Barbarians of Greyhawk

Over on Beyond the Black Gate are a great series of posts about re-imagining Greyhawk as a sword & sorcery setting.

This has got me thinking about running a short Greyhawk campaign using Barbarians of Lemuria, which has become one of my favourite sword & sorcery rule sets.

B/X S&S: Thinking about a Mutant Future variant

Going back to a post I made a while ago, D&D Levels and S&S, I had a multi-part idea for B/X S&S.

Everything would be as per the B/X rulebooks and my B/X S&S classes except:

1. Use a hit point system similar to Mutant Future.

Fighter and Barbarian use 1d8 / point of CON
Atlantean, Savage and Thaumaturge use 1d6 / point of CON
Thief and Sorcerer use 1d4 / point of CON

For example, a Fighter with a Constitution of 12 would roll 12d8 for hit points.

2. Use a THACO system inspired by Tunnels & Trolls.

2a. All classes have a base Melee and Missile THACO:
Fighter - Melee 15, Missile 15
Savage - Melee 16, Missile 15
Barbarian - Melee 15, Missile 17
Atlantean - Melee 16, Missile 16
Thief - Melee 17, Missile 17
Thaumaturge - Melee 18, Missile 18
Sorcerer - Melee 19, Missile 19

2b. Using the standard Bonuses and Penalties Due to Abilities from B/X:
3:..........-3
4-5:........-2
6-8:........-1
9-12:......nil
13-15:.....+1
16-17:.....+2
18:.........+3
Modify the Melee THACO using the bonuses and penalties from Strength, Dexterity and Wisdom.
Modify the Missile THACO using the bonuses and penalties from Intelligence and double the Dexterity bonuses and penalties (effectively counting Dex twice for Missile THACO).

For example, Barak the Barbarian begins with a base Melee THACO of 15. His attribute scores include STR of 17 (+2), DEX of 12 (nil), and WIS of 8 (-1). His adjusted Melee THACO is then 14 (15-2+0+1... remembering that a bonus reduces THACO while a penalty increases it).

His base Missile THACO is 17. This is modified by his DEX of 12 (nil) which is doubled (but still nil) and INT of 9 (nil) resulting in an adjusted Missile THACO remains 17.

Monsters and NPCs would use a base THACO of 20 minus HD, modified by the mercy or blood-thirstyness of the DM.

3. Using the Experience Tables for each class from B/X, when a new level is reached roll 2d8. If the result is above the new level attained, the character gains a bonus of 1 to the following ability (d6):

1: STR
2: INT
3: WIS
4: DEX
5: CON
6: CHR
each ability has a maximum score of 18 - if a bonus would increase the ability higher than 18 the bonus is disregarded for this level.

For example, Barak gains enough experience points to reach 3rd level. The player rolls 2d8 and scores a 7 which is greater his new level of 3 so he gains a bonus to one ability. The player rolls a d6 and gets a 3 so Barak's Wisdom goes up by 1, from 8 to 9. The player will now recalculate Barak's Melee THACO.

It keeps the class structure of B/X while reducing the reliance on levels. Using the 2d8 to roll over new level would mean that there would be faster ability improvement at lower levels but much slower at higher levels. However, using the standard ability modifiers from B/X would mean that the ability bonuses would not always have an immediate impact on combat - except for improvements to Constitution which would impact hit points. Also, given that starting characters would begin with ability scores generated using 3d6 in order and the random nature of the ability score bonuses, it would be unlikely that any high level character would get a bunch of 18's.

I have no idea how this would play or balance out (especially for the classes with lower level limits) but it sounds kinda fun.

B/X S&S: The Thaumaturge Class

This is the renamed Priest class. The only thing that I have changed besides the name is how often they roll for drawbacks.

