Homebrew Invention Rules

One of my players wants to invent a telescoping 10' pole to check for traps in the dungeon without incurring the encumbrance penalty I impose on characters carrying bulky, awkward, or oversized items.

He seems determined to become an inventor and if it's fun for him, I don't really see the harm. Money sinks are good, so I put together these rules. This is all still a work in progress, of course.

INVENTION RULES

There are two kinds of inventors:

Tinkers. Natural-born creative thinkers with a knack for figuring out how things work. These are Specialists/Rogues and their knack for invention is measured by their Tinker ability.

Sages. These researchers put in the time and effort to explore the science and magic behind the underlying concepts that allow for invention. Sages invent using their Intelligence modifier.

HOW TO INVENT

Step 1. Decide what you’d like to try to invent and determine Complexity
Step 2. Invest in the idea
Step 3. Spend time working on the idea and make weekly Progress checks
Step 4. Make Progress checks equal to the invention’s Complexity to finish the project  

Step 1: To invent something, the player first needs to decide what his or her character will invent. The DM will apply a Complexity number to the idea based on the required level of knowledge necessary to produce such an item.

INVENTION COMPLEXITY

Complexity 1: Basic tool, no moving parts; minor knowledge of sciences required

No assistants required
Example: dustpan, surfboard, leather wallet

Complexity 2: Limited moving parts or some knowledge of sciences required

One assistant required
Example: retractable baton; refillable pen; crossbow-fired grappling hook

Complexity 3: Some moving parts or much knowledge of sciences required

Two assistants required
Example: matchsticks; spring-fired dagger; water filtration; crock pot

Complexity 4: Many moving parts or some magic, rare knowledge of sciences

Three assistants required
Example: mechanical clock; glider; arquebus; plumbing; magnetic compass

Complexity 5: Great magic, countless moving parts, advanced science & tech level

Four assistants required
Example: steam-powered carriage; clockwork soldier; flying machine

Step 2: An initial seed investment of (Complexity² x d6) x 100 gold is required to begin work. This reflects the lion's share of the research and necessary materials for the project.

The character must also have access to a suitable workspace or laboratory. The work area must measure 10 square feet x Complexity. A 10x10 workspace is enough for the simplest projects (a desk and a quiet bedroom will do), while the most ambitious projects will require a 50’x50’ testing complex.  

In most cities, an outfitted workspace will cost Complexity x 10 gold per week.
Assistants are NPCs or players with a minimum Tinker score of 2 or Intelligence modifier of +1. Hiring an NPC assistant will cost 100 gold per week.


Step 3: At the end of each week, the inventor may roll to see if they’ve made any Progress on their invention.

• Tinkers need to roll their Tinker ability or lower on d6.
• Sages need to roll their Intelligence modifier or lower on d6.
• A roll of 6 always fails.

If the roll was successful, Progress was made. Once the player makes a number of Progress checks equal to the Complexity number, the invention is complete.

If the check fails, the player must roll on the Invention Setbacks Table

INVENTION SETBACKS (d12)

1) The workplace is on fire! All of your work is destroyed and you must start from scratch, including seed money. Save vs. Spells or you were caught in the fire and take 2d6 damage in trying to escape the inferno. If you are renting a workspace, the owner is going to come after you for damages.
2) Vandals have broken into your lab and smashed everything up. Your work has been destroyed and you’ll need to start from scratch, including seed money. The workspace is relatively unharmed.
3) Some of the research you’ve been basing your invention on is flawed. Lose any Progress you’ve made while working on the project.  
4) Some lousy thieves got into your lab and made off with all your vital equipment. Work can’t proceed until you pay Complexity² x d6 x 100g to replace the missing equipment.
5) Where the hell did it go? Someone made off with your notes. Lose one of your Progress successes.  
6) Whoops, looks like you broke something important. Pay d6 x 100g to resume work on the project.
7) A rival inventor is convinced that you’re stealing his ideas. Roll a Charisma check or he’ll send thugs/the authorities after you. Until they’re dealt with, work can’t proceed.
8) What a waste of time! You need to clean out your lab or do some other time-consuming menial task that delays your project. It takes two weeks before the next Progress check can be made..
9) No major setbacks. Check again next week.
10) This task is too hard to complete alone. Hire another assistant for 100g next week to continue work.
11) Your latest experiment didn’t work out too well, but you’re on the right track. Receive a +1 modifier on next week’s Progress check.
12) A costly mistake was made, but a valuable lesson was learned in the process. If you pay Complexity x 100g, you can immediately retry your failed Progress check.

Step 4: Once the inventor has made Progress equal to the invention’s Complexity, he or she completes the project. The character gains (Complexity² x d6) x 100 xp and gains a working prototype of the invention. It may be fragile and/or imperfect:

INVENTION QUALITY TABLE (d6)

1) Flawed prototype. Will work once before failing miserably.
2) Poor-quality prototype. The invention will work d6 times before failing.
3) Shabbily-made prototype. Poorly constructed, the invention is more fragile than intended.
4) Standard prototype. All features are working as intended.
5) High-quality prototype. All features work well and the device is sturdier than normal.
6) Superb prototype. All features work as intended and the device is perfectly constructed. Duplication checks are +1 when using this prototype as a model.



The DM should then set a price for the materials required to duplicate the invention. Creating a duplicate requires paying this cost and succeeding at an Invention (Tinker or Int mod) check. The Invention Quality Table should be rolled for each duplicate. A sale price for the invention can be set by the player, but what the market is willing to bear is entirely up to the DM.

Campaign Report 4-29-12

I ran a session of my Google+ game for three of my players this weekend. It was Sunday morning Korea time, early to late evening for my players in the US (East and West coasts).

One of my players forgot to add his experience points and gold from the last session and I got a bit frustrated. I didn't keep the piece of paper I had calculated the totals on and asked another player what he had, but the totals were off. It's clear that I'm going to have to start keeping better track of these things in a campaign notebook. I gave him a guesstimate figure of what I thought he should have and we commenced.

