Attronarch's Athenaeum

Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.

Gaming magazines! And for tabletop RPGs, it were classmates in elementary school.

We tried to make sense of this really, really cool book, full of fantastic drawing and rules in foreign language. AC didn't make any sense whatsoever. Our favourite trick was dying to a gelatinous cube that falls out of a wardrobe.

The book? Well, today I know it was the first edition of the Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook.

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I've been toying with a unified save throw mechanic for B/X. Nothing against the one proposed in Swords & Wizardry, I simply wanted something a bit closer to the source material.

Here is the table with unified save throw for each class:

Level Fighter Magic-User Cleric Thief Dwarf Elf Halfling
1 14 14 14 14 10 10 10
2 14 14 14 14 10 10 10
3 14 14 14 14 10 10 10
4 12 14 14 14 8 8 8
5 12 14 11 13 8 8 8
6 12 12 11 13 8 8 8
7 10 12 11 13 6 6 6
8 10 12 11 13 6 6 6
9 10 12 8 10 6 6
10 8 12 8 10 4 4
11 8 8 8 10 4
12 8 8 8 10 4
13 6 8 6 8
14 6 8 6 8

Unified B/X Saving Throws by Attronarch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://attronarch.com/classic-dnd-unified-b-x-saving-throws.

I suggest the following two house rules:

  • Wisdom modifier is added to the saving throw.
  • Prime requisite modifier is added to the saving throw as well. Classes with dual prime requisites use the better modifier.

Example 1: Fighter with STR 13 and WIS 13 would add 2 to all their saving throws.

Example 2: Elf with STR 13, INT 9 and WIS 10 would add 1 to all their saving throws.

This is a minor buff to offset the loss for the Death Ray or Poison saves, the latter being quite present in old-school modules.

Commentary

Above saving throws were based on calculating both the mean and median for each level, and then choosing what felt in the spirit of the edition. For example, Fighters and Clerics progress the most with their saving throws, followed by Magic-Users, Thieves, Dwarves, and Elves. Halflings have the poorest progression, but such is life...

By unifying the savings throws, spells lose some of their power (easier to make save against them), while poison and instant-death-inducing effects gain power (more difficult to make the save). For that reason I proposed two house rules above.

Why not simply use attribute checks more often? Because they do not scale with character experience. This is of critical importance for games that use 3d6 in order to roll character abilities. Characters get better at avoiding danger (i.e., making a saving throw), because they get more skilful as their experience grows.

On the other hand, ability scores are mostly static. They can usually be changed by either powerful artefacts (e.g. Gauntlets of Ogre Power) or magic (e.g. Wish). For that reason, I consider them to be a poor alternative to a saving throw.

What would work though, is combining unified saving throw with attribute modifier. Save versus dragon breath? Unified saving throw + dexterity modifier. But if one goes that route, why bother unifying throws at all?

One of my assumptions is that using unified saving throws might make for a faster, smoother, and more universal adjudication. I plan on testing it with my players. Once I do, I'll update this post.

Should you wish to come up with your own unified saving throws, I've included the class calculations below. Classic saving throws are from the D&D Expert Rulebook, page X24.

Classic B/X Saving Throws

Cleric

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 11 12 14 16 15 14 14
2 11 12 14 16 15 14 14
3 11 12 14 16 15 14 14
4 11 12 14 16 15 14 14
5 9 10 12 14 12 11 12
6 9 10 12 14 12 11 12
7 9 10 12 14 12 11 12
8 9 10 12 14 12 11 12
9 6 7 9 11 9 8 9
10 6 7 9 11 9 8 9
11 6 7 9 11 9 8 9
12 6 7 9 11 9 8 9
13 3 5 7 8 7 6 7
14 3 5 7 8 7 6 7
Improvement 8 7 7 8 8 8 7
8 8

Dwarf

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
2 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
3 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
4 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
5 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
6 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
7 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
8 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
9 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
10 2 3 4 4 6 4 4
11 2 3 4 4 6 4 4
12 2 3 4 4 6 4 4
Improvement 6 6 6 9 6 6 6
7 6

Elf

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
2 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
3 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
4 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
5 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
6 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
7 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
8 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
9 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
10 2 3 4 4 6 4 4
Improvement 6 6 6 9 6 6 6
7 6

Fighter

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
Normal Man 14 15 16 17 18 16 16
1 12 13 14 15 16 14 14
2 12 13 14 15 16 14 14
3 12 13 14 15 16 14 14
4 10 11 12 13 14 12 12
5 10 11 12 13 14 12 12
6 10 11 12 13 14 12 12
7 8 9 10 10 12 10 10
8 8 9 10 10 12 10 10
9 8 9 10 10 12 10 10
10 6 7 8 8 10 8 8
11 6 7 8 8 10 8 8
12 6 7 8 8 10 8 8
13 4 5 6 5 8 6 5
14 4 5 6 5 8 6 5
Improvement 10 10 10 12 10 10 11
10 10

