take a -2.
pression. At a base 10 you are a pretty fash- base 10 you can play basic songs and per-
ionable person. At a base 13 you could work form on stage. At a base 13 you can not only
at a fairly nice salon in Novigrad or the cap- perform but general y impress crowds you
ital of the Empire of Nilfgaard. At a base 16 perform for. At a base 16 you draw crowds
Style Across
when you put the effort into it you can look and can play songs on the fly. At a base 20
The Continent
as good as many sorceresses. At a base 20 you would be summoned to perform for
Styles vary across the Conti-
you could be stylist to a noblewoman, ar- kings and emperors.
nent. In the Northern King-
ranging outfits that people talk about for
doms bright colors, impres-
months.
sive jewelery, and make-up
Seduction: Seducing people and perform-
are very common. Men often
Human Perception: Reading people’s emo- ing in bed. At a base 10 you are flirtatious
have prominent facial hair
tions. At a base 10 you are an empathic per- and you’ve had some practice in bed. At a
and women grow their hair
son and people often come to you to vent base 13 you can flirt with ease and grace,
long, often put ing it in plaits.
their problems. At a base 13 you can read and get compliments in bed. At a base 16
Comparatively, in the Empire
most people with ease. At a base 16 you you could work at a high-class brothel and
of Nilfgaard elegance is valued
can spot even subtle discomforts and often make a killing. At a base 20 you often find
above al. Nilfgaardian style is
know when people are lying. At a base 20 yourself tripping over admirers and when
smooth and simple with pre-
you could be a true empath, assessing peo- you take a person to bed, they definitely re-
dominantly a black and white
ple with a single glance.
member you.
color palette. Men are expected
to shave their faces or maintain
Leadership: The skill of ral ying people un-
a well-trimmed moustache or
der your banner, or just taking control of a CRAFT
beard. Merchants from Zer-
situation and getting people to do your bid- Alchemy (2): The skill of creating potions, rikania and Ofier are noted to
ding. At a base 10 you are confident, and in oils, decoctions, and more. At a base 10 you
wear silken robes with brilliant
emergency situations people will general y dabble with the science of alchemy and can
filigree as well as the pelts of ex-
follow your orders. At a base 13 you are a create basic things like chloroform with
otic animals.
well-versed leader and can manage a small ease. At a base 13 you are a full-blown al-
group of people effectively. At a base 16 you chemist and can even create witcher’s oils
can lead a large group of soldiers with no and potions. At a base 16 you are a seasoned
one questioning your command. At a base alchemist and can craft alchemical remedies
20 you could lead the armies of the North even without a standardized alchemy set.
with your name going down in history.
At a base 20 you a master chemist. You can
create any chemical in the book as well as
witcher decoctions.
55
Crafting (2): Making and fixing weapons few cities for spreading false documents and and armor. At a base 10 you can craft basic destabilizing economies with false coin.
shields and daggers with ease. At a base 13
Brandon On
you can make swords and chain mail that Pick Lock: Opening locks without a key. At
Alchemy
will see soldiers through combat. At a base a base 10 you can break cheap locks without
16 you make swords that people covet and much problem. At a base 13 you can break
What most people do not know
are notable enough to etch your name on into most average houses and crack simple
about alchemy is that it actualy
the blade. At a base 20 you are sought after, locks. At a base 16 you can open bank vaults, has rules and a legacy of knowl-able to craft some master grade items with given time. At a base 20 you can crack the
edge handed down from alche-
relative ease.
most complex locks and can open many
mist to alchemist. It is taken very
locks with little time and makeshift tools.
seriously at Oxenfurt. There are
Disguise: Disguising yourself or another as
always ignorant students who
someone else. At a base 10 you are pretty Trap Crafting (2): Creating makeshift traps clammer “When do we get to
good at hiding someone’s identity. At a base and disabling traps. The DC to notice and
make something into gold?” At
13 you can make over yourself or others for dodge the trap is based on your Trap Craft-
this point the alchemist throws
a particular role, such as a specific culture ing rol . The trap can either grapple an oppo-a handful of sulphur into the
or profession. At a base 16 you can disguise nent or cause an amount of damage to them
flames and assures him or her-
yourself well as a specific person. At a base equal to 1d6 per 2 points of Trap Crafting.
self the peace and quiet needed
20 you are a master of appearances and can At a base 10 you can build a pit trap and put
for serious study.
disguise yourself or others as anyone, in- some stakes at the bottom of it. At a base 13
–Brandon Of Oxenfurt
cluding other genders and races, with un- you can build rope traps that will ensnare
canny accuracy.
your opponent and more complicated traps.
