Welcome to Sovereign!

This game endeavors to provide a ruleset that allows players to play through adventures compatible with 1980s D&D. Little conversion should be necessary. The game hopes to be written more clearly, be more searchable, better hyperlinked, have more depth, and boast a better in-game economy.

Table Of Contents

• Character Creation
• Classes
• Arcane Traditions
• Rules
• Combat
• Equipment
• Feats
• Spells
• Examples
• Running The Game
• Monsters

Recommended Adventures

• Anything rated “Best” at tenfootpole by Bryce.
• Anything Gabor rates a **** / ***** or higher. I don’t know of a good way to filter here, but here are all of the reviews.
• Anything Prince rates a ***** on his review list.

Under Construction

• Actually playtest the classes. I know it uses WWN which has its own playtesting, but there’s probably still jank somewhere.
• Make sure that there’s enough skills for all the advancement points that PCs get while leveling up. Need to make sure that not every high level character is the same.
• Make sure that there’s enough feats for spellcasters.
• Build out sample build packages for players who aren’t interested in build craft and just want to get going
• Build out sample adventuring parties for random encounters
• Create out starting-at-higher-level rules (mostly magic items)
• Port over conditions from those outside the walls

Change Log

2024-11-24

• Update the reaction rolls to use the OD&D system.
• Update how chases work to make it round-by-round like OD&D.

2024-11-21

• Update the price of magical services

2024-11-03

• Change the skill notation from {Skill}-{level} to {Skill}:{level}. This is nice because Stab–1 (stab at -1 skill) looks awful, but Stab:-1 looks fine. Thanks Niko!
• Give monsters an extra 4 HP per HD to account for Sovereign PC’s much higher damage output.

2024-10-19

• Add a player-facing section on traps
• Explain how to convert monsters from other OSR systems to Sovereign
• Distill the cover rules into practical guidance
• Change magnet to lodestone and increase the price from 1s to 10g and the weigh to 1 enc

All of the above changes are the result of lovely feedback from u/TheIncandenza

• Add a multi-check system to pursuit checks with missile attacks. Inspired by Simulacrum.

2024-10-06

• Move advancement and alignment to character creation
• Add swimming rules

2024-10-01

• Include an intro/summary for the combat rules
• Simplify chases and pursuit
• Huge editing pass on /rules and /combat with ChatGPT trained on Sam Sorensen’s editing tips.
• Make spears Long
• GM wins initiative ties
• Clarify how reloading crossbows works

2024-09-22

• Nerf to Impervious Defense’s initial AC and level scaling.

2024-09-21

• Clarify how searching for hidden things works. Inspired by Simulacrum’s system.
• Better clarify on setting ambushes and surprised. Also inspired by Simulacrum.

2024-09-17

• Removed the poisoner feat. There are no rules for creating/obtaining poisons.

2024-09-16

• Added room count to the adventure table

2024-09-14

• Removed the Sniper’s Eye feat. I think it’s a trap and we don’t need it.
• Added sample characters with loadouts and notes.

2024-09-13

• Unify on DC 10. I hate coming up with DCs, and the simplification is worth the loss of fidelity.

2024-09-08

• Clarify language on spell prep and casting
• Use numbers and ft instead of spelling it out.
• Use more common terms instead of Delver
• Add an intro, toc, and summary for the rules chapter.

2024-09-07

• Update the equipment list to include everything in the suggested uses
• Remove the healer art “Refined Restoration”; didn’t fit.

2024-08-25

• Include an index for osric monsters since osric’s is pretty bad and weirdly sorted.

2024-08-23

• Add one more consumable per 2000xp in the magic item rebalancing section.
• Give guidance on which items are good to cut and which to keep.

2024-08-19

• Fix table scrolling.
• Update number of suggested magic items per adventure.
• Add a sling to the weapons list. Lots of magic stones out there in adventures.
• Fully hyperlink PC creation.
• Note in the index that Running the Game is much more complete
• Finish Running the Game
• I think we’re ready to release!

2024-08-18

• Finish the first draft of the preparing-a-module section

2024-08-16

• Rewrite the section on rest, adding a Comfortable Sleep keyword.
• Add examples and running the game to the ToC
• Add an example of reaction rolls.

2024-08-14

• Flesh out the faction advice in the GM section. Need to make my own diagram still.
• Specify that System Strain and spell slots can only be recovered in settlements.

2024-08-13

• Clean up the time keeping + wandering encounter text
• Hide alignment philosophy links in the text. They were too technical to be explicitly called out.
• Swapped out the searching library I was using for full-text. Now, typing whole words should work.

2024-08-12

• Initial sections for the game master guide

2024-08-10

• Re-do the character creation example, which makes the examples section done for now.

2024-08-09

• Change the tutorial to examples of play
• Add an extensive combat example

2024-08-08

• Hyperlink System Strain.
• Change disengage to work on all foes. All of the core *WN books work this way, it’s just the SRDs that are different.
• Simplify language around skill levels.
• Specify that moving triggers a free attack when you leave a foe’s threatened range.

2024-08-06

• Removed the accursed art ‘Snaring Speech’. We don’t have persuasion checks.
• Hyperlink Commit Effort.

