1

II

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pets of the Ospedale............................................... 100 Doctors of the Arsenale.......................................... 102 Alchemist Doctors.................................................... 103 Morgue Doctor and the Being................................. 104 Nurses....................................................................... 106 Wardens.................................................................... 107 23. The Patricians............................................................ 108 Nobles....................................................................... 110 Venice City Guard...................................................... 112 Barnabotis................................................................ 114 Gambling Nobles...................................................... 115 Syphilitic Nobles....................................................... 116 White-Collar Thieves................................................ 117 The Black Specter..................................................... 119 Butlers....................................................................... 120 Maids......................................................................... 121 24. The Rashaar............................................................... 122 Magi-Rashaar............................................................ 124 Cult of Dagon............................................................ 126 Ugdru-Rashaar......................................................... 128 Hybrids...................................................................... 130 Citizens of Venice..................................................... 131 Morgraur-Rashaar.................................................... 132 Aglope-Rashaar...................................................... 134 Radru-Rashaar.......................................................... 135 25. The Guild.................................................................... 136 Capodecimes............................................................. 138 Pulcinellas................................................................. 140 Butchers.................................................................... 142 Barbers...................................................................... 143 Harlots....................................................................... 144 Dog Keepers.............................................................. 145 Citizens of Venice..................................................... 146 Baba-Yaga.................................................................. 149 26. Independent Characters........................................... 150 The Duke................................................................... 152 White Dove................................................................ 153 Rialto Assassin......................................................... 154 The Aberration.......................................................... 155 Harlequin................................................................... 156 Fadhila-Bint-Dahab................................................... 157 Appendix............................................................................. 158

Introduction. ............................................................................3 Weaving the Tapestry. .............................................................4 1. A Strange World...............................................................6 2. The Rotten Apples. ...........................................................8 3. The Rent in the Sky. .......................................................12 4. History of Venice. ...........................................................14 5. The sestieres of Venice..................................................18 6. Masks and Carnival.........................................................22 7. Magic...............................................................................24 8. The Gifted. ......................................................................28 9. Shards of the World.......................................................32 The Rules................................................................................36 10. Basic concepts. ............................................................38 Game components......................................................38 Basic game concepts..................................................40 Basic rules...................................................................42 11. Movement.....................................................................46 Basic Movement..........................................................46 Advanced Movement...................................................47 12. Combat. ........................................................................48 Combat essentials......................................................48 Advanced combat........................................................49 13. Shooting.......................................................................52 14. Wounds. .......................................................................56 15. Universal ablilities.......................................................58 16. Weapons and equipment. ...........................................64 17. Terrain...........................................................................68 Water and canals........................................................69 18. Magic.............................................................................70 Spells............................................................................72 19. Playing Carnevale.........................................................76 Adventures..................................................................76 Events...........................................................................78 Campaigns...................................................................79 20. Adventures and Campaign. .........................................84 The fragment of the Black Statue.............................84 Adventures..................................................................86 The Squads. ............................................................................90 21. Squad creation.............................................................92 22. Doctors of the Ospedale..............................................94 Plague doctors............................................................96 Madmen of the Ospedale...........................................98

Designed by David Esbr.

Background: David Esbr, David Llop. Additional rules: David Llop, Chema Pamundi, Stephen Radney-Macfarland. Proofreading: Vanessa Carballo, Marta Lpez. Cover art: David Esbr, Alex Gallego. Layout: David Esbr. Web: Satori Produccions. English translation: Jaume Muoz, Sinead Kelly. English proofreading: Jean Brown, Andy Frazer, Stephen Radney-Macfarland. Art: Lus Czerniawski, David Esbr, Joan Guardiet. Miniature sculptors: Thomas David, Jacques-Alexandre Gillois, Patrick Masson, ngel Terol, Rmy Tremblay, Lee-Sang-Wook, Ivn Santurio, Drew Williams. Miniature painters: David Esbr, Ral Len, Jorge Noriega, Fernando Ruiz. Terrain: WorldWorks Games, La Mazmorra del Androide. Playtesting: Josue Acevedo, Miguel Reverendo Arnaiz, Alejandro Benitez, David Caldentey, Vanessa Wed Carballo, Adolfo Castellano, Juanjo Cumplido, Sergio De la Fe, Sergio Sethelan Gonzlez, Pere Maci, Jonathan Marrero, Adrin Montaa, Jordi Ribas, Ayose Viera. Special thanks to: Keith Baker, Massimiliano Berchioni, Beasts of War, Club Krtik, Jordi Caellas, Ricard Ibez, Jon Hart, Chema Pamundi, Stephen Radney-Macfarland, Jordi Ramrez Bov, Alessio Cavatore, and Alberto Martnez Ruiz & Rafael Vidal Altabert from La Mazmorra del Androide for the amazing Carnevale gaming board. Vesper-On Games are: David Llop, Jordi Ribas. VESPER-ON GAMES Carnevale, the miniature game is Vesper-on Games. C/ Roger de Flor, n 320, 5-2  08025 - Barcelona, Spain Depsito legal: info@vesper-on.com ISBN: 978-84-615-3207-0 www.vesper-on.com

INTRODUCTION
1792 A group of adventurers and treasure hunters return to Venice from Tripoli with a mysterious artefact. A medium-sized sculpture of a bizarre creature, carved in a dark and unknown material. They take it to Laccademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, but in the following days, both professors and students from the newly created art restoration department start to feel ill and end up suffering nightmarish visions, or in the worst cases insanity. Two months later they decide to get rid of the ghoulish trinket, but it is nowhere to be found; it seems like it has melted and leaked into the very founding stones of the city state of Venice itself. 1793 A mysterious man appears and presents himself simultaneously in the political centres of the different world religions. He carries dark news of cosmic entities ready to invade our world; he says he comes in peace and asks for help in this upcoming hour of dire need. His words represent a threat to each organized religion, so none have a positive reaction. He is ignored in Tibet. He is cast away from Jerusalem. But in Vatican City, fear of his ideas, mean he is stabbed and killed. Rome, along with a good part of Italy are destroyed and fall submerged in the waters of the Mediterranean. 1795 The city state of Venice is located on the edge of the Rent in the Sky. These are times of turmoil and angst. Some individuals have developed supernatural abilities. The decadent elites of the city enjoy these times of chaos, dedicating themselves to violence and murder. Aquatic alien creatures emerge from the depths of the Mediterranean to mate and gorge themselves on the human cults built up to worship them. Madmen and lunatics draw mystical energies from the Wound and some scientists without qualms take advantage of them to fuel vile experiments. Meanwhile, the underdogs and commoners do their best to simply survive. The water in the canals of Venice runs red with the blood of the fallen. The time for artists and dilettantes has passed, now it is time for survival.

The thing is to dazzle - Giacomo Casanova

These are the words of Giacomo Casanova, writer, adventurer, mystic and celebrity of Venice in the Baroque period. His words will accompany some passages of this book. Casanovas aim was to dazzle, a mission he shared with the city of his birth. Venice remains a place that arouses the imagination of travellers, poets and painters. Its streets, churches, canals and masks have fascinated everyone who has ever set foot in the Serenissima. Carnevale is a miniature game set in late eighteenth-century Venice. It has a simple yet complex system of rules, which allows you to play exciting combats following a game system you will learn in no time. But the more important thing is the background that features in the game itself; each roll of the dice is a reflection of this magical and mysterious city of Venice. The book you hold in your hands is a game, and it is the first step on an exciting journey of adventure that unfolds before your eyes. Join us, please.

BASIC CONCEPTS
C
arnevale is a thrilling game where squads of warriors fight in desperate battles and participate in dangerous adventure within and around the city of Venice. In order to play with your gorgeous Carnevale models (which, of course, you have painted) it is necessary for you to become familiar with a few simple game concepts.

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Welcome my friend to the city of Venice. I take it youre aware of the many pleasures this place has to offer? More pleasures than you can imagine! Trade, vice, gambling, and the best parties in Europetheyre all here. Maybe, though, youre here searching for something you cant find anywhere else but in the Serenissima. Maybe youre searching for the thrill of adventure? Dont be fooled by its posh and decadent disguise, Venice is a town where death lurks like a hunter, and its been worse since the Rend in the Sky. You can choose to listen to me and survive the most wondrous and most awful city in the world or you can ignore me and die. In any case, I suggest that you confess your sins, and scribble your last will and testament, just in case and are set in round plastic bases with three different size categories: Medium size (e.g. Venetian Citizen), Large size (e.g. Ugdru-Rashaar) and Huge size (e.g. the Rhinoceros).

Carnevale is a miniatures skirmish game, and as such uses some components that are not included with the game, or that you may not be used to. The following is an overview of the various components of this game.

II II II

Game Components

THE MODELS

Carnevale requires each participant to build a small armyor squadof miniatures that represent your Venetian forces. These miniatures, sometimes called characters or models in the game rules, are 30 mm scale,

During the course of a game, your characters perform many actions. Often the success or failure actions is determined by the roll of a number of 10-sided dice, called a dice pool. The rolls of such dice pools determine if a character is able to jump from one roof to another, if an attack hits home, or if a character can resist the compulsions and energies of magic. Each of the dice in a pool has sides numbered from 1 to 0 or 10 (the 0 is read as 10), and are often referred to as d10, where the d stands for die or dice. Sometimes the rules will ask you to roll a 5-sided die or a d5. You determine the results of a d5 by rolling a d10 and divide the result in half, rounding up. The number of dice within a dice pool is noted directly before the die type, so that if a pool has one 10-sided

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DICE AND HOW TO READ THEM

EXAMPLES OF BASE SIZE CATEGORIES

Huge Size 38

Large Size

Medium Size

dice, the rules will ask you to roll 1d10, if a dice pool has five dice, the you will be asked to roll 5d10, and so on.

Each time you roll a dice pool consisting of d10s, one die within that pool is special. This special die is called the Destiny Die. The Destiny die triggers different special effects in the game, and can produce extraordinary levels of success or failure. The specifics on how particular instances of Destiny Die work depend on the situation and are covered within that situations relevant rules entry. When a die pool only consists of one d10, that one die will also be a Destiny Die. Each time you roll a dice pool, one die should be different than the others. This different die is the Destiny Die.

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READING THROUGH
We are going to try to unravel the rules of Carnevale following a logical path of growing complexity, in a gradual and coherent way, but since this is a quite complex set of rules we will eventually have to make reference to some rules which we havent talked about yet. For example, in the Universal Abilities section we will talk about Magicians, but we wont go deeply on the ways of the Magic until its own chapter. We advise you to continue reading, and learn about those rules when the moment comes. Youll find yourself reaching a state of epiphany in which suddenly everything makes sense.

THE DESTINY DIE

You measure movement and range of effects (both mundane and magical) in inches. Furthermore, the rules use the double apostrophe as a symbol for inches, so when a model is capable of moving four inches, we will express that like this: 4. We will learn the details of the Movement process and any other rule that deals with measurements in the relevant chapter. It is worth mentioning at this moment that in Carnevale you are allowed to measure distances within any element of the game at any time. ALWAYS. For measurements during the game, we suggest using a measuring tape with inches, though you could also use a ruler. You can find measuring tape in any game or hobby store, in DIY stores, or even larger supermarkets.

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Measuring distances

Some effects within Carnevale, like explosions or the strange effects of magic, can affect large areas of play instead of single character. To determine these areas of effect, Carnevale use one of two different templates: the circular template and the cone template. You can find them both at the end of this book and at www.vesper-on. com. You have permission to reproduce them for your personal use. It is a good idea to print them on sturdy transparent material (like the plastic used with overhead projectors), so you can overlay these templates and clearly see which characters are affected by the area of effect they represent.

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TEMPLATES

39

Carnevale uses four types of counters: Activation counters, Hidden counters, Stunned counters, and At the Ready counters. You use Activation counters to show which characters have already gone during a Round. You use Hidden counters, Stunned counters and At the Ready counters to mark temporary states within the game. You can use coloured crystal tokens as counters or print the official counters at the end of this book or at www. vesper-on.com . You can reproduce the official counters for your personal use. If you use the official counters, we recommend that you print them or stick them on sturdy material (like card stock), so they will last for many games.

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COUNTERS

Terrain is a key element of this game. Especially that scenery detailing streets of Venicebuildings, canals, bridges, gondolas, barrels or crates that clutter that cityscape. You can obviously play your games on flat surface without any scenery at all, but Carnevale is a dynamic game, set in a dynamic city, and scenery makes the game more exciting and the city more evocative.

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TERRAIN

Miniatures group together in squads. Squads are composed by characters of the same affiliation and, occasionally, can incorporate other independent characters willing to sell themselves to the best bid. When preparing for your games of Carnevale, you and your partner will have to agree up to the points limit that you both will be able to spend in your squads. Those points will include the cost of models and their equipment options, and other elements that you might want to include in your squads, such as Events for example. As you can see, models are worth an amount of points indicated in their profiles. Also, in some cases there will be a few equipment options for you to buy, like alternate weapons or magic items. These options will have a cost in points that youll have to pay for when building your squad and that will add up to the final cost of your model. You will have to nominate one of the models in your squad as the Leader, and tell your opponent about that. Leaders will have the Command Universal Ability (as we will see in the Universal Abilities chapter).

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MINIATURES AND SQUADS

Before getting into too much detail with heavier rules, we would like to go over a few conventions and agreements all players should have in mind while playing.

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Basic Game Concepts

ROUNDS, TURNS AND ACTIVATIONS

The game of Carnevale is divided in Rounds, in which the characters will be playing their Turns. The group of actions done by a character during his Turn is called activations, and once hes used up all his actions allowance, that

40

model will count as activated. An activated model will not activate again until the next Round. A Round begins with all the models ready to act, and it ends when all the models have been activated. The first player will activate one of his characters, starting that characters Turn in doing so, and when hes done with all his actions the player will set an Activation counter next to the model to mark that as an activated model. Afterwards the adversary will activate one of his characters, starting this new characters Turn and placing another Activation counter next to it when hes done. And this you-go-I-go will continue until all the models have been activated. It will be at this point when the End of Round Turn takes place, and players will solve the game effects ending at this moment, check if Victory conditions are met, clean the table of Activation counters, reset Action Points and officially close the Round. Immediately afterwards a new Round begins. As long as one player has less un-activated models than his opponent, he will be able to decline playing his Turn, forcing the other player to play another Turn right after the one hes just played. This can be repeated always as long as a player has less activated models than his opponent.

ground, it will still be considered to be in base contact with any model in base contact with such obstacle.

Some characters have a limited Frequency, which means that you will only be able to deploy a limited amount of copies of some particular models in your Squad. The most obvious case are the Independent Characters, all of them have a Unique Frequency: there is only one White Dove, so you will only be able to deploy just one of her in your Squad. Nevertheless, your opponent could deploy his own White Dove, which would mean that there would be two of her on the table at the same time (thats probably a magic reflection of that character generated by the inscrutable ways of the Rent in the Sky). Other characters can have different Frequency values depending on the total points cost of the squad, as we will see in the Factions chapter.

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FREQUENCY

We will define as action any activity done by a model with a cost in Action Points linked to it (AP to make that short, as well see in a few pages in the Basic rules section). An action ends at the moment when the next action is announced. For example, a character with 3 AP that jumps, shoots and moves will have carried out three actions. We will go in depth with Action Points in a minute, but it is worth noting that there are 0 AP, 1 AP or 2 AP actions, or actions involving even more than 2 AP, but any of them will still count as one single action. Characters in Carnevale have an Action Points (AP) value in their profiles, which indicates the number of AP he can invest in his actions each time the model is activated. We will learn the mechanics of this value very soon, but at this stage we can establish that this defines the reflexes and capability of carrying out actions in a short lapse of time. There will be characters able to Jump from one roof to the other, hit an enemy and get the price in the same amount of time that other characters will barely be able to cross the street. All these actions have a cost in Action Points, and the player will invest them on the go until the character runs out of them, o decides to stop acting with that character for the time being.

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ACTION

The games of Carnevale are played within adventures. Adventures suggest scenarios with a story line and some objectives, which will mainly determine the motives by which characters in both squads will be risking their lives. Adventures can be self contained or link with one another creating Campaigns. We will see about this in the Playing Carnevale chapter.

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ADVENTURES

THE CHARACTER SHEET AND THE SQUAD SHEET

For your convenience, throughout the game, a copy of your squad sheet will come handy. The squad sheet is made up with the character sheets of all the characters in the squad. Now we will introduce the different elements of the character sheet, which will be developed in depth in their corresponding chapters, especially in the Factions section. At the end of this book, as well as on our website, you will find a template to create your own squad sheet, with empty sheets for you to complete. Action Points (APs). Here you must indicate the amount of Action Points the character possesses in order to act every Turn. Name. You should create and a name for your character. Class. Here you must write down your character class, for instance Independent Character, Magi-Rashaar, Pulcinella, etc. Descriptors. Here you will write down the aspects that define the character, such as Human, Soldier, Mage, etc. 41

One model will be in Base Contact with another model when both bases are touching each other. In order to have one model attacking in close combat another model, they must be in Base Contact with one another. When a model is standing on top of an obstacle, an element of terrain or similar, being up to 1 above the

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BASE CONTACT

 Command Points. Characters with the Universal Ability Command will indicate here the amount of Command Points they have. Since it is a dynamic value which is

uses, it is applied to the use of Magic, the Initiative or Morale.

spent during the game, write down the current value on the other side of the slash.

Cost. Write down this characters total cost. Karma. Karma Points are used to boost characters actions during the game. Cross out the Karma Points your character uses during the game. Life Points. In this section you will find your characters current health; every time the character is hurt, tick the corresponding boxes. Every time you tick the last

Protection. The Protection indicates the characters ability to endure pain, as well as the protection bestowed by the equipment he may be carrying. By default, all Carnevale characters have a Protection value of 2, but this value may vary due to Universal Abilities (mainly Extra Protection), in which case the modifier will already appear in the character sheet. Universal Abilities. Here you can write down the characters Universal Abilities. Universal Abilities are

box before the new modifier, the character crosses a Pain Threshold. As you will see in the Factions chapter, every character has a different amount of Life Points.

common concepts found in several characters. You will find an explanation in the corresponding chapter.

