DOUBLE FEATURE POST: FRONTLOADED VS BACKLOADED SETTINGS, PLAYER AGENCY VS SETTING INTEGRITY, ONE NIGHT ONLY

 

Frontloaded vs Backloaded settings

There is, in my opinion, a mild schism (among the major schisms) in the OSR regarding setting construction: Greyhawk and Blackmoor get shat upon for being “vanilla D&D” or “generic” while a revolving cast of flavor-of-the-month settings that describe themselves as “weird” or “gonzo” are held up as masterpieces. I care not for your reviews of published settings but rather wish to extrapolate on my own meditations.

First, “frontloaded settings” must be defined, as their existence is dualistic with backloaded settings. These are settings that are strange and outre from the very outset, possibly even from character creation or even the introduction: McKinney’s Carcosa, noisms’ Yoon-Suin, or Gibbons’ Bx Mars are what I consider to be good examples of such types of settings. The worlds are alien; cultures are weird; demi-humans are either replaced or deleted; science, pseudo-science, and science fiction cast a shadow over them. They are testaments to creative genii, yet their own alien novelty forms a barrier to play: Of what use dungeon delves and GP when most of Carcosa languishes at a neolithic level?  What of crab-man’s inhumanity to man? What if I don’t want to play someone who’s naked all the time?

The solution is pretty obvious: “Just change it.” Or rather “(you, the referee, can) just change it.” Which is true, but this puts all the burden on the referee AND undermines the whole reason for using a published setting in the first place (so the referee doesn’t have to do the hard work).

Now, there are “backloaded settings”, sometimes called “generic” settings: The ones with the kings and knights and castles and orcs and dragons and not-quite-medieval civilizations. This is where Gygax’s Greyhawk and Arneson’s Blackmoor started. But they didn’t end there: They changed, they EVOLVED based on player decisions (some of those players even being the creators themselves!). Those historical timelines have some referee-created trivia but the important parts are all because of player actions.

But even then, Blackmoor and Greyhawk weren’t as vanilla as claimed, there were aliens and magic apocalypses and weird shit. To go full D&Dcore, turning everything into the same diluted and flavorless melange, is something you can do with WOTC D&D or a host of other alleged competitors, and should be avoided. The balance is between the two, I think, vanilla enough to facilitate immediate player engagement but with sufficient indelible weirdness from the referee’s own mind to add excitement. But above all, the referee must be willing to allow the EVOLUTION of his setting based on player actions.

 

Player Agency vs Setting Integrity

The previous point rolls into this one. I recall many years ago, WOTC had a regular online advice column called Jedi Counseling for their Star Wars RPG (at the time, the Revised edition, which was also technically my first RPG), written by one Sarli. A flustered GM laid out the situation: The game was set at roughly the same time as A New Hope (0 BBY or Space Year 1977) and his party had decided to punch in the coordinates for Yavin IV (the big Rebel base in the climax) for unspecified reasons. Sarli’s solution was to have them wind up at the fake Rebel base named early in the film or arrive at the actual base after the Death Star had been blown up and the Rebels fled. Why did this GM even need to ask what to do? Why did Sarli reply with that? Because if the party got there and killed Luke or seduced Leia or jumped in X-Wing and blown up the Death Star or awakened Sith ghosts (press F for the pre-Disney EU) then they wouldn’t be playing a Star Wars game anymore, they’d be playing a Star Wars AU fanfic game because the setting changed irreversibly (if/until time travel became canon). It’s the tightrope you walk with established settings, especially those derived from media: The group wants to play in the setting but if changes are allowed then, sooner or later, they will no longer being playing in the setting.

But I believe this problem extends beyond published settings into homebrew settings. This is, I think, the root of the old “you shouldn’t stat gods because the PCs will kill them” mindset, not some true ideological take on the nature of divinity but a pre-emptive petulance about the players not appreciating the hard work that the GM making these (unnecessarily) complex characters.

Player agency, the ability for the players to freely act, goes hand-in-hand with consequences. Yes, the party can jump to Yavin IV and TRY murk Luke, but how will they cope with both the Rebels and Papa Vader seeking vengeance? They can storm Olympus and TRY kill every god in the place while stealing all the loot, but how do they deal with the things the Olympians were keeping under control? Give the players a rope and see if they tangle (or hang) themselves . . . or someone else.

Writing an OSR(?) game from memory, The End: Admitting defeat and post-mortem

I'm throwing in the towel here. Not the first time (nor the last) for me, but at least this time I can articulate my reasons.
1. The muse has left me.
2. I work full-time.
3. Because of my self-imposed don't "reference any material" handicap I have a lot of stuff I want to read that I couldn't.

That said, I think this challenge works best for those with a lot of free time or still quarantine. And even with my failure, I did learn what parts of the rules I need to brush up on.

Time for analysis. 

