Tuesday, November 30, 2010

You walk into the tavern...

That line has begun many an old AD&D adventure, cliche as it may be. Of course, to a bunch of kids who know very little about booze at all, the equipment list in the old Player's Handbook was of little help. For instance, what the heck is small beer? Should I order a big beer instead?

To help sort out the confusion, here is a run down of all the provisions on the equipment list:

Meal, basic:
Standard fare that counts for one of an individual's 3 daily squares. Nothing fancy. Better food costs more.


Rations, Standard: One week's worth of nourishing food. Keeping it for more than a week risks spoilage.


Rations, Iron: One week's worth of preserved food, such as dried meat, hard cheese, dried fruit, hard tack, etc. Will resist spoilage for a month or more.


Ale: Fermented grain beverage, around 5% alcohol by volume.


Small Beer: A nearly non-alcoholic beer, but the brewing process and the amount of alcohol it does have makes it much safer to drink than the local water supply. Suitable for consumption by children. Often provided by foremen at labor and construction sites to keep the workers hydrated. Really hard (but not impossible!) to get drunk on.


Mead: Fermented honey beverage, often infused with herbs or spices. Alcohol content varies, but averages around 10-18%.


Wine: Fermented beverage made from fruit juice, most often grapes. Alcohol content varies, but averages in the 10-14% range. Watered wine isn't just a cost-saving measure for barkeeps, but serves the same purpose as small beer for making the local water safe to drink. Good wine is expensive, very good wine extremely so.


Note that in many ancient cultures, distinctions blur between wine, beer and mead. The Beaker people of Scotland, for example, made a concoction of all three, with various herbs and spices added as they were available.

There are some problems with how various races in AD&D are drawn to certain drinks over others. For example: Dwarves like their beer. But beer is made from grain (mostly), and Dwarves live mostly underground. So there must be lots of Dwarven farmers that supply the necessary grain for drinking, right? Elves like wine, but they live in forests. Wine grapes grow best in places like Eastern Washington, which isn't what one would consider to be elf-like territory. Also, wine grapes are grown in meticulously manicured vineyards that require the carving up of acres of land and the elimination of pest animals. That doesn't sound like elvish behavior.


Then there is the issue of hard alcohol. It's mentioned in the Player's Handbook, but any society with the alchemical know-how to make magical potions could easily make distilled spirits. Again, Dwarves are often painted as hard-core drinkers, but you have to start out with something simple, like a corn mash, before you can get anything stronger. 


With all this in mind, I shudder to think what the Drow elves might drink.


My take on this is to just assume that trade between countries and races solves all conundrums. Dwarves are willing to trade ores and metals for grain, and elves are willing to trade fine crafts and such for good grapes. All this means that there are some seriously rich Halfling communities in the world, working hard to keep everyone in their cups. Everyone likes Halflings, and this is the main reason why. They also grow the best pipeweed, too...


-Michael Keith

Friday, November 19, 2010

Defense Defined: The Low-Down on AD&D Armor

Like most everything in the AD&D equipment lists, armor only included a name, a price, and if you dug deep into the rulebooks, a weight. Nothing else. This was confusing, as the list seemed contradictory. Scale mail was less protective than chain mail? Ring Mail costs more than Studded Leather Armor, but offers the same protection? And what is the difference between Splint and Banded armor anyhow?

Well, here is the dirt on defensive measures, thanks to Wikipedia and other sites, to make sense of things:

Notes on Armor: Leather armor will rarely raise any issue in most communities. The heavier the armor, the more suspicious people may become of the wearer. Yes, armor is defensive, but wearing it means the wearer is expecting trouble, or is contemplating starting some trouble... Also note that metal helmets make people nervous, especially Great Helms that cover the face. It aids in intimidation, but it may alienate the wearer from local citizenry.
Notes on Shields:
Bucklers may be carried on the belt of any free citizen in most major cities. Shields may be carried 'slung' or stowed on the back when entering or leaving a city. Even then, Large Shields are almost always seen as battlefield equipment, and may make people nervous. Spikes on any shield, as useful as they may be, are often seen as barbarous, underhanded, and the provenance of violent, dirty brawlers, and will often raise suspicion.

