LUCAS ROLIM’S

A minimalist sword and witchcraft RPG for

short campaigns and standalone sessions
 edited by
Way ne C anepa

3
Introduction
Pacts & Blades is a genre-influenced RPG com-
bat and advancement system about slaugh-
tering bizarre monsters from the depths with
blades and making pacts with mystical spirits
to channel magic.
As a minimalist RPG, there are no rules systems
for initiative, movement, tracking time, equip-
ment prices, etc. It is up to the Judge to deter-
4 mine these things, perhaps with input from the
players, and decide how to rule on such things
as they arise, and as appropriate to each sce-
nario.
Characters can choose to follow aspects of
two Paths—the Path of the Pact or the
Path of the Blade. You may advance in either
Path, both during character creation, as well as
throughout the campaign. Path Advancements
will occur as a result of training, roleplaying,
and as part of adventures.

5
Advancement
Advancements are the basis of customizing
your character, and they should occur two to
three times per session. It is up to the Judge to
give players opportunities for Advancements to
occur.
You begin play with 1 Advancement in either
Path of your choice. See each Path for more in-
6 formation.
Examples of advancements
You find a tome describing a new pact with a
spirit of the faerie world. (Pact Advancement)
You receive training from an expert mercenary
in fighting dirty with daggers. (Blade Advance-
ment).
7
 Task
Resolution
System
Pacts & Blades uses a sliding 2d6 task resolu-
tion system. Tasks are divided into 4 Difficulty
tiers, and their default Reference Values (#):
Easy (6), Average (9), Hard (12), and Impos-
sible (15). A Task’s default Reference Value
is always three times its Difficulty. Tasks can
include attacking an enemy, sneaking past a
guard, negotiating with a pirate for passage,
8 climbing a tower, and more.
 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

To t a l S u c c e s s
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
RV 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
P ARTIAL S UCCESS
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Fa i l u r e
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 3 4 5
Difficult y

Core Mechanic
When attempting Tasks, players simply roll two
six-sided dice (2d6) together, and add the total
of both dice. Success is determined by how well
they roll in relation to the Task’s Reference Val-
ue (RV). A Task’s RV is a precise measure of its
difficulty to achieve.
While each Difficulty tier has a default Refer- 9
ence Value for Total Success, this value can
be lowered or raised during the game through
Path abilities and Narrative Advantage. When a
Reference Value is changed, the range of Partial
Success is also changed. Consult the Task Res-
olution Table to determine the new ranges for
success and failure.
10
1d3
If you are ever told to roll “1d3” simply roll 1d6,
divide the result by 2, then round up.

TASK Reference Value for

Difficulty Tier
Difficulty Total Success

Easy 2 6
Average 3 9
Hard 4 12
Impossible 5 15

Success
Whenever you succeed on a Task, it is either a
Total Success or a Partial Success.

A Total Success is achieved whenever your roll

equals or exceeds the Reference Value of the
Task.
A Partial Success has a variable range within its
Difficulty tier, as shown in the Task Resolution
Table. If a Task is a Partial Success, it is suc-
cessful... but it will have consequences deter-
mined by the Judge. (See the Task Resolution
Table for all of the possible results.)
For example, Delnyra the Swift attempts to
climb a Difficulty 3 wall. If Delnyra’s roll totals
6-8, she achieves a Partial Success, and if her to- 11
tal is 9 or higher, she achieves a Total Success.
A roll of 5 or lower is a Failure.

Combat Tasks
The effects of successes and failures in combat
are detailed in the Combat section.
 Narrative
Advantages
Players can and should be encouraged by the
Judge to creatively describe their actions. De-
pending on how creatively the action is de-
scribed, the Judge may choose to lower the
Reference Value by -1 to -2, thus increasing the
player’s chance of success. Simply look on the
Task Resolution Table, and slide left 1 or 2 col-
umns from the original column containing the
Reference Value. Note that the range of a Par-
tial Success changes as well.

Alternatively, if a Task would normally fall into

one Difficulty tier, but circumstances make the
Task more difficult, the Judge may declare that
12 the RV of that Task is +1 or +2 higher than usual.
13
 Path of
the Blade
You followed a rigorous path to learn your mar-
tial skills. Blood drips from your weapon and
you know how to use it to eviscerate your en-
emies.
When you gain a Path Advancement and choose
the Path of the Blade, choose one weapon to
14 apply the Advancement’s benefits to. For exam-
ple, you could choose Longsword, Dagger, Bow,
etc. Each weapon will have a different Advance-
ment value, depending on how many times you
Advance with it.
When recording your Path of the Blade Ad-
vancements, you should notate each weapon
separately.
Upon your first Advancement in the Path of the
Blade, when attempting Tasks related to your
Path of the Blade weapon, you reduce the Ref-
erence Value of the Task by -1. Every time you 15
Advance in this Path with the same weapon,
it is reduced again by -1, up to a maximum of
three times for a total of -3.
16
Whenever you attain a Total Success while
making rolls with the Path of the Blade, you
pull off a special Feat. Roll 1d6 on the following
chart, and apply its effects immediately:

1.You gain insight into your opponent’s weak-

nesses. You receive -2 to the RV on your next
roll against your target.
2. You performed your action with uncanny
speed. You may immediately act one more time.
3. Your opponent is weakened, If his next at-
tack is successful, its damage is reduced by one
step, to a minimum of no damage.
4. Your opponent is stunned. They cannot
make Counter Attacks in response to Partial
Successes for 1 round.
5. Your strike was extremely effective. Increase 17
the tier of Wound dealt by 1 step. If it was al-
ready a Severe Wound, add an additional Mod-
erate Wound to the damage dealt.
6. You choose whichever one of the above Feats
you wish.
 Path of
the Pact
You obtained a vision of the dark world of spir-
its, be they marvelous, sinister, or from another
plane of existence, granting you ways to invoke
them and ask for favors through a mystical pact.
When you gain a Path Advancement and choose
the Path of the Pact, select one spirit you have a
Pact with to apply the Advancement’s benefits
18 to. For example, you could choose Salamandŭr,
Mortus the Decrepit, etc. Each spirit’s Pact will
have a different value, depending on how many
times you Advance with it.
When recording your Path of the Pact spirit
pacts, you should notate each pact separately.
Upon your first Advancement in the Path of the
Pact, when attempting Tasks related to a spirit
you have a Pact with, you reduce the Reference
Value of the Task by -1. Every time you Advance
in this Path with the same spirit, it is reduced
again by -1, up to a maximum of three times for 19
a total of -3.
20
How Magic Works
Each spirit you seal a pact with has a Name and
a mystical Domain over which it has influence.
When you invoke your pact to channel magic,
the Effect must relate to the spirit’s Domain.
Each specific type of Effect may only be in-
voked from the same spirit once per day. The
Judge has final say on whether an Effect is too
similar to another, previously invoked Effect.
A spellcaster may only have one Effect active
at a time.
For example, Votis the Ruthless invokes Sal-
amandŭr, a spirit of Fire, asking for flames to
shoot from his fingers. Salamandŭr grants Vo-
tis’ request with a successful roll (Partial or
Total Success). Once a specific Effect has been
granted to a spellcaster, the same Effect can
no longer be channeled during the same day.
However, other effects related to the same spir-
it’s domain are still possible (such as a wall of
flames or spontaneous combustion, for a spirit
with influence over the Fire Domain).
All magical invocations have a Domain, an Ef-
fect, and a Duration. A Domain is a descriptive
term that identifies the sphere of influence of
the spirit which the spellcaster has a made a
Pact with. An Effect is essentially a spell. Any 21
magical Effect invoked from a spirit must be as-
sociated with its Domain. Effects are up to the
Judge to agree to, but can include many diverse
phenomena. The Duration is how long an Effect
lasts, and is dependent upon the narrative—the
Judge has final say on how long an Effect lasts.
 Examples of spirit Domains can
include
Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Death, Life, Chaos, Pro-
tection, Teleportation, Mind, etc. Judges and
players are encouraged to work together to
create their own.
Examples of invoked Effects
Damage – 1d6 automatic damage (see the Dam-
age section for more details)
Healing – 1d6 Wounds healed (see the Wounds
section for more details)
Enhancement – Reduce the RV of all the tar-
get’s Tasks by 1d3
22 Curse – Increase the RV of all the target’s Tasks
by 1d3
Pact Feats
Whenever you attain a Total Success while
making rolls with the Path of the Pact, you pull
off a special Feat. Roll 1d6 on the following
chart, and apply its effects immediately:
1. The magic you cast grants you a deeper spir-
itual connection. You receive -2 to the RV on
your next roll.
2. You cast your spell with supernatural speed.
You may immediately act one more time.
3. Your spiritual connection is spectacular.
Your spell achieves its maximum possible Ef-
fect.
4. Your patron is very flattered by your exploits.
You can invoke the same Effect once more the
same day.
5. Your spiritual connection is so deep that 23
your body becomes ethereal. For the duration
of your invocation’s Effect, you are immune to
harmful effects, unless they can also harm ethe-
real creatures.
6. You choose whichever one of the above Feats
you wish.
 Combat
Combat actions, such as attacks, are just spe-
cial Tasks. You roll 2d6 against an opponent’s
Reference Value to hit them, just like any other
Task. Each opponent has a Reference Value to
be hit, based on their Difficulty.
Player characters have a starting Difficulty of
2 (RV 6), and their Difficulty increases by +1
for every 4 combined Path Advancements they
have. For example, a Path (sword 2) / Pact (Sal-
24 amandŭr: Fire 3) character would have a Diffi-
culty of 3 (RV 9), while a Path (dagger 3, sword
3, hammer 3 and spear 1) character would have
a Difficulty of 4 (RV 12).
Possible
Attack
Results
Total Success
The attacker adds the effects of a Feat to the
damage or Effect.
Partial Success
You deal damage to the opponent, but you will
suffer a Counter Attack from your target, or any
other consequence the Judge feels is appro-
priate instead. If your opponent hits you with
Partial Success, this will not also grant you a 25
Counter Attack.
Failure
Your attack does not hit and you receive Auto-
matic Damage from your opponent if you made
a melee attack. If the attack was a magical Ef-
fect, the Judge decides what happens.
 Damage
Damage is dealt in the form of Light, Moderate,
and Severe Wounds. The highest value of the
two dice from a successful attack roll is used to
determine the attack’s damage, as follows:

Highest Die on Attack Damage

26 1-3 Light Wound

4-5 Moderate Wound
6 Severe Wound
If a there is ever a situation where more than
one degree of damage would be dealt, or a Se-
vere Wound would be increased to the next
greater step of damage, instead add one Mod-
erate Wound to the base damage.
Automatic Damage
Any time a rule calls for Automatic Damage,
simply roll 1d6 and consult the damage table
to the left. 27
 Wounds
Characters and opponents have health points
measured in Wounds, which are divided among
3 tiers.
At character creation, roll 1D6. This value de-
termines your number of Light, Moderate, and
Severe Wounds. You have Light wounds equal
to the roll’s total. You have Moderate wounds
equal to half your roll, rounded up. You have
Severe wounds equal to your roll divided by 3,
28 rounded up.
 Light Moderate Severe
d6 Roll
Wounds Wounds Wounds

1 1 1 1
2 2 1 1
3 3 2 1
4 4 2 2
5 5 3 2 29
6 6 3 2
 Whenever you run out of Wounds of a particu-
lar type, any additional damage you take of that
kind is instead treated as damage to the next
available Wounds tier.

For example, if you are out of Light Wounds

and would suffer another Light Wound, you
instead suffer a Moderate Wound (if you are
also out of Moderate Wounds, then it would be
treated as a Severe Wound). If you ever run out
of Severe Wounds, your character dies.

30
Recovering Wounds
Wounds recover every time your character is
able to rest. The Judge will determine what
constitutes a rest. After each rest, roll 1d6. You
recover a number of Wounds from each tier as
if you had generated Wounds for a new charac-
ter with your roll. You may never recover more
Wounds than your normal maximum.
For example, Martias the Grim normally has
4 light wounds, 2 moderate wounds, and 2 se-
vere wounds. During an adventure he sustains
2 light wounds, 1 moderate wound, and 1 se-
vere wound—half of his wounds in each tier!
Martias heads to town to rest, and rolls 1d6 af-
ter an appropriate amount of time and rolls a
3. Martias regains 2 light wounds (not 3, since
his maximum light wounds are 4), 1 moderate
wound, and 1 severe wound.

Increasing Maximum Wounds

After you gain any two Path Advancements, roll
1d6+2. If the result is greater than your charac-
ter’s current Light Wounds this becomes your
new Light Wounds value. Every 2 additional
Path Advancements you gain, roll 1d6, adding
+2 for every two Path Advancements you have.
For example, if you have 4 path advancements,
roll 1d6+4, and if you have 6 path advance- 31
ments, roll 1d6+6, and so on. Use this new val-
ue to calculate your maximum light, moderate,
and severe wounds. When resting, you never
add these bonuses to healing.
 Armor
Armor adds to the number of Wounds in each
character’s Wound tiers. These Wounds are
consumed first. If you run out of Wounds
granted by your armor, it is rendered useless.

+2 to Light, Medium, and

Plate Armor
Severe Wounds
+2 to Light and Medi-
Chain Armor um Wounds, +1 to Severe
Wounds
+1 to Light, Medium, and
Leather Armor
Severe Wounds
+1 to Light, Medium, and
Severe Wounds; shields
Shield
stack with other armor
32 types
33
 Examples of
opponents
The Light Wounds of enemies will always be
three times their Difficulty. Use the formula for
determining player character starting health to
determine an enemy’s Wounds.
Judges can add special abilities, and are encour-
aged to interpret those here however they see
fit.

34
Goblin E Difficulty 1
Wounds: 3 Light, 2 Moderate, 1 Severe

Orc E Difficulty 2, ; Blade (scimitar -1 RV)

Wounds: 6 Light, 3 Moderate, 2 Severe

Orc Shaman E Difficulty 1; Pact (Mortus

the Decrepit: Death -2 RV)
Wounds: 3 Light, 2 Moderate, 1 Severe

Giant Spider E Difficulty 3; Climb, Blade

(Bite -2 RV)
Wounds: 9 Light, 5 Moderate, 3 Severe

Cyclops E Difficulty 3; Large, Blade (giant

claw -3 RV)
Wounds: 9 Light, 5 Moderate, 3 Severe

Dragon E Difficulty 4; Flight, Large, Blade 35

(claws -4 RV), Fire Breath (-4 RV), All Damage
+1 Step
Wounds: 12 Light, 6 Moderate, 4 Severe
Welcome to the world of
art
A k s e l i Ga l le n -K a lle la
A lf r e d Re th e l
amb r oi s e f r ed e au
Fr a nc i s c o de G oya
Gu s tave Mo r e au
N ic h ol a s r o e r i ch
Salvator Ro s a
Tan z i o d a Va r a llo
Thoma s C ol e

M a s t e r of t h e D r e s d en P r ay e r B o o k
ano nym ou s a r t is t f r o m x v i century
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