Attributes. The following six concepts are known generally as Attributes.. Movement. This value indicates the basic distance in inches the character can Move. Combat. This value indicates the amount of dice in the characters basic Combat dice pool. Dexterity. This value indicates the basic difficulty the opponents will face to hit this character in Combat. It also applies to some other aspects of the game, such as Jumping. Shooting. This value indicates the amount of dice in the characters basic Shooting dice pool. Mind. This value sums up the characters will, intelligence, perception and spirit. Among other

Special Abilities. Here you will find the rules and abilities unique to this character, such as the Harlequins Multiple Presence. Equipment. Here you will find the characters basic equipment. In case you modify the characters

equipment, write down the changes in the Notes section.

Spells. If your character can use Magic, write down his Spells (and their cost) in this section. Notes. Write down here any detail about the character you need to bear in mind during the game.

FRom now one, we will present the rules which are common to all the games phases, and which are applied to all the elements that take part in the game.

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SHOOTING 5

BASIC RULES

ACTION POINTS 3
KARMA

NAME CLASS DESCRIPTORS MOVEMENT 4 UNIVERSAL ABILITIES SPECIAL ABILITIES EQUIPMENT

Plague Doctor Human, Leader, Scientist, Mage

COMBAT 2
Channel Unarmed

DEXTERITY 5

COMMAND POINTS 4/ MIND 6

COST 45 PROTECTION 2
LIFE POINTS
-1 -1 -1 -2

Command (4), Healing (3), Cautious, Mind control, Mage (3)

SPELLS

NOTES

42

In this section and in the following chapters you will find the rules that apply over a game of Carnevale. These rules govern all characters, weapons and every other aspect in the game. However, some elements such as Magic, Universal Abilities or other rules that will appear in future expansions may contradict the basic rules. When this happens, specific rules (Universal Abilities and Special Rules) will have priority over general rules (Basic Rules). Example: The Swimming rules indicate that models may move in water at half their Movement value. On the other hand, a model with the Universal Ability Expert Swimmer can move using his full Movement value. The rule Expert Swimmer contradicts the Swimming rule, but since it is a Universal Ability, it overrides the Basic Rule.

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Priority of rules

KEEPING PEACE AND SANITY

Carnevale is a complex game, which uses a combination of many Basic Rules, Special Rules, Magic, Powers and other elements which intersperse, collide and combine with each other. Our wish is that they all coexist, flow and work coherently in a dynamic and amusing game atmosphere. However, the complications derived from all of this interaction may give rise to situations which seem unclear, contradictory or which arent covered by the rules at all. In this case, we advice all players to try to reach an agreement and; if that wont happen, just roll a die and whoever gets the highest result will have it his way. This will do until you have time to find a more solid solution. If you are in a tournament, ask a judge or a referee for advice. In any case, you should focus on resuming the game and keep enjoying! If you have doubts, please visit our website and let us now, so that we can clarify them for you and, if necessary, include them on our FAQs. whereas the difficulty of attack rolls will depend on the opponents corresponding Attribute. Basic rolls are based on Attributes, and are used to solve concrete situations where only one model is involved. For example, in a basic Dexterity roll, the character rolls as many dice as his Dexterity value; for every result of 7 or higher, he gets an Ace. When the character makes a close Combat attack, he must make an Attack roll. In this case, the character rolls as many dice as his Combat Attribute, against a difficulty equal to his opponents Dexterity value (for more details, see the Combat chapter). The more Aces he obtains, the more damage he will inflict in his opponent. For example, a character with Combat 5 trying to hit an enemy with Dexterity 6 rolls 5 dice; for every result of 6 or more, the attacker obtains an Ace. Finally, in opposed rolls two or more characters make a basic roll using the same Attribute, which may vary according to the situation, and which will be specified in every case. Whoever obtains the more Aces wins the roll. For example, two characters make an opposed Mind roll; each must roll as many dice as his Mind value. Whoever obtains the more Aces in his roll (with a difficulty of 7 or more of all basic rolls) will win the opposed roll.

On the first pages, we have explained to you the type of dice used in Carnevale and how to interpret them. Now we will learn how they work within the mechanics of the game. Throughout the rules, youll see that we use concepts such as dice pool, Dexterity pool, Mind roll or Combat dice. This means you must gather in your hand as many d10s as the value indicated. For example, if a rule asks you to make a Dexterity roll, and your models Dexterity is 4, you must take 4d10 in your hand. Remember that one of them will always have to be the Destiny Die, so in your Dexterity pool you will have 3 normal d10 plus the Destiny Die. Bear in mind that under no circumstance can a dice pool exceed the limit of 10 dice. To know whether a roll was successful, you will always compare the result of the roll with a level of difficulty. After rolling the corresponding amount of dice, for every die equal or higher than the difficulty, you will obtain one Ace. In any case, remember that a 1 will always be a fail and a 10 will always be an ace.

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DICE ROLLS

Some rules allow you to reroll. You must always bear this in mind: a die can never be rerolled more than once; after rerolling, you will accept the second result, even if it is worse than the first one. You can never reroll the Destiny Die unless you reroll the whole set of rules, and a result of 1 in the Destiny Die prevents any rerolling at all.

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REROLLING

Types of rolls

Destiny Die, Critical rolls and fumbles

In all dice rolls, the Destiny Die will work as one more die in the dice pool, except when you obtain a result of 10 or 1. If you roll a 10 in the Destiny Die (which is still counted normally as an Ace), it is treated as a Critical roll. On the other hand, rolling a 1 in the Destiny Die discards 43

There are three kinds of rolls: basic rolls, attack rolls and opposed rolls. The standard difficulty of basic rolls and opposed rolls will be 7, unless otherwise noted,

one of the Aces obtained in the roll. If you didnt get any Ace in your roll and you rolled a 1 in the Destiny Die, you just got a Fumble. The effects of Critical rolls and Fumbles in basic rolls and attack rolls are explained in their corresponding chapters. In an opposed roll, a Critical roll eliminates one of your opponents Aces, and a Fumble adds an extra Ace to your opponents roll. Rolling a Critical roll means you have achieved something remarkable. In Combat, this usually means striking your opponent particularly effective way, therefore dealing more damage. In the rest of situations, Critical rolls entail all kind of benefits, such as adding extra Aces to your roll, Jumping longer, Holding breath for longer, etc. These effects are described in further detail in the corresponding sections. Fumbles are especially catastrophic fails. Not only you didnt get any Ace, but also youve really messed up big time! In Combat, the opponents may make free attacks against the model which just got a Fumble, a falling model who fumbles may receive more damage, etc. You will find Fumbles explained in further detail in their corresponding sections. In cases of basic, attack and opposed rolls where there isnt any specified effect for Critical roll or a Fumble, you should use the following general rule. Critical roll.- The character who just rolled the Critical recovers a Karma point lost previously during the game. Fumble.- The character who fumbled loses an additional Karma Point.

is indicated in the every characters sheet, according to the Pain Thresholds the character has crossed so far.

Whenever you must divide your dice pool, the result of a roll or any other value, you will always round up. Example: If your dice pool of 7 dice is divided in half for any reason, it will become a dice pool of 4 dice.

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Rounding off

Initiative

In some circumstances, the difficulty of a roll may vary due to several causes. For example, running across a square in a perfect weather is not the same as running through a blizzard. In these cases, we will add or deduct dice from our pool according to the situation. Remember that you can never roll more than 10 dice, so if for any reason you gather more than 10 dice in your pool, all dice above 10 will be lost. You must also bear in mind that any modifier that deducts dice from your pool will always take out conventional dice first: the Destiny Die must always be present in your pool. The only situation where you can deduct the Destiny Die from your pool is when it is the only remaining die, which means you will have no dice to roll! Throughout this book you will find situations where you must apply these modifiers to your rolls; these modifiers will indicate how many dice you may add or deduct. One of the most common modifiers is the Pain Threshold. As a character loses Life Points, he crosses different Pain Thresholds; you cross a Pain Threshold when you tick the last Life Points box containing a modifier which is different to the next one (the last box with a -1, the last box with a -2, etc). This modifier indicates the amount of dice you must deduct from your dice pool in every roll. The amount of dice to deduct in every moment 44

II

To determine which squad begins to play at the start of every Round, we must make an opposed Initiative roll. All players will roll as many dice as their squad leaders current Command value. Whoever obtains the more Aces will decide the order of action of the squads. In case of a tie, the player whose leader has the highest Mind value will win; in case of a new tie, just reroll the dice! As you will find in the Universal Abilities chapter, Command is a dynamic value which is spent throughout the game; when a character runs out of Command Points, he will always roll at least 1d10 for Initiative. If you get a Fumble in this roll, your opponent will automatically obtain the Initiative. If you get a Critical roll, you will automatically get the Initiative. If both players get a Critical roll, they will compare their results as per the usual procedure. If both of them get a Fumble, they must reroll (after all, someone must start playing!)

Roll Modifiers

All of Carnevales models have an Action Points (from now on, AP) value in their character sheet. This value indicates the amount of actions the model can make during the Turn in which it is active. Every action undertook by a model will have an assigned cost in APs. For example: Moving the models Movement distance costs 1 AP, Shooting a gun costs 1 AP, Jumping over a canal costs 1 AP. The characters may receive extra Action Points during their Turn if their leader transfers them using his Command Universal Ability. A model which hasnt been activated yet or one that has already been activated in this round cant get extra APs by means of Command. Well see the way Command Points work in further detail in the Universal Abilities chapter. The player must announce the use of APs as he spends them, deducting them from the total amount of APs, until he runs out of APs or he declares that the model stops acting. When a model has finished acting, place a counter next to the model to indicate it has already been activated and cant activate again until the next Round. All of the characters which are still in the game at the End of Round will automatically recover the APs indicated in their character sheet.

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Action Points (AP)

The Karma value represents the characters willpower and spirit. It has two different applications in the game: it is the matter that fuels magic and the supernatural, its the indispensable fuel to cast spells and activate powers; well see this aspect in further detail in the Magic chapter. Besides, it is used to modify some of the characters rolls. The most interesting aspect at this stage is the capacity of all characters to modify their dice pools using Karma. Before making a roll that seems especially complicated or important, any character may decide to invest up to 2 Karma Points to add up to 2 dice to his pool (never exceeding the maximum of 10 dice); the cost is 1 Karma Point per dice. Example: The Aberration wants to hit the Pulcinella whos blocking the way and crush him once and for all. His Combat value is 5, but since the Pulcinella has quite a high Dexterity (6), he wants to make sure he wont miss. Before making his roll, the Aberration will invest 2 Karma Points in order to add two dice to his Combat pool; in total he will roll seven dice. Characters may also invest Karma Points to protect themselves from attacks. After declaring an attack, but before the attacker makes the attack roll, the target may announce that he will spend up to 2 Karma Points to improve his Protection. Every Karma Point equals +1 Protection.

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karma

When a character deals a blow that kills the leader of the enemy squad, he will recover 3 Karma Points. A character may also recover Karma Points due to specific scenario rules, Spells or Events.

When for any reason a characters Karma Points are reduced to 0, he will suffer an additional modifier of -1 to all of his rolls, cumulative with any other modifier.

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Running out of karma

Templates

Throughout the game, characters may recover Karma Points by different means (up to their starting Karma Points value, which can never be exceeded). When a character deals a blow that makes his foe fall in combat, he will recover 1 Karma Point.

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Recovering Karma Points

In Carnevale there are certain game effects, such as Powers, Spells or unconventional weapons which can cause explosions, volleys of shrapnel, blasts of fire or gas clouds. One of the main differences between a bullet shot with a pistol or a blast of flames is its effect area; this is represented in the game using a template. When you place the circular template, you must centre it on the detonation point. The cone template emerges from a weapons cannon, from the caster of a Spell or from the model responsible for a Universal Ability; in this case, place the narrow side in Base contact with the model, facing the direction the model is shooting. In both cases, you must hold the template over the models to determine which models are affected. All the models whose bases are partly or completely under the template will suffer the effects of the weapon, Spell or ability. These models must make a basic Dexterity roll; for every Ace they obtain in this roll, they will deduct -1 to the total damage inflicted by the attack. Template effects that dont inflict direct damage on models (such as smoke bombs) cant be avoided using the Dexterity roll; the models touched by the template will be completely affected.

Both the Harlot and the Capodecime suffer the effects of the blast. The Pulcinella has better luck and he is safe from harm. 45

MOVEMENT I

11

n an environment as dynamic as Carnevales, the way characters move across the board is a key tactical element in the unfolding of the adventure. Characters live in and move across the city of Venice, a three-dimensional space full of challenges for Combat, such as bridges, balconies, water ways and other Obstacles.

We will now detail the different Movement manoeuvres available to Carnevale characters. Unless otherwise stated, all of them have an activation cost of 1 AP.

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BASIC movement

Walking

1 AP. The character moves calmly, paying attention to his surroundings. A character carrying out this action will able to move as many inches as his Movement Attribute at the most, in any direction or combination of directions. This movement will be carried out horizontally on Open Terrain, but other types of Terrain may confer several modifiers, as described in the Scenery chapter. When moving in water, the Swimming rules apply.

Running

1 AP. A character that runs can try to move faster than walking. Before resolving his Move action, the character must make a basic Dexterity roll; for every Ace he gets, hell add +1 to his Movement value for this action. A Critical roll, apart from the Ace on the Destiny Dice, will allow him to add up to an extra 3 to the distance. A Fumble will cause an inopportune stumble and will prevent all Movement (including basic movement). The running will be carried out horizontally on Open Terrain; any other type of Terrain may confer a series of modifiers, as described in the Scenery chapter. When moving in water, the Swimming rules apply.

1 AP. We assume that all characters can swim, at least on a basic level. Unless otherwise stated by some skill in their profile, a character may move in water as many inches as half his Movement Attribute. If a character in the water is immobilized for any reason and cant swim, he will drown (see Drowning rules on page 57). In mixed Movements that combine moving on the ground and in the water, every part of the movement is calculated separately. A model which is Swimming can not use its movement for any game effect that requires a previous movement (such as Running Jump, Charging, etc.) For example, a character with Movement 7 that would walk 3 on open ground and continue swimming, he could use up to half of his remaining movement allowance: in this case 4, therefore he would swim up to 2 more.

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5 Movement

Swimming

1 AP. The character moves jumping as many inches as half his Movement Attribute. Measure from the miniatures location to the landing location (bearing in mind the variation in height).

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Jumping

In the narrow lanes of Venice, it can sometimes happen that two or three people stash up in a corner (not to speak of monsters!), so it is impossible to make way. If a model cant walk or run on the ground without its base knocking some other characters base (both ally and enemy), an obstacle, wall, etc., then he wont be able to make his way through that narrow spot. In this case, he can resort to more creative manoeuvres, such as Jump or Run on Walls.

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NO ROOM FOR MODELS

46

Once you feel at ease with basic movement actions, try these advanced movement actions.

1 AP. The character moves in a slower and more careful way than with the Move action, because he is moving crouched down to avoid being seen, trying to be a more Difficult target against ranged attacks. If the character ends his movement 3 or less close to a scenery item behind which to hide, the player can declare that the model is making a Hide action. Place a Hide counter next to the model. A character will be considered Hidden with regard to another one if you cant trace a Line of Sight towards him (see the Shooting chapter) without bumping into a scenery item and if he has declared a Hiding action. He wont be able to be seen and he wont be able to be shot at. In turn, a hidden character cant fight, shoot or cast Spells without revealing his position and immediately lose his Hidden status. Any character will automatically detect any Hidden model if he is 3 or closer to the Hidden model.

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ADVANCED movement

Hiding

1 AP. Some gallant heroes used to climb to the balconies of their lovers to bring them flowers. Nowadays, they are more likely to do it to escape from a horde of raging monsters. A character can climb a wall or steep surface making a basic Dexterity roll. If he has climbing tools (see the Weapons and Equipment chapter), he can add one dice to his pool. Every Ace equals to climbing 1. The character must have arrived in a location where the model can be placed steadily at the end of his activation and before the end of his Turn; otherwise, he wont be able to climb and he will stay at the point where he started to climb. A Critical roll will allow him to add up to 3 to the distance climbed, to his choice. A Fumble will mean the character stays at the point where he started to climb, losing 1 extra AP.

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Climbing

1 AP. If the characters action previous to a Jump was a Move or Run action and he has moved at least 5 in a straight line, he can make a Running Jump. In order to make the Running Jump, the character will make a basic Dexterity roll; for every Ace he obtains, he will add +1 to the distance of his Jump. A Critical roll, apart from the Ace on the Destiny Dice, will allow him to add up to 3 to the distance jumped, to his choice. A Fumble will mean the character stays in the location from where he wanted to Jump, losing his action.

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Running Jump

1 AP. The Rappel allows characters to descend more safely from heights, but its slower than Jumping Down. The character must have climbing tools to Rappel; without them, he wont be able to make this manoeuvre. He must make a basic Dexterity roll; every Ace represents a 3 progress. If the character making a Rappel doesnt reach steady ground at the end of his activation, he will fall from his last location. A Critical roll will allow him to add up to an extra 3 to the distance. A Fumble will mean the character loses foot and falls from where he was when made the roll (check the Falling rules, page 57) and he will get a Stunned counter.

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Rappel

Jumping Down

1 AP. The character lowers himself from an elevated position, jumping deliberately and Jumping Down. You will have to check the Fall rules (see page. 57), but in this case it is a controlled fall. The character must make a basic Dexterity roll. For every Ace he obtains, he will lower the fall category one level. A critical roll will lower the category of the Fall to 0. A Fumble will raise in 1 the overall Fall category. This manoeuvre can be made at any time during a Move or Run action, temporarily interrupting the action, which can be resumed after resolving this manoeuvre. For example, a character with Movement 6 could declare that he is moving for a cost of 1 AP, move 4 up to the edge of a building, Jump Down (paying 1 AP), and once on the floor move the remaining 2.

