Bard Songs

Bards don't get too much interest in the OSR from what I can see, not metal enough.  And while I'm not too interested in a Alan-a-Dale type troubadour in a deadly old school dungeon myself, I think there could be room for something like warrior-poets. 

The problem is that resolving music or poetry with an abstract die roll or feat is boring.  To make it interesting I want something actually happening at the table.  Of course we can't expect players to be improvisational poets or to whip out a guitar and start jamming.  Here are two ideas about how you might do it:

Real Songs
Have all the players independently bring in a list of "inspiring" songs or "get-your-blood-pumping" songs, or whatever you want to call them.  The bard player can talk with everyone about what genre of music they like maybe even what bands, but not what songs.  When combat comes around the Bard has to recite some lyrics from a song (maybe a single stanza/chorus).  Every player that has that song on their list gets the boon effects (whatever you decide them to be, probably should be a little better than the cleric chant spell).  This might be clunky but when I imagine the player starting off with "When I see lightning . . " or "Cruising down the street in my six-four . . ." , or whatever, and the players recognize their song getting happy because they realize they are getting a combat boost, I think it would be fun.

But do songs work more than once?  It would be interesting if the bard had to memorize some lyrics from songs they didn't know to get an effect.  So maybe they can only use a repeat after they've cycled through all the songs on everyone's list?  Maybe to simplify, they can never sing the same song in a row?

Patterned Songs
Most inspiring songs tap into shared cultural stories and symbols, but in an imagined world the made up histories and gods aren't going to actually be inspiring (the Ballad of Vecna).  But we do have the shared experiences our party has been through.  You could give the bard templates and have them extemporaneously fill them in at the time of recitation.  Something like:

Hireling Song
Remember ______the _______ who died by/who was  ___________ at _________
Remember ______the _______ who died ___________ at _________
Remember ______the _______ who died ___________ at _________
This battle is for them.

Here a tally of all the lives lost to get where you are grants power.  You might give more bonuses the longer the list.  That would make this song particularly powerful for ill-fated or experienced parties.

Victory song
When the ________ arrayed against us,
and hope was lost amongst us,
we still rose up in triumph because
You [character name] did _________________, and
You [character name] did _________________, and
You [character name] did _________________, and
Now rise up and do the same!

This is more about remembering a recent (maybe the last) victory and recounting it to instill confidence.  Telling which characters got criticals or landed massive blows, etc.  I like this idea because it makes the semi-random events of the gameworld feel more important and historic.

Anyway, some ideas.

Petitions & Diminishing Returns II

Okay, here's my next draft of how to handle these in my campaign.  Keep in mind this isn't just about praying to gods, you could use this system for any kind of magic/technology you wanted to have less likely to work the more you used it.  Here are two charts:

Multiple Petitions
First, you get a certain number of possible petitions every other level.

The brighter colors in the chart are newly possible petitions, the duller colors are those carried over as a character gains levels. So, a 4th level character has 2 possible petitions at the 70% level. They gain another at 5th level.

No petition ever has more than 70% chance of succeeding.  You can see a 1st level petitioner has 1 of each type of chance. So a request to Heal Light Wounds would have a 70% chance of being answered and, regardless of it being answered, a 2nd attempt to Heal Light Wounds would have a 30% chance of being answered.  A third request would be at 15% and then the petitioner would be done.

Well, except I liked Forrest's suggestion that they be able to get into some trouble by asking for too much.  So I added the last dire petition, the "crying from the depths" for aid.  I'll make a table with possible consequences, like being covered with boils, becoming mute, or being unable to ask for aid for a set number of sessions.

More Powerful Miracles
Simple enough?  The system becomes a little more complicated by the fact that you can "stretch" for aid that is really above your ability to ask for.  At any level a petitioner can ask for aid up to two orders of miracle (think spell level) higher than his or her ability.

