Easy Weapon Mastery for your OD&D Game (a Proposal)

This is about the Weapon Mastery system in the Rules Cyclopedia. Every 3 level a character may advance his knowledge of one Weapon he has learned to wield, resulting in more damage, an additional to-hit and special attacks like disarming. If a character concentrates on one Weapon, he might be a Grand Master of it at level 12. There are even rules how a weapon expert is able to strike fear in his enemies. I like many aspects of this idea.

What I don't like:

• The additional to-hit bonus (even with a secondary to-hit for another group of enemies, the weapon is not that suited for) is unneccesary and to much bookkeeping. Plus the characters get more powerful fast.
• There are a few very powerful special attacks that throw off the balance of the game (deflect, I see you there lurking by the longsword!).
• Every weapon needs an own portfolio. There are weapons missing and a DM might need to make them himself.
• There are no suitable rules for Weapon Mastery and Monsters. Or damage adjustments for bigger Weapons, etc..
• Weapon damage seems arbitrary. A longsword deals 1d8 damage at basic level, but with skilled mastery, the next level, it deals 1d12 damage. The bastard sword, on the other hand, deals, when used one-handed, only 1d6+1 and 1d6+3 with skilled mastery.

Why different damage for weapons?

The old chainmail rules gave all weapons just 1d6 for damage. So this is an old issue and I'll just quote Mr. Rients about how this might be a good idea to start with. My proposal is somewhat different, but the basic assumption is the same: basic damage for weapons, different damage per class. Weapon mastery applies (sort of).

How it's done.

Each class gets an own combat strength:

Magic User = 1d4 per level of mastery

Thief = 1d6 per level of mastery

Cleric = 1d8 per level of mastery

Fighter = 1d10 per level of mastery

Halfling = 1d6 per level of mastery

Elf = 1d8 per level of mastery

Dwarf = 1d10 per level of mastery

• There are 3 combat categories: Ranged Weapons, Melee and Unarmed Combat.
• Every 3 levels a character might add one die to one category (weapon mastery).
• This dice pool might be used for damage or any other weapon ability regarding weapon mastery (but for every weapon used). You want a better to-hit in the next fight? Take one die from the pool, roll it and you have the to-hit you get and one die less for damage. Same goes for better AC (if you rather want to stay your ground than doing actual damage), deflect (roll the die and see how many attempts you have to deflect an attack), etc..
• If there are no dice left in the pool, you do 1 point damage plus strength mod per attack.
• No more than 3 dice for damage per attack.
• Ranged weapons do one die damage per attack (exception being the heavy crossbow and any other large ranged weapon you might come up with).
• When attacking with a ranged weapon, a character might use his damage die for a better to-hit with the next attack (aiming).
• With Unarmed attacks a character has to assign one die to stun the enemy (result on the roll is the penalty for the save vs. paralyze).
• Large weapons like the heavy crossbow or the halberd need 2 damage dice. So to shoot a heavy crossbow a player with level 1 needs to collect dice for one round and fires it every other round.
• To attack with 2 weapons you need one die for each (so a character needs to be level 3 or more to do such a thing).
• The distribution of dice being a tactical decision, it happens before the fight.
• Rounds are 30 seconds.

This makes it very easy for a DM to assign weapon damage for NPCs and Monsters and the game stays tactical. It's also less bookkeeping for the players. Dice pools for bigger creatures and weapon restrictions will be part of two other posts I hope to finish in the near future.

20 Questions Answered!

Brendan over at Untimately posted 20 necessary questions about the rules we play with. I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm happy to oblige (and very happy for a good excuse to post something myself!):

1. Ability scores generation method?

18D6, distribute 3 dice per ability. A rolled 6 gets rerolled and a player may change the new result with an old one.

2. How are death and dying handled?

With zero hp you are unconcious.  With -1 to -3 hp a character looses 1 hp per round and he dies at -10 if not prevented by Con-Check, healing or first aid. If is at at 0 hp or above and damage puts him to -4 hp or less, he is dead. Same goes for the monsters and NPCs. Additionally a player may opt to cheat death one time per level.

3. What about raising the dead?

It's possible. 1000 gp per level and the occasional favour. It helps to believe into the god.

4. How are replacement PCs handled?

Roll a new character and rejoin the session as soon as possible.

5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else?

Something else.

6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?

For fumbles I use the Arduin Tables (for now). Crits do maximum damage and echo applies (not rolling a 12 on the D12 results in fatigue damage now...).

