Last thread >>43609551Useful links now here:http://pastebin.com/JtFH682qLink for the Trove:https://mega.co.nz/#F!3FcAQaTZ!BkCA0bzsQGmA2GNRUZlxzg
One pdf.
Deadlines are a thing.
Posting my selfmade D&D B/X DM screen, maybe it's useful for any aspiring DMs
And the flowchart, for the non-textually inclined.
>>43654338
>>43654366
Can I do anything to help, besides submitting content?
Ocean hex crawl with random islands, good idea?
>>43654393
I'm not the troveguy, as you can see by my anonymity, but I think submitting content is all you can do.
>>43654405
Yeah. Except you need sailing rules first.
>>43654405
You'll need sailing rules, a list of sea encounters that aren't "trash the PC's ship", and a reason for the PCs to spend the cash to acquire the ship in the first place - perhaps they start with one, or are given a privateer style letter of writ in the vein of Rogue Trader.
>>43654405
Hey, if Isle of Dread could do it...
Might work. Make sure to have a good algorythm for it.
>>43654405
I've wanted to do something like this for years, so yeah, good idea.
>>43654470
>>43654487
I like the Waterborne Adventures section in the Expert Rulebook. Earlier chapters have some rules on wilderness travel and encounter tables for the ocean, too.
The only thing that's lacking is some kind of table for other ocean features, so it's not all boring. What sort of things can you find in the ocean, besides monsters and land? Whirlpools? Shipwrecks?
>>43654393
At the moment, we've got two anons volunteering to be part of the editorial staff. So the main thing is content generation right now. Once it's out, you can help distribute the thing.
TO THE ANON WHO ASKED ABOUT HEX MAPS >>43652384
Yes. Submit them. I responded in the other thread just as it updated for me and said there was a new thread.
>>43654653
>What sort of things can you find in the ocean, besides monsters and land? Whirlpools? Shipwrecks?
Also weather.
And don't forget problems on your ship:
- spoiled supplies
- mutiny
- hull is leaking
- cargo is acting out
You might want to check Traveller for ideas.
>>43654653
Geopolitical climates between mer-races and the land races.
You could swing that from grimdark eternal shore-wars to "mermaids occasionally assault merchant ships"
Taken up the suggestion to flip Flesh and Grit squares by 90 degrees (from the other thread).
I also happen to have a free slot in the description in the upper right corner, and I'm not too fond of alignments. What could I slap there? A oWod-like "Nature"? A political affiliation?
Weapon ranges are possibly gonna change to Hand - Close - Reach - Near - Far. I know it's un-OSR but I can't really be assed with too precise ranges.
>>43654338
Hey Troveguy, you got enough content for issue #1? Just wondering.
>>43654813
how are you using flesh and grit? Just curious as I've seen a few variations on it.
>>43654813
> A political affiliation?
You already have Nationality. So - yeah
>oWod-like "Nature"
You might consider granting bonus XP depending on Nature: Curious will get bonus XP for hex explored/secret revealed, Aggressive - for initiating combat/killing creatures, Greedy - for treasures looted, Cowardly - for not getting hit during adventure and so on.
>>43654719
>weather.
Yeah, this is important. Wind and rain, calm and sun, and of course, storms. Storms are one of the most terrifying things in an age of sail, like an oncoming wall of death.
Nothing could make an old sailor go pale faster than the guy up top shouting that there was a storm on the horizon, coming their way.
>>43654918
Generally speaking as per Last Gasp rules. Grit gets exhausted first, then you start getting actual wounds.
Critical hits and firearms hit Flesh directly.
Grit can be recovered with a combination of (short) resting, patching up scratches and bruises and eventually consuming alchemical tonics.
Flesh damage require days and medical attention. Haven't written the exact rules yet.
This becomes important since the players will be changing PCs frequently in order to let some characters recover from wounds (I'll also use a wounds table for consequences) or replenishing they Sanity pool.
The dungeon itself has 4 points of entry so they can experiment with different areas and approaches.
>>43655007
>You might consider granting bonus XP depending on Nature: Curious will get bonus XP for hex explored/secret revealed, Aggressive - for initiating combat/killing creatures, Greedy - for treasures looted, Cowardly - for not getting hit during adventure and so on.
I'm almost sold on this. I could either make a list and have them choose from or ask them to make one up and agree on the triggering conditions at that particular character's creation. Thanks!
>>43654653
Ghost ships!
Yoon Suin. Is it in the trove yet?
If not, could a charitable anon gift is this one?
>>43655335
It's in there somewhere. Maybe under Misc.
>>43654653
Reefs and shallow are probably a good idea. And seaweed, if you want a Sargasso situation.
Also, remember that islands can be quite different from eachother. You've got your bare rocks, sandy islands with single coconut palms, jungled islands, islands with caves, islands with natives, islands that you can resupply on, islands with colonies/civilization, etc.
>>43654660
Hey, Troveguy. Did you ever manage to find good copies of the AD&D books?
So I had a concept for a new spell learning system.
You roll 2d6 and you get to upgrade one or both die to a d8 for modifiers, d10 for even more modifiers, something like that so you can still roll shit.
Then you roll and your results influence how good you are with the spell.
Average roll of 6 to 8 is regular spell, need to prepare, cast from a spell book or visual aid.
High rolls let the spell rest in your brain without a need to prepare, high rolls may also let you learn the spell at a lower spell level. Really high rolls make the spell more like an innate ability and confers permanent markings or minor traits of the spell on the casters body.
Low rolls will force the spell to have components, learn them at a higher spell level, or even fail and ensure you don't get the spell ever, or maybe only a cantrip level.
What do people think?
Boop! Here's a character sheet. There's also a small PDF with most of the useful tables on it if you want.
I can whack the rules PDF up if people want, too.
Incidentally, I'm considering making a few tweaks to things. Mostly it's little things in how spells work (Warp Flesh is, as it turns out, pretty broken at level 2 with the Unnatural Feature chart as it stands, for example). Other stuff I'm looking at is giving the Hunter a small but slowly progressing Charm skill, since they're intended to be the strong leaders of the game and currently an Expert with everything in Charm is waaay better at attracting followers. Also some tweaks to make character gen smoother and quicker. Also applying your INT modifier to your starting gear (since smarter characters will have been able to make themselves more STUFF).
There's a GM's book/setting book in the works that is part Monster Manuel (each monster has a basic stat block and then various alterations such as 'lays eggs in your flesh' or 'has a venomous bite'), part 'how I think good GMing works' manifesto (tldr: randomness over pre-planning or raw improve, and asking players 'what are you doing exactly' and then working out how that can fuck 'em), and part a bunch of random tables to generate maps, tribes, monsters, caves and other stuff on the fly.
>>43656100
Whoips, wrong pdf went up. Have the up-to-date version.
>>43656100
I'm looking forward to seeing the GM book. I'm going to run this as soon as it's done.
>>43648396 from last thread:
The odds of rolling dubs on 2d4 is one in four. This is a classicbeginner, but I don't want to be a douche about itprobability problem. Pretty frequent in other words, but that doesn't have to be bad.
What's worse is that your rule makes dual-wielding daggers strictly and blatantly better than wielding one dagger, which I'd be far from happy with if it were me.
>>43658166
>The odds of rolling dubs on 2d4 is one in four.
Only if you've already rolled a 4 on the first die. Otherwise, it's 1 in 16, as only one of the 16 possible outcomes is a double 4.
>>43658268
But there are four opportunities (dubs 1, dubs 2, dubs 3, dubs 4) for dubs to happen, out of all 16 rolls.
4/16 = 1/4.
If you want dubs of one specific number (dubs 1 BUT NOT (dubs 2 OR dubs 3 OR dubs 4)) then you have 1/16 again.
>>43658268
What he said: >>43658436
Another way to think of it is rolling the dice one after the other. You can discount the first die, because whatever number it lands on, there's a corresponding number on the second die. Thus the only thing that matters is that die 2 rolls the one number that die 1 also rolled - in this case one chance in four.
