Panache

Introduction
First things first, Panache assumes a fair degree of familiarity with the “swashbuckling” genre, particularly
that presented in the cinema by Hollywood. It also makes the assumption that you, dear reader, are
familiar with the overall concept of role-playing games and how to run and play them.
The rules presented here are focussed on providing game mechanics to run a game set in the period of
the Three Musketeers and some fairly broad brush strokes information on that period. Panache assumes a
game set in 1625 in France.
Panache is organised into a series of chapters and to play the game, read from the start through to the
end, simple really.

What you need

At least two ten-sided dice.
Imagination.
Two or more people.

Glossary
GM: The Games Master, responsible for setting the scene and controlling the game.
Player: A player in a game run by a GM.
Character: A character controlled by a player.
NPC: A non-player character, which is a character controlled by the GM.
Wounds: Significant injuries to a character which may ultimately result in incapacitation or even death.
Session: A game session is a period of roughly three to fours of play (real time).

Credits
Writing, Design and Development: Jonathan Clarke
Play testers: Dave Stark, Chris Plaice, Paul and Sarah Mellor
Proof-reading: Alison Ross
©2009 Jonathan Clarke. All Rights Reserved. This game is protected under the copyright laws of the
United Kingdom. Any reproduction or unauthorised use of the material herein is prohibited without the
express written permission of Jonathan Clarke. All images used in this work are public domain.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................1
What you need...............................................1
Glossary.........................................................1
Credits............................................................1
Background.........................................................3
Character Creation and Development..................3
Steps in character generation.........................3
Social Rank................................................3
Home.........................................................4
Name.........................................................5
Age............................................................5
Advantage.................................................6
Disadvantage.............................................8
Attributes.................................................10
Re-rolls....................................................10
Edges.......................................................10
Assets and Equipment.............................11
Experience....................................................11
Experience Awards..................................11
Game Mechanics...............................................13
Basic Tasks..............................................13
Opposed Tasks....................................13
Very Challenging Tasks........................13
Attributes over 100.............................13
Influencing People...............................13
Social Rank in Play..............................13
Conflict....................................................14
Combat..............................................................15
Combat Rounds.......................................15
Engaged Actions......................................15
Unengaged Actions..................................15
Fleeing.....................................................16
Guns in Engagements..............................16
Ranged Attacks........................................16
Weapons (must be a Shield or Small
Weapon/Item)..........................................16
Critical Success........................................16
Instant Kills..............................................16
Surprise...................................................16
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Wounds....................................................17
Wound Effects.....................................17
Mortal Wounds....................................17
First Aid...............................................17
Natural Healing...................................17
Critical Failures in Combat.......................17
Stunts...........................................................17
Combat Spot Rules.......................................18
Breaking Things.......................................18
Coup de Grace.........................................18
Mounted Combat.....................................18
Pinning.....................................................18
One against Many....................................19
Weapons and Armour...................................19
Weapon Codes.........................................19
Melee Weapons........................................19
Ranged Weapons.....................................19
Explosives................................................20
Armour....................................................20
Improvised Weapons................................20
Other Rules........................................................21
NPC's.......................................................21
Major NPC's.........................................21
Minor NPC's.........................................21
Animals....................................................21
Drink and Drugs.......................................21
Fatigue.....................................................22
Poison......................................................22
Disease....................................................22
Falling......................................................22
Asphyxiating............................................22
Burning....................................................23
Adventure Seeds...............................................24
Historical Background........................................25
The Geography........................................25
The Provinces..........................................25
The Thirty Years War................................26
The Three Musketeers..............................26
Background
Panache is set in 1625 (the same year as the Dumas novel, the Three Musketeers). The King is Louis XIII,
the Queen is Anne of Austria and his chief advisor is Cardinal Richelieu. Characters can be from one of
three backgrounds:
Gentlemen Adventurers
The characters are gentlemen (or perhaps not) adventurers who are out to make their name and fortune
by performing daring deeds. This type of play allows the most free-form style as the characters can find
themselves in just about any situation the GM
wishes.

Musketeers
The characters are all members of the Kings
Musketeers (the Royal Guard), often opposed by
the Cardinals Musketeers (the Cardinals Guard).
This form of play is more structured than the
Gentlemen Adventurers as the characters
ultimately answer to the Captain of the Guard.

Character Creation and

Development

Steps in character
generation
1. Determine Social Rank
2. Determine Homeland
3. Choose a Name
4. Determine Age
5. Determine an Advantage
6. Determine a Disadvantage
7. Allocate Scores to Attributes
8. Determine Re-rolls
9. Choose Edges
10. Choose Equipment

Social Rank
There are six broad social ranks in France of the 17th century:
• Criminals: Wanted or Convicted Criminals, the lowest class in society.
• Peasant: Those who generally toil in the fields or hold down other unskilled jobs.
• Freemen: The vast majority of people in France, including small holding farmers, artisans and
craftsmen.
• Gentry: The landowning classes and rich merchants or other important people (such as
magistrates, senior bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors and so on).
• Nobility: Members of the Nobility.
• Royalty: Members of the royal family.

Roll d100 for each character. On a roll of doubles the character is a member of the Nobility, otherwise
they are one of the Gentry. Noble characters are assumed to be younger sons or daughters who have not
yet inherited their full title and estates. Nobles can be assumed to be of the Chevalier rank (knights).
Characters may opt to be Freemen if they wish. This gives them a +5 to one Attribute of their choice but
bear in mind the social implications of being of lower rank than most other player characters and
important NPC's.

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Home
Roll d100 (or choose) to determine whereabouts your character comes from. This doesn't have any game
function but just adds some more depth to your character.
01-03 Île-de-France 52-53 Limousin
04-05 Berry 54-55 Foix
06-07 Orléanais 56-57 Auvergne
08-10 Normandy 58-60 Béarn
11-13 Languedoc 61-63 Alsace
14-15 Lyonnais 64-65 Artois
16-18 Dauphiné 66-68 Roussillon
19-20 Champagne 69-71 Flanders and Hainaut
21-22 Aunis 72-74 Franche-Comté
23-24 Saintonge 75-77 Lorraine
25-26 Poitou 78-79 Corsica
27-29 Guyenne and Gascony 80-81 Nivernais
30-31 Burgundy 82-83 Comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief
32-33 Picardy 84-85 Imperial Free City of Mulhouse
34-35 Anjou 86-87 Savoy, a Sardinian fief
36-38 Provence 88-89 Nice, a Sardinian fief
39-40 Angoumois 90-91 Montbéliard, a fief of Württemberg
41-42 Bourbonnais 92-94 Trois-Évêchés
43-44 Marche 95-97 Other State (roll d10)
1. A German State (roll d5)
1. Rhine-Palatinate
2. Bavaria
3. Brandenburg
4. Saxony
5. Other German State
2. An Italian State (roll d5)
1. Venice
2. Genoa
3. Florence
4. Papal State
5. Other Italian State or Kingdom
3. Spain
4. England
5. Scotland
6. Ireland
7. Denmark
8. Norway
9. Sweden
10. Portugal
45-47 Brittany 98-99 Other European State (roll d10)
1. Austria
2. Dutch Republic
3. Spanish Netherlands
4. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
5. Moldova
6. Transylvania
7. Wallachia
8. Switzerland
9. Crimea
10. Russia
48-49 Maine 00 Other Non-European Region (roll d10)
1. North America
2. Central America (and the Caribbean)
3. South America
4. North Africa
5. Equatorial Africa
6. Far East
7. Middle East
8. India
9. Indonesia
10. Other (choose)
50-51 Touraine

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Characters who are not from France and who are members of the Musketeers can be assumed to be
operating under some special dispensation such as being a mercenary or having performed some suitably
daring deed to have earned the right to be a Musketeer.