1 AP. The character can gather momentum and run on a vertical surface. This spectacular manoeuvre can be useful to Run from one balcony to another, or to Run vertically across a wall in order to get up speed for a special attack. If the characters previous action was a Move or Run action and he has moved at least 3 in a straight line before touching the wall, he can try to Run on this wall starting from here, both vertically and horizontally. It is then necessary to invest 1 AP and make a basic Dexterity roll; every Ace equals 1 of Movement on the wall. This Movement must be made always on the same surface (never around a corner). A Critical roll will allow adding up to 3 to the result of the movement on the wall. A Fumble will mean the character falls from the point where he was when he started to Run on the wall, getting a Stunned counter. Upon reaching the point of maximum advance, the character can decide to keep running on the wall (+1 AP), Jump Down, or make a Running Jump (+1 AP, the last Movement counts as Running). The character must finish his activation with the model located on a steady surface.

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RunNING on Walls

47

COMBAT II C
COMbat essentials

12
The attacker loses one die to their Combat dice pool for each enemy other than the target not in base contact another of the attackers allies, but in base contact with the attacker (-2 dice maximum). The difficulty of the attack roll is the targets Dexterity value. The attacker rolls the die he has in his hand. For every result equal or higher than the targets Dexterity value (taking into account the corresponding Universal Abilities), the attacker will get an Ace.

lose combat is one of Carnevales key aspects. In fact, we could say that most of the game evolves around Combat. In order for a model to attack another, it must be in Base Contact with its opponent, so either of them must have used its movement to place itself in that location. They are considered to be locked in Combat.

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DIE ROLL

1 AP. The characters Combat value will indicate his fighting skill. Pick as many die as the value indicated in the characters Combat Attribute. A character can never deliberately attack a friendly model in close Combat. Now we will see the difficulty he must reach in his attack roll.

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CLOSE Combat

ResoluTION

APPLYING MODIFIERS

Allies can aid a character in close combat. In combat where there are three or more models in contact, an attack gains or removes dice from its Combat dice pool based on the relationship of the models in combat. Here are the basic rules governing such dice pool modifiers. The attacker gains one die to their Combat dice pool for every ally not in base contact with another enemy, but in base contact with the target of the attack (+2 dice maximum).

The Aces obtained in the roll will indicate the damage inflicted to the foe. After the roll, the attacker sees how many Aces he has obtained in his roll. He will add to the Aces any modifiers from the weapon used in the attack or any other intervening rules, and he will deduct the targets Protection value. The final number is the amount of Life Points the target loses. Example: Roberto Mirigliano is a Barnaboti of the Patricians faction, and he is locked in combat with two Ugdru-Rashaar. Robertos Combat value is 3; there are two Ugdru-Rashaar in Base contact, so he must deduct a dice from his Combat pool. The situation looks dangerous, so he decides to invest two Karma Points in his roll to improve his odds; so he boosts his Combat pool to 4 dice.

The Barnaboti have a +1 Combat modifier while attaking the Venetian Citizen, who is engaged with the other Barnaboti at the same time.

The Venetian Citizen has a -1 Combat modifier because he is engaged with a second foe, who is not engaged with anyone else at that time.

48

The Ugdru-Rashaars Dexterity is 5. Roberto makes his attack roll to hit one of them and he gets 7, 7, 8 and 8 (a very good roll: he got four Aces); since he is using a sword, he adds an extra Ace to his roll. Roberto gets a total of 5 Aces with his Combat roll; we the then deduct 3 due to the Ugdru-Rashaars Protection value, meaning the Ugdru-Rashaar has lost 2 Life Points from Robertos attack.

If you Critical during close combat, the target of the attack gains a Stun counter. If you Fumble, the attacking character suffer an Attack of opportunity from the target of the attack (see below).

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Critical rolls and fumbles

The basics of close combat are easy, but there is more to learn. The following are a series of new and more complex manoeuvres that serve to create combats that are more dynamic. Weapons and other equipment can also affect combat. You can find those rules in the Universal Abilities chapter, on page 58.

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Advanced combat

Two-weapon Combat

1 AP. Some characters have the ability to fight using two weapons at the same time. Models with the Ambidextrous Universal ability can wield two weapons at the same time as longs as neither weapon has the TwoHanded Weapon ability. When a character is fighting with two weapons, you must always make clear which is the primary weapon when the character makes a close combat attack. Fighting with two weapons allows a character to reroll one missed dice in its Combat roll, as if it had the Reroll Dice [1] ability, but without having to spend 1 Karma Point.

1 AP. While in Combat, characters are looking around them at all times in search of imminent dangers. The characters can enter the temporary state of At the Ready; to do so, place an At the Ready counter next to the model. A character can go into At the Ready at a cost of 1 AP; doing so will end his activation: going into At the Ready will be the last action in his Turn. He must place an At the Ready counter next to his model. This model cant do anything else during the rest of the Round, until (and if ) it is attacked by a foe. The model will leave the At the Ready state if: 1) it is forced to move more than 3 by any reason (due to the effect of a Spell, or because it is pushed from the top of a building, for example), 2) it crosses a Pain Threshold or 3) it is activated again.

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AT THE READY

Bear in mind that this state does not disappear at the End of Round. While in At the Ready, a character cannot do anything else until a foe attacks it with a close combat attack. When this happens, the attacking foe does not make the Combat roll normally. Instead, each combatantthe attacking foe and the character in At the Readymake an Opposed combat roll. The difficulty of the roll is determined by the foes Dexterity. Whichever character gains more Aces deals as much damage as the difference in Aces between the rolls. Like the normal close combat attack, Aces for the weapon are then added to this damage, and that total damage can be soaked by the targets Protection. Here is an example of using At the Ready during play: A soldier is in base contact with the Duke, who is in At the Ready. The soldier invests 1 AP to make a close combat attack against the Duke with his muskets bayonet. Both players take their respective Combat dice pools and make an opposed roll. The Soldier gets a result of 3, 6, 6, 7 (against The Dukes Dexterity of 6so, three Aces); the Duke gets a result of 1, 2, 4, 6, 6 7, 7, 8 (against the Soldiers Dexterity of 5five Aces). Therefore, the Duke is up two more Aces, is using a dagger so adds no Aces due to weapon, so the Soldier is dealt 2 Life Points, which, luckily, are soaked by his Protection. 49

A model in base contact with one or more enemy models cant go into At the Ready. The At the Ready state also takes effect in the Shooting phase; see more details on the Shooting chapter.

Engaging and disEngaging From Combat

In order for two characters to fight in close Combat, they must be Engaged in Base contact. For this to happen, one of them must have invested part of his Movement to be in Base contact with his foe. Later on, if one of the characters can and wishes to step away from his foe (and he still has remaining APs for this Movement), he must make an Unengage manoeuvre, simply announcing his intention to Move. The abandoned fighter can react in two ways. 1: letting his foe go, and getting an Attack of Opportunity against the foe whos leaving the Combat. 2: Trying to block his foes escape; lets see how. Attack of Opportunity. The model that is abandoned can make an Attack of Opportunity on the character that is trying to escape from the Combat. He can hit his foe with a cost of 0 APs before his foe steps away (regardless of whether the abandoned model has been previously activated or is in At the Ready). Once this attack is resolved, the character leaving the Combat can move freely.

0 AP. Sometimes, a character makes a mistake or takes an action that leaves them exposed to a foe. Their foes take advantage of that opportunity, typically with an attack. Attacks of opportunity are typically triggered in three waysbecause a character Fumbled on an attack, a character is trying to disengage from another character it is in base contact with, or a character is casting a spell. When an attack of opportunity is triggered, it costs no AP to make an attack against the triggering character. Attacks of opportunity are always close combat attacks, and in order to make an attack of opportunity, a character must be wielding a close combat weapon. Attacks of opportunity are resolved during the turn of the character triggering the opportunity, and immediately after the triggering action, but before resolving the triggering actions effects.

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Attacks of Opportunity

50

 Relocating. On the second case, the character wishing to escape must invest the necessary APs for the Movement he wants to do; then, they both make a Dexterity opposition roll. If the Character trying to escape wins (or draws), he can move freely and continue his Turn normally. If the character that wanted to keep fighting wins, he can relocate at no cost anywhere in Base contact with the model that tried to escape; they are still Engaged in Combat and the model that tried to escape cant move at all. In case the escaping character is Engaged to multiple foes, the character must declare a single Unengage from Combat action. In this case, his foes must declare their reactions separately, and he will have to resolve every roll separately before he can step away. In case the character that wanted to keep fighting is also Engaged with another foe, the only reaction he can declare to the escape of one of his foes is an Attack of Opportunity.

If the attacker wins, the effects of the Drowning rule apply immediately; the victim deducts as many die to his Hold Breath roll as the difference in Aces obtained in the opposition roll (see Drowning rules, page 57). The attacker may continue making Drown manoeuvres as long as he has available APs. The drown manoeuvre ignores the rule that limits the number of Stun counters a character may get in a Turn. If the attackers last action was a successful drown manoeuvre, the defender hasnt been activated ever since and both models are still in Base contact at the end of round, the defender will be considered as still drowning and he will have to make a new Hold Breath roll during the End of the round turn. Low Blow (2 AP). A low blow is an attack to a specific weak spot. You must announce that you want a character to make a low blow before making the Combat roll. When you make the roll, reduce the combat Dice pool by 1, as the characters accuracy is reduced because it is trying to hit a specific spot. If the attack gets to cause any damage at all (applying the targets Protection), the target only loses 1 Life Point but receives a Stunned counter. Push (2 AP; Unarmed Attack). When you make a push attack, you move a foe instead of dealing damage. Make the attack roll as normal, for each Ace obtained (before applying the target characters Protection) the character pushes its foe 1 away from it. If the push causes the target to come into contact with impassable scenery (such as a building or the tables edge), the target suffers 1 damage for every inch of movement beyond the point where he stopped (Protection is applied to this damage). A Push can cause the target to fall into the water, off a building or elevated scenery, in which case the Falling rules apply. A model that has been pushed is automatically disengaged (ignoring the Disengage from combat rules). If the push causes the target to come into base contact with another foe, it is then engaged with that new foe. Round-House Attack (2 AP). The character can make an attack against each of the models with which he is in Base contact. Each attack will be resolved separately in the direction (clockwise or counter clockwise) determined by the attacker, starting by the model he chooses. If any of these Attacks doesnt cause the loss of at least 1 Life Point, he cant make any other attack Strike from Above (1 AP). The character can make this attack if it made a running jump or a jump down action during the action previous The character gets a +1 to damage when it makes this attack. Trample (1 AP; Unarmed Attack). The models with a size category of Large or larger may trample smaller models. The character obtains a +1 die to his Attack pool for each size category it is larger than targets size. 51

Sometimes, a character may want to do dramatic things in close combat other than just make a simple close combat attack against a foe within base combat. These things are combat manoeuvres. What follows are the most common optional Combat manoeuvres. Some are very simple, some more elaborated, but all of them cause very interesting effects and add more dynamic and cinematic combats. All of these manoeuvres can be made in place of a close combat attack. All manoeuvres labelled as Unarmed Attack you can not apply the effects of any weapon the character is equipped with. To make these manoeuvres. Charge (1 AP). The character can make this attack if it moved at least 5 or made a run action directly previous to this attack. It gains +1 die to its die pool with this attack. Drown (2 AP; Unarmed Attack). If both characters are in the water and in Base contact, a character may try to drown his foe. The character trying to drown his foe must win a Dexterity or Combat opposition roll (attackers choice) to Drown the foe. If the target of the drown attack wins the opposition roll, it is released, can move up to 1 away from the character who made the drown attack (ignoring the Disengage from combat rules).

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COMBAT MANOEUVRES

his chapter explores the power and effect of weapons that cause damage from a distance. Often these weapons are propelled by gunpowder, but they can also be thrown, or the effects of spells empowered by the strange occurrence called the Rent in the Sky. No matter how a character shoots a ranged attack, it uses the following rules.

SHOOTING T
BASIC SHOT

13
VOLUME PROFILE
Models represent combatants who are in constant Movement, not inert and immovable metal pieces. Besides, we expect that the most talented players will play with customized models, which will have capes flying in the wind or spectacular bases on which models will stand, or even models half-submerged! This can distort in some way the some models game mechanics concerning what they can actually see or how exposed they are behind a scenery item. Thus, we have designed the concept of models Volume Profile in order to dispel doubts on Lines of Sight. In 90% of the cases, it will be obvious if a model can see another model, even if it is behind Cover, and the amount of Protection offered by the Cover. In the remaining 10% of cases, you can dispel all doubts by using the Volume Profile templates. There are different profile sizes, corresponding to the three different bases sizes and to the special cases such as dogs (if ever we create models with different sizes or special cases, well provide their corresponding Volume Profiles). When doubts arise concerning Line of Sight, place the Volume Profile in base contact with the target model, perpendicular to the attacking model. If you can trace a line from any point of the attacking models Volume Profile up to any point of the targets Volume Profile, it means a Line of Sight exists. In some cases, you need to place the profiles both next to the attacker and next to the target to make sure that theres Line of Sight. Moreover, you can see that these profiles have a cross-shaped division. If a scenery item covers the profile in some way, the model will gain Cover. Note. The strip on the top side of the template is not part of the Volume Profile. It is there so you can hold it with your fingers comfortably.

1AP. When a character wants to make a basic shot with a ranged weapon, the character must spend 1 AP, announce the target, check for cover and line of sight, and them gather its Shooting pool and make a Shooting roll. The difficulty number is typically 7, unless the targets Dexterity is greater than 7, in which case that characters Dexterity value determines the difficulty. For each Ace the shooter gains, it has the chance to deal 1 damage to the target. This number of Aces is then modified by the weapons damage modifier, and the targets Protection value is then subtracted from that total. Any remaining Aces are converted to Life Point damage against the character. A character can never deliberately shoot a friendly character.

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This Harlequin model is jumping over a bollard, which might lead to some confussion about the actual size of the model. In this case well use the Volume Profile template to figure out the real Line of Sight towards this model.

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When shooting, on a Critical, place a Stun counter on the victim, regardless of whether or not the shot deals damage. On a Fumble, roll a 1d10 and consult the following table. If the weapon is not a firearm or magic, treat a 1 as a backfire. 6-10 Jam. The weapon is jammed or otherwise broken and cant be fired. To fix the weapon, the shooting character must pay 2 AP. Once the weapon is fixed, it must be loaded again (see the Reload (X) Universal Ability). 2-5 Backfire. The weapon backfires and the wielder suffers as much life point damage as the weapons damage modifier. The weapons wielders Protection is applied, as well as the weapons Universal Abilities. The weapon is also jammed (see above). 1 Explosion. The weapon explodes. Place the round template centred on the attacker. All models touched by the template suffer as much Life Point damage as the weapons damage modifier. Any of the weapons abilities are applied to this attack. Characters within the explosion gain the use of the Protection value against this attack. The weapon is useless for the rest of the game.

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CrITICALS & FUMBLES

weapons range, the character suffers a one die penalty to its Shooting roll for every 5 increment beyond the range (i.e., if the target is beyond the range but less than 5 beyond range, you reduce the Shooting pool by one die, if it is 5 but less than 10 beyond range you reduce the Shooting pool by 2 dice, and so on). You can never shoot a target that is beyond twice the weapons range away. Weapon rangers are found in Chapter 6.

Darkness affects a shooters ability to hit its target. Some Adventures or some characters special abilities create zones of darkness. When a shooter is within a zone of darkness, its weapons range is reduced to half.

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Darkness

Different Heights

When a model wants to shoot on a target, you must be able to trace a Line of Sight between the attacker and the target. Models have a visual angle of 360 (so it doesnt matter where they are facing). The first thing to bear in mind is whether the model can see the target; in order to know that, you must lean over the table until you are at eye level with the model. You need to trace at least one line from any point of the attackers Volume Profile until any point of the targets Volume Profile. If this line cant help but cross any scenery item, the target can obtain a certain Cover (see below), or can be completely out of the Line of Sight if the target is Hidden (see page 47). The only exception is when the shooting model is in Base contact with such Cover; this means the attacker can shoot over the obstacle or through the obstacle, without being affected by it.

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LINE OF SIGHT

A character may shoot over a target which is on high ground, for example on the roof of a building; the mere fact of being on high ground may offer a good Cover or make it impossible for the attacker to shoot. If the target model is beyond the shooters Volume Profile height and can place its Volume Profile horizontally in contact with its base so that it doesnt stand out from the scenery item on which it stands, the shooter wont be able to trace a Line of Sight towards the target. In case the template sticks out the item, the target gets the corresponding Cover (see diagram). However, if it is the shooter whos in high ground and hes able to trace a Line of Sight on his target, he may shoot normally.

In Carnevale, you can measure distances, including range, at any time. To calculate range, measure the distance from the closest edge of the shooters base to the closest edge of the targets base. The further a target is, the most difficult it is to shoot. Shooting a target that is within the weapons range doesnt suffers no penalties. When shooting beyond the 53

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Range

A character benefits from Cover when hes position way that a pieces of scenery stands between it and the its attacker. In terms of game: if the attackers Line of Sight crosses some scenery item on the way to the target, the target benefits from Cover. In the case of explosions and similar effects, Cover will only have effect if it stands between the center of the explosion (that is, the center of the circular template) and the target. Scenery items often have certain theses modify the shooters roll. These characteristics are grouped into two categories. Modifiers from the two categories stack. Size: Medium. covers up to half the models Volume Profile. Big. Covers more than half the models Volume Profile. Hardness: Light. (e.g. bushes) Blunt. (e.g. boxes or barrels) Heavy. (e.g. walls or rocks)

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Cover

A character may try to aim to make a more accurate shot. Aiming costs 1 or 2 extra AP. For every additional AP spent on the aimed shot, the character ignores one negative modifier to the shot or one point of the targets Protection. It must chose which option it will ignore before making the roll. It is not possible to aim while engaged in Combat or Shooting in movement.

