead of the
be tamed and ridden as mounts. They usually nest in body of a lion, it has the body of a horse. The poem
high mountain aeries, where they lay their eggs and Orlando Furioso (written in 1516) suggests that the
hunt their prey. Because the fledglings can be tamed, hippogriff is the offspring of a griffon and a horse—
young griffons and griffon eggs command a very but they are apparently an independent breed, for
high price in the marketplaces of the great cities, or folkloric tradition holds that griffons frequently at-
to barons and wizards. tack hippogriffs. Hippogriffs are not as hard to train
as griffons—again, from Orlando Furioso: “Drawn by
Harpies enchantment from his distant lair, The wizard thought
Armor Class: 7 [12] but how to tame the foal; And, in a month, instructed
Hit Dice: 3 him to bear Saddle and bit, and gallop to the goal; And
Attacks: talons (1d6) execute on earth or in mid air, All shifts of manege,
Special: Flight, siren song course and caracole . . .”
Move: 6 (18 when flying)
HDE/XP: 4/120 Hobgoblins
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Harpies have the upper body of a human female and Hit Dice: 1+1
the lower body and wings of a vulture. Their song is Attacks: weapon (1d6)
a charm that draws its victims to the harpy (saving Special: None
throw applies), and the harpy’s touch casts the equiv- Move: 9
alent of a charm person spell (again, saving throw HDE/XP: 1/15
applies).
Hobgoblins are simply large goblins, possibly a sep-
Hell Hounds arate breed living apart from their smaller cousins.
Armor Class: 4 [15] As a matter of the campaign’s flavoring, the Referee
Hit Dice: 4–7 might choose to make hobgoblins the “fey” goblins of
Attacks: bite (1d6) Irish legend, while regular goblins are the more Tolk-
Special: Breathes fire ien-style underground-dwellers.
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 5/240, 6/400, 7/600, 8/800 Horses
Horses are AC 7 [12], with riding horses having 2 HD
Hell hounds are fire-breathing dogs of the under- and warhorses having 3 HD. Horses move at a speed
worlds or lower planes. In addition to biting, they can of 18.
breathe fire each round, inflicting 2 HP damage per
hit die (10 ft range, saving throw for half damage).

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Humans guard units and other small military groups in cas-

Humans are such a versatile race that any number of tles and armies.
“monsters” and NPCs can be made from them. Ber-
serker warriors, tribesmen, cavemen, princesses, evil Human, Soldier
high priests, captains of the guard, foot-soldiers, and Armor Class: 7 [12]
tavern-keepers are all different human “monsters.” Hit Dice: 1
Don’t try to build your non-player characters ac- Attacks: weapon (1d6)
cording to the rules for player characters. Here are Special: None
some samples, otherwise just make up their stats and Move: 12
abilities as you see fit. HDE/XP: 3/60

Human, Bandit Human soldiers serve as city guardsmen, mercenar-

Armor Class: 7 [12] ies, and men-at-arms. They are generally armed with
Hit Dice: 1 leather armor and a mace, sword, or spear. For every
Attacks: weapon (1d6) five guardsmen there is usually a sergeant.
Special: None
Move: 12 Hydrae
HDE/XP: 1/15 Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 5–12 (equals # of heads)
Bandits are roving groups of thieves, sometimes or- Attacks: 5–12 bites (1d6 each head)
ganized into small armies led by more powerful ban- Saving Throw: 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5
dit chiefs and captains with higher hit dice. Special: None
Move: 9
Human, Berserker HDE/XP: 7/600, 8/800, 9/1100, 10/1400
Armor Class: 7 [12] 11/1700, 12/2000
Hit Dice: 1+2
Attacks: weapon (1d6) Hydrae are great lizard-like or snake-like creatures
Special: Berserking with 5–12 heads. Each head has one hit die of its own,
Move: 12 and when the head is killed, that head dies. The body
HDE/XP: 2/30 has as many hit dice as the total of the heads, so it
is a matter of good strategy for adventurers to focus
Berserkers are normal humans, but they fight with either on killing heads (when all the heads are dead
astounding ferocity. A bonus of +2 is added to their the body dies) or killing the creature by attacking the
attack rolls. They do not wear armor heavier than body (in which case the heads die, too). Hydrae that
leather armor. breathe fire or regenerate their heads are also known
to exist.
Human, Sergeant-at-Arms
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: weapon (1d6)
Special: None
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 1/15

Human sergeants are normally found in command

of 1d6+5 human soldiers. These are the leaders of city

44
ChapTer 7: monSterS

Invisible Stalkers Lizardmen

Armor Class: 3 [16] Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 8 Hit Dice: 2+1
Attacks: bite (3d6) Attacks: claws (1d6) or sword (1d6+2)
Special: Invisible, flight Special: Underwater
Move: 12 Move: 6 (12 when swimming)
HDE/XP: 9/1100 HDE/XP: 2/30

Invisible stalkers are generally only found as a result Lizardmen are reptilian humanoids, usually living in
of the spell Invisible Stalker. They are invisible flying tribal villages in the depths of fetid swamps. Some
beings created to follow a single command made by can hold their breath for long durations (an hour or
the caster. more), while other can actually breathe underwater.
Some lizardmen wield a wicked sword made of
Kobolds sharp bone.
Armor Class: 13 [6]
Hit Dice: 1/2
Attacks: weapon (1d6)
Special: None
Move: 6
HDE/XP: < 1/10

Kobolds are subterranean, vaguely goblin-like hu-

manoids. They have a -1 penalty when fighting above
ground. Many use slings or short bows, and they fight
with short swords or spiked clubs in melee combat.

Liches
Armor Class: 0 [20] Lycanthropes
Hit Dice: 12–18 Lycanthropes are were-creatures, particularly those
Attacks: touch (1d6+paralysis) in whom the disease permits assumption of a hybrid
Saving Throw: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 form of the human and animal. They can be hit by
Special: See Below normal weapons, but silver weapons might inflict ad-
Move: 6 ditional damage. If any character is brought low 50%
HDE/XP: 15/2900. 16/3200, 17/3500, 18/3800 hit points by a lycanthrope, the character will become
19/4100, 20/4400, 21/4700 a lycanthrope himself.

Liches are the undead remnants of wizards, either Lycanthrope, Werebear

made undead by their own deliberate acts during life, Armor Class: 2 [17]
or as the result of other magical forces (possibly in- Hit Dice: 7+3
cluding their own magics gone awry). A liche has the Attacks: bite (2d6-2)
same spell-casting powers as the original Magic-user Special: Lycanthropy
(the same level as the liche’s hit dice). A liche’s touch Move: 9
causes paralysis with no saving throw, and the very HDE/XP: 8/800
sight of one of these dread creatures causes paralysis
in any being of 4 HD or below. Liches are highly ma- Werebears are mostly found in wilderness areas.
lign and intelligent.

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Lycanthrope, Wererat Medusa

Armor Class: 6 [13] Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 3 Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: weapon (1d6) Attacks: weapon (1d6)
Special: Lycanthropy, control rats Special: Petrifying gaze
Move: 12 Move: 9
HDE/XP: 4/120 HDE/XP: 8/800

Wererats are mostly found in cities, lurking in shad- Medusae are horrid creatures from Greek mythology
owy alleyways. Wererats can control rats, and are ex- with a female face but hair of writhing snakes; they
tremely stealthy (surprising opponents on 1–4 on a have no legs, but the body of a serpent. The gaze of a
d6). medusa turns anyone looking upon it into stone. In
addition to the medusa’s relatively weak melee-weap-
Lycanthrope, Werewolf on attack, the snake-hair makes one attack per round,
Armor Class: 5 [14] causing no damage but lethally poisonous with a suc-
Hit Dice: 3 cessful hit (saving throw applies).
Attacks: weapon (1d6)
Special: Lycanthropy, control rats Minotaurs
Move: 12 Armor Class: 6 [13]
HDE/XP: 4/120 Hit Dice: 6+4
Attacks: weapon (1d6+1)
Werewolves are the traditional Lycanthropes seen in Special: Never lost in labyrinths
horror movies. They are often only affected by silver Move: 12
or magical weapons, often are humanoid except for HDE/XP: 6/400
during a full moon, and so on.
The minotaur is a man-eating predator from Greek
Manticores mythology, with the head of a bull and the body of
Armor Class: 4 [15] a massive human, covered in shaggy hair. Some-
Hit Dice: 6+4 times they wield large axes. Most are not particularly
Attacks: 1d6 tailspikes (1d6 dmg per) intelligent.
Special: Flight
Move: 12 (8 when swimming) Mummies
HDE/XP: 8/800 Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 6+4
A horrid monster with bat wings, the face of a feral Attacks: touch (1d6+1+special)
human, the body of a lion, and a tail tipped with 24 Special: Rot, hit only by magic weapons
iron spikes. The manticore can hurl up to 6 of the Move: 6
iron spikes from its tail per round, at a maximum HDE/XP: 7/600
range of 180 ft.
Mummies cannot be hit by normal weapons, and even
magical weapons inflict only half damage against
them. Their touch also inflicts a rotting disease which
prevents magical healing and causes wounds to heal
at one-tenth of the normal rate. A Cure Disease spell
can increase healing rate to half normal, but a Re-

46
Chapter 7: monsters

move Curse spell is required to completely lift the might be many different interpretations of magical
mummy’s curse. ogres whether or not they are called “ogre mage.”

