Steve Lieb
Ironically, many of today’s CRPG gamers may know nothing of the roots of their hobby beyond a vague knowledge of something called “Dungeons & Dragons” – with little or no understanding of the generations of role-playing mechanics spawned from innumerable arguments between players and DMs, or the canonical roles of “fighter”, “healer”, “rogue”, or “mage” that slowly evolved through endless Mountain Dew-fuelled nights around dining room tables.
Until now, the information flow has been exclusively one-way: mechanics and systems from pen-and-paper games have found their way into pretty much every computer game, but there’s been very little return current.
Actually, I credit the website Penny Arcade with the original idea for this article; despite his otherwise ample “geek cred” one of its founders, “Gabe” (Mike Krahulik) had never played ‘classic’ role playing games. With some trepidation and much advice from “Tycho” (Jerry Holkins), Gabe decided to try it…and found it fantastic. Gabe’s unusual start in role playing – extensive experience with all sorts of computer games without a RPG context, as well as the context of an adult male with adult resources – has given him an interesting and fresh outlook on running his D&D campaign. It’s so interesting, in fact, it’s been the subject of hilarious podcasts from Wizards of the Coast.
Gabe’s innovative ideas about adopting CRPG conventions, encounters, and quests into face-to-face format are both clever and refreshing. This merely takes the idea a step further, adopting the talents and abilities of World of Warcraft classes into Runequest formats as a way of enlivening my RQ game, giving my players and NPCs a bigger variety of powers both to deploy and avoid.
To that end, this is the first installment of RQ interpretations of WoW class abilities. First alphabetically, the Death Knight. As Blizzard describes it:
Runequest is of course, not a class-based game. These are merely a collection of contextually-linked powers that could, of course, be available as a complete set to a particular collection of Death-Knight analogues – undead Captains of Delecti, perhaps. More broadly, certain sets of powers could be available to Rune Lords or even initiates of other deities – the ice/cold powers could be available to members of a Valind cult, or associated worshippers. The plague-based talents would naturally lend themselves to Malia, while the blood talents could be used by a DM to empower some creepy blood-cult hunting the PCs.
These powers are not intended to be balanced except in a basic power/effect sense; they are attempted translations of the powers directly from WoW, it’s always up to the DMs to adjudicate what may or may not be overpowered in the context of their campaigns. It should be kept in mind that DK’s were introduced to WoW specifically as an exceptionally powerful “hero class” – these abilities are strong by themselves, but many of them work in synergy with each other to become extremely potent and lethal.
If people find this interesting, I’ll happily review and publish the more moderate and utilitarian abilities of other classes, such as heal-over-time spells – such as Rejuvenation, a healing spell that heals 4hp for the bargain price of only 2mp, however spreading that healing out as only 1hp at the end of each round for 4 rounds.
| Category | POW/MP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abomination's Might | DIVINE | 3 | the caster and all allies within 5m gain +15% to hit, +15% to dodges/parries, and +3 damage as long as they remain within range or return to within range. |
| Annihilation I | DIVINE | 1 | All of your attacks do +1 cold damage, ignoring armor; additionally Obliterate has a 1/3 chance of NOT cancelling current bleed/plague effects |
| Annihilation II | DIVINE | 2 | All of your attacks do +2 cold damage, ignoring armor; additionally Obliterate has a 2/3 chance of NOT cancelling current bleed/plague effects |
| Annihilation III | DIVINE | 3 | All of your attacks do +3 cold damage, ignoring armor; additionally any Obliterate cast will NOT end current bleed/plague effects |
