The (OBX) D&D game on the package, that never was...
Jul 30, 2020 9:32:17 GMT -6
Finarvyn, Zenopus, and 1 more like this
Post by jeffb on Jul 30, 2020 9:32:17 GMT -6
This is a very rough idea for a set of OSR rules I've been working on- based on S&W's Saving throw system- but expanded.
the idea is that I'm a huge fan of the "superheroic" art style that permeated the very late 70s and early 1980s TSR products. In particular Jeff Dee. Bill Willingham, and Jim Roslof are my favorites. This art was more like a S&S comic book- big action, powerful characters. Some imagery I'm referring to-
L1 Bone Hill cover
T1 Village of Homlett cover (green)
S1 Tomb of Horrors Cover (green) and S2 White PLume Mountain (Orange, second cover)
Moldvay/Cook Basic and (especially) Expert rulebooks
All 4 covers of the A series (especially A1)
C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness
GW1 The Legion of Gold
The Blue cover D series (some great interiors here too)
The minigames like SAGA and Revolt on Antares
The Roslof cover for Dungeon!
As written TSR era D&D gameplay, IME, doesn't really live up to those images for characters, except maybe at very high levels for casters. In B/X particularly, Characters are pretty weak and fragile for several levels, and not capable of much in the way of "heroic fantasy" gameplay. Even powerful characters are susceptible to instant deaths/save or dies.
Classes like The Thief and Fighters become boring because they are beholden to magic items to make them powerful- which is something I want to remove or at least vastly downplay. I wanted characters who start out competent at first level. More importantly so do my player groups over the years. They love the simplicity and free-form of "old school D&D mechanics" but not the "grind" to become competent, the "heroics will get you killed nearly every time" gameplay, or the disparity between casters and non casters.
I wanted to allow for smaller party sizes- 3-4 characters, instead of 4-8 characters and the idea of including retainers/hirelings, etc.
I wanted to get away from a "Daily" resource management for spellcasters and Vancian magic in particular. My player's hate it, I'm not a fan because the fiction gets thrown to the wayside and it becomes said daily resource management game within the game (Cleric- I'm memorizing all my boring cure spells..again. It's no secret that I personally prefer 4E's character spell/power/exploit design system by far over any edition (at will, encounter/minor spells/maneuvers, daily/major spells/maneuvers), but wanted to keep it more simple and compatible with O/B/X D&D more or less.
So this is a rambling set of initial thoughts/mechanics that addresses these things. It is by no means complete or set in stone. And with my horrible inability to convey things with few words, it probably seems more "dense" than it really is.
game mechanic= Throw of the Dice - Based on S&W style ST’s – Saving Throws, Skill Throws, Spell Throws, Stunt Throws or just an “ess-tee”
ST target is 18+ for non adventurers, commoners. Reduced by 1 per Character level. So a 1st Level Character would have a ST of 17+. 5th Level character would have a Spell/Save/Skill Throw of 13+. The Idea is that a character sheet has a Static ST target number and a single bonus/penalty to apply to their D20 roll.
And of course a DM could say – Make a Saving Throw add your CON bonus. Or Make a Skill Throw, add your CHA bonus, etc for improvised tasks.
Spellcasting-Vancian Casting = gone. Spell casters get several known spells at each spell level, plus a bonus # for high Ability score. And they can find spellbooks/scrolls and the like. Spellcasting throws help to offset the greater spell knowledge, but spellcasters may cast a specific spell only once per encounter/combat unless they were unsuccessful, in which case they can try again. So, no spamming Fireball and Lightning bolts.
However a Spell Throw of “1” causes the Magic User to fumble the casting creating a disastrous result or lose the ability to use that spell for the day.
Likewise, a natural 20 results in maximum effectiveness (max damage, max # of targets or HD affected, etc)-
SAVING THROWS- Though there are static #s for the character, the DM can apply penalties for extremely potent magic/items/opponents. “The poison on this trap’s needle is particularly nasty- it is harvested from the tiny Jade Scorpions of the Great Wastes. It is said that during the process, 10 men die for every thimbleful obtained- you have a penalty of -3 to your roll- may the Gods of Light be with you, defiler of tombs!”
