Super Simple Martial Artist Class for D&D (early editions)
Posted by Joshua on Apr 21, 2012
The Monk is a Fighter, with the following special rules:
- AC is 3, unarmored.
- Attack is 1d6, unarmed.
- May use any object that she can lift as an improvised buckler, for AC 2.
- May attack with any object she can lift (1d6 damage); the only advantage to this is not actually having to touch the target (in case it’s on fire or is an ooze or something) and she gets the reach of the object (if you’re using rules for reach). The Martial Artist isn’t subject to the penalties for the size of the object (if you’re using those) as long as she’s not using the extra reach, since she can just change her grip to not use it at full extension.
- May not use missile weapons, or ordinary weapons except as improvised bucklers/ways of extending reach (i.e. doesn’t get additional damage if using variable weapon damage rules, doesn’t get bonuses for magic weapons).
That’s it. You’re encouraged to also use “Super Simple Combat Maneuvers“, to give the Martial Artist more variety and the chance to do take-downs, holds, and the like.
If you want a Martial Artist with Esoteric Chi powers, you could base it on an Elf instead, and adapt the spells to chi powers, but that’s for another day.
Brynn’s Saga
Posted by Joshua on Mar 4, 2012
Brynn’s Saga, being an account of the early adventures of Brynn, at the behest of Jeffrey of Osthoff, curator of the XPs
Brynn
iron armed, bicep bulging
hale and hearty Brynn
Warden entrusted, elf-maiden wanted
Sallies forth, friends found
stag on snow, blood bespattered
Elf-maiden safe away
Shrine spider-infested
Brynn bitten, spider squishing
stratagem suggests
offal arranged, oil arrayed
arachnids alight, shrine saved
Brynn
arrow attacked, woefully wounded
goblin’s guggle to zatch unzipped
Awful altar ablaze
grotesque goblin guts
vile vitals vented,
Wardens win
Brynn,
boon beseeched
false friend, creature’s captive
Paladin’s palliation proffered,
senile semblance sloughed
egregious evil exposed
White Lady’s wyrd, warriors warded
craven cowardly Corrruptor creeps
away. Avaunt!
Vile villain vanished!
Boisterous, bouyant,Battle-tested
Brynn
20 Questions: How I run Zounds!
Posted by Joshua on Mar 3, 2012
Here’s the same list, for how Zounds! works (not all questions are applicable)
Untimately: 20 Quick Questions: Rules
Here are 20 rules clarifications that are likely to be needed anyways at some point.
- Ability scores generation method?
Your Attribute scores are determined by your Template (Hero, Adventurer, Wise One), though you can improve them at creation or later by spending points. - How are death and dying handled?
In base Zounds! you only die if you feel it’s suitable (presumably you’ll have been rendered Out or Overkilled first, but that’s not strictly necessary); in grittier play any Overkill result means death. - What about raising the dead?
Absolutely, if you want it…though it probably comes with a price (you’re a ghost, or undead, or in the thrall of some necromancer, or under a geas by a deity). - How are replacement PCs handled?
They just show up, as soon as I can work them in. They start at 1 Boost less than the rest of the party. - Initiative: individual, group, or something else?
No initiative, just go around the table. - Are there critical hits and fumbles?
Not as such. - How do they work?
If you’re Hindered that might be narrated the way other systems treat a fumble; if you score an Overkill, that might be narrated as a critical. - Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
Helmets make it less likely that you’ve picked up a serious injury/new Complication when you recover from being Out. - Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
No. If it would be silly given the conventions of the genre you’re using, you’re supposed to refrain from doing it; if it’s plausible (e.g. you’re doing action-movie style adventure) then you might miss, but you won’t hurt your friends. - Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
It would probably be wise to run sometimes, but if you insist on fighting then likely your worst case is capture rather than death, unless you’re playing it gritty. - Level-draining monsters: yes or no?
No levels, though there are some monsters that can infect you or even potentially re-write your character as a thrall. - Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
No saves as such; there may be times when failing an unopposed task could plausibly result in PC death, but it’s generally up to the player to bite that particular bullet. - How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?
Again, the players are asked to keep things plausible according to their own understanding of the genre. You can take extra resources with you on a quest, in order to sacrifice them along the way to overcome obstacles, but if you do so you risk losing wealth. - 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?
You only get XP in between sessions, but it’s conceivable that you spend XP in the middle of a session; this could represent suddenly figuring something out or spending time training and researching during the session, or getting new assets. - What do I get experience for?
1 XP per session. 1 additional XP for “carousing” (volunteering to be hit with the plot hammer). 1 additional XP for being put Out , plus one if the whole party was defeated (defeat is an excellent teacher) . Possibly 1 or 2 for completing a long story arc. - How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
You mostly just spot them if you have an appropriate ability; particularly well concealed or planned traps might require a roll, or might simply succeed. - Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
Absolutely. At low scopes, retainers are individuals and have a Will stat (and possibly their own or your abilities) to resist attempts to scare them or undermine their morale; at higher scopes, retainers will represent entire groups and will have a Morale stat for much the same purposes. - How do I identify magic items?