THAUMATURGE

Thaumaturges are those those who have dedicated themselves to some otherworldly being such as a demon or a Cthulhu-esque being from another dimension.
They will always be working towards their own advancement and the benefit of the entity which they serve. As a Thaumaturge advances in level, he or she is taught various rituals by the entity which they serve in return for the Thaumaturge's dedication and other gifts/bribes/sacrifices (to be left up to the DM). However, a Thaumaturge does not receive any rituals until they reach 2nd level (and have proven their dedication/sold their soul/etc). The prime requisite for Thaumaturges is Wisdom. A Wisdom score of 13 or greater will give the Thaumaturge a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Thaumaturges use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may wear any armour any may use shields. They are not extensively trained in combat and may only use weapons which do a maximum of 1d6 damage.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: A Thaumaturge may use rituals which are the same as cleric spells. However, only the reverse of any reversible spells may be used. For example, cure light wounds cannot be cast but cause light wounds can be, darkness instead of light, etc.

When a Thaumaturge reaches level 4, 8 and 12, they roll a d12 on the following table due to the strain of contacting the otherworldly entities and the channeling power meant for no mortal.

1. Animal Aversion - the Thaumaturge is inherently unsettling to animals. Any natural within 10 feet of the Thaumaturge instantly becomes nervous, skittish and irritable.

2. Blindness

3. Color Blind - Inability to distinguish one color from another. Any task requiring identifying items by color is impossible. It may also have some negative social consequences, such as an inability to put together an tasteful set of clothes.

4. Disfigurement - Disfigurements are often strange warpings of the body such as shrivelled limbs, bizarre scarring, eye discoloration or loss, transformation of hands or feet into claws or hooves, and so on. Disfigurements are permanent and always blatant, but can be hidden with some work. Characters with disfigurements also suffer some social disadvantages.

5. Distrusted - an unshakeable aura of untrustworthiness. Long hours of probing arcane secrets have subtly warped his personality and demeanour. The Thaumaturge, or even a group including the Thaumaturge, suffers a -2 penalty to Reaction Rolls.

6. Endurance Loss - Study of the dark arts has sapped your character's physical and psychic vigor. Lose 1d4 from Constitution.

7. Phobia - Fear of something. When exposed to his phobia he must roll over his level on a d12 or give in and do anything to get away from the source of his phobia.

8. Glutton - A glutton eats at every opportunity. His resultant girth means he can only wear custom-made clothing and armor, and he is of course much heavier than most other people.

9. Obsessive - The Thaumaturge is obsessed with something. When exposed to his obsession he must roll over his level on a d12 or give in and do anything to gain the obsession.

10. Nocturnal - When the sun is down, he is full of energy and will not sleep. By day, he is lethargic and groggy if not actually asleep. He is dazzled by sunlight, so much so that he suffers a -1 penalty for saving throws and "to hit" rolls.

11. Deafness

12. Madness - The terrible secrets your character has unearthed in his quest for forbidden knowledge have begun to loosen his grip on reality. Every day there is a cumulative 1% chance that he will be struck by a fit of madness (so he will without fail go temporarily mad at least every 100 days). When it comes, the fit lasts for 1-10 days, during which time he will run wild, liable to do or say anything. At the end of the fit, the chance of another fit begins at 1% and slowly climbs as before.

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS: As clerics.

SAVING THROWS: As clerics.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: As clerics.

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: Renaming the Priest Class

I still like the S&S Priest Class I came up with but I am becoming more and more unsatisfied with the name. I don't think it really fits the role that I envision. After all, a priest of Mitra doesn't fit the Priest Class whereas a priest of Set might better fit the current Sorcerer Class.

Two options:

1. Rename the Priest Class something else - such as Mystic or something else.

2. Rename the Priest Class as a "Sorcerer" and then rename the Sorcerer Class something else - such as wizard, warlock, etc.

What do you think?

B/X S&S: A Skype Test?

I would like to try using some of the B/X - Sword & Sorcery hack I have been doing the last while. I'm looking for three players for a skype + gametable game using B/X Dungeons & Dragons with the Sword & Sorcery house rules I have been working on.

This will be a episodic game set in the Hyborian Age. However, I will be going more for the "feel" and "themes" instead of literary accuracy as I am by no means a REH/Conan scholar. I will be using some of the stories from the Savage Sword of Conan stories for ideas/inspiration.

Given the episodic nature, if this is something we have fun with, there's always the option of adding more episodes or players.

I would like to run the first session during the evening of Saturday, Nov 21st. Note that I am Mountain time.

