or many, HackMaster represents the ultimate fantasy role playing game. It takes the old school D&D and gives it a kick of nitrous-oxide. Its strengths come not only from the tongue in cheek humor that

permeates the books, but from the level of detail that permeates almost every aspect of the game. Unfortunately this strength is for some also its greatest weakness. Perhaps some people in your group are overwhelmed by the bookkeeping involved. Perhaps they’re new to role playing and HackMaster is simply too much too soon. Perhaps they prefer a simpler game. Perhaps one or more of your players simply refuses to play anything else. Perhaps all your players are nine years old. And yet the siren’s song of HackMaster calls to you. It calls your name during the hour of the wolf, tempting you with a system that is greater and nobler and more difficult than what you are used to. Never fear! For those of you who play d20, yet yearn for a taste of the Hack, there is a solution. Tremble with anticipation as we explore how to import some key flavor elements of HackMaster into d20, without making d20 any more complicated.

SOME GROUND RULESFirst of all, let me be perfectly clear on something. I’m basing this on the core books of D&D 3.5 ONLY. It is entirely possible that some elements about to be covered are covered elsewhere, such as Unearthed Arcana in the case of how to use Honor. Well whoop-dee-doo. That’s fine and dandy for them, but they didn’t invent their rules with a Hack mentality, did they? Secondly, the key to making this work is simplicity. Incorporating an approximately equivalent rule that is still compatible with d20’s simplicity. So I don’t want any whining and complaining from the veteran HackMasters out there about how such-and-such rule should have been imported exactly.

ATTITUDE HackMaster is more than just rules, it’s a mind set. So how to get into it? Well, if you read Knights of the Dinner Table, you know everything there is to know about HackMaster Attitude. If you are lucky enough to have HackMaster in your RPG collection, then it’s even easier to brush up. Sometimes people complain about HackMaster being a “joke.” The joke’s on them, I’m afraid. These cry babies might as well look at Indiana Jones shooting the master swordsman in the bazaar and

complain that Spielberg isn’t taking his movie seriously. The best adventures know when to play it straight and when to give the audience a wink.

LET THE DICE FALL “Let The Dice Fall Where They May.” Forget that “roll 4d6 and take the best 3” crap. That’s for wimps. You want to be a hero? You belly up to the table and earn it. Roll 3d6 and take what you get. Don’t worry, you’ll have a chance to boost your Attributes a bit later on… if you’re willing to pay the price.

KICKER AND HITPOINTS I love the Kicker. 1st level characters getting blown over by a sneeze just isn’t my thing. D20 tries to make up for this by having players start out with maximum hit points at 1st level, while everything in the Monster Manual has an “average” listing. I suggest instead a modest +10 Hit Point kicker to everyone and everything of Medium size or greater (+5 Hit Points to Small, +0 Hit Points to Tiny) Also, you should roll for your hit points right off the bat (no crying if you roll a 1, wimp).

PENETRATION Damage Penetration will help balance out the Kicker everyone just got. Whenever someone rolls max on a damage die (4 on 1d4, 6 on 1d6, etc) they get to roll again and add to it. If the next die roll is also maxed, they roll again, and so on. If they also got a Critical Hit, the damage multiplier applies only to the initial damage roll, not subsequent Penetration rolls. Penetration doesn’t just apply to direct combat, it applies to things like healing, number of creatures affected by a spell, etc…

COMELINESS “But, sir,” you whine pathetically, “isn’t Charisma already a measure of my attractiveness?” You wish. Sure Charisma has something to do with it, but are you telling me there’s no such thing as an ugly yet charming hero, or an attractive jackass? Do yourself a favor and add a new stat box under Charisma right now: COM aka Comeliness. Comeliness is rolled the same as every other stat. However, if you are allowing players to trade Attribute points in the time-honored two-for-one method; remember that Comeliness does NOT apply. Ever. What you roll is what you get. Once your final Attributes are determined, your Charisma modifier will then raise or lower your Comeliness Attribute. The Comeliness modifier is

only used when it comes to appearance-based first impressions. Charisma still applies when it comes to negotiations and long term assistance (beauty is only skin deep). This far superior method allows you to have a character whose looks and charm are not linked at the hip, yet still influence one another. After that a raising or lowering of one stat will raise or lower the other by the same amount. (Example. Quasimodo has rolled a CHA of 16 and a COM of 3 (poor guy). However, the +3 modifier for his Charisma raises Quasi’s Comeliness up to 6. Now Quasi only suffers a -2 modifier when talking to the ladies instead of -4. He’s still an ugly dude, but more Disney’s version rather than Lon Chaney’s. And once they get to know him, he’ll be taking them up to his bell tower to show them his hump in no time!)

HONORWhat would HackMaster be without Honor? Without the need to strive to stand head and shoulders above the common man and be seen by all as a true hero (or villain)? Honor is a measure of you being all you can be, and falls into the following categories: 1-5 – Dishonor: When you’re a dishonorable dog, people know. It sticks to you like stink on a monkey. Worst of all, you know it yourself, and that negative attitude gives you a -1 to all your dice rolls until you’re able to hold your head up high again. 6-15 – Average Honor: This is what most people have – it’s called average for a reason. When encountering monsters or NPCs, this is the range most of them will fall under. No penalties. No bonuses. 16-20 – Great Honor: If you are in this range you have proven to be a man (or woman) above men (or women). You walk tall and proud (even if you’re evil incarnate) and people know you’re a force to be reckoned with. All your dice rolls get a +1 bonus when you’re in this range. 21 and over – Too Much Honor: Now you’re just getting cocky. And you know how the gods are when it comes to hubris. If you’re in the Too Much Honor range, not only do you lose your +1 bonus, you’re begging your GM for lots and lots of trouble (i.e. monsters will choose to attack you over other players twice as often). Nobody likes a smartass. GAINING/LOSING HONOR Players start off with 10 Honor plus or minus your Charisma Bonus, and add to it at the end of a gaming session like experience points. The effects of the new Honor are immediate. Remember that Honor is a reflection of alignment, and is not a universal constant. A Lawful Good Cleric would probably lose Honor for being a

