I was going to offer a no-prize to whoever could identify from whence these fellow come, but then I decided to use the art down below, which should kill any mystery to their origin. These guys are pretty tough, but I also tried to keep them simple.
Black Mystic (Black Master)
Black Mystic
Medium Aberration, Chaotic (NE)
Hit Dice: 6
Armor Class: 18
Attack: Strike (1d8) or by weapon +2
Movement: 60′
Saves: F12 R11 W19
Intelligence: High
No. Appearing: 1d4
XP: 600 (CL 7)
Magic resistance*
Spells—Augury (1), detect thoughts (ESP) (1), hold person (3), phantasmal force (2)
Black Master
Medium Aberration, Chaotic (NE)
Hit Dice: 12
Armor Class: 20
Attack: Strike (2d6) or by weapon +4
Movement: 80′
Saves: F9 R8 W4
Intelligence: Super
No. Appearing: 1 + 1d4 mystics
XP: 1,200 (CL 13)
Magic resistance*
Spells—Augury (3), cause fear (3), contact other plane (1), detect thoughts (ESP), dimension door (1), divination (1), hold monster (3), spectral force (3)
Black mystics are men (always men) who have entered into a dark pact with the nether forces in a bid for earthly power. To become a black mystic, they must have all the goodness in their souls extracted. This goodness, or higher soul, takes the form of a golden sphere, and is kept imprisoned by the black mystics in some form of mystic receptacle or iron-bound box.
Black mystics have amazing reflexes, catching or slapping away normal missiles on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6. They make no sound when they move, and have an 85% chance to hide in shadows. The sight of their twisted bodies forces creatures with 2 HD or fewer to pass a saving throw or be stunned with disbelief for 1d6 rounds.
Black masters rule the black mystics. They have a 95% chance to hide in shadows, and can shapechange twice per day into giant constrictors, giant vultures (use stats for giant eagle) or giant scorpions.
If a black mystic or black master’s higher soul is released from its captivity, it vaults into the celestial heavens and leaves the mystic or master dead. Damage against the soul’s receptacle causes stuns mystics and masters if they fail a saving throw.
* In Blood & Treasure Second Edition, magic resistance is not a percentage. Rather, it requires the spell caster to roll higher than the creature’s HD+10 with 1d20 + the spellcaster’s level. If you want to use a percentage, I’d go with 15% for the mystics and 30% for the masters.
EDIT: Well, it was at the time … now, not so much (Aug 2017)
The main reason I wrote Blood & Treasure was that I got tired of converting material to Swords & Wizardry, which was the first system I used in my hex crawls. I decided, rather than make a clone, I would make a rules lite version of the game that stuffed 30+ years of monsters, classes, spells, etc. into the main rules so I would spend less time converting on the fly, and so my OGL statements wouldn’t be so darn long.
To that end, I included the 3rd edition sorcerer among the classes. After all, some folks who played 3E and Pathfinder probably loved the class, and they might be looking for a rules lite game that would support it.
Now, I’m working on the 2nd edition of Blood & Treasure. The goal is still to have a rules lite game that throws everything into the pot and allows folks to pick and choose what they want to use, but I’m also trying to give the game a bit more character of its own. Part of that involves making sure the character classes have something cool about them that makes people really want to play them. These are generally things inspired by folklore or fantasy literature or movies – things that are part of fantasy, but not necessarily part of D&D. Fighters, for example, are going to get a little boost in the form of being able to subdue monsters and turn them into mounts. We see tons of fantasy art and miniatures with warriors riding all sorts of animals and monsters, and D&D had something like this in terms of subduing dragons, so I’m expanding that concept.
The sorcerer … well, the sorcerer needs some help. The entire class is really just an alternate magic system for magic-users – it has no real character of its own. To help the sorcerer stand on its own two feet, I’ve added two abilities that work well with the “magic in the blood” theme.
In my current draft of Blood & Treasure Second Edition, they have an inborn ability to pick up on “magical vibrations”, which means they know when they’re in the presence of spells, illusions and monsters, but they don’t know what is magical around them or how – kind of like Spider-Man’s spidey sense.
Sorcerers also have a way to increase their spell use through dangerous means, somewhat like the spell casting rules in Pars Fortuna. Sorcerers can attempt to cast spells they do not know, but must make a roll to do so, and if they fail may end up doing themselves irreparable harm, or being visited by powerful outsiders, who are accidentally gated in and might be angry about it, or just casting the opposite of what they meant to cast.
They also gather cult-like followers at higher levels, rather than building strongholds. Sorcerers strike me as eccentric wanderers, rather than conservative castle builders.
I’ve also written some variant bloodline sorcerers that are comparable to the variant specialist magic-users, that give them a chance to be related to some of the monsters they meet, and give them some other boosts.
Other Tropes
Sorcerers get the biggest face lift in the game, but a few other fantasy tropes have found a home with other classes.
Fighters have a way of subduing monsters and turning them into mounts (think of all those warriors riding on weird animals and monsters in fantasy art).
Paladins pick up some knightly honors as they advance in level, giving them access to noble and royal courts and improving their reaction rolls (except with chaotic evil monsters, who become more likely to attack them).
Duelists pick up a lackey to be used and abused.
Magic-users pick up odd bits of pseudo-scientific lore as they learn new spell levels – bits of alchemy, knowledge of parachutes, how to build clockworks and a few tips for slight increases in the potency of their spells.
Druids can sacrifice “despoilers of the wilderness” to pick up some extra elemental power, with the extra power depending on the means of sacrifice (blade, drowning, hanging, etc.)
Thieves at mid-level can assemble teams of lesser rogues for dungeon heists – essentially a quick way to pick up some henchmen for a job (but can they be trusted?)
Assassins can now brew some interesting poisons.
You get the idea. Hopefully, these abilities will prove fun and interesting during game play, and will give Blood & Treasure a bit more character of its own.
Just a little ditty inspired by a metallic mannequin in a robe I saw in a Ral Partha ad (right over there on the right).
I designed them to be an alternate low-level challenge for dungeons, or maybe an interesting planar civilization.
Metallic Man
Medium Elemental (Earth), Neutral (LN)
Hit Dice: 1+2
Armor Class: 16
Attack: Fist (1d4) or by weapon
Move: 30’
Saves: F13 R15 W15
Intelligence: High
No. Appearing: 1d8*
XP: 100 (CL 2)
Immune to electricity and poison, resistance to cold, fire and edged weapons, no discernible anatomy
The metallic men are refined creatures of elemental earth. They look like humanoids composed of gleaming silver. Their skins are not fluid, per se’, but they move the way creatures of flesh and blood move. They have discernible mouths, eyes, and noses, and appear to breath (and can suffocate) and eat, though they do not sleep. Their food is usually iron-rich, and a draft of fresh blood (1 HD worth) can provide 1d4 points of healing in battle.