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Aiming

Shooting in movement

-1 -2 -1 -2 -3

When a shooter designates a target in base contact with at least one enemy, he must deduct a die from his shooting pool for every model (friend or foe) in base contact with the target (applying all other corresponding modifiers normally). If the attack roll is successful, the Shot is resolved normally. If the roll fails, it means the attacker didnt have the nerve to shoot putting an allys life in danger, or simply that the shot missed the target.

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target ENGAGED IN COMBAT

A character may momentarily interrupt its movement to shoot, even if it is Running, Running on a Wall, Running, making a Running Jump. It can even do so while Climbing if the weapon has the Short Weapon ability. Its weapons must be loaded and ready to shoot; Ambidextrous characters can shoot up to two Short Weapons, one with each hand. The process works as follows: the player must declare his character will shoot in movement and the type of movement he wants to make. The player must calculate the maximum distance the character may Move, pay the cost in APs and then move the model. At any stage during the Movement, the character can stop temporarily, position the and shoot from there (paying the corresponding APs). After resolving the shots, the character may resume the characters move normally. In case the character is shooting while Jumping or Jumping Down, you must determine the jumps trajectory and the point from where the character shoots (to do so, you can use a tape measure or some string). The trajectory will be in a straight line from the location of the model at the beginning of the Jump (a point in his base) until the location where he wants to land. Mark a point along this trajectory; from here, trace the Line of Sight until the target and shoot applying all corresponding modifiers. Shots in Movement reduce the Shooting pool by 1 or by 2 if the character is Jumping or Jumping down.

SHOOTER Engaged in combat

Characters may throw objects using a mechanics similar to Shooting. Objects that may be thrown will have the Throwable (X) Universal ability; the number in brackets is the modifier to the attackers Shooting value. The objects damage value and any special rules are also specified. Example:

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Throwing things and Scatter

A character may make a ranged attack even when it is in base contact with an enemy. The shot is more difficult, meaning that the shooter must reduce its Shooting pool by 1 for each enemy in base contact with it. While the shot is more difficult, it can often be devastating if made against a target the shooter is currently in base contact with. If the shooter makes this attack against such a creature, it is considered to have Penetration (3) for such a shot. 54

Weapon Grenade

Damage 1d10

Abilities Throwable (-2), Explosion, Flames

Range 6

The Thrower places the object to throw on the intended landing spot; he may also mark a target point, such as the model representing a character. Then, he makes the basic roll using his Shooting value. If he obtains at least one Ace, the object will land on the chosen landing spot. Otherwise, the object will disperse from the chosen landing spot as per the Scatter rule.

Roll a d10 near the chosen landing spot. The dies upward facing tip indicates the direction of the scatter from the chosen landing spot. The result of the die, reduced by a number equal to the throwing characters Shooting value, indicates the distance in inches the throw scatters from the chosen landing spot. Wherever the object scatters to, is where its effect are resolved. For more details on this rule, see the diagram and the example.

II II

SCATTER

his next activation. Models bearing weapons with Multiple Shot or more than a ranged weapon ready to shoot may make more than one Shot, but never more than one Shot for every action taken by the target enemy model. The model will leave the At the Ready state if: 1) it is forced to move more than 3 by any reason (due to the effect of a Spell, or because it is pushed from the top of a building, for example), 2) it exceeds a Pain Threshold or 3) it is activated again (for example, to reload again). A model in base contact with one or more enemy models cant become At the Ready. This temporary state can also be applied in Combat; see the Combat chapter.

At the Ready

1AP. For the cost of one AP, a character can kneel down and be At the Ready. This will be that characters last action during his activation. Place an At the Ready counter next to the model. Being on At the Ready allows the character to interrupt any enemy characters activation when the enemys movement ends an action within Line of Sight of the character on At the Ready, which will then shoot. You dont need to invest APs on this Shot. All of the corresponding modifiers are applied, except that a character on At the Ready cant Aim. The character on At the Ready must have a loaded weapon; after shooting, the character cant reload until more APs are invested in

Firearms must be reloaded between shots; this is a slow and cumbersome process, and often difficult to do in the middle of close combat. If the weapon is a firearm, it is process that involves shoving the ammunition and gunpowder down the barrels, and weapon sometimes checking the state of the spark that detonates the gunpowder. Weapons that require reloading have the Reload (X) Universal ability. Reload (X). A weapon with this ability must be reloaded after each shot. The number in the brackets is the number of AP it takes to reload the weapon. At the start of an adventure, all weapons are considered loaded

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Reloading weapons

3 A 1

The Magi-Rashaar throws a grenade at the White Dove, but fails. Using point A as the original landing point, he then uses the Scatter rules. He rolls a d10 and gets a 3. Following the vector indicated by the tip of the dice, the grenade scatters 3 minus the Shooting value of the Magi-Rashaar (2). The grenade scatters 1 from point A in the indicated direction, finally exploding on point B. 55

Close combat, shooting, and other effects in the game deal damage to a characters Life Points. Life Points measure a characters health and resistance to damage. Each character has a set number of Life Points. The more points a character has, more difficult it is to kill. For each point of damage a character takes, you cross out a Life Points box. When you cross out the last Life Points box, the character Falls in Combat. Remove it from the game. If you are using the campaign rules, Falling in combat can have a number of outcomes.

WOUNDS C II

ombat is a key element of Carnevale, as are its consequences are a key element in Carnevale. Through the course of the game, character will suffer wounds from attacks and other calamities. This chapter looks at what happens when they do.

Life Points and FALLEN IN COMBAT

This section is short. As soon as you cross out the last Life Point of a character, he is considered to have Fallen in Combat and you must remove it from the game. If youre playing with the Campaign rules, youll see what happens with the character by following the Fallen in Combat rules.

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14
Death HEaling / Regeneration

Models with the Healing or Regeneration abilities, or models bearing objects that confer such Universal Abilities, can restore some of their Life Points. The Universal Abilities Healing and Regeneration are followed by a number in brackets; this number indicates the dice pool needed to make a basic roll. The Aces obtained will indicate the Life Points healed. If you obtain a Critical roll when healing, recover the model to his starting health level; if you obtain a Fumble, not only the model wont heal, but it will lose one extra Life Point. A model may never be healed above its starting Life Points value.

As you cross out Life Points boxes, some boxes contain negative values (-1, -2, -3, etc.). Every time you cross out the last Life Points box containing one of these negative values, the character has crossed a Pain Threshold. First, place a Stun counter next to the model. Second, the negative number indicates the amount of dice deducted from all of the characters Dice Pools from that point forward during the Adventure. For example, if a character has a Combat ability of 5, it will usually have a Combat pool of 5d10, not counting any other modifiers based on the action it is performing or any equipment it has. When that character crosses the first Pain Threshold (the Life Point box with the -1), when you gather the dice for its Combat pool, you will grab 4d10 instead of 5d10 to make the Combat roll. When the character reaches the -2 Pain Threshold, its Combat pool will be 3d10, and so on. The Pain Threshold modifier stacks with any other modifiers that may affect the wounded characters rolls. If, by means of healing, a character recovers his health and steps back into a less harmful Pain Threshold, he wont get any Stun counter for this. 56

II

Pain Thresholds

Most of the reckless characters that get involved in fights every night in the streets of Venice are not SO reckless as to do it without protection. The metal amours used all around Europe may be a deathtrap in Venice when you are a slip away from falling into a canal, so the most common protections in town are lighter options such as leather or padded clothes; besides, of course, the thick hide of the Ugdu-Rashaar is as protective as any boiled leather armour. Every time a model suffers physical damage from a Shot, a close Combat attack or any kind of source, you can deduct the models Protection level from the final amount of Aces obtained in the Attack roll, before determining the damage inflicted. The remaining amount of Aces in the attack roll after applying Protection will indicate the amount of damage levels inflicted on the target. By default, all characters have a Protection value of 2, which can be modified by the characters gear or Universal Abilities.

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Protection

Combat is not only wears on the body; it can also wear on the senses. A powerful blow can make a character temporarily loses its senses. When this happens, the character is Stunned. Place a Stun counter next to that characters model.

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Stunned

A model is Stunned when: 1) it crosses one Pain Threshold, 2) it suffers damage from a fall in inches equal or higher to its Dexterity value, or 3) it is the target of an attack, Spell or game effect that indicates specifically that the victim is Stunned. While a character is stunned, it reduces all Dice rolls it makes by 1. A character is stunned until it spends 1 AP to clear its head. If a Stunned character is in the situation of receiving a second Stun counter, he will suffer 1 automatic damage level (ignoring Protection) instead. A model may only get one Stun counter per Turn.

victims of the combat manoeuvre Drowning). Drowning characters must pass a basic Dexterity roll in order to Hold Breath. If they fail, they get a Stun counter.

When a character is pushed off high ground or he falls down for some other reason, you must check the following table. This table describes the height categories and the damage received when falling from such height. The falling character can make a basic Dexterity roll to lower one level the category of the fall.

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FallING

Fall Category
0 1 2 3 4 5

Distance
>1 1-4 4-6 6-8 9-10 10+

Damage
0 1 2, Penetration (1) 4, Penetration (2) 8, Penetration (5) Fallen in Combat

Keeping a cool head in the most extreme situations may be quite difficult. Characters in Carnevale must often resort to courage; the success of the mission will usually depend on their ability to keep calm. Otherwise, they might as well flee in panic. There are two types of Morale rolls: single rolls and group rolls. The single roll works just as a basic Mind roll (applying all necessary modifiers) and the result only affects the model which made the roll. The group roll works just as the single roll, with the exception that the result of the roll affects all of the squads models; the model in the squad with the highest current Mind value will be responsible for making the roll. There are two Universal Abilities that may affect Morale rolls: Fear and Command. Youll find more details on their mechanics in the Universal Abilities chapter. After making a successful Morale roll (either single or group), the model(s) involved in the roll may keep on acting normally. After a failed group Morale roll, all of the squads models must make single Morale rolls using each models Mind value (with all corresponding modifiers) and resolving the resulting effects. If a model fails a single Morale roll, place a Stun counter next to the model. If you obtain a Fumble on a Morale roll, the model obtains a Stun counter and must use all of its AP in his next activation to remove the Stun counter and move as fast as possible through the shortest route towards the closest edge of the table. Bear in mind that if the character that must flee is Engaged in Combat, he must try to Unengage, applying all of the corresponding rules (see page 50). If the character hasnt still left the table, he can make a single Morale roll in the next End of Round: if he succeeds, he will recover control over his actions; if he fails, he may roll again in his next activation to see if he keeps running or recovers control over his actions. If the character reaches the tables edge, treat it as Fallen in Combat. Every time you find yourself in one of the following circumstances, characters must make a Morale roll. When some of the following circumstances happen at the same time (for example, an ally falls within 5 and the model becomes the only survivor of the squad), you only need to make one Morale roll. Single Rolls When an ally Falls in Combat within 5 from the model. When the model is the last survivor of the squad. Group Rolls When the squad Leader falls in Combat. 57

II

Morale

* Check the rules for Penetration (X) in page 61.

At the End of Round, you must check if there are characters drowning (immobilized for some reason or

II

Drowning

niversal Abilities are a series of rules that serves as exceptions to the basic rules of the game. Therefore, if there is a conflict between a Universal Ability and the general rules of the game, the Universal Ability prevails. These rules may apply to characters, weapons, objects, powers, or events. The effects to two or more different Universal Abilities are cumulative. For example, the flamethrower is a weapon with both the Fear and the Flame Universal Ability. However, if a character obtains the same Universal Ability twice from different sources, it can only benefit from one application of the Universal Ability at a time, and always the best of all versions of that Universal Ability it has. For instance, a character has Extra Protection (1) and gets an equipment item that grants it Extra Protection (3), the character will have Extra Protection (3).

UNIVERSAL ABILITIES The X U

15

When you see an X in brackets after a Universal Ability, this means that applications of the universal ability granted by its source will always have a value associated with the ability. Have a quick lookt at the Factions chapter to see how the X is applied. For example, the Extra Protection (X) ability could be an Extra Protection (1), Extra Protection (2) or an even higher value based on the equipment or the character it comes from.

Ambidextrous. A character with this ability can wield a weapon in each hand and use them at the same time. See the rules for two-weapon combat in the Combat chapter. Berserk. When a character with this ability crosses its last Pain Threshold, it gains a +3 bonus to its Combat value, and ignores any and all negative modifiers from Life Point loss (including Pain Threshold). This effect lasts until the character Falls in combat or is healed to a point where it is no longer within its last Pain Threshold. Blast (X). Some weapons let lose blasts of different materials (such as fire, gas, acid, etc.). Since they are very imprecise shots, the attackers shooting skill is not applied. These weapons use the cone template; when a character shoots a weapon with this ability, place the narrow end of the template in Base contact with the shooter. Then, the controlling player faces the template in the shooting direction and he rolls 1d10, applying the weapons Blast value (the number in the brackets). This roll is made with the Destiny Die; you must treat Critical rolls and Fumbles (before applying the Blast modifier) as described in the Shooting chapter. The final number obtained is the amount of inches the template moves in that direction. In case of obtaining a negative number result, the template stays in Base contact with the shooter, not moving at all. All the models other than the shooter whose bases are touched (even partly) by the template at some point of its movement suffer the effects of the blast. Brave. A character with this ability can always use its unmodified Mind value on both single and group morale rolls. 58

II

Universal Abilities

Bodyguard. When a character with this ability is in base contact with a foe that successfully attacks one of the bodyguards allies, the bodyguard can choose to take the effects of the attack itself, deflecting the attack away from its fellow squad member. The bodyguard applies its Protection against the damage normally instead of the Protection of the original target. Cautious. A character with this ability knows how to make the most from cover. When it benefits from cover, it is always considered to be one higher cover level than it actually is. Companion (character, X). A character with this ability gains a bonus equal to the number in the brackets to its Combat pool when engaged in the same Combat as the character indicated in the brackets. Defensive Combat (X). When a character with this ability is about to be the target of a close combat attack (but before the attacker makes the Combat roll),it can spend a number of Karma Points up to the number equal to the number in brackets to raise its Dexterity value. It raises its Dexterity value by a number equal to the Karma Points spent to use this ability for the rest of this turn. Elusive. A character with this ability can disengage from base combat by making an opposed Dexterity roll with the model/s he is in base contact with. If the character with this ability wins the opposed roll his opponent cannot make an attack of opportunity or try to block the disengaging characters move. Engage. When an opponent in base contact with a character with this ability wishes to disengage from close combat, he must first win an opposed Dexterity roll. If the opponent loses the opposed roll, the character cannot disengage during this action; otherwise, the normal disengage from combat rules apply. A character

with this ability is not forced to apply it if he does not want to. The Universal abilities Engage and Slippery counter each other. Erratic Movement (X). A character with this ability moves in such an erratic way that it is hard to shoot at it. It gains a Cover value equal to the number in the brackets even with its on open ground. This cover affects ranged attacks targeting it. If the character is actually behind cover, it benefits only from the best of the two sources of cover. Ethereal. A character may ignore obstacles while moving, but can never move through an impassable terrain item. Having this universal ability also grants the Spiritual protection (1) Universal ability. Explosion. A weapon with this ability uses the round template with its effect. Expert Marksman. A character with this ability may aim using Karma Points instead of Action Points. Expert Swimmer. A character with this ability can move using his full Movement Attribute when in the water, but can be Drowned as normal. Extra Protection (X). A character with this Universal ability adds X to the base Protection value (which is 2). This Extra protection cant be used to prevent damage from Falling or Drowning. If the character has different sources of Extra protection, he will always use the best available one, but they will not stack. Bear in mind that the characters you will see in the Factions chapter already have the Extra protection values included in their profiles. Fascination (X). Each time a foe attacks or makes an action that affects a model with this universal ability, he reduces its dice pool by a number equal to the number in the brackets. Characters with the mindless ability are immune to this ability. Fear (X). When a character or a weapon with this ability attacks an enemy, the target of the attack must also make a Morale roll. The roll is modified by the number in the brackets. Fireproof (X). A character or item with this ability is protected from flames. It reduces the damage by a number equal to the one in the brackets when he is the target of an attack with the Flames Universal ability. First Strike (X). A character with this ability gets a bonus to the first close combat attack it makes each Round equal to the number in the brackets. Flames. A character or weapon with this ability makes attacks with flame. Flame ignores a targets cover and

Command (X)
We highlight this Universal Ability because we consider it especially important, given that at least one model in every squad will possess this ability. On the character sheet of a character with this Universal Ability there is a box divided by a slash; on the left-hand side you must write down the characters absolute Command value; on the right-hand you must write down the current Command value, which keeps dropping as you spend Command points. Command points spent during the game cant be recovered, unless a special rule says otherwise. All characters which possess the Universal Ability Command (or who obtain this ability through Experience) will have the descriptor Leader. This Universal Ability has several different uses: A character with this Universal Ability may hand over Command Points to other characters (but not to himself ); these Command Points turn into APs. This action has no cost at all in APs, and is made during the activation of the target character who receives these extra APs. For each Command Point spent, the target character obtains 1 extra AP. A single character may only receive a maximum of 2 Command Points per Turn. The squad Leader may hand over Command Points to as many different models in his squad as he wishes, until he runs out of Command Points. Moreover, once per Round the Leader may spend one Command Point to make a character from his squad act immediately after another character of his squad, before the other player starts his Turn. The leader of an enemy squad with the same Universal Ability may invest one of his Command Points to cancel this effect. When a player makes a group Morale roll, the squad Leader may add his current Command value to his Mind dice pool. If there are two characters with this Universal Ability in the same squad, the player must specify which of them is the main Leader; the main Leader is the only character who can carry out all the actions just described; if the main Leader Falls in Combat, the second character with Command becomes the main Leader. Protection, except for characters with the Universal abilities Flameproof and Universal protection. Fly. A character with this ability can fly. It ignores all scenery items during its movement, but cant end its movement within impassable scenery. This character doesnt take into account vertical movements; for example, if the character is in Base contact with a three-story building, it can move onto the buildings roof spending only 1 of its movement. Grow Through Adversity. A character with this ability adds +1 to its Combat value if it is in base contact with two enemy characters. It adds a +2 to its Combat value if it is in base contact with three or more enemy characters. 59

He also ignores all normal negative modifiers for fighting multiple foes at the same time. Hand Weapon. A weapon with this ability can be used to make close combat attack that does not modify the Combat roll. Healing (X). A character with this ability can spend 2 AP to heal a character that it is in base contact with (not himself ). When it does so, the character with healing makes a basic roll with a number of dice equal to the number in the bracket. For every Ace, it heals the target creature 1 Life Point. On a Critical, it heals the creature up to its starting Life Points. On a Fumble, it deals 1 point of Life Point Damage to the character. See Healing/ Regeneration on page 57. Natural Weapon. A weapon with this ability is part of the characters body and is consider a hand weapon. Heavy Armor (X). Armour with this ability is so heavy that it takes a penalty to its Dexterity rolls equal to the number in the brackets. Furthermore, if a character wearing heavy armour falls into the water, he must succeed a basic Dexterity roll or he will be immobilized until the end of the Round Heavy Weapon (X). A weapon with this ability is so heavy and hard to manoeuvre that the wielder takes a penalty

to its Combat or Shooting skill equal to the number in the bracket High Jump. A character with this ability can make a Dexterity roll before making a Jump. For every Ace obtained, it can add +1 inch to its Jump. This ability cannot be combined with Running Jump. Incorporeal. A character with this ability may ignore all scenery while moving, however it can never end its move within a piece of scenery. A creature with this ability also gains the Spiritual protection (3) Universal ability. Infiltration. A character with this ability who is part of a squads reinforcements, may roll 2d10 when making his deployment rolls (see page 77) and keep the best result. Limited Movement (movement type). A character with this ability cant use some form of movement. They type of movement is given between the brackets. This characters Movement is limited for some reason. The kind of Movement this character cant make is in brackets, such as Swimming or Jumping; besides, the character cant have access to any of the advanced Movements.

