Advanced Dungeons & Dragonsr Dungeon Masterr Guide The revised and updated Dungeon Masterr Guide for the AD&Dr Game. TSR Inc. TSR Ltd. 201 Sheridan Springs Rd. 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton Lake Geneva, WI Cambridge CB1 3LB 53147 USA United Kingdom ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, DRAGON, GREYHAWK, DUNGEON MASTER, DM, DRAGONLANCE, and the TSR logo are registered trademarks owned by TSR Inc. Foreword to the 2nd Edition A foreword is normally the place where the author of a book expresses thanks and gratitude. I'm not going to do that here. It's not that everyone involved doesn't deserve congratulations and praise, it's just that I already said all those things in the foreword to the AD&D Player's Handbook. Everything I said there is true for this book, too. On to other things. Let's assume that since you're reading this, your are, or plan to be, a Dungeon Master. By now, you should be familiar with the rules in the Player's Handbook. You've probably already noticed things you like or things you would have done differently. If you have, congratulations. You've got the spirit every Dungeon Master needs. As you go through this rule book, I encourage you to continue to make these choices. Choice is what the AD&D game is all about. We've tried to offer you what we think are the best choices for your AD&D campaign, but each of us has different likes and dislikes. The game that I enjoy may be quite different from your own campaign. But it is not for me to say what is right or wrong for your game. True, I and everyone working on the AD&D game have had to make fundamental decisions, but we've tried to avoid being dogmatic and inflexible. The AD&D game is yours, it's mine, it's every player's game. So is there an "official" AD&D game? Yes, but only when there needs to be. Although I don't have a crystal ball, it's likely that tournaments and other official events will use all of the core rules in these books. Optional rules may or may not be used, but it's fair to say that all players need to know about them even if they don't have the memorized. The Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master Guide give you what you're expected to know, but that doesn't mean the game begins and ends there. Your game will go in directions not yet explored and your players will try things others think strange. Sometimes these strange things will work; sometimes they won't. Just accept this, be ready for it, and enjoy it. Take the time to have fun with the AD&D rules. Add, create, expand, and extrapolate. Don't just let the game sit there, and don't become a rules lawyer worrying about each piddly little detail. If you can't figure out the answer, MAKE IT UP! And whatever you do, don't fall into the trap of believing these rules are complete. They are not. You cannot sit back and let the rule book do everything for you. Take the time and effort to become not just a good DM, but a brilliant one. At conventions, in letters, and over the phone I'm often asked for the instant answer to a fine point of the game rules. More often than not, I come back with a question-what do you feel is right? And the people asking the questions discover that not only can they create an answer, but that their answer is as good as anyone else's. The rules are only guidelines. At the beginning of the first Dungeon Master Guide, Gary Gygax stressed that each of us, working from a common base, would make the AD&D game grow in a variety of different directions. That is more true today than ever. Don't be afraid of experimentation, but do be careful. As a Dungeon Master, you have great power, and "with great power comes great responsibility." Use it wisely. David "Zeb" Cook 2/9/89 Credits 2nd Edition Designer: David "Zeb" Cook Development: Steve Winter and Jon Pickens Playtest Coordination: Jon Pickens Editing: Warren Spector, Jean Rabe, Steven Schend Graphic Design: Dee Barnett Art Coordination: Peggy Cooper Hundreds of players assisted us in playtesting the AD&D 2nd Edition game. Their efforts were invaluable in improving the manuscript. The list that follows is not complete, but we would like to thank Mike Abraham, Jeff Albanese, Roger Anderson, Susan Anderson, Walter Bass, Scott Beck, Doug Behringer, John Bennie, Andrew Bethke, Don Bingle, Linda Bingle, Aaron Boaz, Teresa Boaz, Ray Booth, Rick Brewer, Jeff Broemmel, Dan Brown, Frank Cabanas, Bill Ciers, Robert Corn, Dennis Couch, Bill Curtis, Scott Daily, Phillip Dear, Frank and Terri Disarro, Errol Farstad, John Fitzpatrick, Bill Flatt, Cheryl Frech, Dewey Frech, John Gamble, Vince Garcia, Kyra Glass, John Goff, Peter Gregory, Greg Handleton, David Hansom, Gordon Holcomb, Rob Huebner, Ed Issac, Larry Johnson, Reynold C. Jones, Jeff Kelly, Jeff King, Jim Kirkley, Peter Kokinder, Dan Kramarsky, Ed Kramer, Paul Krausnick, Jon Kugath, Michael Lach, Todd Laing, Len Lakofka, Randall Lemon, David Machim, Jeff Martin, Theron Martin, Scott Mayo, Milton McGorril, Kevin Melka, John Mendez, Bill Mercer, Frank and Mary Meyer, Neal Meyer, Mark Middleton, Jim Milam, Frank Miller, Jim Moeller, Mike Mullen, Lance Murphy, Scott Needham, Stance Nixon, Kevin Norton, Steve Null, Ray Ouellette, Rembert Parker, Nathan Patronksy, Ed Peterson, Keith Polster, Bruce Rabe, Norm Ritchie, Kip Romaine, Tim Royapa, Marc Rush, Michael Ruzza, Paul Schmidt, Eugene Schumaker, Mark Schumaker, Greg Schwarz, Michael Simpson, Warren Snider, Michael J. Somers, Hal St. Clair, Jeff Stevens, Justin Stevens, Paul Stevens, Dorence Stovall, Brad Stump, Lourdes Sullivan, Ellen Terra, John Terra, Mark TeTai, William Tracy, Jay Tummelson, Robert Unglaub, Carl Van Devendeer, Steven Vaughn-Nichols, Virginia Vaughn-Nichols, Bryan Villareal, Mark Wallace, Mike Wahl, Peter Walker, Doris Wells, Kevin Wells, Colleen Wetzel, Dave Wetzel, Josh Whitmer, Jett Wherry, Skip Williams, James Williams, Peter Zinda, and the following groups: DragonCon Gaming Staff, Elflords of Eriador, Excalibre Gamers Association, Games Unlimited, and MACE. Finally, credit must also be shared with anyone who has ever asked a question, offered a suggestion, written an article, or made a comment about the AD&D game. This is a derivative work based on the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragonsr Players Handbook and Dungeon Masterr Guide by Gary Gygax and Unearthed Arcana and other materials by Gary Gygax and others. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. c1989, 1995 TSR Inc. All rights reserved. This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork presented herein is prohibited without the express written consent of TSR, Inc. 0-7869-0328-7 Foreword One of the toughest challenges facing a DM (and I can only assume that everyone reading this either is, or wants to be, a DM) is keeping his game sessions fresh and exciting. Those of us who produce new material for the AD&D game as a whole have a more or less similar task, although on a larger scale. We are constantly searching for ways to make adventures and game accessories unique, or at least original and distinctive. Like Sir Isaac Newton, we've learned from experience that when faced with multiple choices, the simplest alternative is often the best. Hence the book you hold in your hands. After six years, it was time for the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide, the two most important AD&D rule books, to get freshened up. What could be better and simpler than a new coat of paint? Products that we publish today don't look like products we published in 1989, or even in 1993. We haven't changed the game in any substantial way (aside from the usual clarifications and corrections that go along with any reprint). But we have let these books catch up to our new standards. They're larger, more colorful, and more readable, all with an eye toward making your DMing job easier. Bringing this project together rekindled a lot of memories. In particular, one day from 1987 stands out in my mind. I remember it vividly because it was the day when Dave Cook and I drew up the very first outline and schedule for the 2nd Edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. What needed to be done, and how it should be done, looked clear and simple on our neat, four-page report. In fact, that massive undertaking occupied almost two years of our lives, and I've spent most of my time since then caring for the AD&D game. That's a job that we enjoy, or we wouldn't be doing it. Most of us feel that we have a stake, to one extent or another, in every AD&D campaign out there. When you and your players get together, the months (often years) of designing, discussing, playtesting, redesigning, arguing, editing, sketching, and head scratching disappear into the background. But no matter whether you play by the books or with a binder full of home rules, we're all in this together, united by the common thread of the AD&D game. Steve Winter February 6, 1995 Table of Contents Introduction A Word About Organization The Fine Art of Being a DM Chapter 1: Player Character Ability Scores Giving Players What They Want Choosing a Character Creation Method Method I (3d6, in order) Method II (3d6 twice, keep desired score) Method III (3d6, arranged to taste) Method IV (3d6 twice, arranged to taste) Method V (4d6, drop lowest, arrange as desired) Super Characters Identifying Too-Powerful Characters Dealing with Too-Powerful Characters Hopeless Characters Dealing with Hopeless Characters Dealing with Dissatisfied Players Wishes and Ability Scores Players with Multiple Characters Multiple Character Problems Character Background Letting Players Do the Work Problem Backgrounds Background Chapter 2: Player Character Races A Non-Human World Racial Level Restrictions Slow Advancement Standard Class and Level Limits Exceeding Level Limits Creating New Player Character Races Chapter 3: Player Character Classes Class, Level, and the Common Man 0-Level Characters Adventurers and Society Fighters Paladins Rangers Wizards Priests Thieves Bards Character Classes in Your Campaign High-Level Characters Defining "High Level" Changing Campaign Styles Above 20th Level Beginning Character Levels Mixing New and Old Characters Pre-Rolled Characters Creating a New Character Class Chapter 4: Alignment Player Character Alignment Role-Playing Alignment NPC Alignment The Limits of NPC Alignment Society Alignment Using Area Alignments Varying Social Alignment Alignment of Religions Alignment of Magical Items Magical Alignment Changes Alignment as a World View Alignments in Conflict Never-ending Conflict Alignment as a Tool Detecting Alignment Asking Casting a Spell Class Abilities Keeping Players in the Dark Changing Alignment Deliberate Change Unconscious Change Involuntary Change Charting the Changes Effects of Changing Alignment Chapter 5: Proficiencies Weapon Proficiencies Min/Maxing NPC Proficiencies Adding New Proficiencies Chapter 6: Money and Equipment Controlling the Money Supply Monetary System A Short History of Commerce Goods Letters of Credit Barter Coins Types of Coins Expenses Squalid Conditions Poor Conditions Middle-Class Conditions Wealthy Conditions Draining the Coffers Expanding the Equipment Lists Altering Prices Equipment by Time Period The Ancient World The Dark Ages The Middle Ages The Renaissance Adjusting Equipment Lists Quality of Equipment Lock Quality Horse Quality Horse Traits Risks of Horse Buying Weapon Quality Ornamentation Armor Made of Unusual Metals Damaging Equipment General Weapon Damage Attack Forms Chapter 7: Magic Initial Wizard Spells Player Choice Player/DM Collaboration Acquisition of Spells Beyond 1st Level Going Up in Levels Copying from Spell Books Scroll Research Study with a Mentor DM Control of Spell Acquisition Spell Books All Sizes and Shapes Spell Book Preparation Spell Book Cost How Many Pages in a Spell Book? Expanding the Schools of Magic Adding New Spells Expansion Through Campaign Detail Spell Research Suggesting a New Spell Analyzing a Spell Solving the Problems of a New Spell Setting a Spell's Level Determining Spell Components Determining Research Time The Cost of Spell Research Adding a New Spell to the Spell Book Researching Extra Wizard Spells Chapter 8: Experience The Importance of Experience Too Little or Too Much Constant Goals Fun Character Survival Improvement Variable Goals Story Goals Experience Point Awards Group Awards Individual Experience Awards When to Award Experience Points Effects of Experience Training Rate of Advancement Chapter 9: Combat Creating Vivid Combat Scenes More Than Just Hack-and-Slash Definitions The Attack Roll Figuring the To-Hit Number Modifiers to the Attack Roll Weapon Type vs. Armor Modifiers The Various Types of Weapons Impossible To-Hit Numbers Calculating THACO Combat and Encounters The Combat Round What You Can Do in One Round The Combat Sequence Initiative Standard Initiative Procedure Initiative Modifiers Group Initiative Individual Initiative Multiple Attacks and Initiative Spellcasting and Initiative Weapon Speed and Initiative Attacking Number of Attackers Facing Weapon Length Position of Attackers and Attack Rolls Pole Arms and Weapon Frontage Shields and Weapon Frontage Hitting a Specific Target Called Shots Movement in Combat Movement in Melee Movement and Missile Combat Charging an Opponent Retreat Attacking Without Killing Punching and Wrestling Overbearing Weapons in Non-Lethal Combat Non-Lethal Combat and Creatures Touch Spells and Combat Critical Hits Why No Critical Hit Tables? Two Workable Critical Hit Systems Critical Fumbles Parrying Missile Weapons in Combat Range Rate of Fire Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat Firing into a Melee Taking Cover Against Missile Fire Grenade-Like Missiles Scatter Diagram Types of Grenade-Like Missiles Boulders as Missile Weapons Special Attacks Attacking With Charmed Creatures Gaze Attacks Innate Abilities Great Weapons Special Defenses The Saving Throw Rolling Saving Throws Saving Throw Priority Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws Ability Checks as Saving Throws Modifying Saving Throws Magic Resistance Effects of Magic Resistance When Magic Resistance Applies Successful Magic Resistance Rolls Turning Undead Evil Priests and Undead Immunity to Weapons Effects of Weapon Hits Silver Weapons Creature vs. Creature Using Immune Monsters in a Campaign Morale The Role-Playing Solution Dicing for Morale How to Make a Morale Check Failing a Morale Check Injury and Death Wounds Special Damage Falling Paralysis Energy Drain Poison Specific Injuries Is This Injury Necessary? Healing Natural Healing Magical Healing Herbalism & Healing Proficiencies Character Death Death from Poison Death from Massive Damage Inescapable Death Raising the Dead Hovering on Death's Door Unusual Combat Situations Siege Damage Mounted Combat Aerial Combat Underwater Combat Chapter 10: Treasure and Magical Items Who Needs Money? Forms of Treasure Placement of Treasure Who's Got the Treasure Planned and Random Encounter Treasures Treasure Tables Maintaining Balance Too Little Treasure Monty Haul Campaigns Magical Items Creatures and Magical Items Buying Magical Items Magic-Rare or Common Researching Magical Items The Nature of Magical Fabrication Scrolls and Potions Scrolls Potions Creating Other Magical Items Recharging Magical Items Destroying Magical Items Artifacts and Relics Designing an Artifact or Relic Sample Artifacts and Relics Chapter 11: Encounter What is an Encounter? Planned Encounters Keys Triggers Combining Keys and Triggers Random Encounters Should You Use Random Encounters? Characteristics of Random Encounter Tables Creating Encounter Tables The 2-20 Table The Percentile Table Dungeon Encounter Tables Wilderness Encounter Tables Special Encounter Tables Spicing Up Encounter Tables DMing Encounters Encounter Checks Is This Encounter Necessary? Encounter Size Surprise Encounter Distance Encounter Reactions Fixing Things in Play The Encounter is Too Difficult The Encounter Gave Away Too Much Treasure The Encounter Was Too Easy Chapter 12: NPCs Hirelings Medieval Occupations The Assassin, the Spy, and the Sage Assassins Spies Sages Soldiers Description of Troop Types Employing Hirelings Who Might Be Offended Depopulate at Your Own Risk Securing Permission Finding the Right People The Weekly Wage Henchmen An NPC Becomes a Henchman The Player Takes Over Role-playing Henchmen Henchmen and Bookkeeping Officials and Social Rank Titles, Offices, and Positions Spellcasters Finding a Spellcaster Convincing an NPC to Help NPC Magical Items Personality Walk-on NPCs Significant NPCs Other NPC Characteristics Morale Quick NPCs Chapter 13: Vision and Light Effects of Light Sources Being Seen Creatures and Light Sources Light Tricks and Traps Infravision Standard Infravision Infravision Other forms of Sight Darkness Invisibility Detecting Invisible Creatures Chapter 14: Time and Movement Detailed Timekeeping Preparing a Calendar Time as a Game-Balancer Movement Mounted Overland Movement Care of Animals Vehicles Terrain Effects on Movement Darkness and Ice Terrain Modifiers in Overland Movement Roads and Trails Terrain Obstacles and Hindrances Movement on Water Ocean Voyaging Weather and Ship Travel Aerial Movement Getting Lost Chapter 15: A DM's Miscellany Listening Doors Concealed and Secret Doors Lycanthropy Other Magical Diseases The Planes The Prime Material Planes The Ethereal Plane The Inner Planes The Astral Plane The Outer Planes Appendix 1: Treasure Tables Coins Gems Objects of Art Appendix 2: Magical Items Tables Magical Items Armor and Shields Magical Weapons Appendix 3: Magical Items Descriptions Potions Identifying a Potion Combining Potions Potion Duration List of Potions Scrolls Spell Level of Scroll Spells Magical Spell Failure Use of Scroll Spells Casting Scroll Effects Protection Scroll Effects Who Can Use Scroll Spells? Spell Level Range Cursed Scrolls Maps List of Protection Scrolls Rings List of Rings Rods Command Words List of Rods Staves Command Words List of Staves Wands Command Words List of Wands Miscellaneous Magic Categories of Magical Items Armor and Shields Magical Weapons Light Generation Unknown or Unusual Qualities Magical Weapon List Intelligent Weapons Intelligent Weapon Alignment Weapon Abilities Weapon Ego Weapon Versus Characters Index Tables Table 1: Method I Characters Table 2: Method II Characters Table 3: Method III Characters Table 4: Method IV Characters Table 5: Method V Characters Table 6: Method VI Characters Table 7: Racial Class and Level Limits Table 8: Prime Requisite Bonuses Table 9: Maximum Level for Variant Races Table 10: 0-Level Hit Points by Title Table 11: Race Table 12: Combat Value Used Table 13: Saving Throw Table Used Table 14: Hit Dice Per level Table 15: Armor Allowed Table 16: Weapons Allowed Table 17: Hit Points Per level Beyond 9th Table 18: Optional Abilities Table 19: Thief Average Ability Table Table 20: Restrictions Table 21: Base Experience Points Table 22: Player Character Living Expenses Table 23: Equipment By Time Period Table 24: Lock Quality Table 25: Horse Quality Table 26: Horse Traits Table 27: Unusual Metal Armors Table 28: Hit Points of Items Table 29: Item Saving Throws Table 30: Spell Book Capacities Table 31: Creature Experience Point Values Table 32: Hit Dice Value Modifiers Table 33: Common Individual Awards Table 34: Individual Class Awards Table 35: Combat Modifiers Table 36: Weapon Type Vs. Amor Modifiers Table 37: THAC0 Advancement Table 38: Calculated THAC0 Table 39: Creature THAC0 Table 40: Standard Modifiers to Initiative Table 41: Optional Modifiers to Initiative Table 42: Armor Modifiers For Wrestling Table 43: Punching and Wrestling Results Table 44: Cover and Concealment Modifiers Table 45: Genadelike Missile Effects Table 46: Character Saving Throws Table 47: Turning Undead Table 48: Hit Dice Vs. Immunity Table 49: Morale Ratings Table 50: Situational Modifiers Table 51: Poison Strength Table 52: Structural Saving Throws Table 53: Mounted Missile Fire Table 54: 2-20 Encounter Table Table 55: Dungeon Level Table 56: Frequency and Chance of Wilderness Encounters Table 57: Surprise Modifiers Table 58: Encounter Distance Table 59: Encounter Reactions Table 60: NPC Professions Table 61: Fields of Study Table 62: Sage Modifiers Table 63: Research Times Table 64: Military Occupations Table 65: Common Wages Table 66: European Titles Table 67: Oriental Titles Table 68: Religious Titles Table 69: NPC Spell Costs Table 70: General Traits Table 71: Permanent Morale Modifiers Table 72: Optional Degrees of Darkness Table 73: Terrain Effects on Movement Table 74: Terrain Costs for Overland Movement Table 75: Terrain Modifiers Table 76: Boat Movement Table 77: Ship Types Table 78: Sailing Movement Modifiers Table 79: Weather Conditions Table 80: Aerial Movement Modifiers Table 81: Chance of Getting Hopelessly Lost Table 82: Lost Modifiers Table 83: Chance to Hear Noise by Race Table 84: Treasure Types Table 85: Gem Table Table 86: Gem Variations Table 87: Objects of Art Table 88: Magical Items Table 89: Potions and Oils Table 90: Scrolls Table 91: Rings Table 92: Rods Table 93: Staves Table 94: Wands Table 95: Books, Librams, Manuals, Tomes Table 96: Jewels, Jewelry, Phylacteries Table 97: Cloaks and Robes Table 98: Boots, Bracers, Gloves Table 99: Girdles, Hats, Helms Table 100: Bags, Bottles, Pouches, Containers Table 101: Candles, Dusts, Ointments, Incense, Stones Table 102: Household Items and Tools Table 103: Musical Instruments Table 104: The Weird Stuff Table 105: Armor Type Table 106: Armor Class Adjustment Table 107: Special Armors Table 108: Weapon Type Table 109: Attack Roll Adjustment Table 110: Special Weapons Table 111: Potion Compatibility Table 112: Spell Failure Table 113: Weapon Intelligence and Capabilities Table 114: Weapon Alignment Table 115: Weapon Primary Abilities Table 116: Weapon Extraordinary Powers Table 117: Special Purpose Weapons Table 118: Languages Spoken by Weapon Table 119: Weapon Ego Introduction You are one of a very special group of people: AD&Dr game Dungeon Masters. Your job is not an easy one. It requires wit, imagination, and the ability to think and act extemporaneously. A really good Dungeon Master is essential to a good game. The Dungeon Master Guide is reserved for Dungeon Masters. Discourage players from reading this book, and certainly don't let players consult it during the game. As long as the players don't know exactly what's in the Dungeon Master Guide, they'll always wonder what you know that they don't. It doesn't matter whether you have secret information; even if you don't, as long as the players think you do, their sense of mystery and uncertainty is maintained. Also, this book contains essential rules that are not discussed in the Player's Handbook. Some of these rules the players will learn quickly during play-special combat situations, the costs of hiring NPCs, etc. Others, however, cover more esoteric or mysterious situations, such as the nature of artifacts and other magical items. This information is in the Dungeon Master Guide so the DM can control the players' (and hence the characters') access to certain bits of knowledge. In a fantasy world, as in this world, information is power. What the characters don't know can hurt them (or lead them on a merry chase to nowhere). While the players aren't your enemies, they aren't your allies, either, and you aren't obligated to give anything away for nothing. If characters go hunting wererats without doing any research beforehand, feel free to throw lots of curves their way. Reward those characters who take the time to do some checking. Besides rules, you'll find a large portion of this book devoted to discussions of the principles behind the rules. Along with this are examinations of the pros and cons of changing the rules to fit your campaign. The purpose of this book, after all, is to better prepare you for your role as game moderator and referee. The better you understand the game, the better equipped you'll be to handle unforeseen developments and unusual circumstances. One of the principles guiding this project from the very beginning, and which is expressed throughout this book, is this: The DM has the primary responsibility for the success of his campaign, and he must take an active hand in guiding it. That is an important concept. If you are skimming through this introduction, slow down and read it again. It is crucial you understand what you are getting into. The DM's "active hand" extends even to the rules. Many decisions about your campaign can be made by only one person: you. Tailor your campaign to fit your own style and the style of your players. You will find a lot of information in this book, but you won't find pat answers to all your questions and easy solutions for all your game problems. What you will find instead is a discussion of various problems and numerous triggers intended to guide you through a thoughtful analysis of situations that pertain to your campaign. The rules to the AD&D 2nd Edition game are balanced and easy to use. No role-playing game we know of has been playtested more heavily than this one. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. What we consider to be right may be unbalanced or anachronistic in your campaign. The only thing that can make the AD&D game "right'' for all players is the intelligent application of DM discretion. A perfect example of this is the limit placed on experience levels for demihumans. A lot of people complained that these limits were too low. We agreed, and we raised the limits. The new limits were tested, examined, and adjusted until we decided they were right. But you may be one of the few people who prefer the older, lower limits. Or you may think there should be no limits. In the chapter on character classes, you'll find a discussion of this topic that considers the pros and cons of level limits. We don't ask you to blindly accept every limit we've established. But we do ask that before you make any changes you read this chapter and carefully consider what you are about to do. If, after weighing the evidence, you decide that a change is justified in your game, by all means make the change. In short, follow the rules as they are written if doing so improves your game. But by the same token, break the rules only if doing so improves your game. A Word About Organization Everything in this book is based on the assumption that you are familiar with the Player's Handbook. To make your job easier, the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide have parallel organization. Chapters appear in the same order in both books. That means if you know where to find something in the Player's Handbook, you also know where to find it in this book. Also, the index in this book also covers both the Player's Handbook. You can find all the references to any specific topic by checking this index. The Fine Art of Being a DM Being a good Dungeon Master involves a lot more than knowing the rules. It calls for quick wit, theatrical flair, and a good sense of dramatic timing-among other things. Most of us can claim these attributes to some degree, but there's always room for improvement. Fortunately, skills like these can be learned and improved with practice. There are hundreds of tricks, shortcuts, and simple principles that can make you a better, more dramatic, and more creative game master. But you won't find them in the Dungeon Master Guide. This is a reference book for running the AD&D game. We tried to minimize material that doesn't pertain to the immediate conduct of the game. If you are interested in reading more about this aspect of refereeing, we refer you to Dragonr Magazine, published monthly by TSR, Inc. Dragon Magazine is devoted to role-playing in general and the AD&D game in particular. For more than 16 years, Dragon Magazine has published articles on every facet of role-playing. It is invaluable for DMs and players. If you have never played a role-playing game before but are eager to learn, our advice from the Player's Handbook is still the best: Find a group of people who already play the game and join them for a few sessions. If that is impractical, the best alternative is to get a copy of the Introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game. It covers all the basics of fantasy role-playing with the AD&D game, but in a much simpler presentation which teaches as you play. It includes several introductory role-playing adventures. These will show you what goes on during the game and give you step-by-step instructions on how to set up and run a game with your friends. Chapter 1: Player Character Ability Scores Each player is responsible for creating his character. As the DM, however, your decisions have a huge impact on the process. You have final approval over any player character that is created. This chapter outlines what you should consider about character creation and gives guidelines on how to deal with some of the common problems that arise during character creation. Giving Players What They Want Players in most AD&D games use the same character over many game sessions. Most players develop strong ties to their characters and get a thrill from watching them advance, grow, and become more successful and powerful. Your game's success depends on how much your players care about their characters. For these reasons, it is important to let they players create the type of characters they really want to play. At the same time, watch out for a tendency in some players to want the most powerful character possible. Powerful characters are fine if that's the sort of campaign you want. A problem arises, however, if players are allowed to exploit the rules, or your good nature, to create a character who is much more powerful than everyone else's characters. At best, this leads to an unbalanced game. At worst, it leads to bored players and hurt feelings. Therefore, before any player in your game creates his first character, decide which dice-rolling method to allow: will you use method I, any of the five alternate methods, or a seventh method of your own devising? Be prepared with an answer right away, because this is one of the first questions your players will ask. Choosing a Character Creation Method The following methods are different from one another. Some produce more powerful characters than others (although none produces extremely powerful characters). For this reason, every player in your game should start out using the same method. If, at some later point in your campaign, you want to change methods, simply announce this to your players. Try to avoid making the announcement just as a player starts rolling up a new character, lest the other players accuse you of favoritism. You know you aren't playing favorites, but it doesn't hurt to avoid the appearance. The advantages and disadvantages of each dice-rolling method are described below (also see page 13 of the Player's Handbook). Five sample characters created with each method illustrate typical outcomes the different methods are likely to produce. Method I (3d6, In order): This is the fastest and most straightforward. There are no decisions to make while rolling the dice, and dice rolling is kept to a minimum. Ability scores range from 3 to 18, but the majority fall in a range from 9 to 12. Typically, a character will have four scores in the average range, one below-average score, and one above-average score. A few lucky players will get several high scores and a few unlucky ones will get just the opposite. Very high scores are rare, so character classes that require high scores (paladin, ranger, illusionist, druid, bard) are correspondingly rare. This makes characters who qualify for those classes very special indeed. The majority of the player characters will be fighters, clerics, mages, and thieves. Characters with exceptional ability scores will tend to stand out from their comrades. Method I Disadvantages: First, some players may consider their characters to be hopelessly average. Second, the players don't get many choices. Using method I, only luck enables a player to get a character of a particular type, since he has no control over the dice. Most characters have little choice over which class they become: Only one or two options will be open to them. You might let players discard a character who is totally unsuitable and start over. Table 1: Method I Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 10 8 13 6 16 Dexterity 8 7 8 15 10 Constitution 12 8 9 10 14 Intelligence 13 8 14 9 12 Wisdom 12 10 11 9 13 Charisma 7 12 14 7 8 Suggested Class Ma Cl F/Ma Th F Method II (3d6 twice, keep desired score): This method gives players better scores without introducing serious ability inflation. It also gives them more control over their characters. The average ability is still in the 9 to 12 range, and players can manipulate their results to bring the characters they create closer to the ideal characters they imagine. Exceptional player characters are still rare, and unusual character classes are still uncommon, but few characters will have below-average scores. Method II Disadvantages: Creating the character takes slightly longer because there are more dice to roll. Despite the improved choices, a character might still not be eligible for the race or class the player wants. Table 2: Method II Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 12 11 9 9 15 Dexterity 10 15 12 13 14 Constitution 11 11 16 14 14 Intelligence 13 11 12 13 14 Wisdom 16 13 13 11 13 Charisma 10 11 14 9 12 Suggested Class Cl Th Cl Ma F Method III (3d6, arranged to taste): This method gives the players more choice when creating their characters yet still ensures that, overall, ability scores are not excessive. Bad characters are still possible, especially if a player has several poor rolls. The majority of characters have average abilities. Since players can arrange their scores however they want, it is easier to meet the requirements for an unusual class. Classes with exceptionally strict standards (the paladin in particular) are still uncommon. Method III Disadvantages: This method is more time-consuming than I or II, especially if players try to "minimize/maximize" their choice of race and class. (To minimize/maximize, or min/max, is to examine every possibility for the greatest advantage.) Players may need to be encouraged to create the character they see in their imaginations, not the one that gains the most pluses on dice rolls. The example below shows fighters created using this method. Table 3: Method III Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 15 13 14 15 14 Dexterity 11 12 9 10 12 Constitution 15 13 13 12 14 Intelligence 7 8 8 9 11 Wisdom 8 7 7 6 9 Charisma 7 12 7 7 11 Method IV (3d6 twice, arranged to taste): This method has all the benefits of methods II and III. Few, if any, characters are likely to have poor scores. Most scores are above average. The individual score ranges are still not excessively high, so truly exceptional characters are still very rare. However, the majority of characters are significantly above the norm. Method IV Disadvantages: This method tends to be quite slow. Players spend a lot of time comparing different number combinations with the requirements of different races and classes. New players easily can be overwhelmed by the large number of choices during this process. The examples below are arranged for fighters. Table 4: Method IV Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 15 14 15 16 15 Dexterity 13 10 13 15 13 Constitution 13 12 15 13 13 Intelligence 13 9 13 12 13 Wisdom 13 9 11 13 12 Charisma 10 9 11 13 12 Method V (4d6, drop lowest, arrange as desired): Before choosing to use this method, think about how adventurers fit into the population as a whole. There are two schools of thought. One holds that adventurers are no different from everyone else (except for being a little more foolhardy, headstrong, or restless). The man or woman down the street could be an adventurer--all that's required is the desire to go out and be one. Therefore, adventurers should get no special bonuses on their ability rolls. The other school holds that adventurers are special people, a cut above the common crowd. If they weren't exceptional, they would be laborers and businessmen like everyone else. Player characters are heroes, so they should get bonuses on their ability rolls to lift them above the rabble. If you choose method V for creating player characters, then you agree with this second view and believe that adventurers should be better than everyone else. This method creates above-average characters. They won't be perfect, but the odds are that even their worst ability scores will be average or better. More scores push into the exceptional range (15 and greater). It is easy for a player to create a character of any class and race. Method V Disadvantages: Like other methods that allow deliberate arrangement of ability scores, this one takes some time. It also creates a tendency toward "super" characters. Unless you have a considerable amount of experience as a DM, however, beware of extremely powerful characters. They are much more difficult to challenge and control than characters of moderate power. On the plus side, their chance for survival at lower levels is better than "ordinary" characters. (See "Super Characters," below, for more on this subject.) One last point about method V: High ability scores are less exciting under this method, since they are much more common, as the fighter characters below indicate: Table 5: Method V Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 17 15 16 14 18/37 Dexterity 14 14 13 15 12 Constitution 15 14 14 15 17 Intelligence 13 11 10 14 8 Wisdom 13 10 11 15 8 Charisma 9 13 8 7 9 Method VI (points plus dice): This gives players more control over their characters than the other methods. A points system makes it quite likely that a player can get the character he wants--or at least the class and race. However, in doing so the player must make some serious compromises. It is unlikely that his dice are going to be good enough to make every score as high as he would like. In all likelihood, only one or two ability scores will be exceptional, and miserable dice rolling could lower this even further. The player must carefully weigh the pros and cons of his choices when creating the character. Method IV Disadvantages: This method works best for experienced players. Players who are not familiar with the different character classes and races have a hard time making the necessary (and difficult) decisions. Table 6 shows fighters constructed using this method. Table 6: Method VI Characters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Strength 17 15 16 17 18/71 Dexterity 12 11 11 13 12 Constitution 12 9 12 18 14 Intelligence 11 9 10 11 11 Wisdom 9 9 10 8 10 Charisma 8 8 9 9 13 Super Characters One of the great temptations for players is to create super characters. While this is not true of every player all the time, the desire for power above everything else afflicts most players at one time or another. Many players see their characters as nothing more than a collection of numbers that affects game systems. They don't think of their characters as personalities to be developed. Players like this want to "win" the game. These players are missing out on a lot of fun. If players are creating new characters for your campaign, you probably won't have to deal with such super characters. Players can start with ability scores greater than 18 only if the race grants a bonus, but this is extremely rare. Later in the campaign, magic might raise ability scores higher. The greatest difficulty occurs when a player asks to bring in a character from another campaign where characters are more powerful. Unless you are prepared to handle them, super characters can seriously disrupt a campaign: Players with average characters gradually become bored and irritated as the powerful characters dominate the action. And players with powerful characters feel held back by their weaker companions. None of this contributes to harmony and cooperation among the characters or the players. Cooperation is a key element of role-playing. In any group of player characters, everyone has strengths to contribute and weaknesses to overcome. This is the basis for the adventuring party--even a small group with sufficiently diverse talents can accomplish deeds far greater than its size would indicate. Now, throw in a character who is an army by himself. He doesn't need the other characters, except perhaps as cannon fodder or bearers. He doesn't need allies. His presence alone destroys one of the most fundamental aspects of the game--cooperation. Identifying Too-Powerful Characters There are no absolute rules to define a too-powerful character, since the definition will vary from campaign to campaign. Characters who are average in your game may be weaklings in your friend's campaign. His characters, in turn, could be frail compared to other groups. Some experience is required to strike the right balance of power, but characters created using the same method should, at least, be comparable. When someone brings a character from a different campaign and wants to use him in your game, compare the proposed character to those already in the game. You don't want him to be too strong or too weak. Certainly you should be wary of a character whose ability scores are all 18s! Dealing with Too-Powerful Characters If you decide a character is too powerful, the player has two choices. First, he can agree to weaken the character in some fashion (subject to your approval). This may be as simple as excluding a few magical items ("No, you can't bring that holy avenger sword +5 that shoots 30-dice fireballs into my campaign!"). Second, the player can agree not to use some special ability ("I don't care if your previous DM gave your character the Evil Eye, you can't jinx my dice rolls!"). If this sort of change seems too drastic or requires altering ability scores or levels, a better option is simply to have the player create a new character. The old character can be used, without tinkering, in the campaign for which he was created. The new character, more appropriate to your campaign, can develop in your game. Remember that just because another DM allowed something is no reason you have to do the same! Hopeless Characters At the other extreme from the super character is the character who appears hopeless. The player is convinced his new character has a fatal flaw that guarantees a quick and ugly death under the claws of some imaginary foe. Discouraged, he asks to scrap the character and create another. In reality, few, if any, characters are truly hopeless. Certainly, ability scores have an effect on the game, but they are not the overwhelming factor in a character's success or failure. Far more important is the cleverness and ingenuity the player brings to the character. When a player bemoans his bad luck and "hopeless" character, he may just be upset because the character is not exactly what he wanted. Some players write off any character who has only one above-average ability score. Some complain if a new character does not qualify for a favorite class or race. Others complain if even one ability score is below average. Some players become stuck in super-character mode. Some want a character with no penalties. Some always want to play a particular character class and feel cheated if their scores won't allow it. Some players cite numerical formulas as proof of a character's hopelessness ("A character needs at least 75 ability points to survive" or "A character without two scores of 15 or more is a waste of time"). In reality, there is no such hard and fast formula. There are, in fact, few really hopeless characters. Dealing with Hopeless Characters Before you agree that a character is hopeless, consider the player's motives. Try to be firm and encourage players to give "bad" characters a try. They might actually enjoy playing something different for a change. A character with one or more very low score (6 or less) may seem like a loser, like it would be no fun to play. Quite simply, this isn't true! Just as exceptionally high scores make a character unique, so do very low scores. In the hands of good role-players, such characters are tremendous fun. Encourage the player to be daring and creative. Some of the most memorable characters from history and literature rose to greatness despite their flaws. In many ways, the completely average character is the worst of all. Exceptionally good or exceptionally bad ability scores give a player something to base his role-playing on--whether nimble as a cat or dumb as a box of rocks, at least the character provides something exciting to role-play. Average characters don't have these simple focal points. The unique, special something that makes a character stand out in a crowd must be provided by the player, and this is not always easy. Too many players fall into the "he's just your basic fighter" syndrome. In truth, however, even an average character is okay. The only really hopeless character is the rare one that cannot qualify for any character class. The playability of all other characters is up to you. Dealing with Dissatisfied Players All of the above notwithstanding, you don't want to force a player to accept a character he doesn't really like. All you will do is lose a player. If someone really is dissatisfied, either make some adjustments to the character or let him roll up a new one. When adjusting ability scores, follow these guidelines:  Don't adjust an ability score above the minimum required to qualify for a particular class or race. You are being kind enough already without giving away 10 percent experience bonuses.  Don't adjust an ability score above 15. Only two classes have ability minimums higher than 15: paladins and illusionists. Only very special characters can become paladins and illusionists. If you give these classes away, they lose their charm.  Don't adjust an ability score that isn't required for the race or class the player wants his character to be.  Think twice before raising an ability score to let a character into an optional class if he already qualifies for the standard class in that group. For example, if Kirizov has the scores he needs to be a half-elf fighter, does he really need to be a half-elf ranger? Encourage the player to develop a character who always wanted to be a ranger but just never got the chance, or who fancies himself a ranger but is allergic to trees. Encourage role-playing! Wishes and Ability Scores Sooner or later player characters are going to gain wishes. Wishes are wonderful things that allow creative players to break the rules in marvelous ways. Inevitably, some player is going to use a wish to raise his character's ability scores. This is fine. Player characters should have the chance to raise their ability scores. It can't be too easy, however, or soon every character in your campaign will have several 18s. When a wish is used to increase a score that is 15 or lower, each wish raises the ability one point. A character with a Dexterity of 15, for example, can use a wish to raise his Dexterity to 16. If the ability score is between 16 and 20, each wish increases the ability score by only one-tenth of a point. The character must use 10 wishes to raise his Dexterity score from 16 to 17. The player can record this on his character sheet as 16.1, 16.2, etc. Fractions of a point have no effect until all 10 wishes have been made. If a character of the warrior group has a Strength score of 18, each wish increases the percentile score by 10 percent. Thus, 11 wishes are needed to reach Strength 19. This rule applies only to wishes and wish-like powers. Magical items (manuals, books, etc.) and the intervention of greater powers can automatically increase an ability score by one point, regardless of its current value. Players with Multiple Characters Each player usually controls one character, but sometimes players may want or need more. Multiple player characters are fine in the right situation. Once your campaign is underway and players learn more about the game world, they may want to have characters in several widely scattered areas throughout that world. Having multiple characters who live and adventure in different regions allows a lot of variety in the game. The characters usually are spread far enough apart so that events in one region don't affect what transpires in the other. Sometimes players want to try a different class or race of character but do not want to abandon their older, more experienced heroes. Again, spreading these characters out across the world is an effective means of keeping them separate and unique. Whenever possible, avoid letting players have more than one character in the same area. If, for some reason, players must have more than one character in an area, make sure that the characters are of significantly different experience levels. Even this difference should keep them from crossing paths very often. If multiple player characters are allowed, each character should be distinct and different. It is perfectly fair to rule that multiple characters controlled by one person must be different classes--perhaps even different races. This helps the player keep them separate in his imagination. If a player has more than one character available, ask him to choose which character he wants to use for the adventure--before he knows what the adventure is about. If a single adventure stretches across several playing sessions, the same character should be used throughout. All of the player's other characters are considered busy with something else during this time. Avoid letting players take more than one character along on a single adventure. This usually comes up when the group of characters assembled for the planned adventure is too small to undertake it safely. The best solution to this problem is to adjust the adventure, use a different adventure entirely, or supplement the party with NPC hirelings. Multiple Character Problems Playing the role of a single character in depth is more than enough work for one person. Adding a second character usually means that both become lists of numbers rather than personalities. Shared Items: One single player/multiple character problem that needs to be nipped in the bud is that of shared equipment. Some players will trade magical items, treasure, maps, and gear back and forth among their characters. For example, when Phaedre goes adventuring she takes along Bertramm's ring of invisibility. Bertramm, in exchange, gets the use of Phaedre's boots of speed. In short, each character has the accumulated treasure of two adventurers to draw on. Do not allow this! Even though one player controls both characters, those characters are not clones. Their equipment and treasure is extremely valuable. Would Phaedre loan her boots to a character controlled by another player? How about an NPC? Probably not, on both counts. Unless the character is (foolishly) generous in all aspects of his personality, you have every right (some might call it a duty) to disallow this sort of behavior. Shared Information: Information is a much more difficult problem. Your players must understand the distinction between what they know as players and what their characters know. Your players have read the rules and shared stories about each other's games. They've torn out their hair as the entire party of adventurers was turned into lawn ornaments by the medusa who lives beyond the black gateway. That is all player information. No other characters know what happened to that group, except this: they went through the black gateway and never returned. The problem of player knowledge/character knowledge is always present, but it is much worse when players control more than one character in the same region. It takes good players to ignore information their characters have no way of knowing, especially if it concerns something dangerous. The best solution is to avoid the situation. If it comes up and players seem to be taking advantage of knowledge they shouldn't have, you can discourage them by changing things a bit. Still, prevention is the best cure. And remember, when problems arise (which they will), don't give up or give in. Instead, look for ways to turn the problem into an adventure. Character Background When you look at a completed character, you will notice there are still many unanswered questions: Who were the character's parents? Are they still alive? Does the character have brothers and sisters? Where was he born? Does he have any notable friends or enemies? Are his parents wealthy or are they poor? Does he have a family home? Is he an outcast? Is he civilized and cultured, or barbaric and primitive? In short, just how does this character fit into the campaign world? There are no rules to answer these questions. The Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide are designed to help you unlock your imagination. The AD&Dr rules do not presume to tell you exactly what your campaign world will be like. These decisions are left to you. Consider what would happen if the rules dictated answers to the questions above. For example, suppose the rules said that 50% of all characters come from primitive, barbaric backgrounds...and you're running a campaign set in a huge, sophisticated city (the New Rome of your world). Even more ridiculous would be the reverse, where the rules say 50% of the characters are city dwellers and your campaign is set in a barbaric wilderness. Or how would you explain things if 20% of all characters were seafarers and you had set your adventures in the heart of a desert larger than the Sahara? These pages contain guidelines and advice about how to create a campaign, but there is nothing that says exactly where this campaign must be set or what it must be like. This does not mean that a character's background shouldn't be developed--such background adds a lot to the depth and role-playing of your players and their characters. However, it is up to you to tailor character backgrounds to the needs of your campaign. Letting Players Do the Work Of course, you don't have to do all the work. Your players can provide most of the energy, enthusiasm, and ideas needed. Your task is to provide direction and control. Allow your players to decide what kind of people their characters are. One could be a rough nomad, another an over-civilized fop, others, homespun farmboys or salty seadogs. Let the players decide, and then tell them if, and how, their characters fit into your campaign world. When a player says, "My dwarf's a rude and tough little guy who doesn't like humans or elves," you can respond with "Fine, he's probably one of the Thangor Clan from the deep mountain regions." This type of cooperation spurs your creativity, and involves the players in your world right from the start. You must come up with answers to their questions and ways to make their desires work in the campaign. The will be rewarded with the feeling of getting the characters they want. A carefully well-crafted character background can do more than just provide emotional satisfaction. It can also provide motivation for the player characters to undertake specific adventures: Just what is a dwarf of the Thangor Clan doing outside his clan's mountainous homeland? Is he an outcast looking for some way to redeem himself? Maybe he's a restless soul eager to see the bright lights of the big city and the world. A character can have parents to avenge, long-lost siblings to track down, a name to clear, or even a lost love to recapture. Background can be used to build sub-plots within the overall framework of the campaign, enriching character descriptions, and interactions. Background should not be forced: Do not insist that a player take upon his character a crippled grandmother, three sisters stolen by gypsies, a black-hearted rival, and a stain on the family name. Instead, see if the player has any ideas about his character. Not every player will, but the AD&D game depends as much on the players' fantasies as it does on yours. Characters who players are happy with and feel comfortable about will create their own special excitement and interest. Players who are interested in their characters' backgrounds can be a source of creative energy, as they offer you a constant stream of new ideas. Problem Backgrounds Certain points of background can and do create problems in campaigns, however. First and foremost of these is nobility, followed closely by great wealth. Problems of Nobility: Some players like the idea of their character being Prince So-and-So or the son of Duke Dunderhead. All too often this leads to an abuse of power. The player assumes, somewhat rightfully and somewhat not, that the title endows his character with special privileges--the right to instant income, the right to flaunt the law, the right to endless NPCs, information, and resources--or, worst of all, the right to use clout to push the other members of the party around. This kind of character quickly becomes tiresome to the other players and will constantly find ways to upset carefully planned adventures. Titles can be allowed, but the DM will have to put some controls on noble characters. The easiest and most effective method is to strip the title of all benefits that, by rights, should go with it. The noble character could be the son of a penurious duke. The son may be next in line to inherit the title when his father dies, but he's also in line to inherit his father's debts! Instead of seeking to impress others in public, the poor son might be quite happy to keep a low profile so as not to attract his father's creditors. After all, it's hard to amass a fortune through adventuring when the bill collectors are always on hand to take it away. Likewise, a princely character could be the son of an unpopular and despotic or incompetent king--perhaps even one who was overthrown for his abuses. Such a son might not want his lineage well-known, since most of the peasants would have less than happy recollections of his father's rule. Of course, these kinds of manipulations on your part soon become tiresome, both to yourself and the players. Not every duke can be impoverished, nor every throne usurped. Going too far with this strategy will only destroy the validity of nobility and titles in your game. In the long run, it is better for your player characters to begin untitled, with one of their goals being the possibility of earning the right to place a "Sir'' or "Lady'' before their names. Imagine their pride as you confer this title on their character (and imagine the trials they must have gone through to earn this right). Problems of Wealth: Another problem you might have to deal with is characters from wealthy, upper-class families. (This is often associated with the problem of titles since the nobility normally is the upper class.) Such characters, being wealthy, lack one of the basic reasons to adventure--the desire to make a fortune. Indeed, they see their own money as a way to buy solutions to their problems. Often they will propose eminently reasonably (and, to the DM's carefully planned adventures, quite disastrous) schemes to make their adventuring life easier. It is, of course, possible to hire a wizard to construct magical items. And a wealthy 1st-level character could buy a vast army. But these sorts of things will have undesirable effects on your campaign. There are ways to control these problems while still allowing players the character backgrounds they desire. Think of the real world and how difficult it is to convince family and friends to give you money, especially sizeable amounts of cash. You may have a loving family and generous friends, but there is a limit. In your campaign, parents may grow tired of supporting their children. Brothers could become upset at how player character relatives are cheating them out of their share of an inheritance. Sisters may take exception to the squandering of their dowries. Standard medieval custom called for inheritances--land and chattels--to be divided equally among all of a man's sons. (This is one reason Charlemagne's empire crumbled after his death.) You can use this custom to whittle a wealthy character's purse down to size. Further, families are not immune to the effects of greed and covetousness--many a tale revolves around the treachery one brother has wrought upon another. A rich character could awaken to discover that his family has been swindled of all it owns. Background as Background A character's background is a role-playing tool. It provides the player with more information about his character, more beginning personality on which to build. It should complement your campaign and spur it forward. Background details should stay there--in the background. What your characters are doing now and will do in the future is more important than what they were and what they did. Chapter 2: Player Character Races Many factors affect a character's background. Two of the most important are his race and his character class (see Chapter 3, "Player Character Classes"). In a sense, a character's class is his profession. Some characters are fighters, some are mages, some are clerics, and so on. A character's race affects which character classes are available to him. Only humans have unlimited class options. All non-human races are limited to some extent. There are two reasons for this: First, the restrictions are intended to channel players into careers that make sense for the various races. Dwarves are, to a certain degree, anti-magical and incapable of shaping magical energy--they can't be wizards. Halflings, despite their ties to nature, lack the devotion and physical will to be druids. Similar situations exist for the other demihuman races. Second, the demihuman races have advantages that are not available to humans. Flexibility, the ability to choose from among all the classes, is one of very few human advantages. A Non-Human World The DM can, if he chooses, make any class available to any race. This will certainly make your players happy. But before throwing the doors open, consider the consequences. If the only special advantage humans have is given to all the races, who will want to play a human? Humans would be the weakest race in your world. Why play a 20th-level human paladin when you could play a 20th-level elven paladin and have all the abilities of paladins and elves? If none of the player characters are human, it is probably safe to assume that no non-player characters of any importance are human either. Your world would have no human kingdoms, or human kings, emperors, or powerful wizards. It would be run by dwarves, elves, and gnomes. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you must consider what kind of world non-humans would create. Building a believable fantasy world is a daunting task; creating a believable alien fantasy world (which is what a world dominated by non-humans would be) is a huge challenge even for the best writers of fantasy. What would non-human families be like? What would the popular entertainment be? What would non-humans value? What would they eat? What would their governments be like? A society governed by nature-loving elves would be a very different place than a human-dominated world. It is possible that certain character classes might not even exist. Paladinhood, for example, could be a uniquely human perspective. Would elves and dwarves hold the same values of law, order, god, and community to which a paladin aspires? If you only change the image (i.e., have elven paladins behave exactly like human paladins), what you've got is the "humans-in-funny-suits" syndrome. Even within the human race there are vast cultural differences. Think how much greater these differences would be if the blood were entirely different. Also, if humans are weak, will the other races treat them with contempt? With pity? Will humans be enslaved? All things considered, humans could have a very bad time of it. If, after considering all the potential pitfalls, you decide to experiment with non-standard class selections, do so carefully. We offer the following advice: Allow nonstandard race/class combinations only on a case-by-case basis. If you institute a general rule--"Gnomes can now be paladins"--you will suddenly find yourself with six player character gnome paladins. If a player desperately wants to play a gnome paladin, ask him to come up with a thoughtful rationale explaining why this gnome is a paladin. It must be plausible and consistent with your campaign setting. If the rationale satisfies you, allow that player, and only that player, to play a gnome paladin. Explain to the other players that this is an experiment. Don't allow any other gnome paladins in the game until you have seen the first one in action long enough to decide whether the class fits into your game. If it does, congratulations--you've broadened your players' horizons. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to tell the gnome paladin player that he has to retire the character or convert him to a normal fighter. Never allow someone to continue playing a character who is upsetting your game. By following this simple rule, you can test new race/class combinations without threatening your campaign. Moderation is the key to this type of experimentation. Racial Level Restrictions In addition to unlimited class choice, humans can attain any level in any class. Once again, this is a human special ability, something no other race has. In the AD&D game, humans are more motivated by ambition and the desire for power than the demihuman races are. Thus, humans advance further and more quickly. Demihumans can attain significant levels in certain classes, but they do not have the same unlimited access. Some players may argue that the greater age of various non-humans automatically means they will attain greater levels. That can present problems. Demihuman characters are limited in how high a level they can achieve both to preserve internal consistency (humans are more flexible than non-humans) and to enforce game balance. A DM, however, can change or eliminate these limits as he sees fit. As with class restrictions, the consequences must be examined in detail. Given their extremely long lifespans, demihumans without limitations would quickly reach levels of power far beyond anything attainable by humans. The world would be dominated by these extremely powerful beings, to the exclusion of humans. Human heroes would be feeble compared to the heroes of elves and dwarves. Given their numerous advantages, demihumans would be the most attractive races--no one would play a human. Again, this isn't necessarily bad, but it's very different. The resulting game will be completely unlike the standard sword-and-sorcery milieu. You might need to set the campaign in an ancient age, before the ascendance of men (though given the situation, it's unlikely that men would ever become dominant). Slow Advancement (Optional Rule) If you decide to allow demihumans unlimited advancement, consider this option: To counteract the demihumans' long life, slow down their advancement. Require demihumans to earn two, three, or even four times as many experience points as a human to advance a level. This allows the short-lived humans to advance more quickly than their long-lived comrades, who will eventually catch up after the humans' demise. If this solution, though logical, is unacceptable to your players, a compromise may be called for. The best compromise is to allow demihumans normal (or double-cost) advancement to their "maximum" levels. Then require them to earn triple or quadruple experience points to advance beyond that point. They will advance very slowly, but the players will still have a goal and the sense of accomplishment that comes with rising a level. Standard Class and Level Limits Before removing or modifying level limits, familiarize yourself with the game and the balances that currently exist. Only after you are experienced and comfortable with these should you begin alteration of the non-human level limits. The standard level limits for all races and classes are given in Table 7. Table 7: Racial Class and Level Limits* Character Class Character Races Human Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Bard U - - - U - Cleric U 10 12 9 14 8 Druid U - - - 9 - Fighter U 15 12 11 14 9 Illus. U - - 15 - - Mage U - 15 - 12 - Paladin U - - - - - Ranger U - 15 - 16 - Thief U 12 12 13 12 15 U A player character can advance to the maximum possible level in a given class. The Player's Handbook gives rules for advancing the player characters to 20th level. - A player character cannot belong to the listed class. * Player characters with less than exceptional prime requisites cannot advance beyond the listed level. Exceeding Level Limits (Optional Rule) Demihuman characters with extremely high ability scores in their prime requisites can exceed the racial maximum levels. In cases where multiple prime requisites exist, the lowest prime requisite is used to calculate any additional levels. The bonus levels available to characters with high prime requisite scores are summarized on Table 8. The additional levels listed in Table 8 are added to the normal maximum allowed, regardless of what class or race is involved. For example, a half-elf is limited to 12th level as a thief. A half-elf thief with a Dexterity score of 17, however, is allowed two bonus levels, so he could advance to 14th level. Table 8: Prime Requisite Bonuses Ability Score Additional Levels 14, 15 +1 16, 17 +2 18 +3 19 +4 Creating New Player Character Races The races listed in the Player's Handbook are only a few of the possible intelligent races populating the worlds of the AD&D game. Adventurous DMs and players may want to experiment with characters of other races, such as orcs, lycanthropes, ogres, lizardmen, or even dragons. Before you do this, however, you need to know very clearly what you are getting into. Unrestricted or ill-considered use of non-standard races can easily and quickly destroy a campaign. Always consider a new race from a variety of angles: How does the new race fit with the other player characters? How does it fit in the campaign in general? What could you accomplish with this race that you couldn't with another? The majority of players who want to play an unusual race desire only the thrill and excitement of a truly challenging role-playing situation. There are, however, a few players who see such races as a way to take advantage of game systems and campaign situations. As with changing level limits and classes allowed, you are well advised to move slowly and carefully in this area. Allowing player characters of unusual races introduces a whole new set of problems. In creating a new non-human or demihuman player character race, the rules and guidelines below should be followed to preserve game balance. The race should be humanoid (i.e., it must have two hands, at least two legs, and stand generally upright). The race must be able to move about on land. It must also be intelligent. An orc or a centaur would be acceptable. The race cannot possess special abilities beyond the scope of those already given for the other player character races. Although a dragon can polymorph into human form, it makes an unlikely player character because it has a breath weapon, can change shape, can cast spells, and is not humanoid in its natural state. A brownie probably would not be a player character because it, too, has abilities beyond those of the standard player character races. The race cannot be extra-dimensional or draw on extra-dimensional powers. It cannot have innate spellcasting ability, be undead, or possess magic resistance. The race must be cooperative and willing to interact with the human world. The duergar, a race of deep-dwelling dwarves, have no desire to deal with humans and avoid contact whenever possible. Satyrs resent intruders into their woods and glades, which rules them out as player characters. You must judge this criterion based on the conditions in your game world. If these conditions are met, the race can be considered as a possible player character race. Some examples of races that definitely fit the profile are half-orcs, orcs, half-ogres, lizardmen, goblins, centaurs, and kobolds. When experimenting with a new player character race, allow only one at the start. Do not begin your experiment with a whole party of half-ogres! Start slowly, involving only one player. If the new race is too powerful, it can be easily eliminated. Once the new race is selected, the real work begins. Examine the race and apply all of the following guidelines to it. Character Abilities: All races, regardless of type, use the same ability generation method as all other player characters. Their scores will range from 3 to 18 unless modified by pluses or minuses. Creature sizes, defined in the Monstrous Manual, affect abilities as follows: Creatures of tiny (T) size have a -3 modifier to Strength. Creatures of small (S) size have a -1 modifier to Strength. Creatures of large (L) size have a +1 modifier to Strength. Huge (H) creatures gain a +2 to Strength and Gigantic (G) creatures have a +4. Those with an Intelligence less than average (as determined by the DM or as listed in the Monstrous Manual) suffer a -1 penalty to Intelligence and those exceptionally Intelligent or greater gain a +1 bonus. All other ability modifiers are assigned by the DM. Likely candidates include minuses to Charisma and Wisdom and plus or minus adjustments to Dexterity. In all cases, bonuses and penalties should balance out. If a creature has a +1 bonus to Strength, it should have a -1 penalty to another ability. With the exception of Strength, no creature can have a modifier greater than +2 or -2 to any score. Racial Ability Requirements: It is possible for a creature to have seemingly illogical ability scores. However, you can set minimums and maximums on these. Table 7 in the Player's Handbook shows these limits for the standard player character races. It is the DM's job to do the same for nonstandard races. As a guide, creatures of large size should have at least an 11 Strength and, unless they are described as agile or quick, should have a ceiling of 17 to Dexterity. Dull-witted creatures (those of low Intelligence) should have a limit of 16 to Intelligence. The DM can waive any requirements if, for example, a player wants (or gets) a hill giant character with Strength 6. Some rationale should be offered, however. (In the case of the weakling hill giant, perhaps he was the runt of the family, cast out by his fellows, and forced to take up adventuring.) Character Classes: The DM must judge what character classes the new race can be. Use the information in the next chapter as your guide, and start with a narrow range of options. You can always widen it later. Almost any sort of creature can be a fighter. None (except humans) can be paladins. Those favoring the outdoors (centaurs, for example) can be rangers. Those with penalties to Wisdom cannot be priests; others can be priests only if their game description mentions NPC priests and the creature has some type of social organization (a tribe, clan, etc.). No nonstandard creature can be a druid, as this is a human belief system. Those with penalties to Intelligence cannot be wizards. If the description in the Monstrous Manual implies that a creature is stupid, dull-witted, or in any way averse to magic and spell casting, it cannot be a priest or wizard. A Dexterity penalty prevents the character from being a thief. Creatures of large size or greater cannot be thieves. If it is implied that a creature is clumsy or awkward, it cannot be a thief. A new character race can be multi-classed if there is more than one potential class open to it (e.g., fighter and mage). Classes from the same group cannot combine into multi-classes (e.g., fighter/ranger). Characters from variant races must also have scores of 14 or higher in the prime requisites of both classes to qualify for multi-class standing. This particular condition does not apply to normal player character races. Level Limits: Like all non-humans, new player character races have level limits. However, these limits are lower than those for other non-humans, since these races are often unsuited to adventuring. (Perhaps this explains why player characters of these races are so rare.) The maximum level a character from a variant race can attain depends on the character's prime requisite ability score (or scores). Use Table 9 to determine the character's maximum level. Table 9: Maximum Levels for Variant Races Prime Requisite Score Level Limit 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 14 8 15 9 16 10 17 11 18+ 12 Unlike the standard demihuman races, new character races never gain additional levels for high ability scores. It is unusual enough that a member of the race has become a player character at all! Without the aid of many wish spells, a character from a non-standard race can never rise above 12th level. Alignment: The Monstrous Manual lists alignments for most races. If an absolute alignment is listed (e.g., "good"), the player character has that alignment. If only alignment tendencies are given, the player can choose any alignment. Hit Points: All creatures roll their hit points using the die appropriate to their chosen class. At 1st level, Large and greater size creatures gain one additional hit point for every Hit Die the creatures would normally receive (pluses to the die are ignored) in addition to their normal Constitution bonus. Thus, an ogre fighter with a Constitution of 12 would still gain a +4 hit point bonus at first level, since ogres normally have 4 Hit Dice. (Remember that Large size creatures suffer larger-than-man-sized damage from weapons!) Thereafter, all new races earn hit points according to level advancement, Constitution, and character class. Level Advancement: The character progresses like all others of the same character class. Being a nonstandard race does not give the player character any special benefits to his character class. Armor: Most creatures (orcs, gnolls, goblins) have an Armor Class of 10 (and thus wear armor for protection). Some creatures, however, have natural armor which is retained by the player character. These characters gain the benefit of a +1 bonus to their AC only if the armor worn is worse than or equal to their natural Armor Class (as per horse barding). If better armor is worn, natural armor is ignored and Armor Class is determined by the armor being worn. Odd-sized and odd-shaped creatures can't wear off-the-shelf armor; it must be made to order and costs extra (and takes longer to make). Movement: The creature's movement rate is the same as that listed in the Monstrous Manual. Attacks: The player character is allowed the number of attacks given his character class and level, not the number listed in the monster description in the Monstrous Manual. Size Problems: Players who play Large-sized creatures hoping to get an advantage over others should quickly discover many problems they didn't anticipate. Consider the plight of the player who decides to have a hill giant. Right away, he'll have a hard time buying basic equipment. Who makes pants for giants in a human town? Everything must be special ordered at two to four times--or more--its normal cost. This is a minor inconvenience compared to other difficulties. Buildings and dungeons are built for humans and other Medium-sized creatures, denying the large fellow the opportunity for both a hearty drink and exciting adventure. Even the toughest character will tire of drinking from measly cups and buying five dinners at a time. Will he enjoy spending the night in a leaky stable while his companions enjoy warm feather beds upstairs in the inn? Days of traveling will quickly show him the joys of walking while everyone else rides (no horse can carry him), especially when his companions gallop spryly away from oncoming danger, leaving him in its path. The costs of replacing broken furniture will quickly become prohibitive. Ropes will have an annoying tendency to break when the big lunk tries to climb them. And the hill giant better have at least 20 friends handy to pull him out of that 30-foot pit! NPC Reactions: On the personal side, expect NPCs to have strong negative feelings about unusual player character races, even to the point of bigotry and hatred. These reactions will make life more difficult for the player character, but they are the price the player pays for his unusual choice. Chapter 3: Player Character Classes The Player's Handbook covers the nuts and bolts of character classes, explaining the mechanics of how they work and what they can do, but there is more to being a DM than just knowing the hard and fast rules. Character classes form the heart of the AD&D game, so it is useful to understand some of the concepts and relationships that define classes and how they function. Class, Level, and the Common Man Character class and level are useful game measures of a character's talents and abilities. Every class outlines a basic role for the character, a position and career in life. Each level defines additional power and provides a system whereby you can quantify and balance encounters. With only a little practice you learn that characters of X classes and levels can easily defeat monster Y, but that monster Z will give them serious problems. This helps you create exciting, balanced adventures for your players. Yet, at the same time, you know that the concept of classes and levels doesn't really apply to the real world. The teamster driving the wagon that passes the characters isn't a 1st-, 5th-, or 100th-level teamster. He is a man, whose job it is to drive wagons and haul goods. The chambermaid is not a special class, nor are her abilities defined by levels. The teamster or chambermaid may be exceptionally skilled and competent, but for them this is not measured in character classes. There is no such thing as a teamster or chambermaid class, any more than there are merchant, sailor, prince, blacksmith, hermit, navigator, tinker, beggar, gypsy, or clerk classes. These are the things people do, not all-encompassing descriptions. Nor are all the people in your campaign world fighters, mages, thieves, or whatever. The situation would be utterly ridiculous if every NPC had a character class. You would have fighter chambermaids, mage teamsters, thief merchants, and ranger children. The whole thing defies logic and boggles the mind. Most non-player characters are people, just people, and nothing more. Only a few people actually attain any character level. Not every soldier who fights in a war becomes a fighter. Not every urchin who steals an apple from the marketplace becomes a thief. The characters with classes and levels have them because they are in some way special. This specialness has nothing to do with ability scores, class abilities, or levels. Such characters are special by definition. The fact that player characters are controlled by players renders them special. Perhaps these special characters are more driven or have some unknown inner spark or just the right combination of talents and desires. That's up to the players. Similarly, non-player characters with classes are special because the DM says so. Plain and simple. There is no secret reason for this--it just is. 0-Level Characters The great mass of humanity, elf-kind, the dwarven clans, and halflings, are "0-level" (zero-level) characters. They can gain in wisdom and skill, but they do not earn experience points for their activities. These common folk form the backbone of every fantasy world, doing the labor, making goods, selling cargos, sailing oceans, building ships, cutting trees, hauling lumber, tending horses, raising crops and more. Many are quite talented in the various arts and crafts. Some are even more proficient than player characters with the same training. After all, 0-level characters earn their livings doing this kind of work. For player characters such proficiencies are almost more of a hobby. For the vast majority of 0-level NPCs you create and use in your game, all you need to know is a name, a personality, and an occupation. When the characters deal with the blacksmith or the innkeeper, there's no need to create ability scores, THACO, to-hit adjustments, Armor Class, and the like. This does assume, of course, that your player characters don't go attacking every blacksmith and innkeeper in sight. If they do, you need to know a little more about 0-level characters. Ability Scores: These range from 3-18. For simplicity, don't worry about racial modifiers for the demihuman races. Racial modifiers to combat, Armor Class, hit points, etc., do apply. Proficiencies: At best, a 0-level character will have one weapon proficiency, if that character's profession reasonably allows for it. For example, a blacksmith could be proficient with a warhammer and an innkeeper might be allowed skill with a club (the axe handle under the bar...), but there's little chance a clerk is going to be skilled with any type of weapon. In nonweapon proficiencies, 0-level characters have as many as are needed (and reasonable) given their profession and age. Thus, a blacksmith might be quite accomplished at the forge, having spent several proficiencies on the slot. Novices and incompetent craftsmen have the bare minimum training and skill. Typical journeymen spend two or three slots on their main skill. Experts and brilliant artists usually devote all their ability to a single proficiency. Masters, who watch over the work of journeymen and apprentices, are normally no more accomplished than journeymen but have additional proficiencies in other business areas. Hit Points: The majority of people have from 1-6 hit points. Dwarves and gnomes average from 1-8 hit points. Adjustments can be made for occupation or condition as indicated on Table 10, below. Table 10: 0-Level Hit Points by Title Profession Die Range Manual Laborer 1d8 Soldier 1d8+1 Craftsman 1d6 Scholar 1d3 Invalid 1d4 Child 1d2 Youth 1d6 Some players think it is unrealistic that a typical peasant can be killed by a single sword blow, a fall from a horse, or a thrown rock. In the real world, people can and do die from these causes. At the same time, however, others survive incredible injuries and wounds. When it is necessary to the success of an adventure (and only on extremely rare occasions), you can give 0-level characters more hit points. The situation could have come about for any number of reasons: magic, blessings from on high, some particularly twisted curse (the peasant who could not die!)--you name it. It is also useful to make important NPCs, such as 0-level kings or princes, tougher than the average person. This is particularly important in the case of rulers, otherwise some crazed player character is going to overthrow the campaign kingdom with a single swipe of his sword. This is normally not a desirable result. Adventurers and Society If most people do not fall into a particular character class, how common are those with character classes and how do they fit into the society around them? This is an important question, one you will answer as you create your campaign. You don't have to sit down and think out an exact answer ("2% of the population are adventurers"), although you can get that precise if you want. More likely, the answer will form over time as you populate villages, create encounters, and DM game sessions--you will unconsciously make your choices about frequency and character role. There are, however, differences in how frequently the different classes will logically show up. Fighters Fighters are by far the most common character types in normal campaigns. They must meet the least stringent class requirements and are drawn from the biggest pool of talent--soldiers of innumerable armies, mercenary companies, militias, palace guards, temple hosts, and sheriff's men. In these and other forces, the potential fighter learns his trade. He is taught how to handle weapons and care for them. He picks up some basic tactics and earns acceptance as a fighting man. From these ranks some go on to become 1st-level fighters. Such men are often given rank in recognition of their talents. Thus, a 1st-level fighter may become a corporal or a sergeant. As the ranks become greater and more influential, the tendency is to award these to higher level fighters. However, this trend is not absolute and often breaks down at the highest levels. The captain of the company may be a 12th-level fighter, but he would still take orders from a 0-level prince! Level is no guarantee of rank, nor is rank fixed to level. Some people don't want responsibility and all that comes with it. They would rather let other people tell them what to do. Such characters may become accomplished fighters but never advance beyond the rank of common soldier. Political maneuvering and favoritism can raise even the lowest level character to the highest positions of authority. Since fighters tend to rise above the level of the common soldier, few armies are composed of high- or even low-level fighters. While there is little difference in ability between the typical foot soldier and a 1st-level fighter, it is just not possible to find an army of 20,000 4th-level fighters. It's rare enough to find 1,000 or so 2nd-level fighters in a single unit. Such units are elite, superbly trained and outfitted, and are normally held in reserve for special tasks. They may be the shock troops of an assault, a special bodyguard, or the reserve of an army held back for pursuit. Adventurer fighters (whether player characters or NPCs) are those who have struck out on their own. Not every man is content to take orders or give orders, and fame seldom comes to the common foot soldier. Some men are willing to try to rise through the ranks, but it is by no means an easy or speedy process. There aren't many openings, nor is it a path where skill at arms guarantees success. Given all this, it's not surprising that most fighters opt for the more direct method of adventuring. In the course of adventuring, though, many fighters find themselves becoming leaders and commanders, assembling men around them as they carve their own place in the world. Paladins Paladins are rare, in part because of the statistics of dice rolling and in part because paladinhood is an exacting road for characters to follow. It is easy to err and fall from the special state of grace required. Not every character is up to these demands, but those few that are can be truly special. You will not find units with thousands, hundreds, or even tens of paladins. At best, they form small groups (such as the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne or some of the Knights of the Round Table). Often, because of the sterling example they set, paladins lead others in battle. But, at the same time, they tend to be ill-suited to the task of ruling, which too often requires compromise of one's principles. It is common to find the paladin working in association with the clergy of his religion, but lone paladins, carrying their faith into the wilderness, also appear in the tales of bards. Rangers Rangers tend to be loners, uncomfortable in the company of "civilized" men. They are also uncommon, again due to the demanding ability requirements of the class. These two factors make armies or companies of rangers most unlikely, only marginally less common than hordes of paladins. Although loners, they do not mind the company of other rangers, those who understand the ways of the wilderness and the need for space. Small groups of rangers will sometimes join an army as its scouts, especially if the need is pressing. They will occasionally be found in forest villages or near untracked wildernesses. Here, guides, scouts, woodsmen, trappers, pioneers, and stalkers form the pool from which the ranger ranks are filled. Few can be found in civilized lands--rangers in cities are truly oddities. Wizards Wizards are the most iconoclastic and self-important of all the character classes, for they are unique among all character classes. The peasant can pick up a sword and fight; a pious man can hope to serve his faith; a local wag can spin a good tale; and an unprincipled cad can rob the local merchants. But no one other than a wizard can cast magical spells. The need for highly specialized training truly sets them apart, and they know it. When mages gather, they tend to form societies or associations, organizations for men who speak of things not understood by the common folk (much like scientists today). But wizards are too fractious and independent a lot to organize themselves into proper unions--they can barely manage to form moderately organized guilds. Generally, their groups exist for such high-minded reasons as to "facilitate the exchange of knowledge" or "advance the state of the science of magic." Some prepare texts or papers to share with fellow mages, detailing their latest experiments and discoveries or outlining some new theory. They enjoy the recognition of their peers as much as anyone. To outsiders, wizards seem aloof and daunting. Like craftsmen, they are most comfortable in the company of their fellows, speaking a language they all understand. The untrained, even apprentices, are intruders upon this fellowship and are apt to receive an icy and rude reception. Wizards are an eccentric, even perverse, lot. They're likely to be found just about anywhere. Nonetheless, they have an affinity for civilization, ranging from small villages to vast cities. Only a few mages actually care to adventure since it is an extremely dangerous undertaking to which they are ill-trained and ill-suited. The vast majority spend their time experimenting in seclusion or working in the service of others, preferably well paid. Many mages, especially those of lesser ability, turn their art to practical ends--almost every village has a fellow who can whip up a few useful spells to help with the lambing or simplify the construction of a house. In larger cities, these mages become more specialized, such that one might lend his talents to construction, another to the finding of lost things, and a third to aiding the local jewelers in their craft. Nearly all major families, merchant princes, and nobles have a mage or two in their employ. A few attempt (generally without success) to have these wizards mass-produce magical items. The problem is that wizards are as difficult to manage as rangers or paladins. They do not care for others bossing them around or encroaching upon their perceived privileges and rights, especially since they have the magical resources to make their displeasure known. Also, they are usually kept busy finding ways to strike at their employer's rivals (or thwarting such attempts against their own lord). Foolish is the king who does not have a personal wizard, and lamentable is the ruler who trusts the wrong mage. Not all wizards spend their time in the service of others. Some seek naught but knowledge. These scholar-mages tend to be viewed much like great university professors today--noble and distant, pursuing truth for its own sake. While not directly in the service of others, they can sometimes be commissioned to perform some duty or answer some question. The wealthy often provide endowments for such men, not to buy their services (which aren't for sale) but to curry their favor in hopes that they will provide honor, glory, and just perhaps something useful. This situation is not unlike that of the great artists of the Renaissance who were supported by princes hoping to impress and outdo their rivals. There are wizards who spend all their time shut away from humanity in dark, forbidding towers or gloomy, bat-infested caves. Here they may live in rooms where opulent splendor mingles with damp foulness. Perhaps the strains and demands of their art have driven them mad. Perhaps they live as they do because they see and know more than other men. Who knows? They are, after all, eccentric in the extreme. Priests Priest characters are not required to take up arms and set out on adventures to smite evil. No, their hierarchies require administrators, clerks, and devout workers of all types. Thus, although there may be many clergymen and women at a temple or monastery, only a few will have a character class and levels. Not all monks at a monastery are 1st-level (or higher) clerics. Most are monks or nuns, devout men and women working to serve their faith. Non-adventuring clergy are no less devout than their adventuring brethren, nor do they receive any less respect. Thus, it is possible to have leaders within a religious hierarchy who show no signs of special clerical ability, only proper faith and piety. Even more so than with military men, though, level is not a determiner of rank. Wisdom and its use, not the application of firepower or the number of foemen smitten, are the true pearls of the clergy. Indeed the goal of some beliefs is to demonstrate the greatest wisdom by divesting oneself of all earthly bonds--power, wealth, pride, and even level abilities--in an attempt to attain perfect harmony with everything. In the end, adventuring priests tend to form a small nucleus of crusaders for the faith. They are the ones who demonstrate their faith by braving the dangers that threaten their beliefs, the ones who set examples through trials and hardships. From these, others may spiritually profit. Thieves Thieves are often people who don't fit in elsewhere. Unlike other classes, nearly all thieves are adventurers, often by necessity. True, many settle permanently in a single are and live off the local population, but when your life tends to be in defiance of the local law, you have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice! Each job is an adventure involving great risks (including, possibly, death), and there are precious few opportunities to relax and let your guard down. Thieves occasionally form guilds, especially in major cities and places with a strong sense of law and order. In many cases, they are forced to cooperate merely to survive. Influential thieves see guilds as a way to increase their own profits and grant them the image of respectability. They become dons and crimelords, directing operations without ever having to dirty their hands. At the same time, the membership of a thieves' guild is by definition composed of liars, cheats, swindlers, and dangerously violent people. Thus, such guilds are hotbeds of deceit, treachery, and back-stabbing (literally). Only the most cunning and powerful rise to the top. Sometimes this rise is associated with level ability, but more often it is a measure of the don's judge of character and political adeptness. Curiously, thieves who are masters of their craft tend not to advance too high in the organization. Their talents in the field are too valuable to lose, and their effort is expended on their art, not on maneuvering and toadying. There is, in fact, no rule that says the leader of the thieves' guild has to be a thief. The leader's job involves charisma, character appraisals, and politicking--the powerful crimelord could turn out to be a crafty merchant, a well-educated nobleman, or even an insidious mind flayer. Bards Bards are rare and, like thieves, tend to be adventurers, but for somewhat different reasons. They do occasionally violate the law and find it necessary to move on to the next town--and the next adventure--but more often they are driven by curiosity and wanderlust. Although some bards settle down in a town or city, most travel from place to place. Even "tamed" bards (as the settled ones are sometimes called) feel the urge to go out and explore, gather a few more tales, and come home with a new set of songs. After all, the entertainment business demands variety. There are generally no bard guilds or schools, no colleges, societies, or clubs. Instead, bards sometimes band in secret societies, loose affiliations that allow them to improve their art while maintaining an aura of mystery. Most frequently, however, bards rely on the informal hospitality of their kind. Should one bard arrive in the town of another, he can reasonably expect to stay with his fellow for a little while, provided he shares some of his lore and doesn't cut into his host's business. After a time, during which both bards learn a few of the other's tales and songs, the visitor is expected to move on. Even among bards it is possible to overstay one's welcome. Of course, there are times when a bard decides not to leave but to set up shop and stay. If the population is big enough to support both bards, they may get along. If it isn't, there will almost certainly be bad blood between the two. Fortunately, though, one or the other can usually be counted on to get wanderlust and set out on some great, new adventure. Bards do tend to be incurable romantics, after all. Character Classes in Your Campaign While the character discussion above provides a structure for adventurers in the game, your own campaign might be quite different. For example, there is no rule that says mages can't form strong guilds. Such a group would have a profound impact on the campaign world, however. With their magical might, they could control virtually any facet of life they chose--politics, trade, class structure, even private behavior. Such a group would alter the amount of magic in your campaign and who possessed it. Organized mages might even attempt to limit the activities of those who present a threat to their power, such as adventurers. Whenever you alter the balance of the character classes, be sure you consider what the changes could do to your campaign. High-Level Characters Along with character classes and levels comes the natural tendency to classify campaigns according to the level of the characters. Experienced players speak of "low-level" or "high-level" games in different terms and, indeed, such games are different from one another. Also differing from game to game, however, is the definition of high level. Defining "High Level" What constitutes a low- or high-level game is a matter of taste. Generally, DMs and players find a range of character levels that is comfortable for their style of play. Campaigns that commonly have 4th- to 8th-level characters consider those with 12th-level or more to be high level, while those with 12th-level characters set the limit closer to 18th or 20th level. While there is no set break-point for high level, character duties and responsibilities begin to change around between 9th and 12th level. Generally, players find battling monsters and discovering treasure to be less and less satisfying as time goes on. Their characters' abilities are such that monsters need to be almost ridiculously powerful to threaten them. Treasures must be vast to make an impression. While incredible foes and huge treasures are good once in a while, the thrill quickly wears thin. Changing Campaign Styles When players begin to get jaded, consider changing the style of the campaign. Higher level characters have great power--they should have adventures where that power influences and involves them in the campaign world. As leaders, rulers, and wise men, their actions affect more than just themselves, spreading outward in ripples over those they rule and those they seek to conquer. Political machinations, spying, backroom deals, treachery, and fraud become more pronounced. While these elements can play a part in a low-level campaign, at higher levels, the stakes are much greater. Added intrigue can be introduced into a campaign gradually. For example, Varrack, a mid-level fighter, is appointed sheriff of a local village as a reward for his sterling deeds. He can still adventure as he has been accustomed to, but now he must also watch over the villagers. The DM has the local bandits raid the trade road. As sheriff, Varrack must stop them. He goes with a small group, only to discover a camp of 500 outlaws. Realizing he's badly outnumbered, he beats a hasty retreat, raises a small militia, and clears the countryside of the enemy. With this he rises in level. In addition, his lord is pleased and grants Varrack stewardship of several villages, with sheriffs under his command. The neighboring baron (who organized and sent the bandits) notes Varrack's success with mild displeasure, planting the seed of a festering hate. More immediately, the craven and vengeful sheriff of the next village on the road (whose incompetence allowed the bandits to flourish) suddenly finds himself out of favor. He blames Varrack and searches for a way to bring the new steward down. As the campaign progresses, the DM can slowly spin a web of intrigue around Varrack as enemies, open and hidden, seek to block his progress or use him to topple his own lord. Against the odds, Varrack may find himself destined to become the king's champion, gaining new titles, responsibilities, friends, and enemies along the way. Above 20th Level Theoretically, there is no upper limit to character class levels (although there are racial limitations). The material presented here takes characters only to 20th level--experience has shown that player characters are most enjoyable when played within the 1-20 range. Above 20th level, characters gain few additional powers and face even fewer truly daunting adventures. Consummate skill and creativity are required to construct adventures for extremely powerful characters (at least adventures that consist of more than just throwing bigger and bigger monsters at the nearly unbeatable party). Very high level player characters have so few limitations that every threat must be directed against the same weaknesses. And there are only so many times a DM can kidnap friends and family, steal spell books, or exile powerful lords before it becomes old hat. Retirement: When characters reach the level where adventures are no longer a challenge, players should be encouraged to retire them. Retired characters enter a "semi-NPC" state. The character sheets and all information are entrusted to the DM's care. A retired character still lives in the campaign world, usually settled in one spot, and normally has duties that prevent him from adventuring. While in the DM's care, he does not gain experience, use his magic items, or spend his treasure. It is assumed that he has income to meet his normal expenses. The retired character can be used to provide players with information, advice, and some material assistance (if this is not abused). However, his or her overall actions are controlled by the DM, not the player who originally created the character. If at all possible, player characters should be encouraged to retire as a group. This way all players can create and play new characters of approximately the same level. If only one player retires his character to start a new 1st-level character while all the others continue with 20th-level characters, the poor newcomer can't really adventure with them. (If he does, the player won't get to do much or the character will have a very short life expectancy!) Some players may be reluctant to retire a favorite character. Explain to these players that retirement doesn't mean the character can never be used again. Be sure to create special adventures that require those high-level heroes to come out and do battle. Every once in a while the old adventuring group may have to reassemble to deal with some threat to the kingdom or the world. It's the chance to show those upstart new characters just what a really powerful group can do! It also gives the players the opportunity to role-play some the their old favorites. If the players see the opportunity to use their powerful characters, even infrequently, they will be less reluctant to spend most of their playing time with new, lower-level characters. Beginning Character Levels If at all possible, start characters at 1st level. The lowest character levels are like the early years of childhood. What happens to a character during these first adventures will do much to determine how that character will be role-played. Did Rath the Dwarf save the day by fool-hardily charging into battle when he was a mere 1st level? If he did, the odds are good the player will try it again and will begin to play Rath as a bold and reckless fellow. On the other hand, if Rath was clobbered the first few times he rushed in, the player would begin to play Rath as a cautious, prudent fellow. Even the smallest events can have a great effect on low-level characters, so these events sharply etch the behavior of the character. Deny the player these beginning levels and you are stripping him of the opportunity to develop his character's personality. Mixing New and Old Characters Letting players start at the beginning is fine when you first open a campaign, and all player characters can begin at the same level. As sessions are played, however, a disparity in character levels will develop. New players will join the game and old players will create new characters. Eventually, you'll reach a point where the original group of players has characters many levels higher than when they began. How, then, do you introduce new players and new player characters into your game? There are times when you should allow a character to start above 1st level. A newly-created character should begin a campaign no higher than 4th level unless the group is very powerful. If this is the case, he should begin no higher than the lowest level character in the party (and it may be better to start a level or two lower). The new character should have equipment similar to that of his adventuring companions: If they have horses, he should have a horse, too. But do not give him free magical items. These he must earn. He should start with a small amount of cash. Sometimes a player can replace a fallen character by promoting an NPC henchman to player character status. This is a good method because the player is already familiar with the NPC and may have created a personality for him. When this happens, the player is given the NPC character sheet and allowed to take full control of it. Pre-Rolled Characters It is useful to have a few pre-rolled characters on hand. These should be of several different levels and classes, with equipment and personality quirks noted. These "instant" player characters can be used by guest players (those only able to play in a few sessions) and by regular players whose characters have died during the course of a session. When the latter occurs, introduce the new character at an appropriate point and then allow the player to control it for the rest of the evening. This keeps that player from being bored. If the player enjoys the character (and you are pleased with the arrangement), you can allow him to continue playing that character in future sessions. Creating New Character Classes (Optional Rule) The character classes listed in the rules are not the only ones that can exist in the AD&D game. Many other character classes, either general or highly specialized, could also exist. Indeed, a common reaction of players to the character classes is to question why their characters can't have the powers or skills of another class. You can even create entirely new classes or combinations of existing character abilities. Creating a new character class is not recommended for novice DMs or players. Before attempting this, be sure that you are familiar and comfortable with the AD&D rules. Furthermore, it is not a good idea to use this system in a brand-new campaign which has no background for players to base actions and decisions on. The class-creation system here requires you to use your judgment--it isn't fool-proof. Without careful thought, you may find you've created an overly forceful combination of powers or a bizarre, unplayable character class. As with new character races, start with a single test case before you approve the class for all players. Naturally, the DM must approve a class before a player can begin using it. The DM also has the right to make any changes he sees fit, even after the character has been played for some time! You are advised not to try to create a super class--a class that allows players to do everything. Consider what is lost: A super character would require an immense amount of experience just to reach 2nd level. Normal characters would reach much higher levels, much sooner, and may even surpass the super character in ability. A super character also destroys party cooperation and group play. If you have a character who can do everything, you don't need other characters (and hence other players). Further, a whole group of super characters is nothing more than a group of one-class characters. You lose as much variety, as much color, as if you had a group consisting only of fighters. And a group of fighters (or any other single class), no matter what their abilities, is boring. There is nothing to distinguish Joe Fighter from Fred Fighter in ability. Another factor to consider when creating new character classes is whether a new class is really needed. Some players want to create a character class for every profession or ability--jesters, witches, vampire hunters, vikings, mountaineers, etc. They forget that these are really roles, not classes. What is a viking but a fighter with a certain outlook on life and warfare? A witch is really nothing but a female wizard. A vampire hunter is only a title assumed by a character of any class who is dedicated to the destruction and elimination of those loathsome creatures. The same is true of assassins. Killing for profit requires no special powers, only a specific reprehensible outlook. Choosing the title does not imply any special powers or abilities. The character just uses his current skills to fulfill a specific, personal set of goals. Before creating a character class, stop and ask yourself, "Is there already a character class that can fill the niche?" Think of ways an existing class could fulfill the desired goal through role-playing and careful choice of proficiencies. A mountaineer could easily be a fighter or ranger, born and bred on the slopes, with a love of the rugged peaks and proficiencies in climbing, mountaineering, and the like. There is no need for a mountaineer class. Also, consider how much fun the character is going to be to play. This is particularly true when you plan to create classes with highly specialized abilities. True, there may be a place for wise old sages or alchemists, but would they be fun to play? Consider that all the sage does is conduct research and answer questions. An important task, perhaps, but boring when compared to fighters, mages, and the like. Clearly there is no great demand for the sage as a player character. So, there is no need for the character class. Finally, remember that there is no such thing as an exclusively NPC character class. What is the logic of saying a non-player character can be such-and-such, but a player character cannot? None. This is a false restriction. Every character class you create should be open to player characters and non-player characters alike. With all these considerations in mind, you can use the system described below to create new character classes. You are encouraged to modify the system or create one of your own. the method used here will give you a good starting place. To use this method, choose different abilities you want the class to have. You must include some aptitudes such as fighting. But other abilities, such as spellcasting, are optional. Each ability you choose has a multiple attached to it. As you select the abilities for your class and add the multiples together. After you have chosen all the abilities, multiply the base experience value (see Table 21) by this total. The result is the number of experience points your new class must earn to go up in levels. Required Abilities: For each of the categories, choose one of the options listed. Be sure to note this choice along with the multiple cost. Table 11: Race Race Multiple Human 0 Other 1 Table 12: Combat Value Used Level Multiple 0-level Human* -2 Monster +3 Priest 0 Warrior +2 Wizard -1 Rogue -1 0-level humans never improve in combat ability, regardless of level. Table 13: Saving Throw Table Used Level Multiple 0-level Human Saving Throws* -2 Any other saving throw table 0 * 0-level humans never improve in saving throws. Table 14: Hit Dice Per Level Level Multiple 1d3 0 1d4 +0.5 1d6 +0.75 1d8 +1 1d10 +2.5 1d12 +4 Table 15: Armor Allowed Level Multiple None -1 Limited AC* -0.5 All 0 * Limited AC means the character can only use armor of AC 5 or worse. Table 16: Weapons Allowed Level Multiple Limited* -1.5 One class** -1 All 0 * The class is limited to a maximum of 4 different weapons, none of which can inflict more than 1d6 points of damage. ** The class is limited to one weapon category (slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning). Table 17: Hit Points Per Level Beyond 9th Degree Multiple +1 +0.5 +2 +2 +3 +2 Optional Abilities: In addition to the required abilities listed above, you can choose any of the optional abilities below. Again, these abilities will increase your base multiplier, making it more difficult to increase in levels. Table 18: Optional Abilities Ability Multiple Fighter Constitution bonus +1 Fighter exceptional Strength bonus +1 Animal empathy +1.5 Bonus +1 to hit a creature* +1 Per initial proficiency slot +0.25 Read languages** +0.5 Aura of protection, as paladin +2 Backstab +1 Cast any priest spell +8 Cast one sphere of spells +2 Climb walls** +1 Find/remove traps** +1 Healing, as paladin +2 Hear noise** +0.5 Hide in shadows** +1 Learn and cast any school +16 Learn and cast one school +3 Move silently** +1 Open locks** +1 Pick pockets** +1 Power (i.e. shapechange) +3 Use magical items +1 Other +3 * This applies only to a single type of creature (orcs, etc.). More than one creature can be chosen, so long as the multiplier is increased for each choice. ** The character uses Table 19. Table 19: Thief Average Ability Table ________________Base Chance To____________________ Level Find/ of Pick Open Remove Move Hide In Hear Climb Read Thief Pockets Locks Traps Silently Shadows Noise Walls Languages 1 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 10% 85% -- 2 35% 29% 25% 21% 15% 10% 86% -- 3 40% 33% 30% 27% 20% 15% 87% -- 4 45% 37% 35% 33% 25% 15% 88% 20% 5 50% 42% 40% 40% 31% 20% 90% 25% 6 55% 47% 45% 47% 37% 20% 92% 30% 7 60% 52% 50% 55% 43% 25% 94% 35% 8 65% 57% 55% 62% 49% 25% 96% 40% 9 70% 62% 60% 70% 56% 30% 98% 45% 10 80% 67% 65% 78% 63% 30% 99% 50% 11 90% 72% 70% 86% 70% 35% 99% 55% 12 95% 77% 75% 94% 77% 35% 99% 60% 13 99% 82% 80% 99% 85% 40% 99% 65% 14 99% 87% 85% 99% 93% 40% 99% 70% 15 99% 92% 90% 99% 99% 50% 99% 75% 16 99% 97% 95% 99% 99% 50% 99% 80% 17 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 55% 99% 80% Restrictions: To lower the overall multiple of the class, restrictions also can be chosen that will affect the behavior and abilities of the class. These multiples are subtracted from the current total. Characters must honor the restrictions of their class. Table 20: Restrictions Restriction Multiple Must be lawful -1 Must be neutral -1 Must be good -1 Cannot keep more than can carry -0.5 Must donate 10% of treasure -0.5 Non-human level limit of 9* -1 Non-human level limit of 12* -0.5 Has ethos that must be obeyed -1 Cannot own more than 10 magical items -0.5 Cannot own more than 6 magical items -1 Cannot associate with one class -1 Cannot associate with one alignment -1 Ability use delayed to higher level** -0.5 * If the character is non-human. ** Delayed ability use prevents the character from having the power until he reaches the stated level. No more than two abilities can be delayed. The DM determines the level at which abilities become available for use. Base Experience: After all multiples have been calculated, you must determine the experience points required per level. Take your multiple number and multiply it by the base experience value for each level as given in Table 21. When you are finished, you will have a complete Experience Point Table for your new character class. Table 21: Base Experience Points Level Base Experience 2 200 3 400 4 800 5 2,000 6 4,000 7 8,000 8 15,000 9 28,000 10+ 30,000/additional level You can't reconstruct the existing character classes using this method. The standard classes give players advantages over custom-designed classes. Standard class characters advance in levels more quickly and, generally, have better abilities than custom-designed characters. Chapter 4: Alignment Alignment is a shorthand description of a complex moral code. It sketches out the basic attitudes of a person, place, or thing. It is a tool for the DM. In sudden or surprising situations, it guides the DM's evaluation of NPC or creature reactions. By implication, it predicts the types of laws and enforcement found in a given area. It affects the use of certain highly specialized magical items. For all the things alignment is, there are some very important things that it is not. It is not a hammer to pound over the heads of player characters who misbehave. It is not a code of behavior carved in stone. It is not absolute, but it can vary from place to place. Neither should alignment be confused with personality. It shapes personality, but there is more to a person than just alignment. Player Character Alignment It is essential that each character's alignment be noted in the DM's records for that character. Are the alignments too different? Are they different enough to break the party apart? Will this interfere with the planned adventure or campaign? Sometimes characters of different alignments possess such radically varied world views to make cooperation impossible. For example, a strict lawful good and a chaotic neutral would find their adventuring marked by animosity and mistrust. A true chaotic neutral would make just about anyone trying to work with him crazy. There are two approaches to an alignment problem in the group. The first is to explain the problem to the players involved. Explain why their alignments could cause problems and see if they agree or disagree. If necessary, suggest some alignment changes--but never force a player to choose a new alignment. It is his character, after all. Wildly different characters might find ways to work together, making adventures amusing (at least) and maybe even successful in spite of the group's problems. The second approach requires that players keep their alignments secret. Don't tell anyone that there might be a problem. Let players role-play their characters and discover the problems on their own. When problems arise, let the characters work them out themselves. This approach is best suited to experienced role-players, and even then it can play havoc with a campaign. Since secrecy implies mistrust, this method should be used with extreme caution. Role-Playing Alignment During play, pay attention to the actions of the player characters. Occasionally compare these against the characters' alignments. Note instances in which the character acted against the principles of his alignment. Watch for tendencies to drift toward another, specific alignment. If a character's class requires that he adhere to a specific alignment, caution him when a proposed action seems contrary to that alignment. Allow the player to reconsider. Never tell a player that his character cannot do something because of his alignment. Player characters are controlled by the players. The DM intervenes only in rare cases (when the character is controlled by a spell or magical item, for example). Finally as in all points of disagreement with your players, listen to their arguments when your understanding of an alignment differs from theirs. Even though you go to great effort in preparing your game, the campaign world is not yours alone--it also belongs to your players. NPC Alignment Just as a well-played character acts within the limits of his alignment, NPCs should act consistently with their alignments. Judicious and imaginative use of NPCs is what creates a believable fantasy world. Alignment is a quick guide to NPC and monster reactions. It's most useful when you don't want to take the time to consult a page of tables and you haven't devised a complete personality for every casually encountered NPC. NPCs tend to act in accordance with their alignment (though they are no more perfect in this regard than player characters). Thus, a chaotic evil gnoll tends to react with threats and a show of might. It considers someone who appeals to its compassion as a weakling, and it automatically suspects the motives of anyone who tries to be friendly. According to the gnoll's view of society, fear and bullying are the keys to success, mercy and kindness are for the weak, and friends are good only for the things they can provide--money, protection, or shelter. A lawful good merchant, meanwhile, would tend to hold the opposite view of things. The Limits of NPC Alignment Remember, however, that alignment is not personality. If every lawful good merchant is played as an upright, honest, and friendly fellow, NPCs will become boring in a hurry. Just because a merchant is lawful good doesn't mean he won't haggle for the best price, or even take advantage of some gullible adventurer who is just passing through. Merchants live by making money, and there is nothing evil about charging as much as a character is willing to pay. A chaotic good innkeeper might, quite reasonably, be suspicious of or hostile to a bunch of ragged, heavily armed strangers who stomp into his inn late at night. A chaotic evil wizard might be bored and happy for a little companionship as he sits by the inn's fire. To create memorable NPCs, don't rely solely on their alignment. Add characteristics that make them interesting, adapting these to fit the character's alignment. The merchant, perhaps feeling a little guilty about over-charging the adventurer, might give the next customer a break on the price. The innkeeper might be rude to the adventurers while clearly being friendly to other patrons. The chaotic evil wizard might discover that, while he wanted some companionship, he doesn't like the company he got. He might even leave behind a token of his irritation, such as bestowing the head of a donkey on the most annoying character. Society Alignment Player characters, NPCs, and monsters are not alone in having alignment. Since a kingdom is nothing but a collection of people, united in some fashion (by language, common interest, or fear, for example), it can have an overall alignment. The alignment of a barony, principality, or other small body is based on the attitude of the ruler and the alignment of the majority of the population. The alignment of the ruler determines the nature of many of the laws of the land. Lawful good rulers usually try to protect their territory and do what's best for their subjects. Chaotic good rulers try to help people, but irregularly, being unwilling to enact sweeping legislation to correct a social ill. At the same time, the enforcement of the laws and the attitudes found in the country come not from the ruler but the subjects. While a lawful good king issues decrees for the good of all, his lawful evil subjects could consider them inconveniences to work around. Bribery might become a standard method for doing business. If the situation is reversed (a lawful evil king with mostly lawful good subjects), the kingdom becomes an unhappy place, filled with grumbling about the evil reign that plagues it. The king, in turn, resorts to severe measures to silence his critics, creating even more grumbling. The situation is similar to romantic portrayals of Norman England, with the good and true peasants struggling under the evil yoke of Prince John (as in Robin Hood and Ivanhoe). The general alignment of an area is determined by the interaction between ruler and ruled. Where the ruler and the population are in harmony, the alignment tendency of the region is strong. When the two conflict, the attitudes of the people have the strongest effect, since the player characters most often deal with people at this level. However, the conflict between the two groups--subjects and lord--over alignment differences can create adventure. Using Area Alignments Using a general alignment for an area allows a quick assessment of the kind of treatment player characters can expect there. The following gives ideas for each alignment. Lawful good: the people are generally honest, law-abiding, and helpful. They mean well (at least most of them do). They