The Campaign Builder's Guild

Ok, Steerpike. Challenge accepted. Consider this your birthday present from me.  :D

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - THE ORIGINAL

It's 1974 white box OD&D. That's what it is. Who's up for it?

Doodle link: http://doodle.com/poll/6wmwd7usg97wvx99 (All times CST)

The rules are all linked here (http://the-lost-and-the-damned.664610.n2.nabble.com/Men-and-Magic-Monsters-and-Treasures-Underworld-and-Wilderness-Adventures-plus-supplements-td4599289.html), the most relevant for character creation and basic rules for players is the first book, Men and Magic (http://the-lost-and-the-damned.664610.n2.nabble.com/file/n4599289/Dungeons_and_Dragons_%2528_Book_1_%2529_-_Men_and_Magic.pdf). Greyhawk added a lot of complexity (like the Thief class!) that kind of moves away from the true spirit of the 1974 white box, but it added a couple of rules that make things make a little more sense, like giving some benefits to Fighting Men and making it make sense to buy more expensive weapons, so I'd like to use those rules, as well.

The world is a stereotypical Tolkien-ripoff mid-1970s fantasy kitchen sink. Don't think too hard. Pretty much anything goes. There are some recently unearthed ancient ruins outside of town and there are rumors of a fabulous treasure deep within... what more reason does anyone need to go poking around? Don't forget the 10 foot pole. This will be a short game, possibly even a one-shot. It depends on how sick we all get of this.

Important information:

• Stat generation is 3d6 in order. Of course it is. Of course it is.
• Start at level 2 and you always roll a 6 on your level 1 hit die. Otherwise things get too ugly too fast. They're going to get ugly, regardless.
• This game is designed for large parties and lots of chaos, so players are encouraged to play 2 characters, or have a henchman, or whatever. Someone's probably going to end up dead, anyway.
• Clerics can't use edged weapons, because it's OD&D and that's how it is.
• Let's use modern-D&D-style attack bonuses instead of OD&D's crazy attack tables. At level 2, your base attack bonus is +1, regardless of class.
• Fighting Men with a Strength of 13-16 get a +1 bonus on attacks, and 17 and up gets a +2 bonus on attacks. Fighting Men with a Strength of 16 deal +1 damage, which increases to +2 for a Strength of 17, and +3 for a Strength of 18.
• Fighting Men with a Dexterity of 15 or higher get a dodge bonus (not that they called it that back then) to AC equal to Dexterity-14. (e.g., +1 for Dex 15, +2 for Dex 16, etc.)
• Daggers and slings deal 1d4 damage, spears deal 1d6 damage, most big weapons when wielded by Fighting Men deal 1d8 damage, and halberds and two-handed swords deal 1d10 damage. Everything else is 1d6.
• Flails and morning stars require 5' clearance around the user, and grant a +1 bonus to attack. Two-handed swords also grant a +1 bonus to attack.
• Spears, hand axes, and daggers have a -1 penalty to attack anything in chain mail, or the equivalent monster hide, or anything heavier than that.
• Daggers, spears, swords, and other pointy things grant a +2 bonus to attack an opponent who is prone on the ground.
• If you take down a monster with an attack, you get to make another attack, up to a maximum of your level.

Here are some characters I rolled up. Anyone can feel free to claim them, otherwise they'll be available as hirelings. (Another staple of OD&D!)
If you want to claim them, you'll have to equip them. Ignore what is listed, instead, roll for starting gold and buy whatever you want.
[spoiler=Pregens/Hirelings][ic=Gutboy Barrelhouse]Gutboy Barrelhouse (Dwarf Fighting Man 2)

Str: 15 (+1 to attack), Dex 8 (-1 to ranged), Con: 16 (+1 to each hit die), Int: 5, Wis: 11, Cha: 8
Saves: Death 10, Wand 11, Stone 12, Breath 13, Spell 14

HP: 13
AC: 4
BAB: +1
Melee: Battle Axe +2 (1d8)
Equipment: Battle Axe, Chain Mail, Shield, Backpack with provisions[/ic]

[ic=Bargle the Infamous]Bargle the Infamous (Human Magic User 2)

Str: 10, Dex: 3 (-1 to ranged), Con: 10, Int: 15, Wis: 10, Cha: 10
Saves: Death 13, Wand 14, Stone 13, Breath 16, Spell 15

HP: 7
AC: 9
BAB: +1
Melee: Dagger +1 (1d4)
Equipment: Staff, Dagger, Black Cloak, Backpack with provisions

1st level spells - 2/day (Charm Person, Sleep)[/ic]

[ic=Black Dougal]Black Dougal (Human Fighting Man 2)

Str: 9, Dex: 16 (+1 to ranged, +2 AC bonus), Con: 11, Int: 7, Wis: 4, Cha: 12
Saves: Death 10, Wand 11, Stone 12, Breath 13, Spell 14

HP: 8
AC: 3
BAB: +1
Melee: Sword +1 (1d8)
Ranged: Dagger +2 (1d4)
Equipment: Sword, Chain Mail, 3 Daggers, Backpack with provisions
[/ic]
[/spoiler]
[ic=So, you all meet in a tavern....]Of course it all starts in a tavern. This is oldschool D&D!