The party was made up of a mage, two clerics, three henchmen (two men-at-arms and a thief), and two wardogs. They started off the session by running into town to meet Syrio Milan, renowned dog breeder and trainer, to pick up a third dog so that all three players had a mutt of their own. I rolled on the nifty Wardogs! table and got the weirdo nightvision dog (94 result), so I described this new animal as a ridge-backed, spotted beast, colloquially known as a Deepdog, with a wide muzzle and incandescent blue eyes that glowed in the dark. He was asleep at this time of day, while all the other dogs were awake -- this was a nocturnal animal most comfortable in the dark. I let the player know that the puppy had extra-good nightvision.

The player named the dog "Laebos"  -- an inside joke reference to a magic sword I introduced in our campaign from many years ago. The sword in question was the MacGuffin in a quest I presented to the group: they were to escort an armed caravan on its way to deliver this enchanted blade to the king's faraway castle. The group was hired as additional guards as the caravan expected to be attacked. Legend of the sword's fine craftsmanship and magical power had spread far and wide.

As I should have predicted, the group decided to ditch that quest entirely. Instead they'd screw the king, kill the guards, and went on to steal the sword for themselves. When they finally got away and got around to magically identifying the sword, it was a lowly longsword +1 with the ability to shed light once a day when the user invoked its name, "Laebos" or light. I obviously hadn't bothered to stat up the sword, never thinking that they'd get their hands on it.

The group was quite unimpressed.

This was clearly not sandbox play -- they stole the king's sword and I should have rewarded them for doing so by making the sword what I had intended it to be, instead of nerfing it into oblivion so that it was barely worth their time. A lesson learned!

So, back to our adventure. The magic-user player then dropped by their favorite tavern so he could chat up the magic user NPC who was once one of his retainers. She left him after one of their earliest expeditions (failed her morale roll), but they still keep in touch and he's been actively trying to woo her in order to create a more permanent relationship.

At the bar, the players saw a recurring NPC from their last adventure, a fairly renowned thief from a nearby city. This thief didn't care much for the group, having been magically charmed by the party magic-user and brought to this backwater town against his will, AFTER the group was responsible for his brother's death.

Angry stares and veiled threats were exchanged, but no action was taken as there were many witnesses.

After this encounter, the magic-user briefly conversed with the NPC he was trying to court and set a dinner date for later that evening, giving them about seven hours to explore.

The party then proceeded to explore the dungeon beneath their base of operations (it's their most pressing "quest", though they're free to do whatever they like) and they went off to check out the crypt that the group was too scared to venture into earlier in our campaign. Since two clerics showed up to this game, they felt this was as ideal a time as any to check it out and perhaps find some good loot.

Some of the doors the group had previously opened in the dungeon were now closed and I made it clear that someone (or something) had been actively roaming these halls while they've been gone. When they finally did reach the entrance to the crypt, they tried to be sneaky and opened the door then backed off into a corridor down the hall, intending to kill anything that came out with missile attacks.

The problem came when the player controlling the two men-at-arms sent them to the opposite side of the hall to flank anyone that came out of the corridor. This put them within range of the Shriekers, who began calling any and all nastiness within the labyrinth for aid. The skeletons in the crypt rose and shambled forth, and a roaming group came from behind the player's positions. They were getting pincered on both sides by undead.

Still fairly confident, both clerics declared that they'd be turning undead on the first round... and they got a 3 and a 5, both failing on the 7+ rolls they needed to send the undead packing.

The fight got ugly quickly, as the skeletons began to stream forth from the crypt, with the shriekers doing their job of calling in more reinforcements as the fight raged on. Two of the wardogs rolled critical fumbles and curled up into balls in fear. The magic-user had prepared Sleep before they entered the dungeon, which the other players gave him a hard time over, and in hindsight he should have put the shriekers to Sleep.

The party didn't see this ending well, so the player of our Strength-heavy battle cleric asked if he could bull rush through the skeletons on his side to clear a path for their escape. I said sure, we'd be using our called shot rule, so he'd have to critically hit, though he could extend his crit range by also extending his fumble range by an equal amount. My intent was to provide his enemies with a free attack against him if he fumbled, but I didn't tell him this, instead saying that failure would be "bad." He went for it all, maximizing his crit range to succeed on 11-20 and failing on a 1-10 -- he rolled a 17. He charged through the skeleton on his side, breaking tackles football style, and cleared a path through the hallway toward the dungeon exit.

The group then declared that they'd be running after him, and this is where the rules seemed a little tricky to me.

In Labyrinth Lord, you can do a fighting retreat that backs you away up to half your combat movement speed (base 40'), and you can still attack. So a fighting retreat for these characters would be a 20' move.

You can do a full retreat and go faster than this, but the character making the movement forfeits his attack this round, and his opponent attacks with a +2 to hit.

So how far can they move when retreating? Their combat speed is 40' and their running speed is 120', so after a little reading and not finding anything definitive I ruled that they can run the 120'. They can run a maximum of 30 10-second combat rounds this way before they become exhausted and suffer a -2 to hit and damage rolls.

Skeletons have a movement of 60' per round, so the players should have been able to easily outrun them once beyond their reach. One of the dogs was killed in combat and one of the two men-at-arms was slain as they made their getaway, but all things considered the party got away with minimal losses. The group was downtrodden, feeling like this expedition was disastrous, and two of the players called it a night.

The third player, the magic-user, still wanted to go on his date, so I humored him. I asked him a very pointed question regarding what he wore and brought with him. "Are you wearing your backpack on your date, and bringing your wardog?" He left his weapons and spellbook back at the basecamp, bringing only his clothing, his money, and a couple scrolls.

The date was at one of the finest restaurants in town, and they had a private, secluded table. Goblets of wine were served and they dined on fine fruit and steamed hare. I pointedly asked the player how he drank the wine, whether he sipped, gulped it down noisily, or swished it around like a connoisseur. I thought it was obvious, but I wanted to present the player with every opportunity to control his own character. They clinked glasses, gulped down the wine, and when they were working on their third glass I asked for a saving throw vs. poison.

The player failed his saving throw and woke up naked, bloody, missing several teeth (1 hp down), and tied to a chair in a pitch-black room.

The player tried to loosen his bonds and free himself, and I figured the chances of this happening were slim. He described it as trying to slip his hands free, so I figured Sleight of Hand would work: a 1 in 6 chance. He rolled a 1. He rubbed his wrists raw and bloody but was able to free himself, though he pretended to still be drugged and asleep to gather information from his captors. The player recognized the voice of the thief from earlier, and after a brief exchange with his thugs, the villain took our magic-user's paramour away for what sounded like torture.