common criminal if he stole the Star Ruby from the rich merchant’s house, but a Chaotic Neutral Rogue would gain Honor for being a clever thief. Likewise destroying a village of helpless peasants would be wonderful for a Blackguard’s Honor, but would be quite the opposite for a Paladin. The GM must use his own discretion on how to award or deduct Honor, depending on how much bookkeeping they feel like doing. One option is to award or deduct Honor points for really big and noticeable events (defeating a foe in single combat, stealing the Star Ruby without setting off an alarm, tricking a dragon into leaving his lair forever, killing an unarmed stable boy “just because”). Naturally, some events might be worth more than one point. Another option is to keep ticks for all the little things the players do and awarding (boasting a victory at a pub) or deducting (being sassed by an NPC) a full point for every ten ticks. In this case big events would be worth several ticks. Staying in Great Honor is an ongoing battle. Every time you go up a level, your Honor is knocked down 5 points. So unless you’re over 20, you’re going to be Average again (or lower) and going to have to work your way back up. You cannot drop below 1 Honor. Examples: During an adventure the Lawful Good Joe Cocksure manages to save a barmaid from a burning tavern (+1) and defeated an Orc Captain single handed (+1). However, he also killed a bunch of small children in cold blood because “he looked at me funny” (–2) then later tried to weasel out of it by saying he thought they were doppelgangers. Tsk tsk. His net Honor gain is 0, and his alignment could very well be in trouble. Had Joe Cocksure been of Chaotic Evil Alignment, he would have received –1 for rescuing the barmaid (unless she paid him well or he took some other form of ‘compensation’), he still would have received +1 for defeating the Orc Captain, and would have received +2 for killing the innocent children, resulting in a net gain of +2 Honor. Sometimes it’s good to be bad. BURNING HONOR / HONOR PURGE Honor serves two other purposes that can potentially save your bacon. Burning Honor means you can spend 1 Honor point for a +1 bonus on a single combat or skill based roll. You can spend as many as you like on a roll as well (burn 3 Honor for a +3 bonus). An Honor Purge is a last ditch effort to save your worthless hide. You can use it to undo a disastrous event after the fact (for example, opening a chest that was booby-trapped and killed everyone in the room). You can also use it to ensure automatic success in a single action (making absolutely sure your arrow hits that tiny soft spot within the dragon’s scales). You must be in the Great Honor range in order to Purge, and doing so costs 15 Honor Points, which will put you into the Dishonor range. You can only Purge Honor once per level.

LEVEL TRAINING So you’re in the middle of a dungeon, two days from the nearest town and barely had a chance to rest. You’ve just fought off a hoard of scavenging Orcs and manage to take a break. “Hey guys! I finally figured out how to cast a fireball!” “And I can snatch arrows out of the air!” “Wow! I know how to blind-fight!” “And I just became twice as good at picking locks as I was ten minutes ago!” Sure, d20 “explains” this (what is commonly referred to as the “ping” effect) by saying that all the time before these guys were actually studying how to cast fireball, practicing catching arrows, studying how to fight in the dark and picking locks. Do you buy that? Neither do I. In terms of Attitude it just sucks. Players don’t think, “While we camp and Rudager takes first watch, I study up on stealth and lockpicking so I can improve my skill at a later date.” They think, “Hey, I’ve just reached a new level, what new things can I do now?” The best way to feed into this mentality is Training. Not the full-on HackMaster version of finding a school and paying for lessons, but something approximate. This is an alternative to the GMG’s optional rules on training (pg 197) which seem perfectly fine. When you have enough points to reach the next level of experience, you do NOT advance right away. Your attributes, skills, and combat abilities remain the same until such time as you can go out and train. When you have that time you have two choices: Self-Training and School Training. SELF TRAINING This is the default method of advancement. All you need is some alone time, two weeks plus a number of days equal to the level you are advancing to (e.g. to reach level 3 takes 17 days). The character will need to be somewhere appropriate for their studies, but this can be worked out between GM and Player as a matter of flavor text. When training is complete, you can add your new ranks and abilities as you see fit. SCHOOL TRAINING There isn’t a huge difference between Self Training and School Training other than the flavor text involved. However, finding yourself someone more experienced to train you is not without its benefits. It’ll cost ya (full level you are advancing to x 500gp) but it takes half the time. After all, your trainer knows exactly what to show you, instead of you fumbling around figuring things out for yourself. Plus, when your training is complete you can add two extra skill ranks as you see fit. Where else can you buy bonus skill ranks? Nowhere, that’s where!

LESS XP, LESS TREASURE “WHAT? ARE YOU MAD?!” you shout. I mean, as a player you WANT experience and treasure. You crave them. You NEED them. But d20 hands them out like they were M&Ms at a chocoholics’ convention. Advancing a level after every single adventure is NOT the HackMaster way. When was the last time you saw a hero who went up a level during the opening credits? There’s no sense of accomplishment there. You haven’t earned anything. You just had your rich uncle slip you a wad of bills, pay for your college degree and give you a new Jag. Be a man (or woman) and work for your swag! The solution to this is simple. Hand out HALF the usual experience and HALF the usual treasure, rounding up as you see fit. Always. Remember this when dealing with both modules and rolling on charts. You’ll soon see your players appreciate levelling up even more, and will actually bother to keep track of their loot.

ARMOR HIT POINTS Why sure you just fought off a dozen palace guards, fending off dozens of thrusts and slashes, but all your armor and shield needs is a good polish and it’s good as new, right? Wrong! The more it gets hit, the weaker it gets. Each time it saves your bacon is one less time it can do so. So here’s the rule: Your armor can take as many hits equal to its AC (including magic bonus) before it’s reduced by 1 point of AC effectiveness. Thus, your +1 leather armor (AC 3) can be hit three times before it’s AC 2, then two more times before it’s AC 1, then one more time before it’s just so many ribbons (though at each stage it is still considered a “+1” magical item). Your armor is considered hit if the armor is what was responsible for you not taking damage. Your shield works in a similar way, but can take twice as many hits as its AC. Thus a small +1 shield (AC 2) can take four hits before being reduced to AC 1, and two more hits before being rendered useless. Furthermore, when it comes to a “near miss”, it’s assumed the shield takes the hit before the armor. For example, let’s say you have someone wearing +1 leather armor and a small +1 regular shield. Your Armor Class would be: AC 18 = +2 (Shield) +3 (Armor) +1 (Ring) +2 (Dex) +10 (Base) Therefore, an attack roll of 18 or 17 would have hit the shield, while a roll of 14, 15 or 16 would have hit the armor. The Ring of Protection and Dexterity bonus do not matter. HAVING ARMOR REPAIRED To repair non-metal armor such as leather or studded leather, you need to go to the appropriate craftsman, who will generally charge 5gp for every “hit”

