Task & Level System
Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 4:33 pmSpecial thanks for Dean Sutter for the original Task and Level concept. Thanks also to Avi Waksberg for some suggestions and help fleshing out the current Task lists.
The ancestor of the Task and Level system presented here was a core mechanic in Wayfarer’s Song. But slowly, over time the various skills, attributes, and disciplines acquired advancement mechanics that freed them from a need for Levels. By the fifth or so rewrite of the game character Levels were looking eminently optional.
But the system as it was written seemed interesting and worth looking at again.
It has many advantages, and could be applied to any Level-based system (with a little modification) as a replacement for experience point-driven advancement systems.
So what does a Task and Level System involve? At its most basic a task system lays out a set of tasks that a character must perform to advance a Level. The Tasks presented here are linked to motives that a player chooses. If you choose Heroics for your player then you have to complete some heroic tasks to advance Levels.
Points in Favour…
No experience points: Xps are such an abstract concept that they can make a character appear to be little more than a form of battery sucking up power-juice.
Plot hooks: When a GM is feeling a little lazy, tasks can provide a wonderfully easy way to create plot hooks for players.
Player enthusiasm: My experience is that players like having something extra to aim for and keep an eye on that is particular to their character.
Acting in character: Tasks encourage supposedly heroic characters to actually act heroic, or devoted to their goddess, or greedy, or indulgent depending on a Character's motives.
Points against…
Levels: Some players hate the concept of Levels so much that they avoid any game system that has them.
Illogical Advancement: Why should singing in a pub three times increases a character’s general physical prowess? A very relevant criticism of Task and Level systems is that they often make no logical sense. Completing Tasks often results in increases of unrelated skills.
Erratic behaviour: Players will sometimes begin behaving out of character just to advance a Level. For instance a warrior character who has never spared a defeated enemy, ever, finds that to complete her heroic tasks this level she has to spare three defeated opponents. Suddenly she is sparing enemies left and right.
In-party competition: A group of characters who have to answer a plea for help to advance a Level may suddenly begin racing one another to answer the first plea they hear. In cases like this, as the Gamesmaster it is best to deem all characters to have completed a Task if they have made some reasonable effort to work together and do so.
Dissatisfaction with motives: players will sometimes choose motives that with a little game-play they discover do not really match their character concept. Be flexible here. Allow a Character to change motives if the player is very unhappy with their choice or feels that character has changed significantly since starting play. Alternatively, a Player may not like any of the lists available. In this case, you can consider stitching together a new list using bits and pieces of other lists and/or your own invented tasks.
Advancing a Level
When a character gains a level he or she gains in-game benefits.
Terminology
Level: An arbitrary measure of your character’s experience and attainment of goals. All new characters begin play at Level One. To advance to the next level you need to complete the appropriate Tasks.
Motives: Your character motive defines which Tasks he will have to carry out to advance a level. The motives used by Spellwoven are:
- Craft (to be completed)
- Enjoyment
- Feats of Magic
- Fellowship
- Glory in Battle
- Heroics
- Honour
- Justice
- Lord and Country (to be completed)
- Renown
- Riches
- Wayfaring
Tasks
Each level has a set of Tasks that you need to complete to advance to the next level. The Tasks vary depending on your Motives.
Vows
Vows are permanent tasks that must be upheld for at least three game sessions to be considered completed, and then adhered to more or less for the whole life of the character. For instance to complete the Vow: Never assault an unarmed person, you must not attack an unarmed person for three game sessions, and then for the life of your character endeavor never to assault an unarmed person. Once you've completed your three game sessions, even minor infractions on a vow are considered serious, and could add a curse to the Character at the Gamesmaster's discretion.
Enjoyment
TWO
Shout three rounds of drinks
Eat a seven-course meal
Pay a minstrel to play or sing for an entire evening
THREE
Attend a splendid feast
Dive into a barrel of wine, ale, etc.
