Shields Still Being Splintered

It does this old troll’s heart good to hear that folks are still getting fun out of Shields Shall be Splintered.  I recently discovered that the Down In a Heap podcast discussed the rule, and that conversation was picked up by theConfessions of a Wee Tim’rous Bushi podcast, expanding the idea further in other types of armour.  (I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but it kinda-sorta sounds like a codification of Jeff's Everything Shall be Splintered idea.)

 

As for me, I’m still very much using it.  I do limit it by using LotFP’s encumbrance system, which makes tracking encumbrance as easy as just writing things on your equipment list.  I have no problem with hirelings carrying spare shields; shield bearer is an actual word from history.  (But so far, no one has really pushed this and I’ve not heard of it annoying anyone else at the table.) 

 

As for who else can use it, that really depends.  I swing back and forth on the players running their PCs’ hirelings, and if the players are doing so, I let them decide when the hireling might sacrifice a shield to protect themselves.  Monsters typically do not use it, unless they have names or the Rule of Cool suggests now is a good time for that to happen.

ADDENDUM: It appears the idea of the shield stopping some of the damage, but not all, is a popular one.  Here’s another variation on that theme.

Does it Feel Like the Walls are Closing in to You?

Over on the Book of Faces, someone asked about adding a sort of madness mechanic to an OSR game like B/X D&D that would give you the sorts of character attributes that you see in Darkest Dungeons, like becoming selfish, irrational, or hopeless.  And of course I thunked some thoughts on this.

I'd make it a resource like hit points.  Give bonuses to it based on Wisdom and maybe also Constitution.  Like hit points, you roll for them and what you roll is based on your class.  Spell-slingers like magic-users, clerics, and elves roll the lowest dice, and expert/rogues and halflings roll the highest dice.

I'd rename it Reason.  Taking damage, witnessing horific events (like things happening to your companions), etc. lowers it, just like attacks and traps lower your hit points.  If Reason reaches zero, you roll on a table of afflictions like those in Darkest Dungeons, but you'd absolutely use this part to flavor to your group's taste.  I'd make the list have the least affecting afflictions on the low end and the most impactful at the high end.  Then, every time you roll again on the table, you add another +1, or maybe you roll more dice, starting with a single d4 or d6, but adding another d4 every time you roll.  Once you'd acquired an affliction in a session (or possibly location), you couldn't acquire another one until next session (or after you'd left the location for more than a day).  

I'd give spell-slingers a bonus on the power of their spells based on how low their Reason is.  The lower the better for those who seek to warp reality with eldritch sorceries!

You could have a lot of fun with how Reason is replenished.  Rest, sure, but the quality of that rest should be taken into account.  Sleeping in the dungeon in your armour?  Maybe a point if that much.  Sleeping in a ditch?  Maybe 2 points.  But if you've got a nice cozy room at an inn and had a good hot meal, you get lots of points back.  Halflings might replenish just from eating.  

Maybe you can replenish reason by telling in-game jokes, listening to music, attending religious ceremonies dedicated to gods of goodness, or carousing.  Sex and intimacy might be healing along these lines.  Having a deep emotional bond with someone might have a protective effect, but if something happens to your special someone, it might hit you just as hard as it hits them.  There are all sorts of neat directions you can take this.  

Death & Dismemberment for 5e

Yes, I'm still alive! ;p

In addition to the Stars Are Right table I posted last time, I also created a new Table of Death & Dismemberment table for the new 5e game. Like the previous versions, this stops hit point loss at 0; further successful hits just cause additional rolls on the table. When a PC is dropped to 0 hit points, roll 3d6 and consult the table.

What makes this table different? I've added psychological effects and taken some advantage of 5e's status rules. Let's check it out:

3 or less: Your character is dead!

4: Your character has lost their leg. Move at half-speed until it is replaced; a wooden peg-leg allows you to move at your normal speed -5’. Your character is unconscious until they are restored to positive hit points.