Halfling

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
2 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
3 8 9 10 13 12 10 10
4 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
5 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
6 6 7 8 10 10 8 8
7 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
8 4 5 6 7 8 6 6
Improvement 4 4 4 6 4 4 4
4 4

Magic-User

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
2 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
3 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
4 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
5 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
6 11 12 11 14 12 12 12
7 11 12 11 14 12 12 12
8 11 12 11 14 12 12 12
9 11 12 11 14 12 12 12
10 11 12 11 14 12 12 12
11 8 9 8 11 8 9 8
12 8 9 8 11 8 9 8
13 8 9 8 11 8 9 8
14 8 9 8 11 8 9 8
Improvement 5 5 5 5 7 5 6
5 5

Thief

Level Death Ray or Poison Magic Wands Paralysis or Turn to Stone Dragon Breath Rods, Staves, or Spells Mean Median
1 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
2 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
3 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
4 13 14 13 16 15 14 14
5 12 13 11 14 13 13 13
6 12 13 11 14 13 13 13
7 12 13 11 14 13 13 13
8 12 13 11 14 13 13 13
9 10 11 9 12 10 10 10
10 10 11 9 12 10 10 10
11 10 11 9 12 10 10 10
12 10 11 9 12 10 10 10
13 8 9 7 10 8 8 8
14 8 9 7 10 8 8 8
Improvement 5 5 6 6 7 6 6
6 6

#Resource #BX #OSR

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What a question! D&D, in all its iterations and edition, and with all its supplements, has so many systems and subsystems that I don't know where I'd start?!

Maybe I should focus on the three big house rules I've implemented:

  1. Arduin's special ability charts. Arduin Grimoires begun their life as crazy AD&D supplements. Special ability charts were one of them. Every character can roll on their respective chart, and get anything from smelling so bad the monsters will spit them out to secretly being a were-creature. My players have been having a blast with it.

  2. Critical hits and fumbles from the Dragon Magazine, issue 39. Common approach of natural 1 always being a fumble and natural 20 always a critical strike doesn't make sense to me. Why fixed 5%? Why doesn't a high level fighter become better? Carl Parlagreco introduces a simple system where probability of success or failure is determined as the difference between the attack roll and roll required to successfully hit. In other words, it scales with the level of the attacker.

  3. Clinging to life. Classic D&D is very lethal. 0 hp? You are dead. For my game I decided to introduce two checks: first save versus death to see if you are still alive, and then roll under constitution score to remain conscious. This has created some rather memorable (and dramatic!) moments in my game.

There are so many cool systems and subsystem and whatnot... One life wouldn't be enough to explore them all!

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How do you get more people for anything?

Easy, you get them to talk about it. Therefore, I'd talk about playing RPGs within my community, and I'd ask others to do the same. Of course it can feel awkward, especially between adults.

What I found that works well for me is to talk about as a hobby (as it is for most), just like collecting vinyl, practising martial arts, or any other. Talk about it without shame and see what happens.

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Funnily enough, that is one of the questions I've asked myself when I started recruiting for my Wilderlands campaign.

Here's how I'd answer today: * They will enjoy an expansive, interactive, and open world that lives and breathes with them. * They will enjoy great freedom and thrill that comes from it. * They will like that we use simple and readily available rules (Classic D&D in B/X flavour and their retroclone Old-School Essentials). * And last, but not least, they will like it because we are all having good time together.

There is more to it, but I reckon that above is good enough to begin with!

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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.

Inaugural issue details the first two sessions.

Download here.

Overlord's Annals zine is available in print as part of the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA, issue 561:

#Zine

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To be honest, due to my work online games work best.

So my where is more about the selection of the right digital tools that puts everyone at ease and allows them to immerse themselves into the game, not gadgets.

So far I've found Discord the easiest, because we can use voice, audio, and chat (including dice rollers), all in one place. Owlbear Rodeo works great as a minimalist shared map.

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As a kid I read about fantasy games in magazines. Then my parents bought me a SegaMEGA Drive console, but I can't remember any specific RPG. What I do remember is Exile III:Ruined World demo which I've played on my Macintosh for endless hours.

It was a RPG proper! You create a party of six, with attributes, races, classes, skills, etc., and then you are just dumped into the world. Go and do whatever! It was a true open world with high interactivity, and real consequences for your actions. (I doomed some of the cities by accident more than once. Ops!)

I see it is still available for sale, for both PC and Mac. The screenshots bring so much nostalgia!

