House Rules for 2nd Ed. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Table of Contents
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Beginning PC Considerations
- Abilities - can only have one 18 before racial mods are
applied, and ability scores must be bought from 300 points.
- Races - all normal races are allowed, but instead of level
limits, I use an XP penalty, see the house rule. Any
race not in the PHB needs to be approved. For now, I
will allow Half-Orcs because I don't think they should have
ever been taken out to begin with.
- Classes
- Everything in the book is OK, but for now no Paladins
or Specialty Priests of Tempus.
- ALL specialty priests and kits must be approved by me.
- Hit points - maximum at first level, then 1/2 max plus
(1-1/2 max), e.g. a Cleric would get 4 +1d4 hit points instead
of 1d8.
- Multiclassed Wizards and Bards may wear any armor listed
as having no encumbrance per Combat & Tactics, e.g.
Leather, Ring Mail, etc., and still be able to cast spells
without penalty, provided they would be able to wear armor
otherwise.
- Alignment - Everyone must be good, no discussion on this.
- Proficiencies
- All proficiencies are gained twice as fast, although
starting proficiencies are as normal.
- I will give you two free slots worth of background proficiencies
based on your background. These will likely be interesting/colorful
proficiencies, the kind that would make power gamers cringe.
See the house rules about new proficiencies and modifications
to the way the scores are figured.
- Bonus Proficiencies:
- Read/Write Common
- Perception (Int+Wis)/2
- Money and Equipment
- Roll twice for money, take the best result
- Do not assume any prices
- Armor does not count towards your weight limit, but rather
its encumbrance level becomes your minimum encumbrance
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Attributes
Point-based system
I use a modification of the points system in Skills and Powers.
Instead of putting a cap on maximums, I make very high scores
more expensive. It is very easy to have a PC with all of
their scores above average using my system. A character
may have no more than one 18 before racial mods. PCs have 36 points
to spend as follows -
Ability |
Cost |
18/00 |
16 |
18/91-99 |
15 |
18/76-90 |
14 |
18/51-75 |
13 |
18/01-50 |
12 |
18 |
12 |
17 |
9 |
16 |
7 |
15 |
5 |
14 |
4 |
13 |
3 |
12 |
2 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
9 |
-1* |
8 |
-2* |
7 |
-3* |
6 |
-4* |
* - Gm approval required
Racial
Bonuses and Exceptional Strength
Racial bonuses apply after purchasing abilities. For a warrior
with a racial bonus to strength, treat 18/00 as an intermediate
value. So, if you buy 18 and have a +1, you get 18/00.
If you buy 18/00 and your racial limit is 19 or greater, you get
a 19.
Subabilities
The subabilities from Player's Option: Skills & Tactics are
allowable, they require approval first, and I will not allow
subabilities to exceed racial maximums for the base abilities
(which is the way the rules are set up). The following are
changes and clarifications:
- Strength & Constitution - the subabilities for this
are absurdly indistinct. As such, the subabilities for
Strength, Muscle and Stamina, will have the same values and
the subabilities for Constitution, Health and Fitness, will
also have the same values. I respect the attempt to
have uniformity in the rules, but the distinctions seem to
have been made solely to allow poor, point-deprived power
gamers to make mechanically buff PCs.
- Dexterity
- Aim is essentially hand-eye coordination. As such,
it will be the skill used for fine work as well as ranged
combat. A skilled painter, woodcarver, surgeon, or
archer would likely have a high Aim.
- Balance is pretty straightforward, it's agility.
A tightrope walker, gymnast, or martial arts instructor
would likely have a high Balance.
- Intelligence
- Reason - problem-solving and overall mental agility.
A successful physicist, detective, or hacker would likely
have a high Reason.
- Knowledge - what you know, formal and informal, as well
as your mnemonic ability. This is not meant to be
a redundancy of the Proficiencies. This reflects a
general breadth of knowledge, whereas a Proficiency reflects
a select depth of knowledge. Celtic Druids, scholars, and
sages would likely have a high Knowledge.
- Wisdom
- Intuition - hunches, gut-feelings, sixth sense, etc.
A successful investigator, point-man, or bodyguard would
have a high Intuition.
- Willpower - mental strength, grit, moxie, chutzpah, etc.
A successful crime boss, special forces soldier, or holocaust
survivor would likely have a high Willpower.
- Charisma
- Leadership - your force of personality, presence, and
ability to get others to accomplish an objective.
One's bearing, demeanor, and use of voice all contribute
to this. Do not confuse this with Willpower.
One can have a strong force of personality but be easily
manipulated, as history repeatedly shows. The classic
good king being used as a puppet by his evil vizier is a
great example. A successful general, senator, or evangelist
would likely have a high Leadership.
- Appearance - how physically attractive you are.
An actor, model, or beauty pageant winner would likely have
a high Appearance. This attribute tends to work in
the short term, whereas Leadership tends to work in the
long term.
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Races
Dwarves and size
PCs are assumed to be Hill or Mountain Dwarves, which are man-sized.
Derro and Deurgar were not considered in the "Experience and level
limits" rationales as I do not expect PCs to play them.
The latter races have different abilities and are generally evil
or minions of evil, so I would have to consider heavily any request
to play one (please don't ask unless you have a fantastic character
idea).
