2021 Senior Exhibition Artists 2021 Senior Exhibition Artists: William Ferrari

About William Ferrari

William Ferrari is a writer and game designer interested in the world of tabletop roleplaying games. William transferred from Computer Science to Animation and Game Arts after freshman year and spent three years working hard to graduate, making the Dean’s list in every semester since spring of his Sophomore year. For the last year and a half, William has poured his heart out into his Senior Capstone project, a high fantasy roleplaying game called ‘Spellswords’. He hopes you, your friends, and your family might have some fun playing it in the future.

Statement

In middle school I learned that I had issues with education. I have ADD & ADHD, and like many of my peers might know, that is the kind of volatile mix that makes you draw in class when you’re supposed to be reading the book or solving an equation. When I was in middle school, I was labeled a slow learner. I was told I couldn’t take advanced classes in my public high school, I was put on medication to help me focus, and I never learned to make friends. While the people around me were making leaps and bounds, I was stuck to the ground like my shoes were glued to the floor. It wasn’t until my family and I decided to explore options outside of the public school system that I was able to learn just how smart I really was. Where the public school told me I was a struggling student, my high school, South Eastern Regional Vocational Technical High School, told me I was strong. They put me in advanced English classes in all four years, leading me into a college level AP course in my senior year.

Naturally, when I moved onto college, I continued trying to pursue the things I loved. I wanted to take the next step in improving myself as an individual, and I found my place in Animation and Game Arts. AGA is a challenging program full of promising individuals. Despite a very limited staff, I have never once felt under equipped under the tutelage of my professors, and now as I near graduation, I feel honored to have learned under the dedicated professors of the UMD AGA program.

Teller’s Guide to Spellswords

“Thank you to everyone who supported me during the creation of this wonderful game! I couldn’t have written a single page without my friends, family, and teachers at my back. Please enjoy yourselves and see our contact information at the end of this document!” - William Ferrari, Creator, Designer, & Head Writer

Introduction

Welcome players and storytellers, to Teller’s Guide to Spellswords! Spellswords is a game of friends, battling good and evil together, around a small table. Spellswords is a role-playing game where you go on fantastic adventures throughout the universe using your imagination, with concepts such as magic, technology, history, and fiction.

There are two roles in a game of Spellswords: The Teller and the Player(s). It is the Teller’s role to build the world and fill it with creatures and quests for the Player(s) to experience. The Player(s) are the Main characters of the game. The story revolves around them and their interactions with the world. In a group of Players, it is important to remember that no one character is more important than another. Think of the group itself as a single Main character.

Drognia’s Tome of Monsters

“In these pages lies the story of infinite galaxies, and the creatures that reside in them. Not every being charted here abides by the same laws as the ones I’ve discovered. Perhaps there’s a world out there where commoners rule over kings?” - Drognia Everwind

Introduction

Welcome to Drognia’s Tome of Monsters! This book contains all the creatures the great explorer Drognia Everwind discovered on his ventures through space and time. If you’re a storyteller looking to run a game of Spellswords, this is where you’ll find many of the creatures that inhabit your world. Some of the monsters here you’ll recognize from literature, cinema, or mythology, while others are completely alien to our world as we know it. From humans to dragons, from bunnies to trolls, this book contains creatures from all facets of life. However, you may find that the creatures held in this book aren’t pictured in the way you imagined them. In that case, you should play the creatures the way you want to. You're the storytellers, the world builders, and the game masters. It’s your decision how you want to play the game, because the most important part of playing is having fun! In the case that you don’t find a creature that fits your needs, fret not, for this book contains a nifty little guide for creating your own monsters! Perhaps you want to make a ghastly Chick-a-pus! Half chicken, half octopus! Truly terrifying.

Man, or Monster?

A monster is an enemy creature that can be interacted with or killed for experience. Any creature that has a Challenge Rating counts as a monster. This includes beasts, humans, and even rocks in some cases.

Limwick’s Guide To Dungeoneering

Introduction

If you’re reading this, then you’ve come seeking knowledge. Tales of men great and wicked, stories of days gone by, and ever long, the search for power. Here is where questions are answered, but be weary, for what you find may lead to your inevitable demise. This is the story of Ivorun.

Long ago, a god came to a desolate rock. Here, the god found only monstrosities. The monsters plagued the world, and consumed everything in sight, and yet, there was balance. The monsters had a hierarchy, and all bowed down to a king. This king was unlike any other. Strong as it was ferocious, the creature’s mere presence forced the god to the other side of the rock, though the god had suspicions that it could burrow through the rock’s core if it desired. Nevertheless, the god was curious. Could something new be introduced to this place? What would come from the smallest spark of change, even if it were subtle, temporary at best. This rock had lasted for millions of years before he came, so what difference would it make if he left a mark on the side of a stone, and so, the god breathed new life into the earth, and from it sprung the first Kind.

