Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.
To be honest, I wouldn't want to live in any of my favourite game settings! Wilderlands, Thunder Rift, Tamriel, Warhammer universe... I'm perfectly happy with my current, Terra, setting. :)
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
I've been an RPG game master since the age of when I got a younger brother and we smacked each other with sticks pretending to be whatever we wanted to be at the moment. Knights, samurai, Jedi, pirates...
I've been facilitating various games for decades, but I've only seriously gotten into “gamemastering” D&D this year. It's been a rewarding experience so far!
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Winslow | Fighter level 2 | A dirty warrior reeking of urine, body odours, and rotten wood. |
| Dingbatt Barett | Thief level 2 | Ginger, skinny, and scrawny copy of Johnny Depp; speaks like a moron. |
| Rad | Thief level 1 | A young, short and malnourished rogue. |
| Basso | Halfling level 1 | A stable boy whom got tired of shovelling horse shit. |
| Gon'd'elf | Elf level 1 | “Surely magnificent, am I not?” is his favourite opener. Works every time, 40% of the time. |
| Amanda Hugencuise | Thief level 3 | A new girl in town, claiming to be foreign exchange student, up for some “exciting missions” and enjoying the local cuisine. |
Winslow's and Deter's reports linked at the end of the post.
Having returned to Antil without their protectee, Sir Fondleroy, but with his purse containing ten shiny pearls, the party was ready to move on with their ambitious plans—world domination.
Deter, now a chunk of barely living flesh, has been left in the capable hands of the Shang Ta healers. Winslow even threw in some extra coin for the Windgod's blessings.
Establishing a mercenary company was determined as a first step towards the world domination. Brother Kallahan and Winslow spent a week gathering information on how exactly to do that. It turns out all one needs is some coin, a “headquarters,” and a name.
They also learned that Antil is politically aligned with the City State of the Invincible Overlord. The Overlord pays good money to Antilian mercenary companies.
The rumour has it that Overlord's grip of Altanis has been severely weakened by the defeat he suffered few months ago. Although he personally led his Vasthost in the march on Viridistan, the Green Emperor's armies routed him.
Now Zothay, the largest port in Altanis, has fallen into the hands of Skandik and hobgoblin armies, an unholy alliance forged in the depths of cold north. Old South Road is in great peril.
Measly politics aside, the most interesting piece of information was about the deed for an abandoned warehouse on the docks that will go up for auction on Meadowlark 10th. It would've sold for 30 000 gold pieces, or more in its heyday.
Rad spent his days paying off old debts and creating new ones. Young thief managed to rack up a debt of 500 gold coin. Alas, he had to pay back interest as well, totalling his repayment up to 550 gold coin. Luckily for him, he got to keep all his extremities.
Then he decided to go to the Friend's Arms for a hearty meal; a place he usually couldn't afford to visit. Indeed, at first he was almost kicked out, but was admitted after flashing his newly filled coin purse. He ordered the house's biggest pheasant with a side of vegetables. After eating nothing but terrible rations for weeks, he scarfed it down in a beast like display helping him forget his loss of 50 gold that was eating away at him after it happened.
With full belly and heavy purse, young Rad decided to gamble.
Seven Vultures was a known place for knaves to throw dice, knives, and lives; perfect for what Rad was looking for. The place was filthy, and reeked of body odours and cheap alcohol. Somehow it was quite dark, even though it was broad daylight outside. Rad worked his way to a small round table with a scruffy looking man in dirty clothes.
“You put in the bet. No coin, no bet. No payment, no hand—the house chooses which. You throw three dice. Following results win...” the rough croupier explained. And so Rad started rolling, putting in maximum best of 20 gold per round.
“Almost! ... Would you like to roll again? Fortune favours the bold!”
“I’m gonna keep rolling till I win one!”
“That's the spirit! Drinks for this young man!”
Few questionable ladies gathered around their table and begun cracking inappropriate jokes. “Oh my, look how big his pocket is!” “Oh, but it is getting drier and drier... like a little plum!”
“Woo, won one!”
“OH MY!” two of the wenches start screaming, and one spills ale all over you. A gang of ugly looking bastards have gathered gathered around the table by now; everyone observing the commotion. “240 gold coin for the young knave!” the croupier announced loudly.
“Ey boy, pay a round for us, we've been cheering for you all the time!” and Rad paid up, and kept playing.
“Yes. Lady Luck smiles upon you... Do you dare bet higher?”
But the smile was gone.
“You'll get it all back! And more!”
“Come on, do it vulture!” the fat lady screamed as her tits fell out and she rolled off the table.
Annoyed with the crowd, Rad now threw in 60 gold coin for a bet.
“Wooo!” “Cocky!”
Another loss.
