Cold Dread Hand Campaign: Session Zero Reference

So, yeah, got a new campaign going! Feels good to be back in the GM's chair, after pandemic and such have kept me away. But now is the time to begin anew, and I'm eager for a good, long campaign ahead! My players are as well, my group of old friends who I've adventured with both at the table and in the wide world beyond. 

But enough of waxing poetically nostalgic! In lieu of a face-to-face session zero, I'm laying out some initial considerations here for player (and public) reference:

• We're using the Castles & Crusades rules.
• Characters are starting at 3rd level.
• We have at least six players, with the chance for one or two others joining in at times.
• As busy adults, it's hard for all of us to get together. But to try and establish some consistency of play (rather than only get together very infrequently, which can kill campaigns), we've agreed to settle on the best date possible for the most people once a month. As long as we have a majority of players (i.e. at least four) able to make it to a session, we still have the session. This will give us at least 12 sessions a year for the campaign (with the hope that we can add in more over the course of the year)
• Sessions will be as long as we can make them, to make the most of our play time.
• Those who are unable to make a session still earn XP for their characters. However, the present players are in charge of how (if at all) they divvy up any coin, treasure, items, etc. gained during play to absent players.
• Save the fudge for the Jersey shore (sorry, colloquial joke)! Seriously, though, there will be no dice fudging. If PCs die, they die. New characters start at the same level as the dead character, but at the minimum XP for that level. The rest of the PCs in the party must decide what to do with the dead character's remains and personal effects.

The campaign takes place in the Forgotten Realms, and starts in the fall of the year 1489 Dalereckoning (in the ninth month, Eleint/The Fading). The party has come together at some point in the recent past, as they were all adventurers in the Sword Coast region. They’ve probably been together as a group for about six months, or at least long enough to have developed some semblance of group cohesion and mutual trust. The events of their meeting and prior adventuring are up to them to elaborate as they see fit. They can elaborate as much or as little as they want on their shared and individual backgrounds. 

The PCs are travelling north from their unspecified prior adventures along the Sword Coast. They are headed for Icewind Dale, because there are growing rumors of a supernatural cold settling over the region. One of the PCs, the barbarian Varhauth, is of the Wolf Tribe of the Reghedmen, and he seeks to discover the fate of his people. Also, there are rumors that the people of Ten Towns are eager for brave and capable souls to help free them from the strange supernatural power that has engulfed the region in unrelenting cold. It is said the Ten Towns folk pay handsomely for those who will aid them.

This post will be updated as needed during the campaign. I'll be posting session recaps as well!

Bye Bye, Level Limits!

As an addendum to my post earlier today about my Labyrinth Lord house rules, I've decided to take a page from another retroclone, Swords & Wizardry, when it comes to the dreaded demihuman level limits. I'm referring specifically to page 16 of the 4th printing of the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules. That page discusses options for continued level advancement for "non-humans." I think it sounds like a great idea to allow demihumans to keep advancing in level, but just at a slower rate. To me, it's a good solution to the long-time debate.

Labyrinth Lord/Basic D&D House Rules (2/25/2013)

Ok, since one of my possibilities for my next campaign is another attempt at running Labyrinth Lord, here are my updated LL house rules (compatible with all versions of Basic D&D). The only portion I'm feeling a bit leery about these days is Combat. I'm feeling like I should heavily simplify/do away with Combat Maneuvers and everything below it. I'm just not sure if I want all those levels of granularity, but rather keep things as abstract as possible, in the pure tradition of D&D combat.

Anyway, here they are (please let me know what you think...feedback is welcome): 

GENERAL:

Hit Points: max at first level.

Attribute Checks: (as needed) roll d20 under attribute score; bonuses/penalties can come from DM for perceived difficulty, difference in levels/HD and/or attributes between character and opponent, etc.

Bonus spells slots for high INT or WIS: see LL Advanced Edition Companion chart for clerics.

Zero HP: at 0 HP or less, save vs. death. Success means 1 hp and unconscious. Failure means...well, death.

Shields and Saves: at GM discretion, shields may give +1 bonus to saving throws such as breath weapons.

COMBAT:

Two-Weapon Fighting: gives +1 to hit.