respect the law. As a rule, people don't walk around wearing armor and carrying weapons. Those who do are viewed with suspicion or as trouble-makers. Some societies tend to dislike adventurers, since they often bring trouble. Lawful Neutral: The people are not only law-abiding, they are passionate creators of arcane bureaucracies. The tendency to organize and regulate everything easily gets out of control. In large empires there are ministries, councils, commissions, departments, offices, and cabinets for everything. If the region attracts a lot of adventurers, there are special ministries, with their own special taxes and licenses, to deal with the problem. The people are not tremendously concerned with the effectiveness of the government, so long as it functions. Lawful Evil: The government is marked by its severe laws, involving harsh punishments regardless of guilt or innocence. Laws are not intended to preserve justice so much as to maintain the status quo. Social class is crucial. Bribery and corruption are often ways of life. Adventurers, since they are outsiders who may be foreign agents, are viewed with great suspicion. Lawful evil kingdoms often find themselves quashing rebellions of oppressed peasants clamoring for humane treatment. Neutral evil, neutral good, and true neutral: Areas dominated by these three alignments tend to adopt whatever government seems most expedient at the moment. A particular form of government lasts as long as the ruler or dynasty in power can maintain it. The people cooperate when it suits them--or, in the case of true neutrals, when the balance of forces must be preserved. Such neutral territories often act as buffer states between lands of extreme alignment difference (for example, between a lawful good barony and a vile chaotic evil principality). They shift allegiance artfully to preserve their borders against the advances of both sides in a conflict. Neutral evil countries tend to be benign (but not pleasant) dictatorships while neutral good countries are generally "enlightened" dictatorships. Transfers of power are usually marked by shifts in government, though these are often bloodless coups. There is a certain apathy about politics and government. Adventurers are treated the same as everyone else. Chaotic Good: The people mean well and try to do right, but are hampered by a natural dislike of big government. Although there may be a single ruler, most communities are allowed to manage themselves, so long as their taxes are paid and they obey a few broad edicts. Such areas tend to have weak law enforcement organizations. A local sheriff, baron, or council may hire adventurers to fill the gap. Communities often take the law into their own hands when it seems necessary. Lands on the fringes of vast empires far from the capital tend to have this type of alignment. Chaotic Neutral: There is no government. Anarchy is the rule. A stranger to such a town may feel as if he has ridden into a town of madmen. Chaotic Evil: The people are ruled by, and live in fear of, those more powerful than themselves. Local government usually amounts to a series of strongarm bosses who obey the central government out of fear. People look for ways to gain power or keep the power they've got. Assassination is an accepted method of advancement, along with coups, conspiracies, and purges. Adventurers are often used as pawns in political power games, only to be eliminated when the adventurers themselves become a threat. Varying Social Alignment Within these alignments, of course, many other government types are possible. Furthermore, even within the same kingdom or empire, there may be areas of different alignment. The capital city, for example, where merchants and politicians congregate, may be much more lawful (or evil, etc.) than a remote farming community. And alignment is only one pattern of social organization. Not every nation or barony is defined by its alignment. Other methods of describing a group of people can also be used--peaceful, warlike, barbaric, decadent, dictatorial, and civilized are all possible descriptions. You need only look at the world today to see the variety of societies and cultures that abound in the realms of man. A good DM will sprinkle his campaign world with exotic cultures created from his own imagination or researched at the local library. Alignment of Religions General alignments also can be applied to religions. The beliefs and practices of the religion determine its alignment. A religion that espouses understanding, working in harmony with others, and good deeds is more than likely lawful good. those that stress the importance of individual perfection and purification are probably chaotic good. It is expected that the priests of a religion will adhere to its alignment, since they are supposed to be living examples of these beliefs. Other followers of the religion need not adhere exactly to its alignment. If a person's alignment is very different from his religion's, however, a priest is certainly justified in wondering why that person adheres to a religion which is opposed to his beliefs and philosophy. Alignment of Magical Items Certain powerful magical items, particularly intelligent ones, have alignments. Alignment in these cases is not an indication of the moral properties of the item. Rather, it is a means of limiting the number and types of characters capable of using the item--the user's alignment must match the item's alignment for the magic to work properly. Aligned magical items, usually weapons, were created with a specific ethos in mind. the item was attuned to this ethos by its creator. Aligned items reveal their true powers only to owners who share the same beliefs. In the hands of anyone else, the item's powers remain dormant. An extremely powerful item may even harm a character of another alignment who handles the item, especially if the character's alignment is opposed to the item's. Aligned magical items should be rare. When an item has an alignment, it is a sign of great power and purpose. This creates opportunities for highly dramatic adventures as the player characters learn about the item, research its history, track it across the country, and finally discover its ancient resting place and overcome the guards and traps set to protect it. Magical Alignment Changes A second, more insidious, type of magical item is the one that changes a character's alignment. Unlike the usual, gradual methods by which a character changes alignment, magical alignment changes are instantaneous. The character's personality undergoes an immediate transformation, something like magical brainwashing. Depending on the new alignment, the change may or may not be immediately noticeable. However, you should insist that the player role-play his new situation. Do not allow him to ignore the effects the alignment change will have on his character's personality. Indeed, good role-players will take this as an opportunity to stretch their skills. Alignment as a World View In addition to all its other uses, alignment can become the central focus of a campaign. Is the world caught in an unending struggle between the forces of good and evil, law and chaos? The answer affects how the campaign world is created, how the campaign is run, and how adventures are constructed. It also affects players' perspectives on and reactions to various situations and events. In a typical campaign, the primary conflict in the world is not a struggle between alignments. The campaign world is one in which passion, desire, coincidence, intrigue, and even virtue create events and situations. Things happen for many of the same reasons as in the real world. For this reason, it may be easier to create adventures for this type of campaign. Adventure variety and excitement depend on the DM's sense of drama and his ability as a storyteller. Occasionally player characters discover a grand and hideous plot, but such things are isolated affairs, not part of an overall scheme. However, for conspiracy-conscious DMs, a different world view might be more suitable, one where the powers of alignment (gods, cults, kingdoms, elemental forces) are actively struggling against each other. the player characters and NPCs may be agents of this struggle. Sometimes, they are aware of their role. At other times, they have no idea of their purpose in the grand scheme of things. Even rarer are those campaigns where the player characters represent a third force in the battle, ignored or forgotten by the others. In such a world, the actions of adventurers can have surprising effects. Alignments in Conflict There are advantages and disadvantages to building a campaign around alignment struggles. On the plus side, players always have a goal, even if they're not always aware of it. This goal is useful when constructing adventures. It motivates player characters and provides a continuing storyline; it ensures that characters always have something to do ("Restore the balance of Law, loyal followers!"). Also, a sense of heroism permeates the game. Players know that their characters are doing something important, something that has an effect on the history of the campaign world. There are disadvantages to this approach, too, but none that can't be avoided by a clever DM. First is the question of boredom. If every adventure revolves around maintaining balance or crusading for the cause, players might get tired of the whole thing. The solution is simply to make sure adventures are varied in goal and theme. Sometimes characters strive in the name of the great cause. Other times they adventure for their own benefit. Not every battle needs to be a titanic struggle of good vs. evil or light vs. darkness. Another concern is that everything the characters do may affect their quest. An aligned game universe is one of massive and intricate cause-and-effect chains. If X happens over here, then Y must happen over there. Most adventures must be woven into the thread of the storyline, even those that don't seem to be a part of it. This is in direct conflict with the need for variety, and the DM must do some careful juggling. A big quest is easy to work into the story, but what happens when the player characters take some time off to go on their own adventure? Are they needed just then? What happens in their absence? How do they get back on track? What happens when someone discovers something no one was meant to know? For these problems there are no easy answers. A creative DM will never be idle with this sort of campaign. Finally, there is the problem of success and failure. An aligned universe tends to create an epic adventure. Player characters become involved in earthshaking events and deal with cosmic beings. Being at the center of the game, player characters assume great importance (if they don't, they will quickly get bored). This is standard stuff in sword-and-sorcery fiction, so it is natural that it also appears in a sword-and-sorcery role-playing adventure. Fiction writers have an advantage DMs do not, however--they can end the story and never return to it. At the end of the book, the good guys win, the world is set right, and the covers are closed. The writer never has to worry about it again, unless he wants to. What happens when characters win the final conflict, the battle that puts all to right? What can be done after peace and harmony come to the universe? Further, the author knows who is going to win. He starts by knowing the good guys will triumph. There may be many twists, but eventually the heroes come out on top. Many DMs make the same assumption. They are wrong. Never simply assume that the characters will win. What if they don't? What if the forces of darkness and evil win the final battle? No matter how high the odds are stacked in their favor, there is always a chance that the characters will do something so stupid or unlucky that they lose. Victory cannot be guaranteed. If it is, players will quickly sense this and take advantage of it. Never-Ending Conflict The best way to avoid the problems described above is to design the characters' struggle so it is never-ending. At the very least, the conflict is one that lasts for millennia--well beyond the lifetimes of the player characters. However, to keep the players from feeling frustrated, certain they can never accomplish anything, their characters must be able to undertake sizable tasks and win significant victories. Player characters fighting for the cause of good may eventually drive back the growing influence of the chief villain, but they defeat only a symptom, not the disease itself. There always can be a new threat. Perhaps the evil villain himself returns in a new and more hideous manifestation. The DM must be prepared with a series of fantastic yet realistic threats. These gradually increase in scope as the characters become more powerful. Thus, it is possible to build a campaign where the forces of alignment play an active role in things. It is difficult, and there are many hazards, but imagination and planning can overcome the obstacles. Alignment as a Tool Even though it has been said several times already, this point is important enough to repeat--alignment is a tool to aid role-playing, not a hammer to force characters to do things they don't want to do. The DM should never tell a player, "Your character can't do that because it's against his alignment," unless that character is under some type of special magical control. Let players make their own decisions and their own mistakes. the DM has enough to do without taking over the players' jobs, too. Despite this prohibition, the DM can suggest to a player that an action involves considerable risk, especially where alignment is concerned. If the player still decides to go ahead, the consequences are his responsibility. Don't get upset about what happens to the character. If the paladin is no longer a paladin, well, that's just the way things are. Such suggestions need not be brazen. True, the DM can ask, "Are you sure that's a good idea, given your alignment?" He can also use more subtle forms of suggestion woven into the plot of the adventure. Tomorrow the cleric intends to go on a mission that would compromise his alignment. That night, he has a nightmare which prevents any restful sleep. In the morning he runs into an old soothsayer who sees ill omens and predicts dire results. His holy symbol appears mysteriously tarnished and dull. The candles on the alter flicker and dim as he enters the temple. Attentive players will note these warnings and may reconsider their plans. If they do not, it is their choice to make, not the DM's. Detecting Alignment Sometimes characters try to use spells or magical items to learn the alignment of a player character or NPC. This is a highly insulting, if not hostile, action. Asking Asking another character "So, what's your alignment?" is a rude question. At best, any character who is boorish enough to bring up the issue is likely to receive a very icy stare (turning to shocked horror from more refined characters). Asking another character his alignment is futile, anyway--a lawful good character may feel compelled to tell the truth, but a chaotic evil character certainly won't. A chaotic evil character with any wit would reply "lawful good." Player characters can only say what they think their alignment is. Once they have chosen their alignment, the DM is the only person in the game who knows where it currently stands. A chaotic good ranger may be on the verge of changing alignment--one more cold-blooded deed and over the edge he goes. But he doesn't know that. He still thinks he is chaotic good through and through. Casting a Spell Casting a spell to reveal a character's alignment is just as offensive as asking him directly. This is the sort of thing that starts fights and ends friendships. Hirelings and henchmen may decide that a player character who does this is too distrustful. Strangers often figure the spell is the prelude to an attack and may strike first. Even those who consent to the spell are likely to insist that they be allowed to cast the same in return. Using these spells, besides being rude, indicates a basic lack of trust on the part of the caster or questioner. Class Abilities Some characters--the paladin, in particular--possess a limited ability to detect alignments, particularly good and evil. Even this power has more limitations than the player is likely to consider. The ability to detect evil is really only useful to spot characters or creatures with evil intentions or those who are so thoroughly corrupted that they are evil to the core, not the evil aspect of an alignment. Just because a fighter is chaotic evil doesn't mean he can be detected as a source of evil while he is having a drink at the tavern. He may have no particularly evil intentions at that moment. At the other end of the spectrum, a powerful, evil cleric may have committed so many foul and hideous deeds that the aura of evil hangs inescapably over him. Keeping Players in the Dark Characters should never be sure of other characters' alignments. This is one of the DM's most powerful tools--keep the players guessing. They will pay more attention to what is going on if they must deduce the true motivations and attitudes of those they employ and encounter. Changing Alignment Sooner or later, a player character will change alignment. A character might change alignment for many reasons, most of them have nothing to do with the player "failing" to play his character's role or the DM "failing" to create the right environment. Player characters are imaginary people. But, like real people, they grow and change as their personalities develop. Sometimes circumstances conspire against the player character. Sometimes the player has a change of attitude. Sometimes the personality created for the player character just seems to pull in an unexpected direction. These are natural changes. There might be more cause for concern if no player character ever changes alignment in a campaign. There is no rule or yardstick to determine when a character changes alignment. Alignment can change deliberately, unconsciously, or involuntarily. This is one of those things that makes the game fun. Players are free to act, and the DM decides if (and when) a change goes into effect. This calls for some real adjudication. There are several factors to consider. Deliberate Change Deliberate change is engineered by the player. He decides he doesn't want to play the alignment he originally chose. Perhaps he doesn't understand it, or it's not as much fun as he imagined, or it's clear that the player character will have a more interesting personality with a different alignment. All the player has to do is have his character start acting according to the new alignment. Depending on the severity of the actions and the determination of the player, the change can be quick or slow. Unconscious Change Unconscious change happens when the character's actions are suited to a different alignment without the player realizing it. As in the case of a deliberate alignment change, the DM must keep track of the character's actions. If the DM suspects that the player believes his character is acting within his alignment, the DM should warn the player that his character's alignment is coming into question. An unconscious alignment change should not surprise the player--not completely, anyway. Involuntary Change Involuntary alignment change is forced on the character. Most often this is the result of a spell or magical item. Involuntary changes are immediate, and the character's previous actions have little bearing on the change. Charting the Changes During the course of play, keep notes on the actions of the player characters. At the end of each session, read through those notes, paying attention to any unusual behavior. Note which alignment seems most appropriate to each character's actions. If, over the course of several playing sessions, a character's actions consistently fit an alignment different from the character's chosen alignment, an alignment change is probably in order. If small actions are taking a character outside his alignment, the change should be gradual--maybe even temporary. Severe actions could require an immediate and permanent alignment change. In the meantime, the paladin could recognize his danger and amend his ways, preventing the change and preserving his paladinhood. If the paladin burns the village to prevent the disease from spreading, he commits a seriously evil act. In this case, the DM is justified in instituting an immediate alignment change to lawful evil or even chaotic evil. The character eventually might be able to change back to lawful good alignment, but he will never again be a paladin. Effects of Changing Alignment Although player characters can change alignment, it is not something that should be approached lightly, since there are serious consequences. When a character changes alignment, he does more than just change his attitudes. He is altering his perception of the world and his relationship to it. Much of what he learned previously was flavored by his alignment. When the philosophical foundations of his life change, the character discovers that he must relearn things he thought he knew. There are two possible effects of changing alignment, depending on the situation and circumstances of the change. The first results in no penalty. This effect only should be used when the player and the DM mutually agree that the character's alignment should be changed to improve the play of the game. Most often this occurs with low-level characters. The player character's alignment may prove to be incompatible with the rest of the party. A player character may simply be more interesting for everyone if his alignment were different. Inexperienced players may select an alignment without fully understanding its ramifications. Discovering they simply do not like the alignment, they may ask to change. Such changes must be made with mutual agreement. As DM, try to accommodate the desires of your players. In the second type of voluntary change, the case cannot be made that the alignment change would be for the good of the game. This generally involves more established characters who have been played according to one alignment for some time. Here, the effects of alignment change are severe and noticeable. The instant a character voluntarily changes alignment, the experience point cost to gain the next level (or levels in the case of multi-class characters) is doubled. To determine the number of experience points needed to gain the next level (and only the next level), double the number of experience points listed on the appropriate Experience Levels table. For example, Delsenora the mage began the game neutral good. However, as she adventured, she regularly supported the downtrodden and the oppressed, fighting for their rights and their place in society. About the time she reached 5th level, it was clear to the DM that Delsenora was behaving more as a lawful good character and he enforced an alignment change. Normally, a mage needs 40,000 experience points--20,000 points beyond 5th level--to reach 6th level. Delsenora must earn 40,000 additional experience points, instead of the normal 20,000. Every two experience points counts as one toward advancement. Delsenora started the adventure with 20,000 experience points. At its conclusion, the DM awarded her 5,300 points, bringing her total to 25,300. Instead of needing just 14,700 points to reach the next level, she now needs 34,700 because of her alignment change! If an alignment change is involuntary, the doubled experience penalty is not enforced. Instead, the character earns no experience whatever until his former alignment is regained. This assumes, of course, that the character wants to regain his former alignment. If the character decides that the new alignment isn't so bad after all, he begins earning experience again, but the doubling penalty goes into effect. The player does not have to announce this decision. If the DM feels the character has resigned himself to the situation, that is sufficient. For example, Beornhelm the Ranger carelessly dons a helm of alignment change and switches to chaotic evil alignment--something he didn't want to do! Exerting its influence over him, the helm compels Beornhelm to commit all manner of destructive acts. Although unable to resist, Beornhelm keeps looking for an opportunity to escape the accursed helm. Finally, after several misadventures, he cleverly manages to trick an evil mage into removing the helm, at which point he is restored to his previous alignment. He gains no experience from the time he dons the helm to the time he removes it (though the DM may grant a small award if Beornhelm's plan was particularly ingenious). If Beornhelm had chosen not to trick the mage but to work with him, the change would immediately be considered a player choice. From that point on Beornhelm would earn experience, but he would have to earn twice as much to reach the next experience level. A character can change alignment any number of times. If more than one change occurs per level, however, the severity of the penalty increases. (The character is obviously suffering from severe mental confusion, akin to a modern-day personality crisis.) When a character makes a second or subsequent alignment change at a given level, all experience points earned toward the next level are immediately lost. The character must still earn double the normal experience. Delsenora drifted into lawful good. Now she finds lawful good too restrictive. She is confused. She doesn't know what she believes in. Her head hurts. The character reverts to her earlier neutral good habits. Bedeviled by indecision, she loses the 5,300 experience points she had already gained and now has to earn 40,000 to achieve 6th level! Chapter 5: Proficiencies (Optional) A character in the AD&D game, like anyone else, has a variety of skills and talents. He is good at some things (because they are used in his profession or hobby) and poor at those he has studied casually or not at all. These skills and talents are called proficiencies. Proficiencies aren't exactly like the skills people pick up in school or in the "real" world. They tend to be unrealistically broad or narrow, depending on the subject. The fishing proficiency, for example, assumes the character knows everything about both rod-and-reel fishing and net fishing. In reality, these are two vastly different skills. At the other end of the spectrum, weapon proficiencies tend to be very precise, highlighting the subtle differences between weapons. A long bow and a short bow differ in size, weight, pull, arrow length, and balance. Each demands different practices to get optimum utility. When using proficiencies, remember that these rules are not intended to recreate reality. It might have been more realistic to list different proficiencies for each aspect of medieval botany--horticulture, herbalism, mycology, etc. But in the context of a game, these are much better grouped under a single proficiency. Individually, each proficiency would be of such limited usefulness that all of them would become worthless. Other proficiencies, particularly weapons, go to the other extreme. Weapon Proficiencies Sooner or later a player will complain that the weapon proficiencies are too restrictive. But the real complaint may be that the rules don't allow a character to do everything the player wants. For example, say a player character is proficient with a long sword. He's about to be overwhelmed by a horde of kobolds, but he has the sense to retreat. Unfortunately, he trips over his feet and falls face-first to the floor! His faithful, trusted long sword skitters from his grip and the little monsters are upon him. Still full of fight, the character wrests a short sword from the nearest beastie and begins to do battle. At this point, the DM tells the player to apply the nonproficiency penalty. The player howls in outrage. "It's a sword," he moans. "My character can use a long sword, I can't believe you won't let him use a short sword! It's the same thing, just smaller!" Before giving in to the player's protests, consider the differences in what seem to be similar weapons. The character's customary weapon, the long sword, is a slashing weapon. It is three- to four-feet long, heavy, and balanced toward the blade to increase momentum in a slash. A short sword is a piercing weapon. It is 12 to 18 inches long, light (for a sword), and balanced with most of the weight toward the handle for quick reaction. So, in our example, the character leaps into the fight using the short sword instinctively--the way he would use a long sword. He tries to slash, but the weapon is too short and light for slashing. He tries to block and parry and finds the weapon absorbs much less impact than his massive long sword. He tends to attack the air, because he is used to the reach and sweep of the long sword. He throws himself off balance by swinging the light weapon too hard. All these minor errors make him less effective with the short sword, even though it seems similar to his long sword. The nonproficiency penalty begins to make sense. Further, weapon proficiencies are just some of the many factors that must be balanced for a successful adventure. If a variety of factors combine to give a character excessive combat bonuses, the DM should create situations in which that character's favorite weapon is not the best choice. For example, a character who is proficient with all types of swords, but no other weapons, is at a big disadvantage when confronted by skeletons. His sword is less effective than a mace. Eventually, the player will have to broaden his character's weapon proficiencies if he wants to thrive in the AD&D game world. Min/Maxing Sometimes players resort to "min/maxing" when selecting weapon proficiencies. Min/maxing occurs when a player calculates all the odds and numerical advantages and disadvantages of a particular weapon. The player's decision isn't based on his imagination, the campaign, role-playing, or character development. It is based on game mechanics--what will give the player the biggest modifier and cause the most damage in any situation. A certain amount of min/maxing is unavoidable, and even good (it shows that the player is interested in the game), but an excessive min/maxer is missing the point. Reducing a character to a list of combat modifiers and dice rolls is not role-playing. Fortunately, this type of player is easy to deal with. Just create a situation in which his carefully chosen weapon, the one intended to give him an edge over everyone else, is either useless or puts him at a disadvantage. He will suddenly discover the drawback of min/maxing. It is impossible to create a combination of factors that is superior in every situation, because situations can vary so much. Finally, a character's lack of proficiency can be used to create dramatic tension, a vital part of the game. In the encounter with kobolds described earlier, the player howled in surprise because the situation suddenly got a lot more dangerous than he expected it to. The penalty for nonproficiency increases the risk to the player character, and that increases the scene's tension. When a nonproficiency penalty is used to create tension, be sure the odds aren't stacked against the character too much. Dramatic tension exists only while the player thinks his character has a chance to escape, even if it's only a slim chance. If a player decides the situation is hopeless, he will give up. His reaction will switch from excitement to despair. NPC Proficiencies As a convenience for the DM, non-player characters are assumed to be proficient with the weapons they carry. However, this need not always be the case. If you want to make an NPC easier to defeat or less dangerous, rule that he is not proficient with his weapon. This is most likely the case with simple innkeepers or townsmen impressed into the militia. The innkeeper may be adept with a club (occasionally useful in his trade), but the niceties of swordplay are not within the normal realm of his business. By adding to or subtracting from the abilities of an NPC, the game can be balanced and enriched. Nonweapon Proficiencies Nonweapon proficiencies are optional, but, if chosen, can be very useful. If you are uncertain whether to use these proficiencies, the following points should make the decision easier: Nonweapon proficiencies help determine the success of character actions beyond what is defined by the basic abilities of the character races and classes. They provide a useful gauge when a character tries to build a boat or behave properly at court. This frees the DM to think about more important parts of the story instead of little, perhaps even insignificant, details. Not everyone agrees with this! Some DMs prefer to handle by themselves all the situations covered by proficiencies. This requires a quick wit and good memory. In return, the DM is freed from the restraints of rules. He can create the scene he wants without worrying whether it breaks the rules. But tread softly here--this is not an easy way to judge a game! Try this only if you are experienced at DMing or are a spontaneous and entertaining storyteller. Nonweapon proficiencies give a player character more depth. Used cleverly, they tell the player more about the personality and background of his character and give him more tools to work with. Applied judiciously and thoughtfully, nonweapon proficiencies vastly increase a character's role-playing potential. Beware, however, because nonweapon proficiencies can have exactly the opposite effect. They can become a crutch for players who are unwilling to role-play, an excuse not to develop a character's personality or history. Some players decide that proficiencies define everything the character knows; they make no effort to develop anything else. Avoid this by encouraging players to dig deeper and explore the possibilities in their characters. Ask a player to explain why his character has specific proficiencies. What did that character do before becoming an adventurer? Questions like this stimulate players to delve into their characters' personalities and backgrounds. Make a note of the player's reasons and then you can use them during play. Nonweapon proficiencies can be used to define the campaign and create atmosphere. The proficiency lists can be tailored to match specific regions or historical periods, or to define the differences between nationalities. If the characters' home base is a fishing village, the lists can be altered to allow all characters to learn swimming, sailing, fishing, and navigation at the same cost (in proficiency slots). These are common skills among seafaring people. At the same time, dwarves, who come to this town from the nearby mountains, must devote extra slots to learn these proficiencies. A youth spent in dry, solid tunnels hasn't prepared them for a life at sea. Instead, they can learn mining, gemcutting, and other stonework skills cheaply. The proficiency lists in the Player's Handbook are only a beginning. Your campaign will develop a much more interesting flavor if separate lists are tailored to different regions. This still leaves the problem of min/maxing. Players are encouraged to make intelligent and sensible choices for their characters, but not at the expense of role-playing. If tailored lists are in use, encourage players to list the proficiencies they want without getting to see the lists of proficiencies. Then collect the lists and figure out which proficiencies the characters can get (some may be unavailable and others too expensive). Players will still request the proficiencies they think are most advantageous, but at least the selections are drawn partially from the players' imaginations instead of a list of numbers. Finally, proficiencies are only as useful as the DM makes them. Once a decision is made to use proficiencies in the campaign, the DM must strive to create situations where they are useful. Always remember to design encounters, traps, and scenes where proficiencies have a practical application to the problem at hand. Otherwise, players are going to write off proficiencies as a waste of time and miss out on a wonderful chance to expand their characters. Ultimately, proficiencies add much richness, detail, and role-playing to a campaign at only a small cost in increased complexity. The DM has to remember a few more rules and the players have to make a few more choices when creating their characters. But in return, the game is bigger, better, and more fun. Adding New Proficiencies The proficiency lists in the Player's Handbook are extensive, but not comprehensive. The proficiencies given are the ones that characters will most commonly want or need, and those that have significant, specialized effects worthy of explanation. DMs and players will certainly think of proficiencies they'd like to add. Wherever the idea for a new proficiency comes from, the DM is the person who decides whether to include it in the game and what its effects are. This is not a decision for the players, although they can offer suggestions and advice. Only after a new proficiency is approved by the DM can it be used in play. One important factor to remember is that no proficiency should be beyond the science and technology of the age. There's no proficiency on the list that allows a character to build a gasoline engine, and with good reason. A gasoline engine is far beyond the pseudo-medieval society presented in the AD&D game. At the same time, this is a fantasy game filled with magical effects and strange powers. With magic, it is not impossible to have outlandish and amazing proficiencies if players and DMs want them. They may have a serious effect on the game, however, and must be carefully considered. The majority of new proficiencies are going to be those related to trades. Most of these have a very minor game effect, if any at all. They give the character specialized knowledge, but it is up to the player to make some use of it. A character with the skills of a glazier (glass-maker) does not gain a great advantage. Although, if necessary, he could support himself by making small glass vials and other items for local mages and adventurers. Still, there might come a day when knowledge of glass and glass-making becomes vital to the success of an adventure. A clever player is always looking for a way to turn knowledge to his advantage. When a player proposes a new proficiency, have him prepare a description of what the proficiency entails and allows. Then consider what the character could gain from it. This is not to say that the player is trying to pull a fast one (some will, but give them the benefit of the doubt). Instead, it is useful to imagine ways the proficiency could be abused. If something horrible or game-busting comes to mind, fix it. Never allow a proficiency into the game if it seems too powerful. Make whatever changes are necessary in the description and then offer it to the player. If he still likes it (after all the secret powers are stripped out), introduce it into the game and have fun. Sometimes the only thing that can be kept is the name of the proficiency. Don't be distressed by this. Most players will be satisfied with DM changes, content simply to contribute something to the game. Chapter 6: Money and Equipment Controlling the flow of money is an important way of balancing your campaign. Too much--or two little--money can ruin the fun of your game. Give your characters mountains of gold and game is spoiled. Suddenly wealthy, they no longer have the urgent need to adventure that impending poverty can provide. Too often they can buy their way out of difficult situations through bribery or "throwing money at the problem." Worse still, they attempt to apply modern, capitalist ideas to a quasi-medieval world. They may try to hire an enormous staff of wizards to mass produce potions and scrolls. They may set up shops to make assembly-line armor. Advances in organization and production like these come slowly over time, not all at once. You may have to remind your players to limit themselves to the knowledge and attitudes of the times. It is equally bad to keep your characters too poor. You are creating a game world for a fantasy role-playing game. If the characters are so poor that they must count every penny they spend, they are leading squalid and unhappy lives. Reward them when they accomplish things. You shouldn't always frustrate their desire to get rich. It's just that wealth should come slowly, matched to the level of the character. Monetary Systems Even before you play the first session in your campaign, you can use money as a tool in creating your game world. The form and shape money takes is by no means standardized. The simple monetary system given in the Player's Handbook is just that--a simplified system for coinage. It is not absolutely true to the real, historical world and is not even an accurate reflection of most fantasy worlds you find in books. It's just one way to approach money. A Short History of Commerce Monetary systems aren't always based on coins. Many different forms of exchange can be in use simultaneously. Take, for example, the real world around the year 1200. Currency included the regulated gold and silver coins of Byzantium and the Middle East, the licensed mints of England, the paper currency of China, the cowrie shells of Oceania, and the carved stones of Aztec lands. These were only a few forms money could take. Goods Vigorous trade was done in goods. Grain, cattle, sheep, wool, jewelry, foodstuffs, and cloth were all items of value. A canny Venetian merchant would sail from Venice to England with a load of silks, trading it there for good English wool (making sure he made a profit), and return to Venice to sell the wool for another load of goods for England. Letters of Credit Eventually letters of credit and contracts grew. Now the Venetian merchant could sail to England to collect wool gathered by contract from a monastery. In return for their wool shearing for five years, he would guarantee them set payments in ducats or florins, although he normally brought them goods they ordered from Venetian merchants--silks, spices, glassware, or wine. Thus he made a profit from the wool back in Venice and a profit from buying goods for the English monastery. On his return to Venice, the enterprising merchant would sell his cargo to the wool merchant in return for a note, and then take this note to a glassmaker and sell it for a load of valuable Venetian glass. In time, the notes led to the rise of banking houses, though much different from the banks we know today. Intended mainly to finance large deals and serve the wealthy merchants, there were few controls on these banks. They were definitely not for the common man. They were not places you stored your money for a rainy day, but houses that guaranteed the value of a merchant's note or contract, all for a fee. Barter Other economies, especially those of primitive lands, worked entirely on a barter system. What a man could produce became his money. The farmer paid the miller in bushels of grain. The miller paid his lord in ground flour. When the flour was baked into bread, the baker was paid in loaves of bread. These he could sell for the few coins, fresh eggs, or whatever luxuries might be available. During the Dark Ages even a man's life could be measured in cows, horses, or sheep. Kill a serf and you had to pay--perhaps five sheep, some to his lord and some to his family. The cost for a freedman would be even higher. Rents, taxes, and fines could be assessed in gold or grain. Eventually objects were assigned specific values. In parts of medieval Russia, furs were used almost like coins. Squirrel, ermine, and martin pelts all had values and were treated just as we treat money today. As barter systems became more sophisticated, they included more things. Obligations and duties became part of the formula. A knight received land from his lord, but part of his "rent" was the obligation to make himself and a set number of mounted soldiers available to serve in his lord's armies for 40 days each year. The serf was obligated to work his lord's land and live in the same village all his life. You might adopt an economy like this in your campaign world--one based on obligations. For the most part, the economies of the medieval period were based on a combination of coins, goods, and services. The knight could escape military service by paying a special tax to his lord. The king could insist that foreign merchants acquire goods only through barter. The baker could be paid a small wage for his services. Generally, changes occurred slowly as medieval man moved from a barter system to a coin-based economy. Thus, many different methods existed side-by-side. Coins Generally, lands near each other, sharing a common group of people or a common language have very similar economies. The countries of medieval Europe traded with each other regularly and so developed very similar coins and values. Kingdoms also tend to imitate the economy of the most powerful country in the region. The Byzantine Empire had a stable gold currency, and its coins were the model for rulers from Baghdad to Denmark. The value of a foreign coin was based on the weight of the coin, but also on the power of the issuer. The Byzantine besant was not only limited by other lands, but it was highly valued in trade. An English merchant would accept these coins from a Venetian trader because he knew their value. His price might increase if the trader paid him in Persian dinars. To the merchant, the dinar was simply not as valuable as the besant. You can add color to your campaign by choosing to have different systems of trade in different lands. By creating different currencies and ways of trading, you make your players aware of the different kingdoms in your fantasy campaign. This makes them pay attention and learn about your world. A traveling merchant who trades in besants becomes a wealthy trader from the rich lands of Byzantium, while one who deals in hacksilver is a northerner from the cold shores of Scandinavia. These names and places create images, images more compelling and exciting than those created by the plain words "merchant'' or "trader." Types of Coins The terms "gold piece" (gp), "silver piece" (sp), and "copper piece" (cp) are clear and they are used throughout these game rules. But you can spice them up a bit. People give coins names, whether as plain as "dime" or lively as "gold double-eagle." The imaginary population of a fantasy world should be no different. Medieval history is filled with different types of coinage, all of which can add local color to your campaign. Take, for example, the situation of a mercenary captain in Aquitaine. Through wages, booty, and trading he has assembled quite a few coins. Foremost of his horde are the gold and silver coins of Byzantium--the besant, hyperpyron, or nomisma as they were known at different times. An Italian general paid him in coins almost equally valuable, the gold florin and ducat. Mixed in with these were other coins of the Italian states--silver grossi and ecu. From the French he collected gros tournois, Rouen pennies, and louis. A Moorish hostage bought his freedom with silver drachmas and a German merchant of the Hanse paid the heavy toll of a gold mark. Part of the spoils of war include solidus aureus and denarii of Ancient Rome, though these coins are so badly worn their value has dropped greatly. One of his men even came across a horde of hacksilver bracelets! Finally, from his English employers he received pounds, shillings, and pence. Clearly the captain is faced with a problem when he tries to figure out just how much money he has. What do these coins add up to? The besant, hyperpyron, and nomisma were the standard coins of the Byzantine Empire. They were of a regular size and the precious metal was not debased with lead or copper. Backed by the power of the Emperor, each coin had a steady value. In your game, you could establish their value at one or two gold pieces each. The florin and the ducat were the coins of different Italian states. These lands, rising in trading power, needed a steady economy. Thus their coins were almost the equal of the besant and were used for trade throughout Europe. Each florin might be equal to a gold piece. The gross was a silver penny and, normally, 12 equalled one florin. The coins of France were much like those of Italy and could be valued the same way. The louis and the sous were the equal of the florin while the gros tournis and the denarius were silver pennies. However, the Rouen penny was specially minted and not considered as valuable by most traders. The Middle Eastern drachma was modeled on the besant. Normally 12 to 20 were equal to a single besant (6-10 would equal one gp) but in Aquitaine they were often valued just like other silver pennies. The gold mark wasn't so much a coin as a measure. It was normally figured to be worth six English pounds. There were also silver marks worth about 13 shillings, and Scandinavian ora worth 16 pence. But the true value of these coins was what you could get for them. The English coins included the rarely seen pound, equal perhaps to one gp. More common were silver shillings, officially figured at 20 to a pound (or half a sp). Below the shilling was the pence, 12 to a shilling, and below the pence was the farthing, four to a pence. Meanwhile, the lowly Rouen penny was figured to be equal to half a pence. Of the ancient coins, the Roman solidus aureus was the model for the besant and thus nearly all other coins. It in turn was divided into silver denarii with 12 to 40 equaling a single solidus. However, age and counterfeiters reduced the value of these coins so much that their only true worth could be found in what they weighed. During the same time, Scandinavians used hacksilver--silver jewelry. When they needed to pay, they could cut off a chunk from an armband or bracelet and weigh it, thus the name hacksilver. They literally wore their money! Clearly, money is no simple, universal thing. Each nation and each time has its own coins with its own values. Your player characters may travel through many different lands and find long-lost treasures. It will be much more exciting for your characters to find 600 ancient tremissa from the rule of Emperor Otto 400 years before than to find yet another 600 silver pieces. With a little imagination and research at your local library, you can find many different examples to add to your campaign. Expenses As exciting and important as money is for player characters, tracing day-to-day expenses just isn't very interesting. Forcing players to record every purchase their characters make is time-consuming and, plainly put, not very heroic. It's better simply to charge player characters a monthly living expense. This living expense covers all normal room and board charges whenever a character is operating out of his home base. Separate charges for meals and beds need be made only when the character is traveling away from home. Players describe how well (or poorly) they want their characters to live. From this the DM decides if they are living in squalid, poor, middle-class, or wealthy surroundings. The Player Character Living Expenses table, below, gives estimated base costs for each category. Squalid and poor living conditions cost the same for all characters regardless of race or level. However, as a character increases in level, his needs increase according to (or beyond) his means. Characters living middle-class or wealthy lifestyles multiply the base living expense by their level to determine the cost. Characters of races other than the predominant one of the area (e.g., dwarves in a human city or humans in an elven village) pay double the normal rate. This is due to suspicion and a scarcity of goods the character is accustomed to. The only direct game effect of living conditions is the expense involved, but living conditions can also determine some role-playing events and conditions in your game. Your player characters' lifestyles even can be used as a starting point for many different types of adventures. Squalid Conditions Dirty straw in leaky stables, muck-floored huts outside the walls of town, contempt, and random violence--these typify squalid living conditions. Characters living like this aren't likely to be robbed (since no one thinks they have any money), but they may be tormented or attacked just for the fun of it. Their legal protections will be few indeed. Poor Conditions In poor conditions, characters benefit from some legal protection, although there may be general indifference to their troubles. They must also cope with a high level of violence, periodic robberies, and random fights. Middle-Class Conditions Middle-class life tends to be safe and somewhat boring. Characters receive adequate protection and will not be the main target of most burglars. Thieves are generally attracted to the homes of the wealthy. Wealthy Conditions Wealthy people receive the greatest benefits, but they must also deal with the highest level of deceit, trickery, and treachery. Nearly all with wealth are drawn into dangerous political maneuverings, mainly to protect their own privileges. Upon building or claiming his own stronghold, a player character suddenly acquires a whole new set of expenses. The character no longer pays living expenses but must pay for the maintenance of his property. Table 22: Player Character Living Expenses Lifestyle Cost/Month Squalid 3 gp Poor 5 gp Middle-Class 50 gp per level Wealthy 200 gp per level Draining the Coffers Sometimes you discover you have given the player characters too much money. While living expenses will take a little of that (especially if the characters live big), it doesn't come close to solving the problem. Fortunately, there are other ways you can get money out of their hands. A wide variety of taxes was applied during the Middle Ages. Some caused minimal hardship while others were quite expensive. Characters could be forced to pay a weregeld, a fine paid to the relatives of someone they have slain. The king could demand scutage, a fee to avoid military service. Special assessments could be made to repair roads or rebuild bridges. There could be minor taxes to enter towns on market days or wander through the streets as a strolling minstrel. Taxes could be charged according to the size of the person's household. In addition to taxes, there might be other unexpected costs. A fire could sweep through the character's manor, requiring a costly repair program. Termites could wreak havoc with the character's fleet. The local lord could assess his vassals a share of the tribute he must pay the enemy. Magical mysteries and daring thefts can also lower a character's financial position. Always find a different, totally unexpected approach to taking excess cash from player characters. Let them defeat some of your attempts to drain their coffers. Set up some of your money-removing attempts to fail from the start--if the player characters take some action. Turn your attempts into adventures. If a thief robs the player character's castle, be ready with an adventure where the character can try to track him down. In fact, he may even catch the thief, but only after the scoundrel has squandered the character's fortune! Expanding the Equipment Lists The items listed in the Player's Handbook are by no means the only things ever made in the world--or even in a medieval fantasy setting. They are listed because they are the most likely things the characters will need. However, you can certainly add missing or player-requested items to this list. When you add an item to the lists, first consider the reasonableness of its presence. Given the setting of the AD&D game, adding an M4 Sherman tank as a regular item of equipment is just not a logical, sensible, or wise thing to do. Once you decide that a new item is reasonable, you must assign it a cost. Use your judgment. Consider the intricacy of the item, the craftsmanship required to make it, and the cost of similar items already on the lists. From these, you should be able to assign an appropriate price. If, later on, you discover you made the item too cheap and all the characters are buying one, raise the price and say suppliers can't keep up with the demand. If an item is too expensive, you can lower the price and no one will complain. Altering Prices Remember that the prices listed in the Player's Handbook are not absolute. There is no reason you can't raise or lower the price of any item on the equipment lists. Demand can increase or decrease a price. Different lands in your campaign may be known for specific goods, allowing them to charge more. Even in the Middle Ages, Spain and the Middle East were known for steel, Germany for beer, France for wine, England for wool, and the Italy for armor. These reputations allowed higher prices to be charged for these goods, especially finished items. Greed can also raise prices. Merchants live to make money, so they will normally charge what they can get away with. There were very few price controls or regulating agencies during these times. Finally, adventurers tend to disrupt local economies, suddenly bringing in large amounts of cash. Merchants raise prices to match. Situations not unlike the Klondike gold rush develop, in which even the simplest items cost outrageous amounts. In short, don't be afraid to charge characters as much as you think you can get away with. If they don't like the prices, they'll find some way to let the merchant know of their dissatisfaction. Equipment by Time Period The equipment lists given in the Player's Handbook assume your campaign is set in a generic medieval fantasy world. In practical terms, this means you haven't tied your campaign to any particular date in history. All this is perfectly fine and is commonly done in fantasy stories and fantasy campaigns--you are dealing with fantasy, after all. However, it is also possible to create exciting and interesting campaigns that are tied to specific time periods, but this will work only if you know something about the time period. This is important! A lot of people assume things about the past without knowing the facts. The truth of the matter may be far different. Go to the library and do your homework before you begin designing a time-specific campaign. Even if you don't do such a campaign, it's useful to learn a little more about medieval history. It will only improve your own fantasy world. It is not necessary to pick a precise date to model, such as 1237 A.D., although again there is nothing wrong with this. History and historians tend to divide the past into different ages, and you can do the same. Four different ages are covered here--the Ancient World, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Each has its peculiarities and differences, some of which are described below. The Ancient World This covers a period of great empires spreading from the Mediterranean. Some weapons and armor were made of bronze, others of iron, and a few were made of steel. Most household items were pottery, wood, stone, and wicker. Bronze weapons were easily dulled and, in game terms, break or bend when a "1" is rolled on the attack roll. Stirrups hadn't been invented, so characters can't use heavy lances, and charge attacks can't be made with normal lances. The Dark Ages This was the period after the collapse of the Roman Empire, from 450 A.D. to about 1100 A.D. While much of the learning and culture of the ancient world was lost, it was not as bleak and ignorant a period as some believe. Still, in many ways, it was a step backward from the previous age. During this time the stirrup was introduced, allowing riders to gain full use of the lance. The Middle Ages The Middle Ages (roughly from 1100 to 1450) is the period in which most fantasy campaigns are set. It was the period most people associate with knighthood and chivalry. The knights went off on the Crusades. Great stone castles were built. The role of traders and merchants began to grow. Virtually all the items on the equipment list were available in this time period. The Renaissance The latest time period that should be considered as a setting for a normal AD&D campaign, the Renaissance was a time of great change. The collapse of the feudal system had begun throughout much of Europe. There was great growth in literature, art, and science. The power of the old nobility began to decline while the influence and wealth of merchants and businessmen continued to grow. Gunpowder and simple guns revolutionized the face of warfare. Foot soldiers became more important than cavalry, and armor was not nearly as useful as it once had been. Table 23: EQUIPMENT BY TIME PERIOD Item Ancient Dark Ages Middle Ages Renaissance Arquebus NA NA NA AV Awl Pike NA NA AV AV Bastard Sword NA AV AV AV Block and Tackle NA NA AV AV Bolt Case NA NA AV AV Brigandine NA NA AV AV Bronze Plate Mail AV NA NA NA Carriage, any NA NA NA AV Chain Mail NA AV AV AV Composite Long Bow NA NA AV AV Crossbow, any NA NA AV AV Field Plate NA NA AV AV Flail, any NA AV AV AV Full Plate NA NA NA AV Full Plate Barding NA NA NA AV Glaive NA NA NA AV Glass NA AV AV AV Glass Bottle NA NA AV AV Great Helm NA NA AV AV Greek Fire NA AV AV AV Heavy Horse Lance NA AV AV AV Heavy War Horse NA AV AV AV Horse Yoke NA NA AV AV Hose NA NA AV AV Jousting Lance NA NA AV AV Kopesh Sword AV NA NA NA Lantern, any NA NA AV AV Lock, any NA Poor Average Good Long Bow NA AV AV AV Magnifying Glass NA NA NA AV Mancatcher NA NA AV AV Morning Star NA AV AV AV Paper NA AV AV AV Papyrus AV NA NA NA Plate Mail NA NA AV AV Pole arms, not pike NA AV AV AV Pony Cart NA NA AV AV Ring Mail NA AV AV NA Sailing ship NA NA AV AV Scimitar NA AV AV AV Silk Clothes NA Very Rare Rare Rare Silk Rope NA Very Rare Rare Rare Spyglass NA NA NA AV Two-Handed Sword NA AV AV AV Voulge NA AV AV AV NA-Not Available, AV-Available Adjusting Equipment Lists When you set your campaign in a specific time period, you might want to adjust the equipment lists to reflect changes in availability and price. Some suggested changes are listed in Table 23. Like the capsule descriptions, the table is not 100% accurate. Instead, it reflects whether items were commonly used in the time period. For example, flails (as an agricultural instrument) have existed for time immemorial. However, they were not commonly used as weapons in most time periods, except in cases of emergency. By doing further research, you can refine and expand this list. Quality of Equipment Most of the equipment a character buys is assumed to be of average quality--neither too cheaply made nor too elaborate. Thus, weapons are serviceable with stout hafts and sturdy blades. The metal is not so poorly tempered as to make the blade hopelessly brittle. The blade is not elaborately etched and the hilt is not encrusted with gold. Other items are of everyday make, usefulness and function superseding artistic needs. However, quality can vary from item to item. For some items it is important to know the quality, since this affects a game ability. The three items where quality is most significant are locks, horses, and weapons. In other instances, quality becomes important only if you or one of your players wants an item of exceptional beauty or of exceptionally shoddy construction. Lock Quality The quality of a lock can increase, decrease, or leave unchanged a thief's chance of picking that lock. The higher the quality of the lock, the harder it is for the thief to pick. Table 24 lists the different lock qualities and the amount they add or subtract from a thief's percentage chance to open it. Unless otherwise noted, assume that all locks are of good quality. Table 24: Lock Quality Quality Modification Wretched +30% Poor +15% Good 0% Excellent -20% Superior -40% Masterful -60% The quality of a lock cannot be discerned just by looking at it. Indeed, one of the tricks of the master craftsman is to disguise the difficulty of the lock by housing it in a cheap-looking case. A thief can learn the quality of a lock by attempting to pick it. This attempt need not be successful ("Gee, this lock must be a really superior