HWÆT SRD
HWÆT is my solo TTRPG of epic monster fights and glorious death based on Beowulf and Norse mythology. This System Reference Document (SRD) is a guide to how to use the mechanics of HWÆT to make your own game.
Licensing and Terms of Use
HWÆT is licensed CC-BY-SA-4.0, meaning you use and remix the exact text of the game in your own work so long as you state it is based on HWÆT by Luke Simonds and release it under the same license. This SRD is a guide to how to make your own game based on the HWÆT mechanics in your own words. Games made based on this SRD do not need to be released under the same license as HWÆT, but must include the following text in your publication and on the website or storefront where you promote your publication:
[Your Game] is based on the HWÆT SRD by Luke Simonds. [Your Game] is an independent production of [Your Name] and is not affiliated with Luke Simonds or Cats Have No Lord. HWÆT is © Luke Simonds.
Luke Simonds and Cats Have No Lord take no legal responsibilities for claims against your product.
Restrictions
If publishing under the HWÆT SRD you may not:
- Use AI-generated art or text
- Imply that your work is an official product of Cats Have No Lord
- Include content that is bigoted toward minorities or marginalized people of any kind (e.g., racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism)
Logo
If you abide by the terms listed above you may and are encouraged to use one of the "Based on HWÆT" logo provided below.
Attribution
The licensing language above is based on the [Liminal Horror Third Party License] (https://goblinarchives.github.io/LiminalHorror/Third%20Party%20License/) by Goblin Archives LLC.
SRD
The mechanics of HWÆT are for a solo TTRPG focused on a series of battles or conflicts against a single opponent. In the original game this takes the form of a hero fighting monsters, but the same mechanics could be used for games focusing on any form of one-on-one conflict.
Character Creation
Characters have four stats. In HWÆT these are Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Cunning (CUN), and Luck (LCK), but any four stats may be used. Each stat corresponds to one of the four possible actions in conflict, and the highest stat provides a unique bonus to be used once per conflict. The value of the stat is added to rolls requiring that stat.
Stat values are determined with a roll 1d4 for each stat. If all are 2 or less, the player may add 1 to one stat. If all are 1, the player may add 4 to their hit points.
Hit points are determined by a roll of 1d6+STR. This may be changed to modify the HP value by any stat if they different in your game. This HP value is intentionally low to make HWÆT characters easy to kill, but it could be made higher for other types of games.
The highest stat grants a bonus the player may use once per battle (pick their choice on a tie). These should be thematic to the stat they are associated with. The bonuses from HWÆT are:
STR - Double your attack damage. DEX - Avoid all damage from an attack. CUN - Look at the monster’s action card before choosing your action. You may either return the card to the top of the deck or discard it. On a discard, you must use the next card for the monster’s action as normal. LCK - Reroll for your action after drawing for the monster’s action.
Conflict
The core of HWÆT is conflict between the player character and a single opponent. In HWÆT this is between a hero and monsters, but any conflict between two parties could be used.
Opponent Stats
Opponents have an HP value and a special move. Higher HP makes them harder to defeat. The special move can inflict permanent or short-term effects on the player character and may require rolls from the player character to avoid or resolve the effects.
Examples from HWÆT are below:
Shadow Walker - Claws, scales, fur, spurs, and spikes, a large mysterious creature who skulks through the dark and steals men from their halls to eat them - 5 HP, Special - Grab: You are grabbed in the giant’s hand. Remain trapped until you succeed on an attack or defense against the giant to break free. If you remain trapped for 3 rounds or if the giant uses it’s special again while you are trapped, it rips off one of your arms and eats it (you lose d4 STR).
Fen Wolf - A giant wolf with flaming eyes - 5 HP, Special - Gnash: The wolf’s teeth leave a jagged, bleeding wound. Take 1 damage at the start of each round until you successfully defend or feint and staunch the bleeding.
Draugr - Reanimated corpse of a person killed in battle - 5 HP, Special - Curse Touch: It’s hand touches you, leaving a handprint of necrotic flesh. One stat is permanently reduced to 0 and cannot be raised again. Roll 1d4 to determine which stat: 1 - STR, 2 - DEX, 3 - CUN, 4 - LCK
Frost Giant - Giant, blue, icy, angry - 7 HP, Special - Freeze: You become frozen for d4 rounds and cannot take actions. Each round you may roll d12+LCK and become unfrozen on a roll of 8 or higher.
Water Woman - Deceptively strong woman, lives in an underwater hall, out for vengeance on her children you and your family have killed - 7 HP, Special - Throw: You are grabbed and thrown to the ground. Take d4 damage. For your next action, you may only defend or feint as you attempt to rise from the ground, on a success, you rise up. If the Water Woman succeeds on an attack against you before you rise up, you become pinned. When pinned, you must succeed against an attack against her or she will drive a knife into your heart, killing you.
Forest Serpent - Large, maned serpents slinks through the trees, causing unnatural growth in its path. Can bit it’s tale and roll around like a wheel - 7 HP, Blinding Spit: The serpent spits a milky substance in your eyes, blinding you for d4 rounds. Take -4 to all rolls while blinded.
