House Rules

[Vargr1105]

Herein are listed details about rulings and changes to BtB rules enforced in this campaign.


OSRIC

Except for what is stated otherwise here, the rules used in this module will defer to the OSRIC simulacra.


Character Stats

A glance at the character sheets will reveal the data from Ability Scores does not conform to BtB AD&D1e. These rules have been changed to include better mechanical bonuses derived from some Ability Scores (adapted from OD&D) and modifiers to certain Saving Throws (adapted from BD&D/BECMI/RC). PCs also have a higher rate of proficiencies acquisition (derived from a literal interpretation of the OSRIC rules).


Non-Weapon Proficiencies

These will be used if the players wish so, as per Wilderness Survival Guide and Dungeoneer Survival Guide. The module as written does not require NWPs for its completion.


Secondary Skill

Roll on the table bellow to determine this. Note that a few of these skills are actually Non-Weapon Proficiencies (Armorer, Forester, etc) and will have a value associated with it on a 1-20 scale derived from an Ability Score.

Secondary Skills Table (from DMG)
01-02 Armorer
03-04 Bowyer/fletcher
05-10 Farmer/gardener
11-14 Fisher (netting)
15-20 Forester
21-23 Gambler
24-27 Hunter/fisher (hook and line)
28-32 Husbandman (animal husbandry)
33-34 Jeweler/lapidary
35-37 Leather worker/tanner
38-39 Limner/painter
40-42 Mason/carpenter
43-44 Miner
45-46 Navigator
47-49 Sailor (fresh or salt)
50-51 Shipwright (boats or ships)
52-54 Tailor/weaver
55-57 Teamster/freighter
58-60 Trader/barterer
61-64 Trapper/furrier
65-67 Woodworker/cabinetmaker
65-85 CHOOSE ANY ONE SKILL
86-00 CHOOSE ANY ONE SKILL AND ROLL DICE AGAIN (re-roll a result of 65-00)


Surprise and Initiative

The GM will be rolling both of these and posting the roll results. Surprise rolls are indivudal and regardless of DEX a natural "1" on 1d6 means the character is indeed Surprised.


Declaration of Actions in Combat

All required dice rolls (attack, damage, etc) should be made on a combat action declaration post (if these prove unusable in the course of the round they do not "carry over" to the next round. A player may declare multiple If/Then actions or reactive ones (i.e. attack the first foe that approaches) but must roll the dice for all of them. A declared action without a roll is assumed to have failed; the GM will not roll dice for the players apart from what was indicated above.


Weapon Speed

The only function of Weapon Speed in this game will be to determine who attacks first in melee on Initiative ties. In Melee vs. Missile Initiative ties the missile attacks occur first.


Initiative Segments Modifiers

Some actions may delay the Initiative Segment a character gets to act on. All the modifiers indicated here are cumulative (i.e. sheating a held dagger and drawing a sword adds 2 segments)

Dropping a held item: 0 segments

Putting away an item or weapon: 1 segment

Drawing a weapon: 1 segment

Getting a handy item: 1 segment

Getting an item not at hand: 2 segments

Getting a hard-to-retrieve item (in backpack, etc): Full round

Recovering balance or from stunning: 1 segment

Rising from a prone position: 2 segments

Other miscellaneous actions: 1 to 2 segments


Missile Weapons and DEX Modifier to Initiative

This only applies to thrown weapons, loaded crossbows and bows with nocked arrows. Crossbows only get this bonus the first they are fired in combat and not after they are reloaded (unless the shooter carries the loaded crossbow for a full round. Bows keep this bonus as long as the archer keeps shooting and reloading through combat; an archer startign combat with an un-nocked bow must load it and wait a round to gain the Initiative benefit, or he may load it and shoot it at normal Initiative (and keep loading and shooting at normal Initiative until he loads and stops for a round).

Regardless of DEX and rolled Initiatiative the earliest a PC using missile weapons can act is Segment Zero (0). This is a special segment reserved only for missile fire acting before anyone else.


Missile Attack and Melee

Someone involved in melee (within 10' of an hostile, attacking foe) cannot usually do missile attacks; attempting to do so will always loose Initiative to the melee adversary and being injured prevent making a missile attack the same way as spell disruption. Surprised or unawares foes at these distances may be attacked by missiles normally.


Firing Into Melee

This is handled normally. The attacker roll to attack the target normally but the individual in melee actually hit is determine by percentile roll based on their size ratios. If a friend is hit the original attack roll must still be suficiently high to wound him.

Note that "melee" means two or more characters within 10' engaged in fighting. If a foe is within that distance of a friendly PC nut is not engaing in fighting with him he can be attacked with missiles normally.


Movement and Melee

Given that we are not using miniatures or battlefield representations movement and placement will take a more free-form manner. Unlike the BtB rules A character may move and make an attack roll as long as he is within Movement Rate distance of an attacker.


