The Broken Lands - Wandering Monsters

Last session, the party made a short foray back into the Undertemple of Akron. They went in with clear plans to continue exploring past the point they had previously explored in an effort to find, and hopefully kill, the god.

After the last session, I took some time to re-stock a good portion of the dungeon, and redeployed those temple Acolytes that remained. I like that this makes the dungeon feel like a dynamic place.

Shortly, after entering the dungeon the party abandoned their plans to instead investigate signs of changes to the dungeon in areas they've already explored. Near disaster, followed on the heels of that decision - in the form of wandering monsters!

I will be the first to admit that I do a lousy job of tracking resources such as torches, etc. That leaves wandering monsters as the primary provider of tension to making decisions that take in-game time.

"Do we search the whole room for secret doors, just part, or not at all?" The only reason to choose not to search the whole room is the number of wandering monster checks. The threat of wandering monsters means the party will usually look at their map, to figure out likely spots for a secret door and only search there.

To be sure the wandering monsters provides the necessary tension to those decisions, I do not make Reaction Rolls for wandering monsters. They always attack. There always has to be the threat that the wandering monster will consume resources (hit points, spells, etc).

However, I do use morale checks for them as morale provides tactical decision making - the party can take actions that trigger morale checks.

So following the wandering monster check coming up with a "1", the party was trapped in a dead-end room by three large, hairy ape-things with jaundiced, watery-eyes, and slavering tusks, armed with long, heavy spears. A fierce battle ensued and before the three creatures were killed (having passed both morale checks), two of the PCs lay dead on the floor.

Going into the next session the party is deciding if they ask Lassering Thay, the High Priest of Hades, to raise the PCs from the dead (insert evil laugh here).

B/X Sages and Libraries

In a recent online game one of the players asked about a library to do some research regarding an adventure hook. I gave a quick answer to keep the game moving, but was unhappy about how I handled it.

Afterwards, I was thinking about how to handle this circumstance. Going forward, I think I will handle it in one of two ways: 1) The simplest way - there are no accessible libraries. They all belong to sages who obsessively guard access; or 2) If there is a library it provides the same service as a sage but the players have to do the work without the benefit of the expertise and knowledge of a sage to help them.

Using the very brief blurb about sages on page X21 as a starting point, below are some quick (un-play tested) rules I came up with for Sages and Libraries.

The Scope of Work
Ask the question(s) you want answered. The number of words in the question(s) will determine how much it will cost and how long it will take to answer. For each word, there will be a base cost of 100gp and 1 day. Each additional question will add +1 to the word count (in effect putting an “and” in the question). The number of words is a quick and dirty estimate for the level of detail in the question and answer. If using a library instead of a sage, the time is doubled but costs are halved.

• For example, asking a sage, “Where is the blade of the sword of Akekemmon? How can it be fixed?” is 14 words plus 1 for the additional question is 15. These questions will have a base cost of 1,500 gp and take 15 days to get an answer. The same questions at a library will cost 750 gp but take 30 days.

Or you can hire a sage on retainer for 2,000 gp per month. 

And the Answer Is…

Roll 2d6:
2 - Incorrect answer (insert evil laugh).
3-5 - Question answered but at twice the cost and time.
6-8 - Question answered at base cost and time.
9-11 - Question answered. Cost and time are 75% of base.
12 - Answer plus another related fact. Cost and time halved.

If you have the sage on retainer the roll is still made for time required. The DM can determine if the cost varies based on the die roll (additional materials required, sage travel expenses, etc.)

Possible Modifiers:
Sage specialty or library facilities: Up to +2/-2
Difficulty/Obscurity of Question: Up to +2/-2

Note: I have the sneaking suspicion that I have read something resembling this in the past. My apologies for not being able to properly attribute this to whomever it was that provided the inspiration.