The player picked up the chair and waited for a guard to come check on him, and smashed him in the face... for 1 damage. They then began fighting, club vs. improvised chair leg, and the magic-user put him to Sleep just as the thug called for help.

Picking up the captor's keys, he wanted to try one of the three other doors in the hall. Six keys in total, I said that he'd have to match my roll to get the right key on the first try. I rolled a 5, he rolled a 5, he slipped the right key in on the first try and gained access to a storage room filled with stolen goods. This appeared to be a stash house for the local thieves guild.

After pushing two heavy crates up against the door to lock himself in, the player went looking for his gear, though none was to be found. The crates were decorated with the seals of the local trading companies, so the player grabbed a nearby crowbar and went for the crate marked by a local dealer in antiquities and hard-to-find goods. Inside he found a lot of packing material, a mysterious blue fluid (which he sipped to reveal as Potion of Growth) and a couple flasks in stoppered ceramic containers.

The player set up a couple crates next to the door and crawled above them, the better to ambush anyone coming into the room. When his captors eventually battered their way through, he tossed a flask and it was indeed Alchemist's Fire -- the poor sod burnt to death immediately and his surprised captors didn't want anything to do with this "fireball" chucking mage. A couple more guild thieves came down a little later, armed with crossbows, but they too were burnt for their troubles. The ruckus, smoke, and screaming noises were bringing guards, so the thieves fled. The magic-user was found shortly thereafter by the local constables.

They went upstairs and found that the thieves had taken anything that would identify them as well as anything valuable. Heading to the upstairs bedrooms, they found the player's date for the evening -- naked, abused, and her throat slit from ear to ear.

He vowed to avenge her, as one would expect, and was rewarded (about 100 gp) for finding the missing shipments and exposing a thieves' guild stash house to the local guards. In all he earned about 140 xp for this side trek.

The player was very happy that he managed to survive, disappointed that his lady friend was dead, and eager to deal with his enemy as soon as possible.

Ultimately, I was more pleased with the results of the solo side-trek adventure than with the group's failed delve into the dungeon, but the game is the game and sometimes things don't go quite as smoothly as planned. It's hard to reconcile a group's disappointment with a failed expedition when the goal is for everyone to have fun, but I also don't want to sacrifice the integrity of the game by making it so the players always win. I figure fun will be had, regardless of success, and it's these losses that will make the victories that much sweeter.

Monte Cook Abandons Type V D&D

Wizards of the Coast brought in Monte Cook, as renowned a designer as we have in the pen-and-paper RPG industry, to steer Type V D&D in a different direction, one that by all indications, would appeal to those of us who have played the game since its earlier years and would prefer an approach that took role-playing back to its roots.

I've enjoyed Cook's work in the past and had high hopes for this latest iteration of my favorite game. Maybe we didn't agree philosophically on every point, as I believe he was headed closer to 3.5 than 1E, but that's irrelevant now. Due to differences of opinion with WotC (he can't go into detail because he's under NDA) Cook has decided to stop working on the new D&D.

I purchased nearly every 4th Edition D&D product to support the company that carried the standard for my primary hobby. I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on books I rarely ever opened, Dungeon Tiles I never used, and campaign settings I would never run. The only books that saw regular use were the Essentials Monster Book and their awkwardly-named player's handbooks. I ran a 4th Edition campaign for two years, despite how drastically the experience differed (and not in good ways) from the game I played 20 years ago. It was fun, but fun in a way that didn't quite feel like the D&D that I fell in love with as a teenager.

I believe that I'm the exact audience WotC is looking for: a long-time D&D enthusiast with a substantial disposable income who advocates the game and frequently introduces new players to the hobby.

If I were a decision maker at WotC, I'd be very concerned about the effect of Monte's departure will have on hype and investment in this new game. I'm ready to write off Type V D&D completely and will instead focus on playing my retro-clone-driven game. I have all the content I would ever need for my campaign and if I ever feel like something's missing, part of the fun is coming up with original content that I can  implement in my game and share with other DMs.

Ultimately, I feel like this is good news for me. Now I can focus all of my attention on my Labyrinth Lord game, which does everything I need. My bookshelves are already full anyways.

http://montecook.livejournal.com/251404.htm

On Getting Lost in the Wilderness

Most of my players are friends that I've known for over 15 years. This means that I'm willing to put up with certain personality types because I enjoy playing and keeping in touch with them. They also really love D&D.

That being said, a couple incidents in our last Google+ game touched a nerve.

One player used to game with us when we primarily played AD&D 2nd Edition, back in the 90s. When he rolled up a halfling character for this Labyrinth Lord game, he had some preconceived notions of what halflings could do based on that experience. In Labyrinth Lord, halflings can't see in the dark. He feels that, as a thief, this makes halflings a sub-par race option, as much of his sneaking is going to take place in dimly lit situations. I told him that in this game and in my world, halflings primarily live above ground and aren't nocturnal creatures, they're just like humans in those respects, so they don't see in the dark and that he should just leave it at that. He was unhappy, but I didn't feel like budging on this, as it felt to me like a completely unreasonable request. I'm fine with having stood my ground.

The ruling that I question came later. The party left the road they were traveling (in the middle of the night) to follow a clue that led them into the wilderness, specifically a dense forest. They followed the clue (an ogre's shoe, discarded by the side of the road) by walking for a couple hours into the forest, and very much enjoyed sneaking up on a pair of sleeping ogres and slitting their throats, reaping impressive loot for a level 1 party.

The problem came shortly thereafter, when after an encounter with some goblins, the party went running into the woods at full speed, giving chase to a surviving goblin who fled the scene.

Long story short, an hour-long chase into the woods proves unfruitful and I want to check to see if the party knows their way back. To do this, I rolled on the chance to get lost table in the LL wilderness section. I roll very low, so they end up getting lost in the woods -- this seemed completely unreasonable to them.

The players took no precautions to mark their passage. They weren't marking a trail or doing anything proactive to avoid getting lost. When I declared that they had lost their way, they simply didn't want to accept that it was possible.

"But we're adventurers. How do we get lost so easily?"

"So we're idiots?"

After making camp in the woods until sunrise, one character asked where the position of the sun was in the sky, and declared that it would be easy to use the position of the sun to indicate the way they were headed, so they could then just go south and make it back to the road.