“Loser!” “Booooo!”
“SHUT UP!” Rad yelled as he threw in another 60 gold coins.
The crowd burst into uproarious laughter as the dice once more favoured the house.
Rad being pissed off at his luck failing places the last of his 108 gold “All or nothing!” and raises his hand in the air for applause.
Disappointed gasps and sighs came from the crowd.
“Ah, almost young vulture.”
The rogue got so mad he threw the dice on the floor and started stomping them. He was quickly “calmed” by the patrons, and luckily only his ego was bruised. After finishing his pint he realised he has no money left for a hovel he was staying at... So he slept a cold wet night on the street, his only comfort being having nothing on him worth stealing.
He spent the rest of his days bumming around with bottom-dwellers, gathering some intelligence in the process. Turns out beggars know a thing or two about gambling. Kelman's Rumble, an annual event by the mysterious Lord of the Kelman House is the place for serious gamblers. Those who attend never say a word! Invitees seem to be selected at random.
“The rumour has it Vorn's imbecile son gambled off his own sister in the last year's Rumble... Haven't seen her since.”
“Kelman's House servants are strange looking. I call them the Hollow Men, as they lack personality. And hair and skin color too I may add!”
Not only that, but Rad also heard about the same warehouse Winslow and Brother Kallahan learned of “I heard a that haunted warehouse will soon go for auction. Good luck to sorry gits who buy it!”
The party pooled their coin and prepared for the auction.
Amanda the scout surveyed the warehouse at dawn. It was an unremarkable two-story building with a humble dock attached to it. Most of the windows were boarded up or covered in dirt and grime.
A finely dressed woman, surrounded by six armed men wearing colours of the City Watch, was nearby as well. Amanda quickly found out the woman's name—Aina—and worked out a deal that would allow her party to pay the deposit and bring the rest of the coin within the hour of auction closing.
Indeed, our adventurers came to the auction in great number: Winslow, Dingbatt Barett, Rad, Basso, Gon'd'elf, and Amanda. They even brought along Ehrman and Ariad, two of their retainers.
“Welcome. The warehouse is sold as-is. No complaints, no returns. Immediate payment.”
As Winslow made his way to the front of the crowd, ready to bid on the party's behalf, Gon'd'elf scanned the mass for any signs of danger. It didn't take him long to notice three shady characters with poorly concealed weapons and ill-fitting armour.
“The starting price is...” Aina continued, shuffling through her papers “No, this can't be right. Oh well.” she stammered, and then cleaned her throat “The starting price is 728 gold pieces. Offers?”
Winslow immediately raised his hand and voice, signalling that he matches the opening bid.
“800!” came from the odd looking trio.
“850!” Winslow fired back.
By now Gon'd'elf and Amanda were closely watching the trio, and they could see them elbowing each other. Some aggressive motioning and whispering later, the loudest shouted “Nine hundred and eighty four gold coins!”
“One thousand and one hundred coin!” Winslow roared, throwing a mean stare their way. They reciprocated with a select choice of insults, some spit, and then promptly stormed off.
“Any other offers? No...? Sold to the hairy man, then...”
Aina handed party the keys once they've paid up—God King's tithe included—a total of 1 210 gold coins. “Clean this place up. It cannot remain at the docks in this state.”
Oh, how eager Rad was to just go in and turn the place upside down! The rest barely convinced him to take care of registering the company first. And thus was Hydra Company born.
“Hail Hydra!” the adventurer's could be heard, fist-bumping, as they were strolling back to their newly acquired, dilapidated, headquarters.
By the time they arrived, Rad was shaking with anticipation. He just grabbed the key from Winslow, and went straight in through the main doors. A trio of bells rung, announcing his entry.
Gon'd'elf, Amanda, Ehrman, and Ariad stayed out, and investigated attached docks and large wooden gates on what looked like a cargo hall. The elf could hear some murmuring coming from behind.
Rad, still impatient, made his way through several rooms, one emptier than the other. He did notice dusty footprints leading down the stairs. Dingbatt went straight for the wide wooden doors. They proved to be quite heavy, so he pushed them open with a loud bang.
A large room, some thirty by sixty feet, full of boxes and crates presented itself. At the far end was a group of angry men, armed with knives and clubs, whom seemed to be shouting at a wet, half-naked figure hanging upside down from the ceiling.
Curious as ever, Dingbatt the Bright came closer to inquire what is this all about. “This bastard here owes us some coin!” “Ya, he's been stealing from us!”
“Lies, all lies, you delusional scum!”
“A captain he called himself! And he stole from us!” and with those words, few of the angry men hit the captain with clubs.
“Oh, that's horrible!” Dingbatt was full of sympathy “How much did he steal?”
“Five hundred coin!”