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 Life Drain. When a character with this Universal Ability causes damage in close Combat, he immediately recover as many Life Points equal to the number of Life Point damage the target creature took with the attack. Long Reach (X). Some close combat weapons have a greater reach than conventional weapons. The number in brackets indicates the distance in inches a model equipped with this weapon can attack from. It is not necessary to be in base contact when making an attack with a weapon with this ability as long as the distance separating both models is not higher than the number in brackets. Mage (X). A character with this ability is well versed in the world of magic. He can buy and can know a maximum number of spells equal to the number in the brackets, which he chooses and pays for while building his force. Mighty Blow (X). When a character with this ability deals any damage in close combat, it deals extra damage equal to the number in brackets. Mind Control. A character with this ability may control the actions of friendly models that have the mindless ability. These models act normally during play using their own APs and they appear to act autonomously. When a Mindless creature Falls in Combat, the character that controls it must pass a basic Mind roll or receive a Stun marker. If there is more than one character with Mind Control in the same squad, write down on a piece of paper which Mindless models each character controls. If the character with this universal ability falls in combat, all of the models he controlled must success on a basic Mind roll every time they are to be activated; if they fail the roll, these models will count as activated but their Action Points will be reduced to 0 until the next End of Round turn Mindless. A character with this ability is immune to the effects of the Fear and Fascination Universal abilities. Multiple Shot (X). A weapon with this ability can be shot a number of times equal to the number in the bracket before it has to be reloaded. Multiple Targets (X). When a character with this ability makes a Shot, it can designate as many targets as the number in the brackets. When it makes its Shooting roll it uses 7 or the highest Dexterity value among the various targets as the difficulty. The shooter can then divide any Aces (modified by the weapon type) obtained from its roll freely among the targets. If a weapon deals Aces + a number (Aces+3, for example), the total number obtained will then be distributed among the targets. Night Vision. A character with this ability ignores the restrictions of Darkness.

Ointment. Items with this ability must be applied on swords, axes, halberds, bayonets or hand weapons. The Ointments other Universal Abilities will add to the weapons Universal Abilities. A weapon can only benefit from the effects of a single Ointment at the same time. Partners (character). If a character with this ability and the character named in brackets are within 5 from each other at the beginning of the character with this abilitys activation, they can both activate at the same time, using both their AP pools at any time during this shared turn. When all AP are spent, mark both characters as activated.

Penetration (X). The damage caused by a weapon or character with this ability ignores as much of the targets Protection value as the value in brackets. Rebellious. A character with this ability cannot receive any benefit from his squad leaders Command ability. Reckless. A character with this ability doubles its Mind value without applying other modifiers- when making a single Morale rolls during an adventure. This character doesnt apply any kind of positive or negative modifiers to its Morale rolls. Regeneration (X). A character with this ability may spend 2 AP and make a basic roll with a number of dice equal to the number in the bracket. With each Ace, it regains 1 Life Point. On a Critical it regains all its Life Points. On a Fumble, it takes 1 Life Point damage. See Healing/ Regeneration on page 57. Reload (X). A weapon with this ability must be reloaded after each shot. The number in the brackets is the number of AP it takes to reload the weapon. At the start of an adventure, all weapons are considered loaded. 61

 Slippery. This character is never engaged in close combat, even though he can attack and be attacked in Combat if in base contact with other models. He can just leave the combat freely at any time. The Universal abilities Engage and Slippery counter each other. Slow. A character with this ability cannot activate until everyone in its squad has activated. If there is more than one character with this ability in a squad, once the other models have been activated, the controlling player decides the order of activation of the characters with the slow ability. Sniper (X). A character with this ability excels at shooting characters that have not yet activated. When it does, it gains a bonus to the Shoot roll equal to the number in brackets. Short Weapon. A ranged weapon with this ability only requires one hand to use, so a character with the Ambidextrous Universal ability can carry a short weapon in one hand and another one-handed weapon in the other. Spiritual Damage. An attack with this Universal Ability ignores the Protection value of the target. Spiritual Protection (X). A character with this ability has a level of protection equal to the number in brackets against weapons, characters or effects that cause Spiritual damage. Spiritual spill (X). When a character with this ability loses Life Points as a result of a close combat attack, the attacker also suffers as much Life Points damage as the number in brackets; this damage is Spiritual Damage. Stun. A character with this ability Stuns a creature when it deals at least one Life Point in damage to it. Swift. A character with this ability can spend 1 Karma Point. The character can then double its Movement attribute for the next Action he makes. Sworn Enemy (character or descriptor, X). A character with this ability has a bonus to its Combat and Shooting values equal to the number in brackets when attacking a character with its name in the brackets, or, in the cases where a descriptor is given, any character with a descriptor given within the brackets. Throwable (X). A weapon of this ability is thrown rather than shot. When using this weapon, you use the shooting rules, and apply a modifier to the Shooting roll equal to the number in the brackets. Throwable weapons can be used quickly and opportunistically, so a character can use a throwable weapon while wielding other weapons

Reroll All Dice. A character with this ability can spend 1 Karma Point may force an enemy, ally, or himself to reroll and entire roll, including the Destiny Die. This ability can only be used once per roll. Reroll Dice (X). A character with this ability may spend 1 Karma Point and make an opponent (or himself ) reroll a number of dice in a roll equal to the number in the bracket brackets. The Destiny Die cannot be rerolled with this ability. When using this ability, the player must declare how many die is he going to reroll, and it can only be used once per roll. Rickety (X). A character with this ability reduces its Protection value by a number equal to the one in the brackets. Save (X). When an opponent makes a close attack against a character with this ability, it must reduce its dice pool by a number of dice equal to the number in the bracket. Savage. When a character with this ability crosses its last Pain Threshold, it gains 1d5 extra APs each round. Make this roll when activating the character. These effects will apply until the character Falls in combat or is healed above its last pain threshold.

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 Trifling. A character with this ability is not counted when determining Victory Points. They can never be taken into account while checking an adventures victory conditions, and they cannot receive improvements by way of experience. Two-Handed Weapon. A weapon with this ability requires a character to use both hands to wield this weapon, so he can no longer wield other weapons at the same time. Vampiric Attack (X). A character with this ability recovers X life points each time it deals at least one Life Point in damage in close combat. This Universal ability does not work against models with the Ghost or Undead descriptors. Universal Protection (X). The character has a level of Protection equal to the number in brackets against Physical Damage, Spiritual Damage or Flames. Water Creature. A character with this universal ability moves full speed when it swims, can use the Run rules to swim faster, and can make a Running jump while being in the water. Furthermore, water creatures breathe water, so they cannot drown. Lastly, a water creature can make the drown manoeuvre by spending 1AP instead of 2 AP, gain a +2 bonus to their dice pool for the manoeuvre, and can always choose the Attribute to use in the roll.

Descriptors dont have any rule on their own, but they talk to some abilities. For example, due to the Spell They Sleep Underwater, all creatures with the Rashaar descriptor on the table recover one Life Point. Individual characters can have several different descriptors. The following are a list of descriptors is the game. Human Monster Rashaar Soldier Leader Noble Mage Catholic Muslim Priest Animal Nexus Crazy Scientist Gifted Undead Ghost Thief

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descriptors

63

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT 16 T

his chapter describes the various weapons and items you can equip your Carnevale characters with. In the Factions chapter you can see the weapons each model starts with, already counted on the models basic cost. In basic adventures (not in a campaign), you can only buy elements from the Basic Equipment and Magical Items table. However, squads can also access the rest of items by means of the special rules included in some Adventures and in campaigns. For weapons that require some sort of ammunition, this is included in the basic cost. It is understood that a character equipped with a ranged weapon will have enough gunpowder and bullets to last them for the whole adventure. These tables show the modifier applied to the damage roll (in the case of weapons) and the Universal Abilities or other abilities conferred to the character that uses them. For complete information on the use of Universal Abilities, see the corresponding chapter. When a character is equipped with a weapon or an equipment item, the player must display it somehow on the model. The player must always make sure that his opponent is aware of the characters equipment, with the exception of magical items. Bear in mind that there can only be one magical item in a squad, and that its effects are only valid during one Adventure (not during the whole campaign), although you can buy the item again before your next Adventure.

Close Combat Weapons Cost

10 5 5 10 N/A 8 8 7 N/A

Weapons
Halberd Hand Weapon Bayonet Sword Claws Axe Whip Club Unarmed

Damage
Aces +1 Aces -1 Aces Aces +1 Aces Aces +1 Aces Aces Aces -1

Abilities
Long Reach (2), Two handed weapon Long Reach (2), Must be attached to a musket Save (1) Penetration (1), Natural Weapon Penetration (1), Hand Weapon Long Reach (4) Stun Natural Weapon,

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Shooting Weapons Cost

12 15 10 7 15 20 20 15

Weapons
Bow Crossbow Smoke bombs Throwing daggers Grenade Flamethrower Musket Pistol

Damage
Aces Aces +1 N/A Aces-1 1d10 1d10 +2 Aces +3 Aces +2

Abilities
Reload (1) Reload (3) Throwable (-2), Explosion, Extra* Throwable (-2), Explosion, Flames Fear (-2), Blast (-5), Flames Reload (3) Reload (2), Hand Weapon, Short Weapon

Range
12 10 6 5 6 Cone template 10 8

* The smoke bomb generates a terrain item of the size of the round template; the smoke blocks Line of Sight but characters can walk through the cloud without problems (it is intangible).

Armor Cost
7 10 15 18

Basic Equipment Armor

Armbands Shield Leather breastplate Metal breastplate

Abilities
Extra Protection (1) Save (2), Hand Weapon Extra Protection (2), Heavy Armor (-1) Extra Protection (3), Heavy armor (-3)

Cost
10 8 8 12 18

Item
First-aid kit Climbing tools Lantern Narcotics Venom

Abilities
+1 dice in Healing rolls. See Climbing and Rappel rules. Ignores Darkness. Ointment, Stun Ointment, Penetration (2)

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Magical items Cost

10 15 15 20 20

Item
Cagliostros Diamond Devils Mask Newt Gill Potion Mother Hidras Tiara Infusion of the Rent in the Sky

Abilities
Once per game the bearer can cast a Spell without investing Karma Points. The bearer has the Fear (-2) Universal Ability The bearer can breathe under water and is immune to the effects of Drowning. The bearer obtains the Universal Ability Water Creature The bearer may drink the infusion once per game at a cost of 1 AP. He can make a roll on the Powers table; he will have the power obtained until the next End of Round Turn. The bearer has Spiritual Protection (2) The bearer can make a Regeneration (6) roll once per Adventure.

20 20

Pope Clement XIIIs ring The Errand Jews life elixir

The origins of this sinister mask are unknown. What is known is that the mask arrived in Venice from the heart of Africa more than a century ago, and was kept -like the rest of other military trophies- at the home of the Clausis, a wealthy noble family whose home was a few streets away from St Marks Square. A few weeks after the appearance of the Rend in the Sky, Maximiliano Clausi, the familys patriarch, was imprisoned after going mad and murdering his whole family. When the mask was eventually removed from him, Clausi kept repeating that the Black God that lived in the mask had made him do it.

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Devils Mask

Only the most powerful witches are able to distill this bitter syrup. Only they know the components needed to prepare it, but it is widely known that whoever drinks it develops the ability to breath under water for a few hours.

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Newt Gill Potion

66

At first sight, this ivory tiara doesnt look special at all. However, the delicate figures carved all along its surface tell stories of death and seawater: sinister underwater creatures and human beings worshipping nightmarish monsters. The bearer of Mother Hidras Tiara will be in communion with sea creatures and will become one of them for a while, maybe sacrificing his own mortal soul in the process.

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Mother Hidras Tiara

Among the people that perceive the energy poured from the Rent in the Sky, some can collect and concentrate a tiny amount of the magic matter. By means of complex and expensive rituals, they are able to distill a concoction of uncertain effects.

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Infusion of the Rent in the Sky

Count Alessandro di Cagliostro is a mystic well versed in several disciplines. A friend of Casanova, his knowledge of dark matters could rival those of the Supreme Sorcerer, but his fondness of hyperboles has earned him fame as a chatterbox. His reputation as a thief and a counterfeiter has led him to end up behind bars on many occasions. His implication -about a decade ago- on the sordid affair of the diamond necklace (which involved Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, king of France) allowed him to lay his hands on the first white diamond ever brought from the Americas, which he substituted for a worthless piece of glass. Those who have been able to examine this piece closely say that it can filter the energy poured from the Rent in the Sky.

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Cagliostros Diamond

Clement XIII was the last Pope born to a Venetian family. Son of the influential senators Giovanni Battista Rezzonico and Vittoria Barbarigo, a stroke killed him in 1769. Some of his earthly possessions were returned to the Serenissima, among which was the ring he used to seal the canonization of Saint Joseph of Cupertino. Some say whoever bears this precious item is protected from evil. 67

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Pope Clement XIIIs ring

The Count of St. Germain, son of the last king of Transylvania (Francis II Rkczi), allegedly died in 1784. Those who had met him knew he was a great adventurer, alchemist, musician, inventor and a member of the Rosicrucians. Some attribute to him the credit for having developed an elixir of eternal youth, and they say that in fact- St. Germain, is not dead. Instead, he is an immortal being, known among the mystics as The Errand Jew or The Transcended Master. In any case, those who are lucky enough to taste this elixir regain their forces and feel they are able to perform all kind of feats.

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The Errand Jews life elixir

TERRAIN T

17
Heres a brief list of the most common obstacles and their special characteristics. These objects have a standard size, but this can change if you pile them; in case of doubt, use the Volume Profiles to determine their effects on Cover. In some scenarios you will find special Obstacles; and, of course, you can create your own Obstacles for your games. You may want to review at this point the Cover rules from the Shooting chapter. Pile of Barrels. Medium Size, Hardness: Blunt. Ship Ropes. Medium Size, Hardness: Blunt. Crates. Medium Size, Hardness: Blunt. Piles of Food/Straw/Cloth. Medium/Big size, Hardness: Blunt. Carts. Big Size, Hardness: Heavy. Fountains. Medium/Big size, Hardness: Heavy. Bushes. Medium/Big size, Hardness: Light.

hroughout this rulebook, we have commented on the importance of terrain in the game. Terrain may be as important as the models themselves. Apart from being an attractive aesthetic element, the layout of Terrain on the game table will have an effect on the games strategy. Here well see how it works on a gaming level. The players should agree the amount of Terrain to use. Each player rolls a die; the player with the highest roll will set the first Terrain element. The next player will set another element, and so on and so forth until all the elements are set. Other possible options are to agree in advance the display of Terrain, or to ask someone impartial to do it for you.

The ground where characters walk in Carnevale, called the terrain, can be of three different types: open, difficult or impassable. The Terrain affects the characters capacity to move. The first thing you must do before you start playing is to agree with your opponent what kind of terrain every sector of the game table is, besides deciding Obstacles, Obstructions, etc. This little conversation will prevent you from stopping in the middle of the game to solve doubts concerning Terrain. Open Terrain. Streets, flat rooftops or balconies. This type of Terrain doesnt have any obstructions and doesnt affect the characters actions. Difficult Terrain. Unstable roofs, waterweed-covered streets or slippery bridges. When a character moves through Difficult Terrain, his Movement Attribute is divided by 2. Impassable Terrain. This is usually the inside of buildings, ground covered in flame, and solid objects. Characters cant cross this kind of terrain; they will stop or change direction when their movement makes them be in base contact with this terrain.

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Terrain

Obstructions are solid, unmovable Obstacles, such as statues or stone blocks. They are treated as Impassable Ground, Medium/Big size and Hardness: Heavy.

