| Greetings. You have reached the page of Dark Age fantasy. The following pages contain the art and writing of Thomas Happ. Everything is freely downloadable for personal use only (why else would you be using it?). Herein lies all the information you need to enter a world far separate from our own, a world straddling the boundary between actuality and surreality, a world of truth and of lies. Dark Age Dark Age chronicles an eternal conflict between Satan, humankind, and God. Though it could take place anywhere and at any time, the Dark Age world resembles a conglomerate of western civilizations spanning the period between ca. 600 to 1300 AD, which encompasses our own dark ages as well as the better part of the medieval era . It is not the same; at least, it is not as our history books tell us it was, for in this age of darkness and corruption evil has gotten the upper hand. The Devil is not a legend fabricated to intimidate would-be wrongdoers, he is a physical entity, an d he has escaped the chains of the Underworld so that he might conquer the realms of mortal men. Civlized lands are run, as usual, by lords, knights, and the Church. Outside of this, however, the world is riddled with all manner of mysterious and dangerous creatures -- ogres, trolls, gnomes, and giants, to name a few. Most deadly and feared of all, however, are the demons, servants of Satan. Entire armies of imps, evilspawn, and fiends are gathering before the Nine Gates of Hell, while legions upon legions of hell-creatures are already slipping through cracks in morality and seizing mankind by its throaght. They are real, they are here. The ways of the Lord are mysterious as always. In this the worst of times, though, he has abondoned humanity out of anger and dissappointment. Mortals must either find strength within themselves or seek help elsewhere, in magic or in some other deity , if there is one. You What role you play in this is your decision. As a character, be a legendary knight, a pious crusader, a stealthy rogue, mystical wizard, or simple commoner with uncommon goals. You can defend your world as a human or as any number of fantastic creatu res, such as a troll, gargoyle, manscorpion, or behemoth. Alternately, may wish to walk on the dark side as an imp, daeon, or half-demon. If stories are what turn you on, learn how to be a game master, and weave an epic adventure out of your own creativity. You will determine the setting, the events, the friends and the foes. Take control over angels, demons, elemental deities, the Supr eme, and the Evil One, and give players an experience they will not forget. I'll greatly appreciate any questions, comments, criticisms, hate mail, love letters, advice, ideas, spiritual guidance, marriage proposals, or random nonsense visitors may have to offer. You can email me at karidian@core.binghamton.edu. Page last updated 7/26/00. |
Copyright 1996-2000 Thomas Happ
Note: This page is under heavy reconstruction! I am gradually converting all the other pages so that they look like this one. Until then, you will have to deal with the current, messy state of affairs!
Index
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The Dark Age Character Sheet Either get your own scrap paper or print out this sheet using Netscape. It's two pages long, so if you can you may wish to use the front and back of a single sheet of paper. |
Role Playing
A brief description for those who have never role-played before, and a summary of how to use dice in role-playing.
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Chapter 1: Creation A step-by-step description of how to create a character; includes a sample character sheet, some important game terms, and a short creation walkthrough. |
Chapter 2: Player Character Races
Lists the primary races of the Dark Age world, including humans, trolls, and ratmen.
Chapter 3: Player Character Classes
A selection of classes or jobs organized into arcane, battle, and stealth categories.
Chapter 4: Skills
Additional abilities for your character based on his or her intellect.
Chapter 5: Arms, Items, and Equipment
All kinds of goodies for a hero or adventurer.
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Chapter 6: Adventuring: Player's Rules Once you've made a character, it's time to learn how to play the game. |
| Chapter 7: Adventuring: Game Master's Rules How to be a GM, lots of tips on creating adventures. |
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More details on the Dark Age setting, religion, and society.
Chapter 9: Treasure
How much gold monsters carry. Explains how to make your own magical items rather than giving you a list of items to choose from.
Chapter 10: Spells
Lots of spells that can be cast as often as you like, without memorization.
Creature Appendix
A-D
Selected natural world animals, plus some fantasy creatures; does not include demons.
D - Demons
This file is a creature appendix all its own.
E-G
Includes elementals, fey, and gargoyles.
H-N
Your choice of humans, mammorths, or manscorpions.
O-Z
All the rest, complete with ogres, undead, and werewolves.
Appendixes
Appendix A: Advanced Characters
Rules for additional ability scores that add more flavor to your character.
Appendix C: Character Death
Revive important characters as celestials, daemons, reincarnations, or undead.