Dungeons & Dragons My Way

If I were to revise Basic/Expert D&D or Old School Essentials for my own purposes (and that's the "edition" I favor), these are the changes I would make:

• The players roll their own dice for attacks, skills, and damage.
• Alignment only exists for supernatural beings. These beings embody their alignment. Some supernatural beings are non-aligned. Listed alignments for monsters and NPCs reflect tendencies to side with the forces of that alignment, but are not mandatory.
• Experience points are awarded for experiences in the adventure, not treasure and body count. (I'd probably use a variant of the system in DCC RPG.)
• All classes advance at the same rate.
• The value of precious metals is akin to that of Europe's actual medieval period. All price lists must change. (Also: coin sizes and weights are based on historical coins.)
• Combat sequence: Each side rolls 1d6. The side that rolls highest acts first. Individuals on a side act in the order of their choosing.
• Ascending Armor Class.
• Classes use "To Hit" bonuses. No attack matrices. (See Swords & Wizardry.)
• Unified saving throws with possible modifiers based on class or other factors. (See Swords & Wizardry.)
• There is no total dark vision except via magic. Some creatures can see better in low light conditions, but none can see in total darkness.
• Revise weapons and armor lists to be historically accurate in nature and nomenclature.
• Weapons made for smaller folk (dwarves, halflings) are reduced 1 die step. Weapons made for giant folk are raised by 1 or more die steps (ogres, giants).
• Any class can use any weapon, although clerics might be restricted according to their religion. Player characters may choose to specialize in one weapon appropriate to their class for which they get a +1 bonus to attack and damage.
• Revise spell advancement.
• Revise thief skills.
• Class hit dice as follows: d6 for magic-users, thieves; d8 for clerics; d10 for fighters.
• No level limits.
• No minimum attribute requirements for classes.
• Any player character kindred can be any class, but each kindred has both advantages and disadvantages. Some classes will be more common to some kindreds than others, e.g., thieves (or scouts) are the commonest class amongst halflings, whereas fighters are the commonest amongst dwarves, and elves have a higher proportion of magic-users than any other kindred. (Yes, I use "kindred" from Tunnels & Trolls to denote different species that can be played.)

O.K., this sounds almost like a completely different game (and a heresy to some), but tailoring the game to suit a group's preferences has been how many (if not most) people have played D&D throughout much of its existence. I spent most of my AD&D years resenting its limitations, but if I am to run D&D again, this will be the way I run it — part D&D, part Swords & Wizardry, part DCC RPG, part Applied Phantasticality. That's the way I like it.

(Incidentally, I made many of these changes a few years ago when I started running Basic/Expert D&D again and it morphed into a modified Swords & Wizardry White Box, but I'm just trying to organize my thoughts for my own optimal D&D.)

Table: Variable Spellcasting System

The premise: Each time a spell is cast, roll on the table below to gauge its efficacy.

Variable Spellcasting System

Roll 1d12

The spell is cast successfully...

1. If the caster makes an oath never to cast it again.
2. But the caster lapses into a state of suspended animation for 1d30 days.
3. But the caster will be unable to use magic for 24 hours.
4. But requires the promise of a favor to a higher power.
5. But the caster's current health is diminished by 50%.
6. But requires a sacrifice of material value.
7. But is forgotten and may be rememorized later.*
8. And with panache, raising the morale of allies whilst lowering that of foes.
9. And is increased in potency.
10. And is doubled in efficacy with regard to range, duration, or area of effect.
11. And is tripled in efficacy with regard to range, duration, or area of effect.
12. And is retained in memory for future casting.**

Note that this system assumes the use of a "Vancian" magic system in which spells are considered to be successfully cast unless countered or disrupted. Magic systems that require skill rolls for spellcasting may use the table above if a spell is successfully cast.

* Alternatively: But the casting time is doubled.
** Alternatively: And the casting time is halved, permitting another action.

Table: Variable Wound System

The premise: Each time a successful attack is made, roll on the table below to determine how damage is determined.

Variable Wound System

Roll 1d12

1. Roll damage and deduct from target's hit points, health, or the equivalent.
2. Roll on an appropriate critical hit table and apply the result.
3. Roll on a hit location table. That area is scratched.
4. Roll on a hit location table. That area is injured.
5. Roll on a hit location table. That area is destroyed or severed.
6. Reduce target's Constitution, Stamina, or the equivalent by 10-60% (1d6).
7. Reduce target's Dexterity, Agility, or the equivalent by 10-60% (1d6).
8. Target's movement rate is halved.
9. Target is tripped and/or disarmed.
10. Target is flung backwards and must roll to remain standing.
11. Target is stunned briefly.
12. Target is knocked unconscious.