Part 1

Despite my intent to channel LBB, it looks like most of my ability score mechanics are based on Labyrinth Lord. The exception is Dex which is exactly as the LBB. The HP modifiers for Con are a little different (perhaps, the LBB are ambiguous). My XP modifier curve is somewhere between that of the LBB (+/- 10-20%) and LL (+/- 5-10%). The loyalty numbers would later cause some issues.

My alignment chart is based on the LBB's, even down to underlined creatures being chaotic or neutral. Halflings were made Neutral/Lawful because I wanted to fill the "small underground guy" niche for all three alignments (which Gygax made no effort to do, looking over the LBB). Orcs and Ogres being Chaotic/Neutral is one of my favorite parts of the LBB since it justifies a non-confrontational approach with them. Cavemen being Lawful are because of an old idea of them being the Lawful equivalent of the modern Orc - loyal to their alignment but brutal and not very bright. The Judicator is my off-brand version of the Justicar. The Balor replaces the Balrog. Dragons appear in all three columns because I had planned on adding a Neutral breed: Probably a half-remembered version of the Cloud or new versions of Brown or Gray.

Part 2

My Dwarves getting to advance up to level 7 as fighters is 1 level more than permitted by the LBB. Dwarf clerics and Gnome M-Us are consciously backported AD&Disms. The Gnomes are a little different here because they're based on the LBB versions (hill-dwelling Dwarves).

To quote EGG: "Zounds!" I totally screwed up the F-M/M-U ratios of Elf level limits. The Anti-cleric being available to them is inspired by Three Hearts & Three Lions, Morrowind, and Warhammer's Dark Elves.

I gave Halflings 2 fighter levels over the LBB max. The Shaman is just because the other two races have a divine option so why not hobbits?

Although I got the XP requirements for 2nd level right, my fighter advances much faster, reaching level 9 at 16000 xp as opposed to the LBB's 24000 xp. I also cap HD at 9+6 (another LLism) whereas the a 12th-level Lord in LBB has 11+1 HD. My THAC0 progression is oddly sluggish. Saves are a lot harsher than both LBB and LL.

My M-Us progress almost half as fast for levels 2-3 then suddenly rush forward compared to the LBB. I seem to have been inspired by a mix of LL and 3e for the numbers of spells, although mine gives more than either. Saves and THAC0 are wrong (again).

Clerics (and their variants) all progress slower than their LBB counterparts. The Shaman exists because I like the concept of Neutral nature clerics but loath D&D Druids ever since I started with 3e.

The spell progression is mostly the same as LBB and LL but I hand out more spells, including a 6th-level  one. Saves and THAC0 are wrong (again). My turning tables combine my recurring problem of slower initial growth followed by runaway inflation.

Part 3

I somehow got the price of daggers dead-on for both LL and LBB. The special abilities of axes, daggers, and spears (treated as polearms) are from the LBB. The leather-chain-plate model is from the LBB. I can't believe I forgot the costs for armor.

Part 4

The four categories of encumbrance/movement is from LL and 2e. The monster spotting rules for encounters are hazily lifted from 1e. The reaction tables are either my own homebrew or taken from some anonymous homebrew. The structure of combat rounds is from LL. Now, morale/loyalty is a funny story: When I wrote the loyalty numbers in Part 1 I wasn't really thinking clearly so I gave out numbers which exceed LBB/B/X/1e morale but fit perfectly with 2e morale. Why? I don't know.

Writing an OSR(?) game from memory, Part 4: Encumbrance, exploration, encounters, combat, morale

This is a lot harder than I thought it would be and, as usual, I'm losing interest. Perhaps I shall make one last valiant effort to complete the Men & Magic portion of the rules.

Encumbrance

Encumbrance represents the effect of weight carried. In general, the starting tools, sundries, and worn armor carried into the dungeon or wilderness are not weighed and tallied but weapons, additional armor, and any items acquired during expeditions ARE tallied.

Weights cause characters to move more slowly: For characters wearing armor, use the worst of the two movement values below (for example, a character wearing plate but carrying less than 50 lbs has a combat speed of 30')
Weight Carried | Combat Speed | Exploration Speed
less than 50 lbs | 40' | 120'
50-100 lbs | 30' | 90'
101-150 lbs | 20' | 60'
151-200 lbs | 10' | 30'
more than 200 lb* | 5' | 15'
*The referee may rule that certain weights or unwieldy masses allow no movement whatsoever.

Encounters & Exploration

Time is the essential factor of the game. The referee should obtain a calendar of some sort to track days, weeks, and months accurately. Smaller, but no less important, units of time include the round (1 minute) and the turn (10 minutes). Rounds are mostly used to track time in combat while turns are used to track exploration. It is assumed that a party will move as fast as its slowest member in order to maintain formation and defense; if a full retreat is being enacted then no such compulsion exists.

Encounters (Wandering Monsters)
For every two turns spent exploring, there is a 1-in-6 chance that a random encounter will occur. These encounters may be native monsters, invaders, or other adventurers. The monster will be up to 2d6x10 feet away in dungeons or yards in the wilderness; randomly determine its point of entry, ignoring illogical routes such as the empty room the party just left. Note that more encounters can occur during combats due to either third parties or reinforcements.

