Poison!

I don't love Save or Die poison.  It's a bit to on off for me.  It's also not that realistic.  I often end up ad-libbing something less gnarly but more interesting.

I saw this post from the Dungeons & Possums blog and got inspired(Thanks!) to make it a little more like my Death & Dismemberment table (also stolen from various blogs).
I use 2d6 instead of d10 gives a bit of a bell curve.  Adding a column for "Damage Type" meshes well with my ruleset and allows for some heavy duty damage that is not straight HP.  If "Hit Points" are rolled along with a condition penalty, that means it applies to all rolls. 
I also changed to static damage because I figure you are already rolling a bunch, why roll all the dice just to roll again? 
Finally, I automated it (see button below) and added that to my Uncommon Tables page.
I've added this to my Spells Etc supplement to Uncommon Dungeons and I think I'll use it.
Where to go from here?  Well I just had a thought that I could add a further column of "Presents as" for entertaining descriptions: "Foams at the mouth" etc.

Random Poison Table

2d6	First Ingredient	Second Ingredient	Form	Damage type  (if applicable)	Effect (failed save)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	Hound saliva Neon cave moss Ettercap blood Nux vomica buttons Sap from a daisy Bone dust Demonsthumb petals Virgin tears Orange zest Thryon berries Black Lotus	Nutmeg Witchroot oil Duergar gin Abyssal slime Graveyard soil Riversnake venom Royal ashes Mandrake flesh Henbane seeds Milkweed stems Toad bile	Fluid Powder Paste Fluid Powder Paste Fluid Powder Paste Fluid Gas	Intelligence Wisdom Strength Strength Dexterity Constitution Constitution Hit Points Hit Points Hit Points Charisma	Euphoria (+1d bonus: rounds) Nausea (-1 penalty: Turns) 4  damage 6  damage Ill (-1d penalty: Days) 10 damage Zonked (-2d penalty: Turns) Unconscious: Turns 15 damage Catatonia: Days Instant death

Here's an automated version using the Meandering Banter generator.

Conversion of Red & Pleasant Land's "Alice" for Type V D&D

Play an entirely accidental adventurer who makes their way through the weirdness of dungeons with nothing but exasperation and unshakeable self-belief.

I made this a while back and found recently found it again.  It's entirely derivative of work by others like David Brawley and of course based on the super inspiring (though in my experience underused) Red & Pleasant Land book of vampires in wonderland by Zak Smith.

Anyways, here's my tweak on it.

The Alice (or Allardyce):  

A Carrollian Character Class of Wit and Whimsy

Hit Die: d6

Saves: Dex, Cha

Weapon: Simple weapons

Armor: None

Skills: Pick any three

Tools: All gaming sets and musical instruments.

Language: Common and one other

Equipment:

• One simple weapon
• Three trinkets
• A game set or instrument
• A purse

Level 1 - Exasperation (d4)

Level 2 - Class Feature

Level 4 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 5 - Exasperation (d6)

Level 6 - Class Feature

Level 8 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 9 - Exasperation (d8)

Level 10 - Class Feature (roll twice)

Level 12 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 13 - Exasperation (d12)

Level 14 - Class Feature

Level 16 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 17 - Doubly Exasperated

Level 18 - Class Feature

Level 19 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 20 - Class Feature (roll twice)

Exasperation: Once per real-time hour, Alice may become exasperated with the situation and roll a d4 against the chart (in the RPL book) for the result.  The die type increases at 5th, 9th, and 13th level.

Doubly Exasperated: Once per session, you may roll twice on the Exasperation table and choose which result you'd like.

Class Feature:

Roll 1d100.   Most class feature can only be chosen once.  If one is rolled, select the next.  The Exception is the “Red Knight” ability.

At 10th and 20th level, roll twice and gain both features.

1-5 Alice was then reminded of something she’d noticed before...

Gain proficiency in one Save you are not proficient in.

6-7 “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.”

Gain the Keen Mind feat

8-9 “Speak English!” said the Eglet. ”I don’t know the meaning of half those words and what’s more I don’t think you do either!”

Gain the Linguist feat

10-11  Falling down wells really improves the hand-eye coordination:

Gain the Athlete Feat

12-13 Again she heard a little pattering of footsteps in the distance.

