How to Play Blood & Burden
Life-path character creation, adventure mode & rules reference
Overview
Blood & Burden is a life-path character creator and adventure game inspired by the classic Traveller RPG. Rather than picking a class and spending points, you live your character's life before play begins — making choices, rolling dice, and watching history accumulate.
Characters are shaped by the careers they serve, the mishaps they survive, the people they meet, and the years that wear them down. When creation ends, you have a fully formed person with a story, not just a stat block — and then you take them out into the world.
The process follows these stages in order:
- Identity — Name, gender, and initial stat rolls (2d6 each).
- Heritage — Your birthright: upbringing and a free apprenticeship.
- Apprenticeship — Your family trade, granting starting skills and equipment.
- Career(s) — One or more careers, each lasting two-year terms. You may muster out and try a new career between terms.
- Adventure — When you are ready, you leave creation and begin play.
Stats & Modifiers
All eight stats are rolled as 2d6 at character creation. Stats range from 2 to 12, with a modifier applied to dice rolls:
| Stat value | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 2 | −2 |
| 3 – 5 | −1 |
| 6 – 8 | 0 |
| 9 – 11 | +1 |
| 12 – 14 | +2 |
| 15+ | +3 |
The eight stats are:
- Strength — Raw physical power. Combat, carrying, breaking.
- Agility — Speed and coordination. Dodging, stealth, acrobatics.
- Endurance — Stamina and toughness. Resisting fatigue, poison, and pain.
- Perception — Awareness. Noticing details, tracking, detecting ambushes.
- Intellect — Reasoning power. Problem-solving, lore, planning.
- Education — Formal learning. Reading, languages, academic skills.
- Presence — Force of personality. Persuasion, leadership, intimidation.
- Social Standing — Where you sit in society. Affects reactions from NPCs.
Physical stats (Strength, Agility, Endurance) are the only ones tracked for character death — if any of these reach 0 during aging, the character dies.
The Life-Path System
Every two years of game-time is one term. Each term in a career, you:
- Roll on a skill table (Personal Development, Service Skills, or Assignment Skills).
- Age 2 years (aging effects begin at age 30).
- Roll Survival — failure forces you out with a mishap.
- If you survived, roll an Event — something happens that shapes your life.
- Roll Advancement — success raises your rank and earns a bonus skill.
- Decide whether to continue another term or muster out.
The total career length is capped at 11 terms across all careers. After 11 terms, you must muster out and begin your adventure.
Careers & Terms
Each career has one or more assignments — specialisations within the career that determine which skills you gain and how your rank titles progress.
To enter a career you must pass a qualification roll (2d6 + stat modifier ≥ target). Failing to qualify puts you in the Wayfarer fallback career for that term.
Career lockout: When you muster out of a career, that career is locked for one term. You may re-enter it after a term has passed. The exception is the Wayfarer career, which is always available.
Re-entry: When you return to a career you previously served in, you automatically restore your previous rank, assignment, and commissioned status — no basic training, no reassignment.
Military careers (Cavalry, Infantry, Militia, Royal Scout) have an additional commission system. Enlisted soldiers reaching the top of the enlisted rank track may be offered a commission — accepting resets your rank to Officer Rank 0 and starts a new promotion ladder.
| Action | Roll | Effect on failure |
|---|---|---|
| Qualify for career | 2d6 + stat mod ≥ target | Enter Wayfarer instead |
| Survive the term | 2d6 + stat mod ≥ target | Forced muster-out + mishap |
| Advance in rank | 2d6 + stat mod ≥ target | No promotion this term |
Skills
Skills are gained by rolling on one of three tables each term:
- Personal Development — stat boosts and broad personal growth.
- Service Skills — general skills relevant to the career as a whole.
- Assignment Skills — specialist skills for your specific role (only available after choosing an assignment).
Skills have numeric levels (e.g. tracking 2). The same skill can be gained multiple times; each repeat increases the level by 1. There is no cap during creation.
Untrained penalty: Attempting a skill check for a skill that is not on your character sheet imposes a −2 penalty to the roll. This applies in adventure mode for all skill-based checks — combat, camp activities, travel encounters, and NPC interactions alike. Gaining even a single level of a skill removes the penalty entirely.
Skills used in adventure mode include: medicine (treating injuries and illness), survival (foraging in the wild), tracking (hunting small game), perception (watch duty detection), and leadership (directing companions on watch).
Survival, Events & Advancement
Survival determines whether you complete the term. The roll uses a stat specified by the career (often Endurance for military careers). Modifiers from events or prior mishaps may apply.
On a failed survival roll, you roll a Mishap — a narrative event that forces you out of the career and may have mechanical consequences (stat loss, losing an item, gaining an enemy, etc.).
On a successful survival roll, you roll an Event — something interesting, good or bad, that happened during the term. Events may grant bonus stats, skills, or connections, or impose minor penalties.
Advancement uses a different stat and target. Success earns a rank promotion and an additional bonus skill roll. At maximum enlisted rank in a military career, advancement instead triggers a commission offer.
Aging & Injuries
From age 30 onward, each career term requires an Aging Table roll. In adventure mode, a roll is triggered once per in-game year (every 365 game days). The roll is 2d6 minus your aging penalty.
Aging Penalty
The penalty is calculated fresh each time from two sources:
- Age: +1 per 10 years past 30. Age 30–39 = +0, age 40–49 = +1, age 50–59 = +2, and so on.