>>43658268
Whatever number the first die rolls, the second die has a 1 in 4 chance to match it, (because a d4 has a 1 in 4 chance to land on any particular result).
So if the first die rolls a 1, the second die just has to roll a 1 to get doubles, and the second die rolls a 1 exactly 1 out of 4 times.
And if the first die rolls a 2, the second die just has to roll a 1 to get doubles, and the second die rolls a 2 exactly 1 out of 4 times.
And if the first die rolls a 3...
>>43658436
>>43658555
>>43658732
Ah, I misread the post. (I'm actually the guy who calculated the full odds in the last thread)
>>43658166
Why not give a free hand with a dagger able to grab enemies or things from belt, you could use a shield with it, etc. It has other benefits to balance it out.
>>43659264
By the way, I checked out your odds and it's just 3,75 average damage. Marginally better than a d6, in other words. Double dagger probably isn't worth it.
A d8 is just straight-up better (if more swingy) since it has a higher chance of getting the higher results.
>>43659538
Double d6s run out like so:
2 5.56%
3 11.11%
4 19.44%
5 22.22%
6 30.56%
8 2.78%
10 2.78%
12 2.78%
>>43630666
>>43630714
>>43630767
>>43630788
TroveGuy, you may want to put these up on the trove.
Hey, I figure I'd ask here as well. Does anyone happen to have the Between Star & Void pdf for White Star? There's nothing in the trove for WS in general, and it's been hard as hell to find.
>>43654653
Reefs, islands, archipelagos, sandbars, shallows, great depths, sea monsters (whales, krakens, etc.), fantastical phenomena (witch-lights at night, etc.), ghost ships, weather (storms, lack of wind, fog, rain), shifting tides, sargasso, fantastical seaborne geography (ex. ocean mangrove forests, hollowed out volcanoes), asteroid impacts, whirlpools, etc.
>>43655715
The balance aspect is probably pretty obvious - one of the key ways of "disarming" a wizard in most D&D-style games is taking away his spellbooks and components.
On the other hand, this might make a wizard even more frustrating to play depending on how easy it is to find spells in a campaign.
Personally I find randomizing spell "loot" (what spells get to be learnable) to be sufficient in making fairly idiosyncratic wizards.
What are you recommendations for a first-level prewritten adventure for AD&D 2e?
>>43654833
I think we've got about 9 pages of real content, presently. Maybe 10 depending.. 11-12 once we get the other stuff put in.
If anyone wants to add submissions, we're still open.
We also need to figure out a cover for the first issue.
>>43655431
Sadly, no. We have gorgeous copies of the AD&D2e books, but our 1e PHB and DMG are still boned.
>>43658166
>>43658268
>>43658436
>>43658555
>>43658732
I was the guy who posted the rule, and also the original probability quoted. I was half-asleep at the time and wasn't really paying attention. I think I started by remembering the probability for a crit success (or failure) on a 2d6 and worked backwards. So. yeah.
> What's worse is that your rule makes dual-wielding daggers strictly and blatantly better than wielding one dagger, which I'd be far from happy with if it were me.
Generally speaking, your options are:
> A weapon that uses two hands
> A weapon in one hand, shield in the other
> A weapon in one hand, torch in the other
> A weapon in each hand
> A weapon in one hand, nothing in the other.
Even before the rule, you tended to see the above in more or less that order. Are you using a great or pole weapon? No? Then you probably want a shield. Can't use a shield (or don't have one?) Good. You're the guy carrying the torch.
When we didn't have any dual-weilding rules, you still didnt tend to see anyone with an empty hand, because there was no reason to do so. Instead, you had a second weapon drawn that had some kind of alternate characteristics (mace or hammer and sword were popular, because skellingtons).
When we added in some kind of "you get two attacks at a penalty" rule, it became too good and everyone switched to dual-wielding because damage output basically outweighs everything.
The current solution makes dual-wielding a viable choice, without making it too good. We never saw anyone with "one dagger and an empty hand" before anyway. That said, we've also even made the last option viable, because daggers are the one melee weapon you can use effectively in a grapple and you can't grapple without at least one free hand. Grappling in our game is kind of a big deal and a lot of monsters are very grabby in nature, and it's really the only good way to stop an opponent from hitting you back if you can't kill them in a single hit.
>>43662653
Troll-drawing anon here. Pitch an idea for the cover.
>>43664525
For the first issue, what about something similar to one of the early rule-book covers? A composition that is clearly a reference to say.. the AD&D 1e PHB cover, but the adventurer's are trying to rob the idol of some ancient and unnamed troll god?
>>43664525
Maybe a couple of trolls peeking out from underneath a rock, making sure the coast is clear before venturing out into the weird new world.
>>43664525
the three trolls devouring a blatant Elminster expy
>>43664884
Seconding this one
>>43664884
Shouldn't it be trolls robbing idol of some ancient and unnammed human god?
>>43664525
A vaguely autistic looking party fights some trolls on top of a huge d6
>>43655715
>>43662074
Alright so I need a little help with this.
I mostly know what I want the result table to be 'like', but I need to figure out how to turn all kinds of modifiers, namely the bonus to having a laboratory, bonus to copying down a spell instead of making up a new one wholesale, any Int bonuses or money bonuses, and so forth into increasing dice sizes. I'd prefer the players being able to get bigger dice, so 2d8 instead of 2d6 instead of a flat modifier, to keep the results all possible.
>>43667805
This would be a great 1st cover. The three trolls stealing the second eye from the statue while the original party is stuck up on some pikes dead.
>>43668265
Yes. Perfect!
>>43664525
What about something trollin' like this?
>5,001 hours in mspaint
>>43670427
that is extremely dark for the first cover. If we're going to do chic track jokes, suicide might not be the first impression we want to make.I still lold
Recommend me a retroclone, please.
I want to run a somewhat high-fantasy game with not a lot of complex rules. I really liked LotFP, but I don't want to run a horror game. Is Labyrinth Lord good?
>>43670772
>Is Labyrinth Lord good?
Most retroclones of the same system are pretty similar, though LotFP does tweak things more than most. You'll have percentile skills rather than d6 skills, old school (no shortcut) encumbrance*, descending AC and a generally non-grittified system (resurrection spells and so forth). But it's mostly the same.
Labyrinth Lord is kind of the safe system. It sticks pretty close to Moldvay Basic, and doesn't do anything really weird, which might fuck up the game (or, you know, improve it). You might want to look over Castles & Crusades for a different take on things. It uses the unified d20 system of new school D&D to adjudicate old school D&D. Overall, it's a heavier game than Labyrinth Lord, but simultaneously more streamlined, which makes it easier in some ways. It's like Labyrinth Lord is a rules-light game at heart, but due to old-school wonkiness (subsystems that work a dozen different ways, like in LotFP), it ends up being a bit more cumbersome than necessary. Meanwhile, C&C is a rules-medium system at heart, but due to the way it streamlines stuff, it ends up being a bit simpler than you'd expect. If you do go with C&C, just remember to add only half a caster's level to their spell challenge levels, or saving throws will be too difficult.
*Which I tend to ignore in favor of "Hmm... looks like you've got an awful lot of equipment..." (and, of course, there's nothing keeping you from importing the LotFP system).
>>43670906
Though to be clear, I still think C&C is a heavier system. Just not by as much as you'd expect.
Oh, and I should also mention that C&C's equipment lists are ridiculously detailed, which I find to be a rather big turnoff, and so I recommend using the pared down list from the quickstart rules if that kind of thing bothers you.
>>43670772
> I really liked LotFP, but I don't want to run a horror game
Then don't run a horror game.
What seems to be the problem, anyway? It's not that hard to reduce lethality. Add Raise Dead spell for clerics, remove Summon, start new characters with 10k XP (and get burned on a stake by grognards),don't use LotFP modulesand so on.
The only (relatively) non-deadly retroclone I remember would be Scarlet Heroes, but it's geared towards soloing. I.e. only 1-2 PCs in party, not the usual gaggle of adventurers (what was OD&D recommended party? 10?).
