FIREBALL

An Old-fashioned Role-Playing Game

Author
Łukasz Kołodziej

Contributors
Richard Sanders
Jarosław Bomba
Patryk Majczak
Konrad Pawlus
Tytus Rduch
Karol Ulatowski
Maciej Sznurkowski
Jędrzej Śmietański
Kamila Zalewska-Firus
Countless friends, reviewers, and testers.

Translation
Janek Sielicki

Cover art
Hans Peter Hansen
Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann

License
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International

Version
v.2.8EN, February 2019
 CONTENTS
Introduction 4 Kraken 15
Participants 4 Lich 15
Game aids 4 Mimic 15
Ogre 15
Skeleton 16
Characters 5 Spider 16
Abilities 5
Succubus 16
Species 5
Treant 16
Elf 5
Troll 16
Dwarf 5
Vampire 17
Halfling 5
Werewolf 17
Orc 5
Wolf 17
Human 6
Wraith 17
Character class 6
Wyvern 17
Fighter 6
Rogue 6
Wizard 6 Character sheet 18
Cleric 7
Adventurer 7
Quest 7
Character details 8
Gold 8

How to play 9
Turn order 9
Turns 9
Actions 9
Consequences 9
Reactions 9
Checks 10
Challenges 10
Death 10

Safe havens 11
Academy 11
Adventurer’s guild 11
Inn 11
Caravan 12
Marketplace 12
Temple 12

Monsters 13
Basilisk 13
Demon 13
Dragon 13
Giant 13
Goblin 14
Golem 14
Griffon 14
Hydra 14
Imp 14
Kobold 15
 INTRODUCTION
In Fireball, players adopt the roles of brave adventurers, who journey through fantas -
tical lands, battle monsters, and complete dangerous quests.

Participants
The game is designed for 2 to 6 players. One of them is the narrator, the others con -
trol player characters.
● The players create their characters and use the characters’ abilities to complete
a quest.
● The narrator selects monsters and uses their abilities to make the quest dangerous
and exciting.

Game aids
To play, you need this manual, several six-sided dice, paper, and pencils.

4
 CHARACTERS
First, each player creates their character by rolling a six-sided die six times.

Abilities
Each result determines, in that order: the character’s strength, agility, intelligence,
charisma, health, and mana points.

Species
A character’s species depends on the character’s lowest ability score, excluding health
and mana. If two or more lowest abilities have the same score, the player decides. The
species provides one talent you can use from the start and two locked talents, which
need to be unlocked between quests.

Elf
Ability Strength

Talent I hide in bushes

Locked talents I climb a tree, I shoot a bow

Dwarf
Ability Agility

Talent I keep standing

Locked talents I raise a toast, I smash with my hammer

Halfling
Ability Intelligence

Talent I ask a riddle

Locked talents I puff out a cloud of smoke from my pipe, I shoot my sling

Orc
Ability Charisma

Talent I roar menacingly

Locked talents I smell a coward, I hit with my axe

5
 Human
Ability I don’t like the species I got
Talent Humans don’t have any talents

Locked talents Humans don’t have any locked talents

Character class
A character’s class depends on the character’s highest ability score, excluding health
and mana. If two or more abilities have the same score, the player decides. The class
provides one talent you can use from the start and two locked talents, which need to
be unlocked between quests. It also determines how good a character is at using dif -
ferent types of items, as well as the starting equipment.

Fighter
Ability Strength

Talent I stab with my sword

Locked talents I overcome fear, I parry with my shield

Equipment Weapon +1 (e.g. a sword, bow, spear), armor +1 (e.g. a chainmail, shield, helmet)
Skills Weapons +4 Armor +3 Gadgets +1 Companions +2

Rogue
Ability Agility

Talent I hide in shadows

Locked talents I steal a coin pouch, I open a lock

Equipment Weapon +1 (e.g. a dagger, crossbow, whip), gadget +1 (e.g. a lockpick, rope, mask)
Skills Weapons +3 Armor +1 Gadgets +4 Companions +2

Wizard
Ability Intelligence

Talent I cast a fireball

Locked talents I change a target into a frog, I levitate

Equipment Weapon +1 (e.g. a staff, dagger, sling), companion +1 (e.g. a cat, imp, apprentice)
Skills Weapons +2 Armor +1 Gadgets +4 Companions +3

6
 Cleric
Ability Charisma
Talent I heal a wound

Locked talents I break a curse, I banish evil

Equipment Weapon +1 (e.g. a mace, hammer, sling), armor +1 (e.g. a breastplate, shield, helmet)

Skills Weapons +2 Armor +3 Gadgets +1 Companions +4

Adventurer
Ability I don’t like the class I got
Talent Adventurers don’t have any talents

Locked talents Adventurers don’t have any locked talents

Equipment Weapon +1 (e.g. a sword, bow, staff ), companion +1 (e.g. a dog, horse, minion)

Skills Weapons +2 Armor +2 Gadgets +2 Companions +4

Quest
A character’s quest depends on the six dice rolls made at the start of the character
creation process. During the game, the players may decide to take up the quest and
try to complete it.