Name
Choose a name which reflects your social class. In normal polite usage, a person's name is preceded
by an honourific:
• Monsieur, for males.
• Madame, for married, divorced or widowed females
• Mademoiselle, for an unmarried female
It is normally impolite to address people by their given name unless one is a family member, a friend or a
work colleague. Also it is considered somewhat impolite to address someone as Monsieur X: a mere
Monsieur is in order, when not referring to the person as a third party.
Monsieur/Madame given name family name is by far the most polite form of address and is generally
reserved for the most solemn occasions. Monsieur/Madame family name or given name family name is
polite and used in normal formal occasions. Formally, a married or widowed woman can be called by the
given name of her husband (Madame (given name of husband) family name or Madame veuve (given
name of husband) family name).
Almost all noble titles are of the form <title> <particule> <name of the land>: for instance, Louis, duc
d'Orléans ("Louis, duke of Orléans"), or simply Louis d'Orléans.
Some example names to get you started:

Male Female
Adolphe Vignon Jean-Jacques Simard Alice Lefevre Margot Denis
Adolphe-Jacques Dubois Jean-Jacques-Florent Blandine Meunier Margot-Hélène Moreau
Alfred Caillard Arnoux Colombe Bernard Marguerite-Elisabeth
Alphonse Pourcel Jean-Jacques-Germain Edith Labrousse Gallais
Anselme Deville Lizot Elisabeth Feuillette Marie Métisse
Audric Auvray Jean-Jacques-Perceval Elise-Elisabeth Jacqueme Marie Michaud
Aurelien Babin David Emilianne Laffitte Marie-Cybele Comeaux
Aurelien Daumier Jean-Louis Alliaume Euphémie Grellier Marie-Elisabeth Blondet
Blaise Josse Jean-Louis Desnoyers Galatée Delorme Marie-Joséphine David
César Tison Jean-Louis-Jérome Galatée Devere Marie-Thérèse Clavet
Chretien Lachance Poincaré Jeanne-Elisabeth Dufour Marie-Thérèse Grenier
Chretien Olivier Joel Lemaitre Jeanne-Elisabeth Mariette Cloquet
Daniel Duclos Joseph-Jules Adamo Toussaint Marine Dechesne
Edouard Laurent Joseph-Marie-Guy Véron Jeanne-Micheline Patricia Guillemot
Florian Maurice Joseph-Maximilien Latour Bergeron Paulette-Thérèse
Florian Riviere Louis Doucet Joséphine Gauthier Chrétien
Frédéric Morjuet Louis Peroché Julie-Joséphine Nason Régine Jacquemin
Ghislain Robichaud Luc Chrétien Justine Fleuette Solange Rabaud
Giraud Barthélémy Martin Garnier Louise Beaumont Stéphanie-Hélène
Herbert Lessard Narcisse-Jacques Adamo Louise Evrard Thibodeau
Jacques Poirier Nicolas-Louis Ouvrard Louise Garbe Suzanne Theriault
Jacques-Isidore Daladier Noel Delage Louise-Hélène Bellec Sybille Blanc
Jean-Jacques Bellanger Noel Ferrand Louise-Joséphine Thérèse Beaumont
Jean-Jacques Comeaux Raoul Bellanger Poincaré Thérèse Boissel
Jean-Jacques Leblanc Samuel-Louis Deville Louise-Renée Pelay Thérèse Comeaux
Sebastien Guyon Louise-Thérèse Jourdain Thérèse Lavalle
Valery Chastel Lucie Baudet Vivienne Blondel
Valery Chatal Lucille Vaillant Zéphyrine Ménard
Vincent Laurent

Age
Choose or roll d10+16 for your age, if you roll a ten roll again and add on. Characters over 40 have a -10
to Prowess and +10 to Perspicacity. Those over 60 have a -20 to Prowess and +20 to Perspicacity.

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Advantage
Roll d10 to determine your Advantage at random.
1. Wealthy: The character has great wealth from some source. They have a large disposable
income and one or more estates plus townhouses etc.. By default characters are assumed to have
a reasonable income, appropriate to their social rank, this means that you are really ridiculously
wealthy. It usually indicates money made from trade and/or very clever investments of some kind.
A character with this advantage need never worry about money. They can buy estates in the
country, ships etc.. but doing so does still take a while.. they don't carry vast amounts of cash
round with them.
2.
3. Titled: If you're not already a Noble you become a Noble. If
you're a Noble you become a distant member of the Royal
family (such as the son of a duke).
4. Contact: The character has a significant contact. The
higher ranking the contact the less often they will help.
Contacts will also generally expect a favour for a favour. Roll
d10 to determine who your contact is:
1. A minister
2. A spy
3. A criminal kingpin
4. A powerful member of the nobility
5. A Senior Military officer
6. An important magistrate
7. A wealthy merchant
8. A powerful churchman
9. A powerful banker
10. A wealthy landowner
And d5 again to determine why they are a contact
1. They are a relative.
2. You saved their life, or the life of someone close to
them.
3. They employed you at some time.
4. You have been in business together at some time.
5. You know some secret of theirs.
5. Favour: Someone of great power and/or influence owes the
character a single massive favour. The player should agree
with the GM why they are owed the favour. They can call in
the favour, but having done so, it is gone. Determine who
owes you the favour and why they owe it using the same
method as for contacts. Unlike a Contact calling in a Favour does not cost you anything, but once
called in it is gone for good.
6. Membership: The character is a member in good standing of some Order or Club and can count
on the assistance of fellow members. Choose your Club or Order when you take this Advantage.
Gentry can be members of Clubs only. Nobles can be members of Clubs or Noble Orders.
1. Clubs include (roll d5):
1. L'epee du grand henri
2. Fellows of St.George
3. Bishops Club
4. The Black Cross
5. The Boars Head.
2. Noble Orders require a character to be a Noble (roll d5):
1. Chevaliers de la Reine
2. Chevaliers du Prince
3. Knights of the Holy City.
4. Knights of the Dagger
5. Chevaliers-Royal.
7. Heirloom Weapon: You have a family weapon of very high quality which gives +10 to your
combat rolls when wielded.
8. Reputation: You have a very public reputation and are often recognised. Roll d5 to determine
whether your reputation is good or bad. On a 1-4 it is good, on a 6 it is bad. A character with a
good reputation is lauded and feted by nearly everyone, one with a bad reputation is feared and
respected by nearly everyone.

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 9. Extra Edge: The character begins play with one extra Edge.
10. Extra Re-roll: The character begins play with one more re-roll than normal for their Panache.
11. Knack: You have a useful knack. Roll d10:
1. Sense of Direction: You always know where north is and can retrace your footsteps.
2. Time Sense: You always know what time it is.
3. Night Vision: You can see remarkably well in the dark. In anything short of pitch darkness
you can see fine.
4. Herbal Salve: You know how to make up a herbal salve which quickly heals wounds. This lets
you and your allies wounds heal at twice the normal rate.
5. Double Jointed: You can slip most bindings easily and squeeze through very small gaps.
6. High Pain Threshold: You have a remarkably high pain threshold. This is good for party
tricks, ignoring torture (it just doesn't work on you) and you can also ignore wound penalties
(if using the appropriate optional rule).
7. Robust Constitution: You've never been sick in your life. In effect, you are immune to
disease.
8. Perfect Memory: You never forget something you have seen or read.
9. Striking Looks: You are gifted with striking looks, a real head-turner. It is up to you to
interpret this, you could be stunningly beautiful, hideously ugly or have some very unusual
feature (such as being an albino).
10. Superb Voice: You have a superb natural singing voice.