Gain the Alert feat

14-15 Alice was not a bit hurt, and jumped up in a moment.

Gain the Dungeon Delver feat

16-17 Soon her eye fell on a very small glass box

Gain the Observant feat

18-19 “That was a narrow escape!” said Alice

Gain the Mobile feat

20 “Well, now that we have seen each other," said the unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you.”

Gain the Lucky feat

21-25 She noticed the Red Knight always feinted to his left— she was a very perceptive girl.

Gain 1 use of Inspiration after each use of Exasperation.

26-30 Alice liked pies, although sometimes people did not want her to have them.

Alice can cast Goodberry once per day.  The goodberries look like tiny pies.  

30-35 She closed her eyes and said the words just as she’d been taught...

Gain the Magic Initiate feat, only acquired once.

36-39 Oh, I do so apologize...

Once per foe, you may use a bonus action to "accidentally" trip.  This check is made at advantage.  Only acquired once.

40 Her sister had mentioned they were dreadful people...

Gain the Favored Enemy feature, but it applies to one organization instead of a type of creature.

41-42 All that hiding in the dumbwaiter has finally paid off.

The Alice knows a secret.  Once per session, she may make an Intelligence check (DC 15) to replicate the effects of a Legend Lore spell.  

43-44 It seemed nearly everything was dangerous if handled improperly.

Gain the Tavern Brawler feat.

45-46 It was very shiny and stuck out like a soup spoon...

On a successful mêlée hit, the Alice may use a bonus action to make a Sleight of Hand check to grab an item (other than the target’s weapon) off a target. This won’t work twice on anyone above zombie-intelligence who sees it.  

46-50 She was not such a mouse as she used to be.

+1 Dexterity to racial max, excess goes to Strength or Constitution.

51-52 Alice then did something quite astonishing...

Alice may add her Charisma bonus to her Armor Class.

53 The blue one certainly did make the Alice taller, of that Alice was certain...

Become proficient in the poisoner and herbalist kits.

54 She could be very charming when she needed to be.  

Gain the Actor feat.  Social rolls against nobility are made at advantage.  

55-60 “I do hope it will make me become large again!”

Alice may Use all Magic Devices.

61-62 “It really was curious,” she thought— “How many times could this kind of thing happen?”

The Alice may escape death or another equally awful fate exactly once. The Alice must spend at least a round playing possum to build tension but...surprise, the Alice jumped out of the way just in time!

63 She knew to curtsey at times like this, and so she did.

Gain the Uncanny Dodge Ability

64-67 It was so lovely, and— according to the book— it was right there.

Whatever the thing that the Alice always wanted is, it’s there. 4 sessions worth of adventure away or less. (there are some more rules, just read the RPL book)

68-71 She had not known her mother’s cousin very well, and decided that it was a bad thing that she had died...

The Alice has been willed 5,000 gp in assets: art, libraries, lands, or other eldritch strangeness.

72-73 They kept talking as though Alice was a rhododendron in a pot.

Gain the Skulker feat.

74 She knew from school what the word meant, but did not know if it was rude or not.

Alice may attempt to speak to any creature with a successful Intelligence 10 roll.

75 Alice quite liked drawing, and had an impressive box of crayons at home.

Become proficient in the forgery kit and painter's tools.

76-78 She thought it might be a saltcellar, or at least that seemed like a good word.

The Alice can accurately appraise treasure to a nontrivial and nonboring degree:

The value of nonmagical things can be estimated flawlessly.  With a successful Arcana check, Alice knows if a magical item has something off about it.

79 She did seem to offend people (and animals) wherever she went.

Gain proficiency with any one weapon.

82-85 They all listened attentively as Alice told her tale.

+1 Charisma to racial max, excess goes to Wisdom or Intelligence.

86-88 They began to throw stones, and Alice began to avoid them.

Gain Evasion  Only acquired once.

89-93 She began to feel somewhat neglected.

If the Alice is attacked in a round that she spends doing nothing but dodging and her attacker misses, the attacker will not only miss but fumble and lose his or her next turn (if s/he or it has multiple attacks, s/he will lose a number of attacks equal to the Alice’s level). This only works once per foe on anything of better than zombie intelligence that sees it happen.