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Adventurers

Character Class Description
Rad Thief level 1 A young, short and malnourished rogue.
Deter Darker Magic-user level 1 Cloak-wearing body-modification aficionado.
Winslow Fighter level 2 A dirty warrior reeking of urine, body odours, and rotten wood.

Winslow's and Deter's reports linked at the end of the post.

Sweetrain 19th, Fireday

Leaving their fighter to the doom of his making, the party successfully fled the pursuing mass of monsters. While most were into recovering and lollygaging around Antil, Rad and Winslow felt a bit more ambitious.

They remembered Sir Fondleroy, whom offered Taaaz 500 gold coin for a “simple escort and protection service.” On their way to him they've encountered a slender man dressed in cloak and shorts, the latter revealing his hairy thighs and legs. Shoes with curls pointing upwards adorned his feet, and a half-mask concealed his face.

The man in question was Deter Darker, the most uncharismatic mage to ever step foot in Antil. That, of course, did not deter Rad and Winslow to invite him to join them. The more the merrier!

Sir Fondleroy took some convincing from the trio before taking them on as his escorts. He'd already hired Mahlon, Xaver, and Whippold, three locals, but was afraid they'd betray and mug him as soon as they left Antil.

And so they set off.

“We are looking for a magical tower that allows only the select few in. Those who manage to pass all its tests and tribulations are rewarded with a vast kingdom, breathtaking princess, and endless riches.” Fondleroy answered Winslow's inquiries.

“I've travelled all of Wilderlands, paid many thousand gold coins to sages and wise-men, and looked into more then one unsavoury place. It was many years of work—but I believe I'm on the right trail now!”

“My friends, if my notes are correct—and there is no reason why they shouldn't be—then by tomorrow evening all of you will have posts in my kingdom. Rad, you'll be my bailiff! Winslow, captain of the guard! Deter, I'm sure we'll find a post for you as well—one where no one can see you!”

Three guard Fondleroy hired before trailed the party, frowning and sulking behind them. What will their posts be? Why are they being snubbed so?

Either way, the day was coming to an end just as they reached the jungle which was supposedly hiding their kingdom...

Sweetrain 20th, Spiritday

“Winslow, Rad, please come closer gentlemen. Do you remember I mentioned trials? Well, the first one is by the entrance. There is supposedly a creature—some sort of guardian—whom bars others from entering the tower. The legend says it was a warlord unworthy of the kingdom who is now cursed to watch over it forevermore.”

“Now, if my notes are correct—and there is no reason why they shouldn't be—this creature is awfully slow. So my plan is that the two of you sneak as far away from me as you can, and then pelter it with arrows and stones. When it is sufficiently distracted, I'll make a run for the tower and get in. From then on, just keep it distracted until I come out.”

“Under no circumstances should anyone follow me into the tower. Is that understood?” and just as Fondleroy finished, the party had found what they were seeking.

It's been hours and hours of working through the thick jungle. What stood in front of them barely made any sense, but it was what they were after none the less.

A monolithic tower nearly 150 feet tall, sparkly and blinding, reflecting the sun into whomever tries to lay their eyes on it. It was surrounded by an acre of green, lush meadow. Blush red bushes ringed the base, hares grazed the grass, and few deer frolicked on the far end of the field. It was truly a sight to behold.

“This must be it! Make small camp here. Mahlon, Xaver, Whippold, and Deter, you stay in the camp and watch that no one disturbs us. Rad and Winslow, you make your way west and shoot at the guardian... With that being said, where is it?”

There was a ten feet tall black obelisk that stood right in front of the sole entrance into the tower. It looked crooked, and black than the blackest black—as if it was sucking in the surrounding light into itself. Rad and Winslow instinctively pointed at it “That thing.”

And so they set the plan in motion. Winslow went as far west as he could; Rad hid in the overgrowth and readied his shortbow; and Fondleroy crouched behind some broken trees, ready to make a run for it.

The adventurers had been right. The obelisk reacted to the arrows and stones by transforming into a twenty feet tall pole, with two appendages hanging on each side. Both seemed to terminate with horrid hooks. Whatever was shot at it seemed to disappear. It approached the attackers slow, so slow. It didn't seem to walk, but rather levitate or glide towards them. It creaked and shivered as it moved.

A minute later, Fondleroy was almost ready to make a run for it. He was so focused on the reward that awaits him, that he failed to notice Deter sneaking up behind him.

One Rad realised he is wasting arrows, he opted to use his voice instead. Shouting profanities and provocations seemed to work quite well. Winslow managed to creep up all the way to the tower. Being so close, he could finally see the tower is really made of—some sort of blue-gray speckled stone.

“Now!” Sir Fondleroy muttered to himself, and sprinted off for the large wooden gates reinforced with iron bars. Deter followed, observing the noble making his way in. He could see him stand in front of the doors, making specific hand movements, and then operating an ornate box next to the doors. Finally, the gates opened, and he went in.