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Disadvantage
Each characters gets to choose one Disadvantage (roll d10 if you want one randomly). As a good rule of
thumb roleplaying a Disadvantage well in a session is worth an extra experience point.
1. Sworn Vengeance: The character has sworn to avenge some wrong done to them or their
family/friends. Agree with the GM what the wrong was, and who did it. To make things interesting
the target of the vengeance should be powerful and the player may not know exactly who they
are pursuing.. forcing them to work through a succession of middle men to reach their final target.
Roll d10 to determine who your enemy is:
1. A minister
2. A spy
3. A criminal kingpin
4. A powerful member of the nobility
5. A Senior Military officer
6. An important magistrate
7. A wealthy merchant
8. A powerful churchman
9. A powerful banker
10. A wealthy landowner
The another d5 to determine why you have sworn vengeance.
1. Raped one of your family members
2. Killed one of your family members (directly or indirectly)
3. Ripped you off in a business deal
4. Humiliated one of your family members resulting in great disgrace
5. Defeated you in an important contest by cheating
2. Obsession: The character has some personal obsession. Roll d5:
1. Duelist: The character is a hot blooded duellist, always looking to prove themselves in battle.
2. Compulsive Gambler: The character is a compulsive gambler.
3. Religious Fanatic: The character is a religious fanatic who is sent into a frothing rage by
blasphemies.
4. Don Juan: The character is obsessed with the opposite sex.
5. Code of Honour: The character will not break the rules. They let a downed opponent stand,
never fight dirty, won't lie etc...
3. Blackmailed: The character is being blackmailed by someone who periodically forces the
character to do things for them. Agree with the GM who the blackmailer is and what they are
using for the blackmail. Choose or roll a d10 for who:
1. Cardinal Richelieu
2. The English Crown
3. A Criminal Kingpin
4. A Rich Merchant
5. The Medici's
6. The Danish
7. An important Magistrate
8. Agents of the Holy Roman Empire
9. An important nobleman/lady
10. A powerful churchman
Then roll d5 or choose for what is being used to blackmail you:
1. A sexual indiscretion.
2. An illegitimate child
3. A crime you committed but are not suspected of
4. Consorting with a foreign power
5. A sordid affair
4. Secret Loyalty: The character is secretly loyal to someone. They will receive orders from that
person and, in turn, that person will protect them to some degree. Choose or roll a d10:
1. Cardinal Richelieu
2. The English Crown
3. A Criminal Kingpin
4. The French Queen
5. The Spanish King
6. The Medici's
7. The Holy Roman Emperor
8. The Pope
9. The Russian Tsar

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 10. The Danish King
5. Secret Identity: The character is actually someone else entirely. A common secret identity
would be a woman who is pretending to be a man or perhaps an agent of a foreign power
masquerading as a native. Choose or roll d5:
1. A woman disguised as a man (or vice versa).
2. An agent of a foreign power (typically England or Spain).
3. A wanted criminal.
4. A deserter.
5. A political dissident
6. Gay: The character is attracted to members of their own sex.
7. Debt: The character owes someone a great debt. They are expected to help that person in minor
ways but eventually that person will call in the debt and they will have to repay it (usually by
performing some very dangerous and/or illegal act).
8. Alcoholic: The character has a drink problem.
9. Disability: The character suffers from a disability. Roll d5 to determine the nature of the disability
1. Short Sighted: The character finds it hard to see at a distance. Take a -10 on all rolls where
distance is an issue (such as ranged attacks and perception rolls).
2. Hard of Hearing: The character is slightly deaf. Take a -10 on all rolls where hearing is a
major issue.
3. Lame: The character is a little lame. They can move normally but cannot sprint.
4. Hook: The character has lost their off-hand and uses a hook or other prosthetic instead. They
can use the hand/hook normally but can't do anything requiring fine manipulation with it
(including pulling a trigger). A hook counts as a proper offhand weapon in melee. A prosthetic
hand or similar counts as an improvised offhand weapon (if you use it to get the re-roll
assume the prosthetic is damaged during the combat, just like any other improvised weapon).
5. Scarred: The character has nasty facial scarring. This gives a +10 on rolls to intimidate
people or to romance ladies who like that sort of thing, but a -10 on rolls to persuade or charm
most other people.
Then d5 again to determine the origin of the disability:
1. War wound
2. Childhood accident
3. Congenital problem
4. Duelling injury
5. Accident in adulthood
10. Phobia: The character is absolutely terrified of something. If they encounter that something they
must spend a re-roll or flee from it or, if unable to flee, they are paralysed and unable to do
anything. Roll d10 to determine what the character is terrified of:
1. Water (hydrophobia)
2. Heights (acrophobia)
3. Enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
4. Darkness (Achluophobia)
5. Thunder and Lightning (Astraphobia)
6. Snakes (Ophidiophobia)
7. Blood (Hemophobia)
8. Pain (Agliophobia)
9. Spiders (Arachnophobia)
10. Something else (choose)

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Attributes
Divide 120pts between your three Attributes.
• Panache: Flamboyance, social skills, courage, focus.. a characters all round social skills
and bravado/willpower. Panache also gives you re-rolls to use in play, encouraging
reckless and flamboyant behaviour as you can always re-roll if something goes wrong.
• Perspicacity: Wisdom, perception, intelligence, education, logic, intuition.. a characters all round
intellectual capacity. Perspicacity gives you talents, activities which are you particular able at.
• Prowess: Strength, speed, fitness, agility.. a characters all round physical ability.

Score Meaning
10 Abysmal
20 Poor
30 Average
40 Good (one of the best in a town)
50 Very Good (one of the best in the region)
60 Remarkable (one of the best in a country)
70 Exceptional (one of the best in the world)

Re-rolls
Each character gets a number of re-rolls per game session equal to the tens value of their Panache
attribute score (which should encourage a bit of flamboyant risk taking). You can use a re-roll to re-roll a
roll you just made. You must keep the new roll.

Edges
Player characters begin with a number of Edges equal to the tens value of their Perspicacity. When
undertaking the activity associated with one of the characters Edges you may roll the dice as normal then
declare which dice is tens after rolling (this is known as “flip-flopping”). You can choose or random roll
(d10) your Edges. No more than half of your Edges (rounded up) can come from List A.
List A
1. Brawling: Fighting with bare hands (including grappling) or simple improvised weapons such as
broken bottles, cudgels, brass knuckles and so forth (I.e Small weapons only). You can flip-flop
defense rolls against melee and thrown attacks whilst armed with improvised weapons and
defense rolls against unarmed attacks when unarmed.
2. Fencing: Fighting with swords, daggers and knives. This is the scientific art of swordplay,
focussing on skill and technique. Types of sword include rapier, sabre, cutlass, longsword and
buckler (Small and Medium blades). You can use this talent to flip-flop defense rolls against melee
attacks and thrown weapons when armed with a fencing weapon (representing parrying thrown
attacks) but not against bows or guns.
3. Fighting: Fighting with military weapons (such as greatswords, shields, halberds, maces, axes
and so forth). These are always Medium or Large weapons. You can use this talent to flip-flop
defense rolls against melee attacks and thrown weapons when wielding a Fighting weapon.
4. Marksmanship: Shooting guns of all types and bows.
5. Maneuver: Athletics, Acrobatics, Climbing, Dodging, Stealth. You can use this talent to flip-flop
defense rolls against all attacks (representing dodging).
6. Perception: Perception is used to notice things in the environment.
7. Persuasion: Getting people to do what you want by seduction, reasoning and emotional appeal.
8. Intimidation: Getting people to do what you want by using threats, including physical threats,
blackmail and so on. Also includes interrogation and torture.
9. Willpower: Used to maintain self-control and to resist persuasion and intimidation attempts by
others.
10. Physique: Used to flip-flop rolls for feats of strength, for grappling rolls, to resist the effects of
asphyxiation, poisons, drugs, diseases, fatigue and drink.