>>43670906
Is Labyrinth Lord 100% compatible with Moldvay?
Reading it, it sounds like that's the point, like it's an open-source version of an out-of-print book, but I want to know if I can have the Labyrinth Lord book and the B/X books at the same table, and everything is completely compatible.
>>43671292
>Scarlet Heroes
I didn't realize this was a retroclone, the description isn't particularly clear.
Is it good? How do they fix the balance? The Kickstarter says it can be used with old modules, which confuses me.
>>43672774
Call it 98%.
>>43672845
What''s changed?
Just in case I care deeply about that 2%.
>>43672935
Spell progression mostly. Nothing that would make it impossible to run LL with an old module or anything.
>trove isn't loading
Ehm guys, is this just me or did we lose the trove?
>>43654393
Do you take art submissions? I like drawing monsters and half-naked women.
If you do accept art, can it be digital? Can it be fancy, or does it have to look crappy like most of the Old School shit?
Also, we need some TG-style monsters a la Fiend Folio. Just a thought.
>>43673319
Spell progression. Clerics get spells at 1st level and don't have that weird jump where they gain 2 spell levels in 2 character levels like they did in OD&D and Moldvay Basic (but not Mentzer). Longer weapon and armor lists. To Hit progressions are smoothed out so that your to-hit progresses about twice as often, but by only half as much (you only get one point better at a time, rather than getting two or sometimes three points in fits and bounds). The game covers 20 levels rather than 14 and leans on AD&D for higher level spells (which tend to be a bit more complicated as a result). Um... that's all I can think of off the top of my head.
>>43673499
>that weird jump where they gain 2 spell levels in 2 character levels
Sorry, meant 3 spell levels in 2 character levels.
>>43673433
I can't check it myself right now, but rest assured it's temporary at worst; the blessed TroveGuy has things well in hand.
>>43672827
> Is it good?
Quite good, I'd say. Personally, I prefer homeruled LotFP, but then I'm sadistic ba... run high-lethality games.
>How do they fix the balance?
Tougher PCs: the damage to monsters goes to HD (NB: it is no longer the "DnD damage" - you'll be hitting for 1-2 damage, 4 if you are badass and lucky - so it's not as bad as it looks), while damage to PCs goes to their HP. I.e. 1st level MU with 4 HP is equivalent in toughness to 4 HD Ogre.
Additionally, PCs get "Fray Die" (free melee attack) to kill weak enemies, so as not to get overrun.
> The Kickstarter says it can be used with old modules, which confuses me.
It might take some time to get used to, but it does work with OSR modules.
>>43673499
>leans on AD&D for higher level spells
Wait, why does it do that? Wouldn't leaning on BECMI have made more sense?
>>43673433
Good news: it's not the trove
Bad news: it might be the whole mega
My other links are not loading properly too.
>>43673499
>Clerics get spells at 1st level
Dropped.
>>43673572
Hmm. That's a good point. Maybe I'm wrong? I thought I remembered somebody else saying that and comparing one of the spells to its AD&D counterpart and nodding my head, but truth be told, I'm less familiar with the Companion book of BECMI (and am not a big fan of high level play), so it's possible that it did whatever the spell was similarly. So if I was talking out of my ass, I apologize.
>>43673686
I would say that you could just use the Mentzer progression, but then it's not like you really need to go to another book to fix things the way you want them. Literally all you have to do is say "Cleric spell progression lags behind what it says in the book by one level."
It's worth noting, however, that without the weird jump that Moldvay cleric spells have, that the LL progression actually lags behind it once you get to level 7 or so.
>>43673681
>>43673433
Well, it's working now. Or at least it's working for me.
So why are there so many versions of LotFP? There's three in the trove, and I have a different version on my computer as well. I think the one I have is newest because it has firearm rules, but who even knows with this game.
>>43654338
If I'm a lazy shit and don't want to deal with images, is text-only allowed?
I'm probably not a good enough writer to qualify anyway, but I wanted to ask.
>>43674513
>So why are there so many versions of LotFP?
Because there were several versions (at least 2) and anons are not good with versions. I think, adding years of editions would explain things better.
The latest one should be picrelated (2013).
IIRC the lamia (NIPPLES) was the first one, the second was the young crying redhead with the sword.
>>43674598
>is text-only allowed?
Why not? At the very least I sent image-free text (though, I did attempt to locate sufficiently aesthetic-looking public domain B&W skeleton/skull, but couldn't find one; probably, I wasn't looking in the right places).
>>43674513
Raggi published a box set, then another when he ran out of the first one. When he ran out of that too, he published the rules&magic single book.
We are still waiting for the referee book.
>>43660307
Downloading now.
>>43664884
I dig this.
>>43670427
Kek. But >>43670526 is probably right.
>>43671292
I use LotFP as the basis for my games. We aren't running horror. If you aren't using the modules, it's more weird-fiction (howard, lovecraft) than horror. Still high lethality though.
>>43673433
>>43673554
>>43673681
>>43674421
Trove looks fine to me, at the moment. Mega may have had some issues.
> blessed TroveGuy
D'aw. It's nice to be appreciated.
>>43673448
I like both monsters and naked women. By all means, have at. If we can figure out something to do with it, I'll stick it in. Digital art is fine, just keep in mind that the zine is in black & white (shades of grey, etc)
We could definitely use more monsters.
>>43674598
Sure. Submit text only if that's what you've got. We'll try to stick some kind of visual to go with it if you don't, but it's nice when the author knows what they want and adds it. You could always ask around for art as well. Maybe this anon >>43673448 could help?
>>43674513
Rules & Magic Free edition pdf is the newest. There are multiple versions because there have been multiple releases and updates.
Honestly, that whole folder is a mess though. Someone in a previous thread mentioned one of the files was misnamed, but I can't remember what. I keep meaning to organize it, but I just haven't had the time. Maybe once I get the AD&D stuff done. Being TroveGuy is a time-intensive hobby. If some anon wanted to volunteer to sort out the folder, weed out duplicates or bad files,see what we're missing, request/gather things up, and then re-up it, that would be awesome.
>>43674798
>D'aw. It's nice to be appreciated.
I guess we don't say it that often but your efforts are more than appreciated, TroveGuy! It's great to see someone put so much love in this, it truly warms the heart :)
>>43674792
Four versions? Good gods. This deserves 1 minute of hating Raggi.I HATE YOU RAGGI
In other news: I had located the "weird XP charsheet from Google+"
https://plus.google.com/+JosepheVandel/posts/jfyrJqrkw3i
>>43675077
But.. anon..
LotFP_Rules_&_Magic_Free_Version_(6211272).pdf is in the Trove. And it's the lady looking into the pool. And it has firearms in the appendix.
That's the pdf that I've used for everything since I started playing LotFP.
>>43674988
>boni
>latin for good men
It's "bonuses," dammit, "bonus" is an English word that's just derived from Latin. And if it WAS Latin you wouldn't pluralize it into a masculine form.
But that aside, there are some cool ideas that went into that sheet.
>>43676019
Ive not seen this before. And it looks disturbingly like what I was working on.
>>43674787
Snek-tits is on the box of the box set, crying girl is on the cover of the rule book in said box set.
Why are the officially-printed LotFP modules A5?
It's neat that they're that compact, but I can't read them, so sod buying them.
>>43676486
That's the Grindhouse box set. The preceding "Deluxe box set" had different rule book covers, but I think they might have just been shitty pencil art or plain type or something, the same way Death Frost Doom v1 has pretty shit production values. Dude was just starting out, he didn't have the acting capital for art direction.
>>43676564
A lot of people find that easier to manage in physical copy, both in general and (especially) at the table. Keeping a TSR module open claims a lot of table space.
>>43677098
I do too but my FLGS was selling some LotFP set and I could barely read it.
Also the pages were all warped because of people flipping through it. Felt really cheap.
>>43676019
half-true. correct latin would probably be bonum-- "something good" --plural bona.