Ochre Jelly Orcs

Armor Class: 8 [11] Armor Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 6 Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: acid strike (2d6) Attacks: weapon (1d6)
Special: Lightning divdes creature Special: None
Move: 3 Move: 12
HDE/XP: 6/400 HDE/XP: 1/15

Ochre jellies are amorphous oozes that damage op- Orcs are stupid, brutish humanoids that gather in
ponents with their acidic surface. They dissolve tribes of hundreds. Most are subterranean dwellers,
any adventurers they kill, making a raise dead spell and fight with a penalty of -1 in sunlight. Occasional-
impossible. ly, war-bands or even entire tribes of orcs issue forth
from their caverns to raid and pillage by night. Or-
Ogres cish leaders are great brutes with additional hit dice,
Armor Class: 5 [14] and magic-using shamans may also be found in the
Hit Dice: 4+1 larger tribes. Orcish tribes hate each other, and will
Attacks: weapon (1d6+2) fight savagely unless restrained by a powerful and
Special: None feared commander, such as an evil high priest or a
Move: 9 mystic sorcerer.
HDE/XP: 4/120
Pegasus
Ogres are normally quite stupid, but more intelligent Armor Class: 6 [13]
versions might be encountered here and there. Some- Hit Dice: 4
times Ogres are mistaken for trolls. Attacks: hooves (1d6)
Special: Flight
Ogre Mages Move: 24 (48 when flying)
Armor Class: 4 [15] HDE/XP: 4/120
Hit Dice: 5+4
Attacks: weapon (1d6) Pegasus was the winged horse from Greek mythology.
Special: Magic use Other Pegasus creatures might have bat wings, some
Move: 12 (18 when flying) might be evil; such choices are left to the Referee.
HDE/XP: 7/600
Purlpe Worms
The ogre mage is an ogre with magic powers, based Armor Class: 6 [13]
on Japanese legend. An ogre mage can fly, turn invis- Hit Dice: 15
ible (per the spell), create a 10 ft radius circle of mag- Attacks: bite (3d6), sting (1d6+2)
ical darkness, change into human form, cast sleep Special: Poison sting, swallow
and charm person once per day, and cast a cone of Move: 9
frost with a range of 60 ft to a base of 30 ft, causing HDE/XP: 17/3500
8d6 damage to any caught within (saving throw ap-
plies). Western folklore also contains many examples Purple worms are massive annelids that grow 40 ft
of shape-shifting, magical ogres (the most famous and more in length, and sometimes exceed ten feet
example being the one in Puss-in-Boots), so there in width. They are subterranean, chewing tunnels

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in rock (or through sand, in deserts, where they are Salamanders

a tan color). These beasts swallow their prey whole Armor Class: 5 [14], 3 [16]
on a roll 4 higher than the needed number, or if the Hit Dice: 7
worm rolls double the number required to-hit. They Attacks: touch, constrict (2d6)
can swallow anything the size of a horse or smaller. Special: Heat, constrict
In addition to the worm’s dreaded bite, it has a poi- Move: 9
son stinger on its tail, the length of a sword and just HDE/XP: 8/800
as deadly even from the piercing wound it inflicts.
The poison injected by the stinger is lethal if the vic- Salamanders are intelligent creatures of the elemental
tim fails a saving throw. What prey the purple worms planes of fire. They have the upper body of a human
once hunted (or perhaps still do, in deep places) with (AC 5 [14]) and the lower body of a snake (AC 3 [16]),
such natural weapons must have been terrifying in- and give off tremendous, intense heat. The very touch
deed. Aquatic versions of the purple worm might also of a salamander deals 1d6 hit points of fire damage,
exist. and they wrap their tails around foes to cause an ad-
ditional 2d8 points of crushing damage per round.
Rats, Giant Salamanders cannot be enslaved in the same manner
Armor Class: 7 [12] djinn and efreet might be.
Hit Dice: 1-1
Attacks: bite (1d3) Sea Serpents
Special: 5% are diseased Armor Class: 2 [17]
Move: 12 Hit Dice: 30
HDE/XP: < 1/10 Attacks: bite (4d6)
Special: Swallow
Giant rats are often found in dungeons, and are about Move: 18 (Swim)
the size of a cat or a lynx. The bite of some (1 in 20) HDE/XP: 30/8400
giant rats causes disease. A saving throw vs. poison
is allowed. The effects of the disease are decided by The size and nature of sea serpents is a matter for
the Referee. the Referee to determine. The sea serpent depicted
here would be about middle size, about sixty feet in
Rocs length, with smaller ones being half that size (with
Armor Class: 4 [15] adjusted statistics, of course), and large ones being
Hit Dice: 12 about 50% larger than the one described here. A sea
Attacks: claw (3d6) serpent would undoubtedly be capable of swallowing
Special: None a human whole, probably on a natural attack roll of
Move: 3 (30 when flying) no more than 14. A character swallowed whole would
HDE/XP: 12/2000 be digested within, perhaps, three hours.

Rocs are the mythological great birds of legend, large Shadows

enough to prey upon elephants. They can be trained Armor Class: 7 [12]
as fledglings to serve as steeds, so roc eggs or fledg- Hit Dice: 3+3
lings would be a prize indeed, worth great sums of Attacks: touch (1d6+strength drain)
gold. Rocs might grow as large as 18 HD, with com- Special: See Below
mensurately increased statistics. Move: 12
HDE/XP: 4/130

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Chapter 7: monsters

Shadows may or may not be undead creatures: they Specters

are immune to sleep and charm, but the Referee may Armor Class: 2 [17]
decide whether they are undead creatures subject to Hit Dice: 7
turning or whether they are some horrible “other” Attacks: touch (1d6+level drain)
thing, a manifestation perhaps, or a creature from Special: Drains 2 levels per hit
another dimension. Shadows are dark and resem- Move: 15 (30 when flying)
ble shadows, though they may be darker. They are HDE/XP: 9/1100
not corporeal, and can only be harmed with magi-
cal weapons or by spells. Their chill touch drains one Specters are wraith-like undead creatures with-
point of strength with a successful hit, and if a victim out corporeal bodies. When a specter hits an oppo-
is brought to a strength of 0, he becomes a shadow. nent, either with hand or weapon, the touch drains
Strength points return after 90 minutes (9 turns). two levels from the victim. Only magical weapons
can damage a specter. In some cases, these terrify-
Skeletons ing creatures may be mounted upon living beasts, if
Armor Class: 8 [11], 7 [12] with shield the beasts have been trained to tolerate proximity to
Hit Dice: 1 the undead. Any being killed (or drained below level
Attacks: weapon or strike (1d6) 0) by a specter becomes a specter himself—a pitiful
Special: None thrall to its creator.
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 1/15 Spiders, Giant
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Skeletons are animated bones of the dead, usually Hit Dice: 2+2
under the control of some evil master. Attacks: bite (1d6+poison)
Special: See Below
Slug, Giant Move: 18
Armor Class: 8 [11] HDE/XP: 5/240
Hit Dice: 12
Attacks: bite (2d6) or acid Giant spiders are aggressive hunters. Only the greater
Special: Spits acid for 6d6 dmg giant spiders are web builders. Giant spider webs re-
Move: 6 quire a saving throw to avoid becoming stuck. Those
HDE/XP: 13/2300 who make their saving throw can fight and move (5
ft per round) in the webs. Giant spiders surprise on
These tremendously large masses of slimy, rubbery a roll of 1-5, being able to hide well in shadows. A
flesh are completely immune to blunt weapons. In ad- spider’s bite is very poisonous, adding +1 to save vs.
dition to their powerful bite, giant slugs can spit their poison.
acidic saliva (one target at a time). The base range for
spitting is 60 ft, and within this range the slug’s spit-
tle will be 50% likely to-hit (no to-hit roll required).
For every additional 10 ft of range, the chance to-
hit decreases by 10%. On its first spitting attack, the
slug only has a 10% chance to-hit within 60 ft, and
no chance of hitting beyond that range. Some giant
slugs might have more or less virulent acidity (thus
changing the damage inflicted).