Some of you have been invited by the great Gutboy Barrelhouse, a dwarf with much local renown for all of the important dwarf qualities: martial prowess, drunkenness, braggadocio, and also drunkenness. Others have heard word of mouth, from friends of friends, or whatnot. There are many reasons to come. Adventure and a chance at treasure, for most. Perhaps a holy calling, for some. Others may have their own aims. Regardless of who you heard it from, and why, you've all congregated here, at Reynaldo's, a popular tavern in the bustling little town of South Soren.

Gutboy Barrelhouse himself stands atop a wooden crate, addressing the assembled group. "So, lads and lasses," he says, speaking the common tongue in the typical dwarven manner, "I take it that you're all here because you've heard tales of a fabulous treasure just waiting to be unearthed, a great secret hidden in the underground that needs only the right hands to come and pluck it out of the dark places. Some of ye more acquainted with the history of our realm might be more familiar with the Saleenee Empire..."

A man in dark mages' robes, hood covering his face, quickly interjects in a condescending, nasal tone, "It's pronounced Seleni."

Gutboy Barrelhouse waves a dismissing hand and scowls. "Aye, lad, whatever it is, their Empire is long gone... but the greatest of the great castles built by their god-emperors, thought lost forever along with all its fabulous wealth, turns out to have been under the Black Hills this whole time!"

"And if there's so much wealth just for the taking, why are you so eager to share it with us, Barrelhouse?" demands a gruff-voiced heckler from the crowd.

Gutboy Barrelhouse gives a deep guffaw. "If it was so simple as to just go in and take it, you wouldn't be hearing from me! But no, lads and lasses, it won't be so simple, I won't lie to you.  Big rewards involve big risks. This gold will be hard-won, and some of you might not come back from this. This ruin has been unseen and untouched for so long not even most elder creatures will remember it, but you surely all know the tales about how the Empire met its end. The wrath of the gods, they say, and that's some dark magic. I'm sure you also all also know that there hasn't been an Imperial ruin ever found that wasn't infested with walking dead, living slime, dark elves, and a thousand other ungodly things. Expect no different here."

A silence comes over the group, with a bit of muted discussion amongst themselves.

"But rest assured, if you don't make it back, your share of the wealth will buy us all drinks in your honor!" he adds, guffawing again, trying to liven the mood once more. "So who's with me? Who's ready for gold and glory? Who thinks it's worth it to die tomorrow for a chance to really live?" He raises his tankard, prompting a cheer from most of the assembled group.[/ic]

[ic=Apothecary's shop]
Abyssal Oil (28 gp/dose) - Rubbing this dark purple oil over a nonmagical weapon makes that weapon considered magical when fighting undead, fiends, and servants of the Deep Chaos. One dose is enough to cover one melee weapon, four daggers or hand axes, or dip 20 arrows or quarrels. It lasts about a week, on average; it must be re-applied every 2d6 days to maintain its effect.

Bangpowder (6 gp/bag) - A bag of bangpowder is a small sack that fits into the palm of one's hand. It can be lit and tossed at a target, and it explodes with a gout of flames, and, of course, a loud bang. On a hit, it deals 2d6 damage and can potentially harm nearby creatures as well, be they friend or foe. Against these nearby creatures, or on a miss, it still deals 1d6 damage to the surrounding area.

Blackcap Mushroom (7 gp/dose) - A poisonous mushroom that can provoke a combat rage, for those who can withstand it. After being eaten, all attacks for the next 5 rounds of combat are at +2 and deal an extra die of damage. However, at the beginning of each of your turns, you must pass a death/poison save or collapse to the ground in agonized retching. If this happens, the effect ends.

Goblinscourge (5 gp/dose) - These small dark green leaves are deadly poison to goblins. Any goblin consuming a dose must save vs. death/poison or die. To anyone else, they taste putrid, but are harmless.

Darkroot (9 gp/dose) - Eating this bitter black root allows one to see quite well in the dark. It lasts one hour.

Greensalve (16 gp/dose) - This soothing herb takes 10 minutes to rub into a wound. It recovers 1 hp per hit die. After being used on a given wound, its effect is at its limit and cannot be used again on that wound.

Purple Saltberries (7 gp/dose) - These salty and sweet berries are used to reverse the effect of ghoul paralysis.

Sunfruit (6 gp/dose) - The extremely sour taste of this citrus fruit restores clarity to a hazy mind.

Tincture of Final Repose (22 gp/dose) - By pouring this tincture into the mouth of one who has passed on, it ensures that the body of the deceased will not rise as an undead creature. It lasts for one day. After using 14 doses, either over a period of two weeks or all at once, the body is in effect embalmed by the alchemical chemicals and the effect becomes permanent.
[/ic]

[ooc=Sparkbot Help]You can roll the dice with the !roll command, followed by an dice expression.
> !roll d20
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 8

More complicated expressions are possible as well.
> !roll 3d6+1d8+5
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 17

Multiple rolls at the same time are also possible.
> !roll 1d20, 1d6
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 14 + 3

When making attacks, !oatt is useful because it handles the complexities of old-style AC.
> !oatt d20+1
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 15 (hits AC 5)

If you know the AC that you're targeting, you can also specify that, and sparkbot will adjudicate the hit.
> !oatt d20+1 vs 5
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 8 (miss)
> !oatt d20+1 vs 5
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 19 (HIT!)

