Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 Special Terminology ........................................................................................ 2 Characters ............................................................................................................ 3 General Stat Bonus ......................................................................................... 3 Arcane Caster Special Abilities ........................................................................ 3 Divine Caster Special Abilities ......................................................................... 4 Backgrounds .................................................................................................... 5 Skills ................................................................................................................ 5 Alignment ......................................................................................................... 7 Body Points, Hit Points, and Healing ............................................................... 8 Magic .................................................................................................................. 11 Spell Knowledge ............................................................................................ 11 Direct Spell Casting ....................................................................................... 11 Ritual Magic ................................................................................................... 12 Counterspells ................................................................................................. 13 Combat ............................................................................................................... 14 Combat Stance .............................................................................................. 14 Critical Hits .................................................................................................... 14 Critical Misses ............................................................................................... 15 Combat Stunts ............................................................................................... 16 Special Combat Situations............................................................................. 16 Special Shield Defense.................................................................................. 17 Weapon Damage ........................................................................................... 17 Monsters............................................................................................................. 18 Monster Reactions ......................................................................................... 18 Mooks (aka Cannon Fodder) ....................................................................... 18 Optional Rules .................................................................................................... 21 Character Goals and Personality Traits ......................................................... 21 Strike Speed Initiative and Order of Battle ..................................................... 24 Armor for Everyone........................................................................................ 25 Deities and Divine Intervention ...................................................................... 26 Mnemonic Mage Class .................................................................................. 28 OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a ................................................................ 32
INTRODUCTION
This booklet is full of house rules modern versions of the house rules I first used in my 0e campaigns in the 1970s and still use today. While each GM may certainly pick and choose which rules will be used in their campaigns, many of the rules sections assume that other rules in this tome are being used. For example, the magic rules assume the Hit Point and Body Point rules are in use as using hit points as spell points/fatigue only makes sense if the Hit Point and Body Point rules from this tome are also in use. The rules in this booklet (or at least those the GM elects to use) override any contradictory rules in the 0e rulebooks. In cases of direct conflict, the rules in this booklet should be used unless the GM decides otherwise. There is one completely new rule in this booklet: Special Shield Defense. This rule, in one form or another, has become common in old school game over the past four years. I like it, so my version is included here. Important Note: The rules in this booklet change the way 0e works in both major and minor ways. Some people will probably claim that some of the more major changes turn the game into something that is no longer really 0e. This point-of-view would have been alien to at least 90% of the groups of 0e players I was familiar with in the 1970s. Back then, each 0e campaign was different, often very different, from other 0e campaigns. Groups borrowed rules from magazines like The Dragon and Judges Guild Journal, from fanzines, from third party products like Warlock and the Arduin Grimoire, and from other campaigns. To top it off, most campaigns had house rules that campaigns GM had thought up. There were no game police declaring campaigns that used spell points, percentile combat rolls, playing cards instead of dice, etc. were not real 0e. So, if you believe that the rules changes in this booklet would turn a game into not really 0e, dont use these rules. However, please dont try to convince others that games using these rules would have normally been considered not really 0e back in the 1970s when 0e was standard version of the game -- as that is nothing but revisionist history.
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Special Terminology
Class Groups: These rules refer to various groups of character classes as shorthand to avoid long lists of classes in every rules section. Classes are divided into three major groups: Fighting Classes (those who have a lot of training in combat), Arcane Classes (those who focus most of their training in magic), and Specialist Classes (whose training is focused on things other than combat or magic). There are also two minor groups: Spellcasters and Divine Classes. Fighting Classes include Fighting-Men, Rangers, Paladins, and Monks. Arcane Classes include Magic-Users and Illusionists. Specialist Classes include Clerics, Druids, Theives, Assassins, and Bards. Spellcasters incude any class able to learn and cast spells: Magic-Users, Clerics, Druids, Illusionists, Bards (and Rangers and Paladins in some versions of 0e). Divine Classes include Clerics and Druids. Fighter Bonus: Fighting Men have a Fighter Bonus equal to 1 plus their Level/4, rounded up. Other Fighting Classes have a Fighter Bonus equal to their Level/5, rounded up. Armor Class: Armor class is listed for both Descending AC and Ascending AC systems in this form AC: 5 [14] where the number in brackets is the Ascending AC. -2Tarnhelms Terrible Tome
CHARACTERS
General Stat Bonus
While each stat has a specific set of effects/modifers in the standard rules, many of the rules in this setof house rules also use the following general stat bonus. Stat 3 4-5 6-8 9-11 12-14 15-16 18 General Stat Bonus -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3
When stat bonus is mentioned in these rules, the general stat bonus should be used unless otherwise indicated.
to the magic-user unless a save is made). Usable once per round if no other action taken. Requires waving a handmade wand. Cost 1 HP per use. Some examples: Light a candle or pipe with a flame from the finger tip. Dust things at first level a minor magic spell might be needed for each shelf or piece of furniture, while at third level a single spell might dust a room and at sixth level the magic-user's the entire floor of a house or tower. Tie or untie a knot. Float coins from the magic-users coin purse to a merchant's hand.