job. It's a lot harder than it looks.") Horse Quality Another matter where quality is important is in horseflesh. There is a world of difference between a high-spirited stallion and a broken-down nag. And it is not always apparent to the eye, although it is usually pretty easy to tell a scrawny, sway-backed old mare from a fiery stallion. Buying of a horse is something the player characters should always approach with care, lest some unscrupulous horse merchant pull a fast one on them. Further, horses often have irritating traits that can make them less than pleasant to be around. Table 25 lists the different qualities of horses and the effects of each. Note that not all horses need to be assigned a quality. For simplicity, you can assume all horses are of average quality. Table 25: Horse Quality Quality Movement Rate Carrying Capacity Cost Modifier Modifier Modifier Nag 50% 25% -- Broken-down 75% 50% -- Average -- -- -- High-spirited 133% 125% x2 Charger 150% 133% x4 The movement rate modifier is the adjustment applied to the base movement rate for that type of horse. A broken-down light war horse would have a movement rate of 18, 75% of the normal 24. A high-spirited light war horse would have a movement rate of 32, one-third more than normal. Fractions should be rounded down. The carrying capacity modifier is the percentage of the base weight the horse can carry. A nag can only carry 50% as much as a normal horse of the same type, while a charger can carry one-third more than normal. Again, fractions should be rounded down. The cost modifier gives a general idea of the markup that should be applied to the horse. Poor quality horses do not have negative modifiers, since merchants will always try to get at least the average price for a horse. In this case, it is the job of the player to talk down the price. Horse Traits (Optional Rule) Each horse has one or two traits that define its "personality." In poor quality horses, these traits are generally undesirable, but even good horses can have unpleasant quirks. For each horse, determine the traits on Table 26, using the column appropriate to the quality of the horse. It is strongly recommended that you select the trait rather than rolling randomly, since these traits can really enhance the humor and color of your campaign. Biters tend to take nips at their riders or those leading them, an uncomfortable but not dangerous habit. Kickers never seem to lash out on command, but only when a character doesn't want it to happen. The best idea is not to follow a kicker too closely. Fence-chewers are similar to biters except that they seem to have a taste for wood instead of their rider. While fence-chewing may be caused by a bad diet, it's a hard habit to break. Table 26: Horse Traits D10 Roll Nag, broken-down, and average High-spirited and chargers 1 Biter Bucks 2 Kicks Bone-jarring 3 Steps on feet Bites 4 Won't gallop Single rider 5 Chews fences Rears 6 Stops occasionally Headstrong 7 Rubs against fences Kicks 8 Bucks Leaper 9 Untrained Knows trick 10 Use other column Use other column, or DM choice* * Other possibilities include robust, fleet, fearless, skittish, strong, stable, gentle, sure-footed, etc. Some horses have a seemingly malicious tendency to step on feet as they are being saddled and groomed--and then they refuse to move. Some refuse to gallop unless forced. Some stubborn horses just stop in the middle of a march and almost have to be dragged forward. Others take an almost human pleasure in rubbing against fences, walls, and trees trying to scrape their rider off. Bucking horses are always unpleasant, though at least the rider can usually feel the horse tense up just before it happens. Untrained horses, even those broken for riding, haven't learned the basic commands of horsemanship--left, right, speed up, or slow down. They do what they think they are supposed to, but that isn't always right. Some, while trained, are just plain headstrong and, figuring they know more than their riders, try to do what they want. Single-rider horses have been trained too well, recognizing only a single master. With time they can be ridden by a new owner, but they will not respond well to others, even friends of the owner. On rare occasions a horse may actually know a minor trick, usually learned without special training. These tricks are very simple--to come when whistled for, to rear on a tug of the reins, or to turn when the rider presses with his knees. Particularly lively horses have their own special quirks. Some just cannot seem to move at a slow steady pace. Every step is a jolting, bouncing bone-jarring ride. Others are born leapers, making corrals and fences only an occasional barrier. An ill-tempered few will rear suddenly at the most surprising moments, especially in the midst of combat. When the horse does this, it is not attacking so much as reacting in fear and surprise. Many a rider has been dumped by this sudden move. Risks of Horse Buying Beyond just the quality and quirks of horses, there are other reasons to be careful when buying a horse. Horse theft always has been a popular pastime, and punishments are often equally severe for both the thief and the buyer--assuming, of course, that the buyer isn't mistaken for the thief. Unscrupulous merchants often try to pass horses off as what they are not ("Yeah, this is a heavy war horse, really it is.") Horses may not be trained, although merchants always claim they are. While it is easy to spot a horse not broken to the saddle, it's not so simple to tell if a horse has been trained for war. Characters with the riding proficiency can avoid many of the hazards of horse-buying on a successful proficiency check. The character must choose to use the proficiency (but considering the investment he would be foolish not to). A successful roll will reveal a horse's true quality and perhaps some of its obvious quirks. Naturally, there is no way to ascertain the origin of the mount, unless you decide the horse has been branded or marked in some way. Even this may not be foolproof, since clever thieves can find ways to alter virtually any marking. Weapon Quality Quality weapons are those of exceptionally fine craftsmanship. The blade may be forged from the finest steel for flexibility and sharpness. The swordsmith may have carefully folded, hammered, and tempered the steel to a superb edge. The whole sword may be perfectly balanced, light in the hand, but heavy in the blow. There are many reasons why a sword or other weapon could be above average. Careful craftsmanship and high quality give a weapon a bonus on the chance to hit or a bonus to damage. The bonus should never be more than +1. The bonus on the chance to hit is for those weapons that are exceptionally well-balanced, light, or quick. Weapons of perfectly tempered steel or carefully hammered blades gain the bonus to damage. The metal retains its razor sharpness, cleaving through armor like a hot needle through wax. Because they rely on mass and impact, bludgeoning weapons rarely gain a bonus to damage. Those that do get a bonus are because they have carefully shaped and balanced heads. The quality of a weapon is not immediately apparent to the average person. While anyone using the weapon gets the quality bonus (even if they don't realize it), only those proficient in that weapon-type or proficient in weaponsmithing can immediately recognize the true craftsmanship that went into the making of the weapon. Even then, the character must handle the weapon to appreciate its true value. For some reason, however, merchants almost always seem to know the value of their goods (at least the successful merchants do). Thus, weapons of quality cost from 5 to 20 times more than normal. In your campaign, you might want to create NPCs or regions known for their fine quality weapons. Just as Damascus steel was valued in the real world for its fine strength and flexibility, a given kingdom, city, or village may be noted for the production of swords or other weapons. The mark of a specific swordsmith and his apprentices can be a sure sign of quality. Again, by introducing one or two of these (remote and difficult to reach) areas into your campaign, you increase the depth and detail of your world. Ornamentation While ornamentation has no effect on the function of an item, it does increase the cost. Ornamented items can also enhance the status of the owner as a man of wealth and influence. Of course, it also marks the character as a target for thieves and robbers. Among the more popular types of ornamentation are jeweled mountings, engraving, embossing, inlaying, painting, plating, chiseling, chasing, etching, enameling, lacquering, carving, and gilding. Common items also can be made from rare and fantastic materials--perhaps as simple as silk or the wonderfully rare and incredibly supple hides of baby dragons. The cost of such items depends on the difficulty and skill of the work. It is best for you to decide a price (highly inflated over the original), although 10 times the normal cost can be used as a starting figure. Armor Made of Unusual Metals(Optional Rule) With the exception of bronze plate mail, it is assumed that all metal armors are made from a fairly common yet sturdy form of steel. However, this need not always be the case. Since this is a fantasy campaign, there is nothing to prevent armors being made from rare and fantastic metals. Different metals have different properties which must be taken into account when such armors are used. Table 27 lists several different types of metals and the effects they have on Armor Class, encumbrance, and cost. Table 27: Unusual Metal Armors Metal AC Adjustment Weight Adj. Cost Multiplier Adamantite +1 -25% x500 Bronze -1 0 x2/3 Elven Steel 0 -50% ** Fine Steel 0 -10% x2 Gold -4 +100% x3* Iron 0 +25% 0 Silver -2 0 x2* The AC adjustment in no way implies that the armor has magical properties, only that the material is better or worse than normal. Thus, no bonuses are gained for saving throws, etc. * The character must provide the amount of metal needed to make the suit (determined by weight). In addition, the character must multiply the normal cost of the armor by the multiplier listed and pay this as fabrication cost. ** Elven armors can't normally be purchased, being given as gifts to those the elves deem worthy. Damaging Equipment For the most part, specific damage isn't applied to equipment under the AD&D rules. This doesn't mean that equipment is never damaged or broken. Instead, it is assumed that whatever normal wear and tear an item may suffer (such as dents in a suit of plate mail) are repaired during moments (or days, or months) of inactivity. The fighter spends time in camp sharpening his weapons, patching the rips in his chain mail, and hammering out the dents in his breastplate. The thief repairs the padding that muffles the clinks of his metal buckles. The mage sews patches onto his clothes. All characters have ample time to make repairs. It's not very interesting to role-play, so it is assumed all characters maintain their equipment. However, there are times when the player characters or your NPCs will want to cut a rope, snap a pole, or slash out the bottom of a backpack. Specific damage is done to achieve a specific effect. There are two ways such an attack can be made. the first is to attack a specific point or area with a weapon--slashing the rope that holds the heavy curtain up. The second is an attack that strikes everything in a given area with considerable force--a boulder landing on a character's backpack. The first attack uses Armor Class and hit points of damage. The second attack uses a saving throw. When a character tries to damage a specific part of an item, use common sense to determine the effect a particular weapon will have against certain materials. Trying to cut open a sack with a mace is futile. Trying to chop down a door with a dagger is equally futile (unless the character has a lot of time). Be sure you consider the hardness of the item and the amount of time the character has. A mace can be used to batter down a wooden door, but an ax will be faster. An ax won't do much of anything to a stone wall. If the character has an appropriate weapon, determine the Armor Class of the item. This may be as broad as "can't miss" or as precise as a specific Armor Class value. Players don't have to roll to see if they hit some items. Can't-miss items include large non-moving objects that characters attack with melee weapons--doors, barrels, and backpacks laying on the floor. Other can't-miss situations include missile weapon attacks against huge objects (those big enough to fill a character's field of vision, like the proverbial broad side of a barn. Some attacks require an attack roll (throwing a mug at a full-length mirror, for example). In cases like this, assign an Armor Class to the target, taking into consideration the size, movement, and hardness of the object. A wooden pole has a minimum AC of 7. A metal rod of about the same thickness has an AC of 0. A rope has an AC of 6, better than a wooden pole because the rope is more resilient and less brittle. If the object is small or moving, the AC should be better. A flailing rope becomes AC 3 or 4. Smashing a small vial as it rolls on the floor could be AC 2 or 1. Finally, when attempting to hit a very specific spot, the additional penalty for a called shot must be applied. Shooting at the bulls-eye of a target or slitting the backpack of an enemy in combat are difficult feats because of the precision needed. You must also decide how much damage the item can take before it is broken. Table 28 gives the standard range for some common items and materials. The final column on the table lists the types of attack most likely to cause damage to the item, although other types may also be effective. Using these as guidelines, you can decide the number of hit points to assign to most materials. Table 28: Hit Points of Items Item Hit Point Range Attack Modes* Chair 2-9 Bludgeon, Slash Common Leather 2-8 Slash, Pierce Glass Bottle 1-2 Bludgeon Glass Pane/Mirror 1 All Rope 2-5 Slash Wooden Door 30-50 Slash Wooden Pole 2-12 Slash *The three attack modes are bludgeon, slash, and pierce. Each weapon is classified by one or more of these attack modes. Item Saving Throws When weapons are subjected to a general danger--the flames of a fireball, the icy chill of a cold ray, or the smashing blow of a giant's boulder--the roll to hit and hit points do not apply. Instead, the following Item Saving Throw table is used. This saving throw represents an item's general ability to withstand the effects of the attack. It is rolled just like a normal saving throw (see "Combat"). The item saving throw should be used only when the item is not being carried by a character or when a character fails his saving throw against the same attack. A character who successfully saves against the blast of a fireball spell need not make separate saving throws for his potions. The character who failed the same save failed to protect himself adequately and must therefore check for his potions (and probably his scrolls, too). Not all items need make a save in every instance. It is perfectly reasonable to ignore the save for a character's sword and armor in the same fireball situation described above, since there is so little chance that these will be affected. Furthermore, magical items are more resistant to damage, gaining bonuses to the saving throw. Items with a plus (a sword +1, for example) gain that plus as a bonus to the die roll. If the item possesses additional special abilities, it should have an extra plus for each of these. Magical items with no stated pluses should gain a bonus relative to their power. A potion would have a +1 while a miscellaneous magical item could have a +5 or +6. Further, if the saving throw is versus an attack the device was designed to counter (e.g., extreme cold vs. a ring of warmth), an additional bonus of +2 is allowed. Table 29: Item Saving Throws Crushing Disinte- Magical Normal Item Acid Blow gration Fall Fire Fire Cold Lightning Electricity Bone or Ivory 11 16 19 6 9 3 2 8 2 Cloth 12 -- 19 -- 16 13 2 18 2 Glass 5 20 19 14 7 4 6 17 2 Leather 10 3 19 2 6 4 3 13 2 Metal 13 7 17 3 6 2 2 12 2 Oils* 16** -- 19 -- 19 17 5 19 16 Paper, etc. 16 7 19 -- 19 19 2 19 2 Potions* 15** -- 19 -- 17 4 13 18 15 Pottery 4 18 19 11 3 2 4 2 2 Rock, crystal 3 17 18 8 3 2 2 14 2 Rope 12 2 19 -- 10 6 2 12 2 Wood, thick 8 10 19 2 7 5 2 9 2 Wood, thin 9 13 19 2 11 9 2 10 2 * This save does not include the container, only the liquid contents. ** Of course, even though the save is made, the item is probably hopelessly mixed with the acid. Attack Forms Acid attacks (Acid) assume there is either a sizeable quantity of acid or that contact with the acid is prolonged. Crushing Blows (Cr. Blow) include strikes by the clubs of creatures of giant size or greater. Blows by normal people on small, fragile objects also fall into this category. A normal human could not do a crushing blow on a rope, which isn't very fragile, but could certainly do so on a potion flask. Breakable items hurled against hard surfaces--bottles thrown against walls, for example--also use the crushing blow column. Disintegration (Dis.) applies only to the magical effects of the spell or spell-like ability. Falls (Fall) must be greater than five feet. If the surface is hard, the listed saving throw is used. If the surface is soft, give a +5 bonus to the saving throw. For every five feet fallen beyond the first, apply a -1 penalty to the saving throw. Magical fires (Mag. Fire) include fireballs, dragon-breath, and any sizeable body of flame created by a spell or spell-like effect. Extraordinarily hot normal fires, such as the lava from a volcano, should also use this saving throw. Normal fires (Nor. Fire) include campfires, candle flames, and bonfires. Obviously, the item must be in the flame for a sufficient time to be affected. Cold (Cold) covers any intense, abnormal, or magical cold. If the temperature change is gradual, a +2 bonus is applied to the saving throw. Lightning bolt (Light.) applies to attacks by the spell or spell-like power of the same name. Electrical (Elec.) is for those electrical attacks that do not carry the wallop of the lightning bolt. Electric eels and magical traps fall into this category. Chapter 7: Magic Of all the areas of the AD&D game that you will be called upon to judge, magic is perhaps the most diverse and demanding. Magic allows characters to break all the natural laws of the universe, a situation that can lead to unforeseen, but highly exciting situations. Be sure you understand how magic works in the AD&D game and the different ways you can control its use. Initial Wizard Spells One control you have over the power of wizards is the choice of spells available at the start of the game. Each wizard begins the game with a spell book, but he has no information on what that book contains. You tell him. You can choose from several different answers. Based on your choice, the player acquires spells (and their reverse) for his character's spell book. Player Choice The simplest way to give a wizard spells is to throw the ball back into the player's court--ask him what spells he would like. As he names a spell, have him roll to see if his character can learn it. If he can, the player writes the spell on his character sheet. If he can't, one of you should note that he cannot learn that spell. Keep doing this until all the 1st-level spells have been checked or until the character reaches the maximum number of spells his character is allowed to learn (depending on the character's Intelligence). This allows the player to get the spells he wants for his character, which usually makes the player happy. However, it has some drawbacks. First, players tend to pick the spells they consider the most powerful. While this is not bad if you have only one or two wizards, a whole horde of the fellows, all with identical spells, gets pretty boring. There is also a chance the character will overlook some basic spells he really needs to function as a wizard--read magic and detect magic, in particular. A wizard who cannot read a magical scroll is deprived of one of the important abilities of his class. There is even a slim chance the character will hardly get any spells. And, while there is no minimum number of spells a character must know, a wizard without spells is hardly the type of character a player wants. If this happens, give the poor player a break and allow him to make some second checks on spells until you believe he has an adequate number. DM Choice You can automatically give the player character read magic and detect magic and four other spells of your choice. This starts all player characters off with the same number of spells. While it is not necessary to give each character the same spells, you should see that everyone has roughly the same balance of power. No rolls to learn these spells need be made. The character is assumed to have mastered them during his apprenticeship. Player/DM Collaboration Finally, you can allow the player character to start with 3d4 (or up to the limit of his Intelligence) 1st-level spells. Two of these are automatically read magic and detect magic, which all wizards learn as part of their training. The remaining spells can either be chosen by the player, determined randomly, or selected by you. If you select the spells, be sure to give the player a fair mix, allowing him to do a variety of things. Try to ensure that the player has a few of the spells he really wants. If the character is a specialist in a particular school of magic, you should allow him to know one spell of his school automatically along with read magic and detect magic. All other spells must be checked for normally or discovered. Acquisition of Spells Beyond 1st Level Once a character has begun adventuring, he won't be able to have additional spell books instantly appear each time he goes up in level. Instead, the player character must find some way to get additional higher level spells. As with initial spells, there are several ways this can be done. Any or all of these can be used in your campaign. Gaining Levels First, whenever a character attains a new spell level, allow the player one new spell immediately. You can choose this spell, let the player choose it, or select it randomly. The rationale behind this is simple: All the long hours of study and reading the character has been doing finally jells into something real and understandable. No roll is needed to learn this spell, unless you allow the character to choose it. If the character is a specialist in a school of magic, the new spell should be from that school--if there is a spell available. Copying from Spell Books The second way to acquire new spells is to copy them from the spell books of other wizards. A character can copy from other player characters (if they will allow it), pay NPC wizards for the privilege (see Chapter 12: NPCs), or take them from captured spell books. When copying spells, a character must roll to see if the character can learn the spell. No character can copy without magical aid of a spell of a level he cannot cast. Scroll Research Third, a character can research a spell using a scroll with the same spell as a base. The time and cost required for the research is half normal and the player character must still check to see if he can learn the spell. Regardless of the success or failure of the research, the scroll is destroyed--the wizard had to read it aloud to analyze its effects. Scroll research cannot be done in an adventuring situation. The wizard must have carefully controlled conditions even to attempt it. Study with a Mentor Fourth, and only if you allow it, the wizard can return to his old mentor and, with luck, copy a few spells out of his master's spell book. Use this method if, and only if, you feel it is important for player characters to have more than a few new spells each time they advance to a new spell level. Allow the characters to gain too much this way, or too frequently, and they will come to rely upon it, not using their own playing ability to develop their characters. DM Control of Spell Acquisition However characters acquire new spells, always remember that you are in charge. You have complete control over what spells the player characters get. If a player character has a spell you don't like or one that severely disrupts or unbalances your game, it is not the player's fault. Who gave the character the spell? Who allowed it in the game? Controlling spell acquisition is an important responsibility. Consider your choices carefully. By keeping the selection of spells limited, you automatically increase their importance and value to the wizards in your campaign. A simple scroll with a single spell becomes a real treasure if it has a spell on it the wizard has never seen. This gives the player a touch choice. Should he cast the scroll during an adventure where it might be useful? Should he save it until he can take the time to research the spell for his spell books? When the characters overcome a hostile mage, the first concern of the wizard will be for his spell book. Where is it? What spells does it have in it? Even a nonmagical item like a spell book becomes very important. Knowing their value, NPC wizards will go to great pains to protect their own spell books, hiding them carefully, locking them in trapped chests, and scattering magical traps throughout the pages. Spell Books A wizard's most important treasure is his spell book. Because it is so important, you and the players need to know some basics about it. What exactly is a spell book? How many pages does it have? What is it made of? All Sizes and Shapes There is no standard size or shape for a spell book. A player character can't walk into a wizard's lab or study and instantly spot the spell book because it is the biggest, longest, fattest, squarest, roundest, or thinnest book there. Neither can he measure all the books to find the one that conforms to the dimensions of a spell book. The spell book's size and shape is determined largely by the culture of the wizard who owns it. Consider, for example, the book you are reading right now. How would one of these pages have appeared in other times and places? In medieval Europe, this page would most likely have been 10 or more hand-lettered sheets of parchment, perhaps embellished with illuminations and painted scenes. In ancient China, this page would have been several hand-printed pages on colored paper and bound with red lacings. The Egyptians would have used a rolled scroll of papyrus, with several required to make a book. Even more cumbersome, the ancient Babylonians would have used clay tables marked in cuneiform and dried. American Indians would have written it on leaves of birch bark or painted it on a cured buffalo hide. Writing and written works have changed greatly through the centuries of Earth history. A fantasy game world is no different. Spell books should come in a variety of shapes and forms--whatever seems best for the campaign. A spell book may be a heavy tome, bound in leather with crisp parchment pages. It may be a collection of papyrus scrolls tied with red silk strings. It might be a pile of clay tables marked in cuneiform, or a cheap-looking folio printed on linen rag paper. It even could be thin sheets of embossed gold between covers made from the hide of a naga. If you don't want to create a unique spell book for your campaign world, here's one standard you can fall back on: Compare them to bulky coffee-table books of today or large, hefty dictionaries. Even if you do create unique spell books, this standard should give you some idea of the appropriate size and bulk. Often a wizard's complete set of spell books occupies several shelves of his library, especially when the character reaches the highest levels. At this point, it is no longer practical for the character to carry all of his spell books with him when he travels. Therefore, many wizards opt to make traveling spell books. The traveling spell book is a more selective, more portable version of the character's complete spell books (although there is little that can be done to make clay tablets portable). In the traveling spell book, the wizard places only those spells he believes he will need while traveling. There is no limitation on which spells can be included, but a traveling spell book has a limited number of pages. Thus, a high-level wizard may need several traveling spell books to contain all the spells he thinks are necessary. Spell Book Preparation The books themselves require few special materials, but the workmanship must be exact, flawless. Even the slightest mistake in copying a spell ruins it. This is not work for a common scribe. Compounding the problem, the bizarre formulas and diagrams found in a spell book can't be reproduced by normal medieval printing methods. Spell book work must be done slowly and laboriously by hand. The standard amount of time required to prepare a spell book is one to two days of work per spell level of the spell being entered. Occasionally, prepared spell books can be found for sale, but few wizards choose to trust the success or failure of their magical efforts to the work of others. Rare is the wizard who doesn't prepare his own spell books. Materials used in a spell book must be of the highest quality. No wizard wants to run the risk of dampness causing his ink to run, a blot on the parchment causing a spell to be misinterpreted, bookworms making a feast of page six, the wind blowing a loose page away, or a spilled retort turning the whole book into a sodden mass. Careful treatment, common sense, and quality materials are essential to prevent these disasters. Strong bindings or cases are used to protect the interiors. Clear sheets are needed to record the spells. The best bold inks and the sharpest pens must be used for writing. Aromatic compounds are recommended to deter bookworms and moths, while other preparations should be used to protect against mold, mildew, and dry rot. All this costs money. Spell Book Cost The one thing all spell books have in common is their cost. Books are never cheap, and a wizard's spell books are more expensive than most. For the materials and their preparation, the wizard must pay 50 gp per page. Traveling spell books, which are even more compact, cost 100 gp per page. How Many Pages in a Spell Book? Each spell requires a number of pages equal to its level plus 0-5 (1d6-1) additional pages. The actual number of pages a spell takes differs for each wizard. Even if two or more wizards are recording the same spell, the number of pages varies, since there are differences in handwriting and notations. Further, no spell book can have more than 100 pages, no ordinary non-magical scroll more than 25, and no traveling spell book more than 50. Thus, at best, a spell book filled with 9th-level spells could only hold 11 spells (99 pages), allowing only one blank page to hold a magical protection (such as a firetrap spell). All too likely, this spell book would be filled well before 11 spells had been entered. For convenience in creating NPC spell books, the maximum and minimum number of spells for each level and type of spell book is given in Table 30. The table presumes that all the spells within a book are of the same level (which may or may not be the case, especially for traveling books). In addition, although a spell book never can have more than its maximum at a given spell level, there is no requirement that the book be filled even to its minimum number. The ranges given on the following table presume the spell book is filled as efficiently as possible with spells, leaving little or no room for protective devices. Table 30: Spell Book Capacities Level Standard Scroll Traveling 1st 16-100 spells 4-25 spells 8-50 spells 2nd 14-50 spells 3-12 spells 7-25 spells 3rd 12-33 spells 3-8 spells 6-16 spells 4th 11-25 spells 2-6 spells 5-12 spells 5th 10-20 spells 2-5 spells 5-10 spells 6th 9-16 spells 2-4 spells 4-8 spells 7th 8-14 spells 2-3 spells 4-7 spells 8th 7-12 spells 1-3 spells 3-6 spells 9th 7-11 spells 1-2 spells 3-5 spells Expanding the Schools of Magic Currently, the different schools of wizard magic are merely sketched out and very lightly defined. The different schools can be used as described, but they lack detail and, in a few cases, a full range of spells. There are, for example, very few necromantic spells, thus discouraging player characters from being necromancer specialists. There is nothing wrong in this--nothing requires schools of magic to be equal. However, you might want to customize and expand the schools of magic to suit your campaign. Adding New Spells A school can be expanded simply by adding new spells. The necromantic specialization could be made more appealing if a complete spell list were created. Be careful that the new spells don't make the school too powerful. In the case of the necromantic school, the first reaction is to add some of the priest healing spells. However, this takes from the role of the cleric and makes the necromantic specialist too powerful. In the long run, it's probably better to create new necromantic spells, spells that do not involve healing or do so only in a minor way. Careful judgment must be applied when adding new spells. Expansion Through Campaign Detail Although the term "school" is used throughout the Player's Handbook and this book there are no rules to explain any formal structures or institutions. There is no hard and fast definition of a necromantic school. There may or may not be such a school in the campaign. This choice is left to individual DMs. One possibility is that wizards learn their specialties without formal training. Materros the Necromancer has a natural curiosity about necromantic spells, so he specializes in them. Another possibility is that there are formal colleges or academies where spells are taught. These institutions would have their own hierarchies, traditions, regulations, and procedures. For example, Materros the Necromancer could be a brother of the Cabal of Thar-Zad, a necromantic society. As a sign of his standing high within its hierarchy, he is allowed to wear the red and green robes of a master. Of course, when he wears these, his occupation is easily identified by those who know something of the Cabal. This is not all bad, since the Cabal of Thar-Zad has a reputation as a dangerous and mean bunch. By adding such details, the DM brings his campaign to life. He can make a seemingly limited magical school more appealing to players. Spell Research One of the most overlooked assets of the wizard or priest is the ability to research new spells. In the hands of a clever player, this ability results in powerful and unique player characters. Since the player has to get involved to make the research rules work, it is also an excellent method for getting player ideas into the campaign. However, since there are so many different possibilities in spell research, there are few set rules. Use the following as guidelines when faced with magical research in the campaign. Suggesting a New Spell Spell research is not something the DM does without player input--or vice versa. The first step is for the player to decide what he wants his character to accomplish. Only after the player has presented his suggested spell does the DM become involved. Analyzing a Spell When the player presents his suggested spell, talk it over with him. What does the player really want to accomplish? Is this the same as what he claims the spell will do? Sometimes what is written for a spell description and what was intended are two different things. This should become clear in talking to the player. Are there already spells or combinations of spells that can do the same thing? If a spell exists in the character's group that does the same thing, no research should be allowed. If the new spell is a combination of several spells or a more powerful version of a weaker spell, it can be allowed, although it will be difficult to research. Weaker versions of a more powerful spell are certainly possible. Is the player trying to gain a special advantage over the normal rules? Sometimes players propose new spells with the unspoken purpose of "breaking the system," and, while spell research does let a player character get an edge, it is not a way to cheat. New spells should fall within the realm and style of existing spells. Clerics casting fireball spells or mages healing injured characters is contrary to the styles of the two classes. Spells allowing changes in the game rules, god-like abilities, or guaranteed success are not good and shouldn't be allowed in a campaign. Fortunately, this problem doesn't come up too often. What limits does the player think the spell has? In their desire to have their spells approved, players often create more limitations and conditions on a spell than the DM would normally require. Be sure to ask the player what limits he thinks the spell has. Solving the Problem of a New Spell If the spell seems unacceptable, tell the player what the concerns are. Usually, an agreement can be reached on any problems. However, if there don't seem to be any problems with the spell, the next step can begin. Never immediately approve a spell when it is first presented. Take the spell description and consider all the ways it could be abused. If some glaring misuse becomes apparent, fix the spell so this cannot happen. Keep doing this until all the obvious problems and abuses have been fixed. The player should then have a chance to look at all the changes in his spell. After all, once the DM has finished with it, the player may no longer want to research it. After the player and DM have agreed on the description of the spell, the DM must decide the level of the spell, its components, research time, and research cost. Setting a Spell's Level The level can be determined by comparing the spell to already existing ones. If the spell inflicts damage, its level should be within one or two of the number of dice of damage it causes--thus a spell which inflicts 5d6 points of damage should be about 3rd to 5th level. If the spell is an improvement of an existing spell, it should be at least two levels greater than that spell. If the spell is one of the other group (a priest researching a wizard's spell), it always should be at a higher level than it is in its natural group. Quite often it will also be less effective than the spell that inspired it. Determining Spell Components (Optional Rule) Spell components are limited only by your imagination, but should be tempered by the spell's power and usefulness. Spells with great power require significant or hard-to-find components. Spells of limited use need only fairly simple components. Indeed, one important type of spell research is to create a powerful spell with little in the way of components. Determining Research Time Research time requires the character be in good health. Further, he must refrain from adventuring while undertaking the study. During research, wizards study over old manuscripts and priests work at their devotions. The minimum amount of time needed to research a spell is two weeks per spell level. At the end of this time, a check is made. For wizards, this is the same as their chance to learn a spell (be sure to account for any specialization). For priests a Wisdom check is made. If this check succeeds, the character has researched the spell. If the check fails, the character must spend another week in study before making another check. This continues until the character either succeeds or gives up. The Cost of Spell Research Research also costs money. If the character has access to a wizard's laboratory or an appropriate place of worship, the cost of research is 100-1,000 gp per spell level. The DM can choose the actual cost or determine it randomly. It is best to base the cost on whatever the character can just barely afford (or slightly more). As such, the cost of research may vary greatly from campaign to campaign. Research costs are a very important incentive for player characters to go on adventures, gathering funds to support their studies. And, of course, a wizard who lacks a laboratory must come up with the cost of assembling one. Again, the cost of this should be just beyond what the player character can currently afford, perhaps 1,000 to 10,000 gp. Once the laboratory is assembled, it remains as part of the character's possessions. Priests who lack a proper place of worship can pay a similar cost (in donations or whatever) to prepare a small household shrine. Neither the laboratory nor the shrine is particularly portable. Adding a New Spell to the Spell Book Once a character has successfully researched a spell, it is added to his spell lists or spell books. Once researched, the spell is treated like a normal spell. The player character can choose to share the spell with others (although other wizards must roll to learn the spell) or keep it to himself. Researching Extra Wizard Spells (Optional Rule) Some DMs and players feel it is unfair that a wizard can't research a spell simply because he has as many spells of a particular level as he is allowed to have. The DM can allow a wizard to have spells in his spell book beyond the maximum allowed by the character's Intelligence--provided that character goes to the trouble of researching new spells. All the standard rules for spell research apply. In addition, the DM should allow only those new spells that the player himself has created. Players cannot use this as an excuse to add a spell they would otherwise not be able to learn. For example, say a player character has failed to learn the fireball spell before his book is filled. Although the player can still research and add new spells, he cannot do so for a fireball-type spell that inflicts 1d4 points of damage per level. The spells researched must be new and original--this forces players to be creative and involved. Beyond these restrictions, there is no limit to the number of spells a character can research at a given level. Chapter 8: Experience This chapter contains instructions for determining specific experience awards. It also gives guidelines about awarding experience in general. However, it does not provide absolute mathematical formulas for calculating experience in every situation. Awarding experience points (XP) is one of the DM's most difficult jobs. The job is difficult because there are only a few rules (and a lot of guidelines) for the DM to rely on. The DM must learn nearly everything he knows about experience points from running game sessions. There is no magical formula or die roll to determine if he is doing the right or wrong thing. Only time, instinct, and player reactions will tell. The Importance of Experience It is often said that the AD&D game is not a "winners-and-losers" game. This is true. The AD&D game is not a game in which one player wins at the expense of the others. But at the same time there is winning and losing, based on how well the group plays and how well it achieves the goals set for it. This does not mean that individuals in the group compete against each other (winning and losing) or that different groups of players compete against each other (as in football). If anything, an AD&D game player competes against himself. He tries to improve his role-playing and to develop his character every time he plays. Experience points are a measure of this improvement, and the number of points given a player for a game session is a signal of how well the DM thinks the player did in the game--a reward for good role-playing. As with any other reward system, there are potential problems. Too Little or Too Much? If the DM consistently gives too little experience to players, they become frustrated. Frustrated players don't have fun and, usually, quit the game. Even if they don't quit, players can develop an "It-doesn't-matter-what-I-do-so-why-bother" attitude. They stop trying to do their best, figuring they will only get a measly amount of experience whether they play their best or just coast along. On the other hand, players can be given too many experience points too quickly. Players in this situation develop an "It-doesn't-matter-what-I-do-because-I'm-going-to-win" attitude. They quit trying to be inventive and clever, and they just get by. Consequently, the DM must take care not to give characters too little experience or too much. The best approach is to vary the awards given from game to game, based on the actions of the characters. Players should be rewarded according to how hard they try and how well they accomplish various goals. Every game session should have a goal. Some goals are constant, applicable to any AD&D game. Others are dependent on the individual campaign, storyline, character levels, and specific adventure. All goals should be clear, understandable ones that players can see or decipher from clues they get during play. Constant Goals Three goals are constant--fun, character survival, and improvement. Each of these should be possible in a single game session. Fun Everyone gathered around an AD&D game table is playing a game. Games are entertainment, and entertainment is supposed to be fun. If the players don't have a good time playing in AD&D game sessions, it shows. Therefore, one of the goals of the AD&D game is to have fun. Much of the pressure to provide this elusive quality rests on the DM's shoulders, but the players can also contribute. When they do, players should be rewarded with experience points since they are making the game a good experience for all. The DM who doles out awards for adding to the fun will find more players making the effort to contribute. To give out experience points for fun the DM should consider the following: 1. Did the player actively get involved in the game? A player who does nothing but tell one funny joke during the course of the game isn't really participating. The DM should be careful, however, not to penalize players who are naturally shy. Involvement should be measured against a player's personality. 2. Did the player make the game fun for others or make fun at their expense? The second is not really deserving of any reward. 3. Was the player disrupting or interfering with the flow of the game? This is seldom enjoyable and tends to get on everyone's nerves quickly. 4. Was the player argumentative or a "rules lawyer?" These are players who can quote every rule in the game and try to use even the most obscure rules to their advantage, often to the detriment of the spirit of the game. This is definitely not fun for the DM, but the DM should allow a reasonable amount of disagreement with his decisions. Players will want (and should be allowed) to argue their views from time to time. However, rules arguments properly belong outside the actual game session. The DM should make a ruling for the moment and then hear appeals to his decision after the adventure. This way the game is not interrupted. Character Survival Although having a character live from game session to game session is a reward in itself, a player should also receive experience points when his character survives. Since there are many ways to bring a dead character back into the game, the threat of death, while present, loses some of its sting. Players should be encouraged to try to keep their characters alive, instead of relying on resurrections and wishes. To this end, a small reward for making it through a game session is useful. It is a direct way of telling a player that he played well. The amount given for survival should be balanced against what happened during the adventure. Player characters who survived because they did nothing dangerous or who have so many powers and hit points that they're nearly invulnerable do not deserve as many experience points as the character who survived sure death through the use of his wits. Likewise, characters who survived by sheer luck deserve less than those who survived because of sound strategy and tactics. Improvement Experience points are one measure of a character's improvement, and they translate directly into game mechanics. However, players should also improve by trying to play more intelligently at each session. As the players learn more about the game, the campaign, and role-playing, this should be reflected in their experience points. When a player thinks up a really good idea--solves a difficult puzzle, has his character talk the group out of a tight situation, or just finds a novel way around a problem--that's worth experience points. Players should be encouraged to use their brains and get involved. Variable Goals In addition to the constant goals listed above, every game session will have some variable goals. Most of these come from the adventure. Some may come from the players' desires. Both types can be used to spur players on to more effective role-playing. Story Goals Story goals are objectives the DM sets up for an adventure. Rescue the prince, drive away a band of marauding orcs, cleanse the haunted castle, find the assassin of the late queen, recover the lost Gee-Whiz wand to save the world--these are all story goals. When the DM sets up a story, he decides how many experience points he thinks the player characters should get for accomplishing the big goal. This must be based on just how difficult the whole adventure will be. If the characters successfully accomplish this goal (which is by no means guaranteed), they will earn this bonus experience. Sometimes the DM might not have a clear idea of what the goal of a particular adventure is. In such a case the players can sometimes provide the goal, or at least a clue. Listen to what they think they are supposed to do or what they want to do. These can then become the goal of the adventure. Again, assign experience points based on difficulty if they accomplish this. Experience Point Awards There are two categories of experience point awards: group and individual. Group awards are divided equally among all members of the adventuring party, regardless of each individual's contribution. The idea here is that simply being part of a group that accomplishes something teaches the player character something useful. From a strictly game mechanics point of view, this ensures that all player characters will have the opportunity to advance in experience points at roughly the same rate. Individual awards are optional, given to each player based on the actions of his character. Group Awards All characters earn experience for victory over their foes. There are two important things to bear in mind here. First, this award applies only to foes or enemies of the player characters--the monster or NPC must present a real threat. Characters never receive experience for the defeat of non-hostile creatures (rabbits, cattle, deer, friendly unicorns) or NPCs (innkeepers, beggars, peasants). Second, no experience is earned for situations in which the PCs have an overwhelming advantage over their foes. A 7th-level player character who needs one more experience point to advance in level can't just gather his friends together and hunt down a single orc. That orc wouldn't stand a chance, so the player character was never at any particular risk. If the same character had gone off on his own, thus risking ambush at the hands of a band of orcs, the DM could rule that the character had earned the experience. The DM must decide what constitutes a significant risk to the player characters. Often it is sufficient if the characters think they are in danger, even when they are not. Their own paranoia increases the risk (and enhances the learning experience). Thus, if the party runs into a band of five kobolds and becomes convinced that there are 50 more around the next corner, the imagined risk becomes real for them. In such a case, an experience point reward might be appropriate. The characters must be victorious over the creature, which is not necessarily synonymous with killing it. Victory can take many forms. Slaying the enemy is obviously victory; accepting surrender is victory; routing the enemy is victory; pressuring the enemy to leave a particular neck of the woods because things are getting too hot is a kind of victory. A creature needn't die for the characters to score a victory. If the player characters ingeniously persuade the dragon to leave the village alone, this is as much--if not more--a victory as chopping the beast into dragonburgers! Here's an example of experience point awards: Delsenora and Rath, along with their henchmen, have been hired to drive the orcs out of Wainwode Copse. After some scouting, they spring several ambushes on orc raiding parties. By the third shattering defeat, the orcs of Wainwode decide they've had enough. Leaving their village, they cross the range of hills that marks the boundary of the land and head off for easier pickings elsewhere. Although Delsenora and Rath have caused the orc village of 234 to leave, they only get the experience for overcoming the 35 they bested in ambushes. Although they did succeed in driving off the others, they did not face them and were thus not exposed to personal risk. Even if they had raided the orc village, the DM should only give them experience for those orcs they directly faced. If, in the village, they routed the guards, pursued them, and caused them to run again, they would only receive experience for the guards once during the course of the battle. Once beaten, the guards posed no significant threat to the party. However, Rath and Delsenora have accomplished their mission of driving out the orcs, making them eligible for the XP award for completing a story goal. To determine the number of XP to give for overcoming enemies, use Table 31. Find the Hit Dice of the creature on the table. Add the additional Hit Dice for special powers from Table 32 and find the adjusted Hit Dice. Add this number to the current Hit Dice value, so that a 1 + 1 Hit Die creature with +2 Hit Dice of special abilities becomes a 3 + 1 Hit Dice creature for calculation purposes. This formula produces an experience point value. Multiply this value by the number of creatures of that type defeated and add together all total values. The result is the total XP the group earns. It should be divided among all of the group's surviving player characters. Table 31: Creature Experience Point Values Hit Dice or Level XP Value Less than 1-1 7 1-1 to 1 15 1+1 to 2 35 2+1 to 3 65 3+1 to 4 120 4+1 to 5 175 5+1 to 6 270 6+1 to 7 420 7+1 to 8 650 8+1 to 9 975 9+1 to 10+ 1,400 11 to 12+ 2,000 13+ 3,000 + 1,000 per additional Hit Die over 13 Table 32: Hit Dice Value Modifiers Ability Hit Die Modifier Armor Class 0 or lower +1 Blood drain +1 Breath weapon +2 Causes disease +1 Energy drain +3 Flies +1 Four or more attacks a round +1 Greater than normal hit points +1 High Intelligence +1 Hit only by magical/silver weapons +1 Immunity to any spell +1 Immunity to any weapon, including 1/2 damage +1 Invisible at will +1 Level 2 or lower spells +1 Level 3 or greater spells, not cumulative with previous award +2 Magic resistance +2 Missile weapons +1 Multiple attacks causing 30+ points of damage +2 Paralysis +2 Petrification +3 Poison +2 Possesses magical items usable against PCs +1 Regeneration +1 Single attacking causing 20+ points of damage +2 Special defense form, unlisted +1 Special magical attack form, unlisted +2 Special non-magical attack form, unlisted +1 Swallows whole +2 Weakness or fear +2 For example, the player characters manage to defeat three orcs, a rust monster, and a green slime. Each orc is worth 15 XP, since they are one Hit Die each and have no special abilities. The rust monster is worth 420 XP. It has five Hit Dice but gains a bonus of +2 for a special magical attack form (rusting equipment). The green slime is worth 175 XP, since its base two Hit Dice are increased by 3 for a special non-magical attack form and immunity to most spells and weapons. The player characters divvy up a total of 640 XP. Not all powers and abilities are listed on Table 32. When dealing with a power not on the list, either use the special entries or compare the new power to one already defined. The other group award is that earned for the completion of an adventure. This award is determined by the DM, based on the adventure's difficulty. There is no formula to determine the size of this award, since too many variables can come into play. However, the following guidelines may help. The story award should not be greater than the experience points that can be earned defeating the monsters encountered during the adventure. Thus if the DM knows there are roughly 1,200 experience points worth of monsters, the story award should not exceed this amount. The story award should give a character no more than 1/10th the experience points he needs to advance a level. This way the character will have to undertake several adventures before he can advance to the next level. Within these guidelines you have a great deal of leeway. One of the most important uses of story awards is to maintain what you feel is the proper rate of advancement for player characters. By monitoring not just their levels, but also their experience point totals, you can increase or decrease the rate of character advancement through judicious use of story awards. Finally, you can award points on the basis of survival. The amount awarded is entirely up to you. However, such awards should be kept small and reserved for truly momentous occasions. Survival is its own reward. Since story and survival awards go hand in hand, you may be able to factor the survival bonus into the amount you give for completing the adventure. Once you have calculated all the experience points due your group of player characters (and you should do this, not your players), divide the total by the number of surviving and (at the DM's option) resurrected player characters. This is the amount each surviving character gets. Although characters who died during the course of an adventure normally earn no experience (one of the penalties of dying), you can allow a character to earn some experience for actions taken before he died, particularly if the character died nobly, through no fault of his own, or at the very end of the adventure. In such a case, it is simpler to give the character a flat award than to try to determine separate experience totals for those actions the character was involved in and those he was not. As an option, the DM can award XP for the cash value of non-magical treasures. One XP can be given per gold piece found. However, overuse of this option can increase the tendency to give out too much treasure in the campaign. Individual Experience Awards (Optional Rule) Individual experience point awards are given for things a player does or things he has his character do. Intelligent play is worth experience; good role-playing is worth experience; actions that fit the group's style are worth experience. Although some of these awards are tied to abilities, giving out these experience points is purely a discretionary act. It is up to the DM to decide if a player character has earned the award and, within a given range, to determine the amount of the award. These awards are normally given at the end of each session, but this isn't a hard-and-fast rule--the DM can award individual experience points any time he feels it appropriate. Individual experience point awards are divided into two categories. First are awards all player characters can earn, regardless of class. After these are the awards characters can earn according to their character group and class. This information is given on Tables 33 and 34. Table 33: Common Individual Awards Player has a clever idea 50-100 Player has an idea that saves the party 100-500 Player role-plays his character well* 100-200 Player encourages others to participate 100-200 Defeating a creature in a single combat XP value/creature *This award can be greater if the player character sacrifices some game advantage to role-play his character. A noble fighter who refuses a substantial reward because it would not be in character qualifies. Table 34: Individual Class Awards Award Warrior Per Hit Die of creature defeated 10 XP/level Priest Per successful use of a granted power 100 XP Spells cast to further ethos 100 XP/spell level* Making potion or scroll XP value Making permanent magical item XP value Wizard Spells cast to overcome foes or problems 50 XP/spell level Spells successfully researched 500 XP/spell level Making potion or scroll XP value Making permanent magical item XP value Rogue Per successful use of a special ability 200 XP Per gold piece value of treasure obtained 2 XP Per Hit Die of creatures defeated (bard only) 5 XP * The priest character gains experience for those spells which, when cast, support the beliefs and attitudes of his mythos. Thus, a priest of a woodland deity would not gain experience for using an entangle spell to trap a group of orcs who were attacking his party, since this has little to do with the woodlands. If the priest were to use the same spell to trap the same orcs just as they were attempting to set fire to the forest, the character would gain the bonus. When awarding individual experience points, be sure the use warrants the award. Make it clear to players that awards only will be given for the significant use of an ability or spell. "Significant use" is defined by a combination of several different factors. First, there must be an obvious reason to use the ability. A thief who simply climbs every wall he sees, hoping to gain the experience award, does not meet this standard. Second, there must be significant danger. No character should get experience for using his powers on a helpless victim. A fighter does not gain experience for clubbing a shackled orc. A mage does not gain experience for casting a house-cleaning cantrip. A thief does gain experience for opening the lock on a merchant's counting house, since it might be trapped or magical alarms might be triggered. Third, experience points should not be awarded when a player is being abusive to others in the group or attempting to use his abilities at the expense of others. Player characters should cooperate to succeed. When to Award Experience Points As a general guideline, experience points should be given at the end of every gaming session, while the DM still remembers what everyone did. If the awarding of experience points is delayed for several sessions, until the end of a given adventure, there is a chance the DM will overlook or forget what the characters did in previous gaming sessions. Despite this risk, it isn't always practical to award experience immediately. If the player characters are still in the heart of the dungeon when the gaming session ends, wait to award points until they return to the surface. The DM can rule that characters receive experience only when they have the opportunity to rest and tell others of their exploits. This means that characters collect experience when they return to their homes, stop at an inn, or the like. Since experience is, in part, increased confidence and comprehension of their own abilities and events, the retelling of the tale boosts the ego of the characters, and this translates into experience. Sometimes, even this rule is not applicable, however. For example, the player characters might be on a long journey through the desert and not see a settlement or friendly soul for weeks on end. In such cases, experience can be awarded after the characters have had time to reflect upon and analyze their accomplishments. This may be as short as overnight (for small experience awards) or as long as several days. If, for whatever reason, the DM decides not to award experience points at the end of a gaming session, he should be sure to calculate and record the number of experience points each character should receive for the session and not rely on his memory. Effects of Experience The prowess of player characters is measured in levels. Levels are earned through the accumulation of experience points. A separate table for each character group (shown in Chapter 3 of the Player's Handbook) tells how many experience points characters of that group need to attain each level. When a character earns enough experience to attain the next level