The Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game takes you on an action-packed journey into a world rich with danger and adventure. To give you a taste of what roleplaying in the Iron Kingdoms is like, these streamlined Quick Start rules omit many special rules and options in order to make it easy to learn the game’s fundamentals. See the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game: Core Rules for the full rules as well as extensive background on the world of the Iron Kingdoms.
Your character is the persona through which you’ll explore the mysteries and dangers of the Iron Kingdoms. This quick start adventure provides pregenerated characters, but the full game rulebook offers many more possibilities.
The technical details that make up a character determine how he can operate in the game and what abilities and skills he starts with. These details include:
When a character attempts to perform an action the Game Master determines has a reasonable chance of failure, the character must make a skill roll. To make a skill roll, roll 2d6 and add the result to the related stat for the level of the skill being used
If the rules do not define a target number for an action a character wishes to perform, the Game Master sets the target number. The target number should reflect the action’s difficulty.
Very simple actions, in which there is little chance of failure, should succeed automatically. Actions with a moderate chance of failure should have a target number of 10–12; complex actions should have a target number of 13–15; and truly difficult actions with a likely chance of failure should have a target number of 16 or more. There is no roll for actions the Game Master deems impossible. Such actions certainly end in failure.
When you have the result of the roll, compare it to the target number set by the Game Master. If the total is equal to or higher than the target number, the skill action succeeds. If it is less than the target number, the skill attempt fails.
A roll of all 1s on the dice is an automatic failure. A roll of all 6s on the dice is an automatic success unless you are rolling only one die. Some rolls also have critical effects that are triggered when a roll succeeds and any two dice used in the roll show the same number.
If the rules do not explicitly state what stats and skills are used for a particular action, the Game Master decides.
Some events call for rolling a d3. This term is short for “roll a d6, divide by 2, and round up.” Quite a mouthful! Here’s how to read the results of a d3 roll quickly:
1 or 2 = 1 3 or 4 = 2 5 or 6 = 3
Sometimes a special ability or circumstance allows a character to roll an additional die. This adds a die to the number of dice a character would ordinarily roll. For example, when a character makes a melee attack roll, he rolls 2d6 and adds his Prowess (PRW) stat + his skill with the weapon and the weapon’s attack modifier. If the character gains an additional die on this attack, he would roll 3d6 and add his PRW + skill with the weapon and the weapon’s attack modifier.
A die roll can include multiple additional dice as long as each additional die comes from a different rule or ability.
Some effects grant characters boosted attack or damage rolls. Add one extra die to a boosted roll. Boosting must be declared before rolling any dice for the roll. Each attack or damage roll can be boosted only once, but a character can boost multiple rolls during his turn. When an attack affects several characters, the attack and damage rolls against each individual character must be boosted separately.
The action of the game takes place in the minds of the players and the Game Master until the start of combat, when play moves to the tabletop where player characters and their enemies are represented by the provided standees. The Game Master then explains the map to the players and places the standees representing the characters, their allies, enemies, and any bystanders on the map.
The 180° arc in the direction its shoulders face defines the character’s front arc; the opposite 180° defines his back arc. A character’s front arc determines his perspective of the battlefield. A character typically directs his actions, determines line of sight, and makes attacks through this arc. Likewise, a character is usually more vulnerable to attacks from his back arc due to a lack of awareness in that direction.
Many situations such as charging and making attacks require a character to have line of sight to his intended target. Simply put, having line of sight means a character can see another character. The Game Master decides which characters have line of sight to each other. He should begin each encounter by describing the terrain and how it affects line of sight.
Measurements on the tabletop are made in inches, with each tabletop inch equating to six feet.
The “round” is an abstraction of a very small amount of in-game time. It gives the Game Master a reasonable way to determine the outcome of multiple characters attempting different actions all at relatively the same time.
Once a battle starts, it is fought in a series of rounds. During each round, every character has a turn, in initiative order (covered next). The character whose turn it is, or the active character, must end his turn before the next character can begin his turn. The players describe their characters’ actions, and the Game Master describes the actions of non-player characters. Once all the characters involved in the combat have taken their turns, the game round ends and a new one begins. Game rounds continue until the player characters defeat their enemies, escape the battle, or are defeated.
At the start of a battle, each character rolls 2d6 and adds his Initiative plus any applicable bonuses. Players roll initiative for their characters, and the Game Master rolls initiative for non-player characters.
If two or more characters end up with the same initiative values, they should roll again to determine who goes first, second, and so on.
