Loving and Hating Hit Points

I love how simple hit points are as a mechanic. I hate how abstract they can be, especially as levels add up and totals rise. I love how easy it is to go from "6 damage? Run for your lives!" to "6 damage? Whatevs, I got this." I also hate it.

I love how, at low levels, players have good reason to avoid battles because one or two wounds could easily prove fatal. I hate seeing players burn through PCs like extra lives in a circa 1985 arcade game. (But I kinda love it, too.)

I love how, at high levels, players can press on through more dangers and get themselves deeper into the dungeon before they have to turn back and hope they didn't push their luck too far. I hate how the mechanic pushes toward either a slog of multiple melees in which the PCs are gradually whittled or a tac-nuke monster that barely cares that the PCs have leveled up.

I hate how environmental hazards, like fire, falling, and traps, wind up being less dangerous at higher levels just like melee. I hate how healing spells are less effective on high-level characters than on low-level ones.

I've tried to get around a few of these issues in my campaign. For example, I base most healing on hit dice - a Cure spell restores hit points equal to 1d6 + the recipient's hit dice (e.g. if you have 3 HD, it's 1d6+3). Likewise, a hazard that doesn't care how good you are at taking a hit in combat will roll your hit dice in damage (instead of "Save or die," you might call it "Save or possibly die, depending on the luck of the dice, and if you're already wounded the odds are against you, but hey you might get lucky").

I like the game being pretty gritty, but I like the odds in favor of survival - if the party survives by the skin of its collective teeth, I feel like everybody gets the maximum excitement. I respect the mathematical architecture of 4e - or Type IV, or whatever the kids call it nowadays - for providing that experience pretty reliably, but that math is pretty fragile, and a simple thing like changing the number or composition of the party can have dire consequences (this is what killed my attempt at a 4e campaign in its infancy, and eventually led me to the OSR).

I like to ramble, but I hate the fact that I'm rambling (and I like to end paragraphs with pointless parentheticals, for some reason).

So here's an idea the combine gritty, survive-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth action with that-was-exciting-now-let's-keep-going adventure. The idea is that PCs begin with a Hit Die full of hit points, as usual (and you can use your favorite Hit Die rules - max at first level, reroll 1s, variable or standard, whatever). When the PC would normally gain a new Hit Die, he adds +1 to his hit point maximum and gains a "reserve" point. A reserve point can be spent to recover a Hit Die's worth of hit points. You can't go above your maximum, as with any hit point recovery. Spending a reserve point this way should take a full turn of rest.

The idea is that every battle remains gritty and stark, although the PCs will gain an edge in toughness over time; but the more remarkable and heroic development is the reserves of strength that enable them to carry on even when hurt and exhausted. I envision a scenario in which the party finishes a battle and spends the rest of the round catching their breath and binding their wounds, and the players roll their reserve dice to discover who was simply running out of stamina and who has a serious injury.

I wouldn't implement this system for monsters. Monster Hit Dice are more related to the size and toughness of the monster than its melee skill, and there's no need for every PC mechanic to be paralleled in monster mechanics (that way lies the excess of 3.x). I'd probably give Reserves equal to HD to any monster that's a named individual (e.g. Brok the orc warlord, Anton the evil high priest, Skaldar the legendary ogre, and Azraphael the dragon). Everybody else is an extra, and runs by the book.

I'd love to test this system out, but I'm pretty sure my regular players would rebel if I imposed it on their long-standing characters. Maybe I can test it in some side project, like a scifi one-shot or something.

Magic-User Traditions part ii

The furnace is kind of working again, so I can feel the keyboard at my fingers. That means I can wrap up a few thoughts that I left off yesterday. Both the Wizardry and Sorcery traditions have got full spell-lists up through level 6 (where 0e & Whitebox cut off). I've also got similar treatment for Necromancers. All of these spell lists are populated appropriately so that random spells can be selected with a die-roll. I'm just that way.

I'm hoping to eventually provide similar frameworks for other traditions such as Witchery, Druidry, Warlockry, and so forth. This idea of many traditions owes at least in part to the Ethshar novels of Lawrence Watt-Evans, which I would rank alongside Leiber's Lankhmar novels as the D&D-est stories around. It's my feeling that these differences would be completely invisible to anyone who is not a practicing spellcaster or the well-informed teammate of one, and the terminology is often used interchangeably, even by those in the know, so there's no sure way to know what to expect from any given arcanist.