94 She tried to remember what she knew about stoats.

Become proficient in Handle Animal checks. And may Speak with Animals

95-00 Alice had seen so many unusual things lately, it had become usual.

Immune to Fear, Insanity and Confusion effects.  

Uncommon Dungeons: Thinking about Design Decisions

Lately I've been fiddling about with my "Uncommon Dungeons" ruleset.  A year ago I wrote about my design goals.  The post is still accurate though there has now been over 50 hours of game played, so little things have been tweaked, most recently by adding an encounter or "doom" die. 

I've played it regularly the last year and besides a few bits of confusion with spells, it's feeling pretty smooth.  Characters are reaching 4th level now, which feels pretty high!

Layout
Ultimately it's just another hack like all the others, but I've been laying it out on google docs, squeezing in some old nostalgia art so I can print up a couple of booklets.  It's just 16 pages long including minimized spell lists and a death & dismemberment table.  I've been swapping things about, adjusting fonts and its slowly looking more presentable.  Gear charts are one spread.  Combat on another.  It's all very terse and bullet pointy, but its really only meant for me and my friends.  That said, I think it will feel pretty cool and official to have a physical thing.  In my weekly type V game I don't enforce many houserules because others like to look things up in the books and it feels like its more for those players to play the official game.  When I say it's my "Uncommon Dungeon" game, its a whole different vibe!

Weird Dice Chain and Roll Under Mechanic
I probably didn't think of it myself, but the most unique part is using the roll under mechanic for Ability Checks and Saving Throws, paired with the "weird dice chain" inherited from Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.  This has worked out great.  Rolling a d30 under an average score of 10 is a similar probability as 2 in 6, which is the old Basic Expert way of doing activity checks.  Gaining Expertise to roll d24 is a significant boost but still a crapshoot unless the character has a strong score.  I enjoy the way it emphasizes the actual 3-18 numbers on the sheet and de-emphasizes recalculating numbers before each attack (it's enough that Fighters have to add their Deed Die to hit and Deed Die+Strength bonus to damage, another rule cribbed from DCC).

Spells & Slots
These have been a little tricky as I've avoided writing up big descriptions and tried to mix up spells from Gavin Norman's B/X Essentials project with Lamentations of the Flame Princess spells (though a player messed around with the Summon Monster spell for a moment and decided, "Not worth it".  I think I will allow a standard "double level bonus" to make the "Dominate Monster" roll a little more doable.  So, a 3rd level Wizard gets +6 to the roll, which seems to make summoning 1 and 2 HD demons a little more predictable.  It's still super hectic though.  Not likely to get used often.

The other tricky piece is spell slots.  I allow spontaneous casting.  Almost purely for layout reasons I don't want to make a "Spell Slots per Order per Level" chart.  I'm trying to use "Order" instead of "Level" for spell power categories.
I've settled on the following:

• "Spellcasters' (wizards and clerics) power is limited to spells of Order ≤ ½ level, rounded up. A spellcaster may never cast more higher than lower.  Ex. a 3rd level cleric may cast one 2nd Order spell and two 1st; at 4th level: 3 & 1 or 2 & 2"

I hope that's clear and that it works.  I've tried to offer flexibility to spellcasters.  I hope it doesn't make them dominate at mid-levels.  There have been few attempts at Dangerous Sorcery and Divine Petition.

The DOOOOM Die
We've just used this for three sessions but I really like it.  It's a unified Encounter roll on a d6, based on ideas from the Dungeon of Signs blog.  A roll of 1 still refers to a further encounter table (and encounter distance), but everything else is contained in a single table.  Suddenly resource management is part of the game rather than a forgotten annoyance.   It takes into account fatigue and rations, torches and lantern oil, spell and potion durations! as well as chance discoveries.  I've had the players roll the die for it which keeps me honest and they are starting to dread 1s and root for 6s.

Doom Die

1	Encounter	Roll on Encounter Table and Distance d6: melee 1, short 2-3, medium 4-5, long 6 & Surprise (2 in 6)
2	Expiration	Spells & Potions expire
3	Torch & Lantern	A fickle torch or candle gutters & burns out; ½ flask of oil has burned
4	Luck	Dungeon Dressing, foreshadowing or useful item.
5	Discovery	A clue, secret or curious event
6	Exhaustion	Weary. Rest & eat food or Exhausted (-1 all rolls); roll again

Encumbrance

Finally, I've worked up an encumbrance table, again based on the HMS Apollyon rules, but I haven't used in much yet.  We'll see.