for his character class, he immediately gains several benefits (unless the optional rules for training are used). The character gains an additional die of hit points, or a set number of hit points at higher levels. These are added to both his current total and his maximum number of hit points. The character may or may not improve in other abilities, including combat and saving throws, dependent upon his character class. Training (Optional Rule) Some DMs do not like the idea that a character can instantly advance in level simply by acquiring enough experience points. To their minds all improvement is associated with schooling, practice, and study. Others argue that characters are constantly doing these things to increase their ability so formal schooling is not required. Either case may be true. The DM might choose to require characters to train before they increase in level. To train, a character must have a tutor or instructor. This tutor must be of the same class and higher level than the one the character is training for. Thus, a 7th-level fighter training for 8th-level must be taught by a 9th-level or higher fighter. The tutor must also know the appropriate things. Fighters specialized in a given weapon must find a tutor also specialized in that weapon. Mages seeking to study a particular spell must find a tutor who knows that spell. A thief seeking to improve his lockpicking must find a higher-level tutor more accomplished in lockpicking. Since not all characters are suited to instructing others, any player character who attempts to train another must make both a Wisdom check and a Charisma check. If the Wisdom check is passed, the player character possesses the patience and insight to nurture the student. If the Charisma check is passed, the character also has the wit, firmness, and authority needed to impress the lessons on the student. If either check is failed, that character is close, but just not a teacher. If both checks are failed, the character has absolutely no aptitude for teaching. Alternatively, the DM can dispense with the die rolls and rule for each player character, based on his knowledge of that character's personality. It is assumed that all NPC tutors have successfully passed these checks. Second, the character must pay the tutor. There is no set amount for this. The tutor will charge what he thinks he can get away with, based on either greed or reputation. The exact cost must be worked out between player character and tutor, but an average of 100 gp per level pr week is not uncommon. Finally, the player character must spend time in training. The amount of time required depends on the instructor's Wisdom. Subtract the Wisdom score from 19. This is the minimum number of weeks the player character must spend in training--it takes his instructor this long to go through all the lessons and drills. At the end of this time, the player character makes an Intelligence or Wisdom check, whichever is higher. If the check is successful, the lessons have been learned and the character can advance in level. If the check is failed, the character must spend another week in training. At the end of this time, another check is made, with a +1 applied to the character's Intelligence or Wisdom score. The results are the same as above, with each additional week spent in training giving another +1 to the character's ability score. This +1 is for the purpose of determining the success or failure of the check only. It is not permanent or recorded. One obvious result of the training system is the development of different academies that specialize in training different character classes. Because of their importance in the adventuring community, these academies can become quite powerful in the lives of the player characters. Imagine the disastrous effect should one of the player characters be blacklisted by his appropriate academy. Although the DM should not abuse such power, the player characters should treat such institutions with care and respect. Rate of Advancement The AD&D game is intentionally very flexible concerning how slowly or quickly characters earn experience--in general, this is left to the discretion of the DM. Some players prefer a game of slow advancement, allowing them time to develop and explore imaginary personalities. Other players like a much faster pace and a definite feeling of progress. Each DM and his players will likely settle into a pace that best suits their group, without even realizing it. There is only one hard and fast rule concerning advancement. Player characters should never advance more than one level per time experience is awarded. If a gaming session ends and a character has earned enough experience points to advance two levels, the excess points are lost. The DM should give the character enough experience to place him somewhere between halfway and one point below the next highest level. An average pace in an AD&D game campaign is considered to be three to six adventures per level, with more time per level as the characters reach higher levels. However, it is possible to advance as quickly as one level per adventure or as slowly as 10 or more adventures per level. The DM should listen to his players. If the players are enjoying themselves and aren't complaining about "not getting anywhere," then things are fine. If, on the other hand, they grouse about how they never get any better or they're quickly reaching the highest levels in the game, the pace of advancement probably needs to be adjusted. This, like much that deals with awarding experience, may not come to a DM immediately. Let experience be your guide. Chapter 9: Combat The AD&D game is an adventure game designed to give players a feeling of excitement and danger. Characters brave the unknown perils of moldering dungeons and thorn-covered wilderness, facing hideous monsters and evil villains. Thus, it is important for all players to know the basic rules for handling combat. To create the proper sense of danger and excitement, the rules for combat must be thorough, but they also must be playable and exciting enough to create a vivid picture in the minds of the players. Combat in the AD&D game has to allow many different actions and outcomes--as many as the imagination can produce. Knowing that anything could happen next, because the rules allow it, creates excitement for everyone. Creating Vivid Combat Scenes Since this isn't a combat game, the rules are not ultra-detailed, defining the exact effect of every blow, the subtle differences between obscure weapons, the location of every piece of armor on the body, or the horrifying results of an actual sword fight. Too many rules slow down play (taking away from the real adventure) and restrict imagination. How much fun is it when a character, ready to try an amazing and heroic deed, is told, "You can't do that because it's against the rules." Players should be allowed to try whatever they want--especially if what they want will add to the spirit of adventure and excitement. Just remember that there is a difference between trying and succeeding. To have the most fun playing the AD&D game, don't rely only on the rules. Like so much in a good role-playing adventure, combat is a drama, a staged play. The DM is both the playwright and the director, creating a theatrical combat. If a character wants to try wrestling a storm giant to the ground, let him. And a character who tries leaping from a second floor window onto the back of a passing orc is adding to everyone's fun. The trick to making combat vivid is to be less concerned with the rules than with what is happening at each instant of play. If combat is only "I hit. I miss. I hit again," then something is missing. Combats should be more like, "One orc ducks under the table jabbing at your legs with his sword. The other tries to make a flying tackle, but misses and sprawls to the floor in the middle of the party!" This takes description, timing, strategy, humor, and--perhaps most important of all--knowing when to use the rules and when to bend them. More Than Just Hack-and-Slash As important as fighting is to the AD&D game, it isn't the be-all and end-all of play. It's just one way for characters to deal with situations. If characters could do nothing but fight, the game would quickly get boring. Every encounter would be the same. Because there is more to the game than fighting, we'll cover much more than simple hack-and-slash combat in this chapter. In addition to explaining the basic mechanics of hitting and missing, there are rules for turning undead, special ways to attack and defend, rules about poison, advice for handling heroic feats, and more. Definitions Many game terms are used throughout the combat rules. To understand the rules, players must understand these terms, so brief explanations appear below. Further details are provided throughout this chapter. Armor Class (AC) is the protective rating of a type of armor. In some circumstances, AC is modified by the amount of protection gained or lost because of the character's situation. For instance, crouching behind a boulder improves a character's Armor Class, while being attacked from behind worsens his AC. Abilities and situations can also affect a character's Armor Class. High Dexterity gives a bonus to Armor Class, for example. But even a character with a Dexterity bonus can have this bonus negated if he is attacked from the rear. Armor provides protection by reducing the chance that a character is attacked successfully (and suffers damage). Armor does not absorb damage, it prevents it. A fighter in full plate mail may be a slow-moving target, but penetrating his armor to cause any damage is no small task. Armor Class is measured on a scale from 10, the worst (no armor), to -10, the best (very powerful magical armors). The lower the number, the more effective the armor. Shields can also improve the AC of a character. Damage (D) is what happens to a character when an opponent attacks him successfully. Damage can also occur as a result of poison, fire, falling, acid, and anything even remotely dangerous in the real world. Damage from most attacks is measured in hit points. Each time a character is hit, he suffers points of damage. It could be as little as 1 point to as many as 80 or more. These points are subtracted from the character's current hit point total. When this total reaches 0, the character is dead. Initiative determines the order in which things happen in a combat round. Like so many things in the world, initiative is determined by a combination of ability, situation, and chance. At the start of each round of a battle, an initiative roll is made by both sides. This roll can be modified by the abilities of the combatants and by the situation. The person or side with the lower modified die roll acts first. Melee is any situation in which characters are battling each other hand-to-hand, whether with fists, teeth, claws, swords, axes, pikes, or something else. Strength and Dexterity are valuable assets in melee. Missile combat is defined as any time a weapon is shot, thrown, hurled, kicked, or otherwise propelled. Missile and melee combat have the same basic rules, but there are special situations and modifiers that apply only to missile combat. Saving throws are measures of a character's resistance to special types of attacks--poisons, magic, and attacks that affect the whole body or mind of the character. The ability to make successful saving throws improves as the character increases in level. Surprise can happen any time characters unexpectedly meet another group (monsters, evil knights, peasants, etc.). Surprise is simply what happens when one side--a person or party--is taken unawares, unable to react until they gather their wits. Their opponents, if unsurprised, are allowed a bonus round of action while the surprised characters recover. It's entirely possible for both sides in a given situation to be surprised! Attacking with surprise gives bonuses to the attack roll (see Table 35). A surprised character also has a decreased chance of rolling a successful saving throw, if one is needed. Surprise is determined by a die roll and is normally checked at the beginning of an encounter. Surprise is very unpredictable, so there are very few modifiers to the roll. THAC0 is an acronym for "To Hit Armor Class 0." This is the number a character, NPC, or monster needs to attack an Armor Class 0 target successfully. THAC0 depends on a character's group and level or a monster's Hit Dice (see Tables 37-39). The THAC0 number can be used to calculate the number needed to hit any Armor Class. THAC0 is refigured each time a character increases in level. Using THAC0 speeds the play of combat greatly. The Attack Roll At the heart of the combat system is the attack roll. This is the die roll that determines whether an attack succeeds or fails. The number a player needs to make a successful attack roll is also called the "to-hit" number. Attack rolls are used for attacks with swords, bows, rocks, and other weapons, as well as blows from fists, tackling, and various hand-to-hand attacks. Attack rolls are also used to resolve a variety of actions that require accuracy (e.g., throwing a rock at a small target or tossing a sword to a party member in the middle of a fight). Figuring the To-Hit Number The first step in making an attack roll is to find the number needed to hit the target. Subtract the Armor Class of the target from the attacker's THAC0. Remember that if the Armor Class is a negative number, you add it to the attacker's THAC0. The character has to roll the resulting number, or higher, on 1d20 to hit the target. Here's a simple example: Rath has reached 7th level as a fighter. His THAC0 is 14 (found on Table 38), meaning he needs to roll a 14 or better to hit a character or creature of Armor Class 0. In combat, Rath, attacking an orc wearing chainmail armor (AC 6), needs to roll an 8 (14-6 = 8). An 8 or higher on 1d20 will hit the orc. If Rath hits, he rolls the appropriate dice (see Table 44 in the Player's Handbook) to determine how much damage he inflicts. Modifiers to the Attack Roll The example above is quite simple. In a typical AD&D game combat situation, THAC0 is modified by weapon bonuses, Strength bonuses, and the like. Figure Strength weapon modifiers, subtract the total from the base THAC0, and record this modified THAC0 for each weapon on the character sheet. Subtract the target's Armor Class from this modified THAC0 when determining the number needed to attack successfully. Here's the same example, with some common modifiers thrown in: Rath is still a 7th-level fighter. He has a Strength of 18/80 (which gives him a +2 bonus to his attack roll). He fights with a long sword +1. His THACO is 14, modified to 12 by his Strength and to 11 by his weapon. If attacking the orc from the earlier example, Rath would have to roll a 5 or higher on 1d20 in order to hit (11-6=5). Again, Table 44 in the Player's Handbook would tell him how much damage he inflicts with his weapon (this information should also be written on his character sheet). In combat, many factors can modify the number a character needs for a successful hit. These variables are reflected in modifiers to the to-hit number or to the attack roll. Strength Modifiers: A character's Strength can modify the die roll, altering both the chance to hit and the damage caused. This modifier is always applied to melees and attacks with hurled missile weapons (a spear or an axe). A positive Strength modifier can be applied to bows if the character has a special bow made for him, designed to take advantage of his high Strength. Characters with Strength penalties always suffer them when using a bow. They simply are not able to draw back the bowstring far enough. Characters never have Strength modifiers when using crossbows--the power of the shot is imparted by a machine. Magical Items: The magical properties of a weapon can also modify combat. Items that impart a bonus to the attack roll or Armor Class are identified by a plus sign. For example, a sword +1 improves a character's chance to hit by one. A suit of chain mail +1 improves the Armor Class of the character by one (which means you subtract one from the character's AC, changing an AC of 5 to an AC of 4, for example). Cursed items have a negative modifier (a penalty), resulting in a subtraction from the attack roll or an addition to Armor Class. There is no limit to the number of modifiers that can be applied to a single die roll. Nor is there a limit to the positive or negative number (the total of all modifiers) that can be applied to a die roll. Table 35 lists some standard combat modifiers. Positive numbers are bonuses for the attacker; negative numbers are penalties. Table 35: Combat Modifiers Situation Attack Roll Modifier Attacker on higher ground +1 Defender invisible -4 Defender off-balance +2 Defender sleeping or held Automatic* Defender stunned or prone +4 Defender surprised +1 Missile fire, long range -5 Missile fire, medium range -2 Rear attack +2 * If the defender is attacked during the course of a normal melee, the attack automatically hits and causes normal damage. If no other fighting is going on (i.e., all others have been slain or driven off), the defender can be slain automatically. The DM can also throw in situational modifiers, (e.g., a bonus if the target is struck from behind, or a penalty if the target is crouching behind a boulder). If the final, modified die roll on 1d20 is equal to or greater than the number needed to hit the target, the attack succeeds. If the roll is lower than that needed, the attack fails. Weapon Type vs. Armor Modifiers (Optional Rule) Not all weapons perform the same. If they did, there would be no need for the wide variety of weapons that exist. Only one form of each weapon-type, the most useful one, would be used throughout the world. This is obviously not the case. Aside from the differences in size, weight, length, and shape, certain types of weapons are more useful against some types of armor than others. Indeed, the different armors and weapons of the world are the result of an ancient arms race. Every new weapon led to the development of a new type of armor designed to counter it. This led to new weapons, which led to new armor, and so on. The Various Types of Weapons In the AD&D game, weapons fall into several categories, based on how they are used. The three basic categories are slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning. Slashing weapons include swords, axes, and knives. Damage is caused by the combination of weight, muscle, and a good sharp edge. Piercing weapons (some swords, spears, pikes, arrows, javelins, etc.) rely on the penetrating power of a single sharp point and much less on the weight of the weapon. Bludgeoning weapons (maces, hammers, and flails) depend almost entirely on the impact caused by weight and muscle. A few weapons, particularly some of the more exotic pole arms, fall into more than one of these categories. A halberd can be used as a pole-axe (a slashing weapon) or as a short pike (a piercing weapon). The versatility of these weapons provides the user with a combat advantage in that the mode most favorable to the attacker can be used, depending upon the situation. Natural weapons can also be classified according to their attack type. Claws are slashing weapons; a bite pierces; a tail-attack bludgeons. The DM must decide which is most appropriate to the creature and method of attack. Armor types, in turn, have different qualities. Field plate is more effective, overall, than other armors by virtue of the amount and thickness of the metal. But it still has weaknesses against certain classes of weapons. Table 36 lists the weapon vs. armor modifiers applied to the attacker's THAC0, if this optional system is used. To use this table, the actual armor type of the target must be known. The bonuses of magical armor do not change the type of armor, only the final Armor Class. This system is used only when attacking creatures in armor. The modifiers are not used when attacking creatures with a natural Armor Class. Table 36: Weapon Type Vs. Armor Modifiers Armor Type Slash Pierce Bludgeon Banded mail +2 0 +1 Brigandine +1 +1 0 Chain mail* +2 0 -2 Field plate +3 +1 0 Full plate +4 +3 0 Leather armor** 0 -2 0 Plate mail +3 0 0 Ring mail +1 +1 0 Scale mail 0 +1 0 Splint mail 0 +1 +2 Studded leather +2 +1 0 * Includes bronze plate mail ** Includes padded armor and hides Impossible To-Hit Numbers Sometimes the attacker's to-hit number seems impossible to roll. An attack might be so difficult it requires a roll greater than 20 (on a 20-sided die), or so ridiculously easy it can be made on a roll less than 1. In both cases, an attack roll is still required. The reason is simple: With positive die roll modifiers (for magic, Strength, situation, or whatever), a number greater than 20 can be rolled. Likewise, die roll penalties can push the attack roll below 0. No matter what number a character needs to hit, a roll of 20 is always considered a hit and a roll of 1 is always a miss--unless the DM rules otherwise. Under most circumstances, a natural 20 hits and a natural 1 misses, regardless of any modifiers applied to the die roll. Thus, even if a character's chance to hit a monster is 23 and the character has a -3 penalty applied to the die roll, he might be able to score a hit--but only if the die roll is a 20 before any modifiers are applied. Likewise, a character able to hit a monster on a 3 or better, waving a sword +4, could still miss if a 1 is rolled on the die. There are no sure things, good or bad, in the unpredictable chaos of combat situations. Calculating THAC0 To make an attack roll, the character's THAC0 must be known. This depends on the group and level, if the attacker is a player character or NPC, or the Hit Dice if the attacker is a monster or an animal. All 1st-level characters have THAC0s of 20. For a character of level 1 through level 20, consult Table 38. This table lists the THAC0 number of each group through 20th level, so players don't have to perform any calculations. For a character higher than 20th level, find the Improvement Rate for the character's group in Table 37. There you'll find the number of levels a character must advance to reduce his THAC0 by 1 or more points. Calculate the character's THAC0 according to his level. A priest, for example, improves by two for every three levels he advances. A 5th level cleric would have a THAC0 of 18. A rogue (a thief or bard) improves one point every two levels. A 17th-level rogue would have a THAC0 of 12. Table 38 lists the THAC0 number of each group at each level. Creatures do not have character classes and levels, so they calculate THAC0s differently, basing it on the Hit Dice of the creature. Table 39 lists the THAC0 number for monsters having various numbers of Hit Dice. When a creature has three or more points added to its Hit Dice, count another die when consulting the table. Table 37: THAC0 Advancement Group Improvement Rate Points/Level Priest 2/3 Rogue 1/2 Warrior 1/1 Wizard 1/3 Table 38: CALCULATED THAC0S Level Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Priest 20 20 20 18 18 18 16 16 16 14 14 14 12 12 12 10 10 10 8 8 Rogue 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 Warrior 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Wizard 20 20 20 19 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 14 14 Table 39: Creature THAC0 Hit Dice 1/2 or less 1-1 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7+ 8+ 9+ 10+ 11+ 12+ 13+ 14+ 15+ 16+ 20 20 19 19 17 17 15 15 13 13 11 11 9 9 7 7 5 5 Combat and Encounters Encounters are the heart of the AD&D game. And since encounters with monsters and NPCs often lead to combat, an understanding of what happens during battles is vital. There are several factors the DM will consider in any combat, most of which arise from the circumstances of the encounter. Is anyone surprised? How far apart are the opponents? How many of them are there? Answers to these questions are found in Chapter 11: Encounters. These are questions common to all encounters, whether combat occurs. The Combat Round If an encounter escalates into a combat situation, the time scale of the game automatically goes to rounds (also called melee rounds, or combat rounds). Rounds are used to measure the actions of characters in combat or other intensive actions in which time is important. A round is approximately one minute. Ten combat rounds equal a turn (or, put another way, a turn equals 10 minutes of game time). This is particularly important to remember for spells that last for turns, rather than rounds. But these are just approximations--precise time measurements are impossible to make in combat. An action that might be ridiculously easy under normal circumstances could become an undertaking of truly heroic scale when attempted in the middle of a furious, chaotic battle. Imagine the simple act of imbibing a healing potion. First a character decides to drink the potion before retiring for the night. All he has to do is get it out of his backpack, uncork it, and drink the contents. No problem. Now imagine the same thing in the middle of a fight. The potion is safely stowed in the character's backpack. First he takes stock of the situation to see if anyone else can get the potion out for him. However, not surprisingly, everyone is rather busy. So, sword in one hand, he shrugs one strap of the pack off his shoulder. Then, just as two orcs leap toward him, the other strap threatens to slip down, entangling his sword arm. Already the loose strap keeps him from fully using his shield. Holding the shield as best as possible in front of him, he scrambles backward to avoid the monsters' wild swings. He gets pushed back a few more feet when a companion shoulders past to block and give him a little time. So he kneels, lays down his sword, and slips the backpack all the way off. Hearing a wild cry, he instinctively swings up his shield just in time to ward off a glancing blow. Rummaging through the pack, he finally finds the potion, pulls it out, and, huddling behind his shield, works the cork free. Just then there is a flash of flame all around him--a fireball! He grits his teeth against the heat, shock, and pain and tries not to crush or spill the potion vial. Biting back the pain of the flames, he is relieved to see the potion is intact. He quickly gulps it down, reclaims his sword, kicks his backpack out of the way, and runs back up to the front line. In game terms, the character withdrew, was missed by one attacker, made a successful saving throw vs. spell (from the fireball spell), drank a potion, and was ready for combat the next round. What You Can Do in One Round Whatever the precise length of a combat round, a character can accomplish only one basic action in that round, be it making an attack, casting a spell, drinking a potion, or tending to a fallen comrade. The basic action, however, may involve several lesser actions. When making an attack, a character is likely to close with his opponent, circle for an opening, feint here, jab there, block a thrust, leap back, and perhaps finally make a telling blow. A spellcaster might fumble for his components, dodge an attacker, mentally review the steps of the spell, intone the spell, and then move to safety when it is all done. It already has been shown what drinking a potion might entail. All of these things could happen in a bit less than a minute or more, but the standard is one minute and one action to the round. Some examples of the actions a character can accomplish include the following:  Make an attack (make attack rolls up to the maximum number allowed the character class at a given level)  Cast one spell (if the casting time is one round or less)  Drink a potion  Light a torch  Use a magical item  Move to the limit of his movement rate  Attempt to open a stuck or secret door  Bind a character's wounds  Search a body  Hammer in a spike  Recover a dropped weapon There are also actions that take a negligible amount of time, things the character does without affecting his ability to perform a more important task. Examples of these include the following:  Shout warnings, brief instructions, or demands for surrender--but not conversations where a reply is expected.  Change weapons by dropping one and drawing another.  Drop excess equipment, such as backpacks, lanterns, or torches. The Combat Sequence In real life, combat is one of the closest things to pure anarchy. Each side is attempting to harm the other, essentially causing disorder and chaos. Thus, combats are filled with unknowns--unplanned events, failed attacks, lack of communication, and general confusion and uncertainty. However, to play a battle in the game, it is necessary to impose some order on the actions. Within a combat round, there is a set series of steps that must be followed. These are: 1. The DM decides what actions the monsters or NPCs will take, including casting spells, if any. 2. The players indicate what their characters will do, including and casting of spells. 3. Initiative is determined. 4. Attacks are made in order of initiative. These steps are followed until the combat ends--either one side is defeated, surrenders, or runs away. NPC/Monster Determination: In the first step, the DM secretly decides in general terms what each opponent will do, such as attack, flee, or cast a spell. He does not announce his decisions to the players. If a spell is to be cast, the DM picks the spell before the players announce their characters' actions. Player Determination: Next, the players give a general indication of what their characters are planning to do. This does not have to be perfectly precise and can be changed somewhat if the DM decides that circumstances warrant. If the characters are battling goblins, a player can say, "My fighter will attack" without announcing which goblin he will strike. If the characters are battling a mixed group of goblins and ogres, the player has to state whether his character is attacking goblins or ogres. Spells to be cast must also be announced at this time and cannot be changed once the initiative die is rolled. In any situation where the abilities of a character could make a difference, a clear description must be given. Before moving on, the DM will make sure he has a clear idea of not only what the player characters are doing, but also what actions any hirelings and henchmen are taking. Once he has a clear view of everything that's likely to happen, the DM can overrule any announced action that violates the rules (or in the case of an NPC, is out of character). He is not required to overrule an impossible action, but he can let a character attempt it anyway, knowing full well the character cannot succeed. It is not the DM's position to advise players on the best strategies, most intelligent actions, or optimum maneuvers for their characters. Initiative: In the third step, dice are rolled to determine initiative, according to the rules for initiative. Resolution: In the last step, PCs, NPCs, and monsters make their attacks, spells occur, and any other actions are resolved according to the order of initiative. The above sequence is not immutable. Indeed, some monsters violate the standard sequence, and some situations demand the application of common sense. In these cases the DM's word is final. Here's an example of the combat sequence in action: Rath is leading a party through the corridors of a dungeon. Right behind him are Rupert and Delsenora. Rounding a bend, they see a group of orcs and trolls about 20 feet away. No one is surprised by the encounter. The DM has notes telling him that the orcs are hesitant. He secretly decides that they will fall back and let the trolls fight. The trolls, able to regenerate, are naturally overconfident and step forward to the front rank (cursing the orcs at the same time). Turning to the players, the DM asks, "What are you going to do?" Harry (playing Rath, a dwarf who hates orcs: "Orcs?--CHARGE!" Anne (playing Delsenora the Mage): "Uh, what!? Wait. Don't do that . . . I was going to . . . now I can't use a fireball spell." DM: "Rath is charging forward. Quick--what are you doing?" Jon (playing Rupert, the half-elf, to Anne): "Cast a spell! (To DM) Can I fire my bow over him?" DM: "Sure, he's short." Jon: "OK, I'll shoot at orcs." DM: "Anne, tell me what Delsenora's doing or she'll lose the round trying to make up her mind." Anne: "Got it! My acid arrow spell at the lead troll." DM: "Fine. Harry, Rath is in front. Roll for initiative." Initiative The initiative roll determines who acts first in any given combat round. Initiative is not set, but changes from round to round--combat being an uncertain thing, at best. A character never knows for certain if he will get to act before another. Initiative is normally determined with a single roll for each side in a conflict. This tells whether all the members of the group get to act before or after those of the other side. There are also two optional methods that can be used to determine initiative. Each of these optional methods breaks the group action down into more individual initiatives. However, the general method of determining initiative remains the same in all cases. Standard Initiative Procedure To determine the initiative order for a round of combat, roll 1d10 for each side in the battle. Normally, this means the DM rolls for the monsters or NPCs, while one of the players rolls for the PC party. Low roll wins initiative. If more than two sides are involved in combat, the remaining sides act in ascending order of initiative. If both or all sides roll the same number for initiative, everything happens simultaneously--all attack rolls, damage, spells, and other actions are completed before any results are applied. It is possible for a mage to be slain by goblins who collapse from his sleep spell at the end of the round. Initiative Modifiers Situational factors can affect who has initiative. To reflect this, modifiers are added to or subtracted from the initiative die roll. Table 40: Standard Modifiers to Initiative Situation Modifier Hasted -2 Slowed +2 On higher ground -1 Set to receive a charge -2 Wading or slippery footing +2 Wading in deep water +4 Foreign environment* +6 Hindered (tangled, climbing) +3 Waiting (Player's Handbook) +1 * This applies to situations in which the party is in a different environment (swimming underwater without the aid of a ring of free movement, for example). Everyone in the party who will be involved in the round's action must qualify for the modifier. For example, all members of a party must be on higher ground than the opposition to get the higher ground modifier. The DM should ask each player where his character is standing for clarification. The side with the lowest modified roll on 1d10 has the initiative and acts first. Continuing the example above, the DM decides that one initiative roll is sufficient for each group and no modifiers are needed. Although Rath is charging, the orcs and trolls are too busy rearranging their lines to be set to receive his charge. Therefore, the -2 to receive charge is not used. Harry, rolling for the player characters, gets a 7 on a 10-sided die. The DM rolls a 10. The player characters, having the lowest number, act first. Delsenora's acid arrow strikes one of the trolls just as Rath takes a swing at the last of the fleeing orcs. A bowshot from Rupert drops another one of the creatures as it takes its position in the second rank. Now the monsters strike back. The orcs manage to finish forming their line. Enraged by the acid, the lead troll tears into Rath, hurting him badly. The others swarm around him, attempting to tear him limb from limb. Table 41: Optional Modifiers to Initiative Situation Modifier Attacking with weapon Weapon speed Breath weapon +1 Casting a spell Casting time Creature size (monsters with natural weapons only)* Tiny 0 Small +3 Medium +3 Large +6 Huge +9 Gargantuan +12 Innate spell ability +3 Magical items** Miscellaneous magic +3 Potion +4 Ring +3 Rods +1 Scroll Casting time of spell Stave +2 Wand +3 * This applies only to creatures fighting with natural weapons--claws, bites, etc. Creatures using weapons use the speed factor of the weapon, regardless of the creature's size. ** Use the initiative modifier listed unless the item description says otherwise. Group Initiative (Optional Rule) Some people believe that using a single initiative roll for everyone on the same side is too unrealistic. It is, admittedly, a simplification, a way to keep down the number of die rolls required in a single round. But it allows for much faster combat. However, the actions of different characters, the types of weapons they use, and the situation can all be factors in determining initiative. Using this optional method, one initiative die roll is made for each side in the fight. However, more modifiers are applied to this roll, according to the actions of individual characters. These modifiers are listed on Table 41. Some of the modifiers depend on ability, spell, and weapon. Characters casting spells (but not monsters using innate abilities) must add the spellcasting time to the die roll. Characters attacking with weapons add the weapons' speed factors to the die roll (see the Player's Handbook for information on speed factors). All other modifiers are applied according to each individual's situation. In the second round of the combat, the DM decides to use the modified group initiative. Rath is surrounded by trolls, and he is not in the best of health. The rest of the party has yet to close with the monsters. The DM decides that one troll will continue attacking Rath, with the help of the orcs, while the other trolls move to block reinforcements. In particular, the troll burned by the acid arrow is looking for revenge. The DM then turns to the players for their actions. Players (all at once): "I'm going to . . ." "Is he going? .. ." "I'm casting a . . ." DM (shouting): "One at a time! Rath?" Harry: "I'll blow my horn of blasting." DM: "It'll take time to dig it out." Harry: "I don't care, I'm doing it." Jon: "Draw my sword and attack one of the trolls!" DM: "Anne?" Anne (not paying attention to the other two): "Cast a fireball spell." Harry and Jon: "NO! DON'T!" DM: "Well, is that what you're doing? Quickly!" Anne: "No, I'll cast a haste spell! Centered on me, so Rupert and Rath are just at the edge and are caught in the spell, too." DM: "Okay. Harry, roll initiative and everyone modify for your actions." Harry rolls 1d10 and gets a 6. The DM rolls for the monsters and gets a 5. Each person's initiative is modified as follows: Rath is using a miscellaneous magical item (modifier +3). His modified initiative is 9 (6 + 3 = 9). Rupert is using a bastard sword +1 with two hands (weapons speed 7 instead of 8 because of the +1). His modified initiative is 13 (6 + 7 = 13). Delsenora is casting a haste spell (casting time 3). Her modified initiative is the same as Rath's, 9. The trolls are attacking with their claws and bites--large creatures attacking with natural weapons +6. Their modified initiative is 11 (5 + 6 = 11). The orcs are using long swords (weapon speed 5). Their modified initiative is 10 (5 + 5 = 10). After all modified initiatives are figured, the combat round goes as follows: Delsenora (initiative 9) completes her spell at the same time that Rath (9) brings the house down on the orcs with his horn of blasting. After all modified initiatives are figured, the combat round goes as follows: Delsenora (initiative 9) completes her spell at the same time that Rath (9) brings the house down on the orcs with his horn of blasting. The orcs (initiative 10) would have gone next, but all of them have been crushed under falling rock. The three trolls (initiative 11) are unfazed and attack, one at Rath and the other two springing forward, hitting Delsenora and missing Rupert. Finally, Rupert (initiative 13) strikes back. He moved too slowly to block one troll's path to Delsenora, but manages to cut off the second. Things look very grim for the player characters. Individual Initiative (Optional Rule) This method of determining initiative is the same as that given earlier, except that each PC, NPC, and monster involved in the fight rolls and then modifies his own initiative. This gives combat a more realistic feel, but at the expense of quick play. To players, it may not seem like too much for each to roll a separate initiative die, but consider the difficulties: Imagine a combat between six player characters (each controlled by a player) and five hirelings and henchmen against 16 hobgoblins and five ogres (all of which must be rolled by the DM). In addition, each die roll must be modified, according to each individual's actions. The resulting rolls make every combat round a major calculation. This method is not recommended for large-scale combats. It is best used with small battles in which characters on the same side have vastly different speeds. In the third round of combat, the DM decides to use individual initiatives. Each character is involved in his own fight. Cut off from retreat by fallen rock, the trolls attack. The DM asks the players their intentions. Harry: "Hit him with my hammer +4!" Rupert: "Chop him up." Anne (now in serious trouble): "Cast a burning hands spell." Each character or monster now rolls 1d10. The rolls and modified results are: Rath rolls a 2 and is attacking with his hammer (weapon speed 0 instead of 4 due to +4) and is hasted (-2), so his modified initiative is 0. Rath's troll rolls a 1 and is attacking with natural weapons (+6 modifier) for a total of 7 (1 + 6 = 7). Rupert rolls a 2 and has a weapon speed of 7 and is hasted (-2) for a modified initiative of 7 (2 + 7 - 2 = 7). Rupert's troll rolls a 5 and modifies this by +6 for an 11 (5 + 6 = 11). Delsenora is very unlucky and rolls a 9. Since she is casting a spell, she gains no benefit form the haste spell this round, as the haste enchantment only affects movement. She has a casting time of 1 for a total of 10 (9 + 1 = 10). The troll fighting Delsenora is very quick and rolls a 1, modified to 7 (1 = 6 = 7). The order of attacks: Rath (initiative 0) strikes with his hammer. Rupert and the two trolls (attacking Rath and Delsenora, all initiative 7) attack immediately after. Rupert hits. The troll attacking Rath misses, but Delsenora is hit. Delsenora's spell (initiative 10) would normally happen next, but instead it fizzles. Her concentration was ruined by the blow from the troll. Next, Rupert's troll attacks and misses. Because of the haste spell, Rath and Rupert now attack again (in order of initiative), Rath first, then Rupert. Multiple Attacks and Initiative Combat may involve creatures or characters able to attack more than once in a single round. This may be due to multiple attack forms (claws and bite), skill with a weapon, or character level. No matter what the reason, all multiple attacks are handled by one of two methods. When multiple attacks result from different attack forms--for example claws and a bite or bite and tail, or a ranger with his two-weapon combat ability--the attacks occur at the same time. The creature resolves all of its attacks in initiative order. When the attacks are true multiples--using the same weapon more than once--as in the case of a highly skilled fighter, the attacks are staggered. Everyone involved in the combat completes one action before the second (or subsequent) attack roll is made. Take, for example, a fighter who can attack twice per round, and say he's battling creatures that can only make one attack. The fighter wins initiative. He makes his first attack according to the rolled initiative order. Then each creature gets its attack. Finally, the fighter gets his second attack. If fighters on both sides in a battle were able to attack twice in a round, their first attacks would occur according to the initiative roll. Their second attacks would come after all other attacks, and would then alternate according to the initiative roll. As an option, a warrior fighting creatures with less than one Hit Die (1-1 or lower) can make a number of attacks equal to his level (i.e., a 7th-level fighter can make seven attacks). These attacks are handled in order of initiative. Spellcasting and Initiative Casting times for spells can modify initiative rolls, creating a realistic delay for the spellcaster. When a spell's "casting time" parameter is given as a number without any units (e.g., rounds or turns), then that number is added to the caster's initiative roll to determine his modified initiative. When a spell requires a round or more to cast, a normal initiative roll is not made--a spell requiring one round to cast takes effect at the end of the current round, after all other actions are completed. Spells that require more than one round to cast involve some bookkeeping. The DM or one of the players must keep track of the rounds spent in casting. If the spellcasting character is disturbed during this time, the spell is lost. If all goes well, the spell takes effect at the very end of the last round of the required casting time. Thus, a spell requiring 10 minutes to cast would require 10 combat rounds, and wouldn't take effect until the very end of the 10th round. Weapon Speed and Initiative (Optional Rule) Each time a character swings a weapon, he places himself out of position to make his next attack. Swinging a hammer is not as simple as tapping in a nail. A warhammer is heavy. Swing it in one direction and it pulls in that direction. It has to be brought under control and repositioned before it can be swung again. The user must regain his balance and plant his feet firmly. Only after doing all this is he ready for his next attack. Compare how quickly someone can throw a punch to the amount of time required to swing a chair to get a good idea of what weapon speed factors are about. Weapon speed factors slow the speed of a character's attack. The higher the weapon speed factor, the heavier, clumsier, or more limited the weapon is. For the most part, weapon speed factors apply to all creatures using manufactured weapons. The speed factor of a weapon is added to the initiative roll of the character to get his modified initiative roll. Thus, if the DM decides to use weapon speed factors for player characters, they also should be used for giants, orcs, centaurs, and the like. Otherwise the DM isn't being fair to the players. However, creatures with natural weapons are not affected by weapon speed. Their attacks are natural extensions of their bodies, giving them much faster recovery and reaction times. Magical Weapon Speeds Magical weapons are easier to wield in combat than ordinary ones. Maybe the weapon is lighter or better balanced than normal; maybe it just pulls the character into the proper position of its own volition. Whatever the cause, each bonus point conferred by a magical weapon reduces the speed factor of that weapon by 1. (A sword +3 reduces the weapon speed factor by 3, for example.) When a weapon has two bonuses, the lesser one is used. No weapon can have a speed factor of less than 0. Attacking Once characters decide to attack and the order of initiative has been determined, it is time to resolve all the action. Many factors must be considered in each attack: How many people can surround a character? Will a shield block an attack from the rear? Can a character run across a chamber, dodging attackers, in a single round? Can a character win without killing his foe? Is it possible to block an attack? Although the mechanics of combat are very simple, there are many different and unusual situations that come up during role-playing battles. Every battle is unique. One key to DMing memorable combat scenes is to remember that not every situation can be anticipated; you just have to combine the rules here with good judgment. Number of Attackers There is a limit to how many attackers can surround a single target. Many factors come into play, notably the relative size of the opponent, the length of the weapons used, and physical obstructions in the area. The obstructions will vary from battlefield to battlefield. Facing Each character or creature is assumed to have a front, flanks, and rear. When creatures of equal size are battling, up to six can surround a single figure. Normally, a defender attempts to keep his opponents in sight. Thus, if there are no special circumstances (such as a thief moving silently behind the defender), opponents first occupy the front, then the flanks, and finally the rear. It's assumed that the defender will try to keep attackers from getting around him. The diagram and description apply only when combat involves creatures of the same size. If the attacker is one size greater than the defenders, he occupies two spaces on the diagram. For creatures two sizes or more larger (small creatures attacking a large one, for example), the attacker occupies four spaces. Thus, a hill giant attacking Horace the fighter would fill two of the spaces, allowing only four orcs to join the attack. If there were two giants attacking, only two orcs could join the combat. When attacking a small creature, one giant and two orcs could make the attack. Any more than this and the attackers would just get in each other's way. Weapon Length The actual size of a weapon has little to do with the space needed to wield it. An awl pike is 12 to 20 feet long, yet since it is a thrusting weapon it needs virtually no space side-to-side. It does, however, need that 12 to 20 feet in front! A sabre and a battle-axe are about the same size, but the battle axe requires more space--the sabre can be thrust straight forward into a narrower space, while the battle axe must be swung mightily, which takes a lot of space. The DM must decide whether a character has enough space to use a particular weapon in a particular setting and situation. As a guideline, the AD&D rules assume that two fighters using swords can work side-by-side in a 10-foot-wide area. The same space would be filled by one fighter using a two-handed sword. Position of Attackers and Attack Rolls Besides determining the number of attackers a single character can face, the relative positions of attackers affect the chance to hit. Characters attacked from the rear do not gain their Dexterity-based Armor Class bonus, and their attacker gains a +2 bonus to his attack roll. There might also be penalties if the optional Shields and Weapon Frontage rule is used. Pole Arms and Weapon Frontage (Optional Rule) Pole arms and similar thrusting weapons are designed primarily for use in highly specialized formations. The average length of these weapons--12 to 20 feet--makes their use in individual combat silly, if not futile. An opponent can easily slip inside the reach of the pole arm, at which point the poor pikeman can only try to back up or drop his weapon. Little else is likely to be effective. However, if the same man with a pike is lined up with 30 of his fellows in a nice tight formation, he suddenly becomes very dangerous. Where one pikeman presented only a lone spear point, 30 pikemen present a deadly thicket. The pole arm's big advantage is the small frontage each man needs to be effective. A man using a piercing pole arm can use his weapon effectively with just three feet of space, side-to-side. This allows a tightly packed line of pikemen. In a group, men armed with pole arms should be set for defense or advancing slowly (1/4 normal movement rate). They automatically make their attack rolls prior to any opponent attempting to close with them. However, after the first round of combat any surviving opponents are inside the reach of the pole arms and the pikemen must drop their pikes and draw weapons more suitable for close-in work. Shields and Weapon Frontage (Optional Rule) A shield is an item of limited size, strapped to only one arm or slung on a character's back. Characters generally position a shield so it offers maximum protection. Usually, this means it protects the shield-arm side of the body, most frequently the left side of a right-handed character. In this position, attacks from the rear or rear flanks of the character can't be blocked by a shield. In these cases, the shield's AC bonus is not applied to the THAC0. It is possible to strap a shield to one's back. If this is done, the shield bonus is applied to the rear of the character, but the character can't use the shield to protect his front. Furthermore, the straps hinder the character's movement, giving him a -2 penalty to his attack roll. Hitting a Specific Target AD&D game combat does not use a hit location system to determine where every blow in a battle has landed. Sometimes, however, characters and creatures will find it necessary to aim their blows at an exact point. A fighter may want to smash a vial held in the evil wizard's hand; a thief might attempt to shoot the jeweled eye out of an idol with his crossbow. These are cases where the character is attempting a "called shot." Called Shots To make a called shot, a player must announce his intention before any initiative dice are rolled. Upon doing so, he suffers a +1 penalty to his initiative (representing the time spent carefully aiming his attack). When the character does get a chance to act, his attack roll suffers a -4 penalty. If the roll succeeds, the called shot accomplishes what the player wanted; if the roll missed, no damage occurs. Because the AD&D game uses a generalized system for damage, called shots cannot be used to accomplish certain things. Against a creature, a called shot will only cause the normal amount of damage allowed the weapon. Attempts to blind, cripple, or maim will not succeed. So what can it do? A called shot can cause a target to drop items or react in some other, more subtle, way. It can penetrate weak points in armor. It also can be used in attempts to knock an object out of a hand, shatter a flask, or otherwise damage items. Called shots can be very useful in activating the trigger of a known trap (if this can be done with a weapon) or in impressing the locals in an archery contest. Movement in Combat Since a round is roughly a minute long, it should be easy for a character to move just about anywhere he wants during the course of the round. After all, Olympic-class sprinters can cover vast amounts of ground in a minute. However, a character in an AD&D game is not an Olympic sprinter running in a straight line. He is trying to maneuver through a battle without getting killed. He is keeping his eyes open for trouble, avoiding surprise, watching his back, watching the backs of his partners, and looking for a good opening, while simultaneously planning his next move, sometimes through a haze of pain. He may be carrying a load of equipment that slows him down significantly. Because of all these things, the distance a character can move is considerably less than players generally think. In a combat round, a being can move up to 10 times its movement rating in feet (see the Player's Handbook for information on character movement.) Thus, if a character has a movement rating of 9, he can move up to 90 feet in a round. However, the types of moves a character can make during combat are somewhat limited. Movement in Melee The basic move is to get closer for combat--i.e., move close enough to an enemy to attack. This is neither a blind rush nor a casual stroll. Instead, the character approaches quickly but with caution. When closing for combat, a character can move up to half his allowed distance and still make a melee attack. Movement and Missile Combat Rather than slug it out toe to toe with an opponent, a character can move up to one-half his normal movement rate and engage in missile fire at half his normal rate of fire. Thus a man capable of moving 120 feet and armed with a long bow (two shots per round, under normal circumstances) could move 60 feet and still fire one shot. The same man, armed with a heavy crossbow (one shot every other round) would be able to shoot only once every four rounds while on the move. Charging an Opponent A character can also charge a foe. A charge increases the character's movement rate by 50% and enables the character to make an attack at the end of his movement. A charging character also gains a +2 bonus to his attack roll, mainly from momentum. Certain weapons (such as a lance) inflict double the rolled damage in a charge. However, charging gives opponents several advantages. First, they gain a -2 bonus to their initiative rolls. Second, charging characters gain no Dexterity bonuses to Armor Class, and they suffer an AC penalty of 1. Finally, if the defender is using a spear or pole arm weapon and sets it against the charge (bracing the butt against a stone or his foot), he inflicts double damage on a successful hit. Retreat To get out of a combat, characters can make a careful withdrawal or they can simply flee. Withdrawing: When making a withdrawal, a character carefully backs away from his opponent, who can choose to follow. The character moves up to 1/3 his normal movement rate. If two characters are fighting a single opponent and one of them decides to withdraw, the remaining character can block the advance of the opponent. This is a useful method for getting a seriously injured man out of a combat. Fleeing: To flee from combat, a character simply turns and runs up to his full movement rate. However, the fleeing character drops his defenses and turns his back to his opponent. The enemy is allowed a free attack--or multiple attacks if the creature has several attacks per round--at the rear of the fleeing character. This attack is made the instant the character flees. It doesn't count against the number of attacks that opponent is allowed during the round, and initiative is irrelevant. The fleeing character can be pursued, unless a companion blocks the advance of the enemy. Attacking Without Killing There are times when a character wants to defeat another being without killing it. A companion may have been charmed into attacking his friends (and his friends don't want to kill him); an enemy could have information the PCs can get only by subduing him; characters might simply see the monetary value of bringing back a live monster. Whatever the case, sooner or later characters are going to try to defeat something without striking a fatal blow. There are three types of non-lethal attacks--punching, wrestling, and overbearing. Punching is basic bare-fisted fighting. Wrestling is the classic combination of grappling, holds, and throws. Overbearing is simply trying to pull down an opponent by sheer mass or weight of numbers, pinning him to the ground. Punching and Wrestling These are the most basic of combat skills, unknowingly practiced by almost all children as they rough and tumble with each other. Thus all characters, regardless of class, are assumed to be somewhat proficient in both these forms of fighting. Punching occurs when a character attacks with his fists. No weapons are used, although the character can wear an iron gauntlet or similar item. Wrestling requires both hands free, unencumbered by shields and the like. When punching or wrestling, a normal attack roll is made. The normal Armor Class of the target is used. If a character is attempting to wrestle in armor, the modifiers on Table 42 are used (these are penalties to the foe's attack roll). Normal modifiers to the attack roll are also applied. Table 42: Armor Modifiers for Wrestling Armor Modifier Studded leather -1 Chain, ring, and scale mail -2 Banded, splint, and plate mail -5 Field plate armor -8 Full plate armor -10 Penalties for being held or attacking a held opponent do not apply to wrestlers. Wrestling involves a lot of holding and twisting, and the damage resolution system for punching and wrestling takes this into account. If the attack roll is successful, consult Table 43 to find the result of the attack: Cross-index the character's modified attack roll with the proper attack form. If, for example, a character successfully punched with an 18, the result would be a rabbit punch. If he rolled an 18 on a successful wrestling attempt, the result would be a kick. Punching and wrestling attacks can succeed on attack rolls of 1 or less, exceptions to the general rule. Table 43: Punching and Wrestling Results Attack Roll Punch Damage % KO Wrestle 20+ Haymaker 2 10 Bear hug* 19 Wild swing 0 1 Arm twist 18 Rabbit punch 1 3 Kick 17 Kidney punch 1 5 Trip 16 Glancing blow 1 2 Elbow smash 15 Jab 2 6 Arm lock* 14 Uppercut 1 8 Leg twist 13 Hook 2 9 Leg lock 12 Kidney punch 1 5 Throw 11 Hook 2 10 Gouge 10 Glancing blow 1 3 Elbow smash 9 Combination 1 10 Leg lock* 8 Uppercut 1 9 Headlock* 7 Combination 2 10 Throw 6 Jab 2 8 Gouge 5 Glancing blow 1 3 Kick 4 Rabbit punch 2 5 Arm lock* 3 Hook 2 12 Gouge 2 Uppercut 2 15 Headlock* 1 Wild swing 0 2 Leg twist Less than 1 Haymaker 2 25 Bearhug* * A hold can be maintained from round to round until broken. Punch: This is the type of blow landed. In game terms, the type of blow has little effect, but using the names adds spice to the battle and makes the DM's job of describing the action easier. Damage: Bare-handed attacks cause only 1 or 2 points of damage. Metal gauntlets, brass knuckles, and the like cause 1d3 points of damage. A character's Strength bonus, if any, applies to punching attacks. Punching damage is handled a little differently than normal damage. Only 25% of the damage caused by a bare-handed attack is lasting damage. The remaining 75% is temporary. For the sake of convenience, record punching damage separately from other damage and calculate the percentage split at the end of all combat. If a character reaches 0 hit points due to punching damage (or any combination of punching and normal attacks), he immediately falls unconscious. A character can voluntarily pull his punch, not causing any lasting damage, provided he says so before the damage is applied to his enemy. There is still a chance of a knockout. K.O.: Although a punch does very little damage, there is a chance of knocking an opponent out. This chance is listed on the table as "% K.O." If this number or less is rolled on percentile dice, the victim is stunned for 1d10 rounds. Wrestle: This lists the action or type of grip the character managed to get. Wrestling moves marked with an asterisk (*) are holds maintained from round to round, unless they are broken. A hold is broken by a throw, a gouge, the assistance of another person, or the successful use of a weapon. Penalties to the attack roll apply to weapon attacks by a character who is in a hold. All wrestling moves inflict 1 point of damage plus Strength bonus, if the attacker desires, while continued holds cause cumulatively 1 more point of damage for each round. A head lock held for six rounds would inflict 21 points of damage total (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6). Remember, this is the equivalent of pressing hard on a full-nelson headlock for roughly six minutes. Overbearing Sometimes the most effective attack is simply to pull an opponent down by sheer numbers. No attempt is made to gain a particular hold or even to harm the victim. The only concern is to pin and restrain him. To overbear an opponent, a normal attack roll is made. For every level of size difference (1 if a Large attacker takes on a Medium defender, for example), the attack roll is modified by 4 (+4 if the attacker is larger; -4 if the defender is larger). The defending creature also gains a benefit if it has more than two legs: a -2 penalty to the attacker's roll for every leg beyond two. There is no penalty to the defender if it has no legs. A lone orc attempting to pull down a horse and rider would have at least a -8 penalty applied to the attack roll (-4 for size and -4 for the horse's four legs). If the attack succeeds, the opponent is pulled down. A character can be pinned if further successful overbearing attacks are rolled each round. For pinning purposes, do not use the prone modifier to combat (from Table 35). If multiple attackers are all attempting to pull down a single target, make only one attack roll with a +1 bonus for each attacker beyond the first. Always use the to-hit number of the weakest attacker to figure the chance of success, since cooperation always depends on the weakest link. Modifiers for size should be