Surprise
If the party does not have lights in the dungeon or is in the wilderness during active hours, both sides have a 2-in-6 chance of being surprised.
If the party does have lights  in the dungeon or is in the wilderness during resting hours, the encounter only has a 1-in-6 chance to be surprised while the party has the normal 2-in-6 chance of being surprised.
The referee may rule that particularly large, reckless, or conspicuous groups have no chance of surprising opponents. Surprised opponents are essentially helpless for one round. Note that some enemies will have reduced or increased chances of being surprised based on other factors: If the Knights of The Fang know the party is the west wing of Castle Carmine, they only have a 1-in-6 chance of being surprised upon finding the party; if the know the party is trapped in the Anti-Temple, the Knights will not be surprised; and if the party some manages to out with the Knights and encounters the neophytes performing cursory duties in the East Wing they have a 3-in-6 chance of being surprised.

Reactions
Not all encounters, even those between Lawfuls and Chaotics, need be combat. In some cases, a reaction will be obvious; Retainers of the Baronet who sponsors the party should have no reason to attack unless they or the party are traitors; Hobgoblins have no reason to be friendly and every reason to attack a party who has penetrated their warrens. When the referee has no strong idea of how an encountered character will react, he should roll below, applying the reaction modifier of the party member with the highest Charisma (unless the party wishes to nominate someone else as their "face").

2d6 | Reaction | Possible Actions
2-3| Hostile | Attack, offer horrible deal
4-5| Unfriendly | Insult, draw weapons, offer bad deal
6-7| Indifferent | Ignore, offer normal deal
8-9 | Unsure | Observe, retreat, hide
10-11| Friendly | Non-combat aid, offer good deal
12| Helpful | Combat aid, offer great deal

The referee may wish to make adjustments to the reaction roll based on biases: An anti-cleric may not immediately attack a cleric but it will sour his demeanor, while a judicator may put a whole party to the sword due the presence of an anti-cleric.

Combat

Combat Structure
Combat is joined when the party attacks or is attacked. The order of combat is as follows:
S1. Determine surprise
S2. Unsurprised sides declare actions
S2a. Roll initiative (1d6) for each unsurprised side if there are multiple; the highest scoring side acts first
S3. Unsurprised movement occurs
S4. Unsurprised ranged attacks occur
S5. Unsurprised spells occur
S6. Unsurprised melee attacks occur
S7. Once all unsurprised sides have acted, normal combat begins
1. All sides declare actions
2. Roll initiative (1d6) for each side; the highest scoring side acts first
3. Movement occurs
4. Ranged attacks occur
5. Spells occur
6. Melee attacks occur
7. Repeat until slaughter, surrender, ceasefire, or retreat

Morale & Loyalty
Even among monsters, few will fight to the death. Monsters have morale while henchmen have loyalty: Both are fundamentally the same.
Monsters check morale when 30% or more of their group are dead or if they only have 30% or less hp remaining; they will flee if possible or surrender if unable.
Henchmen check loyalty when 30% or more of their party are dead, if they only have 30% or less hp remaining, or if their leader is reduced to 25% or less hp; they will flee if possible or surrender if unable. Henchmen automatically fall loyalty checks if their leader dies.
To check morale or loyalty, roll 2d10: If the result is equal or lower then the character acts normally.
As always, the referee may modify morale scores to reflect circumstances: A group who knows there is no escape and that they will be killed even if they surrender is likely to fight to the last.

Writing an OSR(?) game from memory, Part 3: Equipment

A much shorter post this time. I'll probably break spells into two posts.

Equipment

Characters start with 3d6x10 gold pieces (gp). 10 gp weigh 1 lb.
1 gold piece = 10 silver pieces (sp) = 100 copper pieces (cp)

Melee Weapons
Weapon | Cost | Weight |Special
Axe  | 10 gp | 8 lb | Can be thrown up to 10'
Club | 2 gp | 6 lb | Made of wood
Dagger | 3 gp | 1 lb | Can be thrown up to 10', easily concealed, short reach
Greatsword | 20 gp | 15 lb | +2 damage, must be wielded with both hands
Mace | 8 gp | 8 lb | -
Spear | 9 gp | 8 lb | Double damage if hitting a charging target, can be used to attack from the second rank
Staff | 2 gp | 5 lb | Made of wood
Sword | 8 gp | 7 lb | -

Ranged Weapons
Weapon | Cost | Weight | Range | Special
Bow | 10 gp | 7 lb | 100' | Requires two hands to nock and shoot
-10 arrows | 1 gp | 1 lb
Crossbow | 15 gp | 12 lb  | 50' | +2 to damage, takes one round to reload
-10 bolts | 1 gp | 1 lb
Sling | 5 sp | 0.5 lb | 50' | Can be "fired" with one hand
-10 stones | 1sp* | 0.5 lb
*Cost to hire someone else to find stones. A character may instead spend 1 turn searching for stones, which will find 1d4-1 (0-3) usable stones.

