Elder Scrolls Mythras

A Mythras hack made with love

I own no part of the Elder Scrolls IP or universe

Nor any parts of Mythras

Except what is in my heart

Please don’t sue me

By Glömmerska, aka Meat God

For inquiries, find me on the Mythras Discord https://discord.gg/mythras-469341944888164352 

Introduction

        The Elder Scrolls franchise is a messy one. Originating from the days of Ultima Underworld and Wizardry, each major installment in the series snips or outright shreds the previous installment’s lore. Each Age is in flux to fit the current tech capabilities, art direction, or marketability of the next console. Every game plays differently, but there is a distinct “Feel” that the middle 3 in the mainline series (Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion) have that most people refer to when they speak of the series.

This document attempts to capture that Feel, but due to the lore messiness there can’t be a truly correct way to translate many aspects of the games. An attempt is made to capture the following facets about the Elder Scrolls setting:

• High fantasy, high magic
• Limited technology
• Aedra and Daedra play a role in everyday life
• Multi-choice multi-step character creation
• Adherence to the game mechanics when reasonable

        Justifications and alternative interpretations are given often, as this document attempts to unify inherently video gamey ideas with the numbers and mechanics of Mythras. These will mostly be provided in comments off to the side: I recommend having this document in desktop mode for ease of reading and for accessing the table of contents on the left side.

Character Creation

This first section will do step by step character creation just like in the core rules, and explore the possibility of doing alternate characteristics. Skills have a lovely analogue in Mythras due to both using 100 point scales, though Mythras can go above 100%. The usual classifications are thus slightly modified.

In the mainline series, it is standard for players to start with very low scores in their skills (a maximum starting value of 50 can be achieved in Morrowind), and to partially model this, the maximum amount a character can increase any one skill at each step of character creation is 10%. Players can still reach high levels with the right combinations, particularly with Birthsigns.

Optional: Alternate Characteristics and Derived Attributes

Let’s behold the elephant in the room and wrestle with their trunk. Part of the Feel is having the eight capabilities of Strength, Intelligence, Willpower, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Personality and Luck. You can progress with the normal Mythras characteristics, but if you want to represent those eight, here’s a way you can go about it, with altered Attribute tables. Justification for which Characteristics govern which Attributes is given in terms of Elder Scrolls game mechanics.

Strength (STR): Affects carrying capacity (STRx2), majorly affects Damage Modifier.

Intelligence (INT): Affects total Magicka.

Willpower (WIL): Affects Magicka recovery rate.

Agility (AGI): Minorly affects Damage Modifier, minorly affects location Hit Points. Use Agility instead of Size to determine Knockback (Page 104, core Mythras book).

Speed (SPD): Affects Initiative.

Endurance (END): Affects Healing Rate, majorly affects location Hit Points.

Personality (PER): Affects XP Modifier.

Luck (LCK): Affects Luck Points.

Damage Modifier

The Reasons Why...

• STR: Strength affects the amount of damage you deal with weapons in every game.
• AGI: Affects damage you deal in the games by increasing your accuracy, and increases ranged damage. Can justify with muscle memory and coordination allowing more lethality.

Experience Modifier

Instead of adding your INT to your roll when spending XP, you add the average of your INT and WIL. Your actual Experience Modifier though, is determined solely by PER.

The Reasons Why...

• PER: A better Personality raises people’s Dispositions towards you and thus makes them more willing to cooperate.

Healing Rate

The Reasons Why...

• END: A higher Endurance governed healing rate in Daggerfall.

Magicka Recovery Rate

This recovery rate is a baseline for determining speed of Magicka recovery, and is further modified by how you want to structure your game pacing, as discussed in the Magicka section.

For non-alternative Characteristics, use POW instead of WIL.

The Reasons Why...

• WIL: Willpower increased the speed of Magicka recovery in Oblivion.

Hit Points Per Location                 END x 3 + AGI

The Reasons Why...

• END: Endurance affects your maximum hit points in every game.
• AGI: Increases survivability by increasing your chance to dodge attacks. Can justify with more agile characters instinctively reacting to lessen damage even when unaware.

Initiative Bonus

The Initiative bonus of a character is simply equal to their Speed attribute.

The Reasons Why...

• SPD: Speedier characters are able to control the flow of combat and react faster than slower characters.

Luck Points

The Reasons Why...

• LCK: “Affects everything you do in a small way.”

Magic Points (Magicka)

A character’s total Magic Points (hereafter referred to as Magicka) are equal to the character’s Intelligence score.

The Reasons Why...

• INT: Determines Spell Points, Magic, Magicka, etc in every game.

Movement Rate

Default Movement Rate is 6m for every race. You can also have SPD affect Movement Rate, 5m + (1/10)*SPD, don't round. But consider that this may be a bit fiddly and not worth it.

Altered Skill Table

The tables below show all the Standard and Professional skills in core Mythras with their new governing Characteristics, followed by the new Magic skills.

Standard Skills

Professional Skills

Magic Skills

Optional: Luck Affects Everything

        Luck would apply a small malus/bonus to every skill in some way in the games that included it. This can be modeled by giving a +1 to all skills for every 2 full points of Luck above 10, or a -1 to all skills for every 2 full points of Luck below 10.

Races and Starting Characteristics

        The race you play in the games pretty much locks you into a specific style of play unless you’re deliberately going for something strange, like an Orc mage or Altmer warrior. An effort is made to agnosticize many of the typical racial bonuses to allow breaking type less punishing, as Mythras is not a restricted, class based game. This mostly means taking active abilities or powers (Adrenaline Rush) and making them passive (Rapid Recuperation). Nevertheless, some races will always be better at  some archetypes than others.

Race determines starting Characteristics and the character’s default Culture step. Allow your players to use a different race’s cultural skills if they were raised in a different dominant culture (an Altmer raised in a Black Marsh town among Argonians will have trained Swim for example). The Culture step is slightly modified as follows:

• Apply a static +40% to Customs and Native Tongue*
• Select three Professional Skills, and gain Literacy as a free 4th*
• Distribute 100 points across the listed Standard Skills and Professional Skills (including Native Tongue), with no minimum for any skill and a maximum of 10% given to any one skill

*See the multiculturalism aside below        

        Discussions on the races are limited in flavor and instead focus on the mechanical differences and this document’s attempt to reconcile them with Mythras. If more flavor is needed, check out the UESPWiki and read up on their lore there. It is also recommended to go there to get inspiration for Cultural Passions.

For standard Characteristics, a normal distribution is given for each race. It is recommended that a Points Build method is done to be true to the games. Each race will have a slightly different amount of points they can distribute, and is noted in their description. Many of the games have different attributes depending on which gender you pick at character creation. Mythras doesn’t do that, and it will not be done here. The differences across the games are too varied anyways.

For the alternative Characteristics, a different method is used, with the standard die for character creation being d4’s instead of d6’s. A static Point Build amount of 86 is given for all races. This is slightly higher than what the sum of the averages gives you, but is done to ensure starting skill numbers are roughly the same. If you are dissatisfied with the interpretation of which Characteristics get the bonus or attribute, just add or drop a d4 die as you see fit.

An Aside on Multiculturalism, Language and Literacy

        The Elder Scrolls games are ultimately power fantasies set in a backdrop of fantasy. When the creators made that fantasy world, they had to make it such that the content was something that everyone can experience without needing to learn a fantasy language. Every NPC you can possibly meet will always use the game’s dominant language, with genuine foreign tongues being reserved for bandits insulting you (“N’wah!”).

        In essence, the games want you to appreciate that each of the ten playable races has a completely unique language and culture, but they’ll only ever show you one at a time. Have your languages and eat them too. They justify this by loosely assuming everyone is speaking Cyrodilic, the language of the Imperial Empire, common in the 2nd Era and after among most regions of Tamriel. In this case, consider letting your players learn Cyrodilic as a free Professional skill with a +20% starting bonus, representing what it’s like to live under Imperial law and rule. The free interaction between ten wildly different nations is a great place for building dramatic plots, but consider only making about three languages distinctly relevant at a time for your game, or else players will be low on XP rolls to spend on other things.

        Finally, this document uses the term “race” a lot. This is used for familiarity in this gaming space, for the Feel, not because it is a good word to use. Historical miscarriage of justice and all that. The differences listed below would be better described with “species” (for the beastfolk) or “climes” (if you’re a good sociologist). Even then, making these kinds of categorical distinctions is messy when you’re talking about fully sapient beings. There are Hist-wombs and Lunar Lattices and bio-psycho-social pressures on the religions you grew up around which determine whether you go to Sovngarde or the Far Shores or whatever. Try not to slam in too many 1-to-1 real world analogues into your plots in magic elf land and you’ll be fine.

To prevent NPCs from expositing at players too hard, the developers swept most of the lore into books, while simultaneously leaving out how exactly people in Tamriel become literate. A snippet from the Onus of Oghma gives us:

"As ye are true Children of the et'Ada, thou shalt honor us by honoring thy own lives. For in each of you is housed the Divine Spark, and thus the record of thy actions is a sacred duty. Keep, therefore, each and every one of you, an Oghma, an everscriven scroll which shall memorialize thy brief lives. Thus in at least this way shalt thy Spark be Immortal."

Which seems to imply that literacy is taught through religious scripture and it is a form of holy duty to pass down that knowledge to new members of your community (children, immigrants, adventurers). Tamriel’s equivalent of the printing press was also created sometime during the early 2nd age, so there is plenty of reading material to practice with.

        Thus, we can infer that despite the medieval aesthetics, Tamriel is a literary society, likely with rates as high as 30-50% depending on the culture. As such, Literacy is a free 4th Professional skill during the culture step.

Altmer        

        The Altmer have always had bonuses to Intelligence and penalties to Strength, occasionally with penalties to Endurance or Speed as well. They’re the tallest race. While skilled with all magic due to having big Magicka pools, they are also vulnerable to it as well, usually either a straight penalty to magic resistance or sometimes penalties to just the elemental resists. They are resistant to disease in all games.

Special Rules

• Expanded Magicka: Altmer treat their POW/INT as 5 points higher for determining their maximum Magicka. 
• Resist Disease: Altmer are resistant to the many diseases of Tamriel. Whenever they make Endurance or Willpower Checks to resist disease, they are 2 grades easier.
• Magic Vulnerability: Altmer ability to command magic comes at a cost, as they find it harder to resist it as well. Whenever an Altmer must make an Endurance, Evade or Willpower Check to prevent or lessen the effects of magic, it is 1 grade more difficult. They also have -1 Magical Armor on all locations.

Native Tongue: Altmeric

Standard Skills: Customs, Conceal, Deceit, Drive, Influence, Insight, Locale, Perception, Willpower

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Courtesy, Craft (Any), Magic (Any School), Magic (2nd School), Magic (3rd School), Musicianship

Argonians (Saxhleel)        

        Argonians usually have penalties to Willpower or Personality, and occasionally Endurance. They have bonuses to Agility, Speed, and occasionally Intelligence. Argonians are of average height and weight. They are excellent swimmers, but whether they actually breathe water or not is game dependent. Finally, they are highly resistant to poison and disease, and heal a little faster than other races. Mythras also has precedent for making scaled species have natural armor, so we’ll give them that too. Note that argonians have tails, and it is recommended that they also have a tail hit location: but this is ultimately up to the GM due to the wobbliness of the lore.

Special Rules

• Swamp Swimmer: Argonians add a +10% bonus to their Swim skill. They can breathe water for up to CON/END x Minutes before needing to resurface. Normal swimming is considered a Light activity for fatigue purposes.
• Supreme Resist Disease/Poison: Argonians are extremely resistant to even magical disease and poisons. Willpower and Endurance Checks are 3 grades easier when used to resist poisons and diseases. This usually means the check is Automatic and doesn’t require a roll, but additional circumstances that produce difficulty grade penalties such as Fatigue can still make a roll necessary.
• Histskin: Argonians heal faster than the other races, treating their CON/END as 5 higher when determining their Healing Rate.
• Scales: Argonians have 1 natural armor on all locations.

Native Tongue: Jel

Standard Skills: Athletics, Combat Style (Short Blade or Long Blade), Combat Style (Hand-to-Hand), Conceal, Deceit, Evade, First Aid, Influence, Locale, Swim

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Craft (Any), Healing, Magic (Illusion or Mysticism), Navigate, Track, Survival, Seamanship

Bosmer (Wood Elf)        

        The Bosmer are the physically smallest and weakest race. Penalties to Willpower and Strength are present in every game, with bonuses to Speed and Agility. They usually have some sort of bonus involving fatigue or cannibalism or commanding wild beasts. More importantly, despite not being strong, they have a reputation as peerless archers.

Special Rules

• Hunter’s Eye: Aiming takes only 1 Action Point, rather than 1 Round for Bosmer. Additionally, Bosmer add a +10% bonus to their Perception skill.
• Resist Disease/Poison: Bosmer are strongly resistant to disease and poisons. Willpower and Endurance Checks are 2 grades easier when used to resist poisons and diseases.
• Beast Tongue: Bosmer can speak to animals using the Bosmeric language. Not all of them are interested in what you have to say.

Native Tongue: Bosmeric

Standard Skills: Athletics, Combat Style (Marksman), Customs, Dance, Evade, Insight, Locale, Perception, Stealth

Professional Skills: Acrobatics, Art (Any), Craft (Any), Lore (Any), Navigate, Track, Survival

Breton (Manmeri)        

        Bretons have low Agility and Endurance, but high Willpower and Intelligence. They are both resistant to magic and adept at using it. Very slightly shorter than other races.

Special Rules

• Lesser Expanded Magicka: Bretons treat their POW/INT as 2 higher for determining their maximum Magicka.
• Supreme Resist Magic: Bretons are highly resistant to magic. They treat all Endurance, Evade, and Willpower Checks to resist magical effects as 1 grade easier. Additionally, they have 2 Magic Armor on all locations.