But language is always arbitrary and bonus/boni is established if inconsistent.
>>43677358
The Latin bonus doesn't quite mean the same thing as the English bonus, though.
>>43677358
>bonus/boni is established if inconsistent.
Established where? Because I'm in America, home of the English language, and I've never heard it.
>>43674988
>devine beeings
pretty cool though
>>43674988
Is this supposed to be a pun on Lamentations of the Flame Princess? Like this is to LotFP as Tunnels and Trolls is to DnD?
Hey /osr/ there's a video game related issue that I am asking about, because I feel like it might be related.
Basically in most video games it seems the game floods the player with healing items that they save up and don't use, essentially going to waste.
Does this problem happen in old school games or is something about the innate style of play prevent players from hoarding everything? Do you have problems with players hoarding health potions and such?
>>43678227
Well, as a player, I've never GM'd, I've never been able to accumulate that many health potions. Either you die and lose all your stuff, or you almost die and have to use it. Low level dungeon crawling is dangerous, you can't hoard them. Or, you know, don't give them to them in vast amounts so any hoarding won't cause extreme wastage.
>>43674798
>Honestly, that whole folder is a mess though. Someone in a previous thread mentioned one of the files was misnamed, but I can't remember what. I keep meaning to organize it, but I just haven't had the time. Maybe once I get the AD&D stuff done. Being TroveGuy is a time-intensive hobby. If some anon wanted to volunteer to sort out the folder, weed out duplicates or bad files,see what we're missing, request/gather things up, and then re-up it, that would be awesome.
That was me saying that. I've got all my LotFP sorted, with copies of all the material released so far, save for the updated version of Tower of the Stargazer. I'd be very glad to sort the folder for you.
>>43678227
Well, there's one thing that makes using them a good idea - there generally aren't any savepoints in OSR, after all, and if you lose a battle you won't necessarily get to try again later.
Also, to some degree you lack the "I need to save this item for the boss" problem - single-use consumable items should still be used sparingly, of course, but there's not necessarily a "boss fight" that you "need" to save them for.
That's coming at your question from the perspective of a guy who hasn't played an RPG in years and never in a D&D-based system, though.
>>43674988
Just accept it. It's progress.
ᵀʰᶦˢ ᵖᵒˢᵗ ʷᵃˢ ˢᵖᵒᶰˢᵒʳᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᴹᶦᶜʳᵒˢᵒᶠᵗ'ˢ ᵂᶦᶰᵈᵒʷˢ 10™
>>43678094
Probably. Author said it is part of his LotFP hack. Apparently, XP system is inspired by Dungeon World.
>>43676486
The first set (deluxe 2010) had lamia on Referee Guide, while fighting redhead was on Rulebook covers. The whole battle scene was on the box.
In Grindhouse (2011) book covers were changed, but box (apparently) stayed the same. I.e. both box sets had the same box.
>>43678570
I'd rather not.
>>43678227
>Does this problem happen in old school games or is something about the innate style of play prevent players from hoarding everything?
Yes.
>Do you have problems with players hoarding health potions and such?
No. There aren't that many in the first place, and to a low level fighter down to his last HP, a healing potion's practically a Raise Dead. In a lethal fight a thing like that can make or break the battle; you don't sit on it when death's on the line.
Like >>43678487, I think the hoarding behavior's an effect of potions being limited and reloads being infinite. I never do that shit in roguelikes, and I don't think many others do either.
>>43678570
>ᵀʰᶦˢ ᵖᵒˢᵗ ʷᵃˢ ˢᵖᵒᶰˢᵒʳᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᴹᶦᶜʳᵒˢᵒᶠᵗ'ˢ ᵂᶦᶰᵈᵒʷˢ 10™
Quit trying to get me to update to 10, you fucks! Your stupid thing keeps popping up on my computer, and I keep tell you that no, I don't want to update my shit. Once I did that a half dozen times, you should've taken the goddamn hint. I'm not going to change my mind about wanting 10 for this computer, and even if I did, I would still refuse to update purely out of spite. Fuckers.
>>43678227
This pissed me off about Oblivion coming from Daggerfall and Morrowind. Why are there chests full of healing potions in the first dungeon? And every other dungeon?
I know you can say, "Oh well, it's a computer game, after all!" but it really annoys me. I could just run away from enemies to not die.
>>43678227
> Do you have problems with players hoarding health potions and such?
Not really, no.
You don't get that many opportunities to loot anything that might have potions. People generally use wands, if they get money/time to craft.
I'd say I don't care if they hoard potions, except one 3.5 game had wizard with 100+ scrolls. We decided to homerule "roll to see if you have this specific scroll", rather than trying to keep track of everything.
>Does this problem happen in old school games or is something about the innate style of play prevent players from hoarding everything?
Encumbrance?
For example, I was generally carrying something like 1500+ weightless stimpacks in Fallout 2. If I tried to pull something like this in TTRPG the Referee would not let it slide even if single potion nominally didn't weight anything.
>>43678817
Fucking Neverwinter Nights was horrible about this. You'd be in the disease-infested and dying slums and there would be a gem or healing potion in the fucking bird bath. What kind of fucking sense does that make?
And it's not just that it was illogical. You got far too much treasure in that game, to the point where it was obnoxious to pick it all up. You'd go into a random storage room and there would be like 4 barrels full of shit. I went back and edited the module and took out literally half of the treasure and there was still too much (and you could still easily buy all the shit you needed to buy).
As a GM, I've always been incredibly stingy with magic items and tech. You will never be like: "ANOTHER +1 sword!?" in one of my games. And I guess I have a similar (if somewhat looser) approach to CRPGs. I don't want to have to bother with a whole bunch of shit. If I find something, it should be fucking valuable.
>>43678447
That would be awesome! Get it uploaded somewhere and I'll replace what's in the folder.
If anyone wanted to do something similar for Labyrinth Lords, Swords & Wizardry, or DCC that would be awesome. All three are major OSR games people turn to that we have tons of files for - and I don't play any of them, so I don't know anything about what's what anyway. If I ever get around to reorganizing them personally, it will be after Ive gotten through the stuff I actually use/have an interest in.. So that could be a while.
OTHER NEWS:
Uploaded:
> Cavegirl's Wolf-Packs and the Winter Snow has a character sheet now in the Trove.
> The Gamma World folder is organized and up.
> Tunnels & Trolls stuff is uploading now.
Requesting:
> We still need better copies of the AD&D1e PHB and DMG.
> Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 1e (any and all. Discussed in a previous thread, it would be great if we got a complete folder of it)
Zine:
I've started hunting down font and layout stuff for the 'zine. We're still open to content if anyone wants to offer. Editing has started as well.
can someone please share the "Secrets 2: Strange Races" (for s&w) pdf?
>>43664884
Sketches incoming.
>>43666846
>>43668265
>>43670427
>>43681316
B-but ... where are glasses and beard?
>>43681334
Nice touch
>>43681289
>>43681306
>>43681316
God damn these are great! Love all of them.
>>43681485
I am sorry. I do not understand this question. Could you rephrase it, please?
>>43681489
>>43681684
Thank you. I would like to hear more suggestions. These are just sketches, but when there are enough I will have a poll and refine the winner.
>>43680007
>That would be awesome! Get it uploaded somewhere and I'll replace what's in the folder.
Uploading it now with shitty Australian net, should be up in an hour or so.
>>43681735
I personally like #3 the best, it's the funniest inversion of the original art we all know and love.
>>43681316
This one. This one wins.
>>43681761
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1bltpxp5steo136/Lamentations%20of%20the%20Flame%20Princess.rar?dl=0
Here it all is, organized and properly titled. All I believe is missing is the updated version of Tower of the Stargazer and some "Adventure #10" which was print only and given to few people. It probably will never surface.
Rules are organized by date released. With the Hardback version being the latest. If you want to sort them some other way, go for it.