Padded Armor: Thick cloth or canvas armor intended to offer cheap protection for rank-and-file troops. Counts as winter clothing, but can be miserably hot in the warmer months.

Leather Armor: Thick leather jerkin and leggings. Can sometimes pass as clothing, if extra money is spent on tailoring.

Studded Leather: Leather armor reinforced with metal, bone or hard wood studs to offer further deflection against weapons.

Ring Mail: The quality version of Studded Leather. It consists of leather or padded armor reinforced with light metal rings across the torso, often between layers of fabric. It may cost more than basic studded leather, but it lasts longer in the field. Often referred to as a Buff Coat or a Jack Coat.

Scale Mail: Leather was often boiled in a mixture of water, oil, wax and/or ammonia (from urine) to make hard plates of leather, much like wood. This was referred to as cuir boulli. These leather plates would be cut into strips, then stitched in overlapping layers like scales onto padded or leather armor. Heavier than Ring or Studded Mail, but offering superior protection. Disambiguation: In AD&D, 1st ed., scale mail offers less protection than chain mail. As such, it must refer to this form of 'scale mail' armor. Scale mail made from metal would be the equivalent of Banded Mail (see below).

Chain Mail: The lightest and most versatile of the metal armors. Made from drawing out metal wire, clipping it into short lengths, then crimping it into links of chain in the standard 4-to-1 pattern. It is worn over a cloth or light leather tunic. Flexible, but able to deflect most piercing and cutting attacks highly efficiently. Not as effective against blunt attacks, but still superior to non-metal armor in that regard.

Elfin Chain: Chain mail made using a proprietary elven process. The links are a fraction the width and circumference of standard mail, and the metal amalgam used is much lighter. The result is metal cloth offering the same protection as standard chain at a fraction of the weight and no effect on movement. Not usually available on the open market, and rarely sized for anyone other than an elf (or a slightly-built human). 

Splint Mail: Chain mail reinforced over vital areas with mail splints stitched onto or woven through the links. As these plates restrict the natural mobility of chain mail, the resulting armor has a slightly greater effect on movement than Banded Mail (see below).

Banded Mail: Overlapping bands of metal, either in bar formation or scale pattern, mounted to a heavy leather or chain backing. A good compromise between the flexibility of chain and the defensive bonus of Plate.

Plate Mail: Armor consisting of a metal plate breastplate and backplate worn over padded armor, with chain armor protecting the arms and legs. Most often worn with heavy leather boots and studded leather gauntlets. Chain coif included in the price.

Field Plate Armor: Custom-fitted  (and therefore, expensive) plate armor worn over a full set of chain. Limb armor resembling splint or banded mail. Most often worn with chain-and-leather gauntlets and chain-reinforced boots. Pot Helm included in the price.

Full Plate Armor: Fully articulated suit of custom-fitted metal plate armor, including full-metal gauntlets and full-metal boots (called sollerets). Great Helm included in the price. 

Buckler: Tiny shield roughly 1.5' in diameter. Also referred to as a target shield. Only one handle in the back, and therefore used held in the hand rather than strapped to the forearm. Mainly used by fencers and duelists.

Small Shield: Worn on the forearm, 2' or so in diameter. Issued to rank-and file troops. Functional, if minimal, protection on the battlefield.
 
Normal Shield: Worn on the forearm, 3'+ in diameter. Standard shield for landed knights or officers. Largest shield which can be used on horseback.

Large Shield: A huge plank of a shield, measuring nearly 3' across the top and up to 4'+ in height. Used by troops assaulting gates to protect from objects or missiles dropped from above, or by troops in pike squares or other battlefield formations to defend against massed missile-weapon fire. Defenders kneeling behind these shields cannot attack, but they get a -4 bonus to their armor class vs. missile weapons. Its cumbersome size results in a -1 Move penalty. Cannot be used actively by Dwarves or Halflings, but they can use its passive protection as normal. 