Natural 1 and Natural 20: a natural 1 is always a miss and a “fumble,” the effects of which are up to the GM. Natural 20 is an automatic hit. GM may also allow for some“fantastic effect.”

Hold Action: during combat, a player can hold their action for use later in the round. However, held actions not used in a round are lost at the end of the round.

Combat Maneuvers: from ACK System (most are -4 to attack roll, opponent save vs. paralysis). These can include disarming, wrestling, etc.

Firing into Melee: on a roll of 1-3, a character hits a friendly. Roll another to-hit to see if the friendly takes damage. Chance to hit friendlies is eliminated if a player takes time to aim. Aiming and firing in the same round confers a to-hit penalty of -2. Aiming and waiting until the next round eliminates penalty.

Called Shot: performed at a -8 penalty, but a hit usually means automatic critical (double damage). Taking rounds to aim lowers penalty by 1 for each round taken.

Offensive Focus (declared at beginning of round): +2 to hit, +2 AC for round

Fighting Defensively (declare at beginning of round): -2 to hit, -2 AC for round

Full Defense (declare at beginning of round): no attack, -4 AC for round

MAGIC USERS:

Counterspell: a magic user can counter another magic user’s spell by casting a spell of the same level. An INT check is made to determine if MU can identify opponent’s spell. The countering is an automatic success, with both spells cancelling each other out.

Retaining Spells:  When casting a spell, player must roll equal to or less than INT minus level of spell. Success means spell is not used up. Failure means spell is lost until PC rests and recovers spells per RAW.

CLERICS:

Retaining Spells: When casting a spell, player must roll equal to or less than WIS minus level of spell. Success means spell is not used up. Failure means spell is lost until PC rests and recovers spells per RAW.

ELVES:

Immune to all undead attacks and also hear noise on roll of 1-2 on d6

Retaining Spells: When casting a spell, player must roll equal to or less than INT minus level of spell. Success means spell is not used up. Failure means spell is lost until PC rests and recovers spells per RAW.

HALFLINGS:

Fey Luck: Three times per session, a Halfling can choose to make any of their rolls (or the roll of another player) an automatic success.

Hide on roll of 1-5 on d6

DWARVES:

Can harm creatures that can only be harmed by magic (even with bare hands).

Can also tell direction underground on roll of 1-2 on d6.

FIGHTERS:

Automatic hit and double damage on natural 20.

Cleave: can attack another opponent immediately after killing/incapacitating an opponent (from ACKS).

THIEVES:

All thief skills progress as Hear Noise (all use d6). After 15^th level, roll 2d6 and only fail on double six.

Read Language: Level 1=20%, 2=40%, 3=60%, 4=80%

Use Scroll: 10% at level 2, and +10% per level until 10^th level (90%)

Confession: I'm liking DCC RPG more and more...

One of my measuring sticks for RPGs is not having to house rule them too much.

Upon reading into the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, I find that, for me, it fits that "minimize house rules" bill for the most part.

I really am a "rules as written" guy deep down, I think. Games like Castles & Crusades and Labyrinth Lord only compel me to make minimal house rules. I currently have about one page of house rules for C&C (my preferred version of AD&D) and two pages for Labyrinth Lord (my preferred version of Basic D&D). The level of house ruling that I've done for those systems is ok by me. But any more than a couple pages and I'm not comfortable anymore.

However...from what I've read so far of DCC RPG (granted, I am not anywhere near reading the entire thing just yet), it might just become my preferred version of D&D, basic or advanced or otherwise.

Anyone who's read this blog knows that that's a huge confession from me and a big change of heart, due to the posts I written attacking Goodman Game's hype machine. But I'm man enough to admit that I was spouting off without seeing the final product. Now that I've seen it, does the game live up to the hype? For the most part yes, as far as I can tell. That doesn't mean that I like it when people mega-hype a product in a vainglorious manner. But I can understand someone trying to sell their product.

Anyway, I really like the gonzo nature of DCC RPG. I'm liking the twist on D&D spellcasting. I'm liking the "modernization" of the decades-old rule set. Heck, the game has even made me like alignment, which I've never really used in my gaming life. Because DCC makes alignment serve a purpose, makes it relevant.

