Beginner
Player’s Handbook
Melestra's
core rulebook for new players
Introduction
|
The Beginner Player’s Handbook is the basic player’s
rulebook for the world of Melestra. This book presents the core rules
of the game system created specifically for the Melestra setting, in a form
designed to introduce players to the system and allow play with characters of
levels 1–5. The more advanced parts of the system—including rare races, more
complex character classes, special optional rules, and spells, abilities, and
magical items intended for higher-level play—can be found in the Advanced
Player’s Rulebook, as well as in the draft version of the Complete
Rulebook available on the Melestra website. It is recommended to use this book together with the Kiern Vale Handbook, which
provides a general introduction to the campaign world while focusing on a
region suitable for beginning characters. What Is Melestra? Who Is It Intended For? Melestra
is an imaginary high fantasy world
and setting, designed primarily for tabletop role-playing games. The world
of Melestra is a dark and dangerous place, two generations
after "the great shattering": a catastrophic disaster
that devastated large portions of it, almost obliterating a once
glorious (or oppressive and cruel, depending on who you
ask) En'mirian empire. The
empire was ruled by the 'Four eternal reflections':
powerful priestesses who lived for centuries and presented
themselves as manifestations of the celestial En'mairy -
sentient gemstones and beings of immense power from another dimension. Today,
remnants of the empire struggle for existence in a
completely changed world, facing new forces as well as old rivals
or former subordinates who remember the old rule - and not for the better.
Danger lurks everywhere; many areas in the world are still reeling from the
destruction and horrors unleashed during the Great Shattering, as
rival nations and races fight each other for
the remaining habitable lands. The Melestra Game System The game
system of Melestra is a d20-based system. For those familiar
with Dungeons & Dragons and similar systems, many of the basic
concepts (such as Hit Points, Armor Class, and others) will be
quite familiar, although their exact interpretation is not necessarily
identical to the way they appear in those well-known systems. However,
the Melestra system differs from more familiar systems in a number of
important ways, most notably: •
The system is designed to grant players a high degree of flexibility
and agency, particularly in the creation and development of characters.
Every choice has meaningful consequences—not only in terms of the abilities a
character gains, but also the abilities they choose to forgo. Every character
class, including the most “basic” ones, can be developed in multiple
ways, resulting in very different characters. •
The combat system is not based solely on “standing and
striking” until one side runs out of Hit Points, but also incorporates
a wide range of parrying, defensive, and maneuvering
abilities. In Melestra, “sacrificing” a hand in order to carry a shield
means far more than gaining a small bonus to Armor Class. •
The Melestra system—both in character creation and during
play—supports the development of a deep background, strong connections
to the game world, and character traits that encourage immersive,
long-term roleplaying. •
The Melestra system strongly supports (though does not require)
the use of item-crafting talents of many kinds—from forging swords
to creating scrolls, and even glasswork and engineering—and
includes a complete framework for using, improving, and gaining benefits from
these talents.
Who Is the World of Melestra Intended For? The world
of Melestra is suitable for anyone who wishes to experience roleplaying
games, although some familiarity with the world of roleplaying games and
its basic concepts is recommended. Melestra
is intended for players and Dungeon Masters who seek a complex,
living campaign world, rich in background and history—one in which player
characters are part of the world itself, rather than “superheroes” around
whom the entire world revolves. In
Melestra, characters will gain power gradually, yet combat will always
remain complex and dangerous, involving real risk to the player
characters. Even as characters gain levels, the world will always contain
ancient and powerful creatures capable of crushing them. Failure,
and even the death of player characters, is always a possible
outcome—although careful and skillful play can greatly reduce the chances of
such a disaster occurring. |
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English version | Back
to the index of the Beginner Player’s Handbook.
Created and edited by Gideon Orbach (2017) ©
All rights reserved. Commercial use and/or any profit-making purpose is
strictly prohibited without explicit permission from the creator, in writing
and in advance. Noncommercial/personal use with no profit aim is allowed (and
even recommended!)