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Backgrounds
Characters may select, with the approval of the GM, a one or two word background that represents a broad base of skills and knowledge, e.g. Farmer, Merchant, Desert Nomad, Noble, Shaman, Templar, Thyatian Mercenary, Ritualist, etc. Backgrounds need not be related to the PCs class, e.g. a player who creates a deeply religious fighter skilled in the arts of vision interpretation, divination and oration might pick 'Prophet' as a background. Backgrounds may not duplicate a class. The GM will consider the character's background just as he would the character's class when deciding if a character will succeed with an action. For example, a character with an Engineer background should have a much better chance of damming a creek or building a bridge over it than a character with a Courtier background. The word word should be taken loosely. For example, the name of a culture/location should be considered one word even if it is Holy Panamon Imperium Blue Knight of the Holy Panamon Imperium could count as two words if such clearly describes a single background in the campaign world.
Skills
There are no specific skills in 0e. Instead players are expected to think like adventurers, tell the GM what they are doing and the GM decides if it will succeed in the situation, taking into account the characters classes and backgrounds. If the GM decides a random success chance is truly needed he may resolve the situation with a roll of his choice or he may call for one of the following rolls: Primary Skill Roll: 1d20 + Stat Bonus + Class Level if the character is attempting something directly related to their class or background. Secondary Skill Roll: 1d20 + Stat Bonus + (Class Level/2, round up) if the character is attempting something only loosely related to their class or background. Minor Skill Roll: 1d20 +Stat Bonus + (Class Level/3, round down) if the character is attempting something not really related to their class or background. When the GM calls for a skill roll, he will declare the type of skill roll, which stat the skill roll falls under, and any situational modifiers and the player will make a skill roll. (The GM should make the roll in secret if Tarnhelms Terrible Tome -5-
seeing the result would give the player more information than his character should have.) Roll higher than the GM assigned Difficulty Class to succeed. Unless the GM rules otherwise, a natural roll of 20 always succeeds for a Primary Skill Roll. Suggested Difficulty Classes: Easy - 8, Normal - 12, Difficult 16, Hard - 20, Very Hard - 24, Legendary - 28, Unbelievable - 32. Basic Adventuring Skills: Unless a player specifies otherwise about a character at character creation, all characters are assumed to have basic practical adventuring skills such as maintaining weapons and armor, riding a horse, setting up a camp, swimming, climbing, cooking, first aid, etc., and have a rough idea of the value of common coins, trade goods, gems, and jewels. Success should simply be assumed unless there are unusual conditions. Languages: All character races speak common. Other intelligent beings speak their own languages (20% chance of also speaking common). Beings with a INT over 10 may speak one additional language per point of INT over 10 (these are in addition to any languages known by race). Talents (Optional): At level 2 (and every 2 levels thereafter), characters may select one narrow area of skill where they are better than average: something they are Good at. This talent should be either something directly related to their class or background -- or something they have spent game time and/or money learning. If the player wishes (and the GM approves), instead of selecting a new talent a talent the character is already Good at be improved to Expert at at a later even-numbered level and a talent the character is Expert at may be improved a final time to Master at at yet a later even-numbered level. Talents let characters choose to be better than average in some specific, limited field. For example, while any character can try to swing from vines, a character that is Good at: Swinging from Vines is going to be more successful at it than the average character. The GM will consider the character's talents just as he would the character's class and background when deciding if a character will succeed with an action. If you need to assign numerical benefits to talents for when a success roll is needed, +2 per level is a good place to start for most talents (i.e. Good at +2, Expert at +4, Master at: +6).