At a base 16 you can hide multiple traps in a
First Aid: Stopping bleeding, setting bro- wilderness area with ease. At a base 20 you ken bones, and tending to poison. At a base can hide traps such as tripwires and swing-10 you can tie a tourniquet and general y ing weapons urban areas.
know what to do in medical emergencies.
At a base 13 you are skilled at first aid and
can treat most small wounds with ease. At WILL
a base 16 you are a pretty seasoned bone- Courage: The skill of resisting fear. At a saw and can prepare multiple patients to be base 10 you are a calm person and can stand
transported to a surgeon quickly. At a base up to a tough customer in a bar. At a base 13
20 you may not be able to perform full-on you can stare down a vicious mass murder-
surgery but you can easily bring people back er and not flee when you see monsters. At a
from the gates of death in seconds.
base 16 you are usual y the bravest person
in the room and can face down enemies you
Forgery: Falsifying documents and official know you can’t beat. At a base 20 nothing papers. Forgery also applies to counterfeit- scares you and you remain glacial y cool
ing coins. At a base 10 you can imitate of- even in the face of enormous monsters.
ficial papers or coins but you shouldn’t use
them in large cities where they are more Hex Weaving (2): Hexing people or places.
likely to be examined. At a base 13 you can At a base 10 you can focus pure hatred into
create coins that would be accepted by most simple hexes. At a base 13 you know certain
merchants and can falsify official p
apers bits of black magic that allow your hexes to
that don’t require a specific person’s seal. At take hold better. At a base 16 you are well-a base 16 you are a great forger and can cre- versed in hexes and can focus your pain into
ate most documents, even those that require deadly ones. At a base 20 you weave hexes
specific seals. At a base 20 you are a master that make seasoned witchers scowl.
forger and are probably wanted in at least a
56
Spell Casting (2): Utilizing magic in the
form of spel s and their simpler cousins,
signs. At a base 10 you can cast basic spel s
or signs, but require incantations and
gestures for all spel s. At a base 13 you can
cast signs and spel s with reasonable grace,
and require incantations only for complex
and difficult spel s. At a base 16 you are a
seasoned mage and require only gestures
for difficult spel s. At a base 20 you use only
a flick of the hand to cast even the most
difficult spel s.
Resist Magic (2): Resisting magical influ-
ence. At a base 10 you are often aware when
magic is affecting you and can sometimes
shake it off. At a base 13 you have actively
hardened your mind against magic and can
safeguard yourself against lesser mages.
At a base 16 you know small tricks to help
safeguard your mind and body from magic,
allowing you to block the magic of graduate
mages. At a base 20 you are stalwart in the
face of magic and are rarely controlled by
mages of any caliber.
Resist Coercion: Resisting persuasion, se-
duction, and the like. At a base 10 you can
keep your head when being pressured into
something you real y don’t want to do. At a
base 13 you can shut out the seductions of
relatively attractive people and avoid caving
to strong arguments. At a base 16 you are
resilient enough to earn the title “stub-
born,” and aren’t often moved by those with
good reasons or impressive assets. At a base
A View of Mages
Intimidation: Scaring people, either to run 20 when you make a decision, rarely will them off or make them do something for
anything change your mind.
In the study of history we see
you. At a base 10 you are a pretty frighten-
that as mages become more
ing person, and rarely do people mess with Ritual Crafting (2): Ritualistic magic. At powerful they also become
you in a bar. At a base 13 you have gotten
a base 10 you know how to perform some
more deceitful, arrogant, and
used to intimidating the people around you rituals and are fairly talented at them. At a
dangerous. If a person can do
and can scare most average people, even
base 13 you routinely perform rituals. At
anything more than cure your
some soldiers. At a base 16 you radiate
a base 16 you can undertake rituals under
bunions, stay away from them.
malice, and even seasoned soldiers know to pressure and attain the outcome you are
–Brandon Of Oxenfurt
give you a wide berth when you pass by. At looking for. At a base 20 you are a skilled
a base 20 all you need to do is give a person ritualist and can perform any ritual you lay
a single look to make them cave.
your hands on.
57
Skill Resolution
Using Skills You
Don’t Have
In the Witcher TRPG, most contests come down to skill resolution. This is a test of skill to either beat another person in a task or complete a task that requires skill. There are You may be called upon to use
three major ways for you to resolve skill checks:
a skill that you have no points
in. You can still use the skil,
but you only add the applica-
ble Stat to your die rol.