Experience and
level limits
I use XP penalties instead of level limits, this consists of a
penalty due to race and class (The Humanoids book is weird, ask
me first):
Race |
XP Penalty |
Dwarves |
15% |
Elves |
15% |
Gnomes |
10% (15% - 5% size) |
Halfling with no Stout blood |
5% (10% - 5% size) |
Halfling with mixed Stout blood (30' IR) |
10% (10% + 5% IR - 5% size) |
Halfling with full Stout blood (60' IR) |
15% (10% + 10% IR - 5% size) |
Half-Elves |
10% |
Half-Orcs |
15% |
Level Limit
|
XP Penalty
|
Concept |
15+
|
0%
|
Naturally suited to the profession |
11-14
|
5%
|
Not perfectly suited to it |
8-10
|
10%
|
An uncommon choice and/or a profession your race is
not naturally well suited to |
The Rationales
I decided Infravision costs 10% outright. Ability mods bumped
this up 5%, but that 5% would cover some small additional stuff
(half orcs have no extra stuff, but they do have double ability
mods, so they cost 15%).
Elves and Halflings are among the more most plussy races more
for their lack of penalties. They both have a surprise
ability, and a racial weapon bonus. However the surprise
ability can be very difficult to exploit, especially if the
party is not comprised of all Halflings and Elves.
Elves additionally have a 90% resistance to Sleep and Charm,
but that pales in comparison to the Halfling's bonuses to all
saving throws versus magic and poison.
Elves have an ability to detect secret/concealed doors above
that of others, but it is a special talent that could very well
be useless most of the time and is more of a generic party benefit
than a player benefit. There is actually a NW Proficiency
that simulates this as well, so it is not as unique or difficult
to obtain as other abilities. Halflings have a subtle
attribute that all races get along well with
them.
So, not considering Infravision, Halflings come out more plussy.
However, they are short. This is a big factor in my game
mainly because I will be using Combat & Tactics. Big
weapons knock small people around more easily. So, this
will be reflected in a 5% bonus to experience.
The least plussy is the Half-Elf. Basically a quirky
human with Infravision. I set the scale with them at 10%.
Next come Dwarves & Gnomes. They have Infravision,
so they start at 10%. Their difficulty with magic item
use is a very real disadvantage, but they have the very useful
ability of a saving throw bonus vs. poison and magic.
They also have attribute mods, mining skills, and bonuses when
fighting some commonly encountered monster types. I roll
this all together and give them a 15%.
Half-Orcs fall in here as well because they have Infravision
and double ability mods (one could conceivably make a Half-Orc
with three 18's!) and their only penalty is to Charisma, which
is an attribute that is usually not hard to avoid using.
Prejudice against them is minimal since Half-Orcs adventurers
come from the upper 10% of the ones that can pass for human.
Elves have no penalties, but their plusses are also not individually
that amazing. I feel that without accounting for size,
Halflings definitely have it better than Elves. So I could
have Elves cost 20% and Halflings cost 15%/20%/25% (0 IR / 30'
IR / 60' IR). However, with class bonuses, a Halfling
could end up with a 30% penalty, and I did not want to exceed
25% total. Besides, the surprise ability is special and
needs to be orchestrated and the Elven resistance is very specific,
whereas the Short people's resistances are very buff and work
all of the time. So Elves weigh in at 15% and Halflings
10%/15%/20%
Finally, there is size. In my game, that will mean something,
especially using Combat & Tactics, so I took off 5% for
that. This applies to Halflings and Gnomes.
Finally there is class. I used class level limits to
reflect the relative difficulty that a given race had advancing
in a given class. Either the race's abilities are not
ideal so it is very hard to learn, or perhaps their outlook
is not well-suited to the profession.
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Classes
Hit points
Hit points (HP) are allocated differently. The first hit
die is granted at its maximum. Subsequent dice are handled
as follows:
- Take half the HP
- Roll for the other half
- Example: Clerics would get 4 + 1d4 instead of 1d8
You will also want to read "Hit
Points, My Philosophy" |
Alignment
Follow yours. For the moment, I am requiring all PCs to
be Good, unless their alignment shifts due to in-game occurrences.
I have no desire to encourage people to role-play scumbags.
I run a heroic fantasy campaign.
Good vs. Neutral
vs. Evil: This is not as black and white as the books would
have you believe. I prefer moral ambiguity to foster more
interesting player choices and obstacles. However, my
philosophy on this is approximately as follows:
- Good: generally, altruism is a necessary quality, as is
reasonable adherence to a "good" moral code.
- Neutral: morality is "OK" until it endangers your situation.
This is sadly a very common stance, such a person might obey
the law and not kill, etc., but when faced with a morally
ambiguous situation, they are equally likely to choose the
"good" choice over the "evil" choice. This is not meant
to suggest that one play a neutral PC as schizophrenic.
You should pick and choose which side of the line you stand
on with respect to various issues, rather than flipping a
coin each time.
- Evil: the opposite of "good". However, note that
one does not need to be a craven, puppy killing, candy stealing
deviant to be evil. One who kills indiscriminately is
just as evil as one who exploits and abuses his slaves but
is very reluctant to kill.
Law vs. Neutral vs.
Chaos: Generally, I take this to mean order versus chaos.
For simplicity, I would generally expect a lawful character to
not only be concerned about following the law, but to naturally
feel compelled to do so. As such, I expect such PCs to desire
order in execution of all affairs. Chaotic characters would
tend to be more dismissive of the (perceived) shackles of law.
Such people would also be expected to be less eager to plan things
out and more likely to take matters into their own hands.
Clearly, this has to be offset by the PC's choices of Law/Neutral/Good.
