DIE, STYGIAN
JACKAL!
This is a set of optional rules to flavor up the D20 combat system
for some brutal Hyborian Age action. It is a combination of some
popular (and unpopular) house rules used by many gamers.
Yo u m a y e x p e r i e n c e d i ff i c u l t i e s w h e n u s i n g t h e s e r u l e s w i t h
nonhuman characters and monsters. They are primarily intended
for humans and humanlike creatures. They balance well with
normal D20 combat -in fact, you could even mix characters using
these rules with ones using normal D20 rules in the same group.
Many prosperous adventures to you, and may Crom reserve his
wrath for your enemies! -Joel Sammallahti
O N HIT POINTS A ND A RM O R C LA SS
In standard D20, characters can get an enormous amount of hit
points over time, becoming all but invulnerable to normal
w e a p o n s . S u p p o s e d l y, t h i s r e p r e s e n t s t h e a b i l i t y o f e x p e r i e n c e d
adventurers to reduce injury by rolling with blows and dodging
them at the last moment.
H o w e v e r, t h i s m e a n s t h a t a s u c c e s s f u l b l o w a g a i n s t a n
experienced character isn't really very successful at all, and does
not go well with Howard's fiction. In the Conan stories,
adventuring characters -even experienced ones- are not killed by
a slow accumulation of nicks and bruises, but by a couple of wellplaced, powerful strikes. No human -not even Conan- can get hit
with a sword ten times and still just keep fighting.
H o w, t h e n , d o e s C o n a n a v o i d g e t t i n g k i l l e d ? B y n o t g e t t i n g
hit at all. He dodges, ducks and parries his way through Pictish
tribesmen and terrifying monsters.
N o t i c e t h a t C o n a n r a r e l y w e a r s a n y s u b s t a n t i a l a r m o r. I t s
weight would slow him down and its noise would negate any
attempt at stealth. So it isn't armor that makes him harder to hit
t h a n t h e a v e r a g e m a n . A r m o r i s m o s t u s e f u l i n a c t u a l w a r, w h e n
the ability to dodge a strike is impaired by the confusion of battle
and movement-obstructing warriors. In such a situation, it is good
to wear a layer of leather or metal on your vital spots to reduce
the power of any strikes an opponent might land on you.
In D20, then, we see that the roles of experience and armor in
avoiding damage are oddly reversed: experience absorbs
d a m a g e , a r m o r m a k e s y o u h a r d e r t o h i t . To s i m u l a t e H o w a r d ' s
s t y l e o f s w o r d a n d s o r c e r y, w e m u s t c h a n g e t h i s .
TH E N EW H IT P OIN TS
A zero-level character has a number of hit points equal to his
C o n s t i t u t i o n p l u s h i s S t r e n g t h m o d i f i e r.
If Constitution or Strength changes, even temporarily as
in a barbarian's rage or due to poison, hit points change along.
E x p e r i e n c e d c h a r a c t e r s d o g e t e x t r a h i t p o i n t s , b u t n o t t h a t m a n y.
Each time a character levels up, roll the hit die as usual, adding
t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n m o d i f i e r. ( A t 1 s t l e v e l , d o n ' t r o l l . J u s t t a k e t h e
highest result possible, as normal.)
T h e r e s u l t , h o w e v e r, i s n o t a d d e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e
character's hit points. It is interpreted as follows:
Result
Hit Points
5 or less
No change
6-10
1 extra hit point
11 - 1 5
2 extra hit points
16 or more
3 extra hit points
When a character has lost more than half of his hit points, his
wounds start taking their toll and he becomes fatigued. He will
remain so until he has healed up to half of his hit points again.
A RM O R CLA SS BECOM ES D EFEN S E CL A SS
Defense Class replaces Armor Class as the target number an
a t t a c k r o l l m u s t p a s s . D e f e n s e C l a s s i s n o t a ff e c t e d b y a r m o r, b u t
y o u r D e x t e r i t y m o d i f i e r s t i l l a p p l i e s . Yo u r D e f e n s e C l a s s e q u a l s
10 + base Defense bonus + Dexterity bonus + Shield bonus.