Metallic men are extremely logical, and masters of advanced mathematics (roll 5d4 for intelligence). They rarely speak, and when they do sound something like a fuzzy, scratchy drive-thru restaurant speaker. This, coupled with their reserved emotional state, leaves them rolling 3d4 for Charisma.
If struck by electricity, they can channel it into a bolt of lightning with a range of 60’ and dealing damage equal to the original source up to a maximum of 3 dice.
Metallic men are capable of forming their hands and upper arms into weapons. For all intents and purposes, a metallic man can form any sort of weapon it wishes. These pseudo-weapons deal damage as their normal counterparts, though they are somewhat clumsy (-1 to hit). They cannot be sundered – a sundering attack would be, in essence, a normal attack against the metallic man. Metallic men cannot form bucklers or shields from their arms/hands. Obviously, weapons so formed cannot be thrown; they can only be used for melee combat.
Metallic men live in colonies of 20-200 on the Elemental Earth plane, or of 10-40 on the material plane (usually in hiding). For each colony there is one golden metallic woman per 20 metallic men. Metallic women have high wisdom scores (roll 2d6+6) and act as conduits to the higher powers of elemental earth (commune once per week, but are stunned for 1d4+4 minutes after). Metallic man warriors carry footman’s maces and pellet bows (fire sling bullets for 1d4+1 damage instead of arrows). Most carry shields (AC +2).
Warriors are commanded by one decarch (HD 2+2) per 10 warriors and one centarch (HD 4+2) per 100. Armies over 100 are commanded by a fighter of level 1d6+3 or a fighter/scientist of level 1d6+2. They are sometimes mounted on battle platforms that look like round discs atop eight metal, spider-like legs. The riding disc is surrounded by a force field (AC +2, lesser globe of invulnerability).
Battle Platform, Large Construct: HD 6, AC 18, ATK 2 stabs (1d6), MV 60’, SV F11 R11 W12, AL -, XP 600 (CL7), Special-Non-sentient, same immunities and resistances as metallic men, force field.
Edit: Added the weapon forming ability (Mar 11), corrected some spelling
A year later, I decided I like the Steelers better, and was stuck with a Cowboys bike – c’est la vie. I grew up in Las Vegas, so I was pretty fluid in my “favorite team” selection – I switched to the Raiders in 1984 when I was the only kid on my bus who picked them to beat the Redskins in the Super Bowl – I only did it to avoid going with the crowd.
Still, if you were already plays RPG’s in 1980, this issue of Dragon, #44, was what you were perusing over a cup of hot chocolate with some Rankin-Bass on in the background. It looks like a dandy – with a mini-game and everything!
As is often the case, the first thing that caught my eye was the ad by Ral Partha. They usually have the first ad in these old Dragon magazines, and this one is for a number of boxed adventure games they did. The games included miniatures, and look pretty cool.
I found a site with some pictures of the miniatures.
And the mannequin in the hooded robe just gave me an idea for a monster – I’ll post that later in the week.
Dig this missive from Mrs. Lori Tartaglio from Mercerville, N.J. She covers bearded female dwarves and Iran hostage crisis all in one letter.
“Dear Editors:
Will this endless quibbling never cease? Who CARES if female dwarves have beards or not? (TD#41) Why not let each DM or player or gaming group decide for themselves, for Ghu’s sake?!
Answer me this: Will the fact of dwarven women having or NOT having beards affect the outcome of the game in any major capacity? In my humble opinion, the answer is “no.” Not, of course, unless the DM has designed a “beard catcher” as one of his nasty little traps, and a female character of the dwarven persuasion (although no one ever had to persuade me to be a Dwarf-lady!) happens to be one of the party who’d sprung the trap and. . .
OY! This is getting out of hand! Now you’ve got me doing it!
C’mon, EGG and the rest of you guys! Grow up! If you’re going to argue, then do it about something worthwhile — like “do we go techno and nuke Iran off the face of the earth or do we send in a party of chaotic neutral fighter-mage mercs to teleport the hostages home and drop the Ayatollah with a black arrow.”
And by the way – I mentioned a few reviews ago that I was going to commission some bearded lady dwarf art, and I did, from Denis McCarthy – this will appear in the second edition of Blood & Treasure.
Just as some older issues of Dragon had stats for fictional western heroes for Boot Hill, this issue does the same for some fictional secret agents for Top Secret. The article is written by the developer and editor of the game, Allen Hammack.
For those keeping score, here’s some stuff you should know …
Strongest secret agent – John Steed, followed by Derek Flint and James Bond
Most charming secret agent – John Steed, followed by James Bond and Derek Flint
Most courageous secret agent – James Bond, followed by Derek Flint and a tie – Jim Phelps and Number 6
The weakest stats belong to Maxwell Smart and Napoleon Solo. I don’t want to criticize, but not making Emma Peel the most charming seems crazy … at least from my perspective. The article has full stats for all the agents, which is pretty damn cool.
Gregory G. H. Rihnpresents one of the articles that could only be from the early days of the hobby – “Fantasy Genetics I – Humanoid Races in Review”. The article gives scientific names for the fantasy races. Elves, for example, are homo sapiens sylvanus, while orcs are homo sapiens orc. Those two races have to be homo sapiens able to breed with good old fashioned homo sapiens sapiens. I guess they should also be able to breed with homo sapiens neanderthalensis. An elf neanderthal crossbreed would give strong math skills, great strength and pointed ears – so Vulcans, essentially. He makes the kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears part of the genus Australopithecus and ogres Ramapithecus. This is an interesting idea, and points to a time when the look of the fantasy races was not established – yeah, there was art in the Monster Manual, but it wasn’t treated as carved in stone.
This is followed up by “Fantasy Genetics II – Half-Orcs in a Variety of Styles” by Roger Moore. This is a cool little article about the fact that half-orcs are always half-human. So you get some monster stats for orc-kobolds, orc-goblins, orc-ogres, orc-bugbears, orc-hobgoblins and orc-gnolls. Short and sweet, and it would be a nice addition to the half-orc playable race.
But we’re not done yet, because John S. Olson gives us “Fantasy Genetics III – What Do You Get When You Cross?”, which is designed to discourage weird crossbreeds. I wonder if the author is this guy from Rice University?
Which, of course, brings us to the end of this discussion. There could be absolutely no more to write on the subject of fantasy genetics – the topic has been so thoroughly dealt with that to continue would be folly!
To paraphrase Johnny Carson, “Not so fast jelly doughnut breath!”
Paul Montgomery Crabaugh brings us “Fantasy Genetics IV – Half + Half Isn’t Always Full”. Honestly, I cannot see the point of this article. Moving on …
Here’s a little piece from Sage Advice that might quash the whole murder hobo mystique:
“Question: Is it okay for a Monk (Lawful Neutral) to sneak up on an opponent and then backstab? (Is this act chaotic? Is this evil?)