A Lawful Evil person would plot and scheme and work to exploit
laws to his own end and thus is very fond of laws. Some
extreme thoughts for you to interpolate from:
- Chaos: tactics and discussion are for the weak, deluded,
and cowardly. Rules are meant to be broken. Independence
is essential. Down with the system!
- Neutral: some laws are ok, but generally only if the law
agrees with what I believe/want. Sure, I stole his sword,
but he was a right bastard.
- Law: obey the law, the law is your friend. Planning
your next move is wise. Work within the system.
Absolutes not necessary:
With only nine permutations of alignment, it is would absurd to
expect a given alignment to be rigidly defined. As such,
there is room to maneuver in each slot. Lawful Good does
not mean you have to play your PC like a Paladin. A Lawful
Good person might drive the speed limit, work in a soup kitchen
once a week, and put their lives on the line for others at the
drop of a hat. However, driving a little over the speed
limit in a conscientious fashion, no overt charity work, or an
aversion to laying down one's life would not kick a PC out of
the Lawful Good club.
Gray areas: well, here are
some areas that will create some interesting role-playing challenges.
Most of them would only really be dilemmas for good PCs.
You might want to think about your character's view points on
these:
- Rendering aid and prisoners of war: what is your PC's view
on rendering aid to an enemy? How strong is your conviction?
This is a *very* important issue to resolve for a healer.
- Cannibalism: Clearly, if a group of screaming savages eat
humans for no good reason or simply for the sake of killing
and eating humans, then that is evil, but is any form of cannibalism
evil according to your PC? What about, say, eating the
heart of a slain enemy? What about the Aztec's ritual
sacrifice of great warriors?
- Slavery and class inequality: generally, these are hallmarks
of neutrality and evil. However, what if your PCs came
across a nation of happy, smiley, peaceful people that had
slaves which were well cared for? What if only prisoners
of war and/or criminals were used as slaves?
- Ends justifies the means: an oldie but a goodie.
What is your take? Does your PC excuse the chauvinist
(in the original sense of the word) that kills and tortures
a dozen men to protect thousands? hundreds? dozens?
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Proficiencies
How
I Run Proficiencies (some of my philosophy)
I would love to have the most realistic, consistent, smooth-running
campaign possible, with players that naturally limit themselves
and have a limited telepathy that allows them to comprehend everything
I say with crystal clarity. However, while I am waiting
for that to happen, I try to use proficiencies to help me out.
I put a lot of stock into character concept and would be happy
to simply make interpretations on it, but it would be unrealistic
for the players or myself to work out a concept in such detail
that the skill levels are so obvious that relative, quantifiable
abilities spring forth as needed. Also, one scout may
be at one with the wilderness whereas another might be a city
boy that has just recently joined the scouts for the excitement.
How do we flesh out their abilities in a timely fashion?
Proficiencies!
I use a very simple method. I will tell you to roll against
your proficiency or one half your proficiency (rounded down).
You tell me how much you made it by and I interpret the result.
Generally, in a contest, the person that makes it by more wins.
If you do not possess a proficiency, you might still try to
accomplish an effect with it. Competing with someone trained
in the skill will usually be silly, though it *might* be damn
heroic and that counts for something in my game.
People can usually help out. In such a case, a fellow
skilled user can usually confer a +2. Modifiers can never
take your skill above the maximum of 16. If time is of
the essence, people might be able to reduce the time needed,
depending on the task, the skill, and their abilities.
In general, be creative and don't ask me for long lists of numbers
that we both have to look up because that's not gaming; that's
accounting and unlike some I do not consider that to be a recreational
activity.
Beginning
I will give you up to five character points of background proficiencies
based on your background. These will likely be interesting/colorful
proficiencies, the kind that would make power gamers cringe.
If you have non-combat but interesting/supportive proficiencies
in mind, then let me know and I will probably just apply the points
to them.
Beginning players will receive two bonus proficiencies - Read/Write
Common and Perception (Int+Wis)/2
Progression
5 CPs will be awarded per level. Additional CPs might be
given out on occasion, but no more than one or two points.
Weapon
of Choice, Expertise, and Specialization
Non-warriors that purchase the ability to specialize in a weapon
can benefits from Weapon of Choice and Expertise provided they
have the points, until they reach the necessary level to specialize.
Either of the abilities can be purchased and the points applied
later to the cost of Specialization. If the points to Specialize
are lower than the combined cost of Weapon of Choice and Expertise,
then the character can spend the points to specialize to receive
the benefits of Weapon of Choice and Expertise. This means
that the character is limited to the +1 hit and/or multiple attacks
until they reach the necessary level, then they get the +2 to
damage as well.
Combined cost
Example: Able, a Druid, pays the 15 points for Weapon Specialization
as a class ability, it will cost him an additional 6 points
to Specialize and he can not take advantage of the benefits
until 5th level. At first level, he pays the three points
for Weapon of Choice to get the +1 to hit. At third level,
he has three points available, but is not high enough level
to Specialize. Looking at the cost for Expertise, 4 points,
he appears to be short on points, but Specialization would only
cost him 6 points, so the three points is enough.
New and Modified
Proficiencies
Area Knowledge (General, 2/8,
Int/Know, +2 for Precise Memory): Area Knowledge covers those
general knowledge skills that most people have. It is raw
knowledge of some place. The more specific the knowledge,
the less likely the user will need to roll to know something.