| AntiMagic Shell | DIVINE | 1* | Stackable, caster only, temporal; within 3 hexes of the caster, any spell effects (friendly or enemy) must overcome casters MP to successfully cast. |
| Blood Boil | DIVINE | 2 | Check against each enemy within 3m of caster MPvMP, success causes 1 point of damage per location, ignoring armor, special 2, crit 3. +1 damage for each Bleed effect. |
| Blood Presence | DIVINE | 1* | stackable;self only; for each point of the spell (6 max) weapon damage is increased according to +1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d20. Each strike heals the wielder by 1pt. |
| Blood-Caked Blade | DIVINE | 1 | For each bleed effect currently on target, target immediately takes 1d6 damage to body hp; CON vs CON to resist for half damage. |
| Bloodworms | DIVINE | 1 | Each hp of damage taken by a bleeding target heals the caster by 1 hp. |
| Bone Shield | DIVINE | 3 | Roll 3d6; this is the AP of the Bone Shield. For each point of AP remaining in Bone Shield, there is a 5% chance of totally blocking any incoming physical (melee or ranged) attack; a blocked attack reduces the AP by the incoming damage points (disregard specials/criticals) |
| Chill of the Grave | DIVINE | 2 | All enemies within 10m are -2SR, -10% to hit, -2 damage |
| Corpse Explosion | DIVINE | 2 | Cast on any corpse within range; that corpse explodes for SIZ/6 d4's (round down) of damage to all adjacent hexes. MP vs caster's MP to resist for half damage. |
| Dark Certainty | DIVINE | 1* | stackable; for each point of Dark Certainty, +1% to target's 'Special' and 'Critical' success ranges with attacks (only) |
| Dark Command | DIVINE | 1 | Self only; Target must attack caster next round, or move to do so as best possible (not suicidally) |
| Deadly Strikes | DIVINE | 1* | Stackable; self-only. For each point of Deadly Strikes active, the character's attack rolls are -1% (ONLY for purposes of determining critical success) |
| Death and Decay I | DIVINE | 2 | Target single hex is blighted. Anyone in the hex at the end of the round takes 1d6 damage to their least-armored location. |
| Death and Decay II | DIVINE | 4 | Target 3-hex area is blighted, anyone in the hexes at the end of the round takes 1d6 damage to their least armored location. |
| Death and Decay III | DIVINE | 6 | Target 7-hex area is blighted, anyone in the hexes at the end of the round takes 1d6 damage to their least-armored location. Center hex only: roll of a 6 means roll again 1d6+5. |
| Death Coil I | DIVINE | 1 | target takes d2 damage per round (ignoring armor) as long as the caster succeeds in winning MPvMP checks |
| Death Coil II | DIVINE | 2 | target takes d3 damage per round (ignoring armor) as long as the caster succeeds in winning MPvMP checks |
| Death Coil III | DIVINE | 3 | target takes d4 damage per round (ignoring armor) as long as the caster succeeds in winning MPvMP checks, each roll of max damage costs caster 1hp (ignoring armor) as well |
| Death Coil VI | DIVINE | 6 | target takes d6 damage per round (ignoring armor) as long as the caster succeeds in winning MPvMP checks, each success costs caster 1 hp (ignoring armor) as well |
| Deathgate | DIVINE | 1 | transports the caster, gear, and allied spirit(s) to Place of Death, no range limit. |
| Desecration I-VI | DIVINE | 1-6 | Starting in the caster's hex, a field of desecrated ground spreads at one hex at the start of each round; within this desecration, all enemies spellcasting costs an extra +1d3mp, divine spellcasting adds +1d6 to the %cast roll per point of Desecration. When the spell reaches it's maximum range, it ends the end of the following round. The effect spreads from the original hex, regardless of subsequent movement of the caster. |
| Desolation | DIVINE | 2 | For the duration of the spell, each damaging attack on the target does +1 damage for each unhealed previous attack. |
| Dirge | DIVINE | 1 | A howling dirge plays in the background, all enemies within radius of the caster suffer -10% to hit, -1 damage, -1 MP to resist spells, and suffer +1 damage from any melee, ranged, or magic attack that specials or criticals. |
| Ebon Plague | DIVINE | 2 | Melee or ranged attacks that cause damage to the target for the duration of the spell also drain 1d6mp/attack. |