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Treants them. They can teleport once per day to a distance

Armor Class: 2 [17] of 360 ft, with a rider. When they charge, their horn
Hit Dice: 7–12 can deal double damage. Unicorns are 25% resistant
Attacks: strike (2d6, 3d6, 4d6) to magic. The unicorn’s horn has healing properties
Special: Control trees according to legend (the details of this, if any, are left
Move: 12 to the Referee). There is considerable room to create
HDE/XP: 7/600, 8/800, 9/1100, 10/1400 variant sorts of unicorns: evil ones, flying ones, etc.
11/1700, 12/2000
Vampires
Treants are tree-like protectors and “shepherds” of Armor Class: 2 [17]
forest trees. Depending upon their size, they have Hit Dice: 7–9
different hit dice and damage; treants of 7 to 8 hit Attacks: bite (1d6+3+level drain)
dice inflict 2d6 points of damage with each strike of Special: See Below
their branch-like hands, treants of 9–10 hit dice in- Move: 12 (18 when flying)
flict 3d6 points, and treants of 11–12 hit dice inflict HDE/XP: 9/1100, 10/1400, 11/1700
4d6 points. All treants can “wake” trees within 60 ft,
allowing them to walk at a rate of 3, and possibly to Vampires are some of the most powerful of undead
attack (no more than two trees at a time can be awake creatures. They can only be hit with magic weapons,
at the behest of a single treant). and when “killed” in this way they change into a gas-
eous form, returning to their coffins.
Trolls They regenerate at a rate of 3 hit points per round,
Armor Class: 4 [15] can turn into gaseous form or into a giant bat at will,
Hit Dice: 6+3 and can summon a horde of bats or 3d6 wolves out
Attacks: claw (1d6+3) from the night. Looking into a vampire’s eyes necessi-
Special: Regenerates tates a saving throw at -2, or the character is charmed
Move: 12 (as per the spell Charm Person). Most terrifyingly, a
HDE/XP: 8/800 vampire’s bite drains two levels from the victim.
Fortunately, vampires have some weaknesses.
Trolls are as tall as ogres and just as strong. Unlike They can be killed (these are the only known meth-
ogres, however, they attack with claws and teeth in- ods) by immersing them in running water, exposing
stead of weapons. Trolls regenerate, which is to say them to sunlight, or driving a wooden stake through
that any damage inflicted upon them heals within the heart. They retreat from the smell of garlic, the
minutes (3 hit points per round). The only way to ut- sight of a mirror, or the sight of “good” holy sym-
terly kill a troll is to submerse it in acid or burn it. bols. Any human killed by a vampire becomes a vam-
Trolls can even re-grow lopped-off heads and limbs. pire under the control of its creator. This description
will be recognized easily as the “Dracula” type of
Unicorns vampire.
Armor Class: 2 [17] Many other possibilities for vampires exist in
Hit Dice: 4+5 folklore: those who drink blood rather than level
Attacks: hoof (1d6), horn (1d6+2) drain (Nosferatu), those vampires more feral than in-
Special: See Below telligent. Plus, other cultural templates with different
Move: 24 attributes could be created—how about an ancient
HDE/XP: 5/240 Aztec vampire?

Unicorns are generally shy and benevolent creatures,

who will only allow a chaste maiden to approach

50
Chapter 7: monsters

Wights Wyverns
Armor Class: 5 [14] Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 3 Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: claw (1 HP+level drain) Attacks: bite (2d6) or sting (1d6)
Special: See Below Special: Poison, sting, flight
Move: 9 Move: 6 (24 when flying)
HDE/XP: 5/240 HDE/XP: 9/1100

Wights live in tombs, graveyards, and burial mounds A wyvern is the two-legged form of dragon, and
(barrows). They are undead, and thus not affected by these creatures are smaller and less intelligent than
sleep or charm spells. Wights are immune to all non- true four-legged dragons, not to mention that they do
magical weapons, with the exception of silver weap- not have a breath weapon. Wyverns have a poisonous
ons. Any human killed or completely drained of lev- sting at the end of their tails, but they are not coordi-
els (1 level per hit) by a wight becomes a wight. nated enough to attack with both bite and sting in a
single round. In any given round, the wyvern is 60%
Worgs likely to use its tail, which can lash out to the crea-
Armor Class: 6 [13] ture’s front even farther than its head can reach.
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: bite (1d6+1) Yellow Mold
Special: None Armor Class: n/a
Move: 18 Hit Dice: n/a
HDE/XP: 4/120 Attacks: 1d6 damage if touched
Special: Poisonous spores
Worgs are large, intelligent, and evil wolves. They Move: 0
may have supernatural origins. HDE/XP: 3/60

Wraiths Yellow mold is a subterranean fungus; it neither

Armor Class: 3 [16] moves nor attacks. However, if it is poked or struck,
Hit Dice: 4 it may (50% chance) release a cloud of poisonous
Attacks: touch (1d6+level drain) spores, roughly 10 ft in diameter. Failing a saving
Special: See Below throw against the spores means that the character
Move: 9 dies a rather horrible death. Touching yellow mold
HDE/XP: 6/400 causes 1d6 points of acid damage. These growths can
be destroyed with fire.
Wraiths are powerful wights, immune to all non-
magical weapons other than silver ones (which inflict Zombies
only half damage). Arrows are particularly ineffec- Armor Class: 8 [11], 7 [12] with shield
tive against them, for even magical and silver arrows Hit Dice: 2
inflict only one hit point of damage per hit. They Attacks: weapon or strike (1d6)
drain 1 level per hit. Wraiths can be found riding Special: Immune to sleep, charm
well-trained battle steeds or more unusual mounts Move: 6
that will tolerate their presence. HDE/XP: 2/30

Zombies are mindless creatures, the walking dead.

These are merely animated corpses, not carriers of
any sort of undead contagion as ghouls are. If their

51
swords & wizardry: white box

undeath is contagious, they should be worth a few

more experience points than described here, and if a Better Monsters
single hit from a zombie causes contagion or any oth- There is really no limit as to how high monsters
er sort of disease they should be worth considerably can go, and often it’s fun to trick the players by
more experience. However, the standard zombie is throwing uber-monsters at them. The Referee
simply a corpse animated to do its creator’s bidding. should feel free to adjust AC, HD, or other fac-
tors to make monsters more challenging.
Creating Monsters Also, feel free to try new options like a su-
Monsters are not player characters, and their abili- per strain of orcs, goblin spider-riders, or fire-
ties are not at all determined by the rules for player resistant mummies just to keep the players on
characters—not even the stats for races that can have their toes.
player characters, such as Dwarves. A monster’s abil-
ities are determined by the Referee, not by any rules!
Feel free to add wings, breath weapons, extra hit
dice, wounded versions, or whatever suits your ad- Monster Levels
venture and your campaign. Toggle and tweak, imag- You may notice that while character levels are
ine and invent! You are responsible for the quality of capped, monster levels are not. The reasons for
the swords and sorcery in your game, not the rules. this are simple:
So don’t try to create monsters according to any sort
of power formula. 1. Players run in packs and big monsters
Create monsters based on how they feel and how need levels to overcome a disadvantage in
they play at the gaming table. Create challenges for numbers.
the players, not headaches for yourself. Your job is to 2. Players tend to be creative while many Ref-
imagine and create, not to slave over rulebooks find- erees allow monsters to “play stupid.”
ing out what you’re “allowed” to do.
The Referee has the option of allowing
Table 25: Monster Creation characters to continue to advance, or to put a
cap on monster levels as he or she sees fit.
HD THB ST XP Given
<1 +0 19 10
1 +1 18 15
2 +2 17 30
3 +3 16 60
4 +4 15 120
5 +5 14 240
6 +6 13 400
7 +7 12 600
8 +8 11 800
9 +9 10 1100
10 +10 9 1400
11 +11 8 1700
12 +12 7 2000
13 +13 6 2300
14 +14 5 2600
15 +15 4 2900
+ level +1 3 +300/HD

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Chapter 9: treasure

How Much Treasure?

