OOC I

[dmw71]

Stuff goes here.

[Starbeard]

Just checked out my private sub-forum and everything is working A-OK!

This'll be fun.

[dmw71]

Glad to hear it, man.

We'll probably get started near the end of the month. onlyme will be out next week, and I still need some time to more carefully go over the OSRIC rules and throw together some basic plot hooks to feed you guys.

[spanningtree]

Just checked out my private sub-forum and everything is working A-OK!

This'll be fun.

Same here!

[AleBelly]

Just checked out my private sub-forum and everything is working A-OK!

This'll be fun.

Same here!

+1

Any thoughts on character generation rules? I'm going to be pretty busy over the next couple of weeks, so it might take me awhile to put one together. The sooner I can start working on one the better.

Sandbox. Fun!

[dmw71]

I have never really read the entire OSRIC rulebook -- not really -- so I will want to do that, and will build my house rules around them. For the most part, I plan on borrowing pieces from my Foxmoor house rules, but they were built using the 2E rules, I will require some modifications.

Any thoughts on character generation rules?

Char gen will be pretty standard -- 4d6c1, arrange as desired -- but I will likely tweak the ability score modifiers and a few other things. Tweaks, though, so things will still largely be by the book.

I'm going to be pretty busy over the next couple of weeks, so it might take me awhile to put one together. The sooner I can start working on one the better.

I have quite a few things stacking up as well, so finding time to really familiarize myself with the OSRIC rules (and document my house rules) is going to take quite a bit of time. I'm still targeting the end of the month to get started, but I'll have a better idea the closer we get.

I'll try to get the char gen portion of house rules finished up as soon as I can to give you guys some time to get started.

Sandbox. Fun!

I'm excited about it. For Foxmoor, I mapped out a couple wilderness areas and section of a town and just went with it. I'll probably do something similar here.

[OGRE MAGE]

Dumb question.....

Why is it called OSRIC A5 if it is considered 2nd edition?
What does the A5 mean?

[dmw71]

What does the A5 mean?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the "A" followed by a number refers to a typesetting layout, with the different A's representing different font and margin sizes.

[Starbeard]

What does the A5 mean?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the "A" followed by a number refers to a typesetting layout, with the different A's representing different font and margin sizes.

I believe that's basically it. Unless they're using some terminology I don't know, the A5 is referring to a paper size according to the 'ISO 216' standard, which can be thought of as a sort of metric system for paper sizing. The A- series is given an aspect ratio that's somewhat close to the US 8.5x11 paper, but an A1 can be folded in half to create an A2, and so on. A4 is the 8.5x11-ish size, and A5 is one ratio smaller, so booklet size.

I've only skimmed through and done a couple of test text searches between OSRIC 2nd edition and the A5 edition and I didn't find any differences, so I think the main (or perhaps only) difference is that one is typeset as a full-size hardback and the other is typeset as a pocket reference book.

[Alethan]

I believe that's basically it. Unless they're using some terminology I don't know, the A5 is referring to a paper size according to the 'ISO 216' standard, which can be thought of as a sort of metric system for paper sizing. The A- series is given an aspect ratio that's somewhat close to the US 8.5x11 paper, but an A1 can be folded in half to create an A2, and so on. A4 is the 8.5x11-ish size, and A5 is one ratio smaller, so booklet size.

Funny, I was going to say that EXACT thing!

Er... Maybe not quite as detailed. You work in the publishing industry or something?

[Starbeard]

I believe that's basically it. Unless they're using some terminology I don't know, the A5 is referring to a paper size according to the 'ISO 216' standard, which can be thought of as a sort of metric system for paper sizing. The A- series is given an aspect ratio that's somewhat close to the US 8.5x11 paper, but an A1 can be folded in half to create an A2, and so on. A4 is the 8.5x11-ish size, and A5 is one ratio smaller, so booklet size.

Funny, I was going to say that EXACT thing!

Er... Maybe not quite as detailed. You work in the publishing industry or something?

Haha, no, I'm an academic. I study medieval manuscripts, so book production is something I'm just interested in. That and my dad is a graphic designer & illustrator, so I grew up with lots of different page sizes scattered around the house.

[AleBelly]

I'll try to get the char gen portion of house rules finished up as soon as I can to give you guys some time to get started.

Thanks - I just don't want to be the rate limiting step here, but no rush in particular...

For Foxmoor, I mapped out a couple wilderness areas and section of a town and just went with it. I'll probably do something similar here.

Sounds great…looking forward to it!

[dmw71]

The 'House Rules' have been posted. For those of you that were in my Foxmoor game, many of them will look familiar but have been modified to fit the OSRIC A5 rule system. That topic is locked, but feel free to post any feedback or questions regarding them here.