Area Knowledge of a small town would require very few rolls to
know information of concern, whereas Area Knowledge of a country
would require rolls with large penalties to know of a specific
building in a specific town, unless it were a nationally famous
building. Remembering information is essential, so Precise
Memory confers a +2 bonus.
Barter (General, 3/7, Wis/Will, Wis/Intu,
+2 for Empathy, +2 for Fast-Talking): This is the skill
of conducting trade of any sort. A person with this skill
will usually be able to obtain normal prices for a given region.
Skill checks would be necessary to obtain discounts, buy something
that is not for sale, etc. This skill might also be useful
in parley when monsters come upon the party and wish to slap
them around and take all of their cool stuff. Being able
to gauge your mark and convince him of the attractiveness of
your offer is very useful, hence Empathy and Fast-Talking both
confer a +2.
Fast-Talking (Rogue, 2/8, Charisma/Leadership,
Wisdom/Intuition, +2 for Glibness): Fast-talking, generally
a polite word for "lying", is essentially trying to convince
a target of something before they have time to really think
it through and/or distracting them from bothersome facts and
truths that could complicate your situation. It requires
a good deal of improvisation based upon what the user thinks
the target wants to hear as well as a good measure of force
of personality. It is typically used to accomplish an
immediate effect, not broker negotiations. Although long
term plans can be executed with Fast-Talking, any given episode
of Fast-Talking will become progressively more difficult as
the opportunity to trip over one's words and expose inconsistencies
increases. The target must be intelligent and able to
converse with the user. This skill is often used to intimidate
people by implying some negative consequence if they do not
comply. For those to whom prevarication comes naturally,
Fast-Talking is child's play, hence Glibness confers a +2 bonus.
Healing (modifications): See Combat:
First Aid
Intimidation (Warrior, 2/8, Str/Musc,
Con/Fitness, +2 for Fast-Talking): This is simply the skill
of looking dangerous and convincing someone to comply with your
wishes. As opposed to convincing someone of some unseen
danger to not complying with you, say with Fast-Talk, Intimidation
is the skill of appearing dangerous enough to give people reason
to pause. Of course, throwing out a couple of threatening
words or a good one-liner doesn't hurt and a Fast-Talker knows
just what to say in such a situation. Hence, Fast-Talking
confers a +2 to this proficiency. Working in concert with
a Fast-Talker can also confer this +2 bonus - "You don't wanna
make Mila angry, cause I don't think I could stop her from .
. . well, you don't wanna know."
Locksmith (Rogue, 2/8, Dex/Aim,
Int/Know, +2 for Keen Touch): "This is the specialized skill
of making locks. It is treated like other "Craft" proficiencies
when checking for success. Also, thieves with this proficiency
gain a +10% bonus to their lock picking skill because they are
intimately familiar with the internal structure and working
of so many locks." [Complete Thief's Handbook, TSR, pg. 19]
This skill also confers the ability to make keys. If the
locksmith manufactures the lock, then he will be able to make
keys for it without difficulty. If he is trying to copy
a key or make keys from an impression, then he will need to
make a check, based on the complexity of the lock. Deft
hands can make short work of Locksmithing tasks, hence Keen
Touch confers a +2.
Looting (Rogue, 2/ 8, Int/Reas, Wis/Intu,
+2 for Keen Eyesight): This is the ability to quickly determine
the most valuable loot available in an area. This skill
would allow the user to swiftly decide what bits of treasure
have the greatest value. It is limited to the characters'
knowledge however, e.g. if the character were in a land were
beetle dung was fantastically valuable, but did not know that,
then he would probably not identify a pile of beetle dung as
good loot. Seeing the goodies as well as knowing how much
they might be worth is the greater part of this ability, so
the Keen Eyesight trait and Appraising proficiency each provide
a +2 to this skill.
Observation (General, 3/7, Int/Reason,
Wisdom/Intuition, +2 Alertness, +2 Tracking): This is the
skill of noticing details. A private investigator would
be nigh useless without this proficiency. While someone
with Alertness may notice the strange person off in the shadows,
the person with Observation would notice the waiter serving
him is wearing sollerets under his apron and the slight bulge
of a knife sheath under the towel draped over his arm.
This skill is crucial for Rogues, especially if they want to
live long. The skill itself does not reflect keener senses
as much as it reflects being able to assess the sensory input
you have and to pick out important details. If you can
not see the waiter sneaking up behind you, then you can not
assess whether or not he is an assassin or the bearer of that
tankard of ale you asked for. This skill is constrained
by the user's senses and is almost exclusively vision-based,
and so Keen Eyesight provides a +2 to this ability.
Spellcraft - Agility
(Priest/Wizard, 2/8, Dex/Bal, Dex/Aim): This skill allows
a spell caster the opportunity to move and cast spells.
Successful use allows the caster to move one fourth of their
movement and benefit from one-half their AC bonus (rounded down)
due to Dexterity/Balance during a round in which they cast a
spell. A failure will delay the caster one initiative
step (Combat & Tactics) and force them to choose between
casting the spell or taking the quarter move and 1/2 AC bonus.
Coordinating movement with the somatic components of spells
and the preparation of material components is a small test of
athletic ability and Tumbling confers a +2 to this skill.
Strategy (Warrior, 3/7, Int/Reas,
Wis/Intu, +2 for Tactics): This reflects an ability to plan
and conduct operations involving large-scale conflicts.
Generally, planning above the specific actions of small units.
It can also be used to anticipate other party's strategies.
