There has been some interest lately for using R. Jordan's Wheel
of Time as
a setting for AD&D. I began some work on this a few months
ago, so I'll
let you take a look at what I've got and see what you all think.
I am
planning on finishing this in the next few months, I envision
a 20 page or
so rules supplement that would allow for an adventure in Jordan's
playground. If you'd like to offer some input, please respond
via email.
***NOTE: Feel free to distribute, modify, etc. but please leave
the above
information
intact. Even though this is a derivative of a number of product
lines, I
should at least get
some creative credit. Or at least a typing credit. (stepping off
my soap
box)
========
CONTENTS
========
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Character Creation
2.1 Ability Scores
2.2 Races
2.3 Character Classes
3.0 Magic System
4.0 Generic Spells
5.0 Specific Spells
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series is arguably
the greatest fantasy epic of the last decade. It is a rich
world, with lifelike characters and stunning landscapes.
It is a world with magic, monsters, and, of course,
mayhem. In other words, it is the perfect setting for a
fantasy role playing game.
Rather than start completely from scratch, this game is
a set of optional rules for the Advanced Dungeons and
Dragons game that we all know and love (and hate
much of). The level system, combat system, and
character generation are essentially the same (with
some sleight modifications) while the magic system and
character classes and races are vastly different. The
magic system is based on a spell point system with
different magic points for each of the five areas of the
One Power (spirit, fire, earth, water, air). Clever
readers will notice that this system is somewhat similar
to (OK, pretty much a blatant rip-off of) the magic
system used in Magic: The Gathering, although I
promise there will be no booster packs to these rules.
There are basically two different types of spells,
Generic and Specific. Generic spells consist of healing,
illusions, fire starting, etc. Everyone with the ability to
channel can perform these to some degree. The
strength of these spells depends on the number of mana
used in the weave. Specific spells are those that are not
commonly known. For the most part, traditional AD&D
spells fall under this category. In addition to normal
magic abilities, Talents such as Traveling and
Compulsion are available to the talented (and lucky)
adventurer. Because there is no memorization
required, the magic using characters will have a greater
number of spells available to them in this system than
in standard AD&D as well as increased spell flexibility.
See the magic section for a greater explanation.
----------------------
2.0 CHARACTER CREATION
----------------------
Character creation follows the same procedures as
AD&D with a few minor exceptions noted below. The
biggest changes are in races and classes which are
appropriate to the Wheel of Time setting.
Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution have
the same meaning as normal AD&D.
In addition to the normal definitions for Wisdom and
Intelligence, the following also apply in this game
Wisdom is a measure of how in tune a character is
with the One Power. It effects the amount of mana
a character can channel each day. Higher wisdom
allows the player to cast more spells per day.
Intelligence is a measure of how well a character
can understand and handle weaves. It effects the
ability of a character to learn a weave as well as
the maximum mana a character can use in one
weave (SL). Higher intelligence allows for more
powerful spells.
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2.2 Races
---------
-----
Human
-----
Humans have the same characteristics as those in
AD&D. Most characters will be humans. They can be
from any of the main cities (Tarabon, Tear, Cairhein,
Andor, etc.) which will dictate to some extent their
attitude, mannerisms, and fashion choice. Author Note:
Some of this info is in the WoT Concordance. I will
be adding a section later describing the different
cities. Human occupations can range from mere soldier
to Hunter of the Horn. The characters occupation and
place of birth, however, have no effect on ability scores
nor do they carry special abilities. They are for role
playing purposes only. This is not to say that they will
never matter however. An Andoran soldier will have a
much better idea of how to handle himself in Andor
than he will in Cairhein. A Tarabon noble might be
useless to the party in the wilderness but will come in
handy when trying to gain access to nobility in other
locales. This puts much more emphasis on developing
a character, rather than just a set of statistics.
----
Aiel
----
Aiel are basically human with a couple of bonuses and
penalties. They are outlined below:
Bonuses: + 1 Constitution
+ 1 Dexterity
Penalties: Can't use swords
Must abide by Aiel custons (i.e. Ji'eh'toh)
There are other role playing consequenses that may be
viewed either as a bonus or a penalty. The most
obvious is the fact that most everyone goes screaming
in terror at the sight of an Aiel. Kind of makes it hard
to wander around towns that way, however it does
make it easy to keep to oneself.
A.N. I am thinking of making them somewhat like a
monk's ability to stun and instantly kill. Also,
probably a first strike in the first round after veiling
against enemies of less than 5th level (due to the
intimidation.)
