Dwarf Crafter - an Original Edition Class

The Dwarf is severely limited in the original edition. It is restricted to the Fighting-Man class and can only rise to 6th level. They get a small number of interesting abilities that are acutely geared toward the sort of dungeon delving that was most popular in the early days of the game (and is still the best fun, in my opinion). While it does not explicitly associate race-as-class like the later Basic editions did, it was implied because they could only be the one class. Taking that idea and extrapolating it further here is a Dwarf class that is explicitly specialized at being a Dwarf.

The original Dwarf clearly drew inspiration from Tolkien, who in turn took his inspiration from Norse mythology. In that mythos there is little difference made between Elves (or Alfar as they are called) and Dwarves (or Duergar). Perhaps oversimplified, but the elves were light and lived in Alfheim, the dwarfs were darker and lived in Svartalfheim. They were semi-magical beings with the ability to craft wondrous items with powerful magical qualities. It makes sense then, that the original edition dwarf would have some magical crafting abilities.

In this version there is no limit to the level a Dwarf may attain, this is balanced by other factors.

DWARF CRAFTER 

An Alternate Original Edition Class

Prime Attribute: Strength, 13+ (+5% XP), 15+ (+10% XP)

Hit Dice: 1d8

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.

Weapons Permitted: Any.

Languages: Gnome, Kobold, Goblin, Dwarf, Common

Dwarfs are at once Fighting-Men and Craftsmen of the finest sort. The quality of their metal work is legendary. 

Dwarfs emerged from the decomposing corpse of Ymir, the first frost giant. They were born without any distinguishable form or intelligence. Disgusted by their looks, the gods transformed them into a more human form and bestowed upon them a very high level of intelligence, and tremendous skill in crafting items of beauty and wonder.

Dwarfs are dour and stoic, and have a reputation for greed because gold and finely crafted art are their only true joys in life.

All dwarfs are of stocky build and have very broad shoulders. Their general complexion and size depends on their type; hill, mountain, or burrower:

Hill: these ruddy tan skinned dwarfs are about four feet tall and weigh around 175 pounds. This is the typical and most common dwarf.

Mountain: these brown skinned dwarfs are about four and a half feet tall and weigh around 200 pounds. Largest and most boisterous of the dwarfs, they are also not as common.

Burrowers: these gray skinned dwarfs are just under four feet tall and weigh around 150 pounds. Rarely seen on the surface world these reclusive dwarfs are known to delve in the deepest subterranean depths.

Dwarf Crafter Statistics

Dwarf Crafter Saving Throws

*Dwarfs generally save vs. spells at 4 levels higher.

Dwarfs are agile and rugged for their short stocky size. They have a knack for frustrating very large foes in combat thus they only take ½ damage from Giants.

Dwarfs are generally not adept at learning the complexities of spell casting, but they do have a natural ability to resist the effects of magic. This innate Magic Resistance gives them excellent saves vs spells (+4 levels, as already noted on the Saving Throw chart).

Dwarfs are the finest crafters in the known world and can forge weapons, armor, and other items to the highest levels of craftsmanship. Any item crafted by a dwarf has x4 base value and readily takes enchantment. They are the only beings able to craft and wield +3 Magic WarHammers.

A dwarf notices immediately if a surface they are traversing on is an inclined plane. 

The keen eye of a dwarf for craftsmanship and manufacturing gives them a bonus to detect traps, note shifting walls, and notice any new construction underground. 1-2 on d6.

Their keen eyesight extends into the ability to see in the absence of light, thus they have infravision and can see monsters up to 60’ away in the dark.

Goblins & kobolds are a dwarf’s natural (and most hated) enemies, and Dwarfs will attack them before any other enemies in sight. The dwarf gets a +1 bonus to hit when fighting these creatures.

Dwarfling

Optionally the Referee may permit the Dwarf character to begin as a 0 level Dwarfling. They will have 1d6 hit points, +0 Attack Bonus (or fight as a Man), and have saves as 1st level.

Valkyrie Character Class

This is a new NPC class in the OSR Book of Valkyries. It is designed for demi-goddesses, so a bit overpowered compared to a regular character class.

