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1  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: Rituals in D&D on: June 13, 2008, 02:33:02 am
For my Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord hack, I'm considering allowing magic-users and clerics to cast spells above their level as rituals.  For the magic-users, they will have to acquire the spell's formulae by the usual means.  Clerics will require the approval of their deities, which may or may not be overtly granted.  (I still haven't decided yet how directly the gods will act upon the world.)

In either case, the time to cast will be one hour per level of the spell, and the cost of casting it will be something like 50% cheaper than hiring someone to cast the spell for you.  Casting certain spells in certain places (stone circles, for instance) or at certain times (under the full moon) might grant some sort of bonus to the spell or reduce the time and monetary cost.

- Brian
2  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: [Blackmoor] Giant Frogs Aren't Scary on: June 13, 2008, 02:15:27 am
Yeah, it's fascinating as an historical artifact.  As an adventure, well, it seems lacking in a number of areas.  As a sort of random spot on the map the players might stumble across, or the setting for your own adventures, it's a bit stronger, but you're really going to have to bring your own magic to it.  That said, I've never actually run it, and it's been a while since I've read through it, so I may be missing some really good stuff hidden within or forgotten with time.

However, I feel safe in saying that, as many issues as the adventure may have, the giant frogs are not among them.   Tongue

- Brian
3  General / Roleplaying Games: The Meta-Discussions / Re: Creative Commons or OGL? on: May 22, 2008, 08:06:05 pm
I'm hardly an expert on these matters, but I don't see a problem there at all.  I assume you want others to be able to use your stuff in their published material?

- Brian
4  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: Alternative to Thief in Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord on: May 15, 2008, 10:11:19 pm
Maybe.  Keep in mind that this is the same rules set that has the elf class that's a combo of fight and magic-user.  The elf rises in level a lot more slowly than this rogue, but the elf still has the same hit dice and the use of any weapon or armour.  I'm afraid I'm not all that concerned about overshadowing the low-level magic-user since pretty much everyone and their house cat does that.

I'm actually more worried about the high-level game (levels 10+) when a fighter without any bonuses needs only a 12 or higher to hit AC 0.  Does a rogue still have a place in a high-level party, or does the jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none theme doom the class to extra baggage?

- Brian
5  Retro Game Systems / Modern Rules, Retro Feel / Re: Microlite20 on: May 15, 2008, 07:05:01 pm
I was sorely tempted to use Microlite20 as my testbed for some of the ideas I'm kicking around for my own homebrew fantasy RPG.  Like Labyrinth Lord, it's free, which is always a good thing.  However, LL also came with completed spell lists and monsters, which meant I could plug in the changes I wanted to test without having to practically build a game from scratch anyway, so it won.  (Well, that and my love for those old Moldvay/Cook books.  Grin )

That said, it was still a narrow victory, and it's cool to see so many neat things being done with Microlite20.

- Brian
6  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Alternative to Thief in Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord on: May 15, 2008, 06:22:07 pm
I’m working on a hack of Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord, and while I probably won’t make my players roll in order (yeah, I’m a wuss that way) I’d still like at least one class that draws an XP bonus from each stat.  The thief, of course, is already there for dexterity, but for various reasons that have been tossed around the ‘net for a while now, I’m not crazy about the thief.

So here’s my attempt to create a dexterity-centered class I’m calling, for lack of a better option, the rogue:

Obviously, the prime requisite is Dexterity, and a Dexterity score of 13 or greater will earn the rogue a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Rogues use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points.  They may not wear any armour or use shields.  They may use any one-handed weapon, spears, and staves.  They may also fight with a weapon in each hand. 

[ In my hack, single-handed weapons do 1d6 damage, two-handed weapons do 2d4 damage, and fighting with a weapon in each hand lets you pick the best of single roll of 2d6.  Generally, the longer weapon goes first, while those fighting with a weapon in each hand go last.]

SPECIAL ABILITIES: When striking unnoticed from behind, the rogue gets a +4 to hit and inflicts twice the normal damage. 

Rogues roll on their own to-hit table.  Here’s a sample from levels 1 through 4, since the whole thing won’t fit here easily:

AC   To Hit
9   10
8   11
7   12
6   13
5   13
4   13
3   13
2   13
1   18
0   19
-1   20
-2   20
-3   20




The rogue also acquires magic-user/elf spells according to the following table:

   Spells
Level   1   2
1   1   *
2   2   *
3   2   1
4   2   2
5   3   2
6   3   3
7   4   3

And here’s the XP chart:

                       Spells   
Level   XP   Hit Dice   1   2
1   0         1d6     1     *
2   1,802       2d6           2   *
3   3,602       3d6           2   1
4   7,202       4d6           2   2
5   14,402      5d6          3       2
6   28,802      6d6          3       3
7   57,602       7d6          4       3
8   112,500      8d6         4         3
9   230,000      9d6         4         3
10   337,500     9d6+1       4       3
11   450,000     9d6+2       4       3
12   562,500     9d6+3       4       3

Gah!  The table looks horrible.  Angry  I'm not sure how to use the table tools here, so I'll leave it to you to decipher what's going on here, sorry about that. 

Obviously, the model for this class is the Gray Mouser.  But it also works for rangers, bards, wizard-school dropouts, charlatan magicians, and the like. 

The attack matrix is predicated on the rogue fighting like a swashbuckler.  More than simply trying to be faster, they use the cumbersome armour of their foes against them.  Thus, the plateau of to-hit numbers between ACs 5 (chain mail) to 2 (plate + shield).  Below 2, you’re getting into the realm of high Dexterity bonuses and magic, which counters the rogue’s speed and agility.  Fighters, however, maintain their status as the best in combat through better hit dice as well as greater options in armour and weapons.