A steamjack activates during its controller’s turn during the Activation Phase (see below). The steamjack can move and take its action either before or after its controller moves and takes his action.
An effect that begins on a character’s turn and lasts for one round expires at the start of that character’s next turn. If the character is destroyed, the effect lasts until the point when he would have taken his next turn according to his initiative total.
A character’s turn has three phases: Maintenance, Control, and Activation.
During the Maintenance Phase, perform the following steps in order:
During the Control Phase, perform the following steps in order:
During the Activation Phase a character can move and act. The type of actions a character can take might be limited by his choice of movement, covered next. A character can take his actions before or after moving but cannot interrupt his movement to take an action.
When moving a character, measure from where the front of a character’s base began the movement to where the front of the base is at the end of movement.
A character generally cannot move over another character’s base. A character can move through friendly characters, however, provided he can move completely past the other character’s base.
Advancing refers to any movement a character intentionally makes, rather than any movement caused by other effects such as being pushed or being slammed. A character can change his facing at any time during his advance, but when he moves he must always move in the direction he is facing. Changing facing by rotating in place does not cost any movement. A character who changes his facing is considered to have moved.
There are three basic types of movement that a character can make during his turn: full advance, run, and charge.
A character making a full advance moves up to his current speed (SPD) in inches.
A character who runs during his turn advances up to twice his current SPD in inches. A character who runs during his turn can take one quick action but cannot make attacks or take full actions that turn. A running character cannot use his quick action to cast a spell. A character who forfeits his actions during a turn cannot run that turn.
A charging character rushes into melee and takes advantage of his momentum to make a powerful strike. A character who forfeits his actions during a turn cannot charge that turn.
At the time a character declares a charge, he must also declare which enemy he is charging. A character cannot charge a friendly character. The character must have line of sight to his charge target. The character then advances his SPD plus 3˝ toward his charge target, in a straight line. The charging character stops if he contacts any obstruction, such as another character or terrain he cannot move through. At the end of the charge movement, the charging character turns to face his target directly.
A character who ends his charge movement with his charge target in his melee range has made a successful charge. His first attack after charging must be against his charge target.
If the character charged at least 3˝, his first attack was made with a melee weapon, and the attack hits, the damage roll is boosted. Attacks with ranged weapons do not gain boosted damage from charging. If a charging character moved less than 3˝, the damage roll for his first attack is not boosted because he did not move far or fast enough to add sufficient momentum to his strike. His first attack must still be made against the charge target.
If a charging character ends his charge movement without his charge target in his melee range, then he has failed his charge. If a character makes a failed charge during his Activation Phase, his turn immediately ends.
A character can act before or after his movement. A character cannot interrupt his movement to act.
A character does not have to take his actions all at once and can perform them in any order. For example, a character could make a ranged attack, reload, move, and make another attack.
There are three basic types of actions: quick, attack, and full.
During his turn a character can do one of the following:
Some abilities and benefits allow a character to make additional attacks or perform additional quick actions.
A character’s choice of movement during his turn might impact which actions he can choose that turn.
Quick actions are simple and fast movements a character can perform in addition to more complex actions such as attacking. The quick actions a character can perform include:
A character can spend a quick action to take cover while within six feet (1˝) of a terrain feature that can either obscure his body or provide a solid barrier of protection. For one round, the character gains a DEF bonus from attacks made by characters on the other side of the terrain feature. To consistently gain a bonus for taking cover, a character must perform the quick action during each of his turns. The DEF bonus is determined by the nature of the terrain the character uses for cover.
Terrain not dense enough to block an attack but that makes the character more difficult to see, such as low hedges or bushes, grants concealment. A character taking cover behind or within concealing terrain gains +2 DEF against ranged and magic attack rolls
Terrain physically solid enough to block an attack grants solid cover. Examples include stone walls, giant boulders, and steamjack wrecks. A character benefiting from solid cover gains +4 DEF against ranged and magic attack rolls. He also gains +2 DEF against melee attacks if the terrain feature is between him and his attacker.
DEF bonuses from cover, concealment, and going prone are not cumulative. A character can claim only the best bonus he is eligible to receive.
A character can throw himself on the ground as a quick action to gain a DEF bonus from ranged and magic attacks until he stands up. A character cannot be knocked down while prone.
While prone, the character gains +2 DEF against ranged and magic attacks, gains +4 ARM against blast damage, and cannot run or charge. When he makes a full advance he can move up to half his SPD in inches. Additionally, the character suffers –2 on his melee attacks against characters who are not also prone. A character who is not prone and targets a prone character with a melee attack gains +2 on his attack roll.
