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Druids had to fight each other to advance. That's why.

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Rescuing a Rob Conley Comment from Obscurity

Posted on Grognardia by Rob Conley:

The Chainmail tables are meant to capture the penetration difference. The assumption was if the blow manages to penetrate it is going to kill the individual. Consider each blow in chainmail to do 1 pt of damage and normal men have 1 hp.

OD&D changes this so that damage is now a 1d6 and normal men start off with 1d6 hit points. This is to represent the variability of people and the vagaries of combat.

(Waxing Gygas me thinks)

Then in Greyhawk come the realization that some weapons are better able to hurt people if they hit. The force behind the two-handed sword is way more than a one-hander. The different types of trauma, (slash, stab, blunt) are just arbitrarily factored in.

Later on as RPGs grew more complex some start making the distinction. (GURPS, Rolemaster, Harnmaster, etc).

Separate but parallel is the need to fold in all the non-armor modifiers particularly for monsters. In the beginning AC was a straight forward representation of armor types but became divorced from the under lying armor system to become a scale measuring how are things are to hit. D20 take this to it's logical conclusions' giving armor a modifier

This whole disconnect is why in AD&D the weapon vs AC says to look at what the guy is wearing not his numerical AC.

If you want to use modifiers versus AC and not violate IP what you should do is return the chainmail roots and just list the modifiers for each weapons and include any notes for particular monsters.

You can derive the values from the chainmail table. For example (note I don't have chainmail in front of me so I making stuff up)

Longsword

+3 vs no armor

+2 vs leather

+1 vs chain

+0 vs plate

-2 vs Dragons

+1 vs Chimeras

+1 vs Trolls

+2 vs Purple Worms

You can get as complex or simple as you want as well as avoiding IP problems.

Motivations from OSRIC

A fundamental, driving assumption of OSRIC-compatible games is that the player characters are, at least partially, motivated by a desire (or need) for wealth. This need not necessarily be for reasons of greed; a cleric or paladin character, for example, could be driven to acquire money to donate to the poor, or to enable his or her superiors to construct a new church.

This has been expressed elsewhere (and by myself), but never as concisely!

Melee - Are we doing it wrong?

Years of video, miniature, and roleplaying games have propogated the idea that 'melee' is virtually any form of combat not using ranged/missile weapons or spells. Perhaps a better term than "hand to hand" or "close combat" is needed, but 'melee' is not it. Not to pick on 3rd and 4th edition D&D, but the carefully plotted movements on a grid only exacerbate the issue. The goals: give players choices, making decisions interesting and tactical, and encourage character teamwork. Nothing wrong there. The result: 5 foot squares, fixed targets, and relatively static positions.

Sorry for getting all wikipedia on y'all, but the term melee means "when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual." Why is the dictionary quoting important? Because it's historical accurate (for simulation fans) and it's what Gygax and company were thinking of (for you Grognards), and it's fun.

Look at a couple of cool (choreographed) movie fights:

Princesss Bride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC6dgtBU6Gs

Errol Flynn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10fR31jC1w

Even when it's not planned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry47zyrYGt8

Sure, duels are your typically melee, but it gives you a taste of the fluctaution of position and movement. People are moving, switching positions. Someone moves five feet, the other follow. Fixed formation fights can occur (Greek phalanxes, shield-walls, and Roman infantry techniques). They have their place and deserve their own rules. Perhaps trained fighters could use them in a dungeon corridor, but the positioning should be the exception, not the default assumption.

The idea is that melees are a mess and disorganized. The AD&D rules reflect that. Firing missile into Melee. Closing vs Charging. Spell casting during melee.

How do we reflect that?

Mosh Pits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQW8eb1P3dk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOHY1YxX5iA

There is a zone of melee and zones (areas) outside it. Closing and Charging (per AD&D) get you into the zone. Fleeing and falling back get you out. Smart spell casters stay out alltogether. Large areas may have more than one melee zone. Firing missile weapons? Take your chances on shooting into the melee, or try to target some outside of the zone.

Words of Wisdom on D&D Economies

A few words of wisdom while I catch up on posts:

There is no question that the prices and costs of the game are based on inflationary economy, one where a sudden influx of silver and gold has driven everything well beyond its normal value. The reasoning behind this is simple. An active campaign will most certainly bring a steady flow of wealth into a base area, as adventurers come from successful trips into dungeon and wilderness. If the economy of the area is one which more accurately reflects that of medieval England, let us say, where coppers and silver coins are usual and a gold piece remarkable, such an influx of new money, even in copper and silver, would cause an inflationary spiral. This would necessitate you adjusting costs accordingly and then upping dungeon treasures somewhat to keep pace. If a near-maximum is assumed, then the economics of the area can remain relatively constant, and the DM will have to adjust costs only for things in demand or short supply - weapons, oil, holy water, men-at-arms, whatever.

Spell Components Revisited

By my unscientific survey, most DMs think spell components are a neat idea in theory, but a pain in the ass in execution. Players like them less. They get house ruled ("spell component packs"), hand-waved, or ignored all together.