Answer: The act of killing a victim without knowing if he/she is truly an enemy (in other words, killing a complete stranger without knowing if he/she presents a threat) is a chaotic act. The act of killing an opponent with the knowledge that there is some other way to overcome him/her is an evil act. It would seem permissible for the Lawful Neutral Monk (or any other similarly aligned being) to attack a known enemy from the back, when circumstances make it necessary to kill that foe. —J. Ward, W. Niebling”
So, if the orcs don’t attack first, and you attack without trying to talk to them, you’re evil.
When I see ads like this:
I always do a search hoping to stump BoardGameGeek.com – hasn’t happened yet.
I know nothing about the game, but the miniature illustrations are cool, and the name “hellborn” is awesome – also Avenging Angels and Saints and Giant Knights. I found the rules for sale for $12.95 by the Gaming Gang and bought a copy – I’ll review them later this month (probably).
This issue’s “Giant in the Earth” switches authorship from Tom Moldvay to Dave Cook. Dave writes stats for C.S. Lewis’ Reepicheep (LG 7th level fighter) and Conan Doyle’s Professor Challenger (LN 16th level fighter with special sage abilities). Challenger’s Express hunting rifle is given a 300 yard range and 2d6 damage, in case you’re interested.
In 3rd edition, all the monsters got stats. In 1st edition, many of the monsters got stats, here and there, haphazardly. Len Lakofka‘s article this issue, “Monsters: How Strong is Strong” is one of those early efforts to codify these issues, and shows the gradual march of the game from “rulings not rules” to “a rule for everything”.
It’s predicated on the fact that a belt of hill giant strength gives a fighter damage that a hill giant doesn’t get, which, of course, cannot be permitted to persist. I guess. For those interested, bugbear chiefs are as strong as ankhegs, but not as strong as gorillas, who are as strong as black bears, but not as strong as carnivorous apes and brown bears. Kobolds roll 4d4 for strength, while leader types have d4+13 strength. He also gives a bit on “how to calculate the combat ability of a monster”. I was going to put in an excerpt, but dang is it long!
Next up is the aforementioned mini-game – “Food Fight” by Bryce Knorr (this guy?). This is set in a high school and features some early art from Bill Willingham (see to the right – maybe that’s Morgan Ironwolf when she was in high school). Make no mistake – for a mini-game about throwing food, it has pretty exhaustive rules. All of the foods have numerous stats, such as:
Ice cream with attack mode D has Range 1, Hit No. 8, App. Damage of 1d6+2, no ability to stun, but the number to splat is 5, slipperiness is 2 and APE is 5. There are different stats for attack mode F and attack mode T.
Oi! I now have a strange desire to make a rules lite version of the game.
By the way, this piece by Jack Crane from the fiction in this issue is all kinds of groovy …
This issue also has a long article by William Fawcett on the Judge’s Guild (I just noticed a Kickstarter popped up for a JG collection), along with reviews of nine of their products.
Speaking of reviews, Mark Herro offers up some reviews of early computer games (or super modern computer games, by the standards of 1980). You can see one of them, Android Nim, in action below:
He also reviews Dungeon of Death and Time Traveller.
Roger Moore has a new monster in the bestiary this month – the Koodjanuk, a monster from Elysium, and the Cryoserpent. I especially like the cryoserpent art. The B&T stats are below:
Koodjanuk, Large (30′ wingspan) Outsider: HD 8, AC 22 [+2], ATK 1 bite (2d6) or 2 talons (4d4), MV 50′ (Fly 110′), SV F8 R6 W8, AL NG, XP 800 (CL 9), Special-Magic resistance 75%, cast cleric spells as 12th level clerics, use psionics, 15% chance found with other good creatures of the upper planes.
Cryoserpent, Huge (50′ long) Monster: HD 12, AC 19, ATK 1 bite (4d6), MV 20′, SV F4 R7 W8, AL CE, XP 1200 (CL 13), Special-Magic resistance 25%, immune to cold, vulnerable to fire, gaze paralyzes creatures with 4 HD or less (save negates), tongue freezes water (12,000 square feet, 6″ deep, lasts 12 minutes), hollow tongue can fire 120′ freeze ray (48 damage, save negates), tongue may launch a 4″ diameter ball of ice (120′, +4 to hit, explodes when hits target for 4d6 damage in 10′ radius) – can use these last three powers up to a total of 6 times per day.
The bestiary also includes the ice golem by Rich Baldwin.
That’s it for #44. As always, I leave you with Wormy …
I miss Bender.
But what about White Dwarf?
The Dec 1980/Jan 1981 issue has the usual cool cover, though the color of the lettering could have been a bit better.
This issue includes aristocracy for Traveller by Rick D. Stuart, some cool magic items for AD&D, a very cool NPC class by Lewis Pulsipher called Black Priests. Here are the highlights:
Black priests must have Wis, Dex and Cha of 13 or higher. They roll d6 for hit points, and they must be evil. If they change alignment, they become thieves. They can wear up to leather armor and use shields when not using thief skills.
A black priest’s chance to move silently and hide in shadows is doubled in their own evil temples (neat touch). They are -1 to hit and damage with swords, and +1 to hit and damage with daggers, and -2 to hit with ranged weapons other than throwing knives. Black priests can “backstab” with a strangling cord (1d8 damage, must have Str 7 or higher to use). They rebuke undead and cast spells as evil clerics, and they can call upon the Lords of Evil to summon a monster each battle (lots of rules governing this ability).
They gather followers at high levels, including other black priests, displacer beasts, gorgons, hill giants werewolves, minotaurs, invisible stalkers (summon 1/wk), trolls, undead and nightmares. Great class!
This issue has an adventure (as most did) – “The Search for the Temple of the Golden Spire” by Barney Sloane. It is intended for seven 2nd-4th level characters.
The monster section goes big time, with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Ian Cooper (one of them, Ky, is a Supra-Lich), Capricorns by Roger Moore, Crystal Golems by Robert Outram, and Ungoliant, Queen of the Spiders by Peter Cockburn.
Ungoliant, Huge Outsider: HD 38 (225 hp), AC 26 (Body) 14 (Belly) 24 (Eyes) [+3], ATK Bite (3d12 + swallow whole for instant death on natural 20) and 2 legs (2d12) or 2 palps (1d12), MV 90′, SV F3 R3 W3, AL CE, XP 38,000 (CL41), Special-Magic resistance 80% (50% of which is from her unlight (see below), and can be dispelled), immune to psionics, body oozes contact poison (Poison IV, -3 to save), breath 30′ x 30′ x 30′ fear gas 3/day, 10 eyes function as beholder, except 7th eye fires a matter agitation ray (as the psionic discipline) – one eye fires at a random target every 2 rounds, summon 3d10 phase spiders to cover her retreat.