If you're interested, e-mail me at p_armstrong [AT] email [DOT] com, tell me a little about yourself, what kind of gaming you enjoy, etc. In the event that I get an abundance of requests, I have no set criteria for how I'll pick the players. I'll be happy to put the extra folks on the waiting list for possible future episodes.

In addition, I am also considering a play-by-post game. I will let you know if it progresses.

D&D Levels and S&S

Back near the beginning of my hacking around with B/X for a sword & sorcery inspired game, Matthew from Wheel of Samsara made a comment:

"D&D is not ideal for S&S. It's not that you can't do it. Akratic Wizardry and The Wasted Lands both posted good, S&S hacks for D&D. The problem for me, is that S&S is not a genre about guys leveling up and that's the central premise of D&D."

While I am quite happy with the alternate S&S classes I have done for B/X there is still the nagging problem that the D&D level system eventually ruins the "feel" of a sword & sorcery game. The are numerous instances in S&S literature where the mighty hero is forced to flee from a D&D monster that a 12th level fighter would slice up for breakfast. Or instances where the mightiest of sorcerers cannot do what a 5th level magic-user can.

The more I think about this though the more that I think it really is not much of an issue because the number of characters that will survive to high levels will be very small. This is due to:

- B/X classes, from which all of the S&S hacks I have done are based, have low power levels.
- The lower level of magic items.
- Fewer magic-using characters due to the drawbacks built into the new classes.
- If there are sorcerers in the party, the heavy artillery spells (fireball, etc have either been made higher level spells of removed altogether.
- If true to the inspiration of the S&S literature, the size of the adventuring party will likely be smaller than assumed in standard D&D.
- The Fear Check mechanic helps to keep the characters on their toes.

B/X S&S: Classes so far

Here are the classes I have so far for a B/X Sword & Sorcery game:

Fighter - as B/X
Thief - as B/X
Barbarian
Savage
Priest
Atlantean
Sorcerer

And three more I am currently considering:

Mystic - spellcasters from the eastern kingdoms which have strong traditions in mind-affecting sorceries. An illusionist with a coat of paint.

Borderer - a variation of a Ranger. There would be some overlap with some of the other classes though so I am still thinking about this one.

Shaman - spirit totems, etc. This one would be largely taken from one of the BECMI gazetteers with some OD&D Druid thrown in.

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: The Sorcerer Class

Here is a draft sorcerer class. It is the B/X magic-user class with a modified spell check from Chainmail and a slightly modified spell list. You'll note that while there are some Monster Summoning spells in the spell list, there is a lack of AD&D-type spells to summon demons. I envision this type of magic to be instead from magic tomes, etc - stuff the sorcerer may find through adventuring. Also, this was the first time I have ever sat down with the Moldvay and Holmes basic rulebooks and compared low level spell lists. It was an interesting comparison.

SORCERERS

Sorcerers are humans who, through study and practice, have learned how to cast magic spells. They gain their powers through careful study, travel to distant lands, gathering rare powders and plants, and having their agents search ancient ruins for objects of power hinted at in moldering texts.

The prime requisite for sorcerers is Intelligence. A sorcerer with an Intelligence of 13 or greater will gain a bonus to earned experience.

RESTRICTIONS: Sorcerers use four-sided dice (d4) to determine their hit points. They may not wear armour nor use shields and may only use weapons that do 1-4 damage.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Sorcerers use many powerful spells. As they gain levels of experience, they also gain the ability to cast more and more powerful spells.

When a sorcerer casts a spell they have to make a Spell Check by rolling (2d6) plus their Intelligence modifier:

Spell....................Sorcerer Level.....................
Level...1-2.......3-4.......5-6.......7-8......9-10.....11+
1.........6/9.....5/8.......4/7......3/6......-/5.......-/4
2..................6/9.......5/8......4/7......3/6......-/5
3.............................6/9......5/8......4/7......3/6
4.........................................6/9.....5/8.....4/7
5...................................................6/9.....5/8
6.............................................................6/9

Results: Delayed/Immediate
Natural 2 - The sorcerer suffers corruption. Each time this happens the sorcerer suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to all saving throws. The spell is lost from the sorcerers memory.