Spend three nights dancing and revelling
FOUR
Underwrite a small festive celebration
Purchase 50 silver worth of luxuries and use them up
Spend a week doing nothing but relaxing
FIVE
Attend a magnificent feast
Underwrite a festival
Sponsor a rich prize for a friendly open contest
SIX
Attend week-long festivities
Host a magnificent feast
Spend a week indulging continuously
SEVEN
Vow: Choose an indulgence, and never ignore an opportunity to indulge
Host a sizeable festival
Purchase 500 silver worth of luxuries and use them up
EIGHT
Introduce three naïve youngsters to a favourite indulgence
Host a large festival
Attend a legendary feast
NINE
Host a legendary festival
Overdose on an indulgence
Visit otherworldly festivities
TEN
Host a festival, wedding or event that is attended by gods or godlike spirits
Sponsor a series of month-long celebrations in a city
Pay to have an epic poem of extraordinary length and skill written about you and your exploits
Favour
TWO
Visit a shrine
Attend a holy festival
Gain the blessing of a holy person
THREE
Leave substantial offerings at three shrines
Attend the holy festivals of three god-spirits
Seek instructions on how to impress the spirits from respected holy person
FOUR
Restore an abandoned shrine
Destroy a blasphemous shrine
Convince a town or settlement to build a shrine
FIVE
Complete a quest given by a holy person
Convert a follower to serve your god-spirit
Destroy a blasphemous artifact
SIX
Build a shrine with your own hands
Convert a follower to devote their life to your god-spirit
Help kill a dangerous unholy monster
SEVEN
Build a shrine with your own hands in a remote location
Live for a month in meditation on hallowed ground
Recover a hallowed artifact
EIGHT
Sacrifice amazing riches to your patron spirit
Complete a quest given by a god or godlike spirit
Preside over the wedding of a king and queen
NINE
Destroy a city that worships the darkness or a fell spirit
Help kill an unholy terror
Start a cult
TEN
Preside over the wedding of a god or godlike spirit
Lead the over-turning of an army that serves a fell spirit
Lift shadow from a land and restore it to nature and light
Feats of Magic
TWO
Survive an adventure without using weapons or armour
Take three Mind skills to Rank 8
Meet an Undead
THREE
Visit ancient ruins
Defeat three opponents in a battle using only magic
Devise three of your own spells and use them
FOUR
Meet an enchanted creature
Find an ancient relic
Tame of banish a minor fell spirit
FIVE
Save a friends life using magic
Recover an ancient relic and discover its past
Take all of your Mind skills to Rank 10
SIX
Help defeat an enchanted opponent or a creature in battle using magic
Meet and converse with three very learned practitioners of magic
Acquire the lorebook of a long dead magician
SEVEN
Defeat an enchanted opponent in battle using magic
Defeat three practitioners of magic at once using magic
Acquire the focus (e.g. staff) of a long dead and powerful magician
EIGHT
Visit three sites of focused magical power (eg. Haunted lands, places of old battles)
Using magic save a friend from death
Sponsor a competition of magical aptitude
NINE
Win a contest of magical strength
Acquire three unique books of lore
Help slay a powerful enchanted monster in battle using magic
TEN
Encounter and defeat one of the old powers of the earth
Visit lands of the dead, and return
Become guardian of a powerful and unique artifact that could change the course of history
Fellowship
TWO
Help a friend
Spend a night in conversation and song with friends
Give a friend good advice
THREE
Make a friend of a stranger
Travel a week to visit a friend
Save a friend from a bad decision
FOUR
Make a friend of an enchanted creature
Take up a small quest or undertaking to help a friend
Save a friend from a trap
FIVE
Make a friend of an unlikely stranger
Help two friends at substantial danger to yourself
Travel with nine friends for at least a week
SIX
Together with three friends, plan and execute a small quest that benefits you all
Take all your Presence skill to Rank 8
Make yourself beloved and popular within a day of arrived in a new town
SEVEN
Make a friend of an unlikely enchanted creature
Make friends of a lord, chieftain or equivalent
Perform three favours for friends without hope or want of recompense
EIGHT
Help a friend at the cost of substantial suffering and injury
Spend a week in the company of good friends
Make yourself beloved and popular within a day of arrival in a new city
NINE
Make friends of king, queen or equivalent
Substantially contribute towards for a friend's wedding or similar celebration
Undertake a perilous and dangerous journey for a friend
TEN
Befriend an elder power or godlike spirit
Visit three friendly houses in three distant kingdoms
Help many friends with a single act of sacrifice that does you substantial harm
Glory in Battle
TWO
Personally defeat three opponents in a battle
Survive a battle in which your allies are outnumbered