So, if our example 1st level petitioner above asks to Hold an enemy, a 2nd order miracle, it will use up the normal 70% chance and require the 30% chance to shift one columns to the right, to the more powerful 2nd order.  If that petitioner wants to Heal Light Wounds after that, regardless of whether the Hold was successful or not, they only have a 15% chance petition left now.  And they just can't ask for anything more powerful than a first order miracle.

One of my players has been confused about what she could or couldn't do, but I'm hoping this will make it clearer.  Two possible additions of complexity:

Orisons
From the start I was allowing the petitioners to ask for 3 small things a day.  Basically this was limited to a +/- 1 to one individual-- a save, a to hit roll.  Even those these are tiny, it keeps the clerics thinking of ways they can engage spiritually rather than just whacking stuff.  And they've done this too.

Saint-like Abilities
I just thought of this the other day.  I'm thinking that at 4th and 8th level, petitioners will be granted a permanent ability of their choosing.  I'm hoping these saint-like powers will make the petitioners more interesting.  I asked one player yesterday what he would choose and he said he wouldn't mind having a permanent, glowing halo of light above his head.  Cool by me.

And that's it for my Petitioner powers.

I've also been intending to come up with a negotiated system of creeds and vows with these players so that they have some roleplaying constraints they have to abide by in order for their petitions to be heard.  Maybe if this clarification of petitions is clear, I'll move on to the vows and creeds next.

Update: I just commented in regards to a table the other day about how I thought it made more sense to have levels ascend on a chart and then I made this one.  I guess when making a text chart in a word processor it makes sense that you start from the top and go down, but when I read a visual chart my eye assumes the lower left corner to be 0,0.  Anyway, when fiddling with that I thought my players will really want to see the diminishing returns, well, diminish as you read down the chart too.  So here is another draft I'll try on my players today:

Update 2: I never know whether to make a whole new post or just update the relevant one. This is minor so I'll put it here, a grayscale version of the Player chart for those of you without a color printer (like me):

Visual Experience Chart II

I went back and only listed experience point values on the scale that corresponded with actual class levels.  I also expanded the lowest section by 10-20% to spread the second level out a bit and changed the colors of the lines pointing to the silhouettes.  Nothing too exciting for this new post.

With my last post as a proof of concept you should be able to do it yourself with your ruleset of choice.  The key is to make the scale non-linear (and have some good archetypal silhouettes).  I started with a bit of logarithmic graph paper, but you might even distort it more to fit your needs.

At Paul's awesome suggestion, I tried fitting a thief on the chart using my Choose-Your-Own Rogue numbers (in the sidebar).  But their second and third levels are so close together there is no way I could fit a silhouette of the same scale in there.  Maybe a halfling, but the numbers wouldn't fit between the cleric and fighter's either.  It's a shame, because it would have had a playful quality to it the way I remember the 1e MM did for some of the page headings (pixie?).  Oh, well, no one in my campaign has a rogue yet anyway.  As a bonus, here's a thiefly silhouette:

Visual Experience Chart

To start playing the game, you really don't need to know how many xp a fighter will need to get to 10th or, heaven forbid, 20th level.  What you will need is an easy way to let players know as they are approaching the first few levels.  And maybe an easy way to compare level progression across classes.  How about this:

It uses the progression from Swords & Wizardry Whitebox.  Unfortunately, I don't have permission to use the TSR wizard, consider this a draft mockup. 

My Idea of a Ranger

I think something like this fits my idea of a ranger much better than a duel-wielding badass:

"In 2006, Joss Naylor ran 50 miles up and down seventy Lake District fells, ascending more than 25,000 feet in 21 hours. Not his best performance, but to be fair, he was 70 at the time."

That post gives more context about fell running and a video. So, you have someone who's already had children if they wanted to, they've had a long life in the area and know it as well as anyone can, they can run for days, ghosting invading forces.  Hell, with the abilities these fell runners have, they could keep tabs on an enemy's position by running back and forth between it and wherever they're reporting.

Okay, maybe add in proficiency with a bow, but I see them mostly as scouts.  Not an interesting archetype to play I suppose, especially in a group where you wouldn't be able to utilize your running ability without leaving them in the dust, but this will probably be the standard for wilderness roaming rangers in my world.

