The Unseen Servant forums

“I am hemmed in by laws, laws, laws.” -King Kull by Robert E. Howard


House Rules:

Game Mechanics and Game Play

Magic

Hit Points and Death

Healing Rates

Thirst, Starvation and Sleep Deprivation

Half Armor

Experience Point Calculation

Game Mechanics:

• Game System: AD&D 1e, except where noted. No Unearthed Arcana except the Barbarian class (with modifications noted below).
  
  Character Creation Rules are here.
  
  The Barbarian's prerequisites are: Str of 15, either Con or Dex of 15, the other a 13. Barbarians advance in level at the same rate as Paladins.
  
  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.
  
  Encumbrance, and its effect on your movement, is in effect as per PHB pp. 101-102.
  
  All magic armor has 25% the weight of non-magical armor.
  
  Weapon Speed and Armor Class adjustments for type of weapon to type of armor won't be used.
  
  Thieves cannot use bows, as per the PHB.
  
  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.

Combat Initiative:

• 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.

Game Play:

• Posting Rate: Twice weekly at least.
  
  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.
  
  Have fun.

Thanks!

Magic:

Game System: AD&D 1e BtB, except where noted, below:

• The Wisdom bonus for spells applies to Druids as well as Clerics.
  
  Spell casters are assumed to have the material spell components they need for their starting spells when play begins.
  
  The spell, Know Alignment, doesn't exist.
  
  To learn a newly found spell, so that it can be permanently added to your list of known spells, takes (30 - Int) hours of quiet study per spell level. Then you need to make a successful "chance to know spell" roll. If the roll succeeds, then you can add the new spell to your list of known spells and be able to memorize it like your other known spells. You will need material components to cast.
  
  I have no house rule that allows for spell books to be used like scrolls. Scrolls are magical items that trigger a spell effect. Spellbooks are tomes of arcane formulae that enable the memorization of spells. "Dispel Magic" will erase a scroll, but not a spellbook.
  
  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.
  
  Casters may move no more than 1" to still be able to cast in the same round.
  
  A Sleep spell may either affect one target, or function as an area of effect spell that affects friend and foe alike but not the caster.
  
  Spellbooks weighs 10 lbs each.
  
  No Unearthed Arcana.

Hit Points and Death:

• 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.

Healing Rates:

• 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.

Survival: Thirst, Starvation and Sleep Deprivation:

Active characters need a gallon of clean water and a pound of nutritious food per day to avoid starvation. In very hot climates, active characters need three gallons of water per day. I'll rule that adopting a nocturnal sleep cycle in the desert will reduce that requirement to 2 gallons a day.

Thirst:

• A character can go without water for 36 hours. After this time, the character must make a Constitution Save on 1d20 each hour (at a penalty of +1 for each previous check) or take 1d3 points of subdual damage* and lose 1 point of Strength, 1 point of Dexterity, and 1" of movement. This movement loss will prohibit charging.

Starvation:

• A character can go without food for 3 days, in growing discomfort. After this time, the character must make a Constitution Save on 1d20 each day (with a +1 penalty for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of subdual damage* and lose 1 point of Strength, 1 point of Dexterity, and 1" of movement. This movement loss will prohibit charging.
  
  After 5 days without food, the character must make a Wisdom Save on 1d20 each hour (with a +1 penalty for each previous check) or experience temporary madness and hallucinations.

Sleep Deprivation:

• A character can go without sleep for 24 hours. After this time, an active character must make a Constitution Save on 1d20 (with a +1 penalty for each previous check) or suffer -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence, and -1" to movement. This movement loss will prohibit charging.
  
  After 36 hours without sleep, these Constitution Saves become hourly.
  
  After 72 hours without sleep, the character must also make a Wisdom Save on 1d20 each hour (with a +1 penalty for each previous check) or experience temporary madness and hallucinations.
  
  6 hours of sleep per day prevents or cures these effects.

*Subdual damage:

• Subdual damage from thirst or starvation can result in death. It cannot be recovered until the character gets food or water, as needed. Not even magic that restores hit points heals this damage.
  Once the character gets food or water, subdual damage heals per hour, not per day.

These requirements will be tracked here.

Half Armor:

Removing the sleeves and legs of armor will halve its weight and price, and:

• -Add 2 to the AC for metal armor
  
  -Add 1 to the AC for non-metal armor

Half armor is not "bulky," as designated on DMG p. 27. It improves one step on that scale.
Also, an armor's maximum speed, as listed on the same page, is improved by 3".

Experience Point (xp) Calculation:

• 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.