Optional Conventions

Tracking

Tracking is simulated using the Awareness skill. Track markers are placed on the ground with a number on them; if your Awareness is equal to or higher than the number, you notice the tracks. (This works much like Stealth, for good reason.) The tracks will then point off in a direction; proceed in that direction to follow the trail. The tracks may instead have writing on them (or the word "Over"); if your Awareness is high enough, you may read the notes (or flip the marker over and read the notes.)

Note that other skills may be used in a similar scheme. For example, Status (Prominence) could be used to identify the faces of important nobles.

Drinking

Tolerance

To participate in a drinking contest you must first figure out your tolerance.

• Start with the number 2.
• If your Will is between 2 and 4, add 1. If your will is 5 or higher, add 2.
• For each of the following abilities, add 1 to your tolerance: Rapid Healing, Superior Clotting, Exceptional Strength.
• For each of the following disadvantages, subtract 1 from your tolerance: Hemophilia, Weakness.
• If your character drinks alcohol regularly, add one to your tolerance.
• If you have a good reason that your character would have a resistance to alcohol (you're a mercenary, rogue or gambler that spends her life in bars), add one more to your tolerance.
• If you have a brilliant excellent reason that your character would have a resistance to alcohol (e.g. you're a priest of Dorial), add even one more still to your tolerance.
• If your character never really drinks, subtract one from your tolerance.
• If you have Immunity to Poison, double your tolerance.
• If you are a dwarf, double your tolerance again.

Consumption

For each drink you imbibe, you get one drunk point.

When your drunk points exceed:

• Your tolerance: You are buzzed. Your Will and Awareness are reduced by one.
• Twice your tolerance: You are drunk. Your Will and Awareness are reduced by two. Furthermore, you gain the Overconfidence disad. If you already had Overconfidence take either Foolhardy or Stubbornness.
• Three times your tolerance: You are wasted. Will and Awareness are reduced by three. Furthermore, take: Foolhardy, Stubbornness, Gullible and Complete Honesty.
• Four times your tolerance: You are passed-out.
• Five times your tolerance: You are suffering alcohol poisoning. Treat as if you were poisoned.

Sobering Up

Once every hour, you may sober up by reducing your level of drunk points by half your tolerance. A Cure Poison spell will also sober you up instantly by bringing your total to zero. If you have Rapid Healing, you may sober up once every 30 minutes.

Contests

A drinking contest is often used to see who can stomach the most alcohol in the shortest period of time without passing out. Although there would normally be a short (5 minute) delay between when a drink is consumed and when the alcohol affects you, drinking contests usually use some fast-affecting alcohol that makes the game go faster. Furthermore, in areas where dwarves are well known and non-dwarves are the bartenders, dwarves are frequently asked to down two or three drinks for each one that a human downs.

Lastly, many drinking contests use exceptionally strong alcohol that counts as two or three drinks instead of one. This is often desirable since it makes the contest go faster (winning tolerances are often quite high) and reduces the amount of liquid that must be consumed.

Languages

Continuing Game only.

Frequently, games require writings in ancient languages that need deciphering by PCs. For GM convenience, there are three "elder tongues" in which many old documents will have been written: Sturian (for humans), Mahiri (for mahiri), and Middle Dwarven (for dwarves). Fonts for these languages are available from Quest upon request.

With Mage and/or Cleric Initiation, your character gains knowledge of a single language. Normally, this is the language associated with your character's race, although you may choose a different language (or no language at all) if it suits your character's background. Sage allows the character to read all three languages (or however many are appropriate). Obviously, characters with Illiteracy can't read anything.

Note that if you the player know the font but your character does not know the language, you may not read the writing or decipher the alphabet.