Quest
Result 1 2 3 4 5 6

Lawless Tropical Vile Barren Dark Frozen

Visit
town paradise marches desert forest mountains

Attacked by Golem Werewolf Vampire Griffon Treant Troll

And Kobolds Wolves Skeletons Imps Spiders Goblins

In order to Buy Hide Sell Find Destroy Repair

Strange Armored Mysterious Treasure Magical Family
A certain
machine chest book map being heirloom
Which was Stolen Sunk Cursed Lost Buried Divided

7
Character details
A character’s details depend on the six dice rolls made at the start of the character
creation process. Although they do not directly influence the gameplay, they make
characters more colorful and fun.

Character details
Result 1 2 3 4 5 6

Body Petite Lithe Plump Square Massive Muscular

Voice Grating Quiet High pitched Low pitched Lilting Loud

Personality Careful Caring Brave Cheerful Ambitious Assertive

Face Warts Scars Tattoos Rings Painted Tanned

Brother Sister Brother Iron Mother Father

Faith
Beast Water Fire Heir Earth Sky

Dark Port Desert Swamp Forest Mountain

Origins
alleys town oasis hideout village fortress

Gold
The characters begin the game without any money, but they can earn gold by selling
items found on quests, including the “items” used by monsters and NPCs.

8
 HOW TO PLAY
After creating their heroes, the players select one of their quests. By interpreting its
components, the narrator describes the place the characters visit, as well as the mon-
sters they encounter.

Turn order
The narrator determines the order in which each character and monster will act, by
checking each participant’s agility score. The creature with the highest agility score
goes first, then the next, and so on.

Turns
Each character and each monster have their own turn. On their turn, the person
controlling the creature describes one action the character or monster takes.

Actions
An action may be any activity, as long as the players agree that it is possible for the
creature to perform it. An action may affect any number of creatures and result in
different consequences for each of them.

Consequences
When a player or the narrator describes an action, they select the action’s conse -
quences from the following list:
● Losing/gaining a point of health,
● Losing/gaining a point of mana,
● Losing/gaining an item,
● Losing/gaining a turn,
● Negating/forcing a certain action/reaction,
● Other consequences everyone accepts.

Reactions
The person controlling the creature targeted by the action describes a counter-action,
taken in response to the action affecting them. As with actions, reactions must be
universally accepted by the participants, and they must result in one of the listed
consequences. It must also directly affect the creature that provoked the reaction.

9
Checks
In order to determine whether an action or reaction succeeds, each side performs
a check by rolling a die and adding the result to one ability score and one item
bonus. The player determines which item and ability score best suit the given situa-
tion. The side whose total score is lower suffers the predetermined consequences. In
case of a draw, the check should be repeated.
● Skills – the value added to the check when a character uses an item can’t exceed
that character’s skill bonus for the given type of items.
● Talents – if a character takes an action listed among their talents, the player may
spend one mana point to roll one extra die and add the result to the check’s total
score.

Challenges
When an action targets an object or represents an attempt to help an ally, the narra -
tor determines the consequences of failure and then adds up the results of up to four
dice rolls. If the action score is higher that this number, the action succeeds.

Death
A creature or character that loses all health points dies and does not participate in
the game. If all characters die, the quest fails. If all monsters die, the quest is com-
pleted and the characters return to a safe haven.
● Reinforcements – the player whose character has died may create a new character
and continue the game. However, they should agree with the narrator on the best
moment for introducing the new character into the story.

10
 SAFE HAVENS
After a victorious quest, the narrator rewards the players by describing their arrival at
a safe, civilized place. There, the characters can visit any of the listed locations and
prepare for other quests.

Academy
Allows characters to increase ability scores, skills and unlock new talents. To deter -
mine the training’s cost, roll the number of dice equal to the new ability score, skill
score, or the number of talents, and add up the results. Your scores or the number of
talents can’t be higher than six.

Adventurer’s guild
Allows the character whose quest has been completed to roll a die six times to deter-
mine a new quest.

New quest
Result 1 2 3 4 5 6

Lawless Tropical Vile Barren Dark Frozen

Visit
town paradise marches desert forest mountains

Attacked by Demon Kraken Hydra Lich Dragon Giant

And Succubi Mimics Basilisks Wraiths Wyverns Ogres

In order to Vanquish Hide Find Break a spell on Avenge Rescue

Your Rival Friend Apprentice Debtor Mentor Cousin
Who has been Possessed Banished Dishonored Enchanted Killed Imprisoned

Inn
Allows characters to regain lost health and mana points equal to, respectively, their
strength and intelligence, per night. To determine the cost per night, roll a die for
each night.
● Resting in the wilderness – camping away from a safe haven is free, but after each
night the narrator rolls a die. If the result is 1, the characters must fight one extra
group of monsters, determined by the narrator.