Gotta a question regarding OD&D, and by extension Swords & Wizardry. High strength gives the fighter a bonus to strength and damage, as expected, but as far as I can tell it's never stated that this only applies to mêlée damage. Would this bonus apply to missile damage as well in OD&D?
anybody have a pdf of white lie or Yarr! The Rules Light Pirate RPG ?
I really dig these rules lite kinda games, reading S&W is starting to make 5e look like a gimmick to me
>>43681289
>>43681306
>>43681316
all of these are lovely, if >>43681316 is chosen then I'd suggest saving >>43681306 for issue 2(maybe that could be a running theme for covers here, with the Troll Gods mucking things up for adventurers in various funny ways)
>>43681735
>I am sorry. I do not understand this question.
The idea was that it's Gygax statue getting vandalized (>>43667805)
In most games, it seems like Wizards have the widest and deepest amount of choices with how they build and expand their characters. It makes a lot of sense this way, but how do you or would you personally make Fighters have a bigger depth of choices and options in game?
>>43681316
This is great. This.I prefer the statue like this over it being Gygax. Both because that comic already did it and because OSR isn't about approximately the opposite of vandalizing the legacy of Gygax.
>>43686104
>Wizards have the widest and deepest amount of choices with how they build and expand their characters.
I'm not at all sure this is true in the first place. What "build options" are there for any character in Moldvay? If you mean that available spells differentiate them in practice, sure, but that's not out of choice and construction. There's no reason not to learn every spell you find.
I think for all characters in Basic D&D, what expands them is almost totally what actually happens in the game -- what choices they make and what's done to them -- not some OOC mechanical choices, and I like it that way.
That said, if you feel this is a problem in your own game, cut down on scroll availability and add more weird shit that can happen to you, I guess. A fighter with a plasma cannon surgically grafted to where his hand used to be by a bizarre derelict machine he stupidly clambered into will be pretty different from one who ate the Salmon of Wisdom and got one free Cleric spell per day, and so on.
I think realizing that *you're allowed and even encouraged to do crazy shit like this* and not worry too much about it is an important step for OSR adopters, and probably one reason some people just take to it instantly while others think it seems lame and dull.
>>43686386
Just use the original statue look honestly.
>>43686386
>OSR isn't about
Fuck, I meant OSR *is*.
>>43686535
Nah, for my part I like it being a butiful humen.
(The Buddha? Is it Fat Buddha? If the trolls are desecrating Fat Buddha that's extra good)
>>43686386
>vandalizing the legacy of Gygax
Eh. I thought that would be more along the lines of honoring his memory the proper way.
Oh, well. Let's have Trolls with Buddha, then.
>>43687084
Well, I mean, let's not go hog-wild here. I was just trying to explain my mild preference, but now I worry I managed to come off as some spittle-flecked cheeto ogre screaming about blasphemy and making some insane demand for respect. If people dig the Gygax version that's jake by me too.
>>43687351
I prefer the original statue, myself. Just make sure the heads look like the guys from the original painting, so it's clear that this is a few minutes later, after Gygax rolled a wandering monster check (because they're all dicking around after all) and 1d12 trolls burst in the door.
How and when do you use ability/skill/whatever checks in old school systems?
They come up a lot in newer systems, but the most I found in B/X is this page. I really like that "roll the ability score or less on 1d20" system, but the chasm example before it is a little silly.
>>43690237
>but the chasm example before it is a little silly.
The exactness of the percentage is a bit more than I'd normally give out beforehand, especially as the PC has no way of knowing how deep the chasm is, but picking an arbitrary number (rather than basing it on a saving throw or something) is perfectly legit in my book.
Left to my own devices, however, the whole game will end up turning into a series of attribute checks. I'm not a fan of old school saving throw categories, and I can tweak difficulty levels to put results in the approximate range I'm looking for. Of course, this puts a lot of stress on the attribute system, and greatly magnifies any discrepancy between stats, which is why it works better with "fairer" attribute generation systems. Of course, if you want to reduce the influence of a high or low stat, you can do something like: d12 roll under check, target number is 7 + your attribute modifier.
>>43691052
Well I was thinking of splitting the difference so to speak.
For example, basing the chances on an ability score, but adding a natural 1 = success mechanic to represent "there's always a chance".
So the chasm example might call for a Dexterity check. If there's a wide river directly below the chasm, that might be a regular "roll Dexterity or lower" check, maybe with a small bonus or penalty depending on the size of the river.
But if there might only be one pool, only a natural 1 will work. And this is the case whether a character's Dexterity is 3 or 18, since it mostly represents the chance element involved (both a clumsy character and a nimble character might just happen to land in a tiny pool).
Of course, still calling it a Dexterity roll means you can choose to hide the exactness of the roll if you want to, and more broadly this means a character might succeed at a task that is otherwise nearly impossible for them (narrowly leap across pit in a sudden burst of strength, even with a low Strength score).
So did scrolls as one-use magical spells originate from DnD? I'm assuming it did because its much older then video games, but to me at least it still feels like a very video game concept.
I'm honestly not so sure how much I like it. Why can scrolls only be cast once?
>>43691399
So when you create a scroll, it's basically like the scroll is memorizing the spell, like a wizard would when preparing spells for the day. Once cast, the scroll essentially forgets the spell, and is now probably blank.
>>43691399
Yeah, it's kind of an interpretation of D&D's not-quite-Vance magic that appeared in D&D. I recall that the reason for its existence was that Gygax had a serious munchkin player who was abusing the hell out of scrolls and he had to put a stop to it.
>>43683477
If it just says "to damage" and not "to melee damage" then I'd apply it across the board.
>>43686386
A compromise between the buddha idea and the gygax idea might be to make the statue of some aging grognard instead.. greybeard luxurious.
>>43686104
Wizards have zero choices in how they build their characters. They roll some dice to get their stats, and then they get some spells at random. In most editions, they don't get any more spells automatically per level.. so they expand like anyone else - based on what they find in-world. They usually can research a spell, I'll give you that.
The thing about adding more "choices" to fighters is that it never actually expands what they can do. It limits it. Right now, you plunk your fighter down and you can use any weapons or armor in the game.
Any kind of specialization, limitation, or choice by nature narrows the scope of what that character can do. If your character in B/x gets a sweet enchanted axe, they are happy. If you are playing an edition where you don't have weapon proficiency axe, then you're going to be annoyed. If your character has Weapon Specialization (Mastery, whatever) in longswords and the random treasure hands you an axe, the treasure is now underwhelming - particularly if the bonuses from the axe are equal to or less than the difference in modifiers from your weapon mastery and proficiency.
>>43691759
>The thing about adding more "choices" to fighters is that it never actually expands what they can do. It limits it. Right now, you plunk your fighter down and you can use any weapons or armor in the game.
I was more thinking about stuff from the other threads like sacrificing/discarding a shield to avoid all the damage from one attack and getting to double your strength mod for two handed weapons and stuff.
>>43689100
This. It would be great if future releases of the zine would feature tributes like this. Imagine the Moldvay Basic D&D cover featuring the Troll Gods messing up the place :D
>>43692304
I posted that in the last thread.
>>43692433
...Right, and that's what I was referring to and said I liked it.
I feel like we are going in circles here.
>>43692769
I wasn't being confrontational, I was just reposting it so you had it for reference in case you weren't in said last thread. The shield thing has floated around for a while.
does anyone feel like 5e is kind of gimmicky?
>>43694685
In what way?
>>43694685
I dont know about gimmicky as the term, but I wasn't impressed with it. It's a step up from 3.5 or 4e.. but it doesn't do anything that would make me want to switch from my current setup. As someone who also plays very nar/story games,I did think it was interesting they started adding what are essentially nar mechanics - the inspiration point thing for playing up flaws, etc - but that all seemed like more of a token addition to seem more "modern" than anything, and the game as a whole is still way more fiddly than the stuff I normally play.
>>43694805
I will admit that I didn't do more than glance over it, but as a simplified and supposedly beginner-friendly game, I was disappointed with how involved it seemed to be. Then again, it wasn't so long ago that folks were talking about what a simple, rules-light game 4e was, which blows my mind.