House Rules - Rogues III

I chose abilities that I thought would work best in my campaign for my Choose-Your-Own Rogue class. But I thought you might be interested in seeing some other possible abilities I ended up deciding against. I was trying to avoid choices that would override a player's abilities-- so no diplomacy, bluff, intimidate or lying. I was also trying to include abilities that covered the great roguish triumvirate of thief, brigand, and conman. So here are the semifinalists and why they didn't make the cut:

Acrobatics -- Mostly for long jump and tight rope walking, but maybe surviving falls and swinging on things. Climbing walls seems gritty and Swords & Sorcery (hey Conan did it!) in a way that jumping and flipping just doesn't. But if you want something like ninja's in your game you could squeeze wall climbing into this and be good to go.

Appraise-- Know the value of gems, jewelry and other precious items. I smooshed this in with Ancient lore, now that I think of it, it would probably fit better in street lore. The point being, it seems too small of an ability on its own.

Disguise-- Fool even people familiar with you with a modicum of materials and preparation. This just seemed like it would be useful so rarely as not to be worth adding complexity to my ability list.

Forgery-- Exactly reproduce the markings of someone else. Same as above, not useful very often, but you might include this in street lore if you want your rogues writing the princess love poems as the local pig-herder.

Gambling-- Know how to play, and how to win, whether deservedly or not. This just seemed a cheap way to get money, and not really interesting in play: "I'll lose twice then take them for everything." But, on second thought, it could cause problems for PCs. Your call, maybe (Dex/Chr)

Identify-- Know the function and provenance of magic items. I smooshed this in with Ancient Lore. I always liked the Legend Lore ability of bards and thought it was a shame to be hogged by them (and I was trying to become a bard in 1e!), but this kind of lore seem very adventurerish, Cudgel-like.

Mimicry-- Exactly reproduce the sounds and mannerisms of someone you are familiar with. Again, didn't seem like this would come into play that often.

Read Person-- Tell by looking at their clothing, posture, and facial expression, a persons mood and character. This, combined with Mimicry and/or Disguise might be a good addition for the jongleur-type rogue. Or, you could include them all as a grab bag in Minstrelsy, so a player might be more tempted to pick it.

I would caution, if you decide to add your own abilities to the rogue, not to have too many. I tried to keep them to a minimum and I'm still worried the whole Dex/Chr dual-thing might be too fiddly. I mean the point of this blog is supposed to be about doing more with less, to be more minimal. But I suppose this class could keep people from thinking they need several other classes. And if it heads off the need for a full blown skill system, I think that would be worth implementing the Rogue class right there. On minimizing choices, Delta posted about keeping things as close to 7 as possible here.

But hey, it's been a long time since I've been able to DM, you all probably have some great ideas for abilities that players are wanting to do, but you feel would require more knowledge/skill than a normal person would possess. Share them in the comments.

House Rules - Rogues II

First, this class is built on the thinking and sharing of others, like James Maliszewski, Skathros, Akrasia, and others. I want to thank them before I offer up my derivation of all their ideas.

Now, without further ado, Telecanter's Choose-Your-Own Rogue:

Rogue

Rogues find themselves on the wrong side of the law more often than not. In order to survive they have to rely on their wits, toughness, and/or flair. You might be a backstreet cutpurse, a burly thug, or a charismatic con artist. Your role is to find a way around obstacles, whether they be locks, walls, or the law itself.

Prime Attribute: One of: Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma, 13+ (5% experience)
Hit Dice: 1d6-1 per level (gains 1 per level after 9th)
Armor/Shield Permitted: Leather
Weapons Permitted: Any one-handed

Rogue Abilities

Choose 5 of these at start of play:

(Con) Backstab – When attacking from behind roll two dice for damage and take the highest result.

(Con) Street Lore – Know who is powerful, who owes who, and find out local rumors & gossip. Know better where to roust out hirelings and followers.

