Dice Mechanics For Morale And Loyalty In OD&D and Classic D&D

Continuing on with an idea I had for more simple dice mechanics, begun back in the Simple Dice Mechanics for Reaction Rolls post, I have come up with a system loosely based upon the one provided for troops in Swords & Spells for OD&D. You can see pages 19-20 of the aforementioned OD&D supplement to see my inspiration for this system.

 

For those of us who are avid Swords & Wizardry enthusiasts, +Matt Finch presents us with this in the complete rulebook, with regards to morale:

 

"Morale

 

Certain monsters, such as mindless or undead creatures, are fearless and always fight to the death. The majority, however, will not continue to fight a hopeless battle; they will seek to retreat, flee, or surrender. The Referee decides when monsters abandon the battle and retreat, based on the situation and the monsters’ intelligence. Keep in mind that the party’s own non-player-character allies might decide to flee if their prospects of survival look grim."

 

It's up to the referee. I love it. I love the simplicity. HOWEVER (yeah, you knew that was coming,) just like with the reaction rolls, sometimes I like things random. Sometimes I want the same surprise that my players get. I also don't always want to make every decision  for every creature that the players encounter. I have always used a relatively arbitrary 2d6 roll, based upon conditions, kept in my head for morale. That said, I've been feeling like it's time for a change. I've toyed with a few things, but re-reading the actual OD&D rules, including Swords & Spells, I was inspired to create what follows. Bear in mind, these rules will apply to henchmen, hirelings and troops used by the PCs just as much as they apply to enemies!

 

Rules! We've Got Some Rules Around Here!

 

I. Situational Examples For Rolling Morale Checks

 

In Combat

 

• Creature(s) drop below 50% HP
• "Leader" of group is slain/unconscious
• When opposed by superior magic
• When drastically outnumbered/out "gunned"
• "Elite" allies are slain or withdrawing from combat
• When the tide of battle turns against the creature(s)

 

Out of Combat (in the case of henchmen, hirelings and pack animals, this may result in desertion of the PCs)

 

• Creature(s) not being paid/cared for properly (including any abuse)
• Inclement conditions (anything from trap ridden dungeons to extreme weather)
• Consistent encounters with "otherworldly," eldritch or otherwise out of the ordinary creatures (ex. common men at arms encountering undead or demons for the first time, or consistently)
• Exposed to taboo locale, creature, power etc.

 

II. The Morale Check

 

When a morale check is made, roll 1d20 comparing the result to the following tables. If the result is equal to, or lower than the desired number, the check is a success. If it is higher, then the creature(s) fail the morale check and attempt to flee, in combat, or desert the situation if outside of combat.

 

Base Morale Check

 

Creature's HD            Check

Below 1                         5

1 - 2                               6

2+ - 3                             7

3+ - 4                             8

4+ - 5                             9
5+ - 6                             10

6+ - 7                             11

7+ - 8                             12

8+ - 9                             13

9+ - 10                           14

10+ - 11                         15

11+ - 12                         16

12+ - 13                         17

13+ - 14                         18

14+ & Higher                19

 

NOTE - There is always a chance of failure, except in extreme cases as determined by the Referee. If any modifiers raise morale to 20 or above, on a roll of 20 a second roll is made. If the second roll also results in a 20 the roll is failed.

 

Morale Bonuses (all applicable bonuses are added to the Base Morale Check)

 

Loyalty Rating 13 - 17   +1*
Loyalty Rating 18          +2*
Leader CHA 13+            +1*
Strong Resolve (Dwarf,  +1
Human etc.)
Superior Resolve (Elf,    +2
fanatic etc.)
Rallied (via a leader's     +1 - +3 Referee's discretion
speech, bard's tale etc.
Well cared for/rested**  +1
Trained for situation       +1
Paladin present applies   +3
to lawful only
Advantage (winning       +1 - +3 Dependent upon scale of advantage
battle etc.)

Morale Penalties (all applicable penalties are subtracted from the Base Morale Check)

Loyalty Rating 4-7         -1*
Loyalty Rating 3-           -2*
Leader CHA  7-             -1*
Weak Resolve (weak     -1
goblinoids etc.)
Inferior Resolve (gob-    -2
linoids fighting in day-
light etc.)
Leader flees                    -1
Leader slain                    -2
Shaken                            -1 - -3 Referee's discretion
Ill cared for/tired**        -1
Untrained in situation    -1
Disadvantage (losing     -1 - -3 Dependent upon scale of disadvantage
battle, wounded etc.)   