Heatherback - Giant, whale-like creature with a back covered in heather and rocks, appearing as an island when not moving to fool sailors into landing and being eaten - 9 HP, Swallow: You are swallowed, taking 1 damage at the start of each round from stomach acid until you kill the monster from the inside.
Great Snake - Enormous snake, some say large enough to encircle the world, can live on land or in water - 9 HP, Special - Poison Spray: You are doused in a spray of poison. Take d4 damage immediately and become poisoned. If the battle is not finished within six rounds after you are poisoned, you die.
Sea Monster - No two tales are alike; many heads, many arms, larger than a ship, long like a serpent, gaping mouth like a whale, you’ll only know what it’s truly like when you face it on the open sea - 10 HP, Special - Drown: You are grabbed and dragged under the water. Take 1 damage at the start of each round you remain captured. You must succeed on an attack or defense against the sea monster to escape. If you fail two attempts you are drowned and die.
Dragon - twisting, writhing, scaly, flying, wreathed in flames it will spit in your face - 10 HP, Special - Fire Breath: You are set on fire. Take d4 damage immediately and at the start of each round until you sacrifice one of your actions to put out the fire.
Conflict Mechanics
Conflict consists of rounds. In each round the player selects one of four actions and rolls 1d12, adding the bonus from the relevant stat. They then draw a card from a standard 52-card deck of playing cards to determine the opponent's action and the target number to succeed against that opponent in that round.
There should be one player action choice for each stat. The choice from HWÆT are: Attack (+STR), Defend (+DEX), Feint (+CUN), Gambit (+LCK).
Attack - A straightforward attack with your weapon, dealing damage to the monster on success.
Defend - Taking a defensive stance against incoming attacks, negates damage on success and heals 2 HP.
Feint - Cunning movements to gain an opening for an easier attack, grants +2 to an attack roll and to damage in the next round. This bonus is lost if you do not attack on the next round after the successful feint.
Gambit - A desperate, all or nothing attempt to finish the battle. On success, you kill the monster regardless of its current HP. On failure, you are killed. Using a gambit reduces your Luck stat by 1. If using a gambit would reduce your Luck score to 0, you may still attempt it, but you will die regardless of the outcome. A success kills both you and the monster, while a failure kills only you.
Repeating the same action makes you predictable and more easily hit by the monster. The second consecutive round that you take the same action, you must roll 1d4 alongside your action roll. Add the result to the target number and damage dealt by the monster. If you continue to repeat the same action, each consecutive round after the first the die size increases to d6, d8, d10, and finally d12.
Opponents also have four actions, one four each suit in a deck of cards. The actions from HWÆT are: Attack (Spades), Defend (Hearts), Feint (Clubs), and Special (Diamonds). All are the same as player actions except for special, which is different for each monster and defined in their description.
Each round, the player succeeds if the result of their roll is greater than or equal to the number on the card drawn from the opponent deck. For this purpose, the value of the face cards are: Jack (11), Queen (12), King (13), Ace (14). The results of success or failure are dependent on which actions were chosen for the player and the opponent. Create a table to state the actions of each possible combination of player and opponent actions. The HWÆT actions are deadly and make it difficult to defeat opponents, the results of actions may be tweaked for other styles of games.
The table from HWÆT is:
| Monster Attack | Monster Defend | Monster Feint | Monster Special | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player Attack | Combatant with highest result deals 2 damage; lowest result deals 1 damage. | Success: Monster takes 2 damage Failure: Monster takes no damage | Success: Monster takes 2 damage Failure: Monster takes no damage and gains +2 to next attack | Success: Monster takes 2 damage; player also takes effect of monster special Failure: Monster special takes effect |
| Player Defend | Success: Player takes no damage and regains 1 HP Failure: Player takes 2 damage | Success and Failure: Neither takes damage and player regains 1 HP | Success:Player regains 1 HP Failure: Monster gains +2 to next attack | Success: Player avoids effect of monster special and regains 1 HP Failure: Monster special takes effect |
| Player Feint | Success: Player gains +2 to next attack and takes 1 damage Failure: Player take 3 damage | Success:Player gains +2 to next attack Failure: Monster takes no damage | Success: Player gains +2 to next attack Failure: Monster gains +2 to next attack | Success: Player gains +2 to next attack and takes effect of monster special at half damage (rounded up) Failure: Monster special takes effect |
Optional Mechanics
The mechanics described above are the core of a HWÆT game. Other mechanics from HWÆT are optional depending on how narrative-heavy you wish to make your game.
Setting the Scene and Interlude
HWÆT uses short prompt tables to narratively set the scene for what is happening before a monster appears and what happens between monster fights. Tables like this may be used or expanded if you want players to think more about elements of the narrative outside of conflict.
New Generation
Because HWÆT characters are expected to die easily, players are encouraged to create a new character and continue playing as the descendant of their original character. The descendant gains a bonus to go back and avenge their ancestor in combat.