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List B
1. Thievery: Lockpick, pick pocket, disguise, imitate, safe crack, forgery, tradecraft- deception is
the ability to perform “criminal” actions and to operate without being detected by the law/state.
The tradecraft speciality is all about things like dead letter drops, using false identities and so on.
This is more about knowing what to do so as not to draw attention to yourselves and not to leave
trails which others can use Investigate to follow.
2. Riding: Riding horses and other mounts, also caring for them.
3. Tailoring: Leatherworking, weaving, sewing and other related crafts
4. Medicine: First aid, diagnostics, surgery, pharmacology
5. Investigation: Finding things out by listening to gossip, researching in libraries, extrapolating
data and forensics.
6. Woodcraft: Surviving and operating in the wilds. Though this is called woodcraft it applies to all
temperate environments (such as fields and forests). This includes hunting, snaring, trapping,
tracking, foraging, shelter building and so on.
7. Seamanship: Sailing ships, navigation, crewing ships.. basically everything related to ships and
boats.
8. Smithing: Working with metals.
9. Trade: Running a business, evaluating the value of things and so on.
10. Carpentry: An edge in matters of working with wood.

List C
1. History: A detailed knowledge of Historical events and personalities.
2. Natural Philosophy: Science.
3. Mathematics: Mathematics (including book-keeping and accounting).
4. Law: A knowledge of the law.
5. Geography: A detailed knowledge of places.
6. Streetwise: An edge in matters of low society and the criminal fraternity.
7. Etiquette: An edge in matters of high society, mores and customs.
8. Art: An edge in the production and understanding of works of art (including paintings, sculptures
and the like).
9. Performance: Acting, play instruments, painting.
10. Philosophy: A deep understanding of philosophy and metaphysics.

Assets and Equipment

Panache is all about swashbuckling and high adventure, not counting the pennies. Assume that a
character has a sufficient income to live according to his class:
• Freemen have nothing more than the clothes they are wearing and any tools of their trade.
• Gentry have lodgings in Paris (or wherever the game is set) and a decent quality home in the
countryside or another town. They can afford decent quality clothes and accoutrements and can
eat and drink well. Likewise, they can easily access regular equipment as needed.
• Noble characters are better off, typically having a town house, country estate, fine quality
clothing and accoutrements, eating the best foods and drinking the best wines. Nobles may be
assumed to have one or two servants (who won't generally get involved during games) and may
equip themselves with high quality equipment. On the downside, a Noble is expected to behave in
a fashion befitting their station, whereas a member of the lower classes has more leeway in how
they act.

Characters can begin with whatever equipment their player feels appropriate to their character concept
(with the GM having the final say over what is reasonable).

Experience
The GM awards experience points (XP) during and at the end of a game session. At the end of a session
you can spend XP to increase Attribute scores, 1 XP gives +1 to one attribute.
If that increases your Perspicacity to or over the next multiple of ten you also gain a new Edge of your
choice and if your Panache is increased similarly you gain an extra re-roll.

Experience Awards
It's up to the GM to decide how to award XP but the following guidelines are a pretty good place to start:

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 • 1XP for taking part in the game.
• 1XP for each cool stunt or clever strategem in the game.
• 1XP for each witty remark, stylish act or anything else which reinforces the swashbuckling feel to
the game.
• 1XP for successfully defeating an opponent or challenge.
• 1XP for achieving the scenario's aim (ie. “winning”).

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Game Mechanics

Basic Tasks
The basic mechanism for resolving actions in play is the Attribute test. Attribute tests should only
generally be made when the character is faced by a Challenging task. Easy and routine tasks should not
normally trigger tests.
To make a test roll 1d100 and compare to the score of the Attribute which you are rolling against.

• A roll <= the Attribute score is a success.

• A roll <= the Attribute score and doubles is a critical success.
• A roll > the Attribute score is a failure.
• A roll > the Attribute score and doubles is a critical failure.
• A roll of 00 is always an automatic failure (and may be a critical failure if your Attribute
is 100 or less).

In the note above the term “attribute” means the attribute score after all modifiers have been applied to
it.

Opposed Tasks
If the task is being opposed by another character both
characters roll and the one who succeeds with the highest roll
wins... excepting that critical success always beats a normal
success which beats a failure.
If one fails and the other succeeds the one who
succeeded wins. If both fail neither wins.

Very Challenging Tasks

When attempting a Very Challenging task an ODD roll
automatically fails.

Attributes over 100

If a character is rolling against an Attribute over 100 they
should roll normally and then add Attribute score-100 to their
roll. Attributes over 100 are referred to as Exceptional
Attributes.
For example, if you rolled 80 against an Attribute of 120 your
actual roll would be 100 (80+120-100).

Influencing People
In general attempts to sway someone's opinions should be resolved with Panache vs. Panache. A
character who is successfully influenced is not compelled to obey, but should definitely have their attitude
shifted in favour of the person who influenced them.
If a player character is successfully influenced and the player doesn't play that influence appropriately the
GM should probably consider not awarding them any more re-rolls during the session (at least until they
do start playing the influence).
If you score a critical success vs. a success or success vs. failure your influence attempt is much more
effective and even more so if you win by three levels (i.e. critical success versus failure).

Social Rank in Play

Social Rank is important in France of the period. Characters should automatically tend to defer to

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characters of higher social rank. Unless common-sense says otherwise, characters of higher rank trying to
influence those of lower rank (e.g. Noble vs. Gentry) may re-roll their roll but they must keep the new
result.

Conflict
Conflict occurs when two or more characters engage in some kind of contest. Conflict is resolved through
an opposed attribute roll. There are three kinds of Conflict:
• Panache: Resolved with opposed Panache rolls. Examples of Panache conflicts could be musical
or artistic contests, exchanges of witty banter and repartee, insults and satires, boasts, seduction
attempts and so on.
• Perspicacity: Resolved with opposed Perspicacity rolls. Examples of Perspicacity conflicts could
involve characters setting each other Perspicacity problems to solve, debates, constructing
Perspicacity strategies, tricking someone, trying to solve one anothers plans and so on.
• Prowess: Resolved with opposed Prowess rolls. Examples of Prowess conflicts could be wrestling
contests, running contests, sporting contests or fights.

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Combat
Sometimes, okay, quite often, characters may wish to or have to resort to violence to achieve their aims,
be they staying alive or succeeding at their appointed aims.

Combat Rounds
Each combat round is divided into two phases; Engaged Actions and Unengaged Actions. All Engaged
characters resolve their turns first, followed by all Unengaged characters. Note that characters who begin
the round Engaged can become Unengaged, letting them act in both phases of the round.