Marked For Death

You are arrested by an overwhelming force, and cannot resist. You are put into jail, roll 2d6 (+/- charisma modifier) for the gravity of the offence:

2 (or less): Marked for death - You have committed a very grave offence. The death penalty is demanded. Until then, you are imprisoned. All your money and possessions and are confiscated and permanently lost. At the start of each day in prison roll 1d6: "1" means you manage to escape (see below for details), "6" means you must finally meet the headsman and are put to death. Any other die roll means you continue to languish in prison.

3 to 5: Thrown in the Dungeon - You are thrown into a deep dungeon. You lose all your wealth and possessions. At the start of each day in the dungeon roll 2d6, a result of 2 or 3 means you escape (see below) that day, any other result means you continue to languish in captivity. Every full week (seven days) you spend in the dungeon inflicts 1d6 hit points of damage on you, due to unhealthy conditions, disease, and gradual weakness and starvation.

6 to 8: Imprisoned - You are imprisoned. All your money and possessions are confiscated and lost. At the start of each day roll one die, 1 means you escape (see below), any other result means you continue to remain captive.

9 to 11: Minor Offence - You are held overnight. Tomorrow you are assessed a fine equal to 1d10% of your XP in gold pieces (minimum 2 gp). If you cannot pay for your release, you are imprisoned (see above).

12 (or higher): Minor Misunderstanding - You are able to sweet-talk your way out of trouble.

Escape (1d10)
1. Guard gets too close to bars. You are able to conk him on the head and grab the prison keys. He must make a saving throw vs paralysis or be knocked unconscious. Make an evasion roll to escape (see page X23). If the guard is unconscious you gain a 10% bonus.

2. Guard gets to close to bars. You are able to deftly lift the prison keys from his person. If you are a thief, make a pick pockets roll. If you are not a thief make a d% roll below half your Dex score. Make an evasion roll to escape (see page X23). If you succeeded on the pick pockets or d% roll the guard is none the wiser and you gain a 10% bonus to your evasion check.

3. You are able to hide in your cell. When the guard opens the door to investigate you may either sneak past him or overbear him. Afterwards, make an evasion check to escape (see page X23).

4. The lock is very rusted. Make an open doors check to bust the door open. If you succeed, make an evasion check to escape (see page X23) with a -10% penalty.

5. You find a secret door in the back of your cell! Make an evasion check to escape (see page X23) with a 50% bonus.

6. You are able to hide a spoon (don't ask where) which you use to dig the mortar from around a masonry block in the wall. Make a Dex check to wriggle through the opening. If you succeed, make an evasion check to escape (see page X23).

7. You find a crowbar hidden in your cell. You can use it to pry open your cell door. Make an evasion check to escape (see page X23).

8. A young nobleman/woman buys your freedom. You are now their slave.

9. You receive a cake with a file in it. Make an evasion check to escape (see page X23).

10. Prison riot! You sneak past the guards in the confusion. Make an evasion check to escape (see page X23).

- A good portion of this is adapted from Barbarian Prince.

I make a Diplomacy roll

I have been having a couple of crazy weeks at work which has adversely impacted my gaming and my surfing of the blog-o-verse. However, I have managed to catch a bit of Ryan Dancey's discussion about social mechanics.

Trollsmyth has made a number of posts on the subject starting with this one that I have found interesting.

Upon my return to RPGs a couple of years ago, I took great interest in the social mechanics that had been introduced to all of the new games that had appeared in my absence from the hobby. At first, I bought into the argument why should a player who is not as social adept as their character suffer while another player who has never had a sword can effectively play a great warrior. However, as I quickly returned to my roots of old-school D&D I relearned the fact that the need for social mechanics in the game is redundant with a relationship between player and DM. Afterall, one of my favourite things about playing RPGs is that it is a social activity.

That being said, my favourite B/X has a couple of subsystems which can quickly handle social situations - the Reaction and Morale systems. Both of these systems are meant to give the DM quick and easy guidelines for the resolution of such situations but are not meant to be the sole method for determining the outcomes. If the reaction roll for an NPC is positive but the characters are determined to be a bunch of A-holes to NPC there should be consequences.