- Injuries: Catastrophic = +2, Major = +1, Minor = +0.5. The injury contribution is added to the age contribution and the total is floored.
Example: a character aged 45 with one catastrophic and one minor injury: floor(1 + 2 + 0.5) = −3 penalty.
Aging Table
You choose which characteristics are affected — the table tells you how many stats take how much damage, but the selection is yours.
| Adjusted roll | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1+ | No effect |
| 0 | One physical stat −1 |
| −1 | Two physical stats −1 |
| −2 | Three physical stats −1 |
| −3 | One physical stat −2, two physical stats −1 |
| −4 | Two physical stats −2, one physical stat −1 |
| −5 | Three physical stats −2 |
| −6 or less | Three physical stats −2, one mental stat −1 |
Physical stats are Strength, Agility, and Endurance. Mental stats are Perception, Intellect, Education, Presence, and Social Standing. Stat losses from aging are permanent. If any physical stat reaches 0, the character dies.
Creation Injury Table
When a career mishap involves a wound or injury (a fight, an accident, serious harm), instead of a flat stat penalty you roll 1d6 on the Creation Injury Table. The result determines both the mechanical effect and the severity of the injury added to your record.
| d6 | Result | Effect | Injury |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nearly killed | One physical stat −1d6; the other two −2 each | Catastrophic |
| 2 | Severely injured | One physical stat −1d6 | Major |
| 3 | Missing eye or limb | Strength or Agility −2 | Major |
| 4 | Scarred | Any physical stat −2 | Minor |
| 5 | Injured | Any physical stat −1 | Minor |
| 6 | Lightly injured | No permanent effect | — |
Injuries added during creation immediately increase your aging penalty for all future rolls.
Injuries & Treatment
Injuries are gained from combat, mishaps, and events. Each has a severity that contributes to your aging penalty. With enough silver and access to a skilled healer, an injury's severity can be reduced by one tier:
- Catastrophic → Major: The long-term aging impact is reduced. Costs ~60 silver.
- Major → Minor: Residual soreness remains but mechanical impact is minimal. Costs ~25 silver.
- Minor → Healed: Fully removed from your record. Costs ~8 silver.
In adventure mode, injured characters can also use medicinal items directly from the Injuries panel — no healer required. Each item has a maximum severity it can treat and may require a medicine skill check:
- Bandage Roll (3 uses) — treats minor injuries, no check required.
- Healing Herbs — treats up to major injuries, medicine check DC 6.
- Poultice — treats up to major injuries, medicine check DC 7.
- Antitoxin — cures food poisoning instantly, no check required.
Field treatment at camp (Tend Wounds activity, medicine skill check) can also stabilise wounds. Full removal of severe injuries still requires a healer in town.
Connections
During your life path you accumulate people who matter — allies, contacts, rivals, and enemies. These are tracked in the Connections panel and will shape your adventures.
- Contact — Someone you know who can provide information, favours, or introductions.
- Ally — Someone actively on your side. Will go out of their way to help you.
- Rival — Someone competing with you. They want to see you fail, but not necessarily dead.
- Enemy — Someone who actively wishes you harm. A genuine threat.
Equipment, Income & Assets
When you muster out of a career you receive:
- A career kit — the basic tools and gear of your trade, given once.
- Cash rolls — one per term served, modified by your rank.
- Benefit rolls — one per term served, modified by rank. May yield items, social benefits, connections, animals, or a pension.
Pensions
A pension is an ongoing monthly stipend from a former employer. Multiple pension rolls from the same career are merged into a single entry with a higher monthly value rather than listed separately. In adventure mode, pensions pay out automatically every 30 game days.
Shares & Assets
Some careers and NPCs offer shares — fractional ownership stakes in commercial ventures (caravan, inn, farm, ship, etc.). Shares can also be purchased from relevant NPCs during the adventure phase: innkeepers sell inn shares, farmers sell farm and livestock shares, merchants and guild factors sell caravan shares, and barge captains sell ship shares.
When you accumulate 10 shares of the same type, they automatically convert into a fully owned Asset that generates monthly income. Share costs are deliberately high — they represent the purchase price plus ongoing upkeep and wages, not just the stake value.
| Asset type | Shares needed | Monthly income |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant Caravan | 10 caravan shares | 25 silver |
| Inn Partnership | 10 inn shares | 20 silver |
| Merchant Vessel | 10 ship shares | 30 silver |
| Mining Interest | 10 mine shares | 18 silver |
| Livestock Holding | 10 livestock shares | 12 silver |
| Farm Holding | 10 farm shares | 10 silver |
Pensions and Assets are displayed together in the Income panel on your character sheet.
Armor Set Bonuses
Equipping a matching set of armor across all four slots (head, chest, arms/shoulders, legs/feet) unlocks a set bonus:
- Full Plate set: +2 Damage Resistance (DR) — attacks deal 2 less damage after AR is applied.
- Full Leather / Light Armor set: +Agility modifier to effective AR — your nimbleness improves your defence rather than slowing you down.
Half-sets grant no bonus. The active set and its bonus are shown in the combat HUD.
Consumables with Multiple Uses
Some items are not consumed in a single use — they show a remaining/total counter in your Provisions panel:
- Waterskin (5 uses) — must be refilled at a water source.