I explained that in the real world, people know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and still get lost in the wilderness -- and these are people traveling on trails, with a compass and map. This just didn't seem like a suitable explanation.

Can players use real world navigational techniques to eliminate the possibility of getting lost in the wilderness? Should players be allowed to always know their relative position because they know which way is south based on the position of the sun?

If this is the case, why even bother checking to see if players ever get lost?

Let me know how you would handle this. 

Aspiring Lich's LL Spell Cards

Score! I've always wanted to learn how to create attractive documents for my games and just found some slick work that'll be of immediate use in my campaign. Check out these stylish level 1 magic-user spell cards from The Aspiring Lich. I'll be printing these out to make player spellbooks for my next face-to-face game.

Link to the spell cards.

On Picking Classes

The character generation method you use largely determines what character you'll play. We're rolling 3d6 in order, so fate has a hand in making this decision for us. Many of my players are coming from the 4E environment, where point buys allow you to pick anything you want and you came up with a character concept in advance.

Instead, we now have characters with scores of 10 in their prime requisites, who picked Thief because they didn't qualify for much else, and I've even got a couple characters rocking Charisma as their highest stat. We have real attribute diversity in the party now, and I love it.

We're using the AEC rules, including separate races and classes, and I wanted to see whether these options would make our party makeup drastically different from what you'd find in Original Edition or a LL Basic game.

So far, we have the following characters:

• Human Fighter
• Dwarf Fighter
• Dwarf Fighter
• Half-Orc Cleric
• Elf Cleric
• Dwarf Cleric
• Dwarf Thief
• Halfling Thief
• Human Magic-User
• Human Magic-User

Observations on Labyrinth Lord AEC character generation:

• 3d6 in order makes the Advanced Edition classes special; only one of my players rolled the attributes necessary to play a druid, illusionist, assassin, paladin, ranger, etc., and he instead chose to use LL's stat-swapping system to play a magic-user with 18 Intelligence, dropping points two-for-one from Strength and Wisdom. 
• All four core classes are well represented, with cleric and fighter being slightly more popular options.
• Dwarven Constitution bonus (more HP), saving throw bonuses, and infravision made it a very attractive racial option.
• The half-orc cleric is played by a friend who has always played battle priests/priests of war for as long as we can remember. He has higher Strength and Constitution than Wisdom and has no problem with it, even if he does suffer from a 20% chance of spell failure.
• I removed racial level limits from my game, so most players went for a demihuman race.
• Three players went human for the 10% XP bonus I house ruled in my game. 
• Our halfling thief only went with halfling because of the math. He already had a Strength penalty, but lowering his Strength by one wouldn't penalize him any more. His Dexterity was one point below the next modifier bonus, and he would usually be relying on missile combat. Halflings get a +1 to missile attacks and a bonus to Dexterity, so he effectively received +2 to hit by just picking that race. A no brainer, really. 

[New Magic Items] Three Magic Daggers

Two of these weapons are specifically designed around stealthy play and the LotFP skill system that I'm using in conjunction with the core Labyrinth Lord rules.

Assassination Blade
This weapon is shorter than most daggers and features a retractable blade, designed for concealment without sacrificing deadliness. Skilled thieves and assassins have mastered palming the weapon to conceal it during searches. Not the sort of weapon one would carry when slaying dragons, the Assassination Blade is designed to inflict maximum possible damage when stuck into the back of an unsuspecting victim.  

Dagger +1/+3 vs. Lawful creatures with the following properties:

• The wielder enjoys a +1 Sneak Attack modifier when using this dagger to attack an enemy from behind.
• Sleight of Hand is +2 when attempting to conceal the blade during a search. 
• When poison is applied to this dagger, the probability that an onlooker will notice the poison is fixed at 10% and does not increase.

Jongleur's Knives

This matched set of three scimitar-shaped throwing knives feature beveled edges that are quite dull and safe to handle when juggled. When thrown with the intent to kill, however, the enchanted knives turn magically sharp, able to pierce even the finest plate armor. A clever assassin commissioned the creation of these blades many years ago and was allowed to take his 'perfectly safe' knives into areas where weapons were forbidden by masquerading as a performer, only to use these knives to end the lives of his intended targets. 

Throwing knives (they replace darts in my game) with the following properties:

• These specially balanced knives deal no damage to the juggler during a performance and appear harmless upon close inspection.
• Jongleur's Knives are not revealed as magical by Detect Magic.
• When thrown with the intent to kill, they become Throwing Knives +2.
• After a successful Sleight of Hand check to get all three knives in the air, the juggler can throw all three knives in a single surprise round, assuming the victim has no cause to suspect an attack.  

Blade of Riches

This silver-bladed dagger is an ostentatious piece, decorated with all manner of precious gems and often kept within an equally decorative sheath. The blade is serviceable for self defense, but its true value lies in the information it provides to its owner when appraising valuables.

Dagger +1 with the following property:

• When laid flat on a table or on the floor and activated with a command word, the dagger will spin to point toward the most valuable stockpile of gold, gems, or non-magical treasure within 60'. This ability can be activated once per day and can be used to compare the relative value of two treasures.

Weapons and Armor

Instead of using the standard Labyrinth Lord weapons and armor lists, I've provided a slimmer set of options to my players. Part of my reasoning behind this change was driven by my house ruled gameplay mechanics. We're using hit die-based weapon damage, so magic-users deal d4 damage with their daggers while fighters roll d8, whether they're attacking with sword, axe, or spear.

WEAPONS COST RANGE

Battle Axe# 6 gp

Hand Axe 1 gp 10' 20' 30'

Dagger 3 gp 10' 20' 30'

Dagger, silver 30 gp 10' 20' 30'

Throwing Knife 1 gp 15' 30' 45'

*Bludgeon (Flail, Morningstar, Mace, Club) 5 gp

*Hammer, Maul## 7 gp

*Hammer, Light 1 gp 10' 20' 30'

Lance 7 gp

Polearm##& 7 gp

*Quarterstaff## 2 gp

Spear# 3 gp 20' 40' 60'

Sword 10 gp

Two Handed Sword## 15 gp

Crossbow 25 gp 80' 160' 240'

Quarrels (10) and case 3 gp

One silver quarrel 3 gp

Longbow 40 gp 70' 140' 210'

Shortbow 25 gp 50' 100' 150'

Quiver and arrows (20) 5 gp

One silver arrow 3 gp

Javelin 1 gp 20' 40' 60'

*Sling 2 gp 40' 80' 160'

*Holy Water 25 gp 10' 30' 50'

*Oil Flask 1 gp 10' 30' 50'

ARMOR COST ARMOR CLASS

Leather Armor 6 gp 8

Scale mail 50 gp 6

Chain mail 70 gp 5

Banded mail 85 gp 4

Plate mail 450 gp 3

Shield 10 gp Using a shield reduces armor class by 1

Helmet 10 gp Benefits to covering your head

Horse Barding 150 gp 5

Weapons marked by an asterisk* can be used by clerics.