figured for the largest attacker of the group. A giant and three pixies attempting to pull down a man would use the pixies' attack roll, modified by +3 for three extra attackers and +8 for the size difference of the giant (Huge) and the man (Medium). Weapons in Non-Lethal Combat As you might expect, weapons have their place in non-lethal combat, whether a character is defending or pressing the attack. Weapons in Defense: A character attempting to punch, wrestle, or overbear an armed opponent can do so only by placing himself at great risk. Making matters worse, an armed defender is automatically allowed to strike with his weapon before the unarmed attack is made, regardless of the initiative roll. Since his opponent must get very close, the defender gains a +4 bonus to his attack and damage rolls. If the attacker survives, he can then attempt his attack. Those involved in a wrestling bout are limited to weapons of small size after the first round of combat. It's very difficult to use a sword against someone who is twisting your sword arm or clinging to your back, trying to break your neck. For this reason, nearly all characters will want to carry a dagger or a knife. Non-Lethal Weapon Attacks: It is possible to make an armed attack without causing serious damage--striking with the flat of the blade, for example. This is not as easy as it sounds, however. First, the character must be using a weapon that enables him to control the damage he inflicts. This is impossible with an arrow or sling. It isn't even feasible with a war hammer or mace. It can be done with swords and axes, as long as the blade can be turned so it doesn't cut. Second, the character has a -4 penalty to his attack roll, since handling a weapon in this way is clumsier than usual. The damage from such an attack is 50% normal; one-half of this damage is temporary, lasting one turn after the fight is over and causing unconsciousness (never death) if the character drops below zero hit points. Non-Lethal Combat and Creatures When dealing with non-humanoid opponents, a number of factors must be considered. First, unintelligent creatures, as a rule, never try to grapple, punch, or pull down an opponent. They cheerfully settle for tearing him apart, limb by limb. This, to their small and animalistic minds, is a better solution. Second, the natural weapons of a creature are always usable. Unlike men with swords, a lion or a carnivorous ape doesn't lose the use of its teeth and fangs just because a character is very close to it. Finally, and of greatest importance, creatures tend to be better natural fighters than humans. All attacks for a tiger are the same as punching or wrestling. It's just that the tiger has claws. Furthermore, a tiger can use all of its legs effectively. Touch Spells and Combat Many spells used by priests and wizards take effect only when the target is touched by the caster. Under normal circumstances, this is no problem. The spellcaster reaches out and touches the recipient. However, if the target is unwilling, or the spell is used in the midst of a general melee, the situation is much different. Unwilling Targets: The spellcaster must make a successful attack roll for the spell to have any effect. The wizard or priest calculates his THAC0 number normally, according to the intended victim's Armor Class and other protections. The DM can modify the roll if the victim is unprepared for or unaware of the attack. If the roll succeeds, the spellcaster touches the target and the normal spell effect occurs. Willing Targets: When attempting to cast a spell on a willing target, the casting is automatic as long as both characters are not engaged in combat. For example, if a fighter withdraws from melee, a cleric could heal him during the next round. If the recipient of the spell attempts to do anything besides waiting for the spell to take effect, an attack roll against AC 10 must be made. However, no AC modifiers for Dexterity are applied, since the target is not trying to avoid the spell. Whenever a touch spell is successful, the spellcaster suffers from any special defenses of his target, if they are continually in operation. A successful touch to a vampire would not result in energy drain, since the power only works when the vampire wills it. But touching a fire elemental would result in serious burns. When a touch spell is cast, it normally remains effective only for that round. However, certain spells list special conditions or durations. Be sure to check each spell description carefully. Critical Hits (Optional Rule) Some players feel combat should involve more than just the chance to hit and the amount of damage done. Some propose elaborate tables--critical hit tables--detailing all manner of horrible results and misfortunes. The simplest critical hit system makes every natural 20 rolled on the attack roll count for double damage. Roll the appropriate damage dice twice for the attack (do not double the result of a single damage roll) and only count damage modifiers for Strength, magic, etc., once. A second method is to allow characters or monsters to make an extra attack each time they roll a natural 20. The additional attack is made immediately, at the same target, and is figured just like a normal attack. As long as a natural 20 is rolled, the character or monster continues to make additional attacks. A very lucky character could roll a 20 on his first attack and then roll a 20 on his additional attack, allowing him to roll a third attack. If this attack also resulted in a 20, a fourth attack could be made, etc. This system gives characters the chance of causing extra damage without guaranteeing success. Critical Fumbles Critical fumbles are less easily defined than critical hits. One system that works rules that a die roll of 1 results in some unfortunate event happening to the character who rolled it. The DM must decide what the exact event is based on the situation, although it should not be one that causes damage. A character could trip and sprawl to the floor, break his sword hitting a stone pillar, get his axe wedged in a wooden beam, or have one of his backpack straps slip off his shoulder, getting in the way. (Of course, magical weapons are not likely to break under normal use.) The normal result of a critical fumble is the loss of the next round's attack as the character gets up off the floor, digs out a new weapon, pulls his axe out of the beam, or struggles to get his pack where it belongs. Critical failures add a dose of excitement and humor to combat. Finally, always remember that whatever happens, happens to both player characters and NPCs. Parrying (Optional Rule) During a one-minute combat round, each character is assumed to block many attempted attacks and see many of his own attacks blocked. In normal combat, characters parry all the time--there's no need to single out each parry. When a character deliberately chooses not to parry, his chance of being hit increases. A mage casting a spell, for instance, gains no AC adjustment for Dexterity. Thus, choosing to parry, in and of itself, is not a separate option under the AD&D game rules. At the same time, the assumption is that characters in combat are constantly exposing themselves to some risk--trying to get a clear view of a target or looking for the opening to make an attack. There are times, however, when this is not the case. Sometimes, the only thing a character wants to do is avoid being hit. To make himself harder to hit, a character can parry--forfeit all actions for the round. He can't attack, move, or cast spells. This frees the character to concentrate solely on defense. At this point, all characters but warriors gain an AC bonus equal to half their level. A 6th-level wizard would have a +3 bonus to his AC (lowering his AC by 3). A warrior gets a bonus equal to half his level plus one. A 6th-level fighter would gain a +4 AC bonus. This benefit is not a perfect all-around defense, and it's not effective against rear or missile attacks. It applies only to those foes attacking the defender from the front. This optional defense has no effect against magical attacks, so it wouldn't do anything to protect a character from the force of lightning bolt or fireball spells. Missile Weapons in Combat In general, missile combat is handled identically to standard melee. Intentions are announced, initiative is rolled, and attack rolls are made. However, there are special rules and situations that apply only to missile combat. Missile weapons are divided into two general categories. The first includes all standard, direct-fire, single-target missiles, such as slings, arrows, quarrels, spears, throwing axes, and the like. The second includes all grenade-like missiles that have an area effect. Thus an attack with these weapons does not have to hit the target directly. Included in this group are small flasks of oil, acid, poison, holy water, potions, and boulders. Hurled boulders are included because they bounce and bound along after they hit, leaving a swath of destruction. Range The first step in making a missile attack is to find the range from the attacker to the target. This is measured in yards from one point to the other and is compared to the range categories for the weapon used (see Table 45 in the Player's Handbook). If the distance is greater than the long range given, the target is out of range. If the distance is between the long- and medium-range numbers, the target is at long range. When it is between the medium- and short-range numbers, medium range is used. And when it is equal to or less than the short-range distance, the target is at short range. Short-range attacks suffer no range modifier. Medium-range attacks suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll. Long-range attacks suffer a -5 penalty. Some weapons have no short range since they must arc a certain distance before reaching their target. These attacks are always made with an attack roll penalty. Rate of Fire Bows, crossbows, and many other missile weapons have different rates of fire (ROF)--the number of missiles they can shoot in a single round. Small, light weapons can be thrown very quickly, so up to three daggers can be thrown in a single round. Arrows can be nocked and let loose almost as quickly, so up to two shots can be fired in a single round. Some weapons (such as heavy crossbows) take a long time to load and can be fired only every other round. Whatever the ROF, multiple missile shots are handled the same way as other multiple attacks for the purposes of determining initiative. The ROF of each missile weapon is listed in Table 45 in the Player's Handbook. Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat Attack roll and damage modifiers for Strength are always used when an attack is made with a hurled weapon. Here the power of the character's arm is a significant factor in the effectiveness of the attack. When using a bow, the attack roll and damage Strength modifiers apply only if the character has a properly prepared bow (see Chapter 6 in the Player's Handbook). Characters never receive Strength bonuses when using crossbows or similar mechanical devices. Dexterity modifiers to the attack roll are applied when making a missile attack with a hand-held weapon. Thus, a character adds his Dexterity modifier when using a bow, crossbow, or axe but not when firing a trebuchet or other siege engine. Firing Into a Melee Missile weapons are intended mainly as distance weapons. Ideally, they are used before the opponents reach your line. However, ideal situations are all too rare, and characters often discover that the only effective way to attack is to shoot arrows (or whatever) at an enemy already in melee combat with their companions. While possible, and certainly allowed, this is a risky proposition. When missiles are fired into a melee, the DM counts the number of figures in the immediate area of the intended target. Each medium figure counts as 1. Tiny figures count as 1/3, Small figures as 1/2, Large as 2, Huge as 4, and Gargantuan as 6. The total value is compared to the value of each character or creature in the target melee. Using this ratio, the DM rolls a die to determine who (or what) will be the target of the shot. After the DM determines who or what is the target, a normal attack is rolled. The DM doesn't tell the player who will be hit if the attack succeeds. For example, Tarus Bloodheart (man-sized, or 1 point) and Rath (also man-sized, or 1 point) are fighting a giant (size G, 6 points) while Thule fires a long bow at the giant. The total value of all possible targets is 8 (6 + 1 + 1). There's a 1-in-8 chance that Rath is the target; a 1-in-8 chance that Tarus is hit; and a 6-in-8 chance the shot hits the giant. The DM could roll 1d8 to determine who gets hit, or he could reduce the ratios to a percentage (75% chance the giant is hit, etc.) and roll percentile dice. Taking Cover Against Missile Fire One of the best ways to avoid being hit and injured is to hide behind something--a wall, a tree, a building corner, a heap of boulders, or whatever happens to be available. Professional adventurers, wishing to make this sound heroic, call this "taking cover." Taking cover doesn't work particularly well in a melee, since the cover hampers defenders and attackers equally. However, it is quite an effective tactic against missile fire. There are two types of protection a character can have. The first is "concealment," also called soft cover. A character hiding behind a clump of bushes is concealed. He can be seen, but only with difficulty, and it's no easy task to determine exactly where he is. The bushes cannot stop an arrow, but they do make it less likely that the character is hit. Other types of concealment include curtains, tapestries, smoke, fog, and brambles. The other type of protection is "cover," sometimes called, more precisely, hard cover. It is, as its name implies, something a character can hide behind that will block a missile. Hard cover includes stone walls, the corner of a building, tables, doors, earth embankments, tree trunks, and magical walls of force. Cover helps a potential target by giving the attacker a negative modifier to his attack roll. The exact modifier for concealment or cover depends on the degree to which it is being used as shelter. A character who stands behind a two-foot wall is a pretty obvious target, especially when compared to the character who lies down behind that wall and carefully peers over it. Table 44 lists the different modifiers for varying degrees of cover and concealment. Table 44: Cover and Concealment Modifiers Target is: Cover Concealment 25% -2 -1 50% -4 -2 75% -7 -3 90% -10 -4 Cover also has an affect on saving throws, granting the character the modifier listed on Table 44 as a bonus to his saving throws against spells that cause physical damage (e.g., fireball and lightning bolt spells). In addition, a character who has 90% cover (or more) suffers one-half normal damage on a failed saving throw, and no damage at all if a saving throw is successful. This assumes, of course, that the cover is between the spell effect and the target--a man crouching behind a stone wall would be protected if a fireball exploded in front of the wall, but would not be protected by cover if the blast occurred behind him, on his side of the wall. Grenade-Like Missiles Unlike standard missiles, which target a specific creature, a grenade-like missile is aimed at a point, whether this point is a creature or a spot on the ground. When the attack is announced, the player indicates where he wants the missile to land. This then becomes the target point and is used to determine the direction and distance of any scatter. Most grenade-like missiles are items of opportunity or necessity, such as flasks of oil, vials of holy water, or beakers of acid. As such, these items are not listed on the equipment tables for range, ROF, and damage. The range each can be thrown varies with the Strength of the character and the weight of the object. A missile of five pounds or less can be thrown about 30 feet. Short range is 10 feet, medium range is 20 feet, and everything beyond is maximum range. Heavier items have reduced ranges. Just how far an object can be thrown is decided by the DM. Exceptionally heavy items can be thrown only if the character rolls a successful bend bars/lift gates check. In no case can a character throw an item heavier than his Strength would allow him to lift. Thus, the DM can rule that a character would have little trouble chucking a half-empty backpack across a 10-foot chasm, but the character would need to make a check to heave an orc 10 feet through the air into the faces of his fiendish friends. Once a container hits, it normally breaks immediately. However, this is not always true. Some missiles, like soft leather flasks or hard pottery, are particularly resistant. If there's some doubt about whether a thrown object will break, the DM can require an item saving throw to see if it shatters or rips, spewing its contents everywhere. If a missile is off-target, it is important to know where it landed--an errant grenade-like missile could present a hazard to other characters, start a fire, or eat a hole in the floor. The process of finding where it lands is known as "scatter." First roll 1d10 and consult the Scatter Diagram. Table 45: Grenade-Like Missile Effects Type of Missile Area of Effect Damage from Direct Hit Splash Damage Acid 1' diameter 2-8 hp 1 hp Holy water 1' diameter 2-7 hp 2 hp Oil (lit) 3' diameter 2-12/1-6 hp 1-3 hp Poison 1' diameter special special Next determine how far off the mark the throw is. If the throw is at short range, use a 6-sided die. If the range is medium, use a 10-sided die. If thrown to long range, roll 2d10. The number rolled is the number of feet away from the intended target the missile lands. The damage taken from a grenade-like attacks depends on whether a direct hit was scored or the target was in the splash area. Table 45 lists the area of effect for a direct hit and damages from direct and splash hits. The "area of effect" is the amount of space covered by a direct hit. Any creature in the area of effect will suffer damage according to the Direct Hit column. All creatures within 3' of the area of effect are subject to splash damage. Types of Grenade-Like Missiles Acid is particularly grim. Aside from the possibility of scarring (which is left to the DM), acid damage cannot be healed by regeneration. It must be healed normally. Thus, it is very useful against regenerating creatures such as trolls. Acid is very rare. Holy Water affects most forms of undead and creatures from the lower planes. It has no effect against a creature in gaseous form or undead without material form. Unholy water (essentially holy water used by evil priests) affects paladins, creatures whose purpose is to defend good (lammasu, shedu, etc.), and creatures and beings from the upper planes. Holy (or unholy) water affects creatures as does acid, causing damage that cannot be regenerated but must be healed normally. Oil causes damage only when it is lit. This normally requires a two-step process--first soaking the target in flammable oil and then setting it afire. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks. A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage in the first round and 1d6 points in the second. Poison is generally not very effective as a missile weapon. Most poisons take effect only if the missile scores a direct hit, and even then only if it drops into the gaping maw of some huge creature. Contact poisons have normal poison effects on a direct hit. Boulders as Missile Weapons Hurled boulders are handled using the grenade-like missiles rules, even though they do not burst. Boulders tend to bounce beyond their initial point of impact and can hit several characters in a single attack. They are particularly devastating against tightly packed groups. When attacking with a boulder, determine the target, to-hit number, and scatter (in the case of a miss) according to the rules for grenade-like missiles. The distance the boulder scatters should be doubled, however. If the boulder scatters to the left or right, it moves roughly 45 to 60 degrees off the original line of attack. A boulder moves along this line for 3d10 feet. If the targets are in a relatively open area (a group marching through a snow field, for example), there is only a slim chance that anyone will be hit by the bounding missile. If the boulder moves through a space occupied by a character (or monster), roll again for a hit (recalculating THAC0 as necessary), applying a -2 penalty for each 10 feet, or fraction thereof, the boulder has bounced since it hit. If the player characters are in an area where movement is restricted--a formation of pikemen, for example, or a large party in a 10' wide corridor--no additional boulder attack is made. The boulder strikes all targets in its path. The damage caused by a boulder as a result of scatter is less than from a direct hit. Roll the damage normally, but subtract the distance in feet the boulder has bounced to that point. This is the damage inflicted on the target. Special Attacks Some NPCs (and even PCs) have abilities that can come into play during combat, but which don't fall into any of the standard combat rules sections. These special combat situations are dealt with below. Attacking with Charmed Creatures There may be times when charmed creatures, perhaps even party members, will be compelled to fight their companions. When this happens, remember that the creature, NPC, or player character no longer has control over his decisions. If a charmed player character is compelled to attack his friends, he must do so in an effective manner. Grappling or punching is not acceptable if the character possesses a better method. At the same time, the charmed character need use only those abilities that are obvious to his new (and, one hopes, temporary) master. Thus, if a charmed fighter with a sword at his side is carrying a javelin of lightning, he fights with his sword unless specifically commanded to do otherwise. The master in this case could not command him to use the javelin of lightning unless he had some way of knowing the fighter carried one. Similarly, a wizard's master must know which spells his charmed spellcaster possesses, and which he has memorized. This is most commonly learned simply by asking. However, due to the charmed fellow's befuddled state, there is a 25 percent chance that he will unwittingly cast a spell harmful to himself and his master. Relying on charmed spellcasters can be a very risky business. Limits on Charmed Creatures A charmed creature has two critical limitations on its actions. First, it cannot carry out commands requiring individual initiative. The master cannot say, "Fight with your most powerful magical item!" since this requires judgment on the part of the charmed character. Second, the charmed creature won't obey any command that would obviously lead to self-destruction. Since combat is composed of many different variables, fighting in itself is not clearly self-destructive, even against hopeless-seeming odds. Degrees of Charm There are two degrees of charm power in the AD&D game, that of monsters and that of characters. The charm power of monsters, such as vampires, makes verbal communication unnecessary. The charmed creature understands the monster's desires through mental command. A character charmed by this power obeys the commands of his master totally, at least within the limits of his ability and the guidelines above. The charm power of characters is more limited. The master must have some method of making himself understood to the charmed creature, preferably by speaking the same language. Otherwise, charmed creatures can attempt to follow their master's hand gestures. This can be a useful and entertaining spur to role-playing. Gaze Attacks Monsters with a gaze attack, such as the basilisk, have the power to affect an opponent simply by making eye contact. This makes these creatures incredibly dangerous, for the slightest glance can cause great harm. Characters who look directly at such creatures to attack them, or those who are surprised by the creature, automatically meet the creature's gaze. These unfortunate characters must make the appropriate saving throw or suffer the effects of the creature's attack. Such attackers undergo the gaze attack each round they attack. In large groups, only the front rank can meet the gaze, a fate that can be avoided if the attacker approaches from the rear, where the creature cannot see. Characters can also attempt to avoid the gaze by looking in the general direction of the creature without actually looking into its eyes. This enables characters to see the target well enough to fight normally without falling victim to its power. However, there is a 20% chance each round that an attacker trying this trick will accidentally meet the gaze of the creature. Finally, a character can completely avert his gaze or close his eyes when attacking the creature, preventing any chance of meeting the creature's gaze. This is like fighting in the dark, and the character suffers all the normal penalties for fighting while blinded. Safer than all of these methods is to use some type of reflective surface--a mirror or highly polished shield is very handy. The powers of gaze attacks are not effective in reflections, so it is safe to observe a basilisk or medusa in a mirror. For this trick to be effective, there must be some source of light available, since nothing can be reflected in darkness. Also, characters should be reminded that using a mirror can be disorienting. The character must back toward his target, holding the mirror in his shield arm. He suffers a -2 penalty to his chance to hit and does not gain the benefits of his shield or his Armor Class bonus for Dexterity when the creature attacks him. Creatures with gaze attacks can choose not to use their power. In this case, it is the creature that avoids looking at the characters. Not meeting their gaze, it can't affect them. Creatures intelligent enough to parley may do this on occasion. Innate Abilities Especially powerful creatures possess innate abilities, magical powers they can use at will. The majority of these function like spells. Thus, a brownie who is able to cause confusion has the same effect as a character who casts the confusion spell. Creatures able to become invisible at will usually use all the normal rules for the invisibility spell. Innate abilities are different from spells in one major way, however. Unlike spells, innate abilities are natural powers and do not require casting times or any components (although there is an initiative modifier), including gestures or words--unless these things are used for dramatic effect. (The monster casually points to the place where his spell will occur and then looks at the party with a wicked smile.) Innate abilities are activated by the merest mental command of the creature. In all other respects, innate abilities function like spells. They have the same range, area of effect, and duration limitations of the spell of the same name. When the spell in question varies in power according to the level of the caster, the creature is assumed to have a level equal to its Hit Dice. If this means the creature is of insufficient level to cast the spell, it uses the spell at the minimum level needed to cast it. Innate abilities generally can be used just once a round. Further, a creature cannot use an innate ability and make an attack in the same round. Breath Weapons Various creatures in the AD&D game possess breath weapons, the most memorable being the roaring gout of flame spewed out by a red dragon. These weapons normally affect a cone-shaped area. One point is the dragon's mouth, and the breath widens as it extends outward. No attack roll is required for a breath weapon. All characters and creatures within the area of effect must make the appropriate saving throw and suffer the consequences of a successful breath attack. Special Defenses So far, the bulk of this chapter has dealt with ways to attack. In addition, there are several ways to avoid suffering damage. Two of the most common are the "saving throw" and "magic resistance." Somewhat less common are the ability to "turn undead" and immunity to particular weapon-types. The Saving Throw The saving throw is a die roll that gives a chance, however slim, that the character or creature finds some way to save himself from certain destruction, or at least lessen the damage of a successful attack. More often than not, the saving throw represents an instinctive act on the part of the character--diving to the ground just as a fireball scorches the group; blanking the mind just as a mental battle begins; blocking the worst of an acid spray with a shield. The exact action is not important. DMs and players can think of lively and colorful explanations of why a saving throw succeeded or failed. Explanations tailored to the events of the moment enhance the excitement of the game. Rolling Saving Throws To make a saving throw, a player rolls 1d20. The result must be equal to or greater than the character's saving throw number. The number a character needs to roll varies depending upon his group, his level, and what he is trying to save himself from. A character's saving throw numbers can be found in Table 46. Multi-class characters use the most advantageous saving roll. Saving throws are made in a variety of situations: For attacks involving paralyzation, poison, or death magic; rod, staff, or wand; petrification or polymorph; breath weapon; and spells. The type of saving throw a character must roll is determined by the specific spell, monster, magical item, or situation involved. Monsters also use Table 46. However, they do not find their saving throw numbers by group and level, since they have neither. All creatures save against poison and death magic at a level equal to the number of their Hit Dice. Intelligent monsters save versus all other attacks at this level as well. Creatures with no intelligence (even less than animal intelligence) save at a level equal to half the number of their Hit Dice. Any additions to their Hit Dice are counted as well, at the rate of one die for every four points or fraction thereof. Thus, an intelligent creature with 5 + 6 Hit Dice would save at 7th level (5 Hit Dice + another die for the 2 remaining). A non-intelligent beast of the same Hit Dice would save against all but poison and death at 4th level (round up). Most monsters use the Warrior group table to determine their save. However, those that have abilities of other classes use the most favorable saving throw. A creature able to fight and use a large number of spells could use either the Warrior or Wizard groups, whichever was better for a particular saving throw. Creatures that lack fighting ability use the group that most closely resembles their own abilities. A fungus-creature that can only cast spells would use the Wizard group table to determine saving throws. Table 46: Character Saving Throws Character Group and Paralyzation, Poison, Rod, Staff, Petrification Breath Experience Level or Death Magic or Wand or Polymorph* Weapon** Spells*** Priests 1-3 10 14 13 16 15 4-6 9 13 12 15 14 7-9 7 11 10 13 12 10-12 6 10 9 12 11 13-15 5 9 8 11 10 16-18 4 8 7 10 9 19+ 2 6 5 8 7 Rogues 1-4 13 14 12 16 15 5-8 12 12 11 15 13 9-12 11 10 10 14 11 13-16 10 8 9 13 9 17-20 9 6 8 12 7 21+ 8 7 4 11 5 Warriors 0 16 18 17 20 19 1-2 14 16 15 17 17 3-4 13 15 14 16 16 5-6 11 13 12 13 14 7-8 10 12 11 12 13 9-10 8 10 9 9 11 11-12 7 9 8 8 10 13-14 5 7 6 5 8 15-16 4 6 5 4 7 17+ 3 5 4 4 6 Wizards 1-5 14 11 13 15 12 6-10 13 9 11 13 10 11-15 11 7 9 11 8 16-20 10 5 7 9 6 21+ 8 3 5 7 4 * Excluding polymorph wound attacks. ** Excluding those that cause petrification or polymorph. *** Excluding those for which another saving throw type is specified, such as death, petrification, polymorph, etc. Saving Throw Priority Sometimes the type of saving throw required by a situation or item isn't clear, or more than one category of saving throw may seem appropriate. For this reason, the saving throw categories in Table 46 are listed in order of importance, beginning with paralyzation, poison, and death magic, and ending with spell. Imagine that Rath is struck by the ray from a wand of polymorphing. Both a saving throw vs. wands and a saving throw vs. polymorph would be appropriate. But Rath must roll a saving throw vs. wands because that category has a higher priority than polymorph. The categories of saving throws are as follows (in order of priority): Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic: this is used whenever a character is affected by a paralyzing attack (regardless of source), poison (of any strength), or certain spells and magical items that otherwise kill the character outright (as listed in their descriptions). This saving throw also can be used in situations in which exceptional force of will or physical fortitude is needed. Rod, Staff, or Wand: As its name implies, this is used whenever a character is affected by the powers of a rod, staff, or wand, provided another save of higher priority isn't called for. This saving throw is sometimes specified for situations in which a character faces a magical attack from an unusual source. Petrification or Polymorph: This is used any time a character is turned to stone (petrified) or polymorphed by a monster, spell, or magical item (other than a wand). It also can be used when the character must withstand some massive physical alteration of his entire body. Breath Weapon: A character uses this save when facing monsters with breath weapons, particularly the powerful blast of a dragon. This save also could be used in situations where a combination of physical stamina and Dexterity are critical factors in character survival. Spell: This is used whenever a character attempts to resist the effects of a magical attack, either by a spellcaster or from a magical item, provided no other type of saving throw is specified. This save also can be used to resist an attack that defies any other classification. Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws No saving throw is made if the target voluntarily chooses not to resist the effect of a spell or special attack. This is the case even if the character was duped as to the exact nature of the spell. When a character announces that he is not resisting the spell's power, that spell (or whatever) has its full effect. The intention not to resist must be clearly stated or set up through trickery, however. If a character is attacked by surprise or caught unawares, he is normally allowed a saving throw. The DM can modify this saving throw, making the chance of success worse if the situation warrants it. Only in extreme cases of trickery and deception should an unwitting character be denied a saving throw. Ability Checks as Saving Throws When a character attempts to avoid danger through the use of one of his abilities, an ability check can be used in lieu of a saving throw. For example, Ragnar the thief has broken into someone's home when he hears a grating noise from the ceiling above him. He looks up to find a five-ton block of the ceiling headed straight for him! He is going to need speedy reactions to get out of the way, so a Dexterity ability check should be rolled to see if he avoids the trap. Modifying Saving Throws Saving throws can be modified by magical items, specific rules, and special situations. These modifiers can increase or decrease the chance of a successful saving throw. Modifiers that increase the chance are given as a number preceded by a plus sign. Modifiers that make success more difficult are given as a number preceded by a minus sign (-1, -2, etc.) Saving throw modifiers affect a character's die roll, not the saving throw number needed. Thus, if Delsenora needed an 11 for a successful saving throw vs. petrification and had a +1 bonus to her save, she would still need to roll an 11 or higher after all adjustments were made. But the +1 bonus would be added to her die roll, so that effectively she needs to roll only a 10 on the die to reach her saving throw number of 11. High ability scores in Dexterity and Wisdom sometimes give saving throw bonuses. A high Wisdom protects against illusions, charms, and other mental attacks. Dexterity, if high enough, can give a character a slightly higher chance of avoiding the effects of fireballs, lightning bolts, crushing boulders, and other attacks where nimbleness may be a help. Magical items like cloaks and rings of protection give bonuses to a character's saving throw (these are listed in the item descriptions in the appendices). Magical armor allows a saving throw bonus only when the save is made necessary by something physical, whether normal or magical. Magical armor never gives a saving throw bonus against gas (which it cannot block), poison (which operates internally), and spells that are mental or that cause no physical damage. For example, magical armor would not help a character's saving throw against the sting of a giant scorpion, the choking effects of a stinking cloud spell, or the transformation effect of a polymorph other spell. However, magical armor extends its protective power to saving throws against acid sprays or splashes, disintegration, magical and normal fires, spells that cause damage, and falls (if any saving throw is allowed in this case). Other situations must be handled on a case-by-case basis by the DM. Specific spells and magical items have effects, both good and ill, on a character's saving throws. Often, spells force the victim to save with a penalty, which makes even the most innocuous spell quite dangerous. Specific information can be found in the spell descriptions, for spells, or in the Magical Items section, for magical items. Minor poisons of verminous creatures such as giant centipedes, while dangerous, are weak and unlikely to bring about death in a healthy man. To recreate this effect in the game, a saving throw bonus is allowed for anyone affected by these poisons. Unpredictable situations are sure to crop up. When this happens, the DM must determine whether saving throw modifiers are appropriate. As a guideline, modifiers for situations should range from -4 to +4. An evil cleric attacked in his shrine could very well have a +3 bonus to all his saving throws and a -3 penalty applied to those of his enemies. The powerful evil of the place could warrant the modifier. DM modifiers should be used sparingly, and only when appropriate. If constantly assigned, they will no longer feel special to the player whose character's fate hangs on the toss of a single die. Magic Resistance Some creatures or items strongly resist the effects of magic (or impart such resistance to others). This makes them more difficult to affect with magical energy than ordinary creatures or items. A rare few creatures are extremely anti-magical--magic rolls off them like water off a duck's back. More common are creatures, especially from the outer planes, that live in enchanted or sorcerous lands and are filled with powerful arcane energies. These creatures eat and breathe the vapors of wizardry, and they have a high tolerance against sorcery. Magic resistance is an innate ability. That is, the possessor does not have to do anything special to use it. The creature need not even be aware of the threat for its magic resistance to operate. Such resistance is part of the creature or item and cannot be separated from it. Creatures, however, can lower their magic resistance at will. Magic resistance is also an individual ability. A creature with magic resistance cannot impart this power to others by holding their hands or standing in their midst. Only the rarest of creatures and magical items have the ability to bestow magic resistance upon another. Magic resistance is given as a percentile number. For a magical effect to have any chance of success, the magic resistance must be overcome. The target (the one with the magic resistance) rolls percentile dice. If the roll is higher than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has a normal effect. If the roll is equal to or less than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has no effect on the creature. Effects of Magic Resistance Magic resistance enables a creature to ignore the effects of spells and spell-like powers. It does not protect the creature from magical weapon attacks or from natural forces that can be a direct or accidental result of a spell. Nor does it prevent the protected creature from using his own abilities or from casting spells and using magical items. It can be effective against both individually targeted spells and, within limits, area-effect spells. If a magic resistance roll fails, and the spell has normal effects, the target can make all saving throws normally allowed against the spell. When Magic Resistance Applies Magic resistance applies only if the successful casting of a spell would directly affect the resistant creature or item. Thus, magic resistance is effective against a magic missile (targeted at a creature or item) or a fireball spell (damaging the area the creature or item is in). Magic resistance is not effective against an earthquake caused by a spell. While the creature could suffer injury or death falling into a chasm the spell opens under its feet, the magical energy of the spell was directed at the ground, not the creature. Magic resistant creatures are not immune to events that occur as the consequence of spells, only to the direct energy created or released by a spell. Player characters do not normally have magic resistance (though they still get saving throws vs. magical spells and such). This ability is reserved mainly for special monsters. Successful Magic Resistance Rolls A successful magic resistance check can have four different results, depending on the nature of the spell being resisted. Individually Targeted Spells: By definition, these spells affect just one creature, and only the targeted creature rolls for magic resistance, if it has any. If a spell of this type is directed at several targets, each target rolls independently of the others. An example of this would be a hold person spell aimed at four creatures, with each creature getting a magic resistance roll, if they have magic resistance. If the magic resistance roll is successful, the spell has no effect on that creature, the spell fails and disappears. If several targets are involved, the spell could still affect others who fail their magic resistance roll. Area-Effect Spells: These spells are not targeted on a single creature, but on a point. The spell's effect encompasses everything within a set distance of that point. A successful magic resistance check enables the creature to ignore the effect of the spell. However, the spell is not negated and still applies to all others in the area of effect. In-Place Spells: These spells operate continuously in a particular place or on a particular creature, character, or item. Protection from evil is one example of this kind of spell. Magic resistance comes into play only if a creature or item finds himself or itself in the place where the spell is in operation. Even then, magic resistance may not come into play. Nothing happens if the spell isn't of a type that affects the character. Thus, a part water spell would not collapse simply because a magic resistant creature walked through the area. A protection from evil spell, which could affect the creature, would be susceptible to magic resistance. If the DM determines that a magic resistance roll is appropriate, and the roll succeeds, the in-place spell collapses, usually with a dramatic thunderclap and puff of smoke. Permanent Spells: Magic resistance is insufficient to destroy a permanent spell. Instead, the spell is negated, within the same guidelines given for in-place spells, for as long as the magic resistant creature is in the area of effect. Thus, a magic-resistant creature might be able to step through a permanent wall of force enchantment as if it weren't there. However, the wall would spring back into existence as soon as the creature passed through (i.e., no one else can pass through). Turning Undead One important, and potentially life-saving, combat ability available to priests and paladins is the ability to turn undead. This is a special power granted by the character's deity. Druids cannot turn undead. However, priests of specific mythoi may be able to at the DM's option. Through the priest or paladin, the deity manifests a portion of its power, terrifying evil, undead creatures or blasting them right out of existence. However, since the power must be channeled through a mortal vessel, success is not always assured. When encountering undead, a priest or paladin can attempt to turn the creatures (remember that the paladin turns undead as if he was two levels lower--a 5th-level paladin uses the level 3 column in Table 47). Only one attempt can be made per character per encounter, but several different characters can make attempts at the same time, with the results determined individually. Attempting to turn counts as an action, requiring one round and occurring during the character's turn in the initiative order. Thus, the undead might get to act before the character can turn them. The mere presence of the character is not enough--a touch of drama from the character is important. Speech and gestures are important, so the character must have his hands free and be in a position to speak. Still, turning is not like spellcasting and is not interrupted if the character is attacked during the attempt. To resolve a turning attempt, look on Table 47. Cross-index the Hit Dice or type of the undead with the level of the character (two levels lower for a paladin). If there is a number listed, roll 1d20. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than that listed, the attempt is successful. If the letter "T" (for "turned") appears, the attempt is automatically succeeded without a die roll. If the letter "D" (for "dispel") is given, the turning utterly destroys the undead. A dash (--) means that a priest or paladin of that level cannot turn that type of undead. Up to 2d6 undead are turned by a successful attempt. If the undead creatures are a mixed group, the lowest Hit Dice creatures are affected first. Only one die is rolled regardless of the number of undead the character is attempting to turn in a given round. The result is read individually for each type of undead. For example, Gorus, a 7th-level priest, and his party are attacked by two skeletons led by a wight and a spectre. The turning attempt is made, resulting in a roll of 12. Gorus's player reads the table for all three types of undead using the same roll--12--for all three. The skeletons are destroyed, as Gorus knew they would be. The wight is turned (a 4 or better was needed) and flees. The spectre, however, continues forward undaunted, since a 16 was needed to turn it. Undead bound by the orders of another (e.g., skeletons) simply retreat and allow the character and those with him to pass or complete their actions. Free-willed undead attempt to flee the area of the turning character, until out of his sight. If unable to escape, they circle at a distance, no closer than 10 feet to the character, provided he continues to maintain his turning. No further die rolls are needed. Table 47: Turning Undead Type or Hit Dice Level of Priest+ of Undead 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-11 12-13 14+ Skeleton or 1 HD 10 7 4 T T D D D* D* D* D* D* Zombie 13 10 7 4 T T D D D* D* D* D* Ghoul or 2 HD 16 13 10 7 4 T T D D D* D* D* Shadow or 3-4 HD 19 16 13 10 7 4 T T D D D* D* Wight or 5 HD 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 T T D D D* Ghast -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 T T D D Wraith or 6 HD -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 T T D Mummy or 7 HD -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 T T Spectre or 8 HD -- -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 T Vampire or 9 HD -- -- -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 4 Ghost or 10 HD -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 7 Lich or 11+ HD -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 10 Special** -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 19 16 13 *An additional 2d4 creatures of this type are turned. **Special creatures include unique undead, free-willed undead of the Negative Material Plane, certain Greater and Lesser Powers, and those undead that dwell in the Outer Planes. +Paladins turn undead as priests who are two levels lower. If the character forces the free-willed undead to come closer than 10 feet, by pressing them into a corner, for example, the turning is broken and the undead attack normally. Evil Priests and Undead Evil priests are normally considered to be in league with undead creatures, or at least to share their aims and goals. Thus, they have no ability to turn undead. However, they can attempt to command these beings, forcing them to do their will. This is resolved in the same way as a turning attempt. Up to 12 undead can be commanded. A "T" result means the undead automatically obey the evil priest, while a "D" means the undead become subservient to the evil priest. They follow his commands to the best of their ability and understanding until turned, commanded, or destroyed by another. Evil priests also have the ability to affect paladins, turning them as if they were undead. However, since the living spirit of a paladin is far more difficult to quell and subvert, paladins are vastly more difficult to turn. An evil priest attempting to turn a paladin does so as if the priest were three levels lower than he actually is. Thus, a 7th-level evil priest would turn paladins on the 4th-level column. He would have only a slim chance of turning a 7th-level paladin (7 HD) and would not be able to turn one of 8th level (using the paladin's level as the HD to be turned). Immunity to Weapons Some monsters, particularly lycanthropes and powerful undead such as vampires, are immune to normal weapons. Attackers need special weapons to hurt them. The most common of these are silver and magical weapons. Special weapon requirements are listed in the monster descriptions as "Silver weapons or magic to attack" or "+2 weapons or better to hit," or something similar. The listed weapon, or one of greater power, must be used to damage the monster. Magical weapons are of greater power than silver weapons and each plus a magical weapon gets is a measure of power. Obviously, then, a sword +2 is more powerful than a sword +1. Even creatures immune to certain weapons can be affected by magical spells, unless a specific immunity to a spell, or group of spells, is listed in the description, in the Monstrous Manual. Effects of Weapon Hits When a creature is hit by a weapon to which it is immune, the attack appears to leave a visible wound. However, no points of damage are inflicted. For example, a vampire strides across the banquet hall toward the player characters. Fearfully, they loose a volley of arrows at him. Three hit, but he doesn't even break his stride. They watch, aghast, as he disdainfully plucks the arrows from his body. Just as he closes with them, Targash swings and hits him with his sword +3. The vampire's smug look of overconfidence is transformed to one of snarling rage as he realizes with a shock that one of these sniveling humans has hurt him! Silver Weapons When confronting a creature immune to all but silver weapons, players will learn (probably the hard way) that just any old silver weapon won't do. Ordinary weapons plated with a thin layer of silver are not effective. The weapon, or at least the blade, must be made of pure silver. Such weapons must be custom-made. In addition, silver is a poor choice of metal for a weapon and so cannot be used for every-day purposes. To retain its cutting power and shape, a silver weapon should be used only when absolutely needed. While there are no rules to prevent its constant use (since there are too many variables for type of weapon, amount of use, etc.), be ready to surprise characters who constantly use silver weapons in place of normal ones. "Oh, dear, you hit that orc's plate mail with your silver sword and the blade bent!" or "You know, you've been using your silver-headed spear so much that the point is no longer good. It's kind of like hitting that werewolf with a clumsy club except it doesn't work as well!" Creature vs. Creature One obvious question that arises in the minds of those with a logical bent is "How do other creatures fight those immune monsters?" In the case of monsters, sufficient Hit Dice enable them to attack immune creatures as if they were fighting with magical weapons. Table 48 lists various numbers of Hit Dice and their magical weapon equivalents. These Hit Dice equivalents apply only to monsters. Player characters and NPCs cannot benefit from this. Table 48: Hit Dice Vs. Immunity Hit Dice Hits creatures requiring 4+1 or more +1 weapon 6+2 or more +2 weapon 8+3 or more +3 weapon 10+4 or more +4 weapon Using Immune Monsters in a Campaign Creatures with powerful weapon immunities should be used with care. Players trust the DM to create situations in which they have a chance to win. Don't use such creatures unless the party has weapons to defeat them, or there is some other reason for encountering that monster. Every player character in the party needn't have a weapon effective against the monster, but there should be at least two in the party. Avoid making an encounter dependent on the actions of a single character. It's not much fun for the other players and too many things can go wrong with the plan if the key player doesn't cooperate or his character gets hurt. The warning above is just that, however--a warning. It's not a rule. There are times where using such creatures on an unprepared party can lead to creative and entertaining play. For example, say the party is just beginning an adventure involving lots of werewolves. Early on, they are attacked by a hairy creature and their weapons don't seem to do any good! If not dispatched by spells, it causes serious injury, but doesn't manage to kill anyone, before it flees for some reason or another. It shouldn't take too much for players to figure out what they need, and getting appropriate weapons can become part of the adventure. Immune creatures also can be used to control a party that has become abusive or just too powerful. Such uses of very potent creatures should be extremely rare. Morale The old saying, "the best defense is a good offense" is clearly true in the AD&D game. And the best way to avoid suffering damage is to beat the foe so badly he wants to crawl under a rock or, better yet, run away. That's where morale checks come in. The gnoll in front of Beornhelm smashes a mace against the fighter's shield, just as the searing heat of lightning clips all the hair on the side of his head. Instantly, the heat is followed by the booming thunderclap in his ear. All the while, some vile little creature is trying to gnaw on his shin! It's really enough to ruin an adventurer's day. But, Beornhelm is cool, calm and in control--because the player running him says so. The same can't be said for the monsters. In almost all situations, players should be the ones who decide what their characters do. A DM should never tell a player, "Your character decides he doesn't want to get hurt and runs from the fight," unless that character is charmed and therefore controlled by the DM. A suggestion that a character might want to retreat, advance, open a chest, or whatever, is all right, but a DM shouldn't force a player character to do something by simply insisting. Only under the most unusual circumstances--charm, magical fear, or other forced effects--should the DM dictate the actions of a player character. Monsters and NPCs are an entirely different matter, however. The DM makes their decisions, trying to think like each creature or non-player character, in turn. In combat, thinking like a creature mainly means deciding what actions it takes and how badly it wants to fight. As a general rule, monsters and NPCs are no more eager to die than player characters. Most withdraw when a fight starts to go badly. Some panic and flee, even casting their weapons aside. If they think they can get mercy, brighter foes might fall to their knees and surrender. A few bloodthirsty or brainless types might fight to the death--but this doesn't happen too often. These are the things that make up morale, things the DM must decide, either through role-playing or dice rolling. The Role-Playing Solution The first (and best) way to handle morale is to determine it without rolling any dice or consulting any tables. This gives the biggest range of choices and prevents illogical things from happening. To decide what a creature does, think about its goals and reasons for fighting. Unintelligent and animal intelligence creatures attack and most often for food or to protect their lair. Few ever attack for the sheer joy of killing. Those attacking for food attack the things they normally hunt. A mountain lion, for example, doesn't hunt humans as a rule, and it doesn't stalk and attack humans as it would a deer. Such creatures normally allow a party of adventurers to pass by unhindered. Only when the creature is close to its lair does the chance of attack come into play. Animals often fight to protect their territory or their young. When they do become involved in combat, animals and other creatures rarely fight to the death. When hunting, they certainly try to escape, especially if they are injured. Their interest is in food. If they can't get it easily, they'll try again elsewhere. Most often, it is only when pressed, with no avenue of escape, or perhaps when its young are threatened, that an animal will sacrifice its own life. Of course, in an AD&D game, a creature can attack and fight to the death when that will make for the most drama and excitement. For example, say a group of characters spot a grizzly bear blocking the path ahead of them. Instead of wisely waiting for it to shamble off, the party foolishly puts some arrows into it. Enraged, the beast attacks the party with berserk fury, causing serious harm and teaching them an important lesson before it dies. Intelligent creatures have more complicated motivations that the need for food and shelter. The DM decides what the creatures want. Greed hatred, fear, self-defense, and hunger are all motivations, but they are not worth dying for. As a guideline for intelligent creature and NPC motivation, consider the actions of player characters. How often do they fight to the death? Why would they? At what point do they usually retreat? Certainly, NPC adventurer parties should behave similarly to player characters. After all, their concerns are much the same as those of the player characters--getting cash and improving themselves. They are not very interested in dying. On the other hand, members of some fanatical sects may willingly sacrifice themselves for the cause. Even so, a few have been known to reconsider at the last minute! The morale of NPCs and intelligent creatures should also jibe with known facts about his, her, or its personality. If an NPC with the party has been portrayed as cowardly, he probably won't willingly march into the jaws of death. One noted for his slavish loyalty, on the other hand, might stand his ground, dying to protect his friends or master. There are many choices, and the AD&D game works best when a person, not the dice, makes the choice. Dicing for Morale Sometimes there are just too many things going on to keep track of all the motivations and reactions of the participants. For these times, use the following system to determine the morale of the creature or NPC. Never use this system for a player character! First, do not check morale every round of a combat. Aside from the fact that this slows everything down, it also crates unbalanced and unrealistic battles. Everyone going into a fight expects a little danger. Only when the danger becomes too great should a morale check be rolled. Just when the DM rolls morale checks is a matter of judgment, but the following guidelines should prove useful. Check Monster and NPC Morale When:  The foes have been surprised, but only on the first round after surprise  Faced by an obviously superior force  An ally is slain by magic  25% of their group has fallen  50% of their group has fallen  A companion is slain after more than 50% of the group has fallen  Their leader deserts or is slain  Fighting a creature they cannot harm due to magical protections  Ordered to attempt a heroically dangerous task  Offered temptation (bribe, chance to steal, etc.)