You can also add a damage roll, the same way you'd add multiple rolls normally, and it will show the damage on a hit.
> !oatt d20+1, 1d6 vs 5
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 18 (HIT!) + 4

Adding an h to the end of the AC will include the miss chance caused by a helmet.
> !oatt d20+1, 1d6 vs 5h
<sparkbot> sparkletwist rolls 15 (hit helmet)
[/ooc]

I'm so in :D

EDIT: I rolled up a Cleric but couldn't find anything about starting gold so he remains unequipped. I rolled really well for stats. Also, I'm assuming the level 2 Cleric's fighting capability of "man +1" comes out as a THAC0 of 18 according to your conversion, correct me if I'm wrong.

Sounds fun! So here are my attribute scores for my first character (scouts honor, I rolled these in order)
Str: 9
Int: 9
Wis: 17
Con: 10
Dex: 13
Cha: 14

So I guess I'm playing a cleric.

Second round

Str:16
Int: 9
Wis:6
Con: 7
Dex:10
Cha: 13

And a fighter!

Quote from: KindlingI rolled up a Cleric but couldn't find anything about starting gold so he remains unequipped.

Starting gold is 10*3d6.
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 3, 3, 1, total 7[/blockquote]

Quote from: KindlingI'm assuming the level 2 Cleric's fighting capability of "man +1" comes out as a THAC0 of 18 according to your conversion, correct me if I'm wrong.

No, that would make entirely too much sense.  :grin:
That's some weirdness that only applies if you're using the Chainmail combat rules. Everyone at this level has a THAC0 of 19. Or they would, if OD&D used THAC0, but it doesn't actually even have a coherent way to express your attack roll as a single number. Doing it AD&D style with a THAC0 of 19 produces mathematically identical results to the table in the book, though. You can also get bonuses by being a Fighting Man and having high Strength, and we'll ignore the fact that both adding bonuses to the roll and reducing the target number is dumb because whatever that's how it works.

Am totally in, will roll someone up soon, will roll in order.

EDIT: I am legitimately super excited for this.

)

Quote from: Kindling
STR 10
DEX 13 (+1 to missile attacks
CON 15 (+1 to each hit die)
INT 10
WIS 17 (+10% to all XP)
CHA 12
HP: 13

I demand to know what luck god you worshipped to get those kind of rolls.

Are there any 1e character sheets that I can just fill out on the computer?

Also someone is going to have to explain THACO to me. I've read about it before, and tried to figure it out on my own, and I still can't figure it out.

Quote from: LoAAre there any 1e character sheets that I can just fill out on the computer?

This isn't even 1e. I guess you'd call it 0e. Someone made a nice character sheet (http://blogofexalteddeeds.blogspot.com/2014/04/od-character-sheet-for-new-players.html) but it's not something you can fill in. It's pretty simple, though, so it's hopefully not that big of a problem.

Quote from: LoAAlso someone is going to have to explain THACO to me. I've read about it before, and tried to figure it out on my own, and I still can't figure it out.

Back in the olden days, lower AC was better. In OD&D, an unarmored person is AC 9, someone in leather armor is AC 7, someone in chain mail is AC 5, etc.; this is all in the book. Your "To hit armor class 0," abbreviated to THAC0, is the number (or higher) you have to roll on a d20 to hit armor class 0. In this game, everyone has to roll a 19 or more to hit AC 0. To hit an armor class other than 0, you first subtract the AC you're targeting from your THAC0. For example, to hit a generic orc warrior, you have to hit AC 6. That means you take your THAC0 and subtract 6, so you'd have to roll a 13 or higher on the d20 to hit that orc.

If this seems stupid and contrived... it is. That's why they got rid of it and went to BAB and ascending AC in 3rd edition.

After thinking about this some more, it occurred to me that all low level PCs and monsters use an attack table that's essentially a THAC0 of 19. Most other modifiers to the attack are already expressed as bonuses or penalties. So, we could simplify things considerably by using that as a sort of "world constant," adding 1 to round things off to 20, and then saying all PCs have a base attack bonus of +1 for now. As you level up, you'll get a higher base attack bonus.

This means we can use the following simplified attack formula:
1d20 + attacker's base attack bonus + bonuses - penalties >= 20 - target's AC
This is, at least in my mind, much simpler to adjudicate.

I looked at a couple of OSR games and most of them include some sort of mathematical fix along these lines, so hopefully I'm not violating the spirit of PARTY LIKE IT'S 1974 too much by mentally reorganizing the math to keep us all sane. I also want to stress that the actual probabilities involved are identical, so the system will still "feel" the same.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0e/a8/a4/0ea8a492b64ed18f8a38ffb02edc2a85.jpg)
Aibek the Wound-Mender
Cleric level 2 (Adept)
Alignment: Law
STR 10
DEX 13 (+1 to missile attacks)
CON 15 (+1 to each hit die)
INT 10
WIS 17 (+10% to all XP)
CHA 12
HP: 13
AC: 3
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 11 / Wand 12 / Stone 14 / Breath 16 / Spell 15
Spells: Cure Light Wounds (heal 1d6+1 HP)
Gear: Plate armour, mace, leather backpack, standard rations (1 week), waterskin, 50ft rope, lantern, 2 flasks of oil, 9 gold pieces

How strongly do you advise having a second character? I've never played more than one at once before and I think I'd find it a bit weird.