For a time in high school I ran a campaign using the Best of Dragon IV Article, "It's a material world: Scrounging up spell components", which gave guidelines on the cost, source and availability of spell components. We were using AD&D second edition, so we didn't have to worry about swallowing live goldfish or keeping crickets alive, but it still made from an experience full of resource-tracking chaos. It was part of the fun, but we spent a lot of time shopping and searching, time in-session that me and my current players don't have in our adult lives.

My current methodology is to old worry about spell components unless they are expensive (more than 10GP) or particularly rare or cumbersome (black dragon's blood, canine statues). The key one for us has been the 100gp value pearl for identify. The necessity of the Identify spells has created an interesting economy, where players inquire if gems found are pearls, whether moneychanges have any 100gp pearls, and the use of the pearls as a shared party resource.

I've wondered how to create that similar economy and interest for the players for other spells, without the issue becoming a shopping headache. Conceivably we could use small red gems of fire spells instead of bat guano (rubies being inappropriately expensive for fireball), but I fear creating a logical system that overrides the beautiful Vancian incongruency. I do something simular for my ritual system to handle the economics and search procedure, but the form of the component remains to be determined.

Next up for me is a random chart of items, cross-referenced by spell level and school. It will contain a selection of items that seem plausible for regular play - a live cricket would be interesting for a rare ritual, but nothing a character could reasonably expect to use "in the field".

What should be on the list?

A worthy quote

Since I'm busy with life:

Once you look closely, you come to understand that with all the bells and whistles intact, AD&D1e is a game of remarkable cohesion and subtlety. You can encounter some crazy things, but encounter reactions determine whether you’ll step right in to a fight. Charisma is an extraordinarily powerful ability score because it influences henchman and hireling numbers and loyalty. Weapon vs. AC adjustments justify the large weapon table. So do the special abilities of certain weapons. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s not just a bunch of crazy shit hacked together in the way even supporters claim. It sure seemed that way to me when I was a teenager, but I played it in an impatient, edited form. It looks to me that this half-game is the AD&D OSRIC emulates.

Source.

Hireling Ideas Induced by Allergy Drugs

Initial Hirelings:

The character will start out with a number of hirelings already in their employee equal to his Charisma bonus, with their first month of wages paid. Equipment must still be provided, but these hirelings are considered generally loyal and happy in their position. Future wages will be paid as normal. Characters with a negative Charisma modifier must pay d10 times their modifier in monthly wages as a signing bonus before any hireling will agree to serve such an odious employer.
Example: a hireling with a monthly wage of 3GP, must be paid a signing bonus of 6GP to be employed by a character with a Charisma of 5 (meaning a -2 modifier).

The Start of a new Sandbox: The City of Yrem

I'm starting a new sandbox game, using a draft form of the Tactical Situation Rules. The setting I'm making up as we go along. Rather than a megadungeon, the tent-pole is a ruined city, cribbed from many sources:

The city of Yrem sits on the border of the Great Northern Empire's Stillmarsh province, upon a rocky ridge amongst the swampy forest that dominates the region. Generic fantasy history, blah blah blah.

Long a favorite of scholars for it's isolation and quiet, it gradually grew as a hub for experimentation and research by the Imperial Guild of Magicians. Unbeknownst to most of the guild, a faction under the control of Xagnus the Animated had begun capturing demons in ritual vaults beneath the city. During a heated argument with his assistant Ambrosia, one of the demons was freed, who in turned freed the rest. Chaos and slaughter ensued.

As his final act at the cost of his life, Xagnus funneled his power and soul into a magical stasis field containing the demons and city within.

Last winter - 500 years after it's creation - the stasis field fell. With the spring thaw, imps and winged beasts harassed nearby villages and towns. Factions from across the provinces (and beyond) began exploration of the city's edge.

The Paladin Rules

I like to keep Paladins rare, but they're virtually impossible to qualify for using any sort of "roll in order" attribute generation, which is my preferred method. In order to mitigate the problems of qualifying, I've added these two "Paladin Rules" to make it possible, but still interesting:

In order to mitigate the problems of qualifying for Paladinhood when rolling attributes "in order", the following options are available:

1. Poverty is Next to Godliness

The character spends years in a isolated monastery. Swap any attribute with CHA. Sacrifice 10% of your starting money as a tithe.

2. Judged and Found Lacking

Flaggelation, fasting and other allows the character an opportunity increase their Charisma, but the scars may persist. Roll 4d6. Take the 3 highest dice as your Charisma if it will allow you to qualify as a Paladin. If not, take the three lowest dice as your Charisma score.

As a bonus, here's a summary of the Paladin rules:

Paladin

• Required Attributes: Strength 12, Wisdom 12, Charisma 15
• Allowed Armor: Any
• Allowed Weapons: Any
• Melee Attack Bonus: Current Level
• Ranged Attack Bonus: 1/2 Level
• Defenses:+2 Spirit Defense
• Initial Hit Point Roll: d10
• Initial Combat Proficiencies: 3
• Initial Class Skills: Diplomacy, Religion, plus an additional bonus skill
  
• Hit Points Gained Levels 2-10: d10
• Hit Points Gained Levels 11+: 3
• Combat Proficiencies Gained: Levels 3,6,9,12,15,18
• Attacks: L1-6 1/round, L6-12 2/round, L13 & up 3/round
  
• Class Abilities: Detect Evil, Aura of Protection, Lay on Hands, Rituals, Spell Casting, Stronghold Creation: Temple