Rules for Solo Game of Barbarian Prince

[Tibbius]

I like the procedurally-generated events tables of Barbarian Prince but have always struggled with the rules. Not sure why; they're not terribly complicated. Maybe it's the combined flipping back and forth that is tolerable when there's one book but more annoying when there's two.

Anyway, recently I thought it might be fun to try adapting Ray Otus' There and Back Again to run a solo game of Barbarian Prince (a game intended to be played solo). Though these adaptations would be equally applicable to running a group in the same setting ... maybe at some later time.

The following won't make much sense without reference to the original BP rules and the TABA rules. Here goes:

House Rules
How to Roll.

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Use "rollv"3d6. Depending whether you have (dis)advantage, pick one two or three of those going left to right. Any 5 or 6 is a success. Two or more successes are a critical success. All 1s means a Blunder.

Advantage and Disadvantage.

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An advantage (like having a relevant skill or having a good plan or position) can cancel a disadvantage (like poor planning or an unfavorable position or lacking a relevant Trait). Advantages don't stack to give more than 3d6 and disadvantages don't stack to give less than 1d6. If you have any number of advantages and any number of disadvantages, roll 2d6.

Begging.

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On any day that you are in a Haven, you can adventure by begging - an all-day action that uses the "charming" skill. Roll against Carousing or charming. Any number of successes gain one point of Wealth.

Blunder.

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Something bad happens. Worse than just failing at your intent or taking a wound in combat or suffering an adverse spell effect.

Caches and Seeking Trouble.

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Roll against the "scouting" skill (or Foraging trait) to find your cache. On a Blunder, the cache has been looted. This rule also works for seeking trouble - if you succeed, roll on the event table; on a Blunder, someone before you laid waste to the event and only debris remains.

Combat Rolls.

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Each success subtracts one from an opponent's Toughness. If you have no successes you lose one point of Toughness. On a Blunder, you lose points of Toughness equal to the number of opponents.

Combat Skill.

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A "Barbarian Prince" value of 1-3 equals a lack of the Fighting trait. 4-6 equals having the Fighting trait (or Foraging for ranged weapons). 7+ equals having a relevant skill (melee or brawling or shooting).

Endurance->Toughness.

Exposure.

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On any night you sleep in desert, mountains, rain, or snow, roll against Foraging or wilderness survival. Any success means you're fine. Failure means you lose one Toughness. A Blunder loses two Toughness. You can die from exposure. You gain an advantage if you have a tent.

Food and Hunger.

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You need to eat one unit of Food each day. You can carry up to seven units as a single item. Each day without food, after the first day, roll 1d6. A result less than your Toughness means that you lose one Toughness. You can't die from starvation.

Healing.

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On any day in a Haven (town or castle or temple or farm) that you only rest and eat, you recover all Toughness and Fate. On days in a Haven that you work, beg, or otherwise adventure, you don't recover anything.

Hunting.

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Each day in the countryside, farmland, forest, hills, or swamp, you may roll against hunting or Foraging to obtain food. One success equals one day's worth of food, two successes equal two days' food, three successes equal four days. A Blunder means you lose one Toughness.

Items.

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In addition to clothing and footwear, you can carry and wear a number of items equal to your Toughness. If you exceed that number, you are at disadvantage on all physical rolls - even ones for which you otherwise would have advantage.

Job.

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On any day that you are in a Haven, you can adventure by working a job. Roll 1d6, 2d6 for a relevant trait, 3d6 for a relevant skill. Any number of successes gain you one point of Wealth. A Blunder loses you the job.

Lost (r205).

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Usually, you can't get this result more than once when trying to cross a particular hex border. Your second attempt to move between two hexes always succeeds. River crossings and mountain passes are the two exceptions.

Magic (incoming hostile).

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Test the Magic trait, or the relevant magic skill if you have it. Failure means you suffer the effects of the magic. Blunder means you also suffer one wound. Injury from hostile damaging magic generally is limited to one wound, but magic can do many things other than directly injure you.

Minions.