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Seafolk
-------
Seafolk are humans with some advantages when on
ships. They suffer some problems when on land (they
attract attention, scare the ignorant masses, etc.) These
differences will manifest themselves through role
playing and do not affect any statistics.
--------
Seanchan
--------
There isn't enough information in the books to come up
with anything special about the Seanchan. If you wish
to play a Seanchan, make something up that is
consistent with the limited information available in the
books. This will probably change after the next book
comes out (sometime before 2000 hopefully.)
There are a few other possibilities (ogier, maybe
trolloc) but I think that to be consistent with this
world, most should be human. Then again, I don't
see anything wrong with playing an elf, halfling,
dwarf, etc. I don't see any reason they can't exist in
the wilderness. I wouldn't expect them to be well
received by the general population, however, which
should come into play during role playing.
---------------------
2.3 Character Classes
---------------------
---------
Aes Sedai
---------
Aes Sedai are female magic users who have trained at
the White Tower in Tar Valon. As such, they are
bound by the Three Oaths. The oaths are: (1) To speak
no word that is not true. (2) To make no weapon with
which one man may kill another. (3) Never to use the
One Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn
or in the last defense of her life, the life of her Warder,
or another Aes Sedai. Humans, Seanchan, and Aiel can
all be Aes Sedai, however the vast majority will be
Humans. The player should be required to have a good
reason as to why his non human character has been
tower trained. Aes Sedai can use the resources of the
White Tower, such as contacts and libraries scattered
throughout the countryside. This makes learning new
spells much easier for Aes Sedai. They also have the
added benefit of the respect (and often fear) of the
populace. All female magic users, including Aes Sedai,
can sense the ability to channel in other females,
provided the ability is not masked by any spells or
items. Aes Sedai begin the game with five Generic
spell abilities chosen by the tower. In addition, they are
taught three Specifics. They fight, gain hit points, and
increase levels as an AD&D magic user. They are
restricted to using staffs, maces, and daggers as
weapons. They do not wear armor other than robes.
Aes Sedai try to get any females they find that can
channel to train at the tower.
For more role playing variations, Aes Sedai can be
from any aha, with the appropriate life focus. The
aha must be chosen at fifth level. I will include
information on each color but I think that we can
find it elsewhere for now.
The Spell Limit (SL) is the maximum amount of mana
that can be channeled at once. At higher levels, the
magic user will be able to split this mana into multiple
simultaneous spells. The SL increases with level
according to the following table:
Wilders are female magic users who have not had
formal training. They are not bound by the Three
Oaths, however they also can not use the Aes Sedai
resources. It will be difficult to find teachers because
most Aes Sedai will try to drag them off to the White
Tower. Most of their spells will have to be learned by
observation and experimentation. Wilders can be
Humans, Seanchan, or Aiel. They fight, gain hit points,
and increase levels as magic users. Another drawback
that wilders suffer is that their SL is lower at low levels
than the formally trained Aes Sedai. This represents
their struggle to master the newfound abilities. They
follow the following table:
Wilders with an Intelligence of 17 or greater get a
bonus of 1 SL.
The daily mana limits for Wilders are the same as for
Aes Sedai.
---------
Wise Ones
---------
Wise Ones are the Aiel equivalent of Aes Sedai. Only
Aiel may be Wise Ones. Wise Ones are extremely well
respected among Aiel, but they are seen as just another
Aiel to wetlanders. Wise Ones are safe with any Aiel
regardless of clan feuds. Wise Ones attempt to avoid
Aes Sedai who might try to carry them off to the White
Tower. Wise Ones will not take part in battle unless
absolutely necessary. They will however be able to
heal and cause distraction during battle, just not
actually attack the enemy. Wise Ones wear no armor.
They gain hit points and fight (in an emergency) as a
cleric.
Their spell casting ability is identical to Aes Sedai.
--------
Asha'man
--------
Asha'man are males who have the ability to channel.
They have trained at the Black Tower. All Asha'man
start life as a normal fighter. Sometime during the
progression from first to fifth level fighter they discover
that they can channel the one power. At this point, they
stop their fighter training and Progress to a first level
Asha'man. This is determined by rolling a D100 on
the Progression Table below each time the character
goes up a level.. If the roll is less than the chance of
Progression, they have discovered the ability to
channel. They stop progressing as a fighter and start a
dual class as a magic user. They are then considered a
dual classed character as defined by AD&D (Players
Handbook, p. 33) with the following exceptions: they
are able to use their fighter abilities in conjunction with
their magic without any experience penalties; they can
cast spells in studded leather armor or lighter; they can
cast spells and attack in the same combat, although not
in the same round; if they are hit with a projectile or
attacked in hand-to-hand combat during casting, the
spell will fail and the caster will suffer damage equal to
twice the casting cost of the spell (similar to mana burn
in Magic: The Gathering). Unlike females, males
cannot sense the ability to channel in other males
without specifically testing for it. At third level are
able to test for chaneling ability, but it requires 5
minutes of total concentration. At any level they can
feel when anyone holds the source or channels.