- Bandage Roll (3 uses) — each use treats one minor injury.
- Firestarter (20 uses) — each use lights a campfire.
When the last use is consumed the item is removed from your inventory automatically.
Duplicate Items
If you receive the same benefit twice (e.g. two warhorses), you will be prompted to keep or sell each extra. Shares are the exception — they stack freely toward the conversion threshold. In adventure mode you can sell or drop any item from your equipment panel at any time.
Animal Companions
Living animals (horses, hunting hounds) earned through mustering out or purchased in-game appear in your Companions panel rather than your equipment list. They have their own stat blocks and can be assigned to watch duty during camp.
Saving, Exporting & Importing
Blood & Burden stores your character both in your browser session and in server-side save files.
- Save — Writes the current character to a server-side file. Use this regularly.
- Export — Downloads a signed
.jsonfile to your computer. The file contains a cryptographic hash; a matching hash is stored on the server. - Import — Uploads an exported file. Both the file hash and the server-side registry hash are checked. Tampered files are rejected.
- Load — Loads any saved character from the server into your active session.
Entering Adventure Mode
When you click Begin Your Adventure, character creation is finalised and the adventure phase begins. Your completed character — skills, equipment, connections, pensions, assets, and companions — carries over intact.
Adventure mode takes place in a persistent world. You explore locations, speak to NPCs, buy and sell goods, travel between towns, and respond to random encounters. All actions advance in-game time, which drives hunger, exhaustion, aging, and monthly income.
The Open Road (Starting Quest)
Every new character begins with the The Open Road main quest. It provides a structured first journey through the world:
- Arrive at the Crossroads Inn — your starting location.
- Speak to three strangers at the inn.
- Travel the road north to Thornhaven.
- Visit The Gilded Scale in Thornhaven's merchant quarter.
- Assemble your party — speak to the innkeeper Aldric Penwick about forming a company.
Completing the party assembly objective marks the quest done. From there, the city's quests and factions are open to you.
Task Difficulty
Every check in Blood & Burden is 2d6 + stat modifier (or skill rank) against a target number. The target reflects how demanding the task is — not who is attempting it. A Routine task is trivial for a trained professional but takes real effort from an amateur. A Formidable task is hard even for an expert.
| Difficulty | Target | Who can do it |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | 2+ | Almost anyone with both hands |
| Easy | 4+ | Simple for a trained professional, achievable for an amateur |
| Routine | 6+ | Trivial for a professional, relatively easy for an amateur |
| Average | 8+ | Standard challenge — the baseline for most adventure checks |
| Difficult | 10+ | Hard even for a trained professional |
| Very Difficult | 12+ | Hard for a professional, nearly impossible for an amateur |
| Formidable | 14+ | Exceptionally hard; failure is common even with expertise |
Difficulty labels appear on check topics in NPC dialogue and on skill check prompts during road encounters, so you can judge the risk before committing. Having the relevant skill removes the −2 untrained penalty, significantly improving your odds at all difficulties.
Effect
Every check produces an Effect — the margin between your total and the DC. Effect = Total − DC. It determines not just whether you succeed, but how well or how badly.
| Effect | Result | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| −6 or less | Exceptional Failure | Failed as completely as possible. Everything that can go wrong does. Consequences are severe. |
| −2 to −5 | Average Failure | The task was not accomplished. |
| −1 | Marginal Failure | Almost succeeded. A partial success may be possible at significant cost or consequence. |
| 0 | Marginal Success | Barely succeeded, but with a condition — it works, but imperfectly or with a hidden cost. |
| +1 to +5 | Average Success | Task accomplished normally. |
| +6 or more | Exceptional Success | Succeeded in an impressive and elegant fashion. May unlock better outcomes. |
The Effect value and label are shown alongside every check result in NPC dialogue and road encounters. A Marginal Failure (Effect −1) and an Exceptional Failure (Effect −6) are both failures — but the world treats them very differently.
Time, Exhaustion & Hunger
Time moves in periods: Morning → Midday → Afternoon → Night. Most actions (traveling a road segment, exploring a building, most activities) advance the clock by one period. Night → Morning counts as a new day.
Exhaustion
Every period you spend awake adds to your periods awake counter. Sleeping resets it to zero.
| Periods awake | State | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 7 | Fine | None |
| 8 – 11 | Tired | Warning only |
| 12 – 15 | Exhausted | −1 to all rolls; most actions still possible |
| 16+ | Collapsing | Travel and most actions blocked until you sleep |
At 16+ periods awake, every 4 additional periods drain one point from a physical stat (Endurance → Strength → Agility).
Hunger
Every period you spend without eating adds to your hunger counter. Eating any food item reduces it by that item's food value.
| Periods without food | State |
|---|---|
| 0 – 7 | Fed |
| 8 – 15 | Peckish |
| 16 – 31 | Hungry |
| 32+ | Starving — stat drain begins |
At 32+ periods without food, every 4 additional periods drain one physical stat.
The Travel Readiness bar shown near road options displays your current food supply, hunger level, and fatigue state — check it before committing to a long journey.
Food Poisoning
Eating raw meat (raw rabbit, raw fish) staves off hunger but causes food poisoning, immediately reducing Endurance by 2. The penalty persists until treated. Treatment requires 5 silver for supplies and a medicine skill check (DC 8). You can treat poisoning at camp or in town.