Quote from: KindlingHow strongly do you advise having a second character? I've never played more than one at once before and I think I'd find it a bit weird.

I've tried to mitigate some of the craziness by starting everyone at level 2 with an automatic 6 on their 1st level hit die, but that's as far as I'm willing or able to go and still keep the spirit of the game intact. Combat in OD&D is very much at the mercy of the RNG, save-or-die effects are rather commonplace, and the idea of CR is nonexistent. So this will be a high-risk game and someone's probably going to end up dead. OD&D was designed for pretty large parties, too, compared to what's usual nowadays.

However, if you'd rather focus on one character, we could give him a henchman. That way he'd be a separate character for the sake of immersion but you can order him around when you need a second "set of hands" in the action economy.

(https://s18.postimg.org/xkmwx6cah/dwarf_woman.jpg)
Hrund the Elf-Killer
Dwarf Fighting-Woman level 2 (Warrior)
Alignment: Law
STR 12
DEX 12
CON 6 (-1 to each hit die)
INT 9
WIS 10
CHA 5
HP: 5/6
AC: 3
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 10 / Wand 11 / Stone 12 / Breath 13 / Spell 14
Gear: Halberd, hand axe, plate mail, large sack, 6 torches, wine skin, 1 quart wine, 12 iron spikes, 1 week's standard rations, 10 gold pieces, sword, axe.
Languages: Common, Law, Dwarven, Gnome, Kobold, Goblin

Background: Hrund was captured by Drow raiders, who exterminated and enslaved the rest of her clan. She was repeatedly tortured for insubordination and only escaped the Drow after killing half a dozen of the creatures. Left with permanent organ damage from the many poisons and spells she was tormented with, Hrund has sworn a vow of revenge against Drow-kind. She has taken up life as an adventurer and mercenary. A hard, grim Dwarf-maid of stout arm but few words, she is favours the halberd Elfslicer in combat, heirloom of her people, the Stonelung Clan.

What awful stats! But that's part of the "fun" I suppose.  :P

5 HP?  :huh: Did you forget to add your second level's hit die?

I'm definitely in. I'll try to post my characters tonight.

Quote from: sparkletwist
However, if you'd rather focus on one character, we could give him a henchman. That way he'd be a separate character for the sake of immersion but you can order him around when you need a second "set of hands" in the action economy.

You mean like roll up a second character but have them be essentially an NPC outside of combat? I'd be down with that, yeah.

Quote from: sparkletwistDid you forget to add your second level's hit die?

I rolled a 1 on my second hit die, and she has -1 per hit die. But I just realized that should still technically mean I have 6 since it's a minimum of 1. Good catch.

I love her awful stats. I'm explaining her low Constitution as due to the fact that she was tortured by the Drow with various spells and poisons that have left her organs damaged. She will make up for her lack of raw ability with cunning, savagery, and a pure and blinding hatred for Elf-kind.

Added an introductory story. It's short and simple, but that's probably the point of this kind of game. :D

Also, let's start trying to schedule this. When, generally, is good for everyone? I figure earlier in the day, North American time, would be better so Kindling can play. I'll make a Doodle once I'm able to come up with a few more specific options.

My December is busy, but my work can mostly be done whenever. No-go days are the 8th, the 20th, and the 25th. Everything else is probably at least theoretically do-able, especially if we play early in the day from a North American perspective. I might also potentially be able to play for longer chunks than I am sometimes able to commit to during other parts of the year (luxuries of an academic life).

My work schedule is kind of all over the place, some early mornings, some late nights. Probably easier if you just suggest some dates/times and I'll say what I can and can't make

Certain monsters in OD&D get multiple attacks, but the topic of whether or not (and when) PCs get multiple attacks is a pretty tricky one. The OD&D books don't talk about it at all, but they make reference to the Chainmail rules, which do, and that "2 Men + 1" stuff is a direct reference to it. There was also some later article written by Gary Gygax where he drew a contrast between "normal" and "fantastic" combat and heavily implied that higher level fighters got more attacks when fighting common orcs, or whatever, but the example was strange... maybe it made sense 40 years ago, I don't know. There seem to be as many interpretations as there are tables.

The way Dave Arneson did it during his games was pretty simple and elegant, and is the solution I'm leaning towards: If you take down a monster with an attack, you get to make another attack, up to a maximum of your level. It's pretty similar to the Cleave feat from 3.x, basically. This means you can probably mow down goblins or zombies, while boss monsters are pretty much unaffected.

Is it okay if I use this (http://tametick.com/dnd/) as a reference? This copy you gave us has blank pages.

That's weird. I wonder what's wrong with the PDF. It looks fine in Chrome but on my iPad it didn't look right, either.

Anyway, that page includes all of the Greyhawk rules, which includes a lot of stuff I'd rather not use. So it's probably not the best reference to use, actually.
Try this: https://img.fireden.net/tg/image/1446/12/1446126540069.pdf

Quote from: sparkletwist
That's weird. I wonder what's wrong with the PDF. It looks fine in Chrome but on my iPad it didn't look right, either.

Anyway, that page includes all of the Greyhawk rules, which includes a lot of stuff I'd rather not use. So it's probably not the best reference to use, actually.
Try this: https://img.fireden.net/tg/image/1446/12/1446126540069.pdf

Thank you! This made it much easier.