Leather Helm: A leather cap with ear flaps. Helps defend against saps, similar stunning attacks, and specific critical hit results. Destroyed on the first critical hit to the head, whether or not it helps to defend against it.

Chain Coif: A chain shroud worn over the head like a stocking cap or ski mask. Almost always open at the face, and worn over a cloth cap or leather helm. Destroyed on the first critical hit to the head it fails to defend against.

Pot Helm: A brain bucket made of solid metal lined with padding for comfort. Wearer is immune to stunning from saps. Gives attackers a -2% penalty when checking for a critical hit. Destroyed on the first critical hit to the head it fails to defend against. Rendered non-functional until repaired if it actually prevents a critical hit result.

Great Helm: Full metal helmet covering the head and neck, with articulated face plate. If face plate is up, treat as a Pot Helm. Gives complete protection from Garrotes and Saps. Gives attackers a -5% penalty when checking for a critical hit. Rendered non-functional (until repaired) if it fails to prevent a critical hit result to the head. Not damaged at all if it prevents a critical result. Wearer is at -2 to Perception when wearing a Great Helm.
-Michael Keith

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Are You the Matrix? : More on Magic-User Spells

A lot of the descriptions in the old AD&D rules about magic really made no sense. Magic-Users were limited in how many spells they could have in a spellbook, and the spellcaster had to take time every morning to 'memorize' spells, which would then disappear from memory and need to be re-memorized the next day, but only from a Magic-User's own spellbook, never from someone else's. I understand the need to put limits on Magic-Users, otherwise at upper levels they would do nothing but cast Wish or Disintegrate every round. Still, I figure this system could be handled with a bit more finesse.

[Much of the following concepts surrounding spell matrices came from the Earthdawn roleplaying game.]

When a Magic-User is putting a spell into a spell-book, he is actually attuning that spell to himself on the ethereal plane. Spellbooks are personal items, and are linked magically to their owner. 'Learning' the spell is as much the caster learning how to cast the spell as it is familiarizing the spell with the caster. Magic is a living thing, after all!

Once a spell is 'learned' and in one's spellbook, the Magic-User may choose to make use of it as part of their daily spell allowances. In order to do so, Magic-Users use what is known in Arcane circles as a Spell Matrix. This is a thought construct on the ethereal plane that is used to house the magic of the spell until it is released by the caster. The process of weaving these matrices and storing the spells within is referred to as 'memorization'. It does seem to the outside observer that the Magic-User is chanting the spell over and over again out of their spellbook when preparing their daily spells, but it really has nothing to do with re-learning the spell every day.

When it comes time to actually cast the spell, follow the rules for casting time, spell requirements and components and other instructions given under each spell description. This is what is used in order to release the spell from its matrix into reality.

Cantrips are simple enough spells that they need no matrices to operate out of, and can be done at will. Rituals are unique in that the ritual casting itself weaves a temporary matrix using the elaborate casting and material cost outlay. The temporary matrix and components are consumed immediately when the ritual is finally brought into being. 

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

What the $&@# is a Glaive-Guisarme?

One of the most comical things about the 1st ed. AD&D rules was this odd combination of information overload with no definitions. For instance, they seemed to list every single polearm used around the world, feeling the need to differentiate between obscure weapons such as Spetums and Partisans, but didn't bother to actually define what the heck each weapon looked like.

This led to some understandable confusion. For instance, the Cleric class in 1st edition AD&D was only allowed to use blunt weapons. In the weapon list, next to the easily understood Hammer was listed "Hammer, Lucern" which had a way better damage profile. Many clerics opted to use the Lucern Hammer along with a shield, when in fact the Lucern Hammer was a very pointy polearm that would both violate the Cleric's weapon restrictions, and required two hands to use to boot (thus precluding the use of a shield).

They did describe things somewhat in an appendix of Unearthed Arcana, but that was in the days before Wikipedia. Here is a breakdown of all the polearms and what they actually were.

Bardiche: Cutting, 2-H. A large two-handed axe. Ostensibly a pole arm, but with no extra reach. Axe blade is a D-shaped curved blade which takes up a quarter or more of the length of the weapon.