N.B.: If you lack a hit location table, try Hit Location Tables for All Occasions or the Extendable Random Hit Location Generator.

DCC RPG Thought of the Day 2022-01-12

I've mentioned my dissatisfaction with the standard Luck rules in DCC RPG and how I think fleeting Luck is a vast improvement (q.v.), but I can't shake this feeling that the Luck attribute itself needs to be modified. The simplest thing to do would be to allow Luck to regenerate for all classes. For thieves and halflings (and other classes in MCC RPG), the rules would remain unchanged, but all other classes would regenerate spent Luck at the same rate as spellburned attributes: 1 point per day. The only other solution I would consider would be to eliminate Luck as an attribute. Just pluck it right out and let luck reside where it truly always has — in every roll of the dice.

What Is a Campaign?

Before we answer the question, let's first consider the dictionary definitions beginning with Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition:

campaign

1 : a connected series of military operations forming a distinct phase of a war

2 : a connected series of operations designed to bring about a particular result <election ~>

The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary is in agreement:

campaign

1. Series of military operations in a definite theatre or with one objective or constituting the whole or a distinct part of the war.

2. Organized course of action, esp. in politics, as before an election.

Before we can connect the "campaign" as it is understood in role-playing games with its more formal definition, we must first look at how it entered the hobby via war games. Dungeons & Dragons, as is well known, emerged from the war game hobby in general and from the medieval miniatures war game Chainmail specifically.

The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide gives us this definition:

campaign

General term referring to one DM's adventures as a whole rather than individually. An ongoing series of games based upon a created milieu.

The D&D Basic Set (1980) defines it thusly:

campaign

A series of adventures taking place on the same fantasy world.

It ought to be clear that by any definition, a campaign is a series of activities comprising a greater whole. A single adventure does not a campaign make. Individual adventures can be likened to the chapters in a book — the campaign is the book itself.

I confess I've never been partial to "campaign" as a term to describe a series of adventures. The word is overtly military and suggests carefully planned strategy to achieve a specific objective, which I feel rarely describes the activities of player characters. I'd prefer to call it a "series of adventures" because that's what it is. Sometimes we, as human beings, are prone to classify and apply terminology to things that don't necessarily require either classification or unique (or not-so-unique) terms to be understood. I prefer clarity.

Although I'll admit "campaign" is slightly more succinct.

The Sum of a Campaign Is Greater Than Its Modules

One thing I think nearly any role-playing campaign can benefit from is the opportunity for unmodules (q.v.). Unmodules are what I used to call gaming sessions in which the player characters pursue whatever activities they desire, free of the obligations imposed by a previously written adventure. There is something satisfying about the ability to chase a personal goal in one's free time, regardless of how heroic or safe it might be. It helps round out a character's personality and enables players (and their characters) to enjoy the fruit of their endeavors. In short, it makes the campaign richer and vastly increases the players' investment in both the campaign and their characters. The more the player characters do in their spare time, the more hooks they will provide the GM (wittingly or unwittingly). The more unmodules you run between adventures, the more you will create a true campaign rather than something that feels like a series of one-shots.

Table: Variable Initiative System

The premise: Each combat round, roll on the table below to determine the initiative system to be used for that round. Embrace the variability.

Variable Initiative System

Roll 1d10

1. Each side rolls 1d6. The side that rolls highest acts first.
2. Each player rolls 1d20. PCs act in order from highest to lowest.
3. PCs act according to Dexterity in order from highest to lowest.
4. Players draw cards and act in order from highest to lowest, but can pass their turn and act later.
5. Play proceeds clockwise around the table.
6. Play proceeds counterclockwise around the table.
7. Players put their PCs' names in a hat; the GM puts the NPCs' names in the same hat. PCs and NPCs act as their names are drawn. Those with multiple attacks get their names in the hat more than once.
8. PCs act according to the players' age: eldest to youngest.
9. PCs act according to the players' age: youngest to eldest.
10. Use a spinner to determine who acts first. The first player decides who acts second, the second player decides who acts third, and so on.