>>43694685
I feel like it's anti-gimmicky, which can be good or bad depending on what you want.
>>43654351
Really clean, good job anon.
>>43695139
>>43694685
care to define how the word "gimmick" is being applied here? because the google defintion "a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business" isn't really useful. Their entire marketing campaign could be called one giant gimmick, but because that word has a negative connotation, it implies that wanting people to buy your game is bad.
Based on shit I've read in the thread and various things I think are cool, I've done up a new magic system. Tell me what you think.
Spellcasters learn their spells and write them down in spellbooks. Depending on how well they actually learn their spells, which is determined by a die roll with bonuses, different things can happen.
If they learn the spell really well, they may not actually need to 'prepare' the spell, and can just cast from memory. If they learn the spell REALLY well they may be able to cast it without motion or components, more like a super power then a spell.
If they learn the spell poorly they may have to learn it at a higher spell level (more resources for the same effects), or the spell may have additional negatives.
Once they actually have a spell though they can always cast a spell from their spellbook directly. Spells that are learned at least partially can be cast with learning aids, which are things like special runes along a staff or even a charm or keepsake on the Wizard's body. Enemy Wizards can't learn your spells from these because they are just aids for you, not the whole spell.
Spells take a number of rounds equal to 1/2 their spell level to cast, rounding up. Therefore, level 1 and 2 spells take 1 turn, 3 and 4 take 2, 5 and 6 take 3, etc.
Magic users can spend turns 'charging' their magical energies before deciding what spell to cast to prepare for it, each round counting as a turn worth of spell casting energy. If they lost concentration from an enemy attack or spell this magical energy goes haywire and causes a bunch of random shit.
Using a wand or staff automatically lets you cast a spell 1 turn faster, but if somebody gets ahold of it they can manipulate ANY magic that you have made, similar to a degree to how clerics turn undead. (So an enemy orc who stole your wand can possibly deflect your fireball, but only with your wand.)
How do people like this?
>>43691399
...Beeeecause if you can use a scroll as much as you like, one scroll takes you immediately from one spell per day to infinite spells per day?
It's ridiculous as anything *but* single-use, honestly. Maybe it's a gamey rule, but this is a *game*. All the rules are there for gameplay reasons!
>>43695296
Honestly, I would never play a wizard under this system. Having to spend multiple rounds casting spells sounds super boring.
how do you guys handle healing? I want to run S&W for some friends who have hardly any rpg experience (if any)... and i know there shouldnt really be health potions, but
>one hit point recovered per day of rest
is way too slow
>>43698149
what's wrong with health potions? S&W has health potions.
>>43697490
It might take one extra turn to cast some spells, but you can speed this up via multiple methods.
What, being able to wipe an encounter in two turns instead of 1 is too boring? It's not like the Wizard can't do other stuff while charging.
>>43695296
>>43697490
It keeps getting suggested over and over again despite people explaining why it's a bad idea every time, just like the trolls who say "spell components" in edition wars threads.
If you're having trouble with magic-users being too powerful for whatever game disruptive reason, make the spells less powerful. There's no lazy solution, nor is there a solution that still allows them to be able to do godlike things, which is pretty much by definition the entire reason they are powerful.
I personally don't have a problem with compromising on magic-user "coolness" for the sake of game balance and believability, i.e. gimping their spells so they can't break the whole world economy and end every encounter on a whim etc.
>>43698255
Ignoring the multi-mult-turn spellcasting, how do you like it? Personally I'm a fan of how it could make each Wizard really unique.
>>43698177
i know but, a whole bunch of them? im just curious of any homebrewed rules really
>>43698290
Having different levels of "known" for spells known is both flavorful and additive to strategy, and I can see it's an idea with great potential as an optional ruleset. But it also needs the details hammered out and playtested to hell and back to get a good working system people can pass around and reference in their games.
>>43695296
>turns
These better be like 4e turns, not like 2e turns.
>>43698149
It depends on how extreme you want to go, really. I like using a healing factor of some sort, like:
healing factor = 1 + 1/10 max hit points
Then, each day you roll a d4 or maybe a d6 times your healing factor to see how much you heal. If you want to make things survivable without magical healing, you could even allow healing rolls after every encounter, as folks bandage themselves, apply healing herbs and so forth. (Or, if you wanted to have folks heal after every encounter, but keep the numbers reasonable, they could just heal the flat amount of their healing factor, without any multiplier die, leaving the dice rolling for overnight rest.)
both OSR inspired RPGs,
which one should I buy
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/119069/Yarr-The-Rules-Light-Pirate-RPG
OR
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/164226/White-Lies
>>43698408
Buy Yarr, pirate Top Secret and use as a substitute for White Lies.
>>43698473
is Top Secret rules lite?
>>43698588
I don't know, it uses TSR's d100 system that they tried to use for lots of things, with limited success.
How do I tell if something's rules-lite?
>>43697490
The charging aspect, where you get to do other things instead of just sitting idle, might save things.
>>43695296
I personally think it's a bit... involved... and I'd be hesitant to try a system like this. Still, things like this evolve naturally via homebrewing in campaigns, and even when getting introduced to them for the first time, don't pose that much of a problem when playing with a GM that knows them inside and out. And it's worth mentioning that by putting his thumb on the scales, and interpreting situations in ways that are conducive to things working, a good GM can often execute even problematic rules without much difficulty. Still, playtesting and tweaking things based on results can often drastically improve things.
>>43698626
If it's anything like Star Frontiers, it's kind of wonky, with attribute checks for non-skill related stuff, and skill checks that are entirely divorced from attributes for skill-related stuff (like being smart doesn't help you with computer programming). I think the only exceptions to this separation were the combat-based skills, where the base of the skill was half your dexterity or half your strength.
>>43654351
can you share this in an editable file?
>>43698732
I think TS and Gangbusters use the same sort of system. I'm not sure about SF, I haven't had a look.
>>43698356
I'm pretty sure he means rounds. If it was turns, you could easily finish two or three big combats before the wizard got off a spell.
>>43698856
I guessed, but it'd be nice to have confirmation.
Assuming you decided to do experience that way, about how many encounters / situations do you think there should be before you go up a level? I'm not necessarily talking about having to fight things, but overcoming obstacles through cunning, sneaking past monsters and looting their stashes, etc. would count too.
I'm normally pretty freeform with how I level people, awarding XP arbitrarily when I do it at all, but I'm trying to formulate an actual system. However, I'd still like to leave it a bit loose, and base things on the GM's assessment of the difficulty / major-ness of the encounter / obstacle the party overcame as opposed to doing any sort of mathematical conversion of gp or HD to XP.
>>43698321
You could always give them a staff of healing. Well, not give, but stick one in an abandoned church full of skeletons or something.
>>43698856
Where did that confusing, counter-intuitive, old school terminology come from anyway? It really makes no sense. A turn is when you go, as in "it's your turn, now". A round is when you've gone around the table, and everybody has had a turn. That's pretty much the way we always used the terms, even when, according to the game, we were supposed to do otherwise. And I say this as somebody who cut his teeth on Moldvay Basic way back in the 80s.
>>43699058
>A turn is when you go, as in "it's your turn, now"
Maybe it was a turn, like a turn of the hourglass?
would you run/play this?
any thoughts?
>>43699132
its not my game btw just curious
>>43699132
To be honest, if I were to go Old West, I'd probably drop into a game of SW Deadlands. Not saying it's bad, but I like the Deadlands aesthetic.
>>43698408
im voting for Yarr, especially if you share.
>>43699605
eh I was gonna get it but the font threw me off, im addicted to spending money on/downloading RPGs that I end up not playing, its bad
Ok read spell description, with extra emphasis on what im pointing at, was original D&D this hardcore ? I only started with 3.5 and just moved to retroclones out of curiousity
>>43700419
Rotate your pictures, nigga.
Stupid rookie question here.
When a spell says 'deals d6 damage per level' is it referring to class level or spell level?
>>43699058
I dunno, but somebody once told me it comes down from hex-and-chit wargames.