Shirka the Plague Bane
(http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/12/127594/3236401-9751267925-plagu.jpg)
Cleric level 2 (Adept)
STR 9
DEX 13 (+1 to Missile attacks)
CON 10
INT 9
WIS 17 (+10% to all XP)
CHA 13
HP: 10
AC: 3
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 11 / Wand 12 / Stone 14 / Breath 16 / Spell 15
Spells: Cure Light Wounds (heal 1d6+1 HP)
Gear: Chainmail, mace, Sling, leather backpack, standard rations (1 week), waterskin, 39 gold pieces

There's probably more I can do. Are my saving throws right, because I can't find a chart for clerics.

I think your saving throws are correct, according to p. 20 on the original PDF sparkletwist supplied.

Quote from: Steerpike
I think your saving throws are correct, according to p. 20 on the original PDF sparkletwist supplied.

Ok, thanks!

This whole project seems super-fun. I first started playing D&D with with Larry's awesomely illustrated red box back in the 80s. Is the intention of running this as a primarily handful of sessions during the nominal holiday break?

Here's a doodle to schedule this: http://doodle.com/poll/4n6kiur3wiyyf8nm

Quote from: LoAAre my saving throws right, because I can't find a chart for clerics.

Yes, they are. There are a few problems, though:

• Somehow you ended up with 13 HP, which is impossible since your hit dice are 6+d6 right now. So use this:
  [blockquote]Rolled 1d6+6 : 4 + 6, total 10[/blockquote]
• If you're wearing chain mail, your AC should be 5, not 3. You can afford plate, though, so you could spend the extra gold and buy plate if you want to be AC 3.
• Clerics can't use crossbows because crossbow bolts are pointy and this is OD&D. You can use a sling, though.

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumIs the intention of running this as a primarily handful of sessions during the nominal holiday break?

Hopefully, yes.

Quote from: sparkletwist
Here's a doodle to schedule this: http://doodle.com/poll/4n6kiur3wiyyf8nm

Quote from: LoAAre my saving throws right, because I can't find a chart for clerics.

Yes, they are. There are a few problems, though:

• Somehow you ended up with 13 HP, which is impossible since your hit dice are 6+d6 right now. So use this:
  (http://www.thecbg.org/Themes/SilverPluss1/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
  Rolled 1d6+6 : 4 + 6, total 10
• If you're wearing chain mail, your AC should be 5, not 3. You can afford plate, though, so you could spend the extra gold and buy plate if you want to be AC 3.
• Clerics can't use crossbows because crossbow bolts are pointy and this is OD&D. You can use a sling, though.

All right, sorry. I had just copied Kindlings character info and put in my info, but forgot to adjust HP. I rolled a 9 on my dice roll (6+3), so should I just use what you just rolled or what I originally.

And I will change crossbow to sling. I thought by "pointy" you meant blades.

10 is fine!

I forgot to note, the times in the Doodle are CST.
http://doodle.com/poll/4n6kiur3wiyyf8nm
(If that changes anything!)

I have doodled. Also, between Steerpike's character background and the mention of dark elves in your opening vignette, I feel like there is potentially a highly anti-elf sentiment to this game. Perhaps the church my character belongs to considers elves to be abominations and servants of the Deep Chaos?

And speaking of the church, here is Jackdaw, a mercenary they've hired to protect Brother Aibek on his sacred mission... My secondary semi-NPC character.

Jackdaw
Fighting-Man level 2 (Warrior)
Alignment: Neutrality
STR 10
DEX 17 (+1 to missile attacks)
CON 9
INT 8
WIS 13
CHA 12
HP: 7
AC: 5
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 10 / Wand 11 / Stone 12 / Breath 13 / Spell 14
Gear: Chainmail armour, battle axe, dagger, longbow, quiver of 20 arrows, leather backpack, standard rations (1 week)

My backup/secondary character... somehow, she has even worse stats than Hrund! She will run away from everything and never, ever fight fair.

(https://s13.postimg.org/bgywcc07b/Dwarf_Assassin.jpg)

Rota the Craven
Dwarf Fighting-Woman level 2 (Warrior)
Alignment: Neutrality
STR 9
DEX 10
CON 7
INT 9
WIS 10
CHA 7
HP: 8
AC: 5 (4 with shield, 10% chance a blow hits her helmet)
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 10 / Wand 11 / Stone 12 / Breath 13 / Spell 14
Languages: Common, Law, Dwarven, Gnome, Kobold, Goblin
Gear: Helmet, chain mail, shield, 2 light crossbows, battle axe, spear, 2 cases of 30 and 28 quarrels, 1 week's standard rations, wine skin, 1 quart of wine, leather backpack, 10' pole, mule, saddle bags, onyx cube.

Background: Rota is an outcast from Dwarven society, driven from her clan-home for cowardice in battle. She has taken to working as a sellsword, though truth be told she spends more of her time drinking or stealing than fighting. For all her façade of cynicism, part of her longs to reclaim her honour. She has fallen in with Hrund after her fellow Dwarf helped her out of a tough scrape with some men to whom she owed a rather large sum of gold. Since then the two have been inseparable, though Hrund is forever haranguing Rota for her failure to live up to the standards of Dwarven virtue. Rota was of the Lichentooth Clan.