Native Tongue: Bretic

Standard Skills: Conceal, Customs, Drive, Influence, Insight, Locale, Perception, Sing, Willpower

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Courtesy, Craft (Any), Magic (Any School), Magic (2nd School), Lore (Any), Oratory, Survival

Dunmer (Dark Elves)        

        Dunmer have balanced stats with only a bonus to Speed and penalty to Willpower in all games. They are always highly resistant to fire, and usually have some ability involving their ancestor spirit. They have reputations as excellent do-ers of violence in general.

Special Rules

• Ancestral Teachings: Dunmer add a +5% bonus to three Skills of their choice at the Hobby step.
• Supreme Resist Fire: Dunmer are highly resistant to Fire, and have grown up learning exactly how fire acts. They treat all Endurance, Evade, and Willpower Checks to resist Fire as 1 grade easier. Additionally, they have 3 Fire Armor on all locations.

Native Tongue: Dunmeris

Standard Skills: Athletics, Combat Style (Long Blade, Marksman, or Short Blade), Customs, Evade, First Aid, Insight, Locale, Perception, Willpower

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Craft (Any), Magic (Destruction or Mysticism), Navigate, Language (Any), Lore (Any), Streetwise

Imperial (Cyrodilics)        

        Imperials have always had a bonus to Personality, and typically penalties to Agility. These balanced stats are usually accompanied by a milquetoast charm or weird fatigue absorbing ability. In lieu of this, to represent Imperials being the colonizing imperialistic mega power of the setting, they just get a bonus to XP modifier to represent how easy it is to learn things when all cultures speak your language.

Special Rules

• Voice of the Emperor: Imperials treat their CHA/PER as 5 points higher for determining their XP Modifier.
• Came, Saw, Conquered: Imperials choose an additional Professional skill at the Culture step and add +5% to it.

Native Tongue: Cyrodilic

Standard Skills: Combat Style (Blunt or Long Blade), Combat Style (Hand-to-Hand), Deceit, Drive, Endurance, First Aid, Influence, Insight, Ride

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Bureaucracy, Commerce, Courtesy, Craft (Any), Gambling, Language (Any), Lore (Any)

Khajiit        

        Khajiit typically have penalties to Willpower, and sometimes to Strength, or Endurance. They have always had a bonus to Agility. Lore really wants to make them out as bad mages. They often have bonuses to climbing and jumping, and always have been able to see in the dark. Their unarmed strikes are notable in that they have claws instead of fingernails. Khajiit have tails, but they’re so thin that they don’t warrant a need for an extra hit location.

Special Rules

• Eye of Night: Khajiit treat light based difficulty grade penalties as 1 grade less than normal. This allows them to fight in total darkness at Formidable rather than Herculean difficulty, or in dim light with no penalty.
• Claws: Khajiit’s claws deal 1d4 damage, and can inflict Bleed.
• Catfall: Khajiit treat any fall as 2m shorter than it really is, and Acrobatics checks to land safely are 1 grade easier.

Native Tongue: Ta’agra

Standard Skills: Athletics, Combat Style (Hand-to-Hand), Combat Style (Short Blade), Conceal, Deceit, Drive, Evade, Influence, Insight, Locale, Perception

Professional Skills: Acrobatics, Art (Any), Commerce, Craft (Any), Culture (Any), Language (Any), Lore (Any), Streetwise

Nord        

        Nords always have a bonus to Strength and sometimes Endurance or Willpower. They’re penalized in Intelligence, Personality, and sometimes Agility or Willpower (they couldn’t make up their mind I guess). They are resistant to Frost, sometimes resistant to Shock, and usually have some form of shielding power. Very slightly taller than other races.

Special Rules

• Storm Resistance: Nords treat all Endurance, Evade, and Willpower Checks to resist Frost as 1 grade easier. Additionally, they have 2 Frost Armor and 1 Shock Armor on all locations.
• Hardy: Nords add a +10% bonus to their Endurance skill.

Native Tongue: Nordic

Standard Skills: Athletics, Boating, Brawn, Combat Style (Any), Combat Style (2nd), Endurance, First Aid, Locale, Swim

Professional Skills: Craft (Any), Lore (Any), Musicianship, Navigate, Seamanship, Survival

Orc (Orsimer)        

        Orc attributes are weird. They’re the only race that has +5’s and -5’s instead of 10’s. They have bonuses to Strength, Willpower, and Endurance. They have penalties to Intelligence, Speed, Personality, and Agility. They have the power to go berserk and are slightly resistant to magic. Slightly taller than other races.

Special Rules

• Magic Resistance: Orcs treat all Endurance, Evade, and Willpower Checks to resist magic as 1 grade easier.
• Berserk: When taking a Serious Wound, Orcs are unable to attack or start casting spells for 1 turn, instead of 1d3 turns.

Native Tongue: Orcish

Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Combat Style (Any), Combat Style (2nd), Endurance, First Aid, Insight, Locale, Willpower

Professional Skills: Craft (Any), Lore (Any), Healing, Musicianship, Navigate, Survival, Track

Redguard

        Redguards have penalties to Willpower, and sometimes Intelligence and Personality. They have bonuses to Endurance and sometimes Strength. Highly resistant to disease and poison and some sort of adrenaline rush stat bonus ability. Average height.

Special Rules

• Resist Disease/Poison: Redguards are strongly resistant to disease and poisons. Willpower and Endurance Checks are 2 grades easier when used to resist poisons and diseases.  
• Rapid Recuperation: Redguards add 2 to their Healing Rate to determine their rate of Fatigue recovery.

Native Tongue: Yoku

Standard Skills: Athletics, Boating, Combat Style (Any), Combat Style (2nd), Endurance, Evade, Locale, Swim, Willpower

Professional Skills: Art (Any), Craft (Any), Lore (Any), Navigate, Seamanship, Survival, Track

Optional: Increasing Characteristics

        Permanently increasing attributes is a common occurrence in the games which use them, but Mythras isn’t really that sort of game. What you choose is what you generally have the rest of your career barring special circumstances. It can be important to the Feel though! If your players want to see the numbers go up, do two things:

1. Remind them that spells, potions, and enchanted items can increase their Characteristics.
2. Offer to let them switch around their Characteristics or even race if they’re dissatisfied with their selections after a couple sessions or so.
3. Uh oh, they’re insistent? Okay, show them this rule:

        To improve a Characteristic, you must first train it rigorously. Choose any Characteristic (except Size or Luck), and undergo an appropriate training regime (cardio for CON/END, contemplations of Mundus for POW/INT, etc). To maintain this practice, the character must reduce their normal allotment of XP rolls by one or more every time they are handed out. For each XP roll so sacrificed, their Characteristic improves by 2, up to the species maximum. The Characteristic doesn’t improve until the first sacrifice. Being indecisive with this training can make your life difficult, as each improvement increases all the skills the Characteristic governs as well, meaning a lot of erasing and rewriting on your sheet as you add and subtract 2 over and over.

        If not maintained, the Characteristic atrophies to its original value, at a rate of 2 each time they receive XP rolls. If, however, the training is maintained for a long period, the Characteristic can permanently improve, as those sacrificed XP rolls gradually accumulate. Once a Characteristic has a number of XP rolls sacrificed equal to 1 + Current (non boosted) Value - Racial Minimum, it improves by 1 point.  

        For example, an ornery Argonian has been going to bed exhausted every day from regularly socializing with everyone they see on the street. Their normal Charisma is 8, but have been boosting it to 10 with their training by sacrificing one XP roll. Their racial minimum is 3, so the number of XP rolls needed to improve it from the original value of 8 is 1 + 8 - 3 = 6 XP rolls. It takes 6 XP handouts and 6 sacrificed rolls from those handouts to improve their Characteristic from 8 to 9, making their new boosted value 11 (if they continue training).

Careers, Connections, Class and Hobbies

        The Elder Scrolls games exist in a high fantasy space where the player-facing professions range from pilgrim to assassin. All of them are distinctly ungrounded from the surrounding landscape, possessing no practical skills for making a living besides adventuring. NPC’s also have a class, though they get special NPC classes like Farmer, Miner and Smuggler.

In this framework, it is perfectly acceptable to use the standard Mythras collection of Careers, many of which have direct analogues to in-game classes, without interfering with the Feel. These would normally be restricted by Culture, but part of the fun of the game is playing against type sometimes. Go ahead and play a Khajiit Sorcerer. Anytime a magic skill is listed in a career (Folk Magic, Meditation, etc), allow players to replace it with a suitable spell school if using the spell school rules. Similarly, replace Combat Styles with something appropriate (Concealable Weapons Style should become Short Blade or Hand-to-Hand, for example). Proceed with the normal Career character creation step, slightly modified as follows:

• Select three Professional Skills
• Distribute 80 points across the listed Standard Skills and Professional Skills, improving any one skill by no more than 10%

Allow your players to also roll on the default social class, family and connections tables, as appropriate for your lore tastes and the part of the setting you’re using. For example, Orcs following The Code of Malacath and living in small strongholds in the wilderness would likely roll on the Barbarian table, while Orcs from the grand city of Nova Orsinium would roll on Civilized. Distant outsiders (Nords in Elsweyr, for example) would likely be Nomadic.

Finally, perform this slightly modified Bonus step for character creation and your character is all done with skills:

• Select one last Professional Skill, your hobby skill
• Distribute 150 points across any Standard skills and Professional skills you possess, improving any one skill by no more than 10%
• Gain 12 XP rolls. These may be used to purchase starting spells and/or Combat Style traits before the game begins, though none may be Apprentice level or above. Any XP rolls not used are free to keep (or spend immediately on normal skill improvement).

Optional: Major and Minor Skills

        Some of the games make you choose Minor and Major skills for your Class, important to the Feel. In Mythras, this is easily modeled by an appropriate Cult, which has a list of cult skills players can train with. Making a Cult-less skill distinction conflicts with Mythras’ classless design, but if you desire such a thing, you can approximate them with the rules below.

• Every player chooses 7 skills that are Major skills
• Whenever a character successfully spends an XP roll on a Major skill, it improves by 1d6+1 instead of 1d4+1

Birthsigns

The last step in character creation is to choose a Birthsign, as the three most recent mainline games have let you do. The effects for each are (mostly) thematically consistent, and as with the races, an attempt is made to make each Birthsign fully passive in its abilities. In lore, the one-off powers don’t really exist anyways, and indeed the effects described below shouldn’t be as prominent. That’s not as fun though! Give me the Feel! The Magna-Ge dominate you!

In the games, there was a bit of perverse incentive involving which Birthsign you should choose. Thieves would dislike The Tower, because automatically opening locks meant you couldn’t train Lockpicking as much. Warriors would often take The Mage because it would nearly double their Magicka pool. Wizards would take The Lady to not have horrible HP. Some Birthsigns have also just been bad. While this document won’t claim to be able to balance these signs against each other, the hope is that there are enough meaningful choices to make an interesting decision. How the games have treated each Birthsign is noted under the pictures of them, hopefully showing the corollaries between the game effects and chosen effects.

If a Birthsign grants a bonus to a Professional skill that you don’t know, you gain the bonus once you learn it.

The Warrior

“The Warrior is the first Guardian Constellation and he protects his charges during their Seasons. The Warrior's own season is Last Seed when his Strength is needed for the harvest. His Charges are the Lady, the Steed, and the Lord. Those born under the sign of the Warrior are skilled with weapons of all kinds, but prone to short tempers.”

        The Warrior stone has either increased the rate of advancement for martial skills, given a bonus to hit, or given a simple attribute bonus to Strength and Endurance.

Special Rules

• Warwyrd: The Warrior grants a +5% bonus to Athletics, Brawn, any Combat Style, and Endurance to those born under him.
• Physique: Even weaker races are hale when born in the Last Seed. Add a +2 to STR and +2 to CON/END, exceeding racial maximums.

The Mage

“The Mage is a Guardian Constellation whose Season is Rain's Hand when magicka was first used by men. His Charges are the Apprentice, the Golem, and the Ritual. Those born under the Mage have more magicka and talent for all kinds of spellcasting, but are often arrogant and absent-minded.”

        The Mage stone has always given a simple flat increase to Magicka or made you better at magic skills.

Special Rules

• Fay: The Mage grants a +5% bonus to three magic schools skills of your choice, and a +5% to Literacy.
• Aetherius Flow: Those under the mage sign are gifted with magic. Add a +2 to POW/INT, exceeding racial maximums, and treat your POW/INT as 3 higher for determining your maximum Magicka.

The Thief

“The Thief is the last Guardian Constellation, and her Season is the darkest month of Evening Star. Her Charges are the Lover, the Shadow, and the Tower. Those born under the sign of the Thief are not typically thieves, though they take risks more often and only rarely come to harm. They will run out of luck eventually, however, and rarely live as long as those born under other signs.”

        Depending on the game, the Thief stone makes you more difficult to hit, gives a simple bonus to Agility/Luck/Speed, or improves thievery skills faster.

Special Rules

• Akaviri Danger Sense: The Thief blesses those under her with uncanny senses. Gain a +5% to your Conceal, Deceit, Evade and Perception skills.
• Two Steps: Even caught thieves can rely on their luck and flexibility. Add a +3 to DEX/AGI, exceeding racial maximums. If you are out of Luck Points, you may still perform Heroic Last Actions (pg 111 core Mythras). Using a luck point to reroll a failed roll doesn't use that luck point if the reroll also fails.

The Lady

“The Lady is one of the Warrior's Charges and her Season is Heartfire. Those born under the sign of the Lady are kind and tolerant.”

        Nutty bonuses to Endurance, sometimes Personality and sometimes Willpower. In Skyrim they gave some absolutely useless passive Health and Stamina regeneration, but that’s probably alright given that they’ve been a strong sign in the past.

