What follows is a quick primer on OLD SKOOL GAMING and some ERRANT-SPECIFIC MECHANICS. It's the hint book in the back of the floppy disk box. They're primarily adapted from Arnold K's goblin punch blog and Patrick Wetmore's primer at the beginning of Anomalous Subsurface Environment with some Errant-specific things thrown in.
EXPLORATION
- Errant is a game of exploration. You gain XP for cash that you waste partying. Treasure is the primary source of cash and XP in old-school gaming.
- Treasure is found in dungeons. The best treasure is hidden and will require you to hunt for it. Ask questions. Open drawers. Look under mattresses. Make offerings on mysterious altars. Pry open the synthoid machine-husk and gut its valuable components.
- Dungeons are filled with traps, hazards, and obstacles. These serve to prompt creative problem solving. You aren't limited to what's on your character sheet - you can attempt anything remotely possible within the fictional space.
- Performing some actions may require succeeding on an attribute check. You pass these by rolling a d20 over a target number and equal to or below a relevant attribute score (think blackjack). Failing these can bring harm to your character.
- If there is no risk, there is no roll. Jumping across a chasm might require a physique check, but using a ladder succeeds automatically.
- There are a wide variety of tools available to aid exploration. 10' poles let you prod something potentially dangerous from a distance. Mirrors help you peek around corners. Spikes can hold a door open or closed.
- Light is your most valuable tool of all. It's a measure of how long you can spend in the dungeon. Stumbling around in the dark is a death sentence.
- Supply is used to restore your light sources, rations, and other equipment with a depletion value, like potions or ammunition. More supply = more exploration time.
- Old-school gaming is interested in the friction that comes from tracking encumbrance. You can carry a number of item slots equal to 10 or your PHYSIQUE score, whichever is higher (my house rule). If you're carrying more than that, you'll be at higher risk of encounters in the dungeon -- it's hard to move quietly when you're weighed down with all that gear. You'll have to make decisions about what to carry and what to leave behind.
- Retainers are a valuable resource. You can hire a porter to haul heavy treasures and carry the torches. Henchmen will explore and fight alongside you in dungeons in exchange for a share of the treasure. Mercenaries will accompany you on travels through the wilderness. Teamsters will handle your pack animals.
- Death is part of the game. Don't take it to heart. Roll up a new character, loot your old corpse, and get revenge.
COMBAT
- Combat is often quick and deadly. You can better your odds with a good plan or a crafty gambit. Use stealth, treachery, henchmen, and your environment to your advantage. A good maneuver will enhance your damage, allowing you to roll larger dice.
- Combat can often be avoided entirely. Remember: you earn XP for treasure you bring home, not critters you slay. Errant has a robust system for running negotiations. Find out what people want and give it to them, or convince them to see it your way. This can work with monsters, too.
- If the chips are down, you can always run for your life.
- Armor is like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Armor gives you blocks that you can spend to reroll incoming damage on a smaller sized die. If you reduce your opponent's die size all the way down to 1, you get to make a reaction in combat for free.
- Armor is also heavy and can take up multiple inventory slots. You can hire a porter to lug around all of your extra equipment.
- You can restore your spent blocks in the dungeon by using an armor repair kit.
- Resting for a night in a safe location lets you restore a roll of your damage die in HP. Occults restore their spells, too.
DOWNTIME
- Downtime Turns last a month in-game. In addition to healing up, shopping, socializing, and wasting your gold for XP, you can work towards your goals. These are like project clocks in Blades in the Dark. If you've done the legwork you can start a cult or a side gig, learn blood magic, look for a witch to cleanse you of your hexes, craft or tinker with your gear, build a road, do alchemy, etc. There's a big list of subsystems in the book and the base structure is pretty accommodating to most goals.
AND LASTLY
- If something doesn't make sense or seems unfair, let me know! I am super jazzed about dipping into the traditions of Old Skool Gaming but I really am still learning the ropes.
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