repaired. For metal armor you need to go to a blacksmith or armorer who will charge 10gp for every “hit” repaired. Double the costs if the armor is magic. Assume the same cost multipliers as buying armor in the Players Handbook when it comes to different sized armor and non-humanoid armor. Shield repairs cost 1/2. It is assumed in d20 that the magic enchantment on any armor makes it more difficult to repair, but does not require any special magic, as the enchantment spell will incorporate new material up to its original mass and shape. So, if your fighter was wearing Full Plate that was hacked into scrap metal, barely clinging to usefulness with an AC of 1 (able to take 1 more hit before totally useless), that means it took 35 hits (8+7+6+5+4+3+2), and would cost 350 gold to fix (35x5). Cheaper than a new 1500gp suit of armor! You’ll noticed that leather or studded leather with only 1 hit remaining would cost the same to replace as to repair it, and that most shields are cheaper to replace if too damaged. Nothing wrong with that, these things are mass-produced. How many shirts have you thrown out rather than bother patching? Of course if it’s magic armor it would always be worth repairing. REAPAIRING ARMOR YOURSELF If you wish to skip the middleman, and have the Craft: Armorsmithing skill you can repair your armor or shield yourself. The difficulty to do so is DC 10 + the number of hits your armor has taken. This cannot be done during combat, and you can Take 20 on your roll. You must have the proper raw materials (leather and/or metal) and smithing tools available in order to affect repairs. The cost in materials is 5gp for every “hit” repaired for metal armor, and 2gp for every “hit” repaired for leather armor. Magic armor doesn’t cost more, but does take twice as long to repair. You can also do a “patch job” in which the DC, cost, and times are halved. The armor looks shoddier (looks like patchwork) and takes 2 hits instead of 1 for every blow it receives.

PRIORS & PARTICULARS Let’s face it. D20 player characters might as well have been made with a cookie cutter. Even if you take the time to write an in depth back story to your character, the only thing people are going to see are a bunch of dull stats. One of the things HackMaster adds is the Priors and Particulars, which not only determines what your background is, but gives you bonuses or penalties based on it. After all, the circumstances of your upbringing should have an affect on how you ultimately turned out. They might end up affecting how much money you have, your starting honor, or even give you a couple of extra skills. To begin with, use the Player’s Handbook to determine your starting age, effects of age, height and weight as per usual (pg.109). After that, things get interesting…

Handedness (roll 1d10) 1 – Left handed 2 – Ambidextrous (no off hand penalty) 3-10 – Right Handed Modifiers: All Elves are ambidextrous, Dwarves, Gnomes, and players with a DEX of 16 or higher are ambidextrous on a roll of 2 or 3 Social Class Table (roll 1d10) 1 or less – Slave Class – Slaves, indentured servants, beggars, prisoners (-4 Honor, -6 Starting Gold) 2-3 – Lower Class – Freemen, laborers, thieves (-2 Honor, -3 Starting Gold) 3-8 – Middle Class – Artisans, merchants, officers, fighters (+0 Honor, +0 Starting Gold) 9-10+ – Upper Class – Officials, nobles, magic users, clerics (+2 Honor, +3 Starting Gold) Modifiers: Elves +2, Drow -3, Grel -3, Gnomes +1, Gnomelings -1, Halflings -2, Half Orcs -4, Half Ogres -4. Note this is how they are viewed within Human society, not their own society. Halflings don’t have slaves for example (well, most don’t) Circumstances of Birth (roll 1d10) 1-9 – Legitimate 10+ – Illegitimate (-2 Honor, Player determines nature of illegitimacy) Modifiers: Half Elf, Grunge Elf, Pixie Fairie +1, Half Orc+2, Half Ogre+3 Parent Status (roll 1d10 for each) 1-8 – Alive 9 – Dead (roll 1d10: 1-3 means you had a step-parent, roll for stepparent) 10 – Orphan (don’t roll for other parent, divide Starting Money by half) Quality of Parent (roll 1d10 for each) 1-6 – Loving Parent (+2 Skill Points) 7-8 – Ill-Equipped Parent 9 – Indifferent Parent (roll for Minor Quirk below) 10+ – Abusive Parent (roll for Major Quirk below) Modifiers: Orphan +2, Illegitimate +3 Family Honor (roll 1d10) 1 – Dishonorable (-1 Honor) 2-4 – No Honor (no Modifier) 5-8 – Honorable (+1 Honor) 9-10 – Great Honor (+2 Honor) Number of Siblings (roll 1d10) 1-9 – is the number of siblings you have. 0 – you’re an only child. (+3 Starting Gold) Roll for each sibling twice: 1-5 boy, 6-10 girl. 1-8 still alive, 9-10 dead. Order of Birth (as applicable) (roll 1d10) 1-2 – First Born (+2 Staring Gold) 2-4 – Second Born (+1 Starting Gold) 5-6 – Middle Child (+0 Starting Gold, roll for one Minor Quirk below) 7-8 – Second to Last Born (-1 Starting Gold) 9-10 – Last Born (-2 Starting Gold)

Starting Gold Roll as per the Random Starting Gold chart in Player’s Handbook (pg.111) but add to the roll a number equal to the modifier acquired during rolling. Therefore a fighter who gets +3 in the rolls above would roll (6d4+3)x10 for Starting Money. Rerolling The Crap You Got What’s that? You don’t want to be a bastard slave whose parents hated you? Baby want a reroll? Go ahead, but each time you do it’ll cost you 1 Point which you’ll have to make up for (see Quirks and Flaws below).

QUIRKS AND FLAWS Quirks and Flaws are chosen during character creation. These are permanent for your character and cannot be removed easily by magical means or otherwise. Your GM may let you remove them eventually if you earn it, but will smack you down if you take a bunch then try to buy them off at Bob’s Discount Regeneration Hut right off the bat. Like HackMaster, you can either “cherry-pick” two Minor and one Major, or randomly roll for up to 9 of them (which proves the player is insane and will soon be dead). Reroll any duplicate results. If you have the HackMaster Player’s Handbook, feel free to use the charts there and to find the full descriptions of these quirks and flaws. Otherwise,

use the simplified version below, and the GM can use his discretion for definitions and repercussions. Taking Quirks and Flaws gains you a number of Points which can then be used to purchase Skills, Attributes and even Feats. Use the following chart for cashing in Points: 1 Point = 1 Skill Point 2 Points = 1 Attribute Point 4 Points = 1 Feat Points can also be saved in order to purchase Packages (see below). Remember: Quirks and Flaws are NOT just about rules that handicap you in some way. They are character traits that should be played up and embraced. A Player who stays true to their Quirks and Flaws, even to their own detriment, should be rewarded by the GM. Those who try to take them for easy points then not play in character shall feel the GM’s wrath! Finally, all Quirks and Flaws must meet with GM approval. Unless your GM allows you to do otherwise, you cannot take the same Quirk or Flaw twice. Taking “Loss of Eye” twice, for example, is the same as being blind, and if you’re missing five fingers on the same hand the effect would be the same as an arm amputation anyway.