Survive an ambush
THREE
Win a battle when unarmed or using a greatly inferior weapon
Survive three battles in which your allies are outnumbered
Slay an opponent with a single blow
FOUR
Defeat two opponents with a single blow
Win a battle when unarmed or using a greatly inferior weapon
Acquire a lore-crafted or magic weapon
FIVE
Lead a skirmishing force to victory
Unarmed, defeat a large ferocious wild animal such as a bear
Hit two opponents with a single arrow
SIX
Help defeat a magical beast
Defeat a chieftain, lord, or equivalent in battle
Ambush an enemy force
SEVEN
Personally defeat five opponents in the same battle
Defeat a mythical beast
Take all of your Sinew skills to Rank 10
EIGHT
Defeat three opponents in a battle where you are alone
Defeat a general, king or equivalent in battle
Sponsor three martial competitions and put up rich prizes
NINE
Lead a sizeable army into battle
Defeat a great monster
Kill five enemies each on the first blow in a single battle
TEN
Lead a sizable army into battle and win
Successfully defend a besieged city
Successfully storm and over-run a vast and powerful stronghold
Heroics
TWO
Answer three pleas for help
Successfully encourage another to act heroically
Place yourself in danger to help a friend
THREE
Confront an enemy in battle who out-classes you
Hold off a serious danger while others escape
Successfully encourage three others to act heroically
FOUR
Undertake and complete a heroic quest
Fully outfit five young heroes
Lend your most prized possession to help another person
FIVE
Place yourself in substantial danger to help a stranger
Successfully encourage another to act heroically despite a substantial personal cost
Give away your most prized possession to help another person
SIX
Undertake and complete three heroic quests
Confront mortal danger to help another
Take all of your Sinew skills to Rank 8
SEVEN
Vow: Never ignore a plea for help
Defeat a troublesome and dangerous supernatural beast
Reunite two lost lovers
EIGHT
Place yourself in serious danger to save a village
Defeat a villainous general, king or equivalent
Help slay three monstrous and magical creatures
NINE
Place yourself in serious danger to save a city or several villages
Come to the aid of an entire kingdom
Help slay a monster of the elder age
TEN
Encourage an army of supernatural entities to act heroically at your own personal peril
Face down your most feared adversary in single combat
Inspire an outnumbered and desperate army in the face of over-whelming odds
Honour
TWO
Spare three opponents defeated in battle
Make a battle fairer by deliberately handicapping yourself in a way that causes you personal danger
Issue a warning challenge before three battles
THREE
Allow an enemy to rest before battle
Resist a temptation of the flesh
Make or meet three challenges to friendly combat
FOUR
Win three duels or friendly combats
Be honest in a situation where it causes you shame or great hindrance
Suitably avenge the honour of someone else who has been unfairly maligned
FIVE
Travel at least two weeks to put right a wrong
Thwart the plans of a nemesis
Make or meet a duel to the death
SIX
Fulfil a promise at substantial personal cost
Face a clearly superior foe to aid another
Make or meet three duels to the death
SEVEN
Take all your Sinew Skills to Rank 10
Face a clearly superior foe and aid another
Promise to undertake and complete a long and dangerous quest
EIGHT
Accepting responsibility for a superior's shameful actions
Fulfil the unkept oath made by an ancestor at great personal cost
Complete the quest you vowed to complete for Level Seven
NINE
Earn the honourable accolade of a king, queen or equivalent
Vastly over-interpret a promise you made to your own detriment
Travel a month to keep a promise
TEN
Keep to a vow or oath in the face of very likely death
Defeat your most feared enemy in single combat
Earn the honourable accolade of a god or god-like spirit
Justice
TWO
Bring a criminal to justice
Correct wrongdoing or a judicial oversight
Claim a bounty on a troublesome wild animal
THREE
Bring a criminal to justice
Outfit three young honourable warriors
Exact retribution for a wrong committed against someone else
FOUR
Return three stolen items to their rightful owners
Claim a bounty on a monstrous creature (e.g. troll)
Put right a wrong committed by a person of power
FIVE
Sit in judgement on a disputed case of law
Return unlawful taxes to a community
Put right a wrong committed by a powerful lord
SIX
Rescue an unlawfully or unfairly held prisoner
Bring justice to a powerful rebel, assassin or beast
Take Lore, Vigilance and Fortitude to Rank 10
SEVEN
Return three precious, stolen items to their rightful owners
Bring justice to a powerful lord, magistrate or monster
Seek justice for a ghostly spirit, thus allowing it to find rest
EIGHT
Rescue five unlawfully or unfairly held prisoners
Put right a great wrong done by an ancestor
Bring three tyrannical lords to justice
