Swords & Glory for 3rd Ed. D&D (Draft 2)

This conversion, like Sammy Grimes' Empire of the Petal Throne (EPT) conversion, gives D&D 3e rules for gaming in the wonderful world of Tekumel (http://www.tekumel.com/).  Unlike the EPT conversion, this one tries to follow the guidelines presented in later Tekumel rules sets such as Swords & Glory (1983-85), often abbreviated as S&G, and Gardasiyal (1992-94).  These games are more complex than EPT in some ways, and characters in these games are less powerful than characters in EPT.

General Philosophy

D&D creates heroic, larger than life characters: as we well know, high-level characters can leap off tall cliffs, take on armies, and perform the most amazing feats.  A 9th level character who chooses to ignore the laws of the land has little to fear from the local constabulary.  It does not fit the S&G feel to have small parties challenge entire legions and win.  Thus, the characters created by these rules, although still formidable, are not quite as powerful as standard D&D characters.

Abilities

Ability scores are rolled using the standard method for PCs.  Two optional scores, Pedhetl and Comeliness, may be added if a group wishes, and are rolled in the same manner as other scores.  If Pedhetl is used, it is used in place of Charisma to calculate spell bonuses for sorcerers (see below).  If Comeliness is used, its modifier applies to any interactions with characters who would find your character handsome or beautiful; generally, this means that Comeliness does not affect interactions between characters of different races.

Races

In the traits given below, the number in parentheses by Charisma applies only to calculating spell casting abilities.  If you are using the Pedhetl score, the number in parentheses is a modifier to Pedhetl; if there is no number in parentheses, apply the Charisma modifier to Pedhetl as well.

Non-human characters generally start out clanless.  Some, such as Pe Choi, have little trouble getting into a clan, possibly even a medium clan; others will be very lucky to enter a clan of any status.

Human Racial Traits
Humans are by far the most common race on Tekumel.  The Five Empires--Livyanu, Mu'ugalavya, Tsolyanu, Yan Kor, and Salarvya--are ruled by humans, and most of the smaller nations are formed and ruled by humans.  Except for the N'lüss they conform to the standard rules for creating humans in the Player's Handbook.  Optionally, female characters may be given a +2 to Dexterity and one spell casting prerequisite (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) for a -2 to Strength.

Names:  All Tsolyánu have a personal name, a lineage name, and a clan name.

Male Names:  Achán, Adlár, Bálesh, Chúrisan, Dlamúz, Fíru, Gayán, Héttukeng, Hóru, Kágesh, Kémuel, Kotáru, Mígor, Mízhotl, Mnéktu, Mottán, Mridók, Nirún, No'ómu, Núromen, Omél, Pí'ur, Sánjesh, Shémek, Treshélmu, Tsodlán, Túrisan, Visán, Zagár, Zhurák

Female Names:  A'én, Atín, Balané, Chashána, Dzái, Halé, Kalusü, Ke'él, Layéth, Linátla, Mikúsa, Mísa, Nélel, Ngáya, Osuré, Paluél, Qiláin, Rayána, Réluen, Sáyi, Senértha, Shánü, Shekkára, Sídla, Srúdhal, Ta'ána, Tálodel, Tlayésha, Umá, Visháya

Lineage Names:  Arusá, Burusá, Chaishyáni, Chánkolu, Fershéna, Gurúma, Kétkolel, Khanúma, Kutonyál, Kúrodu, Mraktiné, Mrékka, Mriyén, Náshomai, Nezár, Pagártra, Qolyélmu, Ri'inyússa, Sayúncha, Sénkolum, Sérekel, Sóruna, Ssáivra, Ssánkoral, Ssánmirin, Tánkolel, Tlakán, Tlekólmü, Tlélsu, Tukkoién, Tuplángte, Túkkimchash, Víridu, Vraisúna, Zhayárvu, Zhnáyu

N'lüss Racial Traits

• +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, N'lüss have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• N'lüss base speed is 30 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison: N'lüss are hardy and resistant to toxins.
• N'lüss characters start out with one bonus combat feat (the ones allowed to fighters), but they do not get the extra skill points that other humans do.
• Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass N'lüss' warrior class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Ahoggyá Racial Traits