Looking at the doodle it seems like Monday December 12th at 6:00 PM CST is a good time for us. So that's what we'll do! From the list of participants it seems like we might have a Llum joining us, too.

I've also added an "Apothecary Shop" to the first post of this thread. One of the fun things about Pathfinder that I think gets really underappreciated due to the power of even low-level magic are all of the interesting little mundane items you can buy and use. OD&D has a bunch of crazy magic items but they're all pretty high level. So I thought I'd toss some interesting low-level stuff in there for all of you to play with. Anyone who would like to buy any of this stuff is free to re-allocate their gold expenditures.

Anyway, Rota looks good, but my question is what does a "10% chance a blow hits her helmet" even mean? +2 to AC? A 10% miss chance? Seems pretty powerful for just a helmet. Maybe you just get a headache instead of decapitated? Greyhawk had some hit location rules that nobody used because they pretty much went against the whole abstracted idea of hit points, but.... I don't even know. I have no idea what they were going for here.

Since I'm the DM I guess I'm the one who has to figure this out. :P

Of course it's your call, and I'll be happy with whatever you decide, but I assumed it was a 1 in 10 miss chance, effectively. I'm imagining it rather like a Warhammer 40K armour saving throw. This makes a helmet incredibly valuable gear... but actually that makes tremendous sense! I'd imagine if I was dungeoneering I'd definitely want a helmet. I don't think it would apply for anything that required a saving throw, or any sort of damage that very obviously wouldn't be mitigated by a helmet, like being immersed in lava or something.

Yeah, that makes sense. Let's do it that way. After crunching the math a bit, a 10% miss chance is worth slightly less than an additional AC, so a helmet is slightly less good than a shield for its cost, but you have the upside of having a hand free, which you wouldn't if you were using a shield. So that interpretation seems like it has the best numerical balance, to the extent that anything in this game is numerically balanced. The mechanic is a little cumbersome, so I'll ask that you try to remember to roll this because I probably won't.

Sounds good. If I forget, than I guess Rota was drunk and not wearing her helmet, which seems like a thing that would happen.

So, while I am going to be available at 6 CST on the 12th, I am likely to be ungodly tired (9 hours at work, then 2 hours playing with swords (https://royalarmouries.org/what-we-do/clubs-and-societies/historical-martial-arts))

No reason not to play, though, just warning you I might not be at my sharpest mentally!

A wild Llum has appeared! I'd love to play if it's no issue, as I have mentioned I really want to try playing old school D&D.

[ic=Oliver Thistletea]
(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/sword-coast-legends/images/4/44/Companions_Belamy.png/revision/latest?cb=20160324153442)
Oliver Thistletea
Halfling Fighting-Man Level 2
Alignment: Law
STR: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 12
CON: 6 (-1hp/die)
DEX: 11
CHA: 11

Gold: 0gp
HP: 10
BAB: +2 (Two-handed Sword) 1d10 Damage; +1 Ranged
AC: 3
Saves: Death 10, Wand 11, Stone 12, Breath 13, Spell 14
Equipment: Two-handed Sword, Blackcap Mushroom x5, Platemail, Lantern, Flask of Oil x5, Steel Mirror, Standard Rations x3.
Languages: Common
Background: Oliver is a scarred Halfling originally from the Emerald Hills. As a boy he left to see the world, experiencing some intense culture shock of the fast paced and chaotic world he soon fell to indulging in all sorts of narcotic herbs & mushrooms. Eventually he conquered his addiction, but not before it took its toll on his body. Now he seeks to earn some gold so he can return home & retire on a ranch.
[/ic]

[ic=Lorelei Loracan]
(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/fc/157992_SunElfWizard_ScottMFischer.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140721210529)
Lorelei Loracan
Sun Elf Magic User Level 2
Alignment: Law
STR: 12
INT:  16
WIS: 7
CON: 10
DEX: 13
CHA: 17

Gold:  0gp
HP: 8
BAB: +1
AC:
Saves: Death 13, Wand 14, Stone 13, Breath 16, Spell 15
Spells: Sleep, Charm Person
Equipment: Dagger, Flask of Oil x5, Standard Rations x3. Greesalve x2, Sunfruit x1, Purple Saltberries x1. 50' rope x 5, Mule x1, Bangpowder x 3, 10' pole x1, Saddlebags x1, 3 stakes + mallet x1, wineskin x2.
Languages:Common, Elf, Orc/Hobgoblin/Gnoll, Dwarf, Dragon,
10% Bonus to Experience.
Background: Lorelei is a scion of House Loracan, one of the richest families on the Coral Coast. After spending her first century learning magicks she had decided to venture out and explore the world and gain some real experience outside her families protective bubble.
[/ic]

[ooc]
I can't figure out how to resize the images, but this is what I have so far. Need to finish up some details.
[/ooc]

For the images, try saving them and using Post Image (https://postimage.org/). If you need to find larger images with a better resolution I suggest TinEye (http://tineye.com) reverse image search.

This is going to be a rather large group!

I don't mind, as long as I can keep my sanity. I think that's the spirit of OD&D anyway. The "number appearing" of some monsters is pretty bonkers...

