FAQs

Sun, Dec 17, 2023

Playing in one of my games? Here are some FAQs.

Backstory?

I don’t require you to come up with a character backstory besides a moment of thought or an amusing gimmick. “Tweet length” will do. You may use it to inform your role-playing and decisions but I will not refer to it directly. The only backstory I am concerned with is things that have happened at our gaming table.

Character Death and Dying?

There are things in my games - by design - that exceed your characters’ survival odds. Be canny about reconnaissance, information gathering, risk management, the use of henchmen and hirelings, diplomacy, bribes and retreat. But don’t obsess! To be honest, if there’s a thing that’s more powerful than you, there’s certainly a non-combat option or two. (Be more worried about “temptation traps”!)

I strongly encourage the keeping of henchmen. In the event of character death, this is your backup PC, only one level lower than your dead PC (on account of earning 1/2 XP). Henchmen will not only soak up hits: they will provide continuity of play and a revenge plot.

In AD&D and B/X (and similar) I run with unconsciousness at 0, and if fewer, bleeding at -1 hp per round unless stabilised (taking one round), death at -10, and if revived, in a coma for 1-6 turns and must rest for a full week (being incapable of any activity other than slow movement, unless a heal spell is used).

Clerics and Non-Blunt Weapons?

Clerics (they are ostensibly sorcerers) can use non-blunt weapons in my games e.g. swords and spears. This is “swords & sorcery” after all. This allows a James Earl Jones “Thulsa Doom” or an Elric. Clerics can only use traditionally forbidden weapons up to +3 however: +5 swords are what makes fighters special. Mithril/blood-bronze use up to +5 is allowed since their use is rooted in alignment and cosmic mysteries.

Edition?

Likely to be any old school or OSR version of D&D - the simpler the better (e.g. across combat resolution, character classes and progression, monster statblocks, magic system). I like D&D as ikebana: minimalism, asymmetry, harmony.

Anything from 1974 through to 2e is broadly cross-compatible: I do mix content.

I’m more likely to run something DIY than something from a pre-published campaign setting.

I’ve never played 3/3.5/PF and I don’t prefer to run 4e or 5e. I’m really not interested in debating this or getting into edition wars.

Mapping?

My baseline procedure is to depict or describe only the immediate dungeon room or area. A connected dungeon map is the responsibility of the mapper (q.v. OD&D, AD&D, B/X, OSE, etc).

Psionics?

In theory. I haven’t introduced them yet. Maybe next campaign or a contrived moment in-game.

Roll20? VTTs?

I spend every working day in front of a computer wrestling with technology therefore I like to keep my D&D analogue. I do run games online: I prefer Discord for chat and videoconferencing, a shared whiteboard for sketching dungeons, physical dice, paper character sheets and trust in my players to do the right thing.

Subject Matter and Safety Tools?

My baseline content guideline in D&D is the “reasonable person test”, the “pub test” or the “front page test”.

My genre baseline in D&D includes:

• traditional D&D as published
  • no published monster, magic item, adventure is off the table
• “Appendix N” style literature
• swords & sorcery
• science fiction
  • including old school Doctor Who and “Dying Earth”
• horror
  • think “weird fiction”, Universal and Hammer

Things that are pretty common in the above sources that might occur in my games:

• undead
• cannibalism
• cults
• the occult
• body horror
• demons
• aliens
• slavery
  • slavery is undoubtedly an evil thing that must be opposed
• racism
  • to be clear: the racial emnities table in games like AD&D are not in use in my game
    • geopolitics, cults, greed and scarcity will keep you busy enough
  • racism is undoubtedly an evil thing that must be opposed especially if used by the powerful as a means to an end
• law and chaos as hermeticism
• good and evil as morality: human rights vs. exploitation

Session 0 is your first chance to discuss what you want/don’t want out of the game. You can check in with me at any time to discuss content but I reserve the right to not change things if I think that content passes the “reasonable person test”.