5: Your character has lost a hand. They are unconscious until restored to positive hit points. So long as they still retain one hand, they can still cast spells and wield weapons.

6: Your character is grievously wounded. If they are not stabilized within 3 rounds, they will die. It takes one action to stabilize; any magical healing that brings the character’s HP total to at least 1 also stabilizes the character.

7: Your character loses an eye. They have -1 on all ranged attacks until the eye is restored. However, their scarred visage also gives them +1 on intimidation checks. They remain unconscious until they are restored to positive hit points.

8: Your character is physically scarred beyond the ability of healing magics less than Regeneration to remove. This will effect your use of social skills, but exactly how will depend on the situation. This character will remain unconscious until restored to positive hit points.

9: Your character is emotionally scarred by their near-death experience. They are now frightened (PHB page 290) by the creature/spell/type of person who dealt the near-mortal blow. This fear can be removed by a Greater Restoration spell or other magics or special abilities that remove or negate fear effects. The character is also unconscious until they are restored to positive hit points.

10: Your character is knocked out and will remain unconscious until they are restored to positive hit points.

11: The weapon your character is wielding is shattered! They remain at 1 hit point and can stay in the fight… for now. If your character isn’t weilding a weapon or that weapon is magical, they are instead knocked out (see 10 above).

12: Your character takes a grievous wound to the leg. They are still conscious, but at 1 hit point and can only move at a speed of 5’. Any healing magic restores normal movement.

13: Your character’s armour is battered by the attack. Your AC suffers a -2 penalty and will take one day and 10% of the cost of a new set of armor to repair. Your character is still in the fight with 1d4 hit points. If your character is not wearing armor, they are at 0 hit points and unconscious until restored to positive hit points.

14: Your character takes a nasty blow to the head. They remain in the fight with 1d4 hit points, but they lose one spell slot (player’s choice). Spell slots are regained after a long rest (or a short rest for warlocks) as normal.

15: The attack leaves your character stunned until the end of their next turn (PHB page 292). They otherwise stay in the fight; roll a single hit die to see how many hit points they have.

16: The brunt of the attack is absorbed by your gear. Lose one potion. If you have no potions, lose 1d4 pieces of mundane equipment. You stay in the fight with 4 + your CON bonus hit points. (If you have no gear at all, roll 2d6 on this table.)

17: You get blood, mud, or some other icky fluid in your eyes. You are blinded until the end of your next turn (PHB page 290). Stay in the fight with 4 + your CON bonus hit points.

18: You experience a surge of adrenaline! Roll half your max hit dice and regain that many hit points. If you’ve already rolled this result in this fight, then you are unconscious at 0 hit points.

First off, yeah, this is an insanely forgiving table. It's far easier to die using the RAW of 5e than it is on this table. (Though you can die from just a single roll, which you can't do in the RAW.) And yet, I had one player voice misgivings about it; the Table of Death & Dismemberment continues to work it's old black magic. ;)

This table interacts more with the rules than previous versions and also creates more ongoing effects (for low-to-mid level characters; high-level characters will almost certainly have the spells needed to banish long-term effects, but they also have the spells necessary to mitigate death, so...)

It hasn't been used "in the field" yet, but I'm looking forward to how this shakes things up. If I change it, I may add more ongoing psychological effects a la Darkest Dungeons. If you've got some suggestions for sexy-ing this up, don't hesitate to let me know.

Art is The Wounded Gaul in the Musei Capitolini.

Agony Domain for 5e Clerics

My first 5e campaign is winding down, and folks seem to be enjoying it enough that we'll probably do that again. That being the case, I'm poking at some ideas for a post-apocalypse, dark-age sort of campaign. With that in mind, I'm crafting new character options to reinforce the themes. First of these is this Agony Domain. It's not been playtested yet, so if anyone does use it, please let me know how it works out.

