B/X Cover to Cover - B5

A short post...

Thoughts while I read page B4 - How to Create a Player Character:

• A nice clear and concise step-by-step guide to making a character.
• I always used blank sheets instead of a Dungeons & Dragons Character Record Sheet. I do not think I ever saw that product for sale in a store back in the day.
• "2. Roll 3d6 (for a result of 3-18) for each ability..." - it doesn't say anything about in order. I presume that someone could say prior to each roll which of the abilities that roll would be for.
• "4. ... Magic-users and elves should choose one spell..." - the first hint of my strict reading of how magic-user and elf spell books work.
• For years I modelled my character sheets after the one used for Borg the Fighter.
• Not too sure why they felt the need to include an even more condensed 7 step version.

B/X on Google+?

What are the main Google+ communities for a B/X fan such as myself?

My Underground Con proposal

The call for GM's has gone out for Underground Con. After some thought I decided to straight-up steal two ideas from Delta's D&D Hotspot. The games I have volunteered to DM are:


1. Corsairs of the Realm
The King of the Realm has quietly declared hostilities on the allied free cities of Greyhawk and Hardby, signing Letters of Course authorizing privateers to hunt and capture their shipping. The hostilities only last for a single sailing season; 16 weeks. If you set forth and capture three merchant vessels for the King of the Realm over the course of a 16-week sailing season, you will be proclaimed Barons of the Realm. However, the seas are dangerous as you must not only watch out for vessels from Greyhawk and Hardby patrolling the seas but also the legendary Kraken is rumoured to haunt the deeps…

A naval game using the 1981 Basic and Expert Dungeons & Dragons rules. It will involve three levels of action: (1) the strategic campaign level (which coast to prowl), (2) the tactical ship-to-ship level, and (3) the man-to-man combat level. Note that the names of Greyhawk and Hardby are just used for fun and do not represent the same cities portrayed in the Greyhawk Campaign Setting. 

2. The Northern Marches
The King of the Realm has declared that anyone who explores the Northern Marches and returns to the town of New Hareth with enough treasure to construct a keep (100,000 gp) to protect its inhabitants will be proclaimed new Barons of the Realm. Beware, winter is coming. Can you survive the harsh, monster haunted northern wilderlands and return to New Hareth with the treasure before winter comes?

An exploration focused old-school hex crawl using the 1981 Basic and Expert Dungeons & Dragons rules.

If one of those doesn't garner interest, I am considering swapping it out with a Battlestar Galactic game using a hack of The Mountain Witch - getting my new-school on.

Pit of Tortured Souls - Factions

I have been rereading my posts and notes regarding the Pit of Tortured Souls and thinking about next steps. It has piqued my interest again and I will likely do some more work on it.

Looking at the list of special monsters that I was planning on using got me thinking about what their relationships would be like. I think these will allow PCs to interact with various groups in different ways.

Amazons

• View themselves as the Ghoul-Queen's favorites
• Look down upon the lowly kobolds and bestial gnolls
• Are Sidra's hand in the wider world
• Hate all men

Kobolds

• Would love to throw off the yoke of their Gnoll overseers but know they can't stand up to one tribe of them much less two
• Like to dominate the gnorlock slaves who are likely the only inhabitants of the Pit more lowly than themselves

Gnolls

• Two tribes competing for the Ghoul-Queen's favour
• Each wants to claim the Pit as their own territory and eliminate the other tribe
• Pick on the weaker kobolds

Gnorlocks

• Subjugated by the gnolls and kobolds
• Some have escaped the slave pens and are hiding deeper in the mines. They secretly continue to contact those that are still slaves and encourage them to rise up in a likely ill-advised rebellion
• Some that have escaped have ventured into the Cyst of the Slimes and have been charmed by the Great Grey Ooze
• Some of the other escapees may be influenced by some of the grey ooze charmed gnorlocks
• The gnorlocks in the mine ostracize and torment the few hobgoblin slaves

Mothmen

• Eat Slug People

Slug People

• Want to be rid of the mothmen and live in peace

Discarded

• Pathetic creatures that lurk in the shadows trying to avoid the Fleshshifters

Fleshshifters

• Alien creatures that serve the Ghoul-Queen for some unknown reason and try to find subjects of all species for their vile experiments

Fire Salamanders

• Hang out

Great Grey Ooze

• Who can tell the mind of an ooze?

B/X Cover to Cover - B2 to B4

Thoughts while I read the Forward:

• The first and second paragraphs are the first very faint indication that maybe B/X is more "new school" than I or others may realize. Moldvay says, "Sometimes I forget that D&D [sic] is a game and not a novel I'm reading or a movie I'm watching." A novel or movie implies plot and plotting an adventure is considered not to be old-school. There are a number of instances where B/X contains "new school" characteristics such as balance, plot, and character-centric adventures that may would consider to be foreign to old-school D&D. I will try to touch on them as we go.
• Acknowledgement that OD&D was written by gamers for gamers and was not intended to teach the game.
• A brief mention of the goals for B/X: 1. easy to read, and 2. teach the game to individuals that have never played. I feel that B/X was a resounding success at the first goal but missed the mark by a bit on the second. I learned to play D&D with B/X but not without some stumbles.
• "No rule is inviolate..." A key point.
• My minor quibble about the cover comes into play again in Mr. Moldvay's story. Killing the dragon with a single blow is very unlikely in the Basic rules.
• "dragon-tyrant" I like that moniker. I may have to use it sometime.

Thoughts while I read the Acknowledgements:

• Lots of recognizable names. It still seems odd not to see Gary Gygax or Dave Arneson listed. I understand why Mr. Arneson isn't listed but it still seems strange.