This quote from Trollsmyth really encapsulates how I feel about the subject:

What it means is you should not have mechanics for social interaction if the goal of the game is to have the players interact socially. In the same way that the combat rules in D&D mean that the players don't have to actually swing swords in the air, mechanics to handle social situations mean the players don't actually have to engage in any sort of social interaction.

Does the monster flee or do all the monsters flee?

I have blogged about B/X Morale before but I wanted to check and see how people apply the morale check. Do you roll the dice once and apply it to all the monsters as a group or do you roll for each monster and apply the results individually?

For example, a group of six goblins check morale:

Do you roll once and determine if all of the goblins continue to fight or do they all flee?

OR

Do you roll morale six times and apply the result to each individual goblin?

Under a vampire's spell

On page X41, the vampire's charm ability is described as:

"A vampire may also attempt to charm any who gaze into its eyes. The victim must save vs Spells to avoid the charm, with a -2 penalty on the roll. A charmed victim will be totally under the vampire's control, but cannot use spells or magic." (Italicized emphasis mine)

On page B16, the charm spell is limited by:

"Any commands given will usually be obeyed, except that orders against its nature (alignment and habits) may be resisted, and an order to kill itself will be refused."

Is the vampire's charm ability the same as the normal charm spell? If a victim is "totally under the vampires control" can they resist orders against their nature?

The Mistaken Synchronicity of Basic's Missile Weapons

I like to believe that the Moldvay, Cook and Marsh version of D&D is near perfect and everything in it was very carefully considered and forms a utopian synergistic whole. I also know that all it takes is to look for the description of the Detect Invisibility spell to blow that belief out of the water but let me dream.

Looking at the Missile Fire Ranges and Variable Weapon Damage tables in the Basic rulebook there are four missile weapons (not including thrown weapons):

Crossbow* Short 5-80, Medium 81-160, Long 161-240, Damage 1-6
Longbow Short 5-70, Medium 71-140, Long 141-210, Damage 1-6
Shortbow Short 5-50, Medium 51-100, Long 101-150, Damage 1-6
Slings Short 5-40, Medium 41-80, Long 81-140, Damage 1-4

* Two-handed weapon - always looses initiative.

Even though longbows and shortbows are not marked as two-handed weapons they obviously are. However, I like to think that this isn't a mistake or typo. I like to think this is a deliberate design choice to differentiate longbows and shortbows and allow them to follow the normal initiative rules.

This gives four distinct missile weapons:
1. Crossbows have the longest range, can be used by anyone except clerics but always loses initiative;
2. Longbows are in the middle for range, follow the normal initiative rules but can't be used by dwarves, halflings, clerics or magic-users;
3. Shortbows have only a slightly longer range than slings, follow the normal initiative rules and can be used by anyone except clerics and magic-users.
4. Slings have the shortest range, low damage and can be used by clerics.

Of course, then the Expert rulebook throws out this idealized belief of mine when it says that crossbows can only fire once every other round.

Oh well, I can ignore that if I have to.

Wow, JB nails it

I am late to the party but I wanted to link to JB's excellent post about the differences between classed adventurers and B/X's normal men even if just to make it easier for me to find it again.

Rulings Not Rules - You are being followed

A thread on Dragonsfoot about how to handle character perception pointed to an article by Thomas Ruddick in Dragon magazine issue #133 which posited the following example:

His Honor the Lord Mayor was naturally quite interested in the adventurers who took temporary residence in one of the finer inns of the town — especially when he learned that one of their aims was to find the local assassins’ guild and settle an old score with it. The guild had caused the Lord Mayor many problems in the past, and he welcomed the possibility that the guild might soon suffer problems of its own. The adventurers, however, were close-mouthed and were cool toward his offers of assistance. His course of action was to rely on the capable services of Ferd, his halfling informant. Ferd began to tail the adventurers whenever they ventured into the city reporting back to the Mayor on their activities.

At this point, the DM creating this scenario must pause. Obviously, the game is going to develop in different ways depending on whether or not the adventurers notice that a nondescript halfling is following them around. How should he determine if the characters notice or not?