The idea here was to create what amounts to a flagellant sort of mendicant cleric, the sort who'd wander about, stripped to the waist, thrashing themselves with knotted scourges and the like.  They acquire power from pain, so I tried to give them ways to fine-tune the damage they took, and then to profit from it.  Starting at sixth level, I can totally see PCs torturing themselves for the benefits of this class.

Agony Domain
There is a purity in pain, a mind-focusing wisdom that clears away all that is not vital and true. You might be an ecstatic masochist, seeking higher wisdom through pain, or a flagellant who wishes to purify mortals of the supreme sin of failing the gods in their greatest hour of need. Pain is your sacrament and your benediction.

Passion Domain Spells
Cleric Level Spells
1st Command, Heroism
3rd Beacon of Hope, Fear
5th Dominate Person, Geas
7th Mirage Arcane, Symbol
9th Shape Change, Weird

Experience with Pain

You have proficiency with marshal weapons.

Embrace the Agony

So long as your character is naked from the waist up and employs no magical AC enhancement, they enjoy resistance to all non-magical forms of damage, whether that’s blunt weapons, fire, acid, or whatever.

Channel Divinity: Share the Pain

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to inflict agonies you’ve experienced on one creature within 60’ of you. Your target needs to make a Constitution saving throw. Failure means they take as much damage as you have; that is, for every hit point you are currently below your max, they take one point of damage. If the target passes their saving throw, they take half that damage.

Serrated Illumination

Starting at 6th Level, the first time you are reduced to below half your hit point maximum in a fight, you regain all your level 1 spell slots.

Channel Divinity: You Can Take It

At 8th level, you can use your Channel Divinity as a reaction action to remove one status effect or active spell from another and put it on yourself.

The Ecstasy of Agony

At 17th level, every time you deal 2 or more points of damage to anything that can feel pain (not a construct or mindless undead) you may regain half as many hit points in healing, up to your hit point maximum.

Art by Carl Von Marr.

Disadvantages, Disadvantage, and EXP

In an attempt to make RPG characters mechanically unique, there was a trend in the early years to include lists of disadvantages you could take for your characters. The first game I came across that did this was GURPS in the mid ‘80s but I can’t say another game didn’t do it first.

Typically, these gave you additional points to buy better stats, abilities, or advantages during character creation. After that, it was up to the GM, largely, to keep track of your disadvantages and apply them during play.

This is, obviously, a clunky system, adding extra burdens on the GM to not only be certain to apply the disadvantages but to do so fairly. Certain disadvantages might not show up much at all because of the nature of the campaign (for instance, being unable to swim in a campaign set in deep space) while others might cripple a PC due to the themes and preferences of the GM (like arachnophobia in a campaign where the principle villains are drow).

More recently, people have been experimenting with flaws that reward the player when they penalize the character. You can see this kinda-sorta in Numenera with its GM intrusions mechanic.

I’m thinking of adding it to my D&D toolbox as follows: every time a flaw is invoked to cause serious disadvantage to the PC and most especially if it actually causes them to roll with disadvantage (roll two d20s and take the lower roll, as per 5e), the PC gets EXP equal to 2% of the difference between the amount needed for next level and the minimum they needed for their current level.

Now, I haven’t playtested this at all yet. I’m guessing that a flaw that comes up more than 5 times per hour (or 20 times per session) probably needs a serious looking-at. But this puts the burden of using it largely on the player, and incentivizes them to invoke it.

That said, I’m not sure I’d use it during character creation. Instead, I’d probably use it in conjunction with something like a Table of Death & Dismemberment (such as losing an eye causing disadvantage in to-hit with missile weapons) or mutation tables. I could also see using a system like that in conjunction with mental instabilities like those found in Wrath of Demons or Kingdom Death.

Playing with Doom & Tea Parties

This post is an attempt to round up all the house-rules and background details I use in my Doom & Tea Parties Labyrinth Lord hack game.  It's been running for just over 2 years now and I'm quite happy with it.