Ungoliant is the originator of all spider kind. She is swathed in unlight (awesome concept – it’s equivalent to 5 darkness spells). She swallows gems, gaining 1 hp per 10 gp value. If she is seriously wounded, she rears up, exposing her belly, and attacks with her bite and 6 legs (2d12). If her unlight is dispelled with five continual light spells, then additional magical light deals 3d10 damage or destroys one of her eyes. A magic whip is embedded in one of her legs. In the hands of a chaotic evil creature it is a +5 flaming whip, +8 vs. good that inflicts 6d6 damage, or 12d6 in the hands of someone with a strength higher than 18.
Wow! Lolth is a piker in comparison.
Lewis Pulsipher also contributes a bit on an explanation of character stats in D&D. Here’s the interesting passage:
“Dragon breath, after all, does not burn the skin to a crisp (or freeze it) – a slightly ludicrous notion even if dragons are magical. Rather the superheated (or supercold) air, if it fills the lungs, does the damage. A victim of dragon fire dies because his lungs are destroyed, and it’s clear enough that turning one’s head away and keeping one’s mouth and nose shut will help reduce the damage.”
So save vs. dragon’s breath involves turning one’s head and holding one’s breath. Interesting concept.
That’s it for the White Dwarf, folks – and this post. Have fun!
There are two ways to survive as an adventurer – you can be good, or you can be lucky. The lucky bastard uses the latter approach. For him, the luck comes naturally – he’s always had it, and hope he always will.
Requirements & Restrictions
There are no ability score or alignment requirements for lucky bastards.
They are capable of wearing up to leather armor, but cannot use shields. They are limited to simple weapons like daggers, staves, spears and darts.
Special Abilities
Lucky bastards can find secret doors as an elf. Elven lucky bastards increase their chances to do this by 1 in 6.
Whenever an event in a game must target a random adventurer, a random determination of the lucky bastard is re-rolled. If the second roll targets the lucky bastard, then he is the target of the event.
Illustration by William Heath Robinson
Each game session, a lucky bastard starts with a luck score of 4. He can increase this by +1 if he holds a lucky rabbit’s foot*, by +1 if he holds a lucky horseshoe*, and by +2 if he happens upon a loose copper piece (only one) in a dungeon and repeats the magic phrase “Find a copper, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck”.
The luck score can be used for two things. First, it can be used as a bonus to any sort of d20 roll. Second, it can be used to negate damage. To negate damage, the lucky bastard must roll below his luck score on 1d6. If successful, hit point damage sustained from one attack form is negated. Whenever a lucky bastard uses his luck score (whether successfully or not), it is reduced by 1.
A 3rd level lucky bastard can, once per game, share his luck with another creature within 30’ of him. This means he lends his luck score to another creature for one round. When the luck score is shared and used, it is reduced by 2 points, rather than just 1 point.
A lucky bastard can re-roll one failed d20 roll per game session for every four levels he has attained (thus once at 4th level, twice at 8th level, thrice at 12th level, etc.).
A 6th level lucky bastard can steal an opponent’s luck once per day. When an opponent rolls a d20, the lucky bastard can, once he knows the result of the roll, take it for his own. The opponent must re-roll, and the lucky bastard must use his opponent’s first roll as his next d20 roll.
Lady Luck has smiled on the lucky bastard … but for how long. Every session a lucky bastard is played carries with it a cumulative 1% chance that Lady Luck turns her back on him. If this happens, the lucky bastard loses all special abilities for that session and the cumulative 1% chance resets itself for the next session.
A 9th level lucky bastard can build and operate a tavern/inn in a settlement, attracting 1d6 servers (one is an ex-thief, level 1d4), a bartender (ex-fighter, level 1d4), a groom and 1d10 regular customers (roll their identities as though they were henchmen). The tavern will, of course, be very successful. For every regular customer the lucky bastard has, he earns 1 gp per month. The tavern earns an additional 1d10 gp per month beyond the regulars. The lucky bastard can call on one favor per month from his regular customers, including using them as henchmen on his continuing adventures. If a regular customer is killed on an adventure, he is not replaced, and the lucky bastard must pay a 100 gp fee and lose all favors for 1d6 months.
* A rabbit’s foot and horseshoe are made lucky when they are blessed by a cleric (Lawful, if you use three alignments, Chaotic Good if you use nine) of at least 6th level.
For the second edition of Blood & Treasure, I had a few goals in mind: 1) Better layout. 2) Incorporate errata and edit like crazy. 3) A little more gonzo, a little less standardized. 4) Streamline anything you can streamline.
That brings me to disease. The rules I used before were relatively easy, but I wasn’t really satisfied with them. I hit on this point in a post a while back, and developed a disease system that I published in NOD 28 that focuses on symptoms rather than on named diseases. For Blood & Treasure, I decided to use a simplified version of this. While somewhat random, it takes into account the monster or dungeon level delivering the disease, and hopefully sets up a race against time aspect that will add to rather than diminish the drama of an adventure.
DISEASE
When a character is injured by a contaminated attack, touches an item smeared with diseased matter or consumes disease-tainted food or drink, he must make an immediate Fortitude save. If he succeeds, his immune system fights off the disease and he suffers no ill effect.
If he fails the saving throw, the TK rolls 1d6 and adds the Hit Dice of the monster that infected him, or the level of the dungeon on which he was infected. Consult the table below. The infected creature will suffer all of the effects on the table up to the number rolled. The effects start at the times indicated on the table.
For example, a character who is both fatigued and sickened with feel the effects of fatigue in one round, and the effects of being sickened in 1 turn.
If an ability score is indicated, roll 1d10 to determine which score is affected:
Each day, the creature can attempt a new Fortitude save against the disease. If the roll is a failure, he continues suffering the ill effects as indicated on the table. If he succeeds, those ill effects are reduced by one level. When the character suffers no further ill effects, the disease has run its course.
While the character is diseased, they do not benefit from natural healing, although magical healing works on them. A cure disease spell will, of course, completely eradicate the disease, ending all ill effects.
Of course, once “cure disease” shows up, it just doesn’t matter, which is why the system is short.
I MIGHT CHANGE SAVING THROWS
This brings up the other part of the game I might streamline. I say might, because I haven’t made the change yet.
Saving throws in the game currently use three categories – Fortitude, Reflex and Will. As categories, they make sense and players can generally figure out what save they should be making when a situation comes up.
A post over at Delta’s D&D Hotspot got me thinking of another way that is more “gamist”, but which I think might be an improvement.
Delta was showing how the OD&D fighter’s saving throws went in an order from easiest to hardest, with the easiest saves being the one’s against the most dire circumstances. I like this idea. Why should it be easiest to save vs. petrification? Because failing that save means your character is dead, unless you have a high enough level magic-user who can turn you back. It treats saving throws more as “get out of jail free” cards than as simulating something real. I know this will bug the heck out of some folks, but I like it. It keeps the game a game.