| Embrittle | DIVINE | 2 | Target's armor is chilled to a brittle state; any damage exceeding the AP of that location damages the armor 1:1. |
| Frigid Dreadplate | DIVINE | 4 | Target is surrounded by icy armor, allowing them an MPvMP to resist any critical strikes. A fumbled resist immediately cancels Frigid Dreadplate. |
| Frost Presence | DIVINE | 1* | stackable;self only; for each point of the spell (6 max) incoming weapon damage is reduced according to +1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d20. |
| Heart Strike | DIVINE | 2 | instant; self only; next successful attack will shift 1d6 points on location table toward target's heart location; reroll any damage dice that are less than half maximum, +1d6 damage (ignoring armor) per bleed and/or plague effect on target. |
| Howling Blast I-IV | DIVINE | 2+1 per lvl | caster fires blast of cold (cone shape, 1 hex, 2 hex, 3 hex, max 4 hex); enemies in zone take 1 point of cold damage per hit location per level (ignoring armor), are knocked prone (knocked back 1 hex on special, 1d3+1 hexes on crit), take 1d4 damage to a single hit location; each effect is resisted separately. |
| Hungering Cold | DIVINE | 3 | self only; all enemies within 10m of caster suffer Chains of Ice plus Frostbite effect |
| Hysteria | DIVINE | 4 | target may resist using CON at the end of each round, target gains half-again skill in attack skills, is at half-skill in any defense skills, and loses 1d3 body hp per round for spells duration (or until successfully resisted) |
| Icy Fortitude | DIVINE | 2 | self only; caster gains +10 effective CON for all resistances & heroic rolls; incoming attacks do -1 damage. |
| Icy Touch | DIVINE | 2 | cast on weapon or target, weapon (or target's natural weapon) attacks do +1d4 damage (cold), slow target's initiative by 1d4 SR (5min), and reduce their move by 1 (minimum 1) |
| Lich-born | DIVINE | 1 | target has +10 effective POW vs Mind-Control effects. |
| On a Pale Horse | DIVINE | 3 | For 24 hours, the caster's mount moves +10% faster. |
| Place of Death | DIVINE | 3 | non-reusable; ritual; with the death of a sentient, consecrates a spot as the destination for the Deathgate spell for that caster. Each caster may only have one Death Gate destination active (the most recently cast);dispellable |
| Vendetta | DIVINE | 2 | self only; any time caster kills a sentient target during spell, caster heals 1d3 hp. |
| Wandering Plague | DIVINE | 1 | Caster only, temporal; during the Wandering Plague, any Bleed/Plague/Frostbite effects applied by the caster on a target have a 1/3 chance to immediately spread with full effect to any adjacent enemy. |
| Will of the Necropolis | DIVINE | 1* | stackable; during the duration, any damage that would disable a limb or knock the target unconscious is reduced by 2 per point of WoN. |
| Blood Gorged | SPIRIT | 2 | as long as target is unharmed, target does +2 damage; if target is harmed, target takes +1 damage and effect ends |
| Blood Strike | SPIRIT | 2 | cast on a weapon; each hit by that weapon has a MPvMP chance of applying "Bleeding" effect to target for 20 rounds. For each Bleed effect currently on target at the end of the round, the target takes 1 hp general damage, ignoring armor. Any heal effect will cancel all Bleed effects immediately. ("Bleeding" targets are +20% to be tracked, per effect.) |
| Blood Vengeance | SPIRIT | 2 | self only; any time caster scores a critical attack or is the subject of a critical attack, +1d4 damage (cumulative) for the rest of the combat or spell's duration, whichever is shorter |
| Butchery | SPIRIT | 1* | stackable; each target you kill during the course of the spell grants you 1 mp per active level of butchery. |
| Chains of Ice | SPIRIT | 1(*) | reduce target's move to 0 until this time next round. Learned as 1 pt spell, but total points cast must => move rate of target. |
| Crypt Fever | SPIRIT | 2 | Melee attacks that cause damage to the target for the duration of the spell also drain 1mp. |
| Dark Conviction | SPIRIT | 1* | stackable; for each point of Dark Conviction, +1% to target's 'Special' success range with attacks (only) |