FLAWS Roll 1d20 1-7 Flaw – Minor 8-10 Flaw – Major . 11-17 Quirk – Minor 18-20 Quirk – Major . FLAWS – MINOR (worth 1 Point if picked, 2 Points if rolled) Roll 1d20

1 – Animal Antipathy (This animal type simply hates the Player. Roll 1d10: 1-horse, 2-dog, 3-cat, 4-bird, 5-insect, 6-fish, 7-bat, 8-snake, 9-ape, 10-GM Choice) 2 – Color Blind (cannot distinguish colors) . 3 – Lisp (-1 Charisma) 4 – Hearing Impaired (-2 Listen) . 5 – Asthmatic (Constitution check after heavy activity such as running or fighting, DC 10. Failure results in -5 Fortitude saves for 1d6 minutes – wheeze!) 6 – Anosmia (No sense of taste or smell) . 7 – Tone Deaf (Cannot sing/play instrument) 8 – Far Sighted (-1 to melee attacks) . 9 – Near Sighted (-1 per range increment to ranged attacks) 10 – Flatulent (-1 Charisma) . 11 – Loss of ear (-1 Comeliness) 12 – Loss of eye/blind in one eye (-1 to hit on all attacks, no depth perception) . 13 – Missing Finger(s) (Increases chance of a Fumble from 1 to 1-2. See Fumbles below for fumble rules) 14 – Facial scar (-2 Comeliness) . 15 – Sound sleeper (won’t wake up from sleep unless they take a point of damage) 16 – Nervous tick (-1 with ranged weapons) . 17 – Sleep Chatter (talks in sleep) 18 – Stutter (10% Spell Failure for any spell with verbal component, -1 Charisma) . 19 – Strange Body Odor (-1 Charisma) 20 – Male Pattern Baldness (-1 Comeliness) .

FLAWS – MAJOR (worth 2 Points if picked, 4 Points if rolled) Roll 1d10 1 – Accident Prone (any roll of 1 or 2 – combat or otherwise – results in a mishap, or increases chance of fumble by 2 if using other Fumble rules) 2 – Amputee, Arm (cannot use 2 handed weapons, shield, bows, juggle, etc…) . 3 – Amputee, Leg (need to use a peg-leg. Speed reduced by 5) 4 – Blind (-4 to hit at all times, but immune to visual effects (eg dancing lights) . 5 – Deaf (cannot Listen, but immune to sonic effects (eg sonic stun) 6 – Haemophiliac (once hit in combat, loses 1 extra hit point per round until combat is over. Heal skill, , spells and potions are half as effective) . 7 – Low Threshold of Pain (total cry-baby to pain, cannot resist torture, knocked out if they lose 1/2 their hit points in one blow) 8 – Mute (obviously can’t do anything involving speaking) . 9 – Narcolepsy (falls asleep on a roll of 1 in any situation. ANY situation. Must be shaken awake.) 10 – Sleep Walker (obviously the GM can have fun with this) . QUIRKS – MINOR (worth 1 Point if picked, 2 Points if rolled) Roll 1d20 1 – Absent Minded (Concentration is always a Cross-class skill, cannot “take 20” on any skill checks) 2 – Acrophobic (Afraid of heights. Make Will save DC 10 + Character Level to be more than 10 feet off the ground, otherwise -2 to all rolls. Refuses to fly.) . 3 – Agoraphobic (Afraid of open spaces. Make Will save DC 10 + Character Level to enter wide open spaces or suffer -2 to all rolls. Roll each day.) 4 – Alcoholic (roll 1d20 after each and every drink. 8 or higher means you must have another drink.) . 5 – Animal Phobia (Player will flee from this animal type. Roll 1d10: 1-horse, 2-dog, 3-cat, 4-bird, 5-insect, 6-fish, 7-rodent, 8-snake, 9-worm, 10-cattle) 6 – Claustrophobia (Afraid of small, enclosed spaces. Make Will save DC 10 + Character Level to enter such spaces, or suffer -2 to all rolls. Roll each day.) . 7 – Chronic Liar (Cannot tell the truth from a lie. Lies about everything, even things that don’t matter.) 8 – Clingy (GM determines who player is “clingy” to. Will keep that person in sight at all times, try to . please them, ask them how they feel, etc...) . 9 – Glutton (Must buy twice as many rations as other characters.) 10 – Greedy (Will do anything to accumulate more wealth, including stealing from friends) . 11 – Gullible (-1 to Saves vs. Enchantment/Charm spells, -2 to Sense Motive.) 12 – Jerk (-1 Charisma) . 13 – Loud Boor (-1 Gather Information and Diplomacy skill checks.) 14 – Misguided (Has “good intentions”, but very poor judgement) . 15 – Inappropriate Sense of Humor (makes bad and/or insulting jokes at worst possible times) 16 – Kleptomaniac (Compelled to steal. Every day the character must steal at least one random item.) 17 – Obsessive/Compulsive (GM chooses. Either obsessed with something or compelled to do something, such as cleanliness, counting, horses, money, etc…) 18 – Paranoid (do not trust anyone, including other players, -2 Diplomacy ) . 19 – Socially Awkward (-1 to Diplomacy and Gather Information skills.) 20 – Temper (-4 to Diplomacy skill checks. Gets in lots of bar brawls.) . QUIRKS - MAJOR (worth 2 Points if picked, 4 Points if rolled) Roll 1d10 1 – Delusional (GM’s choice. Character believes something that is utterly false, such as he is invisible, or he can fly, or he can tame monsters, or he is royalty, etc…) 2 – Depression (30% chance of Depression each day. -1 to all rolls when depressed.) . 3 – Enmity towards Class (Player hates people of this class and will seek to harm them. Roll 1d10: 1-Barbarian, 2-Bard, 3-Cleric, 4-Druid, 5-Fighter, 6-Monk, 7-Ranger, 8-Rogue, 9-Wizard/Sorcerer, 10-GM’s Choice) 4 – Enmity towards Monster (GM determines monster type. Character must attempt to harm monsters . of this type. This is a general type of monster race, such as Orcs or Dragons, and includes all variations. 5 – Enmity towards Race (Player hates this race and will seek to harm them. Roll 1d10: 1-Dwarf, 2-Elf, 3-Gnome, 4-Gnomeling, 5-Half-elf, 6-Halfling, 7-Half-orc, 8-Half-ogre, 9-Pixie Fairy, 10-Human) 6 – HackLust (every critical hit the player deals results in bloodlust. MUST inflict damage equal to three . times the damage the critical hit dealt, even friendly targets if no enemies are around!) . 7 – Pyromaniac (Will save DC 10 + Character Level every day. Failure means character must start a significant fire. What is a significant fire is between the Player and the GM) 8 – Multiple Personalities (GM determines other personality. In stressful situations, must make a Will save DC 10 + Character Level or other personality will emerge) . 9 – Truthful (Cannot tell a lie, ever. Will Save DC 10+ Character Level not to answer direct questions.) 10 – Wuss of Heart (Must make a Will save DC 10 + Character Level to enter melee combat, and must . roll again each time he is hurt or flee.) .

