The Greyharp Annotations

Clarifications for Original Dungeons & Dragons

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Generated 22-Apr-22 13:36 MT

The Greyharp Annotations Page ii

Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
Characters........................................................................................................................... 1
Creating a Character ...................................................................................................... 1
Character Classes ........................................................................................................... 1
Choosing Alignment ....................................................................................................... 2
Player Character Support and Upkeep ........................................................................ 2
Equipment ....................................................................................................................... 2
Spells and Magic ................................................................................................................. 2
Magic Research ............................................................................................................... 2
Adventuring Rules .............................................................................................................. 2
Hiring Specialists and Mercenaries .............................................................................. 2
Awarding Experience ..................................................................................................... 3
Combat ............................................................................................................................ 3
Typos ................................................................................................................................... 4

Appendices
 Appendix A: Character Creation
 Appendix B: Tables
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Introduction
This document captures the annotations in our copies of the Greyharp Single
Volume Edition of Original Dungeons & Dragons. The only external text we reference
is Chainmail, which was directly referenced throughout the three booklets that
came with Original Dungeons & Dragons. All this is to better clarify Original Dungeons
& Dragons for an enhanced rules-as-written experience.

Characters
Creating a Character
Appendix A presents the character creation process, revised for clarity and
expediency.

ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES
Instead of picking languages during character creation, pick them during play. At
any point, if you have an unused additional language, you can declare what that
language is.

Character Classes
HIT DICE AND HIT POINTS
Each time you gain a hit die, determine your new hit points by rolling all your hit
dice. If your new hit points would be less than or equal to your current hit points,
add +1 to your current hit points instead.

CLASSES
Cleric
When the party encounters undead, each Cleric immediately rolls to turn undead,
once for each type encountered.
Additionally, Clerics become heroes at 7th level, meaning when attacking targets
with less hit dice, they make attacks equal to their level.

Fighting Man
Fighting Men become heroes at 4th level, meaning when attacking targets with less
hit dice, they make attacks equal to their level.
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Magic User
Magic Users add random spells to their spell books IAW the spells they can cast per
day. For example, a Theurgist will have four 1st level spells and two 2nd level spells
in their spell book, all randomly determined.
Additionally, Magic Users become heroes at 8th level, meaning when attacking
targets with less hit dice, they make attacks equal to their level.

Choosing Alignment
Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits cannot align with Chaos.

Player Character Support and Upkeep

Characters pay 1 percent of their experience points in gold pieces each time they
spend a week or more in civilization.

Equipment
Descriptions have been provided for weapons, armor, adventuring gear, and
transports (refer to Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, and Table 6).

Spells and Magic

Magic Research
Replace the table on page 13 with Table 7, which is provided in Appendix B.

Adventuring Rules
Hiring Specialists and Mercenaries
Specialists and mercenaries are better described as “castle personnel” in that they
will not go on adventures and are not particularly useful to players until they own
strongholds.

KINDS OF MERCENARIES
Mercenaries are an artefact from Chainmail. If stats are needed, mercenaries act as
1st level Fighting Men and their type is determined by their equipment. Giving more
fidelity to mercenaries is relegated to Chainmail.
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Awarding Experience
This section is written in an obtuse manner that can be summarized as follows:
Parties receive experience points for gold pieces worth of treasure retrieved while
adventuring on a 1:1 basis. Parties also receive experience points for the hit dice of
monsters encountered on a 1:100 basis. Experience points are always divided
evenly. Characters can never gain more than 1 level per adventure.
Characters modify experience points received by their Award Ratio, then by any
adjustments from their prime requisites. The equation for calculating Award Ratio
is as follows:

𝐷𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑜𝑛 𝐿𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑖𝑡 𝐷𝑖𝑐𝑒

= 𝐴𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙

Note: In practice, award ratios are rarely enforced because treasure and
experience points already scale with dungeon level—award ratios are redundant.

Combat
MELEE COMBAT
Determine the functional Armor Class of a target by comparing the attacker’s
weapon to the target’s Armor Class as shown in Table 9, which is provided in
Appendix B.
Horsemen get +1 to hit footmen. Footmen get –1 to hit horsemen.
Spears deal double damage against targets who move twice in a round. Spears deal
triple damage against horses, or quadruple damage against horses that move twice
in a round.

