How to Play

Types of Players and Characters

During a game, one player should be selected to take the role of Game Master. The Game Master (or GM) is responsible for describing the world the characters are moving through and playing the parts of any non-player characters, creatures and monsters they encounter.

The Game Master should familiarise themselves with the maps and locations for the game and have all stat blocks for non-player characters and other encounters available to them during play.

At the start of the game, the Game Master describes the initial location as well as any people and options available to the characters. It is then over to the other players to describe what their characters do, where they go and what they say.

Together, the Game Master and other players then recount the story of the travel and adventure of the characters through the fantasy world.

Games may run for as long as those playing want them to. At the end of a session a game can be “paused” ready for the next session, at which the Game Master should recap the events of the last game ready for the story to resume.

Ability Checks

During the story, a player may describe their character as doing something particularly strenuous, either physically or mentally. At these moments, the Game Master may call for an Ability Check.

In this case, the player should roll a d20 and add their Ability Modifier for the named Ability to the result, giving the total to the Game Master.

A few examples …

  • A Cleric may be trying to understand a set of instructions for preparing a potion, this would be an Intelligence Check.
  • A Fighter may be trying to force open a door by barging into it, this would be a Strength Check.
  • A Rogue may wish to run up a sheer hill or cliff edge to get a better view, this would be a Dexterity Check.
  • A Wizard may be trying to convince someone to let them in to look for a magic item, this would be a Charisma Check.

In any such case, the result must be the same or greater than the Difficulty Challenge (or DC) of the task at hand.

The Game Master will decide the exact number based on the situation however as a general guide, you can use the following list …

  • Simple (DC 5)
  • Easy (DC 10)
  • Normal (DC 15)
  • Hard (DC 20)
  • Expert (DC 25)
  • Impossible (DC 30)

Remember, an Ability Check should only be made where there is a possibility of Success and also a possibility of Failure. If a character could easily complete a task (such as walking down a path) then no check is needed. Likewise, if a character could never possibly complete a task (such as flying) then no check is needed.

Skill Checks

Similar to Ability Checks, a Skill Check will come up when a Character is attempting to complete a task where there is a possibility of success and a possibility of failure. Skill Checks should be performed where the task at hand could be achieved using a learned skill.

A few examples …

  • A Cleric may be trying to discern whether someone is being honest. This would be an Intuition Check.
  • A Fighter may be trying to haggle for a better price at a tavern. This would be a Persuasion Check.
  • A Rogue may wish to track an animal through the forest. This would be a Nature Check.
  • A Wizard may wish to learn a spell from an old book in a strange or archaic language. This would be an Academia Check.

In this case, the Game Master will say what difficulty the Skill Check is and the player should then roll a dice accordingly. If the roll is the same or less than the Character’s level in that skill then they succeed.

  • Simple (roll a d4)
  • Easy (roll a d6)
  • Normal (roll a d8)
  • Hard (roll a d10)
  • Expert (roll a d12)
  • Impossible (roll a d20)

Ability or Skill?

In some cases, it can be argued that a check could be either an Ability Check or a Skill Check. For example, forcing a door could be a Strength Check or a Brawn Check. Likewise, convincing someone could be a Charisma Check or a Persuasion Check. In these cases, it is ultimately up to the Game Master to decide which to use.

When choosing one or the other though, remember that a Skill Check is binary, either it succeeds or it fails. Whereas an Ability Check can be tiered, with higher results leading to a greater or fuller success (e.g. understanding more, pushing harder or getting a greater discount).

Competitive Skill Checks

If a skill is being used to counter another active skill (e.g. using Nature to track someone hiding using their Stealth skill, or using Brawn vs. Brawn in a tug of war or an arm wrestling competition), the difficulty is set by the level of the opponent.