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Alignment
Basic Alignment: There are three basic alignments: Light, Dark, and Neutral. Only intelligent beings have alignment and the vast majority of those tend to be neutral. Player Characters should select an alignment for their characters. Light: Light aligned characters try to avoid unnecessary harm to others by their actions or inaction. They often put the good of society/everyone over the immediate good of themselves and their friends. They are usually willing to help others/society even if doing so is somewhat inconvenient. If given power over others, they tend to use it for the good of all. Dark: Dark aligned characters only care about themselves and those who are currently useful to them. While they may not go out of their way to harm others, they do not care if others are harmed as long as they succeed at their personal goals. They are generally only willing to help others/society if they get something they want or need out of it. If given power over others they tend to abuse it and use it mainly to help themselves. Neutral: Neutral characters tend to put themselves and their friends first, but will generally not allow others to come to unnecessary harm or inconvenience in order to succeed. They are willing to help others/society so long as doing so is not inconvenient. If given power over others, they tend to use it for good, but they and their friends come first. Converting Published Alignments: Other 0e publications have different alignment systems (e.g. Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic, Good/Neutral/Evil). In general, Law and Good translate as Light and Chaos and Evil translate as Dark. However, GMs should use their common sense and knowledge of the beings in question. Virtues and Vices (Optional): As in real life, each character has virtues (admirable character traits) and vices (not so admirable character traits). Players select six traits from the lists below before play starts. Neutral characters must select three from each list. Light aligned characters must select at least one (but no more than two) vices. Dark aligned characters must select at least one (but no more than two) virtues. Players can select virtues and vices not on the list with GM approval.
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Virtues Academic Austere Bold Cheerful Compassionate Courageous Daring Determined Fair Faithful Friendly Generous Gregarious Honest Hopeful Industrious Just Kind Patriotic Thoughtful Thrifty
Vices Arrogant Bigoted Capricious Cowardly Egoistical Fearful Hateful Hidebound Impulsive Insensitive Lazy Manipulative Miserly Petty Power Hungry Rude Self-Centered Spendthrift Stubborn Thoughtless Vengeful
Players should select virtues and vices they are willing to roleplay when appropriate. While there is no mechanical penalty for failing to do so, GMs who award XP for roleplaying will likely consider how when the character roleplays his virtues and vices when awarding suc XP.
(Level/2) (round up, minimum 10). This has fighting classes slowly becoming tougher while arcane classes lose physical conditioning as they become more magically powerful. Recovering Hit Points: All characters recover all hit points after six hours of total rest. If a character has lost Body Points due to wounds, only 50% of total hit points lost are recovered per six hours of rest. Healing Body Point Damage: Body points lost recover at a rate equal to the characters CON Bonus (minimum of 1 point regained) per full day of complete rest. If a character with up to 50% Body Point damage (up to 10 points of BP damage if base 20 BP is used) performs more than very light activity or careful, slow travel during a day, he has a 50% chance of losing an additional body point. If a character with more 50% of Body Point damaged (11 or more points of BP damage if base 20 BP is used) does anything other than rest quietly in bed during a day, he has a 50% chance of losing an additional body point. Healing Magic: Cure spells or their equivalent no longer affect hit points on characters (but continue to do so on creatures who only have hit points). A Cure Light Wounds (or equivalent) will cure 1d2+1 Body Points. A Cure Serious Wounds (or equivalent) will cure 3d2+3 Body Points. In either case, 1 point will be cured per 10 minutes of rest after the spell is cast (up to the maximum the spell will cure), if the rest in interrupted any remaining points of healing are lost. Bleeding (optional): A character who has been reduced to 0 hit points by weapon or other trauma-related damage will eventually bleed out and die if their wounds are not bound. A bleeding character must make a Save every minute or suffer one body point of additional damage. Binding wounds takes 1 minute per point of body damage taken, but no further bleeding rolls are needed (including while the wounds are being bound). Any healing spell cast on a bleeding character will effectively stop the bleeding. Second Wind (Optional): Once per day, characters may regain 20% of their total hit points (round up) by resting in a safe place for an hour while eating a meal. This amount is reduced by 2 hp per point of body damage (to a minimum of 0 hp recovered). Monster Body Points (Optional): Body Points should generally only be used for player characters and important NPCs. If the GM does not mind the added complexity, monsters may have Body Points as well. A monsters Body Points are equal to twice the number of hit dice the monster has. This option is not recommended as it adds a lot of pointless Tarnhelms Terrible Tome -9-
GM bookkeeping to every combat. If the GM does not want to use this option, but still feels that the addition of Body Points gives player characters too much of an advantage over monsters, the GM may simply increase the HPs rolled for monsters by twice the number of hit dice the monster has.
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MAGIC
Spell Knowledge
Arcane and divine casters can memorize and cast spells from their respective spell lists up to the maximum spell level listed for their character level. Arcane casters record spells they know in spell books. Divine casters record spells they know in prayer books. Arcane casters start with Read Magic and 1d2 additional first level spells in their spell book (which must be approved by the GM) and can add more spells by finding (or buying) them on scrolls or books and copying them into his spell book. Divine casters start with 1d2 first spells in their prayer book (which must be approved by the GM) and can add more spells by finding (or buying) them on scrolls or books and copying them into his prayer book. An arcane caster can memorize up to Level + INT bonus spells and these spells can be directly cast (others spells may be cast via a casting ritual). An arcane caster requires his spell book and 1 hour of time to change the spells he has memorized. A divine caster can memorize up Level plus WIS bonus spells and these spells can be directly cast (others spells may be cast via a casting ritual). An arcane caster requires his spell book and 1 hour of prayer to change the spells he has memorized.