Special Rules

• Lady’s Favor: The Lady favors you in difficult endeavors. Add a +2 to CON/END, exceeding racial maximums, and add a +5% bonus to Endurance and Willpower.
• Lady’s Grace: The Lady blesses you with grace in many situations. Add a +2 to CHA/PER, exceeding racial maximums, and add a +5% bonus to Influence and Insight.

The Steed

“The Steed is one of the Warrior's Charges, and her Season is Mid Year. Those born under the sign of the Steed are impatient and always hurrying from one place to another.”

        Big bonus to Speed, or fortify carry weight.

Special Rules

• Charioteer: The Steed grants bearers of its sign extended stamina and speed. Treat your carrying capacity as if your STR were 3 points higher, and add a +1m to your Movement Rate.
• Fleet: Mid Year children are quick in mind and body. Add +2 to DEX and +1 to INT if using normal Characteristics, or +3 to SPD if using alternative attributes, exceeding racial maximums. Additionally, add +10% to Athletics.

The Lord

“The Lord's Season is First Seed and he oversees all of Tamriel during the planting. Those born under the sign of the Lord are stronger and healthier than those born under other signs.”

        The Lord is a tricky one. Early versions granted a long duration healing spell in exchange for a weakness to fire, while Skyrim made it a flat defense increase to both armor and magic resistance.

Special Rules

• Blood of the North: Those born in the First Seed have remarkably resilient bodies that recover quickly. You have 1 Physical Armor on all locations, and 1 Magic Armor on all locations. Treat your CON/END as 5 points higher for determining your Healing Rate and Hit Points. Increase your Endurance by +10%.
• Trollkin Curse: The Lord’s children are afflicted with a weakness to fire. They find Endurance, Evade and Willpower Checks to avoid the harmful effects of both magical and mundane fire 1 step harder. They additionally have -2 Fire Armor on all locations, their flesh reacting violently to heat. Finally, the Endurance Check from suffering a Serious or Major Wound due to fire is 1 grade harder as well.

The Apprentice

“The Apprentice's Season is Sun's Height. Those born under the sign of the apprentice have a special affinity for magick of all kinds, but are more vulnerable to magick as well.”

        The Apprentice is the double edged sword Birthsign. Every game gives a huge penalty to magic resistance in exchange for a large Magicka or Magicka regeneration bonus.

Special Rules

• Elfborn: The Apprentice grants those under its sign great magical power. Add a +3 to POW/INT, ignoring racial maximums. Treat your POW/INT as 7 higher for determining your maximum Magicka. Treat your POW/WIL as 5 higher for determining your Magicka Recovery rate.
• Apprentice’s Affinity: Add a +5% bonus to all seven magic schools.
• Reactive Flesh: The Apprentice is not cautious. Many born under his sign die from magical accidents. You find all Endurance, Evade and Willpower Checks to resist magic 1 grade harder. You have -2 Magical Armor on all locations.

The Atronach

“The Atronach (often called the Golem) is one of the Mage's Charges. Its season is Sun's Dusk. Those born under this sign are natural sorcerers with deep reserves of magicka, but they cannot generate magicka of their own.”

        The Atronach gives the most powerful spell absorption effect in the game coupled with the single largest source of Magicka bonus as well. It also completely halts natural Magicka regeneration, requiring absorption or potions (Morrowind) or complete bed rest (Oblivion).

Special Rules

• Wombburn: The Atronach blesses those born under it with the incredible ability to absorb harmful magical energies. Those who make Endurance, Evade or Willpower Checks against magic find them 1 grade easier, and successfully making the check completely negates the spell effects, restoring Magicka equal to the casting cost of the spell.
• Golem Soul: Treat your POW/INT as 15 higher for determining your maximum Magicka.
• Stunted Magicka: The Golem severs your connection to Aetherius. Your Magicka Recovery rate is 0.

The Ritual

“The Ritual is one of the Mage's Charges and its Season is Morning Star. Those born under this sign have a variety of abilities depending on the aspects of the moons and the Divines.”

        This is an annoying sign. All of its abilities have always been active, and are usually healing, turning undead, or raising dead. However, in lore, the exact nature of the granted ability has to do not only with being born in Morning Star, but also with which planets/moons are dominating the sky on that day. The ability to turn undead and heal is associated with Mara, but it’s implied that this is because your character was born when Mara was high in the sky. So if Akatosh and Arkay are overhead, but the Necromancer’s Moon is dark, it may presumably grant some sort of anti-undead firestorm ability? It’s messy.

So messy, I’ve made a table that grants different bonuses depending on the phases of the planets and moons. Note that some planets are exclusive with each other (Julianos and Akatosh, for example, orbit along the same plane and are never present in the sky at the same time). This set up grants slightly better bonuses than other signs, but you HAVE to roll on it, no picking and choosing.

Special Rules

Roll on the table and sub-tables to determine your bonuses.

If your game is set before the 3rd age (before Mannimarco ascended), roll a d6.

The Lover

“The Lover is one of the Thief's Charges and her season is Sun's Dawn. Those born under the sign of the Lover are graceful and passionate.”

        The Lover has historically given bonuses to Agility or skill improvement, but is likely mostly picked for the Lover’s Kiss active ability. This is a phenomenally powerful ability that lets you simply end fights. In Elder Scrolls Online, the equivalent Mundus Stone gives a bonus to penetration (nice).

Special Rules

• Mooncalf: Those born under the Lover are experts at matters of the heart (and body). Add a +2 to DEX/AGI, a +5% to Dance and Sing, and a +10% to Seduction. Trainers train you as if their skills were 10% higher.
• Lover’s Kiss: Treat your CHA/PER as 15 points higher for the purposes of determining the base percentages of Love Passions that involve you. You can choose the Compel Surrender special effect even with no precedent of disadvantage on the opponent’s part, and their Willpower Check to resist the effect is 1 grade harder.

The Shadow

“The Shadow's Season is Second Seed. The Shadow grants those born under her sign the ability to hide in shadows.”

        In all games, The Shadow allows you to become invisible once per day. To prevent this from becoming useless as soon as you learn any invisibility spell, the ability is extrapolated to make bearers of The Shadow operate very well in shadow.

Special Rules

• Moonshadow: It is very difficult to detect and even fight a bearer of the Shadow Birthsign when they are in shadow. Any levels of difficulty due to poor lighting conditions are automatically 1 grade worse when making opposed or differential rolls against the bearer. This means in complete darkness, rather than taking a Herculean penalty to Perception, those wishing to detect a bearer of The Shadow will find it Hopeless. Additionally add a +1 to INT/AGI, a +15% bonus to Stealth, and a +5% bonus to Disguise.

The Tower

“The Tower is one of the Thief's Charges and its Season is Frostfall. Those born under the sign of the Tower have a knack for finding gold and can open locks of all kinds.”

        Grants an ability to open locks, surpassed by a cheap spell or scroll. In Morrowind it gave you a spell to detect keys (situationally very useful), in Oblivion reflect 5% damage (good when stacked). Nevertheless consistently ranked in the bottom 3 Birthsigns in every game. Good for niche speedruns and getting the exact item you need, but otherwise eclipsed by other options.

        Various mods have had wildly different interpretations given the ephemerality of the lore around it. Vivec writes about how The Tower is related to CHIM. Oblivion also had a Tower-themed magical stone give a bonus to Armorer. Let’s consider this stone from the angle of a temple thief, a clever architect, a maker of traps and finder of things.

Special Rules

• Beggar’s Nose: The Tower helps those under its sign find lost or neglected things. Add a +10% bonus to Perception. Start with 3d6 extra Drakes.
• Tower Key: The Tower instills an understanding of intricacy. Add a +10% bonus to Engineering, Mechanisms and Lockpicking.
• Donjon Keeper: The Donjon was built before you were born and will stay after you’re gone, but right now you are its keeper. You know everything in it. If you are in an area that is familiar enough to let you use Locale, you may always augment your Perception and Insight with Locale. Finally, choose two sets of Characteristic bonuses:

• +1 STR
• +1 DEX/AGI
• +1 CON/END
• +1 SIZ/LCK

The Serpent

“The Serpent wanders about in the sky and has no Season, though its motions are predictable to a degree. No characteristics are common to all who are born under the sign of the Serpent. Those born under this sign are the most blessed and the most cursed.”

        A poison that paralyzes and kills has been this Birthsign’s ability in all games, at the cost of damaging your own health or fatigue. In Oblivion it dispelled magic and poison effects on you too. Lore wise, it is made of un-stars, a lingering spirit of Lorkhan, which slinks around the sky and eats the other constellations. They’re also associated with Sep, the great serpent of the Yokudans, ever hungry for souls. This is another difficult Sign to translate well, as poisons in Mythras are far more potent than simply dealing damage.

Special Rules

• Star Cursed: Your fate weaves between Birthsigns, shrouding their form but not their power. Choose two sets of Characteristic bonuses. The one you don’t choose is applied as a penalty instead of a bonus.

• +2 to STR and +2 to CON/END
• +2 to POW/INT and +2 to INT/WIL
• +2 to DEX/AGI and +2 to CHA/PER

• Cobra Dance: Add a +5% bonus to Dance, Evade, Craft (Alchemy) and Enchanting.
• Serpent Blood: Whenever you make an Endurance or Willpower Check against poison, it is 1 grade easier. Additionally, your own blood is a mild toxin that can be refined through Alchemy, with a Potency equal to your Endurance skill (see the Fauna Ingredients in the Alchemy section). You can safely produce one Measure per day from yourself, with each additional Measure taken giving you a persistent level of Fatigue that takes a full day to recover from, exactly like normal blood loss.

Skills, New and Old

The skill list for each game changes quite a bit. Its purpose in the games is both to function as a measure of your abilities that NPC’s can acknowledge (“Hands to yourself, sneak thief”) and a goal to achieve. If you can just hit 75 in Destruction, you can unlock the next spell, or that 50 in Heavy Armor can finally let you run fast again.

Unfortunately, there’s no clean way we can translate some of these skills into the Mythras framework. If you’re playing Mythras, you’re probably playing for that feeling of weighty combat, interesting dynamics with professional skills and cults, and a healthy appreciation for meaningful simulation. Elder Scrolls games’ skill lists are all facing directly towards combat and one or two (weird, usually bad) social minigames. It is assumed the normal Mythras skill list will thus be able to provide the normal gameplay loop despite the Elder Scrolls window dressing.

The two changes this document makes then, are to the two most recognizable parts of the series: weapons and magic. These are extensive enough to warrant their own sections, so this section will instead attempt to show some similar Mythras skills to those in the games. It attempts to exhaustively include skills from Daggerfall up to Skyrim (except the Daggerfall languages)

An Aside on Armor Skills

        Armor in Elder Scrolls functions similarly to armor in Mythras in that they both block damage, but there are some key differences in their design philosophies that make including armor skills incompatible. Elder Scrolls players have a large degree of “control” over their character in the later games. When you strike a foe with a weapon, it deals damage. In Morrowind, Daggerfall and Arena, striking a foe on screen rolled a die to hit, meaning that even if the model of your weapon was passing straight through your foe’s head, you could “miss” and deal no damage.

        Mythras combat is closer to this roll and hit system. Instead of pushing buttons/joysticks to move in a 3D space to avoid enemies, Mythras uses the active defenses of Evade, Parry, Withdraw and Outmaneuver. When you get hit in Elder Scrolls, it's because you (the player) failed to get out of the way in time. When you get hit in Mythras, it's because you (the character) are out of AP or failed a roll. Armor lessens the impact of failure.

Armor skills represent the ability for a character to leverage small advantages in evasion or positioning (Unarmored/Light Armor), or cleverly move to always deflect the maximum amount of damage and power through pain (Medium/Heavy Armor). These capabilities are assumed to be covered by Athletics, Brawn, Evade, Endurance and Combat Styles in Mythras. It is also assumed to be at least partially covered by damage rolls, a push pull between the competencies of the attacker and defender.

The closest way to include the armor skills would be making them the skills you use to parry, and Combat Styles the ones you use to attack. That's rather messy though and creates some problems (why do I parry better Unarmored when wielding a greatclub?) or would require the construction of fiddly subsystems that just aren't worth it. That being said, the system that armor interacts with now is how many Action Points are available, as noted in the Combat section below.

Combat and Combat Styles

Combat As War

The Mythras combat system is frenetic, blow by blow. Increasing Combat Style skills makes characters hit more often and have a higher chance to inflict fight-ending Special Effects. This is a far conceptual cry from most Elder Scrolls combat, which ranges from wiffle bat fights at level 1 to coked-out potion-chugging apes playing nuclear-powered rocket tag at level 50. The gradual snowball of increasing attributes, skills and enchanted items means you eventually get big numbers that can counter the big numbers of your adversary.

Mythras doesn’t really do that. Killing a dragon is not a matter of leveling up, it is a matter of rallying the townsfolk to build fortifications and siege weapons capable of piercing their scales. A marauding ogre or two may be driven out of a region by a band of heroes, but an entire ogre family will require diplomacy or war crimes. There is no balance or expectation of linear progression in the adversaries you face. You can kind of emulate this in Elder Scrolls: memorize the guard routes to steal the Scroll of Open Very Hard Lock and use it to open the mage’s chest which has a Scroll of Ice Storm to cheese your way into the Blackreach early or something. That’s the exception though, not the rule.

Armor-Based Action Points

        The Elder Scrolls like to place a large emphasis on what kind of armor (or lack thereof) you were using, as seen by the different (un)armor skills. To represent the abstract differences in mobility, spellcasting, etc, Action Points are now determined by your Armor Penalty. As in Core Mythras, certain organizations may offer Gifts or specialized training to mitigate Armor Penalty.

        This is not very realistic, but it is Elder Scrolls-y! The Feel dominates! It encourages being obsessive about armor weight, a staple of the series. If your group prefers to have your games be more grounded and less ridden with video game tropes, go ahead and just use your preferred Action Point setup.