A prone character can stand up at the start of his turn if he forfeits his movement or his action that Activation Phase. A character who forfeits his movement to stand can perform an action, but he cannot make attacks involving movement such as a slam. A character who forfeits his action to stand cannot perform quick or full actions, make attacks, or run that turn. He can use his movement to make a full advance but cannot run or charge that turn.
The use of some skills requires a character’s full attention during his turn. The character can move but cannot also perform a quick action or make an attack.
A character who attacks during his turn can make one melee or ranged attack. Some abilities, benefits, and special rules allow a character to make additional melee or ranged attacks. Remember that spells, including magic attacks, are cast as quick actions.
A character who can make more than one melee or ranged attack during his turn can divide them among any eligible targets. Completely resolve each attack before making another.
When a character attacks, his controller makes a skill roll to determine if the attack hits the target. If it does, the character’s controller makes a damage roll to determine how much damage, if any, an attack deals. There are three main types of attacks: melee, ranged, and magic.
When a character attacks, he can target anything or anyone in his line of sight
After declaring the attack, measure to see if the target is within range (melee range for melee attacks, the weapon’s RNG for a ranged attack, or the spell’s RNG for a magic attack). Measure the maximum range from the edge of the attacking character’s base. If the nearest edge of the target is within that distance, it is in range. See “Ranged Attacks” below for additional information.
To make an attack roll, roll 2d6 and add the character’s appropriate stat and skill for the weapon used in the attack. Special rules can change the number of dice in the attack roll or directly modify the final result.
Melee attack rolls use a character’s PRW + military skill + weapon attack modifier. This is the character’s melee attack score with that weapon, which is abbreviated as MAT on the character sheet.
Melee Attack Roll = 2d6 + PRW + military skill + weapon attack modifier
Most ranged attack rolls use a character’s Poise (POI) + military skill + weapon attack modifier. This is the character’s ranged attack score with that weapon, which is abbreviated as RAT on the character sheet. The exception to this rule is thrown weapon attack rolls, which use the same stats as melee attacks: PRW + military skill + weapon attack modifer.
Ranged Attack Roll = 2d6 + POI (or PRW for thrown weapon) + military skill + weapon attack modifer
Magic attack rolls use a character’s ARC stat.
Magic Attack Roll = 2d6 + ARC
The target is hit by an attack if the attack roll equals or exceeds his defense (DEF). Otherwise the attack misses.
While knocked down, a character has his base DEF reduced to 5, and melee attacks against him hit automatically.
A back strike is an attack made by a character completely in his target’s back arc. He must have been in the target’s back arc for his entire Activation Phase up to the moment of the attack. A back strike grants a +2 bonus on the attack roll of any melee, ranged, or magic attack.
A melee weapon has a melee range extending 0.5˝ beyond the character’s front arc for any type of melee attack. A weapon with Reach has a melee range of 2˝.
When a character has an enemy in his melee range and line of sight, he is engaging that character. When a character is either engaged or engaging, he is in melee
When an engaged character moves out of an enemy’s melee range and/or line of sight, the enemy can immediately make a free strike against it just before the engaged character leaves his melee range and/or line of sight. The enemy character makes one normal melee attack with any melee weapon that has sufficient melee range to reach the moving character and gains a +2 bonus on his melee attack roll. If the attack hits, the damage roll is boosted. Free strikes cannot benefit from back strike bonuses.
A character can make ranged attacks against any target in his weapon’s range that is in his line of sight. A character making more than one ranged attack can divide his attacks among any eligible targets. A character in melee can make ranged attacks only against targets he is engaging.
A character targeting an enemy in melee combat with a ranged or a magic attack risks hitting another character in the combat, including friendly characters. Add a –4 penalty to the ranged attack roll against a target in melee.
An AOE attack follows all normal targeting rules. A successful attack roll indicates a direct hit on the target, which suffers a damage roll of 2d6 + the attack’s POW. Center the AOE template over the center of the hit target’s base.
Every other character with any part of his base covered by the AOE template is hit (but not directly hit) by the attack and suffers a blast damage roll of 2d6 + 1/2 POW of the attack. Make separate damage rolls against each character in the AOE; each roll must be boosted individually. An AOE attack’s critical effect functions only on a direct hit, but every character under the template suffers the critical effect.
Prone characters gain +4 ARM against blast damage.