This is primarily intended as a resource for my players.  I also have little random tables and the like I use on my side of the GM screen.  Many of these have been posted on this blog, and I'll probably pull them together in a post like this sometime soon.  Maybe.

It'll also serve as a one-stop spot for new players entering the campaign.  We play online, via MapTool, so it's common to have players I've never met face-to-face before.

Introduction to the Campaign

Character Creation - I ended up using the equipment lists from 2e's Al-Qadim.  Say what you will about 2e, but it had the best equipment lists.  Plus a few additional goodies.

Languages

CLASSES

Gnomes

Half-ogres

Nixies

Pixies

Rogues

Witches

For clerics: The Gods

For magic-users (usually called sorcerers IC): Residual and Secondary Powers From Prepared Spells

COMBAT
Weapons, Initiative, and Damage

Shields Shall be Splintered!

The Table of Death & Dismemberment - I do not use the Constitution bonus when rolling on this table.

Example Combat

THINGS TO BUY (not found in 2e's Al-Qadim Supplement)

Drugs & Herbs

Potions

BACKGROUND DETAILS

Timeline

Calendar

The Multiverse

The Eldest & Titans

Metals

Noble Titles Among the Efreet & Genie Corsairs

Sci-Fi Armour for Labyrinth Lord

Last time I talked a bit about what I’m doing with firearms, and now I’m going to talk about armour.  Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord makes armour a pretty big deal.  But descending AC limits me somewhat, and makes the math a bit harder.  So, for my sci-fi project, I’m going to bite the bullet and embrace the ascending AC. 

May Thor have mercy on my poor lost soul.  ;)

The nice thing is, this really gives me no upper limit on AC or on attack roll bonuses for weapons.  I can get really crazy if I want to.  I don’t think I want to, but I like having the option open.

The real handicap here is that this game only has one flavor of AC.  Sure, I could create all sorts of tables for impact vs. energy vs. gravitic attacks, but I really don’t want to deal with all of that.  I may change my mind later, but for now, I think I’m going to try to hew to a single sort of AC. 

Armour is fairly vague in my Labyrinth Lord games.  “Plate Mail” can mean the articulated armour of the Renaissance knight, but it can also mean the breastplate, helm, and grieves of the classical hoplite.  I’m going to be equally vague here.

Soft Armour (+5 AC): this is woven layers of special flexible, cloth-like materials.  It usually means bulky flack-jackets, but if you’re willing to pay ten times the list price you can get stuff that can be hidden under most clothing.  Most space suits count as soft armour, especially those fashioned to be used in construction, mining, or other hazardous activities.

Rigid Armour (+7 AC): fashioned from hard plates of specialized materials.  This can’t be disguised easily.  Armoured space suits are those with rigid plates attached for additional protection.  These are usually only seen on folks expecting to get shot at, though some environments are dangerous enough to warrant their general use.

Light Powered Armour (+9 AC): Powered armour gives a boost to the wearer’s strength, stability via a rigid, robotic exoskeleton while onboard sensors provide enhanced perception.  This results in an effective STR of 18 while wearing the armour. Light powered armour is used primarily for scout units and those expected to fit into small vehicles.  Still, if the power fails, it’s nearly impossible to move in.

Living Armour (+10 AC): Living armour is a biological parasite that fits itself around its wearer, who enjoys additional protection, enhanced strength and reflexes, as well as boosted senses.  The results are a +1 to STR and an increase in the wearer's hit points by 25% (rounded down). The suit's hit points are lost first, but the loss of the last hit point doesn't kill the suit or affect the wearer's AC in any way. In addition, it can never run out of power.  To get a suit of living armour to stop working, you have to kill it.  It’s the armour of choice for those who can afford it.  Unlike other armours, it needs to be fed regularly and can be extremely particular about who wears it.