| Dark Glance | SPIRIT | 1 | Self only; MPvMP to cause target to attack caster with next series of attacks |
| Death Grip | SPIRIT | 2 | Caster SIZ v Target SIZ (4-footed creatures 2x effective SIZ, 6+ footed or slug-like creatures 3x effective SIZ) to pull target adjacent to caster (crit means target arrives prone). Failure by caster pulls caster to target (fumble means caster arrives prone). |
| Eye of Acherus | SPIRIT | 2 | Summons a sensate 'eye' with normal vision capability that moves at 1m/SR out to spell's range at command of caster. It is visible (Sneak is caster's POWx4, Hide is POWx3), but immune to damage; may be dispelled. |
| Forceful Deflection | SPIRIT | 1 | cast on a target; increases parry% by target's STR, increases AP by 1/2 STR |
| Fortification | SPIRIT | 1 | Target is immune to Bleed, Plague, or Frostbite; any existing effects are cancelled immediately. |
| Frost Touch | SPIRIT | 1 | cast on a weapon or target; increases weapon (or target's natural attacks) dmg by 1 (cold), MPvMP to reduce target's move by one OR slow their attack by 3 SR. Both effects last only through the target's next initiative. |
| Frostbite | SPIRIT | 1 | Frostbite starts at 1 point in a single location, increasing +1 per round until it overcomes armor in that location. Once it overcomes armor in that location, target takes 1 pt of damage in that location at the end of every round until they roll 1d20 below their CON (roll before damage is applied) |
| Impurity | SPIRIT | 1* | Stackable; self only, temporal. For each point of Impurity in effect, the caster's spells are +1 MP for overcoming target's resistance. |
| Mind Chill | SPIRIT | 1 | Sear the target's mind with cold, preventing spellcasting until after the target's next initiative. |
| Mind Freeze | SPIRIT | 2 | Sear the target's mind with cold, preventing spellcasting for 1d6 rounds (minus head armor, minimum 1). |
| Necrosis | SPIRIT | 1* | Stackable; self-only. When the caster causes a wound on a living target, that wound takes an extra point of damage at the end of each FOLLOWING round for as many rounds as extant points of Necrosis. |
| Obliterate | SPIRIT | 3 | cast on weapon, lasts duration or until next successful strike; adds +3 armor-ignoring damage, +3 per Bleed , Plague, Frostbite on target; all bleed/plague/frostbite effects are now cancelled. |
| Pestilence | SPIRIT | 3 | Cast on target with Bleeding, Plague, or Frostbite; for each point of B/P/F, there is a 25% chance that it will spread to any adjacent target; each spread is 1 "point" of B/P/F, special 2pts, crit 3 (never more than original victim) |
| Plague Strike | SPIRIT | 2 | cast on a weapon; each hit by that weapon has a MPvMP chance of applying "Plague" to target for 20 rounds. For each Plague currently on target, this weapon is +1 damage (ignores armor). Any healing (not 1st Aid) will remove Plague. |
| Rime | SPIRIT | 1 | Target is coated in rime ice, -1 SR, -5% to hit, -1 damage until they are hit for any damage. |
| Scourge Strike | SPIRIT | 4 | For the duration of the spell, the caster may spend 4mp to make any melee swing a Scourge Strike - the full damage of the attack applied to the target becomes a -% to all the target's chances of success for any purpose. |
| Strangulate | SPIRIT | 3 | Silences breathing target for 2d4 rounds (minus head armor, minimum 2) |
| Suppression | SPIRIT | 1* | Stackable; caster only, temporal; for each point of Suppression, caster deducts 1 pt of damage from any magic effects. |
| Unholy Blight | SPIRIT | 2 | Unholy blight prevents the curing of Bleed/Plague/Frostbite (UB would have to be dispelled or expire first), adds +1 to each Death Coil damage roll, and gives the target effectively -1 MP vs Death Coil attacks. |
| Vampiric Blood | SPIRIT | 2 | instant; all living beings (friends and foes) adjacent to target resist with CON; failure to resist means they lose 1d3 body hp. HALF (round up) the total lost hp determine the die rolled for healing gained by target (so 7 total lost hp would heal target 1d4) |
| Vicious Strikes | SPIRIT | 1* | Stackable; self-only. For each point of Vicious Strikes active, the character's attack rolls are -1% (ONLY for purposes of determining special success) |