Try them. Or use an appropriate ability to research them. - Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? Can I create magic items? When and how?
Buying them depends on the setting, but is likely to cost an astonishing amount of money or agreeing to a quest in order to get a magician to custom make a magic item for you. Wise Ones can create new magic items by research (that’s part of what they’re about); other templates might be able to depending on their particular abilities. In any case, players will have to spend XP and not just money in order to get the items. - What about splitting the party?
Be my guest. Unless you mean overland or in the city, in which case running errands that will get hand-waved is fine, but I encourage the players not to go on separate adventures as a courtesy to each other and to me.
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20 Questions: How I run D&D
Posted by Joshua on Mar 3, 2012
Or how I would if I were to run D&D, which I haven’t been for a while
Untimately: 20 Quick Questions: Rules
Here are 20 rules clarifications that are likely to be needed anyways at some point.
- Ability scores generation method?
Roll 3d6, and assign to an attribute; repeat until you’ve run out of attributes. - How are death and dying handled?
I was doing 0 = dead, but now I’m thinking Trollsmyth’s Death and Dismemberment table - What about raising the dead?
Absolutely, if you can afford it. - How are replacement PCs handled?
They just show up, as soon as I can work them in. They start at 1st level. - Initiative: individual, group, or something else?
Group, only rolled at the start of the encounter. I’ve never understood why a side would sometimes get two turns in a row. If you have an initiative bonus or penalty you may go before or after the rest of the group. - Are there critical hits and fumbles?
Yes. - How do they work?
Currently damage dice are “exploding”; I’m considering switching to Arduin charts, just because. - Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
You’re penalized by 1 AC if you’re not wearing your helmet. It should probably be more, but then so should shields. - Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
Absolutely. Foes are granted cover; if the roll is a miss because of cover, compare the roll to see if it would hit your friend’s AC. - Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
Not only will you sometimes need to run, you probably should avoid fighting if you can help it. - Level-draining monsters: yes or no?
Yes, though I can’t recall the last time somebody ran into one. - Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
Absolutely. A better way to look at it is “Are there going to be cases where a PC who would have died gets off because of a succesful save?” - How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?
Not at all. I should probably make people at least make a guestimate given their standard gear, but I don’t. - 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?
You have to wait for downtime before I even calculate XP. You need to find or buy new spells. Training is an optional way of turning gold into XP or higher stats. - What do I get experience for?
Treasure, killing monsters, minor xp for doing something that amused the GM. XP for treasure is one of those things I think is important in order to reward not fighting everything. - How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
Description. Roll the dice as a save if you didn’t describe something that by rights ought to have found it. - Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
Absolutely. Per the D&D Basic rules (as I remember them) 2d6 vs. morale, when 1st ally dies, and when half the allies are dead. At the GM’s option if something spectacular like a critical happens. - How do I identify magic items?
Try them. Or cast Identify, or pay a Wizard back in town to do it. - Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? Can I create magic items? When and how?
Of course, if you can afford it. Potions can be quite reasonable, permanent items cost a lot. Nobody’s gotten to high enough level to create any magic items except scrolls. - What about splitting the party?
Be my guest. Unless you mean overland or in the city, in which case running errands that will get hand-waved is fine, but I encourage the players not to go on separate adventures as a courtesy to each other and to me.
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Easiest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World
Posted by Joshua on Jul 28, 2011
Since the Hardest Gary Gygax quiz in the World was too hard for me, I decided to make one of my own (update: do the other one first, if you’re going to; I just looked at it again and this lets slip some of the answers for that):
- The first letter of E Gary Gygax’s real first name is?
- Along with Dave Arneson, he co-created Dungeons & Dragons. Who is he?
- The first D in D&D stands for?
- The “mad Arch-Mage’, Zagig Yragerne’s name was inspired by reversing the name of which famous game designer?
- Which of the following was not one of the original three D&D classes created by Gygax and Arneson: Fighting Men, Magic Users, Clerics, or Nightsong Infiltrator?
- Which of the following games was not created by Gary Gygax: Dungeons & Dragons, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Chainmail, Cyborg Commando, Lejendary Adventure, Checkers.
- Which famous game designer appeared as himself in an episode of Futurama, along with Nichelle Nichols, and Al Gore?
- Gary Gygax was born on which of the following dates: July 27, 1938; February 12, 1809; November 23, 1992.
- In 1973, Gygax and Don Kaye co-founded the company that would become TSR Hobbies. TSR originally stood for which of the following? Tactical Studies Rules, The Sims Resource, or Texas Ski Ranch?
- Identify at least one of Gary Gygax’s hobbies from the following list: Hunting, target shooting, war games, gun collecting.
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