Each class has a base Defense bonus progression, like
the base attack bonus progression. For standard classes, these
can be derived from their hit die. This is reasonable, since hit
points are the primary experience-based defensive factor of
classes in standard D20, and the Defense bonus occupies that
position in these optional rules.
When creating a new class, feel free to separate the hit
die from the Defense bonus progression. They need not be
related. Remember that the Defense bonus is the more important
of the two.
The following is a Defense bonus progression chart based on hit
die. It only goes up to level 20. If a character reaches level 21,
t h e p r o g r e s s i o n s t a r t s o v e r a g a i n , s t a c k i n g f u l l y.
Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
D4
0
0
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+3
+3
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+6
D6
0
+1
+1
+2
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+4
+5
+5
+6
+6
+7
+7
+8
+8
+9
+9
D8
+1
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+5
+6
+6
+7
+7
+8
+9
+9
+10
+10
+ 11
+12
+12
D10
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
+5
+6
+6
+7
+8
+9
+9
+10
+ 11
+12
+12
+13
+14
+15
+15
D12
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+9
+10
+ 11
+12
+13
+14
+15
+16
+17
+18
+18
A multi-class character must determine the bonus for each class
separately and then add them up, just like he does with base
attack bonuses.
Whenever you lose your Dexterity bonus to Defense, you also
l o s e y o u r b a s e D e f e n s e b o n u s . Yo u c a n ' t d o d g e w h e n t i e d d o w n !
Uncanny Dodge and such abilities and feats affect the base
Defense bonus along with the Dexterity bonus.
A r m o r h a s n o e ff e c t o n y o u r D e f e n s e , a s l o n g a s y o u h a v e t h e
a p p r o p r i a t e A r m o r P r o f i c i e n c y. I f y o u l a c k t h a t f e a t , t h e a r m o r
penalty is applied to your Defense!
S h i e l d s a r e d i ff e r e n t f r o m a r m o r i n t h i s r e s p e c t , h o w e v e r.
They do, in fact, make it easier to evade blows by deflecting
them, and therefore add to Defense. They do not behave as
a r m o r, r e d u c i n g d a m a g e d e a l t .
C O N C E N T R AT E D D E F E N S E
It is easier to defend against one attack than it is to defend
a g a i n s t m a n y. To s i m u l a t e t h i s , w e u s e t h e C o n c e n t r a t e d D e f e n s e
bonus.
This Concentrated Defense bonus can be used once each
round to defend against a specific attack. It adds to your Defense
C l a s s a g a i n s t t h a t a t t a c k o n l y.
Yo u m u s t d e c l a r e t h a t y o u a r e u s i n g y o u r C o n c e n t r a t e d
Defense after the attack is announced but before the attack roll
is made.
The magnitude of Concentrated Defense depends on your
base Defense bonus.
Defense Bonus
Concentrated Def.
1-3
+1
4-6
+2
7-9
+3
10-12 13-15 16-18
+4
+5
+6
C o n c e n t r a t e d D e f e n s e h a s n o e ff e c t o n y o u r a t t a c k s . I t c a n b e
c o m b i n e d w i t h To t a l D e f e n s e ( n o a t t a c k s , + 4 t o D e f e n s e ) .
A RMO R A BSO RBS DA MA G E
Armor is made for one purpose: to take the damage from a
w e a p o n s t r i k e i n s t e a d o f y o u r b o d y. I t l i t e r a l l y g e t s i n t h e w a y o f
incoming strikes, but if those strikes are strong enough to
penetrate through the armor or send destructive shock waves to
your flesh, then you still get hurt -but not as much as you would
h a v e w i t h o u t t h e a r m o r.
A r m o r t h e r e f o r e w o r k s l i k e d a m a g e r e d u c t i o n . H o w e v e r, i t
i s n ' t e v e n l y s p r e a d a r o u n d y o u r b o d y. Yo u a l w a y s a r m o r c e r t a i n
vital spots more than others, and there are always openings and
weak spots. For this reason, and becaus e roleplayers love to roll
dice, the damage reduction against each individual hit is
randomized.
A suit of armor has an absorption statistic, which replaces its AC
bonus. Determine the absorpti on of existing suits of armor from
their AC scores by this short table:
AC
Abs
1
1d2
2
1d4
3
1d6
4
1d8
5
1d10
6
2d6
7
2d8
8
2d10