11
Caravan
Allows the characters to travel to another area and attempt to complete a quest there.
Roll one die to determine the length of the journey (in days).
● Trailblazing – the characters can travel off roads for free, but after each day the
narrator rolls a die. If the result is 1, the characters must fight one extra group of
monsters.

Marketplace
Here, the characters can spend gold to buy new equipment or sell unnecessary items.
To purchase an item, select its type (weapon, armor, gadget, or companion) and the
bonus it provides (from +1 to +6). Then, determine the price by rolling a die the
number of times equal to the bonus, and add up the results. Use the same method to
determine an item’s price when selling it.

Temple
Here, priests can resurrect dead adventurers, with full health and mana. To determine
the price, roll a die six times and add up the results.

12
 MONSTERS
Each quest introduces the strongest and the most common monsters in the given
area. However, the narrator should spice things up by adding other creatures as well.

Basilisk
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

4 2 3 3 3 3
Equipment Basilisk scales +2 (armor)

Talents I petrify with my gaze

Demon
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
4 5 5 5 5 6

Equipment Demonic Steed +6 (companion), burning pitchfork +5 (weapon)

Talents I possess, I skin creatures alive, I open the gates to the Abyss

Dragon
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

5 4 5 5 6 5
Equipment Dragon scales +6 (armor), fire glands +5 (gadget)

Talents I breathe fire, I swallow creatures whole, I fly

Giant
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
5 5 6 4 5 5

Equipment Ice greathammer +6 (weapon), mammoth +5 (companion)

Talents I stomp into the ground, I cause an avalanche, I hide creatures in my pocket

13
 Goblin
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
1 2 3 2 2 2

Equipment Shortbow +1 (weapon)

Talents I hide in bushes

Golem
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

5 3 4 4 4 4
Equipment Stone pavise +4 (armor), stone hammer +3 (weapon)

Talents I resist damage, I resist magic

Griffon
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
3 4 4 5 4 4

Equipment Griffon talons +4 (weapon), griffon skin +3 (armor)

Talents I snatch into the sky, I create strong wind with my wings

Hydra
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

5 5 5 6 5 4
Equipment Hydra acid +6 (gadget), hydra scales +5 (armor)

Talents I replace a cut-off head with two new heads, I breathe acid, I slip out of trouble

Imp
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
2 3 1 2 2 2

Equipment Oil +1 (gadget)

Talents I shoot sparks

14
 Kobold
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
2 2 2 1 3 2

Equipment Hound +1 (companion)

Talents I break an item

Kraken
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

6 5 5 5 4 5
Equipment Kraken ink +6 (gadget), anchor +5 (weapon)

Talents I entangle with tentacles, I squirt ink, I pull a ship into depths

Lich
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
5 6 4 5 5 5

Equipment Forbidden grimoire +6 (gadget), lich’s staff +5 (weapon)

Talents I summon hordes of skeletons, I torture a creature’s soul, I return to unlife

Mimic
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

3 3 3 3 2 4
Equipment Mimic glue +2 (gadget)

Talents I pretend I’m a chest

Ogre
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
3 3 4 2 3 3

Equipment Greataxe +2 (weapon)

Talents I throw a boulder

15
 Skeleton
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
3 2 2 2 1 2

Equipment Shortsword +1 (weapon)

Talents I let arrows pass between my ribs

Spider
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

2 2 2 3 2 1
Equipment Spider venom +1 (gadget)

Talents I entangle with webbing

Succubus
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
3 3 2 3 3 4

Equipment Intoxicating perfume +2 (gadget)

Talents I tempt creatures to evil

Treant
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

4 4 4 3 5 4
Equipment Honey +4 (gadget), bark armor +3 (armor)

Talents I entangle with roots, I summon a swarm of hornets

Troll
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
4 4 5 4 3 4

Equipment Sturdy club +4 (weapon), net +3 (gadget)

Talents I regenerate, I crush bones

16
 Vampire
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
4 4 3 4 4 5

Equipment Black cloak +4 (gadget), black stallion +3 (companion)

Talents I suck blood, I transform into a bat

Werewolf
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

4 5 4 4 4 3
Equipment Wolf claws +4 (weapon), wolf skin +3 (armor)

Talents I shred creatures to pieces, I summon a wolf pack

Wolf
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
2 1 2 2 2 3

Equipment Wolf pelt +1 (armor)

Talents I go for the throat

Wraith
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma

2 4 3 3 3 3
Equipment Chain +2 (gadget)

Talents I moan terrifyingly

Wyvern
Health Mana Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma
3 3 3 4 3 2

Equipment Wyvern venom +2 (gadget)

Talents I inject venom

17
 Player Character
FIREBALL
Character sheet
Abilities
Strength Agility Intelligence Charisma Health Mana

Species
Talents Locked talents

Character class
Talents Locked talents

Equipment

Gold

Skills
Weapons Armor Gadgets Companions

Quests

Character details
 Gather your friends
and create a party of adventurers,
travel fantastical lands,
vanquish terrifying monsters,
find wealth and glory!

Adventure awaits!