>>43699058
It's probably just because of the way you were tracking time in the game. In OD&D/Basic/Etc you had two ways you have to track time.
> Rounds - 6 (or was it 10?) second segments that are only invoked during combat.
> Turns - 10 minute segements that are used to keep track of time during dungeon exploration.
The latter is extremely important in old dungeon crawling, because that's what makes things like wandering creatures, light sources, resting, movement rates (and therefore encumbrance), traps, etc all actually important. You want your players weighing everything against how long it will take them.
You could change the names of them to "Combat Rounds" and "Exploration Rounds" or whatever, but those are the bits that are important.
>>43700754
Class level.
>>43700913
I just checked. OD&D uses minute long rounds, and a ten minute turn.
Basic uses 10 second rounds, with 60 of them to a 10-minute turn.
AD&D uses the one minute round again, and the ten minute turn.
(Interestingly, OD&D has two 120' moves per turn, which differs from Basic, which only allows one. I believe AD&D is likewise only one move per turn, though I can't check because apparently my copy of the PHB has a bad page 102)
>>43700754
Dungeon level, obviously. Not the level you're on, mind you, but however many levels the dungeon actually has. It's because the more space there is in the dungeon, the more your magic can resonate.
But if you aren't sure how many levels the dungeon has, you can just do class level instead.
Question regarding the use magicin D&D B/X, /tg/: I used to pick a first level spell from the available list at character creation, which would then be the only spell in my spell book and thus the only one available for memorizing. Upon gaining a level, I'd add an additional spell from the list to the spell book, and so on. Some pre-generated character sheets from the Trove got me confused, though: the spell book for a level 1 MU seems to contain ALL first level spells, implying the MU can memorize a different spell each time, if he wanted to. I'm wondering if upon a level 2 spell slot opening when gaining the appropriate level, would then automatically all second level spells become available to memorize...? Have I been doing spell casting wrong this entire time?
>>43701830
You are doing it right (though the picking part depends, some of us prefer adding a random one).
Those sheets that have all the spells probably expect you to mark the ones you know.
>>43701194
Don't forget AD&D's six second segments, and OD&D's ten second segments!
>>43698856
>>43698921
Yes, I meant combat rounds.
I see why people don't like the system but still. Feels kind of... hard to balance Wizards still.
I mean look at it this way, Fireball deals 5d6 the first time a Wizard is able to cast it, and it just keeps scaling upwards. It seems like making it take TWO turns isn't that big of a deal in comparison.
While some may say it is dull I personally think it is kind of dramatic to have to charge up a more powerful spell.
I would defentily focus on just removing or severely toning down spells first though, but the whole magic user graph as is is kind of poor for that. I wish there was a better metric of how 'powerful' each spell level is supposed to be, a bit like Ars Magica.
>>43655196
How much is a suitable amount of XP though? 50? 100?
I'm worried that some might end up being abuse able.
>>43703005
You forget that any hit to a spellcaster disrupts the spell.
Also, many spells go at the end of the turn, due to their speed factor.
>>43703325
And any intelligent monster will rush to the idiot chanting arcane words for 30 seconds.
Could anyone post Star Empire by TSR?
Please, and thank you.
>>43703357
>>>/bgg/
Star Empires is a board game, not an RPG.
>>43698255
>make the spells less powerful.
>There's no lazy solution
You say this, but if it is the case why hasn't it already been done? Surely other have thought the same thing.
I also spouted another idea in a past thread of replacing spell levels with highly freeform-y schools, but people didn't like that either!
>>43703405
guys, it's so easy - just make them find spells. Bam, you now control the spice. I mean spells. Whatever.
>>43703609
Nobody seems to remember this.
>>43698290
It's too complicated. I'd rather use something like Zak's random wizard to make magic-users more unique.
odd question here. I remember playing an old adventure years ago that i think was from the early TSR era and want to find it again so maybe you guys can help me out.
You basically went into a wizards secret hideout and every single door in the place was a portal leading to another part of the hideout.
Anyone know what this adventure was called?
>>43703653
>every single door in the place was a portal leading to another part of the hideout.
Well yes, doors are portals and they do lead to other parts of the building.
Jokes aside, C3 - The Lost Island of Castanamir is what you're talking about.
>>43699058
>Where did that confusing, counter-intuitive, old school terminology come from anyway? It really makes no sense.
Yes it does. Turns are more fully called exploration turns, which are the real base unit of the game. It's an effect of new-school stuff to think the basic interaction is the combat round; in OSR, where combat should largely be avoided and most of the play time's spent on exploration, it's perfectly sensible that the exploration turn is the basic player turn.
Combat rounds are called rounds by analogy to rounds in a boxing match or whatever, which isn't perfect, but better than calling the turns as well, to judge from the confusion with the term level.
TL;DR it makes perfect sense, you're confused because you're a scrub.
>>43703405
>You say this, but if it is the case why hasn't it already been done?
Because there's no lazy solution? It takes a ton of work to shave down every single spell, so people have concluded it's not worth the effort and just stuck to playing D&D, or a different game (which is the second answer: they did put the work in, but then they also added all their other house rules and published it as Runequest).
>>43703728
>and published it as Runequest
Or, for something more 'contemporary' with OD&D, TFT.
>>43703673
thank you very much for the help. this is the one.
>>43698800
I will as soon as I come home! Is .docx fine?
>>43703174
I don't have perfect answer, but I can suggest some guidelines:
1) Assign different amount of XP to different things.
2) Make each XP gain count only once per session/adventure (and make greated achievments supercede the lesser one - revealing "life or death" secret makes minor secrets irrelevant).
For example.
Curiosity:
+ 50 xp for minor secret (something someone didn't want you to know)
+ 200 xp for life or death secret (the one you can get substantial benefit from or blackmail someone with)
+ 1000 xp for great mystery (the one that could change lifes of many people)
>>43703750
Runequest's as contemporary as they get, Anon. Perrin's "Conventions" set of houserules was abroad before Greyhawk IIRC, and the game came out in 1978, so before AD&D was fully released.
>>43703405
>I also spouted another idea in a past thread of replacing spell levels with highly freeform-y schools, but people didn't like that either!
Because it's lots of work. Magic often takes up a third of the rulebook.
>>43703856
>before AD&D was fully released.
AD&D was fully released by the end of '78.
I was thinking more 'Runequest as a named product', but OK. TFT's '78/'79 (Wizard is definitely '79, but Melee doesn't have a date).
>>43703893
>I was thinking more 'Runequest as a named product'
Sorry, maybe I was unclear there. Runequest came out as a game product in 1978. The Perrin conventions existed years earlier, and unless I've lost it completely, the board game King of Dragon Pass also came out before the RPG.
>>43703932
Yeah, I saw that bit after I posted. GURPS DF is my go-to for non-TSR fantasy, so I'll believe you.
Is there a version of OSRIC with the Unearthed Arcana stuff included?
>>43705295
No. OSRIC's thing is AD&D with just the PHB, DMG, and MM.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=51565
Check that thread for some third-party stuff which might do the trick.
>>43705341
>No. OSRIC's thing is AD&D with just the PHB, DMG, and MM.
It's not even that, is it? IIRC it doesn't have Psionics, for instance. There's probably some more stuff they cut.
>>43705805
OSRIC is apparently 'D&D as it was played '79-'85', though I don't think it has that much WSG or DSG content. Which is a tragedy, because the only falling damage I've been able to find in the DMG is a tiny note in the aerial combat section, and the index link puts you in the middle of the NPC section (page 105).
DSG's the only thing with proper falling rules.
Random psionics were always a bit weird. I much prefer 2e's Psionicist class, though Dark Sun has randoms, and they fit quite well there.
>>43705805
And I was just looking through it, and I noticed they'd futzed with racial classes choices, so in the first few pages there were some changes.
>>43705862
Personally I'm somewhat fond of OD&D's psionics (although 3E probably did it best) - it's not a straight bonus, and you get some pretty hefty penalties for being psionic beyond just "can be violently and suddenly mindraped by psionic critters". Fighting-Men lose retainers and strength while Magic-Users lose tons and tons of spells, for instance.
