Absolutely Mental Compendium
A collection of open gaming bits compatible with the Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox role-playing game By Tim Huntley Table of Contents
New Rules New Classes New Spells New Monsters New Magic Items
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Open Gaming License
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Swords & Wizardry Core Rules, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch Absolutely Mental House Rules Copyright 2010 Tim Huntley END OF LICENSE
New Rules
Saving Throws Styled After the Original Rules
Cleric Saving Throw Matrix
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 vs. Death -3 -2 -1 0 -1 0 1 2 0 1 vs. Wands -2 -1 0 1 0 1 2 3 1 2 vs. Turn to Stone 0 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 3 4 vs. Breath Weapon 2 3 4 5 4 5 6 7 5 6 vs. Spells 1 2 3 4 2 3 4 5 3 4
Fighting-man Saving Throw Matrix
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 vs. Death -3 -2 -1 -2 -1 0 -1 0 1 0 vs. Wands -2 -1 0 -1 0 1 0 1 2 1 vs. Turn to Stone -1 0 1 0 1 2 1 2 3 2 vs. Breath Weapon 0 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 vs. Spells 1 2 3 2 3 4 3 4 5 4
Magic-user Saving Throw Matrix
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 vs. Death -1 0 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 6 vs. Wands 0 1 2 3 4 3 4 5 6 7 vs. Turn to Stone -1 0 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 6 vs. Breath Weapon 2 3 4 5 6 5 6 7 8 9 vs. Spells 1 2 3 4 5 3 4 5 6 7
How to use the Saving Throw Matrices Cross reference the type of saving throw being called for with your characters level on the correct matrix for your characters class. Add or subtract the modifier shown to your 2
characters base saving throw. The result is the number you must meet or exceed on a roll of 1d20 to make your characters saving throw. Example: Rael, the 5th level Magic-user, has just been subjected to a dragons breath weapon. The referee calls for Raels player to make a saving throw vs. breath weapon. Raels player checks the chart above and adds the +6 modifier to a 5th level Magic-users base saving throw of 10 for a total of 16. Raels player rolls his 1d20 and the result is a 17; he made the saving throw! Had Raels player rolled a 15, he would have failed the saving throw.
HACZ: Attack Rolls Styled After the Second Edition Rules
What is HACZ? A characters HACZ (Hit Armor Class Zero; pronounced hacks) value provides an easy way to determine if an attack was successful against a given armor class, without having to reference charts or tables mid-combat. Using HACZ To make an attack, the player rolls a d20 and applies any modifiers (from ability scores, magic, etc.) to the die roll. The total is subtracted from the characters HACZ value. The result indicates the lowest descending AC for which the attack would be successful. Alternately, subtracting a descending armor class value from a characters HACZ value will reveal the number an attack roll needs to meet or exceed in order to successfully hit that armor class. Determining HACZ To determine a characters HACZ value, reference the characters class and level on the following chart:
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cleric 19 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 15 14 Fighting-man 19 18 17 17 16 15 15 14 13 13 Magic-user 19 19 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16
For values beyond 10th level, please reference the Attack Matrix for the class in question.
New Classes
The Commoner
Commoners are those people in your campaign who have the potential to become something more than they are, and teeter on the precipice of doing exactly that. They work the fields, ply their trade, and go about their normal day-to-day routine until something happens which ignites the spark that slumbers deep within them and sends them spiraling off into wild heroics. Commoner Advancement
Level 1 2 3 Exp. Points 0 1,000 2,000 Hit Dice (d6) 1 1 2 Saving Throw 15 15 14
Commoner Class Abilities Weapon and Armor Restrictions: Because commoners are not trained to fight, they are proficient in one simple weapon only (axe, club, spear, or dagger). Further, being completely untrained in the finer points of heavy armor, commoners may only wear leather armor and may not use shields. Level Limit: Commoners may never rise above the third level of experience. Class Switching: Upon reaching second or third level, a commoner is able to switch to either the Fighting-man, Magic-user, or Cleric class. The commoner keeps his current hit points (unless the roll for hit points in his new class exceeds his current hit points), but is otherwise identical to a first level character of his new class. Kismet: Once per game session, a commoner may use a single, minor class ability of another class as if he or she were a first level member of that class. This ability should come from the class to which the commoner is likely to switch. This could be a saving throw bonus, use of a weapon or magic item not normally allowed, or the like. Experience Bonus: The commoner receives no experience point bonuses.
