and more like a ghoul. I traveled with a doc-
Skills
tor from Nilfgaard for a while. Heh, one of the
Resist Coercion
few black ones I can stand. Swear this whore-
son could work miracles when he was inclined.
Charisma
‘Course a good doctor, a real one’s trained in
Social Etiquette
that sorta thing. Bringin’ folk back from the
Courage
very gates of death. Usin’ all that knowledge
Human Perception
they get in their fancy academies to identify
Wilderness Survival
diseases and wounds and whatnot. Figurin’ the
best way to fix whatever ails ya.
Business
Good doctor knows herbal reme-
Deduction
dies too. I sell fistful s of leaves and roots and
Small Blades
whatnot to just about every learned man I run
Alchemy
across, but doctors seem to use ‘em the most.
Heh, poultices and potions and powders and
things. All to keep bleedin’ and nausea and
Gear (Pick 5)
sickness away. I even heard the real y good
herablists mix their own concoctions. Seems
Clotting powder x10
suicidal to me but what do I know? Mixin’
Sterlizing fluid x10
whatever greens ya find and gettin’ something
Numbing herbs x10
useful out of it. Heh, ‘course if ya don’t find a
Surgeon’s kit
medicine ya probably find a good enough poi-
Healing Hands (CRA)
Writing kit
son. With all the knowledge of how to fix a per-
Anyone can apply some ointment and wrap
son a doctor can do pretty well at breakin’ that
Hourglass
a bandage around a cut, but a Doctor has
same person. Knowin’ all the right places to
Candles x10
true medical training which allows them to
cut, how to make the wounds even harder for
perform complex surgeries. A Doctor with
Blanket
another poor sod to treat. All kindsa knowl-
Healing Hands is the only person who can
Large tent
edge that I personal y would rather never got
heal a critical wound. To heal critical wounds
Dagger
used for ill. Heh, but I guess in a world like
a doctor must make a number of successful
this, even a doctor has to fight back sometimes.
Healing Hands rols based on the severity of
–Rodolf Kazmer
the critical wound. The DC of the roll is based
on the severity of the critical wound as wel.
Healing Hands can also be used for any First
Aid task.
42
Mage
Defining Skill
“Magic is chaos, art, and sci-
Magic Training
ence. It’s a curse, a blessing,
and a progression.”
Vigor
–Yennefer of Vengerburg
5
Magical Perks
Mages, magicians, witches. People call ‘em a lot-
ta things. Personal y I call ‘em trouble, but that’s
5 Novice Spel s
just my humble opinion. A mage is just some
1 Ritual
person who has the ability to tap into the nat-
1 Hex
ural magic in the elemental realms. Somethin’
people call “Primal Chaos.” They go to big fancy
Skills
schools, mostly Ban Aard and Aretuza in the
North and Gweision Haul in the south. I had
Human Perception
some, ahem, dealin’s with a certain sorceress
Spell Casting
not many moons ago and she enlightened me in
Hex Weaving
between romps. Said mages were powerful con-
Resist Magic
duits for magical energy as long as they didn’t
Staff/Spear
use too much power they could do just about
anything with it. Mages with focusin’ items like
Education
wands or staves or amulets could even regulate
Ritual Crafting
all that power to channel even more. Said that
Social Etiquette
at the academies they trained mages to be smart
Seduction
and forward thinkin’, usin’ magic to further sci-
ence and improve life for people.
Grooming & Style
Heh, positive thinkin’ I guess. Can’t
deny that mages did improve things ‘round here.
Without ‘em, probably wouldn’t have science
Gear (Pick 5)
as we know it. And for a long time there was
Hourglass
a mage serving in just about every king’s court.
Makeup kit
Advisors to royalty, some of the most powerful
Belt pouch
Magic Training (INT)
and influential people in the world. A lot of
Writing kit
‘em still have all those tricks and traps fer dea-
To qualify as a Mage a magicaly adept per-
lin’ with court life. It’s half of what makes ‘em
Hand mirror
son must pass through the hal s of one of the
so dangerous. But then this whole chaos with
Dagger
world’s magical academies and learn the fun-
the Lodge of Sorceresses happened. Now nobody
Staff
damentals of the magical arts. A Mage can rol
trusts a mage, North or South. My , heh, sorcer-
Magical Training whenever they encounter
Garter sheath
ess friend lost everything thanks to those bloody
a magical phenomenon, an unknown spel,
whores. Now she can’t even enter a city in the
Journal
or a question of magical theory. The DC is set
North without a disguse.