I sincerely doubt either of my characters will make it out alive, and will be sort of disappointed if both manage to survive, though I plan to play both pretty cautiously.

That's the spirit!

Llum, I'm not sure how Oliver ended up with 11 hp. If he's got -1 hp per hit die, that's 5+(1d6-1) so most he could have is 10.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+4 : 5 + 4, total 9[/blockquote]
Also his Dex is too low to have +1 Ranged.

Other than that, your characters look good so far.

I think Hobbits get +1 ranged?

Hey I need to readjust my gold, but there isn't a price for Slings. How much are they, plus throwing stones?

Thanks.

Slings are so small and trivial I can't see one costing more than 1 gp.

Stones are free, you can pick them up anywhere.

Woops, I didn;t subtract -1 from my 6 on first hit die, should be 10. Rolled a 6 on my second. The +1 is just the base +1 BAB that everyone starts with, opposed to my +2 with a 2h Sword. Halflings get "deadly" ranged attacks but I'm not sure what that actually entails.

Is it too late to throw my hand in? I completely understand if you think 10 characters is a bit unreasonable  :weirdo:

According to the rules, "At least one referee and from four to fifty players can be handled in any single campaign, but the referee to player ratio should be about 1:20 or thereabouts."
So what's 10 characters?  :weirdo:

Are you sure the game won't be too late for you? It doesn't start until 7 pm EST, I'm not prone to running short sessions (I'm hoping for ~3-4 hours) and I know you tend, or at least tended, to go to bed kind of early. But if you can make it and it's not a problem you're welcome!

You right. I suppose I might pop on for the beginning to watch, but I'll probably be off before it's over.

sparkletwist, if the size of the party is bothering you at all, I'd happily drop Jackdaw and just play as Aibek, especially if it means more people can play. I only really made the second character because you recommended it.

No, I'm fine with a big party. Initiative in OD&D is done by side and the combat mechanics are pretty... well, the polite word is freeform... so I don't think there's really going to be a big tactical mess or anything. At least as long as not everyone tries to go at once.

One thing I would like to do is follow the oldschool D&D custom of having a "caller," that is, a member of the party who is something of the final word on what the party does. Of course, everyone can and should play their own character, but this lets things keep moving because when the party is ready to move on, I only have to wait for one person to say "yes, let's move on." I'd also appreciate it if the caller would help me keep actions flowing in an orderly fashion during combat since there is not really much of an initiative system.

Very excited for tomorrow. Odds are I will be perfectly on time, but there is an outside chance I will be slightly delayed - I will be there!

Where would you all like to actually start the adventure?

I was thinking, to save time, that it would start already on the road out of the town, as the party has presumably already met and made their purchases, but I'm happy to do whatever.

I'm happy to yield to others but I'm fine with starting on the road. My characters have no money with which to buy things.

On the road sounds good!

Game time!

I wanted to un-ironically thank you again, sparkletwist, for a great session, and for putting up with the inelegance of OD&D. You really nailed the gonzo hyper-deadly style, and I got a real Dark Souls/Nethack sort of vibe from your dungeon (I especially liked at the end realizing that the hole in area 1 connected up with the dark elf torture rooms). The slight chaos of having 2 characters/players notwithstanding I actually thought the combats worked quite well. If we'd had a few more I could have seen myself starting to get a bit more creative. Anyway, I thought you did a great job.

Also the crazy aging wand was fantastic, and has given me all sorts of ideas for magic items of my own. I might even start a thread!

Sorry I had to tap out so early, I was just exhausted! How did the rest of the game go?

Quote from: Kindling
Sorry I had to tap out so early, I was just exhausted! How did the rest of the game go?

I blew myself up. That was a thing that happened. Sparkletwist, that game was awesome, if it did get kind of painful to drudge through the flow of everything. I can see why things changed.

Quote from: LoAif it did get kind of painful to drudge through the flow of everything. I can see why things changed

LoA, have you played much Pathfinder IRC? I would say that combats take about 4 times as long. I had to get an online battlemap to try and speed things up (admittedly, that was pretty cool).

Quote from: Steerpike

Quote from: LoAif it did get kind of painful to drudge through the flow of everything. I can see why things changed

LoA, have you played much Pathfinder IRC? I would say that combats take about 4 times as long. I had to get an online battlemap to try and speed things up (admittedly, that was pretty cool).

Like I said in the stream, it wasn't the combat per se, it was just that there were so many people trying to do things at once with so many characters. It was confusing for me at least.

Quote from: SteerpikeI wanted to un-ironically thank you again, sparkletwist, for a great session, and for putting up with the inelegance of OD&D. You really nailed the gonzo hyper-deadly style, and I got a real Dark Souls/Nethack sort of vibe from your dungeon (I especially liked at the end realizing that the hole in area 1 connected up with the dark elf torture rooms). The slight chaos of having 2 characters/players notwithstanding I actually thought the combats worked quite well. If we'd had a few more I could have seen myself starting to get a bit more creative. Anyway, I thought you did a great job.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, and I'm particularly glad that you felt like I ran OD&D true to its roots and style. It was a departure for me, since I'm not really ordinarily that style of DM at all and that style of gaming doesn't really appeal to me. As for the system itself, I may be a bit biased, but I am pretty sure there wasn't really anything in that game that Fate wouldn't be able to do equally well or better. Or a more modern version of D&D, I mean, but I was thinking of something rules-light.