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Obstructions

HOW MUCH Terrain DO I NEED?

This will depend on the scope of the game and the way you like to play; this is something youll learn as you play. Some Adventures will indicate specifically the Terrain youll need; otherwise, you should use at least two buildings and a canal. In any case, Carnevale is a game that grows in complexity and fun the more Terrain you use. Once again, the table size will depend on the scope of the game and the amount of Open ground you need. However, the gaming surface should be at least approximately 30 by 30 in a small or medium-sized game. As for the maximum, its up to you!

Obstacles are all those Terrain elements that are scattered around the game table, such as barrels, fences, carriages, mountains of fish, ship ropes, etc. Characters can use these elements as Cover or even Jump and stand on them (as long as the model can stand on the element with stability). All Obstacles are considered to be Difficult Terrain as far as Movement is concerned. The Cover rules weve seen in the Shooting chapter apply to Obstacles. 68

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Obstacles

In Carnevale buildings are considered Obstructions. Unless otherwise noted in the Adventure, you can not enter inside the buildings. You can, however, climb their walls, stand on their balconies and roofs, walk underneath their porches, etc. You just need to apply the corresponding Climb, Jump or Run on Walls rules. Buildings can be several stories or levels tall. In fact, the more variety you wish to incorporate in your buildings, the more dynamic your Adventures will be.

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Buildings

StairS

Venice experiences a very curious effect due to the tides of the lagoon on which the city was founded. It is very common to find water on the ground, temporarily flooding the streets and making it difficult to walk. Aqua Alta can happen as a result of the Event Aqua Alta (see page 78), or due to the Adventures own rules (in which case, the scenario rules will specify the conditions for its effects to cease). In any case, the rules that apply are the same: All the models on the battlefield will get a -1 to their Movement value for all of their movements on the ground.

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Aqua Alta

Stairs are Open Terrain, and characters dont have any penalties when moving through them.

If there is something that defines the city of Venice and makes it stand out among other cities in the world it is the t that it was built on a lagoon. This peculiarity makes it a unique place, cut through by waterways, full of bridges and inevitably defined by water. In Carnevale it is indispensable to find water, in some way or other, in all games. As you will see in the Adventures chapter, all of the Adventures will require you to include at least a canal in your set of Terrain elements. In the game, water can appear in two different ways: water from the canals and Aqua Alta. If a character falls into the water of a canal, he must observe the Swimming rules (see page 46). On the other hand, if a character is immobilized in the water or a foe tries to Drown him deliberately, the Drowning rules apply instead (see page 57). If a model has at least half its base in between water and firm ground, the model will be on the ground to all intents and purposes.

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Water and canals

Given the peculiarities of Venice, its inhabitants dont ride horses; instead, they ride boats or gondolas (the typical Venetian boat). Gondolas are a voluntary Terrain item (unless otherwise noted by the adventures rules). Gondolas should be able to fit at least two smallsized models, or one medium-sized model. A character riding a gondola can Move on it in the water as if he had a Movement value of 4. If the character makes any kind of action ( jumping, close combat, shooting, casting spells, and so on) while on the gondola, he must pass a basic Dexterity roll before resolving the action If it gets a Fumble on that roll it falls into the water; a Critical hit doesnt have any special effect.

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gOndolas

As you know, bridges are physical byways that allow characters to cross canals without getting wet. We are mentioning it to remind you that bridges are a very interesting Terrain item that you can include in your games. Bear in mind that characters can swim underneath bridges.

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Bridges

69

ince the appearance of the Rent in the Sky, the people and creatures of Venice have gained the ability to manipulate reality. Some can create flames from nothing, while others can drain a living beings vital fluids from a distance. Others manifest more terrifying abilities. In Carnevale there are two ways of altering reality: spells and powers. While each create similar effects, their underlying structure and philosophy is different. Some see the manipulation of magic as an activity similar to weaving a tapestry: you manipulate the threads of reality by means of a pattern called a spell. The magician (a creature with the Magician ability, see Chapter 5) uses his own essence to carry out to fuel his art, and that essence is consumed a little at a time each time he casts a spell. While most spells are imitations of patterns created by others, some powerful and crafty magicians mange to discern the secret patterns of the fabric of reality, and find new ways to manipulates its threads, inventing new spells, and creating new magical effects. There are different kinds of magic that men can docreation, invocation, manipulation. There are far older beings that have been toying with the threads of reality for centuries, and they can create more primeval and deadly form of magic that often defy category. Scholars have also found that the insane have a special connection with the Rent in the Sky, which allows them to fuel spellcasting with startling ease. Powers are simpler tricks, much more limited, but powerful nonetheless. Some people have spontaneously developed unique capabilities since the appearance of the Rent in the Sky. These people called the Gifted. No one knows why some people develop powers and others do not. The Gifted are usually able to use one or two Powers at best, and they rarely manifest new powers over time. Most powers are unique to the creature they manifest in, so they are detailed within the description of the character possessing them.

MAGIC S

18
MAGE (X)
Characters able to cast spells have the Mage (X) Universal Ability, as detailes in the Universal Abilities Chapter.

Each spell has its own mechanics, described in its spell description. When a magician casts a spell, he must spend Karma Points to do so. The first spell a magician casts during a round costs 1 Karma Point (assuming its base Karma Points cost to cast is 1). When the same magician casts a second spell during the same round, he spends an extra Karma Point over the normal Karma Point casting cost to do so. When the same magician cast the third spell during the same round, he spends 2 extra Karma Points. In other words, the cost of casting a spell equals the Karma cost of the spell, plus a number of additional Karma Points equal to the number of spells already cast by the magician already that round. For example, if a magician wants to cast four spells during his Turn, at the end he usually spends 10 Karma Points: 1 for the first spell, 2 for the second spell, 3 for the third spell and 4 for the fourth spell (1+2+3+4=10). In order to cast a spell, a magician must spend 1 AP and then the Karma Points cost of the spell to make a Magic roll. A Magic roll is a basic Mind roll used to cast a spell. If a magician fails its Magic roll, it cannot cast any more spells until the end of the round. If a magician casts a spell while he is in base contact with one or more opponents, the act

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Casting spells

70

of casting provokes attacks of opportunity from them after the AP and Karma Points are spent, but before the Magic roll is made. In other words, the magician resolves the effects of the spell after suffering the effects of the attacks of opportunity. Spells with effects that modify a characters attributes (except for Life Points) are not cumulative. A character gains the best modification of all spells or effects that modify those attributes. For example, if a spell improves a characters Protection value, another spell that improves the same characters Protection value will not be affective unless it provides a greater increase to the Protection value or if it has a greater duration. Spells are described using the following characteristics: Cost, Difficulty, Reach, Duration, Effect, Critical roll and Fumble. Each is describe below. Cost. The number of Squad Points a player must spend so that one character with the Magician ability can take that spell. Difficulty. This is the difficulty modifier applied to the Magic roll to activate the Spell; it may range between -3 dice and +3 dice. You either add or subtract these dice from the roll when casting the spell. Range. This indicates the maximum distance, typically in inches but sometimes with a word or term, that the spell can be cast. Usually the spells range is in inches, but range can also be one of the following: Caster: A magician can only cast this spell on himself. Line of Sight: A magician can cast this spell on a character within line of sight, no matter how many inches away the character is from the magician. Touch: A magician

can target a character with this spell only if it is in base contact with the magician. A magician cannot cast a touch spell on itself. Unlimited: A magician can cast this spell on any character or point on the play area of the adventure, regardless of range or line of sight. Duration. This indicates how long the spells effect remains active. Normally, this value is a number of rounds, which can be either fix or variable. When a spells duration is given in rounds, its effect ends at the end of the round , so that a spell with a duration of 1 round ends at the very next end of round; a spell with a duration of 2 rounds end on the second end of the round after it was cast, and so on. A spell with without a duration in rounds has one or the other of the following durations: Immediate: The spells effect is resolved immediately and then terminated. Permanent: The spells effect is active for the rest of the game. Effect. This is a description of what the spell does once it is cast until the end of its duration. Some spells have fixed effects, whereas others have a variable effect depending on the amount of Aces scored with the Magic roll Critical. This describes any additional effects if you roll a Critical on the Magic roll. If the description is Standard, the Caster recovers the AP spent when casting the spell. Also, when a Mage scores a Critical on a Magic roll, its spell is immune to the effects of a Naach-Tith Annulment. Fumble. This describes the effects if the magician Fumbles the Magic roll. If the description is Standard, the Caster receives a Stun counter.

Magic has always been part of my life. My conjuring tricks were often useful to convince some reluctant lady to succumb to my charms or to free some patrician of the weight of his purse. My main occupation in life has always been to cultivate everything which is pleasant to my senses. I felt that my life made sense when in company of the opposite sex. I always adored women and I did all that was in my hands to be loved by them. However, years and experience made me come into contact with other worlds. Clergymen, Cabalists, Mystics, Occultists, Masons, Rosicrucians, Sufis... I knew all of them. I read the works of Mirandolla, I can recite the Fama Fraternitatis by heart, I am a member of honor of more lodges than I can remember, I possess the manuscript of Athanasius Kirchers Oedipus Aegyptiacus... They all searched to know the mysteries of the universe. Stupid. They knew as much of the world surrounding us as a little kid peeping through a lock to see whats on the other side. As it often happens, reality revealed itself at its most glorious some years ago, and no one measured up. The wound in the skies appeared and finally gave sense to my life. When you see real magic first hand for the first time, you know immediately its not a trick of smoke and mirrors, its not an illusion. You feel a lump in your throat, your testicles are stiff and reality around you stops making sense. Beyond the most obvious and showy effects, like lightings or the blood poured, every type of magic has its own particular smell. You learn to distinguish them if you want to live another day. The kind of magic practiced by the lords of Bedlam smells like hot metal, that of the Magi from the Cult of Dagon smells like burned sugar and urine, that of the spirits smells like ice. The coarsest kind of magic can tear your leg apart or pierce your chest with a bolt of lightning; the most exquisite magic destroys your soul and turns your mind upside down like a sock. Its not surprising that, in the twilight of my dissolute existence, I have finally found the reason why the name Giacomo Casanova will be written in the pages of history. I am the only man who has walked on the other side, who has known the reality of the Ancient Ones. The only one who knows real magic in its whole spectrum. I have gone beyond the physical world. I am the supreme Sorcerer.

From the book Weaving the tapestry, by Giacomo Casanova. Published undergound in December, 1794.
71

This is the basic list of Spells. Before each Adventure, Magicians may buy those Spells they want to be able to use paying the cost indicated in each Spell.

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SPELLS

Spell, any new attempt to cast Blessing on the model will be considered an automatic failure, without even making a Magic roll. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

Blessing

Either if the Magician believes all souls are good, or if he is a sadistic bloodthirsty killer, he can make his allies improve their abilities in battle.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. +0d10 Range. 6 Duration. 1 Round Effect. The target of this Spell will gain +1 to one of his Attributes; bear in mind that an Attribute can never raise above 10. The Caster of the Spell chooses the Attribute, and he must do so before he makes his Magic roll. A model cant be affected by more than one Blessing spell at the same time. If a model is under the effects of this

Anger flows out of the mages body in the shape of a cloud of the blackest smoke, wrapping around his foes, clouding their senses and foiling their skill.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. +0d10 Range. 6 Duration. 1 Round Effect. For each Ace scored by the mage, this spells target suffers a -1 penalty to one of his attributes (the attribute cant end up below 1) of the mages choice. The caster chooses the attribute to be affected before making the Magic roll. A character cant be affected by more than one curse spell at the same time. If a character is under the effects of this spell, any new attempt to cast curse on it fails, no matter the Magic roll. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

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Curse

The mage bites his own lip until blood runs down his chin. Then he raises a single hand, holding his fingers in an awkward and arcane position, and the spell that was plaguing him ends with a sound that some say resembles the popping of a cork.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. Special Range. 12 Duration. Immediate Effect. When this spell is successfully cast, it immediately cancels another active spell chosen by the caster. The difficulty of the Magic roll is a penalty equal to half the Mind attribute of the target spells caster. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

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Dispel Magic

The mages hands glow with green and orange hues. A soon as he lays his hands on his friends body, that friends wounds seem to close.
72 Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. +0d10 Range. Touch Duration. Immediate

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Immediate healing

 Effect. The Caster chooses a target that has lost Life Points but is still in the game. He applies the Universal Ability Healing (X), where X equals the amount of Aces obtained by the Caster in the Magic roll. Critical. Standard Fumble. The target suffers 1 Life Point damage.

The victims mind is clouded by visions from beyond impossible monsters with hundreds of tentacles, noneuclidean buildings, unholy temples in the heart of dead stars and promises of eternal nightmares.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. -2d10 Range. 6 Duration. Immediate Effect. The Caster chooses a single target. That target is stunned. Place a stun counter next to the model. Critical. The Caster may choose as many different targets as Aces scored with the Magic roll. Fumble. Standard.

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Infernal Images

Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. +0d10 Range. Unlimited Duration. 1 Round per Ace. Effect. Designate a point on the game table and the caster makes a Magic roll. If the spell is successful, the player places the round template centered on that point. All models whose bases are touched by the template suffer the effects of darkness (seepage 53) during as many rounds as Aces scored with the Magic roll. Critical. The caster may designate one of the models touched by the template; this model is affected by darkness for the rest of the game. Fumble. The casters opponent may place the template wherever he wishes.

The mage crosses his arms on his chest, his eyes blank, and he starts screaming in agony. Suddenly, he throws his arms towards the enemy and shoots his own fingernails, which pierce the flesh of whomever they hit.
Cost. 10 points. Difficulty. -2d10 Range. 24 Duration. Immediate Effect. The Caster may choose a one target within Line of Sight for each Ace obtained in his Magic roll. Every target will be hit by a missile made from magic energy; the victim will suffer as many levels of Spiritual Damage as Aces obtained in the Magic roll. The Caster cant pick the same target more than once. Besides, each chosen target beyond the first must be at most within 6 from the other targets; all missiles which are not assigned to a target are lost. Critical. The Caster can choose the same target more than once. Fumble. The Caster generates a single claw, but the opposite player chooses the target, who automatically suffers 3 levels of Spiritual Damage.

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Mother Hidras Claws

After pronouncing a series of hideous sounds, that only a madman would dare to call words, the magician points at the sky. Immediately after this, a brown whirlwind of dust, rocks, and steam hits and drowns all of those within the magicians sphere of influence.
Cost. 20 points. Difficulty. -2d10 Range. 18 Duration. Immediate Effect. This Spell uses the circular Template. First, the Caster must place the template in a point of the board where he wishes to cast the Krakens breath. Next, he must make the Magic roll. If he succeeds, the Krakens breath is activated on the chosen location. If he fails, the template moves as per the Scatter rules (see p. 55) and the spell activates in the new location. In any case, the Krakens breath makes a close Combat attack roll with 5d10 against all characters touched by the template (make a single roll and compare the result with all targets). Critical. The Krakens breath has the Flames Universal Ability. Fumble. The Krakens breath is activated centered on the Casters head.

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Krakens breath

The temperature suddenly droops. The Magician has stopped time in a whisper, has analyzed his opponents spell and has summoned all the right powers to cancel it.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. -1d10 per opponents Mind point. Example: when trying to cancel as from an opponent who has Mind 3, the Mind roll for the Naach-Tith annulment has a -3d10 penalty. Range. Unlimited. Duration. Immediate. Effect. Unlike most other spells, the mage casts this spell on his opponents turn, after his opponent has spent the Karma Points and AP for the spell, and has 73

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Naach-Tith annulment

An oily smoke oozes from the ground, blinding friends and foes alike.

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Mist from the Abyss

Cost. 10 points. Difficulty. -3d10 Range. 12 Duration. 1 Round Effect. The Caster chooses a target; the targets Action Points go down to zero until the next End of Round Turn. Critical. The Caster may choose an extra target within range of the spell. That target also suffers the spells effect. Fumble. Until the end of the adventure, when the mage activates, it gains only half its normal APs (round down).

The influence from the Rent in the Sky pours from the mages hands, creating an invisible film that protects him of all evil.
Cost. 5 points. Difficulty. +1d10 Range. Touch or Caster Duration. 1 Round per Ace. Effect. This spell creates a magic barrier around the target, granting it the Universal Protection [2] ability. Critical. The spells duration is Permanent; the spell finishes if Dispel Magic is cast upon it. Fumble. Standard.

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Protection of the Eye

Other peoples minds are just clay in the hands of those who know the secrets of this spell. It can make spirits dance.
Cost. 20 points (Plague Doctors pay 10 points) Difficulty. 1d10 times the Mind value of the target. Example: When trying to establish a link with an opponent with Mind 3, the Magic roll for the Spirit Bond will be done with -3d10. Range. 8 Duration. Permanent Effect. The caster chooses a single target that does not have either the Undead or Animal descriptor. If the caster gains at least one Ace, the target becomes controlled by the casting mage. This means the affected character is now part of the casting mages squad. As long as this spell as active, the mage cannot perform any actions apart from the Walking action. If it performs any other action, it loses control of the target. Furthermore, if the casting mage crosses a Pain Threshold or Falls in combat, he loses control of the target. Besides, every time the target model is activated to act, the models original controller (in other words, the player that owned it at the beginning of the game) can spend one of the controlled models Karma Points to try and free it from the enchantment. If he does so, the Caster of the spell that binds him must immediately

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SpiritUAL bond

made the Magic roll, but before resolving the effects of the Spell. The mage spends no AP for casting this spell. When casting this spell, the mage does not follow the normal rules for spending Karma Points, but spends the number of Karma Points as his opponent spent on the triggering spell, plus one extra Karma Point. The mage then makes a Magic roll. Every Ace of this roll cancels an Ace of the triggering spell. If the opponents roll is reduced to 0 Aces, the opponents spell is cancelled. Critical. The opponents spell is cancelled and the opponent gets a stun counter. Fumble. Standard.