A character attempting to avoid being tracked must roll their Stealth check based on the highest awareness of their opponents. 0-1 Nature is Simple Stealth, 2 Nature is Easy Stealth, 3 Nature is Normal Stealth, 4 Nature is Hard Stealth, 5 Nature is Expert Stealth and 6+ Nature is Impossible Stealth.

Likewise, a character attempting to track someone hiding rolls Nature based on the Stealth of their opponent. 0-1 Stealth is Simple Nature, 2 Stealth is Easy Nature, 3 Stealth is Normal Nature, 4 Stealth is Hard Nature, 5 Stealth is Expert Nature and 6+ Stealth is Impossible Nature.

Unconsciousness and Death

During the game, a Character may lose Hit Points as a result of combat, poisoning or dangerous activities. If their Hit Points drop to 0, they are then unconscious. At this point, they do not necessarily take any further damage however they cannot do anything until they are healed to at least 1 Hit Point again.

If a Character’s Hit Points drop to -20 then they are dead and their player may make a new character to play as.

Damage and healing may be actively applied to an unconscious character, modifying their hit points accordingly. Any attacks made on an unconscious creature gain Advantage on the roll.

Temporary Hit Points

Some spells and other effects can grant a character temporary hit points. These are additional points that are lost first if that character takes damage and which cannot then be restored by resting or healing. Temporary hit points are also lost if / when the character rests.

Movement and Actions

During gameplay, if combat begins or if a task becomes time-sensitive, players should begin describing their Character’s decisions in a series or 6 second blocks known as Rounds.

There are three parts to any Round …

  • Movement
  • Action
  • Bonus Action

These sections may be described / enacted in any order.

In Mithrym, all humans can move 10m per round. If they choose to, they may Dash as their Action for that round and double this distance to 20m.

All available Actions are as follows …

  • Attack (melee or ranged)
  • Use an ability (e.g. pull yourself up onto a ledge with a strength check)
  • Use a skill (e.g. hide with stealth or force a door with brawn)
  • Cast a Spell
  • Dash (move another 10m)
  • Help (give another character advantage on the roll for their action)
  • Ready an Action (for a given trigger)

A readied action happens when the given trigger, chosen by the player, happens. A readied action must happen if the trigger occurs before the Character’s next turn regardless of whether they would have changed their mind since.

An example of a readied action might be “I will stab whoever comes through that door next as soon as I can see them”

In this case, the trigger is: as soon as someone comes through the door and is visible to the character. Once this happens, the player for that character should roll an attack and, if successful, damage.

Possible Bonus Actions include Simple Spells and some Class / Sub-Class Abilities and Bonuses and can be used accordingly.

In a fight between a character with a ranged weapon and another with a melee weapon, once the combatants are within 2m of each other the melee combatant gains advantage on their attack as their opponent is not defending against it with a melee weapon of their own.

Initiative

If gameplay enters combat, each player should roll a d20, then have the GM roll for each group of enemies. Either write a list or use Initiative Tracker cards / tokens to take it in turns from highest to lowest.

Attacking

For a character to make an attack against a character, a creature or a monster roll a d20, then add either your character's strength modifier if it is a melee attack or their dexterity modifier if it is a ranged attack. If the resulting total is equal to or greater than the opponent's armour class then the attack succeeds. If not, it misses or is deflected by their armour. If an attack is successful, roll the corresponding damage for the weapon used and take the result away from the opponent's hit points.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Sometimes an Ability Check, Skill Check or Attack Roll may be more or less likely to happen. Examples include: another character used the Help Action to assist, or perhaps the Character knows this particular place well.

In these instances, the Game Master will say to roll with Advantage or with Disadvantage. For either case, the roll should be made twice. For Advantage, the better outcome is used. For Disadvantage, the worse outcome is used.

Reactions

Once per round, a character may react to an action performed by another character or creature. Some Class / Sub-Class abilities and bonuses include special reactions however, as a minimum, all characters and creatures have a reaction called an Attack of Opportunity.