THE LEARNED BARD The Bard in D&D 3.5 isn’t bad… but it sure as hell ain’t HackMaster. Using Charisma based magic ("bringing forth magic from his soul") turns the 3.5 Bard into either a Sorcerer who can't cut the mustard, or a musician who somehow taps into the Led Zeppelin Material Plane as a source of power. The very idea of him actually studying and learning magic has all but been removed. It kills the academic flavor of the Bard in favor of a flashy jumpsuit with sequins. The Rockerboy of D&D. This is what I call a "Gifted Bard." This is NOT what the Bard was meant to be. The Bard is an intelligent jack of all trades, a learned person who doesn't have the patience to sit behind a desk. The MacGyver of D&D. HackMaster Bards don’t simply "tap into" the Led Zeppelin Material Plane. Instead, Learned Bards have gone the more difficult but rewarding route of learning magic "the hard way". Adventures: There is no point in doing a complete re-write of the Bard template from the Player’s Handbook, since much of the information remains the same. Bards of either school (Learned or Gifted) seek adventure, knowledge, the unknown and great deeds to sing or tell others about in epic poetry. Characteristics: Unlike a Gifted Bard, the Learned Bard must learn his magic from a book, though his wily improvisational mind does allow him to take a couple of shortcuts. Thus he has a much wider range of spells available to him (up to 6th level), and can wear light armor. However, he cannot cast as many spells as his Gifted cousin. In addition to spells, the Learned Bard can also use music, ballads, and poetry to great effect, to encourage allies or manipulate people. However, the strength of this power differs from the Gifted

Bard. Of course, the Learned Bard is equally adept at gleaning general information as his Gifted cousin. Alignment: Like their Gifted cousins, Learned Bards are not usually compatible with a Lawful alignment. However, their diligent study and focused academic nature magically tends to pull them away from being Chaotic as well. This means the majority of Learned Bards are of a Neutral Alignment (Good, Evil, or True). Background: While Gifted Bards pass on their skills to others who have "the Gift", Learned Bards often struggle up from their bootstraps. They refuse to take "No" for an answer. They pester the local mage until he teaches them a few tricks, follow the local men-at-arms to pick up some pointers about fighting, sing and con their way in taverns to make ends meet, while sneaking into the local library late at night and reading in the Restricted Section. As a result Learned Bards tend to look at their Gifted cousins as snobs who "had it easy". While some Learned Bards have been admitted to the informal Bardic "colleges" and have gained renown, more often than not they are outsiders, even among other Bards. Most Learned Bards are just fine with this arrangement. Races: Like the Gifted Bard, this profession primarily attracts humans, elves and half-elves. Gnomes, with their innate magic and more chaotic nature, rarely take up the Learned path. Though dwarves do not have any Bardic traditions of the Gifted nature, they do have a number of Learned Bards. Men and women who can remember dwarven ancestors to the fiftieth generation, who pass on ancient legends from one village to another, as well as adding their own exploits into the mix. Other Classes: Bards of any type work well in a group, and can help fill in any gaps that might be present in an adventuring team.

Table 1 - The Learned Bard Base Attack Fort Ref Will Special _ Spells per Day _ Level Bonus Save Save Save 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Bardic Music, Inspire Courage +1 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Countersong, Fascinate 2 _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 3 0 _ _ _ _ _ 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Inspire Competence 3 1 _ _ _ _ _ 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 3 2 0 _ _ _ _ 6 +4 +2 +5 +5 3 3 1 _ _ _ _ 7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Suggestion 3 3 2 _ _ _ _ 8 +6/+1 +2 +6 +6 Inspire Courage +2 3 3 2 0 _ _ _ 9 +6/+1 +3 +6 +6 3 3 3 1 _ _ _ 10 +7/+2 +3 +7 +7 Inspire Greatness 3 3 3 2 0 _ _ 11 +8/+3 +3 +7 +7 3 3 3 2 1 _ _ 12 +9/+4 +4 +8 +8 3 3 3 3 2 _ _ 13 +9/+4 +4 +8 +8 Song of Freedom 3 3 3 3 2 0 _ 14 +10/+5 +4 +9 +9 Inspire Courage +3 3 3 3 3 3 1 _ 15 +11/+6/+1 +5 +9 +9 3 3 3 3 3 2 _ 16 +12/+7/+2 +5 +10 +10 Inspire Heroics 3 3 3 3 3 2 0 17 +12/+7/+2 +5 +10 +10 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 18 +13/+8/+3 +6 +11 +11 Mass Suggestion 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 19 +14/+9/+4 +6 +11 +11 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20 +15/+10/+5 +6 +12 +12 Inspire Courage +4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

GAME RULE INFORMATION Learned Bards have the following game statistics. Abilities: Intelligence determines how powerful a spell a Learned Bard can cast, how many spells he can cast per day, and hard those spells are to resist. Charisma is also very important since it directly influences the Bard Song. As always, a high Dexterity is useful. Alignment: Usually Neutral (Good, Evil, True) Hit Die: d6 CLASS SKILLS The Learned Bard uses the Gifted Bard Skill List. However, it should be noted that the Learned Bard's access to Wizard spells means they no long have access to any of the Healing spells a Gifted Bard has. Most Learned Bards, knowing this limit, have spent plenty of time helping out at the local Healer's Hut, watching them use old fashioned remedies. Thus, they also have access to Heal as a Class Skill. Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4 Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier CLASS FEATURES Weapon And Armor Proficiencies: Same as the Gifted Bard: Because of their ability to cut a few corners and simplify things with magic (such as somatic components), light armor incurs no arcane spell failure penalty. However, medium or heavier armor and shields incur the usual penalties. Weapons are the same as a Gifted Bard: simple weapons plus long sword, short sword, rapier, short bow, sap and whip. Spells: Unlike the Gifted Bard, which must rely on the Bard Spell List, a Learned Bard learns the same kind of spells as a Wizard, up to 6th level. To learn or cast a spell, a Learned Bard must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (Int 10 for 0 level spells, Int 16 for 6th level spells). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Learned Bard's spell is 10 + the spell level + the Intelligence modifier. Like all other spell casters, a Learned Bard can cast only a certain number of spells per day (less than a Wizard), and receives bonus spells based on a high Intelligence score. Like a Wizard, the Learned Bard must prepare and memorize their spells beforehand. Unlike the Gifted Bard they are limited only by the number of spells they carry in their spellbook. While the level of their casting progression starts off slower than a Gifted Bard, in later levels they do catch up (though never in regards to the number of spells they can cast) Spell limitations: Though they can learn the same kinds of spells, Learned Bards do not have the time or focus to learn ALL kinds of wizard spells. Thus, they are limited to four of the eight schools (or spheres) of Wizardry. The Learned Bard, however, gets to choose which schools to learn from. This is reflective of their individual nature, and how they usually chose their own course of instruction rather than being taught by a single master. These schools