MISSILE COMBAT
Ranged weapons and monsters’ natural weapons ignore functional Armor Class.
Ranged weapons worsen the target’s Armor Class by 1 or 2 when used at medium
or short range, respectively.
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Typos
 Page 26:
• Pikes should instead be spears because pikes do not appear in the
equipment list
• Bow and arrows includes crossbows and quarrels
 Page 33:
• Axes (both hand and battle) and hammers can be thrown 3 inches (i.e., 30
feet) instead of 30 inches (i.e., a whopping 300 feet)
• Spears should be listed instead of javelins. Spears can be thrown 2/4/6
inches (i.e., 20/40/60 feet) instead of 20/40/60 inches (i.e., a whopping
200/400/600 feet)
• Elves attack as either Fighting Men or Magic Users depending on which
class they are at the time instead of whichever is better
• Magic Users hit Armor Class 2 on 5+ at levels 26+ instead of levels 25+
• Use the monster attack matrix presented in Table 10, which is provided in
Appendix B
 Page 74:
• A wilderness adventure takes 1 day per turn, not per hex
 Appendix A: Character Creation
1. Ability Scores: Roll 3d6 to determine your Strength score. Do the same for Dexterity,
Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, in that order
2. Race: Choose whether you are a Human, Dwarf, Elf, or Hobbit
• Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits have class restrictions and level caps, meaning they are
more powerful in the early game and taper off in the late game
• Hobbits are distinctly underpowered, which makes Hobbit adventurers that much
more extraordinary
3. Class: Choose whether you are a Cleric, Fighting Man, or Magic User
• Dwarves and Hobbits can only be Fighting Men. Elves can be either Fighting Men or
Magic Users and can switch at the start of an adventure
• If you have a 9 or less in the prime requisite of your class, your experience points are
penalized:
– Cleric: Wisdom
– Fighting Man: Strength
– Magic User: Intelligence
4. Spells (Magic User Only): Ask the Referee to randomly determine which 1st level spell
you have in your spell book. You have this spell prepared for your first adventure,
meaning you can cast it once
5. Alignment: Choose Law, Neutral, or Chaos
• Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits cannot align themselves with Chaos
6. Hit Points: Roll 1d6 to determine your hit points
• Fighting Men add +1 to their hit points
• If your Constitution is 6 or less, subtract 1 hit point, to a minimum of zero. If your score
is 15 or higher, add 1 hit point
7. Languages: You know Common and your alignment tongue. You know additional
languages equal to your Intelligence minus 10. You can pick these languages during play
• Dwarves automatically know Dwarven, Gnomish, Kobold, and Goblin
• Elves automatically know Elven, Orcish, Hobgoblin, and Gnoll
8. Equipment: You start with 3d6 times 10 gold pieces, but don’t have to spend it all. Careful
not to purchase too much equipment—you are encumbered at 750 weight
• Clerics cannot use edged weapons
• Magic Users can only use daggers and cannot wear armor
 Appendix B: Tables
Table 1: Melee Weapons
Weapon Cost (Gold) Weight Special
Axe, Battle 7 100 Throw 30 feet
Axe, Hand 3 50 Throw 30 feet
Dagger 3 20 –
Flail 8 100 –
Halberd 7 150 –
Lance 4 150 Must be mounted
Mace 5 50 –
Morning Star 6 100 –
Pole Arm 7 150 –
Spear 1 150 Throw 20/40/60 feet. Set versus charge
Sword 10 50 –
Sword, Two-Handed 15 150 –
Note: Each melee weapon is differently effective against different armor types (refer to Table 9)

Table 2: Ranged Weapons

Weapon Cost (Gold) Special Range in Feet
(Short/Medium/Long)
Bow, Composite 50 – 80/160/240
Bow, Long 40 – 70/140/120
Bow, Short 25 – 50/100/150
20 Arrows 5 – –
Per silver tip +5 – –
Quiver 5 Holds 20 arrows –
Crossbow, Heavy 25 Spend 1 round to reload 80/160/240
Crossbow, Light 15 Spend 1 round to reload 60/120/180
30 Quarrels 5 – –
Case 5 Holds 30 quarrels –
• Weight: Any bow with 20 arrows or crossbow with 30 quarrels weighs 50.
• Range: At short range, get +2 to-hit. At medium range, get +1 to-hit.

Table 3: Armor
Armor Cost (Gold) Weight Special
Leather 15 250 Armor Class 7
Chain Mail 30 500 Armor Class 5
Plate Mail 50 750 Armor Class 3
Shield 10 150 Improve Armor Class by 1
Helmet 10 50 Any hit has a 1 in 10 chance of striking a worn helmet
 Table 4: Adventuring Gear
Item Cost (Gold) Special
Backpack, Leather 5 Carries 300 coins
Belladona, Bunch 10 –
Cross, Silver 25 –
Cross, Wooden 2 –
Garlic, Bud 5 –
Holy Water, Vial 25 –
Lantern 10 Lower hood to conceal light. Can place on ground. Must be carried in a hand
while lit
Mallet and 3 Stakes 3 –
Mirror, Small Silver 15 –
Mirror, Steel 5 –
Oil, Flask 2 Fuels a lantern
Pole, 10-foot 1 –
Rations, Iron, 1 week 15 Do not expire
Rations, Standard, 1 week 5 Expire after 1 week
Rope, 50 feet 1 –
Sack, Large 2 Carries 300 coins. Must be carried in a hand
Sack, Small 1 Carries 50 coins. Must be carried in a hand
Spikes, 12 Iron 1 Used to hold open doors in the dungeon
Torches, 6 1 Snuffed when dropped. Spent when snuffed. Must be carried in a hand
while lit
Water Skin 1 –
Wine, Quart 1 Makes for a good gift
Wolvesbane, Bunch 10 –
Weight: All carried adventuring gear is bundled together. This “bundle” weighs 80 regardless of how much gear it contains.

