Honor in Sonderlund

Sonderlunding culture puts a great importance on honor. Sonderlundings strive to live honorably and perform heroic deeds, both for their own standing and to advance their legacy so that they may be remembered as worthy ancestors. Here's an optional house rule to model the consequences of Sonderlunding honor culture. While these rules are geared toward Sonderlunding characters, they could easily be adjusted to suit similar cultures in the Lunar Lands, such as those of orcs or Northmen, or in other settings.

A character using these rules should write an additional stat on their character sheet called Honor. All characters start with 10 Honor, except characters with the Criminal background, who start at 5 Honor. These starting values may be adjusted based on character backstory, with permission of the DM.

During a campaign, a character's actions or conduct may cause them to gain or lose Honor. The DM should tell the player to adjust their character's Honor up or down when they perform such deeds, assuming that they have a witness to verify their account or provide evidence of their doings. A list of some common situations that may cause a character to gain or lose Honor can be found below. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, and a DM may need to use their judgment to determine the impact of actions not listed here on a character's Honor.

Performing necromancy: -100

Breaking an ancestral oath: -25 

Breaking an oath: -10

Attempting a quest with special circumstances (ex. defeating an opponent without weapons or armor) and failing: -7 

Attempting a quest and failing: -5

Being defeated by a weaker foe: -5 

Being taken captive: -5 

Committing murder: -5

Disrespecting a thane, king, or druid: -5

Fleeing battle: -5 

Refusing to pay weregild if requested: -5

Committing theft: -2 

Willfully lying: -2

Making a pilgrimage to a sacred place: +2

Recording your deeds in a runestone: +2 

Attempting a quest and succeeding: +5 

Avenging a fallen ally: +5

Defeating a member of a rival clan: +5 

Following in an ancestor's footsteps: +5

Making an ancestral oath: +5 

Attempting a quest with special circumstances (ex. defeating an opponent without weapons or armor) and succeeding: +7

Slaying a foe in battle: +enemy's CR minus PC's level (minimum 0)

Offering treasure to your liege: +1 for every 100 GP in value. 

Offering a magic item to your liege: +2 for Uncommon, +5 for Rare, +7 for Very Rare, +10 for Legendary, +20 for Artifact.

A character can boast of their heroic deeds to impress others. They may roll 1d100 if confronted by a non-hostile NPC; if the result is less than their Honor, that NPC becomes friendly. If using a reaction roll, you gain a +5% bonus to reaction rolls for every 10 Honor above 10, and a -5% penalty to reaction rolls for every 3 Honor below 10.

If a character's Honor ever goes below 0, they are declared an outlaw. Members of their clan may perform any crime against them (up to and including murder) with impunity, and they may not receive any benefits from members of their clan (for instance, they will be turned away if they attempt to visit stores or inns run by a clansman). They may or may not be considered redeemed if their Honor goes back above 1; DM's choice.

At 70 Honor, a character will receive a gift from their liege - usually a magic item or other such treasure suited to the character. They will be expected to pay the gift back in service or with another gift of a similar value.

At 80 Honor or above, every week, there is a 10% chance a character will be challenged to a duel by an opponent of similar strength. If this duel is refused, they lose 10 Honor.

At 90 Honor, a character will receive an invitation to the court of their liege, who may serve as a benefactor or quest-giver. If they refuse this invitation, they do not lose any Honor, but their liege may be insulted.

A character may not have greater than 100 Honor, or less than -100 Honor.

These rules were adapted from those given in the HR3: Celts Campaign Sourcebook for 2e D&D, by Graeme Davis.