If the roll is less than the Delayed result the spell is negated and has no effect. It is lost from the sorcerer's mind.

Delayed - Spell delayed until next round.

Immediate - spell takes immediate effect.

Sorcerers must still prepare spells every morning per the Magic-User but do not forget spells when cast unless they fail the Spell Check.

[Note: I would also intend to use my very strict reading of the rules with regards to B/X spellbooks.]

Sorcerer Spell List
Level 1
Charm Person
Dancing Lights*
Detect Magic
Enlargement*
Floating Disc
Hold Portal
Light/Darkness
Protection from Evil/Good
Read Languages
Read Magic
Shield
Sleep
Ventriloquism

Level 2
Audible Glamer*
Continual Light/Darkness
Detect Evil
Detect Invisible
ESP
Invisibility
Knock
Levitate
Locate Object
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Pyrotechnics*
Ray of Enfeeblement*
Strength*
Web
Wizard Lock

Level 3
Clairaudience*
Clairvoyance
Dispel Magic
Explosive Runes*
Haste
Hold Person
Infravision
Invisibility 10-ft
Monster Summoning 1*
Protection from Evil/Good 10-ft
Protection from Normal Missiles
Rope Trick*
Slow*
Suggestion*
Water Breathing

Level 4
Charm Monster
Confusion
Curse/Remove Curse
Dimension Door
Fear
Fly#
Growth of Plants
Hallucinatory Terrain
Lightening Bolt#
Massmorph
Monster Summoning II+
Polymorph Self
Wizard Eye

5th Level
Animate Dead
Cloud Kill
Conjure Elemental
Contact Higher Plane
Feeblemind
Fire Ball#
Hold Monster
Magic Jar
Monster Summoning III+
Pass Wall
Telekinesis
Transmute Rock to Mud/Mud to Rock

6th Level
Anti-Magic Shell
Death Spell
Geas/Remove Geas
Invisible Stalker
Legend Lore+
Lower Water
Monster Summoning IV+
Move Earth
Part Water
Projected Image
Polymorph Other#
Stone to Flesh/Flesh to Stone


* Spell from Holmes Basic D&D
+ Spell from OD&D Supplement 1: Greyhawk
^ see B/X Cleric spell of same name
# this spell has changed levels

B/X S&S: The Atlantean Class

This class is envisioned as a rare elder race of humans, sort of like the Atlanteans, Lemurians, etc from REH's, Carter's and other's tales. The name of the class could be changed to fit any specific S&S setting. It is really just the elf class with a different name.

ATLANTEANS

Atlanteans are the remnants of an ancient race of humans, the descendants from the lost Kingdom of Atlantis. Atlanteans are slender, graceful humans with delicate features. They are tall, 6 to 6 1/2 feet tall, but weigh about 150 pounds. They can be dangerous opponents, able to fight with any weapon and and are adept with the arcane arts.

The prime requisites for an atlantean are Strength and Intelligence. If an atlantean has a score of 13 or greater in both Strength and Intelligence, the character will gain a 5% bonus on earned experience points. If the atlantean's Strength is 13 or greater and his Intelligence is 16 or greater, that character will earn a 10% bonus on earned experience.

RESTRICTIONS: Atlanteans use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may advance to a maximum of 10th level of experience. A character must have an Intelligence of 9 or greater to be an atlantean.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Atlanteans have the advantages of both fighters and sorcerers. They may use shields and can wear any type of armour, and may fight with any kind of weapon. They can also cast spells as a sorcerer (using the same mechanics).

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS: As elves.

SAVING THROWS: As elves.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: As fighters.

B/X S&S: The Basic Rulebook Monster Roster

I think that one of the reasons I keep coming back to a sword & sorcery style game using B/X is the roster of monsters given in the basic and expert rulebooks. I have typed out the list of monsters from the basic rulebook below. Looking at the list there are a few observations that quickly come to me.

1. The high number of man- monsters such as Acolytes, Bandits, etc.

2. The number of normal and giant animals.

3. The number of S&S-type monsters that can be covered, approximated, tweaked from this list. To run a sword & sorcery style game using this list would require very few deletions. I would delete dragons, the demi-humans (dwarves, etc), a few of the fairytale monsters (pixies, sprites) and a few of the humanoids. Many of the humanoid monsters could be relabelled and reflavoured and used in a sword & sorcery game - for example, looking at the picture I posted in the Priest Class post it could easily be an ogre.