The amount of treasure a monster owns or guards House Rule: Splitting the Take
is usually related to the monster’s HDE. That’s not Once the monsters are slain and the wounds
necessarily realistic, but keep in mind that treasure are bound, it’s time to divide up the treasure.
is one of the ways the game reflects what a charac- It is suggested that the total gp value of the loot
ter has done: it’s used in awarding experience points. is totaled and divided up among the partici-
Too many large treasures and the characters will be- pants with each getting an equal “share.”
come powerful without actually having done very Many Referees rule that treasure must be
much. Too many monsters with small treasures, shared with NPCs getting either a full or half
and the characters won’t gain levels to reflect their share, depending upon their level.
achievements. It is also customary for fallen (dead) com-
As a general guideline, the monetary value of a rades to still get a share of the take to be given
treasure ought to be about 2–3 times the monster’s to their next of kin.
value in experience points, and keep in mind that
hunting and patrolling monsters likely won’t be cart-
ing their treasure around with them. Here is a pos- ՔՔ For every 100 gp in value, there is a 10% chance of
sible table a Referee can use as a guideline: a 100 gp trade-out.

Table 25: Treasure Values ՔՔ For every 1,000 gp in value, there is a 10% chance
of a 1,000 gp trade-out.
Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure
1 1x HP value of the monsters ՔՔ For every 5,000 gp in value, there is a 10% chance
2–3 2x XP value of the monsters of a 5,000 gp trade-out.
4–5 3x XP value of the monsters
6 4x XP value of the monsters It is suggested that the Referee begin with the ma-
jor gp values first and work down to the lesser ones.
If the characters can’t find the monster’s lair, they may “Jewelry” refers to a single item of jewelry.
get none of the treasure. Also, it obviously doesn’t
make sense for every wild boar and wolf to have a 5,000 GP Trade Out
cache of treasure hidden away somewhere. Averag- A roll of 1–19 on a d20 means a roll on the Major
ing the treasure out over several of the monsters in Gem/Jewelry table. A roll of 20 results in rolling on
an adventure is a good way of making sure the char- the Major Magic Item table.
acters get the right amount of experience points from
treasure. Perhaps the goblin treasure hoard contains Table 26: Major Gem/Jewelry
some “extra” treasure to account for the wolves in the
area. If the characters avoid the wolves and kill the Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure
goblins, so much the better. If they have to fight the 1 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 gp
wolves and never find the goblins, that’s the breaks. 2–3 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 x8 gp
You can’t make the game perfectly fair. 4–5 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 x12 gp
6 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 x20 gp
“Trading” GP Value for Treasures
In addition to coins, treasures might contain gems,
jewelry, and magical items. Treasures have got to be
interesting: endless series of “another treasure worth
100 gp in total” is a surefire recipe for boring your
players.

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swords & wizardry: white box

Table 27: Major Magic Item Table 30: Minor Magic Item

Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure
1 Roll six times on the potions table 1 Roll 1d12 on the potions table
2–3 Roll 1d6+12 on the scrolls table 2–3 Roll 1d6 on the scrolls table
4–5 Roll 1d6+12 on the weapons and armor table 4–5 Roll 1d6 on the weapons and armor table
Roll 1d20+40 on the miscellaneous table Roll 1d20 on the miscellaneous table (includes
6 6
(includes rings and staffs) rings and staffs)

1,000 GP Trade Out Table 31: Magic Potions

A roll of 1–19 on a d20 means a roll on the Medium
Gem/Jewelry table. A roll of 20 results in rolling on Roll Magic Potion1
the Medium Magic Item table. 1–3 Animal Control
4–6 Clairaudience
Table 28: Medium Gem/Jewelry 7–9 Clairvoyance
10–12 Diminution
Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure 13–15 Dragon Control
1 Gem or jewelry worth 1d100 gp 16–18 Ethereality
2–3 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 + 250 gp 19–21 Fire Resistance
4–5 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 + 750 gp 22–24 Flying
6 Gem or jewelry worth 1d10,000 gp 25–27 Gaseous Form
28–30 Giant Strength
Table 28: Medium Magic Item 31–33 Growth
34–36 Heroism
Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure 37–39 Invisibility
1 Roll three times on the potions table 40–42 Invulnerability
2–3 Roll 1d6 +6 on the scrolls table 43–45 Levitation
4–5 Roll 1d6 +6 on the weapons and armor table 46–48 Plant Control
Roll 1d20 +20 on the miscellaneous table 49–55 Poison
6
(includes rings and staffs) 56–58 Slipperiness
59–61 Treasure Finding
100 GP Trade Out 62–64 Undead Control
A roll of 1–19 on a d20 means a roll on the Minor 65–75 Extra Healing
Gem/Jewelry table. A roll of 20 results in rolling on 76–00 Healing
the Minor Magic Item table.
1
Potions have a duration of 1d6+1 turns.

Table 29: Minor Gem/Jewelry Magic Potion Descriptions

Animal Control: Results as per the spell.
Roll Possible GP Value for Treasure Clairaudience: Results as per the spell Crystal Ball.
1 Gem or jewelry worth 1d6 gp Clairvoyance: Results as per the spell Crystal Ball.
2–3 Gem or jewelry worth 1d100 +25 gp Diminution: Imbiber shrinks to 6 inches tall for 2d6
4–5 Gem or jewelry worth 1d100 +75 gp hours.
6 Gem or jewelry worth 1d1000 gp Dragon Control: 1d3 dragons of a specific type (de-
termined randomly by the Referee) are affected
as per the spell Charm Monster.

54
Chapter 9: treasure

Ethereality: The imbiber of this potion can move Roll Scroll1

through solid objects but cannot attack. Equip- 11 5 spells, level 1d3 each
ment also becomes ethereal. 12 Cursed scroll
Extra Healing: Cures 3d6+3 HP of damage. 13–14 Protection Scroll (double duration)
Fire Resistance: Grants immunity to normal fire, +2 15 5 spells, level 1d6 each
saving throws against fire attacks, half damage 16 6 spells, level 1d6 each
to magic fire attacks that do not permit saving 17 7 spells, level 1d6 each
throws. 18 8 spells, level 1d6 each
Flying: Results as per the spell. 19 Cursed scroll
Gaseous Form: The user’s body turns to a mist that Protection Scroll (triple duration and double
20
he controls, allowing him to access any place that effect if applicable)
isn’t airtight. Equipment is left behind; only the 59–61 Treasure Finding
body becomes gaseous. 62–64 Undead Control
Giant Strength: Character gains strength above and
1
Roll 1d6 for type (1-3 is Arcane, 4-6 is Clerical); re-roll any
beyond 18. Gains an additional 1d6 to damage Cleric spells of Spell Level 6
rolls and +4 to-hit.
Growth: Character grows to 30 ft in height. Table 33: Protection Scrolls
Healing: Cures 1d6+1 HP of damage.
Heroism: +2 to attacks and damage. Roll Scroll
Invisibility: Results as per the spell. 1 Demons
Invulnerability: +2 saving throws, opponents attack 2 Drowning
at -2. 3 Elementals
Levitation: Results as per the spell. 4 Magic
Plant Control: Results as per the spell. 5 Metal
Poison: Save or die. 6 Poison
Slipperiness: Except for the soles of the feet and the 7 Undead
palms of the hands, the character has a virtually 8 Were-creatures
frictionless surface.
Treasure Finding: Character can detect hoards of Protection Scroll Descriptions
treasure within 400 ft. Demons: All within a 10 ft radius around the read-
Undead Control: 2d4 undead of fewer than 4 HD and er are protected from the attacks of 1 demon per
1d4 undead of 4+ hit dice fall under the imbiber’s round for a period of 40 minutes.
control as per the control animals spell. Drowning: All within a 10 ft radius of the reader gain
the ability to breathe underwater for 1 full day.
Table 32: Scrolls Elementals: This scroll protects against a single el-
emental, and lasts for a duration of 40 minutes.
Roll Scroll1 Magic: Anti-magic shell surrounds and moves with
1 1 spell, level 1 the reader, having a radius of 10 ft. Spells cannot
2 1 spell, level 1d3 pass in or out of the shell. Duration: 1 hour.
3 2 spells, level 1d2 each Metal: Metal cannot harm the reader for a duration
4 3 spells, level 1 each of 1 hour.
5 Cursed Scroll Poison: Poison cannot harm the reader for a peri-
6–7 Protection Scroll (normal duration) od of 6 hours, and any poison in his system is
8 2 spells, level 1d4 removed.
9 2 spells, level 1d6 each Undead: All within a 10 ft radius of the reader are
10 1 spell level 1d4+2 protected against undead, but only to a limited