COMBAT ROLLS
As per typical OSR games- Attack bonus + STR or DEX bonus vs. AC (ascending system used).
Monsters HD determines attack bonus as in S&W, as well as ST’s- Base 18+. 1HD creature has 17+ ST . 9 HD creature has 9+ ST . Max bonus is +10. DMs can fudge around with numbers but this is quick and easy.
Classes
Magic Users- have an inherent +3 bonus to Spell throws to cast and Spell Saving throws to resist spells. Can add INT bonus to these rolls, if any. Wizards may get a Skill throw bonus for a “arcane lore/knowledge” check of some sort at DM’s discretion. Magic Items such as a Staff of The Star Mage may improve the Wizards Spell bonus if they can be found.
Melee/Ranged Attack Bonus +1 cumulative at levels 3,6,9,12 for a maximum of +4
Thieves- All Thievery Skill Throws would garner a +3 inherent Bonus. Thieves could add their DEX (INT?) bonus (if any) to Thievery Skill Throws, or Saving Throws to avoid Traps/Poison, etc.
Thieves Attack Bonus= +1 cumulative at levels 2, 4, 6,8,10 for a maximum of +5
Clerics have an inherent +3 bonus to Spell throws to cast and Spell Saving throws to resist spells. Can add WIS bonus to these rolls, if any. Clerics may get a Skill throw bonus for a “religious lore/knowledge” check of some sort at DM’s discretion. Magic Items such as the Robes of The Lightbringers may improve the Cleric’s Spell bonus if they can be found.
Turning is a Prayer (Spell), not a granted ability for all Clerics.
Cleric’s utilizing healing spells for those of opposed Alignment (Law vs. Chaos), must require the recipient to accomplish a Lawful (good) or Chaotic (evil) deed as appropriate by the end of the day or both the recipient and cleric will suffer the God’s wrath (penalties to all rolls? Inability to cast healing spells? Loss of hit points and a curse?- DM’s have fun with this)
Neutral Clerics healing those of other alignments will suffer no Throw Penalties- The Neutral God’s would love to have more converts- but healing amount will be minimum possible “just a small sample of Yana-Or’s power, brave Warrior..… She would smile more favorably upon a true believer! Have I told you the tale of Yanna Or’s battle with Xin during Creation? NO? Well that is a tale all TRUE Warriors should know!”
Clerics Attack Bonus +1 cumulative at levels 3, 5,7,9,11 for a Maximum of +5
Fighters- In addition to any Ability Score Bonus for STR, Fighters receive an inherent +3 bonus to all Feats (Skill Throws) of Exceptional Strength- Breaking doors, bending bars, lift gates. This bonus also applies to knowledge/lore re: fighting styles, weapons, great warriors/battles of history, etc. per the DM’s discretion.
In addition to any Ability score bonus for CON, Fighters receive an inherent +3 bonus to any Saving or Skill Throws that require physical fortitude or endurance- Resisting Poison or the Elements such as extreme heat or cold, swimming a river, etc.
Fighters receive a cumulative +1 bonus to all attacks and damage at each level with a Maximum of +8 for each.
In lieu of a strike, Fighters may perform a Combat STUNT* on their turn- This is a STR Skill Throw with normal bonus/penalty for high Strength and the Fighter’s inherent Bonus of +3 . Fighters can use this stunt to push a foe backward up to 10 feet (or intimidate them to back up), knock them prone (within reason, sorry guys, no knocking a dragon prone), disarm them if they can be , shoot an item out of their grip with an arrow, etc.
Some notes about COMBAT STUNTS
Work with your DM for specific cases. DM’s - work with your players. This is a game of fantasy, not a combat simulation. If your Fighter wants to swing on a ship’s mast rope and cut some Pirate’s sword hand off as he goes by and succeeds on the STUNT, then roll with it! It will be super memorable.
Now if our Swinging Fighter rolls badly- heh…make THAT memorable too- Rope breaks, flies into several Pirates on the deck, takes a bunch of damage, maybe breaks his arm , or leg. DMs get to have fun too.