are fixed from the onset and do not change. In theory you could take two different Learned Bard types and alternate each level (and thus have access to all schools of magic), but this would SEVERELY limit spell casting abilities (at 10th level you'd still only have 2nd level spells!). For example, an Evil Bard might take Necromancy, Enchantment, Conjuration, and Transmutation (and raise an army of the dead, turn a crowd into an angry mob to do his bidding, summon monsters and change their shape and form in battle), while a Good Bard might prefer Abjuration, Divination, Evocation and Illusion. Both types of Bards, however, use scrolls from ANY school, not just the ones they are trained with. The starting spellbook of a Learned Bard consists of four 0-level cantrips, chosen from the Wizard Spells section from among their chosen schools. All others must be acquired the same way as a Wizard. Special Feat: In exchange for a Feat, the Learned Bard can also choose to have the ability to Summon a Familiar the same way as a Wizard. (which can come in quite handy for con games, stealing keys to prison doors, etc...). See the D&D Players Handbook for details. Bardic Knowledge: This works exactly the same as for a Gifted Bard, and is gained at first level. Bardic Music: One of the downsides of the Learned Bard is that they can be called "late bloomers". While they have access to the same benefits, most of these benefits occur at a slower rate. Thus, while at first level a Bard automatically has access to Bardic Music and can Inspire Courage, they cannot use Countersong or Fascinate until level 2. Such is the price of focusing more on academic studies than tuning your lute. The effects, durations, and minimum Perform requirements remain the same as the Gifted Bard. HUMAN LEARNED BARD STARTING PACKAGE Armor: Studded Leather (+3AC, armor check penalty -1, arcane spell failure chance n/a, speed 30 ft, 10 lbs) Weapons: Rapier (1d6, crit 18-20/x2, 2 lbs) Short Bow (1d6, crit x3, rng 60 ft, 2 lbs, piercing) Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 7+Int modifier. Skill Ranks Ability A.C.P. Perform (choose type) 4 Cha _ Spellcraft 4 Int _ Use Magic Device 4 Cha _ Gather Information 4 Cha _ Heal 4 Wis _ Listen 4 Wis _ Decipher Script 4 Int _ Diplomacy 4 Cha _ Knowledge (any) 4 Int _ Bluff 4 Cha _ Sense Motive 4 Wis _ Search 2 Int _

Feat: If Dex is over 13, Dodge. If Dex is under 13, Investigator Bonus Feat: Familiar Spellbook: Acid Splash, Light, Read Magic, Detect Magic Spell Schools: Conjuration, Divination, Evocation, Illusion Gear: Backpack with waterskin, one day's trail rations, bedroll, sack, flint and steel. Three torches. Quiver with 20 arrows. Musical Instrument of your choice. Spell component pouch. Gold: 2d4 gp

OTHER OPTIONS This booklet is not about converting 3.5 D&D to HackMaster. It simply can’t be done. This is about adding some of the attitude, flavour, challenge and reward of the HackMaster system. To keep things simple, just use the options as listed above… Of course, some people just can’t leave well enough alone. So here are some suggestions for other HackMaster elements: DITCH THE PRESTIGE CLASSES Prestige classes? Come on! A 10th Level Half-Dragon Celestial Dwarf Monk that can make 16 attacks per turn? Yes, this actually IS possible in 3.5. If I might quote from the great Bard Rudager…

WHAT THE HELL KIND OF CRACK ARE YOU ON, ANYWAY?

And people call HackMaster a joke? For the love of God do yourself a favour and just pretend the Prestige Classes are a bad dream. Forget about them! If you can’t munchkin the hell out of the regular classes, you just aren’t trying! Consider using the Packages described later on to add variety and flavour instead. Okay, maybe they’re not ALL bad, but I would severely restrict access to it. It’s the GM’s responsibility to prevent their world from just getting plain silly. If you absolutely HAVE to have Prestige Classes, make Training under a teacher mandatory, and double the time and costs involved (yes that includes a Dragon Disciple. Even they need an Obi-Wan to get them in touch with their dragony heritage). OTHER PLAYER RACES Granted, the Monster Manual in 3.5 allows for many monsters that can be played as player characters. HackMaster, however, believes that Minotaur or Rakshasas characters and the like are pretty much an abomination unto the universe. Think very carefully before allowing your players to play any of them. Better yet, hit them with something big and heavy for suggesting it. However, there are races accessible in HackMaster that you might want to use in your game. These are the Gnomeling, the Half-Ogre, and

the Pixie Fairy. They also allow Drow and Grunge elf variants into the mix. Gnomeling: A shy and sterile cross breed of the Gnome and Halfling. Use the Gnome rules in the Player Handbook, but also add +1 Dexterity, -1 Wisdom. +1 to any thrown weapons. Only has a +1 bonus vs. illusions and there is no bonus to the DC of a saving throw for an illusion cast by a Gnomeling. Favored Class: Rogue. Half-Ogre: Use the Monster Manual rules on playing an Ogre, and half all of the bonuses and penalties (round down). Still considered a Large creature. Favored Class: Barbarian. Pixie Fairy: Use the Monster Manual rules for Sprite (Pixie). No changes. Favored Class: Sorcerer. Elf (Drow): Use the Monster Manual rules for Drow. No changes. Favored Class: Wizard (female) Fighter (male). Grunge Elf (Grel): Nomadic, vicious (usually evil) wild elves. Live for fighting and wandering. Use the Monster Manual rules for a Wild Elf and add +1 to Survival, +1 Search, +1 Move Silently, and a whole lot of attitude. Favored Class: Barbarian or Ranger. RACE RESTRICTED CLASSES Not everyone is cool with the idea of a Dwarf Paladin, or Half Orc Wizard. For those who feel this way, I’d suggest restricting it in the following way: Dwarf: Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard Elf: Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard Elf (Grunge): Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard Elf (Drow): Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer Gnome: Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer Gnomeling: Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer Half-Elf: Barbarian, Bard., Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard Halfling: Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Rogue Half-Orc: Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue Half-Ogre: Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue Human: ALL Pixie Fairy: Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard There should be NO limits on experience level or multi-classing, however, other than the experience point penalty as already outlined in the Players Handbook for various races. Otherwise, this would conflict too much with the inherent design balance in d20. SIZE KICKER OPTION Add 5 points from the Kicker for each scale of size greater than Medium (15 for Large, 20 for Huge, etc…) As of yet HackMaster doesn’t do this, so you don’t have to either.

