The Unseen Servant forums

Here, the DM will share his methods and his madness.

Of Facts and Figures:

• Game Mechanics:
  
  • Game System: AD&D 1e, except where noted. No Unearthed Arcana.
    
    Character Creation Rules are here.
    
    The Wisdom bonus for spells applies to Druids as well as Clerics.
    
    We will use the THAC0 progression for fighters that advances by 1 each level instead of 2 every two levels, as per the "Special Note Regarding Fighters' Progression" on DMG p. 74.
    
    All magic armor has 25% the weight of non-magical armor.
    
    Spell casters are assumed to have the material spell components they need when play begins.
    
    Encumbrance, and its effect on your movement, is in effect as per PHB pp. 101-102.
    
    Weapon Speed and Armor Class adjustments for type of weapon to type of armor won't be used.
    
    All arrows fired, whether they hit or miss, have a 50% chance of being recovered for reuse. It takes one minute to check one arrow.
  
  Game Play:
  
  • Posting Rate: Twice a week.
    
    If posting OOC in an IC thread, please place it in a Spoiler.
    
    The PCs and the DM will link all rolls from the dice roller, with the exception of rolls where PC knowledge of success is not guaranteed (hide in shadows, search for secret doors, search for traps, etc). Those will be handled secretly by the DM. (Thanks, Zhym)
    
    Have fun.

Thanks!

Of Magic and Mysteries:

House rules on magic will limit and expand their use. Let me explain:

Limits:
As advertised, this game involves a central mystery. Spells that eliminate mystery or detective work must be modified in order to allow a mystery to exist and be investigated:

• -In this horror fantasy version of Oerth, magic is known to exist, but is rare and wondrous. There are no magic shops. There remain rustic backwaters where spellcasters are burned as witches.
  
  -Detect Evil: This will be modified to only detect powerful, unnatural evil: undead, great monsters, devils, demons and other enchanted or conjured creatures listed under the spell, "Protection From Evil." (Thanks, Zhym)
  
  -Know Alignment: This spell doesn't exist in this world. (Thanks, Zhym)
  
  -Charm Person: This spell is permitted, but be aware:
  • -Any spell with Verbal or Somatic components cannot be cast quietly or surreptitiously.
    -If you are casting a spell on someone, you must see them (unless it's an area-of-effect spell).
    -Casting a spell on someone without their permission could be seen as an attack. After all, you could be casting Fireball or Bestow Curse. (Thanks, Zhym)

Expansion:
As a trade off for these limits, I'm going to adopt a house rule inspired from dmw71 (Thanks, Dave):

• -Spell casters don't need to select their spells in advance.
  
  • -If a rested 1st level Magic-User can cast one spell a day, he can choose to cast any spell from his spell book at the moment of casting. Once cast, he can't cast again until he sleeps and studies, as usual. The intended effect of this is a greater variety of spells employed in game play, rather than just Sleep.
    -Likewise, 2nd level Long Bo the Druid can cast four 1st level spells, and two 2nd level spells. But he can choose the spell he wants to cast from his spell list at the moment of casting.
    
    -Clerics and Druids may swap spell slots among spell levels for purposes of healing only. For example, a Cleric with a spell slot for a second level spell may use it to cast two Cure Light Wounds.
    
    -Also, spell casters must have a rested mind in order to study or pray for their new spells, as per DMG p.40, but there is no requirement that studying or praying must occur immediately after sleeping.

I hope that's clear. Again, the spirit of these limits is to allow a mystery to exist and be investigated by our heroes. And the spirit of the expansion is to compensate for the restrictions, and to inspire a greater variety of spells used in gameplay. Thanks.

Best,
Inferno

Of Monsters and Men:

Monsters that are designated 'Common' or 'Uncommon,' are known to men and demihumans.
Monsters that are 'Rare' or 'Very Rare' are considered rumors, legends or myths.

Goblins:

• Inspired by Tolkien, I'll use the terms Orcs and Goblins interchangeably. Likewise, they were once Elves and were perverted ages ago by the dark god of evil to become his heinous dogs of war. Though the dark god was banished, his handiwork, the Goblin race, lived on without him and has bred and grown and spread to become unto a plague upon the Oerth.
  
  Their core stats will be those of Goblins in the Monster Manual, but things like racial descriptions and weapon specifications will be a blend of Orcs and Goblins. The Orc stats in the Monster Manual are for things akin to Saruman's Uruk Hai, which are rare. As in Tolkien, Goblins can speak Common.
  
  There is no separate, distinct race of Hobgoblins or Kobolds (which is just the German word for Goblin).

Undead:

• Folklore tells of undead revenants as visible ghosts or animated corpses believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living.
  Existing within the mythology of all known cultures, undead are the deceased that behave as if alive. The word "revenant" is derived from the Elvish word for "returning." The word "ghoul" comes from the Elvish word ghala, "to seize."
  