So, anyone up to continue this? I'm really not interested in a long-term OD&D campaign but I still have a decent amount of material prepared, and Hrund really should get to fight some dark elves.
Doodle link for the next session is here: http://doodle.com/poll/6wmwd7usg97wvx99 (All times CST)

I'll have some logs up soon.

By the way, do we get XP from the session, or would it be every few sessions or per adventure or whatnot?

I don't know if I even feel like dealing with XP. The method for adjudicating it is kind of bonkers, the fact that every class uses its own XP table more so, and I have no idea how Elves are supposed to work at all. Another problem is that you get XP for gold and treasure collected, which works great except until you consider weird and dangerous magic items, like the always-on death-wand... which, as you observed before, have a cost of "???" most of the time.

Fair!

Due to lack of participation in the doodle I don't think there will be another session of this for the moment. We could try for Wednesday the 21st but with two players missing it could be kind of rough.

I've just got no free time until after christmas now, sorry :(

By the way, if others are up for more of this, I'm still game.

I'd be up for it. When is good for you (and anyone else interested)?

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday afternoons PST work best for me, but I am somewhat flexible. I'm in the last term of my PhD and have only one class to teach, and I've got dissertation details to finish but not so many that a 3 hour D&D break doesn't sound attractive.

Next Thursday (January 19th) afternoon would work great for me. I'm pretty flexible timewise, too, I could start any time in the afternoon or evening PST. So tell me a time that works for you and we'll try to do it.

Anyone else on board?

Ha, just me, huh guys?  :P

I can't do Thursdays at all, unfortunately

My rota for next week has annoyingly not been confirmed yet, so I'm not sure of my availability.

I'm not sure if I can participate, but I'll try making characters just in case.

First PC:
Strength [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 5, 5, 4, total 14[/blockquote]
Intelligence [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 1, 6, 6, total 13[/blockquote]
Wisdom [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 3, 4, 6, total 13[/blockquote]
Constitution [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 5, 6, 3, total 14[/blockquote]
Dexterity [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 5, 1, 3, total 9[/blockquote]
Charisma [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 6, 4, total 12[/blockquote]

Second PC:
Strength [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 5, 6, 3, total 14[/blockquote]
Intelligence [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 1, 5, 4, total 10[/blockquote]
Wisdom [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 4, 6, 2, total 12[/blockquote]
Constitution [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 4, 4, total 10[/blockquote]
Dexterity [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 6, 6, total 14[/blockquote]
Charisma [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 1, 2, total 5[/blockquote]

I think I'll be making the both of them into fighting men. Now to roll 2nd level HPs:

[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote]

[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 6, total 6[/blockquote]

And starting gold:

[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 2, 1, total 5[/blockquote] x10

[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 4, 5, 3, total 12[/blockquote] x10

[ic=Musco Four-Fingers]
Dwarf Fighting-Man level 2 (Warrior)
Alignment: Neutrality

Strength 14 (+1 attack bonus, +5% exp)
Intelligence 13
Wisdom 13
Constitution 14
Dexterity 9
Charisma 12

HP: 10
AC: 4
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 12 / Wand 13 / Stone 14 / Breath 15 / Spell 16
Gear: Chainmail armor, shield, mace, leather backpack

Musco is very thin for a dwarf, so much that if not for his impressive yellow beard, he could be mistaken for a buff hobbit. The grumbling of his stomach is akin to the growls of a cave bear. He is quick and zealous to rebut any suggestion that this could at all be due to his possibly having squandered his clan's fortunes on a gambling table, thereby being left penniless and starving. And he is totally not on a desperate quest of taking mad risks to gather enough money to stave off his debtors, no sire - that's all nothing but the noxious blathering of small-minded gossips! He is also missing the middle finger of his right hand, a fact that he never seems to remember until after trying to flip the bird on someone, much to his infuriation. Musco doesn't trust the weirdo elf Veli he's traveling with, but he haven't exactly had much choise for company lately.
[/ic]

[ic=Veli the Bald]
Elf Fighting-Man level 2 (Warrior)
Alignment: Neutrality

Strength 14 (+1 attack bonus, +5% exp)
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 12
Constitution 10
Dexterity 14 (+1 missile to hit bonus)
Charisma 5

HP: 12
AC: 3
BAB: +1
Saves: Death 12 / Wand 13 / Stone 14 / Breath 15 / Spell 16
Gear: Plate armour, dagger, composite bow, quiver of 20 arrows, waterskin, leather backpack, 50' of rope, standard rations (1 week)

The second most striking thing about Veli's appearance is the complete lack of hair on his head. You sure don't see that very often on an elf. The shiny, bald pate of his is vulgarly complemented by his ears, what with them being particularly long and pointy even by elven standards, not to mention oddly slanted. The most striking feature though would be the gleam of - ambition? eldritch heritage? or maybe it's insanity? - in his eyes. What ever it is, it's giving him a rather unnerving countenance. Veli is something of a treasure hunter, less by necessity and more by his obsessive drive to find magical trinkets. He's traveling with the downtrodden dwarf Musco because the latter's crude antics amuse him, and a stout (if now malnourished) meatshield is always useful to have at hand when you go treasure hunting!
[/ic]

Those characters are great. :D