Combat Styles

Combat Styles in Mythras are cultural or profession specific. Elder Scrolls weapon skills don’t depend on these things, instead being based on broad weapon categories. The Feel demands it. Thus, the available Combat Styles taken and adapted from the various games are:

•  Axe
• Blunt
• Hand-To-Hand
• Long Blade
• Marksman
• Polearm
• Shields
• Short Blade

Notably, this list doesn’t include unusual weapons like Nets, Whips, or the various Siege Weapons. There are two options:

1. Desperately stuff the odd weapon into a style most appropriate with genre conventions (a ballista is kind of a bow, so Marksman; a garrote is used by thieves, so it’s Short Blade)
2. Create another Combat Style called Esoteric and lump everything else into it.

For convenience, an Esoteric style is included at the end of this section with suggested traits.

An Expert of a particular Combat Style will hold themselves differently than an Apprentice, more than just numbers. Not to say the Expert can’t lose: superior tactics and planning can beat even a Master. The way these differences are expressed is by allowing characters to train additional Combat Style Traits into styles of at an appropriate level of advancement. In order to earn these traits, three conditions must be met:

1. Meet the appropriate skill level requirement
2. Must have learned at least one trait from the previous tier (for non-Novice traits)
3. Spend 3 XP rolls and 1 week with an appropriate trainer, or 5 XP and 1 month for Master traits.

There are very few Master trainers, and they are often the heads of appropriate cults.

Each individual style and its potential traits are covered below.

Axe

        “Of all the members of the Morag Tong I've spoken with, none disturbed me as much as Minas Torik. A quiet and reserved man who never drank, never visited a brothel or even uttered a curse, he was famous for his ability to make people disappear. Once a person was targeted by the Brotherhood and Torik was sent to them, they would simply cease to be. I asked him once what his weapon of choice was, and was equally startled by his answer.

"I only likes to use axes," he said in his typical, quiet voice.”

Typical Special Effects: Bleed, Sunder

Use Axe to cover any weapon that principally chops or is swung downwards, such as hatchets, picks, or battleaxes. Hafted weapons with blades.

New Traits

Scale Shredder: Whenever you use the Sunder special effect, your damage roll ignores an amount of Armor equal to half your weapon’s maximum damage.

Fell the Tree: Whenever you choose the Bleed special effect, the Endurance roll to resist the effect is 1 grade harder if the damage you dealt was enough to cause a Serious Wound. Additionally, completely Sundering a location’s natural armor allows you to apply Bleed for free.

Ellabeth’s Ballad: Whenever you successfully parry an attack, you may select Damage Weapon for free (even if your opponent succeeded on their attack).

Blunt

"The important thing is that to become skilled with a staff or club, you gotta be a master of these pain centers. Done right, a light tap could kill, or knock out without so much as a bruise."

"Fascinating," smiled Haballa. "And no one ever found out?"

"Why would they? The boy's parents, the King and Queen, they're both dead now. The other children always thought their brother got carried off by the Underking. That's what everyone thinks. And all my partners are dead."

"Of natural causes?"

Typical Special Effects: Bash, Stun Location

Use Blunt to cover any club or hammer like weapon. This does not include fists or, by default, thrown blunt weapons (those should be covered by Marksman), but including thrown rocks would be pretty funny if you want. Shields are covered by the Shields skill.

New Traits

Batter Down: If the fighter’s Damage Modifier is one or more steps greater than his opponent’s, his Damage Modifier roll is counted as double solely for the purposes of calculating Knockback.

Armor Crush: All Blunt weapons can now Sunder. When you Sunder armor, damage after armor is applied simultaneously to the armor and hit location underneath, instead of applying first to the armor then the location.

The Importance of Where: You may ignore AP equal to half your weapon’s maximum damage, but only for rigid armors. When Bash forces a foe over an obstacle, the Athletics or Acrobatics check is 1 grade harder.

Stone-Singer: Stun Location lasts Rounds instead of Turns. You can Force Failure when an opponent normally fails, instead of only on a fumble.

Hand-to-Hand

"Initially, I sought to end it quickly, still thinking that he was unworthy to be cleaning the arena, let alone fighting in it. In retrospect, I was being illogical, as I must have known he had bested as many students as I had to reach that final level. He offered simple counterblows to my attacks, and responded in kind. His style was expansive, encompassing sophisticated arcane foot play one moment and simple jabs and kicks the next. I tried assailments intended to dazzle, but his face never showed either fear or contempt of my abilities.”

Typical Special Effects: Flurry, Grip, Take Weapon

Use Hand-to-Hand for striking with any part of the natural body (fists, claws, kicks, body slams etc).

New Traits

Inevitable Fist: Increase unarmed damage to 1d4. Your unarmed strikes ignore any special resistances, allowing you to damage creatures like vampires and ghosts normally. You may select Stun Location as a Special Effect.

Flurry of Blows: Ignore all AP for the purposes of determining the effects of Stun Location. You may select Flurry for free on a successful attack.

Touch of Baranat: Your unarmed strikes are Large, and deal 1d6 damage. You may use Select Target and Accidental Injury against foes when they normally fail, instead of just on a fumble.

Long Blade

"No one in the crowd, aside from a few scattered Akaviri counselors and the Potentate himself wanted Savirien-Chorak to win, but there was a collective intake of breath at the sight of his graceful movements. His swords seemed to be a part of him, a tail coming from his arms to match the one behind him. It was a trick of counterbalance, allowing the young serpent man to roll up into a circle and spin into the center of the ring in offensive position.”

Typical Special Effects: Bleed, Impale

Use Long Blade to cover any blade that is at least Medium reach, including piercing weapons like rapiers.

New Traits

Mesiterhau: A specialized technique you may do when attacking on your turn. Your attack is 1 grade harder, but if it succeeds, your opponent's parry is also 1 grade harder, and your next parry against that same opponent will be 1 grade easier.

Versetzen: This trait permits the fighter to cause an attack to fail, even if the attacker’s initial roll was a success. You attempt a parry at 1 grade harder, if it succeeds, re-read your opponent’s attack roll as if it had a grade of difficulty penalty applied. If this causes the result to be a fail, then the attacker failed in their attack, and you apply a defensive Special Effect against the attacker. Your next attack against that same opponent will also be 1 grade easier.

Cloud Ruler: When you choose the Disarm or Trip Opponent Special Effect, your opponent’s resistance Checks are 1 grade harder. Your damage modifier is considered to be 2 steps higher than normal for determining how far you fling your opponent’s weapon. Additionally, you may roll twice and take either result to determine how much damage you deal when pulling out an Impaled Long Blade.

Shehai: Your attacks and parries are also considered critical on doubles (11, 22, etc).

Marksman

"Then exultation turned to terror as a great shadow rose

From the trees on leathered wings like an unfurling Cape.

The great bat lizard was large as the ship, but good pilot

Topal merely raised his bow, and struck it in its Head.

As it fell, he asked his Bo 'sun, "Do you think it's dead?"

And before it struck the white-bearded waves, he

Shot once more its heart to be certain.”

Typical Special Effects: Impale

Use Marksman to cover any ranged or thrown weapon, such as bows, crossbows and darts. Throwing knives can be covered by either Marksman or Short Blade.

Elder Scrolls uses many different ammunition types: you can find iron, Elven, or Orcish arrows, for example. Information on these is discussed more in the Material Tiers section, but importantly, this valuable ammunition is likely to be recovered after a fight. This is partially luck and partially skill, as even arrows that hit their mark in a foe can break or shatter. After a battle, the original owner of the ammunition makes a Perception roll and the degree of success determines the amount recovered:

• Critical Success: 100% of all spent ammunition
• Success: 75% of all spent ammunition
• Failure: 50% of all spent ammunition
• Fumble: 25% of all spent ammunition

If only 1 piece of ammunition was used, a failure means it is lost or broken.

Also, make a separate roll for each different type of ammunition used. So if a character shoots 2 iron arrows and 3 Elven arrows, they would roll two separate Perception checks, one for each arrow type.

New Traits

Wind Draw: When you throw a weapon, you can draw another at the start of your next turn at no AP cost. When you shoot a ranged weapon, you can choose Rapid Reload for free even on a failure (but not a fumble).

Eye of Hircine: You may choose Kill Silently as a Special Effect on targets in close range. You ignore any difficulty modifiers due to firing into a crowd.

The Black Arrow: You may choose Circumvent Cover as a critical effect, with no reduction in damage. You may choose Bypass Armor on a normal success.

Polearm

"The trick as I've heard it is to anticipate where your target's going to go and aim your spear there, not where they are now. I just have to observe them a little longer. Why can't the little fetchers swim in straight lines?"

After an hour of flailing about, Harithoel, by luck, managed to spear a fish. The men tore it apart and ate it raw.”

Typical Special Effects: Impale

Use Polearm to cover long-hafted weapons such as spears, tridents, and halberds. Throwing spears is covered by this skill or Marksman, your choice.

New Traits

Set Against: When you roll for damage, you may roll your opponent’s Damage Modifier instead of your own.

Mastery of Transfixury: When you choose the Impale Special Effect, you roll the weapon damage thrice and take any result. You also roll the Damage Modifier twice (if applicable) and take either result. Pulling out an Impaled Polearm is 1 grade easier for you. Additionally, you may roll twice and take either result to determine how much damage you deal when pulling out an Impaled Polearm.

Bitten Off Secret: You may treat Polearms as being one range step shorter or longer at any time to suit whatever advantages you need. Change Range uses no Action Points, nor does resisting Change Range attempts.

Shields

"I fought a man once for an hour's time," said Mindothrax. "He was tireless with his bludgeoning, never giving me a moment to do aught but block his strikes. But finally, he took a moment too long in raising his cudgel and I found my mark in his chest. He struck my shield a thousand times, and I struck his heart but once. But that was enough.”

Typical Special Effects: Bash, Stun Location

Use Shield for anything that blocks like a shield.

New Traits

Solid Stance: Resist Knockback, Leaping Attacks and Bash as if you were always using the Brace action.

Guard Counter: When you succeed on an active shield parry, you may immediately follow up with an attack with the weapon in your other hand at the cost of an Action Point. Shields passive block 1 more location.

Shield of Abernanit: Gain 1 extra Action Point. It can only be used to parry with your shield. Passive warding your head only inflicts a Hard penalty, instead of Herculean.

Short Blade

"A very good friend of mine, a thief in Gnisis whose name I won't mention, swears by the strangle-and-slash technique. Simply put, you grab your victim's throat from behind and while throttling him, you batter his face against the opposite wall. When the victim is thus rendered unconscious, you slash his throat while still holding him from behind, and the risk of staining one's clothes with blood is practically nonexistent.”

Typical Special Effects: Bleed, Impale

Use Short Blade for any blade that is Short or shorter.

New Traits

Uncatchable: When you change range, either by proactively using Evade or from a Special Effect, you also Overextend your opponent for free.

Sep’s Sting: You ignore AP equal to half your weapon’s max damage. You may choose the Inject Venom Special Effect. Bleed doesn’t require you to deal damage in order to work, but the Endurance roll to resist it in such a case is 1 grade easier.

Sithis’ Woe: Kill Silently also applies the effects of Maximize Damage and Bypass Armor for free. Every successful parry also provides the effects of Prepare Counter for free, even if your opponent succeeded on the attack.

Optional: Esoteric

"Once you feel confident with the script, it's all about practice, practice, practice! Your performance should be second nature to you, but remember, you may need to improvise when hecklers or enthusiastic crowd members speak up, so don't be so locked into your speech that you can't make adjustments on the fly.”

Typical Special Effects: ?

Use this for anything else. Strange things. The traits it contains deal with improvising or using anything as a weapon.

New Traits

Impromptu Weapons: Treat any object as a club.

Versatile: You may use any 1 ENC weapon as if it were in this style at 1 grade of difficulty.

Extemporize: You may choose Prepare Counter as an offensive Special Effect. You choose two Special Effects to counter instead of one.

Extreme Contrivance: You can use any Special Effect with any weapon. Get creative with your narration.

Material Tiers

No one in Elder Scrolls uses an iron sword past the first hour or so. Everything else is a strict upgrade, so why bother? Unfortunately, Combat As War does not play well with numbers based power scaling. At the same time, justice must be done to fantastical minerals like moonstone and ebony. Give us the Feel. The rules for Enhancing equipment (Pg 67 Core Mythras) are thus used to assign traits to the materials without it getting too out of hand. Mundane materials can still be Enhanced as normal, but the special materials automatically have Enhancements. Special materials can be Enhanced on top of their inherent Enhancements, but the Enhancement Craft roll is 2 grades harder, they may only have 1 additional Enhancement total, and the rule of no more than 2 Enhancements of the same type still applies.

Each arm or armor piece made with special material has both a cost multiplier and a flat cost associated with producing it. If a player wishes to craft or smith with the material, provided they’ve already bought the material, have them pay the flat cost regardless. This represents exotic recipes, oils, quenchers or even alchemy ingredients that one must acquire to work it properly. Costs are in Silver Pieces.

        Even if one has the wealth, it can still be very difficult to obtain certain materials. There are also cultural associations with different materials. These are era and location dependent of course, consider the obvious. If you’re using Elven arms/armor and you’re not a mer, prepare for at best snide comments and at worst challenges to your right. Non-orcs wearing Orchalum can expect similar treatment. Daedric will likely make most fear you terribly, potentially allowing you to avoid most fights entirely.

        Also keep in mind that weapons and armor can be lost or damaged more easily than in the games. Getting disarmed isn’t a minor inconvenience. In Mythras you can get Sundered, or an unlucky Disarm can send your shiny sword sailing off a cliff; with no reloading to help you (you have to rely on Luck Points).

Optional: Simplified Armor

        For those who don’t want to bother with materials and just want a 1-to-1 translation of armor from the games with no frills, maximum Feel, an alternate table is provided below. This option still uses the Material table above for weapons, but the table below for armor. Do not apply the Enhancements above to the table below.