Weapons marked by a number sign# can be used two-handed, increasing the size of the damage die. For example, a battle axe swung by a fighter with both hands does d10 damage instead of d8.

Weapons marked by two number signs ## MUST be used with two hands and always do an increased damage die in damage.

Darts in my game have been replaced by throwing knives. They are identical stat-wise, but cost 1 gp each. Throwing knives can not be used effectively in melee combat.

Crossbows can be fired every other round, but roll twice as many dice for damage. (i.e., a thief firing a crossbow would deal 2d6 damage. A fighter firing a crossbow would deal 2d8 damage)

Throwing knives, daggers, and slings always deal d4 damage, regardless of class.

Polearms (&) are reach weapons and can attack enemies from 5'-10' away. If the polearm wielder is significantly taller than a companion, it can be used to attack an enemy through the ally's position. Polearms require a large amount of space to wield and can not be used in 5' corridors or doorways.

For example, if Fighter A is a Halfling or Dwarf and is engaged in melee combat with an adjacent Orc, Fighter B (Elf, Human or Half-Orc) armed with a polearm can stand behind Fighter A and attack the same Orc.

On A Dungeon Master's Core Values

(Trust me, this will become D&D relevant sooner rather than later.) 

One of the things that impressed me most about the company I work for, besides it developing all my favorite PC games, was its core values. Many companies will present a mission statement with the intent of showing that there's strong leadership within the company, or just toss out a bunch of industry buzzwords to make the company more attractive to investors. Our core values were different, and it wasn't long before I found that they really do guide the company in its decision making on a daily basis.

I got to thinking about things that I could do to become a better dungeon master and I'm working on applying these core values to myself and my game, as follows:

This guy has helped me become a better DM

Gameplay First

The game is the thing. Above all else, we're there to have fun and that should influence every decision at the table. Figure out what the most fun thing that could happen right now would be and do it. 

Get rid of any preconceived notions about how games should work in the abstract and focus on what the players enjoy.

Commit to Quality

By playing D&D, we're dedicating huge chunks of time that could be spent in a million other ways. In return, I should commit myself to providing my players with the most epic game experience possible. This means putting forth effort on my own part to keep things interesting, being descriptive, rewarding their cleverness, and to do the prep work ahead of time that allows me to run a smooth session without sacrificing the benefits of improvisational play. 

Play Nice; Play Fair

The players need to trust that I'm going to be a fair and neutral dungeon master. I'm not going to scale monsters on the fly to make for more challenging encounters (as I often did when we played 4E), and I'm not going to foil my players' clever plots. The dice will fall where they may, but I'll give the players every opportunity to save themselves and succeed through smart decision making.  

Lead Responsibly

I will treat each of my players with respect and will make every effort to encourage the same between them. D&D is a social experience, and the DM inherently takes a leadership position within the social dynamic, so it's important for the DM to set an example for conduct, even between friends. You can take a more relaxed stance here when you play with old friends who accept each other, but when you're introducing new players to the game, it's important to provide a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.

Think Globally

I need to understand that in order to make my players feel welcome at the table, it's important to take into account our unique backgrounds and promote an inclusive environment. Here's a rather embarrassing example from one of my first 4E adventures:

Me: "Just over the next rise you spy a merchant caravan, waylaid by a band of orcs. The horses have been killed by black-feathered arrows and the men have formed a circle around the wagons, desperate and clearly outnumbered. The women inside the wagons scream in terror...."

Female player: "Why aren't the women defending the caravan? That doesn't make any sense. In a world filled with orcs and other dangers, the women should be prepared to defend themselves too."

Me: "You're absolutely right. The defenders circling the wagon are made up of all the armed adults, roughly equal parts men and women. A handful of elderly folk are trying to calm the screaming children."

In game terms, this has resulted in me getting rid of some of the hackneyed gender roles typically seen in fantasy art and literature, and introducing strong female characters that wouldn't immediately be scoffed at by the women in my group. Less Red Sonja, more Women Fighters in Reasonable Armor. 

Less this

More this

Every Voice Matters

It's hard to do this when you have some players that like to hog the spotlight, but it's important to get everyone involved at the table. It's a careful balancing act, though, as some players don't like to be put on the spot. With old school gaming, the planning and decision making ultimately takes longer than the action, but the players love this part. Get everyone involved in the brainstorming and problem solving, and they'll come back for more.

When I ran my 4E campaign, I normally asked everyone at the table a question about their character before our game as a sort of warm-up exercise, but I've stopped doing that with my current game. Why should my players "practice" playing a game when what they want to do is go exploring? And how is asking them to improvise some fanfic about their character's history going to make them any better at playing the game? 

They're already the perfect gaming group -- a bunch of unique individuals who've decided to have fun by playing games together. Let's get to the game already.

Embrace Your Inner-Geek

Find ways to draw from all the things that make me the geek that I am. Go ahead and snag character concepts from comic books, draw from the Warhammer Fantasy setting and steal set pieces from genre fiction. Go ahead and lay out your map like the overworld from Final Fantasy VI if that's your thing, because as long as you're enthused about it, it'll make for a better game.

Learn and Grow

I'll never be the world's greatest DM, but I can try to be a better one with each new game. Learn from my mistakes, absorb as much material as I can from the rest of the community, and never be afraid to experiment. 

   

On Friendly Monster Reactions

There are lots of things that I love about the old school approach to D&D, but I'm especially fond of how the DM is encouraged to leave things up to randomness. By improvising the events of the game based on the results of random tables, reaction rolls, and so on, I've become an engaged participant, tasked with interpreting the results in ways that the players would find interesting.