Valkyrie

Prime Attribute: Wisdom, 13+ (+5% XP).
Attribute Requirement: 17+ Charisma
Hit Dice: 1d10.
Starting Hit points: 10 (1d10).
Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.
Weapons Permitted:  Any.
Alignment: Any but Evil.

A Valkyrie is chosen by Odin. Only a virgin human woman is given this honor. In rare circumstances Odin may choose a female duergar (dwarf), an elf, or even a Jotun. She is empowered by the All-Father with certain gifts and responsibilities. 

If a Valkyrie is slain while performing her duties she is resurrected and fully recovered in Valhalla the next day.

Valkyrie Statistics

Bifrost Travel: At will the Valkyrie can instantly travel the Bifrost rainbow bridge from any place on Midgard to Asgard and back. She can carry one person with her.

Spells: At 2nd level the Valkyrie is given a draught from the Mead of Poetry, wherein she gains the power to learn Seidr up to the 4th circle (level). She may choose from the Magic-User list.

Unseen: The Valkyrie is effectively invisible to mortals unless she chooses to be seen. She can be detected by means of seeing the invisible such as a Ring of True Sight or See Invisibility spells.

Swan Suit: At 3rd level she is given her Swan Suit that allows her to transform into a swan at will. Some Valkyries may be given a hawk or raven suit instead.

Helm of Truesight: At 4th level she is given a helmet that has the power of truesight.

Horn of Calling: At 5th level she is given a horn that will allow her to call other Valkyries, Einherjar, or Sturmwolves to her aid.

Winged Horse: The 6th level Valkyrie is given a winged horse from Valhalla’s stables personally by Odin.

Extraordinary Beauty: The Valkyrie gains +5 to Charisma.

Fylgur: At 8th level Odin may give a Valkyrie a personal spirit companion (see below).

Personal Hero: At 9th level the Valkyrie gets a personal hero she is responsible for, but who will also do anything for her up to and including giving his life. If she falls in love and marries him she loses her status and abilities as a Valkyrie and becomes, once again, a mortal woman.

Fylgja 

A fylgja, meaning "follower," is a magical spiritual companion typically appearing as a small animal (such as a fox, squirrel, or raven) that is usually visible only to the person it accompanies, in this case, a Valkyrie. However, the fylgja or the Valkyrie can choose to make it visible to others. By focusing, the Valkyrie can perceive through the fylgja's senses, including sight, hearing, and smell. If the fylgja is injured, the Valkyrie will feel its pain but may not necessarily suffer any physical harm. The fylgja's personality mirrors that of its Valkyrie.

Each fylgja possesses the standard characteristics of its animal type along with one of the following abilities:

1. Aura of fear - Projects an intimidating presence to ward off adversaries.
2. Protection from Evil - Shields the Valkyrie from malicious forces or beings.
3. Purify food and water - Removes impurities and contaminants from sustenance.
4. Cure disease - Heals the afflicted of various ailments.
5. Cure light wounds - Mends minor injuries.
6. Precipitation - Manipulates weather to cause rainfall.
7. Gust of wind - Generates a strong gust to repel or disperse objects or creatures.
8. Remove poison - Neutralizes harmful toxins in a person or object.

Barbarian Kid Character Class

 In the Saturday morning cartoons of the 70's and 80's there was a character archetype you could call the "Barbarian Kid". Examples include Bamm-Bamm Rubble, Prince Dorno, and of course Bobby the Barbarian from the classic Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. What would this look like as a character class for OD&D or B/X? Here is a rough write-up of what he could be.

BARBARIAN KID Prime Attribute: Strength, 13+ (+5% XP) Hit Dice: 1d10 Armor/Shield Permitted: Any non metal. No shield. Weapons Permitted: Any. Club is preferred (+1 to hit) Save: as Fighter class

Barbarian kids are unusually strong children with fierce attitudes, a primitive weapon, and a pet. 

The barbarian kid has somewhat stunted growth, appearing to age slower than others of their kind, and being generally more diminutive. Though at some point they may have a growth spurt around late puberty and grow much taller, larger, and more muscular than is typical of their kind. 

They are highly suspicious of magic and as a general rule will avoid using magic items, except in some circumstances such as being given a magic club.