(Con/Dex) Extraordinary climbing – Climb surfaces that seem humanly impossible to climb.

(Dex) Pick locks/Disarm Traps – With the proper tools, you know how to open locks and make most mechanical traps safe.

(Dex) Two-handed fighter – Using a dagger in the off hand, fighting with two weapons will get a +2 to hit and damage is the average of the two.

(Dex) Escape – No bonds can hold you for long.

(Chr/Dex) Sleight-of-hand – Make small things-- keys, blades, scrolls-- appear to disappear. Also, take things from people without them noticing.

(Chr) Ancient Lore – While anyone might know the value of gems and objects, some have heard tales of items carrying terrible curses and stories of powerful magic items and the ways they are made to work. The rogue with lore has also picked up a smattering of useful words in many languages.

(Chr) Minstrelsy – Improvise poems and songs, play musical instruments, sing and tell jokes, all well enough to gather a crowd and earn a little money.

On the Rogue's Prime Requisite: You may only have one prime requisite. You must have two skills centered on a stat in order to choose that stat as a prime requisite, but you aren't required to. If you want your 14 Con rogue to take all the Charisma oriented skills, that's your prerogative.

Rogue Advancement: After making a table of my own, I realized it was almost exactly that of James Maliszewski's found in Knockspell #2. With one exception, all saving throws are base 15 in my campaign and rogues gain a +2 to saves versus dodgeable traps.

Attracting Followers: At 9th level your reputation will attract less experienced rogues that wish to follow your leadership . . . as long as it profits them. These followers can take the shape of a gang, guild, or troupe depending on the type of rogue you play.

Design Notes:

• Ability scores are important not just for performing, but acquiring these abilities. For the Con abilities, I imagine the rogue would need to be tough to acquire them (continually falling from walls, getting beat, in the quest of rumors). Likewise for the Chr abilities ( you need to convince the old wizard to tell you about the magic sword or teach you the word for treasure in Stygian).
• Notice they are called abilities. I'm trying to push towards the idea that these are unique things the rogue can do, like the cleric's ability to turn undead, not skills anybody can pick up over a fortnight. And they are things that the rogue can do most of the time successfully.
• How to adjudicate these? DMs, you choose. I'd suggest roleplaying where possible, but you can decide if you want to roll on a d6, d20, or d%. I suggest rogues be able to perform these abilities in most cases at 1st level, be able to handle trickier situations at 3rd, better still at 6th, and by 9th only fail in the most extreme of situations.

House Rules - Priests

I remember reacting negatively to the introduction to 2e. Not because of the rules, because at the time, I didn't know them yet. No, because I could sense that the game I knew would be left behind. And sure enough the mindshare shifted for, what, the next 15 years?

But after playing 2e there were a few things I found I liked about it. I thought the way specialist wizards were handled added a lot of flavor with almost no added complexity-- get more spells of your school, lose an entire other school. Another was the way clerics became the more abstracted priests. Finally, there was room for the Christian saint and the Swords & Sorcery type evil snake priest, they just had different realms of spells. I think that if D&D had been more designed and less organic, this would have been the divine character class from the beginning.

I want to implement priests in my campaign, too. I've never had the problem with Vancian magic that some people do-- it is logically consistent and works great as a game mechanic. But I do recognize the value of diversity in wondrous happenings in a fantasy world. And I, personally find a Vancian system for divine casters harder to suspend my disbelief for-- Really, Thor doles out spells every morning?!

So I've decided to make priests petition their gods whenever they need help. Clerics will still have the same limits on number of spells per day-- how often they can bother their deity, but can choose what to ask for when they need it. They will also have a small chance their deity will grant additional or more powerful petitions depending on the situation.

Clerics in my campaign were (and will be) warriors involved with holy fighting orders dedicated to various saints. Clerics from different orders had slightly different spells. The order of St. Eomund, for example, was focused on justice, righteous vengeance, and the eradication of the undead. Those clerics are bad news for skeletons!