Heavy Powered Armour (+11 AC): heavier version of the light powered armour.  It grants the wearer a STR of 19 while the power lasts. Generally supplied to shock and forward assault troops, as well as the spearhead of boarding parties.  If the power goes out, you can’t move.  It typically comes with its own internal life-support, making it, in effect, a really fancy, sturdy space suit, though you’ll almost never see it used anywhere besides combat.

Ulta-heavy Powered Armour (+15 AC): really more a small artillery platform than armour per se.  Movement is slow even when it’s powered up, and if the power fails you probably can’t even get out of it! The STR of the wearer is effectively 20 while the suit is operating.

Arachnid Armour (+12 AC): a heavy version of living armour, this adds four additional limbs with diamond claws for combat or climbing.  It can be used to manhandle heavy equipment or weapons, be ferocious in melee, or travel overland at great speed, even over rough terrain.  The wearer has their hit points increased by 50% (rounded down) and the effective strength of the limbs is 18. It needs to be well-fed for optimal performance, however, and it eats like a horse.

UPDATE: Added STR and hit point bonuses to some of the armours.

Photos by ellenm1 and brava_67.

Gauss Weapons in Labyrinth Lord

Ranged combat in Moldvay/Cook still gives me fits. Yeah, it works well enough, but only being able to shoot once every ten seconds is insane, even for crossbows. Things get worse when you start looking at adding modern or futuristic firearms.

When translating firearms to D&D, most folks start with the damage. They want guns to be as dangerous as they are in real life, so turn to tools like exploding damage dice. This certainly does make firearms dangerous to high-level characters. However, that doesn't quite work with my sense of hit points being the ability and will to continue to fight, rather than structural integrity. Traditionally, fire arms were seen as the great equalizer because they rendered strength, size, expensive equipment, and, in many respects, skill, largely irrelevant. Anyone with a modicum of training and steady hands could too easily slay a knight in the finest armor, atop the most expensive horse, and with a lifetime of training. "The good Lord made all men," as the saying goes, "but it was Samuel Colt who made us equal."

So I'm thinking of approaching fire arms from the other end, and giving them bonuses in the attack roll. These bonuses are going to be pretty hefty. Even a simple firearm like a matchlock or flintlock deserves a +1 or +2. Once you're talking about shotguns and full-auto machineguns, bonuses of +5 or more may not be out of the question. (Keep in mind that the spread of a shotgun and the spray-and-pray firing technique of an assault rifle on full auto are less about putting lots of holes in your target and more about putting lots of lead in the air in order to increase the chances of hitting something.) Firearms will likely do about the same amount of damage as other weapons, since losing hit points is more about stress, distraction, and exhaustion than it is about physical integrity and blood loss.

Because a certain someone is obsessed with gauss weapons, we'll be taking a look at those here. The really cool thing about these weapons is that they allow a wide range of ammunition types. So let's see what we can do with that:

Solid Slug - the most basic projectile. This grants a +3 on the attack roll, +5 with autofire (but keep in mind that this increases the chance of hitting something else as well). It has an effective range of 1,200 feet and does 2d4 damage.

Smart Slug - this is a solid slug with wings. It can’t shoot around corners, but it is far more accurate. It can only be fired in single-shot mode, enjoys a +4 bonus on the attack roll, and an effective range of 2,400 feet. However, this projectile requires additional gear for properly selecting a target. It also does 2d4 damage.

Explosive Slug - a solid slug that goes boom. Using the same targeting gear as the smart slug, this one actually can reach round corners. When it goes off, roll a normal attack roll for every target within a 5 foot radius, adding +3 to all the attack rolls. Those hit take 1d6damage. Autofire is not an option.

Screamer Slug - a solid slug that whistles and then goes boom. The screamer slug has an effective range of only 900 feet. It doesn't require any special targeting equipment. However, it emits a hideous whistle as it flies through the air. It also explodes after it hits the target, doing 2d6 damage after a successful hit. The combined effect is a -2 on the morale rolls of anyone being shot at. However, the wonky aerodynamics give it only a +2 on the attack rolls, +3 with autofire.