So, using the B/X rules how would you handle the likelihood of the party spotting the halfling?

Rulings Not Rules - Sneaking past a guard

My post a couple of days ago about B/X resolution systems got me thinking about how to adjudicate certain situations.

Here is a situation that I remember from an old thread at Original D&D Discussion which I can no longer find. Assuming the use of B/X D&D how would you adjudicate the following situation:

A player character (not a thief) is trying to sneak across the entrance to a hallway in a dungeon. At the end of a hallway is a guard standing in front of a doorway. There is one torch in the hallway where the guard is. The guard is standing about 40 ft from where the player character is trying to sneak across.

How would you handle the situation? Does the PC have a chance to sneak past undetected? What rules would you use or what rulings would you make?

=====================================
EDIT: Here is what I would do (of course, just one of many ways to handle the situation):

Case 1: The PC is wearing metal armour, carrying usual adventuring gear, etc.
I would give the guard a Listen check with a +1 or +2 bonus (so a 3 or 4 in 6 chance of hearing the PC approaching).
If he heard the guard failed his Listen check then I would roll Surprise with a +1 bonus (so a 1 in 6 chance of being surprised).
If the guard was surprised I wold then rule that he was asleep or something.
This gives the PC about a 5% to 8% chance of succeeding in sneaking past.

Case 2: The PC has stripped off armour, padded anything that could make noise and is generally being really stealthy.
I would roll Surprise for the guard. If he was surprised I would rule that he had is back turned or wasn't paying attention for a moment, etc.
This gives the PC a 33% chance of succeeding.

Case 3: A thief (even though I mentioned the PC wasn't a thief).
Make a Move Silently check. If he succeeded then I would give him a bonus to the same surprise roll I used in Case 2. Note that I am using the RAW that to Hide in Shadows the thief has to remain still so that skill isn't relevant.
This give the thief PC the best chance.

Combat Modifiers

I have mentioned a number of times how much I enjoy the abstract combat system in B/X. To me each individual piece fits together like a puzzle to give a near perfect abstract/narrative combat system that also gives players important tactical options.

Part of this combat system is a distinct lack of modifiers for "to hit" rolls. Taking a quick look through the Character Classes and The Encounter sections of the Basic rulebook gives the following modifiers that can be applied to "to hit" rolls:

- Thieves Abilities (B10): The thieves' "backstab" ability which grants a +4 bonus
- Resting (B19) and Running (B24): if not rested a character will have a -1 or -2 penalty, respectively
- Retreat (B25): opponent can add a +2 bonus
- Range (B26): +1 to hit with missile weapons at short range and -1 to hit at long range
- Cover (B26): -1 to -4 based on how much cover

- And of course Ability score bonuses (Strength for melee and Dexterity for missile attacks) and magical bonuses.

The lack of a multitude of situational modifiers goes hand in hand with the abstract system where one "to hit" roll does not equal one swing of a sword.

It doesn't surprise me that most of the modifiers listed above are related to missile attacks. Missile fire just doesn't fit as nicely into the abstract combat system.

B/X Skills, Actions and Resolution Subsystems

A quick read of the B/X rulebooks gives a list of the following resolution systems (and I may have missed some):

1. "to hit" rolls
2. saving throws
3. thieves' abilities
4. turning undead
5. opening stuck doors
6. finding secret doors
7. listening
8. reaction rolls
9. surprise
10. damage
11. morale
12. ability checks (save vs abilities)
13. evasion
14. foraging
15. spell research and magic item creation
16. becoming lost

These can be broken down into the following basic mechanic systems:
d20 vs target number
1d6, 1 or 2 succeeds
2d6 higher better
d20 under target number
d% vs target number

I think they can also be broken into the following thematic groupings:
"to hit" rolls - combat actions and maneuvers
saving throws - last ditch reaction to an action
reaction rolls - social, non-combat interaction
morale - combat interaction
open doors, foraging, etc - proactive, non-combat, physical, adventuring-type actions
find secret doors, listening and surprise - perception, awareness, intuition, etc.
ability checks - proactive skill-based actions
d% - very granular skills and "holy crap" actions

A quick look at the d20 SRD lists the skills below. Based on the B/X resolution systems, I have given a quick "conversion" of how I would handle each d20 skill-based action using B/X. Of course, each situation may be different and how I may handle each situation may change based on various factors.