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degree. In any given round, 2d12 undead with Table 36: Melee Weapons
HD fewer than 4, and 2d6 undead with hit dice
4–5, and 1d6 undead with hit dice of 6+ are foiled Roll Melee Weapon
by the protection of the scroll. Thus, the scroll is 1 Axe, Battle
effective against all but a true horde of undead. 2 Axe, Hand
Were-creatures: All within a 10 ft radius around the 3 Dagger
reader, for a duration of one hour, are protected 4 Warhammer
from lycanthropes. 5 Lance
6 Mace, Heavy
Table 34: Magical Weapons and Armor 7 Mace, Light
8 Spear
Roll Magical Weapon/Armor 9 Staff
1 Cursed armor or shield 10 Sword, Long
2 +1 missile weapon(s) 11 Sword, Short
3 +1 shield 12 Sword, Two-handed
4–6 +1 melee weapon
7–8 +1 armor Table 37: Missile Weapons
9 Cursed weapon
10 +2 missile weapon(s) Roll Melee Weapon
11 +2 shield 1–8 2d6 arrows
12 +2 melee weapon 9–10 1d10 sling stones
13 +2 armor 11 1 javelin
14 +1 melee weapon with minor ability 12–15 2d4 darts
15 +3 missile weapon(s) 16–20 2d6 crossbow bolts
16 +3 melee weapon
17 +3 shield Table 38: Minor Abilities for Melee Weapons
18 +3 armor
19 Unusual weapon (Optional) or re-roll Roll Melee Weapon
20 Unusual armor (Optional) or re-roll 1–4 Additional damage (+1)
56–58 Slipperiness 5 Sheds light, 15 ft radius
59–61 Treasure Finding 6 Sheds light, 30 ft radius
62–64 Undead Control
Table 39: Unusual Weapons (Optional)
Table 35: Cursed Armors and Shields
Roll Unusual Weapon
Roll Cursed Armor/Shield 1 +1 Blunt weapon that destroys undead
1–3 -1 weapon or armor 2 +1 thrown weapon returns to hand
4 -2 weapon or armor +1 weapon, grants 1 additional attack once
3
5 -3 weapon or armor per day
6 Attracts missiles 4 +1, +2 vs. particular type of foe
1
Cannot be put down without remove curse. 5 +1, +4 vs. particular type of foe
6 +2, +3 vs. particular type of foe
Cursed Item Description 7 Weapon flames
Attracts missiles: This item attracts missile fire (even 8 Weapon is cold
those fired at others nearby), and grants +1 to-hit 9 Dancing weapon
on such missiles.

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Chapter 9: treasure

Unusual Weapon Descriptions Roll Miscellaneous Item

+1 Blunt weapon that destroys undead: Lesser types 25 Lesser Ring
don’t get a saving throw, more powerful types do. 26 Greater Ring
(mace, hammer, sling, staff) 27–40 Misc. Medium Magical Item
+1 thrown weapon returns to hand: Axe, javelin, or 41 Greater Wand
hammer 42 Greater Wand
vs. particular type of foe: Were-creatures, undead, 43 Greater Ring
giants, orcs, dragons, etc. 44 Greater Ring
Weapon flames: Additional 1d6 damage: roll 1d4-1 45 Staff
for to-bonus 46–60 Misc. Greater Magical Item
Weapon is cold: Additional 1d6 damage: roll 1d4-1 for
to-bonus Table 42: Lesser Wands
Dancing weapon: Fights in the air after 3 rounds, as
a +1d3 weapon Roll Lesser Wand
Intelligent weapon: Roll 1d3 for to-hit bonus. There 1–2 Spell, level 1, holds 10 charges
is a 10% chance that such a weapon may have the 3–4 Spell, level 2, holds 5 charges
ability to cast a spell once per day. Such swords 5–6 Spell, level 3, holds 2 charges
generally can communicate with their bearers,
and often (25% chance) can speak audibly. Table 43: Greater Wands

Table 40: Unusual Armor (Optional) Roll Greater Wand1

1 Spell, level 3, holds 10 charges
Roll Unusual Armor 2 Spell, level 4, holds 10 charges
1 Armor of Arrow Deflection 3 Wand of Detection, enemies
2 Demonic Armor 4 Wand of Detection, metal
3 Ethereal armor 5 Wand of Detection, magic
4 Fiery armor 6 Wand of Detection, traps and secret doors
7 Wand of Polymorph
Unusual Armor Description 8 Wand of Fear
Ethereal armor: +3 plate mail that also allows the 9 Wand of Cold
wearer to become insubstantial and incorporeal 10 Wand of Paralyzing
50 times, at which time it reverts to normal +3 1
Wands become useless with zero charges. A wand can be
plate mail. In ethereal form, the wearer cannot recharged by casting a spell into it. There is a 5% chance
be hit and cannot attack (unless the opponent is per wand recharge that the wand will be destroyed.
also ethereal).
Greater Wand Descriptions
Table 41: Miscellaneous Items Wand of Detection, enemies: Detects enemies in a
radius of 60 ft, provided that the enemies are ac-
Roll Miscellaneous Item tually thinking hostile thoughts. Always active
1 Lesser Wand when held, does not use charges.
2 Lesser Ring Wand of Detection, metal: Detects large caches of
3–20 Misc. Lesser Magical Item metal, with a range of 20 ft. The wand’s user also
21 Lesser Wand gets a vague sense of the metal’s type. Always ac-
22 Lesser Wand tive when held, does not use charges.
23 Greater Wand Wand of Detection, magic: Functions as a detect
24 Lesser Ring magic spell with a range of 20 ft. The wand’s user

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swords & wizardry: white box

gets a vague sense of what sort of magic is being Roll Greater Ring
detected. Always active when held, does not use 6 X-ray vision
charges. 7 Telekinesis
Wand of Detection, traps and secret doors: Detects 8 Spell Turning
traps and secret doors with a range of 20 ft. Al- 9 Spell Storing, arcane
ways active when held, does not use charges. 10 Spell Storing, Clerical
Wand of Polymorph: Casts either polymorph self or
polymorph other, carries 10 charges.
Wand of Fear: Causes creatures in a cone-shaped Table 46: Staffs
path to flee (saving throw). There is a 60% chance
that they will drop whatever they are holding. The Roll Staff
cone extends 60 ft to a base 30 ft across. Holds 25 1 Healing
charges (cannot be recharged). 2 Command
Wand of Cold: Casts a cone of cold 60 ft to a base 30 3 Snake, the
ft across. Creatures in the cone take 6d6 damage 4 Striking
(saving throw for half damage). Holds 25 charges 5 Withering
(cannot be recharged). 6 Power
Wand of Paralyzing: Casts a cone of paralysis 60 ft 7 Wizardry
to a base 30 ft across. Creatures in the cone are 8 Beguiling
paralyzed for 3d6 turns. Holds 25 charges (can- 9 Absorption
not be recharged). 10 Lordly Might

Table 44: Lesser Rings Table 47: Misc. Magic Items (Lesser Items)