* -These bonuses and penalties do not stack. Use the best possible bonus/penalty applicable.
** -cumulative over time

Loyalty Ratings

When a henchman, hireling or military unit is acquired a roll will be made to determine how loyal they will be to the PC. This is done the in the same manner that attribute scores are determined. Rolling 3d6.

This can also be done, if needed for the loyalty that an army, unit etc. has toward it's leader. An example might be that the PCs want to hire away some of a local merchant's guards. A roll should be made to determine how loyal the NPCs are to their "leader" and a morale check should be made based upon this with modifiers based upon the PC's CHA and what the PC is offering.

Similarly loyalty ratings can be applied to ideals, jobs etc. where NPCs are concerned, if the referee wants a random factor added to a situation. How much do these guards really care if the treasure they are guarding in route to the castle comes up light when they arrive? Is this thief really dedicated to his guild, or will he give up secrets signs and passwords for the right price?

Loyalty Rating Modifiers (all applicable modifiers used to adjust the loyalty rating)

Same race as Leader/Master   +1
Same alignment                      +2
Same religion                          +1
Leader CHA 13+                    +1
Common goal/aspiration        +1
Leader/Objective reputable    +1
Leader/Objective deplorable  -1
Opposite alignment                -3
Opposed religion                    -3
Leader CHA 7-                      -1
Opposed goal/aspiration        -1

There you go. I hope that this is helpful.

Simple Dice Mechanics for Reaction Rolls in OD&D and Classic D&D

Reaction rolls are something that many modern games have gotten rid of, or are at least ignored by most Referees of said games. There may be some encounters in which reaction rolls could be ignored, especially those crucial to the adventure, after all, the dragon guarding her hoard shouldn't looked favorably upon adventurers coming to take it from her! Still, for lesser encounters, and random encounters, reaction rolls are a boon to the Referee, and can add interesting twists to the adventure.

 

 

OD&D and gives us this rule for reaction rolls:

 

 

"...the Referee may roll 2d6 to determine whether the monsters will attack if they surprise the adventurers. On a roll of 2-6, the monsters will be hostile and attack; on a roll of 7-9, the monsters will withhold judgment and wait to see if the adventurers are hostile; on a roll of 10-12, the monsters will have a positive initial reaction to seeing the adventurers, and might even be convinced to offer some help – if they are well paid, of course!"

 

That's OK...

 

Looking at a later edition, Moldvay gives us this option:

 

Reaction Roll Table (2d6+Charisma modifier)

Roll	Result	Explanation
2 or less	Immediate Attack	The monsters are so offended that they attack immediately.
3-7	Unfavorable	The monsters do not like the player characters, and will attack if they may reasonably do so.
8-11	Favorable	The monsters will consider letting the player characters live if they choose to parley; it does not necessarily mean that the monsters like the player characters.
12 or more	Very favorable	The monsters (or perhaps only the monster leader) do, in fact, like the player characters; this does not mean that the monsters will just hand over their treasure, but it does indicate that they may choose to cooperate with the player characters in mutually beneficial ways.

Both have merit. I think we can do a good job at using the best of both rules while making the rule simpler and more simulationist at the same time. In fact, I need to track my source, but I'm pretty sure that Uncle Gary gave us another method. See, the above rule for OD&D might have never been used at his table. Again, I need to check the source, but I believe it was in the 1E DMG that Gygax stated that he had a poker die with all four card suits on it. The heart was marked on one side, diamonds on two, clubs on two and a spade on one. According to memory in the DMG Gary said that he used this die for reaction rolls. The heart was very favorable, the diamonds we somewhat favorable, the clubs were cautious/suspicious and the spade was hostile. This is the basis that I use for my reaction rolls. I use a Gamescience "averaging die," which is a d6 marked 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 and 5. It is essentially the same thing as the die that Gary is talking about. That said, it's not like you need the novelty of either of these dice to get the same sort of results out of a normal d6. So, without further ado, here is my method as slightly altered from Gary's.

 

Ruling on Reactions

 

Reaction Check, roll 1d6.

 

Roll                Result                 Explanation                                                               

 

    1               Hostile                   Creature is hostile toward the PCS and attacks         

                                                   The creature(s) is suspicious or untrusting of the

    2/3  Unfavorable/Suspicious  PCs, it will take little to provoke it.                           

                                                   The creatures trust, or have reason to trust or like 

    4/5    Favorable/Trusting        the PCs. They could be cautious but are favorable    

 

    6    Very Favorable/Friendly  The creature(s) is very favorable and willing to help

 

 It's clean. It's simple. It simulates real possibilities. It's also scalable based upon the environment. It is very easy to knock of one extreme or the other and scale thing back. Take this variant as an example.