It's my intention that the classic Magic-User list should be the default for PCs, and admittance to any other tradition should be limited. For example, perhaps only a Magic-User with high Wisdom could begin play as a Wizard - having attracted the attention of a Wizard when he was ready for apprenticeship. A PC with average intelligence may be able to join the brotherhood if he can convince an existing Wizard that he'd be a good candidate, and must swear never again to dabble in forbidden magicks (i.e., never using any spells that aren't part of the Wizardry tradition).

I haven't clearly decided what approach to take with Sorcery in such a case. That's at least partly because, following James Maliszewski's example, I've been mostly confining my tinkering to what's actually getting used in play, and the only magic-user right now is a Wizard. (If I'd really been ahead of the curve though, I probably would have dangled wizardry as something to aspire to, 'cos I like to make players earn what they get. Still, it's working out so far, and to the experienced players it seems to set the campaign apart from what they've seen in the past.) Current thinking is: a particularly gifted student may be be granted (or wrest from his mentor) the secret spells of sorcery. Any other magic-user must discover them just as he must discover all spells of level 2 and beyond. 

Yeah, it doesn't have as much pizzazz as the Wizardry thing. I think it comes down to: why does a sorcerer want to train an apprentice, thus creating another competitor? Brainstorming time: I think it's partly a matter of pride, as a sorcerer who has trained many apprentices will win renown through their deeds, and if he's as good as he thinks he is, he'll always stay a step ahead of them. A sorcerer can be expected to have a bit of loyalty to his mentor and vice-versa - they might compete, but they'll protect each other when it comes down to it; their competition won't be deadly combat, just matching skill. A sorcerer who betrays his master is maybe a pariah, and won't be protected by truces - or at least he'll be hunted down by his master's other apprentices, if for no reason other than to let all the other sorcerers of the realm know that they're tougher than the guy who killed the guy who trained them, and therefore not to be messed with. 

I've never liked the idea of mages gathered in actual schools, Harry Potter style, although that was kind of the assumption of 2nd edition, as I recall; but i do like the Kung Fu Movie idea of founding a school to increase one's renown. I think that either A) the term 'school' is a very loose one, as in philosophical circles, indicating that one's lineage of apprenticeship comes from a particularly famous archmage (sort of a tradition-within-a-traditon), or B) any such school would be a small affair, with one sorcerer giving his personal attention to a handful of pupils, somewhat in the style of the old Irish 'hedge schools.' 

Obviously, my thoughts remain unfinished here. More thought will be given to this. Feedback and suggestions are of course welcome.

Magic-User Traditions

In my current campaign, I decided that I didn't like the flavor of a party of sword&sorcery-style adventurers (Fafhrds and Grey Mousers all) escaping from the underworld and immediately setting out for the nearest temple, where miracles and healings are available for hire. Actually, I've no doubt that Fritz Leiber could make that work, but 'miracles for hire' in such a context suggests something totally different (to me) than the D&D norm. In my Greek campaign, I was totally down with the idea that 'heroes' could buy a bunch of goats and oxen and give them to a priest to sacrifice in order to call upon the gods for some purpose. But for this campaign, it's not what I want.

So I'm borrowing some material from Beyond the Black Gate's 2009 Compendium. Low-magic healing rules for one thing, but also the 'white wizard' class. I don't really want class proliferation, but I'm okay with defining certain variants as sub-classes and split-classes. I may even wind up borrowing Jeff Rients' approach. For now, though, I'm trying something unusual with Magic-Users.

Magic-Users possess, as a result of their apprenticeship, a copy of the Common Grimoire. This contains the Eight Known Spells, the spells that every magician ought to be able to cast. A particularly promising Magic-User may be inducted into a particular tradition, being granted secret spells known only to a select few. To outsiders, a magician is a magician, and the intricacies of magical paradigms and politics are impenetrable.

The Common Grimoire
1. Darkness
2. Detect Magic
3. Hold Portal
4. Light
5. Protection from Evil
6. Read Languages
7. Read Magic
8. Sleep

Wizards use their magic to attain and promote a harmony with the cosmos. They view one another as brethren in an order, and their magic is a subtle and constructive craft. Only a pupil who shows great wisdom will be taught the secrets of Wizardry.

The Secret Spells of Wizardry
1. Bless
2. Cure Light Wounds
3. Detect Evil
4. Purify Food and Drink


Sorcerers strive to master the forces of the universe. They see each other as rivals for power, and their magic is flashier and more direct than wizardry. Only a pupil with respectable intelligence can hope to comprehend the secrets of sorcery.