Asha'man follow the same SL table as Aes Sedai with
the corresponding bonus for Intelligence. They follow
the same daily mana chart as well.
There is an additional problem with being an
Asha'man. Because of the taint on Saidin, all
Asha'man will eventually go insane. At each level, the
character must make a saving throw against insanity. A
roll of a D100 must be more than five times your
Asha'man level in order to save. Insanity is incurable
and manifests itself in a number of ways, getting more
severe each time a character fails to save. The
following table shows what new effect occurs each time
a character fails to save versus insanity. New effects
are in addition to old effects, they do not replace them.
--------------
Insanity Table
--------------
Times
Failed Effect
1 Daily mana reduced by 10 % rounded up.
2 Spell Limit reduced by 25% rounded up.
3 Begins to hear voices. Save vs.
Intelligence or do what the voice says.
4 Intelligence decreases by 2
5 Intelligence decreases by additional 3
6 Lose 2 experience levels.
7 Death
-------------------------------------------------------
3.0 MAGIC SYSTEM
----
Mana
----
Magic spells are cast using a magic point system. Each
magic using character will have a given amount of
mana that can be used per day. This mana can be
channeled as any of the Five Powers (Spirit, Air,
Water, Earth, and Fire). To reflect their relative
strengths, females require two mana for each point of
Fire or Earth which they wish to cast, and males require
two mana for each point of Air or Water. All other
types cost one mana per point. Spells are cast by
combining, or weaving, the power in each of the five
areas into a single spell. Just because a character has
enough mana and knows that a certain weave will
produce a certain effect, she may not be able to cast the
spell because she is unable to weave that much mana at
once. This will depend on the level of the caster and is
specified by the Spell Limit (SL).
--------
Burn Out
--------
In addition to their daily mana, each character has a
reserve of mana that they can call on once per day in
emergencies. However, this action is not without risk.
There is a chance that they will be unable to control this
additional mana and will suffer burn out. The more
experienced Aes Sedai and Asha'man will have a
greater chance of successfully tapping these reserves.
Channeling characters have a 10% chance of burnout
for channeling extra mana equal to or less than their
level. They have an additional 10% chance of burn out
for each extra mana point above their level. There are
two possible manifestations of burn out. The first is
that the maximum mana that can be channeled at once
(spell limit) will be reduced. The second is that the
maximum mana that the character can channel per day
will be reduced. There is also the possibility of stilling
or death. To determine the effect of burn out, roll a
2D6 and check the result on the burn out table below.
-------------
Burnout Table
-------------
2 Stilled
3 Lose 1 INT and 1 WIS
4 Lose 1 WIS
5 Lose 10 daily mana
6 Lose 1 SL
7 Lose 5 daily mana
8 Lose 1 SL
9 Lose 10 daily mana
10 Lose 1 INT
11 Lose 1 Experience Level
12 Death
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Talents
-------
There is a chance at each level progression that the
character will discover a talent during the training for
that level. The five talents are Travelling, Foretelling,
Dreamwalking, Healing, and Compulsion. Each
character begins with a 25% chance in one talent of
their choice and a 5% chance in the rest of the talents.
At each level, a roll of D100 is made for each talent. If
the roll is less than the current percentage the character
discovers the talent. If not, add 5% to each chance and
roll again next level. It is necessary to keep track of the
level of expertise gained in each talent. When first
discovered, the character is first level in the talent. The
talent level then increases by one every time the
character goes up an experience level. The abilities of
each talent are as follows:
Travelling:
Level 1 - Can make a 1 sq. ft. gateway after being at the
place of departure for 8 hours that lasts 30 seconds
Level 2 - Can make a 4 sq. ft. gateway after 4 hours at
departure point that lasts 1 minute.
Level 3 - Can make a 9 sq. ft. gateway after 2 hours at
departure point that lasts 2 minutes.
Level 4 - Can make a 16 sq. ft. gateway after 1 hour
that lasts 5 minutes.
Level 5 - Can make a 25 sq. ft. gateway after 30
minutes that lasts 10 minutes.
Level 6 and beyond - Can make a 100 sq. ft. gateway
after 15 minutes that lasts 20 minutes.
Similar ideas will be used for the other talents.
Healing may be one additional point per talent level
added to each die rolls in healing spells.
Subject: Wheel of Time