Wolves Upon the Coast The Unofficial Player's Guide

version 1.00c (2024-06-07)

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Your history is gone. It was taken from you, or you from it. Now your master lies dead in the bottom of a raiding vessel, equipped for adventure. You are free.

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Introduction

This unofficial player's guide to Wolves Upon the Coast is an independent production and is not affiliated with Luke Gearing. This material reprinted with permission, and has been edited for clarity, consistency, or concision. Game rules relevant only to the Referee are omitted entirely. Special thanks to Luke Gearing for providing insights to authorial intent.

Key Concepts

• Characters. "Characters" means the player characters.
• Creatures. "Creatures" includes non-player characters (NPCs), including humans, monsters, or any other being with a spark of life (or undeath).
• Rounding. Unless otherwise specified, round numbers up.

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The great tool of creation is the knife.

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Character Creation

Roll 3d6 for each characteristic. A characteristic of 15 or higher grants a bonus.

You begin with:

• 1 hit die (HD). All HD are d6s. Roll your HD to determine your starting hit points (HP).
• +2 to attacks.
• Knowledge of half of 1d6 languages (not rounded). You can use a half-known language to conduct trade, but you can't understand nuance, read, or write. All characters should share at least one half-known language—the speech of your erstwhile captors. Usually, you can wait to declare you know a language until you encounter it.
• 3d6 × 10 hacksilver (sp) worth of weapons, armor, and supplies. Anything not spent is lost.

The party begins with:

• 1 karvi, a small raiding vessel.
• A crew of 12 fellow ex-thralls who look to you for leadership.
• Food and water for four days (including the crew).

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A sword age, a wind age, a wolf age. No longer is there mercy among men.

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Weapons

• Weight. A weapon's weight determines the damage dealt by a successful attack.

• Exploding (*). If you roll 6 on a damage die, roll another d6 and add it to the total damage.
• Reach (†). You can attack from behind another creature.
• Riposte. If an attack roll against you is less than 8 (not counting your AC), you can immediately counter-attack. The number in parentheses indicates how many times you can do this each round.
• Two-Handed (‡). Attacking requires two hands.

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The unwise think they will live forever if only they can avoid a fight, but old age will give them no peace, even if weapons do.

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Armor

• Armor Class (AC). AC determines how difficult a target is to hit with an attack. AC also affects your encumbrance limit, initiative in combat, and drowning.
• Dodging Modifier. Your dodging saves are modified depending on the armor you wear (or eschew).

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Supplies

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Livestock

• Beast of Burden (†). Can carry 24 items.

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Resolution

Timekeeping

• Rounds. Each round lasts about 6 seconds.
• Minutes. Each naval combat turns last about 1 minute.
• Turns. Each turn lasts about 10 minutes.

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Tests

The Referee might determine your characteristics are tested. To succeed, roll under your characteristic, depending on the difficulty of the task (determined by the Referee).

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Saves

In response to action or the need for you to muster your defenses, the Referee might call for you to roll d20 for a save. The target number you must meet or exceed depends on the save:

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Combat

• Initiative. roll d10. If the result is equal to or less than your AC, you act before your foes. Your companions and hirelings act on your initiative. The Referee might require you to roll initiative each round.
• Surprise. Light and sound might determine whether you are aware of others. Unaware parties have a 2-in-6 chance of being surprised.
• Attacks. Roll d20 plus attack bonus, any modifiers, and the target's AC. If the result is at least 20, you hit the target and roll damage (determined by your weapon). Damage is subtracted from the target's HP.
• Death. If you are reduced to 0 HP, you die in 2 rounds, unless you receive assistance (for example, another character tends to your wounds with bandages). A creature reduced to 0 HP dies.

Combat Complications

• Flanked. +2 to attacks for each ally attacking the same target.
• Mounted. +3 to attacks against unmounted foes, and deal 2d6 with a couched weapon (held perpendicular to your body).
• Prone. Melee attacks automatically hit.
• Unaware. Mortals are instantly slain if you can ensure a killing blow.

Creatures

Creatures add half their HD to their attacks. Creature HD also affects the number of attacks a creature makes each round.

Some creatures have bonuses to their saves.

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Healing

• Night's Rest. Recover 1 HP for each HD.
• Full Day's Rest. Recover 3 HP for each HD.

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Reaction

When you encounter others for the first time or thereafter, the Referee might test the reaction of friends or foes. Reaction rolls are modified to a maximum of ±4 (determined by the Referee).

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Morale

In strenuous situations, the Referee might test the morale of friends or foes. Morale checks are modified up to a maximum of ±3 (determined by the Referee).

Morale check triggers might include:

• loss of fighting strength
• retreating or surrendering allies
• a leader's death, surrender, or retreat
• being ambushed
• presence of massive or horrific foes
• a raging fire on a vessel

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There's always a better choice than cowardice, if you have business to take care of. One day long ago my life was already shaped, and my fate was fixed.