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Sometimes you will have assistance in combat from minions. This could be tricky to represent using TABA's single roll mechanic. The solution is that you gain an advantage to your combat roll if you and your minions outnumber the opponents, or a disadvantage if your side is outnumbered. On your single roll, success means that you and your minions together inflict a total number of wounds equal to the lesser number of combatants on a side; failure means that you and your minions together suffer that same number of wounds. A Blunder means that you and your minions together suffer a total number of wounds equal to the larger number of combatants on a side. A critical success means that you and your minions together inflict a total number of wounds equal to the larger number of combatants. You decide where the wounds are allocated ("meat shields" is an appropriate phrase).

Ranged Weapons (incoming).

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In a turn that you are subject to incoming missiles, test hiding or Sneaking to avoid the danger. On a failure you lose one Toughness, on a Blunder you lose Toughness equal to the number of shooters.

Resources / Gold -> Wealth and Purchases.

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You start with Wealth 2. Each time you try to purchase an item or service, you spend 1 Wealth to make a roll against Carousing or haggling. You roll with advantage for ordinary things (e.g., food and lodging or hiring a porter for a day) - so if you lack the Carousing trait you still roll 2d6. You roll with disadvantage for very expensive things (e.g., armor or a horse or hiring a skilled warrior for a week) - so if you have the haggling skill, you still roll only 2d6. You have neither advantage nor disadvantage for moderate purchases (a week of lodging, a sword or bow, hiring a porter for a week or a warrior for a day). You may provisionally spend additional points of Wealth to roll additional d6 - if it gets to a point where you're worried about running out of money, and you haven't succeeded in the purchase, you may cancel the transaction to avoid losing any Wealth. If you get to Wealth 0 you can purchase nothing. If you get a critical success you make the purchase without losing any Wealth. You can gain one point of Wealth by successfully working or begging or robbing a person or corpse. If you loot a treasure hoard, you roll 1d6 to 3d6 depending on the size of hoard. Each success adds one to your Wealth. A critical success indicates a Special Item.

Routs (r220f).

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Each time you kill an opponent, roll to see whether the remaining opponents run away. Roll with a disadvantage if your group is clearly inferior to the opponents in total Toughness. Roll with advantage if clearly superior. Any success means that the opponents break and flee. Your choice of whether to harry them down, which would cancel the rout. A Blunder means that the opponents rally and inflict double damage on your next failed combat roll. The same applies for NPCs assisting you when one of your comrades falls: roll with disadvantage if clearly inferior in total Toughness, roll with advantage if clearly superior, any success means that your minions hold, a failure means they run away. A Blunder means that the opponents inflict double damage on your next failed combat roll.

Seeking News (r209).

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The first result of 5 or 7 gives you an additional die to roll on the table for r209 (pick two). The second result of 5 or 7 means that you find a job. The third result of 5 or 7 means that you find a job appropriate to one of your traits. The fourth result of 5 or 7 means that you find a job appropriate to one of your skills.

Special Items.

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These are determined randomly or by the DM fiat.

Thirst and Water.

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You need to drink one unit of Water each day. You can carry up to three units as a single item. Water is easily available everywhere but in the desert and mountains, so usually you don't need to track it. In the desert or mountains, roll against Foraging or wilderness survival to find one unit of water (this is an additional roll on top of the roll to find food). Each day without water, roll 1d6. A result less than or equal to your Toughness means that you lose 1 Toughness. You can die from thirst.

Weather.

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Each morning and evening, roll for a change in weather. Start off clear and comfortable. Roll 1d6 if the weather is clear: success means rain or snow. If it rains or snows, roll 2d6: success means it clears. Assume it never rains in the desert, snows in the mountains, and rains elsewhere. This is in addition to the "Heavy Rains" result on the travel tables.

Wit&Wiles->Fate.

Cal Arath, the Barbarian Prince

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Toughness 9, Fate 3, Wealth 1, Food 0, Water 3. Fighting: melee, brawling. Foraging: wilderness survival. Items 4: Bonebiter, fire kit, gem-crusted dagger, waterskin. Clothing: kilt, cloak, crossbelt, sandals. Goal: gather an army to retake the throne of the Northland.