They will never willingly retreat, surrender, or take prisoners.

Level	Title	XP	Class Ability	Hit Dice d10	BHB	Fighting Capability
1	Barbarian	0	Berserk, +1 Str	1	+1	Man +1
2		2000	Pet	2	+2	2 Men +1
3	Fighter	4000	Impervious	3	+3	3 Men or Hero -1
4		8000	+1 Str	4	+4	Hero
5	Warrior	16000	Speed Burst	5	+5	Hero +1 or 5 Men
6		32000		6	+6	Hero +1 or 6 Men
7	Drengr	64000	Bonus attack	7	+7	Superhero -1
8		120000		8	+8	Superhero
9	War Lord	240000	+1 Str	9	+9	Superhero +1
10	War Lord, 10th	480000		9+1	+10	Superhero +1

The barbarian kid is unusually strong and gets +1 strength at 1st, 4th, and 9th levels. This may exceed normal race limits.

Barbarian kids also get a +4 bonus to any saving throws vs. any kind of fear (magical or non magical).

Berserk Trigger: This is a small trigger that puts the Barbarian Kid into berserk rage. This is chosen by the GM during character creation and can be a word, a particular food or smell, an action, or any other common thing that may come up in the adventure. When triggered the barbarian kid goes into a berserk rage and gets +2 to all attack rolls, +2 to damage, and -2 to AC. Also they shrug off 1pt of damage from each hit they take. Berserk rage lasts 2d6 turns, and then the barbarian kid is exhausted for 1 hour for each turn they raged.

Pet: Every barbarian kid befriends a cute pet that is semi-intelligent. It is equally useful and not, depending on the situation. It may get in trouble, cause mayhem, or get in the way. Then it also may save the day by fetching the keys hanging on the guard’s belt when the barbarian kid is locked up. They are loyal to the barbarian kid to death and may be very dangerous to strangers, and even friends, as it is extremely protective.

Roll 1d6

1. Baby unicorn

2. Baby dinosaur

3. Baby saber-toothed tiger

4. Baby dire wolf

5. Baby cave bear

6. Baby griffon

Impervious: At 3rd level the barbarian kid chooses one damage type that they are practically impervious to. This can be fire, poison, blunt damage to the head, or something else. The GM must approve this. The barbarian kid reduces the amount of damage taken this way by 1 point per incidence and +4 to saving throws vs that damage type when a save is called for.

Speed Burst: At 5th level the Barbarian Kid gains +10' to their speed during encounters.

Bonus attack: At 7th level the Barbarian Kid gains an extra attack each round, if using their preferred melee weapon.

More Options for Clerics

 The cleric is one of the most interesting additions to the original edition of DnD.

In many ways the militant holy man is a bit of an odd fit among the general swords & sorcery genre that informed the early development of the game. There is really nothing quite like it among the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard, JRR Tolkien and so on. Even CS Lewis doesn't have anything resembling the Cleric anywhere in the Chronicles of Narnia.

We have to dig back into history and lore to find warrior monks. Friar Tuck, the orders of Knighthood like the Templars, and further back perhaps to Old Testament times with some of the Judges of Israel. The most likely inspiration was Dr. Van Helsing, particularly as he was portrayed in the Hammer Horror films that Gygax and Arneson enjoyed so much.

While you could argue that the entire booklet Gods, Demigods, & Heroes is specifically for the Cleric, the class itself is a bit neglected in the early Little Brown Books. The Monastic Knights class treatment I made a while back was an attempt to fill that gap. Though with that class my intention was to revise the cleric from less of a priest and more into a holy warrior. A niche between clerics and paladins. A less restrictive paladin if you will. 

I was having this conversation with David Pulver about the cleric and he mentioned he had written an entire treatment for the Cleric for his homebrew campaign. I was immediately intrigued and we soon agreed to publish it as an OD&D supplement. That was two years ago.

This project has been sitting on my backburner that long. I'd pull it out dabble with it, work on layout, and sketch some art, then put it back. I'm sure David was wondering if it would ever get made. Well, that time has come. It is a book that fleshes out the cleric class without breaking game balance. We'd joked that we could call it Old School Religion, OSR if you will, but ultimately Saints, Gods, & Relics was a more fitting title.