An attack of opportunity applies when another character or creature leaves melee range (2m) during that round. In this case, as their reaction they may attack the fleeing individual with one melee attack.

Once a character or creature has used their reaction for a round they must wait until the beginning of the next round before they can react again. e.g. If in one round a party of adventurers were to run past an enemy, the enemy could only take an attack of opportunity against one of them.

Proficiencies

As a character levels up, they gain certain knowledge and understanding from their experiences. These are reflected in Proficiencies in Mithrym. Check the Class / Sub-Class pages to see how many points your character gains when levelling up, however these are applied to two things. Weapon Proficiencies give a +1 per point allocated when you roll to attack with that weapon type (e.g. Long Sword, Short Bow, etc). Skill Proficiencies add to your character's level in any given skill. One level is gained for each proficiency point spent. This then improves your character's ability to perform those skills in a game.'

Crafts

As well as improving their proficiency with a given weapon or at a particular task, characters also improve their ability to produce and fashion items or works of art. This could be anything from Acting or Poetry to Knitting or Metal Work. A full list of crafts can be found here.

If a character has a level in a craft relevent to something they are doing (an attack, an ability check or a skill check), the GM may choose to give them an appropriate bonus to their roll. In its simplest use, this can be done by giving a bonus equal to their character's level in that craft to the dice roll (e.g. +2 to the roll for 2 levels of the craft). Remember that for skill checks, where a low roll is desirable, a bonus of 2 would equate to a -2 on the dice roll.

Resting

During gameplay, so long as the characters are not currently in initiative they may choose to take a rest. To rest, the characters must be able to sleep safely where they are for 8 hours (or less depending on certain Class / Sub-Class bonuses and abilities). If this cannot happen (e.g. wild animals could attack them) then their rest is incomplete and they gain no benefit from it. If they do complete their rest then they regain their full hit points and may cast spells afresh.

Downtime and Levelling Up

All characters begin at level 1, for which they get certain class / sub-class bonuses and abilities. After a period of gameplay though, they may increase to the next level. In-game, this equates to a period of at least two weeks in which the character is learning and practising new skills and abilities. After this period, make sure to update your character with any new class / sub-class bonuses and abilities, add any gained proficiencies and craft levels and roll one hit dice (appropriate to the character's class) and increase their maximum hit point total by the result.

Falling and Special Damage

If a character falls from a rooftop or off a cliff or any other height, work out how far they have fallen and roll 1d4 for every 2m. Add this up and the total is the damage they take from the landing.

If a character has fallen to the ground (from any height) they must use their movement for one round to stand up (this does not however prevent them from using the dash action once they are standing).

Likewise, any time a character might take a small amount of damage from a physical encounter - such as running into a wall, having a door slammed in their face or tripping and falling – roll 1d4 for each strike and the character takes this as damage from the encounter.

Critical Success and Failure

When rolling to attack, if the number of the d20 is either 1 or 20 (either extreme) this is sometimes called a Critical (or Natural) roll. A Natural-20 / Critical Success means that your character did the best they possibly could. This is rewarded by rolling twice for the damage dealt. The flip side of this though is that a Natural-1 / Critical Failure means that your character did the worst they possibly could. In this case you should roll a Dexterity Check. If you get less than 10 then your character doesn’t just miss but falls over and takes 1d4 damage from the fall.

Fatigue

If a character has worked particularly hard or long without a rest there is a risk that they become over-tired, reducing their ability to do more and with the possibility that they will fall asleep.

If 24 hrs have passed in-game without a rest or if the game calls for it for any other reason, players should roll a Fatigue Check. This is a simple d20 roll, if the result is 10 or less then they are fatigued. If not, they must roll again after one more hour has passed in-game.

Fatigued characters gain disadvantage on all rolls. Their speed is also reduced to half. After an hour fatigued, the character's player should roll another Fatigue check. If they fail, their character falls asleep where they are.

Introduction

Character Creation