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2 3 5
3 4 7
4 5 9
5 6
6 7
7 8
8 9
9 10
11 13 15 17 19
Although there are ways to reduce the cost of casting spells, the casting cost cannot be reduced below 2 Hit Points. Signature Spells: Both arcane and divine casters select one signature spell per spell level from first upward that they prefer to use over any other. These spells are easier to cast due to familiarity, costing 1 less HP to use. Signature spells are always in memory and do not count against the number of spells a caster can memorize. Implement Use: Spells cast through an implement (a wand or staff for a Magic-User, Illusionist or other arcane caster, a holy symbol for a cleric, druid, or other divine caster) cost less to use. The implement must either be a magic item or be made by the caster (12 hours, wood, and carving tools needed). The implement must be undamaged and in the casters hand at the time the spell is cast. Combat Casting: In combat, if a character is hit and takes damage (or other effect that could interfere with spell casting like paralysis) before casting a spell, the spell fizzles. The fizzled spell costs caster only 50% of the normal HP casting cost of the spell and the caster loses his action for the round.
Ritual Magic
Both arcane and divine casters can perform ritual magic to cast spells of any level (and other special rituals that might be found in old books or scrolls) provided the caster has a written copy of the spell or ritual, any needed materials (mainly required by special rituals), and the time and space needed to perform the ritual. Performance Cost: Ritual casting of a spell of a level the caster is able to cast normally takes 1 minute per level of the spell being ritually cast. The HP Casting Cost is equal to casting the spell with an implement (spell level + 1 HPs). Ritual casting of a spell of a level the caster is not yet able to cast normally takes 10 minutes per level of the spell and costs twice as much in hit points as it would to cast directly. Ritual casting of a special ritual takes as long and costs as many HP as the ritual states (that is, the GM assigns these as needed when he creates the special ritual). Multiple casters may participate in a casting a special ritual with the HP cost of casting divided among them. Spell casters participating in -12Tarnhelms Terrible Tome
a ritual casting of any type may not wear armor or be armed with combat weapons. (Required ritual items like sacrificial knifes do not count as weapons.) Sacrifices (Optional): One or more beings with human or better intelligence may be sacrificed during ritual magic. Each sacrifice made adds 10 minutes to the ritual and provides 10 plus the beings level or hit dice in HP to power the ritual. This amount is tripled if the being is truly a willing sacrifice. Some special rituals may require the sacrifice of intelligent beings. The sacrifice of intelligent beings is normally against the law in civilized societies.
Counterspells
Arcane spell casters have the ability to disrupt other arcane casters by attempting to counter the spell. Casters can attempt to counter any type of arcane spell; however they get a -1 penalty when countering spells cast by a class different from their class. The moment that a spell is cast, any caster within range (10 feet per level) and who has not yet acted that round may abandon their planned action to try to counter the spell. In order to succeed the countering caster must make a magic attack roll and beat a DC equal to 20 + (spell caster's level) at a cost of 3 + the level of the spell being countered in HP. Before rolling they may choose to use their magical energies to improve their chances of success: for each additional 2 HP spent (for each 3 HP spent if the caster is of a different class), their roll gains +1 bonus. If an arcane caster was casting a spell and stops doing so to counter a spell, the spell the arcane caster interrupted to counterspell costs the caster 50% of the normal casting cost in HP
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COMBAT
Combat Stance
Any character able to act may select a combat stance. Any character who has not announced their combat stance before initiative is rolled automatically selects Standard. Combat Stances (and their effects) are Full Defense (Attack: no attack possible; AC: +2 bonus, +4 bonus with shield, +6 bonus with large shield; Strike: -5), Active Defense (Attack: -2 penalty; AC: +1 bonus, +2 with shield; Strike: -2), Standard (Attack: Normal; AC: Normal: Strike: normal), Active Attack (Attack: +1 bonus; AC: -1 penalty; Strike: +1), and Full Attack (Attack: +2 bonus; AC: -2 penalty; Strike: +2). Spell casters casting a spell cannot select the Full Defense or Active Defense Stance. The Stance Strike modifier is optional (and can only be used if the optional Strike Speed Initiative rules are used).