Always cook raw meat over a campfire before eating it.
Monthly Income
Every 30 game days the total of all your pensions and asset incomes is automatically credited to your silver and logged in your journal.
Road Travel & Encounters
To travel between locations, select a road from the Roads section of the exploration panel. Each road shows its destination, quality, terrain, estimated travel time, and a rations warning if your food supply looks short.
You can travel on foot (always available) or ride (requires a horse companion). Riding is significantly faster. Road quality and terrain affect speed.
Journey Segments
A journey is divided into segments — each one advances time by one period and may generate a random encounter. After every three segments (roughly one in-game day), a camp break is automatically inserted into the queue.
Encounters
Road encounters include bandits, wildlife, travelers, discoveries, and more. Each encounter presents narrative choices; some branch on skill checks. Hostile encounters can escalate into combat. Outcomes are logged in the Travel Journal, which you can review at any time during the journey from the encounter panel.
Night Encounters
When you break camp for the night there is a base 20% chance of a night encounter — bandits, wolves, or lone predators. Whether you are surprised depends on your watch arrangements (see Camp section below).
Camp & Rest
When the camp break triggers, the Camp panel opens. Here you manage your overnight stop before the journey continues. Use Rest through the night to skip all activities and go straight to sleep, or work through the available actions first.
Campfire
Building a fire costs one activity but enables cooking and provides warmth. A fire slightly reduces the chance of wildlife encounters but may attract humanoid attention.
Shelter
If you own a one-man tent or two-man tent, you can pitch it for better rest. Otherwise you can improvise a rough lean-to. Shelter reduces exposure penalties.
Watch
Setting a watch determines how night encounters are detected:
- Player on watch: Roll 2d6 + Perception modifier + perception skill vs. enemy stealth (2d6+1). Success = detected; you are not surprised.
- Companion on watch: Uses the companion's Perception stat and perception skill, modified by your leadership check bonus (see below). Same roll as player watch.
- No watch: Enemy stealth roll is compared directly against your raw Perception stat as a flat DC. Much harder to detect.
Leadership Check
Before assigning a companion to watch, roll a Leadership check (2d6 + leadership skill). The result determines a bonus or penalty applied to your companion's watch rolls for the night:
| Total roll | Watch modifier |
|---|---|
| 15+ | +3 |
| 11 – 14 | +2 |
| 8 – 10 | +1 |
| 6 – 7 | +0 |
| 4 – 5 | −1 |
| 3 or less | −2 |
Camp Activities
Each activity can only be done once per camp. Available activities:
- Forage — Survival check (DC 7). Roll 10+ yields berries and mushrooms; 7–9 yields one; below 7 yields nothing.
- Hunt — Tracking check (DC 8). Success produces raw rabbit (or raw fish near water). Raw meat must be cooked before safe consumption.
- Cook — Requires a campfire. Converts all raw rabbit and raw fish in your inventory to cooked versions. Cooked food has higher food value and causes no illness.
- Tend Wounds — Medicine check against a DC based on injury severity (Minor DC 7, Major DC 10, Catastrophic DC 12). Success stabilises the injury.
- Treat Food Poisoning — Costs 5 silver for supplies. Medicine check DC 8. Success cures poisoning and restores the lost Endurance.
Breaking Camp
When you end the camp (manually or via the quick-rest button), the game automatically advances 3 time periods (one night), attempts to eat one ration from your inventory (preferring cooked food over raw), rolls for a night encounter, and then continues the journey queue.
Combat
Combat is turn-based and range-dependent. When a hostile encounter escalates, you are taken to the Combat screen.
Pre-Combat: Formation Check
Before the first round, a Tactics check (Intellect + Tactics vs DC 8) determines your starting formation:
- Success: You take a defensive stance. If your equipped weapon has the brace trait, it is levelled — ready for an attack of opportunity if an enemy charges.
- Slight failure (−1 or −2): You fail the formation but still level a brace weapon if you have one.
- Significant failure (−3 or more): The formation collapses. Enemies push forward and may receive a free strike before the first round.
Initiative
Initiative is rolled at the start of combat (2d6 + Agility modifier for you; 2d6 + enemy bonus for the enemy). The higher roll acts first. If you catch an enemy by surprise, you always act first and get a free opening round.
In party mode (multiple characters), initiative is rolled separately for each party member and each enemy. Turns are interleaved by initiative score — your companion may act before or after you, and before or after any individual enemy.
Range
Combat tracks five range bands: Adjacent, Close, Moderate, Far, Very Far. Melee weapons only function at Adjacent range. Ranged weapons have minimum and maximum effective ranges. Each turn you can move one band closer or further before acting.
Actions
On your turn you can: attack (2d6 + Strength/Agility modifier vs. enemy AR), dodge (adds Agility modifier to your defence for one round), take cover (reduces incoming ranged damage), intimidate (Presence check to impose a penalty on the enemy), or flee (Agility check to escape).
Brace Weapons & Attacks of Opportunity
Weapons with the brace trait (spears, pikes, halberds) can be levelled before combat. If an enemy charges across your line while you are braced, you automatically deliver an attack of opportunity before their move resolves. If the AoO kills or renders the attacker unconscious, other enemies with a charging AI may become cautious and hold position instead of pressing forward.