Bec de Corbin: Cutting, Piercing, Blunt, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm used for penetrating hard armor targets. The name literally means 'crow's beak'. A later version of the Lucern Hammer (see below). Both sport a spike, but the Bec de Corbin utilizes a broad, short and edged spear tip rather than a long tapered point, and a claw-like hammer rather than a flat peen. Fun fact: This weapon also doubles as a crowbar! 

Fauchard: Cutting, Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm that is basically a short sword on a stick.

Fork, Military: Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm that is basically a military version of a pitchfork. 

Glaive: Cutting, 2-H, Reach 2. A polearm with a large curve-bladed head. This is different than a spear as it is mostly used as a slashing weapon rather than a stabbing weapon.

Guisarme: Cutting, Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. A polearm with a spear-like head with a hook on one side.  Used for dragging people off horses and the like.

Halberd: Cutting or Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. A polearm with an axe-head and a spear point.

Hammer, Lucern: Blunt, Cutting and Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. A polearm with a hammer-head, a small point, and a pointed beak. Used for piercing hard-armored targets. 

Mancatcher: Cutting, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm with U-shaped head covered with barbs. Used to catch hold of a man-sized target.

Partisan: Impaling or Cutting, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm which combines a spearhead with sharp double-edged protrusions on each side, often at right angles.

Pike: Impaling, 2-H, Reach 4. A massively long spear, usually used by large groups in battle formation rather than as an individual.  

Ranseur: Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm which combines a spearhead framed by shorter, curved pointy spines.

Spetum: Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. A polearm with a spearhead flanked by two shorter pointed blades coming out at about a 45-degree angle.

Trident: Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. A triple-headed spear. 

Voulge: Cutting, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm consisting of a cleaver attached to a pole.

*And don't forget the ever-comically named combination polearms!*

Bill-Guisarme: Cutting, Piercing, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm combining the spear-and-hook of the Guisarme with a reverse-Glaive head.

Fauchard-Fork: Cutting, Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Polearm combining a Fauchard and a military fork. It looks like a jitte-on-a-stick, with one forward facing tine sticking out of the back of the fauchard blade. 

Glaive-Guisarme: Cutting, Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Combo of a glaive blade with the spear-and-hook of the guisarme. Basically the reverse of the Bill-Guisarme.

Guisarme-Voulge: Cutting, Impaling, 2-H, Reach 2. Combo of a voulge cleaver chopping blade with the spear-and-hook of the Guisarme. Ends up looking like a primitive Halberd.

Also, the old rules insisted on a separate weapon proficiency skills for each and every weapon. Since all of these polearms are slight variations of the others, requiring separate specializations just seems ridiculous. I instead divided the polearms into types: Choppity, Forky, Slashy-Pokey, Multi-Tool and Spear. Training in one of these types allows a combatant to mix and match amongst the forest of polearms available.

So know you know about polearms. And knowing is half the battle.

-Mike Keith

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Magic: It's In the Way that you Use It

I know what it is like to be a first level Magic-User in 1st edition AD&D. You get one spell a day. One. And you better make it count. Up to the point you use that spell, and for the entirety of the day afterward, your goal and sole focus is to Not Die. Not easy when you only get 1d4 hit points and aren't allowed any armor to wear. True, there were lots of spells to choose from, but you wouldn't think of wasting your one spell of the day on something like Audible Glamer (sic) or Dancing Lights. It was either Sleep, Charm, or maybe Magic Missile. There were those that liked Burning Hands, but not me.

I was overjoyed with the rules in 4th edition for Cantrips. Simple spells with utilitarian applications that could be used as often as the caster wishes! And, combined with Arcana as a Skill, you no longer had to commit daily spells to Detect Magic or Read Magic. Concept! I also liked the idea of Rituals. Now, big ticket spells could be done outside of the basic spells-per-day, but they took plenty of time to do, and included a cost outlay in required ingredients.