“Horrible! How about we beat him up, and then you join us? We are hiring brave men like you!”
“Oh wow, that sounds amazing!”
“What? What?! What are you talking about! No, please, no!”
Alas, it was too late for the poor captain, for Dingbatt crushed his skull with a club he borrowed from one of the angry sailors. Then they cut the rope and let his corpse fall down to the shore beneath the warehouse.
Only now did Dingbatt realise that part of the warehouse was actually extending over the shoreline, and that this large trapdoor was used to load or unload cargo from smaller ships that would moor beneath.
“What the fuck is happening here? Who are all these people?” Winslow burst in through west doors, sword drawn.
“Ha!” Gon'd'elf swung the south doors wide open.
“Oh no!” “The guards are here!” “We are doomed!” the sailors yelled exasperated “It was all his idea!” they pointed to Dingbatt. Four jumped into the sea bellow.
After some back and forth, the party sternly asked them to leave, and so they did. Elf tried to charge them with some rent, but alas, his request did not find fertile soil.
Rad emerged from stairs that led down. “There are more squatters here than us! What is this! Did they check this place before selling them at all!”
It turns out that the cellar housed thirteen humans in a rather poor health. Lepers, they call them. Even worse, they are often killed on sight, so they have to hide in the Antil's sewers. They were forced to find another place because of the horrible beast that kicked them out. “Sewers, you say?” Winslow twisted his whiskers. “We will aid you, and in return you will act as our guides to the Underworld. You can stay here until then. Just don't come up.”
“How much are we going to charge them?” could be heard from one of the unnamed characters.
“Oh, thank you!” “Thank you!” cries of gratitude filled the damp cellar. “Please, whatever you do—do not open the coffer in the loft!”
Of course, that mean that the party promptly went to investigate the loft. There indeed was a coffin there, just beneath the window looking west. Locked steel doors, unlike any other in the warehouse, were of interest as well.
As the party carefully approached the coffin, they were spooked by an old lady coming from an adjacent room. “What are you doing here? Who are you? Why are you here? Where am I? Why am I here? Why is your place so dirty? Oooh, why don't you clean more often!” she seemed to progress from confused to all worked up because of the scattered mess. “Clean up, right now!” and with those words she dissipated in the air.
Winslow quickly retrieved some flowers and placed them by the coffin. “Let us know how can we place you to rest.” “Tarantis. That's where I was to be buried.” The plaque read Dorothea Burser.
Whilst this was happening, Amanda worked her way into the room behind steel doors. Oh, what marvels did it hide! An intricate dry fountain of entwining serpents, five delicate garden statues of exquisite make, and four breathtaking paintings.
And so did the Hydra Company begin.
And Deter's portrait:
Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
Oof, what was the first one? As I wrote before, most of my early RPG experience came from computer games. I'm not sure if Final Fantasy VII and Vandal Hearts II were among the first I bought, but they are the ones I do remember quite vividly. Oh, I played a horde of JRPGs on Play Station.
Maybe an easier question for me would be “what is the second RPG you Kickstarted?” Now that is something I can easily check... aaand it was a 5x7 DUNGEON CARD SET by Dan Smith:
:strip_icc()/pic4804901.jpg)
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
Wilderlands of High Fantasy is a campaign setting published by Judges Guild in the 70's. It's by far the best fantasy setting ever published (yes, I am biased) for a busy Judge who doesn't have infinite prep time.
The setting is just populated enough that one can drop in whatever they wish, without breaking anything. At the same time, there are plenty of cool things to interact with even without adding anything.
Legendary adventures in the Wilderlands include City State of The Invincible Overlord, Wraith Overlord, Tegel Manor, Caverns of Thracia, The Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor, and many, many other, less known ones.
The setting was originally published in four booklets:
Besides the setting, they came with a plethora of additional rules and procedures for generating everything from ruins to caves to dungeons.
The setting was compiled and expanded into a box-set by Necromancer Games in 2005. Unfortunately, it's been long sold-out, just like the originals, so it is quite expensive to get it today.
Robert Conley, a long-time Wilderlands contributor and Judge (his Wilderlands campaign has been going on for 40 years!), revised the four original booklets and their maps under the license from Judges Guild:
His own works in the Wilderlands are amazing as well:
Above two are available as print bundle as well.
His licence will lapse (all reasons explained here) and all of the above will be removed from his store page by Monday, August 21st, 2022.
Given that Judges Guild of today is nothing but a mismanaged mess, make sure to get these amazing supplements while you still can.
And even more importantly, to support Robert Conley, a person who has kept the true spirit of Wilderlands alive long after Bob Bledsaw had passed away.
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
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.
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
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:
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.
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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
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:
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.
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.
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!
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
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.
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
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!
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.