Movement and Missile Attacks

Except for thrown weapons, a character cannot move more than 1/2 his Movement Rate and still do ranged attacks, or do more than one ranged attack if he moves more than 10' anyway, (in other words, archers cannot go running about the battlefield shooting multiple arrows).


Charging

Charging carries the usual BtB modifiers a PC can only charge if he between is over 10' away from his target and under twice his Movement Rate distant from his target. If a target is beyond Movement Rate distance, but below x2 it it MUST be charged if the PC wants to attack him that round. Charging requires a fairly direct path towards the target over unbroken terrain and can only be done once every 10 rounds. A charging character can only make one attack.


Multiple Attacks

Player characters with multiple attacks (from weapon specialization, dual-welding, etc) that vary from round to round (3/2, etc) get their largest number of attacks on odd rounds (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc).

PC multiple attacks can be directed at different enemies but monsters with multiple attacks can only directed them at a single target.

Given the PbP medium we are playing in and for the sake of expediency, when melee combat with multiple attacks takes place they will not "interweave" between adversaries as stated BtB. Whoever wins the Initiative gets to make his full sequence of attacks before the foe; this makes initiative more relevant when multiple attacks are in question.


Attack Roll

On the 1d20 attack roll a natural "1" always misses and a natural "20" always hits regardless of any other considerations. Thus every combatant always has a minimum 5% chance both to hit and fail. Apart from this there are no "criticals" or "fumbles" in the game.


Negative THACO

If a PC, NPC or monsters needs a negative attack roll result to hit a target then he will only miss on a natural "1" and the negative number is extra damage done in addition to the normal damage dice roll.


Spell Segments

Spells have a Casting Time 1 point lower than that indicated in the rules. In cases of Initiative Segment ties combat and spellcasting are simultaneous, so it is possible for someone to kill a mage and be affected by the spell he cast while he was killed, or for a mage to be attacked by an enemy he is killing with a spell.

Interrupting a spell requires wounding the caster at least one segment before his spell his complete; in the case of an initiative/segment tie interruption will not be possible.


Called Shots

This is a concept from AD&D2nd that covers disarming, tripping, harrasing, etc. A called shot is an attack roll that is done to attempt an effect other than just wounding/killing an opponent. Thre are too many variants and elements to make hard and fast rules about them, but here are the strictures they abide by:

- A Called Shot can only perform something that would be possible/feasible in reality (i.e. you can't strip someone with a dagger)

- A Called Shot never increases (and may decreased/denied depending on what is being attempted) damage dealt and cannot kill except if it reduced his HP to 0 or less

- A Called Shot carries a base -4 penalty to the attack roll, which maybe worsened depending on the size/difficulty of the area being hit and other factors

- A Called Shot may require another roll by the player (and only an extra one) besides the successful attack roll (i.e. disarming someone could require a STR check if brute force is being used to knock the weapon for the foe's hand or DEX if it is being twisted away)

- The target of a Called Shot always get a roll to try to avoid its effects, usually a Saving Throw or Ability Check

As a note, striking someone with "the flat of the sword" (i.e. non-lethal attacks with potentially lethal weapons) is a Called Shot.


Two-Handed Weapons and Mixed Weapons

All two-handed weapons (i.e. weapons that cannot be used in fighting without two hands) cause 1 extra point of damage than that indicated on the weapon charts.

Mixed Weapons are weapons that can be used either on a single hand or both, these include the Axe, battle; Club, heavy; Club, heavy spiked; Flail, heavy; Mace, heavy; Morning star; Pick, heavy; Spear; Staff; Staff Sling; Trident and Warhammer, heavy. Mixed weapons do 1 extra point of damage than that indicated on the weapon charts when used with both hands.

The Bastard Sword, Claymore and Hand-and-a-half Sword are a special cases.


Parrying

If a PC in melee does not attack in a round and concentrates on defense his AC is increased by his "To Hit" bonus from both STR and weapon specialization.


Posting Protocols

On the Action Thread the GM will write in bold black when describing what is happening and in bold red when addressing the players directly. There two colors are reserved for his use. Standard dialog color will be used for NPC speech. Special named NPCs, weird voices or multiples NPCs speaking on the same post may use a variety of colors.

Players should use standard dialogue color between "" for their PC's speech or may adopt a color of their own as long as its use is consistent.

Standard OOC color should be used for messages/questions for the GM in the Action thread, should be preceded by OOC: or ooc: and typed at least two lines below the main text.


The attack roll dice matrix should look like this:

To Hit with Weapon name (THACO N): 1d20, Damage (s/m): xdy, Damage (L): xdy

Please do not use any die roll modifiers for the 1d20 (charge, flanking, spell, etc) these will be calculated/added by the GM and use a pre-calculated THACO value for the weapon including only base THACO, Ability Score modifiers, magical weapon modifiers and specialization.

[Vargr1105]

Natural Healing

Characters will always heal 1 HP per day regardless of any factors. Daily natural healing for normal rest is 1/2 CON in Hit Points rounded up. (This rule is taken from the CB line of modules where Fate Points first appeared).

[Vargr1105]

Updated with data for healing.