The book is now available in PDF & Print, and as a bundle.

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WotRP Companion Update - Psychic Warrior

A while back it was teased here that Al Krombach, the highly learned scholar of all things Sword & Planet, was assembling some strange new alien concoctions in his laboratory to unleash on the gaming world. While I've only heard whispers and rumors of what these marvelous assemblies of the written word might be, the little I have seen has filled my imagination with a sense of wonder and excitement, filling my mind with a yearning to visit a distant Red Planet inhabited by giant four-armed green aliens, battling dastardly pirates careening through the thin atmosphere in skyships, and encountering captivating princesses as dangerous as they are beautiful.

Then a note, sent via a mysterious Gridly Wave Transmitter, arrived in my studio with a fragmented message. I managed to piece together some of what it said. It was the description of a new character class known only as the Psychic-Warrior. My understanding is that it is reminiscent of the original Elf -which was a sort of Fighter/Magic-User hybrid in the First Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

PSYCHIC WARRIOR

Some Fighting Men and Women with heightened telepathic and extra-sensory abilities will seek out training to allow them to combine these abilities into something greater. A Psychic Warrior uses their innate abilities to enhance both their martial and defensive abilities, and gains a limited but potent selection of Mentalist powers as well. Charisma is an important ability for Psychic Warriors, and those with a score of 13 or higher gain +5% to experience earned. Psychic Warriors may use any weapon and armor, and use the same Saving Throw table as Fighting Men (see Warriors of the Red Planet).

 

Psychic Warriors roll d8 for each Hit Die (to a maximum of 10HD).

Psychic Warriors have the following special abilities:

 

Psychic Enhancement (PsyEnh): The Psychic warrior focuses his or her extra-sensory abilities to enhance their combat abilities. They may apply a bonus (as per the chart above) to one of the following each round, selected and stated at the beginning of each round: Attack Roll, Damage Roll, or Armor Class. For example, a 5th level Seer-Hero may elect to apply his or her +3 Psychic Enhancement bonus to attack rolls one round, and to Armor Class the next.

 

Mentalist Powers: The Psychic Warrior learns Mentalist powers of their choice per the chart above, selected from the powers available both from this tome and Warriors of the Red Planet. Each power may be used once per day, and the Psychic Warrior requires a minimum of six hours of uninterrupted rest or meditation to regain the use of those powers. Most Mentalist powers in general allow a saving throw to prevent its effects, and Psychic Warriors with a Charisma score of 13 or higher may add their Basic Ability Modifier to powers that involve a to-hit or damage roll. For more on Mentalist Powers see Warriors of the Red Planet.

Gunslinger - The Engineer

The Engineer class is finished. This class was inspired by John Carter's ill-fated prospecting companion James K. Powell.

You may recall I mentioned this class back in October of last year, while the basic write up was fairly straight forward, designing all their gadgets was quite a project.

If you are familiar with Warriors of the Red Planet you know the Scientist class has a suite of gadgets they have access to that get more powerful with each level. Likewise the Engineer is the Wild (wild) West equivalent.  To put it in classic fantasy RPG terms they fill the roll that a Magic User traditionally has. 

The gadget list is a little large at the moment, and perhaps a bit too powerful. It is as if you were to combine all the Magic User and Cleric class spells into one list, since that is kind of how gadgets work.

While the playtesters are letting me know what gadgets to keep on the list, I am deep in the Strange Science section, which is getting bigger than intended! The ideas won't stop coming. To continue with the fantasy RPG analogy they are a bit like what magic items are in that genre. So as you can imagine the possibilities are endless. 

I'm making great progress on Gunslinger. The RPG is well on track to be completed in June.

Monastic Knights

The Paladin has long been a favored character class, while the Cleric is not as much. Yet they are quite similar in many ways and in their roles in an adventuring party. I think part of it is that the name Cleric isn't particularly great branding, it sounds like a clerk. Someone who stays in the office filing papers. It is suspected that the Cleric was more inspired by Hammer Horror film depictions of Professor Abraham Van Helsing than by anything from medieval or fantasy literature that inspired D&D in the first place.