Magic

        Magic in the Elder Scrolls games is wild and varied. If you read the books that are scattered about mages dens and witch covens, you’ll pick up some strange ideas that seem totally at odds with the magic schools you’re given at character creation. Here is an incomplete list of clearly magical disciplines outside the normal magic schools:

• Auramancy
• Nymics
• Flesh/Blood/Soul magic
• Thaumavocalism
• The Thu’um
• Shehai
• Chronomancy
• Cheesemancy
• CHIM

Along with these, which may work best under Sorcery, there are clear precedents that fit the core Mythras magic systems:

• Dunmer ancestor worship (Animism)
• Nord ancestor and nature worship (Animism)
• Worship of Aedra, the Nine Divines (Theism)
• Worship of Daedra (Theism)
• The Greybeards and their philosophical meditation (Mysticism)
• Blind Moth Priests and their contemplations on the Elder Scrolls (Mysticism)
• Various hedge witches and petty wizards (Folk Magic)

So if there is a story that you want to tell that involves one of these ideas or groups, consider making them a cult using the default rules for magic in Mythras. It completely fits in the lore, go nuts!

Where Does Magicka Come From?

        Magicka comes from Self by default in the Elder Scrolls. It drips down from Aetherius and pools in your head. These are action games, but we have to keep in mind that they use an abstraction in time: 2 minutes in real life is 1 hour in Morrowind, for example. How fast Magicka regenerates is up to which game you want to emulate, which essentially means how high magic you want to make your game. You recover an amount of Magicka equal to your Magicka Recovery Rate per this time scale:

        Players can also restore Magicka using potions or other special items (Weyland Stones for example). Make it region specific.

Optional: Deep Magicka

If you want casting magic to be common but not too egregious, you can have Magicka “stamina” and Magicka “health”. The way this works is that 75% of your total Magicka is Deep Magicka, which regenerates slower, while 25% is Shallow Magicka (round up), which regenerates more quickly. Shallow Magicka regenerates one time step faster than normal on the table above, while Deep Magicka regenerates as normal on the table. Magicka is taken from Shallow Magicka before touching Deep Magicka, and Shallow Magicka must be regenerated first before Deep Magicka. Casting a spell halts the recovery of Deep Magicka (the time is not saved).

For example, Maeli is using the Morrowind system. She has 10 POW, and thus 7 Deep Magicka and 3 Shallow Magicka. She descends into a crypt with her friends to fight some undead abominations (like you do). She casts a 2 Magicka Fire spell at an adversary, bringing her Shallow Magicka to 1. She then has to emergency cast another spell to heal an ally, 3 Magicka this time. Her Shallow Magicka is reduced to 0, and the remaining 2 Magicka are taken from her Deep Magicka. After the fight, she has 5 Deep Magicka and 0 Shallow Magicka. After 10 minutes of rest, she restores 2 Shallow Magicka, so she is up to her full 3 Shallow Magicka after 15 minutes. It then takes 1 hour to restore her 2 Deep Magicka, provided she doesn’t cast another spell in that time that draws from her Shallow Magicka.

Running Out of Magicka

        By default, nothing happens to characters that run out of Magicka in Elder Scrolls games. You simply cannot cast spells that are too expensive.

Casting Time and Rituals

        The Casting Times for spells should likely be on the scale of Turns to facilitate use in combat. When using magic schools, the default casting time is 1 Turn unless specified otherwise. However, while there are rituals done in large groups to invoke great magics, there is no such thing for petty spells, and as such, by default characters cannot spend more time to cast a spell to make it Easy or Very Easy.

Casting Requirements

        In Elder Scrolls games, there is a strong precedent that a free hand is needed to cast spells, and it is also used to physically shoot the magic out and smack your foe with the sparkly burst. Anti-magic measures often merely involve hand restraints (though some shackles have anti-magic enchantments). Normal vocalizations are also required, but even without being able to speak, spell casting makes about as much noise as a windchime caught in a breeze. The list of casting requirements should thus look like:

• Clear thoughts, unclouded by detrimental magics, narcotics or the like
• The ability to gesture, symbolize or channel with at least one free hand
• Able to directly point at the subject of the spell with the aforementioned free hand
• The ability to make appropriate vocal sounds to invoke the power
• The ability to accurately perceive or sense a potential target

For each requirement not met, the caster suffers a 1 grade penalty in casting the spell. So a thief that has their hand bound behind their back wishing to cast a spell at a prison guard in front of them will suffer a Formidable penalty, as they are both unable to gesture or point with their hand.

Size and Alternate Attributes

        Some spells affect a maximum SIZ of creature. When using Alternate Attributes, assume all humanoids are SIZ 12.

Magic Schools

For those wishing to attain the Feel of the magic schools from the games, a complete magic system that attempts to emulate them is presented here. There is a strong emphasis on the Feel, and not all of the schools are strictly balanced against each other, though an effort is made to make each one fun and interesting. These schools take the form of heavily modified Sorcery. For the most part, you can translate any spells that do not fit into the system, but there are some important differences.

The first is that only a single skill governs the effects of the spells. There is no Shaping. Unless noted otherwise, for all spells, the default Duration is equal to POW/INT in minutes, the default Range is touch, and default Targets is 1. The default casting time for all spells is now 1 Turn unless specified otherwise (notably modified by the Meta spells). Intensity and Magnitude are both equal to the base Magicka cost of the spell, and thus casting a more powerful version of a simpler spell requires a greater expenditure of Magicka. The maximum Magicka one can spend on a single spell effect before Combining is shown on the following table:

Spells are also denoted by the classification used in the table, so there are Apprentice spells, Expert spells and so on, referred to as the spell tier. What spells can be learned at what level of competency is noted in each spell school.

The last change from Sorcery is that spells can now be freely Combined. Combining spells does not increase spell casting time. Use the following guidelines when Combining spells:

• Any amount of spells can be Combined together
• The spellcasting time of the Combined spell is equal to the longest of all spells involved
• The Combined spells must all share the same target or targets
• A spell may not be Combined with another instance of itself; only different spells can be Combined
• Each different spell school involved beyond the first increases the difficulty of the casting roll by 1 grade
• If the Combined spells come from different spell schools, use the lowest spell school’s casting chance
• The duration of the different Combined spell effects function independently
• The total cost of the spell is equal to the sum of the casting costs of each individual spell
• The Magnitude/Intensity is calculated separately for each constituent spell effect, not added together. This means if dispelled, some effects may remain and others stay

In order to learn a specific spell, three conditions must be met:

1. Meet the appropriate skill level requirement
2. Must have full Magicka before training begins
3. Spend 3 XP rolls and 1 week with an appropriate trainer, or 5 XP rolls and 1 month for Master spells

There are very few Master trainers, and they are often the heads of appropriate cults.

Spell Costs and Ease of Casting

        The cost of a spell is the combination of all of the effects, but also adjusted based on the level of competency in the school(s) being used. If all of the school skills being used as part of a casting are at least Adept level, then when you Combine a spell, the total spell cost is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 1. If all of the school skills are Master level, then when you Combine a spell, the total spell cost is reduced by 2, to a minimum of 1.

        For example, if an Adept Destruction mage casts Fire at Intensity 2, its cost would be 2, because it was not Combined with anything. If they Combined the Intensity 2 Fire with Ranged, which is also 2 Magicka, its total cost would be 4, minus 1 from the Adept bonus for a total of 3. A Master in this situation would only have the same Combined spell cost 2.

        Also, lower tier spells can be cast more easily by more advanced practitioners. A spell is considered to be a tier of the highest tier effect that is Combined into the total spell. Casting a spell that is two tiers below one’s level of competency is Easy, and four tiers below is Very Easy. This means that an Intensity 2 Fire (Apprentice) Combined with Ranged (Apprentice) is an Apprentice spell, and an Expert of Destruction would find the spell Easy to cast, as they are two tiers above Apprentice.

When you desire to cast a spell from a given spell school, figure out the cost using the information above, determine the chance of casting for a specific spell school, then make a check using that school:

• Critical Success: The spell works and only half the total Magicka is expended.
• Success: The spell works and the full amount of Magicka is expended.
• Failure: The spell fails, and half of the total Magicka is expended.
• Fumble: The spell fails, and the full amount of Magicka is expended.

Meta

        Meta spells are not a separate school skill that you learn, but rather a list of spells that you automatically know with no training once you hit a certain level of competency in another school. These are effects that let you mimic the effects of spells in the games.

        These count as the school you have the competency in. So if you have 21% in Illusion (Novice) and 37% in Destruction (Apprentice), you have Ranged for Destruction but not in Illusion. This means you can Combine a Novice Illusion spell with Ranged, but it counts as cross school and thus the casting roll will be Hard.

Ranged - Apprentice

Spells that are Combined with Ranged have a range of POW/INT in meters. The casting time also increases by 1 Turn. This turns the spell into a projectile, and thus is subject to all ranged combat considerations, such as firing into a crowd, cover, and firing while moving/riding vehicles or mounts. You can also Aim with the spell.

Importantly, Ranged imparts the effects of the spell to another as if the caster had cast the spell on themself. This is fairly obvious for instant duration spells such as Fire, but it can also be used to impart control of a spell such as Animate to another character, allowing that character to manipulate the material while the caster can only look on.

Focus - Adept

Spells that are Combined with Focus ignore 2 grades of penalties. This cannot raise the casting chance above the base chance. The casting time also increases by 1 turn.

Mass - Expert

Spells that are Combined with Mass affect all valid targets within a number of meters up to the spell school’s critical value (the caster can choose any number within the range at the time of casting to make a smaller range if they wish). If touch range, this meter range emanates from the caster. If Ranged, the range emanates from where the spell hits. The caster can choose to be unaffected by the spell effects if they wish. If damage is involved with the spell effects, roll separately for each target. If hit locations are involved, all hit locations are struck. The casting time also increases by 1 turn.

Alteration

Alteration (CON + POW / WIL+ END)

        “To master Alteration, first accept that reality is a falsehood. There is no such thing. Our reality is a perception of greater forces impressed upon us for their amusement. Some say that these forces are the gods, others that they are something beyond the gods. For the wizard, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the appeal couched in a manner that cannot be denied. It must be insistent without being insulting.”

        Alteration is the most philosophical school of magic. You can use it to check general understanding of Elder Scrolls metaphysics and as an augment to win debates on magic.

Burden/Feather - Novice, Resist (Willpower)

Reduce/increase the target’s carried ENC by 3 per Intensity. Decrease/increase the target’s Armor Penalty by half the Intensity.

Haste - Novice

Increase the target’s Movement Rate by a number of meters equal to the Intensity of the spell. Increase the target’s Initiative by twice the Intensity.  

Equilibrium - Novice

Equilibrium does not cost Magicka to cast. Instead, it costs a number of Hit Points from all locations of the caster equal to its Intensity. Damage to one location can be distributed to other locations as the caster sees fit. Equilibrium also costs a single Fatigue level, which takes 24 hours divided by Intensity to restore (as if by exsanguination). It restores a total amount of Magicka points equal to the Intensity, split between all targets and/or the caster at their discretion.

Shield (Fire, Frost, Physical, Shock) - Apprentice

The target gains a number of armor points on all locations of the chosen shield type equal to the Intensity of the spell, stacking with normal and natural armor. This spell can be Combined with itself, but only for different shield types. After learning their first Shield spell (even if it’s from Mysticism), subsequent Shield spells only take 1 XP roll and 2 days to learn.

Abjure (Breath) - Apprentice

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum SIZ equal to 6 times the Intensity.

Sculpt (Substance) - Adept, Concentration

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum SIZ equal to 6 times the Intensity. The exact substance depends on who is teaching you the spell, but is typically a material used for construction or crafting, such as Stone, Wood or Metal.

Paralysis - Adept, Resist (Endurance)

As the Sorcery spell Palsy, but affects a maximum number of Hit Points up to twice the Intensity. The base Duration of this spell is equal to POW/INT Rounds, instead of minutes. Magic Armor adds to the effective Hit Points on a location on a 1-to-1 basis.

Fly - Expert, Concentration, Resist (Willpower)

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum SIZ equal to 6 times the Intensity, and the base Movement Rate is instead equal to 2 + Intensity meters rather than being dependent on excess Intensity surpassing the SIZ requirement. This replicates both the Telekinesis (if targeting an object) and Levitation (if targeting a person) spells.

Transmogrify (To Substance) - Master

As the Sorcery spell, but affecting a maximum SIZ equal 4 times the Intensity. The exact substance depends on who is teaching you the spell.

Conjuration

Conjuration (INT x 2 / INT x 2)

        “The simplest and most maddeningly complex way to go to Oblivion was simply to cease to be here, and begin to be there.

When thou enterest into Oblivion, Oblivion entereth into thee.”

Conjuration deals with Oblivion, and aside from spellcasting, it can be used as Culture for the denizens of Oblivion.

Bound (Armor) - Novice (Greaves, Gauntlets, Helmet), Apprentice (Cuirass), Resist (Willpower)

Casting this spell summons armor which exactly fits the target directly onto their body. Other armor they are wearing is temporarily whisked away to Oblivion, returning to where it previously rested on the target’s body when the duration expires. Each separate spell summons a different piece (or pieces) of armor. Greaves summons armor to cover both legs, Gauntlets armor to cover both arms, Helmet armor to cover the head, and Cuirass armor to cover the chest and abdomen. After learning the first Bound (Armor) spell, the others only take 1 XP roll and 2 days to learn. Since these are different spells, they can be Combined without difficulty.

The armor has AP equal to the 5 + Intensity, and Magical Armor equal to 1 + Intensity/2. The armor is effectively weightless, but still imposes 1 Armor Penalty per spell (not per piece). This means Combining together a casting of Bound (Helmet) and Bound (Gauntlets) would create armor on the head and both arms, but the total Armor Penalty would be 2, not 3.