I've been crafting carefully balanced encounters for 4E for a few years now and leaving things to fate is liberating. The players, including myself, feel that anything can happen in this unpredictable world and there's no safety net.

We've had the casualties to prove it.

One element of this unpredictable play style that I find fascinating is the reaction table. One of our thieves was caught picking a local gambler's pockets, but a positive reaction table roll (the character was blessed with 17 charisma) led to it being written off as a pleasant misunderstanding. The player was previously down on his character's otherwise middling ability scores, but he's come to realize that in this style of play, charisma is far from being a dump stat and in fact has saved his life.

Reaction checks are a great way for the dice to make the call in situations where I'd normally employ DM fiat, but I've had some difficulty rationalizing the use of the Monster Reaction Table. After all, how can you ever encounter friendly and helpful orcs, when they're known to be cruel, vicious aggressors who hunger for the taste of elf flesh? Monsters are monsters, and these guys are going to utter a warcry to Gruumsh and charge into the fray, right?

Hostile results are easy enough to interpret, and it's simple enough to figure out how to play out an unfriendly or cautious first impression, but I wanted to come up with some ideas for how friendly encounters with the evil humanoid races could play out. Here's a simple random table that came as a result of this thinking.

Please note that using this table would effectively double how long it takes to get a random encounter going, and I would recommend that you instead consider these options as possible outcomes of your own monster reaction table roll.

Friendly Reactions with Evil Humanoids (d8)

1) Their most recent raid has been fruitful and you've encountered this pack in the midst of celebrating over a cask of pillaged elven wine. Instead of being violent drunks, the wine has pacified the creatures and all they want to do is laugh, drink, and be merry. They'll sober up quickly if the party reacts in a hostile manner.

2) The leader of the group you've encountered is smitten with the party negotiator (the one using his or her reaction adjustment for this roll). The other orcs follow the leader's orders, and the leader will communicate his or her passions in orcish or a stilted, broken form of the common tongue.

3) A respected elder in this group is gravely injured or afflicted with a terrible illness and this party has been looking for aid as their tribal healers are unable to treat the victim. The group will beseech the party for assistance and will escort them to any nearby landmark in exchange for this aid.

4) These humanoids belong to a tribe that is currently at war with a rival humanoid clan. They will want to recruit the party's assistance in this matter, offering to lead the party towards their home and the riches contained within. They will offer to share a meal with the group and attempt to convince them of the (relative) wickedness of their rivals.

5) These humanoids are part of a hunting party, searching for a specific beast somewhere within the dungeon/surrounding area. The beast may be preying on their tribe, or it may have some ritual significance to the tribe and killing it may be part of a rite of passage for these hunters. They'd like to know if the group has encountered this beast and if possible recruit their assistance in the hunt.

6) This group believes that they are clearly outmatched by the party and do not want to needlessly sacrifice their lives. They have heard tales of the generosity and kind-hearted nature of the civilized races, and believe that by feigning friendliess they will be able to escape with their lives. They will freely provide information about the immediate surroundings, though they won't lead the party to their camp. This group may become hostile later, setting up an ambush once they've secured greater numbers or alerted their tribe of the party's presence.

7) These well-armed humanoids are on a trading mission, bearing skins and slaves for trade and looking to bring back coin for their leader. They normally trade with a local duergar/bandit/drow/whatever, but the party looks like they may have the coin to offer a better price for their goods. The captured slaves may be from the party's base of operations, and there may be a reward for their return. If approached with hostility, the group would threaten the slaves' lives first before defending themselves. They'd much rather get back to their leader with money in hand than risk losing their lives unnecessarily.

8) These humanoids have been traveling for a very long time and have run out of supplies. They're hungry and thirsty and only want to make it back to their tribe. They think they're on the right path and will ask the party for any food or water they can spare. In exchange, they may provide directions or warn the group of other hostile inhabitants of the dungeon/wilderness.

[New Magic Items] Six Potions

Unless stated otherwise, the effects of potions last for d6+6 turns.


What's in the bottle? (d6)

1) Lightfoot Balm - When rubbed on the soles of the feet, this balm makes an adventurer's footsteps lighter than air. Pit traps and pressure plates aren't triggered, and thieves gain a significant bonus to Move Silently. Contains d4 applications.

[Sticky blue-green goop, smells strongly of eucalyptus.]

2) Stink Sauce - This balm is activated by applying it under the arms and engaging in strenuous physical activity. After running or fighting for 3 rounds, it begins to emanate a horribly foul stench. Anyone (friend or foe) within 30' must save vs. poison or retch uncontrollably (-4 to attack rolls). The wearer is immune to this effect. The scent fades in d6+6 turns and can't be washed away except by tomato juice.

[Looks like curdled buttermilk; odorless.]

3) Potion of Feeling - Imbibing this potion turns the drinker into a powerful empath, sensing and sharing all of the emotions felt by each living being within a 1 mile radius. The character is unable to shut these emotions out and will collapse into a blubbering mess unless a saving throw vs. spells is made every turn. Characters overcome by emotion are unable to do anything else except crawl at a movement rate of 10' per round.

If a natural 20 is rolled on one of the saving throws, the drinker assumes complete control of this enhanced perception and can find any sentient being within 1 mile with pinpoint accuracy.

[Looks like what healing potions typically do in your campaign. Otherwise, it's a red, sweet-smelling syrup.]

4) Bottle o' Bubbly - After popping the cork and drinking the entirety of this bubbly concoction, one is overcome by terribly uncomfortable gassiness. Belching or farting to relieve the pressure will result in the creation of a 6' diameter air-filled bubble that can hold up to two man-sized passengers and lazily floats on (as Floating Disc) at a speed of 30' per round. The bubble can be commanded to submerge and contains enough air for those inside to breathe comfortably for its entire duration. The bubble is impervious to blunt and sharp weapons, but any amount of piercing damage will pop it instantly.

[Looks and tastes just like dry champagne.]

