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, the most relevant for character creation and basic rules for players is the first book, Men and Magic. 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 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.

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.

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.