*  Told to act as a rear guard, such as covering a fighting withdrawal  Directed to use up or use a charge from a personal powerful magical item*  Given a chance to surrender (and have met the conditions for one other morale check)  Completely surrounded * In this case, the morale check can be used to see if they agree or refuse. Obviously, following the guidelines above too strictly can lead to illogical situations. Players, once they've learned the conditions calling for morale checks, may try to abuse the rules. For example, they might think to offer surrender terms to every monster they meet, figuring the odds of the morale check might work out their way. Don't let players get away with this, and don't let the dice overrule logical or drama. When 1st-level player characters offer surrender terms to an ancient red dragon (obviously hoping for a lucky break on the dice), remember what common sense is saying: "There ain't no way!" How to Make a Morale Check Table 49 lists the base morale number for various types of creatures. Table 50 lists conditions and situations that can modify this base morale number. To roll a morale check, find the rating that most closely matches the creature. Add or subtract the modifiers that apply to the situation. Some modifiers, such as the number of Hit Dice can be calculated in advance. Roll 2d10. If the total rolled on the dice is equal to or less than the morale rating, the creature is unaffected and keeps fighting. If the roll is greater, the creature panics and flees, or it takes some other appropriate action. Table 49: Morale Ratings Creature Type Morale Non-intelligent monster 18 Animal, normal and peaceful 3 Animal, normal predator 7 Animal intelligence monster 12 Semi-intelligent monster 11 Low intelligence 10 Average 0-level human 7 Mobs 9 Militia 10 Green or disorganized troops 11 Regular soldiers 12 Elite soldiers 14 Hirelings 12 Henchmen 15 Table 50: Situational Modifiers Situation Modifier Abandoned by friends -6 Creature lost 25% of its hp* -2 Creature lost 50% of its hp* -4 Creature is chaotic -1 Creature is fighting hated enemy +4 Creature is lawful +1 Creature was surprised -2 Creatures are fighting wizards or magic-using foes -2 Creatures with 1/2 HD or less -2 Creatures with greater than 1/2 HD, but less than 1 HD -1 Creatures with 4 to 8+ HD +1 Creatures with 9 to 14+ HD +2 Creatures with 15 or more HD +3 Defending home +3 Defensive terrain advantage +1 Each additional check required in round** -1 Leader is of different alignment -1 Most powerful ally killed -4 NPC has been favored +2 NPC has been poorly treated -4 No enemy slain -2 Outnumbered by 3 or more to 1 -4 Outnumber opponent 3 or more to 1 +2 Unable to affect opponent*** -8 Wizard or magic-using creature on same side +2 * Or a group that has lost that percentage of monster or creatures. ** -1/check required. *** Creatures protected from attack by magic or which require magic weapons to be struck and group does not possess these. Failing a Morale Check When a creature or NPC fails a morale check, its first concern is to escape or avoid whatever situation caused the check in the first place. If it is being overpowered in combat, it tries to flee. If the party's mage is blasting lightning bolts about, it tries to get away from him. If there is no place to go, the NPC or monster, if it is intelligent enough, falls down and surrenders--provided it thinks the party is likely to spare its life. A goblin is not about to surrender to a bunch of bloodthirsty dwarves because it knows how kindly those dwarves treat captured goblins! Now, if there just happened to be a nice, compassionate-looking human there, the goblin might give up if the human could promise it safety. How drastic a panicked creature's flight is depends on the DM's judgment and how much over the base morale the modified die roll was. If the roll was close to what was needed, the creature tries to back out of the combat and find safety nearby. If the morale check was blown badly, the creature just forgets everything and bugs out, casting aside anything that slows it down. Lawful creatures normally try to fall back in some sort of organized manner--keeping together as a group or, at least, all fleeing to the same place. Chaotic creatures tend to break and run in any direction that promises safety. Example of Morale: As the player characters slash through thick underbrush, they stumble across a band of 10 gnolls gnawing on roasted game birds. Neither group is surprised. An elf in the party shouts in the gnolls' language, "Surrender, you scum of the forest! You haven't a chance and we'll let you keep your miserable hides." The DM refuses to roll a morale check, since the gnolls don't know if their enemies are strong or weak. Besides, the DM sees possibilities for a nice dramatic fight in this encounter. Snarling, the gnolls hurl aside their badly cooked birds. The tallest one grunts out in the local tongue, "I think you wrong, tree-thing. We win fight. We take hides!" He hefts a great mace in his hands. The two groups attack. A furious, slashing battle ensues. Suddenly, the mage of the party cuts loose with a magic missile spell, killing the largest of the gnolls. Now the DM rolls a morale check, both for the magic and the loss of the leader, applying appropriate modifiers. The DM decides the gnolls are disorganized troops--a hunting party, not a war party. This gives them a base morale of 11. The gnolls have a -4 penalty (chaotic, fighting mages, and more than one check required in the round), giving an adjusted result of 7. Two 10-sided dice are rolled, resulting in a 3 and a 2, for a total of 5. They pass the morale check, since the number rolled is less than their modified morale, and they decide to keep fighting. In the next round, an NPC fighter with the party loses 25% of his hit points in wounds. The DM rolls a check for him as a hireling. His base morale is 12, but this is modified by -1 (+2 for mages on his side, -2 for his wounds, and -1 since his employer is lawful good and he is neutral), giving him a morale of 11. He rolls a total of 12--not good enough. He decides he's had enough and gets out of the fight, although he only goes so far as to hide behind a nearby tree and watch from safety. No morale checks are made for the player characters--players make their own decisions. Injury and Death Sometimes, no degree of luck, skill, ability, or resistance to various attacks can prevent harm from coming to a character. The adventuring life carries with it unavoidable risks. Sooner or later a character is going to be hurt. To allow characters to be heroic, and for ease of play, damage is handled abstractly in the AD&D game. All characters and monsters have a number of hit points. The more hit points a creature has, the harder it is to defeat. Damage is subtracted from a character's or creature's hit points. Should one of the player characters hit an ogre in the side of the head for 8 points of damage, those 8 points are subtracted from the ogre's total hit points. The damage isn't applied to the head or divided among different areas of the body. Hit point loss is cumulative until a character dies or has a chance to heal his wounds. Cwell the Fine, with 16 hit points, is injured by an orc that causes 3 hit points of damage. Fifteen minutes later, Cwell runs into a bugbear that inflicts 7 points of damage, Cwell has suffered 10 points of damage. This 10 points of damage remains until Cwell heals, either naturally or through magical means. Wounds When a character hits a monster, or vice versa, damage is suffered by the victim. The amount of damage depends on the weapon or method of attack. In Table 44 of the Player's Handbook, all weapons are rated for the amount of damage they inflict to Small, Medium, and Large targets. This is given as a die range (1d8, 2d6, etc.) Each time a hit is scored, the appropriate dice are rolled and the result--damage--is subtracted from the current hit points of the target. An orc that attacks with a sword, for example, causes damage according to the information given for the type of sword it uses. A troll that bites once and rends with one of its clawed hands causes 2d6 points of damage with its bite and 1d4 + 4 points with its claw. The DM gets this information from the Monstrous Manual. Sometimes damage is listed as a die range along with a bonus of +1 or more. The troll's claw attack, above, is a good example. This bonus may be due to high Strength, magical weapons, or the sheer ferocity of the creature's attack. The bonus is added to whatever number comes up on the die roll, assuring that some minimum amount of damage is inflicted. Likewise, penalties also can be applied, but no successful attack can result in less than 1 point of damage. Sometimes an attack has both a die roll and a damage multiplier. The number rolled on the dice is boosted by the multiplier to determine how much damage is inflicted. This occurs mainly in backstabbing attempts. In cases where damage is multiplied, only the base damage caused by the weapon is multiplied. Bonuses due to Strength or magic are not multiplied. Bonuses due to Strength or magic are not multiplied; they are added after the rolled damage is multiplied. Special Damage Getting struck by weapons or monsters isn't the only way a character can get hurt. Indeed, the world is full of dangers for poor, hapless player characters--dangers the DM can occasionally spring on them with glee. Some of the nastier forms of damage are described below. Falling Player characters have a marvelous (and, to the DM, vastly amusing) tendency to fall off things, generally from great heights and almost always onto hard surfaces. While the falling is harmless, the abrupt stop at the end tends to cause damage. When a character falls, he suffers 1d6 points of damage for every 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6, which for game purposes can be considered terminal velocity. This method is simple and it provides all the realism necessary in the game. It is not a scientific calculation of the rate of acceleration, exact terminal velocity, mass, impact energy, etc., of the falling body. The fact of the matter is that physical laws can describe the exact motion of a body as it falls through space, but relatively little is known about the effects of impact. The distance fallen is not the only determining factor in how badly a person is hurt. Other factors might include elasticity of the falling body and the ground, angle of impact, shock waves through the falling body, dumb luck, and more. People have actually fallen from great heights and survived, albeit very rarely. The current record-holder, Vesna Vulovic, survived a fall from a height of 33,330 feet in 1972, although she was severely injured. Flight-Sergeant Nicholas S. Alkemade actually fell 18,000 feet--almost 3.5 miles--without a parachute and landed uninjured! The point of all this is roll the dice, as described above, and don't worry too much about science. Paralysis A character or creature affected by paralysis becomes immobile for the duration of the spell's effect. The victim can breathe, think, see, and hear, but he is unable to speak or move. Coherent thought needed to trigger magical items or innate powers is still possible. Paralysis affects only the general motor functions of the body and is not the ultimate destroyer of powerful creatures. It can be particularly potent on flying creatures, however. The adventurers encounter a beholder, a fearsome creature with magical powers that emanate from its many eyes. After several rounds of combat, the party's priest casts a hold monster spell, paralyzing the creature. The paralyzed beholder still can use the spell-like powers of its eyes and move about (since it levitates at will). But, on the other hand, it is not able to move its eyestalks to aim. Since all of its eyes were most likely facing forward at the moment of paralysis, the adventurers cleverly spread out in a ring around the creature. To attack one or two of them with its powers, the beholder must turn its back on the rest. Energy Drain This is a feature of powerful undead (and other particularly nasty monsters). The energy drain is a horrible power, since it causes the loss of one or more experience levels. When a character is hit by an energy-draining creature, he suffers normal damage from the attack. In addition, the character loses one or more levels (and thus Hit Dice and hit points). For each level lost, roll the Hit Dice appropriate to the character's class and subtract that number of hit points from the character's total (subtract the Constitution bonus also, if applicable). If the level(s) lost was one in which the character received a set number of hit points rather than a die roll, subtract the appropriate number of hit points. The adjusted hit point total is now the character's maximum (i.e., hit points lost by energy drain are not taken as damage but are lost permanently). The character's experience points drop to halfway between the minimum needed for his new (post-drain) level and the minimum needed for the next level above his new level. Multi-class and dual-class characters lose their highest level first. If both levels are equal, the one requiring the greater number of experience points is lost first. All powers and abilities gained by the player character by virtue of his former level are immediately lost, including spells. The character must instantly forget any spells that are in excess of those allowed for his new level. In addition, a wizard loses all understanding of spells in his spell books that are of higher level than he can now cast. Upon regaining his previous level, the spellcaster must make new rolls to see if he can relearn a spell, regardless of whether he knew it before. If a character is drained to 0-level but still retains hit points (i.e., he is still alive), that character's adventuring career is over. He cannot regain levels and has lost all benefits of a character class. The adventurer has become an ordinary person. A restoration or wish spell can be used to allow the character to resume his adventuring career. If a 0-level character suffers another energy drain, he is slain instantly. If the character is drained to less than 0 levels (thereby slain by the undead), he returns as an undead of the same type as his slayer in 2d4 days. The newly risen undead has the same character class abilities it had in normal life, but with only half the experience it had at the beginning of its encounter with the undead that slew it. The new undead is automatically an NPC. His goals and ambitions are utterly opposed to those he held before. He possesses great hatred and contempt for his former colleagues, weaklings who failed him in his time of need. Indeed, his main ambition could be to destroy his former companions or cause them as much grief as possible. Further, the newly undead NPC is under the total control of the undead who slew it. If this master is slain, its undead minions of lower level or fewer Hit Dice gain one level or Hit Die for each level they drain from victims until they reach the maximum Hit Dice for their kind. Upon reaching full Hit Dice, these undead are able to acquire their own minions by slaying characters. Appropriate actions on the part of the other player characters can prevent a drained comrade from becoming undead. The steps necessary vary with each type of undead and are explained in the monster descriptions in the Monstrous Manual. Poison This is an all-too-frequent hazard faced by player characters. Bites, stings, deadly potions, drugged wines, and bad food all await characters at the hands of malevolent wizards, evil assassins, hideous monsters, and incompetent innkeepers. Spiders, snakes, centipedes, scorpions, wyverns, and some giant frogs all have poisons deadly to characters. Wise heroes quickly learn to respect and fear such creatures. The strength of different poisons varies wildly and is frequently overestimated. The bite of the greatly feared black widow spider kills a victim in the United States once every other year. Only about 2% of all rattlesnake bites prove fatal. At the other extreme, there are natural poisons of intense lethality. Fortunately, such poisons tend to be exotic and rare--the golden arrow-poison frog, the western taipan snake, and the stone fish all produce highly deadly poisons. Further, the effect of a poison depends on how it is delivered. Most frequently, it must be injected into the bloodstream by bite or sting. Other poisons are effective only if swallowed; assassins favor these for doctoring food. By far the most deadly variety, however, is contact poison, which need only touch the skin. Table 51 rates poisons for three different factors--method, onset, and strength. Those poisons which commonly appear in the game, such as that delivered by the sting of a giant centipede, are given a specific rating for convenience. Poisons are not listed by name here, since this is neither a scientific text nor a primer on the deadly nature of many plants and animals. Table 51: Poison Strength Class Method Onset Strength A Injected 10-30 minutes 15/0 B Injected 2-12 minutes 20/1-3 C Injected 2-5 minutes 25/2-8 D Injected 1-2 minutes 30/2-12 E Injected Immediate Death/20 F Injected Immediate Death/0 G Ingested 2-12 hours 20/10 H Ingested 1-4 hours 20/10 I Ingested 2-12 minutes 30/15 J Ingested 1-4 minutes Death/20 K Contact 2-8 minutes 5/0 L Contact 2-8 minutes 10/0 M Contact 1-4 minutes 20/5 N Contact 1 minute Death/25 O Injected 2-24 minutes Paralytic P Injected 1-3 hours Debilitative Method: The method is the new way in which the poison must normally be used to have full effect. Injected and ingested have no effect on contact. Contact poisons have full effect even if swallowed or injected, since both are forms of contact. Injected or ingested poisons have half their normal effect if administered in the opposite manner, resulting in the save damage being applied if the saving throw is failed and no damage occurring if the saving throw is successful. Onset: Most poisons require time to work their way through the system to reach the areas they affect. Onset is the time that elapses before the poison's effect is felt. The effect of immediate poisons is felt at the instant the poison is applied. Strength: The number before the slash lists the hit points of damage suffered if the saving throw is failed. The number after the slash lists the damage taken (if any) if the saving throw is successful. Where "death" is listed, all hit points are immediately lost, killing the victim. Note that in some cases a character may roll a successful saving throw and still die from the hit point loss. Not all poisons need cause damage. Two other common effects of poison are to paralyze or debilitate a victim. Paralytic poisons leave the character unable to move for 2d6 hours. His body is limp, making it difficult for others to move him. The character suffers no other ill effects from the poison, but his condition can lead to quite a few problems for his companions. Debilitating poisons weaken the character for 1d3 days. All of the character's ability scores are reduced by half during this time. All appropriate adjustments to attack rolls, damage, Armor Class, etc., from the lowered ability scores are applied during the course of the illness. In addition, the character moves at one-half his normal movement rate. Finally, the character cannot heal by normal or magical means until the poison is neutralized or the duration of the debilitation is elapsed. Treating Poison Victims Fortunately, there are many ways a character can be treated for poison. Several spells exist that either slow the onset time, enabling the character the chance to get further treatment, or negate the poison entirely. However, cure spells (including heal) do not negate the progress of a poison, and the neutralize poison spell doesn't recover hit points already lost to the effects of poison. In addition, characters with the herbalism proficiency can take steps to reduce the danger poison presents to player characters. Creating New Poisons Using the three basic characteristics--method, onset, and strength--and bearing in mind the debilitating and paralyzing effects of some poisons, it is possible to create new varieties. However, always introduce poisons and poisonous creatures with great care, especially when dealing with low-level characters. Unlike most other ways a character can be hurt, the life or death of a poisoned character often depends on a single die roll. It is essential that characters be treated fairly, or their players will quickly lose interest in the game. Specific Injuries (Optional Rule) The AD&D combat system does not call for specific wounds--scars, broken bones, missing limbs, and the like. And in most cases they shouldn't be applied. Remember that this is a game of heroic fantasy. If characters were to suffer real-life effects from all their battles and combats, they would quickly be some of the sorriest and most depressing characters in the campaign world. It's hard to get excited when your character is recovering from a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder suffered in a fall off a 15-foot wall. It is not recommended that characters suffer specific injuries. In general, stick with the basic pool of hit points. Is This Injury Necessary? Before adding specific injuries to a campaign, consider all the factors. If the injury is one that can be healed, such as a broken arm, how long does this healing take? What are the effects on the character while the arm heals? Is there some quick way to get healed? Will the player still be able to have fun while his character is an invalid? Only after considering these questions satisfactorily should a specific injury be used. DMs can use specific injuries to lessen a character's ability scores. A member of the party might acquire a prominent scar, lowering his Charisma by a point. Although, in this case, you'll want a ready explanation of why a scar had this effect, as in some instances a scar can actually enhance the personality of a person. It can make him look tougher, more mysterious, more worldly, more magnetic, all things that could conceivably increase a character's Charisma. Similarly, the loss of a character's finger or eye could be used as an excuse to lower an excessively high Dexterity. Loss of an arm could reduce Strength (among other things). Don't overdo this brute force approach to player control. Players get attached to their characters; they get used to thinking of them and role-playing them a particular way. Mess with this too much and you'll find players deserting your campaign. Within reason, it's okay to leave a character physically marked. This leads to good role-playing. It adds to the feeling that each character is unique, making one player's fighter, wizard, or whatever different from all others. A scar here, an eye patch there, or a slight limp all result in more of an individual character and thus one more interesting to role-play. But in these cases physical effects are tailoring the character, not punishing the player. Always try to be fair and ask the question, "Would I want to role-play such a character?" If the answer is no, then it's likely the player won't want to either. Don't load players with handicaps--their characters have enough of a challenge as it is. Healing Once a character is wounded, his player will naturally want to get him healed. Characters can heal either by natural or magical means. Natural healing is slow, but it's available to all characters. Magical healing may or may not be available, depending on the presence of spellcasters or magical devices. Healing can never restore more hit points to a character than his maximum hit point total. Natural Healing Characters heal naturally at a rate of 1 hit point per day of rest. Rest is defined as low activity--nothing more strenuous than riding a horse or traveling from one place to another. Fighting, running in fear, lifting a heavy boulder, or any other physical activity, prevents resting, since it strains old wounds and may even reopen them. If a character has complete bed-rest (doing nothing for an entire day), he can regain 3 hit points for the day. For each complete week of bed rest, the character can add any Constitution hit point bonus he might have to the base of 21 points (3 points per day) he regained during that week. In both cases above, the character is assumed to be getting adequate food, water, and sleep. If these are lacking, the character does not regain any hit points that day. Magical Healing Spells, potions, and magical devices can speed the process of healing considerably. The specifics of such magical healing methods are described in the spell descriptions in the Player's Handbook, and in this book for magical items. By using these methods, wounds close instantly and vigor is restored. Magical healing is particularly useful in the midst of combat or in preparation for a grievous encounter. Remember, however, that the characters' opponents are just as likely to have access to magical healing as the player characters--an evil high priest is likely to carry healing spells to bestow on his own followers and guards. Healing is not, of itself, a good or evil act. Remember that under no circumstances can a character be healed to a point greater than his original hit point total. For example, say a character has 30 hit points, but suffers 2 points of damage in a fight. A while later, he takes an additional point of damage, bringing his current hit point total to 27. A spellcaster couldn't restore more than 3 points to him, regardless of the healing method used. Herbalism and Healing Proficiencies Characters also can gain minor healing benefits from those proficient in the arts of herbalism and healing. These talents are explained in Chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook. Character Death When a character reaches 0 hit points, that character is slain. The character is immediately dead and unable to do anything unless some specialized magical effect takes precedence. Death from Poison Poison complicates this situation. A character who dies as a result of poisoning still could have active venom in his system. Poisons remain effective for 2d6 hours after the death of the victim. If the character is raised during this time, some method must be found to neutralize the poison before the character is restored to life. If this is not done, then after the character rolls the resurrection survival check given in "Raising the Dead," he must immediately roll a successful saving throw vs. poison or suffer all the effects of the poison in his body, as per the normal rules. This may only injure some characters, but it may kill other characters seconds after being raised! Death from Massive Damage In addition to dying when hit points reach 0, a character also runs the risk of dying abruptly when he suffers massive amounts of damage. A character who suffers 50 or more points of damage from a single attack must roll a successful saving throw vs. death, or he dies. This applies only if the damage was done by a single attack. Multiple attacks totaling 50 points in a single round don't require a saving throw. For example, a character would be required to make a check if a dragon breathed on him for 72 points of damage. He wouldn't have to do so if eight orcs hit him for a total of 53 points of damage in that round. If the saving throw is successful, the character remains alive (unless of course the 50-hit-point loss reduced his hit points to 0 or below). If the saving throw fails, the character immediately dies from the intense shock his body has taken. His hit points are reduced to 0. The character still can be raised in the normal ways, however. Inescapable Death There are occasions when death is unavoidable, no matter how many hit points a character has. A character could be locked in a room with no exits, with a 50-ton ceiling descending to crush him. He could be trapped in an escape-proof box filled with acid. These examples are extreme (and extremely grisly), but they could happen in a fantasy world. As a general guideline, inescapable deaths should be avoided--characters always should have some chance to escape a hopeless situation, preferably by using common sense and intelligence. This maintains the interest of the players and helps them retain their trust in the DM. However, if a situation of inescapable death occurs, the character dies, and there is no need to play such a situation out round-by-round. Allow the player to attempt reasonable (and perhaps even truly heroic) methods of escape. If these fail, simply inform the player of the demise of his character. The doomed character is assumed to have lost all hit points. Raising the Dead Curative and healing spells have no effect on a dead character--he can only be returned to life with a raise dead or resurrection spell (or a device that accomplishes one of these effects). Each time a character is returned to life, the player must roll a resurrection survival check based on his character's current Constitution (see Table 3 in the Player's Handbook). If the die roll is successful (i.e., the player rolls equal to or less than his resurrection survival percentage), the character is restored to life in whatever condition is specified by the spell or device. A character restored to life in this way has his Constitution permanently lowered by 1 point. This can affect hit points previously earned. Should the character's Constitution bonus go down, the character's hit point total is reduced by the appropriate number of hit points (the amount of hit point bonus lost is multiplied by the number of levels for which the character gained extra hit points from that bonus). When the character's Constitution drops to 0, that character can no longer be raised. He is permanently removed from play. Hovering on Death's Door (Optional Rule) You might find that your campaign has become particularly deadly. Too many player characters are dying. If this happens, you may want to allow characters to survive for short periods of time even after their hit points reach or drop below 0. When this rule is in use, a character can remain alive until his hit points reach -10. However, as soon as the character reaches 0 hit points, he falls to the ground unconscious. Thereafter, he automatically loses one hit point each round. His survival from this point on depends on the quick thinking of his companions. If they reach the character before his hit points reach -10 and spend at least one round tending to his wounds--stanching the flow of blood, etc., the character does not die immediately. If the only action is to bind his wounds, the injured character no longer loses one hit point each round, but neither does he gain any. He remains unconscious and vulnerable to damage from further attacks. If a cure spell of some type is cast upon him, the character is immediately restored to 1 hit point--no more. Further cures do the character no good until he has had at least one day of rest. Until such time, he is weak and feeble, unable to fight and barely able to move. He must stop and rest often, can't cast spells (the shock of near death has wiped them from his mind), and is generally confused and feverish. He is able to move and can hold somewhat disjointed conversations, but that's it. If a heal spell is cast on the character, has hit points are restored as per the spell, and he has full vitality and wits. Any spells he may have known are still wiped from his memory. (Even this powerful spell does not negate the shock of the experience.) Unusual Combat Situations Although most adventurers spend most of their time on foot, and on good old solid land where common sense and the normal combat rules can be applied, the player characters are operating in a fantasy world. Sooner or later, player characters are going to lay siege to a castle, or leap on their horses, or learn how to ride an exotic flying creature. Eventually, they're going to pick up and go adventuring in some totally weird environment where the normal laws of physics just don't apply. Here, you'll find rules and guidelines for some ordinary, and not so ordinary combat situations. Siege Damage The players will often encounter situations in which it is important that a stronghold be broken into. In these situations, the overall employment of siege tactics should be secondary to the thrill and glory of the players going "mano-a-mano" with their foes. In other words, the battle should be the background against which the players act. Sixteen months of siege may be realistic, but it isn't much fun! The critical point in a siege is that moment when the walls face a direct assault. This is especially true in a role-playing adventure. The following table simplifies this process of breaking down walls. To use the table, the DM determines what type of wall is being assaulted, and its closest approximation on the Table. Cross-reference the type of attack being made and roll 1D20. If the resulting roll is higher than the number required, the attack does no significant damage; if the roll is lower, the wall begins to give way. For each point below the required saving throw, the structure loses one cubic foot of structure. For example, suppose a stone wall 10' thick fails its saving throw by six points. The wall now loses a portion of its structure equal to six cubic feet of area (i.e., a hole two feet wide, three feet high, and one foot deep). Table 52: Structural Saving Throws Wall Type Attack Form Hard Stone Soft Stone Earth Thin Wood Thick Wood Ballista 2 3 4 10 5 Giant fist 3 4 7 16 9 Small catapult 4 8 5 17 9 Ram 5 9 3 20 17 Screw or drill 12 15 16 20 12 Large catapult 8 11 10 20 13 Mounted Combat Fighting on horseback (or on a wyvern, unicorn, or pegasus, or whatever) is a different affair from battling on solid ground. The fighters must deal with their mounts--unpredictable and sometimes skittish creatures. Plus, the business of fighting on horseback demands different tactics from foot combat. Mounts--Trained and Untrained Mounts trained for combat (a heavy warhorse, for example) present few problems. These can be used in mounted combat with no penalties. However, steeds not trained for combat are easily frightened by the noise and confusion. Those fighting from the back of untrained creatures suffer a -2 on their chance to hit, since much of their time is spent simply trying to keep the mount under control. Panic: The rider of an untrained mount must make a Riding proficiency check whenever the mount is injured or startled by a surprising event (such as a lightning bolt spell blasting the rider or someone close by). If the check fails, the mount panics and bolts, carrying its rider up to 1-1/2 times its normal move. Although the mount panics in a more or less random direction, it goes generally forward unless that carries it straight into the face of danger. If unable to flee, a panicked mount rears and bucks uncontrollably. Characters without the Riding proficiency automatically lose control of a panicked mount. A proficient character can attempt to regain control once per round. Regardless of the rider's proficiency, the mount's panic lasts only 1d4 rounds. Fighting from Horseback In mounted fighting, a character gets a +1 bonus to his chance to hit creatures smaller than his mount. Thus, a man on horseback gains a +1 bonus to his attack rolls against all medium-sized creatures such as other men, but would not gain this bonus against another rider or a giant. Those on foot who fight against a mounted rider, have a -1 penalty; this not applied to attacks against the mount, however. Lances are the preferred weapons of the mounted rider. However, the type of lance used (light, medium, or heavy) can't be greater than the size of the horse ridden (light, medium, or heavy). Medium and heavy lances gain their striking power from the momentum of the mount. By themselves, these lances are not capable of doing significant damage. Simply stabbing someone with a heavy lance won't produce much in the way of results. Therefore, these weapons are most effective when there's plenty of attack space. During the first round of a battle, a rider can attack with a heavy or medium lance. After this, however, the rider must break off (most likely by continuing past his opponent), turn his mount, and gallop back again. This series of actions takes one round. Thus, at best, a rider can attack with a lance once every other round. If the rider wants to continue the fight close in, he must throw the lance to the ground and draw another weapon. Often, lances are used for the first attack and then discarded in favor of swords, maces, etc. Another consideration to bear in mind when using a lance is that lances are breakable. Heavy and medium lances are relatively inflexible. The DM can make an Item Saving Throw (for crushing blow) on each successful hit. A light lance is made with a great deal of spring (bamboo or cane are common materials). An Item Saving Throw is made only if the number needed to hit is rolled exactly, after modifiers. Missile fire from the back of a moving horse is possible only if the rider is proficient in horsemanship. Even then, only short bows, composite short bows, and light crossbows can be fired from horseback by normally proficient characters. Long bows can be used by those with specialization (if this is used). Heavy crossbows can be fired once, but cannot be reloaded by a mounted man since the bracing and pull is inadequate. If the mount is not moving, the rider can fire normally (with full ROF and chance to hit). When firing while on the move, the rider has his rate of fire reduced by one. A 2-shot-per-turn ROF becomes a 1 shot every two turns; and so on. In addition, the distance moved modifies the attack rolls according to Table 53. Table 53: Mounted Missile Fire Mount's Current Movement Modifier Not moving 0 Less than 1/2 normal rate -1 1/2 to 3/4 normal rate -3 Greater than 3/4 normal rate -5 Being Dismounted The other great hazard and difficulty of mounted combatants is the risk of being abruptly and rather rudely dismounted. An opponent can make this happen in one of several ways. Killing the Mount: This is the grim and efficient method. Once the horse (often an easier target) is dead, the rider is certainly dismounted. The steed automatically falls to the ground. If the rider has the Riding proficiency, he can attempt to land safely on his feet on a successful check. Otherwise, the character also falls to the ground and suffers 1d3 points of damage. The character cannot take any action that round and must spend another entire round gathering himself back up and getting to his feet. Lassoing the Rider: The more heroic method of dismounting someone is to try to bring down the rider without harming the mount. This is also more desirable from a bandit's point of view, as he would rather have a live horse than a dead one. Certain weapons (such as the lasso) can be used to yank a rider off his speeding mount. However, riders with Riding proficiency can attempt to stop short, reining the horse in before the rope is fully played out. If the check is successful, the horse stops before the line goes taut. The rider remains mounted, albeit still lassoed. Whether the proficiency check is made or missed, the person or monster wielding the lasso must make a Strength check with a +3 bonus for every size category he's bigger than the rider (or a -3 penalty for every size category smaller). A 20 is always a failure and a 1 always succeeds--unless the DM deems the result utterly preposterous. If the check is successful, the roper remains standing and the rider falls. If the check fails, the fellow on the ground gets yanked down and possibly dragged along. Weapon Impact: Riders also can be knocked off by solid blows from a variety of weapons. Any time a rider hits another mounted character or creature with a melee weapon 3' or longer and scores a natural 20 on the roll, the other character is knocked from the saddle, suffering 1d3 points of damage (if from the back of a normal horse). Foot soldiers with weapons of 10' or greater have the same chance. Riders with Riding proficiency can attempt to retain their seating by rolling a successful proficiency check. The Flying Tackle: Finally, those on horseback can attempt to dive on another rider by making an attack roll. If the attack roll misses, the attacker falls to the ground, suffering 1d3 points of damage (more, at the DM's discretion, if the mount is larger than a horse). If the attack roll succeeds, the target must roll a successful Dexterity check to remain in the saddle. If this roll succeeds, the rider remains mounted, but the attacker is hanging on his side, feet dangling just above the ground. If the attack succeeds and the Dexterity roll is failed, both the rider and the attacker fall to the ground. Footsoldiers can also attempt to pull down a rider. This is handled by the rules for overbearing. Aerial Combat (Tournament) On first examination, aerial combat seems just like normal ground combat. The only real difference is that the ground can be anywhere from 10 feet to 100 miles (or more!) below. This little difference, however, leads to a number of special problems and effects that never come into play during a ground battle. The biggest difference is that everyone (except the rare creature able to hover) must keep moving forward. Stop flying and the result is a fall, often with disastrous results. Two flying creatures simply cannot face off in toe-to-toe combat. Battles are fought in a series of passes, as each creature tries to swoop down on the other, attack, wheel, and return before the other can respond. Speed and maneuverability are even more important factors in an aerial battle than in an ordinary one. Another big difference is that aerial battles are fought in three dimensions. While this is hardly surprising to creatures of the air, it often causes the plans and tactics of groundlings, accustomed to only two dimensions, to go awry. In the air, attacks can come from ahead, alongside, above, behind, below, or any combination of these. A paladin riding a pegasus may find himself beset by harpies swooping from high and in front, low and to the right side, high and from the rear, and even straight down from above. Clearly, standard methods of defense and attack that work on the ground are going to do him little good here. There are two ways of running aerial battles: the Tournament rules and the Optional rules. The Tournament rules can be used in any situation, but rely on the descriptions of the DM and the imaginations of the players for much of their effect. The Optional rules provide a more detailed system for fighting aerial battles with miniatures. The Tournament rules begin below. Maneuverability Classes How tightly a creature is able to turn is an important factor in aerial combat. To measure this, all flying creatures have a maneuverability class ranking from A to E (with A being the best). In general, creatures with a better maneuverability class can attack more often and more effectively. Class A creatures have virtually total command over their movements in the air; it is their home. They can maneuver in the air with the same ease as a normal person on the ground, turning at will, stopping quickly, and hovering in place. For them, flying is the same as walking or running. Class A creatures can face any given direction in a round, and are virtually impossible to outmaneuver in the air. Fighting in the air is no different from fighting on the ground for them, so they can attack every round. This class includes creatures from the elemental plane of Air and creatures able to fly magically, without wings. Class B creatures are the most maneuverable of all winged creatures, although they lack the utter ease of movement of class A creatures. They are able to hover in place, and so are the only winged creatures that do not need to maintain forward movement in a battle. The creatures can turn 180 degrees in a single round and can make one pass every round. this class includes pixies, sprites, sylphs, and most giant insects. Class C includes most normal birds and flying magical items. Forward momentum must be maintained by moving at least half the normal movement rate (although some magical items are exempted from this). Creatures in this class can turn up to 90 degrees in a single round and can make one pass every two rounds. Gargoyles and harpies fall into this class. Dragons, although huge, are amazingly maneuverable and also fall into this class. Class D creatures are somewhat slow to reach maximum speed, and they make wide turns. Forward movement equal to at least half the movement rate is required. Turns are limited to 60 degrees in a single round. Class D creatures make only one pass every three rounds. Pegasi, pteranodons, and sphinxes fall into this class. Class E is for flyers so large or clumsy that tight maneuvering is impossible. The creature must fly at least half its movement rate, and can only turn up to 30 degrees in a single round. Thus, it can make just one pass every six rounds. This class includes rocks and other truly gigantic creatures. Levitation Levitating creatures don't truly fly, and their movement is generally limited to up or down. Levitating creatures that are able to move freely are assumed to be class A. Otherwise, the power does not grant any maneuverability and so is not assigned a class. Altitude The relative elevation of combatants is important for a variety of reasons, but as far as combat goes, it has little real effect. If flying creatures wish to fight, they must all be flying at approximately the same height. If one of the creatures flees and the others do not pursue, he gets away. Simple. Altitude affects the action. The DM should keep the following guidelines in mind as he listens to what players want to do and decides how creatures and NPCs will react. Creatures cannot charge those above them, although those above can dive, gaining the charge bonus. Only creatures with natural weapons or riders with "L" weapons, such as a lance, can attack a creature below them. Attacks from below suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll, as the reach and angle make combat difficult. Combat Procedure Aerial combat is based on maneuverability. When flying creatures fight, compare the maneuverability classes of the different combatants. If these are all identical, the combat is conducted normally. When maneuverability classes differ, creatures with the better class gain several advantages. For each difference in class, the more maneuverable flyer subtracts one from its initiative die rolls. Its maneuverability increases its ability to strike quickly and to strike areas that are difficult to protect. Breath Weapons are more problematic in aerial combat than on the ground. Creatures using breath weapons find their fields of fire slightly more restricted, making the attack harder to use. Dragons, in particular, find it difficult to use their breath weapons to the side and rear while flying forward. Those within a 60-degree arc of the front of the creature roll saving throws vs. breath weapons normally. Creatures outside this arc save with a +2 bonus to the die roll. Missile Fire is also difficult in aerial combat. Those mounted on a flying creature or magical device suffer all the penalties for mounted bowfire. Hovering is the same as standing still and incurs no penalty. Characters using missile fire while levitating suffer a -1 cumulative penalty for each round of fire, up to a maximum of -5. Levitation is not a stable platform, and the reaction from the missile fire creates a gradually increasing rocking motion. A round spent doing nothing allows the character to regain his balance. Medium and heavy crossbows cannot be cocked by levitating characters, since there is no point of leverage. Air-to-Ground Combat When attacking a creature on the ground (or one levitating and unable to move), the flyer's attacks are limited by the number of rounds needed to complete a pass. A dragon flies out of its cave to attack the player characters as they near its lair. On the first round it swoops over them, raking the lead character with its claws. Since its maneuverability is C, it then spends a round wheeling about and swooping back to make another attack on the third round of combat. Of course, during this time, its flight will more than likely take it out of range of the player characters. Escaping When a creature tries to break off from combat, its ability to escape depends on its maneuverability and speed. Creatures both faster and more maneuverable than their opponents can escape combat with no penalties. The free attack for fleeing a combat is not allowed, since the other flyer is also in motion (probably in the opposite direction). If a creature is faster, but not more maneuverable, it can break off by simply outrunning its opponent. The other cannot keep pace. In this case, a free attack for fleeing is allowed. If the creature is slower, regardless of maneuverability, an initiative roll must be made (modified by the maneuverability of the flyers). If the fleeing creature's initiative roll is lower than that of the pursuer, the creature has managed to flee, although suffering the usual attack for fleeing. Damage Any winged creature that loses more than 50% of its hit points cannot sustain itself in the air and must land as soon as possible. The creature can glide safely to the ground, but cannot gain altitude or fly faster than half its normal movement rate. If no safe landing point is available, the creature is just out of luck. Since the circumstances of a crash landing can vary greatly, the exact handling of the situation is left to the DM. The falling rules may come in handy, though a vivid imagination may be even more helpful. Aerial Combat (Optional Rules) These optional rules provide more precision about just what is happening in an aerial battle. However, these battles require the use of miniatures or counters and generally take longer to resolve. All of the aerial combat rules above remain in effect except where specifically contradicted below. Movement Movement is measured in inches (1 inch = 10 feet of movement) and the pieces are moved on the tabletop or floor. The maneuverability classes determine how far a figure can turn in a single round. A protractor is handy for figuring this. Turns can be made at any point in the round, provided the total number of degrees turned is not exceeded in the round and there is at least 1 inch of movement between turns. Climbing and Diving Players keep track of the altitude of their flyers by noting the current altitude on a slip of paper. Like movement, this can be recorded as inches of altitude. A creature can climb 1 inch for every inch of forward movement. Creatures of class C and worse have a minimum air speed, and they must spend at least half their movement rate going forward. Thus, they cannot fly straight up and can only climb at a maximum of 1/2 their normal movement rate. Diving creatures gain speed, earning an additional inch to their movement for every inch they dive, up to their maximum movement rate. Thus, a creature able to fly 12 could move 24 by diving for its entire movement, since each inch of diving adds one inch of movement. A diving creature must fly the full distance it gains diving, although it need not fly its full normal movement. A creature with a movement of 12 could not dive 9 and fly only 6 forward. It must move forward at least 9, the distance it dove. Attacking Since the exact positions of the flying units are marked by miniatures, several abstractions for aerial combat are not used. Die roll modifiers for maneuverability are ignored. These simulate the ability of more acrobatic creatures gaining an advantage over clumsier flyers. When playing with miniatures or counters, this task is left to the players. Likewise, the number of rounds required to make a pass are not used, as this becomes evident from the position of the pieces. When a diving creature makes an attack, it is considered to be charging. Charging creatures gain the normal combat bonus. Lances and spears inflict double damage in a charge. Further, creatures with talons or claws cause double damage when they hit during a dive. Underwater Combat An oft-neglected, but fascinating, area for adventure is that great and mysterious realm that lies beneath the waves. Here, ancient civilizations, green and dark, lie waiting to be discovered. Vast treasure hordes are said to lie scattered and open on the murky bottom. Creatures, fearsome and fanciful, rule kingdoms unknown to man. Many are the mysteries of the ocean, but, to solve them, players must deal with some unusual problems. Breathing The biggest problem facing characters underwater is, naturally, breathing. Before any kind of underwater adventure is undertaken, they have to find some way to stay underwater for long periods. Characters can use magical spells or devices; they can use water breathing potions; they can even polymorph themselves into underwater creatures (although this might lead to other, unexpected problems). If none of these solutions seems workable, the DM can provide oxygen-supplying seaweeds or kelps the characters can eat. Without some method of breathing underwater, the characters are going to have a very short adventure! Rules for holding one's breath (a short term solution, at best!) and drowning can be found in the Player's Handbook. Movement There are two basic ways to move in water--swimming or sinking like a stone and walking on the bottom. Rules for swimming can be found in the Player's Handbook. In rare cases, player characters may be able to find and use trained mounts such as giant seahorses. Vision One major limitation of underwater combat is the lack of available light. In fresh water, vision is limited to a base of 50'. This is reduced by 10' for every 10' of depth. Characters exploring the depths of a murky lake, 50' below the surface, could see about 10'. Below this, the darkness would close in about them. In salt water, which has somewhat less algae, the base extends out to 100', modified for depth in the same way as fresh water. Natural and Artificial Light The vision guidelines above assume a bright sunlight day on the surface overhead. On overcast days, the distance a character sees can be reduced by half or more. On moonless nights a character's range of vision is virtually nil. Artificial light sources function underwater (although players will have to think fast to keep torches and lanterns lit). Artificial light sources illuminate half the space under water that they would light on the surface. Obscured Vision In addition to low light, vision can be obscured by seaweed, sea grass, and kelp forests. These hamper vision in much the same way as thick brush on the surface. Schools of fish with their often silvery scales can reflect and scatter light in hundreds of different directions, creating a shining cloud of confusion. Even without the reflection, their darting forms obscure an area. Finally, the ink from a giant squid, or even mud stirred up from the bottom, have all the effects of a darkness spell. Infravision and light have no success penetrating such murky waters. Infravision Infravision functions underwater, though not with the same efficiency as on the surface. In no case does it extend past the normal ranges allowed in dungeons. In addition, the sheer alienness of the environment makes it difficult for the character to be certain of all he sees. Combat The greatest factor in fighting underwater is overcoming the resistance of the water. Even though a weapon still retains its mass and density, the resistance of the water greatly weakens the impact of any blow. Thus, only thrust weapons can be used effectively underwater (except for those possessing magical items that enable free action). Thrown and hurled weapons (except nets) are useless underwater. Of the missile weapons, only specially made crossbows can be used effectively underwater. Even so, all rangers on these weapons are reduced by half. Nets are particularly effective in underwater combat. They tend to remain spread once opened, and characters should find them useful for close-in combat. Properly weighted, nets can be thrown by tossing them with a slight spin, so that the force of rotation keeps the lines taut. The range is very short, only 1' for every point of the thrower's Strength. Combat Problems of Surface-Dwellers In combat, surface-dwellers suffer special disadvantages when fighting the races of the sea. Being unaccustomed to the water resistance and changed in apparent weight, surface-dwellers add four to their initiative tolls in hand-to-hand combat. This does not apply to missile fire or spellcasting. Surface-Dwellers also suffer a -4 penalty to their attack rolls, due to the slowness of their movements. Underwater Magic Spells are also affected by the underwater world. Not surprisingly, fire-based spells have no effect unless cast in an area of free oxygen (such as a domed city). Electrical spells conduct their energy into the surrounding water. Thus, a lightning bolt originating 60' away from the caster acts like a fireball at the point of origin. Spells affecting forces of nature not normally found underwater have no effect--call lightning, for example. Spells that summon or command creatures not native to the depths are also pointless. Chapter 10: Treasure and Magical Items Characters in a role-playing game strive for many things-fame, glory, experience, among them. But for those who are not fully satisfied with such intangible rewards, there is one other goal-fortune. Strands of glittering golden chains, stacks of silver coin, heaps of marten fur, bejeweled crowns, enameled sceptres, silken cloths, and powerful magical items all wait to be discovered-or wrested from the grasp of powerful monsters. With such treasures awaiting, how could any bold adventurer be content to remain peacefully at home? Who Needs Money? Treasure is more than just a goal, a measure of material wealth, however. "It takes money to get money," so the old saying goes, and for adventurers one could even say, "It takes money to stay alive." As characters survive and succeed, their challenges become greater and more deadly. At first level a simple suit of studded armor, a stout pair of boots, and a few simple spells were all a character needed; at higher levels such simple impediments no longer suffice. Faced with terrible foes, characters quickly discover that they need strong armors, barded horses, a variety of weapons, fortifications, men-at-arms, potions, scrolls, and potent magical items. These are the kinds of things the characters have to find, make, or buy. And however they go about acquiring them, they're going to need money. In a sense, then, treasure is also a method of measuring a character's power. Even a low-level character with money and magic to spare is more than a match for an impoverished fellow of higher level. Thus, getting rich and getting ahead are rewards in and of themselves. Forms of Treasure There are many different kinds of treasure. Some of these are obvious, their approximate value known to all. Others are less easy to spot, their value more difficult to determine. The simplest treasures are items of set value-gold, silver, platinum, and copper coins. Virtually anyone can tell the worth of these. Those with a trained eye can assess the value of semi-precious and precious stones, both cut and uncut. A trained jeweler, goldsmith, or silversmith can appraise man's work in precious metals-plateware, necklaces, brooches, tiaras, bracelets, rings, and other pieces of jewelry. Tradesmen can evaluate the handiwork of their craft, be it enamelware, blown glass, statuary, or delicate embroidery. Overeager adventurers can easily overlook vast treasures in the form of common goods. Few pay attention to bolts of fine linen, stacks of sable marten fur, casks of wine, or tons of raw iron ore, yet these can be worth great fortunes. Not every fortune shines, glitters, or can even be touched. What if the characters find a sheaf of cracked papers in an ancient horde, and one of the papers turns out to be a long-lost land deed? Is it valuable? Could the characters use it to enforce a claim? Documents granting land, privileges, titles, offices, and rights of taxation (or freedom from it) are all valuable. The characters may not wish to become land-owners, but they can certainly find some merchant willing to pay cash money for the right. Finally, there are magical items, desired and coveted by virtually every player character. These items give the character power beyond his level. They excite the imagination, and fill the campaign with mysterious wonder and romance. Carefully chosen and carefully awarded, magical items add an exotic element important to any AD&D game. The DM places, awards, and controls the treasures that appear in his campaign. The amount of treasure, both monetary and magical, the characters receive will have great effects on the development of the campaign. For this reason, several questions should be answered before play begins: Is the world poor in magical items, such that the discovery of a simple potion will be seen as a great reward? Or is it rich in magical items, such that the player characters will have many and will use them often just to survive? Will their supply of magical items be so great as to render them all but unstoppable? Will the player characters be forced to undertake dangerous adventures just to have food from day to day, or will they have so much wealth that their adventures will involve those of the highest levels of society and power? Will the characters have too much money, making them difficult to coerce, bribe, threaten, or even challenge? Will they be poor (and, possibly, depressed and frustrated)? Only the DM can answer these questions. And answer them he should, for they will shape the campaign as surely as any other single factor. Placement of Treasure One given in the AD&D game is that there is a significant amount of treasure (monetary and magical) that is not circulated in the society. These treasures are not used to purchase goods or pay for services. They do not collect interest in banks (a foreign concept to the age, anyway). They do not represent collateral used to secure loans or maintain prestige. They are not the underpinnings of monetary systems. They are just piles of unused treasure, apparently forgotten, their potential unrealized. By normal standards, this is an illogical situation. So, just why is there so much treasure laying around? Now, it is not important to create a detailed background that goes into the economic theories of dragon-hoarding or the supply-and-demand trade structures of dwarves. But it doesn't hurt to look at some of the basic premises behind all this loose treasure. Take these three related premises: Premise #1: Long ago the world was a wealthier place, since all this money has been taken out of circulation. Premise #2: Once the world was more culturally advanced, since only an organized society can control things like minting on a large scale. Premise #3: The world has fallen into a dark age, since now these same hoards are eagerly sought after by adventurers and there are few governments able to mint such amounts of coinage. From these premises, the DM begins to create a background for his campaign world. Here are some possibilities: Once in ages long before the present time, there was a Golden Age of learning and culture. (It could have been the Reign of the Elven Lords, the Empire of the Dwarves, the Great Age of Peace, the Time Before the Coming of Man, or the Rule of Good King Haring.) Then came a great disaster and evil times. (Suddenly the Dragon-Fire began, the Sinking of the Gruen Mountains occurred, the Darkling invaded, Man arrived, or Therope usurped King Haring's throne.) Now, the world is slowly beginning to recover from this disastrous time, but much of what once was has been lost. There are hidden treasures of bygone ages, ancient ruins, forgotten wonders, and mighty magics now lost. Ancient civilizations, now in ruins, are the source of many of the treasures adventurers seek. Of course, there are also new treasures being made and amassed. some of which are ripe for the picking. Other deductions could be made and different premises reached from the same beginning. The ones given above provide a broad range of excuses for adventures, both for the players and the DM. Recovering that which was lost leads to all manner of possibilities: treasure maps, ruined empires overswept by desert, legends of powerful wizards with spells now unheard of, magical devices of unknown function, relics and artifacts from the previous age, even greater powers no longer worshiped. Who's Got the Treasure? The next question relating to treasure hoards is just who assembles these treasures and to what end? The answer can be divided into two simple categories, the unintelligent and the intelligent creature. Unintelligent creatures here refers not to those totally mindless beings, rather to those of animal nature for whom wealth has no meaning. Unintelligent Creatures: Few unintelligent creatures set out with the intention of amassing a fortune. Such treasures grow by chance and happenstance. The remains of victims dragged back to the creature's lair may include what fortune, arms, armor, and magical items that victim was carrying. These, unsavory and indigestible, could be thrown aside or scattered among the bones and refuse of previous meals. Fortunately for adventurers, most animals have some sanitary habits and regularly clean their dens of refuse, creating small garbage dumps just outside their doors. Thus, the unwanted litter from the aerie of a giant eagle could be scattered around the base of its tree, while the remains of a cave bear's kill could be found somewhere near the opening to its den. At the same time, animals (and animal-like monsters) often have a fascination with the strangest of objects. Packrats and magpies are known to carry off shiny objects, pet ferrets will carry off pennies and shoes, and birds will weave all manner of things into their nests. Thus it is possible for virtually any item of interest to be found in the lair of a creature. There won't be many items in a lair, since few animals make an industry of such gathering. However, the nest of a giant otter might include a set of leather armor and fine silks for bedding material, while the nest of a roc could have a magical rope woven into it. In the rarest of instances, the creature could actually eat its treasure, though hardly by design. This is most often the case for creatures lacking the limbs to separate the edible from the inedible and especially for those with voracious appetites. Sharks' bellies have been known to hold such strange items as license plates, suits of armor, hubcaps, and other indigestible bits of metal. In adventuring, such instances should be limited to beasts with massive maws (purple worms, killer whales, and gelatinous cubes). Finally, there are a few creatures that actually feed on items others consider treasure. The beast may eat gems or precious metals. Of course, such creatures are not likely to have a sizeable hoard, and treasures found by them will not remain around forever. Intelligent Creatures: Here, the DM can begin ascribing emotions and motives. Intelligent creatures may hoard because of greed and avarice. They may do so for social status or material comforts. Indeed, many normal reasons can be given. However, the reasons are not always clearly apparent. While a hobgoblin may kill and steal to gain