NINE
Help slay a powerful, dangerous and murderous monster
Lead a skirmishing force to exact justice for a crime
Depose an unjust King, Queen or Regent
TEN
Banish an elder fell power
Lead a sizeable army to exact justice for a crime
Seek justice to a host of ghostly dead, thus allowing them to rest
Renown
TWO
Perform in front of a crowd
Pay for the richest rooms and food in three inns
Begin introducing yourself using a by-name or epithet
THREE
Acquire a distinctive tattoo, ritual scar or style of dress
Invent a life-motto: state it whenever applicable
Ingratiate yourself with a court, baron or lord
FOUR
Introduce yourself to a King, Queen or Regent
Sponsor a concert or festival
Pay to have three short ballads composed about you
FIVE
Perform for a huge or prestigious audience
Organize a crowd of minstrels to sing together of your deeds
Ingratiate yourself with a court, baron or lord
SIX
Sponsor a magnificent concert or festival
Meet five people who have heard stories of you
Perform for a King, Queen or Regent
SEVEN
Meet five people from distant lands who have heard stories about you
Meet a King, Queen or Regent who has heard stories of you
Perform for Kings or equivalent in three lands
EIGHT
Sponsor a legendary concert or festival
Start a fashion or popularise a saying
Act in a way that draws idle attention for three sessions
NINE
Meet a King, Queen or Regent from distant lands who has heard stories of you
Become famous for great deeds across a wide kingdom
Perform for an elder power or godlike spirit
TEN
Meet an elder power or godlike spirit that has heard stories about you
Visit three towns or cities where the residents organize celebrations in your honour
Pay a historian to chronicle your life in all its detail
Riches
TWO
Hoard 5 silver for three sessions
Find a horde worth 50 silver
Acquire an item worth at least 10 silver
THREE
Over three adventures buy a round in each tavern you visit
Personally acquire the contents of a strong box or treasure chest
Pay to have your clothing, weapons or armour finely decorated
FOUR
Acquire an item worth at least 100 silver
Pay to have your clothing, weapons or armour ornately decorated
Follow a rumour or map to a hidden treasure
FIVE
Acquire the contents of three strong boxes or treasure chests
Acquire an item worth at least 100 silver
Acquire substantial treasure from following three rumours or maps
SIX
Receive a valuable gift
Raid a substantial horde
Defeat a foe guarding substantial treasure
SEVEN
Make at least 500 silver by profiting through trade and sale
Give three valuable gifts
Raid three significant hordes that are actively guarded
EIGHT
Acquire a very valuable horde and stash away for later
Acquire an item worth at least 1000 silver
Be given three gifts from three personages of standing
NINE
Uncover ancient, forgotten riches
Find and acquire part of a huge defended horde
Gain a profitable position of standing and influence
TEN
Make at least 1000 silver by profiting through trade and sale
Establish a house with at least three secret treasure rooms
Own at least five items that are unique and effectively priceless
Wayfaring
TWO
Survive three adventures
Visit three cities or towns
Travel for a week sleeping under the stars
THREE
Pass through a forest, a cave and a swamp
Acquire a fine riding horse
Tell stories of places you have travelled in three different inns or taverns
FOUR
Travel over a sea or ocean
Acquire three useful maps
Pass through another sizeable realm
FIVE
Travel over a sea or ocean
Pass through three different sizeable realms
Meet a king, queen or equivalent
SIX
Travel through a forest, jungle, cave, ruin, desert and swamp
Meet a king, queen or equivalent from a distant land
Pass through five different large realms or kingdoms
SEVEN
Visit another continent
Meet the kings or equivalent of three different realms
Acquire a riding horse of remarkable value
EIGHT
Visit another region so distant it is near-mythical
Pass through ten different large realms or kingdoms
Successfully use three skills in an adventure that no other player used
NINE
Visit three realms ruled by enchanted creatures
Acquire a legendary riding horse
Have visited the court of twenty kingdoms or equivalent
TEN
Visit the undying lands where godlike spirits dwell
Meet an elder power
Visit a land so distant to your own that the people there have never heard of men, dwarves or elves
Questions and so on...
I'm going to add at least two additional motives 'Lord and Country' and 'Craft'. Lord and County will focus on tasks associated with doing what's best by your nation (think of Boromir and Faramir) and Crafts will focus on both acquiring and making your own examples of remarkable craftsmanship in a given field.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for Motives that I haven't covered. I had 'Power', but eliminated it because it encourages a lot of, erm, quite dysfunctional and slightly silly behaviour on the part of players.