• +4 Strength, -4 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -4 (-10) Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Ahoggyá have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Ahoggyá base speed is 30 feet.
• Ahoggyá cannot be flanked.
• Ahoggyá receive one extra attack per round, which must be used against a different target if its opponents are Medium-sized or smaller, and they receive three extra attacks per round if they would be flanked.
• Ahoggyá automatically have the Multidexterity feat (see p. 11, 3e MM) even if their Dexterity is not 15+.
• An unarmed Ahoggyá can still claw for 1d6 damage.
• -6 racial penalty to Swim checks.
• +3 natural bonus to Armor Class.
• Shén react to Ahoggyá with a -5 to the roll (on the Influencing NPC attitudes table).
• Ahoggyá are unconcerned with religion.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass Ahoggyá's barbarian class does not count when determining whether it suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).
• Ahoggyá start with 3 monster levels.

Hlaka Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, -2 Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Hlaka have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Hlaka base ground speed is 30 feet.
• Hlaka base flying speed is 40 feet (average).
• Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass Hlaka's warrior class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Pachi Lei Racial Traits

+2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.

Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Pachi Lei have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Pachi Lei base speed is 30 feet.

Low-light vision: Pachi Lei can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.  They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these circumstances.

+3 racial bonus on Climb, Search, Spot, and Wilderness Lore checks.

Pachi Lei automatically have the Multidexterity feat (see p. 11, 3e MM) if their Dexterity is 11+.

Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass Pachi Lei's warrior class does not count when determining whether it suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Pe Choi Racial Traits

• +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Pe Choi have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Pe Choi base speed is 40 feet.
• +3 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks.
• +2 natural bonus to Armor Class.
• Pe Choi have the psychic ability to detect other beings within five feet of themselves.
• Pe Choi receive one extra attack per round.
• Pe Choi automatically have the Multidexterity feat (see p. 11, 3e MM) even if their Dexterity is not 15+.
• Pe Choi cannot swim.
• Pe Choi heal at half normal rate (1 hit point per day per two character levels); this also affects magical healing.
• Favored Class: Any.  When determining whether a multiclass Pe Choi suffers an XP penalty, her highest class does not count. (See Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Pygmy Folk Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
• Small: As Small creatures, Pygmy Folk gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium-sixe characters.
• Pygmy Folk base speed is 40 feet.
• Darkvision: Pygmy Folk can see in the dark up to 60 feet.  Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Pygmy Folk can function just fine with no light at all.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
• Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass Pygmy Folk's warrior class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Shen Racial Traits

• +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -2 (-6) Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Shen have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Shen base speed is 30 feet.
• +3 natural bonus to Armor Class.
• Shen receive one extra attack per round by using their tail (for d6 HP damage) against opponents behind them.
• Ahoggyá react to Shén with a -5 to the roll (on the Influencing NPC attitudes table).
• Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass Shen's warrior class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).
• Shen start with 2 monster levels.

Swamp Folk Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, -2 (-10) Charisma.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Swamp Folk have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Swamp Folk base speed is 30 feet.
• +2 racial bonus to Profession (Sailor) and Profession (Merchant)
• +2 racial bonus on Intuit Direction checks.
• Favored Class: Warrior. A multiclass Swamp Folk's warrior class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Tinaliya Racial Traits

• -4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom.
• Small: As Small creatures, Tinaliya gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium-sixe characters.
• Tinaliya base speed is 30 feet.
• +2 natural bonus to Armor Class.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge (Arcana), Listen, and Spellcraft checks.
• -6 racial penalty on Bluff and Innuendo checks.
• Favored Class: Expert. A multiclass Tinaliya's expert class does not count when determining whether it suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Urunen Racial Traits

• -2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Urunen have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Urunen base speed is 30 feet.
• Proficient with longsword, halberd, light and heavy crossbow, and javelin.
• Urunen have Endure Elements (Cold only) constantly as an exceptional ability.
• Favored Class: Any.  When determining whether a multiclass Urunen suffers an XP penalty, her highest class does not count. (See Experience for Multiclass Characters, p. 56, 3e PHB).

Classes

As described above, characters on Tekumel are generally somewhat less powerful than their standard D&D counterparts.