  Zombies are undead creatures of legend, the walking dead; mindless corpses re-animated by supernatural forces, with a hunger for human flesh.
  
  Ghouls are said to be evil, undead monsters that lurk in graveyards and consume human flesh.

The Devil:

• Many religions of Greyhawk identify the Devil as the personification of Evil itself. A former angel cast into Hell, he seeks ever to tempt the souls of Mankind toward sin and damnation.
  
  Known by many names, he is called the Enemy, the Beast, Old Scratch, Old Nick, Black Phillip, the Deceiver, the Serpent, Lord of Hell, Ruler of This World, the Evil One, the Tempter, the Dragon, and Asmodeus.

Of Good Rolls and Bad:

A natural 20 on a 'to hit' roll is a Critical Hit that doubles the rolled damage.

A natural 1 on a 'to hit' roll results in a Fumble. Roll 1d8 and consult below, or 1d6 if unarmed.

1: Stumble: Move 1 hex or square in a random direction.
2: Off balance: Take no movement next round, nor "opportunity attacks."
3: Distracted: Add +1 to your AC for the rest of this round and all of the next.
4: Slip: Make a Dex save on d20 or fall to the ground.
5: Opening: The target of your attack gets an additional free attack on you this round.
6: Wild swing: Attack a random target, friend or self, for ½ damage. No Str or Dex bonuses are applied to the attack roll.
7: Drop weapon: Make a Dex save on d20 or drop your weapon. Picking it up next round gives any adjacent opponents an additional free melee attack on you.
8: Loose: Your weapon flies from your hand landing 1d6 squares/hexes away in a random direction.

Of Murder and Mayhem:

The combat sequence is modified as follows:

• • The Initiative roll only determines which side goes first.
    The winning side takes all their actions and results, including spells with casting time shorter than one round.
    Then the losing side takes all their actions and results, including spells with casting time shorter than one round.
    Spells with casting time of one round go off at the end of the full round.
    The way to interrupt an enemy caster of a spell whose casting time is less than one round is to win initiative and damage them.
    
    If multiple characters act in the same segment, they will act in Dex order.
    
    Casters may move no more than 1" to still be able to cast in the same round.
    
    Clerics may move no more than 1" and still be able to Turn Undead in the same round.

Of Horses and Horror:

When in the presence of howling wolves or other fearsome predators, save vs. Wisdom on 5d6 to calm your horse.
(Save on 4d6 if it's a war horse, and add your level to your Wisdom. 3d6 if you're in a regiment of war horses.)

Success means the horse stays calm.

If you fail by less than 10, the horse panics and bolts. If you're riding the horse, you may try to stay mounted (4d6 Str save), jump off to safety (4d6 Dex save), or something else.

If you fail by 10 or more, the horse rears up before bolting. If you're riding the horse, you are thrown. Take 1d6 damage if wearing metal armor, 1d4 if non-metal armor. Save vs Dex on 4d6 for half damage, rounding up.

Any horse that panics and bolts will run away at maximum speed until the predator can no longer be heard, and then for another d3 minutes.

Of Blood and Treasure:

Experience Points (xp) shall be calculated as follows:

• 100 xp per Hit Dice of every monster overcome.
  • +25-50 xp per fraction of a Hit Dice.
    +25-100 xp for each special ability of a monster.
  No experience points for treasure (gold pieces or magic items).
  
  No experience point increases due to stats.
  
  No fraction based on PC level vs. monster level or dungeon level.
  
  No training is necessary to increase levels, until the PCs reach Level 5.

Of Death and Dying:

Zero hit points means unconsciousness.

Negative ten (-10) hit points means death.

Unconscious characters bleed out at a rate of 1 hit point per round.
But characters attacked by non-lethal methods (clubs, fists, flat sides of sword blades, clerics' weapons, etc.) don't bleed out.

Of Dressing To Kill:

Hurriedly donning armor, to the extent of just being able to walk in it without it falling off, takes 10 rounds (minutes) minus the AC of the armor. So splint mail takes 6 rounds. Studded leather armor takes 3.

Then it takes another identical length of time to properly secure the armor if you wish to fight in it. So splint takes a minimum of 12 minutes in total to properly don. Studded leather armor requires 6 minutes.

Of CON and Convalescence:

Characters with a higher Constitution heal faster.
At dawn each day, characters heal one hit point for the tens digit of their Constitution, and have a % chance to heal another hit point, equal to the ones digit of their Constitution x 10.
So:

• A character with a 9 Constitution has an 90% chance to heal 1 hit point.
  A character with a 10 Constitution heals 1 hit point.
  A character with a 12 Constitution heals 1 hit point and has a 20% chance to heal a 2nd hit point.
  A character with a 16 Constitution heals 1 hit point and has a 60% chance to heal a 2nd hit point.
  Etc.