Opposing An Antagonist set of thieves’ tools and tries to break
When facing an opponent, you roll the lock while no one is looking. Dan-
1d10 and add your skill level and ap- delion rol s 1d10 (3) and adds his Pick
propriate Stat level. You then compare Lock (skill) which is 5, and his Dexter-
this to your opponent. Whoever has ity (Statistic) which is 5, for a total of
rolled higher wins. If the rol s are 13. This roll must beat the difficulty to
equal, then the defender wins.
pick the lock, which is only 10 since the
lock is cheap. Dandelion opens the lock
For example: Geralt of Rivia is oppos- with a little work.
ing a mercenary captain. He makes an
attack with his sword and the merce-
nary attempts to block. Geralt will roll Opposing a Target’s DC
1d10 (5) and add his Swordsmanship Some abilities require you to beat a
(skill) which is 11, and his Reflex (Sta- DC based on your opponent’s stats.
tistic) which is 13, for a total of 29. The In this case it works the same as op-
mercenary will roll 1d10 (6) and add posing a DC, but the DC is one of the
his Swordsmanship (which is 6), and target’s stats multiplied by 3. If you are
his Reflex (which is 7), for a total of 19. unable to roll higher than the DC, you
With his higher total, Geralt hits the fail the skill check.
mercenary.
For example: Ermion is facing down
a wolf on the road to Kaer Trolde. He
Opposing a Difficulty
has no time for this and casts Friend
When opposing a Difficulty Check to Wildkind, weaving magic into the
(DC) or an inanimate object, roll mind of the wolf. The wolf’s Will (Sta-
1d10 and add your skill level and the tistic) multiplied by 3 is 12. If Ermion
appropriate Stat level. You then com- can roll a Spell Casting (skill) roll above
pare that to an appropriate difficulty 12 his invocation succeeds. He rol s
for the task at hand (see the chart on 1d10 (9) and adds his Spell Casting
the next page). If you rolled higher (skill), which is 9, and his Will (Statis-
than the DC, you succeed at that task. tic), which is 10. This total of 28 easily
If you roll at the DC or lower, you beats the wolf’s Will DC and calms the
failed.
wolf.
For example: Dandelion has been
locked away in the Flotsam prison for
debauchery of the vilest order. Luckily,
since he frequents it so often they didn’t
bother to search him. He takes out his
58
Success
Failure
Second Tries
If you roll higher than the DC or your oppo- If you rolled equal to or lower than the DC
nent’s rol , then you have succeeded at that or your opponent’s roll then you have failed.
In some situations you can
task. This means that you achieved what This means that nothing happens. If you
continue to try a task as often
you set out to do. For example if you were were trying to pick a lock then it remains
as you want. However, the
trying to pick a lock, then a success opens locked. If you were trying to convince some-
Game Master can choose to
the lock.
one of something, they remain doubtful.
limit tries depending on the
circumstances, such as
at-
tempting to convince a guard
Modifiers
Difficulty
that you are their superior of-
Circumstances can help or hinder your
ficer.
ability to perform skil s appropriately. These
Difficulty
Example
DC
Modifiers can be your best friend or your
Easy
Breaking a rot-
worst enemy. Modifiers are added to the DC
ten door down
10
required to perform the task.
Average
Sneaking past a
town guard
14
Challenging
Picking a wel -
made lock
18
Hitting a chain
Difficult
with a throwing
20
axe at 10m
Nearly
Forcing a for-
Impossible
tress gate open
30
barehanded
Example Modifiers
Situation
Mod.
Don’t have the right parts
+2
Don’t have the right tools
+3
Distracting environment
+3
Under attack
+5
Drunk
+3
Sleep-deprived
+3
Hostile environment
+4
Light Levels
Light
Mod.
Glaring light
+2
Daylight
0
Dim light
+2
Darkness
+5
59
Leveling Up
Gaining a Skill
To get to 1 point in a skill you
In the Witcher TRPG, to get ahead in the world you get good at what you do and build must spend 1 I.P. If the skil
a reputation. You can raise skill levels with Improvement Points (I.P.), by performing
is difficult to learn, you must
the skill, or being taught in it. You gain reputation through GM discretion when you do
spend 2 I.P.
impressive things.
Dif icult Skills
Leveling Up
General Improvement
Skils marked with “(2)” like
To level up a skil , you allot Improvement The fastest way to learn a skill is via experi-
Language and Tactics are dif-
Points (I.P.) to it. For most skil s you must ence. At the end of a session your GM gives
ficult to learn. When leveling
The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG Page 13