Roll Lesser RIng Roll Lesser Magic Item

1 Protection, +1 1 Arrow of Direction
2 Protection, +2 2 Bag of Holding
3 Invisibility 3 Boots of Elvenkind
4 Mammal control 4 Boots of Speed or Boots of Leaping (50%)
5 Fire Resistance 5 Bracers of Defense, AC 6 [13]
6 Poison Resistance 6 Chime of Opening
7 Cloak of Elvenkind
Lesser Rings Descriptions 8 Cloak of Protection, +1
Fire Resistance: +5 to saving throws versus magical 9 Cursed Item
fire, immune to normal fire 10 Decanter of Endless Water
Poison Resistance: +5 to saving throws versus 11 Dust of Appearance or Disappearance (50%)
poison. 12 Dust of Sneezing and Choking
13 Gauntlets of Swimming and Climbing
Table 45: Greater Rings 14 Horseshoes of Speed
15 Luckstone (+1 saving throws and attack rolls)
Roll Greater Ring 16 Manual of Beneficial Exercise
1 Human Control 17 Pipes of the Sewers
2 Three Wishes 18 Rope of Climbing
3 Regeneration 19 Rope of Entanglement
4 Djinni Summoning 20 Spade of Excavation
5 Shooting Stars

58
Chapter 9: treasure

Table 48: Misc. Magic Items (Medium Items) Roll Greater Magic Item
19 Necklace of Fireballs
Roll Medium Magic Item 20 Symbol-scarab of Insanity
1 Amulet Against Scrying
2 Boots of Flying Misc. Magic Item Descriptions
3 Bracers of Defense The following descriptions are in alphabetical order:
4 Carpet of Flying
5 Cloak of Displacement Amulet Against Scrying: Protects the wearer from
6 Cloak of Protection, +2 or +3 all scrying, such as Detect Thoughts or being
7 Deck of Many Things viewed through a crystal ball. Usable by: All
8 Figurine of the Onyx Dog Classes.
9 Gauntlets of Ogre Power Amulet of Demon Control: Functions as a protec-
10 Helm of Reading Magic and Languages tion from evil spell, and allows the wearer to at-
11 Hole, Portable tempt to “Charm Monster” upon a demon. Suc-
12 Horn of Valhalla, Bronze cess means that the demon is enslaved for 1d6
13 Horn of Valhalla, Silver weeks, whereupon it becomes free. Usable by:
14 Jug of Alchemy Magic-users and Clerics.
15 Manual of Quickness Arrow of Direction: Points the direction of what-
16 Medallion of Detect Thoughts ever the owner requests. Cannot be used more
17 Mirror of Mental Scrying than seven times in a single week. Usable by: All
18 Robe of Blending Classes.
19 Robe of Eyes Bag of Holding: The inside of this bag is larger than
20 Robe of Wizardry the outside. The inside dimensions are roughly
10x5x3 ft, but the bag cannot carry more than
Table 49: Misc. Magic Items (Greater Items) 1,000 pounds of weight. If it is not empty, the bag
weighs 50 pounds, no matter how much weight it
Roll Greater Magic Item actually contains. Usable by: All Classes.
1 Amulet of Demon Control Beaker of Potions: This small jug fills itself with
2 Beaker of Potions the requested potion, out of the 1d4+1 potions it
Censer, Bowl, Brazier, or Stone of Controlling knows how to produce. The jug can be used as
3
Elementals many times per week as the number of different
4 Crystal Ball potions it can produce. Usable by: All Classes.
5 Efreeti Bottle Boots of Elvenkind: The wearer moves with com-
6 Figurine of the Golden Lions plete silence. Usable by: All Classes.
7 Gauntlets of Dexterity Boots of Levitation: These boots allow the wearer to
8 Gem of Seeing levitate as per the spell, with unlimited duration.
9 Girdle of Giant Strength Usable by: All Classes.
10 Helm of Fiery Brilliance Boots of Speed or Boots of Leaping (50%): Boots of
11 Helm of Teleportation speed double the wearer’s movement rate, but re-
12 Horn of Blasting quire complete rest for a period of time equiva-
13 Horn of Valhalla, Iron lent to the amount of time they were used. Boots
14 Lenses of Charming of Leaping allow the wearer to make prodigious
15 Libram, Magical (level gain) leaps 10 ft high and up to 30 ft horizontally. These
16 Manual of Golems boots also double movement rates, but outdoors
17 Manual of Intelligence only. They do not require the wearer to rest after
18 Manual of Wisdom using them. Usable by: All Classes.

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swords & wizardry: white box

Bracers of Defense, AC 4 [15] or AC 2 [17] (50% Crystal Ball: Allows the user to see what he desires
chance): These bracers improve the wearer’s ar- to see, over a considerable distance. A crystal ball
mor class (whatever part of it is due to actual ar- may not be used more than thrice per day, or the
mor) to the stated level—there is no effect if the user will be driven mad. Certain spells and other
wearer is already armored to the same or higher precautions may be used to prevent being seen
degree. The armor class granted by the bracers through a crystal ball. Some crystal balls com-
can be increased by magical rings or other pro- municate sound or even thoughts from the area
tective magics. Usable by: All Classes. being scryed, although these are rare. Usable by:
Bracers of Defense, AC 6 [13]: These bracers improve Magic-users.
the wearer’s armor class (whatever part of it is Cursed Item: (See Pages 63 and 64.)
due to actual armor) to the stated level—there is Decanter of Endless Water: This jug pours out one
no effect if the wearer is already armored to the gallon of water per minute when unstoppered.
same or higher degree. The armor class grant- Usable by: All Classes.
ed by the bracers can be increased by magical Deck of Many Things: An ordinary-seeming deck of
rings or other protective magics. Usable by: All hand-painted cards, this item bears tremendous
Classes. and varied enchantments, one per placard in
Carpet of Flying: the carpet can carry as many as the deck. The deck contains all the aces and face
three people, and travels at a speed of 18 when cards, plus one Joker (the Fool). A character may
it has more than one passenger. With only one draw as many cards as he likes (with the deck re-
rider, the carpet moves at a rate of 30. Usable by: shuffled each time), but once he stops drawing
All Classes. cards, the deck disappears in a sound of faintly
Censer, Bowl, Brazier, or Stone of Controlling El- malevolent laughter. The results of the cards are
ementals: Censers control air elementals, Bowls as follows:
(when filled) control water elementals, braziers
control fire elementals, and Stones control earth The Hearts (♥)
elementals. These items can be used to summon
a 12 HD elemental of the appropriate type. Gen- Ace: Gain 50,000 XP.
erally, it takes 10 minutes to prepare the object for King: Gain magic item from the Misc. Greater
use. Usable by: Magic-users. Magical Items Table.
Chime of Opening: Sounding this small chime opens Queen: Gain 1d3 wishes.
any door, even if the door is barred or wizard Jack: Gain the ability to summon an 8 HD war-
locked. Usable by: All Classes. rior with +3 weapon, shield, and sword, to
Cloak of Displacement: The wearer appears to be in serve for a total of 1 hour.
a slightly different location than he really is. His
armor class improves by 2, and he gains a -2 sav- The Clubs (♣)
ing throw against any targeted attack upon him.
Usable by: All Classes. Ace: The character’s alignment is changed. If the
Cloak of Elvenkind: The wearer is almost, but not game does not use alignment, the character
quite, invisible. Usable by: All Classes. receives a dangerous Quest (per the spell).
Cloak of Protection, +1: This cloak improves the King: The character’s most powerful magic item
wearer’s armor class by 1, and grants a bonus of is sucked into the void and disappears.
+1 on saving throws. Usable by: all but Fighters. Queen: The character is instantly turned to stone,
Cloak of Protection, +2 or +3 (50%): This cloak im- a look of great surprise upon his face.
proves the wearer’s armor class by 2 (or 3), and Jack: The character loses one point from his
grants a bonus of +2 (or +3) on saving throws. Prime Attribute.
Usable by: All but Fighters.