Damage & Armour
A successful hit deals weapon damage minus the target's Armour Rating (AR). For enemies, damage drains Endurance first, then Strength, then Agility — when any stat reaches 0 the enemy is defeated.
For the player, damage works differently: when you take a hit you are prompted to assign the damage to one of your three physical stats. Choose which stat absorbs it. If the assigned stat cannot absorb the full amount (it would go below 0), the overflow is automatically queued and you are prompted again for the remainder — you must assign every point of damage before the turn continues. Armour wear only applies on the initial hit, not overflow prompts.
Defeat
Defeat has three tiers based on how many physical stats have reached 0:
- One stat reaches 0: You fall unconscious for 10 rounds. The fight continues around you. You wake at the end of round 10 and can act again.
- Two stats reach 0: You fall unconscious for 2d6 hours. The defeating enemy rolls a defeat outcome — you may be stripped of valuables, left for dead, or spared. For every 6 hours elapsed, one time period advances. Upon waking you are badly injured but alive.
- Three stats reach 0: You are dead.
Injuries
Severe combat outcomes can leave you with injuries that persist after the fight and contribute to your aging penalty. Treat them at camp or with a healer in town.
Arcane & Spellcasting
Magic is rare and dangerous. It is not bought in a shop or granted by a class — it is learned, slowly and at cost, from teachers who live at the edges of the world. A character who pursues it will pay for every casting in years or blood.
The Arcana Skill
The arcana skill governs all spellcasting. It is not gained through normal careers — it must be sought out. Scattered through the wilderness are six arcane hermits, each with a different school of magic and a different set of requirements before they will teach anyone anything.
The arcana skill rank adds directly to your spell roll alongside the driving attribute modifier. A higher rank makes every spell you know more reliable, regardless of school.
Finding Teachers
Hermit teachers are found at specific wilderness locations — off the main road networks and requiring some travel to reach. Each has their own personality and their own conditions for instruction. Some require a test before they will train you. Some will not teach students who have been marked by a particular other teacher. The world does not label these people on a map — you find them by exploring.
Learning Spells
Once a teacher accepts you, you can learn individual spells from their repertoire. Each spell has its own prerequisites — some require a minimum arcana rank, some require that you have already learned another spell first. Spells you have learned are permanently added to your character and accessible in both adventure mode and combat.
The Casting Roll
Every spell cast requires a roll: 2d6 + attribute modifier + arcana rank against the spell's DC.
| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| 2d6 | Base dice — same as all other checks |
| Attribute modifier | The spell's driving stat (Intellect for fire, Endurance for healing, etc.) |
| Arcana rank | Your arcana skill level — adds to every spell |
| DC | The spell's target number — higher means harder and more powerful |
| Difficulty | DC | Example spells |
|---|---|---|
| Routine | 6+ | — |
| Average | 8+ | Stone Strike, Veil of Mist, Lay Hands |
| Difficult | 10+ | Fire Bolt, Blink Step, Root Grasp |
| Very Difficult | 12+ | Blood Draw |
| Formidable | 14+ | Necrotic Pulse |
Casting Cost
Every casting — whether it succeeds or fails — has a cost. Before the spell roll, you choose one of two options:
- Endurance check: Roll 2d6 + Endurance modifier against the spell's cost DC. Success means you absorb the strain with no effect. Failure costs you 1 Endurance directly. The cost DC varies by spell — more powerful spells are harder to absorb.
- Age one year: Skip the check entirely. Your character ages one year. No stat loss, but the years accumulate and aging penalties grow.
The choice is made before you see the spell result. A character with high Endurance can sustain regular casting with checks; a character willing to trade years for reliability chooses age. A very old caster who has been aging for spells for years will find the aging table increasingly punishing.
On Failure
When the spell roll fails, the result is not simply nothing. Each spell has a fail table — a set of weighted outcomes that determine what goes wrong. Results vary by spell but may include:
- A complete fizzle — nothing happens, cost is still paid
- Damage to yourself — fire that turns back, necrotic energy that rebounds
- Conditions applied to yourself — blindness, disorientation, entanglement
- Reduced or misdirected effects
Some fail outcomes are far worse than others. The fail tables are weighted, so some bad results are more likely than others — but the worst outcomes are always possible.
Combat Conditions from Spells
Several spells apply conditions to the player or enemies that persist for a number of combat rounds:
| Condition | Who it affects | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Blinded | Player | −4 to all attack rolls |
| Disoriented | Player | −1 to attack rolls |
| Entangled (self) | Player | Lose minor action next round |
| Veiled | Player (beneficial) | Enemies take −2 to attack rolls against you |
| Warded | Player (beneficial) | +2 to your effective AR |
| Entangled | Enemy | Cannot move this round |
Conditions decrement at the start of each round and expire automatically. A condition with 1 round remaining expires at the end of the current round.
Schools of Magic
| School | Teacher | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Fire & Earth | A hermit in the mountains | Direct damage, area control |
| Mist & Sight | A hermit in a hollow | Concealment, perception |
| Light & Restoration | A hermit at a shrine | Healing, protection |
| Nature | A hermit in a cave | Detection, crowd control |
| Fate | A hermit at an observatory | Mobility, probability |
| Shadow & Entropy | A hermit in a ruin | Drain, armour-bypass, area damage |
Companions, Animals & Party
Companions appear in the Companions tab on your character sheet. They travel with you and can be assigned roles at camp and in combat.