5) Potion of Stunted Growth - This imperfect potion of growth results in an ugly (Charisma temporarily -4) mutation, greatly increasing the size of part of the imbiber's body. (roll d8)
1- Massive head (Vulnerable to called shots to the head, Int +2)
2- One huge, beefy arm (Unarmed attack deals d8+2 damage, Str +2)
3- Three foot Pinocchio nose (Greatly increased sense of smell, awkward balance incurs -2 Dex)
4- Gigantic hairy hobbit feet (Boots are torn apart, longer stride increases movement by 10' per round)
5- Rapunzel's hair (Hair grows 50' long. No charisma penalty. Can be braided and used as a rope)
6- Big floppy ears (Greatly increased hearing)
7 - Creepy bulging proptosed eyes (Eyesight range is doubled)
8 - Huge body, teeny-tiny head (Doubles in size as Potion of Growth, but INT and WIS reduced to 3 each.)

[Watery green tonic. Smells of asparagus.]

6) Draught of the Ultimate Hangover - This legendarily potent spirit will fill the drinker with the fury of a bloodthirsty berserker tribe and the strength of a titan. He or she immediately gains 5 hit dice and deals double damage with all physical attacks. The drinker also becomes Chaotic and his or her wisdom is reduced to 3. The effects of this potion last d6+6 turns, after which the drinker becomes comatose for 8 hours.

Upon waking, the character will have no recollection of (and gain no experience from) the events that took place while inebriated.

[Pale yellow liquid with a worm floating around inside. Smells of urine and rubbing alcohol.]

On House Rules

I'm currently running a Labyrinth Lord campaign with the following house rules:

Character Creation

• Labyrinth Lord AEC character classes and races
• No race-class level limits; any race can be any class as long as the character meets both ability score requirements
• Reroll 1s for hit points (1s and 2s for d8 HD classes)
• Hopeless Losers: If your character has two ability scores of 7 or less, you can declare that character a "hopeless loser" and roll a second set of attributes. The second character, whose stats you're obligated to keep regardless of how bad they are, starts play with the "hopeless loser" as a henchman. This is someone your character holds dear, so it wouldn't be proper to treat him or her as dungeon fodder. 
• Good At: Pick something you're "good at." You can pick a second thing you're "good at" if you also pick something you're "bat at." You can't pick a class-defining ability, like fighting, stealing, healing, detecting traps, or chucking fireballs.
• Clerics: Can spontaneously cast Cure Wounds spells
• Thieves: Use the LotFP Specialist; all characters have a 1 in 6 chance of using these abilities; Languages skill can be used (-1 penalty) to read magic-user or cleric scrolls 
• Magic Users: Begin with Read Magic and Detect Magic in addition to standard 1st level spells
• Fighters: Pick one of the following abilities at 1st/4th/8th/12th/16th/20th
• Cleaving Blow – When you reduce an opponent to 0 HP or less you may make a free melee attack against an adjacent foe. This effect can trigger consecutive Cleaving Blows.
• Weapon Master – Pick one general weapon type (swords, axes, bludgeons, bows, etc.); you get +1 on all to-hit rolls with that type of weapon. This ability can be taken more than once, but a new weapon type must be selected each time.
• Warlord’s Advance – Party gains a +1 bonus to initiative rolls (does not affect the surprise roll).
• Power Attack – You can take a -1 to-hit penalty for a +2 bonus to damage per attack.
• Executioner – You score a critical hit on foes when you roll a natural 19 or 20.
• Brutal Strike – You add your Constitution bonus to damage.
• Precise Strike – You add your Dexterity bonus to damage.
• Zen Strike – You add your Wisdom bonus to damage.
• Insightful Strike – You add your Intelligence bonus to damage.
• Defensive Stance – You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
• Unwavering – You get a +2 bonus to all saves vs. fear effects.
• Dragonslayer – You get a +2 bonus to all saves vs. breath weapons.

Experience

• Human XP bonus: Humans get a 10% XP bonus
• No prime requisite XP bonuses
• Players earn XP for exploration, which includes mapping dungeons, accomplishing feats, and visiting landmarks 
• Players can earn XP by spending gold on carousing, research, philanthropy, ostentation, or gourmandizing 

Encumbrance and Movement

• All races move at the same base speed
• List-based encumbrance from LotFP

Combat and Death

• All weapon damage is equal to the character's hit die; two-handed weapons are one die size higher
• Critical hits: Natural 20s deal maximum damage
• Called shots: As described by Zak S: declare your called shot, you have to crit; you can extend crit range, but you also extend fumble range 
• Shields shall be splintered: sacrifice your shield to absorb the damage from any physical blow; magic shields can be sacrificed to absorb spell effects or dragon breath
• At 0 hit points and every hit thereafter, roll on carjackedseraphim's Death and Dismemberment table

20 Rules Questions

1. Ability scores generation method? - 3d6 in order, limited stat-swapping as per LL rules
2. How are death and dying handled? - 0 hp = roll on carjackedseraphim's Death and Dismemberment table
3. What about raising the dead? - you probably can't afford it
4. How are replacement PCs handled? - roll it up and I'll get you back in
5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else? - simple group initiative
6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? - players crit for max damage or called shot; fumble for DM-imposed wickedness; enemies crit using Arduin table
7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? - helmets help on the Death and Dismemberment table and when stuff falls on your head
8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? - yes
9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? - run away!
10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no? - yes
11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? - yes
12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? - we use LotFP list-based encumbrance and I'll ask the players to tick off water, oil flasks, arrows, and rations periodically
13. What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? - need to find spells, all other benefits are gained immediately
14. What do I get experience for? - monsters, exploration, treasure, spending it (carousing, philanthropy, research, etc.)
15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? - examination will provide details and clues, a successful search check will also reveal traps
16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? - encouraged; I roll morale at the end of any excursion
17. How do I identify magic items? - experiment or pay to consult the sages.
18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? - depends on where you are in the world, though potions are commonly available in the largest cities
19. Can I create magic items? When and how? - sure, it requires monster parts, exotic ingredients, and coinage
20. What about splitting the party? - it happens and someone usually ends up regretting it

Identifying Magic Items

I'm beginning to introduce magic items to my game, and my players aren't quite sure as to how to go about identifying them. They don't have access to Labyrinth Lord's Identify spell, and our magic-user has expressed that he'd never memorize it anyways, since it'd effectively knock him out of the game.

I'm going to encourage them to experiment with items to discover their properties. I understand some DMs don't want to waste time with this sort of thing, but I believe my players will enjoy it. Straightforward combat bonuses like static +1 modifiers will become apparent once weapons and armor are used in battle. More unique properties, like those that I plan to introduce with nearly all my magic items, will require luck or a consultation with one of the local sages.