The Necromancer
The Necromancer is a Magic-user who focuses his arcane powers upon death and the dead. Necromancy is a taxing and challenging path to tread, and is not undertaken lightly. Necromancy is generally studied only by humans; while Elves are able to tread the path of the dead, there are no recorded instances of an Elvish Necromancer. Prerequisites: Con 13+, non Lawful or Good alignment (if alignment is used.) Banish Undead: Necromancers can banish undead as if they were a cleric of half their level (ignore fractions). D results are treated as if the Necromancer were Chaotic or Evil regardless of his or her actual alignment.
Servitor Zombie: Using a special ritual known only to necromancers (and unique to each necromancer), a necromancer can create a number of servitor zombies whose total hit dice do not exceed half the necromancers level. So a 4th level necromancer could have one 2 HD servitor zombies, two 1 HD servitor zombies, four 1/2 HD servitor zombies or any combination thereof so long as his servitor zombies total HD did not exceed 2. Spell Casting: Necromancers cast spells as per regular Magic-users, but because so much of the Necromancers studying is devoted to death and the dead, Necromancers use the Cleric tables to determine how many spells they can cast per day.
New Spells
Krugerov's Cannibalistic Mutation
Spell Level: Magic-user, 3rd Level Range: Caster Duration: 1 hour or Referees discretion This spell enables the Magic-user to alter the appearance of his or her form to that of another human or humanoid being. Exacting detail is maintained; even normally hidden or undiscovered birthmarks and blemishes will be recreated by this spell. The material component for this spell is a chunk of flesh from the human or humanoid who is being duplicated, which must be eaten by the Magic-user as the spell is cast.
New Monsters
Orf
Armor Class: 6 [13] Hit Dice: 1+1 Attacks: Fist (1d3) or Weapon (1d6) Special: Berserking Move: 12 HDE/XP: 1/15
A truly perverse magical crossbreed created by an insane wizard, orfs combine the worst qualities of both dwarves and orcs. They have short legs, long arms, and an ape-like posture. Their skin is ashen gray and mottled green, and their hair and beards are stringy, dirty, and tend to be brown in color. Their pronounced foreheads and outcropping lower jaw complete their primitive appearance. Most orfs are possessed of only animal-level intelligence, communicating with grunts and growls. The most promising of them understand basic tool use, although it rarely progresses beyond the realization that smashing things with a club is more effective than smashing things with their fists. They are curious by nature, however, and will oftentimes attempt to emulate the lifestyles of other races, particularly men. Orfs are quick to anger and once wounded will lash out in a rage at the source of their pain. Rarely will an enraged orf back down from an opponent; most orfs so angered will fight until it 5
or its opponent is dead. Luckily, orfs tend to congregate in small, human-like family groups consisting of two or three males (one of whom is dominant and has figured out how to use a simple weapon like a club or axe), a female, and whatever children the group has managed to produce.
Shab-Ittoq
Armor Class: 0 [19] Hit Dice: 10 Attack: Smash (3d6) Special: Immortal Move: 12/24 (when swimming) HDE/XP: 11/1,700 Long before the coming of humans and their ilk, the world was ruled by ancient, eldritch beings from beyond space and time. These beings were active only when the universe was in a particular alignment; when the universe held a different alignment these beings could not exist as we understand it and passed away eons in a state of psuedo death waiting for the cosmos to right itself. The last shift in the alignment of the universe heralded the coming of men and their humanoid cousins, who happily assumed stewardship of the world in the absence of these alien beings. As the universe shifted, the great island-city wherein most of these entites lived sank far beneath the waves to settle at the bottom of the ocean; as their high priest retreated into a dark temple, one of its tentacles was severed. Trapped beneath the rubble of the sunken city and bathed in the otherworldly energies which clung to the ruins, the monstrous tentacle mutated and took on a life of its own. For some reason, the tentacular horror which became known as Shab-Ittoq is not bound to the same laws as is the being from which it was created, and it is able to exist regardless of how the universe is aligned. Over the course of time, Shab-Ittoq has freed itself from its prison under the rubble of the sunken city and now it carries out the will of its parent which is made clear through powerful, psychic dreams. Shab-Ittoq is not the only being who receives the twisted dreams of its creator; from the moment man reached a level of self-awareness, some men have been cursed with a sensitivity to the alien beings dream-sendings. Unable to bear the mental brunt of such alien thoughts, these men go mad, worship the eldritch beings as if they were gods, and recruit others into cults which actively work to prepare the world for when the universe is once again aligned and the monstrous beings return to re-establish their rule. Shab-Ittoq often acts as a proxy and herald to these cultists, making apperances and accepting sacrifices on behalf of its maker.