Engaged Actions
All hostile characters who are within 3yds or less of
each other are considered Engaged. They all make
Prowess rolls to determine who wins each fight. The
character with the highest successful roll “wins”. The
winner of the fight may opt to do one of the following
(decide which before you roll):
• Wound: Inflict damage on your opponent
based on your weapon type.
• Disarm: Cause your opponent to drop a
weapon of your choice.
• Subdue: Force your opponent to make a
Prowess roll or be knocked out cold for ten
minutes.
• Pin: See detailed rules later.
• Unbalance: Cause your opponent to miss
their next turn. They cannot make a combat
roll if engaged at the start of the next round.
• Feint: If you win the next round upgrade
normal hits to critical hits and critical hits to
instant kills.
• Maneuver: Move yourself and your opponent
up to 5m (staying engaged).
• Disengage: Let's the character act in the
Unengaged phase this round (so they could
opt to move away, draw a weapon etc..).

Unengaged Actions
Characters who are not within 3yds of an enemy may take an Unengaged action. Unengaged actions are
taken in order of the character with the highest Panache first, working downwards. You may opt to wait
and perform your action later after seeing what lower Panache characters do first. An unengaged action is
something which can reasonably be achieved in around 5 seconds or less (the length of a combat round).
Examples of actions include:
• Move Prowess yards.
• Reload a weapon
• Move Prowess feet
• Ready a ranged weapon to use (such as drawing it from a holster or unslinging from your back)
• Shoot a ranged weapon
• Aim a ranged weapon
• Move by: If a character wishes to move past an opponent but to do must move within 3yards
(engagement distance) have them make a Prowess roll. If they succeed no problem, if they fail
they must end their movement next to the opponent and will start the next round engaged.

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Fleeing
An engaged character doesn't have to make a combat roll. They can opt to forego their roll.. leaving them
in a vulnerable position. If they survive the engagement they can then take a disengaged action (such as
sprinting away).

Guns in Engagements
You can't shoot/fire a Ranged weapon when engaged. You can either strike with the weapon as a club
(typically doing Small Blunt damage) or, if you win the engagement, disengage and then shoot in the
unengaged action phase.

Ranged Attacks
Make a Prowess roll to hit. To account for the greater number of variables which effect ranged shots (such
as distance, target movement, cover and so on), unaimed ranged attacks are considered to be Very
Challenging, so ODD rolls to hit automatically miss if you didn't Aim at the target in the
previous round.
All weapons have a range code:
• Close: Close range weapons are for melee combat. You can throw them up to Short range, but
obviously lose them in the process.
• Short: Short range weapons can reach out to 10 yards.
• Medium: Medium range weapons can reach out to 30 yards.
• Long: Long range weapons can reach out to 100 yards.

Weapons (must be a Shield or Small Weapon/Item)

If you are wielding something in your offhand (such as a dagger, buckler, cloak or hat) you may re-roll an
attack or defense roll.. but you must take the new result. If it was an attack a successful re-rolled hit is
struck with the offhand item.
If you are wielding two ranged weapons (such as a brace of pistols) you can still re-roll as above, firing
your offhand weapon after the primary weapon.

Critical Success
A critically successful attack (successful roll of doubles) inflicts double damage.
A critically successful defense (successful roll of doubles) does not use up your next turn.

Instant Kills
If you succeed with a roll exactly equal to what you need to hit (i.e. equal to your attribute +/- any
modifiers) you instantly kill your target. The precise details are up to the GM but usually involve an exact
strike to a vital point. Examples might be:
• Stabbing your opponent in the heart or throat.
• Cut open a major artery.
• Crush their skull with a Blunt blow.
As an optional rule, the GM may allow player characters to spend a re-roll to turn an Instant Kill into a
critical hit.

Surprise
If a character attacks their target and has complete surprise roll to hit normally but upgrade the result
one step, so a normal hit becomes a Critical Hit and a Critical Hit becomes an Instant Kill.
Getting complete surprise usually requires either a Prowess roll to sneak up on a foe or a sniper shot from
Long range.

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Wounds
If a character is hit by an attack they take a wound. The wounds value is calculated from the successful
attack roll, as follows:
• Small weapon attacks inflict damage equal to the sum of the dice of the attack roll, called S
damage.
• One handed weapon attacks inflict damage equal to the product of the dice of the roll (multiply
them together), called P damage.
• Two-handed weapon attacks inflict damage equal to the roll, called R damage.

Wound Effects
If the sum of a characters Wounds exceeds their Prowess they are rendered unconscious. If it exceeds
their Prowess+Panache they are dead.

Mortal Wounds
A character who has taken a single Wound of value greater than their Prowess is mortally wounded and
will die in one hour if said wound is not halved with First Aid.

First Aid
A character can attempt first aid on a wounded character. Make one Perspicacity roll for each wound to be
treated.
A successful Perspicacity roll halves the value of the wound, a critical success quarters it. Once
successfully treated a wound cannot be reduced further except by natural healing.

Natural Healing
Each of a characters wound reduces in value by the tens value of their Prowess attribute every morning,
representing the benefits of natural healing. Note that all your wounds heal simultaneously.

Critical Failures in Combat

Some suggested effects of critical failures in combat are noted below. They are numbered 1-10 so you can
roll a d10 for a random result if you wish:
1. Hit nearest ally instead.
2. Hit nearest innocent bystander within range instead.
3. Drop weapon: Unengaged action to recover it.
4. Fall Prone: No action next round.
5. Break weapon: Pretty self-explanatory.. a high quality weapon can be assumed to just be dropped.
6. Overextend: Opponent has +30 to hit you next turn.
7. Give ground: You are forced to retreat away from your opponent (typically losing a few meters).
8. Strain Self: You strain yourself (in a minor way) and are treated as Fatigued for the rest of the
scene.
9. Over exertion: Treat as though you'd just majorly exerted yourself (see the Fatigue rules).
10. Make something entertaining up...

If you are fighting in very inclement conditions (such as being on ice, in mud, fighting in the rain and so
on) you may wish to rule that any failure is treated as a critical failure.

Stunts
By default characters are assumed to be “being sensible” when fighting. As an alternative, a character
may instead make their action a Stunt.. being something cinematic, risky and/or over the top.
In game terms, a stunt is always associated with a roll. If you succeed it becomes a critical success (or a
critical success becomes an instant kill in combat). If you fail it becomes a critical failure.. so you either
succeed spectacularly or make an absolute mess of what you are attempting.

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Combat Spot Rules

Breaking Things
A character can kick open a typical door or burst through a thin wall with a Prowess roll. A reinforced door
or medium thickness wall requires a Very Challenging Prowess roll. Anything heavier cannot be burst
through by sheer strength.
A battering ram or similar device lets you break through a typical door or thin wall automatically as a
single action. It needs a Prowess roll to get through a reinforced door or medium thickness wall and a Very
Challenging roll to burst through an iron door or thin stone wall.
A character with a sharp weapon can typically hack or bash their way through anything short of iron or
stone in a few rounds. This includes chests, padlocks and so on. Iron or Stone walls can be defeated with a
sledgehammer or pick, though this will typically take tens of minutes or even hours depending on the
thickness of the barrier.
In practical terms a character who bursts through using Prowess alone will normally have surprise on
anyone on the other side. One using a weapon will not have the advantage of surprise and anyone inside
may have time to flee before the door/wall is broken through.

Coup de Grace
A character who has been incapacitated or immobilised can be dispatched by an enemy as a single
unengaged action (i.e. you cannot inflict a coup de grace whilst in combat still).

Mounted Combat
A character on horseback may re-roll their melee combat rolls against unmounted opponents but they
must keep the new result.