Armor
Armor type | AC | Weight | Movement
None | 9 | - | 40' per round / 120' per turn
Leather | 7 | 10 lb | 40' per round / 120' per turn
Chain | 5 | 25 lb | 30' per round / 90' per turn
Plate | 3 | 60 lb | 30' per round / 90' per turn
Shield | * | 5 lb | - |  -
*Shields improve AC by 1 point; no armor + shield = AC 8, leather + shield = AC 6, etc.

Other equipment and tools
Item | Cost | Weight | Notes
Backpack | 5 gp | 2 lb | Can hold about 40 lb/400 coins Candle | 1 cp | - | Illuminates 10' radius, 5-in-6 chance to be blown out by strong wind, etc.
Hammer | 1 sp | 1 lb | -2 to hit and damage
Holy symbol | 1 sp | 0.5 lb | Used by clerics, shamans, and anti-clerics
Holy water | 10 gp | 0.5 lb | Deals 2d6 to undead and demons, delays onset of regular diseases for 1d6 days and supernatural diseases for 1d6 turns Iron spike | 1 sp | 1 lb | -2 to hit and damage
Lantern | 1 gp | 2 lb | Illuminates 30' radius, 1-in-6  chance to be blown out by strong wind, etc.
Manacles | 10 gp | 5 lb | Includes keyPole, 10' | | 10 lb | Can be used as a weapon with -2 to hit and damage
Rations, iron | 3 sp | 2 lb | Enough cured food to last 1 day, 1-in-6 chance to distract intelligent monsters if dropped
Rations, trail | 3 sp| 2 lb | Enough fresh food to last 1 day, 1-in-6 chance to distract unintelligent monsters if dropped
Rope, 50'  | 1 gp | - | Can hold up to 300 lb if properly secured
Sack, large | 1 gp | 1 lb | Can hold about 20 lb/200 coins
Sack, small | 2 sp | 0.5 lb | Can hold about 10 lb/100 coins
Torch | 1 sp | 1 lb | Illuminates 30' radius, 3-in-6 chance  to be blown out by strong wind, etc.
Wheelbarrow | 10 gp | 20 lb | Can hold about 200 lb/2000 coins, requires two hands to push

Writing an OSR(?) game from memory, Part 2: Races, classes

The project continues. Aplogies for the terrible blogger formatting. I'm noticing this is a bit stream-of-consciousness. I can't really remember the specifics of XP, saves, and spell tables so expect a lot of discrepancies to pop up.

Races:
Races are somewhat akin to species. Races are broadly categorized into humans (us), demi-humans (dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings), and humanoids (goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, orcs)

Man
Men (and women) are typical examples of humankind.

Racial languages: Common
Extra languages: Dragon, dwarven, elven, goblin, kobold, giant, orcish, sylvan
Powers: None
Typical alignment: Neutral (with notable outliers)
Classes & level limits: All classes, no level limits

Dwarf/Gnome
Short, human-like creatures with great beards (for males) or great manes (for females). Dwarves are stocky, live in mountains, and hate goblins; gnomes are thin , live in hills, and hate kobolds.

Racial languages: Dwarven and common
Extra languages: Giant, goblin, kobold
Powers: Infravision 30' range (they can see in grayscale but only in total darkness), 1-in-6 chance of automatically detecting hidden stonework features, dips, rises, or other details in rock, +1 to hit and damage against goblins (dwarves)/kobolds (gnomes).
Typical alignment: Lawful
Classes & level limits: Fighting-man 7; cleric 5 (dwarves only); magic-user 5 (gnomes only)

Elf
Lithe, human-like creatures with pointed ears. Elves usually live in or near forests.

Racial languages: Elven and common
Extra languages: Orcish, sylvan
Powers: Infravision 30' range (they can see in grayscale but only in total darkness), 1-in-6 chance of automatically detecting hidden doors or other entrances, may advance as both fighting-men AND magic-users simultaneously, allotting XP earned to one class per session, using the best values for HAC0, saves, and total hit dice. Elf fighting-men/magic-users may use any weapons but not shields or plate armor. 
Typical alignment: Chaotic with Neutral minority
Classes & level limits: Fighting-man 8; magic-user 6; anti-cleric 7

Halfling
Halflings are about 3-1/2' tall human-like creatures with hairy/furry hands and feet. The possess keen eyesight.

Racial languages: Common
Extra languages: Goblin, kobold
Powers: Infravision 30' range (they can see in grayscale but only in total darkness), +1 to hit and damage with ranged weapons.
Typical alignment: Neutral with Lawful minority
Classes & level limits: Fighting-man 6; shaman 5

Classes:
Explanation of some terms:
] Level: Relative measure of power.
] Hit dice: Abbreviated HD, the number of six-sided dice rolled to generate hit points (hp). Pluses are added and minuses are subtracted but a minimum of 1 hp is gained per each hit die.
] XP needed: Experience required to obtain this level.
] HAC0: The unmodified roll needed to Hit Armor Class (AC) 0 (zero). To hit AC 9 subtract 9, to hit AC -9 add 9, etc.
] Save vs. _____: Roll 1d20 against certain effects or at referee's discretion, if the number equals or exceeds this number then the effect will either be lessened or negated.
] Spells per day: The maximum number of spells that can be stored for use within the caster's mind.