Critical Hits
A natural 20 that would otherwise hit is automatically a critical hit doing maximum damage and doing a number of body points damage equal to the number of damage dice rolled (normally 1). Most monsters do not have body points, so a critical hit will do maximum damage plus a normal damage roll to them and cause them to lose their next attack. Option: Fighting Men (only) do a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20 that would otherwise hit. Critical Hit Special Effects (optional): When an Fighting Class character (or a monster, at the GMs option) has selected the Active Attack or Full Attack combat stance for a round and scores a critical hit in melee combat during that round, one of the following special effects may be imposed at the attackers option: Trip: Target is knocked prone. Disarm: Target's weapon or shield is knocked away in a random direction a number of feet equal to half the damage you dealt. Reposition: Force your target to move to a new location of your choice, up to a number of feet equal to half the damage you dealt (plus attackers STR bonus). Attacker may move with target if attacker desires. Tarnhelms Terrible Tome
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Shield Slam: If wielding a shield, bludgeon your target with it, dealing damage as a shield bash. Target is then forced back from you a number of feet equal to half the damage dealt by the original attack (plus the attackers STR bonus). Disorient: Blow leaves your opponent off-guard. Until the end of his next turn, target is confused. Hinder: Target is briefly slowed, reducing his speed to five feet until the end of his next turn.
If the movement effect of Reposition or Shield Slam would force the target over a cliff, into a pool of dangerous liquid, or the like, the target gets a DEX save to stop safely at the edge.
Critical Misses
A natural roll of 1 is a critical miss. Unless the optional rule below is used, the only effect of a critical miss is that the attack always fails, regardless of modifiers. Critical Miss Special Effects (optional): When a Fighting Class character (or a monster, at the GMs option) has selected the Active Defense or Full Defense combat stance for a round and an enemy attacking him during that round rolls a natural 1 on their attack roll, one of the following special effects may be imposed at the defenders option: Counterattack: You make a melee attack against your attacker. This is in addition to any other attacks you might make during the round. Disengage: You dart away from your attacker, moving up to your movement, but you cannot engage another by doing so. Blind: You spit, throw sand, or otherwise attack your enemy's eyes. Until the end of the next round, he is blinded. Redirect Attack: Your opponent's attack automatically strikes another creature of your choice within reach of your enemys weapon. Feint: You quickly feign an attack against your foe. Until the end of his next turn, your enemy is has a negative modifier equal to your level to all actions. Steal: You pluck a small unprotected item--usually no more cumbersome than a weighty coin purse--from your foe.
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Combat Maneuvers
At a cost of 1 hit point, Fighting and Specialist classes may adjust their armor bonuses, attack bonus, damage done, etc. for an attack to create a combat maneuver. For each -1 a character takes, he may take a +1 in another area. A Fighting Class may take up to 2 plus Level/3 (round up) in penalties on a single attack roll. A Specialist class may take up to his level/3 (round up) in penalties on a single attack roll. For example, a 5th level fighter (maximum combat stunt penalties of -4) might want to do a great blow causing 4 points extra damage in exchange for reducing his AC until his next action and reducing his chance to hit with the attack. For example, +4 to damage, -2 to AC and 2 to hit would balance the bonuses and penalties. The GM should require the player using a combat maneuver to describe what his character is doing and deny any combat maneuvers that do not make sense in the situation (no tripping a gelatinous cube, for example) or whose bonuses and penalties do not match up well to the players description of the stunt. The GM may some intelligent opponents (including some monsters) may use combat maneuvers.
Grapple: A character can make a grapple attack on an adjacent target. A successful attack roll means they are then grappled with their target. When grappled, both the attacker and the defenders AC becomes 10 and neither can make move actions. When grappled, the defender cant make normal actions and must make opposed rolls (1d20 + PCB) against the attacker to attempt to break free. As long as the defender is grappled the attacker can make automatic unarmed attacks on the defender..
Weapon Damage
Characters of any class can use any weapon. However, because of different levels of training, the amount of damage a character can do with a given weapon varies the type of weapon and the wielders class. The Weapon Damage Table below is used instead of any other weapon damage given in the rules. Weapon Damage Table Class Type Light Wpn Fighting Class 1d6 Specialist Class 1d4 Arcane Class 1d4
*Arcane classes wielding a Quarterstaff using both hands do 1d6 damage. **Arcane classes wielding a heavy weapon do so at -1 to hit. Magic Weapons: A character only benefits from a magical hit or damage bonus on a weapon if the characters class is able to use the weapon under the standard class rules.