This can be balefully cast to replace armor on an unwilling target, in which case a Willpower resistance check is allowed.

Evoke (Lesser Creatures) - Novice

As the Sorcery spell, with several adjustments. First, there is no Range limit the summon can travel. If touch range, the creature is summoned 1 meter away, directly next to the caster. Ranged allows the caster to summon the creature far away. The duration is a number of Rounds equal to the caster’s POW/INT. Affects a total amount of POW/INT equal to 6 times the Intensity. No creature with a SIZ larger than 8 can be summoned.

Unlike the normal Evoke spell, this spell can summon multiple creatures of a similar, mundane species: Rats, Bats, Centipedes and Wolves are common choices. A maximum number of creatures are summoned up to the POW/INT limit (smaller creatures like bats, rats or bugs are assumed to have a POW of 1). These creatures are abducted from the closest nearby location in Mundus, and given a Passion of the caster’s choice equal to the caster’s Conjuration score. Classic examples include Defend (Caster), Crawl (Orifices), or Fetch (Slippers). The GM is encouraged to roll against this Passion frequently to see if the animals behave.

Repulse (Undead) - Novice, Resist (Willpower)

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum size of equal to 6 times the Intensity. The nature of the repulsion manifests as abject terror or paralyzing awe, at the caster’s choice.

Bound (Weapon) - Apprentice, Resist (Willpower)

Casting this spell summons a weapon directly into the caster’s dominant hand. The Intensity of the spell determines what kind of weapon you can summon:

Bound Weapons gain a flat bonus to damage equal to Intensity / 3, and you augment the Combat Style of whoever is using the weapon by your Conjuration skill. Ranged weapons (including thrown weapons like darts or shuriken) start with 12 arrows/stones/quarrels/etc, as appropriate for the weapon. This ammunition is not enhanced with extra damage like the weapon may be, though thrown weapons are. Ranged weapons have no ammunition already nocked/loaded when summoned.

Casting this on someone who is already wielding a weapon summons it into their dominant hand, violently flinging their currently held weapon 1d6 meters away unless they wish to resist it with a Willpower check.

Banish - Adept, Resist (Willpower)

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum POW/INT equal to 6 times the Intensity. Note that this is the only way to dismiss even friendly summons early.

Revivify - Adept, Concentration

As the Sorcery spell, but affects a maximum SIZ equal to 7 times the Intensity, and the zombie/skeleton gains a bonus to STR and CON/END equal to twice the intensity. They act with the physical skills they had in life, capped by the Conjuration skill. Necromancers with extra time can craft golems of flesh or bone from various monster parts and reanimate those, something equivalent to Bonelords and Bonewalkers.

Evoke (Creature) - Adept

As the Sorcery spell, with several adjustments. First, there is no Range limit the summon can travel. If touch range, the creature is summoned 1 meter away, directly next to the caster. Ranged allows the caster to summon the creature far away. Affects a maximum POW/INT equal to 6 times the Intensity.

Importantly though, each Evoke spell is specific not to a creature type, but a literal specific individual. This means if they die, you have to learn a new spell (but you can potentially harvest them for some sick alchemy ingredients). If a summon is banished or the duration ends before they are able to get medical treatment, it is possible they can get some in Oblivion; though a scamp is more likely to be left to perish in the Deadlands than a Dremora warrior. That Dremora warrior will have some sharp words (or blades) for their summoner on subsequent summons though. Summon them out of combat for a good working relationship! The type of Oblivion creature that can be summoned is dependent on Intensity:

The XP roll expenditure for learning this spell differs from normal costs, in that it is equal to the Intensity of the spell. It represents seeking out the specific name of an Oblivion denizen, summoning them, and negotiating to some terms over the 1 week spent learning it.

The gifts and treasure a summoner must give to continue being in good graces will likely fit the tasks regularly performed, but depend highly on the individual. These are fully realized NPC’s. A Scamp tasked with digging out a tunnel, who LIKES digging out tunnels will probably ask for no more than exotic (Mundus) foods and water. An ornery scamp who hates being in cramped spaces may ask for enchanted items or delicious meals prepared with human flesh. Some royal Dremora high in the caste system may ask for king’s bounties of treasure for you to be worth their time.

Portal - Expert, Concentration

Casting time is 3 Action Points if only being cast on self, after which the spell ends (no Concentration). If opening a Portal to allow others through, casting time is 1 minute and requires Combining the spell with Mass.

As the Sorcery spell, but with several adjustments. Maximum SIZ is 4 times Intensity. The maximum Range is unlimited, but you need to know the exact portal sequence of the destination. Portals are maintained by temples and Mage’s Guild members, though using them requires a notable fee and they are heavily guarded. If a location was previously Marked, Portal can be used to teleport to that location, at which point the Mark spell will end.

Teleport - Master, Concentration, Resist (Evade)

As the Sorcery spell, but with several adjustments. Maximum SIZ is 6 times Intensity. The maximum distance the recipient can teleport with each jump (each Action Point expenditure) is equal to 200m times the spell’s Intensity, and requires line of sight. The recipient of the spell is not required to return to the origin after every jump, nor do they return when the spell ends.

Destruction

Destruction (INT + POW / INT + WIL)

        “There was an explosion of energy that filled the night, and an echoing boom that shook birds from the trees for a mile around. On the few square feet where Gnorbooth and his horse had stood was nothing but black glass. They had been reduced to less than vapor. Gyna and Lord Strale were thrown back. Their horse, when it recovered its senses, galloped away as fast as it could. In the lingering glowing aura of the spell's detonation, Lord Strale looked straight into the woods and into the wide eyes of the battlemage.

“Damn”.

Destruction is a skill that deals with understanding natural forces and exploiting them. It can be also used to assess structural weaknesses similarly to the Engineering skill.

Several Destruction effects deal damage according to their Intensity, and when they do, they also deal damage to neighboring hit locations equal to half the initial location’s damage roll.

So an Intensity 2 Fire spell that strikes the Chest would deal 1d6 damage, and then half of the damage rolled on that 1d6 will be applied to 1d3 locations next to the chest: the arms, abdomen, or head. If a struck location has less neighboring locations than what is rolled, striking a leg when rolling a 3 on the d3 for example, then the extra locations are applied contiguously, so the abdomen will be hit, and then the remaining 2 locations could be the other leg and chest. Basically, apply all neighboring locations first before spreading out to other parts of the body.

In the case of Mass spells, use the base damage for all hit locations.

Fire - Novice, Resist (Evade)

Fire’s duration is Instant.

Fire deals Fire damage directly to an opponent using the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Evade. Successful hits deal damage according to the table above, with normal armor not protecting, only Fire and Magic Armor. If the resistance roll is a success, the target takes half damage to the main location and no damage is dealt to neighboring hit locations.

Frost - Novice, Resist (Endurance)

Frost’s duration is Instant.

Frost deals Frost damage directly to an opponent using the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Endurance. Successful hits deal damage according to the table above, with normal armor not protecting, only Frost and Magic Armor. If the resistance roll is a success, the target takes half damage to the main location and no damage is dealt to neighboring hit locations.

Shock - Novice, Resist (Willpower)

Shock’s duration is Instant.

Shock deals Shock damage directly to an opponent using the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Willpower. Successful hits deal damage according to the table above, with normal armor not protecting, only Shock and Magic Armor. If the resistance roll is a success, the target takes half damage to the main location and no damage is dealt to neighboring hit locations.

Burning - Apprentice

Burning is a spell effect that cannot be cast on its own, but must be Combined with Fire. If the target fails their Fire resistance roll, Burning makes the target locations struck (including neighboring locations) as part of the Fire spell ignite, inflicting an additional 1d4 damage each Round. The damage lasts until extinguished, dismissed by the caster as a Free Action on their turn, or the spell duration expires. Unlike normal fires, this fire does not spread to additional hit locations.

Freezing - Apprentice

Freezing is a spell effect that cannot be cast on its own, but must be Combined with Frost. If the target fails their Frost resistance roll, Freezing causes a foe affected by the Frost spell to lose 1d2 levels of Fatigue and begin to suffer from exposure as if it were a Freezing climate (see the table on Pg 85, Core Mythras). The temperature drop lasts until dismissed by the caster as a Free Action on their turn or the spell duration expires. Environmental factors may affect the exposure rate as normal (being wet, near a fire, etc).

Sparking - Apprentice

Sparking is a spell effect that cannot be cast on its own, but must be Combined with Shock. If the target fails their Shock resistance roll, Sparking causes a foe affected by the Shock spell to lose an amount of Magicka equal to half the total damage dealt to all locations. For example, an Intensity 3 Shock spell Combined with Sparking rolls a 7 on the 2d4 for damage. It strikes 3 neighboring locations for half damage, meaning they each take 4 damage, for a total damage of 7 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 19. The target thus loses half this amount, 9.5 rounded up to 10, in Magicka.

Diminish (Characteristic) - Adept, Resist (Endurance, Willpower)

As the Sorcery spell, but diminishes Characteristics by 3 points per level of Intensity. Magic Armor protects against this effect, reducing the diminishment by 3 points per point of Magic Armor.

Rune - Adept

Rune takes 10 minutes to cast. The Duration of Rune is 1 year and 1 day, or until triggered or dismissed. Once triggered, use the normal Duration of the Combined spells within.

Rune cannot be cast on its own, but must be Combined with another spell. It places a difficult to see circular rune on a flat surface, as small as 10 cm and as large as 3 meters across. It imparts the effects of the spells it was Combined with to all valid targets within 3 meters of the Rune when pressure is changed on it. Specific parameters can be placed on the exact pressure trigger. The Rune can be made to be set off only when a light mouse steps on it, allowing passage by normal humans, or perhaps only when a book is turned to a specific page. If searched for with Perception, it is opposed using the Destruction skill.

Damage Health - Expert, Resist (Endurance)

Damage Health’s duration is Instant.

Damage Health deals Magic damage directly to an opponent using the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Endurance. Successful hits deal damage according to the table above, with normal armor not protecting, only Magic Armor.

Damage Material - Expert, Resist (Evade)

Damage Material’s duration is Instant.

Damage Material directly damages the makeup of an object or material; essentially, anything without a POW/INT score. This means enchanted items with at least 1 POW/INT left in them are immune to this spell.

It ignores Armor Points equal to Intensity (but not Magic Armor), dealing damage to object HP according to the table above. For large amounts of singular material, it affects an amount of SIZ equal to 3 times Intensity. Though the damage roll may not be enough to destroy some entire objects such as stone or a reinforced door (see Pg 81 Core Mythras for some sample objects), it can destroy portions of them, or at least greatly weaken them and make subsequent destruction or mining activities easier.

For damaging held weapons or armor, an Evade roll is allowed to resist opposed by the Destruction casting roll, and either roll the Hit Location randomly or choose a weapon you’re aiming for. Use the Neighboring Hit Locations Struck value as if the spell were 2 Intensity lower. When attacking a weapon, the neighboring hit locations spread contiguously down as if the weapon itself were a hit location.

For example, an Expert of Destruction casts Damage Material on a warrior, who is wearing padded armor and wielding a mace. They aim for the mace, and the warrior fails their Evade roll. The mage rolls 1d4+1d6 for damage and gets a 6, and rolls 1d3 for neighboring locations and gets 2. The spell ignores 4 AP, so the mace  (6 AP/6 HP) takes 4 points of damage directly to its HP (2 away from completely disintegrating), and the 2 neighboring locations would be the warrior’s right arm and chest. Half of 5 is 2.5, round up to 3, and since the padded armor only has 2 AP, the warrior’s armor on the right arm and chest completely disintegrate, leaving him bare chested and angry.

Bypass Armor - Master

As the Sorcery spell of the same name, including the fact that it ignores Armor Points equal to the Intensity of this spell. However, this can also be combined with the various damaging spells to ignore Fire, Frost, Shock and Magic Armor.

Combining Damage Spells

        There are special rules for combining damage dealing spells. Instead of dealing damage independently, anytime you combine two or more damage spells, you treat each individual spell as if it were 2 Intensity lower for the purposes of dealing damage and add the dice together to create a mixed elemental spell, subject to both the appropriate Armor types. In exchange, the total cost of the spell is reduced by 1 for each damage spell Combined beyond the first. You also use the highest Neighboring Hit Locations Struck value.

        For example, an Expert Destruction mage Combines together an Intensity 4 Shock and Intensity 3 Fire. The damage for both is treated as 2 Intensities lower, so that’s 1d6 from the Shock and 1d4 from the Fire for a total damage of 1d4+1d6. It will strike 1d3+2 neighboring locations, using the higher value from the Fire spell. It would normally cost 7 Magicka, but because the mage is at least an Adept, it costs 1 less, and because it is a mixed damage spell using one extra spell, it costs 1 less again, for a total of 5 Magicka.

Enchanting

Enchanting (INT x 2 / INT x 2)

        “Transliminal passage of quickened objects or entities without the persistent agency of hyperagonal media is not possible, and even if possible, would result in instantaneous retromission of the transported referents. Only a transpontine circumpenetration of the limen will result in transits of greater than infinitesimal duration.

Though other hyperagonal media may exist in theory, the only known transliminal artifact capable of sustained transpontine circumpenetration is the sigil stone.”

Aside from actually enchanting, Enchanting is used to assess how full soul gems or enchanted items are, and can be used as an augment for Lore skills involving souls.

Enchanting is a special school in that most spells use soul gems. If a roll is failed, not only does the spell fail, with the caster having to pay half the Magicka cost as normal, but any soul gems used in the spell are also wasted. If a Critical Success is gained, the cost of the spell is halved for the cost to the caster’s Magicka as normal, but the spell cost for activating the item is not adjusted.