This got me thinking about using a single saving throw number for each level – so only one number on the sheet, which fits into streamlining – with a blanket +3 bonus against instant effects that are (almost) unalterable – things that really screw up your precious character like instant death, polymorph, paralysis, petrification and the like. The classes would then have their own little +1 to save vs. something – fighters vs. dragon breath, spellcasters vs. spells – that sort of thing.
If I’m honest … it also saves lots of room in the books and makes monsters a bit easier to run.
Again, I haven’t made this change yet, but I think I’m going to.
It’s time for another review of the grand old Dragon, and this time with a special guest appearance by White Dwarf #21. I figure, why not look at what WD was up to during the same month of Dragon I’m reviewing – see how the gaming communities in the US and UK differed.
First, though, we’ll dip into the Dragon and see what $3 got you back in 1980.
As you might be able to tell from the cover, this issue presents a new version of the Witch as an “NPC” class, written by Bill Mulhausen and revised and edited by Kim Mohan and Tom Moldvay. The first was back in Dragon #20, from November of 1978. I guess November is the month for witches.
This version is much like the one that will appear a few years later, dividing the witch into low (level 1-16) and high (level 17-22) orders. This is reminiscent of the AD&D druid. Here are a few of the essentials of the witch:
Requirements: Intelligence and Wisdom must be 15 or higher, must be human or elf (and elves are limited to 9th level, and can multi-class as witches).
Hit Dice: d4 to 11th level, +1 hit point per level thereafter.
Attack and save as magic-users.
Witches receive bonus spells for high Intelligence, as a cleric does for high Wisdom. Their chance to know each spell and such are as for a magic-user. For younger readers, AD&D magic-users had a percent chance to be able to learn any given spell of a level. This was based on their intelligence. You had to roll for each spell to see if a magic-user could learn it. So yeah, you could conceivably have a magic-user who couldn’t learn magic missile, fireball or lightning bolt.
The witch has rules for followers (gains 1d10x20 at 9th level if she establishes a place of worship), and rules about how many apprentices she can have.) She can apply for membership in the high order at level 10 if her Intelligence and Wisdom are 16 or higher and if she possesses a magic crystal ball, mirror or libram. High order witches can advance to 22nd level, and they receive special high order spells at each level from 16 to 22.
Besides their spells, they can brew poisons and narcotics, which they learn as they advance in level. This includes sleep (3rd level), truth (4th level) and love potions 6th level). She can read druid scrolls with no chance of failure, magic-user and illusionist scrolls with a 10% chance of failure and cleric spells if the spell is also on the witch’s spell list (8th level).
Witches can manufacture one magic candle per month at 9th level. The candles can cause love, offer magical protection, heal damage and other effects. She gets a familiar at 10th level, can brew flying ointment at 13th level, control dolls at 15th level, can fascinate with her gaze at 17th level, use limited wish at 21st level and shape change at 22nd level.
The witch has 8 levels of spells, which involve lots of charming, divination, some healing and a few offensive spells. It’s a cool class, but I can’t help but think you’d be just as well off with a magic-user.
Dave Cook (that one) offers some survival tips for the Slave Pits tournament at GenCon XIII. I only mention it here because those adventures went on to be classics when they were published as modules.
We also learn in this issue that Frank Mentzer won the 4th Invitational AD&D Masters Tournament at GenCon XIII. Dig that crazy shirt …
Speaking of great Dungeon Masters, this issue has a DM Evaluation Form for players to fill out. Here’s a sample …
This runs on for several pages and 43 questions! A couple issues ago, a reader complained that the adventures in the magazine were filler. This, ladies and gentlemen, is filler. I’m guessing GenCon kept them busy.
The Bestiary has some choice bits …
This is an amazon, art by Erol Otus (of course), monster by Roger E. Moore. I’d detail the monster stats here, but frankly, they’re humans and the women do all the “men’s work” and vice versa. Not much to see here – but the art is cool.
Todd Lockwood has a monster called a Tolwar that is basically a trunkless elephant who can telekinetically throw boulders (2d12 damage). They serve as loyal mounts.
Tolwar, Large Monster: HD 6, AC 15, ATK 1 slam (2d4) or 2 boulders (900’/2d12), MV 40′, SV F10 R11 W17, AL Neutral (N), XP 600 (CL 7), Special-Hurl boulders, only surprised on 1, telekinesis (100 lb), catch boulders with telekinesis (75%).
Ed Greenwood presents the lythlyx, a weird spiral creature that whips, constrict and drain blood from people.
Lythlyx, Large Aberration: HD 6, AC 19, ATK 1 whip (2d6 + constrict 3d6 + blood drain 1d4), MV 15′ (Fly 20′, Swim 20′), SV F13 R14 W11, AL Neutral (N), XP 600 (CL 7), Special-Blood drain can be used to heal monster (heal 1 hp per 4 hp taken), immune to charm, command, fear, hold monster and sleep, psionic attacks (all).
Now, give me a bunch of amazon warriors on tolwars hurling boulders at a band of adventurers who have stolen some amazon gold and are hiding in a half-ruined wizard’s tower, and you’ve got an adventure.
Philip Meyers has an article about disbelieving illusions, or more specifically phantasmal force. He comes up with a little system based on the intelligence of viewer and how suspicious they are about what they’re seeing. In the table below, situation 1 represents a character who has been informed about the illusion, and 6 is where the character expects to see what the illusion is depicting – in other words, 1 is super suspicious, and 6 is not suspicious at all.
The number is the percent chance of disbelief. It is increase by +20% if olfactory or thermal components are expected but not present, +20% if aural components are expected but not present, +10% if victim of illusion is an illusionist, -10% if victim is surprised and +10% if victim’s Wisdom is 15 or higher.
I reckon you can do about the same by giving a bonus to save vs. phantasmal force as opposed to improved phantasmal force or spectral force.
This issue contains a Traveller adventure called Canard. I won’t comment, because I’ve never played Traveller, but if you’re a fan, it’s probably worth checking out.
Two reviews which might be of interest – the first a Game Designers Workshop (not Games Workshop, as I originally posted) offering called AzhantiHigh Lightning, about fighting aboard a giant starship. The review was positive, but wonders whether or not they should have tried to tie it to Traveller.
They also review SPI’s DragonQuest, their first “serious” foray into Fantasy RPGs. The reviewer likes it – the intentional rather than random character generation, the action points in combat – but does not care for the way experience is handed out. Overall – positive review, and another reminder that Old School gaming was already becoming “Old School” in 1980.
I’ll also note Hero, by Yaquinto Games. It was an “album game” – “The physical layout is like that of a double record album. The components are stored in the pockets, while the playing surface is printed on the two inside faces.”
Very cool idea, and it would be fun to see something similar done these days, especially considering the connection between Old School gaming and bitchin’ Heavy Metal album art.