The Goldilocks of Stat Blocks

Character stat blocks can either instill or kill inspiration. If it's too short, there's too little to work with; if it's too long, one's eyes glaze over and the information is just as useless as if it weren't there. If it's just right, the player can embody the role without constantly referring to the character sheet and the GM can probably derive hooks without much effort.

Getting it just right is the difficulty. I don't wish to publicly mock the winners of the Most Tedious Character Creation Rules or the Most Boring Stat Blocks by name because I know even they have their devoted fans, some of whom are probably friends of mine, but I will say that some games get it right and some can be altered so that they, too, can get it right.

This is just an idle thought, but maybe all a character stat block needs is whatever is most pertinent to what the character will be doing in an adventure. Depending on what an adventure entails in a given role-playing game, the player ought to list only those things a character might reasonably be expected to do as well as anything else necessary to convincingly portray the character.

Some game designers, aware of this conundrum, limit the range of skills a character may have to just those that are relevant to a typical adventure. Zorro: The Roleplaying Game is an excellent example of a game perfectly pruned to the essentials. Few games are as well focused.

Another approach is to allow a player to assign some skills to a character at creation, but to reserve the option to assign others later. This way, the player and the GM have an idea of the character's capabilities from the beginning, but their knowledge of the character expands through play. I believe this idea was introduced in Fudge.

Either way, the key to the user-friendly and non-sleep-inducing character stat block is to avoid listing every conceivable skill a character might have. First, it's impossible. Can you list every single skill you have ever acquired? Of course not. And why should you list those skills that a majority of people in your society have anyways? Where does it end? Without digressing further, let me just say that the solution is to keep it short. List a few broad skills that you know your character will be using or is noted for, and reserve some points to purchase other skills later as needed. After all, when you are reading the stats of a PC or NPC, do you really need to know they are somewhat good at trivia games or driving or birdwatching?

As always, keep it simple, and fill in the gaps with imagination.

Next Year Blogtober; This Year Blocktober

Some year, I would like to attempt a daily post for the month of October in the manner of my April Fools' random tables or the #RPGaDay prompts. It's too late for October 2021, but I'd like to have an idea for next year's Blogtober by the end of the month. So far, it's been Blocktober, as in writer's block, which is a shame considering how productive my gaming blogs were in September (especially Theoretical Swashbuckling and Savage Arts & Sciences). In all of my gaming blogs I am meeting or exceeding my goal of posting at least one article per month, so that's something worthy of subdued celebration. It would be nice to do something special for the Halloween season, though. This year, I might post some "How to Create a Horror Protagonist" articles similar to my How to Create a Swashbuckler series in Theoretical Swashbuckling. We shall see. Meanwhile, if I could recommend one spooky movie to gamers other than Ghostbusters, it would be The Raven, starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and a few others you might know. It is rich with gaming inspiration.

(Rest in) Peace!

Cast at What Cost?

I was ruminating on the subject of Vancian magic and how it relates to Dungeons & Dragons* — spells are memorized; they are forgotten when cast; they may be transcribed from a scroll to one's spellbook or cast directly from a scroll, but vanish from the scroll when so used — when it struck me: in a world where a spell disappears if it is cast from the page instead of memorized, spells would become scarce quickly if they ever fell into the hands of those who had not been properly trained in the magical arts. A wise spellcaster would know never to cast a spell directly from a spellbook or a scroll if that spell were not already recorded elsewhere. Magic is the greatest treasure to a wizard, to be preserved at any cost, so there will be no casting from scrolls unless the wizard created the scroll for that purpose or found a scroll containing a redundant spell. The only ones foolish enough to cast spells directly from their source without a copy in safe storage would be disobedient apprentices and non-spellcasters. In D&D, that means thieves, although logically it would mean anyone. (The nonsense of thieves having a special affinity for magic owes more to crafting a Grey Mouser class than creating a credible thief class, but the implications remain the same regardless.) Just imagine the chaos of common rabble using spells indiscriminately, rejoicing in their fleeting power, unaware or unconcerned that this may be the last time a given spell is ever cast, for it may be the last written record of that spell. Perhaps this is the reason so much arcane knowledge has been lost (presuming there was an earlier era of higher magic). The written spell, evaporating from the page as it is incanted, disappearing forever from potentiality, living on only in tales. It is a melancholy fate for magic, like the loss of ancient literature or music. Every age is a post-apocalyptic age of one sort or another.

* OD&D, AD&D, and certain other editions/versions.