Both full and empty soul gems can be purchased from Mages Guilds, but supposedly the material they’re made of, morpholiths, can be mined like any other mineral from geode veins. The larger a complete morpholith is without any breaks, the greater its capacity to hold souls. A soul contains a certain amount of POW/INT; when a soul gem captures a soul, it doesn’t take the Magicka, it takes the actual POW/INT and burns it away as the item is used. The table below shows the maximum POW/INT different soul gems hold. The XP Roll Cost only applies when successfully making enchanted items, not recharging or breaking them. The SP cost is for an empty soul gem, with full soul gems being at least triple the price depending on what kind of soul is trapped. Humanoid souls can only be trapped in Black soul gems.

Carrying empty Black soul gems is both illegal and dangerous. For every 8 hours you carry an empty Black soul gem, your POW/INT is reduced by 1. It takes 1 week for the reduced POW/INT to come back. However, if trapping a humanoid soul, Black soul gems always trap the entire soul amount of 14 regardless of their actual POW/INT, as the Ideal Masters reward the trapper for containing the burning fire of sapience.

The acquisition of sigil stones requires direct contact and favors with Daedric Lords over the course of years, essentially only available to Daedric cult leaders. They are always full when given.

Enchant (Object) - Novice

The casting time of Enchant is 10 minutes.

As the Sorcery spell of the same name, but heavily modified. Enchant is Combined with other spell effects the caster knows in order to create a magic item. However, when Combining with Enchant, different rules are followed:

• Even if the Combined spells come from different spell schools, Enchanting is always used as the casting chance
• Combining more than one spell school does not increase the difficulty
• The maximum Intensity of any spell effects chosen in the Combined spell are determined solely by Enchanting, not by their normal spell schools
• The Adept and Master reductions in total spell cost does not require all schools to be Adept or Master, only Enchanting
• The Enchant spell itself does not count against the spell cost

In order to cast Enchant, the caster must sacrifice a soul gem which contains a soul: their own Magicka is not permanently reduced, though it still costs them the normal amount of Magicka for casting the spell initially. They must also pay an XP roll cost appropriate to the size of the soul gem. The soul is placed within the object, and is used to power the spell effect. By default, the enchanted object does not impart a constant effect to its bearer. Instead, the spell effect is activated from the object, lasting for its normal duration as determined by the creator of the enchantment. Activation has no chance of failure provided the correct activation actions are taken.

For example, an enchanter wishes to enchant a belt with an Enhance (STR) spell. Their Restoration skill is only 37%, an Apprentice, enough to know the Enhance spell, but their Enchanting skill is 72%, an Adept. They Combine Enchant with Enhance (STR), and because the maximum Intensity is based on the Enchanting skill instead of Restoration, they can choose the Enhance (STR) effect to have Intensity 3. The total cost of the Combined spell is thus equal to 3 from Enhance (STR), plus nothing from Enchant since it doesn’t count against the spell cost, minus 1 due to being an Adept in Enchanting, for a total of 2. The enchanter chooses to use a full common soul gem to create this enchantment, which has a POW/INT of 7. If the enchanter fails their Enchanting roll at this point, the soul gem is wasted, but luckily they roll a 06: a critical success! They only have to pay half the spell cost from their own Magicka, 1, though the item activation cost is still 2, and they still must pay 2 XP rolls.

However, the belt would not give the wearer 9 extra STR while wearing it; rather, they can activate the belt to receive the effects of the spell for the normal duration. Each activation burns 2 POW/INT from the belt. Since the belt was made with a full POW/INT 7, it can be activated 3 times before becoming unusable, though it can be recharged.

The exact nature of how an item is activated is up to the enchanter. At the very least it takes 1 Action Point, as even very fast actions like short command words still require the user to focus the energies in the right way. Clever enchanters though can do anything from clicking premade buttons on objects, tying a specific kind of knot in a shoe while wearing it, or even activating off of a lock when a non-key object is placed into it (if you want to blow up a thief). For spells that are resisted, the target’s resistance roll is unopposed, unless using a weapon.

Enchanted weapons can be activated as normal, but may also apply their spell effects by using the following special effect:

        Enchanted Strike

Permits the casting of the spell contained within the enchanted weapon without expending an additional Action Point, the target of the attack being the target of the spell. If the spell uses hit locations, the hit location of the spell is the same as the hit location of the weapon. The opponent makes an opposed resistance roll as appropriate for the spell against the original attack roll.

Consume Essence - Novice

The casting time of Consume Essence is 1 minute.

Consume Essence allows the caster to transfer POW/INT from a soul gem into an enchanted item to restore depleted POW/INT, on a 1-to-1 basis. This destroys the soul gem in the process. The restored POW/INT cannot exceed the maximum POW/INT of the soul gem that was used to create the enchanted item. This spell can also be used to convert POW/INT in a soul gem directly into Magicka, replenishing the caster’s personal pool. This is also done on a 1-to-1 basis.

If cast with Intensity 2, this spell’s casting time is instead 1 Action Point (though the soul gem to be used still needs to be held).

Trap Soul - Apprentice, Resist (Willpower)

Trap Soul can only be cast on creatures with POW/INT, and they may resist with a successful Willpower check. Most users of this spell wait until a target is either worn down, unconscious, or otherwise unable to resist the spell, given its nature. If the spell is not resisted, the caster is instantly aware of how much POW/INT the creature has. When under the effects of Soul Trap, if the creature dies, its soul is transferred into a soul gem the caster has of their choice. The caster may “shave off” excess POW/INT equal to the Intensity if the soul is too big. If it is still too big, it doesn’t fit in the gem and is not trapped. The soul and soul gem are unharmed in such a case.

Hide Life - Master

Casting time is 8 hours; must be Combined with Enchant and Soul Trap. Has two uses.

The first is as the Sorcery spell of the same name, but affects a maximum POW/INT equal to 4 times the Intensity. Has a Range equal to 50 km times the newly adjusted POW/INT. Uses the caster’s own POW/INT instead of a soul gem’s, permanently reducing it until the spell ends or is dismissed.

The second is using the spell to create constant effect items. This requires an expenditure of XP rolls as normal, but also a permanent reduction in POW/INT. These POW/INT are only returned if the enchanted item is destroyed. Instant duration spells cannot be made into constant effect items. Each type of soul gem must be full, and is able to create a constant effect of a maximum Intensity as shown on the table below.

The Intensity can be split between multiple spells. In order to work, the item needs to merely be worn. For effects that affect specific hit locations (such as Shield), the item must cover that hit location. A full body hooded robe enchanted with Shield will cover more locations with the spell than a helmet with the same enchantment, despite costing the same. At the enchanters option, there can be a mechanism or process to turn the enchantment on and off.

For example, a Master enchanter with 102% Enchanting has procured a full greater soul gem, and wishes to enchant a vest with Enhance (STR) and Haste, 1 Intensity for each. They spend 8 hours casting the spell, Combining Enchant, Soul Trap, Hide Life, Enhance (STR) and Haste. They succeed on the Enchanting roll, spend 7 Magicka, 3 XP rolls, and reduce their maximum POW/INT by 2. They now have an enchanted vest that grants a +3 to STR, +1 to Movement Rate and +2 to Initiative while worn.

Illusion

Illusion (INT + CHA / INT + PER)

        “The Cosmos formed from the Aurbis [chaos, or totality] by Anu and Padomay. Akatosh (Auriel) formed and Time began. The Gods (et'Ada) formed. Lorkhan convinced -- or tricked -- the Gods into creating the mortal plane, Nirn.

Lorkhan was condemned by the Gods to exile in the mortal realms, and his heart was torn out and cast from the Tower. Where it landed, a Volcano formed. With Magic (in the Mythic Sense) gone, the Cosmos stabilized. Elven history, finally linear, began (ME2500).”

        Illusion deals with psychology and the metaphysics of the senses. It can be used to augment skills where misdirection or concealment are important.

The metaphysics of Illusion in Elder Scrolls implies that the effects it produces are entirely physical in everything but name. An Invisibility spell tricks sapient creatures, but also decidedly non-sentient machines and trap triggers from being able to detect you. This means that the various Phantom spells applied to single targets trick everything attempting to observe the truth of that target: you are not only tricking observers, but the world itself. This is also why the Light spell is in this school.

Light - Novice

Produces a floating sphere of light as bright as a lantern that follows the target around until the duration expires. If cast on an object (including a portion of a wall), the light stays with it. Duration is equal to Intensity times POW/INT minutes.

Phantom (Taste) - Novice, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, Intensity effects unchanged. Resistance roll is opposed vs. the Illusion roll. Max Range is equal to 2 meters times Intensity.

Phantom (Sound) - Apprentice, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, Intensity effects unchanged. Resistance roll is opposed vs. the Illusion roll. Max Range is equal to 2 meters times Intensity. When this spell is cast or Combined with another spell, the vocalizations and spell casting sound as part of the casting can also be altered, allowing you to cast completely silently if desired.

Phantom (Smell) - Apprentice, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, Intensity effects unchanged. Resistance roll is opposed vs. the Illusion roll. Max Range is equal to 2 meters times Intensity.

Enslave (Creature/Humanoid) - Adept, Resist (Willpower)

There are two versions of this spell, Humanoid (which affects sapients) and Creature (everything else). Undead and automatons cannot be affected.

As the Sorcery spell, but with several adjustments. Affects a maximum INT or INS equal to Intensity times 4. Range of 10 meters times Intensity. Affects a maximum number of targets equal to Intensity times 2. Passion is equal to the Illusion skill, but can be made lower at the caster’s option. Targets can willingly subject themselves to the effects of the spell, making no resistance roll.

Phantom (Sight) - Expert, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, Intensity effects unchanged. Resistance roll is opposed vs. the Illusion roll. Max Range is equal to 2 meters times Intensity. When this spell is cast or Combined with another spell, the image of the spell casting itself may be altered, meaning the caster may have the appearance of doing nothing at all (though the spell will still create a sound).

Phantom (Touch) - Expert, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, Intensity effects unchanged. Resistance roll is opposed vs. the Illusion roll. Max Range is equal to 2 meters times Intensity.

Dominate (Creature/Humanoid) - Master, Concentration, Resist (Willpower)

There are two versions of this spell, Humanoid (which affects sapients) and Creature (everything else). Undead and automatons cannot be affected.

As the Sorcery spell, but with several adjustments. Affects a maximum INT or INS equal to Intensity times 4. Range of 100 meters times Intensity.

Mysticism

Mysticism (DEX + POW / WIL + AGI)

        “At dawn's light, the rebel army was in sight of the gleaming spires of Firsthold. Friar Lylim gathered together every soldier who knew even the rudimentary secrets of Mysticism, who knew how to tap into the elementary conundrums and knots of the energies of magicka. Though few were masters of the art, their combined force was powerful to behold. A great surge of entangling power washed over the army, crackling, hissing, and infusing all with their ghostly force. When they arrived at the gates, every soldier, even the least imaginative, knew that no spell would touch him for a long time.”

        Mysticism deals with the manipulation of magic itself, and can augment rolls pertaining to such knowledge.

Mark - Novice

As the Sorcery spell, but maximum SIZ is equal to 6 times Intensity. The Range that the caster can place the mark is Touch, but the Range that the caster can detect the Mark is the entire same plane of existence. The Mark is clearly visible, and has no maximum duration, existing until dismissed at the casters discretion or forcibly dispelled. A caster may have as many distinct Marks out at the same time as they wish, but as normal the caster cannot recover the Magicka spent on them until they’re removed.

Sense (Noun) - Novice, Concentration

As the Sorcery spell, but Range is 10 meters times Intensity. Many different versions of this spell exist, and after learning the first one, subsequent teachings only take 1 XP roll and 2 days. Examples of nouns that can be detected from the games are Key, Treasure, Living, and Undead.

Castback - Apprentice, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, but maximum SIZ is equal to 6 times Intensity.

Neutralize Magic - Apprentice, Concentration, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, but maximum SIZ is equal to 6 times Intensity.

Shield (Magic) - Adept

The target gains a number of Magical Armor points on all locations equal to the Intensity/2, stacking with normal and natural armor. This spell can be Combined with itself, but only for different shield types. After learning their first Shield spell (even if it’s from Alteration), subsequent Shield spells only take 1 XP roll and 2 days to learn.

Tap (Characteristic) - Adept, Resist (Special)

As the Sorcery spell, but with several adjustments. The number of points drained from the target is equal to the Intensity times 2, and the caster gains half the total number of points. Magic Armor protects against this draining, reducing the drain by 2 points per point of Magic Armor.

Animate (Substance) - Expert, Concentration

As the Sorcery spell, but maximum SIZ is equal to 6 times Intensity. It has a Range of 10 meters times the Intensity of the spell.

Spell Absorption - Expert

This spell grants a chance to absorb incoming spells. Affects a maximum SIZ equal to 6 times Intensity. Anyone affected by this spell who makes Endurance, Evade or Willpower Checks against magic will find them 1 grade easier, and successfully making the check completely negates the spell effects, restoring Magicka equal to the casting cost of the spell.

Absorb Health - Master, Resist (Endurance)

Absorb Health’s duration is Instant.

Absorb Health deals damage directly to an opponent using the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Endurance. Successful hits deal damage according to the damage table in the Destruction section, but use the Damage and Neighboring Locations values as if the spell were 1 Intensity lower. Normal armor does not protect, only Magic Armor. If the resistance roll is a success, the target takes half damage to the main location and no damage is dealt to neighboring hit locations. This damage cannot cause a Major Wound; excess damage is wasted.

The caster then heals a number of Hit Points on any of their chosen locations equal to the total damage dealt, distributed however they like. This healing cannot heal Major Wounds.

Restoration

Restoration (POW x 2 / WIL x 2)

        “Ramke took Gyna's soaking rags and covered her with a blanket as she sat at the fire. As the numbness of the chill water began to leave her, it cruelly abandoned her to the intense agony of her leg. Until then, she had not dared to look at it. When she did, she felt vomit rise at the sight of the deep gash, fish-white dead flesh, plump and swollen. Thick arterial blood bubbled up, splashing on the floor in streams.