Fighting-man
Fighting-men (and fighting-women, fighting-elves, etc.) are masters of martial arts. They can use any weapon or armor.

Level | Hit Dice | XP needed | HAC0 | Save vs death | poison/paralysis | breath | spell | wand
1   | 1 | 0 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16| 14
2   | 2 | 2000 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14
3   | 3 | 4000 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14
4   | 4 | 6000 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14
5   | 5 | 8000 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13
6   | 6 | 10000 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13
7   | 7 | 12000 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13
8   | 8 | 14000 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12
9   | 9 | 16000 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12
10 | 9+2 | 18000 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 12
11 | 9+4 | 20000 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 11
12 | 9+6 | 22000 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 11

 
Magic-User
The magic-user uses esoteric knowledge to cast spells. A magic-user starts with a spellbook containing 1 randomly determined spell (see the Spells section for details), a gift from his master(s). =EDIT= Magic-users may only use daggers, staves, and slings and may not wear any armor.        

Level | Hit Dice | XP needed | HAC0 | Save vs death | poison/paralysis | breath | spell | wand
1  | 1 | 0 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14| 12
2  | 2 | 4000 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12
3  | 2 | 6000 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12
4  | 3 | 8000 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 11
5  | 4 | 10000 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 11
6  | 5 | 12000 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 11
7  | 5 | 14000 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10
8  | 6 | 16000 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10
9  | 7 | 18000 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10
10 | 8 | 20000 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9
11 | 8 | 22000 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9
12 | 9 | 24000 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8

Magic-user spells per day
Character level | # of 1st-level spells | # 2nd | # 3rd | # 4th | # 5th | # 6th
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - |
6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - |
7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | - |
9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - |
11 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1
12  | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2

Cleric/Shaman/Anti-cleric
The servants of the gods, most obvious soldiers in the Cosmic Struggle.

Clerics are Lawful. Their holy symbols are the ankh or sun. They cannot use bladed or piercing weapons. If they cast reversed spells they have a 30% chance of their god(s) taking away their spellcasting abilities for 1d6 days. They have the power to turn (repel) or destroy undead.

Shamans are Neutral. Their holy symbols (carved from bone or wood) are animals, plants, and elements. They may only use weapons and armor made from "living" materials (leather, wood, bone, etc.). They may cast reversed and unreversed spells freely.

Anti-Clerics are Chaotic. Their holy symbols are the skull, inhuman eye, or savage maw. They cannot use bladed or piercing weapons. If they cast unreversed spells they have a 30% chance of their god(s) taking away their spellcasting abilities for 1d6 days. Anti-clerics who obviously display their allegiance will never receive a "hostile" reaction from Chaotic creatures or a "helpful" reaction from Lawful creatures (this does not allow them to act without consequence).

Level | Hit Dice | XP needed | HAC0 | Save vs death | poison/paralysis | breath | spell | wand
1     | 1 | 0        | 20 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15| 13
2     | 2 | 3000  | 19 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13
3     | 2 | 5000  | 19 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13
4     | 3 | 7000  | 18 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12
5     | 4 | 9000  | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12
6     | 5 | 11000 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12
7     | 6 | 13000 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11
8     | 6 | 15000 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11
9     | 7 | 17000 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11
10   | 8 | 19000 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10
11   | 9 | 21000 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10
12 | 9+2 | 23000 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10

Cleric/shaman/anti-cleric spells per day
Character level | # of 1st-level spells | # 2nd | # 3rd | # 4th | # 5th | # 6th
1* | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
5 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - |
7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - |
8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - |
10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - |
12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1
*1st-level clerics/shamans/anti-clerics cannot cast spells

Turning/repelling/destroying undead
Cleric level | Undead 1 HD | 2 HD | 3 HD | 4 HD | 5 HD | 6 HD | 7 HD | 8 HD | 9 HD | 10 HD | 11+ HD
1   | 7 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |  - | - | - | - |
2   | 5 | 8 | 11 | - | - | - | - |  - | - | - | - |
3   | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | - | - | - |  - | - | - | - |
4   | A | 4 | 7 | 9 | 12 | - | - |  - | - | - | - |
5   | A | A | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | - |  - | - | - | - |
6   | D | A | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 |  - | - | - | - |
7   | D | D | A | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | - | - | - |
8   | D | D | A| A | 3 | 5 | 7 |  9 | 12| - | - |
9   | D | D | D | A | A | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | - |
10 | D | D | D | D | A | A | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 |
11 | D | D | D | D | D | A | A | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9|
12 | D | D | D | D | D | D | A | A | 3 | 3 | 7 |

To turn undead a cleric must present his holy symbol with a free hand. The player then rolls 2d6 and if the result equals or exceeds any number shown then the undead are turn away and cannot approach or attack the cleric or his party for 10 minutes (1 turn). All of the closest and weakest undead are affected first. An "A" indicates automatic turning and a "D" indicates that turned undead are instead destroyed.