Appraise - either roll a 1 or 2 on a d6 or an ability check
Balance - either a dex check or a d% check, maybe a "to hit" roll modified by dex if in combat
Bluff - reaction roll if outside of combat or a morale check if in combat
Climb - a thief ability, dex check or a d6 roll
Concentration - I wouldn't use this
Craft - either an ability check or a d6 roll
Decipher Script - read magic or read language spells, maybe a Int check of a d6 roll
Diplomacy - reaction roll
Disable Device - thief ability
Disguise - a d6 roll or a d%
Escape Artist - a d6 roll or a d%
Forgery - a d6 roll or a d%
Gather Information - reaction roll or a d6
Handle Animal - reaction roll
Heal - healing rules are given in the rulebooks
Hide - thief ability or surprise roll
Intimidate - reaction roll if outside of combat or a morale check if in combat
Jump - d6 roll, a dex check or maybe a d%
Knowledge - d6 roll or an int check
Listen - d6 roll
Move Silently - thief ability, surprise roll
Open Lock - thief ability
Perform - reaction roll
Profession - ability check or d6 roll
Ride - I assume everyone know how to generally ride a horse. Actions that may cause a rider to fall off or lose control of the horse are reactions to other actions so I would give a saving throw.
Search - find secret doors
Sense Motive - the players can decide if the trust someone
Sleight Of Hand - a thief's pick pockets or maybe a dex check
Speak Language - either they know it or they don't
Spellcraft - maybe give a magic-user a chance
Spot - listen or find secret doors
Survival - forage or becoming lost check
Swim - given on page X51
Tumble - maybe a dex check?
Use Magic Device - just use the rules as given in the rulebooks
Use Rope - a d6 roll

EDIT: One thing this shows me is that you can do everything that a skill system can do just using the B/X rules.

But I rolled it!

From page X59:

"A common mistake most DMs make is to rely too much on random die rolls. An entire evening can be spoiled if an unplanned wilderness encounter on the way to the dungeon goes badly for the party. The DM must use good judgment in addition to random tables. Encounters should be scaled to the strength of the party and should be in harmony with the theme of the adventure." (Emphasis mine.)

Okay, I am guilty as charged. I love die rolls and randomness. Not simply for randomness' sake but instead for the creative muse they provide. Trying to figure out why there are ghouls in the elven forest is part of the fun.

I also found the emphasized portion of the quote interesting. My impression is that one of the cornerstones of the OSR is that encounters should not be scaled to the strength of the party. I also rarely worry about scaling encounter difficulty relative to party strength.

However, I do try to scale difficulty relative to depth (for dungeons) or distance (for wilderness). That way players can make logical decisions and their actions have meaningful effects.

Castles in the Wilderness

I have been reading my OD&D books again in anticipation of receiving my Swords & Wizardry White Box in the mail - it still hasn't arrived yet = {

I have also been browsing my B/X rulebooks for the Red Box Calgary game.

Each of those versions of D&D have information and rules about encountering a castle in the wilderness. This is another one of those "gameist" things about early D&D that I love.

In the OD&D books, the text specifically mentions the Outdoor Survival playing board and that ponds indicate castles.

B/X doesn't have the same relationship with a board game so I have always used the random wilderness encounter tables to indicate when a castle is encountered. The B/X wilderness encounter tables give chances to encounter "Fighter", "Cleric", and "Magic-user" in addition to "NPC Party" and "Adventurers". When the result was one of the singular I would often use that as a castle encounter.

The part that I like best is that each of these editions has a very simple table to determine what happens. I actually somewhat prefer the OD&D tables as they are crazier that the B/X versions.

The OD&D tables give a chance that the Lord or Necromancer or Evil High Priest (EHP) that owns the castle to have retainers such as Giants or Manticores or Vampires.