Pinning
If you opt to pin an opponent having won a round of combat you have managed to get them into an
effective clinch, lock or hold of some kind. You both roll as normal on the next and subsequent rounds but
you automatically win the round if you're opponent fails to get a critical success. If you win you can:
• Continue or End the Pin and Crush: Inflict damage on your opponent equal to the tens value
of your Prowess but ignore armour.
• Continue or End the Pin and Disarm: Cause your opponent to drop a weapon of your choice.
• Continue or End the Pin and Subdue: Force your opponent to make a Prowess roll or be
knocked out.
• Continue or End the Pin and Maneuver: Move yourself and your opponent up to 5m
(staying engaged).
• End the Pin and Unbalance: Cause your opponent to miss their next turn. They cannot make a
combat roll if engaged at the start of the next round.
• End the Pin and Disengage: Let's the character act in the Unengaged phase this
round (so they could opt to move away, draw a weapon etc..).

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One against Many
The outnumbered character makes one combat roll. Every opponent is rolling against the one combat roll.
The outnumbered character can only win against one opponent, if they defeat multiple opponents they
only get to strike/grapple etc.. one. The exception to this is that they can only Disengage if they beat
every opponent.

Weapons and Armour

Weapon Codes
Weapons are usually described by a name and a three letter code; XY
• X: Damage Code (H for Highest dice, S for Sum, P for Product, R for Roll)
• Y: Range (C for Close, S for Short, M for Medium L for Long)

A (2h) after the weapons name means that the weapon needs two hands to wield.

Melee Weapons
Weapon Damage Range Examples
Brass Knuckles S C* Concealable
Dagger S C* Concealable
Knife S C* Concealable
Club S C*
Sword P C*
Axe P C*
Mace P C*
Maul (2h) R C*
Spear (2h) P M*
Great Axe (2h) R C*
Halberd (2h) R C*
Great Sword (2h) R C*
Quarter Staff (2h) P C* Can re-roll combat roll

*The weapon can be thrown at targets at Short range but is obviously lost in the process.
**The weapon is a thrown weapon, at Short range or longer it is lost in the process.

Ranged Weapons
Weapon Damage Range Examples
Pepperbox P S Concealable, 4 actions between shots to reload
Pistol P M 4 actions between shots to reload
Three Barrelled Pistol P M Three shots, 4 actions to reload each barrel, Unusual*
Bow (2h) P L Can fire every turn
Crossbow (2h) P L 2 Actions to reload between shots
Carbine (2h) R M 2 Actions to reload between shots, Can fire 1h but then cannot
Aim
Musket (2h) R L 2 Actions to reload between shots
*Unusual weapons are hard to acquire and usually prohibitively expensive (typically ten times the normal

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price for a similar weapon).

Artillery and other heavier ranged weapons shouldn't really feature in Panache games but, for reference,
have ranges of several hundred yards and inflict twice or more the damage of a Large ranged weapon
(i.e. damage equals the roll to hit multiplied by two or more).

Explosives
Such as hand grenades. The GM should roll d100 for everyone near to the grenade when it
detonates. Anyone who is wearing Heavy armour or who is sheltered from the blast in some
way takes a wound equal to the lowest dice read as tens and highest as units (e.g. if you rolled
48 you'd take a 48pt wound). Anyone else nearby takes damage equal to the highest dice as
tens and lowest as units (e.g. if you rolled 48 you'd take 84 damage!). Grenades need one
unengaged action to light and one to throw, then can be assumed to explode at the start of
your next turn.

Armour
Armour is defined as Light or Heavy:
• Light armour reduces the damage from missile (but not guns) and melee attacks one step (e.g. a
Medium weapon inflicts Small weapon damage against a Lightly armoured opponent).
◦ A character in Light armour cannot swim but is otherwise unimpeded.
• Heavy armour reduces the damage from all attacks (including guns) by one step (e.g. a Medium
weapon inflicts Small weapon damage against a Heavily armoured opponent).
◦ A character in Heavy armour cannot swim and has their Move reduced to Prowess feet, rather
than the normal yards.

Light armour includes things like mail vests. Heavy armour includes back and breastplates. Large Shields
count as Light armour but only against attacks from the characters front.
Note that the wearing of armour is acceptable in battles but definitely not acceptable in duels or other
trials of honour. It is normal for both combatants in a duel to be required to bare their breasts to
demonstrate that they are not wearing a mail shirt.

Improvised Weapons
Improvised Weapons are good for one complete combat then can be considered broken and useless.
Improvised weapons have a * after their description code.
Some common examples:

Beer Mug SC*

Bottle SC*
Broken Bottle SC*
Chair (2h) PC*
Pitchfork (2h) RC*
Shovel (2h) PC*
Felling Axe (2h) RC*

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Other Rules

NPC's
Non-player characters fall into two different categories; Major and Minor.

Major NPC's
Major NPC's are constructed in the same way as player
characters and use all the same rules. Major NPC's are
characters who are important to the story, such as
major antagonists or interests.

Minor NPC's
Minor NPC's are “extra's”, characters who have no
significant role in the adventure beyond acting as
opposition or providing background colour. Minor NPC's
are generally described by a single number which is
used for all tasks:

Dice Type NPC Quality

20 Poor
30 Average
40 Good
50 Excellent
60 Exceptional

In addition, Minor NPC's do not get any re-rolls from

their Panache score or Edges from their Perspicacity.

Animals
Animals may occasionally come into play. Animals do
not have a Panache score and, like Minor NPC's, have
no Edges or Re-rolls. Their Perspicacity score is only
used for perception type tasks, otherwise they operate on instinct. Larger animals tend to havenatural
attacks which count as weapons and often have some degree of inherent armour, to represent their size
and toughness. Some common animals include:

Type Prowess Perspicacity Damage Armour

Wild Boar 40 60 P
Large Dog 40 80 S
Big Cat 70 50 R
Bear 80 50 R -1 vs. All Attacks

Drink and Drugs

A character who imbibes drink or drugs must make a Prowess roll after every third drink, where a drink is:
• A mug of beer, ale, watered wine or cider
• A glass of wine or brandy
• A shot of spirits

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 • A few puffs of opium
• A single joint

If they fail the roll they have become drunk/inebriated and are treated as Fatigued. A second failure
means they pass out for eight hours, waking fully refreshed.

Fatigue
Each time a character majorly exerts themselves they should make a Prowess roll. A success means they
are okay, a failure means that all EVEN rolls automatically fail until they get a good nights sleep (so Very
Challenging rolls automatically fail when Fatigued). If they are already Fatigued due to a previously failed
roll they collapse from exhaustion, waking in eight hours fully refreshed. Examples of major exertions:
• Emptying a treasure chamber
• Searching a small house properly
• An hours hard labour or running
• A days ride or march
• Fleeing a foe who chases you
• Fighting in a battle
• Swimming a turbulent river
• Climbing a tall cliff

Poison
A character who is poisoned should make a Prowess roll after a set period has elapsed. They will realise
they have been poisoned roughly ¼ way through the set period and, from that point, are treated as
Fatigued until they die or survive.
A failure means that the character has succumbed to the poison and dies shortly after. If a character with
the Medicine edge treats the character before the time elapses they may flip-flop the original Prowess roll,
significantly increasing the chances of survival.
The period depends on the poison. Strong poisons require a Very Challenging roll to succeed.
• Fast Acting Poison: roll after one minute.
• Medium Acting Poison: roll after one hour.
• Slow Acting Poison: roll after one day.

Disease
Diseases are best treated as poisons but their period is usually a week (for fast acting diseases) or a
month (for most other diseases).