Recent Wild Fires Cause Food To Be Scarce; Animal/Monster Reactions:
 

Roll                Result                 Explanation                                                               

 

    1/2               Hostile                   Creature is hostile toward the PCS and attacks      

                                                     The creature(s) is suspicious or untrusting of the

  3/4/5  Unfavorable/Suspicious   PCs, it will take little to provoke it.                         

                                                   The creatures trust, or have reason to trust or like 

     6      Favorable/Trusting        the PCs. They could be cautious but are favorable   

PC Attempts To Affect Reactions:

PCs can attempt to alter the reactions of creatures they encounter. The PCs can attempt to move influence the creature's reaction either in their favor, or provoke the creature toward hostility, if they believe this to be a smart idea! This is done with a Charisma attribute check. This can be done using any rule that the Referee chooses for attribute checks. If the check is successful the creature makes a saving throw. A failed save results in the creature's temperament moves in the intended direction by one number. If the save is failed by a large margin, the Referee may deem that it's temperament moves more than one number. Of course, the referee may deem that the creature receives a bonus to their saving throw, depending upon conditions. If, on the other hand the PC fails the attribute check by a large margin, the Referee may move the creature's reaction in the opposite direction.


Happy Holidays From Appendix N Entertainment! The Gift of Wishbooks

 

Merry Christmas from out gaming group to yours.

 

As my gift to you, here is full catalog of all of those old Wishbooks you used to circle your D&D wishlists in. Click right here.

Gear, Wear,Tear & Repair

Any post from me has been a long time coming. It's been a pretty busy month.

You all know from previous posts that I like my games to have a simple simulationist quality. As of late I find myself thinking about adventuring gear and the wear and tear that it takes. This, of course, includes weapons and armor. I believe that I've come up with a very basic rule that will help to keep things simple while still making them "feel" like they are real and happening. My objective is to bring a simulationist immersion to this part of play, while keeping the rule simple to use. Without further ado, here is a rough sampling of the rules.

The Rules

 

1. All adventuring gear can be in one of four conditions:

 

Good, Worn, Damaged and Ruined

 

This is called the condition track

 

These conditions are self explanatory.

 

2. All types of materials have a base saving throw:

 

Cloth - 15

Wood - 13

Soft Metal (Gold, silver etc) - 10

Durable Metal (Steel) - 7
Stone - 5

Extraordinarily Durable Materials (Mithril, Adamant etc.) - 2

Magic Items (case by case at Referee's discretion - not damaged under normal circumstances)

Referees may give bonuses or penalties depending upon situations or damage caused by specific hazards (i.e. wooden items catching fire) as they see fit.
 

3. To keep gear in good condition, PCs must perform maintenance or upkeep in between adventures/on the road etc. If it is deemed that the PCs possess the skill to upkeep their gear, they can (with proper tools) do so themselves. As a note, if a PC can use a given weapon, they know how to perform basic maintenance of that weapon. The same goes for armor. This include oiling and sharpening blades, oiling and cleaning armor, etc. If whetstone and oil are owned, this can easily be done while camping and on watch. If it is deemed that a PC knows how to upkeep other gear and has the proper implements to do so, that is fine as well, however, this must be kept track of by the Referee for time keeping purposes. It takes a great deal of time to take care of equipment.

Alternatively, players can also have items professionally repaired, replaced etc. while in town for 20% of the value of the PCs total adventuring gear, more at the Referee's discretion if any gear is in Damaged condition. Ruined items cannot be repaired.

4. Normal wear to gear: Gear will naturally deteriorate to lesser conditions if it is not upkept, per point three. Outside of this, all gear that is used during a session must make a saving throw at the end of the session. If the saving throw fails, that piece of gear moves down the condition track by one step.

Gear that specifically takes damage must make a saving throw or move down one or more conditions along the track as well. This is based upon a variety of conditions, catching fire, items specifically targeted or damaged by foes etc.

5. Weapons and armor are subject to the same rules as adventuring gear, but may also be subject to wear and tear from especially hard hits (giving or taking maximum damage etc.) at the Referee's discretion.
 

Octhorrorfest: Possession and Obssession For Your Old School Fantasy and Horror Campaign

Let's get right to it and get into the nitty gritty of these things. The idea of possession has been fairly well understood since the release of The Exorcist in 1973. Possession, of course, is the act of a spirit (demon, ghost, etc.) dominating and controlling an individuals body. Obsession is an attack by a spiritual entity or magical creature from without the individuals body. This is often a form of mind control in which the entity holds sway over the victim. Often the obsessed will become literally "obsessed" with it's attacker, often falling into to cultus of said entity doing the entities bidding by accomplishing tasks that the obssessor cannot accomplish by itself.. This features prominently in many of the Hammer Horror Dracula films. In literature the character R. M. Renfield, from Bram Stoker's Dracula,  is an obsessed follower of Dracula.

