Idea: Dexterity with the Man-to-Man table

[harlandski]

As I've said on another thread, I'm thinking of switching to the Man-to-Man table for combat in OD&D. The question then arises whether to modify this for dexterity (manual speed).

One idea I've had is:

Dexterity 13-14: may modify weapon class +/- 1
Dexterity 15+: may modify weapon class +/- 2

If using the Man-to-Man first strike rules, this could then affect who gets first strike each round, so for example with two swordsmen, one with Dex 15 the other with Dex 10, the more dexterous one could get first strike even if defending (raising his weapon class to 6), and then get first strike in the second round (lowering it to 2). Similarly it could allow parries and/or extra strikes which would normally not be allowed with the given weapon.

This seems logical to me - a dexterous s we swordsman is able to use his weapon more flexibily than a less dexterous one.

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts about this, or if anyone has tried something similar.

[Finarvyn]

I think it comes down to which variant of OD&D you are playing. For a box-plus-Greyhawk style game it would probably work pretty well, although a +2 on 2d6 is a pretty hefty bonus. If you are doing box only I would use the same modifier range as for Constitution, which gives a +1 for 15 and above. (Seems like 15 is a pretty important number in M&M.)

I suppose in a box-only game you could give one +1 for Dex and another +1 for Strength (both at 15 and above), or change "and" to "or" if you want to allow a "strength fighter" versus a "dexterity fighter." A strength fighter might be more like Conan, whereas a dex fighter could be a swashbuckler type.

Just off the top of my head, of course, and not at all playtested.

[harlandski]

Jan 5, 2019 6:06:55 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

I think it comes down to which variant of OD&D you are playing. For a box-plus-Greyhawk style game it would probably work pretty well, although a +2 on 2d6 is a pretty hefty bonus. If you are doing box only I would use the same modifier range as for Constitution, which gives a +1 for 15 and above. (Seems like 15 is a pretty important number in M&M.)

I suppose in a box-only game you could give one +1 for Dex and another +1 for Strength (both at 15 and above), or change "and" to "or" if you want to allow a "strength fighter" versus a "dexterity fighter." A strength fighter might be more like Conan, whereas a dex fighter could be a swashbuckler type.

Just off the top of my head, of course, and not at all playtested.

Thanks for the reply, and interesting ideas. I didn't mean bonuses to the attack rolls though, but the possibility to modify the weapon class, and so to take advantage of parry and first strike options. I was struggling with those rules - the Chainmail Man-to-Man rules - a year ago (http://odd74.proboards.com/thread/12257/first-strike-attackers-defenders-parry), and am now gearing up for my first public OD&D offering at a con.