I liked this comic …
A scroll of illiteracy would be a great cursed item in a game.
A fair issue of Dragon, with a couple notable bits.
So, what was White Dwarf up to in November (really Oct/Nov) of 1980.
First – cool cover, but there are much better WD covers yet to come. You also notice, right off, that the layout of WD is much more professional than for Dragon at this point. Dragon makes some improvements over the years, but frankly never looked as good, and by the 1990’s and 2000’s looked terrible.
In this issue, Andrew Finch presents some cool material inspired by The Chronicle of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever. We have a new class, Lore Lords, who combine the spell-casting ability of magic-users and clerics, along with d8 hit dice and studded leather armor. Fortunately, this is balanced by a high XP requirement. Similar classes are the Rhadamaerl, who specialize in the lord of stone, and Hirebrand, who specializes in the lore of wood. There are also Bloodguards, who serve as bodyguards for Lore Lords, songs of summoning and words of power. Having never read the Thomas Convenant books, I cannot rate how accurate these classes are, but for fans they’re probably worth checking out. One bit I liked for Lore Lords was their ability to communicate telepathically with one another. A cool house rule might permit magic-users with intelligence and wisdom of 15 or higher to communicate this way with one another.
Roger E. Moore (yeah, that guy) presents a merchant class. It’s actually pretty close to the Venturer class I did, and I promise I hadn’t seen this write up when I wrote mine. Moore’s merchants can open locks, appraise items and use suggestion and command when speaking with people. These are all percentage skills, like those of the thief. Good class.
Azhanti High Lightning gets a review in this issue – positive as in the Dragon.
The Fiend Factory has several cool monsters, the Brothers of the Pine, Chthon, Enslaver, Micemen, Dragon Warriors, Grey Sqaargs and Cyclops. Here are some quick stats:
Brothers of the Pine, Medium Undead: HD 3, AC 15 [+1], ATK 1 weapon, MV 30′, SV F15 R15 W12, AL Chaotic (LE/NE), XP 1500 (CL 5), Special-Cast one 1st level druid spell per day, shrieking wail (save or flee for 1d8 turns), immune to cold, resistance to electricity, vulnerable to fire, only plant-based spells affect them.
Chthon, Medium Aberration: HD 8, AC 20, ATK nil, MV 0′, SV F13 R- W9, AL Chaotic (LE), XP 800 (CL 10), Special-Mineral intellect that hates all animal and plant life, especially intelligent, control up to 20 plants and animals (save to negate).
Enslaver, Tiny Aberration: HD 2+1, AC 14, ATK special, MV 10′, SV F19 R17 W12, AL Chaotic (CE), XP 200 (CL 3), Special-Blindsight 30′, 90% chance of hiding among rocks, dominate creatures that touch them (save negates), hosts freed from domination must make system shock roll or die, hosts are immune to pain and mind effects.
Micemen (crossbreed of brownie and orc!), Small Humanoid: HD 1-1, AC 13, ATK 1 javelin and dagger, MV 30′, SV F14 R16 W16, AL Chaotic (LE), Special-Infravision 90′, shun bright lights, surprise (4 in 6). Despite the picture, I’d like to see these dudes as evil piglets dressed as Robin Hood.
Dragon Warrior (made from dragon teeth), Medium Construct: HD 5+1, AC special, ATK 1 weapon, MV 20′, SV F14 R14 W14, AL Neutral (N), XP 500 (CL 6), Special-Cannot speak, obey commands, last for a number of turns equal to the dragon’s age category, +1 to hit, +2 to damage, attack as 6th level fighters, immune to parent’s breath weapon type, sleep, charm and hold, clad in scale armor and armed with broadsword, disintegrate when killed or dispelled.
Grey Sqaarg, Medium Construct: HD 6, AC 22, ATK 1 grapple, MV 20′, SV F14 R14 W14, AL Neutral (N), Special-Constructs built by ancient dwarves, never initiate attack, fight with strength bonus to hit and damage equal to combined modifiers of attackers, grapples to incapacitate people, made of solid stone, magic resistance 30%.
Cyclops, Large Giant: HD 6, AC 14, ATK 2 claws (1d6), bite (2d6), MV 30′, SV F10 R14 W14, AL Chaotic (CE), Special-Hypnotic stare, -1 to hit melee, -2 to hit ranged, +2 save vs. illusion, prefer to eat demi-humans to humans, breed with human females.
White Dwarf #21 also contains a sci-fi boardgame called Survival and a dungeon called the Tomb of the Maharaja. It is, I’m afraid, quite short and not terribly interesting.
All-in-all, some pretty cool stuff from the Brits in November 1980 – and of course, lots of art by Russ Nicholson.
Well, that does it for this edition of Dragon by Dragon. As always, I leave you with Tramp …
Circa 1984, I was in 6th grade and discovering role playing games – well, Dungeons & Dragons. I’d played a game with a friend who only knew the game based on watching his older brother play. He drew up a dungeon on graph paper, and during recess he ran me through it using a D6.
The next step was me getting Moldvay Basic from Toys ‘R’ Us, then Cook Expert, then into the AD&D line (dude – rangers are cool).
Now, I want to bring the younger readers back into these primitive times. Photocopiers existed, but they weren’t cheap. I convinced my mom to spend a decent chunk of change letting me check out copies of Dragon magazine from the library, take them to Kinkos, and copying articles at $.25 a page. Eventually she found it cheaper to get me a subscription for Christmas. Before I got to that lofty place, though, the way I copied stuff was with a typewriter. I remember borrowing module B1 – In Search of the Unknown – from a friend and typing it page by page – double column (which involved actually making a few spaces and then writing the line of text in the next column) and then tracing the pictures. Hey – it worked – got B1 for free (wish I still had that copy I typed).
Around that time, I decided to write my own game. To say it was heavily influenced by D&D rules would be an understatement, of course, but I was smart enough to know that if the game was to be original, I needed to spin things a bit. Thus, the thief became the saboteur. I don’t remember much about the old saboteur (again, wish I still had those typewritten pages somewhere), but today I got to thinking about that old game, and those old times, and figured I’d make a new saboteur class for Blood & Treasure.
THE SABOTEUR
Hit Dice: d6 per level, +2 hp per level after 10th
Attack: as thief
Save: as thief
Saboteurs must have a dexterity score of 9 or higher and an intelligence score of 12 or higher. They can wear up to leather armor and cannot use shields. Saboteurs can use daggers, flails, clubs, maces, morningstars, crossbows and firearms.
Special Abilities
Saboteurs are skilled at the following tasks: Climb walls, hide in shadows, move silently, open locks, remove traps, use and disable mechanical devices, use magic items (after 8th level) and operate siege engines. For many of these tasks, they require a set of sabotage tools.