All of this makes me think about gamer-me, and what I really want from my roleplaying and my roleplaying games. I'm not sure I was ever fully a member of the OSR. Many sacred cows of the movement I can do without, such as strict adherence to D&D's conception/version of Vancian magic (as I discussed in this post). I suppose this may be due to my gaming history and when I entered the hobby (around 1988).

When it comes to my interest in old school, it's not about maintaining adherence to a particular rules set's rules as written. Rather, old school for me means a style of play that includes rulings not rules, a focus on actually roleplaying, encouraging player creativity, and the other less tangible aspects of old school play.

Anyway, that's enough of my blather for now. Happy gaming, all!

OSR Blasphemies: Saying No to Old-Fashioned Vancian Magic

I suppose I'm about to commit a mortal OSR sin by stating that I'm not really into Vancian magic anymore. At least, I'm not into Vancian magic "rules as written" as portrayed in most editions of D&D (except 4th Edition with its at-will powers, I suppose).

I just don't like the "fire and forget" thing anymore. I know, you're going to call me a D&D Nancy-boy and tell me I can't hang. You're going to tell me that I'm missing the point of D&D, especially OD&D/Basic D&D, where resource management is king, and where limited spells per day at low levels means players have to flex their creative muscles in order to survive.

But to hell with all that. I don't care. My current self wants something new. My old self might have been OK with it. Back in the day, I remember a lot of player decisions to camp for the rest of the day/night so the casters could recharge ("Ok, speed up time, Mr. GM! Is it morning yet? What, what do you mean there was random encounter while we were asleep?!"). It was crazy how many days would pass in a single session because the magic users and clerics needed to rememorize spells.

Hey, here's my cure for the "15 minute work day": no more old-fashioned Vancian magic.

Gimme the Adventurer Conqueror King system for casting spells with its "spell repertoire," for the love of God. Or even better than that, gimme the system from Myth & Magic!

In my current Labyrinth Lord campaign, I'm borrowing from the Myth & Magic system (what I think is supposed to be a sorta-clone of 2E D&D). The following is an OPTIONAL rule from Myth & Magic (so no, kids, you are not forced to use it if you want good old fashioned Vancian action):

Spell Rememorization [Optional]: Once a memorized spell is cast and a slot opens up, the wizard may attempt to fill the slot if he has his spellbook and ample time to study. An Intelligence check is rolled against an Exceptional (TC 20) task. Success indicates a new memorized spell. Failure removes the chance to fill that spell slot until the next day. The wizard is required to have absolute silence while he studies for a continuous, uninterrupted 10 minutes per spell level. Any interruption, whether it be from loud noises or physical harm, removes the chance to rememorize the spell slot.

In place of the d20 INT check, I have my LL players roll under the INT score (modified by the level of the spell to be rememorized; so a wizard with INT of 17 rememorizing a 2nd level spell would have to roll under a 15).

Oh, or even better than Myth & Magic is the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG system, right? Well, not sure it's better, but just different... different in a much more risky spell casting sense. But I like that riskiness! It adds some spice to things, eh?! Bottom line: you don't automatically lose the spell for the rest of the day. Sounds good to me, risk or no risk.

As much as I ragged on DCC in the past, I think it's system is the most attractive to me right now.

I guess the "second generation" retroclones (I don't want to argue about whether or not DCC RPG is a retroclone or not, please) fit into the style of play that I want these days. I guess I'm not an OSR purist after all. And that's not because I've been brainwashed by playing modern-era D&D, which I haven't done at all, ever! Hell, I've only returned to roleplaying within the last couple years and I've been playing C&C, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and now Labyrinth Lord!

I guess what I have been doing is reading other games, and fondly wishing for something more than old Vancian magic. Damn that reading nonsense! Dad always told me it would get me into trouble.

I want my casters to have the flexibility of spell casting more often in a day, and I don't care who disagrees! 'Nuff said.

Vancian Magic...Without the Wait?