Here is how I chose to adapt these concepts to spell casting in my reworking of the AD&D rules:

Clerics will have certain spells that can be cast as Rituals, corresponding to their duties as agents of their Demigod and as the leader of their religious order. Such spells as Ceremony should be able to be performed for religious supplicants regardless of whatever else they chose spell-wise for the day. As such, Clerics will use some rituals, but not as many as Magic-Users. Other spells they cast may seem to be rituals (like Astral Spell) in the time it takes to cast and money outlay, but due to their powerful nature they must be chosen as part of the daily limit.

Druids have very few rituals (save Ceremony), but the nice part of their type of Magic is the utilitarian nature of it. They need their mistletoe for components, but other than that very few hard-to-find or costly material components are required. They are the bare-knuckle, less fussy alternative to Clerical magic. And they get all sorts of special abilities as they advance in levels that Clerics don't.

Magic-Users get the best of all worlds: Cantrips, Spell Magic and Rituals. A number of spells serve dual purpose as both daily spells and rituals. This helps differentiate the deliberate scribing of a Magic Circle to protect against a summoned elemental from the hastily scrawled chalk pentagram used to ward off a pursuing Demon. The first is a Ritual requiring lots of time and material outlay, while the latter is a hastily cast spell with limited materials, but both are just your basic Protection from Evil spell. For Magic-Users, choose your spells carefully, and feel free to improvise their adaptation to 'off-label' use. Have a pesky Earth Elemental? Try casting Dig and see what happens!

Illusionists are the red-headed step children of the AD&D class system. They get the fewest spells to choose from, the majority of which are described in the most abstract of terms. In my reworking of the AD&D rules, Illusionists get their own Cantrips, but do not have access to Rituals. Instead, they get something no one else gets: the ability to choose their spells on the fly. The time that Magic-Users would spend 'memorizing', or that Clerics or Druids would spend 'praying', Illusionists instead spend 'practicing'. They need to practice for a length of time to have the ability to cast a given number of spells in a day, but you don't need to choose the spell until you cast it. You get three first-level spells in a day? Great! They can be three Phantasmal Forces, or a Change Self and two Spooks. You know it, you can cast it as you see fit without declaring it ahead of time, as long as you have all the necessary spell materials. They may have the fewest spells, but now they have the most versatility of all the spell casters!

Skills: What To Do When Not Beating on Orcs

As I mentioned in the first post on this blog, I really didn't like the combat-only focus of the original AD&D rules. The original skill system offered in the Survival Guides was really basic and not usable for anything aside from the most simplistic of tasks.

I've taken the skill format from 4th edition D&D and added many more skills to boot. Each character class offers many different skill types as basic training. Characters such as Thieves and Assassins will now be able to customize their advancement in the skills that they find interesting, while downplaying those that they may not choose to use as much. Now anyone with Perception can attempt to spot a trap, but only those with Traps skill can disarm them. Anyone can attempt to be sneaky with Stealth, but the traditionally sneaky classes will be the most effective at it.

As a result, characters will be defined by their skills as much or more so than the weapons they use.

Combat: More Than Just a Beat-Down

In order to make combat flow more realistically, I opted for a 10-second combat round rather than the old-school 1-minute round. I also adopted the action-per-round model from 4th edition D&D, namely the Attack, the Move, the Minor Action and the Free action.

There is also more to do when attacking than just basic striking. I've worked in rules for parrying, for the use of shields to both attack and parry, and detailed how to grab, how to grapple, how to push, how to charge and slam a target, and how to defend against charges. I've included the use of threatened squares and opportunity attacks from 4th edition, and included descriptions of every weapon and armor in the game. I am also using the 'Weapons vs. Armor Type' table from 1st edition AD&D, as this really makes a difference in what armor characters would choose to wear, as well as what weapons they choose to use.

Weapon specialization follows that found in Baldur's Gate, with the addition of each weapon offering unique abilities as levels of specialization are gained. Fighters gain in specialization faster than all other classes, and are the only ones who can become a Grand-Master in a particular weapon.

Now combat involves strategy. What to wear, what to wield, how to wield it, how to advance, where to face, and how to defend. Combat is much more dynamic now, and much more interesting.