*Please note all Classes can perform a Combat Feat- however the Fighter and only the Fighter receives the inherent +3 Bonus to this roll during combat.
the idea is that I'm a huge fan of the "superheroic" art style that permeated the very late 70s and early 1980s TSR products. In particular Jeff Dee. Bill Willingham, and Jim Roslof are my favorites. This art was more like a S&S comic book- big action, powerful characters. Some imagery I'm referring to-
L1 Bone Hill cover
T1 Village of Homlett cover (green)
S1 Tomb of Horrors Cover (green) and S2 White PLume Mountain (Orange, second cover)
Moldvay/Cook Basic and (especially) Expert rulebooks
All 4 covers of the A series (especially A1)
C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness
GW1 The Legion of Gold
The Blue cover D series (some great interiors here too)
The minigames like SAGA and Revolt on Antares
The Roslof cover for Dungeon!
As written TSR era D&D gameplay, IME, doesn't really live up to those images for characters, except maybe at very high levels for casters. In B/X particularly, Characters are pretty weak and fragile for several levels, and not capable of much in the way of "heroic fantasy" gameplay. Even powerful characters are susceptible to instant deaths/save or dies.
Classes like The Thief and Fighters become boring because they are beholden to magic items to make them powerful- which is something I want to remove or at least vastly downplay. I wanted characters who start out competent at first level. More importantly so do my player groups over the years. They love the simplicity and free-form of "old school D&D mechanics" but not the "grind" to become competent, the "heroics will get you killed nearly every time" gameplay, or the disparity between casters and non casters.
I wanted to allow for smaller party sizes- 3-4 characters, instead of 4-8 characters and the idea of including retainers/hirelings, etc.
I wanted to get away from a "Daily" resource management for spellcasters and Vancian magic in particular. My player's hate it, I'm not a fan because the fiction gets thrown to the wayside and it becomes said daily resource management game within the game (Cleric- I'm memorizing all my boring cure spells..again. It's no secret that I personally prefer 4E's character spell/power/exploit design system by far over any edition (at will, encounter/minor spells/maneuvers, daily/major spells/maneuvers), but wanted to keep it more simple and compatible with O/B/X D&D more or less.
So this is a rambling set of initial thoughts/mechanics that addresses these things. It is by no means complete or set in stone. And with my horrible inability to convey things with few words, it probably seems more "dense" than it really is.
game mechanic= Throw of the Dice - Based on S&W style ST’s – Saving Throws, Skill Throws, Spell Throws, Stunt Throws or just an “ess-tee”
ST target is 18+ for non adventurers, commoners. Reduced by 1 per Character level. So a 1st Level Character would have a ST of 17+. 5th Level character would have a Spell/Save/Skill Throw of 13+. The Idea is that a character sheet has a Static ST target number and a single bonus/penalty to apply to their D20 roll.
And of course a DM could say – Make a Saving Throw add your CON bonus. Or Make a Skill Throw, add your CHA bonus, etc for improvised tasks.
Spellcasting-Vancian Casting = gone. Spell casters get several known spells at each spell level, plus a bonus # for high Ability score. And they can find spellbooks/scrolls and the like. Spellcasting throws help to offset the greater spell knowledge, but spellcasters may cast a specific spell only once per encounter/combat unless they were unsuccessful, in which case they can try again. So, no spamming Fireball and Lightning bolts.
However a Spell Throw of “1” causes the Magic User to fumble the casting creating a disastrous result or lose the ability to use that spell for the day.
Likewise, a natural 20 results in maximum effectiveness (max damage, max # of targets or HD affected, etc)-
SAVING THROWS- Though there are static #s for the character, the DM can apply penalties for extremely potent magic/items/opponents. “The poison on this trap’s needle is particularly nasty- it is harvested from the tiny Jade Scorpions of the Great Wastes. It is said that during the process, 10 men die for every thimbleful obtained- you have a penalty of -3 to your roll- may the Gods of Light be with you, defiler of tombs!”
COMBAT ROLLS
As per typical OSR games- Attack bonus + STR or DEX bonus vs. AC (ascending system used).