Table 5: Encumbrance
Weight Carried Movement Rate
Up to 750 120 feet
1,000 90 feet
1,500 60 feet
3,000 Maximum weight
 Table 6: Transports
Item Cost Weight Special
(Gold)
Horse, Draft 30 – Speed 120 feet. 2d6+1 hp. Carry up to 4,500 weight
Horse, Light 40 – Speed 240 feet. 2d6 hp. Carry up to 3,000 weight
Warhorse, Medium 100 – Speed 180 feet. 2d6+1 hp. Carry up to 3,750 weight. Trained for battle
Warhorse, Heavy 200 – Speed 120 feet. 3d6 hp. Carry up to 4,500 weight. Trained for battle
Mule 20 – Speed 120 feet. 2d6+1 hp. Carry up to 3,500 weight. Will enter dungeons
Saddle 25 250 Allows a horse to carry a man*
Saddle, Bags 10 – Allows a horse or mule to carry 300 weight
Barding 150 750 Gives a horse, but not draft horses, an Armor Class of 5.
Cart 100 – Allows a horse or mule to carry up to their maximum weight
Wagon 200 – Allows a horse or mule to carry up to their maximum weight, including men*
besides a rider
Raft 40 – –
Boat, Small 100 – Faster and more comfortable than a raft
Merchant Ship, Small 5,000 – –
Merchant Ship, Large 20,000 – Slower but more durable than a small merchant ship
Galley, Small 10,000 – Warship
Galley, Large 30,000 – Warship. Slower but more durable than a small galley
*Men weigh 1,750

Table 7: Magic Research

Research Cost (Gold)
Learn or invent a new spell • Level 1: 2,000
• Level 2: 4,000
Initial investment—provides a 20% chance to learn or • Level 3: 8,000
invent the spell per week of study thereafter. Increase • Level 4: 16,000
chance by 20% per additional initial investment.
• Level 5: 32,000
• Level 6: 64,000
Create a spell scroll* Each spell—100 per spell level + 1 week per spell level
Create a potion of healing 250 + 1 week
Create any other potion 1,000 + 4 weeks
Enchant 20 arrows 1,000 + 4 weeks
Enchant weapon or armor (+1) 2,000 + 8 weeks
Enchant weapon or armor (+2) 4,000 + 16 weeks
Enchant weapon or armor (+3) 8,000 + 32 weeks
Create any wand 10,000 + 24 weeks
Create any stave 20,000 + 24 weeks
Create any miscellaneous or custom item 20,000 + 24 weeks
Create any ring 50,000 + 48 weeks
*Gold must be paid per week of spell scroll creation. This is the only magic research with a recurring cost.
Note: Clerics can only invent new spells.
 Table 8: Attack Matrix—Men and Demihumans
Level d20 To Hit Armor Class
Cleric Fighting Man Magic User 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1–4 1–3 1–5 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
5–8 4–6 6–10 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
9–12 7–9 11–15 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
13–16 10–12 16–20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
17–20 13–15 21–25 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
21+ 16+ 26+ 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 1
Note: Normal men fight as 1st level Fighting Men.

Table 9: Functional Armor Class

Weapon 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Dagger 8 7 6 6 5 4 2 2
Hand Axe 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 2
Mace 6 6 6 5 6 6 7 6
Sword 7 6 6 5 6 5 4 3
Battle Axe 6 6 6 6 7 7 5 4
Morning Star 8 8 7 7 8 7 6 6
Flail 7 7 7 7 8 7 8 7
Spear 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 2
Polearm 8 8 8 7 7 6 5 4
Halberd 6 6 6 7 8 8 7 6
2H Sword 8 8 8 8 9 9 8 7
Lance 9 9 9 6 8 7 6 5

Table 10: Attack Matrix—Monsters

HD d20 To Hit Armor Class
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
1+1 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
2 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
3 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
4–5 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
6–8 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
9–10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
11+ 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
 Table 11: Cleric Saving Throws
Level Death Ray or Wands, Petrification Dragon Breath Staves and
Poison Polymorph, and Spells
Paralyzation
1–4 11 12 14 16 15
5–8 9 10 12 14 12
9–12 6 7 9 11 9
13+ 3 5 7 8 7

Table 12: Fighting Man Saving Throws

Level Death Ray or Wands, Petrification Dragon Breath Staves and
Poison Polymorph, and Spells
Paralyzation
1–3 12 13 14 15 16
4–6 10 11 12 13 14
7–9 8 9 10 10 12
10–12 6 7 8 8 10
13+ 4 5 5 5 8

Table 13: Magic User Saving Throws

Level Death Ray or Wands, Petrification Dragon Breath Staves and
Poison Polymorph, and Spells
Paralyzation
1–5 13 14 13 16 15
6–10 11 12 11 14 12
11–15 8 9 8 11 8
16+ 5 6 5 8 3

Table 14: Dwarf and Hobbit Saving Throws

Level Death Ray or Wands, Petrification Dragon Breath Staves and
Poison Polymorph, and Spells
Paralyzation
1–2 10 11 12 13 14
3–5 8 9 10 10 12
6 6 7 8 8 10