Using the opportunity, Deter sneaked up to the doors, and realised that Fondleroy hadn't completely closed them. They were ajar just enough to barely see in. Pausing to listen, Deter heard several female voices speaking in order:

“Those who would have a kingdom must be pure in heart, trusting and peaceful.”

“One must throw away the weapons of war and don the garments of love!”

“Only the pure and the worthy may break the seal and awaken the princess.”

“To the princess’ groom will pass the right to rule over the Kingdom of Duvan’Ku and possess its treasures.”

As this was happening, Rad heard Umber Fury—Fondleroy's war horse—neigh. Making his way towards the camp unveiled a confusing sight. It looked like Mahlon was trying to pull something off the horse, while Xaver and Whippold were wrestling each other.

Being the “shoot first, ask later” type of guy, Rad immediately downed Mahlon by an arrow to the head. The other two stopped wrestling, and pulled their swords on each other.

Deter decided he listened enough. He is going in. A horrific sight materialised in front of him as he was to lay his hands onto the doors. They transformed into a writhing mass of tentacles and teeth, dripping with gooey saliva-like substance. Some of the appendages lunged at him, and pulled him into the opening manifesting in front of him.

Was it through arcane means or sheer willpower does not matter, for Deter somehow managed to survive the crushing hug of the monster. Alas, that meant that he was conscious as the horror started to fuse with him.

Winslow circled the guardian obelisk, and was about to run back to them camp, when he'd seen his fellow adventurer pulled in by the doors. Unwilling to leave him be, the fighter ran up, and pulled the mage out of the horrific doors. Chunks of flesh and muscle were ripped from Deter's bones, but at least he was now on the fighter's back.

But their return was about to get even more exciting.

Twenty-foot tall levitating obelisk started to buzz and tremble. It lifted off the ground, and then fell apart into four pillars connected with a plus-shape on top of them. A deformed sphere formed beneath the crossing of two pillars. Looking into it filled Winslow with unexplainable sense of dread and doom.

“Ghjhhh... Agghhh! Hjjkklkjjj...” he growled and spat and murmured; but he pressed on, with Deter on his back. Whilst this was happening, Xaver and Whippold still fought each other, both failing to inflict any significant wounds. Rad resolved their score by head-shooting Xaver.

The transformed guard moved much faster than the levitating one. In fact, it galloped straight at heavily encumbered Winslow. But it came to sudden halt, smashing into an invisible barrier. The fighter just stepped out of the idyllic meadow, and it seemed the creature was incapable of following them. Fool's luck!

The horses were restless. Even Umber Fury, whom has seen many battlefield, seemed unnerved by something. Rad frisked the corpses while Winslow bandaged mutilated Deter. Then they made a campfire, and threw the two dead Altanians into the fire. Whippold didn't seem to protest.

“What now?”

“We wait for Sir Fondleroy...”

Four hours later and Vanis was out in all its glory. What a magnificent full moon was it!

“Ghhh... Ahh! Don't look! Don't look at me!” Winslow grunted as he howled. The horses went mad, ripping out the stakes and galloping off into the jungle. “HHssshhh! Aggghh!” Rad looked in horror as the fighter deformed into a hairy beast, his clothes and leather armour bursting at seams. He readied his shortbow as this creature ran into the jungle. Two yellow eyes were the last thing he'd seen of Winslow.

Whippold was too tired to say anything. This was all way too surreal for him. What the fuck has he gotten himself into?

“We watch guard until the dawn.” Rad ordered. And so they did.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

“Not a word to anyone about this. Not a word.” Naked, bloodied, and filthy, Winslow returned to camp in the early morning. Unbeknownst to the fighter, Rad was most upset about lost horses. “Do you know how valuable these are! And you scared them all away! You git!”

“What's in there?” a small silk pouch was hidden on the right side of the Umber Fury's plate mail barding. “By the Barangorn!” Ten pristine pearls were in it.

“Listen, he'd be done by now. It'd be best to head back to Antil. Our friend here needs some care anyway!”

Player Session Reports

And Deter's portrait:

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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The best introductory tabletop RPG is the D&D Basic Set!

There are two versions, one by Tom Moldvay (usually called B/X Basic) and one by Frank Mentzer (usually called BECMI Basic, comes as separate Player's Manual and DM's Rulebook):

D&D Basic Set Rulebook by Tom Moldvay
D&D Basic Set by Frank Mentzer

Both cover all the fantasy tabletop RPG tropes, have all the necessary rules for both the players and game masters, are easily understood, chock-full of examples and inspiring illustrations.

And the best thing? More than 50 years of content readily available online. There is a high probability someone out there already made whatever you might think of.

Both can be legally obtained for less than $10—just print them at your local shop and start playing with some friends!

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