An AOE attack that misses its target deviates d6˝ in a random direction. If the target is within range (RNG), the point of impact deviates from the center of its base. If the target is out of range, the attack automatically misses, and its point of impact deviates from the point on the line from its point of origin to its declared target at a distance equal to his RNG.
A character can make magic attacks against any target in his spell’s range that is in his line of sight. Magic attacks are similar to ranged attacks but are not affected by rules that affect only ranged attacks. A magic attack roll does not suffer the target in melee attack roll penalty when the attacker is engaged in melee with the target.
A spell is defined by the following six statistics:
COST – The cost of the spell.
RNG (Range) – The maximum distance in inches from the spell’s point of origin to its target. A RNG of “SELF” indicates the spell can be cast only on the character casting it. A RNG of “CTRL” indicates the spell uses the spellcaster’s control area as its range.
Range Reminder - Remember that a single inch on the tabletop is the equivalent of six feet.
Control area - A control area is a circular area centered on the character with a radius that extends out from the edge of his base equal to his ARC x twelve feet (or twice his ARC in tabletop inches).
AOE (Area of Effect) – The diameter in inches of the template an AOE spell uses for its effects. A spell with an AOE of “CTRL” is centered on the spellcaster and affects characters in his control area.
POW (Power) – The base amount of damage a spell inflicts. The POW forms the basis of the spell’s damage roll. A spell with POW “—” does not cause a damage roll.
UP (Upkeep) (Yes/No) – Determines whether the spell can be maintained.
OFF (Offensive) (Yes/No) – Whether the spell is offensive. An offensive spell requires a successful magic attack roll to hit its target. If the attack roll fails, the attack misses and, unless it is an AOE spell, has no effect.
The damage inflicted by an attack or other damage-causing effect is determined by making a damage roll. In the case of ranged, magic, and most other damaging effects, roll 2d6 and add the Power (POW) of the attack. In the case of melee attacks, roll 2d6 and add the POW + STR (P+S) of the attacking character. A boosted damage roll adds an additional die to this roll. Special rules for certain circumstances might modify the damage roll as well.
Compare this total against the ARM of the character suffering the damage. That character takes 1 damage point for every point that the damage roll exceeds his ARM.
A weapon or attack with POW “—” does not cause damage.
Living Characters: Unless stated otherwise, characters are considered to be living. Undead characters and steamjacks are not living characters.
Characters have life spirals consisting of six branches grouped into three aspects that correspond with their primary stats: Physique, Prowess, and Intellect. When a character suffers damage, roll a d6 to determine which branch of his life spiral takes the damage. Starting with the outermost unmarked vitality point in that branch and working inward, mark one vitality point per damage point taken. Once a branch is full, continue recording damage in the next branch clockwise that contains an unmarked vitality point. Continue filling branches as required until every damage point taken has been recorded.
While all a character’s vitality points are filled in on a particular aspect, the aspect is crippled and he suffers the effects that are listed on the life spiral.
Steamjacks have damage grids consisting of six columns of damage boxes labeled 1 through 6. When a steamjack suffers damage, roll a d6 to determine which column takes the damage. Starting with the uppermost unmarked box in that column and working down, mark one damage box per damage point taken. Once a column is full, continue recording damage in the next column to the right that contains an unmarked damage box. If you would mark damage in column 6 but all its damage boxes are marked, continue recording damage in column 1 or the next column that contains an unmarked damage box. Continue filling columns as required until every damage point taken has been recorded.
When a steamjack suffers damage, systems critical to its combat performance can be damaged and crippled. Blank damage boxes on the steamjack’s damage grid represent its hull. Beneath the hull are the steamjack’s vital systems, represented by system boxes. Each of these boxes is labeled with a letter designating the system it supports. System boxes are still damage boxes; when recording damage, mark both blank boxes and those containing system labels to record the correct amount of damage. While all its system boxes are marked, a system is crippled.
Instead of life spirals, less important antagonists simply have an amount of damage points they can suffer before being disabled.
The rules for injuries presented here are much simpler than those in the core rules. In an ongoing campaign there are additional possible penalties for a character who loses his last vitality point.
In the intro adventure a character is disabled when all his vitality points are marked. Some effects cause a character to cease being disabled, either directly or by regaining a vitality point, such as from a successful Tough roll.
After resolving any effects triggered by being disabled, if the character is still disabled he is considered grievously injured and cannot take part in the rest of the encounter.
Some injuries are so dreadful they require immediate medical attention to save the injured character’s life. A grievously injured character must be stabilized after the encounter or he dies. To do this, the treating character makes an INT + Medicine skill roll against a target number of 14. If the roll succeeds, the injured character is stabilized. If the roll fails, the injured character dies.