The B/X tables are much more boring in that they just list the horsemen patrols. It does give a suggestion that the "rest of the force" may include trolls or superheroes mounted on Griffons but I like that these types of things are the default in OD&D.

I also love that the OD&D rules say that Fighting Men will demand a jousting match and will demand the loser's armour if he wins. Magic-users are complete dicks and send passersby on errands by using Geas. And Clerics demand tithes and use a Quest spell or just try to kill the passersby if they are unable to pay.

The B/X rules are more staid with the castle owner either chasing the party off the lord's land, ignoring the party, or being friendly (either feigned or genuine).

Of course, as with all things in D&D (especially older editions), the imagination of the DM and the reactions of the players are the only limiting factors to these types of encounters but I love the fact that the default setting of these early editions includes this kind of stuff.

Prison Break

Over at B/X Blackrazor, JB has been discussing the Slave Lord series. In his most recent post he quickly talks about having the PCs be captured.

I have mentioned a number of times how much I like to use the Reaction Roll subsystem in B/X. One of the things I decided early in the development of the Northern Marches is that a very poor reaction roll when meeting with an NPC with authority (a high priest, a lord, etc.) could result in the PCs insulting the NPC so badly that a large group of guards (big enough to be either foolhardy or extremely risky to fight against) would be summoned and the PCs be put under arrest.

So, I needed a quick method to adjudicate the seriousness of the offence, what happens in the dungeon and the possibility of escape. I took a page from Barbarian Prince and came up with a very quick system.

Gravity of Offence (d6 +/- Charisma modifier)
1 or less: Marked for Death - You have committed a very grave offence. The death penalty is demanded. Until then, you are imprisoned. All your money, possessions and mounts are confiscated. You are provided with food and lodging while in prison. At the start of each day in prison roll one die: "1" means you manage to escape (see below for details), "6" means you must finally meet the headsman and are taken to a public execution. Any other die roll means you continue to languish in prison.

2: Thrown in the Dungeon - You are thrown into a deep dungeon. You lose all your wealth, possessions and mounts. While in the dungeon, you are provided with food and lodging (of a sort). At the start of each day in the dungeon roll 2d6, a result of 2 or 3 means you escape that day, any other result means you continue to languish in captivity. Every full week (seven days) you spend in the Dungeon inflicts 1d6 hit points of damage on you, due to unhealthy conditions, disease, and gradual weakness and starvation.

3 & 4: Imprisoned - You are imprisoned. All your money, possessions and mounts are confiscated. While in prison, you are provided with food and lodging. At the start of each day roll one die, 1 means you escape, any other result means you continue to remain captive.

5 & 6: Minor Offence - You are held overnight. Tomorrow you are assessed a fine of 1d6 x 10 x level gold pieces. If you can't afford it you are Imprisoned (see above).

Escape: If the result indicates a successful escape, present the prisoner with the opportunity (loose bricks in cell wall, a bribeable guard, the means to pick the lock, etc). If they are successful in their escape, have them make an Evasion check being pursued by a suitable number of guards. An alternative is to quickly develop a dungeon map and have them explore their way out.

B/X S&S: Sans Armour - part two

I am going back on my previous thoughts about unarmoured AC for fighters. I now dislike the proposed solution I drafted in that post.

A character’s hit points represent his ability and luck when it comes to avoiding the lethal effects created by the point of a sword. In Dungeons and Dragons, armour class doesn’t scale with level, but hit points do. This is because a characters ability to avoid being hit isn’t reflected primarily by armour class, but by his hit point total.

As such, I think there are a couple of things that can be done to better reflect the trope of the loincloth wearing barbarian or chainmail bikini clad amazon while still keeping the same B/X combat system.

These are nothing earth shattering.

1. Start characters at a higher level - this gives them more hit points and also reflects the fact that S&S characters are usually already quite capable.

or

2. Give starting characters some sort of hit point kicker - something like adding the character's constitution score to their beginning hit point total.

