Crom

CROM Is a skirmish game set in the Hyborian Age "...Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas..." that enables players to recreate the stories of Robert E. Howard and similar authors of heroic fantasy.

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PRD Ward www.matakishi.com CROM page 2

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Contents
Basic premise Equipment needed to play Dice pool Unit types Characters Moving Jumping Climbing Horses Fighting Special actions Initiative Shooting Cover Magic Summoning Controlling Other magic Other tasks Basic minions Special minions Poison Fire Conan and the Dark Citadel The slavers Prison break The slavers' caravan Mako The tomb of King Kull Inside the tomb The jungles of Kush The Dark Citadel Play aids Resources Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 34 Page 37 Page 40 Page 42 Page 45 Page 47 Page 51 Page 57 Page 61

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Basic Premise
CROM Is a skirmish game set in the Hyborian Age "...Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas..." that enables players to recreate the stories of Robert E. Howard and similar authors of heroic fantasy. "Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet." CROM is designed primarily as a multiplayer game but can be played with two players or even solo if desired. One or more players will play heroes, Conan and his companions for instance, and one or more of the other players will play the antagonists, Thulsa Doom, minions, monsters etc. The ideal set up would be three Hero players and a single Antagonist player. Each scenario should be a short, sharp encounter that takes no more than an hour to play, usually much less. These scenarios can be strung together to form a campaign or story.

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equipment
To play CROM you will need: A playing area roughly one metre/three feet square. Suitable scenery and miniatures to represent the heroes, villains and the environment around them. A pool of dice. Tape measures or some other way of measuring distances. Some counters or markers to keep track of on-going effects. A deck of action cards containing a card for each character and group of minions. Dice pool sheets to help players allocate their dice each turn. These can be written down but some have been provided for you to print out at the end of this book.

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Dice Pool
The basic game mechanic in CROM is the dice pool. Each player will have a number of dice for each character or group of minions which they allocate between three action pools depending on what they want the character or minions to do during their go. The action pools that dice can be allocated to are: Movement, Combat, Special. Dice may be rolled and totalled or they may be 'burned' . A burned dice is counted as a six but removed permanently form a character's pool. A character's dice pool represents their 'life', specifically their strength and endurance. As a character loses dice either from exertion (burning them) or combat (being hit in combat removes dice) they are able to attempt fewer actions as they weaken and tire. Eventually, if they lose all their dice, they become unconscious, exhausted or even dead depending on circumstances. In any event they are out of the game. When it is their turn a character may attempt actions in any order. They may move, attack an opponent, move again and attack another etc. so long as they have dice remaining to be used. They do not need to use all their dice if they don't want to. Combat dice in particular may be kept in reserve to defend against attacks by others.

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units
There are two general types of 'unit' in CROM; characters, represented by a single figure that acts alone, and minions represented by single figures but who activate and act in groups. The rules are written using characters as examples and the particular differences pertaining to minions are covered on page 26.

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Character

Minions

CROM page 7