Writing an OSR(?) game from memory, Part 1: Goals, ability scores, alignment

Somewhat inspired by the Gygax 75 challenge, I've decided to write an OSR(-compatible) game from memory. I won't be referencing any rulebooks, modules, or SRDs. I expect the result to look a bit like LBB with weird bits of B/X, 1e, 2e, and some homebrew. I will gather my end results and throw them up as a formatted PDF on Drivethrurpg.

Goals:
] all character creation information
] at least 3 races
] at least 3 classes, at least one of which is a spell caster
] full spell list for casters
] equipment list
] full exploration rules
] full combat rules 
] full treasure and magic items
] enough monsters to populate 3 dungeon levels' worth of encounters
] enough monsters to populate 3 biomes' worth of encounters


Character Creation
To create a character one must generate abilities, select a race, select a class, determine spells, and purchase equipment.

Ability Scores
Ability scores represent general physical and mental aptitudes in numerical fashion. Roll 3d6 6 times, assigning each number in order to the following abilities:

Strength: Represents muscle power. It is most important to fighting-men.

Scores | Fighting-manXP | Force doors/objects
3-6 | -10% | 1-in-6
7-14 | - | 2-in-6
15-18 | +10% | 4-in-6

Intelligence: Represents intellect, logic, and memory. It is most important to magic-users.

Scores | Magic-User XP | Languages | Literacy | Chance to learn spell (Magic-Users)
3-6 | -10% | Alignment and racial | Illiterate* | 60**
7-14 | - | Alignment and racial | Literate | 70**
15-18 | +10% | Alignment, racial, plus one extra language | Literate | 80%**
*illiterate magic-user require the aid of a literate magic-user to teach them spells
**modified by spell level

Wisdom: Represents insight, senses, and reflection. It is most important to clerics, shamans, and anti-clerics. 

Scores | Cleric XP | Modifier on saves vs mental/emotional/spiritual effects
3-6 | -10% | -2
7-14 | - | -

15-18 | +10% | +2

Constitution: Represents endurance and general health. It is important for all characters.

Scores | Hit point modifier per hit die | System shock survival chance
3-4 | -1 | 45%
5-14 | - | 70%

17-18 | +1 | 95%

Dexterity: Represents reflexes and coordination.

Scores | Modifier on ranged attacks
3-8 | -1
9-12 | -

13-18 | +1

Charisma: Represents personal magnetism and self-confidence.

Scores | Reaction modifier | Maximum henchmen | Base loyalty

3-4 | -2 | 2 | 8
6-8 | -1 | 2 | 10
9-12 | - | 3 | 12
13-16 | +1 | 4 | 14
17-18 | +2 | 4 | 16

Alignment
All of creation is involved in the cosmic struggle between Law and Chaos; even those who refrain from the battle unknowingly side with Neutrality. Mortals (and many immortals) are not perfect representations of their alignments but their attitudes and actions convey their allegiances. All characters must select an alignment, and some alignments cannot pursue certain classes. All characters know their alignment language (Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic); a character whose alignment changes lose access to the alignment language until his alignment reverts or someone from his new alignment teaches him the new language.

Law can be roughly equated to "Good"; Even at their worst, Lawful people act with noble intentions and try to help others.

Chaos can be roughly equated to "Evil"; Even at their best, Chaotic people act with corrupt intentions and try to hinder others.

Neutrality often represents a lack of commitment or a desire to avoid trouble but for some it is a philosophy of "Balance" in the cosmos.

Selected creatures' typical alignments
LAW========NEUTRALITY========CHAOS
Men                    Men                                    Men
Dwarves             Halflings                            Goblins
Cavemen            Orcs                                   Hobgoblins
Treants               Ogres                                 Trolls
Judicators           Elementals                        Balors
Dragons             Dragons                            Dragons

Underlined creatures are equally likely to be Neutral or Chaotic
Italic creatures are equally likely to be Lawful or Neutral

Thoughts on Supplement V: Carcosa (and AD&D Carcosa)

I've been reading Geoff McKinney's original OD&D version of Carcosa. I had read it before but that was really just a skim and I hadn't read the LBB back then so I decided to really read it. I decided to gather my thoughts about it nine years after the party was already over.

This fits right into the setting

Many colored-men: Probably one of the better features of Carcosa. It's weird and different but at the same time mechanically simple. It differentiates the setting in a good way. Also, it seems like no one mentions that Bone Men are Newhon Ghouls.

Alignment: Simple and straightforward, fits the setting, not open to debate.