Knowledge of the intricacies of the inner workings of the battles
you are planning helps you anticipate needs and consequences,
so possession of the Tactics proficiency confers a +2 bonus.
Streetwise (Rogue, 2/7, Cha/Lead,
Int/Know, +2 Empathy, +2 Fast-Talking): This skill reflects
having an ear to the streets. It combines dealing with
street-types directly as well as being able to tap into the
information stream of the streets. One might use this
skill to "go to ground" in a city or to try and find out about
that rumored slaving ring. Simply having this skill is
adequate for the user to receive some rumors as it is assumed
such a person spends some time in taverns etc. and knows how
to conduct themselves in a fashion that fosters such communication.
Being able to feel people out and convince them to help you
out is all part of this, so Empathy and Fast-talking both confer
a +2 bonus.
Note: this skill's utility will be somewhat different for one
that does not live and breath the street life, e.g. a noble-born
captain of the city guard. Such a person would probably
glean little benefit from indirect use of the skill. Rather,
they would need to lean on their sources to get the info they
need. Such a person could still hope to use his sources
to "go to ground". However, how safe they are would be heavily
dependent upon how said sources were treated previously . .
.
Tactics (Warrior, 3/7, Int/Reas, Wis/Intu,
+2 for Alertness): This reflects an ability to quickly assess
a combat scenario involving small groups of combatants and decide
on preferred courses of action. Simple tactical questions
require no roll. Flanking, holding a pass, defending a
specific area, e.g. a pass or a door, are Tactics challenges.
Tactics can be applied towards such decisions. Tactics
is the "hands-on", small-unit counterpart to Strategy.
Being aware of your environment facilitates your ability to
react to it, so Alertness confers a +2 to this proficiency.
Opposing Tacticians can reduce, negate, and/or overcome any
benefits conferred. How useful the skill is in the heat
of battle will be dependent on how much the Tactician can see,
effectiveness of communication, familiarity with the units in
question, etc.
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Money and Equipment
Starting Money
Roll for starting money twice, take the better of the two
rolls.
Prices
Don't assume any prices, ask me.
Combat & Tactics
Changes
There are some differences of note:
- Ranges are in terms of 5' squares
- The Footman's Flail is a Large weapon
- Initiative is handled a little differently
New Weapon Stats
Note that I allow the sap to function in one of two ways, the
normal way, and a "head critical" way.
Weapon |
Wt
|
Sz
|
Type
|
Speed
|
Melee
Reach
|
Missile
ROF
|
Range
S/M/L
|
Damage
S-M
|
Damage
L
|
Knockdown
die
|
Sap |
1/2
|
S
|
B
|
Fa(2)
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1d2
|
1d2
|
d4
|
Sap (head)12 |
1/2
|
S
|
B
|
Fa(2)
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1d8
|
1d8
|
d4
|
12 - The sap, when used to strike the head of a target that
can be subdued by such a weapon, does 1d8 points of
damage, but it is subdual
damage. Roll for the chance for knockout (5% per point,
max of 40%) as normal.
Encumbrance
Note that your armor type establishes a minimum encumbrance equal
to the level listed for that armor type in C&T, e.g. if you
wear chain, carry nothing else, and have a Strength of 20, you
will still "suffer" the effects of Light encumbrance (chain mail's
listed encumbrance level). Unless it is very important,
I will stick with the simple approach of encumbrance levels, as
opposed to comparing your Strength to your exact load. I
will make a redundant mention of the fact that I will use C&T. |
Magic
Spellcasting in combat
If you are attacked before your spell goes off, you may voluntarily
let it fizzle and take your Dexterity bonus for armor class.
Spellcasting and
surprise
If you win surprise, you may start casting as your surprise action
and thus reduce the Phase during which your spell goes off in
the first round of combat by one, i.e. Fast to Very Fast.
If you wish to move before casting and you do not have Spellcraft
- Agility, then spellcasting starts the Phase after you stop moving.
Using
the Spellcraft - Agility proficiency
This skill allows a spell caster the opportunity to move and cast
spells. Successful use allows the caster to move one fourth
of their movement and benefit from one-half their AC bonus (rounded
down) due to Dexterity/Balance during a round in which they cast
a spell. A failure will delay the caster one initiative
step (Combat & Tactics) and force them to choose between casting
the spell or taking the quarter move and 1/2 AC bonus.
Casting Spells
With Spell Points
I am using the spell point system. For Priests and Mages,
this means fatigue. I use the system from Spells & Magic
except:
- Can not exceed highest spell level
- Highest Spell level starts at Moderate Fatigue
- Second Highest Spell level starts at Light Fatigue
- All other spells start at zero fatigue
- A spell caster passes out at zero spell points
- Getting wounded to or below zero hit points "zeros" your
spell points
An illustration:
Magnus, newly trained in third level spells, tries to
cast a fixed slot Fireball to vanquish the hoary
host of an ancient wicked guy. He suffers Moderate
fatigue, and is left with 30 spell points, 75% of his
starting amount of 40, so he is still doing fine.
He decides he needs to cast another, now he stages up
to Heavy fatigue and is left with 20 spell points.
Because being at 50% or below but greater than 25% stages
the fatigue up one level, he could cast a 1st level
spell with no increase in fatigue, but a 2nd level spell
would stage up to Moderate and then Heavy due to his current
Moderately fatigued state.
The next week, he decides to be economical and burn
all of his points casting fixed 1st level spells.