Force Slug - a slug that pierces force fields. This is very expensive round generates its own force field designed to penetrate defensive force fields. It has an effective range of 900 feet, but is otherwise just like a solid slug.

Taser Slug - a slug that shocks. This acts just like a solid slug, but only does 1d6 damage and doesn't kill your target.

Needle Shell - a disintegrating shell that releases a swarm of tiny needles. The effective range on this is only 200 feet. The attack roll bonus is +4, +6 on auto fire. The needles can be used to inject a wide variety of toxins into the target. Usually, this at least doubles their cost.

Painter Shell - this shell splatters a gooey substance on the target that calls out to smart slugs. It adds an additional +2 attack bonus to Smart slugs fired at the same target. It only does one point of damage, but is otherwise just like a solid slug.

Am I missing any good ones?

Art by Ludovico Marchetti.

Red vs. Green: Taking the House Rules for a Spin

Because scottsz asked for it, and I have a new player joining our game, here's an example of what combat looks like with my house rules.  Keeping things simple, I'm going to use two 5th-level fighters.  Since I have a red d20 and a green d20, our battle will pit the Green Knight against the Red Knight.  The Green Knight has a Dexterity of 15 and the Constitution of 13.  The Red Knight has a Strength of 13.  The Green Knight has 21 hit points and the Red has 28.  Both wear chain mail and a helm.  The Green Knight wields a sword and shield; the Red Knight wants this over quick and hefts a battle ax.

As the two approach each other, we encounter the first house rule: initiative.  The battle ax has an initiative of 8 as does the sword.  However, the Green Knight's Dexterity gives him an initiative adjustments of +1 so he goes first.  The Red Knight’s armor class is 5; the Green Knight needs to roll 12 or higher to hurt him.  Unfortunately, he rolls a 3.  The Green Knight's AC is 4 thanks to shield.  The Red Knight needs to roll a 13 or better.  He rolls an 18!

Because the battle ax is a two handed weapon, it does 2d4 damage.  The Red Knight rolls very well and does the max possible: 9 points.

Pressed hard by the Red Knight's aggressive opening, the Green Knight attempts to rally.  He succeeds with a roll of 19.  The one-handed sword does 1D6 damage; the Green Knight rolls a 1.  The Green Knight’s rally has stolen the Red Knight’s momentum; the Red Knight rolls an 11.

The next round sees our two combatants exchanging blows to no real effect.  The Red Knight, however, remains undaunted and rolls a 15.  He rolls a 4 and a 1 for a total of 6 (4+1+1 for STR) damage thanks to his high-strength.  The Green Knight is clearly struggling.  Another blow like that could take them out of the fight.

He's not down yet, however.  In the next round he rolls a 13.  The roll for damage is a 5.  The Green Knight is growing desperate and his fancy sword-work is simply being power through by the stronger Red Knight.  The two knights continue their clash, with the Green Knight wearing away another two of the Red Knight’s hit points.  The Red Knight barely seems to notice and lands another telling blow on the Green Knight.

With only six hit points remaining, the Green Knight knows he's in trouble.  In a desperate bid for survival, the Green Knight throws shield up between his fragile body and the Red Knight's cruel ax.  The heavy blade shatters wood and steel, but the Green Knight emerges still on his feet.  His left arm is bruised but not broken.  He draws his dagger with his left hand as a companion for his sword.

The Green Knight still rolls only one die for his attacks and his next roll is a 14.  For damage, he rolls a 3 and a 1.  Since he's using two weapons he chooses the best of those rolls; so the Red Knight takes three points of damage.