Sorcerers and rituals: Ah, the eternal stumbling block for Carcosa. I can help but think that if Carcosa had been released six years later the criticisms about the magic would be coming from a different side of the political spectrum. I'm thoroughly desensitized (thanks, Skortched 'Urf) so I have different complaints. The sorcerer is a fighter 90% of the time and the other 10% of the time he's on endless fetch quests and wilderness treks to try to bind horrible space gods that will eat him as soon as they can. If the player eschews all the evil stuff to be a good guy banisher hero then he's a fighter 99.9999% of the time until the referee decided to toss out one of the six monsters that your rituals can affect (one of whom also requires a fetch quest). I would just toss all of this out, it's far too clunky.

Psionics: Just too ephemeral for my tastes. Needs more meat.

Dice Conventions: Yeah, that's gonna be a Yikes! from me.

Monsters, part 1 (Lovecraft commentary): Carcosa uses a lot of Lovecraft material but Geoff changes a lot for unclear reasons. Azathoth is a cthonic deity like in Rats in the Walls rather than the nuclear chaos at the heart of the universe. Cthugua and Ithaqua get obscured names even though Geoff was already toeing the IP infringement line. Yog-sothoth is some sort of fleshy pile and a rapist even though I recall the Dunwich Horror showing the mating was consensual (at least as far as an inbred teen girl can consent to the key and the gate). Shub-Niggurath is literally Abhoth (with some Ubbo-Sathla influences). Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yithians, and others are all spawned by Shub-Niggurath despite very different origins in Lovecraft's stories. Cthulhu is Cthulhu, but the constant overhyping of him in RPGs rubs me the wrong way.

Monsters, part 2 (other stuff): Carcosa has Lovecraft-inspired monsters. Most border on self-parody, with way too many colorless, protoplasmic, or slime creatures. I liked the one made of obsidian shards though. I also dig the Man-Thing/Swamp-Thing homage. The Spawn of See-my-complaints-above are interesting but a pain unless you generate a bunch beforehand.

Magic Items and Technology: This is another one of the great differentiators of Carcosa; no +1 swords or potions, instead plutonium rifles and robots.

The woman and small, non-horrifying animals would be out of place on Carcosa

Geoff McKinney has also released an AD&D line of Carcosa modules on his lulu page. They're mostly by-the-book AD&D (minus demi-humans) featuring the standard classes, alignments, and magic (no objectionable sorcerous rituals). They manage to stand out due to the writing style but are lacking in the hydrogen beam rifle department.

Black Streams + Dungeon Crawl Classics: Brainstorming

Note: This posts contains affiliate links. A portion of your purchases go to the author (of this blog [the disclaimer seems a little ambiguous so I'm just clarifying {maybe I just have brain problems}]). 

This post is a set of conversion(?) notes for using Black Streams and Dungeon Crawl Classics. Black Streams is a supplement for Labyrinth Lord but it was apparently expanded and polished into Scarlet Heroes (which I'm probably going to buy soon). I'm pretty sure you could use Black Streams with almost any class- and level- system including D&D 5e and Pathfinder, but why would you play Pathfinder? :^) 

Let's dive in.

Starting Character(s): I'd recommend letting the player roll up 5 level-0 characters for funnels. 

Fray Die: The first departure we going to have to make from Black Streams is the Fray Die. This one is kinda dicey. Usually, the PC gets to roll a Fray Die and deal damage to an enemy with equal or less HD than himself. For level-0 characters this would mean other PCs and NPC villagers. But if one player is controlling all the level-0 PCs he really isn't going to use his Fray Die against his own PCs barring possession/insanity/whatever and slaughtering droves of peasants is a weird situation that probably won't come up either. In any case, if the GM decides to allow the Fray Die it's 1d4 for level-0 characters.

Defy Death: Level-0 characters can Defy Death as outlined in Black Streams but they roll a 1d6 damage die for their first attempt, 1d8 for their second, and 1d10 for all subsequent attempts. Keep in mind that DCC funnels tend to have a shitload of instadeath encounters. Spellcasters can use Defy Death to avoid Corruption and/or Patron Taint but they have can only avoid one or the other with a single Defy Death use; in another words, if a caster gets both Corruption and Patron Taint at the same time he needs to Defy Death twice to reject them (once for Corruption and one for Taint).

Light up the last night of 2016

I bet you thought I was done posting for 2016. I did too but then inspiration struck.

To celebrate The Protomen’s release of their new music video for Light Up The Night, I marathoned both Acts of the saga, which inspired me to stat these guys. I used AD&D but they should be easy enough to convert to B/X or LL. I kinda suck at AD&D so you might need to tweak these guys.