60
Chapter 9: treasure

The Spades (♠) cidentally released from servitude. Usable by: All
Classes.
Ace: Lose a level of experience. Figurine of the Golden Lions: A small stone figurine
King: A warrior with 9 HD, a +4 weapon, +4 that transforms into a lion when the command
shield, and +4 armor appears and attacks. word is spoken, fighting at the owner’s orders. If
When he is killed, his body and all his pos- they are slain, they turn back into figurines, but
sessions disappear again. may be used again. The figurine may be used once
Queen: The character dies instantly. per week, and no more. Usable by: All Classes.
Jack: The party is attacked by a random monster, Figurine of the Onyx Dog: This stone figure trans-
with 1d4+6 HD. The monster gains one round forms into a living hound of stone when its com-
of surprise, for it appears from thin air. mand word is spoken. It will seek whatever the
owner tells it to find, without stopping until it
The Diamonds (♦) succeeds or is killed. It has a 75% chance to de-
tect objects that are invisible or hidden (and of
Ace: Gain a map to a significant treasure. course its sense of smell detects invisible and hid-
King: Gain 5d6 items of jewelry. den creatures with almost perfect success). For
Queen: Gain a scroll of seven spells, all 2nd level purposes of defense and attack, the stone dog is
or higher. treated as a wolf. It may be used twelve times be-
Jack: Add one point to a single attribute of the fore the statuette becomes non-magical. Usable
player’s choice. by: All Classes.
The Joker: Gain 25,000 XP or choose to draw two Gauntlets of Dexterity: When worn, these gloves
more cards. grant a bonus of +2 to the wearer’s dexterity (to a
maximum of 18). Usable by: All Classes.
Dust of Appearance or Disappearance (50%): Gauntlets of Ogre Power: These gauntlets raise the
Dust of Appearance is tossed in a radius of 10 ft wearer’s strength to that of an ogre. Hit proba-
around the user, and makes any invisible, astral, bility is not increased above normal, but damage
displaced, out-of-phase, or dimensional thing bonuses from strength are increased to +6 (not
completely visible. The dust generally comes in a cumulative with the wearer’s existing strength
pouch, with enough for 20–30 uses. Dust of Dis- bonus, if any). Usable by: all but Magic-users.
appearance works in the opposite way: when it is Gauntlets of Swimming and Climbing: These gloves
sprinkled in a 10 ft radius, everything therein be- permit the wearer to swim at a rate of 18, and
comes invisible for 5d6 turns. Normal means of climb sheer walls with a 95% chance of success
detecting invisibility (such as a Detect Invisibil- per ten feet of climbing. Usable by: all but Magic-
ity spell) are not strong enough to work against users.
the dust’s powerful enchantment. Usable by: All Gem of Seeing: A gem of seeing is used as a lens, and
Classes. shows the truth of what it sees, cutting through
Dust of Sneezing and Choking: Pouches containing illusions of all kinds, even very powerful ones.
this dust ordinarily contain only enough for one Usable by: All Classes.
“dose.” When scattered in a radius of 10 ft, the Girdle of Giant Strength: This wide belt grants the
dust causes all in the area to make a saving throw wearer the strength of a hill giant (+8 strength
or die. If the nature of the dust is identified before damage, not cumulative with any existing
it is experimented with, it can be used as a devas- strength bonuses). The girdle does not increase
tating thrown weapon. Usable by: All Classes. to-hit probability. Usable by: All Classes.
Efreeti Bottle: The efreeti of the bottle will serve the Helm of Fiery Brilliance: This prodigiously power-
bottle’s owner for a year and a day unless it is ac- ful helm grants many benefits to the wearer. He
gains a +10 on saving throws against fire damage,

61
swords & wizardry: white box

and can create a wall of fire (as per the spell Wall Horn of Valhalla, Iron: Summons 2d4 berserk war-
of Defense I) himself. Fighters wearing the helm riors (4 HD) to assist the one who winded the
may command a weapon in hand to flame (+1d6 horn. Usable by: Fighters.
damage). Magic-users wearing the helm can add Horn of Valhalla, Silver: Summons 2d4 berserk war-
+1 to each die of damage inflicted by a fireball riors (2 HD) to assist the one who winded the
or delayed blast fireball spell. Clerics wearing the horn. Usable by: All Classes.
helm can ignite objects within 30 ft at will, and Horseshoes of Speed: These double a horse’s move-
may cast two light or continual light spells for ment rate. Usable by: horses.
each one actually prepared. The wearer of this Jug of Alchemy: This jug produces whatever liquid is
ring is likely to be attacked by any air elemental desired, in a commonly used large quantity (e.g.,
creatures, but fire elemental types (such as efreet 10 gallons of water, but only five gallons of wine).
or salamanders) will be favorably disposed to- It may be used no more than seven times per day,
ward the wearer. Usable by: All Classes. and will only produce the liquid first requested
Helm of Reading Magic and Languages: The wear- in that day. It does not produce magical liquids.
er can read all languages, including magic script. Usable by: All Classes.
Usable by: All Classes. Lenses of Charming: These lenses, when placed over
Helm of Teleportation: When the wearer casts a tele- the eyes, give the wearer the ability to charm those
portation spell on himself, while wearing the who look into his eyes (as per the spell Charm
helm, he may teleport himself without error, any- Person). The saving throw against the power of
where he desires. The helm does not permit the the lenses is made at-2. Usable by: All Classes.
casting of a teleportation spell on anyone other Libram, Magical (level gain): Magical librams grant
than the wearer. Usable by: Magic-users. a level of experience to the reader, if the reader
Hole, Portable: A piece of dark cloth about five feet is of the right class. Randomly determine the
in diameter. It is actually the mouth of an inter- class for which the libram is written. Usable by:
dimensional hole 10 ft deep—items and people varies.
can fall through it or climb down into it once it Luckstone: This stone grants +1 to saving throws and
is placed on the ground. The piece of cloth can attack rolls. Usable by: All Classes.
actually be pulled in from the inside to close the Manual of Beneficial Exercise: Reading this tome in-
hole off entirely, although there is no source of creases the reader’s strength by 1 point (to a max-
fresh air within, and staying inside will asphyxi- imum of 18). Usable by: All Classes.
ate the inhabitant in a short time. The piece of Manual of Golems: This book contains the basic in-
cloth can be picked up and carried off whenever structions and formulae for creating a single type
desired—hence the name “portable.” Usable by: of golem. The process is expensive, and the cre-
All Classes. ator must have achieved a certain level of magi-
Horn of Blasting: This horn, when blown, has the cal expertise in order to use the book, but these
same effect on structures as a catapult, and are priceless repositories of forgotten lore. Such
causes 2d6 points of damage to creatures, deaf- books are often warded, by the original owner,
ening them for 10 minutes as well. The cone of from the touch of anyone not of the Magic-us-
sound is 100 ft long, and widens to a base of 20 ft er class, enchanted to inflict damage or even the
(the “point” of the cone, at the horn’s mouth, is 10 loss of a level. Usable by: Magic-users only.
ft wide). Usable by: All Classes. Manual of Intelligence: Reading this tome increas-
Horn of Valhalla, Bronze: Summons 2d4 berserk es the reader’s intelligence by 1 point (to a maxi-
warriors (3 HD) to assist the one who winded the mum of 18). Usable by: All Classes.
horn. Usable by: Fighters and Clerics. Manual of Quickness: Reading this tome increases
the reader’s dexterity by 1 point (to a maximum
of 18). Usable by: All Classes.