Aristocrat (Mrígnu): As described in the 3e DMG, p. 38. Aristocrats must be human and in a High, Very High or Imperial clan.

Barbarian (Faltérikh): As described in the 3e PHB, pp. 24-26, except that Tekumelani barbarians do not have the Rage or Damage Reduction abilities. Characters who begin as barbarians are clanless until adopted by a clan.

Expert (Gámra): As described in the 3e DMG, p. 39.  Many Administrative and Ritual priests are experts. Experts must be in a Medium, Low or Very Low clan.

Fighter (Púrdalmokoi): As described in the 3e PHB, pp. 35-37, except that their Hit Die is d8.  Fighters are specialists in one-on-one combat, and are thus usually gladiators of low clans, although a few nobles might pick up a level or two of fighter if their lives are adventurous. Fighters can come from a clan of any status, but if they start as fighters, they must be in a Medium, Low or Very Low clan.

Monk (Dedaratlkói if they follow Stability or Hu'onkói if they follow Change): As described in the 3e PHB, pp. 37-41, except that Tekumelani monks gain no supernatural or spell-like abilities. Monks can come from a clan of any status.

Sorcerer: As described in the 3e PHB, pp. 48-52, except that they cannot have familiars. Sorcerers can come from a clan of any status, but the requirements are strict: a sorcerer's Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma (or Pedhetl, if it is used) must each be at least 19 minus her clan level (see below).

Shaman (Bálash): As the sorcerer, except that shamans have a different spell list and a barbarian's skill selection. Characters who begin as shamans are clanless until adopted by a clan.

Warrior (Changadésha): As described in the 3e DMG, p. 39, except that Tekumelani warriors can take Weapon Specialization as a feat and have exclusive access to the Soldiering skill (see below).  Warriors are soldiers, best trained in large scale combat. Warriors can come from a clan of any status.

There is no priest class; priests may be of any class except barbarian or shaman, and may be of any clan level, including clanless (cf. Man of Gold).  Note that a priest's Circle is not equal to his class level, and the two may not even be very well correlated.

Multiclass characters must obey all clan restrictions for each of their classes.  For example, an aristocrat cannot take any levels of barbarian, expert or shaman.  Characters who start as barbarians or shamans can not advance in those classes if they take levels of any other classes and remain in 'civilized' areas.  Sorcerers rarely take levels in another class.

Race and character class: There are limitations to the level a non-human character may attain in the Five Empires, depending on their character class.  Tsolyani society seems to have very few non-humans in positions of real power.  For example, it seems logical that Pe Choi or Tinaliya sorcerers should be able to reach greater power than humans, yet Tsolyani attitudes and the generally insular non-human mindsets limit such things.  Non-humans have unlimited advancement in their homelands.  The table below indicates the limits to advancement by character class for non-humans:
 

Race	Warrior / Expert	Sorcerer / Monk
N'luss	11	0
Ahoggya	11	0
Hlaka	11	0
Pachi Lei	11	11
Pe Choi	11	11
Pygmy Folk	8	11
Shen	11	5
Swamp Folk	11	0
Tinaliya	8	11
Urunen	11	11

Clans

Clan names and descriptions can be found at http://Tekumel.com/game_images/downloads/player.zip.  Clans are divided into levels as follows:
 

Imperial	6
Very High	5
High	4
Medium	3
Low	2
Very Low	1
Clanless	0

Characters get +1 to all influencing NPC attitude checks (pg. 149, 3e PHB) per level of clan difference when dealing with others of lower clans and -1 per level of clan difference when dealing with others of higher clans.  There is also a -2 modifier (in both directions) when dealing with someone from another country (or even another region sometimes--e.g., a Vriddi of Fasiltum talking to a grandee of Jakalla).

Characters may expect shelter from fellow clan members in other Tsolyani cities.  They also receive an income from their clan; see Swords & Glory, Vol. II or Adventures on Tekumel, Part One, p. 18.

Skills

D&D's skill system is more coarse-grained than the Swords & Glory skill system.  Thus, for example, all Ritual priest skills would be grouped under Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (The Many Planes).

Some D&D skills do not exist on Tekumel.  For example, the Ride skill does not exist, since there are no suitable riding creatures to be found on the continent.  The Pick Pocket skill is also unavailable--Tsolyani thieves generally have short, miserable lives.

Characters can only acquire ranks in Knowledge for Arcana, Religion, Architecture, Geography (High Cartography on Tekumel), the Many Planes or History under temple tutelage.  In addition, there is an Ancient Devices field for the Knowledge skill, giving those who possess it clues to the function and operation of ancient technological devices.  Some sample DCs are given below:
 

Task	DC
Use an Eye	10
Read an charge indicator that isn't labeled in a modern language	24
Fly an aircar	28
Operate a Lightning Bringer	30
Fly a spaceship	60
Repair a spaceship	80

Warriors have exclusive access to the following skill:

Soldiering (Int; Trained Only)
This skill represents a character's military training: his ability to march and attack in formation, to understand military history, and so on.  Each rank gained in Soldiering corresponds to one step in soldier skills in Adventures on Tekumel, Part One, p. 34.

Finally, if you wish, you can retain the S&G skill system for nonwarrior skills; costs should be changed to 1 point per rank for all skills.

Feats

Access to the special spells of the temples is only granted to sorcerers in good standing.  The following feats describe these milestones in a sorcerer's career:

Generic Magic
You can cast the Generic spells of your temple.
Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 1+.
Benefit: As described above.

Temple Magic
You can cast the Temple spells of your temple.
Prerequisites: Spellcaster level 10+.
Benefit: As described above.

Shamans must take similar feats to gain access to Generic and Shaman spells, respectively.

Although most magical knowledge is in the hands of the temples (see below), a few spells are given to characters by a friendly sorcerer (invariably for a good reason) or passed down within a clan or lineage as a jealously guarded secret.  The following feat describes this rare occurrence.

Cast Spell (Special)
You know one spell.
Prerequisites: No spellcaster levels, sufficient Charisma and sufficient Intelligence or Wisdom to cast the spell, and you must be as high in level as a sorcerer who could cast the spell.
Benefit: You know one spell and can cast it as a sorcerer or shaman of your level (including the number of times per day).  Flashy combat spells can not be selected--more than one Temple would hunt an uninitiated character to his death if he knew Doomkill!  In addition, the use of the spell should invariably be subtle, particularly if it is a Generic or Temple spell, as it is a dangerous secret to possess.  Your DM will need to approve any spell you wish to possess, and you (or the DM) should have a good in-game reason why your character possesses such knowledge.

Money and Equipment

Money in Tsolyánu is based on the Káitar, a gold coin weighing approximately 3 grams and roughly equal in value to the standard D&D gold piece.  The coin system is base 20 (instead of base 10) so multiply prices in silver by x2 to find the cost in silver Hlásh and multiply prices in copper by x4 to find the cost in copper Qirgál (there are no platinum coins).  Items made of Iron cost more (see below)
 

	Káitar	Hlásh	Qirgál
Káitar	1	20	400
Hlásh	1/20	1	20
Qirgál	1/400	1/20	1

Chlén-hide:  Weapons and armor made of Chlén-hide are specially treated to make them almost as hard as bronze.  Chlén-hide weapons are -1 to hit and -1 to damage.  Chlén-hide armor has -2 armor protection but has -10% spell failure, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are increased by 3.  Cost is normal.
Ordinary Steel:  No modifiers, the cost is x400 normal
Excellent Steel:  Armor has +1 AC bonus, weapons have +1 hit and damage, cost x1000 normal
Enchanted Steel:  Armor has +2 AC bonus, weapons have +2 hit and damage, cost x2500 normal

Holy water, alchemical devices such as thunderstones, repeating crossbows, lances, spiked chains, and thieves' tools are not available.

Combat

To better reflect the lethal nature of Tekumelani combat, the following variant rules should be used: Instant Kill (3e DMG, p. 64), Critical Misses (ibid., p. 65), Clobbered (ibid., p. 66), Death from Massive Damage Based on Size (ibid., p. 66) and Damage to Specific Areas (ibid., p. 66-67).