Also, each class having their own "spell list" of available powers was pretty neat.
Definitely needs some rulings to make it actually work, though - random tables, for one, since it doesn't have any.
>>43703351
That's why you need teammates to protect you.
"It might be dull" is a decent argument against his idea. "Enemies might realize you're dangerous and try to attack you" isn't, IMO.
>>43703893
Didn't the DMG come out in '79?
>>43706389
You're right. I was thinking it was PHB early '78, DMG late '78.
>>43706389
According to wikipedia, Monster Manual was '77, PHB was '78, DMG was '79.
>>43706331
Since they need just a hit to disrupt spellcasting, it isn't a "it's dangerous" more than an "it's useless" argument. No matter how good my companions are, with all the opposition focus firing me, odds are at least one is going to get that hit.
>>43654351
>>43698800
>>43703813
Here you go anon!
http://www.mediafire.com/view/i3g132t6om3odnu/BX_DM_screen.docx
>>43698149
Go with what 2nd edition does.
1 hit point per night of sleep but with significant physical or mental exertion or stress during that day.
2 points per night where during the day you weren't engaged in any strenuous activity beyond for example walking or talking with people or doing minor tasks.
3 points if you're bedridden and having your needs tended to by another for the whole day and night.
>>43706922
If they rush by your companions in order to get to you, they open themselves up to an attack of opportunity at a severe penalty to armor class. Sometimes more than one.
>>43706922
Yeah, maybe if your DM puts a gang of slingers or something in every encounter and you don't take cover to cast or wait until your allies can engage them or anything. But if your DM does that every encounter, he's metagaming.
This guy's houserules would actually make casting times matter. They're in the AD&D rules, but they were scarcely more than theoretical because a lot of the best, encounter-ending spells have casting times so short you'll never interrupt it without setting up a dart-cheese DEX fighter specifically to exploit initiative times and get an attack in that tiny window.
"Geek the mage" is a thing in Shadowrun, because mages there get more dangerous the longer they're on the field. Despite this, and the prevalence of actual firearms, mages are not rendered useless. I don't see why D&D mages would be useless just because you might get hit with an arrow if you're not careful.
>>43706935
Oh, please share your own screen if you make any improvements :)
>>43706935
What did you originally make it in? Having a few issues with it.
>>43710854
I made it in MS Word. You might have issues due to the font "Soutane" I downloaded for it: http://www.webpagepublicity.com/free-fonts-s8.html
>>43711022
Hm, maybe it's just Google Doc's fault. When I opened it the first time it was interrupted as images. I went ahead and installed Office 2016, tried to copy/paste it but all the spacing was messed up and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.
>>43686104
I have the Attack Bonus represent multiple warrior type abilities. Besides sword swinging it can also cover siege engine operation and coordination, squad and army leadership (effects hireling moral), horsemanship and athletics (bonus to related attribute checks equal, roughly, to half AB or +1 per 3 AB to d6 rolls) alien arms and armour use, weapon, armour and enemy lore (can be used to identify otherwise hidden strengths and weaknesses of an opponent without spending an action) and martial arts (points of attack bonus can be sacrificed permanently to learn monk-type abilities).
There could easily be more so long as it fits the warrior style. Fighters usually begin only one or two AB uses known, usually standard weapons. They can learn more uses latter on thru intense training or just by using the same strategy over and over again.
>>43697015
Why not have other restrictions?
The scroll can be used freely so long as the user interpreters it, provides consumable and often costly reagents and performs a long ritual.
OR
The scrolls still requires a slot to be cast but when read it can be used in place of any other spell of that level the M-U or Cleric has memorized.
OR
The scroll is not consumed but when studied gives the reader an additional spell slot containing the scroll's spell. These spells are more volatile than most spells as they contain traces of the original transcriber which clash with the spirit of the caster. Trying to prepare multiple scroll slots is very dangerous to the caster's well being.
>Join AD&D group on
>90% of the posts are nostalgia wankery, 4E SUCKS LOL, or "check out my new dee-an-dee meme :^) "
Just fuck my shit up senpai
>>43654338
I'd contribute but I don't have a good grasp of OSR crunch. I think I can do fluff pretty well though.
>>43707153
uh.. Attack of Opportunity? What edition are you playing?
>>43712478
This is interesting. Do the other bonuses come up in play often enough to make them worthwhile?
>>43713018
>Join AD&D group on
I made this mistake as well. At least the ones I joined seem to be overwhelmingly aging grogs fellating themselves about the inherent superiority of their age bracket and its interests.
>>43713716
>Do the other bonuses come up in play often enough to make them worthwhile?
Well that sort of the beauty of their development. Since the fighter gains them through practice his abilities are often shaped by the types of adventures he goes on. Generally I have it as fighter's learning one new use every 3-4 levels for frequent but unfocused use or 2 levels for constant use or conscious training.
The most common ones I'v had in play were Athletics, Leadership and Martial arts. Athletics is just a generally useful adventuring skill, leaping over crevasses or running down fleeing scouts. It also adds a nice incentive for fighter types to go for lighter armour so they can move around better and swash the fuck out of some buckles.
Leadership has been a really fun one. I had one player who rolled up a Drill Sargent style fighter who had Leadership instead of regular weapon use. He practised the ancient and deadly martial art of motivational speaking. he spent most fights trying to look imposing while barking orders and was deathly afraid of anyone finding out how bad he was at actual combat.
I think it needs some tweeking, that time round it was +half AB to follower moral and to CHA and INT attribute checks to coordinate them. Basically it give the fighter finer control over their followers in combat. It worked okay that time but I can see it getting out of hand quickly.
Martial Arts I haven't used much yet. The working code is 1AB for a 1d6 unarmed attack, 1/3AB for Leather/Chain as natural armour. This, of course requires the fighter to ether spend a great deal of time fighting with unarmed and unarmoured, which is risky or seeking out a master to teach him, which is a side quest.
>>43716854
>+half AB to follower moral
>I can see it getting out of hand quickly
Yeah, jeez, that doesn't scale at all well (no offense). I expect you were playing on low levels, and it's fine there, but by name level he'd be fielding nothing but howling fanatics who'd never break.
Sleep is oveepowered.
Give me something to replace it.
>>43718071
Add "unaware of the caster's presence and not engaged in conflict or confrontation" after "creatures."
Anyone got any advice on large-scale dungeon building?
>>43686104
best solutions I've seen are the Mighty Deeds of Arms from DCC, and ACKS version of Cleave(plus how ACKS handles proficiencies, starting kits, and Domain Level)
>>43691399
I'd probably have it as most Scrolls being one shot for reasons of both durability and cost, so while it's possible to make a reusable scroll, it's also generally expensive enough that it's normally more worth it to invest in a wand or staff with rechargeable spell slots infused in it, or maybe a spell book if you want it for study purposes(like when you hit domain level and start having apprentices)
>>43718292
my only advice is to not worry if it makes sense for things to be living in the same space, or what the creatures there would normally do to stay alive, it just makes it way harder.
Or not, something a friend of mine was trying to do was build it as if it more A City of Monsters than a dungeon, but we lost touch and i never heard how it went.
>>43718071
You could give each monster a saving throw and anybody put to sleep has a certain chance to wake up each round, rather than having the spell go for 4d4 turns, or whatever. Maybe give each creature a 1 in 6 or even 2 in 6 chance, and just roll a d6 for each one when their turn comes around. That means that they won't be down for nearly as long, and you don't even need to track the duration of the spell (it's effectively permanent until they make their d6 roll).
You could even bypass normal saving throws and just have each monster make a "wake up" d6 roll (or maybe the better of 2 rolls, if you want to increase the chance) upfront to see if they are affected at all.
>>43718071
No, it's the only thing 1st level wizards have going for them.
>>43719147
I personally would rather 1st level magic-users have a couple of spells than 1 overpowered one.