When a character regains vitality, he removes the appropriate amount of damage from anywhere on his life spiral. Remember, if a character regains vitality damage while disabled, he is no longer disabled.
After a short rest following an encounter, a character automatically regains vitality points equal to his PHY.
Some attacks cause special effects in addition to causing damage, and some spells and actions can put special effects into play.
A cloud effect produces an area of dense smoke, magical darkness, thick mists, or the like that remains in play for a specified length of time. Use an AOE template of the appropriate size to represent the cloud. Every character with any part of its base covered by the cloud’s template is within the cloud and susceptible to its effects.
In addition, a character with any part of his base inside a cloud effect gains concealment (see “Taking Cover,” p. 5). The cloud effect does not block line of sight from characters within it to those outside it, but it completely obstructs line of sight from characters outside it to anything beyond it. In other words, a character can see into or out of a cloud effect but not through one
Some attacks cause continuous effects in addition to damage. Continuous effects remain on a character and have the potential to damage or affect him in some other way on subsequent turns. A character can have multiple continuous effects on him as long as each is a different type.
Continuous effects have a chance of expiring each round. At the start of the affected character’s Maintenance Phase, roll a d6 to check each continuous effect. If the result is a 1 or 2, the continuous effect immediately expires. On a 3, 4, 5, or 6 it remains in play. Determine the status of all the continuous effects affecting a character first, then simultaneously apply the effects of all the ones that remain on him.
Two common continuous effects are Corrosion and Fire.
A critical hit occurs if the attack hits and two of the rolled dice show the same number. As a result of a critical hit, some attacks cause critical effects in addition to damage. The target suffers the critical effect even if it takes no damage from the damage roll. An AOE attack’s critical effect functions only on a direct hit, but every character under the template suffers the critical effect.
Some attacks and special rules cause a character to be knocked down. This effect is not cumulative; once a character is knocked down, he must stand or go prone before he can be knocked down again. A knocked down character who stands or goes prone is no longer knocked down.
While knocked down a character cannot move, perform actions, make attacks, or cast spells and does not have a melee range. A knocked down character does not engage other characters and cannot be engaged by them. As a consequence, a character is never in melee with a knocked down character. A melee attack roll against a knocked down character automatically hits. A knocked down character has a base DEF of 5. He does not block line of sight and can be ignored for targeting purposes.
A knocked down character can stand up or go prone at the start of his next turn. To stand up, a character must forfeit either his movement or his actions that turn.
A character who forfeits his movement to stand can still perform actions that turn, but he cannot make attacks involving movement, such as slams.
A character who forfeits his actions to stand cannot take quick or full actions or make attacks. He can use his movement to make a full advance but not to run or charge that turn.
A character can go prone at the start of his turn without forfeiting either his movement or his actions.
When a character is knocked out, he is knocked down and his upkeep spells expire. This applies even for a character who has an ability that says he cannot be knocked down.
While knocked out, a character cannot allocate focus, take actions, make attacks, or move and must forfeit the Activation Phase of his turns.
At the start of each of his turns, a knocked out character can make a PHY roll against a target number of 12 to regain consciousness. If he fails, he remains knocked out. If he succeeds, he is no longer knocked out and can act normally that turn, though he is still knocked down.
Only living characters can be knocked out.
Feat points represent a character’s luck and raw heroic potential. They can enable him to reroll failed skill rolls, shake the effects of knockdown or continuous effects, or use a number of special archetype benefts. Feat points are gained and spent regularly throughout play. Generally only player characters gain feat points.
A character starts each session with 3 feat points and can never have more than that.
The awarding of feat points is completely at the discretion of the Game Master; the rules here are merely guidelines. That said, the Game Master should not award feat points to characters who are attempting to game the system, such as by making repeated Lore skill rolls for the express purpose of picking up extra feat points. It is worth keeping in mind that these points are expected to be regularly earned and spent throughout play and that they are a resource characters need to fuel their abilities. Being too stingy with feat points has a stifling effect on the game.
There are several ways a character can gain feat points:
If a character with 3 feat points gains another, the additional feat point is lost.
Characters can spend their feat points to accomplish any of a number of feats. Any character can take advantage of common feats listed below, and there are also a number of abilities and archetype benefits that require the expenditure of a feat point to use.
A character can spend as many feat points during his turn as he wishes and has available.
Any character can spend a feat point to use one of the following feats: