Terminology

This game uses common RPG terminology, as follows.

Dice Notation
Like most classic RPG systems, Adventure Master uses a variety of polyhedral dice. The type of die is notated by the letter “d” followed by the number of sides the die should have. Here are the most common examples:

  • d4: A four-sided die.
  • d6: A six-sided die.
  • d8: An eight-sided die.
  • d10: A ten-sided die.
  • d12: A twelve-sided die.
  • d20: A twenty-sided die.
  • d100: A percentile roll (see below).

Rolling Multiple Dice
The rules will often call for multiple dice of a certain type to be rolled, and their results added together. In this case, the multiple dice will be notated as a number preceding the die type. In example:

  • 3d6: Three six-sided dice, added up.
  • 2d8: Two eight-sided dice, added up.
  • 5d4: Five four-sided dice, added up.

Dice Modifiers
Modifiers to dice rolls are used frequently. A modifier is a numerical bonus or penalty that is added or subtracted from a dice result. In example:

  • 1d20+2: Roll one twenty-sided die and add +2 to the result.
  • 2d6-2: Roll two six-sided dice, with -2 subtracted from the total

Percentile Dice (%) AKA d100
The rules may require a d100 or “percentile” roll. This can be accomplished by rolling two ten-sided dice, using one for the “tens place” and one for the “ones place”.

X-in-6 Rolls
Some rules indicate an “x-in-6” chance of something happening. This means roll 1d6; if the result is equal to or less than the chance, the thing happens.

RPG Terms
The following are some common terms used throughout this text.

  • Referee: Often known as the Game Master in other games, the referee is a participant whose job is to act as an impartial referee and fair arbiter of the rules, as well as a presenter for the world that will be explored during play.
  • Players: All of the other participants of the game who aren’t the referee . They control one or more Player Characters.
  • Player Character (PC): The unique, fictional characters that are created and controlled by the Players.
  • The Party: The collective unit of Players Characters who are embarking on an adventure together during a session.
  • Non-Player Character (NPC): All of the characters in the campaign world that aren’t controlled by the players.
  • Monster: Foul beasts and evil hordes encountered in dungeons and the wilderness, controlled by the referee.
  • Session: One sitting of play. Typically runs about 2-4 hours.
  • Adventure: The exciting and dangerous fictional scenario experienced by the party during a session of play. Typically consists of wilderness exploration, followed by dungeon exploration, followed by returning to safety.
  • Campaign: An ongoing series of connected adventures all played within a given setting.
  • Campaign Setting: The fictional fantasy world where the campaign takes place.
  • Sandbox: A campaign setting that is designed to be persistent, interactive, and freely explorable by the players and characters.

Compatibility

Five decades of fantasy adventure gaming has produced a vast offering of content, much of which is quickly and easily compatible with this game. Adventure Master brings compatibility to the forefront of its design, offering a comprehensive set of procedures and advice for not just converting classic and third party adventure modules into the ruleset, but also transforming any premade adventure (no matter how linear) into a dynamic addition to your sandbox campaign.

Classic Fantasy Roots

This game seeks to provide a comprehensive set of rules and procedures for classic fantasy sandbox campaigns that harken back to the early days of the hobby. The cornerstones of this genre of gameplay are the following.

Medieval Fantasy
The world is that of fantastical medieval adventure, a setting full of knights who wield swords against dragons and wizards who throw magical fireballs at colossal giants. Kings rule from castles that loom over walled cities populated by lowly peasants. Monsters stalk the wildlands that cover the known world. Gods both petty and potent meddle in the affairs of men. Wicked demons and alien entities offer infernal knowledge to those willing to risk their body and mind to the clutches of madness or death.

Adventure Fantasy
The players create characters who are a band of adventurers. These brave and foolish outcasts journey into the vast wilderness in search of treasure – gold, glory, and mysterious power often found in dark dungeons and the lairs of monsters.

Wilderness Fantasy
Windswept mountains, ancient forests, desolate plains, arid deserts, and teeming swamps are all types of wilderness locations where adventurers may travel in search of treasure. In these outdoor locales, the PCs encounter dangerous pitfalls and interesting discoveries.

Dungeon Fantasy
Lost ruins of fallen civilizations lie dormant, their halls festooned with the riches of dead kings. The dreaded lairs of foul monsters hide away hordes of gold and jewels seized from poor victims. These perilous indoor or subterranean places often hold the most valuable treasure, but also the most risk.

Player Characters (PCs)

A PC is defined by a set of statistics that indicate their relative strengths and weaknesses compared to other characters in the game world.

Abilities
The core set of character traits that represent aptitude in various basic tasks. There are five: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Perception, and Charisma. Abilities are ranked with scores that range from 1-20 (and possibly higher!), which determines the modifier (a numeric bonus or penalty) that is added to dice rolls when testing that ability.

Race
A character’s fantasy species, ancestry, ethnicity, or demi-human type. Characters are assumed to be human unless a demi-human class is chosen (elf, dwarf, halfling).

Level
The level of a player character is an indication of power, might, and capability relative to the monsters, NPCs, challenges, and hazards in the gameworld. PCs begin their career at level 0 and increase in level through adventuring. As a character’s level increases, so too does their odds of success against powerful foes. They also gain new special abilities to help them during their adventures.

Experience Points (XP)
Characters earn experience points (XP) by completing successful adventures. At the end of each session, the referee awards XP based on the achievements of the party. See page XX for details on XP.

Class
If a PC earns enough XP to ascend to 1st level, they choose a class. Classes are specializations that define the character’s approach to survival and success as an adventurer. Each class provides a set of unique special abilities that set them apart and aid them during their adventures.

Hit Points (HP)
Characters frequently risk injury and death in the pursuit of adventure. Hit points (HP) are a numeric representation of their ability to stave off death and avoid mortal wounds dealt by hazards and during combat. As a PC levels up, they’ll gain more HP. Each PC’s maximum HP value is noted for reference. When hit points are lost during play, the current number of remaining HP is noted. When a PC reaches 0 HP, they are in danger of death, and must make a desperate roll of the dice in hopes of survival. Rest, healing, and magical aid can restore lost hit points, up to the noted maximum.

Hit Dice (HD)
Hit dice are dice rolled to determine the maximum HP value of a PC, NPC, or monster. The type of die (d4, d6, d8…) depends on the PC or NPC’s class. Monsters always use d8’s for HD, and the number of HD that a monster has indicates their level relative to the PCs. Each time a PC levels up, hit dice are rolled to increase maximum HP.

Equipment
The gear, weapons, armor, and magic items that your character uses defines much of their capabilities in the game world. Punching a dragon will do it no harm, but if your hero wields a mighty sword, then they may be able to wound the foul beast! Rope allows adventures to scale walls, rations fill their hungry bellies, boots protect their feet, and torches light the way. Only a fool goes unprepared into the darkness beyond. Equipment is a core element of the game.

Armor Class (AC)
This stat represents the character’s ability to avoid being damaged in battle and is determined by the armor they wear, modified by their dexterity. When attacked, this is the target number for a successful hit against them. A character’s AC is 10 by default, modified by DEX. Armor increases the score according to how heavily protective it is.

Saving Throws
Saving Throws represent a character’s chance to resist or mitigate the effects of perilous situations, magical attacks, or dangerous substances. When your character faces a threat that isn’t a direct attack, the Referee will call for a Saving Throw. The five common categories of Saving Throws are:

  • Poison or Death Ray: Used to resist lethal poisons, deadly diseases, or effects that cause instant death.
  • Wand: Used to resist harmful magical effects originating from wands or similar magical devices.
  • Paralysis or Petrification: Used against effects that immobilize you or turn you to stone.
  • Dragon Breath: Used against powerful, area-of-effect attacks like a dragon’s fiery breath or similar large-scale magical blasts.
  • Spell: Used to resist magical effects cast by spellcasters such as magic-users, clerics, or monsters.

Movement Rates
A character’s speed when exploring and traveling is determined by their movement rate. Each PC has a base movement speed and encounter movement speed (always noted in parenthesis). Base movement speed is how far they can cautiously move through a treacherous dungeon, per turn (10 minutes). Encounter movement speed is always 1/3 of base movement speed, and represents how far they can move in one combat round (10 seconds). Overland movement is handled via the hex crawling rules.

Languages
Last but not least, a PC may speak more than one language.

  • Common: All characters speak Common, a generic trade language that is shared among humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and other demihuman creatures.

Special Abilities
Beyond core combat skills, each character class offers a few special abilities unique to their calling. These include access to weapons and armor, the power of spellcasting, or a range of specialized skills like stealth, healing, or wilderness survival.

Alignment

The primordial forces of the divine and infernal, of gods and demons, have influenced the world since before the dawn of time. These forces are generally placed on opposing axes, with the destructive and evil legions of Chaos locked in a bitter, eternal war against the honorable and right forces of Law.

Lawful
Lawful characters primarily operate with a focus on law, order, fairness, truthfulness, patience, responsibility, and cooperation with authority.

Neutral
Neutral characters are something of a middle ground, a mixture of all of the other alignments, balanced or on a case-by-case basis depending on mood. Most PCs are neutral unless they strongly lean towards another alignment.

Chaotic
Chaotic characters are the antithesis of law, thrive on destruction, death, mayhem, turmoil, and entropy, so much that its nefarious members organize to wreak havoc and undermine the integrity of lawful civilization.