The Secret Spells of Sorcery
1. Cause Fear
2. Charm Person
3. Unseen Servant
4. Ventriloquism

In addition to the extra known spells of level 1, each tradition has its own listing of spells available at higher levels, although these are largely mysterious to a novice magician. (It's surely no surprise that the Wizard is based on the Cleric spell list with additions from M-U, while the Sorcerer spell list is pretty much the traditional M-U list with a handful of additions. In both cases, these are based on Swords & Wizardry: Whitebox edition, because I like the slimmer lists, and because I don't care for Magic Missile's effect on the game.)

I'd love to write more about this and other variations I'm implementing, but our furnace broke a little and it's getting hard to type, so I'll be getting offline and eating something warm.

Wrestling with the Flame Princess

James Edward Raggi IV (who really does have the coolest name in the OSR) posted a tentative solution to grappling/wrestling rules here and asked for feedback. Grappling rules have a history of sucking, but I like this subsystem a lot. It's straightforward enough I think I could recall it without reference, or recall something close enough to get similar results. However, one line caught my eye:

>>If there are multiple opponents attempting to wrestle a single defender, all attackers add their wrestling rolls together and then compare the total against the defender.>>

Just to clarify, all opponents add their wrestling rolls together, including the d20s, not just their bonuses? Let's say three PCs each with a bonus of +2 gang up against one monster. If they roll e.g. 18, 6, and 8 on the dice, you're looking at a result of 38. An opponent with a +18 bonus could tie on a natural 20. Even 2:1 odds are ridiculous: on average, a team of two can expect to roll 20 or 21 together, plus their bonuses. Only an exceptionally powerful *and* lucky opponent can have any hope to overcome such a duo.

It certainly makes sense that ganging up should be a significant advantage, but as the system is written, it pretty much outweighs the fighting ability of any participant. Is that the preferred effect? In my campaign at least, encounters are very often with groups larger than the party, composed of monsters or opponents who are individually weaker than the PCs. With this rule in place, the only sensible tactic is to dogpile the PCs until they are pinned. And when the party runs into one or two powerful monsters (that single horror arising from the mysterious well) their best tactic is to hurl themselves at it bodily. Even if it has tentacles and the associated bonus, a 1st-level magic-user with a strength of 7 has good odds of counteracting that bonus himself.

Here's my suggestion to preserve an advantage without making traditional combat tactics obsolete: If multiple opponents attempt to wrestle a single defender, the team rolls a single d20, adding melee Attack Bonus and Strength modifiers for all participants. [This already makes ganging up a decent tactic, but we can up the notch with the following add-on.] For each ally beyond the first, add a +4 bonus.

This "gang up" bonus still makes ganging up a significantly powerful tactic, but isn't as totally overwhelming as the original version. To go back to my first example, a group of three against one defender, where each of the three has a +2 bonus overall: if we assume the above roll of 18 was the group's roll, the result is 32 - a very strong opening. If the group's roll had been the 6 above, the end result would be 20 - able to overwhelm the common soldier, but that big tentacle-monster can probably cope. A gang of 2, assuming the same +2 bonus for each, would roll results ranging from 9 to 28, with an average of 18. A single opponent who is a bit more powerful than either individual has some chance, and even a weaker foe could get lucky. These averages are significant given that the system requires three wins to pin.

I expect that this method will allow the party to wrestle individuals into submission, but will preserve armed combat as the tactic of choice against groups and very nasty foes.

Alternate Ability Scores

Jeff Rients posted an interesting thought experiment on altering the core ability scores in D&D. I actually mucked around with something like this a few months back when I tried to start a bronze-age pseudo-Greek campaign. The response was overwhelming - literally! I had more players than I knew what to do with, and after a session realized that I wouldn't be able to rely on my collection of existing modules to flesh it out. So, I kind of bailed.

But that's neither here nor there. In order to promote the Greek-ish flavor, I revised the ability scores as follows:

Charisma - modifies reaction rolls, determines number and morale of followers (very important to fighters, who took advantage of phalanx-style fighting).
Favor - being favored by the gods improves Saving Throws. Being out of favor is a bad thing.
Fitness - modifies both carrying capacity and hit points per hit die, plus the usual feats of strength (busting doors and toppling statues).
Knowledge (or did I go with Reason?) - extra languages, literacy, magic
Skill - specifically "Combat Skill." The +/-1 modifier can be applied to melee attacks, ranged attacks, or armor class, chosen at creation. Particularly high or particularly low scores would apply this bonus to two or even all three options.

Yeah, I trimmed it down to just five scores. Since I wasn't using XP bonuses for high scores, and I didn't feel compelled to make Sorcerers and Witches rely on different ability scores, it just didn't make sense. If I ever go back to it, I'll probably go ahead and make Wisdom the sixth score, and have it grant XP bonuses to any class. Thus, the mechanics could play with the classic split between book-learnin' and learning through experience.