The ancestor of the Task and Level system presented here was a core mechanic in Wayfarer’s Song. But slowly, over time the various skills, attributes, and disciplines acquired advancement mechanics that freed them from a need for Levels. By the fifth or so rewrite of the game character Levels were looking eminently optional.
But the system as it was written seemed interesting and worth looking at again.
It has many advantages, and could be applied to any Level-based system (with a little modification) as a replacement for experience point-driven advancement systems.
So what does a Task and Level System involve? At its most basic a task system lays out a set of tasks that a character must perform to advance a Level. The Tasks presented here are linked to motives that a player chooses. If you choose Heroics for your player then you have to complete some heroic tasks to advance Levels.
Points in Favour…
No experience points: Xps are such an abstract concept that they can make a character appear to be little more than a form of battery sucking up power-juice.
Plot hooks: When a GM is feeling a little lazy, tasks can provide a wonderfully easy way to create plot hooks for players.
Player enthusiasm: My experience is that players like having something extra to aim for and keep an eye on that is particular to their character.
Acting in character: Tasks encourage supposedly heroic characters to actually act heroic, or devoted to their goddess, or greedy, or indulgent depending on a Character's motives.
Points against…
Levels: Some players hate the concept of Levels so much that they avoid any game system that has them.
Illogical Advancement: Why should singing in a pub three times increases a character’s general physical prowess? A very relevant criticism of Task and Level systems is that they often make no logical sense. Completing Tasks often results in increases of unrelated skills.
Erratic behaviour: Players will sometimes begin behaving out of character just to advance a Level. For instance a warrior character who has never spared a defeated enemy, ever, finds that to complete her heroic tasks this level she has to spare three defeated opponents. Suddenly she is sparing enemies left and right.
In-party competition: A group of characters who have to answer a plea for help to advance a Level may suddenly begin racing one another to answer the first plea they hear. In cases like this, as the Gamesmaster it is best to deem all characters to have completed a Task if they have made some reasonable effort to work together and do so.
Dissatisfaction with motives: players will sometimes choose motives that with a little game-play they discover do not really match their character concept. Be flexible here. Allow a Character to change motives if the player is very unhappy with their choice or feels that character has changed significantly since starting play. Alternatively, a Player may not like any of the lists available. In this case, you can consider stitching together a new list using bits and pieces of other lists and/or your own invented tasks.
Advancing a Level
When a character gains a level he or she gains in-game benefits.
Terminology
Level: An arbitrary measure of your character’s experience and attainment of goals. All new characters begin play at Level One. To advance to the next level you need to complete the appropriate Tasks.
Motives: Your character motive defines which Tasks he will have to carry out to advance a level. The motives used by Spellwoven are:
- Craft (to be completed)
- Enjoyment
- Feats of Magic
- Fellowship
- Glory in Battle
- Heroics
- Honour
- Justice
- Lord and Country (to be completed)
- Renown
- Riches
- Wayfaring
Tasks
Each level has a set of Tasks that you need to complete to advance to the next level. The Tasks vary depending on your Motives.
Vows
Vows are permanent tasks that must be upheld for at least three game sessions to be considered completed, and then adhered to more or less for the whole life of the character. For instance to complete the Vow: Never assault an unarmed person, you must not attack an unarmed person for three game sessions, and then for the life of your character endeavor never to assault an unarmed person. Once you've completed your three game sessions, even minor infractions on a vow are considered serious, and could add a curse to the Character at the Gamesmaster's discretion.
Enjoyment
TWO
Shout three rounds of drinks
Eat a seven-course meal
Pay a minstrel to play or sing for an entire evening
THREE
Attend a splendid feast
Dive into a barrel of wine, ale, etc.