As an addendum to my H is for House Rules post, I want to elaborate a bit on the following house rule for memorizing/recovering spells for magic users, clerics, and elves:

Memorizing/Recovering Spells: Spells usually take 10 minutes per level to memorize. All spells of a level four below the max spell level usable by the wizard only require 1 minute per level to rememorize.

I "borrowed" this from the Myth & Magic Player's Guide (it's on page 30).

I know that the whole Vancian magic thing is a rallying cry for the OSR. It's a pretty polarizing topic, with most of the old-school people saying "Give me Vancian magic or give me death!"

I agree...to a point. Sure, let's use the "fire and forget" Vancian system. BUT...would it be so bad to speed up the Vancian spell memorization process?

Why does it have to take a full eight hour rest to get your spells back?

Wouldn't the Myth & Magic method make magic users a bit more flexible, and alleviate a bit of the whole "15 Minute Workday" issue that was swirling around the blogosphere recently?

I say yes! And as you can see I'm using it for my upcoming Labyrinth Lord campaign. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going to keep the whole "eight-hour-rest" thing for players to have characters recover ALL castable spells. But during a single day, if they want to spend the time, they can take time to rememorize spells, one at a time, using the method above. The key element here is the time usage. If you're in a dungeon, a lot can happen in 10 minutes/1 turn (those orcs you just fought come back with reinforcements, etc). So this doesn't let players off the hook entirely

In the meantime, I'd like to hear your thoughts. What do you think of "speeding up" the Vancian magic spell recovery system?

H is for House Rules

Firstly, let me offer a non-apology for lagging way behind on getting my A to Z done in April. I may strive to wrap things up this month after all, but that will no doubt now entail some doubling up of letters on some of my remaining April days. Ah well, there's nothing for it now!



Anyway, on to the house rules I've worked up for the Labyrinth Lord campaign I'm starting in May. I think these would work fine with any Classic D&D rules or retroclone based on them. Personally, I like to keep house rules to a minimum, but I'm definitely not a total rules-as-written guy. What follows is a mash-up of house rules that have been floating around the blogosphere forever and those I've created myself, along with rules "stolen" from game systems such as Adventurer Conqueror King, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Myth & Magic, and of course Castles & Crusades.

So, without further ado, here they are:

GENERAL:

Hit Points: max at first level.

Attribute Checks: (as needed) roll d20 under attribute score; bonuses/penalties can come from DM for perceived difficulty, difference in levels/HD and/or attributes between character and opponent, etc.

Bonus spells for high INT or WIS (see relevant LL Advanced Edition Companion chart for clerics)

Zero HP: at 0 HP or less, save vs. death. Success means 1 hp and unconscious. Failure means...well, death.

Shields and Saves: at GM discretion, shields may give +1 bonus to saving throws such as breath weapons.

COMBAT:

Two-Weapon Fighting: gives +1 to hit.

Natural 1 and Natural 20: a natural 1 is always a miss and a “fumble,” the effects of which are up to the GM. Natural 20 is an automatic hit. GM may also allow for some“fantastic effect.”

Hold Action: during combat, a player can hold their action for use later in the round. However, held actions not used in a round are lost at the end of the round.

Combat Maneuvers: from ACK System (most are -4 to attack roll, opponent save vs. paralysis). These include disarming, wrestling, etc.

Firing into Melee: on a roll of 1-3, a character hits a friendly. Roll another to-hit to see if the friendly takes damage. Chance to hit friendlies is eliminated if a player takes time to aim. Aiming and firing in the same round confers a to-hit penalty of -2. Aiming and waiting until the next round eliminates penalty.

Called Shot: performed at a -8 penalty, but a hit usually means automatic critical (double damage). Taking rounds to aim lowers penalty by 1 for each round taken.

Offensive Focus (declared at beginning of round):+2 to hit, +2 AC for round

Fighting Defensively (declare at beginning of round): -2 to hit, -2 AC for round

Full Defense (declare at beginning of round): no attack, -4 AC for round

MAGIC USERS:

Counterspell: a magic user can counter another magic user’s spell by casting a spell of the same level. An INT check is made to determine if MU can identify opponent’s spell. The countering is an automatic success, with both spells cancelling each other out.