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MONSTERS
Monster Reactions
Some monsters (like skeletons guarding a tomb) may always attack. In cases where the reaction of the monsters to the party is not obvious, the GM may opt to make a reaction roll for the monsters by rolling 3d6 (and adding any other appropriate modifiers to the roll) and consulting this table. Adjusted Reaction Roll 4 or less 5-8 9-12 13-16 17 or more Result Very Unfavorable Unfavorable Neutral/Uncertain Favorable Very Favorable
Interpretation of the results is left to the GM, however, these general principles may prove helpful. Very Unfavorable means the monsters will most likely attack unless the odds are overwhelmingly against them. They will not help the characters. Unfavorable means the monsters are hostile and might attack unless they are given a good reason not to. They will not help the characters. Neutral means the monsters are unsure of the party. They are not likely to attack immediately, but are not friendly or helpful. Favorable means the monsters are willing to listen and are open to negotiation. They might be willing to be slightly helpful. Very Favorable means the monsters like the characters and are willing to be somewhat helpful and are open to working with the party to mutual advantage. Note that a form of this rule was in the original 0e, but is not in some 0e retroclones. It is listed as a house rule here because the author feels that without it, many situations will automatically default to combat which isnt really in a good idea in 0e games.
dead or unconscious. Mooks cannot be told at a glance from normal (non-mook) monsters. Mooks make excellent minions for powerful leaders as they are very effective against the normal people in a campaign world even if they cannot stand long against PCs and NPCs with class levels.
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Donate to the
Pdf copies of the two issues of The Grimoire Randall published in the late 1970s (which Randall blogged about here: The Grimoire #1 ( http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/2009/05/grimoire-1-spring-1978-d-fanzine.html ) and The Grimoire #2 (http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/2009/05/grimoire-2summer-1979-d-fanzine.html ) Pdf copy of The Second Grimoire of Pharesm the Bright-Eyed, a set of house rules for a BECMI campaign Randall ran at a game shop in the mid-1980s. A copy of the Players Introduction to the Fourth Campaign Arn (from about 1984) Microlite74 3.0 Extended Special Edition -- three PDFs designed to be printed in booklet format from Adobe Acrobat. Artwork is by Hkan Ackegrd. The text has been reformatted into a single column in a large enough font to easily read.
To get access to these downloads and access to a private donor forum where you can get advance information on upcoming Microlite74 releases, help Randall pay the cancer bills by sending a donation in any amount -- small or large -- to the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund via Paypal at this link:
http://www.retroroleplaying.com/node/153
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OPTIONAL RULES
Character Goals and Personality Traits
The alignment system is a simple way to handle character personalities at a very simple level. While alignment is suitable for many types of campaigns, a more flexible system is needed for others. If this system is used, the GM will enforce it with Experience Point bonuses for using the characters goals and traits in play. Character Goals: In order to individual characters, each player must select four goals from the list below and arrange them in order of importance to the character from first to fourth. Goals not on the list may be selected with prior GM approval. The GM may award bonus XP for goal achievements during a session. Characters can also earn points by helping their friends (fellow PCS and associated NPCS) achieve their goals, so long as their friends goals do not clash with their own goals. Players may change a goal or change the order of their goals during a campaign with GM approval. Suggested Goals: (The player must select a particular aspect to stress for those marked with an asterisk) Furtherance of Scholarly Studies* Furtherance of Art* Furtherance of Science* Wealth Earthly Pleasures Romance Power over Others Fame Rank* Preservation of the Status Quo History, linguistics, literature, etc. Music, architecture, crafts, etc. Astrology, engineering, etc. Accumulation of treasure or other wealth Wine, women/men, drugs, etc. True love Political, religious, in criminal underworld, etc. Personal renown far and wide On social scale or in institution like religion or military Prevention of change (in government, religion, social system, etc.)
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Preservation of Nature Preservation of Order Comradeship Risk Tasking Commercial Business Collecting*
Religious Service Battle Glory Image Cultivation Freedom Chivalry Honor Mystic Power Patriotism Discovery Experience Wonders Intrigue Materialism
Prevention of breakdown of law and order Establishment and maintenance of friendships Taking physical. financial, or spiritual risks Setting up and running profitable businesses Jewelry, antiques, weapons. Etc. (for pleasure of ownership, not for actual use) Serving religions and Gods Winning renown in battle Adopting a distinctive appearance and style to impress others Preservation of individual freedoms Mercy, fairness, compassion Duty to liege, family, friends, or own dignity Finding spells, magic items, etc. for own use Acting in countrys best interest Bringing new knowledge to own civilization Travelling through strange lands, other planes, etc. Political/Social secret scheming and plotting Spending money on displays of wealth: manors, castles, useless expensive items, etc. Desire to carry out duties, take care of charges, etc. Into new lands, etc. Desire to destroy things for the pleasure of destroying Desire to cause pain in others Evil as defined by your culture or religion Tarnhelms Terrible Tome
Welfare of Others Responsibility Expansion of Civilization Wanton Destruction Cruelty Persecution of Evil -22-
Desire to compete for competitions sake The do it because its there spirit Make magic items, works of art, etc. Controlling ones behavior and emotions Thwarting authority, playing practical jokes, etc.
