3. GM Guide

  Challenges    Minor Characters    Monsters 

This section lists rules and tips for the Game Master (GM) for running a Legends game.

Challenges (updated 2005/10/08)

  Climbing and Falling    Traps 

The world is a dangerous place, filled with many challenges. This appendix details some of the dangers characters might face. This section contains no new rules, rather, these are example of how to apply the core game mechanics of Legends to any situation. If you find yourself thinking "that's what I would have done anyways" then we have succeeded.

The basic rules of Legends usually speak in terms of "characters" with Traits. The same principle can be easily applied to any situation by personifying the danger. For example, a poison dart trap makes an attack against an intruder much the same as a guard would do. The trap should have Traits just like the guard would. Other dangers, such as a deadly cliff, narrow bridge, swift subterranean river, or a blazing desert can all be easily simulated in the same way. The examples below contain more detail.

Minor Characters (updated 2006/11/09)

In the basic rules there is a great deal of attention paid to the concept of a character Legend, which provides a wealth of detail about the character. However, this investment of effort is only appropriate for characters who have an important place in the story, such as the player characters (PCs), important non-player characters (NPCs), villains, mythical beasts, etc. The GM is encouraged to use the greatly simplified system below for "minor characters" such as shopkeepers, nameless brigands, town guards, drunken taproom brawlers, or hordes of lowly orcs. This also works well for NPCs who are created on the fly. [ more... ]

Monsters (updated 2007/01/29)

  Monster Conversions    Sample Monsters 

Monster is a term for any number of legendary creatures that frequently appear in mythology, legend, and horror fiction. The word originates from the ancient latin monstros, monstrum, from the root of monere, "to warn", also meaning prodigy, miracle.

These strange creatures populate many fantasy settings, adding depth to the world and providing unique challenges to the players. [ more... ]