While the Paladin is a great character class, it also has very high restrictions and is difficult to qualify for. How many times have you honestly rolled up a character using the trusty old roll 4d6 drop lowest method that had the stats to be a Paladin? While that makes them rare and cool, it is also a little discouraging.

So you end up just making a Cleric right?

The name Paladin itself extends back to the age of Charlemagne and the legendary knights who served him. The source material for Paladins as a class goes back to the age of chivalry crossed with the grim historical reality of the Crusades and the Templars, Knights Hospitaller, and the Teutonic Knights. These grimmer, grittier Paladins were faithful servants of the Faith, and were also seasoned and experienced soldiers. This contradictory role is an idea that has long held a fascination for those interested in history, as well as romantic literature, and as it happens in adventure gaming as well. 

The contemplative monk who is also an armored warrior bound by oaths to a higher ideal is a compelling idea. An expert at war dedicated to peace. Well, that's the idea anyways. Adapting this to a swords & sorcery fantasy milieu has held a place in my imagination for some time, and I started working on the character class sometime ago. I finally had to finish it up because they were becoming a distraction to other projects I want to finish.

The history and lore for monastic knights is wide and deep. A person could dedicate an entire career to just studying this field. I quickly realized there would be no way to encapsulate all that lore into a satisfying historical based character class, nor should I want to. D&D is a fantasy game and calls for fantasy characters. What this has ended up being are three classes that each have a compelling and unique flavor that can satisfy that role of the Paladin without being quite so restrictive to qualify for.

The monastic knights come in three general types:

• Knights of Sanctity (Sanctifiers) are balanced between being warriors and healers.
• Knights of Ardor (Ardents) are compassionate healers and only fight as necessary.
• Knights of Vindication (Vindicators) are formidable warriors with a few spells.

Check it out here:

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The Space Noble and the Space Princess

Alien kings, space monarchs, rulers of the known universe, decadent nobles of a highly advanced and technological civilization, and of course Space Princesses are staples of space operas, sci-fi sagas, and tales of strange worlds and other dimensions. The Warriors of the Red Planet roleplaying game provides the basics needed to run a Sword & Planet style interplanetary fantasy romance campaign using the classic OSR style rules. However if there was one class that was missing it was the Space Noble -- the aristocracy of the dying red planet. This supplement endeavors to fill that gap with a very playable royal character class, though its primary purpose is to describe the NPC’s that the player characters will encounter.

The Space Noble is designed to work with any science fiction or science fantasy OSR style RPG that is based on the original fantasy roleplaying game.

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Gong Farmer and Privy Construction

While doing some research on castles and privy construction I stumbled across the occupation of gong farmer, something I vaguely recall having read about before. This instigated further research. I wrote up an early version on a post back in September. Since then it has been refined and playtested. It sounds a bit silly, but we had a lot of fun. Along with that came some expanded details on castle construction as related to waste management. A serious an important element that is left out of the LBB's and most other stronghold construction rules. Privies and cesspits are serious and necessary elements for any castle and also offer up plenty of useful items for adventuring possibilities.

The full write up is complete and available on DriveThru.

Gong Farmer, a 0 level class for OSR games.

Counterintuitive to expectations, playing 0 level characters is quite fun. There is something exhilarating about the fragility and lack of special abilities where they are not good at anything and one blow may kill the character off. This forces the player to rely on their wits, creativity, and imagination rather than staring at the character sheet for answers to solve a problem.

Real life is often stranger than fiction. The gong farmer, or waste management specialist if you prefer, was a necessary and lucrative career. A perfect start to an adventurer’s life. Suddenly the idea of switching careers to become a cleric doesn’t seem so bad after all. This character class came out of a bit of research on how castles were actually constructed, and a few game sessions playing 0 level characters. It was a lot of fun, and hopefully you’ll have fun with this character too.

More than just a character description this supplement includes other useful resources:

• Gong Farmer class
• Expanded Stronghold Construction Options
• New monsters:
• Sewer Monster
• Junk Golem
• Contaminated Alligator
• New magic items

Also includes full illustrations and a minimalist OSR basic style character sheet.

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