Wily’s Robots

	Robot	The Sniper	Robot Master
Climate/Terrain	The City	The City	The City
Frequency	Common	Unique	Very Rare; see text
Organization	Solitary or patrol	Solitary	Solitary or squadron; see text
Activity Cycle	Any	Night	Any
Diet	Electricity	Electricity	Electricity
Intelligence	Average	Above Average	Average to Exceptional; see text
Treasure	Nil	Special; see text	Special; see text
Alignment	Neutral (Evil)	Neutral (Evil)	Lawful (Evil)
No. Appearing	1 or 2d4	1	1; see text
Armor Class	6	5	0
Movement	12	14	12
Hit Dice	2+2	3+3	8+8
THAC0	18	17	12
No. of Attacks	1	2	Varies; see text
Damage/Attack	1d6	Punch 1d6 & Knife 2d4	Varies; see text
Special Attacks	Nil	Gun 3d6 damage	Varies; see text
Special Defenses	Immune to mental effects	Immune to mental effects	Immune to mental effects; see text
Magic Resistance	Nil	10%	20%
Size	M (5½’)	M (6’)	M (5½’-7’)
Morale	Fearless	Fearless	Fearless

“WE HAVE CONTROL - WE KEEP YOU SAFE – WE ARE YOUR HOPE”

---Robots, Will of One

Mass-produced by Dr. Albert Wily based on the designs of Dr. Thomas Light, robots are ubiquitous throughout The City. The Robots perform all the labor necessary to keep The City running; the Human populace never has to work, for their metal helpers do it for them. The Robots also enforce the laws of Dr. Wily, violently and without mercy. The City is a mockery of utopia, where the fear of uncertainty overpowers the fear of the machines. The Human populace seems incapable of and unwilling to overthrow their oppressor and his metal servants.

Robots and Robot Masters are immune to poison, disease, hallucinatory (but not illusion), emotional, telepathic, charm, and domination effects, as well as both positive and negative energy. Typical Robots can function for 48 hours of continuous use or 1 week in power-saving of mode. Robot Masters have advanced power supplies that allow them to function for 1 week of continuous use or 1 year in power-saving mode.

Average Robots don’t use weapons, preferring to beat enemies to death with their bare fists. Solitary Robots may be found anywhere in The City; Wily often like to place one in a busy bar or concert where it will try to act inconspicuous, at least until it sees or hears something Wily doesn’t like.

The Sniper

The firstborn of the Robots, created by Light and modified by Wily, The Sniper was Wily’s lethal enforcer against those who still stirred dissent after beatings from the common Robots. The Sniper was equipped with a removable helmet that featured a HUD-based threat scanner and an alert system which pinpointed any disturbances reported by Robots. It was armed with a reinforced carbon military-grade knife (2d4 damage; wt 1 lb.) and a high-caliber revolver (6 shots; 3d6 damage; wt 3 lb.; -4 to hit if the character isn’t proficient with firearms), although it preferred to use its fist and knife rather than its gun.

Robot Master

The Robot Masters are Wily’s lieutenants, unique and independent robots equipped with experimental and very powerful weaponry. Robot Masters are almost never encountered: One conducting routine procedures will be encountered alone; one dispatched to investigate or suppress disturbances will be accompanied by 3d10 Robots. Robots will obey Robot Masters without question, if their orders are obviously suicidal. Some of the Robot Masters are noted below; there are many, many more that exist.

Cutman
Intelligence	Above Average
No. of Attacks	1
Damage/Attack	1d6
Special Attacks	Rolling cutter
Special Defenses	Nil
Size	M (5½’)

This Robot Master has a gray jumpsuit on. His forearms, shins, and head are covered in red armor. His eyes are bulbous crystals lit by white light. On his head or forearm (50/50 chance) there are a pair of mechanical shears attached. In melee these shears act as a sword of sharpness but Cutman can also throw them like a boomerang at no penalty; if thrown, they return to him at the start of the round unless somehow prevented by obstacles. If any other character tries to use the Rolling Cutter, a natural result of 1 or 2 means that the character has hit himself and has a 50% chance of dismembering himself.

  

Fireman
Intelligence	Average
No. of Attacks	1
Damage/Attack	1d6 + 1 point of fire damage
Special Attacks	Fire attacks
Special Defenses	Immunity to fire damage
Size	M (6’)

This Robot Master is clad in metallic silver clothes with silver and red armor. His head looks like a knight’s helm, with glowing red triangles for eye and a crest made of fire. Flame wafts from the palms of claw-like hands. Once every 1d3 rounds Fireman may shoot out a gout of flame from his hands that functions as a burning hands spell cast by an 8^th-level wizard. Every 3d4 rounds he may launch flame from his head-crest, replicating the effect of a fireball spell as cast by an 8^th-level wizard. His equipment can only be used by characters whose bodies generate intense heat, which excludes most PCs.

Gutsman
Intelligence	Average
No. of Attacks	2
Damage/Attack	2d6
Special Attacks	Earthquake; hurling rocks for 2d10 damage
Special Defenses	Nil
Size	M (7’)

This hulking Robot Master is the size of a small Ogre. His limbs are red, his body black, and his face silver with a yellow helmet. His eyes are two glowing blue rectangles. He is covered in caution stripes. Gutsman can lift and throw rocks or other materials as large as himself is with ease. He can also use his gauntlets to channel seismic energy, duplicating the effects of an earthquake spell as cast by a 10-level priest, although he won’t use this attack unless commanded by Wily or in obvious danger of death. Gutsman’s gauntlets are too unwieldy for anyone with less than 18 Str and 16 Con to use.