I don’t use “X Cards” in my game: if you’re creepy I’ll just kick you out, and if you’re not OK with some generally reasonable content such as giant spiders and you haven’t given me ample warning to adjust the game, you’re free to leave with no hard feelings. I am not aiming for deep immersion - I think D&D is best with a degree of detachment - so if you are worried by “emotional bleed” then worry not, and perhaps this game is too casual for you.

You need to be 18+ in my games. Not for content reasons. This is for duty of care reasons.

I run a secular game. Please consider what this means for you.

Thief skills?

Old school thief percentile skills overlap with certain fantasy race abilities and with regular verbally-conducted “dungeon procedure” (think, OD&D pre-Greyhawk supplement). I kinda like “no thieves” (OD&D white box style) or a unified mechanic like in LOTFP. However - to square the circle in Greyhawk, B/X or AD&D-style games - here is how I reconcile thief skills with other methods while elevating the thief above others in matters of burglary:

• Climb Walls: thieves can scale high walls without a grappling hook. Regular characters require a grappling hook or other assist. Assisted methods automatically succeed.
• Find/Remove Traps: any character can “find/remove traps” by describing how they search for or disarm the trap. The related thief skill is a check that can be performed in addition to this procedure. In this sense, the skill is a “Hail Mary”.
• Hear Noise: any character can “hear noise” using the base rate in the AD&D DMG section “LISTENING AT DOORS”, and the “keen-eared” rule applies (where the base chance is used as the chance of being “keen-eared”, granting a 5% or 10% bonus on hearing checks from then on).
• Hide in Shadows/Move Silently: a non-thief may attempt to sneak and the surprise mechanic is used for this. In OSE for example, the other party rolls a 1d6 and a 1 or 2 (with the usual adjustments to surprise rolls) means the sneaker succeeds. A thief failing their Move Silently/Hide in Shadows falls back to this surprise check: they get a second chance so to speak.
• Open Locks: non-thieves cannot Open Locks but they can bash the lock/door which may induce a wandering monster check.
• Pick Pockets: well, a highly dextrous character has got to pick a pocket or two. Let’s say, for B/X, a character’s chance to succeed is their initiative adjustment * 10%. This puts an 18 Dexterity character at equal chances with a 1st level thief. For AD&D, let’s say a character gets only their thief skill bonus for high Dex i.e. 17 Dex gives a 5% chance, 18 Dex gives a 10% chance, then add fantasy race bonuses.
• Read Languages: find a sage, use magic, spend downtime researching, …

To-Hit? THAC0? AAC?

I’m happy either way, but with players in mind…

• Ascending AC/attack bonus: This is the most elegant expression of “to-hit”. Many OSR games offer this as a core or optional mechanic e.g. Old School Essentials.
• To-hit matrix: it’s just a table lookup - super quick and easy. I’m likely to keep using this for AD&D 1e, B/X or Labyrinth Lord.
• (Least preferred) THAC0: some people are more fluent with addition than subtraction. I’d convert to AAC or use a to-hit matrix rather than use THAC0.

XP awards?

Different editions or retroclones do XP differently, but here’s how I’m doing it now.

• XP is awarded for “defeating monsters” (slaying, surrender, routing).
• XP is awarded for treasure at the rate 1 GP = 1 XP.
• XP is awarded for magic items using the values suggested in the AD&D DMG.
• XP is awarded for enemies’ mundane equipment based on 20% of GP value for looted equipment, and 50% for looted mounts. These reflect resale value.
• 100 XP is awarded for actions that advance the story
• Scenario completion bonus is 10% of the total XP accrued throughout the scenario.
• Each PC gets a share of XP from the total and each henchman gets half a share.

–

Date	Notes
17 Dec 2023	First version
17 Jan 2024	A note on backstory
20 Apr 2024	A note on content/safety tools
16 May 2024	A note on clerics and non-blunt weapons
27 Jun 2024	Flesh out section on thief skills