Spend three nights dancing and revelling
FOUR
Underwrite a small festive celebration
Purchase 50 silver worth of luxuries and use them up
Spend a week doing nothing but relaxing
FIVE
Attend a magnificent feast
Underwrite a festival
Sponsor a rich prize for a friendly open contest
SIX
Attend week-long festivities
Host a magnificent feast
Spend a week indulging continuously
SEVEN
Vow: Choose an indulgence, and never ignore an opportunity to indulge
Host a sizeable festival
Purchase 500 silver worth of luxuries and use them up
EIGHT
Introduce three naïve youngsters to a favourite indulgence
Host a large festival
Attend a legendary feast
NINE
Host a legendary festival
Overdose on an indulgence
Visit otherworldly festivities
TEN
Host a festival, wedding or event that is attended by gods or godlike spirits
Sponsor a series of month-long celebrations in a city
Pay to have an epic poem of extraordinary length and skill written about you and your exploits
Favour
TWO
Visit a shrine
Attend a holy festival
Gain the blessing of a holy person
THREE
Leave substantial offerings at three shrines
Attend the holy festivals of three god-spirits
Seek instructions on how to impress the spirits from respected holy person
FOUR
Restore an abandoned shrine
Destroy a blasphemous shrine
Convince a town or settlement to build a shrine
FIVE
Complete a quest given by a holy person
Convert a follower to serve your god-spirit
Destroy a blasphemous artifact
SIX
Build a shrine with your own hands
Convert a follower to devote their life to your god-spirit
Help kill a dangerous unholy monster
SEVEN
Build a shrine with your own hands in a remote location
Live for a month in meditation on hallowed ground
Recover a hallowed artifact
EIGHT
Sacrifice amazing riches to your patron spirit
Complete a quest given by a god or godlike spirit
Preside over the wedding of a king and queen
NINE
Destroy a city that worships the darkness or a fell spirit
Help kill an unholy terror
Start a cult
TEN
Preside over the wedding of a god or godlike spirit
Lead the over-turning of an army that serves a fell spirit
Lift shadow from a land and restore it to nature and light
Feats of Magic
TWO
Survive an adventure without using weapons or armour
Take three Mind skills to Rank 8
Meet an Undead
THREE
Visit ancient ruins
Defeat three opponents in a battle using only magic
Devise three of your own spells and use them
FOUR
Meet an enchanted creature
Find an ancient relic
Tame of banish a minor fell spirit
FIVE
Save a friends life using magic
Recover an ancient relic and discover its past
Take all of your Mind skills to Rank 10
SIX
Help defeat an enchanted opponent or a creature in battle using magic
Meet and converse with three very learned practitioners of magic
Acquire the lorebook of a long dead magician
SEVEN
Defeat an enchanted opponent in battle using magic
Defeat three practitioners of magic at once using magic
Acquire the focus (e.g. staff) of a long dead and powerful magician
EIGHT
Visit three sites of focused magical power (eg. Haunted lands, places of old battles)
Using magic save a friend from death
Sponsor a competition of magical aptitude
NINE
Win a contest of magical strength
Acquire three unique books of lore
Help slay a powerful enchanted monster in battle using magic
TEN
Encounter and defeat one of the old powers of the earth
Visit lands of the dead, and return
Become guardian of a powerful and unique artifact that could change the course of history
Fellowship
TWO
Help a friend
Spend a night in conversation and song with friends
Give a friend good advice
THREE
Make a friend of a stranger
Travel a week to visit a friend
Save a friend from a bad decision
FOUR
Make a friend of an enchanted creature
Take up a small quest or undertaking to help a friend
Save a friend from a trap
FIVE
Make a friend of an unlikely stranger
Help two friends at substantial danger to yourself
Travel with nine friends for at least a week
SIX
Together with three friends, plan and execute a small quest that benefits you all
Take all your Presence skill to Rank 8
Make yourself beloved and popular within a day of arrived in a new town
SEVEN
Make a friend of an unlikely enchanted creature
Make friends of a lord, chieftain or equivalent
Perform three favours for friends without hope or want of recompense
EIGHT
Help a friend at the cost of substantial suffering and injury
Spend a week in the company of good friends
Make yourself beloved and popular within a day of arrival in a new city
NINE
Make friends of king, queen or equivalent
Substantially contribute towards for a friend's wedding or similar celebration
Undertake a perilous and dangerous journey for a friend
TEN
Befriend an elder power or godlike spirit
Visit three friendly houses in three distant kingdoms
Help many friends with a single act of sacrifice that does you substantial harm
Glory in Battle
TWO
Personally defeat three opponents in a battle
Survive a battle in which your allies are outnumbered