Saboteurs are capable of concocting explosives. At 1st level, they can concoct black powder explosives that deal 1d6 points of damage per pound. They can attach fuses that take from 1 round to 1 minute to detonate. One pound of powder requires 1 day and 10 gp for the saboteur to create.
When a 3rd level saboteur strikes a foe that is wearing armor, he can forgo dealing damage and instead lower their effective Armor Class by 1 per 3 saboteur levels. The effective AC of the armor remains lowered after the combat until it is repaired by an armorer.
At 6th level, the saboteur can spend an extra day and an extra 25 gp (so 2 days, 35 gp) to make a more refined and powerful explosive that deals 1d10 points of damage per pound.
Saboteurs always deal double damage with their weapons and explosives against constructs and mechanical devices. This includes magical constructs. A 6th level saboteur can damage golems even without magic weapons, though he does not deal double damage against them. Moreover, when he successfully strikes a golem by rolling a natural ’20’, the golem loses its magic immunity for 1 round.
9th level saboteurs can damage magic items to the extent that they lose their powers for up to 1 day per the saboteur’s intelligence bonus (if she has an intelligence bonus). The saboteur must be able to handle the item, and must employ lodestones, lead wire and a silver hammer to temporarily cancel the magic item’s properties.
Saboteurs do not build strongholds, but they do gain followers. Starting at 7th level, a saboteur attracts one follower per level until they reach 11th level. Followers who die are not replaced. Roll these followers on the following chart:
1. 1d4 gnome tinkerers (0-level)
2. 1d3 rogues (0-level – see henchmen section to determine abilities)
3. 1d2 men-at-arms (leather armor, short sword, light crossbow)
4. Assassin (roll 1d2 for level)*
5. Thief (roll 1d3 for level)*
6. Saboteur apprentice (roll 1d4 for level)*
* Takes a 10% share of the saboteur’s experience points.
While the world is embracing Spring outside (at least here in Las Vegas), Dragon by Dragon is getting into Fall, with the cover to the October 1980 issue warning “the doomed only beyond this point”. Let us throw caution to the wind, and dare to plumb the depths of issue #41 of Dragon.
Todd Lockwood also has a piece inside – I’m looking forward to it.
I think it’s important for those who are interested in the history of gaming to understand that the same petty moaning and complaining that goes on on the internet today went on on the letters page of Dragon 30 years ago. This issue we have the ever common “I don’t like it, so nobody else should get to see it because its existence negates my happiness” stuff, but also this little gem …
“While I found the article in #37 on neutral dragons interesting, I should like to point out that there is no real need for them in anyone’s world.”
So there you have it. Mr. X (I won’t reprint his name) has spoken. I’d like to point out that there’s also no real need for idiots in the world, but what would be the point.
Speaking of art that one letter writer probably didn’t like …
… the contribution by Todd Lockwood, I believe. Now, onto the cool stuff in this issue:
First and foremost, we have a selection of new monsters by Tom Moldvay, including Saraphs from the Elemental Plane of Fire, the Apollyon (servants of Death), the Asperim, who are “super-imps” meant to exasperate players and the Hacamuli (one of the messengers of Orcus).
Since the Apollyon got an illustration, I’ll do some quick Blood & Treasure stats for him:
Apollyon: Large Outsider, HD 15, AC 16 [+1], MV 30′, Fly 60′, ATK 2 claws (1d6) and bite (1d8 + Poison IV), Very intelligent, Neutral alignment; Special-Death ray eyes (1d100 damage), wounds from claws will not heal except by magic and bleed for 1d4 damage per round until healed, bite poison can only be neutralized by cleric.
Ashleigh Parker presents some more new monsters, born in the depths of Hell – the Possessors. Their prince is Selm, and there are three types – Kuei, Pisachas and Asuras. These are incorporeal monsters who are used to possess mortals. They would make highly interesting monsters in a campaign of court intrigue – multiple people possessed by different possessors, all serving Hell unwittingly. Just when the players think they’ve gotten to the bottom of it, they realize they’ve only uncovered one layer of the plot.
Lewis Pulsipher chimes in with “Patron Demons”. This is a neat article, with rules for Chaotic Evil characters making pacts with demon princes. By making sacrifices, he or she can call on the demon prince, who will either show up himself, sent a lesser demon, or send a monster to fight with the caller. You could use this article as the basis for some Chaos Cult wars – the players busting chaos cults, who are sacrificing innocents and then can call on demon princes to help them conquer a kingdom or who knows what.
Here’s a clip from George Laking‘s “Restless Dead” article …
“A thief, however, may attempt to steal from the dead. The Dungeon Master should judge the success and the possible repercussions of the attempt on the type and amount of grave goods taken, precautions-magical and otherwise-taken by the thief, methods used and other significant variables.
Note that robbing any burial mound of recent manufacture (defined as up to ten centuries old) will bring back the dead spirit 10-100% of the time, depending on the age of the burial mound. The DM rolls a d 10 to determine age. then percentile dice to see if the spirit responds.”
The article goes on to describe hauntings by various undead NPC’s who the characters were too cheap to bury properly.
Speaking of quotes, this one from Gary Gygax in “Making Monsters Meaningful”
“Too often DMs complain that monsters are too weak, spells and magic too strong, or players too clever. What is actually stated in most such cases is that the DM is a Dungeon Milquetoast rather than Master.”
The Old Man, throwing some shade.
Quite often, I’ve found that I had to hold back because I was a bit better at tactics than my players, and could make minor encounters pretty threatening just by using some common sense. You have to gauge your players – if they’re good, go all in. If they’re not, killing 20 characters a session won’t do anyone much good, so slow down and hope they catch up.
The Gygax article also features a couple new spells, Crystalbrittle and Energy Drain.
I haven’t mentioned G. Arthur Rahman‘s “Minarian Legends” articles for a few issues, but they’re always very impressive and well worth reading for folks working on creating interesting, engaging, deep campaign worlds.
In Sage Advice, one for the “I like where they’re minds are at” file …
“Question: Is it possible for a high-level Cleric and Magic- User to work in conjunction to create a moving Blade barrier? A Telekinesis spell would provide the motion.”
Oh, and apparently, no – it wouldn’t work. But that’s what the spell research rules are for …
Also …
“Question: When an offensive spells range is touch, does the touch have to be with a hand?”
Hmmm
In a Len Lakofka article about the inner planes, there is an interesting table for generating whether encountered monsters with Int scores of 4 or lower are hostile. It depends on the relative strength of the party, if they look rich (Occupy Greyhawk?), if the monsters are hungry, etc. Check it out …
You could probably simplify by saying 5% chance per following condition met: Monsters chaotic, monsters evil, monster’s hungry, party outnumbered (by 2 to 1 or more), party looks rich, party looks weak. That gives a max 30% chance of unintelligent monsters being hostile.
If the monsters are intelligent, you can allow alignment differences to play a role.