62
Chapter 9: treasure

Manual of Wisdom: Reading this tome increases the sight even extends into the astral plane. He can-
reader’s wisdom by 1 point (to a maximum of 18). not be ambushed or otherwise taken by surprise,
Usable by: All Classes. and he can follow the trail of anything that has
Medallion of Detect Thoughts: Functions as a Detect passed by within the last day. Usable by: Magic-
Thoughts spell within 30 ft (75%) or 90 ft (25%). users only.
Usable by: All Classes. Robe of Wizardry: This robe grants the wearer the
Mirror of Mental Scrying: This hand-mirror (it ability to cast Charm Person, Polymorph, and
might also be found as a smaller mirror on a Hold Person with a 95% chance of success. The
necklace) allows the user to cast Crystal Ball or robes may be tied to specific alignments. Usable
Detect Thoughts with the normal range, but for by: Magic-users only.
an unlimited time. The mirror will also answer Rope of Climbing: A 50 ft length of rope that leaps
a question about what it portrays (the answer is magically upward and can tie and untie itself
likely to be cryptic), but only one question per upon command. Usable by: All Classes.
week is possible. Usable by: All Classes. Rope of Entanglement: This rope, on command,
Necklace of Firebaubles: This necklace is hung with twines itself around as many as 2d4+1 human-
3d4 little baubles. When thrown, the baubles ex- sized foes. The rope cannot be hit except with a
plode into 6d6 fireballs (per the spell). Usable by: natural roll of 20 (it is magical), and can sustain
All Classes. 20 hit points of damage before fraying and be-
Pipes of the Sewers: These pipes summon 10d6 giant coming useless. Usable by: All Classes.
rats. The piper does not need to concentrate once Spade of Excavation: This ordinary-looking spade
the rats arrive (which takes 1d4x10 minutes), but digs by itself when commanded, shoveling out
it is wise to do so. When the rats arrive, there is a one cubic yard (27 cu ft.) per ten minutes (1 turn).
5% chance that they will not obey him, and if he Usable by: Fighters only.
ceases to concentrate on his tune there is a 10% Symbol—Scarab of Insanity: This is a carving of a
chance that he will lose control of them. Every scarab-beetle, or perhaps the petrified remains
subsequent round in which he fails to concen- of a real one. When the scarab is displayed, all
trate there is another chance to lose control, and creatures with 9 or fewer hit dice, within a radius
the chance increases by 10% each time it is made of 30 ft, fall into temporary insanity lasting for
(first round, 10%, second round 20%, etc.). Usable 2 hours. Creatures with 10+ hit dice still do not
by: All Classes. receive a saving throw, but have a 1 in 4 chance
Robe of Blending: These robes make the wearer ap- to overcome the scarab’s insidious influence. The
pear to be a part of his surroundings, including scarab may be used 12 times, after which it crum-
the ability to appear as another one of a group bles to dust. At the option of the Referee, it might
of nearby creatures. He will appear to be a small be recharged using a Symbol of Insanity spell,
tree when in forest surroundings, a sand forma- but with a 5% chance per charge that the item
tion in the desert, etc. Creatures with 10+ hit dice will be destroyed. Usable by: All Classes.
(or levels of experience) have a 10% chance per
level (or HD) above 9th to perceive the wearer as a Cursed Items
robed figure rather than a part of the surround- Cursed items come in many shapes and forms—most
ings. Usable by: All Classes. likely they are ancient magical items whose mag-
Robe of Eyes: Hundreds of eyes are woven and em- ic has deter-iorated or changed with age, although
broidered into the fabric of these magical robes, some of them were clearly fashioned to serve as traps
granting the wearer tremendous powers of su- for the unwary (or for the maker’s enemies, perhaps).
pernatural perception. In a radius of 240 ft, any- Note that cursed items cannot usually be dropped or
thing he looks upon is seen for what it is: he sees removed without the assistance of a Remove Curse
invisible creatures, he perceives illusions, and his spell. Although the Referee is encouraged to cre-

63
swords & wizardry: white box

ate his own cursed items, the samples below should selves, exact duplicates including spells and mag-
prove useful guidance: ic items. When the mirror-opposites are slain,
their bodies and equipment disappear into mist,
Table 50: Cursed Items and return to the mirror.
Robe of Feeblemindedness: Anyone donning this
Roll Cursed Item cloak has his intelligence reduced to that of a gar-
1 Bag of Devouring den snail.
2 Censer of Hostile Elementals
3 Cloak of Poison
4 Crystal Ball of Suggestion
5 Dancing Boots
6 Flask of Stoppered Curses
7 Horn of Collapse
8 Medallion of Projecting Thoughts
9 Mirror of Opposition
10 Robe of Feeblemindedness

Cursed Item Descriptions

Bag of Devouring: Functions as a bag of holding,
but devours any item placed into it within 1d4+1
hours.
Censer of Hostile Elementals: A censer (or brazier,
bowl, or stone) that summons elementals—but
the elementals are hostile instead of under the
summoner’s control.
Cloak of Poison: Upon donning this cloak, the
wearer’s body is suff used with magical poisons
of many kinds, and dies instantly, without the
chance of a saving throw.
Crystal Ball of Suggestion: Does not function as a
crystal ball, but implants a suggestion (Referee in-
terpretation) in the viewer’s mind. Powerful ver-
sions of this item might even implant a Quest.
Dancing Boots: These boots function as boots of El-
venkind or speed, until the wearer is in combat
or fleeing. Suddenly at that point he will begin to
dance a jig, or perhaps a stately waltz.
Flask of Stoppered Curses: This flask releases a curse
of some kind when its seal is broken.
Horn of Collapse: When sounded, this horn causes a
blast of destruction straight upwards, destroying
any ceiling overhead and causing it to collapse.
Medallion of Projecting Thoughts: The wearer’s
thoughts can be “heard” by all nearby.
Mirror of Opposition: All persons looking into this
mirror are attacked by evil versions of them-

64
chapter 10: publishing & license information

Publishing Your Stuff

swords & wizardry is all Open Game Content under the terms of Wizards of the Coast’s Open Game License ver-
sion 1.0a, with the exception of the trademarks “Swords & Wizardry,” “s&w,” “Ascending System AC,” and “AAC”
“s&w” is probably simultaneously a trademark of Smith & Wesson, but I don’t think anyone will become confused
about the products, so I can claim it for use on an RPG. In any case, I’ll mention that I’m not affiliated with Smith
& Wesson.

Open Game Content? What Does That Mean?

It means you can (basically) copy whatever parts of it you want, add your own content, change the content around,
and publish the result. You have to comply with the terms of the Open Game License, which is reproduced below. If
you don’t care about mentioning any of the game’s trademarks, that’s all you have to do.
Also, under certain conditions, you can even use the Swords & Wizardry trademarks (S&W, Swords & Wizard-
ry, Ascending System AC, and AAC) to indicate that your work is compatible with the game. As long as you follow
the requirements, you can state that your resource “is compatible with the rules of Swords & Wizardry” or, “with
the Swords & Wizardry rules” or, “with the Swords & Wizardry game.” Here are those requirements:

The swords & wizardry Compatibility-Statement License (CSL):

You must state on the first page where you mention Swords and Wizardry that “Swords & Wizardry, s&w, and
Mythmere Games are the trademarks of Matthew J. Finch,” and that you are not affiliated with Matthew J. Finch
or Mythmere Games ™.
You must, when referring to the armor class of any creature or character, include both the descending AC and
the Ascending System AC, with the Ascending System AC in brackets.
If you’re using the license to commit legal fraud, you forfeit the right to continue using the license: specifically,
if you are claiming compatibility with the rules of s&w, the claim must not constitute legal fraud, or fraud in the
inducement, under the laws of the State of Texas. Note that this requirement is almost impossible to violate uninten-
tionally—it’s largely intended to keep me out of trouble, not to restrict legitimate statements of compatibility.
You must comply with the terms of the OGL.
In order to keep it clear which copy is the “real” copy when file-sharing begins, please set off your house rules
in some way—boldface, italic, boxed text, or some other clear marker—and mention somewhere that these are the
rules which vary from the official text of Swords & Wizardry.
Selling a full version of this game with your house rules incorporated into it is perfectly permissible, but you
may not sell an effectively unchanged copy of the rules for money.
Your rights under this CSL cannot be revoked, and are perpetual, unless you breach the terms of the license, in
which case your rights terminate.
If you comply with the above, you may state that your resource “is compatible with the rules of Swords & Wiz-
ardry” or, “with the Swords & Wizardry rules” or, “with the Swords & Wizardry game.”

OPEN GAME CONTENT

Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of the Open Game License Version 1.0a (OGL).
This entire work is designated as Open Game Content under the OGL, with the exception of the trademarks
“Swords & Wizardry,” “s&w,” and “Mythmere Games,” and with the exception of all artwork. These trademarks,
and the Trade Dress of this work (font, layout, style of artwork, etc.) are reserved as Product Identity.

65
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
Definitions:
(a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content;
(b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation,
modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast,
transformed or adapted;
(c)”Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute;
(d)”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not
embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the
Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes
Product Identity.
(e)”Product Identity” means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories,
storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes
and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities,
teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects,
logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product
Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content;
(f)”Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated
products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor
(g)”Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content.
(h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in
terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License
except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License.
Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive
license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are
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Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of
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Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another,
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Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent
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Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License
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Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to
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Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming
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Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff,
Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Swords & Wizardry, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch
swords & wizardry: whitebox by Matt Finch and Marv Breig, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch

END OF LICENSE