PC Party Members
Blood & Burden supports multi-character parties. If you have created multiple characters on the same account and they are in adventure mode, you can recruit them to travel together.
- Visit The Gilded Scale in Thornhaven and speak to the innkeeper about forming a company — the party assembly panel appears directly in the dialogue result.
- You can also add and remove party members at any time from the Companions tab → Party Members section.
- Party members fight with their own equipped weapon and stats. In combat, each member rolls their own initiative and acts in their own slot — turns are interleaved with enemies.
- A party of up to 5 characters is supported. A party can contain a maximum of 4 companions plus the active character.
Use the Combat Formation panel in the Companions tab to assign each member a preferred starting line (front line, mid, support, or back). The formation roll at combat start determines whether the formation holds.
Animal Companions
Animal companions (horses, hunting hounds) are acquired by mustering out with the relevant benefit or by purchasing them from an appropriate NPC during the adventure. They are not stored as regular items — they have their own stat blocks.
| Animal | Perception | Notable skills | Cargo slots | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting Hound | 10 | Tracking 3, Perception 2 | 0 | Excellent watch animal; exceptional tracker |
| Pack Mule | 6 | — | 4 (6 with pack saddle) | Cargo hauler |
| Draft Horse | 6 | — | 4 (6 with pack saddle) | Heavy cart puller; cargo hauler |
| Ox | 5 | — | 6 | Heavy draft; wagon pulling |
| Scout Horse | 9 | Perception 1 | 0 | Fast mount; good on watch |
| Fine Destrier | 8 | — | 0 | Prestige mount |
| Warhorse | 8 | — | 0 | Combat-trained mount |
| Riding Horse | 7 | — | 0 | Standard travel mount |
| Patrol Horse | 7 | — | 0 | Reliable workhorse |
If you receive duplicate companions (e.g. two warhorses), you will be prompted to keep or sell the extra. Selling returns the animal's silver value.
The Thornhaven Arena
The Arena is located in Thornhaven's Garrison Quarter. Speak to the registrar at the arena entrance to enter the tournament.
Tournament Structure
- Entry fee: 100 silver. The fee is forfeit if you are defeated.
- Prize: 1,000 silver, claimed after winning all three fights.
- The tournament consists of three consecutive fights. Your physical stats (Strength, Agility, Endurance) are restored between each fight — arena medics patch up the acute damage.
- Injuries persist: Any injury records gained during a fight are kept between fights and after the tournament. Treat them at a healer afterwards.
- Armor can be damaged: Armor condition is not reset between fights. Heavily damaged armor is a lasting disadvantage for later rounds.
Enemy Scaling
Enemy count scales with your party size:
| Fight | Enemy count | Enemy AI |
|---|---|---|
| Fight 1 | max(2, party size), cap 6 | Charging — enemies press forward aggressively. |
| Fight 2 | max(3, party size + 1), cap 7 | Veterans — charge until a brace weapon kills one of their number, then hold back. |
| Fight 3 | max(2, party size), cap 6 | Tactical — hold position when your brace weapon is levelled; probe for openings. |
Each fight draws from a mixed weapon pool: roughly 20% spear, 20% ranged, 25% light melee, 25% heavy melee, and 10% thrown — allocated by largest-remainder to guarantee exact totals.
Brace Weapons in the Arena
Carrying a spear or other brace weapon has a direct strategic effect in fights 2 and 3. In Fight 2, a successful brace attack of opportunity that kills or KOs an enemy causes the remaining veterans to abandon their charge and adopt a wary, defensive stance. In Fight 3, tactical fighters hold position entirely rather than close into your spear's range while it remains levelled.
If You Are Defeated
Defeat ends the tournament immediately. Your entry fee is forfeit. Any injuries sustained remain on your character. Your stats are not restored to their pre-arena values — you leave the arena in the state you were in when you fell.
Cargo & Transport
Large and heavy items occupy cargo slots. Each cargo slot holds 1 unit of bulk. Every character has 1 cargo slot on their person — enough to carry one item of bulk 1 (such as a backpack) strapped to their back.
Bulk Values
An item's bulk determines how many cargo slots it fills:
| Item | Bulk |
|---|---|
| Shield | 1 |
| Chest / torso armor piece | 1 |
| Head / arm / leg armor piece | 0.33 |
| Tent, bedroll, sleeping bag | 1 |
| Backpack (any type) | 1 |
| Sack (full) | 2 |
| Small chest | 2 |
| Barrel | 3 |
| Cask | 2 |
| Crate | 4 |
| Large chest | 6 |
Cargo Slot Sources
| Source | Base slots | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Player (on back) | 1 | Holds a backpack or item of bulk 1 |
| Backpack | 2 | Uses the player's 1 slot, provides 2 internal slots |
| Large Rucksack | 4 | Uses the player's 1 slot, provides 4 internal slots |
| Frame Backpack | 6 | Uses the player's 1 slot, provides 6 internal slots |
| Pack Mule or Draft Horse | 4 | Base capacity when unequipped |
| Pack Mule or Draft Horse + Pack Saddle | 6 | Saddle uses 2 slots, adds 4 — not rideable |
| Ox | 6 | Draft animal; paired with ox yoke for pulling |
| Handcart | 8 | Pulled by hand; no draft animal needed |
| Small Cart | 12 | Requires draft animal |
| Merchant Cart | 20 | Requires draft animal |
| Wagon | 30 | Requires ox or team; slow on poor roads |
Containers as Cargo
Some containers are both cargo themselves and provide internal space. A large chest takes 6 slots on a wagon but holds 8 slots of goods inside it. A barrel takes 3 slots and holds 6. Loading a container onto a vehicle first, then filling it, lets you organise cargo and use the container's weight and volume limits to protect goods.