OTHER NOTES

Monsters
I've been using straight B/X monsters, mostly out of the Labyrinth Lord book.

Party for Extra Experience Points
Carousing has been popular, and has inspired a lot of the emergent campaign world.  It is also necessary because at times it doubles the XP for a session.

Monks
No one has played a monk yet.  I've messed about with it, offering a Deed Die that adds a variable bonus to Armor Class as well as attack and damage.  Also Mastery(d20) of the Stealth, Athletics and Lore skills and a better chance to use scrolls.  Could be pretty cool, but maybe too much?

Uncommon Heartbreaker in the Barrowmaze

Lately I've been running a very "old school" style of campaign wherein each session the characters enter and return from the Barrowmaze, a mega dungeon written by David Gillespie. I assembled the rules myself.

In recent years D&D players have been posting their house rules on the internet. Many have published their versions of D&D as “retro-clones”, games unto themselves. Among the most popular are Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Dungeon Crawl Classics, but there are now more than 300 various pdfs and books floating around, each offering some variation to taste of the d20 Dungeon's and Dragons experience. At some point the obsessive D&D fan, like a connoisseur of fine wine, must mix and match and blend his own vintage. Hence, Uncommon Dungeons.

My priorities with these rules were creating a very fast playing game that emphasizes exploration and emergent play over customization and tactical combat.

To minimize math at the table I decided to vary the type of dice rolled instead of applying modifiers (+’s and -’s). This brings about the least standard element, which is the use of the Dice Chain, adding d3s, d5’s, d7’s, d14’s, d16s, d24s and d30s to the standard polyhedral set. This can make for some searching at the table for the right die, and some searching the 'nets in order to purchase those dice in the first place, but weird dice are fun and they allow for the roll under mechanic. As we have been playing online via Google Hangouts, my friends have been using dice rolling apps.

A priority is to make direct use of the 3-18 ability scores. In most D&D games, scores are generated rolling a handful of d6s, those numbers are then converted to +/-4 modifiers and the scores themselves are hardly used again. This has bothered me for well nigh 25 years. When I played Basic D&D, long ago in the middle school days, “skill checks” were made by rolling under a score with a d20. This made use of the score, but it created a situation where-in a high score ability would nearly always guarantee success and there was no room to grow. Using d30s and d24s roll under mechanic for skills and saving throws makes success far less likely but allows a character to improve with time.

The combat rules also de-emphasize modifiers. The strength score does not improve chances to hit in melee, while dexterity does not increase damage with ranged attacks.

The extreme danger of arrows and spears is modeled with an “exploding dice” mechanic.

At the same time I have been enforcing stringent penalties for launching missiles into melee combat, the ease of which is a pet peeve of mine in D&D V.



Although simplification is a priority, I like spellcasters to have a bit of unpredictability and danger, so there are rules for risking blood and sanity to perform additional and more powerful magic. On the other hand, I have no interest in writing new spells, so the spell lists from from a variety of sources are available, mostly B/X and LotfP.

Finally, there are a number of niggly combat rules to encourage a quick and dangerous style of play based on choices rather than character options. This begins with weapons and armor.

Shields were historically the most crucial armor, so the defense bonus is higher than is usual, a +3!  Conversely, two-handed weapons do quite a bit more damage, so the trade-off is a decision based on desired fighting style.  Similarly, ranged weapons can be very effective, but become much less reliable when hand to hand battle is joined.

There is a balance between maintaining the possibility of serious consequences and over-doing it. For example, a character that is poisoned makes a Constitution saving throw to avoid death, a terrible consequence mitigated a bit by time.  The player is helpless and dying for d100 minutes.  If players can find an antidote in time, the poison may be counter acted.  Similarly, the touch of many undead monsters is often a death sentence. In these rules, the black touch is tied to fear and sanity as represented by the Wisdom Score.  Characters lose their grip on reality as they delve into the unknown.  This becomes another way to lose a character and makes the undead especially fearsome without level drain or extremely temporary hit point reduction.

In any case, I've been enjoying the home brew ruleset to go with the prefab dungeon module.