100 crowns of
by the GM, and a success allows the Mage to
–Rodolf Kazmer
components
learn everything there is to know about the
phenomenon. Magical Training can also
be rolled as a form of Awareness that detects
magical beings, spel s, and hexes.
43
Man At Arms
“Soldiers think tactical y.
Defining Skill
They know when to strike,
Tough As Nails
when to fall back, when to
charge, and when to hold.”
Vigor
–Vernon Roche
0
Magical Perks
Now I know what you’re thinkin’. Rodolf, ya
wee bastard! Ya fought in two campaigns! Ya
None
must be a man at arms! A soldier to the core!’
Ya’d be dead wrong. Yeah, I fought in two cam-
Skills
paigns. Scouted in the First Northern War. Ar-
Any 5 Combat Skil s
balist Corps in the Second. I fought at Sodden.
Fought at Brenna. I was never good at it. Not
Wilderness Survival
like the real soldiers who trained their whole
Courage
lives for it. I was fightin’ because I love my
Physique
country. Heh, lemme tell ya, lovin’ your coun-
Intimida
tion
try and havin’ a crossbow doesn’t make ya a
Dodge/Escape
soldier.
The real soldiers are the men like Ver-
non Roche and John Natalis. Two of the best
Gear (Pick 5)
damn soldiers I ever met. They knew the ropes
Kord
and rare got tangled. A man at arms lives com-
Spear
bat and breathes conflict. When they aren’t at
war they’re servin’ as bodyguards and hired
Battle axe
mercenaries. They can be hell on the field, wiel-
Throwing knives x5
din’ their weapons with not an ounce of fear in
Satchel
their bodies. Chargin’ at the enemy in the finest
Chain coif
plate armor, swingin’ a damn sword tall as they
Brigandine
are and choppin’ the heads off the oncoming
cavalry. Drop ‘em in the swamps of the Pontar
Armored trousers
and you’l have yourself a bonifide predator,
Tough As Nails (BODY)
Crossbow & bolts x20
trackin’ elves through the foliage, settin’ traps
True Men At Arms like the Blue Stripes of Te-
Steel buckler
around every corner and readin’ every enemy
meria and the Impera Brigade of Nilfgaard are
like a damn book. Put a crossbow in a real man
hardened soldiers who never give in or sur-
at arms’ hand and they’ll drop a black one with
render. When a Man At Arms fal s to or be-
a bolt to the eye from 120 yards. May have
low 0 Health, they can roll Tough As Nails at
been a soldier but I’ll never be a man at arms.
a DC equal to the number of negative Health
And trust me, I’m perfectly fine with that.
times 2 to keep fighting. If they fail, they fal
–Rodolf Kazmer
into death state as per usual. If they succeed
they can keep fighting as if they were only at
their Wound Threshold. Any damage forces
them to make another roll against a DC based
on their Health.
44
Merchant
Defining Skill
“Got a buyer in heat for my
Well Traveled
collection, missin’ just three
cards.”
Vigor
–Zoltan Chivay
0
Look around ya. Check your pouches and your
Magical Perks
satchels and your saddlebags. I’ll bet most of
None
what ya have ya got from a merchant some-
where. Probably right, aren’t I? Heh, my friend,
people discredit merchants, but they don’t real-
Skills
ize just how important we are.
Charisma
Merchants bring people the things they
Small Blades
need. When a man in Mettina wants a sword
Education
from Redania, he can risk his life travelin’ up
through this vast and deadly world of ours or
Language (Choose 2)
he can find a merchant. You’ll likely never see
Streetwise
Zerrikania, but as long as merchant ships come
Business
every few months you can have your ivory
Persuasion
and your exotic sabers and whatnot. A good
Human Perception
merchant is a connection all over the world.
We know what we’re sel in’, where to find it,
Gambling
and how to get it for a steal. Or at least a good
Resist Coercion
bargain. Ya need some information or maybe
a favor, find a merchant. I’ve got friends all
over most cities and for a few coins I can learn
Gear (Pick 3)
about just about anythin’ anywhere.
Writing kit
Plus the coin. Ah the coin! If you’re a
Merchant’s tools
half-decent merchant you can turn a profit on
just about anything and that means income.