GOD OATHS A bit of HackMaster flavour here that you and your players might find useful. In HackMaster they’re called Gawds, but we might as well be consistent for d20’s setting. A God Oath is a solemn vow. If in any way that Oath is broken, the person who took it loses one full Experience Level. This can be rather severe to players, and is really annoying to have to figure out how to undo all the skill points, feats, and other bonuses you might have. Thus it will certainly ensure that whoever makes such an oath won’t try to weasel their way out of it. CALLED SHOTS Okay, surely you must be sick of only hitting the torsos on your enemies. Maybe you want to chop an arm off just for kicks. Or maybe you actually have a good reason to. Hey, whatever floats your boat. A called shot to an arm or leg requires a -4 to hit. A called shot to the head, hands, or feet is -8. If you succeed, roll damage normally. If you do damage equal to one half (50%) of the target’s full Hit Points, that limb (or head) is severed, crushed, or mangled beyond use. The damage done to the creature’s actual Hit Points, however, is halved. Example: A creature has 40 Hit Points when uninjured. A blow to the right arm does 20 points of damage. The arm is severed. His actual Hit Point total, however, is only reduced by 10. Excess damage is ignored, the maximum you can do is what is required to destroy the limb (or head). Example: The next blow to his left arm does 35 points of damage. The arm is severed. However, since it only takes 20 points to destroy the arm, his actual Hit Point total is still only reduced by 10, and people will have to start calling him Stumpy. In the case of hands or feet these values are one quarter (25% rounding up), and count towards the amount needed to destroy the arm or leg. Example: For the same creature it will only take 10 points of damage to sever the foot, but only 2.5 (3) points apply to actual HP loss. Another 17 points to the leg will render it useless. Stumpy’s self-esteem is unlikely to ever recover, however. A Called Shot to the head, neck or heart is NOT the same as a Critical Hit to those areas (see below). CRITICAL HITS AND SEVERITY In HackMaster, not all Crits are created equal. When you get that sweet sweet Crit you want to know exactly what kind of damage you do, right down to the sinew snapping. That’s why in HackMaster you determine just how severe your critical hit is, and exactly where it hits. Well, since you’re playing d20 you’re probably expecting something simpler. But there’s no reason you can’t at least add a bit of color (mostly red) to the mix. When you roll a Critical Hit, use the table below to determine location and any additional effects. Rules regarding limb and head damage remain the same as Called Shots. For Critical Hits, however, excess damage can be carried up towards

the torso. For example, excess damage to a severed foot can apply to the leg, and excess damage to a severed arm can go to the torso. Some hit locations are more critical than others. Therefore hits to the heart, neck, and head add to the critical damage multiplier. CRITICAL HIT LOCATION roll 1d20 20 – Head (+1 to crit multiplier) 19 – Neck (+1 to crit multiplier) . 18 – Heart area (+1 to crit multiplier) 13-17 – Upper Torso . 11-12 – Arm (50% chance left or right - if weapon arm Fort check DC 10 to keep holding weapon) 10 – Hand (50% left or right - if weapon hand and unguarded Fort check DC 15 to keep holding weapon) . 5-9 – Lower Torso 4 – Groin (Stun 1d4 rounds, automatic fall down). 2-3 – Leg (50% left or right – Fort check DC 10 or fall down) 1 – Foot (50% left or right - Fort check DC 15 or fall down) .

NEW FEAT: DIRECTED CRITICAL This Feat allows you to better direct where your critical hits land. Benefit: Each time this Feat is taken, the Player can increase or decrease the result of their Critical Hit Location roll by up to 4. This can, for example, make a Foot or Hand hit into a Torso hit. Unlike the Improved Critical Feat, this applies to all weapons.

FUMBLES Hey, it ain’t all gravy in HackMaster. People screw up. Weapons drop, muscles are sprained, friends are accidentally impaled against walls. Whenever you roll a natural 1, something bad has happened. Might not be major, might be catastrophic. It all depends on a roll of the dice. FUMBLE CHART roll 1d20 1-2 – Lose Weapon: Weapon falls 1d4 feet away 3-4 – Lose Weapon: Weapon falls 5+1d6 feet away.. 5-10 – Injure Self 5-6 – Twist (-2 DEX for 1d4 Hours) 7-8 – Sprain (-1 To Hit for 1d4 Hours) 9-10 – Pulled Muscle (-2 STR for 1d4 Hours) 11-13 – Weapon Damaged .W 11-12 – Damaged (-1 to Hit until repaired) .. 13 – Broken (Weapon gets save roll if magic) ) 14 – Equipment Mishap – some piece of equipment (knapsack, helm strap, belt, etc) breaks and gets in the way. -1 to hit until combat ends or the item is removed (which takes 1 action). 15-16 – Hindrance – Blood or sweat in character’s eyes, -2 to hit for next 2 rounds. s 17-18 – Clumsiness – Due to character’s clumsiness, opponent gets +2 to hit on next attack. 19-20 – Friendly Fire! Accidentally hit nearest ally! If no ally in area, treat as 17-18. . If you roll Injure Self, roll on the Critical hit chart to determine the location. The effect of the injury is for descriptive purposes only, the penalties remain the same. Upper Torso and Heart results should be considered the Back.

CLASS PACKAGES Another way to reduce the Cookie Cutter Factor for Player Characters are Class Packages. Why just have a run of the mill Rogue, when you can have a Bounty Hunter Rogue? HackMaster provides over a dozen for of these for each character class, but here we’ll just give you two of each. Each Package costs 8 Points. Points can be acquired by taking Quirks and Flaws (see above) or by cashing in Skill Points, Attribute Points or Feats for equivalent amounts. Packages must be taken at character creation. And while they cost a lot, their bonuses make up for it. The Monk and Paladin are too specialized to allow for Packages. Packages can be entered in the same section as Priors and Particulars on your Character Sheet. The Packages here include a brief description, the additional skills that are considered Class Skills (if they don’t already have them) any Feats they start off with, and any additional Boons and Banes. HackMaster’s “Guide” books provide more detailed flavour text of what each Package is like. Note that the bonuses and banes listed here will differ significantly from those in the Guides.