Obviously, the smart rogue is going to use magic to make up for a lack of armour.  Shield, invisibility, and mirror image will, I’m sure, be very popular choices. 

Feedback would be appreciated, especially if anyone sees any ugly problems I'm overlooking.

- Brian
7  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: What Versions of TSR D&D have you played? on: May 10, 2008, 04:23:27 pm
I went through that phase with OD&D. My players were not amused and were not afraid to let me know.  Wink

My players were willing and eager accomplices.  We came up with a gazillion different races, classes, and spells, each a hoarier mess than the last.  It was glorious fun, until it came time to actually play the game.  Grin

- Brian
8  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: What Versions of TSR D&D have you played? on: May 09, 2008, 08:47:50 pm
Generally, we tended to simply things that AD&D made too complex for our interests.  It was easy to try rules variants and if they did not work, drop them.

We made things more complex.  We were horrible that way, piling on detail after detail, until the games just became hideously unwieldy.

You'd think we would have learned...  Grin

- Brian
9  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: [BFRPG] Swords and Sorcery Supplement on: May 09, 2008, 08:44:48 pm
I'm toying with a simple "save" mechanic for magic shields.  Roll a d6.  If you roll equal-to or under the plus of the shield, it survives.  If you roll a 6, the shield survives and the attacking weapon is shattered.  Anything else, and the shield shatters.

If the attacking weapon is magical, then you don't roll, you just treat it as if the shield were non-magical. 

That's probably more trouble than a magical shield is worth, however, and I'm likely to just go with your lose-pluses-until-broken method.

- Brian
10  General / Roleplaying Games: The Meta-Discussions / Re: Nostalgia is overwhelming! on: May 09, 2008, 08:40:22 pm
I'm going with Moldvay/Cook for my next campaign for two very important reasons:

1st, it was my introduction to the hobby.  Even when I "graduated" to 1e, I still mostly played with Moldvay/Cook rules, so I know the system backwards and forwards.

2nd, since Labyrinth Lord is a free PDF, I can take their PDF, splice in my own houserules, and then distribute them to my players without violating any copyrights or screwing any hard-working artists and game designers.

Not being any more of a jerk than I have to be is high on my list of priorities these days.  Grin

- Brian
11  General / Roleplaying Games: The Meta-Discussions / Re: What's Wrong With Not Liking Current RPGs? on: May 09, 2008, 08:36:07 pm
Or, to put another spin on what Philotomy has said, yeah, it probably is bad for the RPG industry when I don't buy their newest game.  Just like it was bad for the Detroit-based auto industry when customers decided they preferred Japanese cars that had the features they wanted and were cheaper.  Just like it's bad for Hollywood that I don't like cop dramas and romantic comedies.

But in all of those cases, the problem isn't the consumers, and to say so is to utterly miss the point of how a free enterprise economy works.

Now, I'd prefer to have a thriving, dynamic, and strong RPG industry.  But if they want my money, they can earn it by creating products I want to buy.  It's not difficult.  Heck, by posting on message boards and my blog, I've done the hard work for 'em by explaining what it is I want in a product.  If they still can't be bothered to create product I want to buy, then [expletive] them.  Grin

- Brian
12  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: [BFRPG] Swords and Sorcery Supplement on: May 07, 2008, 05:18:59 pm
Perhaps the magic shield survives but drops one plus. A shield +2 isn't shattered, but drops to being a shield +1. A +1 shield survives as well, but becomes a normal, non-magical shield. This probably would not work in a more high fantasy setting, but I could probably get by with it in a S&S setting.

That would seem to make perfect sense for an S&S setting, considering the first thing Conan does when he gets a magic sword is shatter the damned thing.  Grin

Actually, that works better in S&S because S&S heroes are notorious for breaking, using up, or losing their magical goodies.

- Brian
13  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: What Versions of TSR D&D have you played? on: May 06, 2008, 06:50:15 pm
I started with Moldvay's Basic, moved on to Cook's Expert and then played a mish-mash by slowly bolting on AD&D 1e components, starting with the PHB.  Jeff Rients' experience was very close to mine.

And I played that way through elementary, junior high, and high school.  In college, I played a bastard mish-mash of 2e and 1e, basically using 2e PHBs and 1e DMG and monster books.  I eventually moved into entirely 2e games online, but I still run ugly mish-mash games, as I'm an incorrigible houseruler.  Grin

I had a brief flirtation with 3.0e as a player.  It didn't last long, and my initial enthusiasm for the system cooled quickly. 

Today, I mostly play a mash of 2e PHB and MM with 1e DMG and bits and pieces plucked from the 3e Book of Vile Darkness.  However, I'm in the middle of a hack of Moldvay/Cook/LL because I want something simple and quick, and also want to test some ideas for an original fantasy RPG I'm tinkering on.

- Brian
14  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: [BFRPG] Swords and Sorcery Supplement on: May 06, 2008, 06:32:08 pm
Nice!  I like the way the fighter has to pick before damage is rolled.  That saves you a die-roll and means the fighter is more likely to save it for when they really need it.

Any thoughts on how you plan to handle magic shields?  Or, since this is an S&S-themed rules set, do you not plan on having any?

- Brian
15  Retro Game Systems / Retro Fantasy: TSR Dungeons & Dragons / Re: [BFRPG] Swords and Sorcery Supplement on: May 06, 2008, 05:43:22 pm
I don't mind at all.  Smiley  And thanks for the link.

- Brian
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