Memorizing/Recovering Spells: Spells usually take 10 minutes per level to memorize. All spells of a level four below the max spell level usable by the wizard only require 1 minute per level to rememorize. This is borrowed from the Myth & Magic system and used for Clerics and Elves (see below).

CLERICS:

Memorizing/Recovering Spells: Spells usually take 10 minutes per level to memorize. All spells of a level four below the max spell level usable by the wizard only require 1 minute per level to rememorize.

ELVES:

Immune to all undead attacks and also hear noise on roll of 1-2 on d6

Memorizing/Recovering Spells: Spells usually take 10 minutes per level to memorize. All spells of a level four below the max spell level usable by the wizard only require 1 minute per level to rememorize.

HALFLINGS:

Fey Luck: Once per encounter, a Halfling can reroll one of his rolls or the roll of another player or the GM.

Hide on roll of 1-5 on d6

DWARVES:

Can harm creatures that can only be harmed by magic (even with bare hands).

Can also tell direction underground on roll of 1-2 on d6.

FIGHTERS:

Automatic hit and double damage on natural 20.

Cleave: can attack another opponent immediately after killing/incapacitating an opponent (from ACKS).

THIEVES:

All thief skills progress as Hear Noise (all use d6). After 15^th level, roll 2d6 and only fail on double six.

Read Language: Level 1=20%, 2=40%, 3=60%, 4=80%

Use Scroll: 10% at level 2, and +10% per level until 10^th level (90%)

My Castles & Crusades House Rules

I thought I'd share my house rules for my Castles & Crusades campaign (Paragons of Waterdeep), in the spirit of...well, sharing. I've also included the rules I currently use from the Castle Keeper's Guide, which aren't house rules per se but I wanted to show them as well. Please let me know what you think, and please share your own house rules for your preferred game system if you care to do so.

HOUSE RULES

Hit Points: max at first level.

Wizards: can use HPs to cast spells if they have cast all their prepared spells (1 HP for each level of spell).

Counterspell: a wizard can counter another wizard’s spell by casting a spell of the same level as the target spell. The countering wizard can make an INT check in order to determine the level of the spell to be countered (as long as the spell is of a level that the wizard can cast). The countering is an automatic success, with both spells cancelling each other out.

Clerics: can select one spell per level that they can spontaneously cast (i.e. use a spell slot currently filled by a prepared spell). This selection of spontaneous spells can be changed every day when selecting spells for the day.

Reversible Spells: reversible spells for wizards do not need to be memorized in reversed form (i.e. a spell can be cast in its reversed form “on the fly.”)

Fighters: Bonus to Hit starts at +2 at level 1 (to give them a leg up over the BtH of Fighter "sub-classes" like ranger, barbarian, and paladin) and improves by one each level thereafter. In addition, Fighters have the Cleave ability (stolen from ACKS, replaces Combat Dominance). Whenever a Fighter kills or incapacitates an opponent with a melee or missile attack, he may immediately make an attack against another opponent within 5' of the target he has just dropped. Fighters may make a maximum number of cleave attacks per round equal to their level. When making cleave attacks with missile weapons, Fighters are limited to a maximum of 2 with a crossbow, 3 with longbow, and 4 with composite bow, shortbow, slings, or thrown darts, daggers, or javelins.

Two-Weapon Fighting: roll two damage dice, keep whichever you want. Forego extra dice roll to get +1 defense for round (declared at beginning of round).

Shields: can be used for shield bashes (declared at beginning of round). Gives extra dice roll for damage (1d6 for bucklers or small shields/1d4 for large shields) but sacrifice AC bonus for round. Instead of inflicting damage on a successful bash, the attacker can choose to stun an opponent. Defender must make a CON save or be stunned (cannot take actions for 1 round). Large shields can also give their bonus to certain saving throws (such as breath weapons).

Natural 1 and Natural 20 (combat only): a natural 1 is always a miss and a “fumble,” the effects of which are up to the GM. Natural 20 is an automatic hit and does maximum damage. GM may also allow for some “fantastic effect.”

Hold Action: during combat, a player can hold their action for use later in the round. However, held actions not used in a round are lost at the end of the round.