Falling
Roll d100 for a character who falls from some height (not just jumping down from a wall). If they fall onto
a broken or dangerous surface they take damage equal to the dice roll, highest dice read as tens. If they
fall onto a normal surface they take damage equal to the dice roll, lowest dice read as tens.
A conscious character can make a Prowess roll (Maneuver Edge applies) to try and minimise the damage,
halving the wound value if successful. If you fall onto a soft surface halve the damage taken again.

Asphyxiating
A character who is asphyxiating (no oxygen, such as drowning, in a avaccuum or in a smoke filled room)
needs to make a Prowess roll at the end of every round in which they exert themselves (if they are not
exerting themselves let them roll after every minute instead). Once they fail a roll they are at -10 to all
actions until they get air again. They continue rolling and if they fail a second time they pass out and will
be irrecoverably brain damaged within 4 minutes then dead within 6 minutes (before the 4 minutes
windows elapses a successful Perspicacity roll by another character can restore consciousness, one try
only per character though).

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Burning
Something which can burn a character (such as an acid, electricity or flames) has a damage code. Just roll
d100 at the start of every round in which the character is in contact with the burning “thing” and
calculate damage from that roll. Armour reduces the damage code as normal.

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Adventure Seeds
The following section is a list of various basic ideas for adventures, expressed as single lines.
1. A mentor of one of the characters is kidnapped. The characters must rescue them.
2. A lover of one of the characters is kidnapped. The characters must rescue them.
3. A friend of one of the characters is kidnapped. The characters must rescue them.
4. A relative of one of the characters is kidnapped. The characters must rescue them.
5. The characters are sent to capture someone and bring them back.
6. The characters are sent to assassinate someone.
7. The characters must protect someone from harm for a set period of time.
8. The characters must protect something from harm for a set period of time.
9. The characters are sent to steal something and return it.
10. The characters are sent to recover something which has been stolen and return it.
11. The characters are draw into a plot between nobles and must work out how to extricate
themselves without offending either side.
12. The characters are sent to destroy somewhere.
13. The characters are sent to destroy something.
14. The characters must uncover a specific piece of information and report back.
15. The characters must uncover a traitor or spy.
16. The characters must solve a crime.
17. The characters have been accused of a crime and must solve the crime to prove themselves
innocent.
18. The characters have been framed and must prove their innocence.
19. The characters have been framed and are being blackmailed into performing a task for someone.
They must prove their innocence and turn the tables on their blackmailer.
20. One of the characters wishes to woo someone and must fetch a number of gifts to win that
persons affections.
21. One of the characters has offended someone and must perform one or more tasks by way of
apology.
22. The characters must organise the defense against a superior attacking force.
23. The characters must organise an attack to take a place held by a superior force.
24. The characters must successfully undertake a dangerous journey.
25. The characters honour has been besmirched by someone and they must take action to regain
their lost honour.
26. The honour of an organisation the character belongs to (such as the Musketeers) has been
besmirched by someone and they must take action to regain their lost honour.
27. The honour of one of the characters relatives has been besmirched by someone and they must
take action to regain their lost honour.
28. The honour of one of the characters mentors has been besmirched by someone and they must
take action to regain their lost honour.

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Historical Background

The Geography
Some key facts about France:
• The population is approximately 20 million people.
• 2/3rds of the country is mountainous or hilly, with three major mountain ranges; the Alps (south
eastern france), Vosges (eastern france) and Pyrenees (south western france).
• The north and west is dominated by mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills.
• The southern (mediterranean coast) has hot, dry summers and mild winters.
• France is primarily rural with the majority of the population living in rural areas (i.e. villages and
small towns).
• Most cities have populations of less than 50,000 and towns are less than 5,000. Paris has a
population of 200,000.

The Provinces
France is broken down into 40 provinces, listed below. In brackets after each provinces name is it's
provincial capital. Cities in bold had provincial "parlements" or "conseils souverains". The presence of a
parlement or conseils souverains generally indicates a relatively more important province.
1. Île-de-France (Paris)
2. Berry (Bourges)
3. Orléanais (Orléans)
4. Normandy (Rouen)
5. Languedoc (Toulouse)
6. Lyonnais (Lyon)
7. Dauphiné (Grenoble)
8. Champagne (Troyes)
9. Aunis (La Rochelle)
10. Saintonge (Saintes)
11. Poitou (Poitiers)
12. Guyenne and Gascony (Bordeaux)
13. Burgundy (Dijon)
14. Picardy (Amiens)
15. Anjou (Angers)
16. Provence (Aix-en-Provence)
17. Angoumois (Angoulême)
18. Bourbonnais (Moulins)
19. Marche (Guéret)
20. Brittany (Rennes)
21. Maine (Le Mans)
22. Touraine (Tours)
23. Limousin (Limoges)
24. Foix (Foix)
25. Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand)
26. Béarn (Pau)
27. Alsace (Strasbourg, cons. souv. in Colmar)
28. Artois (Arras)
29. Roussillon (Perpignan)
30. Flanders and Hainaut (Lille, parlement in Douai)
31. Franche-Comté (Besançon)
32. Lorraine (Nancy)
33. Corsica (off map, Ajaccio, cons. souv. in Bastia)
34. Nivernais (Nevers)
35. Comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief
36. Imperial Free City of Mulhouse
37. Savoy, a Sardinian fief
38. Nice, a Sardinian fief
39. Montbéliard, a fief of Württemberg
40. Trois-Évêchés (Metz, Toul and Verdun).

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The map below shows the relative positions of the above provinces.

The Thirty Years War

The background to the game is the thirty years war (1618-1648), one of Europes most devastating
conflicts. We won't go into great detail about the war here, if you'd like to find out more there are plenty
of excellent books and websites on the subject. From a game point of view the following things can be
said about the war in 1625:
• The war is largely a religious war, a war between Protestants and Catholics both within and
without the Holy Roman Empire (under the Habsburgs).
• The war rages across what will become modern Germany.
• In 1625 the Protestant kingdoms of the Dutch, Danish, Rhine-Palatinate and English are actively
fighting the Catholic Holy Roman Empire and the Bavarians. The Catholic kingdoms of Spain, the
Papacy and Poland are indirectly supporting the Holy Roman Empire.
• The Catholic kingdom of France is remaining neutral and does not join the war until 1636 but is
involved in the extensive politics and plots washing across europe in relation to the war. France's
involvement is not religious, it is because it views the Spanish and Holy Roman Empire as overly
powerful neighbours.
• Two major factions in the war were the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. Major members
of the League included the Holy Roman Empire, numerous German states And Bavaria. Major
union members included France, Sweden, the Rhine-Palatinate and Denmark.
• “Italy” comprises roughly 41 separate city states and small independent kingdoms.
• “Germany” comprises 225 separate city states.. the majority of which are under the authority of
the Holy Roman Empire.