The mage points at his foe and yells insults in a dead language. A casual observer may deem it a nonsensical or ridiculous action, but the recipient of all those insults starts to feel his muscles stiff until hes temporarily paralysed.
74

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Petrify

make a new Magic roll for this Spell (without having to spend APs to do it); if he fails, this spell disappears. If either the Caster or the victim get a Stun counter while the Spell is active, the Caster must make a new Magic roll for this Spell (without having to spend APs to do it) to keep the Spell active. Bear in mind that every time the Caster rolls his Magic roll to keep the Spirit Bond active, he must spend 1 Karma Point before making the roll. Whenever this Spell stops being active for any reason, the controlled model gets a Stun counter. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

The canticle intoned in honour of dark and ancient entities sleeping in oceanic abysses, causes the air smell like rancid excrement. It is said that this foul change in atmosphere pleases the monstrous creatures known as Rashaar.
Cost. 18 points. Difficulty. -2d10 Range. 8 Duration. Immediate Effect. When this Spell is casted successfully, all characters with the descriptor Rashaar within range (except for the caster) immediately recover as many Life Points as Aces obtained during this spells magic roll Magic roll. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

II

will disappear. A character under the effects of this Spell cant control areas or targets in an Adventure. You cant place any area effect to affect this model, unless the area effect affects another model of his squad at the same time. The character affected by this Spell may voluntarily cancel the effect of the Spell in order to be the target of Spells or Universal Abilities that can be beneficial (such as healing, etc). After this, the character needs to cast the Spell again with a new Magic roll if he wants to be affected by the Spell again. Critical. Standard Fumble. Standard.

They Sleep Underwater

The mage raises his arms while he chants a mantra with a deep voice. Little by little, his shape begins to flicker, and his blurry contour blends with the city of Venice. His observers see him relax and smile gladly, before they lose sight of him.
Cost. 10 points. Difficulty. -2d10 Range. Caster Duration. 1 Round Effect. The Caster becomes practically transparent. Although enemies may vaguely guess his contour, they find it very hard to attack him. To begin with, once the Spell has been successfully casted, the Caster wont provoke Attacks of Opportunity of any kind. Besides, all the enemies will get a -4 penalty in their close Combat or Range attack rolls to hit the Magician, as well as a -4 penalty to all Magic rolls to cast Spells targeting him. IF a character affected by this Spell makes any action which entails interacting with another character (friend or foe) -such as making a close Combat attack, Shooting, casting a Spell, etc.- the effects of Walk between worlds 75

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Walk between worlds

n this chapter, you will find out how a typical game of Carnevale is played. You will learn the basic characteristics of adventures, events and agendas, as well as the necessary rules to tie these together into your first campaign.

When playing a Carnevale game, you could just place your models on the game table and attack your opponents until they are all dead. You can also play a scenario, which is called an adventure. An adventure can often be a straight-up brawl, but often an adventure has a background, plot, and specific objectives. The five adventures you will find in the next chapter of this book can be played independently as single game or you can link them, playing adventure after adventure as part of a Campaign. If you do, you should check the campaign rules later in this chapter.

PLAYING CARNEVALE I II
ADVENTURES

19

Once you get the hang of how adventures work, you can make your own, and string them together into a campaign of your own, but first you need to understand Carnevales adventure structure. Adventures have some key elements, they are: Introduction. This is descriptive text setting up the adventures story. It allows the players to understand the adventures background. Duration. The duration of the adventure is the number of full rounds that must be played to complete the adventure. Objective. This describes the things that squads are trying to accomplish within an adventure point. It also describes how the different sides gain Victory Points. It will also describe any special rules. Scenery Requirements. This section details any minimum scenery requirements the adventure has. There is never any limit on the maximum amount of scenery you can use. Deployment Zones. This describes the areas where each side sets up at the beginning of the adventure. Campaign Rules. If you are playing the adventure as part of a Campaign, this describes any special rules or other campaign considerations that you must use.

Before starting an adventure, players must place their models on the game table in a certain way, according to the deployment zone requirements of the adventure they are about to play. All players must place at least half their models within the deployment zonethis is the advance party. There is no limit to the number of models in your advance party; you may even deploy all the models in your squad at this moment, if you wish to. Before each player starts placing models within their deployment zone, they roll a d10. The player with the highest roll (reroll ties) decides which player places a model in their deployment zone first. After that first model is places, the player to the staring players right places a model, and so on until all advance party models are places. Once the advance parties have been deployed, players proceed to making the Initiative roll for the first round. All models that are not on the game table when the initial deployment are the reinforcement party. A player may deploy his reinforcements anytime from second round on, on any of his turns, instead of activating the models he already has on the table. Please note that, 76

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deployment of the squads

since the reinforcements are not on the table, they must always spend their first AP action, which allows them to enter the table. They start this movement at the tables edge of their deployment zone. A character in reinforcement cannot make actions until it enters the play area. When a model enters the game, it is no longer considered to be part of the reinforcements; from that moment on, the model can act normally. When the player decides to add a model from his reinforcements to the game, he has three options: Assault Order. The model may enter the game from the tables edge within the players Deployment zone. To do so, the player must just activate the model normally. Flanking. The model may enter the game from any of the tables edges (outside the opposing players Deployment zone), 5 away from any enemy model. To do so, the player must roll 1D10 and obtain a result of 7 or more. If he succeeds, the model enters the game normally. If he fails, the model cannot enter the game now, but the player may activate any other model in his squad that is already on the game table; he cannot try to deploy any more Reinforcements until his next Turn. Sneak Attack. The model may enter the game from any point of the game table, 5 away from any enemy model. To do so, the player must roll 1D10 and obtain a result of 9 or more. If he succeeds, the model enters

The following list offers all the general ways that characters can gain Victory Points in Carnevale games. These Victory Points measure the success of a squad during an adventure, and they allow players to gain benefits when they play campaigns. If the players decide to use agendas, they can gain extra Victory Points using those special rules. Achieving the adventures main objective. Each enemy model killed. Each character in your squad still alive at the end of the Adventure 5 pts. 2pts. 1pt.

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the game normally. If he fails, the model cannot enter the game now, but the player may activate any other model in his squad that is already on the game table; he cannot try to deploy any more Reinforcements until his next Turn.

Basic Victory Points

Apart from this, if players decide to use the Agendas system, they can obtain extra Victory Points.

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When building a squad, you can spend some of your Squad Points on Events. Events are random fortuitous occurrences that can affect the game. You can buy the chance to make a single roll on the Event chart at some point in the game for the cost of 10 Squad Points. You can purchase up to two Events per adventure. You can attempt to play an Event at any time during one your characters turns. To do so, roll 2d10 and consults the following table. Then apply the event generate. If it is not possible to apply the Event, it is lost. 2d10 Event 2 Aqua Alta. The water from the lagoon rises, oozing out of the ground, preventing combatants to move freely on the ground. All the models on the battlefield will take a -1 penalty to their Movement value when the walk or run over the ground. At each end of turn, the player who played this event rolls 1d10. On a result of 7 or more, this event ends. 3 Bad Coordination. The enemy squad Leader gives his orders in a confusing, unclear way, causing one of his combatants to react ahead of time and in an ineffective way. You can place an activation counter on a single enemy model that has not been activated yet. 4 Combat Stress. A single enemy feels the stress of combat at an inopportune time. Chose a single enemy character that is not stunned. That character is stunned. 5 Adrenaline Boost. Stress makes one of your combatants fly into a frenzy. Remove an Activation counter from one of your models; treat this model as if it has not acted in this round.

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Events

6 Wake Up! The closest ally shouts at his friend, snapping him out of confusion. Remove the Stunned condition from one of your characters. 7 Reload Weapons! Skill and practice with firearms bear fruits on the battlefield. You can automatically reload a single firearm wielded by a character in your squad without spending APs. 8 Good Cover. Its time to duck your head and pray all those shots wont hit you. Designate a piece of scenery on the game table that grants cover. It grants one better step of hardness in cover, or +4 cover if it is already heavy in cover hardness. 9 Anxiety. Our ferocity even in the face of adversity makes your opponent nervous. The opposing squad must make a group Morale roll. 10 Battle Shock. An enemy combatant starts to ask himself what he is doing in a place like this, and why he has to risk his life. Choose a single enemy character that is not a leader or an independent character. This character makes a Morale roll. 11 The Geyser. In occasions, the magical effects from the Rent in the Sky cause boiling water blasts to come out in several places around the city, surprising those unfortunate enough to be around for such an event. Place a Medium base counter (30 mm) on a spot on the battlefield, and make a scatter roll. Once you have placed the counter, the Geyser will immediately attack all the models from both sides within 5, with a Combat 4 attack (Penetration (4)). The Geyser makes this attack
automatically in every subsequent End of the round Turn until the end of the game.

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12 Miraculous Recovery. Drawing power from a divine blessing or from a dark god, your combatant draws strength from nowhere and manages to recover. Choose a single character in your squad and make a roll with the Healing (6) ability without spending APs. 13 Evil Eye. For no apparent reason, one of your enemies starts to writhe in pain. Choose a character from an enemy squad and make a Shooting attack (4) roll against it. Every Ace does a point of Life Point damage. On a Critical the
target is stunned. On a Fumble, your opponent can end a single instance of Stun on any one of his characters, removing the Stun counter from that characters model.

20 Prestige Loss. The enemy leader seems confused, overwhelmed by circumstances. The enemy squad leader loses immediately 1 Command Point.

14 A Matter of Honor. Honor drives you to win this combat. Choose a single character in your squad and make a basic Mind roll with it. This model recovers as many
Karma Points as Aces obtained (up to its starting Karma Points). On a Critical, the character recovers enough Karma Points to bring it back up to its starting value. On a Fumble, the character loses 1 Karma Point.

15 We Will Never Beat Them. An enemy character loses its cool. Chose a single character from the enemy squad. That model must make a basic Mind roll; if he does
not get at least one Ace, the model loses half his current Karma Points.

16 Mad Minute. To the cry of, open fire! all the shooters in your squad let loose a volley. All the models

in your squad equipped with loaded firearms may make a Shooting attack immediately, without spending APs or activating the models. These weapons must be loaded before they can fire again.

The following campaign system allows you to take individual adventures and make each of them a serial within a longer-running story. Players must agree to the limit in Squad Points while playing a campaign, and can then build their squads according to the normal squad creation rules. A players squad is are composed of the same group of characters throughout the entire campaign. Characters gain experience after each adventure, which allows them to improve their Attributes and they can even gain new abilities. Furthermore, your squad earns Campaign Points between adventures, which you can use to purchase new characters for your squad, buy new equipment and events or pay the maintenance cost of independent characters, as per the normal Squad point rules. A squad obtains as many extra Campaign Points as the Victory Points you gain in the previous adventure and the winner of the adventure gains 5 extra Campaign Points. You cannot discard squad characters voluntarily during a campaign. Players must spend their Campaign Points before they start their next Adventure, or they can keep them to spend them after subsequent Adventures (note this on your squad Leader character sheet). Basic Carnevale campaigns are designed to span five adventures, but you can also apply the optional Legacy rules for longer-term games. Anyway, you can create your own longer campaigns if you wish to, or wait for us to publish ours in the future.

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Campaigns

17 Hes Alive! Everyone thought he was dead after that brutal attack, but no one noticed his body isnt where it was a few moments ago. Choose one of the characters in your squad that was fallen in battle from your squad and make a roll with the Healing (4) ability without spending APs. If the character manages to recover

MAINTENANCE COST
Independent Characters are mercenaries that join your squad for money. At the beginning of a campaign, you must pay their cost as with any other character, and include them on your squad characters sheet. These characters also have a Maintenance Cost you need to pay before each subsequent adventure after the first, according to the characters description. If a player does not want to pay or cannot pay an Independent Characters Maintenance Cost before an adventure, that Independent Character can no longer be part of the squad. If, in a subsequent Adventure, the player pays the corresponding Maintenance Cost, the Independent Character rejoins the squad.

some Life Points, it can enter the game on the next turn as a reinforcement.

18 Blend with Shadows. Right while his opponents are distracted, a combatant escapes amid the confusion. Choose a character from your squad that is more than 3 from all enemy characters and remove it from the game table; that character becomes a reinforcement. 19 Charismatic Leader. The right words uttered on the right moment may reinforce your forces resolve. Your squad leader immediately recovers 1 Command Point (up to its starting Command Points).

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When the groups of adventurers fight in the dangerous streets of Venice, sometimes their objectives extend beyond their immediate adventure. Squads have their own motivations, which make them fight with greater determination when facing their enemies. When you play a Carnevale campaign, you may use the optional Agendas rule. Each player rolls 1d10 and keeps secret the Agenda obtained. At the end of the game, if the player has completed his Agenda, he must reveal it; he gains as many extra Victory Points as indicated by the Agenda. d10 Agenda

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Agendas

5 Recon Deployment. You must explore the terrain for future battles. At the end of the game, you must have at least one model in each quadrant of the board. +3 Victory Points. 6 Bring War to the Land. Reaching the enemys homeland is the best symbol of superiority. At the end of the game, you must have at least two models from your squad in the enemy Deployment zone. +3 Victory Points. 7 Make it to the End of the Day. The squad Leaders survival is of the utmost importance for the success of the mission. Your leader must be alive at the end of the game. +2 Victory Points. 8 Overcome at All Costs. The survival of the squad is crucial success of this mission. At the end of the game, at least half your squads models must be alive. +2 Victory Points. 9 Dont Look Weak. Appearances are very important in the streets of Venice. You must end the game with more living models than your opponent. +1 Victory Points. 10 They Cant Beat Us!. Caution is not at odds with the success of a mission. At the end of the game, all of your models must be alive. +4 Victory Points. You may use this list of agendas or create your own, as long as your opponent agrees to use your list before you use them. You may also use the printable cards that you can find at www.vesper-on.com. Draw one of these cards at the beginning of the adventure and keep it in your pocket and reveal it at the end of the game.

1 Something Between You and Me. This battle is a personal matter between the Leaders on the opposing sides of the adventure. Your Leader must personally eliminate a sing enemy Leader. +4 Victory Points. 2 No One Survives. There can be no witnesses. Destroy all enemy characters. +4 Victory Points 3 A Beating Theyll Never Forget. Its necessary to set things straight. Half of the characters of the enemy squad must be fallen in battle at the end of the adventure. +3 Victory Points. 4 Protect the Position. There is a key spot on the battlefield that you must protect at all costs. Designate secretly a scenery item located 15 or farther from the edge of your Deployment zone and write it down on a piece of paper. At the end of the game you must have at least one model in contact with this scenery item, and there can be no enemy model within 5 of it. +3 Victory Points

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The characters in your squad may evolve, improve their Attributes and even obtain new Powers after a while. After surviving a battle in the city of Venice, warriors are hardened, become aware of the dangers and learn to react in the best possible way. Experience works in two different ways, depending on the quality of the combatant. It is necessary to differentiate those members of the squad who have the Leader descriptor and those who dont. Apart from this, each character may only obtain a maximum of three improvements during a Campaign; when a character has obtained his third improvement, he cant roll again in the Experience tables Characters with the Leader descriptor who survive an Adventure can make a roll on the Leaders improvements table if they get a 9+ in 1d10. The rest of characters who survive an Adventure can make a roll on the Basic improvements table if they get a 8+ in 1d10. Roll a die for every character separately to see which obtain an improvement and which dont.

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ExperiencE

Independent Characters and characters that have already obtained a Power previously may not obtain any more Experience improvements. Moreover, a player may try to obtain an improvement with a model of his choice making an extra roll with 1d10 for every 5 Victory Points obtained. The player must determine a character in his squad without the Leader descriptor and which hasnt obtained any improvement in this Adventure. If he rolls a 9 or higher, that character can make a roll on the Basic improvements table. Lets see the tables. All characters that get the possibility to obtain improvements must roll 1d10 on the corresponding table and apply the effects obtained. In case a character obtains an improvement he already has (results 6 to 9 in any of the tables), he must reroll on the same table deducting 1 from the result obtained; if he gets a 1 in the new roll (thus obtaining a zero; 1-1= 0), the character will obtain no benefits.

Basic Improvements table 1d10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Leaders improvements table 1d10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Effect
+1 Combat +1 Dexterity +1 Mind +1 Movement +1 Protection The character gets the Command (3) ability and the Leader descriptor. The character gets the Penetration (1) ability on all attacks. The character gains the Spiritual Protection (1) ability. The character gains the Swift ability. The character gains Power. Make a roll on the Powers Table.

Effect
+2 Combat +2 Dexterity +2 Mind +2 Movement +2 Protection The character gains a +2 bonus to his Command Universal ability The character gains Penetration (2) ability on all attacks. The character gains the Elusive ability. The character gains the Mighty Blow (2) ability. The character gains a Power. Make a roll on the Powers Table.

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Your characters may obtain Powers by means of Experience. This means that the Rent in the Sky has awakened something inside of them, something which was latent and now reveals, conferring the character a power other men can only dream of. Sometimes these Powers take the form of Universal Abilities, in other cases, Powers have completely different effects. Make a roll on the following table to know which Power your character obtains. In case a character obtains an Power which confers a Universal Ability he already has, he must reroll on the same table deducting 1 from the result obtained; if he gets a 1 in the new roll (thus obtaining a zero; 1-1= 0), the character will obtain no Powers.

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Powers

When one of your characters is removed from the game, the character may suffer from some aftereffect, even death. Any character that falls in combat while playing a campaign must roll 1d10 at the end of the adventure. If he rolls a 5+, the character recovers and is available for the next adventure; otherwise, make a roll on the following table and apply the result on the characters sheet.