Injury before Action: if a wizard is injured during the casting of a spell, they must make a CON save or have their casting fail.  Also, if a character with a ranged weapon is injured while aiming, they must make a CON save or have their aiming disrupted.

CASTLE KEEPER'S GUIDE RULES

Fate Points (p. 277): players get three Fate Points to spend per game session in order to influence the game in some way. The following is a list of the most common uses (once per round).

·         Down But Not Out (3 points): a character that would normally die at -10 HP is stabilized at -10.

·         Fortune’s Fool (1 point): can be used to reroll an attribute check or attack roll. Can also be used to force a reroll of an attack against a character.

·         I Just Made It (2 points): automatic success on saving throw.

·         Might Blow (1 point): once per game session, a player can use this to turn an attack roll into a natural 20.

·         Providence Smiles (1 or more points): character asks GM for a “plot break.” The GM may overrule the request, and the point is not spent. Alternately, the GM may require the player to spend more than one Fate Point. Can only be used once per game session.

·         You Missed Me! (2 points): a blow that would have hit a character misses instead.

·         Sound the Charge (1 point): double movement rate for one round.

Checks against Prime Attributes (p. 234): against opponent with applicable prime attribute(s), +6 is added to player attribute check(s).

Action Description “Bonus” (p. 235): when attempting an action that requires an attribute check, a player’s description of their character’s actions may earn the player a bonus to their roll.

Combat Maneuvers (with modifications, p. 256):

Firing into Melee: on a roll of 1-3, a character hits a friendly. Roll another to-hit to see if the friendly takes damage. Chance to hit friendlies is eliminated if a player takes time to aim. Aiming and firing in the same round confers a to-hit penalty of -4. Aiming and waiting until the next round to fire lowers penalty to -2. Waiting another round eliminates penalty.

Called Shot: performed at a -8 penalty, but a hit means automatic critical (full damage). Taking rounds to aim lowers penalty by 1 for each round taken.

Offensive Focus (declared at beginning of round): confers a +3 to hit and -6 to AC for round

Fighting Defensively (declare at beginning of round): -2 to hit, +2 AC

Full Defense (declare at beginning of round): no attack, +4 AC

Question: Leveling Up?

I've been running some searches in the blogosphere, and came across some interesting old stuff in the community. This post got me thinking once again about my issues with the millions of experience points needed to reach high levels in D&D.

I've gone back and forth on this topic. Sometimes I wonder if I want to stick to good old XP in order to play as close to rules-as-written as possible. But I've been playing with the idea of letting characters level up after their players have participated in a certain number of sessions. I was thinking of setting it at five sessions. I think this depends on the group and how frequently it meets. I've been pretty lucky to be able to game for a while now almost every week (once a week). So if you can do about 50 sessions in a year, that's 10th level in a year for all characters involved. Not too shabby, I think. Thoughts?

Question of the Day: To House Rule or Not to House Rule?

Greetings, all! I don't have much time today, but I wanted to ask another question (geared mostly toward D&D and its spawn):

What is your stance on house rules? Do you avoid them totally, or do you use them to some degree? If you do use them, how extensive (or not) are your house rules? And what are the aspects of the game that you house rule?

For myself, I like to keep house rules to a minimum. I've limited myself to one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper for house rules for my C&C campaign. And actually, only one side of the sheet has the house rules. The other side has rules from the Castle Keeper's Guide that I am using to augment the rules from the C&C Player's Handbook. So again, just one page of house rules.

My criteria these days for choosing a rule set to use is how much I would have to house rule to get a game I want to play. C&C is one of those games that I don't want to/need to house rule too much for it to do what I want it to do. When I find myself house ruling a game too much, that means (to me) that it's not one I want to play.

There is, however, something to be said for remembering to try playing a game for what it is (rules as written). Lord knows I have a hard time putting that into practice. I just dive automatically into tinkering for some reason. I'm trying to resolve/rethink that impulse in my mind right now with regard to Labyrinth Lord. I want to potentially run some LL games but I keep trying to house rule it too much (in my opinion). But I think I'm reaching a point where I'm accepting the game for what it is, rules as written.

Anyway, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

P.S. I know JB at B/X Blackrazor has written about house rules, and his opinion is pretty clear, I think!