The dwarves, beings of pride and honor. The elves, mindful as they were intelligent. The Little Foot, whom he shared his own nature of curiosity. The humans, who he made most abundant of all Kind. He gifted his creations a template, growing plants for them to shelter beneath, animals for them to feed upon, and eventually, magic to defend their kingdoms. His wisdom and his affinity for all things magical made his creations revere him, and they titled him Galdur, god of magic. As the seeds of his creations spread, he found that they grew more destructive the closer they came to primal energy, his trees growing larger, his animals growing more mindless, all things free from their constraints. He feared the Kind would fall to this primitive nature if they ever neared the primal beings, so he created a massive ocean to engulf the world. The kind stood on one continent, the king stood on the other, separated by endless seas.

Leveling

When a character levels up, they gain a free +1 to each of their Stats (except for Health) and 7 points to spend among their Stats. A character cannot add more than 3 points (of their 7) to a Stat per level. Characters also gain a number of Health points each level based on their class. When you can upgrade a skill, you may gain basic knowledge in a new skill instead. You may only gain or upgrade a skill once per level (ex: At 9th level, you cannot gain Basic knowledge in Craft, and immediately upgrade that knowledge to Intermediate at the same level). Lastly, at every odd level after the 1st, you may take 1 Free Expertise.

• 1st - You gain class mandated abilities and bonuses. Attack (2d6).
• 2nd - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 3rd - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8).
• 4th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 5th - Gain 1 Class Talent. Attack (3d6).
• 6th - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8). Upgrade one Intermediate knowledge to Expert knowledge (d10).
• 7th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 8th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 9th - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8). Upgrade one Intermediate knowledge to Expert knowledge (d10). Upgrade one Expert knowledge to Master knowledge (d12).
• 10th - Gain 1 Class Talent. Attack (4d6).
• 11th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 12th - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8). Upgrade one Intermediate knowledge to Expert knowledge (d10). Upgrade one Expert knowledge to Master knowledge (d12).
• 13th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 14th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 15th - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8). Upgrade one Intermediate knowledge to Expert knowledge (d10). Upgrade one Expert knowledge to Master knowledge (d12). Attack (5d6).
• 16th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 17th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 18th - Gain 1 basic knowledge. Upgrade one Basic knowledge to Intermediate knowledge (d8). Upgrade one Intermediate knowledge to Expert knowledge (d10). Upgrade one Expert knowledge to Master knowledge (d12).
• 19th - Gain 1 Class Talent.
• 20th - Gain 1 Class Talent. Attack (6d6).

Dwarves

Short, stout, bearded, and filled to the brim with pride, the dwarves are some of the finest warriors you’ll ever meet. Dwarves are tribunal, forming clans and building large cities out of the hardiest of materials. Dwarves are masters at the art of crafting. All dwarves share some knowledge in a craft, but not all dwarves are inherent builders. Many pursue a warrior’s life, fighting wars and staving off great beasts from the high walls of their grandiose cities.

Dwarf - +2 to Health
Dwarfs gain knowledge in the Craft skill. If you already have knowledge in the Craft skill, you gain your next level of knowledge.
Size. Medium, 4 - 5 feet.
Lifespan. Up to 250 years.

Elves

Mind, body, and soul. These are the three aspects that provide the elves with their unnatural longevity. Spending the first hundred years of their lives learning how to reach inner peace, the elves reach physical and mental maturity around 120 years. Upon reaching maturity, the elf’s body seems to stop aging, though the older they grow, the lighter their hair color becomes. The oldest of elves have silky, pure white hair, which rivals that of angels. What more, an elf’s mind will never deteriorate naturally for as long as the elf lives, making the elf more powerful as time goes by.

Elf - +2 to Magic
Elves gain knowledge in the Spot skill. If you already have knowledge in the Spot skill, you gain your next level of knowledge.
Size. Medium, 5 - 7 feet.
Lifespan. Up to 900 years.

Cerberus

Huge / Beast Spirit / CR 4 (700 XP)
25 foot (Walk)

Levurnicus, the Warden of Hell, found himself quite fond of mutts. With the approval of Rabbia, he accepted the souls of dogs into hell, where they would grow into the mighty Cerberus. A Cerberus has three heads and is often the companion to powerful devils. Very few Cerberus roam the layers of hell wildly, as devils keep to their dogs on a tight leash. Some Cerberuses are known to grow into gargantuan sizes, though these Cerberus are usually only found in the 9th layer, where they must compete against the nagid for food in the coldest conditions possible.

Health 96 / 96 Magic 22 / 22
Stamina 16 / 16 Power 34 / 34
Repertoire 24 / 24 Wit 22 / 22
Luck 24 / 24

Skills -
Spot (master, 1d12)

Talents (4d6) -
Bite (Quick Action). The Cerberus can use a quick action to make a bite attack, at a range of 10 feet. On a hit, the target is Grappled.

Multiple Heads. The Cerberus can use a Quick Action for every head it has.

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