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Fallen in Combat

Powers table 1d10

1 2 3

Fallen in Combat table Effect

The character obtains the Fly Universal ability. The character obtains the Vampiric Attack (1) Universal ability. The character gains fire breath. This special attack with the following rules: Shot (3d10), Blast (-9), Flames, Damage: 1d10. The character gains the Spiritual Protection (3) Universal ability. The character gains the Spiritual Damage ability to all close combat attacks. The character gains the Healing (3) Universal ability. The character gains the Mighty Blow (2) Universal ability. The character gains a lightning bolt attack. It is treated as a ranged weapon with the following rules: Reload (3), Multiple Shot (2), Stun, Multiple Objectives (2), Damage: Aces +2. The character gains the Stun Universal ability. Roll twice again in this table, and apply both results. Ignore any other result of 10 that you roll. 8 9

1d10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Effect
The character dies and is removed from the campaign forever. -1 Combat -1 Dexterity -1 Mind -1 Movement -1 Protection The character loses one ability or power at random. In the case of a Universal Ability with a (X)value, apply a -1 to that value. If that value is reduced to (0) the character loses that ability. The character loses an equipment item (magical or not) at random. From now on, this character has a compulsory Maintenance Cost of 10 Campaign Points. This cost is the first thing you must spend Campaign Points on. If this is not possible, the character will not take part in your next adventure. Just like the result 9 from this table, only with a Maintenance Cost of 15.

4 5 6 7 8

9 10

10

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In a game like Carnevale, with a limited set of skills and game attributes, experience can make certain characters become unstoppable weapons of destruction in a relatively short amount of time, with the risk of unbalancing the game. For this reason, our game Campaigns span a maximum of five Adventures. Of course, this is just our recommendation, which you can easily ignore in the games you play at home. However, players often identify with their squads and enjoy certain continuity from one Campaign to the next. To this end, you may apply these optional Legacy rules, as long as the majority of the players in the campaign agree to them. In any case, players are not forced to keep their previous squads, even if other players in the same Campaign have decided to use the Legacy rules. If a players squad has been so harmed in the previous campaign that the player isnt motivated to play with it again, or if the player decides to create a completely different squad, he can design a new squad from scratch using the amount of points agreed. The players must decide how many points the next campaign will have; it is advisable to play with slightly more points per squad in every campaign so that the games complexity rises. If they use the Legacy rules,

Campaign optional rule: Legacy rules

the first thing they must do is to pay the Leaders cost. With the remaining points, they must create the squad, using the members from the previous squad as much as possible, as explained later on. Otherwise, the process to make the next squad follows the normal squad creation rules, buying characters one by one, then equipment, events, etc. The only differences are the following.

When you finish playing a Campaign, the old leader from your squad must abandon his command position to devote himself to other matters, giving way to other squad members. In the next campaign, your squad needs a new leader; the player must pay any new leader as he would for any new model. However, the player may also decide to promote any of his previous squad members as a successor, who becomes the new Leader. If the successor has already obtained the Command ability (thus, the Leader descriptor) during the previous campaign, the character adds +2 to his Command value and may opt to the three normal improvements throughout the following Campaign. If the successor did not have the Command ability when he is promoted, he automatically gains Command (3) and the Leader descriptor. This, however, counts already as one improvement, so he can only gain 2 more improvements throughout the rest of the campaign. Once a new leader has been chosen, the player needs to check what happens with the rest of the squad members. The player may try to retire as many squad members as he wants. The player must roll 1d10 for each member he is trying to retire; on a result of 5+, the character goes home (or is found floating on a canal at dawn). Otherwise, the character insists on accompanying the new leader in his adventures; the character must be part of the new squad, paying his cost normally. The player keeps in his squad all the members from the previous squad he didnt want or manage to retire, paying an extra 10 points for every Experience improvement the model obtained in the previous Campaign (if the new Leader didnt possess the Command Universal Ability, his cost will automatically increase in 10 points when he gets this Universal Ability). The equipment items carried by the characters must be paid again as per the normal rules, except for all special objects obtained without paying for them, because of reaching an Adventures objectives, or some similar effect. The player may use the rest of points to spend them on new squad members, equipment items, or events. 83

hree years ago, a group of adventurers brought to Venice a weird statue from distant lands. It represented a being that couldnt be from this world. This being had many tentacles and a disquieting appearance. The professors at LAccademia di Belle Arti studied it. During the course of their research, many of them were driven insane. One man persisted, one professor Guido de Lucca, a specialist in ancient sculpture and expert. What drew his interest was not the statues form, but its material. A certain Friday, late at night, de Lucca fought the fatigue of a long day to analyze the material composition of the statue. It was almost four in the morning when he accidentally dropped the black statue from his desk. Panicked at the thought of damaging the relic, he stood up too quickly, stumbled on his chair, then fell down and hit his head on the floor. In the moment before he lost consciousness, his eyes locked on the statue standing

II T

Adventures and Campaign 20

the fragment of the black statue
upright on the on the floor, unscathed by the fall. That statue was looking at him with flaming eyes. When de Lucca regained consciousness, the statue was lying beside him on the floor. It did not stand upright, its eyes were not ablaze, and it did not survive its fall unscatheda little, one-inch chip had come off the side of the base. As beams of sunlight illuminated the work area, and his head began to clear, de Lucca dismissed what he saw just before losing consciousness a delusion. He packed up the statue, slid the stone sliver into a pocket, and decided that on the following week he would use the sliver for alchemical experimentation, and see if he could not discover more about the statues mysterious stone. He got home as boatfuls of fishermen casted off for their daily labor. He went to bed holding the stone chip in his hand, looking at it under the morning light filtered through the curtains. His wife slept placidly at his side.

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He did not rest for long and it was not restful. His wife woke him up a couple hours later. The Academy had sent a student to fetch him; something was amiss with the statue. De Lucca washed his face with cold water, trying to forget the eerie images of starscapes that had flooded him during his short rest, and followed the student. As he followed the student, the world was strange. The streets were waterlogged, but the sun shone as bright as it had during the whole of the month of April. When professor and student crossed the bridge on Capuzzi Street, de Lucca was struck by an idea that filled him with dread. For some days, many professors have been toying with the possibility of getting rid of the black statue. They feared the power it had to warp minds and bend sanity. De Lucca fought against it; he would not let such a thing happen, no matter the price he would have to pay. When he reached the Academy, the dean of the recently formed Art Restoration Department welcomed him and walked him to the room where the statue was kept. The box was open and the sculpture was not there, even though that box and that place were exactly where de Lucca left it only hours before. Furthermore, there was a big oily stain on the floor, which seemed to be inexplicably soaking through the floor, and down to the lower floor and the cellar. As de Lucca considered whether to mention his clumsy accident of the previous night, the stain started to vanish before his very eyes, and in a matter of a few seconds, there was no trace of it on the floor tiles. Silently de Lucca began to wonder about the state of his own sanity. After a discussion with the citys guard and seeing most professors ill-concealed relief about the lost of the hideous artifact, Guido returned home. It was on the walk home that he first felt the piercing pain in his back. By the time he arrived at home, the pain was so bad that he deiced that bed rest was the best thing for him. He undressed, lied down on his bed, and began to replay the recent events in his mind. He took a glance of his bedside table and he strangely surprised to see the sliver was still there. And while it was right where he left it Guido half expected it to inexplicably vanish, like the statue it was once a part of. He picked to put it in a drawer, lest someone threw it away by mistake, but he must have slipped, the sliver cut the palm of his hand. After the momentary rage of his stupid action fled his mind, he threw the chip inside the drawer, cleaned his wound with water from the washbowl and he lay down to an restless sleep. The first night of many. From that fateful day on, Guido de Luccas life was never the same. He became obsessed with the sliver, though he was never able to identify its material mineral. His sleep became clouded by nightmares. His wife fell into an inexplicable depression that resisted all remedies, and committed suicide exactly one year to the day the statue disappeared. None of this stopped Guidos intense investigation. With the appearance of the Rent in the Sky, his nightmares stopped being blurred images of cosmic landscapes, only to become real trips to other worlds, where he discussed fascinating concepts with beings from other planes of existence. He decided to document these impossible experiences, getting them on paper as to not go entirely mad. But the

The Sliver
Some scholars believe there is a relationship between the strange disappearance of the statue in 1793 and the appearance of the Rent in the Sky some years later. The stone slier kept by Professor Guido de Lucca, which eventually destroyed his mind, is a tiny fragment of a world that is not ours. Theres no doubt an artifact like this one is a component of inestimable value for any practitioner of magic. Guidos bizarre excuses and his wifes feverish ravings before her death made it to the ears of those who wanted to listen carefully. Whenever an adventurer finds the fragment of the black statue, he will be able to recognize it immediately and has no choice as to try to possess it. knowledge from the planes beyond was so vast, so arcane, he soon ran out of paper, and then money, and then credit with the papermakers. When the papers were filled with crammed text, he began writing on the walls of his house. We he ran out of ink, he wrote with his own blood Some days ago, a group of ashen-faced men showed up at house, asking for the fragment from the statue. Surprised and frightened, Guido sent them away and barred his door. Two days later, a group of robed men knocked on his door in the middle of the night; Guido saw them through the shutters of his bedroom window and did not answer. Last night, the wood and glass from his window were shattered, and through the ingress monstrous creatures crawled into his bedroom. Creatures he had seen in his bizarre journeys to worlds beyond. Creatures known there as the Ugdru-Rashaar. Guido ran out into the streets, carrying the stone chip with him, wandering aimlessly around the labyrinthine streets of Venice. He crossed bridges and canals in his insane race, soon becoming lost in his home city, it had become less real that the strange worlds beyond the pale. Upon reaching a certain square, he has suddenly stopped cold. Guido dropped dead on the spot, with just that strange sliver made of the stone he could never identify piercing the centre of his hand.

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The following section details five sample adventures for Carnevale, which you can play one after the other in the Campaign of the Statues Sliver. Each adventure has a narrative introduction that sets the action within the campaign.

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Adventures

The screams draw you to a nearby square. In the middle of the square, you find the body of a man, apparently dead. He has one arm reached out, the hand covered in blood. Theres a tiny object imbedded in his hand, which hard to make out. Could it be the last piece of the black statue?

II

Fight for the fragment

Unexpected clash

One squad is approaching rendezvous point when, all of a sudden, it come across a group of opponents. However, a cry rings out for help some streets further away which draws both groups attention. The best thing for each side to do is dispatch their rivals as soon as possible and investigate what is happening beyond the battleground. Duration. Five Rounds. Objective. Have more points of surviving characters than the enemy, and your leader must still be alive. Special Rules. None. Minimum Terrain. Two buildings, two obstacles and one canal. Deployment Zones. Divide the game table into four quadrants and trace a circle with a 6 radius from the centre of the table. Players must make an Initiative roll. Whoever wins the roll can choose the quadrant to deploy in and place the first model of his advance party in that quadrant, outside the circle traced at the centre of the table. Then his opponent places one of his models from his advance party in the opposite quadrant, and so on until both advance parties are on the table. The first player to deploy a model starts playing. Campaign rules. This is the first adventure in the campaign. There are no special rules.

Duration. Five Rounds. Objective. Both squads are looking for the last fragment of the black statue. At the end of the adventure, the side that has the fragment within their deployment zone wins the adventure. Special Rules. Controlling the fragment of the black statue: Use some kind of counter to represent the fragment of the black statue (a coin or a little black stone will do), and place it at the centre of the game area. For a character to control the fragment of the black statue it must be in base contact with the counter and spend 1 AP. When it does, the fragment counter moves along with the characters model, always in base contact. This sinister object makes its bearer dizzy, so the bearer will suffer a penalty

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of -1 in all of its rolls while it possesses the. If the fragment bearer falls in battle, the counter is placed in the space occupied by the fallen model. Otherwise an character can attempt to steal the fragment from an enemy model. To steal it a character must be in base contact with the bearer; pay 1 AP, and make an opposed Dexterity roll. The winner of the opposed roll is the fragment bearer. Minimum Terrain. Two buildings, two obstacles, and one canal. Deployment Zones. Players make an Initiative roll; the winner chooses an edge of the game table. He can deploy his models in any spot within 5 of this edge; this area is his Deployment zone. His opponent can do the same within 5 of the opposite table edge. Campaign rules. The squad that won the Unexpected Clash adventure arrived first at the location of the fragment of the black statue, so they are in a more favourable position. Therefore, this squad can place the fragment counter at any point of the game table, on Open Terrain and more than 12 from any table edge before any model is deployed on the table.

As soon as the connoisseurs of magic in your squad find out about the last fragment of the black statue, they tell you about a ritual to establish contact with beings from other planes of existence. The potential benefit from this contact can be crucial to prevail in the battle over the control of Venice. In order to complete the ritual, its necessary to collect the water that oozes from the ground in some key points of the city.

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The fountains of life

Duration. Five Rounds. Objective. Besides the fragment of the black statue, you need to fill some vials with water from some water sources scattered in key spots around Venice. The objective of this adventure is to get more of this water than the opponent Special Rules. The fountains of life: Place four key fountains to fill the vials, marked by counters (coins or stones will do) on the game table. Each must be 5 or more from each other. Then each player may try to place an extra counter; to do so, each must roll 1d10. On a result of 7 or more (with an extra +1 for every Magician in his squad), the player may place an extra counter more than 6 from any Deployment zone. In order to fill a vial, a player must place a model next to the counter and spend 1 AP. Once the vial is full, remove the counter. The vial will be in possession of the player who claimed it. Every counter gives the squad that possesses it an extra Victory Point. At every end of round, the players must roll 1d10 for every counter still in play. On a result of 1, the fountain counter is removed from the game and no one can claim it. Minimum Terrain. Three buildings, two obstacles and one canal. Deployment Zones. Divide the game table into four quadrants and trace a circle with a 6 radius from the centre of the table. Players must make an Initiative roll. Whoever wins the roll can choose the quadrant to deploy in and place the first model of his advance party in that quadrant, outside the circle traced at the centre of the table. Then his opponent places one of his models from his advance party in the opposite quadrant, and so on until both advance parties are on the table. The first player to deploy a model starts playing. Campaign rules. The squad that won the previous adventure can place an extra fountain counter (apart from the one each player may obtain by means of the die roll). This counter must be placed following the restrictions described above. 87

The enemy squad has managed to get hold of the fragment of the black statue and the water from the fountains of life, and is heading towards its headquarters. If they manage to complete the ritual, their supremacy over Venice may become insuperable. It is time to ambush them before it is too late.

II

Nighttime Ambush

THE STORY GOES ON

As far as the campaign is concerned, it is important to define which story elements each side possesses in order to weave the story and justify why they are fighting in the last adventure. In this case, we will use as a reference point the squad that plays as a defender (that is to say, the squad that obtained more vials from the fountains of life in the previous game), which may be in two different situations: 1.- The squad controls many vials of water from the fountains of life but doesnt have the fragment of the black statue. In the moment of the ambush, the squad was heading towards the opponents headquarters to steal the fragment of the black statue to use it in their ritual. 2.- The squad controls both the fragment and the vials. In the moment of the ambush, the squad was heading towards their headquarters to secure all the components and start the preparations for the invocation. Duration. Ten rounds or until the defender manages to evacuate at least half his models. Objective. The defender must get to touch the opposite edge of the table with at least half his models. Whenever one of the defenders models touches that edge of the table, it is evacuated (this is, removed from the table). The attacker must prevent this from happening. Special Rules. One squad will be the defending squad, the other will be the attacking squad (players must decide which is which). The Initiative in this Adventure is decided in advance: the defender deploys his squad first and starts playing all of the rounds. The table is divided in two by a central axis, as indicated in the diagram, forming a street that goes from edge to edge of the table. Minimum Terrain. Four buildings, two obstacles, and two canals. Buildings must be placed at least 5 at each side of the central street of the battlefield, two at each side, enclosing the central path that the defender must cross. Deployment Zones. The defender must deploy all of his squad first in one of the edges of the table, 5 from that edge of the table and the central axis. The defender cannot apply the Reinforcements rules. The attacker can deploy his Advance party at any point more than 10 from the edge of the table chosen by the defender, and more than 10 of the central axis. 88

The decisive moment has arrived. The ritual is ready. The enemy has all the necessary components and a victim ready for sacrifice. Once done, all that left is to communicate with the Hereafter. Duration. Seven rounds Objective. The attacking squad must rescue the hostage before he is sacrificed. The defending side must hold ground at the hostages location at all costs and prevent the attacking squad from rescuing him. If at the end of the seventh round the hostage is still in the central building, the defending squad has obtained the adventures main objective; otherwise, the victory is for the attacking squad. Special Rules. One squad will be the defending squad, the other will be the attacking squad (players must decide which is which). The defender places a hostage model in the centre of the table, of a building of at least two height levels (see scenery chapter), accompanied by a model from his squad. If there is any character with the Magician ability in the squad, this model must be a magician; otherwise, any other model will do. In case the guardian is a magician, every round this character is within 5 of the hostage, it can drain 1 Karma Point from the hostage and use it as if it were his own, as long as the hostage is still a prisoner. The attacking squad will try to free the hostage. To do so, one of the squads models must be in base contact with the hostage and invest 1 AP to free him. From this moment on, the attacker will control the hostage. Use the Venice Citizen character (without any equipment) for the hostage statistics Minimum Terrain. You need to play with at least four Buildings, two Obstacles and two Canals. One of the Buildings must be placed in the centre of the table; this building must have at least two height levels. Deployment Zones. The defending squad may deploy in any location of the central building, or within 5 from that building. The hostage and his guardian are placed on this buildings highest point. The attacking squad may deploy at any point of the game table, more than 12 from the central building. Campaign rules. The player who won the Nighttime Ambush Adventure has managed to obtain the components to carry out the ritual, so this player is the defender. If a model of the squad that lost the previous Adventure happened to die (as per the Fallen in Combat Table), the model actually survived and was captured. This model will be the hostage. If more than one model from the squad that lost the previous Adventure died, use the model with the lowest total Cost as a hostage. Place this model in the location of the hostage, and consider it the hostage. You must apply the models own rules, but the model has no equipment.

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Campaign rules. The player that won the adventure called the Fountain of Life is the defender; his opponent is the attacker.

Rescue of the prisoner