Benefits are things useful to a character that they can start with or even gain as the campaign continues. They might be people she knows, resources she has access to, authority she has, etc. They are purchased with Option Points just like any Skill, and act as a measurement of how much a Benefit the item is.

Below are a collection of Benefits for use in a typical Dawn of Legends campaign. Benefits marked with an ‘*’ are specific to this campaign and are detailed at the end of the section. The remaining Benefits are described in detail in the Shards of the Stone: Core™ book.

ALTERNATE IDENTITY

AUTHORITY*

CONTACT

FAMILY

FOLLOWER

MEMBERSHIP*

RENOWN*

STEALTH

WEALTH*

DESCRIPTIONS

AUTHORITY
The following illustrates the use of Authority in Dawn of Legends. Where there is a difference, the name before the slash represent a British equivalent, after the slash is Saxon: 1 = Warrior/Coerl, 3 = Horse Lord/Thegn, 5 = King or Queen’s Champion, 7 = Prince(ss)/Ealdorman, 9 = King, 10 = High King/Bretwalda.

Please note that all the levels listed are the minimum required for that level of membership.

MEMBERSHIP
You can call upon the resources of an organization, person, government or group— but you also have responsibilities. The level of Membership represents your character’s status in the organization, not the influence of the group (that’s what the multipliers above are for). Another version of this is Authority, in which the character has been given power by the (for example a Saxon) king to tax, arrest and judge criminals as well as command a war band in a particular territory. The size of which would be determined by the level of Authority.

Membership levels in the druid religion follows the following: 1 = Apprentice, 3 = Bard, 5 = Poet, 7 = Druid, 9 = Archdruid. The Celtic and Catholic Christian churches use the following membership levels: 1 = Acolyte, 2 = Monk, 3 = Missionary Priest, 5 = Priest, 7 = Bishop, 9 = Archbishop. Finally, the Saxon religion uses the following levels: 1 = Rune Questor, 3 = Rune Priest, 6 = Rune Master, 9 = Rune Lord.
A Character may also purchase Membership in a Mercenary company. Since they are small groups of individuals, the costs are much less. Suggested costs are 1 = Mercenary Warrior, 2 = Respected Warrior, 3 = Sergeant, 4 = Lieutenant, 5 = Captain.

RENOWN
You have a widely known reputation. This can be any kind of reputation, but is usually a positive one. People might go out of their way to curry your favor, or at least get out of your way. At 3 most local people know you; at 6 you’re known throughout the kingdom; at 9 you are known across the British Isles.

WEALTH
Starting characters are assumed to be not much more than peasants in Dawn of Legends, but wealth boosts your character’s lifestyle. Level 1 sets you in a comfortable starting position able to buy common things, and even owning your own plot of land. Level 2 allows you to buy most everyday things and live in a very nice place. At level 3-4 you are well to do and have more than enough money to support yourself; you may be a merchant or warrior. At level 6 you’re rich, have noble status, and likely can afford retainers and perhaps your own war band or small troop of infantry made up of the local people in your home area. At 9 you could be a powerful king and have access to the kingdom’s resources. At 10 you could be the High King (Picts, Irish or British) or Bretwalda (Saxon) and have access to potentially more resources than any single kingdom. The GM must be the final arbiter when determining what starting wealth a character can purchase.

When purchasing starting money with option points multiply the number of option points you spend by the wealth multiplier for the amount of wealth you have. Use the following table to find your wealth multiplier:

Wealth in Dawn of Legends
Dawn of Legends society has not developed a feudal system yet and social standing is often simply determined by the amount of wealth an individual (or her family) has. However, the player considering purchasing a large amount of Wealth should be aware that with privilege and power come responsibility. The player and GM should work out between them what exactly the source of high wealth is. It could come from being the owner of larger amount of land or profitable trade. It usually also means that the locals expect the character to be most able to help out in crisis. It often means that the character is wealthy because he or she promises security and protection in his lands, thus attracting settlers and trade. In Dawn of Legends, honor and pride are important and often cand make or break heroes. British and Saxon laws of Dawn of Legends give privilege and power to the wealthy, but all privilege and protection of the law can be revoked if a person acts dishonorably. This labels a character as an “outlaw”. It is perfectly legal to do anything you want to an outlaw including theft or even murder. An outlaw also has no right to any of her wealth. Saxon Rune Priests can be even more ruthless to powerful individuals who’ve fallen from favor. Delivering the powerful Warg Curse spell not only permanently brands the victim an outlaw but it also turns the victim into a werewolf. It is a fate reserved only for the worst traitors.

Example: Cynric short-arm is a noble with a wealth of 6. He is a noble warrior but horses and armor are very expensive. Therefore he spends 10 Option Points on starting money. Looking at the chart below, Cynric’s player knows to multiply the 10 Option Points spent by 15 before converting it to money (10 x 15 = 150). The exchange rate of Option Points to silver coins is 1:100, so we take Cynric’s adjusted value of 150 x 100 and get 15,000 silver coins (or 750 gold coins — enough to purchase a good warhorse and some nice equipment).

Authority often also requires a certain amount of wealth. The following can be used as a guideline for the minimum amount of wealth necessary to maintain a characters status: 1 = Warrior/Freeman Coerl, 3 = Horse Lord/Thegn or Champion, 6 = Prince(ss)/Ealdorman, 9 = King, 10 = High King.

Increasing your Wealth level during play should be possible, but it requires a reason why. A very successful adventure may provide the wealth. Or perhaps the player had been working on expanding his character’s trading interests through game play. In the end, it is up to the GM to determine when your Wealth level can be increased beyond the starting amount.

Wealth Level	Multiplier	Yearly Income	Example
1	x2	2d6 x 25 silver coins	Warrior/Freeman Coerl
2	x4	2d6 x 50 silver coins
3	x6	2d6 x 100 silver coins	Horse Lord/Thegn or Champion
4	x8	2d6 x 250 silver coins
5	x10	2d6 x 500 silver coins
6	x15	2x6 x 50 gold coins	Prince/Princess/Ealdorman
7	x20	2d6 x 100 gold coins
8	x25	2d6 x 200 gold coins
9	x30	2d6 x 400 gold coins	King (equivalent)
10	x40	2d6 x 1000 gold coins	High King (equivalent)