I’m of a divided mind on these articles. My instinct would be to let the inner plane be an exotic place with some rules lite ways to make it distinct from the Material Plane. On the other hand, if a group of adventurers has advanced from 1st level to the point where they can enter the elemental planes, maybe you should take some major pains to make it more than just the material plane with some fancy window dressing.
At a minimum, his descriptions of the planes are pretty cool …
“Elemental Plane of Earth: Soils are translucent, though they may be differently colored. Rock and mineral formations are solid (cannot be seen through or passed through) if they are over one cubic foot in volume. Pebbles and the like can be passed through and seen through. Large rock formations might require Passwall or Phase Door spells. Either spell would produce much longer tunnels on the Elemental Plane of Earth than on the Prime Material.”
Giants in the Earth time! Moldvay brings us the following legends this month:
Poul Anderson’s Tauno Kraken’s-Bane (8th level half-elf ranger) from The Merman’s Children – a reminder I need to read more Anderson.
Robert Adams’ Sir Geros Lahvohettos (9th level fighter) from Revenge of the Horseclans – a series I’ve heard of, but never read.
Gordon R Dickson’s James Eckert/Gorbash (0 level teaching assistant/10 HD dragon) from The Dragon and the George – which is sitting on my side table waiting for me to finish The Three Musketeers.
Orvar-Odd (21st level fighter) from Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel translated by Paul Edwards and Hermann Palsson
Heidrek (15th level fighter) from Hervor’s Saga
TSR would do well to cobble all of the stats Moldvay did for Norse heroes and legends and put them out as a mini-Legends and Lore.
Andrew South has a new monster in this issue, the Quatsch. The quatsch is a monkey with yellow fur and a skull face. Here are some quick B&T stats:
Quatsch, Small Monster: HD 1; AC 15; MV 40′; ATK bite (1d4); AL CN; XP 100 (CL 2); Special-Voice causes confusion.
From Phil Meyers, there is the Necroton, a sort of metal crab construct made by wizards – super old school cool in the illustration by Roger Raupp
Necroton, Large Construct: HD 8 to 12 (40-60 hp); AC 17/21 [+1]; MV 30′; ATK 2 pincers (2d6); AL N (NE); XP 4,000 to 6,000 (CL 10 to 14); Special-Eyebeams (paralysis for 1d3 rounds or, 1/day, fireball with damage dice equal to monster HD)
Greg Holley introduces the super-intelligent elemental Well Spirit and Jon Mattson brings the Sandbats and Swampbats – giant flying manta rays dudes. Awesome.
The final piece in this issue is “The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow” by James Ward. This is D&D, but not quite D&D. From the introductory paragraph:
“You are all young campers on a week-long camping trip through the woods and wilderness. In the middle of a nighttime hike, you become separated from the rest of your group. None of you is worried, however; you have all taken excellent compass directions and are sure you can eventually find your way back to the campsite. So, with this great chance to do a little exploring on your own, you set out into the woods as a group.”
This one begs to be played on Halloween – could be a good Google+ live session. And how about that Willingham art?
As always, I leave you with Tramp’s Wormy. Have a productive week citizens, and if you can’t be Lawful, at least try to be Good.
From now until the game is released, I’m going to do some weekly posts on how the 2nd edition of Blood & Treasure is shaping up.
Blood & Treasure was designed to be rules lite and options heavy, and that isn’t changing in the new edition. My goal is to take nothing out of the game, but to, wherever possible, correct old mistakes and streamline old rules to make them easier to understand and play. That brings us to subject #1 – Skills.
Or tasks, as I prefer to call them. I thought the old system was pretty easy – to whit – if a character is unskilled at a task, roll 1d20, beat 18 and succeed. If a character has a knack (such as an elf searching for secret doors), roll 1d20, beat 15 and succeed. If a character is skilled, roll a saving throw to avoid failure at the task. That way, the skilled – such as thieves climbing walls – get better at tasks as they advance.
Apparently, though, it caused some confusion for people, specifically the saving throw idea. So, how do we adjust?
As follows:
To perform tasks outside of combat, one need only tell the Treasure Keeper (TK) what they wish to accomplish. If the TK thinks the task can be accomplished without much difficulty, he merely tells the player they were successful.
If success is in doubt, either because of the degree of difficulty of the task, or conditions that would make success unlikely, the TK can require a task check.
To make a task check, the player rolls 1d20 and adds to this roll the relevant ability score modifier (see table below) and any bonuses they might have for their race, class or other circumstances.
If the roll is 18 or higher, the task check is a success. If the roll is lower than 18, it fails, with the consequences of the failure determined by the Treasure Keeper.
If the task is one in which a character class is “skilled”, they add their level to the task check.
The ability scores associated with various tasks are as follows (though note that the Treasure Keeper may rule that under some conditions a task might be modified by a different ability score.) …
What follow that is a list of possible tasks, and the ability score that modifies them, such as acrobatics modified by dexterity or swimming modified by strength.
Several tasks rely on using tools. Trying to perform these tasks without the proper equipment should be done at a -2 penalty.
The key thing to remember about tasks checks is that if it seems reasonable that a character can do it, there is no need to roll dice! Save the rolling of dice for difficult, dangerous or dramatic tasks.
Here’s where the options kick in. For those who like the 3rd edition approach, I have an optional simplified skill points system:
Skill Points (Optional)
If your players would like more control over their character’s skills – and you want them to have that control – you can allow them to spend “skill points” on the various tasks in this chapter, each point spent giving them a +1 bonus to use those skills in play.
When attempting a task, the player rolls 1d20, adds their skill bonus, ability modifier, bonuses for race or circumstances, and attempts to roll an 18 or higher to succeed.
The number of skill points available to a character to spend at each level depends on the character’s class. Multi-class characters add their class’ skill point totals together.
For those who instead prefer the way old editions handled such things, I have a system inspired partially by the rules for finding secret doors and partially on the original (pre-Gygax) thief class that has been making the rounds in the OD&D blogosphere of late.
Simple Task Checks (Optional)
If you would like to keep task checks extremely simple, you may use the following system:
If characters attempt something at which they are untrained, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1, they succeed.
If they are attempting something at which they excel due to their race, such as elves finding secret doors, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1 to 2, they succeed.
If they are attempting something at which they are skilled due to their character class, consult the following table:
If the task is more difficult than usual, the TK can rule that it must be rolled on a larger dice, usually d8 or d10.
Note that this system does not take into account ability scores, which may disappoint some players.
So, three options on handling skills in Blood & Treasure taking up about a page and quarter in the rule book. As a game master, I would probably let the players use the standard system, and would use the simplified system for monsters and NPCs.
As always, I’d like to hear the opinions of the readership, especially those who are interested in Blood & Treasure.
Next time, I’ll discuss what I might do with saving throws in 2nd edition Blood & Treasure
Land of Nod 