Survive an ambush
THREE
Win a battle when unarmed or using a greatly inferior weapon
Survive three battles in which your allies are outnumbered
Slay an opponent with a single blow
FOUR
Defeat two opponents with a single blow
Win a battle when unarmed or using a greatly inferior weapon
Acquire a lore-crafted or magic weapon
FIVE
Lead a skirmishing force to victory
Unarmed, defeat a large ferocious wild animal such as a bear
Hit two opponents with a single arrow
SIX
Help defeat a magical beast
Defeat a chieftain, lord, or equivalent in battle
Ambush an enemy force
SEVEN
Personally defeat five opponents in the same battle
Defeat a mythical beast
Take all of your Sinew skills to Rank 10
EIGHT
Defeat three opponents in a battle where you are alone
Defeat a general, king or equivalent in battle
Sponsor three martial competitions and put up rich prizes
NINE
Lead a sizeable army into battle
Defeat a great monster
Kill five enemies each on the first blow in a single battle
TEN
Lead a sizable army into battle and win
Successfully defend a besieged city
Successfully storm and over-run a vast and powerful stronghold
Heroics
TWO
Answer three pleas for help
Successfully encourage another to act heroically
Place yourself in danger to help a friend
THREE
Confront an enemy in battle who out-classes you
Hold off a serious danger while others escape
Successfully encourage three others to act heroically
FOUR
Undertake and complete a heroic quest
Fully outfit five young heroes
Lend your most prized possession to help another person
FIVE
Place yourself in substantial danger to help a stranger
Successfully encourage another to act heroically despite a substantial personal cost
Give away your most prized possession to help another person
SIX
Undertake and complete three heroic quests
Confront mortal danger to help another
Take all of your Sinew skills to Rank 8
SEVEN
Vow: Never ignore a plea for help
Defeat a troublesome and dangerous supernatural beast
Reunite two lost lovers
EIGHT
Place yourself in serious danger to save a village
Defeat a villainous general, king or equivalent
Help slay three monstrous and magical creatures
NINE
Place yourself in serious danger to save a city or several villages
Come to the aid of an entire kingdom
Help slay a monster of the elder age
TEN
Encourage an army of supernatural entities to act heroically at your own personal peril
Face down your most feared adversary in single combat
Inspire an outnumbered and desperate army in the face of over-whelming odds
Honour
TWO
Spare three opponents defeated in battle
Make a battle fairer by deliberately handicapping yourself in a way that causes you personal danger
Issue a warning challenge before three battles
THREE
Allow an enemy to rest before battle
Resist a temptation of the flesh
Make or meet three challenges to friendly combat
FOUR
Win three duels or friendly combats
Be honest in a situation where it causes you shame or great hindrance
Suitably avenge the honour of someone else who has been unfairly maligned
FIVE
Travel at least two weeks to put right a wrong
Thwart the plans of a nemesis
Make or meet a duel to the death
SIX
Fulfil a promise at substantial personal cost
Face a clearly superior foe to aid another
Make or meet three duels to the death
SEVEN
Take all your Sinew Skills to Rank 10
Face a clearly superior foe and aid another
Promise to undertake and complete a long and dangerous quest
EIGHT
Accepting responsibility for a superior's shameful actions
Fulfil the unkept oath made by an ancestor at great personal cost
Complete the quest you vowed to complete for Level Seven
NINE
Earn the honourable accolade of a king, queen or equivalent
Vastly over-interpret a promise you made to your own detriment
Travel a month to keep a promise
TEN
Keep to a vow or oath in the face of very likely death
Defeat your most feared enemy in single combat
Earn the honourable accolade of a god or god-like spirit
Justice
TWO
Bring a criminal to justice
Correct wrongdoing or a judicial oversight
Claim a bounty on a troublesome wild animal
THREE
Bring a criminal to justice
Outfit three young honourable warriors
Exact retribution for a wrong committed against someone else
FOUR
Return three stolen items to their rightful owners
Claim a bounty on a monstrous creature (e.g. troll)
Put right a wrong committed by a person of power
FIVE
Sit in judgement on a disputed case of law
Return unlawful taxes to a community
Put right a wrong committed by a powerful lord
SIX
Rescue an unlawfully or unfairly held prisoner
Bring justice to a powerful rebel, assassin or beast
Take Lore, Vigilance and Fortitude to Rank 10
SEVEN
Return three precious, stolen items to their rightful owners
Bring justice to a powerful lord, magistrate or monster
Seek justice for a ghostly spirit, thus allowing it to find rest
EIGHT
Rescue five unlawfully or unfairly held prisoners
Put right a great wrong done by an ancestor
Bring three tyrannical lords to justice