Without special GM approval, taking a Package disqualifies you from taking a Prestige Class later on, and additional Packages cannot be taken. FIGHTER CLASS PACKAGES (Includes Fighter, Ranger, Barbarian) Myrmidon Description: As opposed to simply being a Fighter, this is a true soldier or officer of a kingdom’s armed forces or a mercenary unit. Use the character’s Social Class to determine rank: Slave and Lower Class – Enlisted. Middle Class – Sergeant. Upper Class – Officer. Note: Barbarians are barred from this package. Additional Class Skills: Intimidate, Spot, Listen Starting Feats: Weapon Focus Boons: Because he’s working for a paid military or mercenary unit, his Employer grants the Myrmidon certain advantages. It’s up to the GM to determine the nature of his Employer and what advantages are granted. Advantages can include free room and board, paid weapons and armor, or bonuses for successful missions. Banes: Automatically recognized as a professional soldier from his demeanour and attitude. Suffers -4 on any rolls involving hiding his identity, unless the cover he’s using is that of a professional soldier. Also, his Employer might call on him at any time, and requires special permission to leave his post. It is up to the Player and GM to be able to work adventuring into his duties, but the GM can always use said duty to reel him back in. Falconer Description: An expert in training and handling birds of prey. A Falconer and his birds are a team and fight together, and the Falconer is as loyal to his birds as they are to him. Of course, the Player and GM can agree on a variant bird type other than a falcon if they so desire. Additional Class Skills: Knowledge (Nature) Starting Feats: Animal Affinity Boons: Receives a Falcon as per the Wizard Familiar rules in the Players Handbook. They receive the same benefits as a Wizard with his Familiar, but this is achieved through bonding and training, and is not simply conjured up. Training an additional or replacement falcon takes 6 weeks, and a Falconer can have 1 additional falcon every 2 levels. They can also train other birds for himself or for others, but these will not receive any bonuses. The falcon receives an additional +2 to hit. At 5th level, a falconer can speak with his falcon. At 10th level, he can communicate telepathically with his falcon, up to 100 yards per level of the Falconer. Banes: If one of his falcons dies or is lost for any reason, the Falconer suffers grief and despair for two weeks, during which time he suffers a -2 penalty on all rolls. After this time he can find and train a new falcon.

ROGUE CLASS PACKAGES (Includes Rogue, Bard) Bounty Hunter Description: The name says it all. Bounty Hunters hunt down their quarry and bring them back as required (dead, alive, no disintegrations…) They are a kind of mercenary, called upon for other tasks as well, such as recovery of stolen property, kidnapping, or freeing kidnapping victims. Additional Class Skills: Rope Use, Ride, Knowledge (Law), Heal (for bringing prisoners back alive) Starting Feats: Tracking Boons: +2 Gather Information and Intimidation bonus whenever dealing with criminal elements. Banes: None Swashbuckler Description: Think Errol Flynn or the Scarlet Pimpernel. Dashing, flamboyant, sword swinging, kissing the ladies the swinging from the chandelier to escape the evil prince. Additional Class Skills: none Starting Feats: Weapon Finesse or Weapon Focus. Can buy the other at 1st level. Boons: +2 to Disarming opponents Banes: Trouble follows the Swashbuckler. When another Swashbuckler is around, they’re bound to seek out the PC and challenge them to a duel. Members of the opposite sex will always come to them for help. When making out with a lady, her husband will inevitably barge in. Life is just that much more difficult for the Swashbuckler, but always in a good-natured sort of way suitable for the character type. CLERIC CLASS PACKAGES (Includes Cleric, Druid) Undead Slayer Description: These clerics people focus on destroying all forms of undead, and are especially hateful of the “free willed undead” such as vampires and liches, which they see as the spreaders of the lesser blights such as zombies. Additional Class Skills: Intimidate, Knowledge (Undead) Starting Feats: Extra Turning (cleric) Boons: +1 bonus to all rolls against all undead. This includes turning, melee and ranged combat, as well as saving throws. Druids receive +3 in lieu of the Extra Turning feat. Banes: Undead Hunters can never avoid combat with the undead. Even those who are not evil. Sucks to be them. In mixed combat they prefer to fight the most powerful undead in the group. Pacifist Description: This cleric or druid is devoted to peace. But come on, let’s face it, how long are you going to survive without actually fighting? Needless to say, relying on the other players to do all the

fighting is going to tick them off. However, they are not without their advantages, and GMs are encouraged to award bonus Experience Points for every adventure they run where the character manages to avoid fighting. Additional Class Skills: Bluff, Sense Motive, Gather Information Starting Feats: Negotiator Boons: Pacifists casting healing spells always penetrate on max die result and the max die result minus one. For example, a first level Cure Light Wounds penetrates on a 7 or 8. This applies to any healing administered by the character, such as potions or first aid. This does not apply on any healing rolls involving a d2 or d3. Banes: May never use weapons, spells, or any other tactics to harm a human, demi-human, nonhuman, or monster. If he violates this oath, his God will deprive him of all magic for one month. MAGIC USER CLASS PACKAGES (Includes Wizard, Sorcerer) Scholar Description: The kind of magic user you’d expect to find behind a desk reading dusty tombs with candle in a skull nearby. Bookworms. They generally prefer not to fight, but recognize the necessity of combat at times. Even a Sorcerer can be a scholar, as odd as it might sound. Since they are intimately familiar with various theories surrounding magic, they know how to get the most out of the spells they cast. Additional Class Skills: Knowledge (all) Starting Feats: Empower Spell Boons: Receives 2 additional Skill Points per level, to be spent on any INT based skills. Since they generally come from well-to-do families, they get a +2 bonus on their Starting Money roll. Also, they tend to have a reputation in the academic world due to extensive correspondence, papers written, students they might have taught, etc. Therefore, when encountering someone who knows him or is a teacher, journalist, author or bard, they receive a +4 Charisma bonus when dealing with them. Banes: Since they spend so much of their time learning they are poorly prepared for combat. Scholars are the pencil-neck-geeks of fantasy roleplaying. This is saying a lot for their lack of combat ability. They suffer -1 to hit and damage on each and every roll they make in melee or ranged combat. They also receive the Socially Awkward Quirk right off the bat. Battle Mage Description: Battle Mages are held in fear and awe in many parts of the land. These are magic users who are not afraid to mix it up in the heat of battle, unlike most of their play-it-safe brethren. They also tend to prefer martial spells such as fireballs. Note: This is different from the HackMaster Battle Mages, which is not a Package, but a separate

Class of Magic User. It is, however, meant to get a bit of that HackMaster Battle Mage feel across. Additional Class Skills: none Starting Feats: Quicken Spell, Empower Spell, Armor Proficiency (light)

Boons: Reduce chance of spell mishap when wearing armor by 40%. This means they can wear (for example) half-plate with no mishap modifier. Of course, they still need to be proficient in the armor type. They receive a +2 Concentration bonus to avoid a spell being disrupted and start off with +1 to their Honor.

Banes: Live fast, die young, leave a smouldering magically irradiated corpse. Battle Mages are powerful, but it comes with a hefty price. They are so in tune with the magical plane that it quite literally consumes them. They age twice as fast as any other magic user, and heal at half the normal rate. They also do NOT receive a Constitution bonus to Hit Points (thank God for the kicker!) and suffer a -2 to Wisdom.

IN CONCLUSION

And if you STILL need more, there is only one solution that makes even a lick of sense: BUY HACKMASTER. What, I’ve gotta hold your hand for everything?

There’s no substitute for the real thing, but for those without the option, or those who are looking to add a little extra something to their game, or want to slooooowly wean their players into the real thing, this might give you just enough Hack to keep you satisfied (for a while).

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