Monsters HD determines attack bonus as in S&W, as well as ST’s- Base 18+. 1HD creature has 17+ ST . 9 HD creature has 9+ ST . Max bonus is +10. DMs can fudge around with numbers but this is quick and easy.
Classes
Magic Users- have an inherent +3 bonus to Spell throws to cast and Spell Saving throws to resist spells. Can add INT bonus to these rolls, if any. Wizards may get a Skill throw bonus for a “arcane lore/knowledge” check of some sort at DM’s discretion. Magic Items such as a Staff of The Star Mage may improve the Wizards Spell bonus if they can be found.
Melee/Ranged Attack Bonus +1 cumulative at levels 3,6,9,12 for a maximum of +4
Thieves- All Thievery Skill Throws would garner a +3 inherent Bonus. Thieves could add their DEX (INT?) bonus (if any) to Thievery Skill Throws, or Saving Throws to avoid Traps/Poison, etc.
Thieves Attack Bonus= +1 cumulative at levels 2, 4, 6,8,10 for a maximum of +5
Clerics have an inherent +3 bonus to Spell throws to cast and Spell Saving throws to resist spells. Can add WIS bonus to these rolls, if any. Clerics may get a Skill throw bonus for a “religious lore/knowledge” check of some sort at DM’s discretion. Magic Items such as the Robes of The Lightbringers may improve the Cleric’s Spell bonus if they can be found.
Turning is a Prayer (Spell), not a granted ability for all Clerics.
Cleric’s utilizing healing spells for those of opposed Alignment (Law vs. Chaos), must require the recipient to accomplish a Lawful (good) or Chaotic (evil) deed as appropriate by the end of the day or both the recipient and cleric will suffer the God’s wrath (penalties to all rolls? Inability to cast healing spells? Loss of hit points and a curse?- DM’s have fun with this)
Neutral Clerics healing those of other alignments will suffer no Throw Penalties- The Neutral God’s would love to have more converts- but healing amount will be minimum possible “just a small sample of Yana-Or’s power, brave Warrior..… She would smile more favorably upon a true believer! Have I told you the tale of Yanna Or’s battle with Xin during Creation? NO? Well that is a tale all TRUE Warriors should know!”
Clerics Attack Bonus +1 cumulative at levels 3, 5,7,9,11 for a Maximum of +5
Fighters- In addition to any Ability Score Bonus for STR, Fighters receive an inherent +3 bonus to all Feats (Skill Throws) of Exceptional Strength- Breaking doors, bending bars, lift gates. This bonus also applies to knowledge/lore re: fighting styles, weapons, great warriors/battles of history, etc. per the DM’s discretion.
In addition to any Ability score bonus for CON, Fighters receive an inherent +3 bonus to any Saving or Skill Throws that require physical fortitude or endurance- Resisting Poison or the Elements such as extreme heat or cold, swimming a river, etc.
Fighters receive a cumulative +1 bonus to all attacks and damage at each level with a Maximum of +8 for each.
In lieu of a strike, Fighters may perform a Combat STUNT* on their turn- This is a STR Skill Throw with normal bonus/penalty for high Strength and the Fighter’s inherent Bonus of +3 . Fighters can use this stunt to push a foe backward up to 10 feet (or intimidate them to back up), knock them prone (within reason, sorry guys, no knocking a dragon prone), disarm them if they can be , shoot an item out of their grip with an arrow, etc.
Some notes about COMBAT STUNTS
Work with your DM for specific cases. DM’s - work with your players. This is a game of fantasy, not a combat simulation. If your Fighter wants to swing on a ship’s mast rope and cut some Pirate’s sword hand off as he goes by and succeeds on the STUNT, then roll with it! It will be super memorable.
Now if our Swinging Fighter rolls badly- heh…make THAT memorable too- Rope breaks, flies into several Pirates on the deck, takes a bunch of damage, maybe breaks his arm , or leg. DMs get to have fun too.
*Please note all Classes can perform a Combat Feat- however the Fighter and only the Fighter receives the inherent +3 Bonus to this roll during combat.