Klove, an obsessed servant of Dracula - from Hammer Films Dracula, Prince of Darkness

It has always struck me as odd that these things are so often either neglected in D&D and it's simulacra, or simply cast aside by the use of similar spells (obsession, in the vampiric sense, being typically attributed to a charm person spell.) Here I present you with my house rules for possession and obsession.

 

Possession

Any spirit, demon or devil may attempt to possess a victim. To do so the spirit must first make a saving throw with a penalty of the charisma bonus (if any) of the victim. If the roll is a success the victim is allowed a saving throw to avoid the possession with a penalty equal to the spirit/demon's hit dice. Protection spells already in place may modify these rolls at the referee's discretion. If the possessor succeeds and the victim fails his save, the possession is successful and the spirit has full control of the victim's body. Once per hit die per day the possessed may attempt to stop his body from taking an action attempted by the possessor spirit. This attempt suffers are cumulative penalty of -2 for each week that passes. This does not break the possession. Only an action denoted as an exorcism by the referee may break the possession. The spirit may relinquish control as it sees fit, but after gaining control, may always take control again at any time, presuming that a successful exorcism is not performed.

Obsession

An obsessed vampire cultist helps a new vampire rise - from Hammer Films The Brides of Dracula

Many creatures, from demons to greater vampires and any other entities that the referee deems may cause an individual to become obsessed. Obsession may be attempted in various ways dependent upon the individual entity. In some cases obsession is caused by a gaze, in others telepathic communication (powerful vampires and demon princes have this ability) or something as simple as a touch. An entity attempting for cause obsession in a victim  must first make a saving throw with a penalty of the charisma bonus (if any) of the victim. If the roll is a success the victim is allowed a saving throw to avoid the obsession with a penalty equal to the entities hit dice. Protection spells already in place may modify these rolls at the referee's discretion, just as in the case of possession. If successful the creature causing the obsession gains a telepathic link to the obsessed by which it's suggestions can be made, even over a great distance. In the early stages the obsessed can attempt to fight the suggestions. This is done by making a saving throw, modified by a penalty of the obsessors hit dice. This may be done once per day per hit die of the obsessed. An attempt to break the obsession may be made a number of times per week per hit die of the obsessed. Success is determined in the same manner as attempts to fight suggestions Each failed attempt adds an additional penalty of -1 to the next attempt. If the total penalty reaches the hit dice of the obsessed character, they become an utter thrall of the obsessing entity, unless exorcised.




 

Octhorrorfest: Appendix Nspriation, Michael Whelan, Lovecraft's Nightmare

Not a lot of time to get a post up this week, but the week isn't done. To ensure something for Octhorrorfest this week, I figured I would share one of my favorite Michael Whelan pieces, Lovecraft's Nightmare parts 1 and 2. When looking at weird fiction and weird fantasy, I find these macabre images highly inspirational. The tree in particular has produced many similar trees in my campaign worlds, one being the center piece in an adventure that some readers are familiar with called "Fear of the Dark.

 

 

Octhorrorfest; Curing Characters Afflicted With Vampirism For Old School Fantasy and Horror Games

Vampiric Affliction; How It Works

It is well known that those bitten by a vampire, shall rise as a vampire. There is often confusion about how this works. From a folkloric standpoint, the affliction/curse can be transferred from a bite or drinking the blood of a vampire. In many games, especially D&D and it's derivatives, anyone killed by a vampire will become one, under the Master's control. But how do the metaphysics of the affliction actually work?

When a vampire bites someone an unholy "venom" enters into the victim's  bloodstream. If the victim dies while this "venom" is still active, they will rise as a vampire under the control of the vampire who had originally cause the wound. This is what gave rise to the idea that a victim will become a vampire after being bitten a given number of times (typically three.) In these cases the vampire feeds upon the same victim night after night until they are drained of blood and die, then rising as a vampire themselves. Of course, dying in any way while the "venom" is in the victim will cause them to rise as a vampire.

Curing the Affliction

There are at least two ways to cure the affliction, if caught before death. In either case, a saving throw or constitution check (referee's discretion) to overcome the affliction. The first way to remove the affliction is to apply a poultice made of 3 parts garlic to 1 part silver to the wound every hour until the "venom" is neutralized. This would require a save/check each time the poultice is applied.

The second cure requires holy water. This method is demonstrated by Van Helsing in the film "The Brides of Dracula" from Hammer Horror.  First, the bite must be cauterized with hot steel. Following this holy water should be poured over the wound. The holy water instantly removes the affliction when this ritual cure is performed.