AD&D: A Work in Progress

I've been playing RPGs for years. Back when I was 10 years old, I got the Basic D&D boxed set, and set about teaching myself the rules of the game. I was always eager to play, but the friends I hung out with throughout much of grade school were much less inclined to gaming. They might have enjoyed the occasional adventure, but were never excited about any sort of long term campaign.

Things changed when I got into middle-school. Andy Collins (who works for Wizards of the Coast now, BTW) got a group of like-minded folks together and ran an epic AD&D campaign. I got to play a Magic-User, and the campaign covered the totality of the T 1-4 modules, the A 1-4 modules, and wrapping up with the GDQ1-7 modules.  Now, previously, I had collected the A and GDQ modules as separates, but with the creation of The Temple of Elemental Evil, all these modules were combined into one mega campaign that took characters up from first level to near demi-god status.

Later on in high school, I got back to being the Game Master myself.  I ran T 1-4 for another group of high-school friends, and when I went off to college, I ran it again there. I enjoyed the story and the setting, but the more I played, the more I realized the limitations of AD&D as presented. As I found other RPGs to play and compare it to, the more I was able to define those problems.

For all its talk about 'role playing', AD&D was only designed for combat. Period. The initial rules didn't even offer any skills outside of basic combat and spells. This was remedied slightly with the release of the Dungeoneers' Survival Guide and the Wilderness Survival Guide, but those skill lists were extremely primitive and lackluster.

There also was the basic imbalance of power in the character classes. At first level, Fighters and their sub-classes were all-powerful. Even then, they were the most two-dimensional of all classes. There wasn't even weapon specialization until Unearthed Arcana was released, and even those rules were fairly bare bones. So, as powerful as Fighters were compared to other classes at first, their entire adventuring career consisted solely of saying 'I attack' over and over again.

Other classes may have some special abilities to fall back on, but first level was all about surviving, not adventuring. The thought was the weakest of characters (namely Magic-Users), if they put in their time adventuring, would eventually become the strongest of characters. This didn't work out so well. True, Magic-Users ended up with some earth-shakingly powerful magic, but at the higher levels, all the monsters you meet ended up with resistances to spell results, or to Magic entirely, making everything you tried to do as a Magic-User useless.

Hands-down, my favorite role-playing game system is GURPS. It is very rule intensive compared to systems like AD&D, but I admire them for there approach. They set out to make a physical model of the gaming universe, and have all actions defined within that model. Characters could attempt anything, and there were rules for how to execute those actions. As much as I love this system, it is crushingly realistic. This takes away from the high-fantasy element lots of people like when playing games like AD&D. I may one day get to indulge my GURPS campaign dreams, but there is the need to give the players something they want to do, rather than being a tyrant of a game master.

I got back to looking at the AD&D rules and, as many have done before, attempted to tweak them into some semblance of order. I included rules that allowed for tactics, decision-making and character building. Rules that differentiated weapons, so there was a reason to use a flail instead of a longsword. Rules that provided a workable skill system that offered depth and knowledge to characters. Rules that looked at weapons as a means of defense as well as offense. Basically, rules that breathed life back into a stale system.

I believe I have managed to do so. The changes and tweaks I've made have drawn from the first, second and fourth editions of AD&D (including some rules from the Baldur's Gate AD&D video game) and elements from GURPS as well. I have expanded the skills and actions available to characters allowing everyone to have a character that can be engaged and of value at any level of experience, while keeping the high-fantasy feel and easy playability that were the hallmarks of the original system. In short, this is the version of AD&D that I've always wanted to play.

I bought many adventures with my allowance growing up, and wrote as many others. Many never got to see the light of day, and others were started never to be finished. I think I have everything in order to dust off these adventures and give them another go.

A while ago, I mentioned that autumn always feels like 'orc-killing weather'. The cold air, the fall colors, the low angle sunshine (when there is any) and the early dark in the evenings all seem somehow quite dramatic and slightly sinister, but in a good way. It always puts me in the mood for gaming, and this blog and the information contained within is the result of that mood for this year. Read on if you are interested, and let me know what you think. More posts to follow.

-Mike Keith