An important thing to remember to capture the the S&S feel is to always focus on in-game disadvantages of wearing heavy armour. Such things as noise, heat, sand, insects, costs for repairs, etc should cause definite in game problems for any character wearing heavy armour.

I would also make armour much more expensive than given in the B/X rulebooks if I was running a sword & sorcery hack.

B/X S&S: Fear of the Supernatural

I am still turning this one over in my head.

A large part of sword & sorcery literature is the instinctive fear of unnatural things— magic and creatures that defy explanation. Such things are unwholesome and evil; therefore, they should be feared.

I am always leery about taking the actions of a character out of the hands of the player but I think a large part of the genre is heroes overcoming this fear and defeating supernatural horrors. To reflect this I am considering the following rules regarding Fear Checks. This would also have the side effect of giving Sorcerers and Priests a bit of a bump in power.

Some monsters, spellcasters, and unusual magical items or situations may force a Fear Check. If the monster is ordinary (wolf, lion), no check is necessary. A check is made the first time the monster is encountered at close range, the first time a spellcaster does something involving magic (casting a spell or using a magical item), and whenever the DM calls for a check.

To make a Fear Check, the character should roll a saving throw vs. Spells (to which the Wisdom modifier applies).

A Character who fails the saving throw loses his action for that round (he stops in horror or awe at the sight of the thing). They cannot move or act until they are either attacked, distracted by another person, or successfully roll in a subsequent roll. Only one attempt can be made each round. If a natural 1 is rolled, additional effects are possible, depending on the DM’s judgment such as insanity or even dying of fright (for Normal Men).

B/X S&S: Healing

With the Priest Class not having any healing spells, already fragile B/X characters would become even more delicate. To counter act this I would consider including an item of near magical ability:

Flagon of Wine - acts as a Potion of Healing.

Also, I would use the common house rule of unconscious at 0 hit points and dead at -10 hit points. One reason for doing this is to also include the common S&S plot of having the hero captured and forced to escape.

You got your Kingmaker in my Greyhawk

I have mentioned a number of times about using Barbarian Prince for a roleplaying setting or how I am adapting some of the mechanics from the game for my B/X campaign. This got me thinking about other wargames or boardgames that could be used to supplement a D&D campaign. We all know that Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival was and continues to be used for a map for wilderness exploration. In fact part of it has been adapted into the Northern Marches.

One thought that came to mind was taking the mechanics and cards from Kingmaker and adapting it for a Greyhawk campaign. The game could be set in Furyondy or Keoland and it could focus on political intrigue.












Another thought could be to use Citadel of Blood to develop a wizard's citadel. Or the related Swords & Sorcery game's wilderness map could be used in a similar fashion as Outdoor Survival.












Awhile ago, Jeff Rients mentioned using Divine Right as a campaign setting.
Has anyone else used a boardgame's or wargame's mechanics or map for an unrelated RPG?

Are Maps Required?

I ran a session of Northern Marches last night where a small party of adventures investigated a small dungeon below a ruined temple.
I ran the entire dungeon without a prepared map. I quickly made up a list of creatures that I thought would be present and used tables from Dungeon Bash to make the dungeon as we went.

This brought up a thought... Are dungeon maps necessary for the enjoyment of B/X Dungeons & Dragons?

Would it instead be possible to use an abstract system for goal driven scenarios, such as that from WarpQuest?

For example, the party in my Northern Marches game is looking for some clue or evidence as to what happened to a witch that might be able to help with a disease outbreak in a nearby village.

For an abstract system I could mark off 30 squares on a piece of graph paper. Square #1 would represent the dungeon entrance and #30 would be the goal (in this case the clue). Roll a d6 and mark off that number of squares on the graph paper and have an encounter (monster, trap, whatever). After that encounter roll another d6 and move that many squares on the graph paper and have a second encounter, etc. When the party reaches square #30 they have reached the Big Bad End Guy and the goal.

A larger example of this is the Palace of the Silver Princess Warp Quest Module. The mechanics don't match B/X so it would have to be adjusted but it is illustrative.