Containers with an internal slot count of 0 (small chest, cask) are sealed or used purely for protection — their contents are tracked by weight and volume rather than cargo slots.
Trade & Commerce
As your cargo capacity grows you can take on trade contracts — delivering goods between settlements for silver. A merchant cart hauled by a draft horse gives you 20 slots for goods, enough to run a serious trade route. Pair it with a pack mule carrying 6 additional slots and you have a small caravan. Build your fleet of animals and vehicles over time to establish a true shipping empire.
Income in Adventure Mode
All income sources — pensions and owned assets — are displayed together in the Income panel on your character sheet, organised into Pensions and Assets subsections with a combined monthly total shown at the bottom.
Income pays out automatically every 30 game days. The full monthly total is added to your silver and recorded in your adventure journal. You do not need to visit a bank or NPC to collect it.
To grow your income during the adventure, accumulate shares from NPCs and from career benefits. Every 10 shares of the same type convert automatically to a new asset. Owning multiple assets of the same type stacks the income (e.g. two merchant caravans pay 50 silver/month).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I re-enter a career I've already served in?
Yes, but only after one full term has passed since you mustered out. When you return, your previous rank and assignment are automatically restored.
What happens if I fail the qualification roll for every career?
You are automatically placed in the Wayfarer career for that term. Wayfarer has no qualification requirement and no lockout period.
Is there a maximum number of terms?
Yes — 11 terms total across all careers. After your 11th term ends, you must muster out and begin your adventure.
Can I die during character creation?
Yes — if Strength, Endurance, or Agility reaches 0. This can happen from aging (the primary cause in long careers) or from a severe result on the Creation Injury Table (a roll of 1 or 2 on a wound mishap can drain a physical stat to 0 in one blow for unlucky characters). Failing a survival roll does not cause death — it only forces you out of the career with a mishap.
What does "Begin Your Adventure" do?
It finalises your character and transitions you out of the creation phase. Everything you built — connections, skills, equipment, income, companions — carries forward into the adventure.
Why does aging only start at age 30?
Characters begin at 16 and spend two years in apprenticeship before their first career term at 18. Each term ages them 2 years. The threshold of 30 means at least 7 terms of service before aging begins. Characters who muster out early and start adventuring young may never roll aging during creation — though the in-game clock will catch up eventually.
What are social benefit items?
Things like "Guild Membership" or "Noble Favour" — intangible rewards representing relationships, reputation, and legal rights rather than physical objects. They appear in italics in your equipment panel and unlock specific interactions, discounts, and story options during the adventure.
How do I get more income during the adventure?
Buy shares from relevant NPCs — innkeepers for inn shares, farmers for farm and livestock shares, merchants and guild factors for caravan shares, barge captains for ship shares. Every 10 shares of the same type automatically convert into a fully owned asset. You can also earn shares as muster-out benefits from some careers.
I ate raw meat and my Endurance dropped. What do I do?
You have food poisoning. The −2 Endurance penalty persists until treated. At your next camp, use the Treat Food Poisoning activity (costs 5 silver, medicine check DC 8). You can also treat it in any town where medicine supplies are available. Always cook raw rabbit or fish over a campfire before eating it.
My companion is on watch — is that better than watching myself?
It depends on the companion and your leadership. A hunting hound with Perception 10 and Tracking 3 is an outstanding sentry — better than most characters. Horses are average. Always roll a leadership check before assigning a companion to watch, as a poor result can penalise their detection roll. A well-led hound is the best watch you can have; a poorly led horse on watch is barely better than sleeping unguarded.
Can I sell items I don't want during the adventure?
Yes. Every item in your Equipment and Provisions panels has a Sell or Drop button in adventure mode. Selling returns the item's base silver value. Items with no listed value can be dropped but grant no silver. Companions can also be sold from the Companions panel.
How long does a road journey take?
Each road card shows an estimated travel time (in days) for walking and riding before you commit. The Travel Readiness bar above the road options shows your current food supply alongside hunger and fatigue — use this to decide whether to stock up before departing.
How does the new aging table work? I have to choose which stats to lose?
Yes. The roll tells you how many stats take how much damage, but you decide which ones. A roll of −2 means three physical stats each lose 1 point — you pick whether that comes from Strength, Agility, Endurance, or some combination. A choice form appears before you can continue. This matters because a warrior might sacrifice Endurance to protect Strength, while a scout might do the opposite.
My character was wounded in a career mishap and lost a lot more than −1. What happened?
Wound and injury mishaps now trigger the Creation Injury Table (1d6) instead of a flat stat penalty. A roll of 1 (Nearly killed) can reduce one physical stat by 1d6 and the other two by 2 each — significantly more punishing than the old flat −1. Rolls of 5–6 are mild. The result also adds an injury record to your character, which increases your aging penalty for all future rolls.
What is a pack saddle and why can't I ride with it?