Both knights are now feeling the strain of the combat.  They circle one another warily, testing each other with feints and sudden attacks.  The Green Knight breaks through first and drives his foe back, dealing four points of damage.  He presses his momentary advantage, doing another three points of damage.  But the Red Knight is having none of it.  He shrugs off the Green Knight’s attacks, and lets his foe walk straight into his ax for another four points of damage.  The Green Knight unleashes a furious rain of blows, doing six points of damage and reducing the Red Knight to just four points.  But the Green Knight has only two hit points, and the Red Knight’s response does seven points of damage.

That reduces the Green Knight zero hit points.  He must now roll on the Table of Death & Dismemberment.  The 2d6 turns up 7: knocked out for 2d6 rounds, unless wearing a helm.  Luckily for the Green Knight, he is wearing a helm and is only stunned for one round.  Even luckier, the Red Knight is so shocked by his success that he fails to follow up on it by rolling a 3.

The Green Knight recovers from his stupor and swings at the Red Knight.  He rolls a19, and then a 1 and a 5 for damage!  That brings the Red Knight to zero hit points, and he rolls a 9 on the Table of Death & Dismemberment.  As he's also wearing helm, the ringing blow to his noggin only knocks him down.  He forgoes his next attack to get back on his feet; otherwise, he'd be at -2 to attack and the Green Knight would be a +2 to attack.

But no sooner has the Red Knight regained his feet but the Green Knight thwacks him again!  There is no need to roll for damage; the Red Knight can never have fewer than zero hit points.  So we go straight to the Table of Death & Dismemberment.  The roll is a 3: fatal wound.  Die in 1d6 turns.

The Red Knight is in no shape to continue the struggle.  Under some circumstances, I might let a PC fight on if there is a compelling reason to believe they would struggle on in spite of this grievous wound.  The Red Knight, however, is done for.  The Green Knight takes mercy on his foe and uses his dagger to provide a coup de grace, ending his agony.

Art by Frank William Warwick Topham and Gustave Courbet.

Cry Havoc, Trollsmyth-style

OdRook asks, “In your own campaign(s), what rules do you use for two-handed weapons and two-weapon fighting (assuming you allow this one)?”

I’m going to take advantage of OdRook’s question to post a quick overview of my combat rules. One-handed weapons do 1d6 damage. Two-handed weapons do 2d4 damage. Fighting with a weapon in each hand (or using a quarterstaff) does the best roll of two six-sided dice. So if you’re fighting with sword and hand-axe, you’d roll a pair of six-siders (say you rolled a 2 and a 5) and you’d do the damage indicated on the higher roll (in this case the 5). You still roll only a single d20 for to-hit, however.

I also use individual initiative, but don’t roll for it. Instead, it’s dictated by your choice of weapons:

WEAPON	DAMAGE	INITIATIVE	NOTES
Bastard sword	1d6	9	2d4 when wielded two-handed
Battle axe	2d4	8
Club	1d6	2
Dagger	1d6	4
Hand axe	1d6	3
Lance	1d6	9	Double damage on charge.
Mace	1d6	6
Pole arm	2d4	8
Short sword	1d6	7
Spear	1d6	10	Double damage when set to receive charge
Staff	Highest of 2d6	7
Sword	1d6	8
Torch	1d6	1	+ 1d4 burning damage
Two-handed sword	2d4	7
War hammer	1d6	5

This is where things get a bit complicated. Highest number goes first, and you do add your DEX modifier to the number. This makes spear-and-shield a pretty good combination, with high initiative and the additional protection of a splinterable shield. And you’ll want to wear a helmet as well, just in case you end up rolling on the Table of Death & Dismemberment.

That’s the how and here are the whys: 1d6/2d4 damage is quick and easy. Players remember which die they need to roll. It also means that magic-users don’t need to be limited to daggers so much; I even allow them to use quarterstaves, but still no shields, two-handed weapons (other than the staff) or weapon in each hand. (Granted, that still leaves things open for magic-users getting their hands on magic swords. I’m less worried about that, honestly, since they’re extremely rare in my games.)