7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?

Maybe, but I handle armour a bit differently, so here is a post unwritten...

8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?

Not if they cooperate in Combat. Area damage and fumbles on the other hand do that for you.

9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?

If it's around and angry, it might be able to kill them all. They might not be in a position to return the favour.

10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no?

Oh yeah, they exist.

11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?

Yes, could happen. Well, happened already, to be honest.

12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?

I keep an eye on it, but not as closely as I should.

13. What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in  the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?

Happens automatically. Fast and simple.

14. What do I get experience for?

We keep score of the damage the party takes and delivers and multiply it by 10 at the end of the session, then everybody gets his share. Additionaly there are quest related xp and xp for roleplaying (loosely oriented at HackMaster).

15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?

Description first, dice rolling after that if necessary.

16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?

They try, but those guys have a tendency to die away or flee.

17. How do I identify magic items?

Per the spell or for 100 gp by any MU who might be bothered to care.

18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?

Yeah, you can buy them, but they are very rare and very expensive. Potions are available (500 gp per healing potion).

19. Can I create magic items? When and how?

Yeah, as soon as you have the spells to do so...

20. What about splitting the party?

I like it, the players don't.

The limits of control (Discovering Old School D&D)

Here I go again. Had nothing posted for a very long time, but real live has a tendency to fuck things up and to express the thoughts of my poor German brain in English is harder than I thought. Especially since there is so much great stuff already out there! So the Ranger is out of the woods again, let's see how long he'll stay at the inn to tell his stories...

D&D is a very complex game.

I was DM in many games before I confronted myself with The Rules Cyclopedia for D&D nearly 2 years ago. Being a huge fan of the OSR I decided to make the game my own. I picked some house rules from the community, made some on my own and generally made a fool of myself trying new things. But most of the experience I had with other games seemed insufficient to give me a feeling for the game. Oh, we had tons of fun killing and looting and dungeon crawling, but most of the time I wasn't able to see the big picture. I was only going through the motions and used powerful tropes to keep me aloft. As I stated before, it worked. Sort of.

The biggest problem: how to improvise the game.

Most games set boundaries. That's a good thing, because within these boundaries and in combination with the rules a DM is able to improvise the game. Most of the newer rpgs bring a specific setting or theme with them and/or the rules are designed to fulfil very specific purposes. This is also true for 3e and it's offsprings (well, mostly, I'll get to that). But it's definitly not true for the RC and, arguably, any older edition of D&D. The sheer scope of the game is impressive if not intimidating!

So what's this about?

A Magic User (in the Rules Cyclopedia) needs 4.350.000 xp to reach level 36 and if he got that far, he might as well aim for immortality. As did those who were already gods when he got his first chesthair. I'd guess most people don't play this far, but that's not the point. You have the monsters to challenge PCs or NPCS of such power. They (the monsters and the mighty) shape the world around the players and have done so for thousands of years. They have already earned the xp to get there or are on their way while your players make characters. This is where DIY and improvising gets VERY difficult.

This might be old news, but Gary did it...

I sometimes wondered why most people think D&D is only fun for the first 3/6/10 levels. Now I think the reason is because it's manageable. The aforementioned boundaries are in effect. Any power levels above that are handled as flavourtext. Or by using something published. Or by playing the game for decades (without getting gamers ADD). Nothing wrong with that.

But for me this is the sweet spot I am aiming for. Not only to decide how my campaign setting developed and how those power levels shaped it, but also to see this machine working in full force. This just might be why I wanted to start blogging and where the focus of this blog should be: exploring D&D as someone with no experience in this wonderful game.

The Wizard (Reskinning Classes: Part 1)

Let's start this the right way.

    D&D 4th Edition        OSR Magic        the new guy in town    

So Jeff over at Jeff's Gameblog had this awesome series about the Arduin Grimoire going. Part 5 of this series was about MAGIC IN ARDUIN and Mana. This is the basic deal (I tinkered a little bit with it...):

• Spells as usual (see spell list below).
• Memorize as usual.
• Int 8 or lower - (INT times Level divided by 4) Mana
• Int 9-12 - (INT times Level divided by 3) Mana
• Int 13 or more - (INT times Level divided by 2) Mana
• To cast a spell costs (spell level times 3) Mana.
• You may use half the Mana costs to cast a spell with half it's effect.
• You may use double of the Mana costs to cast a spell with 1.5 of it's effect.
• As long as you have Mana, you may cast any spell you have memorized, but any Mana you used without actually having it will reduce your Hit Points by that amount (last resort, sort of).
• Mana regenerates after 8 hours of undisturbed sleep.
• You may attempt to counter a spell if you are faster (Ini) than the casting MU and recognize the spell (via INT-check or any skill, if applicable). You have to use the exact amount of Mana as the casting MU (or more than that) or your counter failed (the Mana would be lost).
• To activate a spell on a scroll is 1 Mana per spell level.