A pack saddle is a flat cargo frame rather than a riding seat. It occupies 2 of a mule or draft horse's 4 base cargo slots but adds 4 new pannier slots, giving you 6 total when walking the animal. It has no stirrups or seat — it is designed for hauling, not riding. If you need both riding and cargo, use a riding saddle and accept the 4-slot limit.
How do I learn magic?
Find one of the arcane hermits scattered through the wilderness and talk to them. Each one has their own requirements — some test you before teaching, some gate their spells on having already learned others. Hermit locations are not marked; you discover them by exploring. Once a teacher accepts you, individual spells unlock as dialogue options. Learning a spell is permanent.
I failed the spell roll. Do I still pay the casting cost?
Yes. The cost is paid before the roll, and it applies regardless of outcome. A failed spell still aged you by a year or cost you Endurance. The spell roll only determines whether the intended effect occurs — or something else happens instead.
What happens when a spell fails?
A random outcome is drawn from the spell's fail table. Some spells fizzle harmlessly. Others turn back on you — fire that burns your own hands, roots that trap your own feet, smoke that blinds you instead of your target. Each spell has different failure modes, and they are weighted so that some bad results are more likely than others. All of them are still possible.
Should I always choose the Endurance check over aging?
It depends on your Endurance modifier and how dangerous your aging penalty already is. A young character with high Endurance will pass cost checks most of the time and should almost always check. An older character already facing steep aging rolls might prefer to age deliberately rather than drain Endurance in the middle of a fight. The tradeoff shifts over a character's life — there is no universal right answer.
Can I cast spells in combat?
Yes. Combat-usable spells appear as major action buttons in the Arcane section of the action panel. Select the spell, choose your cost method, and submit the round. You cannot cast if you are entangled. Some spells apply or remove conditions that persist across rounds — check the combat log for what is currently active.
Do armor set bonuses apply in creation or only adventure mode?
Only in adventure mode — set bonuses apply to your active combat AR and are shown in the combat HUD. During character creation your armor is listed but not equipped in the slot system, so the bonus is not active until you enter adventure mode and equip the pieces.
My waterskin ran out. Where do I refill it?
Water sources (rivers, wells) encountered during travel or at camp allow refilling. The waterskin holds 5 uses. When it hits 0 it is not destroyed — it stays in your inventory empty and can be refilled at the next water source you visit.
I got a damage prompt asking me to choose a stat. What is this?
When you take damage in combat you choose which physical stat absorbs it — Strength, Agility, or Endurance. If the chosen stat can't absorb the full amount (it would reach 0 before all damage is applied), a second prompt appears for the overflow. This continues until all damage is assigned. Stats that are already at 0 are greyed out and cannot be chosen.
What happens when I'm knocked unconscious in combat?
It depends on how many stats hit 0. One stat at 0: you fall unconscious for 10 rounds, then wake and can act again. Two stats at 0: you're out for 2d6 hours — the enemy rolls a defeat outcome (silver stolen, item taken, or left unharmed), and for every 6 hours you advance one time period. Three stats at 0: your character is dead.
What is the untrained skill penalty?
Any skill check for a skill you do not have on your character sheet suffers a −2 penalty. This applies in all contexts — combat actions, camp activities, encounter choices, and NPC interactions. Having skill 1 in anything removes the penalty entirely, so even a single point matters.
How do I add other characters to my party?
Any character on your account that is in adventure mode can join your party. In Thornhaven, visit The Gilded Scale and speak to Aldric Penwick — select "Looking to form a company" and use the party assembly panel to add characters. You can also add or remove members at any time through the Companions tab on your character sheet. Up to 4 companions (plus yourself) can be in a party.
Do party members act independently in combat?
Yes. Each party member rolls their own initiative and acts in their own turn slot — turns are interleaved with enemies, so the order varies each fight. Each member uses their own equipped weapon, stats, and skills. If a companion falls unconscious during combat, the remaining party members continue fighting.
What is the Thornhaven Arena?
The Arena is a three-fight tournament in Thornhaven's Garrison Quarter. Pay the 100 silver entry fee to compete. Win all three fights to claim the 1,000 silver prize. Between fights your physical stats (STR/AGI/END) are restored, but injuries and armor damage carry over. Enemy count scales to match your party size.
What happens to my injuries after the arena?
Arena injuries persist. The medics between fights restore your combat-damaged stats to pre-fight levels, but injury records remain and continue to accumulate. Armor condition also carries over — don't count on plate armor staying intact across all three fights. Get injuries treated at a healer in Thornhaven after the tournament.
What is a brace weapon and why does it matter in the arena?
Brace weapons (spears, pikes, halberds) can be levelled before combat. When an enemy charges into your line while you are braced, you deliver an attack of opportunity before their strike lands. In the arena's second fight, a brace AoO that kills a veteran fighter causes the remaining veterans to abandon their charge and turn cautious. In the third fight, tactical fighters hold their advance entirely as long as your brace weapon is levelled.
What does the pre-combat formation check do?
Before the first round a Tactics check (Intellect + Tactics vs DC 8) is made. A success sets a defensive stance and levels any brace weapon. A slight failure (−1 or −2) still levels a brace weapon. A significant failure (−3 or more) collapses the formation — enemies push forward and may land a free strike before anyone else acts. Characters without Tactics suffer the −2 untrained penalty on this roll.