He has 40 spell points. He can cast 20 spell points,
or five such spells at no fatigue before hitting the
50% mark, when his low spell points step up the fatigue
level one step to moderate. He can then cast another
3 spells before reaching/passing the 25% mark.
At this point he is lightly fatigued and has 8 spell
points remaining.
He now casts another fixed 1st level spell, but it
is now Moderate fatigue, so he is Moderately fatigued.
He uses his last 4 spell points to squeeze off one last
fixed 1st level spell. His Moderate fatigue state
and his low spell points state step the spell up to
Heavy, which surpasses his current level, so he ends
up at Heavy fatigue.
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Realize that wounding also stages up the fatigue, so it can
really add up if you're not careful.
Also, note the following stylistic choices from Spells &
Magic®:
- Wizards - use spell points as "channellers"
- Priests - use spell points as "channellers" with conditional
magic tossed in for fun
- Druids - use spell points as Preserver channellers
Casting
Spells Without Spell Points (if I do not use spell points)
- Maximum number of spells per level, the "long
list": In my game, this reflects the number of spells
the Wizard is keeping himself current on. The Wizard
may have more spells stored away somewhere, but he only has
ready access to this number of spells. I do not play
with "All," rather, an Intelligence of 18 or higher grants
the Wizard a number of available spells equal to his Intelligence.
- Choosing spells for the day, the "short
list": Choose a number of spells you would like to have
access to equal to the number you can cast for that level
per day. This reflects the powers you have prayed for
(Priests) or the methods you are currently reviewing (Wizards).
You may cast any of these spells repeatedly, within your spell
casting limit, i.e. you are not required to "memorize"
a spell twice to be able to cast it twice. However,
you must spend the normal 15 minutes per spell per level reviewing/praying
to initially add it to your short list.
- Switching spells: You may change the spells you
have immediate access to at any time by spending 15 minutes
per level per spell praying/reviewing. This might irritate
a Priests' deity if abused, though. In a pinch, you
may cast a spell different than those on your "short
list". To do so requires a successful roll vs. Spellcraft
minus the spell's level. There is a bonus of +1 for
every level below your maximum casting level the spell is,
i.e. if you can cast third level spells, a 1st level spell
would confer a +2 to the above check. The above applies
to spells "available" to a Wizard, i.e. the "long
list" of spells constrained by his Intelligence.
If a Wizard wants to try to do this with a spell that they
have in their library, but have not been keeping current on,
then there is an additional -4 penalty. The deleterious
effects of failed checks will vary, but the very least will
be failure of the spell, the worst well, all I can say to
that is muhahahahahahaha! Bad effects could be a backfire,
disfavor with deity, etc.
- Spell recovery: For clarity, Wizards and Mages need
a full, restful night's sleep to regain their spells.
Anything else will result in partial or no spell recovery.
Tossing off spells hours after you wake up and going back
to sleep will have little or no effect as you will likely
not be able to get a full, restful night's sleep. Clerics
and Priests work on a daily cycle (or perhaps deily?).
While sleep deprivation might complicate their acquisition
and casting of spells, they are really expected not to tax
their deity's patience. If they try to request their
daily allotment of spells more frequently than once a day,
then unpleasant things might happen.
Transcribing vs. Learning vs. Gaining
vs. Researching Spells
Transcribing a spell is when a Mage copies a learned spell
from one book to another. This process takes 1 hours per
spell level. Every time a spell caster reaches a new level,
they have the opportunity to realize epiphanies about spells they
already know and have used. As such, they may check to see
if they had an insight about a spell they used in a meaningful
way since their last level. To check for such an epiphany,
roll 1d20. If the number is less than the caster's level
minus the spell level, then the mage can try to recopy it in a
more condensed form. They take the normal time for transcription,
one hour per spell level, then reroll the number of pages needed
for the spell. If they roll less, then it works and the
spell is rendered in fewer pages. If not, then there is
no change. Materials expended for transcribing spells into
spell books average 100 GP per spell level.
Learning a spell is when a mage has the spell in a spell
book form to refer to and someone that can cast the spell on
hand to answer questions. Without a tutor, the time is
doubled. It is also assumed a library is available with
a value equal to the spell level squared, in thousands of gold
pieces, e.g. a 49,000 GP library for 7th level spells.
Without an adequate library, the time is doubled (cumulative
with other modifiers). The base time, assuming all materials
above are available one day per spell level. This reflects
said spell caster helping the student learn everything necessary
in a directed, efficient way. As with Transcribing, above,
the expended materials needed average 100 GP per spell level.
Gaining spells occurs when a new level is reached.
When a Mage gains a level, the player should submit a list of
spells desired to me. Every level, I will pick a spell
from said list and decide the character automatically learns
it. Generally, if the PC fails to learn a desired spell
that I feel is important and/or interesting to plot progression,
I will simply give that spell to the character.
Researching spells can be done one of two ways, with
a scroll, or from scratch. On their own, a student can
learn a spell from a scroll, but it will take decent research
materials. Usually, any decent magical library (spell
level squared times 1,000 GP) is a good start and a lab is even
better. It generally takes one week per spell level this
way, but the self-taught will feel better about themselves and
may earn some XP for playing the part. This time can be
reduced by the presence of higher level spell casters, money
thrown around, exceptional facilities, etc. Ask the game
master. Starting from scratch will require two weeks per
spell level, but this includes spells not in the standard lists,
especially custom spells. The cost is variable, roll a
number of d10 equal to the spell level of the spell and multiply
it by 100 GP. This is the cost per week. Such an
endeavor will definitely earn you XP, albeit not a lot compared
to adventuring.