Magic

First, some general notes about magic on Tekumel.  Although sorcery is not dependent on the gods for it to work, the temples are the main sources of learning how to do it.  Those priests who choose to specialize in sorcery are called "sorcerer-priests".  Those who learn sorcery but choose to be somewhat aloof from their temple are called "lay-priests" or "jack-priests".  Sorcerers are only taught those spells known to their temple (and the body of spells common to all temples).   Temple sorcery is a tightly guarded secret, and those that betray those secrets can expect to be hunted down and executed in the most horrible fashion imaginable.  Even scrolls of temple spells are enchanted so that only worshippers of the same deity (or his/her cohort) may use it.  If a person wishes to abandon their faith and join another temple, their memory is wiped so that they cannot remember their spells, and they must start over as 1st level sorcerers or shamans.  Notice that there are some spells common to all temples; these are not kept secret because everybody already knows them.

Tekumelani spells are of two types: psychic, which require no casting components and are cast purely by will, and ritual, which have both verbal and somatic components.  The minimum Wisdom to cast a psychic spell is 10 + the spell's level, and the minimum Intelligence to cast a ritual spell is 10 + the spell's level.  Both types of spells are arcane.  Tekumelani sorcerers and shamans gain bonus spells based on their charisma (or pedhetl, if you use that score).  There is no "magic" script.  Spells are studied and learned using ordinary languages.  The "Read Magic" spell is no longer necessary.

There are no metamagic or item creation feats on Tekumel, nor is countermagic possible.

Contact with metal grounds the use of both psychic and ritual magic (though this has no effect once the spell is cast).  For every gram of metal in contact with the caster there is a base 1% chance of failure (in addition to normal Arcane Failure checks), and if such a spell fails, the caster has a 50% chance of dying.  Because of this spellcasters avoid carrying metal arms and armor and tend to avoid even carrying coins, making use of gems or letters of credit instead.

Conversion Tables

Magic: Some groups may wish to retain the S&G magic system. If so, sorcerers and shamans gain 25 spell points to buy spells each time they go up a level.  The following conversion tables will be useful in translating S&G spells to D&D mechanics:

Damage/Healing
 

Gardasiyal damage table	S&G damage (*)	D&D damage
A	d4	d4
B	d6	d6
C	d8	d8
D	d10	d10
E	d12	d12
F	d12+2	2d8
G	d12+4	2d12
H	d12+6	2d20 and up

(*): S&G damages do not include HBS damage bonuses (for creature attacks).

Damage capacity
 

Gardasiyal QP Crits	S&G (HP) BDP	D&D HD
1	less than 80	1-2
2	80-109	3-4
3	110-139	5-6
4	140-169	7-8

etc.

Difficulty tests
 

Gardasiyal difficulty	D&D DC
Easy	12
Harder	16
Difficult	20
Very Difficult	24
Real Challenge	28

Armor Rating/Class
Add 2 points to AC per point of S&G armor rating.

Spell Level Conversion (for DCs, etc.)
 

Universal	Generic	Temple	D&D Spell Level
1, 2	-	-	0
3	1, 2	-	1
4	3	1, 2	2
5	4	3	3
6	5	4	4
7	6	5	5
8	7	6	6
9, 10	8	7	7
-	9, 10	8	8
-	-	9, 10	9

Creature Intelligence
 

S&G Intelligence	D&D Intelligence
Low Animal	-
Animal	1-2
High Animal	3-4
Semi-Intelligent	5-7
Intelligent	8-13
Very Intelligent	14+

Speed
 

S&G Speed	D&D Speed
Very Slow	10 ft.
Slow	20 ft.
Average	30 ft.
Fast	40 ft.
Very Fast	60 ft.

Credits:

Note that this is not complete.
This conversion is based on the AD&D 2nd Edition Tekumel Supplement by Robert Dushay (rdushay@mindspring.com) and Empire of the Petal Throne for 3rd edition D&D by Sammy Grimes (Grimess@mail.uark.edu)

Contributors to this conversion include:
Nick Bogan: crunchy tables, races, skills & feats
Louise Hayes: monks
Scott Maxwell: races
Brion Oliver: Pedhetl & Comeliness
Victor Raymond: kibitzing

Copyright notice:  These materials utilise Professor M. A. R. Barker's creation of the World of Tekumel but are not to be considered 'authentic Tekumel' and are in no way 'approved' by Professor Barker.  This work is made using the d20 system.