List of Monsters from Basic Rulebook
Acolyte
Ape, White
Bandit
Bat (Normal & Giant)
Bear (Black, Grizzly, Polar, Cave)
Beetle, Giant (Fire, Oil, Tiger)
Berzerker
Boar
Bugbear
Carrion Crawler
Cat, Great (Mountain Lion, Panther, Lion, Tiger, Sabre-tooth Tiger)
Cave Locust
Centipede, Giant
Doppleganger
Dragon
Driver Ant
Dwarf
Elf
Ferret, Giant
Gargoyle
Gelatinous Cube
Ghoul
Gnoll
Gnome
Goblin
Gray Ooze
Green Slime
Halfling
Harpy
Hobgoblin
Insect Swarms
Killer Bees
Kobold
Living Statue (Crystal, Iron, Rock)
Lizards, Giant (Gecko, Draco, Horned Chameleon, Tuatara)
Lizard Man
Lycanthropes
Medium
Medusa
Minotaur
Mule
Neanderthal
Noble
Normal Human
NPC Party
Ochre Jelly
Ogre
Orc
Owl Bear
Pixie
Rat (Normal, Giant)
Robber Fly
Rock Baboon
Rust Monster
Shadow
Shrew, Giant
Shrieker
Skeleton
Snake (Spitting Cobra, Pit Viper, Sea Snake, Giant Rattler, Rock Python)
Spider, Giant (Crab, Black Widow, Tarantella)
Sprite
Stirge
Thoul
Trader
Troglodyte
Veteran
Wight
Wolf (Normal, Dire)
Yellow Mold
Zombie

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.

B/X S&S: The Thaumaturge Class

I have discovered I am better at retrofitting the existing B/X classes to S&S tropes instead of developing new classes. The Thaumaturge class is just a reflavouring of the cleric. I am still debating whether this could be the default Sorcerer class. Some of the weaknesses are taken from the excellent Zefrs which I should have included with BoL and T&T in my list of games to use to run a S&S game.

THAUMATURGE

Thaumaturges are those those who have dedicated themselves to some otherworldly being such as a demon or a Cthulhu-esque being from another dimension.
They will always be working towards their own advancement and the benefit of the entity which they serve. As a Thaumaturge advances in level, he or she is taught various rituals by the entity which they serve in return for the Thaumaturge's dedication and other gifts/bribes/sacrifices (to be left up to the DM). However, a Thaumaturge does not receive any rituals until they reach 2nd level (and have proven their dedication/sold their soul/etc). The prime requisite for Thaumaturges is Wisdom. A Wisdom score of 13 or greater will give the Thaumaturge a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Thaumaturges use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may wear any armour any may use shields. They are not extensively trained in combat and may only use weapons which do a maximum of 1d6 damage.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: A Thaumaturge may use rituals which are the same as cleric spells. However, only the reverse of any reversible spells may be used. For example, cure light wounds cannot be cast but cause light wounds can be, darkness instead of light, etc.

When a Thaumaturge reaches level 4, 6, 8 and 10, they roll a d12 on the following table due to the strain of contacting the otherworldly entities and the channeling power meant for no mortal.

1. Animal Aversion - the Thaumaturge is inherently unsettling to animals. Any natural within 10 feet of the Thaumaturge instantly becomes nervous, skittish and irritable.

2. Blindness

3. Color Blind - Inability to distinguish one color from another. Any task requiring identifying items by color is impossible. It may also have some negative social consequences, such as an inability to put together an tasteful set of clothes.

4. Disfigurement - Disfigurements are often strange warpings of the body such as shrivelled limbs, bizarre scarring, eye discoloration or loss, transformation of hands or feet into claws or hooves, and so on. Disfigurements are permanent and always blatant, but can be hidden with some work. Characters with disfigurements also suffer some social disadvantages.