With the Mana costs at spell level x 3 he couldn't cast more than he actually would with the classic rules, but he is much more flexible in his casting.

What Spells on Level 1?

This is an example, the whole spell list would take to much space, but it shows what I wanted to show:

Spells Lvl 1 (roll 1d20 for random pleasure!)

Basic Spells
Cantrips
Read Magic 

Spells
1 Analyze
2 Alarm
3 Armor
4 Burning Hands
5 Charm Person
6 Color Spray
7 Detect Magic
8 Feather Fall
9 Grease
10 Hold Portal
11 Light*
12 Magic Missile
13 Message
14 Read Languages
15 Shield
16 Sleep
17 Taunt
18 Unseen Servant
19 Ventriloquism
20 Wall of Fog

It's a mix of spells from the D&D Rules Cyclopedia and AD&D. All missing spells might be around, but that's what you get. Basic Spells means they have it always memorized (without using a Spell Slot) because it was an essential part of their qualification as a wizard. They should be able to use important spells like Read Magic. Cantrips (1 Mana per Cantrip) are nice flavour for THE GAME. My thinking, anyway.

I discarded any spells a MU could use to fortify some physical ability (be it Spider Climb or Jump) on purpose*. The MU, as I would like to have him in my game, manipulates the physical world to achieve his goals, not the other way around. Feather Fall is disputable in this, but there is a difference between a guy casting a spell to climb a wall (a physical action) and a guy casting a spell because he lost his footing (desperation).

The rest as usual, please!

For progression, hit points and spells per level I use the Rules Cyclopedia. As a courtesy I give them for every +1 INT bonus one more spell (a +3 would mean one more spell for the first 3 spell levels, etc.).

It's not the only way to present the MU in a D&D game, but it's the way I prefer it. I hope there are a few new ideas or perspectives, though.

* The MU in my group commented this with: Why use Jump if you can fly in style?

Black Sabbath introducing Classes in D&D (Reskinning Classes: Prologue)

The OSR made me do it!

Especially this guy. But it's no new idea to customize Classes in an RPG or even to build new Classes to make the players happy. As a regular feature in my Campaign, players may unlock new Classes (it's just my fancy way to give them the feeling they've achieved something...). There are already two examples on this blog. For this series I would like to talk about the basic Classes in the Rules Cyclopedia, though. Like, my view on the Thief, why should a MU have Mana, Cleric spells at 2nd level (but...), this sort of thing. And when I started thinking about this, I considered linking some Black Sabbath to it, you know, for flavour.

And soon I realized it's ALL Black Sabbath!

Dig it! The Wizard:

The Fighter:

The Thief (okay, tricky... Paranoid maybe?):

The Cleric (now, this is a freebie):

The Elf:

The Dwarf:

The Halfling (sorry, nothing comes to mind but this):

Well, it wasn't that easy after all. But very Old School. Next will be an intimate look into the Wizard (Spell lists, Arduin Mana and Cantrips to blow funny smokerings).

The Ranger lost in Slovenia

A 3D map of a giant petrified Purple Worm with a Mad Wizard in it? Sounds cool?

Check it out over at prekomorec!

Behold the Quest for Prince Charming (Addendum)

While writing my last post I was on a quest for a picture of a good Disney Prince (for the Changeling Class below). I would have gone for funny, but this is what I got then:

"You want to kiss her awake? Save vs. Dragon Breath!

(A mint might give you a bonus...) "

This one was nice, but I couldn't use it (may share it nonetheless):

There were also a lot of frog pictures,

because... er... nerver mind.

One picture wouldn't leave me alone, though:

What did this guy do wrong?

But I missed something. And then it hit me:

Then the DM in my head says: "Yeah, yeah. You mean, when a Changeling gets drained to level zero, he not only looses his Charm Power, he also gets very hairy and a bad attitude. Funny that. Ha Ha." That bastard...