Large tent
Income means more money and money means
Journal
Well Traveled (INT)
power. Need to get into a fancy party? A lot eas-
Crossbow & bolts x20
ier when you’re wearin’ the latest fashion and
Your average merchant makes a living from
Dagger
totin’ a coin purse the size of a dwarf’s fist. Say
trade and that trade brings in customers
I don’t feel like gettin’ my hands dirty? There’s
from all around. But a traveling merchant
always someone wil in’ to do a dirty job for the
Cart
goes to their customers, wandering the roads
right price. A merchant lives or dies by their
of the world, and learning from it’s people.
A mule and a cart with
contacts, their knowledge, and their product.
A Merchant can make a Well Traveled rol
1000 crowns of
Long as you keep those three things up you’ll be
anytime they want to know a fact about a
common or everyday
golden. And maybe carry a crossbow under the
specific item, culture, or area. The DC is set
items
cart seat. Just in case you run across customers
by the GM and if the roll is successful the
unwil in’ to haggle.
Merchant remembers the answer to that
–Rodolf Kazmer
question, calling on memories of the last time
they travelled through the applicable area.
45
Priest
“We care for equilibrium,
Defining Skill
the balance of all things,
Initiate of the Gods
not just trout populations in
streams.”
Vigor
–Hierophant Ermion
2
Met a surprisingly tolerant priest in Mag Tur-
Magical Perks
ga once who said ‘everyone finds the gods in
2 Invocations
their own way.’ Suppose that’s a good way to
2 Rituals
describe priests in general. There’s cultists in
2 Hexes
the South who believe in a great cataclysm and
a new sun, fanatics in the North who worship
fire, and some truly darin’ mad folk who wor-
Skills
ship a goddess of life and fertility. Heh, point is,
Ritual Crafting
everyone finds a divine somewhere. It’s hard to
Leadership
prove your god is the only one, so churches crop
up everywhere. Some priests are actual y gifted
Courage
with magic, though they’ll never admit they’re
Human Perception
like those damn godless mages. Heh, ignore any
Hex Weaving
similarities, their magic is given to them by
First Aid
their god and thus it is acceptable. You’ll find
Charisma
these priests usual y watchin’ over towns and
cities. Lookin’ out for the moral heart of the
Wilderness Survival
land and keepin’ the people pious and at one
Teaching
with their god or what have ya.
Spel
l Casting
Then again ya have the druids. Nice
folk long as you’re not a poacher or a downright
bastard. They live as one with nature and spend
Gear (Pick 5)
their time preservin’ balance. Never had the
Holy symbol
pleasure of meetin’ a druid in person, though
Sterilizing fluid x5
I’ve heard stories. They’re rarer these days. A lot
Initiate of the Gods (EMP)
Alchemy set
of ‘em are on the Skel ige Isles from what I hear.
The churches of the world are often warm
Then ya got your radicals and your
Surgeon’s kit
and inviting places, helping their communi-
true cultists. They’re the ones to keep an eye out
Hourglass
ties and welcoming new converts. A Priest
for. Ya never know what a crazy son of a bitch
Dagger
can roll Initiate of the Gods at a DC set by
driven by the word of his god is gonna do. Or
the GM at churches of the same faith to get
Staff
even worse, what a power-mad priest will drive
free lodging, healing, and other services at
his subjects to do in the name of their gods. I’d
Clotting powder x5
the GM’s discretion. Initiate of the Gods also
say we’re seeing the results in Redania right
Numbing herbs x5
works when dealing with members of the
now. Place’s gone mad since the Eternal Fire
100 crowns of
same faith, though they will likely be able to
took over.
components
of er less than a fuly supplied church. Keep in
–Rodolf Kazmer
mind that Initiate of the Gods doesn’t work
with members of other faiths.
46
Witcher
Defining Skill
“This world doesn’t need a
Witcher Training
hero. It needs a profession-
al.”
Vigor
–Geralt of Rivia
2
“Like I said, I traveled with a witcher for a
time. I once asked him why he kept being a
Magical Perks
witcher. Didn’t look like he got much out of it.
All Basic Signs
Heh, kids rushin’ into their houses and fathers
lockin’ away their daughters when you enter
towns doesn’t sound like my kinda job. Suppose
Skills
I shoulda expected the answer he gave. Didn’t
Awareness
real y know how to be anything else. Makes
Deduction
sense real y. Spend your whole life doin’ some-
Spell Casting
thing like that and ya don’t have much else to
The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG Page 10