"Oh dear," said the old woman, returning to the fire. "That must rather sting. You're lucky that I still remember a little of the old healing spells.”

        Restoration deals with the healing and fortification of the body, and as such can be used to augment First Aid and Healing checks.

Restore Health - Novice

Restore Health’s duration is Instant.

When cast on a non-undead, non-automaton creature, this spell restores a number of Hit Points equal to its Intensity. These can be divided across multiple locations or applied to a single location as the recipient chooses. These points can only heal Minor Wounds.

If cast at Intensity 3 or higher, it also restores a single additional Hit Point on a Serious Wound. If cast at Intensity 5 or higher, it restores an additional Hit Point on a Serious Wound, for a total of 2.

Note that a wound, if sealed using Restore Health, is still considered untreated if sanitation precautions were not taken (First Aid was not used).

Enhance (Characteristic) - Apprentice, Resist (Endurance, Willpower)

As the Sorcery spell, but enhances Characteristics by 3 points per level of Intensity.

Sunbeam - Apprentice, Resist (Evade)

Sunbeam’s duration is Instant.

Sunbeam deals damage directly, but only affects undead opponents. Use the casting roll as an attack roll, which may be resisted with Evade. Successful hits deal damage according to the damage table in the Destruction section, with normal armor not protecting, only Magic Armor. If the resistance roll is a success, the target takes half damage to the main location and no damage is dealt to neighboring hit locations.

Sunbeam is special in that it ignores the normal rules for Combining damage dealing spells. Other spells it is combined with will still have a reduced damage, but Sunbeam’s damage is never reduced.

Restore Fatigue - Adept

Restore Fatigue’s duration is Instant.

The recipient of this spell has their natural fatigue recovery instantly jump forwards a certain amount of time, leaving them feeling rested and refreshed. The recipient is treated as if they had rested for Intensity times 30 minutes. This time can potentially be wasted if the recipient does not restore a fatigue level and continues doing manual labor or the like.

Restore Characteristic - Adept

Restore Characteristics's duration is Instant.

This spell restores Characteristics damaged by poisons, diseases, or other effects. Unlike similarly named spells, you do not learn a specific spell for each Characteristic. This one spell can restore all Characteristics. Each cast heals a number of damaged Characteristic points equal to Intensity/2.

Restore Magicka - Expert

Restore Magicka’s duration is Instant.

The recipient of this spell restores Magicka equal to Intensity/2.

Cure Disease - Expert, Concentration

Cure Disease’s duration is 10 minutes.

Cure Disease cures any common disease affecting the target, provided the caster Concentrates for the entire duration of the spell. If the disease is a blight disease, an opposed roll of the disease’s potency is made against the casting roll. If the casting roll wins the disease is removed, but if the disease potency wins then it stays. Any Characteristic damage already taken from the disease is not cured with its removal.

Rejuvenate - Master

Rejuvenate’s duration is Special.

As the Miracle of the same name, except it restores Hit Points on the Major Wound exactly up until it is not a Major Wound and no more, leaving it a Serious Wound.

Alchemy

        Alchemy in the early games was impossible for players to do. Potions could only be bought or mixed by special Mage’s Guild members. So even if you had all the ingredients (rain water, iron, orc blood) for a Strength potion, you couldn’t make it until you hauled your cart back to town.

        Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim codified the current alchemy system we may be familiar with. Take some ingredients (from slain enemies or from picking plants), fire up your mortar, pestle, alembic, calcinator and retort, then blindly mix them together until you get some sort of effect. Part of this is player knowledge based, since once you know to mix Giant’s Toes with Blue Butterfly Wings to make a wicked expensive potion to break the economy, any of your level 1 characters can do it. So making a useful potion you care about in Elder Scrolls alchemy looks like:

• Meticulously determine which ingredients have the effects you want
• Find a lot of those ingredients
• Buy/steal Master versions of all the alchemy equipment
• Make 30 potions and drink them all to show Vivec who’s boss

        The skill used for alchemy in Mythras is Craft (Alchemy). To start adapting this, lets begin with throwing out the equipment tiers. As long as you have alchemy tools, you’re good to go. You need a mortar and pestle at the very least, with each additional instrument you’re missing (calcinator, retort) adding 1 level of difficulty.

While these tools aren’t heavy, you do have to carry some basic fuel to heat your calcinator and also package the glassware in a way so that it doesn’t break. An alchemy travel kit thus costs 150 sp and weighs 4 ENC.

Brewing a Potion

        Once you have your tools and some ingredients, you can begin brewing your potion. The first step is to ensure you have enough of your solvent: clean water. A normal alchemist's kit can be used to distill water if needed, but only in small amounts suitable for potion usage or personal drinking. A container is also needed, usually a flask or phial.

        Ingredients are divided into the minimum units required for making a single potion, called Measures. Some ingredients need a lot or a little for there to be an appreciable alchemical effect. An entire skinned Scamp could yield 4 Measures of Scamp Skin, for example, whereas an herbalist may need to pick a dozen Snowberries for 1 Measure.

Then, ingredients can be mixed together in the solvent to produce a potion or poison. The various ingredients and their effects are listed in the sections below, but lets codify their effects first. Here’s some example ingredients:

All ingredients have different effects, either mimicking spell effects from the various schools or disease/poison conditions (Pg 75 Core Mythras). When two or more ingredients have the same effect, they can be mixed to create a potion with that effect. However, the effects that must be used when ingredients are combined is limited by the mixer’s Craft (Alchemy) skill.

• Novice mixers must use all the ingredient effects
• Apprentice mixers can choose to not use the 1st effect of any ingredients
• Adept mixers can choose to not use the 1st and/or 2nd effect of any ingredients
• Expert mixers may freely choose which effects to include or not

The Intensity of spell effects is determined by the alchemist’s Craft (Alchemy) skill exactly as if it were the spell school at the same percentage. Instantaneous effects apply as soon as the potion is imbibed, but spell effects with a normal duration last for a number of minutes equal to the critical range of the Craft (Alchemy) skill. However, ingredients also have a certain potency, expressed as a %. When mixing ingredients together, the ingredient with the highest potency determines the overall potency. Potency acts as a cap on the Craft (Alchemy) skill when making a potion or poison. The potency in the tables shows the average potency of that ingredient: old or rotted ingredients will have lower potency, while exceptional or very fresh ingredients may have a higher potency.

The brewing time is a number of hours equal to each full 1/20th of the potency of the potion. Once all of the factors of making a potion are known, a Craft (Alchemy) check is made.

• Critical Success: The potion is made successfully, with +10% potency
• Success: The potion is made successfully
• Failure: The potion is inert, the ingredients and time wasted
• Fumble: The potion is a failure and an alchemy instrument is damaged/destroyed

Ingredients by themselves only impart their first effect if imbibed directly, but the potency is 1/10 normal and numbers on spell effects always round down.

For example, an Expert alchemist with 79% skill wishes to mix together a potion using some fresh water, Fire Salts, and a Comberry. The effect that the Fire Salts and Comberry share is Restore Magicka. The highest potency between them is from the Fire Salts, with 65% potency. The alchemist’s skill is Expert level, but because the maximum potency of the ingredients is 65%, the Restore Magicka effect will only be Adept level, or Intensity 3. This is alright though, since both an Intensity 3 and Intensity 4 Restore Magicka spell recover 2 Magicka. The alchemist rolls their Craft (Alchemy) and gets a 32, a normal success. After 3 hours of brewing the potion is complete and ready to be imbibed.

Using, Buying, Selling Potions

        Once a potion is complete, it can be used to gain the effects of the spell within. By default this means drinking it, but alchemists can create other delivery methods (injection, eaten) if they so desire. Regardless, the time taken to use a potion is 1 Action Point. This assumes the potion is in hand: otherwise, a Ready action must also be taken, provided it is easily accessible (not at the bottom of your backpack). If another potion is used before the effects of the other expire (in the case of non-instantaneous effects), the potions combine with no problem, up to three simultaneous potions. On the fourth potion and onwards, the imbiber must make a Willpower roll opposed by the potency of the potion as their magical energies are disrupted. Success means they lose 1d6 Magicka points, failure means they lose 1d6+6.

Potion/poisons are assumed to have an ENC of 1, due to needing to be specially packaged, either in sturdier vials than glass, or being carefully wrapped if they are glass. If not packaged in this way, they’ll only weigh ½ ENC, but will typically be the first thing to break in any adverse situation. Malicious foes may intentionally select Damage Weapon to target easily accessible potions, like those on a potion belt. Potions/poisons last for a number of days equal to the Craft (Alchemy) skill of the maker. Each week after this period, the potion/poison loses 2d10  potency, becoming completely useless when dropping to 0%.

Selling potions can be a lucrative business, but it is a long process. Alchemy, due to its reputation as also being a poisoner’s craft, is one based on trust more so than other professions. Selling a potion to a stranger at all requires a Formidable Commerce roll, unless they are particularly desperate for what it is you’re selling. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible; some stores may be happy to have an alchemist supplier, but they’re staking their reputation on an extra service which can be rather volatile. It’s a risky investment that requires most successful alchemists to already be entrenched in a community for years.

Buying potions is a little easier, but can get expensive, and a specific alchemist may be limited in their supplies. Even an alchemist living in a metropolis will likely choose to stock the most in demand, profitable potions, or even require a special permit to sell shadier potions (Phantom (Sight) for instance) to you. Poisons are even shadier, requiring at least a Streetwise roll or specific contacts to get you in touch. Prices can vary wildly, but as a general guideline, the cost of a potion is equal to its potency times the Intensity of the spell effect in silver pieces, while the cost of a poison is equal to its potency times 5.

Poison Design

        Poisons are a little more complex than mimicking spell effects, because poisons are complex in Mythras. There are no simple Damage Health or Fire Damage effects. When a poison is applied to someone, it is done with the intent to seriously worsen their life or kill them, not to get a bonus +2 damage.

        The alchemy ingredients given in this document have certain disease/poison conditions as described in the core Mythras book, but they should ideally be used as guidelines, not as single effects. Historical poisons were often made by concentrating one specific substance (arsenic oxide as a byproduct of copper smelting, aconite plants, opium from poppies, etc), not by combining different ingredients. Combined poisons can get truly vile. If a player wishes to make poisons, it is recommended they also have the Lore (Toxicology) skill. Otherwise, consider keeping poison effects as nothing more than flavorful potion impurities.

There are no set rules beyond what the GM and player making a poison can come up with together. I recommend you both look up the lore of the two ingredients and work something out, using the poisons in Core and Monster Island as inspirations. For example, a poison made from Frost Salts may inflict Exhaustion followed by a Fever (Chills), ending with Paralysis (partially frozen). The onset time could be several hours with the condition similarly lasting that time. A poison using Moon Sugar may have different effects on Khajiiti as opposed to men or mer.

Regardless of the effects, the poison victim’s resistance roll against crafted poison is an opposed Endurance or Willpower roll vs. the poison’s potency.

Optional: Simplified Poisons

If you want poisons to be less impactful or interesting, but quicker to stand up, consider using these rules. A poison’s method of delivery affects its onset time and duration, but it can be modified by potency. For every full % increment of potency, the times can be adjusted as follows:

The poison delivery type is determined at the time of brewing, as is the potency adjustment. The onset time and duration are rolled once the poison is delivered, and after the onset time, respectively.

For example, the alchemist from before decides to be fiendish, and mixes together not just the Fire Salts and Comberry, but a Spore Pod as well. This would give it the effects of both Restore Magicka and Exhaustion. The alchemist decides to select Imbibed as the poison delivery type, and elects to increase the onset time by its maximum amount, making it 2d6+10 minutes, and minimize the duration, making it last 1d3 days - 13 hours.

Optional: Unknown Effects

        If desired, GM’s can assign a secret 4th effect (picked or randomly decided) to all ingredients, in order to mimic the unpredictability of some ingredient effects from the games.

Making Your Own Ingredients

        The main intent with the ingredient lists that follow is to show how exactly alchemy works across an ecosystem. These lists are meant to be expanded on and focused down at the GM’s discretion, as appropriate for the specific era, region, and story you wish to tell in Tamriel. The hope is that with this solid base, a GM feels comfortable adding their own region specific ingredients that can help push the story in interesting ways and provide fun goals for players.

        This can also do wonders for flavorful descriptions of a place. Anytime you come to a new region in the game, consider letting players with Lore (Herbalism) or high Locale skills note what herbs are in the area. Fields of Marshmerrow on the coast? Squat Luminous Russula’s loitering outside the dungeon entrance? Does Nightshade only grow on graves? Craft a story from every leaf and branch.

        Finally, keep in mind that anytime you introduce a new monster to players, be sure to create an appropriate alchemy ingredient for them as well. Try and make it on top of normal goods that can be secured from a kill. A sabre tooth cat’s pelt can make fine armor or decoration, and the alchemical teeth are a fine bonus. The rewards of a hunt should be manyfold.

Fauna Ingredients

        The following table is a non-exhaustive list of alchemy ingredients which come directly from animals or living creatures. This includes humanoids. The list attempts to encompass harvestable ingredients from common fauna in the games, though due to their limited scope of the regions of Morrowind, Cyrodiil and Skyrim, the ingredients here will be heavily biased to those regions.

        How exactly these ingredients are harvested is generally straightforward (Daedroth Teeth can be plucked out, Rat Meat is taken simply from the juiciest parts of the rat), but if in doubt for more complex ingredients or those that require specific skill to extract (Dreugh Wax, Scamp Skin), default to Lore or Craft skills other than Craft (Alchemy). The average number of Measures of an ingredient one can harvest from an entire dead creature is also listed for ease of calculations. The cost is per Measure, and given in silver pieces. This cost is for alchemists among alchemists, and usually represents an uncommon ingredient for the region; adjust costs as needed.

        Note that some characteristics will have to be converted if using alternate characteristics.