Not rolling for initiative means one less roll needed in combat, which speeds things along. Dice-rolling is my least favorite activity in RPGing, so I try to minimize it as much as I can anyway. (Yeah, I know that’s blasphemy. ;) ) It also means a real difference between swords and spears and daggers in spite of them all rolling the same d6 for damage. Spears, quite frankly, are an incredibly flexible weapon for adventurers. They can be set to receive charges, held in one hand for stabbing, thrown, or even used as prods and levers when exploring.

The Table of Death & Dismemberment means heroes are less likely to die without sacrificing much in the way of tension, makes helmets important, and serves as something of a critical-hits table. In spite of the example I give, I do not allow the CON bonus to affect rolls on this table. It just wasn’t necessary. I think in a year of play we’ve rolled six times on this table, with one death, two lost hands, and the rest were stunned-for-one-round. My players are crafty and sly, and try to avoid “fair” fights whenever possible, for which I heartily commend them.

Art by Eugene Delacroix and Constantin Hansen.

Playing with Death and Dismemberment

Hit points are supposed to be an abstraction that model a character's defensive combat prowess, physical stamina, and will to persevere. Traditionally, however, most folks play them like they measured a character's biological structural integrity. Every roll of the d20 was a swing to hit. Every roll for damage came from a successful to-hit roll, so it represented how much physical trauma the strike caused to the body.

I want to get away from that and back to the idea that hit points are an abstraction of, yes, physical trauma, but more than that, of being worn down by your foes and mental and physical exhaustion. One of the neatest tools I've seen for doing this is the Classic D&D Injury Table over at Robert Fisher's web page.

The idea behind the table is simple: any character reduced to zero hit points, or hit after being dropped to zero, must suffer the results of a roll on the table. A character reduced to zero hit points is not necessarily out of the fight. Rolling a 2 results in no effect, while any result below 6 has the character still conscious, and able to potentially return to the fight. This makes it quite clear that the "hits" your character has taken up to this point have been mostly flesh wounds and minor strikes. But once your hit points are at zero, you're no longer able to effectively defend yourself. Every attack is potentially lethal now.

I like Mr. Fisher's table, but I'm an inveterate tweaker and just had to make one of my own. Keep in mind as you read it that only the PCs and possibly very important NPCs get to use this table. If you bring your average orc or troll to zero hit points, they simply die.

(My apologies for the difficulties with this table. For some reason HTML does wacky things when filtered through Blogger. This is my third attempt to make it easy to read. Clearly, the only workable solution is to replace the table with a picture of a proper, legible table. Grrrrr...)

2d6	RESULTS
2 or lower	instant death (decapitated or other grevious wound).
3	fatal wound (gutted, stabbed through lung, broken back, etc.) die in 1d6 turns.
4	severed limb (DM's choice or roll randomly) will die in 3d6 rounds unless tourniquet applied, wound cauterized with fire, or Cure Serious Wounds cast (CSW used for this will not restore lost hp).
5,6	broken bone (DM's choice), 2d4+9 weeks to heal.
7,8	knocked out for 2d6 rounds, unless wearing a helm. With helm, only stunned for 1 round.
9	stunned for 1 round, unless wearing helm. With helm, only knocked down.
10	knocked down.
11	no effect.
12+	a surge of adrenaline returns 1d4 hit points per every other level (1d4 at 1st and 2nd, 2d4 at 3rd and 4th, etc.) At the end of the combat, the adrenaline drains away, hit points are reduced to zero, and the PC faints for 2d6 rounds.

As you can see, a lot of this table is swiped wholesale from Mr. Fisher's table. However, I've also given some love to the lowly helmet, and I've included a "rally at the last minute" option as well. It might seem a bit too Buffy, but it fits the genre, whether you're talking Conan or King Arthur.

UPDATE: Norman Harman reports success with the Table of Death & Dismemberment, but finds it too wussy. Behold his table of Deadlier Death & Dismemberment!