a treasure he can use to become the chief of his tribe or to buy goods from unscrupulous merchants, what are the reasons for a dragon to build a treasure hoard? Dragons don't go into town and buy goods, and they don't pay builders to construct homes. They just don't seem to have any use for the vast sums of money they collect (and collect they do!). For dragons and other intelligent creatures, the DM must create more bizarre and alien motives. Dragons may hoard treasure because they are obsessive about such things. They may have the notion that they are the guardians and recoverers of those things of the earth. They may simply feel it is their right to possess all that they can. Within their own relationships, the size of a hoard may have some bearing on the perceived might of the creature. It could even be that the wondrous beauty of treasure items brings an inner harmony and peace to the creature. Even for those intelligent creatures with understandable motives, things are apt to be a bit different from normal. A hobgoblin society is vastly different from that of humans or most other player character races. Hobgoblins don't go to cities and spend money on palaces, fine drink, and elaborate gardens. Their expenditures are apt to be much more brutal or mundane. At the same time they do not have an economy as developed as that of human society. Perhaps they need vast sums of money because the price relationships are so bizarre. Weapons may be astronomical in price and armor outlandish. Powerful chieftains may demand regular gifts and tribute from their underlings. Such payments may be made eagerly since death is the alternative. Indeed such a system of gifting may be culturally ingrained, each warrior attempting to prove he is still fit to be a member of the tribe. Everything above notwithstanding, it isn't necessary to justify every hoard in existence. However, doing so provides clues about the size of a treasure and how the owner might react to someone trying to snatch it. A dragon might take an extreme view of anyone taking even the slightest amount of treasure from its vast pile. A hobgoblin might go berserk if the characters attempt to rob him. The hobgoblin's companions might take little interest in their friend's problem. The player characters represent a threat, but after all, each hobgoblin must prove he can defend himself. On the other hand, looting the chieftain's treasure room would almost certainly lead to upheavals within the tribe. The chief is bound by the same customs as his warriors, and if he can't protect his treasures, he doesn't deserve to be chieftain-at least by this particular philosophy. Intelligent monsters will take precautions to guard their treasure that would never dawn on unintelligent beasts. The hobgoblin chieftain isn't going to leave his treasury unguarded. Furthermore, he isn't going to trust his own guards, either, and so is likely to have the treasury rigged with at least one (and probably several) dangerous traps. Should he be so lucky, the chieftain will even have a trained guardbeast or two to discourage thieves. Even a lowly hobgoblin warrior is going to make an effort to protect what is his. If his horde is small, he may carry his wealth with him at all times. He may bury it where only he can find it. He may place it in a trapped and locked chest, preferably one that is chained to the wall or floor. This is not a society with an overabundance of love and trust, after all. A dragon, at the other extreme, may simply consider his reputation sufficient deterrent. Certainly this is true while the dragon is present! (And player characters should never just come across an unoccupied dragon hoard.) Planned and Random Encounter Treasures It is important for the DM to distinguish between placed treasures and those found with random encounters. The scale of the two is vastly different. Monster descriptions in the Monstrous Compendium differentiate between treasures found in a creature's lair, den, or base and those carried by individuals. Treasure gained through a random encounter will be smaller than treasure gained through a planned encounter. If a random treasure is larger or more significant than a placed one, the players are going to remember and value the random encounter more than the plot. Treasures should be used to build the adventure, develop a plot, and reward intelligent and daring play. If they just appear randomly, not only is the DM throwing away a useful adventure-building device, he is threatening his overall campaign. In general, a large treasure should be a planned part of an adventure, a way to motivate players, or a goal to be achieved by the characters. And remember, as important as treasure is, it need not be the sole motivator for a story. Indeed, there are times when it will be unimportant to the adventure. In these cases, the plot doesn't need the outside motivation of cash to interest the players. Still, small rewards should still be made available to the players. A treasure reward, no matter how small, gives the players the feeling that their characters are succeeding and moving ahead. Treasure Tables To simplify the assignment of treasures to lairs and monsters, the AD&Dr game uses a set of alphabetic codes to categorize different sizes and types of treasure. Each monster listing in the Monstrous Compendium has a "Treasure Type" listing followed by a series of letters. These letters refer to Table 83 in Appendix 1 of the DMG. Maintaining Balance For all his good intentions, sooner or later the DM is likely to err in the awarding of treasure. Either he will award too little or hand out too much. The first is just tight-fistedness; the second leads to high-powered, low-role-playing campaigns (sometimes called "Monty Haul'' dungeons). Now, if both DM and players enjoy a particular type of campaign and are having a good time, there is no problem to fix. However, more often than not, these two extreme adventuring styles lead to game problems. Too Little Treasure In the case of a tight-fisted DM, the most obvious signs that the players are not having fun are frustration, cynicism, and low expectations. If the characters are not finding treasures commensurate to the risks they took, the players are going to wonder if all the effort of playing is really worth it. They become frustrated when, upon solving a devious trap, they discover a pittance, or nothing at all. Their cynicism shows as they start to make snide remarks about the level of rewards they have received or are likely to get for future efforts. Finally, they just begin to expect less and less from the DM's campaign, until it reaches the point where they expect nothing and they go home! In such a campaign, the DM may have a fine time, creating detailed settings and elaborate adventures. But if he does not have the enthusiasm of his players, there isn't much point in playing. Such a campaign can succeed if there are other rewards that involve the players in the game. Perhaps there are ample opportunities for character advancement or personality development. The characters may have the opportunity to play a decisive role in world affairs. These things are possible, but only a DM of extraordinary skill can overcome the drawbacks he has created. Fortunately, the problems of too little treasure are easily fixed-simply introduce more treasure into the campaign. No adjustments need to be made to the characters. The treasures available in the game world can be increased without the players even aware that the change has been effected. Monty Haul Campaigns At the other extreme, the problems of too much treasure are not so easily solved. Here players may enjoy the game-and why not? Their characters are doing quite well. They have sufficient money and magic to best any situation the DM can devise. However, the DM seldom has the same enjoyment. He is faced with the task of topping the last lucrative adventure. He must make each adventure a greater challenge than the last. While this is true for all DMs, it is grossly exaggerated for the DM who has given out too much: How do you top the adventure where the fighter got the Hammer of Thor or some equally valuable item? Invariably, the players reach a point where they, too, become frustrated. Everything is the same-"Oh, we did this before," or "Ho-hum. Another Sword of Instant Monster Destruction." Soon there are no challenges left, because the characters have earned everything in the book! Fixing such a situation is far from easy. The first thing to do is to stop giving out so much treasure in future adventures. Even this isn't as simple as it sounds, since players have already had their expectations built up. Imagine playing for months or years in a world where you routinely find 5 magical items and tens of thousands of gold pieces each adventure and then, one day, finding only two or three magical items and a thousand gold pieces! Still, painful as it may be for players, cutting back on future treasure hauls is a must. The second part of the fix is far more difficult-remove from the campaign some of what has already been given. Most players won't voluntarily surrender their goods and equipment just because the DM made a mistake. The inventive DM must be inventive, resorting to new and bizarre taxes, accidents, theft, and anything else he can think of. Use a given method only once and be sure to allow the characters a fair chance. Nothing will upset and anger players more than having their characters jerked about like a dog on a chain. Sometimes the situation has just gotten so far out of hand that there is no way to bring it back under control. For example, because the DM has given out excessive magic, the players have near-godlike powers. They have used wishes to exceed ability score limits and enhance their classes with permanent abilities. They have fashioned other-planar stronghold impervious to anything. They have reached the point where they are dictating the structure of the game to the DM. There is only one cure-starting over. Require all the characters to retire, and begin anew with 1st-level characters, being careful not to make the same mistakes again. The players may grumble and complain, but if the DM is fair, the complaints should eventually be overcome. To this end, the DM may even want to set the new characters in a different part of his campaign world, one that has not been explored before. Magical Items One of the most important types of treasure a character can earn is a magical item. Not only does the item act as an immediate reward for good play, it increases the power and survivability of the character. Such items add to the wonder and romance of the game, allowing the character to perform feats far beyond those of ordinary mortals. Rare indeed is the player character who does not want the rewards of magical items. Creatures and Magical Items Like other treasures, magical items may be found in the lairs of unintelligent and intelligent monsters. Random encounters with unintelligent monsters shouldn't yield magical items (except in rare cases where the beast has swallowed them). After all, why (let alone how) would a giant snake carry around a sword +1? Unintelligent creatures may have a few items in or near their lairs, the former possessions of their victims. Even this will be rare, however. Such monsters don't recognize the worth of magical items and seldom make a special effort to collect them. The comments relating to treasure and unintelligent creatures can be applied here. Intelligent creatures, on the other hand, tend to value magical items above other items of treasure. They recognize such items for what they are (unless the item is very well disguised or unique) and take them. Knowing such items can be used to their benefit, they will attempt to learn the function of the item. A creature that can use an item will use it. Useful magical items that are part of treasure will therefore be in the creature's hands, not hidden away. For example, take the treasure of the hobgoblin chieftain. Over the years he has come into possession of a number of minor magical items. Currently the tribe's treasure includes three potions of healing, a scroll of wizard spells, a sword +1, and two suits of chain mail +1. This is not a horde the crafty, old chieftain is going to ignore. He wears one suit of armor at all times, carries the sword at his side, and has the three potions hidden away but close at hand should he need them. The other suit of armor he gives to the most faithful of his bodyguards. As for the scroll, since nobody in the tribe can use it, it is rather carelessly tossed in with the rest of the treasure in the chieftain's strongroom. He figures to trade it for something useful the next time a renegade merchant comes around. Player characters who hope to get the tribe's magical items will have to wrest them, literally, from the fingers of the hobgoblins. That's something to make the earning of magic more of a challenge. Buying Magical Items As player characters earn more money and begin facing greater dangers, some of them will begin wondering where they can buy magical items. Using 20th-century, real-world economics, they will figure there must be stores that buy and sell such goods. Naturally they will want to find and patronize such stores. However, no magical stores exist. Before the DM goes rushing off to create magical item shops, consider the player characters and their behavior. Just how often do player characters sell those potions and scrolls they find? Cast in a sword +1? Unload a horn of blasting or a ring of free action? More often than not, player characters save such items. Certainly they don't give away one-use items. One can never have too many potions of healing or scrolls with extra spells. Sooner or later the character might run out. Already have a sword +1? Maybe a henchman or hireling could use such a weapon (and develop a greater respect for his master). Give up the only horn of blasting the party has? Not very likely at all. It is reasonable to assume that if the player characters aren't giving up their goods, neither are any non-player characters. And if adventurers aren't selling their finds, then there isn't enough trade in magical items to sustain such a business. Even if the characters do occasionally sell a magical item, setting up a magic shop is not a good idea. Where is the sense of adventure in going into a store and buying a sword +1? Haggling over the price of a wand? Player characters should feel like adventurers, not merchants or greengrocers. Consider this as well: If a wizard or priest can buy any item he needs, why should he waste time attempting to make the item himself? Magical item research is an important role-playing element in the game, and opening a magic emporium kills it. There is a far different sense of pride on the player's part when using a wand his character has made, or found after perilous adventure, as opposed to one he just bought. Finally, buying and trading magic presumes a large number of magical items in the society. This lessens the DM's control over the whole business. Logically-minded players will point out the inconsistency of a well-stocked magic shop in a campaign otherwise sparse in such rewards. Magic-Rare or Common? One of the things the DM decides is just how common magic is in his campaign. Is the world rich in magical items such that every lowly fighter has access to at least a sword +1? Players enjoy having a wide variety of interesting magical items, but there's the risk of creating an out-of-control Monty Haul situation. And a magic-rich world has consequences unforeseen by most DMs. If magic is common, then normal people will begin to build inventions around it. There may be djinni-powered steam engines, crystal ball telecommunications networks, and other very un-medieval results. This can be entertaining, but it does drastically change the shape of the campaign world. The charm of discovering a magical item is lost if everyone has one, but too few magical items can also ruin a game. This is especially true at higher levels where magic is so important to character survival. You don't want to kill half the party just so the survivors can be excited at discovering a sword +1. The DM wants each magical treasure, no matter how small, to feel special, but at the same time he must be able to balance the pain of its acquisition against the reward. This is not a thing the DM can learn through formulae or tables. It takes time and judgment. Researching Magical Items One of the abilities shared by the wizard and priest groups is their ability to construct magical items. This is a potent ability, but it is not one easily used. As DM you do not want your player characters constructing every magical item available. Each one should be an accomplishment and the springboard for a new adventure. The wizard's ability to research items is divided into different phases. Although a wizard can cast a magic missile at 1st level, he cannot transcribe that spell onto a scroll until he reaches 9th level. The same is true of brewing potions. Only when he reaches 11th level can a wizard attempt to create other magical items. Even then he may not be able to create many items if he lacks the ability to cast the necessary spells. The priest can begin creating scrolls at 7th level and can brew a few potions (mainly those involving healing) at 9th level. Clerics can fabricate only a few other magical items and cannot attempt these until they reach at least 11th level. As with the wizard, their ability even then may be limited by the spells they have access to at the time. Creating a magical item is much like researching a new spell. The DM and the player must cooperate and work together to bring about the desired goal. However, there are differences. In magical item research, the desired goal is usually well-known to both the player and the DM. The player says, "Rupert wants to create a potion of clairaudience." The effect is known; what must be done to create it isn't. Therefore, once the player has stated his desire, the DM decides what materials, formulae, spells, and rites must be acquired and/or performed to create the item. Once the DM knows this, the player can proceed. He does not tell the player what he needs to do! It is up to the player to discover the processes and steps required to create a magical item, however small. He may consult a sage, seek the guidance of a higher level spellcaster, or even use spells to call upon greater powers. Even after learning what he must do, the spellcaster may have to do further research to learn the techniques required for each step. All of this will cost the character time and money, so his dedication and resources must be substantial if he hopes to succeed. The process of gathering the needed information and materials is a grand excuse for one adventure after another. This is part of the fun of the AD&D game. Making a magical item is more than just a mechanical process. It should also be an opportunity for excitement and role-playing. The Nature of Magical Fabrication The construction of magical items is a realm of the AD&Dr rules open to broad DM interpretation. Just how the DM decides to approach it will affect the way magic is viewed in his game. There are two basic attitudes toward the making of magical items: The practical method and the fantastic method. The practical method says that magical item manufacture is somehow tied to common sense; the materials needed to make the item reflect the properties of the item being constructed, and the steps required are fairly well-defined. For example, a potion of climbing might require the hair of a climbing creature such as a giant spider or the legs of a giant insect. A wand of lightning bolts might have to be carved from the heart wood of an oak struck by lightning. Petrification might require the scales of a basilisk, a snake from a medusa, or a feather from a live cockatrice. Fear might require a drop of dragon sweat or the grave earth of a ghost. In each case, the relationship between the items needed and the object desired is relatively clear. Furthermore, the component items themselves are physical and understandable. They may be rare, but they can't be gathered without special preparations (other than those required for normal adventuring). In essence, the DM creates a "grocery list'' that the player character must fill. The character goes out adventuring, seeking out the creatures or things that will provide him with the materials he needs. This method has advantages, not the least being that it simplifies the DM's task. When confronted by a player who wants to create some bizarre magical item, the DM need only list materials that seem appropriate to the magical effect. At the same time, however, the practical method can be abused by clever players. They may figure out that every monster encountered has a potential usefulness to wizards and so begin collecting tissue samples, blood, hair, organs, and more. They become walking butcher shops-not at all what is desired! Furthermore, players expect to find shops specializing in magical materials, both to sell and buy their needed goods. This defeats the need to adventure for one's materials and ruins part of the role-playing involved in magical item creation. The fantastical approach takes a drastically different view of magical item construction. Here, when the player says, "I want to create a rope of climbing," the DM provides a list of impossible ingredients. It then becomes the player's obligation to discover the means to collect each ingredient. Thus, to make the rope of climbing, the DM could require a skein of unspun yarn, the voice of a spider, and the courage of a daring thief. The player would then have to discover the meaning of each ingredient or the means to produce it. This, in turn, could require more research and spells to accomplish the goal. For the rope of climbing, the player might solve it by finding a magical sheep whose wool is so thick it needs no spinning. This he could form into a rope, casting spells to give a spider voice so it can say a few words over the cord. Finally, he could trick a renowned thief into using the unfinished rope on a dangerous mission. After all this, the wizard would cast the spells necessary to bind the various elements and, viola-a rope of climbing would be the result. Folktales, myths, and legends are filled with instances of impossible tasks and impossible ingredients. To bind the Fenris Wolf of Norse mythology, the dwarves forged an unbreakable chain from such things as the roots of a mountain, the noise of a cat, and the breath of a fish. Folktales tell of heroes and heroines faced with impossible tasks-to plow the ocean or make a shirt without seams. Hercules was faced with Twelve Labors, deemed impossible by others. Cullhwch (of Celtic legend) had to produce sweet honey without bees. If the player characters aspire to such ranks of heroism and wonder, surely they can accomplish deeds such as these. The fantastical method gives the campaign a high fantasy element, for such impossible tasks are part of the wonder and enchantment of such a world. Furthermore, it ensures that each ingredient or step will be an adventure. Wizards won't casually assemble their ingredients at the local magic supply warehouse. It also provides the DM with a means to control the time required (since assembling components can be quite a task) and a method for draining excess cash from the character's accounts. At the same time, players can perceive this method as too difficult and too restrictive. They may become discouraged by the DM's demands. To alleviate this, at least partially, the DM should balance the requirements against the potency of the item being created. Combining the practical with the fantastical is a workable alternative to either method. Not every magical item can be created by gathering the organs of creatures or the essences of rare plants, nor does each require the spellcaster to overcome the impossible. Simple and common magical items (potions of healing, scrolls with various spells, wands of detection) could require only that the proper things be brought together and ensorcelled. Powerful, exotic, and highly useful items (such as a sword +1) might test the spellcaster's abilities and resourcefulness, requiring that he solve puzzles and riddles far beyond the normal ken. The combination of the two philosophies can even be used to explain the fact that some magical items are so common and others so rare-potions are everywhere, but maces of disruption are hard to come by. Potions require simple ingredients; maces require the moving of mountains. Scrolls and Potions Just because a spellcaster knows a spell, he isn't automatically endowed with the knowledge to create a scroll or potion of similar function. The processes and formulae used in each are different. A spell on a page in a wizard's spellbook is different from a spell contained on a scroll. The first requires memorization and may need components or gestures to activate. The latter needs only an utterance to be effective. A potion, ingested to be effective, is clearly a different form of the same thing. Because of these differences, a wizard must learn more of his art before attempting to make scrolls and potions. He is assumed to have attained the appropriate degree of training by the time he reaches 9th level. Even then the knowledge of how to create such items does not just leap into his brain. Rather, at ninth level he has the potential to create such items. He knows enough basics of the art and has learned where to look for the information he needs to make the attempt. The exact process for each spell is still a mystery to him. Scrolls The first step in creating a spell scroll (not a protection scroll) is for the wizard or priest to know and be able to cast the appropriate spell-the desired spell must exist in his spell books. If he has never seen the desired spell or has failed to learn it, he certainly cannot create a scroll for that spell. When creating a protection scroll, the wizard is limited to those protective spells that fall within the purview of his art, for example, protection from elementals, magic, and petrification. If a wizard knows the spell, he can begin fabrication. His first step is to assemble the appropriate materials: quill, ink, and paper. These materials can't be commonplace items lest they mar the final product or be consumed by the very magical energies the wizard seeks to enscribe. The quill used for each spell must be fresh and unused. Lingering energies of the spell just transcribed cling to the quill. If the quill were used again, these energies would flow and intermingle with later attempts, causing them to fail. Furthermore, the pen can't be just an ordinary goose quill. It must be from a strange and magical creature, perhaps one appropriate to the nature of the spell (the feather of a cockatrice for a flesh to stone, etc.). The task of gathering the right quill can be an adventure in itself. Quills hand-picked by the wizard himself increase the chance of success by 5%. The paper or other material upon which the scroll is inscribed must also be of fine quality. Paper is best for this purpose, followed by parchment, and then papyrus. Each affects the chance of success as follows: Paper +5% Parchment 0% Papyrus -5% The ink is the final consideration. In this area, the DM has the greatest leeway to demand the most exotic ingredients and processes. The ingredients could be simple-the ink of a giant squid mixed with the venom of a wyvern's sting, or the musk of a giant skunk brewed with the blood of a gorgon. They could also be complex in meaning-the tears of a crocodile and a drop of water from the bottom of the deepest ocean, or a drop of mead from the cup of King Thyas blended with the lamentations of the women from the funeral of a great hero. In general, the ink's ingredients should relate to the overall purpose of the scroll. As with the quill, the ink required for each spell should be different and even each inscription of the same spell requires the batch to be brewed anew. After the character has gathered and brewed all the materials, he can begin the actual process of writing. Wizards must have their spell books at hand to guide their work, while priests and others must work on a specially prepared altar. The actual process of writing the scroll requires one full day for each level of the spell inscribed. Protection scrolls require six days of work. During this time, the spellcaster must be undisturbed, breaking only for food and sleep (and then for a minimum of each). If the spellcaster halts before the transcription is completed, the entire effort fails and all work done to that point is for naught. After the work is completed, the DM secretly checks for success. The base chance is 80%. This can be increased or decreased by the materials used. For every level of the spell, 1% is subtracted from the success chance, but every level of the spellcaster adds 1%. Thus, a 15th-level mage (+15) making a scroll of a 7th-level spell (-7), using papyrus (-5) and writing with a cockatrice quill plucked with his own hand (+5) would have an (80 + 15 - 7 - 5 + 5 =) 88% chance of success. If the number rolled on percentile dice is equal to or less than the required number, the attempt succeeds. If the roll is higher, the attempt fails, though the player has no way of knowing this. If the attempt fails, the scroll is cursed in some way. The DM secretly decides an appropriate effect based on the spell that was attempted. A failed attempt to create a fireball scroll may result in a cursed scroll that explodes in a fiery ball of flame upon reading. The player character cannot detect the cursed effect until it is too late. Note: A remove curse spell will cause this faulty scroll to turn to dust. A single scroll can contain 1 to 6 spells, the number determined randomly by the DM. The player can never be certain of the amount of space required even for the same spell on two different scrolls. A failed attempt to transcribe a scroll automatically fills the remainder of the page, although other spells successfully written before the failure remain. In this case, the cursed effect of the failed spell will not come into effect until that spell is read. When using a scroll he himself has prepared, a wizard does not need to resort to a read magic spell to understand the writing. Potions Potions are primarily the province of wizards, although priests can prepare those potions relating to healing and cures. (Priests of other mythos may or may not be able to prepare such potions, depending on the spell spheres available to them.) Healing and curing potions are beyond the ken of wizards. As with other magical items, the character must identify and gather the materials needed to brew a potion before he can begin work. The formula can be as straightforward or bizarre as the DM desires. It may require the blood of a rare creature, powdered gems, the sweat of a mare, or the breath of a dying hero. In addition, a potion requires a number of mundane ingredients. The basic cost of these ingredients ranges from 200 to 1,000 gp. The DM should decide this based on how common the potion is, its power, and the nature of the ingredients he has specified. A potion of dragon control is a rare item of great power and so should cost the full 1,000 gp. A potion of healing is a fairly necessary item, something the DM may want to be readily available to the characters. Therefore, it should be cheap, costing no more than 200 gp. Wizards must do more than acquire ingredients: They also need a complete alchemical laboratory. Potions are not something you can brew up over the kitchen stove! This laboratory must be furnished with furnaces, alembics, retorts, beakers, distilling coils, and smoldering braziers-in short, all the trappings of a mad scientist's laboratory (circa 1400 AD). The basic cost for such a laboratory is at least 2,000 gp if all the skilled craftsmen are readily available to construct the equipment to the wizard's specifications. And this cost covers only the furnishings; the wizard must also have an appropriate place to put all these things and to conduct his work. Given the strange noises and foul smells that issue at all hours from such a laboratory, many a landlord may be less than willing to have his rooms used for such purposes. Once the laboratory is established, the wizard must pay 10% of its value every month to maintain the equipment, replacing things broken in experiments and minor ingredients that lose potency with age. Priests do not make use of a laboratory-such equipment smacks of impious and heretical learning. Instead, the priest places his faith in greater powers to perform the actual transformations needed to blend the potion. As such, he uses an altar specially consecrated to the purpose. When constructing such an altar, the character must be ready to make some sacrifice of worth, either a monetary sacrifice or, even more significantly, a special service to his deity. Thereafter, the priest need only respect the altar as would be normal for his faith. Creating the Potion: With all this equipment assembled, the wizard or priest is ready to begin. The cost already determined, the time to brew, infuse, distill, decant, and extract the potion is measured in days equal to the cost divided by 100. During this time, the character must remain uninterrupted except for the normal needs of sleep and food. If the work is disturbed, the potion is hopelessly ruined as are all ingredients used in it. After the work is done, the DM secretly rolls percentile dice to determine if the potion has taken. The base chance of success 70%. For every 100 gp worth of ingredients, 1% is subtracted. For every two levels of the spellcaster (or fraction thereof), 1% is added to the base. If the percentile roll is equal to or less than the chance of success, the potion succeeds. If the potion fails, the spellcaster has unwittingly brewed either a deadly poison or a potion of delusion, at the DM's discretion. Of course, the player won't know whether a potion is good until it's too late. In any case, the wizard or priest is wise to label his creation, for there is no sure way to distinguish between different potions by sight alone. Creating Other Magical Items Potions and scrolls are not the only magical items spellcasters can create. Other types of magical item can be made-weapons, wands, staves, rods, rings, bracers, braziers, cloaks, and more. There are also certain items the player characters can't create. Artifacts, relics, books (except spell books), and intelligent weapons are the realm of the DM only. Such items can be found by the player characters, but never manufactured by them. This ensures that the DM controls certain elements that can appear only during the course of an adventure he designs. Furthermore, certain magical items have a particular racial connection, particularly the dwarven warhammer +3, elven cloaks, boots of elvenkind, elven bows, and certain types of hammers and axes. These items can only be fashioned by NPC dwarves and elves of particularly ancient age. The making and awarding of these items is the task of the DM only. Finally, the DM has the right to exclude from player manufacture any magical item he feels is too powerful or too significant a part of his campaign world. (For example, if all magical weapons in the DM's campaign are the product of an ancient civilization and the art of their manufacture has now been lost, he can deny the ability to create such items to the player characters.) These limitations notwithstanding, players should be invited to submit their own ideas for new or unique items. The possibilities for new items are limited only by the constraints of game balance. Perhaps the character wants an arrow that explodes in a flash of brilliant light or a wand that causes those touched to suffer amnesia. Using the same give-and-take process described for new player spells, the DM should have the player write up a description of the desired item. The DM studies this, alters it as needed, and discusses the changes with the player. When both are in agreement, the character can begin the actual process of research and construction. When a player announces the desire to construct a given item, it is not the DM's task to tell him whether this is within his capabilities or not. It is the DM's responsibility to decide the materials and steps needed to construct the item. The player can then have his character consult a sage, fellow spellcaster, or higher power to learn what he needs. In the process he may discover he lacks the appropriate powers to create the item. This is one of the risks inherent in magical research. Finding the Right Materials: First the character needs appropriate materials. When constructing a magical item, no ordinary sword, stock, cloak, necklace, or whatever will do. The item must be extraordinary in some way. Weapons must be of high-quality craftsmanship. Woods must be rare, specially grown, or cut in a particular way at a particular time. Cloth must be woven to exacting specifications. The material itself may be of an impossible nature (a shirt without seams or a hammer forged in a volcano's heart and quenched in the deepest ocean). Often, the only way to ensure the appropriate vessel for the enchantment is for the spellcaster to fashion or gather the item himself. However it is obtained, the vessel should cost far more than a normal item of the same type. The price can range from 1,000 to 10,00 (or more!) gold pieces depending on the material. Preparing the Materials: Once the vessel for the magic is obtained, the character will have to prepare it. A sword may need to be dipped in rare acids to burn away impurities. Bone may need to be picked clean by giant ants. Wood could require soaking in rare oils and herbs. Though the item is, as yet, far from gaining any sorcerous power, this stage is vital-failure here means the spell will fail to take. Normally this stage takes from two weeks to a month just to prepare the vessel. Additional ingredients at this stage will cost at least 500 gold pieces, if not more. Enchanting the Item: The spellcaster is now ready to begin the actual enchantment. Wizards must first successfully cast an enchant an item (or have another do it for them) on the vessel according to the conditions described for that spell. Once he is finished, the wizard can cast other spells into the vessel, provide the last ingredients, or perform the final steps in the enchantment process (as defined by the DM). The character might have to take the enchanted item to the peak of the highest mountain to expose it to the rays of the dawning sun before it will be ready. He could have to immerse it in the distilled sorrows of nightingales. If spells are necessary, these, instead of expending their energies, are absorbed and transformed by the enchanted vessel. The spell that must be cast into the enchanted vessel is the one that matches the power desired. If there is no direct spell equivalent, a more powerful spell with essentially the same function can be cast instead. If there is no spell equivalent at all, the wizard must research the appropriate spell before he begins the process of making the magical item, or he must provide exotic ingredients capable of conferring the power on the item, whichever the DM decides. Thus, at this step, the wizard could cast lightning bolt on a wand to make it a wand of lightning, but he would have to research a new spell of create gauntlets of Dexterity (since no spell exists to improve Dexterity) or bathe the gauntlets in the bottled essence of hummingbird dreams (as an example). Finally, if the item is to hold its magic for more than a single use, a permanency spell must be cast. This locks the trapped magic into the vessel, empowering it at the command chosen by the wizard. If the permanency is not used, the vessel only holds charges equal to the number of spells cast upon it. If all these steps have been performed correctly and without interruptions, the item will be created...maybe. The process is long and involved and there are many opportunities for unintended error. Thus, when all is said and done, a success roll must be made. The basic chance of success is 60%. Each level of the wizard adds 1% to the chance, while each spell, special process, or unique ingredient used lowers the chance by 1%. The DM can further adjust the percentage for any extra-special precautions or notorious shortcuts the character might take. If the check is passed (by rolling equal to or lower than the success chance) the desired item has been created. If the check fails, the item is cursed, although this may not be known until a much later time. The function of the item becomes perverted, the opposite of the character's intention. A cursed sword, for example, could lower the character's chances of hitting, while cursed gauntlets could render the wearer clumsy. A character can't seek to make a cursed item with the hope and intention that the process will fail (thereby gaining a useful magical item). The nature of magical failure is such that the desired result, spoken or unspoken, never occurs. For example, suppose Thibault the Younger, a mage of 17th level, seeks to make a powerful sword +5. Using the contact other plane spell and money, he learns the steps he must perform and the items he needs. His first task is to shape a sword blade with his own hands from the ore of Mount Lothrian, at the very center of the Dwarven Estates. He travels there, only to discover that the Dwarven Lords consider this iron a treasure above all others, not to be given out to aliens not of the blood. After much careful bargaining, the Dwarven Lords agree to allow him to undergo the Ordeal of the Pit, the rite of dwarven manhood. Thibault is lowered into the caverns where even dwarves are loath to tread, where, in a solo adventure, he barely escapes with his life. By the time he has recovered and healed, the dwarves hail him as one of their own and reward him with the ore he seeks. As an extra benefit, during his time among the dwarves, Thibault learns a few more tricks of bladesmithing, increasing his proficiency. Now Thibault has the ore and, on his journey home, stops by the Spring of Masters to get the second item he needs-pure spring water. A short time later, he is safely home. There, he spends a month hammering, folding, quenching, and hammering again on the blade, spending 5,000 gp on the task. Finally the work is done and the blade is finished, the last step being to etch it in a bath of black pudding acid. According to the instructions he received, Thibault must next instill the blade with the power of purity. Just what this means is not exactly clear, but his finances are running low and he doesn't want to waste more time for investigation. He decides to have the blade consecrated at a local temple and then has a paladin lay hands upon it. All these steps completed, Thibault begins his spellcasting. For days he works on casting the enchant an item spell. The spell succeeds. To make a +5 weapon he uses the enchanted weapon spell, one for each plus. However, after four castings, the enchant an item spell fades and Thibault must spend more time re-enchanting it. Once again successful, he casts the last enchanted weapon and then seals everything with a permanency spell. The DM secretly makes a check for success. The chance is 60% (base) + 17% (Thibault's level) -12% (for the ore, hand-forging, etching, instilling with purity, enchanting twice, five pluses, and the permanency) = 65%. The DM rolls a 45. The work is successful and the sword is finished. Needless to say, Thibault is not tremendously eager to do this again right away. Clerics and other priests can also make magical items appropriate to their calling. The process begins with the selection of an appropriate vessel of the finest or most perfect materials. Once the vessel is at hand, the priest must spend two weeks in meditation and purification ceremonies and then another week in fasting and purification. Then he must likewise purify the item and seek to invoke it with a small portion of his deity's grandeur. Fortunately, this step takes but a single day and night. Once this is done, the item is ready for the final plea. As it rests upon an altar, the priest must pray for the blessed sign that the deity will endow the vessel with the desired powers. Each day there is a 1% cumulative chance that the prayers will be heard. Once this step is completed, the item need only be sanctified and consecrated, unless it is to possess charges in which case the priest has 24 hours to cast the appropriate spells into the item. Should the task to be incomplete at the end of this time, the priest will once again have to seek his deity's favor before continuing the process (in other words, start over at the beginning). The priest is assumed to be perfectly faithful and true to his calling. Should this not be the case, in the DM's estimation, the process may fail or yield some result unanticipated by the priest. The enchantment may fail or the character's deity may curse the item in retribution for the priest's impudence in seeking favor so ill-deserved. The DM must judge the standing of the priest based on his previous actions and his current motives. Recharging Magical Items Some items that carry several charges are rechargeable. Recharging isn't easy, but it is easier than creating an entirely new magical item. High-level wizards or priests may find it useful to boost up an old item. To recharge an item, it must first be enchanted either through the use of an enchant an item spell or prayer, as noted above. Once prepared, new charges can be cast into the item. One benefit of recharging an item is that each charge requires only the spells' normal casting time (not the 2d4 hours per spell level normally required by the enchant an item spell). However, recharging is not without risk to the item. Each time the item is enchanted to recharge, it must roll a saving throw vs. spell (using the saving throw of the caster) with a -1 penalty. If this saving throw is failed, the character has accidentally interfered with the magic of the item and it crumbles into useless dust. Destroying Magical Items Occasionally characters may find it desirable, useful, or vitally necessary to bring about the destruction of a magical item. Magical items are more resistant than ordinary ones, but they are hardly indestructible, as Table 29 shows. Characters who have possession of a device and are determined to destroy it can do so at will. They need only snap the blade of a magical sword or burn a lock or whatever. It is possible to target specific magical items held by others, but it is very difficult. (In fact, it is no easier or harder than attacking a non-magical item.) Attempting to destroy an enemy's magical item may require attack rolls, saving throws, and item saving throws. The breaking of a magical item should result in something more dramatic than the breaking of a vase or a windowpane. As DM you are perfectly justified in describing a dramatic explosion of force, a small whirlwind, a foul stench, or whatever seems most appropriate to the moment. For some items, particularly some staves, there are specific rules that define the effects of the item's destruction. Such cases are rare and the effects are devastating, so they are recommended only for those in the area. You might, for example, dictate that characters within 1 foot, 5 feet, or even 10 feet suffer 1d8 points of damage. This is just an example-the actual damage can vary, at your discretion. Remember, however, that such damage should only be used for effect; it should never kill or seriously injure a character. After all, killing the character in the explosion of his own magical sword is piling injury upon insult; the loss of a prized magical treasure is bad enough! Artifacts and Relics (Optional Rules) Vastly more potent than the most powerful magical items are extremely rare items of ancient power and majesty-artifacts, constructs of the utmost wizardly might, and relics, the remains of awesome powers and the greatest of holy men. These are items of great import and effect, so their use must be strictly controlled. The following absolute conditions are always in effect when dealing with artifacts and relics. The appearance of an artifact or relic must always be the basis of an adventure. These items should never be casually introduced into play. Characteristics of Artifacts and Relics: Each artifact and relic is unique. There can only be one of that item in existence in a given campaign. It appears in a campaign only when it has been placed there by the DM. These devices never form part of a randomly placed treasure and so are not on any treasure table. The DM must choose to include each particular artifact in his game. Artifacts and relics always possess dangerous and possibly deadly side effects. These effects are all but irreversible, unaffected by wishes and most greater powers. Artifacts can only be destroyed by extraordinary means. Artifacts and relics can never be transferred from one campaign to another. If player characters from another DM's campaign enter yours, they automatically do so without any artifacts they might possess. So, given all these warnings and admonitions, just what is it that makes artifacts and relics so potentially dangerous to use in a role-playing game? At the top of the list is the fact that, in game terms, artifacts and relics are nothing more than excuses for the DM to break any and every rule he cares to. Upon learning the proper command, an artifact or relic might allow a character to raise all his ability scores immediately to their maximum or turn an enemy's bones to jelly. The artifact might allow the character to summon meteor swarms, utter a power word, resurrect, or stop time once per day at will. He might be able to summon powerful monsters and easily bend them to his will. He could discover the power to dominate the minds of others, enslaving them to his desires. And this might only be a small part of what the artifact would allow him to do. In short, there is no limit to what you, as the DM, decide an artifact can accomplish. Origins of Artifacts and Relics: All of these items have been handed down from ancient times and have histories shrouded in myth and legend. An artifact has the same background and aura about it as, for example, King Arthur's Excalibur, the skin of the Nemean lion worn by Hercules, Pandora's box, the Golden Fleece, the sword, jewels, and mirror of ancient Japan, or the hammer of Thor. These unique objects were once held and used by gods and mortals far greater and more powerful than normal men. Often these items existed for an express purpose-to be used by a particular hero, to fight a particular foe. So closely associated is an artifact with a person, time, or place that its powers can seldom be fully used except by specific individuals who meet certain standards. A weakling could not hurl Thor's hammer, nor could just anyone command Baba Yaga's hut. An artifact may show its full powers only to deal with particular, very specific, threats or dangers. Artifacts have purposes, sometimes fulfilled long in the past and sometimes never-ending. Introducing Artifacts and Relics into a Campaign: Because the impact of an artifact is so great, you should use them only in the most earth-shaking adventures you can devise. You must always have a reason for bringing an artifact into your game. It should never appear just because you want to give the characters something bigger and better. If discovered at the beginning of an adventure, it should be the prelude to some great threat to the kingdom, empire, continent, or world where the item will make a difference. Rather than simply giving the item to the characters, you can introduce the danger first and then set the player characters searching for the artifact that will defeat or stem the tide of evil that threatens to oversweep the land. Alternatively, the player characters could be faced with the worst of all situations-one in which the artifact is in the hands of the enemy and the players must get it away from them. Each of these creates an adventure or, more likely, a series of adventures centered around the device. Once the adventure is over, it is best for you to find some way to get the artifact out of the players' hands. In essence, the artifact was a MacGuffin-the thing that made the plot go-not something you want to remain in your campaign now that the need for the item is gone. This is very much in keeping with the nature of artifacts and relics, since they have a maddening habit of disappearing once their task is done. To leave the artifact in the campaign is to invite abuse by the player characters, perhaps for noble ends, but abuse all the same. There are, even in a fantasy game, "some things man was not meant to know." Because of their grand impact and titanic significance in the scheme of things, artifacts should be used sparingly. There are only so many times the characters can save the world before it becomes old hat. Don't be too eager to introduce these items into play and don't bring them in too often. Artifacts and relics represent the epitome of magical items. They are going to lose a lot of effect if every king in every kingdom has one in his treasure chambers. If characters only find one artifact in their entire careers, it will be enough. Well-played for all its drama, it will lead to an adventure the players will remember for a long time to come. Designing an Artifact or Relic When you do decide to introduce an artifact or relic, you design it specially for your campaign. Some examples are given at the end of this section, but artifacts should always be made to fit your campaign, not the other way around. In this way, the players will never know what to expect-not its shape, its history, its powers, or its purpose. All these things will make the discovery and use of the item more exciting. In addition, you will have the knowledge that you have created something major, perhaps the most significant thing, for your campaign. That is no small accomplishment. Appearance: The first step in creating an artifact is to decide its form. It could be anything: a weapon, a hut with chicken legs, a book, a mask, a crown, a tooth, a throne, a mechanical nightingale, a crystal orb, a plain ring, a wand, or whatever. History: After you know what it looks like, create a history for it. This history will guide you in deciding what powers the artifact has and what it is used for. In this history, decide who created the item and what their reasons for creating it were. Then, outline what has befallen the item over the centuries-where has it surfaced and what has happened at those times? Finally, embellish this history with clues to its powers and the erroneous legends that have come to surround the item. Alignment: Choose an appropriate alignment for the artifact (all artifacts are heavily identified with an alignment). Minor Powers: After you have a history of the item, begin to assign it powers. Artifacts normally have a number of relatively minor powers and one or two major abilities. Some minor abilities are:  Cast a given 1st-level spell at will  Cast a 5th-level or lesser spell once per day or week  Cast a spell of 3rd level or less once or twice per day  Cure serious wounds, disease, blindness, or deafness one or more times per day  Detect good/evil, invisibility, charm, or magic at will  Double the character's movement rate  Freedom from hunger and fatigue  Fly  Grant the possessor immunity to one type of harm: poison, fear, disease, gas, normal missiles, acid, normal fire or cold, etc.  Grant water breathing when held  Improve the wielder's Armor Class by one or more points  Increase an ability score by one point  Paralyze at a touch  Regenerate 2 hp per turn  Speak with dead once per day  Speak with plants or animals at will  Turn undead as a cleric of the PC's level  Understand any spoken language  Understand any written language Major Powers: After choosing minor powers, you can select the major powers. There should normally be no more than one or two of these. The major power must be in keeping with the history of the item. If you describe a sword wielded by a bloodthirsty and depraved tyrant, it makes little sense for the major power to be to resurrect others once per day. Rather one would expect something terrible-deliquescing an enemy or summoning some extra-planar beast to kill upon command. Some suggested major powers are:  Automatically warn of impending danger  Bestow magic resistance of 50% to 70% when held  Cast a 9th-level spell or less once per day or week  Death ray with no saving throw once per day  Permanently raise all ability scores to their maximum  Polymorph self at will  Restore youth upon touch once per month  Summon a djinni once per day  Summon and control elementals once per day  Teleport at will with no error  Total immunity to all types of fire or cold  Total immunity to all types of mental attacks (charms, etc.) Dangers: After designing the beneficial or useful powers of the artifact, create the dangers inherent in its use. All artifacts have grave risks-such is the nature of their power. The item was originally used by someone of great will and power, and even they placed themselves in danger to use the power the artifact possessed. For the player characters, such danger is nearly inescapable. These dangers are usually drastic physical side effects that affect the character. Again you want the drawbacks of the artifact to mesh with the history you have created. Some suggested drawbacks include:  Alignment gradually becomes that of the item  All plants within 10 feet of character wither and die  All who see the artifact covet it  Artifact always causes user to attack specific creature types  Artifact drains one level of experience from user whenever a major power is used  Character is controlled by artifact if saving throw is failed  Holy water burns the character  User ages 3d10 years with each use until he is reduced to a zombie  User causes fear in all who see him  User contracts an incurable disease that reduces ability scores by 1 point each month  User has a 5% cumulative chance per use of being stricken by incurable lycanthropy  User's touch causes petrification Corrupting Effect: As if this weren't enough, all artifacts have a corrupting effect. Characters become suspicious of others and possessive of the item. They begin to see threats where none were intended. Ultimately they will turn upon their friends and companions, seeing them as scheming enemies out to destroy them and steal the artifact. As with the drawbacks, this effect is caused by the fact that the player character is not the one the artifact was first intended for. His personality is different, and no matter how great he is, he lacks the force of will of the great hero, arch-wizard, high priest, or demigod, who originally wielded the item. Weakness: Finally, prepare some method by which the artifact can be destroyed. Destroying an artifact is never easy-in fact, it's nearly impossible. Artifacts and relics are impervious to all normal harm and magical attacks. They cannot be crushed, dissolved in acid, melted or broken normally. At best, the physical form can be disrupted for a period of time, but within a century or less it will re-form in some new location. To truly destroy an artifact, the characters must fulfill some exacting set of conditions as unique as the artifact itself. Possible ways to destroy an artifact include:  Carry it to the Outer Planes and presume upon the deity that made it to strip it of its power.  Cast it into the searing flames of the Sun.  Crush it under the heel of an honest man (harder than it seems).  Dissolve it in the Universal Solvent (which eats through anything).  Expose it to the blinding light of the Lamp of Pure Reason.  Feed it to the Earth Serpent who coils at the base of the World Tree.  Melt it down in the heart of the volcano where it was forged.  Place it at the very bottom of the Well of Decay.  Utter aloud its 5,000,001 secret names.  Weld it into the Gates of Hel. Once all this is done, you will have an artifact or relic ready for use in your campaign. Sample Artifacts and Relics Listed below are some examples of artifacts. Because each artifact must be unique, no absolute powers are given. Suggested powers are listed, but the DM can alter these as he wishes. The Hand of Vecna: Seldom is the name Vecna spoken, and even then only in the most hushed and terrified tones, for legends say the shade of this most supreme of all liches still roams the world. Little is known of this being except that he eventually met his doom in some awesome conflagration-or at least that his physical body was destroyed. Still rumors persist that one hand (and perhaps an eye) survived even this destruction. These rumors ascribe strange and powerful abilities to the Hand of Vecna, still imbued with the unquenchable spirit of Vecna. The Hand is variously described as large and small, but all accounts agree that it is extremely withered and blackened, as if from a burned body. The first recorded appearance of the Hand was during the Insurrection of the Yaheetes, 136 years after the passing of Vecna. With the overthrow of Paddin the Vain, leader of the clan, the Hand apparently disappeared. During the reign of Hamoch of Tyrus, the hand was discovered by the fisherman Gisel. For several decades he kept it as a curiosity, until he was slain by his brother who stole the artifact. The brother was waylaid en route to Tyrus and the Hand fell into the possession of the outlaw Mace. With a single gesture of the Hand, Mace is said to have struck down the gates of Tyrus and brought plague onto the royal house. Stories are told how he spent one night in the royal bedchamber where he was visited by the spirit of Vecna. Undoubtedly he changed, for the next day he ordered the execution of his former followers to appease the wrathful shade. In the 100 years of Mace's reign, the city of Tyrus grew in power, but it became ill-famed as the Slaughterhouse of the Western Shore. Mace (now styled Vecna the Second) was struck down by a Yemishite assassin when the power of the Hand inexplicably failed him. Since that time the Hand has appeared briefly in a number of widely scattered lands. Most of these appearances are unsubstantiated, but the corruption of the Paladin-King of Miro is a well-documented case. Foolishly fixing the Hand onto his own arm, the Paladin-King discovered too late that he could not remove it and in the end it destroyed him. For the Hand to function, it must be touched to the stump of an arm, to which it grafts instantly. The grip is immensely strong (19 Strength, no attack roll or damage bonuses however). At first, the Hand seems useful and harmless enough, but within it resides some portion of Vecna's evil spirit. Gradually the owner comes to believe he is Vecna. Good characters becoming cruel and malevolent; evil characters become the embodiment of corruption, eventually turning on their friends and allies. Suggested powers for the Hand include: death ray (no saving throw, once a day), cause disease (100-foot x 100-foot area/2 times per day), animate dead (1/day), darkness (at will), +2 protection, web (1/day), disintegrate (1/day), regenerate 2 hp/turn, lightning bolt (12 dice, 1/day), and time stop (1/week). Aside from the fact that the Hand is corruptive, its other major drawbacks include the fact that it cannot be removed short of chopping off the arm and the fact that those who see the Hand will covet it, attempting to take it from its current owner. Finally, the Hand foresees the moment of its owner's doom and its powers will fail just at that given time. The Rod of Seven Parts: It is said that the Wind Dukes of Aaqa were the creators of this legendary artifact. Manifesting themselves upon the world at the battle of Pesh, where the powers of Chaos and Law arrayed themselves, the Dukes presented the Rod to the Captains of Law. In the battle, the Rod was supposedly sundered in the slaying of Miska, the Wolf-Spider, consort of the Queen of Chaos. The Dukes, to prevent the Rod