The Three Musketeers

Many of the characters who appear in The Three Musketeers were real people who are depicted
reasonably accurately in the novel, although Dumas did take fictional liberties with their actions. King
Louis XIII, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Richelieu were important people during the period of the novel.
Monsieur de Treville and Richelieu really were enemies — in fact, in 1642, de Treville was part of a plot to
assassinate the Cardinal. Richelieu did have his own personal company of guards, who did have a fierce

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rivalry with the Musketeers. The tension between France and England, and the ensuing war in which the
Guards and Musketeers fought, was an historical fact.
Louis XIII (1601 – 1643) ruled France from 1610 until his death, but the real ruler for much of that time
was his domineering mother, Marie de' Medici. In 1617, he arranged the assassination of her minister,
Concino Concini, forcing her into retirement. In 1622, he and she were reconciled, however, and in 1624,
he allowed her protégé, Cardinal Richelieu, to run the government as chief minister. When his mother
urged him to remove Richelieu from power in 1630, Louis, who believed Richelieu was on his side, sent his
mother into exile instead. As in Dumas's book, Louis was melancholy and not very bright when it came to
dealing with people, and he was happy to have the Cardinal do the work of ruling for him.
Richelieu strengthened the authority of the king and centralized government control. He also lessened the
power of the nobility in favor of the king and suppressed the Huguenots, a Protestant faction, who were
humbled by the siege of La Rochelle, which is described (albeit unrealistically) in the book.
D'Artagnan's character was based on Charles de Batz-Castelmore, who was from Gascony and had the
title Sieur d'Artagnan through his mother's family. He left his home province in 1640 (the novel has him
leaving home in 1625). He served as a Musketeer under Cardinal Mazarin and King Louis XIV (not, as in
the book, their predecessors Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII) and had a distinguished career. He
died in 1673 while fighting at the siege of Maestricht.
In addition, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos were based on real people. Porthos was really Isaac de Porthos,
who was a member of Captain des Essart's company of the King's Guards until 1643. After 1643, he
served as a Musketeer with d'Artagnan. Aramis's character was based on Henry d'Aramitz, who was a
relative of Monsieur de Treville, and became a Musketeer in 1640. Athos was really Seigner d'Athos et
d'Auteville and was also a relative of de Treville's. He was a Musketeer and died in 1643, apparently as the
result of a duel.
The main exception to Dumas's use of real people as bases for his characters is "Milady," or Lady de
Winter. She was a creation of Dumas's, and it is interesting that she dominates the second half of the
book, more than any of the "real" historical characters do.
Some key concepts:
• Medicine is in its infancy and still consists mostly of the use of herbs and other traditional
medicines, many of which are more harmful than no treatment at all. No one knows that germs
and viruses exist, and antibiotics, vaccines, and painkillers are unknown. People who are injured in
duels, wars, or other combats often die from infections.
• King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu consolidate royal power, decrease the power of the nobles,
and begin suppression of Protestants.
• Flintlock firearms are developed in the early 1600s, but swords are still important in combat.
D'Artagnan- The central character of the novel, d'Artagnan is a young, impoverished Gascon nobleman
who comes to make his fortune in Paris. He is brave, noble, ambitious, crafty, and intelligent. Like any
Romantic hero, he is driven by love and ruled by chivalry, but occasionally prone to fall into amoral
behavior.
Athos- The most important of the Three Musketeers, Athos is something of a father figure to d'Artagnan.
He is older than his comrades, although still a young man. Athos is distinguished in every way--intellect,
appearance, bravery, swordsmanship--yet he is tortured by a deep melancholy, the source of which no
one knows.
Aramis- A young Musketeer, one of the great Three. Aramis is a handsome young man, quiet and
somewhat foppish. He constantly protests that he is only temporarily in the Musketeers, and that any day
now he will return to the Church to pursue his true calling. Aramis has a mysterious mistress, Madame de
Chevreuse, a high noblewoman, whose existence and identity he tries to keep from his friends.
Porthos- Porthos, the third of the Three Musketeers, is loud, brash, and self-important. He is extremely
vain, and enjoys outfitting himself handsomely; but for all that, he is a valiant fighter and a courageous
friend. His mistress is Madame Coquenard, the wife of a wealthy attorney.
Lady de Winter- A mysterious, beautiful, dangerous, and ultimately evil Cardinalist agent. D'Artagnan
becomes obsessed with her, but eventually she and the Musketeers become fierce adversaries. Milady
has a secret, and she kills anyone who finds it out--her left shoulder is branded with the Fleur-de-Lis, a
mark put on the worst criminals.
Madame Bonacieux- Wife of Monsieur Bonacieux and lady-in-waiting for Queen Anne. Madame
Bonacieux is loyal to the Queen through and through. D'Artagnan falls in love with her, and in doing so

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gets involved in the Queen's secret affairs.
Monsieur Bonacieux- D'Artagnan's landlord, and Madame Bonacieux's husband. He originally comes to
d'Artagnan for help when Madame Bonacieux is kidnapped, but after a private audience with the Cardinal,
turns on his wife and becomes a Cardinalist agent.
Monsieur de Treville- The head of the King's Musketeers. Monsieur de Treville is an honorable and
distinguished gentleman, and close friend to the King. He treats all his Musketeers as his sons, and is an
important figure of support for the young d'Artagnan. He is a rival of Cardinal Richelieu for favor and
influence with the King.
King Louis XIII- King of France. Louis XIII is not much of a ruler, and is dominated by his advisors, most
notably Cardinal Richelieu, the most powerful man in France. He is a petulant and petty person, and those
around him who are most successful are those who have learned to manipulate his pettiness.
Cardinal Richelieu- The King's most influential advisor, Richelieu is the most powerful and important
man in France. He is furiously self-absorbed, but also an extremely effective leader of the state. Richelieu
works hard to maintain the reputation and power of the king, since this is the stock on which his own
status is based.
Queen Anne- Queen of France. Anne is Spanish, and her loyalties are divided between her Spanish
heritage, her position as Queen of France, and her love for George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The
King does not trust her, or particularly like her, and the Cardinal hates her. Anne leads an unhappy life in
the court.
George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham- Favorite and Minister of War for King Charles I of England.
Buckingham is the perfect English gentleman, handsome, witty, brave, wealthy, and powerful. He is
desperately in love with Anne of Austria, who, more reservedly, returns his affections. Throughout the
novel, Buckingham's only motivation is to see and please Anne.
Lord de Winter- Lady de Winter's brother-in-law. Lord de Winter is a foppish gentlemen, not given to
intrigue or action, but he rises to the occasion when more is demanded of him toward the end of the
novel.
Comte de Rochefort- The Cardinal's private spy, a dangerous man.
Comte de Wardes- A Cardinalist agent; Milady is in love with him.
Kitty- Milady's maid; she falls in love with d'Artagnan.
John Felton- A British Naval Officer, ward of Lord de Winter; a Protestant.
Planchet- D'Artagnan's manservant. A very intelligent, reliable, somewhat brave man.
Grimaud- Athos' manservant. Athos has trained him to communicate in hand-signals, to minimize
speech.
Mousqueton- Porthos's manservant. Like his master, he enjoys the finer things in life.
Bazin- Aramis's manservant. He wants nothing so much as for his master to enter the Church.
Madame de Coquenard- Porthos's mistress, the wife of a wealthy attorney. She dotes on Porthos, living
for his affection. Porthos keeps her identity secret from his friends, telling them his mistress is a Duchess.
Madame de Chevreuse- Aramis's secret mistress, and a close personal friend of the Queen. Madame de
Chevreuse is banished from Paris because the King, goaded by the Cardinal, suspects her of aiding the
Queen in her personal and political intrigues.

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Panache Character Sheet
Name Normal Wounds

Age

Social Rank Homeland

Advantage Fatigued?

Secret XP

Panache Re-rolls

Perspicacity Expertises

Prowess

Notes

Armour None
Light -1 step Missiles and No Swim
Melee
Heavy -1 Step all Attacks No Swim, Move is Prowess feet

Weapon DMG RANGE Notes

Unarmed H C
Sword P C*
Dagger S C* Offhand: May Re-roll Combat Roll
Pistol P M 4rds to reload
Halberd (2h) R C*