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Advancement

Boasts

• Make a Heroic Boast. Gain 1 HD or +1 to attacks. You can only have one boast pending at a time.
• Failing a Boast. You lose your boast's benefits.
• Shirking a Boast. If anyone finds you shirked your boast, you fail it, and might not be able to boast again (until the Referee agrees).
• Claim Rights. If you satisfy your boast, its benefits are permanent, and you can claim any wager or reward offered by others. You can also make a new boast.
• Challenges and Complications. A friend or rival might complicate your boast. For each complication, you might gain another HD or +1 to attacks (determined by the Referee). If you refuse a challenge, your challenger takes on the boast with all complications.

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Companions and Hirelings

• Companions. For each 1000 sp of wealth you have, you might attract a companion. Adventuring companions take half the share a character takes from all loot.
• Hirelings. You can hire as many hirelings as you can find and pay each day.
• Hit Points. Each hireling has 1 HD. Roll it and add any listed bonus HP to the result.
• Shield in Hand (†). Some hirelings arrive with a shield in their equipment. Like characters, creatures with a shield equipped reduce their AC by 1.
• Skirmishers (‡). Must succeed a morale check to enter a melee, and each round they remain.

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A person is happy if they find praise and friendship within themself. You can never be sure of where you stand in someone else's heart.

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Travel

• Distance. Map hexes are 6 miles across.

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Abreast the Sea

Vessels

• Light Vessel (†). Doesn't require a port; can be beached.
• Hit Dice. Roll for vessel HP.
• Speed. Hexes traveled each day. Parentheses indicate river travel. Travel against a river's current is at half speed.
• Cargo. Encumbrance capacity.
• Crew. Parentheses indicates crew required to be marines.
• Value. The ransom for return of a captured vessel (not including recovered cargo). Purchasing a vessel is triple the ransom value.

Wind

• Movement Bonus. If the wind is directly behind your vessel, apply the bonus to its speed. If the wind is one step adjacent, apply the number in parentheses instead. For example, a strong wind blowing north-east modifies the speed of a vessel traveling north by +1.
• Raise Sails. Ignore bonuses and rely on oars.

Storms

• Visibility. Up to 1 day's travel away.
• Disorientation. 4-in-6 chance of becoming lost.
• Capsizing. 30% chance each day. If capsized, loose cargo is lost and there is a 40% chance the vessel begins sinking.

Becoming Lost at Sea

• Landmarks. 2-in-6 chance when no landmarks are visible. Under clear skies, adjacent hexes and mountains up to 4 hexes away are visible.
• Maps. The Referee might hide the map and continue play without it until you re-establish your position. While lost, your vessel moves in a random direction.

Naval Combat

• Naval Combat Turns. Naval combat turns are 1 minute in length.
• Attacking Vessels. Siege weapons and sea monsters can attack vessels, treating their AC as 7. Melee attacks against vessels hit automatically.
• Boarding. You can leap from one vessel to another by succeeding an easy Agility test. Marines automatically succeed.
• Ramming. Deals 1d6 damage for each remaining vessel HD, and deals 1d6 damage to your vessel.
• Fire. Deals 1d6 damage. On a 6, the fire increases, dealing an additional 1d6 each round. On a 1, the fire decreases by 1d6. A fire with no damage die is extinguished.
• Sinking. If a vessel takes at least 6 damage from a hit, it might begin sinking (determined by the Referee).

Sinking

• Beginning to Sink. There is a 50% chance the vessel sinks within 3d6 naval turns. Any further sinking result halves the remaining time before the vessel sinks.
• Preventing Sinking. If half the crew works to save the vessel for 1d6 rounds, there is a 70% chance the vessel is saved. A crew under attack can't prevent sinking.

Drowning

If you remain in water for 1 minute, roll d20. If the result is greater than your AC, you drown.

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Upon the Land

• Speed. Hexes traveled each day. Numbers in parentheses indicate riding a horse to death (2-in-6 chance of dying each day, and the steed might never ride again).
• Difficult Terrain. Halves movement (rounded down).

Becoming Lost on Land

• Landmarks. 2-in-6 chance when no landmarks are visible. Under clear skies, adjacent hexes and mountains up to 4 hexes away are visible.
• Difficult Terrain. Increase the chance of becoming lost to 3-in-6.
• Maps. The Referee might hide the map and continue play without it until you re-establish your position. While lost, you move in a random direction.

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In Darkness

• Exploration. Most activities take 1 turn, for example, searching for traps, unlocking doors, or clearing obstacles.
• Rest. After combat or an hour of exploration, you should take one turn to rest. If you push on, the Referee might impose a −2 penalty to d20 rolls until you rest for 2 turns.

Light

• Torches. Burn for one hour (6 turns).
• Lanterns. A pint flask of oil burning in a lantern lasts 4 hours (24 turns).
• Monsters. Might be able to see in darkness.

Movement

• Cautious Movement. 240 feet each turn, and you can map, check for traps, and make close observation.
• Hasty Movement. 960 feet each turn, but you might become lost, stumble into ambushes, or trigger traps, especially when moving through areas you haven't fully mapped yet (determined by the Referee).

Encounters

• Encounters. Each turn, there is a 1-in-6 chance of an encounter.
• Distance. When an encounter begins, each group begins 2d6 × 10 feet apart. If anyone is surprised, the distance is halved.

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