Good or bad.

Honestly. I'd rather address any questions or concerns now, before the game begins. While the list of rules feels final, I'm always willing to add/remove/modify anything that isn't working.


Also, I'm not sure how I want to handle level advancements and training? This was an issue in my Foxmoor game as well (Training: Is it necessary?) and I ultimately ended up scrapping it (requiring only ~6 hours of sleep to gain any new abilities/skills). Any thoughts on the subject amongst this group?

[dmw71]

Also, with the house rules now posted, players can begin the character generation process. Just, if you haven't done so already, initialize the die roller by posting a link to a roll -- any roll -- in the 'ooc' thread in your private forum.

Just a reminder, the Campaign ID for this game is 208.

[AleBelly]

A couple quick questions: assign ability scores as desired? is there room to give up 2 points of an attribute to gain 1 in another?

Regarding leveling, I usually require a good night's sleep in a civilized location...my two cents...

[dmw71]

is there room to give up 2 points of an attribute to gain 1 in another?

I'll consider it, but I'm leaning against it. That is a nice mechanic for when a player rolls 3d6 and needs to increase their prime requisite to make a particular class. With 4d6, ability swapping like that, at least in my opinion, will just promote min/maxing more than it already exists. I'll let you know...

Regarding leveling, I usually require a good night's sleep in a civilized location...my two cents...

That's along the lines of what I have in mind, but I'm open to suggestions. I know, in my Foxmoor game, I did have a training requirement in place, but there was next to no treasure recovered so training was pretty much impossible to pay for so I scrapped it.

I haven't officially started to plot anything for this game, so I'll probably hold off on making a formal decision until I have a few things in place. If treasure is aplenty in my design, I'll likely require training. If the game is looking to be on the thrifty side, I'll probably skip it.

I also don't know if I like the consequences of needing to train. If people are all leveling at different points, which is possible, it just halts the progress of the entire group. Repeatedly as more and more characters gain the necessary experience. Unless a character needing to train is left behind.... I don't know?

[Starbeard]

is there room to give up 2 points of an attribute to gain 1 in another?

I'll consider it, but I'm leaning against it. That is a nice mechanic for when a player rolls 3d6 and needs to increase their prime requisite to make a particular class. With 4d6, ability swapping like that, at least in my opinion, will just promote min/maxing more than it already exists. I'll let you know...

Regarding leveling, I usually require a good night's sleep in a civilized location...my two cents...

That's along the lines of what I have in mind, but I'm open to suggestions. I know, in my Foxmoor game, I did have a training requirement in place, but there was next to no treasure recovered so training was pretty much impossible to pay for so I scrapped it.

I haven't officially started to plot anything for this game, so I'll probably hold off on making a formal decision until I have a few things in place. If treasure is aplenty in my design, I'll likely require training. If the game is looking to be on the thrifty side, I'll probably skip it.

I also don't know if I like the consequences of needing to train. If people are all leveling at different points, which is possible, it just halts the progress of the entire group. Repeatedly as more and more characters gain the necessary experience. Unless a character needing to train is left behind.... I don't know?

Yeah, the feeling I've always had with the training rules is that they were one of those game concepts carried over from OD&D's roots as a fantasy strategy game where players could be expected to manage a couple of characters or more, so that they always had at least one character capable of hitting the dungeon on any given day. With that in mind, the lengthy time requirements on any individual campaign-level task like healing, training, researching etc., make more sense. But I'm not sure if most people were even conceiving of D&D that way by the time the DMG was out.

That being said, I've always used them, except training. I just have them do something suitably ritualistic for their character that lasts a rest period, like a Conan type climbing a nearby prophetic looking tree, shouting something reasonably defiant to the gods and thus being smote with a new level.

[dmw71]

Update:
It was pointed out to me that I didn't address hit points in my original set of house rules. I have changed the 'Ability Score Generation' topic to 'Ability Scores and Hit Points' to address this oversight.

[dmw71]

Update:
It was pointed out to me that I didn't address hit points in my original set of house rules. I have changed the 'Ability Score Generation' topic to 'Ability Scores and Hit Points' to address this oversight.

Actually, I see a better logical arrangement of topics, so I will shuffle things around slightly.

Basically, just know that I've added my house rules regarding hit points.

[dmw71]

Update:
Added the 'Starting Spells' section under the Magic User class house rules:

"Starting Spells
This will be by the book.

"A beginning magic user character will know four spells. One of these will automatically be Read Magic. The second spell should be chosen by the player from the list of first level spells, and the last two should be determined randomly from the list of first level spells."

All starting spells will automatically be known; no need to check against the 'Magic User Spell Acquisition Table.'"