2024-08-03

• Added The Darkness Beneath Level 1: The Upper Caves to the adventure list. Bryce listed it as his GOAT adventure.
• Add a section on alignment.
• Hyperlink Turn and Round.
• Hyperlink the saving throws.
• Implement search! Whew.

2024-08-02

• De-jargon a bit. “Module” is an esoteric term, “adventure” is not.

2024-08-01

• Get the nav bar for the toc to be responsive.

2024-07-31

• Add rules for scrolls, potions, and sentient weapons.
• Add the list of adventures, sourced from tenfootpole and beyondformalhaut.
• Add an explanation of the grid for combat.
• Change hit roll to attack roll.
• Oops. Accursed get arts as they level now.
• Magic weapons add their bonus to Shock.
• Standardize text around actions.
• Somehow the metric system slipped it. It has been removed.
• Use HD for npcs
• Use HP Progression for characters.
• hyperlink all of the skills.
• Get an actual table of contents going. Thanks Lina!

2024-07-30

• Give the spell level headers unique names so the hyperlinks work.
• Rename “arts and spells” to “progression” to be more clear.
• Hyperlink and standardize Bonus Skills.
• Clarify Screen an Ally.
• Use HD for npcs.
• Use HP Progression for characters.

2024-07-28

• Build a table of contents for the index and each section.
• Reorganize the spell hierarchy
• Use (C) instead of the crossed swords emoji for feats. Works better for hyperlinks.
• Clean up the index page now that we have a ToC.
• Link to OSE instead of BF for magic items; it’s a little better.
• Tabulate the combat actions.
• Explain how to make improvised combat actions.
• Specify that snap attacks can make spells and other attacks fizzle
• Remove last vestiges of Instinct.
• Cleanup and hyperlink the rules.
• Hyperlink the classes.
• Explain which game mechanic each attribute touches.
• Hyperlink equipment and add color to the adventuring gear.

2024-07-26

• Add check penalties to chain and plate armor.
• Include attributes in group checks.
• Add a tutorial for skill checks.

2024-07-25

• Add big picture and core loop tutorials.
• Add the under construction section.
• Add a worked example for the core loop tutorial.

2024-07-25

• Remove Lead and Lead-based Feats. Use leverage instead.
• Remove Charisma
• Worked character creation example. Whew.

2024-07-24

• Add a tutorial for learning character creation. Still need a worked example.
• Keep items on card stock
• Add rules for doors. So many doors.
• Drop a ton of instances of ‘may’ and ‘can’ that weren’t actual choices.
• Use “HP” instead of “hit points”.
• Add paragraphs to the spell descriptions.
• Use those outside the walls and basic fantasy as stop-gaps.
• Add a narrative interaction section.
• Add morale.
• Add a core game loop section.
• Standardize on ‘attack bonus’ - it was sometimes called ‘base attack bonus’.

2024-07-23

• Use population sizes instead of ACKS’s market classes for equipment availability.
• Use “feat” instead of “focus”.
• Use “Free Action” instead of “On Turn Action” to free up the “Turn” word.
• Use “Turn” instead of “Scene”, consolidating those keywords.
• Simplify the spell names to be more D&D-familiar. The WWN names are antimemetic.
• Use the ACKs prices for equipment instead of the WWN prices
• Remove the luck saving throw; we just don’t need it.
• Remove WWN backgrounds, simplify to just making 4 total improvements.
• Remove Administer, Connect, Convince, Craft, Perform, Sail, Survive, Trade, and Work as skills. They’re inappropriate for this style of play.
• Remove the feats associated with those skills.
• Remove the Bard, Beastmaster, Blood priest, Invoker, Mage Slayer, Skinshifter, Thought noble, Vowed, and Wise classes. The class list was bloated and each niche we carve out makes each other class less flexible. This also makes it so that there are no warrior or expert sub-classes, which simplifies the language.
• Simplify the skill levels. There was an implied -1 level before (untrained) that gave an extra -1 for specifically attack rolls. Remove that exception and start all skills at level -1.
• Standardize language around attribute modifiers. Rather than saying “Strength modifier”, we just say “STR”.
• Remove starting packages. Just buy gear!
• Standardize group checks and aiding skill checks into the same thing.
• Rewrite opposed checks so that only one side is rolling. This saves time at the table and is probabilistically equivalent.
• Remove tons of weasel words.
• Resolve “optional” rules, either making them non-optional or removing them.
• Standardize on “mortal injury” - it was sometimes getting called “mortal wound”.
• Remove everything about mounted combat, just isn’t an exception worth exploring.
• Simplify chases.
• Replace WWN’s XP system with a slightly-more-generous version of BX’s.
• Rip out all of the downtime stuff; it’s out of scope. No crafting, no modifying.
• Remove all of the wilderness exploration stuff. It’s not worth it. We want to spend time in dungeons playing adventures.
• Simplify WWN’s armor list down to just leather/chain/plate.

Attributions

Sovereign is built on a (much reduced) chassis of Worlds Without Number; taking its feat system, classes, spells, and combat. We sprinkle in ACKs 2e’s top-notch economy. Many of the spell name changes are from this community spreadsheet.