Thoughts while I read Part 1: Introduction

• I was incorrect, the first paragraph of the Introduction also mentions "role playing"
• The first paragraph gives the first sense of character motivation, "fame and fortune"
• The reward mechanic is also mentioned, "Characters gain experience by overcoming perils and recovering treasure" (emphasis mine)
• The first reference to the Companion rules
• Mentions that the rule book has 3 holes drilled so it can be cut apart and placed with the Expert rules in a binder. Did anyone ever do this? I know I didn't.
• A full paragraph stresses that the rules are just guidelines.
• I find the glossary definition of "adventure" to be interesting. Adventure = game session. Also, the adventure begins when the characters enter the dungeon and ends when they leave and split up treasure. These basic rules focus solely on adventuring in a dungeon. Based on the definition of adventure, there is no wilderness or urban adventures (contrary to B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands).
• The Caller. We always used a caller when we were kids. It is a habit I have gotten away from.  This paragraph addresses many of the arguments that arise against using a caller. "The caller should make sure that he or she is accurately representing all the player characters' wishes. The caller is a mediator between players and the DM, and should not judge what the player characters should do." The caller does not have any authority to determine what other characters do but instead is a single voice to reduce chaos.
• Basic is deadly. It is already hinted at in the introduction that death of a PC is no big deal since you can simply roll up a new character and continue playing.

B/X Sword, Science & Sorcery Class: Synthetic

Modified from Goblinoid Game's Mutant Future. Completely unbalanced and not playtested!

SYNTHETIC

Synthetics are highly advanced humanoids that are engineered and grown synthetically in vats. They have something resembling a vascular system that circulates a milky white fluid. From the outside they are completely indistinguishable from normal humans, and their true nature may only be revealed through advanced sensors. Injury will also reveal them for what they are. They will appear to be warm, living beings if observed with thermal vision. Synthetics have a polymer skeleton, with synthetic muscles. They are equipped with a power generation system that mimics biological digestion, allowing them to eat in order to maintain their power supplies. However, they do not heal and must be repaired. Synthetics do not have a prime requisite as they do not gain XP.

RESTRICTIONS: Synthetics begin with 4d6 +/- 1d6 per Constitution bonus or penalty (for example, a synthetic with a constitution of 16 (a +2 bonus) would begin with 4d6 + 2d6 = 6d6 hit points). Synthetics do not advance in level, therefore they do not gain additional hit points beyond what they begin with. Synthetics may use any type of armour and may use shields. They may use any type of melee or missile weapon. A synthetic character does not have any minimum ability requirements.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: For melee attacks, synthetics attack as a cleric of a level equal to the average of their Strength, Dexterity and Constitution ability scores divided by 2. The strength bonus/penalty for to-hit rolls does not impact their attack rolls but they do get the damage bonus/penalty. For missile attacks, they attack as a cleric of a level equal to the average of their Intelligence, Dexterity and Wisdom ability scores divided by 2. Their dexterity bonus or penalty for missile attacks does not impact their missile attack rolls.
Synthetics are not affected by sleep or charm spells nor any form of mind reading.

SAVING THROWS: as clerics.

CHARACTER ATTACKS: see above.

EXPERIENCE TABLE: na

B/X Arabian Nights - The Holy Slayer

I have mentioned before that I love the Sinbad movies. I have also been reading the 2nd edition AD&D Al-Qadim books. Some online investigation led me to B.J. Johnson's Saturday Night Sandbox and his Jann class to replace the elf.

Taking that inspiration and my previous hacks of B/X classes for my sword & sorcery classes gives us The Holy Slayer...

The Holy Slayer
Holy slayer is the term that these killers use to refer to themselves; those who are more critical of them call them assassins. These individuals are zealously dedicated to the service of their holy slayer fellowship, ultimately answering to the grandfather or grandmother who is in charge of that organization. Holy slayers are expected to answer the call to duty without question, even if that call should require them to sacrifice their own lives.

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

RESTRICTIONS: Holy slayers use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may use any weapon. They may wear nothing more protective than leather armour, and may not use a shield. Holy slayers must have a minimum score of 9 in both Dexterity and Constitution.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Holy slayers have better saving throws than most other character class. 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. When striking unnoticed from behind, a holy slayer gains a bonus of +4 on "to hit" rolls and inflicts twice the normal damage. Holy slayers are difficult to spot, having the ability to seemingly vanish. Holy slayers have only a 10% chance of being detected in woods or underbrush, and even in dungeons there is a one-third chance (a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6) that a holy slayers will not be seen in normal light if the character finds some cover (such as shadows), and remains absolutely quiet and still.

Upon reaching 9th level (Grandfather), a holy slayer may construct a fortress. A holy slayer who has constructed a fortress will attract 2-12 1st level holy slayers who have come to learn under the grandfather. These will generally (though not always) be loyal and will not be replaced by others if they die or leave.

SAVING THROWS: As Halflings

EXPERIENCE TABLE:
Level...Title...................................XP...............HD
1.........Adherents.............................0...............1d6
2.........Fida'i...............................2,000...............2d6
3.........Companions......................4,000...............3d6
4.........Assassin...........................8,000...............4d6
5.........Propagandists..................16,000...............5d6
6.........Haşhaşiler.......................32,000................6d6
7.........Greater Propagandists........64,000................7d6
8.........Hassassin.......................120,000...............8d6
9.........Grandfather....................240,000...............9d6
10........10th Level Grandfather......360,000...............9d6+2*
11........11th Level Grandfather......480,000...............9d6+4*
12........12th Level Grandfather......600,000...............9d6+6*
13........13th Level Grandfather......720,000...............9d6+8*
14........14th Level Grandfather......840,000...............9d6+10*
* constitution bonus no longer applies

This is pretty much a halfling with the AC bonus vs. giants replaced with backstab.