5. Distrusted - an unshakeable aura of untrustworthiness. Long hours of probing arcane secrets have subtly warped his personality and demeanour. The Thaumaturge, or even a group including the Thaumaturge, suffers a -2 penalty to Reaction Rolls.

6. Endurance Loss - Study of the dark arts has sapped your character's physical and psychic vigor. Lose 1d4 from Constitution.

7. Phobia - Fear of something. When exposed to his phobia he must roll over his level on a d12 or give in and do anything to get away from the source of his phobia.

8. Glutton - A glutton eats at every opportunity. His resultant girth means he can only wear custom-made clothing and armor, and he is of course much heavier than most other people.

9. Obsessive - The Thaumaturge is obsessed with something. When exposed to his obsession he must roll over his level on a d12 or give in and do anything to gain the obsession.

10. Nocturnal - When the sun is down, he is full of energy and will not sleep. By day, he is lethargic and groggy if not actually asleep. He is dazzled by sunlight, so much so that he suffers a -1 penalty for saving throws and "to hit" rolls.

11. Deafness

12. Madness - The terrible secrets your character has unearthed in his quest for forbidden knowledge have begun to loosen his grip on reality. Every day there is a cumulative 1% chance that he will be struck by a fit of madness (so he will without fail go temporarily mad at least every 100 days). When it comes, the fit lasts for 1-10 days, during which time he will run wild, liable to do or say anything. At the end of the fit, the chance of another fit begins at 1% and slowly climbs as before.

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS: As clerics.

SAVING THROWS: As clerics.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: As clerics.

B/X S&S: The Amazon Class [Deleted]

I have deleted the draft amazon class as I feel that an amazon PC could just be a female fighter.

I do still love me some amazon antagonists!

B/X S&S: The Savage

Envisioned as something like REH's Picts using the B/X Halfling.

SAVAGES

Savages are a warlike, tribal people with a very primitive Stone Age culture. They are a short, broad swarthy-skinned folk. Every aspect of their lives is dominated by an awareness of their lush environment.

The prime requisites for a savage are Strength and Dexterity. A savage character whose Strength or Dexterity score is 13 or greater will receive a 5% bonus to earned experience. Savages whose Strength and Dexterity scores are 13 or greater will receive a bonus of 10% to earned experience.

RESTRICTIONS: Savages use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may advance to a maximum of 8th level of experience. Savages can use any type of weapon, however, they may wear nothing more protective than leather armour, and they may use a shield. Savages must have a minimum score of 9 in both Dexterity and Constitution.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Savages have better saving throws than most other character classes. They are very accurate with all missile weapons and gain a bonus of +1, in addition to Dexterity adjustments, on their "to hit" rolls when using them. Due to their smaller stature and skills at dodging large ferocious beasts, Savages have a bonus of -2 on their Armour Class when being attacked by creatures larger than man-sized. When rolling for individual initiative (an Optional rule) savages add +1, in addition to any Dexterity adjustments. Outdoors, savages are difficult to spot, having the ability to seemingly vanish into woods, bushes or undergrowth. Savages have only a 10% chance of being detected in this type of cover, and even in dungeons there is a one-third chance (a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6) that a savage will not be seen in normal light if the character finds some cover (such as shadows), and remains absolutely quiet and still. Savages are skilled at tracking and may follow a trail two-thirds of the time (a roll of 1 to 4 on a 1d6) when outdoors and have a one-in-six chance while in a dungeon.

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS:
Level........XP.......HD
1...............0.......1d6
2...........2,000.....2d6
3...........4,000.....3d6
4...........8,000.....4d6
5..........16,000.....5d6
6..........32,000.....6d6
7..........64,000.....7d6
8.........120,000.....8d6

SAVING THROWS: As halflings.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: As fighter.