Sages (retired archaeologists and adventurers with access to a decent library and a wealth of acquired knowledge on magical artifacts) will charge 100g to attempt to identify weapons, armor, or wands and 200g for jewelry (like rings and necklaces) or wondrous items.  This fee should be doubled in large cities, but this provides a +1 to the roll. It takes 8 hours for a sage to complete his research.

Sages will only identify items that have already been handled by their owner in order to avoid dealing with cursed objects. If a sage ends up cursed by an item the players present him, he'll charge them 1000g for a curse removal or badmouth the party to his network of contacts, making life difficult for them around town.

Sage Identify Table (roll 3d6)

3) Catastrophe! The magic item was destroyed in the process. The resulting explosion also caused significant damage to the sage's laboratory. He blames you for this and will refuse to work for you again unless you offer to compensate him for his losses.
4) Whoops! The sage was overzealous with the acid during that last experiment and has harmed the item. The item is visibly tarnished/rusted/scarred and there's a 50% chance that it has lost its magical properties. Sorry, no refunds.
5) The item's previous owner has turned up and he wants it back. The sage has remanded the item to the local authorities, who will hear out both parties' claims before making a decision.
6) Where'd it go? While taking a break from his experiments, someone broke into the sage's laboratory and has absconded with your item! They did leave behind a clue...
7) Despite his best efforts, the sage was unable to ascertain any useful information from his research.
8) While the sage's research has resulted in some knowledge of the item's primary magical properties, his inquiries around town have also drawn unwanted attention. Local thieves, cultists, or some other nefarious third party will attempt to acquire the item from the owner after it's been relinquished by the sage.
9-10) The sage hasn't found any concrete details about the item, but he has turned up a clue as to where the players may find more information. This location can be somewhere in the city or no more than three days' travel away.
11-12) While unable to determine any useful information about the item's magical properties, the sage has dug up some background information about the item's history that may provide clues as to its properties.
13-14) The sage couldn't find anything in his library about the item's history, but his experiments gleaned some basic information about the item's magical properties.
15) The sage has managed to dig up some background knowledge of the item, including the approximate period in which it was crafted as well as its primary enchantments.
16) I knew it! The sage has acquired a thorough understanding of the item's properties, major and minor.
17) Resounding success! The sage has acquired complete knowledge of the item's magical properties and its history. This includes awareness of the desires of an intelligent sword, as well as any secret command words and the powers that they activate.
18+) You have a real treasure on your hands! Same result as 17, except a friend of the sage has been hunting down your item for years and now that he's found it, money is no object. He offers to pay you twice what the DM considers the item's fair market value if there is such a thing for magic items in your world. Otherwise, he makes you a very tempting offer.

[New Magic Items] Three Magic Spears

Instead of a standard +1 spear (I've decided to never drop simple +1 weapons in my game, more on that later), my first-level party found one of the following weapons during their latest dungeon crawl.

Spear of the River Spirit

A simple weapon of ancient make, it features a three-pronged barbed spearhead and a shaft made of light, springy wood. Its design is identical to that of the spears that have been used by local fishermen for generations and is crafted of similarly simple materials, though it shows no signs of rust or water damage.

Spear +1/+3 vs. sea creatures with the following additional properties.

• Provides its wielder with a +3 to fishing and swimming checks. 
• The wielder will never lose his or her footing when standing on the deck of a boat.
• If the wielder utters a heartfelt prayer or makes a sacrifice to the River Spirit, has a 1% chance of receiving aid from a friendly 4HD water elemental in time of need. 

Spear of the Black Cat

This six-foot spear presents an imposing sight: the spearhead is a two-foot curved blade of silvery metal, affixed to a shaft of soot-black darkwood.   

Spear +1 with the following properties:

• Stroking the spear or honing the blade will result in it making a purring noise, like that of a cat.
• The owner takes half damage from falls greater than 10' and always lands on his feet.
• During a full moon, enemies have twice the chance to roll a critical fumble when attacking the wielder.  

Spear of the Explorer

This quirky-looking spear is made of three wooden sections, each bearing a brass button. A leather loop attached to the lower section allows it to be easily hooked to a belt or backpack. This utilitarian device was crafted by a conclave of brilliant engineers to fill a request from a renowned (and very wealthy) explorer. He wanted to combine the utility of some of his most valuable spelunking equipment into one device, allowing him to carry more valuables out of any given dungeon.  

Spear +1 with the following properties:

• The spearhead is enchanted with a Continual Light effect, providing full visibility for 60' in all directions. This effect can not be turned off, though the spearhead can be retracted.
• Can be extended to 10' long or collapse down to 3' with retracted blade. Can extend or retract to serve as a 3' club or 6' staff (each also +1). 
• The spearhead can be fired up to 50' away. It acts as a grappling hook and is attached to the staff by a lightweight, knotted silk rope.  

On Turning Undead

The Labyrinth Lord Turn Undead rules are fairly vague, so here's how I'm handling it in my game:

The cleric must be able to speak and hold a holy symbol to turn undead and can take no other actions while doing so, including movement. The turn undead action takes place at the end of the combat round in the spell phase and it can be interrupted by damage.

On a successful turn attempt, 2d6 HD of undead will flee the cleric's presence. The effect lasts for as long as the cleric continues imposing his will, and then 3d6 rounds after the undead leave the cleric's presence. The cleric must continue exerting his will over the undead while they are in his or her presence or the effect immediately wears off.

If the undead are trying to flee and their movement is blocked by a cleric or other party member, they will attack to clear a path. The undead will ignore other party members if a clear path of escape is available. If cornered in a room, the undead will attack in an attempt to flee.

A cleric can make any number of turn attempts per day until they fail an attempt. Upon a failed attempt, the cleric's faith is shaken and he or she can only attempt another turn after 8 hours of rest, prayer, and meditation.

Turn undead has already saved my group from a TPK. One of our newest players pulled it off on a handful of skeletons that sprung up around them while they were digging through a collapsed chamber. They saw the skeleton bones buried beneath the stones, but didn't predict that the skeletons would animate once cleared from the rubble. It was one of the rare moments when the thieves and magic-users didn't hog the spotlight.