Being composed of unearthly material and not subject to the laws of matter as we know them, Shab-Ittoq can never truly be killed. If it is reduced to 0 HP, Shab-Ittoq will dissolve into a viscous, slimy goo which seeps through the ground to eventually find its way back to the sunken city. Once it reaches its home, it slowly re-forms and emerges with full HPs by the next full moon.
Sucker Serpent
Armor Class: 7 [12] Hit Dice: 1-1 Attacks: Stab (1d6) Special: Automatic Attack Move: 9/12 (when leaping) HDE/XP: 1/15 The origin of these horrible little monsters is unknown, however, their aggressive nature and voracious appetites are known far and wide. Sucker serpents are possessed of neither sight nor hearing, but are able to detect vibrations in the air caused by movement. Thusly, they tend to congregate around frequently traveled areas of jungle, forest, or other woodlands where they can conceal themselves in the underbrush or other ground cover. When something moves through such a nest of sucker serpents the coiled beasties will spring out at the moving object and attach themselves to it with their large, suction-cuplike mouths. They will then begin frantically stabbing the object with the near dagger-like stinger at the other end of their serpentine bodies. Should the object theyve attached themselves to prove to be unliving (a wagon, for instance, or a zombie) they will quickly detach themselves and launch towards another moving object. Chaos quickly ensues should a small caravan pass through a nest of a dozen or so sucker serpents. Sucker serpents will not stop attacking until all movement has ceased, whether thats by death or escape. At that point, the sucker serpents will slither over to the nearest victim, cup its mouth over a collection of stab wounds, and suck out the victims vital fluids. They will move from victim to victim until all are sucked dry and then the entire nest will move to a different location. * A sucker serpent needs only make one attack roll, which is to see if its sucker mouth has attached itself to its target; treat non-living objects such as wagons and the like as having an AC of 9 [10]. Once a sucker serpent has attached itself to its target, no attack roll is necessary for the stab to cause damage it will do so automatically until it is pulled off. Luckily, the sucker serpents sucker is not very strong and it can be pulled off by rolling the targets strength value or less on a 20-sided die.
New Magic Items
Krugerovs Dagger: this magical jambiya begins each day with a +0 enchantment. With each killing blow the weapon lands, it gains a +1 bonus to a maximum of +3. With the coming of each new dawn, the weapons bonus resets to +0. Krugerovs Dagger is unintelligent, but would be considered evil.
Apprentice Magic Items
Apprentice magic items are those items given to apprentice magic-users as examples of enchantment, or created by apprentice enchanters. Thus they have little practical use but can add a bit of character or comedy relief to a game. Ring of Spell Turning: A fairly plain silver band with only a few arcane runes dotting its surface, this ring will upon command spell the word TURNING in a loud, booming voice. Ring of Spell Storing: A fairly plain gold band with only a few arcane runes dotting its surface, this ring will upon command spell the word STORING in a loud, booming voice. Staff of Light: This staff appears as any other ordinary, wooden, magic-users staff, however it does radiate magic. The staff weighs almost nothing, as if it were made of balsa wood. Because its light. Ring of Feather Fall: This ring appears as a simple gold or silver band adorned with etched feathers and an arcane rune or two. If dropped, the ring will float gingerly to the floor, as if it were a feather. Singing Blade: Any bladed weapon can be a singing blade. When the weapon is yanked from its sheath with intent to harm, the weapon begins to croon a smokey blues song or a hip swing number (50% chance of either).