B/X S&S: The Barbarian Class

BARBARIANS

Barbarians are not from the decadent cities of civilization, but instead from the harsh northlands, scorching deserts or other inhospitable wildernesses. They are often stubborn but practical and have a strong distrust of magic. Barbarians are sturdy fighters and are especially hardy and resilient, as shown by their better saving throws. The Prime Requisite for a barbarian character is Strength. A Strength score of 13 or greater will give a barbarian a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Barbarians use eight-sided dice (d8) to determine their hit points. They may advance to a maximum of 12th level of experience. Barbarians may use any type of armour and may use shields. They may use any type of melee or thrown weapon but do not use missile weapons. A barbarian character must have a minimum Constitution score of 9.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Barbarians are hardy and have better saving throws than most other classes. They are use to surviving in the wilderness and are able to forage (see page X51), discover the correct direction if they become lost (see page X56) and spot traps and snares in the wild one-third of the time (a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6). When trying to evade an encounter in the wild (see page X23), treat the Party Size as one size category smaller (if the barbarian is alone he has a 95% chance for evasion).

When barbarians reach 9th level, they may build a stronghold and attempt to establish a clan. The stronghold will be located in the wilderness. The Barbarian Lord may only use barbarian warriors, but specialists and retainers of other classes may be offered other positions.

EXPERIENCE AND LEVELS:
Level........XP.......HD
1...............0.......1d8
2...........2,200.....2d8
3...........4,400.....3d8
4...........8,800.....4d8
5..........17,000.....5d8
6..........35,000.....6d8
7..........70,000.....7d8
8.........140,000.....8d8
9.........270,000.....9d8
10........400,000.....9d8+3*
11........530,000.....9d8+6*
12........660,000.....9d8+9*

* Constitution adjustments no longer apply.

SAVING THROWS: As dwarves.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: As fighter.

As you can see it is modelled on the B/X Dwarf.

The Sword & Sorcery Vibe

I have had the sword & sorcery vibe going the last while.

Honestly, if I were to run a S&S inspired game I probably wouldn't use D&D - even though I think B/X, with a few very minor tweaks, could do S&S very well (just look at the monster roster in B/X). But I might still post some thoughts here about a S&S B/X game.

Instead, assuming I could find players, I would likely use either Tunnels & Trolls or Barbarians of Lemuria.

I think that the mechanics of T&T would do a great job for a pulpy S&S game. Some might be put off by the humour in the spell names but those are easily changed. Remove the kindreds and allow only human characters and you are on your way.




I haven't heard much about Barbarians of Lemuria the last while but it is suppose to be republished by Cubicle 7 in the next while. The fast and furious mechanics are perfect for the genre (it uses a simple 2d6 vs target number mechanic). The Careers and Trait & Flaws takes the simple mechanic and makes it very flavourful. If you haven't you should check it out.

Sans Armour - the S&S Trope in B/X

Three posts in one morning! After this I might have to go lay down.

One thing that is often seen in the sword & sorcery literature and artwork that is not directly included in B/X - or any other version of D&D - is the loin-skin wearing barbarian or chainmail bikini clad amazon wading into battle.

Now the argument could be made, and quite convincingly I think, that the increase in hit points each level actually does reflect the ability for an unarmoured character to avoid getting hit. But, an idea I have been considering to accommodate for this standard S&S trope in a way in which players might be happier with than just the increase in hit points every level is that a character's Armour Class can improve as they go up in levels as long as they are not wearing any armour.

DRAFT ONLY
Unarmoured AC is adjusted by Dexterity Armour Class Adjustment.

The idea behind it is that Fighters can hit an unarmoured opponent Fighter of the same level 50% of the time and the unarmoured AC progresses at the same rate as the improvement in the Fighter's "to hit". So as per the Attack tables on page X26, a level 1-3 Fighter hits AC 8 50% of the time, level 4-6 hits AC 6 50% of the time, level 7-9 hits AC 3 50% of the time...

From this base line assumption all of the other classes are worse and improve slower. I would also strongly consider not allowing this ability for any other classes besides fighters.

The key is that they must be unarmoured - wearing any armour including as shield makes the character use the standard AC system.

Art Used Without Permission

First Level Sword & Sorcery Heroes

A passing thought...

So most old-school D&D players recognize that the roots of the game are in pulp-style sword & sorcery literature,

and

Heroes in pulp-style sword & sorcery literature are usually (always?) quite capable,

then why

Are first level characters, whether it be OD&D, B/X, AD&D, so fragile?

Because
The real roots of D&D are in wargames and players start as regular wargame Joes.

True? False? Thoughts?