Character Personality Traits: In order to further individualize characters, players must select three of the following Personality Traits for their character. Personality Traits other than those listed may be used with prior GM approval. Players should be careful not to select traits that they are not interested in playing or that strongly conflict with their goals or religion (unless that is what the player wants). Players should also try to avoid selecting conflicting Personal Traits for their characters. If such traits are selected (for example, the first two on the list below), the negative trait (passion for drink, in this case) is applied to the character while the positive trait is directed toward the behavior of others which tends to make the character a hypocrite. Suggested Personality Traits: True passion for alcoholic beverages Disapproves of drunken ways True passion for gambling Disapproves of gambling Enjoy a good public brawl and will start one given a good reason Disapproves of public brawling True passion for members of the opposite sex Disapproves of lewd and/or flirtatious behavior Braggart who exaggerates his/her deeds Modest about own deeds and disapproves of bragging Gourmet who will not tolerate poor cuisine Glutton who will eat just about anything and think it great Rather crude and rough manners Excellent manners, cannot tolerate bad manners Will lie when it suits his/her needs Truthful character who does not tolerate falsehood Grasping and greedy Miserly and begrudges spending money Spendthrift whose money never lasts long Tends to forgive (or forget) personal insults and injuries Tends not to forgive or forget personal insults and injuries, and always tries to get even sometime Tarnhelms Terrible Tome -23-
Social snob who demands due respect from his/her social inferiors Social egalitarian that places little worth in social class differences when a person has shown his/her worth Character will not kill except in self-defense (and only after all else has been tried and has failed) Sexist who belittles the abilities of the opposite sex. Mild prejudice against a specific race or class (belittles their abilities) Overconfident of own abilities Little confidence in own abilities Mild phobia Always optimistic Always pessimistic
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same fighting man in plate armor and using a shield would be AC 1 [18]. An unarmored average DEX 10th level wizard would be AC 9 [10] and could cast spells normally. If that tenth level wizard wears chainmail, she would be AC 7 [12] but would not be able to cast any of her 4th or 5th level spells. A 1st through 4th level magic user wearing chainmail would not be able to cast any spells at all.
Characters may make an offering to their deity before rolling for divine intervention. All offerings musty be in the possession of the petitioner at the time of the request (deities do not accept IOUs). This table lists the die roll modifier for various types of offerings: Offering Treasure (1000gp) Each Potion Magic Weapon/Armor Magic Scroll (per spell) Magic Ring, wand, or rod Magic Staff Miscellaneous Magic item Minor Artifact Minor Artifact Accept Minor Quest Accept Major Quest Intelligent Being Sacrificed Die Roll Modifier +1 +2 +Bonus +2 +5 +10 +10 +15 +25 +10 +20 +Level or HD
Only evil deities accept the sacrifice of intelligent beings. A minor quest will take 4 to 8 months. A major quest will take 1 to 3 years. The quest will be imposed by the deity (and need not involve actual questing). There is an additional modifier of -15 if the character does not regularly donate at least 10% of income to the deitys temple. Characters who ignore their deity except when in need of help suffer a die roll modifier of -10 to -30 as determined by the GM. If the result is intervention, the deity will do the minimum needed to answer the request. For Demi-Gods, the maximum would be about the ability of a limited wish spell. For Minor Deities, the maximum would be about the power of a single wish spell. For Major Deities, the maximum would be about the about ability of several wish spells. There is no effective limit for what Greater Deities can do. If the result is retribution, the petitioner takes his level in D6 of HP damage plus Body Point damage equal to the characters level.
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Conversion (Optional): Characters may not willingly change their allegiance to another deity/pantheon except at a full temple of the new deity and then only with a favorable reaction roll from the new deitys priests (large donations to the temple will give favorable modifications to the roll). Lay people accepted by a new god must spend 1d4 weeks (at their own expense) at the temple learning the basic rituals and dogma of their new faith before they can receive any benefits from that faith. Clerics and Druids must spend 1d6 months (plus their level in weeks) in such study before they can cast divine spells above 2nd level again. Druids can only convert to another nature deity. Spell Level Availability (Optional): A characters deity may limit the level of Divine Spells the character may cast. If the characters deity is a Demi-God, the maximum level of Divine Spells the character has access to is 5th level. If the characters deity is a Minor Deity, the maximum level of Divine Spells the character has access to is 6th level. If the characters deity is a Major or Greater Deity, the maximum level of Divine Spells the character has access to is 7th level. Special Spells by Deity (Optional): Deities may not offer all of the standard Divine Spells (Cleric) to their clerics. They may simply not provide some of the standard spells, substitute special spells for some of the standard spells, or even add additional spells to the standard spells.