Clarifications
& optional rules choices
Wild Magic/Mages - No
Elemental Mages - Yes |
Experience
I handle Experience a little differently. I have a base
value in mind that the party will receive per session. This
can increase due to monsters vanquished, obstacles overcome, heroics,
and good role-playing. I do not rattle off numbers regularly
after sessions. Actually, I handle the experience point
tally for the PCs and tell them when they gain a new level.
The baseline XP are currently what I deem to be appropriate to
guarantee a level in four to five sessions, if nothing exciting
happens. Overall, the players focus on the role-playing
and not the XP, which is very cool. |
Combat
Hit Points, My Philosophy
Hit points are a mixture of physical ability to take damage, tolerance
for pain, endurance, luck, and skill. I feel that any system
of healing and damage needs to account for the normal schmuck
and the hero alike. The only way to have a clean correlation,
IMO, is to go with a relative approach. When a common 6
HP soldier is at 3 HP, he should about feel the same as the dragon
slaying, 60 HP death machine when he is at 30 HP, and vice versa.
That is not as important to me as healing. If a standard
person with 6 HP can heal up from near death in less than a week,
then a 60 HP fighter better do the same. The standard rules
would have the fighter take ten times as long to recover from
his wounds, and that is silly. Realize that in my game it's
all relative. The 60 HP fighter shrugs off 12 HP of damage
as well as the scrawny, 15 HP Wizard shrugs off 3.
So, I use a percentage approach to things.
I do not want to complicate matters with extra numbers for
my players and me to memorize, but I do want to communicate
that I expect people to role play appropriate to their state
of health. I have decided to not inflict wound penalties
as I want people to still be able to execute a desperate charge
when they are near death. Please role-play accordingly
though. It' not really heroic unless it looks/sounds challenging.
<grin>
- Healthy - 75%-100% Max: "Almost got me"; "that was
a close call".
- Scratched - 50%-75% Max: First blood, depending
on your character's physical courage this may be "just a scratch"
or a "grievous injury". Your character's muscles may
be starting to build up fatigue poisons (lactic acid) and
starting to get tired.
- Wounded - 25%-50% Max: You feel like you need to
take a break, it's time to consider your options. You
are probably stiff, sore, tired. Wounds are still mostly
"flesh wounds", but they are real wounds now, not just scratches.
It's getting harder to keep that shield up and your arm is
getting a little numb from blocking attacks. Your really
starting to feel a serious "burn" in your muscles.
- Grievous - 1 HP - 25% Max: On your last legs.
You are probably seriously wounded, dazed, and/or very tired.
It's time to hole up lest you get killed. Roll vs. Constitution
to stay conscious and a Willpower test to continue aggression.
- -Con < HP < 0: You are mortally wounded and may very
likely die. You are probably bleeding out 1 HP per round
unless someone helps you. Also, I will probably consider
a crippling or scarring effect to remind your PC of his folly.
To resolve this, I will roll a critical hit based on the attacks
that downed you and improvise from there . . .
- -Con: You are devoid of life, cold, deceased, defunct,
departed, exanimate, extinct, inanimate, late, lifeless, spiritless,
unanimated; bloodless, breathless; gone, reposing; inactive,
inert; belowground, buried, dead as a doornail, gone the way
of all flesh, out of one's misery, pushing up daisies. [You
too can have fun with the Merriam-Webster
thesaurus]
Hit Point
Book Keeping (done by me)
. I will
tell you which wound category you are in.
Healing Factor
To facilitate my percentage-based approach to HP, I determine
healing rates for PCs based on 5% of their Max Hit Points, rounded
up. I call it your Healing Factor (HF). So, your HF
is 1 point for every full 20 HP you have. It's pretty simple
and since I keep track of your HP, it's my burden to shoulder.
This Healing factor represents:
- how many HP one can heal for a full day of rest without
outside aid. Double this for a Healer or Herbalist,
triple if both.
- how many subdual HP one recovers in a minute
- normal Healing success restores twice HF, critical successes
restore four times HF.
Real Damage
vs. Subdual Damage
Subdual damage replenishes at a rate equal to your Healing Factor
every minute. If you would reach or go below zero hit points
with subdual damage, you are knocked unconscious. You can
not be roused until you recover enough subdual HP to reach 1 HP.
Subdual damage does not contribute to mortal wounding and as such
should be a safety net for the foolhardy in most cases.
Subdual damage can only be regained naturally, magical healing
will not affect it.
Subdual attacks: these represent damage that inflicts
more pain, concussion, and stunning than actual long term wounding.
They inflict 1/4 real damage (round down) and the rest is subdual
damage.
Real Damage: Unlike the game suggests, real damage does
1/4 subdual damage (round down) and the rest is real damage.
This accounts for the trauma and stunning related to wounding.
Most people will fall down or pass out before they take enough
damage to kill them. Of course, facing down a Dragon nullifies
such claims.
First Aid (no effect after magical
healing)
First Aid Checks: First aid checks can be made after any
wounding. First aid requires 20-Healing Proficiency rounds
to render, with a minimum of five rounds. After that time,
the Healer makes a Healing proficiency check. This roll
is reduced by one for every minute that has passed since the wounding
occurred at the time the proficiency check is made. The
patient's hit point bonus is also applied to the roll. Success
restores an amount of hit points equal to double the patient's
HF. A critical success restores four times the patient's HF.