NINE
Help slay a powerful, dangerous and murderous monster
Lead a skirmishing force to exact justice for a crime
Depose an unjust King, Queen or Regent
TEN
Banish an elder fell power
Lead a sizeable army to exact justice for a crime
Seek justice to a host of ghostly dead, thus allowing them to rest
Renown
TWO
Perform in front of a crowd
Pay for the richest rooms and food in three inns
Begin introducing yourself using a by-name or epithet
THREE
Acquire a distinctive tattoo, ritual scar or style of dress
Invent a life-motto: state it whenever applicable
Ingratiate yourself with a court, baron or lord
FOUR
Introduce yourself to a King, Queen or Regent
Sponsor a concert or festival
Pay to have three short ballads composed about you
FIVE
Perform for a huge or prestigious audience
Organize a crowd of minstrels to sing together of your deeds
Ingratiate yourself with a court, baron or lord
SIX
Sponsor a magnificent concert or festival
Meet five people who have heard stories of you
Perform for a King, Queen or Regent
SEVEN
Meet five people from distant lands who have heard stories about you
Meet a King, Queen or Regent who has heard stories of you
Perform for Kings or equivalent in three lands
EIGHT
Sponsor a legendary concert or festival
Start a fashion or popularise a saying
Act in a way that draws idle attention for three sessions
NINE
Meet a King, Queen or Regent from distant lands who has heard stories of you
Become famous for great deeds across a wide kingdom
Perform for an elder power or godlike spirit
TEN
Meet an elder power or godlike spirit that has heard stories about you
Visit three towns or cities where the residents organize celebrations in your honour
Pay a historian to chronicle your life in all its detail
Riches
TWO
Hoard 5 silver for three sessions
Find a horde worth 50 silver
Acquire an item worth at least 10 silver
THREE
Over three adventures buy a round in each tavern you visit
Personally acquire the contents of a strong box or treasure chest
Pay to have your clothing, weapons or armour finely decorated
FOUR
Acquire an item worth at least 100 silver
Pay to have your clothing, weapons or armour ornately decorated
Follow a rumour or map to a hidden treasure
FIVE
Acquire the contents of three strong boxes or treasure chests
Acquire an item worth at least 100 silver
Acquire substantial treasure from following three rumours or maps
SIX
Receive a valuable gift
Raid a substantial horde
Defeat a foe guarding substantial treasure
SEVEN
Make at least 500 silver by profiting through trade and sale
Give three valuable gifts
Raid three significant hordes that are actively guarded
EIGHT
Acquire a very valuable horde and stash away for later
Acquire an item worth at least 1000 silver
Be given three gifts from three personages of standing
NINE
Uncover ancient, forgotten riches
Find and acquire part of a huge defended horde
Gain a profitable position of standing and influence
TEN
Make at least 1000 silver by profiting through trade and sale
Establish a house with at least three secret treasure rooms
Own at least five items that are unique and effectively priceless
Wayfaring
TWO
Survive three adventures
Visit three cities or towns
Travel for a week sleeping under the stars
THREE
Pass through a forest, a cave and a swamp
Acquire a fine riding horse
Tell stories of places you have travelled in three different inns or taverns
FOUR
Travel over a sea or ocean
Acquire three useful maps
Pass through another sizeable realm
FIVE
Travel over a sea or ocean
Pass through three different sizeable realms
Meet a king, queen or equivalent
SIX
Travel through a forest, jungle, cave, ruin, desert and swamp
Meet a king, queen or equivalent from a distant land
Pass through five different large realms or kingdoms
SEVEN
Visit another continent
Meet the kings or equivalent of three different realms
Acquire a riding horse of remarkable value
EIGHT
Visit another region so distant it is near-mythical
Pass through ten different large realms or kingdoms
Successfully use three skills in an adventure that no other player used
NINE
Visit three realms ruled by enchanted creatures
Acquire a legendary riding horse
Have visited the court of twenty kingdoms or equivalent
TEN
Visit the undying lands where godlike spirits dwell
Meet an elder power
Visit a land so distant to your own that the people there have never heard of men, dwarves or elves
Questions and so on...
I'm going to add at least two additional motives 'Lord and Country' and 'Craft'. Lord and County will focus on tasks associated with doing what's best by your nation (think of Boromir and Faramir) and Crafts will focus on both acquiring and making your own examples of remarkable craftsmanship in a given field.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for Motives that I haven't covered. I had 'Power', but eliminated it because it encourages a lot of, erm, quite dysfunctional and slightly silly behaviour on the part of players.