standard magic-user, a Mnemonic Mage has fewer spells available to cast, but they tend to be more powerful. Prime Attribute: Intelligence, 13+ (+5% experience bonus) Hit Dice: 1d4 (Gains 1 hp/level after 11th level.) Armor/Shield Permitted: None Weapons Permitted: Dagger, staff, and darts (or by class) Race: Only elves, half-evles, and humans may become Mnemonic Mages. Mnemonic Mage Class Abilities Spell Memorization: A Mnemonic Mage has a number of memory slots to hold spells equal to his level plus one. A first level Mnemonic Mage therefore has 2 memory slots while a tenth level Mnemonic Mage would have 11 memory spells. A Mnemonic Mage memorizes spells by reading them in his spell book and forcing them into his mind. The amount of time and effort this takes depends on the class of the spell. Each class of spell requires a different number of memory slots to hold the spell and takes a specific amount of time and energy (HP cost) to memorize. Memory Slots 0 1 2 3 6 12 Time to Memorize* 5 minutes 10 minutes 20 minutes 30 minutes 60 minutes 120 minutes HP Cost to Memorize 1 HP 2 HP 4 HP 8 HP 14 HP 20 HP
* A Mnemonic Mage must spent at least one hour of time studying his spell books to memorize any spells. Therefore, while it only takes 10 minutes to force a single minor spell into memory, if that is the only spell the Mnemonic Mage wishes to memorize, it still takes him one hour to do so. ** The Cantrip spell is special. While it takes no memory slots, a Mnemonic Mage can only hold a number of Cantrip spells in memory equal to his Intelligence. The Cantrip spell is known by all Mnemonic Mages and casting the Cantrip spell has the effect of either one use of the Minor Magic or Arcane Blast magic-user special ability. A handmade wand is not required. Spell Lists: The Minor spell class includes spells from the first and second level magic-user spell list. The Lesser spell class includes spells Tarnhelms Terrible Tome -29-
from the third and fourth level magic-user spell list. The Greater spell class includes spells from the fifth and sixth level magic-user spell list. The Extraordinary spell class includes spells from the seventh and eighth level magic-user spell list. The Most Extraordinary spell class includes spells from the ninth level magic-user spell list. Spell Books: A Mnemonic Mage can only memorize spells he has personally studied and copied into his spell books. If he is copying the spell from the books of another Mnemonic Mage, it only takes one week to study and copy the spell. If he is trying to add a spell from a standard magic-users books or scrolls, he must study the spell and try to convert it to mnemonic form before he can copy it into his spell book. This conversion process takes the Time to Memorize (in days instead of minutes) and requires a successful INT-based primary skill roll against a DF equal to 10 plus twice the spell level of the magic-user spell being converted. If successful, the new mnemonic form of the spell can be studied and copied into the Mnemonic Mages spell book in the usual manner. If unsuccessful, the Mnemonic Mage can try again once he has gained at least one level. First level Mnemonic Mages start with a spell book holding the Cantrip spell and 3 minor spells, 2 lesser spells, and 1 greater spell. The player may select two of the minor spells from those the GM allows were available to the mage during his apprenticeship, the others are selected by the GM by whatever method he wishes. 10% of the arcane scrolls and spell books found as random treasure should contain spells in mnemonic form. These items are useless to a standard magic-user. Spell Casting:To cast a memorized spell, all the Mnemonic Mage needs to do is to recite it. This releases the spell from his memory and causes it to take effect. Once cast, the spell is no longer in memory. A Mnemonic Mage cannot cast spells through ritual magic although he may perform special rituals (that do not duplicate spells) through ritual magic. Memory and Lore: Due to the training required to hold spells in memory a Mnemonic Mage can set easily memorize long passages of speech or written text. As they must study ancient history and civilizations, they are storehouses of historical information, and can often identify legendary and magic items that appear in old tales. Saving Throw Bonus: If using the single saving throw system from S&W, Mnemonic Mages gain a bonus of +2 on all saving throw rolls against spells, including spells from magic wands and staffs. -30Tarnhelms Terrible Tome
Mages Tower (11th): While a Mnemonic Mage often builds a stronghold for himself or herself to house their libraries and laboratories very early in their career, at 11th level, a Mnemonic Mage gains the title of Mage. At this point, assuming they have a stronghold, they will begin to attract a mixed bag of mercenaries, strange servants (some with odd abilities and deformities), and even a few monsters, perhaps. This motley crew will swear fealty to them and serve them with whatever loyalty the Mage can inspire. Table: Mnemonic Mage Advancement Experience Points Required for Level 0 2,500 5,000 10,000 20,000 35,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,100,000 1,200,000 +100,000 per level S&W Saving Throw* 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21+
Hit Dice (d4) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11+1 hp 11+2 hp 11+3 hp 11+4 hp 11+5 hp 11+6 hp 11+7 hp 11+8 hp 11+9 hp +1 hp/level
* Ignore not using the single saving throw system from S&W.
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