First Aid affects only real damage, not subdual damage.
Any success always stops any bleeding.
Aside from wasting time, failure has no effect on the patient.
A fumble also inflicts 1d3 points of damage. Other Healers
may attempt to help the patient if the Healing fails, but with
a cumulative -4 penalty. A patient can only benefit from
one Healing attempt per period of wounding, and a Healer may
only make one attempt per patient per period of wounding.
If wounding occurs after the healing is complete, then the first
aid process begins anew.
Interruptions of one round will delay the healing and will
require a proficiency check to avoid having to start over again.
Any disruption beyond one round in length will force the Healer
to start over again.
Assistant Healers
in First Aid
The assistance of a trained Healer. Normally, I will only
allow one, but ask in exceptional situations. The assistant
makes a check against her unmodified Healing proficiency.
If she succeeds, the primary Healer (the one making the rolls)
gains a bonus to their Healing proficiency check of +2 if the
assistant succeeds, and the healing progresses twice as fast,
although Healing always takes a minimum time of 4 rounds. Failures
by assistants have no effect. Fumbles by assistants inflict
a -2 on the primary healer's proficiency check. Any interruption
of the assistant before the Healing is completed negates any bonus
they would have conferred, but the benefit of quicker Healing
is only lost for the remaining time. Note that a penalty
due to an inept healer assistant does not go away if the assistant
leaves.
Example: Sid gets hit by three arrows, suffering 20 points
of damage in an ambush. The Healers in the party, Gen
and Able, are tied up helping the party vanquish their foes
for a few rounds. When the party seems sure of success,
Sid, Able, and Gen break off so his wounds can be taken care
of. By now, only 8 rounds have passed, so they have no
penalties yet. They roll 5d4 and the result is 14.
Able plans to assist and makes a successful check against his
Healing. Seven rounds later (42 seconds in my system),
some reinforcements show up and threaten the Healers and their
patient. However, because of Able's assistance, Gen can
make a Healing roll this round and finish rendering first-aid
to Sid. Able confers a +2 to her 15 rating, and she easily
succeeds, much to Sid's delight, and heals Sid for 10% of his
uninjured hit point total.
Staunching
Bleeding (What do you mean the Healer is down?!)
People tend to bleed when they are cut. Someone that has
passed below 1 HP is generally assumed to be bleeding to death
at 1 HP per round. Unless someone helps them, they will
probably die. If your PC dies from some attack that would
not produce bleeding or some similar continuing damage, please
feel free to point that out to me.
Any non-Healer can staunch the bleeding of a comrade's wounds,
but it usually requires 4 rounds. Bleeding will
still occur until the end of that time period. After that,
the bleeding will have been arrested and first aid will have
no further effect on the wounds, the damage is done.
Realize that some wounds require more than a simple bandage
to stop bleeding . . .
Mortal Wounds
When a character is taken below 1 hit point, things get serious.
Healing of various sorts can be attempted, but the character will
only have a 1d4+HP bonus minute window (recall ten rounds a minute)
in which healing can occur. This window of time is kept
secret from the Healer. The Healing proficiency can be used
as normal, but it will still have no effect after Magical healing.
Note that the patient can not be Healed above 0 hit points.
After that time, the patient must roll against his Constitution,
modified by his current hit points. This means that most
normal people will be unable to be saved beyond -10 hit points
and even heroes will have a good chance of dying at less than
-10. The multiple dice rules do apply here if the character's
Constitution is greater than 15.
If the character is still alive, they are unconscious and incapable
of little more than brief periods of lucid consciousness.
The rest of the time they will fade in and out, being capable
of little more than eating, drinking, and resting. There
is a chance of crippling which will be resolved by rolling a
critical hit result for the weapon and ignoring anything but
crippling effects.
Lifesaving Measures Example: Gen wants to Heal her compatriot
Magnus, who has just been savagely clawed by a Bulette and lies
bleeding on the ground, at -16 hit points. The GM rolls
and determines she has a mere three minutes (30 rounds) to save
Magnus. The party is engaged for another 8 rounds before
Gen can break off to heal Magnus. She has a Healing of
15, so it will take her 5 rounds to render first aid.
Her comrade Able assists her. He succeeds and will reduces
her time to the minimum of 4 rounds and give her a +2 to her
roll. At the 10 round mark, Magnus promptly bleeds down
to -17 and Gen rolls, succeeding. Magnus is a Wizard and
thus has only 18 points, so she manages to heal him to -15 and
his bleeding is arrested. With 17 rounds to spare and
concern that Magnus may not be lucky enough to make it on his
own, she heals him up to zero hit points. Magnus makes
his Constitution roll and his comrades take him to an inn to
recover.
Healing
Healing from negative hit points up to one hit point requires
three days per hit point naturally, two days per hit point if
a Healer tends to them, and one day per hit point if the Healer
also knows Herbalism. During this time, the character is
unconscious and incapable of little more than brief periods of
lucid consciousness. The rest of the time they will fade
in and out, being capable of little more than eating, drinking,
and resting. This level of wounding reflects mortal wounding
and brushes with death. Such wounds will likely leaves scars,
although magical healing usually remedies that.
Healing from 1 to full hit points simply requires rest.
A character can recover their HF each day, twice that if a Healer
tends to them, triple that if the Healer knows Herbalism as
well. This level of wounding reflects getting beat up,
but not mortally wounded.
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